The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne

The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne by Ron Currie, 368 pages

Babs Dionne is proud of her Acadian roots, and serves as the matriarch to the whole town of Waterville, Maine, helping out and keeping miscreants in line with the help of her coffee klatch of lifelong friends. She's also the leading drug supplier to the area, using those same friends to help keep the business running. When a kingpin learns that Babs has been cutting into his business, he sends a malevolent hitman to take out Babs and any family members who may get in the way.

I'll be honest: it's been a bit since I've read this book and I don't remember a lot of the details of it. However, I do remember chuckling a lot at the dark humor of this Acadian mafia saga. The audiobook was fantastic, and I highly recommend it.

The Summer Guests

The Summer Guests by Tess Gerritsen, 363 pages

In the beautiful small town of Purity, Maine, there's a stark divide between the year-round residents and the "summer guests," the wealthy tourists who only come in the summer months to visit their palatial "cottages." When one of those summer guests, a 15-year-old girl disappears, acting sheriff Jo Thibodeau must put all of her few resources into tracking down the girl, including searching the lake. What Jo doesn't expect to find, however, is the skeleton of another woman, one who disappeared decades earlier. Faced with two mysteries, Jo must turn to ex-spy Maggie and her small band of former spook pals to help investigate.

While the setting, the plot, and the characters were all complex and enjoyable, this is the second book of the series (following The Spy Coast), and since I hadn't read the first one, I definitely felt I was missing some background as I was reading. However, it was a lot of fun, and I fully intend to read book 1 when I get a chance.

Tell Me Everything

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout (2024) 326 pages

Strout's novel continues the chronicling of Lucy Barton's life in the small town of Crosby, Maine, where she and her ex-husband William had gone during the pandemic. This time, the focus is more on her good friend Bob Burgess, whom she often meets to walk and talk. Olive Kitteridge, another of Strout's characters from other novels, also appears. Olive is ninety and she's also a friend of Bob's. She doesn't know Lucy, but she decides she wants to share a story with her, since Lucy is a published author. The relationship between Lucy and Olive is a bit tentative at first, but as the novel progresses, the women continue to meet to share stories.

As much as I liked the two women's stories, I was more intrigued by Bob's life, sketched out in Strout's understated way: his life with his second wife, Margaret, a pastor; his continuing friendship with his first wife, Pam; and his involvement in a legal case where a man seems to be a person of interest in his mother's disappearance. A prominent feature is Bob's friendship with Lucy, who often seems to be the only person who really understands him.

Strout's quiet realism continues to draw me in to her novels.

You Are Fatally Invited

You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego, 384 pages

The identity of bestselling author J.R. Alastor has been a well-guarded secret for 30 years, so when a handful of authors are invited to Alastor's island mansion for a writing retreat, they're all excited to go and meet the master in real life. But he's not there when they arrive, and his assistant, Mila, doesn't seem to know when he'll arrive. And before long the authors quickly learn that their host has no intention of revealing himself, as the authors start dying one by one, just like murders they wrote in their own books.

It's hard to tell if this locked-room story is a mystery (there are so many tropes!) or a thriller (there is so much suspense!), though that shouldn't prevent people from checking this book out. Yes, there are a few twists that felt a bit unnecessary or obvious, but for a debut novel, it was still a lot of fun. I'm intrigued by what Pliego will bring us in the future.

Death by Chocolate Raspberry Scone

Death by Chocolate Raspberry Scone by Sarah Graves (2024) 282 pages

Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree is a grandmother who lives in an old house filled with extended family on Eastport Island, off the coast of Maine. She and her friend, Ellie White, run a popular bakery called the Chocolate Moose, but they're also known for their investigative skills.

Ellie's friend Sally has contacted them to help find a gold doubloon her husband had inherited, which is missing, along with her husband. She figures her husband is dead, but he'd told her that the value of the gold piece could help keep their three kids cared for, if needed. And with his absence, it's definitely needed.

Jake and Ellie alternate between baking delicious treats and motoring between islands looking for clues.  A group of shark researchers is coming to town soon, and they've asked for 48 Chocolate Raspberry Scones, and even though the bakers have never made this particular treat, they've agreed to fill the order. 

The story's told from Jake's point of view: She's funny and lovable. Prepare yourself for mouth-watering treats, searching for possibly dead bodies, criss-crossing the water while large sharks follow, and much more.

The Frozen River

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon, 432 pages

In the winter of 1789, the Kennebec River froze solid early, trapping a dead body in the ice near the town of Hallowell. Midwife Martha Ballard is the first to examine the dead man, who has been beaten and hanged — and given that he was also a rapist, deservedly so. However, nobody in the small town knows (or at least is willing to reveal) who killed the man and Martha doesn't trust the loose judicial system to find the real culprit, so in the course of her work around town, Martha starts her own investigation. In such a small town, it's hard to keep a secret, yet Martha manages to unearth a lot of shocking ones, including some that threaten her family's livelihood and the lives of her patients.

Martha Ballard was a real woman, an amazing midwife who managed to deliver more than a thousand babies without ever losing a mother to childbirth (quite the feat at that time!) and took meticulous notes. This book is loosely based on her life and some real events that took place in Hallowell, Maine in the late 1700s. It's masterfully told, and makes me want to learn more about Ballard. If you enjoyed the Outlander series, you'll likely dig this one too.

The Wishing Game

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer (2023) 286 pages

Lucy Hart has fallen for Christopher, a little boy whose parents have died, but she doesn't have the financial resources to adopt him or to even foster him. She sells crafts she makes online, in addition to having a job as a kindergarten teaching assistant. She has been saving for 2 years, but still has only $2,000, not enough to move to a better apartment or to get a used car, both required by the foster agency.

One of the things that Lucy and Christopher do together is to read books by Jack Masterson, a famous author of a children's series, the Clock Island books. He hasn't published a new book for 6 years, but then he announces a contest for those who can solve a riddle. The only people who can solve this riddle are children who actually ran away from home and found Jack Masterson on Clock Island, off the coast of Maine. Lucy is one of the four former children who found Jack and his grumpy illustrator, Hugo Reese, this way.

The four adults qualify, and are invited to Clock Island to compete in a series of games and puzzles, often related to the stories from the author's previous books. The first one to get ten points earns a prize: the only copy of Jack's new book, which the winner can keep or sell to the highest bidder. If Lucy wins, then she can afford to adopt Christopher.

Once I got past Lucy's bleak past and iffy future, and the tragedy of Christopher, as well, the story grabbed me and I loved the way it played out.

The Busy Body

The Busy Body by Kemper Donovan, 332 pages

When former Senator and independent presidential candidate Dorothy Gibson invites her ghostwriter to live with her in Maine as they collaborate on a memoir, the ghostwriter jumps at the chance — it is a dream assignment, after all. But before they know it, the pair is dragged into the murder investigation of a woman who was renting the neighboring Crystal Palace, a huge all-glass residence surrounded by the wilds of Maine.

This was an OK whodunnit. I enjoyed the narration by the ghostwriter (whose name I cannot remember for the life of me) and the character of Dorothy Gibson, but everything else was just kinda there. Nothing horrible, nothing fantastic. Like I said, it was OK.

The Last Girl Left

The Last Girl Left by A.M. Strong & Sonya Sargent, 333 pages

Five years ago, Tessa Montgomery was on vacation with three friends on a remote island when they were attacked. Tessa's three friends were murdered, and while she was left for dead, Tessa managed to survive. While the assailant was killed in a shootout afterward, Tessa is still living the nightmare, unable to leave her sister's house and taking a baseball bat everywhere with her. But after Tessa nearly attacks her sister's cat, she realizes she needs to do something drastic to get past this paralyzing fear. So she does the most drastic thing she can and rents the same vacation home where her friends were murdered and she was attacked, determined to stay for a full month. But Tessa hasn't been there long when odd things start happening, setting setting her even more on edge than she was before.

This wasn't the worst book I've read, but it was far from the best. I had trouble buying Tessa's decision to return to the scene of the crime (and alone and for a whole month), as well as the fact that she thought nobody in the town recognized her when she returned (seriously, there are about 5 residents and nothing else has happened in this town...and she has a giant scar on her face). Honestly, the main reason I didn't stop reading was because I was afraid that a particularly cliched twist was coming (thankfully, it didn't). Doesn't mean it was worth it though.

The Holiday Trap

The Holiday Trap by Roan Parrish (2022) 432 pages

Take two miserable characters ‒ a gay woman (Greta) from Maine who is tired of having to appease her family, and a gay man (Truman) living in New Orleans who has just discovered his partner of 11 months has a husband and child ‒ and give them a somewhat pushy mutual friend (Ramona) who puts them in touch for a house swap for the holidays. What do you get? A changeup in each of their lives, bringing them each new ideas, joy, and romance. The over-arching theme is how much of yourself do you give up in order to make your family/partner happy? Is it okay to do what you want, even if it will make someone unhappy? The book is filled with sage advice which comes from many different colorful characters. Four hundred+ pages flew by fast.

Lucy By the Sea

Lucy By the Sea by Elizabeth Strout (2022) 288 pages

I still have not read the original Lucy book, My Name is Lucy Barton, but have read Strout's other books which have offered snippets of Lucy's life. The most recent chronology of Lucy's life occurs during the pandemic. Her ex-husband William, a parasitologist/microbiologist, is driven to get Lucy and their adult daughters out of New York City as the pandemic gets underway. He has found a remote place on the shores of Maine where he has rented a house for Lucy and him to live in, while their daughters find other places to stay during the lockdown.

As with Strout's other Lucy books, Lucy's story is told in first person, in her conversational and understated way, even when she feels the pain of isolation impossible to bear at times. Other times, she feels joy at the little things that make her days better, like taking a walk near the ocean and waving to neighbors. Her relationship with William is intriguing; he seems difficult at times, but they still share quite a kinship.

Life is slow in Maine, but I still found the book to be a fast read.

Evvie Drake Starts Over

 Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes (2019) 289 pages

Evvie Drake has spent the year since her husband died feeling like a fraud. Her husband, Tim, was a respected doctor in their small city in Maine, but what nobody knew–not even Evvie's best friend Andy–is that Tim didn't treat Evvie well. His unexpected death in a car accident came at the very time she was packing her car to finally leave him.

Meanwhile, Dean–until recently–was a professional baseball pitcher who just can't pitch with accuracy anymore. He comes to Maine to be near his good friend Andy to get away from the New York media's attention.

Dean moves into an apartment inside Evvie's home where the two interact and try to heal emotionally. We might think we know they will get together in the end, but these characters feel like real people who may or may not connect that way. There is a lot of baggage!

Oh William!

Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout (2021) 240 pages

I've enjoyed reading books with the character Lucy Barton, in spite of reading them out of order. In this novel, Lucy is in her late sixties and widowed. We learn much about her life, but not so much that I don't thirst for more. She speaks in a conversational style, offering slivers about many parts of her life: her early years, living in poverty with non-nurturing parents; her college scholarship, which was her passport out of poverty; her first and second marriages; her daughters.

William, the man of the book's title, was her first husband, a driven man, a parasitologist who had taught microbiology for many years. She and he had remained on cordial terms since their divorce, occasionally even using old pet names for each other. Sometime after Lucy's beloved second husband died, William asked Lucy to go a trip with him to Maine to learn more about his mother, and in particular, about a half sister he learned that he had. William first seemed to disbelieve that he'd really had a sister, a girl that his mother purportedly had abandoned when she left her first husband, but now he wants to know all about the woman, even though he's not sure he wants to meet her. Lucy goes along to support him.

Strout's characters are strong, yet vulnerable. And very believable. I first read Anything Is Possible and now Oh William. Next up: the first, My Name Is Lucy Barton. 

Plaster and Poison

 Plaster and Poison by Jennie Bentley (2010) 294 pages

Avery is a textile designer who came to Maine to deal with the house she inherited from an aunt who lived in the small town of  Waterfield. When Avery met Derek, a renovation expert (and former MD), she ended up staying and teaming up with him to renovate houses. In this book, the third in the series, they are working to transform a carriage house into a home for their friend Kate, who owns a bed and breakfast business and who is soon to marry Wayne, the police chief. When the father of Kate's daughter shows up in town, and later shows up dead in the carriage house, suspicion is aimed all directions: Kate, Wayne, Kate's daughter, and more. Meanwhile, Avery's mother and stepfather come to stay at the B&B. Derek's sister disappears, and it's not at all clear whether she has left on her own or by force and whether her absence to related to the murder. Leave it to the spunky Avery and her friends and mother to delve into the multiple cases. It's a quick read.

Flipped Out

 Flipped Out by Jennie Bentley (2011) 293 pages

Avery Baker and her boyfriend Derek Ellis have gotten the opportunity to renovate a house for a TV series called Flipped Out! The plan is to use an empty house owned by Tony Micelli, the local news anchor in their small town of Waterfield, Maine, and to start and finish the renovation in a week. The TV crew arrives, consisting of the director, camera operator, production assistant, tech guy, and the guy who will be interviewing them on camera.  The "before" footage is filmed, and then the couple, along with some friends, start tearing out cabinets, counters, sinks, etc. The next morning, though, Tony is found inside, stabbed to death. Is the murder a random thing, or is it related to Tony's new fiancée (who happens to be Derek's ex-wife), or does it have a connection to the film crew? For instance, Tony had worked with Nina, the director of the show, twenty years prior, and there seemed to be some tension between them when they saw each other again.

After the police release the house back to the renovation crew, the renovations continue as the list of suspects grows and changes. Can the house be finished in time? And more importantly, who murdered Tony? 

The book was an enjoyable read, and like the other book that I read from this series, at the end there were numerous home-renovation tips.

Spackled and Spooked

 Spackled and Spooked, by Jennie Bentley (2009) 309 pages

Spackled and Spooked is a new-to-me mystery series featuring Avery Baker, a textile designer, and her boyfriend, Derek Ellis. Derek has bought a house that has been empty since a murder-suicide 18 years ago. The only family member who escaped was a five-year old boy who ran away during the horrific event. Avery and Derek have high hopes for renovating the house and reselling it, hoping that it won't be  considered tainted by the long-ago events. From the very start, though, the house seems to be haunted, and soon, when Derek is digging under the crawl space to prepare to put in new floors, he discovers human bones. More sinister events happen, and it's hard to tell who in this small college-town of Waterfield, Maine is responsible for the latest murder attempts, and whether there is any tie-in to the murders of the past. Avery and Derek try to help the police solve the murders so they can get back to renovating the house.

There were also  renovation tips at the end of the book, which described how to get various effects that were described a bit in the story.

The Sea of Lost Girls

The Sea of Lost Girls by Carol Goodman, 294 pages

Tess seems to have it all: a wonderful marriage, a wonderful job, a wonderful son. But a middle-of-the-night call from her teenage son and the discovery of his dead girlfriend shatters that image, dredging up Tess's own history and a creepy past for the elite boarding school where Tess works.

This book has twists, turns, and plenty of backstory to make the reader doubt everything. It's a fast read, and one that will keep the pages turning.

Gwendy's Button Box

Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar, 164 pages

Gwendy was a young, bullied girl when a strange man gave her an even stranger box with levers that dispensed small chocolate animals and silver dollars, and yes, some hard-to-push buttons. But it's good that those buttons were hard to push, as each had the ability to cause a tragedy on a grand scale, something Gwendy finds out the hard way.

Rather than being a traditional horror story, Gwendy's Button Box is closer to a mix between Pandora's box and The Tell-Tale Heart. It's short, but full of creeping fear and suspense. A good and creepy way to spend a couple of hours.

Olive, Again

Olive, Again: a Novel / Elizabeth Strout, 289 p.

She's back!  Olive is, of course, Olive Kitteridge, the main character (and title) of Strout's Pulitzer-winning book.  Strout is also the author of the wonderful My Name Is Lucy Barton and Anything Is Possible.

Structured similarly to the earlier work, this latest is a collection of loosely interlinked stories set in coastal Crosby, Maine.  While Olive is frequently only peripheral to a story, her narrative is advanced throughout the course of the book, from her widowhood from Henry, her first husband, to - well, you'll have to read it to see where life takes Olive.

I think of Strout as the master of that weird spot in human life that might be called the fulcrum: that place where we wobble and balance between loving and hating, between wisdom and foolishness, between disappointment and hope.  The stories are immediately absorbing, and realistically depict characters from across the class spectrum.  I love her writing, and while Olive, Again is not quite as strong as her earlier novel, it's still a great pleasure.

Everybody's Fool

Everybody's Fool by Richard Russo, 477 pages.
Sully, Ruth, Rub Squeers, and Carl Roebuck all return from Russo's classic 1993 novel, Nobody's Fool. Doug Raymer is back as well. He had a brief role as the police officer with a grudge against Sully in the original. Now in addition to being a main character, he's chief of police and Sully is the least of his many worries. Raymer's wife died suddenly as she was leaving him. He found her note. right after finding her body. Her sudden death, and the as-yet unknown identity of the man she was leaving him for, haunt him.
Sully has problems of his own, he's having health problems, and his relationship with Ruth may be over. Run's psycho son-in-law has it in for Sully as well.
The book is a big comfortable reunion with wonderfully drawn characters. I don't know how it would read as a stand-alone but it is a great experience for anyone who liked the first one.