Reading State of wonder by Ann Patchett is like floating down the amazon; lush and interesting,  with surprising twists and turns that do not jolt you because you are floating down the amazon.  Marina Singh gave up a career as a doctor after botching an emergency delivery as an intern, opting instead for the more orderly world of research for a pharmaceutical company. When office colleague Anders Eckman, sent to the Amazon to check on the work of a field team, is reported dead, Marina is asked by her company’s CEO to complete Anders’ task and to locate his body. What Marina finds in the sweltering, insect-infested jungles of the Amazon shakes her to her core. For the team is headed by esteemed scientist Annick Swenson, the woman who oversaw Marina’s residency and who is now intent on keeping the team’s progress on a miracle drug completely under wraps. The story is so imbued with a feeling of the Amazon that I thought I was surrounded by mosquitoes and trees and muddy brown water.  And yet there is a sense of magic about the world.  A good read.

A Fountain Filled with Blood by Julia Spencer-Fleming.    Another light but interesting mystery sent in the Adirondacks.  Hate crimes, murder and environmental issues combined with the developing characters of Rev. Claire Fergussen and Police Chief Russ Van Alstyne.

       Switched.  by Amanda Hocking.  A new author for me.  Great story.  I discovered this book when it was .99 on my Nook.  I loved it.  Now it is coming out in paperback as are the next two in the series.  Can’t wait.

Wendy Everly was six years old when her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. Eleven years later, Wendy discovers her mother might have been right.  She’s not the person she’s always believed herself to be, and her whole life begins to unravel—all because of Finn Holmes.

Finn is a mysterious guy who always seems to be watching her.  Every encounter leaves her deeply shaken…though it has more to do with her fierce attraction to him than she’d ever admit.  But it isn’t long before he reveals the truth:  Wendy is a changeling who was switched at birth—and he’s come to take her home.

They set out on a quest together to find her people.  Great hero quest story.

Duma Key by Stephen King

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

S. King is a great writer. He manipulates language and story and grabs the reader. Suspense is maintained and characters emerge with depth.

The story begins when Edgar Freemantle has a accident, losing an arm and damaging his head. His life falls apart and he moved to Duma Key in Florida to pull himself together and start over.

Though I shy away from the horror of an S. King novel, I was well into the mystery and intrigue of this novel before I encountered it. Oh, there were signals, but they were well woven into the story. And in the end, the horror was not so difficult to read. The end is redemptive.

So I add another S. King book to my catalog. I loved Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. This has the same quality as those, a solid story with a bit of the unexplained.

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“An Afternoon Chat with Bill Ferebee”

Tues., Jan 17, at 3 PM
Bill Ferebee will be at the Keene Valley Library to talk about the town and the concerns of the people.

Come and join us!

In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It is fun to read a story in a local setting and Spencer-Fleming writes in the Adirondack North Country. And this was takes place in winter-even better. The story is a classic mystery with plot twists and suspense. Clare Fergussen is the new Episcopal priest but she is also ex-army cop and is tough enough to take on the conservative vestry, as well as the bad guys, but soft enough to fall in love. A fun read, though somewhere in the middle I wanted her to get a good pair of boots and a real car already. This is the first of a series so I look forward to more.



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The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The story behind the story. Hadley Richardson fell deeply in love with Ernest Hemingway in 1920, had a child and was abandoned for another woman. In this book, her story is tenderly told. There is love and adventure and writers and the modern age. And there is Paris. A good read, not suspenseful or intense. No surprise twists and turns, just a good story.



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The Eighty-Dollar Champion: Snowman, the Horse That Inspired a Nation by Elizabeth Letts

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A rags to riches story of our time. Snowman, saved from the knackers wagon at the cost of $80, is trained with love and understanding by a man from Holland who barely survived the Nazi occupation. They swept the jumping competitions in Long Island and in the northeaster equestrian circles. This simple farmer and teacher partnered with a horse to inspired the times. I loved it. Told tenderly.



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Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There is so much suspense, that I would have to take a break from the tension from time to time! Truly a page turner with many twists and surprises.
Christine wakes up everyday not knowing where she is. Her memories disappear every time she falls asleep. Her husband, Ben, is a stranger to her, and he’s obligated to explain their life together on a daily basis–all the result of a mysterious accident that made Christine an amnesiac. With the encouragement of her doctor, Christine starts a journal to help jog her memory every day. One morning, she opens it and sees that she’s written three unexpected and terrifying words: “Don’t trust Ben.”



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First Family by David Baldacci

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Drama, action and political intrigue. I was in the mood for face paced reading and this suited my mood just fine. The niece of the president is kidnapped and Sean King and Michelle Maxwell are called to the scene. They know the ways of Washington and the Secret Service and follow the leads, both the red herrings and the ultimate true lead. A great escape novel.



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The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rachel’s story is revealed in the present and through flashbacks through the eyes of many people in her life . It is a carefully crafted study of a multiracial family and the tragedy that overtakes them.
Rachel is the daughter of a Danish mother and a black military man. After surviving the tragedy, she goes to live with With her African American grandmother in a mostly black community. Because she is light skinned, with blue eyes, she does not fit in to either the black community or the white community. She struggles to find her place in her community and her family.



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