The House of Velvet And Glass by Katherine Howe

The House of Velvet and Glass is one of those novels that has it all - mystery, mysticism and mayhem. The story opens in 1915 in Boston. Sibyl Allston is still mourning the loss of her mother and sister on the Titanic three years earlier, and visits a medium in the hopes of reconnecting with her family. In the meantime, her younger brother is suffering in his own way, by dropping out of college and collecting gambling debts that he cannot repay. Their father, Harlan, deals with his loss by keeping to himself.

When an old family friend (and former beau of Sibyl's) comes back into their lives, he realizes this family needs help in a big way. But what can he do when they are determined to go on living in the past?

Traveling through three different time spans, this sweeping saga will keep you interested all the way until the end!

Karen

Read-alike author: Kate Morton

The Duck Commander Family by Willie and Korie Robertson

OK, folks, my curiosity got the better of me.  I have no desire to watch Duck Dynasty, but The Duck Commander Family by Willie and Korie Robertson looked intriguing.  The book is a quick read, and it's told in both voices, although Willie does most of the narrating.  It's inspirational as both an "only in America" rags-to-riches story and as a testament to the power of faith in God.  Where it falls apart is with its attempts to use food as a metaphor for their lives.  Yes, I know that each episode of the show ends with a family dinner, but just what are these people eating?  Frog legs? Fried squirrel?  Back straps?  (don't ask about that last one)
Just reading about all that oil and grease they consume was enough to make my arteries harden.  And these people in the South wonder why everyone is laughing at them!  Anyway, I really got to know the family, and I even went onto YouTube to watch a summary of one of the episodes and snippets of their hunting videos. Willie talks a lot about how the business has grown and changed over the years, especially once he and Korie bought part of it from patriarch Phil.  Their business model may not be for everyone (running a million-dollar empire out of their home, serving home-cooked meals to the employees, afternoon siestas and fishing trips), but they're successfully filling a niche in "hunting country", and for that I applaud them.

Dawn

Sycamore Row by John Grisham

Jake Brigance is back, and I couldn’t be happier. John Grisham’s first novel, A Time to Kill, featured the young lawyer from Clanton, Mississippi. It’s one of my favorite books. Sycamore Row picks up just three years after A Time to Kill. The story of Jake Brigance and his misfit cohorts is just as good.

Seth Hubbard takes his own life right after he writes a new will that cuts out his family, and leaves most of his fortune to his housekeeper. Seth has appointed Jake to be the lawyer for the estate, which throws Jake into a bitter will contest. You might think that a book about a contested will would be boring. This book is anything but.  As in most John Grisham novels, there are more questions than answers. Why did Seth Hubbard leave most of his fortune to his black housekeeper? Why did Seth choose Jake to fight for the new will? What is the awful secret that Seth and his estranged brother kept for over fifty years? What secrets does the housekeeper have?

The desire to discover the answers to these questions is why I kept reading. I wanted to see what happened to Jake Brigance next. Grisham keeps you guessing as he throws curve ball after curve ball. Once you think you have everything figured out, guess again.

If you liked this book, you might like Fall From Grace by Richard North Patterson. 

Carrie

The Archivist by Martha Cooley

An archive – specifically a collection of T. S. Eliot’s letters – is at the heart of this novel. But it is not about what’s in the letters as much as about the fact that they were written to the ‘other woman’ in Eliot’s life. It is about the archivist, Matt, whose wife, Judith, died in a mental hospital, as did Eliot’s wife, Vivienne. It is about love and betrayal and truth and lies, and the motivations behind them.

Roberta Spire is an Eliot scholar and poet who is trying to persuade Matt to give her access to the letters even though they’re sealed until 2020. There is an immediate connection between them – not physical, really – that causes each to reveal thoughts and secrets never shared before.

There are many parallels in The Archivist. Judith and Roberta are both Jewish and poets; the troubled marriages of Matt and Judith and Eliot and Vivienne; the complexity of Eliot’s relationship with Emily Hale and Matt’s with Roberta. There is much interweaving of themes and actions that keep drawing one further in.

I found myself in sympathy with various characters at different times throughout the book and repelled by them at others. This signals to me a depth of character development that is truly masterful. I dove into this book and didn’t come up for air until its totally surprising conclusion.

CAS 

Eliot, T. S. (Thomas Stearns), 1888-1965 -- Correspondence -- Fiction.

Librarians -- Fiction.

Widowers -- Fiction.

Man-woman relationships -- Fiction.

A Curious Man by Neal Thompson

Prior to reading Neal Thompson’s A Curious Man: The Strange and Brilliant Life of Robert “Believe it orNot!” Ripley, my main exposure to “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” came from the TV show of the same name that Jack Palance hosted in the eighties.  I can clearly remember Palance’s dramatic whispers of “believe it or not” after he finished discussing a bizarre fact. What had always been murky for me is who Robert Ripley was and how the “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” franchise has continued in one form or another for over ninety years.

“Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” started out as a cartoon before becoming a successful series of books, carnival sideshows, and a radio program. Late in life, Robert Ripley even had a brief run on television during its early days. At different times in his career, Ripley was earning as much as General Motors executives and movie stars. He also became a celebrity known for throwing lavish parties at his palatial estate and, despite his less than handsome looks and sometimes awkward demeanor, for having beautiful girlfriends. Ripley travelled the world for his material, but he also relied on Norbert Pearlroth, an unsung assistant who supplied much of the material for “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” Pearlroth spent most of his time at the New York Public Library searching through stacks of books for odd facts. I kept waiting for a feud to develop between the two men, but Pearlroth was apparently happy to do his research and live in obscurity. Ripley, on the other hand, would attempt publicity stunts such as trying to buy a volcano.

A Curious Man couldn’t be more entertaining. The book is well researched, the writing is stellar, and I challenge anyone to find Robert Ripley’s oversized life a bore.

 John 

The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop and Cafe by Mary Simses

This novel is just as sweet as the title suggests.

Ellen Bradford has a wonderful life in Manhattan. She has a great career as an attorney and has a prominent,politically connected fiance. When asked to fulfill her grandmother's dying wish to deliver a letter to her first love, Chet, Ellen travels to Beacon, Maine assuming this would be a quick trip.

Arriving in this small town where her grandmother grew up, Ellen quickly learns that things are very different here than in the big city. No fax machine or cell hone service for miles. And Chet will not be that easy to find. However, one bright spot is the beautiful scenery. Ellen is an amateur photographer and one day decides to take pictures of the water off of a pier. A pier, by the way, that has a no trespassing sign. A pier that is not all that secure. Suddenly Ellen finds herself in the water fighting a dangerous current, and realizes that she is in major trouble. That is, until a handsome stranger suddenly appears...

From then on, The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop and Cafe becomes a cozy, charming novel. Yes, there are mysteries, secrets, and drama, but overall it is really the story of first love and small town living.

A very pleasant read.

Karen

Read-alike novels: Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove series.

Burial Rites: A Novel by Hannah Kent

Based on a true story, Burial Rites is the story of Agnes Magnusdottir, a woman convicted of murdering her employer and another man in Iceland in 1828. With nowhere to house her while waiting to be executed, Agnes is sent to live with a family in a small village.  At first, everyone is afraid and Agnes is completely shunned by the townspeople, except for a minister who visits to help her find her "spiritual path" before she dies. This is when we learn about Agnes's past and how this has affected what has happened in her life.

Now I know this sounds like a terribly sad book (which in a way it is) but the character of Agnes is so interesting and complex that you begin to hope that this poor woman is shown mercy. But of course, the law had a different opinion.

If you enjoy novels that read more like non-fiction and if you like books set in unique time periods and places, then this well-written tale should appeal to you.

Karen

Read-alike author: Annie Proulx