Bookreporter.com Bets On...

Moonrise by Cassandra King Conroy

September 2013

I have been a fan of Cassandra King’s for a while now, so seeing she had a new book made me smile. MOONRISE is set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, where my sister has a vacation home, so I know the area well. The title of the book is drawn from the name of the house that was originally occupied by Emmet and his first wife, Rosalyn. I love big old houses like this that in themselves are stories. Rosalyn cultivated a beautiful moon garden, created of flowers that bloom in the evenings and look wonderful in moonlight, like moonflowers, night jasmine and white butterfly bushes. The garden has gone to ruin after she died under mysterious circumstances the prior fall. Emmet hastily re-wed a younger woman named Helen, and this will be their first summer up at Moonrise. Old friends are not welcoming to Helen, and the mystery surrounding Rosalyn’s death swirls around them.

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My Mother's Secret: A Novel Based on a True Holocaust Story by J.L. Witterick

September 2013

When I finished reading MY MOTHER’S SECRET by J.L. Witterick, I was totally in awe of it. It’s based on the true story of a woman and her daughter who hid two Jewish families and a German soldier on their farm during World War II. Told from four different perspectives, it’s so tightly and succinctly written that I found myself reading every word. It had been tightened down so much that it seemed that every word mattered. I can see this book being read by teens, as well as adults. It’s a story of courage, as well as the depths of ingenuity that one woman mastered to save those around her. It’s a story of heroism, bravery, and the kind of inner core that we all hope we would have in a time of crisis. You’ll read it fast, but I dare say the story will stay with you for a long time.

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The Book of Someday by Dianne Dixon

September 2013

In THE BOOK OF SOMEDAY, Livvi Gray has been haunted by a nightmare of an eerily beautiful stranger in a shimmering silver dress that she remembers from her childhood in California. Her story and that of two other women, AnnaLee and Micah, are told in revolving strands starting slowly, but each was intriguing enough to keep me reading. You know they will come together, but you’re not sure how. Dianne Dixon keeps the tension going and keeps readers questioning. And when it all comes together, there is a lot of satisfaction in a story well told. I did NOT guess the ending, but even our readers who did thought it was well done. A friend also read an advance copy, and we had a lot of conversation about the ending. Read it and you will see why. And the idea of keeping a book of “somedays” is an interesting one. This is a terrific book club title.

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After Her by Joyce Maynard

August 2013

I have been a fan of Joyce Maynard’s for years. While she is a household name --- and I try to reserve Bets On selections for less-known writers --- I am selecting AFTER HER as a Bets On selection as my homage to Maynard. This novel is loosely inspired by the Trailside Killer case that terrorized the people of Marin County, California, in the late 1970s. In the summer of 1979, Rachel and her younger sister, Patty, are having an idyllic summer as they play on the mountains behind their home --- the same mountains where their detective father is hunting for a killer. What begins as one act of violence quickly escalates to the markings of a serial killer. Pressure escalates on their dad as no one can get any solid leads on the culprit.

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The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes

August 2013

Determined not to be “behind” this time, I read THE GIRL YOU LEFT BEHIND by Jojo Moyes last weekend; it just came out this week. And yes, this is the first time I have selected two Bets On titles by the same author in the same month (the other was ME BEFORE YOU, which is now available in paperback). The title references a painting done by an artist named Edouard Lefevre of his wife, Sophie, in France in 1916. He is off to the front in World War I, and shortly afterwards their town is captured by the Germans. Sophie and her sister are forced to prepare meals for German soldiers each evening at their inn, while during the day the townspeople frequent the place. Sophie takes a huge risk to see her husband again --- one that will endanger her life and put her at odds with the entire town.

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The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson

August 2013

I attend a lot of previews where publishers present their upcoming titles. Typically, one will catch my eye, and I will paw through my advance reading copies to find it later. This happened with THE BOY ON THE WOODEN BOX by Leon Leyson. A few weeks ago, I heard on the news that a copy of Schindler’s List was being auctioned on eBay with an opening bid of $3 million. It made me think about the people whose names were on that list. THE BOY ON THE WOODEN BOX is a memoir by one of the youngest people to be saved by Schindler. I literally sat and read it in one sitting. It’s being published for children, but it’s the kind of book that can be read at any age.

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Approaching the Speed of Light by Victoria Lustbader

August 2013

I love authors with range, meaning that they are not one-note ponies telling the same story over and over. Victoria Lustbader is just that kind of an author. After reading APPROACHING THE SPEED OF LIGHT, I wrote her and said, “If you were a musician, I would see you playing different instruments so you were able to create your own orchestra. You do such great things with words and the scenarios that you create. And this is such a different direction for you from STONE CREEK, but once again you nailed everything about it --- characters, plot, theme, scene and pacing. I felt myself in each location; they were so well drawn, and I saw the characters.” In APPROACHING THE SPEED OF LIGHT, Victoria writes great damaged characters with redeeming moments to create a story that is edgy and compelling, with a heart --- a really nice combination. I started reading it on a Sunday afternoon and found myself unable to put it down until I had to sleep. Then I savored the conclusion. I recently learned that Victoria worked on this book for five years --- and it shows as it’s so polished!

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Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

August 2013

While I read a lot, there are times that I “miss” a book that I really want to read when it comes out in hardcover. It’s often one that I discover here on Bookreporter.com from a review or some promo copy. With best intentions, it slips further and further down my pile until I see news that the paperback is being released, which gives me another opportunity to move it to the top of the pile to read and share my thoughts. This is what happened to me with ME BEFORE YOU by Jojo Moyes. A few chapters in, and I could see why this was a much-buzzed-about --- and loved --- book in hardcover.

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The Silent Wife by A. S. A. Harrison

July 2013

There is an expression that no one outside a marriage really knows what goes on inside a marriage. There are times we wonder how people can be together. There are other seemingly perfect marriages that have their fractures.

In THE SILENT WIFE, a debut novel by the late A. S. A. Harrison (she passed away in April), readers quickly learn that the Jodi and Todd, the idyllic couple, we first meet are in a bad place in their marriage. There are risks for them both in what is going on. For Todd, he can’t be discovered. For Jodi, it could be the end of the affluent life they lead in their beautiful waterfront condo in Chicago.

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Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole

July 2013

Remember when letter writing was an everyday occurrence, not a lost art? I am not talking about emails that bounce around, often with one-word answers, but rather the kinds of letters where just seeing the writing on an envelope found at the mailbox by the curb could mean a nice extended read, a thoughtful reply, and then weeks for another part of the conversation to unfold. LETTERS FROM SKYE by Jessica Brockmole takes us back to a time like that as it spans two continents and takes place over the course of two world wars, capturing the way that love builds and the way words can make a heart beat faster. I enjoy sagas, and the way this one plays out in the characters’ own words makes it so charming!

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