Well the heat is on here. I also am attempting to plant some butterfly attracting plants and once again it is me against the deer and now the early heat.
Trying to get back on track with my books!
For our May Mystery Book Club, we read:
The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger. It was a 2023 Goodreads nominee for Readers Favorite Mystery and Thriller.
About: "On Memorial Day, as the people of Jewel, Minnesota gather to remember and honor the sacrifice of so many sons in the wars of the past, the half-clothed body of wealthy landowner Jimmy Quinn is found floating in the Alabaster River, dead from a shotgun blast. Investigation of the murder falls to Sheriff Brody Dern, a highly decorated war hero who still carries the physical and emotional scars from his military service. Even before Dern has the results of the autopsy, vicious rumors begin to circulate that the killer must be Noah Bluestone, a Native American WWII veteran who has recently returned to Jewel with a Japanese wife. As suspicions and accusations mount and the town teeters on the edge of more violence, Dern struggles not only to find the truth of Quinn’s murder but also put to rest the demons from his own past.
Caught up in the torrent of anger that sweeps through Jewel are a war widow and her adolescent son, the intrepid publisher of the local newspaper, an aging deputy, and a crusading female lawyer, all of whom struggle with their own tragic histories and harbor secrets that Quinn’s death threatens to expose.
Both a complex, spellbinding mystery and a masterful portrait of midcentury American life, The River We Remember is an unflinching look at the wounds left by the wars we fight abroad and at home, a moving exploration of the ways in which we seek to heal, and a testament to the enduring power of the stories we tell about the places we call home."
If you have never read a book by this author, I highly recommend William Kent Krueger. His writing is very good. His writing style is not the quick, fast paced, few words of many thrillers, but more of a slowly unwinding tale. This story has many characters and layers to it but I did not find it hard to follow. Great description of small town life but this town of Jewel Minnesota has a lot of dark secrets. While the story does wrap up the mystery, there are alot of tragedies, past and present.
All in all the book club liked it and we had a good discussion about the characters and small town life. Several of us had read other books by this author.
The author is pretty interesting too. You can read about him and his other novels here:
https://williamkentkrueger.com/
If you are looking for a cozy summer beach read, I just finished:
A Whale of a Crime by Mona Marple (pen name)
About: "After ten years away, Ryan Kennedy never planned on returning to Flamborough—the tiny Yorkshire village he once called home. But when his fiercely independent gran, Iris, needs him, he finds himself back behind the counter at her chaotic seaside bookshop, wrestling with jammed tills, nosy villagers, and the memories he’s spent years trying to forget.
What Ryan doesn’t expect is to be swept straight into the heart of a murder investigation.
When a mysterious boat appears on the beach and a body turns up at the exclusive Whale Watch Weekend picnic, all eyes turn to the cliffs—and to the secrets the village has been keeping. As Ryan and Iris dig into the tangled history of the victim, long-buried truths begin to surface, not just about the case... but about the night Ryan’s own husband died.
With the tide cutting them off, a killer on the loose, and a very observant dog named Bracken by their side, Ryan and Iris must work fast—because in Flamborough, the past doesn’t stay buried, and the sea has a habit of washing everything to shore.
For fans of twisty village whodunits, seaside charm, and heartfelt mysteries with a slow-burning emotional pull, A Whale of a Crime is the unforgettable first instalment in a brand-new series."
Good start to this English village on the sea cozy mystery. Not a fluffy cozy but a story with murder, secrets and past mysteries yet unsolved. Iris is a feisty smart bookshop owner who lives on the seaside village of Flamborough. Harlow is her grand daughter that lives with her. Ryan is her grandson who left the village years ago for the city life in London but has returned for a visit with his very perceptive dog Bracken. The village is planning the annual Whale Watch weekend. When the local villain Vic, turns up dead on the beach during the Whale Watch Picnic, gossip runs rampant about missing funds. Iris begins sleuthing and Bracken does a pretty good job of it too. There is another story thread about the mysterious death of Ryan's husband, Jason, a musician, years ago. I like how the author inserts a social media thread about the death of Ryan's husband; the speculation and gossip. True to social media. As the investigation escalates, there is another suspicious death. The ending is very good with an intriguing cliff hanger re: the death of Jason. And on the last few pages, someone from Ryan's past shows up. Unidentified and Ryan is very surprised! We don't know if good surprised or bad surprised. Looking forward to the next book in this series.
Flamborough is a real place on the sea in England, by the way. Here is a picture of possibly the main square.
Read about Mona here:
https://monamarple.com/
Mona Marple writes several different cozy series; some magical, some humorous and more of traditional mysteries. She also has a very active fun Facebook group if you would like to check that out:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/332562544209625
I really enjoyed our book group discussion about The River We Remember. Definitely some tough things in that book, but a very absorbing story. Thanks for also sharing about Mona Marple's book. Sounds quite interesting too!
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