Tag Archives: family

Feb6

Murder in the Family, by Cara Hunter, a Review

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This book was quite clever in its premise and execution. It’s set up like a documentary series about a cold case involving the murder of the stepfather of one of the filmmakers.

The story is set up as a series of production notes, articles about the murder, and interviews on camera with various people who have information about the case. The filmmaker is in the background for most of it, but appears a few times to set the scene for the people on the program.

The other characters are various professionals who have experience as either law enforcement, journalists, or other crime backgrounds.  We have a retired detective inspector, a criminal prosecutor, a journalist, forensic psychologist, crime scene investigator, a retired NYPD detective as well as the producer of the show and the filmmaker with his two sisters.

Newspaper articles, text messages, emails, true crime aficionados in message forums, and dialogue in the documentary make up the majority of the book. There are no chapters per se and this is a fun way for the reader to get the story and try to figure out the clues as well as who may have something to hide.

I loved this book and the way it was presented. It was unique and enjoyable. I did figure out who did it but I usually do. The ride to get to the solution is what I enjoy and this one was an intriguing one. While I did figure out whodunit, I was wrong on the why dun it.  LOL

The presentation of this story was ingenious and original. I really enjoyed it.

BLURB:

It was a case that gripped the nation. In December 2003, Luke Ryder, the stepfather of acclaimed filmmaker Guy Howard (then aged 10), was found dead in the garden of their suburban family home.

Luke Ryder’s murder has never been solved. Guy Howard’s mother and two sisters were in the house at the time of the murder—but all swear they saw nothing. Despite a high-profile police investigation and endless media attention, no suspect was ever charged.

But some murder cases are simply too big to forget…

Now comes the sensational new streaming series Infamous, dedicated to investigating—and perhaps cracking—this famous cold case. Years later a group of experts re-examine the evidence – with shocking results. Does the team know more than they’ve been letting on?

True crime lovers and savvy readers, you can review the evidence and testimony at the same time as the experts. But can you solve the case before they do?

Jan18

The hiking Trip by Jenny Blackhurst- Review

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I picked this one up when I was out shopping before Christmas as it sounded intriguing and the cover was enticing.  I enjoyed it immensely and read it in one day.

A ten day camping/hiking trip gone wrong for the protagonist ends up affecting her whole life when she meets up with various strangers on the trail.

It is a fast paced story that keeps you on your toes.  I figured out some stuff early on but didn’t figure out one of the main things until pretty late in the tale. Which I love since I usually figure out solutions easily. A book that keeps me guessing is always a joy.

This one has a cool premise and the author executed it to perfection. She writes in a way that keeps the tension going but also gives the reader a bit of a rest in spots so it’s not a frantic read, but rather a story that has ebbs and then spurts of high action. A veritable roller coaster ride of a story. I can’t say much more than that due to the risk of spoilers but I can say it’s in your interest to go grab a copy if you like suspense as it’s well worth immersing yourself in the ups and downs of this one.

It was a quick read even though it was a densely packed almost 300 pages.

Jun27

The Harbor by Katrine Engberg

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As someone who enjoys the Icelandic, Danish and other Scandinavian dramas, a genre apparently called Nordic Noir, I picked up this book a while back and have finally found time to review it.

I love this story. It has a lot of twists and turns—being someone who reads a lot of crime fiction, I really appreciate it when the author can keep me guessing for a while. I did figure out parts of it, but not the complete solution. I also like that each section had the day of the week at the beginning of those sections. It helped keep the reader oriented to the time passing in the investigation and upped the stakes on how long the boy was gone.

The story starts when a young man disappears on his way home from school. He lives in Copenhagen and has two siblings and some very odd parents. The reactions of his parents when he goes missing are strange and immediately make the reader suspicious. But there is no shortage of suspects in this story. The parents are a small part of the suspicion here. A murder occurs and more layers are added to the story. There are a lot of characters to sink ones teeth into. The ending of the investigation is superbly done.

The two detectives in the story are richly drawn with flaws as well as talents. Having fully fleshed out protagonists is always appreciated. The reader can really get behind these characters as they move forward in not only the investigation but in their personal lives.

The flow of the story is well done, clues are dropped and twists happen at a good pace.

If you’re a fan of detective stories with intriguing premises and interesting crimes and criminals, this is one to pick up.

Jun17

Forgotten Ghosts (Book Two of the Legacy Witch series) by Cass Kay

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Having read the first book of this series and enjoyed it so well, I was excited to get the chance to read this second book. Our heroine, Vianna is just as interesting and compelling as she was in the first book. Her best friend, Sandeen—known as Dee—lives with her now and they are making a home together. Two outcasts as neither belong to a coven, they have bonded as friends and each has the other’s back. I really enjoy their dynamic and personalities.

Of course, being Vianna, troubles come to call from various sources. Even the creepy nephew of her old landlord in Boston shows up. He smells like canned bacon and that made me laugh every time she mentioned it as I have never heard of such a thing though I can imagine just how lovely that smell could be. LOL

The author is very good at descriptions. She has the characters attend a witches fair and I loved how she evoked the atmosphere of first, the booths of items for sale, then the bonfire and the magic that occurs around it at the end of the fair. The fall setting was particularly well done. It’s my favorite season and I could almost feel like I was there despite the 90 degree weather as I read this book.

Part of the story takes place in tunnels under the city of Salem. Ms. Cass did a great job in atmospheric writing there and in her descriptions of the inhabitants of the tunnels.

Lots of drama like in the first book, some surprises from characters we thought we knew, and an interesting battle all make for another intriguing book and I, for one, can’t wait for book three.

Apr10

Dust Child by Nguyen Phan Que Mai- Review

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A beautifully written story that will stay with the reader for a long while.

Several storylines converge in this book over the course of the tale. 1969 Vietnam and 2016 Vietnam are the main settings of the novel.

Two sisters leave their rice farm in the Mekong Delta for Saigon in order to earn money to help their parents out of debt. They become bar girls. Asking American soldiers to buy them drinks in exchange for a percentage of the money they spend. And there are more things at stake than merely drinking with American soldiers.

An American helicopter pilot stationed in Vietnam during the war who is now in his sixties returns to Saigon with his wife in order to help with his PTSD. Some of his friends have made the return trip and it has helped them. He’s keeping a big secret from his wife though and on the first day in the country, his secrets threaten to spill out and endanger his marriage.

A young black Amerasian man named Phong has lived a hard life as what the Vietnamese call a dust child. Seen as the child of the hated Americans, these children are treated abysmally and discriminated against in both education and employment opportunities. He’s desperate to get his family to America. He was abandoned at an orphanage as an infant and eventually lived on the streets of Saigon, raising himself from age twelve. An adult now with a wife and two children, he wants a better life for them.

The author of this book has a wonderful way with words. Her prose is smooth and easy to read. Many of the passages are very moving. The way she ties the various storylines together is well done. I can’t praise this book enough.

The hard issues that still haunt Vietnam as well as veterans from that era are faced with dignity and caring. The Vietnamese women who were used by the GIs for sex and comfort are depicted as three-dimensional and the product of the horrible wartime they lived in. The reader cared about them and their fates as well as the trauma they went through.

The Amerasian character was also someone who the reader could root for. He overcame so much in his life, the reader wanted him to succeed. From the poor child he was to the family man who wanted respect and happiness for his family, he was really a character that spoke to this reader’s heart. None of the circumstances of his birth were his fault, but his whole life was spent paying the price.

As to the American helicopter pilot, he was depicted as worthy of respect in some ways, but in some ways, not.  Portrayed realistically in the ways of how the war affected young men, he was someone the reader could feel for in some respects and not in others. The things these soldiers saw and did during their time in the jungle changed them and not for the better.

It was clear the author spent massive amounts of time interviewing people who actually lived these kinds of lives and she did an excellent job making those interviews into a novel that one can enjoy the story, but also learn some things about human nature and resiliency. An important read, in my opinion.

I don’t think I can do justice to this book in this review but I absolutely loved this book. I think it’s one everyone should read. For the lessons in love and forgiveness that are at the heart of this book are something we can all strive for in our lives.

Jan6

The Other Guest by Helen Cooper, a Review

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I got this book in a book swap at a book club meeting. I may not have otherwise discovered it so I’m glad the luck of the draw was with me that night.

A domestic suspense novel set partially in Italy and partially in Derby, UK. Chapters alternate between three women. Leah, Joanna, and Amy each tell their stories in turn and we root for each one.

The death of a young woman nine months before the story starts is integral to the book. A family torn apart by death, suspicion of a bartender who left Italy after the death and an aunt who wants answers mix together in Italy. A woman nursing a broken heart and beginning to recover from it in Derby is another mystery as the book opens. What she has to do with the family in Italy is one of the conundrums the reader is faced with in reading the tale. Figuring out her connection to a place far away where she’s never been is part of the initial fun of the read.

I liked the way the author alternated the story with present day Leah and Johanna and wove what they were going through separately eventually to the denouement. The flashbacks with Amy added a poignant element to the tale.

Both Joanna and Leah get into dangerous situations in the book, some due to their own making which ramped up the anxiety on their behalf. Some were due to their natural curiosity and helpful natures. Each of them acted in a way to endanger themselves on occasion. This reader enjoyed the anxiety for their safety in those scenes. The author did an excellent job crafting the suspenseful parts of the tale. The way she tied the diverse elements together was very satisfying.

I read this one in part of an evening and part of a morning. It was a quick read, yet packed with fully drawn characters, suspense and convincing action.

Dec5

Review – Last Train to London by Meg Waite Clayton

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This is a fictionalized story based on the very real kindertransport trains and ferries taking Jewish children out of Nazi Europe. The real woman who convinced Eichmann to allow the first 600 children to be transported to London, when England agreed to provide visas for them, was named Geertruida Wijsmuller. She saved a large number of Jewish children’s lives, first by taking two and three, and sometimes as many as ten, out of Germany and into the Netherlands. She started doing this in the mid-1930s. The situation became more urgent after Hitler invaded Austria. Many countries closed their borders and refused to allow Jewish people entry visas. Tante Truus, as she had the children call her, worked with some highly placed people in England to pressure their parliament to allow children to be evacuated and held in two summer camps until foster families could take them in. After the war, she was granted Righteous Among the Nations status.

The story in this book centers on two families. One a wealthy Jewish chocolatier who has a wife suffering from cancer. They have two sons, Stephan and Walter. The other, a barber, a Christian grandfather who has a widowed daughter-in-law with two daughters. One is Zofie-Helene and the other Johanna. Their mother is a journalist who is very outspoken against the Nazis.

The story starts with both families living their normal lives and Zofie and Stephan becoming close friends. She’s mathematically gifted and he’s interested in being a playwright.

The chapters alternate between their stories and the story of Tante Truus and her rescues of small groups of children and the dangers she faces in that endeavor.

With Truus in the Netherlands and the others in Vienna, I wondered in the early parts of the book how she was going to help them being as they are quite a ways apart.

When Germany annexes Austria with not so much as a shot fired and seemingly overnight, Stephan’s family’s life undergoes a massive change. His father is taken to a camp and he goes into hiding as he is of an age where the Nazis want to inter him in a camp as well. His brother is only five and, at this time, they were not taking children that young to the camps.

Zofie’s mother, a Christian, eventually gets taken by the Nazis due to her unwelcome stories pointing out their conduct which she won’t stop writing even though she is pressured to do so. The two girls are left with their grandfather.

The story unfolded at a good pace. Some of the parts were very hard to read. The author depicted the utterly senseless cruelty of the Nazis and their adherents very well. It always amazes me how terribly awful these people could be to other people. And how the population turned on people who had been their friends and fellow citizens just days prior.

The author also did a good job showing the fear and terror of the ordinary citizen and why so many didn’t speak up to try to stop the atrocities they witnessed. A great part of the population was cowed and if they spoke up, they would be punished severely as well. Some of them tortured and murdered merely for voicing an opinion—or for nothing at all, even an imagined slight.

It was a harrowing read but one I recommend for several reasons. One, the story of the main characters in Vienna seems to be a reflection of what a lot of families went through during this time. Two, the story of Geertruida Wijsmuller is a story of how one person can make a massive difference in the lives of so many. One voice, one brave soul, she saved so many and gave them a chance at life and that is amazing. And third, with the seeming resurgence of some of the awful ideas the Nazi’s had, this is an important read. We must never, ever, let these things happen again and the author of this book makes what happened to Jewish people, as well as anyone who disagreed with the Nazi ideals in that time, all very real and relatable with the characters she created.

This one is well worth a read.

Oct19

Release Day! Sophronia

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It’s release day for my new novel. The main character was inspired by my paternal great-grandmother and her tombstone.

No one is more surprised than sane, sensible Sophronia Neal when she inherits a Victorian manor from an elderly man she befriended at the bookstore she manages—except perhaps his two grandchildren who are outraged at the turn of events.


From that day, her existence becomes fraught with danger and intrigue. Not only does the house hold secrets Sophronia doesn’t understand, strange occurrences in her life make her question her sanity.

When she is attacked while walking her dog, she can’t decide if her life is in danger from a very real person intent on harming her or if there’s something more sinister at work—perhaps a restless spirit?

LINK

Oct10

The Family Upstairs – Lisa Jewell- a Review

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I went to a wedding a week ago in Tallahassee and, on my drive back, stopped at a couple of Goodwill Stores as they always seem to have a good selection of used books. One of the ones I purchased was The Family Upstairs. I hadn’t read any of this author before, but I’m a fan now. The book was intriguing as well as a quick read. A house with dark secrets is at the center of the tale.

The story is told from three points of view and I enjoyed all of them. Each had a distinctive voice and were compelling in different ways. The movement from each voice to the other was smooth and kept me turning pages.

In the author note, she stated her inspiration for the book came from seeing a woman in Nice, France sneaking her children into the public baths near the beach. From that, a tale of family terror, loss, and lives shattered was born. I loved how all the threads of the story came together. I figured out most of it, but a surprise or two in the pages made this reader happy as I usually solve it all before the end.

Each of the three protagonists were dramatically affected by their upbringings and the way the author showed how those experiences carried over into their adult lives was genius. It’s a dark tale, but moments of light and love shine through. I throughly recommend this one for a few hours of entertainment mixed with a little anxiety for the characters.

Dec21

My Grandfather, a Small Tribute to Mark the Anniversary of his Death

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Henry A. Richardson

January 3, 1897-December 21, 1968

My grandfather, my mother’s father, was a kind, gentle soul. He was a soldier in WWI and worked after the war helping build the Wilson Dam in Florence, Alabama as well as other projects that needed manual labor during that time period. He also did work for the WPA (Works progress Administration) during the depression. He was also a tenant farmer who worked the cotton fields. He was eventually the father of ten children. My mother was number 8. All the children worked those fields to help support the family. It was a rough life, but they were full of joy. The children all remained close as adults. We had a slew of cousins to play with for sure. The house was always filled with laughter. Loud, fun, crazy family members.

By the time I knew my grandfather, he was in his sixties. He was a quiet man who didn’t say much. They lived in an old house with no indoor plumbing. There was a well for water and four buckets sat at the back door at the kitchen. Three were for cooking and the fourth had a beat up old ladle we all drank from. It was the iciest, coldest, water ever. My grandmother had a red pump to pump water into the sink. She also had one of those clothes washers that basically ran around the room. It was fun to watch that thing. She hung all clothes to dry and sheets as well.

We didn’t spend the night with them often—we usually stayed with my dad’s parents who had a bigger house in town—but when we did, we either had to use a chamber pot or run to the outhouse past the chicken coop which was a fair distance. I think that may be where I got part of my active imagination as I ran through the night in my jammies past those chickens. I imagined all kinds of demons on my tail. And man, if you’ve never smelled the inside of an outhouse, count yourself lucky. You’ll never forget it. It is a visceral memory to me to this day.

Anyway, back to my grandfather. The year I was going to turn 8, we lived in Virginia. We traveled down for Christmas—a14 hour drive—and arrived at my dad’s parent’s house around 7 pm on the 21st of December.  My sister and I went to our room to put our suitcases down. My mother started screaming and crying so loudly, we were terrified.

We raced out to the den and found my mother hysterical.  My grandfather had to break the news to her that her father died in his sleep and her mother found him when she tried to wake him for breakfast.  He died 13 days before his 72nd birthday.

It was a terrible Christmas that year. I still remember my mother unwrapping the shirt we’d bought for him so she could take it back to the store. She helped my grandmother take back a lot of things that year. It was heartbreaking even for a little kid to see. I can’t listen to that song where the grandmother gets run over by a reindeer. Having lived a Christmas like I did that year, I can’t deal with that song.

There is a picture of me (wish I could find it as I write this) on my birthday that year sitting on the couch holding my new doll. It is a pitiful picture as I look so sad and alone.

He never said much—unless you thought you could turn the television channel because he was asleep.   He’d mumble, “I was watching that.” He didn’t get mad, but we never changed it when he said that. He always had a spittoon by his side and always wore a fedora. He also cooled his coffee by pouring it into his saucer once he’d added his cream and sugar. It made me laugh.

I could say a lot more about him and his life, but I’ll save some stories for another day. Suffice it to say, I miss him even after all this time, and for some reason, I’ve felt him close to me this year. I sense him, watching out for me, as I make my way through this tough year.