All the Missing Girls

Finished December 18

All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

This suspenseful tale follows Nicolette (Nic) Farrell as she returns to her hometown of Cooley Ridge, North Carolina from her current home in Philadelphia. Her brother had called her, telling her their father's dementia was getting worse and the money was tight and they needed to sell their childhood home to finance his current care home. 

Nic was back a year before when they moved her dad out of the house, but she didn't stay long. Now, she leaves Everett, her lawyer fiancé back in Philadelphia while she deals with the family situation. Nic left years before after one of her close friends, Corinne, went missing. There was a group of kids that spent time together: Nic, Corinne, Bailey, Tyler, Jackson, and Daniel were the core group, with Daniel being Nic's older brother. He'd planned to move into the garage, renovating it into an apartment, but stayed with their father until he married Laura instead. Now Daniel and Laura are expecting a child and with his work, he can't manage getting the house ready to sell on his own. Tyler now works in construction, and despite him being Nic's ex, the siblings engage him to do a lot of the work on the house. 

The story is told out of chronological order, sometimes making it hard to remember what has happened and what is still to happen. When another young woman goes missing questions link her to the previous missing girl, and everyone looks again at the group of friends and what their stories were back then. 

As Nic, Daniel, and Tyler try to manage the investigation and their father's secrets, Nic calls on Everett for legal advice, drawing him into the strange dynamics of the situation. 

This is a novel where we suspect things, but don't guess the truth until it is revealed for us. The action varies between intense and waiting periods as the story unfolds for us, with unexpected revelations.

The Stand-In

Finished May 19

The Stand-In by Lily Chu

This delightful novel has a lot going on, and I stayed up too late a few nights because I had trouble putting it down. The central character, Gracie Reed, is an only child struggling to pay for her mother's nursing home. She knows her mother's progression into dementia means that she will need more care and a better atmosphere, but she can't afford the home she is waitlisted on. 

Aside from that, she is also dealing with a toxic work atmosphere, where her pleasant and agreeable manner have her fending off increasingly forward advances from her boss Todd. It has got to the point where she has called in sick to work to meet with a lawyer about it. After the meeting with the lawyer, she stopped at one of her favourite coffee shops for a pick-me-up before heading home. At the coffee shop, she is photographed by an aggressive man who the store manager kicked out afterwards. 

She finds that her picture has been put online as that of Wei Fangli, a Chinese movie star. When Fangli approaches her with an interesting proposition, she is taken aback. Fangli wants her to be seen as Fangli for the next couple of months, while Fangli and her co-star Sam Yao star in a live theatre production in the city. Gracie would do all the non-theatre events and outings to let Fangli focus only on her work. She asks for some time to think about it, but the money is tempting. 

The next day she finds her mind is made up for her as Todd has seen the photograph and accuses her of calling in sick fraudulently and fires her. Gracie's best friend Anjali is upset that Gracie hadn't told her how bad Todd was, and understands that she needs a job, but thinks the deal with Fangli is a bad one. 

As Gracie begins her role as Fangli, she must deal with learning details about the star and her work, practicing mimicking the way she moves, and coming up with responses to expected media questions. On the plus side, she now has access to an incredible wardrobe, high-end cosmetics and skin-care, and is staying in a really nice hotel suite. She also deals with Fangli's assistant Mei, who does most of the training required.

Dealing with Sam Yao, who will be accompanying her on almost all her outings is more complex. They get off to a bad start, but gradually work out some ground rules that determine how they can get along. 

I liked the Toronto setting, with some of the details of the city coming into the story. I also really liked Gracie and could relate to her personality and her people-pleasing nature. It was also really fun to see the clothes and other luxurious things that entered her life from her viewpoint of awe and pleasure. I also liked the serious side of dealing with dementia. 

The other plotline was Gracie's love for list making, especially to-do lists. She has tried a few apps, and paper tools, but hasn't had any that really clicked for her. She decides to take the time she has to work on designing her own app, and some of the hints along the way looked really interesting. I also like lists, and haven't found an app that clicked, so enjoyed seeing this plot develop. 

The romance was nicely done, with a touch of enemies to friends to lovers, and a slow burn. A very enjoyable read. 

New Beginnings at Rose Cottage

Finished November 10

New Beginnings at Rose Cottage by Erin Green

This novel has three women, from three different generations, who book into a shared vacation cottage on the coast of Devon. They all have something they are escaping or looking for. The advertisement for the cottage had promised friendships and home comforts, and although the women are wary at first at the possibility of making friends with women of a different age group, they find themselves growing close in surprising ways. 

Emma has recently lost her job after the restaurant she worked at for years closed and the building sold to a new restaurant owner. She has decided to use her redundancy funds to start her own food business. She isn't sure what that will look like yet, so she is taking the time to weigh her options as well as think about her personal life. When an unexpected opportunity arises, she finds herself moving faster than planned, and faster than her new friends think she should. 

Ruth is taking a much needed break from her life. She had dreams when she was young of a creative life, but an unplanned pregnancy and subsequent single motherhood made her rely on her mother, and thus abide by her mother's decisions around her life, and has had a long career as a bank clerk. More recently, she's also been the caregiver for her mother as the older woman has begun a cognitive decline. When she is drawn to a local art shop and begins painting, she finds herself experiencing new feelings. 

Benni works through a temp agency, and tries to maintain a positive attitude despite the addictive behaviour of her mother and brother, whom she lives with. As she learns to listen to her body rather be shamed by it, she tries new activities and begins to gain confidence in areas that she never believed she would. She also learns something unexpected about her own family.

All of these women have interesting stories, and the vacation doesn't provide instant solutions, but it does open their eyes to different opportunities and create new contacts that also open doors they hadn't known about. 

An enjoyable read. 

All Things Consoled

Finished October 2

All Things Consoled: a Daughter's Memoir by Elizabeth Hay

This memoir covers the last few years of Hay's parents lives, her relationship with them then and earlier, and the life that went on around them. She really brings her parents to life in terms of personality, both good and bad aspects, and tries to discover what made them act the way they did. 

Her father could be charming or cruel, kind or curt, jealous or complimentary. Her mother observant or forgetful, docile or independent, a peacemaker or troublesome. We see these different pieces of them and how they influenced her and her relationship with them as well as her siblings. We can also see how her parents' actions affected the relationships between siblings. 

Because she was the closest to where they lived, it made sense to move them from London, Ontario to Ottawa as they became unable to live on their own. While she touches on bits of emptying the house they lived in for years, it is only a note compared to the relationships that she looks at more closely. Both her parents had failing health and her mother had dementia. The title of the book is from a comment her mother made to her. 

A fascinating look into someone else's life, I found it sad at times, and funny at others. We see the roles that education, art, pride, and nature had in their lives and how they both loved each other and were annoyed by each other. 

Hay's wonderful writing shows here. 

The Lost Ticket

Finished June 21

The Lost Ticket by Freya Sampson

This charming novel begins with a scene from 1962 and an encounter on a London bus between Frank, a young man and an unnamed female art student. She gives him a phone number, written on her bus ticket, and he gives her the book he's been struggling to get into, and they agree to meet later that week. But when he gets home, he finds he's lost the ticket, and they never meet.

The story then jumps to the present, in spring 2022, with Libby Nichols, who has come to London to stay with her older married sister Rebecca getting on the 88 bus in London. She encounters an older man, Frank, who is struck by her red hair, and they have a conversation, where he encourages her to return to the art she used to love. 

Libby tells her story to Rebecca, and thus to us, that her boyfriend of eight years took her to a fancy restaurant to break up with her and take some time apart. Libby agreed to move out for a while to give him time to figure out what he wanted, and she's ended up here. Rebecca's nanny has had to go home suddenly to take care of a family member, and Libby agrees to look after Hector, her sister's son while she's staying there. 

Libby tries doing art on the bus, and finds herself angrily accosted by her chosen subject, and when she meets Frank again, she finds out about the girl he's been searching for for years, and how she changed his life. Libby decides to help him try to find this woman, and begins a social media and flyer campaign to put the story out. As she does, she finds herself making new friends, and thinking harder about what she wants in her life. But she also discovers that some things can't be planned and have to be dealt with as they happen. 

This is a feel-good novel of relationships, families, and chance encounters that are life-changing. A great read. 

And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer

Finished April 29

And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer: a Novella by Fredrik Backman, translated by Alice Menzies

This short novel tells the story of a close relationship between a grandfather and his grandson Noah as the older man begins to lose his memory. The two have common interests including mathematics, fishing, and visits in an old beached boat the grandfather used an an office. One of the things they do is go on trips. Noah would close his eyes and Grandpa would take him somewhere, sometimes on foot, sometimes by bus, sometimes out in the boat. Noah then takes a map and a compass and works out how to get home. 

As the book begins Noah is waking up, sitting on a bench in a square with the sun rising. This time there aren't coordinates and Noah doesn't know where they are, but he doesn't want to admit it. When he hears his grandfather say 'the square got smaller overnight again,' he first looks at his grandpa questioningly and the does what he's been trained to do and takes in his surroundings carefully. 

The two have a lot of special memories and little jokes between them, and eventually we see other people, a young girl who ages into a woman; and Ted, a man with a beard who is the father of Noah.

As the conversations come and go, we begin to sense where they are, and this is confirmed through their words. We also see the larger picture of where the grandfather is, and what is happening.

This is a story that touches the reader and is very relatable. 

I wanted to share this book with someone special in my own life, and maybe I will. 

The Bookshop of Secrets

Finished January 22

The Bookshop of Secrets by Mollie Rushmeyer

This novel is set in present day but is influenced by events of the past. Hope Sparrow arrives in the small town of Wanishin Falls, Minnesota looking to collect the books her mother left her when she died. They were held by a friend of her mother's for safekeeping, but Hope has discovered the friend passed away and thus followed the trail to the friend's hometown. The books are part of what Hope has come in search of, but she also remembers childhood stories of treasure and wonders what truth there is to them. 

When she arrives at the bookshop, Dusty Jackets, she finds the owners Ulysses and Margaret Barrick unable to locate her books quickly, partly due to the onset of dementia in one of them, and she agrees to stay and help for a place to stay and some payment while they search. With a timeline of two months set, Hope finds herself getting to know the people of the town, and exploring not only her own past, but also her future. Her dreams of owning a combination food and book truck are shared and begin to become real, but she has to decide whether her life will keep her running as she has or whether she can deal with her past and build a future that includes others. 

There are other young people here also stuck in their own ways, with expectations and baggage from others defining their present. From the bookshop owners' grandson Ronan to cafe manager Kat, to troubled teenager Tate Morgan, they are all finding their place in the world and looking for community. There is an underlying Christian theme to book that doesn't overpower the plot but plays a role in guiding it. 

I enjoyed the story, the book elements and the message of forgiveness and optimism that it held. 

The Lost and Found Bookshop

Finished July 22

The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs

This novel has both mystery and romance, plus a little history. Natalie Harper grew up with her mother and grandfather in an apartment above a bookshop in San Francisco. She didn't have a lot of contact with her father, but didn't feel that she really missed anything. 

Now she has a career in a California winery and a handsome boyfriend. As the book opens Natalie is made aware of her coworkers true feelings regarding her despite her excellent work, and finds herself disappointed that her mother hasn't come to celebrate her recent work success. 

But as she soon discovers, her mother intended to be there, and in one tragic incident, she has lost both her mother and her boyfriend. Additionally, Natalie now has the responsibility of the bookstore on her shoulders, and she finds her grandfather's memory issues more advanced than she imagined. 

Natalie throws herself into the bookstore, analyzing the debt her mother had incurred, the state of the historic building that houses both the bookstore and her childhood home, and the challenges of promotion and marketing books when people have migrated to more online purchasing. 

As she travels down this road of discovery and hopes for a miracle, she finds the contractor, Peach Gallagher, her mother arranged to meet more helpful and skilled than she could hope.Peach's young daughter Dorothy is also a big fan of both the store and Natalie's grandfather. 

It is Dorothy who is able to bring about a miracle of connecting Natalie with Trevor Dashwood, one of the hottest new children's authors who proves himself very supportive of both the shop and Natalie.

I really enjoyed seeing Natalie's character grow as she dealt with all these issues and learned the value that her skills are in this circumstance. Natalie also finds herself less isolated in the city, with connections and real friendship building her personal life into one more satisfying as well. Other key characters, like Peach, Dorothy, and her grandfather also go through changes during this time. This is a novel that has some tense moments, but ultimately brings a feeling of comfort. A novel with a lot going on, but one that never has you losing the main thread. 

Great read. 

The Senility of Vladimir P

Finished July 25
The Senility of Vladimir P by Michael Honig

This novel is set a few years in the future. Vladimir Putin is no longer the leader of Russia, but instead an old man suffering from senility and living in relative seclusion on a dacha near Moscow. The main character here is his nurse, Sheremetev. Sheremetev is a singular man, one who never concerned himself with politics, who never gave or received bribes, even when all around him were involved in such activity. This seemingly ethical stance was what caused him to be chosen for the position in which he is now employed.
As he gradually becomes aware of the corruption going on all around him, the state of the country that his charge has contributed in a large way to, and the effects of his seemingly ethical stance on his family, he begins to question his own motives.
The premise here is an interesting one, and the characters are well drawn. For me, the problem was that I didn't like any of them. And the behaviour of the characters just made me angry. It was so extreme as to be a farce and I guess with the state of the world today this book just came at the wrong time for me.

The In-Between Hour

Finished January 19
The In-Between Hour by Barbara Claypole White

Will Shepard is a well-known author of a thriller series, now faced with writer's block due to a tragedy in his personal life. Mere months ago, his young son was killed in a car accident. Will's father, back home in North Carolina, is struggling with dementia and a seniors' residence that isn't a good fit for him. When he forgets that his grandson is dead and Will lets him believe a different story, Will is faced with a different problem. Forced to return to North Carolina to deal with his father's situation, Will finds himself renting a cabin on a farm near the mountains his father is most comfortable with. The owner of the farm, veterinarian Hannah Linden is a holistic healer struggling with her own family issues. as the two of them begin to trust each other and support each other, they also find that they connect in ways neither expected.
I liked the characters in this book. They struggle with difficult issues, but are definitely good people at heart. The supporting characters: Will's dad Jacob, Hannah's son Galen and her friend Poppy are also interesting characters with issues of their own. This is a story of grief, health issues, and healing. A story of love, both familial, friendship, and romantic. I enjoyed it.

The Arsonist

Finished August 9
The Arsonist by Sue Miller

Frankie has worked as an aid worker in east Africa for fifteen years, and come home regularly during that time. This time is different. She isn't sure when she'll be going back, or even if she'll go back at all. She's come to stay with her parents in Pomeroy, New Hampshire. Her parents recently retired to the vacation home that has been in her mother's family for generations.
The first night there, Frankie wakes in the night, still on a different time zone, exhausted but unable to sleep. Instead she gets up and takes a walk.
Later that night a fire call goes out. A house up the street from Frankie's parents has burnt down, the fire call going out too late to save the house. When more houses go up in flames, the concern in the community mounts, and talks of arson escalate.
Frankie moves into her sister's unfinished cabin down the hill from her parent's place, the thought being that having it occupied will reduce the likelihood of it being a target for whoever is setting the fires. With all the targets being homes owned by summer people, there is talk of resentment by a local being at the root of the crimes.
At one of the first summer parties Frankie attended, she met the local newspaper editor, Bud, and the two connected. As she begins a relationship with him, she still holds back, unsure of what she wants, or what is next in her life. Bud wants something with Frankie, but is afraid of pushing too hard, and his work with the paper keeps him busy, especially with all the fires.
Meanwhile Frankie's father Alfie is having episodes where his memory seems to be failing. He mother Sylvia is both worried and resentful, and unsure what the future holds for her. As Frankie tries to help, a crisis with Alfie will change everything.
This is a story about a community, about the complex nature of relationships, about how taking a chance means risking heartbreak.

Once Upon a Lie

Finished February 20
Once Upon a Lie by Maggie Barbieri

This thriller begins with Maeve Conlon taking her father to the wake for her cousin Sean. Maeve's father Jack is in a care home, due to his growing dementia. Maeve tries to take time for him, but it isn't always easy as she juggles her bakery, which is growing well, and her two teenage daughters. Rebecca is studious and well on her way to a good college, but she worries over her younger daughter Heather who seems to be involved in harmful behaviour.
Maeve is divorced, after her husband became involved with another woman, one she had considered a friend. She still has a friendly relationship with Cal, but can only be civil with his wife Gabriela.
Maeve is close to her father, having lost her mother to a hit and run accident when she was only a young child. Her father was a cop and relied on extended family to help raise Maeve.
Maeve's good friend Jo works for her at the bakery, and for now the two of them can run the business, but Maeve is looking for opportunities to grow there, so she can better support herself and the girls.
Sean was murdered, found in his car with his pants down and bullet in his head. So far the police haven't arrested anyone, but they are showing interest in Maeve's dad. Jack went for a wander the night Sean was killed and doesn't seem to remember where he was during that time. Maeve is sure that Jack wouldn't have been capable of murdering Sean, even if he had a reason to, but the police keep coming back with questions.
There is a lot going on here, with situations of domestic abuse, even possible child abuse, and Maeve is a complex character. This book is the first in a series that looks promising. I also liked the connection she made with one of the detectives investigating Sean's murder.

The Betrayal of Trust

Finished December 14
The Betrayal of Trust by Susan Hill

Another mystery in the series featuring Simon Serrailler of the Lafferton police. Here we have a few storylines, and while they all relate to each other, Simon doesn't directly interact with all the storylines.
The bones of a young woman are exposed as a hill collapses after a rainstorm, and thus a case of a missing girl that began sixteen years before is closed with her murdered body. As Serrailler reopens her case hoping to discover her murderer, another woman's body is found in the same location. But her identity is more elusive. The police force has a tight budget, and Simon's investigation is mostly on his shoulders.
Simon's sister Cat is still finding her way after the recent death of her husband, and the hospice where she works is struggling financially. When a newcomer to town, a doctor who has opened a nursing home specifically for dementia patients, is suggested to head a new committee for fund-raising for the hospice, Cat finds new hope. Molly, a young intern at the local hospital, is staying at Cat's house, and doing stints at a number of medical institutions, including Cat's hospice and the new nursing home.
Jocelyn still lives on her own, but meets up with her daughter, Penny, a successful barrister, regularly. When she notices some physical problems, she goes to see her doctor, Cat, but realizes quickly that she must face up to a more serious diagnosis than she originally thought. She knows what the future will hold, and isn't sure that she is up to facing that. Jocelyn begins to consider self-euthanasia, but the ways and means aren't clear, and asking for help isn't easy. She struggles with the choices available to her.
As always these books are about the people, the characters, their choices and motivations. An excellent read.

Tangles

Finished August 10
Tangles: a story about Alzheimer's, my mother and me by Sarah Leavitt
This graphic memoir is written in a very open manner, documenting Sarah's mother's early onset Alzheimer's. We see not only Sarah's reactions to the disease affecting her mother, but also the rest of the family's. Sarah is very open about the issues, the struggles, and the emotions present here. The drawing really make things come alive. We see the emotions in people's faces and the struggles her mother and the rest of the family faced. This is a book that can open up discussions around this difficult health issue for many families, breaking through the barriers of fear and denial that often come up.
There is nothing that seeing that you are not alone in what you are going through to help with mental health around this for the caregivers.

The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey

Finished Dec 27
The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey by Walter Mosley
Another wonderful novel from Mosley. Ptolemy Grey is 91, and lives alone in a small apartment. He has a young relative who comes from time to time to help him with the basics, but mostly he is ignored. His memory is also deteriorating, and he has trouble remembering the words for what he wants. He is set upon by one of his drug-addicted neighbours who steals from him every chance she gets. When he goes to the funeral of one of his relatives, he meets a young woman who is different. She actually listens to him and she helps him while still respecting his wishes. This proves a turning point for Grey, and help with his memory issues will also lead him to remember the one secret he still has to act on.
This novel has elements of magic realism, and characterization is very important. Grey himself is a complex character and not simply a forgetful old man. A tale of hope as well as reality.

Thought-provoking

Finished March 7
Making Rounds with Oscar: the extraordinary gift of an ordinary cat by David Dosa
If you read the paper or watch the news you've probably seen a story about Oscar, the cat at a nursing home that goes and sits on the bed of people just before they die.
David Dosa is a geriatrician that works with patients at that nursing home, Steere House in Rhode Island. Many of the residents of Steere House live with Alzheimer's or other types of dementia. Oscar is friendly and provides a feeling of home and comfort to many, but he nevers comes and spends significant time with any resident until they are in the last hours of their life.
Dosa had this occurence pointed out to him by Mary Miranda, the day shift nurse. Dosa was a skeptic at first, but after he took Mary's advise and met with the families of the residents who'd had Oscar come, and observed Oscar's behaviour himself, he found that he couldn't deny that something special was happening.
Dosa shows us not only the phenomenon of Oscar and his empathy, but also the effects of dementia on patients and their loved ones. We see these people in one of the most difficult times of their lives, and see how caring people and animals make the ordeal more livable. Oscar is the catalyst for this story, but it is so much more than that.