June books

My favourite reads from June are:

Nita Prose - The Maid

Molly is proud of her position as a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel. Putting a room back in order makes her feel good about herself. But she finds it hard reading people's actions and dealing with social situations, and others sometimes call her unkind names. It's been especially hard since her beloved Gran died a few months earlier. Gran brouught her up on her own, and instilled in her a code of old-fashioned values that Molly still strives to uphold. But her life turns upside down when she discovers Mr. Black, one of the rich guests, dead in his room. She has to answer police questions, and the attitudes of her associates in the hotel change too - except for those of fatherly doorman, Mr. Preston. When it becomes clear that Mr. Black didn't die of natural causes, and Molly herself falls under suspicion, that we begin to discover that there are hidden depths to this endearing young woman. Molly becomes aware that those she has trusted in the past may not have had her interests at heart. Expertly written from Molly's point of view, as the murder mystery that unfolds around her and the plot proceeds with pace towards its clever conclusion. 

Rachel Burton - The Last Party at Silverton Hall

In 2019, Isobel returns to Norfolk when her grandmother Vivien leaves her Little Clarion, the house they lived in when Isobel was growing up. Grief mixes with guilt that she hadn't visited more often, especially as her parents are living in the USA. Now she finds that the old house is in sad need of restoration - much like herself. Her life hasn't turned out the way she had dreamed. Her art talents have been abandoned, and her engagement turned out to be a disaster. Jobless and single, the only thing that is calling her is the house. When she turns for help to her grandmother's friend, Spencer, she's thrown into the presence of his grandson, Nick, with whom she has a distant history. Memories of a special kiss they shared when they were young haunt her. Gradually she finds herself involved with nearby Silverton Hall, the Jacobean house which is now a hotel, but has some hidden connection with her inheritance. A forgotten photograph discovered there stirs up secrets from the past. As Isobel realises that her grandmother's home is the place she wants to be, she begins to uncover shocking, long-hidden truths - not just about Vivien and her grandfather Max, but also Nick's secrets that he doesn't want to reveal. Slipping in time between 2019 and the 1950s, this novel draws us into a different time and place as Isobel learns the truth about those she loves.

Bonnie Garmus - Lessons in Chemistry

I've been seeing this book advertised frequently recently, especially as it's now a TV series. So I decided to delve in - and I wasn't disappointed. Refreshingly different, we meet American Elizabeth Zott in 1961 as she turns her back on a scientific career and begins presenting 'Supper at Six' on television. Elizabeth is clever, determined, and hurting badly. Life has been hard for her, but she's determined to keep going, especially for the sake of her talented child, Madeline. To the producer's eternal frustration, she turns a cooking show for housewives into a lesson in chemistry. She teaches them about the content of food, how heating affects the composition of the ingredients, and insists on calling salt 'sodium chloride'. She's standing up for all the women who, like herself, have been kept down and told they are only fit to stay at home and can't have jobs in science, like men. We learn own history, the struggles she's had throughout her life as an unconventional woman, and her unusual love story. Even her dog, Six-Thirty, is not everyone's idea of a usual dog. Little Madeline is also different, brought up so that her talents and intelligence shine. Told in the author's matter-of-fact style which complements the main character perfectly, it uncovers the shortcomings of women's treatment in US society at the time. It also celebrates women's courage and the men who have the perspicacity to realise that things need to change. Plus it's also about love, friendship and respect, and is a colourful snapshot of this era in history.