Author: Ragnar Jónasson

I follow a lot of quilting blogs and the author of one of those blogs is also a Goodreads member. I saw some of the books that she had read so I made a friend request to her and I’ve been following her for almost a year. We’ve read a few books in common but this is the first one I’ve picked up solely on her recommendation.

Ari Thór Arason is a young man in his twenties who has recently completed his training as a police officer. The first job he is offered is in a small fishing village in northern Iceland but he has to leave his girlfriend in Reykjavik as she is finishing up her medical training.

Ari is told that nothing ever happens in the quiet town but that isn’t the case after Ari arrives. An accident (maybe murder) and an assault all take place within a couple of months. The weather is as much a character in the book as the various village people that Ari comes in contact with.

Goodreads Rating: * * *

Author: Anne Tyler

It’s nice to be back to a favourite author for my first book of the New Year. I just signed up for my 50 book challenge through Goodreads.

An Anne Tyler story is often a story about real people doing everyday things – not too much drama and not much suspense – but by the end of the book her characters are your friends.

The book opens when Ian is a high school student; he lives with his family, mother, father, sister and brother. When his brother introduces the woman he is going to marry Ian is a little star struck. But as the days go by the glitter is wearing off. When his brother kills himself Ian is filled with guilt that only worsens when his sister-in-law also dies and three children are left homeless.

Ian, by chance, stumbles into a service being held by the Church of Second Chances and is convinced that he must raise the children as penance.

Goodreads Rating: * * *

Author: Loranne Brown

Yeah! This is book 50 of my Goodreads 50-book Challenge for 2020. I don’t see where you sign up for 2021 but I’ll be in for, and keeping track of, another 50.

This is a sad and dark book, but it is very well written and, although slow to grab my interest, I eventually couldn’t put it down. It wasn’t until I was looking for a photo of the book that I read it is a retelling of a Grimm’s Fairy Tale (no wonder I like Andersen’s better).

Mariah, as a young girl, tries to be the perfect daughter. She has few friends but discovers a talent for playing the piano (mainly because she has a huge crush on her teacher). She is anorexic and self-mutilates. She is abused by her grandfather and in an effort to stop him she shoots off one of her hands. You’d think this would be the saddest part but it gets worse.

She becomes friends with a set of twins, Kat and Doug, and eventually has an affair with Doug. When she marries the love of her life, Sully, all should be good. Their first child is born with a genetic defect that lets everyone know that the child is Doug’s and not Sully’s.

What more could happen? A lot.

Goodreads Rating: * * * * *

Author: Jean M. Auel

There were nine years between the publication of this book and the previous book in the series. If you waited nine years or more to read this last one in the series perhaps you wouldn’t have minded all the repetitions of past stories from all five previous books. I read books five and six one right after another and there were so many times I wanted to skip over the repetitions. Although I may be wrong, it seemed like there were explanations all through the book that were often repeated.

I guess after 1400+ pages there is just so much you can say about Cro-Magnon and Neaderthal life.

I have enjoyed the series but I’m glad it is done. The ending of the book was left open enough that there could be a continuation but I don’t think there will be.

Goodreads Rating: * * * *