Mary E. Trimble

A River for Gemma, by Debra Whiting Alexander, a novel that touched my heart, takes place in Oregon’s rural and rugged Willamette Valley, 2018.

Gemma Porter, 26, is considered “intellectually disabled” by many, but her grandmother sees a beautiful soul, a special person capable of great love. Gemma longs to have a baby, but there are those, including her mother, who feel she is not capable of handling such a responsibility. Although Gemma has her own apartment, a job, and can drive a car, she sometimes has trouble thinking things through.

When Gemma announces she is pregnant, and that she and her boyfriend intend to raise the child, many are outspoken about the couple’s ability to give the child adequate care.

Along with the turmoil of Gemma’s pregnancy, there’s a sinister, underlying threat that apparently involves Gemma’s grandmother’s hidden past. Threats of the family’s safety become more frequent and dangerous as they occur closer to home.

A River for Gemma is a story of limitless love, of overcoming restraints dictated by naysayers. It’s about possibilities, about hope. I enjoyed this novel and appreciated another way of looking at “disabilities” as “special abilities.”

Book Review: All That Is Secret

Posted on September 5, 2022 by Mary

All That Is Secret (An Annalee Spain Mystery Book 1) by Patricia Raybon is an absorbing novel that takes place in Denver, Colorado, 1923.

Annalee Spain leaves her teaching position as a theologian at a Bible college in Chicago to solve her father’s murder in Denver. As a “colored” woman, the venture is dangerous with the KKK wielding influence and terror, and corruption running rampant.

Annalee is a smart woman, and an avid amateur sleuth. Each chapter heading provides an apt quotation from her hero, Sherlock Holmes. Even though she held an impressive position as a professor, Annalee doesn’t have money. The clothes she wears are second-hand—she barely scrapes enough money together for her train fare.

The mystery she intends to solve begins on the train when she is confronted with threats. For protection, she hides in the train’s baggage car and encounters a stow-away, Eddie Brown, a twelve year-old orphan, a white boy in search of his missing father. They join forces, each with their own desperate missions.

When they arrive in Denver, they’re given shelter by handsome Jack Blake, a black minister, a well-respected man with a loyal congregation.

As the mystery unfolds, the reader gets a glimpse of Denver in the 1920s with its secrets of class, race, family and love. The author paints well-drawn, realistic personalities and situations. The story is not only a good mystery, but a realistic view of Denver in that time period, especially for a black person.

Book Review: The Rise of Light

Posted on August 29, 2022 by Mary

The Rise of Light by Olivia Hawker is a powerful novel that takes place in Rexburg, Idaho, 1975. The story is based on real events that occurred within the author’s family.

Tamsin, 17, is the youngest child and only daughter of the Rigby family. Her twin brothers, Ondi and Brig,19, are preparing to serve their mission, expected of young men of the Latter-Day Saint (Mormon) faith. Aran, the oldest child at 23, is Tamsin’s favorite brother. His great love is art, though his talent is frowned upon by his father.

Gad, the patriarch of the Rigby family, is a tyrant, an emotionally abusive father who uses the Church doctrines to mold his family into what he feels is righteous behavior. Even though Aran is an exceptional artist, Gad scorns his son’s talent, expecting him to carry on the family business of sign making. His wife, the mother of their four children, is meek, obedient, and long-since stripped of any individuality or joy.

When Linda Duff moves from Seattle to Rexburg, she’s considered an outsider, even though she is a baptized Mormon. She simply isn’t “one of them.” Linda craves normalcy, a way of life different from her bitter childhood. She becomes friends with both Tamsin and Aran, friendships that their father disapproves. Linda encourages Aran with his artistic talent, can see a future for him in the art world. With Linda, Tamsin can share her real feelings, can see that there is life beyond the restrictions of her overbearing father who won’t even discuss her foolish desire to attend university, but rather insists she marry by age 19 and become a good wife and mother.

When a violent catastrophe occurs affecting the whole town, the ensuing floodwaters create a flood of emotions with no hope of turning back, of returning to what they once had.

The Rise of Light is a masterpiece of family dynamics, of the art world, and of the courage it takes to follow one’s heart. I appreciate the author’s ability to capture landscape, to include the tiniest details, making the scenes come to life. She vividly describes Aran’s art and how he sees light and interprets it on canvas. This is a worthy novel, a captivating read that I highly recommend.

Book Review: Mixed Company

Posted on August 22, 2022 by Mary

Mixed Company, a book of twelve fiction short stories by Jenny Shank, is filled with diverse characters of humanity, depth, and humor.

Based primarily in Denver, with the exception of a poignant journey of a Denver family’s visit to Paris, this story collection is filled with people of different racial and economic backgrounds who find themselves thrown together with the expectation of accomplishing some sort of goal. The mix and ideals of the various characters in the stories are told with humor, grit, honesty and an innocence that I found spellbinding.

Every player Shank depicts has clear imagery, a reason for being there, from a worried pregnant woman, to an awkward middle-school basketball player, to a white mother of an adopted Black boy—all of them in search of happiness, or at least acceptance.

Each story has its own message and I found myself alternately laughing, cringing, or close to tears. Although I usually prefer novels—something that I can savor for a period of time—I loved this collection of short stories.

Book Review: The Cold Dish: A Longmire Mystery

Posted on August 15, 2022 by Mary

I was a huge fan of Netflix’s Longmire series. Having watched this contemporary western gave me instant recognition of the novel’s characters. Craig Johnson’s The Cold Dish: A Longmire Mystery was a joy to read.

Walt Longmire is sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming. He learns that the body of a young man has been found, dead of a rifle bullet, apparently shot from long distance. The victim is a young man, one of four boys who were tried for raping Melissa Little Bird, a niece of Walt’s friend, Henry Standing Bear. Even though the boys were found guilty, the judge gave them limited sentences in juvenile facilities.

A second boy is shot and killed and the need to find the killer increases. Walt’s deputy, Victoria (Vic) becomes involved as they not only try to solve these murders, but attempt to stop any more attacks on the boys.

The Cold Dish is an absorbing read. I love Craig Johnson’s easy-going narrative and the plot was intricate enough to keep me guessing. I’m looking forward to reading more of the Longmire Mystery series.

Book Review: Striking Range

Posted on August 8, 2022 by Mary

Striking Range: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery by Margaret Mizushima, the seventh novel in the “Timber Creek K-9 Mystery” series, takes place in the Colorado Rockies.

Sheriff Deputy Mattie Cobb meets with cold-case detective Jim Hauck at the Colorado state prison with the intention of interviewing the man who tried to kill Mattie and who may have killed her father thirty years before. But when the prisoner is summoned, he is found dead in his cell. They’re left with only one clue: a hand-drawn map leading to Timber Creek and rugged Redstone Ridge.

Mattie and Robo, her K-9 German shepherd, and detective Jim Hauck, attempt to find clues from the map to solve that mystery. Before they can finish their search, Mattie is called to investigate the death of a young woman found by elk hunters in a nearby campground. The victim appears to have recently given birth, but the infant is nowhere to be found. The weather worsens, covering the forest with a layer of ice and snow, making the search for the infant even more difficult, dangerous and desperate.

In the meantime, veterinarian Cole Walker, Mattie’s love interest and often her partner in solving crimes, is occupied at his clinic delivering a valuable litter of pups. Cole also remembers the deceased pregnant woman being in his clinic just the day before with her dog. Cole is eventually freed from his duties and joins in the search for the infant.

When Cole goes missing and is stranded and alone in the high country with a person Mattie suspects is the killer, she and Robo begin their search for Cole. But, it seems, the killer is one step ahead.

I was intrigued with this mystery, and especially appreciated the information given along the way about police K-9 service dogs. Also of interest to me were details of systematic law enforcement procedures. People who like mysteries, and especially people who love reading about working dogs, will enjoy this novel.

Book Review: In an Instant

Posted on July 25, 2022 by Mary

In an Instant , a novel by Suzanne Redfearn, is a highly suspenseful story of survival, both physically and mentally, when faced with tragedy.

When the Miller family planned a skiing trip, they never dreamed it would end in tragedy. The family of six, plus friends and a young fellow who needed a ride, were involved in a devastating accident when their car skidded in the snow and plummeted down a mountainside. Sixteen-year-old Finn Miller died instantly, her father was severely injured, and others received cuts, bumps and bruises. But as time went on, freezing temperatures, and no adequate food or water were their real enemies.

The story is told by Finn Miller, deceased but suspended between worlds. Finn watches as her family struggles to survive. Decisions have to be made, action taken, but it seems there are no good answers for the survivors. Blame is cast, regret and guilt dominate, best friends become enemies. In an instant, their lives are altered forever.

In an Instant made me wonder what I would do if faced with such tragedy, when there were no good solutions. The story, written in first-person, is a realistic view of a family in crises. The relationships between siblings is compelling, as is the drama between the adults of the involved families. I was captivated by this heartrending story about the power of love, and recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a good suspenseful story.

Book Review: Blind Man’s Bluff

Posted on July 18, 2022 by Mary

Blind Man’s Bluff: A Memoir by James Tate Hill is a humorous story of a not-so-funny condition. From his teen years, Tate’s eyes began to fail due to a rare degenerative disease, Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy, that left him legally blind. The story begins in 1998, when Hill has just graduated from college. The narration uses flashbacks to his childhood struggle to cover up his disability.

The title of the book refers to a children’s game, but also refers to Tate’s efforts to hide his disability, and to attempt to live a normal life rather than appear needy. As a teen he manages to get by at school by accepting mediocre grades, rather than admit he couldn’t see the blackboard or read assignments.

At college, he refuses to use a cane or a guide dog. At times he puts himself in danger, trying to navigate walking along busy streets. Since he can’t read a menu, he usually orders the same food in restaurants. When shopping for groceries, he can distinguish eggs from canned goods, but he can’t read labels, so he learns to eat strange combinations of food. He marries, but because of his choice not to disclose his blindness to others, the relationship is strained and his marriage is in trouble.

Despite the gravity of Tate’s condition, Blind Man’s Bluff is laced with humorous situations, anecdotes, and hope. I enjoyed the reference to books, movies and music of the 80s and 90s. As an observer, I often wondered why Tate didn’t just tell people of his blindness. His life would have been so much easier. But it wasn’t my choice, and I enjoyed reading the author’s perspective of dealing with the challenging circumstances of a very personal debilitating condition. I highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially to those dealing with personal challenges. The book is available in print, in e-book format, and also in audio.

Book Review: Ordinary Wolves

Posted on July 11, 2022 by Mary

Ordinary Wolves: A Novel by Seth Kantner offers an extraordinary look at life in Alaska from the viewpoint of a white boy who longs to be native.

Cutuk Hawcley was born and raised in the Arctic. Before he was born, his parents moved to Alaska, built a sod igloo and subsisted in the wilderness. His father earned a living by hunting, trading, and selling his paintings. His mother grew weary of the Alaska wilds and abandoned the family, leaving the father to raise their three children. The novel is written in first-person in the voice of their youngest child, Cutuk.

Cutuk becomes expert in dealing with the hardships of the far north, the endless freezing cold, the caring for sled dogs, subsisting on caribou and bear they have killed, or berries they have gathered. Eventually his older brother leaves home, and then his sister leaves to attend college.

Although proficient at providing for himself, Cutuk is never accepted by many of the native peoples, especially the boys. When he travels to the nearby Iñupiaq village, he is jeered and pummeled by the native children for being white. Cutuk observes how many of the native people live—excessive drinking, disinterest in planning for the future, and mismanagement of money. However, he idolizes the indigenous hunters who taught him how to survive.

As a young man Cutuk moves to Anchorage only to realize he doesn’t fit in with that society either. He gives up his Iñupiaq name and becomes known as Clayton. He is amazed by the consumer culture, and the appalling waste. He’s bewildered and confused by urban slang. Although he finds work, he never finds “home” in Anchorage.

When Cutuk returns to Alaska’s far north, he finds a different environment than when he left. He is disappointed in the Iñupiaqs’ adoption of American fast food, gadgets and fads. He’s angered by hunters who kill for the sake of killing, who shoot for sport from airplanes. Cutuk realizes he must make his own world, follow his own sense of living in the frozen tundra.

Ordinary Wolves is an amazing, insightful novel written by a man born and raised in northern Alaska. What he writes about Alaska rings true—the good and the bad. This is a coming-of-age story people of all ages would enjoy.

Book Review: The Five People You Meet in Heaven

Posted on July 4, 2022 by Mary

The Five People You Meet in Heaven, a novel by Mitch Albom, more than met my expectations. I loved Albom’s excellent Tuesdays with Morrie and hoped this book would be as inspirational. It was.

Eddie, an old, wounded war veteran, is really too old to be the head maintenance man at the Ruby Point Amusement Park. But he’s worked there for years and knows the inner workings of the rides better than anyone. An accident is about to happen with one of the daredevil rides and Eddie rushes to try to fix the problem.

The next thing Eddie knows he is in heaven. While in this surreal place, he meets five people who made important impacts during the different stages of his life. He has lived a long, rather ordinary life, had a difficult childhood, fought in a terrible war, married the love of his life, and was widowed.

In alternating sections, the book flashes back to Eddie’s birthdays, to parties he never wanted which nevertheless marked important moments.

In heaven, as Eddie again sees the five people who impacted his life, new awareness arises. He sees purpose to his life, even in simple mundane things—the accidents he prevented, the rides he kept safe, unnoticed little things he did every day that brought joy to families. Even the tragedy of war is revisited, and the horrific part he was forced to play.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven is an inspirational book, poignant with everyday living that adds up to a lifetime of lessons to share. People of all ages would gain insights and hope from this book. It is a story to remember.