The Talking Tree: when her mother's death sends her searching in the past for answers

The Talking Tree is the first book in The Hartwell Women by Judith Keim. Returning to her hometown after the death of her estranged mother, Marissa Cole just wants to dot the i’s and cross the t’s and leave it all behind once again. However, her mother has one final request: take her ashes to New Hope, Maine and scatter them from the local cliffs. Marissa never heard her mother mention New Hope and she didn’t understand why her mom would make such a request. Once in Maine, she discovers a family her mother left behind. However, the family isn’t what she thought where the smiles and the welcomes aren’t as sincere as she hopes. With the family fortune on the line, can Marissa make the right decision for herself, her family and her future? 

This story had an interesting start. A woman discovers her mother was hiding secrets and she must unravel the mystery after her death. However, once Marissa is in New Hope and she learns about her mother’s family, the story gets bogged down. The drama surrounding the family business and who should be running it or not. I definitely didn’t care for Brad, Marissa’s boyfriend and “love of her life.” I didn’t care how he acted like a spoiled brat when Marissa was trying to find her place in her mother’s family. By the end of the book, I was glad it was over. Overall, the story was good; however, I was not interested enough to continue the series. If you enjoy stories of discovering family, coming to terms with the past and finding a new future, I recommend The Talking Tree. 

The Talking Tree is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

Secrets at the Last House Before the Sea: returning home and confronting the past

Secrets at the Last House Before the Sea by Liz Eeles is the first book in the Heaven’s Cove series. After the death of her mother, Rosie Merchant is back in the tiny seaside village of Heaven’s Cove and her childhood home, Driftwood House. Her goal is to get the house ready to rent and head back to her boyfriend and her real life. When local farmer Liam Satterley offers to help her clean up the house, she can’t refuse. In the attic, she discovers a faded photograph that will have her questioning everything she thinks she knows. What are Liam's true intentions? Will the truth be the final wedge between her and Heaven’s Cove? Or will she find that she can finally feel at home by the sea? 

Pulled in by a beautiful cover and an intriguing premise, I looked forward to Secrets at the House Before the Sea. A tiny village on the Irish shore with a mystery and secrets that would rival a big city. Secrets at the Last House Before the Sea is a bit predictable with its conflicts and their resolutions. I can easily see the life changing decisions that Rosie makes and everything wrapping up by the end of the story. While predictable, it wasn’t a bad story. It was actually enjoyable and I enjoyed seeing Rosie’s search for the truth and her growth as she confronts the past and considers her future. Overall, I enjoyed this story and recommend Secrets at the Last House Before the Sea. 

Secrets at the Last House Before the Sea is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

House on the Harbor: four sisters and one family secret

House on the Harbor by Elizabeth Bromke is the first book in the Birch Harbor series. Four sisters, dealing with the death of their mother, discover a family secret that will shock them. Kate Hannigan is in charge of her late mother’s estate. She plans to divide everything equally with her sisters. However, she doesn’t realize that her mother changed her will just before her death. During the reading of the will, she discovers one sister has been left off the will. The reason why means a family secret is forced to be revealed. Meanwhile, her sisters are dealing with their issues. Amelia is a struggling off-Broadway actress who seems to go from man to man. Megan is dealing with her pending divorce and the possibility of dating again. And Clara, the baby of the family, is about to question everything she knows to be true. 

I was intrigued by the book synopsis and looked forward to reading a story about four sisters. The story was good. The will excludes one sister, why? But as the story progresses, the secret is about to be revealed and then something stops it. Time after time after time. The secret is…oh what there’s a knock on the door or the phone rings, you get the picture. Once the secret is finally revealed, it is a total let down. And why their mother left this one sister out of the will is absolutely ridiculous. Meant to be a story with lots of twists and turn, eventually I just said enough already! By the end, I didn’t care for the characters, their lives or their relationships. Overall, I do not recommend House on the Harbor and I will not be continuing the series.  

House on the Harbor is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

The Only Child: when the monster is real

The Only Child by Andrew Pyper is the story of Dr. Lily Dominick, a forensic psychiatric, who is used to hearing bizarre and outrageous claims from patients. She was orphaned at six when her mother was killed by, what authorities would call, a bear. Until one day she receives a case with no name. He is a man who assaulted another man because he needed to talk with her. He has a gift for her. He claims he is over 200 years old, he’s not human and her father. Soon strange events lead her to suddenly go to Eastern Europe and track now this man’s history. The more she learns, the more his story seems unbelievable. He claims to be the inspiration for Mary Shelley’s Creature from Frankenstein, Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Lily soon finds herself in a race against time and against others who want to see this man destroyed. Is he really who he says he is? Will Lily finally learn the truth about her mother’s death? Will she be able to escape this real life monster?

The Only Child reminded me of Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian with more intensity and action. From the opening word to the closing chapter, The Only Child is a fast paced drama which intertwines the stories of classic gothic novels. Without giving too much away, I loved how Mr. Pyper was able to weave the novels into this story. I feel it is an interesting twist and modern look into these classic characters. As I do with every book I read, after finishing this book, I read a few reviews and some of the other reviewers didn’t like it. The main complaint was it wasn’t scary. True, it wasn’t. It was more of an intense horror than scary horror. But to be fair, in my opinion, Frankenstein, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Dracula, were not scary either. I think it is also unfair to view The Only Child in comparison with these classics. Bottom line, I enjoyed this novel. I was able to finish it in two days, not that it was a fast read but shows that I couldn’t put it down. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good monster story. It will have you wondering who the real monster is.

The Only Child

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at Barnes and Noble

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