The Poison Tree by Erin Kelly

I guess this book proves to me that you can dislike the characters but still like the book.  Boy, talk about dysfunction!  The story takes place in London, and we meet Karen (our narrator) and her friends, Rex and Biba, who are brother and sister.  We know from the start that a crime has been committed but we don't know who did it or what happened.  The suspense builds throughout the book, and the ending is quite a surprise - followed by more surprises.  All the characters are quirky but the book is well-written and I had a hard time putting it down.  -June

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

I love it when a friend recommends a book I haven't heard of, and I always want to like it.  And this one starts off with such promise.  It takes place on a Southern plantation in the late 1700's and early 1800's, and I wanted it to be like The Help where we see the relationships between the slaves and masters.  And for the first quarter of the book, I was pretty hooked.  But then it just started to fall apart and irritate me.  The writing is not good, and the author has the annoying tendency to repeat things over and over as if I didn't catch them the first time.  The book contains every type of tragedy you can imagine: incest, child abuse, rape, murder, spousal abuse..... the list goes on.  And there are all these secrets (who fathered who and such) that some people know but for some reason don't reveal to the other characters.  Anyway, I just got tired of all the drama.  I think the author tried to throw in everything that possibly happened back in those environments into the book, and it was overwhelming.  Sorry, but I don't recommend this one.  -June

The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar

Such a fascinating book!  It takes place in Bombay, and describes the relationship between a wealthy family and their employee, Bhima.  We learn about both Sara and Bhima, their children, their husbands, and how their lives differ and yet are so often the same.  The author does a marvelous job of describing Bhima's living conditions in the slums and the frustrations she endures.  The characters are well developed, and the story line is moving.  I highly recommend this one!  -June