Up From the Blue

Tillie Harris stands alone in her new home looking at boxes she wants to unpack when she begins to feel labor pains. Feeling desperate, she calls her estranged father for help. He stays with her at the hospital trying to reassure her that everything will be okay.

Having him in the room with her brings back many painful memories from her childhood, and a young Tillie tells us the story of her life with her brother, her controlling, military father and her flighty, mystical mother. One day her mother disappears without saying a word to Tillie, but Tillie never gives up on finding her.

This is Susan Henderson's debut novel.

Faithful Place by Tana French

Faithful Place is a poor neighborhood in Dublin, Ireland. Frank Mackey is a nineteen year old guy waiting for his girlfriend Rosie. They plan to leave Faithful Place and elope to England, but Rosie never shows. Frank is confused and heart broken thinking Rosie changed her mind. So he decides to leave Faithful Place without her to get away from his alcoholic father and his critical mother. Twenty two years later, Frank receives a call from his sister saying that someone found Rosie's suitcase behind a fireplace in an old abandoned house. Reluctantly, Frank goes home to get to the bottom of the mystery of Rosie's disappearance.

I listened to Faithful Place, hoping to get an earful of the Irish brogue, which I did.