My August column for Newton Co News

I had a very interesting phone call from a gentleman in Arizona this last week. His name is David Lincoln Jones and he was born in Granby but grew up in Neosho. He has written his first book and called to see if I would carry it in my book store. I enjoyed a great conversation with him and said “Yes, of course, I would be glad to do this”, especially after he told me a little about the book. It is called High Grade and since I just got a copy I haven't had a chance to read it but you can bet I will do my review next month on it. On the back cover it says “What if a soldier returned from war, but he has no memory of home?” It is about a true story of his great-great grandfather who came home from the Civil War but never actually made it home. So it is part fiction and part non fiction. I have a feeling I will love the book as it is right up my alley of historical novels that have some truth to them. This is a quote from the book:

“My Great Grandfather who moved to Granby was named Nimrod Columbus Jones. He's Matt in the book. He died in Granby in the 1920's, a few years before I was born. My Aunt, Bertha Jennings told me the story, which is in the book, of Nimrod taking the gun away from a miner who was complaining about the Hell Fire and Damnation sermons Nimrod was preaching.

Bertha was the daughter of Tip Jennings, a real live Granby character. He was still driving a matched pair of mules wherever he went in the early '40's”

I will keep a copy of the book in the store and take orders if anyone wants a copy. It can be purchased through Amazon, but you will have to pay shipping. I hope I have piqued your interest. Come by the store or call me at 472-7111 for more information.

Weaving class will resume for me Aug 22, so store hours on Wednesdays will be from noon to 4.

I did manage to read 3 books to report on this month, but may only have room for 2 in the column. The first is a fiction novel that closely parallels the Bernie Madoff case. Now I really didn't pay close attention to all the details on the Madoff family but have Googled to get more info.

Silver Girl

by Elin Hildebrand

Meredith Delinn is the main character and she has lost everything. After 30 years of marriage to a very wealthy man, Freddie Delinn her house of cards crumble down. He is convicted of cheating rich investors out of billions of dollars. But will any one believe her when she says she didn't know? She lived a lavish life, spending the money, then seeks refuge with her long time childhood friend Connie on the island of Nantucket. The story is very well done and weaves their lives growing up as friends into their lives as women 50 years old. Meridith is targeted by someone who wants revenge, plus she is racking her brains trying to give info to her lawyer to help the FBI find the billions that are hidden. I found the suspense, romance, and tie in with her family and Connie's family very well done. I thought the similarity with Madoff quite an unusual touch: they met in high school, had 2 sons, 150 years prison sentence, and spending time with a female sister/friend after losing everything and being hated by most of the world. In the book Meredith actually had no knowledge of the fraud but was guilty of not paying attention to warning signs that things weren't right. We will never know if Ruth Madoff could say the same thing, but the more I read about Ruth it seems her life is a pretty tight parallel to the Meredith in the book. What is fact and what is fiction here?

I have found I have one more book by this author and it is definitely on my read list.

Intervention

by Robin Cook

Three men, 30 years after graduating from high school find themselves tangled in a mystery. Jack is a medical examiner still recovering from the loss of his wife and 2 daughters several years ago. He is remarried and now has a son who is desperately ill with a rare cancer. Jack is exploring alternative medicine. Shawn is a renowned archaeologist and biblical scholar who gets permission to do a dig beneath Saint Peter's trying to find proof to uphold his long standing grudge against the church. James is now a Bishop of the Archdiocese of New York and he doesn't want the new findings to come to light or it will discredit the church. He turns to Jack to help talk their friend out of publishing his findings. The Intervention is the key at the end of the book, a last ditch effort to stop Shawn. I found this to be a rather good book by Robin Cook. He is known for his medical mysteries and this one had a new twist that kept me going.

Try to keep cool, keep an eye on your elderly family and friends and conserve our water. Did you know it takes about a gallon of water to run before you get hot water? I have been catching it in a little bucket and putting it on the shrubs.