I Gave My Heart To Know This

Ellen Baker is a new author for me. A Minnesotan, I Gave My Heart To Know This is her second book. It is a multi-generational story about war, friendship, family, secrets and memories. The war is World War II - an era I like to read about - the era into which I was born.
For some reason when I hear "Rosie the Riveter" I always think of the women who worked in the airplane factories in Kansas. The 'Rosies' of this book however are building ships in Superior, Wisconsin.
 From the book cover:

"In January 1944, Grace Anderson, Lena Maki, and Lena’s mother, Violet, have joined the  growing ranks of women working for the war effort. Though they find satisfaction in their  jobs at a Wisconsin shipyard, it isn't enough to distract them from the anxieties of wartime, or their fears for the men they love: Lena's twin brother,Derrick, and Grace's high school sweetheart, Alex. When shattering news arrives from the front, the lives ofthe three women are pitched into turmoil. As one is pushed to the brink of madness, the others are forced into choices they couldn't have imagined - and their lives will never be the same. More than five decades later, Violet's great-granddaughter, Julia, returns to the small farmhouse where Violet and Lena once lived. Listless from her own recent tragedy, Julia begins to uncover the dark secrets thatshattered her family, eventually learning that redemption - and love - can be found in the most unexpected places. Beautifully written and profoundly moving, I Gave My Heart To Know This is a riveting story of loyalties held and sacred bonds broken; crushing loss and enduring dreams; and what it takes - and what it means - to find the way home." Baker's first book, Keeping The House, isn't at our library, but I hope to read it, too, based on how much I liked this novel.

I've been reading the Dana Stabenow Kate Shugak mysteries that our library has. Unfortunately there is a big gap between the first ones they acquired and the more recent ones. A Fine And Bitter Snow is the twelfth novel in the series.
Via the 'bush' telegraph, Kate learns that longtime Park Ranger Dan O'Brian is in danger of losing his job because he is against allowing the drilling for oil in the local wildlife preserve (ANWR). She decides to rally the park residents to try to save his job and prevent the drilling. Two of her late grandmother's friends, Dina and Ruthe, are longtime environmental activists. Kate visits the couple, remembering how they were the ones who taught her the names of every living thing in the park when she was a child. No one knows exactly how old the two women are, but they have all heard the stories of how they had flown for the WASPs during World War II.
When Dina is killed and Ruthe critically injured in a vicious knife attack, Kate once again finds herself in the company of State Trooper Jim Chopin trying to find the killer. Jim has long been attracted to Kate and now that her lover is out of the picture, he can act upon his interest. Kate, however, considers Jim a serial womanizer and wants nothing to do with him. Besides, she is still mourning Jack.
I've really come to enjoy these Alaska-set mysteries. Even though there have been a number of 'middle' books I haven't read, Stabenow does a fine job of bringing readers up to speed with her characters. I was able to figure out the killer and motive of this one. I can even guess where the Kate/Jim relationship is headed. I'll need to keep reading to see if I'm right.

After two of her stand alone mysteries I finally read my first Barbara Holloway series novel by Kate Wilhelm. And based on how much I liked A Wrongful Death, I will be reading all our library has.
This is the tenth in the series featuring attorney Barbara Holloway and her father Frank. Apparently it is unusual in that it is set outside the courtroom.
Barbara has taken time off to sort out her personal life. She has received an offer to teach as well as an offer of marriage. A remote cabin and a lonely beach offer her the solitude she needs in order to contemplate her next move. She is walking on the beach when a terrified young boy runs to her for help. "Mama's hurt!" is all he says as he tugs Barbara toward the trail leading to a cabin on the other side of the beach from where she is staying. The boy's mother lies unconscious in the mud and rain. Barbara gets her into the cabin, does what she can to stop the bleeding from a head wound then leaves to find a telephone and summon an ambulance and law enforcement.
When she gets back the woman and little boy have both disappeared. The deputies question her involvement then decide it must have been a domestic case where the woman's boyfriend beat her up before they all fled the area.
Barbara continues on up the Oregon coast to Astoria where she is surprised to be met by the investigator who works for her father. He is there to escort her back to Eugene before the cops issue and APB for her. She's wanted as an accessory to kidnapping, aiding and abetting and miscellaneous criminal charges. The little boy is the grandson of a wealthy and prominent family. They have accused his mother of kidnapping him.
With her father's help, Barbara delves into the mystery of the missing child, only to realize the kidnapping is a ruse for a more sinister plan involving millions of dollars. The child's grandmother thinks Barbara helped the mother and is in touch with her. She demands Barbara tell her where her grandson and ex-daughter-in-law are hiding. But Barbara was only 'in the wrong place at the wrong time' and doesn't know anymore than she has already told the law officers until the woman contacts her and asks her to meet with her at her apartment. Barbara arrives too late - there is a dead woman on the apartment floor - and no sign of a child.
This was a rather complicated and intricate plot and I enjoyed it very much. Eighty-four year old Wilhelm is a very good mystery writer. I'll definitely keep reading her books.