Under the Blood Tree

 PJ GRONDIN

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, PD House Books, 2017.

How acquired: From the author through The Review Crew.

First lines: A distant lightning flash lit up the western night sky as four boys frantically ran through the wooded acreage bordering Cypress Lake Mobile Home Park. 

(Goodreads synopsis below.)

My thoughts: I wasn't really sure what to expect from this book. The prologue got off to a good start, with four boys racing through the woods to their "clubhouse", which was an old tree, and making a pact of silence sealed against the tree with their blood.

Chapter One picks up sixteen years later, and we are introduced to the men those boys have become, and their current lives. Two of the men are married with children, and living happy, successful lives. One is married to a very fragile wife. One is an alcoholic, in and out of jail. Incarcerated at the moment, and part of a chain gang cleaning up debris around a lake. A drought has shrunk the lake, turning up all sorts of items once covered by water, and finally revealing a car with a body inside. From there, we meet the police captain and a newspaper journalist who are both investigating the crime, and we slowly learn more about those four men and their connection to that car.

There isn't a lot of action, and there is quite a bit of description. Some inner musings from the characters as the four men nervously watch the news coverage of the investigation, worrying about their part in the events leading to that car ending up in the middle of the lake, worrying about each other and the pact they made, and who will be the first to break the pact, and whether their lives are about to be ruined. It's almost a character study. Almost, because despite all we learn about each man and his life, his thoughts and feelings, there isn't a lot of characterization. Two of the men and their wives were practically interchangeable for me, as I had trouble remembering which was which until quite a ways into the book. We learn a lot about the characters, without really getting to know them. 

The writing is adequate, sometimes painting evocative and vivid pictures, such as the description of that tree in the prologue, the dried up lakebed, the condition and ambience of the various mobile homes some of the characters live in. The plot is a bit convoluted, but not necessarily in a bad way, as it kept me guessing until practically the very end. About who actually killed the man in the car, but also about the secrets being kept by the the residents of the mobile home park.

It took me a little longer to read this book than it should have, but that was probably due more to my life and my job getting busy, because despite my somewhat negative review, at no time did I consider setting the book aside or not finishing it. It kept me interested and entertained enough to stay til the end, and that's a good thing.   

Goodreads synopsis: Severe drought ravages the Southeast. There is no end in sight as residents of Central Georgia brace for more of the same; unbearably hot, dry weather. <br>The fears of four young men are realized when the shrinking water level of Cypress Lake exposes a dark secret, hidden under the lake’s surface for sixteen years. Long ago, when they were best friends, they made a pact to never speak of the secret to anyone. Now their livelihoods, their marriages and possibly their very lives, hinge on keeping a childhood promise. Will they be able to maintain their silence or will the pact be broken …Under the Blood Tree?

The Ship Who Sang

ANNE MCCAFFREY

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, Del Rey Books, 1985.

How acquired: Through Book Mooch.

First lines: She was born a thing and as such would be condemned if she failed to pass the encephalograph test required of all newborn babies. 

(Goodreads synopsis below.)

My thoughts: I debated between three and four stars for so long that I finally decided the fact of my indecision merited the book four stars. The book has only six chapters, and each chapter is almost like reading a short story, but continuing on from where the previous story ended. Helva is a brain ship. When a child is born with a deformed or disabled body but a sound mind, the child's parents are given two choices - the child can be euthanized, or turned over to Central Worlds to 'become an encapsulated "brain", a guiding mechanism in any one of a number of curious professions.' Helva is raised to become a brain ship, meaning her body is encased in an indestructible titanium shell while her brain is basically hooked up as a computer. In Helva's case, she is now a spaceship, with her brain running literally everything on board. Brain ships are partnered with a "brawn", a man or a woman of their choice who handles all the things that the brain half of the ship cannot.

The first chapter, "The Ship Who Sang", where Helva is ready to go into service and chooses her first brawn, Jennan, is the best chapter of the book, and the ending of that chapter was very unexpected. Of the other five chapters, some were better than others. "Dramatic Mission", the fourth chapter, was my least favorite, with Helva and a temporary brawn transporting an acting troupe to a planet where the inhabitants appear to be bundles of emotions contained in shells...I don’t even know how to explain it but I just found most of that chapter confusing.

This book was first published in 1969, and yet it does not feel dated at all. Ms. McCaffrey had a rich imagination. I read most of her Pern books when I was in my teens/early twenties, but none of her other books. After rereading a couple of Pern books, I felt I should explore more of her writing, and decided to start with her very first published book, after which I decided to read all of her work in publication order. This is only her fourth book (one of which was the first Pern book), and it’s already been quite an adventure!

Goodreads synopsis: Helva had been born human, but only her brain had been saved—saved to be schooled, programmed, and implanted into the sleek titanium body of an intergalactic scout ship. But first she had to choose a human partner—male or female—to share her exhilarating escapades in space!

Her life was to be rich and rewarding . . . resplendent with daring adventures and endless excitement, beyond the wildest dreams of mere mortals.

Gifted with the voice of an angel and being virtually indestructible, Helva XH-834 anticipated a sublime immortality.

Then one day she fell in love!

A Lady in Attendance

 

RACHEL FORDHAM

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Revell, June 2021.

How acquired: Revell Reads Blogger Program, for review. 

(Goodreads synopsis below.)

My thoughts: Rachel Fordham has a true talent for creating realistic, fallible characters who are strong yet vulnerable. Hazel was a young, thoughtless and immature girl, whose flirtatious actions led her to a forced marriage, which ended when her husband was murdered and Hazel was sent to reformatory after being found guilty of stealing jewels. A crime of which she was innocent. Five years later she is free and starting her life over. Now, instead of living a pampered existence, she resides in a boarding house for women, and takes a job as a lady in attendance to a dentist to support herself.

I read a lot of romance with alpha heroes - strong, arrogant, masterful men. As much as I love those men (on paper anyway!), its refreshing to read about a hero like Gilbert. Quiet, unassuming, mild-mannered, a bit shy around women and resigned to remaining a bachelor. Hesitant about hiring a woman to work side by side with every day, but having reached a point in his practice where he needs an assistant, he settles on Hazel after she assures him she has “...no motives other than working...ours will be a most proper arrangement.”

I love watching a relationship develop slowly over time, and Ms. Fordham wrote Hazel and Gilbert’s relationship beautifully. There’s no holding hands and flirting, but rather an easy, growing friendship filled with conversation and laughter. Until that scene at - well, I won’t give it all away, but who knew a kiss on the cheek could be so romantic!

The themes of forgiveness and acceptance run throughout the book. Forgiveness of others and of one’s self. Acceptance of others, and of one’s self as a worthy person despite one’s past or flaws, or perceived flaws. Much of Hazel’s character growth occurs off page, during the five years she spends in the reformatory, but we are given enough glimpses at her background to appreciate her growth. Gilbert’s growth is more internal, in that he’s already a good man and an upstanding member of the community. But his personality blossoms more and more thanks to Hazel’s influence, as he becomes more talkative and social, and begins to think maybe there’s more to life than permanent bachelorhood.

This is just such a sweet and engaging story. There’s romance of course, and redemption, and adventure as Hazel and Gilbert and their friends dig deeper into the events surrounding Hazel’s arrest and her husband’s death in an effort to clear her name. I teared up more than once, and it all wrapped up beautifully in the end.

Goodreads synopsis: Five years in a New York state reformatory have left a blemish on Hazel's real name. So when she takes a job as Doctor Gilbert Watts's lady in attendance in 1898, she does so under an alias. In the presence of her quiet and pious employer, Hazel finds more than an income. She finds a friend and a hope that if she can set her tarnished past in order, she might have a future after all.

As Gilbert becomes accustomed to the pleasant chatter of his new dental assistant, he can't help but sense something secretive about her. Perhaps there is more to this woman than meets the eye. Can the questions that loom between them ever be answered? Or will the deeds of days gone by forever rob the future of its possibilities?

Rachel Fordham pens a tender tale of a soft-spoken man, a hardened woman, and the friends that stand by them as they work toward a common purpose--to expunge the record of someone society deemed beyond saving--and perhaps find love along the way.