Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler

To say that the title of this entry intrigued me would be an understatement. Actually, the title is derived from the old, familiar expression , "you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar."

This is the story of Kate Battista, daughter of a research scientist, sister of Bunny and in general a young woman with no sense of direction in her life. Her mother died when she was just a child and the care and upbringing of her younger sister is left entirely to her. In addition, she has the added responsiblity of cooking, cleaning and performing other assorted chores of the household. It appears that her family members do not fully appreciate the value of her contributions to their wellness.

Her father faces an immigration predicament with his research assistant. The young man has just about exhausted the length of his visa and the professor must come up with another way to lengthen his stay. The professor is very experienced when it comes to the art of manipulation much to the chagrin of his youngest daughter.

A light-hearted quasi romantic tale with a surprise ending.

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Steel Kiss by Jeffery Deaver

Many years ago a library patron recommended this author's series featuring Lincoln Rhyme. I did read one of the novels a few years ago but the author dropped off my radar. I saw this title on the shelf the other day and decided to give it another try.

Steel Kiss opens with an horrific accident involving an escalator. This leads to the preparation of a lawsuit addressing the manufacturer of the escalator. While the premise of the case seems forthright and direct, the reader quickly becomes immersed in a pattern of accidents which appear to have no connecting threads. As the story develops, the reader is exposed to unusual and unexpected technological adaptations which force Lincoln to look in entirely new directions to solve the case.

A well-planned plot augmented with the characters of Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs come together to form an interesting thriller.

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Foreign Agent by Brad Thor

Another entry in this author's Scott Horvath series. Scott is a former US Navy Seal working for a private intelligence company.

Terrorism is rampant in both Europe and the United States. Scott's company, upon instruction from the CIA, has been given an important mission. Horvath's assignment is to penetrate the Russian operative and take out one of its' key members. The story covers several continents and includes such notable locations as Vienna, Brussels, Berlin and Malta.

As usual, Mr. Thor has brought his readers a well-paced thriller filled with extraneous information about the spy game.

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Here's to Us by Elin Hilderbrand

It wouldn't be summer if there wasn't another novel set in Nantucket from this prolific author. Although I've never visited this island, I often feel as if I have. I suppose it's not much different from the island I call home and perhaps that is why the settings of her books seem so familiar.

Here's to Us is about a famous chef named Deacon Thorpe. Mr. Thorpe has passed away when the story opens. The rest of the novel visits each of his offspring and each of his three wives. The reader is made privy to each of their lives individually and how and where their lives intersect. The setting is the family's summer house on the isle of Nantucket. Each comes to the home with their own memories and their own feelings of loss.

The book has four recipes included which sound mouth-watering. There is an interesting note at the back of the book as to how these recipes made their way into the text.

Another delightful escape by Ms. Hilderbrand.

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The Troublemaker by Linda Howard

This author is noted for her ability to combine suspense and romance and in the process create a readable, interesting story. She is quite prolific and has more than twenty titles to her name.

In this novel, the protaganist is a character by the name of Morgan Yancy. He is an "under-the-radar" operative who has been injured during a mission. The preamble to the mission was the hacking of government databases which compromised the entire scope of clandestine operations. As a result, his boss is determined to unveil the culprit. In order to do that, Yancy must be placed in an off-the-grid location. His supervisor's step-sister provides just the place and Yancy is shipped off expediently.

Esconced in his new "digs", Yancy has no idea what living with his boss's stepsister will entail. Through weeks of give and take, the two form a simbiotic relationship that is fraught with surprises on both sides.A dog named Tricks adds some levity to the situation as well.

A story that is very indicative of the type of stories this author pens.

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Before the Fall by Noah Hawley

This is a new author for me. Mr. Hawley has written four other novels and this book has been promoted extensively on Facebook.

The book opens with the crash of a small plane enroute from Martha's Vineyard to New York. Eleven people were on board and the only survivors are a struggling artist and a four-year old boy. The boy is heir to a massive fortune. The other people on board the plane include a Wall Street broker, his wife and daughter, a career pilot, a stewardess and others. The succeeding chapters give the reader some background information about each of the passengers and why they were on board.

Several governmental agencies are brought in to figure out what happened and why. The author goes to great lengths to portray the sometimes deterimental effect that media can have on an incident such as this. As a result, the public is not often able to determine the facts of the case. Scenarios presented as innocent and having nothing to do with what happened are often blown out of proportion. On the other hand, as is portrayed in the character of Scott Burroughs, what is shown is actually the truth and has no hidden adgenda.

The simple story that emerges in spite of the tradgedy is the relationship between the artist and the boy. The boy is immediately drawn to the hero that saved him although he is not that familiar with Scott. Interestingly the boy's aunt and uncle have taken him into their home but have difficulty communicating with him. The artist feels called to help the boy deal with what happened. His intrinsic nature is kindness and he is willing to risk his own reputation to help the boy.

While the scope of this story has been offered by other authors under different titles, the unique aspect that Mr. Hawley gives his readers is an opportunity to look at the situation from vairying viewpoints. He also encourages readers to examine motives which may or may not be realistic.

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