Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

In 1972 a mother of 10 children, Jean McConville, was dragged from her home in Belfast Ireland and never seen again.  Keefe uses the murder of McConville as the center piece of his carefully researched history of "the Troubles" in Ireland that began with strife between Catholics and Protestants, and continued as a conflict between the "Republicans" who wanted to reunify North Ireland and Ireland, and the British government who wanted to maintain control in the region. Keefe also goes into a lot of detail about what happened to the main players in the conflict after the Good Friday agreement of 1998 that ended hostilities, and how their story eventually was revealed through an oral history project undertaken by Boston College.  

I was a young girl when many of the events in this book took place.  I remember hearing about bombings in Ireland in the news and vaguely understanding that religious conflict was at its root.  I decided to read this book so I could better understand what I barely understood as a kid.  This is a gripping tale and Keefe puts the reader right into the time, place, and events. The book is kind of divided into halves.  The first half tells the story of the conflict and the second half tells how the facts of the story came to light. It was interesting to see how the different leaders of the IRA dealt with the trauma of their past.  Some, like Delours Price,
gradually self-destructed because of guilt over what she had done, while others, like Gerry Adams, went on to live full and successful lives seemingly unaffected by the trauma. If you are interested in this book I highly recommend you listen to it as an audiobook.  The reader is the actor Matthew Blaney and he knows how to render the Irish colloquialisms with the right inflection to make them understandable. The book is long, and I am not sure I would have gotten through the second half if I hadn't enjoyed Blaney's accent so much. (464 p. 2019)

An Awakening Heart by Jody Hedlund

 Christine Pendleton is a wealthy spinster in late 19th century New York.  Her mother has recently died, and she is looking for a way to find meaning in life.  She volunteers at a ministry that serves the city's poor immigrants.  There she meet Pastor Badell, a widower who has a good heart, but hasn't really figured out how to help the people he preaches to.  Christine sees that the women in the congregation need jobs that pay enough so they won't have to rely on prostitution in order to feed their families.  As she tries to convince Pastor Badell to feed their bodies as well as their souls, she and the Pastor's regard for each other turns into affection, and eventually love.  

This is a short novella that I listened to to give myself a break after the heavier nonfiction history I just listened to.  It is sentimental and cheesy, but I enjoyed it.  It had a more satisfying ending than the last Hedlund book I read , A Reluctant Bride.  I felt like the couple in this story could actually work out a "happily ever after" for themselves.  The religious element was a little heavier than in the last book, but I did appreciate that they were able to look back in the end and see that their challenges were actually pushing them to accomplish a greater goal. To my faithful readers, I am sorry I keep reading this B-level sentimental nonsense.  My only defense is that I have always maintained that you should read what you want to read, and I happen to enjoy sentimental nonsense once in a while.  (2017, 139p.)

The Ghost of Wyvern Lake by Sheila Nielson

 Jayne is the biggest girl in her junior high, maybe the biggest kid, boy or girl.  She also has a reputation of being tough and pugnacious. Her best (and practically only) friend is cute petite girl named Tamille.  One Halloween night Jayne is pursuing a bully who had stolen a little kid's candy, when she chases him into a flat area that used to be under a lake, which had recently been drained.  Jayne is surprise to realized the lake water had been concealing an old grave yard, complete with a small chapel.  Jayne's quarry, Seth, runs into the deserted chapel and unwittingly releases a malevolent spirit that starts terrorizing the town.  Jayne feels responsible, and with the help of Tamille and the "new kid," a boy, Haddon, she sets out to find a way to rid the town of the evil ghost. 

This is a cute ghost story/tween romance written by my dear friend, Sheila Nielson.  I have really enjoyed her previous books, and I liked this one as well. Jayne is a delightful character with a lot of attitude and wit. I also was a size XL in junior high, and I can relate with Jayne's experience of being stereotyped by your size. I also thought the setting was fun; a town were everyone is just used to seeing gargoyles, will-o'-the-wisps, and UFO's.  Having Haddon be the outsider, getting used to his new whacky home was a clever choice.  The story is creepy enough to make it a fun spooky read, without causing nightmares. The book ended in a satisfying way, but with the door wide open for a sequel, or even a series.  I will look forward for the next one to be released. (223 p. 2022)

The Blackbird Girls by Anne Blackman

 Valentina is Jewish, and is often the victim of the cruelty of the class bully, Oksana.  Then one day the sky over their Ukrainian town, Chernobyl, the sky turned red.  For the first day, the Russian military said that there was a "fire" at the powerplant, but people in town started to get sick.  After three days the evacuation order came. Oksana's father was killed in the initial explosion, and her mother was too sick to be evacuated, so Valentina's mother brought Oksana into her care. They traveled to a nearby town, but were only able to get two tickets to Moscow where Valentina's grandmother lived.  The two girls had to go on alone.  As they travel alone, and then live in a small flat with Valentina's grandmother, they learn to look past their prejudices and become real friends. 

This well written story is more about overcoming prejudice than it is about the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.  The main characters are well drawn and there are a lot of good details about the difficulties of being Jewish in the USSR.  That being said, the portrayal of what it was like when the disaster happened are interesting and authentic. The author got a lot of the details about the disaster from a friend who had experienced it. This is a great choice for kids who like to read historical fiction with heroic young characters. (2020, 352 p.)

Great Courses: Influence by Kenneth Brown

 In this twelve lecture series, Brown discusses how people are able to influence others, for good or bad, and how people can recognize and resist predatory influence.  He starts out by identifying four elements that factor into an interaction, and how these factors can be tweaked to improve the chance of influence. He also discusses how to recognize con-artists and how they use the same elements to trick people.  Professor brown quotes different studies throughout and also takes examples from both research and popular media.  He ends each lecture with suggested exercises to reinforce the principles taught.

I have listened to several Great Courses series before and this one was neither my favorite or my least favorite.  A lot of the things he talks about are part of common wisdom, like the importance of wearing a smile, using a firm handshake, and being genuine. As I was listening I thought that his suggestions were just as likely to help people manipulate others as to legitimately influence others.  I found it useful to think about his main points, and the series did remind me of some things I could do better with as a manager and government employee. (12 lectures, 6 hrs total, 2014)

A Reluctant Bride by Jodie Hedlund

Mercy Jenkins takes care of her many siblings while her mom works picking rags and her dad works in a factory.  Then her mom loses her job, and Mercy knows they won't be able to feed all the children anymore.  Mercy hears of opportunity for women who are willing to immigrate to Oregon Territory.  Even though Mercy had long since decided to never get married and become a baby factory like her mother, she hopes she might be able to get a job and send money back home.  It is only when she is on the ship that she realizes the women are intended to be brides for single men in Oregon.  On the ship she starts helping a young ship's doctor as a nurse and assistant.  He is a nobleman running away from an unhappy past.  Both know that they should not get romantically involved, but when has that ever stopped anyone?

Here is a new historical Christian romance writer I hadn't tried.  The book is pretty good.  The pacing is a bit slow, and Hedlund doesn't really explain how the couple are going to overcome the obvious obstacles that they face, but the characters are well drawn and there are enough interesting side plots to keep a reader engaged.  The Christian element isn't too heavy handed and probably appropriate to the time period. The audiobook reader handles Mercy's cockney accent well. I will probably try reading either more in this series or something else written by Hedlund again. (352 p. 2019)

The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates

 Melinda Gates has been the driving force behind the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's charitable projects.  In this book Gates tells about her journey as she entered into humanitarian aid and what experiences guided her direction.  She has mainly focused on projects that will help women in underprivileged communities. In the book she has chapters about some of the main challenges women face, including having access to birth control, having access to education, having options to work outside the home, having control over who and when to marry. She also discusses issues women face in developed countries, like the lack of women in leadership and tech jobs, creating partnership in marriage, and dealing with religious beliefs that support male dominance.

I chose this book because I felt like, in a time of year so often focused on materialism, it is good to be reminded that not everyone enjoys the advantages we do in the United States.  The stories Ms Gates recounts are heartrending, and it is hard to internalized that there are so many places still left in the world where women lack basic rights.  I also appreciated her discussion about how she, as a devout Catholic, has dealt with reconciling the Catholic Church's prohibition of contraceptives with the reality of their importance in lifting women from poverty and oppression.  I must admit, I was having similar feelings of conflict when I read the chapter about male dominant religions and how they perpetuate the idea the women are somehow "less" than men.  The audiobook is read by Ms Gates, and was written in 2019.  It is a little sad to hear the enthusiasm in her voice as she discusses how she and Bill managed to establish a relationship of true partnership, knowing that just two years later they divorced because of Bill's involvement with the Jeffery Epstein sex scandal. Still, the book is worthwhile  and a reminder of all that still needs to be done to create a completely equitable society. (2019, 288p)

Spider's Web by Agatha Christie, Novelization by Charles Osborne

 Clarissa loves her quiet life with her diplomat husband, but sometimes longs for a little adventure.  It arrives in the form of the new husband of Clarissa's husband's druggy ex-wife.  He wants to gain custody of Clarissa's step daughter, Pippa, something Clarissa cannot allow.  After an argument the ex leaves in a huff, but a little while later Clarissa finds his dead body in the drawing room.  Fearing the impact the murder investigation will have on her husband's career, she convinces three friends to help her move the body.  Before their plan can be enacted the police arrive. Clarissa has to use all her wits to discover who killed the despicable man before she or others she loves are implicated. 

This story was originally written as a stage play which has run continually in London's West side since 1953.  Charles Osborne adapted it as a short novel, and the sound recording by Harper Audio is really well done.  Agatha Christie was such a master.  The plot was intricate, and the ending was surprising enough to be satisfying. Christie included enough clues in the story that you think, "Oh, yeah, I should have seen that."  I have seen Mouse Trap two times on the stage (Christie's only play that has run longer than this one) and I think I like this one better.  It didn't have the cliché final scene where everyone's secrets are revealed like Mouse Trap does. This would be a great audiobook to listen to on a car ride with a spouse. (4 hrs, 2012)

The Sheriffs of Savage Wells by Sarah Eden

 Paisley Bell had been working as the unofficial assistant to the sheriff of their sleepy Wyoming town before he left to become a logger in Oregon. She kept on acting as sheriff until the city council decided to advertise for a replacement. The other four candidates scoff when Paisley applies for the position, especially a famous lawman, Cade O'Brien.  Cade is tired of killing bad guys, first in the Civil War and later as a sheriff.  He wants a job in a quiet town where he can settle down. At first he finds Paisley's stubbornness frustrating, and the two butt heads.  But as the competition for the position advances, they come to secretly respect each other and realize that they enjoy their verbal sparring matches. Sparks start flying of a different nature, but will their ambition to land the same job prove to be a permanent wedge between them?

After my two failed book attempts, I just wanted something to read that I knew wouldn't contain any smut. This is one of Shadow Mountain's "Proper Romances"  and although they are full of romance, they don't contain bad language or sex. This book ended up being so cliché that it made me laugh out loud.  It was like Louis Lamour meets Georgette Heyer. The characters were bigger than life, and there is no real attempt to make the setting authentic. Still, it was just what I was in the mood for at the time and I really enjoyed it.  I am glad I have a few authors I can return to for refuge with the I need a break from modern amorality.  (336, 2016)