CHARGE (What was the author trying to say?): To show the effects of the Duke of Windsor’s rule over the Bahamas during World Wars I and II.

FACTS: After his abdication, Edward (now the Duke of Windsor), married Wallis Simpson and was made governor of the Bahamas. There are two story lines – Eldridge – chronicling life during WW I, and Benedict – set during WW II. At first I found it difficult to switch back and forth between the eras and keep the characters straight. The author wraps the story up neatly in the end. Spies, traitors, lies and more make this a fascinating tale. I read this as I was cruising the Bahamas and found nothing left of the Bahamas the Windsors knew. It was an interesting way to learn the history of the area.

VERDICT (Was the author successful?): Guilty, as charged.

CHARGE (What was the author trying to say?): You can’t escape your past.

FACTS: Katrina McHugh, a successful attorney, is haunted by growing up in an orphanage. When her past physically intrudes into her present, threatening her college-age daughter Cleo, Kat must confront the actions of her past and deal with the consequences. I was not a fan of the shifting timeline. I enjoy a story told in a more chronological fashion. While the story seemed at times to move at a snail’s pace, the ending seemed rushed – quickly tying up all the loose ends into a neat (though somewhat unbelievable) package.

VERDICT (Was the author successful?): Guilty, as charged.

#NetGalley #LikeMotherLikeDaughter

CHARGE (what is the author trying to say?): To help us understand who Barbara Walters was.

FACTS: Barbara Walters summed up her “whole package” as “a dysfunctional childhood-a father she couldn’t ever remember ever hugging as a girl; a distracted and disgruntled mother; a disabled sister she both loved and hated.” She had three failed marriages and was estranged for many years from her only child, her daughter Jackie. This book is much more open and honest than Barbara’s own autobiography. Despite her achievements, she was never at peace. Her tombstone reads “No regrets, I had a great life.” But did she really? She died alone, surrounded only by paid employees. She had pushed away most of her friends. While it is undisputed that she made historic achievements and contributions to the field of journalism and broadcasting, it doesn’t appear that she was ever actually happy. Sometimes the price of fame is just too high.

VERDICT (Was the author successful?): Guilty, as charged.

#Netgalley #Therulebreaker

CHARGE: To show how women worked against the Nazi regime in Germany.

FACTS: This book chronicles the life of Mildred Fish Harnack, as she and her circle of friends attempt to silently wage battle against the Nazi regime in Germany. Using a variety of quiet resistance, this American woman tried to work with the German University system to enlighten her student enough to inoculate them against Nazi propaganda. The regime changes in Germany happened very quickly, in some ways reminiscent of current events: “She could not comprehend how Germany, a country of great philosophers, artists, and intellectual achievement could have succumbed to the poisonous allure of populism…Total totalitarianism had crept up on them steadily, menacingly, and then, with one swift lunge it had seized them around the throats.” Though the facts of this story are often brutal this is a very readable story of how Adolph Hitler got control of the German government, with disastrous results.

VERDICT: Guilty, as charged. Very difficult to read, but important to understand.

CHARGE: To explore how choices can determine our lives.

FACTS: Ethan Frome, caught in a loveless marriage, become attracted to their house guest, brought into their home to assist his ailing wife. When she is forced to leave, the pair must make a choice that will determine the course of the rest of their lives. Did they make the right decision?

VERDICT: Hung jury. I never could get int the story. The archaic language made it difficult to read. The ending was very abrupt. Hopelessness isn’t an easy read.

CHARGE: To explore how greed can ruin your life.

FACTS: Chief Inspector Gamache is once again called to Three Pines to investigate a murder. Implicated in the murder is a beloved resident of Three Pines. This is my favorite so far in this series. The action is mostly psychological – exploring how the past and the present can collide to determine the future. Once you want more, can you ever be satisfied?

VERDICT: Guilty, as charged. I loved this book!

CHARGE: To discover whether a family house can keep a family together.

FACTS: Years after loving and losing their family home, Dutch House, siblings Danny and Maeve continue to be drawn to sitting on the street in front of their former home. What draws them? Why does this house have such a hold over them? Can their association with the house determine their destiny? This is a marvelous novel about love, loss, tenacity, and dreams. Can a house become a force for hearing. This is one I couldn’t put down!

VERDICT: Guilty, as charged.

CHARGE: To chronicle the life of Elton John

FACTS: Elton John has lived a life that has run the gamut of poor to rich, drunk to sober, and everywhere in between. Stories of debauchery, drug use, and family dysfunction were very difficult to read. I had forgotten that Elton John had written the soundtrack for the Lion King. The stories behind how songs were written, recorded, and promoted were very interesting. The book is written in rather simplistic language, but is an interesting look behind the scenes of the life of a rock legend. Much of the depravity was unsettling.

VERDICT: Guilty, as charged.

CHARGE: To describe what happened after the end of the Handmaid’s Tale.

FACTS: 15 years after the Handmaid’s Tale ends, we meet Aunt Lydia and Agnes in Gilead and Daisy in Canada. Gilead is beginning to crumble from within…”as they fail to keep the promises that brought them to power…” Was this foreseen by the Handmaid’s Tale? Will there be outside forces that hasten the collapse? What is the value of women to society? Does society undervalue women – to what effect? Are these new women connected to Offred? Does she figure in the ultimate destiny of Gilead? This book will answer all these questions and more as we see the development of Gilead and its society.

VERDICT: Guilty, as charged, though the shifting voices and time periods often made it difficult to follow. The continued exploits of the residents of Gilead are very compelling.

CHARGE: To explore the lengths to which an individual would go to survive.

FACTS: Inspired by the author’s own life, we see two different stories of young women coming of age during the reign of Pablo Escobar in Columbia. Survival looks very different when filtered by social class. Death, kidnapping, and deprivation strike them all. The choices they make will ultimately seal their fate. The story moves slowly at times, letting gruesome images linger.

VERDICT: Guilty, as charged. The book is hard to read at times, but it covers an important topic.