Books Set in Australia

The Mother-in-Law, by Sally Hepworth (2019)

 

The novel begins with the death of Diane Goodwin, the title’s mother-in-law.  She was mother to Ollie and Nettie and mother-in-law to Lucy.  Diana’s death appeared to be a suicide, but certain evidence caused the police to investigate.  Why was a suicide note left in a drawer, and not out where it would immediately be discovered?  Where did those mysterious gold threads come from, and why is there only one pillow in the sofa?  Diana was very rich, so there is motive and opportunity for foul play.

 

Lucy lost her mother when she was 13-years old, so she had hoped to be able to establish a warm and loving relationship with her mother-in-law.  Diana, however, does not have the warmest personality and keeps her thoughts and feelings to herself.  Even her friends do not really know Diana.  Thus, Lucy’s relationship with Diana is strained.

 

The novel goes back and forth in time and between Lucy and Diana.  Lucy and Ollie have what seems to be a perfect marriage.  They have three young children, Lucy is a stay-at-home mother who supports her husband’s business ventures.  Lucy is not keen on Ollie’s business partner, but believes in her husband.

 

Lucy and her mother-in-law have a strained relationship.  Lucy seemingly can do anything to please her mother-in-law.  From Diana’s voice, we learn that she had a very traumatic experience in her early years that shaped her ability to interact with others.  Diana worked hard to achieve her goals and believes that her children should do the same.

 

As we delve into the novel, we discover that each family member has secrets.  Nettie is desperate to have a child and is willing to do anything to have a baby.  All she needs is money.  Patrick, Nellie’s husband has secrets he is keeping from his wife.  Ollie’s business is not doing as well as he leads Lucy to believe.  All he needs is money.  Lucy has her own secrets.

 

This book has some wonderful twists and turns, that kept me guessing right to the end.  The conclusion of the novel did not disappoint.  I read it in one sitting.

 

5 Stars

 

Read:  February 27, 2022

 

 

Books Set in Europe; Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation, by Rosemary Sullivan (2022)

 

In August 1944, a German SS officer received a telephone tip of Jews hiding in a building located at Prinsengracht 263.  The exact details of the raid on the address have been lost to history, but the raid resulted in the capture of the Frank family and 4 other individuals who had been in hiding in the Annex for the past 2 years.  Anne, her sister Margot, and her mother did not survive the concentration camp where they had been deported.  Anne’s father, Otto, did survive.  Anne’s diary also survived.  With the publication of her diary, Anne became a symbol of the millions who died at the hands of the Nazis.

 

This book attempts to answer the question of who betrayed the secret hiding place?  In 2016, a team of forensic scientists, a former FBI agent, historians, and others, was put together to comb through hundreds of documents, interviews, and other evidence to find the answer … or at least an answer.  This book is the story of the evidence compiled by the Cold Case Team.

 

The author notes that the Netherlands was responsible deporting more Jews to concentration camps than other European countries.  Near the beginning of German Occupation, a Jewish Council, made up of Jews, was formed, ostensibly to help the Jews of the Netherlands and fend off anti-Jewish actions.  Soon, however, the Council was ordered to help organize the selection of Jewish deportees to concentration camps.  The Cold Case team extensively examined the pasts of the members of the Council for clues to see if one could have betrayed the Franks.

 

Members of the Council would have had access to lists of addresses where Jews of the Netherlands might be.  Thus, Council members could have retained such lists as insurance to be used to save their lives, leading to the conclusion that another Jew betrayed the Franks.  The Cold Case Team seems to ignore the fact that whether or not a Council member was the betrayer of the Franks, the Council members certainly betrayed hundreds of other fellow Jews.

 

The book examined a number of possible betrayers and the Cold Case Team eliminated them one-by-one, until singling one out.  The suspect was a member of the Jewish Council, thus would have access to addresses of hiding places.  The Cold Case Team believed that Otto Frank knew his betrayer, but for reasons known only to himself, kept his identity to himself.

 

The Team concluded that a man named Arnold van den Bergh, a Jewish notary, was the most likely betrayer.  He is believed to have had a list of at least 500 names, which he may have been holding as insurance to be used to save his life and that of his family.

 

I have mixed feelings about this book.  Clearly, a lot of time and money was spent searching for the betrayer of the Frank family.  There are many, many characters in this book, which makes it a bit confusing, especially since many names and titles are non-English.  But does find out out who actually betrayed one family, when so many families were betrayed really matter?  The take-away is that when faced with a life-or-death situation, one might easily betray another to save one’s self.

 

Read:  February 21, 2022

 

3 Stars

 

Books Set in Asia; China

The Moon in the Palace, by Weina Dai Randel (2016)

 

This novel takes place in China in the 7^th Century and follows palace intrigue in the court of Emperor Taisong.  The novel is the first in a series and follows young Mei as she enters the court.  As a naïve young girl, she must learn quickly who she can trust and who can help her achieve what she believes to be her destiny ~ to become a great leader.

 

I found the first part of the book to be interesting, but the novel took way too long before anything of any real important to happen.  I won’t be continuing in this series.

 

Read:  February 2022

 

2 Stars

 

Books Set in North America; United StatesNew York, New York;

Park Avenue Summer (2019), by Renée Rosen, is a fictional account of how Helen Gurley Brown got Cosmopolitan magazine up and running in the summer of 1965. The magazine had been a traditional woman's magazine with recipes and housekeeping tips. Brown, who had no prior magazine experience, was given the job of revitalizing it. The Hearst company, however, expected her to fail. The magazine had been failing when she was given the job. She was expected to continue running the magazine as status quo.

Did she have other ideas! This was the time when the women's movement was becoming more mainstream. Brown wanted her magazine to deal with women's sexuality. She got a lot of push-back from the publishers. Her husband, David Brown, had a lot of influence and backed Helen's decisions.

The novel is told from the perspective of her young secretary. It's a fun read.

4 Stars. 

Read: February 4, 2022