THE OTHER FAMILY (Joanna Trollope)

This is an interesting novel, written in Trollope's usual insightful, British style.  That is one thing that always strikes me about Trollope: the incredible English-ness of her characters and settings.  There are many decent novelists whose stories are transferable to places other than those in which they are set.  They could just as easily take place in Texas or Canada with a few tweaks to place and language, but not Trollope's.  Her characters and setting are SO British that the reader becomes immersed in the every day life and surroundings to the point that it is almost surprising to look up and realize that you are in the United States.

Chrissie Rossiter and her 3 young-adult daughters (Tamsin, Dilly, and Amy) are grief-stricken at the sudden death of Richie Rossiter, famed composer and pianist, father, and husband.  What comes to light in the aftermath of Richie's death is that he and Chrissie never married and that he was, in fact, still married to his first and only wife, Margaret, with whom he had a son, Scott, now 37.   Despite Chrissie's encoragement, Richie would never divorce Margaret to marry her, but over the years they lived as a married couple but neglected to tell youngest daughter Amy about their true circumstances. Richie's will reveals shockingly that he has left his beloved piano and the rights to the music written before he abandoned her to estranged wife Margaret, while Chrissie and the girls face financial uncertainty.  Chrissie was not just Richie's lover and mother to his 3 girls, but also his manager.  She now has to cope with life without him, but also without any means of support, since he was her only client.  Margaret and Scott, still living in Newcastle, attend the funeral and are met with expected cold shoulders from Richie's second family.  Margaret has a successful business as a talent scout and agent, living a comfortable and satisfying life, while Scott is a lawyer who is very curious about the life his father led after leaving them when Scott was 14 years old.  The big question here is whether or not the animosity betwen the new and old families will ever be resolved as they work through their grief.

I have to say that I did not particularly like Chrissie, Tamsin, and Dilly.  They strike me not as women wronged, deceived, or victimized by circumstances, but as self-absorbed and stubborn.  Margaret, Scott, and Amy are delightful characters with a blossoming sense of self-awareness and an excitement about life and the future.  At times this novel is slow-moving, but it is well worth reading.

TO HAVE AND TO KILL (Mary Jane Clark)

This is the first in Mary Jane Clark's new wedding cake Mystery series.  Piper Donovan, the heroine, is a struggling New York actress who decides to move back to her parents' home in New Jersey when her soap opera character is killed off and acting gigs seem to be fewer and farther between than ever.   Piper helps out in mother's bakery (her name is derived from "piping" cake decorations) between acting jobs and getting involved in murders, in this case the poisoning by arsenic of one of the soap's major hearthrobs at a charity auction.  Piper's mother suffers from macular degeneraton and her father, Vin, is a former law-enforcement officer who has obsessively schooled his daughter in self defense and self preservation.  Piper also has a close friend, Jack, who is an FBI agent and promises to become a major romantic interest as the series progresses.  The mystery was interesting, with a large number of logical supects and a great resolution.  This promises to be a fun and entertaining cozy series. If you like Cake Boss and love mysteries, read it!

COVER HER FACE (P.D. James)

P.D. James is, of course, one of the best known authors of the English mystery genre.  It has been a long time since I read an Adam Dalgliesh mystery and I wasn't disappointed.  There is nothing like a slightly crumbling British estate, a disfunctional family, and servants who flaut the system by forming unsuitable emotional attachments to their "betters" to serve as the setting to a traditional locked room mystery.  Dalgliesh is amazingly subtle and cerebral, almost a background character as he works to solve the crime, the murder of maid Sally Jupp, who had received and announced a proposal of marriage from Stephen, the son of the house, just prior to her demise. Dalgliesh is quite a contrast to the romantic action heroes of many popular mysteries.  If you like your detectives quiet and thoughtful, try P.D. James.

THE NEIGHBORS ARE WATCHING (Debra Ginsberg)

I am honestly not sure whether I would recommend this novel or not.  Ginsberg is unique.  Each novel that she writes is completely different from the one before.  The story here has all of the elements of a thriller:  a long-lost daughter, an enticing "working girl" living across the street, a mysterious Asian family whom nobody seems to know at all, the couple who are pillars of the community yet seem to harbor dark secrets.  This is not a thriller;  there are no desperate chase scenes, no psychological manipulation, no sudden terror.  When wildfires strike the San Diego area, Joe Montana's teenage daughter, with whom he ha recently become acquainted, disappears, leaving her newborn baby and a lot of questions behind.  Joe takes several days to report the disappearance to the police, which I found to be a little unrealistic no matter what problems existed in their relationship. Joe lacks moral fiber, which is unusual in a man in his role.  He should be worried and proactive, but instead he seems emotionally cut off from his own life.

I guess what this novel lacks is two things: likable characters and excitement.  The characters are all flawed and and they tend to deal with problems very slowly and very ineffectively. They could actually live next door to any of us, though, but I don't think they would make for a very interesting neighborhood.  Ginsberg is an excellent writer, though, so don't let me discourage you completely.  This might just be a novel that deserves a second look and a little more in-depth analysis.