Murder Leads to Marriage by Shannon Peeples

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

As I've talked about so many times, I come from a family with four girls, no boys.  My parents wanted a boy, had me, tried again, had triplet girls and quit.  If you knew my sisters, you'd quit too! Gosh I think they have big mouths and are full of....um...how do I put it politely...baloney, now.  Can you imagine the three of them crying with loaded diapers?  Oh, and there were no Pampers, only cloth diapers.  The smell of rinsed out diapers is something I still can't get out of my nose, decades later. When we were teens, my dad used to talk about trying to get into our one bathroom.  He would imitate women's arm movements putting on mascara, saying it was a jungle in front of the mirror. I've talked about all of this before, but the memories are such fond ones (except the smell). My dad was in all his glory.  He loved be a "girl Dad."  If you wanted something, all you'd have to do is ask him, beginning by calling him Daddy and saying it really slowly.  "Daadddy, I really need that pink sweater."  He was putty, and I think, happily so.  He was a wonderful Dad. As for the sisters, the jury is still out.

I recently read Murder Leads to Marriage by Shannon Peeples. This is the story of the Hurley sisters and their dad. Amy, Lily, Daisy and Rosie along with their father, Jack.  They have had to make a life for themselves after losing their mom and wife.  They are very tightknit and usually upfront with each other. We discover, however, that people have secrets. Some secrets might just be an unnamed boyfriend, but some are much more difficult to stomach and could bring dire consequences. When a woman is killed who had recently threatened Daisy, the truth must come out and mystery solved before the killer comes calling much closer to home. 

This book was a delight to read. While it feels, for the most part, more like a romantic cozy mystery than a heart pounding thriller, the story still moves right along.  With this pleasing pacing, I moved quickly though the book.  Thriller lovers don't despair, there is an elaborate mystery with a very tense resolution. All of the thriller/mystery stuff aside, where this novel really shines is in the relationship between the four sisters. The character development, while danger abounds, is remarkable and endearing. With the smooth writing, interesting plot and pacing, this book is a winner.  Don't be surprised if after reading Murder Leads to Marriage, you are checking in with your siblings, just to see what they've been up to.  You also might be looking over your shoulder...just a little bit.

Many thanks to publicist Deborah and author Shannon for the great read.  It has been a pleasure.

The Half Sister by Sandie Jones

Hello everyone.  I hope your day is going well.

I cannot believe it's June!  The beginning of June always reminds me of the family that lived next door when I was a kid.  The Mom was our beloved elementary school nurse and was an avid gardener.  The Dad built and flew model airplanes.  They had four children.  Two were older but one girl was my age, and one was my sisters'.  Needless to say, we played together a lot.  Heck, I still remember their phone number! It's weird how some things you remember like naming the tree in their front yard "old chucker," the sledding down the back hill, riding bikes, swimming, and the endless games of Red Light Green Light.  Of course, now they are all married, some with kids, and scattered across the country.  I often think of how lucky we were to have such wonderful neighbors. Today is the birthday of that friend, a date that somehow, I've never forgotten.  

I recently read The Half Sister by Sandie Jones.  I've read two books by this author, The First Mistake and The Other Woman.  I liked both very much.  The Half Sister is about two sisters, Kate and Lauren, who are grieving the loss of their devoted father.  One Sunday, while at their mother's house for dinner, a woman comes the door asking to see their father.  When they discover the mysterious woman claims to be their half-sister, they are skeptical but start wondering about different moments from the family's past.  When the woman produces a DNA test, the world falls apart and secrets start being revealed.  Who is telling the truth and who is lying?  This book takes that issue I love of unreliable narrators and spreads it to someone who never appears in the book and is dead before it starts.  Could his life have been a lie?  

This novel is quite the ride and literally has twists until the very end.  If you don't like family drama type thrillers, then stay clear but otherwise I doubt you'd be disappointed.  More likely, you'll be cold from all that rapid page turning!  Another win for Jones.

I don't know what I was thinking, I should have sent my friend this book for her birthday.  That would certainly have made it happy.

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

Hello everyone.  I hope your day is going well.

Do you have siblings?  I find them very odd, in sooo many ways!  It is weird to have someone share your DNA but be completely different people.  We have shared memories but then branched out into our own lives.  I think my experience may be different from many people's as my sisters are triplets.  They have a unique bond I don't share.  Many years ago, lotto was really big and my husband was going to buy a "family" ticket.  He called each of the trips to have them give him a number, they all gave the same one! They seem to have a sense of each other's welfare despite living hundreds of miles apart.  I told you they were odd!

I recently read The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth. This author also wrote The Mother-In-Law, which I enjoyed.  This new book is the story of twin sisters who grow up in less than ideal circumstances. Fern, is now a librarian, and is sensitive to too many stimuli.  Rose, an interior designer for businesses, has always acted as Fern's protector.  Sadly, Rose discovers that she is unable to have a baby so Fern decides to get pregnant and give the baby to Rose since she has been her lifelong champion and beloved sister.

This book is very much like The Mother-In-Law, it is an interesting story...to start.  Just as we are engaged and feel we really know the characters the author starts throwing in subtle hints that perhaps something is not right.  Slowly the delightful storyline is in doubt.  Can we believe anything we read?  Then those hints that things aren't as they should be turn into all out twists as the world she has created for the reader falls completely apart.  This book was very enjoyable, especially as I've become more familiar with Sally Hepworth's plotting style.

I'm gonna start sending the triplets a mental image and see if they pick up on it.  "Send me a book....send me a book!"