Elaine Viets, Final Sail - The most recent installment in the "Dead End Jobs" series begins to fix a big plot mistake in Helen Hawthorne's personal life, which is a big relief ... and offers a lively, interesting new pair of mysteries, to boot. While Viets's stories aren't flawless, they are fast-paced, filled with interesting characters, and transport you to a place you'd like to hang out.
Judith Redline Coopey, Redfield Farm - Unusually for a book group selection, I really loved this book. I found it well centered in its time period - Pennsylvania just before the Civil War - and I found the stereotypical female first person narrator to be not only grounded in her time and place, but a well-rounded, believable, and likeable character, as well ... a refreshing change.
Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr., Time Out for Happiness - I'm an avowed Gilbreth-ophile, and I found this short biography of Gilbreth's parents delightful. In places it went back over material already contained in Cheaper by the Dozen and Belles on Their Toes, but there was a depth to it that those lighter books never quite reached.
Louisa May Alcott, An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving - This is a short, simple book about several children left at home alone on Thanksgiving and their attempt to make a nice Thanksgiving dinner on their own. None of the expected tropes occur, the dinner is not necessarily a success, but the warmth of the family comes through clearly and the book leaves you smiling.
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