A Night to Remember by Walter Lord

  A Night to Remember by Walter Lord. St. Martin's Griffin, 2005. Originally published in 1955 by Holt, Rinehart, and Winston and reprinted in 1983. Nonfiction. 

This is the 50th anniversary edition of the classic HMS Titanic book. Walter Lord interviewed as many  survivors as he could, studied maps, pored over diagrams, and wove the facts into this highly readable book.  The new introduction by Nathaniel Philbrick, a sea worthy author himself, puts the book into a historical perspective and adds much to understanding of the ship's significance for modern readers.  Before the wreck was discovered by Robert Ballard in 1985, and before the fictionalized movie in 1997, there was the great ship. Thought to be unsinkable, she was the pride of Belfast ship builders. Passengers on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City in April, 1912  included the most wealthy and well known celebrities of the times as well as other second and third class passengers. Of course, we know now, that an iceberg was waiting and many, many lives were lost. The Carpathia ended up rescuing some passengers. Halifax seamen ended up recovering bodies. With all of the survivors now dead, never again will there be an opportunity to talk with survivors. Walter Lord's crisp, factual, carefully crafted account of the sailing and its aftermath has lost none of its original power. Definitely, this nonfiction book is better than any movie could ever be. Just read it.

Watching You: A Novel by Lisa Jewell

Watching You: A Novel by Lisa Jewell. Atria Books, 2019. Adult Fiction.
In the lovely little Melville Heights neighborhood of Bristol, England, Joey(Joesephine)Mullen is married to Alfie Butter who is working as a house painter. They are reduced living with Jack, her doctor brother, and his pregnant wife, Rebecca. Life is not as great as she hoped it might be, with Joey working at the Whackadoo child care center and pining for romance and self worth. Handsome headmaster Tom Fitzwilliam and his wife, Nicola, live so near that they can see into each other's windows sometimes. The Fitzwilliams have a teenage son who uses his own window to spy on the neighborhood. Jenna Tripp is a student and is valiantly trying to keep everyone from knowing how her own mother is slipping into mental illness. Then, someone is killed. The narrative chapters are alternated with transcripts from the police interviews.  The past of these characters become clearer and their current interweavings are explored until the rather sad, but resolved, ending.  Definitely a thriller and just ripe for a movie version, the novel may make readers wonder just who could be watching them!

Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison

Good Girls Lie by J. T. Ellison. Mira, 2019. Adult fiction.

When British teen Ash Carlisle arrives as a student at the exclusive girls' prep school, the Goode School, in Marchburg, Virginia, she is an unknown quantity. Her brother and parents have died. Headmistress Dr. Ford Westhaven, has inherited her position from her own mother whose poor decisions led to dismissal and she is determined not to go down that same path. Ash has secrets though as does Westhaven. Typical girl drama soon becomes deadly. Dare we say that the Ivy has become poisonous?

Ellison, the author of many other thrillers, writes smoothly. She obviously has had experience with the area and with prep school life and teenage girls. The red herrings are there, but she manages to slip in some zingers that will keep readers guessing until the absolute end.