Best bets for your weekend reading: John Grisham, Roger Daltrey

Why would a ­World War II hero, a prominent citizen in the small town of Clanton, Mississippi, walk into his church in 1946 and coldly pump three bullets into the popular Methodist minister, a family friend?

Is murder ever justified?

“The Reckoning” envelopes itself in Southern tropes of the times: madness (a la Tennessee Williams), segregation, miscegenation, even “Old Sparky” (the notorious portable electric chair). Throw in the Bataan Death March and there’s a little something for most fiction (and history) lovers.

Pete Banning, in his early 40s, is a man of few words. When he deliberately guns down Dexter Bell in his church office, he refuses to explain why. “I have nothing to say” is his refrain to the end. Pete’s guilt is never in doubt.

Grisham offers one tantalizing clue as Preacher Bell begs for his life: “If it’s about Liza, I can explain. No, Pete!”

Liza is Pete’s beautiful wife, mysteriously locked away in the state asylum, by Pete no less. Clearly, this is a family with secrets.

USA TODAY says ★★★ out of four. Grisham “knows how to spin a yarn. … ‘The Reckoning’ is deeper, more ambitious that his usual legal thrillers.”

“Thanks A Lot Mr. Kibblewhite” by Roger Daltrey; Henry Holt, 259 pp.; nonfiction

In this memoir, the lead singer of The Who, 74, tells how he rose from London’s post-World War II privation to the privilege of rock stardom.

USA TODAY says ★★★½. Daltrey “brings a Cockney conversationalism to the story of his life … (and) dishes on key moments in Who history.”

“Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger” by Rebecca Traister; Simon & Schuster, 252 pp.; nonfiction

Traister hits pause on current events to explain what’s fueling women’s rage and assures the reader that it’s OK to be angry.

USA TODAY says ★★★. “As America grapples with the #MeToo movement tidal wave, ‘Good and Mad’ … serves as an ‘Amen, sister!’ venting session.”

“The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein” by Kiersten White; Delacorte, 304 pp.; fiction

Two centuries after Mary Shelley’s classic “Frankenstein,” White unleashes a Gothic retelling from the point of view of mad scientist Victor Frankenstein’s love interest, Elizabeth Lavenza.

USA TODAY says ★★★½ . “Fascinating.”

“The Man Who Came Uptown” by George Pelecanos; Mulholland, 265 pp.; fiction

This Washington, D.C.-set tale revolves around an ex-con named Michael and a restless private investigator named Orzanian, whom Michael owes, unfortunately, a favor.

USA TODAY says ★★★. “Pelecanos is a great storyteller … a shrewd, lean, martini-smooth suspense novel.”

Contributing reviewers: Jocelyn McClurg, Matt Damsker, Zlati Meyer, Brian Truitt, Charles Finch

CLOSE

Put these new books on your wish list right now.
USA TODAY

Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2018/11/10/best-bets-your-weekend-reading-john-grisham-reckoning-roger-daltrey-memoir/1924211002/