I had heard many great things about “The Postmistress”, so I pre-ordered it from Amazon. When it arrived I just knew I would love this book, so I took my time reading it. I actually tried stretching it out over a few weeks so that I could savor it (where normally I plow through a book I love as quickly as possible). This was such an interesting and thought-provoking book, and I have to say – I loved it!

“The Postmistress” starts with a question at a dinner party: what if someone chose not to deliver a letter? And what if it was during WWII where letters were the primary form of communication for many people? What effect can it have on those people’s lives?

The story follows the WWII experiences of three women: Emma, a young newlywed living on the Cape in Massachusetts, whose husband has gone to London to be a medic; Iris, the town’s postmaster, who is in love with Harry, the town watchdog; and Frankie, a female radio reporter, covering the war for America in Europe. But this is just the surface. Each of these characters are deep and well-developed, and their stories intertwine and overlap in a surprising way when Frankie encounters Emma’s husband in London and is given a letter for Emma (no more than that or I’ll spoil it for you!).

Now I love historical fiction, and I particularly like stories of WWII. I thought this novel was so well-written. I particularly loved the descriptions of the town of Franklin (the fictional Cape Cod town — though there really is a Franklin, Mass., but it’s not on the Cape). You could hear and feel it. I also thought that the inner selves of each of these women, particularly of Frankie, were written so beautifully and believably. In sum, I loved this book (but next time, I’m plowing through – I hated saving it over 3 weeks!!).

I think this novel would be an excellent choice for a book group. There are lots of questions here about why characters acted the way they did – and of course the whole question about the letters. What would YOU think if someone chose not to deliver a letter??

I give this book my rare but lofty “5 Star” award!

Cleopatra’s Daughter by Michelle Moran — yes, it’s been there for a while but now I’m really getting to read it!!!

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman — many friends have recommended it!

Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin — about the original “Alice”

This past week I listened to another audiobook from the “new releases” section of the library.  “Raisins and Almonds” is a historical mystery featuring the intrepid Fryne Fisher – a 1920’s flapper detective in Australia. I had never read a Fryne (pronounced Fry -ah -nee) Fisher novel before, but have discovered that she has her own Wikipedia entry with info on the series and her background. While this audiobook was in the new release section, the novel was published in the late 1990’s.

In this story, Fryne gets involved with a murder of a young Jewish man who occurred in a bookstore. As she sets off to prove that the supposed murderer is innocent, she uncovers an intricate web of international proportions, dealing with alchemy, Judaism, Zionism, arms dealing, poisons, and bookstores. This was a carefully plotted mystery that kept me guessing until the end. While I would consider it a cozy mystery, it was a bit more graphic than other cozies and it certainly had more “adult” scenes in it than most cozies do. (Fryne is a woman who appreciates her lovers – enough said!).  I really enjoyed listening to this story and will look for more Fryne Fisher mysteries at my library!

I give it 4 Stars!

I love the gaslight mystery series by Victoria Thompson! In these historical cozy mysteries, Sarah Brandt, a midwife in Edwardian era New York, solves mysteries with her friend Frank Malloy, an Irish policeman. “Murder on Waverly Place” is the 11th installment in the series. In this one, Sarah and her mother attend a séance as her mother seeks to reach out to her deceased daughter’s spirit. When an attendee winds up murdered when the lights come up, Sarah works to solve the crime.

Like most cozy mysteries I’ve read, I enjoyed this book a lot. I’ve read all in this series – and I find it helps to read them in order. The first ten books had an underlying theme of Sarah trying to solve the murder of her own husband, a doctor. I love the scenes of 19th century New York and also the precision which Thompson uses to explain the specifics of Sarah’s and Malloy’s careers. These books read quickly and are light and enjoyable. I often am surprised by the ending! My copies come from the library.

I’d give this series 4 1/2 stars!

I recently listened to “Travelling with Pomegranates” by Sue Monk Kidd (author of  “The Secret Life of Bees”). What an interesting book — it chronicles the author’s trip to Greece with her adult daughter who has just graduated from college. Kidd is turning 50 and reflecting on her life. Her daughter, Anne, is graduating college and is still recovering from a broken relationship. Both of them are redefining themselves and their relationship to each other, all within the framework of the trip and within the geography, history, and culture of Greece.

I enjoyed listening to this book, though it did require some thought while I was driving! Some of the passages were lengthy reflections, as opposed to action. I also needed to adjust to the authors’ gentle accents as they read it themselves. It was a nice, reflective “read” that I have recommended to my sister (who is 50 and has a daughter in her twenties!). My copy came from the library.

So — several of my friends have asked me why I did not do a “Best of 2009” blog post. To be honest, I felt there were already a lot of very good book lists for 2009, and furthermore I felt I would never be able to choose among the many wonderful books I read to pick one favorite.

However, without further ado, here is my “Best Books of 2009” list. How many made your list?

Favorite Book I read last year:  “The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie” by Alan Bradley

Best Written Book I read last year: “Olive Kitteridge” by Elizabeth Strout

Most Charming Read of last year: “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

The Book I couldn’t stop thinking about last year:  “Loving Frank” by Nancy Horan

Best Creepy/Gothic Book I read last year: “The Thirteenth Tale” by Diane Setterfield

Best Historical Fiction I read last year: It’s a tie!!! “Nefertiti” by Michelle Moran and “Peony in Love” by Lisa See

Best Cozy Mystery series I read last year: it was a tough call, but I have to go with the “Agatha Raisin” series by MC Beaton

and the final “I’m so glad I finally read some of his books because I really love them” award goes to: William Martin for his “Back Bay” and “Cape Cod” mysteries!

Oh, Agatha! How I love your cantankerous and cranky soul! If you read my blog regularly, you know I love MC Beaton’s Agatha Raisin cozy mysteries series. This latest library find – “There Goes the Bride” – is no exception. In it, James (Agatha’s ex-husband) is about to marry a lovely young woman when she is fatally shot shortly before taking her vows. Agatha is determined to find the murderer, motivated at least in part by the fact that she is a suspect. 

 Kudos to MC Beaton for continually coming up with great new story lines for both Agatha and her literary brother Hamish MacBeth!

A week or two ago I saw “The Silent Hour” on the new release shelf (in large print!) at the library. I picked it up as it looked pretty thrilling (plus I love the break that large print gives my eyes!).

In this suspense novel, a Lincoln Perry mystery, Perry is approached by a convicted and reformed murderer to find a missing woman who helped to rehabilitate him. As Perry reluctantly makes inquiries, he stumbles upon a mob connection, other murders, drug gangs, and more. This novel had a lot of twists and turns in it that kept me guessing. This was my first Lincoln Perry mystery, and I liked it alot. At times I thought it moved slowly – and it was long (over 500 pages in large print) – but it was a keeper!

So — one thing I planned to do new this year with my blog is review audiobooks as well as regular novels. I used to listen to audiobooks all the time during my commute. I get them from the library and keep them in a basket in the front seat. Of course, having small children can put a damper on my listening as they don’t usually like what I’m listening to! (My two vote for the Magic Treehouse books on CD).

“What Matters Most” by Luanne Rice was an audiobook I grabbed at the “new releases” section of the library. The story follows two intersecting storylines: Bernadette and Tom come to Ireland to find the son they gave up for adoption 23 years earlier, while their son, James/Seamus searches for Kathleen his childhood love. Their stories intersect and come together, reaching a huge climactic ending.

Well – I have to say that this was my first Luanne Rice book. It’s considered a romance, a genre which I don’t read often. That said, this book was a mix of things for me. At times I found it unbelievable (more on this later). At times I found it long (11 CD’s worth). At times, though, I found myself thinking about these characters and going out to my car to sit and listen to this story! I would get frustrated with myself, since in one breath I’d think: “This is really terrific silliness” followed in the next by: “So – I wonder what’s going to happen?”

Here are the things I had problems with — according to the plot line, Bernie and Tom came to Ireland from the US 23 years earlier to help Tom find his lost family/relatives (the typical genealogical trip). Bernie, who is about to become a nun, accompanies him as it’s something she has “promised to do as a friend” (generally I think they frown on young nuns-to-be accompanying male friends on vacation, but that’s another discussion). While there, they have a moment of passion (if you get my drift) and Bernie finds herself pregnant. Now here’s the thing — Bernie has a vision of the Blessed Mother Mary which she interprets as Mary telling her to be a nun. So she gives the baby up for adoption, goes home, joins the convent with Tom hired on as groundskeeper (I would have thought that they would have considered some of this an impediment to her taking her vows, but apparently not), and then rises to become Mother Superior of her order. Now – 23 years later – she decides that perhaps Mary was telling her to be a MOTHER not be a NUN – so she goes to find her son (with Tom in tow).

As I was listening to this, I had to keep thinking “this is ridiculously implausible!” Added to this fact was that Bernie was pretty styling clothes-wise and with beautiful, long, flowing  hair when she was sans habit (as opposed to looking demure or conservative). Bernie and Tom were portrayed as pretty much perfect — amazing people whom all admired and flocked to, due to their natural magnetism, charm, intelligence, and kindness. Seamus/James (their son) and Kathleen were portrayed similarly – though I did like Seamus’ reaction when he found out they were his parents (no hearty handshakes there – he was pretty angry).

As I reached disk 10 or 11 I had to wonder: how is this going to end? Will Bernie stay a nun? Will Tom go on as groundskeeper, content in seeing her at a distance? Will Seamus and Kathleen work out their missed years together and form a relationship? And here’s the most unbelievable thing of all : MAJOR SPOILER ALERT  – SKIP TO BELOW IF YOU WANT – Tom drops dead of a heart attack. Well, that ended that. There’s of course more to the dénouement than that, but that gets you going!

So – overall, I can’t even give this a star rating as I don’t know what to put. I couldn’t stop listening to this story, even though I found it at times silly. I cared about these characters, even though I didn’t want to. I found myself checking out another Luanne Rice book at the library last week as if my hands had a will of their own.

What can I say???

Have you ever read a book by Jane Langton? I adored her children’s books when I was young (the Hall family stories) and enjoy her Homer Kelly mysteries as an adult. I was thrilled last week to find “The Deserter” in the library — a Homer Kelly mystery story taking place during the Civil War and also in the current day.

In “The Deserter”, Homer’s wife, Mary, is tracing an ancestor’s experience in the Civil War and puzzling over the fact that he has dropped from family lore and is considered a shameful character. What did he do that was so bad? Mary and Homer wonder. His picture has also been taken down from the hollowed halls of Harvard’s Memorial Hall as his classmates were ashamed of him, too. Mary and Homer begin a quest to unravel the mystery.

In alternating chapters, during the Civil War a young pregnant wife (Mary’s ancestor) searches the battlefields of Gettysburg for her beloved and missing husband. She fears he is ill, injured, or possibly a deserter.

What has become of him? Will he be found? Will Mary and Homer solve the mystery and return her ancestor into good grace? You’ll have to read this story to find out!

I give it 4 Stars!