The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose -- This is the book I should have read before reading The Perfect Divorce a few weeks ago. Because I read them out of order, I knew most of what happened, but it was good to read how they got there. Sarah's husband was cheating on her, and when his mistress is found dead, he is charged with her murder. Sarah is the best defense attorney around, but will she (or should she) defend her cheating spouse?
Tilt by Emma Pattee -- Annie is in IKEA looking at cribs for her first baby when an earthquake changes her plans. Without a phone or transportation, she decides to walk to look for her husband. Along the way, she tells Bean (her unborn child) some of her story.
The Death of Us by Abigail Dean -- This book alternates between Edward and Isabel's perspectives. Years ago, they were happily married when an intruder did unthinkable things. Years later he was caught and the couple (now divorced) are part of a group confronting him by telling him what he took from them. I enjoyed the dry humor though this book's subject was hard.
Ruth Run by Elizabeth Kaufman -- Ruth is a hacker who has been found out. Mike is the guy she's trying to elude. This book is told from both of their perspectives, and was a fast, somewhat-interesting read.
The Expat Affair by Kimberly Belle -- I enjoy her books because, although she's American by birth, she lives in Amsterdam, and I learn some cool stuff about the Dutch in her books. Noraly of Itchy Boots fame is also Dutch so I often think of her. In this book two American women meet. Willow is married to a Dutch gemologist, and Rayna is a travel journalist trying to find her way in a new country. When Rayna ends up with a guy who is murdered, Willow tries to figure out what happened to Xander. Is Rayna involved in his murder or is she innocent?
Picking Cotton: A Memoir of Injustice and Redemption by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, Ronald Cotton, and Erin Torneo -- In the mid-1980s an Elon College student was raped in her apartment at knifepoint. The composite the police drew put suspicion on Ronald Cotton who went to the police station to clear himself. Instead he was arrested and Jennifer picked him out of photos and a lineup. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Ronald declared his innocence throughout all of this, admitting he wasn't perfect, but had not raped anyone! This all took place in the county I've lived in since I was five or six, and I remember reading Ronald Cotton's name over the years.
"As of this book's writing (it was published in 2009), 223 people in the United States have had their convictions overturned by DNA evidence: Ronald Cotton was number 23. Over 75 percent of these cases involved mistaken eyewitness testimony, making it the leading cause of wrongful conviction." (pg. 283)
The reason I read this memoir now is because my friend Marc saw it in Goodwill, and asked if I'd read it. He highly recommended it so I got it the next time I was at the library. It was a quick read this weekend (Oct. 10,11), and I "liked" that I recognized so many names and places since the events took place where I live.
Welcome to the Honey B&B by Melody Carlson -- Jewel and her daughter Cooper decide to move to the farm where Jewel grew up in order to help Jewel's mom take care of her dad who has FTD (not a florist). Cooper doesn't want to leave her friends and the city life, but she's dragged along because she's only thirteen. This was an easy read and lighter and wholesome as this author's books tend to be.
If You Believe by Kristin Hannah -- My library must have gotten some new old books because this one was on the New Books page online, but then I see it's from 1994. Anyway, it was more of an old fashioned romance book. Mad Dog is a drifter who fights and then hunkers down at a job for a while before drifting off again. When he sees an offer from Erasmus "Rass" about helping at his farm, Mad Dog meets Rass and his spinster daughter, Mariah. Also, there is Jake the teen who has been following Mad Dog from place to place.
A Stranger in the Family by Jane Casey -- Well, I kept at it and have caught up in this series. The library has the newest book On Order, and I have none left to read before then. In this book Maeve and Josh and the team investigate the murder of a couple whose daughter disappeared 15 years earlier when she was only 9.
With A Vengeance by Riley Sager -- Anna and Seamus have a plan to get together the six people they blame for killing their family members. It involves Anna buying out all the train's tickets and... well, it's one of those thrillers where everyone is at a secluded cabin during a big storm, only it's a train...choo choo!
All This Could Be Yours by Hank Phillippi Ryan -- Tessa is on a book tour for her bestselling novel. Everything is going great, until she starts having too many personal questions about her childhood. And then there are indications that folks have gotten into her room and her luggage is missing. Pretty good story.
A Sea View Christmas by Julie Klassen -- The final book in the Devonshire Shores series. This book features Sarah and Georgie as they prepare their home for a festive Christmas season. Callum Henshall and his stepdaughter Effie join the family having traveled from Scotland. I often wish I recalled details from previous books better, but I remembered enough and there was some background info that helped.
The Wedding People by Alison Espach -- Phoebe is escaping her failed marriage, her failed life and checks into a fancy place where she hopes to enjoy one last good meal and then end her life. She doesn't count on the place being fully booked by Lila and Gary's wedding party. When Lila finds out about Phoebe's plans, she insists Phoebe not spoil her wedding week by offing herself. What results is a friendship where Lila and Phoebe confide in each other - strangers who end up friends, of sorts.
Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson -- When Jet is attacked in her house, her childhood best friend Billy is the one who found her. She's relieved to wake up in the hospital because, hey, she thought she was dead. But then she is met with the bad news of how serious her condition is. She has about a week left to live and wants to solve her own murder. Yes, really. Pretty cute book.
The Love Haters by Katherine Center -- Katie is sent to Key West to create a promo video for the Coast Guard's rescue swimmers. There she is supposed to trail Hutch - her colleague's brother. Cole didn't want to go to Florida to highlight his perfect brother so he talked Katie into doing it in order to save her job. Her books are pretty cute Rom-Coms if you like those!
The Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead -- While grieving the unexpected loss of her father, Jane finds herself drawn into true crime threads online - and getting involved in solving murders. She finds herself with a knack for it, and joins an exclusive club, of sorts. Enjoyable story!
In real life the author is also grieving the sudden loss of her father, and I wanted to note this from her.
"Jane may not be able to hug or speak to her father, but nothing, not even death, can diminish the love they shared. Death transfigures a relationship; it does not end it." (pg. 453)
The Ascent by Allison Buccola -- Ophelia, now often known as Lee, grapples with her past - she was the only "survivor" when a cult she lived with disappeared twenty years ago when she was twelve - and she deals with being a wife and mother to a baby who refuses to sleep for more than a couple of hours at a time. Pretty good story!
This Promised Land by Cathy Gohlke -- Ginny Dee is weeks away from leaving for an adventure in England when she gets a letter about her brother's death and her need to return to Virginia in order to straighten out some affairs. Thinking she can wrap all this up before her trip, she heads to the Christmas tree farm where she grew up. A sweet, cute story. I like the reminder of the prodigal son story, too.
