The Library of Borrowed Hearts

Finished September 17

The Library of Borrowed Hearts by Lucy Gilmore

This contemporary novel is set in small town Washington state, where main character Chloe Sampson had to give up her dreams to leave college to look after her younger siblings when her mother abandoned the family. Chloe loves her siblings and is close to them all, and loves her work at the local library, where she works with best friend Pepper. When she finds a book in the library's basement with messages between two people written inside, she finds herself drawn into this historical mystery. She wants to know the story of the two young lovers who used the book as a way to leave messages for each other. 

Her grouchy hermit of a neighbour Jasper Holmes also takes an interest in the book, and this draws her and her family into his life. 

When Chloe finds that this isn't the only book the couple used, she finds herself on a search for other books. She also finds herself looking for clues to the identity of the young people in question. She finds the identity of the young man first, but struggles to figure out who the young woman is. When a young man enters her life through the escapades of one of her brothers, she finds herself opening herself up to new dreams. 

I enjoyed this book-centred novel, and the story of both the historical lovers and the current day characters. Chloe's siblings are interesting, particularly her brother Aloysius (aka Noodle) who has his own struggles. The book offers up plot surprises and new opportunities for many of the characters. Very enjoyable. 

Season of Salt and Honey

Finished May 6

Season of Salt and Honey by Hannah Tunnicliffe

This novel is about grief and the different ways people deal with it and it is about love and family. Frankie left her fiancé Alex's funeral when she couldn't take the situation anymore. At first she doesn't know where she is going, and then she realizes that she is going to Alex's family cabin in the Washington forest near the ocean, a place she's been to only a few times, but that Alex loved. It's not far from where they lived, and where Alex died in a surfing accident.

Frankie is part of a large Italian family. She has one sister, Bella, a wild child who ran off a few years ago. Her father is widowed, and works hard as a mechanic at his brother's garage. 

Frankie wants to be alone, and she is for a short while. Then Jack shows up, the caretaker for the cabin. He has been tasked by Alex's mother to evict Frankie from the cabin, but he is sympathetic to her situation. Then there is Jack's daughter Huia, a bit of a forest sprite, at home in the woods and eager to share what she knows about the plants and the creatures with Frankie. Then she meets Merriem, a neighbour who has a garden as expansive as those of her Italian aunts, and who is willing to share with her neighbours, including Frankie. Then her sister Bella shows up. Frankie is upset that she left years before, and won't let her in the cabin, and finds her sleeping in her car. 

Then Frankie's dad visits, bringing clothes and food. He is followed by her extended families of aunts and cousins, all bringing food. Alex's brother comes as well. He apologizes for his mother and says he doesn't mind her staying there.

As she finds that she can't escape from the people who love her her, or from her past. she also has to face some truths about Alex that are difficult. She must also think about forgiveness and how she deals with her own family and Alex's family around all the things that arise. 

This is a novel that invites reflection, and makes you think about your own relationships. 

So Far Gone

Finished May 1

So Far Gone by Jess Walter

The main character Rhys Kinnick has been living off-grid for the last seven years. Just before making the decision to move to his grandfather's cabin in the woods, he had punched his son-in-law Shane in the face at a Thanksgiving family gathering. He had agreed with his daughterBethany not to talk religion or politics, but Shane was talking both and goading him and with the recent 2016 election, he just snapped. 

While Rhys loves Bethany, he has never liked her taste in men. Doug, the father of her daughter Leah, was a musician who did drugs and was only too happy to sign away his rights as a father. Shane, a man she met at rehab, seemed a little too serious about religion, and in the years since he's spent time with the family, has gone even more right-wing, now belonging to a Christian church with a militia, with a headquarters in the mountains named The Rampart. 

When Rhys opens his door to a woman and two kids, he doesn't even recognize his grandchildren at first.  The woman, Anna, is a neighbour of Bethany and Shane's and Leah has come to her with a note explaining that Bethany has gone away for a while and Leah was told to take the note to Anna if Shane decided to go look for her. Rhys takes the kids in, and his grandson Asher explains that he has a chess tournament he really wants to go to.

When Rhys left the Thanksgiving get-together years ago, he threw away his phone, realizing that its constant stream of news had a lot to do with his anger. He had also recently lost his job as environmental reporter at the newspaper, and his girlfriend Lucy, who told him she never wanted to see him again.

At the location of the tournament, friends of Shane show up and forcibly take Leah and Asher with them, telling Rhys Shane told them to get them. As Rhys deals with his injuries from this encounter and vows to get his grandchildren, he resorts to asking Lucy for help and finds himself with another ex-boyfriend of hers, a retired cop with a bipolar condition that leads them both into a dangerous situation. 

As Rhys deals with his grandchildren, he also follows the trail to Bethany and finds that the distance between him and his daughter dates back much earlier, and he has to mend fences and rejoin the world to even start at making things right again. 

This is a story that is timely in the American landscape, and deals with technology's reach, the huge rift in America in terms of politics and radical evangelical Christianity, as well as family relations. Shane is a gentle man that has been led through misinformation into a radical environment that he's not as ready for as he thought. Bethany loves her husband, but also remembers her earlier life with fondness. She's also not a fan of this church which seems to hold women as lesser people. This is a story that will leave you thinking. 

The Best Life Book Club

Finished February 26

The Best Life Book Club by Sheila Roberts

This feel-good novel has books, families, and romance. Karissa Newcomb has just moved to Gig Harbor, Washington from Seattle after her divorce. She has primary custody of her young daughter Macy, with her ex-husband having her on alternate weekends. Karissa has been betrayed by her husband and best friend who began a relationship that she discovered. She didn't want to live near them, and has found a job at a small publishing firm where she will work as the administrative assistant. The firm is run by two editors, Edward and Shirley. 

As Macy begins at a new school she finds her way into a friendship with another student after a few days of struggle. 

Karissa finds her way at work, among her co-workers and the authors they work with. She also meets her neighbours, Alice and Margot. Alice is in her late 50s, widowed by the love of her life, and just beginning to interact more with people beyond her family. Her older sister Josie spends a lot of time with her, trying to get her to overcome her fears and find a way forward. Margot is divorced and has a college-aged daughter. She's also just lost her management job, and is struggling to find a new one. 

Karissa decided to start a book club with these other women, and as they work their way through self-help and fiction, they find ways to move forward with their lives, opening new doors to personal fulfillment, professional growth, and romance. 

I enjoyed seeing the different women undergo growth and find happiness. 

Bear

Finished September 18

Bear by Julia Phillips

This novel is a coming-of-age novel set on one of the San Juan Islands in Washington state. The central character is Sam, a twenty-something woman who is not happy with her life, but has a dream that she holds close for a better future. She works in the concession stand on the ferry, has no real friends, and resents that she wasn't hired for a better job, despite having a merchant mariner certification. 

Sam lives with her mother and older sister Elena in a house that her grandmother had lived in and passed down to her mother. Sam's mother has been ill for years, and now is almost bedridden. Sam knows that the time will come when her mother will pass away, and back when Sam was in high school, Elena convinced her to stay and add her income to what Elena earned at the golf club where she worked to provide for the three of them. The pandemic set them back, with the ferries running without concessions for a couple of years, and Sam, unable to find another job, took online surveys to bring in a little money. 

Elena does most of the work assisting their mother, and has taken on the finances and other necessary chores for them. She seems to be similarly living in a narrow existence between work and family. 

One day, a bear leans up against the house when they are all home, startling them and affecting both the young women in different ways. Sam is scared, apprehensive that the bear will return and reports the incident to the wildlife authorities. Elena seems more in awe of the experience of having such close contact with a wild creature, and we see as the novel unfolds, how this difference in viewpoint creates a rift of sorts between the two sisters.

Sam escapes through her countless internet surveys and brief sexual encounters with a coworker, but Elena has a different path. 

This is a book where we see Sam come to understand the situation they are living in, and what her dreams are really made of. Because several revelations happen so close together, Sam finds herself unable to cope well for a time, and I really felt for her. 

A great read. 

Sometimes the Wolf

Finished July 16

Sometimes the Wolf by Urban Waite

This dark novel is set in the northwest U.S., and centers around deputy sheriff Bobby Drake. Twelve years previous to the events in the novel, Bobby's father Patrick had been sheriff. Bobby had been away at university. Bobby's mother had been ill, and Patrick had taken to some illegal acts for money. He was caught and convicted, and is now coming out of jail. 

Bobby has agreed, reluctantly, to take his father in for a short time until he gets on his feet. Bobby's wife Sheri is agreeable to it as well. They will give him the room they had prepared for another purpose, which has a single bed in it. 

Bobby has been working with the local wildlife office with a situation involving a local wolf. The wolf has had some interactions with local farmers and has been blamed for some without solid proof, and the wildlife officer Ellie is planning to capture and tag the wolf so that they can track it and be aware of its whereabouts. 

Patrick seems a little wary once out, thinking that other cars are following them, or that people are watching them, and Bobby has put it down as part of the experience of getting out of prison, and not being used to the freedom and open space that now exists for him. 

Bobby also holds a lot of resentment towards his father. He quit university, came home, sold some of the land to save the house, and now lives in that house with his own wife, and works for his father's old deputy, who is now sheriff. 

Soon after his release, men from his past do appear in Patrick's life, and Bobby and Sheri are at risk. The federal agent who has been on Patrick's case from the beginning has also reappeared, and his presence raises other questions. 

This is a dark story, of fathers and sons, of guilt and the weight of it on those close to us, and of revenge. It is a fast-paced story with lots of action and suspense. 

The Edge of the Water

Finished February 8

The Edge of the Water by Elizabeth George

This is the second book in a series of teen novels set on Whidbey Island, which is in the state of Washington. This book tells the story from several points of view, but mostly from that of two teenage girls, Jenn and Becca. 

I read the first novel a few years ago, but always meant to follow up. I'm glad I did. Becca was the main character in the first novel, but here we also see a lot of Jenn. 

Jenn is in the same grade as Becca, but she resents Becca for taking Derric's attention, and seems constantly angry at her. Jenn lives with her parents and younger brothers in a shabby house near the water. She is working hard to get herself into a position where she can get a soccer scholarship and escape the life she feels stuck in. 

When a young woman researcher, Annie, comes to live in the previously abandoned trailer nears Jenn's house, Jenn willingly takes on a paid job of guide and cleaner, but worries about it cutting into her training time. 

Becca, meanwhile is having issues with her relationship with Derric as she tries to keep where she is currently living a secret as a means of protecting herself. 

The connecting element between all the characters in this novel is Nera, a black seal that has been coming to the island at the same time of year for many years now. Annie wants to make a career-making discovery, but the islanders fear losing Nera's presence. 

This is a story of growth on the part of both teenagers, as they find there way forward and learn about strengths they hadn't realized they contained. 

I'm definitely going to be looking for the next book in the series soon.

Patricia Wants to Cuddle

Finished May 24

Patricia Wants to Cuddle by Samantha Allen

This totally captivating novel is set on one of the San Juan islands in Washington state. A reality television show called The Catch, similar to The Bachelor, is planning to film their penultimate episode on the island. Otter Island is a smaller island, with a mountain at its heart. With a lot of forest, hiking trails, and sheep farmers, we also learn that the island has had some tragedies in the past where people disappeared. The island also has a reputation for being a refuge for lesbians.

The last four women in the running on The Catch are a mixed group: a black human resources professional, a car show model, a Christian influencer, and a fashion vlogger. 

The story moves between these four, the show's producer, Casey, a chat group dedicated to the show and blog posts from the past. The cover gives us a hint to part of the plot that doesn't get brought out into the open until much later in the novel. 

The women's voices show their inner thoughts, and we see how they differ, or not, from their outer personas. As they travel to the island, we get a glimpse into their motivations, what brought them to this point in their lives and what they hope for. We also see how they interact with each other and the man at the center of this season's story, Jeremy, a sleazy tech entrepreneur. 

On the island, we see little of the natives except the woman who owns the B&B where the four women contestants are staying.  

There is a sly humour underlying the whole story, from the reality television premise, to the island and its secrets. 

This was a fast read, that kept me totally engaged with the story. 

Hook, Line, and Sinker

Finis.hed April 14

Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey

This is the second in a series about two sisters. This features the younger sister Hannah. Hannah works as a production assistant in the movie industry. The sisters discovered fairly recently that their father had left them a bar in Westport, Washington, the small fishing town that he and their mother were from, and Piper, the older sister now lives there. Hannah spent a lot of time there helping Piper restore the bar, and making friends in the small community. 

When Sergei, the writer/director that she works for deems LA the wrong backdrop for his upcoming movie project, Hannah suggests Westport. Hannah planned to stay with Piper, but Piper's boyfriend's parents will be visiting, so she ends up staying in Fox Thornton's spare room. Fox and Hannah had spent some time together a few months back as friends, and had continued to text each other since then, joking, sharing challenges and successes, and music. Music is at the center of Hannah's life. She has always gravitated towards music to accompany her life, and has a music degree. She dreams of being a music coordinator for films someday. One of her habits is coming up with songs to fit every moment, and she has a vast repertoire of songs to pick from, including her own large vinyl collection.

Fox works as a deep sea fisherman, with a schedule of several days at sea, followed by a few days on land. His boss is looking to have him take over as captain on one of the boats he owns, but Fox is resistant. Since his early teens he has had a well-deserved reputation as a fun and promiscuous guy, seeing women without being in a relationship and living a life without responsibilities. His own father was that kind of man and everyone seemed to expect Fox to follow in his footsteps. 

Since he met Hannah, and kept contact with her, some of his thinking has changed, and he finds spending time in close proximity to her where they both face their fears and dreams means that he has to be truthful about what he really wants and how his reputation has hindered that dream. 

This is an engaging romance novel that digs deep into the inner lives of both characters, looking at what drives them, what barriers they've created to protect themselves, and how they can encourage each other to take risks to move forward with their lives. 

Some of the story is told through the texts exchanged between Hannah and Fox, particularly in the early part of the book, and this helps to develop the characters for the reader. 

I've read other Tessa Bailey novels and enjoy her writing. 

The Twilight Wife

Finished November 29

The Twilight Wife by A.J. Banner

This novel starts with marine biologist Kyra Winthrop walking the beach on Mystic Island, set in the San Juan islands of Puget Sound. Kyra had a diving accident a few months ago and, as a result, has no memory of the last four years of her life. Jacob, her husband has told her that she taught at Seattle University and that they've been married for three years. She goes through picture albums, both of the earlier years that she remembers and of the years she has forgotten. When she tries to force the memories, she gets headaches, so she slows down, but it bothers her a lot that she has this gap in her life. Jacob says that they recently moved to the house that he grew up in, on this remote island to allow her a quieter environment to recover. He's also told her that they spent time here on the island last summer, staying in a local bed and breakfast, before the accident.

Kyra is beginning to have spurts of memories come through. She remembers another man, Aiden and knows that she had feelings for him, and intimacy. When an older local man, Doug, seems to recognize her she wants to find out who she reminds him of. 

One of their neighbours is Nancy and her husband Van. Nancy grew up with Jacob and seems to have confused feelings about him. Nancy has befriended Kyra and yet seems to also resent her in some ways. 

As Kyra begins to remember things and learn things from the few others on the island, she also finds that Jacob has kept some information from her. Is it to protect her as he claims, or are there secrets he doesn't want her to know? 

This is a tale of narcissism, control, and manipulation, along with Kyra's struggle to find the truth about herself and the people in her life. A book that is hard to put down. 

Dance of the Bones

Finished November 13

Dance of the Bones by J.A. Jance

This novel brings together J.P. Beaumont and Brandon Walker for a situation in Arizona. Lani Pardee is planning on going on an overnight retreat in the mountains with her 13-year-old godson Gabe. He has been a souce of worry recently for his parents who worry that he is taking a path that won't bring him anywhere good. The night doesn't go as planned, and they end up in the middle of a crime that has been decades coming. 

More than forty years earlier, Amos Warren had mentored young John Lassiter, and the two had a partnership finding and selling historical artifacts. Amos was killed and his body wasn't found for years. When it was, Lassiter was convicted of his murder and is still in jail for it. But a group working to clear his name has begun to dig into the case and the real murderer is looking to cover any remaining tracks and leave the area for good. 

This book ties in a native legend to the story, adding bits of that legend to the beginning of each chapter as it relates to the action in the plot. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book and the Walker family tree that was also included at the beginning, showing how various characters connected to each other. 

This was an interesting mystery with additional depth from the indigenous content. A good read. 

My copy also had a short story featuring J.P. Beaumont along with his wife Mel.

The Girl in the Woods

Finished April 25

The Girl in the Woods by Gregg Olsen

This thriller is the first book in a series that features native American pathologist Dr. Birdy Waterman and Sheriff's detective Kendall Stark, who have been working as a cross departmental team very successfully in Washington state.

The novel opens with a prologue where a young woman, Molly O'Rourke, a nurse's aid, taking her dog out early in the morning before work. As she waits, she thinks about one of her neighbours, Ted Roberts and how he had encouraged her as well as how ill he looked the last time she saw him.

As this novel proper begins, Birdy is surprised to find her teenage nephew, Elan on her front steps, soaking wet and looking to stay with her for a while. She's on her way out because a school trip results in the find of a human foot, and the two women have been called to attend the crime scene. As Birdy examines the foot and the two work to identify the victim, Birdy ends up getting closer to this case than she usually does with the family members of the people she examines. She gets drawn into a variety of possibilities for the perpetrator and motives and finds herself taking on aspects of the case that would normally fall to police. 

Kendall does a lot of research around the case as well, looking into the victim, family members and who might have a grudge against any of them. 

When another suspicious death happens in the community, the two are also involved in that, and soon begin to wonder whether the cases are connected. 

There are lots of interesting themes here, with larger story possibilities arising around the main characters and their personal lives. Birdy's nephew Elan has issues he struggles to deal with, and one of the other characters is a hoarder, with all the mental health issues that brings. 

There is also a prison in the community and both staff and inmates have appearances here too. I enjoyed the two lead characters, and many of the plotlines, but for me the ending seemed to have too much going on, and things happened very quickly with little of the even pace of the rest of the novel. Hopefully this will resolve as the series continues. 

Comfort and Joy

Finished July 9

Comfort & Joy by Kristin Hannah

High-school librarian Joy Candellaro is still grieving the loss of her marriage after finding her husband and sister together eleven months ago. She isn't sure how she's going to spend the two weeks she has off over Christmas, and is trying to create at least the look of the holiday at home. But when her sister meets with her with more news, she finds herself needing to get away, and flees for the airport.

There, she takes a flight that ends in disaster, and finds herself trying to escape even further, walking away and finding herself at a small lodge by a lake where she checks in to the otherwise unoccupied resort and befriends Bobby the young boy who lives there with his father Daniel, and is also recovering from a loss in his life. 

As she and Bobby bond over creating a Christmas at the lodge and helping Bobby with his grief and other issues, she finds herself looking for a new future and considering life beyond her divorce.

This is a tale of loss and hope, of looking at things through new eyes, and finding a future despite dealing with grief. 

Joy is a positive woman, who has a good work environment and coworkers who care about her. She also cares about others and this shows in her interactions with Bobby. 

Secrets at Cedar Cabin

Finished February 14
Secrets at Cedar Cabin by Colleen Coble, read by Devon O'Day

This is the third book in a series, but the first that I've read. Bailey Fleming is working as a geriatric nurse in a seniors home in Michigan. She is still reeling from discovering her husband was already married, and then she gets the news that her mother has been murdered.
Bailey is mourning the sudden death of her mother, trying to figure out who would have killed her, and processing the aftermath of her fake marriage when she discovers that her mother had a big secret, and that someone is now after her with murder intended as well.
Bailey runs with only the bare minimum: the secret stash her mother left her, her handbag, and her cat. She is smart enough to hide her trail, and she runs to the cabin that her duplicitous husband gave her as a settlement to try to get her to keep her mouth shut about their relationship. It is several states away, in Washington, and when she gets there, the place has had the utilities shut off and is a mess.
She also discovers that she has an unexpected connection to the town of Lavender Tides, and as she begins to research her past, she also finds that the FBI are looking at her and her property as well.
This is a book with lots of secrets that need to be uncovered, with women being trafficked to high bidding renters and buyers, and with people who have faith that things will work out.
With a fast-moving plot, and interesting characters, I enjoyed the book, especially Bailey's cat Sheba, who is attached strongly to her.

Promise Not to Tell

Finished May 29
Promise Not to Tell by Jayne Ann Krentz, narrated by Susan Bennett

This thriller takes place in and around Seattle, with two main characters who have a shared traumatic past. Virginia Troy was only a young child when she survived a deliberate fire at a rural cult compound. Her mother died in the fire, and Virginia still has nightmares about that night, despite being raised by a loving grandmother. Cabot Sutter was a bit older than Virginia when he survived that fire, and he also lost his mother. His mother's family wanted nothing to do with him, and he was raised along with two other young male survivors by a man who had his own terrors from that night, Anson Salinas, the police detective that saved them. Anson and all three of the young men have now joined together in a detective agency, and they have reason to believe the cult leader Quinton Zane is still alive despite the boat fire that was supposed to have killed him.
Virginia has made a good life running her own art gallery, and recently made contact with a couple of older women who also survived that night. They were friends of her mothers, and one of them found her truth through painting. The pictures she painted of that night are dark and haunting, even disturbing, but also very good. Virginia has taken the paintings, but it is the last painting, sent to her just as the artist died in a very suspicious manner, that has made Virginia seek out Anson and his agency as people who won't dismiss her suspicions that Zane is still alive. She is correct, and as Cabot returned to the office as she was describing the situation, he is the one that works with her on the case. It doesn't hurt that there is a spark between them, and that they both understand the other's PTSD symptoms.
At the same time this is all happening, Xavier, a younger cousin in Cabot's estranged family approaches him out of curiousity and rebellion wanting to know more about this cousin his father and grandfather hated so much. At first Cabot doesn't want to deal with him, but Virginia and Anson convince him to give the young man a chance without blaming him for his family's actions.
The cult element is very interesting, showing the tactics and personal characteristics of a sociopath intent on his own interests. This is the second book in a series, and I haven't read the first, but had no issues with that.

Mr. Miracle

Finished January 17
Mr. Miracle by Debbie Macomber

This short novel set in Tacoma, Washington, has Harry Mills, an angel come to earth for the first time to help someone through some issues and bring two people together. Even though he has studied for this assignment, he is not truly prepared for some of the feelings that he will be having as he takes a human role. He also doesn't understand all the cultural references that come up in the interactions he has with people. He is mentored by another angel Celeste, a female one with much more experience. She is kind, helpful, and understanding when he makes mistakes. She encourages him to think about what he is feeling and come up with his own solutions. She also uses questions to lead him in the right direction when he is feeling out of his element, and guides him back to his assignment when he finds himself distracted by other humans with issues.
This is also about a young woman, Addie Folsom, who has returned home after leaving in rebellion a few years earlier. She is ready to start again, and has enrolled at the local college. She moves back in with her mom, her father having died recently. She had planned on spending Christmas with her mother, but her mother had already made plans with a friend, another widow who lives next door. When she was young, Addie had a crush on Erich, her brother's best friend, and the son of the widow next door, but he'd only teased her and belittled her. She isn't inclined to be friendly with him now.
But when Erich falls and is hurt and with only his mother to look after him, it jeopardises the vacation plans, so Addie steps in and agrees to help.
This light holiday romance, with a touch of magic, is an easy read that will put you in a good mood.

Marrow Island

Finished January 4
Marrow Island by Alexis M. Smith

I enjoyed the previous book I read by this author, Glaciers, and so picked this up when I saw it on the shelf at the library.
The main character here is Lucie Bowen. Lucie is a journalist and as the book begins, returns to the house she grew up in on Orwell Island off the coast of Seattle. This is the first time she has been back since fleeing the island after a devastating earthquake when she was just twelve years old.
Her mother managed to hold on to and repair the cottage they lived in, and has now transferred ownership over to her. Lucie's childhood friend Katie, whom she lost touch with after the tragedy, has recently sent her a letter, letting Lucie know that she is working with a small group of people on a nearby island, Marrow Island. Marrow Island was the center of a second tragedy, caused by the earthquake, of a fire and environmental disaster at an oil refinery. The island was contaminated and all residents were evacuated and not allowed to return. Many of those on Marrow Island at the time died and some bodies were never recovered, among them Lucie's father.
It is hard for Lucie to go back, but at Katie's invitation to see how the colony works, she goes over for a couple of days, as does a parks officer who is looking at the state of the government park on the island to see if work can be done to reopen it.
As we see Lucie learn about the colony that Katie lives with and meet other members, we see her question her observations. She is, after all, a journalist, despite the personal ties she has to the location and people there.
This story alternates with a later narrative, also by Lucie, more than 18 months after this visit to Marrow. We gradually learn something bad happened, and Lucie is now living with her boyfriend, a parks officer, in a remote forest cabin on the mainland. She spends her days wandering the woods, writing, and generally avoiding facing what happened. When something happens to call her back to those events and then a fire threatens her new sanctuary, Lucie responds.
This is a moving book, The reader really gets inside Lucie's head, seeing things as she sees them, but unsure of what importance to place on them.

The Rejected Writers' Book Club

Finished November 1
The Rejected Writers' Book Club by Suzanne Kelman, performed by Tanya Eby

This light novel is part of a series of books set in Southlea Bay, a small island in Puget Sound. The main character here is Janet Johnson, local librarian. Janet used to live in California, but she and her husband Martin moved to the island fairly recently. Martin is trying to figure out how to deal with the pesky raccoons that keep getting into their garbage when Janet is asked to come to a meeting of a local club. The Rejected Writers' Book Club is a group of women who have all written books, but have never been accepted for publication. They read from their work and celebrate the receipt of rejection letters, planning a large celebration for 500 letters, which is less than 100 letters away as the book opens.
Janet is also worried about her daughter who lives in San Francisco and is encountering some issues with her first pregnancy.
But then tragedy strikes. One of the women gets an acceptance letter, and is crushed. Not only does this mean she will have to leave the club, but the novel she submitted contains a plot that she borrowed from someone else, and now believes may be a true piece of someone's history. Janet is asked for her assistance, and the group plans a road trip to the publisher's office in San Francisco since Janet is already planning to go there to see her daughter.
As with many road trip novels, many interesting meetings take place, introducing other characters, quirky and helpful, and the group has issues that delay them, from car trouble to weather.
Living in close proximity to each other during this trip, they get to know each better, and bond in ways Janet wouldn't have imagined. She returns home with friends, love, and maybe even a solution to the raccoon problem.

The Edge of Nowhere

Finished March 29
The Edge of Nowhere by Elizabeth George

I've long been a fan of Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley series, and now she has started writing for teens. This book is the first in a new series. The main character here is Becca King, aka Hannah Armstrong. Becca has an unusual ability to be able to hear other's thoughts. They come to her a bit disjointed, in snatches, and can overwhelm her, especially if she is around too many people at once. She has a device she can wear that help block these. Becca's mom Laurel doesn't always make the best choice when it comes to men, and her current husband, Jeff, is a prime example. Jeff, knowing of Hannah's ability, has used her to assist him in activity that isn't on the up and up. When she learns something about Jeff from his thoughts, she and her mother go on the run, hence the new name.
But Laurel's plan for Becca gets a glitch, and Becca must find a way to survive and stay safe before her mother can come back for her. When a boy in her class is hurt, Becca is first on the scene and finds herself in panic mode. Will her actions put her in danger? Where is her mother? What happened to Derric? Why is Jenn so angry? and many more questions as the young people try to sort out issues in their lives and their feelings.
Set on remote Whidbey Island in Washington State, you get a real sense of the setting, and George is good at brining her characters to life. The ending is what tells me there are more books to come, and I'll be looking forward to them.

The Orchardist

Finished March 8
The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin, read by Mark Bramhall

I loved this book. It is set in the early part of the twentieth century, in rural Washington state. A man named William Talmadge lives at the orchard that he, his mother and his sister came to when he was a child. His mother died and his sister disappeared, and he has made a lonely existence for himself. His only real contacts are a local healer named Caroline Middey, a few years older than him, and a group of native men who stop at the orchard on their horse trading trips, one of whom, Clee, Talmadge becomes especially close to.
One day, when he is selling his fruit in town, a couple of young girls, heavily pregnant and apparently vagrant, steal some of his apples. Later, the same girls show up at his orchard, and his compassion for them moves him to help them. When the man they are fleeing follows, a tragedy ensues, and leads to years of changed lives as Talmadge feels the need to protect all the victims.
This is a story told in a slow, languid fashion, gradually unfolding before the reader. It is rich in description and details and uses wonderful language to evoke the time and circumstances of all the characters. Because I was listening to the audiobook, I had to see out the physical book later to share some of these wonderful passages. The reader, Mark Bramhall, does an amazing job of storytelling using slow speaking, pauses, and other means to bring the story to vibrant life.

Here are some examples of the writing:

About his sister:

"The girl setting off, to be caught by something she did not anticipate. What else could have happened, really? The only thing worse, perhaps, than knowing for certain that she was abducted was not knowing. That was the sad truth.  And Talmadge lived in that uncertainty, he had made his home in it, and there was no possibility of him resting--truly resting--ever again."

later:

"She just kept walking. Nobody came after her. She walked until she could not hear the men behind her anymore, and the forest mended in silence behind her. They would wonder about her, they would even search for her, and they would hate her for it. But she had no choice. She could feel the old familiar feeling, waiting under the canopy of trees. It had fit her like a glove, and she was certain in her soul she had been there before. She had had to escape her own fate."

and

"And that was the point of children, thought Caroline Middey: to bind us to the earth and to the present, to distract us from death. A distraction dressed as a blessing: but dressed so well, and so truly, that it became a blessing. Or maybe it was the other way around: a blessing first, before a distraction. Caroline Middey scrutinized the point; did not know if the distinction was important. (All distinctions are important.) But she did not think any more about it because at her back, suddenly, the child woke from her nap, and she rose at once to go to her."

and this:

"He was struck, as he was always stuck, by the horses' simultaneous ugliness and beauty. Different shapes, heights, colors: cream-colored, black, brown, yellow horses, horses with dappled rumps, with stockings; some white horses with pink snouts and blue eyes; tall horses, with muscular necks; others short, stunted, dwarfed-looking. All weighing around a quarter ton, some just over. He had seen these herds for years, and yet when they came through the trees he was always surprised by them. They were dirty, unkempt, stinking; overall unpredictable. Perhaps what made them so impressive was their undandledness. They had encountered no human up there in the mountains where they were captured. The men had gone up there, to the places where the horses lived, and dragged them--the horses--down to the plateaus and lowlands, and as a result the horses held the deepest grudge; they tore this way and that, tossing their heads, breathing rancid horse breath out of their rancid horse lungs. This is how he imagined it, as a boy lying awake at night, unable to sleep because of their presence in the field. He did not understand what they were. What do you mean, what are they? his mother had said. They are horses, Talmadge. But they were unknowable, both singly and as a herd. Even now it was difficult to look away from them."

I could go on and on, but hopefully you see what I mean by these. Definitely on my list of favourites for the year.