Author: hudsonarealibrary

Imagine waking up in a hospital bed with no memory of the accident that put you there, your husband, or even your own name. . .  That’s what happened to Jennifer Stirling, and as she tries to reconstruct her life, she finds a letter from a lover she can’t remember either.  But the letter is a passionate appear for Jennifer to leave the life she’s been living . . .

Flash forward to 2003.  Journalist Ellie Haworth finds a letter in an old file – an emotional plea to an obviously married woman.  As Ellie attempts to find out who wrote the letter, who it was addressed to, and whatever happened to this couple, she finds herself re-evaluating her own relationship with a married man.

Excellent and very satisfying! 

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Alice and her husband Nate buy a house in the suburbs of New York City in 2018 after she quit (or lost) her job at a public relations firm in the city.  Nate’s job in the city – and his study gal-pal Drew – keep him busy and away from home much of the time.  Alice is not used to having so much free time, so she begins to work on the house and garden and even tries some recipes from a cookbook left in the house by its former owner, Nellie Murdoch.  Nellie’s story is told in alternating chapters as the author describes the challenges and choices made by each woman as they both Alice and Nellie begin to forge new identities for themselves.

This book is easy-to-read, with actual recipes from the 1950’s and advice to married women such as this: “Remember your most important job is to build up and maintain his ego (which gets bruised plenty in business).  Morale is a woman’s business.”  (Edward Podolsky, Sex Today in Wedded Life, 1947)

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An archeological dig at Monticello – home of Thomas Jefferson – uncovers a body under the hearth of a building in the slave quarters.  It appears that the victim was not a slave, and further investigation suggests that he may have been murdered!

As Postmistress Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen tries to help the local sheriff figure out the who, what and why of the body at Monticello by poring over old historical records of Jefferson’s descendants, death – or maybe murder – comes to the little village of Crozet, Virginia.  And, as usual, Mrs. Murphy and Tucker, Harry’s cat and dog, aided by their friend Pewter, are on hand to help in the hunt.

A cozy mystery, light and fun to read. 

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This was a Hudson Literary Guild selection about a female entrepreneur.

At times this book was reminiscent of Tara Westover’s memoir, Educated, especially when Frey talks about her childhood hardships such as no heat or indoor plumbing in the family home, the large number of siblings and a domineering father.  The family’s isolation in a very small community and her own activities of independence, such a driving a car at age four or five are also similar to Westover’s memoir.  Frey’s accomplishments in growing her business are described anecdotally so the book is easy to read and interesting.  However, after a point her actions – such as buying a $1.5 million farm tract on impulse – seem a bit too easy, and almost frivolous.  But overall, this is an interesting and inspiring memoir especially for young women. 

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(an audio book narrated by Lisette Lecat)

Precious Ramotswe and Grace Makutsi, now co-director of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, have got plenty of things to work on.  The agency is asked to find out the identity of a woman with no memory of her name or how she got to Botswana.  Meanwhile, Grace Makutsi is not letting motherhood, or her new role at the agency deter her from trying a new business venture – a restaurant!  Managing the Handsome Man’s Deluxe Café provides some interesting challenges.  Even Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni is dealing with some challenges that will impact both Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors and the No.  1 Lades Detective Agency.

This narrator really develops the personality of each character and is a joy to listen to. 

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We all make ‘snap’ decisions now and then, but some of us get better results than others.  The quality of our decisions depends on both our experiences, and our factual knowledge.  With a variety of fascinating anecdotes, Gladwell explains how those quick decisions are made.  He also urges us to recognize the power of rational analysis WITH instinctive judgement and its potential to change not just individuals and society.  Two things stood out for me:

1. How, once major orchestras started putting a screen in front of applicants that more women were hired because orchestra maestros had let their initial impressions (of their eyes) confirm their pre-existing beliefs that women did not have the strength or stamina for orchestral performance; and
2. The whole chapter entitled “Seven Seconds in the Bronx:  The Delicate Art of Mind Reading” about a police shooting and death of an innocent civilian in the Bronx especially in the wake of George Floyd’s killing last year.  I have to wonder if the officers involved in Floyd’s death had read this book if they might have paused to check or reconsider their first impressions. 

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Isa, Thea, Fatima and Kate meet at Salten, a boarding school on the English coast.  Kate lives nearby, and with her eccentric dad, Ambrose – an artist and instructor at the school.  These adolescent girls become close friends and participants in what they call ‘The Lying Game.”  As they are asked to leave school due to some possibly inappropriate sketches Ambrose has done of them, they also share a terrible secret.  Now, in present day, the friends get back together as their secret is about to be exposed and they find that they may have not even known the truth of the secret they’d kept for all these years. .  .  The story switches from past to present as the true facts are finally revealed. 

A Reese Witherspoon book club selection by the author of The Woman in Cabin 10, and The Death of Mrs. Westaway. 

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This book consists of four novellas all involving forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan at various stages of her career.  The cases take her from the halls of academia to a drug-infested neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the hot, humid Everglades to the top of Mount Everest.  Each case is uniquely icky, but interesting and as quirky as Temperance herself.  In print, Temperance Brennan’s career path is different than on TV, but in my opinion the print stories are almost more enjoyable.

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Before she realizes the husband is even missing, Hannah receives a note from him.  In it he says only, “Protect her” referring to her 16-year old step-daughter, Bailey.  The reality of Owen’s disappearance begins to sink inn after Hannah is visited first by a U. S. Marshall, and then FBI Agents, all seeking Owen too.  Though she and Owen had only been married for about a year, Hannah had believed that their connection was deep and honest.  But his disappearance puts EVERYTHING that Hannah thought she knew about Owen into question and she launches a quest with Bailey to find out the truth.

A Reese Witherspoon Book Club selection that was hard to put down.

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