The Summer of You and Me

Finished May 7

The Summer of You and Me by Denise Hunter

This romance novel also has an element of mystery to it. It's been five years since Maggie's husband Ethan died in an IED explosion. She still mourns him, but is ready to move forward along with her young daughter Zoey. She and Ethan lived a couple hours away from the town they grew up in, and with Ethan's parents on a European vacation, she and Zoey plan to spend the summer at their home. Maggie was friends with Ethan's sister before she and Ethan became involved and his younger brother Josh, now captain and owner of a tour boat, has been extremely supportive. Josh has always had feelings for Maggie and he is hoping that this might be the time to reveal them and see if she also has feelings. But on her first evening in town she spots a man who looks like Ethan's double and soon she and Josh and trying all avenues of investigation to see who he might be. 

The situation might be awkward, but the feelings seem real, and Maggie has grown up in a dysfunctional home that she is still trying to overcome. She wants Zoey's life to be happier than her own childhood, and being with Ethan's family is a big part of the ongoing relationship. 

A romance novel with a few unexpected plotlines gives this novel more depth. The main characters had enough complexity to feel real, particularly Josh. 

Second Chance at Sunshine Inn

Finished November 29

Second Chance at Sunshine Inn by Amy Clipston

This small town novel starts with a loss. Alana McFadden, Everleigh Hartnett's godmother has died, and she chose not to let Everleigh or her family know how ill she was. Everleigh discovers that Alana left her half of the assets, which include her bed and breakfast, the Sunshine Inn, and the accounts associated with it. The other half was left to Cade Witherspoon, the young man who worked for her. Cade is ex-military and has been through some tough times lately as well, as we gradually discover.

Everleigh hasn't been home for the last few years, going from one contract to another as a NICU nurse, so she hasn't even met Cade before, and Alana hadn't mentioned him when they talked. But Everleigh spent a lot of her growing up years at the inn, helping out or just spending time there. She also talked a lot with Alana about a nonprofit she wanted to start to help parents with the costs associated with having a baby in intensive care. 

Cade helped Alana for the last few years with everything to do with the inn, from bookings to maintenance to cooking. For him, running the inn and expanding it to include dinners as well was a dream that he and Alana had drawn up plans for.

With different dreams, the two new owners clash, Everleigh wanting to sell to start her nonprofit and Cade wanted to grow the inn as he and Alana discussed. Everleigh moves in to Alana's suite at the inn to help run it until they figure out what they will do and as the two interact, the begin to get to know each other. 

Both main characters are genuinely nice people. Cade has some issues from his past, and Everleigh has to decide whether she is interested in giving up her nomadic life. They both have some family situations that they have to find their way through as well.

I enjoyed this novel, even though some storylines seemed unnecessary. 

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.

Jack and Joe

Finished April 20

Jack and Joe by Diane Capri 

This is the third full novel in the Hunt for Reacher series which follows FBI agents Kim Otto and Carlos Gaspar as they hunt down information on Jack Reacher. They have become aware by now that they haven't been told the real reason behind their case, and they are also aware there is some sort of rivalry around it between their boss and one of the highest ranking political advisers in the country. So, while they are pawns of a sort, they are thinking pawns and occasionally make moves that take them in directions that lead places that advance their knowledge in ways their boss may not always want. 

Here, Kim is off to interview a woman who worked for Reacher and took over a case when he was demoted. She wants to find out more particulars around that case and the cause of the demotion. She travels to an army base in North Carolina, Fort Bird, but her interviewee doesn't get there as expected and she ends up finding new information possibilities, as well as a family that isn't fans of the man she's looking for information on. 

As she and Gaspar reconnect and dig deeper into this time, they find connections to Jack's brother Joe and begin to learn more about him, his friends, and a woman who meant a lot to him. 

An interesting book, but the travel that happens in this series gets tiring after a while. Another plane, another rental car, another antacid. I like the slow plot development though. 

If You Ask Me

Finished August 7

If You Ask Me by Libby Hubscher

Violet Covington is the writer of an advice column, Dear Sweetie in her local North Carolina newspaper. As the book opens, she is told that her column is up for syndication and she is a bit excited about this opportunity. She is good friends with her boss Kyra, whom she originally met at college, as well as her coworkers, Ashleigh and Tyler. She decides to go home early to prepare a celebratory dinner for her and her lawyer husband Sam, but gets an unpleasant surprise that rocks her sense of self and her plans, her husband in bed with another woman. 

After kicking him out, Violet goes through the normal stages of grief around such an experience and both does and says some things that she regrets later. Giving advice that is more open than anything she's written to date means that she gets a more prominent profile, especially after her real name is revealed and she must consider how to deal with both new opportunities and deal with blowback. 

Her more personal actions lead her to new relationships, including a professional encounter with a local firefighter, Dez, that turns personal. 

This is a story of a relationship that had issues long before the abrupt end, and how we don't always know what kinds of personal issues people are hiding from the world. 

I liked the inclusion of the letters and Dear Sweetie's replies that appeared here, showing some new ways of thinking about interpersonal relationships that I found hit the mark for me. 

I was rooting for Violet as she grew as a person here, and found this book hard to put down. 

Do You Take This Man

Finished March 14

Do You Take This Man by Denise Williams

This romance starts off with one of the main characters literally running into the other one. RJ is a divorce attorney with a sideline officiating weddings. She got into the wedding thing after going viral doing an impromptu ceremony, and kind of enjoys it. Her mentor wants her to give it up and she has agreed to see through the summer bookings that are already made and then stop. 

Lear has recently moved back to Asheville after a bad breakup and a job loss. He was an event planner for a football team in California and has now taken on the role of assistant to his cousin Penny at her wedding planner business. 

He was just standing outside a venue waiting for a client when RJ runs into him. They both take offense to the other's attitude and when they find they must work together on some weddings, things get a bit hostile. Besides that feeling though, another one pops up between them and that is definite attraction. RJ is a straightforward woman and it's been a while since she's had a boyfriend so it doesn't take her long to suggest an 'enemies with benefits' arrangement.

That's when things get a bit crazy. As things get hot between them, and yes, the sex is graphically written here, they both have to fight the urge for more. 

This is a case of two strong characters, each with their past hurt affecting their expectations for relationships, afraid to be too honest with each other. But honesty is the only way forward.

I liked both characters, although I leaned towards Lear a tad as I like a truly nice guy. Williams has them both grow here, with a little help from those close to them. 

It's not a criticism, but one thing that I found interesting that although he's white and she's black, there was no real discussion of race in the novel, either as as aspect to their relationship, or in the social world they moved in. 

Book Lovers

Finished April 1

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

How could I resist a book set around books? Of course I couldn't and this romance novel hits all the right notes for me. 

Nora Stephens leads a busy life as a literary agent, seldom taking time off, and determined to do the best for the authors she represents. Since their mother died unexpectedly, Nora has also tried to do her best for her younger sister Libby. Even now that Libby is married and a mother, she is involved in her life, not only spending time with the family, but also doing what she can to make Libby's life easier. So when Libby says she needs to get away, just the two of them, Nora finds that she can't refuse her. Her sister is pregnant and it is August, the slowest time in Nora's business, so she agrees to take the month with Libby. While Nora is expecting some spa-like vacation, Libby has chosen a small town in North Carolina, Sunshine Falls, the setting for one of Libby's favourite romance series, written by an author that Nora represents. 

When, soon after arriving at their destination, Nora spots a man she's worked with, and had a very uncomfortable first meeting with about that same author, she can't believe it. To ensure that he's really that man, Charlie Lastra, hotshot editor, she texts him, and sees him responding. Things only get crazier from there as elements of Libby's plans for their month away keep Nora and Charlie running into each other. 

I loved Nora as a character, intelligent, with a quick response to every comment; a woman driven by love, but also disappointed in love. She has high standards, and doesn't put up with crap. 

Libby wasn't as well developed here, but was still a nice character, obviously caring for her sister, but also determined to make her own choices. Charlie was also an interesting character, and his relationship to his family is what really fills in the missing elements to make him both flawed and interesting. 

A definite feel-good book that made me laugh and kept me turning those pages. 

Hidden

Finished January 3

Hidden by Fern Michaels

This is the first book I've read by Fern Michaels, and I was surprised how badly written it was. She is an established author with a large fan base, which led me to suppose that she was a good writer. I plan to read at least one of her earlier books to try her again to see if this is an outlier for her, but if it isn't, I certainly won't be recommending her to readers. 

This book follows a few characters: brother and sister Cullen and Luna who have broken away from parental expectations to do what they want, for him furniture restoration, for her a cafe and psychic readings. There is a lot of backstory for her, less for him. She met a police officer several years ago when a small child was lost and she helped find her, and developed a crush on him, and has worked with him a few times since, but the relationship never developed on a personal level. This part just seemed odd.With such a strong reaction from her, why did she do nothing to show her feelings. She talks much younger than she is and a lot of the conversations in the book are very stilted. 

There are a wealthy couple, stereotypically evil, but not very smart, who are looking for something that they think may be hidden in a piece of furniture they disposed of. Their actions are not well planned, and they seem to be very flat characters. They hire a detective to search for a woman, and he appears for a while and then is dropped from the plot. 

The woman they are searching for appears and she seems more normal, but still not well-developed. As the storylines come together at the end, a lot of things happen without being documented in the book and it is wrapped up very quickly, especially given all the description and backstory earlier.

Not a winner. This is supposed to be the first book in a new series. Hopefully an editor gets involved before the next one. The cover art seems to have no connection to the plot either.

The Dream Daughter

Finished January 20

The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain

This book grabbed me right away with its premise. The book opens in 1965, when Caroline (Carly) Grant is just starting her career as a physical therapist. Her supervisor is debating assigning a new patient with a broken ankle to her, but is concerned about his mental state. Her decision is preempted when the young man, Hunter Poole, sees her across the room and calls out, asking for her to work with him. The two get along well, and share some interests. She's intrigued by his ability to know songs that have just been released. But Carly knows that he and her sister would have more in common.

The story then jumps forward five years. Carly married her childhood sweetheart Joe Sears, and moved with him to North Carolina as he enlisted in the military. But he was recently sent to Vietnam and was killed there. Carly is pregnant, and is getting her baby tested as there seem to be some issues. She is staying with her sister Patti, and her brother-in-law Hunter and their young son. 

When Carly's baby turns out to have a heart defect that will prove fatal after birth, Hunter reveals his secret to her. He has time traveled from the future, and he can send her into the future to get an operation that may save her child's life. Carly doesn't believe him, until he predicts some events that happen. And she remembers other things that have illustrated future knowledge over the years. And she determines to go into that future and try to save her baby's life. 

Carly is a strong woman, one who's taken on a career in her own time, and one who can think on her feet. She will need all of these attributes as she jumps to April 2001 and connects with Hunter's mother to get the help she needs to survive in that time and the paperwork she will need to get her medical assistance. 

As we see Carly face choice after choice, connect to the various people she meets from Hunter and his mother, to the hospital staff, the staff at the residence she stays at, and others, we see her caring nature, as well as her confidence in her own abilities grow. 

There were times that I wanted to put the book down as I was wary of the way the plot was heading, and times when I felt for Carly in her situation. This is a story of hope, of faith, of strength, and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. 

Lake Season

Finished February 15
Lake Season by Denise Hunter

This novel is the first book in a series at Bluebell Inn, in the town of Bluebell, North Carolina. Molly, Levi, and Grace Bennett are stunned whenever their parents are killed in a car accident. Their parents had been in the midst of plans to renovate their family home back to its early use as an inn. Grace was in her junior year in high school. Levi worked as a project manager for a construction company in San Francisco, and Molly was going into her final year of a hospitality degree, looking forward to a placement in Italy, something she'd worked hard towards, even learning Italian.
But Grace is determined to stay in Bluebell to finish high school, and so the siblings agree to take on their parents' project, finish the renovations of the inn over the winter to be ready to open for the season, and build the inn over a couple of years to make it a more appealing property for buyers.
The book then jumps ahead to near their opening time, with a young man, Adam Bradford showing up hoping for a room on the Memorial Day weekend, just in time to help Molly with the translation of some furniture kit instructions.
Adam is a writer, successful but not confident. He has chosen to write under a pseudonym to both protect his privacy and to create a safe space for his image of himself. He has chosen Bluebell as a spot for his new novel, on the advice of his mother, but is having an episode of writer's block, something he's never had until now. He only identifies himself as a researcher to Molly and her family.
At one time, the inn was used as a post office, and Molly discovers an unsent letter within the wall by the old mail slot. This sets her on a hunt for the sender and recipient, and she involves Adam as a research guide.
This had an interesting plot and I liked the characters of all three Bennett family members, and of Adam. There is a small town intimacy here, as well as a strong closeness between the siblings despite their differences.

Redemption Road

Finished December 5
Redemption Road by John Hart, Read by Scott Shepherd

This is a haunting book, one with a lot of characters struggling to survive against long odds. The woman at the center of the story is Liz Black, a police officer who has just come through a terrifying ordeal. She was the first officer on the scene of a teenager who was being held in an abandoned building, tortured, and raped. The men holding the teen were shot multiple times and Liz is up on charges for excessive use of force, and suspended during the investigation. She's started smoking again, and isn't eating or sleeping properly. She won't talk to anyone about it, and you understand that she and the teen girl are hiding what really happened at the scene. Liz also carries baggage from her youth, when she was raped by a young man she'd considered to be a friend up until then and then felt that her parents didn't properly support her following the rape. She blames her father, a preacher, more than her mother, but that incident has shaped her life in many ways you only gradually begin to understand. One of those ways is a strong feeling of trust in a police officer, Adrian Wall. Adrian was found guilty of killing a woman, a woman that Liz found dead on the altar of her father's church. She tried to look at other scenarios for the crime, but her superior officers shut her down and blocked her efforts. She took the young child of the woman who died, Gideon, under her wing, and was there for him when his father repeatedly wasn't.
Gideon feels that he has to do something to revenge his mother's death, and it is his actions that lead to his being injured and nearly dying.
Adrian is being released from prison, but his time that has changed him in many ways. The extent of what happened to him in prison is only revealed gradually, but you know that he was ill-treated by some of the guards from near the beginning of this novel. Adrian struggles with the loss of his life before prison, of the loss of people that he loved, of the land that had been in his family for generations, and of the way almost everyone he knew turned their backs on him, when he wasn't guilty.
Channing Shore, the teen who Liz found in the derelict house is also haunted by what happened there, and what led to it. Liz is the only person she can talk to, and the only one who makes her feel that she can find a future. As we gradually learn the truth about what happened, we understand her struggle and as we watch her deal with even more, we fight for her to survive.
We see the actions of the serial killer, the man whose serious crimes began with the ritualized murder of the woman that Adrian was convicted of killing, and who is choosing his most recent victim as the book opens. The terror of his victims is palpable and his actions have meaning that the reader doesn't understand until much later.
There are other interesting characters in the book as well: the retired Southern lawyer known as Crybaby Jones, the rough cop who gives Liz a chance with information the brass don't want to give her. There are those who are evil, who don't care about anybody, who don't seem human. Liz's empathy stands out even more juxtaposed against them.
A winner

Ten Miles Past Normal

Finished July 2
Ten Miles Past Normal by Frances O'Roark Dowell, narrated by Jessica Almasy

This teen novel has 14-year-old Janie Gorman in her first year of high school, and finding that her life on a farm has drawn attention in ways that aren't great, like the goat poo stuck to the bottom of her shoe creating an odor investigation on the bus to school. Up to now, the decision made by her family, at her suggestion, back when she was nine, to move to a farm and raise goats has been a good one. But now, she has a different lunch hour from her group of middle school friends, and has resorted to scarfing down her lunch at her locker and spending the rest of the time in the library.
Of course the fact that her mom writes a blog about their life on the farm doesn't help, either. As Janie chooses a subject for a school project in the one class she does share with her best friend Sarah, and develops a new friendship with another girl hanging in the library, she also finds herself learning new skills, like playing bass guitar, and quilting, and exploring her artistic side in new ways.
This is a novel of growth, of early romance, of families, and of history.
I liked the book a lot and think Janie is a very cool girl.

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.

Rosemary Cottage

Finished January 14
Rosemary Cottage by Colleen Coble, performed by Devon O'Day

This novel is part of a series of novels set at the fictional town of Hope Beach, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. As the book opens, Amy Lange, a midwife, is returning to the cottage she owns at Hope Beach, the Rosemary Cottage in the book's title. She is still mourning her older brother Ben, who co-owned the cottage with her, and who disappeared months ago while surfing in heavy seas. His body wasn't found, but his surfboard was found with the marks of shark teeth.  She recently received an email leading her to believe that Ben's death was not as everyone believes, and that it may have been murder. Coast Guard officer Curtis Ireland lost his sister Gina around the same time as Ben died. She was killed by a boat while swimming offshore, but the boat was never identified. Curtis is raising her daughter Raine, and he hasn't told Ben's family that Raine was Ben's daughter.
As Amy finds out the truth about Raine, finds herself becoming drawn to Curtis, and starts becoming comfortable in the town again, she decides to stay permanently, addressing the need for someone with her skills in the community. She and Curtis begin working together to look into Ben's death, and soon they also believe Gina's death may be related. But do their actions put them in danger as well, and is another threat looming that could take Raine away from both of them?
This book has romance, danger, a strong faith by both main characters, and through Amy, a leaning toward natural healing methods.
A short commentary at the end of the book gave background on how her interests contributed toward the inclusion of some plot elements, and gave me information on the unusual pronunciation of the author's first name as ko-lean.

Above the Waterfall

Finished December 21
Above the Waterfall by Ron Rash

This novel features Les, a North Carolina sheriff in his early fifties, who is days away from retirement, and park ranger Becky, a woman for whom nature is a comfort. Les deals with many issues in his job, not the least of which is crystal meth. His marriage ended badly, and he knows that his reaction to his wife's issues played a large part in that. He takes solace in painting the beauty that surrounds him. Becky is haunted by a childhood incident that silenced her for a time, and more recently, by a bad choice of partner. Becky found that calm comfort with a hefty dose of nature brought her back to herself, and she finds poetry a way to express her feelings about this.
These two voices tell the story of a few days in this Appalachian town, where the growing drug trade in crystal meth causes some to destroy families, and Les has found a way to cope while anticipating his upcoming retirement. When an elderly man that Becky has befriended becomes accused of poisoning the trout he holds dear, Becky defends him righteously, while Les looks for answers. Both characters have an incident in their youth that influences their current actions, and they find themselves growing closer.
This was a fascinating book, one that combined lyrical poetry with a mystery. One in which everyone is flawed in some way. It grew on me as I read it.

The Four Corners of the Sky

Finished June 3
The Four Corners of the Sky by Michael Malone

This novel tells the story of Annie Peregrine Goode, a young woman driven to fly. Annie was left at the home of her aunt in North Carolina by her con artists father when she was seven. He promised to come back, but only showed up a couple of times briefly in later years. Annie was raised by her aunt Sam and her housemate and friend Clark Goode, a pediatrician. But her father Jack had always told her she was a flyer, and from her first foray into the sky at the age of nine, she knew it was true. She took flying lessons and was accepted at Annapolis and became a pilot for the navy. This much we learn early in the novel as Annie is returning to the family home for her 26th birthday, trying to make it before a storm hits.
But this birthday has much more in store for her, setting Annie off on the journey of her life, on the trail of her father, and his latest escapade which involves danger, federal agents, a persistent Miami vice cop, and Cuban history. Annie only wants to know one thing, who was her mother, the one piece of information her father has consistently withheld from her. But the truth brings so much more for Annie, and changes the course of her life forever.
A story that will bring tears to your eyes, make you laugh out loud, and heave a sigh as the story closes. A story that has romance, thrill, and mystery. A story to thoroughly enjoy.

Regulated for Murder

Finished May 19
Regulated for Murder by Suzanne Adair

This mystery thriller is set in 1781 in North Carolina. Michael Stoddard is a lieutenant for the king who has been asked to investigate a questionable land deal in Wilmington, the city he is stationed in. He finds traps and a missing man, but is quickly pulled off the case to courier an urgent message inland to Lord Cornwallis. He heads for the town of Hillsborough dressed as a civilian to meet his contact, but he arrives on the doorstep just after said contact has been murdered, in time to see the supposed perpetrator disappear into the woods. The law in town is a questionable bunch of men, that Stoddard himself suspects the origins of, and they insist on his staying and not only cooperating in the investigation, but doing some of the investigating. Michael is in luck that an acquaintance from Wilmington is also in town, and is willing to assist in passing him off as a civilian and giving him shelter. As he continues to investigate he finds himself more and more suspicious of the law in town and worried about his own safety and those who have helped him.
With a little romance, a lot of suspense, and interesting characters galore, this is a mystery that will keep you glued to the page. I liked the main character of Michael who comes off as an upright member of society, with a slightly secretive past back in England. The widow Kate Duncan is an intelligent business woman who had an unhappy marriage and may be interested in Michael. Her aunt Rachel is another intelligent business woman who has tried to hide her trials from her family, but recognizes when it is time to be forthright. The young man Noah, who everyone has dismissed an an idiot because of his deafness is a gem of a character with hidden depths. Definitely interested in reading more. Wondering how Michael will fare when the English retreat from the United States.

A World Elsewhere

Finished September 26
A World Elsewhere by Wayne Johnston
Read this one in less than a day in two sittings. Wonderful story that kept surprising me.
Set in the late nineteenth century, Landish, a young man from Newfoundland is at Princeton. He is approached for friendship by an extremely wealthy young man, Van, and it changes his life. The two become inseparable at Princeton until one betrays the other.
Landish returns to Newfoundland and refuses to follow in his father's footsteps as a sealing captain, wanting to be a writer instead. He is disowned and shortly thereafter convinced to take on a young boy, who was orphaned as a result of Landish's father's actions. The boy Deacon and Landish struggle to survive, but things become more and more precarious for them. When Van offers them a way out it seems at first an escape, but their new life is as much a difficult one as their early life together was.
A tale of jealousy, friendship, and love, this story resonates with life.

Bryson City

Finished June 3
Bryson City Seasons by Walter Larimore

Finished May 29
Bryson City Tales by Walter Larimore

These two books tell of Larimore's move to the small town of Bryson City, North Carolina to serve as a family doctor and the events and characters that he encountered there. Bryson has changed identifying details to protect patient privacy, but he includes information about his own family and the issues they encounter.
Bryson City is in the Great Smoky Mountains, just outside the park, and offers a variety of experiences to a doctor that he wouldn't encounter in city practice. For Dr. Larimore, God is a center to his life and many of the experiences he relates here show that. Although references to this occur throughout the book, it doesn't come across as preachy or false (unlike some others I've read), and he is honest about his own questioning. Larimore and his wife have a young daughter with a severe case of cerebral palsy and their experience with this is told in the book as well. Larimore sees accidents, diseases, and personal tragedies in his practice and tells of them with humour and honesty. He talks about his own choices, questions, and concerns as well.
This is a book that centers on small town life and the feeling of community that comes to the fore there. These are what I categorize as "nice reads" where you learn something and feel good after reading.

North Carolina Mystery

Finished August 29
A Little Learning by Jane Tesh
This is the third book in a series featuring former beauty queen and fledgling private investigator and artist Madeline Maclin Fairweather. She lives with her new husband Jerry in the small town of Celosia, North Carolina. Jerry has made a living as a con artist, but has promised to get a job and go straight. Madeline gets hired to solve a riddle to find the key to gain an inheritance. She also agrees to help out a local art teacher by teaching the grade four class some drawing techniques. While at the school, she gets involved in the suspicious death of a teacher. There is no shortage of suspects as the teacher is one to annoy her co-workers and family.
As Madeline tries to keep her husband occupied and on the straight and narrow, she is also preparing paintings for a new exhibition and solving her cases, which makes her one busy lady. Madeline is a quick thinker and shows genuine interest in the people she encounters.