House of Gold: A Novel by Natasha Solomons

House of Gold: A Novel by Natasha Solomons. G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2018. Adult fiction.

The wealthy Goldbaum family has mansions, business interests, and family members all around the world. When Greta moves to England to marry Albert, a distant cousin, she leaves the Vienna of 1911 and a life of making any of her own choices. The Goldbaum men are bankers; their wives are expected to have children, run households, and support their husbands. Only when Greta makes an ally in her mother-in-law and finds that she has a passion for gardening, does her life finally begin to feel like her own. Of course, readers know that WWI is coming. Being wealthy and being Jewish will not protect their              families or their wealth.  This is another sweeping, multigenerational novel                                           from the talented author.

Elevator Pitch by Linwood Barclay

Elevator Pitch by Linwood Barclay. 

William Morrow, an imprint of                      HarperCollins, 2019. Adult fiction suspense, thriller.

Can you imagine what would happen if all the elevators in all the buildings in New York City had to be shut down? For Barbara, a journalist, following the mayor's office is just part of her job. For Delgado and Bourque, police partners who investigate cases together, time is of the essence. When several seeming accidents (or is it terrorism?) involve the vertical city's elevators, everyone is part of it all. Mayor Headley and his son, Glover; Barbara's estranged daughter, Arla; a Russian scientist, a political espionage group called the Flyovers, and more intriguing people become part of this mystery and race to find out what is really going on. Every chapter seems to pull readers forward and you may not want to stop reading! PS It is not the kind of scary that will make you afraid to ride on an elevator!

House of Brides: A Novel by Jane Cockram

House of Brides: A Novel by Jane Cockram. HarperCollins, 2019. Adult fiction.

Australian Instagram personality Miranda Courtenay has made mistakes and claims that cause a huge fall from grace. While her father, stepmother, and two younger, half sisters support her, she is embarrassed and guilty, too. When she gets a letter from a cousin in England, she jumps at the chance to visit Barnsley House where her dead mother's family still lives. When she arrives, they think she is the nanny and Miranda decides to play along with the deception.

Before moving away forever, Miranda's mother had written a book about the house and the generations of strong women who lived there. (Hence the title of this book.)  Max, her mother's brother, his wife, Daphne, and Elizabeth, her mother's sister, still live there and all have secrets, too. Mysterious Mrs. Mins has a long history with the family. Who to trust there???  And, the three young children of Max and Daphne are charming. So it goes until Daphne disappears.

A little gothic mystery, a little contemporary search for self, the book is the debut novel by the author. Watch for more by Jane Cockram as this first effort reads smoothly. Typeface switches to a handwritten font when showing the pages from a found notebook. She does a good job of keeping track of time passing with summer festival time, Christmas, and finally Easter. Miranda is a likeable, if questioning, young woman who sneaks around looking for information, finding secret books, trying to hide from her own father, and putting together the pieces of the past which all too much influence the present.

The Trial of Lizzie Borden, A True Story by Cara Robertson

The Trial of Lizzie Borden, A True Story by Cara Robertson. Simon and Schuster, 2019. Adult nonfiction.

On August 4, 1892, in Fall River, Massachusetts, the mutilated bodies of Andrew Borden and his second wife were found in their home on Second Street. The ensuing investigation pointed to his younger daughter, Lizzie. The sensational trial and her subsequent verdict of innocence made world wide news and has fascinated people ever since.

Cara Robertson started her research on the case as an undergraduate at Harvard and has continued since that time. She earned a JD degree and has had an illustrious career. This, her first book, is well researched and well written. A hefty list of sources are detailed in the back of the book.

Did Lizzie do it?  Robertson clearly tells about the setting, the people involved, and the aftermath. But, readers will have to make up their own minds about the verdict. We do know, that, changing her name to Lizbeth and moving up to the more elite part of town, Lizzie lived out her life in Fall River. Although some friends stood by her during the trial, she was "not welcome" in the Congregational Church where she had been so active in her youth. Naming her new home "Maplecroft" and etching the name into the concrete was considered to be showing off. Her sister, Emma, moved out in 1905, and apparently the two never spoke again. Lizzie died in 1927.

Robertson delves into the history of Fall River and the Borden family. She finds that Lizzie's lawyer died unexpectedly and his office still has the papers relating to the trial locked up, claiming lawyer/client privilege never ends. The prosecuting attorney's papers are mainly available at the Fall River Historical Society. Somehow, I suspect, if those first documents and notes are ever made public, Cara Robertson will be the first in line to examine them all.

The Editor: A Novel by Steven Rowley

The Editor: A Novel by Steven Rowley. G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2019. Adult fiction
When young debut novelist James Smale is assigned an editor in the 1990's, he never dreams it will be Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis! James is a rather conflicted young man whose own family dramas are the basis for his novel. Mrs. Onassis provides the gentle questioning and pushes that James needs to finally get the end of his book right. During this process, the two become unlikely friends and support each other. The real story behind the story is that James has to reconnect with his own mother, find out about his father, and step up to be the best son that he can be. Full of interesting details about the Kennedys, the 1990's, and even James' fictional meetings with the publishing world, the story follows James' insightful growth. Really a love letter to Jacqueline Kennedy, the work will resonate with readers who lived through her real life via news, magazines, and photographs.  Reading the book is like inserting James in the film clips we all have in our minds. A thoroughly original concept and well written novel.

Wildwood by Elinor Florence

Wildwood by Elinor Florence. Dundurn, 2018. Adult fiction.

     By far, one of the best books I have read in 2019! This is the story of a single mom from Arizona who inherits a house and land in Alberta, Canada. The only stipulation is that she must live there for one year. Told in first person, the tale is well told and alternates with a diary that the great aunt, a pioneer, wrote about her own experiences about arriving in the early 1920's . Bridget, the four year old daughter, is selectively mute, but one of the most humorous and captivating characters. The mom and daughter manage to make friends, conquer the rural aspect of their new lives, and even find love with new animals and people. The details ring true and include many interesting tidbits about Canadian history and life. Highly recommended.