The Secrets She Carried: A Novel by Barbara Davis

The Secrets She Carried.  Barbara Davis.  Penguin Group (USA). October 2013. 384 pp. pbk. ISBN #: 978045141877.

Leslie Nichols ran away to New York City years ago but now she’s returned to Peak Plantation in North Carolina to discover that she’s been left half of the plantation by her grandmother, Maggie.  She’s not pleased when she discovers a stranger, Jay Davenport, was left the other half.  When they first meet, their conversation flounders into the drastic opposite of warm and fuzzy; it gets even worse when Leslie realizes Jay resents her long absence and resents her arriving to quash the plans he had for beginning a winery on the property. It was Jay who Maggie had confided in for years, even her hope that Leslie would return to where she belonged on the plantation.  Jay is suspicious about why Leslie left but really doesn’t have a clue to the real reasons that haunt her to this day.

Several surprises surface during this story of these two stubborn, ornery creatures getting to know each other better and even more.  It turns out Jay has his own share of secrets that made him quit using his very popular talent and left him riddled with profound pain.  When Leslie begins to realize this, she begins to cool down and make room for both of them to let go of the past and move forward. But the road will be difficult and fraught with brash and soft words.

Leslie begins to clean out her grandmother’s home and is struck by some jewels she found and some paintings of her grandfather that have an uncanny resemblance in the main figure that is powerful beyond the obvious sexiness of the works.  There’s also a story to be told about Henry Gavin’s wife and Henry’s lover, a lady’s maid named Adele Laveau.  It goes far beyond the alcoholic and drug addict that Susanne Gavin has become, far beyond the multiple pregnancies she’s lost, and far beyond her inability to make Henry truly love her.  One doesn’t quite know whether to hate or to pity her, probably a huge mixture of both.  But there’s a mystery surrounding the death of Adele and the silence of Susanne, Maggie, Henry and even the folks in town.

To add to the drama, Leslie’s father, Jimmy, shows up, having finished his prison sentence. But as unwelcome as he is, Jimmy needs Leslie to forgive him and offer him a chance. 

No one is beyond forgiveness; it surfaces in so many different ways.  As it is so tritely but truthfully said so often, one can run but can’t hide from the past.  This is the story of a journey of healing with intrigue, humor, mystery, secrets, romance and hope.  While it starts out fairly slowly, it quickly picks up and the reader won’t be able to stop reading.  Be prepared for some late nights reading, with some take-out dinners and less sleep than customary.  Barbara Davis has written a poignant, enigmatic, and loving novel that will delight all who relish a great story. Well-crafted and exciting work of contemporary fiction!

Highly recommended!

More Things in Heaven and Earth: A Novel of Watervalley by Jeff High

More Things in Heaven and Earth: A Novel of Watervalley.  Jeff High. Penguin Group (USA). October 2013. 464 pp. pbk. ISBN #: 9780451419262.

Deep in debt from medical school tuition, Luke Bradford agrees to pay it off in service as a primary physician for three years in a rural Tennessee town.  Luke would prefer to be a research specialist, but that is not to be.  The beginning of that service is far from noteworthy; indeed it is hilarious as he manages to bumble his way into town and practically burn his own lovely new home down.  He worries that the town residents will think him a bumbling fool, especially as he manages to inadvertently joke about a teacher to a woman he finds attractive, little realizing he has started off his wooing with an extremely funny but definitely insulting faux pas!

Little by little he manages to impress the town with his medical expertise.  He even manages to befriend a recluse who was once very active politically and socially but who knows secrets that Luke doesn’t have a clue explain his wealthy but antisocial present status.  In between running the clinic, he has some amusing encounters with his housekeeper, a woman “of color” who seems highly educated and a definite match for witty remarks.

Then comes a devastating health crisis in the town with its flu-like symptoms that fall fast and hard on men, women, and children.  After far too long trying to figure out its source, Luke discovers the secret hidden out of fear and greed; passing that test provides Luke with a new perspective.  It reveals much of his own childhood background that has left him feeling like an outsider.  For it’s not the town’s residents who have shut out Luke but he who has always kept a thick line of reserve as he yearns for the day he can leave to get on with “what really matters to him.” Meanwhile, he is having the opposite effect on everyone who have the highest respect for him and are also beginning to care deeply about him, especially when they see him agonizing over his inability to find the source of this sudden and drastic illness.

The surprise discovery and moments after that self-revelation are lovely to read.  Luke is now on the road to truly becoming a community authority and beloved member!

More Things in Heaven and Earth… is an engaging and quaint story that has just enough crisis and tension to keep a very simple but endearing story moving and moving!  Highly recommended!

The Spirit Keeper by K. B. Laugheed

The Spirit Keeper.  K. B. Laugheed. Plume. September 2013. 353 pp. pbk. ISBN #: 9780142180334.

Syawa, a holy man or seer, has a vision that mandates he seek and save “the Creature of Fire and Ice,” a gift he will bring to his native Indian people that will bring immortality.  Katie O’Toole is that gift!  Syawa and his good friend and bodyguard, Hector, travel across the United States to accomplish this sacred mission.  Katie at the time is living in poverty and abusive misery in Pennsylvania and doesn’t realize at all that her salvation is at hand when a murderous band of Indians on March 2, 1747 attack her home.  They murder her father and almost everyone in her family except her mother, sister, and Katie.  She stands up to one of them with a gun but is captured by Syawa. No, she’s not kept for sexual purposes; she really doesn’t understand the immense value she holds for him but it does remain so for the entire duration he knows.  Hector, on the other hand, believes she is trouble for them and yet refrains from saying anything further out of his obvious adoration of the seer in Syawa.

As they travel, they perform the story of their journey as they arrive in other Indian villages.  They even meet certain colonists who try to save Katie from Syawa and Hector and are quite surprised that she chooses to remain with them.  This then is the story of that perilous journey.  At one point they are captured by renegades who suggest great danger but whom they manage to escape, a scene in which Katie shows her daring mettle and during which she amazes Syawa and Hector who believe this is mystical ability rather than sheer bravado.

A tragic occurrence occurs and Hector is left alone with Katie.  He comes to believe she now has the ability of a seer and yet there are moments when both are close to something indescribable which will take time to emerge to full acknowledgment.  Multiple adventures, threats, challenges, etc. from both humans and animals, constantly pose danger to the couple.  What they will or not become leave the reader tense with anticipation, questions, doubts and finally joy.

 

Katie, Syawa and Hector are dynamic characters who defy stereotypical characterization and never fail to thrill their readers. The Spirit Keeper is a lovely, engaging reader with just enough tension and intrigue to fascinate any lover of contemporary or historical fiction. Simple and profound truths exist within its pages and hold it notches above other Native American fiction.  Nicely done, K. B. Laugheed!

Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China by Jung Chang

Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China.  Jung Chang. Random House, LLC. October 2013. 480 pp. pbk. ISBN #: 9780307271600.

Cixi appears in this story as a low-grade concubine who has been chosen by the Emperor to satisfy his pleasures, be they sexual or artistic.  A woman who has no say in political discourse, Cixi demonstrates an unusual intelligence and eventually influence in those family and ministerial members of the imperial family.  Thus, it is no surprise that Cixi sees China going downhill when Western powers begin to flex their military muscles in threats if they are not given more trade rights in previously forbidden Chinese cities.  While these “foreign devils” are posing war, Cixi is wise enough to discover China’s shrinking economy and knows that growth for China lies in modernizing in order to improve her financial status.

Westerners perhaps, in this present time of revolutions and coups, fail to appreciate how dramatic it was for Cixi to have a son by Emperor Xianfang and take over as co-Regent with the Emperor’s wife, Empress Zhen, after the Emperor’s death.  Xianfang had made numerous decrees leading to the Opium War that infuriated foreign traders.  Most unusual was the bond between Empress Zhen and Cixi, who shared precise opinions about foreign and domestic matters; the Empress, on the other hand, was more than willing to take a backseat and let Cixi rule the country.  Her rule continues with carefully calculated plans that wind their way around the opposition ministers of the Court.  Eventually foreigners get more trading rights, places to explore in China, and implementation of industrial inventions, such as the telegraph, electricity and the railroad that benefit all countries involved, including China herself.  The largest fights over these many years is over the trade of opium, a drug that was destroying China; permission for foreign missionaries to minister in interior China, the burning of the Summer Palace by angry foreigners, the increasing incursion of Japan and other nations, and many other debacles that Cixi manages with aplomb and great diplomatic skill.

Cixi toward the end of her life recognizes that her son’s rule, like his father’s, was a total disaster and fears what will occur when she has gone.  She has retired twice but still “managed” or “ruled” China for most of her life; the opposite poles of thinking in the Court almost mandate a Parliamentarian style government for the future in which checks and balances will allow no extremist thinking to destroy the progress.  To her credit this was implemented after her death. 

Every page of this biography, which is also truly a history of China between 1835 and 1912, is fascinating, accurate because of obvious precise research, and exciting.  Many ministers are characterized as well, with their strengths and weaknesses exposed for analysis as they make beneficial and deleterious decisions that Cixi must expand or annul.  It’s a perilous but thrilling journey the reader shares with Cixi and Jung Chang has again written a brilliant story about the violence, weak personal characters, tragedies, joys of China in its drive to become a well-respected, modern nation.  Superb in all ways and a great read!

Louder than Love by Jessica Topper

Louder Than Love.  Jessica Topper.  Penguin Group (USA). September 2013. E-book. ISBN #: 9781101634790.

Katrina Lewis and her very young daughter, Abbey, are putting their lives back together after their husband and father is killed in a train accident.  She’s gone back to her hometown in Lauder Lake and her parents have given her their home as they intend to retire in Florida.  Four years pass and Kat is still grieving while her very close friends are constantly urging her to get out and meet someone new; but they just don’t understand how deep her pain is and that functioning is as far as she can manage.  She’s even revolted when an old flame attempts to seduce her; he was a loser back then and she assumes still is.  Her buddies tell her everyone changes – don’t they?

As a volunteer at the local library, she knows the kids are all in love with the TV cat character, Maxwell MacGillikitty, a detective.  The show is full of songs the kids love and Kat is able to track down the author of many of them and invites him to perform for the local kids and some neighboring autistic kids.  When he shows up smelling like Jack Daniels and cigarettes, Kat is petrified the show will be a disaster.  But Adrian Graves is bigger than a hit and the parents and children want more in the future. There’s even a proposal for neighboring communities to host his performance.  But what most stands out is the electricity flying between Adrian and Kat, sparks that Kat thought she would never, ever feel again!

Due to an unforeseen medical emergency, Adrian stays overnight with Kat and they begin to get to know each other.  This is really the essence of their story, the exposing of their true identity because of the suffering and joys they’ve previously known.  Adrian is first to share his loss and mistakes in between the hot romance that quickly develops; however, as time goes on he’s annoyed that she doesn’t trust him enough to share her past with her husband Pete.  Misunderstandings develop and they are separated for a time.  There’s a surprise in who brings them together and also the fact that Adrian “Digger” Graves was once a famous rock star and just might be again if he can face up to his mistakes and musical talent. And in the middle of it all is Abbey, a bright girl who is artsy and dynamic in her own right due to the wisdom of Kat’s parenting!

Louder Than Love is a nice romance read with plenty of intimacy, passion, and intimacy on deeper and deeper levels. The characters are credible for most of the story but seem to get more complicated and confusing with the revelation of Adrian’s past career.  It’s worth wading through it all just to see how it will all resolve itself!  Good read!

The Good Wife by Jane Porter

The Good Wife (Final Novel in the Brennan Sisters Trilogy)  Jane Porter. Penguin Group (USA). September 2013. 432 pp. pbk. ISBN #: 9780425253670

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This is mainly the story about Sarah Brennan and her husband Boone, a famous baseball player; but it’s also about the feisty Brennan clan with their passionate loves and hates.  It’s also about Lauren Summers, a young woman who has been devastated by the loss of her lover and another huge loss that she copes with second by second, minute by minute.  Jane Porter has written a novel about the depths of marital, maternal, fraternal and sibling love and the depths one can experience in any one of those relationships. It’s also about how one handles fear of the loss of such great love by embracing the rock-solid love lying deeply within each character herein.

Sarah Boone knows her husband spends many a night out with fellow baseball players; because she sees so much extra-marital affairs in her own family she begins to fear it could happen to her. But she can’t really cope with it at the moment because the Brennan family is about to move through a series of the most untimely deaths in a row that one could imagine. Being a typical Irish clan means such raw emotions come out in unforeseen ways.  So one sister discovers her marriage is about to end, but she has no idea how that will flesh out because it happens far too rapidly for her to absorb.  A parent dies and the Boone sisters realize just how much this person held the glue together in the family and kept the constant small spats from erupting into gargantuan battles.  One sister is dating a guy the other sisters judge to be a misfit and unworthy of fitting in with this family.  The kids begin spatting when they start repeating what they hear their parents say that was truly meant only for private conversation.  Add to the mix that Boone’s career may be about to change; the question will it mean staying where he is, transferring to another baseball team or retiring all together from the sport; and how will they live depending on what the future holds?

Luanne on the other hand is grieving fiercely, so much so that she decides to move out of her hometown to escape the heartrending memories she holds close to her heart.  She attempts to open her own business and eventually will meet another friend of Boone.  She wonders whether she can trust again.

All in all these gals have a lot on their plates that affects every other decision they make and how they interact with indescribably potent feelings and thoughts that could break or bind them anew.  Tragedy can be depicted as real as it is but it doesn’t have to be over-burdensome.  Jane Porter has given a slice of how people discover weaknesses in their personalities and how they can transform those traits to strengths, both alone and with the support of a family who deep down love each other in a unique way.  In a crisis, over-the-top love wins every time where it should. 

This is fine contemporary fiction and highly recommended reading!

Between a Mother and Her Child: A Novel by Elizabeth Noble

Between a Mother and Her Child: A Novel.  Elizabeth Noble. Penguin Group (USA). September 2013. 448 pp. pbk. ISBN #: 9780425267936.

There is no deeper love than that between a mother and child and there is no greater loss than that experienced by a parent who has lost that beloved child to death.  The life of Maggie and Bill Barrett changed irrevocably the day their son, Jake who died in the tsunami of Indonesia in 2004. Bill chooses to grieve in a totally different  way from Maggie, and their daughter Aly.  But Maggie senses that Aly is drawing farther and farther away from her. Yes she excels in her school work and is planning to go to med school but she’s like a taught spring ready to lash out and Maggie doesn’t have a clue about Aly’s grief and how she perceives the time since that momentous day that forever altered their lives.

Maggie asks Bill to leave and he begins to move on with his life which includes meeting a women with whom he is developing a loving relationship, different  though it is from what Maggie and Bill once had.  Maggie, on the other hand, relies totally on her emotional connection with her sister Livy or Liv, who lives in Australia and now on another anniversary of Jake’s death visits Maggie in England.  But Liv’s life is about to change as she will soon marry Scott. She would do anything for her sister but can she be as available to Maggie’s needs and should she be.   And Aly will meet someone special too, a surprise to the reader, the outcome which is unique and very real!

Liv comes up with a potential solution that is also unique, placing an ad for a companion for Maggie.  Kate seems to be the ideal person for this painful and burdened household, yet she has issues of her own that slowly become obvious due to Aly’s curiosity and the action that flows from her need to know.  This is a subplot that arrives at the perfect place in this poignant story.  There are, it turns out, many ways to lose a child besides death.

While this book does have some very sorrowful moments, for the most part there is a healthy mixture of tension, laughter, relief, release and more that is so engaging and keeps the reader glued to the pages.  The author clearly “knows” the emotional and mental map of losing a child and how the survival mode and more than survival mode can regress or progress.  Whether the reader knows or doesn’t know is irrelevant; this novel is lovingly and carefully crafted, unforgettable!  It deserves a wide, wide audience!  Well done, indeed, Ms. Noble!