A Gentle Rain by Deborah Smith

I like Deborah Smith’s books.  She writes sweet stories that make you feel good but she fills with complex characters and interesting plots.  Her latest books is no exception.  Ben has been the sole provider for his down syndrome brother since his parents died when he was sixteen.  Now an owner of a ranch in Florida, he employs the “unemployable”.  His employees are autistic and mentally challenged individuals with big hearts and plenty of spirit.  Kara, searching for a purpose in her life,  happens upon the ranch and stays.  Not a big story, there’s an illness, a romance, a conflict, all the ordinary ingredients of a book of this type but the book will make you think and should lighten your heart, if only for a little while.

Karen – Fort Mill                                           ISBN  9780976876076

Blue Heaven by C. J. Box

C.J. Box has departed from his Joe Pickett series to write this stand alone novel set in Idaho.  Idaho is no longer the home to every militia group in the country.  If this book is to be believed, it is home to everyone who wants to get away from Los Angelos and can afford to do so.   

Annie, 12 and William, 10 have a early release from school one Friday and decide to go fishing.  Annie is angry at her mom and has decided she has a perfect right to hitch a ride with the mail carrier and take off through the woods to the river for a little fishing.   Instead of fishing, the children witness a murder and they go on the run hoping to keep ahead of the killers.   Retired L.A. police, living in the area,  offer to help find the children when they don’t return home.  Their worried mother, an inept sheriff and an old rancher all figure into what happens over a long weekend.  I’ve never read the Joe Pickett series so I can’t compare this book to them, but I really enjoyed this book.  It had goods guys and bad guys, an interesting plot line, a fast pace and a lot of suspense.

Karen – Fort Mill                              ISBN 9780312365707

Trespass by Valerie Martin

I didn’t want to put this book down.  Although the story has broader themes, I especially enjoyed the drama of family relationships.  Chloe is a book illustrator & her husband Brendan is a historian.  Trespass begins with Chloe meeting her college-age son Toby and his new girlfriend for lunch.  Chloe’s world is upset by the girlfriend Salome, a sensual, sometimes confrontational, Croatian immigrant.  Another interloper (and story line) in Chloe’s life is presented when a hunter, and “foreigner”, begins poaching on their land.  Is he as innocent as he seems?  Toby becomes increasingly serious about Salome, and his more easygoing father Brendan encourages him.  Another layer of the story involves Salome’s father and brothers, who previously fled their Balkans homeland during the ethnic cleansing.  Where is Salome’s mother, and did she die in their country’s conflict?  Chloe warns Toby that Salome might trap him into marriage as a way to gain material advantages.  Eventually Toby learns that an exchange of vows with Salome will radically change life for him and his family.  Valerie Martin is and Orange Prize-winning author (for Property), and I highly recommend this book for its fine writing and well-developed characters.

Jennifer L – York                                          ISBN   9780385515450