Nevermore: Hello Girls, Girl on the Train, My Cousin Rachel, Long Black Veil, Taduno's Song, St. Louie Slow Drag, Hot Zone, Sapiens

Reported by Jeanne

Nevermore opened with praise for Jennifer Boylan’s Long Black Veil.  The story revolves around six college students who sneak into an abandoned prison on a lark.  The situation turns deadly, and the survivors find their lives forever changed. Thirty years later, a police officer arrests one of the former students, and another is faced with revealing secrets that could ruin her life.  The story moves back and forth from 1980 to the present day, and one thing our reader found most intriguing was simply realizing how much social norms have changed in that relatively small period of time.  She said it was a good, scary book that reminded the reader that secrets will come out.

The Hot Zone by Richard Preston was the next book up.  Our reader had lived near Reston, Virginia at one point, so the implications hit home for her.  The story is divided between a history of how the ebola virus was discovered and a frightening incident that occurred in a Reston lab in 1989.  Our reader said it a thrilling, terrifying book, and she recommended it to the others.

A Nigerian musician in exile receives a letter from his girlfriend that causes him to return home in the debut novel Taduno’s Song by Odafe Atogun.  Once there, he discovers no one remembers him, that his identification is all gone, and his girlfriend is missing.  It’s a Kafkaesque situation, in which the protagonist is powerless to do anything except play his music. Our reader enjoyed the book.

Sapiens by Yuval N. Harari details a number of different theories about mankind’s evolution, but he shows little or favoritism for any particular theory.  The author, a professor of history at Hebrew University, discusses the various human species whose remains have been found while describing the way our species has developed.  There’s an overwhelming amount of information packed into each page, which makes for slow reading; but the Nevermore member is finding it well written and quite good.

More recent history is covered in The Hello Girls by Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman. World War I saw the first telephone lines used as a means of communication, and the first American women soldiers sent to France to operate them.  Their path was not an easy one.  They had very little respect, either from the male soldiers or the female nurses; they were in war zones; and both food and shelter were deplorable.  Our reviewer was impressed with General John “Black Jack” Pershing, who championed the women. She thought the book was quite an eye-opener, and thought more people should know about that particular part of WWI.

Our next reader was engrossed in Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.  It’s the story of three different women whose lives become intertwined. Rachel takes the train to and from work every day.  She begins watching a couple who seem to be living perfect lives, including the perfect marriage— something that attracts Rachel, unhappily divorced and upset over her ex’s new wife.   Then an apparent crime draws together the lives of these three women, surprising the reader with twists and turns.  Our reviewer hasn’t finished the book, but is finding it to be intriguing, entertaining, and well written, with especially strong characterization.

St. Louie Slow Drag, the second in the Julia Nye series by Jo Allison, is a historical mystery set in St. Louis in 1910. Julia works as a typist in the local police department, which is not her only unconventional activity.  She’s also a suffragette and is willing to go on a date to a seedy part of town to hear ragtime great Scott Joplin play.  An explosion and fire sends the club-goers fleeing—and the kerosene can says this was no accident.  Our reader was impressed with the amount of historical detail in the book.  Allison creates a vivid portrait of life at the time, including race relations, the calls for women’s suffrage, and the march for Prohibition. She recommends the entire series.

Finally, a reader picked up My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier.  A young man is intrigued by his late cousin’s beautiful widow in a complex romantic-suspense novel set in Cornwall.  Our reader gave up on it early, saying that she had just read Jamaica Inn and that was a hard act to follow.  She may try it again later.

The Prince and I by Karen Hawkins

Reviewed by Ambrea

Murian MacDonald loved Rowallen Castle, and she loved the immeasurably happy life she lived.  But when the earl killed her husband and stole Rowallen from beneath her, Murian vowed revenge.  Now, she waylays the earl’s wealthy guests with a loyal band of misfits, trying to lure him and his guards into pursuit so she may sneak back into the castle and find evidence of his misdeeds.

Her plan is working well, until she stops the coach of Gregori Maksim Romanovin, a prince of Oxenburg, and the Grand Duchess Natasha Nikolaevna.  Although she bests him in a duel and makes off with her prize, Murian hasn’t heard the last of Prince Max—and, whether she likes it or not, she may very well need his help if she hopes to reclaim Rowallen and defeat despicable earl who ruined her life.

I rather liked Karen Hawkin’s novel, The Prince and I.  It’s a curious blending of romance and Robin Hood, and I enjoyed it.  Max is the quintessential hero:  dark, brooding, capable and confident—not to mention, he’s a literal prince.  Murian, on the other hand, is anything but a damsel in distress:  she’s calm, competent, hard-working and surprisingly agile with a blade.  She’s been dealt a terrible hand, having lost her husband and her home, but she’s making the best of her situation and managing to survive.

When a sweet romance develops between them, I couldn’t help gush over the tenderness of their relationship.  Murian is driven by her desire for revenge and, while it does mark her growing affection for Max, it also makes her a more conflicted, complicated character.  Their relationship isn’t cut and dry, rather they’re faced with a number of hurdles to jump, not least of which a conniving earl that will see Murian dead and Max brought to heel.

It’s rather exciting.

However, I think my favorite character was Max’s grandmother, the Grand Duchess.  Natasha was, by far, the most comical character and, I think, the most knowledgeable.  She doesn’t care how others perceive her; rather, she likes the idea that others consider her a witch.  (It’s why she most often threatens to turn others into goats and frogs.  She much prefers infamy to anonymity.)  Moreover, she’s often caught in the thick of trouble, one way or another, and yet she still manages to turn circumstances exactly how she wants them.

This last quality makes me think that she’s not the doddering old witch she likes her grandson to think she is.  Natasha is wily, not necessarily senile; in fact, she strikes me as being preternaturally intelligent.  For instance, if she hadn’t lost in a card game to the earl, they never would have traveled to Scotland.  Max would never have met Murian; Max would never have gotten involved in the earl’s business and discovered what the man did.

Natasha is the force that propels the story forward.  She helps shape it the most and, while she may seem laughably naïve or even foolish, I have this feeling that she’s not what she seems.  Throughout the story as I learned more about her, I had this odd suspicion that she knew exactly what she was doing, that she calculated every move to her—and, by proxy, her grandson’s—benefit.

Personally, she’s part of what made The Prince and I so enjoyable.  I may have to read more of the series if it means I can reacquaint myself with the Grand Duchess.

The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen A. Flynn

Reviewed by Jeanne

When Dr. William Ravenswood and his sister Mary arrive in London in 1815, they are all but friendless.  They are newly arrived in England, being the children of wealthy planters who, abhorring the slave trade, freed their workers and sold their plantation. Their charming manners and wealth soon attract interest, and their letter of introduction allows them to meet others of similar station.  They are looking for someone in particular, however;  Henry Austen, a gentleman who has a sister with a secret.  She’s an author.

The Ravenswoods have secrets as well.  They are not brother and sister, those are not their real names, and they have come from a great deal farther than Jamaica.

They are time travelers, sent back to try to obtain by hook or by crook a copy of a never published Jane Austen novel.

Let me say at the start that I can be a bit squeamish about light fiction using actual historical characters.  I tend to second guess a lot, wondering whether or not Ben Franklin or Edgar Allan Poe or Jane Austen would really have behaved in the manner depicted.  The reviews on this book were good, so I decided to chance it.

It is well-written and quite well thought out.  I don’t know if author Kathleen A. Flynn has ever read Connie Willis, but some elements reminded me of her marvelous Oxford Time Travel series:  the travelers’ base institute is in Oxford, for example, and the elaborate contingency plans are made.  There is some description of the rigorous training involved when time traveling back to 1815: learning to ride a horse, getting properly dressed in the garments of the time, and the crucial ability to blend in with the population.  

Characterization was well done, and the reader gets a good feel for the time period.  The story is told from the point of view of Dr. Rachel Katzman, aka Mary Ravenswood, a medical doctor who has provided humanitarian aid in various countries under difficult circumstances.  She is adept at hiding her horror at some of the living conditions—handwashing, for example, isn’t nearly as prevalent as in modern times—but occasionally chaffs at the restraints she must endure as a woman in a time when women had limited influence.  

I enjoyed The Jane Austen Project.  The author had done her research, and still managed to pull out a few surprises.  The result is a very satisfying novel.

Nevermore: Eleanor Oliphant, Lost City, Shadow Man, Lost City of the Monkey God, Inferno

To start, Nevermore dived into Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, a debut novel by Gail Honeyman.  Eleanor Oliphant is not your average heroine.  Serious, socially awkward, and painfully odd, Eleanor tries to avoid any kind of social interaction or hiccup that might disturb her carefully orchestrated life.  That is, until she meets Raymond, the IT guy from her office, and subsequently saves Sammy, an elderly gentleman who took a spill on the sidewalk.  Now, Eleanor has to wonder if her isolated life has been worth it—and if opening her heart to someone else might be a risk worth taking.  Our reader called Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine an intensely emotional and incredibly moving novel.  “[I found it] so beautiful how her friendships help her survive” the worst parts of her life, she said.  She highly recommended Honeyman’s debut, saying it was well worth reading.

Next, Nevermore checked out The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston.  In 2012, Doug Preston joined a team of scientists on a quest to rediscover this incredible, lost city.  Called the “White City” by the conquistadors and legendary among indigenous people, the Lost City of the Monkey God held an undiscovered trove of treasures and history.  Using LIDAR to help them chart a course, Preston and the rest of the team set off into the Honduran rain forest.  They were astonished by the discoveries they made and the dangers they faced—and brought home.  Our reader loved The Lost City of the Monkey God.  She said it offered an astonishing depth of knowledge on the history of the region, as well as detailed some of the more extreme dangers the scientific team faced.  It was truthful of the hardships and it shed light on the various plights, pitfalls, and problems with which archaeologists deal.

In Shadow Man, Detective Ben Wade has returned to Rancho Santa Elena in search of a quieter life.  Filled with peaceful streets, quaint communities, and excellent schools, Rancho Santa Elena is the perfect place for Ben to take a break and rebuild his crumbling marriage—until a daring serial killer arrives on the scene.  Now, Ben and forensic specialist Natasha Betencourt must stay one step ahead of a killer, before he chooses his next victim.  Thrilling and thought provoking, Shadow Man is a fascinating detective story on how personal secrets can quickly wreak havoc and destroy lives.  Our reader gave high praise for Alan Drew’s novel, saying he enjoyed it immensely; however, he also noted he’s ready for a change of pace:  “[I’ve come] to realize…I’ve read too many mystery books in a row.”  He’s ready for his next book to be of a scientific variety.

Nevermore jumped back in time with Jane Austen’s classic, Persuasion.  Published in 1818, Persuasion tells the story of Anne Elliot.  When she was only nineteen, Anne fell in love with Captain Wentworth; however, with neither fortune nor title to his name, she was forced to break her engagement with him and warned never to see him again.  Seven years later, Anne reconnects with beloved captain—now, a wealthy and accomplished Navy man—and she begins to wonder if second chances really do happen, or if she’s pinning too many hopes on a fond memory.  Our reader admitted she enjoyed reading Persuasion more than she expected.  She thought it was a sweet, romantic story that offered an unexpectedly astute view on class, wealth, and privilege.  It was a nice change of pace for our reader, even if she wondered how women could possibly be content with being entertained and wooed all the time.  “It seems [very] boring,” she noted.

Last, Nevermore jumped into Inferno:  A Doctor’s Ebola Story by Dr. Steven Hatch.  Hatch, an infectious disease specialist, fired worked in Liberia during 2013 at a hospital in Monrovia.  Within six months, several physicians were dead and Ebola was quickly growing into an international crisis.  Hatch also helped create the Ebola Treatment Unit with the International Medical Corps, trying to stop the spread of this horrific disease—and temper the xenophobic politics that stemmed from this crisis.  Inferno is an uncompromising look at Liberia’s violent history and the virus that nearly destroyed it.  Our reader called Hatch’s book “absolutely fascinating.  [It was] very informative and very well written.”  She added that it was very interesting to see how the history of Liberia factored into the spread of the Ebola epidemic and how doctors were able to track the virus, going into such great detail as to hypothesize on the victim of the very first Ebola infection.