Tuesday, February 17, 2015

The Second Sister by Marie Bostwick


An agreeable visit to Wisconsin, to me an unfamiliar part of the USA.  Marie Bostwick's descriptions of life there in Door County make it tempting to plan a visit in the real world.  Life on the Lakes sounds delightful and real.

If you've had a very unhappy upbringing and have left behind your home town as soon as you can, what will it take to make you go back?  How truly satisfying is a life and career which give you no opportunities to sleep more than a few hours a night, make friends, or develop hobbies?  What will it take to make you visit your sister, in whose shadow you grew up in and who now makes you feel guilty?  These are the issues facing our heroine, Lucy Toomey, who has to make some choices and chooses to learn some patchwork and quilting on the way.

This is an enjoyable book by an author I've not encountered previously. It is a story of family, community, values, creativity and love and well worth choosing for a satisfying read.

Thrills in Bed

Nothing to do with the over-hyped 50 Shades stuff, but I've been spending a lot of time in bed with a nasty flu bug and, when not sleeping, books have been a great solace and good companions.

My most recent read was by Lisa Gardner, a psychological thriller named Crash and Burn.

Crash & Burn


This story kept me guessing, right to the end.  Clearly all is not as it seems when this psychological crime thriller opens on the scene of a nasty car accident and an injured but lucky-to-be-alive victim who is anxious for the safety of her missing companion - daughter? - Vero.   A police sniffer dog fails to find a trail other than Nicky's at the scene of the car wreck  at the bottom of a woodland ravine on a remote road in New Hampshire, USA.  Poor, concussed Nicky awakens in hospital to be confronted by a man she does not recognise - who says he is her husband.  There are so many layers to the plot and, as one mystery is apparently resolved, another is revealed. What is the truth about identity, crimes and victimhood?  Nicky is well described, as are the investigators involved in the case, who at times have to question whether there is a case at all.   It really is a jolly good, satisfying read.