The Good House by Ann Leary

I read a positive review about this book that made me think I'd love it.  So I downloaded the audio version to take on a road trip with me last week.  As the review stated, the narrator of the book, Hilde, is a feisty 60-ish New England woman.  She's outspoken and very independent.  Perfect.  I liked her right away.  And I thought I was in for a fun, witty story.  But what I didn't know is that there is this secret side to her life.  Hilde is an alcoholic.  Her daughters have conducted an intervention and she's completed rehab.  Yet, as often is the case, she doesn't really think she has a problem, and so she starts drinking when she's alone while she pretends to the world that she's staying sober.  The book is not just about her drinking.  There are other story lines that take place in her small coastal town where Hilde is a realtor.  There's an affair between two people and somehow Hilde gets involved, and there's a relationship Hilde has with one of the local men.  But the drinking gets in the way of all the other stories.  OK, I'll admit that my personal history caused me to grip the steering wheel every time Hilde would make yet another excuse for her drinking.  She had millions of them...... she had to drink to celebrate a sale, she had to drink to relieve her stress, etc.  So I can't say I enjoyed this book, but I can also see how others might.  -June

Nate in Venice by Richard Russo

Here are some things I love:
1. Venice
2. Richard Russo
3. Reasonably priced Kindle downloads
4. A man named Nate

So when I saw a Kindle Single called Nate in Venice by Richard Russo for $2.99, I couldn't push that "Send it to me right away" button fast enough.  This short novel is in some ways typical of Richard Russo's writing.  There is a wonderful main character, Nate, who is completely lovable and yet flawed.  And he is surrounded by a small cast of characters who are quirky and yet beautifully described.  As a reader, you feel you know these people, and I think every book Russo has written has these qualities.  Nate is a retired college professor who is on a tour of Italy with his brother, Julian.  Their relationship isn't good and we learn more about why throughout the book.  There's also a subplot about a Nate and one of his students, but unfortunately, I found this part of the book to be vague and incomplete.  There were lots of hints about the student, but there was no explanation as to what really happened and how Nate felt about it.  I did love the parts about Venice (although I wanted more!).  And I truly love the way this guy writes.  I think I'd read anything coming from him - and maybe I already have. It's definitely worth the money here.  -June

Before I go to Sleep by S. J. Watson

A woman wakes up each morning and can't remember anything.  She doesn't recognize the man in bed with her, and she has no memories from the past 30 years or so.  Anything she learns in her day is erased when she goes to sleep at night.  Can this even happen?? At any rate, Christine decides to try to gain some control, and at the advice of her doctor, she starts a daily journal where she writes down everything that she learns about herself, and then every day she has to read the entire journal so she can figure out who she is.  There are several twists throughout the book, but it was a book I read to the end just to figure out how it could possibly be concluded.  I found the book to be pretty repetitive in parts and also unbelievable.  Visions of her past would appear to her just when she needed to have that information.  So even though it gets great reviews online, it doesn't get one from me.  -June

The Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro

What an interesting read!  I know nothing about art forgery (maybe this is a good thing?) and really not much about art.  But I learned more than I ever need to know about it from this book, and I found it fascinating.  The plot may be a bit contrived, but it kept me reading and enjoying.  Claire is an artist who paints reproductions for a living because her own art work has not yet been discovered.  She's approached to paint a reproduction of a Degas painting, and is told she's painting it from the original.  Because Claire is not only talented artistically but is also brilliant, she recognized that she's painting from a copy and she begins her research to find out the story.  All kinds of other interesting characters cross her path, and there's a nice satisfying ending.  What more can you ask for?  A great summer read. -June