Book Worm

By Suzanne Nash

January tends to be a month of winding down, clearing up clutter and cleaning up your decorations from Christmas and your bills from the same. I don’t consider it really a fun month, although the snow made it a bit more exciting.  I believe it’s always good to save my thrillers and suspenseful reads for January just to get your heart pumping a bit.  If you want some adrenaline in your life this month try one or two of the following novels.

In The Saint of Wolves and Butchers by Alex Grecian the Rev Rudy is leading a congregation of followers at the Purity First Church in Paradise Flats, Kansas.  It all seems above board, with Rev Rudy recognized throughout the area driving around his cheerful church van….except all is not what it seems. Skottie Foster is a State Trooper just doing her job when she pulls over Travis Roan because she is not quite sure about his companion. Travis Roan is a Nazi hunter and on the trail of an infamous Nazi Dr who has been spotted in the area by a woman who knew his atrocities first hand. Skottie isn’t sure what to make of Roan and his huge wolf-like dog, Bear, but as bodies start to pile up, she has to admit there are some pretty weird things going on in Kansas.

The Craftsman is a bit more gothic in nature. This thriller begins in Lancaster England, 30 years after the conviction of Larry Grassbrook for the murder of several children by burying them alive in his beautiful hand crafted coffins. Florence Lovelady was the policewoman who caught him and now she is back in town to attend his funeral. Once in town, however, Florence starts to doubt that she caught the right man, despite his confession. The village has a wonderful eclectic group of characters, including witches, a dwarf and bellicose teenagers, but they all blend together to create a sinister town rife with superstitions and lies. Florence has to figure out who the real killer is quickly because her teenage son has disappeared and may be the next victim.

Peter May will take you from the streets of Paris to the Hebridean Islands of Scotland in his latest thriller, I’ll Keep you Safe. Niamh and her husband, Ruairidh, own a company that creates Ranish Tweed. Their tweed competes with Harris Tweed for business and the pair are visiting Paris to secure a new deal. When her husband suddenly dies in a car bomb Niamh suddenly becomes a suspect in his murder because she suspected he was having an affair. When she returns home to bury her husband, things get a complicated and she finds herself fighting for her life.  Her family and her husband’s family do not get along and were not thrilled when Niamh and Ruairidh got married, so there is not a great deal of support back in her hometown.  She doesn’t really know who she can trust, especially after being betrayed by the one person she loved the most. This a great thriller that also gives you beautiful images of the Scottish landscape…it’s a win-win as far as I am concerned.

A Dangerous Crossing will take you to another beautiful exotic location: Greece. But rather than getting to enjoy the beaches and ancient architecture this mystery thriller will immerse you in the world of the refugees who are huddled in the camps seeking asylum. Facing the cold, illness and starvation, the refugees also face other atrocities that someone will do anything to cover up. When a young woman from Canada who is working to help the refugees disappears, Rachel Getty and Esa Khattak set off to find out what happened to their friend’s sister and bring her home. There are multiple narrative threads that keep you fully engaged from multiple perspectives.  I found this book fascinating and became saddened by the figures at the back of the book that educate the reader about the Syrian refugee crisis and why these people are fleeing their homeland. It’s a complex issue and author Ausma Zehanat Khan has done a wonderful job creating the tense environment and resentment that exists in and around these camps.

And the last book I recommend is the crazy modern thriller called Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton.  All I can say is wow what a ride.  It reminded me a little bit of The Great Gatsby for some reason.  Perhaps it was the characters.  Louise is fighting to make her way in New York City.  She’s 29 years old and works three jobs just trying to survive and then, while tutoring she meets Lavinia.  Lavinia is an absurdly rich 23-year-old whose parents live in France.  She has been left to her own devices and of course spends her evenings partying and creating her social media proof of what a great life she has.  She seems to have no boundaries or rules, yet everyone is drawn to her.  As the story unfolds, Lavinia’s ability to use and manipulate others becomes a dangerous game which Louise is trapped in.  From beautiful clothes to beautiful people staying out late, creating images they consider art, Louise is hooked and finds her life falling apart as she becomes more and more at the mercy of Lavinia.  Or is she really? Who are we really in this digital age and how can we really know anyone else? They only show you what they want you to see and maybe that curated lifestyle can let a dangerous person hide beneath the veneer. This is a fun read and left me wanting to read just one more chapter.

So I hope these will get your heart beating a little faster as we make our way through the cold months to follow.  See you next month and keep reading!

By Suzanne Nash

The Holiday rush in in full swing as I write this, but I’m stuck in bed with the flu unfortunately and the only positive about being sick is that I can read whenever I feel up to it.  I am snug in my bed with my cat curled up at my feet and a pile of books beside me. In between sleeping and taking meds I have come up with a couple thrillers and a mystery to brighten your December!

Bellewether by Susanna Kearskey is a historical fiction that is set in New England around the 1759 where two captured French soldiers are billeted at a Long Island Farm.  The novel jumps from the past to the present when Charley is hired to run the museum that is now located at the same farm. Charley becomes intrigued with some of the stories connected to the farm, especially one that concerns a love story between a French soldier and the daughter of the farm’s owner and she pushes to learn more about the history behind the legend.  It’s a haunting story, literally and figuratively, that is a fun and easy read during this busy time of the year.

In All These Beautiful Strangers, Elizabeth Klenfoth paints a picture of life at an elite New England boarding school, where clubs can get you killed. When Charlie Colloway begins school there, she is coming in as a legacy since this is where her father’s family has sent all of their offspring. When she starts working on a story for the school newspaper about a legend that involves the ghost of a boy who committed suicide at the school, things start to unravel and somehow this boy’s death seems connected to her mother’s disappearance years later.  If you are in the mood for a mystery and thriller this one will be sure to delight you.

Sharp Objects is by Gillian Flynn, the author of Gone Girl, and as you might expect she has written another page turner that will keep you guessing.  I just learned that this novel has also been turned into an HBO series and you can see why once you start into the first few chapters.  Journalist Camille Preaker comes back to her small hometown to investigate two murders of young girls and she is thrown right back into the weird familial relationship she ran away to escape. Mental health issues abound in her family and Camille tends to cut words into her skin as a way to cope.  She has an unbelievably controlling mother and her half-sister is quite a piece of work.  Is there a serial killer on the loose praying on young girls? Could the murderer be closer than she thinks? This whole book is unsettling and keeps you on edge right up to the end.

I hope everyone enjoys the holidays and I look forward to finding more exciting reading material for you in the New Year!

By Suzanne Nash

Welcome to fall…at last! No more sweltering heat but the smell of a warm fire and simmering stews and apple pies. Something about colder weather and crackling fires makes me start looking for good mysteries. Maybe it’s the long nights or the mysterious nature of All Hallows Eve but this year I come prepared to offer some mysteries to entice you along with a few other books to suit the season

The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware could easily have been a Halloween choice. It is Victorian gothic in nature and involved Harriet Margarite Westaway (Hal), a young woman who is down on her luck and desperate for a way out. She suddenly finds herself the recipient of a large fortune from a grandmother she didn’t know she had. Are the family correct in assuming that Hal is the same woman that Mrs. Westaway intended her fortune to go to? Certainly no one expected this strange young woman to be the beneficiary and so distrust and fear begins to creep into the story. The reader is as unsure as the protagonist and that keeps the pages turning. I have always enjoyed Ruth Ware’s writing, and this is a fun eerie little mystery perfect for this time of year.

Lie to Me is a great debut psychological thriller from jess Ryder that reads a bit more like a crime drama, but I enjoyed it because the characters and relationships were intriguing. What happens if you suddenly find out that perhaps your mother had a secret…one your father is determined to keep. Who do you trust? This is what happens to Meredith Banks when she inadvertently comes across a VHS tape while cleaning out her Dad’s house. Three minutes of footage suddenly rocks her world. Maybe there was something more about her mother’s disappearance from her life than she previously though. Suddenly Meredith finds herself investigating a cold case murder of a young woman 30 years ago and she starts to learn about her mother’s connection to it. The narrative comes from three different perspectives and jumps back and forth from present  day to 1984 but don’t let that discourage you…the author manages to weave it all together and keeps the plot twisting and turning.

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton was written in 2007  so it’s an older mystery by a well-established Australian author. It is a manor house mystery that follows the memories of a house maid, Grace Bradley, as she looks back at her life from her residence in a nursing home. She is 99 years old and losing her memory and so things come back in bits and pieces which keeps the reader guessing. The home was once owned by the Hartford Family and Hannah and Emmaline were the daughters of the owner, Frederick. In the summer of 1924 during a glamorous party held at Riverton, a poet, Robbie, commits suicide and it is witnessed by the daughters. A film director is taking a look back at the mystery so brings back to Riverton to try to get her to reflect back on what happened. What really happened is a secret kept for years but suddenly Grace is remembering it all…because she knows the truth. This book explores the mystery behind the death and the part each of the family and staff played in it. There is a Downton Abby feel to the setting and it harkens back to a way of life long since passed.

If you aren’t in the mood for a mystery, then The Library at the End of the World may be a nice change of pace for you. It is a feel-good lovely novel by Felicity Hayes-McCoy. Honestly all you have to know is that it takes place in Ireland and involves a library and a woman trying to find herself. That alone sold me on it! Hanna Casey is a woman trying to find herself. That alone sold me on it! Hanna Casey is the main character who has left her life in London because she learns that her husband of many years has been having a twenty-year affair with a friend of hers. Her righteous anger prevents her from accepting any money from him in the divorce and that comes back to haunt her when she finds herself back in her hometown living with her grumpy mother. On the fictional peninsula of Finfarran jobs are scarce and so Hanna finds herself driving a mobile library around the country. Aloof and sad and a bit prickly Hanna must find her place in her village and decide what truly matters to her. The characters are great, from the surly builder who won’t give an estimate and tends to do things his way versus how Hanna wants them, to Conner, her library assistant who has the job so that he can continue farming. When it looks like the county has plans to close down the library Hanna must find a way to connect to all of the library patrons so that they can save their connection to literature.

I hope one of these books will find a place by your bedside or perhaps alongside the fireside chair as we start into the colder months! Put another log on and settle in the cozy season that is fast upon us!

By Suzanne Nash

Christmas is upon us and it is the season for the Christmas Book Review so you can find some lovely gifts for all your book loving friends and relations. 

I have a wonderful tradition I think we should start in Keswick.  A friend introduced me to the Icelandic tradition called “Jolabokaflod” which roughly translates to the “Christmas Book Flood”.  This started during WWII when everything but paper was rationed in Iceland and so Christmas gifts were scarce…but books could be produced, and to this day Christmas is associated with the gift of books in Iceland.  It’s no wonder they are the third most literate country in the world! They give the gift of books on Christmas Eve and traditionally spend the evening reading and drinking hot cocoa!  This sounds like the perfect Christmas to me!!! So who is with me? Let’s make this a new goal for Keswick – get ready for the “Jolabokaflod”!

With this in mind here are a few suggestions to help you get in the Book Flood mood this year.

I just found out that this book is out on HBO as a new series but reading the book first is always a must in my household, so pick up a copy of My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante and let it transport you to Italy where you will discover two friends, Elena and Lila, living in the outskirts of Naples in a poor neighborhood during the 1950’s. Two young girls, one studious, the other quite brilliant, grow up trying to figure out who they are in the midst of a changing Italy.  They compete with each other both academically and with their loves yet manage to remain friends. It is a beautiful, complex book exploring friendship as the world changes around them.  This is part of the Neapolitan Book Series so once you finish this one go look for the next in the series.

Carnegie’s Maid, by Marie Benedict is a historical fiction which tries to come to terms with how Andrew Carnegie morphed from a man solely interested in amassing his fortune to becoming a philanthropist. Benedicts creates a story around this shift in temperament by introducing the character of Clara Kelley, an Irish immigrant fresh off the boat who is mistaken for a maid sent to be Margaret Carnegie’s (Andrew’s mother) ladies’ maid.  It is a happy coincidence for the farmer’s daughter and she uses her quick wit to take advantage of this good fortune.  Apparently, the author’s ancestors were Irish Immigrants and had a similar experience which she used to help create the story.  It is a wonderful look at Pittsburg during the 1860s and the plight of the immigrants of that era.  It also gives some insight into why Carnegie might have been inspired to open the Public Libraries everyone can freely enjoy today.

Only Child is a debut novel by Rhiannon Navin that will touch your heart. Zach Taylor is a first grader at McKinley Elementary, and when a man comes in one day and starts shooting, Zach hides in terror with his teacher in a closet.  Only later does he learn his older brother has been shot.  Through Zach’s eyes we learn about the fear and confusion that comes with this horrible incident, especially when Zach learns the gunman was the son of the beloved school security guard, Charlie.  Zach struggles to understand why his mother now hates Charlie and why everyone seems to have forgotten that his brother, Andy, wasn’t always the nicest guy.  Suddenly no one can say anything bad about Andy or anything nice about Charlie and Zach’s confusion becomes our own as we begin to see clearly that dealing with grief can sometimes flip the world on its head. Once again, a child’s voice leads the way to learn to follow your heart and to not let the pain of loss drown you

An American Marriage is just a beautifully written book.  The author, Tayari Jones is a master of her craft and the words are stirring and the story makes you think deeply about so many things it is difficult to know where to begin.  This book isn’t really about race, although that plays a part in it.  It is about marriage and relationships and about the emotions that buoy us up and send us crashing to the depths of despair. Celestial and Roy are a young couple, newly married and living in Atlanta with their whole future ahead of them and their prospects are looking good.  He is a young business executive who is chomping at the bit to make something of himself and she is an artist on the cusp of being the next big thing to hit the art world.  When Roy is suddenly falsely accused of rape and lands in jail, their world is ripped apart.  Celestial must decide what type of wife she will be and where her future lies, and Roy has to make peace with the fact he could spend the rest of his life in jail.  It is a heartbreaking story and I found myself appalled by some of the character’s choices and yet, because of how engrossed I became with the narration, I felt myself carried along and moved through the whole novel. All of the relationships in this book have a story to tell and they are worth reading about because they cause you to dig deep and thing about your own choices. 

What else do I have on my pile of reading for the Christmas Holidays?  Here a few more picks that might interest you:

Daughters of the Lake by Wendy Webb which is a period piece supernatural thriller which is really spooky and fun.

The Royal Nanny by Karen Harper which is a historical fiction based on the life of Charlotte Bill who came to Sandringham in 1897 to be the nanny to the royal family of England.  It is fascinating and will make you want to look into the actual history a bit more.

Matthew Pearl has a new novel out called The Dante Chamber which is a follow up to his Dante Club and takes the thrilling murder mystery to England where literary and painting great must once again match wits with a killer basing his murders on the masterpieces by Dante.

The King’s Witch by Tracy Borman is another period piece which transports you to the royal court of King James I.  Did you realize that King James was actually King James VI of Scotland and King James I of England?  Talk about confusing. Yes, this is the King who the King James version of the bible was named after, but he is also supposed to have had the most debauched court and this led to trouble and persecution. When Frances Gorges, our heroine, is forced to leave her quiet estate to serve as a lady of the court she is put in grave danger as the politics and religious intolerance wreaks havoc around her. Guy Fawkes’ night is celebrated in the UK where they chant “Remember, remember the 5th of November” and set off fireworks and light bonfires to commemorate when a plot to blow up parliament was thwarted in 1605.  The Gunpowder Plot, as it is called, is the background of this novel and if you enjoy history, you will be intrigued with the tale of espionage, flattery and drama that unfolds in these pages.

I hope everyone goes out and buys a book to share with a friend on Christmas Eve and happy reading!

By Suzanne Nash

Yippee… It’s my favorite time of year… despite it also being one of the busiest. I absolutely love the fall and the cooler weather (and yes it is on the way!) and most of all I love Halloween. It’s the perfect opportunity to cuddle up under a blanket and read ghost stories, watch scary movies and bake yummy fall treats!

So I think we should start with a few haunted house stories to get the ball rolling. In A Haunting: The Horror on Rue Lane, author L.I. Albemont introduces us to Sarah Faust who wants nothing more than to start over after a very public betrayal by her husband. She decides to move back to Charleston, South Carolina, her mother’s home town. After purchasing a lovely 300 year old townhouse called Five Rue Lane, Sarah becomes aware that the house has a history that still seems to be very present. As the author jumps from past to present you learn about the early mystical history of colonial Charleston. There is romance, ghosts, witchcraft, and a dizzying array of mythology combined to make this a great little haunted house story to suit the season.

The Carrow Haunt by Australian author, Darcy Coates, is a bit more gruesome and I can easily see it playing as a movie in my mind as I read it. Remy Allier is the main character and is a very popular ghost tour guide of a notoriously haunted house. After one of her regular tours, Remy is approached by a wealthy businessman and asked to host a two week event there with seven guests. After careful consideration she agrees and so begins a very ill-fated gathering. If you like ghost stories like Rose Red by Stephen King… this story is a good bet. There are seances, storms, doors opening on their own, ghosts everywhere, a serial killer… what more could you want? Coates knows how to prey on all of your fears and the writing is very good with great character development. It seems to be a classic gothic ghost story but the ending is not what you expect. If you love a haunted house this is a dead fit…pun intended!

If we are going to read about haunted houses and ghosts then you might want to learn a bit more about the history of ghosts and I’ve got a great book for you. Have you ever wondered about where the idea for the movie, Ghostbusters, came from? Dan Aykroyd wrote and starred in the hit movie and what he wrote is based on growing up in a family with a history of spiritualism. His father, Peter H. Aykroyd, has just published a book called A History of Ghosts: The True Story. Aykroyd explores the history of ghosts and mediumship, as well as discussing his family’s interest in this topic over the years. He carefully gives a detailed account of those people who lead the spiritualism movement and how it is spread. It is a very entertaining and educational book that I really enjoyed. I think you will be surprised at those who followed this movement.

So if you aren’t really into ghosts but still want a bit of a thrill this month I have a couple more options for you. The Likeness by Tana French follows Detective Cassie Maddox as she is dragged back into Dublin’s murder squad after transferring out due to a previous disturbing case that left her reeling. Suddenly Cassie is thrust back into her old position when a body is found, and the dead woman looks just like her. Not only does the young woman bear an uncanny likeness to Cassie but she is using the Cassie’s old undercover name “Alexandra Madison.” Cassie is convinced to pretend to be the young woman, claiming to have survived the attack. What follows is a very complex undercover operation where Cassie, posing as Lexie, is suddenly living with Lexie’s friends in an old estate and there is a pretty good chance that one of them is a murderer.

If you like psychological thrillers try Christopher Yate’s debut novel, Black Chalk. This is a very twisted story that will leave you guessing. You hear the narrator telling you about how he was one of a group of six playing a game as freshmen enrolled at Pitt College at Oxford. You aren’t quite sure who the narrator is at first. It could be Chad, the American exchange student, or possibly Jolyon who is the golden boy. Chad and Jolyon are drawn to each other and they are the ones who create “the game.” As readers we are never fully informed about the rules or technical aspects of the game but you know enough to see that it isn’t going to end well. It is a high stakes game that quickly turns into something no one intended. The story is divided between Pitt in the 1990s and the present day. The narrator is open early in the first few pages and explains that he is not mentally sound so you are unsure what is real and what is unreal. That inability to trust the narrator leaves the reader on edge from the beginning and creates a tension that lasts throughout the entire book. The story will grip you and the author is masterful in his ability to fool you at every turn. I look forward to reading more from Christopher Yates.

If you are just too busy to turn a page this month I want to share another way to get your story fix. My friend, Jennifer, has introduced me to podcasts and I have been enjoying a few lately to get me in the mood for a haunted Halloween: Haunted Places, Macabre London and Pleasing Terrors are all sure to give you the shivers. Just don’t listen when you are home alone in the evenings!

Have a frightfully wonderful October!

By Suzanne Nash

OK I am still waiting for cooler weather but I did get one beautiful cool weekend that gave me a glimpse of fall.  I took advantage of it and spent an entire afternoon on my new porch reading and enjoying the hummingbirds, who seemed curious about my books and kept buzzing me every few minutes. Here are just a few selections from my porch stack!

Garden of Lies by Amanda Quick – Historical romance/ mystery Anne Clifton works for Kern Secretary Agency and when Ursula Kern, the owner shows up dead, Anne is determined to discover who killed her good friend. When she informs a current client that she can no longer work for him as she must have time to investigate the murder he decides he is going to join her in the search for the killer.  This a just a fun and easy read to end your summer with.

If you want something a little more challenging, try The Lie of the Land by Amanda Craig. I discovered this novel at a bookstore in London and it’s a lovely little British psychological suspense novel. Quentin and Lottie Brenin can’t afford to divorce, and they also can’t afford to continue living in London, so they decide to move to Devon for a while, so they can save up a bit of money by renting their London home.  This is about their relationship, about country life versus city life, about betrayal and family.  It just so happens that the house they rent in Devon is the scene of an unsolved murder from years ago.  Of course, they don’t discover this until after they have moved in.  This is an exploration of what happens when you don’t get everything you want- a child, that perfect university acceptance, a faithful spouse or a glowing career. You aren’t truly who you are until you are tested by failures.  It’s easy to be lovely when everything goes your way but it’s who you are when you are knocked down that really defines you. I was curious after reading this novel if this was really the situation for some couples in the UK and low and behold this is really an issue for quite a few people wanting to divorce….they can’t afford to live apart and so end up splitting the house in some way and continue to live together, even after they get a divorce.  I can’t imagine how that might affect you mentally, but to me this book seems very real in terms of the emotional upheaval.

Firefly Lane was written in 2008 by Kristen Hannah and was a New York Times Bestseller. It is about friendships and how ambitions can destroy the most important things in life. It’s 1974 in Seattle and Kate Mularkey is a young girl who never seems to fit in.  This outcast becomes intrigued when a new neighbor moves in across the street and soon they become friends. Tully is the epitome of cool and determinedly drags Kate along with her as she sets out to scale the social ladder and then the career ladder on her way to becoming a TV Anchor. Tully has no time or interest in romance but Kate lives for it.  Each of them values something different and that ends up creating tension and threatens to destroy their friendship.

The Café by The Sea by Jenny Colgan is one of my favorite summer reads this year because it is light and fun and takes you to another place- the Scottish Islands.  It also is full of recipes and talks about food a lot which I always appreciate. Travel and food are two of my favorite hobbies besides books! Flora MacKenzie is a young paralegal living in London who ends up being sent back to her native Island of Murce (fictitious Scottish Island) so that she can handle legal issues for a bigwhig American building a resort there called The Rock. Flora left feeling distance from her birthplace and isn’t keen on returning. Her mother passed away and her father lives on the family farm with her three brothers, Innes, Hamish and Fintan.  Somewhere in the midst of all of the chaos of coming home Flora finds a peace and reconnection with her mother through cooking. Colgan highlights the difference between city life and island living as well and the importance of food to a culture and to the sustainability of an area, favoring locally grown versus resorts who import foods in. There is a lot going on in this novel but I especially loved the description of London and of the Scottish Islands.

The Little French Bistro: A Novel by Nina George. Fiction in another country.  Takes place in Brittainy. Marrianne has been married to Lothar 41 years and on a trip from their native Germany to visit Paris she reaches her breaking point. Attempting to end her life, Marrianne jumps from a bridge only to be saved by a homeless man. Marrianne manages to escape and is drawn to the coast. Brittany, the “end of the world,” provides this desperate woman a chance to rediscover herself.  I absolutely adored this book because it speaks to how new places can call to you and open you to another part of yourself.  New friends who have no notion of who she once was allow her to blossom into her creative self. There are multiple different stories within this novel.  Each character has a thread and a tale to tell but it the small village and the place of beauty and art within that community that really speaks to me and made me reluctant to close the book in the end.

I have had several people who recommended Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste NG. I finally picked it up recently and could see why so many people loved it.  This is a story about secrets, and prejudice.  Mia Warren, a very successful if reclusive photographer, has a daughter named Pearl and they take center stage in this novel. The reader is unsure why…but they never stay in one place for very long. Suddenly they have moved to Shaker Heights, Ohio and managed to put down roots, but will it last? This is a planned community and the Warrens are anything but planned. As they become more and more involved with their neighbors and make friends, more and more questions start to surface, and things get tense. What would make you pack up and run? What would it feel like to never stay one place for very long? It’s a great story with characters that you will care about and you will find yourself second guessing what it means to be a family, to be a mother. How does art or creativity define who you are? This book has won numerous awards and it is no small wonder.

Enjoy the start of cooler weather and celebrate the start of school with a trip to your local bookstore to stock up on your own book list!

By Suzanne Nash

As we all know, living in Keswick is truly a privilege.  The landscape is gorgeous, the history is rich, and, for me, the best part are the inhabitants. Sometimes it is easy to overlook some of the harder aspects of the history of our beautiful area….and let’s face it, the realities of some of our behaviors, even today. Mary Carter Bishop grew up in Keswick and is intimately aware of how social structures and mores can damage and divide a family and create a life of secrets and fear.

Mary’s mother, Adria, was the nursemaid for the McIntyre family and it was there she met handsome and steady Early Lee Bishop. Together they forged a life serving another family and living on a tenant farm on the grand Keswick estate of Bridlespur in the 1940s.  They continued to live there for 40 years and Mary learned to be careful and quiet when anywhere near the main house.  She learned to be wary of the rich and powerful because her family’s livelihood and the roof over their heads absolutely depended on staying in the good graces of their employers.  It was a rather feudal arrangement and not uncommon among the very wealthiest of this country.  When there is an inequity of power then it is easy to foster resentment and fear. There is a barrier, built on years of expectation and fear, that is difficult to acknowledge and bring down.  Mary Bishop gives a beautiful voice to this difficulty and the pain it can cause, and she has honed her skill through years as a talented journalist covering the plight of the poor and disenfranchised.  A Pulitzer Prize winner, she waited until the passing of her mother to tackle and share the personal story of how her mother had had an illegitimate son, Ronnie, who she never acknowledged publicly to those in Keswick.  While Ronnie had lived for a short while with Mary and her parents, Mary was told he was her cousin.  When Mary learned the truth, years later, that Ronnie was her half-brother, she was forced to face the fact that she didn’t really know her mother at all.  She grew up experiencing the love and care of both her parents and so it seemed impossible her mother would alienate her half-brother.

She finally got up the courage to visit with her brother and while it wasn’t the easiest situation, this book has such a lesson in love and forgiveness and acceptance in it.  I truly loved this book because it is about how life is hard, and often we are just getting by, doing the best we can.  Even the roughest of us, the crassest and bedeviled of us deserve love and to be part of a family.  Adria lived her life as best she knew how, perhaps making mistakes and making choices we might not choose but we were not in her shoes, dealing with the fears she felt.  And Ronnie had so much in his life that was difficult and hard that I cannot even imagine how he managed to push forward and turn into the man he was.  Being institutionalized when he was a young man might have destroyed him, but he was able to rise above it and learn a trade and work hard in a job he enjoyed.

This is a memoir about perseverance and struggle and the heart that beats in the midst of it.  There are major issues the author deals with candidly and with grace.  The social hierarchy in Keswick created an environment which made life hard for those not in the upper crust of society.  There were certain standards expected of the working staff and help, which made it almost impossible for Adria to keep her head held high considering the shame of having an illegitimate child. Yet the irony is, quite a few of the upper crust didn’t quite behave in appropriate ways.  As we well know, there is always a lot of “goings on” here in Keswick! The second part of the book really deals with Mary’s relationship with Ronnie and how difficult it was to get past some of the old hurts and resentments Ronnie felt.  As they became closer, she started to see how an illness was destroying his life. He lived with so much pain and discomfort, yet no one knew that he was living with an illness. Ronnie was fighting a condition known as acromegaly which caused his features to become deformed and this condition slowly killed him. Mary’s struggle to be there for her half-brother and to heal the old wounds is a beautiful but heart rending one and one I hope everyone in this community will read, because there is both sadness and beauty in this tale and there is a history that begs to be shared!

I am thrilled that Mary Carter Bishop will be coming back to Keswick on October 30th to give a talk at Grace Episcopal Church. Please let the church know if you would like to attend, as all are welcome. It will be a wonderful opportunity to learn more about her life and she will share some things that were not included in the book!

By Suzanne Nash

I don’t know about you, but I am ready for some cooler weather. I have always said I love living in Virginia because we get to experience all four seasons and this last month has made me ever more aware WHY I appreciate all the seasons: I can’t handle too much of any one thing for too long and we have had way too many 90 degree and above days for my liking.  I don’t even want to lay by the pool but have retreated indoors to a cool corner to read whenever I can find the time. Unfortunately, this month we have spent most of our time moving into a new home and there is little time to sit and crack a book. What is a bookaholic to do? Why audible books of course. Nothing makes packing, moving and unpacking go quicker than a book on tape. It’s the only way I can bear it all.

So here are my choices this month for you to read or listen to as you do your chores or drink iced tea on the porch. Most of these are thrillers or true crime because this genre tends to make me work faster and I find I don’t want to stop working because then I would have to stop listening!

The Killer Next Door by Alex Marwood is a real spooky, blood and guts thriller with loads of atmosphere and gruesome descriptions so just beware if you tend to be a bit squeamish. 23 Beulah Grove is a place filled with secrets in the South of London.  It is a place for the down-and-out who only real requirement is anonymity. From the creepy lecherous landlord to the horrible stench that continually seeps from ever clogged drains, this is not a place you would want to live. And guess what?  There is a serial killer in their midst, surprise surprise! This might seem a bit cliché but trust me, Marwood does a good job letting the reader get to know each of the characters and understand their back story and it lends you to empathize with their traumas as the plot unfolds. An unexpected accident leads them to all work together and creates a bit of a strange thrown together family that you begin to root for.

Blood in the Water by Gillian Galbraith is more standard detective fare and you are introduced to Alice Rice, a very capable detective working in Edinburgh, Scotland who suddenly is faced with bodies beginning to pile up. Ok, yes, there is yet another serial killer on the loose only this time in Scotland…and this time it isn’t the poor and desperate being killed but the well-heeled professionals of New Town. Alice must try and figure out what connects all of these victims together quickly because the killing doesn’t look likely to end.  This is a bit more genteel and less gory than the previous tale.  I especially enjoyed the courtroom procedures which of course differ from those in the US. You might find yourself looking up a few terms as I did so that I could keep up with this fascinating murder enquiry.

For a real murder mystery look no further than West Cork.  It is really like a podcast in its format. It is only available on audible books and it has episodes which are quite addictive. It is a true crime investigation about a 20-year-old murder in the West part of Cork County, Ireland. A young French woman who owned a vacation home there was brutally murdered and while one man is still considered to be the prime suspect, no one has been charged with the crime. Two investigative journalists, Jennifer Ford and Sam Bungey, guide you through the long exhaustive years of the investigation on this crime and they interview both the prime suspect, the villagers, relatives and witnesses who are involved. It is fascinating and very disturbing. Sometimes truth is much more compelling than fiction. You are left to draw your own conclusions as to who committed this cold case.

For the more psychological thriller, The Party by Elizabeth Day, might be just the ticket.  It reminded me a bit of an F. Scott Fitzgerald story because it is all about the haves and have-nots and how one man’s complete obsession with his best friend can create a poisonous situation. And no…there is NO poison used, so that wasn’t intended as a pun.  We slowly come to learn there was an “incident” at a party given for Ben’s birthday.  Ben’s best friend, Martin, and his wife, Lucy, attend this party and somehow the police are involved.  Bits and pieces come out through Lucy’s diary while she is getting therapy at a clinic.  Why she has to undergo treatment we don’t really know until the end.  Martin’s side of things emerges as he is being interviewed by the police. Both of these narratives are somewhat suspect, which in turn makes you a bit weary as you read.  It is a lovely little foray into psychology and perhaps even into the behavior of a psychopath. That’s all I can say without spoiling things, but I really enjoyed it!

Now, for those of you who are not into thrillers (yes, that is you Leigh Ann), I give you The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown. What a wonderful story about the crazy connection sisters have! There are three Andreas sisters: Rosalind, Bianca and Cordelia, all named for their father’s favorite characters from Shakespeare.  They do not especially like one another and have only returned home to care for their mother who is undergoing treatment for cancer.  Yet each of the sisters has a secret, a reason they are returning that has nothing to do with caring for their sick mother.  Cordy has never grown up and she is going to be forced to face reality very quickly, Bean (Bianca) is running from horrible mistakes she made chasing after a glamorous life in New York and Rose needs to find the courage to step out in the world. They have all been running away from so many things for so long but during this long difficult summer they may find that the answers are right where they grew up.

So I hope you enjoy these audible books I have suggested and if you don’t have audible books, never fear, all but West Cork are available as books or in Kindle formats. Stay cool and enjoy the dog days of summer!

By Suzanne Nash

Well I think Spring is here…finally, and I am back from my ramblings in Ireland and London with several books I crammed in my bags that I want to share with you in preparation for summer reading. Next month you get the full summer reading list so get ready!

If you can stand to read about A Midwinter Break then you might enjoy this tale from Bernard MacLaverty. Midwinter is the bleak time of year when we all long for escape to something new and Gerry and Stella Gilmore are setting off from their home in Glasgow Scotland for a week exploring Amsterdam. Gerry doesn’t know it but Stella has decided to tell Gerry she is leaving him to try and live a more contemplative life. Originally from Belfast the reader discovers the traumas the couple have endured…leading to Gerry’s drinking and Stella’s need for something more. It is a sad look at how lives unravel and how hard it is to keep partnerships together but that if love exists underneath it there is always hope. This is honest writing that has a subtlety I find beautiful. Ordinary moments are made extraordinary in their tender wistfulness.

What She Saw is a new thriller by Irish writer Gerard Stembridge and it kept me company when I was stuck in an airport for nine hours. It says something that I read the entire thing in one sitting! American, Lana Turner Gibson is going through a manic episode when she decides to leave her husband on holiday in Dublin and fly to Paris on a whim to see a Hopper art exhibit. Due to the fact that she isn’t taking her meds as she should she ends up getting herself in trouble and seeing something she shouldn’t. What follows is a mad race through the streets of Paris to try and find her stolen passport and plane tickets. Sex, drugs and politics all play a part in this novel and if you pick up the paperback take a look at the authors notes at the end. They are worth the read!

Ruth Ware is well known for her thrillers and The Lying Game: A Novel is another one of her blockbusters that was published last summer. When the sickness of her mother causes Isa Wilde to attend Salten House School, she meets and becomes friends with Kate Atagon, Fatima Qureshy and Thea West. This English boarding school, set among the beaches and tidal areas of The Reach, becomes the setting for their game which has the power to touch them even after they have been forced to leave the school. Their reunion, years later, uncovers their darkest fears and secrets. A body has been discovered and the girls know whose body it is …or was!
All of them have something to lose if the truth comes out. It’s a great little thriller!

John Connolly is an Irish writer who normally writes crime drama and mysteries, but he has departed from his usual genre to write The Book of Lost Things which is more of a dark fantasy novel which uses some of the fairy tales you may have grown up with but with rather a grim (no pun intended) twist. His protagonist is a young twelve-year-old boy living in World War II London who is named David. David is trying to cope with the death of his mother. When his father becomes involved in a new relationship David starts to have episodes where he sees visions of a strange world where a Crooked Man wields power and wolf like men attack humans. The characters of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Little Red Riding Hood and Sleeping Beauty are all woven into the novel in unexpected ways and while the characters are from fairy tales the subject isn’t childlike at all. This is a clever coming of age novel that takes a boy and shows how he learns to become a caring and responsible person through his struggles and trials. What makes a family? What are you willing to sacrifice to have your desires rule supreme?

These are just a few of the books I discovered on my trip but just wait….next month I will give you a longer Summer reading list to get you started on your poolside pile of reading materials! Try and enjoy the beautiful spring flowers and get yourself prepped for summer weather…it is right around the corner.