Book ~ "Recipe for a Good Life" (2023) Lesley Crewe

From Goodreads ~ On paper, Kitty’s life is perfect. She lives in Montreal, so vibrant in the 1950s; she married her childhood sweetheart, who happens to also be a handsome movie star; and her detective novels, written under a plausibly male nom de plume, are bestsellers. 

But Kitty is suffocating under the truth of her life: Montreal feels chaotic and lonely without her mother, and with her father all but estranged. Her husband is a glib Lothario. And she never, ever wants to write another detective novel. When she says as much to her publishers, they panic. She’s their golden goose. And so they convince her to go on a writing retreat to a beautiful remote island, Cape Breton, where with solitude and a luxurious change of scenery, she’ll be able to whip up her next book. At least, that was the plan.

Kitty arrives in Cape Breton to a leaky, drafty shack and a cast of characters unlike anyone she’s ever met. There’s Edith, who listens in on everyone’s party line calls and never keeps good gossip to herself; generous Bertha and her enormous family ... and Bertha’s son, Wallace - Walrus, to all his nieces and nephews. A gentle giant who always has half a dozen children hanging off him. Soon Kitty’s writing retreat turns her life upside down and she has to face which parts of her life are non-negotiable and which she must cut loose. 

Can she preserve what she loves in Montreal now that Cape Breton is calling? If she frees herself from the weight of her past, will she float away altogether?

It's 1955 and Kitty is a successful author in her thirties living in Montreal. She's married to a philandering actor who is away working more than he is home. Her mother passed away when she was seven and her father is distant. Kitty has written a series of detective books under an assumed male name and doesn't think she can write any more. Knowing she needs a break, her publisher rents a cabin for her in rural Cape Breton as a writing retreat to get away. She knows nothing about Cape Breton but she and her dog head out for a few months. When she arrives at the cabin, it's basically a  rundown shack in the middle of nowhere. But as she gets used to the rustic cabin and meets her friendly neighbours, it's hard for her to leave. Back in Montreal, she realizes how unfulfilling her life there is and sets out for fix it.

I liked this story and the characters.  I enjoyed the writing style ... it's written in third person perspective in various voices including Kitty's, depending on where the focus was.  The story is set in Homeville (where the author settled and raised a family), not far from Glace Bay, where my maternal family is from. Some of the last names of the characters are in my family tree ... Ferguson, Murrant, Peach, Wadden, etc. I spent my teen years in Cape Breton and it was nice to read a book about people from "back home" with their sayings, foods, mannerisms, etc.

Book ~ "Relative Happiness" (2008) Lesley Crewe

From Goodreads ~ Lexie Ivy loves her little house in Cape Breton, her big family and the endless sea that surrounds her. She wouldn't trade her life for anything but at thirty she's starting to feel like something's missing. 

Enter Adrian, a charming backpacker who takes a wrong turn at the U.S. border and ends up on Lexie's doorstep, and Joss, an irresistible man who disappears just as quickly as he arrives. Lexie s peaceful life has suddenly become more complicated than she ever imagined. 

Lexie is a librarian living in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, with her cat, Sophie.  At 30, she is the oldest daughter of four and is always there for her family and friends.  It seems like everyone is living the lives they want except for her and she's ready for her turn.

Adrian has been traveling and ends up in Glace Bay.  He has no place to stay so Lexie invites him to be her roommate ... she can use the money and the company.  She starts to have feelings for him and then he disappears.  But she carries on like always.  When Lexie goes on a camping trip with a friend, she meets Joss there.  He works in Alaska and is visiting a friend in Cape Breton.  Lexie and Joss are drawn to each other right away and spend most of the week together.  He is going back to Alaska and makes this clear so they enjoy the time they have.

I liked this story and the characters.  I liked the writing style ... it's written in third person perspective in various voices including Lexie's, Adrian's and Joss', depending on where the focus was.  I lived in Glace Bay for grade eight in the mid 1970s, right around the corner from where Lexie does community theatre.  The story happens in the 1990s and I had a good sense of the people and characteristics.  It was nice to read a book about people from "back home".

Book ~ "Amazing Grace" (2015) Lesley Crewe

From Goodreads ~ Grace Willingdon has everything she needs. For fifteen years she’s lived in a trailer overlooking Bras d’Or Lakes in postcard-perfect Baddeck, Cape Breton, with Fletcher Parsons, a giant teddy bear who’s not even her husband. But Grace’s blissful life is rudely interrupted when her estranged son calls from New York City, worried about his teenaged daughter. 

Before she knows it, Grace finds herself the temporary guardian of her self-absorbed, city-slicker granddaughter, Melissa. Trapped between a past she’s been struggling to resolve and a present that keeps her on her toes, Grace decides to finally tell her story. Either the truth will absolve her or cost her everything. 

Grace is sixty, retired and living in a trailer in Baddeck, Cape Breton, with her best friend, Fletcher, and their cats and dogs.  When her estranged son, Jonathan, contacts her and asks for help with his rebellious teenage daughter, Melissa, she doesn't hesitate and jumps on a plane and heads to New York City.  To get Melissa away from the bad influences in her life, Grace takes her back to Cape Breton to her roots.

They spend time at the farmhouse where Grace spent her teenage years and Grace tells Melissa the stories from her past, stories of abandonment and abuse.  As Grace tells Melissa theses stories she'd never told anyone else, she feels a sense of relief and empowerment.  With a new sense of purpose, Grace moves forward, mending the past in order to fix her future.

This was an interesting and deep story at times and I enjoyed it.  It's written in first person perspective in Grace's voice.  The book jumps back and forth from the present ("Now") to the past ("Then") as Grace tells of her life in the past and what's happening now.  I lived in Cape Breton for a few years and I thought the author did a very good job in capturing the personalities of those who lived there.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

I liked Grace.  She's feisty and swears a lot but deep down, she does care about those around her.  Fletcher was a good match for her.  Though they have lived together for fifteen years and are best friends, there's never been anything between them.  They share their love of animals and a quiet life and it's obvious they care about each other.

Book ~ "Shoot Me" (2006) Lesley Crewe

From Amazon ~ In the words of her psychology student daughter, Elsie Brooks is an enabler. She mothers everyone—her social work clients, her husband, her twenty-something daughters, and her reclusive sister who lives in the attic. Elsie is committed to taking care of everyone … everyone but herself. So when crazy Aunt Hildy writes to demand a bedroom in their Halifax home, Elsie can’t help but say yes. When Hilda arrives, she enchants and enrages the family with her moxie. That and her proclamation that she has hidden treasure in the house and the king’s ransom will go to whoever loved her most. When someone threatens Aunt Hildy, she responds with her trademark sass: “Go ahead. Shoot me. I dare you.” Whoever it is takes her up on it. Suddenly the house is turned topsy-turvy as Elsie’s family searches for a treasure that Elsie doesn’t believe even exists, and for a killer that could be any one of them.

I had high hopes for this book. It's set in Halifax, NS, and I didn't mind the writing style.

But I grew tired very quickly because the characters were so unlikeable, pathetic and absurd.

Aunt Hildy doesn't get murdered until halfway through the book and I can't say I was sad to see her go. And I wasn't satisfied to discover who killed her ... it was a ridiculous choice. When Aunt Hildy's story comes out, I didn't have any sympathy or compassion for her.

I wouldn't recommend this book.