The Night Watchman

I went back to re-read the post I wrote after I read Louise Erdrich's novel The Night Watchman (#1,373) the first time in December of 2023.  It's been so long that I had to re-read it for my book club.  As far as I'm concerned, it was even better the second time around.

Ms. Erdrich writes about her Chippewa background - ordinary people just trying to survive on the meager scraps the American government is constantly trying to take away from indigenous tribes (and who's the "Indian Giver" here?).  This time the threat is real, and Thomas Wazhashk is doing his best to combat the House Bill proposed by the Utah Senator to "terminate" the Turtle Mountain Chippewa tribe.  In other words, using seemingly benign phrases to wrest away the tiny scraps of land left in their reservation and stop providing any kind of services - health, education, agricultural - in a way that sounds as though it's beneficial to the tribal members, and not an effort to leave them destitute.

As Thomas mounts his campaign, we are introduced to a variety of characters whose lives intersect with Thomas's.  It makes for an enthralling read.

The Secret of Orange Blossom Cake

 A book about family, loss, hard choices and cooking, all set in the picturesque Lake Garda region of Italy.  What's not to like about Rachel Linden's The Secret of Orange Blossom Cake (#1,372)?  And the author and her mother actually developed the Orange Blossom Cake featured in this story!

Juliana Costa's life seems to be at a dead end.  She and her roommate have just shot the last episode of her vintage recipe cooking show which got them through the Covid pandemic.  Now Drew has a shot at Hollywood, and she's being left behind with eccentric roommates taking over Drew's part of their Seattle lease.  Plus she's already spent the advance for her cookbook contract due in September, and the samples she's sent are not even what they want! 

So when her mother contacts Jules to see if she will chaperone her half-sister Alex to Italy for the summer, all expenses paid, Jules jumps at the chance.  She barely knows Alex, but it will give her an opportunity to see her aging nonna at the olive farm where she spent so many happy days of her childhood learning to cook at her nonna's knee.  Jules hasn't seen Nonna Bruna since that summer when her father died and the bottom dropped out of her world.  Maybe this trip is the solution to finishing her cookbook contract on time.

It turns out that she's not the only one returning home; Nicolo, her first love, has come back to manage his nonna' s olive farm as well.  With the help of a magical cookbook Jules begins to see what was right under her nose the whole time...

Evensong

There are so few books out there written about women of a certain age which don't turn them into amateur detectives or murderers, that to find one which treats them seriously as actual people makes it a rare treasure indeed!  Evensong (#1,371) by Stewart O'Nan is indeed such a gem!

Set in Pittsburg, the story centers around the relationship between four women, the youngest of whom is a sprightly sixty-three.  What binds them together is Calvary Church where they are, or were, choir members, bridge partners, and active members of the Humpty Dumpty group.  The HDs, as they call themselves, perform a myriad of "church lady" functions: visiting the sick, bringing meals to shut-ins, sending cards, picking up groceries and medicines and bringing people to doctor's appointments for those who cannot drive.  

These activities have always been managed by the dynamic Joan.  But when Joan takes a tumble down her stairs and is incapacitated for weeks, her responsibilities are delegated to Kitzi, a member of the central quartet.  With Kitzi taking on added responsibilities, the dynamics of this group are shifted, and Evensong deals with the subtle changes and losses each member of the group endures.

It's so real that I felt Mr. O'Nan was channeling me.  Much of the ladies' social life revolves around the choir.  Although only Susie is still singing, the others are always in attendance supporting her.  For me, it was fun reading about the Anglican  (Episcopal) traditional services and musical selections for Evensong, Requiems and Lessons and Carols; Charpentier? check!  Faure's Requiem? check!  Jesus Christ the Appletree? check and why didn't the ladies know this one?!  But mostly it was the sympathetic way the characters are portrayed that appealed to me so strongly.  

I understand that Emily and Arlene, two of the main characters, are not new.  They are apparently in some of Mr. O'Nan's earlier books.  I look forward to spending more time with them there!

The Battle of the Bookshops

Romeo and Juliet re-imagined as modern day rival booksellers is the plot of Poppy Alexander's The Battle of the Bookshops (#1,370).  In case you didn't pick up on this, the main characters are called Jules Caperthorne and Roman Montbeau.

Here the premise is that the hundred-year-old Caperthorne's Bookshop in a quaint seaside town must thwart the efforts of the sparkling new Montbeau bookstore directly across the street to run it out of business and take over its real estate lease.  

Jules is called home by her estranged mother to help out her elderly aunt after she's taken a serious fall in the bookshop where she's always lived and worked.  Her weekend at home costs Jules her job with a high-pressure publishing firm in London.  She realizes how much she's missed the bookstore where she spent much of her youth and is determined to put it back on firm financial footing before going back to London.  But when her handsome teenaged nemesis turns out to be the one running the rival bookstore with all the bells and whistles, she decides that under no circumstances will she let Roman win.  Let the battle begin!

Family of Spies

Family of Spies (#1,369) by Christine Kuehn proves the old adage that "Truth is stranger than fiction."  A phone call from a stranger asking about her father turns her life as a suburban American wife, mother and teacher upside down.  The caller wants to contact her father to ask about his family's role spying for the Germans' allies, the Japanese.  Specifically, he wants to talk to Eberhard about their role in the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Christine is flabbergasted.  She knew her father's family was originally from Germany, but he is reluctant to talk about them.  The only other member of his family she has met is her aunt Ruth, who also refuses to discuss family history.  Furthermore, she knows he fought in the American Army as soon as he was old enough in World War II.  What could he, or they, possibly have to do with Pearl Harbor?

But as she presses her father for more information, and begins to explore on her own, Christine begins to uncover the truth about her own family.  It's an astonishing story as she tells it here, complete with photos.
 

Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave

Is Finlay Donovan's past finally catching up with her?  In Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave (#1,368), the fifth outing in Elle Cosimano's amusing suspense series, it certainly seems so.  This time a body is discovered in the yard of the crusty old neighborhood snoop across the street.  But when the body is identified, there's a link to Finlay's ex.  Much as Finlay dislikes Steve on so many levels, she does not believe the father of her children is capable of murder.  She and her nanny Vero set out to find the actual murderer.

It's not easy when the cranky neighbor Mrs. Haggerty is dumped in Finlay's lap as a house guest for as long as her own home is a crime scene.  It soon becomes apparent that Mrs. Haggerty is hiding secrets of her own.  The problem for Finlay is to keep her own secrets private when Mrs. Haggerty is poking everywhere in the Donovan household.  And it sure is putting the brakes on Finlay's growing relationship with hot detective Nick Anthony!

This is not a book I would recommend picking up and trying to read without having read the rest of the series first.  There are recurring characters and situations which depend on the reader's knowledge of previous plot points.  That being said, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It is the place to start.  

Her life is a mess, but it's relatable stuff - failed marriage, a clunker of a minivan, trying to meet book deadlines while juggling two toddlers.  Thank goodness she acquires a live-in nanny who has problems of her own.  Her messes are so spectacular, it makes your own problems seem trivial in comparison.  Always a good outcome!

Agent To The Stars

What would you do if you were asked to represent someone from the stars?  That's Tom Stein's dilemma in John Scalzi's very first book Agent To The Stars (#1,367), now re-published with updated cultural references.  It's still a hoot.

The Yherajk have been observing Earth for a long time and they know they are going to have an image problem because of the way they look.  So do they land on the White House lawn?  No, they have a better idea: get themselves a Hollywood agent to represent them for their first contact with humankind.  They choose to get in touch with the head of a powerful Hollywood Agency and convince him to take them on as clients.  Enter Tom Stein, a young agent who has just proved his mettle by negotiating an amazing contract for one of his clients.  Carl Lupo, his boss, thinks he'll be perfect to handle the job for the Yherajks.

So many great characters and outlandish situations here.  You just wonder where Scalzi will go next as Tom works towards his goal.  Enjoy!