Little Beach Street Bakery

I shy away from Chick Lit.  I am not sure why except I think I feel that that aspect of life has passed me by.  I am no longer a 30 something looking for love.  I am advancing into my Miss Marple stage or at least the Mrs. Marple stage!

I do like books with recipes such as the Tea Shop Mysteries so perhaps the bread recipes are what grabbed my attention.  I am so glad they did.  I loved this book.  I am drawn to the setting and the food but eventually the story sucked me in.  

Polly's life is falling apart.  She and her boyfriend are facing bankruptcy with a failing business and their relationship has hit rock bottom as well.  There is nothing left for her to do but leave and try to start over.  She moves to a small island into a falling apart former bakery with a grouchy baking rival as her landlady.  Before long her therapeutic baking attracts the attention of some locals which leads to a new relationship that isn't what it seems.

Although the ending is uplifting, there are plenty of drops along the way.  

From Amazon:

In the bestselling tradition of Jojo Moyes and Jennifer Weiner, Jenny Colgan's moving, funny, and unforgettable novel tells the story of a heartbroken young woman who turns a new page in her life . . . by becoming a baker in the town of Cornwall

A quiet seaside resort. An abandoned shop. A small flat. This is what awaits Polly Waterford when she arrives at the Cornish coast, fleeing a ruined relationship.

To keep her mind off her troubles, Polly throws herself into her favorite hobby: making bread. But her relaxing weekend diversion quickly develops into a passion. As she pours her emotions into kneading and pounding the dough, each loaf becomes better than the last. Soon, Polly is working her magic with nuts and seeds, chocolate and sugar, and the local honey—courtesy of a handsome beekeeper. Packed with laughter and emotion, Little Beach Street Bakery is the story of how one woman discovered bright new life where she least expected—a heartwarming, mouthwatering modern-day Chocolat that has already become a massive international bestseller.

The Lake House

The Lake House by Kate Morton.  I LOVE this book.  It ranks right up there on my all time favorite list.  I bought this book months ago and it has been sitting in the bag on a chair in my bedroom.  I'm not sure why I left it for so long:  I've been reading several series books?  I've been busy?  I am just not sure.  I'll say now that I was saving it.  I certainly was savoring it.  At one point with about 50 pages to go, I put it aside.  I didn't want to finish.  I didn't want it to end; however, I did want to get some answers.

One of the things I love about Kate Morton is that she knows how to keep a secret.  She can keep her readers in suspense until the very end.  But, the really very clever thing is that early on she reveals the true story.  She just keeps giving plausible alternatives until the reader is not sure who or what to believe.  By the end, and I mean the very end, the reader is surprised.  Perhaps surprised because he knew it all along or perhaps surprised because it didn't seem likely.  Either way by the conclusion everything is neatly brought together in ways that seemed impossible.

There are two stories moving through the book.  The first is the story of Alice Edevane and her family who live at the lake house pre-World War II.  In 1933 at a midsummer party held at their home, Alice's baby brother disappears.  Through a masterful arrangement of flashbacks and flash forwards gradually the facts come out.  Family history, tensions, worries are revealed all contributing to the crime.  

Meanwhile there is a story of Detective Constable Sadie Sparrow who is on forced leave from her job in London.  She comes to Cornwall for a rest at the home of her grandfather who raised her.  She is in trouble because she has become too close to a case of a mother who disappeared leaving her baby home alone.  Sadie can't let the case rest.  There must be an explanation for the mother's disappearance.  There must be foul play.

The stories converge when Sadie discovers the lake house deserted and in disrepair while jogging from her grandfather's cottage.  Curiosity leads her to the mystery surrounding the Edevane family giving Sadie a new case and a distraction from her troubles.  Chapters of her investigations in 2003 are mixed among the chapters during Alice's youth and the story shifts just as the reader begins to understand.

With the help of Sadie's grandfather, an elderly policeman from the original investigation, and Alice Edevane herself, Sadie is able to find the truth in both of her cases.  Some might say the ending is too perfect, but fairy tales play and important part in the story, so why not happily ever after?

I love this book and I love this author.  Unfortunately, she only has four other books for me to read. Should I put them off to extend my pleasure?