What Our Staff is Reading

The following are fiction and non-fiction titles that have been read and recommended by members of our staff. The initials or pen name of the contributing staff member are noted after each review. The titles may include award winners, not-so-recent bestsellers or a new look at the classics.

December 2006

The Blue Last by Martha Grimes
Fiction 2001
Richard Jury solves a decades old mystery, and a modern day murder, when two skeletons are unearthed from a tavern that was destroyed fifty years ago during the London Blitz. Grimes, as always, presents well developed characters and intricate story lines. Fans of this series will learn more about her detective's past.
Reviewed by Lucy

Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris
Fiction 2001
This is a rich, complex novel about a woman's return to the French village of her childhood and the events that shaped her life. The story slowly unfolds, through Framboise's nine-year-old eyes, of a village during the German occupation of World War II, and a family fraught with tragedy and love.
Reviewed by Mac

The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade by Ann Fessler
Nonfiction 2006
If you were in high school in the 60's and 70's you know these girls. They left school to care for of a sick relative, or to recover from an illness - but we all knew why they left, and let the lie continue upon their return. These stories, told using first names only, are told with heartbreaking honesty; and bring to mind the Debbie, Carol or Susan at your school who hurt in silence. It was interesting to understand the hidden aftermath of it all and how recent this dark past was.
Reviewed by sjc

Journey to Outermost House by Nan Turner Waldron
Nonfiction 1991
This slender volume supplements Henry Beston's nature classic, The Outermost House. Waldron, a poet and nature photographer, gives us the history of the little house that inspired so much environmental awareness. Beautifully written and illustrated with the author's photographs, it brings Outer Cape Cod to life.
Reviewed by PMM

Tomb of the Golden Bird by Elizabeth Peters
Fiction 2006
A delightful mix of nefarious characters, archaeology and crime. In this 18th Amelia Peabody book, Amelia and her ever-growing family embark on another archaeological season in Egypt on the eve of the discovery of King Tut's tomb. Though each book is enjoyable on its own, newcomers to the series might want to start with Crocodile on the Sandbank.
Reviewed by Lucy

Triangle: A Novel by Katharine Weber
Fiction 2006
A fictionalized account of the horrific Triangle Waist Company fire of 1911, the novel weaves two stories into a tangled web of past and present, memory and need. It's a fast paced mystery, with memorable characters, perplexing but riveting to the end.
Reviewed by PMM

What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship and Love by Carole Radizwill
Nonfiction 2005
This is a fascinating memoir revolving around Carole's life married to John F. Kennedy Jr.'s cousin Anthony Radizwill. It is the story of Carole's life among the Kennedys as well as her career at as a journalist with ABC News. Well written, it gives the reader a glimpse into her life and courageous struggle with the loss of her husband to cancer, and later, John and his wife Carolyn in a tragic plane crash.
Reviewed by AJS