Reading Rock Books was featured in an article in today’s edition of the Dickson Herald. If you didn’t get a copy, you can read the article online here. It’s a really wonderful article. Many thanks to Pat Kimbro and the Herald!

World War II has just ended and Juliet Ashton’s wartime newspaper columns have been collected into one volume. As she ends her book tour, Juliet is in search of a subject of her next book when she receives a letter from Dawsey Adams. Dawsey has come upon a book that Juliet once owned, in which she wrote her name and address. So begins a correspondence not only between Juliet and Dawsey, but also between Juliet and the rest of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. The members of the Society live on the island of Guernsey in the English Channel, which was occupied by the Nazis for a large portion of the war. The Society members’ letters reveal much about their way of life before, after, and during the war, as well as their joyous new understanding of books and literature. The characters are marvelous, the writing is witty, and the history is enthralling.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was the top pick for the August Indie Next List.

Related Recommendations:
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
The correspondence of an American writer and British bookseller, which spans over two decades.
Letters from Yellowstone by Diane Smith
An epistolary novel set in 1898 in which a young female botanist meets unforgettable characters in our country’s first national park.

On the surface, The Heretic’s Daughter is a novel of the Salem Witch Trials. Framed by an introductory letter to her granddaughter, Sarah Carrier tells the story of her childhood in Andover during the 1690′s. Sarah’s mother, Martha Carrier, has the distinction of having been called a “rampant hag” during the trials by none other than Cotton Mather himself. The images of the Salem prison cells are both horrific and heartfelt. The “victimized” girls, pointing fingers and accusing fellow townsfolk of witchcraft, are as baffling and obnoxious as they are in The Crucible.

The overpowering story of this novel, however, is not about false accusations or witches. In fact, the Salem trials are barely even a whisper for the first half of the book. This is the story of Sarah’s coming of age and, with that, her realization that people–even, or perhaps especially, parents–are not always what they seem. Beautifully written and filled with marvelous characters, The Heretic’s Daughter is the perfect book for a crisp, autumn day.

The Hannah Swensen Mysteries all revolve around Hannah Swensen, a thirtyish, single woman who owns her own bakery, the Cookie Jar, in the small town of Lake Eden, Minnesota. In each book, Hannah finds herself investigating a murder in her town in which one of her culinary creations has been found at the scene of the crime.

In the tenth book of the series, Carrot Cake Murder, it is summertime in Lake Eden and Hannah’s business partner, Lisa, is having a family reunion with her and her husband’s family at Eden Lake. An unexpected family member arrives at the reunion and when Hannah discovers him dead with her carrot cake on the floor with him, it is discovered that many people in Lake Eden have hidden grudges for the deceased. Hannah again finds herself investigating a murder and puts herself in danger doing so.

This book is just as wonderful as the other nine books. It is a good book for anyone that loves a good mystery with good characters, but not all of the ugly details of a murder scene.

The Lace Reader takes place in Salem, MA, and gathers much of its strength and tone from that setting. The main character, Towner Whitney, has come back to Salem after the disappearance of her Great-Aunt Eva, a woman who has always been like a mother to Towner. Eva and the rest of the Whitney women are known for having psychic abilities. As the story progresses, a mystery begins to unfold surrounding Towner’s twin sister Lyndley, who died when they were 17, and Lyndley’s father.

As was noted on NPR’s Morning Edition last Friday, the publication of The Lace Reader is an interesting story all its own. Barry self-published the book and then shopped it around to book clubs and independent bookstores in Salem. The book received so much attention and praise, that it was only a matter of time before it was picked up by a publisher.

While the writing may not be stellar, the story will definitely hook you. Barry releases information about Towner’s past slowly and stealthily, prodding the reader along. When I had to put the book down, I found myself dying to know what was really going on and aching to pick it up and start reading again.

The plot’s twists and turns didn’t always bowl me over, but now that I’m finished I want someone to talk to about it. It speaks well of a book when the last page makes you want someone else to read it.