For March, we’re dreaming of sunnier climes… particularly California.
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain
An amoral young tramp. A beautiful, sullen woman with an inconvenient husband. A problem that has only one grisly solution--a solution that only creates other problems that no one can ever solve. First published in 1934 and banned in Boston for its explosive mixture of violence and eroticism, The Postman Always Rings Twice is a classic of the roman noir . It established James M. Cain as a major novelist with an unsparing vision of America's bleak underside, and was acknowledged by Albert Camus as the model for The Stranger. (Publisher’s summary)
Home Free: A Novel by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey
On Christmas Eve, two life-altering events are thrust upon Kate, a traditional middle-class housewife, without warning. Cliff, her husband of 25 years, announces he is leaving her for his old flame. Then, Ford, who is living in a dilapidated station wagon, appears at Kate's doorstep. Having lost their Iowa farm, Ford and his family have moved to California to begin a new life. Desperate for shelter, Ford leaves his wife and children in a seedy hostel for women while he searches for work. When Kate reunites Ford's family under her roof, her life begins anew as she champions the plight of the homeless. (Publisher’s summary)
The Goodbye Look by Ross Macdonald
Lew Archer is hired to investigate a burglary at the mission-style mansion of Irene and Larry Chalmers. The prime suspect, their son Nick, has a talent for disappearing, and the Chalmerses are a family with money and memories to burn. As Archer zeros in on Nick, he discovers a troubled blonde, a stash of wartime letters, a mysterious hobo. (Publisher’s summary)
A Shooting Star by Wallace Stegner
How to Make an American Quilt by Whitney Otto
Meeting at their quilting circle every week, the women of the small town of Grasse share their personal stories, beginning a tradition that encompasses a half century of American history. (Publisher’s summary)
Mixed Blessings by Danielle Steel
Danielle Steel weaves a powerful tale of three couples who face decisions about having children that will test, in unexpected ways, the ties that bind them as lovers, partners, and friends. Their lives, their goals, their feelings about families, are on the line, as the word "infertility" begins to unravel their dreams. (Publisher’s summary)
“A” is for Alibi: A Kinsey Millhone Mystery by Sue Grafton
READ THE SENSATIONAL BLOCKBUSTER THAT STARTED IT ALL! Take it from the top in # 1 New York Times bestselling author Sue Grafton's knockout thriller that introduced detective Kinsey Millhone--and a hot new attitude--to crime fiction... A tough-talking former cop, private investigator Kinsey Millhone has set up a modest detective agency in a quiet corner of Santa Teresa, California. A twice-divorced loner with few personal possessions and fewer personal attachments, she's got a soft spot for underdogs and lost causes… That's why she draws desperate clients like Nikki Fife. Eight years ago, she was convicted of killing her philandering husband. Now she's out on parole and needs Kinsey's help to find the real killer. But after all this time, clearing Nikki's bad name won't be easy. (Publisher’s summary)
The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters by Robert Lewis Taylor
If Huck Finn had gone West during the Gold Rush and lived to tell about it, he might have sounded much like Jaimie McPheeters in describing his incredibly hazardous trek by wagon train to California in 1849. Jaimie shares the storytelling with his father, an intelligent Scottish doctor whose ebullient personality is only slightly undermined by a weakness for gambling and strong drink. (Library Journal review) ***Pulitzer Prize winner, 1959***
No comments:
Post a Comment