The Ghostly Grounds: Murder and Breakfast

Finished January 11

The Ghostly Grounds: Murder and Breakfast by Sophie Love

This is the first book in a paranormal cosy mystery series called Canine Casper Cosy Mystery. Marie Fortune, a woman in her late thirties, has been working in an upscale dog grooming salon in Boston and as the book opens, she finally loses her cool at the attitude of the clients and her boss, and quits. She reflects on the life she is living and her long-harboured dream of running a bed and breakfast on the coast of Maine. This was a dream inspired and encouraged by her Great Aunt June, whom she spent summer childhoods with in Maine. She worries over what she will do next and when she invites her boyfriend Chris over to tell him, she finds evidence that he's been involved with someone other than her and finds herself ending that relationship as well. As soon as he leaves, she gets a call from a police officer telling her that her Great Aunt June has died.

Naturally she goes to the small Maine town June lived in for the funeral, and finds that June has left her the large house she lived in there and the property it was on, which includes beachfront. Marie can't help but see this as an opportunity to live her dream. She also finds another surprise waiting for her there, as was promised in the note June left for her. It turns out to be a dog, and Marie is happy to take it on as well. 

As she uses the last of her savings to do needed renovations to the house to make it work as a bed and breakfast she leaves in place the gothic touches that June decorated the house with as they seem to fit the place, and despite the fact that the house has a reputation for being haunted Marie doesn't really notice anything like that. But one of her first visitors seems to see something and before she knows it, she finds believers and nonbelievers making bookings hoping to either see something or disprove that there is anything haunting about the house. 

When one of those visitors dies soon after leaving the house, she finds herself under suspicion for the death, and questioning the activities that have been occurring at the house. 

A fun read, with touches of humour and romance. 

Ghost of a Chance

Finished October 15

Ghost of a Chance by Cate Dean

This is the first novel in a series featuring antique and collectable shop owner Maggie Mulgrew. As a child, Maggie came often to visit the small town of Holmestead, England to stay with her Aunt Irene who had an antique shop. The two bonded and became very close. When Irene died, Maggie found that she'd inherited everything from Irene's house to her shop with the flat above it. She was able to leave the U.S. and her overbearing parents and create the life she wanted, which wasn't that different from Irene's. 

Now, Maggie finds some of her stock at estate sales and auctions, and near the start of the book she attends a nearby sale and finds a few things, including a dirty, but interesting-looking box. She leaves Spencer, her best friend and employee in charge of the shop while she is away. 

Meanwhile, at Oxford, professor of archaeology Pembroke Martin has discovered that his student assistant Ken has sold the rare apothecary jar that Martin had recently acquired after a years-long search. The jar is special as a piece, but Martin wanted this particular jar because of a ghost story associated with it. Digging out the details from Ken, Martin tries to get to the auction before the jar is sold, but is too late. 

Maggie has done well at the auction, and has seen a couple of other local collectors, another dealer and the curator of a local museum. She also met Edward Carlisle, a seemingly wealthy man who made no secret of his interest in the jar, but was unsuccessful in obtaining it. 

As Martin's search leads him to Maggie, she agrees to help, but the two discover the new owner dead, and Martin is now a suspect. 

Maggie finds herself drawn to Martin, a man she has already respected and admired from his reputation and television appearances. But Martin has ties to several other people involved in the case, and she isn't entirely sure whether she should trust him.

I enjoyed the amateur investigation Maggie takes on, trying to not only find the murderer, but also to clear Martin so that she can pursue the friendly feelings she has towards him. 

She's smart, and observant, but also impulsive, and this seems like a promising start to the series. 

The House in the Water

Finished August 9

The House in the Water by Victoria Scott

This novel has two timelines. One is in 2013, where Meredith has fallen in love with a dilapidated estate on an island in the Thames river. The house hasn't been lived in for years and needs a lot of work. She convinces her husband Philip to agree to them buying it. Most of the money will come from Meredith, an inheritance after the recent death of her parents. She and Philip have been through a lot and she has left her job in finance to recover and sees the house as an opportunity to go in a different direction, hosting events and offering rooms to guests. 

The second timeline is in 1942 when Ellen, a skilled nurse, has been transferred from a hospital in Egypt to this house turned hospital for those undergoing what we now refer to as PTSD. The atmosphere is very different from the psychiatrist she worked with in Egypt, and she doesn't always agree with the brutal methods she witnesses and assists with. Arriving just after Ellen is a pilot who has been sent there for help so that he can return to duties. Pilots are badly needed. The two connect and find themselves drawn to each other. 

Philip is also a pilot, and thus is away a lot. Meredith finds herself seeing people in and near the house and hearing them as well. She doesn't know if she is seeing ghosts or if there is really someone there. She also finds that some in town aren't supportive of the changes that she and Philip have put forward for the house and thus finds herself often lonely. 

As the two women adjust to their new home and the work they face, they both undergo changes, learning new skills and becoming more adept and courageous when facing challenges. 

I really enjoyed this read.  There are themes of mental health and isolation, as well as growth. 

The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years

Finished March 18

The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan

This novel takes place in a ruined mansion on the coast in Durban, South Africa. The main character is a teenage girl, Sana Malek. In 2014, she and her father Bilal move from an inland farm to live in a small apartment in this large house, Akbar Manzil. Akbar Manzil was built over a hundred years earlier, and was abandoned a few years later. The house was used for apartments once before, but abandoned again. Now a strange set of misfits live there. The owner is an old man they call Doctor. He has lived other places, but eventually found himself back in the town he was born in. His secrets are kept close until events and Sana's actions bring him to reveal them. A older thin woman named Razia Bibi seems at odds with her upstairs neighbour and complains a lot. Her neighbour, Fancy, a small woman has a bird named Mr. Patel that she sometimes brings into the hall so he can get more sunshine from the window there. Pinky was hired to clean the house, but eventually became overwhelmed at the task and stopped. She lives in a small room off the main kitchen, where she watches Bollywood movies. Zuleikha is more reclusive, leaving her former fame behind as she ages. As Sana learns about them she records their stories in her notebook, particularly when they talk of love. 

Sana is a quiet girl. Her mother died four years ago, and her twin sister died when they were babies. But her sister has haunted and tormented her for years, Sana is obsessed with the idea of love after seeing a couple kiss at a wedding, and she has searched since to discover how love affects the shape of things. She is curious about her new home and explores the house, venturing into distant hallways, and finding a floor in one wing where the hallway is filled with discarded items, from furniture to boxes of odds and ends. As she looks through these things, venturing further in, she finds a locked door, and begins to wonder what is beyond it. She also explores the garden behind the house, which is filled with cages, many of them broken and odd assortments of bones. . The garden has mostly gone wild, but Fancy gardens in the evenings, and Sana begins to spend time bringing it back to order as well. When Sana finds the room behind the locked door, she becomes obsessed with the woman who lived there, Meena, and reads her words, wanting to know her story. 

We are introduced to the djinn of the title in the first chapter. It is 1932 and the djinn is weeping, hiding away deep in the house. When he hears things happening beyond his retreat, he wanders out, but sees only a mess of abandoned items, trunks and clothes. Outside the house, he looks up at it and wails. We gradually discover what he is grieving and this also leads us to the story of the house and its sad fate. 

The writing here is lovely, drawing you into the story, as it uses the foreign words of its characters to add to the atmosphere. The djinn is interesting, a creature that moves about, obsessed with a past tragedy. The story as it gradually reveals itself is one of love and pain, one of moments of happiness and of great sadness. The setting of the house and its garden come to life for the reader, even in its abandoned rooms. 

Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-Off

Finished December 6

Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-Off by Darci Hannah

This is the second book in the Beacon Bakeshop series, set in the small town of Beacon Harbor, Michigan. The Bakeshop is located in a decommissioned lighthouse that also is the home of the owner, Lindsey Bakewell. The tower is a place she likes to go to to relax, mostly in summer, but she has it outfitted with heaters and blankets for colder weather as well. The tower is also said to be haunted by the first lighthouse keeper there, Captain Willy Riggs. His pipe smoke is the sign of his presence. 

Some backstory: Lindsey used to be an investment banker, and her mother was a fashion model before marriage. She has a Newfoundland dog named Wellington. She is also in a relationship with one of her neighbours, Rory Campbell. She has several staff members, counter staff and baristas, but is in need of an assistant baker. 

When Felicity Stewart, owner of a Christmas store in town announces a new addition to the town's Christmas Festival of a Christmas bake-off, Lindsey finds herself excited, yet overwhelmed, especially when other unprepared shop owners in town enlist her services. Felicity has also arranged for a Chicago food critic to be the judge, and film it for his show. When the bake-off becomes more competitive than friendly, Lindsey finds herself the one to stumble upon a dead body that brings into question everybody's actions. 

A cozy mystery with a little romance thrown in, as well as a ghost that guides Lindsey's amateur detective work, this is a seasonal light read. There are also numerous baking recipes included at the back of the book, drawn from the finalist's submissions and Lindsey's own bakery offerings. 

Murder Road

Finished October 12

Murder Road by Simone St. James

This novel takes place in the summer of 1995. April and Eddie have just got married and are off for a few days at a motel on Lake Michigan. On their drive to the motel, April falls asleep and wakes as they are on a seemingly deserted road. They notice an odd light in the trees, and shortly after come across a woman walking slowly, and ask if she needs a ride. She says yes, and gets in, and as Eddie drives April talks to the woman, who responds slowly and April notices the blood seeping from her coat. About the same time, they both notice a a truck chasing them and Eddie drives as fast as he can, until they see the turnoff for a town. Eddie sees something in the truck that disturbs him, and when they take the young woman to the hospital, she dies soon after.

April and Eddie find themselves suspected of murder, and soon discover that there have been a series of murders on the road they found the woman on, taking place over many years, starting in the 1970s with the discovery of a woman's body that still hasn't been identified. 

As they have to stay in town, the two begin to investigate on their own and discover a few townspeople willing to help them. 

We also learn that April has an interesting past, one she has only partially revealed to Eddie. We also know that Eddie also has a previous life, as he was adopted as a young child. The two have a strong connection to each other, and form a strong team as they tackle this strange situation.

As always St. James writes a fascinating plot, and her characters come alive on the page. I really enjoyed this suspense novel and liked the two main characters.

A great read. 

These Still Black Waters

Finished October 6

These Still Black Waters by Christina McDonald

This is the first book in a series featuring police officer Jess Lambert. Some of the story is from Jess's point of view. She is recently returned to work and detective work after an automobile accident that took the life of her daughter Isla and left her with permanent injuries. She drives a modified motorcycle, and struggles with her loss. She sees her Isla in both work and home situations and finds herself talking to her. She has soothed herself with alcohol, even as she feels guilt that she had a drink before driving the day of the accident.

The central character in this book though is Neve Maguire. Neve and her husband have recently made the decision to separate, but the day they chose to tell their teenage daughter Ash, they were the victim of a violent home invasion. 

Neve has retreated to the house she spent summers in, in the small town of Black Lake. She had a couple of close friends, Bee and Sandra, but the last summer she spent there was a disturbing one, and the secrets of that summer are gradually revealed over the course of the novel. 

Soon after Neve arrives, a neighbour is found dead in the lake, something that has personal significance to Neve. Jess is the lead officer on the case, and she finds herself being guided by her daughter's words. She is also following leads suggested by Neve's words and actions as she talks to her about the woman who died. 

This is an interesting new series, with lots of emotional situations, and some strange twists. 

I found it compelling to read, and the ending gives a hint towards further books in the series. 

There's Always Plan B

Finished April 28

There's Always Plan B by Susan Mallery

This is an interesting mix of romance and domestic situations along with a touch of the supernatural. Carly is moving back to her childhood home, a large old stone house that her great-grandfather imported from England. Her parents ran it as a bed-and-breakfast, and her mother Rhonda has continued that since her dad died a few years ago. Carly is moving back because her very recent divorce leaves her with no home, and her mother could use the help. She'd like Carly to eventually take the house over so that she can retire. 

Carly's husband quit his high-paced, high-income job with plans to buy a boat and sail to Hawaii. That means that he isn't paying child support until he starts working again. Carly's fifteen-year-old daughter Tiffany isn't happy about the move, but we see her making the effort to adjust. As Carly finds the B&B has declined in visitors a lot since her dad's death, she uses her skills and contacts to find ways to bring in more guests. One of those is promoting the ghost the building is supposed to have. Carly has memories of the ghost from her own youth and believes strongly in the reality of this paranormal existence. One of the season's first visitors however is a man who specializes in debunking such things, and Carly must work as part of a family team to convince him otherwise. 

This book does have romance, but it isn't the central plot to the book, and there is more than one man who is interested in Carly. She must deal with the changes for all three generations of her family, teenage dating issues, issues with her ex-husband, as well as the financial issues facing the B&B. The ghost is an important part of the plot, but the book feels like part of a larger story, not a standalone. 

Many of the characters lack depth, several plotlines are left open, and the ghost story felt like it needed more explanation. 

Snowstorms & Sleigh Bells

Finished December 22

Snowstorms & Sleigh Bells by Kelley Armstrong

This novella is part of the A Stitch in Time series where characters have access to a place where they time travel. Here, Rosalind Courtenay, her husband August, and their five-year-old son Edmund, have come to visit friends at Christmas. At their friends' home, Thorne Manor, there is a room where there is a spot where the house's family time travels often. The wife is from the present day, and the husband from Victorian Scotland, and they have lives in both time periods. Rosalind has recently returned to Victorian times after finding herself stuck in the future for a reasonably long time. So she is wary of that room, and of getting stuck away from her family again. 

When her young son goes into the future alone, she and her husband follow, and have an adventure of their own that brings them closer to each other, and initiates curiosity about their cultural past as well as about the technology of the future. 

This story also brings in a paranormal aspect as Edmund has the ability to see ghosts, and more than one appears in this story.

I haven't read any of this series, but this definitely has me interested reading more.

How to Hang a Witch

Finished August 9

How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather

This is a great teen novel. The author is a descendent of Cotton Mather, on of the players in the Salem witch trials and uses that historical event to bring a current issue to a new level.

Samantha Mather has just moved to Salem with her stepmother Vivian, following her father's illness and hospitalization. Her father had always refused to return to this town, and Samantha doesn't remember her grandmother, whose house she is now living in, at all. 

While she is welcomed by her nearest neighbour Mrs. Meriwether and her son, Jaxon, she is still unhappy about being so far from her dad, who will be transferred from the hospital in New York City to a nearby city soon. 

The following day, at her new high school, is even more difficult as she is made to feel very unwelcome by a group of teenagers who are direct descendents of the women who were burned as witches in the 1600s. Samantha herself is a direct descendent of Cotton Mather, who played a large role in the historical event. 

As Samantha finds odd things happening around her and to people in town, she learns that her grandmother Charlotte had been studying similar happenings around descendents of the various players in the witch trials before her own death. 

Assisted by a resident ghost in her home, Samantha digs deeper into research, using her grandmother's notes and trying to reach out to the girls who have made her feel unwelcome. 

The parallels between to the past and the present highlight similarities that related to modern day bullying and scapegoating and show that we haven't come as far as we think in society. 

Samantha's efforts show ways to deal with real life issues even though she exists in a world where magic, superstition, and ghosts are a reality. 

This was a really interesting read, and is the first in a series of books. 

The Steep and Thorny Way

Finished July 20

The Steep and Thorny Way by Cat Winters

Set in small town Oregon in the summer of 1923, this teen novel follows biracial Hanalee Denney as she tries to make sense of the stories she hears about her father's death over a year earlier. 

Hanalee's parents met by chance in Portland, and went to Washington state to get married as Oregon did not allow a black man and a white woman to marry. They returned to the small town her mother, Greta was from, and farmed there. 

Now the young man, Joe Adder, who was convicted of killing her father Hank, but hitting him with his car is out of jail. Joe is back in town, but not accepted back into his father's house, and is sheltering in sheds and abandoned buildings. He's back to talk to her, because he promised her father he would keep an eye on her. 

Since her father's death, Greta has married long-time family friend Clyde Koning, a local doctor, and he now lives in Greta's family's home. When Joe insists that he didn't kill her father, and there was someone else who saw him alone before he died, Hanalee starts asking questions. 

When a local girl insists that she's seen Hank's ghost and that he is trying to talk to Hanalee, Hanalee has to decide whether to accept help to try to see this ghost herself and find out what her father so desperately has to say. 

This novel taught me a lot about this time period in Oregon. The Ku Klux Klan was very active in the state, and was particularly trying to gain influence over the younger generation. This was also a time of bootlegging, with it being Prohibition, and many local men ran stills and hired others to deliver their products. It was also a time of other prejudices besides racial ones, and that is part of this story as well. 

There is a lot going on, but Hanalee must face up to what is happening in her town, and how it affects her and those she cares about personally. This is a coming of age story in a difficult time under difficult circumstances, and the characters feel very real. I also found it interesting that portions of the plot were inspired by Hamlet.

A great read. 

The Invited

Finished July 1

The Invited by Jennifer McMahon

This novel set in a rural area near a small town in Vermont, has a couple, Helen and Nate, who have quit their jobs, bought a property, and are building their own house there. Helen was a history teacher and she is fascinated by the history of their property, particularly a previous owner, Hattie Breckenridge, who lived there many decades earlier. Hattie was suspected of witchcraft and was hanged by the townspeople. 

As Helen looks for historical artifacts that connect Hattie and her descendants to the home she and Nate are building, she begins to see things, and gets drawn to certain places and things. 

Nate, meanwhile, becomes obsessed with an unusual animal that he has seen in the marshes near their home, spending time tracking and trying to capture images of it. 

A teenage girl who lives nearby is mourning the loss of her mother, who disappeared recently. Olive's father is struggling with the unexplained disappearance of his wife and seems focused on remaking their home to draw her back. Olive herself is drawn to Helen and Nate, the stories of Hattie, and the mysterious activities of her mother before she disappeared. 

This story has a lot going on, that gradually comes together around the story of Hattie and her descendants. 

Our Animal Hearts

Finished May 12

Our Animal Hearts by Dania Tomlinson

This historical fiction novel is set in British Columbia's Okanagan area before, during, and after World War I. The narrator is Iris Sparks, who is twelve as the book opens. She lives with her parents, a Welsh mother Llewelyna, English father Noah, and younger brother Jacob. Her father travels often as he is still managing his family's coal mines in Britain. Her father's family looks down on her mother and when her paternal grandmother visits, she criticizes their manners and clothes and tries to instill upper class attitudes into them. But Iris is more of a free spirit. She is tutored by an older Indigenous man named Henry, a friend of her mother's who has an extensive library and vast cultural knowledge. Henry teaches her not only Milton and Spinoza, but also how to call animals and find edibles in the woods. He tells her Indigenous legends including one of a lake monster, Naitaka. 

As the book opens, Iris's mother receives a present from her husband of a peacock egg. When it hatches, she names the bird Saint Francis and it becomes a pet, going with her almost everywhere she goes and she spent much of her time in her fenced garden, treating it like a room that she felt at home in, and where others were sometimes permitted access. Shortly after this, Iris witnesses her mother's first seizure, something she is asked to hide from the rest of the family. 

Llewelyna is a woman who believes in the paranormal, fairy tales from her childhood in Wales, and the existence of a monster in the lake nearby. Henry also believes in the ghosts of his ancestors, and talks of them to Iris, so she isn't surprised to start seeing them either.  Iris also makes friends with the daughter of a Japanese man her father hires to manage their orchards, Azami. Azami is also adjusting to her life as an immigrant. While her family has adopted Christianity, she tries to keep some customs from their culture. 

As Iris grows up, Jacob is sent away to boarding school in England, Llewelyna's seizures grow more frequent, and Iris finds herself caught between worlds. Then World War I begins and the men and older boys leave to fight. 

Iris's world offers challenges in understanding, in love, in friendship, and in the things she must do to continue to thrive. This is a story of change, of the issues of otherness, and of what constitutes home. A fascinating read. 

Tokyo Ueno Station

Finished October 23

Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri, translated by Morgan Giles

This book tells the story of Kazu, a man who wanders the world he lived in before he died, not understanding why he hasn't moved on. No one sees him or reacts to him, but he reflects on his life, working long hours on jobs away from his home, not seeing his children grow up, or spending very much time with his wife. 

He also describes the circumstances that led to his last few years living as a homeless man in the Ueno Station Park in Tokyo, and his interactions with some of the other inhabitants of the park. 

The moments of reflection on the past are interspersed with his observations on the present, seeing how life goes on, and witnessing the passing of others he knew.

This is a very interesting novel, with intimate details of Kazu's life told in such a way that removes the emotion from the experiences. He seems removed from his life, not just by death, but in remembering key moments of his life as well. 

His life also has ties to that of the royal family in a limited way. He is the same age as the Crown Prince, and his son was born the same day as the prince's son. His life in the park is also changed by visits from the royal family. 

The Egyptian Mirror

Finished June 15
The Egyptian Mirror by Michael Bedard

This spooky story for 9-12 year-olds takes place in Caledon. Simon and his family have recently moved back into the house his mother grew up in, after the death of his grandfather. Simon is the new kid, and smaller than most of the other boys in his neighbourhood. Watching them play baseball, he sees a ball break the window of an elderly neighbour across the street. When he later sees the neighbour fall while attempting a repair, he lets his mom know. The neighbour, Mr. Hawkins was a good friend of Simon's grandfather.
Once Mr. Hawkins is home from the hospital, Simon begins delivering dinners to him, and discovers from a photograph that Mr. Hawkins shares with him that he looks just like his grandfather who was such a good friend of Mr. Hawkins. The two start their own friendship, talking while Mr. Hawkins eats his dinner. Simon retrieves things from the second floor rooms for the older man, and learns about his career in archaeology and his large collection of mirrors, displayed throughout the house.
Simon finds himself particularly drawn to one small mirror, an Egyptian one that Mr. Hawkins believes is a well-done replica. Simon sees things in the mirror and learns that Eleanor, Mr. Hawkins wife, used to see things as well. He learns the story of how the mirror was acquired and the odd circumstances surrounding it.
Simon also begins to get ill, losing energy and feeling dizzy, and the doctors have a hard time diagnosing what is wrong with him.
Simon has been helping at home with his younger toddler sister Babs whenever he can. He reads to her, spends time taking her on outings and just playing with her. On one of their outings, he meets another new kid in the neighbourhood that he recognizes from school, Abbey. She is with her younger brother Max, and the four children start spending some time together. Abbey and Simon begin a friendship and Simon begins sharing some of his feelings and observations with her, including those around the mirror.
There is a strong feeling of danger and darkness present in this story, and the children must reach out to another archaeologist for assistance in resolving the threats on Simon and others.
An interesting, magical tale for young readers of fantasy and history.

The Whitsun Daughters

Finished June 10
The Whitsun Daughters by Carrie Mesrobian

This novel tells the story of three girls, two sisters and a cousin, who grew up together in an old house with their mothers, Carna and Violet. It also tells the story of another young woman who lived in the same area many years in the past. In the present, Poppy, the cousin and oldest girl, golden-haired and confident, has come home from university for the summer. She had been close to Hugh Isherwood, the young man who lives nearby, and whose father owns the house the girls live in, but suddenly broke it off, claiming that he'd sent her an inappropriate picture. Lilah, the next oldest, pale with almost white hair, has been having issues over the last year, and getting a reputation that doesn't do her any good. Daisy, the youngest and darkest in colouring, is quiet and sensitive, a girl who notices. She is fifteen. As the book opens, Hugh's mother, Evie has died in a car accident and the girls have gone to the funeral and are now on their way to the Isherwood house. When Daisy goes off on her own, she encounters Hugh and the two of them begin an interesting interaction.
Lilah is having a crisis, and it is dealing with this that the book focuses on in the present, as the girls try to keep their mothers out of it.
The young woman from the past, Jane Murphy, has travelled to America from Ireland, losing her older sister along the way. She is met by an employee of the wealthy farmer who will be her husband, and taken in hand soon after by her husband's sister. Jane is shy and uncertain, and struggles to do what is expected of her, but gradually finds a connection in the household. We see her life unfolding through the book, interspersed with the present-day plot.
What we also see is that Jane is still there are the farm, in spirit. She doesn't go far, but is waiting for something that we don't understand. She watches the girls closely and connects with Daisy in an unexpected way.
I liked the elusiveness of things here, how information was revealed gradually, and how unexpected some plot points were, although they felt inevitable in retrospect. A very interesting book, with very interesting characters.

The Kitchen Daughter

Finished February 2
The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry

This novel follows Ginny Selvaggio, a young woman who had been sheltered from the difficulties of life by her parents, as she adjust following their sudden deaths. Ginny has Asperger's syndrome, and has spent a lot of time cooking, learning about food, and following food blogs. When she feels uncertain, making food, or thinking about making food, is her comfort.
Ginny's sister Amanda seems to think that she will now make the decisions about what is best for Ginny, without even asking her, but Ginny doesn't necessarily want these things.
As Ginny goes through old recipes looking for comfort she finds that cooking her grandmother's recipe also brings the ghost of Grandmother, with a cryptic message. Ginny is startled and unsure of what to make of this. She wants to decipher the message and she wonders whether cooking other recipes will also bring the ghosts of those people. And she begins to try things.
Along the way, taking comfort from the long-time family house cleaner, Ginny also begins to venture out, to make friends, and to explore the home she lives in more thoroughly, finding family secrets along the way.
This is a coming of age story, a story of loss, of love, and of food.
The author is a food blogger herself, and with food at the core of Ginny's life, this book evokes the tastes and smells of the recipes that Ginny makes.
I read this book quickly, enjoying it thoroughly, even the parts that made me cry.

Ghost Riders

Finished January 16
Ghost Riders by Sharon McCrumb

This novel takes place in the North Carolina mountains. Part of it is from the 1860s when the war reached this area, and is centered around a young married couple Keith and Malinda Blalock and a young lawyer, real-life Zebulon Vance. Keith was brought up by his mother and stepfather, and leans toward the Union side, but many of the men of the hills side with the south. When Keith is finally forced into the Confederate Army, Malinda is determined not to let him be alone, and she follows him. Keith ends up in the men commanded by Vance, and thus their paths cross for the first time. Keith and Malinda end up on the Union side, but in a sort of unofficial capacity, fighting in the hills that are their home.
More than a hundred years into the future, mountain man Rattler and wisewoman Nora Bonesteel are drawn into the story as rebel reenactments draw the spirits of the past into the present creating a dangerous situation.
I enjoyed the history of this novel, learning more about how the war affected the backcountry of North Carolina, and about the man trying to do the best for the people of Appalachia, Zebulon Vance. Any civil war pits neighbour against neighbour, and sometimes even brother against brother, and this was certainly true for the United States Civil War. Seeing some examples of how this played out was eye-opening.

Restless

Finished July 5
Restless: A Ghost's Story by Rich Wallace

As the title indicates, this story is told by a ghost. The story takes place in the town of Sturbridge, Pennsylvania, and the central character here is Herbie, a 17-year-old entering his senior year of high school. Up to now, Herbie played soccer, but the new coach doesn't appeal to him, and when he quits the team, the coach slings an insult at him that he couldn't make footfall or the cross-country team, so Herbie decides to do both. There are no rules against it, but it hasn't been done before, and meeting the challenges of both will require a lot of work on Herbie's end. As the year begins, one of his regular runs is through the cemetery, and Herbie's energy draws the attention of a ghost who hasn't been able to move on, Eamon Connelly, a young man who died in 1888, while trying to scale a cliff just below the cemetery late one night. But Eamon isn't the narrator of this story, although he does have a central role.
The narrator is Herbie's brother Frank, who died years ago when he was 17 of lymphatic cancer. Frank hasn't been able to move on either. He also hasn't been able to make himself felt in any way to Herbie, except in Herbie's dreams, even though he spends almost all his time with him.  But things seem to be changing. Herbie actually sees Eamon's ghost that night when he runs, and he begins to wonder, about energy, about life after death, about ghosts, and about many other things.
A couple of years back, Herbie's parents separated and he moves back and forth between them. This is definitely better than when they were together, arguing so much.
As he continues to work hard at school, at his sports, and as he meets a girl that seems to like him as much as he likes her, his interest in his brother and in the ghost he continues to encounter lead him to think hard. But he's not the only one. Frank is also entertaining some ideas that he never considered before, and that just might change everything.
A wonderful story of the need to prove oneself, of the idea of possibilities beyond what has been proven. A story that I truly enjoyed.

The Greatcoat

Finished December 4
The Greatcoat by Helen Dunmore

This ghost story takes place in a Yorkshire town in 1952. Isabel Carey and her husband Philip have just moved there as Philip, a new doctor has joined the medical practice there. Isabel finds the rooms Philip rented stark and cold, and feels that the landlady, who lives upstairs, is watching her. Looking for extra blankets to help with the cold nights, Isabel discovers an old army greatcoat in an upper cupboard, and puts in on the bed. One night she hears knocking and sees a man's face at the window, which frightens her, but she gradually finds that she gains awareness of the man's identity and begins to discover that she has memories that belong to someone else.
As Isabel begins to interact with the man, Alec, she also becomes aware of who holds his ghost to this world, and why.
This is a story of connection beyond life, of lives unfulfilled, and of the tragedy of war.
Very engaging.