Between Sisters by Cathy Kelly

Set in Dublin a family saga with deep rooted histories of the painful kind. On the surface Cassie and Coco our sisters have it all. One a family - husband and two children, the other seems well settled though single with the vintage store of her dreams. Just scratch the surface and there are deep seated insecurities. Cassie more and more distanced from her husband and terrible teens, and Coco feeling that she is isolated and will never find a love of her own. Abandoned by their mother when Coco was an infant Cassie has always been the protective, elder sister along with a grandmother who they adore.

Like all families secrets abound and theirs have an even bigger share. Their mother's story is also told in parallel lines and you know that at some stage they are all going to connect. How and the way it is done is very sympathetic to the story of the sisters and dovetails well.

Full of character and descriptive of Dublin and suburban life this was a very interesting family story.

Sent to me by Netgalley for an unbiased review courtesy of Grand Central Publishing.

Mercer Girls by Libbie Hawker

Who wouldn't fall in love with this cover?

1864 and the results of the Civil War are dreadful in small town America. Till the arrival of Asa Mercer on a rather unusual mission. He is seeking courageous, good character ed young women to take to Seattle to find partners there so that they can found a new generation of people for this frontier town.

Different types of young women all with their own agendas seeking new fortunes and new frontiers join Mercer on this mission. Adding to the sense of adventure is also a sense of seeking their own fortune and future homes all the girls look forward to the venture. Known as the Mercer girls and receiving mixed reactions from the town they are going to inhabit the story takes us through the ups and downs of life in such a town.

Adding to this is the suffragist movement in its infancy in America and how our ladies are drawn into it, some against their initial will but then becoming strong supporters of the movement.

A very descriptive story, strongly different characters all add interest to this story.

Sent to me by Netgalley courtesy of Lake Union Publishing for an unbiased review.

The Netherfield Affair by Penelope Swan

Variations of Jane Austen and I am definitely in!

This was a mystery set with our main characters, all acting in character and very much set for the beginning of Pride and Prejudice. Bingley and Jane are attracted to each other, she goes on the infamous visit engineered by her mother, gets sick and Elizabeth visits. The variation begins at this point. Talk of ghosts, highwaymen in the pattern of Robin Hood, the mysterious disappearance of valuable items from the inhabitants and both Darcy and Elizabeth are in pursuit of what they feel is not quite right in the Bingley household.

A light story, not very long, very well told. Enjoyable and entertaining.

This was a free download from Amazon. Thank you.

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

This charmingly quirky read kept me on the go from the first page onwards. Don Tillman Professor of Genetics if blindingly clever and can solve a mathematics problem in seconds, sort the probability of everything and anything also in seconds but the normal communication of day to day life has him blundering about like the proverbial bull in a china shop.

He and his wife Rosie are expecting their first child and the project is to see whether he could love the child as his own without preconceived scientific notions of what is right, wrong etc etc. To this end he scopes and searches for data on what should be done, what shouldn't be done and ends up in escapades which are not funny, rather serious and luckily for him those who have to judge him, realise that he is totally innocent of all wrong doing.

Rosie is the antithesis of what Don wanted in a wife. He had definite ideas of what shouldn't be and he got exactly all the nays! Don displays some of the symptoms  of Asperger's but it is never specifically mentioned in the book, though he does agree to a lecture on Asperger.

I loved the quirky character of Don, beautifully balanced by Rosie and was rooting for them to live happily ever after.

So glad I got this, sent to me by my friend K.

Hot Flashes by Barbara Raskin

I was reminiscing myself whilst reading the book as I felt I could empathize with the whole group of middle aged ladies! Hip and happening in the 1950s, they are now in the 1980s, and still quite happening!!! Not willing to give up and behave gracefully, they still would like to scandalize, to stir up the pot. Quite an interesting bunch. Varied interests, varying careers and still good to go.

Sukie's death has brought them together and since it was sudden (and unexpected) the four are trying to organize things including bringing in an ex-husband whom they all detest at the beginning (some of them still do at the end but some change), a very young boyfriend of Sukie's whom they did not know about and who comes out of the woodwork with a new novel of hers which he will not relinquish to the family and there is the father from far away who also turns up for the funeral. The funeral is the focus of the novel and everything builds up to it.

A story of friendship amongst women going on for decades and how important it is for everyone to have extended support from friends even if they are distant physically, just to know you have someone who would understand you.

I enjoyed the characters in this book and this is my second book in a week dealing with adult women who go back together as friends for decades. Am I seeing a trend here?

This was sent to me by Netgalley for an unbiased review, courtesy of Open Road Integrated Media.

Mystery Mile by Margery Allingham

My second read by this author. We have four attempts on the life of Judge Lobbett - all unsuccessful and in the process someone else dies. This creates a pall amongst his family as well as they feel that a sense of doom is following them doggedly. The quirky investigator Campion adds to the interest of the story and after a convoluted story, the villain is apprehended and dies in rather horrific circumstances.

This is a classic crime series and the language and descriptiveness is part of its attraction. A rather old fashionedly told tale, I liked it very much. Not quite Agatha Christie but very much like.

Sent to me by Netgalley for an unbiased review, courtesy of Bloomsbury Reader.

The Wages of Sin by Nancy Allen

In rural Missouri a particularly gruesome murder of a young woman eight months pregnant by her partner. The only witness is her six year old daughter who is able to very clearly point out who the culprit is.

The public defender in this case seems inane, not particularly apt specially since it seems like an open and shut case. Not getting support from her co counsel as she will not support the death penalty, however deserved it is, Madeline turns reluctantly to Elsie who is equally reluctant to work with the arrogant, stuck up Madeline. Not a very good start for the case anyway.

Many unsavoury facts regarding the victim arise in the meantime and it becomes crucial to have our six year old Ivy and her statements intact. This is going to be easier said than done with several attempts made to intimidate her and even kill her. Whilst Ivy is having her own trauma in her head over the loss of her mother and now being in foster care, her temperament is such that she is not going to confide in anyone her thoughts on what she feels will happen.

The case is very straightforward but the murderer and his cohorts are not going to back down. They have hidden strengths not revealed till the very end and it was a surprising twist in the tale.

I enjoyed the story - though it was sad. I felt for Ivy who was just ignored and put aside other than by Elsie who saw her as the real victim in this case. There must be many thousands of Ivy's in the world who suffer a similar fate.

This book was sent to me by Edelweiss.