The Governess of Penwythe Hall
by Sarah E. Ladd -- first in The Cornwall Novels; a decent book,
nothing special. After her husband dies, Delia Greythorne becomes a
governess. When her employer dies unexpectedly after a riding accident,
she is asked to take care of the children. This necessitates a trip back
to where she came from, not a great place if she wants to stay out of
the eye of her inlaws.
Where They Found Her
by Kimberly McCreight -- good story if not a disappointing ending; not
because the author was bad, but I was just sad at someone in the story
not living his best life. Molly usually covers the arts for her local
paper, but when a coworker is sick and another is out of town, she's
asked to cover a story about a body found at the edge of a local
college. This book really kept my attention.
Only Ever Her
by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen -- Annie is missing and it's only a few days
before her wedding! This story is told in the voices of many -- Annie's
aunt Faye, cousin Clary, the reporter Laurel, and a high school friend
Kenny. Pretty good book.
Mistress of the Ritz
by Melanie Benjamin -- inspired by a true story, the author fleshes out
the possibilities behind Claude and Blanche Auzello's life in Paris
during the Nazi occupation. A pretty interesting book! And I found this write-up with pictures about some of the history of the Ritz that was good. Here is something else I found, though it has spoilers.
Courting Trouble
by Lisa Scottoline -- Anne Murphy is a new-ish associate who travels to
the Jersey Shore for a work weekend, and buys a newspaper seeing her
name and picture under the headline about a murdered lawyer! That's a
shock! Bennie, Judy, and Mary are featured prominently in this book
dealing with Rosato & Associates.
Careful What You Wish For
by Hallie Ephron -- this was on the New Books list online and I decided
to give this author a try; Emily and her friend Becca started a
decluttering service after a video of Emily organizing her sock drawer
went viral. The two are called to a potential client's house when a
widowed lady is ready to get rid of her husband's collection. She didn't
know about a storage building he rented until a bill arrived in the
mail. Emily heads over to see what is there, and finds some books and
maps as well as library cards. Were these items stolen from libraries? A
quick Google check reveals a map like this could be worth thousands of
dollars! Well, the book got more suspenseful when Quinn calls for some
help with her own stuff...and then there's that body that was found in
the storage building.
The Miracle of Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith -- more adventures with Mma Ramotswe and her lovable family and coworkers.
The Golden Hour
by Beatriz Williams -- a decent book about English and American
characters during World War II, set in the Bahamas - and also London,
Florida, and Switzerland; it was all over the place, but a fairly
interesting story.
Dead Ringer
by Lisa Scottoline -- This book has Bennie Rosato on the lookout for
her evil twin sister, Alice, who has been going around posing as Bennie
and buying things with her ID. Also, the firm is looking to take on a
class-action lawsuit - their first! Pretty good with the same great
group of characters!
Spying on the South: An Odyssey Across the American Divide by Tony Horwitz -- Not long after I heard the author interviewed on NPR (the show 1A
; see some pictures at the link), I was stunned to read the news that
he died suddenly in Washington, D.C. while in the midst of a book tour!
He was a few days shy of 61 when he died.
I've read two or three of his other books, and although we are quite
different (he being secular, Jewish, liberal, New Englander (kind of),
man, and me...not so much those things), I always enjoyed his books. He
mixed history with current events with humor with commentary that wasn't
always humorous, but often thought-provoking. I really appreciated the
way he listened to people and told their stories and tried to understand
where people were coming from, and show that two "opposite" sides could
get along even if they disagree.
So, I
ordered this book from the library, and only recently picked it up. I
read it knowing that this was Tony's last book, the story he chased
during his final years. He mentioned the whole journey taking just over
2 years although part of that time he was home with his family in New
England (you'll have to read the book to see why he went home for a few
months.)
Tony was following the path of
Frederick Law Olmsted - one of Olmsted's southern journeys that took him
along the Ohio River, a little in West Virginia, Kentucky, Mississippi,
Louisiana, and a long time in Texas. I was amused several times as
Tony tried to be true to Olmsted's modes of travel and ended up on a
towboat (towing a huge barge of coal along the Ohio River: chapter 3)),
riding the American Queen down the Mississippi, and later riding a
mule named Hatcher while in Texas. (That chapter (19) was quite funny
though also painful to read.)
Tony did
anything from visiting the creation museum in Kentucky, to spending a
few days at a café that doubled as GOP headquarters in Crockett, Texas,
to muddin' in Louisiana. Part of the trip he had an Australian buddy,
Andrew, join him, and it was funny reading Andrew's commentary on his
experience.
In Kentucky, he learned about
Cassius Clay - not Muhammad Ali or his father - but the guy they were
probably named for. I smiled when I read that people visited Clay's
home, saw his picture, and said, "you mean he's white?" Clearly they
thought they were visiting Muhammad Ali's home. (Chapter 4)
In
the latter part of the book, I enjoyed learning about the Kickapoo
Indian Tribe (pg. 373), and chapter 20 dealt with life along the
US/Mexico border which I found interesting. He even talked to Mexicans
about Trump's border wall (pg. 382). (He was finishing the book just as
Trump won the 2016 election.)
I read parts of
it to Andrew as we traveled to the mountains a few days ago (9/15), and
we discussed some attitudes of people who can't be reasoned with, can't
admit they might be wrong, can't be told the facts because they have
their own facts and they are always right! This discussion from
the group in one part of Texas whom Tony met with a few times. Those who
insisted a Muslim compound was being built just over the county line
(chapter 14.)
Good book! I enjoyed traveling
with and learning from Tony's adventure. I'm just sad that he is no
longer alive to write any more. I think I'll look up some of his other
books and read the ones I haven't read yet. I think my local library
system has one about John Brown that I've not yet read...
The Chocolate Maker's Wife
by Karen Brooks -- Rosamund Tompkins is a dirty, smelly innkeeper's
stepdaughter, and while she's a lovely person underneath all that dirt,
she's found running from her evil stepbrothers, Fear God and Glory,
straight into the path of a Sir from London. Sir Everard Blithman,
noticing her resemblance to his dear daughter who died, offers to buy
her, but Rosamund's mom (who is not a very good mom) says no way. He
must marry her and hand over lots of money for that opportunity. This
is how Rosamund comes to live in London as the chocolate maker's wife.
But, whew boy, what an adventure. This book was pretty good; it was long
and not one I adored, but it had enough interesting twists to keep me
reading.
Never Tell A Lie
by Hallie Ephron -- another suspenseful book; Ivy and David are
expecting their first child to be born in a few weeks, and want to get
rid of the stuff a former owner left in their attic. A strange woman
attends their yard sale - actually she's not strange in that they knew
her from high school, but she seems to know things about them that Ivy
hadn't expected her to know. But then this Melinda White is reported
missing and no one recalls her leaving Ivy and David's house that day
and they are suspected in her disappearance! Pretty good story; kept my
attention!
The Spice King
by Elizabeth Camden -- first in the Hope and Glory series; Annabelle
Larkin and her sister Elaine leave their home in Kansas for new
opportunities in Washington, D.C. As part of her job with the
Smithsonian Institute - a trial period of only about 6 months -
Annabelle meets Gray Delacroix, a man who has sailed around the world
finding out about spices and plants. This book is also about the fight
for properly labeling food and features Good Housekeeping and
their test kitchens. Do you know the two most expensive spices? I asked
this on Facebook today (9/23) and a few people guessed correctly - or
knew!
The Woman in Our House
by Andrew Hart -- good book and somewhat suspenseful; Anna decides
being a SAHM is not as fulfilling anymore, and wants to return to work
for a few hours a day so she and her husband look into hiring a live-in
nanny. They are rich. Oaklynn Durst comes highly-recommended from a
nanny agency in Utah, and within days of her arrival, the family enjoys
the helpfulness she brings. But then a few weird things happen which
cause Anna to lose some goodwill and become suspicious of Oaklynn, which
is not what you want when your little girls are in the care of someone!
The Letters
by Suzanne Wood Fisher -- I've read several of her Amish books in the
past, but somehow skipped this series (The Inn at Eagle Hill) so I
decided to finally get the first one. Rose is widowed, a single mom of
several, and living with her mother in law. Bills are plentiful so she
looks for a way to make money. Why not turn her mother in law's basement
into a place for guests?
The Last Time I Saw You
by Liv Constantine -- a fairly interesting suspenseful book from a
couple of sisters I've never read before; Dr. Kate English is living the
good life until her mother is murdered and suddenly she is getting
threatening text messages and disturbing things left around her house.
Who can she trust? Is her husband (whom she suspects is having an affair
with a coworker) to blame? Thankfully BFF, actually former BFF, Blaire
came back to town for her mom's funeral, and the two have picked up
where they left off (minus that whole wedding-day fiasco where Blaire
was uninvited due to her criticism of the groom), and Blaire is ready to
help solve this murder/threat mystery!
Until the Harvest
by Sarah Loudin Thomas -- eh, this was only ok; I mean it was sweet, I
guess, but nothing exciting. Margaret and her little sister Mayfair live
together in a little cottage and Margaret helps out on her elderly
neighbor's farm.
A Single Thread
by Tracy Chevalier -- Violet is eager to leave her mom's controlling
ways so she gets a job 12 miles away working as a typist. She still
travels home every Sunday to take her mom to church, but Violet creates a
new life for herself in her new village by joining with the embroidery
class at the cathedral, and later learning about ringing of the bells by
her enchanting friend, Arthur. A decent book; I usually like this
author.
Killer Smile
by Lisa Scottoline -- another Rosato & Associates book featuring
Mary as she works on behalf of the Estate of Amadeo Brandolini who was
interned by the US government during World War II. His crime? Being
Italian. Pretty interesting story!
The Third Victim
by Lisa Gardner -- an older book that the library just got; this is a
book about Officer Rainie Conner of the Bakersville, Oregon, police
department when a school shooting occurs. Uggggh! FBI agent Pierce
Quincy comes to lend his expertise. Pretty good story. I've read other
books featuring Rainie and Quincy, but this is the book where they
actually meet. Not sure why my library finally decided to get this one
since it's...oh, nearly 20 years old, but it's fine.
Walking the Appalachian Trail by
Larry Luxenberg -- We bought this book at the Clingman's Dome gift shop
because I like supporting the parks by buying things that are
useful...and books are more useful to me than a stuffed bear (though I
think they are cute). Instead of being one person's recollection of the
trail, this book had historical characters of people important to the
trail plus profiles of interesting characters who have hiked the trail.
One lady hiked the trail while pregnant and named her daughter Georgia
Maine - ha! Although there are many ways to hike the trail, the
traditional thru-hiker is north bound from Georgia to Maine if they
complete the whole thing. A boy would have the A.T. initials (Anthony
Thomas).
