Isola by Allegra Goodman

 Absorbing historical fiction that is both inspiring and depressing.

A novel based upon Marguerite de la Rocque de Roberval, an orphaned noblewoman, who is entrusted into the guardianship of her cousin, Jean-Francois de la Rocque de Roberval. These events are purported to have taken place in the 1500s.

Cousin Roberval is a terrible guardian and mistreats Marguerite, appropriating and selling her lands, and basically kidnapping her away from her home in Perigord. He drags her onto a ship bound for New France (Canada) where he has been commissioned to establish a colony. Although no one actually knows the truth of what happened aboard the ship, Marguerite and a man (identification depends on which version of the story is true) are left marooned on an island in the gulf of Saint Lawrence. She lived there for abut 2 years. This is one version of what may have happened while she was there.

The tale is compelling but sometimes it was overwhelmingly relentless in the saga of hardship and misery that Marguerite endured. Also very heavy on religion, prayers, psalms, faith, and devotions. It astounds me that she survived her trials. Heaven knows I would not have lasted a week. I liked the book, but I had to take a couple of breaks because of all the difficulties and tragedy.

The title, Isola, comes from the Italian and basically means island. This reflects the importance of the island and isolation experienced by Marguerite as a central theme of the book. The challenges and the heartbreak that were endured basically alone. It is definitely a survival against all odds type of novel.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrator, Fiona Hardingham, does an excellent job of voicing the characters and especially bringing the main character to life on the pages with appropriate dramatic flair. Her performance definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the book.

This is a standalone and not part of any series.

Tags and genre - historical fiction based upon a real person, survival, tragedy, faith

No One Was Supposed to Die at this Wedding (Vacation Mysteries #2) by Catherine Mack

 Fast, fun, and funny — this second in the series is a must read for fans who love when an author breaks the fourth wall. I’m one of them!

This time, author Eleanor Dash and her sister, Harper, are involved on set during the filming of her previous blockbuster, When In Rome. Her best friend, Emma, has the lead role, and the two sisters couldn’t be more excited because Emma is going to marry her costar,Fred Winter, after the wrap. They’ll all go to Catalina Island for an intimate ceremony with some close friends, including Eleanor’s new main man, Oliver Forrest.  There are a couple of problems right off, however. First of all, Hurricane Isabella is going to make landfall in Southern California that weekend and secondly, on the hand pressed wedding schedule, the last line says, “A midnight murder will be served.” Now that’s some kind of invitation for amateur sleuth Eleanor who obviously has some skills since this kind of thing is her writing forte. Except the guests get a lot more than they bargained for.

At times hilarious and laugh out loud funny, this is also an expertly plotted murder mystery with lots of red herrings and a group of possible suspects along with the requisite storm locking them all on the island. I have really enjoyed both of these books and can’t wait for another. I love the writing style, the main characters, and especially Eleanor who is self-deprecatingly wry and clever as she tries to figure out the whodunit. This has the feel of an atmospheric cozy. Some irritating things but I just glossed over. 

I was lucky to receive both the audio book and the e-book ARC provided by the publisher so I could read along while listening. The narrator is Elizabeth Evans and she does an excellent job of voicing all the characters and giving them different accents and such to provide dramatic effect. It was a good production and it definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the book.

This is the second in series and it does help you to have read the first one.

Tags - humor, murder, mystery, author, Hollywood stars, Catalina Island, wedding

The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey by Astrid Dahl

 Fans of reality television may enjoy this novel about a group of friends and family in the Garden State.

Showrunner Eden Bennett has her hands full with Huzzah's new prime time reality program. The show, Garden State Goddesses, highlights rivalry, friendship, secrets, love affairs, and ultimately murder. The drama centers on a New Jersey neighborhood family, the Fontanas, and Eden intends to get a lot of craziness on camera, especially since her cousin, Hope, is now married to one of the Fontana sons. Nobody expects things to go as far as they do, but the family and their friends cannot be managed and it all spins wildly out of control.

Less a murder mystery, this story is mostly about relationships (mainly gay), gossip, speculation, innuendo, and out right lying. It's all rather convoluted with a huge cast of characters that requires a printed list at the beginning to help keep everyone straight. Unfortunately, none of the characters resonated with me, and, in fact, I heartily disliked all of them. I didn't really care who died or why as petty grievances and mistaken ideas come to light. It's like this tries to be way too many things at once and ends up seeming like a disjointed mess with too many irritations. I wasn't really amused at any of it despite this being called funny and dark. I have no intention of reading a second installment as I don't care what happens to any of these characters. That being said, full disclosure that might explain my reaction, I don't watch any reality television as I don't like this type of drama.

I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. There is a large cast of narrators (5 of them) and I have no idea who was doing which character. Some of the voices grated on my last nerve -- especially whoever was doing Ruby and Bianca (the teenagers), and some of the others with their attempts at a Jersey accent or the one who did Birdie. So I have no idea whose voice(s) were tolerable and appropriate. Generally I enjoy audio while reading as it provides a more immersive experience. 

This is apparently the first in a new series. I won't be reading any further

Tags - murder, family, friends, gay relationships, reality television, secrets and lies, gossip.

Retreat by Krysten Ritter

 Twisty, if predictable, psychological thriller. 

Liz Dawson, an experienced con woman, needs to escape her current situation in Chicago and finds the perfect out when one of her marks actually helps Liz by giving her a job. Not just any work, but a fantastic opportunity out of the country in the super rich area of Punta Mita in Mexico. A wealthy homeowner, Isabelle Beresford, hires Liz to install a painting in her villa. Liz is quite excited to get out of town and definitely plans to enjoy her week in Mexico living it up in the beautiful home. Once there, however, not only does Liz settle in quickly, she meets other women who live there, and it is clear that they think she is actually Isabelle. Well, why not? She’s assumed other identities before and plans to live it up while she can. Soon, however, Liz finds that she might have gotten herself mixed up in something dangerous. Definitely not a simple con and it all goes spectacularly wrong. 

This started out well and I was fully engaged until about the half way mark when Liz’s deceptions start to fall apart and she is in constant fear of exposure. Events transpire that make Liz wonder about the Beresfords. But every time she knew she should get out before her duplicity was revealed, something kept her there. I guess she liked the wealthy lifestyle and all its trappings. All of that identity confusion and obsession got old quick and you just knew what was coming because of the big thing left unsaid. No spoilers. And, that ambiguous ending really irritated me. All in all, it was just a story with lies and secrets. Honestly, the whole look alike trope is getting old as well. 

Did not like any of the characters. They were hideous and very much stereotypes of this genre. Mostly a familiar story of the rich behaving badly and the typical assumption that many are not good people. I don’t believe it would be that easy to assume another person’s life. 

Listened to the audio book while following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrator was the author herself and she did an adequate job of voicing the characters, getting the nuances right, and giving the story a bit of dramatic flair. Unfortunately, the production wasn’t enough to save the actual story from mediocrity.

This is a standalone and is not part of any series.

Tags - lookalike identity theft, murder, wealth, psychological thriller, lies, secrets

West Heart Kill by Dann McDorman

 “…for every writer is a murderer, and every reader is a sleuth.”

This is quite unique as it is not any sort of typical murder mystery. Nor is it suspenseful. It’s written more like a thesis that attempts to explain the art of writing this genre of fiction. The tropes, the various methods of murder, the possible motives, and even how a clever whodunit should be constructed. Much discussion of other authors and their canon. It’s described as metafiction. I found it disorienting. 

The shifting point of view is crazy — starts out in second person with the narrator, who seems to be the author, speaking directly to the reader with explanations, literary references (primary sources), and hints guiding our reactions to the situation and the characters. Then, to third person limited, to first person singular, and to first person plural. 

The plot: there is a detective, hired by someone, who is meant to report back on any suspicious or interesting observations that he makes while attending a 4th of July celebration at this wealthy enclave where the residents have known each other all their lives. Did I mention there are a ton of characters and I found them hard to keep straight. During the weekend there are deaths. Who is the killer?

And believe me, this moves along and I’m very interested in the detective’s process and the clues and red herrings. Totally invested. And then the big reveal at the end…doesn’t come. Now I’m the kind of person who feels cheated when faced with ambiguity. 

So, despite all the pretentiousness and thought provoking commentary, I was frustrated and confused by the way the narrator pulls a one up at the end. I come away thinking, what in the heck did I just read. I wanted to like it but the unconventional ending just ruined it. Sure I can guess all day but I wanted the author to do the work for me. Maybe this is brilliant work, but I’m just not clever enough to get it. 

I listened to the audio book while following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. I liked the voice of the narrator, Robert Petkoff, and he did an excellent job. I did, however, find the redundancy of the question and answer interviews hard to listen to so had to fast forward thru that. It definitely enhanced my appreciation of the book.

This is a standalone and is not part of any series.

tags - metafiction, mystery, 1976, murder

Parents Weekend by Alec Finlay

 Fast paced mystery thriller.

The story centers on 5 students who go missing on Parents Weekend at Santa Clara University in California. Their parents wait for them at the restaurant but none of them show up. At first they aren’t too worried, but then tidbits and details start emerging. The parents of Libby, Blane, Mark, Felix, and Stella have reason to be concerned.

This book marks the return of a character from previous books by this author: Special Agent Sarah Keller who has been transferred to the Bay Area while her husband, Bob, takes care of his ailing father. Sarah is immediately brought into the case by the local police. She takes point rather quickly and off goes the investigation.

Told from several different viewpoints, the reader learns about the issues in the families of the missing students. Eventually the pool of suspects dwindles. And this is where the book fell from a 4 + suspense thriller to a barely 3. I hated the ending and the explanation. How banal and predictable. All along I was hoping it wouldn’t go there but it did so I was very disappointed. No spoilers.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrator, Brittany Pressley, did an OK job with the story but definitely struggled with the voices of so many characters trying to give them unique accents etc. This is definitely a book that would have benefitted from a much larger production cast, especially even at least one male voice. 

This is a standalone although has a character from previous books Sarah Keller FBI agent.

Genre - mystery, thriller, police investigation, missing kids

The Senator by Maya Golden Bethany

 2.5 stars rounded up.

I would say this was more of a romantic thriller than a political one despite the premise being that a US Senator and a New York Times reporter are trying to expose EPA violations, money laundering, corruption, and disregard for human life. 

My biggest issue was that Oliver and Alex were so stereotypical and I didn’t really care for either of them. They were painted as so heroic and the good guys despite the fact they were carrying on an affair while trying to make the bad guys pay. This white hat vs dark forces theme was carried throughout and each character was quickly put into one stereotype or the other. I found most of the reactions and behavior of the various characters to verge on the unbelievable. But, sounds like our sainted couple gets their happy ending as expected. The whole concept of a savior team taking down corrupt politicians and manufacturers will remind you of many other books and movies that handled the issue in better told stories. 

Listened to the audiobook narrated by Imani Jade Powers. She did a fine job trying to voice all the characters but this production would have benefited by using a larger cast, or at the very least, a male voice. There were a lot of different characters and sometimes hard to tell which was speaking. 

I don’t know if there will be a sequel as the ending leaves some hints that another might follow. I won’t read it. I had enough of this dude

This was a romance disguised as a political thriller wanna be.