Books Set in North America: United States: New York, New York

The Social Graces, by Renée Rosen (2021)

 

Set in the 1870s, The Social Graces focuses on two of the wealthiest families in New York ~ the Astors and the Vanderbilts.  The Astors were “old money” and the Vanderbilts were the nouveau riche, having earned their money through the railroads.  Old money looked down on the new money.

 

When the novel opens, women are basically chattel of their husbands.  Society marriages are arranged as business transaction not as love matches.  The wives must ignore their husbands’ affairs.  What the women do have is Society with a capital “S” and their children.  Caroline Astor, the Mrs. Astor, is the Queen of New York Society.  She is one of the most powerful women in New York Society.  She holds the cards for who is who in New York Society.

 

Alva Vanderbilt is the young bride of William K. Vanderbilt.  When she was young, her father lost the family fortune, so Alva had grown up in Alabama in relative poverty.  After her marriage to a Vanderbilt, she is suddenly thrust into tremendous wealth, but her husband’s money won’t buy her a place in Society.

 

Alva tried to enter into the Astor circle only to be snubbed time and time again.  A chance encounter with Emily Astor seemed to be the key to the Astors.  Alas, it wasn’t to be.  Still, Alva was determined to enter into the coveted Society Circle.  With the Vanderbilt money, Alva has certain powers that allow her to make her mark in New York.

 

This novel, based on facts of the Astors and Vanderbilts, is a delightful read and a page-turner.  I couldn’t put it down.  It reminded me of the novel The Swans of Fifth Avenue, by Melanie Benjamin, which was about New York Society in the 1950s.

 

Read: December 24, 2021

 

5 Stars

Books Set in North America: United States, Newton, Massachusetts

Defending Jacob, by William Landay (2012)

Defending Jacob is a courtroom drama that centers around 14-year-old Jacob Barber who has been accused of murdering a classmate who bullied him.  The reader sees the story unfold through the eyes of Andrew Barber, Jacob’s father.

Andrew Barber is the First Assistant District Attorney in Boston.  As such, he was the first attorney called to the scene of the crime.  Andy, as he is known, works with the police on the initial investigation.  Has the First Assistant, he has the option to take case himself, or pass it on to another ADA.  He initially takes the case, and he focuses in on a suspect who is a known pedophile.

Suspicion, however, soon turns towards Jacob.  One of Jacob’s friend’s posts an incriminating statement of Facebook suggesting that “everyone” knows that Jacob committed the crime and he owned a knife, much like murder weapon.  Later Jacob’s fingerprint is found on the victim’s clothing.  Circumstantial evidence seems to pile up against Jacob.  Andy must be recused from the case and his former protégée, Neal Logiudice, takes over.

Jacob’s defense attorney must prepare for all possible defenses.  He looks into the family’s past for inherited violence.  For several generations, the men in Andy’s family have exhibited extreme acts of violence.  Andy never knew his father, Bloody Billy, who is serving a life sentence in prison.  Andy never shared this fact with his wife, but now he must.  This revelation blindsides Laurie, Andy’s wife, and she begins to question whether her son, Jacob, might actually be predisposed to violence and could have committed this brutal murder.

I enjoyed the courtroom scenes.  They were very true to life in a criminal trial.  The novel fell apart at the end with several events coming together that didn’t make sense.

Spoiler Alert:  Andy finally visited his father in prison and his father later arranges, unbeknownst to Andy, to have a hitman “protect” Jacob.  The hitman ultimately tracks down the pedophile, has him draft a confession, then hangs him.  Thus, Jacob, is a free man as the case against him is dismissed.  The family then goes on vacation, where Jacob meets a young girl named Hope.  The two connect, but when she goes missing, Laurie suspects her son might have something to do with her disappearance.  The novel ends with Laurie driving her car over a cliff and Jacob is killed.

Read:  December 23, 2021

3 Stars

Books Set in North America: United States

Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal, by Mary Roach (2013)

 

This science book is an amusing telling of how our bodies are designed to process and digest the food we eat from start to finish.  The process begins with smelling the food we will put into our mouths and ends with defecation.  The author spares us details.  She is also very amusing and there are many laugh-out-loud bits in this book.  The book answers questions about the alimentary canal that most people never think about.

 

Read:  December 18, 2021

 

3.5 Stars

 

 

Books Set in Africa: Kenya

A Death in Kenya, by M.M. Kaye (1958)

This cozy murder mystery takes place against the background of the Kenya Emergency, as the British called it, or the Mau Mau Uprising.  It was the war in the British Kenya Colony between the Mau Mau and the British authorities that took place in the 1950s.  The major characters in the novel are British and live on large, and isolated, farms in rural Kenya with many African servants.  The attitudes of the white characters reflects the attitude towards their servants as would have been during this time period.

Lady Emily (Em) Debrett has lived in Kenya her entire life.  At age 72, she still run her farm estate, named The Flamingo.  It is her dream to build a family dynasty to be passed down through generations.  She lives on The Flamingo with her grandson, Eden, and his wife, Alice.  She seems dismissive of the uprising, believing that her family will live in Kenya long after it ceases to be a colony.

When the novel opens, a “poltergeist” has been wreaking havoc at The Flamingo.  Valuable items are broken or gone missing.  This, and the raging uprising between the Mau Mau and the British causes tension among the British farmers.

Lady Emily invites her young niece, Victoria, to The Flamingo help with the accounting books.  Victoria grew up in Kenya and has fond memories of the area.  She had been engaged to Eden, so has some trepidation about joining her aunt in Kenya but doesn’t want to disappoint the family.

The day Victoria is to arrive in Kenya, Eden’s wife has been found brutally murdered.  Alice had been returning to The Flamingo from the home of Gilly Markham.  Markham was The Flamingo’s estate manager, albeit he was more interested in music and drinking than tending to the estate.  He lived with his wife, Lisa, who was in love with Eden.  Was she killed by one of the servants?

Shortly Victoria’s arrival in Kenya, the white settlers travel into the countryside for a picnic.  After their meal, the participants go in separate ways to explore.  Then, another death occurs.  Suddenly, everyone becomes a suspect.  Secrets are revealed and past grudges erupt.

This was a fun read in the vein of Agatha Christie mystery novels.

Read: December 12, 2021

         February 24, 1995

3 Stars