Just finished Quentins, fourth in a series of novels by Maeve Binchy set in Dublin. I liked the way the threads of the three previous novels came together around the story of the restaurant although I found the main character incredibly frustrating. There were times when I just wanted to shake her.
The three previous books were Scarlet Feather, Evening Class, and Tara Road. The first two were my favorites: they all had some quirky characters woven into the story that kept me interested. Tara Road was a little predictable but a good story of women learning independence. None of them were great literature and I don’t feel the need to read any more Binchy. But they were a nice diversion and I loved the Dublin setting.
I’ve moved on to Martha Grimes. Belle Ruin is the third in her series about 12-year-old Ellen Graham. I read the other two a long time ago so I’m a little hazy on the story but it doesn’t really matter. Ellen’s narration is insightful and delightful at the same time as she describes the cast of characters in and around the Hotel Paradise. Her curiosity seems insatiable.
My last road trip gave me time to listen to The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. I was riveted by this heart breaking story full of history, family secrets and an old book store.
The good news is that the only one of these books that I bought was Belle Ruin and it was part of a $2 bag from the library so it hardly counts, right?
