Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

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

The holidays often make me think of the people I've lost, like my grandparents.  I was blessed to have fantastic, loving grandparents on both my maternal and paternal side.  My maternal grandfather was a very pious man, he also was extremely outgoing. He was modest but he was also a politician.  He was mayor and actually secured the land that later became the town's only mall. My grandparents traveled around the world going everywhere but Russia, where they wanted to go but never got the chance.  Every year they went to Hawaii for my birthday...without me...and called me from the pool, while I was in cold New York.  Being the way he was, my granddad knew the name of half the population of Hawaii, and they knew him.  My poor demure grandmother went along with it all.  She surprised me when I got married by giving me the advice to "train him (meaning my husband) right from the beginning".  That makes me think she ran the show more than she let on. Sadly, hubby has proven untrainable.

One time my grandparents moved to the boonies near my hometown.  They were near a swampy area, by a State Park.  When there, they became avid bird watchers. They had a tiny little book, which my sisters and I always fought over, that identified all kinds of birds.  It was so prized, it not only survived decades but was given to my niece when she was little.  For a while, my whole family knew the names of many birds, now sadly they are just known as the mean blue one, or the gray one with the yellow tail.

I recently read Starling House by Alix E. Harrow.  This is the story of Opal, a down on her luck, hard life kind of girl.  She lives in the town of Eden where everyone seems cursed.  She keeps having dreams of Starling House, a local mansion.  Starling House was the home of Elizabeth Starling, who, in the 1800s, wrote a book called The Underland and then disappeared.  Drawn to the house, because of her dreams, Opal meets the rude and brash current owner, Authur.  Opal tries to find the reason for her odd dreams of the elusive house, and why in the dreams the mansion feels like home.  As she does secrets become unraveled, some not only dangerous but life-threatening.

This book was lots of fun.  It was a fast pleasant read.  It is an odd bird (get it...bird...Starling), as it's kind of a gothic horror without being scary, it has a bit of romance, lots of mystery and suspense and a fair amount of thriller thrown in for good measure.  One thing about the way this is written, I usually hate, but is done so effectively here, that I loved it.  I dislike when things are said over and over, I feel like the author is trying to increase book length and is wasting my time.  In this case, it is on purpose and very useful.  We hear the story of Starling House from several points of view, from people with experience with the building, land and family.  The closer we get to the end, the closer we get to the truth.  So entertaining.  I literally could not put this down, reading until my vision was blurring.

I've been on a roll lately.  The last several books I've read have been so creative and fantastic.  Christmas has come early! 

Grimmworld The Witch in the Woods by Michaelbrent Collings

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

I've talked about the neighborhood in which I grew up being called "Peanut Butter Hill."  Once you bought your house all you could afford to eat is peanut butter. Looking at it today, it is laughable, my house payment is ten times what my parents paid. Anyway, it was nice, safe, pretty and family oriented.  Like most kids, we had our suspicions about a certain house.  It was on the corner, with a darkly wooded yard.  The couple that lived there was probably in their 50's, we thought they were well over 100.  The woman, she committed the greatest sin of all; she had gray hair and wore it in a bun.  As far as we were concerned, it was confirmed... the lady down the street was a witch.  We avoided her house at all costs, only observing from a distance - mostly yard work.  They were definitely planting all kinds of poisons and child-eating plants. It was the perfect place for a witch to operate, in a neighborhood filled with young children.

I recently read Grimmworld The Witch in the Woods by Michaelbrent Collings. What if things that you thought were just childhood stories were actually true?  That is the premise for this book.  Willow and Jake Grimm are twins.  Their lives were thrust into turmoil when they move to a new area as their parents accept jobs at a top secret Think Tank.  The town, New Marburg, is far different from anything they've experienced.  The police are charming robots, older people fight with swords made of lasers, their car parks itself, their house walls won't hold pictures and terrible storms with lightning abounds. When they go to their new school, they are surprised to find it all very low tech; except for the cafeteria which moves between floors.  Their class is taught by a horrible woman who detests them and treats them terribly.  Willow and Jack count themselves as lucky to make two friends, a boy and girl, who they are surprised to learn are the children of their disliked teacher.  One day, after a particularly violent storm, the twins find their school has been transformed into a castle and they and their friends have been transported to another world.  Grimmworld is the place from which Grimm's fairy tales originate; where they are real.  While exploring this bizarre place, they discover that their friends have become Hansel and Gretel! Willow and Jack must save them from being eaten by the witch and find a way back home.

I usually don't read fantasy, but I couldn't resist this storyline. I was enraptured by this book.  The writing is absolutely wonderful.  This is a children's/young adult's book, recommended for 8-11 year old readers.  Forget that!  This is a novel for adults too...a creative thriller about children.  Besides the stellar writing, the story pulls you in, rich in details and description.  You will feel transported to each setting; so vivid you will feel the darkness of the woods, smell the cinnamon of the witch's house and see the children as they experience it all.  I simply cannot say enough good things about this book.   It will leave you wanting more.  Amazon lists this as volume one, I will be the first to buy each additional book, anxious to rekindle the deep affection I already feel for the Grimm twins.  

Now for the bad news, this novel isn't available until March 5, 2024.  I strongly suggest you preorder it for your children and yourself. In case you forget, I'll remind you in a couple of months.  The enchanting Grimmworld The Witch in the Woods is spellbinding and should not be missed!

Many thanks to the author Michaelbrent Collings and Cameron, his assistant.  This book was the highlight of my week and I am in awe.  Thank you!

The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni

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

With four kids (girls), going on a vacation was always a real adventure for my parents.  My dad had his routine shtick he did asking why we packed so many shoes; which became a huge issue when we threw them all in the trunk loose and then had a flat tire.  It was 4 am...in the cold...with no winter coats...and to get to the spare everything (including each and every shoe) had to come out of the trunk, while we stood on the side of the road ... and it started to snow.  We never had a flat tire before, but had two others on that trip. Naturally, my dad blamed it on the shoes. My mom, on the other hand, wasn't concerned about the trunk; she concentrated on keeping us occupied in the car.  She wanted to reduce the likelihood of my sister complaining that my hair blew into her "airspace."  Anything to keep NASA junior quiet. (It is still quite a feat.)  One of the things Mom did was to bring puzzle books. You know the kind, the ones with paper one step down from newsprint.  They featured connect the dots, crosswords, mazes, and lots of word searches. Don't laugh! It was a time before phones and thumb-orific handheld video games. Those puzzle books led to my obsession with the backs of cereal boxes and finding my way to the bee in the center of the maze, or finding the 47.5 spoons hidden in the picture.

I recently read The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni.  This is the story of Mike Brink.  He suffered a brain injury while playing football.  The result was savant syndrome, a rare medical condition.  Mike became able to read 18,000 words a minute with complete retention.  He could decipher patterns, allowing him to solve the most complex puzzles.  Having turned this unusual situation into a positive, he became a famous puzzle maker.  Mike is contacted by a psychiatrist who is treating a woman in prison, Jess Price.  Jess is serving a thirty-year murder sentence but perplexes all as she hasn't spoken a word since her arrest.  One day Jess draws a puzzle that her doctor doesn't understand.  Could it explain what happened during the murder?  The doctor contacts Mike to help solve the mysterious drawing.  This set of events takes Mike on a wild ride, meeting a slew of interesting characters.  The locations change often as fate the of many hangs in the balance, building the suspense as the story crests to a jaw-dropping ending.

This is a new author for me. Where have I been? I have been missing out!  This book is a edge-of-your-seat thriller.  The writing is wonderful, crisp and concise.  The 362 pages are all plot and no tangents, no meandering. Despite the fast-moving story, the characters are well developed.  Likeable or not, they are often surprising.  The settings are different and engaging, told with just enough description. The storyline is rich with puzzles, ancient traditions, and religion.  I found myself mesmerized, ignoring everything and everybody around me. This heart pounding thriller is a roller coaster, and a ride not to be missed.

Many thanks to the author Danielle Trussoni, Random House and publicist Alexis, for bringing this book to my attention.  Not only was it an honor to read, but I've found a new author to follow.  

The Last Flight by Julie Clark

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

I have written endlessly about how my family can talk strictly in movie lines.  I can't help it.  My parents were big movie fans, especially of mysteries that were also comedies. I like some more serious movies like Gaslight, where I drive my husband crazy afterward saying "Pauuulaaa" like Charles Boyer. Then there is Hitchcock.  If you're a very young person, go check him out, and don't forget Rebecca from the book by Daphne Du Maurier.  Another not to miss is Strangers on a Train, where people meet on a train, each unhappy about someone in their life.  They agree to trade murders, to avoid being discovered because they might have a motive.  It's just a simple trade..."criss-cross".  The same theme is used in the much later comedy, Throw Momma From the Train, with Billy Crystal and Danny DeVito.  They also decide to trade murders, well at least Danny DeVito thinks so and kills Billy Crystal's author book stealing wife but then expects Crystal to kill his annoying mother.  When Crystal refuses DeVito tries wacky methods like blowing a trumpet in her ear while she is sleeping, only she wakes to say, "Holy S*** what a dream I was having, Louis Armstrong was trying to kill me!"  The trading of evil deeds is popular in movies and in books.

I recently read The Last Flight by Julie Clark.  This is the story of a woman, Claire Cook, who has a perfect life.  She is wealthy, wants for nothing and is surrounded by servants.  Her life is elegant.  Claire's husband is a member of a political dynasty, think something like the Kennedys only more flaunting with their money.  The problem is that Claire is deeply unhappy.  Her husband has a terrible temper which frightens Claire and she is certain he tracks everything she does and everywhere she goes.  Bound and determined to find a way out of this dangerous situation, Claire devises a way to disappear. When she goes to the airport to enact her plan, Claire meets another woman, Eva, also in desperate circumstances.  Together they make a plan to switch places (criss-cross).  While they aren't killing anyone like a Hitchcock movie, the two women decide to take each other's flights.  The problem is that the flight Eva is taking, pretending to be Claire, crashes.  Now everyone is looking at a picture of Claire as her famous family's stature has caused the media to post a story and photos of her everywhere.  Hard to disappear when everyone is staring at your face.  As Claire tries to become Eva, she realizes she has traded more than just a airline ticket.

This story is a welcome relief to thrillers in traditional settings.  It is thoughtful and complicated but doesn't get bogged down in too many details.  Characters are well developed but still leave room for the reader to discover more about them as the book progresses. The plot moves forcefully forward making for a quick and satisfying read.  A fun book, it would be great on vacation.

Hubby is about to tell me to "criss-cross" myself into the kitchen to make him some chicken salad.  I wonder what direct flights there are taking off this afternoon.

My Darling Girl by Jennifer McMahon

Hello everyone. I hope you are well.

Well, it is October.  I'm sure you needed reminding of the date so there is it, you're welcome.  For me, October is a time when I breathe a slight sigh of relief that there aren't as many hurricanes coming up the coast. I now start dreading something new, turning on the heat and its associated cost. Fall also makes me terribly homesick.  I come from a place where the most excellent apples are grown, cider mills dot the landscape, and pumpkin farms host all kinds of fun activities.  Living near the coast where shrimp are plentiful, but locals have never met, let alone tasted, a decent apple. I miss fall in the north. I suppose for many of you, the crisp air dipping down into the country makes you think of chili, football, and trick or treating.  Some of you participate in the great American debate, is candy corn good or the fall equivalent of melted crayons?  I don't want to discuss politics here but for today I will make an exception.  Candy corn is delicious and for you that don't agree, well, I just shake my head and picture you standing in the corner coveting your Twix.  Feel free, I'll take the corn.  One thing many book lovers have in common is seasonal reading.  You want a great beach book on vacation, a cute little Hallmark Channel-ish Christmas novel, and a spooky read in October.  I think I can help.

I recently read My Darling Girl by Jennifer McMahon. I have read and reviewed several books by Ms. McMahon, one of my favorites is the The Drowning Kind.  I was anxious to "dive" into her latest.  This is the story of Alison, who lives in a Vermont farmhouse with her family.  They are getting ready to celebrate Christmas, she isn't a fan of the holiday but puts up with her husband's love of it.  Out of the blue, Alison receives a call that her mother is very sick and dying.  Reluctantly, she goes to see her mom in the hospital.  Their relationship is not good.  Alison's mom, Mavis, who is now a famous artist, was an abusive mother.  When Mavis asks to come live the last few weeks of her life with her daughter and family, Alison wrestles with the decision.  Finally, she agrees, hoping they can improve their mother/daughter dynamic. As their time together begins it becomes very apparent something is wrong, Mavis is not who she says.  In fact, Alison is sure that her ill mother is a threat to her own family and has to figure out what is truly going on and how to protect those she loves.

My Darling Girl is the perfect October read.  Despite being set at Christmas, this book will give you the major creeps.  The story is fast moving, interesting, and will leave you feeling uneasy.  What else can I say?  It's fall, this is a fun, spooky read by an established author who doesn't disappoint.  Turn on all your lights, grab this book and some candy corn and make a weekend of it.

For those "crayon criticizers," how do you feel about black jellybeans?

Never Lie by Freida McFadden

Hello everyone.  I hope your day is going well.

Hubby and I are old house addicts.  Not just ours but other peoples'.  We have talked our way into gobs of various old houses, some personal residences, some historic sites.  I can't help it; I'm curious and poor hubby gets pulled along to insure I don't end up in jail (which one of my sisters insists is coming any day now). One of the houses looked like ghosts would be frightened haunting it, in fact, it had been used in a haunted house movie.  Finally, someone purchased it to restore and we were right there, getting the full tour.  It was amazing inside, great raised paneling under each window.  There were a few, not open to the public, houses in Colonial Williamsburg..."gosh I'm so sorry, isn't this part of the tour?"  Then there were closed off rooms in Carter's Grove, various other James River plantations, all our neighbors' houses and then some.  Old houses are fun and always surprising.

I recently read Never Lie by Freida McFadden.  This is the author of the very popular books The Housemaid and The Housemaid's Secret. I've read, enjoyed and reviewed both.  Never Lie is about a couple that want to buy a house.  Tricia and Ethan are enjoying married life and are ready to purchase a home.  While going to see a listing, they are trapped in a snowstorm and are forced to walk to the house they were hoping to see.  Although the realtor never shows in the dangerous weather, they count themselves lucky to find a key and shelter in their possible new property.  Impressed with the grand rambling estate, they discover curious things. A light on upstairs, yet a thick layer of undisturbed dust on every surface, including the footprint free floor.  They find fresh food in the fridge, yet again, no evidence anyone has been in the old mansion, just the opposite, it has been and remains vacant.  As the story progresses, we find out that the house last belonged to a famous psychiatrist Dr. Adrienne Hale, who disappeared four years ago and is presumed dead. Despite the troubling history it is worth it to live in such an elaborate home, until odd things start happening.  

This story is told in dual timelines following the modern-day homebuyers, Tricia and Ethan, and another exploring the life of Adrienne revealing what happened leading up to her disappearance.  This story is fast moving, never really letting the reader catch their breath.  It is one of those that you gasp out loud wondering how you could have missed the amazing twists that leave you shaking your head and grinning. A wild ride and fun from beginning to end.  A classic domestic thriller.

I might be a bit more careful about seeing old houses, they may hold more secrets than I want to know!

The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin

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

It is funny how every family, no matter what size, has its own communication system.  My family can speak almost exclusively in movie lines. Oh sure, you can say it is somewhat limiting and we should get a larger "vocabulary" to which I respond, "You're going to need a bigger boat!"  My husband has the luxury of being bilingual, he can converse in movies and grunts, often accompanied by just plain no response due to not hearing...more likely not LISTENING... to avoid any topic of discussion he does not approve of.  My dad, he spoke with "the look." The "don't make your mother cry or you'll be sorry" look was especially effective.  My mother could speak in thumps.  We had a family room in our basement and when she wanted your attention, she would stomp on the floor, once.  You would wonder what was going on upstairs, but if it was around dinner time, it was a widely accepted dialect for "get your butt up here, it's time for dinner."  Now if she stomped twice, look out, that was akin to be being called by your first AND middle name.

I recently read The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin.  This is Matlin's first book.  This thriller with horror thrown in, is about an Australian woman, Sarah, who buys a house she has found for a bargain.  She purchased the dwelling for a fraction of what it costs to have a house in such a posh neighborhood.  The house has been empty for quite a while, and Sarah hopes to remodel the home and make a bundle.  The problem is that it was the scene of a grisly murder, making the neighbors insist that the place should be torn down instead of rebuilt.  Sarah, presses on, and as the renovations begin so do the weird events.  Not only is it unsettling with the house being her current home and critical investment, but Sarah is a therapist and self-help book author who should be firmly planted in reality.  As the house's secrets are revealed so are Sarah's, making for an interesting yin and yang.  The story builds to a telling of everyone's truth.

This book was a fun, quick ride.  If you ever read The Amityville Horror, it will remind you of that tale.  The story is short, at under 300 pages, so tends to move along yet there were a few places where it seems like the author is marking time, postponing the next twist.  Sometimes that can be annoying and slow the plot, but anticipation is often the name of the game with building suspense.  The story is pleasant, easy to read, and the characters interesting.  This would make a great book for a spooky October and practically demands fall weather.  Fun and enjoyable.

Spooky things always remind me of Cloris Leachman's famous line, "Stay close to the candles, the staircase can be treacherous."