Isola

Isola by Allegra Goodman, 368 pages

When she was born, Marguerite was heir to a huge fortune and large estate in France. However, after her parents both died while she was young, her guardian uses her lands and fortune to buy his way into leading an expedition to the "isle of Canada," a journey that he forces Marguerite to take alongside him. Along the way, Marguerite falls in love with her guardian's secretary, and as punishment for this atrocity, her volatile guardian maroons the lovers (and Marguerite's longtime servant) on a desolate island off the coast of Canada. There, Marguerite must set aside the ways of her pampered lifestyle if she is to survive.

Based on the real life account of a 16th Century French noblewoman, this tale was gripping, harrowing, and compelling, while still remaining historically accurate. I finished this book wanting to know more about Marguerite, and more about the French exploration of Canada. An excellent read, and highly recommended, especially if you loved Island of the Blue Dolphins as a kid.

Murmur

Murmur / Will Eaves, 182 pgs.

This is a novel based loosely on the life of Alan Turing, a mathematician who did great work during WWII but was persecuted for being homosexual.  You may have seen that story recounted in the movie "The Imitation Game" starring Benedict Cumberbatch.  This book is probably fantastic but I stopped and started a couple of times and frankly got a little lost along the way.  I think maybe it was just a little too smart for me.

Miss Kopp Just Won't Quit

Miss Kopp Just Won't Quit by Amy Stewart, 309 pages

In this fourth novel of the real-life first female sheriff's deputy in New Jersey, Deputy Constance Kopp is tasked with picking up an insane woman from her home and delivering her to the asylum where her husband, a doctor, and a judge have had her committed. Trouble is, the woman doesn't seem insane by any stretch of the imagination, and Deputy Kopp smells a rat. At the same time, kind, fair Sheriff Heath is leaving his job as he campaigns for congressman — and one of his possible replacements has a long history of disliking Deputy Kopp.

Considering it's based on things that happened a century ago, this novel feels all too timely right now. The bombastic, misogynistic Republican candidate who has no clue how to do the job he's running for, the even-keeled Democrat who puts his faith in the voters (all male at that time) to elect a smart candidate who knows the ins and outs of the job, even the woman who is deemed crazy simply because her husband says she is... It's another great book in this series, and I'm curious to see what happens next in Constance Kopp's life.

The feather thief

The feather thief: beauty, obsession, and the natural history heist of the century / Kirk Wallace Johnson, read by MacLeod Andrews, 308 pages

This is the kind of book you start and then maybe stop because you think...."what kind of kook thought up this plot?"  Then you look again and realize this is nonfiction.  Yes, this is all stuff that ACTUALLY happened.  After that, you can't really stop reading until you are done because it is all so odd.  Obsession is in the title but people who steal birds...dead of alive, to harvest their feathers to tie Victorian age flies, the kind you go fishing with, prove themselves obsessive in many different ways.  The main subject is Edwin Rist, a 21-year old flutist who steals a suitcase full of dead birds from a well respected natural history museum.  When the crime is solved, he gets off with no jail time despite the value of what he stole after being examined by the cousin of comedian Sasha Baron-Cohen, himself a clinical psychologist who thinks Edwin is autistic.  Who could make this up?  As I read, I kept thinking truth really is stranger than fiction.  Perfectly read by MacLeod Andrews. 

Miss Kopp's Midnight Confessions

Miss Kopp's Midnight Confessions by Amy Stewart, 374 pages

In this third book of the Kopp Sisters series, sheriff's deputy and jail matron Constance comes face-to-face with the morality-driven arrests of young women living on their own in 1916 New Jersey. As she fights for the rights of her charges in court and in society, she's faced with her youngest sister Fleurette leaving home to find her own life (a move that needles at their staid sister Norma, who wants to send the police after the "wayward" Fleurette).

As with the first two books in this series, it's loosely based on a true story: Constance Kopp really was the first female sheriff's deputy in New Jersey, Fleurette really did audition for singing roles with traveling troupes, and Edna and Minnie (the two "wayward" girls Constance fights for in this book) really were arrested for the reasons given in the book. Historical fiction that's based on real people sometimes rankles me because I'm unsure of what's true and what's not. Thankfully, Stewart offers a wealth of historical notes at the end of the book, discussing what's true and what's not (sadly, Norma's pigeon obsession falls in the "not true" category). I loved the first two books, and I love this one.

Girl Waits With Gun

Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart, 408 pages

In 1914, Constance Kopp and her sisters were driving their buggy down the street when a ruthless factory owner (and possible gangster) crashed his car into them. Despite repeated warnings from her conservative sister Norma and threats of violence and kidnapping from the factory owner, Constance doggedly pursues justice against the factory owner. Constance has nerves of steel and moxie to spare, making this a truly thrilling story.

What makes it even COOLER is that Constance Kopp was a real person, and many of the events in this novel are true. Stewart invented a secondary plot, as well as a couple characters and character traits, but most of the story is true, including the super-awesome newspaper headlines Norma is constantly clipping and sending to her sisters. Kopp is a fascinating woman, and Stewart did an excellent job bringing her to light.