"The Mother-In-Law" by Sally Hepworth

The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth centers on Lucy and her mother-in-law, Diana.  They are not exactly close.  When Diana is found dead, Lucy becomes a suspect.  Could she have done it?  I thought this book was very good.  I enjoyed both Lucy and Diana.  All the characters were well developed and the ending put this book over the top for me!  (Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

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"The Umbrella Lady" by V. C. Andrews is Touching--We Both Liked This!

The Umbrella Lady by V. C. Andrews centers on a young girl named Saffron who is the narrator of the story.  She is left alone at a train stations that her dad took her to and then he just left her there telling her to wait for him.  As she waited, and waited, and waited, an old woman with an umbrella invited her to come home with her to wait for her father who never showed.  Saffron refers to her as the Umbrella Lady.   I really, really enjoyed Saffron.  The byplay between her and the Umbrella lady is great!  Also, Saffron's interaction with other kids when she finally went to public school was priceless!  I would have liked more action, but Saffron more than made up for that.  I look forward to the second book this fall.  (Gerard's review, 5 stars)

Karen's review 4/6/2021:  In The Umbrella Lady by V. C. Andrews, after a fire burns her home and kills her mother, 8-yr.-old Saffron is abandoned by her father at the train station and found by the Umbrella lady.  Saffron thinks of the lady that way because she always carries an umbrella with her, even if it's sunny.  The lady takes her home but leaves a note for the dad who supposedly would be back to get Saffron after he bought a few things for their new home.  Saffron reluctantly goes home with the nice old lady, but expects her father to show up soon to get her.  Will he ever come back?  What will become of Saffran?  Are the dad and the Umbrella lady in cahoots?  Is the dad really sending letters or is the Umbrella lady making them up?  

This was a very good book!  I loved it and thought about it even when I wasn't reading it.  I was always eager to get back to it and was sad to see it end, but happy to see there will be a sequel.  I loved the growing relationship between Saffron and the Umbrella lady (Mazy Dazy).  Mazy had lots of wisdom quotes and was constantly introducing Saffron to new words.  Mazy was a former teacher and home schooled Saffron, challenging her to learn something new each day.  I also enjoyed Mazy's white cat, Mr. Pebbles the third.  I highly recommend this one, especially to any teachers, retirees or even teens.   (5 stars)

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"In Five Years" by Rebecca Serle is Wild!

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle, Dannie is a numbers person and the numbers are working for her.  She works at a well-respected law firm and has a great boyfriend.  On her engagement night, it seems she fell asleep and is with another man and it's five years later.  How can this be?  When she wakes up, things are back to normal so she thinks it must have been a dream.  The man she dreamed about shows up in her life  4 1/2 years later.  What's going on?  

I think a woman would enjoy this book more than a guy; however, I give it 5 stars!  I loved the main character.  The book had good flow and kept me engaged throughout with a wild ending!  (Gerard's review, 5 stars)

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"The Exiles" by Christina Baker Kline is Good Historical Fiction

The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline is historical fiction which I enjoy reading.  This novel takes place on a ship filled with women convicts headed to Australia in 1840.  I enjoyed this book.  The author does a very good job of character development.  It moved along at a good pace and held my interest throughout with a good ending.  (Gerard's review, 5 stars)  

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"The Lost Boys" by Faye Kellerman was a Snoozer!

The Lost Boys by Faye Kellerman is one of the slowest, most boring and dissatisfying books I've ever read.  This is about several police investigations--(1) a 10 yr. old missing persons case, (2) a current missing person case involving Bertram, a man with Down Syndrome (3) a possible murder case related to Bertram.  As if three story lines aren't enough, there is also the drama with the detective's foster son's biological mom and dad, an assassin.  The primary story line is the cold case of three missing college boys who went camping together and never returned.  

First off, I kept dozing off while reading the first half of this book.  I felt like it kept leaving the main story to go down different rabbit trails.  The conversation seemed stilted between characters that seemed just blah to me.  I was ready to quit on this one but since I made it halfway and it started to pick up a bit, I decided to go ahead and finish.  That was a mistake because after continuing to plow on through, the ending was very unsatisfying.  Only one case was actually solved--the others just left you hanging.  Maybe it's just me, but I like a book that actually has an ending to it.  I would not recommend this one.  (Karen's review, 1 star)  

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