LADY IN WAITING, by Susan Meissner

Lady in Waiting is the story of two Janes, separated by centuries. Jane Lindsay is an antiques dealer in Manhattan, comfortable in her twenty-two year marriage--until the day her husband leaves. Soon afterward, she discovers a jeweled ring in a shipment of antiques from England. The name inscribed inside the band is "Jane."

Jane Lindsay is captivated by her find, and here Lady in Waiting takes the reader to 16th century England and the life of Lady Jane Gray. At its heart, Lady in Waiting is a novel about the choices each Jane is forced to make. Both stories are fascinating. It's hard to say which one I enjoyed most.

Meissner is a gifted author. I loved her earlier book, The Shape of Mercy, which also shifts between time periods. Her novels are a delight for both those who enjoy the skilled use of language,and anyone looking for an absorbing read.

I wholeheartedly recommend Lady in Waiting.

The Bell Messenger, by Robert Cornuke and Alton Gansky

The Bell Messenger was recommended to me by a visitor to my website. I've asked readers to share some of their favorite book titles with me, and Kay suggested I add The Bell Messenger to my library. I'm so glad I did. The story is a combination of historical fiction and contemporary action.

The authors, Robert Cornuke and Alton Gansky, have spun an intricate plot that revolves around a bible originally carried by a Confederate soldier during the Civil War. When the soldier is mortally wounded in action, he insists that the Union officer who shot him take the bible. “A dry rain cometh if you do not take the book,” he whispers.

In the story that follows, the bible eventually comes to a young man in 1980, and through his efforts the reader learns of the book's journey from a Virginia battlefield to a California railroad camp, into World War I, and across the sands of Egypt. Each life it touches connects with the life of the previous owner. Ordinarily I don’t like stories that use an object to connect decades, but The Bell Messenger manages to do so without feeling episodic.

A word to squeamish readers—the battle scenes are quite graphic. A little more so than I would have liked. However, the fascinating tales of the bible's owners more than make up for a little gore. At the end, Cornuke and Gansky tie the various sections together in a satisfying conclusion.

I recommend The Bell Messenger. I’d love to hear comments from others who've read it.

The Shape of Mercy, by Susan Meissner

The Shape of Mercy, by Susan Meissner, is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Meissner's protagonist, Lauren Durough, is from a wealthy family, which was one of the unique features of this story. The glimpses into Lauren’s privileged home life fascinated me.

Although raised with servants in attendance, Lauren yearns to be seen as an ordinary person, so she shuns a costly private college in favor of a state school. In a further endeavor to break away from her family's expectations, she takes a part-time job transcribing a 300-year-old journal for an elderly woman. The diary is an original account written by one of the young women accused during the Salem witch trials.

As the thought-provoking novel continues, Lauren is drawn ever more deeply into the story of Mercy Hayworth, the girl unjustly accused of witchcraft. The Shape of Mercy's theme is the harm done to ourselves and others by making judgments based solely on our own frame of reference. Lauren comes face-to-face with uncomfortable truths about herself as she tries to learn what happened to Mercy.

Meissner has done a masterful job of telling a story that unites the lives of two women born centuries apart. At the same time, she gave me an opportunity to consider parallels between Lauren's discoveries and my own tendencies to make snap judgments about people. The Shape of Mercy is a fantastic story on many levels. I highly recommend it.

Please leave a comment to have your name entered in the June 15^th drawing for bound arc of The Shape of Mercy, donated by Susan Meissner. Be sure to include your email address in the comment so I’ll be able to contact you if you win.