The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond

I almost missed the treasure of The Year of Fog, simply because the wording on the book cover made it look like the sibling of every other 'chick lit' book I've seen. It had the words "for fans of Jodi Picoult or Jacquelyn Mitchard". Since I have never cared for their books, I nearly passed on this one. I'm so glad I didn't!

This is a really suspenseful story strung around the msytery of the brain's memory capabilities, the symbolism of fog (that softens hard edges but also hides details) and made dazzling by the sparkling gem of San Francisco's scenery and culture. I've been learning about hooks and actions that make a reader keep going and interested in a book. This one had so many perfect examples. Foreshadowing was a big factor. I could not put it down, as it kept moving forward so quickly that it felt like running down a hill, dangerous and hard to control.

I could rave on and on but I most liked how she brought her characters to life with minimal words, just little snippets of descriptions and dialogue that were so telling that it was like reading their biography first. Great read.