Mother, Daughter, Sister, Stranger

Isn’t it surprising that even if you grow up in the same house with parents and siblings that when you reconnect with your siblings later in life you realize how different you all are.  Also how different your memories are of the past.

That is what I was thinking about as I read Mother, Daughter, Sister, Stranger the newest exciting thriller from author Hank Phillippi Ryan. This is a fast paced well plotted novel that will keep the reader guessing about the ending all the way through.  With misinformation and just a cause for self doubt as the characters are introduced and then interact. 

Bea and Eliza are sisters, who grew up with a busy mother who was a professor and a father who spent a lot of time on the road traveling.  When the Bea is graduating from college, they jump in the private personal plane and with her father flying head for their vacation home. The plane goes down and both of their parents are killed but the girls survive.  They go to live with their aunt, their mother’s sister. Every year on the anniversary of the fiery crash they gather at the cemetery for a special remembrance ceremony. 

Surprisingly this year Bea is nowhere to be found as the special day approaches. She has left her daughter Piper with Eliza for a sleepover and has not returned home. Then she misses the cemetery gathering and Eliza is extremely worried. But deciding who to trust and ask for help becomes complicated. As secrets from the past come to light and Eliza learns more about her childhood she is not sure who to trust and who is a possible threat to her and Piper. She is desperate to save her sister, though she is not sure Bea is in danger or where she could be.

This is a novel of intrigue, family relationships, secrets and trust. The plot is well written, keeping the reader on their toes,  guessing who you think is responsible. But every time you think you have it all figured out there is another twist that sends the plot in a different direction opens more options for a thrilling ending.

How to Get Away With Murder

 How To Get Away With Murder is a clever mystery novel.  Make sure you are reading the book written by the author Rebecca Philipson.   You have to watch some titles are used by a multiple of authors.

This story is about a young woman, Samatha, who is rising in the police force when a difficult experience with her partner causes her to take a 6 month leave from the police force. Supported by her father’s best friend the police chief, Harry, Samatha wants to come back to work when she hears about a young girl found dead in the park.  Next to her body is a copy of the book, How To Get Away With Murder.

Samatha was traumatized at work and is under  psychiatric care, but it is very important to her to see justice for this young girl. The investigating officers are reading the book to find out what the killer may do next, and to figure out who the killer really is. The author of this self help book is Denver Brady , an alias for the real serial killer.  The police detectives are reading the book as they search for the criminal staying just maybe one step ahead of him.  Or could he be leading them down a garden path of misdirection?

The characters are well developed and the plot is very intriguing. 

Holmes, Marple and Poe

 James Patterson writes this new series with Brian Sitts.  Using the well known and loved classic mystery novel detectives as inspiration, these authors have created a team of detectives that will solve any crime.  They can even work more than one case at a time. Sharing their unique specialities they each contribute something to solving of each mystery.  Though in addition their individual eccentricities also can get in the way of their work as they help each other through the lows and demons they each face.

 Book two is already available and I do hope there will be more to follow.  I enjoyed this mystery both for the twisty cases but also for the way the authors captured the personalities of the Homes, Marple and Poe.

I Am Not The Only Murderer in My Retirement Home

 Fergus Craig has written an entertaining mystery novel about the life of an aging and former serial killer.  Carol has done her time and paid her dues and now leaving the prison sentence behind she is moving into a senior living establishment.  She has decided to turn over a new leaf and lead a honest life.  She has had enough of prison.  

When a fellow resident dies, Carol is the first person on the scene and calls the police.  But when they realize who she is and learn about her past, her freedom may be at stake.  The police may think they do not look any further than Carol for the crime, but Carol insists she is innocent.

This time Carol may have to prove who the real killer is to be able to prove her own innocence. 

Mad Mabel

 Mad Mabel written by Sally Hepworth, is a winner of a book. Hepworth is a masterful storyteller with a great ability to build suspense.  This time we meet Elise Mabel Fitzpatrick, an elderly woman living a quiet life down a small lane.  She waves to her neighbors but keeps to herself. When a neighbor dies, Elise’s sarcastic responses to the police bring her past under closer scrutiny. 

Now her quiet life is disrupted by neighbors knocking at the door and a need to tell the story of her past.  As Elise tells the story of her life interspersed between the current events happening on Kenny Lane, Melbourne, Australia, we get a picture of her life story. A difficult childhood, with indifferent parents, Elise has a hard childhood with many challenges and difficulties along the way.  She tells the story of her life and explains so many of the mysteries that have surrounded her and followed her through her life.

The Very Unremarkable Life of Etty Bloom

Talya Jankovits, has written a very endearing first novel, The Very Unremarkable Life of Etty Bloom.  Along with the title the novel takes a slow stroll through the life of Etty Greenberger as she grows up in the Hasidic neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  We watch her grow from the child of Holocaust survivors to a grown woman, getting married, becoming Etty Bloom, and struggling to have children.  We follow her life through to old age and find her not only growing old in age, but slowly growing smarter as she ages.  

Growing up in a time of great superstition, following the Holocaust, Etty's parents are over protective and social norms are constraining. The goal of every parent is to see their daughter married, taking care of a husband and many children.  Etty is headstrong and has other interests.  She has trouble fitting into the accepted society she was born into.  Her mother tries really hard to fit into the small world they live in and works hard to make Etty fit the role she is meant to play.  

Etty never seems to be happy.  She is not able to see the positive side of her life and experiences. As her friends all quickly make matches, marry and start building families, Etty has trouble accepting any of the young men she is offered in marriage. When she finally marries, she has trouble conceiving a child.  Then following the same mistakes her mother made, she imposes on her own daughter some of the same pressure to fit in, marry and raise a family.  Pushing her daughter to follow the accepted social practices of the Hasidic community, she did not favor. 

This is the story also of how from one generation to the next times changed.  Etty's daughter, Sarala, is very similar to Etty, but is stronger than her mother and fights the pressure of the community to stand strong in her beliefs. She is satisfied with her life even if it is not the prescribed pattern of the women in the neighborhood.

Though Etty Bloom’s life seems unremarkable, author Talya Jankovits has captured the voice of the NY immigrant Jewish community very well. The smells of the traditional foods and superstitious beliefs of the time period . The reader will be able to picture the Lower Eastside of New York and the life of the immigrants who came to America.  

The plot keeps you engaged until the end, always hoping maybe that Etty will find clarity and become a better person.  It will take Etty a lifetime but maybe she will finally realize that her unremarkable life is really rather remarkable. A wonderful lesson in humility, tzedukah and being your best self.

Murder on the Marlow Belle

As we move through the series of the Marlow Mystery Club it gets harder to keep the mysteries intriguing but Thorogood is nothing but great at his craft. Judith an her friends still manage to present a interesting and compelling read and keep the reader in suspense all the way to the concluding page. This time even though it seems the murderer has been apprehended there is a last minute current that sends the plot downstream toward another possible ending.

This time Judith Potts, the puzzle solving, woman of a certain age, citizen detective is called to a woman's home when her husband seems to have disappeared. Then when his body is found Judith, Suzie and Becks, the Marlow Murder Club, start to quietly ask questions.  This time DI Tanika Malik asks them not to investigate because she is being harassed by her colleague, who doesn't like the trio getting involved in police investigations. 

Judith joins the local amateur actors group, playing a role in the upcoming performance, which gets her on the inside with all the suspects.  The murdered man was the director, Oliver, who had issues with every one of the cast members. The cast members were all together on a boat ride, the Marlow Belle,  when the murder occurred.