Book Review: THE HUSBAND'S SECRET

Title: The Husband's Secret

Author: Liane Moriarty

Publisher: Penguin

Pages: 432

My GoodReads Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

One Monday, Cecelia Fitzpatrick finds an old letter written by her husband, John-Paul, with the message, ‘To be opened only in the event of my death’. At first, Cecelia dismisses the letter, considering it unimportant. When she tells her husband what she found, he tells her that it’s some sentimental stuff, and would she please not read it?

Cecelia’s life is perfect; her good-looking husband, her perfect daughters, Isabel, Esther and Polly, and her flourishing Tupperware business. When she finally reads the letter, it will upend her perfect life.

In Melbourne, Tess O’Leary, her husband, Will, and cousin, Felicity, run a successful communications business. Life is good, until Will and Felicity inform Tess that they have fallen in love. Now Tess is moving back to Sydney with her six-year-old son, Liam.

Rachel Crowley, grandmother to little Jacob, has her life upended once more when son Rob and daughter-in-law Lauren announce that they and Jacob are moving to New York, where Lauren has secured a fancy job. Rachel, already suffering as the anniversary of her daughter’s murder approaches, is heartbroken. Over two decades ago, her daughter Janie was murdered in a park. The murderer was never arrested.

In Sydney, Tess falls in love with ex-boyfriend Connor Whitby, now the PE teacher at the local school. Rachel suspects Connor of being her daughter’s murderer. Since the police won’t act on her suspicions, she figures she will. 

 

The three subplots are vaguely connected. For some reason, all the families like watching The Biggest Loser, a reality show where the contestant that loses weight the most wins. The concept of the biggest loser loosely applies to all three women, and literally to Felicity, once obese, who loses a lot of weight, and supposedly ends up beautiful. Loser and winner combined.

This was my first read by this author. The story is written in the omniscient past tense PoV. It is almost stream of consciousness in the amount of detail we get about each life. Detail that we could have done without. There are frequent digressions as the characters think aloud. Considering the amount of time we spend in the heads of the three main characters, Cecelia, Tess and Rachel, I still didn’t like any of them.

The book takes much too long to get going. It was only on page 147 of 406, nearly 36 percent in, that we get the first hint of something not being right.

Cecelia reads her husband’s letter, but not before many chapters and many pages have gone by. While the contents of the letter are explosive, all hell does not break loose. The book slowly meanders towards its conclusion.

In the very first chapter, we are told about Cecelia’s friends, Miriam Openheimer, Erica Edgecliff, Laura Marks, Sarah Sacks and Mahalia Ramachandran, the latter to tick the diversity box. None of these ladies, except Miriam only briefly, are mentioned thereafter. Why did we need to know the names and brief bios of each of these friends if they had no role to play in the book?

A line about the Berlin Wall that stood out for me: The Wall was like the giant carcass of a dragon that had once terrorized the city and the tourists were crows pecking away at its remains.

Some questions remained unanswered. Tess doesn’t know it, but the author lets us know, in a mysterious scene, that her parents’ divorce was something her mother had initiated. We never learn why.

The story begins on a Monday in Holy Week, when Christians commemorate the events leading up to Christ’s death and resurrection, and ends on Easter Sunday. The time period is not significant of itself, but merely relates to the fact that all the characters are either practicing Catholics or lapsed.

The main characters were supposed to be Catholics, but they celebrated, yes, celebrated, Maundy Thursday with an Easter hat parade, something no practicing Catholic would do, but the whole parish was at it here.

On Good Friday, they are all out flying kites, enjoying the holiday. Is this how Catholics in Australia mark what is the most solemn period in the calendar of the Catholic church? Or are the characters Catholics only so the author can play with themes of guilt, regret and redemption that Catholics are supposed to be weighed by?

Book Review: 12 NEW CHRISTMAS STORIES: AN ANTHOLOGY

Title: 12 New Christmas Stories: An Anthology

Author: Lee Allen Hill, Diane Kenel-Truelove, Terry Broxson, Ann Mullen-Martin, Jay Squires

Publisher: Atmosphere Press

Pages: 112

My GoodReads Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

 

This was a sweet collection of tales, some nicer than the others.

‘Jesus and Donkey’ by Lee Allen Hill was a sweet tale. A little boy, Jesus, who has recently lost his father, lives with his mother and Donkey, his dog. He wants to get his mother a turkey for Christmas, but the money that he has saved is only sufficient to buy a chicken. And then Jesus loses the chicken.

There is a smattering of Spanish strewn through this story, which I enjoyed. The author has some interesting things to say on the subject of dogs. Dogs, born without pockets, have little interest in trade and commerce.

I also loved Mr Epstein’s thoughts about Christmas. Christians celebrate a Jew . . . The best of us should be celebrated ecumenically.

The stories by Lee Allen Hill were my favourites.

‘The Magic of Santa’s Christmas Box’ by Diane Kenel-Truelove was a sweet true story about a child’s belief in Santa Claus, and how the sense of wonder stays with her.

‘A Christmas Gift’ by Ann Mullen-Martin is a sweet story about an elderly childless widow who takes in a foster child she grows to love. When her application to adopt the child is approved, it is a Christmas gift for both of them.

‘Bring Back the Carolers’ by Jay Squires was describe as Non-fiction in the Contents, but appeared to be fictional as the narrator was addressed as Junie by her mother. This narrator mourns the disappearance of carolers over several decades and remembers a time when the carolers used ot come to their door.

‘The Christmas Tree’ by Terry Broxson: This story could have stood by itself. It didn’t need to be narrated by a cat. Some of the stories felt forced, and this was one of them.

‘The Million-dollar Christmas’ by Lee Allen Hill: The father of our seven-year-old narrator wins a lottery of million dollars. The banter between the family members was a hoot; the father especially had some of the best lines. I smiled as I read this one. This tale was a true expression of the Christmas spirit.

‘A Touch of Christmas Cash’ by Ann Mullen-Martin seemed like fiction. The protagonist was called Olevia. This charming story reminded us that if we have enough, we should think of others.

‘That Year Was Different’ by Ann Mullen-Martin was a continuation of the previous story, written a year after the Christmas of the previous year. This October, Olevia, now 13, has lost her mother.

‘Tis the Season’ by Diane Kenel-Truelove: The author is accused of shoplifting while she is shopping for Christmas gifts at her favourite department store.

‘Is Santa Claus real?’ by Terry Broxson wasn’t much of a tale; it was more like an anecdote.

‘Of Evergreens, and a Flash of Red' by Diane Kenel-Truelove was about a gift box that mysteriously disappears, then shows up again.  

‘JoJo’s Turkey’ by Lee Allen Hill takes us into the life of little John Joseph Jorgenson ‘JoJo’, newly turned nine, who now sees himself as the man of the family. His dad is in prison and his mom works hard as a firefighter. On Christmas Day, his mom is busy, saving lives, while his aunt is busy and drunk in front of the television. Little JoJo makes arrangements for a turkey dinner for his hero mother.

(I read this book on NetGalley. Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley.) 

Book Review: WHEN KNOWING COMES

Title: When Knowing Comes

Author: Kelly Green

Publisher: Safe Passage Press

Pages: 392

My GoodReads Rating: ⭐⭐

 

The book begins in 1972 where we see an unnamed boy being abused by a paedophile. I felt a sense of anxiety in the pit of my stomach at the grooming the old man was subjecting the little boys to, far from the watchful eyes of their parents. 

Then we jump to 1998 to the 3^rd person PoV of Heather Elbridge whose son, Atticus ‘Ace’ has just been accepted into the school soccer club.

There Ace befriends Roberto ‘Robbie’ Rivelino Santos. Together the two boys became close friends, enjoying school and soccer alike, until a sexual predator enters the elite soccer club to which they belong. The horrible experience will blight the young lives.

Decades later, Ace is a promising lawyer, and Robbie wants to sue the sports organization that allowed a predator to destroy young lives. Is Ace up to the challenge? Will he be able to confront the demons that haunt his own past to challenge the sports organization and its powerful legal team?

 

The author grabbed my attention with the first paragraph, detailing the first abuse to which the unnamed boy is subjected. This chapter is written so beautifully, describing the sordidness that the child is put through, without losing the sense of innocence that is his. We are left with a feeling of anger and impotent frustration as the man destroys the trust of the little boy and abuses him. We get a sense that he has done this before, several times, and that he will do it again.

But after a while, I began to lose interest. Once Heather entered the picture, there was just too much of the other stuff happening, getting in the way of the development of the actual plot.

I enjoy stories about legal trials, but this one didn’t touch me. I thought the trial needed to be fleshed out a bit more. 

 

(I read this book on NetGalley. Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley.) 

Book Review: THE MURDERESS

Title: The Murderess

Author: Laurie Notaro

Publisher: Little A

Pages: 367

My GoodReads Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

When two stinking trunks make their way to Union station, the porters have no idea what they contain. Only that they are bleeding and that the stench is overpowering. Mrs Ruth Judd claims that the trunks contain books belonging to her husband, Dr Judd. But she doesn’t have the key to the trunks. When the trunks are opened, they are found to contain the bodies of Agnes Anne LeRoi and Hedvig (Sammy) Samuelson. Now Ruth is on the run, declared a fugitive and wanted for the murders of the two women.

But who is Ruth? Married to a much older man, who she addresses as Doctor throughout their marriage, Ruth is swept into an affair with Jack Halloran, the neighbour of the Fords, in whose household she serves as a nanny. At the same time, she befriends Anne and Sammy, and the three women help each other through challenges.

But as the heat rises in Phoenix, Arizona, we see passions get inflamed, until the time comes when confrontation becomes inevitable, leaving the police to probe the question of how Ruth came to be responsible for the murders of two of her closest friends who she loved?

 

The greater part of the book is set around the late 1920s and 1930s. the past tense omniscient narrative is interspersed with newspaper stories and Ruth’s first person past tense account. Ruth’s account takes us back to 1923, when she is a young girl, slowly leading up to the present.

 

I was drawn to the book from the very first paragraph when the trunks are found. Soon we meet Ruth and know that she is responsible for this. The mystery lies in why she killed her two dearest friends. What follows is an intense story of passion and intrigue, as the police attempt to piece together the puzzle. This is the early 1930s, so a lot of the forensic technology and techniques available today are not in place.

The period comes with its own challenges, when tuberculosis could kill you. We learn about the challenges that Ruth faces, her tuberculosis, her husband’s opioid addiction, her loneliness, among other things. We learn also about the circumstances that people faced in that time, with the Depression looming large, the challenges faced by single women, the outlawing of homosexuality. In 1927, Ruth says, “people were still spending money like mad then,” reminding us that the Great Depression is still in the future.

The weather in Phoenix is as powerful as a character, influencing and driving Ruth on. The weather, combined with her loneliness, her struggle between choosing her own happiness with Jack and worrying about her lack of faithfulness to her husband (she is, after all, a pastor’s daughter), her dependence on substances to tackle the challenges she faces and her failing mental health (the illness runs in the family; her mother is eventually institutionalized too), all egg her on to make dubious choices.

 

 

The author pulls off the unimaginable, helping us to see the murderess as a flawed human. Despite the gory nature of the crime, the author treats it in a manner that is neither prurient nor base. I couldn’t help feeling an inexplicable feeling of compassion for Ruth as she slowly loses her mind. Ruth herself describes it as a ‘wire running through her.’

The crime may inspire revulsion, but Ruth’s story demands attention. Through flashbacks, we get to know how Ruth, Anne and Sammy become friends. We see the exact moment at which the situation changes for Ruth, hurtling her and the others to their inevitable fate.

Ultimately, the Murderess is one of us, like us. The book reminds us, as it did the staff at the matrons in the prison, how close we may be to having our own wires stretched too taut. It reminds us that there is a very thin line between mental health and mental illness. 

 

(I read this book on NetGalley. Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley.) 

Book Review: THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF EPIC MYTHS AND LEGENDS

Title: The Encyclopedia of Epic Myths and Legends

Author: Arie Kaplan

Publisher: Quarto Publishing Group—Wellfleet Press

Pages: 256

My GoodReads Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

Myths and legends are everywhere, in our language, vocabulary and science. Our language is rife with examples. Thursday from Thor, the Norse god of thunder; January from Janus, the Roman god of time who was two-faced, with one face looking forward, the other backward. There are examples like narcissistic mirroring Narcissus who was obsessed with himself.

Unlike other books of its kind, this one doesn’t limit itself to myths of European origin, but covers those of Egypt, Nigeria, Benin, South America, Persia, Angola, Japan and India, among others.

India is represented by the Buddha, as mentioned in the Jataka Tales, and our very own Ajanta Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage site, among other references.

The pages are beautifully designed with coloured illustrations strewn throughout. Painters like Francis Bacon who painted myths are mentioned alongside Salvador Dali and Indian artist Sakti Burman who creates paintings and sculptures about classical art from Hindu mythology.

After a long introduction, we read about different Creation myths, why they exist and their significance. The author points out similarities and differences between various creation myths. The Creation myths covered here include the four versions of the Egyptian Creation myths, besides those of Benin, Greece, Nigeria and Japan. The Creation myth of the Nordic region explains the presence of the snow and frost. The section also includes the DC Comics Creation Myth and that of the Marvel universe.

The chapter on gods and deities includes gods of Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Inca and Norse mythology. The chapter on heroic mythical characters include characters like Mwindo of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, King Arthur and Merlin of England, Scheherazade of Persia, Heracles of Greece, Robin Hood of England, Rama and Sita of India, Ahura Mazda from ancient Persia, Mulan of China, Perseus of Greece, Kintaro of Japan and Li Chi of China.

The chapter on Tricksters, Villains and Misunderstood Miscreants includes Loki from Norse mythology, Legba from ancient Dahomey, Eshu from Yoruba mythology, Papa Legba from the Haitian/Voudou mythology, Anansi the spider from West Africa, Set, the Egyptian god of chaos, Thanatos from Greek mythology, the Minotaur from Greek mythology, Medusa from Greek mythology and Morgan le Fay from Arthurian legend.

The chapter on Monsters includes Dragons from Chinese, Norse and Scandinavian mythology, vampires and bloodsuckers, and demons such as Ravana from Hindu mythology.

Blurbs on Mythic Masters cover those who have worked to preserve stories and folklore through art, film, music and literature. Filmmaker Taika Waititi, Terry Gilliam and George Lucas, authors Zora Neale Hurston and Neil Gaiman, singer Beyonce Knowles and comic book artist Jack Kirby.

Blurbs on Legendary Lore include the Tooth Fairy, Leprechaun, Santa Claus, Stonehenge, Unicorns, the Sphinx and Mermaids.

The author provides a list of references to books and articles for those interested in reading more on this subject. The book was not Eurocentric in nature, and I appreciated that. So many cannot see beyond European mythology. The style is engaging with a touch of humour.

 

(I read this book on NetGalley. Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley.) 

Book Review: A MYSTERY AT LILI VILLA

Title: A Mystery at Lili Villa

Author: Arathi Menon

Publisher: Yali Books

Pages: 172

My GoodReads Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

Ten-year-old Tam from Bengaluru is spending her summer vacation with her cousins, 11-year-old Arj and 9-year-old Mira, in Elathoor, Kerala. Her aunt and uncle, Sheila Ammayi and Damodar Ammavan, are both doctors and away at their clinic throughout the day, giving the kids the opportunity to do their own thing.

One night, Tam sees mysterious footprints in the mud outside the window. The next morning, the family gets to know that Sheila’s Ammayi’s jewellery was stolen during the night. The police are called, and the size of the massive footprint measured. But the big clue is more hindrance than help. There are so many people with that shoe size. There’s the creepy driver Kodavis, the cook, Pitamma, Fan-fixer Faekku, Dumdum chechi, even Damodar Ammavan and sub-inspector, Thombu.

When it appears that the police investigation is going too slow, the kids decide to conduct their own investigation to find the culprit. They follow everyone on the suspect list to find out who might be the thief. As they get closer to the thief, they are faced with real danger, but they are unafraid. Will they successfully intercept the thief and recover the jewellery? Or will the thief get away?

 

As a child, I used to devour books by Enid Blyton. I loved the names and descriptions of the books, even though I couldn’t relate to any of them. There was no Internet then, no way to see what those interesting names meant. Here we have the family cook, Pitamma, treating the family, especially the kids, to the best of Kerala’s cuisine. It was nice to read a book where the food was familiar and comforting.

I liked the relationship between the cousins, the friendly banter and the raucous fun times they had. It reminded me of my own summer vacations.

The author has also thoughtfully provided an extensive glossary for the dishes mentioned in the book as also the Malayalam words and expressions strewn through.

The only error was that the kids fail to investigate one person, Veer Sagar. While Mira acknowledges the fact that they missed looking into that person’s alibi, it still feels like a mistake. Why not omit all references to that person, instead of saying, Oops, we forgot one suspect? Or else give him a sound alibi too.

 

The writing was sweet. Kids are sure to find it charming. 

 

(I read this book on NetGalley. Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley.)