Three Days in June by Anne Tyler

 

I was very happy to find this little hard covered gem on a recent visit to the Big Smoke. Anne Tyler is still in top form as her narrator, Gail, tells about the weekend of her daughter’s wedding. The first Anne Tyler I remember reading, years ago, was about a woman who walked away from her family who were having a day at the beach. I became an instant fan of Tyler’s plain, pure and simple style from that moment.

Gail tells of how the weekend began on Friday with an uncomfortable conversation with the headmistress of the school where Gail worked, followed by the arrival at her door of her ex-husband, Max, who should have been staying at their daughter’s house the night before the wedding; but Max had brought a cat he was fostering, and the husband-to-be was allergic to cat dander so it turned out Max had to find somewhere else to stay. The cat fits neatly into the story and if I hadn’t already started to love this book up till then, I did now.

Gail’s lack of ‘people skills’ having been pointed out at her meeting with the headmistress, she goes on to narrate some of her past history as well as what is happening in the present, mindful of this description. It is a short book (165 pages) but it says so much, including what it doesn’t say. It is a love story without seeming to be. Gail is quite judgmental of herself as well as others and it is up the reader to find the pictures which go with her words, which is a worthwhile, rewarding exercise.

My Anne Tyler collection was destroyed when a natural disaster hit our house two years ago but this beautiful little book is now going to occupy a proud position on my bookcase, which makes me happy!

Published by Penguin Random House.

The Death of Us by Abigail Dean

 

I read the first sentence and knew this book would be unputdownable. From the beginning Isabel is speaking, in her head, to the evil monster who tore apart the life she and Edward had built together as well as the lives of his many other victims.

But this is the story of Isabel and Edward and the progression of their relationship from their first meeting, a blind date although they were each involved with others at the time, to the realisation that they had fallen in love, to their unfolding careers. Abigail Dean’s writing is sensitive, beautiful, captivating: what more can I say? At the same time it is shocking and honest and goes straight to the heart of the matter. Edward’s story is told in each alternate chapter, and in the past tense. The enormity of the wrong done to Isabel and Edward is such that it is always there, metaphorically, watching every move they make. There are always going to be tiny cracks in even the most perfect of lives and it becomes inevitable that these particular cracks are headed for breaking point. It’s a long story, though, and Isabel the playwright and Edward the corporate man are such lovely characters, with all their flaws, that I stayed mesmerised to the end.

So far the best book I’ve read this year. Thank you NetGalley for my arc.

Published by Harper Collins

The Wolf Tree by Laura McCluskey

 

Two detective inspectors, Georgina ‘George’ Lennox and Richie Stewart, are sent to Eadar, a remote island off the Scottish coast, to investigate the circumstances surrounding the apparent suicide of a young man. Eadar is a cold, dark, windy place with raging storms whipping up the surrounding ocean. George is recovering from traumatic injuries suffered in her last case and Richie, her older, more experienced colleague, is a little bit protective of her, which she doesn’t really appreciate.

A lot of the first half or so of the book is given to the introduction of the characters who will be most relevant to the story. I found my concentration wavering for a while and think now it would have been helpful to take notes to differentiate between them, especially as I was reading an e book. It is always helpful to be able to flip back through paper pages! I became involved in the story once the characters became familiar to me and I was able to get lost in the splendidly creepy, scary atmosphere. The freezing winds, the darkness, the rocky, uneven streets are the perfect backdrop for the secretive, superstitious inhabitants. George and Richie meet people who had left the island, seen the world, and have chosen to return to their closed, restrictive home, as well as one newcomer who had arrived and stayed.

For all the island’s folklore, superstitions and sounds of howling wolves, the detectives have not been able to find any evidence that would contradict the official cause of Alan’s death as suicide, after four days of investigation. Then, all of a sudden, the story bursts into action, just as I had been hoping it would, and it is worth the wait. When the truth of how the island operates becomes clear it satisfyingly shocking and makes for a great ending.

Thank you NetGalley for my arc.

Published by Harper Collins

Best, First and Last by Amy Matthews

 This is a romantic novel packed with colour, humour, drama and complicated characters. I have never been to Peru but Amy Matthews’ vivid descriptions have brought it to life in ways I wouldn’t have imagined. Before ascending the Inca trail, a Wonder of the world, there are glorious beaches and beautiful towns and villages, the perfect setting for this lovely story.

Bon, Sandra and Heather are a grandmother, daughter and granddaughter. Grandmother Bon believes the three of them need to spend some time together. She believes Sandra, her daughter, needs to stop depending on Heather to lift her out of her misery; Heather, in the meantime, also has the added weight of trying to end a relationship with a man who is not willing to let her go. Bon herself has recently lost the husband with whom she had been hoping to spend the rest of her life and is dealing as well with lots of memories.

Bon presents Sandra and Heather with a proposal that the three of them should walk the Inca trail. She has booked and paid for luxury accommodation and private guides and she is not taking no for an answer. Bon’s main aim is to get Sandra to let go of her philandering ex-husband and start living again, although Bon’s plan for Sandra to try being a cougar may not go down well! In the meantime, Sandra’s attempts to interfere in Heather’s life cause a whole new set of problems. 

After reading this vivid story I am going to look for Amy Matthew’s Someone Else’s Bucket List. It is always exciting to find a talented new author. Thank you NetGalley for my arc.

Published by Simon and Schuster

Home Truths by Charity Norman

 

Here is another stunning book by Charity Norman! Livia and Scott and their two children, Heidi and Noah, are confronted by the sudden death of Nicky, the beloved brother of Scott and uncle of Heidi and Noah. Nicky was a sweet, gentle man who, although capable of looking after himself and his little dog, also suffered from diabetes. On the morning of Heidi’s thirteenth birthday Nicky was in his garden when he realised his sugar levels had dropped; in his anxiety he couldn’t get back into his house so he tried to call Scott for help but Scott had lost his phone and didn’t get Nicky’s frantic messages until he came back from bike riding with Heidi for her birthday. 

The story that follows is pure Charity Norman. Everyday lives can so easily be torn apart, and there is always someone around ready and able to do the shattering. Livia believes her life is pretty much perfect but when grief is accompanied by feelings of guilt it creates vulnerability and, unfortunately, if someone wants to take advantage of that vulnerability, now is the time to strike.

The internet is a modern marvel and those of us who were around before its introduction can attest to its great advantages; however, as everybody knows, bullies, chancers and charlatans lurk in the shadows of social media, ready to pounce. 

Home Truths is told as seen through the eyes of Livia, Scott and Heidi. It is a dramatic, suspenseful page-turner in true Charity Norman style and I love that it features the beautiful town of Whitby, home of one of my ancestors, which I’ve had the joy of visiting. I can’t recommend this brilliant book highly enough.

Published by Allen & Unwin

The Secrets We Keep by Amy Lillard

 

Nate Fisher is on extended leave from his job as a deputy sheriff in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Nate has been cleared of any charges relating to the shooting death of a young offender, which has left him traumatised. He hears from his brother that their father has died in the Amish community in Cedar Creek, Mississippi, which Nate had left ten years earlier. Although Nate has been banned from returning to the community he travels to Cedar Creek to visit his father’s grave.

Nate had been in love with an Amish woman, Rachel, who had refused to go with him when he left, aiming to earn enough money, originally trying to make it as a professional baseball player, in the hope of paying for treatment for his terminally ill sister. When he arrives back in Cedar Creek ten years later Rachel approaches him and asks him to help her prove that her brother’s death was a murder, and not suicide as has been recorded. Rachel is now married with two daughters, although her husband has disappeared.

I used memories from the Harrison Ford movie, Witness, which I’d watched again recently, to picture Amish people and their kind of country; but although Nate was a police detective like the character, John Book, the similarities to this story ended there. It was a good, solid mystery with emphasis on the main characters’ private lives, just as I like it. The Amish people, including Nate’s mother, are rigid in their condemnation of Nate for having left the community, in contrast to which Nate has gained, as an outsider, tolerance and compassion; he still cares for Rachel and agrees to look into her brother’s death.

I do hope Amy Lillard is thinking of writing another book explaining the disappearance of Rachel’s husband. I would love to read it!

Published by Crooked Lane Books

A Few Shades Greener by Kate Beattie

If your computer starts throwing out the wrong messages, responding erratically, alerting you that some little thing has gotten out of whack, it doesn’t know it’s doing anything wrong and you need to call in an expert to fix it. Lucky computer: it’s got you to take control and hopefully get it running smoothly again. Unfortunately, when some little thing in your brain, your own personal computer, gets out of whack you’re not on the outside looking in and it’s up to those closest to you to observe the changes and try to get through to you.

Sarah is a young woman secure in the love of her husband, family and friends. Her job on a local city council has never been particularly interesting but she is now finding it difficult to remember parts of it and to keep up with changes. She has always had two ambitions, writing and conservation, and she is hoping to fulfil those ambitions some day.

A Few Shades Greener is the story of how Sarah becomes caught in a world not of her own choosing. She doesn’t know how lucky she is that she has people around her who care enough to want to help her when she starts behaving uncharacteristically. It’s also an honest look at how the most understanding, sympathetic person’s ego is put to the test. Sarah’s passion for greening the environment is a true calling and makes for a most interesting and entertaining book by Kate Beattie, another terrific Australian writer.

I was with Sarah all the way, looking for that light at the end of the tunnel, even when she wasn’t aware that’s what we were doing.