What Are Friends For?

Finished March 13

What Are Friends For? by Patricia McLinn

This is the first in a four-part series set in small town Illinois. It has a few plotlines that work together. The main characters are in their thirties, but they have memories of their high school days. Zeke was a bit of a loner, felt bullied, and only really talked to one girl in his chemistry class, Darcie. He did have his eyes on the prom queen, Jennifer, but felt she was out of his league. Darcie had big plans to go to college and apply to the FBI. There was also something that happened between Darcie and Zeke just before they both left town, but they have never talked about it, or even at all since.

Now Zeke has a successful technology company and hasn't been home in years, seeing his mother only when she comes to visit him. Darcie moved back home during college after the death of her father to help her mother manage things and work to keep the house. She works for the local police force. Jennifer married her prom king, and has a daughter, but is now divorced and struggling a bit. The town, Drago, also has some financial issues, and the planning committee, which both Jennifer and Darcie are on, has chosen Zeke as this year's honorary alumni host for the spring fair, hoping to convince him to help. He will also be one of the judge's of the town's beauty pageant, which is about choosing a young woman to represent the community, not just looks. Due to this, he finds himself the target of one young woman's affections, and must fend her off. 

Zeke was reluctant to come, but the other management in his company convinced him the PR would be good, and he has an ulterior motive we gradually learn. He also has a large chip on his shoulder about the town, and how he feels it views him and his immigrant parents. Zeke's company is working on some new projects and they are trying to be careful about security around his coding work. 

The small town flavour comes through here, from the issues the town and its surrounding rural community face, to how people know everyone in town. Darcie, as a police officer, is very tied in to the community and where help is truly needed, as well as who might have reasons for some of the strange activities that begin to happen. 

I really enjoyed the immersive nature of the book, with its individualistic characters and their backgrounds. 

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 Finders

Finished May 2 

The Finders by Jeffrey B. Burton

This mystery story is centered around dog handler Mason (Mace) Reid. He lives in the suburbs of Chicago and owns several dogs that he has trained as cadaver dogs. He subcontracts to the police as the main part of his work, but also runs some dog training classes. 

The story has two preludes. One is of a woman being kidnapped, and the other is of a police officer and her partner responding to a call from a concerned neighbour that results in a case of carbon monoxide poisoning and a puppy that has survived against all odds.

Jumping forward, Mace has taken on the dog and trained her, now named Viro, as a cadaver dog. But she seems to have extraordinary senses around her work and her very first case leads to an unfortunate incident and the discovery of a kidnapper. 

But there is an even darker criminal associated with this case in a loose way, and he has taken a personal dislike to Mace that leads to entrapment and murders.

I liked the character Mace, with his real love for his four dogs. He is living close the edge financially and needs his work to make ends meets for him and his dogs. He is divorced and just starting to get interested in a new relationship, so when he meets a police officer that also has an interest in Viro, he begins to have hope for a future. The officer, Kippy, isn't ready for a relationship, but she is interested in Viro's abilities and in the case that seems to have Mace as a target. She is an intelligent and driven officer, putting in the extra work. 

This book is the first in a new series featuring Mace and his dogs. I look forward to seeing more of some of the police officers that appeared here as well. 

The Printed Letter Bookshop

Finished June 3
The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay

This gem of a book has been sitting for a bit waiting for a read, and I really enjoyed it. Madeline Cullen is a young lawyer in a high-powered Chicago practice, and gunning for a partnership position. As the book opens she is attending her aunt's funeral. Her aunt, Maddie, was someone she was close to when she was young, until a rift opened between her aunt and her father, and she was forced to choose sides. After the hedge fund crash, she dealt with attitude from kids at school due to her father's role as a fund manager and she chose to go to school in Chicago to escape that and find her own life. This brought her near her aunt again, yet she seldom visited, still reluctant to break with her father's side. This means that she now regrets not talking the time to get to know her aunt better while it was still possible.
When, a couple of days after the funeral, her aunt's lawyer informs her that she is the heir, she struggles with what to do, and how to balance what is happening in her own life. As she takes the time to get to know the store and the two employees Janet and Claire, she learns about her aunt through them, and discovers new friends in the process. She also learns other things about herself as well.
This book follows Madeline, Claire, and Janet through their own voices in the same situations and we see how each woman regards the same events.
It is a sort of coming-of-age book for Madeline, but Claire and Janet also learn important things about themselves that moves each of them forward to a better future.
There is also a booklist that has a place in the story, and I always like a good booklist.
I really enjoyed this read.

Boy, 9, Missing

Finished September 22
Boy, 9, Missing by Nic Joseph

This novel has flashbacks to an event that happened when Francis was thirteen. His parents had another couple and their young son, Sam, over for dinner. Sam was 10, and Francis' younger brother Lucas was 9. After dinner, Sam did a special presentation for the adults, and when he went back upstairs he quickly returned, speechless and upset. Lucas is found unconscious in the bathtub. Despite Francis' parents efforts, Sam never spoke of what he witnessed that day.
Francis' parents divorced, and he moved on, changing his last name. But when he returns to his hometown of Lansing, Illinois to take on a job at the local paper, the past comes back to haunt him. Sam's own young son, Matthew, only 9 years old, has been kidnapped. Francis' father is one of the key suspects. Francis begins the search for his father, which also leads him to the truth about that evening so many years ago, and what really happened to his younger brother.
Francis is separated from his wife and his teenage daughter Amy is coming to live with him for a year while his wife takes on a European assignment. Francis is eager to ensure his daughter is made welcome, but he has never told her of his own past. The day she is due to arrive is the day that the news about Matthew's kidnapping breaks, and Francis finds himself first threatened, then offering his assistance in the case.
This is a sad story about justice delayed, about a child caught up in an incident not of his making, about how love can lead us astray, and about how secrets can change lives.

The Good Girl

Finished January 7
The Good Girl by Mary Kubica, read by Lindy Nettleton, Johnny Heller, Tom Taylorson, and Andi Arndt

This novel has several narrators, and jumps back and forth between two time periods, identified as "before" and "after." Eve Dennett is married to a judge, and her younger daughter Mia was kidnapped in the before portion of this story. In the after portion, Mia is home, but has lost her memory. Eve tells us how she reacted to Mia's disappearance, the worry for her daughter's safety, and the loneliness she feels as her husband reacts very differently to the situation.
Another narrator is Gabe Hoffman, the detective assigned to the case. Gabe doesn't think much of the judge and his cold attitude towards his daughter's disappearance. He is drawn to Eve, partly through sympathy for her situation and partly as a man. As he sees her often to update her on the case, he sometimes crosses the line from professional to personal, not only with Eve, but at other points in his investigation where he shows his caring side for the people he encounters. The third main narrator is Colin Thatcher, the man who kidnapped Mia. The situation is more complex than that sounds because Colin's motives are both personal and altruistic, and the kidnapping has layers to it that are gradually revealed. The last narrator is Mia herself, but only in a limited fashion.
This is a story of parents and children, of love and control, of lies and truths. The title speaks to this as well. Is Mia the good girl, or is she the rebel? Is she the art teacher dedicated to bringing out the best in her students, or the wild child leading a dangerous life? Every character in this book has potential for good and bad, and things aren't always as they seem.

The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society

Finished March 10
The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society by Darien Gee

This light novel is set in the Illinois town of Avalon. There are many characters here, but the core group includes Bettie, the founder of the Society and an avid scrapbook pusher; Isabel, still mourning her husband Bill, who left her for a younger woman and then died in an accident; Ava, the younger woman Bill loved and had a child, Max, with, struggling to make a living; Yvonne, a female plumber who has left her controlling family, but still mourns her severed relationship with longtime love Sam; Frances, who loves her three sons and husband Reed, but still longs for a daughter through a Chinese adoption; and Connie, whose early losses affect her ability to commit to relationships.
With the scrapbooking loosely connecting all these characters and more, there are many stories here, of love, of loss, of community. An upbeat novel.