Note: clearing old books from before 2019

Did not have time to read this book - still on my TBR. Thank you for the opportunity and my apologies for not getting to it.

You protect those who belong to you, whom you love. But sometimes you pay the price.

The natural phenomena of dead geese falling out of the sky starts the process of two sisters returning to each other's side - solid B&B owner Linnet with a loving family, who takes care of their beloved Pop with his onset of dementia; and younger carefree Myna, uncapable of committing to a guy. They once were like twins, dealing with the unspoken burdens of their mother falling down into depression and their professor father obliviously and blithely in his own world of ornithology. Then something had happened and as a result, their relationship has changed.
There are all kind of reporters in the city for the phenomena - and among them Jake, who has one more reason to visit - there was an old mobile phone in his late father's things, with only one number - the local number.
Can the phenomenas be explained? Can the healing happen?

I would not call this a mystery novel, even if there are deaths involved, but a human drama kind of novel - this is a novel about sisters and all kinds of bonds and abysses between them; a story about love, loss, responsibilities and burdens. And a possibility of a change.

The story is well played and the nature and the human side are nicely combined unto one big picture, where the human angles are intertwined unto the mosaic. You do not need to like the characters, but you can understand their choices, now and then. I have sisters myself, so I can attest that the sisterly bond is strong - and difficult.

I have enjoyed reading this novel, got into the plot quickly and was sorry to see this world go. Luckily, there are more novels from this intelligent and sensitive authoress!

I expected this book to be more… intense. It kind of fizzled thanks to the bulk of the motivating factors (i.e. random dead animals) being unrelated to the actual plot of the story. The plot itself was relatable, in that I have a sister and we don’t always communicate well but we love each other more deeply than can be defined with words, but these sisters had questionable morals and ethics and a shared secret that threatens to pull them apart.

I received a copy of The Sisters of Blue Mountain through NetGalley and Thomas Dunne Books in exchange for an honest and original review. All thoughts are my own.

Really great read!! Set in the Eastern Pennsylvania mountains, it tells the story of Linnet and Myna, sisters who are alienated because of a family secret. The characters in this book are appealing and very relatable. This story could very well be written about any family in America, in any venue. That is what I think makes this suspenseful, page turner an excellent book!! I took this on vacation, and it was an extremely enjoyable beach read!!! 5+ stars for The Sisters of Blue Mountain!!

This is one those times where expectations collide with the actual premise of the story. The author writes a compelling story. The characters are fleshed out, and realistically flawed. Still, I was expecting more exploration of the relationships between the two sisters and their father. At the end of the story, there wasn't a "all's well in the world" uplifting feeling. But again, that might not have been the goal of the author, but my expectations.

This was an entertaining book that touched on many topics. There was the bond of sisters, infidelity, dementia, aging, and most of all, the danger of secrets.

Some things were predictable (I guessed 'whodunit' long before it was revealed) but other things that looked like they would go one way, thankfully did not.

An interesting story well told - I liked it.

I liked this book a great deal as family drama always appeals to me; perhaps it is because my own father suffered from dementia, but I adored Linnet and Myna's father whose advice was the same as my dad's: "Don't get old." When the two sisters must reunite to help the town solve the mystery of the dead snow geese as well as the murder of a young scientist on their property, old secrets and guilt come to light and each woman must confront the past through painful memories that ultimately bring them closer together.

Linnet and Myrna don't have the best relationship. Myrna hasn't been home in years, leaving Linnet to run the family Bed & Breakfast and care for their aging father. Their father is a retired ornithology professor who has studied the snow geese that make their home on their dam his entire life. Their Bed & Breakfast is the destination of journalists and specialists when hundreds of snow geese turn up dead on the dam. The craziness of Linnet's world grows exponentially when one of the university guys ends up dead on their property. Then Myrna shows up after a skype session with Linnet's son gives her reason to worry. The sisters work together to try and keep their father from being the prime suspect, but a certain reporter has a history with the sisters that only they know the truth about. Will their world be shattered when truths are revealed?

I had a hard time connecting with the story. I liked the characters, okay enough, probably Myrna more than Linnett, but neither one really seemed "warm" to me. The sisters had one thing in common - their love and concern for their father. It was obvious to the reader that their father was battling dementia at the very least - he was forgetful and confused for most of the novel. Myrna and the reporter were getting cozy and I was okay with that, even though Linnet was not. But as the reader, I didn't have the whole story until nearly the end. In the end, I was glad the book was over. There was a lot of promise, but it just seemed to fall flat. I wanted to stick it out to see who killed the scientist, but I wasn't invested enough to care about the sisters or the secret they were hiding - CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS

Bottom line - I think the scenery was my favorite things about The Sisters of Blue Mountain. The author does an amazing job of placing the reader along the banks of the dam. While I though the story had weak points, the author tied it all together nicely in the end.

Details:
The Sisters of Blue Mountain by Karen Katchur
On Facebook
Pages: 320
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: 4/4/2017
Buy it Here!

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I am truly impressed by this book. I thought I was going to read one kind of story and it took a spin I wasn't expecting. Linnet and Myna are sisters, but couldn't be more different. They are brought back together when a strange occurrence is happening in their hometown. Their Dad is showing signs of dementia and now a possible suspect in a murder investigation. As the story unfolds, we learn this family has many secrets and much heartache. Very fascinating and very well written. I love finding a new author I want to read more from.

THE SISTERS of BLUE MOUNTAIN
Karen Katchur


MY RATING ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️▫️
PUBLISHER St. Martin's Press
PUBLISHED April 4, 2017


SUMMARY
Linnet and Myna are two sisters who have grown apart over the years. They used to be best friends--they were like birds of a feather. But something happened to change that. They have a family secret that keeps them apart. Neither wants to talk about it.

Myna left Mountain Springs to go off to college and never came back. She's never spent much time in one place, but she's been living in Florida for three years now.

Linnet runs the family business, The Snow Goose Bed and Breakfast in Mountain Springs, Pennsylvania. Each year snow geese flock to the nearby dam on their migration north to Canada. Tourists come to see the snow geese and to fish, keeping the bed-and-breakfast busy. But one morning everything changes.

The snow geese are dead! Some fell from the sky, falling on the lawn of the bed and breakfast. Hundreds of geese are floating facedown in the water. Tourist are calling canceling their plans to visit. The media descends on the town in a frenzy, including a certain journalist who has an ulterior motive.

Linnet and Myna's Pop, was a bird expert, known as the bird-man. He is a retired professor of Ornithology from the nearby University. He's 73, and his mind wasn't quite what it once was. The media are pressuring for his opinion on what happened to the snow geese. He has no was of knowing, unless he can get into the university lab. Instead, the university sent a new young Ornithology professor to gather samples and collect specimens. The young professor winds up dead. It looks like he was murdered. Pop is the primary suspect.

Myna rushes back to Mountain Springs when she learns about the geese and Pops condition. Mynas' return brings back memories for the sisters. Memories of their difficult childhood and the secret that has torn them apart.


REVIEW
Karen Katcher had me when the first snow goose fell from the sky. The Sisters of Blue Mountain was an immensely captivating and enjoyable book. It is full of interesting family dynamics and dilemmas that kept me rapidly turning pages.

The Sisters of Blue Mountain is a robust book with multiple storylines. It's about how Linnet and Myna's difficult childhood upbringing and one rash decisions impacted their life forever. It's about a dead professor, and it's about the environmental issues in the Mountain Springs community.

The characters are nicely developed. You get an excellent understanding of Linnet and Myna by a timeline from both the past and present. Your heart goes out to them, as they valiantly try to take care of Pop as his memory fades.

Highly recommend this emotionally compelling book for a quick read. Would be a good beach read!

Thanks to Saint Martin's Press, Karen Katcher and Netgalley for an advanced reading copy of The Sisters of Blue Mountain.

This is a well written novel of family dynamics combined with a murder mystery that swings on an underlying secret which has damaged sisters Linnet and Myna. I didn't find the mystery as compelling as the situation between the sisters. It's hard to put this in a genre because it crosses lines (as does life!) The ornithology was interesting. Both sisters were complex and intriguing, although not always sympathetic (seriously there are times when I wanted to tell Linnet off). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Try this one for a good read which doesn't really fit in the usual estranged sisters category.

Hundreds of geese falling dead from the sky, a mysterious death of a professor, and fish discovered floating dead in the waters of a dam, all of these strange occurrences take place in the small town of Mountain Springs, Pennsylvania by a popular family-owned B&B called the Snow Goose. Linnet, now the owner of the Snow Goose, and her younger, estranged sister Myna, are reunited due to these surprising happenings. The sisters, having once been very close, share a secret from their past that they now find they must reveal. Will the revelation of this secret bring them close once again? What is that secret and how do these unusual events suddenly make them realize that they must come clean about this hidden secret? These are questions that kept me captivated. Had it not been for my own personal happenings, I would have read this in one day. Great writing and believable characters!! A very good read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

This is a quick and enjoyable read, just what I was looking for and why I like to mix some women’s fiction into my mystery/thrillers reads. Kutcher pulls the reader in from the first moment a snow goose falls from the sky and lands in the dam near Linnet’s B&B. With the spring migration come tourists to this sleepy mountain town. A dam filled with dead snow geese will have a huge economic impact on the community. Answers are needed and the town turns to Linnet’s father, retired ornithologist Henry Jenkins. The professor is struggling with early signs of dementia, and Linnet and her husband call for help to the nearby college for assistance. Events will lead to the arrival of Myna, Linnet’s estranged sister and a reporter with connections to this part of Pennsylvania he intends to follow up while following this unusual event for his newspaper.

I enjoyed the foreshadowing the author uses throughout the story. She draws the reader in wondering what the reasons are for Myna’s inability to commit to a relationship and what horrific event(s) in the past led to the riff in this family. The reporter, Jake, carries a lot of unresolved grief of his own and a need to find out the true story behind his father’s death.
I didn’t have to think to hard about the reasons behind a good portion of the drama and that was fine with me. Events from the past shape the people and their relationships in the present. I enjoyed watching the story unfold.

An author to add to my must-read list. I’m on a roll in 2017.

ARC received from publisher in exchange for an honest and fair review.

THE SISTERS OF BLUE MOUNTAIN by Karen Katchur is a deeply emotional tale with elements of suspense and mystery sprinkled throughout, that will keep you hooked to the very end. Linnet and Myna used to be close but when family secrets were forged, they became more distant. Now as adults, Myna lives wherever the breeze takes her, while Linnet runs the family B&B business while looking after her ageing father, a retired Professor who was always known locally as the Bird Man. When the graceful snow geese that draw tourists to the area, start to fall dead from the sky, Linnet knows that something awful is happening, and realises that the town will look to her failing father for answers. But when a younger Professor who came to help discover the cause of the strange phenomena, is found dead, it will force Linnet and Myna to confront their past, as the two mysteries converge.
​ With an expert setting and well-developed characters, we are immersed in the relationship of Linnet and Myna, two sisters forced apart by their secret past, who struggle to reconnect at a time when they need each other most. While not always likeable, the characters are more realistic for their flaws. THE SISTERS OF BLUE MOUNTAIN by Karen Katchur is a story of family in all of its shades and depths and I enjoyed reading it.

Talented Karen Katchur returns following (2015) The Secrets of Lake Road with another emotional mystery domestic suspense, THE SISTERS OF BLUE MOUNTAIN — two timelines connect for a riveting page-turner of the strong bonds of family.

Set in a fictional tourist town of Mountain Springs, PA, two young sisters Linnet and Myrna grew up in a home with a professor for a dad and a mother which suffers from extreme depression. When the girls were young, the father decided they would turn the large home into a Bed and Breakfast Inn, called the Snow Goose.

True to its name the Snow Goose was the main attraction in the small town, thriving on the snow geese migration. Each year, the birds flock to the dam, and the tourists follow. The geese migrated late winter and early spring, flying over Pennsylvania en route to Canada. Tourists traveled from as far away as Virginia to see the snow geese making their trip north, swimming in the dam, resting in the fields.

The girls are now grown. The mother is deceased, and the father has moved to the guest house and suffers from dementia. He is a retired ornithologist. Linnet (the older sister), now oversees the management of the inn with her husband Ian, and twelve-year-old son, Hank.

The younger sister, Myrna left the small-town life, years earlier and resides in Florida. Why did she want to escape the memories? She is very unsettled in her own personal life since Ben wants to get married and she does not believe in the institution, with no role models from her own childhood.

Something happened when the girls were teens. A tragedy. A dark secret. The sisters were once close and now estranged.

As the book opens, it is their busiest season, and the geese are dead. Everywhere. Hundreds of them. How could this have happened? Linnet cannot have dead geese in the yard.

Pop (the dad) is seventy-three and his mind is not what it once was. He is called the “Bird Man”. Pop had taught classes at the university years ago and the inn was left to the mother. Of course, with her depression (mental illness), a lot of the work was left to the girls. The girls have a lot of guilt from an event in the past.

Of course, the dad is not sure this is a nightmare or reality with the geese.

With another storyline, Jake is a reporter from Leigh Valley and sent to cover the story. He also has ties with this town. His dad died in a car accident years ago, and Jake was still not satisfied with the results of the investigation. He thinks this may be a good time to kill two birds. (no pun intended).

Jake had found an old Nokia cell phone. He was going to have a hacker try and locate the last phone number dialed. The phone was found with his dad’s body at the car crash.

What was his dad doing on a road in this town? How is this family connected to his father’s death?

The town makes national news and Myrna returns home. There is friction between her and her older sister. In the meantime, the professor who gets called in to investigate the birds' death (helping the father since he is too old), turns up dead. Then more fish.

The father is the prime suspect and his best friend Charlie is the chief of police, putting him in an awkward position. Pop loved the birds as well as the townspeople. They relied on the birds to bring tourists and money into the town.

With panic from everyone, not only do they have a crisis on their hand, now a murder. They cannot allow their father to be charged with the murder.

In the meantime, the closer Jake gets to solving the case of his father, the more the two sisters fear their long hidden secret will be unraveled. They are not speaking to one another. Keeping secrets can become deadly and stay with you through life. As the investigation unfolds, the sisters must confront one another and their hidden past.

Karen keeps you hooked from the first page to the last —turning the pages with several different mysteries and suspense going on at the same time. The most intriguing storyline is the mother and the girl’s past and how they are intertwined possibly with Jake’s father.

The author also crosses some moral lines and proposes some thought-provoking questions. As in her first book, the author delves into the complexities of interpersonal relationships and the parallels between land and life. An ideal choice for book clubs and further discussions.

Fans of Mary Alice Monroe and David Bell will enjoy, this well-written complex yet powerful family saga of sisters, combined with nature and lush settings.

Interview with the Author The Big Thrill. A special thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an early reading copy.

JDCMustReadBooks

Sisters of Blue Mountain by Karen Katchur comes out this week. It is a novel that looks at family, love, loyalty and secrets. The novel is written with both the sisters having a voice within the story. It also has the story moving back and forth in time, which makes the story line more intriguing

Linnet and Myna were the closest of sisters when they were young. Now they are not and avoid each other. Myna has never been able to settle down, while Linnet married her sweetheart and took over the B and B that was their family’s. Their father once a noted professor, lives in the guest cottage and is slowly failing with dementia crowding his life. A freak occurrence cause a flock of snow geese to just drop out of the sky dead, started the unraveling of a family secret. The destruction of so many geese cause a professor from the local college to come out and collect specimens with their dad, until he is killed. The unraveling starts to speed up and now suddenly there is a newspaper man in town asking questions and not just about the geese. Linnet and Myna are caught between the truth and a lie, but whose truth and whose lie.

This was an interesting book to read. I liked all the information about the geese and the ecology of the area. The mystery was good, although I did have some correct guesses about who did what and when. Sisters of Blue Mountain by Karen Katchur was an interesting read.

I really like how this book played out The ending shocked me and I didn't see it coming.

Taken from the cover and true to their words!!
A sisters’ secret.
A mysterious phenomenon.
A murder that ties it all together.

I totally recommend if you want a suspenseful mystery with a surprise ending.

My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Even better than The Secrets of Lake Road! I enjoyed Katchur's first book, but in my opinion The Sisters of Blue Mountain is an even stronger novel. I was immediately drawn into the story--wondering why the geese were falling from the sky and what would happen to Pop. The plot moves at a nice, quick clip and I was soon even more engrossed--how did the professor die? What was the secret Linnet and Myna shared and would they find a way to reconcile? What was the deal with the sweet reporter from out of town? I loved the way all these story threads were wrapped up by the end. There's a lovely ease to Katchur's storytelling and I can't wait for her next book.

This was an interesting story. I liked the character development. A bit of mystery along with family drama. A very enjoyable read.

Linnet grew up in the small town of Mountain Springs, Pennsylvania where she now lives with her husband and continues to run the family bed and breakfast. Linnet’s father was always known as the bird man around town since he spent his life studying birds as a ornithology professor. Now retired and starting to suffer from dementia Linnet’s father still lives in the guest house with Linnet caring for him.

One day they awaken to find that hundreds of geese have fallen from the sky and the town turns to the former professor to help solve the mystery of why they died. A current professor is sent out to collect samples and run tests but is found on the property dead the next morning and Linnet’s father is suddenly a suspect having been the last to see the man.

With reporters circling and police investigating Linnet calls in her sister Myna to come visit. The sisters however have somewhat of a strained relationship due to family secrets that have been buried for years but now it’s time for them to come together for the sake of their father.

The Sisters of Blue Mountain by Karen Katchur is a bit of an emotional suspense read. There is a lot of family issues between the sisters along with some buried secrets to uncover all the while dealing with the mystery of the dead geese and then the mystery of what had happened to the young professor that had been brought in to help.

This one was quite touching to me having dealt with dementia with my own grandmother I immediately became attached to Linnet’s father as he had his good times and bad during the story. With so much going on in this story it never became dull and always had my attention as the characters grew on me more and more. Both the past and present mysteries were not too terribly hard to figure out but the answers still somewhat crept up on me as I was also involved in the characters lives and emotions.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.