The Sadness of the Samurai-Victor del Arbol

The Sadness of the Samurai


Victor del Arbol

Henry Holt, May 22 2012, $28.00

ISBN: 9780805094756



In 1981 in Barcelona, thirty-something lawyer María Bengoecha lies dying on a hospital deathbed while under police guard. Her pending death is the only reason Maria is not on trial for numerous homicides including the Mola brothers as part of an anti-fascist movement when she allegedly helped Cesar Alcala escape from custody. Not in the news about the anti-fascist conspiracy is clever homicidal Congressman Publio.



In 1941 in Merida, Spain Isabel Mola tries to escape from her violent husband with her son Andres. She had hoped to leave with her lover but a betrayal thwarts that. While her husband's clever homicidal top aide Publio seeks her out, Isabel is sad over leaving behind her other child Fernando while taking the train to Portugal.



The prime subplots are four decades apart, but connected by family ties and fascism. Readers will appreciate the first English translation of a Victor del Arbol’s novel as the aptly titled The Sadness of the Samurai is a great historical suspense.



Harriet Klausner

Heat Wave-Nancy Thayer

Heat Wave


Nancy Thayer

Ballantine, May 29 2012, $15.00

ISBN: 9780345518323



On Nantucket Island, thirty-two year old Carley Winsted is unprepared to suddenly become the single mom of her daughters (five years old Margaret and twelve years old Cisco), but has no choice when her spouse Gus dies from an undetected heart defect. However, besides having to take care of their devastated children, Carley is shocked to learn what a financial disaster Gus left her in spite of his being a lawyer.



Gus’ parents (Annabel and Russell) push their daughter-in-law to leave the expensive historical home and move in with them. Though she respects them, Carley prefers for her and the kids to remain in their present residence as a move on top of their father’s death would cause more harm than good for the children and she knows for her self-esteem. Over the objection of Annabel who feels she demeans her family home though Carley owns it, she decides to convert the historical house into a bed-and-breakfast with the help of friends like Gus’ partner Wyatt.



This is an entertaining family drama that focuses on moving on after an unexpected death of a loved one. The cast is fully developed including Carley’s close friends Maud and Vanessa, but the well-written character-driven storyline never veers off a cause straighter than the Bonneville Salt Flats even with a further death and a newborn.



Harriet Klausner

Wife 22-Melanie Gideon

Wife 22


Melanie Gideon

Ballantine, May 29 2012, $26.00

ISBN: 9780345527950



Alice Buckle has been married to advertising executive William for almost two decades. They have two children fifteen year old Zoe who struggles with an eating disorder after being dumped by her first boyfriend the son of Alice’s BFF Nedra the divorce lawyer and twelve year old Peter who shows early signs of being gay.



Worried about her kids, Alice also fears her haunting next birthday as forty-five is the age her mother died. She cannot turn to her support group of women without mothers as she knows what they will say or her spouse who has been acting weird lately since his esteem collapsed when he was demoted on the job. Alice receives an email inviting her to participate in an online survey of long-married women. Dubbed Wife 22 She answers the questions while looking closely at her marriage and family and at the play she wrote that bombed. Upset with William’s grumpy aloofness, Wife 22 flirts online with survey Researcher 101 while ignoring the needs of her troubled children.



This is an entertaining middle age chick lit tale for the communication age. The cast is solid especially the protagonist and her family. However, readers will become frustrated with the parents as initially William but rather quickly Alice become egomaniacs looking to take care of their respective needs while failing at parenting at a time when their teen and tweener are in crisis. Still this is an interesting older (bit not wiser) Brigit Jones Diary over the Smart Phone.



Harried Klausner

The Very Picture of You-Isabel Wolfe

The Very Picture of You


Isabel Wolfe

Bantam, May 29 2012, $15.00

ISBN: 9780553386639



In London, thirty-five years old Gabriella “Ella” Graham is a highly regarded portrait artist who the rich commission to paint them. Her prime demand is that the client poses for hours as she refuses to use photos so that she bring out the true essence of the subject.



Ella’s dad John sends her an e-mail asking to see her. She prefers to ignore him as decades ago he dumped her and her ballerina mom for another woman. At about the same time, Ella’s sister Chloe wins a charity auction bid in which Ella will paint her sibling’s fiancé Nate, an American working in London. Overhearing him talk sweetly to someone over the phone, Ella loathes Nate for cheating on Chloe who is just recovering from a bad relationship. However, as she paints Nate’s portrait, Ella begins to fall in love with her model. She also works on other clients like the Frenchwoman having an affair and the M.P. who probably killed a bicyclist in a hit and run. Finally there is a half-sister she never knew existed.



This is an engaging contemporary drama with a wonderful twist of having a portrait artist capturing the essence of her models on canvas. Ella is wonderful as a watcher of others who enables the audience to learn who her subjects are (and were) though she remains somewhat distant. Although the ending seems off kilter for this otherwise deep character study, fans will appreciate the Very Picture of You; this reviewer suggests Isobel Wolff provides a short story collection of people Ella painted before she met Nate and years after they met.



Harriet Klausner

Colter’s Promise-Maya Banks

Colter’s Promise


Maya Banks

Berkley, Jun 5 2012, $7.99

ISBN: 9780425258620



In Clyde, Colorado, Dr. Burton informs Lily Colter that she is pregnant in spite of her using birth control. She fears losing another child while thinking of her sweet Rose. Lily knows she owes her three husbands (Seth the Sheriff, Dillon the pub owner and Michael the vet) the truth but is paralyzed with the news that she dreads.



Her mother-in-law Holly Colter (see Colter’s Legacy) is euphoric as her extended family is coming for Christmas. Though her cooking skills are legendary as a family joke, she plans to make a holiday dinner for all to enjoy. She turns to Lily to mentor her in the kitchen, but her daughter-in-law has mind-numbing issues with her past and present pregnancies.



This is an entertaining family drama as two generations of polygamous relationships take center stage over the holidays. Targeting fans of the saga as Lily deals with an unwanted pregnancy while knowing her three husbands (the Colter siblings), her mother-in-law and her three father-in-laws would look forward to the next generation.



Harriet Klausner

The Book of Summers-Emylia Hall

The Book of Summers


Emylia Hall

Mira, May 29, 2012, $14.95

ISBN: 9780778314110



It has been twelve years since then seventeen years old Beth Lowe left home to attend art school in London; in all that time her father never came to her abodes until now. He arrives carrying a package for Beth. Inside is a letter with news that her estranged mom died and a scrapbook filled with photos of those incredible summers she spent with her mother on Hungary from when she was nine until she was sixteen. That last summer was the most miserable of her life as her mom ended their close relationship leaving a teenage daughter filled with rage and hurt that as she nears thirty still holds its grip on her.



This is an engaging character study that focuses on ethnic identity as The Book of Summers looks back through Beth’s memories triggered by the photos of her life over those seven years. The tweener entries are more in depth than the late teen years (except for the explosive final summer of betrayal, which gives the discerning storyline a sense of imbalance as it is the latter relationships that lead to the implosion. Still with a wonderful look at Hungary, readers will appreciate this tender complicated family drama.



Harriet Klausner

One More Summer-Liz Flaherty

One More Summer


Liz Flaherty

Carina/Harlequin, Jan 2 2012, $7.99

ISBN: 9780373777549; ASIN: B006BE6HAG



Grace Elliot, unlike her siblings (Steven and Faith), stayed home to care for their mean-spirited widowed father Robert. He constantly abused her mentally and up until Steven warned him physically though he was not nasty towards his other children. With his death she inventories what she can do, but has no employment record or marketable skills. He split his estate equally among his offspring, but Steven and Faith sign their shares to Grace who earned it for putting up with the cantankerous man. Her siblings and Faith’s husband Grant inform her they support whatever she decides to do with her well-earned freedom.



Faith plans to convert the big house into a fixer-upper Elliot Bed & Breakfast. However she ends up with a new family of sorts starting with Rosamunde the cat named for the great author Ms. Pilcher; her best friend Promise who has dated Steven for years but now is fighting cancer; Maxine the soap opera actress suffering from Alzheimer’s who came for the funeral but never left; Jonah the handyman attracted to Maxie; and her brother's best friend author Dillon Campbell. Grace never forgave Dillon for failing to take her to the senior prom, but he has dragons to slay too.



One More Summer is a deep drama starring a strong cast of flawed people who forge a family. Grace holds the storyline together while she lives up to her name with her need to nurture the well-being of others. The support characters are fully developed and their interrelationships complicated by their personal tsuris, sadness and grief. Fans will enjoy this engaging entry of Grace’s band of misfits bonding into a loving family assisting each other.



Harriet Klausner