Below Stairs by Margaret Powell

Below Stairs by Margaret Powell. The Classic Kitchen Maid's Memoir That Inspired Upstairs, Downstairs and Downton Abbey. St. Martin's Press, 1968.


The title really tells everything that readers need to know about this witty memoir. Written with humor, the tale of young Margaret who goes to work in an English "big house" tells the real story of life in the servants' world. Although it is not a new book, the details and conversational tone will enchant those who miss Downton Abbey.

A Talent for Murder by Andrew Wilson

A Talent for Murder by Andrew Wilson. Atria, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, 2017. Adult mystery.


     In 1926, British novelist Agatha Christie disappeared for two weeks. She surfaced in Harrogate at a luxury hotel where she was registered under the name of her husband's lover. She and her husband later divorced.
     Using these real details as a starting point, Andrew Wilson has added a fictional detective and a young journalist with a talent for putting clues together. When a doctor tries to get Mrs. Christie to murder his wife, the tables are turned and Agatha is sucked into a daring and complicated scenario. Wilson does a good job of connecting the dots and alternates the different points of view so that the first person makes the person talking seem quite real. The plot is plausible. After all these years, no one really knows what happened to Agatha Christie during those mysterious two weeks.

Amina's Voice by Hena Khan

  Amina's Voice by Hena Khan. 2017, Salaam Reads (an imprint of Simon & Schuster4 Children's Publishing Division). Children's fiction.


  Amina and Soojin have been friends a long time. Now they are in middle school and Emily seems to want to be right between them. Amina's uncle has come to visit with her family and her  parents worry that he may think Amina's family has become too Americanized. Amina and her older brother, Mustafa, want to honor their Pakistani heritage, but also like growing up in America.  When tragedy strikes their community, it seems like the two different cultures cannot be reconciled. Will Amina find a way to keep old friends, make new friends, speak up for what she believes in, and even to use her singing talents?  


   Khan has featured a Muslim heroine in Amina and worked in details such as attempts to learn Arabic, follow the teachings of the Imam, and controversy over the Quran competition with the usual traumas and fun of being a student in Greendale Middle School. Her diverse background and strong family make Amina stronger than she ever thinks she can be.

Killters of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murgers and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

 Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and The Birth of the FBI by David Grann. Doubleday, 2017. Adult nonfiction.


There is oil in Oklahoma and in the 1920's, much of it was owned by Osage Indians. The "headrights" were passed through families, but shady people thought that the Osage were too childlike and couldn't manage their own money. So, guardians were appointed for many of the tribal people. When Mollie Burkhart's mother and two sisters are killed, it seems that Mollie may be the next target and that someone is trying to get the oil rights that belong to her family. It seems that others are also being targeted and vast amounts of money are at stake.


With over twenty-four deaths, the newly established FBI took over the investigations. The amount of corruption, cover-ups, and deliberately trying to throw them off the trail of the killers is amazing. Former Texas Ranger Tom White is put in charge and a trial that rivaled the Scopes Trial of the same era takes place. White becomes one of the heroes of the book.


David Grann has completed years of research in order to show that the killers were many more than first thought and involved more people very close to Mollie Burkhart's family than many would have believed. The last few chapters of his interviews with Native Americans whose families were destroyed by the killings show the determination and commitment that he gave to the topic. The novel is well written and he does a good job of keeping all the names and events in a comprehensible chronological timeline. The black-and-white photographs of key people and places enhance the narrative. This is a much needed look at a long ago time in history and a people whose rights were taken away and who were surrounded by secrets, murderous acquaintances, and corrupt officials.

Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke

  Bluebird, Bluebird: A Novel by Attica Locke. 2017, Mulholland Books (Little, Brown, and Company). Adult fiction.


  While Attica Locke doesn't live in Texas anymore, her heart must still be there! This novel about African American Texas Ranger Darren Mathews shows that she knows her setting and characters inside and out. Darren lives in Houston and has a wife, but when the deaths of a black man from Chicago and a white woman from the small town of Lark in East Texas call him back to his roots, he gets into a hornet's nest of racial unrest and old loyalties. The dead lawyer's wife comes south to try to find out what happened. The small local eating establishment is owned by Geneva whose own husband was killed a long time ago. It's across the highway from the house of a man who seems to have run local businesses and politics for generations. Darren's own weakness for liquor has put his own job in question and he is out to prove to himself that he can be the man he has always thought he could be. Combine all these elements and readers will find the crimes, tensions, and intrigues irresistibly in the hands of a veteran writer.

The Book That Matters Most by Ann Hood

   The Book That Matters Most by Ann Hood.  2016, paperback by W.W. Norton and Company. Adult fiction


   This is one of the most intriguing books I have read all year. The main character, Ava, is mother to two young adults and joins a friend's book group. When she was a child, Ava's sister died, and not long ago, her mother seems to have killed herself. Ava is never the same. Her own daughter is supposed to be in Florence studying, but is really in Paris, on drugs and in big trouble. Ava's son, her former husband, the policeman who investigated her sister's death, and the book group all play key roles in helping Ava sort out her own life and her family. At the beginning, each person in the book group is to choose "the book that matters most" to discuss at a monthly meeting.  The choices are interesting, the discussions are lively, and what the books reveal about the members of the group fuel the plot of the story. Just when you think you have it all figured out, things change and then change again and readers will find themselves wondering at the talents of writer Ann Hood.

Saints for All Occasions by J. Courtney Sullivan

                            


  Saints for All Occasions by J. Courtney Sullivan. Alfred A. Knopf, 2017. Adult fiction.


       A heartfelt story about an Irish Catholic family and their secrets and what means most to them. When sisters Nora and Theresa leave Ireland to come to America as young women, Nora is engaged. Years later, the two are estranged. One is married with children, the other is a nun in a cloistered abbey. The novel begins in 2009 with a tragic death and alternates with the backstory over the years since the late 1950's. The characters are believable. The twists keep readers going. Sullivan does a good job of showing the changing times and differences in cultures. The most important part of the book to take away is the ability to simply say, "I shouldn't have acted that way. Please forgive me."