“Prospect Street” by Emilie Richards

"Prospect Street” by Emilie Richards
2002 Mira Books
ISBN: 1-55166-921-8

“Prospect Street” by Emilie Richards is about secrets. Unravel one and you’ve got another one staring you in the face.

Faith’s marriage has crumbled. Although her husband still loves her he can no longer be with her in a marriage. This is the story of Faith, her children, her soon to be ex-husband as they struggle to balance what happened with what will be.

But, there is more. There is a deep and darker secret at the heart of the family and in reclaiming her life Faith also finds the strength to discover the answers to a number of secrets that have been around since before she was even born.

The twists and turns this tale takes will have you spell bound. You really won’t want to put this book down. Emilie Richards writes well and as a family counselor shows the reader it really is possible to heal any number of hurts.

I think you will enjoy it. I surely did.

“Endless Chain” by Emilie Richards

“Endless Chain” by Emilie Richards
2005 by Mira Books
ISBN: 978-0-7783-2316-7

“Endless Chain” by Emilie Richards is one of those books that sort of fell into my lap. I read something briefly on the internet by somebody who was talking about one of her books. Even then something inside me told me to read one quick. Right away I hopped on over to my account at the Oakland Public Library and ordered up a book at random. That was “Endless Chain”. I’m really impressed.

The writing is clean, it’s smooth. It’s not convoluted or shining with excellent literary allusions or anything like that. It’s clean. It’s fresh. It’s a love story and I couldn’t put it down until I finished it.

This is the story of two people who find each other. Sam Kinkade is the young minister and Elisa Martinez. Endless Chain is a story of how the quilters in a church going community opened their arms to include Elisa and taught her how to quilt. She made an Endless Chain. Click here for a pattern.

Sam wants to include the Hispanic community in his church and is met with opposition. Elisa helps him to overcome the obstacles and when it appears she is also in need is helped by Sam.

It’s a story of searching and finding, of danger and of fear and an unfolding of love that is sweet to see. It’s a story of history repeating itself over and over again and it is an "Endless Chain".

“G is for Gumshoe” by Sue Grafton

“G is for Gumshoe” by Sue Grafton
1990, Henry Holt and Company
ISBN: 0-8050-0461-0

G the 7th letter in the alphabet and in the series of books written by Sue Grafton about private eye Kinsey Millhone, but it’s the second one I’ve read. I swear I’m hooked.

Kinsey accepts a job to track down and, if she can, to bring home, a woman’s mother. The mother’s last known whereabouts is in a squatter’s camp in the Mojave desert. Once upon a time it was an army base, but after the troops left all that were left were the foundations of the buildings. Now, they call it, “The Slabs”.

At the same time that Kinsey is looking for Agnes she finds out there is a contract on her life. There are other folks who’ve also been included in the hit and one guy is already dead. She’s frightened, but even more frightened when an attempt is made on her life.

She asks Robert Dietz for help and during the course of the story the two of them fall for each other in a very big way.

“G is for Gumshoe” is a terrific read. You won’t want to put it down. I’m looking forward to reading more of Sue Grafton’s books.

“The Shop on Blossom Street” by Debbie Macomber

“The Shop on Blossom Street” by Debbie Macomber
2004 by Mira Books
ISBN: 0-7783-2160-6

“The Shop on Blossom Street” by Debbie Macomber is an absolutely delightful read. This is the story of Lydia who has survived two bouts with cancer and who has fulfilled a dream by opening a yarn shop. Looking to create interest in the store she starts a beginner’s class and the three women who come to that class are the people who figure in this novel.

The class members are Alix a young woman who has a troubled past, Carol a woman who yearns to have a child and Jacqueline a society matron who is angry and bitter. With Lydia these women become friends and find their lives intertwined. It is their stories over the course of a year and the incredible changes that unfold in each of their lives that could only have been supported by their friendship with each other.

I always come to the end of a story with a yearning wish that it wasn’t over and I was so pleasantly surprised to see that Debbie Macomber had written a sequel to this book, so I have even more to look forward.

“Garden Spells” by Sarah Addison Allen

“Garden Spells” by Sarah Addison Allen
2007, Bantam Dell
ISBN: 978-0-553-80548-2

“Garden Spells” by Sarah Addison Allen is an absolutely tingly read. It’s about a family who are special. Members of the family each have a special gift that manifests itself in different ways. And the gift somehow centers around the apple tree that grows in their garden. I suppose I should start with the apple tree. If you were to eat one of the apples you would see the most significant event of your life. That event might be horrible or it might be wonderful. The apple also throws apples at people to get their attention.

One of the main characters is Claire. Her gift as a caterer is to give people what they want. If they want romance and love she incorporates those garden herbs and flowers into the dishes she serves so that magically everyone who eats that dish is affected.

Her sister Sydney’s gift manifested as being able to give the best haircut. Hey, I’ve been searching for years for the perfect haircut and have yet to find it, so knowing somebody in a story is able to do that is fascinating!

Evanelle, a quirky old lady gives things to people. She’ll give you a can opener. Neither one of you knows why, but 2 days later having that can opener will save the day for you.

The thing about being special, about being different is that it is sometimes difficult to fit in. Personally, I can relate to this. I’m sure you can too. This is a story about how Claire, Sydney and Sydney’s daughter Bay eventually fit in. It’s an unfolding of love in the family and reaching out to find the men they will love. It’s about them accepting the gifts they have. And, there is also danger for Sydney that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

I couldn’t put “Garden Spells”down once I’d started reading it. Interestingly, it’s also a book that magically came to me in the library. Sort of like the apple tree threw it at me.

“R is for Ricochet” by Sue Grafton

“R is for Ricochet” by Sue Grafton
2004, Berkeley Books
ISBN: 0-425-20386-7

“R is for Ricochet” by Sue Grafton is a story about a private detective, Kinsey Millhone, who has been hired to shepherd Reba, just recently released from jail, into life on the outside without her getting into trouble again. The problem is that trouble seems to follow Reba around and not only that, but Reba isn’t afraid of it.

Reba was in love with a guy at the helm of a pretty large business, shady business, and he put the finger on her so that she took the rap for his own shenanigans. She spent two years in jail. Reba thought he was still in love with her. But, we all know that couldn’t possible be true. Once a rat, always a rat in my books.

The justice department is after the guy too and Kinsey gets caught in the middle trying to steer Reba onto the straight and narrow while Reba comes to her senses and wants revenge and tries her hardest to somehow convince Reba to help to bring the rat to the doors of justice.

I enjoyed the relationships Kinsey has with her landlord, Henry, and his brothers (all well into their advanced years) and with a romantic liaison that she began with Cheney, a detective on the local Santa Teresa police force. Maybe he will be in the next book too???

This is the first one I’ve read by Sue Grafton. Her trick is to name each of the books about Kinsey Millhone with a letter of the alphabet. Seeing as how I tapped into the letter R which means I jumped into the series at the 18th letter into the alphabet it was still a fantastic read. It’s funny, but I’d wanted to read Sue Grafton but, Virgo that I am, I wanted to start at the beginning and I just couldn’t find the book that started with A. You don’t have to wait. Just plow in. Your library is sure to have a few, maybe even a lot. Sue Grafton is definitely a prolific writer and certainly knows her stuff. I really enjoyed this book.