books

Book Review: Saoirse by Charleen Hurtubise

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Saoirse
by
Charleen Hurtubise

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Last week my OG book club met to discuss Saoirse by Charleen Hurtubise. Before I talk about the book, I want to talk a bit about my book club because I am so grateful for these women. I met these ladies through our local Mom’s Club and then quickly through friends of these moms. Back then we were busy with babies and preschoolers, but we were all readers who wanted to make time to talk about books. We officially started a book club in 1999 and met once a month, but not until after our babies were down for the night. The first book we read was The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan.

Our children have grown, and sadly, we lost a dear friend. But we’re still reading and getting together, and chatting in a group text between our meetings. And we meet a lot earlier in the evening! It was a beautiful night when we met last week. My friend ST hosted on her covered deck with a great spread of food and drink.

I had not heard of Saoirse, but there were copies at the library and we all grabbed them. First, if you’re wondering how to say the title, it’s pronounced Sear-sha. It’s an Irish name that means freedom and symbolizes everything that happens in the book.

The story begins in 1990 and spans about ten years with alternating timelines, where we follow Sarah, a young woman who, at nineteen, escapes an abusive and dangerous family situation in Michigan. Sarah knows she must leave forever and that means changing her identity and leaving her baby sister behind. To escape, she steals her friend’s passport and builds a new life in the coastal town of Donegal, Ireland.

Sarah, later known as Saoirse, works through the trauma she experienced in Michigan by sketching and painting. Her talent is undeniable and gains attention, but Saoirse worries that her past will catch up with her. With a partner and two young daughters, there’s a lot more at stake. How could she explain? Would anyone understand?

I enjoyed reading about Ireland, the customs and beliefs about family and taking care of your own. The author includes several characters whose strong beliefs drive their decisions, even when it hurts others. I also enjoyed the author’s descriptions of the Ireland. The cover alone makes me want to visit!

The story reads quickly and shows several conflicting perspectives. Readers will have to suspend disbelief because the plot depends on several unlikely situations coincidences to keep it going.

I also enjoyed learning about Hurtubise and her experiences living in Michigan and Ireland. Here’s more information about the author, taken from her website:

Charleen Hurtubise is a novelist and artist. She is author of The Polite Act of Drowning, published in Ireland and the UK in 2023. Saoirse is her US debut. She holds an M.Sc. from Trinity College Dublin and an MFA in creative writing from University College Dublin, where she has facilitated creative writing seminars. The sixth sister in a family of nine, she spent much of her childhood in Michigan, her early adult years in Boston, and has now lived half of her life in Ireland, which is home. Though she lives in Dublin with her Irish family, the pull of Donegal never leaves and continues to influence her drawings and writings, including Saoirse.

I recommend Saoirse to readers of women’s fiction who enjoy suspense and drama.

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Book Review: “A” Is for Alibi by Sue Grafton

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“A” Is for Alibi
by
Sue Grafton

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

If you’re a mystery fan, you may already know about Sue Grafton’s alphabet series of detective novels, featuring private investigator Kinsey Millhone in the fictional city of Santa Teresa, California. Grafton published a book for every letter of the alphabet except Z: she passed away in 2017 before she could finish her final book, “Z” is for Zero. When I was picking books for our mystery book club at my library job, I realized we had never read any of Grafton’s books. So I selected the first in the series to get the group started.

“A” Is for Alibi is the first of the series and was published in 1982. Told in Millhone’s voice, the story begins when she tells us, “The day before yesterday I killed someone and the fact weighs heavily on my mind.” From here we jump back to when Millhone agrees to take on Nikki Fife as a new client. Fresh out of prison, Nikki served eight years for the murder of her husband, Laurence Fife, a prominent divorce attorney. Nikki says she didn’t do it, and wants Millhone to find out who did.

We get to know Millhone as we follow her from place to place where she conducts interviews and tracks leads that take her through Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Like many detectives in fiction, Millhone is a bit of a loner with a hard shell. At thirty-two, she’s twice divorced and carries the burden of trauma.

I’m not going to include any spoilers except to say that Grafton includes a lot of red herrings and I fell for each and every one of them! Characters who seem nice might be shady, or maybe they are just nice. But what about the ones who are difficult? Are they hiding something? Readers get a look at all personalities and many play a role the events that lead to Laurence Fife’s murder and the years that follow.

I enjoyed reading about Los Angeles and the secluded homes on the beach, as well as Millhone’s running commentary on things and people she encounters. Since the book is set in the 1908s, the lack of technology is refreshing and readers who know that time period will appreciate the references to Millhone’s answering service and occasional mentions of what things cost back then.

“A” Is for Alibi is a fast and entertaining read. It would be hard for me to commit to a nearly full alphabet of books, but I think I would probably read another one. One of the ladies in my mystery group has read every one of them and said the best ones are in the middle of the alphabet!

Have you read any of the alphabet series? Leave a comment!

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Seafaring Stories that will make you long for dry land!

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If you saw yesterday’s post, you might not be surprised to see me follow with a list of sea faring books! I’d love to include Moby Dick and some others, but I’d have to read them again to properly review them. So for now, here are the ones I’ve read more recently. I included Lord of the Flies because, even though it’s a plane crash that strands the boys on a deserted island, they still have to deal with being out in the middle of the ocean.

Adrift: Seventy-Six Days Lost at Sea by Steven Callahan

Alone: Lost Overboard in the Indian Ocean by Brett Archibald     

Bound by Ice: A True North Pole Survival Story by Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace

The Cay by Theodore Taylor

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson

In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick

Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson

The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

Refugee by Alan Gratz

Sea Wife by Amity Gaige

The Second Mrs. Astor: A Novel of the Titanic by Shana Abé

Thunderstruck by Erik Larson

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Grann

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Book Review: A Marriage at Sea – A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck by Sophie Elmhirst

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A Marriage at Sea
A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck
by
Sohpie Elmhirst

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I’ve always been drawn to books about storms and disasters at sea so when I learned about A Marriage at Sea, I knew I was going to read it. Published in 2025, it was one of Barack Obama’s favorite books of the year and was named a New York Times Top Ten Book of 2025. Described by USA Today as “nonfiction that reads like fiction,” it’s the story of Maurice and Maralyn Bailey and their 1972 attempt to sail from England to New Zealand and start a new life. They made it through the Panama Canal and into the Pacific Ocean when a breaching whale knocked a hole in their boat. Maurice and Maralyn grabbed as many supplies as they could and jumped into a dinghy and life raft before the Auralyn sank.

Alone in the middle of the ocean for nearly four months in two rubber rafts, Maurice and Maralyn had to fight to survive the dangerous waters, as well as intense feelings of depression and hopelessness. What qualities equip you to survive such peril? For them, it was a unique combination of self-reliance and a near-obsession with details, skills that took root during their childhoods and made them long to run away from the world. Maurice’s unhappy childhood as an invalid made him feel unloved and isolated. Maralyn, a free thinker, wanted to escape the conventional suburban life that her parents expected her to lead.

The author describes how routines, even on a small life raft in the middle of the ocean, helped keep them alive. But the unique dynamics of their marriage seemed to be the magic component. I was fascinated by how they faced situations because, even though they frequently thought they were doomed, they held on to some intangible that carried them from one day to the next.

I had never heard of the Baileys and fought the urge to look them up while I read. If you read the book, do your best to do the same because it made it all the more interesting to read more later.

As the title indicates, this is as much a story about marriage as it is about survival at sea. I recommend A Marriage at Sea to readers of both fiction and nonfiction who like stories about relationships and adversity.

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Book Review: Among Friends by Hal Ebbott

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Among Friends
by
Hal Ebbott

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I didn’t know a lot about this book or the author, but I was drawn to the cover and the promise of a good story about relationships, one of my favorite fiction topics. Ebbott’s debut novel, Among Friends follows the long friendships of two couples, now in their fifties, and their two teenage daughters.

Set in New York, the story begins as Amos, Claire and their daughter, Anna drive upstate to spend the weekend with Emerson, Retsy and their daughter, Sophie, to celebrate Emerson’s fifty-second birthday. In the car, we get a glimpse of the undercurrents in Amos and Claire’s marriage when Claire, a doctor, discounts Amos’s worry about a toothache. These initial interactions set the tone of the novel, where internal dialogues dominate. No one seems happy, despite the great friendships and the comfortable, privileged lives they lead.

Right away, we get a look at their personalities when the four discuss a disturbing incident that is now being handled. Emerson, a lawyer, has a shrewd and often ruthless approach which spills into his personal relationships and can put people on edge. We also learn about the dynamics between Emerson and Amos, who were college roommates, and how they feed off each other. Emerson, a golden boy who comes from money, wants assurance that he’s actually a good guy and he gets that from Amos, whose family had no money. Amos, a sharp and insightful psychologist, seeks validation from Emerson. It often seems that this relationship is the most important one in their lives, which says something about their marriages.

Everything changes when something really bad happens and the two couples must confront the multitude of negative thoughts they have been cultivating, particularly when true personalities and selfishness come to light.

I thought this was an excellent conflict; however, the buildup was slow and the author’s writing style put me off. The excessive use of personification, metaphors and similes made the book seem more like an exercise in creative writing than an engaging novel. I was also frustrated with the lack of likable characters. The level of self-absorption and brooding analysis made me wonder how any of them accomplished anything during the day. I don’t like to be too picky, but a lot of reviews on Amazon and Goodreads say the same thing. In addition, I think it can be tricky for young authors to write about situations they may not have experienced yet. I found the author’s portrayal of the two couples to be unrealistic in many ways and the ending did not sit right with me.

So, an interesting plot and worthy of three stars for that, but maybe not a book for everyone.

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Book Review: Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson

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Isaac’s Storm
by
Erik Larson

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I had been wanting to read Isaac’s Storm for a long time. I borrowed the eBook from the library multiple times, but never got a chance to read it before I had to return it. Last week, after I’d downloaded it again, I decided this was it. I’ve enjoyed several other books by Erik Larson and knew it would be good.

I was right! I love books about storms and I was curious about the devasting hurricane in 1900 that demolished Galveston, Texas, so it was a perfect choice. This was a terrible tragedy. Eight thousand men, women, and children lost their lives in the storm that took everyone by surprise, including Isaac Cline, the chief weatherman in Texas.

There were a lot of factors at play. Technology was undeveloped and forecasters didn’t truly understand how hurricanes formed and behaved. They had instruments to measure wind speed and barometric pressure, and could look at the history of hurricanes, but this was 1900, nothing like today. What was like today were the politics, false pride, and rivalry that also played big parts. And the belief that Galveston, the next up-and-coming city, was invulnerable to big storms. If you look at a map of Galveston, you will see just how vulnerable it is. Although not below sea level, this strip of an island is in a low-lying area surrounded by water.

The author spends the first part of the book describing the city and the history of weather forecasting, including the government’s difficult relationship with Cuba, a country that knew about hurricanes from experience. Larson also describes the people who were living in Galveston at the time and the choices they made when the weather got bad.

The second half of the book covers the actual storm and the devastation it left behind. This is where the book really takes off. Larson may be a nonfiction author, but his ability to tell a story is fantastic. The descriptions of families, their decisions, and their heroics in a time of disaster were riveting, as well as heartbreaking.

I liked how easy it was to imagine their lives and the peril they faced. The devastating aftermath was just as sad. Reading about blue skies and calm winds the next day and survivors’ reactions to the destruction gave me a true understanding of the time.

I recommend Isaac’s Storm to readers who enjoy learning about history and the people facing catastrophe.

Check out my reviews of these additional books by Erik Larson:

The Devil in the White City

Dead Wake

Thunderstruck

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Book Review: The Woman in Suite 11 by Ruth Ware

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The Woman in Suite 11
by
Ruth Ware

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

You may remember Ruth Ware’s 2016 bestseller, The Woman in Cabin 10, the suspenseful story about Lo Blacklock, a travel writer on an exclusive cruise, who witnesses a woman being thrown overboard. At least that’s what she thinks she sees. But she’s been drinking a lot and she’s suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. No one believes her.

The popular book was adapted into a Netflix film in 2025 and now Ware has written a follow-up. The Woman in Suite 11 picks up ten years later and follows a new plot in which Lo, now married with two children, attends a special grand opening of a luxury hotel in Geneva, Switzerland, hoping to get an interview with the Marcus Leidmann, CEO of the hotel’s owner, the Leidmann Group.

Everything seems great when Lo arrives at the Grand Hotel du Lac. What a strange surprise, however, to see several colleagues who were aboard the cruise ten years earlier. It took years of therapy to move past those tragic events and the last thing she wants is to rehash what happened with them. Still, a little networking after being out of the work force will be good. And even better if she sells her interview to the Financial Times.

But Lo is in for the shock of her life when she’s called into Suite 11 and sees the one person she hoped never to lay eyes on again. Get ready to watch Lo get pulled into a dangerous and twisty plot that places her at the center, fighting a murder charge, and hoping to get out alive. As you can see by the cover, the plot involves a bathtub with the water running. I’ll leave that to you to guess what it means!

As with the first book, Ware keeps the pages turning and I appreciated how she includes plenty of bad decisions and red herrings, wrapped up in conflicting loyalties and interesting moral questions. Lo knows that if she walks away from what she’s been asked to do, she could not live with herself. I also enjoyed reading about the luxury hotel, the beautiful setting, as well as a look inside a wealthy and powerful family and the inner workings of the Leidmann Group.

After ten years, I was pretty hazy on the details of The Woman in Cabin 10, but it didn’t matter. The author includes plenty of backstory in the second book, and even if you never read the first one, you will have no trouble following the story. Although I’ve liked some of Ware’s other books a little better,I found The Women in Suite 11 an entertaining and suspenseful read, something fun to look forward to at the end of the day.

Read my review of The Woman in Cabin 10 here.

And check out my reviews of these other Ruth Ware books:

The Turn of the Key
The It Girl
One by One

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Book Review: The Irish Goodbye by Heather Aimee O’Neill

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The Irish Goodbye
by
Heather Aimee O’Neill

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I recently loaded up my Kindle with library books so I would have a lot of choices while I was traveling last weekend. You need a certain kind of book when you’re on a trip. Nothing too heavy and something to keep you engaged while you’re waiting in the airport or during those random times between activities. I picked The Irish Goodbye because I have liked other Read with Jenna books. In addition, anything with a house on the cover attracts me!

Set in New York on a coastal Long Island town, The Irish Goodbye begins the day before Thanksgiving when the three adult Ryan sisters return to their parents’ large Victorian house. Twenty years earlier, an accident on their brother Topher’s boat shook the family, and that day on the water continues to haunt them. Cait ran away to London to escape the guilt for her role in the accident and rarely returns. Alice, the middle sister, stayed. And Maggie, the youngest sister, moved to Vermont. Now, each brings a personal crisis to the house. The family culture is the kind where they all pretend everything is okay. At first they try to hide their problems, but the past collides with the present when Cait invites an old friend to the house.

Several issues churn just below the surface: sibling resentments, their aging parents, the family home in need of major repairs, and their mother, Nora’s strong Catholic beliefs. And of course, the stress of being adults with family, relationship, and career demands. These simmering conflicts kept me reading.

The title refers to the act of leaving without saying goodbye and is a prominent theme throughout the book and the author connects several storylines to this idea.

I appreciated how easily the story developed and the larger problems that dominated the family. That made me happy with my choice for a travel book. I also liked the tie-in to the old house and the idea of keeping it in the family. But I didn’t connect much with the characters because I felt they were undeveloped, and I thought the author included too many issues for such a quick read. That was especially true as she worked to resolve everything at the end.

So all in all an engaging and modern read, but not something I will think about much now that I’ve finished it.

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Book Review: Marjorie Morningstar by Herman Wouk

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Marjorie Morningstar
by
Herman Wouk

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I first read Marjorie Morningstar about thirty-five years ago and, because I loved it the first time, I knew I wanted to read it again. At the time, I knew a little about Herman Wouk because I watched the 1970s miniseries The Winds of War, but I had never read his books, including The Caine Mutiny, winner of the 1952 Pulitzer Prize and Youngblood Hawke, which I would go on to read and also love!

Published in 1955, Marjorie Morningstar is a coming-of-age story about a young Jewish woman who wants to be a Broadway actress. Beginning in 1933, we follow Marjorie Morgenstern, a seventeen-year-old student at Hunter College, as she tries to break into acting. Her father, Arnold, has been working hard at his importing business and the family recently moved from the Bronx to Central Park West. Arnold wants the best for Marjorie, but he also wants to make sure she knows the value of money. And her mother, Rose wants nothing more than for Marjorie to marry a successful young man. Maybe that will happen. Marjorie’s active social life has already earned her many admirers.

From here we watch Marjorie as she acts in college productions and meets people connected to the acting business. There she makes friends with Marsha Zelenko who has lots of advice and convinces Marjorie to work at a camp across the lake from South Wind, an upstate resort that puts on productions. Although forbidden (Rose calls the place Sodom), they row over to South Wind and Marsha introduces her to the famed composer Noel Airman, ten years older than Marjorie. Their attraction to each other is electric and the two begin a long and tumultuous relationship. Noel is charming and clever, but he’s also unsettled and self-absorbed. Their relationship drives the story as Noel falters in his career and Marjorie realizes, despite her success in college, she will not make it on stage. The big question is if Marjorie and Noel will make it together.

Once again, I was fully engrossed in the story, but does it stand the test of time? There are some parts I didn’t like the second time around because of how dated they were, displaying prejudices and attitudes that do not fly in today’s world. But the psychology between Marjorie and Noel was great and I especially liked the family dynamics and conflicts, particularly between Noel and his father. I also liked reading about how Marjorie, and especially Noel, resisted family pressure to follow traditional roads to adulthood. Marjorie’s family was much more open to having her try acting, although they seemed to hope she would settle down and marry. But Noel felt pressure to follow in his father’s footsteps and he did everything he could to make sure that wouldn’t happen.

Not everyone appreciates long books, but I enjoy them because for me, they really show character development over time. This one was close to 600 pages, so be warned! Now, do I re-read Youngblood Hawke? Maybe this summer!

Check out these links for more about Herman Wouk and his books:

Remembering American author Herman Wouk, 1915 – 2019
Youngblood Hawke
What’s That Movie? Youngblood Hawke
Youngblood Hawke book covers—brown and orange dominate

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Book Review: Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris

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Behind Closed Doors
by
B. A. Paris

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

If you like domestic thrillers, check out Behind Closed Doors, a story about a woman who seems to have the perfect marriage, but the truth of their relationship is locked inside their beautiful home.

Set outside London, we first meet Grace Harrington as a single woman in her early thirties. A successful buyer for Harrod’s, she has dedicated her life to raising her little sister, Millie, who was born with Down’s Syndrome. It’s a dream come true when she meets her future husband, Jack Angel, forty-one, smart, successful, and handsome. A lawyer specializing in protecting battered women, he’s never lost a case and is passionate about his job.

In the beginning, their courtship is like a fairy tale and they quickly become serious. Grace was nervous about how her sister would fit into their relationship, but Jack has been wonderful with Millie. Millie will soon turn eighteen and graduate from her school, and be Grace’s full responsibility. When Jack proposes three months later, he tells her, “I just want you to know that wherever we live, there will always be a place for Millie.”

From the beginning, something is off. Red flags are everywhere, even at their wedding and on their honeymoon. And now Grace is fully dependent on her new husband because Jack insisted that Grace quit her job. Together, they host dinners, go out to lunch with Jack’s friends, and visit Millie. Grace is never alone, until she’s behind closed doors…

I won’t include spoilers, but this is a very readable and fast-moving suspense novel that checks the boxes for domestic thrillers. I watched Grace get into a dangerous relationship and wondered how she didn’t see the warning signs! Blinded by infatuation, and vulnerable because of her situation with Millie, she makes mistakes that trap her in their home. With almost no resources, I hoped she would find an opportunity to break out of a dangerous marriage.

Like many books in this genre, you’re going to need to accept the facts as they’re given, and not question things that don’t make complete sense. Behind Closed Doors is a solid thriller with a story that keeps moving, a book you can read on a plane or the beach and not have to concentrate too much! But readers sensitive to violence with twisted, evil characters and storylines might not enjoy the story.

B. A. Paris is a Franco-Irish author who lives in England and is the author of eight novels. Behind Closed Doors was her debut novel, published in 2016. Learn more about Paris and her books here.

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