I was expecting Nantucket, often Nancy Thayer's locale of choice, but Summer Breeze takes place near Amherst, MA in a wonderful lake community populated by interesting characters at various decision points in their lives. Slim, elegant Natalie Reynolds is an artist, house sitting for her Aunt Eleanor for a year while trying to figure out if she can really make a living with her talent. Her brother Slade, an antiques dealer, is based in Boston and irresistible to women. Bella Barnaby, a teacher, has returned to Dragonfly Lake to temporarily run the outdated family gift shop, Barnaby's Barn, while her Louise, her mother, recovers from a broken leg. Bella is on the verge of engagement to handsome architect Aaron, but is resistant to his dream of a career in San Fransisco. Bella's brother Ben is an attractive scientist and professor living in Amherst who may have Asperger's (my conclusion, not part of the story!). Married couple Joel and Morgan O'Keefe live in an impressive lake-front home, with a life-style designed to impress potential investors in Joel's company, but Morgan, despite loving many aspects of stay-at-home motherhood, misses her career in bio-safety and is lonely in the too-big, too fancy house.
As usual, Thayer does a superb job of building friendships and allowing her characters to naturally evolve in terms of relationships. They make mistakes, they jump to conclusions, they think that they desperately want things that turn out to be temporarily satisfying. Natalie, Bella, and Morgan form a strong relationship and work together to mutually support each others' goal and dreams. If you enjoy first class women's fiction with appealing characters and a plot that keeps you interested, try taking this book on vacation. You won't regret it!
BIBLIOPHILY
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Thursday, July 12, 2012
HEARSE & BUGGY (Laura Bradford)
We are in the middle of remodeling our kitchen and, as a result, I do not seem to be able to read as much as usual! This is the first in Bradford's new Amish mystery series and, if this debut is any indication, we will be seeing many more.
Claire Weatherly, still hurt and uncertain after a failed marriage, has moved to Heavenly, PA to stay with her Aunt Diane at her charming B&B, Sleep Heavenly. Claire's new business, Heavenly Treasures, features gifts and household items handmade by local Amish artisans. The shop that Claire rents was formerly occupied by Walter Snow, who left town owing money to Amish furniture makers whom he had cheated. When vandalism occurs at the Shoo Fly Pie Shop next door, Claire finds it hard to fathom why anyone could be deliberately targeting its Amish owner, gentle Ruth Miller. Nor is she inclinded to believe, as many in the commun ity do, that Ruth's younger brother Eli could be guilty of murder when Walter Snow is found strangled in the alley between the two shops.
No cozy mystery is complete without the potential for a little romance! Jakob Fisher, shunned by the Amish community, has returned to Heavenly as a police detective. Old rivalries and a longing for contact with his Amish family add depth and interest to this character, a potential future love interest for Claire. With Claire's unresolved relationship issues from her marriage, her attraction for Amish widower Ben Miller, and her newly discovered talent for sleuthing, a future relationship between Claire and Jakob promises to be intriguing.
Laura Bradford has done a thorough job of researching Amish customs and practices and with this series she manages to transport the reader to the heart of Amish country and, more importantly, into the Amish way of thinking. Aside from a credible, entertaining mystery, which Bradford definitely delivers, one of the most important facets of the cozy genre is the creation of genuinely interesting, likeable characters who are firmly woven into the fabric of the setting and plot. Bradford has accomplished that, and this visit to Heavenly, PA leaves the reader looking forward to the next installment!
Claire Weatherly, still hurt and uncertain after a failed marriage, has moved to Heavenly, PA to stay with her Aunt Diane at her charming B&B, Sleep Heavenly. Claire's new business, Heavenly Treasures, features gifts and household items handmade by local Amish artisans. The shop that Claire rents was formerly occupied by Walter Snow, who left town owing money to Amish furniture makers whom he had cheated. When vandalism occurs at the Shoo Fly Pie Shop next door, Claire finds it hard to fathom why anyone could be deliberately targeting its Amish owner, gentle Ruth Miller. Nor is she inclinded to believe, as many in the commun ity do, that Ruth's younger brother Eli could be guilty of murder when Walter Snow is found strangled in the alley between the two shops.
No cozy mystery is complete without the potential for a little romance! Jakob Fisher, shunned by the Amish community, has returned to Heavenly as a police detective. Old rivalries and a longing for contact with his Amish family add depth and interest to this character, a potential future love interest for Claire. With Claire's unresolved relationship issues from her marriage, her attraction for Amish widower Ben Miller, and her newly discovered talent for sleuthing, a future relationship between Claire and Jakob promises to be intriguing.
Laura Bradford has done a thorough job of researching Amish customs and practices and with this series she manages to transport the reader to the heart of Amish country and, more importantly, into the Amish way of thinking. Aside from a credible, entertaining mystery, which Bradford definitely delivers, one of the most important facets of the cozy genre is the creation of genuinely interesting, likeable characters who are firmly woven into the fabric of the setting and plot. Bradford has accomplished that, and this visit to Heavenly, PA leaves the reader looking forward to the next installment!
SUMMER HOUSE (Marcia Willett)
Reading Marcia Willett always takes me to a more peaceful place. This one is a little different than some of her novels, because it includes a bit of a mystery involving childhood memories and unexplained nightmares. Somehow I didn't find it quite as satisfying as Summer in the Country or A Week in Winter. I felt like it was a little bit incomplete, like I was on the outside looking in at a story that I couldn't quite be a part of and characters whose emotions I couldn't quite get to the heart of. Did I dislike it? Not at all. Willett creates an ambiance reminiscent of Rosamund Pilcher and her characters are endearing, if a bit remote. Milo and Lottie, with their decades old friendship, are an odd couple that is not actually a couple. Milo's old lover, Venetia, appears frequently and seems rightly oblivious to any romantic threat from Lottie, while Lottie's sister Susanna, ex-wife of Milo and mother of Nick, remains on the periphery of the story, embittered, impatient, and demanding. Mark and Imogen are the grown children of the late Helen and Tom, whose lives intertwined over the years with Milo's and Lottie's. Each in the middle of their own crises. Introspective Mark is unable to commit to a relationship and suffering from a lack of inspiration after writing a hugely successful first novel. New mother Imogen and her husband, Jules, are unable to come to a meeting of the minds regarding where to live, and Nick adds another layer of complication to their already strained existence.
This is not Willett's best effort, in my opinion, but I'm glad that I didn't pass it by. It left me feeling like there is another book left unwritten out there somewhere, but perhaps that's a story that Willett is reserving for the future. The sense of place and strong emotional bonds between the characters are very appealing and it did leave me thinking about what what might eventually happen in Mark's life. In my book, any novel that makes me want more can be considered a winner!
This is not Willett's best effort, in my opinion, but I'm glad that I didn't pass it by. It left me feeling like there is another book left unwritten out there somewhere, but perhaps that's a story that Willett is reserving for the future. The sense of place and strong emotional bonds between the characters are very appealing and it did leave me thinking about what what might eventually happen in Mark's life. In my book, any novel that makes me want more can be considered a winner!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)