Riley Fisher finds herself in a corn field that leads to a criminal investigation that takes her not only on a terrifying murder mystery but also on a personal journey that has continued to haunt her and her family. I found Riley to be an intriguing and multifaceted character. She will develop into a character readers will continue to want to know. Other than the first murder victim starting the story, I thought the book started out slowly. It took about half of the book before it gained speed, and then finally took off. I recommend this book to fans of TV shows like Criminal Minds. The many threads of the mystery culminate in an explosive conclusion. The back drop of real Iowans and the challenges of big corporations add a currentness to the story. The relationships in the story seemed to be a bit stilted and Riley's unresolved personal struggle was unsettling, but perhaps that is waiting for another novel.

Matt Bell's Appleseed took some time to read. Covering three different time periods, 1800's America, 2070's America, and a 1,000 years from now. The connection between the three times took almost to the very end to figure out. The 1800's lacked verisimilitude. The reader is lead to believe that Johnny Appleseed was a Faun, and traveled with his brother to plant apple trees across the Ohio River Valley. This part was difficult to understand, why was the faun being pursued by the three witches of fate? The other two times periods eventually meshed but the science seemed beyond what would be possible. At first I wanted to just put this book aside, but the mystery of how it would all go together kept me reading. The message Matt Bell is sending in this book is, though, a true one and we should heed it "we need a million small efforts, emplaced in localities, rooted in specific land and water and air of the particular places where people lived". His message and lessons are noble and for that reason I am glad I continued reading to the end.

I enjoyed this book once I got past trying to keep the names of people and places straight. They are foreign and made it challenging at first. If you like the History Channels series The Vikings, you will love this book. Fans of Philippa Gregory would like this book. It has intrigue, battle strategy, love triangles, and plots inside the plot. The main family that this story is about seeks to unify all the lands of Europe and Scandinavia. They are courageous and intelligent, spreading Christianity amongst Vikings. The author depicts the time and people in a very believable way. I would recommend this read.

This may be my favorite book this year! Beautiful language describing hope and despair in a future world that has lost most of its wild life. As Franny navigates her own last migration following the last migratory bird, the Arctic Tern, her life and love unfolds through her letters to Niall and her relationship with the crew of the Saghani. Her journey is harrowing and heroic. Spirits in despair can find each other, form a bond and save each other.

I enjoyed this book. The author portrayed the main character with understanding and showed that love can overcome ignorance. The reader also gets a glimpse of the psyche of the German people under Hitler who followed him. It's a love story, somewhat contrived, but interesting. The main character, Hetty Heinrich, as a child wants to love her country but loving a Jew puts into question everything she is taught in her home under a father who is a high ranking Nazi official. Many are put in harms way when she can not resist her love.

Katherine Sharp Landdeck has thoroughly researched a forgotten segment of WWII's history, the women who flew and received little recognition or compensation. Well organized, and easy to read, the reader learns about the many women aviators who flew during WWII to help the war effort. I enjoyed the book, it kept my interest. It was a good companion to the book Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History by Keith O'Brien. Definitely worth the read.

Sometimes keeping secrets is the best way to love another person. In A Kinship of Secrets, Inja is left behind in Korea with her Grandmother and Uncle. Her parents take their other daughter, Miran with them to the United States. They mean to be away for only a couple of years. But the years turn into many and we see the contrast in the way that Inja and her sister are raised. It would seem that the daughter left behind would be the one with identity and confidence issues, but it is Miran who never feels she fits in. The contrast between the ways of life are strikingly different but at the same time very similar. There are layers of secrets that family members keep. When Inja finally is brought to the United States she is heartbroken, but she has been raised with an inner strength and she thrives. The secrets that Inja keeps give her that strength. The two very different girls become true sisters. It isn't until Miran returns to Korea that she also finds her true self. This book was interesting, thought provoking, and hopeful. It would be great for a book club discussion. I found it even more intriguing because it was based on true events in the author's own life. Learning about Korean life was also a plus.

Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson is unusual in that the entire story unfolds through correspondence between two people who have never seen each other, one in England and one in Denmark. I thought the premise of starting this correspondence because of a prehistoric man, 2,000 years old, was odd. I really never understood the significance of the Tollund Man to the story, except it got things going and it was something that had made Tina feel special because the archeologist who discovered the man dedicated his book to her and her classmates. The author had a personal connection to the find and so it must be her inspiration for creating this two people. I found the book thought provoking as these two unlike individuals, Kristian and Tina, became best of friends. Both of them were at a time in life when both have less time ahead then they have behind them. Both are questioning if they have made the correct choices in their lives. A reader of a certain age may find they also may have these same questions about their own life. As Tina and Kristian share their lives, their observations, and their hopes for their futures, they help each other make things clearer. The reader may also find some live questions become clearer. The writers are working through sadness, regret, but the message is a hopeful one. Should a person stop to pick the raspberries along the way? Should one look for new ones to pick? Does age matter when changing direction in a person's life? The characters are likable, believable, and the reader will cheer them on. I enjoyed the book.

Leo Brice meets Fiona Maeberle and he becomes alive! Life with Fiona is perfect and Leo believes it will last forever. But of course, it doesn't! Leo is no longer alive without Fiona, and so Cluchey takes us on a journey with Leo to find out just what is being alive all about. It takes a death row prisoner to help Leo find out what life is really about. Considering the topic one wouldn't think the novel would be entertaining, but Cluchey does entertain the reader with Leo's over the top depression at losing Fiona, describing his wacky friends and Leo's despondency. But this is not a frivolous novel. Michael Tiegs supplies the meat to this novel. Through the interaction with Michael, a death row prisoner, Cluchey provides Leo the opportunity to explore deep philosophical ideas about what death is, and by understanding death, what life is all about.

He wanted the Moon was both disturbing and intriguing. Dr. Baird endured so much, and that he may have been so close to his own possible treatment was devastating. His own personal account of his ordeal puts the reader right into the mental hospital. A reader couldn't get closer to the experience except by actually being there. The fact that the autobiographical account was also partnered with his daughter's loss and unique commentary strengthened Dr. Baird's story. I found this story sad, but real. It was I story that had to be told and I felt privileged to have been able to be witness to it. I have already passed it on to another reader. It is the kind of story that should be heard.

This quote from the book sums up this book for me, "It wasn't possible to see an image of the whole person at once, because our point of observation was at one point on the axis of time, and the thing observed was shot through with innumerable points of observation." Changes in Ella's life cause her to re-look at herself, the disappearance of Laura causes her to look at Laura's life, and the mysterious happenings cause the reader to keep reading for a solution. Are the statues of Laura White's creatures really alive? Are they creating the havoc in Rabbit Back? And what did happen to Laura White and the tenth member of the Rabbit Back Literature society.

This book is truly an exercise in seeing things from different angles. As Ella says, "Every day would present a new side to view, and a being that you thought beautiful might suddenly prove unbearably ugly to you." From the strange book virus to the playing of The Game, this book inserts a lot of questions into the readers mind. It kept my interest and I found the author's metaphors intriguing. I was disappointed that the ending didn't answer my questions. One mystery is solved but it only puts more questions into the readers mind. This book leaves the reader unsettled and seeking more answers. For that reason it would be a great book club book. It would certainly spark discussion! I want to know, "Where is Laura White?"

The story of the island of Sri Lanka is an old story. It's about one group of people holding another smaller group of people down until the group fights back. Munaweera was able to bring both the Sinhala and the Tamil alive in her book through strong female characters. She didn't spare any detail in describing everyday life of these people both in their love for each other and in their acts of inhumanity to each other. This was a part of world history that I really knew nothing about. I learned so much about these people who live on a island and love the sea from this book. This story happens over and over in man's history, it is always ghastly, but there are always those who survive and go on. I wish we could learn to change so that this story wouldn't have to be written about again. This book is worth the read.

Is who you marry just an "accident" and if it is can it be survived? Meyers book explores a marriage through the awakenings of its characters. Maddy awakens from a coma on one level and on a deeper level she awakens from her accident of marriage. Emma, a teen, is awakening from adolescence during a difficult family tragedy, and Ben awakens from his self absorption. Can all these awakenings keep the family together or will they tear them apart? Meyer's examination of each character's feelings and reactions is an interesting one. The characters seem real and the premise plausible. That is what keeps the reader reading.

At first I thought the premise of this book was not a feasible one. It was pretty slow in the beginning so I didn't think I was going to like it. Then in the author notes I found that the characters were based on real people and real events. That made the story more interesting, as a study into the character of the Empress of Austria (Sisi), and English Society just before World War 1. As a young orphaned heiress, Charlotte represents the changing role of women. She is not rebellious, but she is not going to let old traditions dictate her life. She knows her own mind and I enjoyed learning about her. The young officer, Bay, is torn between two paths with two very different women and circumstances. And in the end Love prevails, which is always nice!

The House We Grew Up In is the story of a family rooted to a house through Lorelei, the mother. Lorelei is a spirit that delights in finding beauty in every little thing, and can't let go of the memories that "things" hold for her. When a devastating event occurs, the happy family fragments and falls apart. All but Lorelei leave the house. Lorelei can't leave. Each family member is broken and takes off in a different direction looking for a way to heal. In the end, it is again the house that calls them all home and helps them heal. I really enjoyed this book, I found the family very human. The author gives this family life and shows how family love can prevail.

This is a book about women, three of them, Hannah, Olivia, and Maddie. My connection as a mother drew me into this book. I was crying by the end of the first chapter and yet the book is really about healing. Hannah's journey through grief. Olivia's quest for freedom from abuse, and Maddie's struggle to find out who she really is as a person kept me reading. Their connection through Emily binds the three of them together and kept me reading to find out the resolution.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Kimberly shared her life in a way that can be an inspiration to all. It was a message of love even under a pile of paper and trash. She gives the reader insight into a life we have recently glimpsed on reality TV shows about hoarders. I found the book wanted me to jump in and "fix" the problem and that kept me reading. I was inspired by Kimberly's continued love to be uplifting. I recommend this read.

Therese Anne Fowler gives the reader a well researched fictionalized account of the life of Zelda Fitzgerald in Z, A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald. I came to know Zelda in these pages as a woman struggling with her own identity. Married to a driven to-be- perfect husband and living in a time when women are coming out of their homes to become people in their own right, Zelda struggles to find her own success. I learned that Zelda was not just the Flapper described in her husband's writings, but a modern woman like us all struggling to be her own person. This book flowed well, presented a real person with problems, and left me with a curiosity to find out more about the Fitzgerald's.

This book would be a civil war enthusiast's dream. The historical elements are detailed in their brutal reality. The underlying story of a Chinese immigrant, Johnny Tom, fighting as a Union soldier and his daughter spying for the Union as a battle field nurse brings home to the reader the toll on the human heart and soul. When it comes to taking sides on an issue the sides blur when the details narrow down to person to person . The reader learns an important lesson about love through Davenport's Warren Petticomb. This book was a satisfying read.

The secrets in this book are what lured me in and kept me reading. The Keller women were real people and they all have secrets, bigger secrets than most of us. Anna becomes the oldest living person alive and her secret may be part of the answer of why these women seem not to age. The drama of life surrounded Calliope and her daughter, Deb, and Deb's daughter. But the real drama was with Bets. I didn't like Bets in the beginning but she became my favorite character. So you are really getting the story of five women which are separate from the others but still entangled with them. The olives and family bring them all together in the place of their origin.

This book is rich in ideas for discussion and would be a superb book for a book club, more so for women and those with some life experience.