Donna P

It pains me to write this review as I enjoyed reading Cemetery Girl by David Bell and was looking forward to this book. With book club on hiatus for a few months, I have looked forward to reading lighter weight books and especially thrillers which I love. While I was engrossed in Mr. Bell's first book, I found it hard to keep my attention on this book. The plot was convoluted and didn't seem plausible. For me, a thriller has to have a very plausible plot line. The characters were also one dimensional and frankly I didn't really like any of them. I would recommend trying to read some of Mr. Bell's earlier books. They are much better.

I just finished The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper and I enjoyed the book. I found it to be a sweet story, sometimes sad but poignant. Arthur, the main character, through a journey of self discovery grew as a person, no matter that he was 70. There were also some nice passages that rang true to me concerning love, marriage and life. The plot had some nice little twists I was not expecting. I think this book would appeal to a middle age or older audience as it deals with aging and surviving the death of a spouse. That being said, I hope it is a book that younger people would read to get an appreciation for their parents or grandparents. There is plenty here to discuss in a book-group.