Friday, July 23, 2010

Friday Finds



As always, I am so happy it's Friday!

Did you find any great looking books this week?  I found a few books by authors I am not familiar with. Have you read any of these?
 Henry's Sisters; Cathy Lamb

When the Bommarito sisters, Isabelle and Janie, hear that their domineering mother is going in for open heart surgery, they must forget the trauma of their childhood and return to their riverside Oregon hometown, Trillium River. Taking care of their mother and their demented grandmother (who believes she's Amelia Earhart) and watching after their mentally handicapped brother, Henry (possessed of an almost saintly, unconditional love for people), the independent sisters try to find a place in the world they've left behind. Lamb (The Last Time I Was Me) delivers grace, humor and forgiveness along with a litany of family trauma, which might seem heavy-handed in lesser hands. Fortunately, this finely pitched family melodrama is balanced with enough gallows humor and idiosyncratic characters to make it positively irresistible.

Receive Me Falling; Erika Robuck

Every slave story is a ghost story. The haunting words of an historian and former cane worker on the Caribbean island of Nevis launch Meghan Owen on her quest to unlock the secrets of an abandoned sugar plantation and its ghosts. After Meg's parents die in a car accident on the night of her engagement party, she calls off her wedding, takes leave of her job in Annapolis, and travels to land she's inherited on Nevis. A series of discoveries in an old plantation house on the property, Eden, set her on a search for the truth surrounding the shameful past of her ancestors, their slaves, and the tragedy that resulted in the fall of the plantation and its inhabitants. Through a crushing phone call with her lawyer, Meg learns that her father's estate was built on stolen money, and is being sued by multiple sources. She is faced with having to sell the land and plantation home, and deal with the betrayal she feels from her deceased father. In alternating chapters, the historical drama of the Dall family unfolds. Upon the arrival of British abolitionists to the hedonistic 19th century plantation society, Catherine Dall is forced to choose between her lifestyle and the scandal of deserting her family. An angry confrontation with Catherine's slave, Leah, results in the girl's death, but was it murder or suicide? Hidden texts, scandalous diaries, antique paintings, and confessional letters help Meghan Owen uncover the secrets of Eden and put the ghosts to rest.

The Suspect; L.R. Wright

To Karl Alberg, a small town on Canada's "Sunshine Coast" looks like the perfect place to sooth a psyche that's been battered by too much big-city police work. Bees buzz among the roses, and the local librarian is attractive, intriguing, and unattached. Perhaps he has at last come in from the cold. But sunny towns can conceal a lot of secrets-some of them bleak enough to make a man yearn for some nice straightforward urban crime. In 1986 The Suspect beat out titles by Ruth Rendell and Jonathan Kellerman to become the first Canadian novel to win an Edgar award. It went on to become a great cult favorite among mystery fans, who prized its delicately etched sense of melancholy, and intriguing character studies of the cop, his quarry, and the enigmatic librarian who proves an unlikely bridge between the two.

17 comments:

  1. The book covers and the plots are great. I've never been to "Friday Finds." I like it. I'm not taking part this time. Enjoying the exhibits. (smile)

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  2. I have read Receive Me Falling - it's good. Filled with history.

    I read somewhere that the author was reworking the book (after being self published) - I wonder what changes (if any) were made.

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  3. I loved Receive Me Falling.

    Good finds.

    Here is my Friday Find post!

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  4. Receive Me Falling looks interesting. I like the sound of some scandalous diaries.

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  5. The cover art is beautiful for all three books. I am particularly interested in the storyline of Henry's Sisters.

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  6. Those are all new to me, but they look great!

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  7. I'm going to have to check out Henry's Sisters, it sounds great!!

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  8. Love the sound of Henry's Sisters. Off to add it to my TBR list..

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  9. I haven't seen any of these before - nice finds!

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  10. Receive me Falling looks like its right up up ally. Love the cover : )

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  11. Hi Diane! Have a great weekend!

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  12. The first two look particularly interesting to me! Thanks for bringing them to my attention!

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  13. That cover of Henry's sisters looks absolutely stunning! I will add it just for the cover!

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  14. Oooo ... an enigmatic librarian! And a mystery :o)

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  15. I find myself being very interested in the first one!!

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  16. I would love to read The Suspect. I'm always looking for a good mystery novel.

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  17. I love the cover of Henry's Sisters.

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