The Summer Getaway

The Summer Getaway by Susan Mallery
3/15/22; 416 pages
Harlequin

The Summer Getaway by Susan Mallery is a highly recommended family drama.

Robyn Caldwell lives in Naples, Florida. She's been divorced from her ex for four years and now her daughter, Harlow, is 22 and her son, Austin, is18, so she is ready to sell the house. The house is way to big and expensive for her to maintain and trying to live the same lifestyle has been foolish. But Harlow wants to get married in the backyard, so she is upset about the house being sold. Austin is easy going, however with no plans for college he is planning to live with her after a summer in an apartment. When her ex makes yet another bad decision, Robyn needs a vacation. After being invited again, she decides now is the perfect time to go see her great-aunt Lillian in Santa Barbara for the summer.

Lillian was a second mother to Robyn, but is now in her mid-nineties and needs help putting her affairs in order. She has a 40,000-square-foot mansion that will be willed to her deceased husband's relative, Mason Bishop, while the contents will be inherited by Robyn. Mason has already agreed to go stay with Lillian and is currently there, so when Robyn arrives the two will meet, much to the delight of Lillian.

This is a well-written entertaining novel full of drama, humor, romance, family, relationships, and lots of advice as seemingly everyone Follows Robyn and travels to Santa Barbara. Although this is a romance novel, it is also much more. The plot contains many elements beyond romantic entanglements, which makes it a richer novel. Much of the well-paced plot involves a wide variety of situations with family and friends, just like in real life. The characters are realistic and interesting as we see both their strengths and weaknesses. They all encounter some tough decisions that they have to make. 

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Harlequin.

Lost Worlds & Mythological Kingdoms

Lost Worlds & Mythological Kingdoms, John Joseph Adams, Editor
3/8/22; 384 pages
Grim Oak Press

Lost Worlds & Mythological Kingdoms, edited by John Joseph Adams, is a highly recommended anthology of science fiction/speculative or alternate reality short stories.

Much akin to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World, this anthology focuses on lost places, adventures, undiscovered realities, mysteries, or new parts of our world. The collected stories cover the gamut from spectacular to mediocre. The span between the excellent and inadequate seemed a bit greater than what is normally found in anthologies, but perhaps that was only my experience. My rating is based on the majority of the stories which I liked enough to highly recommended the whole collection. One of the weakest stories was the first one for me, which actually had me considering setting this collection aside.

Contents include: "The Light Long Lost at Sea" by An Owomoyela; "The Cleft of Bones" by Kate Elliott; "The Voyage of Brenya " by Carrie Vaughn; "Comfort Lodge, Enigma Valley" by Charles Yu; "The Expedition Stops for the Evening at the Foot of the Mountain Pass" by Genevieve Valentine; "Down in the Dim Kingdoms" by Tobias S. Buckell; "Those Who Have Gone" by C.C. Finlay; "An Account, by Dr. Inge Kühn, of the Summer Expedition and Its Discoveries" by E. Lily Yu; "Out of the Dark" by James L. Cambias; "Endosymbiosis" by Darcie Little Badger; "The Orpheus Gate" by Jonathan Maberry; "Hotel Motel Holiday Inn" by Dexter Palmer; "On the Cold Hill Side" by Seanan McGuire; "The Return of Grace Malfrey" by Jeffrey Ford; "The Tomb Ship" by Becky Chambers; "Pellargonia: A Letter to the Journal of Imaginary Anthropology" by Theodora Goss; "There, She Didn’t Need Air to Fill Her Lungs" by Cadwell Turnbull.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Grim Oaks Press via NetGalley.

The Whispers

The Whispers by Heidi Perks
3/8/22; 320 pages
Gallery Books

The Whispers by Heidi Perks is a highly recommended psychological suspense.

Since they were five-years-old Anna and Grace were just like sisters until Grace's family moved to Australia when they were seventeen. Now nineteen years later Grace and her daughter have moved back to Clearwater, England. Grace is ready for her best friend to embrace her return, but Anna already has a set of close friends and is reluctant to have Grace join their group. When Anna goes missing one night after a girls' night out at the pub, Grace seems to be the only one who is concerned. She is the one who contacts the police and becomes more frantic as the days pass.

The novel opens with a body discovered on the beach, so part of the suspense is discovering who died and why. The narrative flips between Grace in the present day and Anna months in the past leading up the final denouement, with insertions of whispering gossip from other parents meeting during the neighborhood school drop off/pick up. The plot moves at a slow and steady pace, however there is some repetition in the middle that will have some readers skimming ahead to new action.

The writing is suspenseful enough to hold your attention while slowly making it clear that everything may not be quite as clear as it seems. The tension increases as more information about the past of both Anna and Grace is uncovered and disclosed. This is more a novel of suspense rather than a thriller or mystery.

Basically, The Whispers is a novel about a very toxic friendship. It is also a novel full of unlikable characters, most of which are depicted as caricatures rather than realistic people. What will keep you reading is discovering who was found on the beach and untangling all the lies in search of the truth. And all of the characters are lying or hiding something. 3.5 rounded up.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Gallery Books.

Private Way

Private Way by Ladette Randolph
3/1/22; 242 pages
University of Nebraska Press

Private Way by Ladette Randolph is a so-so tale of a woman who needs to take a break from the internet.

Vivi Marx started the online community Pie, which became very successful, but with the success came conflicts. Events led to Vivi being cyberbullied and doxxed, which has brought fear and anxiety to her life. For her own mental health and safety she decides to de-grid, leaving her life, her phone, and laptop in L.A., and heads to Lincoln, Nebraska, where she had spent several summers with her grandmother who is now deceased. Vivi rents a small house for a year and meets her new neighbors on Fieldcrest Drive.

There are parts of the novel where the writing is wonderfully descriptive, but the numerous problems with the plot and the flow of the novel take away from the descriptive writing that can be quite nice. Concerning the plot, events in the story line that are left unresolved became a distraction. Additionally, I really didn't care for the fact that we are told the story rather than having the action flow as an integral part of the plot.

Initially, I found Vivi an unappealing character and this first impression never changed. I struggled throughout the novel to keep an open mind and try to connect with this character. There was also a disconnect with the way Vivi acts/talks and her age. 

Perhaps I should have left this novel as a "did not finish" because it never won me back after a few questions arose early on. Perhaps it's being nick-picky, but what is the deal about it taking 5 days to get to Lincoln, even after buying an atlas in Elko, NV (when you would be on I-80). Even daydreaming, at that point the interstate takes you most of the way with efficiency and ease. Then when Vivi is crossing the Missouri (and wondering about its depth) to get on I-80 toward Nebraska, I was shaking my head. She would have had to cross the river somewhere else in order to even approach Lincoln from the east. And then there is the ghost.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of the publisher.

Ocean State

Ocean State by Stewart O'Nan
3/15/22; 240 pages
Grove Atlantic

Ocean State by Stewart O'Nan is a very highly recommended literary fiction and a profound and heartbreaking family drama. This is an excellent novel and will certainly be on my top ten list for 2022.

Set in 2009, Carol Oliviera has two daughters, Angel and Marie, and they live in the working-class town of Ashaway, Rhode Island. Angel is a senior in high school and has been dating Myles for three years. Birdy Alves is dating Hector, but she and Myles are conducting a clandestine relationship, secretly cheating on their partners. The impending tragedy is foretold by thirteen-year-old Marie's opening statement, “When I was in eighth grade my sister helped kill another girl.”

Ocean State is not a murder mystery. It is a character study and the narrative is told through a series of flashbacks and internal monologues from the alternating  perspective of these four women: Marie, Angel, Carole, and Birdy. Marie's account binds the whole story together as she is reflecting on all of the events which occurred years earlier. Each of these characters are depicted as realistic individuals with secrets, obsessions, guilt, and fears. Each of these characters are flawed, unhappy, and seeking love and acceptance. It is an intimate, sympathetic portrait of sisters, mothers, and daughters and how they interact with each other as well as a story of working-class life during a recession. 

O’Nan is one of my favorite authors and Ocean State demonstrates all the reasons why. The writing is exceptional. Once you start it you will not be able to set Ocean State aside until you have finished it. It is beautifully written with insightful details and a plot that is heartbreaking and compelling. The details are meticulously chosen and the plot is deliberately crafted to make every detail vital to the story. Everything leads to the tragic climax, which even though we know it is coming, it is still poignant. And all of this is handled with compassion and tenderness.

If you enjoy literary fiction, Ocean State should be on the top of your reading list. This is a perfect choice for books clubs and one of the best books of 2022.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Grove Atlantic.

The Far Land

The Far Land: 200 Years of Murder, Mania, and Mutiny in the South Pacific by Brandon Presser
3/8/22; 352 pages
PublicAffairs Books

The Far Land: 200 Years of Murder, Mania, and Mutiny in the South Pacific by Brandon Presser is a very highly recommended reexamination of the story of the HMS Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions.

In 1790 the mutineers of the HMS Bounty settled on the South Pacific island of Pitcairn. In 1808, an American merchant ship came upon the uncharted island in the South Pacific. "Seven generations later, the island’s diabolical past still looms over its 48 residents; descendants of the original mutineers, marooned like modern castaways. Only a rusty cargo ship connects Pitcairn with the rest of the world, just four times a year." In 2018, travel writer and author Brandon Presser took the freighter Pitcairn to live among the present day two clans on the island who are bound by circumstance and secrets. While on the island, he collected the details of Pitcairn’s full story.

The story of mutiny of the Bounty has been told through books and films numerous times. Presser makes it clear that the mutiny was only the prologue to the actual dramatic events that occurred on the island. The Far Land adds to the collection with both chapters focusing on the historical events and chapters told through a contemporary personal narrative. He recounts in detail the original mutiny and settling of Pitcairn and his 2018 visit to meet the islands 48 inhabitants. Most of the current residents are descendants of the mutineers.

Presser has visited over 130 countries and is an experienced travel writer who can look beyond the novelty of an experience and dig deeper into the real story behind the facade. He uncovers a tale of power, tribalism, obsession, paranoia, and betrayal. Presser does an excellent job presenting the exhaustive research he undertook. References and a select bibliography are included. This is a well-written, great choice for anyone interested in Pitcairn's history and its current inhabitants.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of PublicAffairs Books

The Heights

The Heights by Louise Candlish
3/1/22;416 pages
Atria Books

The Heights by Louise Candlish is a highly recommended novel about maternal obsession and revenge.

When Ellen Saint is at a client's home and sees Kieran Watts standing on a roof top terrace in the apartment building across the way she is shocked. She knows that this is not possible because he's been dead for two years, and she should know because she killed him. Kieran was responsible for her son Lucas's death and she extracted her revenge on him for his actions that impacted her son's life.

This really is a slow-burn psychological thriller that examines grief, fear, guilt, and revenge and the disastrous effects that Kieran had on her family. You will know that something bad is going to happen and as you read the reason for all of Ellen's hatred is set up. At the beginning Ellen is writing about the events as a form of therapy. Interspersed in  between  Ellen's words is the Sunday Times magazine article about Ellen and chapters following the perspective of Vic, Lucas's father.

We have no likable or relatable characters here. The first part of the novel, which is through Ellen's point-of-view is very slow. Once the second part begins, the pace picks up and we are provided with more information. The struggle is staying engaged with the first half of the novel which is very slow and some what repetitive. Things do pick up in the end but the trick is to stick with it through the beginning in order to make it to the end.

The writing is good and Candlish provides plenty of twists, but you have to endure the slow start to get to the actual psychological thriller part of the novel. Ellen's obsession with Kieran can become a bit tiresome. The key to enjoying this novel is sticking with it to the final denouement.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Atria Books