I’ll always take a quiet week. We had about an inch and a half of snow on Saturday, but this time it didn’t keep me home. The snow is melting, too, so roads are fine. That’s always my biggest worry.
Don’t forget that Mark Baker is our guest tomorrow for his Favorite Books Read in 2025. He always manages to come up with some surprises. Thank you, Mark!
I mentioned last month that I’m always interested in the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Award winners. It isn’t often I get to read a debut that has already won awards. Jennifer K. Breedlove brings coastal Maine to life in Murder Will Out, a lighter, modern gothic mystery that’s as atmospheric as it is heart-warming. I’m liking it so far, with a sympathetic heroine. Willow Stone is an organist who lacks social skills. She’s clumsy and often spills coffee on herself. When she heads to Little North Island of the coast of Maine, she’s shocked to learn why her parents yanked her away when she was thirteen.
Little North Island, off the coast of Maine, is so beautiful it could be a postcard. Organist Willow Stone cherishes her memories of childhood summers spent on the island with her godmother Sue… even though her visits ended abruptly, and she hasn’t seen or heard from her godmother in over fifteen years. Until a letter from Sue―and word of Sue’s death―brings Willow back to the picturesque island.
The islanders rarely mention Sue without also bringing up Cameron House, and the controversy around Sue’s unexpected inheritance of the sprawling mansion. When Willow overhears someone threatening the next heir to the property, she starts to question whether Sue’s death was really an accident, and can’t help but wonder whether someone on this sleepy island is willing to stop at nothing―even murder―to claim Cameron House for their own.
Stop by again tomorrow to read Mark’s post. In the meantime, what have you been doing this week? And, what are you reading?
I’m happy to know you’re liking Murder Will Out so far Lesa. I have it on pre-order so I’m looking forward to it even more now.
The big ‘excitement’ over here this week was that I bought one of those new-fangled combination vacuum/mop appliances, which are said to revolutionize your life. It vacuums your floor at the same time as it wet mops. I used it for the first time this week and I have to say the actual mopping of the floor is way easier; no effort required. It’s just like using a vacuum, and the floors dry almost immediately and they’re perfectly clean. The only downside is that it’s a bit fiddly taking several bits off the machine afterwards – clean water holder, dirty water container, roller, etc – and emptying and cleaning and drying them. I’ll have to use it a few more times to decide if the pros outweigh the cons, but it was an interesting experience using it.
Books this week:
UNCHARMED by Lucy Jane Wood
From the blurb on the cover (which does a good job of summarizing the plot):
‘Andromeda ‘Annie’ Wildwood is the perfect witch. She is sugar, spice, and everything nice, each element of her life finely curated and polished to irresistibility by her nightly hex-laced potion routine. She loves to please and keep everyone around her happy.
When Annie’s coven tasks her with guiding an orphan teenage witch through the process of getting her blossoming magical powers under control, Annie is excited to prove herself. But the ramshackle cottage they’ll be housed in isn’t quite the staycation of Annie’s dreams – and she and Maeve, the headstrong teen, couldn’t be more different.
Just when they’re starting to understand each other, the owner of the cottage unexpectedly returns – and this quietly gruff and handsome warlock is not happy to find that the coven volunteered his house to a high-maintenance witch and her angsty teen companion.
As this seemingly unlikely trio develops a loyalty and fondness for one another, Annie slowly learns that her people pleasing may have led her down an impossible lonely path. If everything about her is so right, why does it all feel so wrong?’
This is another cozy fantasy novel by the author of ‘Rewitched’, which was a book I loved. It took me about 60 pages to fully commit to ‘Uncharmed’ because those pages were so very sweet, and there was an awful lot of repetition about Annie’s obsessive need to please everyone all the time, and how important it was for her to be perfect and never let anyone down. But then the young witch Maeve enters the story and things pick up tremendously. The relationship that develops between Annie, and the orphaned Maeve, and the warlock who owns the cottage is quite heartwarming. And reading about good triumphing over evil is always fun, and in this case actually quite suspenseful. And sometimes imperfection can be absolutely perfect. I enjoyed the book and will definitely read the third book which comes out in September.
THE DESSERT CORPSE by Tracey Quinn
This is a book SandyG mentioned last week; it sounded like it would be fun and it did entertain me, which was perfect for right now.
Dani has just come back to her small hometown after military duty and has bought The Breezy Spoon Diner and is looking forward to good food, friendly people, and a normal, peaceful life. With her new menu in place at the diner, it’s become a very successful and popular place in town. And when a fireman named Mark, new to town, asks if she’d be interested in renting the downstairs suite of the house he’s just bought, well, things are definitely looking even better.
But then a dead body is discovered in the dumpster behind her diner, but by the time the police get there it’s gone. Soon there are hints that some of the town’s residents are up to some shady doings. It all comes to a head when cantankerous customer Rafe causes a scene at the diner and implies that he knows multiple secrets that people might not appreciate being brought into the light.
There are deaths and bodies and a whole lot of mayhem in this very cozy mystery.
A bit surprisingly, this book was much better than I’d been expecting, considering it’s pretty much held together by dialogue alone. There’s more than one mystery going on, I didn’t guess ‘who did it’, there are lots of wacky characters, and the dialogue is very funny. I liked it.
I don’t know if any of you are familiar with the children’s picture books THE LITTEL GHOST WHO WAS A QUILT and it’s sequel THE LITTLE GHOST QUILT’S WINTER SURPRISE by Riel Nason and illustrated by Byron Eggenschwiler, but they’re both so cute!
This little ghost can’t keep up with his friends; being made of heavy quilting fabrics he flys quite slowly and can’t twirl in the breeze like they can and the other ghosts make fun of him. In the first book he ends up having a frightening Halloween adventure and his friends are impressed with his bravery and want to hear all about it.
In the second book which takes place in the winter, the little ghost comes into his own a bit. Because of the heavier fabric he’s made of, he doesn’t get cold like the other ghosts do. While they spend time indoors to keep warm, he goes out and ends up floating to the neighbourhood where he had his last adventure and ends up thinking up a way to bring some Christmas cheer back to his friends.
The stories are both lovely, and the illustrations are so beautiful. They’re done in sort of a sepia tone, but the little quilt ghost is always shown as the spot of colour throughout the pages. As are little children and Christmas decorations. I’m a huge fan of both these books.
Lindy, I love Thursdays! How do some of you make even a new appliance sound interesting? It’s a good way to start the day. Thank you.
I enjoyed reading about all your books this week. And, I’ve read the first of those ghost stories. It seems to me it was on one of our family trips in a bookstore somewhere. It was cute!
I need to pay more attention to the Minotaur first novel winners because those I’ve read have been great. If I remember correctly, that’s how Donna Andrews got her start.
It cooled down a couple of days ago. It’s only in the low 60’s now. Maybe even the 50’s. I’ve honestly not been out of the condo much since I’ve been fighting a mild cold, so I worked from home the last couple of days. I am planning to go into the office tomorrow. It’s mild enough I don’t think I’m contagious. At least, I hope not.
Oh, and we got some rain Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Mostly while we were all sleeping.
I’m watching tons of Olympics. And there’s so much more I wish I could be watching, but there just isn’t time to watch it all.
And yes, I’m reading as well. I finished up THE UNKEPT WOMAN by Allison Montclair Wednesday night. It’s the fourth in a series about two women who have started a matchmaking service in London in 1946. And yes, they find themselves involved in all kinds of murder and mayhem. Their personal lives also play a big part in the books. I couldn’t read this one fast enough.
Up next will be EUROPA, the hot off the presses (released Tuesday, my preorder arrived today) City Spies book by James Ponti. It’s a middle grade series that I just love. Can’t wait to find out what happens next to the team.
I think you’d like this winner, Mark. It’s quite unusual. I haven’t yet fallen for the characters, but they’re different. I love the atmosphere!
I was always happy when people with colds stayed home. I’m glad you can work from home. Take care of yourself.
I have a friend who loves that Montclair series.
Weather here was pretty nice until yesterday. Now we’re getting rain, which we need. Only a few more weeks for the rainy season.
Went to a couple of birthday parties. I look at them as warm ups for Lunar New Year.
This week I read:
The Stiletto Signature by Jon Messman: The series is settling down, as the protagonist is no longer reluctant. A mafioso is causing trouble, but Ben Martin gives him troubles of his own, especially when he discovers the hoodlum is about to get married. I was actually reminded of Golgo 13 and his viewpoints of sex and death.
Mystery of the Wailing Banshee by Darryle Purcell; Curly, Hoot Gibson, and William S. Hart are organizing a wild west show, when they again encounter the supernatural, Nazis, and Aliens. Funny how those three always seem to go together, Maybe Indians Jones had a point.
The Science Fair at the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler; I entered science fairs for several years. Thaler apparently has never even seen one. For the kids’ book club.
The Tequila Killings by Robert W. Stephens; When his hostile mother in law gets a beau, Poe is dragged into murder and conspiracy, and the mother in law refuses to break the relationship. Plus, Poe keeps getting beat up. Maybe he should take karate or something.
Mystery Woman by Mike Faricy; You can tell where it’s going just from the title. An American couple are shot in an isolated house in Ireland. It seems the husband shares the name of a gangster. Marshal Jack Dillon gets the case, because he is an American stationed with the Garda. They investigate, and investigate, and Cherchez Le Femme, not the turtle, either.
I always wonder if WWII and the Nazi’s will continue to be a popular theme in books fifty years from now. It seems to be the central background still to so many books.
I love your comment, Glen, that the birthday parties are warm-ups for the Lunar New Year. I think it’s a much bigger deal in California or the west coast than it is anyplace I’ve ever lived. I’ve never seen an advertisement for a celebration of any sort.
Good luck with the rain!
Thanks for your interesting comments, and Mary’s follow-up comment was interesting.
We were able to switch our tickets from Saturday to Sunday to see Les Liasons Dangereuses which we enjoyed even though it was chilly in the theater which is a converted warehouse. Otherwise we’ve been watching the Olympics.
I read a nonfiction book that was first published in 1942, We Took to the Woods by Louise Dickinson Rich. In her early thirties, Louise and her husband moved to the backwoods of Maine and eked out a living with no electricity or indoor plumbing. She became a writer to help supplement their income.
Hygge and Homicide is a cozy mystery where two friends decide to purchase an old mansion and turn it into an event center. Of course they aren’t expecting to find a dead body during their grand opening. This is the first book in a new series and I liked the characters.
Sandy! I forgot to agree with Lindy, so now is the perfect time. Yes! I’m enjoying the Olympics. I watch during the day since that’s when it’s live, not at night. So, I don’t have to stay up late and watch up until bedtime.
I’m glad you liked both books this week.
Good morning. Temperatures in South Florida are warming back up to about normal levels, and New York topped 40 degrees yesterday, so the worst of this winter’s weather may (fingers crossed) be behind us.
I’ve read a few books set in Maine in recent years and enjoyed them (Paul Doiron, Tess Gerritsen), and this sounds interesting too. Then there were Vermont (Archer Mayor, Paula Munier) and other northern New England books. Jackie finally did finish the Mercy Carr book and she is reading a “pixie” book by Aussie author Keri Arthur, HORN OF WINTER, though this series of hers is set in England.
I’ll be back with my paltry reading after breakfast. Looking forward to Mark’s list.
Yes! You didn’t go to Florida to have northern states’ weather. Enjoy the heat. I enjoy it vicariously.
The New England authors are doing a nice job. Add it the scenery, and the mysteries are so atmospheric, and different from where many of us live.
I read two books this week. Finding Grace by Loretta Rothschild is difficult to summarize without giving anything away. The beginning was shocking. It is a story of IVF and consequences and grief and love. It was very good.
My second book was one Lesa reviewed a few days ago. This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page was definitely a book lovers dream. It was a little on the saccharine side but I enjoyed it very much too.
Warmer days ahead which I am very much looking forward to.
Happy Reading!
I’ll take saccharine anytime, Sharon, over traumatic books. There’s enough of that currently in the U.S. I need escapes. The Olympics or books work just fine for escape.
Don Winslow, The Final Score, called “the best crime fiction I’ve read in twenty years” by Stephen King (which is certainly is not), is subtitled “Six Short Novels.” It is actually 6 novellas or novelettes, supposedly Winslow’s final book. It’s a good one indeed, though I think my favorite stories and King’s (or others) might differ. The title story is about a thief who is going to jail, probably for good, after getting convicted at 60. To “get his affairs in order” means leaving his wife well provided for by doing that one last – supposedly “impossible” – final score.
Currently reading – still – the collected Fredric Brown short stories. While I remember a few, it’s surprising (though I refuse to get upset by it) how few I do remember, though I have probable read several before.
Also reading a very good collection: Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine Presents Fifty Years of Crime and Suspense, with some great mystery writers, including several of my favorite mystery short story writers – Edward D. Hoch, Donald E> Westlake, Doug Allyn, Lawrence Block, Bill Pronzini, Evan Hunter (also as by Ed McBain), plus Loren D. Estleman, Jim Thompson, Martin Limon, etc.
I did finally get three mysteries I want to read, and I’m nearly halfway through the first, Amy Pease’s WILDWOOD. This is her sequel to last year’s excellent debut, NORTHWOODS, which introduced troubled Afghanistan veteran Eli North, who loses his marriage and his job as a game warden (that, due to downsizing), and who is barely keeping afloat thanks to his new job as a Deputy to the northern Wisconsin Sheriff, his mother. When the second book starts, Eli is clearly in much better shape physically and emotionally than in the first book. I won’t talk about the crime yet, but definitely read the first book first. An FBI agent, Alyssa Mason, also returns this time.
Jeff, I have Northwoods on a TBR list. It sounds like one I’d like. I’ll skip Don Winslow’s book, no matter what Stephen King says. I do admire King, though, for all the reading he seems to get to despite his own writing.
Good morning – sunshine today! And warmer temps ahead! My husband and I are going to do a week’s vacation starting Sunday, staying in our own state. Seeing the grandkids and visiting locations and restaurants that we haven’t gotten to in ages. Can’t wait!
I finished “City Lights: A Fog City Noir Mystery” by Claire M. Johnson. The 2nd book in the series, it was excellent! I wrote the author to ask if there might possibly be a 3rd book coming, and she replied right away that the next one will be out in June and she’s starting to write the 4th one! Here’s my synopsis:
Maggie Laurent is still trying to make it on her own as a detective, while pretending that her ex-boss, Nick, is coming back. With the help of Nick’s old network, and new contacts that Maggie is making on her own, she is slowly gaining clients and solving cases. This latest case takes her into the murky world of labor unions and company bosses, who have no compulsion about killing in order to try to break them up. In this case, it’s Herman’s (the cab driver from the first book) love interest who gets killed. The established cab company in San Francisco is under attack by the owner of a rival cab company. He uses his own son to woo Herman’s fiancé away from him in order to get insider dirt on the cab company. Maggie gets involved when the fiancé is pushed into the street and killed by a cab. Maggie is determined to find the killer, in spite of death threats and thugs. Absolutely love this series. Maggie rocks!
Good morning, Mary. The sunshine makes a world of difference, doesn’t it? My sister says winter in northern Ohio is usually gray skies, so this sunshine is wonderful.
Enjoy your local vacation. I’m sure there’s as much to see there as in Ohio, and I could probably travel around here for weeks and not get to everyplace that’s interesting. Plus restaurants! I like that. Safe travels.
I’ll have to add Claire M. Johnson’s first book to my TBR list.
I think I’ll add the first one to my list Mary. And if I like it, I won’t have too many others to read before I’ll be all caught up!
I’ve been spending way too much time watching the Olympics and my reading is getting neglected. I’m not athletic but love to watch other people try to achieve their lifelong dream. I felt so bad for Lindsey Vonn. She posted yesterday that she had a third surgery since Sunday. The hardware she’s wearing on her leg is pretty gnarly.
Thank you for the suggestions for fulfilling my romantic suspense card for my book club. I read Airs Above Ground last year, but I will keep the other two suggestions for next year. I ended up with Definitely Maybe Not a Detective by Sarah Fox. Emersyn Gray gets fired from another job and is panicking, her brother passed away and left her responsible for her eight-year-old niece. Her ex-boyfriend scammed of the money that her brother left her to take care of her niece and she’s living in an apartment complex full of nosy neighbors.
Her best friend, Jemma, suggests Emersyn become a fake private investigator to get her money back. Jemma has business cards made for Wyatt Investigations using Emersyn’s favorite fantasy hunk name for the fantasy company. All Emersyn needs to do is confront Hoffman, tell him she has hired this detective, and frighten him into giving back her money. She ends up meeting a hot guy named Wyatt who needs a job and offers to help Emersyn with her cases. The only problem is she doesn’t have any cases but then a resident of her apartment complex gets murder.
It was a cute read but also frustrating because Emersyn kept putting herself in dangerous situations.
Oh, I’m with you, Bev. I love the stories behind the athletes. I guess I’m just a sucker for a good story, in whatever form. So, my reading is suffering as well.
If the dream isn’t a reality or a triumph, it’s sad to see tragedies such as Lindsey Vonn’s. Or, the Ukrainian athlete who was disqualified for wearing his helmet. I understand, but it’s so sad that he can’t honor his friends that way.
Good morning! The highlight of my week was watching both of my grandchildren play their basketball games. Autumn, age 7, is finally taking her sports more seriously, and she is becoming a basketball star! She made four baskets in this game and is so delighted by every one that she runs down the court with her hands in the air and grinning. Her dad says she has made even more baskets in recent games. Henry, age 9, now plays on a full basketball court–for lower grades they divide the court in half and play on one of the halves. His team was losing for most of the game, but the score got closer near the end. With the clock counting down the last few seconds, Henry threw a long ball and amazingly made a basket. It was a 3-pointer, which tied the game. Talk about exciting! Henry was so red and sweaty at the end and had to go play in a piano recital afterwards–poor guy.
Here’s what I read this week:
In THE HEIR APPARENT, Australian journalist and debut novelist Rebecca Armitage scores with what feels like a fairly authentic, in-depth look at what members of the British Royal Family might experience, especially when they are high in the chain of succession. Lexi Villiers is the granddaughter of the fictional Queen Eleanor, who is in her nineties. Her father is the heir apparent, next in line to be King of England, and Lexi’s twin brother, Louis, is third in line. That makes her third, but Lexi is pretty sure she doesn’t want any part of all of the restrictions and responsibilities that are expected of the royal family. So she gives it all up to move to Tasmania and pursue the life of a physician. She is just beginning to think her relationship to best friend Jack may be more than friendship and finishing her second year as a resident when she learns that her father and brother have been killed in an avalanche while skiing in Switzerland, and she suddenly finds a future as Princess Alexandrina, and later Queen of England, becoming ever more inevitable. This is a story told in back-and-forth timelines that build suspense–will Lexi accept the role of heir apparent or leave her family once again for a happier and less stressful life? Meanwhile, we delve into the lives of the surrounding family–her beloved mother who had met a tragic ending, her sister-in-law who had made great sacrifices of her own, her slimy uncle who is fighting to be the heir apparent himself, and his two daughters. In flashbacks we learn more about Frederick, Lexi’s father, Louis, and brother-in-law Kris. It is a well-told, engrossing story, but I felt it was unnecessarily long, which bogged it down a bit. Lexi isn’t exactly a likeable character, but I deeply felt the weight of her impossible decision. Jack is an appealing character who doesn’t have enough to do in the plot. And I felt, at the ending, that somehow an important detail had been left out regarding Lexi’s mother’s death. I read this for a book club so I’ posed this question to the rest of the club members on Tuesday, and they agreed with me–no one was satisfied by the ending (sigh).
Thank you, Lindy, for recommending FUNNY FARM by Laurie Zaleski. It’s a quick read from 2021 and a very rewarding one. The author’s memoir first covers her early life when her mother and her three young children had to flee from a controlling, abusive husband and father. They managed to find a ramshackle house in the New Jersey woods to rent for a pittance, but it had no water, electricity, or heat, and no amenities at all. It was up to Annie, Laurie’s strong and resilient mom, to figure out how to make it liveable. The children were necessarily swept into her plans and labors and still managed to be honor students and to help care for the increasing number of needy animals they started to rescue. These animals didn’t have a home or people to care for them, and Annie couldn’t stand by and see them suffer. It was her dream to have an animal rescue farm when they could afford it. It was a hardscrabble life for the family, but they managed to have fun as well. Ultimately, Laurie excelled at her studies and eventually opened her own photography and artwork company. And she finally found a real farm that would fulfill her mother’s dream. But fate stepped in, and Laurie found herself taking over for her mother and ultimately creating the Funny Farm Animal Rescue and Sanctuary, which continues to be successful as a non-profit, boasting 600 animal residents! Throughout the book, there are chapters featuring some of the farm’s most special animals–those who formed unexpected bonds with other species, those who had special needs. those who routinely welcome the farm’s visitors, and one that even narrowly escaped being killed as a sacrifice! Most are farm animals, and most have free range of the fenced-in property. I absolutely loved reading about the animals, but I also appreciated the story of Laurie and her family. It is fascinating, entertaining, and often moving. Highly recommended.
Margie, I love it that you’re so involved in the lives of your grandkids. My mother used to drive regularly 2 1/2 hours on Fridays or Saturdays to spend the weekend at her grandkids’ soccer matches or other games. Later, it was band when a couple were in high school. And, tennis or track. Now, this year she was scheduled to watch her great-grandson play football until he broke his arm. She always enjoyed the time with her daughters, watching their kids play sports. I know it was a highlight of her weeks, too. Enjoy the time. They grow up so fast!
It’s fun watching grandchildren start to come into their own and get the hang of sports isn’t it Margie? Evelyn is 8 now and the games are starting to look almost professional in comparison to last year, and she actually has skills now and understands the game.
(I was never good at sports myself. I remember my father trying to teach me how to catch a ball. Invariably I’d cower when it came close to me, which was always followed by a slap on the legs with a snapped towel by my father. Still have trouble catching anything!)
Margie, I am sorry I didn’t get to comment on your best books list the other day! I added some of your recommendations to my TBR pile and also loved The Goode Girls of Maple Lane. Thank you for sharing them.
Thank you, Trisha!
Hello, everyone! Bern has been very gray this last week, with lots of cold rain but no snow except high in the mountains. Too warm for February, but still not very pleasant. Still, there have been a few sunny afternoons, and the good thing about my spending most of my time sitting at home writing is that when the sun comes out, I can get up from my desk and go for a one-hour walk, which does me a lot of good. This morning, my husband and I had a fancy coffee out with his cousin Tina, as we do every six weeks or so. She’s a violinist, and a good one–if not famous–and we always enjoy hearing her stories about teaching and playing.
I admit I haven’t been watching as much as I could have, but I did watch a Swiss downhill skier, Franjo von Allmen, win three gold medals. And I’ve watched some of the fabulous figure skating.
I’ve read a wonderful book this week, which I was just starting when I wrote last week. It’s by Natasha Pulley (THE MARS HOUSE, THE HYMN TO DIONYSUS) and called THE HALF LIFE OF VALERY K. It takes place in the 1960s with a few flashbacks to the 30s, 40s, and 50s that answer questions. It’s about a physicist who specializes in radiation, released after four years in a terrible gulag to work for his old boss on an important set of scientific experiments in an isolated city. For the first time in years, he can get clean, have enough to eat, sleep in a normal bed, and even do scientific research with a group of other scientists. There’s a high-level KGB agent overseeing the project who is surprisingly nice to him, but this makes him suspicious. In fact, he can’t help asking himself more and more questions about what is going on, and the answers get scarier and scarier! I guess this sounds negative, but the physicist/ex-prisoner is such an intelligent, funny (yes, funny!), gentle, and likable man, and the things he’s finding out are so fascinating that I loved this book (as I’ve loved the other two books of Pulley’s that I’ve read.)
I’m also listening to the fourth Will Trent book in a series by Karin Slaughter; I’m taking them one at a time, and not reading them one after another, but spaced out, since they involve disturbing murders with lots of graphic violence. But they’re exciting, and the characters are very appealing, especially Trent, so I enjoy them.
I’m not sure why I haven’t read more this week, but I’ve gotten more writing than usual done, so that’s a good thing! Oh yes, has anyone tried BUCKEYE, by Patrick Ryan? It has great reviews. Any thoughts?
Hi, Kim. I’m glad you have weather that’s good enough for a walk. I don’t even like walking to the mailbox this time of year. I don’t know when I’ll hit an icy patch.
I have Buckeye, but haven’t read it. Someday, even though Lindy’s review is good.
Kim, I have read Buckeye and will attach my review of it here for you:
This is not an action-packed, plot-driven novel. It is a quietly powerful character-driven novel about the interconnectedness of two families in a small town in Ohio over a time period of sixty years, mostly those from WWII through to the end of the Vietnam war. There is family of course, and love, marriage, some history, grief, guilt, anguish, and forgiveness. It’s a story to be patient with, as it gradually reveals itself.
Cal, Becky, and their son, Skip. Cal and Becky struggle in their marriage – for medical reasons he was not able to sign up and join the war, so he stays home but at the same time he doesn’t believe in the work that Becky does, which is to comfort people by giving them messages from loved ones who have died. This causes a rift between them.
Margaret, Felix, and their son, Tom. Margaret and Felix also have problems in their marriage – she can’t get over having been abandoned as a baby and left at an orphanage, while Felix tries his best but can’t seem to quite get things right.
Bringing the two families into each other’s orbit are their sons Skip and Tom who have been friends since elementary school.
The author is SO good at portraying his characters, especially the men. We get all their thoughts, feelings, everything. We’re not told so much, as that we feel them and we live them ourselves. While we may not agree with something they’ve done, we do know why they did it and we can therefore empathize.
And an overriding question in the book is when is the right time to reveal a secret from the past that will have consequences for those in the present? And is there even ever a right time?
There are no heroes or villains here; only human beings, flawed like anyone else. No one is perfect, and no one makes the right choices all the time. Nor is it a happy book, but I feel richer for having read it. I didn’t love all the characters, in fact I wanted to shake some sense into one or two of them; but because of the skill of the author I could, for the most part, at least understand their motivations. The character that touched my heart the most for some reason was Everett, Cal’s father.
Reading this book was an immersive, affecting experience for me and because of that I loved it.
Thanks very much, Lindy. I already have BUCKEYE as an audiobook, and now you make me want to listen to it. I’ll be prepared for a slowish start, but it sounds like I’ll enjoy it. I’ll be letting you know one of these Thursdays, although it’s a long book, so it will take a while to listen to!
Eek – forgot it was Thursday (that’s what retirement does!)
There’s nothing I love more than a saga. There just aren’t that many being written these days.
i loved RED CLAY by Charles B. Fancher
Description from Amazon
An astounding multigenerational saga, Red Clay chronicles the interwoven lives of an enslaved Black family and their white owners as the Civil War ends and Reconstruction begins.
In 1943, when a frail old white woman shows up in Red Clay, Alabama, at the home of a Black former slave—on the morning following his funeral—his family hardly knows what to expect after she utters the words “… a lifetime ago, my family owned yours.” Adelaide Parker has a story to tell—one of ambition, betrayal, violence, and redemption—that shaped both the fate of her family and that of the late Felix H. Parker.
But there are gaps in her knowledge, and she’s come to Red Clay seeking answers from a family with whom she shares a name and a history that neither knows in full. In an epic saga that takes us from Red Clay to Paris, to the Côte d’Azur and New Orleans, human frailties are pushed to their limits as secrets are exposed and the line between good and evil becomes ever more difficult to discern. Red Clay is a tale that deftly lays bare the ugliness of slavery, the uncertainty of the final months of the Civil War, the optimism of Reconstruction, and the pain and frustration of Jim Crow.
With a vivid sense of place and a cast of memorable characters, Charles B. Fancher draws upon his own family history to weave a riveting tale of triumph over adversity, set against a backdrop of societal change and racial animus that reverberates in contemporary America. Through seasons of joy and unspeakable pain, Fancher delivers rich moments as allies become enemies, and enemies—to their great surprise—find new respect for each other.
Isn’t retirement wonderful, Kaye? Sometimes, I love not knowing what day it is. I don’t have any appointments for a month, so it might get even more crazy.
It was way back in the ’40s, but did you ever read The Williamsburg Chronicles by Elswyth Thane? I haven’t read those books since the 1970s, but Mom, my Grandma and I all liked the epic series. I don’t know how it holds up, though.
Hi all! Like many of you I have been watching the Olympics, which is fun. I,too, love hearing about the stories of the athletes. I am a hockey person and have been watching a lot of the games. Three Devils players I like are playing for the Swiss team, and there have been a couple of social media clips where they share words from Swiss-German. (It made me think of you, Kim!)
Readingwise, besides school stuff I finished up The Snow Lies Deep by Paula Munier. I love the characters, that part of Vermont (heading there this weekend!), and Christmas, so it was right up my alley. I am a little puzzled by how well Mercy is getting along with her mother but that is a pretty small quibble.
I also read Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez, a sweet novel tied to the Part of Your World series. I appreciated its realness about what healthy relationships look like and what it takes to make them work.
Trisha, I wonder if Mercy’s mother’s attitude has changed a little now that Mercy is married with a baby of her own. At any time, she could just cut her mother off if their problems become too big. Mercy has always been independent, but how could her mother accept a soldier as a daughter? Now, a wife and mother, yes.
It’s fun to hear that you’re reading about some of the NHL players on the Swiss team, Trisha. I think there are at least 10 of them. Not that I think Switzerland has much of chance of beating Canada!