Girl Who Reads

Dark Is When the Devil Comes by Daisy Pearce ~ a Review

2026-04-21T06:30:00.005-04:00

by MK French

The woods are known as the place to avoid. What goes in, doesn’t come out.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

April 2026; Minotaur Books; 978-1250334411
audio, ebook, print (336 pages); psychological thriller

Hazel left her hometown of Idless in the English countryside years ago, but is now returning after a traumatic divorce. She plans to lay low at her parents’ vacated house and reconnect with her prickly sister Cathy. When she doesn't show up, Cathy is surprised and wonders what went wrong. Other people in town whisper of a threat, and the woods are known for being restless and keeping whatever it takes.

Hazel is distraught by the divorce, has emotional difficulties, and hopes to reconnect with her sister. Her thread of the story becomes tracking her state of mind and her attempts to escape. Cathy and Hazel's childhood friend Suzie, begins gathering clues that something terrible happened to her, even if there's nothing concrete to give the police. The two threads of the story each carry tension before they finally cross in the finale. I was glued to the book, and I had to keep reading to the end to find out what happened. It's a story that will undoubtedly keep you up at night.

Buy Dark Is When the Devil Comes at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

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Inside Man by John McMahon ~ a Review

2026-04-20T06:30:00.009-04:00

by Donna Huber

FBI Agent Gardner Camden is an analytical genius with an affinity for puzzles. He and his squad of brilliant yet quirky agents make up the Patterns and Recognition (PAR) unit, the FBI’s hidden edge, brought in for cases that no one else can solve.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

January 2026; Minotaur Books; 978-1250348326
audio, ebook, print (400 pages); police procedurals

Inside Man is book 2 in the Head Cases series. It isn't necessary to read the first book, but it is really good so you should read it.

If you loved the television show Criminal Minds, then you will love this series. If you like the character dynamics of NCIS: Origins, then you will want to check out this series as its characters have a similar vibe.

I'm usually not really into police procedurals, but the characters are great. The story is told from the point of view of Gardner Camden. He's a genius, and like many intellectual geniuses, he has some social awkwardness. He is an enduring character with a lot of layers to him. I look forward to more of those layers being pulled back in future books.

For me, the criminal cases they are investigating are secondary to the character interactions. The case is interesting but not memorable. I thought what the serial killer was doing was intriguing. I thought it took a little too long for the team to figure it out after the last clue provided by Richie.

I read this book in big chunks and couldn't wait to get back to it each day. I can't wait for the next book.

Buy Inside Man at Amazon

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King by Caroline Bicks ~ a Review

2026-04-19T06:30:00.007-04:00

by MK French

Caroline Bicks was named the University of Maine's inaugural Stephen E. King Chair in Literature, the first scholar to be granted extended access by King to his private archives. Bicks focuses on five of his most iconic early works—The Shining, Carrie, Pet Sematary, 'Salem's Lot, and Night Shift—to reveal how he crafted his language, storylines, and characters. We see King’s margin notes and editorial changes, scenes, and alternative endings that never made it to print. The book also includes interviews Bicks had with King along the way that reveal new insights into his writing process and personal history.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

April 2026; Hogarth; 978-0593736722
audio, ebook, print (304 pages); nonfiction

For any fan of Stephen King's works, this is a treat to see unpublished material that is related to his early novels. Carrie is in its fiftieth anniversary year, which is mind-boggling to think about. Each chapter goes through a different book, and there are photos of the copy edits and excerpts showing us the changes that King did or didn't make, as well as the reasoning behind it. The reasoning is also insight into the craft of writing, which is something he takes very seriously. Even if people don't necessarily feel genre fiction like horror is "serious" enough to study, there is incredible care in the rhythm of the words, the sounds and sensations they evoke, and the atmosphere of the overall story.

As someone who grew up devouring King's books, I found it fascinating to see the early concepts and chapters for the books. There were deliberate references to classic works and allusions to those tragedies, even after revisions edited them out. While some are blink-and-you 'll-miss-it like Hamlet or Macbeth references in The Shining, or Carrie, the sensory and emotional details still remain. It's such an incredible look into the early novels and the editing that shaped them into their final forms.

Buy Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

17 Must Read Mysteries from the Past Decade

2026-04-18T06:30:00.061-04:00

by Donna Huber

I read a lot of mysteries and thrillers. Even before I started attending a local mystery book club, it was one of my go-to genres. Susan also reads a lot of mysteries and thrillers. Goodreads recently published 136 Reader-Approved Mysteries & Thrillers of the Past Decade, and I thought it would be fun to see how many we had read - 17 books! (I included books I read but didn't review on the site for myself, but Susan's recommendations are based on those she has reviewed on this site.)

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site.

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

"I absolutely loved this book, and it's my new favorite Sally Hepworth novel," wrote Susan in her review.

Buy Darling Girls at Amazon

The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton

The world has been consumed by a fog - all but a single island where life is idyllic. One hundred and twenty-two villagers and three scientists, living in peaceful harmony. The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, to obey their nightly curfew, to do what they're told by the scientists. Until they wake up one day with their memories wiped and the death of their leader. The death sets off a chain of reactions and the fog that has ringed the island is now encroaching. The villagers must solve the murder in order to save their island.

I enjoyed the island society and the slowly unfolding revelations. I recommended it to my post-apocalyptic book club who also enjoyed it and led to a great discussion. Check out my full review.

Buy The Last Murder at the End of the World at Amazon

The Maid by Nita Prose

This was a very engrossing book. There are two more books and a Christmas novella in the series now, so if you haven't picked up this book yet, you can binge the whole series! Read my review.

Buy The Maid at Amazon

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka

It's definitely a page turner. I loved the structure of the story. I listened to the audiobook version and it was great. Read my review.

Buy Notes on an Execution at Amazon

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

Four female assassins are taking a luxury cruise to celebrate their retirement from an extra-governmental organization referred to as the Museum. However, they soon discover they are the subject of a kill order. A game of cat and mouse ensues as they race to stay alive and clear their name.

If you are familiar with Raybourn's Veronica Speedwell series, then you should pick up this book. I enjoyed it more than the series. It would make a great vacation read, plus a sequel came out last year so you can keep reading about these great characters. Read my review.

Buy Killers of a Certain Age at Amazon

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

"[I]f you love quirky cozy mysteries, retired spies, or if you like it when the author makes you laugh or makes you drool with all the talk of cakes and tea," wrote Elisabeth in her review. There are several more books in the series since this one came out in 2022, so you know if you like it, there is plenty more fun ahead.

Buy The Thursday Murder Club at Amazon

The Last Flight by Julie Clark

"It's almost impossible to totally disappear no matter how much you want to get out of your life. In this wonderful suspense novel, two women are able to disappear from their lives and start over but not without fear that they will get caught," wrote Susan in her review.

Buy The Last Flight at Amazon

Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden

"This is a wonderful mystery that is set on Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota and all of the main characters are Native Americans. It's a real page-turner mystery but it also gives us a picture of the poor living conditions on the reservations and a lot of history about the Lakota tribe," wrote Susan in her review.

Buy Winter Counts at Amazon

The Lost Man by Jane Harper

My mystery book club read this book and loved it. I was kind of on the fence about it, but there is an excerpt at the end for another one of her books, which really grabbed me.

Buy The Last Man at Amazon

The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

My mystery book club also read this one, but it was too much science fiction for them. I really liked it, which is why I picked up another one of his books (but read it with my post-apocalyptic book club instead).

Buy The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle at Amazon

The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor

"The Chalk Man is such a fantastic book that it's hard to believe that it's a debut novel. I can't wait to see what this author writes next. She's definitely on my list of favorite authors," wrote Susan in her review.

Buy The Chalk Man at Amazon

The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter

As Slaughter is a Georgia-based author, I try to pick up her books now and again. I loved the characters in this book, and I really liked how the plot unfolded.

Buy The Good Daughter at Amazon

The Breakdown by B.A. Paris

"Before you start reading this book I advise you to clear your calendar and find a comfortable place to read because you aren't going to stop reading until you get to the end. This book literally had me so interested that I couldn't do anything at all until the last page because I was so absorbed by the story and anxious about the outcome," wrote Susan in her review.

Buy The Breakdown at Amazon

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

"A stunning psychological novel that is told from Grace's POV and alternates between the past and the present. The plot is full of tension and plenty of twists and turns," wrote Susan in her review.

I also read this book and loved it.

Buy Behind Closed Doors at Amazon

All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

This was the first book by Miranda that I read, and I loved it. Her writing reminds me of Chevy Stevens. The storytelling was unique to me as the whole story is told backwards. Read my full review.

Buy All the Missing Girls at Amazon

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

This may have been my first Karin Slaughter novel. It was a great audiobook. It was a little strange to hear places I know being mentioned as part of the story takes place in Athens.

Buy Pretty Girls at Amazon

Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson

I remember that this was a book that I really wanted to read but the library didn't have it and the ebook was pricey. Someone in one of my reading groups at the time anonymously sent it to me as a gift. I absolutely loved it. A great psychological thriller. Read my review.

Buy Before I Go to Sleep at Amazon

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

Celebrate We Gullah Geechee by Yvette R. Murray ~ a Review

2026-04-17T06:30:00.007-04:00

by Donna Huber

Celebrate We Gullah Geechee invites the reader along on a dynamic exploration of Gullah culture.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

February 2026; Free Spirit Publishing; 979-8330905065
ebook, print (44 pages); children's book

When I was in college, my marine biology class visited Sapelo Island, which is a barrier island off the coast of Georgia. The University of Georgia has a marine biology research area on the island, and a few visitors are allowed each year (you have to get DNR approval to visit). The only people who are allowed to own property on the island are the descendants of the slaves who once worked the plantation on the island. It is called the Hog Hammock community. I'm not sure if they were ever referred to as Gullah Geechee, but it is a term I learned of later.

It was fun getting to know the members of the community while we were on the island (there were only 3 businesses on the island at the time - a tiny grocery store that had the only television reception, a trailer with a bar, and Lulu's restaurant - we had an excellent low country boil).

When I was offered Celebrate We Gullah Geechee for review, I jumped at the chance to learn more about the people group.

If you are planning a family trip this summer to somewhere along the southern Atlantic coastline (from North Carolina to Florida), you can add a little educational fun for the kids (and yourself).

The first thing I noticed about the books was the artwork. These full-color, full-page spreads by Tonya Engel are beautiful. I just want to look at the pictures.

Then I started to read the story. The story is told from the perspective of five different children, and they focus on the feel, sights, smells, sounds, and tastes of the world they live and play in. The lyrical text will draw young readers in with its playful tone. It is sure to get the kids (and you) excited for that summer trip.

There are resources at the end of the book if you want to explore more about the culture and a few places you might want to put on your itinerary to visit during your trip to the coast.

Buy Celebrate We Gullah Geechee at Amazon

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

Books to Read on Your Deep Woods Camping Trip

2026-04-16T06:30:00.070-04:00

by MK French

We might be heading into "beach reads" season, full of feel-good stories, but if that's not your thing, I have you covered with today's reviews. Perhaps you are heading into the woods for a camping trip this summer - these books would be great for reading around the campfire.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for an honest review.

The Collioure Coincidence by Mark N. Drake

March 2026; Indie; 979-8252370996
ebook, print (302 pages); horror

Jack Glennison and Josine Young escaped the last disaster, but their friendship is fractured. A small French artist's colony named Collioure is somehow linked to Darkisle, the King in Yellow and an upcoming archaeological dig.

This is the sixth Darkisle novel, and it definitely helps to have read those novels first because we meet some of those characters again, and we have deepening clues regarding the Church of Shadows. The coincidence of a former client had a friend at the artist's colony and Deverby buying a seascape painted in the colony bothers Jack, especially with the client and artist having involvement with the King in Yellow, who is somehow associated with the book Liber Umbrae. He's hired on to protect an archaeological team hoping to excavate at a circle of standing stones, with time to investigate the artist's colony beforehand. Josine comes along with him, and a death from a wild animal greets them when they arrive. Though Jack and Josine aren't there to solve that death, it adds to the coincidences involved in this book. Tracking down a painting is far more dangerous than you would think, and the dig at Darkisle is exactly as dangerous as all other Darkisle cases tended to be.

Each half of the book has a distinct but intense mystery to solve. At first, it's the artist's colony and painting that Deverby has been looking for from the beginning of the series, and in the second half is the archaeological dig. The painting is important in the overall scheme of things, and there continues to be a creeping sense of unease on Darkisle tied to Elder Gods and the plan to reshape the world. Jack doesn't have all the answers, but he has connections and his dogged determination to track down the truth. We gain some information, but the Shadows remain a step ahead. Coincidences mount up from the start, and even by the end of the book, there are still questions left.

Buy The Collioure Coincidence at Amazon

Mrs. Jekyll by Emma Glass

April 2026; Union Square & Co.; 978-1454965909
audio, ebook, print (176 pages); Gothic

Rosy Winter is dying, and her husband Charlie is as kind and supportive as he can be. His sister Sally can't help, distracted by her husband's behavior. Between various remedies and family duties, Rosy is determined to live as long as possible.

The story is influenced by Stevenson's Jekyll and Hyde, which immediately drew me to it. Written in short, punchy first-person POV chapters, we're in Rosy's head as she goes through life. Some chapters are like lyric poetry, and we move back and forth through Rosy's thoughts and memories as she deals with the fear of cancer, still working as an elementary school teacher, and trying to still do the usual events with family and friends. Her cancer takes on a life of its own, literally, filling in gaps that Rosy can't fill. This is much like the original Jekyll and Hyde; the scientist didn't acknowledge emotions or physical lust, so Hyde did that for him. Rosy's alternate doesn't acknowledge the cancer or anticipated loss, and is the embodiment of "live a little." The people in her life don't understand what is happening, since everyone experiences illness differently. Ultimately, Rosy's life and death are outside of their control, or even hers.

Buy Mrs. Jekyll at Amazon

Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker

April 2026; Hanover Square Press; 978-1335001559
audio, ebook, print (352 pages); horror

In October 2026, Lee Turner killed his college roommate and has no idea why he did it. Fleeing New York City, he hides in his father's new home in Japan. The house is creepy, and he sees a woman in the yard at night. In October 1877, Sen is a young samurai in exile, willing to do anything to please her father. She fears soldiers may come to kill her family when she sees a foreign man in the yard. Something is hiding in the house, and there might have been a good reason for it.

Lee is odd and unsettling, even to his own father. He can't recall why or how he killed his roommate, but is sure he must have done it because he recalls cleaning away blood in the stairwell. In the same house he escapes to, but in a different time, Sen is trained by her father in the way of the samurai. He is pitiless, and we see how this shaped who she is and how she sees the world. The trauma of her early life is seen as acceptable to toughen up and be a true samurai despite the Meiji outlawing them, and she would do anything to maintain her father's approval. The two see each other through the closet sliding door and are able to interact and talk, each sure the other is a spirit.

Both Lee and Sen carry the ghosts of their parents' generation. Lee's mother went missing years ago in Cambodia, and his father keeps him at a careful distance. Sen's father rebelled against the Meiji and returned home instead of committing seppuku, training her in cruel ways to be a samurai. The connection between their timelines occurs at odd hours, but they feel seen and understood. The truth of the situation is just outside their grasp; it's only at the end that we find out, along with them, what happened. The truth of their lives and their endings is unsettling, and gothic in that sense: the truth sets them free, but that doesn't make it a happy ending.

Buy Japanese Gothic at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

Coming Back to Home by Elaine Stock ~ a Review

2026-04-15T06:30:00.004-04:00

by Susan Roberts

Is it ever too late to find the one place meant to call home?

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

April 2026; Black Rose Writing; 978-0999576366
ebook, print (298 pages); historical fiction

This book is an emotional and well-researched story about World War II and the years after the war. It is about the lives of two women who meet during the war, and even though they are very different from each other with totally different backgrounds, they are both looking for the same thing in their lives – home and family.

Liselotte leaves her mother and her twin daughters behind to search for the man she loves. When she finds his body, she realizes that she has to find a way back to her family, but there are so many roadblocks due to the war. She meets Klaus in a bomb shelter, and he promises to protect her always and takes her to his family home. The more she finds out about him, the less she wants to be with him. Not only is he a Nazi, but he is high-ranking and reports directly to Himmler. When she realizes that he wants her to work with him in Poland to ‘Germanize’ Aryan looking Polish children to be adopted by German families, she knows that she has to escape. Her journey through war-torn Germany is fraught with danger, and the truth is that if Klaus catches her, she’ll be killed.

Audrey is a young woman in Minnesota when the United States enters the war. She wants to do something to help her country, and much to her parents’ displeasure, she joins the Red Cross and travels to Europe to do what she can. Her parents refuse to answer her letters or phone calls, so she is truly on her own. After several jobs at different locations in Europe, she ends up in Germany trying to help survivors find their families and eventually meets Liselotte and works to find her mother and twin daughters.

I’m not going to tell you any more about the plot except to say that both women face unbelievable hardships by trying to help other people. It gets to the point that one of the most important parts of their lives is their friendship with each other. I thought that both of the main characters – Liselotte and Audrey were well written and their journeys were very believable. I cheered at their victories and wept at their pasts. Even though the subject matter in the book is very depressing at times, the end reminds us that there is always happiness to be found in life, even when you quit looking for it.

NOTE: The first book in the WHEN HOPE CALLS series is THE LAST SECRET KEPT. Read the review here. To get maximum enjoyment from book two, you should read the books in order.

Buy Coming Back to Home at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west. She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.

Stay for a Spell by Amy Coombe ~ a Review

2026-04-14T06:30:00.031-04:00

by MK French

Princess Tanadelle of the Widdenmar is tired of royal obligations and prefers a quiet life filled with books. When a curse traps her within a bookshop, she's thrilled and tries to send away the well-meaning princes arriving to "save" her. Though there's a pirate that keeps stealing the books, the curse is the best thing that has ever happened to her.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

April 2026; Ace; 978-0593955536
audio, ebook, print (384 pages); romantic fantasy

Tandy is the younger princess and spends a lot of time reading in carriages, going from one opening event to another. She loves books, and getting more for her next journey leaves her trapped within the bookshop. She has one angsty teen who comes in, the pirate cursed to dear water coming in to steal books on curses, and then the parade of princes hoping to be the kiss that breaks the curse. There are seven in the various kingdoms, but the curse won't break until she gets her heart's desire. In the meantime, she's sprucing up the shop, learning a little magic, and living a quiet life in a small town.

The concept is such a fun one, and I eagerly devoured the book. Tandy is likeable and fun to follow, with interesting side characters within this cozy romantic fantasy. We can tell who she actually enjoys spending time with, and it's a fun match-up as the relationship develops. She also develops a community despite being stuck in the bookstore, a sense of what she enjoys and doesn't, and the ability to start defending those choices rather than trying to please everyone else. This was a book that I had a lot of fun reading.

Buy Stay for a Spell at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

A Very Irish Mystery by Verity Bright ~ a Review

2026-04-13T06:30:00.001-04:00

by Donna Huber

Lady Eleanor Swift is having a grand time cosying up with her husband in Dublin’s traditional pubs, eating their fill of Irish stew and soaking up the craic… Until another body ruins all their plans!

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

April 2026; Bookouture; 978-1805506768
audio, ebook, print (320 pages); cozy mystery

Eleanor, Seldon, and Clifford are in Ireland (she inherited an Irish baronetcy along with her English title). Originally, they are there to meet a man who says he has information about Eleanor's parents. While waiting, they visit the sights of Dublin, including a famous brewery. In typical Eleanor fashion, a dead body appears. Since the whole agency is there, they take the case.

It is not straightforward, and there are a lot of people with possible motives (and some with dubious alibis). I kind of got tired of them saying that they thought the person they were interviewing was being honest - like every one of their interviewees.

I did miss the ladies, but they wouldn't have fit into this story at all. And it was good seeing Clifford, Seldon, and Eleanor working together as a team - even if having three detectives conducting the investigations together felt like overkill. They were always together, instead of following leads individually.

The murder mystery is convoluted (and so many people!), and I didn't even try to figure out who the murderer was, though there were possibly clues dropped along the way that would have made it possible to guess.

A Very Irish Mystery is book 25 in the series, but you can start with this book if you are just now discovering the series. With the recent marriage of Seldon and Eleanor, it feels almost like a new series. And with Eleanor seeking information about her parents' disappearance, plenty of backstory is provided to explain who everyone is and how they came together. The backstory is doled out gently and not as an info dump, so it won't be annoying to long-time fans of the series.

If you are looking for a fun read, then pick up this book. Even though the weather is warming (it is downright hot in the south), there is a recipe for a delicious-sounding coddle after all the interesting historical tidbits (which I recommend reading as well).

Buy A Very Irish Mystery at Amazon

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

Destination Reading: 7 Books Set in Michigan

2026-04-12T06:30:00.005-04:00

by Susan Roberts

I’m headed to Michigan in May for a week at a cottage on Lake Michigan. I was born in Detroit, and the Lake Michigan shoreline is my happy place. I spent all of my summers up there growing up, and I try to get back there at least once a year. Like a lot of other readers, I travel means picking out appropriate books to take along. Here are some great books that are set in Michigan that I plan to pack.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site.

Books that are Set in the Upper Peninsula:

The Marsh King's Daughter by Karen Dionne

April 2018; G.P. Putnam's Sons; 978-0735213012
audio, ebook, print (352 pages); mystery

"If I told you my mother's name, you'd recognize it right away. My mother was famous, though she never wanted to be. Hers wasn't the kind of fame anyone would wish for. Jaycee Dugard, Amanda Berry, Elizabeth Smart - that kind of thing, though my mother was none of them.

You'd recognize my mother's name if I told it to you, and then you'd wonder - briefly, because the years when people cared about my mother are long gone, as she is - where is she now? And didn't she have a daughter while she was missing? And whatever happened to that little girl?

"I was born two years into my Mother’s captivity. She was three weeks shy of seventeen. If I had known then, what I do now, things would have been a lot different. I wouldn’t have adored my Father.” (p1)

This fantastic novel takes place in a remote cabin in the marshlands of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. If it seems strange to the reader that anywhere can be as remote as this cabin was, let me assure you that there are still areas like this in Michigan's UP where a person could hide for years. This book grabbed me on the first page and kept me enthralled until the end. It was interesting to see how the attitudes of the main character towards her parents changed throughout the book as she grew up and became a mother too.

The story is told by Helena as an adult with a lot of flashbacks to her younger years. She didn't realize it until she was 14, but her mother had been kidnapped by her father at age 14 and held captive in a remote area of northern Michigan. Helena worshiped her father when she was growing up - she hunted and fished with him and spent most of her waking hours with him. She had him on a high pedestal. She also mirrored her father's negative opinion of her mother and didn't have much regard for her mother when she was growing up. The hero-worship of her father in her younger years could have been difficult to understand, but Helena didn't know any better; she didn't realize that their lives were any different from those of other people because she never saw anyone but her parents as she was growing up. Twenty years after she and her mother escaped and her father went to prison, she has buried her past and kept it a secret even from her husband. When her father escapes from prison, she knows that she is the only person who can find him before he inflicts harm on other people.

The way that the story is told, with Helena's search for her father as an adult and flashbacks to her childhood in the marsh, helps to make this novel very suspenseful. Helena is a well-written main character who changes throughout the novel. The setting is beautiful, even though the circumstances are horrific. This is a beautifully written, suspenseful novel with a main character that I won't soon forget.

Buy The Marsh King's Daughter at Amazon

The Women of the Copper Country by Mary Doria Russell

July 2020; Atria Books; 978-1982109592
audio, ebook, print (368 pages); biographical fiction

"A good day in the mine is a day when nobody gets killed or crippled. Or if somebody does, at least it's not you. At the end of a shift, if you're lucky - still alive, still on your feet - you trudge back through tunnels that seem a lot longer than they did thirteen hours ago and you climb back up those cut-stone stairs on rubbery legs. Everything hurts. ...Without knowing, you've been scared all day and you're tired, tired, tired. Filthy, but almost too tired to clean up. Hungry, but almost too tired to eat." (p 116)

This novel takes place in Calumet, Michigan, in 1913. At this time, Calumet had the largest and most profitable copper mines in the US. Workers risked their lives every day underground with frequent deaths and injuries. The workers rent their homes from the company, shop in the company store, and even have to buy their own gloves and shovels to work with. As the working population of the mines lives a meager existence, the stockholders and mine managers are living the high life - trips to Europe, large homes, and sumptuous food. They feel like they are doing the workers, many of them immigrants, a favor by providing them a place to work. It's no wonder that the promise of the unions has gained popularity with the workers.

The true-life main character is Annie Clements. She has seen how her family and friends struggle and knows that unionizing is the only way to provide a future. She is very charismatic and has the support of the wives and daughters of the workers when she encourages a strike. Some of the men strike while others continue to work. As the strike continues, Annie is affecting the miners’ fortunes and health and her own reputation as she faces the threat of prison for leading the strike. On her fierce quest for justice, Annie will discover just how much she is willing to sacrifice for her own independence and the families of Calumet.

This is an emotional novel about the workers who struggled with mistreatment by the rich owners and the people's involvement in the early labor movement in US workplaces. The strikes caused violence and upset in the strikers' lives as they had to decide whether to continue their strike or give in to the owner's demands.

Annie Clements was a real person who led the strike at the copper mines in the years before WWI. She was a real inspiration who only wanted the betterment of the working conditions to help families. "What the union wants is simple. Eight hours for work. Eight hours for sleep. Eight hours for families to be together."

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Books that are Set in the Detroit Area

The Turner House by Angela Flournoy

March 2016; Mariner Books; 978-0544705166
audio, ebook, print (352 pages); historical fiction

The Turner House is Angela Flournoy's first novel, and it shows incredible talent for a first novel - I can only imagine where she will go from here. I look forward to following her writing career. The Turner House is about a home on the east side of Detroit that was lived in by Francis and Viola Turner and their 13 children. Francis has died (though we meet him through flashbacks), and Viola is living with her oldest son, Cha-Cha, due to her health. Due to the economic crisis in Detroit, more is owed on the house than it can be sold for, and the family needs to decide what to do about it. Even though there are a lot of characters in the book, the author mainly concentrates on the parents, Cha-Cha, and the youngest child, Lelah. This is a family full of arguments and dissension, but it's also a family full of love and laughter and memories. I really enjoyed this book and would love to read about this family again in another book. I highly recommend it!

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Beautiful Music by Michael Zadoorian

May 2018; Akashic Books; 978-1617756276
audio, ebook, priint (336 pages); literary fiction

Every once in a while, a book comes along that makes you happy as you read it. This new novel by Michael Zadoorian was that book for me. It's a fantastically written coming-of-age story by the author of The Leisure Seeker, but it's also a book full of musical references, and it took my memory back to happy times in my youth when I listened to the same music. An added plus for me is that the book takes place in Detroit, where I grew up, and there were numerous references to people and places that I have forgotten over the years. Even if you aren't from Detroit, Beautiful Music is still a fantastic book that needs to be added to your to-be-read list.

Beautiful Music is set in Detroit in the early 70s, several years after the Detroit riots, as the city is still trying to deal with racial unrest. Danny is just getting ready to start high school and is very nervous about it. He is a loner, often picked on, and hides in music to handle high school and his very dysfunctional family. After Danny's dad dies unexpectedly, his mom becomes hooked on alcohol and Valium, and his family life is only held together because he takes care of his mom. When he was young, he started out listening to pop music with lots of orchestra music with his dad. As he gets older, he discovers rock and roll, and the music is what he lives for. When he is buried in his music, he can forget the world around him. It also helps him make friends and grow into a normal high school student.

Back in that time, radio and record albums were the only way to listen to music. DJs on the radio were superstars, and everyone listened to what they had to say - they could make or break the popularity of a record album.

This is a wonderful, nostalgic coming-of-age story - with the help of lots of music, and for readers of a certain age, it will bring back plenty of memories. I highly recommend this book to all ages!

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Books Set on the Lake Michigan shoreline

The Edge of Summer by Viola Shipman

Viola Shipman has only been publishing novels for 6 years. I read his first book because it was set in Michigan on the Lake Michigan shoreline, but soon found out that not only was it a great setting, but it was also a fantastic book. Since then, I've read every book that he's written and have loved them all. He always writes believable characters in beautiful settings, and his plots always make it difficult to put the book down before the end. He's now been added to my list of authors that are auto-buys. I don't need to know what the book is about before I pre-order it.

Sutton grew up with her mom in the Ozarks. It was always just the two of them because her mom always told her that her family had all died in a fire. The older Sutton got, the more she wanted to know who her family was, but her mother never said a word about them. When she dies, she leaves a letter to Sutton, and after reading it, she decides that the answer to her questions about family may be found in Michigan at a resort town named Douglas near Saugatuck on the Lake Michigan shoreline. Her mom had always had button boxes in the house, and Sutton spent a lot of time organizing them and making necklaces when she was growing up. She rented a small cottage in Douglas and started to ask questions about her mom. When she goes to an estate sale near her rented cottage, she buys a collection of buttons from Bonnie, the owner of the huge house near hers. She and Bonnie begin to spend some time together, and Sutton begins to wonder if Bonnie might be her grandmother. After she finds out that her mother grew up in Douglas, she begins to ask Bonnie and some of the old-timers in town about her mother. The more she learns about her mother and her mother's family, the more questions she has. Will Sutton ever find out about her family, or are the secrets buried too deep in this small resort town? Once she finds out, will she go back to Chicago, the Ozarks, or will she stay in Michigan?

This is a great story about family - known and unknown, friends, love, and secrets, and how they can affect people in later generations. It's not only a story about finding a family with blood ties - you can also create a family consisting of people you love and spend time with.

Pack a bag and take a trip to one of the loveliest places in the world -- the Lake Michigan shoreline. If you can't make the trip, pick up a Viola Shipmen book and take a mental vacation.

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The Heirloom Garden by Viola Shipman

April 2020; Graydon House; 978-1525804618
audio, ebook, print (448 pages); women's fiction

The Heirloom Garden is another fantastic book by Viola Shipman. I started it as soon as it showed up in my mailbox, even though I had a stack of books that should have been read first, but this is one of my 'go-to' authors, and I had to read it right away. I am a huge fan of books about Michigan, and books that take place on Lake Michigan always tug at my heart because of all the summers that I spent at the Lake growing up. This author describes the area around Lake Michigan so well and so beautifully that it is an integral part of the story, as important as the characters. I loved this book.

The story is told in dual timelines and in different eras.

1944 - Iris lost her husband in WWII, and her daughter not too long after that. Her grief caused her to put walls up around her house and around her heart. She doesn't have anything to do with the people in town, has her groceries and garden supplies delivered, and is only really alive when she is spending time in her beloved gardens. In her gardens, she re-lives her memories of her grandmother, her mother, her husband, and her daughter -- the garden becomes her only family.

2003 - Abby, her husband, and their daughter, Lily, move from the Detroit area to Grand Haven for Abby to take a new job. They rent the house next door to Iris (which Iris still owns), but the high fences let them know that Iris has no desire for company or friendly neighbors. Abby is trying to handle everything - her husband has PTSD and is unable to contribute to the family either emotionally or monetarily. Instead, he mostly sleeps, drinks, and re-lives his memories of war. Lily tries to make the best of things, but she is lonely and nervous about starting at a new school with no friends.

Both of these households are in a bad place - Iris misses her long-gone family, and Abby misses the husband that she had before he went to war. The two families are slowly drawn together at first through their love for flowers and then through the help that they can both bring to each other. Even though the two women are separated by a generation, they are both equally scarred by war but manage to find love and friendship through their gardens of flowers.

I loved the way that the author set up this book. Each new chapter is named after a different flower - lilacs, bleeding heart, daisies, etc., and then gives more insight into each family. I love flowers and enjoyed the way that the story was so intermingled with flower images. The characters are so well written that I feel like I know them, and the Lake Michigan setting is so well described that I feel like I'd gone on a mini-vacation.

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Non-Fiction

The Gales of November by John U. Bacon

On November 10, 1975, the Edmund Fitzgerald, the biggest, best, and most profitable ship on the Great Lakes, sank in Lake Superior during the 'storm of the century'. Facing 100-mile-per-hour winds and 50-foot waves on Lake Superior, the Mighty Fitz found itself at the worst possible place, at the worst possible time. When she sank, she took all 29 men on board down with her.

This book was a mixture of the history of shipping on the Great Lakes and background about the crew, much of it told by friends and family. I knew a bit about the Edmund Fitzgerald, but not that when it went down, it was the best-made ship on the water with a well-seasoned captain who was admired by all. There was a lot of information about the history of shipping as well as the building of the Fitzgerald. These boats were crucial to the early auto production in Detroit as well as other cities. I found that part of the book interesting, but to me, the best part of the book was the information about the crew and what their jobs were on the ship. There were several men interviewed who made last-minute decisions not to go on that final voyage, and sad stories about many - the captain who planned to retire after this one last voyage, and other men who had just started working the ship. His research was so good that I felt like I knew some of these men and, yes, I shed a few tears at their loss.

Many people who live near the Great Lakes remember the storm and remember where they were when they first heard about the loss of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Others have only heard about it from the wonderful song written and sung by Gordon Lightfoot (The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald). Others know nothing about it. No matter which category you fall into, this is a book that you don't want to miss. The author has done extensive research and makes the story come alive with his descriptions of the crew and the captain who went down with the ship. I don't read a lot of nonfiction because I find it pretty dry, but this book was a real page turner, especially during the ship's final hours as the author re-created what must have been going on in the ship during the high winds and 50-foot waves. The Gales of November is an emotional tribute to the lives lost and a propulsive, page-turning history of the loss of this great ship and its crew.

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Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west. She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.