Hidden 

by Catherine McKenzie

Synopsis:

While walking home from work one evening, Jeff Manning is struck by a car and killed. Two women fall to pieces at the news: his wife, Claire, and his co-worker Tish. Reeling from her loss, Claire must comfort her grieving son as well as contend with funeral arrangements, well-meaning family members, and the arrival of Jeff’s estranged brother, who was her ex-boyfriend. Tish volunteers to attend the funeral on her company’s behalf, but only she knows the true risk of inserting herself into the wreckage of Jeff’s life.


Told through the three voices of Jeff, Tish, and Claire, Hidden explores the complexity of relationships, the repercussions of our personal choices, and the responsibilities we have to the ones we love.

My Review:

Another good Catherine McKenzie book. In this book you have three main characters: Jeff, Claire and Tish. Jeff and Claire are married. They have a very happy marriage and all seems right in their relationship. However, Jeff meets Tish at a work function. She shares his love of golf and is someone Jeff can't seem to stop thinking about. Jeff works in Accounting and Tish in HR. This means that whenever Jeff has to address any personnel issues he has to consult Tish - and he does regularly. They find that they connect in ways that make their chance meetings at work events precarious. Jeff is killed one day as he chooses to walk home from work and is struck by a car. When he dies, Tish and Claire (500 miles apart) are both devastated. Claire loses her husband and the father of her son, Seth. Tish, loses a secret relationship that makes her happy. But, the question to be answered in this book is whether infidelity is exclusive to a physical relationship or is an emotional attachment and involvement just as much an infidelity?

The book reads from the perspective of each of these three characters. Jeff's accounts are from the past when he met Claire, when he met Tish, and other relevant events as they lead to his death.

This book was a fantastic read. I liked all three characters. I found myself not really judging them because I knew each of the characters motivations, feelings and thoughts about what each was doing. However, had I heard this as a story of someone I knew or knew of, I think I would have a tendency to be judgmental. I guess it goes to show that we judge because we assume intent to be negative. Or, simply because it is more fun to be judgmental and assume we would take the higher ground in such a situation. This book will definitely make you think about what you would do if you were any of these characters. Another hit for Catherine McKenzie and I can't wait to read more. 

Hello From the Gillespies

by Monica McInerney 

Synopsis:

For the past thirty-three years, Angela Gillespie has sent to friends and family around the world an end-of-the-year letter titled “Hello from the Gillespies.” It’s always been cheery and full of good news. This year, Angela surprises herself—she tells the truth....

The Gillespies are far from the perfect family that Angela has made them out to be. Her husband is coping badly with retirement. Her thirty-two-year-old twins are having career meltdowns. Her third daughter, badly in debt, can’t stop crying. And her ten-year-old son spends more time talking to his imaginary friend than to real ones.

Without Angela, the family would fall apart. But when a bump on the head leaves Angela with temporary amnesia, the Gillespies pull together—and pull themselves together—in wonderfully surprising ways....

My Review:

What a wonderful book. What is in the water in Australia that it produces such great writers? Such brilliant story lines that are about real people with real lives who make good and bad decisions, who have insecurities and whose lives are not perfect. The Gillespies are a family who immigrated from Ireland to Australia some generations back. They settled land in Australia where they have a sheep station which has been run by the Gillespie family for several generations now. Nick, however, has not fared well with his turn at running the station and has come into hard times. He has gotten rid of the once 10,000 sheep that grazed the land and is $1 million in debt. He becomes distant and depressed. He feels he has failed his entire family and its heritage. His proudest moment has been marrying Angela when he was 22. She was a tourist from London, England whom he meets at a bar in Sydney. They fall in love immediately and he moves her to Australia's Outback where they will run the family Sheep station. They have a set of twin girls (Victoria and Genevieve), one more daughter (Lindy) and a surprise in their 40s. A son named Iggy. Every year, Angela writes an a letter to all of her friends all over the world to tell of her adventures in Australia - "Hello from the Gillespies..." The recipient list has grown over the years as she has had many guests stay at the Station to experience life in the Outback. Little does Angela realize that no one reads her letters as they find them boring and cliched. This year, however, things are just not the same. Nick has been distant and she doesn't know why, the twins (who are now 33 years old) are leading lives that are far from conventional. Lindy is an insecure mess who moves back home. And, Iggy (who is 10 years old) is an odd kid who still talks to an imaginary friend. Angela realizes that she is unhappy. She daydreams about an imaginary life with William, the boyfriend she left behind when Nick swept her off her feet some 30+ years before. She imagines her life with him and their imaginary daughter, Lexi, as the ideal life she could have had. When she sits to write down her letter, she decides to let all of her feelings and fears and wishes out and drafts an email that she intends to later delete. Things happen, there is a moment of confusion and chaos and without knowing what is in the email, Nick fires the email out to over 200 recipients thinking he is doing Angela a favor. The email is not sugar-coated with pleasantries but rather scathing and honest about every single member of Angela's immediate family... This is where the book gets amazing. What happens next!

I can't recommend this book enough. It is such an enjoyable ride. It is a lengthy read but never boring. Much like Liane Moriarty does with Big Little Lies, Monica McInerney injects a great deal of humor to bring to light some rather poignant issues that everyone can relate to. I did not want this story to end, but since it had to, at least I am pleased that the ending was so gratifying.

Arranged

by Catherine McKenzie

Synopsis:

Anne Blythe has a great life: a good job, good friends, and a potential book deal for her first novel. When it comes to finding someone to share it with, however, she just can't seem to get it right.

After yet another relationship ends, Anne comes across a business card for what she thinks is a dating service, and she pockets it just in case. When her best friend, Sarah, announces she's engaged, Anne can't help feeling envious. On an impulse, she decides to give the service a try because maybe she could use a little assistance in finding the right man. But Anne soon discovers the company isn't a dating service; it's an exclusive, and pricey, arranged marriage service. She initially rejects the idea, but the more she thinks about it -- and the company's success rate -- the more it appeals to her. After all, arranged marriages are the norm for millions of women around the world, so why wouldn't it work for her?

A few months later, Anne is traveling to a Mexican resort, where in one short weekend she will meet and marry Jack. And against all odds, it seems to be working out -- until Anne learns that Jack, and the company that arranged their marriage, are not what they seem at all.

My Review:

Are you a cynic when it comes to love and the ideal mate? Or, are you a romantic who believes in serendipity? Regardless, this is a book both your cynical and romantic sides will enjoy thoroughly.  

What if you were ready to get married but hadn't found the right person to marry, only all the wrong people? For Anne, she is always with all of the wrong men for her. She decides to contact an agency that promises to find her a perfect match. She toys with the idea of pursuing the $10000 investment of an arranged marriage and then decides to make it into somewhat of a project for her to disprove that matching up (arranging) couples for marriage according to a formula just doesn't work. She doesn't tell anyone and agrees to meet and marry her match. That part of the book is so much fun. They are in Cancun getting to know each other in an ideal setting and they are actually hitting it off. But it's just never that simple... The end is great!! 

Leaving Time

by Jodi Picoult

Synopsis: 

For more than a decade, Jenna Metcalf has never stopped thinking about her mother, Alice, who mysteriously disappeared in the wake of a tragic accident. Refusing to believe that she would be abandoned as a young child, Jenna searches for her mother regularly online and pores over the pages of Alice’s old journals. A scientist who studied grief among elephants, Alice wrote mostly of her research among the animals she loved, yet Jenna hopes the entries will provide a clue to her mother’s whereabouts.

Desperate to find the truth, Jenna enlists two unlikely allies in her quest. The first is Serenity Jones, a psychic who rose to fame finding missing persons—only to later doubt her gifts. The second is Virgil Stanhope, a jaded private detective who originally investigated Alice’s case along with the strange, possibly linked death of one of her colleagues. As the three work together to uncover what happened to Alice, they realize that in asking hard questions, they’ll have to face even harder answers.

As Jenna’s memories dovetail with the events in her mother’s journals, the story races to a mesmerizing finish.

My Review:

This book was AMAZING!!! Emotionally packed yet it was the last line of the book that brought me to tears. Love is such a strong emotion and how intensifies at the death of someone you love even more so. The things you wish you would have said and done and the things you wish you could tell that person long after they are gone. All very real emotions that Jodi Picoult nails with the story of Jenna, Alice, Thomas, Gideon, Grace, Nevvie, Virgil and Serenity. 

Alice is a researcher of elephant behavior. Her research, however, is unorthodox as it focuses on cognitive behaviors that are scientifically are difficult if at all possible to quantify. She is fascinated by the mother/baby relationship in herds as well as elephant's behaviors as related to memory, grieving, love, and motherhood. The story of Alice parallels her own research and Jenna's desire to solve the mystery of her missing mother and the incidents that resulted in a death at the elephant sanctuary where they all live in Boone, NH. 

It was so hard for me to put this book down but I paced myself to really absorb all aspects of the story and the development of the plot. Each character is so unique and so important to the outcome of the story and Jodi Picoult beautifully brings everyone to such an unexpected but appropriate ending. 

I can't recommend this one enough. You will not be disappointed.

The Banks of Certain Rivers

by Jon Harrison

Synopsis:

In the lakeside resort town of Port Manitou, Michigan, dedicated teacher and running coach Neil Kazenzakis shoulders responsibilities that would break a lesser man: a tragic accident has left his wife seriously debilitated, he cares for his mother-in-law who suffers from dementia, and he’s raising his teenage son, Chris, on his own. On top of all that, he’s also secretly been seeing Lauren, his mother-in-law’s caregiver.

When Neil breaks up a fight one day after school, he doesn’t give the altercation much thought. He’s got bigger issues on his mind, like the fact that Lauren is ready for a commitment and he has to figure out a way to tell Chris that he’s in a serious relationship with someone other than the boy’s mother. But when an anonymous person uploads a video of the fight to YouTube, the stunning footage suggests Neil assaulted a student. With his job, his family, and his reputation suddenly in jeopardy, Neil must prove his innocence and win back the trust of the entire community—including his son’s.

Jon Harrison’s The Banks of Certain Rivers is a powerful tale of family, loss, and the meaning of love.

My Review:

This is the story of a seemingly perfect union, high-school sweethearts - Wendy and Neil - destined to be together and live happily ever after until an unfortunate accident causes such severe brain damage that Wendy ends up in a vegetative state from which she will never recover. This happens when their son is just a little kid. We fast-forward to current day. Chris - their son - is now a senior in high school. Neil, is a teacher and track coach at the same high school. Wendy is in an extended care facility which his insurance covers. He is balancing fatherhood with caring for the family land left to Wendy and caring for Wendy's mother - a woman who is advanced in age and diagnosed with advanced Alzheimer's.  His plate is full and he is otherwise content in spite of all the terrible misfortune his family has suffered through. He is caught in a scuffle in the parking lot of the school where he believes he has broken up a fight between students when he is knocked down by one of the punches.  Neil moves on thinking that he broke up the fight, to find out that one of the students has accused him of assault and has waged an all-out war to have him fired. To add insult to injury, there is a video of what appears to be Neil actually hitting the student, yet he doesn't remember it happening exactly like that.  The video is uploaded to the Internet and goes viral making his case harder to prove. As he is dealing with losing his job, his credibility and his security of keeping Wendy at the extended care facility he is also dealing with moving on with his life as a result of 2 year love affair with Lauren - the nurse hired to care for his mother-in-law.  It is not simply an affair as he is genuinely in love and Lauren is genuinely in love with him. However, he is unable to disclose his relationship in fear of what it will do to his son Chris. 


All of these elements combine to make for an excellent read that from page one is hard to put down.  The characters are well-crafted and the storyline is not predictable nor unrealistic. This story made me think of how resilient people can truly be in the face of tragedy. When faced with situations that you think could end up breaking you, it is the relationships and support of the people that truly love you that pull you together and give you strength.  

Great story, great book, great author. I will definitely be reading more future works by Jon Harrison.