The Importance of Being Kennedy by Laurie Graham

Nora Brennan, an Irish immigrant to America, has accepted the position of nurserymaid to Joseph and Rose Kennedy's nine children. As their nurserymaid Nora witnesses old Joe Kennedy as he grooms his sons for political office and sees how Rose prides herself on raising well-rounded, respected Catholic daughters, who will one day make wonderful wives. While the picture may look perfect from the outside, Nora's account of life with the Kennedys' shows that is anything but the truth as there is always some sort of malarky going on.

Much emphasis is given on the older Kennedy children including Joe, Jr., Jack, Rosemary, and Kathleen often known as Kick. Nora's not afraid to say it like it is personality tells stories of Joe, Jr. trying his best to impress his father, often to no avail. She tells how Jack is often not well, and spends much of his time seeing doctors and in bed recuperating from some sort of ailment. Nora's tells the heartbreaking story of her favorite Kennedy daughter Rosemary. Unlike the rest of her siblings, Rosemary worked tirelessly to keep up with constant knowledge the Kennedys prided themselves on. Often falling short due to a mental handicapher father had her lobotomized in the hopes of reducing the emotional outbursts she suffered from. Sadly the procedure left Rosemary in a worse state. Nora is the first to say how unfair it was that Rosemary was sent to an institution in Wisconsin and all butforgotten about. And finally, Nora freely discusses the rift that happened in the Kennedy family, when devout Catholic Kick married an English Protestant, resulting in Rose rarely speaking to her own daughter.

Though Nora Brennan is fictional, Graham's The Importance of Being Kennedy tells many true Kennedy stories with wit, charm, and humor in this book. For avid historical fiction fans or those fascinated by the Kennedy's this book is sure to be a wonderful read. 

The Dogs of Littlefield by Suzanne Berne

Life in Littlefield, Massachusetts is what you would expect in a small suburban town.  Children play soccer, wives cook dinner, and the community is proud of its various schools, parks and gardens.  When the town decides to create an off-leash dog park on a trial basis, the many dog-lovers of the town are thrilled.  Dogs frolic and people wonder why they hadn’t done this sooner.  Then the signs start popping up on park fences: Pick up after your dog.  Aren’t you ashamed that you don’t? And Leash your beast.  Or else. No one is particularly surprised by this turn of events.  Surely it’s just one of the folks at the nearby community garden, afraid that a dog will trash some freshly planted beds.  Until Feldman, a white bullmastiff, is discovered dead in the dog park by Margaret Downing.

In Berne's The Dogs of Littlefield, sociologist Dr. Clarice Watkins, newly arrived in town to study the elements of a “good life” and its effect on the suburban citizens of Littlefield, takes in the recent rash of dog poisonings.  What author Berne gives us is a funny, honest portrayal of life and the many people in it.  From the ups and downs of marriage, to affairs, dealing with ones children and work, Berne shows us the honest minds of people living their lives.  Lives that are sometimes small, ordinary and filled with minutiae or fear.  What appears on the surface to be a murder mystery involving the dogs of a small town, really becomes a story about people living their ordinary lives.

Multiple Listings by Tracy McMillan

Nicki Daniels is a thirty-something woman with her life together. She is a single mom to son Cody, works full time as a real estate appraiser, has a beautiful home, and has a sweet boyfriend whom she's looking to buy a house and restaurant with. While it may appear that she has everything she wants, Nicki isn't content or happy, so imagine the shock when Nicki's former-inmate father, Ronnie that she hasn't seen in 17 years, suddenly shows up on her doorstep, wanting a place to stay while he's on parole. Battling the feelings of neglect she faced during her childhood, Nicki reluctantly agrees to let Ronnie move in. Fearing his typical selfish behavior, Nicki is reluctant to open up to her father and doesn't want her son Cody becoming attached to Ronnie. When Nicki's life is all but falling apart, it very well might be the catalyst that the father and daughter duo needs to reconnect.

Inspired by the author's life, Multiple Listings is a witty, charming, and funny story filled with entertaining characters that are relatable to any family. However by the end of the book, it is clear to see what really matters...family. In the process you realize that a house is not a home without a family to live in it.

The Charm Bracelet by Viola Shipman

Lolly Lindsey is the matriarch of her small family, living in a fictional small town Michigan city. Lolly's daughter Arden and granddaughter Lauren are busy leading their own busy lives in Chicago, when an emergency call about Lolly leaves Arden stunned. Arden and Lauren realize that it's time to reconnect with Lolly who is now seventy years old and suffering from early onset dementia.

Over the course of their Memorial Day weekend visit home, Lolly tells her life story through the charms on her charm bracelet. From the sewing machine charm given to her by her Irish immigrant to the loon given to her by her husband the night he proposed, Arden and Lauren learn about Lolly's life and in turn learn a few things about themselves. 

This sweet, thoughtful book tells the story of three generations of women. Wade Rouse using the pen name Viola Shipman, in honor of his grandmother, tells her story in this book . For anyone who has ever had a family story telling grandmother or other family member, The Charm Bracelet is sure to read like a family history.

The Good Goodbye by Carla Buckley

Cousins Arden and Rory Falcone have been best friends since they were toddlers. They were inseparable, so much so that they shared a dorm room in college. Given that the girls are so close, everyone finds it extremely odd that the minute their relationship starts to falter, a suspicious fire breaks out in their dorm room. The fire left one dead and the girls severely burned and clinging to life in a local emergency room. Now the detective on the case is nosing around; digging up secrets and looking for answers.

Tension was already high between Arden and Rory's parents, thanks in part to a financial decision turned sour. With little else to do as the girls lay in hospital beds, Arden and Rory's parents are forced to take a look at their unraveling relationships and pray that their secrets stay buried. Ultimately wanting the best for both of the girls, the Falcones are forced to make a decision that might break up the once close knit family.

From author Carla Buckley comes The Good Goodbye, a suspenseful thriller about an estranged family, buried lies, and secrets everyone wants to keep hidden.

The Shore by Sara Taylor

The shore is a collection of three islands off the coast of Virginia--Accomack, Chincoteague, and Assateague. And the aptly named The Shore by Sara Taylor is a collection of stories about the inhabitants of these islands, ranging from 1876 to 2143. The stories jump back and forth by decades, only vaguely connected by characters with a common ancestor--Medora, daughter of a wealthy plantation owner and one of his Native American servants. Medora employs violence and alcohol to escape from two abusive men, her father and her first husband, thus setting a connecting theme for the stories of many of her descendants--alcohol, drugs, and abuse. Most of the inhabitants of Accomack are poor and poorly educated. Many turn to sex, drugs, and alcohol to relieve the boredom of life in a small community. Women and children suffer most from the resulting neglect and violence, beginning with thirteen year old Chloe who must use every shred of her resourcefulness to protect her younger sister from violent men, including her own father. Other young women make poor choices, particularly regarding the men they associate with. They wind up living in fear, in poor circumstances, tied down with unwanted pregnancies. Yet they, or their children, survive and Medora's line continues. The stories, which move disjointedly for present to past to future and back again, prove this. One of the greatest pleasures in reading this book is connecting characters in one story to those in other stories. Ultimately, far in the future, a pandemic leaves the population of the shore isolated, returning to a primitive, communal lifestyle, basically relying on fishing and gathering to sustain life, only barely in touch with the past. However, when an artifact from the twentieth century is discovered and its use is puzzled out, it seems history may eventually repeat itself.

He Will Be My Ruin by K.A. Tucker

K.A. Tucker's new book He Will Be My Ruin follows Maggie Sparkes and Celine, who have been best friends since Celine's mother Rosa began working as the Sparkes family nanny over twenty years ago. Though they came from completely different lives, it didn't matter when it came to their friendship. Maggie grew up wealthy and privileged and Celine was the daughter of a hardworking Latina who lived paycheck to paycheck. Yet no matter where life took them, they remained friends.

Now when Celine has been found dead, of an apparent prescription drug/alcohol suicide, in her New York apartment, it's Maggie who is responsible for tying up the loose ends of Celine's life. Finding it hard to believe that Celine would ever be capable of suicide, Maggie starts searching her apartment for clues. When she stumbles on a few diaries and a locked box with the photo of a mysterious man in it, Maggie begins to question the idea of Celine having a double life.

Did Celine really commit suicide or is there a killer out there who will do anything to silence the people that get in the way?