Forever Young: a Memoir by Hayley Mills

 Forever Young: A Memoir by actress Hayley Mills chronicles her recollections of her childhood when she became a Disney star to transitioning to grownup roles. Hayley was championed by Walt Disney himself in such movies as Pollyanna, The Parent Trap, and That Darn Cat. The daughter of actor John Mills and playwright Mary Hayley Bell, Mills found her transition from a wholesome teen to more mature roles difficult as fans wanted her to stay “forever young.”

Mills offers a look into her family, and if readers thought she lived a charmed life, she did, but not without obstacles. She shared her parents with an older sister, the actress Juliet Mills, and a younger brother Jonathan Mills. While she had a marvelous relationship with her father, she often found herself at odds with her mother, who she felt drank too much. Mills also experienced the fate of other child actors whose income was never realized as the Crown received most of it.

While the scope of the book covers her childhood through the birth of her first child, there is still much opportunity for another memoir about her adult life…and I, as a great fan from childhood on, hope that she will take a breath then write the second half of her memoirs.

Hayley Mills was born in London, where she currently resides. Born in 1946, she made her first appearance in films in 1959 in Tiger Bay, starring her father. Living in California for many years, she starred in “Good Morning, Miss Bliss,” the Disney forerunner of “Saved by the Bell,” more material that could be mined for a second memoir.

 

The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan

 

Long before cooking shows on the Food Network, England enjoyed a BBC program called The Kitchen Front, also the title of the latest novel by Jennifer Ryan. The show is looking for a female hostess, and since the British love nothing better than a good contest, four women compete for the spot.

The challenge promises a much-needed boost in the lives of each of women during World War II: Audrey, a war-widow needs more income to take care of her three children and her falling-down house; her sister Gwendoline, a battered wife who sees the contest as a chance to escape her husband; Nell, Gwendoline’s kitchen maid hopes the contest will help her leave a service position; and Zelda, a single woman with a big secret is also a chef who is desperate to compete with men in her profession.

Not only do the women each have to prepare three amazing dishes to win the contest, but they also must do so with the rationing of some groceries and the unavailability of others. For the winner, the Kitchen Network will be a dream come true, but what will happen to runners-up?

Jennifer Ryan was “a nonfiction book editor, first editing politics and economics at The Economist Books, and then moving on to the BBC, DK, and other publishers, editing books on health, cooking, wine, and history.” She wanted to share her grandmother’s stories about WWII and did so in The Chilbury Ladies' Choir, a bestseller.

 

Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena

 

Fred is a mean, sometimes cruel father in Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena. He who puts down his children at every turn, and his wife Sheila seems to be afraid of him. With considerable wealth, Fred originally planned to leave the bulk of his estate to his children – all his children, including the one not born of Sheila. But his sister Audrey insists he was going to leave half of his fortune to her.

On Easter evening, someone slays both Fred and Sheila in their home after their three children have gone home after a Not a Happy Easter meal where Fred had told them that he and Sheila are selling the family mansion. Not only are they murdered, but many of their expensive items are missing.

Not terribly upset about the death of their parents because of their father’s hateful ways and their mother’s lack of a maternal gene – she left their upbringing to their beloved nanny Irene – the three legitimate children, Catherine, Dan, and Jenna, are quickly under suspicion since it seems obvious that they will inherit the family millions. Did the illegitimate child also expect an inheritance that would further expose Fred for the disgusting man that he was?

Shari Lapena has filled this page turner with any number of possible murderers including children, spouses, a boyfriend, an aunt, and the mother of the illegitimate child. The possibility of suspects just keeps changing until the very end. This author never fails to keep me up at night finishing her latest.  

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting May 31, 2021.

I would like to thank the PENGUIN GROUP Viking for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones

 Rachel is on The Guilt Trip, the newest novel by Sandie Jones.

Three couples are traveling to Portugal for a wedding -- Ali and Will are getting married. Rachel and her husband Jack and their friends Paige and her husband Noah find Ali to be obnoxious and attention seeking, and they all wish that she were not going to marry into Jack’s family as Will is Jack’s brother. Rachel and Noah are long-time friends since college, although they did cross the line in their friendship once before Rachel committed to Jack, the coupling an incident which they have kept secret from both their spouses.

Ali’s actions and words insinuate that she has a special relationship with Jack, who cannot stand to be around her anymore. Rachel starts to wonder about her husband and Ali, and Paige feeds her insecurity about the possibility that Ali is cheating on Will with Jack. Jack revealed to Rachel that Ali is cheating on his brother Will with a guy from the office, but he cannot bring himself to tell Will, who is as happy as he has ever been.

When Rachel discovers certain truths about Ali that are unsettling, the plot spirals to an unexpected climax to the story. All the dynamics will change with the death of one of the members of the wedding party.

Working as a freelance journalist for more than 20 years, Sandie Jones turned to fiction with her debut novel, The Other Woman. She lives in London with her family.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting May 7, 2021.

I would like to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

 

Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins

 A Slow Fire Burning inside for so long has led someone to murder in Paula Hawkins’ latest thriller.

Is the killer Laura, a physically and emotionally damaged young woman who was thought to be the last one with the victim and had his blood on her T-shirt?

Perhaps it was the strange, hobbit-like Miriam. She said she found him that way, but did she leave him that way before she found him?

Then there’s Carla, the victim’s grieving aunt who lost her own son 15 years ago, whose former husband Theo has been led to believe that his wife and her nephew were having an affair. Could a jealous, grief-stricken ex who writes crime novels for a living have slit the throat of the young man?

An unpublished memoir by Miriam about being kidnapped as a teenager along with her best friend who was murdered and a seemingly plagiarized novel from that memoir by Theo adds an interesting thread that is woven throughout this clever novel.

Paula Hawkins, author of the best-selling The Girl on the Train, was a journalist for 15 years before turning to fiction writing. Born in Zimbabwe, she splits her time between London and Edinburgh.

 

For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing

 Samantha Downing has captured the personalities and attitudes of both teachers and students in her latest thriller, For Your Own Good. She nailed the demanding parents as well.

Riding on a high after winning Teacher of the Year at Belmont Academy, Teddy Crutcher feels compelled to teach some students lessons not necessarily a part of the curriculum. Case in point: Smug Zach Ward and his parents. Wanting Teddy to change Zach’s B+ to an A+ on a paper, the parents confront Teddy in his classroom, making Teddy dislike the teenage twerp even more.

Teddy feels he must push his students to be the best they can be, and he does not care for any interference from meddling parents and other teachers. In fact, he goes to deadly lengths to remove obstacles from his path.

This delightfully wicked tale is Samantha Downing’s third book following He Started It and her debut novel My Lovely Wife, which was nominated for an Edgar award. She lives in New Orleans.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting April 21, 2021.

I would like to thank Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

The Therapist by B.A. Paris

 

The Therapist is B. A. Paris’ latest psychological thriller that will have readers stumped as each clue is revealed.

Alice and her partner Leo decide to combine households and move to a gated community in London called The Circle. When Alice learns that a woman was murdered in their new home, she at first thinks she cannot continue living there then digs deeper to try to solve the mystery of who really killed the therapist.

As her circle of suspects keeps growing and changing, Alice finds herself teaming up with a private investigator who is also trying to determine the real killer. Could it be her partner Leo who has a really big secret she uncovers? Or is it one of the husbands of the women who live in The Circle? Alice scrambles to put the pieces together before someone else is murdered.

B.A. Paris continues to entertain her readers with page-turning plots. I could not have gone to bed without finishing this one. The author of Behind Closed Doors, The Breakdown, Bring Me Back, and The Dilemma – I have read them all --  lives in the United Kingdom.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting April 20, 2021.

I would like to thank St. Martin's Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.