Natalie Mason is described as "an unusually pretty woman of twenty-five with extremely short hair and striking features that might have been overwhelming had they been paired with a more elaborate hairstyle…" In Hollywood everyone is judged first by their looks and second by their issues. Mason's issue is alcohol, which she is being forced to address by attending daily AA meetings while working as an Uber driver and delivery person. A child of Hollywood, Mason has been oblivious to its' glitz, glamour and underbelly. But that changes when Julia enters the room.
Julia Mann is a former Hollywood star turned convicted murderer, turned parolee, turned lawyer for the underdog, with a drinking problem. Her attendance at AA is mandated because after waking up from an alcohol induced black out, she found a body floating in her pool. She can't recall why or how it got there.
One Death at a Time is the story of Julia, Mason and friends trying to solve two murders. While Waxman's storyline may be long with extraneous details, the fast, irreverent, smart, sassy dialog moves the plot at lightening speed. Her characters are well defined and memorable. One Death at a Time is recommended for those who seek a fast read about glamourous people who aren't above a little self-deprecation and laugh out loud humor.

Weena has been summoned to come home because her father is dying. Not an unusual circumstance for most people, yet consequential for the Haddesley family and their ancestral cranberry bog.
The impending death means an ancient ritual must be performed that will insure survival for her siblings and the family compound. Weena is the only one of four children who has "gone over the property line" to experience life away from the bog and she is not coming back willingly.
The Bog Wife could easily have been a family drama about children denied access to 'real world' experiences with the consequent denial, rebellion and retribution. Chronister mixes in a supernatural element of an ancient compact that if unheeded (or disbelieved) could result in desolation of both family and land. Weena and her siblings navigate through their family history both real and imagined, striving to find their individual ways with varied results. Recommended for fans of dysfunctional family sagas exacerbated by supernatural forces.

Messud's novel follows the Cassars, a family of Pied-Noir, from 1940 to the 2000's. Wikipedia describes Pied-Noirs as "…an ethno-cultural group of people of French and other European descent who were born in Algeria during the period of French rule from 1830 to 1962." Most Pied-Noirs were aligned with the French. Consequently, when Algeria won independence from France, many migrated away from their birthplace permanently. Messud states the work is fiction yet follows her family's experience.
All of the above sets the stage for wonderful historical fiction. Yet Messud treats the history as secondary to the family drama, resulting in numerous trips to Wikipedia. Constantly searching for timelines of events, explanations of literary references and verification of names dropped made reading laborious.
Constantly inside the heads of her characters and their sordid lives, Messud is both pleasantly descriptive yet wordy. She spent a whole page describing one of the many self-absorbed characters, Francois, stealing a forbidden drink while feeding peanuts to his dog. Yet the story did not move forward. Spontaneous announcements of the future fate of her characters felt like plot spoilers. More reality tv than historical fiction.
This novel is recommended for those who have time and resources to study the history of Algeria and its people along with a crash course in family dysfunction before reading the novel. Others may want to spend their valuable reading time with something less strange and more eventful.

A funeral cryer is paid to cry at funerals, and/or teaches the bereaved to show the proper sorrow regardless of how they feel about the dead. The profession of funeral crying is unique and interesting and the book describes a social emotional culture of China that is not common knowledge. Utilizing a middle age woman who narrates her plight as a funeral cryer, the isolation that the job creates and her suspicion that her husband is seeing another woman Lu has created a quasi soap opera mystery about rural Chinese.

The downside to this novel is the hum drum cadence of the narration, especially in the beginning. While the intent may have been to make the story feel as the narrator might feel, it is reminiscent of reading a first grade chapter book. Coupled with the lack of significant action, continued reading is a chore. Recommended only for those who have time to plod through the pages and enjoy the predictable redemption of the narrator in the end.

The House on Biscayne Bay is a mixture of mystery, murder and historic fiction. Marbrisa, an extremely large and elegant estate is the house on Biscayne Bay in South Florida. Built after WWI on a remote site facing the water with the dual intentions of developing luxury living for the newly rich and elevating the status of builder Robert Barnes and his wife Anna in Florida society. Fast forward to 1941 as nineteen year old Carmen Hayes comes to Marbrisa to join her sister, Carolina and grieve their parents who perished in an accident. She immediately becomes enmeshed in the web of intrigue around unsolved murder that has plagued Marbrisa since the estate opened its doors.
Screaming peacocks, large iguanas and alligators stopping cars provide a chilling yet somewhat comical back drop to the fairly predictable plot. Allusions to the gangster element in southern Florida and the negative feelings of locals as outside money begins to change their lives offer some historical background but the main story concerns how Anna Barnes deals with her husbands secrets and how Carmen navigates between her grief for her parents and the contradictions she finds in her sister's household. A fast read yet not captivating.

Sarah, divorced, with grown children, unexpectedly meets a former beau at the opera. "They had been close at one time." Sarah and Warren decide to "continue" their relationship, even though Warren is married. Eventually, Warren decides to leave his wife of thirty-seven years. Leaving is the story of that journey.
A story about divorce must be about marriage and parenting. Robinson writes with uncanny understanding of those emotional roller coasters. She shows how youthful decisions can transform lives. How children can change a relationship. How children become independent of their parents, but also need them. How parents need their children. She even captures the essence of having a pet dog. Leaving touches on all that holds a family together and what happens when that grip is loosened.
Leaving was a satisfying read and is highly recommended for those who want to be reminded that no family is perfect, that selfishness is short sighted, and life doesn't always go as planned.

"…Haiti Travel Advisory July 27, 2023 Do not travel to Haiti due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and poor health care infrastructure."
Haiti,1991. American Matt Amaker is finally making a little profit from ScubaRave his diving business. His Haitian partner Alix Variel's family has embraced him to the point of calling him son. Something that could become legitimate should he marry Alix's sister Misha as he hopes. Matt's dreams are dulled however as Haiti's fragile society starts to unravel, yet again. The first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide is ousted after seven months in office. An unfortunate incident during a dive with some military officials puts Matt in the crosshairs of dueling forces; a pawn in the chess game between Haitian military, USAID and whoever else may see value in befriending and/or betraying him, his friends, and his enemies.
Devil Makes Three is an historic saga of Haiti's struggles with governing, outside intervention, both caring and opportunistic, woven with adventure, intrigue, romance, and violence. Though not a quick read it is recommended for those who want to learn about Haiti's storied past and gain some understanding of why the US would issue such an advisory thirty years later.

"…Loretta Plansky, is a seventy-one-year-old widow of solid build and the only member of the whole club with a one-handed backhand." The club being the New Sunshine Golf and Tennis Club close to her new, rather posh apartment in the Sunshine State. Mrs. Plansky is a widow, mother and grandmother whose lot in life is more than comfortable. This due to a successful entrepreneurial partnership with her husband creating and selling an innovative kitchen knife. And fortunately, her marriage to Norm was equally successful, until he passed.
Then, one night she answers a phone call from her grandson who is in desperate need of funds. Thus begins a journey for Mrs. Plansky that tests her stamina more than her husband's death or any tennis game she has ever played.
From Florida to Europe, from tennis games to clandestine meetings in dark dungeons, Loretta is determined to recover her financial security. Quinn uses witty prose and unconventional situations that will amuse everyone, especially the seventy-one-year-old crowd. He also gives a face to the victims and perpetrators of these contemporary heists that may be surprising. Recommended as a light read with more than a few hilarious yet discerning moments.

In 1957 in rural Alabama, after a "misunderstanding" with her landlord, Alice Young flees the only home she's known, boarding a bus with a ticket that would only go as far as Birmingham. Chicago and her sister are out of reach. Fate intervenes as she steps off the bus in New Jessup, Alabama to stretch her legs. Finding no "whites only" signs, Alice is confounded about where she is. Surprised by the open community and the kindness of New Jessup citizens she slowly begins to become part of this unique community.
As her story unfolds, so does the history of New Jessup, its founders and those who are to become its next leaders. Set against the backdrop of our nation blundering around trying to deal with the undealt issues post Civil War, New Jessup is a place apart. And there are many who wish to keep it that way, especially as desegregation is becoming the answer to the problem of blacks and whites not being able to live together on equal grounds.
Minnicks adroitly maneuvers her characters as they live their seemingly bucolic New Jessup lives while change is swirling around them. As secrets and innuendo inevitably bring the outside world into New Jessup testing the ideals and relationships so long ago formed and nurtured Minnicks gives readers an in-depth understanding of the complexity of living free and equal in our nation.
Highly recommended for those willing to explore our past to impact the future.

Rachel has birthed children, many children. Yet she is alone. Some of her children were stillborn, others died as a result of the harsh conditions on the plantations. Those who survived into their teens were stolen from her to do the owners bidding or sold to do the bidding of others in places far away. But now it is 1834 and the British Empire has abolished slavery in most of the British colonies. At Providence, Rachel's plantation, the slaves are informed, while they are free, they are now apprentices with a six-year indenture. Rachel interprets freedom literally, successfully escapes from the apprenticeship and begins a journey to find her children.

A journey to find lost children can be a predictable story line but Shearer circumvents predictability using vibrant descriptions of place and developing memorable characters in tenuous situations. Shearer draws on research and family lore to tell the story of the slaves of the Caribbean, a people forced into servitude yet utilizing all means to maintain hope that one day they can reunite with lost family. River Sing Me Home is a story that illuminates the history of slavery, the power of familial ties and the resiliency of human beings in the face of adversity. Highly recommended.

Meet Bonnie Lincoln. She has a thing for the 80's TV sitcom Three's Company. To say she is obsessed is an understatement. The only bedroom in her tiny trailer is reserved for multiples of 3C DVD collections and all the bling she can afford on her warehouse stockperson salary. She binges season after season abed on the living room sofa. And then she wins the lottery, literally. Her good fortune allows her to make the obsession a reality, one she is adamant will not be shared with anyone. Ever. No Bonnie didn't have a "normal" childhood and yes, she experienced a particularly heinous incident that helps to foster this submissive fascination with the squeaky-clean life of a TV sitcom.
One's Company is readable yet spice less. A woman living a dated sitcom in her head is allowed to physically recreate it because she won the lottery? Issues of abandonment, violence and mental health are woven into the plot but Bonnie and her circumstances never really reach palatable much less tasty. Only recommended for those familiar with Three's Company and still care.

Some time ago, during an extended stay on a remote beach, a few friends and I tried to imagine the perfect society. We were different ages, and came from opposite ends of the earth. After a few drinks and multiple attempts at creating this ideal nation, ultimately someone would say: "But for that to work some people would have to die!" Then with a resigned sigh of agreement we would go back to the drawing board.
In Free: A Child and a Country at the End of History, the author Lea Ypi recounts her experience as a young child in Marxist-Leninist Albania, and as a teen during the messy transition to a Socialist democracy just as the Soviet Union began to collapse. She pointedly recalls advocates of both systems regaling how free she and her friends and family would be once their goals were reached. Yet, as my friends surmised and Ypi remembers, freedom can have many interpretations, limits and degrees.
Born into a family with a "biography" of "liberals and liberalism" Ypi continually wondered why her parents didn't have pictures of the Party leaders prominently displayed in their home. The author's early teacher was Nora, a strict Party representative, who succinctly answered questions with sanctioned responses assuring the receptive students of the freedom that the Party promised. While her family didn't directly dispute Nora they did not readily agree. During her early teens she experienced the nuances of her family "biography" as she navigated high school and social activities. Only later upon reflection did she realize that the family had communicated with a kind of code to describe their history and that much of what she thought she knew was actually quite the opposite.
Free is readable and refreshing while providing an in-depth understanding of "foreign" culture and governments as experienced by those being governed. Ypi would have been welcomed as a seasoned voice in those long ago campfire summits. Highly recommended.

Finding the way home when homeless is, for many, hard to understand. Regan's book is a story about Emily Nelson and her big brother, Stephen and the rather selfish adults responsible for them. The actions of all culminate in a very unfortunate event producing catastrophic consequences that have negatively affect everyone for fifteen years. The story is told from the perspectives of both Emily and Stephen, as they remember their past and analysis the present. There are obvious clues as to the how and why of the family disintegration that has resulted in Stephen being homeless making the end quite predictable.
How to Find Your Way Home should be considered a single story about someone who, because of past events, lack of forgiveness and dysfunctional family dynamics is living on the street. There are many reasons and circumstances that lead to, support and enable homelessness, not the least of which is the wish of those who experience the condition. Understanding and respecting each individual's situation is the first step towards assisting that person to a safe place both mentally and physically that may or may not include a key to a home.
How to Find Your Way Home is recommended as a predictable story about a dysfunctional family and not necessarily a roadmap to ending homelessness.

As a mother of three with a rather textbook experience with childbirth and women's health, it was humbling to read of Moss's adverse experiences and their emotional toll. Her descriptions of each part of the journey were open, vivid and introspective.

Moss not only details her physical health issues, she analyzes her emotional response to those problems as well. She writes frequently of her maternal grandmother, whom she only knew for a short time as a child. She has very fond memories of that relationship and ponders Grandma Hasting's life's struggles as she faces those of her own. Moss asks herself why this seems so important. "Legacy is such an amorphous concept. Why should I care if her stories die with me?...It is such narcissism to think our stories matter in the grand scheme of things but it feels like a biological imperative." Pondering life's meaning while undergoing a struggle to stay alive is an age old question. The author makes a good attempt to answer it.

Moss's memoir is recommended for those who may be experiencing similar circumstances and need validation for their actions and emotions. It is an education for everyone else.

Everybody: A book about freedom by Olivia Laing, while difficult to define, is a fascinating read.

Laing states her book is about "...bodies in peril and bodies as a force for change." She uses Wilhelm Reich, "...one of the strangest and most prescient thinkers of the twentieth century…who dedicated his life to understanding the vexed relationship between bodies and freedom..." to illustrate the extent to which bodily freedoms or the lack thereof have shaped our current reality. This thread is woven into the fabric of the sexual revolutions and freedom movements of the last century and the rise of incarceration as a tool of suppression today.

Within the weaving are multiple personal histories of artists, musicians and activists, some notable and others not so, who are associated with efforts to define and achieve freedom. Ana Mendieta's performance art to combat violence to women, Nina Simone's evolution into a civil rights activist, Freud's acquiescence to Hitler and much more are the central draw of the book. These anecdotes entertain as well as educate, creating an insatiable need to know more.

One such story was of Reich's orgone accumulators, essentially a box in which patients would sit, shutting out all stimulation, as a way to achieve bodily freedom. The author doesn't miss the irony of comparing the box to the use of solitary confinement in prisons. Aptly, Laing uses a photo of Reich's orgone box, increasingly dimmed, for each chapter, as she journeys through the history of oppression and the fight for freedom, both individual and collective.

Laing may have woven a lot into her work yet she has created much food for thought. What more can be asked of a book? Highly recommended.

As a retired public librarian, I was drawn to this title for obvious reasons. Yet I was unprepared for the non-stereotypic, incredible story of Belle de Costa Greene, personal librarian to J.P. Morgan. This fictional account of Belle Marion Greener, who became de Costa Greene in order to hide her racial heritage is a history lesson both fascinating and humbling.

While "passing" is a fundamental theme in the story, the world of the rich and famous during the early 20th century is also central. A young Greene, working as a librarian at Princeton, was introduced to J.P. Morgan by his nephew, a friend of Miss Greene. The introduction was fueled by the younger Morgan's knowledge of Greene's intelligence, passion for knowledge and work ethic. These qualities were so evident to the venerable J.P. Morgan, that he almost immediately entrusted her with acquiring some of the world's most valued art and literary antiquities for his personal library. A relationship that began a lifetime career for Greene and resulted in the respected Morgan Library and Museum of today.

Bennett and Murray have done a credible job of turning Greene's story into a real-life drama. Never a shushing bespectacled matron dusting shelves, Greene was known for her clever negotiation savvy and vibrant style. The many rumors about her non-library life are teased out to reveal how the mores of the time were navigated by this consequential woman of history. This portrayal of the diminutive (in stature only) Greene and her ability to navigate a purely (white) man's world with her wit, tenacity and intelligence is unforgettable.

Recommended for those who crave learning about the courageous women of the past who were fearless in pursuit of their dreams.

Consuming the tabloid headlines and pictures of the British Royals is an indulgent pastime for many. The pomp and circumstance, designer clothes and fantastic hats create images of beautiful people in their beautiful world while the stories are rife with indiscretion, betrayal and scandal. Historical fiction,The Woman Before Wallis by Bryn Turnbull is the story of Viscount Furness, wife of one of the richest men in the world in the late 20s. Thelma, her common name, is the twin sister of Gloria Vanderbilt. Twin daughters of an American diplomat, they imbibe in the upper-class worlds of both the US and Great Britain. As the book title suggests, Thelma was Prince Edward's mistress before Wallis Simpson, the American woman for whom he abdicated the British throne in 1936. The exploits of Thelma, Gloria and their privileged peers lead to trysts, marriages, divorces and romances eventually culminating in an epic trial. Seems domestic dysfunction and turmoil are constants for the Royal family and those who play with them.

While the saga is predictable, Turnbull successfully fleshes out these historical characters as real people who try to navigate an existence that is not always so beautiful. In most cases they succumb to the excess of the moment and have to deal with the consequences, much like most of us, but on a far bigger stage in front of a voracious audience.

This book is recommended for those who seek a little substance to support their tabloid habit.

Early on in Migrations, Franny, trying to find a commercial fishing boat captain thinks: "The thought of being aboard one of these merciless vessels with people who lay waste to the ocean makes my skin crawl…." As the member of a family who has fished commercially for the last 35 years reading this line made me pause for a moment. Luckily, I didn't stop.
Franny, it turns out, is a very complicated person engaged in an equally complicated mission that requires the complete buy-in of the captain and crew of "one of these merciless vessels." The story migrates through Franny's past and into her present, revealing vague details of abandonment at a young age, incarceration for murder and a romance that appears simultaneously supportive and destructive for both she and her husband Niall. All of this is wrapped around the imminent collapse of the natural world as we know it. McConaghy's characters are memorable even if their actions, at times improbable.
Migrations challenges common generalizations such as "people who lay waste to the ocean" while presenting a possible future scenario that we all should be concerned with and working to prevent now. Migrations is a very satisfying read.

Remembrance is both a place and a remembrance of time passed. Bouncing between the mid 1800's to the present, Remembrance, the book, is the voice of slaves and their heirs, as they live their lives within the confines of slavery and what has become for many a similarly oppressive environment in today's world. The place is a safe haven for slaves where they can live unfettered by the "blancs" who harass, intimidate and brutalize them in every other time and place. Remembrance is a place where life is lived as it should be. To get there is a mystery that includes the good fortune to meet a few trusted souls and then be led on the Underground Railroad to peace and tranquility…or is it a destiny? Woods creates real characters who are believable even as they preform magical feats that serve to allow Remembrance to be accepted as a safe haven. There are even a few humorous exchanges in dialog that lighten the atmosphere and make the characters human.
This book is recommended for those who wish to gain a greater understanding of slavery and the open wound that continues to fester for many. Slightly wordy but worth the effort.

You Were There Too, while essentially about dreams, their meanings and effect on us, takes place under the omnipresent cloud of what may have become a new normal, mass shootings. That overtone coupled with issues of miscarriage, marriage fidelity and uncertain relationships means Oakley’s story while at times romantic and endearing easily turns to messy and complicated.

Mia and Harrison are living what many would consider an idyllic existence. He’s a doctor, she is an artist. At the outset they seem to be handling the vagaries of their careers successfully. Except that Mia has recurring dreams, not always idyllic yet frequently pleasantly sensual. And the main character in these dreams is a beautiful man who is not Harrison. In their waking hours, she and Harrison have experienced multiple miscarriages in their attempt to have a child which is fraying their relationship.

The emotional toll that these issues begin to take on the couple is exacerbated when Mia sees the man of her dreams in the local grocery store. Serendipitously, they become friends and confidants. Thus, begins a journey part déjà vu part Sherlock Holmes as Mia and Oliver try to find the puzzle piece that will fill in the picture.

Oakley has done a great job explaining dream research through storytelling. You Were There Too is a fast read, informative and timely. Recommended for those who seek a fascinating story that will linger long after the last page is read.