Between Sisters by Kristin Hannah recounts the complicated past and present relationship between the two women as they encounter an unexpected life threatening challenge and renew the relationship that they once had. Meg also meets Joe who is struggling with past events in his own life. The book explores themes of friendship, family responsibility, love, regret and finding out what is really important in life.
Enough is a novel written by Dawn French. Although there are serious themes involving aging and thoughts of suicide, this is not a dark novel but instead is a sometimes amusing study of family relationships. Interwoven with the story of how the family members react to Etta's plan are chapters or slices of life which recount episodes in Etta's earlier life. As the story continues Etta realises that there is still more that she can give her family, especially her relationship with her grand-daughter, Pearl.
Walter Nash, a successful executive in a large firm, lives with his wife and daughter in a luxurious house. But there are problems in his past, particularly his relationship with his father. After his father dies Walter learns more about his father's life since returning from the war in Vietnam and meets some of his father's friends. Walter also encounters the FBI when one of their agents approaches him about him helping them investigate staff in the company he works for. His settled life is turned upside down when his daughter is kidnapped and reports are circulated that Walter is responsible. A friend of Walter's father helps him to change his appearance and to prepare himself for revenge.
Nash Falls by David Baldacci is an intense crime thriller with an ending indicating that this is just the beginning of Nash's story which continues in the book, Hope Rises.
At midnight the ghost of Walter finds himself boarding the Midnight Train which is a replica of a toy train he owned when a child. Aboard the train he encounters the ghost of Mrs Agnes Deborah Amaryllis Bagdale, the former owner of Bagdale's Bookshop which he loved visiting when a child. Agnes explains to him about the voyage he is about to take reviewing his past life. At times the train will travel quickly through time while at other times the train will stop so that he can have a closer look at previous events in his life. Wilbur is warned not to try and communicate with the people he sees and definitely not to try and change events.
But halfway through the voyage Wilbur the ghost decides that he has to defy this instruction. He needs to warn the young Wilbur, who he is observing via the voyage on the Midnight Train, of mistakes that he made in his previous existence, especially in regard to relationships.
The Midnight Train by Matt Haig provides a sympathetic look at the problems that can be caused when a person is so focused on creating a successful business life for himself and his family that he neglects to see that he is destroying family relationships. The ghost Wilbur hopes that he is able to help his younger self avoid the mistakes that he made.
Like The Midnight Library, also written by Matt Haig, The Midnight Train is also a book worth reading.
Meanwhile Merle learns that her presumed dead husband is about to visit her and their daughters and Betty decides to join the local drama group and learns new skills, useful in investigations. Hazel also learns that the clothing firm where she used to work is about to go out of business and she joins a group determined to restructure and jointly run the company. The Tea Ladies become very busy.
The Model Murder is the fourth book in the Tea Ladies Mystery series and once again takes the reader on an amusing adventure as these elderly ladies attempt to solve any challenges that they encounter. In the background we are reminded of life in Sydney in the late 1960s including the protest marches against conscription and Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War.
Catherine's friend, Annie, lives on the adjoining property with her husband Dave and their six children. Dave's friend, Mark, and his son, Charlie, also live on the property. Annie's house is OK but the fire has left other challenges for the family.
The Last of the Apple Blossom by Mary-Lou Stephens is the story of families trying to maintain a living on their properties in challenging times. Throughout the book the author reminds the reader of challenges faced by Tasmanians, especially the orchardists and how adjustments needed to be made. England joining the European Common Market in 1972 was the last straw for many of the orchardists trying to grow and promote apples for which the island was famous. Changes needed to be made by those continuing to be involved in the apple industry plus the need to diversify.
The affects of these changes on the lives of the orchardists and their families and friends is a focus of a historical fiction novel that also explores the effects that secrets and lies have on those trying to survive in difficult times.
Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth is Elsie's story of the past as well as the present day. As stories about Elsie's past begin to explode she decides to tell her story to two podcasters, Libby and Adeem, who arrive on her doorstep one day. Elsie decides that it is time that the truth about her past should be revealed.
Mad Mabel is a novel about relationships, especially the relationship that gradually develops between Elsie and her seven year old neighbour, Persephone. She also reluctantly adopts the dog of the neighbour who died or the dog adopts her. Those neighbours who initially shunned Elsie, due primarily to incorrect stories they have heard, come to realise her strengths and humanity.
The Drowning by Fiona Lowe is about the complex relationships in a dysfunctional family. CC soon realises that some of the family object to her inclusion in the partnership and will work to have the legal decision over-ruled. She also discovers that involvement in this family is not what she had imagined as a child. As events unfold, CC realises that she needs help to sort out the complexities of her life and to work out who her friends really are and how she wants to lead her life.
On an isolated stretch of road out of town, a car towing a caravan is forced off the road and the two occupants are found dead. Zara is the first person on the scene and is determined to find out what happened. Jack, of course, is also working on the case but is unable to provide her with any information. She therefore has to make her own investigations. Unfortunately these investigations pose a risk to her life.
An exciting well written crime novel embroiled in outback Western Australia.
Detective Jack Higgins has remained in Kalgoorlie while his partner Zara Ellison returned to Adelaide to recover from injuries she received when investigating a story. Jack has yet to decide what his future will be. Detective Sergeant Angie Sullivan has recently arrived in Kalgoorlie from Perth and is adjusting to her new environment. Angie and Jack combine forces to find out what happened to the missing boys. Did the boys leave of their own accord or were they abducted? Surrounded by desert and mine shafts, the boys could be anywhere. Then Bree also disappears.
The Missing by Fleur McDonald is the second book she has set in Kalgoorlie and like The Prospect and The Witness, there are graphic descriptions of Kalgoorlie and the surrounding area. The personal lives and challenges faced by the characters are important features of the books. In The Missing the life and challenges faced by Smurf, a Vietnam veteran, are important to the novel.
As well as being a crime novel, the book looks at the challenges faced by young mothers looking after their baby, especially when the baby has sleep issues at night.
The Witness by Fleur McDonald started slowly but improved as the investigation progressed, though I worked out the name of the person behind the deaths early in the book. This is the third book by Fleur McDonald set in the area around Kalgoorlie.
Grace's friend, Bea, works at the post office where she sorts the mail and makes deliveries each day. Through her job she becomes aware that the mail service is being used by some inhabitants of the island to report the possible misdemeanors of neighbours to the Germans. This is just one way some islanders place the lives of their neighbours in danger.
As the war drags on, life becomes more difficult for the locals living on an island where there are severe food shortages and their every move is watched by an enemy who becomes increasingly dangerous with the realisation that defeat is around the corner.
The Wartime Book Club is one of several novels written about life on the Channel Islands during the Second World War. Other books include The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, Dancing with the Enemy by Diane Armstrong and The Girl from the Channel Islands by Jenny Lecoat. At the end of the novel Kate Thomson includes information about the sources used when writing the book plus events and people who inspired the creation of The Wartime Book Club.
During the First World War, Australian pilot, Fred Willets, rescued another pilot whose plane was shot down. The pilot did not survive but his father, Richard de Reve, was forever grateful to Fred for the attempt to save his son's life. Fred returned to Western Australia where he worked as a detective in the outback. Then in 1929 Fred was summoned to England for the reading of the will of Richard de Reve which included a bequest for him.
The de Reve family can be described as complicated. Fortunately a staff member has kept a copy of the family tree in her diary and the family tree plus plans of the house appear at the front of the book. Gradually we are introduced to the people invited to the family home for the reading of the will. As you would expect in an Agatha Christie style novel, it is not long before a series of crimes including a robbery and the discovery of two dead bodies occur.
The events occur at the weekend as a storm approaches so Fred is charged with the initial investigations. Assisting him is the local pharmacist, Prudence Meadows. It is obvious that the crimes were committed by someone in the house, but who and why?
Sound Mind Dead Body is an enjoyable cosy crime inviting the author to solve the mysteries.
Olive, a member of the Catholic Church, had difficulty in accepting that attitudes were changing and her mother-in-law was never going to accept any attitudes that were different from her strict Methodist beliefs. So when Cathy, who was studying to be a teacher, became pregnant outside of marriage it was immediately decided by older family members that she should leave home until the baby was born and adopted by another family. However, Cathy and her partner Andy stood their ground and insisted that they would marry and keep their child, although it meant that Cathy would not be able to finish her studies and become a teacher if she was a mother.
The Marriage Trap in many ways provides a social history of the period as Cathy adapts to her new life as a mother. She gradually builds a new network of friends and learns of a method of contraception becoming available to help women control their fertility. However it is some years before the Pill becomes readily available and there are still doctors who will not prescribe it.
The story is told showing the lives of Olive and Cathy as well as Evelyn who observes what is happening around her and when she turns 20 knows how she wants to control her life.
