Eowyn Ivey | FictionThis novel is based on an actual 1885 expedition by Lieutenant Henry T. Allen.Eowyn Ivey’s character, Colonel Allen Forrester, travels up the Wolverine River with a small band of men (and soon, one woman and one dog) into the vast untamed Alaska Territory. There are three simultaneous story lines. Forrester’s journals create…
J.D. Vance | MemoirI wanted Hillbilly Elegy to explain to me why Appalachia voted for Trump. I guess if I really want to know, I better read a non-fiction that attempts to answer that question. Any recommendations? Hillbilly Elegy gave me some insight with which to answer that question, but not much. More on this…
Lee Child | FictionThis was a fun read, in-between more serious books! Someone is buying something worth $100 million, in two-decades-ago US dollars. What could be bought, sold and transported on the black market for 100 very large bills? Jack Reacher, of course, is put on the job to find the item, the seller and…
Marie Semple | FictionThis book is NOT about Bernadette’s physical disappearance (see my rant below.) However, it is about her emotional, intellectual and mental disappearance from her life. Bernadette is an incredibly interesting character … she presents as somewhat daft … but then again, she presents as very rational. Can someone be “somewhat” daft? (Heck…
Ruth Ware | FictionThe Woman in Cabin 10 is a fun read; I read it easily over a weekend. An Agatha Christie-esque-style novel … “How can the woman in cabin 10 be murdered? There IS no woman in cabin 10!”Lo Blacklock has landed the assignment of a lifetime. A travel journalist, she will be reporting…
R.J. Palacio | Fiction“I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.”I am a little late getting on the Wonder bandwagon (thank you to Mary’s book club for putting this book on their reading list!) Wonder is a warm and delightful read. Yes, it is a teen book, but, as with…
James Patterson & Maxine Paetro | FictionYes, I know, I have been on a James Patterson kick. And yes, Beryl really liked him, so it makes sense I am exploring this most prolific of writers! Woman of God is not a murder mystery … it is one of his “stand-alone” books.I loved the main character,…
Samuel Western | Fiction“Ward sets down Gwen’s shotgun, picks up his own, and opens the driver side door. As he reaches in to place the shotgun on the gun rack, he touches the trigger of the unfired barrel. The birdshot goes through the rear window and directly into the back of Gwen’s head.”In Chapter 1…