There Was An Old Woman by Hallie Ephron

Evie Ferrante is not surprised when she gets a call that her mother has been taken to the hospital.  Her mother is an alcoholic and trips to the hospital, followed by a trip to recovery then months of sobriety before the cycle repeated were common.

But Evie is shocked when she arrives t her mother's house and sees the condition.  The house is full of trash and rotting food.  Roaches abound and the mail and unpaid bills are heaped in unattended mountains.  There is a big new TV and Evie discovers envelopes stuffed full of money.  What is going on?

As Evie starts to clean tings up, she renews her acquaintance with Mrs. Yetner, their neighbor across the street.  Mina Yetner is now ninety, but a competent ninety.  She takes daily long walks and spends time helping to keep the marsh that borders the neighborhood safe from development.  Evie hasn't seen Mina in years, but quickly forms an attachment to her.

Mina has her own mysteries, or are they just signs of aging?  Possessions show up in unexplained places, other items are lost, and her nephew, Brian, insists that it is time for Mina to head to a nursing home.  Is the condition of Evie's mom and Mrs. Yetner inevitable signs of age, or is something going on in the neighbor Evie grew up in?

Hallie Ephron has written a compelling page turner about preserving the past and how old age can make that difficult.  The reader learns about old New York history such as an earlier plane that flew into the Empire State Building decades ago.  The plot is satisfactorily intriguing and the reader is drawn into sympathy with the protagonists.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Bristol House by Beverly Swerling

Dr. Annie Kendall has come to London on a research project she hopes will reestablish her academic career.  That career had been promising until alcoholism wrecked it and her personal life.  Now sober for four years, Annie is given a chance to make a contribution to history.  A Jewish billionaire named Weinraub has offered to support Annie's research into the Tudor era in England and establish the historical reality of a silversmith known as the Jew Of Holbern.

Annie rents a flat near the Holbern section of London and starts her research.  She is disturbed when she senses a ghostly presence in the flat's back bedroom; a monk from the same Tudor period.  Annie meets a reporter, Geoff Harris, who becomes involved in her quest.  Geoff is not a fan of Weinraub, and suspects him of using his wealth and Annie's research to support an agenda that could destabilize the entire Middle East.  Can Annie and Geoff uncover the mysteries associated with the Jew Of Holbern or will it be co opted by forces determined to use the knowledge for their own ends.

Beverly Swerling has written a historical mystery that will appeal to readers.  As with her wonderful series about New York, there are a wealth of characters, all richly imagined.  The research behind the many topics covered in the book is evident, and the mystery compelling enough to keep the reader turning pages.  This book is recommended for readers of historical fiction, those interested in Jewish history, and those interested in groups such as the Templars.

Untold Damage by Robert K. Lewis

Mark Mallen has hit rock bottom.  Four years ago he had a glowing future.  He was a policeman, one of the best and rising fast.  He had a beautiful wife and a daughter he adored.  All that disappeared due to his own bravado.  Working undercover to bring down a drug ring, he decided that he couldn't play the part without using heroin himself.  He quickly became addicted, losing his job, his marriage and his child.

Now Mark just marks time from score to score.  He lives quietly, his police pension just enough to keep him going.  He expects nothing and has nothing to live for.  That is, until he hears the news about Eric.  Eric was his best friend on the force.  Like Mark, he left the police, got addicted, and even spent some time in prison.  But Eric had turned his life around after prison.  Mark can't believe he is dead.

Mark decided to try to kick his habit and find out what happened to Eric.  He has some help.  Detective Kane remembers Mark from his police days and gives him some help.  He also gets help from a new friend and some old ones.  Other bodies start showing up and Mark realizes he is also targeted.  Can he solve Eric's murder before he is killed himself?

Untold Damage is Robert K/ Lewis's debut novel.  Mark is a flawed character, but the reader can see through his addiction to the good that still exists inside.  The action is fast and furious, and the denouement is satisfying.  This book is recommended for mystery lovers.

Latent Lives by Larry Parr

The most sensational murder in decades has hit Duluth.  The mayor, her husband and her son have been killed, each dispatched with a single knife thrust to their heart.  They were having a quiet evening at home, watching old home movies.  The only survivor is Linda Lavaque, the daughter and now heir to the family fortune.  The police are stumped as to motive or any viable suspects.

Linda remembers how her mother used to talk about the policeman she found most impressive, John Stauber.  John is no longer on the police force, having suffered a breakdown after the deaths of his wife and infant daughter.  Linda reaches out to him to help her solve the murders but he is reluctant.  He is not on good terms with the police after his separation from the force, especially the man in charge, Mike Johanson.  John had rubbed Mike the wrong way while on the force and Mike wants no part of him.

But Linda is persuasive, and the murders keep happening.  The Lavaque's cook is killed, as is the mayor's main researcher.  The murders also hit John personally.  His sister, Jamie, has just invented a laser device that can locate evidence such as fingerprints that have eluded detection.  Her supervisor is murdered as he discusses the invention and the device is destroyed.  How does this tie in with the Lavaque family murders?  John, Linda and Jamie join forces to try and determine what is going on and who is responsible.  They are soon targets themselves and they race to solve the crimes before they are also killed.

Latent Lives is the first in the Stauber-Levaque mystery series.  There are currently three books in this series.  Mystery readers who enjoy fast-paced plots with lots of action will be glad to discover the author and his Midwestern mysteries.  The relationship between John and Linda propels the plot forward.  This book is recommended for mystery lovers.

Stay Close by Harlan Coben

You can't go home again.  Megan Pierce is starting to realise that cliches stick around because they are based on truth.  Seventeen years ago she was living as Cassie, making a living as an exotic dancer and dating dangerous men.  When one of those men got increasingly violent and started hurting her, she decided she might need to make a new life.  Then came the night when Cassie found his blood-soaked body in the woods and decided that the police would decide she was the killer.  That's the night she disappeared.

Now she is Megan Pierce, living the typical suburban stay at home mom life.  She found and married a good man who loves her and together they had two wonderful children.  Megan should be happy, but something keeps pulling her back to her former life.

Detective Broome is a policeman nearing retirement who remembers the violent boyfriend who tormented Cassie.  The guy was married, and his wife still keeps their home as it was when her husband was killed, unaware of his violent side.  This is the case Broome just can't let go.

Ray is another person caught up in the past.  Seventeen years ago he was a rising star as a documentary photographer and madly in love with Cassie.  Now he is a washout who makes a marginal living and spends his days drinking.  He can't move beyond that night in the woods either; all the blood and the disappearance of his love.

When Megan gives in to her curiosity and revisits the club where she used to dance, those years between fade away.  The old murder case seems to reactivate and more bodies are found.  Someone is after Megan again, and she can't believe she has jeopardized her life for a glimpse of her past.

Harlan Coben fans will welcome a new novel by him.  Coben's forte is inticate plotting along with crisp writing and twists that make his books page-turners, and Stay Close is another success.  This book is recommended for mystery and suspense fans.

The Holder's Dominion by Genese Davis

Kaylie Ames is at loose ends in her life when she runs into Elliott in the grocery one day.  She is attending college in Texas, far from her mountain home that claimed her father's life when he tried to rescue a climber in a winter storm.  Her younger brother isn't dealing well with the father's death, and her mother just pretends he never existed.

 

Kaylie is pretending also, that all is well.  When she runs into Elliott, she is engaged as he seems terrified and she instinctively reaches out to him to help.  She discovers that Elliott's issues lead back to a computer game; he is o an elite group of gamers and his terror arose from a mission he was given in real life to impact his status in the

 

What kind of game thrived on its' participant's difficulties?  Kaylie is intrigued and starts playing also.  She is surprised to find that she is a natural and is soon one of the few girls chosen to progress.  The elite team is headed by a mysterious figure called The Holder, who seems to delight in creating chaos in his team's lives.  Kaylie joins with several other team players who make a pact to bring down The Holder and end his dominance.  Can they succeed before he realises what they are doing and destroys them?

 

Genese Davis has written an interesting book about the gaming world, and the reasons players find it so intriguing.  This tends to be a more male-dominated activity and it is interesting to see it from a more feminine viewpoint.  This book is recommended for fantasy readers.

Books, Crooks And Counselors by Leslie Budewitz

Books, Crooks And Counselors is a book written as an aid for writers whose books are about crimes.  It explains the various topics that such writers encounter, and gives enough background and answers that the reader will not be put off while reading due to items or plot devices that are implausible. 

The book is organized into twelve chapters, each of which covers various legal topics in an area of law.  The chapters are Trial and Error, Legal Issues In Criminal Investigation, Crime, ...And Punishment, Civil Matters, Some Terms of the Art, Wills, Probate and Adoption, Legal Miscellany, Thinking Like a Lawyer, Thinking Like A Judge, Legal Ethics and Research And References.  Within each chapter, the format is that of question and answer.  Often, relevant cases demonstrating the legal principle are cited.  Even more interesting to the layman, novels and movies that demonstrate the issue being discussed are mentioned.  There are areas that explain a case or concept in greater detail, and Tip sections that inform the author how a concept could be used to liven up a book's action or introduce controversy.

Leslie Budewitz is an attorney herself who also writes mysteries and crime columns.  She graduated from Notre Dame Law School, and clerked for the Washington State Court Of Appeals.  She is a member of the bar in both state and federals courts in Washington and Montana, and also several Native American courts.  Budewitz has represented both civil and criminal clients.  She is conversant with the law in many ways.

This is an excellent resource for authors and an intriguing read for anyone interested in the law.  The book covers a wide range of topics.  It is organized well, and the information is given in short bites that inform without overwhelming the reader.  There are many hints on where additional information can be found.  This book is recommended for authors and readers interested in crime and the courts.

Canada by Richard Ford

"First, I'll tell you about the robbery our parents committed.  Then about the murders, which happened later.  The robbery is the more important part, since it served to set my and my sister's lives on the courses they eventually followed."

These are the first three sentences in Richard Ford's novel, Canada.  The book goes back from that point and explains the events that led up to this opening.  Dell Parsons is an average teenager of the 1960's.  He lives in Grand Falls, Montana with his twin sister, Berner, and their parents. Bev Parsons is an ex-military man, a charming rascal who finds himself at odds after his military career.  The mother is a schoolteacher,unimpressed with Montana or with Bev.  Dell and Berner are fifteen the summer the book begins, looking forward to high school and bored with their average lives.

Bev finds himself in a mess when one of his schemes goes awry.  His only solution, he believes, is to rob a bank.  Dell's mother accompanies him when it is clear that he plans to take Dell with him.  As might be suspected, the robbery is soon solved and the police show up and both parents are sent to jail.  There are no relatives to step in.  Berner, disillusioned already with small-town life, runs away.  Dell is picked up by  friend of his mother's.  She takes  him over the border into Canada, where she leaves him with her brother in a remote hunting town.

The brother ignores Dell for weeks.  He is sent to live in a hunting shack with no running water or toilet.  He is to help with the work of hunting guide, as men come from all over to hunt the geese as they migrate.  There is no mention of school.  When the brother starts to notice Dell, he is drawn into a web of deceit and violence.

The book is a bleak coming of age novel.  Dell is thrust from a comfortable, boring life to one where he has no one who cares about him.  He must learn to survive and decide what kind of man he will be.  The unforeseen consequences of a moment's actions are explored, along with how quickly an entire life can change.  Dell's character development and his decisions are compelling, and the reader will remember him for a long time.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction.

Death Of A Kingfisher by M.C. Beaton

The small village of Brikie is in Police Constable Hamish Macbeth's territory.  Not much goes on there and the economy has hit hard with unemployment.  So there is a lot of excitement when a beautiful woman manager turns the local forested land into what she calls a 'fairy glen' and the tourists start pouring in, bringing their money.  Everyone seems thrilled, that is, except for an old widow who lives near, is wealthy enough to have great sway, and doesn't like the increased traffic. 

One of the major attractions of the glen is a family of beautiful kingfishers.  Macbeth is not amused when he is called out on an emergency to a death at the glen, and it turns out to be the kingfisher.  He is interested in the gorgeous Mary who runs the place, and she seems interested in him even though she is married.  Still and all, he is there for crimes against persons, not birds.

No fears.  Within days, the older woman creating dissension is found murdered in a horrendous fashion.  There are tons of suspects.  It turns out that Mary has been given half the estate in a new will.  The woman's disagreeable family are suspects, along with their strange teenage children.  Many of the villagers who have found work are just as happy that the old woman is gone.  Hamish struggles to make sense of it all while adjusting to his new helper, Dick.  Soon, bodies start to pile up and the mystery deepens.  Can Hamish unravel the mystery and restore the peaceful village?

Death Of A Kingfisher is the twenty-seventh book in Beaton's Hamish Macbeth series.  New readers will be interested to read to discover while the series is so beloved while established M.C. Beaton fans will enjoy another visit with Macbeth.  This book is recommended for cozy mystery readers.

Lucifer by Annabell Cadiz

Zahara Faraday is your average teenager.  She spends her time hanging out with her best friend, Becca, working out at the gym, giggling over boys and working at the local bookstore.  Just a normal life except for one thing.  Zahara comes from a family of Light Witches, who use their magic powers to combat evil and hunt down rouge supernaturals such as fairies, goblins and Imagoes.  Imagoes can control water and steal human souls.

While any day can bring a battle with one of the supernaturals, a crisis is brewing.  Lucifer has returned, determined to create a Nephilim, a child from the union of an angel and a human, to help in his fight against God.  He has chosen Zahara as the human to create this Nephilim child, and has started a new coven dedicated to kidnapping her and destroying anyone who gets in their way.  Suddenly, every day is fraught with danger as the coven becomes ever more determined to fulfill Lucifer's plan,  Luckily, Zahara has allies also.  There is her parents coven of Light Witches.  Rakesh is a powerful Imago who is working on the side of good.  Then there is Bryan, who Zahara thought was the cute new boy at work.  It turns out that he is an angel sent to battle Lucifer.  Will good or evil prevail in this struggle?

Annabell Cadiz has written a lively supernatural romance sure to appeal to the young adult audience.  The plot and pacing move quickly, and the numerous fight scenes are compelling.  The conflict between good and evil draws the reader on to determine which side will be triumphant.  This book is recommended for the YA audience as well as readers who enjoy the paranormal romance genre.

Beautiful Lies by Clare Clark

The year is 1887, and London is aglow with the excitement of Victoria's Golden Anniversary celebration.  The show to see is Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, and society flocks to each performance.  One of society's gliterring couples are the Campbell Lowes. Edward is a Member of Parliment representing his Scottish holdings. His wife, Maribel, is a Chilean heiress who grew up in Paris. They know everyone worth knowing, dining with Oscar Wilde one day and political stars the next.  Their lives are enviable.

But all is not as it seems.  Edward and Maribel are hiding many secrets.  Their Scottish estates are mortgaged to the hilt.  Edward's politics lead to him being considered a rabblerouser by many, and it is unclear how long he can sustain his political career.  Maribel's background is far different from that which is commonly known, and the secrets of their courtship and marriage coukd lead to the ruin of this favored couple.  When they run afoul of a powerful newspaper editor, their lives balance on an increasingly seesawing balance.

Clare Clark has created a fascinating view into Victorian society.  The politics were changing as socialism and the rise of the champions of the working poor occurred.  Women's roles were starting to change, and some dared to carve out lives that encompassed more than home and children.  Clark uses the lives of the Campbell Lowes to demonstrate this changing world.  The historical facts are well-researched, illustrated through the fictional lives of the main characters.  This book is recommended for readers of historical fiction and illustrates a time period many know little about.

Blessed Are The Dead by Malla Nunn

A beautiful Zulu girl, Amahle, is found lying dead in the open. There is no apparent mark upon her, and the body has been laid out as if she were sleeping, covered with wildflowers. Amahle is a daughter of the Zulu chief, from his third wife. She lives in his compound and works as a housemaid at the large farm nearby. She has been poisoned with a small shot in her back.

This is South Africa, and everything is touched by the institutionalized racism known as apartheid. Amahle lives a divided life. She has status in the Zulu world from her father’s position and her beauty. She will never be more than a second-class citizen in the white world, although her beauty there draws attention. That attention can be a double-edged sword; it can bring her attention other servants don’t receive but that attention is not all positive.

Detective Sergeant Emmanuel Cooper and his subordinate, Detective Constable Samuel Shabalala are sent from the city to investigate. Cooper was recently reinstated as a police sergeant when his mixed race designation was changed to make him an official white person again. Raised as a white person, his enemies had conspired to have his racial designation changed, and he lived in the world between white and black for a time, learning much about both worlds. This is his first murder case after his reinstatement, and his success is critical to secure his place on the force.

There are plenty of suspects. Amahle is about to be married off to an elderly man for her bride price by her father. There are the usual tribal jealousies that arise in a multi-wife compound, as each wife fights for their children to be the most favored. To all indications, Amahle wants more than a traditional tribal life and may have been using her beauty as her ticket out to a different life in the city. There is a white boy, strange at best and perhaps mentally ill, running in the hills and disrupting the investigation. The local police are not helping and are actively interfering in the investigation. The whites in power fight against being investigated, pulling in favors from their influential friends to hinder Cooper whenever he gets close to a secret they don’t want uncovered. Can Cooper push through all the difficulties to find the murderer?

This is the third book in Malla Nunn’s Emmanuel Cooper series. Cooper is an interesting character, a man of contradictions who lives in the netherworld between the highly segregated social structures separating those in the native culture from those in power. He must not only face the difficulties of a murder investigation, but fight the rigid rules of this society to succeed. The reader is transported to this alternate world, and learns about native culture as well as the strictures of apartheid. The plotting is well-done, and the eventual unmasking of the murderer is a surprise that will have readers eager for more of Cooper’s adventures. This book is recommended for mystery readers.

The Wrath Of Angels by John Connolly

Charlie Parker's new client comes to him with an intriguing tale.  Her father confessed a story to her on his deathbed.  He and his best friend got lost in the woods while hunting.  They found a crashed plane deep in the woods that had been there for years.  There were no bodies, but a satchel of money was there along with papers, specifically, a list of names.  The men took the money but left the paperwork, hoping if the owners ever discovered the plane they would be mollified by that and not come looking for the thieves.  The plane was not found, nor was there any news stories of a missing plane or pilot.  The men spent the money over the years but now wanted to make amends.

As Charlie starts to research the story, he quickly realises that this is tied to his life work of discovering and defeating an organization of evil.  It is a group of fallen angels, and it is a testament to Connolly's skill that the reader is willing to believe that such a group exists.  The participants leave a trail of murder and broken lives, including the murder years before of Parker's wife and child.  Parker realises that the list is the prize that the group desires and knows he must get to it before they do.

Thus the lines are drawn.  On Parker's side are his team members, Louis and Angel, violent men who watch his back and that he trusts with his life.  Tangential help is supplied by two men who are not friends, but who also fight the same enemy.  One is a Jewish rabbi surrounded by bodyguards to protect him as he works against the fallen angels.  The other is an ancient lawyer whose firm stays out of the spotlight but maintains files on those involved.  On the other side is a scarred, formerly beautiful woman with a child who is abnormal, and The Backers, who lead the group.  Stalking them is a serial killer known as The Collector. 

All these disparate individuals race against time and each other to find the plane and the list of those whose names are essential to the organization's ultimate success.  The suspense is drawn tighter and tighter as they all come together in one last attempt to end their war.

The Wrath Of Angels is the eleventh book in the Charlie Parker series.  I had not read the others but didn't feel at a loss as enough backstory was supplied that the reader doesn't feel list.  The book has a menacing undertone that is racketed tighter and tighter as the book progresses.  None of the characters are totally good, although it is clear that Parker's team is fighting for the common good.  This is a superb thriller and is recommended for both mystery and paranormal fans,

In One Person by John Irving

In One Person is the story of William Abbott's life.  An author now nearing seventy, Bill or Billy as most knows him, looks back over his life and thinks about the influences that have made him the man he is today.  Bill is a bisexual man, and his life growing up in Vermont was spent coming to terms with his differences.

There is a wide cast of characters.  Billy's father is absent and he has no memory of him.  His male influences are his cross-dressing grandfather and his stepfather, ten years younger than his mother.  He has a domineering grandmother and aunt, and a rebellious lesbian cousin.  Bill attends an all-male academy, from which his closest friends come.  Elaine is a faculty daughter as Billy is a faculty son.  They have a close, sustaining relationship.  There is Tom, who has a crush on Billy, and who later becomes his first male lover.  There is Kittredge, a swaggering athlete, impossibly beautiful, who Billy adores and fears in equal measure.

Then there is the town librarian, Miss Frost.  She recognizes Bill's intellectual curiosity and becomes his friend, guiding his reading and shoring up his self-esteem.  Bill loves her and not just platonically.  When as a senior, their friendship progresses to the physical, it turns out that Miss Frost was formally Al Frost, a former wrestling star at the academy.  After leaving school, Al became the transgender Miss Frost.

The book follows Billy's life.  It explores the AIDS epidemic, which takes many of Billy's friends and lovers,  It explores his relationship with both male and female lovers.  Finally, it documents Bill's creation of his own family of choice.  He realises that what he needs cannot be found 'in one person' and takes what he can from those around him to carve out a satisfactory life.

I am a huge Irving fan.  Many of the motifs seen in other books are here; the New England setting, the wrestling background, and the offbeat characters striving for validation in a world where they are different from the mainstream.  Billy is a strong character, refusing to feel like less of a person because of his differences.  Characterization is one of Irving's strengths along with his championing of those who are different.  This book is recommended for Irving fans  and for those interested in self-actualization.

A Thousand Pardons by Jonathan Dee



Ben and Helen Armstead are living a perfect suburban life.  Ben is a lawyer while Helen is a stay at home mom to their teenage daughter, Sara.  This world falls apart, though, when Ben admits he is terminally bored and ends up creating a scandal that makes retaining any part of their lives untenable.

Left to support herself and Sara, Helen manages to find a job in the city in public relations.  Soon she is known for her specialty; helping clients move past their own scandals by publicly admitting blame for their actions and asking for forgiveness.  Helen is promoted and is in vogue; anyone with a scandal wants her at their side. 

As she becomes consumed by her career, Sara starts to go off the tracks.  When Helen takes Sara to a movie premiere, she reconnects with her earlier life and finds herself seated by the movie's leading man, Hamilton Barth.  She and Hamilton grew up in the same little town, but had not seen each other in years, and Hamilton actually doesn't remember Helen.  But when he finds himself caught up in a scandal, he remembers her new career and calls her in.  Can Helen handle Barth's problem, and if so, at what cost to herself and Sara?

Jonathan Dee has written an intriguing novel about how humans handle their mistakes.  We all need a pardon eventually for some hasty, misbegotten action, or some expedient action meant to solve an issue that instead makes it worse.  We all have to make decisions about when and if to pardon those who have wronged us.  Dee explores this situation with deft understanding.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction, and those interested in the human condition.

Jack Absolute by C.C. Humphreys

It is the start of the American Revolutionary War, and spirits are high in England.  Surely this will be a short war as the British have the premier army in the world.  Jack Absolute, former Captain, is in London for only a short time before he heads to the Indies to try to restore his family's fortunes.  He is dismayed on his short trip to discover that his playwright friend, Richard Sheridan, has written a play about Absolute's life and loves and that he is the talk of the town.

Jack finds himself caught up in a duel over the favors of an actress in the play.  When the duel turns from a fight with honor to an assassination attempt, he flees and is rescued by his old general, Burgoyne.  In return, he asks Jack to re-enlist and serve his King and country once again with his fighting and intelligence skills.  Against his best judgement, Jack agrees.

The book follows Jack's adventures in America fighting against the Colonials.  There are spies within the top councils of the General, and Jack's job is to ferret them out.  There are allies from Germany, organizations such as the Illuminati whose loyalty is at question, beautiful women, and battles and military missions.  Jack's blood brother, the Iroquois Ate, fights by his side.  Will Jack be successful or will these be his last battles?

This is a rollicking historical fiction with a larger than life figure.  Absolute is many things; a rogue, a lover of beautiful women, a master spy and fighting machine.  Above all, he is a man of honor and a character the reader will fall in love with.  My first reaction after turning the last page was to immediately order more novels about Jack and his adventures.  The viewpoint of the American Revolution from the British standpoint was intriguing and unexpected.  This book is recommended for readers of historical and military fiction.

The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin

It is 1974, and Anne Morrow Lindbergh and her children have brought Charles Lindbergh, Lucky Lindy, home to die.  As Anne sits with him in his final days, she reflects back on their lives and what sharing a lifetime with such a famous man has been like.  Anne is a senior at Smith College when they meet, while Lindbergh has already completed the solo transatlantic flight from the United States to Paris that made him a hero wherever he goes.  He takes her flying, and she instantly adores the sensation.  She can't believe that such a man has chosen her as his wife, and agrees, unable to believe her luck.  Anne feels she is living a fairy tale.

But there is a dark side to hero worship.  The couple is mobbed wherever they go, the photographers and reporters fighting to get an inch closer, to get their shouted questions answered.  They print every detail of the Lindbergh's lives that they can discover.  When the couple's toddler son, Charles Junior, is kidnapped and killed, the press is unbearable.  Anne can't help but feel that they played a part in the tragedy by singling them out and reporting every detail of their lives.

Anne comes to realise that life with Charles is on his terms.  He is the bravest man she has ever met, and he has an unerring sense that he is always right.  Distant emotionally, he plans every minute of his day and expects to plan Anne's also.  She is his co-pilot and navigator in those early years, leaving behind her babies whenever he wants her to.  As the years go on, she begins to resent his assumption that he and only he knows best in every situation.

Yet Anne stays with him loyally, unable to imagine a life without this man she loves.  She sticks with him during the war years, when his hero's mantle is tarnished by his campaign to keep America out of the war, and by his statements that make him appear anti-Semitic.  She stays during the war when Charles finally gets involved and leaves her alone to manage the household and children.  She stays during the long years after when he stays away for long stretches, leaving her to raise the family while he attends to business.  Anne learns to carve out a life on her own terms, with writing as her saving grace.

Melanie Benjamin has done a masterful job with this novel.  Most readers will learn many things they didn't know about the Lindberghs, who will always be defined by his heroic flight and the kidnapping that was one of the first nationally reported crimes.  I didn't know Anne was a pilot in her own right, or that after Charlie's death, they went on to have five other children.  This is an interesting book sure to catch the interest of any reader.  It is recommended for all readers.

The Bay Of Foxes by Sheila Kohler

It is 1978 and Dawit is in Paris.  But this is no fairy tale.  Dawit is an illegal immigrant from Ethiopia where he grew up rich and secure due to his father's high position in the government.  That all changed when the rebels came.  Dawit went from riches to absolute poverty as his family exploded.  His father dead, Dawit and his mother sent to the prisons where few ever emerge.  After weeks or months of torture, Dawit manages to escape and eventually makes his way to Paris.

In Paris, he wanders the streets penniless during the days.  At night, he can sleep in an apartment crammed full of other Ethiopian immigrants and grab a few bites.  One day Dawit manages to make a bit of money working for cash and wanders into a cafe where he can order a coffee and sit at peace for a while in the kind of surroundings he used to take for granted.  Also there, Dawit recognizes the famous woman author, M.  For some reason, when M. sees him looking at her, she beckons him over.  Soon they are talking, and M. seems impressed by his beauty and obvious education.  The encounter ends with her asking Dawit to come to her apartment in a few days time.

When he goes, M. quizzes him more about his former life.  She ends up offering him shelter in her apartment.  Dawit's life undergoes a dramatic change.  Now he acts as her secretary, arranging her life and serving as her editor.  M gives hm money and buys him beautiful clothes.  Dawit knows this is due to his youth and beauty, but makes an uneasy bargain.

As summer approaches, M tells Dawit they will be going to her summer home, a villa on the island of Sardinia.  Things start to fall apart.  M is becoming impatient that Dawit will not give her the physical love she craves.  Things escalate when Dawit falls in love with another and M starts to realise it.  How far will M go to get the payback she believes is her due?  What will Dawit do to maintain his precarious climb out of poverty and obscurity?

Sheila Kohler has written a beautiful, chilling spellbinder.  The writing is languorous, echoing the hot country of Dawit's birth and the island luxury he finds himself in.  The question of motives, of what we owe those who help us, of reciprocation of desires, is hauntingly raised.  This book is recommended for readers of general and literary fiction.

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

In Christina Baker Kline's Orphan Train, she narrates the story of a practice meant to be kind that was often cruel.  Due to the waves of immigration, epidemics of illnesses and the difficulty of living in poverty, many children were left as orphans.  Many families had multiple children who were set adrift when their parents died or disappeared.  Organizations sprang up to help with the problem and the orphan trains were created.  Large numbers of children from the big Eastern cities were shipped to the Midwest where couples looking for children could adopt them.

That was the way it was supposed to work.  In reality, many families were only looking for free labor.  Boys were taken as farm hands while girls were used as maids, nannies and other darker occupations.  Families were torn apart and the children were often even stripped of their names and renamed to suit their new families.  It was, in many ways, indentured servitude.

Vivian Daly, a ninety-one year old widow, was one of those children.  She came over in the great Irish immigration and lost her family in a tenement fire.  Handy with a needle and desperate for an education, she grew up in a series of households, never quite belonging anywhere or to anyone.  As she nears the end of her life, Molly Ayer enters it.  Molly has a similar background in modern America,  Her father was killed in a car accident, her mother couldn't cope and was hospitalized, and Molly entered the foster care system, where she also bounced from family to family.  When she needs community service hours to avoid juvie, she meets Vivian and agrees to help her sort out her lifetime of possessions.

As they sort through Vivian's possessions, the older woman starts to share her memories of that painful time with Molly.  Molly instantly relates and a relationship develops between the two women regardless of the decades in age separating them.  They are sisters under the skin, both belonging to the group that never fit in anywhere or who could afford to trust anyone.  Slowly, as the trunks and boxes are sorted, they also sort out their feelings and secrets and learn to trust each other.

This is a charming novel.  The reader will be sympathetic with Vivian and Molly, and ache that there is no better solution for the children left alone in the world.  Although we no longer use mechanisms such as the orphan train, for many foster children the end result remains the same.  One of the most surprising things is the time period.  This occurred around the 1920's, not in the 1800's.  Both the main characters are believable and strong and the reader will hope for a better life for each of them.  This book is recommended foe readers of more recent historical fiction and those interested in reading how the human spirit can overcome tragedy.

A Cottage By The Sea by Ciji Ware

Blyte Barton Stowe has rented a cottage in rural Cornwall for the summer.  After having her messy divorce from award-winning movie director Christopher Stowe splashed across the media in gory detail, all she wants is a chance to get away and evaluate her life.  The fact that the manor house that owns the cottage is named Barton House is appealing.  After all, her grandmother always insisted that their family had ties to the landed gentry in England.  Raised on a ranch in Montana, Blyte doesn't believe that, but its fun to dream about.

Complications soon arrive.  Blyte starts to have visions of the former inhabitants of Barton House, particularly four of the current owner's ancestors.  The Barton estate was combined with that of the neighboring one owned by a family named Tremayne.  The merger was accomplished by the marriage of an earlier Blyte Barton to Christopher Tremayne, although her heart belonged to the younger Tremayne son, Ennis.  After a mystery that involved all three disappearing or dying, the estates ended up with a cousin inheriting everything.  This cousin, Garrett Teague is the direct ancestor of the current lord, Jack Teague.  Why does Blyte feel such a strong attachment to people she never even heard of six months before?

Jack is a widower with a young son and is desperately trying to keep the estate going,  Blyte, who was a production creative force in Hollywood, helps Jack develop a business plan to save the estate, and becomes his business partner.  A romance blooms, although there are many issues working against a successful ending.  Can Blyte and Jack become a couple and resolve these issues, both current and those going back for centuries?

Ciji Ware is best known for her historical fiction.  A Cottage By The Sea draws on that strength, while bringing in a mix of other genres.  There is historical fiction, romance and some paranormal aspects such as past life regression.  Readers will be entranced by Ware's careful balancing of the genres to produce a compelling story that will enchant.  This book is recommended for readers in all three genres.