"Bury Your Dead"

"Bury Your Dead" is the first book I've read by Louise Penny who is a four time winner of the Agatha Award. It's a Chief Inspector Gamache novel and appears to not be the first one in the series so I have some reading to do to catch up with this Chief Inspector!

I found it a little difficult at first to get into this mystery novel but I'm glad I persevered because it was well worth it. Penny is a gifted writer and this story tracks several cases simultaneously. Gamache is in Quebec City visiting a former supervisor while recuperating from on-the-job physical and emotional wounds. While he is there, he has flashbacks to a previous case that cost the lives of some of the police he supervised but also saved the lives of many private citizens. While there, he is receiving daily letters urging him to reopen an investigation because the writer believes a friend has been wrongly convicted of murder. Gamache sends his second in command, Jean Guy Beauvoir (also recovering physically and emotionally), to investigate that case. In the meantime, there's been a murder in Quebec City and Gamache is prevailed upon to help solve this case which involves also solving the centuries old question of where the founder of Quebec, Samuel de Champlain, is buried.

I'm impressed with Penney's ability to weave together these stories spanning generations and/or time. During the solving of these simultaneous cases old wounds are reopened and secrets uncovered.

If you haven't read Louise Penney, this book convinced me her books should be on the must read list of all mystery lovers.

pazt

Gone Baby Gone

Dennis Lehane's "Gone Baby Gone" is the next mystery in his Patrick Kenzie/Angela Gennaro series that I've been reading in order and it's another winner in my opinion.

Private Investigators, Kenzie and Gennaro, have been picking and choosing cases recently so, when they're approached to find a missing girl that not even the special missing children's police unit has been able to locate, they're reluctant to take on the case. However, the missing girl's aunt is persuasive and persistent so when the head of the missing children's squad agrees to allow them to work with the unit, they accept the case -- with reservations. This is another well developed Lehane mystery and just when I thought I had the plot figured out, a new twist would come along to totally surprise me and take the case in a new direction. If you like a good mystery and haven't read Lehane's novels, I suggest you pick one up and give it a try.

pazt

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

Helen Simonson's debut novel, "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" is set in a small, rural English village - Edgecombe St. Mary. The story focuses on widowed and retired Major Ernest Pettigrew who has his own ideas about integrity, honor, and proper behavior and puzzles over the behavior of his only son. The Major's world is turned upside down when his brother (and only sibling) dies unexpectedly. It's at this point that a widowed Pakistani shopkeeper in the village, Mrs. Jasmina Ali, shows him kindness and friendship and their friendship takes them both down a path that will ultimately change both their lives and the lives of their family, friends, and neighbors. It's a love story, a story about biases, and also a story about how a man pretty set in his ways begins to change his thinking when exposed to new and unexpected situations that bring him face to face with a world outside of the bubble he's been living in.

Simonson's writing is poetic in its descriptions and I love how she develops her characters to the point that you feel like you're right there living their lives with them and feeling what they're going through right along with them.

My husband picked this book up at the library off their "best picks" shelf and shared extensively about the book as he was reading it. Normally, if I plan to read a book myself, I discourage him from telling me anything about it so I was surprised when (despite knowing a lot of the book's details)I decided to read the book, too. I'm so glad I did because it is such a delicious experience. We recommended it to our book club and I highly recommend it to anyone who would like something that is poignant as well as funny to read. You can learn more about this New York Times Bestseller at www.majorpettigrew.com.

pazt

Amagansett

"Amagansett" was written by Mark Mills, a screenwriter, and this is his first novel. It is a mix of historical fiction, romance, and mystery. It focuses on several families or individuals and their private lives then how those lives become intertwined when what appears to be the drowning of a young woman turns out to be a homicide. However, there are only two men who have a gut feeling that it is a homicide--one a law officer and the other one of the fishermen who found the body. Both men set out to solve this murder in their own unique ways until their paths cross in an explosive climax. Although it is almost 400 pages in hardback, it was a quick read for me and held my interest all the way through. It is one of my "must read" best picks!

pazt

"Sinister Sprinkles"

"Sinister Sprinkles" by Jessica Beck is another in the Donut Shop Mystery series. Suzanne Hart, owner of Donut Hearts, finds another murder to solve when the woman her ex-husband dallied with before their divorce is found dead. Suzanne sets out to solve the murder (with a little help from her ex-husband, Max) and puts herself in danger again. In the meantime, her current boyfriend, Jake, is unavailable and her best friend, Grace, is contemplating a move. Is Suzanne's life about to change forever?

Another fun read by Jessica Beck .....pazt

"Sizzling Sixteen"

"Sizzling Sixteen" by Janet Evanovich is her latest Stephanie Plum novel and, as usual, Stephanie has her hands full but this time she's trying to help her cousin, Vinnie, owner of Vincent Plum Bail Bonds (where she's employed), out of a gambling debt jam so he can keep his business and she can keep on working there! As usual, Stephanie and her sidekick, Lula, along with cousin Vinnie's clerical staff (Connie) have their hands full and aren't managing to stay out of trouble. Stephanie is forced to call on the man who can help her out of a jam - Ranger -- but it won't set well with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, cop Joe Morelli. Can she get herself out of this jam and save the agency? You'll have to read it to find out -- another fun Stephanie Plum novel by Evanovich!

pazt

"Hello Goodbye"

"hello goodbye" is a novel by Emily Chenoweth -- the story of the Hansen family. The summer after Abby Hansen's freshman year of college she goes on vacation with her parents, Elliott and Helen, to a historic resort -- The Presidential Hotel in northern New Hampshire. This is to be a celebration of her parent's marriage and a chance to reconnect with old friends who will help them celebrate. What Elliott has told none of them -- including his wife, Helen -- is that she is dying. It's obvious to everyone that her health is fragile and the truth must come out but not before secrets are revealed and confessions are made. In the midst of this family/friends scenario Abby tests new boundaries and forges new friendships and makes a reconnection of her own among the young people who staff the hotel.

Although this book is not a biography, the author's own mother was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor during her first year of college and her father arranged a similar trip. The author has no notes or diary from that period but is able to draw on her own memories as well as her own experiences of grief and loss to craft a believable fictional story.

I found this book very readable and it certainly is one that would prompt a lot of discussion for groups. In fact, the copy I checked out from the library has book group discussion questions at the back of the book.

Although some might see grief as a depressing topic, I found this book uplifting. Despite the loss this family will experience when Helen dies, they are living life now!

pazt