Home from the Vinyl Cafe by Stuart McLean

The Vinyl Cafe is a Canadian radio show that I've compared to "A Prairie Home Companion" when talking about this collection of stories. The stories are funny, sometimes obvious in the foreshadowing of humorous elements, like Dave mixing up the eggnog bowls at a Christmas party so that the kids get loaded and the adults stay unexpectedly sober. The humor ranges from such slapstick to low-key wistfulness. The book was a gift; I never would have chosen it myself, but it was easy to read and I'm glad I did. I'm not sure I'm a fit enough judge of "its type" to say ****, but I'm tempted to. Certainly anyone who has listened to the show and liked the stories as told on air would enjoy this book.

Los Alamos by Joseph Kanon

Los Alamos is a murder mystery set at the title location during the run up to the Trinity test. The cover blurbs make it sound better than I found it, but it was still very readable. I'm trying to recall the title of another WWII detective story I read recently; I think it was The Deadly Embrace. That book was set in London during the blitz, and featured a female protagonist. I remember it as more engrossing than this book, but maybe that's taste.
There's an element of James M. Cain to the obsessive love story that's woven in. The history is, as far as I can tell, meticulously researched (and I read a nonfiction about Los Alamos only about 18 months ago). Apparently Kanon's next book, The Prodigal Spy, is set in the McCarthy era and the 60's. I liked this one well enough to look for that one and hope it is just a little better. ***