The Shadow Year

the shadow year

The Shadow Year, by Hannah Richell, begins with Lila receiving a mysterious envelope from a solicitor. The envelope contains a key, deeds to a cottage, and a map to the remote Peak District, but we don’t know who has left Lila this property or why. 

Lila is in a state of grief due to the recent passing of her father and an accident that caused the loss of her infant daughter. She struggles to recall what happened to cause the accident and her grief is so immense it is affecting her marriage to Tom, who does not know how to help her. Lila sees the gift of the cottage as a welcome distraction and a way to escape her pain, so she talks Tom into heading up there to check it out.

Rewind back to the 1980’s when a group of five university graduates take a trip to a lake one of them recalls visiting as a child. While at the lake, they come upon the neglected cottage and decide that it may be possible to move into it and to live off the land for a year. Their plan has its ups and downs as the work and supplies needed to keep them all fed are difficult and not always sufficient, not to mention the sometimes strained relationships between group members.

The novel continues to move back and forth between the present and the past. Lila spends more time at the cottage, working on renovating and fixing it up and meeting some of the locals. The university students’ adventures are intertwined with Lila’s discoveries as she works, revealing connections and helping to explain some of the feelings Lila has towards the place.

The novel moves slowly in the beginning and just as I was willing it to pick up the pace, so many things began to happen it became impossible to put down. Richell does a wonderful job of tying everything together and just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, she surprises you with the truth. This is a really good read that keeps you on your toes!

The Great Alone

The Great Alone

 The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

The Great Alone, Kristin Hannah's new novel takes us into the lives of the Allbrights. Ernt, husband, father, and veteran recently returned from Viet Nam; Cora, loyal wife and mother; and their daughter, 13 year old Lenora (Leni) are a fragile family.

It is 1974 and Ernt has lost yet another job, and is angry at being tossed aside once more. Fed up with the way America is headed, he decides to move his family to Alaska to live off the grid, on some land left to him by an old army buddy. Both Cora and Leni are unsure about the move, but Cora will go anywhere and do anything for Ernt, and Leni dares to hope the move will make things better for all of them.

  

They arrive in Alaska ill-prepared for the harsh life they are taking on. Fortunately, the harsh Alaskan wilderness builds strong communities and their new neighbours help the Allbrights to settle in and to hunt, fish, and gather the needed resources for the coming  

   winter. Ernt, Cora and Leni make friends and join in the community, but Ernt’s paranoia   

   and unpredictability begin to overshadow Cora and Leni’s lives and he begins to isolate  

   them from the very people who can help them survive in the north.

  As the days grow shorter and darkness descends, Ernt’s demons grow stronger and Cora   and Leni realize the dangers they face are just as great inside their little cabin as outside in the wilderness. They are alone and will have to protect themselves from everything. 

This is a story of love, loss, and survival that pulls you into the wilderness with each chapter, one that you won’t want to leave once you start reading.

News of the World

News of the World

By Paulette Jiles

Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd has lived through the American Civil War.  At 72 years old, he deserves a break.  He now makes his living traveling throughout 1870s Texas reading the news to small audiences.  Small town residents love to hear about European wars, the politics of the American east coast, or about the new telegraph wires in Britain, an almost unimaginable piece of technology.

But the Captain’s life changes when he is hired to drive 10-year-old Johanna Leonberger, a recently released Kiowa captive, back to her family in the south of Texas.  It’s a long drive through dangerous territory and Johanna does not want to go.  Raised by the Kiowa from age 6 to 10, Johanna is a Kiowa now and cannot return to the lifestyle of the white European.

The Captain, whose daughters are grown, takes her under his wing.  He addresses her unusual behaviour and manners with the patience of a loving parent.  Kontah, she eventually calls him – grandfather.

As the pair cross the Texas landscape, vividly and beautifully described by author Paulette Jiles, they encounter all manner of hazards: from housewives who berate Johanna for her lack of delicacy to debased criminals who would re-capture Johanna for the most depraved purposes.  Lawlessness and corruption prevail. 

But Johanna is no shrinking violet and despite her youth proves invaluable in a gunfight.  She is rightfully suspicious of all whom they encounter.  She is shoeless and eats with her hands.  She has forgotten both English and German.  She is a warrior.

News of the World is steeped in American history and feels meticulously researched.  Jiles describes the various immigrant populations in Texas as the time – Irish, British, German, Mexican – and seamlessly blends their cultural differences into the narrative.  Freed slaves are now part of the fabric of Texas.  The Native American tribes in the area, the Comanche and the Kiowa, are ever-present threats on the frontier. Johanna’s reluctance to return to the non-native world is striking and utterly believable.

But the real magic of this book is the evolving relationship between Captain Kidd and Johanna.  Their shared journey and their endurance of many hardships bring them ever closer, until they become like family.  Much to his surprise, the Captain grows to care for Johanna.  At 72, he is “still in one piece, alive and unaccountably happy.” (p.163)

Missing, Presumed

Missing, Presumed

by Susie Steiner

Missing, Presumed, by Susie Steiner is an armchair mystery novel that tells the tale of a fictional high profile disappearance case in Cambridgeshire, England. Edith Hind, daughter of Lady Miriam Hind and Ian Hind, a prominent London physician, suddenly disappears without a trace. 

The apartment she shares with her fiancé, Will, shows signs of a struggle: broken glass is strewn about and there are droplets of blood on the floor, but there is no sign of Edith.

Enter Detective Sergeant Manon Bradshaw, senior investigator on the case- she knows the first 72 hours are critical to finding a missing person, but after questioning of the likely suspects including fiancé Will, best friend Helena, and Edith’s parents, she comes up empty.  

The story delves deeply into each of the characters, switching back and forth between them, so we see each person’s perspective on the case, while learning about their personal lives. The novel explores most deeply the character of DS Bradshaw, a respected member of the police force, but as we follow her foray into internet dating her insecurities and vulnerable side are revealed.

As the characters are developed, so the mystery unravels, giving the reader clues, red herrings and twists – all characteristics of a good mystery that keeps you guessing until the end.

Many reviews and listings of this book point to it as the beginning of a series. I would certainly be looking for more if that is the case, as I really enjoyed the storyline and its interweaving of the characters I met along the way. 

For other popular reading suggestions check out Richmond Public Library's Web site at www.yourlibrary.ca/goodbooks/.