The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson -- A pretty long book (over 400 pages), but pretty easy to read. Constance is the companion to an older lady, and makes friends with Poppy, the daughter of a baronet, who rides a motorcycle. Harris is Poppy's brother who lost his leg during the war. Anyway, a pretty good story to start the year.
The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James -- A receptionist by day, Shea is a true-crimes blogger at night, and in this story she meets the lady acquitted as "the Lady Killer" back in the late 1970s. The alternative story here is from Beth's point of view. Pretty good.
The Secret War of Julia Child by Diana R. Chambers -- I have several books on hold, but none of them was available so when I saw this on the New Books shelf, I decided to check it out. The author admits up front that this is a work of fiction based on ten years of research from which she "extracted various hints, allusions, and suggestions that fed my personal interpretation of Julia's little known, but formative OSS service in World War II Asia."
All By Myself, Alone by Mary Higgins Clark -- I like these books sometimes because they are super-fast reads. This one takes place on a cruise ship where not everyone makes it across the ocean unchanged. There are guest lecturers like Celia the gemologist, and the guy who lectures on Shakespeare. Then there are the quirky guests such as Lady Em and her assistant Brenda among others.
The Thirteenth Husband by Greer MacAllister -- Some of the story of Aimée Crocker, the lady with many surnames due to her many marriages. Interesting person if you like nontraditional types.
All Dressed in White by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke -- This continues the Under Suspicion series. Laurie and her team try to figure out what happened to Amanda who was dubbed "the Runaway Bride" five years ago when she never showed up for her wedding. She's never been seen since,either.
The HItchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel -- Imagine getting together with your college friends several years after you all have gone your separate ways. Things might have been fun in college, but they did not end well. Alfred now owns the creepy house at the top of the hill, and has made it into an inn based on Alfred Hitchcock's films. Zoe, Julius, Grace, TJ, and Samira reluctantly agree to the weekend reunion.. so exciting!
Inside the O'Briens by Lisa Genova -- Imagine being one of Boston's finest - a patrol cop for many years, when your wife wants you to go to the doctor because of odd behavior. She believes you when you say you haven't been drinking or taking drugs. Unfortunately tests confirm a neurological disorder - Huntington's Disease - that is debilitating and fatal. This is such an interesting and, yes, even entertaining read as Joe deals with his diagnosis in his early forties, and even his adult children decide whether or not to get tested for the gene mutation. There's a fifty fifty chance they will inherit this awful disease, too.
The Wright Sister by Patty Dann -- An imagined pile of diary entries and letters from Katharine Wright to her brother Orville after she married for the first time at fifty-two. Orville was so bothered by this, he refused to speak to his sister. Thankfully I read a much fuller novel about this family last year so this wasn't a shock to me.
I Need You To Read This by Jessa Maxwell -- After the lady who ran the "Dear Constance" advice column is murdered, Alex sends in her application to fill the position. Francis Keen's advice was always meaningful to Alex, and she is shocked when the editor calls her, asking her to fill the position. Pretty good story.
The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis -- Charlotte is a curator at the Met in New York City after years of studying about ancient Egypt. She took a trip there nearly forty years ago, but has mostly refused to return due to a terrible curse. Annie is a young adult looking for her way in life. An interesting story about archaeology and antiquities.
Every Breath You Take by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke -- I'm trying to finish the Under Suspicion series and this was next in line. Laurie and her team investigate the death of a society lady who fell off the roof at the Met during a gala. The prime suspect was her boyfriend who was a couple of decades younger, but he was never convicted.
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James -- The book begins in 1982 when Viv is in Fell, New York, working the night shift at the Sun Down Motel. She's read about another young lady who has been killed and then she - Viv - disappears. Then it's 2017 and Carly arrives in the same town and begins a search for her aunt Viv, someone she never knew, but someone her mom grieved until her death from cancer. Pretty good story especially if you don't mind a few ghosts in the mix.
The Sunshine Girls by Molly Fader -- Clara and Abbie are shocked when a celebrity comes to their mom's funeral. How did BettyAnn Beecher know this famous woman? Thus begins the story of how Kitty, BettyAnn, and Jenny met at a nursing college in Iowa during the Vietnam era. Jenny's goal is to go to Vietnam to serve whereas Kitty's dream is to travel to Hollywood to be a seamstress. Pretty good story about these friends over the decades.
The Great Hippopotamus Hotel by Alexander McCall Smith -- The latest in the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series featuring Precious Ramotswe and Grace Makutsi (she of the 97% on her final examination at the secretarial school), the lovely detectives in Botswana. In this book they are asked to investigate strange happenings at the Great Hippopotamus Hotel among other things.
You Don't Own Me by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke -- I think I've read all the Under Suspicion books finally. This one has Laurie and her team investigating the murder of a famous doctor. His wife was suspected of his murder, but it wasn't proven.
The Adults by Caroline Hulse -- Matt waited for several weeks before asking Alex about going with him on a trip around Christmas. He wants his ex wife and her partner to join them for the sake of Scarlett, his seven year old daughter. He and Claire (the ex) get along well, and he wants to see his daughter open her presents at Christmas. Did I mention this trip is not just a weekend, but a five-day event? What could possibly go wrong?
More or Less Maddy by Lisa Genova -- This author is a neuroscientist and her novels focus on people with brain conditions such as Huntington's Disease, ALS, autism and so forth. I only discovered her books recently and read the story about HD earlier this month. In this book, she talks about Maddy who discovers she has bipolar disorder. I am going to look for more of her books as they are helpful to me in learning more about people who have neurological conditions that we often don't understand and fear.
The Close Up by Pip Drysdale -- Zoe is a British woman living in Los Angeles struggling with writer's block as she is due to write another book. While working her day job as a florist, she is reunited with Zach who she met a few years ago when her boyfriend Will broke up with her. Since then Zach has become a star, and Zoe is pleasantly surprised when he seems to want to rekindle their relationship.
Bad Habits by Amy Gentry -- Claire and Gwen reconnect at a conference where Claire (formerly known as Mac short for MacKenzie) is one of the speakers. This book alternates between their late-night chat and back to their younger years especially when the two of them were part of The Program. Gwen was mentored by Rocky whereas Rocky's wife, the powerful Bethany Ladd took Mac under her wing. Lots of unethical conduct here, and this book was just "meh" to me. At least it was a quick read.
Cross My Heart by Megan Collins -- The story starts with Rosie and Morgan exchanging anonymous messages through a donor connection site. Rosie was the recipient of Morgan's wife's heart when his wife, Daphne, died unexpectedly at a young age. Rosie nearly immediately realizes that this husband she's writing is a local author and she follows him on Instagram imagining them meeting in real life and who knows? falling in love! Pretty good.
What the Wife Knew by Darby Kane -- Addison's husband, a well-known doctor, died from a fall. Or maybe he was pushed? Either way, she's under suspicion. She's glad he's dead. She married him as part of a scheme, but she didn't kill him. Who did?
The Perfect Son by Freida McFadden -- Erika knows her son is special. He's handsome, smart, polite, and has a dark side. When a local girl goes missing, Erika prays that Liam is not involved,
The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak -- Frank is so happy to hear from his daughter after their three-year estrangement, and is shocked when she invites him to her upcoming wedding. Frank along with his older sister and a foster daughter make the trek to New Hampshire to meet this family, and some weird stuff happens that makes him question his daughter and her future inlaws.
