The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

 The Berry Pickers was an interesting novel in that the reader knew from the second chapter on what the solution to the central problem was. Narrated by the two main characters, Joe and Norma, it is the story of a family torn apart by the disappearance of the young Ruthie as her family is picking blueberries. 

The family would leave their home in Nova Scotia and travel to Maine to pick blueberries. In 1962, 4 year old Ruthie disappeared as she and brother Joe were eating a sandwich on a rock. Joe had taken his eyes off her as he fed scraps of bread to birds. The family was devastated and they spent the rest of the summer looking for her as they continued to work the fields. Joe felt the guilt the most for being the last person to see her. Ruthie's disappearance affects his entire life. 

In the alternate chapters, Norma recounts her life. She lives with her parents, Frank and Lenore who have adopted her with very little documentation as to where they found her. Norma senses that their is something not quite right in her ancestry since she has much darker skin than her parents. She also cannot come to terms about why she dreams about a Ruthie.  

Both stories inform their lives fro the next 50 years. Central to the theme of the novel is how families deal with tragedy, loss, and  reconciliation. Reading the prologue to the novel gives the reader insight into the narrative that follows. The suspense that the reader enjoys is how Peters will come to the likely conclusion. The strength of the book is in the character development of Joe, Norma/Ruthie and her Aunt June, Mae (Joe and Ruthie's sister, and Norma's parents. 

A very good read that sparked a lot of discussion at the Gables Book Club.

Portrait of an Unknown Woman by Daniel Silva

In between book club books gives a good time to try to catch up on the TBR shelf. This always leads me back to whatever Daniel Silva books are there. 

Portrait of an Unknown Woman  is a bit of departure from Silva's general M.O. There are no political stances, no threats of destroying world peace or any of the major nations, nor any international spy missions. What it is is a intriguing look into the world of art dealers, forgery, and some Ponzi schemes. 

Gabriel Allon, former head of Israeli intelligence has retired to Venice with his wife Chiara and his twin children. She has taken a job as the head of the Tiepolo Restoration Company and Gabriel has become the stay at home father while he recovers from the bullet wound that nearly killed him in The Cellist. Of course, if he remained in retirement, there would be no novel. Having received a call from his friend and London art gallery owner, Julian Isherwood, he sets off on the trail of a major art forgery ring that is operating from Berlin to Spain to the United States. After Isherwood receives a letter saying that a painting that he recently sold was a forgery and the woman who sent the letter was killed, there is only one person whom Isherwood would call. 

As the novel intertwines art history, forgery, and danger, Allon sets out a trap by creating forgeries of Grand Masters. Through a complicated series of events, especially sting operations involving Sarah, her husband Chris and some old arch-enemies of Gabriel, the investigation of the murder reaches a climax on the tarmac of a Long Island airport. 

Silva creates intense drama in his books without feeling the necessity of long-winded descriptions. It is interesting that he has shifted the focus of the novel to more of an art perspective and take Allon away from his intelligence job at The Office. This was a fascinating narrative into the real world of Gabriel Allon. It will be interesting to see how his character further evolves in the next novel, The Collector.