The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay

 The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay. HarperCollins, 2012.
                                  Adult Fiction.

In the tenements of New York City in the 1870's, twelve-year-old Moth is sold into servitude by her own mother. She is cruelly treated, escapes, and finds her way into a high class training school for prostitutes. Wealthy gentlemen pay high prices for "untainted" companions, it seems, and believe this can cure them of a variety of diseases the men may carry. Of course, sometimes the girls get sick and die of those scurges. Moth makes friends with Dr. Sadie, a physician who treats the residents of the area and who wants very much to help Moth and rescue the child. Details about the society of the times, the role of women, the unprotected status of children, and the high prices of freedom and life alone are vividly described. Moth's story is one that readers will remember for a long time.

Pictures of the Past by Deby Eisenberg

Pictures of the Past. Deby Eisenberg. Studio House Literary, 2011.
                           Adult Fiction.

 

In 2004, a Holocaust survivor, stunned to see a painting of a young girl that is hanging in the Art Institute of Chicago, recognizes it to be the same one that was in her neighbor's home in Germany before the war years. How has it come to be in the museum? What is its connection with wealthy philanthopist Taylor Woodmere who has apparently donated it?  The book takes readers to 1937 where a young man goes to Paris on business, but falls in love with a beautiful girl from Berlin. An alternating tale is that of Rachel Gold in the 1960's Chicago. Rachel falls in love, falls herself pregnant, and moves to New York City to live with a family friend who is also a Holocaust survivor.  Years later, why does Rachel's grown son feel a connection to the same painting? Can Taylor Woodmere unravel the mysteries? This is a book about the puzzles, interconnections, and powerful events that happen in wartime, but continue throughout the years.

The Book of Someday by Dianne Dixon

 The Book of Someday by Dianne Dixon.
                            Sourcebooks Landmark,  2013. Adult Fiction.

This tale involves the voices of three women and a mystery of the past that connects them all. Livvi, a successful writer in 2012's Los Angeles has had a less than perfect childhood. Her attentive literary agent and friend, David, urges Livvi to start another book. She is caught up in a time-consuming relationship with Andrew, a weathly, handsome man who seems to love Livvi. But, Andrew has his own secrets. Micah, a wildly popular photographer in New York City in 2015 is facing a life crisis. She wants to make amends for her own past and find peace. Young mother AnnaLee lives in 1986 in Glen Cove, Long Island. She has a young daughter, Bella, whom she and her less than ambitious husband both adore. Character based, the intricate plot threads are woven together in the alternating voices of these women until the end of the book.  Readers will find clues along the way, but will definitely want to keep reading to learn how the women are connected and what happens to them all. This is Dianne Dixon's second book.