September Books

 

The Dutch Wife by Ellen Keith -- When Theo and Marijke are arrested by Nazis for their work in the Dutch resistance and sent to work camps as political prisoners, Marijke vows to do whatever is necessary in order to survive and be reunited with her beloved husband. Karl is an official at the camp where Marijke is imprisoned.

The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow -- At just over 450 pages, I wasn't sure I would continue this book if it didn't grab my attention in the first 100 pages, but it did and I really enjoyed this story of Mary Bennet!  The first bit dealt with Mary living at home with her nuclear family, and later as she lived with various relatives. Cute story!

Behind Every Lie by Christina McDonald -- Eva Hansen wakes up from being struck by lightning and discovers her mother has been murdered. Her fingerprints are at the house and the police suspect she is involved. Unfortunately, Eva's memory from that night is gone. While looking at her mother's house, she discovers a note about her birth and Eva heads from Seattle to London, looking for clues. A pretty good book.

Outsider by Linda Castillo -- the second Kate Burholder mystery that I've read recently; this time Gina, one of Kate's friends from when she first left her Amish community, comes back into Kate's life after Gina is on the run from dirty police officers. Pretty good story.

The Wife Who Knew Too Much by Michele Campbell -- oh good, I found another suspense author, and I liked this book. It alternates between the voices of Tabitha, a struggling waitress in rural New Hampshire, and Nina, an ultra-rich, famous woman fearful that her much-younger husband is plotting to murder her for her fortune.

If I Were You by Lynn Austin -- Eve and Audrey were good friends growing up even though Eve was a servant girl in Audrey's house. They grew apart for a while, but the war brought them together again. This book delves into some of that and a bit of the story in the US where both women end up after the war. Good book!

The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins -- I wasn't sure about this book at first thinking it would just be a little filler book between other good books, but it was rather charming on its own. Sarah Dove is the youngest of the seven Dove sisters from a small mountain town in North Carolina. Dove Pond, NC, has seen businesses shuttered and folks leaving for bigger areas like Charlotte and Asheville. Sarah is the town librarian and like the other Dove family members she's a little quirky. Grace is a former foster child who brings her troubled niece and her beloved foster mom, Mama G., to Dove Pond after a couple of unfortunate events. Pretty cute story.

The Wife Stalker by Liv Constantine -- This book alternates between the voices of Piper who has assumed a new identity and started a new business in Connecticut after fleeing her past, and Joanna who is determined to cheer Leo and make him love her and the kids, Evie and Stelli.  A pretty good story!

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier --  After 14 years of hiding her best friend's murder Geo is sent to prison for five years. Meanwhile the guy involved in the murder is sent to prison for life. After Geo's time in prison is over, she's disturbed to learn of new murders in the area, similar in many ways to the ones committed years ago. Pretty good story.

The Chilbury Ladies' Choir by Jennifer Ryan -- My mom read this recently and recommended it. It was a collection of journal and diary entries, letters to friends or relatives, a somewhat different way to write a book perhaps, but it was a very enjoyable story of a small village in England during World War II.

One By One by Ruth Ware -- The book alternates between the voices of Erin, who works in a French chalet. She is hosting a tech group for a few days; folks from an app name Snoop. The other voice is Liz, a former worker at Snoop and a minority shareholder reluctant to be among her super-hip, former co-workers. A suspenseful book and pretty good, too!

The Gilded Lady by Elizabeth Camden -- Book 2 in the Hope and Glory series; this one focused on another of the Delacroix siblings, Caroline, who works as the secretary for First Lady Ida McKinley. This was a fun way to learn more about this First Lady from Ohio and also about the secret service's role in protecting presidents. Pretty good story.

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson -- a great story about Cussy Mary or Bluet who works for the Pack Horse Library Project in Kentucky. She traveled her route through the mountains to take library materials to her patrons. These women (mostly) were fascinating. Also, Cussy Mary is a Blue which is why some called her Bluet. But many on her route dubbed her "the Book Woman."

Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson -- a pretty good tale about a bookstore owner, Malcolm, who is contacted by an FBI agent, Gwen, who is looking for someone murdering people according to an old blog post Malcolm wrote about the perfect murders. An easy, entertaining read if you like this sort of thing.

An Ivy Hill Christmas by Julie Klassen -- Richard Brockwell reluctantly leaves his home in London to return to Ivy Hill where his mom has matchmaking on her mind. Many favorites from past Ivy Hill books make their appearance in this novella. Kind of weird to read a Christmas book in late September, but Christmas IS just three months from today as I type.

Children of the Colossus: The Rhodian Greek Immigrants to the United States by James W. Kiriazis -- Usually this book wouldn't hold my interest as I can't imagine why I'd want to read about Rhodian Greeks in two US cities - Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, and Warren, Ohio. However, since I'd made a connection to the Kiriazis family through my DNA, I have been wanting to read this textbook about James Kiriais's community. Why? Because I'm probably his biological granddaughter, and I figured why not read his book to learn more about this culture that makes up my DNA? I'd given up on buying this book online as it's out of print, and no one seems to have it for sale. Thankfully after talking to a DNA Match in Australia (Kos), I was motivated to reach out to my friend Myrna who works at BYU's library, and she was helpful in suggesting that I check with my library in case they were part of the interlibrary loan program. They were! And the lady from my local library was able to put out a request. Duke University immediately said "no," and Martha told me I might not be able to get it since it's a reference book and some libraries are still closed due to the coronavirus. Over a week went by before she wrote back. I was expecting an update, but didn't expect an email that it was HERE in Alamance County, on loan for four weeks from the University of Georgia! I picked it up Friday, September 25, so I could start reading it over the weekend, and I finished up today (Monday, September 28.)  I took notes on the 8 chapters which I sent to my Rhodian friend/relative and he is discussing them with me by email. Note to self:  The notes are saved in my Gmail folder under Kos's name in case I want to reread them later.

The Clergyman's Wife by Molly Greeley -- This is dubbed "A Pride & Prejudice Novel," and it indeed includes the Bennets, Mr. Bennet's heir, and Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Charlotte is eager to escape the life of a spinster so she's happy to make the acquaintance of Mr. Collins whom her friend Elizabeth Bennet rejected as a marriage partner. A marriage with him means Charlotte is set as the future mistress of Longbourn. This book takes place before that time when Charlotte, Mr. Collins, and their daughter Louisa live in Kent where her husband is the clergyman. Charlotte visits the tenants and has special friendships with a few. This book was pretty good although it left me feeling some sadness especially where Mr. Travis is concerned.