Ann Patchett is one of my favorite authors, so when she praised Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke I added it to my reading list. I’m glad I did.

A young white local woman is found dead in Lark, a rural East Texas town, a week after a Black man was discovered dead, and questions begin to surface – primarily among the Black community. The man’s death draws little attention, but the second one leads Texas Ranger Darren Mathews to suspect a connection between them.

Darren’s career and marriage are on the rocks. He grew up in the area, but left for college, law school in Chicago and eventually life in Houston to pursue a career in law enforcement. When he first arrives, Darren isn’t officially involved in the murder investigations. Local authorities resist the idea they’re related and resist his presence.

Locke’s fast-paced and timely novel addresses racism and justice that is neither heavy-handed nor underplayed. With the exception of a few stereotypical characters, most are interesting, intelligent and very human rich with strengths and plenty of foibles. Even those whose bigotry is never masked have some (limited) interesting qualities. Ironically, what they all have in common is love.

This may seem contradictory, but the various relationships among those related to the victims as well as Darren’s history with the region reflect unexpected tenderness in an otherwise harsh situation.

Darren’s tenacity, despite his flaws, and the subplot involving a long-ago romance make for an engaging narrative that’s more than a mystery.

Bluebird, Bluebird

Four Bookmarks

Mulholland Books, 2017

303 pages

It’s 1966 and young men are going off to war in Viet Nam; except they’re not alone. Young women go, too, which is the topic of The Women by Kristin Hannah.

Frankie McGrath volunteers for the Army Nurse Corps soon after learning her brother has been killed in the war. She is part of a field medical unit treating wounded soldiers. Many of whom can’t be saved. As her nursing skills get stronger so does her friendship with fellow nurses, Ethel and Barbara. She also falls in love with a naval pilot.

Dealing with the natural elements, seeking safety from enemy bombardments and never getting used to the carnage wrought by war is almost nothing compared to Frankie’s return to the States following two tours of duty.

Hannah’s descriptions of the attitude toward Viet Nam vets are heart wrenching because of their truth. This is compounded by the mindset held by many, including other vets, that there were no women in Viet Nam. Even Frankie’s father refuses to admit to his country club social circle that his daughter served in the war.

The novel is divided into two parts. The first focuses on Frankie’s naiveté and gradual realization that the situation in Viet Nam is uncompromising for those in its midst. The second section deals with her reintroduction to society vehemently opposed to the war without acknowledging its toll. Thankfully, Frankie’s nursing friends provide unending love and support as she fights her inner battles and struggles to move forward.

The Women

Four Bookmarks

St. Martin’s Press, 2024

470 Pages, includes Author’s note and acknowledgements

The Lightkeeper by Linda Duval is a tale of a young woman who seeks to be independent and then becomes fiercely so in a time when it is far from the norm.

Because of the Civil War there’s a shortage of men to staff the lighthouses on the Massachusetts coast. Amy Pritchard is mourning the death of her husband when not long afterwards her infant daughter also dies. Seeking refuge and a desire to prove herself as a capable person, she is hired to care for the Point Peril lighthouse.

Amy becomes adept in her role caring for the lighthouse and its grounds, teaches herself to swim, garden and manages life, mostly, on her own. A ferocious storm changes things when she saves a shipwrecked sailor. Amy and the man, who she later learns was the ship’s captain, are destined to meet again months later. From this point the plot becomes predictable, but no less engaging.

Later, a young man is available to take over the lighthouse and Amy must give up her job. The captain offers her a position at his family’s shipbuilding company and housing in Boston, which she reluctantly accepts. This further tests her resolve to maintain her independence.

DuVal has crafted a richly descriptive narrative with interesting characters, although she resorts to caricature in her portrayal of the rural pastor. Still, the story flows well and Amy’s insistence of staying true to herself despite the limitations imposed on women of that era is impressive.

The Lightkeeper

Three-and-three-quarters bookmarks

Ryolite Press, 2024

178 pages

Josie Fair meets Alix Summer on the night of their 45^th birthday; they were born the same day, the same year in the same hospital.

In None of This is True, Lisa Jewell has crafted a dark thriller difficult to put down.

Alix is a popular podcaster and Josie leads a seemingly quiet, unassuming life. That is, until she convinces Alix to feature her as the subject of a podcast. As Josie shares her life story: meeting her husband, Walter when in her early teens. Despite the 27-year age difference, they marry and have two daughters who are now grown. One ran away from home when she was 16; the other stays closeted in her bedroom playing video games.

Alix is the mother of two school-age children and married to a successful businessman. They’re experiencing some rough spots, but she’s confident they will pass.

Chapters are identified by date beginning June 8, 2019, continuing to March 2022 – with a few gaps of weeks and months. Also interspersed in most chapters are the texts from the interviews Alix conducted with Josie and descriptions of a “Netflix Original Series” based on the interviews, and more, entitled “Hi! I’m your Birthday Twin.”

It’s evident early there’s something unsettling about Josie. It’s not just the story of meeting her husband at such a young age, there are also glimpses of odd, disconcerting behavior. Still, Alix is intrigued and ready for a new project.

As the narrative progresses, it’s difficult not to question who’s genuine.

None of This is True

Four Bookmarks

Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2023

370 pages

When considering that Fireworks Every Night by Beth Raymer is about a dysfunctional family the title is certainly appropriate. Yet these are subtle, more like distracting sparklers than explosives, although the repercussions are rattling.

Narrator C.C. begins her story as an engaged woman about to marry into a wealthy family. She alternates between the present and living in Florida as a youth with her older sister and parents. C.C.’s father is a slick, successful used car salesman. He moves his family from Ohio to the Sunshine State after burning down his own sales lot for insurance money.

Those funds allow him to purchase property in a rural, as yet undeveloped area in Palm Beach County, and build a house with a swimming pool. These, C.C. says, are the best days of her childhood.

Soon, however, the halcyon times fade: her sister becomes a drug addict, and her parents begin a drawn-out separation while sharing the same space — until they don’t.

The chapters about C.C. as an adult living in Connecticut are less engaging. There are no pyrotechnics and not much action. Those are saved for her teenage years.

C.C. is smart enough to see she has to work to change the trajectory of her life. The odds are not in her favor of achieving any semblance of a normal life, i.e., without following in her parents’ or sister’s patterns of deceit and self-destruction.

Raymer incorporates dark humor while describing the harsh reality of living in a world of disappointments.

Fireworks Every Night

3.75 Bookmarks

Random House, 2023

224 pages

A book with few likeable characters such as Paula Hawkins’ A Slow Burning Fire, is difficult to recommend. Granted, the mystery element is strong with several suspects, but it almost doesn’t matter who-dunnit if there isn’t one for whom to root.

When the body of a young man, Daniel, is found brutally stabbed on a London houseboat the immediate suspect is Laura who was seen leaving his place covered in blood shortly before the body is discovered. Yet other suspects include Miriam who lived on the neighboring boat, and Carla, Daniel’s once-estranged aunt.

The back stories for these major characters factor into the present-day mystery. Laura was in a serious bicycle accident as a child and has dealt with anger management issues ever since.

Miriam is without friends or family. As a teenager she was abducted, and these many years later she remains a broken, unkind person.

Carla, the deceased man’s aunt, had a tenuous relationship with him based on guilt for how she treated his mother/her sister. Fifteen years earlier, Carla’s three-year-old son died while in the care of her sister. Her nephew discovered the child’s body.

Hawkins offers plenty of credible twists throughout, including several instances where it seems obvious, beyond a reasonable doubt who killed Daniel.

Laura is befriended by Irene, an elderly woman (who interestingly lives next door to Carla’s late sister’s home). For the younger woman, this is significant: Irene genuinely cares about her. Consequently, Irene is finally a character the reader can actually appreciate.

A Slow Burning Fire

Three Bookmarks

Riverhead Books 2021

306 pages

I haven’t kept up with Alexander McCall Smith’s  No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, but picking up the latest, From a Far and Lovely Country, is like reuniting with an old friend: Perhaps not a close companion, but a buddy nonetheless.

Mma Ramotswe still helms her detective agency and is married to mechanic Mr. J.B. Matekoni. Mma Makutsti  remains her faithful, albeit meddlesome assistant.

There are two cases in which Mma Ramotswe is involved, one directly and one more casually since she’s decided Charlie, who splits his time between working the agency and the garage, is ready to oversee a case.

The first comes about when Mma Ramotswe is approached by Julia, an American hoping to locate relatives she’s never met. It’s complicated; her grandfather left Botswana many years ago with no information on the family that stayed. However, the lady detective is not perplexed by the assignment. She is concerned, though, that all may not be what Julia expects.

The case Charlie works on grows to be more problematic than anyone anticipated, thanks to Mma Makutsi’s unsolicited involvement.

A third storyline is a belated birthday gift for Mma Ramotswe, which results in a comedy of errors on the part of the dress seller, gift giver and the recipient.

What’s engaging and humorous about the series is the formality with which all the characters direct to one another. Rarely are first names used. For example, Mr. J.B. Matekoni is always identified by his full name, even by his wife.

From a Far and Lovely Country

Three-and-a-half bookmarks

Pantheon Books, 2023

239 pages

The way Taylor Jenkins Reid tells a story, as in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, is cinematic. And it’s not just because the namesake character was a Hollywood movie star and much of the narrative is set in Tinseltown.

At 79, having outlived her fame, friends and husbands, Evelyn is ready to give an interview after years of avoiding the media. However, the only person to whom she will meet with is Monique Grant, a young, unknown writer. The younger woman is, understandably, surprised. Evelyn has several stipulations. First, Monique will not be writing an article, rather a book about the actress’s life story, and it can only be published upon Evelyn’s death. Such a book is destined to earn the writer fame and wealth.

The novel moves between the past (initially the 1950s) to the present (2017), with Evelyn relating how she came to be in the limelight, her years in and out of favor as a beautiful woman. Readers also learn about Monique in the process.

Monique has two important questions: why me and who was Evelyn’s one true love? After all, who has seven husbands?!

The assumption, of course, is one of the many spouses, but there’s no spoiler here. This big reveal comes well before the end. However, that’s when Monique’s other query is finally answered.

The engaging storyline and characters provide the diversion that comes with a good book. Sexuality, treatment of women in the film industry, friendships and, of course, marriage are underlying issues.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Four Bookmarks

Washington Square Press, 2017

389 pages

Whether it’s referred to as a tome, an extravaganza, or even a whale of a novel, all are apt physical, and some are literary, descriptions of Abraham Verghese’s The Covenant of Water. At more than 700 pages, if nothing else, it’s a marathon of a read.

Set in southwestern India, it encompasses 1900 to 1977. The narrative follows three generations of a family whose members have a history of drowning, known as “The Condition.” Besides the expanse of time, much of what adds to the book’s length is the number of characters introduced, then seemingly discarded only to eventually resurface.

Big Ammachi is the (direct and indirect) loving force binding all of them together. It begins with her as a 12-year-old girl betrothed to a much older widower with a young son and thriving farmland.

The author’s fortes are evident in the descriptions of the numerous evolutions of the relationships among those populating the book. This is rivalled only by the portrayals of the characters and the imagery of the various landscapes visited in the novel. Along with the family’s farmland, the latter includes Madras and a leper colony. Everything is connected; it just takes a while to see how.

Indian history, the caste system, British Raj and medicine are significant elements.

Tragedies and joys abound throughout this epic, with themes of faith and resilience. After questioning whether so many characters, settings and, ultimately, pages were necessary, it’s difficult to see how the story could have been told any other way.

The Covenant of Water

Four-and-a-half Bookmarks

Grove Press, 2023

724 pages, including acknowledgements and notes

Imagine receiving texts or missed calls from a deceased friend. MIT tenured physics professor Helen is initially baffled, if not quite haunted, when she finds herself in this situation in Nell Freudenberger’s Lost and Wanted.

Helen’s friend Charlotte (aka Charlie) has recently died, but they had ceased being close long ago. Nonetheless, Helen is saddened to learn her best friend from college is dead. Charlie’s husband, Terrence, and their daughter, Simmi, move to Boston from California to be near his in-laws. Consequently, Helen becomes involved with them, which is familiar yet different. Helen is a single parent by choice. Her young son and Simmi become friends.

Helen is a respected physicist. Her books on physics are well received for their accessibility on the subject. Thus, her scientific background is what keeps her from considering that the texts are supernatural. 

While the novel may initially seem to have roots in the paranormal, it’s not the case. Rather, friendship and grief are the themes driven by the loss of someone’s friend, daughter, wife and mother. 

The texts are a mystery, Charlie’s husband is a potential love interest — or is he — and Helen’s memories of Charlie during their Harvard days are all intriguing.

However, because of Helen’s career, there are a lot, as in too many, references to physics. Freudenberger did her homework, but it’s questionable whether so many details are necessary.

The title was initially puzzling to, but the deeper I got into the novel, the more I appreciated it.

Lost and Wanted

Three-and-three-quarter stars

Alfred  A. Knopf, 2019

315 pages