The Mannequin Makers is a novel by Craig Cliff. It's 1903 in the small town of Marumaru, New Zealand as the train pulls up and a young Maori man steps off and announces the imminent visit of a famous strongman. The entire town turns out to greet him, save one, Colton Kemp, a department store window dresser. Kemp is at home watching his beloved wife die during the premature birth of their twins. The grief torments Kemp and he often leaves the twins in the care of his wife's younger sister. As the grief he feels turns into an irrational obsession with thwarting his rival--the silent and gifted Carpenter--Colton Kemp allows his demons to spill out onto his family causing irreparable harm.
For something with a little more romance, why not try
Out of the Ashes: The Heart of Alaska Book Two by Tracie Peterson and Kimberley Woodhouse? With the death of their father, Collette and Jean-Michel Langelier are no longer tied to post-war France. Collette is dreaming of adventure, but her brother just wishes he could forget the horror of the Great Syrian Revolt of 1925. An unexpected invitation to visit Alaska and the Curry Hotel located at the foot of Mt. Denali seems like the ideal opportunity for the siblings, so they make their way west. Katherine Demarchis has agreed to accompany her beloved grandmother on one last adventure into the Alaska wilderness. She is still nursing wounds from a painfully abusive forced marriage. When Katherine and Jean-Michel come face to face, their past together is revealed and their plans for the future are thrown into chaos.
Only Killers and Thieves is a novel of colonial Australia by Paul Howarth. In 1895 the McBride family is in danger of losing everything they hold dear. A crippling drought has their land parched and their cattle are starving, but the rains do come and things start to look up. After spending the afternoon swimming in a replenished water hole, fourteen-year-old Tommy and sixteen-year-old Billy return home to a shocking tragedy. As the thirst for vengeance falls upon the brothers, they turn to the ruthless and cunning John Sullivan--their father's former employer and the wealthiest landowner in the region. Sullivan gathers a posse to go after the man thought to have commited the horrific crime the boys came home to, however, the posse takes on a larger roll to "disperse" the Aboriginal people and "protect" the rights of the white settlers. The impact of these actions will haunt Tommy for the rest of his life and put a stain on the young country struggling to come into its own.
Many people are familiar with the tragic events that befell the Donner Party on their travel west in the late 1800s. Alma Katsu fictionalizes their story and gives it a supernatural twist in
The Hunger. With their rations depleted and bitter quarrels breaking out between their members, the Donner Party is driven closer to the brink of madness by the mysterious death of a little boy. Even with the promise of what awaits them in the West, the long-buried secrets of these isolated travelers breeds dissent that leads to murder and chaos. Is it a curse from the beautiful Tamsen Donner who thinks she's a witch, their ill-advised choice of route, or just plain bad luck that plagues their adventure? Members of the group begin to disappear and survivors wonder if there really is something disturbing, and hungry, for them in the mountains.
We are currently on the cusp of Autumn, breathlessly waiting for a nip of cold air and the excitement of watching the seasons change. What better way to celebrate the appearance of Fall than with a great mystery about a frozen wilderness or a tropical paradise! The Mystery Book Club met at 6:00 pm. on Monday, September 28 to discuss "Cold Crimes" and "Hot Homicides." In honor of this book club meeting, the blog this week will discuss a mystery set in Alaska and a mystery set in Hawaii. One of the first Alaskan mysteries I read was Dana Stabenow's Cold Day for Murder. The book stars Kate Shugak, who has recently returned to her "roots" in Northern Alaska after leaving her job in the Anchorage District Attorney's Office. When a Ranger disappears, it is up to her to discover the clues of his disappearance, amongst the hard-working men of the Aleutian pipeliners. This book has a great, strong heroine, who easily moves among the male-dominated pipeline world with a "take-no-prisoners" attitude. She has similar traits to Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon, and is just as an enjoyable character as Anna. The setting in Northern Alaska, and it figures prominently in the story. You are bound to love this great story filled with wildlife and folk tales about Alaska.