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What She Knew

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what she knew

5M4B disclosure

On a perfectly normal Sunday afternoon, single mum Rachel Jenner lets her 8-year-old son run ahead while they’re walking their dog in the woods. She wants to teach him independence, and it’s pretty low-risk area, popular with mums and kids, full that afternoon of a fantasy enactment group with capes and swords, and kids playing soccer. But when Rachel gets to the pond by the swings, Ben is missing. When police search the area, they find all his clothes in a plastic bag, and the dog cowering nearby with a broken leg.

The book is told from the perspective of one year on, and it alternates between Rachel’s voice and notes taken during counseling sessions attended by the detective in charge, Jim Clemo, who has been ordered into counseling as he’s dealing with severe depression and insomnia. It’s obvious that mistakes were made all along the way, but author Gilly Macmillan teases it out, keeping the reader on the edge of her seat as she takes us deep into the abject misery of a mother whose son has been kidnapped.

Additionally, there are blog posts from a site set up to cast doubt on Rachel herself, and she comes under attack via social media and all the vitriolic hatred that people seem to spew forth on the internet. This is one of the more interesting aspects of the book. We see how Rachel will probably never live down the harm done her reputation, simply because people are all too ready to attack each other. Things escalate to graffiti on her back wall and vandalism of her house, and the police are unable to ultimately protect her ex-husband.

What She Knew is a very good suspense novel. The alternating voices, Rachel’s descent into what feels like madness, the suspense as the days tick on with no sign of Ben, the suspicion that falls on Rachel, on her ex-husband and his new wife, on her seemingly-perfect sister, on Ben’s teacher’s assistant–all build and build to the point where the urge to peek at the end of the book is nearly unbearable. But what really takes it up a notch is its commentary on the role media plays in modern tragedies, and as such, it is thought provoking.

 

 

Before She Disappeared

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I must open this review with a disclaimer: I’ve never read anything by Lisa Gardner before. I’ve certainly heard of her, but for some reason this was the first book of hers I actually read. And I can definitely see why her books are so popular.

Before She Disappeared, a standalone novel, is the story of Frankie Elkin — a self-described middle-aged white woman with no family ties, no place she calls home, and only waitressing and bartending as her job experience. But Frankie is really good at one thing – tracking down women who’ve gone missing after the police have given up searching.

Frankie spends her time searching true crime message boards, looking for cases that have gone cold. The story of Angelique, a Haitian teenager who has disappeared from Mattapan, a low income Boston neighborhood, catches her attention. After securing a bartending job and the room above the bar, she jumps feet first into the case, with no idea what she’s getting herself into.

It doesn’t take long for the Black community to realize why Frankie is there, and not everyone is happy to have her, including the lead detective on the case. But Frankie is able to get information that the police have been able to obtain, due to her position as an outsider, and knowing the right questions to ask. Can Frankie find the missing teenager before it’s too late?

Frankie is also running from her past, as women like her usually are, and the details of that past are slowly revealed as she gets closer to the truth of what’s going on in Mattapan. Her addiction is always at the forefront of her mind, framing her decisions and how she sees the world around her.

Before She Disappeared sucked me in, and there were times I was holding my breath as Frankie dealt with some of the people connected to the missing girl. The twists and turns keep the story moving, and just when I thought I knew what was going on, something else got thrown in. The conclusion is both surprising and obvious at the same time, which is the mark of a good thriller, in my opinion.

As I mentioned Before She Disappeared may be my first book by Lisa Gardner, but it won’t be my last.

Dirty Wars and Polished Silver: The Life and Times of a War Correspondent Turned Ambassatrix

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5M4B disclosure

Lynda Schuster knew one thing growing up–she didn’t want to be like her mother, trapped in suburbia and dealing with nothing more exciting than teething toddlers or swim lessons for kids, recipes and shopping and crying over the loss of her husband, who’d left the family for a younger woman. As soon as she could she escaped at age 17, flying to Israel to spend a summer on a kibbutz in 1973. Why yes, that was the start of the Yom Kippur war, and Lynda’s introduction to the heart-stopping excitement and banality of war.

She returns to the States and becomes a journalist, landing a job with the Wall Street Journal who sends her to Dallas, where she struggles to find her place as a young Jewish woman in a white-male dominated industry. She manages to get sent to Central America to cover international events, and becomes a foreign correspondent. Latin America in the 80s was a place of turmoil. She meets the much older Dial Torgenson, another foreign correspondent, and the two fall in love and eventually marry, but their time together is short-lived as he is killed in a guerrilla attack before their first anniversary. Devastated, Lynda ends up in Beirut, which is perhaps not the most logical way to heal a heart-wound but they do say work is a way to fill the gaps, and dodging bullets certainly keeps you on your toes.

Eventually she meets Dennis Jett, a career diplomat, and finds love again. Lynda is a dedicated journalist and loves her career, and she has no intention of either marrying again or of giving up her work. So, for years, they see each other mostly on weekends, flying between neighboring countries. Lynda is now covering apartheid in South Africa, while Dennis is stationed in Malawi. When he gets posted to Liberia, he proposes, and she accepts.

Liberia, of course, is on the brink of its own brutal civil war, and the stories she tells are heart-wrenching and horrific. Eventually Lynda is forcibly evacuated and has to endure the harrowing reality that she might lose her second husband. Happily Dennis survives, and they settled contentedly in a charming little house in the DC area…until Dennis accepts a post as Ambassador to Mozambique, and Lynda is forced to attend a sort of finishing school for spouses of ambassadors, where she is quickly lost trying to learn such niceties as which corner of her visiting card to turn down to convey subtle messages. And the idea of being a trailing spouse, going wherever her husband is located, and yet again watching him face down risks and try to calm national tensions while always appearing coiffed and calm herself, is a greater challenge than interviewing guerrillas and facing down armed soldiers at checkpoints ever was.

I loved Dirty Wars and Polished Silver! Lynda Schuster’s writing style is self-depractating and humorous. On top of that, we have somewhat similar personalities. I remember a time when my greatest fear was suburbia, and while I haven’t traveled anywhere as extensively as she has, I have lived in my share of countries (although happily, none of mine have been war-torn). So I was predisposed to like this book. However, even if your adventure-style is firmly armchair only, there is much to enjoy in this book. Lynda gives us personal glimpses into the global events of our time, things that I remember (when the Peruvian guerrillas took hostages at the Japanese embassy for instance, or the Liberian civil war, or the events of apartheid) reading about in the news at the time. She’s able to look at herself honestly, while keeping in mind the bigger events going on around her. I highly recommend this book.

 

You Knew Me When

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Katherine Hill is happy with her life in New York City as an executive for a cosmetics company when she receives a letter, addressed to Kitty Hill, informing her that her old friend and neighbor has passed away, and she has been named in the will. Katherine has long left Kitty behind and while sad to hear of Luella’s passing, she’s not thrilled to return to her small home town in Vermont.

Laney Martin’s life didn’t turn out as planned — she was the one with dreams of New York — but she loves her husband and daughter, and would love her job at the local spa if it wasn’t for her unreasonably demanding boss. She too is saddened when she learns of Luella’s death and intrigued by the letter she also receives about an inheritance.

The former best friends, so close they were sisters, have mixed emotions when they learn they have inherited Luella’s mansion and all of her possessions, and the terms of the will require them to work together to sort through and sell the items and the house. Laney is still holding a grudge from a disagreement 12 years earlier that has caused the women to stop speaking to each other. And Katherine is eager to get back to New York.

Alternating with the present are flashbacks to the girls as pre-teens, when Kitty and her newly widowed father move in to the house on the other side of Luella’s from Laney, and they immediately become best friends. Laney is outgoing, energetic, and at times overbearing, and Kitty is quiet and studious, but the two complement each other perfectly. The flashbacks move through the girls in high school and then college, and finally as young adults and the argument that tears them apart.

As expected, as Katherine and Laney work to organize and clean up Luella’s house, they go from working separately and barely speaking to slowly mending fences as Laney lets go of her grudge and Katherine puts aside her own pride. Going through Luella’s things helps them both to realize what they’ve been missing, and that they can return to the friends and sisters they once were.

I enjoyed You Knew Me When and recommend it as a great summer read (or listen).

Content warning:  There’s quite a bit of foul language, and while that doesn’t really bother me, at times I felt it was gratuitous and unneccessary. I know some of our readers prefer to avoid this type of language so if this bothers you, you may want to skip this one.

Notes on the audiobook: The print version of this book came out in September, so I received the audio CD to promote the audio book release. While I was at times confused as to who was speaking, the narrator kept my attention and made the book enjoyable, which is really the main thing I look for in an audio book.

You can hear a sample on Tantor audio’s page.

What Maisie Knew: Books on Screen

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5M4B disclosure

whatmaisieknewWay back in 1897, prolific writer Henry James’ novel What Maisie Knew was published. Reading it 116 years later, I was surprised that the story fit into that time period, and my images of an “old-fashioned” society were a bit shattered as a story of a contentious marital break-up and subsequent custody battle unfolded. Sadly, it seems that some behaviors and parental inadequacies have been around for a long, long time. Penguin Books has re-released the classic novel What Maisie Knew this past spring with a movie tie-in cover showing a still image from the modern-day adaptation recently released on DVD.

I should likely preface my take with a disclaimer about my relationship with classic literature. I really want to be the kind of person who frequently reads “the classics” simply because I appreciate quality writing, and stories that have stood up for long periods of time certainly are deserving of my attention. But, I find that I often have difficulty actually getting the reading accomplished because I am so accustomed to a more contemporary writing style. This was somewhat the case for me with What Maisie Knew, for while I was intrigued by the story, the process of reading the text didn’t come as smoothly for me as I would have hoped. That’s not to say that I didn’t like the novel, for I couldn’t help but be enchanted by the title character, a young girl caught in the middle of a despicable set of parents.

Maisie’s trials are only beginning when a judge orders her custody to be shared by her divorced parents, with her living six months with one parent before being traded off to the other for the rest of the calendar year. What follows isn’t exactly what the court judgment had in mind, and Maisie’s well-being is far from the top priority of either parent. This quote from the introduction of the story sums up her parents’ motivations in attempting to keep the other from getting full-custody:

What was clear to any spectator was that the only link binding her to either parent was this lamentable fact of her being a ready vessel for bitterness, a deep little porcelain cup in which biting acids could be mixed. They had wanted her not for any good they could do her, but for the harm they could, with her unconscious aid, do each other.

Sadly, the framework of this century-old story is able to be dropped into a modern-day setting quite easily. In the movie version of What Maisie Knew (linked to the newly released DVD), Julianne Moore portrays Maisie’s mom, and her father is played by Steve Coogan, two well-respected and established actors, while Alexander Skarsgård and Joanna Vanderham play two other roles important to Maisie’s young life. However, the star of this film is, in no uncertain terms, the young actress Onata Aprile, who gives an incredible performance as Maisie, completely embodying her natural innocence and amazing fortitude.

The film version changes many details of the story in bringing it to modern-day, though the essence of the story remains the same. I think it could be argued that Maisie’s film parents actually have more genuine love for her than those in the novel, at least by my perception, though they are equally as enmeshed in a world of selfishness that doesn’t allow for any reasonable amount of thought toward their child’s well-being. This isn’t an easy film to watch, but the performances are absolutely top-notch.

I’d love to hear from others who have read What Maisie Knew, and I highly recommend the film, though with the warning that it will likely trigger intense feelings, especially for parents. Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.

I Knew You’d Be Lovely

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I’ve recently read a few short story collections, a genre that I had never sought out or read (other than in high school and college English classes). I initially was drawn to I Knew You’d Be Lovely because I’ve recently come to appreciate the short story, and Alethea Black shares an old-fashioned name with one of my best friends, so this particular collection caught my eye.

The stories in this collection mostly center on some sort of family dynamic. In different stories, she explores the father-son relationship, estranged spouses, sisters, a new couple and more. She creates authentic voices for these varied characters, expressing the POV of a middle-aged man, a young teen girl or boy, or a single schoolmarm.

The stories are so different, but the tone is the same. One thing that lends additional depth to these stories is the omniscient narrator (often the character him/herself looking back as this particular vignette is shared). In several of the stories, a tidbit about what will be in the future is shared, which brought the story around full-circle to me, which left me feeling quite satisfied.

I’m not the kind of person to read well into the night (I do most of my reading during the day or the early evening), so for me, having this short story collection beside my bed was perfect for me. I could read a story — or even half of one if it had a good break as some did — and get a complete literary experience. For that reason, even though I was enjoying this collection so much, I didn’t take it out during the day, saving the stories to read in those moments.

Highly recommended.

Jennifer always enjoys a little family dysfunction in the pages.She blogs about her totally functional family at Snapshot.

Spousonomics: Using Economics to Master Love, Marriage, and Dirty Dishes

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I never got around to reading Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, though the idea of apply economics to everyday life intrigued me. When I saw this book using a similar take on marriage, I knew I wanted to give it a try.

Here’s the problem with most marriage books — we have to read them.

I generally start off reading and nodding my head, and then I end up putting it aside, because it’s a little dry, impractical or repetitive (or all three!).

Spousonomics: Using Economics to Master Love, Marriage, and Dirty Dishes was different. I was pulled right in with practical advice written in a highly engaging style. I loved how the authors used economic principles — most of which were new to me, but fun to learn about — to show areas we could improve in our marriage.

The key to using economic science is that the results are often counter-intuitive. What seems to make sense isn’t always the best course, and the authors use examples — both from economics and real couples who participated in their Exhaustive, Groundbreaking, and Very Expensive Marriage Survey.

Topics include

  • Division of Labor
  • Loss Aversion
  • Supply and Demand
  • Moral Hazard
  • Asymmetric Information
  • Intertemporal Choice
  • Game Theory

Another thing I liked about Spousonomics is that my husband might actually read it. I’m usually the one who reads marriage and parenting books, but both people really have to read them to appreciate the benefit. Whether he ends up reading it or not (I’m guessing “not”), it did open the door some fun, low-pressure discussions.

Jennifer Donovan and her finance-guy husband have been married over 18 years. She’s very happy, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. By popular demand, she avoids blogging about sensitive marital issues at her blog Snapshot.

The Elf on the Shelf

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Have you heard of The Elf on the Shelf? Last year a few people I knew had them and they swore by them – their kids’ behavior improved vastly in the weeks leading up to Christmas. So a couple of months ago I picked one up, intending to pull it out on Thanksgiving. Of course I forgot about it, but did manage to remember in time for bed Sunday night. I wish I had remembered on Thanksgiving because I bet I would have yelled a lot less over the long weekend!

The Elf on the Shelf is a book accompanied by an elf doll. The elf, who is named by the kids, is put on a shelf somewhere in the house. At night, the elf goes to the North Pole and tells Santa all about what happened during the day, both good behavior and bad. He returns before morning, landing in a new spot in the house. The only rule is no touching allowed or the magic will go away. At Christmas the elf returns to the North Pole until the next year.

Both boys were highly intrigued by The Elf on the Shelf. Alex (7) immediately started reading the book while Zach (4) hugged and played with the doll. They named him Elfin and we put him on the computer desk in the loft where we were reading. His magic worked immediately; as soon as the book was done and the boys understood the concept, Alex said he was going right to bed. Zach protested, requesting another book, but when I said the elf would give a good report to Santa on Alex but a bad one for Zach, he quickly changed his mind and darted to his bed. He then totally shocked me by bursting into tears, which I was assumed was because he wanted another book, but it was because he was going to miss the elf!

So far Elfin is working pretty well. A quick reminder that Elfin is watching is enough to get those shoes put on right away or breakfast dishes put in the sink. On the other hand, Zach is having a hard time not touching Elfin, requiring him to land in a spot out of reach, and Alex is very concerned about what will happen when we go to New Jersey. We have to write Santa a letter to let him know that we’ll be in New Jersey for Christmas, so we’ll make sure to tell him to send Elfin there.

I’m not sure how long Elfin’s magic will last so we’ll see if he’s still working in a couple of weeks. But for now the boys are mindful of their behavior so I’ll enjoy it will I can.

Nancy loves all things Christmas. She writes about her 2 boys and life in Colorado at Life With My Boys.

What I Thought I Knew

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Brutally honest. There’s no other way to describe Alice Eve Cohen’s tone in her memoir What I Thought I Knew. In addition, she’s witty, introspective, and emotionally expressive, but everything comes together because of her brutal honesty.

In what could be described as the ‘Second Act,’ Cohen realizes that she’s finally happy in all aspects of her life- career, parenthood, and personal relationships. After years of struggling with infertility, she and her (now ex-)husband had been fortunate enough to be present at the birth of their adopted daughter. Now divorced, she is in love with a man ten years her junior, who is more than content to be her partner in raising her child. In hindsight, Cohen humorously reflects on the Jewish folklore that the Evil Eye is tempted by those relishing in their good fortune, as the next chapter of her life is soon to be fraught with confusion, doubt, fear and challenges on a scale that most people cannot even imagine.

As a result of some unexplainable health changes and even more unbelievable medical errors, Cohen soon discovers that she is certainly no longer infertile as she is actually six months pregnant. Six months of zero prenatal care is one major issue, but even worse, those six months had her continuing to take a prescribed hormone treatment that could seriously impact the development of her fetus. I feel it’s important to point out that Cohen didn’t spend six months in a self-delusional state, but actively sought out medical treatment for the mysterious symptoms she was experienced– symptoms that for many women would immediately bring to mind pregnancy, but remained confusing for someone who has been diagnosed as infertile for so long.

The heart of the memoir raises questions that spark immediate controversy, ethically, morally and legally, but ones that are immediate and more than simply hypothetical for Cohen. She doesn’t hold back in expressing her feelings about this experience, and I don’t doubt that some readers will take offense at some of her considerations. Wherever one falls on the “pro-choice” to “pro-life” spectrum, I would hope that one could appreciate Alice Eve Cohen’s honesty in telling her story. Goodness knows I personally would never want to question any feeling she experienced or option she pursued (or even thought to pursue), because her story is so extremely fraught with complications. It seems as if she just kept hitting every worst-case-scenario wall there was in her VERY surprising pregnancy experience, making her situation as far from typical as possible.

Cohen’s writing comes off as ‘fast’- as if she’s breathlessly telling the reader her story, with a fervor in her tone that demonstrates the magnitude of it all. I respected the fact that she didn’t white-wash anything- not her conflicts with her partner nor her own internal conflicts. What I Thought I Knew is a brave book that doesn’t make for comfortable reading, but honors one woman’s remarkable experience.

Books and blogs are two of Dawn’s favorite b-words. You can read more of her ramblings at my thoughts exactly.

Odd Child Out

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5M4B disclosure

Do you ever start a book and think that you just can’t bear what’s going to happen? That was the case for me with Odd Child Out. At the beginning, two friends–one white and British, one brown and Somali–get into a fight at the edge of a canal. The British child goes into the water and doesn’t come out. I knew the book was going to address race relations and I didn’t think I could bear it–don’t we get enough of this in our everyday lives?

I picked it up again a few days later in a firmer frame of mind, and I’m so glad I did. It’s SUCH a good book! Yes it deals with hard issues, but it doesn’t bludgeon you with them. It even ends on a hopeful note.

The two boys, Noah and Abdi, are best friends. Both attend an exclusive prep school in Bristol, Abdi on a scholarship. Noah has cancer and we soon learn that he’s been given only a couple months to live, although he hasn’t told Abdi yet. The night of the incident at the canal, both boys attended an opening night reception for an exhibition of Noah’s father’s photography. He travels the world, and many of his photos were taken in the same refugee camp that Abdi’s family lived in for years before they fled.

Assigned to the case is Detective Jim Clemo, just out of counseling and back on the job after an unfortunate incident at the end of What She Knew (linked to my review). His narrative provides framework to the story, which goes into different points of view–including Abdi’s older sister and family, Noah’s parents, and more.

Who is the odd child out? Noah, well-loved and from a successful family, yet in and out of hospital for years and now facing the worst possible news? Or Abdi, a tiny minority at his exclusive school, a tall young black immigrant man, bearing on his thin frame the fears and prejudices of others?

It’s a really good book, with subtle, well-drawn characters. For example, there’s Noah’s mother. She’s fiercely protective of her son, naturally, and she has never entirely trusted Abdi. When tragedy strikes, she’s all too willing to lose perspective and let go her shaky grasp on what she knows is true. And an unscrupulous journalist is all to ready to swoop in and spin things in the worst possible way in return for ratings gold.

It’s also a story, in a small way, of globalization. If one family can make it from a Somali refugee camp to the streets of Bristol, so can others. If Noah’s father can travel the world, so can others. Sometimes knowing your past can be freeing; other times it’s suffocating.

This is the second book I’ve read by Gilly Macmillan and I love how she writes what are essentially suspense novels that are still thought-provoking, dealing with real issues of our day with a deft hand. Highly recommended.

The Widow

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A suspenseful novel focused on a wife's realization that her husband was not the man she thought.

5M4B disclosure

Jean was quite young when she married Glen Taylor. Young and inexperienced, she expected nothing more than a predictable married life. She can’t help but wonder if all the trouble that was to come began with their inability to have children. The trouble, though, should all be behind Jean now that Glen has died and she has become The Widow.

Fiona Barton’s debut novel begins in the aftermath of Glen’s death, with Jean falling under the spell of a reporter talented at making her journalistic targets comfortable. The story switches among the perspectives of Jean and two others- Kate Waters, the reporter, and Bob Sparkes, the lead investigator of the crime that Glen had been accused of four years earlier. Each becomes the focus of alternating chapters as the narrative jumps around in time from the present in 2010 and back to the time of the abduction of a two-year-old girl in 2006.

Was Glen a monster? That question seems easier to answer as the novel progresses, but the details are harder to pin down. As a reader, getting into Jean’s head is challenging enough, trying to figure out how authentic she’s being in her accounts, and determining what she knew and when she knew it.

Putting the marriage between Jean and Glen under a microscope gives intensely dark results, but watching what Jean will do once she’s free from Glen’s hold is more interesting, and definitely more unpredictable.

I’m not one to read suspense/thriller novels very often, but when this book was pitched to our review blog team, the first chapter was included in the email. I read that in a matter of minutes and was hooked. While I thought I had it all figured out early on, I was surprised by some of the details that eventually got filled in. The character voices are distinctive and evolve as the novel progresses, especially that of the title character. After coming off a bit of a reading slump, I was happy to find that I didn’t want to put this one down.

It’s Not Me It’s You

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it's_not_me_it's_you

5M4B disclosure

If you asked Delia Moss if she was happy at the onset of the novel It’s Not Me It’s You by Mhairi McFarlane, she would likely give you an immediate affirmative answer. She wouldn’t have to think too deeply about it, because of course she’s happy. She has a steady job, a fine place to live, a beloved dog, and a boyfriend of ten years. In fact, the story begins as Delia is preparing to propose to said boyfriend, a nontraditional action that fits with her own unique personal flair. The proposal plan is perfect and lovely, and Delia jumps right in with enthusiasm and joy.

And she’s met with a surprisingly cool and unenthusiastic response. A short time later that night, a text she spies on her boyfriend Paul’s phone reveals the reason he’s not excited as she. That’s when everything begins to crumble.

In novels with female protagonists making a discovery of an unfaithful partner, it’s really easy for the story to get fairly maudlin pretty quickly. In McFarlane’s hands, Delia may see some darkness, but maudlin is not her style. Even when she feels lost and adrift, her innate spunkiness keeps her from drowning. So, in classic reinvention mode, Delia leaves behind what she knew (in more than just her romantic life, as it turns out), and strikes out for a fresh start. Or maybe it’s just a temporary break from the norm to discover what she truly wants, she’s not quite sure. When Paul reacts with nothing but regret, apologies, and requests for another chance, it only adds more uncertainty to Delia’s resolve.

In addition to her love life troubles, two additional story lines take shape, both work-related and both mired in a bit of mystery. Mostly intertwined in the end, these additional plot lines take some wild zigzags throughout the book, making me predict a few possible different outcomes at times. What they all do consistently is help Delia figure out who she truly wants to be.

That’s where I think the title is perhaps a bit misleading, even as it’s trying to make light of a familiar refrain (and seems to be missing a requisite comma, but that could just be me). For Delia does need to discover things about herself that will help her to see her choices in all aspects of her life in a new light. By the end of the novel, (which at over 500 pages, comes in much longer than most contemporary fiction of this sort), Delia will see herself differently, becoming more fully the person she really wants to be.

I quite enjoyed escaping into Delia’s world, and though there is a lot going on at times in this novel– including a comic strip of Delia’s creation inspired by her life that pops up as drawings between chapters here and there– I was happy to go down the side streets and detours with the story. A welcome sense of humor was woven through the book, even as Delia was feeling her world fall apart. Lighthearted but lengthy, It’s Not Me It’s You makes for a delightful summer read.

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Bear Witness

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As a book reviewer, I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher or author to facilitate this review. I received no other compensation, and all opinions are always 100% my own.

In the early 00s, Honduras had the highest murder rate in the world–including active war zones. But in Tegucigalpa, specifically a small mountainous barrio called Nueva Suyapa, the violence seemed never-ending, and its causes complex–not just poverty and gang activity, but corrupt police and a judicial system in shambles. Witnesses to brazen crimes were unwilling to speak out because they knew they’d pay with their own lives.

Into this mess moved Kurt and Jo Ann Ver Beek, American sociologists, and Carlos and Bernarda Hernández, schoolteachers, with their children. They saw that while various NGOs were able to metaphorically plug some leaks, such as starting small Christian schools to help some kids get an education, nothing was being done to address larger issues. With a breathtaking audacity and courage, they decided to change the country. And, this is the thing, they did. 20 years on, the murder rate in the entire country is a fraction of what it was, thousands of corrupt policemen have been fired and new ones are being properly trained, and children across the nation are in school.

Bear Witness is a remarkable book about remarkable people, but it’s not a hagiography. It’s written by a journalist who is not a Christian about two men who are empowered by their beliefs to be, as they put it, “brave Christians” who attempt to bring about meaningful improvement in the lives of poor people. They start with figuring out a way to protect witnesses so that people can come forward. This produces results, although it is not without risks and involves complex decisions about who they can work with, and how much trust can be given. Then they move forward to looking at ways to reform other institutions. The duo are open about mistakes made, and they feel their losses keenly. I appreciated author and journalist Ross Halperin’s willingness to show the murk involved, as Kurt and Carlos make impossible decisions. How much can you work with a corrupt regime who is nonetheless willing to make changes? How will that help or hurt you, your reputation, and most importantly, the people of Honduras, in the long run? Halperin doesn’t shy away from showing true results of decisions made. But the end result is nonetheless impressive.

Extensively researched and written with an objective eye, Bear Witness is a gripping read. Highly recommended!

Becoming the Pastor’s Wife

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As a book reviewer, I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher or author to facilitate this review. I received no other compensation, and all opinions are always 100% my own.

I grew up in American evangelical churches that were run entirely by men. I was taught that the application of certain verses (and the de-centering of other verses) made a clear case that men and women were equal, sure, but that men were supposed to run the church. Women could teach children and provide the behind-the-scenes support that made everything else possible, usually in volunteer positions. Within this, the pastor’s wife occupied a special role. Single men in leadership were frowned upon, but it was acknowledged that in calling a couple to leadership, the church got two for the price of one. In many churches, the pastor’s wife played the piano for worship, led the Sunday School, organized the potlucks, and more, all while keeping a spotless home on a miserly salary and raising cheerful and neatly-combed children who behaved in the church. I knew one thing for sure–I never wanted to marry a pastor. (Spoiler: and I didn’t!)

My experience was common, and still is in a lot of circles. But it wasn’t always like this. Beth Allison Barr, a historian at Baylor University (you may know her from her previous best-seller, The Making of Biblical Womanhood, highly recommended) was for 25 years herself a pastor’s wife. As she looked into the history of men’s and women’s roles in the church, she came to surprising conclusions. First of all, evidence shows that the early church did not segregate roles on gender lines as is often assumed. Secondly, neither did the early medieval church. Moreover, the specific role of pastor’s wife (found nowhere in Scripture) is a fairly recent development. How and why?

Barr examines modern history, noting that as the role of pastor’s wife was elevated, it was accompanied by the deep loss of independent ministry opportunities and careers for Christian women. She takes a hard look at some of the other unfortunate results, women not able to seek redress from harm, or male pastors immune from accusations of abuse. Throughout it all, she tells stories that illustrate the points she is making from history.

Becoming the Pastor’s Wife is an excellent book. Barr’s writing style is warm and approachable while still maintaining high academic standards and showing her sources. Her personal experience and the stories she’s telling only strengthen her argument. This is a ground-breaking book. Highly recommended.

Rented Grave

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As a book reviewer, I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher or author to facilitate this review. I received no other compensation, and all opinions are always 100% my own.

Old sins cast long shadows in this gripping novel set in 2003 Hong Kong. A teeming city where land is at a premium and new construction sprouts seemingly overnight, Hong Kong was a place to forget the deprivations and atrocities of China’s Cultural Revolution and start anew. Many people came with nothing, swimming over from the mainland, and yet managed to build successful careers.

Horace Yang is one who made that swim, but has not found that success. He’s frustrated with his work as an account manager, getting calls about backed-up toilets and leaky ACs at all hours of the day and night, and he’s the type to take out that frustration on his family. He nurses the idea of revenge for a crime committed in Beijing during the 1960s, but his attempt to carry it out leaves a chauffeur dead, and Horace with a kidnapped child to deal with.

The intended victim, Mo Tun, is one of those who succeeded and now has a hand in many of Hong Kong’s shadier enterprises. Mo Tun is sure that his kidnapped grandson is being held because of his work with the Triads gangs, and hides even the fact of the kidnapping from the police. The sound of a Beijing accent on a ransom phone call sends him on a search for people from his old life, including the Chief Superintendent with whom he has a shared history.

All these hidden stories weave their lies and complications around the death of the chauffeur, which is being investigated by Detective Inspector Herman Lok and his team. Lok is an interesting character, in love with his wife but spending a fair amount of time with a much younger woman. He is a sharp detective with a keen eye for details, and inexorably he and his team inch closer to the truth.

Rented Grave is a gripping police procedural populated with memorable characters. Additionally, it gives its readers a glimpse into a real time and place, where the city almost takes on a life of its own. Highly recommended.

Amazon –     https://pictbooks.tours/ct7Cv
BN –     https://pictbooks.tours/3iXhE
Goodreads –     https://pictbooks.tours/FVjZv
BookShop.org –     https://pictbooks.tours/KIzHL
Publisher –     https://pictbooks.tours/lz2Kx

Author Bio:

Charles Philipp Martin

Charles Philipp Martin grew up in New York City’s Greenwich Village. His father was an opera conductor and both his parents well-known opera translators and librettists who never uttered the word “parenting” but knew enough to steep their family in music and literature. After attending Columbia University and Manhattan School of Music, Martin took off for a six-year paid vacation in the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.

While in Hong Kong he hung up his bow and turned to writing, spending four years as a Sunday Magazine columnist for the South China Morning Post, and writing for magazines all over Southeast Asia. His weekly jazz radio show 3 O’Clock Jump was heard every Saturday on Hong Kong’s Radio 3 for some two decades.

Neon Panic, a suspense novel which introduced Hong Kong policeman Inspector Herman Lok, was published in 2011. His most recent novel is Rented Grave, the first in a new series featuring Inspector Herman Lok. Martin now lives in Seattle with his wife Catherine.

Catch Up With Charles Philipp Martin:
www.NeonPanic.com
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads – @cpmartin
Instagram – @writecharliewrite
Bluesky – @neonpanic.bsky.social
Facebook – @HongKongSuspense

The Vanishing at Castle Moreau

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5M4B disclosure

Castle Moreau, built in the late 1700s in a wild bit of forested wilderness on the banks of the Mississippi River in the Midwest, has a dark reputation. Ever since its inception, women from the surrounding areas have just vanished. Gone missing, never to be seen again. One of the first was a farmer’s wife, her husband taciturn and violent. One of the most recent was a girl from a good family in the 1980s. The thick stone walls are surrounded by swirls of rumor and trepidation. It doesn’t help that the daughter of the builder was a renowned gothic author, famed for gory details of terror. The current scion, Deacon, is a wealthy playboy, famous around the country for his good looks and wild escapades.

Cleo knows this when she takes the job of helping Deacon’s grandmother (and only living family member) deal with her hoarding issues. But Cleo’s on the run from her past, from a grandfather much beloved, also monstrous, now dead, and a little sister whom, Cleo’s convinced, will only survive if Cleo is gone. This job offers payment under the table and no background check in return for secrecy–so desperate is Deacon to avoid media attention.

Cleo’s story echoes that of Daisy Francois from a century earlier. Daisy, orphaned and then adopted by an abusive family, has fled to the arms of the Castle, also leaving behind 2 younger girls. She takes a job as a housekeeper but finds a giant castle with 3 sole occupants–Ora, the daughter turned gothic novelist, who guards her mystery closely; Lincoln, her grandson, hidden in a study most of the time; and Festus, the odds job man. No one seems to expect her to clean. When Daisy finds an injured woman in the woods and brings her to the castle to heal, she begins to find out that the castle will do its utmost to guard its secrets.

The story moves back and forth between Daisy, Cleo, and Ora Moreau herself as a child, visited by a phantom woman with a crooked hand who tells her dark stories. It seems as if Castle Moreau indeed is a very dark place, and yet there always seem to be hints that the reality may not match the facade. Will Daisy or Cleo be able to figure things out before it’s too late, or will they join the ranks of the vanished women of Castle Moreau?

The Vanishing of Castle Moreau is a gripping read. I knew there was a twist coming, but I couldn’t figure it out. It’s well-plotted with lots of winding turns thoughout, and the characters are thoroughly likable. It’s a book with a message too (I’m not telling you it cuz that would be a spoiler, but you can see it coming), life-affirming and courageous. Highly recommended if you’re in the mood for something Gothic and entertaining.

Book Links:Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | Baker Book House

Author Bio:
Jaime Jo Wright

Jaime Jo Wright is the author of six novels, including Christy Award winner The House on Foster Hill and Carol Award winner The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond. She’s also the Publishers Weekly and ECPA bestselling author of two novellas. Jaime lives in Wisconsin with her cat named Foo; her husband, Cap’n Hook; and their littles, Peter Pan and CoCo.

To learn more, visit Jamie at:
www.jaimewrightbooks.com (& check out her Podcast – MadLit Musings!)
Goodreads
BookBub – @JaimeJoWright
Instagram – @JaimeJoWright
Twitter – @JaimeJoWright
Facebook – @JaimeJoWright

The Direction of the Wind

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5M4B disclosure

Nita and Sophie, mum and daughter, were both raised in a wealthy, sheltered part of Ahmedabad, where women marry whomever their parents choose, and then submit to their husbands and focus on bearing and raising children. Nita always chafed against this, yearning towards an undefined freedom as a painter in Paris, a city she has only dreamed of visiting. She even names her daughter Sophie in an attempt to sound more French. One day, she leaves everything behind and runs away to the City of Light, a country where she doesn’t speak the language or have legal papers to stay and work.

Meanwhile Sophie, who is 6 when Nita leaves, grows up being told her mother has died. She finds the truth after stumbling upon a cache of letters after the death of her father, a gentle person who has given her an almost unprecedented amount of freedom, allowing her to work and not marry. Sophie’s aunts quickly arrange a marriage for her, but she knows she can’t settle into life without finding out what happened to her mother. Like Nita, she flies off in the night to a country where she doesn’t speak the language. Like Nita, she had never left India before.

However, the two face different challenges. Nita finds a cheap hostel and even makes friends of the receptionist and her roommate, but she is constantly struggling to survive. She meets Matthieu, an artist and bouquiniste who sells his work in one of the small stalls that line the Seine. The two of them strike up a relationship, but Matthieu may not ultimately have Nita’s best interests at heart. Sophie also runs afoul of those who pretend to want to help, but she manages to find her way to the same hostel, and meets those who knew her mother 20 years earlier. She also has the advantage of having previous work experience.

The Direction of the Wind is a story about what family gives and doesn’t give to women who want to walk freely in their own choices. While the book could have benefitted from some tighter editing, the plot was moving enough to keep me turning pages into the night. Nita and Sophie are both sympathetic characters, longing for only more choice in a world and culture that has denied them that and left them unprepared for life in the larger world.

Behind Her Lives

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5M4B disclosure

Deven is already having a rough day when she opens the door to two policeman asking her to identify the body of her sister Kennedy. Deven’s convinced they’re mistaken–her sister doesn’t use drugs. But the photo she’s shown leaves her uncertain. It’s not her sister, but…maybe? They do look alike, if her sister hadn’t had plastic surgery or insisted on always having a weave. Who is this woman? Deven’s on-again-off-again boyfriend isn’t much help, leaving her alone to deal with her emotions and suspicions.

Deven can’t rest until she figures out what’s going on. She and Kennedy share a complicated history. Born of a brief affair between Deven’s mother and another man, Kennedy never quite fit into the family, and at the age of 12 left to live with her father and his new girlfriend. But she came back at 18, and she and Deven have become close. Haven’t they? As Deven delves deeper into Kennedy’s life, she keeps coming up with more questions instead of answers. One thing is certain: she is no longer sure how well she knew Kennedy.

Behind Her Lives is a gripping suspenseful novel, full of twists and turns. I have to admit I did not see the major reveal coming, but it was really satisfying. This book has big underlying themes–family history and trauma, childhood sibling taunts remembered into adulthood, grief–yet the story itself keeps you turning pages till the end. A great read.

One Step Too Far

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A year ago I read my first book by Lisa Gardner, Before She Disappeared, and in the review I said it wouldn’t be my last. When the second book in the series about Frankie Elkin, self-appointed missing persons expert, came up on NetGalley, I knew I had to read One Step Too Far.

Frankie is on a bus in Wyoming, heading to her next case — a missing 8-year-old boy in Idaho — when she learns about Timothy O’Day. Tim and his 4 groomsmen were hiking in the Pogo Agie Wilderness 5 years earlier when Tim disappeared. His father, Martin, is leading one last search for his son at the request of his dying wife. Along for the ride are the groomsmen, a search-and-rescue dog and her handler, a Bigfoot expert familiar with wilderness searches, and a local as their guide. When one of the groomsmen suddenly can’t make the trek, Frankie volunteers to take his spot.

While Frankie is an expert at searching for missing people, her expertise lie more in asking questions that others haven’t thought of, and being able to cover areas that law enforcement can’t. She’s out of her element with the hiking, camping, and outdoor experience, not to mention gear, needed for the last-ditch search area terrain.

The supporting cast is an interesting one. Something about the story of what happened the night of Tim’s disappearance doesn’t add up, and Frankie is determined to get to the bottom of it. The friends have agreed to this one last search, but each has their own secrets they’re hiding.

I enjoyed One Step Too Far‘s setting of the Wyoming wilderness — the exact opposite of inner city Boston from the first book — plus the mystery of what happened to Tim, which I did not figure out at all. While Frankie’s alcoholism took less of center stage in this one, we learn more about her childhood and the roots of her drinking.

Whenever I review a book in a series I consider whether reading previous books are necessary for full enjoyment of the new one. In this case, I would say it’s not. I did enjoy Before She Disappeared more, and while events in that book are referenced, I don’t think readers would feel like they’re missing anything by not reading that one first.

If you enjoy thrillers set in the outdoors, secrets, and introspective heroines, check out One Step Too Far.

The Stranger in the Mirror

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Addison is looking forward to marrying Gabriel, even though she has no memory of her past, before being picked up on the side of the road by a trucker. She has flashes of a horrible event, but doesn’t know who she is or how she came to be on the road.

When a man shows up claiming to be her husband, Julian, she doesn’t want to leave Gabriel, but she feels compelled to return to Julian and their daughter, Valentina. Did Addison leave willingly? And if so, how could she leave her daughter?

To say much more than that would give away a lot of the plot, but let’s just way The Stranger in the Mirror is the type of psychological thriller where you think you know what’s going on, and then it’s all turned on its head. I knew things were off but wasn’t quite sure how.

Liv Constantine is the pseudonym used by sisters Lynne and Valerie Constantine, and while for most of the book it’s not at all obvious there were two authors, there are a few holes that could be explained by multiple authors.

I still gave the book 4 stars because it’s extremely readable, for the first 2/3 I couldn’t put it down. The pace slows a little once you know what’s really going on, but the side characters add another dimension to the story.

If you like twisty, fast-paced psychological thrillers then don’t miss The Stranger in the Mirror.

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