HEARTS AND BONES by Margaret Lawrence

FIC

LAWRENCE, M.

This story of historical suspense takes place in post Revolutionary War Maine and features Hannah Trevor, the village midwife, a woman who lives with her illegitimate daughter outside the bounds of convention-a sort of Hester Prynne without apologies.

A brutal murder rocks the normal activities of the village when a young woman is raped and strangled, leaving behind a letter accusing three prominent men of being her murderers. One names is Daniel Josselyn, Hannah's former lover and the father of her daughter.

With Will Quaid, the village constable, Hannah sets out to discover the truth of the tragedy, and discovers her won heart's desire as well.

THE LIGHTKEEPER'S DAUGHTER by Iain Lawrence

FIC

LAWRENCE

When seventeen-year-old Squid returns from a four-year absence to visit her parents on their isolated island off the coast of British Columbia, she brings her three-year-old daughter. The account of her visit is interspersed with the story of what happened during the last year Squid lived on the island, leading to death of her brother and her own departure.

Though there are hints that incest might have been involved, it was not. The true story is nonetheless heartbreaking, involving family dysfunction, statutory rape, and suicide. The writing is beautiful; the story is not, though is is certainly memorable.

HARVESTING THE HEART by Jodi Picoult

FIC

PICOULT, J.

This is the story of the growth of a young woman who needs to deal with the past and her unsettled relationship with her mother before becoming who she wants to be for her own child.

Paige O'Toole was abandoned by her mother when she was just five years old and subsequently is plagued by feelings of worthlessness. Overwhelmed by marriage and motherhood, Paige leaves her family and journeys to find her own mother. Harvesting the Heart is realistic, moving and beautifully told.

A LONG WAY DOWN by Nick Hornby

FIC

HORNBY

The setting is New Year's Eve 2003 on the roof of Topper's House in London, a popular suicide spot. Four strangers converge there, each wanting to end his life in privacy. Maureen is a devout Catholic and single mother to a severely disable adult son. Martin, a former TV host, is just out of prison for statutory rape. JJ is an American who broke up with his girlfriend and was fired from his dream job in a rock band. Teenage Jess, the flighty daughter of a politician, was dumped by her boyfriend. The result of their rooftop meeting is a special bond. That night they forge an agreement not to kill themselves for ninety days. In their attempts to support each other, they provide a moving and lively read.

WHEN WE WERE ORPHANS by Kazuo Ishiguro

FIC

ISH

This book is challenging, and, to my mind, much more effective as a book on tape. One reading might be inclined to skip ahead of what is incomprehensible, and therefore boring, without allowing seemingly insignificant details and images to coalesce and become meaningful.

Christoper Banks is a renowned London detective with a tragic past: his parents disappeared from their home in Shanghai when he was ten. Twenty years later he decides to return to Shanghai to solve the mystery. Why did he wait so long? Why are the only people who penetrate his isolation fellow orphans? Why do people surrounding him bolster his delusions?

When We Were Orphans is a fascinating book, certainly not for everyone, by a rewarding reading experience nonetheless.

THE GREAT INDIAN NOVEL by Shashi Tharoor

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THA

This is a brilliant, fictionalized account of modern Indian history from the time of Gandhi's struggle for independence from Great Britain to the assassination of Indira Gandhi.

Although based on the 2,000-year-old epic THE MAHABHARATA, you do not need to be familiar with this work to appreciate the novel, which is written with great insight and humor.

A SIMPLE HABANA MELODY by Oscar Hijuelos

FIC

HIJUELOS, O

World-famous Cuban composer Israel Levis returns home after being imprisoned in a World War II concentration camp. His spirit seems broken but a spark remains for the love of his life, Rita Valladores, for whom he wrote a famous rumba. This is an enchanting and captivating books.

THE DEVIL'S FEATHER by Minette Walters

FIC

WALTERS

International war correspondent Connie Burns suspects a British mercenary with many aliases of the rapes and vicious murders of several women in Sierra Leone. When Burns is transferred to Iraq, she is taken captive by this man (aka Keith MacKenzie, who is now training Iraqi security forces) tortured and then released after three days.

Trying to recover from this devastating experience, Burns returns to England and rents an isolated house in the Dorset countryside, with the certainty that MacKenzie will come looking for her.

This is an interesting psychological thriller which incorporates several contemporary issues.

BURDEN OF PROOF by Scott Turow

FIC

TUROW. S.

Sandy Stem, a leading defense attorney, comes home from a business trip to find that Clara, his wife of many years has committed suicide. Clara's death takes him completely by surprise. Her death forces him to examine all of his close relationships, especially his connection to his children.

Woven throughout the book is Stem's defense of his brother-in-law, Dixon Hartnell. Dixon owns a commodities brokerage and has employed Stem to keep him one step ahead of the law. Dixon's freewheeling style frustrates Stem.

The story offers suspenseful twists, and devastating revelations as Stern seeks to unravel the puzzle of Clara's death and maze of Dixon's complicated financial dealings.

AND GIVE YOU PEACE by Jessica Treadway

FIC

TRE

This is a stunning and moving novel about a family's devastating loss and its aftermath. One summer morning Tom Dolan goes into the bedroom of his sleeping 15-year old daughter, shoots her in the head, and then shoots himself. His estranged wife Margaret, and younger daughter, Justine, respond with stupefied disbelief. The oldest daughter, Anastasia, is the only one who struggles above her own grief and shock to find the truth at the heart of the tragedy.

The author is masterful at depicting small-town life, familiar neighborhoods, the rhymes of family interplay. Especially genuine are the small ordinary words and actions that form the backdrop of earth-shattering events-cheerleaders' shouts ringing through a cemetery where the loved one's grave is newly dug. The author does not tie up all the loose ends or bestow redemption and resolution upon her characters. She leaves them damaged, but functioning and whole.

COME AND GO, MOLLY SNOW by Mary Ann Taylor-Hall

FIC

TAYLOR-HALL. M.

This novel's appealing heroine is a bluegrass fiddler who is finally being noticed by recording companies, She has a nervous breakdown and during the course of the book comes to grips with her loss and her guilt.

An interesting look at the life of a single mom in the music business, who creates her own world almost independent of any man.

THE BEACH HOUSE by James Patterson

FIC

PAT

Jack Mullen is a law school student who grew up in the Hamptons. He frequently heads home to his widowed father's home where his brother Patrick and grandfather also live. Jack is devastated to learn that his beloved younger brother, Peter, has drowned while working as a valet at a ritzy part. When Jack sees the body he concludes that Peter was beaten to death. The rick folk and local authorities insist the death was an accident. Jack investigates, discovering that his brother had a secret life. With the help of his grandfather and friends Jack sets out to avenge his brother's death in a way that the Hamptons will not soon forget.

THE ENGLISH PATIENT by Michael Ondaatje

FIC

ONDAATJE

Brilliantly told tale of the mystery of the "English patient," a badly-burned man of unknown identity being cared for by a young nurse, Hannah, in a deserted Italian villa at the end of World War II.

It can be read with pleasure after seeing the movie since the book contains much that was sketch in the film version, including the romance between Hannah and Kip, the young Sikh engineer.

THE HADES FACTOR by Robert Ludlum

FIC

LUD

What a thriller! This fast-paced novel follows a virus that threatens the lives of people around the world. Lt. Col. Jonathan Smith, a physician and researcher notices that three unrelated people in different locations have all died of the same virus. An old FBI friend calls Smith in the middle of the night to warn that he is in danger.

Once Smith and his fiancee, Dr. Sophia Russell, start to investigate the deaths, a number of attempts are made on Smith's life. When Sophia contracts the virus, Smith realizes her death is not an accident.

Smith vows to find out who is responsible. From Washington to Baghdad, the tension mounts as our hero struggles to discover the truth behind the deadly virus.

BEL CANTO by Ann Patchett

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PATCHETT

When terrorist storm the vice presidential palace of a nameless South American country during a birthday concert for the CEO of a major Japanese corporation, they take the performer, renowned soprano Roxanne Coss, and the audience members hostage. Rather than writing an account of a grim ordeal, Patchett has written a novel with a surprising sense of humor that pays tribute to the transforming power of music.

STARS FOR A LIGHT by Lynn Morris & Gilbert Morris

FIC
MORRIS

Dr. Cheny Duvall has recently graduated from medical school. The year is 1865 and prejudice against women doctors is strong. She applies for a job as a ship's physician and the ship's owner is delighted. The ship will carry 100 marriageable women bound for Seattle via the Panama Isthmus. For the long journey Dr. Duvall needs to stock appropriate medication for malaria and other diseases. As she makes her way through the docks to the local pharmacy a couple of rough-looking characters confront and menace her. The ship's nurse rescues her. A reasonable task for the nurse, a Civil War veteran who will need both brawn and brain for the adventures and setbacks that await them on the long trip to Seattle. An interesting read and acceptable for a younger reader.

GAP CREEK by Robert Morgan

FIC

MOR

This "Oprah" novel is set in turn-of-the-century Appalachia where life is all work and little pleasure. Teenager Julie supports her family's farm after her father dies. She expects life to be a little easier after she marries Hank, but tragedies befall their first year together. Julie deals with these difficult trials with grace.

THE SONGCATCHER by Sharon McCrumb

FIC

McCRUMB, S.

This book is another of McCrumb's wonderful ballad novels. Like those that preceded it, The Songcatcher weaves back and forth through time, in this case 250 years, and a number of characters, past and present.

Lark McCourrie is a famous folksinger flying home to Appalachia to see her estranged and dying father and to undearth one authentic old ballad which has not yet been "discover." She is aided by the familiar Hamlin Characters, most notably Sheriff Arrowood and the redoubtable Nora Bonesteel.

McCrumb entices us throughout the snatches of the sought-after song and the accompanying tale of Malcolm McCourie, Lark's Scottish ancestor and the bearer of the song from the old country. Lovely.

MADAME BOVARY by Gustave Flaubert

FIC

FLAUBERT

Emma is the daughter of a simple farmer. She marries Dr. Charles Bovary, a equally simple doctor. Emma becomes disillusioned with marriage, and terrible bored. In truth, she craves the passion and romance she has read about in books.

Madame Bovary embarks on an affair with Leon, a law clerk. After he leaves her, Rodolphe is next. She steadily loses control, taking risks, borrowing more and more money. The hapless doctor is oblivious. Rodolphe's desertion precipitates her downfall.

MISTRESS OF THE ART OF DEATH by Ariana Frankllin

FIC

FRANKLIN
A serial child murderer is on the loose in 12th-century Cambridge and suspicion has fallen on the local Jewish population. King Henry II wants to find the killer (and needs the Jewish tax revenues). He sends for a medical examiner, or master of the art of death, from one of the most advanced medical schools of the time, the University of Salerno. What he gets is a “mistress of the art of death” in the form of young Dr. Adelia Aguilar who must do her work in secret because of the English prejudice against female doctors. The mystery is entertaining but perhaps more interesting are the many historical details of life in this distant time.

LIFE, DEATH AND BIALYS: A FATHER/SON BAKING STORY by Dylan Schaffer

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Schaffer
Schaffer, an attorney and author of two legal thrillers, receives a call from his father, Flip, asking him to participate in a bread baking class. Flip is dying of cancer and the class is seven months away. Schaffer has doubts whether his father will live long enough to attend, yet agrees to sign up. Flip had abandoned Schaffer and his brothers thirty years before to life with a mentally unstable mother; there had been little contact since. Throughout the week-long class Schaffer realizes his father is asking for forgiveness. Schaffer has to work through years of pain and rejection , accepting his father’s flaws before it is too late.
This is a humorous, touching memoir, an honest account of a complicated relationship.

LICK CREEK by Brad Kessler

FIC

KESSLER

Emily Jenkins and her widowed mother Ada live in the hills of West Virginia in the 1920s. Power is coming to the valley along with “electric men” who make a deal with the women for the right of way on their land. All turns to dust when the supervisor, Robert Daniels, plies her with liquor and rapes her. Overwhelmed with rage, Emily vows revenge on the power company through acts of sabotage.
Her life is altered when a young lineman, Joseph Gershon, is struck by lightning and brought to the Jenkins house to recuperate. His tales of immigration from Russia enthrall Emily and the two fall in love. Only Emily’s obsessive hatred for Daniels stands in the way of their happiness. A dramatic conclusion brings the story full circle.

KNITTING CIRCLE by Ann Hood

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HOOD
Mary Baxter loses her only child, little Stella.
In their grief Mary and her husband find themselves isolated and disconnected, even fromeach other. Mary’s mother encourages her daughter to go to Big Alice’s shop to learn to knit. At the knitting circle six ladies surround Mary: Scarlet, Lulu,Beth,Harriet, Ellen and Alice. Each member shares with Mary a new knitting technique, along with her own story of loss and recovery. Initially, Mary is reluctant to tell her story. Eventually hours of knitting and listening help her to relate her own experience of suffering. Soon Mary begins to reclaim her life and rediscovers a renewed love for her husband.

AN ARSONIST'S GUIDE TO WRITERS' HOMES IN NEW ENGLAND by Brock Clarke

FIC
Clarke
Sam Pulsifer served 10 years in jail for accidentally setting fire to Emily Dickinson’s house, killing two occupants. He rebuilt his life after being released and is now happily married with two children. All goes well until the son of the two persons killed reappears and other famous writers’ homes go up in flames. Guess who’s the obvious suspect? This offbeat novel is both funny and moving.

The Obituary Writer by Porter Shreve

FIC

SHREVE

Gordon Hatch is a 22-year old aspiring newspaper reporter,trying to live up to the
legacy of his late father, who covered the JFK assassination. He is a lowly obituary writer, inflating his position to his mother and ex-girlfriend. He senses his chance has come when he gets a phone call from Alicia, a young widow promising an enthralling story. As they become lovers and her story emerges, her capacity for falsehood makes him look like an amateur. Alicia’s lies (and his own) offer a choice between truth and fiction that must be resolved before he can evolve into the kind of newspaperman his father would have respected.

PAY THE DEVIL by Jack Higgins

FIC/PBK
HIGGINS

As the Civil War is ending, Confederate Colonel Clay Fitzgerald learns he has inherited a fortune and estate from an Irish uncle. Weary of war, the Colonel and his black aide and friend, Josh, set off to claim this inheritance. Despite his wish to remain neutral, Clay is shocked by the English government's treatment of the Irish. He cannot help but become involved in the resistance. The colonel also falls in love with the sympathetic daughter of an English landlord.
The tale of Colonel Fitzgerald's adventures, while at times melodramatic, will appeal to t hose with an interest in history, particularly Irish history, and to readers wanting action and a plot that moves briskly.

THE SIXTEEN PLEASURES by Robert Hellenga

FIC

HELLENGA

Margot Harrington is on leave from her job as a book conservator at the Newberry Library. She has volunteered to help Florence, Italy after the flood of 1967. A convent has found a unique book of Renaissance erotica. They would like Margot to help them sell the item-discreetly.

The book, The Sixteen Pleasures, becomes the adventure that Margot has been looking for. She finds romance and professional fulfillment, and herself.

A wonderful book with lots of details about the rare book trade.

EYE OF THE NEEDLE by Ken Follett

pbk.
FOLLETT, K.

Eye of the Needle is a terrific spy/espionage/romance, appropriate for men and women readers, because unlike many espionage writers, Follett is savvy enough to create admirable, sympathetic female characters.

Die Nadel (the Needle) is a cold calculating German spy, quick to kill and utterly ruthless. He is sent to a remote British island in order to determine whether the Allies are planning an invasion from that point. His boat is wrecked, and he is taken in by David and Lucy Rose, a young couple with a small child. David is paralyzed from an accident that occurred on their wedding day, and consequently become embittered and hateful. Lucy is valiant, but love-starved. The end is thrilling and one is left wondering - was it lover or part of the game?

GRANGE HOUSE by Sarah Blake

FIC

BLA

Though Maisie has always spent her summers in Maine at Grange House, the summer of 1898, when Maisie is seventeen, is different. The girl's parents are pushing her toward marriage, and the owner of Grange House, Miss Grange, hopes Maisie will have the mysterious "gift." She tries to show Maisie some of the Grange family history, real or imagined.

A terrible accident, however, kills Maisie's father, prompting Maisie to write about him after she returns home. On receiving Maisie's biography of her father, Miss Grange sends Maisie her own diaries.

Only when Maisie and her mother return to Grange House can Maisie sort fact from fiction and learn who she herself is and who she wants to be. This very Victorian telling of Maisie's story should appeal to women and girls who enjoy a Gothic atmosphere, beautiful detailed writing, and complex characterization.

INDEPENDENCE DAY by Richard Ford

FIC
FOR

Not to be confused with the movie, this novel won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize. The main character, Frank Bascombe, spends a contemplative Fourth of July weekend. He is a realtor trying to find housing for some difficult customers, a man dealing with women problems-- his ex-wife and current girlfriend-and a father, treating his son to a trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Somehow this well-intentioned fellow ends up in the hospital.

This decent and bewildered man is gradually, inevitably and humorously wrenched out of his private existence to a new awareness of the world and people around him.