Winter's Secret

Finished March 27

Winter's Secret by Lyn Cote

This is the first book in the series Northern Intrigue, set in small town and rural Wisconsin. Someone has been breaking into homes while the owner is away, destroying things for seemingly no reason, and taking only cash, nothing traceable. Many of the victims are seniors and out of the homes temporarily for health reasons. 

One of the main characters is Wendy Carey, a home health nurse in the area. Wendy is first on the scene for one of these crimes as she is driving a patient home after a night away. Wendy lives with her younger sister, who is a senior in high school. Their mother has recently remarried and moved to Florida and both she and her new husband are recovering alcoholics. Wendy's father died when she was young, but she is close to her paternal grandfather. Due to her job, Wendy is familiar with many of the seniors who have been victims of the crimes in question. 

The new sheriff, the other main character, is Rodd Durant. Rodd lived part of his childhood in the area, but grew up elsewhere. He came back after inheriting his uncle's ranch. He is growing increasingly frustrated by the ongoing crimes as there is call from some locals questioning his abilities as the crimes continue. He asks for Wendy's help, learning about who might be potential targets. 

Wendy has also been a victim of the town gossips, mostly around her mother's past. She tries to not let it bother her, but it does. As the two spend time together, feelings develop and Wendy worries about drawing Rodd into the negative gossip. 

Wendy and her family are strong churchgoers, and close to the local minister and his family, often babysitting their very active young son when needed. We see into some of their family life, and the minister's family as well. 

This novel definitely shows both the good and bad of being part of a small community, and the realities of aging. An enjoyable read.

Jack in a Box

Finished February 12

Jack in a Box by Diane Capri

This is a short story in the series Hunt for Reacher, where FBI agents Kim Otto and Carlos Gaspar are on a case looking for information about Jack Reacher. This story takes place after the first book in the series, Don't Know Jack, and both agents are digging back into physical records, but separately. 

Kim gets a message to go to her father's hometown in Wisconsin to see her grandmother who ill in the hospital there. This gives us a window into her personal life. We see how her father's side of the family, German in heritage, had not taken well to his marriage to his marriage to a Vietnamese woman, and so he's moved to Michigan, where Kim grew up. The family dynamic is interesting, with the family acknowledging her while also keeping their distance. Besides her grandmother, the only person she really interacted with is a cousin, Lothar, who is in the army, and who surprises her near the end of her visit. 

Carlos gets a message that takes him to D.C. from his Miami home, but he is anxious about his own family, with four daughters that keep things hopping and a son on the way. We don't get as much information about the dynamics here as we do with Kim, but the hints keep it interesting. 

As the two approach the place and time they've been led to, they are given a message regarding their case. 

I liked the background this story gave, which enhanced the series for me. 

Nurse's Date with a Billionaire

Finished August 31

Nurse's Date with a Billionaire by Amelia Addler

This is the first book in the Billionaire Date series, a romance series with no sex, a subgenre known as 'clean romance'.This story is set mostly in Madison, Wisconsin. Kali is a nurse who has just transferred to the ICU. Her first patient in a nonresponsive man found on the street with no ID. As the book begins, he has woken up and tried to walk away, and she catches him out of his room. Once he is evaluated and moved to a regular ward, he tells the doctors he remembers who he is and gets told he will be released, but leaves before being officially released. 

He still hasn't recovered his memory however and finds himself on the streets of town looking for food and shelter. He finds a soup kitchen, and coincidentally Kali is delivering leftover food from the hospital to it when she sees him and stops to say hi. She ends up taking him back to her place as she has a separate small apartment space in her basement she hasn't yet rented out. 

As he gradually begins to remember his life, with Kali's help, he returns to his life in England, where his family is extremely wealthy and owns a hotel chain. He is also engaged to a wealthy young woman there. 

There is some drama around Kali's work, with a supervisor who is a bully, and some odd rules around fraternization with patients. We also see both characters' strong family connections and how their past has impacted their lives. 

I read this to meet a reading challenge as a quick read, and found it a light and quick read in a genre I am not that familiar with. 

The Recipe Box

Finished October 13
The Recipe Box by Viola Shipman, read by Susan Bennett

The story begins with Alice Mullins making an apple crisp in the 1930s at the orchard farm her and her husband own in Wisconsin, but quickly jumps to the present day, with her great granddaughter Samantha working as a pastry chef in New York City. Sam doesn't like or respect the man she works for, a phony who goes by the name Chef Dimples and never actually cooks himself, and who treats his staff badly.
Samantha is making a pie for Chef Dimples appearance on Good Morning America, when he behaves horribly and disrespectfully towards her, and she ends up quitting. She decides to take a break and go home to Wisconsin for a while to regroup and lick her wounds. She's enjoyed her time in New York City, attending cooking school, making friends with other women her age both as classmates, roommates, and coworkers. She's kept herself busy and made no time for relationships despite the attentions of a young New Jersey produce delivery driver.
Back home in Wisconsin, she doesn't at first admit to her family that she's left her job, and she hears more family stories, spends time in the orchard and the kitchen of the family-run bakery business and thinks about her future.
Each section of the book has a recipe, all of them sounding absolutely delicious. I'm definitely going to try some out. I liked the continuity of the family and learning the story of each generation, their struggles, and their successes.
This was a fun read, centered around families and food, with the Mullins slogan of "Pie equals Love" coming through loud and clear.

Montaigne in Barn Boots

Finished April 1
Montaigne in Barn Boots: An Amateur Ambles through Philosophy by Michael Perry

In this book Perry talks about his discover of Montaigne's writings, his affinity for many of his musings, and his own take on the philosophical ideas in Montaigne's work. This is an intensely personal book, as he talks about his own moments of doubt and his worries.
I've always enjoyed Perry's books, and this was no exception.
Perry has read Montaigne in translation, but also read many of the critical works about both Montaigne himself and his writings. He cites some of these ideas in his nine essays, as he delves deeper into the ideas of Montaigne.
His essay titles here illustrate the way he brings his own life into the ideas. In the first Reading Like a Chicken, where he talks about pecking his way around Montaigne gives us a glimpse into his approach to his philosophical reading. In Roughneck Intersectionality, he talks about the differences in background between himself and the philosopher and the things they have in common. In Confound the Fool, he talks about the unending quest for understanding human nature. In Shame, he reveals his own angst and failures around expectations and outcomes. In Marriage, he talks about Montaigne's unusual relationship with his wife, and his own marital dynamics. In Amateur Aesthetics he talks about his own cultural influences, the subjective nature of beauty, and about the importance of context. He says

I am free to savor six kale chips and an episode of It's Okay to Be Smart then dive into a tub of Costco Cheese Balls and a four-hour Reno 911 binge-watch. "I now, and I anon, are two several persons," Montaigne once said, the upshot being, the "other people" necessary to achieve the cosmopolitan state of generative tension required for aesthetic fruition sometimes reside within the same body.

something I can definitely relate to. In Kidney Stone Wisdom, he compares Montaigne's experiences with the plague of kidney stones, and his own. While Montaigne talks about his ongoing experiences as a chance to strengthen his character before witnesses, Perry summarizes his less dignified response to the experience and expands it to include other bodily frailties more evident with age, and how some of these have provided edifying lessons.
In Meditating on Faith, Perry discusses his own experiences with religion, meditation and yoga. From his fundamentalist Christian upbringing to his introduction, via his wife, to yoga and meditation, he shows his questioning nature. He talks about the struggles with monkey mind, yet how

Whether it is due to having been raised in a large family or just general wiring, I am able to withdraw deep into my head in nearly all circumstances. As a shy person I sometimes go into public to write, which may seem counterintuitive but in fact self-consciousness is a catalyst for withdrawal. The presence of strangers compels me to lower the louvers and focus directly in on the task at hand.

He ends with What to Do, a summary of what he takes away from reading Montaigne. He says,

It seems that somewhere around my current life stage, people make one of two moves: Some stiffen, dig in their heels, and attempt to block the future; others reinvigorate life by blending it with the spirit of youth. I hope I will -- and I am working to -- bend toward the second. I am not talking here about the embarrassment of an oldster trying to vibe with the kids. Nor am I talking about abdicating principles. I am talking about offering a hand, opening new doors, and sometimes -- when new blood is best -- stepping aside and standing down. 

An edifying and satisfying read.

Uncommon Grounds

Finished May 4
Uncommon Grounds by Sandra Balzo

This mystery novel starts with a body. Maggy Thorsen arrives later than planned to her new coffee shop on the day of the planned grand opening. On the floor is the body of one of her partners, Patricia Harper. The third partner in the shop, Caron Egan, Maggy's longtime friend, seems to stunned to respond. Maggy is recently separated, after her dentist husband decided his young hygienist was what he wanted instead. Her son is in college, and Maggy has put her financial stake into the shop and really needs it to succeed.
Pavlik, the new sheriff is on the case, although Gary Donovan, the local police chief, doesn't seem happy about that. Maggy grows increasingly worried that the real killer of Patricia isn't going to be found and she decides to mount her own investigation. Joining forces with Sarah, Patricia's close friend, Maggy starts looking at the evidence more closely, and finding a lot more going on in her community that she ever thought was happening.
Small town Wisconsin means that everyone knows everyone else's business, but it also means that people make certain assumptions, and that can be dangerous.
I liked the character of Maggy, and her small house and big dog. She is a bit technologically challenged, but she has a good heart, and the right instincts.

Shoot the Lawyer Twice

Finished February 7
Shoot the Lawyer Twice by Michael A Bowen

This mystery is a complex scenario, Central to the plot is an accusation of attempted rape by a young woman of a man who was on her boat on the Fourth of July. The young woman is wealthy, studying engineering at college, a knowledgeable machinist and still mourning the loss of her father a couple of years after his death. Other tangential stories are a university professor looking to write a corporate history about a local business, a novelist looking for a leak of information and a supposed find of a historic document involving a pope.
Melissa is an English professor at University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and her husband Rep is a copyright lawyer. They both get drawn into the story. Rep is renting an office in the law firm defending the young man accused of rape. Melissa has had dealings with the professor.
As the story progresses, other people turn up dead, there are several threats, a robbery, lots of accusations, and a re-examining of the Catholic Church by Melissa.
A very interesting plot that was nicely built up. Interesting characters both major and minor. A good read.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

Finished October 31
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski

It took me ages to read this book. I had it, along with several others, by the bed, and dipped into now and then. Because I had heard it described as a retelling of Hamlet, I had approached it with something like dread as I got further in, both wanting to read it but also not wanting to find out what happened to Edgar.
The prologue takes place in 1952 in South Korea where a man makes an exchange of a life-giving drug for one that takes life. We don't know who the man is.
The story then begins in 1919, starting with Edgar's grandfather, John, and his delivery of a puppy in exchange for another. After completing the exchange John was driving around the backroads and came across a farm for sale, was attracted by what he saw and bought it. John rented out the fields, got a job at the mill in town, and began to raise dogs. John and his wife Mary had two sons, very different from each other. One left, Claude, and one stayed and the son that stayed, Gar, was Edgar's father. Gar and his wife Trudy took on the business of raising the dogs, with Trudy taking on the majority of the training. Gar and Trudy wanted children, and after several disappointments finally had a son, Edgar, born in May 1958. But Edgar was born different, unable to make a noise, even able to cry as a normal baby. There appears to be no physical reason for his silence.
One of the dogs, Almondine was treated more as a pet, stayed with them in the house and grew up with Edgar. She is one of his earliest memories. There are chapters in the book from her voice, that I found some of the most moving chapters in the book.
Early in Edgar's life someone is brought into their lives that alerts Trudy and Gar to the potential of sign language for Edgar, and they beginning learning it so that they can teach him,
When Edgar is as tall as Trudy, Claude comes back into their lives. He was in the army but is out now and staying with them until he gets settled. But he and Gar don't get along, and by the time he leaves, the brothers are at odds with each other.
Edgar observes others closely and understands both people and dogs. As his life goes forward and things in his family change, he also finds himself frustrated by what is not within his ability to fix or control. It is here where I found myself reluctant to go on, both wanting to know and not wanting to know how things with Edgar would end in this novel.
A moving book, with wonderful writing.

Front and Center

Finished September 25
Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

This is the third book in the series featuring Wisconsin farm girl and athlete DJ Schwenk. Basketball season has begun and DJ knows she will be expected to take a leadership role on the team, but doesn't feel comfortable speaking up when others are watching. She also knows that a scholarship for basketball is the only way she will get to go to college given her family's financial circumstances.
Her old brother Win has taken an interest in her basketball and college issues after she helped him move forward in his life. But she doesn't like the pressure on her and isn't sure she is cut out for a top basketball school.
This novel is about self confidence, knowing who you are and being able to tell others, and being a role model. DJ likes flying under the radar, but that isn't possible for her right now, and she has to learn how to deal with attention and being the leader her skills naturally take her to. This is about friendship and growing up, about standing up for yourself and about not selling yourself short.

The Off Season

Finished September 24
The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

This is the second novel in the series that began with Dairy Queen. This begins with the fall semester of DJ's junior year at school. She has made the football team, and after a brief interruption resumed her friendship with Amber. Brian Nelson seems interested in her for more than just her coaching skills, and things are going incredibly well.
And then they aren't. With injuries to both her and others in her family, relationship issues, and attention that she hadn't expected, DJ's world changes drastically. She has to deal with things she never thought of, and be an anchor to her family in their time of need.
DJ really grows here, realizing that she has qualities she hadn't thought she did, and her family and friends see a side of her they hadn't expected.
A great addition to the series.

Off Main Street

Finished July 27
Off Main Street: Barnstormers, Prophets & Gatemouth's Gator by Michael Perry
This book is a collection of essay type articles, updated with comments. The articles were all previously published. I've liked everything I've read by Perry and this is no exception.
The subjects covered here are wide-ranging and include traveling with musicians, passing a kidney stone, water towers, truck-driving, and God.
Sometimes making me laugh out loud and look around for someone to share a bit with, this book is never dull and often thought-provoking.
Highly recommended.

Siren Song

Finished July 7
Siren Song by Stephen Schwandt
This short mystery is very different. Schoolteacher JP Griffin is disillusioned with teaching American lit to high school students. Near the end of the school year, he runs back to the area he grew up in, the Door County of Wisconsin. It is foggy that night and he passes an unlikely trio of vehicles on the bridge.
He decides to buy a boat with the money he inherited when his parents died and take the fall term off. He purchases a used boat and intends to take the summer to relax and cruise around the area. But the secrets of the previous owner of the boat, a cop who died on the night he arrived won't let go. He begins to feel that he has taken on the cop's life. He is reading his books, living on his boat, discovering his secrets, and meeting his friends. Where will it all lead him?
This book is intense and gave me a feeling of lacking control (from the character's viewpoint).

Great Memoir

Finished August 27
Population: 485 by Michael Perry
Having read his book Truck: a Love Story, I was interested in reading more. This book actually was written before Truck and contains chapters about his work both as an EMS and as a volunteer firefighter in his hometown of New Auburn, Wisconsin. Perry puts it all out there, including the sad, happy, embarrassing, and comic. He talks about working with his brothers and mother, how his work as a firefighter linked him back to his community, and shows a variety of personalities in both his coworker and his fellow citizens. This is a story of a small town, human relationships, and self discovery.
Perry is an excellent writer who finds the humour in every situation and yet doesn't take advantage of his insight to belittle others or make himself a hero.
This is a book to read slowly and savour every bit, which is what I did, carrying it around for a long time in my purse, reading it in stolen moments when waiting for appointments or taking a quiet moment for myself. I'm now lending it to my dad, who enjoys Perry just as much as I do.

Charming Memoir

Finished March 28
Truck: A Love Story by Michael Perry
This memoir is structured loosely around the rebuilding of a 1951 International pickup truck. Michael had the truck for a long time before he undertook the restoration with the significant assistance of his brother-in-law Mark. Over the year that this memoir covers, not only is the story of the truck covered, but also the story of Michael's life including his new relationship with Anneliese and her daughter Amy. He covers his house and garden, his volunteer firefighting, his writing (including book tours), and his familyand friends.
Perry has a great sense of humour and is self-deprecating when it comes to his own failings. This book is touching, honest and open. We get a real look, not just a glimpse into his life.
I was drawn to the book initially because my grandfather had an old International, but the book offered so much more. I also kept finding myself thinking how much my father would enjoy this book and I will be sharing my copy with him now that I am finished.