The Banker's Wife by Cristina Alger

 

Annabel Werner is/was an art curator and worked at a museum in New York.  She is married to Matthew who is an investment banker for a large bank which "hides" money for wealthy clients.  Some of the clients would not be accepted by other banks as there are rules about doing business with terrorists and drug lords. Obviously there are secrets going on which he does not share with his wife.  

The deal was they'd live in Europe for a few years while he made a boatload of money and then they'd return to the United States.  Annabel could then go back to work in art galleries.

In the beginning pages, Matthew boards a private jet with a Syrian woman and shortly afterwards, the jet disappears from radar.  It's crashed into the alps and there are no survivors. (This in not a spoiler)

The other major character in the book is an investigative journalist named Marina. Her boss gives her the heads up about a criminal they have been seeking for years.  He had ties to the Swiss bank where Matthew worked. Further complicating Marina's desire to pursue this story is her engagement to Grant.  He is the son of a prominent politican. Her future father-in-law is about to run for president so no scandals are needed. Marina knows she can pass on the biggest story of her career and lead a relaxed pampered life, staying home to organize dinner parties, joining the ladies country club  or she can follow her heart.

I found the story interesting but there was something about Annabel which didn't let me feel sorry for her.  I mean, your husband is killed but you have time to follow up possible clues about the crash and a conspiracy?  That was hard to buy yet plausible as a plot line due to suspicious behavior from Matthew's boss, assistant and a close friend at the bank.

There are many secrets revealed in the plot and you don't know who to trust. Good ending. I was vacillating between 3 and 4 stars and since you can't give half stars I rounded up.  I would read more by this author.

Aesop's Animals: The Science behind the Fables by Jo Wimpenny

This is not a book about Aesop’s fables but rather examining animal behavior.  As the author states in the preface, if you are reading for the fables this may not be the book for you.  If you are interested in the science and animal behavior this will be enlightening. 

Dr. Wimpenny starts with the story about a crow who drops pebbles into a container in order to raise the water level, thus allowing it to drink. Doing an experiment with crows and ravens provided different results.  The crow did indeed grab the provided pebbles to change the water level.  With another group of corvids, using larva as a treat, there were different outcomes.  Initially the bird figured out the problem then enjoyed the treat. It declined to particpate the second time. 

Are foxes as clever as the fable suggests?  The tortoise and the hare is included and many other stories.  The research is done in a lab as well as in the field.

The author is a British zoologist and writer with a background in animal behavior. She studied zoology at the University of Bristol and had her PhD at Oxford university. She writes for BBC wildlife and has previously presented at science festivals in Oxford and Glasgow.

Sharing with:

Shellyrae at Book'd Out for the 2022 Nonfiction Challenge - Category Wild Animals

Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday

Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger

 

This is a nesting doll of mysterious twists.  Just when you think you have a handle on a character a secret is revealed and you see them in a completely new way.

One of the main characters is named Wren Greenwood. She writes a help column for a newpaper and no one, except her room mate and friend Jax Morris, knows her identity. These women are opposites - Wren is reclusive and wary and Jax is a vivacious woman who takes chances.

Jax encourages Wren to try online dating and things go down the rabbit hole from there. Adam is a dorky literary looking type of man and this, to Jax's bewilderment, is who Wren decides to meet up with.

Adam is unconventional and a bit secretive.  Is he a bad guy?  Once you get the bread crumbs of both Adam and Wren's past the story gets very interesting. 

Then enter Bailey Kirk.  He is a private detective who contacts Wren as he is actively searching for Adam.  Apparently Adam's former girlfriend has disappeared.

 Loved the way the back stories were woven in without feeling like you were getting spoonfuls of of hints.

A Few of the Girls by Maeve Binchy

 

As Maeve Binchy died in 2012 I was quite surprised, yet delighted, to see a new book available at the library.  The forward is written by her husband Gordon Snell.  He explains how she would type up a storm and get her thoughts out, never once seeing her staring at a blank page as she searched for inspiration.

As a big fan of Ms. Binchy I grabbed a copy and settled in to read the short stories.  I will say I prefer her novels more than this collection and these stories are dated in the narrative of how women defer to men.

That said, this is a book of stories about friendships and relationships.  Some show how women support one another and others where women stand up for themselves. If you haven't read Binchy before I would not start with this collection as her novels are much better.  I have read all of her books and Light a Penny candle remains my very favorite.

Sharing with

 Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday 

 Marg at The Intrepid Reader for the 2022 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.

 

Imogen Clark books

Post Cards from a Stranger is the latest book I've read by Imogen Clark.  

The story shifts from perspectives in 1969, 1976, 1987 and then 2017 within three generations.

In 1969 the Kemp sisters Annie and Ursula are trying to stay out of their father's way when he returns home from work.  Anything can set him off and he becomes violent.  When he isn't angry he is condescending and demeaning.  They dream of the day they are old enough to leave and make a life for themselves far away. Why their mother endures being slapped and mocked is beyond their understanding.

When Annie is old enough to work she mets attractive and fast-talking Joe Ferensby.  She is charmed and accepts his marriage proposal, escaping her hellish homelife and thinks she hit the jackpot.

Joe doesn't hit Annie but his true nature comes out after marriage.  He's passive aggressive and talks down to her.  He isolates her from friends and keeps a tight wallet so she must ask for everything.  Once their two children Cara and Michael are born she knows she'll never leave. Lots more regarding the Feresby household but it's inserted in backstory throughout.

In 1987 we get a glimpse of single father Joe dealing with 2 year old Cara and 7 year old Michael. The children are uprooted from their London home and move to the Moors in Yorkshire.  Cara cries for her mother for weeks and Michael comforts her.  She misses her dead mother but in fact, young Michael is keeping huge secrets from his sister in an effort to protect her.

In 2017  Cara and her brother Michael as adults. Cara is caring for their father who has Alzheimers and her life is difficult.  Cara is still living on the moors while Michael is a barrister in London.  He is married with twin daughters and wants nothing to do with his father. There was a huge falling out when Michael was old enough to discover his father's secrets.

Now, Joe has Alzheimers. When things get bad Cara calls Michael for some input and he he says he knows it's difficult and would help more but..."you know how it is." He has no idea how difficult it is to be there and deal with an Alzheimers patient 24/7 and the rift between him and his father means he certainly won't head north and physically help. You'll discover the secrets much later in the book.

Cara is a wedding dress designer and has a studio where she crafts magnificent original designs. One day she is looking in the attic, a place forbidden by their father when Cara and Michael were children, and she finds a box of postcards.  Right there - her life is upended.

This wasn't my favorite book by Imogen Clark but I wasn't tempted to put it down. It certainly covers quite a bit of territory.  I was weirdly both sympathetic and impatient with Cara as she works her way the secrets her father kept. Imagine finding something you need to confront your parent with but their mind is gone so your opportunity is forever lost. 

Previous books I’ve enjoyed by the author are as follows:

Where the Story Starts

Reluctantly Home 

 On my former book blog Novel Meals I wrote about The Last Piece . I love the cover!

 I am awaiting the author's latest book Impossible to Forget.

Sharing with 

Marg at The Intrepid Reader for the  2022 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 

 Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday.

Perfect Remains and Perfect Prey by Helen Fields {Books 1 and 2 of the DI Luc Callanach series}

Perfect Remains is the first book in the D.I. Callanach series. You are introduced to DI Luc Callanach, a French-Scottish detective newly arrived at the police department in Scotland.  His counterpart is DI Ava Turner who has been with the agency for a long time.  I love both characters and it will be interesting for me to see relationships develop from the beginning of the series.

On a remote Highland mountain is the body of a woman burning.  The killer is crafty, intelligent and mentally deranged.  If you are faint of heart be warned this is not a cozy mystery.  Edinburg experiences the abductions of more women and the race is on to find them alive.

How I discovered this author: I started with book seven titled One for Sorrow and I liked the action and character interactions. Had I noticed it was #7 in a series I might not have requested the book from Netgalley...but I'm glad I did.

Perfect Prey is book two in the series. Callanach and Turner continue to investigate murders and the support team of officers get more page time.  I like how the characters are described and I found myself hoping to learn more about officers Tripp, Lively and Salter. The author makes the characters come alive, makes them quite real for the reader.

This series of murders targets people who work in a health care setting or a position to assist those less fortunate.  There is a librarian, a pallative care nurse, a primary school teacher and a worker from the homeless shelter. The murders are well planned and quite gruesome; as I said about the first book, not for the faint of heart.  Think more of the Hannibal serial killer scenarios. It's as DI Alan Banks series meets Galbraith's ruthless killers.  

It's not all police work though - the personal lives of the detectives come into play as well.   Well written and if you like police procedurals you'll like this series.  The setting is Edinburgh Scotland.

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday.

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

 

I'm not sure I get the reference to the title but I did like the book.  The driving part of the plot starts when Joy Delaney  disappears and her adult children report her missing to the police.

Joy is 69 years old and never out of touch with her family.  She and her husband Stan have a wonderful marriage and are always outwardly affectionate and happy.  So why doesn't Stan report his wife missing after an argument they had? 

Their adult children Troy, Amy, Logan and Brooke meet up have very differing opinions about what they should do about their missing mother.  The character development is well done.  The differences in the children are like night and day and I enjoyed getting to know each of them.

If your mother was missing and her phone was found at home, your father had scratches on his face and it was known they had an fight - what would you do? What would you think?  There is another factor added into the story which complicates things - a young woman named Savannah shows up at the Delaney home late one night.  She has an injury to her face and says her boyfriend hurt her. She stopped and knocked on their door at random, seeking help. As she becomes part of the Delaney's life prior to Joy disappearing, you will wonder if Savannah is more than she seems.

This story has many layers and each unfolds, you glean a better understanding of every characters' fears and hopes.

I still don't understand the apples and the abandoned bicycle or the random man who picked up the bike.  Doesn't matter in the long run but it was puzzling to start the book this way.

Where the Story Starts by Imogen Clark

 

So far all the novels I've read by Imogen Clark have been wonderful.  While I generally go for mysteries or police procedurals, this women's fiction genre is exactly what I needed now.  The story is told in present time with a few switches to the past allowing the reader to see three different points of view.

Our narrators are Grace, Leah and Clio.  All are well developed characters.  Love, friendship and betrayal are the major themes.

Leah is a woman in her thirties with two children.  She is a single mum and doing the best she can juggling work, finances and being a good parent for her children.  In the first chapter Leah is struggling to get her kids ready to leave the house when there is a knock on the door.  Clio is standing there and introduces herself to Leah.  She said she'd been to the house before on a holiday with her father and wondered if she could come in.

Eventually Leah and Clio become good friends despite their very different upbringing. While Leah is clipping coupons and living on a tight budget, Clio is rich. I mean  extremely rich living on an estate which could well be a National Trust home.  These women have more in common than they initially thought.

The author had inspiration from a true story. The setting is England near Newcastle.  I liked this book and read it in two days.  

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday.

The Dynamite Room by Jason Hewitt

 The book description in the jacket caught my attention right off. Lately I have been reading novels set in England during the WW II era. This fictional narrative fell right into those categories. This is also the first book I’ve read by Jason Hewitt and I can safely say, it won’t be my last. 

The story line takes place over a six day period with our two main characters slipping into frequent recollections to times past. You have the multiple narratives from 11-year old Lydia and a German soldier who hides out in her family’s home. Lydia is a young English girl who has just arrived in her hometown after running away from Wales. She was sent to Wales as an evacuee and hated it. In the very beginning of the story Lydia is walking the deserted streets of her village, wondering where everyone got off to. Finally she reaches her home, a large residence called Greyfriars, only to find it vacant and musty. Where is her mother? Where are her neighbors and merchants from the village? All of the livestock appears to have disappeared with the people.

Lydia holes up in her home trying to figure out what to do next when she hears someone moving about downstairs. It’s an injured German soldier, just as astonished to see a young girl in front of him as Lydia is to see him. He raises his gun toward her but doesn’t shoot, warning her to obey his rules or he will kill her. From then on you have altering perspectives and learn about Lydia’s life before the war. Same thing with the soldier called Heiden.

In the six days they spend together you learn about Heiden’s love for a woman named Eva. You get the flashbacks of his service in the German military, his education in England prior to the war and the perilous mission in Norway where life altering decisions are made. He shares very little with Lydia but through his memories you get to know him well.

As for Lydia you will come to know a brave little girl who paid attention to what her mother taught her about survival. She is diligent in her efforts to hide things from Heiden as she won’t outwardly help an enemy of England. As they spend more time together, cooped up in a house shuttered with blackout curtains and boards, they form a tentative alliance. They need each other…for the time being.

This story captured my attention straight away, hard to put down. I am looking forward to Hewitt’s next novel Devastation Road.

Sharing with Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday. and Marg at The Intrepid Reader for the 2022 Historical Fiction Challenge.

Go Tell the Bees That I am Gone by Diana Gabaldon

Once I had finished this 902 page book I went to Goodreads to update progress and checked on how many friends had read the book as well. I am pleased to see a mixed bit of reviews and realize I am not the only one who felt this book meandered on way too long.  I also noticed a bit of hate flung at reviewers who thought the same.  People!  We all have different opinions! That said, I’m glad I checked this out of the library instead of purchasing. 

I was happy with the story line about Jamie and Claire and liked reading more about Brianna and Roger. Gabaldon has always been a descriptive writer but honestly I thought some of the details were overboard. The book could have been shorter by quite a bit in my opinion.

The ending left me hanging, as it's meant to, so I am eager to find out what happens next.  This book took 7 years to come to publication and frankly I think Gabaldon could have wrapped it all up with this one.  There were times when I was reading and I thought, hasn't she rehashed this before - several times. 

Those of us who have read the book series starting with Outlander have watched these characters grow, have children and get old. It will be nice to see a conclusion with these characters.  Recently I read that Gabaldon was thinking of writing a prequel series featuring Jamie's parents Brian and Ellen.  I would be inteested to check that out once this series is concluded.

Sharing with Marg at The Intrepid Reader for the 2022 Histirical Fiction Challenge.

Changing Roles by Dr. Vivien Newman

 

Dr. Vivien Newman delves into the lives of British woman and their place in the workforce after WW I.  They assumed the workload and roles traditionally held by men.  All the men were off to war but life went on and these stories tell how the females shouldered the load.

When the war was over the women were expected to fade back into their traditional roles but many said the hell with that!  These women were pioneers in the early movement for equal rights.

I enjoyed the stories about Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie and Gertrude Bell very much. They made a difference.

Publication date is October 30, 2021 by Pen and Sword. Genre: History and Nonfiction.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader's copy of this book.  I was not compensated for the review, all opinions are mine.

Sharing with

 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out for the 2022 Nonfiction Reading Challenge. (Category: Social History)

Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday