Category: Book Review

 

On June 27th, 1977, an intruder broke into the Glensheen Mansion located on Lake Superior in Duluth Minnesota.  The only occupants in the large home at the time were the lone heir to the million+ dollar estate, Elisabeth Congdon (83) and her nurse Velma Pietila.  The intruder would leave with a basket of jewelry and a few other small items, but not before they murdered the nurse beating her to death with a candlestick, and smothering Elisabeth with a satin pillow.

The investigation quickly led in the direction of Elisabeth’s adopted daughter Marjorie and her husband Roger.  According to Elisabeth’s will, upon her death Marjorie would receive 8 million dollars.  Three days prior to the murders, Marjorie had authorized a paper stating that once her inheritance came to be, her husband would receive 2.5 million of the given amount.  When police investigators turned up where Marjorie and her husband were staying, missing items from the house were found in their possession; which Marjorie claimed were copies of the real jewelry made and given to her perviously by her adopted mother, Elisabeth. 

50 years earlier Elisabeth Congdon in her early 30’s having never married,  adopted two daughters, Marjorie and Jennifer.  Marjorie had always been one looking for the quick fix, expecting everything to be handed to her even long after she had married and moved away.  She continuously asked Elisabeth for money for one idea or another, even stooping as low to forge a doctor’s letter saying her husband had a serious illness.

As the case went on, Roger and Marjorie were both tried for the crimes, Roger was convicted, and a year later Marjorie was acquitted.  What follows in the book is a continued investigation into Marjorie’s life, her growing up as a Congdon and her continued self-destructive lifestyle that led to even more deaths… none of which she was ever arrested for.

The Congdon story is one that is quite close to me literally.  The mansion itself is located in Duluth Minnesota, 2 1/2 hours from my home in Brainerd Minnesota.  The trial was moved to Brainerd and in July of 1978 the jury found Roger Caldwell (Marjorie’s husband) to be guilty of the crimes. 

At the time all of this was taking place I was 10 years old.  It would be 12 years before I would hear about the murders and with my husband’s property in Finland Minnesota, find that I drive by the Glensheen Mansion every time I go through Duluth to the cabin. After the first time I toured the mansion with my sons and husband, I wanted to know more about the family and what had happened.

There are many books out there about the Glensheen Mansion, the Congdons, and the murders.  I have read quite a few but find this one to be the most detailed account of the property, the background, the trial, and the continuing craziness of all the surrounds Marjorie to this very day.  There is even later DNA testing that was not available at the time but was found to link both Roger and Marjorie to the crimes and calls into question her acquittal.

Yes, this book is true crime but it is much more than that.  It is the story of a home that took many years to build, its the story of a family, and of an adoption.  It is a piece of Minnesota History.

I have probably toured the Mansion 10 times now, mostly because I have friends who want to stop and do the tour that have not been there before.  It is always well taken care of, like stepping back into time, the original fixtures remain, pictures on the wall, furnishings…  Originally they had the third floor not available for tour (this was the floor that contained Elisabeth’s bedroom) but in the last few years they have expanded the tour to include the third floor as well as the attic which contains large rolls of curtains that the family would use to change out the drapes seasonally as well as all their Christmas decorations.

This is a book I keep at the cabin as it is a part of Minnesota history, well written, and educational.

Last weekend as I was driving home from the cabin, I took a couple “drive by” pictures of the mansion, knowing I would be writing this review.  Somewhere I have better pictures of the gardens and the buildings from when I was doing the tours.  I know at some point I will probably be touring Glensheen again.

 

Paul Vitagliano knows first hand what it is like to grow up gay.  Even in today’s day and age it is still hard to find acceptance without judgement so in 2011 Paul started the blog site “Born This Way” which is a place to share stories and support for the LGBTQ community.  The blog exploded with responses, so much so… Paul wrote this book, Born This Way, filling it with pictures of boys and girls at young ages and their stories about when they knew and what it was like when (and if) they came out and told their families and friends.

The short stories share what growing up was like.  In some cases there was name calling and bullying which led to many of these children keeping to themselves and doing anything they could to avoid conflict.

The book is a quick read, the stories are short and sometimes funny, and sometimes heart breaking.  In many cases, by the time they told family and friends, they had known and were just waiting for them to tell them.  In other more heartbreaking (and thankfully rare) circumstances, families turned their backs… not understanding.  Yet story after story no matter what the outcome, each person said life was so much better once they said it out loud and were their true selves.

This book is a short read but a powerful one.  I smiled at the stories, occasionally laughed, and yes, at times my heart broke a little too.  Everyone deserves to be accepted and Paul Vitagliano has taken great steps towards doing just that. 

**I first read a review of this book in October when I seen the book at Kathy’s Bermuda Onion blog.  And I knew then I wanted to read it, I bought it that day and finally had the privilege of reading it this past weekend.

 

 

1644.  Armies have risen against the King and have attacked on and off the city of York.  For widowed midwife Bridget Hodgson, life must go on.  Servants call day and night requesting her services for babies about to be born. 

When one of Bridget’s friends is convicted for killing her husband and scheduled to be burned at the stake, Bridget along with her newly acquired maid servant Martha set out to prove her innocence.  Many obstacles are in their way as Bridget and Martha avoid the rebels, the higher ups of the community, and an unwelcome appearance from Martha’s past. 

As this unusual duo digs into the case, they uncover much more than they had bargained for and many people that would rather keep things covered up.

 

 

I started this book late one evening while I was looking for a read before bed.  With the little bit I read before sleep, I was already hooked.  I spent the next day reading every chance I got.

The Midwife’s Tale is an excellent work of historical fiction.  Sam Thomas wrote a story that is so engaging, so informative; I had a hard time putting it down.  For a woman of the 1600’s, Bridget is strong, smart, and independent, my favorite type of female character.  And while Martha comes with some weird baggage, she adds just the right mix to an already appealing story. 

7 hours later I emerge out of this book completely satisfied with all of it.  The beginning brought me in from page one, the middle held me, never feeling drug out or pages of “filler” and the ending superb.  There are not many books I can say that about.

In the end it was interesting to know that the author Sam Thomas is a history professor who created the character Bridget Hodgson from a will of a once living midwife of the same name.  While some names in the story are from the real Bridget Hodgson’s life, the book is fiction, and a remarkable one at that.

 

 

Felicia Ward is now in a place that is out of this world.  Literally.  Since her death right before her eighteen birthday things has been a little…

off.

Felicia now lives in a place called Level 2 where she and the others there spend time in “pods” where they access memories from their life day after day after day. 

Then one day someone who Felicia knew on earth breaks into her chamber and this is no memory, this is real!  Julian in life was a dangerous distraction… and now here on Level 2, Felicia has to wonder what his motive is for looking her up.  Julian wants to break her out of her chamber saying there is a war going on and Felicia is a big part of if they succeed or fail.  Though reluctant to trust Julian, he makes her a promise that is she goes with him now, he will make sure she sees Neil again, the one she loved more than anything. 

Felicia follows Julian and learns there is way more to Level 2 than meets the eye and a battle is about to begin… a battle of souls and Felicia is right in the heart of it all.

 

 

 

Level 2 is my favorite type of YA fiction, when you take our world and make it different….  JK Rowling did it in the Harry Potter books, and Lenore Appelhans does it in Level 2.  See, in both of these books/series, the world as we know it still exists… there is just something more that we do not know about it.

Lenore creates a sub world that is both dismal and intriguing, after all, on one hand you have full access to your memories and you program them in your mind just like you would if you watched a DVD that was programmed into your mind, reliving all your favorite moments with all the feelings and all the emotions… on the other hand that is really all you have is your memories.

I enjoyed Level 2.  I like Felicia’s spunk, Julian’s mysterious ways, and Neil’s goodness.  Level 2  itself is a great world character filled with new unthought-of things that fully engaged me and at times, frightened me… (wait until you hear about the lakes of the underworld….)

Level 2 is a wonderful read and in the end it left me feeling there must be more, I hope there is more.

Delilah would rather be reading a book then hanging out with friends, taking on sports, or hitting the coffee shops like most girls her age.  She has been labeled a loner, and that is fine by her.

But lately, it has been just one book that has her attention and it’s a bit embarrassing as it is a Fairy Tale written for someone much younger than she with illustrations and the whole works.  But there is something about this book called Between The Lines that speaks to her….

I mean… REALLY speaks to her.  Because one day, Prince Oliver calls out to her literally from the pages.  Page 43 to be exact…

and both their worlds change.

Oliver has a life within the book, he plays a role when the book is open and does his part, as all the characters do, to perform for the reader.  When the book is closed, the characters have lives, playing chess, baking cakes….  but Oliver has seen the world behind the readers face when the book is open and he knows there is something more out there… something he longs for, and the fact that Delilah’s face is pretty nice to look at, just makes him want out of the book even more.

So… how do you pull a character out of a book?  Oliver isn’t no background character like third henchman on the left… nope… he is the main protagonist.

So Delilah and Oliver work together to try to figure out a way for him to be released from the book.  Oliver finds his world flat and bland and Delilah really doesn’t have much more of an exciting one.  Can this fairy tale really have a happy ending?

So I am in Barnes and Noble recently (yes, yes, my Mother Ship) and I am craving a little YA.  This book caught my eye and after reading the first few pages I knew I wanted to know how this story would end. 

Jodi Picoult explains in the beginning of the book that this story line was actually her teenage daughter Samantha’s idea.  Samantha called Jodi one day while she was on a book tour and said she had an idea for a story.  What if the characters within a book had lives once the cover was closed, just like we do when we are not reading?  Jodi liked the idea and offered to write the story with Samantha.  This decision led to a two-year project of writing and editing through weekends, evenings, and during summer vacation… the result?  Well….

I read Between The Lines in about 4 hours.  I literally did not want to put the book own.  Beautiful illustrations pop up on the occasional page and lets just say, I can see why Delilah was fascinated with Oliver.  The story alternates between the Fairy Tale, Delilah, and Oliver and honestly to me it was brilliant.  I always love books that break the mold and this is one that did just that.

The book is sweet and funny.  When it is Oliver’s chapters and he is trying to understand Delilah’s world, there are some funny moments.  For him, if it doesn’t exist in the book, he knows nothing of it… here is a funny section from page 21 that Oliver narrates as he is trying to understand the readers world:

I’ve learned many things the otherworld has that we don’t: television (which is something parents do not like as much as books); Happy Meals (apparently not all meals bring joy, just the ones that come in a small bag with a toy; and showers (something you do before bedtime that leaves you drenched). 

I really enjoyed the book… it has its flaws but nothing that was a deal breaker for me and I honestly loved the break from serious reading to enjoy a sweet tale of fairy tale romance between a Prince and a book lover (I personally think, the way it was meant to be.)

I will keep this book with my other books by Picoult, but this one I think will hold a special place in my heart as it is not the hard story line that she writes for adults, but a softer side that I really really enjoyed.  I recommend this book for YA lovers young and old…. not every YA book needs to be tricked out with hot guys on motor cycles, high school age gorgeous vampires, or dystopian bread makers, some just require a prince….

and his horse.

When up and coming Lawyer on her way to partner, Emma Tupper’s mother passes away, Emma decided to take the trip to Africa that her mother had always dreamed of.  Taking a month long vacation at this point in her career didn’t make for the best timing, but Emma wanted to do this and knew she could bounce right back to where she left off in no time.

In Africa Emma becomes ill and unable to return as planned.  Then the earthquake hits and no planes are coming or going and phone lines are down. 

Six months later, Emma finally makes it home only to find out home is not how she had left it.  When her rent wasn’t paid, the apartment was rented out to someone else.  Her bank account was froze once the news spread that she was missing and presumed dead.  Emma’s boyfriend had moved on to someone else, and it appears while she was making her way up the corporate ladder, someone had kicked the ladder out from under her. 

What do you do when everything you had and knew about yourself is gone? 

I have enjoyed every book that Catherine McKenzie has written.  She comes up with real feeling quirky characters and scenes that are interesting and definably out of the norm.  Take Emma for instance, at one time had it all going her, now borrowing clothes from a male stranger.

Forgotten is a bit of a far fetched story.  This is where for me the story falters a bit.  I had trouble wrapping my mind around everything that had gone wrong and there were several lose ends throughout the book that my mind kept (and still is) picking at.

I really liked the love interest in the book (although he too is somewhat of a loose end) and I especially likes the case that Emma is given to work on in her firm.  As you can see I had some ups and downs with this one, I liked it, but I didn’t love it. 

 

James Kier was quite the real estate developer.  He had made a fine career out of cutting deals with vulnerable people, metaphorically cutting their throat in the process.  He had everything he ever wanted and more than he could ever need.  In his wake, his soon to be ex-wife Sara was trying hard to keep moving forward while battling a fast-moving cancer and his adult soon to be married son wanted nothing whatsoever to do with him.

Oh well… collateral damage is bound to happen. 

But now, James is reading a newspaper that is announcing his death.  Apparently he had crashed his BMW in the snow storm the previous night and was pronounced dead at the scene. Clearly a mistake and no doubt a costly one for some poor reporter, James thought as he dials up his lawyer… but then he has second thoughts about so quickly announcing the mistake.  Perhaps this would be a way to find out what people really think of him…

and find out he does.

Following some painfully harsh comments on the internet, James is quick to learn that some he thought were his allies are clearly not… and perhaps someone he wrote off too quickly surprisingly comes to his defense.

In this new light shed brightly on his true character, James decided to take a real hard look at those he has hurt while building himself up and seeing if in this season perhaps he can make some changes to who he was and take this “resurrection” as a new chance at life.

 

I wish I would have been able to get this review up a week ago because this turned out to be a wonderful read for the season.  Never a big fan of holiday reads as I find them usually too mushy and dull… I admit I went into this book club read a little “dragging of the feet.”  I was surprised to find not only did this book have a backbone, I could hardly put it down as page by page I wanted to know what would happen… would James be able to make amends or was it too late –  beautifully, it turns out to be a little of both. 

James is not a likable person.  He has done things so terrible that I think even I would slam the door in his face.  Throughout his building of fame and fortune he destroyed careers, families, and lives.  As he tries to make amends you get a Dickens “Christmas Carol” feel to the book, James seeing for the first time what his decisions had cost others. 

The book was a quick read, in a matter of a couple of hours I had it finished, but it was not finished with me.  It really made me think about decisions I make and the people in my life.  After reviewing this with my book club for our December read I think it is safe to say that none of us came out of the last page unscathed, we all had been emotionally touched at one point or another in the book.

 

Bookies Thoughts

The Bookies enjoyed this read and while it was a fast read we had to admit it did pack a  punch.  There was a good discussion over James’ treatment of Sara and her ability to forgive…. was she a soft person who was easily walked on, or was Sara something stronger… a person who could see beyond the current situation and know that deep down there was someone different underneath. 

An excellent discussion book.

For our December meeting we had a fun white elephant gift exchange, a baby shower for one of our Bookies who will be a new mom in January and we each pitched in $10 to purchase a book in the bag for our Library, which is a program where they check out 10 copies of the same book all at once for book clubs and other reading groups.  We purchased, Defending Jacob.

And of course, we had out Christmas potluck…

 

 

The Blackadder family has waited a long long time to bring their name back to restoration.  Stemming back all the way back to young Alison’s grandmother who was captured and forced into marriage with a man named Hume.  Quickly sending her son William away so he was not captured and killed, the times have changed and history is made….

Now in Scotland 1561, William is aboard a ship with Alison who has been kept safe by being disguised as a boy since she was a young girl.  Now with the long-awaited Queen returning, William feels the tide is about to change, and he hopes, in his favor.  It is now up to Alison yo let go of the learned male ways of walking and talking, and instead take on the role of a lady in waiting to the Queen.  

Alison, has to wonder, how is she about to pull this off?

 

 

Ahhhhh.  It has been a long time since I have been able to indulge in historical fiction.  The Raven’s Heart was an excellent selection to break back into a genre that I enjoy.  Based on the true story of Mary Queen Of Scots, author Jesse Blackadder weaves a fictional thread through what we know to be true and adding in this delicious tale.

Alison’s role in the book is a tough one, perhaps if she had grown up as a lady things may have been easier but, readers of this book will find that having been raised as a boy to protect her from danger has caused this change to be difficult. 

I like a book that engages me from the start and I was lucky and pleased to discover this one did.  The fast pace on the novel kept me up late at night not being able to find a break in the action to put it down until, droopy eyed, I had to.  Now that – makes for good reading!

While a love interest is apparent in the novel, this is not a romance, instead the book leans on action, suspense, and a little mystery.  Filled with characters that felt real, I found the book overall to be an enjoyment to read and learned a little history along the way.

 

Note:  You probably noticed that the authors last name is the same last name used in the book.  Author Jesse Blackadder traveled to Scotland in 2004 to trace the roots of her name… her name signifies the original Blackadder Estate and House, by the time she left, this story was coming together in her head.