The Nowhere Child

I very much enjoyed The Nowhere Child by Christian White, an Australian author's first book.  In Melbourne a young woman, Kim, is confronted by a man, who believes she is his sister who was abducted 28 years before in Kentucky.  At first Kim is sceptical but then agrees to travel with her "brother" to the town from where the child was abducted.  The story is well told.  In alternating chapters, we have the "Now" and the "Then" where the reader learns the story of the abduction in the "Then" chapters and what is happening as the story unfolds in the "Now" chapters.  This was a good writing device, the "Now" told by Kim and the "Then" in the third person.  Is Kim really the abducted child and if so, why?  Highly recommended. 5/5

The Other Wife

I enjoyed The Other Wife by Michael Robotham which is set in England.  Joe O'Loughlin is called to his father William's hospital bed to learn he has been seriously assaulted. By William's bedside is a woman Joe has never met before.  She claims to be William's "second wife".  Joe tries to discover what has happened.  Who has assaulted William?  Who is this woman with him?  Everything Joe thought he knew about his father comes into question as he tries to discover the truth. 4/5

The Couple Next Door

I enjoyed The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena which is set in New York.  A couple, Marco and Anne, live in a terrace house and go to dinner with the couple next door, Cynthia and Graham.  They leave their baby, Cora, in her cot and take their baby monitor with them to the dinner party.  They also check on Cora every half hour.  Of course, the inevitable happens.  Anne's parents are quite wealthy and they have never liked Marco. He wasn't good enough for their daughter.  The story is played out as we eventually learn what happened to Cora.  31/2/5

Idaho

I've read Idaho by Emily Ruskovich which is set in (where else?) Idaho. The story is told in many different time periods, starting with 2004 when Ann has been married to Wade for eight years.  Ann looks back at the past when she was a piano teacher back when Wade was married to Jenny until a terrible tragedy ended that relationship.  The story of the tragedy is told in snippets throughout the book until it ends in 2025.  The writing in this book is beautiful, sometimes poetic but it is let down by the story.  It is not clear to the reader what actually happened on that terrible day. 3/5

August Book Club

Had a lovely evening for our Book Club last Monday.  This meeting all members were present which is unusual as our ladies love to travel and at least a few are usually absent in another part of the world.  Our host has bought a number of great books which I'll look forward to reading.  It was good to chat with the ladies and enjoy our host's delicious supper.  We've all read some terrific books in the last month.

 

The Last Painting of Sara De Vos

I very much enjoyed The Last Painting of Sara De Vos by Dominic Smith which is set in three time periods.  In 1957 New York a 17th century painting is forged and stolen, substituted for the original. The forger, Ellie, a young Australian artist is paid well to make the forged copy.  In 1631 Amsterdam the artist, Sara de Vos is struggling with her life and trying to make a living with her art.  In 2000 Sydney Ellie is now a well-respected academic in the art world, specialising in Dutch female painters. She is expecting a reunion with the owner of the forged painting.  The story tells a lot about the art world and how paintings are made or forged.  The writing is excellent and the characters well defined.  Highly recommended. 5/5