Nevermore: Fox & I, Homeland and Other Stories, Things We Never Say

 Nevermore 9-1-26      Reported by Rita 

 Fox & I by Catherine Raven 

Catherine Raven left home at fifteen, fleeing an abusive, disdainful father and an indifferent mother. More comfortable in nature than among people, she worked as a National Park ranger, eventually earning a PhD in biology. She built a house on an isolated plot of land in Montana, teaching remotely and leading field classes. One day, she realized that the mangy-looking fox who had been appearing on her property was now showing up every day at 4:15 p.m. She had never had a regular visitor before. How do you even talk to a fox? So, she brought out her camping chair, sat as close to him as she dared, and began reading to him from The Little Prince. Her scientific training had taught her not to anthropomorphize animals, but as she grew to know him, his personality revealed itself--and he became her friend. But friends cannot always save each other from the uncontained forces of nature. Fox and I is a poignant and dramatic tale of friendship, transformation, and coping with inevitable loss--and of how that loss can become meaningful. It is also the introduction of an original, imaginative, stunning literary voice. It showed that "wild" animals can become attached to humans. 

Great descriptions of the wildlife and plants. -WJ 5 stars 

 Homeland and Other Stories by Barbara Kingsolver 

Homeland and Other Stories offers comic, often heart-warming but always true to life tales told as only the author can, creating a world of love and possibility that listeners will want to take as their own. A rich and emotionally resonant collection of twelve stories of hope, momentary joy, and powerful endurance. Beautifully written portraits of unforgettable characters. -CW 5 stars 

 The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout 

Artie Dam is a man with a secret. He goes about his days teaching American history to high schoolers, correcting their casual ignorance, and lending a kind word to those who need it most. He spends his free time sailing the beautiful Massachusetts Bay, or with his adult son and his wife of more than three decades - and as Artie does these things, he plans the event that will forever change the world he inhabits. But when a startling accident awakens a new perspective in Artie, and he realizes that life has its own secret it's been keeping from him - along with a lot more to say on the weighty matters of fate and freedom in his home and his country - he charts another course full of grief, hilarity, and heart, to a place where the end marks the beginning. 

 I love the way she writes and develops characters. Easy to read. -CD 5 stars 

 Other Books Mentioned 

 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff 

I Am Not a Robot by Joanna Stern 

Curves: Flowers, Foliates & Flourishes in The Formal Decorative Arts by Lisa DeLong 

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McClosky 

West with Giraffes by Lynn Rutledge 

The Scarlet Throne by Amy Leow 

Ordinary Magic by Gregory Walton, M. PhD 

 New Books 

 Tricks of Fortune by Lina Chern 

When Lemons Give You Life by Anna Johnston 

The Mountains We Call Home by Kim Michelle Richardson 

The Halloween Movie Cookbook by Ryan Alvarez 

Stories From a Stranger by Hunter Prosper

Halloween Night Murder by Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, Liz Ireland

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Halloween night can be creepy enough—adding murder really takes it up a notch! Kensington Publishers have a holiday-themed collection of cozy mystery novellas featuring some of their better known authors.  This is a good way to sample a new to you author or to just enjoy a visit with characters you already know and love.

In Halloween Night Murder by Leslie Meier, reporter Lucy Stone is surprised by a a late-night trick-or-treater who seems a bit old to be ringing doorbells, but she loads him up with candy anyway. The next day she is shocked to learn that a teenager died as the result of a hit and run—and it sounds just like her visitor.  She decides to look into the incident and discovers a complex family situation with some dark secrets.  Reading one of this novellas convinced me to try the novels. I like Lucy; she’s no-nonsense, but curious and compassionate, and I like her relationship with her husband. These stories just feel very grounded.

Lee Hollis’ Death of a Halloween Night Stalker is definitely the most atmospheric of the three.  Hayley Powell and her friends are trying to make it home after a concert but a detour leaves them stranded in the middle of nowhere.  The only house around is one that could be used as the setting of any horror movie, and while they’re warmly greeted by a woman, her son is a different story.  Speaking of movies, the son could star in one—and not as the hero. I wasn’t as enthralled with this story but then I didn’t know the characters and their relationships, or the conventions of the series:  sections were interrupted by essays by Hayley which I found distracting—probably because this was a novella with a lot of ground to cover in a small space.  Laura Levine uses hilarious emails from Jaine Austen’s parents to break up her novels and I don’t mind that at all.

Finally, Mrs. Claus and the Wily Witch by Liz Ireland has a more fantastical setting:  the North Pole.  April was just an Oregon innkeeper when she was swept off her feet by handsome Nick—who turns out to be the real Santa Claus.  Ireland has created a whole world of elves, living snowmen, reindeer, and other creatures who live for Christmas—but the new Mrs. Claus keeps introducing new holidays.  Halloween, for instance.  The first sign that things are going wrong is that one of the snowmen is really and truly frozen.  The suspect is a recently returned exile who insists he’s innocent, and April is starting to believe him.  These are fanciful and humorous. You have to suspend a lot of disbelief, but I find them charming.

In short, this is a wonderful selection of treats!

New Fiction in October!

 Readers have reason to rejoice in October, because there are many, many, many new books coming out from popular authors! Books by Barbara Kingsolver, Michael Connelly, James Patterson, Lee Child, Stephen King, Debbie Macomber, and Philippa Gregory are all scheduled for October.  There's a little something for everyone this month!

Adams, Ellery  The Liars’ Book Club (Secret, Book and Scone Society)

Andrews, Donna  Jay to the World (Meg Langslow)

Archer, Jeffery Adam and Eve

Armstrong, Kelley  Dive Bar at the End of the Road

Beaton, M.C.  Dead Before Tea Time (Agatha Raisin)

Bunn, T. Davis  The Christmas Hourglass

Chambers, Becky  As You Wake, Break the Shell

Child, Lee Chain Reaction  (Reacher)

Clarke, Susanna The Bishop of Durham Attempts to Surrender the City

Connelly, Michael  The Hollow (Harry Bosch)

Cosby, S.A.  Truth to Power (Luke Cage)

Cosimano, Elle & Hannah Morrissey Home for the Homicides (Holly & Mark)

Davis, Fiona Samantha:The Next Chapter (American Girls)

Eason, Lynette Deadly Charade (FBI New Recruits)

Evans, Richard Paul  Mercy’s Child

Freeman, Brian  Where the Road Ends

Garmus, Bonnie Peck & Peck

Gilmore, Laurie Wild Wicked Mate

Gregory, Philippa Royal Witch

Haines, Carolyn  Joy to the Bones (Sarah Booth Delaney)

Hazelwood, Ali  Bound and Unbound: A Paranormal Novella Duology

Jimenez, Abby A Married Little Christmas

Jones, Stephen Graham  Off the Reservation

Kelly, Julia The Queen of Roses

King, Stephen and Peter Straub  Other Worlds Than These (Talisman)

Kingsolver, Barbara  Partita

Klavan, Andrew Find Me Nowhere (Cameron Winter)

Kleypas, Lisa Queen of Lombard Street

Macomber, Debbie  A Date with Santa

McKinlay, Jenn Witches of Questionable Intent

Michaels, Fern  Blood Money

Morris, Heather The Piano Teacher of Montparnasse

Mosley, Walter Hanging and Burning (King Oliver)

Murakami, Haruki Abandoning a Cat: A Personal Story

Niffenegger, Audrey Life Out of Order

O’Connor, Carlene  Bury the Wren

Patterson, James The Family Cross (Alex Cross)

Patterson, James The Girl in the Lake (Holmes, Margaret, & Poe)

Penny, Louise  Miss Wolcott’s Ghost

Rosenfelt, David  Bark, Humbug (Andy Carpenter)

Stephenson, Neal  D: Heavy Water

Swanson, Peter Do You See What I See?

Thayne, Raeanne Cozy Little Christmas

Willig, Lauren  What Happens at Nightfall

Young, William Paul  Return to the Shack

Nevermore: Bridge of Sighs, Wild Dark Shore, The Virginian

Nevermore 8-25-26                Reported by Rita

 

Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo

Louis Charles (“Lucy”) Lynch has spent all his sixty years in upstate Thomaston, New York, married to the same woman, Sarah, for forty of them, their son now a grown man. Like his late, beloved father, Lucy is an optimist, though he’s had plenty of reasons not to be—chief among them his mother, still indomitably alive. Yet it was her shrewdness, combined with that Lynch optimism, that had propelled them years ago to the right side of the tracks and created an “empire” of convenience stores about to be passed on to the next generation.

It had good character studies, but I thought it was slow.        -MH       4 stars

 

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

A family on a remote island. A mysterious woman washed ashore. A rising storm on the horizon. Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica. Home to the world’s largest seed bank, Shearwater was once full of researchers, but with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its final inhabitants. Until, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman mysteriously washes ashore. Isolation has taken its toll on the Salts, but as they nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, it begins to feel like she might just be what they need. Rowan, long accustomed to protecting herself, starts imagining a future where she could belong to someone again. But Rowan isn’t telling the whole truth about why she set out for Shearwater. And when she discovers sabotaged radios and a freshly dug grave, she realizes Dominic is keeping his own secrets. As the storms on Shearwater gather force, they all must decide if they can trust each other enough to protect the precious seeds in their care before it’s too late—and if they can finally put the tragedies of the past behind them to create something new, together.

It told a lot about wildlife on an island near Antarctica and how isolation was handled by the workers & family. It was very interesting.     -WJ      5 stars

 

The Virginian by Owen Wister

In the untamed West, pioneers came to test their fortunes - and their wills. The Wyoming territory was a harsh, unforgiving land, with its own unwritten code of honor by which men lived and died. Into this rough landscape rides the Virginian, a solitary man whose unbending will is his only guide through life. The Virginian's unwavering beliefs in right and wrong are soon tested as he tries to prove his love for a woman who cannot accept his sense of justice; at the same time, a betrayal by his most trusted friend forces him to fight against the corruption that rules the land.

It portrayed the western cowboy life and started the Western genre for literature. I thought it was pretty tame.     -VC       3 stars

 

 

Other Books Mentioned

 

Inharmonious by Tammye Huf

Look-Alikes by Joan Steiner

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkard

Paradise General: Riding the Surge at a Combat Hospital in Iraq by Dave Hnida

Survive and Thrive: How to Prepare for Any Disaster Without Ammo, Camo, or Eating Your Neighbor by Bill Fulton, Jeanne Devon

52 Ways to Walk: The Surprising Science of Walking for Wellness and Joy, One Week at a Time by Annabel Streets

Independent People by Halldór Laxness

See Also Proof by Larry Sweazy

Last Gifts of the Universe by Riley August

It's a Long Story: My Life by Willie Nelson

 

 

New Books 

In Search of Now by Jo Marchant

Some People by Parini Schroff

 

Nevermore: President Is Missing, Dolly Parton Songteller, Retro

 

Nevermore 9-22-26             Reported by Rita

The President is Missing  by Bill Clinton & James Patterson

As the novel opens, a threat looms. Enemies are planning an attack of unprecedented scale on America. Uncertainty and fear grip Washington. There are whispers of cyberterrorism and espionage and a traitor in the cabinet. The President himself becomes a suspect, and then goes missing... Set in real time, over the course of three days, The President Is Missing is one of the most dramatic thrillers in decades. And it could all really happen.

A fast-paced mystery/thriller. The plot keeps throwing in new aspects to the story. I couldn't put it down.     -AC     4 stars

 

Dolly Parton Songteller: My Life in Lyrics by Dolly Parton

For the first time ever, legendary singer-songwriter Dolly Parton brings you behind the lyrics of 175 of her songs to reveal the personal stories and vibrant memories that have inspired sixty years of songwriting. Lushly illustrated and told in Dolly's inimitable voice, this rich collection offers an intimate, exclusive look at the colorful life, prolific career, and rags-to-rhinestones journey of one of the most revered entertainers of our time.

Dolly explains the history/love behind each song. If you are a Dolly fan, then you will love it.      -TS      5 stars

 

Retro by Jessica M. Goldstein

When Ash spots an ad for Retro during a depressing Instagram scroll—she’s in debt and unemployed; everyone else is, evidently, thriving—she’s surprised the algorithm sent it her way. She’s heard of recreational time travel, but it’s way out of her budget. Then she sees the Come away with us! We’re hiring.

So begins Ash’s life as a Time Travel Agent, leading wealthy tourists on vacations to historical hotspots. She takes bachelorette parties to live out their cowboy-romance fantasies in the Old West and throws “'20s for your twenties” birthday bashes at speakeasies; she smiles politely as rich Wall Street guys give prospecting a shot in the Gold Rush. It's all thrilling, outrageous, and totally surreal. Bygone America is just a Retro Metro ride away. Despite Ash’s tendency toward cynicism, she finds herself swept up in her dazzling new job. Sure, Ash isn’t the actress she always dreamed she’d be. But isn’t this so much better? It’s like Ash’s life is a movie, complete with an impossible love triangle. How is she supposed to choose between her mysterious office crush and the handsome private eye pursuing her in 1937? For the first time in years, Ash’s life feels enviable—so she’d really rather not pay attention to the strange things happening to her memory and relationships outside Retro. But as her trips threaten to unravel her real life, she confronts an unsettling “escaping” into the past was never really an escape at all.

I really liked the descriptions - good character building/world building. The plot is vague and falls flat, but I still found it enjoyable.     -PP     3 stars

 

 

Other Books Mentioned

 

52 Ways to Walk by Annabel Streets

The Everlasting by Alex E. Harrow

Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl by Stacey O'Brien

Recursion by Blake Crouch

Olive Again by Elizabeth Strout

The Mountains We Call Home by Kim Michelle Richardson

Trampoline by Robert Gipe

The Last Ballad by Wiley Cash

 

New Books

 

Postmortem by David Lagercrantz

Legacy Redefined by Richard Watts

The Subtle Pleasures of Indiscretion by Alexander McCall Smith

The Half Lie by Rachel Beanland

The Secret Society of Librarians by Kate Thompson

Book Lovers’ New England: A Guide to Literary Landmarks by Sheila Moeschen

Reviewed by Jeanne

I love seeing the places where writers lived and worked, so I’ve seen many of these types of books and enjoyed them all.  This one, however, has to rank among my favorites.  It’s not the area of the country or the writers selected that has me so enthralled, but the content.  To be honest, most of these sorts of books assume you are well acquainted with the subject, so the entries rattle off a few titles, maybe give the reader a sentence or two about the author’s birth and, if applicable, death, and a small photo or two of the sites. The emphasis is on quantity:  how many authors and how much ground can we cover in one book?

Book Lovers’ New England is more likely to devote several pages to each author, giving more attention to the author’s life than individual works, and providing several high-quality photos for each section. States covered are Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine.  Authors profiled include both living and dead, contemporary and historical. At the end of each section there’s a list of other authors in the state not profiled.  The selection of authors covers most genres, including children’s books, poetry, non-fiction, literary fiction, and drama.

I was delighted by the selections, some of which were a bit unexpected:  Rudyard Kipling, for example.  The British author lived in Brattleboro, Vermont with his young family for several years, writing some of his best-known works including The Jungle Book.  Then an unpleasant incident forced them to leave—and greater tragedy awaited. The house and other buildings are managed by Landmark Trust USA and are available for rental.

Shirley Jackson was another Vermont resident. Born in California, she went to college in the East where she met her future husband. He took a job at a college in Bennington, and Shirley set up housekeeping—and writing, including her short story “The Lottery” which was not well received.  In fact, a flood of hate mail ensued, including an angry letter from Shirley’s own mother. The house is a private residence but Jackson made mention of several local landmarks in her writing.

One home that is a museum is Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House in Concord.  While Louisa’s father Bronson Alcott was a philosopher and educator, neither occupation brought in much money.  It was left up to Louisa’s mother, Abigail, to keep the family fed and housed. Louisa’s writing began as a way to earn money, and to help take care of the family.  Little Women was written at the behest of a magazine editor who wanted her to write something for girls, at which Louisa protested to a friend that she didn’t know any girls other than her sisters.

Other writers are Emily Dickinson, Dr. Seuss, Edith Wharton, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Wallace Stevens, Noah Webster, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mark Twain, Robert Penn Warren, Roger Williams, H. P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, John Irving, J.D. Salinger, Bill Bryson, Thornton Wilder, Robert Frost (twice, for two different places), Rachel Carson, Sarah Orne Jewett, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Stephen King.

Moeschen writes well and knowledgeably.  She does an excellent job of delivering much information in a relatively small space.   The book is fascinating, entertaining, and memorable.  The photos are stunning.  I highly recommend it!

Taken at the Flood: A Hercule Poirot Novel by Agatha Christie

Reviewed by Jeanne 

In recently post-World War II England, the Cloade family has lived in relative comfort, helped along financially by childless widower Gordon Cloade. Gordon was the clever one with money, while his relatives were—well, NOT. They’ve come to rely on Gordon’s helping out with Rowley’s farming ambitions, with Jeremy’s legal problems, Mrs. Marchmont’s hopeless household accounts, and Lionel’s hope of retiring from medicine and devoting himself to the study of poisons. 

When Gordon suddenly remarries, they all are sure that Gordon will continue to support them in the manner to which they’ve become accustomed.  He probably would have, but unfortunately for the Cloades, Gordon and his wife are in London when their house is hit by a bomb during the Blitz.  The house is destroyed, but there are two survivors: Rosaleen aka Mrs. Gordon Cloade and her brother David.  Even more unfortunately, while Gordon had made a will providing for all the Cloades, he had not updated it after his marriage.  Under British law, all his wealth goes to his widow.

Rosaleen and David come to Gordon’s house in Warmsley Vale, where Rosaleen seems like a frightened child. And why not, when she is surrounded by so many people who would like to see her dead?

Into this morass of suspects and motive, only one person can bring order to a murder case: the one and only Hercule Poirot.

Re-reading Agatha Christie as an adult has been a rewarding experience.  I am impressed not only by her plotting skills, but by her characterization and her perceptiveness.  Everyone has been affected by the war:  some because they’ve served in foreign lands and been on the front lines, some who had to stay behind but ae still changed.  There are motives aplenty, Christie’s trademark twists and turns, and a somewhat dark ending, depending on your point of view.

I enjoyed it thoroughly and am definitely going to read more classic Christie.

Note:  One thing that frustrates me as a Christie reader is the title changes.  I own a copy of this book under the title There Is a Tide. . ., taken from the same Shakespeare quotation from Julius Caesar:

"There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat;
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures."