Nevermore: Girls in Pine Brooke, Always Remember, Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife

 

Nevermore:  Girls in Pine Brooke, Always Remember, Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife

Nevermore 12-9-25

Reported by Rita

The Girls in Pine Brooke (A Detective Riley Quinn Pine Brooke Mystery Book 1) by A.J. Rivers

When the body of a young girl is found in the woods. Detective Riley Quinn finds herself in a mystery that intertwines with her tragic past…

After her best-friend is murdered in cold blood, to escape her traumas and big city life, Riley moves back to Pine Brooke. There she takes a position as the town’s detective. When she receives a call regarding a young girl in the woods, she never expected the terror of events that would soon unfold. It seems the thin and malnourished girl had fallen to her death. But closer examination of the body reveals new layers to the mystery. Was she running from something?

While trying to ID the body, she runs into Pine Brooke’s new doctor, Logan Elwood. A man that may be hiding a clinic full of secrets behind his gruff demeanor. Suddenly, the case takes on a more gruesome turn when multiple bodies of young girls turn up in odd circumstances. One thing is for certain, the once idyllic pines are harboring murderous secrets.

This was a fast read with lots of twists and turns. I found it enjoyable.      - FE      5 stars

 

Always Remember: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, the Horse and the Storm by Charlie Mackesy

Charlie Mackesy’s four unlikely friends are wandering through the wilds again. They’re not sure what they are looking for. They do know that life can be difficult, but that they love each other, and cake is often the answer. When the dark clouds come, can the boy remember what he needs to get through the storm?

Beautiful and delightful. The illustrations are great. I loved it!     - NH     5 stars

           

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston

Frederick Fife was born with an extra helping of kindness in his heart. If he borrowed your car, he’d return it washed with a full tank of gas. The problem is there’s nobody left in Fred’s life to borrow from. At eighty-two, he’s desperately lonely, broke, and on the brink of homelessness. But Fred’s luck changes when, in a bizarre case of mistaken identity, he takes the place of grumpy Bernard Greer at the local nursing home. Now he has warm meals in his belly and a roof over his head—as long as his poker face is in better shape than his prostate and that his look-alike never turns up.

I hated it. I didn't finish reading it because I felt the characters had no redeeming qualities.      - CD       1 star

 

Other Books Mentioned

1066 and All That: A Memorable History of England by W.C. Sellar, R.J. Yeatman

Fear by Bob Woodward

Mona's Eyes by Thomas Schlesser

All But My Life by Gerda Weissmann Klein

For Better or For Worse: The Comic Art of Lynn Johnston by Lynn Johnston

Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture by Gaiutra Bahadur

The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck by Sophie Elmhirst

 

New Books

Dear Miss Perkins: A Story of Frances Perkins's Efforts to Aid Refugees from Nazi Germany by Rebecca Brenner Graham

Nevermore: The Women; The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse; Ethan Frome

 

Reported by Rita

The Women by Kristin Hannah

In 1965, nursing student Frankie McGrath, after hearing the words “Women can be heroes, too,” impulsively joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows her brother to Vietnam where she is overwhelmed by the destruction of war, as well as the unexpected trauma of coming home to a changed and politically divided America.

I thought it was too formulaic and not realistic. I didn’t enjoy it.  – CD     3 stars

 

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

A  modern, illustrated fable for readers of all ages that explores life's universal lessons from British illustrator Charlie Mackesy.

The most beautiful book I’ve ever read. The art is fantastic. It’s full of hope, love, and promise. Uplifting.  – NH    5 stars

 

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

A New England farmer must choose between his duty to care for his invalid wife and his love for her cousin.

It’s a very sad story, but worth reading. It was a quick, easy read. I loved it.  – DC      5 stars

 

Other Books Mentioned

Suffrage Song: the Haunted History of Gender, Race and Voting Rights in the United States of America by Caitlin Cass

Katharine, the Wright Sister by Tracey Enerson Wood

The Life Impossible by Matt Haig

The Paris Secret by Karen Swan

Selected Stories by William Trevor

Unbelievable Crimes Volume One: Macabre Yet Unknown True Crime Stories by Daniela Airlie

Unbelievable Crimes Volume Two: Macabre Yet Unknown True Crime Stories by Daniela Airlie

These Tangled Threads by Sarah Loudin Thomas

The Art of the English Murder by Lucy Worsley

The Drowning Kind by Jennifer McMahon

 

New Books

At War With Ourselves by H. R. McMaster

That Librarian by Amanda Jones

The Art of Gothic Living by Paul Gambino

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

Reviewed by Jeanne

This is one of those books that you hear about, someone commenting they loved it, best seller list, that sort of thing.  What is missing is, “What is the book about?”   After reading it, I can see why that part is missing, because it’s not really a book one can pigeonhole.  Described by the author as being for anyone “from eighty to eight—I feel like both sometimes,” it consists of a series of ink and watercolor drawings of the titular creatures with bits of dialog between them.

It’s a calming sort of book; the mole asks the boy what he wants to be when he grows up and the boy responds, “Kind.”  At another drawing, the mole says, “Most of the old moles I know wish they had listened less to their fears and more to their dreams.”

At one point they meet a fox caught in a snare, and though the fox tells the mole if he weren’t trapped, he would eat him, the mole frees the fox. The fox remains with the others, and (spoiler alert) does not eat the mole. That is about as much of a plot as there is, but then this book isn't about plot.

At the publisher’s site, the book is promoted as offering empathy and self-care.  That’s what this book is all about.  It’s a moment to pause and ponder, and for that reason, I think it’s best read a few pages at a time rather than all at once. 

The illustrations are charming, like those from a beloved childhood book.  Some of the illustrations put me very much in mind of Ernest Shepard’s drawings for the Winnie the Pooh books.  The text is done in a handwritten format which I confess I found a little difficult to read at times but which does add to the intimate feel of the book and complements the artwork.

So if you feel the need for a few minutes of peace during a stressful time, this is an ideal book to turn to.  It is thoughtful but not demanding and I found it soothing, encouraging, and comforting.