Jacki's Fiction Picks for January
First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen picks up ten years after the eventful summer at Waverley mansion told in Garden Spells. The story of Claire, with her gift for cooking food that can mend a broken heart, and Sydney, who creates hairstyles that spark true love with the flip of a curl, continues. An old man appears with a beat-up suitcase and stories to tell; stories that could change the lives of the Waverley women forever. This enchanting blend of magical realism, heartwarming romance and small-town sensibility is certain to delight you.
West of Sunset by Stewart O’Nan
The Golden Age of Hollywood is brought to life in this well researched novel inspired by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s last years. Romantic intrigue is mixed with a cast including Humphrey Bogart, Ernest Hemingway and Dorothy Parker. Fitzgerald falls in love with gossip columnist Sheilah Graham on the MGM lot, starts writing The Last Tycoon and tries to maintain a semblance of family life with wife Zelda and daughter Scottie absent. Witness a man with limited resources trying to hold together a world that’s falling apart.
The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion
Rosie and Don are back! In this sequel to The Rosie Project, Don Tillman is coping with the complications of marriage by finding ways to manage their lives with maximum efficiency. Things are going smoothly until he’s confronted by his wife Rosie’s announcement… that she is pregnant. Comic exploits follow as he sets about learning the protocols of becoming a father while helping his best friend Gene, who is living with them, reconcile with his wife Claudia.
The Family Business 3 by Carl Weber with Treasure Hernandez
Wherever the wealthy Duncan family goes, drama follows. They’ve earned their money through a Queens, NY car dealership (and a few less savory sources), and here their jaw-dropping story continues. After a long stretch in prison, Vegas Duncan agrees to surrender the family business to his younger brother. At the same time he battles his judgmental mother and a mysterious rival who attacks his older brother.
Winter at the Door by Sarah Graves
Lizzie Snow is tough and she needs to be. She’s a big-city cop taking over as police chief in remote northern Maine and quickly learning the small town has a real dark side. A bunch of freak accidents and suicides has left many dead – all former local cops. The people there see everything, say very little and know better than to share anything with an outsider. A blizzard swallows the town, and a child is missing, forcing Lizzie into a showdown that could well leave behind the stain of blood.
The Magician’s Lie by Greer Macallister
The Amazing Arden, a female magician at the turn of the 20th century, is known for sawing a man in half on stage, until one night, when she exchanges her saw for a fire ax. Later, her husband is found dead beneath the stage and many believe it wasn’t just a new version of the illusion, but a cold blooded murder. Beware! This combination of magic, vaudeville and drama is as unbelievable as it is spellbinding.
The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon
Welcome back to Scion in this sequel to The Bone Season. Paige (a dreamwalker) has escaped the brutal penal colony, but is now the most wanted person in London. The clairvoyant community is split with bitterness and dark secrets while Jaxon and his Seven Seals prepare to take center stage. But where is Warden? And why are the Rephaim emerging? One thing is certain; Paige must keep moving, from Seven Dials to Grub Street to the secret catacombs of Camden, until the fate of the underworld can be decided.
Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper
It’s never too late for a great adventure. Eighty-two year old Etta has never seen the ocean. So one morning she grabs a rifle and some chocolate and starts walking the 3,232 kilometers from rural Canada eastward to the coast. Otto, her husband, wakes to a note on the kitchen table; he has seen the ocean, so he understands. Russell has always loved Etta and wants to go after her. And James, well, you have to read the book to meet him and understand his role in this astounding journey.