Review of "Swift River: A Novel" by Essie Chambers

It's summer 1987, and in the New England town of Swift River, sixteen-year-old Diamond Newberry is troubled as usual. Ever since Diamond's father, Robert Newberry, disappeared seven years ago, she's the only Black person in town. Diamond is lonely and overweight, and she observes, "I am so fat I can't ride my bike anymore, so I let it get stolen on purpose....The bruises and stinging raspberries all over my body from weekly falls are constant reminders that the bike doesn't want me anymore."

Diamond lives with her mother, a White woman named Annabelle (Anna), who's very loving, but inept and addicted to prescription pills.



Since Anna's husband Robert has been gone for seven years, she hopes to get a death certificate, for the insurance money. Anna has a police report saying Robert's shoes, wallet, and keys were found beside the fast moving Swift River, but Anna hasn't filled out the proper papers, doesn't have witness statements, hasn't put a death notice in the papers, etc. So Anna has to go back and get her ducks in a row.



It's not clear whether Robert is dead or alive, but he vanished after being accused of theft, and after the police had taken to constantly driving by the house. Many people have reported seeing Robert here or there, but Diamond puts it down to racism - to White people being unable to distinguish one Black man from another.



Diamond and her Ma live in a dilapidated house with Robert's battered car still in the yard, but Anna doesn't drive and she and Diamond have to hitchhike or walk everywhere - including the Goodwill store where they buy their clothes.



Diamond has dreams though, and admits, "By the time I turn seventeen I want: a birthday party with German chocolate cake and friends, new clothes with the store smell still in them, [and] shoes that fit. I imagine leaving this place, leaving Ma. That thought hurts too much and I pinch it down to nothing." Still, Diamond is saving money from her part-time cleaning job at the Tee Pee Motel, and she's secretly signed up for Driver's Ed - to get her driver's license.



In the midst of this angst, Diamond gets a package from her Auntie Lena, whom she's never met. The package contains some keepsakes and a letter in which Auntie Lena says she's a nurse based in Atlanta, but is currently living in Woodville, Georgia. There she manages Newberry Fine Fabrics, the family business established way back in 1915, when the Newberrys migrated from Swift River to Woodville.



Diamond and Auntie Lena embark on a correspondence, and Diamond learns a lot about her history and her relatives. Auntie Lena says she and Diamond's father Robert grew up in Woodville together until the boy was seven-years-old. At that time, Robert's father took him up to Swift River, to be raised by Aunt Clara. When Robert grew up he met Anna in Swift River, and they fell in love, got married, and had Diamond.



The story shifts around between three time periods: 1987, 1915, and 1980.

1987
In 1987, Diamond is living with her doting mother whom she both loves and from whom she wants to escape. In short, Diamond wants to live in a place with people who look like her. Diamond also dreams of going to college and being a botanist. Diamond becomes friends with a Driver's Ed classmate named Shelly, who's 'a loose girl' with a good heart.



Diamond and Shelly's interactions with the driving teacher, Mr. Jimmy, are quirky and - for Shelly - inappropriate.



1915
In 1915, toxic discrimination leads to an exodus of all Black people from Swift River, in an incident called 'The Leaving.'



The ONLY Black person who remains in Swift River is Aunt Clara, an apprentice to the local doctor, who says he'll help her go to medical school at Howard University. Aunt Clara's voice and story are heard in letters she sends to her sister (Auntie Lena's mother) in Georgia.



1980
In 1980, nine-year-old Diamond and her parents take a trip south and have some trouble in town. Later that year, Robert disappears.

In the course of the story we learn about the historic racism in Swift River, which in 1915, was a 'sundown town.'



At that time, Swift River had signs all over town reading, "N....., don't let the sun go down on you in Swift River."



Things are less toxic in 1987, though Diamond is uncomfortable being the only Black person in Swift River. I was surprised that Robert and Anna, an interracial couple, (apparently) didn't experience overt discrimination on that score. Diamond IS called a name by a classmate in elementary school, which causes a small brouhaha.

The story has humor and heart, one of the high points being Diamond's family, who love one another, but have a hard time getting by in difficult circumstances. For one thing, Ma and Pop disagree about visiting relatives in Georgia. It's good to see Diamond mature over the course of the story, and take charge of her life.



Swift River was Jenna Bush Hager's June, 2024 'Book Club Pick.' Hager noted, "Swift River is a story filled with secrets: community secrets and family secrets. It is a book that made me cry and then filled me with enormous hope."

I enjoyed this well-written, enlightening book. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley, Essie Chambers, and Simon and Shuster for a copy of the book.

Rating: 4 stars

Review of "The Ghost Orchid: An Alex Delaware Mystery" by Jonathan Kellerman

In this 39th book in the 'Alex Delaware' series, the psychologist Alex Delaware helps his friend, LAPD detective Milo Sturgis, investigate a double murder in an upscale Los Angeles neighborhood. 

The book can be read as a standalone, but familiarity with the characters is a plus. 

*****

Gio Aggiunta and Meagin March are preparing for a little illicit poolside nooky at Gio's ritzy Los Angeles home when someone shoots them both dead.



LAPD homicide detective Milo Sturgis......



.....and psychologist Alex Delaware, who consults for the LAPD, examine the crime scene and determine this was a premeditated murder, not a robbery gone wrong.



Looking into the background of the victims, the investigators learn that 29-year-old Gio Aggiunta was (nominally) an executive at the Aggiunta luxury shoe company, but Gio actually did no work. The Aggiunta family supported Gio, and paid for everything in his playboy lifestyle.



Gio's lover, 42-year-old Meagin March, was a nouveau-rich (by marriage) playgirl.



Meagin was wed to millionaire executive Douglass March, who claims he didn't know his wife was having an affair. Moreover, Douglass was out of town on the day of the murders. So unless Douglass ordered a killing-for-hire, Milo and Alex have to look for other suspects.



Milo and Alex proceed to interview people who knew the victims, and they learn that Gio has been dating 'older women' for years, ever since he was jilted by an 18-year-old girl. Gio has had many lovers, some of them married, so this seems like a rich suspect pool.



A deep dive into Meagin's history reveals that she's used many different names in the past, and was struggling financially until she married rich-boy Douglass March.



Alex and Milo use the backstories of Gio and Meagin to try to determine who was the primary victim and who was collateral damage. The investigators go back and forth about this until another murder occurs, which points them in the right direction.

Meanwhile, psychologist Alex - whose day job is consulting on court cases involving children - agrees to interview an adopted boy whose parents are divorcing. It seems neither parent wants custody of the child, which leaves Alex (and the judge) with a difficult dilemma.



As always in this series, Alex spends time with his girlfriend Robin and their cute French bulldog Blanche;



and Milo eats a lot, often raiding Alex and Robin's refrigerator for sustenance.



The earlier books in the Alex Delaware series, with perpetrators who were weird psychopaths, were more interesting in my opinion. Still, readers familiar with the Alex Delaware novels know what to expect, and this is an enjoyable suspense story.

Rating: 3 stars 

Review of "Love Saves the Day: A Feline Novel" by Gwen Cooper

Gwen Cooper is a dedicated 'cat mommy' who likes to share stories about her beloved pets. I was introduced to Cooper's writing when I read her book Homer's Odyssey, about an adorable blind kitty who knew no limits.


Gwen Cooper and Homer

In 'Love Saves The Day', Cooper writes about a fictional cat named Prudence, a standoffish feline inspired by Cooper's REAL cat Scarlett, who - when visitors came - would always be the kitty who required an explanation: "You shouldn't touch Scarlett. You definitely shouldn't try to pet Scarlett. Maybe it's best if you don't even look at Scarlett."

Much of this book is narrated by Prudence, who has her own feline way of looking at the world.



Prudence's chapters alternate with those of Sarah and Laura. Sarah is Prudence's first human 'roommate', who - as a young woman - owned a record store and wanted to be a DJ;



Laura is Sarah's daughter. As an adult, Laura is a successful corporate lawyer.



Prudence tells us much about Sarah and Laura's adult relationship when the feline observes: "[One] way humans have of not telling the truth is when they're trying to trick one another outright. Like when Laura visits and says 'I'm sorry I haven't been here in such a long time, Mom, I really wanted to come sooner'....and it's obvious, by the way [Laura's] face turns light pink and her shoulders tense, that what she really means is she never wants to come here."



"And Sarah says, 'Oh, of course, I understand', when you can tell by the way her voice gets higher and her eyebrows scrunch up that she doesn't understand at all."



Sarah meets Prudence when the striped tabby is a kitten, starving and hiding under a cement block in a big empty lot. Sarah and Prudence become 'roommates' in an apartment on New York's 'cleaned up' Lower East Side, and Prudence is very happy until Sarah doesn't come home one day





Prudence waits and waits - wondering where Sarah is - when Sarah's daughter Laura shows up with a man called Josh, and they pack up all Sarah's belongings.



Prudence observes, "The anxious feeling in my belly gets stronger as I try to understand why Sarah would go and not tell me or take any of her favorite things with her." Prudence worries about her fate until Laura says, "It was important to my mother that Prudence stay with us. She was very specific about it in her will." And Prudence is soon an 'immigrant' to the Upper West Side, "which is obviously all the way on the opposite side of the world."



In Laura and Josh's two-story apartment, Prudence spends most of her time in a room with Sarah's boxes (which Prudence calls the Sarah-boxes), that have Sarah's smell. And we pine along with Prudence, who's waiting for Sarah to come get her. Still, Prudence gradually adjusts to her new life, with some hiccups along the way.



Like the time Prudence jumps on the table during the Passover seder, ready for Laura or Josh to put together her little Prudence-plate, like Sarah did. Prudence recalls, "I put one paw lightly on the brisket, which is the food I want to try first.....Well, Never in your whole life have you heard such a commotion! Laura and Josh yell, "PRUDENCE, NO! GET DOWN" And Josh's mother yells, "What is the cat doing on the table?" in the same kind of voice a human might use if they found a cockroach in their food."



Prudence panics and a glass is knocked over, soup is spilled, a salad is scattered, etc. Laura gently rescues Prudence, and we start to see a bond forming between them. In time, Sarah and Prudence examine the contents of Sarah's boxes together, and Sarah talks about her mother.....slowly easing the distance that had been created between mother and daughter.

In the chapters narrated by Sarah, we read about Sarah's difficult childhood, her brief marriage, and her life raising Laura as a single mom. Sarah owned a record shop on the Lower East Side, near her apartment. At that time (before the city was cleaned up) the neighborhood was rough, and there's a lot of talk about drug corners, prostitutes, music, bands, friends, and neighbors.



As a child, Laura was very close to an elderly upstairs couple called Mr. and Mrs. Mandelbaum, who had a cat named Honey. Unfortunately a sad incident, related to being 'poor', caused an irreparable distance between Sarah and her daughter.



In the chapters that focus on Laura, we read about her fear of poverty and her determination to be successful. Laura is a corporate lawyer on the partner track, which means working from early in the morning until late at night.



Laura's husband Josh is a music magazine executive, and he LOVES Sarah's old vinyl records stored in the Sarah-boxes.



Unfortunately, the magazine print industry is downsizing, Josh hits a rough patch, and Prudence is on hand to comment about everything. For instance, Josh is home, pacing around and talking on the phone, and opening and closing the refrigerator and kitchen cabinets without taking anything out of them. Prudence notes, "This is particularly frustrating because a cat has every right to expect that when a human opens the refrigerator, he'll pull out some food and share that food with the cat."



As things play out, Prudence serves as a kind of metaphorical rope that forms a connection between Sarah and Laura, and revives some of the loving feelings that Laura buried years ago. The book - which touches on families, friendship, love, and perseverance - is fun, touching, and uplifting. Cat lovers will be especially enchanted.

For a laugh, here's one of Prudence's observations.

In Josh's home office, "there is a wonderful heated cat bed [keyboard] that rests on the desk in front of a small TV screen. Attached to the bed is a toy mouse on a leash, which just goes to show how little humans like Josh know about mice. In the first place the toy mouse looks nothing like a real mouse, and in the second place no mouse would ever let a human put a leash on it....The first few times Josh saw me sleeping here, he told me that me having to stay off was a 'rule.' (You can imagine how that went. LOL)



Thanks to Netgalley and Gwen Cooper for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review of "Long Time Gone: A Thriller" by Charlie Donlea

Dr. Sloan Hastings, who lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, just finished a clinical pathology residency and is entering a two-year program to become a medical examiner.

During the first year of her training Sloan will be required to assist with autopsies and complete a research project. Sloan's project, assigned by program director Dr. Livia Cutty, is forensic and investigative genealogy.



Forensic and investigative genealogy works something like this: law enforcement officials send the DNA of an unknown perp (perhaps from a rape kit) to a national DNA database; if there's a hit, that person is related to the perp. This technique was used to catch the notorious Golden State Killer.



Twenty-nine-year-old Sloan has always known she was adopted, but never considered sending her DNA to a site like Ancestry.com to find her biological parents. As part of her research project, though, Sloan decides to send in her DNA, and the results are shocking. Sloan is actually Charlotte Margolis, who disappeared nearly three decades ago.



Sloan learns that her biological parents are Preston and Annabelle Margolis, who - along with their baby Charlotte - vanished from Cedar Creek, Nevada in 1995.



Preston was the scion of Cedar Creek's VERY rich and powerful Margolis family, and the disappearance led to an extensive search and national publicity. However, no trace of the trio was found.....until now.



Once word gets out that Sloan is actually 'baby Charlotte', the press descends on Raleigh in droves. Someone else comes as well: Sheriff Eric Stamos of Cedar Creek, Nevada.



The sheriff tells Sloan that the disappearance of her biological parents might be related to the (supposedly accidental) death of his father, Sandy Stamos, who was once sheriff of Cedar Creek. In 1995, Sheriff Sandy Stamos was investigating the hit-and-run death of Baker Jauncey, a partner in the Margolis Law Firm.



A car belonging to Annabelle Margolis (Sloan's biological mother) was found near Baker's body, but Annabelle insists she was home that night. As it turns out, the circumstances of Baker's death are NOT what they seem, and Eric thinks his dad learned something that led to his murder.

To cut to the chase, Eric convinces Sloan to 'go west' to meet her Margolis family in Cedar Creek, Nevada. Once Sloan is accepted into the clan, she can do an undercover investigation into the disappearance of her biological parents AND the death of Sheriff Sandy Stamos. Sloan agrees, and takes a plane to Cedar Creek.



When Sloan arrives in Nevada, her biological grandparents and aunts and uncles make a 'welcome Charlotte' party, and Sloan is provided with a comfortable guest cottage for her visit.



Sloan makes it her business to snoop around.....



.....and also secretly meets with Sheriff Eric Stamos, to further their joint inquiries.



The story alternates back and forth between the 1995 and the present, and surprising secrets are revealed in both timelines.

I enjoyed this edge-of-your-seat suspense novel, which is well-plotted and well-written. Highly recommended to fans of thrillers.

Thanks to Netgalley, Charlie Donlea, and Kensington for a copy of the book.

Rating: 4 stars