Swimming with Ghosts

 Swimming with Ghosts is the newest novel from author Michele Brafman.  Swimming with Ghosts is the story of family secrets.

Written in the style of a thriller, this novel starts out slowly and introduces the reader to all the

characters and building relationships. 

The action slowly builds as secrets are deftly revealed and relationships are altered.  Secrets can bring people together or they can pull families and friends apart. 

There are people who want to face adversity head on and there are people who want to

sweep trouble under the carpet and pretend it never existed. 

In the end the piles create such a lump under the carpet it is hard to walk over or around them anymore.  Gillian Cloud has made the River Run swim club her sanctuary. 

She brings her new friend Kristy Weinstein into the swim team world as they become inseparable. 

Kristy has reimagined her life by marrying the wealthy, Jewish, David Weinstein and

leaving her childhood and family behind. 

Gillian  also has secrets of her own she has left behind when she rewrote her family history.All the characters in this novel face addiction issues and childhood trauma. 

They each have to address those realities before they can heal and move forward. 

As the storm builds between the characters in this novel a derecho—a freak land hurricane, 

occurs, throwing the city into four days of darkness.

As the temperatures rise, so the tension between Gillian and Kristy and Gillian's husband Charlie .Our actions affect so many people that are a part of our lives. 

The end is an explosion of emotions and the final accounting for all the secrets

that have been building under pressure.

A well written novel that shows how confronting the secrets that seem

shameful can be liberating and open up better relationships.

The Mystery Writer

 This book is coming out soon., The Mystery Writer.... it is not as amazing as her two previous stand alone mystery novels, but I will not complain.  I love the work of Sulari Gentill... I have written about all her other books here, the Rowland Sinclair mystery series that takes place in Australia before World War II.

Then there are the stand alone mysteries where Gentill defies the accepted rules of mystery writing.  This newest novel follows the rules of mystery novels but creates a very far fetched scenerio that is complicated to follow, but sounds feasible in 2023 and our current political climate. 

This story is about a young woman who leaves law school in Australia and goes to live with her brother , a lawyer in Kansas.  When Theo quits law school, she wants to become a novelist.  Gus her brother suggests she get out of the house and write in the local coffee house.  There Theo meets another well known author who mentors her and they become fast friends.  When he turns up dead, Theo is under suspicion for his death and Gus is also being targeted.  Thus begins the race to find the real killer and get their lives back in order.  Easier said than done.  Bringing in conspiracy theorists and dooms day survivalists makes the story more surreal.

All of this can be scary in and of itself, but do not fear, Gentill has written a truly entertaining and original idea that will keep the reader engaged and trying to figure out who could possibly have committed the crimes until the very end.  Her ideas are all fresh and outside the box.

Spare

 Spare is the memoir of Prince Harry, written by Harry and I listened to the audio version which is narrated by the Prince.  The book was very controversial when it first came out and I was curious.  Thogh some people say that they have been inundated with stories of the Royal family of England in the last few years I have enjoyed watching The Crown and book was interesting.

First of all listening to the audio recording and hearing Prince Harry tell his story is an added bonus.  I love the British accent and listening to his voice throughout is a special treat.

In the end I do think he has an interesting story to tell. He is heartfelt and really it does seem to be the fashionable, glorious life we outsiders may have thought the lives of the royals would be.  Though we are only hearing the story from his perspective, it is not such an easy life being a part of the royal family and being on display all the time.  Maybe there should someone to give a different viewpoint to this story, but they have not come forward so I will believe Harry until I hear otherwise.

Mother Daughter Murder Night

 People start writing careers for any number of reasons. 

For debut author Nina Simon, the reason was to entertain her mother who was going through cancer treatments.

Mother daughter relationships can be  fraught in so many different ways.  In Mother Daughter Murder Night we explore the relationship between adult daughter Beth  and Lana, her ailing mother and aso Beth and her

teenage daughter Jack.

Lana, a tough business woman who has perfected the tough exterior to compete with men as

an executive in the world of real estate has been diagnosed with cancer. 

She joins her estranged daughter at the beach house Beth and her daughter Jack have made their home.

When Jack finds a dead body while leading a kayak group tour, she becomes a

person of interest in the investigation.  Lana finds the intrigue and metal stimulation of

trying to find the killer keeps her mind off her pain while going for chemo treatments.  

The murder investigation becomes a family affair and brings the three women together as

they start to understand each other and heal the tense relationships that had pulled them apart.

A delightful mystery and interactions between mothers and daughters will have you thinking

about your own relationships.

The Mystery Guest

 The Mystery Guest is the second in a maid novel series by Nina Prose.  Following the exploits of Molly Gray now the head maid at the Regency Grand, "a five star boutique hotel."

Once again Molly pushes her well stocked maid's trolley which she calls "a portable sanitation miracle", through the rooms as she brings them all back to clean order.  Molly knows she sees things differently and since her grandmother has passed on, she relies on her boy friend, Juan for giving her a clear perspective.

This time Molly gets involved in the murder of  J. D. Grimthorpe, the world-renowned mystery author, when he drops dead on the hotel's tea room floor.  In an effort to clear both her name and the name of  Lily, her new maid in training,  she steps in to assist in solving the mystery.  Molly may have more information about the case than she is letting on.  

She works once again with Detective Stark looking at and interviewing the multiple suspects.  Is it Serena the author's secretary, or Mr. Preston, her friend and the hotel's beloved doorman?  With a few misdirections Molly and Detective Stark will uncover the culprit and clean up the mess.

Hercule Poirot's Silent Night

 Hercule Poirot's Silent Night is written by Sophie Hannah.  But you would almost think it really was written by Dame Agatha Christie, herself.   The voices of Poirot and his trusty side kick Inspector Edward Catchpool are almost perfect.  Hannah has captured all of Poirot's eccentricities and his flamboyant manners.  Inspector Catchpool is a perfect foil with his reflective personality and doggedness.  Together they work well trying to get to the bottom of the mystery at hand.

This time they are summoned to thee crumbling mansion,  Frellingsloe House at Mundy-on-Sea.  This is the Laurier family house that has ben in the family for generations, but is now crumbling into the sea from erosion. The timing is fortuitous because the last patriarch of the family Arnold Laurier is dying of a terminal disease and wants to spend the last Christmas of his life in Frellingsloe House.  Then he will be moving into St Walstan’s Cottage Hospital to live out his last days.  

A murder has occurred in the room he will be occupying and Vivienne his wife is distraught that he wil be murdered also if he goes to the hospital.  Poirot and Catchpool are urged by Catchpool's mother to spend Christmas at Mundy-on-Sea and find the answer to the hospital murder and save Laurier's life. 

With any red herrings and misdirections working to confuse the reader Hannah does a powerful job of creating a entertaining mystery that creates tension and suspense as Catchpool tries to move the investigation along so that he can get home to London for Christmas and not celebrate with his mother at the country house.  

The Rye Bread Marriage; How I Found Happiness with a Partner I’ll Never Understand

 The Rye Bread Marriage is an interesting memoir written by Michaele Weissman.  This is the story of her courtship and marriage to John Melngailis.  Michaele describes him as a dashingly handsome Latvian refugee who loves rye bread.  She is an American Jewish young college student looking for adventure.  When they first meet, Michaele is not ready to get married and settle down.  Years later when John is now divorced from his first wife they meet again now ready to begin a life together.

This book tells the story of their marriage, of compromise and learning to adjust to another's behaviors and ideas.  How love if it is strong can keep a marriage together through the day to day disagreements and hurt.

Coming from different backgrounds Michaele works hard to learn about John's difficult Latvian childhood and learn to enjoy the rye bread that he is so passionate about.  They travel many times to Latvia, John returning to his childhood memories and Michaele to learn about the family he came from.  Finally they also travel to Lithuania to learn a little about her Jewish heritage.

This book shows how much we are shaped by our families and our childhood experiences.  They make us the person we are and have a strong impact on the relationships we have.  This is a very open look into the messiness of marriage, learning to tolerate and make concessions to stay in a relationship.

It is also about rye bread the difference between the original Russian bread and the American version.  It is learning to like the dense dark strong taste of a real rye bread.  The book leaves me feeling better about the messiness of my everyday life and also interesting in ordering some of the rye bread from Black Rooster Bakery, John's bakery where he has perfected the Latvian rye of his childhood.  I know my husband will love the taste, it will make him happy.  That is my goal.