A Christmas Legacy

 A Christmas Legacy (#1,106) is Anne Perry's 2021 novella in this series.  Here, Gracie, the Pitt's former maid, now married to a police inspector herself has a visitor just before Christmas.  It's Millie, a young maid employed in a household where something is very wrong.  She can't tell Gracie exactly what the problem is, but she trusts Gracie to find a solution.

Gracie misses the days when she used to assist Lady Pitt in solving cases with her husband Thomas, now head of Special Branch.  She can take Millie's place for a short time to see if she can figure out what is going on.  What she discovers is that an old woman is being kept in squalid conditions.  How she takes action to right this cruelty is at the heart of this story.

Anne Perry's Christmas tales always have a strong moral message.  It's comforting to read something these days in a season of giving that emphasizes that doing the right thing is the best thing in the end.  I love reading these books, and I'm so glad I now have another under the tree waiting for me.

It helps to have read Anne Perry's Thomas and Charlotte Pitt Victorian mysteries, but it's not necessary.  These timeless stories stand on their own very well.

Two Nights In Lisbon

The more I think about Chris Pavone's thriller Two Nights In Lisbon (#1,105), the less I like it.  I did enjoy his fleeting descriptions of Lisbon, a city I would return to at the drop of a hat, but that wasn't enough to justify the characters or the premise of this twisted tale.

It involves the kidnapping of an American businessman.  His older wife wakes to find John Wright missing.  She doesn't hesitate to report his disappearance to the Portuguese police.  Since he's only been gone a matter of hours, they are in no rush to send out search parties.  Frustrated, she tries the American Embassy with similar results.  When the ransom call comes, she has only forty-eight hours to raise three million euros in cash.  Where can she, of all people, find that kind of cash?

Lies, deceit, and manipulation are the root of this story.  The more I read, the less I liked any of the characters.  The introspective passages of the former Laura Turner drag on and on at the expense of the book's pacing.  The John Grisham cover blurb was wrong: I could put this book down, and wished I had done so sooner.  I would not recommend this book.

By The Book

Jasmine Guillory riffs off Beauty and the Beast in her Meant To Be novel By The Book (#1,104).  Just settle in and enjoy a tale "as old as time".  Oh, and be sure to have plenty of snacks on hand; you'll need them!

Isabelle has been in love with books her whole life.  She's been lucky enough to get a job in publishing, but after several years of going nowhere, she's re-thinking her career choice.  When she and her friend Priya are sent to a convention in California, Izzy overhears her boss talking about one of their difficult authors.  Before she can think about it, Izzy steps in and pitches a personal visit to Beau Towers who lives in nearby Santa Barbara.  To her surprise, Marta gives Izzy an opportunity to try to pry a manuscript out of Beau.

Given his bad-boy celebrity status, Izzy is surprised to find herself living in Beau's Santa Barbara mansion, (complete with a bathtub she loves so much she talks to it!) giving him daily pep talks to motivate him.  And did I mention an amazing snack cabinet stocked by his assistant with everything you could possibly imagine and more?  (Hence the snack alert to begin this review.)

The books, the baking, the beach!  Who could ask for anything more?  I loved Izzy and Beau and their love story.  Can't wait to read another book in this series!  I will really miss that snack cabinet, though...

The Cartographers

I thoroughly enjoyed Peng Shepherd's novel The Cartographers (#1,103).  Apparently, I am the only one in my book club who did.  Most of them didn't even bother to finish the book, which I found surprising.  I think someone may have whispered "science fiction" in their ears, and that was enough to put them off what I found to be a highly imaginative work.  I wish I had had a map like Nell's!

Nell has always wanted to be a cartographer; her whole life has revolved around maps.  Her parents were both highly esteemed in their field.  Yet Nell's father drove her out of the New York Public Library's Map Division, and single-handedly trashed her professional career.  And what was the cause of this break-up?  A seemingly innocuous gas station map of New York State.  

Her father claimed it was worthless, yet when his body is discovered at his desk in the NYPL, Nell finds that same map in her father's treasured portfolio concealed in a hidden drawer.  Nothing else was taken,  Could that "worthless" map be what the intruder was searching for?  Nell suddenly finds herself a target.  Can she solve the riddle of the puzzle before it is disappeared forever?

You have to be willing to think outside the box to enjoy this book.  If you can, you'll be rewarded.

Jane and the Year Without a Summer; Being a Jane Austen Mystery

Stephanie Barron has added another volume to her mystery series featuring Jane Austen with Jane and the Year Without a Summer (#1,102).  Things are not going well for the extended Austen family; Jane's brother Frank has been called before an Admiralty Board to account for the loss of his ship.  It could mean the end of his career.  In the meantime, another brother is facing financial ruin, taking the savings of the other Austen siblings with his own losses.

Faced with these calamities, Jane decides to treat herself and her sister Cassandra to several weeks taking the waters at Cheltenham on the profits from her latest novel.  Alas, the physician whom she consults there on the best authority does not have good news for Jane.  

She is somewhat distracted by the goings-on at the boarding house where she is staying.  Among the other guests are an overbearing clergyman and his equally insufferable sister, a disabled Naval officer, and most intriguingly, a beautiful invalid confined to a wheelchair there with her companion.  When a pug dog is poisoned at the house, it becomes clear that the real victim was intended to be one of the tenants of the boarding house.  But who, and for what reason?  Puzzling out the answer, plus an important face from Jane's past keep her from settling into despair.  It's a bittersweet ending.  I wonder if this could be the last outing for this enjoyable series?  I certainly hope not.

Kingdom of Bones

Why did I choose to bring James Rollins latest thriller Kingdom of Bones (#1,101) with me as we steamed towards the coast of Africa when the source of the suspense was an unstoppable new virus spreading inexorably through The Congo?  It did make me feel somewhat more secure that we were tested first thing each morning for Covid on board.

New zoonotic diseases crop up each day in our real world, so the subject matter of this thriller is in the best of hands with Dr. Rollins' background as a veterinarian.  Who else would know better about the potential threats?

In Kingdom of Bones, the Sigma Force is somewhat pared down, battling a billionaire developer whose aim is to corral the resources of Africa for himself, while stymieing the efforts of the Chinese to do the same.  The Sigma Force is called in when a refugee hospital manned by Doctors Without Borders is overrun by an unknown illness, affecting not just the people, but also the animals around them.  They are aided on this outing by Tucker Wayne and his canine partner Kane, whom we've met in other Rollins books.  His friend, a former army veterinarian, just happens to be doing field research nearby.  He has the expertise to help the medical team.  No one expects the mercenaries who copter in to destroy the field hospital...

At the end of his novels, Dr. Rollins always sorts out what is real and what is his own invention.  That's why I find his thrillers so compelling; they're not so far off the mark.  Good luck sleeping after reading Kingdom of Bones!

Flight of Dreams

I thought I would get a lot of reading done on the recent transatlantic cruise I took.  I was quite mistaken!  There were so many interesting talks and lectures every day, not to mention the amazing library on board my Viking ship, that I was hard pressed to carve out time to sit back and actually read.

I brought Ariel Lawhon's Flight of Dreams (#1,100) with me.  It poses one possible theory of what caused the zeppelin The Hindenburg to crash and burn on landing in Lakehurst, New Jersey in 1937 by following the lives on board of several of the actual passengers and crew.  The Stewardess, the Navigator, the Journalist, and the Cabin Boy all have their own secrets, and their own reasons for wanting to reach America.  Ms. Lawhon weaves these elements together to present plausible motivations for the cause of the fire onboard.  Not everyone makes it out alive.

We're probably all familiar with the newsreel footage of the disaster unfolding, so I was somewhat surprised to learn how many people did survive the crash.  It seems impossible from seeing it on screen.  Nevertheless, it marked the end of an era and put a stop to official Nazi flights over one of America's most important cities.

Mister Monkey

Okay, I'm apparently going for two in a row with Mr. Monkey (#1,099) by Francine Prose.  According to the book cover blurb, this is supposed to be a "hilarious" novel about a washed-up actress appearing in a revival off, off, off, off Broadway of a classic children's musical Mr. Monkey.  The eponymous Mr. Monkey is based on a real chimpanzee baby adopted by an American family after his parents (and the American family's mother) are killed in Africa by poachers.  After thirty pages, I couldn't see the point of continuing.  Did not finish.  Not for me, but they do say every book has its readers.

Today Will Be Different

Everyone always raves about Maria Semple's best-selling novel Where'd You Go, Bernadette, so I thought I'd give one of her follow-up books a try since it's been sitting on my beside table for a couple of years.  Honestly, I should have just left it there.  Today Will Be Different (#1,098) featured a protagonist, Eleanor Flood, who had to be one of the most entitled, selfish and unpleasant characters I've come across.  As she says several times herself in the book, she's led a fairytale life, which she is frittering away by whining and complaining about everything and everyone around her - her husband, her friends (!), her sister, her father, her kid Timby- (who she named after an autocorrection on her phone!).  Enough, already!

She vows to wake up and make today different.  She doesn't.  Don't need to spend any more time with this.  I'm sorry I bothered to finish it.

When In Rome

Sarah Adams' When In Rome (#1,097) is a romcom worth passing along.  The set up here is a pop princess who implodes from stress on the eve of a world tour.  Since Rae Rose has always related to Audrey Hepburn, she randomly chooses one of her favorite movies: Roman Holiday, to emulate.  (It's one of my favorites, too.)  

In case you're not familiar with the plot, Audrey plays Princess Ann, in Rome for an important diplomatic event.  Stifled by the court etiquette and always having to do and say the "right thing" she throws a slight temper tantrum.  Her courtiers' solution is to sedate her slightly to calm her down.  Ann's so calm, in fact, that she escapes the Embassy and sets out on her own adventure in the mean streets of Rome.  Fortunately, she's recognized by a reporter (played by Gregory Peck) assigned to her visit who takes her under his wing.  Audrey is able to have the adventure of her life while the two fall hard for each other.  In the end, though, both Joe and Princess Ann realize that they must return to their real lives.  It's a bittersweet ending.

Amelia Rae Rose decides to run off to the closest Rome she can find from Nashville - Rome, Kentucky.  And she's certainly looking for a happier ending than Audrey got.  When the old clunker car she's had for ages finally gives up the ghost, she's in the middle of nowhere.  When Noah Walker comes knocking at her car window, Amelia thinks her own time has come!  But he just wants to know why she's parked in his front yard.  Of course, one thing leads to another, but can there be a happy ending for this pop princess and her pie-baking Prince Charming?  You'll just have to read When In Rome to find out!

The Orchid Thief

Susan Orlean's best-selling book The Orchid Thief (#1,096) came out in 1998.  She wrote it following the case of a notorious theft of wild orchids from the Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve in Florida by John Laroche and his three Seminole confederates.  She was intrigued by the newspaper article she had read on the case and decided to check it out for herself.  Although much has changed in Florida in the twenty plus years since the book was published, the passion for orchids and collecting is as strong as ever.

Ms. Orlean wandered down so many fascinating rabbit holes in writing this book, she sucks the reader in just as surely as the muck of the Fakahatchee.  So many things I did not know about this amazing state where I live!  Although the book centers around the theft of the elusive ghost orchid from state land, I was surprised to learn from reading descriptions of this flower, that the orchid on the cover of the book I was reading was not a ghost orchid!  I couldn't tell you what it actually was although it is beautiful.  That was just one of the many surprises this book contained.  

I finally got around to reading The Orchid Thief for my book club, and I'm so glad I did after reading and enjoying her non-fiction book The Library Book (See my post of 11/27/2018.).  Here Ms. Orlean links up a string of anecdotes in each chapter, each more interesting than the last.  I've seen how caught up people are in the orchid world at local orchid shows, but I never gave the bigger picture much thought.

I just know one thing for certain; I won't be in a hurry to take a field trip to the Fakahatchee Strand!

The Marlow Murder Club

A friend at my book club passed The Marlow Murder Club (#1,095) on to me.  Its author, Robert Thorogood, in addition is the writer behind the PBS mystery series Murder In Paradise.  I thoroughly enjoyed this twisty novel.

It features a most unlikely trio of amateur detectives: Judith, an elderly lady who lives on her own on the Thames River who witnesses the murder of her neighbor while out swimming in the nude; Suzie, a down on her luck dog walker caught at the scene of a second murder; and Becks, the picture-perfect suburban housewife whose investment banker husband found his second calling as the local vicar.  These ladies all share something in common.  Deep down, they are all lonely.  Trying to track down a killer in their small village unites them in deeply satisfying way both for them and their readers.  They are joined by DS Malik, the police officer who finds herself unexpectedly in charge of a major case.  Are Judith, Suzie and Becks a help or a hindrance to helping her solving her case?

If you enjoy Agatha Christie novels, The Marlow Murder Club will undoubtedly appeal to you.  Personally, I'd like to see Robert Thorogood adapt his novel into a screenplay.  It would be delicious fun!

Antoinette's Sister

On the whole, I enjoyed Diana Giovinazzo's historical fiction novel Antoinette's Sister (#1,094).  The subject is Maria Carolina Charlotte, sister of Marie Antoinette, who became Queen of the Two Sicilies quite by chance.

The book alternates between Charlotte's first person narratives, and a series of letters to her from various correspondents: her mother, the Empress Marie Therese, her siblings and other characters pertinent to the story.  I did find this device a bit confusing, as the narratives and the letters don't always synch in time, and tend to jump backwards and forwards in history.

I really didn't know much about Charlotte's remarkable life, which is a shame.  Her husband Ferdinand was raised without the education necessary to govern competently, but Charlotte's formidable mother had the foresight to raise all her children to govern.  So as Queen, she was able to better the lives of her Neapolitan subjects despite continued political opposition.  In many ways she was overshadowed by the tragic history of her closest sister, Antoinette, and she ultimately became obsessed by Antoinette's fate. 

I did think the book bogged down several times in the middle, but overall, I always enjoy learning about history, and this was an interesting window.  If I am ever fortunate enough to return to Naples, I will be sure to visit the palace of Caserta, built mainly by Charlotte and Ferdinand, a remarkable legacy to leave to the world.

Counterfeit

I found Kirsten Chen's novel Counterfeit (#1,093) fascinating on several levels.  The plot concerns two women involved in the counterfeit handbag game.  But the book didn't go where I expected it to go; there are some surprising plot twists to keep you turning the pages, and turning your viewpoint on its head.

Ava and Winnie met at Stanford, where Chinese Winnie spent one miserable semester abroad.  When she later contacts American-born Ava, her college roommate, at a particularly unhappy period of Ava's life, a partnership is born.  They are making money hand over fist until things start to unravel...

The "targets" of this supposedly "victimless" crime are the purveyors of and consumers of designer handbags.  Apparently there is a whole world of fashionistas out there whose status depends on whether or not they are carrying the "right" bag at absolutely absurd prices (even for the top level knock-offs!)  As you may have guessed, I am not one of those people. I had to look up the particular bags mentioned online, most of which I did not consider either attractive or functional.  Hundreds of thousands of dollars for a single bag?  I don't think so.  But for a huge industry based in China, where even the authentic handbags have been outsourced, fortunes literally change hands.

It's like the movie Wall Street, where "Greed is good".  I've got to say, I did not care for the ending, but then again, the characters in this book would have looked down their noses at someone like me.  I can live with that.

Desperate Undertaking

The play's the thing in the latest Lindsey Davis Flavia Albia mystery, Desperate Undertaking (#1,092).  The death of one or more of a classical play's characters serves as the inspiration for a series of diabolical murders.  The target seems to be a troupe of actors in Rome celebrating the holidays, and the site of the murders are the theaters scattered throughout Domitian's Rome.

Flavia Albia becomes involved when a former member of the acting troupe comes looking for Marcus Didius Falco, Albia's adopted father.  They had known each other when her parents were touring Syria.  Davos wants to find out who is targeting the members of the acting company in such a vicious manner.  Flavia Albia feels obliged to prove that her investigatory skills are just as keen as Falco's.  Maybe that was a trifle ambitious, but it's too late to turn back now; the murderer (or murderers!) has Albia in his sights.  It's solve or die!

I found this mystery particularly interesting, having recently watched the History Channel's series on the Colisseum.  Although the Colisseum was not used for staging (!) a crime in Desperate Undertaking, the explanations of the workings of that amazing building certainly aided in visualizing how the murderers worked out the details of their crimes.  I must admit, I breathed a sigh of relief when it was finally all over!

The Windsor Knot

I said I intended to go back and read SJ Bennett's first book in her mystery series featuring Queen Elizabeth II, and so I did.  The Windsor Knot (#1,091) is set in the period leading up to the vote for Brexit, a rather fraught political period in British history.

A talented young Russian pianist who entertained the guests at a Windsor Castle Dine and Sleep is found dead in scandalous circumstances in his room at Windsor.  At first it appears to be a suicide, but her own staff is reluctant to reveal the prurient details to Her Majesty, wishing to spare her sensibilities.  But it soon turns out that the scene was staged for a murder.  But who is behind it?  Was it political, personal or something else entirely?

Her Majesty wishes to find out, since she had danced with him only the night before.  She taps her new Personal Assistant Secretary, Rozie Oshidi, to help her with the legwork.  Rozie never expected working for the Queen would be like this!

Very entertaining behind-the-scenes mysteries in royal settings, SJ Bennett has combined intriguing who-donnits with gossipy royal tidbits.  Although the Queen is now gone, I hope this mystery series will live on!

Holy Chow

Andy Carpenter is back in his usual rare form in David Rosenfelt's latest mystery: Holy Chow (#1,090).  Andy is sad to hear that Rachel Morehouse has died, especially since she had contacted him a few weeks prior to ask him to make sure Lion, the chow dog she adopted from the Tara Foundation, will be looked after if anything happens to her.  Since he likes Rachel, and a dog is involved, of course Andy promises to take care of Lion.  He just didn't expect to be called so soon about the reading of her will, and the fact that she left the Tara Foundation two million dollars.  He also didn't expect that her stepson Tony would be arrested for her murder at the reading of the will.

Andy finds himself defending Tony Wasserman, who swears that he had nothing to do with his stepmother's murder.  In fact, they were on good terms - enough so that Rachel wanted Tony to take Lion if he was willing.  In fact, Tony was eager to adopt Lion to fill the void left by his beloved dog's death. Surely Tony couldn't have done it, but the evidence is piling up against him, until Andy starts poking around...  

With his typical humor, Andy and his stalwart crew put together the pieces of a conspiracy with Tony as its scapegoat.  But will anyone believe them?  There are a few new recruits, and a surprising reveal about one of the Andy Carpenter Mystery series' regular characters!  Always a pleasure to read.

A Desolation Called Peace

A Desolation Called Peace (#1,089) is Arkady Martine's sequel to her remarkable novel A Memory Called Empire.  It is another meaty space opera centered around a war about to break out in the vastness of space.  How this came about is a plot line of A Memory Called Empire, so you really need to read these two books in order.  Most of the characters are familiar here, but there are potentially more enemies, and not just out in the void.  Some of them are much closer to home.

What I really enjoyed about these two books are the author's use of language.  In the Empire of Teixcalaan, poetry is used as entertainment, culture and as a political weapon, so it is fitting that the beauty of some of the passages feels so utterly right.

There's political intrigue, sabotage, love, loss and the fear of annihilation here, as the Teixcalaan forces battle an unknowable enemy perilously near the territory of Lsel Station, home of Mahit Dzmare, Ambassador to the Teixcalaanli Empire.  When Special Envoy Three Seagrass swoops into the Station to convey Mahit to the Teixcalaanli Fleet battleship to help in communications efforts, it's just in the nick of time for Mahit.  But is she jumping from the frying pan to the fire?

This book, admittedly, did take me a long time to read, but that was mostly because I didn't want to rush the experience.  Here's hoping there will be a third addition to this series.

All The Presidents' Pastries - Twenty-Five Years In The White House

I recently heard on the news that Roland Mesnier, long-time pastry chef at the White House, had died.  In the course of his on-air obituary the broadcaster mentioned among his other works, a memoir of his time at the White House: All The Presidents' Pastries - Twenty-Five Years In The White House, (#1,088) co-written with Christian Malard.  I checked our local library, and sure enough, they had a copy of his 2004 publication.

It's quite an amazing story.  Born in France in 1944, Mr. Mesnier came from an impoverished but strong family.  When he was sent to stay with his older brother at age twelve, he found his vocation.  His brother was a pastry chef; he would become one, too.  The book recounts his struggles to keep learning and moving up in his profession until he worked in some of the most elite kitchens in Europe and the United States.  A colleague suggested to Roland that he apply for an opening at the White House, which he did, somewhat reluctantly.  The rest, as they say, is history.  He eventually served under five US Presidents, from Jimmy Carter to George W. Bush before retiring.

If you are looking for Presidential scandals, this is not the book for you.  Mr. Mesnier was the ideal employee in this position, refusing to pass along anything which would reflect negatively on those he served in the White House.  Not that there is any lack of interesting anecdotes here!

But if you are a foodie, you'll be in heaven reading the descriptions of the sumptuous and creative desserts he created in the various kitchens where he worked.  It made my blood sugar levels rise just reading about the ice creams, sorbets, cakes, pastries and especially the spun sugar decorations which were his specialty.

If I have one complaint about this book, it is that in the photo section, pictures included those of Roland Mesnier posing with the Presidential families, which were very nice, but I would really have liked to have seen many more photos of his incredible desserts.  He does include some recipes at the end of the book, but I have no illusions that my confections would bear the slightest resemblance to this master chef's originals!  Enjoy!

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy

Becky Chambers has followed up her Psalm for the Wild-Built series with A Prayer for the Crown-Shy (#1,087) continuing the adventures of tea monk Sibling Dex and Mosscap, the robot who came out of the wilderness to meet them, and to ask as many humans as he can: What can he do for them?  What do they need?

The answers are surprising as the pair draw closer and closer to the City, the terminus of their journey together.  Dex finds more than he bargained for in his interactions with Mosscap while Mosscap - well, he finds continual delight in the human realm.  It's delightful and touching as they explore the world around them.  Will they ever make it to the City?  I rather hope not.

Becky Chambers' Monk and Robot sci-fi series has much to offer its readers.  I'm looking forward to the next installment.

All The Queen's Men

What exquisite timing I had when I picked up SJ Bennett's novel All The Queen's Men (#1,086).  I had just started it when Buckingham Palace announced that Queen Elizabeth II had died at Balmoral.  Although I was traveling and couldn't watch most of the coverage on TV, All The Queen's Men nevertheless allowed me to spend time with Her Majesty and Prince Phillip at the time of Brexit, solving the mystery of a missing painting and a seemingly unconnected death of a palace staff member.

Of course, Her Majesty (or The Boss, as staff called her) had help along the way, but she was a key member of the investigatory team.  She just had to conceal her involvement discretely while doing so with help from Captain Rozie Oshidi, her recently appointed Assistant Personal Secretary.

Downstairs intrigue, and an affectionate and respectful fictionalization of the Queen and her Consort make for an entertaining, and now, nostalgic, read with both of them gone.

I can't wait to go back and read the first book in this series, The Windsor Knot.  If you're a Royal follower, definitely add All The Queen's Men to your "Must Read" list.  Gone, but not forgotten...

Ex Libris: Stories of Librarians, Libraries & Lore

I'm not usually a fan of short story collections, but how could I resist stories about librarians?  Ex Libris: Stories of Librarians, Libraries & Lore (#1,085) edited by Paula Guran leans heavily towards fantasy and science fiction.  Some of the stories are very strange indeed.  Some are very entertaining, but all of them lure you onto the next story in the volume.

I think my favorite was Death and the Librarian by Esther M. Friesner which was quite poignant, with a surprisingly sentimental, yet perfectly suited, ending.

Both my husband and I enjoyed Scott Lynch's tale of derring-do In the Stacks.  Who knew shelving books in the library could be quite so hazardous to your health?  Well, my husband did when he worked in a University library...

If you spend much time in your local libraries, public, private, or personal, Ex Libris might be a worthy addition to your collection.

They Want to Kill Americans

Noted terrorism expert Malcolm Nance has written an extremely disturbing book: They Want to Kill Americans - the Militias, Terrorists, and Deranged Ideology of the Trump Insurgency (#1,084).  The reason it is so disturbing is that he isn't talking about jihadists or ISIS or the Chinese, North Koreans or Russians.  No, he's talking about the people next door.  Here, in America.

Some of what he discusses here has been revealed over the course of the January 6th Congressional Hearings, but apparently that's only been the tip of the iceberg.  Many of those indicted or convicted as a result of the riot at the Capitol on January 6th have stated their objective; to provoke a civil war in the United States led by white supremacists, neo-nazis and facists.  They've already succeeded in getting many of their adherents elected to state-wide or national offices.  Once in power, they'll be free to act on their hateful beliefs.

What can we do to stop them?  Vote.  Vote as if your life depends on it.  It very well may if you are liberal, a Democrat, non-Christian or non-white. 

The Omega Factor

Steve Berry's latest thriller, The Omega Factor (#1,083) is set mainly in Ghent, Belgium and the Languedoc region of France.   In it, he introduces a new character, Nick Lee, who works for the UN in matters pertaining to culture.  But as the book opens, he's in Ghent strictly on personal business: to meet up with an old friend tasked with restoring one of the panels of the legendary Ghent Altarpiece, painted by Jan Van Eyck.  Kelsey Deal has found something interesting while working on the panel and is eager to share it with Nick.  But on his way to her studio, he sees flames.  Rushing in, he sees Kelsey being attacked.  Her intruder makes off with her computer with all the notes and images from Kelsey's work before Nick can stop her, but he follows her back to - a convent!

 The gist of the story consists of a secret guarded for centuries by a mysterious religious order - The Vultures.  Just what is it that they are guarding, and why is the Vatican so interested in finding this elusive society and destroying it and the secret they guard?

While I found this book interesting after four years of theological studies, I did think it was overly long. Many pages are devoted to explaining Roman Catholic actions (or inactions) over the centuries, and in particular their quests against the Cathar religion that flourished in the Languedoc region of France.  The Albigensian Crusades were instituted by Pope Innocent III to utterly wipe out the Cathars (and in the plot line of the book, The Vultures as well).  While most of what Mr. Berry presents in his Notes at the end of the book is correct, I have to strongly disagree with what he says in regard to Joan of Arc.  She was famously turned over to the English during the Hundred Years War, prosecuted and burned at the stake.  When the political winds blew in another direction, twenty-five years later, she was exonerated by the Church which played a major role in her conviction and elevated to sainthood.  As Berry puts it "...when it became more politically expedient to worship, rather than vilify, her."  Roman Catholic doctrine maintains that worship is reserved for God alone.  Joan might be venerated, but never, ever worshipped.  Not a minor quibble, that!

I found the descriptions of the areas of Toulouse and Carcassonne fascinating, since we will be visiting the area ourselves in the spring.  Now I'll know that what I see in all the tourist boutiques is actually the Occitan Cross, not the Cathar Cross.  You learn something new every day! 

The Recovery Agent

Janet Evanovich has begun a new series with The Recovery Agent (#1,082).  Gabriela Rose is the eponymous recovery agent, ready to take on commissions to find and retrieve mostly lost or stolen works of art.  She's managed to make a good living for herself in New York City after a disastrous earlier marriage.

When her coastal Carolina hometown is destroyed in a hurricane, she is determined to raise enough money to allow her parents and neighbors to rebuild.  The key is in a treasure map hidden in the home she lost to her ex, Rafer, in the divorce.  It involves the legendary Seal of Solomon and the Lost Treasure of Lima.  It's off to the jungles of South America in pursuit...

This is a book that reads like a movie - think Romancing the Stone.  It's a thoroughly enjoyable romp with no heavy lifting involved for the reader.  It even got a few chuckles from my husband!  I can't wait for the next installment in the Gabriela Rose adventures.

One Italian Summer

Everyone else I know has been charmed by one of this summer's Best Sellers: One Italian Summer (#1,081) by Rebecca Serle.  If I had only read the final third of the book, I might have felt the same, but I had to read the beginning first.  Frankly, I was getting Norman Bates vibes from Katy's relationship with her mom, and vice versa.  So much so that I almost put the book down after about fifty pages.  I even told my husband how creepy I was finding it.

The only reason I kept reading was for the descriptions of Positano and the northern shore of Capri.  The endless steps in Positano were as I remembered them, but it wasn't my favorite place on the Amalfi coast by a long shot.  It did serve as a catalyst to get Katy's psyche going again after losing her mother to cancer by dropping her back in time to meet her mother as she spent her One Italian Summer there.

In the end, I have to say that I did not care much for the book or its rich, entitled, and ultimately shallow characters.  Luckily for Ms. Serle, most people don't seem to agree with me.

A Plus One For Murder

Laura Bradford has produced another enjoyable cozy mystery series with A Plus One For Murder (#1,080).  Emma Westlake became a travel agent just as the industry was tanking for sole proprietors like her.  She's had to take on a job as a weekly paid companion to help ends meet as she tries to decide what she's going to do with the rest of her life.  Dottie, her sharp-witted widowed client, suggests that if she can use a paid companion, there are most likely others out there who can also use Emma's services.  Thus, A Friend For Hire is born.

Who could foresee that her very first client would drop dead at the Open Mic Night he paid Emma to attend with him?  He's not a very well-liked character in town, and Emma is baffled when he gives her a file with four photos of people he claims want him dead before he goes on stage.  Apparently he was correct.  Emma would be content to leave it at that if Dottie and one of her other paying clients didn't insist on investigating themselves and dragging her into it as well.

Emma and her dog Scout are endearing characters, even if Emma does appear a bit dim at times.  There's also a bit of romance thrown in, with a promise of future adventures.  Just the ticket for a pleasant afternoon read.

The Valet's Secret

I knew when I picked up Josi S. Kilpack's novel The Valet's Secret (#1,079) at the library, that I was probably going to have issues with it.  I did.  First of all, "Proper Romance" was just above the title on the cover.  Secondly (and I haven't talked about this in a while!) I hated the cover art.  This was billed as a Regency romance.  Why are the couple on the cover wearing ugly Victorian period clothing?  To me, that's just sloppy if the cover artists don't even bother to try to get it right.

The premise here is that the heir to an earldom switches clothes with his valet in order to get the lay of the land he will be inheriting.  His horse knocks down a woman on the path, and he introduces himself as said valet.  Cue endless complications.

But here again, Kenneth Winterton, the earl presumptive, is forty-eight years old, a former Naval Officer during the Napoleonic War, and owner of his own small estate in Sussex.  Yet his uncle, the Earl who lost his son during the War, wants to treat him as a wet-behind-the-ears stripling.  According to British life expectancy tables, the average life span for a man in 1819, the year this novel is set, was forty-two.  Which means that Kenneth himself is already in his waning years.  His character never rang true for me.

As for Rebecca Parker, the lead female, her actions did not reflect her moral primness.  Throw in a grown daughter now in service at a local manse, a physically and emotionally abusive father, and a totally unacknowledged hidden talent as a silhouette artist (all work being signed by her father!) and you have the "hapless" heroine.

The couple were continually "invigorated" by their close contacts with each other, which was laughable code for feeling desire.  Couldn't have that!  Enter noble self sacrifice on both party's parts.

I found the book so annoying on so many levels I can't quite believe I actually finished it!  Maybe it is my noble ambition in life to have read it for you so that you won't have to bother.  Amen.

All The Seas Of the World

Although you can read Guy Gavriel Kay's latest novel All The Seas Of The World (#1,078) as a stand-alone book, it will be even better if you've read the two previous books in this series: Children of Earth and Sky, and A Brightness Long Ago, as a number of the characters and events in Seas are from these two books.  The point is that Mr. Kay is a wonderful storyteller to spend time with.  I always feel as though I'm reading the very best historical fiction even though the library classifies his books as both science fiction (!!!) and fantasy (which does make a kind of sense).  Here, you recognize the actual events and people involved in this fantasy world of Italian city-states, the Moorish conquest of Spain and northern Africa, and the fall of Constantinople.  That all feels so true, down to the three major religions that dominate the areas, it's hard to believe it's, as one of the blurbs puts it, "a quarter turn to fantasy".

He begins with three assassins dropped on an isolated beach, tasked with changing the balance of power in the region.  Who they are, and the consequences of their actions, intended and unforeseen, are the basis for this riveting novel.  It's a book to be savored. 

If you haven't discovered Guy Gavriel Kay yet, there's no time like the present.

The Love Hypothesis

I did enjoy this STEM romance set in the cutthroat world of biology and cancer research.  That certainly seems like an odd sentence to introduce The Love Hypothesis (#1,077) by Ali Hazelwood, doesn't it?  But I'm not the only one by a long shot, since it's been on the New York Times bestseller list for a while now.

Olive Smith is a PHD candidate, doing pancreatic cancer research at Stanford, but it's time for the next step; she has to find a lab to carry out her experiments to prove her hypothesis, and it won't be available at Stanford.  Plus, she has to convince her best friend in the world that it's fine with Olive if she dates Jeremy, whom Olive has dated only a couple of times.  What's the best way to handle this?  Fake date someone else!  So of course she (totally by accident!) stages a dramatic kissing of the unapproachable genius professor in the department, Adam Carlsen.  Anh sees them, but is she convinced?  Not so much.  More drastic measures will need to be taken, and therein lies the tale.

It was witty, funny, and actually, a little pathetic the lengths Olive was willing to go to.  But things have a way of working out (it is a romance, after all!).  Overall, I did enjoy it, but I could have done without the pages and pages of graphic sex.  Some romance readers live for those "steamy" pages, but I'm more of the "To Catch A Thief" school that believes such matters are better left to the imagination.  (It worked for Grace Kelly and Cary Grant, after all!).

Disappearance of a Scribe

Disappearance of a Scribe (#1,076) is Dana Stabenow's second book in her series set in the Alexandria of Caesar and Cleopatra, and just as well constructed a mystery.  (See my post of 2/11/2019.)  Tetisheri, Cleopatra's childhood friend, is still reluctant to assume the role of the Queen's Eye, her covert spy.

Tetisheri is called upon to investigate the death of a corpse pulled from the waters off Alexandria.  But this particular corpse's feet are encased in concrete.  The chief of police tells Tetisheri that this is the second such body they have found.  Who are they, and why was this method used, since concrete is a precious building material?

In the hive of building activity reconstructing Alexandria from its recent civil war, someone thinks Tetisheri is coming too close to the truth.  Can she find out who is behind the deaths before someone fits her with her own concrete sandals?

The characters are so interesting in this series.  There's Tetisheri herself, and her merchant Uncle Neb.  His household is growing by leaps and bounds as Tetisheri keeps adding strays she comes across in pursuit of her investigation - in this case, a former female cab driver, and a gang of street orphans.  There's also the real character of Vitruvius, a Roman engineer, currently studying in Alexandria.  His area of expertise?  Concrete.  And there's still that tantalizing bit of romance with the mysterious Apollodorus.  Sheri still hasn't figured out exactly what he does for the Queen...

I look forward to more cases in this excellent historical mystery series. 

River of the Gods; Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile

Candice Millard has done it again in her latest non-fiction bestseller River of the Gods; Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile (#1,075).  She has turned what, for most Americans, would be a ho-hum topic into riveting account of strong personalities, jealousies, dangers and elusive fame.  And it all happened in the not-too-distant past of the nineteenth century.

Ms. Millard has focused on three principal characters here: Sir Richard Burton, John Hanning Speke and Sidi Mubarak Bombay.  They could not be more different even though they traveled together on the same expeditions.  Burton was already famous, or infamous, if you prefer, due to his successfully joining the pilgrimage to Mecca posing as an Arab Muslim.  The quest to find the source of the White Nile appealed to him since explorers had sought it unsuccessfully for centuries.  John Hanning Speke, on the other hand, came from a pampered British background, and yearned to make his mark on the world.  In his own mind, he was the leader of every successful action or discovery, despite being in a subordinate position.  Sidi Mubarak Bombay was the formerly enslaved African who had returned to his own continent and was skilled at negotiating porters, animals, chiefs and potentates (including those of his own expedition!) to achieve the desired goals.  He was considered a gem by both Burton and Speke.

Frankly, after reading this account, it's a miracle any of them survived the rigors of raids, lost and stolen supplies, wounds, illnesses and injuries endured in the field.  Even more astonishing is the fact that they did it without benefit of modern medicine!  What really destroyed them was the infighting between Burton and Speke, each of whom had their own cadre of backers in Britain.

The question comes down to who would you choose to travel with?  I think the clear choice would be Sidi Mubarak Bombay.  Ironically, he goes on to play a key role in Stanley's meeting with Dr. Livingston in Africa.  Ironic because the book I read on David Livingston recently does not even mention him by name.  Why would it, since discovery in the Victorian world was limited to Europeans only?  Ah, the world of personalities and politics...

Four Aunties and a Wedding

I thought Jesse Q. Sutanto's novel Dial A for Aunties was a hoot and a half.  She's back again with a sequel Four Aunties and a Wedding (#1, 074).  This time Meddy is the bride, but things certainly aren't going as expected!

Being in the wedding business, Meddy has seen some pretty messed up ceremonies, so in order to make hers go as smoothly as possible, she insists that her Ma and the Aunties be family only for her own wedding, and enjoy the festivities to the max.  That's fine with the Aunties, who introduce Meddy and her groom-to-be Nathan to another family-run wedding planning business.  Staphanie and her uncles and grandmother seem to be the ideal solution for their destination wedding at Christ College Cambridge.  With the Aunties planning their own fabulous outfits, they're too busy practicing their British English to pay much attention to anything else.  Meddy is just freaking out about her own wedding, as expected.  That is, until she accidentally discovers that her wedding planners are mafia using it as a cover to carry out a hit.  Who are they planning to take out, and how can Meddy and the Aunties stop them?

The path of true love never does run smoothly, but this is way, way too much!  It was so much fun, I would have gobbled it up all in one sitting if I could have.  Put aside some quality time to enjoy this over-the-top romp!

The Paris Apartment

How is it that Lucy Foley can write a book you cannot put down, yet you despise all the characters?  I thought that about The Guest List, and now I think that about The Paris Apartment (#1,073).  Jess is on the run from a bad situation in England when she arrives at her half-brother Ben's apartment in a very upscale Parisian neighborhood.  The problem is, Ben isn't there to greet her, even though he's expecting her.  Where can he be?  None of the other people in the apartment building seem to know, either, but it quickly becomes clear to Jess that they each know more than they are telling her.  Each little nugget of information she manages to ferret out deepens the mystery, and convinces her that Ben did not leave on his own.

The point of view changes in this story, and the relationships to Ben between everyone else in the building become clearer; everyone wishes Ben were not there.  But who is responsible for his disappearance, and will that person get rid of Jess one way or another before she roots out the truth?

Again, I hoped as clues were revealed that each and every one of those involved would turn out to be the guilty party.  You will have to read it yourself to find out the "whodunnit" here.  Just when you think you have it figured out, you don't!

Remarkably Bright Creatures

Shelby Van Pelt has created a memorable character with her Marcellus, a cranky old octopus living in a small aquarium in a run-down town on the Puget Sound in Remarkably Bright Creatures (#1,072).  He mostly doesn't like people, but the elderly lady who comes in after hours to clean is an exception.  Tova takes care cleaning the windows of the tanks, and she talks to the creatures within.

Both Marcellus and Tova are startled one night when she comes across the octopus outside his tank, entangled in some wires.  She helps free him, and ensures he makes it back safely into his tank. She also doesn't rat him out to the Aquarium Director.  Marcellus is willing to repay that act of kindness.

The friendship that develops between these two is quite remarkable, as the narrative switches back and forth between the characters, including Marcellus himself.  Suffice it to say that Marcellus is key to unraveling a mystery of the past in his desire to repay Tova for her kindness.

I thoroughly enjoyed this offbeat story.  My only objection was that as the story progressed, Ms. Van Pelt concentrated more on her human characters, as Marcellus was pushed more into the background.  I really, really wanted more Marcellus!  His voice was so astringent and witty, I wanted to read more of his observations on the human condition.  That was my biggest nitpick with this book.  Her character development was so strong I wish she had pushed it even further.  You'll have to read it for yourself to see what you think.

Evangeline

Our recent trip to the Canadian Maritimes inspired me to pick up and read a copy of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's classic story poem Evangeline (#1,071).  I never got much further than "This is the forest primeval..." when I was younger, and after the visiting the Grand Pre՛ Historic Site in Nova Scotia I decided to remedy that omission.

The story concerns the expulsion of the Acadian settlers from their fertile farms by the English between 1755 and 1763.  It focuses on two newly betrothed villagers of Grand Pre, Evangeline and her Gabriel.  They are separated before they can be wed and spend years wandering, vainly searching for each other.

It's a tragic story based on true events.  When Longfellow's poem was published in the 1840s, he revived almost single-handedly in interest in the fate of the Acadians scattered throughout the world by the actions of the British.  Since the poem was so popular, a site to explain the expulsion was created on the site of the original Grand Pre, with a statue of the fictitious Evangeline on the grounds.  Both the site of Grand Pre and Longfellow's poem Evangeline are worth re-visiting.

The Lucky Escape

Summer escapism?  I was ready for some light reading, and Laura Jane Williams romance The Lucky Escape (#1,070) did the trick.  Annie Wiig's Big Day has finally arrived, but unfortunately, her groom is a no-show at the church.  Alex Mackenzie has done a runner, much to the chagrin of his parents.  Annie is emotionally devastated, so her would-have-been in-laws try to make it up to her by sending her on the very posh delayed honeymoon they had arranged for the couple to Australia.

Annie is trying to pull herself out of her grand funk when she meets an old friend from a summer theater camp at her Boot Camp gym.  Maybe it's the adrenaline rush from all that exercise, but Annie finds herself inviting Peter along on her solo honeymoon.  Everything is booked for two, after all, and the Mackensies are fine with her taking a friend.

Is it any surprise that as Annie and Peter travel across Australia in the most romantic settings possible that one thing leads to another?  But, oh, those complications!

A fun read, and it reminded me of one of the culinary delights we encountered on our own trip to Australia: burgers with "the lot" which included beets (and a fried egg, which I removed!).  Did you know that McDonalds wound up making their country-specific burgers in Australia available with beets to satisfy the Australians' cravings?  Anyway, put The Lucky Escape on your escapist reading list!  It can't be "beet".

Fox Creek

A new William Kent Krueger novel?  Yes, please!  Fox Creek (#1,069) is the latest addition to his Cork O'Connor mystery series.  It managed to grab my attention even through the brain fog of COVID.

A man drops by Cork's burger joint, wanting him to track down his missing wife.  Cork agrees to look into the matter, but he doesn't get good vibes from the man.  When Dolores Morriseau turns up in the company of Cork's wife Rainey and the ancient Native American medicine man, Henry Meloux, things get complicated.  Cork had taken a photo of the man who had visited him, but Dolores claims he is not her husband; in fact, she hasn't been able to get in touch with her husband for days.  She's afraid there is something wrong with her marriage and has sought out Henry for spiritual help.  Dolores also asks Cork for his help, but before he can respond with answers, the trio has vanished into the Great North Woods, pursued by trackers with deadly intent.  For what purpose is unclear, but it's obvious that they will let nothing stand in their way of finding Dolores Morriseau.  Soon Cork and Dolores' brother-in-law are in pursuit, with a late season snowstorm on the way.  If anyone can keep Rainey and Dolores safe, it's Henry, but is he too old?

The novel changes points of view throughout the plot, dovetailing the progress of the chase.  Dolores claims to have no idea why anyone is after her, and the reader doesn't learn the reason until the very end of the book.  It's nail-biting, to say the least.  There's action, but the most interesting part of the book is the characters Krueger has created, and the glimpses into Ojibwa life and culture.

If you love Tony and Anne Hillerman's novels set in the Navaho Nation, give the Cork O'Connor series a try.  Highly recommended.

When Women Ruled the World - Six Queens of Egypt

Kara Cooney profiles six queens of ancient Egypt in her new book When Women Ruled the World (#1,068) with a thoroughly modern sensibility.  Three of the queens I had heard of: Cleopatra, Nefertiti and Hatshepsut, but the other three I had not.  Just the merest clues exist in Egyptian carvings, statuary and buildings.  Her theory is that women came forward to rule when it was necessary to serve the good of the state, yet they could never claim power for themselves for their own sake.  Ms. Cooney compares that with today's politics, and I certainly believe she makes a valid point.

I had the pre-publication copy, so it lacked the illustrations laid out lavishly in the text.  They will certainly enhance the final publication.  It really did reawaken my desire to see Egypt for myself.  These days, who knows?  At least I know more about a place I've always dreamed of visiting.

If you have any interest in Ancient Egypt, add this book to your "To Read" pile!

Mermaid Confidential

I never seem to read a Tim Dorsey novel without learning something about my adopted state of Florida.  It holds true of his latest, Mermaid Confidential (#1,067).  A popular restaurant in my area is the Square Grouper.  I found out the Florida meaning for that term in Mermaid Confidential; it was local slang for a square bale of marijuana pulled out of the waters of South Florida by fishermen who would then get in touch with the dealers the packages were meant for in a lucrative exchange.  Well, that explains a lot about that restaurant, too.  I can never figure out why it's so popular since the food sucks, the parking is abysmal, the drinks are expensive, yet it's always, always crowded.  Hmm.

Anyway, Serge Storm decides to finally try settling down in a cozy condo in the Florida Keys.  Not for him the glossy chic of sleek modern condos; no, Serge insists on finding the crappiest Seventies-style outdated condo on the market to create his ideal "fishing cabin" in the Keys for him and his sidekick Coleman.  Per usual, he runs into a varied cast of characters including the welcoming retirees at his beachside condo.  He's able to help out a few in his usual Serge fashion, but this time Serge isn't the only one dropping bodies all over the Keys; certain Colombian drug cartels are perfectly willing to help him out...

Always a fun read with interesting Florida factoids!

The Sacred Bridge

Anne Hillerman continues her father's and her own series based on cops patrolling the Navajo Nation in The Sacred Bridge (#1,066).  My husband and I read this just as AMC debuted a TV series based on the early books in the series.  It was good to see the landscape while we were reading about its vastness and beauty.

Jim Chee and his wife, Bernadette Manuelito, have taken a break to visit Antelope Canyon as tourists.  Jim decides to stay on a few days to hike to a site sacred to the Navajos, the Rainbow Bridge, while considering what his future may hold.  There's no fast or easy way to get to this remote site which was barely preserved when Lake Powell was created, and Glen Canyon flooded so he'll have plenty of time to think.  Now that water levels have dropped so far due to prolonged drought conditions, Lieutenant Leaphorn has given Chee an old map to try to locate an ancient cave in the vicinity to see whether sand paintings important to their culture may have survived.  Not far from the Rainbow Bridge, Chee finds a body floating in Lake Powell...

In the meantime, Bernie witnesses a vicious hit-and-run accident while driving to work.  A lone hitchhiker who tried to catch a ride from Bernie is deliberately run down by a luxury sedan.  When she calls in the incident, little does she know that she is involving herself, her vulnerable mother and her younger sister in a dangerous web.

An engrossing read, as always.  Dikos Nitsaa'igii119, the Big Cough (aka Covid-19), affected many in the Navajo Nation with deadly consequences.  It's good to be reminded that our own actions affect the lives of many others.

A Memory Called Empire

One of the cover blurbs on Arkady Martine's Hugo Award-winning sci-fi novel, A Memory Called Empire (#1,065) calls it a "...brilliant space opera".  That's a great way to describe it.

The empire to which Ambassador Mahit Dzmare is summoned from her (for now!) independent mining space colony, Lsel Station, is loosely based on the ancient and powerful Aztec Empire.  Their intention is to control and dominate all possible worlds around them.  Mahit's mission is to maintain Lsel Station's independence through profitable trade and access to two jump points to unknown territory.  It won't be easy, since her predecessor in Teixcalaan is dead - murdered to be precise.  She carries Yskandr's out-of-date memories in her head through strictly guarded technology, but is it enough to allow her to carefully pick her way through a minefield of dangers, and both solve the mystery of his death and accomplish her own mission? That's the fun part of this novel!

I really enjoyed the world Arkady Martine created here, with its many cultural norms, enormous bureaucracy and emphasis on poetry as a necessary skill.  I also loved the naming convention she used here; every proper name begins with a number, followed by an object.  Mahit's assigned cultural aide is named Three Seagrass, and it is her job to guide Mahit through the court of the powerful Emperor Six Direction with enemies and dangers around every corner.

Highly recommended!

Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead

Finlay Donovan returns in Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead (#1,064).  She barely survived being mistaken for a professional hit man in Finlay Donovan Is Killing It.  It put her squarely in the crosshairs of a menacing Russian Mafia figure.  But here, it's her ex-husband Steven who has been fingered for death.  Finlay found a thread on a women's chat room who names him as someone the world would be better off without.  And not one, but two responses come in for that post!  Who are these people?  Could she possibly know them?

The holidays are upon them, so how is Finlay going to keep her children safe if Daddy has a target on his back?  Vero, her live-in nanny, isn't much help as she's clearly distracted by problems of her own.  Plus Finlay's agent is demanding sample pages for her new book ASAP.

A little romance, a little larceny, and several close calls make for a thoroughly entertaining romp.  But wait, there's more!  Author Elle Cosimano has dangled a thread we know Finlay will be compelled to tie up.  Can't wait!

Book Lovers

Book Lovers (#1,063) by Emily Henry certainly pushes all the right rom-com buttons!  It's full of witty literary allusions and interesting characters.  You know that literary agent Nora Stephens and editor Charlie Lastra are destined to be together, but of course there are mountains of obstacles to conquer first, and that's where the fun begins.  And, oh, yes, per today's lamentable standards, there's plenty of hot sex.  Eww.  I'm of the school that such things are better left to the imagination, but it apparently does sell books.  Lots of books.

The only character in this romp that I really disliked was Nora's sister Libby, who is a major plot driver.  So many levels of selfishness!

Anymore, if you're looking for something that will keep you entertained without taxing your brain too much, Book Lovers is for you!

Best In Snow

Another entertaining entry in David Rosenfelt's Andy Carpenter mystery series, Best In Snow (#1,062) is nominally a Christmas novel, but like Andy Carpenter, you hardly notice the holiday stuck into the plot.  If you are a regular reader of this series, you will already know that Andy's golden retriever, Tara, is the most amazing dog who has ever lived.  She usually serves as a sounding board for Andy on the long walks he takes with his three dogs, but in Best In Snow, Tara is the one who finds the first body in the park, buried under a foot of snow.

After Andy calls his friend, Pete Stanton, head of the Paterson, New Jersey, homicide squad and 911, the police discover that the victim is none other than Alex Oliva, mayor of Paterson.  Before Andy even makes it back home, Vince Sanders, editor of the local paper, and the third member of the trio who regularly meet for burgers and beer at Charlies's Sports Bar, calls, asking Andy to defend Bobby Nash, an ex-reporter.  Nash was fired over a news article published defaming the late mayor, and has already been arrested by the police for his murder.  The problem is, Bobby Nash was fished out of a wrecked car at the bottom of a ditch will multiple broken bones, a heavy concussion, and enough drugs in his body to have killed the average person.  He has no recollection of the murder he supposedly committed, but the police claim to have ironclad evidence.  Has Andy finally landed the case he cannot win?

The Starless Crown

The Starless Crown (#1,061) by James Rollins is a bit of a change for him; it's pure fantasy.  It intertwines the tales of several disparate characters from a world's varying lands and cultures who will soon find that their own desperate situations are linked to one another.  There's the second-born prince who will never rule and has proved inconvenient for others; a young girl on a scholarship at her kingdom's exclusive training school for future religious and alchemical leaders with unexpected gifts; and a convict escaped from a remote desert mine with a priceless artifact coveted by a cult of dark wizards with the ear of the king.  Rollins spins a story full of perils and impossible escapes to reveal their common mission.  It's obvious when we arrive at the end of the book that this is only the beginning; there will be more adventures to come.  

One of the outstanding features of this book for me is the incredible variety of fantastic beasts Rollins has created.  Most of them are brutal foes of our intrepid heroes, made more real by the illustrations included in the text.  It must be Rollins' other profession as a veterinarian which make these creatures seem so alive on the pages.  I have to admit that the only place I cried reading this novel was at the death of one of these fantasy animals, it was so poignant.

James Rollins is such a great storyteller I can't wait for him to get back to writing the next part of this fantasy epic.  It the meantime, I'll just have to console myself with his Sigma Force series!

Exit Strategy

 Exit Strategy (#1,060) is the fourth and supposedly final book in Martha Wells' entertaining sci-fi Murderbot Series.  But Huzzah!  We know from checking on Fantastic Fiction that there are more books out there!

The protagonist is a SecUnit - a combination robot designed to protect whoever has contracted for its services from harm.  It does have some human features, but its mission is so focused on security that SecUnits cannot travel or act or their own: their responses are programmed into them.  Unless, of course, you happen to be the SecUnit who has managed to hack its own governor and christened itself Murderbot.  It isn't easy, but Murderbot does manage to save the day and expose the bad guys in some nail-biting action.  And perhaps Murderbot has been more influenced by its human components than it originally realized (or likes!).

Exit Strategy closes the story arc in the previous three novellas, so don't try to read Exit Strategy without reading the books first.  Trust me, it won't take long!  What a great read!

Help for the Haunted

I knew I had to read a John Searles novel as soon as I heard him speak at BookMania! this year. The first title to come up on my Holds List at the library was Help for the Haunted (#1,059).  It will definitely keep you guessing.

Sylvie Mason is the young daughter of a couple with an unusual occupation: they try to help the haunted souls who come to them after hearing them lecture, or who are referred by spiritual advisors.  So why would someone murder them the Masons in a deserted church one snowy night?  Sylvie was there, but she can't quite remember what exactly happened...  Her domineering older sister Rose isn't much help.  She has plenty of secrets of her own to hide.  Are they tied to what happened to their parents?

The story goes back and forth in time as Searles feeds the reader little tidbits of information.  Does Sylvie believe that there's a supernatural explanation for these events or not?  The truth is out there, and when it's finally revealed, I did not see it coming.  If you're looking for a book that will grip you right up until the end, Help for the Haunted should be on your "To Read" List.

The Second Mrs. Astor

I was just in the right mood for reading Shana Abe's romantic The Second Mrs. Astor (#1,058).  It's subtitled A Novel of the Titanic, and of course, everything leads up to that climactic ending.  She survives, he doesn't.

The meat of the story, however, is the mismatched romance between the ultra-wealthy and divorced much older John Jacob Astor IV and seventeen-year-old Madeleine Force.  Although her family is respectable, they do not move in the same heady social circles as the Knickbocker 400 in New York City which the Astors inhabit.  Madeleine, when his interest in her becomes apparent with the press swarming her every move, is roundly snubbed by just about everyone who does constitute society.  If you've watched the social maneuverings of The Gilded Age on TV, you'll have a pretty good idea of what she was up against.  Add in a hostile stepson almost her own age, and a beautiful ex-wife whose influence surrounds her daily to compound her misery.  No wonder she was so eager to pounce on the idea of a winter in the sunny climes of Egypt!  

Colonel Astor is determined to return home from their honeymoon and to his business dealings on board the brand-new luxury liner, the Titanic.  The latter half of the novel deals with that voyage.  When things are obviously taking a deadly turn, the nurse Colonel Astor has engaged to look after Madeleine in her pregnancy insists that they take to the lifeboats.  It's women and children only, so the devoted couple are parted.  Madeleine does make it home safely to New York and gives birth to a son, but that's where the story ends - no follow-ups, or whatever happened to? to round out the picture.  Whatever happened to the second Mrs. Astor herself, for instance?  Her story isn't generally well known, so that was a bit of a disappointment, I think.  I wish we could have simply left them in France before they boarded the doomed ship.

Speaking of pictures, though, I did have to Google the main characters.  Colonel John Jacob Astor looked as he was presented in the novel (the portrait of him mentioned in the book is available online), but I found it terribly confusing that the identical photos were identified as both Ava Willig Astor (the first wife) AND Madeleine Force Astor!  There certainly seemed to have been enough photos of both women to make positive identification clear!  Other than those quibbles, I did enjoy spending time in the Gilded Age myself.

All That She Carried - The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake

I'm sorry that I read Tiya Miles' non-fiction book All That She Carried - The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family's Keepsake (#1,057) after I returned from Washington, D.C., where Ashley's sack is currently on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

One cloth sack, handed down from an enslaved mother to her nine year old daughter being sold away from her in the 1850s, the circumstances embroidered on the same sack by Ashley's granddaughter in 1921, forms the basis for this moving social history aimed at a non-academic audience.

The materials that comprised the sack and its contents, the events which can be teased out around the bare bones narrative, and the implications for us, the readers, make for an enlightening and moving whole.  You owe it to yourself to read this book and ponder its lessons.

She Who Became the Sun

I've been looking forward to reading She Who Became the Sun (#1,056) by Shelley Parker-Chan since I first read about it on GoodReads.  It concerns a Chinese girl in fourteenth century China who refuses to submit to the fate predicted for her by a seer in their peasant village.  For her brother, greatness is his fate; for her, as a girl, the usual fate for a female: nothingness.

When her father is beaten to death by bandits, and her brother gives up on life, Zhu decides to seize his fate and become Zhu Chongba.  Disguising herself, she makes her perilous way to the monastery where he was promised as a novice.  She Who Becomes the Sun is the story of what she makes of her opportunities.

It's not always an easy read.  When the book ends, she seems to be on the brink of achieving everything she always wanted, but it's sad how her overweening ambitions have changed her.  Well worth the time spent with this character-driven plot.  If this story appeals to you, be sure to read Guy Gavriel Kay's Chinese fantasy River of Stars.  He is a superior story-teller.

The Maid

What an interesting read Nita Prose's mystery The Maid (#1,055) is!  The main character is just that: a maid in a fancy city hotel.  One day when cleaning the suite of regular patrons, Molly finds the husband dead on the bed.  She calls down to the desk, requesting emergency assistance.  Much to her surprise, though, she is soon arrested as the chief suspect in the murder.  She knows she didn't do it, but the rest of the staff finds her peculiar.  She's somewhere on the autism spectrum, and although Molly's a marvel at cleaning rooms, she can't read other people the same way.  The race is on to prove that Molly couldn't have done it, but who can she turn to for help?

This book is interesting on several levels, and empathetic to people who are "different".  It won't take long to have you rooting for Molly, as you can see those who have it in for her maneuvering things to make her look guilty.

If you're looking for a good mystery, add The Maid to your "To Read" list.

State of Terror

I was really enjoying Hilary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny's political thriller State of Terror (#1,054) based on Ms. Clinton's time as Secretary of State.  That is until the plot arrived in Three Pines, Canada, home of Ms. Penny's iconic detective, Inspector Gamache.  It plonked the plot firmly back in the realm of fiction, and I didn't really buy anything else that happened in the book after that.  I know that's heresy to her legion of fans, but I'm not someone who lives for Ms. Penny's latest publication.

I did appreciate the many jabs taken at the chaos of the previous administration that could potentially have led to the circumstances of the plot.  But I also enjoyed several seasons of the TV drama Madame Secretary in the same way.  I suppose that's why I actually preferred Bill Clinton's thriller co-written with James Patterson, The President's Daughter.

I was disappointed the book fell so flat for me, but you'll need to judge for youself.

The Mystery of the Sorrowful Maiden

The Mystery of the Sorrowful Maiden (#1,053) is the third book in Kate Saunders' Laetitia Rodd Mystery series.  The Victorian era Laetitia Rodd is the widow of a clergyman, and much in need of a means to supplement her meagre income.  Fortunately, her brother Fred is one of the most celebrated criminal attorneys in London, and always willing to throw the odd job her way.  

In this case, it's Fred's love of the theater that helps Laetitia mediate a settlement between a famous actor and his estranged wife.  Both of the Transomes trod the boards, along with their three daughters, but the flame has gone from their marriage, and Tom Transome has made clear his interest in a younger, beautiful actress.  When a body is discovered during a theater renovation, old feuds boil to the surface, and the resulting tragedy is more terrible than any stage play...

Kate Saunders covers some dark territory in the theatrical world's transition from rogues, thieves and prostitutes to a respectable calling for actors.  It's an interesting setting for this mystery which I only half-guessed until the final pages.

The Christmas Bookshop

It seems odd to be reading a Christmas book the week leading up to Easter, but it's taken this long for Jenny Colgan's The Christmas Bookshop (#1,052) to arrive at my Holds shelf at the library.  I'd say it was worth the wait.

Carmen Hogan is the unlikely heroine in this charming romance.  Her western Scottish town is gradually shutting down as the industries it relied on for its prosperity have closed, including the department store where Carmen worked.  With absolutely no job prospects, her parents encourage her to move in with her (yet again!) pregnant sister in Edinburgh.  Sofia is the sister who could do no wrong, becoming a successful attorney with a handsome husband, but she's found a temporary job for her sister with one of her clients in return for helping out her live-in nanny.  Carmen reluctantly accepts, and thereby hangs this warm-hearted tale.

Young Mr. McCredie is the sole proprietor of an ancient bookshop in a popular tourist street in Edinburgh, but he's more interested in reading his books than selling them.  Carmen must help him turn a profit before the end of the year so that he can at least sell the business as a going concern.  It isn't going to to be easy...

Likeable and interesting characters, mending family relationships, and finding love are all ingredients of this enjoyable story, along with a dollop of humor and a love letter to the city of Edinburgh itself.  No wonder Jenny Colgan's books are so popular!  If it weren't for all those stairs, I'd be booking myself a flight to Edinburgh tomorrow...

Where the Deer and the Antelope Play

 I know Nick Offerman's non-fiction book of essays earned him great reviews, and I had to wait a long time for Where the Deer and the Antelope Play (#1,051) to show up on my library's Hold list.  It didn't take more than twenty minutes for me to decide that I couldn't read any more than the intro and first chapter, and even that was too much time devoted to this word salad of a book.  

Honestly, if you want to read a great book about spending time in nature, look up Bill Bryson's classic A Walk In The Woods, or Cheryl Strayed's Wild or even Conor Knighton's Leave Only Footprints.

The Violin Conspiracy

The violin at the center of The Violin Conspiracy (#1,050) by Brendan Slocumb is a rare Stradivarius, valued at between $10 and $12 million dollars.  It's been stolen from Rayquan McMillian shortly before he is due to compete in one of the most prestigious music competitions in the world: the quadrennial Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.  It's hard enough to be an American and do well in this international pressure cooker, let alone being Black, and having to make do with a substitute violin.

Moreover, the ownership of the stolen violin is contested.  Ray was given the violin by his beloved Grandmother Nora, whose own grandfather was given it by his slave master.  But the Marks family, the descendants of those slave owners, claim the violin is rightfully theirs.  When Ray's own family finds out the worth of the instrument, they want to sell the violin immediately and split the profits between Grandmother Nora's five children.  Only one member of his family supports Ray's desire to honor his Grandmother and her Grand-Pop's memory by playing that fiddle.

Brendan Slocumb certainly knows this territory well (except for the dysfunctional family, I expect), since he is a black violinist/musician/educator himself and now, a debut novelist.  Anybody can enjoy this book from the thriller aspect, but the more you know about the world of classical music, especially the violin repertoire, the more you'll appreciate Ray's love of playing and the virtuosity involved.  On the other hand, I pretty much figured out who was behind the conspiracy from the get-go.  It didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book. I encourage you to judge for yourself!

Being Heumann

 Judith Heumann's memoir co-written with Kristen Joiner is titled Being Heumann - An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist. (#1,049).  She is one of the many disabled activists instrumental in the ultimate passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act.  That life-changing legislation has been in place long enough so that you probably don't even notice it - the curb cuts and ramps to make sidewalks and buildings accessible, the closed-captioning option on your TV, the braille numbers beside the elevator or ATM at your local bank.  All these and more were mandated by the ADA.

To read Judy Heumann's story is to be made aware of the slights and indignities that are part of everyday life for the average disabled person, and to realize that these exclusions from the tasks of everyday living are a violation of their civil rights.  Unsurprisingly, the Trump administration did everything in its power to roll back all the progress made through the ADA with judicial appointments which will affect the future for the disabled community for years to come.

Her story is told matter-of-factly, even humorously, in her memoir.  From being left a quadriplegic due to a childhood bout of polio, to her amazing rise to national and international prominence as an advocate for disability rights is, if you will pardon the pun, an eye-opening read.  I probably wouldn't have come across her amazing story if this memoir hadn't been suggested for my book club.  If your local library doesn't have a copy, buy one!  I did.  You owe it to yourself and to them.

All Her Little Secrets

 I had the pleasure of interviewing Wanda M. Morris recently about her debut thriller novel, All Her Little Secrets (#1,048).  Her main character, Ellice Littlejohn, like Ms. Morris herself, is a Black corporate lawyer working in Atlanta.  I'm pretty sure that's where their resemblance ends.  

Ellice is feeling stuck in both her career and her personal life.  She's thinking about breaking off her relationship with Michael, the handsome WASP General Counsel at the firm where they both work, when she walks into his office for an early morning meeting and finds his body in a blood-spattered office.  Ellice quietly retreats back downstairs to her own office, leaving someone else to find his body.  Much to her surprise, later that same day, she's promoted into Michael's position without any chance to say no.  Everything is not right on the Executive Floor.  Is she just the token Black?  It's obvious not everyone wants her there, but she doesn't want to make waves because she has her own secrets to hide.  Her affair with Michael is just the first...

I found it hard to put this book down.  When Ellice confesses to having a "jiggly midsection" and being teased by boys growing up about her height with the nickname "Mount Ellice", I knew I was going to relate to her character.  Funnily enough, when I brought this up in the interview, Ms. Morris said she wasn't sure anyone would want to read about a tall, Black, middle-aged lawyer with plenty of secrets to hide as she struggles to make it to the top.  I'm glad she pulled that manuscript back out of the drawer after letting it lie fallow for seven years!  I was equally delighted to learn that she has a book coming out in October called Any Where You Run. Count me as a fan!  Highly recommended!

The Forest of Vanishing Stars

Kristin Harmel's latest World War II novel, The Forest of Vanishing Stars (#1,047) is yet another gripping story based on the experiences of Polish Jews during the war.  

Stolen as a toddler, Yona is brought up in the dense woods of Eastern Europe by Jerusza, the elderly woman who abducted her, living off the land and learning its hidden secrets.  The pair only rarely ventures into villages for needed supplies as they sustain themselves from the land.  After Jerusza dies, leaving Yona all alone, she encounters people in the forest.  Jerusza has taught her to avoid all men, but these people are different - Jewish families fleeing the Nazis.  She makes a life-altering decision to help these people the best she can, teaching them how to survive in the wilderness.

Not all of the refugees are willing to follow her lead, placing her growing band in danger with their careless ways.  When Yona is forced out on her own again, her past meets up with her present in a disastrous way.

During World War II, a number of Jews and others hunted by both the Nazis and the Russians managed to eke out an existence in the impenetrable forests and swamps of Eastern Europe until after the conflict was over.  Although Yona's story is fictional, the perils and difficulties those hardy survivors faced is told here, with references for further reading listed by author Kristin Harmel.  It's an intense and unusual read.

The Newcomer

 I'm still a newcomer to Mary Kay Andrews' novels, but I thoroughly enjoyed her latest, The Newcomer (#1,046).  Possibly because most of the novel's action takes place on Florida's Gulf Coast, but the snowbird/retiree population in this story is all too familiar everywhere in South Florida.

Letty Carnahan finds her sister's body in her expensive New York apartment.  Tanya had told Letty that if anything happened to her, it was Evan Wingfield's fault, and to grab Tanya's pre-school daughter and run.  So that's just what Letty did.  Along with emergency money, Tanya had an old, faded clipping of the Murmuring Surf Motel near Tampa, Florida.  It seemed as good as any other place to go to ground with her niece.  It turned out to be an old-fashioned motel populated almost entirely "in season" by snowbirds from the chilly North.  They didn't take too kindly to a young woman and a four-year-old.

Fortunately for Letty, the owner of the motel takes a shine to Maya and offers a storage room as a place to stay if Letty is willing to clear it out.  Her son Joe, part-time handyman and full-time local cop, isn't quite as trusting as his mother.  Danger and complications ensue in this diverting suspense novel.

It's a perfect beach read with some interesting characters and plot twists.  Just the thing for when you are in the mood to be entertained, but don't want to do any mental heavy lifting.  Also, I thought the cover art for this book was very cleverly done, with Letty in the middle of shark infested waters.  It's the perfect metaphor for the book!

This Dog For Hire

I was trying out a new app on my library's website, Novelist.  It's supposed to pull up titles for similar fiction to the title you are searching for in the catalog.  I decided to give it a try after looking for Spencer Quinn's Chet and Bernie series, and it suggested Carol Lea Benjamin's This Dog For Hire (#1,045).  The Rachel Alexander and Dash series features former dog groomer turned P.I. Rachel Alexander with her pit bull dog Dashiell, solving mysteries from her cozy Greenwich Village apartment.

In This Dog For Hire, Rachel is contacted by Dennis Keaton following the death of his close friend and fellow artist Clifford Cole.  The police have written off Cliff's death as a gay-bashing incident. (The book is set in the 90s.)   But Cliff's champion basenji dog, Magritte, has been missing since Cliff's death.  Dennis isn't sure the police have looked hard enough into Cliff's death, and besides, he wants Magritte found.  He's due to be shown at Westminster in a few weeks.  Rachel accepts the case, not convinced that she will turn up any more than the police have, but sure enough, one thread pulled leads to another.  Magritte is recovered, but now Cliff's death has proven to be personal, particular crime...

It's an interesting window into how things used to be in the New York Art scene, gay culture (remember AIDS?) and the politics of the Westminster Dog Show.  It was a little overwrought for my taste, but there were redeeming flashes of humor that moved the story along.  I'm just not sure I'm motivated enough to go seek out other titles in this series.

Things Past Telling

Maryam Prescilla Grace goes by many names in Things Past Telling (#1,044).  She remembers her life from great old age in the United States when a US Census Taker comes calling.  Momma Grace won't answer him; she leaves that to her family.  But she thinks about the many twists and turns her life has taken to bring her here, to this porch chair, surrounded by her family.  

Sheila Williams paints amazing word pictures to describe Little Bird's life in West Africa before she and her sisters were captured in a raid on their village by slavers.  Not to give away too much here, but her life takes an unexpected detour which allows her to come under the wing of a wise woman in the Caribbean who trains her to follow her footsteps as a midwife.  Her skill with languages as well makes Little Bird, eventually Maryam, to become a valuable asset, both in and out of slavery.  Her life is never easy, full of loss and grief, and yet she continues.

I couldn't wait to find out what happened next in her story.  What more could you possibly ask of a gifted storyteller?  Highly, highly recommended.

All The Frequent Troubles Of Our Days

I heard about All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days - The True Story of the American Woman at the Heart of the German Resistance to Hitler (#1,043) on the radio.  The author, Rebecca Donner, is a relative of Mildred Fish Harnack, the subject of this book.  I wondered why I had never heard of Mildred or her story before.  

There are several reasons, really, which Rebecca Donner discloses here.  Some of the information about her was Classified by the American government until just recently, and most of the letters, photographs and family records were purposely destroyed after Mildred's execution by her sister Harriette, who encouraged other family members to do the same.  Mildred's original sentence to six years of hard labor for her clandestine activities by the German Court during the War was personally overridden by Hitler himself.  He ordered her execution by beheading instead.  What kind of a person could provoke so much personal animus and yet remain unfamiliar to most of her countrymen?

Mildred met her future husband Arvid Harnack while she was lecturing at the University of Wisconsin in her home state.  Arvid was in the States pursuing his doctorate on American Labor Unions, and soon was pursuing Mildred as well.  They married and returned to Germany so that she could earn her own doctorate at the University of Berlin.  Their arrival there coincided with the rise of Hitler, and they both became embroiled in efforts to stop him.  All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days documents how they did this, with the aid of a young American boy, son of an Embassy employee, as their courier.

Equal parts fascinating and horrifying, Mildred herself had powerful connections, but didn't come across as particularly sympathetic to me in her Communist leanings.  By the time of her death, she had well and truly left America behind, and American Intelligence was happy to return the favor.  They concluded her execution was "justified".  That said, no one deserved to suffer the fates she and her comrades in the cause to overthrow Hitler endured.  The swift turnaround from a democratic society to a police state happened so easily and so quickly in Germany; could it happen here?

The President's Daughter

I'm probably one of the few people in American who didn't read Bill Clinton and James Patterson's original collaboration, The President is Missing.  But I did come across The President's Daughter (#1,042) at the library and found it hard to put down.

Matt Keating was defeated in the last election, but decisions made during his administration come back to haunt him when his teenage daughter is kidnapped by a terrorist.  Enemies, both old and new, make a terrible situation even more difficult to deal with, but Matt Keating, as a former SEAL, is determined to leave no stone unturned in rescuing his daughter Melanie.

This was a fast-paced thriller, told from multiple points of view.  The writing was seamless, although much of the source material on the daily workings of the White House and security details obviously came from Mr. Clinton.  It does an admirable job of entertaining the reader and keeping him or her glued to the page.  If political thrillers are your thing, this book is just the ticket!

It's A Wonderful Woof

I had to wait way past Christmas to read Spencer Quinn's latest Chet and Bernie mystery, It's A Wonderful Woof (#1,041) there were so many holds on it.  Although there are a number of silver bells, a helpful elf, and wreaths, there's still an intriguing mystery at the heart of the story.  Quinn's even thrown in a bonus snowstorm!

If you're a regular reader of this series, you probably won't be surprised that Bernie, the human half of this detective duo, is not a huge fan of Christmas, aside from his son Charlie's enjoyment of the holidays.  In fact, he's more a Scrooge sympathizer. So when a potential client shows up unannounced at his door offering a large amount of cash, Bernie feels free to turn down someone he has no intention of working for.  But in the spirit of the holidays, Bernie throws the job to one of his competitors.  Chet, of course, is fine with whatever Bernie decides, because that's how partners roll.

When Victor's mother calls Bernie, frantic, because Victor didn't show up to light the Hannukah candles the night before, Bernie begins to suspect that he was right to turn down the shady job.  But is Victor's disappearance tied to it?  Could the legends about an abandoned Spanish mission out in the desert be true? Is there a lost treasure?  Someone obviously thinks it's worth killing for...

An interesting bit of art history here, along with a dangerous case with a little bit of romance mixed into the brew make for entertaining holiday reading anytime of the year.  And could Chet possibly have a canine rival or two?  Not if this alpha dog has anything to say about it!

The Heart Principle

In Helen Hoang's romance The Heart Principle (#1,040) Anna Sun is not having a good life.  She had a brief period as an internet sensation playing her violin, but now she finds herself unable to play.  There is no joy in it, and all she can hear are the mistakes she's making.  When her picture-perfect boyfriend Julian (thoroughly approved of by her close-knit Chinese family) announces that he wants an "open relationship" it's the final straw for Anna.  Her on-line friends egg her on, and suggest "revenge sex" via a series of one-night stands.  Anna determines to do this and posts her profile on dating sites.

Enter Quan Diep, who sees and responds to Anna's dating profile.  He is also determined to get back into a normal dating life through a one-night stand.  When Quan shows up for their date, Anna sees a tall, tattooed stranger climb off his motorcycle.  Anna isn't sure she's ready for this.  Or for their second, third or fourth attempt to consummate the deal.

Read this book for the steamy sex, and yes, there's plenty of that!, but savor it for the depictions of the difficulties an autism-spectrum person must endure every single day to function.  Quan's struggle with life-altering surgery make Anna and Quan a pair to root for against all odds.

The story of Anna and Quan makes for one of the best, most thought-provoking books I've read in a long time.  For Helen Hoang, it's personal.

Falling

 I've finally come up for air after reading debut novelist T.J. Newman's thriller Falling (#1,039).  With 149 souls aboard, Coastal Airways Flight 416 has taken off from LAX on a routine flight to New York's JFK.  What Captain Bill Hoffman doesn't find out until after he's airborne is that terrorists have taken his wife and two young children hostage.  The terrorists contact him in the cockpit and give him a choice: either crash the plane or his family dies.  What follows is a nail-biting ride.

Without giving too much away, the ending is in doubt right up until the end of this tense drama.  Which impossible choice will Bill make?  Where is he supposed to crash the plane?  And what is the mysterious Plan B the terrorists claim to have on board Flight 416?

One final question: has someone optioned this book to be made into a movie?  I sure hope so!  If thrillers are your thing, don't miss Falling.

The Vanishing Half

Brit Bennett's novel The Vanishing Half (#1,038) explores the consequences of one identical Black twin passing as white in the turbulent days of the late Twentieth Century.  Stella is the twin who one day vanishes from New Orleans and her sister Desiree's apartment with no notice, nor any means of contacting her.

Desiree and her mother must deal with the anguish of uncertainty, not knowing Stella's fate.  Did she disappear on purpose, or did she meet a more sinister fate?  Desiree herself disappears from their tiny Louisiana town of Mallard, where the lighter your skin, the higher your social standing is in this still "colored" town.  When Desiree returns unexpectedly with an ebony-skinned daughter in tow, she must help young Jude cope with a place that judges her solely on the color of her skin.

When Jude earns a scholarship to Stanford, it sets in motion a chance meeting between Jude and her long-lost aunt Stella and a cousin she didn't know she had.

Acceptance, ambition and rejection are all explored through the prism of Stella and Desiree's lives.  It makes for engrossing reading.  That is, up until the end of book, where the story just seems to fizzle out.  Maybe that's the point; nothing in life is ever fully resolved.  I'm left ambivalent about whether or not I liked this book.  You'll have to read it for yourself to judge.