Wednesday, September 13, 2017

What is Kelly Simmons reading?

Featured at Writers Read: Kelly Simmons, author of The Fifth of July.

Her entry begins:
I am a scaredy-cat, a bad sleeper, a person who thinks the sound of cats jumping off sofas and the sound of armed men climbing in windows is precisely the same. So I read thrillers by day and try to read lighter things by night -- humorous memoirs, character-driven literary fiction, etc.

But every once in a while, I find a book that kind of works for me round the clock. What a joy! To be a little on edge -- while laughing occasionally and enjoying the characters.

A book I just finished, about an immigrant family tangled up with their Wall Street employer -- filled me with dread, worry and tension --- yet I loved the characters, and understood their decisions both good and bad -- as I was soothed by their tender justifications.

Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue. It's getting...[read on]
About The Fifth of July, from the publisher:
After a tragic Fourth of July weekend, one upper-crust American family learns that some secrets never stay hidden, no matter how deeply you bury them...

Any of the Warners could have been behind the accident. Every one of them had a problem that threatened to tarnish more than their old-money silver.

Having spent the past three decades' worth of summers on Nantucket, the Warners are as much a part of the island as the crust of salt on the ferry. But this year is different: Tripp is no longer the father he was, and it becomes clear that nothing—not the beams that hold the house together, and not the values the family clings to—can survive the ravages of time. When tradition turns to tragedy, the creaky old house swirls with suspicion. There are just so many reasons to want someone gone.

With no easy answers as to how, why, or who, the Warners must face another frightening question: do they really want to know the truth?
Visit Kelly Simmons's website.

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My Book, The Movie: Standing Still.

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Writers Read: Kelly Simmons.

--Marshal Zeringue