Author: McClung, Nellie L.

I was waiting downstairs for Pat one day and saw this book on the shelf; I thought must have come from Mum and Dad’s library. However, the inscription inside has a name that I don’t recognize and a Fergus, Ontario inscription. Could it have been one of Grandma McKnight’s?

Pearl Watson has been in love with Dr. Clay, the rural doctor, since she was 15; he returned her feelings but said they must wait three years. The three years have passed. Pearl has attended “Normal” school and is ready to start her first teaching job. It is a time when women didn’t have the right to vote and, in fact, they had very few rights. Both Pearl and the doctor get involved in the politics of the day in order to change that.

The story takes place in the Souris Valley in Saskatchewan, although the author is from Alberta. I was very interested when one of the characters had ties to the North; she lived for a time at the Hudson’s Bay post in Fort Resolution and was married in Hay River. That character turns out to have a surprising part in the story.

If you like old-fashioned stories with a happy ending you’ll enjoy this one.

Goodreads Rating: * * * *

Author: Espach, Alison

This book came to my attention because Pat was doing an online workshop with the author. He mentioned that she had a best-selling novel so I decided to see if I could find it; to my surprise, the library had one available.

Lila and Gary have booked a seaside hotel for their family and friends for a week-long wedding celebration. Recently divorced and depressed, Phoebe has booked the last available room in the hotel where she intends to kill herself. Although the attempt is made it isn’t successful and all of a sudden Phoebe has become an integral part of the wedding plan.

Goodreads Rating: * * * *

Author: Slavomir Rawicz

This was a book from Mum and Dad’s shelf and, from the tape outline inside the cover, I assume it came from a book club offering; the brochure itself had been removed. One day we were looking at our book shelves and I came across a couple from Mum and Dad’s collection and pulled them out to read.

The Foreward purports this to be the true account of an escape from a Siberian labour camp, across Siberia, through the Gobi desert and over the Himalayas to safety in India. On looking a bit further online it seems that this may not, in fact, be a true story. Or if it is true it perhaps didn’t happen to the teller of the tale. Either way I enjoyed the read.

As the journey progressed I followed along on a map of Russia. I realized that were I dropped into the middle of nowhere I wouldn’t have a clue which direction I should travel to reach safety and, if I was dropped in another country, I wouldn’t have a clue what countries bordered where I was. Perhaps I need to spend more time learning my geography.

Goodreads Rating: * * * *

Author: Jo Nesbo

I’ve read a few books by this author but this is the first that wasn’t part of the Harry Hole series.

The story is mainly from the point of view of one of two brothers, Carl and Roy. Roy has remained in Norway at the family homestead while Carl has travelled to both the USA and Canada. The mystery and mayhem begins to be revealed when Carl returns to Norway with his wife. He has great plans to build a resort hotel on the mountain near their home and wants the whole town to invest in it.

The story plays out quite slowly and by the time I was finished I was tired of them all.

Goodreads Rating: * * *