The Turn of the Key - Ruth Ware
                 Guilty Pleasure

#2019AtoZChallenge - "T"


                 
Good ghost story.  I could only read it during the day because of the happenings in the book.  Rowan is accused of murder and the story is told through a letter to her lawyer

Rowan takes on a job as a nanny for 4 girls....,2 young ones, a baby and 1 away at school.  On the day she arrives for her first day,  Rowan is told that both parents have to go out of town for a couple of weeks.  Rowan , who has really only work at a day care facility, has no real experience being an in-house nanny.   Right away the 2 young girls run away and Rowan finds them in a very strange & locked up garden,  and they tell her about the last 4 nannies, who all left after being there for very short times. 
 
Goodreads :::  What she doesn’t know is that she’s stepping into a nightmare—one that will end with a child dead and herself in prison awaiting trial for murder.
She knows she’s made mistakes. She admits that she lied to obtain the post, and that her behavior toward the children wasn’t always ideal. She’s not innocent, by any means. But, she maintains, she’s not guilty—at least not of murder. Which means someone else is

The Last Time I Saw You by Liv Constantine

Newest Book on TBR
2019 A to Z Challenge - "Y"

To summarize in one word...disappointed.  I positively loved the debut, The Last Mrs. Parrish and was sooooooo looking forward to this new release by the sister writing duo of Liv Constantine.

Summary from Goodreads:  Dr. Kate English has it all. Not only is she the heiress to a large fortune; she has a gorgeous husband and daughter, a high-flying career, and a beautiful home anyone would envy.  But all that changes the night Kate’s mother, Lily, is found dead, brutally murdered in her own home. Heartbroken and distraught, Kate reaches out to her estranged best friend, Blaire Barrington, who rushes to her side for the funeral, where the years of distance between them are forgotten in a moment.   That evening, Kate’s grief turns to horror when she receives an anonymous text: You think you’re sad now, just wait. By the time I’m finished with you, you’ll wish you had been buried today. More than ever, Kate needs her old friend’s help.   Once Blaire decides to take the investigation into her own hands, it becomes clear that all is not as it seems in Baltimore high society. As infidelity, lies, and betrayals come to light, and tensions rise to a boiling point, she begins to alienate Kate’s friends and relatives with her relentless, accusatory questions, as she tries to find Lily’s killer. The murderer could be anyone—friend, neighbor, loved one. But whoever it is, it’s clear that Kate is next on their list. . .

Ooh, sounds good right?  While the writing was quick (I easily read this within a day or so), so it was easy to pick up and the tempo kept the pages flying, but it was terribly predictable and therefore, almost boring; the build up of suspense was rash and easily dismissed and the characters and their behaviors were so typical, rather trite.  At least it fit my "Y" Challenge spot!

The Seven Rules of Elvira Carr - Frances Maynard
                         Debut

#2019AtoZChallenge - "S"
#monthlymotif - Sept. - number

Poor Elvira!    Because of her "condition" she stills lives at home with her mother.  Elvira is 27 years old and is socially awkward, partly because her mother has always told her she is   So when Elvira's mother suffers a stroke and needs to go to an assisted living facility,  Elvira is left on her own for the very first time. 
    Elvira comes up with seven rules to help her cope with the ins and outs of  daily life.  Along the way she discovers some family secrets that even make the seven rules difficult to follow.

If you like "Eleanor Oliphant is Complete Fine,"  then you need to meet Elvira!!!

Goodreads says::
Elvira Carr believes in rules. She also strongly believes in crisp schedules, clear guidelines, and taking people at face value. Not that the twenty-seven-year-old sees many people. After several unfortunate incidents, her overbearing mother keeps her at home.

But when her mother has a stroke, Elvira is suddenly on her own. To help her navigate a world that is often puzzling, she draws up seven ironclad rules. Armed with these, a notebook full of questions, and guidance from a helpful neighbor, she takes charge of herself ― and realizes that something isn't quite right about the life she thought she knew.

She'll need all the courage, perseverance and curious charm she can muster to unravel the mystery of what happened to her family and to manager her own life, her way

The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio by Terry Ryan

"R" Author
2019 A to Z Challenge - "Z"

So we tweaked the A to Z Challenge on this one, as we didn't have any Z titled books in our library and to prevent having to buy a book to complete the Challenge, we allowed for X and Z (and maybe Y) to simply be in the title, anywhere in the title.

This was such a fun and enjoyable read and truly heartwarming to boot!  Interspersed within the family saga are many of Mrs. Ryan's contest entries, photos of the entry forms and family and publicity photos.

Summary from GoodReads: Evelyn Ryan, an enterprising woman who kept poverty at bay with wit, poetry, and perfect prose during the "contest era" of the 1950s and 1960s. Standing up to the church, her alcoholic husband, and antiquated ideas about women, Evelyn turned every financial challenge into an opportunity for innovation, all the while raising her six sons and four daughters with the belief that miracles are an everyday occurrence. Evelyn Ryan's story is told by her daughter Terry with an infectious joy that shows how a winning spirit and sense of humor can triumph over adversity every time.

Not only did Mrs. Ryan try to keep poverty at bay from her family of 10 children with her winning entries, but more importantly with her optimism, positivity and down right doggedness.  The book is as inspiring as it is entertaining.

And I enjoyed my own trip down memory lane of growing up in Ohio and experiencing blizzards and "tickle hills".

Judge & Jury by James Patterson & Andrew Gross

Guilty Pleasure
2019 A to Z Challenge - "J"

Summary from jamespatterson.com: When a single mom and aspiring actress ends up on an important jury, she must team up with an FBI agent to hunt down a vicious and powerful mob boss.

Guilty pleasure or rather a reading palate cleanser this was (or as one reviewer called it literature junk food), but beyond that....It's much like watching an action flick.  You watch it for the anticipation of action you can foresee, the exhilaration of the chase, but not for any depth in character or for any thought-provoking subplot.

Patterson's books are quick and easy reads.  Short chapters, short succinct sentences - not quite a movie script, but close.  It wasn't a bad book (though there were some really far-fetched scenarios), it was a typical Patterson book and I guess I've gone beyond him.  Especially when there are other suspense/thriller writers that write with more depth and meaning.

I'm also not overly into legal thrillers, considering I work in the legal field it's not much of an escapism for me!  But this book was on my shelf and it fit my J challenge!

Kaaterskill Falls by Allegra Goodman

Oldest Book on TBR
2019 A to Z Challenge - "K"

While I appreciate the writing of Ms. Goodman - as one reviewer described this novel: relaxing.  I felt I was missing so much because the Jewish terminology, practices and history were not fleshed out and frankly, I didn't feel like putting that much work into researching it myself apart from the novel; so I feel other readers who are more familiar will get so much more out of this book than I did.  For example: in one paragraph were the terms "shul", "daven", "mechitzah", "bima", "drash".  Through context I was able to discern some of them, but not enough to form a complete picture in my mind.

Aside from that the novel reads well, slow but not drawn out and deals with the complexity of living a religious life and to what extent.

As an aside, I would love to visit the real location of Kaaterskill Falls in NY!

Summary from Goodreads:    The stories of three Orthodox Jewish families, each of whom is tugged between religious tradition and the secular world. The story takes place in the upstate New York town of Kaaterskill, summer Mecca for the tightly knit Kirshner sect. Model wife and mother Elizabeth Shulman pictures her community as a sort of Mont-Saint-Michel, an island both joined and separated from the outside world as if by rising and falling tides. Fascinated with what lies on the spiritual mainland, she hides behind the reassuring rhythms of religious observance, though she's inspired with a "desire, as intense as prayer," to create something all her own.

Despite her pious husband's doubts, she does, in the form of a store catering to Kaaterskill's "summer people"--a community Goodman brings memorably to life. The Shulmans' neighbor Andras Melish, a Hungarian who fled World War II and a vanished world of assimilated European Jewry, struggles to understand his young Argentinian wife Nina, whose need for tradition grows with each passing year. The ailing Rav Kirshner must decide which son will carry on in his shoes: dutiful but plodding Isaiah or his brilliant but secular brother Jeremy. Andras and Nina's daughter befriends an Arab girl, while Elizabeth and Isaac's daughter dreams in secret of Israel. Meanwhile, the town's year-round residents observe the Orthodox newcomers with bewilderment and occasional dismay.

Quotes:  "He hates that kind of superstition...he prefers doubt and skepticism to that kind of belief.  For the skeptic's questions may provide a ground for learning, but the ignorant believer cannot reason."

      The Long Flight Home - Alan Hlad
                 Historical Fiction

#colormotifchallenge- green  well, blue-green

I never knew that carrier pigeons, or homing pigeons, were used by the British in WWII.  This was an enjoyable and interesting read.  I wish the author had delved into the work of the homing pigeons a little more.

Susan and her grandfather raise homing pigeons in England. They are asked to volunteer their pigeons for the war effort, to have the pigeons bring back intelligence to the British.   Dutchess, Susan's pet pigeon, gets accidentally loaded onto the plane that will be dropping the pigeons over German- occupied France.  How many of the thousands of pigeons will actually make it back?

Ollie , an American , tries to sign up with the RAF, but runs across a nasty British officer and Susan's grandfather steps in to save Ollie from jail time.  So Ollie spends a few weeks at Susan's farm and gets to know her and her pigeons.    Then when Ollie gets caught behind enemy lines ( no, I am not going to tell you how that happened.),  Dutchess is able to get messages from Ollie to Susan./

A heart-warming story,  maybe more little love story than actual historical fiction.  I would love to know how the British were able to use any of the Intel that the pigeons were able to bring back.

The House on Harbor Hill by Shelly Stratton

New Author
Once Upon a Book Club - April 2018
2019 A to Z Challenge - "H"

For me this was an okay read.  It was a Hallmark-movie-predictable kind of book.  There were some heavy themes of racial prejudice and spousal abuse, but it felt trite in the very predictable plot line.

It's been classified as mystery, fiction and historical fiction.  The writing was slightly suspenseful, but the foreseeable nature took away from the suspense.  I'm not sure how it is historical fiction as I don't believe any of this was based on a specific historical fact or time period.

The book is rated almost 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads, so there is clearly an audience for this book, it just wasn't me.

Summary from Fantastic Fiction:  She's generous, kind, and compassionate--yet Delilah Grey will forever be an outcast in the small seaside town of Camden Beach, Maryland. She takes in women shattered by abuse, poverty, illness, or events beyond their control. But no matter how far she's come or how many she's helped find their way back, there is no safe place for Delilah. Acquitted of her rich husband's mysterious death decades ago, she lives in her beautiful mansion consumed by secrets--and mistakes she feels she can never atone for. . . . Until she takes in desperate mother Tracey Walters and her two young children.  Tracey won't say where she's from or what sent her into hiding. But her determination and refusal to give up reminds Delilah of the spirited, hopeful girl she once was--and the dreams she still cherishes. As Tracey takes tentative steps to rebuild her life, her unexpected attraction to Delilah's handsome, troubled caretaker inadvertently brings Delilah face to face with the past. And when Tracey's worst fears come brutally calling, both women must find even more strength to confront truths they can no longer ignore--and at last learn how to truly be free . . .

Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley

Debut

2019 September Motif - Animal, Number, Color, Name

What can I say?  Nothing! Throw you a bone at least?  Nope, can't do it!  Even a kibble of info would be too much of a spoiler.  The book is a bit quirky and there are some metaphorical moments, but they don't take over the book, at least not to the point of being lost in the metaphor.

I laughed, I made eye rain and I hugged my very non-Lily-like canine buddy, Leo (even if he did pull away from me, the jerk).  I give this book 4 out of 5 woofs!!

Summary from GoodReads:  Combining the emotional depth of The Art of Racing in the Rain with the magical spirit of The Life of Pi, Lily and the Octopus is an epic adventure of the heart.

The magic of this novel is in the read.  This is a story about that special someone: the one you trust, the one you can’t live without. For Ted Flask, that someone special is his aging companion Lily, who happens to be a dog.

Quotes:  "...purebred dogs come with these health issues, as they've been genetically mutated for purpose or show."

"'You okay?'...'Okay adjacent.'"

"'Death is a unique opponent, in that death always wins.'"

"A heart is judged not by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others."

              Boys in the Boat
          Daniel James Brown.
                     
#2019AtoZChallenge - B
#monthltymotifchallenge - Aug-transportation

Let's see, what can I say about this book.  It was informative, repetitive, boring, interesting and heartwarming.

Some of the informative things were:
      The work it takes to build a rowing shell in the 1930's, all by hand.
       How many strokes per minute it takes to make the shell move slow or fast.  Up to 44 strokes per minute, all 8 oarsmen in sync!!!
      A little about the dust storms that ravaged the midwest.
      The propaganda Hitler used at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
      How exciting the gold medal rowing race was (like the Miracle on Ice in the 1980 Olympics) and finally, how much heart and caring these 9 boys had for each other and the art of rowing.

The middle of the book was a little boring but not enough to make me want to stop.

There were so many hardships these boys had to overcome and rowing was considered an East coast sport.  Yale, Harvard, Cambridge had the elite rowing clubs, not the West coast with their blue collar laborers and not the University of Washington.

And the final race for the gold in Berlin, Oh my, how exciting.   Mr. Brown wrote it so I felt like I was there holding my breath for these boys.