The Book Whisperer Discovers Kirstin Chen & Recommends Counterfeit!

Photo of Kirstin Chen by Sarh Deragon

Turning to audiobooks after my first cataract surgery left me unable to read books easily—at least until the second surgery when my eyes will be more even, and I can get proper reading glasses. Not knowing much about it, I chose an audiobook of Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen.  I didn’t dream what the story would lead me into: female con artists! Dear Readers, we are all familiar with the adage “There are always two sides to every story.” That is certainly true of Counterfeit.

Ava Wong, a high-achieving Stanford graduate with a law degree, is the main narrator. Winnie Fang, Ava’s first college roommate, is the secondary narrator. Since Ava begins the story, I found her story about being lured into counterfeiting high-end purses and wallets completely believable. I dismissed any thoughts of an unreliable narrator.

Ava is married to a talented organ transplant surgeon with a highly demanding career.  Ava is taking a break from her law career after their son’s birth. Henry, the little boy, is a demanding child who cries until he is exhausted. He is slow to talk although he seems perfectly healthy otherwise.  Their marriage is strained by Ollie’s long hours and Henry’s developmental issues.

When Ava takes an unexpected trip to visit relatives in China, Ollie, in a fit of pique, removes Ava from their debit and credit cards. Finding herself without access to any funds, Ava calls Winnie for help. Ollie’s unexpected meanness sets in motion a story so full of drama, intrigue, and danger that readers can hardly keep from turning pages or listening breathlessly to the audio version.

Readers will also be surprised by the quick turns the story takes. The two narrators will take readers on a clearly intriguing ride. For book clubs, Counterfeit will provide a wealth of topics: the demand for overly expensive handbags and wallets, status symbols, troubles in a marriage, the meanness of underpaid, often, underage laborers, and beating the system. The end of the story leads readers to expect a follow-up story starring Ava and Winnie. We shall see.

The Book Whisperer Recommends a Thrilling Mystery

Having grown up on Bayou Bartholomew, the longest bayou in the world, I am drawn to stories set on bayous or that have bayous as a backdrop. As a result, Echo From a Bayou: One Man’s Journey to Hunt Down His Murderer by J. Luke Bennecke caught my eye. As a mystery buff, I am also drawn to page-turning stories. This is an especially fast-moving story.

What happens when John Bastian wakes up from an accident that put him into a coma and has memories of another life as Jack Bachman? This question will cause readers to delve into Echo From a Bayou in order to discover how one man can have memories of another man’s life.

As mentioned in the first paragraph, I am drawn to stories with bayous as a backdrop, page-turning mysteries, and I’ll one more caveat: “vibrant red-headed” women. Echo From a Bayou contains all three.

John goes to Louisiana because he knows that Jack’s background is there. John hopes to discover who murdered him in his past life as Jack. To add to the danger of hunting down a murderer, a hurricane is fast approaching. How much danger can one man face?

For mystery readers looking for a fast-paced story, look no further than Echo From a Bayou. While mysteries can be a dead end for book clubs, book club members who choose to discuss Echo From a Bayou a good choice. The discussion will center on past lives, the discovery of how to investigate a past murder, and finally the discovery that will turn the whole story upside down. To avoid any spoilers, I will not tell readers what that twist is, but suffice it to say, it will be shocking.

The Book Whisperer HIGHLY Recommends a Debut Novel

As I’ve noted many times, belonging to a book club provides opportunities to read books I might not choose on my own. That’s the case with The Tobacco Wives by Adele Myers, a debut novel. The book had not been on my radar.  I am thankful for the opportunity to read it.

Set in the summer of 1946 in Bright Leaf, NC, The Tobacco Wives is a coming-of-age story about Maddie Sykes. The war is over, but men are still returning home. Women are working in the tobacco factories, but the tobacco executives look forward to sending the women home so the men can return to the jobs. They don’t consider those women whose husbands are not coming home and that they need jobs to support their families.

Maddie’s mother wakes Maddie up in the middle of the night and takes her to Bright Leaf to see her aunt. Maddie thinks they will be staying a few days together, but her mother has other plans. She leaves Maddie there with Aunt Etta, a seamstress who makes clothes for the rich tobacco wives. Maddie herself is learning to be a seamstress as well, and she is very talented.

Maddie’s talent becomes important that summer when Aunt Etta becomes ill and must be hospitalized. Maddie must take over making dresses for an important gala. With Aunt Etta in the hospital, Mitzy Winston invites Maddie to stay in the Winston home. Mitzy even buys a new Singer Sewing machine and sets up a studio for Maddie so she can do the important fittings and where she could sew the dresses.

While staying with the Winstons, Maddie discovers some important and damning information about the use of tobacco. That knowledge turns the story around. It adds a dimension to the story that readers may not expect.

The story involves many important topics: women’s rights, women working, tobacco’s dangers, and the hiding of important information. For book clubs, The Tobacco Wives will provide a lively discussion.

The Book Whisperer Recommends a Baseball Story

Turing to audiobooks recently, I listened to Calico Joe by John Grisham, As a baseball fan, particularly a St. Louis Cardinal fan, I enjoyed the story about a “boy wonder of baseball” in 1973. Joe Castle, from Calico Rock, AR, becomes the dream player of the Chicago Cubs’ fans.

Quickly dubbed Calico Joe, Joe stuns the baseball world with his home runs and his polite demeanor. Readers learn the story of Calico Joe and that summer of 1973 through the voice of Paul Tracey. At the time, Paul’s father Warren Tracey was a pitcher for the NY Mets. Warren Tracey was an ordinary player with a big ego.

I’ll avoid any spoilers here, but Warren Tracey and Calico Joe cross paths several times. The last time they meet, the consequences are devastating. Not only do we see Calico Joe’s life changed, we see what happens to Paul and his hero worship of Calico Joe.

Paul explains his relationship with his father and what a terrible father Warren was to Paul and his sister, not to mention what a lousy husband he was. For book clubs, the story will create a number of discussion topics. Those will include family and the complications of family, forgiveness, and hatred.

The Book Whisperer Steps into SciFi & AI

After my first cataract surgery, I found reading difficult. I can see in the distance with my newly corrected eye and the lens for the right eye, but close work such as reading is tedious and eye-straining. I turned to audiobooks. Where could I find the best advice about audiobooks? Simple answer: my local library, South Broken Arrow where Melody Palmer and Kelly Waters both gave me fascinating suggestions. When Melody mentioned All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, I admit to being skeptical since SciFi is not my usual genre. However, I  decided I should step out of my comfort zone.

I listened with interest to All Systems Red. It is the first of seven books, and I will definitely continue with book two to learn more about the people and the SecUnit who tells the story. The SecUnit is “a heartless killing machine,” but he considers himself “a complete failure.” With Artificial Intelligence such an important topic today, these stories feature AI are finding a lot of traction.

The SecUnit is on a space mission with Dr. Volescu, Dr. Bharadwaj, Dr. Mensah, and Dr. Ratthi. The SecUnit, Murderbot , does not think much of humans. It spends most of its time watching movies behind his helmet where the humans can’t tell what he is doing. The Murderbot is “a cloned genderless human upgraded with replaceable trunk, arms, and legs.”

The group is on a space mission when another nearby mission goes dark. The Murderbot and its team need to find out what has happened. The story moves rapidly. The Murderbot is funny as it gives assessments of the humans on the team. Despite itself, however, the Murderbot begins to care about the people in its group.

All Systems Red is a good way to step into SciFi for those who are skeptical. For the SciFi fan, the Murderbot will become a favorite character.

The Book Whisperer Discovers a Light Read

Just before my first cataract surgery, I picked up Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn from the library. I needed a quick, light read and Georgie interested me. The story moves along quickly and introduces readers to a variety of characters—mostly old friends becoming reacquainted after some years apart.

Georgie Mulcahy has been working in LA as a personal assistant. That job has ended, so Georgie is at loose ends for a time. She decides to drive back to Darentville, VA, her hometown and regroup.

Her parents have gone away on a short trip, so Georgie will be staying in their home alone until they return. That is, she thinks she will be alone until she discovers her parents forgot to tell her they promised Levi Fanning he could stay in the house while his is being renovated. Levi’s younger brother was Georgie’s high school crush.

Georgie finds her 8^th grade notebook that holds her hopes and dreams of the day. Oddly, Levi, who has become very like a hermit, offers to help Georgie in her quest to fulfill some of her dreams. Georgie realizes that she has spent her teens and adult life helping others fulfill their dreams. Now, it is her turn, but she has to determine what those dreams are.

For readers seeking a read to take them away from their own day-to-day routines, Georgie, All Along will be a treat.

The Book Whisperer Can’t Recommend Highly Enough The River We Remember

Photo of Krueger by Diane Krueger

How lucky can I be? I received an advance copy of The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger. The book will be available September 5^th. Where do I begin writing about this extraordinary story? The first thought that comes to mind is from Emily Dickinson: “If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can warm me, I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry.” Okay, dear Readers, you may argue that Krueger writes prose, not poetry, but I would beg to differ.

The River We Remember provides characters who take hold of a reader’s attention and don’t let go. The story is full of mean, greedy, obstinate, kind, warm, flawed, and complicated people. One might say like real life. The story itself, set in 1958 in a small Minnesota town, revolves around the murder of Jimmy Quinn, the area’s richest man. With many suspects, Brody Dern, sheriff, must determine who has killed Quinn and why.

The truth does not yield itself quickly. And, when it does, readers will be taken by surprise. Besides Quinn’s death, other matters complicate the story. To avoid any spoilers, I will simply say The River We Remember is a book not to be missed.

For book clubs, the topics for discussion are numerous: WWII, veterans, prejudice of all kinds, people’s past, fears, love, honor, and truth. The compelling characters will keep readers turning pages to discover the end. The River We Remember is not a book I will stop thinking about or recommending to others.

The Book Whisperer Enjoys a Mystery, a Page-Turner

Better late than never! I have been remiss in writing and posting this review of Her Deadly Game by Robert Dugoni. It is time to correct that error. I read, enjoyed, and recommended When The World Played Chess by Dugoni, but I had not read one of his other books. Her Deadly Game will lead me to other mysteries by Dugoni.

Dugoni includes this quote from The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde at the beginning of the book: “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” That quote sets the stage for a story of danger, intrigue, competition, and ultimately, a satisfying tale. Her Deadly Game centers on Keera Duggan, a former competitive chess player, now a defense attorney in her father’s criminal defense law firm.

For readers who seek page-turning mysteries, Her Deadly Game will fill the bill. Without misleading readers, Dugoni takes them down dangerous paths and then turns the story on its ear. For book clubs, mysteries often produce little discussion. However, With Her Deadly Game, book club members will discuss the mystery itself, but they will also be interested in the family dynamics of the story as well as Keera’s previous romance with another attorney.

The Book Whisperer Recommends Strangers in Budapest

As a leader of a lively book club consisting of avid readers, I have reached out to authors asking them to join us via Zoom and in person for those authors who are local. Emily Hourican even met with us from Ireland! Every time, the authors have generously agreed to meet with us, and we have had delightful, rewarding discussions with them. Jessica Keener, a friend of Ellen Marie Wiseman who had met with our book club, emailed me to ask if we would read her book Night Swim and Zoom with her. She is celebrating the tenth anniversary of the book’s publication and wishes to meet with book clubs across the US. How could I refuse? We look forward to meeting with her in a few months.

Besides reading Night Swim, I wanted to read another book by Keener. I first read Alone Together: Love, Grief, and Comfort in the Time of COVID-19, a book of short works edited by Jennifer Haupt. It contains a short story by Keener. Then I discovered Strangers in Budapest by Keener.

Strangers in Budapest is a story of a past war, secrets, lies, intrigue, and family conflicts. Annie and Will with their infant son leave the US for Budapest. In 1989, the Communist regime in the People’s Republic of Hungary ended. Annie seeks an escape from a haunting past while Will sees living and working in Budapest as an opportunity to create a new life for his young family.

The young couple’s lives change when friends in the US ask them to check on Edward Weiss, an elderly man who is in poor health. The instructions Annie and Will receive from Rose, Edward’s friend, are very specific: “You must not tell anyone that he is living there. We are trusting you.”

Is that enough to cause readers to turn pages? The war is over; the Communist regime has ended. What dangers could there be in other people knowing where Edward, an elderly man in poor health, lives? Edward is a Jewish American, a veteran of WWII. He helped free Hungarian Jews from a Nazi prison camp. Surely, these are acts to be celebrated, not hidden.

However, readers also learn that Edward’s daughter was murdered, and Edward is convinced his daughter’s husband had a calculated plan in wooing and marrying his daughter. That plan was murder. Will refuses to be caught up in this intrigue, but Annie feels she should at least investigate the circumstances surrounding the daughter’s death.

For book clubs, Strangers in Budapest will generate a wide-ranging discussion. That discussion will include WWII, family loyalty, fear, love, and intrigue.

The Book Whisperer HIGHLY Recommends The Long Road to Happiness!

The Long Road to Happy: A Sister’s Journey Through Her Brother’s Disabilities by Diane Morrow-Kondos is a story of heartache, difficulties, worries, and ultimately, triumphs. Diane Morrow-Kondos writes with clarity and compassion in telling her family’s story of coping with a child who is intellectually disabled. The Morrow family had three daughters, with Diane being the youngest of the three. Then brother David arrived when Diane was four-and-a-half. The family’s world changed with the arrival of this longed-for son.

As the months went by, David did not progress as expected. His parents were in denial about the problems until they had to face them. David’s diagnosis of being intellectually disabled started the whole family on a new course. And that course was uncharted, difficult, and fraught with complications.

Readers ultimately learn through The Long Road to Happy that adjustments can be made, and families can find strength in one another and outside the family. When she became her brother’s guardian following their mother’s death, Diane Morrow-Kondos faced many challenges. However, she describes with precision ways she coped with her brother’s problems and how they compromised at times. Their relationship continues to grow with phone calls and visits now ending with “I love you” from each.

This deeply personal story is an important one. While Diane Morrow-Kondos tells of the specific struggles she and her family have had, readers can find solace and hope for themselves in the story. I highly recommend The Long Road to Happy: A Sister’s Journey Through Her Brother’s Disabilities by Diane Morrow-Kondos.