Joyce's Choices

from The Canadian Laker December 2021/January 2022

From the CLA

by Joyce B. Wilcox

WITH WINTER KNOCKINGon the windows in Canadian Lakes and the holidays taunting us on the calendar, I thought it might just be a good time to introduce you to a few books for your winter stockpile. Hopefully you’ll find something to unwind with or perhaps a good read to transport you across the miles this winter. I’ve checked and these books are not only on display in my home, but are either available to you at the Morton Township Library, the Canadian Lakes Library, or Barnes & Noble.

The first three are delightful Christmas stories with whimsical, humorous plots from three totally different locales: Adelaide, Oklahoma; Nantucket, Massachusetts; and Leavenworth, Washington. All three of these stories will help ease you into a festive holiday spirit and offer a reprieve from the hustle and bustle of this time of the year. Following the holiday tales are three more novels for you to enjoy, with a little more substance to sustain you through the bitter cold of January. There’s a suspense thriller from Fort Sumter, South Carolina; a literary psychological thriller from Beartown in Sweden; and a historical fiction novel taking place in London, England.

You can curl up with a warm read this winter or possibly add some books to your wish list in your letter to Santa; either way I encourage you to check out these six novels.

Merry, Merry Ghost by Carolyn Hart

Yes! A Christmas mystery with a ghost! Longtime mystery writer, winner of multiple Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards, and one of the founders of Sisters in Crime, Carolyn Hart is a writer whom you will want to place on any must-read list if you haven’t already done so. Author of over seventy books, she is the equivalent of the Eveready Energizer Bunny, still writing at age 84. Hart not only has a flair for attention to descriptive detail

in each scene, but she also immediately places the reader into the action on the page by writing her tale in the first person. An accomplished author of traditional mysteries, also known as cozy mysteries, Hart weaves a suspenseful warm fuzzy of a Christmas tale as she reprises her lovable ghost, Bailey Ruth.

Merry, Merry Ghost is the story of an ailing, wealthy woman with many servants, but no longer with any heirs. Susan Flynn discovers on her deathbed that she has a young grandson so she decides to change her will to include him. Unfortunately, prior to signing the newly drafted document, Susan is found dead the next day. Her death, however, is thought to be suspicious. An irrepressible spirit, emissary Bailey Ruth is given the task by Heaven’s Department of Good Intentions to come to earth, protect the grandson, foil a murderer, and save Christmas. And if there’s Bailey Ruth, there must be a fair share of mishaps. Spoiler alert: everyone has a motive for murder.

Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand

This is a Christmas present from Nantucket wrapped in several love stories, tied up with family squabbles, laced with cottage inn charm, and with more than enough beaus to go around. Elin Hilderbrand has a gift for writing captivating narrative and including fascinating characters reminiscent of the troubled relatives seated at everyone’s holiday table gatherings. Readers can’t help but be drawn into the family drama. Winter Street captures the sense of island life, the chaos of family life, and the heart of hectic holiday life at Christmas.

The story begins with Kelley Quinn, the owner of Nantucket’s Winter Street Inn, preparing for the Christmas holidays and the town’s annual party at the inn. Of course, Kelley’s four children have their fair share of marital, financial and commitment chaos to add to the mix this Christmas. This family has enough drama for all, from love triangles to unplanned pregnancies and from federal crimes to the discovery of Kelley’s second wife, Mitzi, having an affair with the inn’s Santa Claus. And don’t forget Kelley’s ex-wife, Margaret, the Barbara Walters of news casting, returning to the inn for her holiday visit with her children. Add some mulled cider, clandestine encounters, financial woes, and endless caroling and you have Christmas at the Winter Street Inn.

Trading Christmas by Debbie Macomber

What better time of the year is there than the Christmas holidays to cuddle up with a warm, witty, well-written novel by best-selling author Debbie Macomber? She has a knack for writing stories reminiscent of old romantic comedies filled with memorable characters and exaggerated subplots. This holiday tale seems to contain Mary Bailey and Scrooge, with an added splash of Chevy Chase for laughs. Known for her impressive skills with characterization and the ability to spin a good story, Macomber will warm your heart with Trading Christmas this holiday season.

This is the touching tale of Emily, a widowed mother of one, who decides to leave her home in Leavenworth, Washington and surprise her adult daughter in Boston for Christmas. To accomplish her surprise, she swaps houses online with Charles, a history professor in Boston, who wants to escape the commercialism and hectic holiday pace of big-city life. Upon arrival in their rental homes, Emily discovers that her daughter has left for Florida for the holidays and Charles finds that Leavenworth is the endlessly cheerful equivalent of Santa’s village. Since she’s Macomber, she must flirt with romance, so Emily’s best friend pays a surprise visit to Leavenworth expecting Emily, but instead finds Charles. Then of course Charles’s brother shows up in Boston expecting to see Charles, but finds Emily. Close encounters of the coincidence kind, so will there be love by happenstance? All of this culminates into a combination of chaos, confusion, and a curmudgeon at Christmas, so curl up and enjoy!

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

Yes, the same creative author who brought you A Man Called Ove has managed to bring a small Swedish town to life and write a snippet of that town’s biography. Backman weaves an enthralling, suspenseful, gut-wrenching, yet hopeful tale of a tiny, flailing community attempting to hang on by their hopes and dreams. He manages to seize his audience in the first sentence and masterfully crafts a narrative which thrusts the reader into the hearts, minds, and souls of the struggling townspeople of Beartown. It’s a book that you won’t want to put down and also a book that makes you wonder why it took you so long to pick it up.

With jobs disappearing, neighbors forced to flee, and their dreams dashed, the residents of Beartown attempt to come together and embrace their one hope for their struggling community: the opportunity for their junior ice hockey team to have a chance in the national semifinals. A championship could turn the town around by returning their pride and giving the townspeople something for which to hope. When nothing else in this small town is going right, the pressure placed on the hockey team is overwhelming, brutal, and at times, devastating. Then something horrible happens. (You’ll have to read the book to find out.) The character of each character is stretched and measured, causing the reader to examine closely what transpires. I was drawn into this story from the beginning and was compelled to discover how this masterful writer would weave his tale. I wasn’t disappointed in the least and I believe that you won’t be disappointed either.

Outfox by Sandra Brown

How does an author of a suspense-thriller capture an audience? Sandra Brown achieves it the same way that

her protagonist attempts to capture the villain: relentlessly uncovering the clues one-by-one. With a page-turner which begins with the simple sentence, “A cheerless drizzle blurred any view of the body on the beach,” Sandra Brown surely does capture you. Enter consummate FBI agent Drex Easton, a man who has for years pursued Weston Graham, a dangerous sociopath and master of disguises. Graham has conned and masqueraded his way into the lives of eight women over the years. Having successfully embezzled and escaped with their fortunes, Graham disappears into the woodwork while each of these women mysteriously vanishes. But this time a body unexpectedly washes up on shore and evidence begins emerging, possibly indicating a suspect. Will Easton finally catch his killer or will their cat and mouse game continue? Who will be outfoxed this time and how?

The author of over seventy books, Sandra Brown began her writing career in 1981 after her husband dared her to write a novel. We owe a debt of gratitude to Michael Brown because Sandra mastered her craft long ago and has been on the New York Times bestsellers’ list repeatedly. I recently had the pleasure of learning more about her when she appeared as a guest at one of the Metro-Detroit Book and Author Society’s meetings and I purchased this book. I was not disappointed to hear that she was still writing. With action that excites, dialogue that pops, and suspense that sustains, you’ll be thrilled to read Sandra Brown’s suspenseful psychological thriller, Outfox.

Radio Girls by Sarah-Jane Stratford

This is a touching tale which captures your heart and imagination as you turn the pages of history. With a captivating narrative woven throughout the tumultuous times of London during the 1920s and ‘30s, the reader is treated to the fascinating world of radio in its infancy as seen through the eyes of Maisie Musgrave, a young secretary for the British Broadcasting Corporation. Maisie’s personal relationships, as well as her rising career at the BBC, are interlaced with the changes taking place in society. Still recovering from the aftermath of WWI and while simultaneously uncovering the signs of a looming WWII, Maisie and the reader are also introduced to the history of women’s rights, politics, and the arts in Great Britain and the United States. The personal and political plots of this well-written novel are entwined, entertaining and make for an enthralling read.

Sarah-Jane Stratford has the ability to capture history and capture your heart with Radio Girls. She breathes life into historical events and people by creating additional memorable characters, all the while making headlines and memories within the media. Possessing both a knack for narration and dexterity for dialogue, Stratford not only brings history to life, she brings history across the pond.

So whether you’re curled up by the fireplace this winter or reclining on some sandy beach, you might just want to spend some time lost in your imagination with one of these authors.