Archive for the ‘relationships’ Tag
I like Ann Patchett’s writing so much I’d be happy just reading her shopping lists. Her ability to engage readers with relatable characters, descriptive language and making a seemingly ordinary story intriguing are on full display in her most recent novel, Whistler.
This is a story about memories; ones not embellished by time. The author is methodical in the way in which her main character, Daphne, a 53-year-old English literature teacher, shares not only a significant event from her childhood, but also the joy of reconnecting with the past.
When she was nine, she and her stepfather, Eddie, were in a serious car accident. Soon afterward, Daphne’s mother kicks him out of the family’s life. However, this isn’t where the story begins. That happens when an older Eddie recognizes the now adult Daphne.
It takes little time to rekindle their mutual admiration society as told through Daphne’s perspective. So, the pair pick up as though it hadn’t been decades since their contact. Eddie was beloved not only by Daphne, but also Leda, her younger sister.
Early in the narrative the voice changes from Daphne’s to third person when the time shifts to Jan. 18, 1980. This particular time frame is interspersed with contemporary life as Daphne and Eddie reestablish a relationship that was especially important to them.
Yes, there’s a titular horse, but this is not an equine book. Rather, Whistler the novel is rich with emotion and humor about human connections and the value of appreciating people just as they are.
Whistler
Four-and-half- bookmarks
Harper Large Print, 2026
374 pages
I was familiar with the story behind Patrick Radden Keefe’s London Falling thanks to a New Yorker article he wrote a few years ago.
The book, subtitled A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for the Truth, reflects the author’s detailed research regarding the questionable suicide of 19-year-old Zac Brettler. It’s not just the young man’s death that warranted attention, but the steps leading up to it that are most intriguing.
Thanks to Zac’s parents, Rachelle and Matthew Brettler, readers learn about the family’s background, Zac’s childhood and his later involvement with known Russian oligarchs. Especially puzzling to the Brettler’s was the latter, particularly since the teenaged Zac was able to convince powerful, dangerous men that he was the son of a wealthy Russian set to inherit a fortune.
The author relied on interviews with those who knew Zac, police reports, court transcripts and people familiar with London’s darker side.
According to those who knew him, Zac never showed signs of suicidal tendencies. He left no note and one of the last two persons to see him alive was considered by many to be an intimidating gangster; the other was a dubious businessman.
At times the narrative gets deep in the weeds with family background material; at others, the pace is fast, filled with tension in anticipation of what the Brettlers might learn about Zac in his final days. Descriptions of London’s underbelly are frightening given the wealth and influence wielded by those in its midst.
London Falling
Four bookmarks
361 pages, includes acknowledgements and notes
Doubleday, 2026
Initially, Trust by Hernan Diaz is confusing. There are four different parts to the novel, but it works to think of this as four mini- books in one.
The different elements are: Bonds; My Life; A Memoir; and Futures. Each has a different author, but all about Andrew and Mildred Bevel.
“Bonds, A Novel by Harold Vanner,” opens Diaz’s series. It was written in 1937 as a work of fiction about Benjamin and Helen Rask, their wealth and lifestyle, set mostly in New York City. It’s the roaring ‘20s, but the couple, neither flaunt their wealth nor seek attention. Helen, does however, fund foundations and is a patron of the arts.
Next, “My Life by Andrew Bevel”, is a series of the wall street tycoon’s life intended as the basis of a novel, but in this context appears as a haphazard assortment of half-finished notes. This is meant to counter Vanner’s novel, based on the Bevels; it took a while to figure this out.
The third part is written by a newly introduced character, Ida Partenza. She’s hired by the now elderly Andrew Bevel to tell what he considers to be the “true” story about the Bevels. She’s given limited access to records and transcripts. Bevel wants Ida to portray their lives as he sees fit, which isn’t necessarily the way things happened. This is something Ida soon realizes, until she finds the final segment: “Futures written by Mildred Bevel,” which is more of a diary, but connects all of the components while resolving any residual confusion.
Of course, Diaz is the author of Trust in its entirety. It’s best described as a mystery and a reflection on the past. What we want to recall isn’t always the way things actually were.
Trust
Three and three-quarters bookmarks
Riverhead Books, 2022
402 pages
As in her subsequent novel, Wild Dark Shore (reviewed here earlier this year) , Charlotte McConaghy integrates climate change and intrigue but this time it’s Once there Were Wolves. Both works also include challenging romantic relationships.
Inte Flynn, a biologist, is part of a group charged with reintroducing 14 wolves to the Scottish Highlands. The locals are not happy with the possibility of their livestock becoming prey and have little interest in hearing what value the wolves have for the environment. This leads to distrust between the scientists and residents.
It’s not long before a man is murdered, which many attribute to the wolves. Inte has her doubts. While she works to disprove the townspeople’s fears she becomes romantically involved with the local police chief. Both are mysterious about their pasts.
Inte has brought her twin sister, Aggie, with her to Scotland and their past slowly unfolds, with the novel’s main focus remaining on the town’s reaction to the wolves and the murder. There’s heartache in each element of the narrative, particularly involving Aggie.
McConaghy’s pacing, the alternating chapters of past and present events make this an engaging work. It’s a tense, beautiful and haunting story about different types of relationships, the environment and what it means to trust. The landscape is sorrowful and richly described. This is historical fiction with the potential to serve as a wake-up call regarding our environment.
Once There Were Wolves
Four bookmarks
Flatiron Books, 2021
256 pages
Poetic and epic, Maggie O’Farrell’s most recent novel, Land, initially transports readers to a peninsula on Ireland’s western shore. The title is used both as a verb and a noun.
In nearly 400 pages, the plot mostly follows the lives of Tomas, his wife Phina and their four children: Enda, Liam, Rosie and Eugene. O’Farrell’s narrative begins in 1865, but it does not follow a straightforward storyline.
Tomas is a surveyor charged with mapping Ireland. He has young Liam as his assistant, but things go awry when Tomas enters a copse. After he emerges his once-reticent personality undergoes a disturbing, manic transformation which has a profound impact on Liam, and ultimately the rest of his family
The strength of familial bonds, the heartbreakingly romantic descriptions of how Tomas and Phina met, the power of longstanding superstitions and the harsh beauty of the Irish landscape and other places where the family lives are vividly described.
The novel contains four parts, with the second explaining what was likely the cause of Tomas’s personality change. It’s set millennia before the time he enters the heavily-wooden, mysterious forest. It, like the rest of the story, is beautifully written. It has the spirit of a folktale and is crucial to the entire novel.
As the children grow, the focus is less on Tomas; each child emerges as a unique, sensitive individual. The passing of time, with its joys and sorrows, is richly portrayed. And the physical land is as much a character as those who live upon it.
Land
Four and a half bookmarks
381 pages
Alfred A. Knopf, 2026
The Secret Lives of Murderers’ Wives is one of those titles that both intrigues and leaves one skeptical about what to expect.
Set in 1966 Southern California, author Elizabeth Arnott strategically references popular songs, fashion and events of the era to set the scene, which takes some edge off this thriller. The three main characters are, indeed, the ex-wives of infamous serial killers now incarcerated.
Their husbands’ notoriety has made the women’s lives difficult; they have few friends and the relationships they do have are mostly misguided. None of the women had a clue regarding the dangerous, and gruesome, lives their husbands led away from home.
Bev is the only one of the three with children; she believed he was the family-man he projected to her and those in their circle. Brash Margo’s husband was former would-be-politician. Elsie works as a clerk at a Los Angeles newspaper (with aspirations to be a reporter). Each man was convicted of horrifically killing multiple women. It’s not entirely clear how the ex- wives met but they do form a bond as victims in their own right.
When several young, local women are found murdered, Bev is the first to suspect there’s a connection; one that’s soundly dismissed by the police. Law enforcement is convinced gangs are involved; Bev is certain one man is responsible. This is when she and her friends begin their own investigation.
The engaging, well-paced narrative leaves one wanting to double check that windows and doors are locked at night.
The Secret Lives of Murderers’ Wives
Four Bookmarks
Berkley, 2026
312 pages with acknowledgements
Buckeye by Patrick Ryan has all the elements of a (good) soap opera: broken relationships, infidelity, family issues and so much more especially, or perhaps, because the setting is a small Ohio town (hence the name).
The fictional work spans six decades, but actual events serve as the backdrop.
Cal Jenkins and Becky Hanover grow up and marry in rural Bonhomie, Ohio. Carl was born with one leg shorter than the other; this made him ineligible to serve later when World War II breaks out. However, it’s VE Day when things begin to change for him. That’s when Margaret, relatively new to town and certainly a stranger to Calvin, walks into the hardware store where he works and kisses him in celebration of the war’s end.
Buckeye begins in the present, moves seamlessly to the past for a brief time, before moving forward. Margaret is married to Felix, but theirs is a passionless marriage; Felix is gay. There’s more backstory. He joins the navy when war is declared and is later lost at sea in the Pacific.
Meanwhile, Becky is preoccupied with her paranormal abilities; Cal is skeptical. It’s not long before Margaret and Cal begin spending more time together.
Ryan’s character-driven narrative is engaging and credible — well, perhaps Becky is less so because of her obsession with reaching the dead. Still, we watch the couples evolve with the times and situations particularly those associated with the numerous lies and secrets that slowly, but predictably, rise to the surface.
Buckeye
Nearly four bookmarks
Random House 2025
452 including acknowledgements
When was the last time you put pen to paper, placed it in a stamped envelope and mailed it? Or, when did you last receive a handwritten letter? These are the explicit unspoken questions lingering within the pages of The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. Plenty of implicit ones fill the pages.
The novel is a series of letters written by 70-something Sybil Van Antwerp . Through years of letter writing, Sybil’s daily routines, her history, emotions and relationships are revealed. Her complexities are relatable. She is kind, ornery and persistent. She writes letters to authors, friends, her brother, the son of a former colleague and many, many others. Sybil has much to write about; she’s a retired lawyer, avid reader, mother, divorcee and lifelong learner.
Yet, for all these qualities, she’s not entirely likeable. She holds a grudge and misses a lot that’s right in front of her. Some of this is due to her diminishing eyesight, but more can be attributed to her stubborn personality. When opportunities arise to make amends, she’s a mixed bag. She extends olive branches to those with whom she had peripheral contact, while refusing with family members, including her dying ex-husband.
Evans is heavy handed when it comes to lessons to be learned such as establishing and maintaining relationships. Sybil is not completely aware of the impact of her letters. Still, Sybil’s commitment to written correspondence is commendable, particularly considering her frequent lack of face-to-face social skills.
Nonetheless, it’s time to buy some postage stamps.
The Correspondent
Three and three-quarter bookmarks
Crown 2025
285 pages including acknowledgements
Grief, isolation, broken relationships and climate change are beautifully and tragically addressed in Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy.
Dominick Salt and his three children are the caretakers and lone residents of Shearwater Island, near Antarctica. They’re organizing and packing the contents of a seed bank awaiting a ship to return them to the mainland. Rising tides, harsher weather conditions and the island’s isolation make it uninhabitable or a viable environment for continued study. Shearwater is a critical element of the story.
When a barely-alive woman washes ashore during a severe storm there’s an immediate sense of foreboding. Rowan’s reasons for traveling to Shearwater are suspect given Shearwater’s remoteness; when she reveals that she’s looking for her husband who had been in charge of the seed bank, the Salts’ reticence makes her suspicious.
As Rowan’s wounds heal she gets to know each of the children, while remaining mistrustful of Dom. The five characters are richly portrayed, each nearly eclipsed by grief and none able to communicate their feelings.
McConaughy’s writing maintains a palpable sense of tension throughout the narrative. It’s nerve-wracking and impressively captivating with numerous unanswered questions: what happened to the other members of the research team; how will the Salts adjust from their extremely secluded life; can their brokenness be mended; and more.
First person voice tells Rowan and Dom’s side of the story, while third person voice is used for the children. Short chapters further heighten a sense of dread, but also offer occasional glimmers of hope.
Wild Dark Shore
Five Bookmarks
Flatiron Books, 2025
302 pages, includes acknowledgements
Claire Leslie Hall’s novel, Broken Country, is a study in class differences, miscommunication and reignited emotions, primarily love and guilt.
When Gabriel Wolfe reappears in Beth Johnson’s life years after their brief, but intense love affair ended, not only is her life uprooted, but so is everyone else’s in the small, rural English village (their country) where they live.
Despite the tragedy of losing their young son in an accident, Beth and Frank Johnson have a strong, seemingly healthy marriage. They work the family farm with Jimmy, Frank’s younger brother and they’re well-respected in their community. Gabriel is a well-known author from an affluent background who’s returned to his family’s estate with Leo, his young son in tow. He’s the same age as Beth’s son at the time he died.
Yes, this is a love story, but there is also an element of mystery. The character-driven plot is rich with descriptive images of the rural landscape and the deep-seeded emotions of Beth, in particular. This makes it more her story with the others as supporting actors. Nonetheless, each one is richly nuanced.
The narrative randomly alternates among the past, present and future. This serves not only to inform the reader about previous and existing relationships, but also hints at some of what’s to come. Thus, there’s much that is predictable here, particularly that Gabriel and Beth will once again be drawn to each. Fortunately, there is at least one major surprise that is bound to keep readers engaged.
Broken Country
Four bookmarks
Simon and Schuster, 2025
307 pages
