The Lake House

Kate Morton has done it again with her latest novel, The Lake House (Atria Books). The New York Times bestseller and author of gems like The Secret Keeper and The Forgotten Garden, delivers an edge-of-your-seat, page-turning, multi-layered mystery that will leave readers nothing but satisfied. As she has so expertly done in previous books, Morton is able to effortlessly weave between space (city and suburb), time (70 years) and character voices to create a truly dynamic experience. In fact, this might be her busiest book yet, with parallel mysteries for the reader to solve.

As in previous novels, Morton builds her story around an historic, beautiful house – this time it’s a lakeside estate in Cornwall, England. Alice Edevane had an innocent, idyllic childhood at her family’s lake house until tragedy strikes one midsummer’s eve: Her baby brother, Theo, has vanished. Decades later, Sadie Sparrow stumbles upon the old estate while out for a run. Sadie, a young detective on the London police force, is staying at her grandfather’s house in Cornwall while taking time off after a bad case. The ivy-covered house piques her interest, and she begins to investigate the unsolved Edevane case. Alice, now nearly 90 and one of London’s greatest mystery writers, is determined to keep her family’s dark history in the past. As the story unravels, so does the “lush, atmospheric tale of intertwined destinies.”

If you are thirsty for a great book, pick up The Lake House immediately.

Cats on the Job

When it comes to animals helping humans, dogs usually have the spotlight. Cats finally get their due in Lisa Rogak’s book Cats on the Job (St. Martin’s Griffin), which features 50 felines from around the world who purr, mouse and sing for their supper.

While everyone is familiar with Grumpy Cat (real name Tardar Sauce, who looks permanently grouchy as a result of dwarfism and a mild under bite), Rogak highlights other famous felines like Exercise Trainer Cat (in the 1990s, a woman invented “catflexing” to incorporate cats into exercise routines) and Circus Cat (The Amazing Acro-Cats is a professional full-time traveling cat circus).

She also profiles business-minded cats like Mayor Cat, a.k.a. Stubbs, who has served as mayor of Talkeetna, Ark., since 1997. While the position of mayor is an honorary one with no real duties, Stubbs has had a hand in increasing the town’s tourism (you know what they say about curiosity and the cat). Then, there is Train Stationmaster Cat, Tama, who single-pawedly saved Wakayama Electric Railway in Kinokawa, Japan. And for us Massachusetts folks, there is Bookstore Cat Boswell, whose cuteness helps lure customers into Boswell’s Books in Shelburne Falls.

On a serious side, some cats really make a difference in people’s lives. For example, Hospice Cat Tom helps provide comfort to patients at a veterans hospital in Salem, Va. And Therapy Cat Flash travels around Indiana with his owner to visit residents of local nursing homes.

No matter the job, each cat purrfects its duty of bringing joy to the lives of humans.

By Kimberly Dunbar