I’m not your most high-minded of readers, but I do occasionally make the effort to take in something that offers just a little bit more; a book that elucidates some part of history I know little about, a book that helps me learn and improve something about myself, a book that provides reflection on the beauty of this world.

This is not that book. I’m totally okay with that. I’d read a review of it a while back that included the words far-fetched, religious, Vatican and pet cemetery, and it likened St. Peter to an action hero; I put a hold on that book before you could say sounds kinda like Dan Brown. There are times where I am really in the mood for something akin to his works, a book that has some basis in a wildly interesting past, and then just loads on the speculation and conspiracy and silly, too simplistic dialogue spoken by characters who, let’s admit it, totally under-react to the insane situations they find themselves in. This book does not disappoint!

In fact, it excels to some degree by really layering on the improbable elements. It’s not enough that an archaeologist (super pretty and hyper-intelligent, of course) is on the verge of finding something huge and heretofore undiscovered about King Herod; in the real world, that would be news enough. No, there also has to be an earthquake at Masada that destroys the ancient fortress and requires her attention, and there has to be a US military attache (super handsome and good-at-heart, of course) sent their to make sure the area is secure and the bodies removed, and they meet up. And there has to be a mysterious Roman Catholic priest. And a boy with cancer who might be healed by the noxious fumes escaping the ruins (they killed everyone else, of course). And a gospel written in blood by Jesus. Then it throws in some vampires, both good and bad. The lucky ones survive by drinking consecrated wine, which as those of you in-the-know of the wily ways of the Church will recall, means that it’s been turned into the blood of Christ though a miraculous process called ‘transubstantiation.’ This is a topic that monks and priests have pondered for centuries, religions have cleaved over it, lives have been lost by those who refused to believe in it…and what I love about this book is that it takes just about three paragraphs to introduce the concept, have people say ‘no way!’ and then say ‘well, I never would have guessed.’

And it’s great. If you’re in the mood for a wild story and a little bit of contentious history, this might be the book for you.

After a long, busy work day, there’s nothing like a hard-boiled mystery to get away from it all. Although getting e-books online from ICPL brings the opportunity to read a whole series, a downside is that I tend to check out books in a somewhat random order. For Harry Bosch – a guy who has a lot of life change going on in this 18-book series – things become interesting. In one book, he’s a homicide cop, in the next he’s a PI, and then he’s back again with the cops. He has a wife/lover/girlfriend – or nobody at all. He has a daughter, he doesn’t have a daughter, and then she’s born one more time…you get the drift. It’s a chance for time travel and as I read this fifth book in the series (from 1997) I wanted to warn Harry about what’s in store for his future. Ahh, all the things he doesn’t know!

In any case, Trunk Music once again brings us the crusading cop-hero and loner who bases his whole life on the premise that the end justifies the means. Regularly, he’s willing to bend the boundaries – even at the risk of his own career – to catch the crook. This time, the story opens with sleazy filmmaker and mob money launderer Tony Aliso being discovered in the trunk of his Rolls on a secluded fire road above the Hollywood Bowl. Harry and his crew are quickly dispatched to the scene where a symphony concert is going on nearby – he needs to get Aliso’s body off to an autopsy without being seen by the concert’s audience. And then he can start solving the whodunnit.

Like others in the series, the opening details of Trunk Music appeared slowly and methodically, but by about 60% of the way into the book (according to my Kindle Reader app), things started to fit together, the pace quickened and it became tough to put the volume down. Throughout, Harry dashes back and forth from his Hollywood home base to Las Vegas several times gathering pieces of the puzzle, and like other books in the series, Vegas haunts him in a myriad of ways. There, he encounters several seamy characters, including a snarly patrol cop, a strip-club manager, some mobsters and the on-again-off-again love of his life, Eleanor Wish, who went from being an FBI agent to an incarcerated felon to a small-time career gambler. Back home in L.A., Harry’s life centers mostly on the cops he partners with, the cop-bosses who put up with him, and the widow who appears more puzzled than grieving. In between all the commotion, Harry clears his head in a home hanging off a hillside up a canyon.

Once again, author Michael Connelly was masterful at sprinkling clues throughout the story in a stealthy way so that they initially blended in, yet seemed so obvious when they were put together later in the story. Likewise, he kept me guessing about when the book was going to end – just when I thought it was done, another twist surfaced to egg the plot on. And rest assured, Trunk Music closes with some happy endings and a bit of irony.

P.S. I finished Trunk Music on my iPad on an Iowa City bus while heading into work on campus. In a moment of conventional thinking, I then launched my Overdrive app and downloaded Connelly’s next book in the series, Angels Flight…ready to read on the way home.

Guest Blogger Daniel Berkowitz is an associate dean in the University of Iowa Graduate College, a professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and the interim director of the UI School of Library and Information Science.

I have been debating whether to write about “Gone Girl” since I read it last month.

The reviewers were ecstatic -

One of those rare thrillers whose revelations actually intensify its suspense instead of dissipating it. The final pages are chilling.” Kirkus (starred review)

It contains so many twists and turns that the outcome is impossible to predict.” Booklist (starred review)

Compulsively readable, creepily unforgettable, this is a must read for any fan of bad girls and good writing.  Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

I placed “Gone Girl” on reserve and eagerly waited my turn.  I got my email notice that my copy was on the hold shelf and thought, yippee, the weekend is ahead, it is too hot to be outside, I can lose myself in this fantastic novel.  Well, I read it, but I wasn’t nearly as captivated as the reviewers.   It didn’t have me sitting on the edge of my chair nor did I find the characters compelling or even all that interesting.  What happened?  Were my expectations to high?  Have Scandinavian mysteries made me want more action or excitement than I found in “Gone Girl”.   Today at work I found someone else who agreed with my assessment.  Finally, I wasn’t the only one who found Flynn’s book light and fluffy.  Not bad as a diversion but not the promised land of starred reviews and New York Times Best Sellers lists. I count myself in a tiny minority of non-fans of “Gone Girl” so don’t let me dissuade you from reading it, just let me know why you liked it and what I missed.