Personal and Book Thoughts by Martie

I have been off-the-grid for sad reasons.  My mom passed on Oct. 13th.  To escape the pain from before and after her passing, I have been reading but not reviewing.  So here is a snapshot of the novels that helped keep me sane.

Very good historical fiction about C.W. Post’s daughter who was known as the Cereal heiress. As well as an educational biography of Post Foods and their rival the Kellogg’s family. Sounds stale but it is not. You will read about the depression, WWI. WWII, and meet many presidents and other famous people. Interesting fact, Marjorie Post built  Mar-a-Lago in 1924-27.

This psychological thriller follows 3 families and is narrated by each family matriarch. There is a tragic accident. Think of every mother’s worst nightmare. A good tearjerker with enough suspense to keep you turning pages. 

The story is set in the near future where sinkholes and heatwaves are popping up across the country due to climate change. which leads to neighbor turning on neighbor. All too real mob mentality. Though provoking black humor.

Everyone in Malibu knows the four children of a pop singer of Frank Sinatra-level fame. In the early 1980s, the singer’s four surfer offspring throw a raging party that forces them to confront their pasts. This is a story of loving yet being able to break free from a tight-knit family unit, so the characters can discover who they are as individuals. Not always believable still, hard to put down.

Our first meeting of the Merton family, in this psychological thriller, takes place on Easter Monday.  Fred and Sheila Merton are the patriarch and matriarch of their wealthy and well-established clan.  They also happen to have been murdered on Easter Sunday.  On that Sunday, they hosted a holiday dinner for their children at their home.  So which of their children (all unlikable and greedy) murdered them? Kept me guessing until the end.

A young black male musician discovers that his family’s old fiddle is a priceless Stradivarius. A bit farfetched but it works in this tale. He risks everything to win back the priceless instrument when it’s stolen on the eve of one of his and the world’s most prestigious classical music competitions. I found an underdog hero that I cared about and discovered a fascinating, cutthroat world I knew nothing about – in this case, classical music