Week Two: Appeal Factors

Bad Little Falls by Paul Doiron is a murder mystery which takes place in Washington County, Maine.  Mike Bowditch is a game warden has been assigned to this wilderness area after getting into trouble at his last posting.  Bowditch narrates the story from his darkly humorous viewpoint, telling about the people who live in this economically disadvantaged area and the hazards of facing drug dealers and frigid winters.  The severe weather and the isolation of the wilderness area hamper Bowditch's investigation, and his inexperience and impulsiveness lead him to make rash decisions. As Bowditch bumbles through the investigation, an air of menace is created by his uncertainty in who to trust and by the unforgiving weather and terrain.

The Uninvited Guests by Sadie Jones takes place at Sterne, an old English country house, in the spring of 1912.  A dinner party is being planned for the evening in honor of Emerald Torrington's 20th birthday.  The dialog and interactions between the members of Emerald's family and the small household staff reveal antagonisms and disagreements between them which add to the claustrophobic atmospere in the house.  As the birthday party is getting underway, word comes that there has been a catastrophic train wreck nearby.  The family is asked if Sterne would take some of the passengers who have been stranded.  When the passengers arrive, the atmosphere at Sterne becomes increasingly disturbing, with the family and their guests trying to keep the party going and ignoring the fugitives who have invaded Sterne.

I looked at Becky K.'s blog of the book Farishta.  I had not read this book, so I looked in Novelist and GoodReads to get two selections to recommend.