The Things We Knew: one family's healing begins

The Things We Knew by Catherine West is a story about one family’s healing after their mother’s tragic death and the secret which sent them running from their home. Except one stay behind. Lynette Carlisle is 24 years old and lives in her childhood home with her father, Drake, on Nantucket. Her childhood crush, Nick Cooper, had returned home after leaving suddenly 5 years before. Lynette soon realizes that her father’s failing health and the home’s deterioration is too much to bear and she reaches out to her siblings for help.  Soon her older brothers and older sister, reluctantly come home and they realize that they are all hiding secrets, past and present. Together, with a plan to turn their home around, the siblings begin to heal from the past until Lynette begins to remember the night her mother died. Soon the siblings are confronted with the past in ways they never thought they would have to face.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Things We Knew as it dealt with domestic violence, drugs, and marital issues in an honest and open matter. Things were not glossed over and sugar coasted. The story was filled with twists and turns which left you hooked until the final chapter. I even loved the ending as the family isn’t completely healed but definitely on its way. I recommend The Things We Knew.

The Things We Knew

is available at

major booksellers

The Girl on the Train: mysterious disappearance and a troubled eyewitness

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins is a mystery story told through the eyes of a lonely and recovering alcoholic, Rachel Watson, as she sees something while waiting on the train headed into London. She doesn’t know if what she saw was real but she must find out.

Rachel Watson rides the morning train into London. While the train stops at a light, she imagines the life of a young couple she calls “Jason” and “Jess.” She can see their house from her favorite seat.  Until one morning she sees “Jess” with another man. She is hurt that “Jess” would do that to “Jason” and she relives her own jilted relationship. When “Jess,” whose real name is Megan, goes missing, Rachel feels she must tell the police what she saw. When she feel the police don’t give her information any real attention, she feels she must find out on her own. She is soon drawn into a world of lies, affairs and secrets. Will ever overcome her sordid past? Will she ever happen to Megan? Can she trust her own eyes and memory in the events of Megan’s disappearance?

The story is told in three perspective, offering events in various points of the timeline. Rachel’s perspective as the current events while Megan provides the events leading up to her disappearance. I thought the book started out real slow and I was wondering what did Rachel really see or was it her alcohol fueled imagination. But the story speeds up quickly and the events leading to the identity of the person who was responsible for Megan’s disappearance happens at a dizzying pace. There was a couple times when I had to stop and go back a couple of pages to make sure I read it correctly. By the end of the book, I was thoroughly shocked and thrilled at the revelation of the person’s identity. I love a mystery in which the clues are subtle but when the dots are connected, they all make sense. I recommend The Girl on the Train as mystery thriller with so many twists, the final revelation is a shocker!