Books Set in the United States: New Hampshire

The Pact, by Jodi Picoult (1998)

The Pact is about two teenaged lovers who may or may not have entered into a suicide pact.  The novel opens with the death of young Emily Gold.

Emily Gold and Christopher Harte, whose parents were next-door neighbors and close friends, were born within months of each other.  From infancy, they were best friends.  Emily and Chris have gone from friends to lovers.  While Chris is enchanged by the sex, to Emily it feels almost incestuous.

As the two prepare to graduate from high school and look towards college, Emily begins to feel suicidal.  She tries to convince Chris to join her in death.

In the wee hours of the morning, Emily and Chris plan to carry out their suicide pact.  Emily dies, but Chris survives.  Soon he is charged with her murder.  Much of the book is spent on his arrest and trial.

This was a quick read, but I found it unsatisfying.  We never really see what caused Emily’s depression, although there are some red herrings.  Neither Emily or the parents of the teenagers are well developed.

Read: November 13, 2016

Three Stars 

Books Set in Europe: France and England

The Empress of Ice Cream, by Anthony Capella (2010)

This novel takes place in the courts of the French King Louis XIV and the English King Charles II.

We meet Carlo, an Italian confectioner who specializes in flavored ices.  He was born of a family so poor that his family sold him to the ice maker of the Medici family.  It was there that he learned the secrets of making flavored ices.  He soon mastered the technique and began experimenting with new flavors and creations.  After outwitting his master, he found himself in the court of King Louis XIV, where his creations soon brought him great wealth.

Although he could, and did, have any woman wanted, he was hopelessly in love with Louise de Keroualle (an actual historical figure), who was lady-in-waiting to Henrietta d’Orleans, sister to the English King Charles II.  After Henrietta died, Louise and Carlo are sent to London, ostensibly to comfort the grieving King Charles II, but also to assist in the negotiations between the two countries because Louis needs Charles’ support in the war against the Dutch.

King Charles has his eye on Louise and wants to make her his next mistress.  She, however, tries to keep her virtue.

I found this to be a fascinating look into this period of history, and I learned a lot about the creation of sorbet, and other flavored ices as well as ice cream.

4 Stars

Read: November 9, 2016

Books Set in Europe

Murder on the Orient Express, by Agatha Christie (1934)

This is classic Christie.  On a stranded train, headed for Paris from Istanbul, a passenger is found stabbed to death.  There is no way on or off the train, so the murderer must be on train.  The passengers are a diverse group of all walks of life and class, with seemingly no connections or motives.  Fortunately, the Belgian detective Hecule Poirot is also a traveler who will use his deductive reasoning to suss out the real victims.

Read: I first read this book in May 1979.  I reread it on November 1, 2016.

4 Stars