Book Review - Lost in the Summer of '69 by Eliza Knight

My Review

Lost in the Summer of '69 is the story of three women in one family -- Leanne Miller is the perfect wife and mother, living in Ossining, New York with her husband and teenage daughter Nora.  Nora is about to go to Yale as one of the first women accepted there.  When Leanne's mother, a thwarted musician, goes missing in this summer of music festivals, Leanne and Nora take off on a long road trip to find her, traveling to old fashioned motels and festivals in their search.

I wanted to read this book because I love 1960's settings and the music festivals and summer setting sounded like a fun read.  I absolutely loved Eliza Knight's book The Queen's Faithful Companion (about Queen Elizabeth and her favorite corgi dog), so that sparked my interest in this novel as well.

The book is told in the alternating viewpoints of the three characters.  They all evolve over the summer.  Leanne and Nora are not very close initially.  Leanne is very prim and proper, the perfect 1960's housewife.  She learns over the road trip summer to be more relaxed and take life a day at a time.  Nora grows closer to her mother as they search for Eleanor, stopping at diners and reading popular paperback novels out loud in the car.  Nora also experiences first love with a young man who is writing articles about the different music festivals they visit.  I have to add that I saw some similarities between Leanne and Nora and Betty and Sally Draper from Mad Men -- down to the Ossining suburbs.

Eleanor's story is a sadder one.  She takes off because she has a diagnosis of early onset dementia.  We see her having occasional memory lapses as she travels to festivals, becoming a sort of celebrity as a grandmother with a guitar - and the voice of an angel.  She performs on stage with one of the musicians she grows close to ... but she knows she will eventually have to go back home.

This is a well written novel.  The period details were exceptional.  I enjoyed the music festivals, and hearing about the singers and bands the women encounter or hear.  I especially loved the smaller moments with Leanne and Nora, the old fashioned motels, the road trip, the diners and truck stops, the books they read aloud together.

I recommend Lost in the Summer of '69 as a summer read for anyone who loves 1960's settings, classic rock, or Americana road trips ... and especially for anyone who enjoys a multi-generational family story.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and Netgalley for an advanced reading copy of this book.

Book Spotlight and Giveaway - The Case of the Christie Wedding Affair (The Detection Club) by Kelly Oliver

Book Synopsis

Scotland, 1930: Agatha Christie is getting married. She invites fellow members of the Detection Club to the windswept Isle of Skye for a quiet break while the banns are read. But tranquility proves elusive when the formidable Lord Blackwood, leader of a hunting party sharing their lodge, vanishes from the moors.

Sharp-eyed assistant to the Detection Club secretary, Eliza Baker, suspects foul play as the strange occurrences pile up: a mysterious grave in the churchyard, a missing rifle, and late-night excursions across the rugged island. There may be no body—yet—but someone at Dunmara Lodge is hiding a deadly secret.

As a storm cuts them off from the mainland, Eliza and her friend Theo must navigate lies, half-truths, and a treacherous landscape… but can they uncover the killer in the stalking grounds… or will the moors keep their secrets forever?

Head to the remote Isle of Skye in this delightful and gripping golden-age mystery series, perfect for fans of Helena Dixon, Verity Bright and T. E. Kinsey.

Author Bio

Kelly Oliver is the Agatha award-winning and bestselling author of four mystery series: The Jessica James Mysteries, The Pet Detective Mysteries, The Fiona Figg Mysteries, and The Detection Club Mysteries.

The Fiona Figg Mysteries have been on the most anticipated list of Mystery Magazine and won the Mystery and Mayhem Award and the Silver Falchion Award for Best Historical Mystery. And The Case of the Christie Conspiracy, Detection Club Mystery book one, is currently nominated for an Agatha Award for Best Historical Mystery.

Kelly is Past President of Sisters in Crime National, current Education Coordinator for SinC Guppies, and a Distinguished Emerita Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University.

To learn more about Kelly and her books, go to www.kellyoliverbooks.com.

Website  Bestselling Author Kelly Oliver

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Amazon Author Page   https://www.amazon.com/Kelly-Oliver/e/B001HN3HCM/

INSTAGRAM @kellyoliverbooks

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Giveaway

Book Review - The Queen's Coronation by Jennifer Ryan

My Review

The Queen's Coronation is a historical novel set in 1952 England, as Queen Elizabeth is preparing for her coronation.  The story is told from the viewpoint of three women:  Caroline Brimstone, a dresser to the queen, is unhappily married and the mother of a young daughter;   Miranda Miller is an American journalist who has taken an office job at the palace in order to covertly write articles "behind the scenes";  Lucy Jones is a young wardrobe assistant who wants to be a singer.

I wanted to read this novel because I love Jennifer Ryan's historical fiction.  Her book The Chilbury Ladies Choir is one of my all time favorite novels.  I love the fresh perspective she brings to life in England during World War II.

It took me a few chapters to get to know the three protagonists in this book.  I found Caroline immediately sympathetic, found Miranda's story interesting, and was often exasperated with Lucy's naivete and very poor decisions with men.  As the book went on, their stories became more entwined and I became fully engrossed in the storytelling.  

The historical details in this book are lovely.  It was unique and interesting glimpsing the coronation from the viewpoint of everyday women working at the palace.  I especially loved the glimpses of excitement in the larger community about the coronation, like the big street festival in the neighborhood where the women lived, with Caroline's young daughter dressed up as queen.

I really enjoyed The Queen's Coronation and recommend this book for other historical fiction fans.  Readers who have an interest in Queen Elizabeth II and the British royal family will be particularly interesting.  (And yes, fellow dog lovers, there are several Corgi sightings in the book!)

Thanks to Random House and Netgalley for an advanced reading copy of this book.

Book Review - The Chateau on Sunset by Natasha Lester

My Review

In 1957, a young, recently orphaned girl named Aria Jones finds herself at the Chateau Marmont, moving in with her aunt, a former actress that she doesn't really know.  She makes friends with two young starlets living at the hotel and is shocked on a regular basis by how different life in 1950's Hollywood is from the quiet life she was used to in New York.  The book flashes between Aria as a young girl and later as a young woman in the 1960's.  It is loosely inspired by Jane Eyre.

I wanted to read The Chateau on Sunset because I love novels with a Mid-Century setting.  I'm interested in old time Hollywood, and Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books.

This novel has so many interesting things going on at once -- it is a coming of age novel, a love story, a mystery.  It deals with some darker aspects of life for young women in Hollywood long before the Me Too movement.

The historical details are vividly captured, and the writing is beautiful, verging on poetic, with passages like:

"But it’s raining as heavily as one of those Manhattan summer storms that would pour down from a sky that had been bright blue a moment before, magicking up puddles and umbrella hawkers where there’d once been dull concrete and souvenir stands" (eBook location 2482).

At the heart of the story there is Aria, who feels invisible as an ordinary girl in this star touched world.  There is also the story of Aria and Theo, a rock star living at the Marmont with his young daughter. 

I read this book late at night, staying up to read just another chapter, waiting for the next twist or surprise that was sure to come (and it did, it always did).

I recommend The Chateau on Sunset for readers who enjoy historical fiction, and especially old time Hollywood.  The Jane Eyre references (and divergences) are sure to interest fans of that classic book as well.

Thanks to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for an advanced reading copy of this book.

Book Review - On the Book Train to Paris by Norie Clarke

My Review

On the Book Train to Paris is a story of three women in Edinburgh who are looking for a new start.  They are all living at an old family bookstore.  Carly is a young woman at a crossroads, not sure if she wants to write or run a bookshop or teach yoga.  Her mother Fran is a famed romance author who has writer's block and is feeling insecure in her marriage.  Elsa is an older family friend who is caring for her husband who has dementia.  When they have the opportunity to go to Paris on a book train, promoting books and authors, they travel and the trip changes their lives.

I wanted to read this book because I love fiction set in Paris, I love trains, enjoy bookstore settings, and the idea of a book train sounds amazing!

This is a charming, leisurely read.  I loved the way the stories unfolded.  Carly meets two men on the train trip and has feelings for them both.  Fran finds a book and some mementos that belonged to her long lost love, and this propels her travels ... even more so when she unexpectedly sees him again.

Elsa's story involves a lot of armchair psychology, as she is interested in pursuing studies to be a counselor.  There were a number of New Age aphorisms attached to her storyline, which made it a bit less engaging to me than the other two women's stories.

I recommend On the Book Train to Paris for fans of women's fiction and especially for anyone interested in Paris and bookstore settings.

Thanks to Headline Books and Netgalley for an advanced reading copy of this book.