BLOODLINES by Lynn Lapinski

     Twenty-six year old Zane is accused of setting the fire that killed his mother.
     Now he is responsible for his fourteen year old half-sister, Lettie.
     All of Zane's life he believed his father died before he was born. 
     Information found in his mother's belongings reveals the fact that she
     had a legal name change and nothing Zane thought about himself is true.

     He isn't even sure whether or not he started the fire since he was in an
     alcohol induced blackout and has no memory of that night. A man's body
     is found in the edge of the woods just behind the trailer house park
     where Zane's family lived. Now he's accused of double murder.

     He searches for the man who he now believes to be his father and
     finds him. Many years ago, his father was accused of killing two small girls
     who were attending a camp. He was acquitted because of lack of evidence.
     (This was before DNA evidence was available.)

     Zane wonders if it's in his blood to be like his dad, because the more
     time he spends with his dad, the more he sees what a bad, bad man he is.

     Tension builds at a steady pace and fear mounts. This is a fast paced
     mystery that will capture your attention and hang on to it.

     I received a free e-book of BLOODLINES from Net Galley in return
     for an honest review.
     I give this book five out of five stars.

     https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1433037303

(Historical Fiction 1950s - 1970s) The Swans of Fifth Avenue

The Swans of Fifth Avenue: A Novel
by Melanie Benjamin (Goodreads Author)                               

 

Gayle Lin's review

Oct 28, 15  ·  edit

5 of 5 stars

Read in October, 2015

This book took me through the gamut of emotions. I began with chuckles for the repartee among the 'swans'. The swans were the women of New York City who you were likely to read about in the rotogravure or on the society pages. They were the ones who set the standards for high fashion and the best places to eat, have tea, get your hair done.

At the top of the list was Babe Paley, wife of Bill Paley, the CEO of CBS. Most of them had been married two or three times, usually marrying up on the social scale, because that's what they've been trained to do. Babe was the best with the makeup brushes and never allowed her own husband to see her without her full palette or with curlers in her hair.

Along comes Truman Capote. At first he was young, wore suits, and was an adorable little guy. He crashed the group and imagined himself as a larger-than-life beautiful male bird and the ladies were his swans. Through them he broke into high society and spent time in their vacation homes, on their yachts, and his only payments were the stories he told them. He was a story teller; that's how he earned his living, by writing short stories.

As time passed, Capote told each swan she was his favorite, though everyone knew his favorite was really Babe Paley. Soon Bill Paley was included and the strange trio seemed to be the best of friends. He began to dress garishly and to emphasis his fey traits.

After his success with IN COLD BLOOD, Truman hosted a black and white ball and the guest list was like something not seen before, including high fashion, high financiers, and big stars in the entertainment world.

Unable to write another book, Truman tried by writing about confidential things each swan had related to him, and a big split came.

By the time the tale ended, I was sobbing like a baby at the emptiness of it all. The good thing is it made me grateful for my little spot in the middle class.

I was given an ebook of this by Net Galley in return for an honest review. Without hesitation or apology, I give it five stars.

Our Souls At Night

This is a tender, heart-warming story of two widowed people who make an agreement to spend their nights together only for companionship and to have someone to talk to in the dark.

A young grandson and a dog come into the relationship; neighbors whisper their gossip; a son interferes.

Maybe because I'm elderly and widowed, but they touched a place in my heart and I enjoyed every page.

In Concert

     Last night I attended the Ames Middle School band concert.  This was a first for me since grandson Nate added band to his extra-curricular list. He plays cello in the orchestra.
     I just realized what a broad spectrum there is between percussion and cello, but isn't that what's so wonderful about music? Each part can stand alone or in concert. (If you've ever wondered what the word concert means, now you know ... playing together in harmony. Oh, that we could live in concert.)
     I have been to tons of school concerts over the years, and I do believe this is the best band of sixth-graders I've ever heard. Their teacher/director is a young man, Peter Thompson, who gets a 10 from me based solely on the fact that he can keep 125 middle school kids under control long enough to teach them anything.
     I'm so glad Tim and Beth decided on the move to Ames. I've heard the Ames school district is one of the best in the nation. I don't know if it's true, but I've seen enough proof to believe it as truth.

     One of the pieces the band played, "Junk Funk", was written by Kevin Mixon to show one can make music even without the standard instruments. So, using buckets, 30-gallon drums, etc, the percussion section had permission to shine. And did they shine!
     The seventh-grade and eighth-grade bands performed well too. The director of the seventh-grade band, Deb Fritcher, is a tiny bird of a person, She allowed a student teacher, Brandon Weeks, to conduct one piece.
     The eighth-grade band under the direction of Ron Ferneau had as their finale "A Disney Celebration" As good as it was, it was the visual effects that was the showstopper. Mr Ferneau said this was his first ... and last ... LED project.
     Last week I went to Hannah's Drama Club performance of "Chemical Bonding." Monday night was Hannah's choral concert. This one of Nate's last night. Coming up: tomorrow night, Hannah's orchestra; Monday night, Hannah's band; Tuesday night, Nate's orchestra. This old biddy is
tired, but I will do whatever it takes to share these moments with them.

https://sites.google.com/a/ames.k12.ia.us/ams-bands/home/announcments/springconcertvideo


    

Peter Thompson 6th Grade Concert Band 515.268.2400 Ext 5078 Email - peter.thompson	Deb Fritcher 7th Grade Concert & Jazz Bands 515.268.2400 Ext. 5061 Email - deb.fritcher	Ron Ferneau 8th Grade Concert & Jazz Bands 515.268.2400 Ext. 5060 Email - ronald.ferneau

Nate is wearing a blue striped shirt and tan slacks.