SMOKE (Catherine McKenzie) - April 29/17

I wasn't too sure about this one at first because it seemed like such a minor story, and it basically is but it grew on me. The characters are pretty solid and I enjoyed the mystery. *** out of ****

BIG LITTLE LIES (Liane Moriarty) - April 23/17

I wasn't completely sold on this in its first half - I mostly had trouble telling the three main characters apart - but boy was I hooked by the second half. The buildup to and the trivia night itself were riveting reading and I was completely entranced. **** out of ****

THE SLEEPWALKER (Chris Bohjalian) - April 13/17

Pretty typical Bohjalian. Overwritten, certainly, but also engaging in spots and full of vivid characters. The mystery wasn't quite as interesting as he intended, though, so the big revelation at the end wasn't exactly the mind-blower I might've expected. **1/2 out of ****

AFTER YOU (Jojo Moyes) - April 5/17

Sigh. I wanted to enjoy this but Moyes delivers an insanely overlong narrative that feels like three books crammed into one. I felt like I was reading this forever. And then, just when you think it's wrapping up, Moyes throws in a death scare for the love interest! Ridiculous. ** out of ****