Palisades Park by Alan Brennert

Palisades Park by Alan Brennert

This is the story of a family growing up near, in and with Palisades Park from the 1930s through to its closing in the 1970s.  The Park becomes a character with many renewals, rebirths and finally a decline.  The characters in the novel are interesting, vibrant and realistic considering their unique circumstances.   The family owns a concession at the Park and other concessionaires, traveling showman and carnies of all types become friends, lovers and mentors.

I have never been to Palisades, yet I remember other amusement parks fondly.  Who didn’t want to run off and join a circus or carnival after being wowed by the performances and enticed by the music and the smells of the concessions?  This is the story of some people that made the park a central part of their life and how that place affected their life choices.

 If you remember the Park, and find yourself humming the iconic song just reading the name, you’ll want to visit that swinging place called Palisades Park once again while reading this book.

Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts

Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts

Need some escapism?  You can always count on the romantic suspense of Nora Roberts.  

For Eli Landon Boston no longer feels comfortable.  He was cleared in the murder of his wife, but there are many who don’t believe in his innocence.  So he returns to the family estate at Whiskey Beach, to look after the place while his grandmother recovers from a fall.  Did his grandmother fall?  Or did the intruder that has been in the house looking for famed pirate treasure give her a push?  Could the famed Esmeralda’s Dowry actually exist?

This is a fun beach read…or listen.  The reader is male so some of his female voices and romantic interactions were a little odd, but I was able to ignore it and enjoy the story.  My one complaint is that Eli’s love interest, Abra, was the most perfect person I have ever read about!  She’s intelligent, forgiving, empathetic and quirky.  I like my main characters, especially in romances, to have a little more of an edge or at least a bad habit!  Still an enjoyable diversion while stuck in traffic.

The Guilty One by Lisa Ballantyne

The Guilty One by Lisa Ballantyne

An eight-year old boy is found dead; a victim of a brutal murder on a local playground.  An eleven-year old boy, Sebastian, a neighbor, is accused of the crime.  Daniel Hunter, a man with a difficult childhood, is the solicitor for Sebastian.  Daniel’s past, and how he identifies with the situations his young clients find themselves in, weaves a thread throughout the arrest and trial of Sebastian.

There are two separate, yet related, storylines here.  First is the straightforward trial of Sebastian for the murder of his neighbor.  Second, is the story of Daniel’s childhood with Minnie, a foster parent who legally adopts him as a teenager.  The estrangement between Daniel and Minnie, wanting to know what went wrong in a relationship that saved Daniel from being one of the troubled kids he defends, is the real mystery at the center of this novel.

If you enjoyed Defending Jacob you will find this a gripping read.  The courtroom drama is well written and the backstories really come to life.

In the Kitchen by Monica Ali

In the Kitchen by Monica Ali

Gabriel is facing a mid-life crisis.  He’s a chef at a struggling hotel in London with an international staff.  Things are going well at the restaurant, yet he’s trying to put together funding and a location for a restaurant of his own which is causing him a lot of stress and anxiety.  His long time girlfriend seems to be hinting at marriage.  His father has fallen seriously ill.  And one of his porters has been found dead in the cellars under the hotel restaurant – was it murder?

I was looking forward to reading this book having heard wonderful things about other books by this author.  However, I have a really hard time enjoying a book when I don’t like the main character.  I really didn’t like Gabe.  He makes some horrible decisions and I have to admit I don’t understand why he does some of the things he does.  The book was described as a murder mystery (there is no mystery) in a fast paced restaurant kitchen (yes, but the kitchen scenes are minimal).  I would describe it more as a mid-life crisis over ethical issues by a man with questionable morals.

Fever by Mary Beth Keane

Fever by Mary Beth Keane

This is the story of Mary Mallon.  She was a woman who arrived in New York a poor young Irish immigrant with no skills.  Through hard work, and a strong personality, she elevated her position from laundress to head cook in good households throughout the city.  Her food was well received as was her care for the ill.  It was a surprise to the families, and Mary herself, to find out that she was a healthy carrier of a deadly disease.  Mary Mallon was Typhoid Mary.

This is the story of an ordinary woman trying to make a living in hard times that is stalked and harassed by a doctor telling her that she is making people sick.  Mary doesn’t believe him, nor do many of her friends and acquaintances, because the idea is just too hard to comprehend.  Mary isn’t sick so how can she make others sick through cooking?  And can Mary stop cooking when she is making a salary many times that of a laundress?

A very human face is put to the woman who was given the infamous moniker.

 

The Fever Tree by Jennifer McVeigh

The Fever Tree by Jennifer McVeigh

Frances, once living a life of privilege in 1880s London, finds herself alone and with few choices.  She can move in with her poorer relations and become nursemaid to their rambunctious children or she can accept a marriage proposal from a distant cousin and doctor, Edwin, and follow him to South Africa where he works as a doctor in a diamond mining town.  She boards a steamship for Africa.  Onboard she meets William and falls madly and deeply in love.  Her impending nuptials don’t seem as appealing now.

This was an interesting way to learn about the smallpox epidemics that ran through South Africa at the time and the inoculations and prevention that was instituted.  It is also an interesting view of the veldt since it is during a time of drought and the landscape and scarcity is brought out in great detail.  I have to admit that I wanted to shake Frances on many occasions for not seeing the worthy man she had while pining for the rogue she loved, but the heart works in mysterious ways.  

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

Ursula Todd may be the woman who shoots Hitler.  But then again, she may never take a single breath.  This is Ursula’s story told over and over and over again.  As she dies, she is born, and her life starts again.  She makes different choices, the people around her make different choices, and the path of her life changes, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse.  Ursula lives in a constant state of déjà vu remembering those crucial junctures in her life and what went wrong so she can change her future.

This is a fascinating read.  I especially loved the many versions of the events happening after Armistice Day.  The author does a wonderful job illustrating how a single event, sometimes not even of your own doing, can change the course of all that comes after.  And also, how that single event doesn’t seem like an event of any note at all most of the time.

This is a leisurely read that you’ll want to lose yourself in.  I started on audio (which was wonderful) but I switched to print so I could unfurl the story a little faster.  There are a lot of long books coming out right now (which is why this blog is so sparse this month!) but they are worth the time investment.  This one especially.  You’ll find yourself thinking back on your own life and those moments that determined who you would be and where you are now.