Mary E. Trimble

I am so pleased to announce the release of my latest novel, My Brother Eric. The story is actually a continuation of my last novel, Maureen, but the story stands alone.

When the Cahills learn that a boy from the local high school is homeless and living out of his car, they feel the need to help. But they have a big cattle ranch to run. Will this city kid fit in?

Eric, 16, is living on the edge, and he knows it. He doesn’t know how much longer he can go on like this. Winter is coming on, and nights are already getting cold. The law is bound to find him and report him to Child Services. But Eric is determined not to move again, to finish high school in Chewack.

My Brother Eric is my fifth novel. In addition to my novels, I have written two memoirs, Tubob: Two Years in West Africa with the Peace Corps and Sailing with Impunity: Adventure in the South Pacific.

The book is available in paper or e-book format through your favorite bookstore or Amazon.

Book Review: Moon Bones

Posted on October 10, 2022 by Mary

Moon Bones, is the fifth book in the “A Nellie Burns and Moonshine Mystery” series by Julie Weston. The intriguing mysteries take place in the 1920s central Idaho’s rugged mining country.

When photographer Nellie Burns’ Chinese friend, Sammy Ah Kee, leads Nellie and her Basque fiancé Sheriff Charlie Asteguigoiri to a body Sammy has found, they find more than just the body, they discover a conspiracy to enslave Chinese immigrants. As they delve further, the mystery becomes more complex with murder and greed.

Of special interest to me in Moon Bones, was the deplorable way Chinese people were treated in this time period. In the late 1800s Idaho’s population included about 30% Chinese, most of whom were from the Guangdong area of China. They originally migrated to America to work on the railroad, though some came to prospect for gold. They were not treated well, were restricted from working the mines other than as laborers for white people, nor could they own land. The author does a good job of showing the plight of the Chinese, while also showing their loyalty to those white people they considered friends.

“A Nellie Burns and Moonshine Mystery” is an engaging series about the life and times in central Idaho in the 1920s. If you like a good mystery, I would recommend reading these novels in the order written: Moonshadows, Basque Moon, Moonscape, Miners’ Moon, and Moon Bones. The author has done a good job developing Nellie Burns’ character and her relationship with Sheriff Asteguigoiri, as well as with friends she has made along the way. Weston’s research of the area is impressive as her stories delve into the old mines, ghost towns, landscapes, and attitudes of the times.

Book Review: Beneath the Bending Skies

Posted on October 3, 2022 by Mary

Beneath the Bending Skies, an uplifting historical novel by Jane Kirkpatrick, is the story of Mary Catherine “Mollie” Sheehan Ronan (1852-1940) that takes place in the mid-to- late 1800s, mostly in Montana.

Mollie is only six years old when her mother passes away. Her father moves the family to Colorado and eventually remarries Anne, whom Mollie learns to love. The family moves to Montana as her father dabbles into several businesses, many involving different aspects of gold mining. Mollie strives to be a dutiful daughter, following his often quoted command to “honor thy father.”

When Mollie is 14 she meets her father’s best friend, Peter Ronan, 24 a journalist for a Helena, Montana newspaper. They fall in love and plan to marry. When her father learns of their relationship he is furious and feels deceived by both his daughter and friend. To thwart their relationship, he sends Mollie to a school in California. But being a dutiful daughter has its limits and even though separated, her love for Peter Ronan grows. They eventually reunite and when Mollie turns nineteen they marry, though her father strongly disapproves, causing a rift between them.

After some disasters with a fire at the newspaper building and a major theft in his mining claim, Peter accepts a job as supervisor at the Jocko Agency in Montana serving the Confederated Salish, Pend d’Oreille and Kootenai tribes. Mollie strives to be a gracious hostess to government dignitaries and tribal chiefs alike, to be a gracious wife and loving mother, and to keep a cheerful attitude. Above all, she aspires to be agile, to accept whatever comes her way and maintain a willingness to change.

I have read and enjoyed many books by Jane Kirkpatrick and this is one of my favorites. The author’s ability to capture the essence of time and place in this historical read is engaging, informative and told with dependable accuracy. Beneath the Bending Skies is an unforgettable journey of love, respect and duty.

Book Review: Bitterroot Lake

Posted on September 26, 2022 by Mary

Bitterroot Lake by Alicia Beckman, is a highly suspenseful contemporary novel with a strong sense of place.

Sarah McCaskill, newly widowed, hopes to find healing at her extended family’s historic Whitetail Lodge along the shore of Montana’s Bitterroot Lake. Upon arriving, she’s surprised to find an old friend, Janine, occupying one of the lodge’s cabins. There’s been a murder in town—Lucas Erickson, a lawyer who, twenty-five years before, attempted to rape Janine. Janine is afraid that she will be accused of the murder, that she sought revenge for that long-ago attack.

Two more friends join Sarah and Janine, and together they try to solve the mystery of the real killer. While staying in the lodge, property that has belonged to the McCaskills since 1922, the women recall their shared tragedy, a fatal automobile accident that happened at the time and was connected to Janine’s near rape.

While attempting to solve the murder mystery, the women discover a legacy of incidents that occurred in the lodge’s early years. Truths surface that link present-day occurrences to the past.

I enjoyed Bitterroot Lake and became immersed in the mystery that brought these women together. I especially enjoyed the author’s descriptions of the Montana landscape, particularly around Bitterroot Lake, and also the depiction and flavor Beckman creates of a closely knit small town.

Book Review: A River for Gemma

Posted on September 12, 2022 by Mary

A River for Gemma, by Debra Whiting Alexander, a novel that touched my heart, takes place in Oregon’s rural and rugged Willamette Valley, 2018.

Gemma Porter, 26, is considered “intellectually disabled” by many, but her grandmother sees a beautiful soul, a special person capable of great love. Gemma longs to have a baby, but there are those, including her mother, who feel she is not capable of handling such a responsibility. Although Gemma has her own apartment, a job, and can drive a car, she sometimes has trouble thinking things through.

When Gemma announces she is pregnant, and that she and her boyfriend intend to raise the child, many are outspoken about the couple’s ability to give the child adequate care.

Along with the turmoil of Gemma’s pregnancy, there’s a sinister, underlying threat that apparently involves Gemma’s grandmother’s hidden past. Threats of the family’s safety become more frequent and dangerous as they occur closer to home.

A River for Gemma is a story of limitless love, of overcoming restraints dictated by naysayers. It’s about possibilities, about hope. I enjoyed this novel and appreciated another way of looking at “disabilities” as “special abilities.”

Book Review: All That Is Secret

Posted on September 5, 2022 by Mary

All That Is Secret (An Annalee Spain Mystery Book 1) by Patricia Raybon is an absorbing novel that takes place in Denver, Colorado, 1923.

Annalee Spain leaves her teaching position as a theologian at a Bible college in Chicago to solve her father’s murder in Denver. As a “colored” woman, the venture is dangerous with the KKK wielding influence and terror, and corruption running rampant.

Annalee is a smart woman, and an avid amateur sleuth. Each chapter heading provides an apt quotation from her hero, Sherlock Holmes. Even though she held an impressive position as a professor, Annalee doesn’t have money. The clothes she wears are second-hand—she barely scrapes enough money together for her train fare.

The mystery she intends to solve begins on the train when she is confronted with threats. For protection, she hides in the train’s baggage car and encounters a stow-away, Eddie Brown, a twelve year-old orphan, a white boy in search of his missing father. They join forces, each with their own desperate missions.

When they arrive in Denver, they’re given shelter by handsome Jack Blake, a black minister, a well-respected man with a loyal congregation.

As the mystery unfolds, the reader gets a glimpse of Denver in the 1920s with its secrets of class, race, family and love. The author paints well-drawn, realistic personalities and situations. The story is not only a good mystery, but a realistic view of Denver in that time period, especially for a black person.

Book Review: The Rise of Light

Posted on August 29, 2022 by Mary

The Rise of Light by Olivia Hawker is a powerful novel that takes place in Rexburg, Idaho, 1975. The story is based on real events that occurred within the author’s family.

Tamsin, 17, is the youngest child and only daughter of the Rigby family. Her twin brothers, Ondi and Brig,19, are preparing to serve their mission, expected of young men of the Latter-Day Saint (Mormon) faith. Aran, the oldest child at 23, is Tamsin’s favorite brother. His great love is art, though his talent is frowned upon by his father.

Gad, the patriarch of the Rigby family, is a tyrant, an emotionally abusive father who uses the Church doctrines to mold his family into what he feels is righteous behavior. Even though Aran is an exceptional artist, Gad scorns his son’s talent, expecting him to carry on the family business of sign making. His wife, the mother of their four children, is meek, obedient, and long-since stripped of any individuality or joy.

When Linda Duff moves from Seattle to Rexburg, she’s considered an outsider, even though she is a baptized Mormon. She simply isn’t “one of them.” Linda craves normalcy, a way of life different from her bitter childhood. She becomes friends with both Tamsin and Aran, friendships that their father disapproves. Linda encourages Aran with his artistic talent, can see a future for him in the art world. With Linda, Tamsin can share her real feelings, can see that there is life beyond the restrictions of her overbearing father who won’t even discuss her foolish desire to attend university, but rather insists she marry by age 19 and become a good wife and mother.

When a violent catastrophe occurs affecting the whole town, the ensuing floodwaters create a flood of emotions with no hope of turning back, of returning to what they once had.

The Rise of Light is a masterpiece of family dynamics, of the art world, and of the courage it takes to follow one’s heart. I appreciate the author’s ability to capture landscape, to include the tiniest details, making the scenes come to life. She vividly describes Aran’s art and how he sees light and interprets it on canvas. This is a worthy novel, a captivating read that I highly recommend.

Book Review: Mixed Company

Posted on August 22, 2022 by Mary

Mixed Company, a book of twelve fiction short stories by Jenny Shank, is filled with diverse characters of humanity, depth, and humor.

Based primarily in Denver, with the exception of a poignant journey of a Denver family’s visit to Paris, this story collection is filled with people of different racial and economic backgrounds who find themselves thrown together with the expectation of accomplishing some sort of goal. The mix and ideals of the various characters in the stories are told with humor, grit, honesty and an innocence that I found spellbinding.

Every player Shank depicts has clear imagery, a reason for being there, from a worried pregnant woman, to an awkward middle-school basketball player, to a white mother of an adopted Black boy—all of them in search of happiness, or at least acceptance.

Each story has its own message and I found myself alternately laughing, cringing, or close to tears. Although I usually prefer novels—something that I can savor for a period of time—I loved this collection of short stories.

Book Review: The Cold Dish: A Longmire Mystery

Posted on August 15, 2022 by Mary

I was a huge fan of Netflix’s Longmire series. Having watched this contemporary western gave me instant recognition of the novel’s characters. Craig Johnson’s The Cold Dish: A Longmire Mystery was a joy to read.

Walt Longmire is sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming. He learns that the body of a young man has been found, dead of a rifle bullet, apparently shot from long distance. The victim is a young man, one of four boys who were tried for raping Melissa Little Bird, a niece of Walt’s friend, Henry Standing Bear. Even though the boys were found guilty, the judge gave them limited sentences in juvenile facilities.

A second boy is shot and killed and the need to find the killer increases. Walt’s deputy, Victoria (Vic) becomes involved as they not only try to solve these murders, but attempt to stop any more attacks on the boys.

The Cold Dish is an absorbing read. I love Craig Johnson’s easy-going narrative and the plot was intricate enough to keep me guessing. I’m looking forward to reading more of the Longmire Mystery series.

Book Review: Striking Range

Posted on August 8, 2022 by Mary

Striking Range: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery by Margaret Mizushima, the seventh novel in the “Timber Creek K-9 Mystery” series, takes place in the Colorado Rockies.

Sheriff Deputy Mattie Cobb meets with cold-case detective Jim Hauck at the Colorado state prison with the intention of interviewing the man who tried to kill Mattie and who may have killed her father thirty years before. But when the prisoner is summoned, he is found dead in his cell. They’re left with only one clue: a hand-drawn map leading to Timber Creek and rugged Redstone Ridge.

Mattie and Robo, her K-9 German shepherd, and detective Jim Hauck, attempt to find clues from the map to solve that mystery. Before they can finish their search, Mattie is called to investigate the death of a young woman found by elk hunters in a nearby campground. The victim appears to have recently given birth, but the infant is nowhere to be found. The weather worsens, covering the forest with a layer of ice and snow, making the search for the infant even more difficult, dangerous and desperate.

In the meantime, veterinarian Cole Walker, Mattie’s love interest and often her partner in solving crimes, is occupied at his clinic delivering a valuable litter of pups. Cole also remembers the deceased pregnant woman being in his clinic just the day before with her dog. Cole is eventually freed from his duties and joins in the search for the infant.

When Cole goes missing and is stranded and alone in the high country with a person Mattie suspects is the killer, she and Robo begin their search for Cole. But, it seems, the killer is one step ahead.

I was intrigued with this mystery, and especially appreciated the information given along the way about police K-9 service dogs. Also of interest to me were details of systematic law enforcement procedures. People who like mysteries, and especially people who love reading about working dogs, will enjoy this novel.