Fall Reading
Dear Readers,
Welcome to Inside Story.
It’s supposed to be fall here in the hill country but Mother Nature evidently has not received the memo. Temperatures have been much above average for the first of October which has precluded one of the things I love most about this time of year—the ability to sit on the back porch with a cup of coffee and a great book.
For today’s post I thought I’d switch things up a bit and share a couple of books I’ve just finished while sitting under the air conditioner with a tall pitcher of iced tea. First up: One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day. Jamie was a new writer to me and as I read the author bio in the back of the book, I noticed there were no pronouns used, which is usually a tip off that the writer is using a pen name. It didn’t take long to find the real author’s name. Daniel Palmer, aka Jamie Day, is the son of the late NYT bestselling author Michael Palmer, famous for his medical suspense novels.
Anyway, One Big Happy Family takes place in an isolated hotel in Maine just as a hurricane is coming in. The owner of the hotel has died and his dysfunctional family arrives to hear the reading of the will. Mayhem ensues. If you enjoyed the movie Knives Out you’ll enjoy this book, despite some things that don’t quite make sense. The strong voice of the young woman, a maid at the hotel carries the story.
Earlier this year, a novel called Broken Country, by Clare Leslie Hall dominated the bestseller list. I haven’t read it because something terrible happens to a dog, and as I adore dogs, this one was not for me. So I was happy to find a different Hall novel, this one called Days You Were Mine, about a young man who searches for his birth mother. It’s a dual time line story, Luke’s meeting with his birth mom Alice in the present, and Alice’s story that took place in the 70’s. It’s a book about complex family relationships, love and loss. Although I identified more closely with Alice, I enjoyed it very much.
Book News: If you’ve followed me here or on social media you know I’ve recently finished A Quiet Little Town, a dual POV mystery novel set in Texas in 1956. It has a murder mystery to solve, but it also has a thread of romance between the handsome widower sheriff, Hutch Joyner, and Ruth Harnett, a young widow who runs the local newspaper and is bringing up her son alone.
I sent it off to an editor at the house that published seven of my previous novels. Now begins the long wait until she has a chance to read it and to decide whether she wants to acquire it. Publishing traditionally is always my first choice, but after getting my feet wet publishing A Season In Saigon independently, I am prepared to bring you Hutch’s story one way or the other. Stay tuned.
Wishing you a fall filled with crisp days, cozy nights and good books.
Warmest wishes,
Dorothy