In a Nutshell Reviews

In a Nutshell Reviews are my version of mini-reviews, because sometimes, you just want the highlights.

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Famous in a Small Town by Viola Shipman
Published by Graydon House on June 13, 2023
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Fiction

Goodreads

For most of her eighty years, Mary Jackson has endured the steady invasion of tourists, influencers and real estate developers who have discovered the lakeside charm of Good Hart, Michigan, waiting patiently for the arrival of a stranger she’s believed since childhood would one day carry on her legacy—the Very Cherry General Store. Like generations of Jackson women before her, Cherry Mary, as she’s known locally, runs the community hub—part post office, bakery and sandwich shop—and had almost given up hope that the mysterious prediction she’d been told as a girl would come true and the store would have to pass to…a man.

Becky Thatcher came to Good Hart with her ride-or-die BFF to forget that she’s just turned forty with nothing to show for it. Ending up at the general store with Mary is admittedly not the beach vacation she expected, but the more the feisty octogenarian talks about destiny, the stronger Becky’s memories of her own childhood holidays become, and the strange visions over the lake she was never sure were real. As she works under Mary’s wing for the summer and finds she fits into this quirky community of locals, she starts to believe that destiny could be real, and that it might have something very special in mind for Becky…

Bursting with memorable characters and small-town lore, the enchanting new novel from the bestselling author of The Clover Girls is a magical story about the family you’re born with, and the one you choose.

I know when I pick up a Viola Shipman book that I am guaranteed a sweet and touching tale. As expected, I found myself in a charming Michigan town, this one being home to the only female cherry pit spitting champion of the world. I would say there was a definite "girl power" vibe included in this story, and that was exactly what Becky needed after finally breaking it off with her boyfriend.

An unlikely friendship developed between 40 year-old Becky and 80 year-old Mary, and it was simply wonderful! They shared a sort of mystic connection as if they were destined to meet and become part of each others lives. Becky, feeling stuck in her current situation, was quite taken with the town of Good Hart, Mary, and the Very Cherry General Store. And Mary was delighted to take Becky under her wing.

There was fun, food, friendship, and a bit of romance which was all quite lovely, but there were also so many wonderful takeaways from this story. The author's note tells how this was a celebration of intergenerational friendships, and that is something I always enjoy. Mary and Becky, as well as Mary and Taffy show that our age doesn't dictate who our friends are. But, this was also about never being too old to discover something about yourself or start anew. That is so encouraging, and this story was a great reminder that it's never too late to get unstuck.

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Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew J. Sullivan
Published by Scribner on June 13, 2017
Age/Genres: Adult, Mystery

Goodreads

When a bookshop patron commits suicide, his favorite store clerk must unravel the puzzle he left behind. Lydia Smith lives her life hiding in plain sight. A clerk at the Bright Ideas bookstore, she keeps a meticulously crafted existence among her beloved books, eccentric colleagues, and the BookFrogs.....the lost and lonely regulars who spend every day marauding the store’s overwhelmed shelves.

But when Joey Molina, a young, beguiling BookFrog, kills himself in the bookstore’s upper room, Lydia’s life comes unglued. Always Joey’s favorite bookseller, Lydia has been bequeathed his meager worldly possessions. Trinkets and books; the detritus of a lonely, uncared for man. But when Lydia flips through his books she finds them defaced in ways both disturbing and inexplicable. They reveal the psyche of a young man on the verge of an emotional reckoning. And they seem to contain a hidden message. What did Joey know? And what does it have to do with Lydia?

As Lydia untangles the mystery of Joey’s suicide, she unearths a long buried memory from her own violent childhood. Details from that one bloody night begin to circle back. Her distant father returns to the fold, along with an obsessive local cop, and the Hammerman, a murderer who came into Lydia’s life long ago and, as she soon discovers, never completely left.

When Lydia finds the body of one of her Book Frogs in the bookstore, she is forced to revisit her past.

That was a rather dark and twisty treat. I am a fan of interconnected stories and loved the way Sullivan wove these characters' lives together. Joey left behind books with cutouts, and Lydia set out to discover what Joey was trying to tell her. I was hooked for the beginning and became more invested as each new thing Lydia learned about Joey seemed to point her back to someone or something from her past.

Lydia had witnessed a gruesome murder, and it was easy to see the long term effect it had had on her life. She was estranged from her father and held others at arm's length. This made me sad, but I had hope that reopening the wounds of the past could lead to some closure or healing for her. Not sure if she was really healed, but progress was definitely made.

Overall, this was an engaging mystery that was full of emotional which kept me fully invested.

Which would you choose
Small town or big city?
Let us know in the comments!