The Housemaid's Secret by Freida McFadden

Hello everyone.  I hope you are having a great day.

What is going on with the cost of books?  I thought perhaps it was a temporary thing, but the wacky pricing of books seems to be here to stay. Authors don't get that much of what books cost, so don't blame them.  This leaves me asking why the heck digital books are so expensive. Why are they just a few dollars cheaper than a hardback book?  Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus, and yes, I know that publishers set the price of books.  But if I'm not getting a physical copy, why am I paying so darn much?  My Kindle books have to be formatted, I get it, but so do printed books.  I'm getting no cover, no pages, no paper, no book smell, no book to chuck across the room if it irritates me, and frankly, no book to throw dramatically in case of a fight with hubby. I feel like I've just watched A Christmas Story: no turkey sandwiches, no turkey salad, no turkey gravy, turkey hash, turkey a la king, or gallons of turkey soup.  What? I told you we were a movie line family.  Okay, I'll stop.  Why are paperbacks so expensive?  They are almost as much as a hardback and often more.  What happened to buying a book at the drug store at the beach for $3.95?  Now they are like twenty bucks.  Some big shots at the publishing houses are laughing their butts off at the gullible readers. First of all, if you work for a publishing house, I'm kidding.  Second, you are a lucky duck.  Does your office smell like a library with old books, or like a Barnes and Noble with new books and fresh coffee? These are the burning questions that keep me up at night. And, yes, I am the sucker paying a gazillion dollars for books. I can't help myself; I beg them to take my money.

I recently read The Housemaid's Secret by Freida McFadden.  This is the follow up book to The Housemaid, which was released last fall.  While you'll feel right at home with the same main character if you read the first book, it is completely unnecessary to fully enjoy and understand the second.  This is the story about Millie, who has had a difficult past which she would like to keep private.  Unemployed and in need of money, Millie finds a job as a maid and cook for a couple who live in a lavish penthouse.  When learning of her new duties from Douglas Garrick, he advises her not to go into the guest room.  That is where his wife stays, and she is not well.  Millie must never bother Mrs. Garrick.  This seems reasonable until Millie hears unusual noises coming from the out of bounds room and possible crying from her unseen employer.  Then there is the blood that starts appearing on Mrs. Garrick's nightgowns that Millie is responsible for washing.  

While sequels rarely measure up to their original, The Housemaid's Secret is just as good. The twists remain surprising and worrisome.  The book takes flight on the first page and holds you hostage until the very last word.  A very quick, fun, read that will remind you of why you like thrillers!

This book, worth every penny.

The Lost Summers of Newport by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, Karen White

Hello everyone.  I hope you are having a nice day.

Have you ever toured historic homes?  Hubby and I both love history and houses so going places like Monticello and Mount Vernon are a natural fit.  One summer we went to the Biltmore.  This was the home of the Vanderbilts in Asheville NC.  The grounds alone are stunning with gardens, a green house and scenic woods and water everywhere.  I think Olmstead was the designer, the same person responsible for many famous gardens and parks including Central Park in New York. If you ever want to feel really poor, go to a Vanderbilt house, you'll feel like you're just schlepping through life without the use of oyster forks.

I recently read The Lost Summers of Newport by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White.  These popular solo writers often team up to write historic fiction.  I read The Forgotten Room by these three ladies and enjoyed it.  This time their book is about a mansion in Newport, Rhode Island. The story is about the mansion owned by the Sprague family, which is quickly deteriorating like many of the larger houses in Newport.  

Told in three parts, one written by each author, the story rotates through each.  The first part takes place in 2019 and features Andie who is the host of a tv show Mansion Makeover.  She has been enlisted to "makeover" several rooms in the grand house.  While confronted by Luke, Andie is warned never to go certain places, to be gone at a specific time and to never ever bother Luke's grandmother, Lucky, living on the third floor.  

The second part is told from Ellen's point of view.  The time is 1899 and she has been hired to teach the young and lovely Maybelle Sprague to sing.  Maybelle is about to face an arranged, but prestigious, marriage to an Italian prince, so her voice must make him swoon. Interestingly, forces are working against Maybelle's royal wedding and Ellen is not what she seems.

The third area in the rotation is 1958, told from Lucky's perspective.  This is the same older lady and matriarch now living on the third floor.  She has a drunk and serial philandering husband, Stuy and his dying, father who is the epitome of disrespectful.  Lucky also has a married neighbor who loves her dearly and she reciprocates.

The publisher says this is a historical thriller.  I don't think it's a thriller, but it does have several fascinating mysteries.  The stories are interesting and come together masterfully.  If you are a fan of Newport, this is a must read as not only is the lifestyle addressed but several of the real homes are as well.  In any case, you will find this one difficult to put down and will wonder about the well-developed characters when not reading.  I only have one criticism and that is about the 2019 portion with Andie, the tv host.  This part is written by Karen White, and she refers to Melanie, a character from her Tradd Street series.  The Tradd Street series was seven books, which I read all gleefully.  It was cute in the beginning, seeing a beloved character mentioned, however, it got old very quickly.  By the ninth mention all the way back more than 300 pages in the book, it got to be annoying. In addition, it added absolutely nothing to the story and I ended up angry the author was wasting my time with what seemed like a trivial commercial.  

In general, I loved this book.  This might be my favorite of the year and it's only February.  One thing is for sure, we are now planning a trip to Newport to see these buildings.  I'll start hunting for an oyster fork.