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.
I was confused by this book. The author was searching in the Highland Archive Centre in Inverness for historical information about his grandfather when he came across a memoir written by a 17-year old crofter. Roderick Macrae was awaiting trial for the brutal murder of three of his neighbours.
Is it a true memoir or was it written by someone else? Goodreads says it is a novel but the author says that the memoir itself is real. Wikipedia says the author used fictional historical documents.
Whatever the truth of the book is, it was long-listed for the 2016 Man Booker Prize. And the outcome for Roderick was never in much doubt; he freely admitted to the murders although his advocate was defending him on the grounds of insanity. Or was that defence all part of the ruse?
I don’t know why I put this book into the donation box. It has been a long time since I read it the first time and I guess I forgot how good it was. My interest in it was revived when we watched a Netflix series based on the book. The series was great and as I read the book this second time I pictured the characters as they appeared on the screen.
Dominick and Thomas are identical twins. They may look alike but Thomas is a schizophrenic and gets himself in all sorts of trouble. Dominick has always looked after Thomas and nothing has changed now that they are adults.
The book is about so much more than the brothers though. There is the story of their less-than-perfect childhood, Dominick’s story and one of the best parts was reading the journal of their grandfather.
This one is staying out of the donation box and going onto “my” bookshelf (where I keep all my favourites).
Sabre Brown is an attorney who works in the juvenile court system. At times she may be representing a parent and at other times she represents a child. In this case she is representing a very mature nine-year old; Sabre needs to determine whether or not it is safe to allow the child to return to the care of her father. On the surface the father appears decent and responsible but the further Sabre digs into his past the more challenging her decision becomes.
I’m glad I enjoyed this book because I have three more of her books on my Kindle. I must have got them at a very good price (or free) for me to have so many in the same series.
Goodreads Rating: * * * *
Book #2 in the series
Sabre is back with all her colleagues – Bob, another lawyer, and JP, her investigator. Sabre is handling two cases in this book. She is defending a friend on a murder charge, as well as representing two children who have been raised in an extremely prejudiced family. Sabre also has a love interest in this book.
I enjoyed the story but felt there was just too much going on. The case of the children was practically ignored and the outcome she got for them came very quickly and without much explanation. It will be awhile before I pick up Book 4 in the series.
Goodreads Rating: * * *
Book #4 in the series
It was a bit like meeting old friends as I read this one. There is a lot going on in the lives of the two children Sabre is representing. And amid all the drama of their lives, Sabre’s friend Bob has been arrested for the murder of the children’s father. It was always noted that JP, her investigator, was Texan but I didn’t like all the “JP-isms” that he came out with (new to this book).
I don’t think I missed much by skipping Book 3 and I won’t be looking for any more from this series.
