Hell in the Heartland by Jax Miller

 

For what I do for work, some may be very surprised to learn that I'm a True Crime addict.  But I am. I'm fascinated.  I picked up this book, in continuing my trend of reading books about unsolved or fascinating cases. Jax Miller didn't start out as a true crime writer - in fact, she wrote fiction before this book. 

In December of 1999, two 16 year old girls - Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible - were having a sleepover at Ashley's home in rural Oklahoma. The next morning, the two girls were missing, the Freeman trailer was in flames and the bodies of Ashle's parents, the only other two people in the trailer apart from the girls, were found at the site. Lauria and Ashley haven't been seen since. Jax heard about this cold case in 2015 and travelled to Oklahoma in an effort to see if she could assist in solving the cold case and helping to find the girls. 

This story isn't just about two missing girls - it's about policing and the drug crisis (specifically methamphetamine use, cooking and dealing - think Breaking Bad).  There were two prevailing theories that came out quite clearly in the book and Jax does a great job presenting both theories. Ultimately, Lauria and Ashley (or their bodies) are still missing and we still don't really know what happened to them or why. The rural community that they disappeared from is also a major player in this book and is very, very grimly painted by Jax. Ashley's older brother, Shane, was killed by local law enforcement and her father was involved in the drug trade.  Meth use and cooking had taken a strong hold of the area and showed no sign of letting up. People worked extremely hard and were still subject to poverty and struggles in making ends meet. Jax also treats the case with compassion and kindness and empathy. It would have been extremely easy to be coldly distant in describing what happened and what was going on with the case, but she didn't.  She was warm and compassionate and that earned her a lot of trust with the families and people that she was dealing with.

This is a great book and highly recommended.

Jumping on the bandwagon

 There are so many beginning of the year posts every year a t this time and I love them all.  I think that this year, the hopefulness of them is perhaps more important than in any other year.  I, like many, have goals that I want to accomplish this year.  These are some:

1. Although my Goodreads 2021 list says 75 books for the year, I would like to read 100.  That's like two a week.  Totally doable for me. I think. At the very least, it's something to aim for.

2. I would like to hike four more 4 thousand footers this year: Tecumseh, Garfield and "Fliberty" AKA Flume/Liberty.  

3. In keeping with number two, I am going to start running more consistently.  I run about 3 times a week but aiming for 5 times a week is my ideal. AT the very least, I will be training 6-7 days a week in some way by doing a combo of running and HIIT workouts at home.  I may even invest in a Peloton.

4. Journalling everyday.  It would be a good stress relief for  me.

What are your resolutions or goals this year?

American Predator by Maureen Callahan

 I didn't hear about Israel Keyes until I became obsessed with the Maura Murray case. I then began listening to a True Crime podcast about him - True Crime Bull*** - and was hooked. So when I got some giftcards from Amazon, I knew that I was going to get this book.

I absolutely devoured it. Israel murdered all over the country - he had kill kits buried in various "hotspots" and we likely don't know exactly how many murders he's ultimately responsible for. We know there's a minimum of 11, but there could be more.  This book is about Keyes and his murders - a little bit about his growing up.  Initially, it seemed that the investigators were cooperative with Callahan and gave her access to an unprecedented amount of their files.  It also seemed like they stopped that cooperation ended at some point. 

This book provides some insight into the mind of a serial killer.  Keyes had no rhyme or reason to who he went after, except that he wouldn't target children.  He was a contractor so he was able to keep an astonishingly low profile for years. He killed solely for the thirll of it and the power of it, which is what truly makes him scary, even among the company he keeps. I'm not sure why he allowed himself to be caught, unless he really wanted to be caught and wanted to play cat and mouse with the FBI.  It's not a secret that he ultimately committed suicide while in custody, which was the ultimate act of control. 

At the end of the day, this book is phenomenal and I flew through it.  It was well researched and well written.  It also provides a decent bibliography at the end, if you're interested in continuing to read about Keyes, serial killers and true crime.  Definitely a good read and definitely a good way to start the reading year. 

Anxious People by Frederick Bachman

 I heard about this book from a person that I follow on TikTok actually, which is quite a random place to find book recommendations.  Fredrik Backman actually wrote A Man Called Ove, which I suspect is more well known here because there was a movie made about it.I haven't read that book, but now am interested.

This book is set in a small Swedish town a few days before New Year's Eve. A distraught parent, seeking to get rent money, attempts to rob a bank and fails miserably.  As the bank robber realizes that their options are slowly running out, the robber runs across the street to an apartment showing and unintentionally turns it into a hostage situation. There are eight people in the apartment and they interact with the bank robber and each other during the course of this mystery, most of which occurs in the apartment during the so-called hostage situation. There are two police officers involved in staking out the hostage situation while the investigators from Stockholm are on their way - Jim and Jack, father and son.

I loved this book. It deals with things like "Stockholm Syndrome" - where the hostages bond with their captor.  It also deals with the anxieties that all of us have, some of which really struck home for me in a way that I cried and laughed and cringed. Perhaps most importantly, it demonstrates the importance of empathy towards our fellow human beings. I loved this book and will be giving it another read. 

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

This novel could not have come out at a more opportune time.  By the same author that wrote The Mothers, Brit Bennett hits it out of the park with this one. This novel spans at least three generations and takes on a whole of complicated topics: racial identity, bigotry, sexual identity, gender identity, passing.  Nothing is off topic here and it was amazing. 

The book spans a number of decades as well - from the 1940's to the 1990's -and follows Stella and Desiree Vignes.  Desiree and Stella are twins that were born and raised in Mallard, Louisiana, a town founded by their great grandfather, who wanted an oasis for light skinned black people like him. I think he conceived it as a place where he could be safe and successful; however, it doesn't help. The twins see their father beaten and lynched, their mother struggling in poverty and their own futures becoming more and more impoverished if they stay in Mallard. The twins, within the few pages, take off to New Orleans together, but then split apart - Desiree marries the darkest man she can find and Stella lives as a white woman. 

I absolutely loved this book and the issues that it took on. It's well written and kept me curious, not only about the characters, but about the issues that it presented - including issues of passing, racism, sexuality and class.  Highly recommended.

The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory

 How I didn't know about Jasmine Guillory before one of my badass co workers introduced me to her is absolutely beyond me.  To be completely up front, she graduated from my Alma Mater, in June of the year that I began (abeit I was there in September, she graduated in June prior to me beginning - I graduated in 2001 so we just missed each other). I'm so glad that I learned about her though.

In this novel, which is actually the second in the series (I read them out of order!), Nikole is a successful writer that we meet for the first time at Dodgers Stadium in LA. She's attending a baseball game with her boyfriend, Fisher (a hipster!) and his friends in honor of his birthday.  Fisher catches Nik completely by surprise by then proposing to her at the game, and the proposal is up on the Jumbotron as it's occurring. Nik says no for a few reasons - they had been dating for only five months and had never even discussed this route (Nik had no desire to marry Fisher). Nik declines and Fisher leaves very irately, while Nik is swarmed by cameras. Also in the stadium are Carlos, a doctor, and his sister Angela. Carlos and Angela, seeing Nik's distress, assist Nik in getting away from the cameras.

The book then details Nik's and Carlos' interactions with one another and each other's friends.  I enjoyed this book. I really liked Nik - she is someone that is very real and could be someone you meet anywhere. I liked Carlos too and both he and Nik were dealing with issues that were particularly realistic. The book itself moved quickly and was broken down into quick little snippets that made it easy to digest. I also loved that the characters were all so diverse. The friendships between the women were especially strong too - we need to see more of the women supporting women material that was encapsulated in these books instead of the insidious competition between women that seems to often jump out at us.

Loved this book.

Election Day 2020

 I have voted in every single election since I turned 18 in March of 1997.  My first Presidential Election was the ill-fated election of 2000 that gave us Bush v. Gore. I was a senior in college and cast my ballot as an absentee ballot.  I don't think that at the time, I thought that casting my vote in that way held as much weight as I gave my ballot today or subsequently.  Today's vote felt much heavier.  I arrived at my polling place fifteen minutes before the polls opened and the line to get into the polling place stretched around the very large building.  The turnout was astronomically large, but people were trying their hardest to socially distance while in line.  People were kind and respectful and said hello to their neighbors, friends and acquaintances.  

I was so happy at how orderly everything went. Once the polls opened, it was clear where I had to go to get my ballot and then cast my vote.  I knew how to fill my ballot out and knew where to place it.  The poll workers were informative, kind and professional.  I wasn't surprised by that. I was surprised by my reaction to actually filling out my ballot. I actually teared up.  I felt like it was momentous.  And like I was making history and an impact all at the same time.