Author: John Boyne

Long before we discovered that he had fathered two children by two different women, one in Drimoleague and one in Clonakilty, Father James Monroe stood on the altar of the Church of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, in the parish of Goleen, West Cork, and denounced my mother as a whore.

With an opening paragraph like that you are drawn into the book from the very beginning. Told mainly from the point of view of Cyril, the very reason his mother was ousted from her home and village, he is adopted by a fairly well-to-do family but it was always acknowledged the he is their adopted son and they were his adopted parents, not a “real Avery”.

The book follows the tormented life of a gay man in Ireland, as well as a better life in Amsterdam and the United States. At the end of his life Cyril returns to Ireland to find that not a lot has changed.

Goodreads Rating: * * * * *

Author: Emily Gunnis

I’ve been hoping to find another book by this author but when I couldn’t find it I decided to try one of her other books. I was not disappointed. There is so much more going on in this story that the midwife portion took a backseat in my mind. The book revolves around Yew Tree Manor and the rental cottage on the estate, The Vicarage.

In the current day portion of the story a young girl has gone missing from Yew Tree Manor almost fifty years to the day since another young girl went missing and was never found. The family in the Manor have always blamed the family in the Vicarage but is that really the case? In the end, both disappearances are solved and several secrets are revealed.

Goodreads Rating: * * * *

Author: Charlotte Gray

I read Susanna Moodie’s “Roughing it in the Bush” and, to my surprise, I really enjoyed it. This biography of Susanna and her sister, Cathrine Parr Trail, came to me as a Christmas gift.

The book is well written and gives us a glimpse of their lives before marrying and then emigrating to Canada in 1832. From that point the book focuses on the hardships and poverty both sisters faced trying to settle and make a living from their homesteads in the bush, and follows them as each family moves across Upper Canada in an attempt for a better life. During this time the sisters continued to try to earn extra money publishing articles and books both in Canada and in England. Although their writing was well received they were never paid much for their efforts. Life was certainly a struggle from beginning to end.

Goodreads Rating: * * * *

Author: Ian Rankin

In this third book of the series Inspector Rebus has been seconded to London to help in the search for a serial killer. While he doesn’t consider himself the expert that he is being advertised as there are some advantages to being in London. He’ll be able to reconnect with his ex-wife and their daughter.

Goodreads Rating: * * * *