The 19th Wife

The 19th Wife
David Ebershoff
3 out of 5

Fact, Fiction and Innuendo

Told in a back and forth style with many voices, Ebershoff tells the story of Ann Eliza Young who being the 19th wife of Brigham Young decides that polygamy isn’t for her and decides to do the unthinkable and file for divorce. Interspersed with this story is the story of BeckyLyn also a 19th wife of modern day who is accused of killing her husband, and her son Jordan, one of the Lost Boys, who is trying to clear her name and get her out of Mesadale, the compound she lives in with the other Firsts; the break off group that still follows the old tradition of polygamy.

Have I lost you yet?

There is also Kelly Dee the student researcher that is trying to pull the life of Ann Eliza together for her masters thesis who is telling the story, in a round about way, through all the characters and who is also trying to decipher the goings on and hoping to separate fact from fiction.

Though this is a book of fiction, there is enough history to make you wonder what is real and what is embellished for a better story. In this multiple character driven novel, Ebershoff reaches into the world that Smith and Young created and how dominate they were over their followers. Whether truth or innuendo, the story makes a very slow progress to a conclusion that really wasn’t a conclusion, just a good place to stop.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/RCD3KWSVRWYTP/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

The Lace Reader

The Lace Reader
Brunonia Barry
4 out of 5


Towner Whitney comes from an eccentric family of women who are thought to be witches because of their ability to make and read lace. Just relax your mind and stare slightly off center and you can see the future. Sounds simple except for the fact she lives in Salem, Massachusetts and apparently there is still witch hunting.

Towner returns home after the drowning death of her great aunt Eva. This is a trip that Towner has been avoiding because of her traumatic upbringing that continues to envelope her whole life. Towner wonders what was the true cause of Eva’s death; but since she herself is known as the town wacko with hallucinations of dogs mauling her abusive brother in law and run ins with a hellfire preacher, no one wants to help her or investigate.

Just when she is ready to return back home to her life in California the past that she had carefully created for herself comes crashing into her reality and what she had thought was “her” truth was only a thin veil that blocked out the full pain of “the” truth.

There were many times that I wanted to put this book down, the middle bogs down with such boring repetitiveness I was beginning to wonder what the author was thinking. Then the last 100 or so pages hits you with such force you can’t get through the book fast enough. Great story with a stunning conclusion that has you spinning and thinking back to the clues that you missed.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2TZF8ZS7I2AUC/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Mammoth Murder

Mammoth Murder

Bill Crider

4 out of 5

#13 in the Dan Rhodes series, but I don’t really think that this is a series you have to read in order. I haven’t and don’t feel that I’m missing anything.

Dan is Sheriff of Blacklin County, Texas with an odd group of deputies that make Barney and Mayberry seem normal.

Bud Turley shows up one day with a very large tooth that he swears belongs to Bigfoot. Since he and his buddy Larry have been searching the woods since childhood, this discovery doesn’t seem so out of place. But life isn’t that simple and now Larry is dead. the Bigfoot Convention hits town and the body of a local boy missing for 10 years shows up.

Sheriff Dan already has his hands full, if it wasn’t for the feral pigs and snakes, this would just be another day in the life of a small county sheriff. This is a very funny quick read book, I recommend this series.

Amazon Review:
http://www.amazon.com/review/R3VEKC4UWOAFU5/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Our Lady of Pain

Our Lady of Pain

Elena Forbes

4 out of 5

Second book in the series, but I don't think that matters since this book holds it's own with very little flashback to book one.

On a cold and snowy morning, Rachel Tenison decided to take an early morning run through a London park, taking a break she hears something behind her and a voice calling her name. Thus begins the investigation into her nude and bound body, found in a prayer like position with a copy of a poem in her mouth; and a whole cast of characters under suspicion.

Mark Tartaglia and Samantha Donovan are put on the case and what develops is a twisted ride into the life of a naughty woman with quite a past of deceit and manipulation. Unfortunately, this isn't a singular episode and the past does come back home to roost.

Is it a copycat killer or do the two women have a secret in common?

Very good book - not too heavy and a little predictable at the end, but Forbes takes you on a nice adventure that has you engaged until the end.

Amazon Review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R24TVKIGRLXAH0/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm