Tags
families, FBI, investigation, missing persons, Sausalito (CA), Secrecy, stepdaughters, thriller fiction
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
13 Wednesday Oct 2021
Category Archives: Fiction
Miss Benson’s Beetle: A Novel by Rachel Joyce
24 Friday Sep 2021
Posted in 20th century, action, adventure, Fiction, Historical Fiction
Rachel Joyce is the author of The Music Shop and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry among others. I loved this story about female friendship – the audio version is fabulous!
“Joyce’s sparkling latest pops with grit, resilience, and the power of friendship. . . . Joyce’s graceful touch and cutting humor . . . give the characters a rich complexity and depth. With a plucky protagonist and plenty of action, this is a winner.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Whatever you may look for in a novel—adventure, fully realized characters, humor, poignancy, a chance to learn something new—is all here in Miss Benson’s Beetle. What’s also here is the particular grace and humanity that Rachel Joyce brings to her work. She reminds us that we all are broken in one way or another, but that we are capable—oftentimes in unexpected ways—of helping to make ourselves and others whole. This beautifully written novel is an absolute delight.”—Elizabeth Berg, author of The Story of Arthur Truluv
“As ever, Rachel Joyce made me laugh out loud, then weep for the battered majesty of ordinary human beings. Two unlikely heroines, their strange love, a pitiful villain, and a life-affirming search for miraculous beauty . . . all combine in a wild, hopeful picaresque journey into the soul.”—Bel Mooney, Daily Mail“
The Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian
17 Friday Sep 2021
Posted in Fiction, Historical Fiction
Tags
colonial period ca. 1600's, malicious accusation, marital violence, Massachusetts, New England, Puritans, suspense, thriller, Trials (Witchcraft)
Since I have a Salem witch relative, I was waiting anxiously for this book. Not Salem this time – Mary Deerfield’s trial all takes place in Boston. This was a riveting read. I was on the edge of my seat, gripping drama but reader take note – ** absolutely, no-matter what, read all the way to the very last page.
“Hour of the Witch is historical fiction at its best… Insightful and empathetic… Thick with details as chowder is with clams… handled with great skill and delicacy. The book is a thriller in structure, and a real page-turner, the ending both unexpected and satisfying.”—Diana Gabaldon, The Washington Post
“Classic Chris Bohjalian—moments of deep dread, extraordinary plot twists, and characters you love to root for paired with characters you love to hate.”
—Writer’s Digest
“Throughout Bohjalian’s prolific career, he has rewarded readers with indelibly drawn female protagonists, and the formidable yet vulnerable Mary Deerfield is a worthy addition to the canon. Conjuring up specters of #MeToo recriminations and social media shaming, there are twenty-first-century parallels to Bohjalian’s atmospheric Puritan milieu, and his trademark extensive research pays off in this authentic portrait of courage in the face of society’s worst impulses. Bohjalian is a perennial favorite, and this Salem Witch Hunt drama has a special magnetism.”—Booklist, starred review
The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
03 Friday Sep 2021
Tags
authors, authorship, book plots, novelists, plagiarism, psychological, theft, truthfulness and falsehood
When a failed writer hears an amazing idea for a novel, he never imagines he’ll one day get the chance to take it for the plot of his own book. His book is a huge success, but someone else knows that it wasn’t really his idea. This suspenseful novel was a real page turner!
“As a longtime fan of Korelitz’s novels (including “You Should Have Known,” which was made into HBO’s “The Undoing”), I will say that I think The Plot is her gutsiest, most consequential book yet. It keeps you guessing and wondering, and also keeps you thinking: about ambition, fame and the nature of intellectual property (the analog kind).”―The New York Times Book Review
“Deep character development, an impressively thick tapestry of intertwining story lines, and a candid glimpse into the publishing business make this a page-turner of the highest order. Korelitz deserves acclaim for her own perfect plot.”
―Publishers Weekly (STARRED Review)
“’The Plot’ is wickedly funny and chillingly grim…it deserves to garner all the brass rings.”―The Wall Street Journal
Find this book large print audio cd’s
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
23 Monday Aug 2021
Posted in action, adventure, Fiction, Historical Fiction
Marian and Jamie are twins born in 1914 on a sinking ship, and their lives only get more exciting from there. Great Circle follows Marian, who dreams of being a pilot, and Jamie, a sensitive artist, as they travel the world and are eventually both caught up in World War II. I really felt like I knew Marian and Jamie, along with many of the other vivid characters, by the time I finished reading. This book is a saga, but worth the time!
“A breathtaking epic . . . This is a stunning feat.”—Publishers Weekly [starred review]
“A fat, juicy peach of a novel . . . A tremendously well-written book, epic in spirit and scope, swooping across continents and through time so effortlessly that it belies the seven years it apparently took to complete.”
—The Telegraph [UK]
“The destinies of [Shipstead’s] unforgettable characters intersect in ways that reverberate through a hundred years of story. Whether Shipstead is creating scenes in the Prohibition-era American West, in wartime London, or on a Hollywood movie set, her research is as invisible as it should be, allowing a fully immersive experience. Ingeniously structured and so damn entertaining; this novel is as ambitious as its heroines—but it never falls from the sky.”—Kirkus Reviews [starred review]
Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan
16 Monday Aug 2021
This modern take on the classic novel A Room with a View also follows a young woman named Lucie as she travels through Italy with her aunt, accepts a marriage proposal, and falls in love with the “wrong” person. This is a fun, charming story from the author of Crazy Rich Asians.
“A summer romp with a satirical sting”— NPR
“A deliciously fun romp from Capri to Manhattan and East Hampton. Kwan is in fine form, gleefully name-dropping luxury brands and socialites as he spins a heartfelt, satirical tale that observes the price of fame, fortune and following your heart.”
—BookPage
“True love will find a way, even among the status-obsessed and filthy rich… [With] irresistibly knowing humor and delightful central characters… While he’s engineering the timeless love story and continuing our postgraduate education in all the things money can buy, Kwan manages to take a few swipes against snobbery and racism. Nice. This is the only way you’re getting to Capri this year. Why resist?”—Kirkus
Justice and Mercy: a Post Civil War Mystery by Lea Wait
11 Wednesday Aug 2021
Tags
The author, Lea Wait, died last year and was known for her cozy mysteries, though this one is an historical mystery. It was independently published. I really liked this book.
It’s April of 1865, disabled Civil War veteran lawyer Aaron Stone, visiting his Aunt Cornelia in upstate New York State and hoping to end the pain and nightmares only opium and morphine can mitigate, finds a bludgeoned body revealed by receding Erie Canal flood waters. He determines to identify the unknown man and bring peace to that man’s family.
The Paris Library: a Novel by Janet Skeslien Charles
04 Wednesday Aug 2021
Posted in 20th century, Fiction, Historical Fiction
Tags
American Library in Paris, France history 1940-1944, German occupation, Montana, war stories, women librarians, World War I 1939-1945
Odile is excited about starting her new job at the American Library in Paris in 1939. Years later in 1983, Odile is a widow living in Montana. What happened in between? The Paris Library alternates between these two eras as it follows Odile’s experience living through the Nazi occupation, and the friendship she strikes up with a young woman who lives next door in Montana. The Paris Library is a great historical novel that also celebrates the power of libraries.
“A love letter to Paris, the power of books, and the beauty of intergenerational friendship.” (Booklist)
“As a Parisian, an ardent bookworm, and a longtime fan of the American Library in Paris, I devoured The Paris Library in one hungry gulp. It is charming and moving, with a perfect balance between history and fiction.” (Tatiana de Rosnay, New York Times bestselling author of Sarah’s Key )
“A fresh take on WWII France that will appeal to bibliophiles everywhere. I fell in love with Odile and Lily, with their struggles and triumphs, from the very first page. Meticulously researched, The Paris Library is an irresistible, compelling read.” (Fiona Davis, national bestselling author of The Chelsea Girls)
Beneficence by Meredith Hall
17 Saturday Jul 2021
Posted in 20th century, Fiction, United States
“A quiet gem of a first novel. The author’s lyrical prose and stark portrayal of grief and guilt…is conveyed so movingly this story is hard to put down. With language poetic in its cadence and capable of seamlessly transporting our minds and emotions to another place and time, this accomplished debut will be welcomed by readers of authors such as Willa Cather, Alice Munro, Amy Tan, or Lisa See.”―Library Journal
“Beneficence is amazing in its vision. Luminous. With wisdom and compassion, Meredith Hall writes about the capacity for atonement. Beneficence, then. Goodness. Generosity to see deeply, to live through fear and pain on your journey toward the awareness of splendor.”―Ursula Hegi
“These voices from the past speak so clearly to our time, at a moment when many of us wonder whether we’ll lose the things that we consider blessings….Beneficence is a quiet but steady book, one that echoes ancient and important rhythms.”―Washington Post
“Spare but decked with moments of crystalline beauty…. A family flounders in grief, but finds their way home through forgiveness and acceptance, in Beneficence, Meredith Hall’s gorgeous and moving new novel.”―Foreword, starred review
Readers of Kent Haruf would like this book.
Northern Spy by Flynn Berry
29 Tuesday Jun 2021
Tags
detective and mystery, Irish Republican Army, Northern Ireland, single mothers, sisters, suspense
A gripping, suspenseful page-turner that follows two sisters living in Northern Ireland. Once I started, this was hard to put down!
“[A] twisting . . . emotional thriller . . . Berry’s portrayal of Irish life is uncannily accurate . . . dropping readers headfirst into the emotions of living in conflict.” —Booklist (starred review)
“A chilling, gorgeously written tale of a modern community poisoned by ancient grievances . . . Berry is a beautiful writer with a sophisticated, nuanced understanding of this most complicated of places.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Thrillingly good . . . Flynn Berry shows a le Carré-like flair for making you wonder what’s really going on at any given moment . . . Berry won an Edgar for Under the Harrow in 2017. Here comes another contender.” —The Washington Post
“A taut and compassionate thriller . . . [and a] reflection on personal choice and consequence . . . A poignant and lyrical novel that asks what is worth sacrificing for peace.” —Kirkus (starred review)
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