Highland Fling by Katie Fforde

326 pages

Copyright 2003

St. Martin's Press

New York NY

It was purely on a whim that I picked up from my library Highland Fling, another of British romance writer Katie Fforde's books. Surprisingly enough it didn't turn out to be the type of read I expected.

The Plot (courtesy of the publisher):

"After a fight with her boyfriend, a business trip to Scotland is the perfect diversion for Jenny Porter, who works as a virtual assistant for a financial executive. Dispatched to assess a failing textile mill, Jenny instead finds herself determined to save it at any cost after befriending its charming employees. That cost might just be her sanity as she stretches her resources, patience, and compassion to the outer limits.

"As she gets to know the colorful Dalmain clan, Jenny just can't say no when asked to help run a mobile food stand, save the family business, put an overbearing matriarch in her place, rekindle an old romance, or throw a dinner party for sixteen on short notice. Then there's the problem of being attracted to the dashing yet abrasive Ross Grant, who has a way of showing up just when things seem almost sane and manageable.

"The majestic Scottish highlands, covered in purple heather and dotted with sheep and llamas, provide a dramatic backdrop while Jenny tries to pull everything together in time to save the mill and figure out her increasingly complicated personal life..."

My Thoughts:

As I said, it was purely on a whim that I picked up Highland Fling. I was currently working my way through a very long book and felt a brief reading diversion was needed. As you may recall I read two other books by Ms. Fforde (Practically Perfect and Bidding For Love) earlier this summer, and while I did have some minor objections (i.e. to the story and/or the writing style), I enjoyed them for the most part... At least for what the type of books that they are: chick-lit novels, stories of pure fluff, tales of love and adventure for the 20-something British girl. I rated both of those books fairly high between a 3 and 4. Unfortunately Highland Fling didn't fare so well. On a scale of 1-5, 1 being horrible and 5 being excellent I would rate it a 2.

Why so low? Well, for starters I found several of the main characters annoying. I think Ms. Fforde was trying to develop a feisty relationship between the female and male protagonists. You know, the kind of verbal sparring that readers find so romantic in books like Pride and Prejudice, North and South, or even Anne of Green Gables. Unfortunately it didn't come off in this book. Jenny's character is rude and mean and the male protagonist is gruff and a little one-dimensional. As for the other characters, a few were likable, but most were a combination of snobbish, patronizing, selfish, and down right obnoxious.

The other problem I had with the book had to do with the quantity and quality of language and love scenes. Previously in my reviews I have praised Ms. Fforde's writing for it's lack of profanity. I cannot say the same of Highland Fling. There was a great deal of profanity, albeit mostly offensive to readers in the States rather than those in the UK. As for the love scenes -- while there was only one specific scene -- the characters in the book (particularly Jenny) seemed obsessed with lust rather than love. I found myself wrinkling my nose insead of sighing as I might have done while reading Pride and Prejudice, North and South, or Anne of Green Gables (to name a few.)

That said, I did find the whole story plot revolving around saving Dalmain Mills clever and unique. But in the end the book's "happily ever after" ending seemed to end on a rushed note and I was left thinking and feeling Highland Fling was just not one of Ms. Fforde's better books. In my opinion pass this one over and find something else to read.

First Family by David Baldacci

We interrupt these positive book reviews for the unexpected... a review of a book I not only didn't like, but I didn't finish reading.

I first discovered First Family by David Baldacci while browsing the book selection at Costco. I've always enjoyed a good political thriller, especially when it's set in Washington, DC and involves the White House. And it looked like First Family was just such a book. I'd never read anything by Baldacci before, but made a mental note to check the book out sometime, perhaps at the library. Especially when I read the description on the book's dust jacket along with the praise, "David Baldacci's most heart-pounding thriller to date..."

The Book Summary:
"It began with what seemed like an ordinary children's birthday party. Friends and family gathered to celebrate. There were balloons and cake, games and gifts. This party, however, was far from ordinary. It was held at Camp David, the presidential retreat. And it ended with a daring kidnapping... which immediately turned into a national security nightmare. Sean King and Michelle Maxwell were not looking to become involved. As former Secret Service agents turned private investigators, they had no reason to be. The FBI doesn't want them interfering. But years ago, Sean King saved the First Lady's husband, then a senator, from political disaster. Now, Sean is the one person the First Lady trusts, and she presses Sean and Michelle into the desperate search to rescue the abducted child. With Michelle still battling her own demons, and forces aligned on all sides against her and Sean, the two are pushed to the absolute limit. In the race to save an innocent victim, the line between friend and foe will become impossible to define... or defend." (Summary courtesy of the publisher)

My Thoughts
Because First Family is a new release (copyright April 2009) the book has been in high demand at my local library, but after only a month and a half wait I was finally able to pick up my reserved copy and began to read.

And thus followed a series of disappointments. The first being that I expected the story to closely follow the President and the First Lady, hence the title, right? Wrong. It's not actually about the First Family... it's about the First Lady's brother and his family and via them the President and First Lady. Ok, no big deal, it's close enough. I kept reading.

But then there was the two private detectives, Sean King and Michelle Maxwell. First Family is clearly not the first book by Baldacci that King and Maxwell star, so as I read I felt I was missing a lot of back story and inside jokes. Perhaps I'd feel differently if I had first read the book where they initially appeared. Still, I kept reading.

First Family is filled with the typical amount of violence found in the book's genre and some sexual content, neither being too graphic, but both a little more than I was willing to handle at this time. The criminals appear hardened and nasty, or at the very least insane. The language is moderate yet frequent, with a fair amount of crude insults included. Added together the book began to lose me.

And call me critical, but I felt the writing style was cheap-fiction, the type of book an author cranks out in order to keep his/her name on the top seller list or to hurry up and meet a deadline in order to make the leap from bookshelf to movie theatre. The plot itself, while intriguing, just wasn't pulling me in like other political thrillers have. Instead I found myself wishing I was reading one or more of the books sitting on my nightstand.

And so I guess it is no surprise that by chapter 10 I called it quits and began flipping through the last two chapters to see how the author wrapped up the story. I was relieved to see I had made the right choice. The way the story ended I wouldn't have been happy, it wasn't at all what I expected and I am glad I didn't spend the time to read all 89 chapters and 452 pages.

My Synopsis
The long and short of it is this, I just didn't find First Family a great or even good read. On a scale of 1-5 (1 being horrible and 5 being excellent), based on the 10 chapters I did read and 2 additional chapters I skimmed, I would rate First Family a 1.5 to 2. This is a book that's headed back to the library where someone else can give it a chance. As for me... I'm moving on to something else.

The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett

I first discovered the The Thin Man movies (1934-1947) starring William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles when I was a teenager. They are a mix of detective "who-donit" and comedy with witty dialog and charming chemistry between Powell and Loy. Until recently I had no idea these movies were initially inspired by a book.

Published in 1934, The Thin Man is Dashiell Hammett’s final novel. In the novel, former private detective Nick Charles and his wife Nora, have come to New York City to spend Christmas. While there they get pulled into a murder investigation involving one of Nick’s former employer, Clyde Wynant and his lawyer, ex-wife, and family. To complicate matters Wynant, the key suspect, has skipped town. Throughout the story as Nick and Nor try to discern the truth and solve the murder, the reader is introduced to a variety of characters, mostly the “lowlife” of the city who spend their nights moving from one speakeasy to another.

As mentioned above, I had seen The Thin Man movie years ago, so I was fairly acquainted with Nick and Nora Charles, though I remembered nothing of the plot or ending. What really surprised me, a book lover, was how much better I liked the movie adaptation. Between the two the story plot remains the same, but the details differ. The book is much grimmer. Case in point, the son, Gilbert Wynant and his morbid interest in topics like cannibalism... but more on that later.

Literaries consider Dasheill Hammett one of the greatest authors of "hard boiled" detective fiction. Hard boiled is defined as a literary style that portrays crime, violence, sex in an unsentimental light. I think another word might be "raw."

It is believed that Hammett drew many of his ideas for stories from his personal experiences while working as a private detective before World War II. It wasn't until after the War that Hammett retired from solving crime and began to write about it. His total works include six detective novels and numerous short stories of crime and mystery. His most famous works include The Thin Man and The Maltese Falcon. Both are listed on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list and the latter, which was also adapted to film starring Humphrey Bogart, and was called one the greatest movie of all times by movie critic Roger Ebert.

To some degree I can see why people laud The Thin Man as a great book. Hammett's writing style is unique, the story is fast paced and interesting, and as a mystery it is a tight and clever story. But in the end I just didn't like it.

To start with, for the first ten chapters I found the prose choppy and difficult to follow. But then, either I got used to it, or Hammett's writing improved, because after Chapter 10 I stopped noticing it.

As for content, there is much that could be considered "objectionable" by readers. First, the language rates strong into the moderate range. Second, although set during prohibition, alcohol is very prominent in the story. In fact, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that in every scene the characters were downing some form of alcohol, pouring a cocktail and about to drink, or had just finished multiple drinks. It's a wonder that Nick isn't in a perpetual state of drunkenness for the entire story. Third, the violence ranges from mild to moderate. The murders in the books aren't too descriptive, particularly in comparison with today's standards and fall onto the mild end of the scale. It is the four page story about cannibalism in the United States, that Wynant's son Gilbert reads that pushes the violence into the moderate zone. Why Hammett felt this part was important to the story plot I'll never know, but I can say this -- a reader of The Thin Man is safe skipping these four pages without losing anything valuable from the plot. Overall for a 1930s novel there isn't much detail on any of these objections, but it is very evident for those who have seen the movie adaptations that the Hollywood censors did clean up the story.

I realize not everyone will agree with me, and perhaps it is not very literary of me, but in my opinion if you want to enjoy The Thin Man skip the book and watch the movies. On a scale of one to five, one being horrible and five being excellent I'd have to rate this novel a 1 to a 1.5. However, if you are curious and want to read the book, borrow don't buy it.

Because I did find Hammett's writing style unique I may give him another try and read The Maltese Falcon, but it won't be any time soon. I'm just not the "hard boiled" reading type.

Absent In The Spring by Mary Westmacott (a.k.a Agatha Christie)

Absent In The Spring is the third of six novels written by Agatha Christie under the nom-de-plume, Mary Westmacott. At some point I read that the novels published under this name were stories of romance, but apparently that is false, they are actually tragedies. A fact I found out too late when reading this book. I expected a romance and found something else instead. (Please note this review contains a spoiler, so read with caution, the spoiler is marked so it can be avoided easily.)

A short novel (161 pages), the story is set in the Middle East and England. The protagonist, Joan Scudamore, is a middle-aged mother of three and wife of a successful county solicitor. As the story opens, Joan is traveling back home from Baghdad, Iraq after visiting her youngest daughter who has been gravely ill. En route to England Joan becomes stranded for several days at a Rest House in the middle of nowhere when heavy rain storms prevent her next mode of transportation (a train) from arriving. At first, Joan views this unexpected delay as a respite, a time to rest and of self-discovery. Unfortunately her reflections soon bring to the surface some uncomfortable truths about herself and her loved ones. This isn't the tragedy, it's how Joan deals with these truths that becomes the tragedy.

Absent In The Spring is a very well written novel. Westmacott/Christie does a wonderful job writing a story that is told mostly in retrospect without losing the interest of the reader, a difficult task. But that is all I can give in praise of this book. I did not like Absent In The Spring. I found Joan to be selfish, shallow, and a complete snob. (If I were to name another fictional character that she closely resembled, I'd have to say Mrs. Bennett in Pride And Prejudice. While she wasn't as silly as Mrs. Bennett, Joan's attention to other people was just as shallow and her ability to deal with difficult situations, just as self-centered and lazy.)

****SPOILER****
Towards the end of the novel Joan comes to grips with some very difficult truths and is resolved to return home and set things right; to start afresh... But I was annoyed to find her returning to the same-ol'-same-old almost as soon as she arrives home.

In a nutshell, Absent In The Spring is a sad, bleak, almost depressing tale of a middle-age woman who faces the ugliness in her true self, resolves to change, but sinks back into the same life without even making a sincere effort.

****END OF SPOILER****

Absent In The Spring was published in 1944. As you may recall if you read my review of The Mystery of the Blue Train, Agatha Christie had undergone a very painful period in her life during the late 1920s when her husband announced he wanted a divorce. I can't help but wonder if some of Christie's personal emotions and observations of people in her life (including herself) played into Joan's story.

On a scale of 1-5 (one being horrible and five being excellent), I would rate Absent In The Spring a 2. I didn't like it; I don't care for tragedies. However, it was well written. Westmacott/Christie's writing captures the characteristics of her protagonist very well. Anyone who loves a good tragedy would find this novel a quick and perhaps enjoyable read. (Can a tragedy ever be enjoyable?)

I am glad I borrowed my copy from the library rather than buying it. In the future if I ever find myself in a mood for a tragedy, I might consider reading another Westmacott novel, but for now... I am quite happy reading one Christie's crime novels. At least the tragedy in those is kept to a "who-dun-it" murder mystery.

Washington's Lady by Nancy Moser

I feel a little like one part of Ebert & Roeper here and I will tell you why in a minute.

Until recently I had never heard of Nancy Moser, but a very positive review of her most recent historical fiction novel intrigued me and I decided to read Washington's Lady for my next book.

I picked up my copy at the library late last week. I only made it about a quarter of the way into the story before I tossed it aside. I couldn't finish it... I was either gagging or rolling my eyes. Something was bugging me the entire time I was reading, but I couldn't quite place my finger on it. Today I returned the book to the library. Having now had a little more time to think about it, this is the conclusion I've reached.

Washington's Lady is the story of Martha Washington and her romance and marriage to our first Commander in Chief, George Washington. The story is written in the first person and the author did a good deal of research. Her story includes many true accounts, but also quite a bit of fiction.

Having just finished a 600+ story of life during the early 19th century (which was written during the mid 19th century) I found Moser's writing hard to swollow. As I read I couldn't help but feel something wasn't right -- the writing voice sounded too modern... or when it didn't sound modern it sounded like the author was doing her best to make the voice sound old-fashioned.

Another reason I didn't enjoy the book was Martha. I realize the real Martha was human and I have no false conceptions otherwise, however the character of Martha in this book really came across as a spoiled bratt... don't even get me started on the fictional conversations she would have concerning her children. I realize they might be based upon true principles that she had, but the overall scene was grating to my nerves as a reader.

Nancy Moser may be a very good writer, but in my mind her books fall into the "Potato Chip" novel category. Something I might read on occasion, but not something I make a regular diet of and not something I push myself to finish when it just tastes stale.

So, if I were one half the movie critic team of Ebert & Roeper this would be the one that I'd give a tumbs down to. But don't let that stop you from checking the book out yourself. If you are into historical fiction, particularly women's romance this might be the book for you. And to be fair, if you wish to read a positive review of this book check it out here.