Books Set in North America, United States

Grey Mountain, by John Grisham

Read: June 13, 2024

3 Stars

Books Set in Asia and North America: China, Taiwan and the United States

Peach Blossom Spring, by Melissa Fu (2022)

 

This novel of China spans from 1938 to roughly 2000 and follows three generations of the Dao family.  This is a novel of survival and strength throughout many adversities.  The novel begins with Meilin, a young widow with a young son, Renshu.  Meilin’s husband, Xiaowen, had gone missing in the second Sino-Japanese War between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan as a part of World War II.  Longwei, Xiaowen’s older brother, returned and promised to take care of Meilin and Renshu.  Because of the War, Meilin must constantly be on the move to stay away from the fighting.  Her most precious treasure is a scroll with a long, painted narrative.  She takes out the scroll and reads the stories to her son.  Ultimately, Meilin and Renshu escape to Taiwan and are befriended by another young mother with young children.  There are references to the political disputes between mainland China and Taiwan ~ which adds to Meilin’s worries.

 

The next portion of the novel focuses on Renshu.  He is a good student and is offered a scholarship to study in the United States.  Once in the United States, he is told to “Americanize” his name, and becomes known as Henry Dao.  His struggle is that of an immigrant to the United States.  He falls in love and marries an American woman and together they raise a daughter, Lily.  The final portion of the novel focuses on Lily and her struggles as a mixed-race child.  She is curious about her Chinese culture, but her father pushes her away and is not supportive.

 

Although the author said that the book is fiction, I can help but believe that she drew a great deal of the incidents in the novel from her family background.

 

Read:  May 27, 2024

 

4 Stars

Books Set in North America; Louisiana United States

First Lie Wins, by Ashley Elston (2024)

This suspense thriller is narrated by a con woman calling herself Evie Porter who works for a mysterious man known only as “Mr. Smith.”  She is sent out around the South to find dirt on others.  The novel opens when she moves in with her latest mark, Ryan Sumner, who lives in a fictious small town in Southern Louisiana near the Texas border.

Although initially Evie was supposed to investigate Ryan’s mysterious side business, she soon finds herself falling in love with him.  One day Evie meets a woman calling herself Lucca Marino, which is Evie actual name.  Lucca is impersonating Evie and providing all the details of Evie’s actual life.  Soon after their meeting, the fake Lucca is killed in a car accident.

The plot goes back and forth in time as the layers of Evie’s life are slowly peeled back.  We learn of other jobs Evie has done for Mr. Smith and how these jobs impacted her life.  Evie realizes that some of the jobs she is assigned are actual jobs, but others are test of her loyalty to Mr. Smith.

When Evie is accused of murder and an arrest warrant is issued, she realized that Mr. Smith is testing her, possibly for a final time.  She must trust her instincts to take steps to protect herself, all the while considering who she can trust.

I have been reading some rather heavy books over the past few months.  This was just the ticket for a light and fast read.  Plus, the references to and about Louisiana were fun.  The suspense was sufficient to keep my attention.  A fun book.

Read: May 11, 2024

4 Stars

Books Set in North America, New York City and New England

Nine Tenths of the Law, by Claudia Hagadus Long (2020)

This novel follows two sisters, children of a Holocaust survivor, who search for a menorah that had once belonged to their mother before it was stolen by the Nazis.  After seeing a special exhibit on Judaic art in a New York museum, Zara believes that the menorah was one of the pieces exhibited.  She and her sister Lilly take steps to track down the putative owner.

After contacting the museum director about the piece, the menorah suddenly disappears.  Zara and Lilly continued their search but find themselves trapped in a dangerous scheme that involves fraud and murder.

Although many pieces of Judaic art were stolen by the Nazis during World War II, the sisters’ attempt to recover a piece that they believed to be a family heirloom were too far-fetched for my taste.

2 Stars

Read: May 4, 2024

Books Set in Asia, India

The Daughters of Madurai, by Rajasree Variyar (2023)

This novel is about a mother and daughter relationship, but mostly focuses on the mother’s life growing up poor in Madurai, India.  The story takes place in the present (daughter’s story) and in the 1990s (mother’s life).

Janani, the mother was born into a poor family in a lower caste.  After being married young in an arranged marriage, Janani was sent away from her family to live with her husband and his family.  As a new wife, she was basically her new family’s servant.  She lives in a culture that does not value girls.  Her first baby is a girl, which Janani is “allowed” to keep, but her subsequent daughters are taken from her and killed.  Janani struggles with her loss, as well as being trapped in a loveless marriage with a cruel mother-in-law.  It sounds cliché, but as written, Janani’s life comes alive.

Jump to present day, and Janani is married and living in Australia with her husband and children, including Nila, her now-adult daughter.  Janani has never shared her past with her children.  When her father-in-law- is dying, Janani and the family return to India to see him.  The trip sparks memories of the past, which slowly reveals itself.

I found this book somewhat difficult to read due to the names and nicknames of the characters.

Read:  April 1, 2024

3 Stars

Books Set in North America, New England

Something Wild, by Hanna Halperin (2021)

This novel is about domestic violence.

Sisters Tanya and Nessa Bloom are horrified to discover that their mother is in an abusive relationship with their stepfather.  Although their mother, Lorraine, has been with Jesse for over 16 years, the sisters haven’t lived at home for years.  When their mother and stepfather decide to move from Boston to rural New Hampshire, the sisters go to help with the move.

Almost as soon as the sisters arrive to help their mother, Jesse attempts to strangle Lorraine.  He is so violent that Lorraine is left with two bloodshot eyes.  Tanya, who works in the District Attorney’s Office in Boston, encourages her mother to file a restraining order against Jesse.  She does but fails to provide sufficient information in the form to give the judge cause to sign an order.  Jesse promises to reform, and even go to couple’s therapy with Lorraine.  Although Tanya fears the worst, Lorraine agrees to take Jesse back, because she loves him and believes that he can reform.

It was very well written, although a subplot involving the sisters as teenages seems a bit misplaced.

Read:  March 10, 2024

4 Stars

Books Set in Europe, England

The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe, by Angela Kelley (2019)

This book was written by the dresser to Queen Elizabeth II.  Kelley describes various outfits she designed for the Queen, as well as how outfits are chosen for the various occasions and duties of the Queen.  It was mildly interesting.

Read: February 2, 2024