The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

While residing in the Sun River community in St. George, I wandered into the library hoping for a good read. Their selection is heavy on popular suspense novels, which I don't particularly enjoy. However, this one caught my eye because I'd read some Amazon reviews about this particular book, and the cover notes looked intriguing.

It was a good read that held my interest. Good dialogue with interesting characters. The story of domestic abuse of a returned Viet Nam POW was hard to read at times, but probably true to life. The time setting also attracted me--the early 70's, and I enjoyed all of the cultural references to that time. One pervasive force in the novel is the setting. Alaska and its beauty and its terror are described poetically. The hardships and rewards of life in "the great alone" are fascinating to read about. I was unaware of the way people lived "off the grid" and what they did to survive... Like raising goats and chickens, hunting moose, and fishing and smoking their catch for the winter were all interesting to read about. I also enjoyed the description of the remote school, and how the few people in this area relied on each other. 

I had also assumed that the long summer days were spent enjoying the summer and light--wrong. They were spent in intense toil and preparation for the long winters. I understand better now the impacts of long, dark winter on the psyche. It was fascinating to read about.

This author drew real characters with real struggles. The abusive father and devoted mother and their struggles are depicted with empathy and understanding. The pain of Leni, their daughter is evident, as is her strength and resilience. The neighbors are also real-seeming people, who kind of reminded me of some of our old Redwood Road neighbors back in the day... Rough cut, independent, and self-sufficient. I didn't realize that Alaska was (and maybe still is) a refuge for the lawless and crazy who want to get out of society as we know it. All of this was fascinating in the context of the story.

The way the author describes the beauty of Alaska is compelling! I haven't really wanted to visit there before, because to me it's no fun to travel to places that are COLD. However, after Jane's trip and this book, maybe I will reconsider. It sounds overwhelmingly beautiful! 

This was the perfect St. George read on the days that were too cold to spend much of it outside (30's and 40's). I read with a hot cup of cider or herb tea and was taken away. Enjoyable but not enough to read again... Some interesting plot twists and turns with some beautiful descriptions of human devotion, resilience and love.  

Lion in the Valley by Elizabeth Peters

 This is fourth in the Amelia Peabody series, but third one for me. For the first time I could follow most of the threads of the mystery. However, it's still the characters that are the draw for me. In this one, Ramses, Amelia Peabody's son, is eight years old. She is still jealous of him, gives him a hard time when he talks too much, but ultimately has to acknowledge his insights into the mystery.

Emerson, Peabody's husband, continues to show his lion-like temper, and it's fun to listen to Peabody both admire and admonish him! The Master Criminal, Sethos, makes multiple appearances in this story, in various disguises. This one might be fun to tackle again, just to know ahead of time who is whom. I also enjoyed the young opium addict character, Ronald or Donald (I get them mixed up too, like Emerson does), whom Amelia is determined to reform. 

Maybe I'm just getting on Peters' wavelength, but I enjoyed this one the most so far. There were also threads of earlier stories continued in this one that helped me make sense of all the characters. Peters uses lots of characters and sometimes keeping track of them is hard for me. Still, I can always enjoy the dialogue, and of course, Peabody's inner dialogue of utmost confidence in herself!

The Mummy Case by Elizabeth Peters

This is another fun mystery set in Egypt by Elizabeth Peters. This is the second one for me, but third in the Amelia Peabody series. That number is from a list in the front of the book; I doubt it's this late in the series, though, because Ramses, the main character's son, is only six or seven years old. Still, he's precocious, and is able save both Peabody and Emerson at the climax of the mystery.  

Like in the first one I read, the heart of the fun is the relationship between Peabody and her husband, Emerson. They are hilarious and competitive. What was new for me was the outright jealousy of Peabody of her young son, Ramses. He's brilliant, tries to help, but she can't stand to let him talk! It's funny because it highlights her arrogance and confidence. 

The mystery aspects and characters were too convoluted to follow... That could be because of my declining cognitive abilities, or perhaps they were meant to be cryptic? Not sure...I just decided not to let the details derail me and enjoy the characters. Which I did. This is the perfect kind of a book to read while "on vacation" in St. George...Light and fun.