Review: Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane

Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Published: May 2019
 

Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope completed the police academy together. They began their rookie years as partners in the New York City Police Department, and then they moved in next door to each other. Francis' youngest daughter, Kate, and Brian's son Peter, instantly became the best of friends. The adults don't always get along, but the kids are inseparable. One day, a dramatic event separates Kate and Peter. They are brought back together as adults, but can they get over the past to have a future? Will their past forever destroy their relationship with one another as well as with others?

This book started off really good, but started to slow down toward the middle. This is a very dramatic story that will have you questioning how well you know your neighbors and the parents of your children's friends.

What would you do if your best friend's mother, did something to change your family's life forever? Do you think you would be able to remain friends with that person? When we are children, it's difficult to see things from the point of view of our parents, it's not until we get older that we understand all of the things our parents tried to teach us and shield us from through our lives.

This book spans over 40 years. The beginning is very concise, but the ending jumps around that at times you're not sure where in the book you are.


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Review: Good Riddance by Elinor Lipman

Good Riddance by Elinor Lipman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Published: February 2019


Daphne has just inherited her mother's yearbook from the class of 1968 at Pickering High School in New Hampshire. That year her mother was not only the English teacher, but also the yearbook advisor. Mrs. Maritch has gone to every reunion and each year she has added notations to the yearbook to all of the students. Daphne has no need or room for the yearbook in her small New York City apartment, so she puts it in the recycling. A neighbor who is also a budding documentarian finds the yearbook, and is determined to make a movie with her findings. When Daphne finds out a dark secret at the 50th reunion they attend, she will stop at nothing to make sure the yearbook is not made public. With family secrets around each corner, Daphne will try her best to keep her mother's legacy in tact and her father's heart from being broken.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I remember the thrill of getting my yearbook from middle school all through high school and having all of my friends sign it. I don't think that I ever had or even wanted any of my teachers to sign it though. And I've been to one or two of my reunions and I surely didn't go back and makes notes on what everyone is up to now.

This was a quirky story that had quite a few different elements in it. A little bit of romance, some mystery, and an annoying neighbor. Daphne is newly divorced and trying to find her way in New York City. Her apartment is small and there isn't any room for much more than her. She is going to school to be a chocolatier, but that's not really working out. She tries going back to teaching at Montessori school which she did before she was married. But with the contents of the yearbook and rumors about her mother maybe reaching the public Daphne's plate seems to be overflowing. Can she keep her mom's legacy alive and keep herself from going crazy at the same time?

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Review: The Woman in the Window

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Published: 2017

Dr. Anna Fox has been in her house for the past ten months. After an accident involving her husband, daughter and herself, she became agoraphobic. She now spends her days staring out of her windows, spying on her neighbors and keeping up with all the comings and goings of the neighborhood. When a new family moves in across the park from her, she is immediately drawn to the mother and the son, a single child family like her own. They come over to introduce themselves and she feels an instant connection. But then Anna thinks she sees a crime being committed at the neighbors house. Did she really see something or is the combination of medications and alcohol blurring the lines of reality and fantasy? Will the authorities believe her or will they believe the family and the rest of the neighborhood that Dr. Fox is just a crazy, drunk, cooped up lady.

So many people I know have read and enjoyed this book. I loved it, it was so hard to put down. I was totally shocked by the twists and turns that this book dished out.

At first I was rooting for Anna. This poor lady devastated by the accident and her family leaving her because of it. I wanted her to be able to leave her house and live her life and have the opportunity to be with her husband and daughter again. Instead, she spends her days chatting with other agoraphobes and providing council to them, playing chess online and drinking lots of red wine while watching old movies.

When Anna's secrets are revealed I'm not sure if I felt sorry for her or was upset with myself for being on her side. I think this is a book all thriller fans will enjoy. If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend it.


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Review: Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser

Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Published: March 27, 2018

Six women from the small town of Yellow Springs, Ohio decide to get together for a few glasses of wine and some conversation on a Sunday night. This is the first time they have all been gathered together like this. Surprised that their baby monitors are able to reach to Clara's backyard, they enjoy the childless night. The next morning, one of them is missing. Is foul play a part of the disappearance or did Kristin simply walk away from her life? Admittedly, even though they have been neighbors for a while, no one really knew each other all that well. Will the police be able to find Kristin? Did her husband have something to do with it?

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I'm not sure why, but I had a hard time connecting with this book. While I was intrigued by the story, I didn't find myself drawn to find out what was going to happen next. It took me 10 days to read this book which is very rare for me.

What would you do if you woke up from a girls night out to find out one of the girls and her twins had disappeared in the middle of the night? Gone without a trace. Most of the women felt guilty because they couldn't remember what had happened the night before and if Kristin had said something that would help to locate her now. Everyone looks to Clara who lived right next door and who's son was in class with Kristin's twins, but she knows as much as the others, which is not much at all. How well to we really know our neighbors? We're on the outside looking in, but do we really know what goes on behind closed doors? Kristin's husband, Paul, the local OB/GYN seems like the kind of guy everyone would like, but what secrets of his own is he hiding. Did he do something to make his family disappear? After almost a month, the police have all but given up the search, but incidents in the neighborhood, cause them them to question whether they should or not.

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Other books by Jessica Strawser
  and I have it on good authority that she is currently working on another book!

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