The Maid by Nita Prose

I listened to this book and feel like I got a lot out of it through the audiobook version. It was narrated by Lauren Ambrose, a fine actress, and she was a fantastic Molly!

I thought at first that the "killer" was obvious, but in the end, I was wrong! I will just say that because I was so certain.  And if I had been correct, I would not have liked the book as much as I did.

Most interesting was the character of Molly.  A bit on the spectrum, I would say and so interesting and likeable. Not always accessible to those around her.

It's a quick and fun read and I recommend it highly if that is what you are looking for.

Something Wild by Hanna Halperin

I read about this book in my University of Wisconsin publication (the author is a Madison graduate) and it sounded really good, but disturbing. I was correct on both accounts. But it was also a touching story about relationships between mothers and daughters, and sisters.  While I could not relate to the situations they were in, I could relate to the feelings expressed about these relationships.

It is in essence, a book about domestic violence, but much more than that. Much of it is hard to read - especially the second half of the book - but it is very much worth it.  

I loved her writing and her ability to express conflicting feelings so well.

From Kirkus:

The characters are unflinchingly honest as they explore their emotions in a manner that is both refreshing and haunting. The novel is similarly unapologetic as it tackles difficult questions about abusive relationships, toxic secrets, and romantic and familial betrayals. While certain subplots do little to advance the narrative, this difficult story is sufficiently high stakes and relentless that it remains gripping throughout.

A bold and remorseless debut about the agony and affection that are attendant to complicated families.

Oh William by Elizabeth Strout

What a beautiful book this is! I had the luxury of borrowing the audio version and it was narrated with perfection.  I know I got so much more out of the book through this brilliant audio version.

Lucy is a character that appears in so many of Strout's books, and as soon as I finished this book, I learned that the newest Strout book will be released momentarily! (Lucy by the Sea)

From Kirkus:

While "Anything Is Possible" (2017) told the stories of people among whom Lucy grew up in poverty in Amgash, Illinois, this new novel returns to the direct address of My Name Is Lucy Barton (2016). Lucy’s beloved second husband, David, has recently died, and “in my grief for him I have felt grief for William as well,” she tells us. Her stuttering, stop-and-start narrative drops this and other pronouncements and then moves on, circling back later to elucidate and elaborate. After the pain of their separation subsided, Lucy and William became friends, close enough so that when he begins having night terrors at age 69, he confides in Lucy rather than his much younger third wife. (Wife No. 2 was among the many infidelities that broke up his marriage to Lucy.) Perhaps it’s because the terrors are related to his mother, Catherine, who “seemed central to our marriage,” Lucy tells us. “We loved her. Oh, we loved her.” Well, sometimes; Lucy’s memories reveal a deep ambivalence. Catherine patronized her, referring frequently to the poverty of Lucy’s background and her unfamiliarity with the ways of more affluent people. So it’s a shock to Lucy as well as William when he learns that his mother was married before, abandoned a baby daughter to marry his father, and came from a family even poorer than Lucy’s. Their road trip to Maine prompts William’s habitual coping mechanism of simply checking out, being present but not really there, which is the real reason Lucy left him. Strout’s habitual themes of loneliness and the impossibility of ever truly knowing another person are ubiquitous in this deeply sad tale, which takes its title from Lucy’s head-shaking acknowledgment that her ex will never change, cannot change the remoteness at the core of his personality.