Book ~ "Fearless As Possible: Under the Circumstances" (2016) Denise Donlon

From Goodreads ~ In this memoir, Denise Donlon recounts her journey as a corporate leader at the forefront of the massive changes in the Canadian music and media industries. 

One of Canada’s most celebrated and dynamic corporate leaders and broadcasters, Denise Donlon has long been recognized as a trailblazer in the Canadian cultural industries. "In Fearless as Possible: Under the Circumstances", Donlon chronicles her impressive and storied career at MuchMusic, Sony Music Canada and CBC English Radio, which put her at the forefront of the massive changes in the music industry and media. 

Throughout her incredible journey, she shares colourful and entertaining stories of growing up tall, flat and bullied in east Scarborough; interviewing musical icons such as Keith Richards, Run-DMC, Ice-T, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Annie Lennox and Sting; and detailing her life-changing experiences with War Child Canada, Live8 and the Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership. 

This memoir is about Donlon's life and career in Canada's music, television and broadcasting industries. She starts by sharing stories from her childhood in Scarborough and explains how those early experiences helped shape her confidence and career path. The book then follows her rise at MuchMusic, where she went from working behind the scenes to becoming General Manager. Along the way, she describes interviewing well-known musicians, helping create popular music programs and witnessing the growth of MuchMusic into a major part of Canadian pop culture. Donlon then tells about her time as President of Sony Music Canada, where she dealt with the music industry's shift to digital technology and changing consumer habits. She also discusses leading CBC English Radio during a period of budget cuts, organizational change and evolving audience expectations. 

Throughout the memoir, Donlon mixes stories from her professional life with personal experiences, including her marriage to Murray McLauchan, raising a family and supporting charitable organizations such as War Child Canada. The book highlights the challenges, opportunities, and major changes she encountered over the course of her career in Canadian media and entertainment.

For the most part I found this book interesting. I like reading bios/autobios and memoirs, especially about Canadians. I watched MuchMusic when it launched in 1984 so learning more about Donlon and her MuchMusic era was interesting. She dropped a lot of familiar names from  MuchMusic's past and I'd often stop and Google to see where they are today. I was less interested when she talked about working at Sony and CBC Radio (which I've never listened to). There was a lot of detail (it's 754 pages!) so I skimmed through those chapters. I liked that there were pictures scattered throughout the book. As a head's up, there is swearing.

Book ~ "Movie Night Murder" (2016) Leslie Langtry

From Goodreads ~ Merry Wrath has seen dangers galore in her former job as a CIA field agent. But nothing has prepared her for this - an overnight Mommy and Me lock-in with her Girl Scout troop, complete with movies, dodgeball, four cats, a baby … and a dead body. 

When the mysterious corpse’s identity is revealed, Merry and her former handler, Riley, realize they might have a domestic terrorist situation on their hands ... one that needs diffused quickly before any more dead bodies appear. Merry once again calls on her former professional skills to track down a killer. Between a new, hottie female medical examiner - who seems a bit too interested in Merry’s boyfriend, Rex - the President of the United States, the world’s 2nd largest snail collection and an incident with pink hair dye, Merry has her work cut out for her. 

Can she stop an attack before it begins? Or will this be one Movie Night without a happy ending?

Merry is a former CIA agent who loved her job and was very good at it. But when her identity is exposed, she’s forced into early retirement, given a severance package and told to start over somewhere new. After changing her appearance, she returns to her small hometown in Iowa, where her best friend, Kelly, still lives. Together they run a Girl Scout troop while Merry tries to adjust to a much quieter life.

Merry and Kelly organize a girls’ night with their Girl Scouts and the girls’ mothers. Merry brings along her cat, Philby, and her three kittens, while Kelly brings her baby. The evening starts off fun with food, movies, and games until it takes a dark turn when Merry opens a door and a dead body falls into the room. The shocking discovery draws in the police investigation, which the Girl Scouts find thrilling.

Things get more complicated when the victim is identified and Riley, Merry’s former handler, soon shows up, intent on stealing the body and trying to recruit Merry into helping. But those plans quickly fall apart when the corpse is stolen by someone else.

Meanwhile, Soo Jin, a striking coroner newly arrived from San Francisco, arrives into tow. Merry becomes fixated on the idea that Soo Jin is interested in both her boyfriend, Rex, a police officer, and Riley, with whom Merry shares a past. I found Merry’s jealousy annoying and immature, especially since Rex has never given her any reason to doubt him. This same dynamic played out in the previous book with another woman.

I had issues with how the cats were handled. Bringing them along for an overnight and free to roam around seemed irresponsible ... what if they escaped? They weren’t supervised and she didn't bring a litter box or and there was no mention regular feeding. At one point in the story, Riley feeds the cats meatballs covered in tomato sauce, they would probably wouldn't eat and if they did, it wouldn't be a good thing. It often seemed like the author treated the cats more like dogs. On top of that, I had an issue with Merry considering getting the cats declawed!!

This is the fourth in the Merry Wrath mystery series (there are currently 36) and for the most part I liked it. It can be read as a stand alone but it's fun to read them in order. It's written in first person perspective in Merry's voice so we can to hear her thoughts (and she has a lot!). I liked the writing style ... it was conversational as if Merry was speaking to us. It was a quick fun read and I look forward to continuing on with the series.

Book ~ "Marshmallow S'More Murder" (2016) Leslie Langtry

From Goodreads ~ What could be better for former CIA agent turned Girl Scout leader Merry Wrath than taking twelve little girls to Washington DC for a bit of summer fun? Almost anything. 

Unfortunately, between her girls terrorizing the Secret Service and "accidentally" destroying the hotel pool, Merry has her hands full with this troop. And when her former handler, Riley, is kidnapped Merry has to turn to an old friend from her spy days and her parents, Senator and Mrs. Czrgy, to help her wrangle the troop and rescue the man she once briefly called her boyfriend. 

Armed only with a perpetually AWOL parent, stalked by a runaway King Vulture, and plagued by a mysterious death from her past, Merry's mayhem weaves a wacky trail from moonshiners in the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the bowels of the Japanese Embassy, to the ductwork of the International Spy Museum. 

With things heating up with current boyfriend, Detective Rex Ferguson, can Merry decipher clues from her past to find ex-boyfriend Riley and finally solve the murder of Yakuza boss, Midori Ito, before the target on her back is filled with lead?

Merry is a former CIA agent who loved her job and was very good at it. But when her identity is exposed, she’s forced into early retirement, given a severance package and told to start over somewhere new. After changing her appearance, she returns to her small hometown in Iowa, where her best friend, Kelly, still lives. Together they run a Girl Scout troop while Merry tries to adjust to a much quieter life.

Merry and Kelly’s Girl Scout troop has earned a trip to Washington, D.C. after selling the most boxes of cookies. But Kelly, who is due to have a baby any day, can’t make the trip, so one of the girls’ moms accompanies them. While in Washington, Merry receives an unexpected call from Riley, her former CIA handler, asking for help. Merry contacts her CIA friend, Maria, to look into it. Maria soon uncovers troubling chatter linking Riley to the Japanese mafia and his phone signal has been traced to Washington. 

Merry begins to piece things together and realizes Riley has been kidnapped by the head of the Japanese mafia. The mob boss’s mother was the woman Merry and Riley discovered murdered in Merry’s kitchen the previous year. They had secretly disposed of the body but it was recently found. Now Merry has two problems on her hands ... supervising 12 Girl Scouts on their Washington trip and and trying to track down Riley before the Japanese mafia settles an old score.

This is the third in the Merry Wrath mystery series (there are currently 36) and I liked it. It can be read as a stand alone but it's fun to read them in order. It's written in first person perspective in Merry's voice so we can to hear her thoughts (and she has a lot!). I liked the writing style ... it was conversational as if Merry was speaking to us. It was a quick fun read and I look forward to continuing on with the series.

Book ~ "We Are All Made of Stars" (2016) Rowan Coleman

From Goodreads ~ Stella Carey has good reason to only work nights at the hospice where she is a nurse. Married to a war veteran who has returned from Afghanistan brutally injured, Stella leaves the house each night as Vincent locks himself away, unable to sleep due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

During her nights at the hospice, Stella writes letters for her patients, detailing their final wishes, thoughts and feelings – from how to use a washing machine, to advice on how to be a good parent – and posts them after their death.

That is until Stella writes one letter that she feels compelled to deliver in time, to give her patient one final chance of redemption.

Stella is a hospice nurse who works night shifts, partly to avoid her husband, Vincent, an Afghanistan veteran who is struggling with the scars of war and the loss of his leg. At the hospice, Stella has a special role ... she writes letters for patients to be sent after they die. These letters are full of things people waited too long to say ... love, apologies, confessions and unfinished business. With one patient's letter, Stella has to decide whether to follow the rules or deliver it before the patient's death.

Hope is a 21-year-old patient with cystic fibrosis, who after a near-death experience, is staying temporarily at the the hospice. She still lives at home with her parents and because she assumes she won't be living to an old age because of CF, tends to be negative and brooding. Her best friend is Ben and is the opposite of her as he is lively and outgoing.

Hugh is a curator at a small museum and lives alone with his cat, Jake. His mother had committed suicide when he was young and his father recently passed away dying. Reluctantly he meets his next door neighbor and her son and gets pulled into their life.

I thought this book was okay. I found it a bit draggy and depressing, especially considering the subject matter. I think it would have been a better story if the Hope/Ben portion was left out (and maybe moved into it's own book) because it didn't really add anything and I found Stella and Hugh's stories more interesting. It's written in first person perspective in Stella, Hope and Hugh's voices. The letters Stella writes are included and were intriguing. As a head's up, there is swearing.

Book ~ "Iced Under" (2016) Barbara Ross

From Goodreads ~ The snow is deep in Maine’s Busman’s Harbor and the mighty rivers are covered in ice. Snowden Family Clambake Company proprietor Julia Snowden and her mother, Jacqueline, are hunkered down for the winter when a mysterious package arrives - heating up February with an unexpected case of murder.

Inside the mystery package is an enormous black diamond necklace that once belonged to Julia’s great-grandmother and disappeared in the 1920s. Who could have sent it - and why? Julia’s search for clues takes her on a perilous journey through her mother’s troubled family history, from a squabble over the family fortune in “frozen water” to the recent unexplained death of Jacqueline’s long-lost cousin Hugh - who’d been missing and presumed drowned for more than forty years. To protect her mother’s inheritance, Julia must fend off a small army of feuding relatives, solve the mystery surrounding Hugh’s demise and get back home before the next blizzard buries them all.

The Snowden Family Clambake business is shut down for winter in Busman’s Harbor, Maine, and it's a quiet time for Julia ... the family is waiting for her sister to have her baby. Things take a surprising turn when her mother receives an anonymous package containing a valuable family heirloom ... a black diamond necklace that once belonged to her estranged mother’s family. Julia investigates and discovers she has relatives in Boston they didn't know about and heads there to meet them and see what she can discover and about the necklace and determine who had sent it. When she arrives, the relatives are gathered because Hugh, her mother's long lost cousin who she had thought had died 40+ years ago, has just passed away. It was expected as he was ill but things get tricky when the police determine he didn't pass away naturally.

This story was written in first person perspective in Julia's voice. It was a bit confusing keeping the family members straight as there were a few of them. I thought the mystery in this story was finding out who sent the necklace so it was a surprise when there was talk of a potential murder more than halfway into the story. It's a cozy mystery so there is no swearing, violence or adult activity. At the end of the book, there are recipes that were mentioned during the story including beef stew, ginger snaps and lasagna.

This is the fifth (of 12) in the Maine Clambake Mystery series. It works as a stand alone so you don't have the read the previous ones to know what's going on. I read the first four recently and will keep moving through the series.

Book ~ "Nogged Off" (2016) Barbara Ross

From Goodreads ~ ‘Twas the week before Christmas and Julia Snowden’s escape from New York has just hit a snag. Fresh off accidentally poisoning half her colleagues with her “Killer Eggnog”, Julia’s would-be subletter, Imogen Geinkes, is now jobless and homeless - leading Julia to invite the young woman home for the holidays in Maine. But when they unload the rental truck in Busman’s Harbor, they find something that wasn’t on anyone’s packing list: the body of Imogen’s former boyfriend. 

Suddenly, the wordplay in Imogen’s name - “I’m a jinx” - isn’t so adorable. But for all the calamities that follow in Imogen’s wake, Julia’s certain she’s no killer. As Julia digs into the case, the appearance of the ex’s brother - his identical twin - doubles the confusion. Has Imogene been double-crossed by an evil twin? Was the eggnog “accident” no accident at all? If Julia doesn’t unwrap the murderer’s true identity soon, one of the twelve days of Christmas could be her last.

Julia thought her quick trip to New York would be simple ... grab the last of her stuff from her apartment, head back home to Busman's Harbor, Maine, and settle in for Christmas with her boyfriend and family. Instead she finds her apartment still occupied by her subletter, Imogen, a heartbroken mess who has just lost her job and her boyfriend. Rather than kick her out right before the holidays, Julia does the kind thing and brings her home to Busman’s Harbor. Julia's moving truck is stolen in the middle of the night from her mother's driveway and when it's found, they find more than boxes and furniture ... the body of Imogen's ex-boyfriend.

This quick read (it's a novella) was written in first person perspective in Julia's voice. It had a couple interesting twists at the end. It's a cozy mystery so there is no swearing, violence or adult activity. At the end, there are recipes that were mentioned during the story for hazelnut wreaths and pecan puffs.

This novella is 4.5 (of 12) in the Maine Clambake Mystery series. It works as a stand alone so you don't have the read the previous ones to know what's going on. I read the first four in the series recently and will keep moving through the series.

Book ~ "Fogged Inn" (2016) Barbara Ross

From Goodreads ~ An autumn chill has settled over Busman's Harbor, Maine, but Julia Snowden is warming up the town by offering lobster stew at the local diner. When her landlord discovers a dead body in the walk-in refrigerator, Julia must figure out who ordered up a side of murder. 

Nothing's colder than a corpse - -especially one stashed inside a sub-zero fridge. The victim spent his last night on earth dining at the restaurant bar so naturally Julia finds herself at the center of the ensuing investigation. Lost in the November fog, however, is who'd want to kill the unidentified stranger - and why. It might have something to do with a suspicious group of retirees and a decades-old tragedy to which they're all connected. One thing's for sure: Julia's going to make solving this mystery her early bird special.

Julia is running Gus’s Too, a restaurant, with her boyfriend, Chris, in Busman’s Harbor, Maine, during the off-season of her family's clambake business. Their cozy spot is attracting regulars since it's the only place to eat out at night. One morning a man is found dead in the restaurant’s walk-in cooler. Nobody seems to know anything about him but Julia soon realizes four couples who were eating at the restaurant the night before are tied together in some way. The more she digs, the more she uncovers old secrets and tangled connections that someone wants to keep hidden.

This story was written in first person perspective in Julia's voice. I found with the four couples it was hard to keep track of who they were married to and what their past backstories were. I was okay with the whodunnit. It was interesting following Julia's investigation (even though the police told her to back off) but she made some dumb dangerous decisions. It's a cozy mystery so there is no swearing, violence or adult activity. At the end of the book, there are recipes that were mentioned during the story including split pea soup with ham and lobster and corn chowder.

This is the fourth (of 12) in the Maine Clambake Mystery series. It works as a stand alone so you don't have the read the previous ones to know what's going on. I read the first three recently and will keep moving through the series.

Book ~ "The Girl in the Ice" (2016) Robert Bryndza

From Goodreads ~ Her eyes are wide open. Her lips parted as if to speak. Her dead body frozen in the ice … she is not the only one.

When a young boy discovers the body of a woman beneath a thick sheet of ice in a South London park, Detective Erika Foster is called in to lead the murder investigation.

The victim, a beautiful young socialite, appeared to have the perfect life. Yet when Erika begins to dig deeper, she starts to connect the dots between the murder and the killings of three prostitutes, all found strangled, hands bound and dumped in water around London.

What dark secrets is the girl in the ice hiding?

As Erika inches closer to uncovering the truth, the killer is closing in on Erika.

The last investigation Erika led went badly wrong … resulting in the death of her husband. With her career hanging by a thread, Erika must now battle her own personal demons as well as a killer more deadly than any she’s faced before. But will she get to him before he strikes again?

After the body of a young woman is discovered frozen beneath the ice of a London park, Detective Erika Foster is called back to duty. The victim is Andrea Douglas-Brown, a beautiful, wealthy young woman from a powerful and politically influential family. Her murder attracts immediate media attention and pressure from high-ranking officials who want the case solved quickly and discreetly. 

Erika is still grieving the loss of her husband, a police officer who was recently killed in the line of duty. But she is determined to find the truth, even if it means going against her superiors. Erika soon uncovers that Andrea’s glamorous life was not as perfect as it seemed. Andrea was hiding secrets and moving in sleazy circles. As Erika digs deeper, she faces opposition from Andrea’s family, who are more concerned with their reputation than justice. She moves forward, piecing together Andrea’s last hours and linking her death to a series of earlier murders of young prostitutes. 

This is the first book I've read by this author and I thought it was okay. Because it was set in London, England, there were references to things I hadn't heard of (like windscreens) and I'd sometimes stop to Google to see what they were. It's written in third person third person perspective with the focus on Erika and the killer. The editing could have been better ... there were typos and grammatical errors. As a head's up, there is swearing (including an annoying overuse of the word "bloody") and violence. 

This is the first in the Detective Erika Foster Series (there are currently nine) and I liked it enough to read the next one in the series.

Book ~ "A Brilliant Death" (2016) Robin Yocum

From Goodreads ~ Amanda Baron died in a boating accident on the Ohio River in 1953. Or did she? 

While it was generally accepted that she had died when a coal barge rammed the pleasure boat she was sharing with her lover, her body was never found. Travis Baron was an infant when his mother disappeared. After the accident and the subsequent publicity, Travis’s father scoured the house of all evidence that Amanda Baron had ever lived and her name was never to be uttered around him. 

Now in high school, Travis yearns to know more about his mother. With the help of his best friend, Mitch Malone, Travis begins a search for the truth about the mother he never knew. The two boys find an unlikely ally: an alcoholic former detective who served time for falsifying evidence. Although his reputation is in tatters, the information the detective provides about the death of Amanda Baron is indisputable - and dangerous. 

Nearly two decades after her death, Travis and Mitch piece together a puzzle lost to the dark waters of the Ohio River. They know how Amanda Baron died and why. Now what do they do with the information?

This story takes place in the small town of Brilliant, OH, in the 1970s. Teenager Travis has always been told that his mom, Amanda, died in a boating accident in 1953 with her lover when he was a baby. No body was ever found and nobody in town really talks about it, especially his uncaring abusive father. Did she drown or did she fake her death so she could run off with her lover? Curious, Travis ropes his best friend, Mitch, who comes from a loving and stable family who take care of Travis often, into helping him dig into the past (they call it "Project Amanda"). Over the next few years, they find out the truth but don't know what to do about it.

I liked this story. It's told by Mitch years later (he became a journalist and also told his cousin, Duke's story in A Perfect Shot) and is written mostly in first person perspective in his voice. I don't usually enjoy young adults as the main characters but I found Mitch and Travis likeable. As a head's up, there swearing and violence.

Book ~ "A Family Outing" (2016) Ruby Remenda Swanson

From Goodreads ~ Ruby Swanson’s life changed when her sixteen-year-old son walked to her office, closed the door and with his hand still on the doorknob said, “I’m gay.” Despite her initial reaction of shock, fear and denial, Ruby became a public advocate for equality and acceptance of the LGBT community. "A Family Outing" is the story of Ruby’s experiences. She addresses the deeply homophobic time in which baby boomers grew up, the emergence of the gay rights movement and how the AIDS epidemic transformed the LGBT landscape.

"A Family Outing" is a memoir about discovering gay great-uncles and learning about their lives. It is about operating spotlights at a drag queen show and about marching in Pride Parades. It is about the discrimination that gay people continue to face today and what emerges from the direct, clear-eyed prose. Finally, it is the picture of a woman who endured taunts from religious fundamentalists and political protestors to become an LGBT advocate.

This is a memoir by Ruby, an Alberta mom, who shares her journey after her oldest son, Carl, came out as gay when he was a teenager in 2003. At first, she struggles but the book tells about the about the ups and downs of that experience.

Swanson doesn’t just talk Carl's coming out to her family and friends. She also discusses society has treated LGBTQ+ people over the years, from the AIDS crisis to Pride marches. She discovers other gay family members along the way including a member of Lawrence Welk's band and a drag queen in Toronto.

I liked the writing style. There was a lot of interesting information and it was at a high enough level that it wasn't too much information. It's amazing that it wasn't until 1968 that Canada decriminalized homosexuality. The American Psychiatric Association didn't remove homosexuality from its manual of mental disorders until 1973. Gays and lesbians couldn't join the Canadian Armed Forces until 1992. Same-sex marriage in Canada wasn't legalized until 2005.

Book ~ "One True Loves" (2016) Taylor Jenkins Reid

From Goodreads ~ In her twenties, Emma Blair marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse. They build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of their parents and the people of their hometown in Massachusetts. They travel the world together, living life to the fullest and seizing every opportunity for adventure.

On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Just like that, Jesse is gone forever.

Emma quits her job and moves home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness.

That is, until Jesse is found. He’s alive, and he’s been trying all these years to come home to her. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants, while trying to protect the ones she loves.

Who is her one true love? What does it mean to love truly?

Emma knows she has to listen to her heart. She’s just not sure what it’s saying.

When Emma was in high school, she had a crush on Jesse, the captain of the swim team. They ended up dating, fell in love love love and eventually got married. Neither wanted to live in their small town in Massachusetts and wanted to see the world. And that's what they did, picking up freelance gigs, with California eventually being their homebase. Just before their one year wedding anniversary, Jesse's gig took him to Alaska. Along the way, the helicopter crashed and all were declared dead.

Emma was understandably heartbroken and moved back home and ran her parents' bookstore. She reconnected with Sam, a friend from high school, and they eventually fell in love and got engaged. Then Emma got a call from Jesse ... he had been stranded on a rock for the last 3.5 years and was on his way home to her. When he arrived, Emma is conflicted ... she loves Sam and was planning to have a future with him but her feelings of love for Jesse came rushing back and she had to decide who she wanted to be with.

I thought this story was okay. It was an interesting concept ... long lost husband versus present fiancé. Jesse came home expecting things to be the way they were three years ago. Sam feels defeated because he knew Jesse was the love of Emma's life and had Jesse not "died", they would probably still be together. It's written in first person perspective in Emma's voice. The dialogue was cheesy at times and I would have expected more awkwardness between Emma and Jesse considering she thought he'd died and had moved on.  I was okay with the ending. As a head's up, there is swearing and adult activity.

Book ~ "Down the Darkest Street" (2016) Alex Segura

From Goodreads ~ Pete Fernandez should be dead. His life - professional and personal - is in ruins. His best friend is dead. His newspaper career is past tense. His ex is staying with him as her own marriage crumbles. On top of that, the former journalist finds himself in the eye of a dangerous storm; investigating a missing girl with an unexpected partner and inching closer and closer to a vicious, calculating killer cutting a swath of blood across Miami - while at the same time battling his own personal demons that refuse to be silenced. 

Last year Pete wasn't happy working at a newspaper in Miami and ultimately got fired. With no job prospects, he tried working as a freelance private detective and is now working parttime in a friend's quiet bookstore. His personal life hasn’t been much better. Emily, the love of his life, left him a few years ago and married someone else. Now that marriage is falling apart and she’s moving in with Pete for a while, which is messing with his head and heart. Pete had been drinking heavily but a few months ago he realized he had to stop and started attending AA meetings.

When Alice, a former client from his brief PI days, goes missing, Pete can’t resist looking into it. Things get even more complicated when he discovers Emily’s marriage ended because her husband was having an affair with Alice. As more women begin to disappear, Pete teams up with Kathy, an ex-colleague from the newspaper, and the two of them find themselves getting pulled into the investigations. The FBI agents are giving them a hard time and telling them to stay out of it but, of course, they don't.

This is the second in the Pete Fernandez series (I read the first one in the series last week) and though I found the whodunnit a bit convoluted, I liked it. It works as a stand alone but I'd recommend you read the first one to get the background. It is written in third person perspective with the focus on Pete and the serial killer. There is a lot of violence ... it seems like Pete is getting beat up badly often but bounces back quickly. As a head's up, there is a lot of swearing.

Book ~ "Dinner with Edward: A Story of an Unexpected Friendship" (2016) Isabel Vincent

From Goodreads ~ When Isabel meets Edward, both are at a crossroads: he wants to follow his late wife to the grave and she is ready to give up on love. Thinking she is merely helping Edward’s daughter - who lives far away and asked her to check in on her nonagenarian dad in New York - Isabel has no idea that the man in the kitchen baking the sublime roast chicken and light-as-air apricot soufflé will end up changing her life.

As Edward and Isabel meet weekly for the glorious dinners that Edward prepares, he shares so much more than his recipes for apple galette or the perfect martini, or even his tips for deboning poultry. Edward is teaching Isabel the luxury of slowing down and taking the time to think through everything she does, to deconstruct her own life, cutting it back to the bone and examining the guts, no matter how messy that proves to be.

"Dinner with Edward" is a book about sorrow and joy, love and nourishment, and about how dinner with a friend can, in the words of M. F. K. Fisher, “sustain us against the hungers of the world.”

Edward was in his early 90s and had just lost his wife, Paula, of over 60 years. He wanted to join her in death but she had him promise that he wouldn't. So instead he's sadly living his life. Isabel's marriage is falling apart ... things are tense and she's unhappy. When Valerie, her oldest friend and one of Edward's daughters, becomes worried about him, she asks Isabel to check on him (Valerie lived in Toronto, his other daughter lived in Greece and Isabel and Edward lived in New York). Isabel does and that begins their friendship and their frequent dinners with Edward doing the elaborate cooking and them sharing stories about their lives.

I thought this story was okay. It was nice that they found each other in their times of need and became friends. It's written in first person perspective in Isabel's voice. I found Isabel and Edward a bit snooty at times, though. I know Edward was from a different generation but it was odd to have him advising her on how to better herself (telling her to wear more red lipstick, going fancy dress shopping with her, etc.) and Isabel going along with it. It would have been nice to have some photographs of them ... apparently Edward had tons in his apartment of his life with Paula.

Book ~ "Toni Tennille: A Memoir" (2016) Toni Tennille and Caroline Tennille St. Clair

From Goodreads ~ Since bursting onto the scene in the mid ‘70s, the pop duo Captain and Tennille have long defined the sparkling optimistic idea of everlasting love, both in their music and through their image as a happy and, seemingly, unbreakable couple. They were an irresistible pair to millions of fans all over the world, further underscored by the rousing “yes, we can!” gospel of their biggest hit, “Love Will Keep Us Together.” 

But underneath the image was an entirely different story that the fans never saw: a woman who fought a lonely struggle against the controlling and often bizarre behavior of her emotionally inaccessible husband. 

"Toni Tennille: A Memoir" is a visceral account of Toni Tennille’s life from her childhood in the segregated South to her thrilling rise to fame in the world of pop music to where she is now: no longer one-half of a famed couple but a stronger woman for all she has experienced - both the good and the bad. Toni hopes that her story will help anyone who feels trapped in a toxic relationship realize that it is never too late to break away from it.

I wasn't a huge fan of Captain & Tennille but I like reading memoirs so I thought I'd check it out. Toni starts with her childhood being raised in an affluent household in the South. Her father had run the store that had been in the family for generations. But he was an alcoholic who would go on binges and it wasn't pretty. They eventually lost the store and moved to California to start over. Toni had always been musical and eventually met Daryl Dragon. They got together and formed a duo. Toni was in love with Daryl but he was a strange guy and she was determined to fix him. More than 30 years later in 2014 she finally gave up and divorced him when they were in their 70s.

I thought Toni had interesting stories and I liked the writing style. I find it amazing that she spent so many years with a cold husband who didn't treat her well. He was controlling and she let him. He had weird eating habits and she adapted to his. They travelled a lot and instead of experiences the different cultures, she allowed him to dictate what they ate. She wasn't young when they met and had been married and divorced ... I would have bailed on him once I found out what he was really like. She seems like a nice person and I'm glad she finally found her way.

Book ~ "Under the Influence" (2016) Joyce Maynard

From Goodreads ~ Drinking cost Helen custody of her seven-year-old son, Ollie. Once an aspiring art photographer, she now makes ends meet taking portraits of school children and working for a caterer. Recovering from her addiction, she spends lonely evenings checking out profiles on an online dating site. Weekend visits with her son are awkward. He’s drifting away from her, fast.

When she meets Ava and Swift Havilland, the vulnerable Helen is instantly enchanted. Wealthy, connected philanthropists, they have their own charity devoted to rescuing dogs. Their home is filled with fabulous friends, edgy art and dazzling parties.

Then Helen meets Elliott, a kind quiet accountant who offers loyalty and love with none of her newfound friends’ fireworks. To Swift and Ava, he’s boring. But even worse than that, he’s unimpressed by them.

As Helen increasingly falls under the Havillands’ influence - running errands, doing random chores, questioning her relationship with Elliott - Ava and Swift hold out the most seductive gift: their influence and help to regain custody of her son. But the debt Helen owes them is about to come due.

Ollie witnesses an accident involving Swift, his grown son and the daughter of the Havillands’ housekeeper. With her young son’s future in the balance, Helen must choose between the truth and the friends who have given her everything.

Helen was in her late 30s and divorced. She made a bad decision one night while drunk and lost custody of Ollie, her young son. Over the next few years, she does all she can to get him back. In the meantime, she is working as a photographer taking pictures of families. Occasionally she works with her friend, Alice, doing catering gigs. At one of these gigs, Helen meets Ava and Swift. They are rich and Ava befriends her. Suddenly Helen is spending all her time with them, hanging out and doing odd jobs for them. In the meantime, Helen meets Elliott and they start dating. But Ava and Swift don't approve of Elliott and the feeling is mutual so Helen is juggling relationships.

This is the first book I've read by this author and it will probably be the last. I found it really dull and kept waiting for something to happen ... which finally happened about 80% into the story and by then I didn't really care. It's written in first person perspective in Helen's voice. I didn't find any of the characters likeable. Helen was drab and immature. I found it hard to believe that Elliott would fall in love with Helen about ten seconds after he met her, especially considering she treated him so badly. Ava and Swift were way over the top. As a head's up, there is swearing.

Book ~ "The Things We Keep" (2016) Sally Hepworth

From Goodreads ~ Anna Forster, in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease at only thirty-eight years old, knows that her family is doing what they believe to be best when they take her to Rosalind House, an assisted living facility. She also knows there's just one other resident her age, Luke. What she does not expect is the love that blossoms between her and Luke even as she resists her new life at Rosalind House. As her disease steals more and more of her memory, Anna fights to hold on to what she knows, including her relationship with Luke. 

When Eve Bennett is suddenly thrust into the role of single mother she finds herself putting her culinary training to use at Rosalind house. When she meets Anna and Luke she is moved by the bond the pair has forged. But when a tragic incident leads Anna's and Luke's families to separate them, Eve finds herself questioning what she is willing to risk to help them.

Anna was a paramedic and in her late 30s when she started having symptoms of early stages of Alzheimer's. Their mother had had Alzheimer's so she knows what's to come. She puts her affairs in her twin brother, Jack's hands and chooses to move into Rosalind House, a seniors assisted living facility. Because it's a seniors facility, everyone is elderly except Anna and Luke, a fella Anna's age with similar symptoms to hers. Anna and Luke are drawn to each other, even while their memories deteriorate.

Eve is a single mother with a young daughter named Clementine whose husband left them with a scandal. They have lost everything and have to start over so Eve gets a job as a cook at Rosalind House. She and Anna become sort of friends (though she has to reintroduce herself to Anna all the time). Jack doesn't approve of Anna's and Luke's friendship/relationship and does what he can to keep them apart. Since Anna and Luke probably don't have a lot of time left mentally and physically, Eve, because she has lost so much, feels they should be able to enjoy what they have while they can and does what she can to ensure they do.

Despite the subject matter, I enjoyed this story. It's written in first person perspective in Anna, Eve and Clementine's voices (the chapters are labeled). I've never known anyone with Alzheimer's so it was interesting to read what it is like both from the mindset of Anna suffering from it (when it was in her voice) and those around her. The timeline jumps around from about a year and a half ago when Anna is first admitted to Rosalind House to present day as the disease has progressed (the chapters are labeled). As a head's up, there is some swearing.

Book ~ "The Beautiful Dead" (2016) Belinda Bauer

From Goodreads ~ There’s no safety in numbers ...

Eve Singer needs death. With her career as a TV crime reporter flagging, she’ll do anything to satisfy her ghoulish audience.

The killer needs death too. He even advertises his macabre public performances, where he hopes to show the whole world the beauty of dying.

When he contacts Eve, she welcomes the chance to be first with the news from every gory scene. Until she realizes that the killer has two obsessions.

One is public murder.

And the other one is her ...

Eve is a crime reporter who is fighting to keep her job and career ... her boss is always reminding her there are younger and prettier reporters wanting to take her place. So along with Joe, her cameraman, she does what she can to cover gruesome stories to attract and keep her audience. In addition, she has the added pressure of caring for her father who has lost touch with reality and who she is.

A murderer becomes fixated with her. He wants her to publicize his killings so gives her hints about them ahead of time. She's okay with that as it gives her the exposure she needs to keep her job. It eventually becomes apparent that he plans on making her one of his victims.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I liked it. I like the writing style. It is written in third person perspective depending on where the action was. I wasn't really buying the "why" of the murderer, though, and would have like a better motive for his killings. As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

I thought it was odd that considering her father's dementia Eve has a pet hamster. Her father is always hiding and/or taking apart things so I'm surprised she would have a pet around him. I've had hamsters and would never had done some of the things she did with hers ... like get drunk and then let it roam free around the living room (and even open the front door) or when in danger, grab the hamster to save it and put in her pocket (!!??) rather than the cage with the hamster in it.

Book ~ "The Bitchy Waiter: Tales, Tips & Trials from a Life in Food Service" (2016) Darron Cardosa

From Goodreads ~ Millions of people have, at some point in their lives, waited tables. Some only did it in college, or got out by sheer determination, good luck ... or suicide. Others took it on as permanent employment. And many remain haunted by nightmare scenarios where they are the sole server in a restaurant packed with complaining patrons. For all those disenchanted current and former food service employees, Darron Cardosa has your back. His career began at a Texas steakhouse in 1984, and since 2008 he’s vented his frustrations in the popular blog The Bitchy Waiter.

Cardosa distills 30 years of food service into dark, funny tales - about crazy customers, out-of-control egos, and what really goes on in that fancy restaurant - that anyone who worked in the industry will recognize and relate to.

I've never been a server but I did spend almost a year as a bartender in a small motel bar in a small town in my early twenties where I served drinks to customers. Most of my jobs have been in the corporate world where I was dealing with clients so a lot of the skills and interactions can be transferrable.  

I like humorous books so this one caught my eye. It was funny at times it was also mean and snarky at times too ... I imagine the author intentionally push it over the top in some instances and exaggerated in an attempt to get laughs. I found it a bit uneven ... some of the writing was interesting and funny whereas other times it was kind of boring which I skipped over (like his fiction towards the end).

I had supper with friends last night and our server, Josh, was great. I told him I was reading this book and some of the things the author said annoyed servers ... like saying the server's name often (I do this as I'm friendly and appreciative), introducing yourself to the server (according to the author, the server could care less), getting there early and not starting until all your friends are there (so hogging a table so there's not a frequent turnaround), etc. It was interesting to get Josh's perspective and we had a fun discussion. 

I tend to eat out a fair bit and encounter all sorts of servers. I'm not there to be their new BFF but it's amazing the amount of servers who could care less about being "present".

Book ~ "From a Good Home" (2016) Trudi Johnson

From Goodreads ~ Every family has its secrets. 

In 1935, Hannah Parsons left her home in Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland, at the age of seventeen to work in service for Charles and Virginia Sinclair, a wealthy St. John’s family. While working for them, Hannah catches the eye of the patriarch of the household and her life takes an unexpected turn. 

Now sixty years later, Charles Sinclair has passed and his last living will and testament is about to throw his family into turmoil. His children and grandchildren learn that no family is as perfect as it seems and that some secrets refuse to stay buried forever.

In 1935, Hannah left her village in Newfoundland to work for Charles and Virginia Sinclair, a wealthy family hours away in St. John's. She's never been away from home but felt it was a good chance to grow and learn about life away from her large impoverished family.

Sixty years later, Charles Sinclair is a widower and on his deathbed. His younger daughter, Jeanne, has been taking care of him. When he passes on, his will clashes with his last promise to Jeanne. Jeanne has been bitter for years ... her husband had left her and she has driven Joe and Lauren, her adult children, away ... so this betrayal by her father hits her hard. As the will is read and coincidental gossip is exchanged, secrets from the past start coming out.

I liked this story and the way the secrets were slowly revealed. I thought the writing style was okay, though a bit stiff and unnatural. Whether they were rich like Jeanne and her family and more lower class like Joe and Lauren's friends, the way they spoke seemed like I was reading a book set in aristocratic England rather than Newfoundland or Canada. For example, everyone including Joe and Lauren and their friends called their parents "Mother" and "Father" rather than "Mom" and "Dad". It was written in third person perspective depending on where the action was.

There were a lot of characters and it was hard to keep track sometimes of who they were ... a guide in the beginning would have been helpful. I found Jeanne was a bit extreme. Growing up, she was her father's favourite but her mother was cold and unemotional, which is how Jeanne chose to be. She didn't seem to get along with anyone, including her children and her only sister. I liked that the story took place in St. John's and as I've been there, I knew where the action was most of the time.

Book ~ "Killing Kate" (2016) Alex Lake

From Goodreads ~ Kate returns from a post break-up holiday with her girlfriends to news of a serial killer in her home town - and his victims all look like her.

It could, of course, be a simple coincidence. Or maybe not.

She becomes convinced she is being watched, followed even. Is she next? And could her mild-mannered ex-boyfriend really be a deranged murderer?

Or is the truth something far more sinister?

Kate had just broken up with Phil, her long-time boyfriend, and went on vacation with her two best friends. When she got back, she found out about a serial killer and she realized that the victims all look similar to her. She started to get paranoid and she feels like she's being stalked. The police are investigating and start paying special attention to Phil, especially since he is having a hard time getting over the break-up.

I've read a few of this author's books and I thought this one was okay.  It is written in third person perspective in Kate's voice. Though there are a variety of people who could have been the serial killer, I didn't find it hard to figure out whodunnit but I thought the reason and strategy was clever. The finale was dragged out and was a bit farfetched, though. As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.