I very much enjoyed this book although I almost stopped reading it when Andrea made Danny and Maeve leave the house after their father died. It was at night and I woke up during the night trying to figure out where the story line would go and what would happen next. I decided in the morning I better finish reading it- so glad I did.
It tells the story of siblings, as Danny said at the end it was supposed to be about his sister Maeve and how they dealt with family dysfunction. It could have been about adult children of alcoholics as the dynamics are the same- "Same House -Different Homes", Danny and Maeve had "different" mothers and fathers emotionally.
Danny and his family did better through life than Maeve, which is to be expected as she "protected" him from the loss of his mother and every catastrophe almost that he encountered. He was closer to his father because she was not and because his father valued his son a bit more.
A great read!! My Book Club September Selection
Huge thanks to Severn House, Cora Harrison, #NetGalley for this advance copy of #DeathofaProminentCitizen. I adore this series, Reverend Mother Mystery #7, and found myself unable to put this book down, except to sleep. The period detail and the characters are so entrancing to me, not the least as details I know happened to my ancestors are unfolded. What a terrible time for all but the upper class citizens at this time, the immediate aftermath of the Irish Civil War.
"Money is the root of all evil, according to the Reverend Mother – but is it the motive for her cousin's murder?"
Wealthy Charlotte Hendrick, first cousin to the Reverend Mother and 6 others, was not a warm character as well as being a slum landlord. She decides to change her will and exclude 6 of her cousins and invites them to her mansion to "present their cases" on what they would do with an inheritance. The evening of the presentation falls on a night of riots on the nearby quays, and in the morning, Reverend Mother finds her cousin deceased with her throat cut.
Was this an outside murder related to the landlord riots or was it a distraught relative who did not want to be disinherited ?Reverend Mother, Inspector Patrick Cashman with his Sergeant Joe and Dr. Scher spend the following week finding the murderer. Of course Reverend Mother figures it out and it was a completely unexpected ending- but VERY satisfactory! Love this series.
As always Chris Nickson brings Leeds to life with #TheMoltenCity, which gives a hint of the conflagration which is to come. Thanks to #NetGalley and Severn House for outing number 8 of the Detective Superintendent Tom Harper series. It was a thrilling and complex historical novel to read.
"Detective Superintendent Tom Harper senses trouble ahead when the prime minister plans a visit. Can he keep law and order on the streets while also uncovering the truth behind a missing child?"
Two ( at least), events are taking place, started by an anonymous letter from a dying woman hoping to clear her conscience about knowledge of the child snatching of Andrew Sharp , 14 years before.
As Harper starts to look into this disturbing event, he is informed that he will be in charge of the arrival of Herbert Asquith, Prime Minister to the city. This visit, unlike that of King Edward, will be made dangerous by Leeds already being roiled by by tensions between suffragettes and the unemployed. Tom Harper's wife and now 16 years old daughter seem to be in opposition on the tactics of the suffragettes versus the women's suffrage lower keyed movement.
Events keep the whole city force and other town law enforcement entities stretched very thin with both violence and murders happening with the older child abductions case(s) and the anticipated rioting at the PM's speech.
A very entertaining book on more than one level which kept my attention to the end. Chris Nickson draws on actual historical events, and marvelous period detail, to enmesh his fine mysteries in.
Like others, I too would like to read more about the Red Cross Commissary effort..My husband who is a WWII history nut knew nothing about this group, although he knew about the events they were in..I loved this book and would love for a sequel to show where everyone was.
The beginning was also good but when they got through training it really took off. I was a war baby in the US so enjoy all of this. I was born right before the victory in the Pacific. in July.
The story was based on actual historical events that happened to known Commissary Red Cross units and some of those events were amazing. Fiona, Dottie and Vi were college friends who joined for various reasons. Fiona's fiance had been declared missing and she wanted to go and help the war effort, and perhaps find out where he was. Both things happened in a pretty amazing fashion.
Recommended
The second half of the book was more enjoyable ( to me anyway) than the first, which was a bit slow. Betty Stern was raised by her grandparents at their kosher resort on Lake Michigan; now in her 80s she feels that her life was micromanaged and taken out of her hands.
She and her two friends since kindergarten were going to spend a last few weeks at the resort,now her home, in anticipation of her moving to live with her son.Events took on a life of their own, as her granddaughter Hannah announces a pregnancy, while unsure she will marry the father. Deja Vu for Betty who has been called "Boop" most of her life.
Most of the books was spent reviewing her early years, but quickly coalesces about her own unplanned pregnancy, wedding and her regrets. There is a fun surprise ending one would not expect. Recommended for seniors, boomers and others.
5 Stars ! What a marvelous book! I couldn't wait to finish it and see what happened how it all turned out. Now I must read more about the Pack Horse Librarians and exactly what they did, when and how.
Alice Wright,a young English girl meets and marries a man, Bennett Van Cleve from Kentucky who was on a tour with his father. It was a whirlwind marriage that failed abysmally for a variety of reasons, and had repercussions throughout a small Kentucky town.
To escape from the situation she finds herself in, Alice heeds a call to join a WPA group needing librarians who have riding skills. The life she begins, to live are almost terminated by her father-in-law, an unscrupulous mine owner using blackmail and lies to ruin her and her companions.
A quick paced book with vivid depictions of Appalachian life, very fine writing and a terrific ending.
I enjoyed this book by Karen Harper although it clearly was a novel, with some aspects likely embellished for the story line. The "secrets", more than one of them by the way, may be partly rumor and innuendo but of course did not detract from the story. The author used them adroitly in the story, whether they are factual or fabricated in some way.
The most enjoyable parts of this novel for me were the day to day events going on with the war and it's effects on England and it's people.Their is no doubt the "Queen Mum" as she was later called was a beloved figure to many.
I have read and enjoyed several books by this author, this one was a good read but not my favorite.
Recommended for the time period.
