My Life as a Villainess

Finished February 25

My Life as a Villainess by Laura Lippman

This collection of  fifteen personal essays covers many aspects of Lippman's life, from her later in life motherhood to her time as a rookie reporter in Waco, Texas to the wonder of reheating leftovers in a double boiler. 

The book is organized into four sections, each with a few essays, along with an introduction that tells us how she came to write personal essays in the first place. I came to this book having enjoyed her fiction and found myself quickly enjoying her open style when discussing different aspects and events in her life. As she says in the introduction, there are portions of her life not covered here, but what she has included is interesting and relatable. 

Her opening essay is on the mental struggle for women between the body they have and the body society tells them they should have. It's magnificent. 

The essays aren't in chronological order about her life, but are grouped roughly into four sections where they feel that they belong with each other. 

I read this book one essay at a time, taking breaks between them and found them emotionally moving and reminding me of aspects of my own life. 

Another Thing to Fall

Finished June 23

Another Thing to Fall by Laura Lippman

This is the tenth book in the series featuring Baltimore PI Tess Monaghan. I've read one of the earlier books in the series as well. 

Here Tess unknowingly rows into the set of a television pilot being filmed in the city, and finds herself being asked to do security for the production company, specifically for the female lead Selene Waites. Recently a local man was found dead in his home surrounded by photos of the actor. She is reluctant, but agrees if they also find a position for Tess' boyfriend Crow's ward Lloyd Jupiter. Crow has been trying to get Lloyd to find a job, but he hasn't lasted at anything and he is better occupied than not. 

Tess finds that Selene isn't as ditzy as she makes herself out to be, and when she is outfoxed by the actor, she brings in her best friend Whitney so that they can cover her for all hours. 

During this time however, someone has been found murdered at the production company offices, and Tess finds her interest sparked. As she begins to dig into the background of the people in the company, she finds a lot more than meets the eye. 

This introduced me to some industry lingo and processes I didn't know and has an interesting plotline. 

Tess is a character I like, as is Whitney. A fast and engrossing read. 

A Spool of Blue Thread

Finished April 10
A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler, read by Kimberly Farr

This novel has four parts with the first and last set in the present.
The main part of the book reviews the lives of Abby and Red Whitshank as their children grow up and leave home. Denny is the one Abby worries about the most. He communicates the least, doesn't seem to have a plan for his life, and grows resentful when asked questions. As Abby and Red begin having some minor health issues that get the children worrying, their two boys move back home to "help out". We see the interactions between the four children, the background to their lives, and how they get along now.
The second part of the book goes back to how Red and Abby's relationship begin, a family story that Abby tells often, always starting it with the words "It was a beautiful, breezy, yellow-and-green afternoon...".
The third part of the book goes back to Red's parents, how they met, how they ended up together and what brought them to the house that Red and Abby now live in.
The last part of the book is in the present again, The decision has been made for the Whitshanks to move on, and we see the more adult interactions between the four Whitshank children, particularly Denny's maturity.
As always, Tyler's story is about people, ordinary people living their ordinary lives, and the insight she brings to this is always one that sheds light on our own lives and how we live them.
A very enjoyable read.

After I'm Gone

Finished April 9
After I'm Gone by Laura Lippman, performed by Linda Emond

This mystery is set in the Baltimore area. In 2012, Roberto "Sandy" Sanchez, a retired cop now doing consultant work on cold cases, pulls out the case of Julie Saxony. In 1976, Julie was a stripper working in a club owned by Felix Brewer. She was also his mistress. When Felix, facing prison for some of his activities, disappears in 1976, he leaves behind not only Julie, but also his wife Bernadette "Bambi", and his three children, Linda, 17, Rachel, 14, and Michelle, 3. He also transfers the ownership of his cafe to Julie.
As the years go by, Julie has transformed herself into a businesswoman and, by 1986, owns an inn and is on the verge of opening a restaurant. Then, she disappears with no notice. People wonder, did she go to join Felix or did something happen to her? When her decomposed body is found in 2001 in a wooded park near the Brewer house in Baltimore the trail has gone cold, and the case went cold. Hence, Sandy's work now.
As Sandy goes over the evidence, talking to everyone whose name was in the file, and reinterviewing all the players, he awakens old resentments and memories, and possibly more.
We see Bambi, Julie, Linda, Rachel, and Michelle at various points in the intervening years, learning their stories and their experiences that brought them to the present day. This is a complex situation and there are lots of secrets that have been kept for years.
This is a story that reveals things slowly, gradually, and it creeps toward the final story inexorably. A very nice plot.

The Sky Beneath My Feet

Finished June 20
The Sky Beneath My Feet by Lisa Samson, read by Rebecca Gallagher

This novel centers around Beth, a pastor's wife. Her husband Rick is the men's pastor at the evangelical megachurch called The Community in Baltimore. Rick didn't seek out this position and it isn't what he wants to be doing. When old friends of the couple who've moved away visit, they surprise them by offering Rick a job as lead pastor at their current church. Rick is about to start a month's sabbatical, and Beth was hoping to use the time to reconnect with him, particularly since a friend from church has offered up a beach house in Florida. But this sudden offer has Rick retreating from everything and everyone into the backyard shed to hope for divine guidance. Beth is frustrated and angry, and she finds herself taking risks and finding herself in new experiences. From a protest rally in Washington DC to the inner city of Baltimore, to a Florida beach in a storm, Beth finds her life taking her in a new direction, but struggles to figure out what she should do. She is   left dealing with issues in the lives of their teenage sons without Rick beside her for support and she isn't sure where to look for help.
This is a story about faith, about looking closer to home for those needing help, and about taking that first step.

Interesting Novel

Finished April 2
Life Sentences by Laura Lippman
This is a slow-moving mystery told around interesting characters. The main character here is Cassandra Fallows, an author of two memoirs and one book of fiction. A news story mentioning a woman that she used to go to school with sets in motion research for a new book. Cassandra wants to write a book that looks at the girls she went to school with then and their lives now, with a focus on Calliope Jenkins. Calliope was jailed years back under suspicion of killing her infant son. With the boy missing and no clues to what happened, Calliope refused to speak to police or lawyers and the secret of what happened is still with her. When Cassandra makes attempts, some successful, to contact those involved in the case and those who knew her then, she makes interesting discoveries, not only about Calliope's situation, but also about her own past.
The story is interesting and the characters are well-developed. I enjoyed this book.