Book Review: "Every Tom, Dick & Harry" by Elinor Lipman

What a fun, bighearted book this was! I think I might have had a smile on my face from start to finish.

“I’ve been estate-sale adjacent since I could add and give change, spending weekends at a table, wrapping and bagging purchases.”

Emma moved back to her small hometown of Harrow, Massachusetts, where her parents still live. She helps out with their estate-sale business, and when they decide to retire to Cape Cod, Emma takes over the business (which she renames “Estate of Mind”) and their house.

She hears about a large house being put on the market, so she quickly reaches out to see if the owners would let her handle the estate sale. It turns out that this wasn’t just any house—it was a bed and breakfast as well as a brothel. (The customers used different sets of stairs.) Given all of the furnishings and other tchotchkes in the house, Emma expects quite a windfall, but she doesn’t count on the stress that dealing with the madam, her ex-husband, and their daughter will bring.

There are many other things going on in Harrow. Emma begins a secret romance with Luke, the chief of police, whom she went to high school with. Her boarder, Frank, a retired high school teacher, begins dating Luke’s widowed mother. And then there’s all the craziness related to Frank’s late wife…

Elinor Lipman’s books always have complex and memorable characters, and often are quite humorous. There’s a lot going on here but it’s just such a sweet, fun read. And boy, given all that’s going on in the U.S., it’s exactly what I needed!

The book will publish 2/11/2025.

Book Review: "The Heiress" by Rachel Hawkins

Over the last several years, Rachel Hawkins has become an auto-buy author for me. While her last book, The Villa, didn't quite work for me, her newest book is definitely a home run. It’s so twisted and gothic!

In the tiny North Carolina town of Tavistock, Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore was as close to royalty as you could get. She was the state’s richest woman and perhaps one of the most notorious, as she was kidnapped as a very young child, and was married (and widowed) four times. Ruby's family estate, Ashby House, was the envy of both other family members and complete strangers.

When Ruby dies, her entire estate goes to Cam, her adopted son. But after years of living under Ruby’s thumb and dealing with the enmity of relatives who believe they were entitled to the inheritance, Cam leaves the house, money, and family behind, working as a teacher in Colorado and marrying Jules, a former actress who also escaped her own past.

But 10 years later, the death of Cam’s uncle summons him and Jules back to Ashby House. It’s not long before he is reminded of why he escaped, and dealing with resentful relatives is exhausting. But there are so many secrets hiding amidst the ornate decor and beautiful views, secrets that could change the course of everyone’s lives. Who is keeping which secrets, and how will they use them?

The plot may seem familiar, shifting between past and present, but Hawkins does such a phenomenal job getting you hooked quickly. I seriously couldn’t put this down, and can’t wait for her next book!