Author: Isabel Allenda

I’ve never read a book by this author that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy. When I read a book in translation I’m never sure whether the credit goes to the author or the translator. It wasn’t until after I’d read the book that I saw that it was her first novel.

The story revolves around three generations of the Trueba family. The main focus is on the patriarch Esteban, his wife Clara, their daughter Blanca and her daughter Alba. The setting for the story is a home in a city (the name is never mentioned) and the family’s country estate. It is a time of political upheaval in the country and eventually a military coup overthrows the government and leaves the family on different sides of the conflict.

Goodreads Rating: * * * * *

Author: D.C. Alexander

I’m seldom sure where the books on my Kindle come from. When I first got it I often downloaded cheap (never more than $2.99) books that looked interesting. Some of them were even free and, for the most part, they have been worth the money I spent on them.

The book is set in the Pacific Northwest and mentions Seattle and Port Townsend often. A psychopath is murdering men who have a history of abusing women and children and his crimes are an exact copy of murders that have taken place from time to time over the past decades.

The book seemed to have trouble deciding what it wanted to be – a coming-of-age story about five college friends, a philosophical discussion about what causes evil, or a police procedural to catch the killer.

Goodreads Rating: * *

Author: Marlene Adelstein

Six years ago ten-year old Sophie disappeared from a clothing store in a large mall while shopping with her mother. Sophie was not an easy child; although never diagnosed it sounded like she was somewhere on the Asperger’s or Autism spectrum. Not surprisingly, Sophie’s mother has gone a little mad in those six years as has Star, Sophie’s best friend. When new clues about Sophie’s disappearance come to light it is revealed that both Sophie’s mother and Star have been keeping secrets and feeling guilty about her disappearance.

Is the run-away teen who has arrived in town really Sophie?

Goodreads Rating: * * *

Author: Sara Ackerman

When I’m behind in my Goodreads challenge I can always count on finding something on my Kindle that will catch me up. I’m still behind but this quick read helped.

Violet and her daughter, Ella, are adjusting to life in Hawaii after the disappearance of her husband. It has been a year and no clues have surfaced. The timing of the story is just after the attack on Pearl Harbour when American soldiers have been shipped to Hawaii for training before heading off to fight in the Pacific. When Violet meets a young soldier she is caught in limbo being afraid to let her feelings show and guilt over embracing life not knowing if her husband is dead or alive. From early in the book you know that Ella knows far more than she is letting on; she is a troubled girl but her problems are assumed to be related to her father’s disappearance.

A good story and a quick read.

Goodreads Rating: * * *