The Road to Dalton

 

The Road to Dalton by Shannon Bowring

Dalton, Maine #1

Fiction

2023

Finished on 2/27/2026

Rating: 4.5/5 Very Good

Publisher's Blurb:

It's 1990. In Dalton, Maine, life goes on. Rose goes to work at the diner every day, her bruises hidden from both the customers and her two young boys. At a table she waits, Dr. Richard Haskell looks back on the one choice that's charted his entire life, before his thoughts wander back to his wife, Trudy, and her best friend.

Trudy and Bev have been friends for longer than they can count, and something more than lovers to each other for some time now—a fact both accepted and ignored by their husbands. Across town, new mother Bridget lives with her high school sweetheart Nate, and is struggling with postpartum after a traumatic birth. And nearer still is teenager Greg, trying to define the complicated feelings he has about himself and his two close friends.

The Road to Dalton offers valuable understandings of what it means to be alive in the world—of pain and joy, conflict and love, and the endurance that comes from living.

With both sequels to this wonderful debut novel lurking in my TBR stacks, I decided to re-read The Road to Dalton even though I read it less than two years ago. While most of the major details came back to me as I read, there were still plenty that I'd forgotten, which made for an enjoyable second reading. As I read, I kept comparing Trudy Haskell's unfiltered remarks to those of Elizabeth Strout's acerbic character, Olive Kitteridge. And as I look at my earlier review of The Road to Dalton, I am reminded that I made reference to Olive Kitteridge back then, as well. Both novels are set in Maine, and both explore the overlapping relationships between the inhabitants of the small community in which they reside. 

As soon as I finished re-reading The Road to Dalton, I quickly dove into Where the Forest Meets the River. It's another winner!

I'll leave you with my initial thoughts from 2024:

The Road to Dalton appeared (with high ratings) on several blogs last year, so I bought a copy to give to my mom last Christmas. (One of the many benefits of sharing a home with my book-loving, 91-year-old mother is that she passes her books on to me once she's finished reading them.) After reading three hefty novels last month, I decided it was time for something not only shorter in length, but lighter in tone. Had I read the publisher's blurb before starting Bowring's novel, I would have known that despite its cheerful cover, The Road to Dalton isn't exactly a light, breezy story. And yet, it worked for me. 

Reminiscent of Olive Kitteridge (Elizabeth Strout's renowned novel), and also set in Maine, Bowring's debut is a story of the intertwined lives of a small community in which everyone knows everyone's business. While no single resident takes center stage (as in Olive Kitteridge), there are those whose lives intersect more with the community than others. Each character struggles with heavy life challenges, which could make for a bleak story, but as I turned the last page, I felt hopeful for those characters I'd come to know and care about in this character-driven novel. I'm looking forward to Bowring's follow-up (Where the Forest Meets the River), which is due out this September. 

The Road to Dalton is a satisfying, poignant read. Recommend!

In the Woods (Re-Read)

 

In the Woods by Tana French

Dublin Murder Squad, #1

Mystery

2007

Finished on 2/22/2026

Rating: 4.75/5 (Excellent!)

Publisher's Blurb:

As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled sneakers, and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours.

Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a twelve-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox—his partner and closest friend—find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery. Now, with only snippets of long-buried memories to guide him, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past.

I first discovered Tana French in 2009 when I read her debut mystery, In the Woods, with my book group. Actually, I think I read the ARC first and recommended it to my book group a few months later. I loved the book and went on to read many more in French's Dublin Murder Squad series. A few months ago, I started thinking about re-reading The Likeness (the second in the series), but decided to start with In the Woods, as the main characters overlap in each installment. For some reason, I thought I remembered that the beginning of this mystery was somewhat slow, but with this second reading, I was quickly drawn into the story, unable to put it down even as I grew sleepy each night. I'd forgotten so many details that it felt like I was reading it for the first time. I loved it just as much as that first reading and can't wait to re-read The Likeness!

I'll leave you with my initial review from 2009 here:

In the Woods may only be the second book I've read this year, but I already know it's going to wind up on my Top Ten list for 2009! What an amazing debut by Tana French. Complex, flawed, yet highly likeable characters, combined with exceptionally rich details and language, draw the reader into this breathless psychological thriller. I found myself marking page after page, sorting through clues, eager to solve the mystery before Ryan & Maddox. And, now that I've finished the story, I find my thoughts drifting back to various scenes, missing the duo, who at times reminded me of Dennis Lehane's Kenzie & Gennaro. I do believe Cassie is my new literary girl crush. She's intelligent, determined and very tough; much like Smokey (Cody McFadyen's main character), Sunny (Robert Parker's heroine) and Clarice (The Silence of the Lambs). Definitely not a goofy klutz like Stephanie Plum!

French's main characters aren't the only aspect of this procedural mystery that bring to mind Dennis Lehane's mysteries. French's writing has a similar literary quality to that of Lehane's. Passages such as the following make this much more than your typical brain-candy mystery:

Picture a summer stolen whole from some coming-of-age film set in small-town 1950s. This is none of Ireland's subtle seasons mixed for a connoisseur's palate, watercolor nuances within a pinch-sized range of cloud and soft rain; this is summer full-throated and extravagant in a hot pure silkscreen blue. This summer explodes on your tongue tasting of chewed blades of long grass, your own clean sweat, Marie biscuits with butter squirting through the holes and shaken bottles of red lemonade picnicked in tree houses. It tingles on your skin with BMX wind in your face, ladybug feet up your arm; it packs every breath full of mown grass and billowing wash lines; it chimes and fountains with birdcalls, bees, leaves and football-bounces and skipping chants, One! two! three! This summer will never end. It starts every day with a shower of Mr. Whippy notes and your best friend's knock at the door, finishes it with long slow twilight and mothers silhouetted in doorways calling you to come in, through the bats shrilling among the black lace trees. This is Everysummer decked in all its best glory.

On the joy of finding one's true calling in life:

Out of absolutely nowhere I felt a sudden sweet shot of joy, piercing and distilled as the jolt I imagine heroin users get when the fix hits the vein. It was my partner bracing herself on her hands as she slid fluidly off the desk, it was the neat practiced movement of flipping my notebook shut one-handed, it was my superintendent wriggling into his suit jacket and covertly checking his shoulders for dandruff, it was the garishly lit office with a stack of marker-labeled case files sagging in the corner and evening rubbing up against the window. It was the realization, all over again, that this was real and it was my life. Maybe Katy Devlin, if she had made it that far, would have felt this way about the blisters on her toes, the pungent smell of sweat and floor wax in the dance studio, the early-morning breakfast bells raced down echoing corridors. Maybe she, like me, would have loved the tiny details and the inconveniences even more dearly than the wonders, because they are the things that prove you belong.

I love the cadence of that passage.

Just as the narrative began to lag ever so slightly, a new discovery was revealed and the intensity rushed back. It was at this point that I knew the book was going to be a winner. I found every opportunity to pick up the novel, neglecting household obligations and chores. I was unable to stop myself from reading late into the night. I was eager to discuss specific details of the narrative with several of my coworkers, not waiting patiently for our book group to meet. I told my husband, repeatedly, what a great book I was reading. I made a mental note to set a Favorite Mysteries endcap in March, leading, of course, with In the Woods. I composed a fan letter in my head to Tana French. And, as I poured myself a bourbon after a long, exhausting day, my thoughts returned to Rob, Cassie and Sam, remembering their evening ritual of dinner and drinks while discussing the case.

Oh, this would make such a fabulous movie!

I do have one minor quibble which involves the initial conversation with the family when the detectives inform them of Katy's death. The parents and older sister all referred to Katy in the past tense, jarring me from my engrossed state of literary bliss. I don't think anyone would argue that most people who have lost a loved one spend days, if not weeks and months, referring to that person in the present tense. While French may not know this from personal experience, it is a detail that should have been caught by her editor. (Although for French to have made too much of that issue would have been a cliche, of course.)

I don't remember when I first heard about In the Woods, but more than likely it was either Stephanie or Iliana's reviews that caught my attention. It wound up a winner with my book group this month and we're all anxious to read French's follow-up thriller, The Likeness, in which several characters from In the Woods return. From what I've heard, this sophomore work is even better than French's debut. If that's the case, I may have discovered my first 5/5 read for 2009. In the Woods is a gripping story of loss and survival, friendship and secrets. While some of the details in the plot were left dangling, I was thoroughly entertained and completely engaged, and I look forward to many more books by Tana French.

Bookish Quotes

 

Vilma Reading On A Sofa

Tavik Frantisek Simon

If someone said to me,

how did you spend your life?

I'd have to say,

lying on the sofa reading.

~ Fran Lebowitz

Sunlight and Shadow

Winslow Homer

A day out-of-doors, 

someone I loved to talk with,

a good book and some simple food 

and music—that would be rest.

~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Rest

Deborah DeWit

In the case of good books, 

the point is not to see how many

of them you can get through, 

but rather how many can get through to you.

~ Mortimer J. Adler

The Garden Window

Daniel F. Gerhartz

We read books to find out who we are.

What other people, real or imaginary, 

do and think and feel. . . 

is an essential guide to our understanding 

of what we ourselves are and may become. 

~ Ursula K. Le Guin

A Woman Reading

Camille Corot

Her eye, her ear, were tuning forks, burning glasses,

which caught the minutest refraction

 or echo of a thought or feeling. . . . 

She heard a deeper vibration, 

a kind of composite echo, 

of all that the writer said, 

and did not say. 

~ Willa Cather

A Girl Reading

Jessie Willcox-Smith

Oh! For a book, and a cozy nook

And oh! For a quiet hour,

When care and strife and worry of life,

Have lost their dreaded power,

When you read with zest the very best

That mind to mind can give,

And quaff your joy without alloy,

And feel it is good to live.

~ Anonymous

Madame Claude Monet Reading

Pierre Auguste Renoir

God forbid that any book

should be banned. The

practice is as indefensible as

infanticide.

~ Rebecca West

Friday Nights

Deborah DeWit

The pleasure of all reading

is doubled when one lives

with another who shares the

same books.

~ Katherine Mansfield

Woman Reading

Yamashita Shintaro

Books are the carriers

of civilization. Without

books, history is silent,

literature dumb, science

crippled, thought and

speculation at a standstill.

They are engines of

change, windows on the

world, (as a poet said)

lighthouses erected in the

sea of time. They are

companions, teachers,

magicians, bankers of the

treasures of the mind.

Books are humanity

in print.

~ Barbara W. Tuchman

Orchard Window

Daniel Garber

Just the knowledge 

that a good book is awaiting one

at the end of a long day

makes that day happier.

~ Kathleen Norris

The New Novel

Winslow Homer

Wild Dark Shore

 

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

Fiction/Mystery

2025

Narrated by Cooper Mortlock, Katherine Littrell, Saskia Maarleveld, Steve West

Finished on 2/11/2026

Rating: 4.5/5 (Excellent!)

Publisher's Blurb:

A family on a remote island. A mysterious woman washed ashore. A rising storm on the horizon.

Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica. Home to the world’s largest seed bank, Shearwater was once full of researchers, but with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its final inhabitants. Until, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman mysteriously washes ashore.

Isolation has taken its toll on the Salts, but as they nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, it begins to feel like she might just be what they need. Rowan, long accustomed to protecting herself, starts imagining a future where she could belong to someone again.

But Rowan isn’t telling the whole truth about why she set out for Shearwater. And when she discovers sabotaged radios and a freshly dug grave, she realizes Dominic is keeping his own secrets. As the storms on Shearwater gather force, they all must decide if they can trust each other enough to protect the precious seeds in their care before it’s too late―and if they can finally put the tragedies of the past behind them to create something new, together.

A novel of breathtaking twists, dizzying beauty, and ferocious love, Wild Dark Shore is about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love, even as the world around us disappears.

I read Migrations in 2021 and thought it was good, but not outstanding. I wasn't inspired to try Charlotte McConaghy's next book, Once There Were Wolves, since I hadn't been impressed with her debut novel. I don't even remember hearing much about that book, but when Wild Dark Shore was released, I decided to add it to my TBR list since so many readers loved it. I went with the audiobook, which is marvelous. I love a full cast of narrators and all four did an amazing job. The dialogue and vivid descriptions of the island and animal life are well done, and I was quickly transported to Shearwater and its inhabitants. McConaghy has written a beautiful tale with complex, yet lovable characters, and a haunting mystery. It's been a long time since a book has moved me to tears.

Highly recommend!

Blogiversary - 20 years!

It all began in 2006. 

Never in a million years would I have guessed I would still be blogging TWENTY years after I first pressed Publish on my review for Barbara Kingsolver's Small Wonder. I'd been keeping a book journal since 1996, and after seeing a few friends create their reading blogs, I decided to give it a try. There have been a few years in which I took a break, but for the most part, blogging has been a part of my routine for two decades.

We lived in Lincoln, Nebraska when I started blogging. I was working at my dream job at Barnes & Noble. Now we live on the Oregon coast, happily retired and enjoying life (and not setting an alarm clock for 5 a.m., or anytime, for that matter!).

I'm so grateful to all of you, some of whom I've known since those early days, and some who are new this past year. I've also met a few of you in person, and am happy to call you dear friends. I love following your blogs, getting ideas on what to read (or watch), and sharing your joys and sorrows. 

I miss all those friends who have either stopped blogging for one reason or another, or who have passed away. Every now and then, when I look at a book review from years past, I enjoy reading the comments, remembering those who used to be a part of this special group of friends. 

I've posted various blogiversary thoughts over the years. Here are links to some, if you're interested:

Sixth Year Blogiversary

Seven Year Blogiversary (kind comments when I announced I was quitting)

Eighth Year Blogiversary (50 favorite books)

Tenth Year Blogiversary (history and some stats)

Thirteenth Blogiversary (retired life!)

The Black Wolf

 

The Black Wolf by Louise Penny

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #20

Mystery

2025

Finished on February 7, 2026

Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Several weeks ago, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec and his team uncovered and stopped a domestic terrorist attack in Montréal, arresting the person behind it. A man they called the Black Wolf.

But their relief is short-lived. In a sickening turn of events, Gamache has realized that that plot, as horrific as it was, was just the beginning. Perhaps even a deliberate misdirection. One he fell into. Something deeper and darker, more damaging, is planned. Did he, in fact, arrest the Black Wolf, or are they still out there? Armand is appalled to think his mistake has allowed their conspiracy to grow, to gather supporters. To spread lies, manufacture enemies, and feed hatred and division.

Still recovering from wounds received in stopping the first attack, Armand is confined to the village of Three Pines, leading a covert investigation from there. He must be careful not to let the Black Wolf know he has recognized his mistake. In a quiet church basement, he and his senior agents Beauvoir and Lacoste pore over what little evidence they have. Two notebooks. A few mysterious numbers on a tattered map of Québec. And a phrase repeated by the person they had called the Grey Wolf. A warning ...

In a dry and parched land, where there is no water.

Gamache and his small team of supporters realize that for the Black Wolf to have gotten this far, they must have powerful allies, in law enforcement, in industry, in organized crime, in the halls of government.

From the apparent peace of his little village, Gamache finds himself playing a lethal game of cat and mouse with an invisible foe who is gathering forces and preparing to strike.

After I finished reading The Grey Wolf, which I did not love, I decided to go ahead anyway and start The Black Wolf since Penny left us with quite a cliffhanger. I'm glad I didn't have to wait a full year to read this latest installment in her Inspector Gamache series, as it was confusing enough reading it so soon after The Grey Wolf. Partly my fault, I should have created a list of characters to keep track of, but honestly, these two books are so convoluted, and not just as far as the denouements are concerned! The scenes jump abruptly from one group of characters to another, with no discernable transition. And, just when you think the villain is revealed, there's another twist. And another. And another! In previous posts, I've mentioned how tiresome Rosa (the duck) has become, but I also feel that Penny's use of f-bombs has run its course. There are other words to relay feelings of anger and frustration. Why not instead say, "We're screwed!" I don't mind f-bombs, but the use is overdone.

These two books are more political than Louise Penny's earlier works. She wrote this mystery a year before the U.S. President threatened to make Canada the 51st state. While she wrote passages, such as this one, in reference to her fictitious Canadian government officials, they are obviously a not-so-subtle commentary on Trump:

"I know what you've missed. I know that there're no boundaries when it comes to greed. To those addicted to power, there are no borders. There's always more to grab. There are new territories, new worlds, to conquer. Look at the Caesars. Alexander. Look at Genghis Khan. Napoleon. Loot at Hitler and Putin. Wolves know no boundaries, respect no borders."

and

"How do you choose what to buy? Past experience, yes, but originally? It's advertising, and what's that? Propaganda, often spread through word of mouth. Someone you know tells you it's good. This is no different. How did hundreds of millions of people believe Iraq was behind the 9/11 attacks when it patently was not? How did millions believe a perfectly legitimate election was stolen and almost cause a coup? The power of persuasion. And few places are more persuasive, more influential, than the internet. Social media. Eventually a critical mass is hit. A tipping point. Shit catches fire."

and

But Armand suspected every country ever invaded had felt the same way. Every group ever targeted, ever rounded up, refused to believe their neighbors could do it.

Every people who found themselves under the thumb of a tyrant must wonder where it began, and how they didn't see it coming. And what moment they missed, when it could have been stopped.

A World of Curiosities, published in 2022, earned a full five stars from me—just two years before The Grey Wolf. Will my disappointment with The Grey Wolf and The Black Wolf bring my loyalty to Louise Penny’s work to an end? No. Though these recent books fell short for me, I remain hopeful that her next release will recapture what I love about her writing.

Re-Reading Goals for 2026

 

I hate to part with my books, but with limited space I've chosen to only keep those that I love and intend to read again someday. Whenever I dust my bookcases, I see so many books that I want to re-read, so this year I'm challenging myself to dive into some of the above favorites. I wonder if I'll love them as much the second (or third) time around. I also have several recently read books that I plan to revisit prior to reading their sequels. Do you re-read books? 

Favorite TV Series & Films 2025

 

Of all of these shows my top picks are The Pitt, Shrinking, Bad Sisters, Black Doves, and Severance. The Diplomat is very good, but I didn't love the third season. Train Dreams is an exceptional, albeit heartbreaking, film. 

Click here for favorites from previous years.

Book Haul

Now that we're into February, I had better start sharing some of the posts I drafted at the beginning of the year. Yikes, the days are going by far too quickly!

I received the above books for Christmas. Three were purchased with a gift card and the other three were under the tree. Let's hope they don't sit on my top shelf for the entire year!

Which should I read first? I'm leaning toward Theo of Golden since it's been getting such rave reviews. Bel Canto will be a re-read, but this time I'll have Patchett's annotation, which should be enlightening. 

A Month in Summary - January 2026

Depoe Bay, Oregon

January 2026

Hello, friends. I can't write this summary without bringing attention to the current state of affairs in our country. My heart is heavy. In a single year, there have been countless attacks on our history, our livelihoods, our communities, and our citizens. With each loss of life, each senseless detainment, each deportation, I grow more angry with our government, angry with those who think that this is right, and angry with those who could turn the tide but lack the spine. My way of coping is to escape into books and nature. I am fortunate to be here, on the Oregon coast, and am well aware of my privilege to feel safe, sheltered, and fed. There are so many who aren't. If you feel as I do, and want to help Minnesotans specifically, take a look at this site and this one. 

In addition to going for long walks in our neighborhood and on the ocean path, I've taken up an new exercise program (Ladder) and am enjoying the guided programs, which include strength training and conditioning. Feeling stronger every day!

We had visitors in the middle of the month, and the weather cooperated for a change. January was very dry and it looks like February won't be any better. Personally, I don't miss the rain, but I know it's not good going into the summer months. I'm just thankful we didn't get the frigid temps and snow/ice that others experienced last month. Yuck!

With regards to my favorite pastime, I read eight new books and re-read an old favorite that stood the test of time. Of all of these books, all were new-to-me authors except two! I also have a couple of books that I'm reading little by little since they're both quite long (The Emperor of All Maladies and The Winds of War). I have stacks of new books (thanks to my mom and Santa!) that I'm eager to get to over the next few months.

Books Read (click on the title for my review):

When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzen (3.5/5)

The Maid by Nita Prose (3.5/5)

Finding Grace by Loretta Rothschild (4.5/5)

Durable Goods by Elizabeth Berg (4/5)

The Eights by Joanna Miller (4/5)

The Story of a Heart by Dr. Rachel Clarke (3.5/5)

You Are Here by David Nicholls (4/5)

Pete and Alice in Maine by Caitlin Shetterly (4.5/5)

The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny (3.5/5)

Movies & TV Series:

The Game - We enjoyed this suspenseful, cat-and-mouse series. Jason Watkins is a favorite from McDonald & Dodds. (Britbox)

Seven Dials - Another entertaining series with a great cast. Mia McKenna-Bruce, Helena Bonham Carter, and Martin Freeman are all outstanding. Kept me guessing! (Netflix)

Bookish - I enjoyed this quaint British series, but not quite as much as my husband or my mom. It reminded me a bit of Moonflower Murders. (PBS)

Life of Crime - Not a memorable series, but we were entertained. (Britbox & Prime)

Good Night, and Good Luck (on Broadway) - Outstanding!! I was blown away by this show. I had tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat during Clooney's final monologue, which is very timely. Highly recommend! (Netflix)

Quirke - I forgot to include this in my December wrap-up. Based on John Banville's (Benjamin Black) novels, starring Gabriel Byrne and Michael Gambon. Very good! (Britbox)

Lynley - Another series that I forgot to include last month. Based on Elizabeth George's mysteries. I hope there's another season. This one was good! (Britbox)

Puzzlemania:

Visitors:

Mom, Mark and Ana 

We are fortunate to get so many relatives visiting us here on the coast! My brother and sister-in-law came up from San Diego for a few days. We're looking forward to seeing them again this summer.

Wishing you all peace and love.

The Grey Wolf

 

The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #19

Mystery

2024

Finished on January 29, 2026

Rating: 3.5/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Relentless phone calls interrupt the peace of a warm August morning in Three Pines. Though the tiny Québec village is impossible to find on any map, someone has managed to track down Armand Gamache, head of homicide at the Sûreté, as he sits with his wife in their back garden. Reine-Marie watches with increasing unease as her husband refuses to pick up, though he clearly knows who is on the other end. When he finally answers, his rage shatters the calm of their quiet Sunday morning.

That's only the first in a sequence of strange events that begin The Grey Wolf, the nineteenth novel in Louise Penny's #1 New York Times bestselling series. A missing coat, an intruder alarm, a note for Gamache reading "This might interest you," a puzzling scrap of paper with a mysterious list—and then a murder. All propel Chief Inspector Gamache and his team toward a terrible realization. Something much more sinister than any one murder or any one case is fast approaching.

Armand Gamache; Jean-Guy Beauvoir, his son-in-law and second in command; and Inspector Isabelle Lacoste can only trust each other, as old friends begin to act like enemies, and long-time enemies appear to be friends. Determined to track down the threat before it becomes a reality, their pursuit takes them across Québec and across borders. Their hunt grows increasingly desperate, even frantic, as the enormity of the creature they’re chasing becomes clear. If they fail, the devastating consequences would reach into the largest of cities and the smallest of villages.

It's been almost two years since I read A World of Curiosities, Louise Penny's eighteenth installment in her Three Pines series. I loved that mystery, giving it a perfect 5-star rating. My husband and my mom both read Penny's next book (The Grey Wolf) and neither were that impressed, so I wasn't eager to pick it up anytime soon, especially when they told me it had a cliff-hanger. I decided to wait until The Black Wolf was published, with the intention of reading the two books back-to-back.

The Grey Wolf took a very long time to reveal the plot, and while I wasn't close to calling it quits, I was growing more and more impatient for the author to pull me in. Not only did I miss Three Pines and its inhabitants (most of the action takes place elsewhere), but struggled to keep track of the numerous characters sprinkled throughout the narrative. Eventually, the book reached a climax and I couldn't put it down, but as I mentioned, the ending was partially unresolved. Before I finished the mystery, I had decided not to go ahead with the follow-up for a few weeks, eager to read something else from my shelves. But once I read the last page, I knew I couldn't resist starting The Black Wolf. The suspense was too strong!

I was tempted to give The Grey Wolf a 4-star rating ("Very Good"), but decided that it was only the last third of the book that felt worthy of that distinction. So, I'm knocking it down a notch, but am hopeful that The Black Wolf is more satisfying. Judging from reviews on Goodreads, I am not the only reader who struggled with this mystery. Several readers have questioned whether it's time to say goodbye to Armand Gamache and friends. Time will tell...

Pete and Alice in Maine

 

Pete and Alice in Maine by Caitlin Shetterly

Fiction

2023

Finished on January 23, 2026

Rating: 4.5/5 (Excellent)

Publisher's Blurb:

Reeling from a painful betrayal in her marriage as the COVID-19 pandemic takes hold in New York City, Alice packs up her family and flees to their vacation home in Maine. She hopes to find sanctuary--from the uncertainties of the exploding pandemic and her faltering marriage.

Putting distance between herself and the stresses and troubles of the city, Alice begins to feel safe and relieved. But the locals are far from friendly. Trapped and forced into quarantine by hostile neighbors, Alice sees the imprisoning structure of her life in this new predicament. Stripped down to the bare essentials of survival and tending to the needs of her two children, she can no longer ignore all the ways in which she feels limited and lost--lost in the big city, lost as a wife, lost as a mother, lost as a daughter, and lost as a person. 

As the world shifts around her and the balance in her marriage tilts, Alice and her husband, Pete, are left to consider whether what keeps their family safe is the same thing as what keeps their family together.

Had I stumbled upon this novel in a bookstore, I would have bought it simply for the beautiful cover art. But I had been seeking out a copy at every independent bookstore we visited last year, finally finding a copy at Winter River Books in Bandon, Oregon. After reading a friend's glowing review of Shetterly's debut novel, I was eager to read it, and now I'm happy to own a copy since it will be one to read again.

I love a novel that pulls me in from the opening lines, keeping me reading late at night, inhaling it in two short days. I also don't mind reading about Covid and the lockdown, which in some ways reminds me that we can do hard things. I've read a few novels that are centered around the pandemic (Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult, Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, and most recently Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout), and Shetterly's didn't disappoint. Her writing is reminiscent of Catherine Newman's (We All Want Impossible Things, Sandwich, and Wreck), and the minute I finished this book, I searched the Internet to see if she had more to offer. I was happy to see that she has a follow-up, The Gulf of Lions, which is due out in May. 

My only quibble about the novel has to do more with the characters than the writing. The eldest daughter's attitude and mouthy attacks on her little sister and her mother made me want to shake her. Alice's husband is no prince, either. And yet I loved this compelling book about marriage and parenthood, warts and all.

I thought this was a lovely passage:

Anyway, the peonies, yes. There's that Jane Kenyon poem where she calls them "outrageous flowers." This year, seeing them in bloom in Maine for the first time, my first June here, and taking the time to really watch them go from those tight little balls to these luxurious Victorian pom-poms, I have seen what she meant. And then, as if they know how overly--no, outrageously--blessed they are with good fortune, rather than hold their heads high with pride, they droop like little supplicants, heads down, apologizing. 

Highly recommend!