The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

My Rating: 4.8

Clover has felt a strong connection with the dying - starting with her kindergarten teacher dropping dead in front of the class. She has felt a stronger connection with the dying than the living. Her beloved grandfather, who raised her, drops dead while she is traveling abroad and this prompts her to become a death doula - ushering people peacefully through their end-of-life process.

This was a highly unusual topic and yet the author pulled it off beautifully. I felt that Clover's heart shone through in her life and her work. I loved the unfolding of the story and the ending was perfect.

Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier

 My Rating: 4.7

Marin had the perfect life. Married to her college sweetheart, she owns a chain of upscale hair salons, and Derek runs his own company. They're admired in their community and are a loving family—until their world falls apart the day their son Sebastian is taken. A year later, Marin is a shadow of herself. The FBI search has gone cold. The publicity has faded. She and her husband rarely speak. She hires a P.I. to pick up where the police left off, but instead of finding Sebastian, she learns that Derek is having an affair with a younger woman. This discovery sparks Marin back to life. She's lost her son; she's not about to lose her husband, too. Kenzie is an enemy with a face, which means this is a problem Marin can fix.

I really enjoyed this light thriller. I didn't see the twist at the end coming at all and when they revealed it, it took me a minute to piece it together (say WHAT?!). Really enjoyed having to catch up and not having an author treat the reader like they are stupid. Very fun fast paced book. I have read one other book by this author and will continue to read more by her.

River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer

River Sing Me Home

 My Rating: 4.9

In 1834, England has decreed that slaves will be freed. The Caribbean Islands decide to defy the Emancipation Act of 1834. On a slavery plantation in Barbados when they announce the slaves are 'free' but must work another six years as 'apprentices' before they will be freed, Rachel decides to run.

She decides to search for the five children who survived child birth but were taken from her. This dangerous expedition takes her from Barbados to British Guiana and finally to Trinidad. This is the story of each of her five children but more than anything, it is the quest of Rachel's love to reunite her family and to find life as freedom.

This was equisite - both the writing and the story. The only caveat is that this is written in the Creole. Sometimes the vernacular can be abrasive unless you understand the origins

Dr Mary's Monkey by Edward T Haslam

My Rating: 4.8

The bizarre death of this nationally known cancer researcher sets the stage for this gripping exposé of medical professionals enmeshed in covert government operations. Following a trail of police reports, FBI files, cancer statistics, and medical journals, this revealing book presents a web of secret-keeping which swept doctors into cover-ups of contaminated polio vaccines, cancer outbreaks, the arrival of the AIDS virus, and a deadly biological weapon tested on both monkeys and humans. Add Lee Harvey Oswald to the cast of this secret bio-weapon project, and this dark tale connects Oswald’s summer of secrets to the intrigue surrounding the assassination of President Kennedy.

Wow, just wow. Not only did Haslam give tons of detailed background research to support all of this theories but the things he uncovered. This is not as much about the JFK assassination as it is about Dr Mary Sherman and David Ferrie with their laboratory full of mice and viles of viruses. I have no doubt that the cancer and AIDs origins and so many other things he revealed are real. This was long and at times the detail on the felt tedious. I am glad we listened to it on audio. There was so much information covered. We knew of a lot of the nefarious things our Government does but this revealed a whole new level. At the end of it we were talking about this and still refer to it in so many conversations.