July Book Review | Captain Freeman Inn

by Donna Cain

It’s the dog day’s of summer, and I always enjoy summer reading as I like to keep it light hearted and fun! July’s summer books did not disappoint as they were all good reads full of mystery and intrigue with a few tender moments here and there.

Now that we have just one inn to tend to- we are finding that we have more time in the evening to explore Cape Cod and relax on our beautiful front porch. The rocking chairs make for a perfect backdrop to read that summer novel.

I was really looking forward to reading this book as it was a sequel to Everything We Keep. I loved this author’s first book as noted in my March review of her book. The first book was a well plotted love story, eloquently written and caught my interest immediately as the main character Aimee was into cooking and talked frequently about food as she is developing ideas for a new coffee shop. I fell in love with her character and enjoyed the suspense and unexpected twists that occur throughout the novel.

Shortly after reading Everything We Keep, I was so excited to learn that a sequel would soon be following. The story is told through Aimee’s first love James as he battles memory loss and is trying to put his life back together. Without giving up the details, I found it hard to bounce back and forth between different times in James’s life and I felt the chapter development of James was not as good as her first book. The story line could have been there but something was lost.  A little disappointing!

A guest recommended that I read one of Holmes’s books in a fun series about a gal that inherits a large mansion- after settling in with plans to open it as a bed and breakfast she finds the home to be haunted by the original deceased owner. The whole book tickled me, as we are often asked if our inn is haunted. We have had several guests stay with us that are  clairvoyant and both commented that our inn has a peaceful energy and the only spirit mentioned was that of a cat that visited her in her dreams while she was staying on the third floor. I often think about Captain Freeman and what he would think of all of our renovations to his beloved home……thinking he would approve and that his spirit is happy and on the other side! For those that like an old fashion murder mystery with  paranormal twists- this series is for you.

I still have such fond memories of reading the Pelican Brief and later watching the movie. Every time a new Grisham novel is published I am tempted to order it hoping it will compare to the suspense and story line that is filled with twists and turns in some of his first novels.  I enjoyed this story immensely and read it in two evenings. It’s a very quick read that is easy to follow. The plot kept my attention which opens with a gang of thieves that put together a plan to steal several  treasured manuscripts by F. Scott Fitzgerald from Princeton Universities Library. I loved the three main characters that are perfectly developed and a story line that kept my attention. I was originally expecting a thriller that had some courtroom drama but this was a a fun story filled with believable characters and an interesting plot. In recent years I have been disappointed with Grisham’s new novels but I found this one almost up to his old standards. On a whole, this was a great read.

All three of these books will be in our shared library in our winter dining room. We have a few opening toward the end of August so consider a stay at the Captain Freeman Inn where you can grab one of these great reads and relax on the beach or beside our lovely salt water pool.

Happy summer everyone.

Continue to pass on any of your recommendations for future reads. Just love to hear about the good reads!