BOOK REVIEW: Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout

 I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

Elizabeth Strout always digs deep into the hearts of her characters. They lead messy lives. They are flawed. But she portrays them and their situations with such compassion and realism that I’m always entranced. In her latest novel, Tell Me Everything, Strout returns to small-town Maine for a reunion of sorts with Olive Kitteridge, Lucy Barton, Bob Burgess, and a host of other familiar characters. Their lives are now intertwined. It is a post-pandemic world (though Covid is not entirely gone.) They’ve aged. They are, to some extent, taking stock of their lives. But they are also continuing to live those lives, encountering new dilemmas that must be resolved. There are new losses that must be adapted to. New friendships develop.

The novel dances around a murder mystery, but this is kept largely in the background. It’s not a detective story. Rather, the murder allows a more in-depth look at the type of person Bob Burgess is, as he takes on the defense of the main suspect.

More than this, the novel is about stories. Strout’s novels are always stories of people’s lives, but this book takes that one step further. Olive has heard of Lucy from Bob, and sends word that she would like to meet her to tell her a story, thinking she might be able to use it in her writing. (Lucy is a novelist.) They meet. Olive tells Lucy the story of her mother’s first love. This sets off a chain where the two meet and tell each other stories of “unrecorded lives.” The point being: everyone has a story.

The point is not an original one, but Strout does a superb job of showing the truth in this simple statement with a series of stories within the story. As always, this is a quiet book. Quietly intense. If you haven’t read Strout before, I’d recommend starting with an earlier book so that you can follow the lives of these people as they grow.

BOOK REVIEW: The Deserted Heart by Mary Lancaster

I took a dive into Mary Lancaster’s backlist and read The Deserted Heart, book 1 in her series, The Unmarriageable.

In this case, the “unmarriageable” is Charlotte, the second daughter of the Earl of Overton. Sandwiched between two very beautiful sisters, Charlotte is also disadvantaged by a small limp acquired during an illness, and a very slight stammer, that she is generally now able to control. However, she has gotten used to the idea that these deficits mean no man will pursue her, primarily because her parents and sisters constantly drive the point home. She is relegated to caring for her younger brothers, wearing hand-me-downs, and awaiting the day when she will be the spinster caring for her parents. Despite all this, she is good-natured, fun-loving, and devoted to her family.

The Overtons had been living abroad, but returned to London to salvage their poor financial state. The family is relying on the eldest daughter, Thomasina, a renowned beauty, to marry well and rescue them. Thomasina is prepared to do so, but none of her suitors has come up to scratch. Until, finally, the aloof Duke of Alvan makes his interest known. He is coming to the Overtons home to visit – and everyone knows what that means.

Alvan and Charlotte are both on their way to the Overton estate. They meet at an inn, under unusual circumstances, and find themselves confronting a mystery: the inn is entirely deserted. The staff has disappeared. They are unable to solve the mystery in their short time at the inn. But when Alvan later turns up at Charlotte’s family home to woo Thomasina, he is drawn instead to Charlotte. 

The two protagonists are genuinely interested in the mystery, but continuing to investigate also affords them an excuse to spend time together. Soon, Alvan is ready to offer for Charlotte, but she refuses him out of loyalty to her sister. Alvan leaves, devastated. He and Charlotte must then find their way back to each other.The protagonists make a great pair, and it’s a joy to see them solve the mystery and overcome the barriers keeping them apart. I’m going to have to keep going with this series!