The Homewreckers by Mary Kay Andrews

Hello everyone.  I hope you're having a great day.

Well, I can't say anything sarcastic about my husband.  A huge arrangement of flowers just arrived.  This weekend is our anniversary.  We had the sweetest wedding.  It was in upstate New York, in a tiny white church from the 1800's.  Then our reception was in a hotel near my dad's office.   Besides ballrooms, the hotel has a pretty restaurant on the banks of a river. Every year we would all go there for lunch at the holidays.  Of course, the restaurant would be packed with his coworkers and my dad would be so proud as my mom and us four girls were shown to our table.  He kept pointing to us, talking to people as we went by...he actually claimed us as his daughters. Pretty good for a guy that really wanted a son.  Anyway, our reception was at that hotel.  We had a sit-down dinner, open bar, live jazz band, the works. Best of all we had our loved ones, so many of which are now gone.  Sadly, this weekend also is the anniversary of my mother's death.  It's always an odd time, both happy and terribly sad. As always, when there is something sad or housework I want to procrastinate on, I read.  I've been reading lots!

I recently read The Homewreckers by Mary Kay Andrews.  I've read and reviewed books by this author before, The Santa Suit just a few months ago.  Usually, I get her holiday books.  I'm always stressed, they look smaller, like a quick read, and they always have very festive holiday covers.  While I'm not normally one of those people that buys books based on covers, I do allow myself to be a bit sucked in at Christmas.  It's actually become a tradition.  While the holiday books are always wonderful, I wasn't sure about a 400+ page novel.

The Homewreckers was charming.  The story is about Hattie, who restores houses in Savannah.  She is convinced to star in a tv show, sharing her contractor abilities with the world.  The project is plagued by disaster after disaster, but when questions arise about a beloved teacher's disappearance years ago and how it might be tied to her new restoration, things get really troubling. This book has something for everyone, a romance, old houses, and a mystery. 

A word about the writing, it is very nice.  I have a pet peeve when someone describes xyz happening.  Then someone walks up, and they tell every detail of xyz again.  The two chapters later someone asks when happened and xyz gets explained in detail for a third time.  Mary Kay Andrews does NOT do that.  When an opportunity exists for an author to describe a series of events multiple times and they don't, I feel like they really respect their readers time which I appreciate.

This book, while not tense like my adored thrillers, is a very pleasant read. It would be great on a vacation or as a gift for someone buying a new house or moving to Savannah, or for any day of the week with a "d" in it.  With a tag line of "Love, murder, and faulty wiring," how could it not be fun? 

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

Hello everyone.  I hope your week is going well.

I'm not sure if it's done in Europe but in the US some of us put things on our refrigerators.  Some sleek kitchens would rather turn out Spaghetti Os laced with corn dogs, rather than junk up their perfectly coiffed room.  Then there are those of us with families or just stuff to remember.  In our house, tacked to the fridge with magnets you'll find drawings, take-out menus, coupons, notes and my all-time favorite declarations from my husband.  If my hubby admits I was right about something, I grab the closest piece of paper (usually the back of some envelope) and write "April was right about XXXX and I was wrong." then I draw a line for his signature.  Oh yes, laugh as you want, but I get him to sign and date that baby.  Then up on the fridge it goes, for anyone who comes to our house to admire in all it's "I was right he was wrong" glory.  Before you all jump in, yes, I know, most people put their children's drawings on their fridge.  We don't have kids; husbands can be close at times. 

I recently read Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak. This is a new author for me, so I was super curious.  This thriller is about a young woman, Mallory, who takes a job as a live-in babysitter for Teddy.  She is given a private little guest cottage to stay in, beautifully outfitted.  Mallory is happy, her life is stable, enjoyable and she loves little five-year-old Teddy.  Teddy loves to draw pictures and often gives them to his beloved new pal, Mallory.  She, of course, is honored and is happy to be so included until the drawings change.  Suddenly the art becomes more advanced than a five-year-old could create and they are increasingly dark in feel and content.  When Mallory tells a few people in town, she is surprised to hear that there is a local legend of an unsolved murder that took place in the very cabin she is staying in. This becomes even more alarming as Teddy draws a dead woman being dragged through the woods to be buried. 

This thriller does double duty as a ghost story, revealing itself slowly, allowing the creep factor and tension to grow.  The story was a quick read.  I received it Tuesday and had it completed by Friday.  I feel like I hardly spent any time reading it, yet hubby said I constantly had my nose shoved in the book.  It felt effortless, fast and to the point.  No meandering here.  In addition, this is silly but that paper that the book is printed on is thick.  It also has lots of Teddy's drawings.  I think that paper had to be thick to support the ink of the drawings, to prevent warping.  In any case, you read thirty pages and you can see a hunk of the book has passed by, making you feel like you've made real progress.  Now I'm sad it's over and have a bit of book hangover.  I will definitely put Jason Rekulak on my "buy" list for the future.

Next time hubby laughs at my fridge declarations, I'll tell him it could be worse, at least they aren't murderous drawings.

The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon

Hello everyone.  I hope your day has been great.

I have to tell you about my grandfather on my mother's side.  My grandmother was wonderful, but she deserves her own telling, so I'll do that later.  My grandfather was a boisterous yet humble person.  He was tall and thin and had pretty blue eyes, the only in our family.  As a child he moved from a town with about ten houses in PA to the bustling area of upstate NY.  I'm laughing because where I grew up was a small town but compared to PA, I'm sure it was very metropolitan.  It was certainly important industry wise, which is why many came there.  My grandparents owned a small grocery store when he was pulled into World War II.  He was put in the Navy on an LST, that's one of those boats that the back opens to deliver tanks, etc.  He was a cook.  Not by trade, they trained him.  When he went home it was a big deal to have served.  In fact, my grandfather became mayor.  Instead of telling you more I'll just say he was a really good person that everyone liked, and he liked everyone.  He even liked my husband when hubby complained about the potholes and asked him to use his influence to get them fixed.

I recently read The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon. I've also read The Drowning Kind and The Invited by the same author and enjoyed them greatly. In this story we are treated to a look at 1978, a family living in Vermont, a grandmother and two of her grandchildren Eric and Violet.  They live near a grand house affectionately called The Inn.  This is a place that takes care of people with mental health issues.  It is very exclusive and very successful.  The grandmother, Dr. Helen Hildreth, is the genius that runs the facility.  One day the doctor brings home a young mute girl to join their small family.  She thinks the interaction with her grandchildren will help bring young Iris out of her shell and aid in her healing.  Soon Iris becomes a vibrant part of the family that the grandchildren now consider their sister.  

The story also features 2019 where young women are disappearing.  A famous celebrity "monster hunter" is on the trail, since each missing woman reports seeing a monster before vanishing.  Soon she suspects the worst, that her sister is somehow wrapped up in these tragedies.  Yet, all is not as simple as it appears.  Secrets that have been long hidden are painfully recovered.

This book was a quick read.  The two timelines played off each other perfectly, driving the story forward.  If you are a fan of McMahon, you will recognize her "to the point" yet involved, storytelling. As always, the book leaves the reader satisfied at least until the next title is released.  Highly enjoyable.

I guess I'll still lay claim to my grandfather, even though he was a big old troublemaker, disregard that he said the same thing about me!