Arden Moore is widowed suddenly while still in her thirties. Her lifestyle was affluent thanks to Scott, her stock broker husband, but the stock markeArden Moore is widowed suddenly while still in her thirties. Her lifestyle was affluent thanks to Scott, her stock broker husband, but the stock market crash saw their bank accounts dwindling. Her husband though, didn't adjust to the new reality, which meant that he left Arden and their three children almost poverty stricken when he died.
Desperate to improve their lot in life, and despite many misgivings, Arden agrees to a legal battle for an inheritance when approached by a New York lawyer. Arden's mother had gone down that particular rabbit hole before and after years of legal battles, lost... impacting her family in myriad ways. Now though, with advances in DNA and different legal precedents, Arden hopes that she has a chance at a victorious settlement.
This novel portrays Arden's mother's life back in New York, and Arden's life in Toronto thirty years later. Arden is a realistic character which I had empathy for. Struggling to parent her three children while grieving for her husband on top of a complicated lawsuit brings her to the breaking point.
This novel covers many themes such as widowhood, parenting, nature vs. nurture, elder abuse, and avarice. It expounds on how we are shaped by circumstances and the ramifications of the choices we make. With so much to think about, this book would be an excellent choice for book club discussion.
It was gratifying to watch the characters in this book grow emotionally. I very much enjoyed this compulsively readable novel and would certainly be eager to read more of this author's work in the future....more
I'm forever eager to try new authors so I leapt at the opportunity to read "Twenty-Seven Minutes". This was a slow paced psychological thriller which I'm forever eager to try new authors so I leapt at the opportunity to read "Twenty-Seven Minutes". This was a slow paced psychological thriller which was very well written.
The characters and overall tone were quite dismal, dark, and depressing. Ten years ago, some teenagers were involved in a drunk-driving accident after a party. Now, coming up to the anniversary of the accident, the mother of the fatal victim of the accident is planning to hold a memorial at her home.
Grant and Phoebe Dean are brother and sister - siblings who have an extraordinarily close relationship. Their father died when they were small, and now their mother tries to keep them close to her. Closer than either of them would like and they both long for escape. Grant was driving the night of the crash when his little sister Phoebe died. He called the ambulance, but it was too late. Twenty-seven minutes too late. If he had called earlier, Phoebe might have survived. This weighs heavily on Grant to this day. His fate was determined by the accident which left him physically and mentally injured - putting paid to any hopes of the football scholarship that he had hoped for. Now he works at a poultry factory.
Wyatt and June Delroy are brother and sister - siblings from a dysfunctional family. Wyatt disappeared ten years ago - the night of the car accident that took Phoebe Dean's life. June was left to care for their mother, a disagreeable and demanding women.
Becca Hoyt was in the truck that crashed. She suffered severe injuries and was hospitalized for several weeks. Now she works in the same small store where she worked back then. She loves Grant, and would do anything for him... Becca comes across as a pathetic woman riddled with guilt, who never matured, stuck in a rut of her own making.
"... and now they dragged their trauma behind them like a ghastly security blanket, tattered and dirty and hardened in the corners with nervous spit."
This was a bleak read. The characters were not very likeable, despite their dire history. The town of West Wilmer, was a rural backwater peopled with the usual dead-end town mentality. The main characters carried their burdens of remembrance, grief, and guilt, but in a way that made them more pathetic than sympathetic.
The story was told via a dual timeline. The present narrative was interspersed with events from the night of the accident. I enjoyed the writing style and would read another novel by this author. That being said, "Twenty-Seven Minutes" didn't resonate with me, and I found it melancholy - peopled with characters who wallowed in their misery on a daily basis. The ending plot twist was one I anticipated. The overlying themes were those of guilt and dysfunction. My opinions of this debut novel are my own, and should not serve to deter other readers. It has received some very positive reviews....more
"Closer By Sea" is a literary debut that will remain in my memory for some time. It was a coming-of-age story set on an island off the coast of Newfou"Closer By Sea" is a literary debut that will remain in my memory for some time. It was a coming-of-age story set on an island off the coast of Newfoundland during one pivotal, unforgettable summer when our protagonist, Pierce, was twelve years old.
The story evokes an emotional response in the reader. It is a novel about change, loss, friendship, and growing up. It also vividly describes island culture and the harsh and often severe way of life of its residents. The action takes place in the year 1991, just one year before the Canadian government imposed a moratorium on the Northern cod fishery along the country's east coast. This moratorium drastically impacted the lives of Newfoundlanders and changed their social and cultural identity. For generations these men and women depended largely on the cod fishery to make a living.
When Pierce Jacobs was just nine years of age, his father was lost at sea. With no siblings, it was now just Pierce and his mother left to support themselves and grieve a much loved husband and father.
"She had that tone in her voice, the one that went straight to my heart and made it bleed invisibly, the one she only used when she was extremely disappointed in me."
Three years after his father's death, during the summer of 1991, Pierce and his friends experience many adventures. Anna, a girl who was a friend to Pierce when he most needed one, has gone missing. The boys suspect foul play by Solomon Vickers, a man who lives on the other side of the island.
"Mind your tongue. It can be as sharp as any blade and can cut even deeper."
It is also a summer when Pierce has his first girlfriend. This tests his friendship with his childhood friends and changes his views on many things.
This is much more than a coming-of-age novel. It has many suspenseful moments with a mystery at its heart. The writing was skilled and evocative of the place and the people. It is an awesome debut novel that I can highly recommend....more
I'll admit that I was tempted to read this novel when I read the reference to Nova Scotia on the cover. As I am a lifelong resident of Nova Scotia, myI'll admit that I was tempted to read this novel when I read the reference to Nova Scotia on the cover. As I am a lifelong resident of Nova Scotia, my interest was immediately piqued.
This charming, gentle novel had me gripped from start to finish. Peopled with strong female characters, the story followed the fate of Roisin O'Conner, a young Irish girl who comes to Canada from Ireland and lives on a small farm with her aunt and uncle. The seasons figure prominently, as does Roisin's developing maturity. Brought up in Ireland by a single mother in the 1950s, Roisin was a strong, intelligent, and at times peculiar girl with a strong moral compass. She loved running barefoot outdoors almost as much as she loved to read.
The writing flowed smoothly, the descriptions were vividly rendered, and the dialog natural. Though it was a story without 'excitement' it did cause this reader to avidly turn the pages nonetheless.
This is a story of friendship, family, hopes, dreams, loss, and love. It speaks to the heavy-handedness of the Catholic Church back in the fifties which stigmatized unwed mothers. Also it affirms the importance of having self respect and being self-reliant. Highly recommended!...more
I've read this author's previous books (which were a connected trilogy) and enjoyed them very much. Therefore, I was eager to try 4.5 stars rounded up
I've read this author's previous books (which were a connected trilogy) and enjoyed them very much. Therefore, I was eager to try her latest stand-alone novel. I was not disappointed.
The entire book took place during one day and moved along at a brisk pace despite that. Nadine Walsh was an interesting protagonist, and not entirely likeable. Yet... I was riveted by her story. Born to a single mother, a latchkey kid, her world was completely turned around when her mother became famous.
Nadine is throwing a 60th birthday party for her famous mother, M, who is a renowned crime novelist. She is wealthy due to the fact that her mother gives her a cut of her royalties. She is married to a lawyer, Paul. Nadine is the mother of two teenagers and tends to be quite a 'helicopter parent'. She is always fearing the worst, and has quite an OCD thing going on which she displays by writing copious lists, both for herself and her family members. Also living in Nadine's home is Margot, her niece, who helps out with running the household since Nadine was incapacitated due to illness.
Nadine has several skeletons in her closet, and on the day of the party they all come tumbling out. An unscrupulous journalist, some shady neighbours, and a comatose teenager all play a part.
This is a domestic thriller with themes of loyalty and family secrets. Mostly though, it explores just how far someone will go to protect those they love.
I was raised just a few short miles from an iconic lighthouse, so I retain an inexplicable fondness for lighthouses of all shapes and sizes.
Set on theI was raised just a few short miles from an iconic lighthouse, so I retain an inexplicable fondness for lighthouses of all shapes and sizes.
Set on the rugged eastern coast of Newfoundland, Canada, this debut novel spoke directly to my heart.
Mari Adams 2014 - A young woman who is an oceanographic diver and researcher. She is obsessed with finding the wreck of the SS Californian in Greek waters when she receives a message that a woman in Newfoundland, Canada wants her to investigate the disappearance of a lighthouse said to have been located on the rugged cliffs below St. John's. It was rumoured to have collapsed into the Atlantic a century ago.
"...all these saints of shallow waters that kept the sea from taking its dues."
Silvestre Swan 1913 - An eighty-three year old lighthouse keeper. He saw Swan Light built from local stone and remains as its only keeper. With coastal erosion, he fears that Swan Light won't be able to sustain her position much longer... Having lost his beloved wife Grace, he cannot bear the thought of losing Swan Light as well. Silvestre petitions the nearby townsfolk to help him get Swan Light moved back from its precarious position.
"Lighthouses exist because people are so afraid of the sea that they forget to be afraid of the shore."
As Mari Adams and her assigned Captain, marine scavenger Julian Black, search for remnants of the lighthouse, other less ethical divers are looking for gold from an alleged shipwreck in the same vicinity.
Told via dual timelines, this was a novel that had everything. Rich history, suspense, romance, sound storytelling, and of course a lighthouse. I was completely immersed in the story while reading.
In summation, Swan Light is an accomplished debut novel that will definitely be on my best of 2023 list. I absolutely loved it....more
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