Nevermore: Nearly Normal Family, Homecoming, Quarry Girls, Mad Honey

 

Nevermore August 15, 2023

Reported by Rita

A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Edvardsson is a Swedish murder mystery with three narrators: 18-year-old Stella, accused of killing her 33-year-old boyfriend; her pastor father who believes she is innocent; and her defense attorney mother who believes everyone is lying. Our reader described this as an enjoyable, easy read available from Tennessee READS (and also can be placed on reserve from other libraries in our consortium!) DC

Homecoming by Kate Morton spans generations. When Australian journalist Jess finds herself unemployed in London and gets a call to come back home to Sydney, she discovers a true crime book about the Turner Family Tragedy of 1959 in her grandmother’s attic. Jess begins to investigate the cold case of the mysterious death of a mother and her three kids and finds the case has ties to her family. Our reader thought it a wonderful distraction but hard to follow and better suited for astute mystery readers. AH

The Quarry Girls by Jess Lourey is set in 1977 Minnesota where Heather and Brenda have a secret. The best friends are among the small town’s teens who play and party in the tunnels under the town. One night they see something in the tunnels they vow never to tell…that is, until girls start going missing. This was a fast read—a real page turner with plenty of twists and turns. KM

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan is about two mothers and their two young adult children in a small New Hampshire town. Teens Asher and Lily are in high school when they fall in love. Both of them have histories of abusive fathers, and when Lily is found dead, Asher is the prime suspect. Our reader said that there are huge plot twists, and that the pain of both Lily’s and Asher’s mothers was heartbreakingly well written. KP

 

Also Mentioned:

A Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls 2 by Elena Favilli, Francesca Cavallo, and others

Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships by Nina Totenberg

Nanny Ogg's Cookbook by Terry Pratchett

Us: Getting Past You and Me to Build a More Loving Relationship by Terrence Real

Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

New Books:

The Last Ranger by Peter Heller

The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean by Susan Casey

The Little Village of Book Lovers by Nina George

Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo

Mrs. Plansky's Revenge by Spencer Quinn

Murder Between the Covers: A Dead End Job Mystery by Elaine Viets

 

Murder Between the Covers:  

Dead End Job Mystery by Elaine Viets

Reviewed by Jeanne

Helen Hawthorne had it all: great job, lovely home, money, status, and a cheating husband. It was the latter that got her into trouble and caused her to lose everything else.  Now she’s on the run, keeping a low profile, and working low-paying jobs where she can be paid in cash in order to avoid being found by aforementioned cheating husband.  Currently she’s working at a bookstore, Page Turners, named after its founder—Page Turner-- and run by his namesake.  Unfortunately, this Page Turner is a real scummy character so it’s not a total surprise when he turns up dead.

The surprise is that a friend of Helen’s is picked up for the murder.  Even if it may blow her cover, Helen is determined to prove her friend innocent.

This is the second in Viets’ Dead-End Job Mystery series.  I’d read one other and liked it, but I have to say this one is even better.  I enjoyed the Fort Lauderdale setting and I loved the cast of characters.  I’d like to hang out with some of them at the run-down apartment building and meet Thumbs, Helen’s cat. I also like that Helen has a sense of humor and a sharp eye for details.  I have to say too that it’s refreshing to have a heroine who isn’t so tied up in her own troubles—and Helen has more than her share—that she spends all her time bemoaning her fate.  Helen is compassionate, but no patsy, and she’s a staunch friend.  I like that in a person.

Most of all, I appreciate the details that show up in the various jobs.  Elaine Viets worked jobs like these so she knows all the nitty gritty details behind each one, from telemarketer to working at a bridal salon to clerking at a hotel.  It’s like having a peek behind the curtain. 

I’ll definitely be reading more in this series.

These don’t need to be read in order, but there are some life changes that take place for some of the characters.

The books in the series are:

Shop Till You Drop

Murder Between the Covers

Dying to Call You

Just Murdered

Murder Unleashed

Murder with Reservations

Clubbed to Death

Killer Cuts

Half-Price Homicide

Pumped for Murder

Final Sail

Board Stiff

Catnapped!

Checked Out

The Art of Murder

The Hangman by Louise Penny

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

I am a fan of Louise Penny: I love the way she delves into character and into the human heart while spinning engrossing mysteries.  I love her sense of place, and how I wish there was a real Three Pines to visit!  I confess I am running a few books behind because her books are meant to be savored and, despite what others have said, I find this a series best read in order.

Since I tend to keep up with what Penny is writing, I was surprised to come across a reference to The Hangman.  It’s a novella written in 2010 which had somehow slipped my notice, so of course I had to rectify that.  The date puts it between Bury Your Dead and A Trick of the Light.

The story opens in Three Pines where a man out for an early morning jog finds a body hanging from a tree.  Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his team arrive to determine if the man committed suicide or if they have a murder to investigate.

At only 87 pages, the story has a lot of ground to cover.  Even so, Penny makes sure to give the reader some of Gamache’s musings and insights which for me underpin all the books.  Is it a good story?  Yes, and I would recommend that fans read it.  However, the short form left me wanting more.  This could have been a full novel. Some things felt rushed, and I was sorry that we didn’t get to see more characterization, which is the hallmark of Penny’s writing as far as I am concerned.

Still, any Penny is better than none!

Nevermore: The Last Lecture, The Last Bookshop in London, Ladies of Liberty, Wrong Place Wrong Time

 Reported by Ashley

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch (with Jeffrey Zaslow) looks at the ‘last lecture’ that many professors give, but with a twist- when Randy Pausch was asked to give one of these lectures, he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He didn’t have to imagine how he might feel if he were to reflect on his life and what would matter most, as he was already living it. He gave a lecture called “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” that focused more on living than on looking ahead at dying, and spoke to overcoming obstacles, seizing the moment, and enabling others to chase their own dreams. Our reader talked about how you could really feel Randy’s passion and how while you read it you just knew that that’s the way he’d lived his own life. Referring to the book as very intelligent, very quick witted, and overall just a very enjoyable read, our reader absolutely recommended the book. (BM)

 

The Last Bookshop in London: A Novel of World War II by Madeline Martin received a glowing review during our recent meeting. Grace Bennett’s long dreamed of moving to London, but she didn’t expect to find it full of bunkers and blackouts; that’s what she’s met with when she arrives in August of 1939, settling in to work at a dusty bookshop rather than finding the dazzling life she’d dreamed of. Through the background of the Blitz, Grace leans into the power of storytelling, watching as books touch the lives of those around her. The book was met with absolute approval and came recommended with the highest of praise. With a different perspective on World War II than many readers have come to expect, the character driven novel left the reader with a solid feeling of hope and a reminder to look for the stories unfolding in our world even in darker times. (KN)

Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation by Cokie Roberts was a book that captured our reader’s attention. While the book talks about many of the women who played a part in the shaping of our nation, the story of Dolley Madison stuck out to our reader. Dolley is well known for her role in preserving history as the White House was burnt down in the War of 1812, but at the time there were comments about the fact that she didn’t get matching china sets to refurbish the place (never mind her part in having helped to build the place up from the boring swamp it had been roughly twenty years prior). The book was well received by the group and the reader found that it held her interest throughout. The book was a good reminder that while, historically, women haven’t had much power, they’ve always found ways to influence the world around them regardless. (WJ)

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister was quite the thriller. A mother witnesses a devastating act: the murder of a stranger by her teenage son. Traumatized by the event, she wakes up to find herself literally reliving the past, and reliving the past, and reliving the past. With each foray into what was, she tries to figure out what she must do to stop the future that only she knows about, and tries to figure out what clues she missed along the way with her seemingly cheerful son. Our reader enjoyed the book, although she did warn that it was a little disconcerting to read a book that told things backwards, so to speak. Our reader seemed to enjoy trying to keep track of what the mom knew versus what the son knew and where they were in the timeline, and found that the book tied everything together well. It was met with a heartfelt recommendation to others. (VC)

  

Other books mentioned:

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus   (CD)

Gentleman Bandit: The True Story of Black Bart, the Old West’s Most Infamous Stagecoach Robber by John Boessenecker   (VC)

Death’s Acre: Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab the Body Farm Where the Dead Do Tell Tales by Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson   (MH)

Do Tell by Lindsay Lynch   (MH)

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver   (MS)

Power of One by Bryce Courtenay   (SF)

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver   (SF)

Charlie Russell: The Cowboy Years by Jane Lambert   (SF)

The Motorcycle Diaries by Che Guevara   (AH)

A Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao   (NH)

Dancing at the Rascal Fair by Ivan Doig   (BM)

The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand   (BM)

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee   (BM)

Standing on a Spinning Ball by Mike Guy   (BM)

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano   (PC)

This Terrible Sound: The Battle of Chickamauga by Peter Cozzens   (PC)

In The Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson   (KN)

The View from Castle Rock by Alice Munro   (DC)

Mysterious Virginia by Sherman Carmichael   (new)

The Paris Agent by Kelly Rimmer   (new)

The Quarry Girls by Jess Lourey   (new)

#SayHerName: Black Women’s Stories of Police Violence and Public Silence edited by Kimberlé Crenshaw

Rest in Power: The Enduring Life of Trayvon Martin by Sybrina Fulton

Sierra Club’s Black Lives Matter Quilt Discussion event program book (pamphlet associated with a recent program & display at the Bristol Public Library)

The Appalachian Voice newspaper

We Love to Entertain by Sarah Strohmeyer

 

Reviewed by Kristin

Erika Turnbull had many ghosts in her past and she thinks she has finally moved beyond them. She is still living in her small Vermont hometown but now has a glimmer of hope that her job might launch her career into something huge. Real estate investor Robert Barron (aka the Robber Baron) has hired Erika to be his assistant. His project, alongside his fiancée Holly Simmons, is to renovate their home on an eighty-acre parcel of land, all under the watchful eyes of television viewers on a fixer-upper reality show.

Along with more mundane tasks, Erika takes care of every little personal detail for Robert, even receiving his shipment of illegal Cuban cigars for his bachelor party. She is also Holly’s right-hand-woman whether help is needed for hair and make-up or for a new high-end kitchen appliance. Holly even asked Erika to be her only bridal attendant. And oh yes, they are moving up the wedding and livestreaming it to gain more social media followers. Every vote will count in the To the Manor Build competition.

But, gasp, once the wedding is over, the bride and groom suddenly run off for an impromptu honeymoon, much to the consternation of the producers of To the Manor Build. They have plans to film more of the project this week, but the stars have suddenly gone missing. Not in a romantic “they only have eyes for each” other sort of missing. It is more of a “blood spatter left behind and Erika is afraid to tell anyone in case this causes them to lose the contest” sort of way. No one can reach them, the producers are getting cranky, and Erika is getting scared.

The chapters alternate points of view from Erika, to Kim (Erika’s mom, also the town clerk who is asked to officiate the wedding), to Holly’s super perky blog posts, to the people commenting on the Reddit threads regarding the reality show. The format really keeps things moving along as the reader learns various bits and pieces from the various narrators.

Since I just recently reviewed Patricia Wants to Cuddle by Samantha Allen and that book was also based on a reality show, I couldn’t help but make comparisons. The authors seem very dissimilar but their threads of humor definitely shine. Sarah Strohmeyer’s signature humor is on full display here, although definitely toned down from her laugh-out-loud funny Bubbles Yablonsky series that I read years ago. One back-cover reviewer called this new novel “Diabolical and deliciously twisty…” I find that to be a great description. It was suspenseful and fun, making me look around every corner for the villain.

It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror, edited by Joe Vallese

 

Reviewed by Christy

            I love horror. Well, most horror. I'm generally not into body horror, extreme gore, or most slashers (though I do have a soft spot for the Scream franchise and the original Halloween). This kind of leaves me out of step with a lot of horror fans. But regardless, I still enjoy hearing differing viewpoints and experiences when it comes to horror, which is why I picked up It Came from the Closet.

            Although I'm not a member of the LGBT community myself, I think it's important to listen to perspectives from people different than me. And what a more interesting way than through scary movies! As with any collection of essays or short stories, there are hits and misses. The ones that stood out to me most were Carmen Maria Machado's "Both Ways" (Jennifer's Body), Jen Corrigan's "Three Men on a Boat" (Jaws), Sumiko Saulson's "Centered and Seen" (Candyman), and Tucker Lieberman's "The Trail of His Flames" (The Nightmare on Elm Street). I enjoyed quite a few others but these were particularly engrossing to me. The one that made the most impact, however, was Joe Vallese's "Imprint". Vallese details his and his husband's journey to parenthood through surrogacy. A close friend had such easy pregnancies with her own children that she was delighted to be a surrogate for her friends. Unfortunately, she would go on to have more than one miscarriage. Each time was devastating but the second one was particularly heart breaking. Amanda, the surrogate, got pretty far long in this pregnancy - well past the point that was considered tenuous. They knew it was a girl due around Easter, and everyone called her Chickie. But the baby didn't make it. To say this essay packs a punch would be an understatement; I had to take a break after listening to it. Surrogacy is a controversial topic but I think many people will feel deep sympathy as Vallese mourns a child that will never be. (Vallese and his husband are now proud parents to a little boy.)

            As with the essay mentioned above, a lot of these are emotionally heavy. But I do think they're worth checking out! The authors tell their personal stories while also giving readers a new way to think about their favorite scary movie. I feel like I learned a lot.

Nevermore: Hidden in Plain View, The Spectacular, Senile Squad

 

Reported by Rita

Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad by Jacqueline L. Tobin and Raymond G. Dobard is the first look at proof that certain quilt patterns were used as code to aid in escape along the Underground Railroad. Tobin spent three years with African American quilter Ozella Williams discovering the history of how slaves made and used the coded quilts. The book includes many photos of the different quilts and is very informative. AH

The Spectacular by Fiona Davis is set in the 1950s when nineteen- year-old Marion is chosen to be a Rockette and follows her dream against her father’s wishes. When a bomb goes off in the theater the young dancer finds herself pulled into the investigation. Described as a fun, quick read, very enjoyable. WJ

Senile Squad: Adventures of the Old Blues by Chris LeGrow is about a group of retired elderly cops living together in Omaha who can’t stop fighting crime. Armed with walkers and colostomy bags instead of guns and handcuffs, they find unique and often hilarious ways of taking down criminals. Our reader found it thoroughly entertaining and highly recommends it. MP

 

Also Mentioned:

 

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

The Queen of the Cicadas by V. Castro

The Story of Becoming Piney Flats by Robert Sorrell

The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell

The Man Who Broke Capitalism: How Jack Welch Gutted the Heartland and Crushed the Soul of Corporate America – and How to Undo His Legacy by David Gelles

Swine Not?: A Novel Pig Tale by Jimmy  Buffett

The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson

Double Destiny: The Story of Bristol, Tennessee-Virginia by Robert Loving

Homecoming by Kate Morton

Mrs. Chippy’s Last Expedition: The Remarkable Journal of Shackleton’s Polar-Bound Cat by Caroline Alexander

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

People of the Earth Deer by Farley Mowat

The Little Italian Hotel by Phaedra Patrick

Civilization and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud

A Tempest at Sea by Sherry Thomas

You Look Beautiful Tonight by L.R. Jones

New Books:

Almost Brown by Charlotte Gill

The Hidden History of East Tennessee by Joe Guy

Foxfire Story: Oral Tradition in Southern Appalachia by Foxfire Fund Inc.

The Girl by the Bridge: A Detective Conrad Novel by Arnaldur Indriðason

The World: A Family History of Humanity by Simon Sebag Montefiore

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

Reviewed by Kristin

Introvert A.J. Fikry runs Island Books out of a cottage on Alice Island. He started the bookstore with his late wife Nic, who he lost suddenly in an automobile accident. The island is a lovely summer getaway and A.J. grudgingly caters to the tourists, but that doesn’t mean he has to be happy about it. He also has advanced degrees in English literature, so he prefers to avoid the dreck that appeals to the masses. Vampires. Ugh. Nic was much better at dealing with popular literature (and people) than A.J.

A.J. is particularly annoyed when a newly hired book sales representative from Knightley Press shows up to present the winter catalog for his perusal. This young woman, Amelia Loman, doesn’t know his tastes or preferences. She tries to talk him into reading a galley of The Late Bloomer, a memoir from an octogenarian man who married late in life and became a widow just two years later. Hmmph. A.J. just throws the copy onto a stack of many other unread advance copies.

Right as A.J. is leaning into his crankiness, someone leaves something in the bookstore, and it changes his life.

I absolutely loved the way this story unfolded. Yes, there were some predictable storylines, but I enjoyed them nonetheless. This is not just a romance, but a story of lives woven together. A.J.’s sister-in-law Ismay, her writer husband Daniel, police chief Lambiase, and others form a community which A.J. comes to realize he is a part of, whether he likes it or not. And Amelia may have been annoying to A.J. at first, but she grows on him.

Throughout are mentions of literature. Tamerlane, Edgar Allan Poe’s first (anonymously) published work, plays a big part as A.J. had discovered a rare copy at an estate sale. Island Books presents a lovely literary backdrop so that the author can title-drop books from The Monster at the End of the book to The Time Traveler’s Wife. After all, it is a very storied life that A.J. is living.

This book came out in 2014 but I just recently discovered Gabrielle Zevin, so I’m catching up. And while writing this, I also discovered that there is a movie version from 2022, so I now have plans for the weekend. Then on to the next Zevin book….

The Night of the Hunter by Davis Grubb

 

Reviewed by Christy

            I saw the 1955 Robert Mitchum film The Night of the Hunter many years ago. I loved it so much that I immediately bought the DVD as well as the 1953 novel it was based on. I put it on my bookshelf, and there it sat year after year, collecting dust. Recently, however, one of the podcasts I listen to just so happened to do an episode on the movie. Unspooled originally started as a podcast where the two co-hosts would watch every movie on the American Film Institute's top 100 films, and discuss whether it deserved to be there. Now that they've finished the list, they've moved on to other movies: classics, blockbusters, foreign films, underappreciated gems, etc. I love hearing behind-the-scenes tidbits about the movies, and I always come away with a new understanding on how the movie could be perceived (whether I agree with that perception or not, it's still fun).

            The episode was the push I needed to finally pick up the book, and I’m so glad I did. It kind of took me by surprise how much I ended up loving it. It was very slow and methodical, and I’ll admit early on I struggled to return to it. However, when it picked up the pace it started to read like a modern-day page-turner. Having seen the movie, I knew what happened, and I still found myself holding my breath at certain parts.

            It’s the Great Depression, and Ben is desperate for money. He robs a bank, and is arrested shortly after. Before the “blue men” take him away, he hides the money and makes his young son John promise to never, ever tell anyone where it is. Not even his mother. Ben’s cellmate knows about the money, however, and he will do anything to get it.

            Grubb’s prose is beautiful and touching when you least expect it. I found myself re-reading sentences throughout just because they were so lovely. My favorite section of the book is the last fourth, when a new character is introduced: Rachel Cooper. Rachel’s story-within-the-story is sudden (and heartbreaking) but she is written with such tenderness and depth, that it doesn’t feel particularly jarring to jump into her life with so little of the book left. I loved her immediately.

            I’m very excited to re-visit the movie but I’m so glad I finally read the book. The ending is much more warm and hopeful which, to be honest, I definitely needed after the bleakness of the novel.

Nevermore: Four Thousand Weeks, Bean Trees, A House Somewhere

 

Reported by Rita

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman is a philosophical guide to time and time management. Our reader said the book cites several studies so it wasn’t an easy lay-person’s read but was still very enjoyable. An important point is that it offers the perspective that it’s okay not to be busy all of the time. KM

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver follows a young woman from rural Kentucky traveling to Arizona in a rundown Volkswagen. When she unexpectedly becomes the caretaker of a three-year-old Native American girl, she finds herself examining her relationships and what it means to be a family. MS

A House Somewhere: Tales of Life Abroad edited by Lonely Planet staff is a collection of short stories from several contemporary authors. The stories give a glimpse inside the writers’ homes and what it is like to leave a familiar place for something new. Our reader was especially fond of the chapter by Isabel Allende which shows her light and funny side. CD

 

Also Mentioned:

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

The Story of Becoming Piney Flats by Robert Sorrell

Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist by Michael J. Fox

Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier

The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide by Rupert Holmes

New Books:

Driving While Black: African American Travel and the Road to Civil Rights by Gretchen Sorin

The Last Ride of the Pony Express: My 2,000 Mile Journey into the Old West by Will Grant

When Things Get Dark: Stories Inspired by Shirley Jackson edited by Ellen Datlow

Appalachian Witchcraft for Beginners: The History, Remedies, and Spells of a Rich Folk Magic Tradition by Auburn Lily

The Little Italian Hotel by Phaedra Patrick

The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures: The Ultimate A-Z Guide of Fantastic Beings from Myth and Magic by John Mathews, Caitlin Matthews

Ambrea: Picture Book Favorites

 

Recently, I took a class on children’s picture books.  It was a delightful class and I learned so much about children’s literature, picture books, popular illustrators, important literary awards, and more.  I enjoyed it immensely!  However, over the course of 10 weeks I was tasked with reading over 240 children’s books.

Yep, you read correctly:  I read 240 children’s books in just under two months.

Which means I have a lot of books to share.

I’ve mentioned several award-winning books, but what about the books that haven’t won any awards?  Trust me, I found plenty of books to adore!  Here are some of my favorite picture books that didn’t manage to win an award, but definitely won my admiration:

 

Bunny’s Book Club by Annie Silvestro and Tatjana Mai-Wyss

Bunny loves to sit outside the library and listen to their outdoor story time.  Bunny, however, knows it won’t last forever and he desperately wants to keep reading.  Soon, he devises a plan to sneak into the library through the library’s book drop!  Bunny’s passion for books and reading spoke to my little librarian heart—how could I not fall in love?  Not only did I enjoy the silly antics of Bunny and his friends, I adored the colorful illustrations and bouncy, joyful narrative.  It’s a true gem of a book.

 

Once Upon a Book by Grace Lin and Kate Messner 

On a boring winter day, Alice wishes she could find something to do.  Much to her surprise, she embarks on a wondrous adventure in the pages of her favorite book.  I have loved Grace Lin’s work ever since I read Big Mooncake for Little Star.  Her latest picture book does not disappoint!  The illustrations are bright and brilliant, and the narrative is lovely and imaginative.  It’s a sweet, whimsical story with lots of little details to enjoy.  (My favorite part was picking out the little white rabbit on every page.  I loved the homage to Alice in Wonderland.)

 

Out of a Jar by Deborah Marcero

Llewellyn doesn’t like his big, messy feelings.  So, he comes up with a plan:  he’ll tuck each of his feelings into a jar and hide them away.  But what happens when his emotions decide it’s time to get out?  This is lovely book about feelings and how it’s actually okay to feel those big feelings.  I love the imagery that accompanies the narrative—the colorful jars, the brilliant backgrounds, the funny antics of one lovable little bunny.  It’s a delightfully funny book that makes emotions not so big and scary.

 

In Our Mothers' House by Patricia Polacco

Marmee, Meema, and their kids are just like every other family on the block.  They cook together, they laugh together, they dance together, and they host tea parties together—but not everyone can appreciate the Marmee and Meema and their big hearts.  Polacco is a fantastic artist, no doubt about that:  she creates magnificent sketches and drawings that are full of life, detail, and depth.  But there’s something special about Marmee and Meema’s story.  It tugged on my heartstrings from the first page.  I quickly fell in love with this little family and I adored hearing their story as they laughed, grew, and loved.

 

Wolfboy by Andy Harkness

Wolfboy is hungry—and drooly and growly and fussy.  And he thinks the rabbits will help!  This book is a joy to read.  It’s humorous, it’s colorful, and it’s unexpectedly suspenseful.  Will Wolfboy catch the rabbits?  And, if he does, what will he do with them?  It’s scintillating.  In particular, I loved artwork in this book.  Harkness uses a nontraditional medium for his work:  clay and photography.  Every page is a lovingly handcrafted, which charmed and delighted me from beginning to end.

The Mystic’s Accomplice by Mary Miley

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Maddy Pastore’s life is upended when her husband, Tommy, is shot and killed.  Tommy worked as a deliveryman for the Outfit—the term for the Chicago gang run by Johnny Torrio and his young associate, Alphonse Capone. In 1924, a lot of men were working for some gang or other, often running alcohol, but it hadn’t seemed quite real.  Now Maddy finds herself with a baby and in desperate need of a job.  The only thing she finds is working for self-proclaimed medium “Madam Carlotta” who tries to connect clients with a deceased love ones.  Madam Carlotta’s connections to the spirit world can sometimes be a bit finicky, so she had Maddy do a bit of investigation about her clients prior to the séance… where Maddy sometimes pretends to be a client as well.

During one of her investigations, Maddy becomes suspicious about the circumstances of a death.  Soon it appears she may be on the trail of a murderer, but can she prove it before he kills again?

I picked this up because I was intrigued by the setting: Chicago during Prohibition.  The author has done a good bit of research, bringing in such things as Jane Addams’ Hull House, along with some historical events.  The author has an afterword in which she explains which characters and situations are fictional and which are based on fact, offering suggested resources to readers who want to follow up. 

The mystery is fairly obvious early on, so if you’re a mystery fan you may find the book comes up short.  I was more intrigued by the setting and the way that the author handles the whole Madam Carlotta situation.  Maddy isn’t a scam artist.  She worries about her part in researching the clients, but rationalizes that Madam Carlotta doesn’t charge, just accepts donations.  The medium isn’t out to fleece clients, and actually seems to believe that she does have psychic gifts. 

While this wasn’t an edge of the seat read, I did enjoy it.  The setting was very well done and I especially enjoyed the “slice of life” scenes such as when Maddy visits a speakeasy.  I liked the characters and appreciated how Maddy dealt with the many changes in her life. She still has an appealing innocence about her.

I’m going to be reading the next in the series to see what happens to Maddy and her friends.

New In August!

 There's a wonderful array of new titles coming out in August! Here are some from authors our patrons love:

August

Andrews, Donna Birder, She Wrote

Benjamin, Melanie California Golden

Bowen, Rhys  The Paris Assignment

Brennan, Allison  North of Nowhere

Brown, Sandra  Out of Nowhere

Chiaverini, Jennifer  Canary Girls

Feeney, Alice  Good Bad Girl

Goldin, Megan  Dark Corners

Heller, Peter  The Last Ranger

Hirahara, Naomi  Evergreen

Hoffman, Alice The Invisible Hour

Jewell, Lisa None of This Is True

Jones, Sandie The Trade Off

Martin, Madeline  The Keeper of Hidden Books

McAllister, Gillian  Just Another Missing Person

McBride, James  The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store

McFadden, Freida  The Coworker

Michaels, Fern  Rock Bottom

Mina, Denise  The Second Murderer: A Philip Marlowe Novel

Novak, Brenda  Talulah’s Back in Town

Patchett, Ann Tom Lake

Patterson, James  Lion & Lamb

Pekkanen, Sarah  Gone Tonight

Preston, Douglas & Lincoln Child Dead Mountain

Reichs, Kathy The Bone Hacker

Rollins, James  Tides of Fire

Rose, Karen  Beneath Dark Waters

Slaughter, Karin  After That Night (Will Trent)

Smirnoff, Karin  The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons  (Lisbeth Salander)

Steel, Danielle  Happiness

Walker, Martin A Chateau Under Siege (Bruno, Chief of Police)

Ward, Catriona Looking Glass Sound

Weiner, Jennifer  The Breakaway