Massacre at Mountain Meadows by Rondal W. Walker, Richard E. Turley Jr., Glen M. Leonard

     In September of 1857, as Utah Mormon's prepared to face the marching army of the United States, a group of emigrants travelled south through Utah on their way to the California gold fields and cattle ranches.  On the 11th of that month, they were drawn from the safety of their circled wagons by a waving flag of truce flown by a group of Mormon militia, only to be slaughtered: men, women and children.
     Examined repeatedly, this shocking event, has troubled both Mormons, non-Mormons and historians for more than a hundred years.  Walker, Turley, and Leonard have set aside previous biased "histories" of the event and with unprecedented access to documents not previously available have written a powerful narrative of not only the event itself, but also of the myriad of contributing factors including the characters involved, the atmosphere, the political realities, and the previous events that predicated the Mountain Meadows Massacre.
     As a student of history and having studied various histories and learned of the event from LDS church historians and college professors, I found Massacre and Mountain Meadows, to present a balanced engaging account.  This book is a must read for any student of history, as it is exemplary of professional historians' skill and purpose.

Willoughby's Return, a Tale of Almost Irresistible Temptation by Jane Odiwe

     Three years after he left Marianne for another, Willoughby returns and stirs up the heartbreak and memories created by the passion they shared, and his abrupt departure and marriage to Miss Jane Grey.  Marianne is busy raising her son, and husband hunting for her sister Margaret when Willoughby returns determined to win her back.  Unfortunately, Colonel Brandon is preoccupied with his ward and her ill daughter, leaving Marianne uncertain about his love and sorely tempted.
     Definitely a fan of Austen, I can't help but be tempted by fan-fiction that carries on her characters and her style.  Most of the time I'm just a little disappointed.  Then again, who can possibly capture Austen today?  Her writing is a product and a reflection of her times.
     Jane Odiwe captures well the feeling if not the essence of Austen's times and writing, but for me the characters don't ring quite true.  Colonel Brandon, so attentive in Sense and Sensibility, is off mark with his obsession over his sense of duty to his ward. (Did he really believe that he was the only one who could support and care for a sick child?) and Marianne, who is not one of my favorite Austen characters, was outspoken with everyone but the man she claims to love so deeply, her husband. I found it doubtful that she wouldn't just tell him her concerns.  Finally, Willoughby wanders about like a lost teen unsure of who and what he is, self-absorbed one minute, taunting the next, and then suddenly caring about results of his insensitive actions.  Totally off.
     That said, I think most young readers of Austen will enjoy the storyline and the ending, as I did when I decided to not compare it to the real thing.

P.S.  If you haven't read Sense and Sensibility, and your moving on to this novel from the movie version of Austen's classic, please, please, please be sure to read the classic.  It is more than worth your time.

The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean

A journalist who follows her instincts, Susan Orlean, does just that in The Orchid Thief.  Once she enters John Laroche's (the orchid thief's) world she quickly develops as much of an obsession with the story as the orchid people do for their flowers.  As she delves deeper into Laroche's life and passion she discovers strange worlds including the lush, deceptive, and colorful swamps of Florida; the tightly woven and always suspect Seminole reservation; and the  eccentric, complex world that Laroache inhabitis.

For a book with almost no plot, it kept me thoroughly entertained.  Orlean's "ramblings" are fascinating, funny and informative, and Laroche's philosophies and ethics are so twisted and creative that I couldn't help admiring the eccentric.

Great read for when you are tired of your regular "stuff", thoroughly enjoyable.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Published in 1908, The Circular Staircase, is the first in the "Had I But Known" school of detective fiction, and it is absolutely classic.  Spinster, Rachel Innes rents Sunnyside for the summer and has not even spent one night in the house when a ghost like face appears in a window and the lights suddenly flicker off.  In reality, these are minor events compared to what is about to unfold.  By the time it's over, five deaths will tie together a great mystery involving the collapse of a bank, stolen securities, an orphaned child, and a secret room.

Clever, commanding and observant, Rachel unfolds the mystery as the narrator.  Her voice is humorous and determined, while the violent and disturbing events shake her, she isn't about to detered.  Her narrative creates the suspense.  The foreshadowing she employs is careful and as the threads of the story grown more numerous, so does the thrill.

I enjoyed this classic detective mystery including its setting and its characters.  Sometimes, I was truly frustrated by the stubborness of the characters to share any information but that was true to the time period when one's word meant something.  And, I gasped at the two politically incorrect statements that were normal in 1908. Over all the story is delightfully thrilling.

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A Modest Proposal by Michele Ashman Bell

Lauryn is a fashion designer in New York, who designs outwear for a wonderful woman, Jacqueline Yvonne and her design house.  She loves her job, but lately she feels her dream of having her own line of modest evening wear is slipping away, and her love life has taken a painful hit.  So, when the opportunity arrives for her to move to another design house to do her own evening line, she takes it, inspite of all she's heard about its name sake, Laszlo Molnar. 

Young ladies will love this story. It's cute.  It's built on the love of good friends and faith in God.  It's promoted as a romancy, love story and that certainly plays a part of the story, but the real plot centers on Lauryn seizing her dream and working to make it a reality inspite of Molnar's evil plans.

The drawbacks of the story for me are that Lauryn is a bit too perfect and her blessings are a bit too miraculous while her struggles are glossed over. Don't get me wrong, Lauryn was a loveable, strong protagonist but the story plays to a teen's tendency to believe that everything will work out if you just try hard enough and while Lauryn is a wonderful role model, reality is sorely lacking.

Fatal Vision by Joe McGinnissc

Exhaustive!  I actually chose to read this book because of another, The Journalist and the Murderer by Janet Malcolm.  I wanted to "see" the relationship between MacDonald and McGinniss myself, to make my own judgements.  I concluded that while Malcolm has some very interesting insights, her characterization of McGinniss and MacDonald were shaped by very limited sources, mostly letters between her and MacDonald.

McGinniss obviously started his relationship with MacDonald at MacDonald's request and evidence indicates that MacDonald agreed to let the author draw his own conclusions.  Moreover, while reading I swayed back and forth on whether MacDonald was guilty of the murder of his wife and daughters.  When he spoke for himself, he was engaging, charming, and the fact that so many people befriended and defended him after the accusations and trials speaks powerfully. Yet, now and then he'd say something really odd, misrepresent himself, exaggerate the facts, and I would question whether or not MacDonald was capable of the truth.

Of course, the evidence is all circumstantial, and clearly a man who had been woken at 3:30 in the morning under attack and then being shocked by the murder of his family would probably not recall exactly what happened.  And, in those circumstances, that man would probably respond the way MacDonald did when questioned, "I don't know."  But, left unresolved are the myriad of discrepancies that occur between what he did remember and the evidence, and that's where I continue to wonder.

McGinniss did an excellent job of trying to cover a variety of view points and an almost insurmountable amount of documentation.  And, while I see that the book does lead one to the conclusion that MacDonald did murder his family, part of me wonders, still.