Author Brock explores world of a NY socialite

Sadness permeates ‘Falls Down’

By Lincee Ray

Amber Brock

(Crown), by

Historical fiction author Amber Brock explores the world of a New York socialite in her latest novel, “Lady Be Good.” The story follows status-obsessed Kitty Tessler and her quest to snag a wealthy man in 1950s New York City. When her hotel magnate father insists that she marry his righthand man, Andre, Kitty starts scheming to get out of it. If she marries him, she’ll have to make major adjustments in her plan in order to reach the upper echelon she’s been fighting for her entire life.

Kitty’s best friend, Henrietta, comes from an affluent family and is engaged to New York socialite Charles. Unfortunately, the marriage has been forced by their families and “Hen” is doomed to live a miserable life with a man known for having several women on the side.

Thinking she can protect her friend, Kitty cooks up a scheme to drive a wedge between Hen and Charles so she can marry Charles. Charles’ reputation doesn’t bother Kitty. All she needs is his bank account.

Kitty learns that her father is sending Andre to run his other hotel in Miami for a month. With careful plotting, she manages to persuade her father to send both Hen and Kitty to Miami under the ruse that Kitty can get to know Andre better. With Hen out of New York City and away from Charles, Kitty begins hunting for a new love interest for her best friend.

Once they arrive in Miami, Kitty eyes soulful crooner Sebastian singing in her father’s hotel club. He’s the perfect distraction for Hen, but what Kitty doesn’t foresee is the development of her own crush. And that person isn’t Andre.

Kitty finds herself falling for Sebastian’s friend Max, who opens Kitty’s eyes to the world’s social injustices. After a spontaneous trip to Cuba, Kitty solidifies her feelings for Max and questions her life in the perfect New York City bubble. She’s forced to re-evaluate her plan, her friendship with Hen, her looming arranged marriage and her love for Max.

“Lady Be Good” is light and cheeky when we get a peek of Kitty’s conniving ways. Although everything is done through the lens of love, her plans to sabotage her best friend’s relationship is unnerving. The next moment, we find Kitty’s heart breaking for the poor and oppressed she didn’t know existed. Could this be the cost of privilege? Can she pass up a trip to Macy’s and see the world in a different light? And will her best friend and new love interest be there at the end of her journey when the truth is exposed?

“It All Falls Down” Morrow), by

Canadian author Sheena Kamal continues to show how cultural touchstones reverberate into adulthood in her intriguing look at Vancouver research assistant Nora Watts, whose major investigations are uncovering her past.

Nora technically isn’t a detective, though she’s worked for one, and her skills at finding people are unmatched. But Kamal’s second novel delves deeper into Nora’s prickly personality, shaped by her biracial background and the series of foster homes in which she was raised.

“It All Falls Down” takes Nora further away from her tenuous comfort zone. She’s approached by a stranger while walking her dog, Whisper, in a park. The man claims to have served in the Marines with

(William her late father, Samuel, while they were stationed in Lebanon. He suggests that Samuel didn’t commit suicide as Nora and her sister, Lorelei, have long believed, and that his death may be related to her father’s life in Detroit. Samuel was one of the many children who were part of Canada’s “Sixties Scoop,” in which children of indigenous background were taken from their families and put up for adoption, often to American parents. Nora’s trip to Detroit also yields a link to her mother, who left when she and Lorelei were toddlers. With no photographs, Nora doesn’t know what her mother looked like, or what her background was.

Back in Vancouver, private investigator Jon Brazuca, with whom Nora has a fractured relationship, is hired to investigate the drug overdose of a billionaire’s pregnant mistress. Without resorting to cliches, Kamal deftly intersects the investigations of Nora and Jon in a believable plot. Both find themselves targets of killers, and neither knows why.

Kamal’s affinity for the unusual, character-driven mystery excels in “It All Falls Down.” While Kamal supplies plenty of action and close calls, she concentrates on the characters’ motivations. Nora’s background has given her a mistrust of people and made her wary of emotions. Jon, who also was her AA sponsor, has never been able to break through her wall. Her closest relationship is with Whisper.

A sense of sadness permeates the novel, from Kamal’s gritty look at Detroit and unflinching look at Vancouver’s neighborhoods to the flawed characters. Yet Kamal also injects a sense of hope and closure for Nora, and Whisper, and makes readers root for their future.

“Safe Houses: (Knopf), by

In “Safe Houses,” author Dan Fesperman superbly melds a character-strong espionage thriller with a suspenseful mystery that also aligns with the #MeToo movement.

As a spy thriller, “Safe Houses” eschews high-tech gadgets to concentrate on the emotional and physical peril of undercover work. As a mystery, it quickly becomes a family drama.

The novel moves seamlessly between West Berlin in 1979 and a small town in Maryland’s Eastern Shore during 2014 as it explores the life and death of Helen Abell Shoat. In 1979, Helen Abell is a bright but inexperienced 23-yearold working for the CIA. Like many other women at the CIA during this period, Helen is relegated to a low-level position where she deals with sexism and disrespect. She’s taken a menial assignment — maintaining the upkeep of the four “safe houses” scattered around Berlin — and made it a vital job. At one of the houses, Helen makes a life-long enemy of a higher-ranking officer, Kevin Gilley, when she interrupts him assaulting a young German woman, whose body is found a week later. Helen launches a clandestine investigation and soon learns that Kevin has a history of abusing young female agents, secure in the knowledge that male management will protect him.

In 2014, Helen Shoat has been living a quiet life on a farm with her husband, Tarrant, when the couple is shot to death in their sleep. The likely suspect is their mentally challenged son, Willard. But the couple’s daughter, Anna, who knows nothing about her mother’s past, doesn’t believe her brother could commit such a murder. (AP)

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