Best Books of 2023 – Chapter 3

This was an author I was not familiar with but when Falling by T.J. Newman showed on one of my daily Bookbub e-mail messages, I was intrigued by the short blurb.  Imagine the story of a commercial airline pilot whose family is kidnapped and the only way they will be allowed to live, is if the pilot crashes his plane.  It is a choice between his family or him and his plane full of passengers.

In our post 9/11 world, it is amazing how incredible such an incident as this one could actually take place.  As the story unfolds, it becomes even more believable alternating between the cockpit, the airplane cabin, the kidnapped family, and others involved.  This book was an absolute page turner and many nights I had to force myself to put it down and go to bed.  Sharing more of the plot would be a spoiler so if my brief description has intrigued you as well, I have a suggestion.  Get up early one morning, make a big pot of coffee, and don’t stop reading until you have finished the book.  Because if you are like me, you’ll want to continue reading without stopping.

I have written before that Harlan Coben is one of my favorite authors for consistently writing exciting page-turner books.  And he has once again done it with I Will Find You.  Imagine a plot that opens with a prisoner serving a life sentence for murdering his three-year-old son.  Early on, he admits he didn’t do it but then information comes to light five years later that his son may not be dead.  If not, then who was the child found dead in their home?

Given the possibility that his son may be being held against his will, the protagonist must find a way to escape from a maximum-security prison to try to rescue his son.  His sister-in-law is willing to help and the two of them go on a twisting and turning adventure that keeps you guessing moment to moment.  The last 20 pages of the book are absolutely amazing and eye-opening.

This is another book that you will want to have long periods of uninterrupted reading without stopping.

It was her latest book, The Last Flight, that introduced me to author Julie Clark.  Having thoroughly enjoyed it, I began to look back at her previously published books.  This one, The Ones We Choose intrigued me enough to push the purchase button.

The protagonist is a female research geneticist who has a son conceived via a donor center.  Her son has trouble at a new school until he by chance, meets someone with whom he really clicks.  The moms become close friends and soon they are all doing things together.  The boys share what seems as an almost sibling relationship.  Then the question arises:  could they share the same father.

I always enjoy a novel that has a plausible plot and this one interested me since it was scientific.  At the conclusion of many chapters, there is a short discussion, sometimes medical, sometimes genetics that relates to the storyline.  These briefs help explain the consequences of some of the actions and although I did not check them all, the ones I did were factual.

If this author is new to you, I would definitely start with The Last Flight.  If you enjoy that one, you should give The Ones We Choose a shot also.  But if you have an interest in ancestry and how genes can evolve over time, then I would suggest this second book first.

I have always been intrigued about the story of the Titanic and have read numerous books about it, some fiction, some non-fiction.  Of course, Walter Lord’s A Night to Remember is the all-time best factual accounting of what transpired that fateful night in 1912.  So, when this book, Sheltering Angels by Louella Bryant popped up as one of the selections on my daily Bookbub discount list, I had to explore what it might be about.  But as soon as I read that it was a historical novel, I pushed the purchase button knowing there would be factual details included.

This is a story of a wealthy family, a wife (Florence Cumings), her husband (Bradley) and their three boys as well as a ship steward (Andrew (Andy) Cunningham) who served as their steward in their first-class accommodations on board the Titanic.  For over half the book, you get to know both main characters, Florence and Andy, as their lives develop separately, some of the hardships they experienced and some of the joys.  Over time, each marries, has a family, and for what would seem like serendipitous causes, find themselves on board the doomed ship.  Because the steward is serving only a small number of cabins, he gets to know the husband and wife well during their time together and continues to serve them right up to the time he helps the wife into one of the few lifeboats with he and her husband watching as the lifeboat is lowered to the frigid waters.

Saying more about what happens next would be a spoiler so I will share with you the amazing true part of the book.  First, both the Cumings and Cunningham’s families and their lives are factual.  A number of other individuals you encounter in the book are also real, as are the many well-known characters you would already be familiar with from reading Lord’s book.  But the one fact that really blew me away was that the author’s mother-in-law was the granddaughter of Florence Cumings.  Hearing stories from her mother-in-law for years spurred her on to research their lives and write this book.  So, no matter how many books you might have read about the Titanic, in this one you will learn about some real people you have never heard of before and their amazing story.

When this debut novel by Bonnie Garmus was first published, I was intrigued by the title since I am a chemist.  Even though the e-book edition was initially offered at a discounted price, after reading the synopsis about a woman cooking show host, I passed on it.  At some point afterwards, I added it to my Wishlist, but it never was marked down again.  Needing several books for fall trips I had scheduled, I decided to take a chance on it.  Wow am I ever glad I did!  I loved this book.

The book started with a most interesting turn of events that led the protagonist from her scientific research position to become the afternoon host for a cooking show.  Then once she did, it was especially enjoyable for me to read how despite being discouraged to do so by TV management, she shared intriguing chemistry details in her cooking.  The story is told from the perspective of several characters in the book, including her dog who shares his thoughts as well.  Several very sad events occur throughout the story that shape the characters.  And in the climax of the book, there are such unexpected twists, that it would be a spoiler to even mention them.

Trust me, I think you will thoroughly enjoy this book as much as I did.

     To be continued…