Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss by Margaret Renkl

  Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss by Margaret Renkl. With art by Billy Renkl. Milkweed Editions, 2019. Biography.

 Written with love and great detail, the author describes growing up in Alabama and her life as an adult in Nashville. Chapters are short and beautifully tell her family's history, her own reactions to life and loss over the years, and will inspire readers to see details in their own lives. The chapters are easy to read and dip into over and over if readers prefer to pick and choose among them. This will be a book to keep and cherish as Life changes. 

The Mystery of Mrs. Christie: A Novel by Marie Benedict

 

 The Mystery of Mrs. Christie: A Novel by Marie Benedict. Sourcebooks Landmark, 2021. Adult historical fiction and mystery.

In December, 1926, Agatha Christie disappeared for eleven days. That is true. But, the world's most famous mystery writer never spoke or wrote about that time. Marie Benedict has come up with her own theory about what happened to Mrs. Christie and it is quite plausible. The novel is divided between  "manuscript" chapters that tell about Agatha's life and chapters that tell of Day 1 After the Disappearance, etc. up to the time she is found safe at a spa hotel in the country. The writing is smooth. The appeal of the story is obvious. A very short author's note and conversation with the author in the back share some resources, but there is no comprehensive bibliography as this is a fiction book after all. Readers may be inspired to do some additional research on newspaper articles and photos of the time. The cover is appealing, but the pages in both front and back of the book that advertise Benedict's other novels do little to advance the reader's enjoyment. 

The Guest List: A Novel by Lucy Foley

 

  The Guest List:  A Novel by Lucy Foley. William Morrow, 2020. Adult fiction, mystery.

Set on a tiny island off the coast of Ireland, this wedding is to be THE event of the year. The bride, Jules Keegan, publishes her own life style magazine and is sure to post photos that will influence others for years to come. The groom, Will, stars in a wilderness survival television show. It appears to be the perfect power couple pairing.

Oh, but everyone has secrets. The bride's sister Olivia is her bridesmaid. The best man, Johnno, does not share the apparent wealthy background of many of the guests. Charley, longtime friend of the bride and his wife Hannah have escaped their children and work-a-day lives for a weekend of fun. The bride's father and his newest young wife are there. And, the whole event is catered by Aoife, a local, and her husband, Freddy. They all alternate chapters and propel the narrative.

Everyone is there. The weather changes. A storm comes in. The lights go out...and, you guessed it, there's a murder. The game is afoot.

The Second Mrs. Astor: A Novel of the Titanic by Shana Abe

 

 The  Second Mrs. Astor: A Novel of the Titanic by Shana Abe. Kensington Books, 2021. Adult historical fiction.

Madeleine Force is eighteen when she marries wealthy John Jacob Astor.  They were real people whose lives are documented in newspaper accounts of the times. They were among the First Class passengers on the HMS Titanic.  And, their Gilded Age story is fascinating. 

The author writes this fictional account largely as a series of letters to their son. The writing is smooth and wraps the reader up in the love story of the Astors. Mr. Astor's previous divorce and quick remarriage still rank as major scandals. But, this is really Madeleine's story as she tells it. Their age difference, their chemistry, and their devotion to each other all blend into an interesting and charming tale. 

The research list is quite short. One hopes that all of the book is based on truth and is well researched. A more complete bibliography would have been helpful and given more heft to the narrative, but it is a book of fiction however.   Readers will have to do their own research to see photographs of the real second Mrs. Astor. 

The Midnight Library: A Novel by Matt Haig

 The Midnight Library: A Novel by Matt Haig. Viking, 2020. Contemporary adult fiction.

     Nora Seed doesn't really like herself or her life. When she gets the chance to explore other lives, she takes the chance to see what could have been if she had made different choices. She finds that kindness matters, that small things can change people in big ways, and that you don't have to understand life, you just have to live it.

 

     The concept of the library and the librarian, Mrs. Elm, are key to Nora's explorations and a tribute to real librarians everywhere. Imaginative and full of small human details, the story is one that everyone will identify with in different ways. The character of Nora is an EveryWoman and readers will root for her to find safe landings in her jumps into the unknown. 

Where's The Queen?

 

This bright board book by Nosy Crow, an imprint of Candlewick Press (first U.S. edition, 2021),  is designed for very young children. The one layer felt "lift-the-flaps" are too flimsy for much library use, but individual (and careful) young readers will enjoy it greatly. The classic red English telephone booth, black taxi, double decker bus, guard, and the queen in her carriage all are portrayed. At the end, a mirrorish panel gleefully shows where the reader is! 

The Last Flight: A Novel by Julie Clark

 The Last Flight: A Novel by Julie Clark. Sourcebooks, 2020. Adult fiction, mystery.

   Claire Cook, the wife of a wealthy, well known philanthropist looks like she has the perfect life. Few know she is an abused wife. She makes a plan to escape and start a new life. Unfortunately, she is foiled at the airport. But, a woman named Eva overhears her distress and offers to exchange identities and plane tickets with Claire. Eva says her husband has died in California and that she needs a new start, too. Claire boards the plane to California and notices airport monitors showing that the other plane has crashed. Did Eva die in the crash? Will people really think that Claire is dead?  Eva's story of life in California does not ring true as Claire goes to the apartment on Eva's license. It is the only place Claire knows where her husband  may not link to her and find her.  But, what about secrets Eva may have been keeping?

This is a grand thriller of a tale! There are enough red herrings to keep readers guessing and enough details to make both women very real indeed. Clark's debut novel, The Ones We Choose, in 2018, has been optioned for television, and there is little doubt that this novel will also make its way to film as well.