Through the Evil Days

Finished December 15
Through the Evil Days by Julie Spencer-Fleming

Once again, Spencer-Fleming writes a novel I can't put down. And it was a perfect snowy day to read this mystery which occurs during a terrible snow and ice storm in upstate New York.
An eight-year-old girl, recent recipient of a kidney donation, is abducted from the foster home she is living in, with an attempt to cover up the evidence with a fire.
Russ and Clare are supposed to be on their honeymoon, trying out a remote cabin with an eye to buying it. Russ has some ice-fishing in mind, and both have a lot on their minds.
With the abduction news coming after the two are away, weather stymies their return to Millers Kill, and threatens their lives.
There is much drama here, with a little girl's life in the balance and a large drug operation at the center.
A side story between the two young Millers Kill police officers Hadley and Kevin also moves forward in an interesting way.
A well-done installation in one of my favourite mystery series.

The Shade of the Moon

Finished December 13
The Shade of the Moon by Susan Beth Pfeffer

This is the fourth book in the series that began with Life As We Knew It. So far I've liked the first two the best. This one has the speaking character move to Miranda's younger brother Jon, and it picks up a few months after Jon, his stepmother Lisa and stepbrother Gabe have entered the enclave Sexton using the slips provided by Alex. Miranda, Laura and Alex are all living in the town outside the enclave White Birch which provides labour to the enclave. The social structure is disturbing, with the clavers, as they are called engaged in widespread abuse of the labourers, known as grubs. As "slips", Jon and Lisa live in the enclave on shaky ground and constantly have to pass tests for loyalty. When Lisa gets the opportunity, she tries to arrange to have Miranda assigned as a domestic labourer to her own household. But unrest between the communities leads to an outburst that has significant impact on the family.
Jon matures significantly in this book, becoming aware of his own spoiled nature and the unfair way he has treated others. But I really didn't feel connected to the characters in this book as I did to the first two books.

Never Go Back

Finished December 9
Never Go Back by Lee Child, read by Dick Hill

Another wonderful episode in the life of Jack Reacher. Reacher was intrigued with a voice on the phone when he called his old unit, the 110th MP, for help from South Dakota. The CO of the 110th is a woman, Susan Turner, and Reacher decided he wanted to meet her to see if the woman was as intriguing as her voice. But when he reaches his destination in Virginia he finds that Turner isn't there, and the acting CO is not a friendly man towards Reacher at all. In fact, he has some back news for Reacher, one personal and one with possible criminal charges. And when Reacher encounters some threatening men at the motel the army books him into, he begins to ask why. Why the threats, why the charges now after 16 years, and why the personal news after so many years. And why was Susan Turner not in command of her unit, and where was she instead.
As usual Reacher brain is always one step ahead, thinking clearly and looking for motives, and he begins to plot his strategy. From backwoods family threats to a suburban California neighbourhood, the trail Reacher follows doggedly leads him to answers with bigger repercussions than he imagined.
Amazing, as usual.

Eloise

Finished December 8
Eloise by Judy Finnigan

This first novel is written by a woman with a passion for books, Judy of the famous Richard & Judy. Taking place in the vacation destination of Talland Bay in Cornwall, the main character here, Cathy, has watched her close friend lose Eloise lose her struggle against cancer, and now feels that Eloise is trying to send her a message tasking her with protecting Eloise's two young daughters. But Cathy's psychiatrist husband Chris worries that she is relapsing into another breakdown, and even Cathy isn't sure that she isn't imagining some of what she is feeling. Eloise's widowed husband seems more focused on the money side of Eloise's death than the emotional side, but is that just the path his grief is taking. Eloise's mother supports Cathy's concerns one minute and accuses her of besmirching Eloise's memory the next. This is a tale of intuition, friendship, and hidden sorrows. I found the plot idea interesting, but found the characters interactions too forced, with sudden about turns particularly from Cathy's husband Chris who was loving one minute and nasty the next. I found the book didn't flow, with the writing repetitive in spots and stilted in others.

The Walker on the Cape

Finished December 7
The Walker on the Cape by Mike Martin

This is the first in a new series featuring Sergeant Winston Windflower of the RCMP, stationed in Grand Bank, Newfoundland. Windflower is a native Cree who grew up on a remote reserve in northern Alberta. He has had several postings with increasing responsibility and has a good relationship with his staff, but not so good with the Inspector he reports to. Windflower is also in the early stages of a relationship with a local Newfoundland woman.
The case here is one that seems straightforward on the surface, but concerns emerge gradually. A local man, Elias Martin went out for his daily walk and never returned, his body found out on the path later. Seemingly a simple case of an older man, a widower, dead of a heart attack. But the autopsy causes concern, and Windflower begins an investigation. With his Inspector wanting him to close down the case quickly, Windflower is forced to move quickly to gather the evidence and track down those responsible. With interesting characters, and a story that leads beyond the small village of Grand Bank, this is an interesting introduction to a new mystery series.

The Whirlpool

Finished December 3
The Whirlpool by Jane Urquhart

This is a novel with many layers, complex and slow. The novel takes place in the summer of 1889.
Patrick works for the government in Ottawa, but has been having issues and has come to stay with his aunt and uncle in Niagara Falls. He is also a published poet and his interest in nature has him wandering in the forest, staring at the river, and interested in a woman he sees on his forest wanderings.
Fleda is the woman in the forest. Fleda's husband David McDougal is fascinated by the War of 1812 and even confesses to Patrick that he married Fleda because of her resemblance to Laura Secord. Fleda is not happen in the town and begins to live in a tent in a forest clearing, and David plans a house for the same location.When Fleda begins to realize that Patrick is watching her, she is both unnerved and flattered and wants to increase the connection with him, but her need has an outcome she didn't envision.
In town, Maud is the widow of the undertaker, still in charge of the funeral home despite her husband's death. Maud keeps a cupboard of the belongings of the floaters, the drowned people from the river and its famous falls. Maud has a young son, seemingly autistic whose behaviour connects these characters, and opens them to new experiences and ways of looking at things.
This is a novel that examines how we respond to how others view us. And how that response changes their perception of us further.

Gwynneth Ever After

Finished December 1
Gwynneth Ever After by Linda Poitevin

This light romance begins as Gwynneth, single mother of three, attends a play in a small Ottawa theatre to create a special birthday present for her best friend. Despite her best intentions, the private box she booked is already occupied and she isn't sure she can believe her eyes when she recognizes the man sitting in the seat next to hers.
As one thing after another goes wrong for Gwynneth, an opening is created for two people who may never have met under ordinary circumstances.
With struggles arising from both characters past relationships, the growing attraction just won't be denied.
With lots of inner angst from Gwynneth and rueful thoughts from Gareth, these two keep getting drawn back to each. A feel good story.

Bellman & Black

Finished November 30
Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield

This novel centers around William Bellman. When William is ten years old, her makes a challenge to himself in front of his friends that he can hit a bird with a shot from his slingshot, a shot that should be beyond him, but he does indeed hit the rook and kills him.
Years later his paternal uncle offers him a position at the family mill, and discovers that William has an aptitude for the work, good at analyzing, good with numbers, and good with people. William's father had run off when he was only an infant and his grandparents had cut William and his mother off from that side of the family, but his uncle is willing to buck the pressure and take a chance on William. And William's life changes forever.
But when a mysterious stranger begins to appear in William's life, his luck changes again, and doesn't change until William believes he makes a deal with the man.
William ends up building an empire in the business of death, providing not only funeral services, but also all the trappings for funerals and mourning. This part was particularly interesting to see the details of Victorian funeral conventions.
The rook theme introduced in William's youth also reappears again and again through the novel, perhaps associated with the mysterious stranger. I liked the chapters on rooks, each one giving an interesting term for a group of these birds.
This is a tale of a man's life, triumphs and regrets, happiness and sorrow. And an underlying fear that follows him throughout.

Inherit the Dead

Finished November 29
Inherit the Dead  introduction by Lee Child, an afterword by Linda Fairstein, and chapters by bestselling authors Mary Higgins Clark, John Connolly, Charlaine Harris, CJ Box, Mark Billingham, Lawrence Block, Ken Bruen, Alafair Burke, Stephen L. Carter, Marcia Clark, Max Allan Collins, James Grady, Heather Graham, Bryan Gruley, Val McDermid, SJ Rozan, Jonathan Santlofer, Dana Stabenow, Lisa Unger, and Sarah Weinman. Read by Christopher Evan Welch.

This novel was a brainchild by Linda Fairstein who wanted to raise money for the victims' assistance organization Safe Horizon. Each chapter is written by a different author, and despite that it flows fairly well. Not as good as a novel by any of these authors working on their own, but still interesting with a plot that keeps you turning the pages.
The main character is an ex-cop turned private investigator, Pericles (Perry) Christo. Perry struggles to stay in his teenage daughter's life, and resents the way his exit from the force portrayed him as a bad guy when he was really a guy trying to expose corruption. Perry is hired by a wealthy woman, estranged from her daughter who has now gone missing. Perry is hired to find her, but he finds that the people he encounters are all playing some game of their own that he struggles to try and figure out.
An interesting idea for a good cause.

Island Summers

Finished November 25
Island Summers: Memories of a Norwegian Childhood by Tilly Culme-Seymour

This memoir covers not only the author's childhood, but the entire family history of this island and what led to her grandmother purchasing it. Tilly has no real memories of her grandmother Mor-mor as she was very young when she died. But she did have access to the recollections of others and of her grandmother's and mother's diaries. The island is located in the south of Norway, with the nearest mainland town, where supplies were often obtained, being Lillesand.
The family lived mostly in England except to come to this island in the summer, a tradition begun in 1947 when Olga Olsen, Tilly's grandmother bought the island and had a cottage and boathouse built on it. The cottage was finished by 1949 and the family began to visit as a group, but Mor-mor always took some time by herself. Both Tilly's grandmother and mother had second marriages, with Tilly being the youngest daughter of her mother's second marriage. The family history is laid out along with the history of the cottage and the family's use of the island. Tilly's mother took on the cottage from her mother with the blessing of her siblings, and the new generation is using it extensively, with Tilly herself loving the off-season when things are quieter, after spending some late winter months there in 2006.
This is an engaging open memoir and the maps and photos help make the island come alive. The stories detail everyday life on the island, and give a sense of how the family dynamics work both now and in the past. A very interesting family memoir.