Good Grief - I cleaned out the linen cupboard.

I started November with some fun Australia reading and finished the month reading about sad  memories, grief, loss and families.

Early in November my granddaughter helped me clean out the linen cupboard. I finally got rid of 20 Country Style magazines that were over 20 years old. Also got rid of old children's books and tossed out old course booklets and old assignments from university studies.

The girl in between by Anna Daniels had lots of humor, it is set in the present time, mostly in Australia in Rockhampton, a large Queensland town and also in the UK in London. Lucy lives at home while she is writing a novel and looking for a new job. Lucy has a best friend, Rosie and together they share crazy nights and holidays.

I enjoyed reading Grief Cottage by Gail Godwin a young boy is sent to live with his great aunt after his mother is killed in a car accident. Marcus's aunt is an artist and lives on a small South Carolina Island. His aunt is haunted by her past and soon Marcus is haunted when he discovers a ghost lurking in an old derelict cottage not far from his aunt's house.

This was a book about families, friendships and a haunted cottage. I loved the ending.

Another book about grief was On Second Thought by Kristan Higgins. This is a novel  about families and grief. Ainsley and her step sister Kate comfort each other following the death of Kate's husband and the end of Ainsley's long term relationship. The novel is set in the present time in New York and Brooklyn.

I really enjoyed The Elizas by Sara Shepard. I loved the way it kept switching between Eliza’s life and the novel called Dot’s that she has just finished.

Eliza is recovering from brain surgery and goes to Palm Springs and is found almost drowned in a swimming pool. Eliza has a history of throwing herself into swimming pools, but she is convinced that someone pushed her at Palm Springs, no one believes her, so she sets out to find the truth of what really happened.  Her memory loss prevents her from remembering big chunks of her life. She struggles with false memories and lies told by her friends and family. She is very afraid of the person who is stalking her and needs to find out who was with her just before she almost drowned at Palm Springs.This novel will keep you guessing all the way to the end with all its twists and turns. 

The next book that I enjoyed, also an e-book was Before I Let You Go by Kelly Rimmer. This was a novel about two sisters, drug addiction, grief and family relationships I found this novel very emotional. Lexie tries to help her sister Annie to get medical assistance to prevent her going into premature labour but can not save Annie from being charged with chemically endangering a child. Annie has to go into rehabilitation and Lexie struggles to care for her new born niece.

This novel is set in  Alabama in the present time. Lexie remembers when she was a child trying to make Annie happy when their father died and her mother remarried. Annie writes in her journal about memories of her early life and events that led to her drug addiction. 

Be prepared to think differently about people who use drugs of addiction after reading this novel and have a box of tissues ready.

Another sad book that I enjoyed was The Flower Arrangement by Ella Griffin. This was about Lara and her flower shop and her family and the people who buy flowers from Lara. I loved this book, there were some really funny bits, some funny one line sayings and also a lot of really sad tear jerking sections. I needed to keep the tissues handy. I loved the part where Mia received a strange gift on Valentine's Day. Lat month I finished reading The Memory Shop by Ella Griffin, both books were much the same, nice feel good stories. 

Family and Friends

Did not do as much reading in December, spent time with friends and relations and Christmas shopping. On New Years Eve we went out with some old friends.

My bike. I bought it 35 years ago. It was old when I bought it and it had a baby seat on the back. Lots of happy family memories of ridding with my sons and grandchildren on the back and also our Sydney Silky. Now my Granddaughters ride it when they come to visit.

Early in December I finished reading Meet me at Beachcomber Bay  by Jill Mansell. Another feel good novel. I loved the characters and the twists in the story line. This was a romance novel about step sisters and their rivalry, families and friendship.

Also finished reading an E-Book from Netgalley - The Summer List by Amy Mason Doan. This novel was set in 2016 but with flashbacks to the 1990's and earlier. It is about friendships, identity and families.

Laura and Casey were best friends through their school years. They drifted apart and then get to have a reunion after 17 years.

I finished December reading a book about a stalker. Darkest Place by Jaye Ford. A strange creepy novel about a person who stalks residents of a warehouse residential block of units. Carly moves into an apartment in an old warehouse. She is getting over a tragedy and an attempted suicide. She resists taking sleeping tablets but keeps being woken by a man in her room.

The doors are locked and there is no evidence of a break in. The police think she is making it up and her psychologist tells her it could be a dream. Carly is not the only person in the block of apartments who has trouble with interrupted sleep. Carly sets out to uncover the mystery.

Memories

During October a lot of my reading was about memories. Hope Chest by Viola Shipman was about faith, hope and shared memories. It was set in the US in the present time with flashbacks to earlier years. It is about families. Mattie Tice has been diagnosed with A.L.S. (although it is not mentioned what A.L.S. stands for) and is dying.

I liked the way the story was woven around the contents of Mattie's hope chest.

Mid October I went to the local school for 150 years celebration since the school was opened. It was good to catch up with old friends and local residents and share some memories and see local history displays of the local town and the school.

I enjoyed reading The Trip of a Lifetime by Monica McInerny it was set in the present time in Australia and Irteland. Lola plans a trip to Ireland and she takes her granddaughter and great granddaughter. This book is about families and secrets. The book reminded me of a book written by Tamara McKinley where another grandmother Christy takes her daughter and granddaughter back to Scotland so Christy can put her memories to rest.

A book a bit different was If I Die before I wake by Emily Koch. This novel is about a journalist who has a climbing accident. Alex has been in a coma for nearly two years. His health care workers, family and friends all visit him and talk about their lives and Alex;s accident. Gradually through fragmented conversations we find out about Alex and his life and what caused his accident.

I finished of the month of October reading a very nice book about memories.

The Memory Shop by Ella Griffin

This novel was set in the present time and mostly in Dublin. Nora accidentally discovers her partner Andrew is having an affair just before she goes to Dublin to sort out her grandmother’s house and contents.

Nora gradually sells the contents of her grandparent’s house and in the process she mends her broken heart. This is also about the people who buy the items that belonged to Nora’s grandmother. It was a nice feel good story.

Families

At the end of September we had a family holiday and took our two teenage granddaughters on a road trip to Cania Gorge near Monto, Queensland for a family gathering. The days were too hot, the pool was too small and the water was too cold. We had some good bush walks and saw the Dragon Cave and a few other interesting points of interest and it was good to meet up with other family members for a few days.

A short walk from where we stayed is a rock formation called Big Foot.

During September 2017 I was reading a lot of different books, mostly the theme was families and secrets and a bit of murder. I was able to read some books written by some of my favorite authors, Sharon Bolt and Sarah Rayne.
Early in September I finished reading The Forever House by Veronica Henry. This was a book about a house called Hunter's Moon and the family who lived there. The book is set in the present time and the 1960's. Hunter's Moon is located in Peasebrook.
Belinda Baxter is asked to find a buyer for Hunter's Moon, but the process brings back memories for Belinda and also for the family of Hunter's Moon.

I really enjoy reading books by Sharon Bolton, her book Dead Woman Walking was excellent. At the beginning Jessica Lane and her sister are involved in a hot air balloon disaster. Only one person survives.
Gradually as the story continues we discover that Jessica has been investigating persons involved in people smuggling near where the balloon disaster occurred. Jessica and the other people on the balloon flight witness an incident where a woman is hunted and injured. The people in the balloon are attacked and survivors killed and their mobile phones stolen. Jessica is on the run but she does not trust the local police. A good fast paced story.

Evil Chord by Sahoron Bolton was about families and missing persons. It was a Phineas Fox Mystery about composers and musicians and the mysterious Christa who went missing in the 1940's.

I like the way music and composers were woven into the story. Phineas and his friend Toby go searching for Toby's cousin after she leaves a cryptic message and a portrait of Christa is in her flat. The portrait belonged to Toby's God Father, Stefan.

Meanwhile, Margot and Markus Manden are scheming at trying to get an inheritance that should have went to their distant relative.

The story swings between Toby and Phineas and their searching for Arabella and then to Margot and Markus and also back to the 1940's and what happened at Wewelsburg Castle.

The pace is fast and there is an underscore of evilness and creepiness. 

Another book I enjoyed in September was about family relationships, secrets and identity. Little Broken Things: A Novel by Nicole Baart. This is a fast paced novel set at Key Lake, Minnesota in the present time. It is about families, identity, relationships and secrets.

Quinn receives a cryptic text from her sister Nora, saying "I have something for you" the something turns out to be a young girl called Lucy. Nora drops off Lucy and disappears.

Meanwhile, Nora's friend Tiffany is on the run and hiding from her partner Donovan. Nora is also trying to find Tiffany. Donovan is dangerous and is hunting down Nora and Tiffany, and will stop at nothing until he finds them.

A new author that I enjoyed and will be looking for more of her books was Michelle Phoenix.
The Space Between Words by Michelle Phoenix was mostly set in France and switches between the present time and 1695. It was about grief, Huguenots and their persecution and terrorist attacks.

Jessica and her friend Patrick are in Paris prior to travelling around France looking for items to stock Patrick's gallery, picking in old attics, shed and barns. Jessica is injured in a terrorist attack at a music concert. after she recovers they start their journey and stay at for a while in Southern France.

Jessica finds an old sewing box on a high shelf an old barn on her first day of picking. Inside she finds a hidden compartment and bits of paper, a letter and other items. With the help of new friends, Jessica sets out to find out more about the person who wrote the letter.

I liked the unexpected twists and the way the small boy interacted with Jessica and revealed what he
saw.

Another book that I was reading at the end of September was What She Never Told Me by Kate McQuaile c. 2016. Louise Redmond returns to Ireland to spend time with her dying mother. This novel was about families, relationships, friendship and secrets. Most of her life Louise has had dreams of a mysterious young girl posting a letter. After her mother dies the dreams become more frequent, also other memories start coming back as she starts sorting out her mother’s belongings.

I love the way the author puts this novel together using memories, dreams and cryptic clues hidden away in attics.

I have recommended this novel to library patrons and will certainly read more novels by Kate McQuaile. A good read.