After reading Family Skeletons by Rett MacPherson, I'm starting to realize the importance of bringing a list when I go to the library. This is one that I picked at random, because I liked the cover art (the library edition has a different cover) and the premise sounded interesting. I just wish the story had delivered.
This is the first book in a series featuring Victory "Torie" O'Shea, the resident historian of small town New Kassel, Missouri. When the story opens, she's busy working as a tour guide during the town's festival honoring its German roots. Although Torie has her hands full with her work at Gaheimer House, a historic home turned museum, she's intrigued when Norah Zumwalt comes to her asking for help. Norah, a local shop owner, asks Torie to trace her family tree. Specifically, she wants help finding her father, who left for WWII and never came home. Torie gets to work, discovering that not only is Norah's father alive, but also living in a nearby town. Armed with this information, Torie eagerly sets out to tell Norah, but the woman seems to have disappeared. When Torie drives to Norah's house, she finds the bloody corpse of her client.
The experience shakes Torie up, but also hardens her resolve. She must solve Norah's family mysteries and figure out what secrets were damning enough to cause the woman's death. Torie's nemesis, Sheriff Colin Brooke, is also on the case. Although Torie provides him with some useful information, the sheriff is not happy to have her as his unofficial assistant. Reluctantly, the two work together, digging up secrets someone doesn't want unearthed. Despite warnings to back off, Torie can't keep away from this intriguing case of mistaken identity, murder and family relationships that are, well, murder.
Like I said, I thought this book had a fun premise. I love the idea of a genealogist finding mysteries in people's family trees, and thought it would make a good story. And it would have in the hands of a better writer, or a more attentive editor. The writing is just clumsy, with awkward sentences and a sloppy plot. The characters in the novel are equally as weak. I found Torie downright unlikable. She is caustic, cold and not sympathetic in the least. The minor players were shadows and/or cliches. As for the mystery, I thought it was unimaginative and predictable - the murderer was so obvious that I dismissed the character outright, thinking there was no way he/she would turn out to be the villain. Of course, in the end, Torie walks right into the killer's trap, where she coerces the truth out of the bad guy (or girl) and solves the case.
I realize this is the first book in the series, and maybe the subsequent books are better than this one. Maybe I'll take the time to find out, maybe I won't.
GRADE: C

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

by Susanna Clarke is the kind of book that begs you to pull up a comfortable chair (preferably next to a nice, cozy fire), relax, and lose yourself in its pages. You may have guessed this simply by observing its bulk - 782 pages with microscopic type. And, it's true - this book is not a quick read. It's also not the type of novel you can carry around in your purse to read in spurts while waiting for appointments, slow traffic, etc. So, what is Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, and why should you wade through its mass of pages? Read on...

Clarke spins a rich, old-fashioned tale that begins with a meeting of "gentleman" magicians pondering this question: Why [is] there no more magic done in England? After all, magic was routinely performed in the past, but this is 1806 and no one has seen a spell cast in the present day. Of course, the meeting is filled with magicians, but they are theoretical, not practical wizards. To answer their intriguing inquiry, the group decides to seek instruction from a magician in Yorkshire, the reclusive Mr. Norrell. The gentlemen manage to persuade the old magician to move to London, where they promise to help him bring magic back into fashion. To attract attention to his cause, Mr. Norrell performs two incredible feats - he causes all the statues in York Cathedral to speak and he raises a young woman from the dead. Although he knows of their tricky nature, Mr. Norrell employs a Fairie to help with the latter deed. His actions have the desired effect. Suddenly, the old magician finds himself commissioned by the government to help battle Napoleon Bonaparte in a war with France that is causing England no end of frustrations. Satisfied, Mr. Norrell applies himself to his work, spending most of his time studying magic in the safety of his library. He considers the matter of his Fairie assistant not at all.

About this time, Jonathan Strange arrives in the city. Strange is a young gentleman with plenty of money and no career. He approaches the now-famous Mr. Norrell, seeking lessons in magic. The older man soon discovers that the younger has extraordinary natural talent. However, Strange seems restless with constant studying. He would rather be out performing magic, preferably to an admiring audience.

Meanwhile, strange things are happening in London. Lady Pole, the young woman helped by Mr. Norrell, has become withdrawn and morose. She complains that she is tired from dancing all night, even though she has attended no ball. Likewise, servants in her home complain of a bell that is constantly tolling. The master servant, Stephen Black, is having disconcerting experiences with a curious man who promises to make him a king. Both Mr. Norrell and Jonathan Strange are called on to explain these occurrences, but neither can deduce the real problem, although it smacks of Fairie magic. Mr. Norrell publicly rages against the wretched race and its Otherworlds, while Strange decides to pursue the matter more aggressively. When his own wife mysteriously disappears, Strange drives himself to madness trying to summon a Fairie to help him bring her back.

When Strange finally succeeds, all hell breaks loose. Suddenly, England's entire landscape changes - roads and bridges appear where there were none before, thickets appear which are strewn with corpses and bones, and unrelenting Darkness descends. It is up to Norrell and Strange, who have long since parted ways, to banish the Fairie world and break the spells that bind Mrs. Strange and others to their terrible world. It is a showdown that will require all their magical skills and cost them everything, including their sanity and, indeed, their very lives.

Despite its subject matter, Clarke tells her story in a warm, engaging tone that sucks the reader slowly into the story. As I've said before, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is not a page turner, but the action is steady enough to keep the reader interested. The characters are unique and interesting, especially the colorful Jonathan Strange. I also loved that Clarke created a whole magical history, which she refers to constantly in lively footnotes, which are so convincing that I actually consulted Wikipedia to see if the books she cited ever existed (they didn't - she made them up). All of these things combine to make a rich, detailed story that kept me reading for days. To put it simply, this book cast a heavy spell on me - I simply couldn't put it down.

GRADE: A+

So, I'm still working my way through Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, but I am loving every page. It's an excellent book - look for my review sometime soon (hopefully). I'm trying to finish it quickly so I can go onto my last book for the R.I.P. II Challenge - Lord of the Rings. Definitely stay tuned! In the meantime, I wanted to mention a few things:

First, I was so inspired by (I was going to insert the name of the blogger here, but I can't remember who it was!) that I went to the library the other day WITHOUT a list. I never do that, but I thought I could benefit from a little spontaneity. So, I grabbed Garden Spells by Sarah Addison and The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle, both of which are on my TBR list. Then, I just went crazy and grabbed a couple more that I had never heard of. One is Family Skeletons by Rett MacPherson, which is the story of a historian/geneaologist who is hired to look into the disappearance of a friend's father, who left for WWII and never came home. I thought it looked fun. The other is Margaret's Peace by Linda Hall. It's about a woman who returns to her childhood home after her daughter's death only to find herself caught up in long-hidden family secrets. Love those family secrets! They make for such juicy books. So, anyway, we'll see what I think of this pile of novels.

Secondly, I wanted to give a shout out to Eva, for motivating me take my book list to a whole new level of OCD-driven organization. Just this morning, I was perusing it and realizing how many book suggestions I get from book blogs. So, thank you, book bloggers! I subscribe to the feeds of many of your blogs and read them religiously. It's so nice to have this wonderful book-minded community in the blogosphere.

Thirdly, I signed up for a new challenge. Read all about it on my companion blog, Up For A Challenge.

Lastly, I wanted to mention a magazine I enjoy called Bookmarks. It's a great magazine that features book reviews, author interviews and other bookish items. I mention it because the editor asked subscribers to spread the word via blogs and reviews, so that the magazine can stay in business, unlike my former fave Pages. The subscription is a bit pricey, but it's worth it. You can find this magazine at bookstores, but they receive more of your money if you purchase a subscription.

Okay, that's it. Back to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Have I mentioned how much I love this book??

So, I had a book crisis as I was packing for Lake Powell: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell would not fit into my suitcase. I even traded my husband suitcases, so I'd have more room. Nope. The novel was just too big. So, I ended up taking The Woman in Black by Susan Hill instead. I admit a Victorian ghost story is an odd thing to read at bright, sunny Lake Powell, but I enjoyed it.

This novel has all the elements of a classic ghost story - a lonely setting, a creaky old mansion, and a resident ghost. It also contains a young solicitor eager to advance in his law firm. The lawyer, Arthur Kipps, receives an assignment to travel from his home in London to the remote town of Crythin Gifford. There, he will settle the affairs of Mrs. Drablow, the recently deceased owner of Eel Marsh House. Flattered to be given such an important mission, Arthur heads off on his adventure. He finds the people in Crythin Gifford friendly enough, although no one will talk about Mrs. Drablow. Their reticence piques Arthur's curiosity. As he visits the spinster's home, goes through her papers and talks to her neighbors, he slowly pieces together her mysterious story. The clues appear to him in ghostly forms: a malevolent woman in black; the sounds of a child crying at night on the lonely marshes; and an eerily well-preserved nursery. Although the search for Mrs. Drablow's secrets haunts him, Arthur cannot keep himself away from the ghosts and the mystery. His obsession takes a toll on him physically, which is nothing compared to what the woman in black will eventually steal from him.

Despite the subject of this novel, I found the tone quite warm, especially at first. As Arthur travelled to Crythin Gifford, however, it got more sinister. The descriptions of the lonely little town and its haunted marshes made me shiver. Still, it seemed to be a pretty cozy, predictable ghost story. Except it wasn't. I predicted a typical happy end to the story, but it didn't happen. The book ends abruptly, in about the bleakest way possible. Although it makes sense, I really wanted a good, satisfying end to Arthur's story. So, since I really enjoyed the book, but didn't like the ending, I'm giving it a solid B.