Dear Great Book Guru,  I am very excited about MiniMart Sunday, October 5.  I love walking around town and meeting up with neighbors and friends- old and new-  but late in the day when the crowds are heading home, I like to sit with a good book and read for a few hours.  Do you have something short but challenging?  Mini Mart Maven

Dear Mini Mart Maven,  Mini Mart is  also one of my favorite Sea Cliff holidays; in fact, my neighbor Lou Campi  and I agree it might be up there with Christmas and Thanksgiving! This week my book group finished a short novel that just might fill the bill for you: BORDER CROSSING by Pat Barker. Tom Seymour is a child psychologist who, thirteen years before, had served as an expert witness at the trial of Danny Miller, a ten year old accused of murdering an elderly neighbor. Danny has just been released from prison and has begun a new life with an apartment, a job , and a new name- all provided by the British social services system. Danny tracks down Tom in an attempt to understand what happened those thirteen years ago.  More a psychological study than a mystery, the book gradually reveals the imperfect borders that exist  between good and evil and we are left to wonder what is innocence, what is guilt?   Highly recommended!