JULY - Nancy....The Key by Kathryn Hughes

1956 It's Ellen Crosby's first day at work as a student nurse at Ambergate County Lunatic Asylum. When she meets a young girl committed by her father, and a pioneering physician keen to try out the various 'cures' available for mental illness, little does Ellen know that a choice she will make is to change all their lives for ever...

2006
Sarah is drawn to the abandoned Ambergate Asylum and whilst exploring the old corridors she discovers a suitcase in an attic belonging to a female patient who was admitted to the asylum fifty years earlier. The shocking contents of the suitcase lead Sarah to unravel a forgotten story of tragedy, lost love and an old wrong that only Sarah may have the power to put right.

May - Erin - The Waratahn Inn by Lilly Mirren

Three sisters are called to come to the Inn where their grandparents finished raising them after their parents died. None of them had been back very often, after pursuing their jobs; but all were determined to go back, when they heard their grandmother (Nan), died. Kate was head chef and beginning a change of menu, which she was excited about. Then she was called to the phone, and heard the news. Dropping everything, she turned things over to the sous chef and let the owner know she was going to leave, and wasn’t sure how soon she could return. She was the first of the girls to arrive. There is so much they learn, as Kate finds Nan’s journals, then begins to share what she read. After Reeda and Bindi arrive, they are all reeling with the information, and the waiting. Soon, each realizes they haven’t kept in touch with each other, never-the-less their Nan. They begin to make up for that, during the wait.   ZOOM book club...all 7 attended and most read the book ;-)

March and April book club

March:  Linda - The Secret, Book and Scone Society by Ellery Adams   Four women with different backgrounds meet in a small oceanside town, all with different backgrounds and stories.  They create a group to solve mysteries which help with Nora's bookstore and another's scones to help and heal.

April:  Janice - Finding Home by Jackie Weger  Phoebe brings her brother and sister to find a new home for them and her parents and sister to join them.   She meets up with junk yard owner Jake hoping to not only move her and her sibs in, but room for her parents and sister eventually too.  Some sexy scenes will check a box on year end ballot LOL.   They end up together with her parents and sibs in a mobile home on same property. 

Due to the pandemic, our club had a zoom meeting coordinated by Ms. Colby.   Thanks Nancy!   Fun seeing everyone and calorie free compared to lunches, but look forward to seeing ya'll this summer hopefully.  Nor sure why, but I didn't update blog this year before now.....my bad.   I summarized March and April's books above.  

January:  Jan - The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - The Handmaid's Tale, originally published in 1985, is a dystopian novel written by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. It is set in a near-future New England, in a totalitarian state, known as Gilead, that has overthrown the United States government.  The Handmaid's Tale explores themes of subjugated women in a patriarchal society and the various means by which these women resist and attempt to gain individuality and independence.

February:  Frances - Tahoe Deep by Todd Borg - Besides the intrigue of the story, there is a lot of research that Todd Borg does such as tension pneumothorax in death; a mite found in fiber when a door was kicked in; the lemon mites in lemon groves with Casey Street’s help. The amazement of the blind man’s analysis of a person’s gait for identification. He also adds humor with Spot’s size.His research on tattoo artists is remarkable.
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