By Lynda Rego

As winter finally retreats, and spring flowers make an appearance, greet the increased warmth with some new books. It’s not quite warm enough to read outside yet, but soon ...

“Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor: Being the First Jane Austen Mystery” (1996) by Stephanie Barron. I was expecting one of those cute, period copy-cat books; but, this was authentically done in ways I hadn’t imagined. Yes, it allows Jane Austen to solve a murder mystery. There are no policemen (although, she gets some help from her brothers). And, Barron so perfectly captures the period, it could be Austen herself writing (which it is supposed to be, as the writings were “discovered” in old journals). But, the extra treat are footnotes on most pages explaining comments Jane makes about places, the law, social manners and even postage, which really bring the period alive. This is the first book in a series and I would gladly peruse another.

“The Light in the Ruins” (2013) by Chris Bohjalian is another great book from the author of “Midwives,” “Water Witches,” “The Buffalo Soldier” and so many more. This is a departure for him in that it’s a historical book set in Italy. The action shuttles between 1943-44, when the Nazis were looting the treasures of Tuscany and the Allies were preparing to invade Sicily, to 1955, when local detectives in the homicide unit in Florence investigate murders involving the Rosati family. The marchese and marchesa and their family had lived at the Villa Chimera in Monte Volta in 1943 when the war raged across their vineyards and orchards. Does the motive for the murders date back to the war, as investigator Serafina Bettini believes. She has wounds dating back to that time herself. The book hosts a raft of characters on both sides and, as Bohjalian always does, brilliantly illuminates a time and place and how it affected the people involved.

“The Traitor’s Wife” (2011) by Kathleen Kent is the best kind of historical fiction. One based on real people, Kent’s ninth great-grandmother Martha Allen Carrier. I love the colonial period — mostly because I have so many ancestors from that time — but, it’s also fascinating to hear the details behind the bare bones of history classes in school. This period, between the Mayflower and the Revolutionary War, is especially interesting because you don’t usually hear much about it. When Martha, who is a little too independent for women of her day, is sent by her father to a cousin’s in Billerica, Mass., to serve as a servant (and hopefully find a husband), she will find love and danger in equal measure.

“The Age of Miracles” (2012) by Karen Thompson Walker is one of those books I find myself thinking about weeks after I read it. When the planet starts to slow in its rotation, no one knows what it will mean for the people of earth. As the days and nights grow longer each day, Julia and her family try to adjust along with everyone else around the world to “the slowing.” It’s an unusual coming-of-age story about a girl in middle school in a California town, and how humans are resilient enough to adapt to just about anything — from changes in gravity, agriculture and sleep to death, new social norms and more.

“The Rosie Project” (2013) by Graeme Simsion is a real treat — a romance written by a scientist. This is Simsion’s first novel, but there’s a sequel called “The Rosie Effect” that I’m just starting now. Don Tillman is a genetics professor with a touch of Asperger’s (never mentioned in the book) who decides it’s high time he got married. So, he institutes The Wife Project, with a detailed questionnaire designed to weed out any incompatible dates. But, he never counted on Rosie Jarman (who flunks the test), and the humanizing effect she will have on his life. This book is laugh-out-loud funny, but honest and touching in how everyone wants to fit in and connect with the people in their lives.

“The Summer House: A Trilogy” (1987) by Alice Thomas Ellis is a unique story told through the eyes of three women. Each piece of the trilogy tells the story of the preparations for a wedding in England as told by the bride-to-be, a friend of her mother’s and her future mother-in-law. It’s fun to see the same events from very different perspectives. It’s a fascinating blend of social comedy, scandal and family manners. The author says she only writes about things that make her cross and this one is right on the mark.

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