Culpability

 Fiction by Bruce Holsinger

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Noah and Lorelei live in the not-so-distant future where self-driving cars are commonplace. So when they take a road trip with their three kids, they aren't too concerned about their safety. Noah is on his laptop sending work emails and Lorelei is similarly absorbed, working on her phone. Seventeen-year-old Charlie is at the wheel, letting the self-driving system do its work, while his younger sisters ride in the back. Suddenly, inexplicably, there is a collision with another car. The family is injured but mostly okay. The couple in the other car dies.

Immediately the question is: who is at fault? Is it the AI system, who was supposed to be in charge? Is it Charlie, who was at the wheel? Is it Noah, who was in the passenger seat, nominally supervising his minor son? There is a serious investigation underway, and nearly everyone in the family feels weighed down by the cloud of suspicion and guilt.

The story is called "culpability," and it is indeed about finding out who is to blame for the accident, but it is more about the family themselves and their relationships. I think it's also about the idea that culpability is not so easily assigned; there can be many levels of fault and more than one person to blame in any situation..

This was good story that made you think; it was not perhaps a completely enjoyable read, however.

Speak Softly, She Can Hear

 Fiction by Pam Lewis

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

In 1965 Carole and her friend Naomi, a pair of private-girls'-school seniors, go on a spring break trip to Stowe, Vermont, together. They tell their parents --that is, they tell Carole's parents; Naomi's self-absorbed father and stepmother barely notice her absence-- that they are learning to ski. Really, however, they are on a mission to lose their virginities before they graduate with a guy named Eddie. YES they are planning on BOTH doing it with him. Wait, what?

This is a really weird premise to me, but since Carole is slightly overweight and insecure, and Naomi is an unconventional thrill-seeker, I guess it's possible. Then something very bad happens that will affect them forever, and Carole spends most of the rest of the book trying to get away from Naomi and Eddie in order to forget it.

This is a pretty good character story with a great ending. I don't think the title fits the book at all, however. The title suggests a completely different kind of story. It's not a creepy suspense tale, or even a mystery novel. I think I'd call it What Happened in Stowe, or something like that.

Not that anyone asked my opinion...

Drawing Home

 Fiction by Jamie Brenner

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Emma Mapson enjoys her job at the American Hotel in Sag Harbor, New York, although it can be difficult when the summer rush is on. Working twlve-hour days makes it hard for her to spend time with her fourteen-year-old daughter Penny. But then an unexpected inheritance changes things for Emma and Penny forever...

This was a pretty good story. I really liked the characters but there were some plot elements that didn't hang together in my opinion.  

I also read recently by this author: The Forever Summer

Where Butterflies Wander

 Fiction by Suzanne Redfearn

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

At the beginning of this story, a wounded soldier named Davina returns to her old home on New Hampshire as her adopted mother lies dying and writes a final confession letter. Then it skips to twenty-two years later and a woman named Marie who is trying to escape overwhelming grief by coming to that same New Hampshire property.

Marie's idea is to sell her inherited land in order to buy a new home and get away from the house where her eight-year-old daughter Bee died less than a year earlier. But Marie is not the only one grieving; Bee's siblings Hannah and Brendon, her twin sister Penelope, and her father Leo are all reeling from the unexpected tragedy. Probably all of them recognize the futility of escaping emotional pain by simply changing locations; however, Marie seems determined to push forward. 

Then Davina, scarred by war and known to locals as the "river witch," is discovered still living in her cabin on the property. Marie sees Davina as a roadblock in her plan and takes steps to have her removed, which sets off a firestorm of trouble. As one might imagine, evicting a wounded veteran doesn't make anyone look good to the public. 

This was a good story that gives you a lot to think about. The author really gets you to understand the opposing perspectives.

I also read recently by this author: Hadley and Grace

Welcome Home Stranger

 Fiction by Kate Christianson

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

At the beginning of this story a woman called Rachel is required to leave her job in Washington DC and go home to Maine because her mother has died. Waiting there for her will be her sister Celeste and a truckload of guilt, so Rachel delays as much as she can before making the trip. Rachel was estranged from her mother and had not been home to Maine for many years, so it comes as quite a surprise when Rachel finds her mother has bequeathed her house to her.

This was a good character story that started a little slowly. I did like it by the end.

Everyone is Beautiful

 Fiction by Katherine Center

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Lainie is a stay-at-home mom with three small children who only wants to stay in Houston near her parents when her composer husband moves them all to Cambridge. For him, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but for Lainie, it's just new place to slog through motherhood without help. Will the pressure of life bring the couple closer together or push them apart? And will Lainie ever feel like a person again instead of just Mom?

This is a lovely character story about finding yourself after parenthood has changed everything.

I also read by this author: The Bright Side of Disaster

The Bay at Midnight

 Fiction by Diane Chamberlain 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

In the summer of 1962, young sisters Isabel, Julie, and Lucy went down to the New Jersey shore with their parents, as they had every summer before that. But that year something terrible happened, and by the end of the summer Isabel would be murdered and Julie and Lucy would never be the same.

Now it’s forty-one years later, and some new evidence comes to light about Isabel’s death  now the whole thing will be raked up again. Will the truth be finally uncovered?

This was an interesting story with some surprises and great characters.

I also read recently by this author: The Shadow Wife

Little Monsters

 Fiction by Adrienne Brodeur.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

As Dr. Adam Gardner, PhD, approaches his seventieth birthday, he doesn’t want to think about retirement.  In fact, he’s confident he has at least one more brilliant idea in him. The idea is out there, somewhere just out of reach; he can feel it. All he has to do is go off his bipolar medication and induce a manic episode. Wait, what?

Well, obviously this is a terrible idea, as either of his adult children could have told him if he’d let them in on his plan, but Adam has never considered anyone’s opinion besides his own. And now, just as his daughter Abby is gaining recognition for her art and his son Ken is gearing up for a congressional campaign, their father’s craziness is the last thing they need. Plus there’s a secret he’s never told them that is about to come to light…

This was a really good story with interesting characters. 

I also read by this author: Wild Game

Heaven Adjacent

 Fiction by Catherine Ryan Hyde

https://www.audible.com

This story begins with a New York Times reporter looking for a human interest piece. He finds it on a farm in the middle of nowhere. There's an apparent roadside art exhibit, and there's Roseanna Chaldecott, an ex-Manhattan lawyer who escaped the city to live alone and "in peace" in this remote place. 

But Roseanna's peace is hard to keep. She has to learn that being alone isn't all it's cracked up to be, and when you run away from problems they can often chase you down.

This was a good character story, as I'd expect from this author.

I also read by this author: My Name is Anton

Deep Hole

 Audible Original Fiction by Don Winslow

https://www.audible.com

This was a really good but too-short story about a Rhode Island surfer and his money troubles. It didn't go where I expected it to. 

I also listened to recently by Audible Originals: Self Help

The Sleepwalker

 Fiction by Chris Bohjalian

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Annalee Ahlberg is a chronic sleepwalker, and when she disappears from her room one night in August, it's assumed that she accidentally sleepwalked into a nearby river. Her daughters Lianna and Paige are hoping against hope that she will still come home, but then her body is finally found. But did Annalee actually walk into the river on her own?

This was a good-enough story, but it moved too slowly for me. Still, the ending was surprising.

I also read recently by this author: Close Your Eyes Hold Hands

Fools Rush In

 Fiction by Kristan Higgins

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

Millie is returning to her old home town on Cape Cod to live, having finished medical school and a residency. She has a plan to work with the local doctor and finally get the boy she’s loved since middle school to notice her.  

This was nice little straight romance with good characters and fun dialogue.

The Identicals

Fiction by Elin Hildebrand.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com

All of Elin Hidebrand's novels (or at least all that I've read) are set on Nantucket Island. This one is on Nantucket AND its sister/rival island Martha's Vineyard, which is an interesting twist. She starts out with a little list of  contrasting facts about each island, and why the residents of each believe their island to be superior to the other.

But the two New England islands aren't the only sister/rivals in this story; the novel is about a pair of identical twins sisters, split in The Parent Trap-style by a divorce and living estranged from each other on separate islands. Their father's death should be bringing them together, but it's a tough road.

This was a good character story; I enjoyed it.

I also read by this author: Here's to Us

The Rumor

Fiction by Elin Hildebrand.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was a fun novel set in Nantucket, about a pair of women who are best friends and the rumors other people on the island believe about them. Some of the gossip is even true...


I also read by thes author: The Matchmaker

In the Unlikely Event

Fiction by Judy Blume.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

A great novel about New Jersey in the fifties, this book starts a little slow but it stick with it!

The Matchmaker

Fiction by Elin Hildebrand.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Set on the island of Nantucket, this story was about a woman who has an uncanny knack for finding people their "perfect match." Of course, her own love life doesn't run as smoothly.

I listened to this story as a recorded book, but I think I would have enjoyed it more just reading it in print. It was a good book, but it was a little too slow-moving for audio.