Casually Yours

Finished March 23

Casually Yours by Vivian Jia Lac

This debut by Toronto writer Vivian Jia Lac is a winner. Set partly in Manhattan and partly in Oregon, the main character is only child Dani Tsai. Dani grew up in small town Silverpine, Oregon, in a house she and her father moved to after her mother returned to Taiwan to pursue her artistic career. Next door lived the Trans, a warm and rambunctious family who ran a local pharmacy. Their son Parker was the same age as Dani and the two became unlikely best friends. Parker was popular at school, always into sports, and became a local football star in high school. Dani was bookish, artistic, introverted, and has a passion for the idea of parallel worlds. Their families spent holidays together from the Fourth of July to Thanksgiving. Parker's mom, Cô Tran, was like a mother to her, much appreciated with the absence of her own mother. Parker's older brother Nathan went to university in Philadelphia and ended up settling there.

When they went to college, they went in opposite directions: Parker to the University of Oregon on a scholarship and later to San Francisco, and Dani to New York City. They stayed in touch until Christmas their sophomore year. Parker was supposed to come to New York for Christmas, but didn't show and basically ghosted her, refusing to respond to her, or even discuss what happened and why. 

Dani works for a magazine, Adagio, as a copy editor, but often writes freelance articles for it and other publications as well. She gets along with her co-workers for the most part and, as the book opens is looking forward to an interview for an online publication, for a contract 18-month position travelling through Asia, something her boss has already approved as a side gig as long as she meets her deadlines. 

After the dinner interview goes drastically wrong, Dani runs into Parker, in town for work as a sports marketing specialist, and the two reconnect. He even invites her to a gala his company is co-sponsoring that weekend. There, the evening takes a turn neither one planned for. 

Their casual relationship takes off from there. Regular meetups at his hotel suite and soon more. But whether it will last past his current New York-based assignment or not is unclear, and insecurities abound.

 I enjoyed the connection between the two characters, built from their past friendship, but with added passion. Shared memories, plus now secrets that just they know. Lac is great at characterization, and her dialogue is perfect. I got a good sense of even the less major characters of friends and family. A definite winner and an author I'll be looking for again. 

The Fervor

Finished March 10

The Fervor by Alma Katsu

This novel combines historical fiction with horror. 

The story begin in 1944, and Meiko Briggs and her daughter Aiko are in Minidoka, a Japanese internment camp in Idaho. Meiko's husband Jamie is a pilot, currently serving in the Pacific. Through the novel we learn how they came to be where they are now after his deployment. 

We also see Archie, one of Jamie's friends, as he and his wife Elsie take a group of children to a fishing area in the mountains near them. When an explosion happens and people are hurt, Archie begins questioning why. 

We also see Fran, a journalist in Nebraska, as she witnesses an explosion and discovers something interesting in the aftermath when she is in a remote area on a tryst with her lover. 

Along with these three stories, that gradually converge, are excerpts from a Japanese diary from seventeen years earlier, when a scientist studying winds comes across another discovery. 

This historical narrative becomes horror when people at the camp, in Nebraska, and in other places start to die from a strange disease. With a group of men in suits and expensive cars recently arrived at the camp, Meiko catches one of them in the kitchen at night and begins to suspect that they are using the Japanese there to conduct some kind of experiment. 

This novel is gripping and scary as you follow the clues to figure out who is doing what and whether anyone can be trusted. 

The Clinic

Finished February 21

The Clinic by Cate Quinn

This suspense thriller mostly takes place at a remote luxury rehab centre on the Oregon coast. Haley, an famous singer, is a patient there and we see her as the novel begins going into an area that she's not supposed to be in.

The novel then jumps to her sister Meg. Meg works at a casino in Las Vegas, where she is part of the investigative team looking for people trying to cheat the system and for other types of crimes. Meg was caught a few years back by some of the bad guys and suffered an injury that she got opioids for and now she is a functioning addict. She's already used other substances to deal with childhood trauma that she hasn't dealt with, and has recurring nightmares that include a man in a fedora and playing cards. 

She'd been close to Haley until Haley left home suddenly, leaving Meg with their mentally unstable mother. 

When Meg gets the news that Haley has died at the rehab centre, and hears rumours of suicide, she is at first very upset, then decides to enter the centre herself as a guest to try to find out what really happened to Haley. She is sure that Haley would never commit suicide. 

There is a second point of view here as well, that of the manager of the rehab centre, Cara, who hasn't been there long. Cara has a background in the hotel industry, where she worked until she got caught up in a scandal. As Cara gradually learns what is going on, partly from the doctor there, Max, and partly from her own investigations, we learn about things from a different angle. 

The other guests at the centre are as famous as Haley was, actors and singers, all there for various addictions. The head of the centre is a man from Switzerland with his own sketchy past, and as the local police also show an interest after the death of Haley, we find some other centre staff may have troublesome connections as well. 

This is a story of both psychological suspense and some physical suspense as well. It has lots of twists and turns and unexpected events that keep you guessing on things right to the end. None of the characters are particularly likeable, even though you might think are. 

The author has her own experiences in rehab, and says that this is her first novel that she's written sober. 

His Christmas Wish

Finished December 22

His Christmas Wish by Melissa McClone

This short romance novel is set in the mountain town of Hood Hamlet near Mount Hood in Oregon. Carly Bishop has come home for the first time in six years. Six years ago, she was about to get married, when her fiance and her brother were found dead in a climbing accident. Both were very experienced climbers, and no one is sure what went wrong up there. 

Christmas was Carly's favourite holiday, and that had led her to plan a Christmas wedding. Now, she lives on the other side of the country and avoids Christmas as much as she can. This year though, her brother's widow, who has remarried, has asked for her help during the season as she is pregnant with the baby due soon, and she would like Carly's help at that time with Nick's children.

Jake Porter, whose family runs a brewpub in town, was Nick's best friend, and has done everything he can to help Nick's widow, including being very involved with the kids. Jake even introduced her to her new husband. 

Both Carly and Jake had feelings for each other, but the age difference when they were young kept them from moving forward with acting on their feelings. 

As they are increasingly thrown together, and then choose to spend time together, they find they have much in common and also that the feelings are still there. 

This is a seasonal tale of second chances, grief recovery, and family. A comforting read. 

His Christmas Wish is also the first novel in a series set around the Mountain Rescue team that Jake is a part of. 

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 Book of Cold Cases

Finished May 22

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

This book is centered on a young woman who was a victim of a crime in her childhood, and who now writes a true crime blog in her spare time. Shea Collins works as a receptionist in a medical office and has a trust issue due to her past experience. It is 2017, and Shea has lately been interested in a cold case from forty years ago. She lives and works near the area of the crimes, and finds herself visiting places connected with the case. 

The 1977 crime consisted of two killings of men. Both were shot at close range with the same gun. A wealthy young woman, Beth Greer, was seen leaving one of the crime scenes and was tried for the murders, but acquitted. When Shea runs into Beth by chance, she impulsively asks her for an interview and to her surprise, Beth agrees. 

This connection opens other doors and leads Shea to new sources of information on the crime. She learns a lot about Beth's family and her reclusive life, and she finds herself noticing things  at the mansion that Beth lives in that have no rational explanation, and make her very uneasy. 

One of Shea's fans is a local private investigator and ex-cop, Michael De Vos, and she has often bounced ideas off of him. She's never met him, but she has a connection with him, and this case strengthens that connection. 

She also has her married sister Esther, who lives nearby, and who worries about her. And there is the unexpected appearance of a stray cat, who Shea more or less adopts and who helps her make a breakthrough in some of the issues she has from her own experiences.

I found Shea a very interesting character, a woman who wants to overcome her issues, but doesn't really know how to. She's so used to putting up barriers in her life, that she finds it difficult to remove them. The cold case, and the mysterious Beth bring a level of the paranormal to the book, that makes it creepy in moments that leave you holding your breath. 

A great read. 

In Another Light

Finished December 22

In Another Light by A.J. Banner

This novel was one that turned out to be a real page turner for me. I read it in less than 2 days, and was totally caught up in the plot and the main character. Phoebe Glassman works as a mortuary cosmetologist in the funeral home that her husband used to co-own. Her husband Logan died in an accident and Phoebe has shut out most of the world since then. One of her newer coworkers, Mike Rivera, a former paramedic, warns her to avoid a body coming in later that day, but that only intrigues her. When she views the body, she is taken aback to find a woman who looks like a younger version of herself. Who is she, where did she come from, and why is she dead? are all questions Phoebe begins asking.

As she travels down that path and learns more about the woman, Pauline Steele, she also learns things she didn't know about her husband and other family members. Not sure whether she can trust her friends, or even herself, Phoebe finds herself in the grip of an absurd hope and making dangerous connections. 

Phoebe is an interesting character, smart and creative. She got sidetracked into her current job when she met her husband, from her former career as a sculptor, and she still secretly does some sculpting in her home studio. She hasn't changed anything in the house since her husband's death. Her father also died around the same time, and her mother is in the early stages of dementia, and living in a retirement home. 

Her new coworker Mike is also interesting, a man with a varied past, and who seems to be drawn to Phoebe. This is a story that gradually reveals the truth, and each revelation brings more questions. 

Easy Crafts for the Insane

Finished November 12

Easy Crafts for the Insane: A Mostly Funny Memoir of Mental Illness and Making Things by Kelly Williams Brown

This memoir covers a few difficult years in the author's life. During this time she underwent several losses (divorce, breakup of relationship, loss of friendships, death of pets) and physical pain (breaking both arms and an ankle), not to mention mental illness. 

Kelly had been diagnosed and treated for depression at a very young age, and continued to battle this into her adult years, but during this time period, her treatments changed, and she had more severe and new mental challenges. 

All her life, one of her comforts has been crafting and throughout this book she includes several simple crafts for the reader, giving step by step instructions and, in some cases, direction to more information available online. 

She is very open about all her experiences during this time, both how she made bad decisions, and didn't always consider how her actions would affect those around her, not recognizing the pain she caused them at the time, and how they affected her in ways they didn't understand at the time either. 

Luckily, she was able to afford and get the help she needed, a privilege that she recognizes that not everyone going through similar challenges will have and she makes arguments for improving the access to mental health care.

This memoir definitely has elements of humour and the author is more than willing to laugh at herself and her experiences while still acknowledging the serious nature of what she went through.

Eye-opening and very engaging. 

Chances Are

Finished March 25 

Chances Are by Kellie Coates Gilbert

This is a romance with a bit of drama, and the first in a series set in small town coastal Oregon. Allie Barrett is on her way to the small town of Pacific Bay as the book begins. She driven there from Texas with her ten-year-old son, Ryan. Allie has recently divorced from her son's father, Deacon Ray after she finally got tired of him cheating on her. When her mother's brother Tarver, who left Texas before she was born, leaves her his home and fishing boat in Oregon, she decides it is a good opportunity for a fresh start. It is unclear what Allie did for a living back in Texas, but here she plans to get the boat going again to run a fishing charter and whale watching business. This will take money, which is in short supply, and a time investment from Allie to learn the business from a hired captain and get the necessary licenses. 

Allie is made welcome in the town, but she finds a lot of work ahead of her. The house has been neglected and needs both cosmetic and maintenance repairs, and the boat has been sitting idle for a while so also needs some work. This is a story of hard work, but also a lot of luck as Allie meets people who help her (a lot) and even when faced with obstacles finds unexpected solutions arise for her. 

Ryan is a good kid, and her ex is aimless and unfaithful, with an eye to any opportunities that arise for him, but not a bad man in most ways. 

This was a pleasant read, with some interesting plotlines. 

Roanoke Ridge

Finished August 31
Roanoke Ridge: A Creature X Mystery by J.J. Dupuis

This book takes place in the mountainous temperate rainforest area of Oregon. The main character, Laura Reagan, is a science nerd who runs a website dedicated to promoting science, gathering information on new discoveries and providing information in a friendly accessible way. But she grew up in this part of Oregon and her father shot some of the little existing video that appears to be showing a creature whose existence is debated: bigfoot. Laura spent a lot of time with her father, camping and exploring the wilderness and is comfortable in the outdoors.
Now one of her professors, Berton Sorel, one of only three people that knew where that footage was shot, has gone missing while doing preparatory work for a documentary on the subject. His wife has asked Laura to come as support and to help search for her husband, and Laura is willing. She arrives with a close friend, Saad, a man that one senses that she wishes was more than just a friend. Also going on in the area is an annual Bigfoot Convention. After meeting with the professor's wife, and attending some of the convention talks, Laura and Saad meet with the forest ranger group organizing the search for the missing man. They are assigned a ranger, and an EMT to search with, but as they approach the area, they find more then they bargained for.
With skeptics, fanatics, tourism promoters, and academics the convention goers are prolific and it seems like they are everywhere. But there are other elements in play here as well, including groups of militants armed to the teeth and ready to shoot at anything that moves.
Laura isn't sure who she can trust or rely on besides Saad, and with more bigfoot sightings things only get murkier.
This was a quick and fast-paced read, that I enjoyed. I liked the media quotes regarding bigfoot sightings of the past that headed the chapters, and the scientific discussions that became part of the plot.

Dying to Read

Finished November 7
Dying to Read by Lorena McCourtney

This book is part of a series featuring Cate Kincaid, a young woman who has had bad luck with jobs, and has recently joined her uncle in his small private investigation business in Eugene, Oregon.
As the book opens, Cate's uncle has had a small health setback and is in the hospital. He's left her a task to track down a young woman for an elderly relative, and she's got an address to look for her at.
As she arrives at the house, she finds a number of women at the door of the house, all of whom were expecting to have lunch with the homeowner, who isn't answering the door.
Cate takes charge, opens the door with the key one of the women has, and enters the house followed by the women. As they search the house, they find the table laid, the food prepared and no sign of anybody. It looks like the housekeeper, the woman that Cate is looking for, has left in a hurry. And then Cate and one of the women find the homeowner, dead at the bottom of a set of outside steps.
As Cate continues to track down the woman, finds that the person searching for her hasn't been honest about the reasons he is looking for her, and tries to figure out what really happened to the dead woman, since the police seem quick to write it off as an accident, she also finds herself in some tricky situations, and meets a man who seems a little too eager to protect her. She also tries to keep some of the information from her uncle as he recovers, and finds herself the unexpected owner of a cat that seems to be sending her occasional messages.
A fun read.

Dashing Through the Snow

Finished November 1
Dashing Through the Snow by Debbie Macomber, read by Allyson Ryan

This novel has elements of suspense and romance. Ashley Davison is studying for her master's degree in social work in San Francisco, and with the deli she works at undergoing renovations finds herself with unexpected time off over Christmas. She plans to go back home to Seattle to spend the holidays with her mother. As the book begins, she is at the airline counter trying to book a flight, and the desk attendant seems to both refuse to give her a seat, but also wants her to wait. Ashley, after trying hard to change the situation, including speaking politely to the person directly behind her in line, decides to try another option, car rental.
At the rental counter, she finds there is only one car left available, and the same man is behind her in line. As they are both going to Seattle and there are some adverse weather reports for the trip, the rental agency suggests that they share the vehicle. After some consideration, and talking with a character reference for the man, Dashiel Sutherland, she agrees to the solution.
As the pair drive north, they get to know each other, have some disagreements, find that they connect in unexpected ways, and acquire a puppy in an unexpected way.
Meanwhile they are being pursued by a couple of FBI agents, one of whom is sure that Ashley is the person that he has been seeking for years. I found this part of the plot a bit keystone kops, but still amusing.
So with the travellers developing a romance, the pursuers gradually closing in, and the Christmas season, we have a plot that will keep you interested.

The Wilding

Finished June 17
The Wilding by Benjamin Percy

This novel is about a man, his relationships with his father, his wife, and his son. But it is also a tale of the wild nature in all of us. There are three main speakers: Justin, a schoolteacher who has never lived up to his father's expectations of male behaviour; Karen, Justin's wife, who has largely withdrawn from their marriage after the stillborn death of their second child years before; and Brian, a young man, suffering both physically and mentally from injuries received in Iraq.
Justin works hard at his job, but has left the house repairs slide lately due to his heavy workload. He still loves Karen strongly, but has almost stopped trying to connect with her after repeated rejections. His father is a man's man, and wants to take Justin and his sixth-grade son Graham on a weekend hunting trip at the spot he and Justin go to every year, as the area is slated for development. This will be Graham's first hunting trip.
Karen is obsessed with exercise, running daily and cooking only healthy, organic food she has carefully researched and bought. She is also obsessed with the obverse, looking up ugly diseases and disgusting illnesses on the internet to make herself feel better. She has no respect for Justin, but there seems to be little rational reason for her feelings toward him. Having lost one child, she is protective of Graham, and worried about the influence of Justin's father Paul.
Brian suffered a head injury in Iraq when a bomb sent off near the vehicle he was in, and has bad headaches and unexpected mood changes as a result. He lives alone, operating the business he inherited from his father, and is obsessed with the idea of becoming a wild animal.
The hunting trip is a opportunity for Paul to orient Graham to hunting, and yet Justin shows himself to be comfortable in this environment, a man who knows how to do things and worries about things appropriately.
When the presence of a bear becomes apparent, Justin must decide how much he is willing to risk for his family, and whether he can overcome his father's authority to protect Graham.
Karen also finds herself put in the position to make a choice that will affect her family, and she finds herself strangely pliant in the face of another's wishes.
Brian is drawn to Karen after meeting her through work, and yet also drawn to the wildness in himself. He will be forced to make a choice as well.
I liked the immediacy of nature in this book, from the two instances with the owls to the setting of the hunting camp and the recurring bear. The native story about nature and its revenge was also an interesting element.

The Quick and the Thread

Finished November 30
The Quick and the Thread by Amanda Lee

This is the first in the series featuring Marcy Singer. Marcy left her unfulfilling job as an accountant in San Francisco, and moved to the small town of Tallulah Falls, Oregon to open her own embroidery shop, a long-held dream of hers. She also has a large Irish wolfhound named Angus who she dotes on.
Marcy's close friend Sadie lives in Tallulah Falls with her husband Blake and the two run a coffee shop. In this book, Marcy's grand opening goes well despite the presence of the previous tenant of her space, who seems to want to give her some kind of message. Registration for her evening classes goes well, and she has sold a few things earlier in the day.
The next morning brings trouble though as Marcy discovers a body in her storeroom, and a message scratched into the wall above him. As Marcy tries to figure out the message, its connection with her own troubles, and the local women who seem to have taken to her, she puts herself into some danger as well.
I liked the previous book in this series that I read, Stitch Me Deadly, and it was interesting to go back to the beginning of the series to see its initial case. As I love embroidery, I like the details that are included about the craft as well.

Stitch Me Deadly

Finished May 29
Stitch Me Deadly by Amanda Lee

This book is the second in the series featuring embroidery supply store owner Marcy Singer, but the first that I've read of hers. It is set in the small Oregon town of Tallulah Falls. Marcy recently moved here from San Francisco, leaving a career as an accountant to open her own store.
On a rainy morning, Marcy is coming down with a cold and popped out to the local cafe to get a camomile tea. As she returns, she sees an older woman approaching her store and hurries back to usher her in. The woman identifies herself as Louise Ralston, shows her an old family sampler, and asks for her help in finding ivy before falling ill. Marcy calls for an ambulance, but finds that the woman has died at the hospital.
As Marcy herself comes under suspicion in Mrs. Ralston's death, she decides to try to find out what Mrs. Ralston meant when she referred to ivy, and who might have stood to gain from her death.
There is lots going on here, with Marcy herself only recently out of a serious relationship and attracted to two local men, but not wanting to get serious with either one too quickly. Marcy's mom, Beverly Singer, a San Francisco-based costume designer, arrives early in the story to provide moral support and explain one of the pieces of evidence against Marcy.
As Marcy becomes acquainted with Mrs. Ralston's extended family, more questions are raised about behaviour and motives, and Marcy finds herself asking more questions.
The dog on the cover is Marcy's large and friendly dog Angus who is a comfort and happy companion. Marcy not only runs her shop but also offers classes several evenings a week in different needlework techniques and is constantly working on her own needlework projects. Her growing friendships with the local people in Tallulah Falls provide a community, and the small town itself provides a cosy setting for the mysterious deaths at the heart of this novel series. An enjoyable, light mystery series.