"Leaving Time" by Jodi Picoult ***

• Stewart Place Book Club 
• Audiobook 
•  US author 
•  Originally published in 2014
• Review:  I am fascinated by descriptions of elephant social behavior, and thoroughly enjoyed that aspect of this Jodi Picoult novel.  I do not want to spoil the ending, so I will just say that it felt gimmicky.  The basic theme of the incredible strength of the mother-child bond is well represented in the story.  I found the plot to get a bit choppy at times, but otherwise was enjoyable.

"The Nature of the Beast" by Louise Penny ****

• Audiobook
• #11 in the Inspector Gamache, Three Pines series
• Canadian author
• Mystery/Suspense
• Review: First of all,  kudos to the new narrator!  As always,  Ms. Penny wound the tension as tight as possible , bringing the reader to the edge of her seat.  What will happen if the world descends on Three Pines?  What will happen if John Fleming, the essence of evil, is freed from prison? No spoilers here! The best part is that there is a cliffhanger of an ending, so now I  just have to wait for the next book!  

"The Quiche of Death" by M.C. Beaton. ***

●  Audiobook
●  Scottish author
●  #1 in Agatha Raisin series
●  Originally published in 1992
●  Review:  This was a very enjoyable Agatha Christie style mystery, with a Miss Marpleish protagonist.  Fun!

"Breakfast of Champions" by Kurt Vonnegut *****

Audiobook
Originally published in 1979
US author
Review : 
What if you were the only sentient being and everyone else was a robot, all of you part of an elaborate cosmic experiment?  I listened to the audio version narrated by the wonderful John Malkovich, and he and the book were both brilliant!  I do not have anything to say that hasn't already been said about this novel.  It is a brilliant, multi-layered, hysterically funny, darkly foreboding novel.  Only a brilliant mind could produce this.

"Neverhome" by Laird Hunt. ***

● Stewart Place Book Club selection
●  Audiobook
●  Originally published in 2014
●  Review:  The subject matter of this novel, women who posed as men in order to fight in the Civil War, was very intriguing.  I also was impressed by the noted difference between historical accounts of war and the nitty gritty, smelly, awful, bloody side of a soldier's life.  It was a good story, except much seemed unexplained to me.  The end was quite gripping and creative.  Nonetheless,  the overall feeling I was left with was that the writing was run-of-the-mill.

"Under The Wide and Starry Sky" by Nancy Horan. ****

• Stewart Place Book Club
• US author
• Originally published in 2013
• Review: Much like Horan's debut novel, "Loving Frank", this novel is about a strong woman behind a famous man, in this case, Robert Louis Stevenson.  Given that, and the fact that this is a fictional biography, somewhat questionable in and if itself, I learned a lot about both husband and wife and enjoyed the book very much.  They lived in a different era, that in which a son of a gentleman could wander the planet throughout his adulthood.  Nonetheless,  marriage is marriage, and theirs was quite fascinating.
  

"Parrot and Olivier in America" by Peter Carey *****

• Audiobook 
• Originally published in 2009
• Australian author
• Review:  This novel has it all!  Travel from post French Revolution France to England to post Revolutionary War America to Australia and back again, with Parrot, an indentured servant, and Olivier, a French "child of the Guillotine" and the French Revolution.  Root for their loves to flourish, for their fortunes to grow, for their art to be appreciated, and for their minds and hearts to be opened.  I did! If you enjoy a multi-themed plot with engaging characters, then this is for you.  I found the observations of the characters of various political systems and class systems to be really interesting!