The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane If you like a little witchcraft mixed in with historical research, "The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane" by Katherine Howe may be just the summer book for you. There is enough historical fact in the text so you can justify your pleasure in a novel that mixes love, witchcraft and a doctoral dissertation together.
Connie Godwin is a Harvard grad student majoring in the history of woman's role in the early American colonial period. She is attempting to determine what her thesis will be, knowing that primary sources have a strong influence on the quality of the product that a student is able to produce. Her advisor is Manning Chilton, a Boston Brahmin, who is head of the history department. He is eminent in his field, but recently his papers and research have veered off into an examination of history's viewpoint of the philosopher's stone.
The novel is set in 1991, a time when college libraries were not fully digitally cataloged, so a student had to spend time bent over catalog cards and skimming shelves of documents. Her mother then gives Connie an additional chore. Connie had only vaguely known that her deceased maternal grandmother had a home in the town of Marblehead, Massachusetts. Apparently, Connie's hippie mother who lives in Santa Fe expects Connie will clear out the house so that it can be sold to satisfy back taxes. When Connie finally locates the house, it is so hidden by vegetation that it is invisible from the road. As Connie explores the property, she finds a garden with all sorts of unusual plants, including the supposedly magical mandrake. She also discovers an old Bible in the house with a sheet of paper that has only the name Deliverance Dane written on it. This is the beginning of Connie's search for original documents. The modern day scholar's work is interspersed with episodes from the 1690s in Salem, Massachusetts. We learn that Deliverance Dane was a woman who practiced the healing arts in Salem and sense the danger she is in as she makes enemies when her efforts fail.
The author's portrayal of these worlds is rooted in her past and present. She is completing a PhD in American and New England studies and is a descendant of two women who were involved in the Salem witch trials. She has managed to create a historical romantic thriller that both manages to inform and is an exciting read. [8-2-09]
Sworn To Silence by Linda Castillo is Jodi Picoult, Patricia Cornwell, and Julia Spencer-Fleming all rolled up into one neat little package. The story begins in Painters Mill, a sleepy little town in northeastern Ohio where the Amish and English live side by side. When a serial killer attempts to kill fourteen year old Katie Burkholder, she decides that the Amish way is not for her.
Now sixteen years later Katie is the perfect choice for Chief of Police in Painters Mill, with her knowledge of both the English and Amish ways. But when one of her officers is dispatched to a local farm to round up cows that are wandering, he finds a body. When Katie arrives at the scene, she knows without a doubt - the Slaughterhouse Killer is back. Katie is certain that the man she knew as Daniel Lapp is dead, because she used her father's shotgun to kill him. As her father drags Lapp's body away, her family was "Sworn to Silence," a burden Katie has carried for a very long time. But with her mamm and datt both gone she relies on her brother Jacob to help her find the remains of Lapp to reassure herself that he is dead. Jacob is reluctant to help, as Katie is no longer recognized as part of the Amish community.
As bodies continue to pile up, and not one clue
left by the killer, the town council fears Katie is too inexperienced to handle
the case. When a note is delivered to the Amish Bishop stating that Katie
knows the killer, things take a turn for the worse. Katie is relieved of her
duties as police chief, but is determined to find the killer on her own. With
the help of a washed up field agent whose wife and children were murdered,
Katie and John Tomasetti use gut instinct and sheer will power to try to find
the Slaughterhouse Killer before he kills again. John knows he has to put
aside his own grief, dump the booze and prescription drugs that have been
his life for two years, and help Katie. They catch a small break when a teenager
sees a snowmobile leaving the area where another victim is found. A chilling
turn of events follows, leaving Katie running for her life. With more twists
and turns than Nob Hill, Linda Castillo leaves you wanting more. She is currently
working on her next novel featuring Katie Burkholder, and it's sure to please.
[8-9-09]
With kids getting ready for school and that last summer vacation on the horizon, you might want to try one of these fast, easy, light mysteries.
The Scumble River series by Denise Swanson features school psychologist Skye Dennison. All will relate to Skye as her family is a bit on the crazy side. There is always a murder, but never gruesome. Skye dates a local police officer and is always "helping" her way into trouble. The kids she works with will remind you of someone you know, and the town has character and characters that will truly endear.
Nancy Cohen writes a cute series that take place in a beauty shop. Her "Bad Hair" mysteries are set in Florida and her main character Marla Shore, is sure to please. She too dates a detective, Dalton Vail, and aides him in investigating the usual fluff murder. Hair salons are a great venue for gossip and Marla takes advantage of the information, and passes it along to Vail. The cast is delightful and we have the entire series.
Another fine series is written by Sarah Graves. Jacobia Tiptree and her teenage son Sam relocate to a lovely old fixer-upper in Eastport, Maine. A former financial advisor to the Mob in New York City, and survivor of divorce, "Jake" leaves the high life for a more sedate, rural lifestyle. But as Jake tries her hand at home repair, murder interrupts her progress at every turn. The small town is charming, and the characters believable.
The Jane Jeffry mystery series by Jill Churchill is sure to please. Jane and her best friend Shelley Nowack, are a great sleuthing team, and manage to scare up their share of trouble. Jane, a single mom and volunteer extraordinaire, manages to solve crimes, raise children and have fun to boot. Churchill's titles are quirky too! The aurhor is the recipient of several mystery awards.
Philip R. Craig has a wonderful series that take
place on Martha's Vineyard. J.W. Jackson and his wife Zee live a simple life,
fishing, hunting and enjoying their "cabin". Something always comes
up with local law enforcement and J.W. is called into action. A former police
officer, J.W. has what it takes to get the job done. Craig's characters are
well thought out and the landscape is depicted accurately. We have most of the
series and once you've read one, you'll be back for more. [08-23-09]
In the Heart of the Canyon A river trip down the Grand Canyon is the subject of the novel "In the Heart of the Canyon" by Elizabeth Hyde. At the beginning of the book, the author has done something that I often advise people do for themselves when they are reading a novel which has many interacting characters. Each character is listed with a short identifying sentence. This helps the reader understand characters' relationships.
The trip has three guides. The trip leader is JT Maroney who is on his one hundred twenty-fifth trip down the river. Although he is not an old man, in river years that puts him close to senior citizen status. He feels that he has experienced every problem that can occur on the river, from a client's heart attack to someone drawing a knife on him. He has seen marriages become stronger or come to the breaking point as couples face the challenges of a river trip. Dixie is his female assistant who becomes the lust object of several passengers even though she has a boyfriend waiting in Tucson. Abo is the youngest of the three guides bet he is very personable and well liked. The group dynamics involve getting a group of people with varied skill levels and goals to work together as a team to have fun and stay safe. There is no typical passenger or age group. There are two older couples, one of which is probably making their last white water trip. Ruth and Lloyd are river veterans who have made a similar trip every year for the last several decades. Ruth has not revealed that Lloyd is advancing into Alzheimer's because she is hoping for one last escape. Lloyd makes several minor mistakes which alert JT to his disability. That gives the crew another layer of safety concerns. There is also a mother-daughter couple and Amy, the teen-age daughter, is grossly overweight. That presents the guides with a challenge of delicately and sensitively dealing with weight balance in the boats. As on every group trip there is a know-it-all who causes problems for everyone, but especially for the family with two active young boys.
The novel is a lyrical description of the beauty
of the canyon, but it also presents the dangers and stresses of this type of
trip. It presents the vacation as an expensive one in which the tourists want
to enjoy the exhilaration and experience danger without any real consequences.
[8-30-09]
by Helen Davis