AWAIT YOUR REPLY by Dan Chaon, 2009.

A book I thought I was going to enjoy more than I did. Three seemingly unrelated stories become bound together in this story of identity theft, trust, and loyalty. Miles Cheshire is searching for his twin brother, whom he hasn't seen in twenty years; Lucy Lattimore leaves town with her teacher; and Ryan Schuyler, after receiving some shocking news decides to remake himself. This was intriguing and totally chilling in terms of the ease with which someone can disappear and steal identities and become other people, but at times I found it very confusing and meandering. Lots of references to Internet and Facebook, etc., the characters were interesting, and I wanted to know more, but by the end I was past caring what happened to them--I think because I got lost somewhere within the multiple storylines. Maybe I just didn't quite get it. Anyway, not a very satisfying read for me, but someone else might enjoy this type of story--part thriller, part drama, part mystery.

BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP by S. J. Watson, 2011.

One of those thrillers that just takes hold and won't let you go! Fifty-something Christine Lucas goes to sleep every night, and the next morning discovers all her memories are gone. Totally. She has to begin again each day to piece together her past. She's been told she's an amnesiac due to an accident years before when she was in her twenties. Unknown to her husband, Ben, she's seeing a doctor, who advises her to keep a journal, but recommends hiding it. Writing in it and then re-reading it every day, spurs more feelings and memories--of a child, of having a loyal girlfriend, of publishing a novel. And as more memories come back in dreams and sudden flashes, Chris becomes more aware that everything is not as it seems, that Ben is not telling her the whole truth. Compelled to find out her past, she becomes more determined to discover the truth about her life, but realizes there's an element of danger involved as well, as someone doesn't want her to remember everything--at least not in the way it actually happened. Watson keeps the pages turning with intense writing, high suspense, and an unexpected conclusion. Totally absorbing and riveting.

DARK ANGELS by Karleen Koen, 2006.

Set in the seventeenth century courts of King Charles II and Louis XIV, the story concerns Alice Verney, a determined and controlling Restoration lovely who wants to make a successful marriage. The attractive and spoiled Alice tends to manipulate everyone around her: her father, Sir Thomas, her friends Barbara Bragge and Gracen Howard, even Queen Catherine. When she doesn't get her own way, she sulks or completely writes you off. Stubborn, foolish, scheming, and shallow is pretty much how Alice comes across in Koen's huge novel. Will she or won't she marry the much older Duke of Balmoral? is the question running through the book. Or will she become sensible and marry the fellow she's truly in love with, Captain Richard Saylor, who thinks he's actually in love with King Charles' French mistress until he comes to the shocking realization that it's Alice he really wants? Will poor Catherine of Braganza be poisoned--or worse--divorced for her lack a child by the king? Will the evil poisoner who murdered the king's precious sister Henriette of France strike again? Does the reader care?  Court intrigue, manipulations, poisonings, pregnancies, brothels, infidelity, fabulous wealth, terrible poverty, love, loyalty, treachery and betrayal, maliciousness, secret romances, and so many characters that one tires of it. I really wanted to like this book, as I'm a huge fan of the Stuarts and their times. However, I found most of the characters unsympathetic and shallow or cartoonishly drawn, couldn't really get involved with any of them. I found the whole thing bloated, overblown, and uninvolving, and yet I kept reading because I hoped it would get better. I ended up being disappointed that I had wasted so much time on this. Maybe if I'd read her earlier books first, it would have made a difference. But as this is considered a prequel to those, it should stand alone, and yet there were times when I felt there were things I was missing because I hadn't read Koen's other novels. Not something I'd recommend, or maybe I would for those who like those long romantic sagas that are essentially costume pieces with myriad characters and very little depth.

PEOPLE OF THE BOOK by Geraldine Brooks, 2008.

Brooks takes on the challenge of writing about a beautifully wrought book (a Jewish haggadah) that moves through various characters' hands over the years from 1480s Spain to war-torn Bosnia in 1996. Her major character, Hanna Heath, is a rare books conservator who develops a special connection with this manuscript, known for its exquisite workmanship and curious history. Hanna is called in to perform some conservation work on this book and in the process, discovers artifacts within the book's pages--a hair, a stain, grains of salt, part of an insect wing, etc. Brooks takes us on a journey, piecing together the book's history from these various items. The overarching story of the conservator is interwoven with tales of the book. Each of these tales answers the question of how each of the tiny artifacts came to be found within the book. One episode describes how a Muslim in Sarajevo during World War II risks his life to save the book; another is about the last golden days of 1890s Vienna; still another contains the horrors of the Inquisition, and the last of the book's stories is set in Seville and describes the life of the young artist living in a Moorish house who created the luminous and unusual drawings for the book. Hanna's own research and investigation into the mysteries of the book lead her to questions of forgery and betrayal and cause dramatic changes in her own life. Based on a true event, Brooks has done an excellent job with this one. I found it entertaining, educational, and thought-provoking reading.

WENCH by Dolen Perkins-Valdez, 2010.

An interesting and often disturbing novel set at a summer resort, Tawawa House, in Ohio during the 1850s, a place where Southern white men could bring their enslaved black concubines. Near Xenia, Ohio, the resort is an idyllic retreat, and provides privacy to these men and their mistresses. Three women become acquainted there: Lizzie, Sweet, and Reenie, and remain friends through several years of visits, reuniting and sharing news and information about each others' lives at each visit. Even though they are aware that Tawawa is in free territory, they don't think much about it until a new visitor arrives--Mawu--and starts talking of escaping to freedom. It's a huge thing to consider for them all, as running away would mean leaving behind everything they know--families, children, friends, as well as breaking the emotional ties to the men who enslave them. The author has done an excellent job with the details of the period, her characters, black and white, are well drawn and full blooded, and I was totally engaged by the story of the trials and tribulations of these women. It's a story of great courage, strength, psychological as well as physical bondage, loyalty, and love. At times shocking and brutal, the narrative moves swiftly, and the reader is carried right along to the end. Very worthwhile read about a little known episode (Tawawa House really did exist--it later became a college for blacks).

MY HUSBAND'S SWEETHEARTS by Bridget Asher, 2008.

Silly but somewhat diverting piece of chick-lit that reads very quickly and is not that memorable. A woman discovers her husband Artie has cheated on her, leaves him, then finds out he is on his deathbed, returns to take care of him. She discovers his black book, and on a lark, calls all of his old girlfriends and tells them to come and take a turn at his deathbed. Somewhat shockingly, they do, and in the process of their visits, Lucy (the wife) becomes close to two of them, Eleanor and Elspa, as well as with Artie's long lost illegitimate son John (who has some secrets as well). Alliances are formed, secrets shared, there's forgiveness, blah, blah, blah. Some clever dialogue and witty remarks, but mostly it's kind of a drippy relationship story and not that convincing. Quick and forgettable.