You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Hello everyone. Hope you and your family are safe and healthy.  As you might guess by my absence I have been sick and hospitalized again, not with the virus but an infection. To say I am tired of being poked, prodded, and needles everywhere is an understatement. On to happier topics, like reading!

I recently read You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. I read the other two books by these talented ladies, The Wife Between Us  and An Anonymous Girl, and enjoyed them both. Finally, I was able to get my hands on their latest and it was worth the wait. This thriller follows a young woman who meets two sisters, but she doesn't really know them as the reader discovers. The story opens with a huge "gotcha", which I always love as it makes me feel like I am in for a huge rollercoaster ride. In this case, the main character, Shay, is on her way to work in NYC when she witnesses someone jump in front of an oncoming subway. I was hooked immediately and although the remainder of the story isn't filled with such drama, it certainly holds your attention.

Most chapters change perspective, being told by a different person and sometimes from a different time period. I didn't find this way of storytelling a problem but liked how it helped the book unfold. The characters are interesting and you will find yourself cheering for Shay, as she discovers her internal strength. A definite thriller right to the end.

If you're in NYC and read this book, you just might find yourself "social distancing" in the subway station, between you and the edge of the platform!

Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin

Hello everyone.

I hope you are well. Many of us are enjoying some "inside" time. If you can get a free moment from the craziness of a house full of kids,  perhaps you can grab a book. I'm sure your book stockpile exceeds your supply of toilet paper.  Maybe you could knock a few novels off your tbr.

When I read about the book Saint X I was interested. This story sounded like a thriller plucked from the newspaper headlines. This is not the case. This book certainly isn't a thriller and is barely a mystery. The point is to discover who killed a teenager at a vacation island location but the book ends up as a discussion of grief. If you want a thought provoking story about how people handle all kinds of loss, without getting terribly depressing then Saint X is for you. The writing is engrossing, and descriptive without repeating itself, the author moves the story along, not lingering too long on any topic. I really appreciated the writing style. This book was really good, my problem is with myself and not the book. I thought I was reading a thriller and kept expecting the story to race to a heart pounding conclusion, which it never did. Again, a strong, well written, interesting read but not a thriller or suspenseful mystery.

Take care!

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

Hello everyone.

Have you ever gone to one of those old roadside motels? No? Me either. Hubby always wants to stay at them, referring to them as "mom and pop" places instead of something corporate owned. I agree it is a lovely idea, but I can't get the picture out of my head of sagging mattresses, rusty, dirty bathrooms, and bugs. Yes, I've seen those things in big chain hotels.  I don't know, maybe one day.

I recently read The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James. I couldn't wait for this to be released. A haunted old motel, what is not to like?  For me, it wasn't all pleasant. In this story, a young woman, Viv, works at the motel in 1982 and goes missing. In 2017, Viv's niece who is obsessed with the story of her aunt's disappearance, also works at Sun Down so she can investigate what happened years ago.  It's an interesting premise but for me, the ghost story takes a back seat to the mystery that both girls are trying to solve. Timelines that shift are often an excellent way to tell a story and I love when they come together in the end but in this case everything just gets too jumbled, the story isn't clean enough. The ghost story could be expanded on and much scarier and the mystery could be much less. In fact, I correctly guessed the answer to the mystery after the first few pages of the book.

If you love Simone St. James, read this, by all means, you might love it as so many people do.  If she is a new author for you, I suggest Broken Girls, a great ghost story. Even though The Sun Down Motel wasn't my favorite, I'll be in line to purchase the next St. James novel.

Sorry All

It's been a long time since my last post. Sadly, I've been in the hospital for the last three weeks. Just home now, but super weak. Trying to build strength to walk and go back to my normal life. It's going to take a bit of time and a lot of effort.

I didn't want you to think I had forgot about you or the great stories on the market right now, because that is just not the case.

Hope you are safe and happy.

Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain

Hello everyone.

Have you ever checked out your genealogy? I started looking at my family and hubby's years ago. We had a 486 computer with a dialup modem. I could literally brew a pot of coffee and make a cup while waiting for a single census page to load. Thankfully, we've come a long way. If you haven't coughed up a couple of dollars and joined a company that holds all those family records, stop being a cheapskate and do it for at least one month. You will be surprised what you find. While I am definitely a Yankee, hubby has firm roots in the south. His family is one of the North Carolina's first settlers and founders.  We had a bit of problem with one set of great grandparents, finally finding them and a long line of predecessors in a tiny town called Edenton.

Edenton has been named prettiest small town in America. It is one of those places where shop keepers can leave merchandise on the sidewalk outside their shops overnight. Nothing disappears and people wanting to buy something just leave the money. Yes, places like that do actually still exist. They have a noise ordinance to keep the peace, a highly active downtown, and have voted Walmart out. Many of the houses date to the 1700's and range from modest to enormous. Amazingly, most are perfectly kept despite their age and the amount of work that goes into an old house. Indeed, Edenton is a beautiful town.

I recently read the newest offering from Diane Chamberlain, Big Lies in a Small Town. This entire story takes place in Edenton, North Carolina, where we follow two artists at two different periods of time. In 1940, Anna, from New Jersey, wins a contest through the WPA to paint a mural for the Post Office in Edenton. We also follow Morgan, a former art student and convict, suddenly let out of jail thanks to the will of a recently deceased famous artist. He had a way of taking people he doesn't know under his wing and improving their lives. This mysterious benefactor has left a wish in his will that Morgan restore the 1940 mural painted by Anna. There is so much to discover in this story, I don't want to spoil it for you.

The characters in this book are imperfect, yet enthralling. Art plays a huge role as does the town, yet neither is overwhelming. So much care has been done to research the artistic endeavors and the real town of Edenton. Anyone going to this southern sanctuary would easily recognize it from this story. The pacing is perfection, just fast enough to spur you through pages but slow enough to let you savor the story. This is a good one, happy and sad, light and dark, and highly memorable....a Diane Chamberlain trademark.

If you vacation on the Outer Banks this summer and have had too much sun, take a little trip to Edenton. You'll find this town as charming as this book.

Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough

Hello everyone.

I hope you are having a good week.  How open are you to things we can't explain?  Ghosts are a topic often covered in books, I haven't read a good ghost story recently but there are lots out there. Do you believe in something you can't see? Just think about things like the ocean, scientists say we've only explored a tiny amount so who knows what beings exist in places we haven't been. Giant squid used to be mythical until they were actually discovered. What about something drier that requires no bottom scrunching wet suit, like ghosts. For ghosts not to exist, then every person who ever experienced something ghostly would have to be lying or nuts. Don't write to me about how that doesn't figure into religion, I know, I have no answers. Frankly, I doubt I would want to know all life's secrets, a bit of mystery is good. The Victorian house we restored was haunted. Yes, I can hear you laughing from here. Someday I'll tell you about it. Anyway, I ask you about an open mind because of a book. Yes, I realize everything in my life involves cooking a chicken, cleaning a toilet or reading a book....obviously that is why I'm here to talk about a book (to avoid cooking and cleaning).

I recently read Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough. This is a psychological thriller about a secretary, Louise, who meets a man in a bar and they have instant chemistry. She is hopeful that this is the beginning of something wonderful. Later, Louise is shocked when she arrives at work only to discover her dream man is her new boss and he is very married. Amidst undeniable sexual tension between Louise and her new boss, David, they come to terms with his being married and continue on as employer/employee. While taking her son to school one day, Louise meets Adele, David's wife, by accident. She soon discovers that all is not as rosy as has been painted. The story moves quickly changing from each person's perspective. The reading is fun and easy and the story propels the reader forward without any effort. As the reader gets close to the end we are presented with a situation that requires having an open mind. you must be able to believe in something that can't be proven. No spoilers but if you cannot have an open mind in that way, you will not enjoy this book. However, if you can make that leap of faith, you will find the ending shockingly twisty.

Well I must run, I have lots of research to do with my open mind. I heard Elvis is alive and well and cleaning carpets in Sheboygan.

The Wives by Tarryn Fisher

Hello everyone.

I hope you are having a great week. Have you seen the pictures of Australia? The news about the fire is absolutely terrifying, I can't imagine watching the place you love burn. Heartbreaking. Over here in the States things are...odd.  I've never seen things happen nationally and internationally concerning the USA as they have lately. Makes you ask what the heck is going on?  Never putting any politics on this blog, just reminding everyone (yes, again) that the people living in a country and that country's government are two very different things. It is sad that humans have been on this planet for such a long time and still can't figure out that love is nicer than hate. We each only have so much time why not spend it on having fun, with love and blissful happiness? Wow, that got kind of deep. Way too much for a book/lazy housewife blog.

To lighten things up and to mention things that don't matter to anyone, I will report that our roofer finally reappeared to collect the last of his belongings and trailer full of our old roof. Took him three months but he was great at his job and local tradesmen are hard to find. Ummm, housewife wise all appliances are working well (knock on wood) and I still hate to clean. One thing that definitely needs attention around here is my stack of to be read books (tbr). I have received quite a few advanced copies from publishers lately and HAD to take advantage of holiday book sales. I keep telling myself that not buying books during a sale is like losing money.  Hubby would disagree. He better get ready because there are a lot of great books set to be released this year. I was up all last night reading one of the last novels of 2019.

I just read The Wives by Tarryn Fisher. While the book jacket says Ms. Fisher is the author of nine books, this is the first I've read. This is one of those books where you casually flip to the first page just wondering if you'll like the writing style and before you know it you're asking your husband either fix dinner himself or order takeout. I honestly don't know what happened, I opened The Wives and suddenly I was twenty-seven pages from the end. Now that is engrossing writing! As the story begins the reader learns about a triangle of women and one man, taking part in a pluralistic marriage. Each of the women is known as the day of the week she enjoys the company of her husband, we follow Thursday. She is a nurse, an independent woman, yet devoted to her part-time husband, Seth. She tries to make things perfect, setting a beautiful table, keeping a well stocked refrigerator able to make his favorite foods from scratch on a moments notice. Things appear idyllic...well...for the one day she gets her spouse.

While getting his clothing ready to launder, after one of his visits, Thursday finds a slip of paper in his pocket. She has agreed to know nothing about the other wives, so Thursday is quite surprised when she sees a name on that bit of paper. The internet beckons, a quick search can't hurt...right? Pretty soon, Thursday is trying to unmask her husband's other wives. She becomes entangled in their lives, how she compares, wondering what Seth sees in herself. As Thursday struggles with her own place in this three-way relationship, she discovers things may not be as her beloved husband said, in fact, things maybe very wrong.

This novel is quick read, dark and twisty, letting you think you've figured it out only to be proven wrong. This is a well put together psychological thriller from first page to last. Be warned, before you open The Wives, set aside enough time to finish it.