Book Spotlight: The Silver Box

In The Silver Box, the final Enchantment Lake mystery, Francie’s search for the truth about her mother—and herself—plunges her into danger during a North Woods winter. 

When she wakes in her aunts’ cold cabin on the shore of Enchantment Lake, Francie remembers: everything about her life has changed. Or is about to. Or just might. Everything depends on the small, engraved silver box that she now possesses—if only she can follow its cryptic clues to the whereabouts of her missing mother and understand, finally, just maybe, the truth about who she really is. 

Francie, it turns out, has a lot to learn, and this time the lessons could be deadly. Her search for answers takes her and her best friends Raven and Jay as far afield as an abandoned ranch in Arizona and as close to home as a sketchy plant collector’s conservatory and a musty old museum where shadows lurk around every display case. At the heart of it all is a crime that touches her own adopted North Woods: thieves dig up fragile lady’s slippers, peel bark from birches, strip moss off trees, cut down entire forests of saplings to sell for home décor. But Francie is up against no ordinary plant theft. One ominous clue after another reveal that she possesses something so rare and so valuable that some people are willing to do anything to get it. When Francie’s investigation leads her into the treacherously cold and snowy North Woods, she finds out that she too is being pursued. 

Image by Leslie Pleser

Margi Preus is the author of the Newbery Honor book Heart of a Samurai and other books for young readers, including the Minnesota Book Award winning West of the Moon, and the Midwest Booksellers Choice Award book The Clue in the Trees. Her books have won multiple awards, landed on the New York Times bestseller list, been honored as ALA/ALSC Notables, selected as an NPR Backseat Book Club pick, chosen for community reads, and translated into several languages. New titles in 2020 include Village of Scoundrels, The Littlest Voyageur, and The Silver Box, part of the Enchantment Lake mystery series. 

 

Book Review: The Walk of the Wandering Man

The Walk of the Wandering Man by Ric Szabo is an epic story of humanity that starts 5000 years ago in the harsh environment of Central Europe. The story begins with the intertwining of the fates of a young boy called Konli, and a young man, Vratu, a Mesolithic hunter, brought together by tragedy. When Vratu is sent on his rite of passage, to walk with the Earth Spirit, he has no idea what the gods have in store for him, and how his quest will bring him manhood, pain, suffering, joy, and ultimately love. He knows treachery and killing, finds his conscience and learns compassion, and discovers a moral certainty to do what is right. Who is the mysterious boy with the strange tattoo, and the intriguing necklace? Why has Vratu been chosen to protect him?

Fans of Jean Auel’s Clan of the Cave Bear series will absolutely love this book. The plot is complex in that it encompasses the lives and deeds of a number of characters and their clans. The reader embarks on a journey with Vratu that informs as it entertains. The age of the hunter-gatherer was ending as the farmers began to assert their right to land. Clashes and killings, and some degree of xenophobia were inevitable as the fight over resources raged. Alliances are formed, then broken, then remade in an intricate story line. The reader who enjoys prehistory and its detail will be impressed, as I was, at the meticulous research done to bring the epoch to life. The author writes in a lyrical style that is appropriate for the genre, slightly archaic but most pleasing to read. A modern author voice would not have worked, and Szabo gets it just right.

I enjoyed the descriptions which are vivid and immersive; indeed, readers find themselves thrust right into the action, be it fighting to survive the elements or in the midst of battle. The story takes the reader back in time most amazingly. One wonders how early man managed to survive, how they learned to create tools, to make clothing, shelter, medicines, all the things that the modern reader wouldn’t give a second thought. Social constructs and mores, traditions, customs, and laws are explained by seamlessly integrating them into the plot. The themes of spirituality and worship, and the place of nature in emerging society’s ethos are clear. The story unfolds at a leisurely pace, although the prologue starts with action and mystery, and death. This is an epic adventure and one that belongs not only to Vratu, but to the communities he encounters and the people he calls his friends and companions. A thought-provoking, instructive, and extremely enjoyable read.

Book Review: I Am Pilgrim

I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes starts with a murder, seemingly the perfect murder, and then someone is brought into the equation – in fact the protagonist – in quite an unassuming manner. And suddenly it’s not just about a murder in a NYC motel, done in the flurry and inferno of the Twin Towers’ bombing so the killer can cover their tracks. The protagonist, code named Pilgrim, has an interesting past (an adoptive wealthy childhood) and he just happens to have written the definitive book on forensic criminal investigation. Through this book, Pilgrim is tracked down and given a mission upon which the world depends. America faces mass murder using a weaponised form of a disease thought to be eradicated.

I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes is like no other book I have read. It is well worth the hours spent reading long past your bedtime. I was a little daunted by the size of the book, but remembering how I used to love well written, lengthy tomes, filled with intrigue, great characters, and riveting plots (where are all those books gone now?), I opened it. And could not put it down. I spent as much time as possible absorbing this incredible story. However, where the author keeps the reader gripped is in a seemingly disparate number of events that appear to be unrelated – a public beheading in Mecca, ruins on the Turkish coast, a flashback to the Nazi death camps, military action in the mountains of the Hindu Kush, a doctor performing life saving deeds, a man gripped by a mission of spiritual vengeance, the tragic and seemingly accidental death of a wealthy young American, newly married. Did he jump off a cliff in the middle of the night, was he pushed, or did he simply fall? And what of the beautiful widow and her enigmatic female friend? Can one truly get away with murder? Just when a certain event seems to fade from your mind, perhaps forgotten as you keep turning the pages, Terry Hayes brings it back, and slips yet another thread into an increasingly complex but somehow not at all confusing tapestry.

I had given up on ‘big books,’ simply because I find most have been very timidly edited in that the author waxes on ad infinitum and definitely ad nauseum, filling pages with descriptive ‘guff,’ just padding the plot until (horrors) one starts skimming. I found Hayes’ writing to be tense, succinct, relevant, gripping. Each word plays its part. There is no extraneous detail, just solid story. It has been a long time since I did the old trick of reading more slowly as the book neared its end. I found myself doing that with this book, and thinking, “Oh no,” when inevitably it came to an end. Looking for a meaty read that is a banquet of intrigue, mystery, suspense, conspiracy, and thrilling action? Pick up I Am Pilgrim. PS: There are no interminable “for pity’s sake kill him already” fight scenes…

Book Blast: My Life in a Nutshell

 

HealthyPlace columnist, National Certified Counselor, and award-nominated author Tanya J. Peterson tackles anxiety disorders and the redemptive qualities of unexpected human connection in her new novel, My Life in a Nutshell.

 

A brilliant and talented man crippled by extreme anxiety and panic attacks, Brian has carefully crafted his world so that his interactions with others are severely limited. Although incapable of changing his situation, he discovers that, somehow, he is the only person seven-year-old Abigail can trust. Having bounced from one foster home to another, she has unexpectedly come to live with a childless uncle and aunt she has never known. For very different reasons, both Brian and Abigail are trapped in emotionally and socially isolated lives. Can they learn from each other?

 

Empathetic, insightful, and emotionally stirring, My Life in a Nutshell delves into the thought processes and erratic habits of a regular man dealing with life-altering mental illness, providing a unique, personal glimpse into a misunderstood and often stereotyped condition.

 

 

Praise for Tanya J. Peterson’s Novels

 “Few writers have been able to express so sensitively the variations of thought processes that assault patients who are suffering from degrees of mental illness. Peterson…opens doors of understanding so rarely provided for the general public.”—Grady Harp, Literary Aficionado

“Peterson’s novel is eye-opening and beautiful….The writing flows smoothly, and the depiction of scenes, particularly the dramatic meltdowns, are so detailed that the reader gets sucked in.” —Caroline Comeaux Lee, Psych Central

“Peterson succeeds in demystifying the world of psychiatric care and challenging the stigma that continues to surround mental health. A heartrending, realistic story about grief, depression and schizophrenia that finds positivity in the darkest of moments.”—Kirkus Review
 

“Sometimes in the absence of knowing we fill in the blanks with counter-productive images of the mentally ill. The author helps strip away the surface stereotypes associated with those who suffer from PSTD and schizophrenia to show the real people underneath.”—The US Review of Books
 

 “Tanya J. Peterson’s ability to create vivid imagery with her words, while using strong storytelling to pull readers in, shines in Leave of Absence. The story tackles heavy topics of loss and mental illness through the characters Oliver and Penelope. But it doesn’t weigh you down because there’s a thread of hope running through each page. Society may label these people because of their mental illness, but Peterson humanizes the characters. And before you know it, you see Penelope and Oliver are more than their diagnosis. They’re two people, with genuine hearts, supporting each other through a rough time. They’re human.”—Jeneé Darden, Host of Mental Health and Wellness Radio  

 

“Life in a Nutshell is a powerful and poignant novel. Written from a very clear and well-informed perspective, Peterson should be lauded for navigating the field of mental illness and presenting important relative issues in an affable fiction manner. It is a truly fine work that entertains, as well as informs.”—The US Review of Books

  

About the Author

Tanya J. Peterson holds a Bachelor of Science in secondary education, Master of Science in counseling, and is a National Certified Counselor. She has been a teacher and a counselor in various settings, including a traditional high school and an alternative school for homeless and runaway adolescents. Peterson is an active volunteer and support group facilitator with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and she is a regular columnist for the Anxiety-Schmanxiety blog on HealthyPlace.com. She has presented at the national conference for the Mothers of Incarcerated Sons Society, the Avera Behavioral Health Center, and with libraries and book groups nationwide. Her previous titles include Leave of Absence, a novel about schizophrenia, grief, and the power of human connection, and Losing Elizabeth, a YA novel about an abusive relationship.

 

Title: My Life in a Nutshell: A Novel

Author: Tanya J. Peterson

ISBN: 978-1-62901-072-4                

Publisher: Inkwater Press                 

                             

Availability: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powells, InkwaterBooks.com

Distribution: Ingram, Baker & Taylor