On Turpentine Lane

Lot's and lots of strong language! I finally gave up. Moving on to another writer... I wasted my money on this one. I tried to muddle through but it just didn't get any better so I dumped the book off of my Kindle.

At thirty-two, Faith Frankel has returned to her claustro-suburban hometown, where she writes institutional thank-you notes for her alma mater. It’s a peaceful life, really, and surely with her recent purchase of a sweet bungalow on Turpentine Lane her life is finally on track. Never mind that her fiancé is off on a crowdfunded cross-country walk, too busy to return her texts (but not too busy to post photos of himself with a different woman in every state). And never mind her witless boss, or a mother who lives too close, or a philandering father who thinks he’s Chagall. When she finds some mysterious artifacts in the attic of her new home, she wonders whether anything in her life is as it seems. What good fortune, then, that Faith has found a friend in affable, collegial Nick Franconi, officemate par excellence . . .My Thoughts: My mood led me to On Turpentine Lane, a book that had been languishing on my Kindle, and as I turned each page with fresh delight, I knew I would be engaged throughout.The story opens with Faith buying a charming bungalow with a lot of quirky elements, not the least of which would lead to a twisty kind of mystery involving previous residents of the home.Mix in the delightful banter between two friends and coworkers, Faith and Nick, and you are off on a journey toward a hopeful ending.In the beginning, Faith had a walkabout fiancé that I was pleased to watch her kick to the curb. From there, it was only a matter of time until she improved her situation. I thoroughly enjoyed how the story came together into a very satisfying denouement. 4.5 stars.

Was disappointed in this book after I read it was a good 2017 beach read in an article...just a little too "light" & not substantial enough for me. None of the characters were likeable except maybe the brother, Joel. They lacked depth & I felt like I was reading a teenager's plot line. The protagonist, Faith, was gratingly annoying & not terribly sharp, though she was supposed to be, and she was quite shallow. There was no real consistency as to who she was except an overly dependent & reactive 30 year old. The whole murder investigation was unbelievable/not even interesting & the main characters involved themselves in unrealistic ways. I found myself not caring what happened.

I have read every one of Elinor Lipman's books, and thought them all charming, but....this is nothing to write home about, as the saying goes. I wonder why? Lipman has a genius for the legant turn of phrase that conveys a huge amount of information in a few words, a wry sense of humor and an insight into all varieties of human nature. Her books are lightweight, yes, but always meaningful. So even this one gets "okay" because as long as she is the one doing the writing, it will still be a good book, worth reading to the end.

Elinor Lipman is back. It's been a while since "The View From penthouse B." That book was good- but not vintage Lipman. This book, on the other hand is Elinor at her best. The plot is thin, but hilarious. It involves of all things, a good hearted soul who solicits donations for a small liberal arts college. Her world is punctuated with Lipmanesque characters of all stripes- Jewish mothers, golddiggers, homicidal old ladies, hapless ex-jock bosses, loving colleagues- and a snow plow driver brother who's a real mensch..Reading this book is like finding a unique attraction at the fair. It's sort of like getting on a roller coaster and a visiting the funhouse at the same time. It is is at once fast, grotesque, really funny -and - an together great ride.

This one has been pretty well summarized, so I'm just going to get into my thoughts of this book. Faith is very particular in how she likes things done, except when it comes to her fiance. (ugh, I hated him and hated that she put up with him as long as she did.) I didn't care for her bla·sé statement of "I think I have post-traumatic stress disorder,..." with no real reason as to why she would have it because as a sufferer, I really hate off-handed comments like that. But her family was full of entertainment from beginning to end.While I did feel the major mystery seemed added in for excitement, I rather did like it. Though when it comes to solving it, I felt Faith was a bit of a bully when it came to interviewing Mrs. Lavoie. The exchanges she has with the police officers are clever and amusing, and I chuckled during one of them in particular. As far as characters go, they're all richly in-depth, even the ones I didn't like, such as the fi·an·cé Stuart and Faith's father, were well-written to be unlikable.Overall this was a fun read. It was well-written, with a storyline that had a lot of fun elements and situations. I was happy that Faith found her backbone, happiness, and that she figured out the mystery on her own. Lipman did a really good job with this, and she definitely has a new fan.

I’ve read many of Ms. Lipman’s novels, and enjoyed this one as much, if not more, than the others. I noticed, in some of the other reviews, that this was described as a “light” read. I will agree, and say that it was just fine with me. I read a lot, and sometimes a “light” read is just what I need. I found this novel well written, uplifting, and a pleasant escape.

Aimless, artless fluff. A weird rom-com, with appended "murder mystery" with neither resolved with any panache or grace. Just blah. Characters, situations and writing...just meh.

I’m a huge fan of Elinor Lipman and here, thankfully, her trademark wit is much in evidence. But the plot – oh dear – the plot.Faith Frankel’s engagement to Stuart has been sealed with a ring of string. Whiny Stuart has gone all new-age and embarks on a crowdfunded walk across the States to ‘find himself’. He barely manages to return Faith’s texts yet is able to post pics of himself with busty women on Facebook. Metaphor alert: the ring is fraying. Meanwhile, Faith has fallen in love with a quaint little house which she sets about buying. She works as a fundraiser for a private school but is wrongly accused of embezzling a large donation. Her office co-worker, the lovely Nick, supports her wholeheartedly. After he breaks up with his girlfriend, he gratefully takes up Faith’s offer of a house-share. (You see where this is going?) When ancient blood stains and a mysterious photo album come to light at the tiny house on Turpentine Lane, it becomes the scene of a historical murder enquiry.Lipman’s characterisation – usually so good - here makes no sense at all. There is no way the female lead in this story would have fallen for a guy like Stuart in the first place, let alone put up with him for as long as she does. Then there’s the predictable outcome of her romance with the lovely Nick, the silly family bickering and the ludicrous murder sub-plot. Elinor, what were you thinking when you came up with this one? I do hope it’s just a blip. 3.5*

Another witty tale from Elinor Lipman with an almost Almovodar-esque drama... The bungalow in Turpentine Lane was home to an elderly murderess whose husbands came to a sticky end, before our heroine buys the house and goes on to find romance herself, whilst also negtoiating family crises, police investigations and rescuing her father from an affair that makes this a comedy of errors. Not as good as 'The Ladies Man' but good enough.

Great character development, great story and very funny. The bad guys weren’t too bad and the good guys without flaws

Fun. A funny, smart book for adult women who don't want to read about shoe brands.

So bad. So bad.There is a formula these kinds of books use and they can be funny. This just wasn’t.