The King of Montréal

Finished August 21

The King of Montréal by Daniela I. Norris

This is an interesting alternative history novel. It is 1800, and Louis-Charles, the Dauphin of France, has ended up alone in Montreal at the age of fifteen. He had been smuggled out of jail in Paris and transported to the countryside to live with family friends, but when he began to look too much like his father as he grew up, they decided for his safety and the safety of the family he was living with to send him, with his tutor as an escort, to America, where he would go to the secretary of the late Benjamin Franklin and stay there. It would be up to him whether it was ever safe for him to show himself and return to France as king or live his life abroad. 

Unfortunately, the ship he was on was shipwrecked in a storm, and he was rescued by Basque fishermen and dropped off in Montreal. He lived on the streets, and tried to make enough money to hire an indigenous guide to take him to his destination in the U.S. He found himself making both friends and enemies, and his education and bearing shows as he navigates the unlikely place he has found himself in. 

This is a novel aimed at young adult readers, and with the main character being fifteen, that makes sense. It introduces readers to elements of history that are well-researched and incorporate real history as much as possible while giving the Dauphin a future that he didn't have. I really enjoyed this novel, and the way we get into the thoughts of the main character. 

Recommended for teens that like history, unexpected heroes, or a touch of romance. 

Arsenic and Adobo

Finished August 14

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala

This is the first in a series set around a family Filipino restaurant in small town Illinois. The main character, Lila Macapagal had gone to Chicago for university and stayed, running a small business with her boyfriend. But after legal troubles with the business and a horrible breakup, she's moved back to Shady Palms, a couple of hours away from Chicago to help in her aunt's restaurant. Tita Rosie's Kitchen is reasonably popular in town, but the local restaurant critic has panned it repeatedly, despite coming back for more. He, Derek Winters, is also Lila's ex-boyfriend, whom she dated in high school, but left behind when she went to college. It seems that he might harbour some resentment. His new stepfather, Mr. Long, is also the landlord of the restaurant and some of its neighbouring businesses. 

When Derek and Mr. Long come for lunch one day and Derek drops dead in his dessert, accusations against Lila and her aunt begin right away. When later evidence adds to prejudice against both Lila and her aunt, she decides that she must do her own investigation to clear herself and her family since the police don't seem to be looking at anyone else.

Her best friend Adeena works as a barista at the coffee place next door, and the two team up to sleuth. They also get the help of aunties, such as Lila's three godmothers, a regular fixture at Tita Rosie's Kitchen, and deep into community gossip. And yes, the small dog on the cover is Lila's dachshund, Longganisa, Nisa for short. 

As she gets to know fellow restaurant owners, old friends and enemies, and a few new friends, Lila finds herself getting better acquainted with her town as well, and liking it more than she expected. 

There is a glossary for Filipino words, including a lot for food given the setting, and several recipes at the back of the book. 

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 Square of Revenge

Finished August 8

The Square of Revenge by Pieter Aspe, translated by Brian Doyle

This novel takes place in Bruges, Belgium, and begins with an unusual crime. When a longstanding jewellery store owned by Ludovic Degroof is robbed, the police and owners are surprised and shocked to find that nothing was actually stolen. Instead, the jewels have been dissolved in jars of aqua regia, an acid. The intruders also left behind a scrap of paper with a strange square drawn on it. 

Inspector Van In is in charge of the case, but his superiors start getting involved almost right away, wanting to keep the crime out of the news. He soon finds himself teaming up with a new assistant district attorney, Hannelore Martens, and the two begin looking at the Degroof family more closely. 

Notes with this unusual square are found on letters sent to family members, and when one of Degroof's grandchildren is kidnapped and another destructive act is part of the price the kidnappers are demanding, their focus on the patriarch of the family grows more intense. 

There has been a lot of planning put into the crimes here, and the trails that Van In and Martens follow as they put together clues aren't easy to follow, sometimes leading to what looks like a dead end. 

This is a slow-moving mystery, with the intelligence of the two central figures standing out, and an attraction between them adding to the suspense. This is the first book in a series that looks promising. 

A Talent for Murder

Finished August 5

A Talent for Murder by Peter Swanson

This is the third book in the Henry Kimball series, but they can be read as standalones. Here, one of the main characters is Martha Ratliff. Martha works as a librarian in Maine and recently met and married a salesman who she connected with, Alan. Alan travels a lot for work, which means that Martha still gets time alone, which she also enjoys. When she sees a blood streak on the back of one of his shirts just after a conference, she begins to question how well she knows her husband. She does some research into the last few cities he visited and sees a disturbing pattern of unsolved cases of murdered women. 

Not wanting to directly accuse him in case she is wrong and this accusation creates a rift in their marriage if it isn't true, she reaches out to a college friend who once helped her get out of a controlling relationship. Her friend is Lily Kintner, who is also a key figure in this series. 

Lily can see why Martha is concerned and offers to meet Alan and get some insight into him, and what he might be up to. But when Lily goes to the town his current conference is in, she finds something much more concerning and with ties to the past. When more deaths begin to happen, Lily reaches out to Henry for assistance. 

This is a twisty and disturbing tale of a psychopath and criminal urges that tie in with revenge. It was hard to put down and has many plotpoints that I didn't foresee. A great read. 

Only Because It's You

Finished August 4

Only Because It's You by Rebecca Fisseha

This novel has an Ethiopian Canadian woman Miz as the main character. She came to Canada for medical reasons when she was a young child, brought there by her mother, and they stayed. Her father remained in Ethiopia. When she was fourteen, her mother sent her back to Ethiopia to stay with her father for the summer. She learned then that her parents were still married and that surprised her. She also hung out with some kids her age while she was there, and became friends with Kal. Years later Kal came to Canada as a visitor, but managed to get a work visa as an actor. He had a mentor, Oliver, who gave him advice and help, and who was working to get a theatre company to do sponsorship for him. 

Miz has always said that she would never marry, citing her parents' relationship as the reason. She's had a few casual relationships, more based on physical attraction than emotional connection.

When Kal's sponsorship falls through and his work visa is getting close to the end, Miz starts trying to find other ways for him to stay, including finding a woman for him to marry. Eventually they settle on her being his spousal sponsor and they have a civil ceremony at Toronto City Hall. But because they already have an emotional relationship, and they know each other's family members, it gets weird for Miz. A planned visit to Ethiopia brings up more issues, some from the past and some from the current situation. 

The plot was interesting, and I liked Kal, but Miz really began to annoy me. It seems that she needed therapy to deal with a lot of unresolved issues around her feelings toward her parents and her feelings about relationships. So I didn't really connect to her as a character as much as I usually do in novels. 

I enjoyed learning about some of the Ethiopian culture included. 

Sweet Savage Death

Finished August 2

Sweet Savage Death by Jane Haddam

I was looking for a book to fit a challenge and found this older title in my library's offerings. I'm glad I did, I really enjoyed reading a book written in the early 1980s, without knowledge of all the technology, and I loved the humour of the author. The main character Patience (Pay) McKenna is a writer that writes both well-researched articles freelance and romances. 

Before the novel proper starts, there is a section called Fires of Love General Editorial Guidelines. This is typical for category romances at the time, where the publisher determines certain aspects of the book and a formula for the plotline. We will learn that this is a relatively new publishing line that Myrra, Pay, and many others have written for. This gives some insight into the area of the publishing world that this book is set around. 

As the novel begins Pay is at the funeral for a fellow romance writer, Myrra Agenworth, who had died as a result of a mugging. It was unusual that she was out walking her dog in the middle of the night, but the authorities didn't make much of that. Pay had liked Myrra and Myrra had taken her under her wing a bit, since all her own children were dead and her granddaughter lived overseas. Pay is sitting with a fellow romance author and friend, Phoebe Damereaux who has been very successful. They are noticing the other authors, the agents, and the editors who are also attending, and we get some background on the ones who will appear later in the novel, which is helpful. 

Pay and Phoebe go out for dinner together after the funeral, and then back to Phoebe's place. Pay doesn't get back to her apartment until after midnight, where she grabs her mail, and walks up the stairs to her third floor apartment. But then things go sideways. Her apartment is not only locked, but also bolted from inside. She goes for assistance, and when the police break down the door, they discover the body of Julie Simms, literary agent to many top romance authors. Despite her alibi, she is a suspect in this death, and Myrra's death is now being looked at again. As Pay decides she must figure out the real killer to save herself, she finds several people who could be responsible and doesn't know who to trust besides Phoebe. 

I found the writing refreshing and the plot intriguing. Pay is a woman who isn't intimidated easily, and she is smart with a wry sense of humour. I will look for more books in this series. And yes, she has a cat. 

August Reviews for the 19th Annual Canadian Reading Challenge

 Post the links to your reviews for books that met this challenge and that you finished reading in August. 

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The Good Women of Safe Harbour

Finished July 30

The Good Women of Safe Harbour by Bobbi French

This novel follows Frances Delaney through the last weeks of her life. She's recently been diagnosed with a disease that will end her life, but hasn't told anyone about it. She has no close friends, has never had a romantic partner, and lives alone. 

She's grown very close to the teenager in the family she is a housekeeper for. They are very well-off and busy and part of her job had been seeing over young Edie when her parents aren't home. This is her final week of work as she worries that her illness is affecting her ability to do things. When she given notice she doesn't tell them why she is leaving, just recommends someone else. Edie is going through her own issues and relies on Frances in a way that is that of close friends. The two have shared many things as Edie has grown up. Now she finds that Edie is determined to stay part of her life and help her in this time. 

We see Frances' backstory gradually as she reminisces of her childhood growing up in a small fishing town in Newfoundland, and dealing with her mother's grief after her father's death. Beside her all the time was her best friend Annie and Annie's mom was also a big support in her life. We learn the trauma she went through as a teenager and why she left Safe Harbour and moved to St. John's. 

Edie encourages her to return to Safe Harbour and reconnect with Annie, and the results are interesting and involve forgiveness on both sides. 

This is a moving story of a woman that felt like an outsider all her life, with a deep yearning for connection, but without natural social skills. I liked seeing the stories of all three characters at the centre of the novel, Frances, Annie, and Edie. They are strong in different ways, and their friendships are very close and complex. Highly recommended.  

Whispering Pines

Finished July 27|

Whispering Pines by Kimberly Diede

The first of a series set in Minnesota, this one moves between Minneapolis and the lake country, with a small detour to Fiji. As the novel opens single mom Renee Clements is let go from her twenty-year career with a company. Stunned, she decides to take the time to spend it with family. When she lets her children know that evening, they decide to take the rest of December into the new year to spend with each other, doing things they enjoy. From Christmas with extended family, renewed contact with her late husband's family, to a trip to an exotic locale, they reconnect with each other and Renee reconnects with her parents and siblings. When her father takes the opportunity to give our envelopes to every family member from Renee's aunt Celia, who died earlier that year, each takes the time to plan when to open the envelopes, which contain personal letters from Celia and information on their individual inheritances. 

Celia has inherited the lake resort that she spent summers in as a child, which has sat unused for a few years, with minimal maintenance. As she determines what to do with this property that needs so much work, she also finds that her family is more than happy to chip in and do the work necessary. Renee's college freshman daughter, is dealing with a man she dated who's become too controlling for her, and doesn't seem to be taking no for an answer. Renee's teen son worries about his advanced team sports opportunity and whether he will be torn away from that and his friends. 

There is a lot going on, and we get glimpses of what other gifts aunt Celia has made that will be expanded upon in later books in the Celia's Gifts series. 

I really enjoyed the central idea of the book that had Renee rethinking her life and how she wants to spend it. The community that she finds herself part of, with both family and friends is also a great message about the importance of human connections. I would definitely be interested in reading more in this series. 

The Story Collector

Finished July 24

The Story Collector by Iris Costello

This story has three narrators in three different timelines. In 1915 London, Katarina has taken over the bakery started by her parents after they emigrated from Germany. But with the beginning of the Great War, public sentiment turns against her as a representative of the country England is at war with, and when rioters attack, she is lucky to escape with her life. Helped by an English friend, she ends up taking over an abandoned restaurant in a different part of the city, and calls herself Kat, changing her clothing style and acting like a good English woman. She still worries about her brother, who she argued with before her troubles, and who left for the continent. She also worries about her secrets being revealed. Kat has another skill besides baking, divination. She has read the Tarot from a young age, and senses spirits. She begins doing this again to help bring hope to the women she serves. 

In 1918, German nurse Miriam is serving in a prisoner-of-war camp and besides her medical work assists a fellow German doing language research. He is recording as many English speakers as he can, documenting the variation in language use. One of the soldiers admitted to the camp is mute. He never speaks, and no one knows his name. They call him Prisoner X. When Miriam is attacked on her way back to her room one evening, Prisoner X intervenes and she appreciates his help. They begin to grow close, but he is in danger due to his actions, and the Germans are sensing the end of the war isn't far away.

In the present day, Edie is grieving the violent death of her beloved husband, and decides to spend some time alone in Cornwall at the family cottage that once belonged to her great grandmother. As she begins some renovations on the cottage, she discovers a wooden chest with mysterious contents. When strange events begin to happen, she feels wary, worried about violence following her from London. But she continues to dig for the truth even as she begins a new art commission. 

As these three stories begin to converge in interesting ways, we see how secrets can take generations to come to light, and how the resiliency of all these women serves them well. 

A very enjoyable read.