The Birthday Present by Barbara Vine. An English MP is having a sordid affair with a married woman. As a birthday present for her, he arranges for her to be kidnapped and brought to his house for an evening of pleasure. The driver of the car, with the victim and a co-kidnapper, runs into a big truck. The driver suffers severe brain injury and the woman and other man are killed. The MP soon begins receiving anonymous letters from someone who claims to know that he arranged the whole thing. The book follows the secondary people around the victims and how it all unravels for the MP.
Miss Julia Hits the Road by Ann B. Ross. Our heroine is in her sixties. In this story, her housekeeper is about to lose her home as a developer has made an offer to buy the whole neighborhood and she, as well as her neighbors, will have nowhere to go as they're low-income residents. Miss Julia decides something has to be done and arranges several fund-raising events. Her friend, Sam Murdoch, sets up a motorcycle fun tun to raise money. Against her better judgment, Miss Julia agrees to be his passenger and the ride brings her more excitement than she had planned.
Sundays in America by Suzanne Strempek Shea. The author, raised Roman Catholic, went on a pilgrimage to a different Protestant church each Sunday for a year. They ranged from a church in Harlem on Easter Sunday to a cowboy church in Colorado to a Shaker service. The author did this with an open mind; and it was an interesting look into different ways of worship.
