The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

"This book is the book you have just read." Neil Gaiman. This pretty much says it all about THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE by Neil Gaiman.  It is true to Neil Gaiman form.  I read this book in one sitting.  It isn't long but that is not the reason.  It is hard to put down.  A reviewer says, " told with a rare understanding of all that makes us human."  So very true. The main character has come home for a funeral but before he leaves he visits the house down the lane from where he grew up.  While sitting on a bench by the pond, he relives events from his childhood that he is not quite sure happened.  Old Mrs Hempstock is there for him as she always was growing up but could it really still be her?  A must read..

WHISTLING PAST THE GRAVEYARD by SusanCrandall

Excellent book,  I highly recommend it.  Starla, a ten year old girl runs away from her grandmother's house to find her mother.  Starla jumps before she thinks.  How will she get all the way from Mississippi to Nashville, what will she eat on the way?  Starla is picked up by a black woman as Starla walks down the road.  But she doesn't know what she is in for until she gets to Eula's house.  The setting is a time when civil rights was very much an issue.  Starla learns about family, real life away from a small town, and the difference between white and black people during this time in the south.

HUMAN REMAINS

HUMAN REMAINS by Elizabeth Haynes is great.  What a strange main character.  Colin Friedland thinks he is helping people commit suicide. No one seems to catch that there are many more decomposed bodies found than normal for the year and the area.  Annabel, the police analyst, discovers the problem and brings it to the department's attention.  Not until a reporter gets wind of the story, does the department take an interest.  Colin is quite different and possibly emotionless.  So how does Annabel get mixed up with him?  Do you know your neighbors; would you know if they are dead or alive? 

The Tilted World

THE TILTED WORLD by Tom Franklin is excellent.  The story tells about the great Mississippi River flood of 1927.  We see the events through the eyes of Dixie Clay and her natural enemy, a revenue agent.  Dixie Clay is a moonshiner and she meets Ingersoll, the revenuer.  Then besides the flood disaster Dixie Clay's life begins to change.  She gets a child, her husband is a saboteur, and she falls in love with her natural enemy.  Tilted World is historical fiction and love story.

Mrs Poe

MRS POE by Lynn Cullen is an excellent book.   I have always enjoyed Poe's works but never knew much about the man.  Frances Osgood, poet, and Poe had an affair and a child.  They were never however able to be together as man and wife.  Guilt and the times held them at arms distance their entire lives.  If you are a Poe fan this is a must read book.

Massacre Pond by Paul Doiron

I am not sure the title fits the book but the book is good.  When conservation officer, Bowditch is called by his friend to investigate the death of five moose on the Morse estate Bowditch is determined to find out.  When he calls in help his boss takes over.  His boss has political stars in his eyes.  When this guy bumbles the investigation Bowditch risks his job, best friend and being with his dying mother to find the person who is now killing people as well as animals.  Can he find out before his life is ruined?

TELL ME by Lisa Jackson

Reporter Nikki Gillette is about to get married to a police detective.  But then they both come upon the same case.  Will their conflicts become too much?  Nikki's childhood friend, Amity, is murdered when they are only 15 years old.  Amity's mother is convicted on an 8 year old's testimony.  Now, this child all grown up has recanted the story.  Amity's mother is being released from jail.  Nikki wants to know the truth.  The police want to keep amity's mother in jail.  The more investigation the more Nikki finds how much her family is involved.  Good book, great read.