The Room on Rue Amelie by Kristin Harmel

 

"And to all of you who have been strong enough to stand up for what you believe in---in the small moments and the large ones. Making the world a better place begins with even the tiniest acts of personal bravery. May you forever hold fast to the courage to follow your heart."

                        -from the author's dedication

I attended a recent event where Ms. Harmel was the speaker and several of her books were available for sale. I really enjoyed her talk which centered on her latest novel, The Forest of Vanishing Stars. I purchased The Room on Rue Amelie and she autographed it for me. This is the 4th Harmel novel I have read but it was not my favorite. I will rate it a 3. I was very disappointed by the ending.

Ruby Henderson meets Frenchman Marcel Benoit in a cafe in New York. They are married in 1939 and move to Paris at a time when there are already hints of trouble in Europe from Hitler's Germany. They have no clue how bad it is going to get! 

When the Nazis occupy Paris, Marcel secretly joins the Resistance harboring Allied pilots who have been shot down over France and helping them to escape to safety. During this time Ruby becomes close friends with her neighbor, a very precocious 11-year-old named Charlotte Dachar. The Dachars are Jewish, putting them at very great risk. When Marcel is caught and executed, Ruby takes on his role and, almost predictably, becomes emotionally involved with a handsome RAF pilot, Thomas Clarke.

I shouldn't go farther with my description lest I spoil the plot. Suffice it to say, the story gets intense!

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

 "I was aware that I was dealing with a strange coincidence. A housekeeper falls to her death in what appears to be a straightforward domestic accident and then, not two weeks later, the man who employed her also dies and this time it is unmistakably a murder of the most gruesome sort. I say that it is a coincidence but what I mean it is in fact quite the opposite. There must be a reason why these two events have collided, so to speak, but what is it?

 -Atticus Pund, from the novel

This was a most unusual murder mystery---basically a novel within a novel, with murders in both. This made for two sets of suspects and MANY characters to keep up with. I appreciated the creativity of the author and the plot kept me turning pages, but I will admit I thought it was too long. I had to read in fits and starts and I feel I would have enjoyed it more if I could've read for longer stretches of time. I rated Magpie Murders a 4. 

Susan Ryeland is a book editor of mysteries for Cloverleaf Books who turns amateur detective when she finds pages missing from the latest manuscript. When the author, Alan Conway, is found murdered, Susan is convinced there is a link between the missing pages and the killing and is determined to solve both mysteries. Hence, the second plot thickens!

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The Page Turners met soon after I finished the book and, even though the reviews were mixed, we had a wonderful time talking about it! The group's average rating was 3.4, with five ratings of 2, pretty unusual for our group selections. 

There were differing opinions about characters with a few members feeling they didn't care much for any of them. Others thought the characters were well-developed. At least two of the murdered characters were meant to be unlikeable so there were many plausible suspects.

Many of us were a bit shocked when the novel with missing pages (the one quoted above) came to a complete halt without naming the killer and we were thrown into another crime more in "real time." (The one Susan investigates.)

There were certainly many twists and turns and red herrings, but no one claimed they solved the mystery before the end. We were surprised when one friend explained the significance of the title: Magpie Murders comes from the name of Alan Conway's murder victim, Magnus Pye. That was an aha moment for me!

Some in our group felt this novel was meant to be a satire on murder mysteries, poking fun at mystery writers and their favorite (?) sleuths. A few thought the ending was satisfactory while at least one, disliked it intensely. And, no, I will not be a spoiler!

The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia

"I always thought Simonopio was mine: my brother, my guide, my savior...but Simonopio belonged to them. Just as they belonged to him. Before he was mine, he was their brother, their son. Simonopio of the bees, the bees of Simonopio. That was how it was from the beginning."

      -Francisco, Jr., from the novel

Apparently, this novel by a Mexican author is the first to be translated into English. It is one of my better choices of Amazon First Reads, unique in its style with an intriguing plot. My rating is 4.

In a small town in Northern Mexico, Francisco and Beatriz Morales are struggling to hang onto their land and protect their family in the midst of government upheaval and the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. (A little too reminiscent of the current pandemic!)

At the beginning of the story when Nana Reja, an elderly woman who rarely moves from her rocking chair on the front porch, disappears and returns with a baby she has found abandoned under a bridge, the Morales family adopts the infant who has a badly deformed face and is found covered with a blanket of bees. The family and townsfolk have no idea how this child will change their lives. Some of the people think he is a "devil child" but the Morales family treats him as their own and calls him Simonopio. This mysterious child turns out to be gifted with a 6th sense and the bees he was found with are his frequent companions and protectors throughout his life. He becomes known as the "Bee Charmer."

The antagonist, Anselmo Espiricueta, is a bitter, jealous campesino (peasant farmer) on Morale's land, who has lost his family to the Spanish flu and desires everything that Francisco has. This animus, you can likely guess, drives the plot.

The story is narrated by an older adult whose identity is unknown for much of the book. The chronology is a bit confusing and the perspective changes, which kept this reader on her toes, but I am glad I happened onto this captivating novel.

The Beginning by Patrick D. Smith

 "We haven't had trouble here. We're trying to avoid it. God knows we're trying, and we've got a start. It may not seem like much to you, but it's a beginning."

               -Mayor Sidney Grenlee, from the novel

This book was advertised as possibly Patrick D. Smith's finest novel. Since I have read A Land Remembered, a favorite of mine, and several other of his novels and appreciated his writing very much, I decided to read this one. I must beg to differ on the hype. I feel it is far from Smith's best, even though I did finish it and will rate it a 3. A couple of problems were poor editing and very long sentences with frequent listing.

Many ultraconservatives trying to save people from reading anything that makes them "uncomfortable" would probably want to ban this one. In fact, the introduction written by the author in 1998 admits it was controversial after its publication in 1967. There are some very disturbing scenes.

The story takes place in Midvale, Mississippi, in the 1960's in a small town dealing with new federal legislation seeking to provide equality to blacks. In Midvale, the white sheriff, Ike Thornton and white mayor, Sidney Grenlee, are trying very hard to help their black citizens. Many of the townspeople agree with their efforts but, of course, there are racist rednecks, Con Ashley for one, who can't stand the thought of blacks having equal rights. Along come a couple of civil rights workers from California who supposedly want to open a school for blacks. The young woman, Sylvia Landcaster, has education in mind and her heart in the right place. Her coworker, Jeffrey Van Dolan, just wants to stir up trouble. I couldn't decide who I disliked the most: Ashley or Van Dolan---both pretty despicable.

The Beginning is an interesting story but as I mentioned, it is certainly not Patrick D. Smith's best!

Mercy Falls by William Kent Krueger

 

"He's done it again, Rose. It's that damned cowboy mentality of his. That's the part of him I hate."      

   -Jo, speaking of her husband, Cork O'Connor

"If you were to ask me, I'd say it's also part of what you love about him."   

   -Jo's sister Rose's response

Number five in the Cork O'Connor series but not my favorite. A page-turner, as they all have been, but I didn't love the ending. I will rate it a 3.

Early in the novel Deputy, Marsha Dross, is critically wounded by a gunshot and after some investigation, it seems the bullet was meant for Cork, the sheriff of Tamarack County, Minnesota. Soon after that shooting, a shady businessman, Eddie Jacoby, is found brutally murdered, and it takes a great deal of time for Cork and his team to figure out if the 2 crimes are related. In the meantime, the Jacoby father and brother, hire a special investigator, Dina Willner, who happens to be very attractive. It turns out Cork's wife Jo and Ben Jacoby were an item in law school. One might figure there would be some sexual tension in these last two situations. 

I can't say too much more without revealing some of the mystery. Suffice it to say, Cork's "cowboy mentality" helps to save the day! (See quote)

Toward the end of this novel, Cork tells his sister-in-law Rose he is going back to Aurora to resign. I don't see how that would be possible with at least 13 more books in the series! I guess I will find out when I read Copper River, #6.

The Girl with Seven Names Escape from North Korea by Hyeonseo Lee with David John

 

" I wanted to belong, like everyone else around me did, but there was no country I could say was mine. I had no one to tell me that many other people in the world have a fragmented identity; that it doesn't matter. That who we are as a person is what's important."

     -Hyeonseo Lee, from her memoir

This memoir was recommended by one of our Page Turners. It is an amazing survival story! And what an eye-opener! I knew North Korea was no friend of the U.S. and is seen as an international threat to many other countries, but I had no idea of the extreme propaganda and horrible conditions in which the common people live. Hyeonseo Lee describes her experience as a child and youth in North Korea quite vividly. She tells of how the people are watched by secret police and can be arrested for something as ridiculous as naming the rulers in the wrong way. Kim Il-sung, "the Great Leader," his son Kim Jong-il, "Dear Leader" are to be revered as God figures. People are encouraged to turn in neighbors for anything that might be anti-government. Even though Hyesonseo's stepfather served in the military for years he was arrested on a trumped-up charge and died before his release.

Hyeonseo decided to defect as a 17-year-old and when she gets to China, she discovers she can never go back without putting her mother and brother, as well as herself, in grave danger. The obstacles she faces as she tries to find safety, freedom and a place to belong (see quote) are incredibly difficult.  As she pursues her dreams, her name changes 7 times, thus the title. Sadly, she does not see her family for some 11 years.

The memoir is a page-turner with short chapters and frequent foreshadowing. Several pages of photos, both black and white and in color, make Hyesonseo's story even more personal. I have great admiration for this young woman---her determination, resilience and her courage to speak out against an evil regime in her home country---are exceptional! I will rate The Girl with Seven Names a 4. 

More after our group meets....

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Fifteen Page Turners met today to discuss the book. The group average rating was 4.1, heavily 4's and 5's. Some knew more about Asian cultures than others, but I believe we all felt we learned a great deal about what the citizens of North Korea must live through. We felt that Hyeonseo's intelligence and stubbornness served her well in surviving defection from her home country. Because of our own fond memories of the homes of our youths, we could understand a lasting affection for "home."  

I am attaching a video of a Ted Talk the author presented in 2015. Very compelling.

The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel

 

"Why was man created alone? Is it not true that the creator could have created the whole of humanity? But man was created alone to teach you that whoever kills one life kills the world entire, and whoever saves one life saves the world entire."

             -paraphrased from the Talmud and quoted in the novel

I chose to read this novel because I have read others by this author and because I will attend an event soon where she will be the speaker. Kristin Harmel wrote The Winemaker's Wife and The Book of Lost Names, both of which I rated 5. I am rating this one a 4---very good, but not quite measuring up to the other two. At the beginning I wondered if I would like it at all when a witch-like character, Jerusza, kidnapped a German child, whom she renamed Yona, from her crib and took her to raise in the forest. It just seemed weird to me. 

The plot became more compelling when Jerusza died some 20 years later and Yona meets Polish Jews in the forest. These people are frightened, running from the Nazis and something in Yona urges her to help them by teaching survival skills she knows so well. As she teaches these endangered people what they must know to stay alive, she learns many lessons from them about living with other people and even about love.

The author has much to say in her Author's Note about her research and the writing of this novel. She cites shocking statistics of how many Polish Jews were exterminated by the Nazis and how some survived by taking refuge in the Nalibocka Forest as do the characters that Yona meets. This was a part of the Holocaust I knew less about.

There were a few secondary characters I really liked, especially Sister Maria Andrzeja who had great wisdom to pass on to Yona, and Zus, who would become her soul-mate. 

There were many profound passages I could have quoted but I was touched by the one from the Talmud. I was reminded also of tikkum olam, a Hebrew phrase that means "repair the world." This is what heroes like Yona tried to do.