February 2020 Book Club- "The Secret Keeper" by Kate Morton

I just got this book on Tuesday, and started it on Thursday. I wanted to make sure it was done in time for Book Club on Monday, because I heard there was a major plot twist. And HOLY COW was that right!

The premise of the book is- A 16 year old girl witnesses her mom commit a murder. She never speaks of it for 50 years. 50 years later, her mom is dying and the family comes together. She finds out there was a mystery woman named Vivien in her mother (Dorothy, or Dolly)'s life when they lived in London, and that things were not as they appeared. She decides to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding this murder. 

The thing this made me think of is the fact that we think we know our parents from before they were married and had children, but we never really do. Laurel (the one who was 16 when the murder happened) learns that the woman she thought was her mother really had a whole past. She was a survivor of the Blitz in London, and was the only one who survived out of her whole family. She went to the seaside to start a new life, and met her husband and had children. But her kids never thought of anything beyond the happiness they had in their home. They didn't know the skeletons in their mother's closet.

Ok WOW. So much to unpack. Dolly went to London to follow her boyfriend Jimmy, and became a maid for a woman who lived alone in her enormous house. She becomes obsessed with a woman that she works with in the volunteer service, who lives across the street from them. She believes that they are best friends, and that she will inherit the estate from this woman. When Vivien says she doesn't know her, and the old woman dies without giving her anything, she blames Vivien. Dolly is convinced that she is having an affair (Vivien is married to a famous author), and tells Jimmy they should blackmail her.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Jimmy begins to fall in love with Vivien. while pulling away from Dolly because of her obsession and cruelty in wanting to destroy Vivien's life. Vivien finds out about the plan, and decides to give Jimmy an enormous check to 1) insult him enough to keep him away (saving him from her husband who happens to be abusive), and 2) let him run away with Dolly like he wants because she is starting to love him.

Dolly's blackmail photograph accidentally gets mailed to Vivien's house, and her husband opens it. He tells her he already killed Jimmy, and that Dolly is next. She makes it to the house Dolly is staying at, and tells Dolly what is happening and that she needs to run away and LEAVE. Right when she says that, a bomb falls on the house. You find out that it was actually Dolly who died, and that Vivien put her ring on Dolly's finger and took her place. It was her escape from the abusive life she had lead.

So Laurel didn't know who her mom was AT ALL until just before her mom died. The regret Laurel thought her mom had over the blackmail was actually over the fact that Dolly wouldn't have been in the house if Vivien hadn't come to talk to her.

So when Henry Jenkins (her abusive former husband) came to find her that day, she knew that she needed to kill him because he would not stop until she was dead. She had escaped him for 20 years.

Book 14- "11/22/63" by Stephen King

I don't know too much about Stephen King besides the fact that his books make really scary movies. I've seen "the Shining" (on TV, of course) when we were staying about a mile from the Stanley Hotel and it was CREEPY. Not to mention we toured the hotel the next day. But other than that, I've only read one of his books. And I don't plan on reading a whole lot more!

 But when I saw the preview for this being turned into a show on Hulu I thought I'd check it out. And King is the master of creating dread. He didn't even write anything too horrific, but I found myself being very jumpy reading it at night. It's the best kind of scared (when your husband is home).

Anyway, the story is about a high school English teacher in 2011 who also teaches GED classes. He reads one of his student's essays about how his father murdered his whole family with a sledgehammer and left him with a limp and brain damage, and he starts thinking about how life can change on a dime. At the same time, one of his friends, Al, turns up extremely sick within a day and tells Jake (main character) about a secret he has. Turns out the back of his diner is a portal to 11:58 AM on September 19, 1958. Every time. And when you come back only 2 minutes have passed in 2011, no matter how long you have been here. Jake realizes he can save his student's family from being killed, as Al says he wants him to live in 1958 and save Kennedy from assassination. Al believes this will stop RFK's assassination, which will prevent Martin Luther King's assassination, which will prevent the Vietnam War. The trick is that if he was successful, he could come back to 2011 but if he ever returned BACK to 1958 then he will reset what he has done. Al then dies from his lung cancer (that he developed in 1958-1963), and Jake decides to finish his mission. He takes on a new identity and Al's 1958 money and heads out. He moves to Derry Maine, then to Florida, then to New Orleans, then to Jodie Texas (outside of Dallas). He finds a community there that he can get involved in, and even falls in love. Meanwhile he is following Oswald using Al's notes, and winning money based on bets from sporting events (since he can't work too much without real credentials). At the same time, he is learning that perhaps each trip down the "rabbit hole" to 1958 isn't a TOTAL reset. He would see eerie coincidences between the towns he stayed in and the past and present, which will send chills up your spine.

The concept of the story circles around the "butterfly effect", where if a butterfly flaps its wings on one side of the world a hurricane happens on the other. You just don't know what reactions your actions will have. I won't say if he is successful in preventing Kennedy's assassination (because that's a huge suspense point in the book), but I will say that he learns about the consequences his actions take.

Book 39 of 2015- "The Bishop's Wife" by Mette Ivie Harrison

 I read about this book on Alyse's book blog, so I decided to read it. It is a mystery novel about a bishop's wife in a ward in Draper, Utah and the crimes that are committed in the ward. She, of course, meddles into their lives and saves the day.

I didn't really like the way she was portrayed. She is a former atheist turned Mormon who questions much of the Church's practices, such as the patriarchal nature of the Church and the role of women today. She also discusses the Church's "neverending positivity" of the Saints with regards to Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. I mean, of COURSE the main character had to be an active but edgy member of the Church. It's not like they could have been talking about a woman who is content with her role in the Church and doesn't feel like she is being controlled by her husband. I can't see my mom doing that.

So overall, not my favorite book. I liked the mystery aspect, but I can't stomach reading too much questioning about the church.

Book 9 of 2015- "Leaving Everything Most Loved" by Jacqueline Winspear

Well, I finished the series! The book was good as ever, although I am sad that it is done.

During this book, Maisie is investigating the murders of two Indian women who immigrated to England. At the same time, she is trying to plan her own departure from England. She wanted to go to India, but the man she has been dating is going to Canada and proposes to her a couple of times throughout the book. She is trying to sort out her life, and decide what is best for her.

I hate to admit it, but the end frustrated me! The author left it so open. Which I am HOPING means there will be another book! Because this one just came out in 2013.

But on to the next book! I'm starting the Bourne series, wish me luck.

Book 8 of 2015- "Elegy for Eddie" by Jacqueline Winspear

Sad, only one book left in the series for me. I've been meaning to start it, but just haven't. Maybe it's because I've liked this series of books and I don't want to have it end.

Maisie is approached by some childhood friends, and she learns of someone else that she grew up with who passed away in a freak accident. They didn't think it was an accident, and wanted her to investigate.

This investigation took her into the most upper class of England, including interacting with the "fallen" politician, Winston Churchill. This made me think that I need to learn more about him from before WWII, because the characters do not have a high opinion for him at this point. Since that is the opposite of what I hear now, I want to know how that changed.

At the same time, they are learning more about the changes that are going through Germany. Hitler has taken over power, and he is starting to make some changes. It makes me so grateful to not grow up in a time like this. Everyone in England is terrified of the idea of another war, because so many of their fellow men had just died not even 20 years prior in the first world war.

Book 7 of 2015- "A Lesson in Secrets" by Jacqueline Winspear

I think this book was my favorite of the series so far. Maisie was asked to work for the British Secret Service, and go teach philosophy at a college. During that time, the founder of the college was murdered and she took the responsibility on to find out who did it as well.

It is obvious from the getgo that everyone in the college has their secrets. In addition, there are many other secrets going on in Maisie's life. The man she had been dating seemed to not be faithful to her, and she took in a former maid at the house she worked at after her husband was killed in an accident. However, the accident seemed to be suspicious, so Maisie was dealing with the fallout of that.

I'm hoping to read another book or 2 soon so that I can stay on track with my goal of reading 50 by the end of the year. I have more on hold at the library, and keep getting suggestions from other people that I'm looking into.

Book 4 of 2015- "The Mapping of Love and Death" by Jacqueline Winspear

Yes, another one of these books. I love them, and I only have 3 more until the series ends! Darn it. I'm still hoping she writes more, but I have no idea what is going to happen by the end. Maybe it wraps up.

She didn't seem to spend much time with this case, she was more concerned with her personal life. Her mentor, who has been a main character throughout all the books, was dying of some illness and she spent a lot of time with him. Not to mention, she started dating again FINALLY. I get way too invested in people's personal lives in stories. I forget if I had mentioned this, but she was dating a doctor during World War 1, and they were both hit by shells during an air raid. He lost his mind, and spent the rest of his life in a hospital for men with shell shock. He just passed away in the last book (not the one I read last, the 6th book), and I think it was only then that she was able to start opening up to people again.

Still a great series, and I can't wait to go pick up the 8th book in just a minute. I have the 9th and 10th coming from another library as well.

Book 3 of 2015- "Messenger of Truth" by Jacqueline Winspear

This is the fourth book in the series, but the sixth one that I have read. As per usual, it was pretty fascinating. I had no idea who the murderer was (it was an investigation of a murdered artist), and kept guessing until the end.

At this point, I'm starting to wonder how someone can really read people that well. Everything that she does while interviewing a suspect or witness is deliberate. It is just interesting that she can do that, but I wonder if people in real life are actually that perceptive. I know I'm not.

Book 2 of 2015- "Pardonable Lies" by Jacqueline Winspear

I was about halfway through this book when I realized I read it either last summer or the summer before. But I read it again anyway because I didn't remember the big plot twists in the story.

This is the third book in the "Maisie Dobbs" series, and as I remember thinking the first time I read it, it's much more interesting than the first two. She has some brushes with danger, and ends up revisiting the site where she served as a nurse in World War 1. I always learn a little about history when I read these, and it's fascinating to think of a time like that.

I have 3 more books checked out, so I have 4 weeks to finish them.

Book 1 of 2015- "Among the Mad" by Jacqueline Winspear

So this was another Maisie Dobbs book. I realized when I checked this one out that I missed the 3rd and 4th book in the series, and the last one I read was #5. So, I ordered them from another library to come over to ours.

I liked this one because it had a different feel than the other books. You actually heard from the villain of the book before the big reveal, and even then there were many surprises.

In addition, this dealt with chemical warfare and the state of veterans after World War 1. It really made you think about how the government treats those that give it all for their country. Especially with a world war like that, they didn't have the resources to help take care of all the people who were affected by war. In addition, many of these people had to go to war just a few years from when this book was based (1931-1932). When you add that to the advances in technology seen in World War 1, it's no surprise that someone could have hypothetically threatened to attack the city if their voice wasn't heard.

It's a sad state that the villain is in, and just reminds me of how glad I am that I didn't live then. Brandon would have gone off to war!

Book 1 of 2013- "Maisie Dobbs" by Jacqueline Winspear

Reading this book made me feel sad for that time. It was just post WWI, and hearing about all the veterans and what everyone in England went through is awful. They just picked up random nurses off the street! I hope they wouldn't ask me to do that... I'd probably die.

On the other hand, they all had a great work ethic. They all got up at about 5 (ha, yeahhhh right) and went straight to work. Also, it was nice to read about the propriety of that time. I know that's not how it always was, but it made me wish I could go see that time at least for a little bit.

I can't wait to get the next book in the series! I recommend it to anyone who wants a little romance and a little mystery, because it kept me guessing until the end.