The Fallen Architect

Another enjoyable novel from the author, Charles Belfoure.  I believe his most powerful novel was
The Paris Architect and then also his next incredible read was House of Thieves.  Now this novel has a little lighter plot and is not as architecturally intricate, but it is every bit as entertaining as his previous books.

This time we meet an architect who has been disbarred and sent to serve a five year sentence in prison when a theatre he designed collapse, killing and injuring many people.  Douglas Layton, who has risen from his station in society as the son of a mason to become a well respected architect, has lost his wife, son and home when the balcony falls and he accused of faulty design work. 

Now, his sentence is finished and he has paid his debt to society.  He returns to London, under a new identity, as Frank Owen, a scenic designer.  He becomes beloved by the people he works with and the woman he works for, Cissie Mapes.  Creating a new life for himself, he is finding happiness and also realizes that he was not responsible for the accident that brought down the house and killed the patrons of the theatre.  He and Cissie decide to clear his name and investigate on their own to find out who was responsible for the collapse of the theatre.

Belfoure uses tricks of the trade to build the case for this mystery.  Describing the architecture behind building theaters in London at the turn of the century, we are again treated to the world building and designing buildings.  We are also treated to the fascinating world of vaudeville back stage.  The characters are colorful and the backdrops, Owens paints are realistic and beautiful.
the plot is intricate and keeps the reader thinking alongside Douglas Layton aka Frank Owens as he tries to clear his name and get a second chance at happiness.

Tombstone: Not A Western

Just a quick short review about Tombstone: Not a Western because I really did not like this book.  Because I usually do not like to give bad reviews, I will keep this short but I just want to acknowledge that I have read the book.

This is supposed to be a funny look at death, old age and end of life.
Maybe because I have three elderly parents and I am definitely a member of the sandwich generation, I was both looking for a good laugh about the end of life and then did not find this book funny.
Though I do try to keep my sense of humor about all the changes that you watch happening to your parents and trying to laugh with them at themselves and with my friends over dinner with funny antidotes about what we are experiencing, this book is not that kind of funny.

I found it so unfunny that now even though I have a copy of the book, I do not have anyone I can even think of to share it with. 

The Rain Watcher

The Rain Watcher is not my favorite of Tatiana De Rosnay's novels.  It is an interesting story told about a family who has never been able to share personal feelings, now faced with illness and the rising water of the 2016 Paris flood, finds ways to open up and share long hidden fears, hurts and resentments.

Set against the backdrop of the Paris flood with newscasts and very descriptive narration of the rising water comparing this flood to the Paris flood of 1910, we meet the Malegarde family.  Linden is the famous photographer and son to Lauren and Paul.  Lauren , married at an early age to Paul, who has become famous for his love of trees.  Known as the "Treeman", he travels the world trying to save tress that come in the path of progress.  Paul had told his son,  "What do the trees tell me?  Everything.  ...
They tell me what lies under their roots, in the thickness of their leaves.  That's why we need trees to understand the world.  Trees are living encyclopedias.  They give us the keys."

Lauren was a young girl traveling with her sister Candice, from Boston, when she met Paul.  She married him and moved to the quiet and distant homestead of Venozan between the villages of Nyons and Sevral, a six hour drive from Paris.  Each family member has secrets they have been harboring for years.  As the flood waters rise and Paris is evacuated, Linden, his sister, Tilia and the parents slowly unravel and face their long buried fears to bring the family together and face the turmoil that is happening both within the family and around them with the weather.

Though the main plot should be the focus of the family and their relationship and interactions, the book is mainly focused on the flooding of Paris.  It is interesting historically, but I thought it should take on more of a background role in the novel.

When Life Gives You Luluemons

Sitting on the couch with a cold, my tissues and hot tea at the ready is the perfect time to indulge in a chick lit book.  Lauren Weisberger is the perfect writer to read when looking for a well written and very entertaining plot.  Already known for her novel, The Devil Wears Prada, she has once again been able to use a clothing label to conjure the image of the Gen X housewife.  Realizing that I have just left the "stay at home mother vs working woman" stage of life it is still fun to read.  I still feel I can relate to the angst and worries of wanting to stay home and not feeling productive and independent.  This is was a fun novel that dealt with that issue, with a bit of an exaggeration,  with three women.

All three women are in their thirties, approaching life from different prospectives.  Emily Charlton, married, working as a Hollywood image consultant, is a hard brash woman, who says she does not want children and works hard to maintain her figure and her social connections.  Her childhood friend, Miriam is now a stay at home mom, living in Greenwich, Ct.  Greenwich is a wealthy suburb of New York City, where all the young moms are wearing Luluemon leggings and looking beautiful in their workout clothes.  They are living a fast, over the top lifestyle with sex toy parties and discussions of plastic surgeries over lunch at the juice bar.   Then, there is Karolina Hartwell, beautiful Victoria Secret model, now married to an ambiguous senator who has aspirations of the presidency.  Karolina thinking she cannot have children of her own is step mom to Hartwell's son.

The three women each run into personal trouble and are trying to find their way through the hard dilemmas they are facing. They come together as a team helping each other through their problems.  Miriam, loves staying home with her three children, wearing sweatpants with elastic waists, but maybe not completely.  She is thrilled when her old friend Emily appears on her doorstep needing a shoulder to cry on as she experiences a crisis of faith that she is still viable in the workplace. Emily  feels she is being replaced by younger women.  The two band together when their mutual friend Karolina is possibly set up by her husband with a DUI and deserted by her "friends" in WDC.  Looking for retribution,  the women work side by side, discovering something new about each other and themselves as they work to clear Karolina's name.