Opposing Views

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney is a twisty tale.

Grady is the epitome of an unreliable narrator. He is an author struggling with the disappearance of his wife Abby one year prior. He hasn’t been able to write since that night, and is slowly losing everything.

Then, his publisher (also his wife’s godmother) offers him a secluded cabin on the island of Amberly in Scotland. He is expected to use this time to write his next book.

While on island, he sees glimpses of his missing wife, experiences extreme paranoia about the residents and encounters an unknown intruder who leaves behind his wife’s former news articles.

Grady ends up writing a novel which he based on a stolen manuscript from the cabin’s former writer in residence. Afterward he realizes that he may be stuck on the island for good.

The story jumps between his view and Abby’s with each chapter’s title offering another oxymoron. The tragic history of the island is revealed in the end, and Grady will play a part in continuing its strange existence.

Fatal Fall

Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight is a murder mystery. I feel that I may have already read this book, but if so, it was prior to writing blog posts!

Kate is a single mother with a demanding job as an attorney. The book opens with her being called to her daughter’s private school due to a cheating incident. Upon arriving, she discovers that her daughter is dead.

The police deem it a suicide. Shortly thereafter, Kate receives an anonymous message stating that it was not a suicide. This sets Kate on a mission to reopen the case in order to discover what truly happened to her daughter.

Chapters include Kate (present time with some flashbacks) and Amelia’s (events leading up to her death) perspectives to build the actual chain of events leading to Amelia’s fatal fall. Amelia was receiving cryptic messages about her unknown father, dealing with relationship drama and being severely bullied.

The suspects include the exclusive, secret group named the Magpies that she was newly tapped to join. There is also the mysterious Ben that she was texting.

The story moves quickly and kept my interest until the end.

Return of the Witch

Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce is a story of witchcraft and possession.

Mina is a recent child psychologist graduate. However, she is still grieving the loss of her brother. During a therapy group, she meets journalist Sam. He asks if she’d join him to investigate a family that is encountering strange behaviors from their daughter Alice. Mina decides to go despite her fiancée Oscar’s disapproval.

Alice persistently describes being watched and spoken to by a witch that hides behind her walls (so creepy!). While her brain tries to rationalize Alice’s behaviors, she can’t deny that another element is at play. She experiences strange phenomena such as hearing animal sounds at night and seeing glimpses of the witch.

Alice and Sam investigate the origin of these occurrences while also fighting their own demons of their lost loved ones. Spoiler- Then Alice’s former friends begin dying. The witch needs to be excised, but how and by whom?

This is where the book took a confusing turn for me. While I completely enjoyed the writing and the witchy element, the ending left me a bit disappointed. It was as though the whole witch aspect was forgotten.

One of Us

My Friends by Fredrik Backman is a touching story about friendship (obviously)!

Louisa is on the verge of aging out of the foster care system. The night before she turns eighteen, she breaks into an auction to see a painting that is very meaningful to her. She is thrown out and the police are called. In her attempt to escape, she crashes into a homeless man. However, it turns out that the homeless man is not homeless; he’s actually the artist. They paint graffiti together before parting ways. He sees something special in her and tells his friend Ted to find her, telling him that she is one of them. The artist sold all of his possessions to buy his own painting back, and it is his dying wish to give it to Louisa.

Fast forward to the artist’s friend Ted finding Louisa and giving her the painting. The two begin a scrappy relationship as they journey back to where the painting was inspired.

During this time, Ted recounts the painting’s origin story. The painting is of a sea scene, and it includes three kids sitting at the end of a pier. The kids in the scene include Joar (son of a violently abusive father), Ali (a tough drifter) and Ted. Ted (and others) shares the story of their friendship over the two summers leading up to Kim’s first painting and its aftermath.

Lessons are learned, relationships evolve and lives are radically altered. There are many heartfelt lines about life, love, loss, and of course, the power of art.

New Start

Identity by Nora Roberts is a dramatic read following a serial killer’s failed murder attempt.

After a lifetime of moving, Morgan was finally creating a life for herself working two jobs and slowly remodeling her home. This is when a smooth talking stranger entered her life. It turns out that the FBI has been after him for a while. He chooses slim, blonde women with androgynous names. He kills them and steals their identities and money. Morgan’s roommate is home sick and ends up being killed.

Morgan ends up moving in with her mom and grandmother in Vermont. She slowly rebuilds her life by helping her ladies with their shop, and finding a job managing the bar at a high end resort. She also finds romance with one of the owner’s sons.

Meanwhile, her predator is still on the loose and he’s angry. He’s determined to finish the job he started. Snippets of his thoughts and actions are shown throughout. The whole while Morgan is preparing herself for a possible confrontation.

I appreciated Morgan’s character and her relationship with her mom and grandmother. I also liked the business and bartending aspects of the story. However, the book is very detailed and slow moving.

No Way Out

This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer is a horror story.

The book begins by describing a crime scene with a skeleton and two horribly mutated bodies. Investigators are stumped.

Then it backtracks to the events leading up to the grisly scene. A foursome plans a hiking trip into a remote area of Kentucky. Clay and Sylvia are participating to complete grad research in an uncharted area. Dylan is an up and coming rock climber looking to impress her new sponsor by climbing in a new location. Her boyfriend Luke and his dog round out the group.

The trip starts to go terribly wrong. The area is eerily quiet, seemingly devoid of all life. Luke’s dog goes missing. Then he becomes badly injured. The group realizes they are in trouble when they are unable to find their way back to their car.

The place is rampant with the ghosts of previous victims. All subject to the evil of the place which gradually affects every member of their group.

This was a good change of pace with a creepy storyline a bit reminiscent of The Shining in parts.

Family Fortitude

We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes is a family drama with a hint of romance.

Lila is going through a lot: regularly seeing her newly divorced husband’s pregnant mistress at school pickup, her stepdad’s progressive move in after her mother’s death, raising two daughters, her estranged famous actor father suddenly reappearing in their lives along with her own career/financial woes.

Meanwhile, Lila is trying to write a follow up to her recent bestseller (which was ironically about her great marriage). This book is going to be about her sexual escapades as a new divorcee. However, her sexual interests are also a little complicated.

There are sentimental and humorous scenes throughout the story as it’s told mainly from Lila’s point of view (with some chapters from her sixteen-year-old daughter Celie). This book will appeal to aged forty plus women looking for a book about relationships and overcoming tough times.

The Body

Fox by Joyce Carol Oates is a murder mystery. The victim is a serial pedophile named Mr. Fox. He was a middle school teacher at a prep school. His real name was legally changed after allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor at the previous prep school employer.

The book gets into his backstory including his psyche and manipulative methods for hooking young females and for gaining trust from important adults around him.

The story also follows others from town who have some connection to the murder investigation, including the brothers who discovered the body, a couple students and their dads, the chief investigator and a few others.

The scenes with Mr. Fox are deeply disturbing and continuously repeated through the book. I found myself skimming through by the end to be able to finish.

I would not recommend this book. It was dragged out, often repetitive and full of unlikable characters in addition to the detestable Mr Fox.

Up in the Air

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty is a story of unexpected connections.

Cherry is on a flight when she suddenly gets up and begins telling each passenger his or her expected age and cause of death.

Needless to say that this creates a sense of chaos, worry and denial amongst passengers. After the experience, readers follow a selection of passengers: Ethan is expected to die in a brawl, Leo is expected to die from a work-related incident, Paula’s baby son is expected to die in a drowning incident when he turns seven, Eve is a newlywed expected to die from domestic murder, Allegra is one of the flight attendants expected to die from self harm.

When a couple of the predicted deaths occur, people begin trying to find Cherry, dubbed the Death Lady.

Meanwhile, Cherry shares her story. She grew up with a fortune telling mother, Madame Mae. She experienced different loves in her life, all important in shaping her into the person she becomes.

Cherry’s narration is quirky and fun (despite the topic). As any book centered around death, it certainly makes one think about how precious life can be and about how little changes can potentially alter one’s fate.

Praying for Survival

Isola by Allegra Goodman is historical fiction set in France during the 1500s.

Marguerite lost both parents at a young age, and was left with a chateau and land. She stays there long enough to build a friendship with her teacher and her daughter. However, when her guardian/uncle Roberval sells her property, she is forced to live at his residence. The only familiar she has is her nursemaid/caregiver who vows to stay with her no matter what.

Roberval is a cruel guardian. He gives lessons as a way to seem caring, but is also prone to violence as a means of control. His desire for money and favor with the king prompts him to voyage to new land in Canada. Marguerite is forced to go with him.

During the journey, Marguerite falls in love with Roberval’s secretary. Their punishment is to be banished to a remote island. The three of them must learn to survive the harsh elements, lack of food and wild animals. Not all will survive. During this time, Marguerite must get through her darkest days to figure out her place in the world.

Spoiler – After two years, Marguerite is able to return home to share her story. She is forever changed and hopes to use her experience as a means of educating females of all classes.

While this story started a bit slowly for me, I became intensely interested in the fate of Marguerite and her companions. I didn’t realize the story was based on an actual person until reading the author’s note at the end. This really made it so much more impactful. It’s a story of survival, grit, love/loss, nature’s power, religion and learning about oneself.