The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin

July 31, 2019

The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin

Fiona Skinner is 102 years old, a famous poet who has agreed to give one last public reading in 2079.  In 1981, her father died suddenly of a heart attack, leaving his wife Antonia (Noni) to raise their four children (Renee, Caroline, Joe, and Fiona).  At their father’s funeral, seven-year-old Joe has a meltdown, grabs the fireplace poker, and starts smashing things in the house, particularly the photos of the family.  The adults do nothing, but the three sisters wrap their arms around him, effectively signaling the beginning of their lifelong habit of covering up for him.  Whenever Joe gets into trouble (and he does repeatedly), he calls one of his sisters.  And throughout their lives, they continually make excuses for him and clean up his messes.

Noni goes into a deep depression following her husband’s death, overwhelmed with looking after her family and her life, and neglects her children for three years (Caroline has a similar depression after they can’t find Luna).  The siblings refer to this period as The Pause, and the events of that time shape the rest of their lives.  As they grow to adulthood, it gets kind of boring hearing them blame everything on their father’s death and their mother’s depression.

The book title comes from the title of Fiona’s blog, The Last Romantic – she writes reviews of the sexual performance of her lovers (like Man #23 who she runs into at her brother’s engagement party).  The blog sounds like Candace Bushnell’s Sex and the City, except more malicious and not as entertaining.  Fiona ends up falling in love with Will, Man #23, eventually marrying him - he's one of the most likeable characters in the book.

The format reminded me of Commonwealth by Ann Patchett (which I liked much better than The Last Romantics); the sisters’ obsession with their brother’s life reminded me of The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney (which I really disliked); and the 1st half of the book is far better than the 2nd half, like The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin.  It got uninteresting and strange after Joe’s “accident.”  There was a lot of repetition (Fiona and Joe talk, and then Fiona has to call Sandrine and repeat the whole conversation verbatim to her; Renee and Caroline get Joe out of serious trouble in college and we have to hear it first from Caroline, then Renee, and finally from Fiona; a conversation Fiona and Joe have is repeated two or three times).  There is a theme of climate change that runs through the book but doesn't really go anywhere.  

Regarding the mother's depression and not caring for her children:  yes, in 1981, it was possible to lose track of people or be unaware that children were being neglected.  There were no cell phones (weren’t available to the public until 1984) or Internet (the World Wide Web was launched in 1991) or social media, so unless you lived nearby or made a point of checking, there was no way of knowing how anyone else was living.  Privacy was a thing in those days.

The Dragon Lady by Louisa Treger

July 30, 2019

The Dragon Lady by Louisa Treger

Lady Virginia Courtauld and her husband Stephen live on an estate called La Rochelle in Rhodesia in Africa (now part of Zimbabwe).  They are local philanthropists, building a theater and an art museum, as well as funding other local projects.  They believe that the Africans deserve to be treated the same as the whites and that they are capable of governing themselves.  They give their workers better food and higher wages than the other whites living in the area, start a school, and create a workshop where the local women can make and sell their traditional handcrafts.  Their views are controversial and cause conflicts with their white neighbors. 

The title of the book comes from a snake tattoo that Virginia Courtauld had on her leg from ankle to thigh, done while she was a teenager.  No firm reason is given as the reason for or the meaning behind the tattoo, but Virginia appears to have been a girl who liked to shock others.  She was divorced at a time when divorce was strictly taboo and made one an outcast from upper class society – although she yearned to be accepted by the upper crust, she was also a non-conformist who thought and acted as she pleased.

The frame of the novel follows the known biographical details of the Courtaulds’ lives, fleshed out with fiction.  Stephen Courtauld did indeed meet with Robert Mugabe at La Rochelle, and there was a little girl buried on the property whose ghost has been seen frequently.  Eltham Palace in Greenwich, the Courtaulds’ London home, was considered by many at the time to look more like Hollywood than London, but today is considered to be a masterpiece of the Art Deco style (and is on my list of places to visit on my next trip to London – I’ve been to Greenwich, and I probably saw the outside of the palace, but didn’t know its history at the time).  But many other details (like how the Jongy the lemur died and Virginia getting shot) are the author’s invention, which doesn’t damage the story.  This was an enjoyable read about a time and place not well known to many readers, and two actual people who lived fascinating lives.

                                                

Virginia Courtauld and her pet ring-tailed lemur

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in return for a review.

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

July 27, 2019

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope met at the police academy and were rookie cops together.  They weren’t particularly close friends, but end up being neighbors in the New York suburb of Gillam.  Their children grow up together and the youngest two, Kate and Peter, become best friends.  But Brian’s wife Anne is mentally unstable, and when she commits a violent act, the two families are bound together forever.

In hindsight (which is always 20/20), several of the characters realize that they should have seen a tragedy approaching.  There is also a hint of Romeo-and-Juliet, when forbidden lovers Kate and Peter find each other again years later.  As the years pass, several of the characters come to realize that the people they demonized, are just regular people with their good and bad points, and that mental illness is just that, an illness.

Uncle George is somewhat overlooked in all the drama between the two families, but he is actually a wonderful character, the guy who always manages to show up when you need him, no matter what is going on in his life.  He is a hard-working man who takes on his brother’s responsibilities and makes major changes to his life without complaining (Peter realizes that his uncle was only around 30 when he took him in and raised him).  

Overall, I enjoyed the novel but there were a few things I would have changed.  I would have liked to hear from Lena (Francis’s long-suffering wife) about how she felt over the years.  Some episodes are over-explained and got a little long (yeah, the Stanhopes are genetically prone to alcoholism, we got it, no need to explain more).  Less teen-aged angst would have been okay, too.  The ending was a little unsatisfying.  I’m not sure what I was expecting but like a lot of literary fiction, the book sort of just stops when one of the characters realizes that they are all just fine.

Life and Other Inconveniences by Kristan Higgins

July 25, 2019

Life and Other Inconveniences by Kristan Higgins

Emma London has made a good life for herself and her daughter Riley, living in a Chicago suburb, when she gets a telephone call from her cold but fabulously wealthy grandmother.  Genevieve has just learned that she is dying of brain cancer, and she wants Emma and Riley to come and stay with her in Connecticut for the summer.  The problem is that Emma hasn’t heard from Genevieve in almost 17 years, since she kicked Emma out when she found out she was pregnant.

Most of Emma’s childhood memories are of Genevieve's negative criticisms of her:  she didn’t care about her appearance, she didn’t stand up for herself, she squandered her opportunities, she was never good enough overall.  With plenty of misgivings, Emma decides that she and Riley both need a change.  She decides to return to Connecticut to find out why Genevieve has reached out to her. 

This is a warm, fuzzy, feel-good read, with a number of strong women characters.  The story is told from the perspective of several different characters.  My only issue is that things work out a little too neatly and predictably.  There are a few characters who are dead at the beginning of the novel, and they are all practically canonized in the course of the novel, with nary a bad memory about any of them (it’s hard to compete with the dead – living people are complicated and messy).  But readers who enjoy women’s fiction or are looking for a great vacation read, as well as fans of Higgins, will fall right into this story.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in return for a review.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

July 19, 2019

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

Roger Ackroyd was a well-liked philanthropic businessman who lived in the village of King’s Abbott.  After dining with friends and family including his secretary and the local doctor, Ackroyd is found stabbed to death in his locked study.  Servants and household members overheard conversations held in the study throughout the evening, including someone asking for money and Ackroyd's refusal.  Ackroyd’s adopted son Ralph is suspected of the murder, until Hercule Poirot is enlisted to investigate.

Along with And Then There Were None, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is considered to be Christie’s best mystery, with an intricate plot and unexpected twist at the end.

Chances Are... by Richard Russo

July 18, 2019

Chances Are... by Richard Russo

Lincoln, Teddy, and Mickey have known each other since they were freshmen at Minerva College where they were all scholarship students.  The year they graduated from college, they spent Memorial Day weekend at Lincoln’s cottage on Martha’s Vineyard, along with a sorority girl named Jacy whom they were all in love with.  At the end of the long weekend, Jacy disappears but the three guys don’t know if she went off of her own accord or was taken.  Even though they’ve all gotten older, they have never moved past the mystery of what happened to Jacy.  All three swear they have no idea what happened to her, but one of them does indeed hold the answer.

Overall, I am a fan of Richard Russo’s fiction.  There have been a couple of titles that I didn’t think were up to his usual standards (That Old Cape Magic, Bridge of Sighs), but mostly I really enjoy his books.  This one is some place in the middle.

All of the characters have father fixations/issues.  There are backstories for the three men (especially Lincoln and Teddy), but of the four characters, I found Jacy to be the least developed.  Other than the fact that she was a hot rich babe, I never got a sense of what made her so special.  It's kind of depressing that three 60+ year old men are still so fixated on a girl they were salivating over in college.

And much of the last 60 or so pages is pure fantasy - no guy would be able to keep it a secret from his friends for over 40 years when he finally got to nail the hot chick of their dreams, nor have I ever heard men apologizing so profusely to each other.  When it came to the big reveal about what happened to Jacy, the other two guys are completely understanding and empathetic - I would have told guy #3 to wait a minute, then I would have gone to the kitchen, got a cast iron skillet, and hit guy #3 over the head with it until he was unconscious.  Then I would have shoved his body off the deck.  It's not friendship to make the two guys who are supposedly your best friends suffer for 40 years.

Russo has a wonderful way with words and the writing in this book is no exception.  But the characters and the plot didn't really work for me.  I hope Russo's next outing is better.

Gator a Go Go by Tim Dorsey

July 17, 2019

Gator a Go Go by Tim Dorsey

Serge and Coleman go on a marathon spring break road trip – what more do I need to say? 

Book #12 in the zany Serge Storms series has Serge up to his usual bizarre antics.  When he decides that spring break is the perfect subject for his next documentary, naturally Serge can’t go to just one location, but has to go on a road trip to all of the historic Florida spring break hot spots.  At Panama City Beach, their first stop, Serge encounters Andy McKenna, a college student in the witness protection program.  The problem is, the Florida gangsters who years before were after his father are now after HIM.  Characters from previous novels in the series reappear, including the former owner of the Hammerhead Ranch Motel, a pair of hot women called City and Country, and 40 year old perpetual virgin Johnny Vegas (who despite being handsome, sexy and rich, just can’t seem to score).

I’m not sure why I enjoy this series so much.  Serge is a twisted knight errant who has his own code of ethics which he adheres to faithfully:  punishing jerks in creative and appropriate ways, ignoring laws, protecting the innocent and the victimized, and faithful to his friends, while disregarding social conventions.  In his own way, Serge is a classic noir detective, and I do love noir fiction.  Oliver Wyman reads the audio version and does a great job with Serge, Coleman and Mahoney.

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

July 15, 2019

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

The first time that I realized that my iPhone and iPad “talk” to each other (usually when I’m not around), I was totally creeped out.  Ruth Ware takes that uneasy feeling to its highest level in her latest novel, The Turn of the Key.

When Rowan Cain comes across a job posting for a live-in nanny at an incredible salary, she thinks it must be too good to be true but applies anyway.  She gets the job and at first, it seems like a perfect situation in a beautiful house in the Scottish Highlands.  The parents are both architects, and their house is a “smart” house designed to test out various kinds of technologies, including touchpad controls, surveillance cameras in most of the rooms, and a super-stove that cooks meals by itself.

But the children that Rowan met at her interview turn out to be far different from who they actually are, and the house’s remote location and sinister history unnerve Rowan as they have the four previous nannies (there is even a poison garden on the grounds).  However, Rowan is hiding her own secrets, and when disaster strikes, finds herself accused of murder.

Gothic and creepy.  The title and the story are both a play on Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw, set in a “smart” house instead of a haunted house.  This would be a great spooky read for the Halloween season.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC in return for a review.

The Right Sort of Man by Allison Montclair

July 12, 2019

The Right Sort of Man by Allison Sinclair

Post-World War II London is still in shock:  many residents died fighting in the war and during the Blitz, and some parts of the city are in shambles, especially the neighborhoods around the docks, the airport, and the industrial areas.  Both food and clothing are still rationed and in short supply.  With so much loss, a number of single Londoners no longer know where or how to go about making connections with others.

Iris Sparks and Gwen Bainbridge establish the Right Sort Marriage Bureau to assist single Londoners looking for a life partner.  Their combined skills help them identify what a client is really looking for and find a suitable match.  Both women also have secrets in their backgrounds.  The business has a promising start (seven marriages in three months!), until one of their clients is found murdered shortly before she was to meet up with her first potential match.

This was such an entertaining book, perfect in tone for vacation reading.  Gwen’s frequent crying gets to be a little annoying (but she is working on it), but Iris and the witty dialogue more than make up for it.  The Right Sort of Man almost a cozy, but the setting, atmosphere, and themes are darker.  Readers who enjoyed the Lady Hardcastle mysteries by T. E. Kinsey will enjoy this first title in a new series, and I for one look forward to future Sparks & Bainbridge mysteries.

The Gone Dead by Chanelle Benz

July 11, 2019

The Gone Dead by Chanelle Benz

Billie James is a biracial woman, about 35 years old, who inherited a house in the town of Greendale on the Mississippi Delta.  Her mother, Pia, was a medieval scholar, recently deceased.  She returns to the house with her dog (Rufus, who used to belong to her recently deceased grandmother) because she wants to find out what happened to her father, Clifton James, a well-known local poet who fell and hit his head and died.  Billie was missing for several hours on the day her father died.  Billie and her mother have been estranged for several years from her father’s family, because inter-racial marriage was a felony in Mississippi.  After hearing snippets of information, Billie decides to investigate the events surrounding what happened the day her father died, but her family and the locals don’t want her digging around.

This was a little heavy for reading during the summer, but you take your new library books when your hold comes in.  Very slow moving, like the Mississippi Delta where it is set; the overall themes are the importance of family, place, and the truth.  Many of the characters are well-drawn, even Rufus the dog.  The ending was flat:  one of the things I didn't care for was getting to the end and having one of the characters (Billie's uncle) say, "Okay, this is what happened," after letting the other people in the town lie to her, terrorize her, beat her up, and shoot her dog (the dog is okay at the end).  It turns out Clifton dies as a result of being beat up; he refused to get medical help at the time of the beating and later when De tries to get him to go to the hospital; and when he is found later that night collapsed in his yard, the sheriff doesn't take him to the hospital.

Even though it's described as a mystery, I wouldn't give it that label.  I only finished it because I did want to find out what had happened to the father.  I did not really enjoy this one and don't recommend it.

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

July 5, 2019

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Casiopea Tun and her mother live with her horrible maternal grandfather and his family, treated as servants even though Casiopea’s mother was once her father’s favorite daughter.  Casiopea longs for a different life, away from her awful relatives, but when she opens a locked chest and lets out what was inside, she gets more than she bargained for.  She embarks on a quest across Mexico with the Lord of Death as he seeks revenge on his fellow supernaturals, while Casiopea strives to figure out her heart's desire.

Really good!  This is a quest story that blends mythology, folklore, and a splash of Cinderella, set during the Jazz Age in Mexico.  Anyone who enjoyed Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik should enjoy this novel.

The Chelsea Girls by Fiona Davis

July 6, 2019

The Chelsea Girls by Fiona Davis

The Chelsea Hotel in New York was always a home for artists and eccentrics.  Meeting on a USO tour during World War II, Hazel and Maxine form a friendship that lasts after they return home.  Maxine goes to Hollywood to try to break into the movies, while Hazel moves into the Chelsea Hotel and works on an idea for a play.  Another Chelsea resident reads the play and hooks Hazel up with some of her theater connections.  Maxine’s movie career has stalled, so she returns to New York and takes a room at the Chelsea. When she hears that Hazel’s play will be performed on Broadway, she is determined to star as the leading lady.  Maxine secures the role, but it results in disaster as both women and many of their friends are swept up in McCarthyism, HUAC, and the communist witch hunts of the 1950s.  I can’t think of another novel that addresses the activities of HUAC and the consequences for artists, actors, and others in the creative fields this well.  The Chelsea Girls would make a great book club book, since there is much to discuss here.

(If you don’t know what HUAC was, it was the House Un-American Activities Committee, originally formed to investigate the possibility of spies sending information to Russia, but quickly descended into a witch hunt focusing on the entertainment industry.  Sort of like a precursor to Homeland Security.)

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in return for a review.

The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt by Andrea Bobotis

July 4, 2019

The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt by Andrea Bobotis

I was looking forward to reading this title since it ticks a lot of the boxes for me (family secrets, small towns, narrators looking back at their lives from an advanced age).  Judith Kratt is a 75 year old woman who has lived her whole life in the same house in a small town in Alabama.  The Kratt family was once the leading family in town, owning the local cotton gins as well as the only department store in the area.  But a series of misfortunes sent the family into a downward spiral and the youngest daughter fleeing from the town, and now Judith lives in her old house surrounded by family possessions, with only her old friend Olva as a companion.

Judith isn't happy to learn that her prodigal sister Rosemarie is returning to town after an absence of 60 years, and Rosemarie's return triggers changes and upheavals in Judith's orderly life.  She decides to create an inventory of the family's possessions, telling her story in the process.

This is a debut novel and it was interesting enough to keep me reading, although I guessed at some of the family secrets well before the end.  It contains many themes of Southern fiction such as small towns, old houses, siblings, and secrets.  I found it to be an enjoyable read, great for the summer, and look forward to more from this author.

Happy Independence Day!  

Killing with Confetti by Peter Lovesey

July 2, 2019

Killing with Confetti by Peter Lovesey

Meh.  Part of a long-running series featuring Detective Peter Diamond, and not the strongest entry.

The premise is intriguing:  the son of a police chief and the daughter of a crime boss decide to marry, causing a security nightmare for the Bath police force.  Diamond finds himself assigned to act as unwilling bodyguard to the crime boss.  But too much time was spent in the first half of the book on characters who have nothing to do with the plot and essentially disappear in the second half.  The final plot twist was clever, but not that well supported, so no recommendation on this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in return for a review.

The Last Collection by Jeanne Mackin

July 1, 2019

The Last Collection by Jeanne Mackin

Two fashion icons:  Coco Chanel is French, born into poverty and raised at an orphanage, known for her simple lines and neutral color palette; Elsa Schiaparelli is Italian, from a wealthy background, and famous for her whimsical and colorful designs.  They manage rival couture salons in Paris prior to WWII, competing for the patronage and money of the wealthy and the titled while the threat of war creeps ever closer.  Lily Sutter, a widowed American artist visiting her brother, becomes acquainted with both designers through her brother’s titled lover.  Full of glitz, jazz, fashion, and parties, The Last Collection is sure to appeal to anyone who enjoys the glamour of the golden age between the world wars.  Meticulously researched, this is solid historical fiction.  Perfect for summer reading, this is another one to toss in your suitcase or beach bag.