Three Days in June by Anne Tyler

THREE DAYS IN JUNE by Anne Tyler is a LibraryReads Hall of Fame selection for February. Tyler recounts the story of Gail, aged 61 and her ex-husband, Max, on the weekend of the wedding of their daughter, Debbie, to Kenneth. It is a short period of time filled with a surge of emotions. Of course, there are in-law frictions and, potentially more disastrous, concerns about fidelity between the newlyweds. Gail, too, has disrupted her own life by impulsively walking out on her boss when she does not get an expected promotion. Reflecting on her situation, Gail later muses, “What was I supposed to do with the rest of my life? I'm too young for this, I thought. Not too old, as you might expect, but too young, too inept, too uninformed. How come there weren't any grown-ups around? Why did everyone just assume I knew what I was doing?” Her angry, anxious mood is not helped by Max’s arrival – he is forced to stay with her because he is fostering a cat and didn’t know that Kenneth is allergic. That leads to a rapprochement of sorts as Max and Gail support each other through the festivities. Tyler, a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist (for Breathing Lessons), brings these characters to life – especially Gail who finds social situations difficult (“Sometimes when I find out what's on other people's minds I honestly wonder if we all live on totally separate planets”) and is repeatedly described as lacking people skills. At 176 pages, the novel offers a relatively short introduction to readers unfamiliar with Tyler’s writing (see also French Braid or Clock Dance or A Spool of Blue Thread which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize), while appealing to Tyler’s many fans. 

Mysteries: The Guest List & The Voter File

School is out and that feels like time to totally relax and escape with a couple of absolutely great mystery thrillers.

THE GUEST LIST by Lucy Foley is a tantalizing mystery with an eerie, almost gothic setting on an island in the midst of a brewing storm AND a cast of characters with plenty of motives for murder. Foley, a best-selling author who lives in London, was recommended by Library Journal for “fans of Agatha Christie, Louise Penny, and Ruth Rendell [who] will absolutely love this book, which doesn't reveal its secrets until the very last page.”  I totally concur.

A scream of terror on the wedding night is relayed by an unnamed narrator, but past history and most events leading up to the wedding itself are cleverly told from the perspective of the wedding party (Jules, the bride, Olivia, her sister and bridesmaid, Johnno, the best man and school-mate to Will, the groom), the plus one (Hannah, married to Charlie, a childhood friend of Jules) and the wedding planner (Aoife, who is trying to make a go with her husband of holding weddings and parties on the island). Jules is a competitive, successful business woman and Will is an adventurous television star – two ambitious people who seemed well-matched, except why did Jules get that anonymous note encouraging her not to marry Will? What are the causes of dysfunctional and strained relationships between friends and family members? Who is in danger and why? A LibraryReads selection, Foley’s THE GUEST LIST is saturated with tension and secrets that kept me up and turning pages – enjoy!

THE VOTER FILE by David Pepper is book three in his Jack Sharpe series, but I enjoyed it so much, I wish I had started with the other two.  In this latest installment, Sharpe is contacted by a young campaign staffer, Tori Justice, who is trying to get a story published about voting patterns and irregularities.  He’s dismissive at first, but gradually they come to trust each other. Much of the action takes place in battleground states in the Midwest and action it is – kidnapping, car chases, cyber-espionage, with foreign agents and organized crime involvement.  Clearly, Pepper has produced an involved plot and there are plenty of twists for Tori, Jack, and Olivia (another reporter and former colleague) to unravel. THE VOTER FILE is an exciting and fun read filled with political allusions and economic implications. Pepper’s varied and relevant experience (elected Chairman of the Democratic Party of Ohio in 2015) means readers will be working to solve the mystery while also wondering just how much do political parties manipulate us based on what they know about our personal lives and opinions.