In the Light of What We See by Sarah Painter

In the Light of What We See is a fairly lovely and intriguing book by Sarah Painter. There's a touch of magical realism, a touch of ghosts, and a touch of mystery, though the latter was painted with the feigntest of hands. The story unfolds in two alternate timelines: the present, where Mina is recovering in hospital from a near fatal car crashed caused by her boyfriend directly after she breaks up with him (though she doesn't remember the events), and 1930's England, where Grace has become a nurse at that very same hospital after being sent away from her family in disgrace. Mina begins to see Grace in her room, leading us to believe that something terrible happened to Grace all those years ago, and that the same fate might soon befall Mina.

There is tension in the book, as we wait for Mina to remember that her boyfriend is a jerk, but because we already know the cause of her accident it's not like there is a big reveal at the end. There is also some mystery surrounding her brother, though that too is sort of obvious, and not so mysterious after all. This book does best in its descriptions of England on the cusp of WWII, and the life of a lowly nurse trainee back then. I could have read a whole book about Grace and her friends, and what was about to befall them. I also have to say that above everything else, the title just rubbed me wrong. There's not such a direct correlation to the story that this book couldn't have been named something else, and with a title so close to Anthony Doer's All the Light We Cannot See, it almost seems like a ploy to get you to buy this book thinking it's the other one. Just sayin...

Remember My Beauties by Lynne Hugo

"Somehow the choices in my life just made themselves, dragging me along behind them," says Jewel, the middle-aged main character in Remember My Beauties by Lynne Hugo. She's been doing everything for everyone, including her ailing parents, their stable of horses, her drug-addicted daughter, and her unappreciative husband. Then one day, Jewel decides enough is enough, and starts taking a stand for herself (and hacking off her hair in the process). Cal, her derelict brother who once tried to rape her when they were teens, comes back to town, and Jewel draws a line in the "horse manure" for her parents, who want to take him back in. Unfortunately, they choose their no-good son, and set off a division in the family, and in Jewel herself.

This story is full of hard-knock characters, some of which are easier to like than others. You'll find yourself rooting for Jewel's daughter, Carley, and her quest for sobriety, questioning the motives (and common sense) of Jewel's husband, Eddie, wondering what in the world Jewel's mom was thinking favoring Cal over Jewel, and wishing that Cal would just leave already and let everything return back to "normal." And then there's Jewel herself, trying to figure out how much fight is left in her, and who around her is worth fighting for. All throughout the novel are beautiful descriptions of the horses (including some chapters narrated by them) and the Kentucky landscape, and some great "Kentucky-isms," like "The whole part about moving in to take care of them was impulse as pure as honey and disaster thick as the same." A wonderful read that you will definitely "remember"!

When I'm Gone and Wreckage by Emily Bleeker

This past month month I've read two titles by Emily Bleeker: her first novel, Wreckage, and her latest release, When I'm Gone. I'll start with Wreckage, a stranded-on-a-desert-island tale. Lillian and her mother-in-law, Margaret, are on a private plane that goes down in Fiji, along with the pilot and flight attendant, and a corporate exec, Dave. Not all survive the crash, nor the nearly two years until they are rescued. We learn from the start that at least Lillian and Dave are still around, but there are a lot of questions about the survivors' time on the island and what may, or may not, have happened.

Lillian tries to answer some of those questions in an on-air interview with a particularly nasty reporter, and the story slowly but energetically unfolds throughout. The "twists" might be a little obvious at times, but you're never bored waiting to find out the truth, and you might find yourself imagining what you would do in a similar situation.  I really enjoyed this book!

Now on to book two, When I'm Gone. Natalie Richardson dies from a rare form a cancer, leaving her husband, Luke, alone with their three children and a lot of heartache. Right after her funeral he begins to get letters from her, which she started writing after her initial diagnosis and throughout the course of her treatment and short-lived recovery. The letters are heart-wrenching, and I dare you to get through the first part of the book without a box of tissues. Knowing this was going to be overly sentimental, I was curious to see if there was more to the story than the initial premise, and indeed there was a lot more. (One could say too much more?)

Luke starts to search from whoever is sending the letters to him, and then his oldest son seems to think he may have been adopted, which leads Luke to searching around in his wife's past. I can't say much more without divulging all the twists in this story, but I can say that half the fun is finding them all out, because there are so many of them, and they get more and more implausible as the story goes along. Part of me wishes she had gotten off one stop sooner on the "everyone is connected" train. Throw in a new love interest for Luke, her jealous and abusive husband, false drugs charges against him, and a road trip where he visits the sad realities of his own past, and the second half of this book is a wild ride.

It's hard not to compare the two books, since I read them back to back, but if I were to pick one of these to read again then it would certainly be Wreckage, and I'll be looking forward to seeing whatever she comes up with next.

The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin

The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin left me slightly conflicted. I loved her previous novel, The Aviator’s Wife, and found the fictionalization of those historical figures (Anne and Charles Lindbergh) fascinating and also fresh. The idea of writing historical fiction based on real life characters is not new, but the way she approached the story (it’s told from Anne’s point of view) and the way she brought the characters to life made it a page turner. It's also a pretty good story, real or otherwise. Unfortunately, this was not so with the “swans.” These were a group of real-life New York society ladies who took in Truman Capote at the start of his career and kept him around as a sort of pet, until he used all of the juicy gossip that he had acquired over the years to write a scathing short story that exposed them all for the phonies and philanderers that they really were.   

Maybe it was harder to feel interested in or compassion for characters who did nothing more than dress well for lunch, but they all felt like caricatures, Truman especially, and it occasionally came across as nothing more than a glorified Wikipedia entry. The writing was still solid, and while I generally don’t like to write negative reviews (cause if you can’t say something nice…), I’m sure that devotees of Truman Capote’s, or those obsessed with mid-20^th century New York high society, will surely love this book. But in an era where Real Housewives-like drama is inundating us from all directions, I’d rather read books that have a little more substance and a little less backstabbing.

The Widow by Fiona Barton

The Widow by Fiona Barton is a wonderful debut. It starts in the aftermath of the death of Jean Taylor’s husband Glen, who supposedly jumped in front of a bus after years of being hounded by the police (and the media) for the murder of a young girl. Jean is a quiet, meek and docile housewife, and the death of her controlling husband offers up the chance to break out of her claustrophobic life and tell her side of the story to an enterprising reporter, Kate Waters. Barton uses the varying points of view of Jean, Kate, a police detective, and the young girl’s mother to carefully unravel the full story of what happened to little Bella, and who the real culprit was. While some aspects of the story are slightly obvious, and others disturbing (there’s some child molestation and pornography thrown in there), overall they are carefully used and don’t seem gratuitous. And by the end you’ll be left wondering who was really using who to further their own agenda.

You can’t escape the hype and the comparisons to Girl on a Train or Gone Girl with this book, and I don’t really want to weigh in on that other than to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this read as much as those other two novels. It’s not exactly alike or exactly as shocking in the reveal, but that would be derivative and boring wouldn’t it? So, read The Widow for its own merits, a carefully and well-written story that is sure to leave you with the chills and creeps for days to come.

66 Laps by Leslie Lehr

66 Laps by Leslie Lehr is a cautionary tale about what happens when deceit and doubt infiltrate a marriage. Audrey seems to have it all: a successful doting husband and a darling little daughter. When her best friend points out that her hair is turning gray, she does what any LA woman whose currency resides in her appearance would do - she slaps "the bitch."

The story devolves from there, with Audrey's insecurities wreaking havoc with her marriage. Can she trust that Jim will remain faithful even though he's spending more and more time with a younger version of herself? And when she loses hope in him, will she take her own revenge and settle the score?

The obvious answer is, of course! Something needs to happen after all. But the path of her revenge takes an unexpected turn and sets in motion a sequence of events that Audrey could never have anticipated. This book starts with a slap and ends with bang that echoes through her life and haunts her, and the reader, forever.

Smoke by Catherine McKenzie

Smoke is the 5th full length title from Catherine McKenzie, and my favorite one to date. I've been reading her novels for several years now, and it's been great to see her develop as an author. Whereas her first novels were relatively straightforward and told from one point of view, her last book, Hidden, and this one have intricate plots told from multiple perspectives with "soft" mysteries that leave you guessing until the end. (I say "soft" because this is not a "mystery" book, but there is something unknown that is slowly revealed throughout.)

The story is set in a fictional small tourist town in the Rocky Mountains. A fire is set, accidentally or on-purpose, we do not know, and Elizabeth Martin is called in to investigate. She's a retired wildland firefighter who still does arson investigations on the side. She gave up the forest firefighting life to be closer to her husband, Ben, and hopefully start a family, but neither seems to be working out and her and Ben are on the edge of divorce.

The other voice in this story in Mindy, a stay-at-home (and anxious!) mother of two teenagers who, it turns out, used to be Elizabeth's best friend. They had a falling out and didn't speak for some time until Angus, Mindy's son, comes under suspicion for having started this fire. In addition to Mindy's voice, we receive email updates and read newspaper articles about the spreading fire and the unfolding drama. Will the town go up in flames? Will Elizabeth be able to save her marriage and her friendship?

Smoke explores all of those issues and more, including the toxicity of small-town rumor mills, and the tensions between the "haves" and "have-nots" in ritzy tourist towns. It's a page turner that still leaves you laughing out loud. If you were a fan of Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies then you'll love this book.