Category Archives: Historical (80s)

Review: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

Title: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Genre: Historical (60s, 70s, 80s), Fiction
Length: 350 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss

Summary:

From The New York Times-bestselling author of The Mothers, a stunning new novel about twin sisters, inseparable as children, who ultimately choose to live in two very different worlds, one black and one white.

The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it’s not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it’s everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters’ storylines intersect?

Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passingLooking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person’s decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.

As with her New York Times-bestselling debut The Mothers, Brit Bennett offers an engrossing page-turner about family and relationships that is immersive and provocative, compassionate and wise

Review:

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett is a thought-provoking  novel that is quite engrossing.

Stella and Desiree Vignes are twins who live in a close-knit African American town which was  founded by a freed slave.  The girls live with their mother who is supporting her small family following the tragic murder of her husband. During the ’50s, the teenagers run away to New Orleans where their lives eventually go in completely different directions. In 1968, Desiree returns to her hometown with her young daughter Jude. Desiree plans to stay in town temporarily but deep down, she knows she has won’t leave again.

Jude grows up enduring terrible bullying due to her very dark skin tone. She eventually leaves for college in California where she finally finds a group of supportive friends and possibly love with Reese Carter.  By complete accident, she believes she has found her mother’s long missing twin, Stella. But Jude is uncertain of the woman’s identity since she is a white woman who is married to a wealthy businessman. However, she and  Stella’s spoiled daughter Kennedy  cross paths again.  Jude is then certain of Stella’s identity, but it is clear there will be no warm and loving family reunion. Although close with her mother, Jude keeps this discovery to herself, but will she ever tell Desiree the truth about Stella?

In New Orleans, with Desiree, Stella uncomfortably passes herself as white to secure a better paying job. She essentially comes into her new life as a blank slate and continually deflects questions about her family.  Even after she is married and firmly entrenched in her new life, Stella always feels like someone will unmask her as a fraud.  Her relationship with Bennett is complicated by her high expectations for her daughter.

Kennedy is spoiled but she knows her own mind and she goes after what she wants. She is self-centered and demanding but she finally achieves a modicum of success in her chosen career. It is initially through her career that she Jade finds Kennedy again and Jude is hopeful she will find answers about Stella. However, their relationship remains tenuous and during an angry argument, Jude angrily spills the secrets she has been keeping. Despite her mother’s denials, Kennedy cannot help but wonder if Jude’s revelations are true.

Alternating between the mothers’ and daughters’ points of view, The Vanishing Half is a well-written novel that deftly explores colorism, racisim and identity. All of the characters are superbly developed with enviable strengths and relatable flaws. While some of the women are more likable than others, their individual stories are fascinating. Brit Bennett brings this powerful and introspective novel to a moving conclusion. I highly recommend this incredible novel.

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Filed under Brit Bennett, Fiction, Historical, Historical (60s), Historical (70s), Historical (80s), Rated B+, Review, Riverhead Books, The Vanishing Half

Review: We Are Lost and Found by Helene Dunbar

Title: We Are Lost and Found by Helene Dunbar
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Genre: Historical (80s), LGBT, Young Adult
Length: 304 pages
Book Rating: C

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

A poignant, heartbreaking, and uplifting, story in the tradition of The Perks of Being a Wallflowerabout three friends coming-of-age in the early 1980s as they struggle to forge their own paths in the face of fear of the unknown.

Michael is content to live in the shadow of his best friends, James and Becky. Plus, his brother, Connor, has already been kicked out of the house for being gay and laying low seems to be Michael’s only chance at avoiding the same fate.

To pass the time before graduation, Michael hangs out at The Echo where he can dance and forget about his father’s angry words, the pressures of school, and the looming threat of AIDS, a disease that everyone is talking about, but no one understands.

Then he meets Gabriel, a boy who actually sees him. A boy who, unlike seemingly everyone else in New York City, is interested in him and not James. And Michael has to decide what he’s willing to risk to be himself.

Review:

Set in New York during 1983, We Are Lost and Found by Helene Dunbar is a poignant young adult novel set against the backdrop of the beginning of the AIDS crisis.

Sixteen year old Michael Bartolomeo is navigating his life with best friends James Barrows and Becky Kaplan.  He is gay but considering his parents kicked out his older brother Connor after he came out, Michael is struggling to remain in the closet. He escapes the pressures of his home life through music and evenings dancing at The Echo.  Michael is also quite close to James, who is making his mark in the theatre world and Becky who lives on tenterhooks due to her mother’s drug use. Michael’s budding romance with Gabriel takes place at the start of the  AIDS epidemic.  With little information available about how to protect himself against this frightening disease, will Michael be willing to jump into a relationship with Gabriel?

Michael is an interesting narrator but the lack of quotation marks and the abrupt scene changes between the vignettes makes it difficult to connect to him and the unfolding story. The story does not really come together until well after the halfway point as Michael truly understands the realities of being gay during a deadly health epidemic. His brother Connor’s reckless and risky decisions also serve as a cautionary tale as Michael begins to fall in love with Gabriel.

We Are Lost and Found is a thought-provoking young adult novel with an interesting storyline. The plot is well-researched, quite informative and offers a realistic portrait of coming to age at such a fraught time period.  While the writing style might work not for everyone, this young adult novel by Helene Dunbar highlights a compelling and important part of LGBT history.

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Filed under Helene Dunbar, Historical, Historical (80s), LGBT, Rated C, Review, Sourcebooks Fire, We Are Lost and Found, Young Adult

Review: Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter

Title: Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Contemporary, Historical 80s, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 480 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss

Summary:

The #1 internationally bestselling author returns with a new novel in the vein of the New York Timesbestsellers Pretty Girls and The Good Daughter—a story even more electrifying, provocative, and suspenseful than anything she’s written before.

What if the person you thought you knew best turns out to be someone you never knew at all . . . ?

Andrea Cooper knows everything about her mother Laura. She’s knows she’s spent her whole life in the small beachside town of Gullaway Island; she knows she’s never wanted anything more than to live a quiet life as a pillar of the community; she knows she’s never kept a secret in her life. Because we all know our mothers, don’t we?

But all that changes when a Saturday afternoon trip to the mall explodes into violence and Andrea suddenly sees a completely different side to Laura. Because it turns out that before Laura was Laura, she was someone completely different. For nearly thirty years she’s been hiding from her previous identity, lying low in the hope that no one will ever find her. But now she’s been exposed, and nothing will ever be the same again.

Twenty-four hours later Laura is in the hospital, shot by an intruder who’s spent thirty years trying to track her down and discover what she knows. Andrea is on a desperate journey following the breadcrumbs of her mother’s past. And if she can’t uncover the secrets hidden there, there may be no future for either one of them. .

Review:

Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter is an even-paced, intriguing mystery that weaves back and forth between events in the present and the mid-1980s.

The story opens with Andrea “Andy” Oliver is celebrating her 31st birthday at a diner in a local mall with her mom Laura. Just as Laura is chatting with a former patient’s daughter, a gunman opens fire, killing two people. As the shooter aims his sights on her and Andy, Laura calmly attempts to prevent him from harming Andy. As the situation grows more tense, Laura saves herself and her daughter, but her actions place her at the forefront of the police investigation and ensuing media frenzy.  As Andy is soon to discover, Laura is not who she seems. After a stunning turns of events, Andy’s quest for the truth is about to put herself and others in danger.

Andy is drifting through life aimlessly after her return to Belle Isle from New York. Working as a police dispatcher, she lives in an apartment over Laura’s garage and she has no real plans for the future.  Andy freezes in the face of danger and finds it virtually impossible to focus on Laura’s commands. However, after another menacing situation arises, Andy forces herself to act and soon finds herself on a collision course with Laura’s secret past.

Events from the 1980s unfold in a series of well-place flashbacks. As Andy picks through the detritus of her mother’s life, the two story arcs gradually converge in the present. Andy has no idea she is about to set in motion a harrowing series of events that will endanger herself and others. How will Andy deal with the shocking answers she learns about herself and Laura?

Pieces of Her is an engrossing mystery with a storyline that feels familiar since many elements are reminiscent of true life events. Andy is initially a frustrating character who is helpless in the face of danger. Fortunately, her quest to uncover the long buried secrets of her mother’s past turns into a life-altering journey of self-discovery.  With a few unanticipated twists and turns, Karin Slaughter brings the novel to an action-packed conclusion that is quite satisfying.

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Filed under Contemporary, Historical, Historical (80s), Karin Slaughter, Mystery, Pieces of Her, Rated B, Review, Suspense, William Morrow

Review: The Silent Fountain by Victoria Fox

Title: The Silent Fountain by Victoria Fox
Publisher: MIRA
Genre: Historical (70s & 80s), Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 400 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Hollywood, 1978

Tragedy sends troubled film star Vivien Lockhart into the arms of Giovanni Moretti—and it seems her fortunes have finally changed. Until she meets his sister and learns that her new husband’s past holds dark secrets…

Tuscany, Present day

Lucy Whittaker needs to disappear. But her new home, the crumbling Castillo Barbarossa, is far from the secluded paradise it seemed. Strange sounds come from the attic. The owner of the house will never meet her in person.

The fountain in the courtyard is silent—but has never run dry.

Across the decades, Vivien and Lucy find themselves trapped in the idyllic Italian villa.

And if they are ever to truly escape its walls, they must first unearth its secrets…

Review:

Seamlessly weaving back and forth in time, The Silent Fountain by Victoria Fox is a vaguely sinister mystery which takes place in an isolated Tuscan mansion.

Needing to escape from London, Lucy Whittaker is hired to work for reclusive former actress, Vivien Lockhart in Italy. With no internet or cell service at the spooky mansion, Castillo Barbarossa, she is blissfully unaware of whether or not the mistakes from her past have been exposed. Instead of dwelling on her own problems, Lucy is instead extremely curious about what happened to Vivien and why she lives such a solitary life with no company other than her maid, Adalina and groundskeeper, Salvatore.  After experiencing a few strange events she cannot explain, Lucy tries researching the history of Castillo Barbarossa and Vivien’s past. Finding little information, she teams up with Max Conti, Vivien’s former housekeeper’s nephew. When her personal life begins to implode, Lucy becomes more determined than ever to unearth the truth about Vivien and what happened at Castillo Barbarossa.

In the mid seventies, Vivien escaped her abusive father and fled to Hollywood where she discovered she had to a pay a pretty steep price for fame and fortune.  Just as her life was spiraling out of control, she unexpectedly finds romance with Italian doctor, Giovanni “Gio” Moretti.  Deliriously happy yet wary of his younger sister, Isabella, Vivien eagerly accepts his wedding proposal.  Her dream wedding is marred by a vindictive act by Isabella and soon the three are ensconced at Castillo Barbarossa.  Their initially happy marriage soon falters as Gio works long hours on a secret research project while Vivien grows increasingly frustrated by his refusal to believe Isabella is trying to drive Vivien away. As the years pass, Vivien and Isabella are locked in a battle of wills that culminates in tragedy.

Lucy has not had an easy life and once she is on her own, she makes a terrible decision when she puts her trust her boss, James Calloway. Now that things have gone horribly wrong, she feels incredibly guilty for her perceived role in what happened.  The job in Italy is the perfect opportunity for her to leave the past behind, but she is becoming increasingly uncomfortable with some of the inexplicable and eerie phenomena at  Castillo Barbarossa. While at first curious about the history of the Castillo and what happened to Vivien, Lucy’s quest for answers eventually turns urgent amid her fears about the increasingly disturbing incidents she is experiencing. At the same time, her past is beginning to catch up with her and Lucy is soon facing an inescapable decision about how to handle the situation.

The Silent Fountain is an atmospheric mystery with increasingly ominous overtones.  While Lucy’s story is interesting, readers will most likely find Vivien’s story arc the most compelling.  With the chapters flipping back and forth between past and present, Victoria Fox ratchets up the tension as Vivien’s secrets are slowly revealed. With numerous twists, turns and shocking revelations, the novel comes to a an poignant yet satisfying conclusion. A truly spell-binding, suspenseful mystery that I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend to fans of the genre.

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Filed under Contemporary, Harlequin, Historical, Historical (70s), Historical (80s), Mira, Mystery, Rated B, Review, Suspense, The Silent Fountain, Victoria Fox

Review: The Barrowfields by Phillip Lewis

Title: The Barrowfields by Phillip Lewis
Publisher: Hogarth
Genre: Historical (80s, 90s), Fiction
Length: 368 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Penguin’s First to Read Program

Summary:

A richly textured coming-of-age story about fathers and sons, home and family, recalling classics by Thomas Wolfe and William Styron, by a powerful new voice in fiction

Just before Henry Aster’s birth, his father—outsized literary ambition and pregnant wife in tow—reluctantly returns to the small Appalachian town in which he was raised and installs his young family in an immense house of iron and glass perched high on the side of a mountain. There, Henry grows up under the writing desk of this fiercely brilliant man. But when tragedy tips his father toward a fearsome unraveling, what was once a young son’s reverence is poisoned and Henry flees, not to return until years later when he, too, must go home again.

Mythic in its sweep and mesmeric in its prose, THE BARROWFIELDS is a breathtaking debut about the darker side of devotion, the limits of forgiveness, and the reparative power of shared pasts.

Review:

Set in a rural town in the Appalachian Mountains,The Barrowfields is a melancholy yet interesting debut by Phillip Lewis.

After tragedy strikes their family, young Henry Aster reminisces about his father, also named Henry, who managed to leave his rural roots only to return with his pregnant wife, Eleonore, when his mother’s health begins to fail.  Henry Sr is a prodigious reader with dreams of writing of his own novel and works as a lawyer to support his family. After winning a lucrative case, he purchases a rather spooky house that overlooks the town where he works on his novel while drinking heavily.  Following a tragic loss, young Henry eventually follows in his father’s footsteps as he leaves for college only to eventually return to his birthplace where he must finally come to terms with the events that occurred before striking out on his own.

The flashbacks from Henry Jr about his childhood offer a somewhat bleak portrait of his rather dysfunctional family.  Henry Sr spends night after night writing his novel and drinking which leaves Henry Jr. taking on paternal duties with his much younger sister Threnody.  Most of Henry’s reminiscences focus on his dad with only passing mention of his mom, Eleonore, who is apparently quite devoted to her husband.  After Henry’s paternal grandmother passes away, Henry’s family undergoes a few changes that end in tragedy and culminate with Henry Sr.’s continued downward spiral.

The pacing of the novel picks up when Henry Jr goes to college where he also goes on to law school.  He spends a lot of his time drinking and mooning over  Story, the young woman who has stolen his heart.  However, Story has her own drama to contend with but Henry is a willing participant in her quest to attain answers that no one is willing to give.  It is not until Henry returns to face his own past that he figures out the truth she has searching for.  In the process of coming to terms with his family’s history, Henry attempts to repair his long fractured relationship with Threnody.

Although a bit slow paced, The Barrowfields is an imaginative debut novel.  Phillip Lewis brings the setting vibrantly to life and it is quite easy to visualize the rural town and its inhabitants.  The characters are richly developed and life-like with all too human frailties and foibles.  An atmospheric coming of age novel that leaves readers hopeful Henry Jr and Threnody will find a way to avoid repeating the mistakes that took their father down a somewhat dark path.

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Filed under Fiction, Historical, Historical (80s), Historical (90s), Hogarth, Phillip Lewis, Rated B, Review, The Barrowfields

Review: Courting Death by Paul J. Heald

Title: Courting Death by Paul J. Heald
Clarkeston Chronicles Book Three
Publisher: Yucca Publishing
Genre: Historical (late 80s), Mystery
Length: 328 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by the Author

Summary:

From an internationally recognized law professor comes the third legal thriller in an exciting mystery series, the Clarkeston Chronicles.

Courting Death finds Melanie Wilkerson (from Cotton, book two of the Clarkeston Chronicles) and Arthur Hughes working uncomfortably together in the chambers of a famous federal judge. While Melanie neglects her duties as a law clerk to investigate the mysterious death of a young woman in the courthouse five years earlier, Arthur wades through the horrific habeas corpus appeals of two prisoners: an infamous serial killer and a pathetic child murder.

Melanie, a Georgia native who returns from law school in the Northeast, hoped to establish a legal reputation that will eclipse her beauty pageant queen past, which she is now desperate to disown. Arthur is a bright but naive Midwesterner who is rapidly seduced by the small Georgia college town of Clarkeston which, to his surprise, comes with an exotic and attractive landlady. The cohort of federal court clerks is completed by Phil Jenkins, a Stanford graduate from San Francisco who tries his best to balance the personalities of his volatile colleagues.

Living and working in bucolic Clarkeston comes with a price. In Courting Death, Arthur, Melanie, and Phil are confronted with the extremes of human mortality, both in and outside the legal system, in ways that they could never have expected or prepared for.

Review:

In Courting Death, the third outing in the Clarkeston Chronicles, Paul J. Heald offers an intriguing glimpse into the inner workings of the federal judicial system.

Melanie Wilkerson, Arthur Hughes and Phil Jenkins are excited for the opportunity to work as law clerks for a legendary federal judge.  Their cases run the gamut from writing mundane briefs to life or death appeals from prisoners on death row.  Arthur views his first habeas corpus appeal of a prolific serial killer dispassionately while Phil finds it difficult to set aside his personal feelings on the death penalty.  Having sailed through the process on his first death row appeal relatively unscathed, Arthur wrestles with the second  habeas corpus appeal for a death row inmate whose conviction is not as cut and dried as it first appears.  At the same time, Phil has the unenviable task of finding a legal precedence that will stay the execution of a decorated war veteran.  Meanwhile, Melanie is distracted by puzzling death of law clerk, Carolyn Bastaigne.  Five years earlier, Carolyn fell to her death while working late one evening at the courthouse.  Although her death was ruled accidental, Melanie cannot shake the feeling there is much more to the story than has been revealed.   At the end of the three clerks’ tenure, their lives will be forever changed by their experiences as they discover the justice system is not always fair nor is it easy to remain impartial when a prisoner’s life is at stake.

Arthur has his future all mapped out for himself when he begins working as clerk for the Judge.  His first case does not challenge his viewpoints overly much and he effortlessly maintains his objectivity while writing his brief.  The outcome of the stay of execution is expected and he easily puts the case behind him.  The next habeas corpus appeal is nowhere near as straight forward and he is somewhat stymied the Judge’s cryptic advice.  Arthur’s personal life is also rather unsettled  as his family faces a tragedy and his relationship with his landlady Suzanne Garfield hits an unexpected snag.

Melanie is hoping her career in law will finally prove to everyone that she is more than just a pretty face.  With a keen intellect and  an analytical mind, she has no trouble writing briefs.  However, with  her curiosity piqued by Carolyn’s death, she is having trouble staying on task.  The further she digs into the case, the more convinced she is that Carolyn might have been murdered.  Although there is very little evidence to prove her theory, Melanie tenaciously keeps searching for answers, but once she learns the truth, will she be able to find justice for Carolyn?

Phil is surprised to discover how difficult it is to keep his own beliefs from influencing his work with the Judge.  He and Arthur are often on opposite sides of issues yet they do not allow their disagreements to affect their friendship.  Deeply troubled by a stay of execution appeal he has been assigned, will Phil find a legal maneuver that will save the prisoner’s life?

Courting Death by Paul J. Heald is an insightful addition to the Clakeston Chronicles.  The cases presented are quite fascinating as are the legal procedures associated with each brief.  Fans of legal thrillers and mysteries do not want to miss this novel which provides a very thought-provoking and sometimes disquieting behind the scenes perspective of the justice system.

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Filed under Clarkeston Chronicles, Courting Death, Historical, Historical (80s), Mystery, Paul Heald, Rated B, Review, Yucca Publishing