It is a long story made up of everyday stories of life. ★★★★★ 'I am in the business of mortality. Its beginning and its end'. Martha Ballard, has been the local midwife and healer in Hallowell for the last 12 years. As a habitual journal writer, Mistress Ballard has recorded years of births, deaths, and … Continue reading Frozen River
Fiction
Between Earth and Sky
'But all the education in the world could not change the color of my skin'. ★★★★★ 'The white man has always been very generous with what he doesn't want'. Alma's family moved to Stover so her father could open up the School for Indians in order to assimilate local tribal children; 'civilise' and mold them, … Continue reading Between Earth and Sky
Crow Mary
Read it and weep - you won't regret it ★★★★★ ‘No one is without fear. But only the brave take action in spite of that fear’. Is it any real surprise that this is worth 5 glorious stars. Though my heart is heavy, I’m grateful to have read this story and had my eyes opened … Continue reading Crow Mary
Don’t Forget to Write
'Always say yes to new things' ★★★★ 'Yes, I wanted love and passion and excitement. But the idea of being my own person - of doing what I wanted and bossing everyone else around - was intoxicating'. It's 1960 and Marilyn Kleinman has just been caught kissing the rabbi's son in the most public and … Continue reading Don’t Forget to Write
Absolution
'Each of us is fettered in some way' ★★★★★ 'There's a real danger in the bestowing of gifts upon the hopeless only to inflate the ego of the one who does the bestowing'. Tricia is a newlywed who finds herself newly placed in Vietnam in the early 1960s. There are, of course, a whole gaggle … Continue reading Absolution
The Royal Windsor Secret
Christine Wells's latest novel offers more than solving a scintillating secret ★★★★ 'You have served your apprenticeship, my dear Cleo. Now you must set yourself free'. Cleo Davenport has lived a wonderful life, growing up in Cairo in the opulence of its Shepheard Hotel, living with her adopted Aunt Serafina. But as luxurious and lucky … Continue reading The Royal Windsor Secret
The Socialite Spy
Lady Pamela Moore is the 'Agent of Influence' ★★★ 'The King has become rather attached to Mrs Simpson. And Mrs Simpson has become rather involved with a number of people who appear to be more loyal to the Nazis than our own government'. Lady Pamela Moore is the 'Agent of Influence' for her fashion and … Continue reading The Socialite Spy
Would You Ask My Husband That?
'treated like a loose Jenga piece that could be pushed out and repositioned' ★★★★ 'Sarah had taken my job. My job. And she expected me to look after the kids and clean the house and do all the crappy jobs…' Their lives may be a stressful, precarious house of cards, but Sarah and Will are … Continue reading Would You Ask My Husband That?
Cities of Women
Kathleen B Jones uses luscious language when describing the medieval times Anastasia lived in ★★★ 'Women's stories of use and achievement never figured much in the annals of history. Of the inequity accompanying the birth of a daughter, of the treachery hidden b between false lovers' words, of the tribulations of women abandoned for the … Continue reading Cities of Women
Secrets of the Italian Island
A rash decision puts everyone's fate in peril ★★★★ 'Not everyone understands what it means to want to know the past before finding a future'. When Mia's grandmother Annalisa dies, the grandmother who raised her as a child and is her world, she is utterly devastated. However, after visiting the family lawyer, both a mysterious … Continue reading Secrets of the Italian Island