Review: The Six Loves of James I by Gareth Russell

The Six Loves of James I

by Gareth Russell

Release Date: December 2, 2025

2025 Atria Books

Ebook Edition; 496 Pages

ISBN: 978-1668049686

ASIN: B0DV674KT4

Audiobook: B0DW1WW4QH

Genre: Non-Fiction / Historical / Biography

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

5 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Gareth Russell’s “rollicking, gossipy” (Dan Jones, author of The Plantagenets), and scholarly voice invites us into James’s world, revealing a monarch whose reign was defined by both his public power and personal vulnerabilities. For too long, historians have shied away from or condemned the exploration of his sexuality. Now, Russell offers a candid narrative that not only reveals James’s relationships with five prominent men but also challenges the historical standards applied to the examination of royal intimacies.

This biography stands as a significant contribution to the understanding of royal history, illuminating the personal experiences that shaped James’s political decisions and his philosophical views on masculinity and sexuality.

 

My Thoughts

The Six Loves of James I was both riveting and fascinating. Having just read The Scapegoat: The Brilliant Brief Life of the Duke of Buckingham by Lucy Hughes-Hallett (review coming shortly), I was happy to read another accounting of this king, but from a different perspective.  And while it did focus on the men who influenced him, this book was so much more than that, something that I really appreciated. This book satisfied me in a way that many others have not.

 

I am very familiar with the life of King James I, but somehow the author made me feel something new for this very fragile king, a connection that made me empathize with this man who struggled with so much on his shoulders from such a young age. Even though I have read about it frequently, I don't think I can still grasp the enormity of the responsibility he had from such a young age, dealing with the tragic outcome of the falling out of both his parents, Mary Queen of Scots and Lord Darnley, two people so equally despised their names still reverberate throughout history today.  The political shenanigans from the fallout and what happened afterwards left their indelible mark on this man, something that would haunt him for the rest of his life and colour his perceptions of people and events.

 

While this book implies it's about the love life of James I, it is so much more than that, showing how much James relied on his relationships in order to survive the day to day struggles of ruling a country that had so many political issues. I liked how the author outlined exactly what James was up against, showcasing his brilliance and his intelligence in dealing with so much, and quite successfully. But there was the darker side to everything as well, and the author wrote about those episodes clearly, leaving it up to the reader to decide for themselves what they choose to believe about what happened.  I certainly appreciated the different viewpoints as well as the new research that is exploring some other theories about some of the events that occurred throughout his reign. And perhaps more information will come to light in the future that will change what we know about some of the events that happened as well. To understand things through a man's eyes who possibly had ADHD and more than likely experienced PTSD (both of which were definitely terms that were non-existent during this time period), it gives valuable insight into some of his choices and his reactions when dealing with dangerous situations. I also really liked how the author looked into different sources to give us a better understanding of his physical characteristics, his personality, his intelligence, and other traits that have been twisted over the years, and how this would have happened.

 

I thought the author did a great job outlining the relationships that James had in his life, the men as well as with his wife and his children. It really gave us a great viewpoint to see who James leaned on during certain times in his life and how important these relationships were to him, but it also gave us great insight into how fragile he was, and how much he needed support and love to keep going.  While others around him may not have agreed with his choices, he certainly seemed to choose well and managed to control the vipers at court for many years and balance the power that could be so dangerous at court.  

 

Verdict

The Six Loves of James I was an interesting book, and I will admit that this monarch is one of those monarchs over whom I long have had a huge fascination, both for the contradictions about his life and reign as well as the amount of obstacles he had to overcome.  This man survived multiple assassination attempts, religious issues, the death of his children, the loss of his parents, treasonous lords (and ladies), tumultuous relationships (including his wife),  the witch trials, the trials over the unification of two countries, quarrelsome courtiers, money issues, and so much more, using intelligence and a whole lot of patience.  And there was no way he could have done this without being extremely cunning.  That being said, if you are going into this book expecting an outline of James' sexual life, this is not what this book is about. It's more about James' relationships and how it shaped his life throughout his reign, and that suited me just fine. 

 

 

 

Review: An American in Scotland by Lucy Connelly

An American in Scotland (Scottish Isle Mystery, #1)

by Lucy Connelly

Release Date: April 4, 2023

2023 Crooked Lane Books

Ebook Edition; 304 Pages

ISBN: 978-1639103508

ASIN: B0B5Z1TDP2

Audiobook: B0BX4LSW45

Genre: Ficton / Cozy / Murder

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Sea Isle was supposed to be the fresh start Dr. Emilia McRoy dreamed of. Far from the busy emergency room across the Atlantic in Seattle, she hoped to settle down and begin this new chapter as a small-town doctor to the quirky residents who immediately welcomed her. When she stumbles across a dead body, she starts to think that she may not be as Scot free of the drama and intrigue as she initially thought.

Emilia soon learns she has bigger issues at hand.  Her luck continues when she discovers that part of her new responsibilities includes being the coroner for the very body she found. Finally, when the body goes missing before she can even begin the autopsy, Emilia must convince the townspeople that a crime did, in fact, occur. The deeper she digs into the picturesque town, the more suspicious she becomes.

 

My Thoughts

An American in Scotland is the first book in the Scottish Isle Mystery series, and I was sent all four books in the series by the publisher.  I was intrigued by the setting because it's set in Scotland, but I was concerned because of the title as I was prepared for lot of stereotyping, and this is exactly what we got in this book.

 

So, let's talk about the things that I really liked about this book. First of all, I loved that the medical office and the house were in a church. One of the things I adored about the Rachel Morgan books (Kim Harrison) was that she lived in a church as I always thought that would be so cool.  Instead of tearing them down, the fact they are sold and used as homes or businesses combines the history of the building and the modern use.  I also really enjoyed the fact that this book was set in Scotland as I have visited the country a couple of times and it's beautiful.  

 

Emilia is one of those main characters that is rather annoying however, but the secondary characters kind of even out the fact that she is so annoying. For a doctor who worked in ER, she makes some rather rash decisions, and I got tired of her condescending attitude. And since when do you do research about a place by watching British television shows, and since when do you not read the fine print on a document you sign for a job offer? Holy hell. She shows up to Scotland surprised by the weather conditions and has to pretty much purchase a new wardrobe. I shouldn't be so surprised by this however, as I live in a snowbelt and have seen people rush to buy boots and parks when the first snowfall hits where I live as well, but when you are going to live there permanently? 

 

The mystery was actually interesting, but I did think Emilia was the weakest link in the whole thing.  For a doctor who has learned to keep one's counsel over the years and keep one's mouth shut due to privacy issues, she certainly has not demonstrated she has learned either of these and I would be concerned if she was my doctor.  She blabs information to the wrong people and keeps pertinent information from the people who really needed to know said information.  And I'm not even going to get started on the issues I had with the medical stuff in this book as that was just lack of research on the author's part and too many liberties were made (as if people who read the book don't have any medical training and won't know the difference).  I think Medical Imaging Technologists would have a field day with the errors in this book.  Let's just say an untrained person would not be able to run an MRI, x-rays, etc... by doing some online courses.  The pace however, moved along quite quickly, and I really enjoyed the secondary characters in the story.

 

Verdict

An American in Scotland had a pretty interesting mystery, but I honestly just couldn't connect with the main character as she made so many silly decisions and the author relied too much on the reader having to just go with the flow of things. The lack of research about the medical stuff bothered me as I felt it was just assumed people would not realize that it was just not possible for a young, untrained woman to have that much knowledge through the internet considering some of these programs take 2-4 years at college to complete, each. I did love the descriptions about the Scottish countryside and the weather as I could definitely relate to the cold and the snow, and I was not really surprised the main character was not prepared for the weather as she was not prepared for anything else either, but it would have been nice if some of the things were actually in the dialect of the area and not Americanized, as I am sure they don't use dollars there (LOL).   While I will read the next book in the series, I won't be rushing to do so soon. 

 

Review: The High Tide Murder by Emylia Hall

The High Tide Murder (Shell House Detectives, #6)

by Emylia Hall

Release Date: November 4, 2025

2025 Thomas & Mercer

Ebook ARC; 397 Pages

ISBN: 978-1662521812

ASIN: B0F54M65YZ

Audiobook: B0FFNFKWWH

Genre: Fiction / Mystery

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

The High Tide Hotel, overlooking stunning Trebaron Cove, is a dream destination for an autumnal getaway. But the serene atmosphere of this luxury enclave is shattered when the body of a guest is discovered on the terrace, directly below their balcony.

The victim's friend is adamant that this was no accident, and when it emerges that the dead man was a detective with a chequered past, the police enquiry intensifies. Meanwhile fellow guest Jayden, one half of the Shell House Detectives, wastes no time in bringing Ally on board to help find the killer.

With the hotel cut off by a storm on the night of the murder, everyone at the High Tide is a suspect. As Ally and Jayden delve deeper into the pasts of both guests and staff, they uncover a mass of secrets and complex connections. Who wanted this man dead—or rather, who wanted him dead most? 

 

My Thoughts

The High Tide Murder is the sixth entry in the Shell House Detectives Series, and this one finds our detectives out of their comfort zone and in a posh hotel on the coast. Even though the setting was not the usual coastal town, I liked that the author decided to take our detectives to a new location for this mystery and introduce new characters.  Plus, I tend to have a weakness for destination mysteries within series so I was glad to see something different.  However, while the previous mysteries were quite interesting and I enjoyed them very much, this one didn't quite work for me and I couldn't wait to finish this book.

 

First of all, by the sixth book, the usual effort to develop the main characters usually falls to the side which was the case with this book as if a character can't develop, grow, or show the reader any new hidden depths. And this is exactly how I felt reading this book, as if the characters were wooden characters with only one-dimensional development, all of them.  This created a problem connecting to the characters, considering the subject matter, and honestly, by the end, I just didn't care who would eventually be discovered as the culprit. The way it was written didn't really allow me to develop any empathy for what was a very sad situation.  

 

The mystery itself was very interesting, but the way it was written was a bit disjointed.  I thought the plot dragged quite a bit and found myself flipping through the pages, especially the last 30 percent of the book.  The author attempted to use the landscape, the hotel, the weather, and the elements to build this atmosphere, but it didn't work for me. And I love the coast, the water, the elements, and that wildness in my stories as I find the weather so fascinating.  And I may be an outlier here, but I was hoping the love triangle thing would not happen, but it seems that is the way it is going. Not a fan.

 

Verdict

The High Tide Murder had a very interesting mystery, but I wasn't a fan of the execution as it felt like it dragged in this latest instalment. I also thought there was a lack of character development as they all felt wooden unemotional. There was a darker element to this book that wasn't fully explored however, and I like the fact the author isn't afraid to dip into darker material when necessary. The actual mystery is heartbreaking, but the way it was written prevented me from being fully invested in what happened. That being said, I really enjoyed the first five books in this series, and will definitely read book seven when it is released as I am hoping this one is an outlier.  

 

Review: The Missing Ones by Patricia Gibney

The Missing Ones (DI Lottie Parker, #1)

by Patricia Gibney

Release Date: March 16, 2017

2017 Bookouture

Ebook; 529 Pages

ISBN: 978-1786811509

ASIN: B01N5I5EV7

Audiobook: B06XK8RH86

Genre: Fiction / Mystery

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

4 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

When a woman’s body is discovered in a cathedral and hours later a young man is found hanging from a tree outside his home, Detective Lottie Parker is called in to lead the investigation. Both bodies have the same distinctive tattoo clumsily inscribed on their legs. It’s clear the pair are connected, but how?

The trail leads Lottie to St. Angela’s, a former children’s home, with a dark connection to her own family history. Suddenly the case just got personal.

As Lottie begins to link the current victims to unsolved murders decades old, two teenage boys go missing. She must close in on the killer before they strike again, but in doing so is she putting her own children in terrifying danger? 

 

My Thoughts

The Missing Ones is the first book in the long-running DI Lottie Parker mystery series.  The publisher kindly sent me the first ten books in the series as well as the latest entry, but I was intrigued enough that I decided to start with the first book. With a relatable MC, a quirky group of secondary characters, and an interesting mystery, this one was quite enjoyable to read. 

 

Lottie Parker is one of those main characters that could drive you crazy though. While she is quite driven and organized while on the job, her private life could only be described as slightly above absolute chaotic. And personally, this is something that I really liked about her. Yes, she is driven and dedicated to her job, one that is quite demanding on her time and energy, but she is equally devoted to her three kids, and struggles with the guilt when she is not there for them because of the demands of the job. A widow, she is also struggling with the loss of her husband and her grief, but refuses any psychological help even though she knows she needs counseling. As someone whose spouse was in the military and was posted for years at a time, I can relate to her struggles and appreciate reading about a character who feels guilt when she is so tired all she wants to do is sleep standing up, but still has three kids to take care of, kids who are still struggling with their own grief.

 

While I really enjoyed the character development, I wasn't always so invested in the mystery as it seemed to be a bit convoluted and disjointed at times.  I did feel like Lottie delegated things that she should have taken care of, and took charge of things that really should have been left to her Detective Sargents. Despite all of that, this one did delve into some pretty deep psychological things, some that affected Lottie and her family personally.  And I am deeply thankful the author didn't go into a lot of detail when it came to the abuse the kids endured at the home as just imagining it was enough for me, and the details that were given were heartbreaking. The plot moved along fairly quickly, and I did enjoy the investigations into what happened as well as the interactions between the characters. There was a lot going on, some of which will continue into the next book, but it doesn't hinder the ending of this book. But, I thought I knew what was going on, and there were a couple of things I missed, so kudos to the author.

 

Verdict

The Missing Ones had a lot of plot threads going on, with a lot of twists and turns, but the author took care to ensure only enough information was dropped at a time so it didn't overwhelm the reader. I enjoyed this author's writing style as you figure out what is happening with the characters; I am not a fan of being led by the nose and having everything explained to me. There are some dark themes running through this book however, including substance abuse, sexual abuse, death, trauma, loneliness, family issues, and so on. I do recommend this book for those readers looking for a gritter crime novel, and I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series.  

 

 

 

Review: Turns of Fate by Anne Bishop

Turns of Fate (Isle of Wyrd, #1)

by Anne Bishop

Release Date: November 11, 2025

2025 Ace

Ebook ARC; 511 Pages

ISBN: 978-0593954089

ASIN:  ‎ B0DWWFHR19

Audiobook: B0DZQQGZRD

Genre: Fiction / Mystery / Paranormal

 

4.5 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Most people come to Destiny Park for entertainment. They come to have their cards read to tell them a bit about their future. They come to walk through a beautiful park and to eat at the hotel’s restaurant. But some people come to make a bargain with the Arcana—to change their fate. And some people come for dark purposes.

When Detective Beth Fahey is sent to Destiny Park to inquire about a “ghost gun,” she will begin a strange journey on which she must learn to navigate the Arcana’s unforgiving laws and dangerous attractions. Her search will draw her into seemingly impossible cases and the secrets of her own past as tensions rise between the Arcana and their human neighbors across the river.

For the Isle of Wyrd is a place where the dead ride trains to their final destinations, predators literally become prey, and seekers’ true natures are revealed in the ripples of destiny unknowingly stirred in their wakes.

 

My Thoughts

Turns of Fate is the first book in a new by the author of a couple of series that I really like, The Black Jewels and The Others, and I was thrilled to learn of this new series. This was definitely a slow burn for me, but the more I was drawn into the story, the more intrigued I was by the characters, the plot, and especially the world building. It had that cozy feel that I've been looking for lately, with some very strong subtle messages and themes behind that cozy exterior. This book is extremely deceptive as it seems like a lighter read, but it definitely has its darker side, something I would expect from this author.

 

The Isle of Wyrd is home to the Arcana, and while the people who live there live by their own rules, they do work with humans from time to time when something important happens. How this is decided, I will leave for the reader to discover as it is important to the story.  However, the humans don't really know a lot about the Arcana and have learned to tread very carefully in their dealings with them, as "words have power" and "intentions matter". The plot itself started off slowly and what I thought was going to be one mystery to solve turned into multiple mysteries, all of which the author managed somehow to tie together and solve satisfactorily by the end.  I really had to admire how all the threads were gathered together, woven into a richly satisfying world building, and pulled you into the story.  The more enmeshed I got into the world, the more I wanted to learn.  And like I already mentioned, there were some pretty dark themes running through this book so it is very deceptive, themes about abuse, family loyalty, abuse of power, death, bullying, lying, gambling, obsession, and it goes on.  

 

While there were multiple POVs, the MC was Beth, a detective sent to the area to fill a position left open due to medical reasons. She is young and sometimes reckless, not always following the rules of the Island of Wyrd, something that gets her in trouble.  And while I did enjoy the variety of characters in this book, I actually felt like character development was the weakest part of this book, with a lot of the development being mostly one-dimensional.  It's not that the characters didn't have their own unique voices and personalities, they did, but that's pretty much it.  Other than Beth, and maybe Jack (who is one of my favourite characters), I just didn't really connect with them because so much focus was on the development of the world and on the story.  Now, I did find the same thing happened in the first book of the The Others so I'm not really worried about this as I expect the author to fully flesh out the characters as the series progresses, but in this book, that wasn't the focus.

 

Verdict

Turns of Fate seemed to be more like an ensemble novel rather than having a main character anchoring the story. I don't know if that will change in future novels, but while it didn't affect the richness of the world building and I really enjoyed the multiple mysteries, it did affect my connection with the characters as I thought the development was more superficial.  However, the stories do intertwine in such a fascinating way that it almost overshadows that lack of development.  I highly recommend this book, and any other book this author has written, and look forward to the next book in this series.   

 

Review: The Dead and the Dying by Lin Anderson

The Dead and the Dying (Rhona MacLeod, #19)

by Lin Anderson

Release Date: August 19, 2025

2025 Macmillan

Ebook ARC; 380 Pages

ISBN: 978-1761773884

ASIN: B0DHZ6VRG6

Audiobook: B0DJRKV1TG

Genre: Fiction / Mystery

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

2.75 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

In the dim morning light, Orkney’s Skaill Bay is the backdrop for a calamity of nature’s making. When forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod joins the rescue efforts as a volunteer, she uncovers more than she bargained a human skeleton entombed in a stone crypt.

The grave is believed to hail from the Viking Age, but Rhona's analysis of the content points to more recent and sinister evil. And a shadow is thrown over the investigation when the skeleton is finally identified – and unsettling connections emerge between the victim and the very people trying to solve.

As forensic clues lead Rhona to a second, horrifying discovery, the question how many more secrets are concealed in the sand?

 

My Thoughts

The Dead and the Dying is the next entry in Lin Anderson's long-running Shona MacLeod mystery series, and while I really enjoyed the archaeology aspects of this novel, I wasn't overly impressed with the mystery itself.  It's not that the mystery wasn't interesting, it was the way it was written as the author didn't seem to have faith in her readers and pretty much led them by the nose throughout the entire book. I am just not a fan of this way of writing as I prefer to figure things out as I read. 

 

There wasn't a lot of character development in this book as by the nineteenth entry readers are pretty familiar with the main characters, but it would have been nice to have somewhat developed the secondary characters involved in the mystery, to fully understand the motives and the reasons behind what they did. A few weeks after reading the book, I have to look at my notes to even remember who most of the secondary characters were as they just blend into each other as they were so blandly written. 

 

The mystery itself started out rather interesting and I did enjoy the descriptions of the archaeological evidence as opposed to the forensic evidence.  But then it just went on and on with a lot of the same things beings repeated over and over again.  I almost felt like the author wasn't quite sure what to do with certain characters, but still needed them to be relevant in the story, and just made up stuff to get them to certain locations.  So, the overall cohesion of the book felt off and the place was definitely on the slow side, at least for me.  I don't always mind a slower pace, but not when things are repeated constantly as if the reader didn't get it the first time. Even if it's a slower pace, the plot should advance and this one felt more like it was going around in circles.  And when I got to the ending, then I understood why the rest of the book felt like that.   

 

Verdict

The Dead and the Dying was one of the weaker entries in this series.  I thought the mystery was interesting, but the way it was told was bland and too much showing rather than letting the reader figure things out with the main characters.  At this point, I'm not sure if I will read the next entry in this series. That being said, I do recommend readers read the first ten books or so as they are quite good. And if you like forensic archaeology/pathology, then they will definitely be of interest to you.  

 

Review: The Place Where they Buried Your Heart by Christina Henry

The Place Where They Buried Your Heart

by Christina Henry

Release Date: November 4, 2025

2025 Berkley

Ebook ARC; 320 Pages

ISBN: 978-0593953952

ASIN: B0DW3JKYXM

Audiobook: B0DZPGGLPX

Genre: Fiction / Horror

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

On an otherwise ordinary street in Chicago, there is a house. An abandoned house where, once upon a time, terrible things happened. 

Jessie Campanelli did what many older sisters do and dared her little brother Paul. But unlike all the other kids who went inside that abandoned house, Paul didn't return. His two friends, Jake and Richie, said that the house ate Paul. Of course adults didn't believe that. They thought someone kidnapped Paul, or otherwise hurt him. 

The disappearance of her little brother broke Jessie's family apart in ways that would never be repaired. Jessie grew up, had a child of her own, kept living on the same street where the house that ate her brother sat, crouched and waiting. And darkness seemed to spread out from that house, a darkness that was alive—alive and hungry.

 

My Thoughts

The Place Where They Buried Your Heart is the latest horror entry by this author, and I will say right from the start that I tend to have a love/hate relationship with this author's books as there are some that I really enjoyed and some that I just couldn't finish so I do enter them with a bit of trepidation.  And while I did find this one more enjoyable than the last one I read, I wasn't a fan of the ending, nor did I find the relationships well developed, such as that between Jessie and her mother.  

 

Jessie was a lot more interesting as a teenager than she was as an adult. Whether this was done on purpose is hard to say as the 'haunted' house featured in this story fed on children, not adults, most of the time. But Jessie experienced a lot of trauma as a teenager, first losing her brother to the house (and dealing with the feelings of guilt because of how it came about), then watching her family fall apart in the aftermath.  I actually thought one of the most interesting things about the earlier years was Jessie's relationship with her mother and I really wished the author had developed it a bit more as Jessie grew up and had her own child. But we just got pieces of what was happening which I felt lowered the intensity of the feelings, both for Jessie and her mom.  I wanted to feel more empathy for both of them, but the way it was written made me feel like a spectator rather than being fully immersed in their emotions.  It made it hard to accept why Jessie stuck around as an adult to 'guard' the house as a lot of the emotional impact was on a superficial level rather than really hitting you in the gut.  

 

I did find aspects of the 'haunted house' quite interesting and I wish more time had been spent on developing the horror of the house.  Yes, it was 'eating' people and making people disappear, but honestly, the telling aspect of the story got old rather quick. I like to find out things as the main character does, but there was a lot of showing rather than experiencing and I feel like that takes away from the horror of things.  Now horror is different for a lot of people and I don't typically get scared from reading horror novels, but I do get horrified, disgusted, emotionally invested, etc... and this one didn't really do that for me.  Yes, there were horrific things that were done in the house, but again, I felt like they were done from a distance, and this lessened the impact for me.  Which is a shame as there were a lot of interesting elements in this book. And to be fair, I was a lot more interested in the psychological trauma of what happened on the people in the neighbourhood then the actual horror as that was so much more interesting, something I wish the author spent more time developing. I mean, there is nothing more horrific than knowing there is something horrible out there reaching out for your family in ways you don't know, and not knowing how to deal with it. The pace of the book was fine, even if the ending was quite rushed, and I did really enjoy the ambiance.  

 

Verdict

The House Where They Buried Your Heart had more of a psychological nuance to it, something that I did enjoy quite a bit. There were a lot of creative aspects to the story, and I liked how the house had a different effect on different people in the neighbourhood.  I did feel like a lot of the psychological trauma was not developed as well as it could have been however, and felt led by the nose a lot of the time rather than letting the reader discover things as they read. And while Jessie's character had some interesting developments, except for maybe Ted, I didn't feel the same way about the secondary characters, and I wish we had seen more psychological development for the relationship between Jessie and her mom. Haunted house books are a dime a dozen and it does take some creativity to make it fresh and interesting, and while there were some things that needed development, I did think the author was creative and do recommend this book for that reason.  

 

Review: Manhattan Triptych by Catherine Butterfield

Manhattan Triptych

by Catherine Butterfield

Release Date: October 10, 2025

2025 Westerfield Press

Softcover ARC; 363 Pages

ISBN: 979-8999291110

ASIN: B0FJSHJ1Y7

Genre: Fiction / Women's Contemporary 

Source: Review copy from Jennifer @ Book & Author Publicity

 

2.25 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Three women meet as young actresses in a summer stock production of "Fiddler on the Roof," and go on to be the best of friends for the next four decades. Their lives diverge as they experience love, marriage, illness, adultery, loss, and even a devastating betrayal, yet somehow the friendship persists -- until one of them unexpectedly drops out of sight. Alarmed for her well-being, the other two return to Manhattan, the site of memories both euphoric and painful, to search for her. In the process of looking for her, they come to confront uncomfortable truths about themselves and their actions in the past.

The story travels back and forth in time much the way memory does, piecing together the women's friendship against the background of the AIDS crisis, the savings and loan debacle, the World Trade Center tragedy, the California wildfires, and the ever-changing face of Manhattan.

 

My Thoughts

Manhattan Triptych is the story of three women who develop a life-long friendship when they first meet on the summer-stock production of "Fiddler on the Roof". It is meant to have this sardonic look at the lives of these women as they navigate the ups and downs of their separate lives, yet manage to reconnect quite regularly to support one another when things become difficult. And while it does have this grimly mocking tone to it, I do feel it is mostly superficial as the character development doesn't go deep enough to really bring out that truly sardonic feel that I think was intended in such a novel.

 

First of all, I really did enjoy how the author interwove some interesting historical events into the story and into the personal lives of the women. Yes, there was mention of the AIDS epidemic and how it took some of their acting friends over the years, there was the World Trade Center tragedy, the fight to keep historical buildings from being destroyed in Manhattan to make way for new hotels and apartment buildings, and the wildfires in California as well as the COVID epidemic.  Yet, no matter how interesting all of these events were to the lives of the women, all of it was discussed on a superficial level and I never really felt the impact these events would have had on these women personally, even when they were involved in some of the events.  

 

The story revolved around three women, Diane, Nikki, and Orla, and while the story jumped back and forth from the present to the past so we could understand how the women formed their friendship and how it developed over the years, I personally never really understood how they were still friends after forty years.  Again, this has nothing to do with leading different lives or living in different parts of the country as I have friends like this, but we are still connected through similar activities and loyalty above all. Loyalty and honesty did not exist within this friendship, that's for sure.  And yes, I can be as judgmental as I want because if one of my closest friends did what Diane did to Nikki, I would never want to see her again in my life.  And I was supposed to feel sorry for Diane? Hell no. And Orla was just as bad, being the secret keeper of both Nikki and Diane's secrets.  And this is where I differed in my opinion of the character development as I thought it was one-dimensional, without a lot of depth to any of these women. None of them changed an iota throughout the book, but just became older images of the younger selves. I would have liked to have seen some personal growth, some development, some compassion for what others were going through, but these women were very much about themselves.

 

Verdict

Manhattan Triptych was interesting in the sense the story was woven around some very unique times in Manhattan, and as a history buff, I always love reading about those changing times.  But the plot was slow and the character development was non-existent. And I love to read sardonic stories; I devoured Terry Pratchett, Dorothy Parker, Evelyn Waugh, and Tom Holt so reading something with sardonic humour was definitely not the issue. Personally, I felt the commentary just wasn't wry enough, nor sardonic enough and the lack of character development to make the characters more sympathetic affected the overall tone of the book.