What a marvel this book is! Where the Crawdads Sing (#797) is Delia Owens' first novel, although not her first book. No, indeed. She is an award-winning nature writer, and it certainly shows in this book, with her lyrical observations of marsh life in North Carolina. But that's not necessarily even the main attraction here. She has introduced a unique character in Kya Clark, abused and abandoned and left to grow up on her own in the wild marsh country, as well as a compelling murder mystery.
Kya has learned the ways of the creatures of her environment, even though she has only spent a single, horrible day in the local town's school, tormented by those around her. She is far more comfortable with the ways of nature than with her fellow humans. Since she avoids people, naturally gossip has led to legends surrounding the "Marsh Girl". She is not totally without friends, though.
When the former star of the high school football team is found dead under mysterious circumstances, Kya is a handy scapegoat; she has been seen with Chase Andrews in the marshes and rumors link them together.
In the end, what really happened is as surprising as the rest of this wonderful novel. Don't deprive yourself of the pleasures contained within the pages of Where the Crawdads Sing.
Sunday, December 30, 2018
Friday, December 28, 2018
The Three Secret Cities
Matthew Reilly continues his popular Jack West, Jr. thriller series with The Three Secret Cities (#796). A mixture of myth, legend and interesting historical and geographical factoids, it delivers non-stop action. Okay, so you do have to suspend belief for some of the developments, but hey, that's part of the fun! Since this is a countdown to the potential ultimate disaster for mankind if Jack West and his crew can't stop things from happening on a universal scale, there are at least two more adventures in this series before we learn if he is successful.
This particular adventure involves finding three immortal weapons, and locating three ancient fabled cities, overcoming the obstacles they find there, and empowering the weapons associated with that city to use in a ritual on the Altar of the Cosmos, location also unknown.
There's a high body count here, and some of the victims are quite unexpected. Or is the evidence before Jack West, Jr. an illusion? We can start breathing again as we await the next exciting installment.
This particular adventure involves finding three immortal weapons, and locating three ancient fabled cities, overcoming the obstacles they find there, and empowering the weapons associated with that city to use in a ritual on the Altar of the Cosmos, location also unknown.
There's a high body count here, and some of the victims are quite unexpected. Or is the evidence before Jack West, Jr. an illusion? We can start breathing again as we await the next exciting installment.
Monday, December 24, 2018
Beartown
I must admit, I didn't love Fredrik Backman's Beartown (#795) as much as A Man Called Ove or Brit Marie Was Here. Its subject is grim, and the purposely ambiguous narrative jumps from plot point to plot point in this overlong novel. I kept saying mentally, "Okay, I get it. Let's move along here!"
It does help if you know something about hockey, but you really don't have to in terms of what is happening in this book. At some point Backman will hit you over the head with the point he is trying to hammer home. (You know, I never understand what is going on in a movie when there's a poker game, and we're shown what the players are holding. I don't know the significance of the cards, so I don't get the message. You won't have that problem here.)
A depressed and dying Swedish town pins all its hopes of economic revival on the success of its town-sponsored hockey team. That's basically all there is for the folks in Beartown. If you're not male, you can't play, and the culture says you can't possibly understand or appreciate it.
When the town produces a potential superstar in seventeen year old Kevin, all he has to do is win the national Final game with his team. But he messes it up big time, committing a crime instead. The only problem is that the town has so much invested financially and emotionally in the team that they blame the victim of the crime instead. It gets even uglier.
The end of the narrative jumps forward ten years. Do things get better for the sprawling cast of characters? Maybe - for some. We don't really know in the end.
It does help if you know something about hockey, but you really don't have to in terms of what is happening in this book. At some point Backman will hit you over the head with the point he is trying to hammer home. (You know, I never understand what is going on in a movie when there's a poker game, and we're shown what the players are holding. I don't know the significance of the cards, so I don't get the message. You won't have that problem here.)
A depressed and dying Swedish town pins all its hopes of economic revival on the success of its town-sponsored hockey team. That's basically all there is for the folks in Beartown. If you're not male, you can't play, and the culture says you can't possibly understand or appreciate it.
When the town produces a potential superstar in seventeen year old Kevin, all he has to do is win the national Final game with his team. But he messes it up big time, committing a crime instead. The only problem is that the town has so much invested financially and emotionally in the team that they blame the victim of the crime instead. It gets even uglier.
The end of the narrative jumps forward ten years. Do things get better for the sprawling cast of characters? Maybe - for some. We don't really know in the end.
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
On Desperate Ground
The subtitle of Hampton Sides' latest non-fiction book On Desperate Ground (#794) tells it all: The Marines at the Reservoir, the Korean War's Greatest Battle. I had read a book some time ago about the engagement at the Choisin Reservoir in what is now North Korea and was left wondering how any Americans managed to come out alive.
This book provides more background on the events leading up to America's involvement in Korea after World War II as well as the battle itself, but what makes this account so powerful is the human face Mr. Sides has put on it. Not only are the particulars of the campaign outlined here, but we know some of the men (and women) who were there as well, and their experiences in the brutal combat. In other words, Hampton Sides gives us a reason to care about the outcome here, and what happened to those soldiers afterwards.
I never knew until reading On Desperate Ground how close the United States came to World War III when the Chinese under Mao flooded North Korea with troops in the early fifties. You know if you read the news today how unsettled the matter still is in North Korea. This book provides insight into why the "Forgotten War" was so vital to American interests, and the price many Americans (and Koreans and Chinese) paid. It's a riveting read.
This book provides more background on the events leading up to America's involvement in Korea after World War II as well as the battle itself, but what makes this account so powerful is the human face Mr. Sides has put on it. Not only are the particulars of the campaign outlined here, but we know some of the men (and women) who were there as well, and their experiences in the brutal combat. In other words, Hampton Sides gives us a reason to care about the outcome here, and what happened to those soldiers afterwards.
I never knew until reading On Desperate Ground how close the United States came to World War III when the Chinese under Mao flooded North Korea with troops in the early fifties. You know if you read the news today how unsettled the matter still is in North Korea. This book provides insight into why the "Forgotten War" was so vital to American interests, and the price many Americans (and Koreans and Chinese) paid. It's a riveting read.
Monday, December 10, 2018
The Travelling Cat Chronicles
The Travelling Cat Chronicles (#793) by Hiro Arikawa has been an international best seller, but in its translation by Philip Gabriel, it has only just recently become available in the US. If it gets into the right hands, it's bound to be a best seller here, too.
It's the story of Nana, a stray cat adopted by Satoru, a single young Japanese man, and their travels around Japan as Satoru tries to find a new home for his beloved pet. He has three old friends in mind and the duo sets out in his silver van to visit them all. It's told from Nana's point of view, and is in turn wary, sarcastic, charming, funny, and if you've ever known a cat, true to the feline's personality.
But before you dismiss this as "Just another cat book...", it's really so much more. The true center of this tale is the strength of the bonds of love and affection, both between humans and their animal companions. It is so real, and so touching I think I will remember this book for a long time.
If you know someone who's an animal lover, The Travelling Cat Chronicles might be a perfect holiday gift for them. Just be sure to include a box of tissues with it!
It's the story of Nana, a stray cat adopted by Satoru, a single young Japanese man, and their travels around Japan as Satoru tries to find a new home for his beloved pet. He has three old friends in mind and the duo sets out in his silver van to visit them all. It's told from Nana's point of view, and is in turn wary, sarcastic, charming, funny, and if you've ever known a cat, true to the feline's personality.
But before you dismiss this as "Just another cat book...", it's really so much more. The true center of this tale is the strength of the bonds of love and affection, both between humans and their animal companions. It is so real, and so touching I think I will remember this book for a long time.
If you know someone who's an animal lover, The Travelling Cat Chronicles might be a perfect holiday gift for them. Just be sure to include a box of tissues with it!
Friday, December 7, 2018
Insurrecto
I heard author Gina Apostol interviewed on NPR recently about her new book, Insurrecto (#792). It's about an unsung Filipino heroine of the Philippine-American war at the beginning of the nineteenth century, so I was excited to find it at my local library.
I couldn't make enough sense out of a jumbled beginning to want to continue reading after ten pages, but I forced myself to read twenty, hoping it would get better. It didn't. I found it unreadable. Hope you have better luck with it than I did!
I couldn't make enough sense out of a jumbled beginning to want to continue reading after ten pages, but I forced myself to read twenty, hoping it would get better. It didn't. I found it unreadable. Hope you have better luck with it than I did!
Thursday, December 6, 2018
Christmas Revelation
I just finished one of my holiday pleasures - reading Anne Perry's annual Christmas novel. This year it's Christmas Revelation (#791).
If you read Ms. Perry's other Victorian mystery series, you'll be familiar with one of the main characters in this year's offering - Squeaky, a wizard with numbers, compelled by Sir Oliver Rathbone to give up his brothels and convert them to a clinic for former streetwalkers. The clinic staff has taken in Worm, a nine year old orphan who has settled into his first real home.
Shortly before Christmas, Worm sees a beautiful woman grabbed by a couple of rough-looking men and forced to accompany them. He follows, but he knows there's nothing he can do on his own. Squeaky knows there is something up with Worm when he returns to the clinic, and as one of the few adults Worm can trust, finds himself caught up in Worm's desire to rescue the damsel in distress.
The truth behind the abduction turns out to be ugly, so how is Squeaky to protect Worm from the evils of the world without betraying his trust at this special time of the year? It's a Christmas Revelation with as, usual, a message of redemption.
If you read Ms. Perry's other Victorian mystery series, you'll be familiar with one of the main characters in this year's offering - Squeaky, a wizard with numbers, compelled by Sir Oliver Rathbone to give up his brothels and convert them to a clinic for former streetwalkers. The clinic staff has taken in Worm, a nine year old orphan who has settled into his first real home.
Shortly before Christmas, Worm sees a beautiful woman grabbed by a couple of rough-looking men and forced to accompany them. He follows, but he knows there's nothing he can do on his own. Squeaky knows there is something up with Worm when he returns to the clinic, and as one of the few adults Worm can trust, finds himself caught up in Worm's desire to rescue the damsel in distress.
The truth behind the abduction turns out to be ugly, so how is Squeaky to protect Worm from the evils of the world without betraying his trust at this special time of the year? It's a Christmas Revelation with as, usual, a message of redemption.
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
Vox
Everyone was all atwitter the other day when Margaret Atwood announced she was writing a sequel to The Handmaid's Tale (See my post of 7/14/17.) As you can tell, I did not care for that book. I think Christina Dalcher's dystopian novel Vox (#790) is far superior.
In an America in the not-too-distant future, a theocratic government has taken control and effectively silenced women by limiting them to one hundred words a day. Beyond that threshold, the wrist counter that all females (even infant girls) must wear will administer a painful shock which will grow in intensity with each added word.
In this male-dominated society, women's place is in the home without access to reading materials, cell phones or even snail mail without their husband's express permission. Dr. Jean McClellan, one of the world's foremost authorities on neurolinguistics has been sidelined at home for the past year since government edicts denying women jobs went into effect. That is, until the day the president's older brother and chief advisor, suffers a brain injury in a skiing accident. Her ground-breaking work in aphasia is suddenly in demand by the White House. Yet despite being freed from the onerous counter on her wrist, nothing about the lab or the team recruited with her to do the work seems quite right...
Vox morphs seamlessly from dystopian female manifesto to high-tech chilling thriller. Jean's work is pivotal to a ruthless and devastating power grab. Can Jean, who never even bothered to find the time to vote, seize the slim chance to avert catastrophic events? Can she find the courage to kill if necessary?
The reason I liked this book so much is that I felt it was plausible, in a way that The Handmaid's Tale with its mythological memes was not. It was frightening enough to keep me awake at night, thinking how easily it could happen here.
In an America in the not-too-distant future, a theocratic government has taken control and effectively silenced women by limiting them to one hundred words a day. Beyond that threshold, the wrist counter that all females (even infant girls) must wear will administer a painful shock which will grow in intensity with each added word.
In this male-dominated society, women's place is in the home without access to reading materials, cell phones or even snail mail without their husband's express permission. Dr. Jean McClellan, one of the world's foremost authorities on neurolinguistics has been sidelined at home for the past year since government edicts denying women jobs went into effect. That is, until the day the president's older brother and chief advisor, suffers a brain injury in a skiing accident. Her ground-breaking work in aphasia is suddenly in demand by the White House. Yet despite being freed from the onerous counter on her wrist, nothing about the lab or the team recruited with her to do the work seems quite right...
Vox morphs seamlessly from dystopian female manifesto to high-tech chilling thriller. Jean's work is pivotal to a ruthless and devastating power grab. Can Jean, who never even bothered to find the time to vote, seize the slim chance to avert catastrophic events? Can she find the courage to kill if necessary?
The reason I liked this book so much is that I felt it was plausible, in a way that The Handmaid's Tale with its mythological memes was not. It was frightening enough to keep me awake at night, thinking how easily it could happen here.
The Christmas Train
Finally, a Christmas novel even my husband is enjoying! It took David Baldacci's novel The Christmas Train (#789) which has been around for awhile to do it. It's my book club's December selection, when we try to find something upbeat and uplifting to read (which isn't easy these days!). Since it still took me weeks of waiting to get my hands on this sixteen year old novel, my husband was intrigued.
The action in the book takes place aboard two AMTRAK trains, The Capitol Limited from Washington, D.C. to Chicago, and on the Southwest Chief from Chicago to Los Angeles. Tom Langdon is a former Middle East correspondent, who for reasons explained in the book, must travel on from Europe to Los Angeles by train in time for Christmas. Naturally, he's impatient to get where he's going, but along the way, the people he meets and the events on the train convince him that the journey itself will make a good subject for a story, and help him complete his dying father's wish. He might as well do that, since he doesn't have anything else to tie him down. As he watches the other passengers, he can't help but feel some regrets for what might have been in a season so important for family and friends.
But the trip is interrupted by a crime spree aboard, and Mother Nature has a way of throwing a spanner in the works of the best laid plans. It all makes for a very entertaining and suspenseful holiday read. It you are a fan of holiday fare (which I most definitely am!) and haven't read The Christmas Train yet, put it on your Christmas list!
By the way, since by the time I finished reading this book, I had a real yen to take this trip myself by rail, I checked. AMTRAK does still run both The Capitol Limited and The Southwest Chief, so you can follow in Tom Langdon's footsteps, if you're so inclined. I might suggest you not try it in winter!
The action in the book takes place aboard two AMTRAK trains, The Capitol Limited from Washington, D.C. to Chicago, and on the Southwest Chief from Chicago to Los Angeles. Tom Langdon is a former Middle East correspondent, who for reasons explained in the book, must travel on from Europe to Los Angeles by train in time for Christmas. Naturally, he's impatient to get where he's going, but along the way, the people he meets and the events on the train convince him that the journey itself will make a good subject for a story, and help him complete his dying father's wish. He might as well do that, since he doesn't have anything else to tie him down. As he watches the other passengers, he can't help but feel some regrets for what might have been in a season so important for family and friends.
But the trip is interrupted by a crime spree aboard, and Mother Nature has a way of throwing a spanner in the works of the best laid plans. It all makes for a very entertaining and suspenseful holiday read. It you are a fan of holiday fare (which I most definitely am!) and haven't read The Christmas Train yet, put it on your Christmas list!
By the way, since by the time I finished reading this book, I had a real yen to take this trip myself by rail, I checked. AMTRAK does still run both The Capitol Limited and The Southwest Chief, so you can follow in Tom Langdon's footsteps, if you're so inclined. I might suggest you not try it in winter!
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
The Library Book
Susan Orlean has written a book for everyone who has ever set foot in a library and gone back for more in The Library Book (#788). Although the central focus here is on the catastrophic 1986 fire in Los Angeles' Central Library, Ms. Orlean does not take a direct path through her topic. Rather, she meanders through all kinds of interesting subjects - history, fires, anecdotes, characters real and fictional and personal memories along the way. It seemed to me the equivalent of strolling through a library's rooms and stacks, stopping to examine anything that caught her eye along the way. It's somewhat disjointed, but absolutely fascinating, because so much of what she feels and experiences is relatable to any book lover.
I enjoyed this book so much I was sorry to come to the end of it, but determined that if I ever am in Los Angeles again, the Goodhue building of its Central Library is on my "Must See" list. If you're reading this blog, I'm recommending The Library Book. You'll come away with a wealth of new knowledge.
I enjoyed this book so much I was sorry to come to the end of it, but determined that if I ever am in Los Angeles again, the Goodhue building of its Central Library is on my "Must See" list. If you're reading this blog, I'm recommending The Library Book. You'll come away with a wealth of new knowledge.
Monday, November 19, 2018
The Good Pilot Peter Woodhouse
Alexander McCall Smith's name on the spine of a book is enough inducement for me to pick it up. The Good Pilot Peter Woodhouse (#787) is a stand alone novel which takes place during WWII and the ensuing forty years. The eponymous Peter Woodhouse turns out not be an actual pilot, but an English farm dog. So how does Peter Woodhouse wind up becoming a flying mascot for the American Air Force? Ah, thereby hangs a fascinating tale of love, privation, bravery and integrity.
Val Eliot is an English "land girl" who meets and falls in love with Mike Rogers, an American pilot flying reconnaissance missions over Europe. Ubi Dietrich is a German soldier stationed in a small town in Holland as the war winds down. Peter Woodhouse plays in role in bringing these disparate characters together in life-changing ways.
These is not an epic novel; it's quite easily read in a short period of time, but the decency of ordinary people faced with the sufferings of war infuse this story with a warmth that lasts long after you close the cover. Reading Alexander McCall Smith, especially a book like The Good Pilot Peter Woodhouse is enough to restore one's faith in humanity. Good things come in small packages.
Val Eliot is an English "land girl" who meets and falls in love with Mike Rogers, an American pilot flying reconnaissance missions over Europe. Ubi Dietrich is a German soldier stationed in a small town in Holland as the war winds down. Peter Woodhouse plays in role in bringing these disparate characters together in life-changing ways.
These is not an epic novel; it's quite easily read in a short period of time, but the decency of ordinary people faced with the sufferings of war infuse this story with a warmth that lasts long after you close the cover. Reading Alexander McCall Smith, especially a book like The Good Pilot Peter Woodhouse is enough to restore one's faith in humanity. Good things come in small packages.
Friday, November 16, 2018
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
Since I don't use social media much, a lot of Hank Green's novel went over my head, but I understand its influence enough to be glad I avoid it after reading An Absolutely Remarkable Thing (#786).
When mysterious statues appear simultaneously all over the world in major urban centers, no one knows what to make of them at first. But April May, who is the first to discover one in New York City, dubs him Carl, and decides to make a fun video with her best friend Andy to post on their YouTube channel. When the video goes viral, things begin to spiral out of control with April and Andy coasting the wave of publicity in front of the story.
It doesn't take long for things to get ugly, as factions develop online, and conspiracies abound about the statues' origin. You can see echoes of this every day on the news, but this novel makes the point in a way anyone can understand. Plus it's a heck of a good story! Where DID the Carls come from? You'll just have to read this book to find out. Honestly, it's just what Hank Green wants me to tell you!
When mysterious statues appear simultaneously all over the world in major urban centers, no one knows what to make of them at first. But April May, who is the first to discover one in New York City, dubs him Carl, and decides to make a fun video with her best friend Andy to post on their YouTube channel. When the video goes viral, things begin to spiral out of control with April and Andy coasting the wave of publicity in front of the story.
It doesn't take long for things to get ugly, as factions develop online, and conspiracies abound about the statues' origin. You can see echoes of this every day on the news, but this novel makes the point in a way anyone can understand. Plus it's a heck of a good story! Where DID the Carls come from? You'll just have to read this book to find out. Honestly, it's just what Hank Green wants me to tell you!
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
The Silence of the Girls
I grew up reading and re-reading the Classics Illustrated version of Homer's Iliad. Pat Barker in her new novel The Silence of the Girls (#785) has brought a portion of that epic painfully and resoundingly to life. Here are the characters you remember: Achilles, Patroclus, Agamemnon, Nestor and Ajax, Priam and Hecuba, but center stage here is Briseis. Briseis, who was awarded as a prize of war to Achilles, yet whose very presence in the Greek camp caused a rift between Achilles and Agamemnon which nearly cost the Greeks the war.
Her story didn't matter to Homer, but her fate when her walled city is captured by Achilles is the fate of women in war. Men are slaughtered, but women have to live in the aftermath. Briseis' story sheds a whole new perspective on the Trojan War. What a remarkable achievement by Ms. Barker. She maintains the bones of the epic, even the presence of the gods in the conflict, yet the heroes here are mostly human in their scale. Except for Achilles. But then, his reward from the gods is eternal glory. Briseis manages to survive to tell their remarkable tale.
If you are at all interested in the classics of Greek literature, or if you simply love a compelling story masterfully told, don't miss The Silence of the Girls.
Her story didn't matter to Homer, but her fate when her walled city is captured by Achilles is the fate of women in war. Men are slaughtered, but women have to live in the aftermath. Briseis' story sheds a whole new perspective on the Trojan War. What a remarkable achievement by Ms. Barker. She maintains the bones of the epic, even the presence of the gods in the conflict, yet the heroes here are mostly human in their scale. Except for Achilles. But then, his reward from the gods is eternal glory. Briseis manages to survive to tell their remarkable tale.
If you are at all interested in the classics of Greek literature, or if you simply love a compelling story masterfully told, don't miss The Silence of the Girls.
Friday, November 9, 2018
Desolation Mountain
William Kent Krueger's latest Cork O'Connor mystery, Desolation Mountain (#784) is a nifty blend of political maneuvering and Ojibwa culture set in northern Minnesota.
Young Stephen O'Connor is greatly troubled by a vision in which he watches a boy shoot down an eagle from the sky, while he senses a fearsome monster at his back. When a Senator's plane crashes at nearby Desolation Mountain, killing everyone on board, Stephen knows there is a connection to his vision, but he feels powerless to have prevented it, or the aftermath.
Since Senator McCarthy was visiting Aurora to hold a town meeting concerning the application to re-open mines in the area, tempers are flaring between those who favor a return to former prosperous times in the area, and those equally set on preserving the wilderness of Boundary Waters National Park, and the untouched area of the Iron Lake Ojibwa reservation. There are plenty who have motives to wish harm to the Senator.
When the Indians closest to the crash site are the first to arrive and begin looking for survivors, Cork and Stephen O'Connor among them, but they are quickly ousted from the woods and bog as the FBI and a number of other mysterious governmental agencies arrive and take over. No one, including the sheriff, seems to know exactly who is in charge, but they don't seem to be asking the right people the expected questions, and when those witnesses begin to disappear, Cork O'Connor doesn't know who he can trust to find out what is happening in their remote county.
It's an enthralling read which will keep you guessing right up to the last page.
Young Stephen O'Connor is greatly troubled by a vision in which he watches a boy shoot down an eagle from the sky, while he senses a fearsome monster at his back. When a Senator's plane crashes at nearby Desolation Mountain, killing everyone on board, Stephen knows there is a connection to his vision, but he feels powerless to have prevented it, or the aftermath.
Since Senator McCarthy was visiting Aurora to hold a town meeting concerning the application to re-open mines in the area, tempers are flaring between those who favor a return to former prosperous times in the area, and those equally set on preserving the wilderness of Boundary Waters National Park, and the untouched area of the Iron Lake Ojibwa reservation. There are plenty who have motives to wish harm to the Senator.
When the Indians closest to the crash site are the first to arrive and begin looking for survivors, Cork and Stephen O'Connor among them, but they are quickly ousted from the woods and bog as the FBI and a number of other mysterious governmental agencies arrive and take over. No one, including the sheriff, seems to know exactly who is in charge, but they don't seem to be asking the right people the expected questions, and when those witnesses begin to disappear, Cork O'Connor doesn't know who he can trust to find out what is happening in their remote county.
It's an enthralling read which will keep you guessing right up to the last page.
The King's Witch
I picked up Tracy Borman's novel The King's Witch (#783) because of its attractive cover art. The cover blurb promised the first of a planned trilogy by Ms. Borman, a historian, set at the end of the Tudor era and the beginning of the Stuarts. I thought it would be just my kind of book.
Turns out I was wrong. The heroine, Lady Frances Gorges, is an herbalist serving the dying Queen Elizabeth by easing her pain with her salves and potions. But her family has been marked by Lord Privy Seal Cecil for ruin. Even before Elizabeth's body is cold, he has already taken the road north to meet the new monarch, James, first of the Stuarts. James' passion for hunting out witches suits Cecil's agenda well as he seeks Lady Frances' death for witchcraft.
Although he does not succeed, Frances is forced to remain at court as a lady-in-waiting to the young Princess Elizabeth. While she grows fond of her young charge, she is always aware of eyes watching, and plots being hatched as courtiers vie for favors and patronage. Frances meets Thomas Wintour, a lawyer who acts for Queen Anne, but he has his own secrets to hide. Of course she discovers them, and is embroiled in a failed attempt to kill the king, the infamous Guy Fawkes Gunpowder Plot.
Much of the plot was telegraphed well in advance. When (Spoiler Alert!) Frances takes the doomed Thomas to her bed as he flees for his life, you just know that she will wind up pregnant and alone. But of course, that will be the next volume in this series. Also, from what I've read of Elizabethan history (and I've read quite a bit), William Cecil, Elizabeth's spy master, was loyal to her. Here, he is quite the villain; you wonder how anyone, especially Elizabeth, could have ever trusted him. That just didn't ring true to me. Obviously, Ms. Borman has a different opinion, and history is her discipline.
Frankly, I won't be reading any further. I found the tone of the novel relentlessly downbeat and depressing. I think we all face enough misery in our own lives to deserve a little happiness when we escape to a fictional world. I don't think you'll find it in this book.
Turns out I was wrong. The heroine, Lady Frances Gorges, is an herbalist serving the dying Queen Elizabeth by easing her pain with her salves and potions. But her family has been marked by Lord Privy Seal Cecil for ruin. Even before Elizabeth's body is cold, he has already taken the road north to meet the new monarch, James, first of the Stuarts. James' passion for hunting out witches suits Cecil's agenda well as he seeks Lady Frances' death for witchcraft.
Although he does not succeed, Frances is forced to remain at court as a lady-in-waiting to the young Princess Elizabeth. While she grows fond of her young charge, she is always aware of eyes watching, and plots being hatched as courtiers vie for favors and patronage. Frances meets Thomas Wintour, a lawyer who acts for Queen Anne, but he has his own secrets to hide. Of course she discovers them, and is embroiled in a failed attempt to kill the king, the infamous Guy Fawkes Gunpowder Plot.
Much of the plot was telegraphed well in advance. When (Spoiler Alert!) Frances takes the doomed Thomas to her bed as he flees for his life, you just know that she will wind up pregnant and alone. But of course, that will be the next volume in this series. Also, from what I've read of Elizabethan history (and I've read quite a bit), William Cecil, Elizabeth's spy master, was loyal to her. Here, he is quite the villain; you wonder how anyone, especially Elizabeth, could have ever trusted him. That just didn't ring true to me. Obviously, Ms. Borman has a different opinion, and history is her discipline.
Frankly, I won't be reading any further. I found the tone of the novel relentlessly downbeat and depressing. I think we all face enough misery in our own lives to deserve a little happiness when we escape to a fictional world. I don't think you'll find it in this book.
Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Pachinko
Min Jin Lee's saga about a Korean family living in Japan, Pachinko (#782) is mostly a grim tale, although the family does manage to pull itself up from its dirt poor roots to comfortable wealth through the popular gambling pinball game pachinko.
No one in the family wants to admit that this is an honorable way of making a living except for one son, yet all benefit from it. They constantly struggle against the taint of being Korean in a nation which looks down upon them as inferior, yet they do not see a better alternative after fleeing from an occupied country. When Korea is split by civil war into North and South, the prospects of returning home to a settled life there are no better. There is no silver lining in the clouds hovering over this family.
Yet, for all that, it is a compelling read. We keep hoping that things will get better for Sunja and her family. In some respects they do, but at what cost? There is plenty to ponder here, but if you're looking for a happy ending, you won't find it here.
No one in the family wants to admit that this is an honorable way of making a living except for one son, yet all benefit from it. They constantly struggle against the taint of being Korean in a nation which looks down upon them as inferior, yet they do not see a better alternative after fleeing from an occupied country. When Korea is split by civil war into North and South, the prospects of returning home to a settled life there are no better. There is no silver lining in the clouds hovering over this family.
Yet, for all that, it is a compelling read. We keep hoping that things will get better for Sunja and her family. In some respects they do, but at what cost? There is plenty to ponder here, but if you're looking for a happy ending, you won't find it here.
Transcription
Kate Atkinson has been on my "To Read" List for a long time now. After reading her latest, Transcription (#781), she's moved up a notch or two on my list. This was a great book to read on a plane because I was totally absorbed in it.
A young woman is recruited during World War II to work for The Service - MI5. Her job is to transcribe the audio recordings made during secret meetings with disaffected British citizens who think they are helping the Nazis. But things soon go beyond mere typing, and the repercussions of her work will haunt Juliet Armstrong for the rest of her life.
I must admit I did not see the final twist coming, which heightened its impact. A terrific read.
A young woman is recruited during World War II to work for The Service - MI5. Her job is to transcribe the audio recordings made during secret meetings with disaffected British citizens who think they are helping the Nazis. But things soon go beyond mere typing, and the repercussions of her work will haunt Juliet Armstrong for the rest of her life.
I must admit I did not see the final twist coming, which heightened its impact. A terrific read.
The Dinner List
I was really looking forward to reading Rebecca Serle's novel The Dinner List (#780), so I packed it to read on a long plane flight. It was my misfortune that the entertainment system on the plane never worked on our nine hour flight, because I found this book virtually unreadable. I was only able to wade through about sixty pages before I gave up, and that was basically because I had no other alternative.
The plot is supposed to be about a fantasy dinner party where the hostess could invite any five people she wanted to join her. She does ask Audrey Hepburn, but other than that, it's all about her relationships, which I did not find compelling to say the least. I was expecting witty conversation from the likes of Shakespeare or Einstein or Leonardo da Vince, but instead got banal whining about why her life was so miserable. No wonder Audrey Hepburn was bored! So was I. I wouldn't recommend this one.
The plot is supposed to be about a fantasy dinner party where the hostess could invite any five people she wanted to join her. She does ask Audrey Hepburn, but other than that, it's all about her relationships, which I did not find compelling to say the least. I was expecting witty conversation from the likes of Shakespeare or Einstein or Leonardo da Vince, but instead got banal whining about why her life was so miserable. No wonder Audrey Hepburn was bored! So was I. I wouldn't recommend this one.
sit! stay! speak!
Annie England Noblin's debut novel is an entertaining romance featuring a rescued pit bull. I had read and enjoyed last year's Christmas book, Pupcakes by Ms. Noblin, so I was pleased to find sit! stay! speak! (#779) waiting for me on my travel bookshelf. It did not disappoint.
The Arkansas Delta isn't your usual glamorous setting, but that gives Ms. Noblin plenty of scope for an interesting and unusual cast of characters here. Adelaide Andrews has escaped Chicago and all its dark memories to sort out the house she's inherited from a beloved aunt. But there's more going on in the Arkansas Delta than meets the eye, and the folks in town don't want to talk about it. They just warn Adelaide Andrews to stay away from the levee, and not ask questions about other folks' business after she rescues a badly injured puppy left in a trash bag to die. When things get dangerous, and Addie's house is broken into, she's more determined than ever to get to the bottom of things, even if it puts her at risk.
Don't worry, a handsome local farmer shows up to provide the love interest, and since this is a romance, there's bound to be a happy ending.
The Arkansas Delta isn't your usual glamorous setting, but that gives Ms. Noblin plenty of scope for an interesting and unusual cast of characters here. Adelaide Andrews has escaped Chicago and all its dark memories to sort out the house she's inherited from a beloved aunt. But there's more going on in the Arkansas Delta than meets the eye, and the folks in town don't want to talk about it. They just warn Adelaide Andrews to stay away from the levee, and not ask questions about other folks' business after she rescues a badly injured puppy left in a trash bag to die. When things get dangerous, and Addie's house is broken into, she's more determined than ever to get to the bottom of things, even if it puts her at risk.
Don't worry, a handsome local farmer shows up to provide the love interest, and since this is a romance, there's bound to be a happy ending.
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
When The English Fall
What if a massive solar storm were to disrupt power grids around the world, causing cars to stop, planes to fall out of the sky, electronics and phones to cease working? Life as we know it would virtually come to a halt for most Americans, but not for the Amish.
In David Williams' thought-provoking novel When The English Fall (#778) events unfold against the background of an Amish farming community outside Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Told as a series of diary entries by an Amish farmer named Jacob, they are coping with difficulties of their own in weather fluctuations affecting their crops. But when disaster strikes the world of The English all around them, the Amish at first are immune. They are self-sufficient, and careful in preserving and storing their food. Initially, they are able to provide weekly food donations for nearby Lancaster, but as food in the cities runs out, people begin to take matters into their own hands. How will Jacob's community be affected by the ever-encroaching violence, and what response should they make to threats against them and their families while remaining true to their way of life?
It's an intriguing ethical question, and only too easy to visualize. There is much food for thought here. Unfortunately, because it's been labeled as "science fiction" many of the readers who might benefit the most from reading and discussing this book will never find it. Simply calling it "fiction" might better serve the aims of the author.
In David Williams' thought-provoking novel When The English Fall (#778) events unfold against the background of an Amish farming community outside Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Told as a series of diary entries by an Amish farmer named Jacob, they are coping with difficulties of their own in weather fluctuations affecting their crops. But when disaster strikes the world of The English all around them, the Amish at first are immune. They are self-sufficient, and careful in preserving and storing their food. Initially, they are able to provide weekly food donations for nearby Lancaster, but as food in the cities runs out, people begin to take matters into their own hands. How will Jacob's community be affected by the ever-encroaching violence, and what response should they make to threats against them and their families while remaining true to their way of life?
It's an intriguing ethical question, and only too easy to visualize. There is much food for thought here. Unfortunately, because it's been labeled as "science fiction" many of the readers who might benefit the most from reading and discussing this book will never find it. Simply calling it "fiction" might better serve the aims of the author.
French Exit
What a strange book French Exit (#777) is! Patrick DeWitt has imagined the most unpleasant, self-centered pair in Frances Price and her aimless adult son Malcolm. Her object in life is to spend her considerable fortune and be the envy of all those around her. Malcolm apparently has no ambition whatsoever.
When her financial advisor finally gets through to Frances to tell her that her money is all gone, she sells up everything not nailed down and sails off to France with the cash, Malcolm and Small Frank, the cat. She plans to spend every last Euro and then kill herself and Small Frank. Malcolm is out of the loop, to be left to fend for himself.
That's pretty much it, in a nutshell. I can't say I gained anything by spending time with these wastrels. Maybe you'd be better off if you didn't, either. Just my opinion.
When her financial advisor finally gets through to Frances to tell her that her money is all gone, she sells up everything not nailed down and sails off to France with the cash, Malcolm and Small Frank, the cat. She plans to spend every last Euro and then kill herself and Small Frank. Malcolm is out of the loop, to be left to fend for himself.
That's pretty much it, in a nutshell. I can't say I gained anything by spending time with these wastrels. Maybe you'd be better off if you didn't, either. Just my opinion.
Thursday, October 4, 2018
The Last Ballad
If you are looking for a novel with a happy ending, Wiley Cash's powerful The Last Ballad (#776) is not that book. Its characters and events are based on the 1929 Loray Mill strike in Gastonia, North Carolina. Ella May Wiggins, a dirt poor mother from the Tennessee mountains, was a central figure in that strike, stirring the textile workers with the protest songs she wrote. Needless to say, it did not end well for the real Ella May, as reflected here.
If you think you know everything about textile workers' strikes from watching Sally Field in Norma Ray, think again. It was even worse in the 1920s. Add on the racial tensions of the Jim Crow South and it's an explosive mixture.
Personally, I found the book extremely depressing, but so well written it was impossible to stop reading it. The desperate poverty described here was reality for so many living in the South. Was it better to join the Union to try to change things, risking everything, or to continue the status quo for a meager weekly pay envelope to feed your family?
The story leading up to Ella May's death in 1929 is told from a number of viewpoints, including her own. Each contributes its own piece to the mosaic of the time, place and attitudes. You might be surprised that it adds up to a picture of American history you never read about in school. Fortunately, Mr. Cash has shed new light on it.
If you think you know everything about textile workers' strikes from watching Sally Field in Norma Ray, think again. It was even worse in the 1920s. Add on the racial tensions of the Jim Crow South and it's an explosive mixture.
Personally, I found the book extremely depressing, but so well written it was impossible to stop reading it. The desperate poverty described here was reality for so many living in the South. Was it better to join the Union to try to change things, risking everything, or to continue the status quo for a meager weekly pay envelope to feed your family?
The story leading up to Ella May's death in 1929 is told from a number of viewpoints, including her own. Each contributes its own piece to the mosaic of the time, place and attitudes. You might be surprised that it adds up to a picture of American history you never read about in school. Fortunately, Mr. Cash has shed new light on it.
Saturday, September 29, 2018
The Glass Ocean
Three authors, three intertwined plot lines, one doomed ship; yet somehow it all comes together in The Glass Ocean (#775). This is the second book co-written by popular authors Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White. This mystery/romance takes place on board the Lusitania in 1915, tragically sunk by the Germans just off the coast of Ireland.
Sarah is a modern-day historian who has had a huge success with an earlier book but now is hard pressed financially to keep her mother cared for in an expensive memory unit. She is searching for an idea for a follow-up blockbuster when she stumbles across a personal connection to a crew member of the Lusitania with his own mysterious connection to a British aristocrat on board.
Caroline is a southern belle from an impoverished family who has married an extremely wealthy self-made man. Their marriage is encountering difficulties, and her husband's decision to sell an unpublished Strauss waltz manuscript given to her as a wedding present to a buyer in England against her wishes has exacerbated matters. Meeting Robert, an old childhood friend, on board the ship rekindles old feelings.
Tess is an imposter. Her sister has lured her on board with a promise that the forgery job she will undertake will be her last, and the key to a new, honest life in England. But when Robert sniffs out her disguise, she begins to suspect that the job is far more dangerous than Ginny has led her to believe.
The mysteries past and present keep this plot sailing along. The details of the sinking of the Lusitania are accurate, and the authors note that they were inspired by Erik Larson's excellent non-fiction account Dead Wake (See my post of 3/26/15.). Now I can't wait to read this trio's previous collaboration, The Forgotten Room. Please keep them coming!
Sarah is a modern-day historian who has had a huge success with an earlier book but now is hard pressed financially to keep her mother cared for in an expensive memory unit. She is searching for an idea for a follow-up blockbuster when she stumbles across a personal connection to a crew member of the Lusitania with his own mysterious connection to a British aristocrat on board.
Caroline is a southern belle from an impoverished family who has married an extremely wealthy self-made man. Their marriage is encountering difficulties, and her husband's decision to sell an unpublished Strauss waltz manuscript given to her as a wedding present to a buyer in England against her wishes has exacerbated matters. Meeting Robert, an old childhood friend, on board the ship rekindles old feelings.
Tess is an imposter. Her sister has lured her on board with a promise that the forgery job she will undertake will be her last, and the key to a new, honest life in England. But when Robert sniffs out her disguise, she begins to suspect that the job is far more dangerous than Ginny has led her to believe.
The mysteries past and present keep this plot sailing along. The details of the sinking of the Lusitania are accurate, and the authors note that they were inspired by Erik Larson's excellent non-fiction account Dead Wake (See my post of 3/26/15.). Now I can't wait to read this trio's previous collaboration, The Forgotten Room. Please keep them coming!
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
Hope Never Dies
Andrew Shaffer has turned out a good mystery with Hope Never Dies (#774). Its unlikely protagonist is Vice President Joe Biden, now unhappily retired. He's used to doing things, and even though Barack Obama seems to be having the time of his life with A List celebrities all over the world, Joe is stuck in Delaware. That is, until the night he finds out that his favorite conductor on the Amtrak train he commuted to Washington on each day is dead. He's been hit by a train. Strangely enough, it's Barack Obama who appears to tell him about it. But something doesn't seem right...
It's a buddy book, told from Joe Biden's point of view, and very entertaining. It's also a good mystery as Barry and Joe poke their noses into Finn Donnelly's death. And they aren't the only ones looking. If only Joe's knees would cooperate!
A fun read, and could lead to an interesting mystery series.
Actually, my only complaint about this book published by Quirk, is that it was physically tiring to read, because it took so much effort to hold the book open so I could read it. My hands ached after awhile! If you e-read, this obviously won't be a problem for you. Just saying.
It's a buddy book, told from Joe Biden's point of view, and very entertaining. It's also a good mystery as Barry and Joe poke their noses into Finn Donnelly's death. And they aren't the only ones looking. If only Joe's knees would cooperate!
A fun read, and could lead to an interesting mystery series.
Actually, my only complaint about this book published by Quirk, is that it was physically tiring to read, because it took so much effort to hold the book open so I could read it. My hands ached after awhile! If you e-read, this obviously won't be a problem for you. Just saying.
Saturday, September 15, 2018
Fly Girls; How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History
What an interesting book Keith O'Brien has written. Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History (#773) concentrates on the decade between 1927 and 1937 when barn stormers and air races caught the nation's attention, and a small but determined group of women struggled to join the men on equal terms. Only one of the woman profiled here was familiar to me: Amelia Earhart, and even at that, I learned quite a bit I didn't know about her before she literally dropped out of sight over the Pacific.
Equally remarkable are the stories of Louise Thaden, a wife and mother, Ruth Nichols, a wealthy socialite, Ruth Elder, pretty as a movie star, and Florence Klingensmith, a midwestern flier and mechanic who almost beat the boys at their own game. Since the field of female aviators was so small, the women knew and supported each other, even though they were fierce competitors. In fact, they had to be twice as skilled in the air to be deemed half as good in the court of public opinion. Women's place was in the home, not in the cockpit of an airplane, because of the risks involved and their delicate health, physical and emotional. This is the story of how these women managed to raise the ceiling for future female fliers.
The dangers these women encountered were real, and a number of them died doing what they loved, but all contributed their chosen field. Inspiring, and it will make you think twice next time you board an airplane with female pilots and first officers.
Equally remarkable are the stories of Louise Thaden, a wife and mother, Ruth Nichols, a wealthy socialite, Ruth Elder, pretty as a movie star, and Florence Klingensmith, a midwestern flier and mechanic who almost beat the boys at their own game. Since the field of female aviators was so small, the women knew and supported each other, even though they were fierce competitors. In fact, they had to be twice as skilled in the air to be deemed half as good in the court of public opinion. Women's place was in the home, not in the cockpit of an airplane, because of the risks involved and their delicate health, physical and emotional. This is the story of how these women managed to raise the ceiling for future female fliers.
The dangers these women encountered were real, and a number of them died doing what they loved, but all contributed their chosen field. Inspiring, and it will make you think twice next time you board an airplane with female pilots and first officers.
Thursday, September 13, 2018
The Man Who Couldn't Miss
How could I not have known about David Handler's terrific mysteries all these years? I just read The Man Who Couldn't Miss (#772) after reading a review of it in our local newspaper. Apparently Mr. Handler is reviving the Stewart Hoag mystery series which he hasn't written about in twenty years. I'm so glad he decided to give it another shot.
Stewart Hoag is an author with one best-selling book behind him. He hasn't been able to duplicate his success since. He's hoping that a summer spent at his ex-wife Merilee Nash's Connecticut farm will give him the peace, isolation and motivation to get back on that horse again. He's on good terms with Merilee, but she has her own project to keep her busy; a celebrity revival of Noel Coward's Private Lives in a one day gala performance to raise enough money to restore the venerable Sherbourne Playhouse. She, and so many other famous actors and actresses made their professional debuts in this rickety theater.
At least Hoagy has his basset hound Lulu to keep him company. But as it always does, trouble finds Hoagy when a secret from Merilee's past rears its ugly head, and one of the stars of Private Lives doesn't make it to Act II. It's a distraction, but someone has to deal with it all. It might as well be Hoagy.
This has everything I love in a good mystery; quirky characters I cared about, plenty of snarky humor, and plot twists I didn't see coming until I read them, but seemed logical once you know the motivation. One of the cover blurbs is Harlan Coben's, and I can now see why: "One of my all-time favorite series." I have the feeling I'll be agreeing with that opinion.
Stewart Hoag is an author with one best-selling book behind him. He hasn't been able to duplicate his success since. He's hoping that a summer spent at his ex-wife Merilee Nash's Connecticut farm will give him the peace, isolation and motivation to get back on that horse again. He's on good terms with Merilee, but she has her own project to keep her busy; a celebrity revival of Noel Coward's Private Lives in a one day gala performance to raise enough money to restore the venerable Sherbourne Playhouse. She, and so many other famous actors and actresses made their professional debuts in this rickety theater.
At least Hoagy has his basset hound Lulu to keep him company. But as it always does, trouble finds Hoagy when a secret from Merilee's past rears its ugly head, and one of the stars of Private Lives doesn't make it to Act II. It's a distraction, but someone has to deal with it all. It might as well be Hoagy.
This has everything I love in a good mystery; quirky characters I cared about, plenty of snarky humor, and plot twists I didn't see coming until I read them, but seemed logical once you know the motivation. One of the cover blurbs is Harlan Coben's, and I can now see why: "One of my all-time favorite series." I have the feeling I'll be agreeing with that opinion.
Monday, September 10, 2018
The Dictator Pope -The Inside Story of the Francis Papacy
Reading The Dictator Pope (#771) by the possibly British author hiding behind the pen name Marcantonio Colonna reminded me forcibly of the anonymous New York Times Op Ed written about the chaos in Donald Trump's White House. This is an author with an agenda: to destroy Jorge Bergoglio, Pope Francis I, and restore the Roman Catholic Church to the "good old days" prior to Vatican II.
He takes aim at progressives, liberals and homosexuals as evil, period. He also condemns child sex abusers and those who shield them, financial malfeasants, and the morally corrupt. In those cases, I do agree with this writer.
It is a mystery to me, though, who his intended audience is. It can't be the average reader, because the text is laden with theological text book terms with no explanations, clerical name-dropping without context, and an astonishing mish-mosh of bureaucratic boards, councils, offices, etc. If you were familiar with the internal workings of the Vatican, this might all make sense to you. What the ordinary reader will be able to pick up without a problem is the personal vitriol for the Pope. If what he is alleging about the Pope's behavior concerning financial shenanigans and his own shielding of pedophile priests and those who protect them is true, though, (And many of the cases he cites seem credible, such as the Pope's recent defense of Chilean bishops accused of this, his cool reception in Ireland which has been riven by the sex abuse scandal for decades, and the Pope's non-response to the unfolding scandal in Pennsylvania), it does raise questions about the Pope's moral authority on so many other issues.
It's an unpleasant book, couched in an unpleasant way, but as they say, where there's smoke, there's fire. Maybe someone does need to be raising objections if what they see and hear feels wrong to them, but progress is made going forward, not backwards. Maybe the best question to ask would be: What would Jesus do?
He takes aim at progressives, liberals and homosexuals as evil, period. He also condemns child sex abusers and those who shield them, financial malfeasants, and the morally corrupt. In those cases, I do agree with this writer.
It is a mystery to me, though, who his intended audience is. It can't be the average reader, because the text is laden with theological text book terms with no explanations, clerical name-dropping without context, and an astonishing mish-mosh of bureaucratic boards, councils, offices, etc. If you were familiar with the internal workings of the Vatican, this might all make sense to you. What the ordinary reader will be able to pick up without a problem is the personal vitriol for the Pope. If what he is alleging about the Pope's behavior concerning financial shenanigans and his own shielding of pedophile priests and those who protect them is true, though, (And many of the cases he cites seem credible, such as the Pope's recent defense of Chilean bishops accused of this, his cool reception in Ireland which has been riven by the sex abuse scandal for decades, and the Pope's non-response to the unfolding scandal in Pennsylvania), it does raise questions about the Pope's moral authority on so many other issues.
It's an unpleasant book, couched in an unpleasant way, but as they say, where there's smoke, there's fire. Maybe someone does need to be raising objections if what they see and hear feels wrong to them, but progress is made going forward, not backwards. Maybe the best question to ask would be: What would Jesus do?
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
Rescued - An Andy Carpenter Mystery
In David Rosenfelt's Rescued (#770), Andy Carpenter is enjoying life; no legal cases in sight, time to spend with his wife Laurie, and their son, Ricky and their two dogs, and to check in on the Tara Foundation, named for his beloved golden retriever. The only fly in the ointment is that his friends keep running up his tab at Charlies, even when Andy isn't there downing burgers and beer with them.
That is, until he gets a panicked phone call from the local Humane Society Director asking him to come to a rest stop off the New Jersey Turnpike. It's a crime scene, with the driver of an eighteen wheeler shot to death in the back of the truck, but that's not why Ralph called Andy. The truck's cargo is a load of rescue dogs. After a long day of getting the dogs settled in at the Tara Foundation, Andy returns home to a double whammy. Waiting for him at the house is Laurie's ex-boyfriend, Dave Kramer and he wants Andy to represent him for killing the truck driver at the rest stop in self-defense. Andy is, to put it mildly, not thrilled, but it's important to Laurie, so...
As usual in an Andy Carpenter book, things are not as simple as they appear on the surface, and Andy is not convinced that Kramer's case is winnable, even if he is being represented by the top defense lawyer available. In pursuit of even the tiniest shred of evidence to plant reasonable doubt in the jury's minds, Andy begins to get a glimmer that something big is behind an apparently open-and-shut case of revenge.
Always an enjoyable read with enough twists to keep the reader turning pages until the very end, I love the Andy Carpenter mysteries because of the snarky dialog and the unusual cast of characters. After meeting David Rosenfelt at this year's BookMania!, it's very easy to see that Andy and David share many characteristics. If you are new to the series, you can enjoy each book on its own, but they are even better when read in sequence.
That is, until he gets a panicked phone call from the local Humane Society Director asking him to come to a rest stop off the New Jersey Turnpike. It's a crime scene, with the driver of an eighteen wheeler shot to death in the back of the truck, but that's not why Ralph called Andy. The truck's cargo is a load of rescue dogs. After a long day of getting the dogs settled in at the Tara Foundation, Andy returns home to a double whammy. Waiting for him at the house is Laurie's ex-boyfriend, Dave Kramer and he wants Andy to represent him for killing the truck driver at the rest stop in self-defense. Andy is, to put it mildly, not thrilled, but it's important to Laurie, so...
As usual in an Andy Carpenter book, things are not as simple as they appear on the surface, and Andy is not convinced that Kramer's case is winnable, even if he is being represented by the top defense lawyer available. In pursuit of even the tiniest shred of evidence to plant reasonable doubt in the jury's minds, Andy begins to get a glimmer that something big is behind an apparently open-and-shut case of revenge.
Always an enjoyable read with enough twists to keep the reader turning pages until the very end, I love the Andy Carpenter mysteries because of the snarky dialog and the unusual cast of characters. After meeting David Rosenfelt at this year's BookMania!, it's very easy to see that Andy and David share many characteristics. If you are new to the series, you can enjoy each book on its own, but they are even better when read in sequence.
Monday, September 3, 2018
The Great Alone
Kristin Hannah takes the title for her novel The Great Alone (#769) from a Robert Service poem about Alaska. It certainly is a character in this story, beautiful, harrowing and deadly in turn, although the real danger to young Leni Allbright here comes from within her own family.
Ernt Allbright has returned from Vietnam a changed man. Leni only has vague memories of the time before, when she and her mother and father would have adventures moving place to place. Now he's angry and paranoid, and their moves are becoming more frequent, when a letter catches up with him; one of his POW buddies has left land and a cabin to Ernt in the remote Alaskan settlement of Kaneq. Her father buys a battered old VW bus, packs up everything the Allbrights own (which isn't much) and heads for Alaska with his family in tow.
Neither Leni nor her mother Cora are prepared to live off the grid in a place with no electricity or running water, and where their survival will depend on what they can hunt, catch, fish or grow for themselves. Mistakes can be deadly here, and the Allbrights must learn fast. Members of the community help, but Mad Earl Harlan's family are survivalists. Ernt feels a special bond for them, since it was Bo Harlan's land he inherited. The old man feeds Ernt's hatred for the government, the Man, and anyone who doesn't agree with him. The problem is that in the depths of the bleak Alaskan winter dark, Ernt takes out his rage with life on Cora.
This is first and foremost a tale of survival, both physical and emotional. The strength of the bonds of love and community are a counterbalance to the horrors happening in the Allbright compound. It doesn't seem possible that Leni will endure, but she does, at incredible cost to herself and those she loves. This is a powerful read, not to be missed.
Ernt Allbright has returned from Vietnam a changed man. Leni only has vague memories of the time before, when she and her mother and father would have adventures moving place to place. Now he's angry and paranoid, and their moves are becoming more frequent, when a letter catches up with him; one of his POW buddies has left land and a cabin to Ernt in the remote Alaskan settlement of Kaneq. Her father buys a battered old VW bus, packs up everything the Allbrights own (which isn't much) and heads for Alaska with his family in tow.
Neither Leni nor her mother Cora are prepared to live off the grid in a place with no electricity or running water, and where their survival will depend on what they can hunt, catch, fish or grow for themselves. Mistakes can be deadly here, and the Allbrights must learn fast. Members of the community help, but Mad Earl Harlan's family are survivalists. Ernt feels a special bond for them, since it was Bo Harlan's land he inherited. The old man feeds Ernt's hatred for the government, the Man, and anyone who doesn't agree with him. The problem is that in the depths of the bleak Alaskan winter dark, Ernt takes out his rage with life on Cora.
This is first and foremost a tale of survival, both physical and emotional. The strength of the bonds of love and community are a counterbalance to the horrors happening in the Allbright compound. It doesn't seem possible that Leni will endure, but she does, at incredible cost to herself and those she loves. This is a powerful read, not to be missed.
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
America For Beginners
Mrs. Pival Sengupta is newly widowed, and finally free to do as she pleases. For her, that means a trip to America on her own to see what captivated her late son Rahi about this place, if in fact, he really is dead. Not being used to moving about on her own, she books herself on a tour of America with a guide and a companion. It's a voyage of discovery for all three travelers, and an entertaining and moving read. Leah Franqui's debut novel is America For Beginners (#768).
Satya Roy, the Bangladeshi guide who has never left New York City since he smuggled himself into the country is searching for his friend whom he betrayed by taking the guide job. Rebecca Elliot, an out-of-work actress hired sight unseen as a companion is stuck in a treadmill life of failed auditions and meaningless one-night stands. For her, civilization ends at the New York City border, but money is tight. Ronnie Munshi runs the tour company for wealthy Indians, promising luxury accommodations, authentic Indian cuisine and visits to all the top attractions, but under no circumstances should guides/companions admit they do not know the answers to their clients' questions, or that they are Bangladeshi. What could possibly go wrong?
It's a life-changing experience for them all, and for the reader as well. Recommended.
Satya Roy, the Bangladeshi guide who has never left New York City since he smuggled himself into the country is searching for his friend whom he betrayed by taking the guide job. Rebecca Elliot, an out-of-work actress hired sight unseen as a companion is stuck in a treadmill life of failed auditions and meaningless one-night stands. For her, civilization ends at the New York City border, but money is tight. Ronnie Munshi runs the tour company for wealthy Indians, promising luxury accommodations, authentic Indian cuisine and visits to all the top attractions, but under no circumstances should guides/companions admit they do not know the answers to their clients' questions, or that they are Bangladeshi. What could possibly go wrong?
It's a life-changing experience for them all, and for the reader as well. Recommended.
Monday, August 27, 2018
A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding
A friend recommended A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding (#767) by Jackie Copleton, and I'm glad she did. Amaterasu Takahashi was in Nagasaki on that fateful day in August when an atomic bomb was dropped on the city. She and her husband survived, but not her only daughter or her seven year old grandson, Hideo.
Trying to leave the past behind, the Takahashis moved to America. Now widowed, Amaterasu is surprised one evening by a knock on her door. Standing on the other side is a badly scarred man who claims to be her grandson. She cannot believe it, yet the stranger hands over a package which he says contains proof of his claim. As she looks over the contents on her own, decades of secrets come rushing back to Amaterasu, bringing back memories she wished to forget...
This is a powerful read, both in its indictment of the use of such potent weapons and their brutal aftermath, and the emotional damage inflicted in relationships gone wrong. Highly recommended.
Trying to leave the past behind, the Takahashis moved to America. Now widowed, Amaterasu is surprised one evening by a knock on her door. Standing on the other side is a badly scarred man who claims to be her grandson. She cannot believe it, yet the stranger hands over a package which he says contains proof of his claim. As she looks over the contents on her own, decades of secrets come rushing back to Amaterasu, bringing back memories she wished to forget...
This is a powerful read, both in its indictment of the use of such potent weapons and their brutal aftermath, and the emotional damage inflicted in relationships gone wrong. Highly recommended.
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
The Trade of Queens
The Trade of Queens (#766) is the sixth and concluding volume of Charles Stross's sci-fi series The Merchant Princes. Frankly, I thought the series ended with a whimper, not a bang, despite the proliferation of nuclear devices used.
Full of political maneuvering across several universes, and endless weapons specifications, I thought the story was remarkably free of action or resolutions. Miriam Beckstein, the eponymous queen of the title, barely makes an appearance here. The same is true of Brill and Olga, main characters in the previous stories. I felt I had invested a considerable amount of time in following their previous adventures. I would have liked having a few more of the various threads wrapped up in this last volume.
Disappointing, to say the least. Based on that, I can't recommend the series.
Full of political maneuvering across several universes, and endless weapons specifications, I thought the story was remarkably free of action or resolutions. Miriam Beckstein, the eponymous queen of the title, barely makes an appearance here. The same is true of Brill and Olga, main characters in the previous stories. I felt I had invested a considerable amount of time in following their previous adventures. I would have liked having a few more of the various threads wrapped up in this last volume.
Disappointing, to say the least. Based on that, I can't recommend the series.
Monday, August 20, 2018
Caught in Time
Murder seems to dog FBI Forensics Specialist Kendra Donovan's footsteps, even in Regency England. Caught In Time (#765), Julie McElwain's third entry in this time-travel mystery series strands Kendra and her nominal guardian, the Duke of Aldridge, in a small town near Manchester while en route to one of the Duke's smaller estates. Fog has interrupted their journey, but hasn't stopped a group of Luddites from smashing equipment at the local mill. The manager of the mill is found beaten to death in his office there. Kendra and the Duke offer their assistance investigating the murder. The locals are quick to blame the Luddites, but after viewing the crime scene, Kendra knows that they are not responsible. Other gruesome murders soon follow. Alec Morgan, the Duke's nephew and Sam Bell, Bow Street Runner are summoned to East Dingleford to aid in the investigation.
Kendra is slowly adjusting to life in the early nineteenth century, but she is still not reconciled to spending the rest of her life there. The constraints on her behavior weigh heavily on her when the local constable and doctor address all of their questions and concerns to the Duke instead of to her. This time she may be dealing with a perpetrator who is more like her than she would like to admit. Apparently their paths have crossed before... In the end, she is given two choices: join him or die.
Murders past and present play a big role in Caught In Time. Motivation is the key to solving the puzzles here. But equally important, how can justice be best served? Intriguing twists abound in this series.
Kendra is slowly adjusting to life in the early nineteenth century, but she is still not reconciled to spending the rest of her life there. The constraints on her behavior weigh heavily on her when the local constable and doctor address all of their questions and concerns to the Duke instead of to her. This time she may be dealing with a perpetrator who is more like her than she would like to admit. Apparently their paths have crossed before... In the end, she is given two choices: join him or die.
Murders past and present play a big role in Caught In Time. Motivation is the key to solving the puzzles here. But equally important, how can justice be best served? Intriguing twists abound in this series.
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Pandora's Boy
Flavia Albia is roped into investigating the death of a fifteen year old girl in Pandora's Boy (#764). There are rumors of love potions and witchcraft, but the real reason Flavia has dug in her sandals on this case is that her new husband's ex-wife has just about dared her to find out the truth about the girl's unexpected death.
Clodia, according to family and witnesses, was a sweet-natured child, with a crush on an unsuitable youth. She was in good health; so could this be a case of unrequited love aided by a poisonous love potion? As Flavia digs deeper, the name of Pandora keeps cropping up as the source of both beauty products and less salubrious offerings for the women of the toney Aventine neighborhood. The friends who show up at the Volumnii's funeral feast for Clodia are no prizes themselves, and seem determined to close ranks against Flavia's investigation.
Meanwhile, Flavia has her own problems. Her new husband has done a bunk after his ex-wife's visit. He left everything behind, including his aedile's signet and wedding rings. Somehow, Flavia's not surprised when he turns up in the middle of her inquiries, with some helpful information of his own.
Lindsey Davis's Flavia Albia series is a worthy successor to her popular Marcus Didius Falco mystery series. In fact, the two are related because Flavia is Falco and Helena's adopted daughter from Britain. Humorous and clever, these novels are a joy to read if Ancient Rome is a place that appeals to you. Placing Min the Mountain Man in this novel was a personal challenge to Ms. Davis. It's a hoot what she did with him here. You could say it rises to new levels for her!
I'll be looking forward to the next installment in this series. As they say, the past is prologue...
Clodia, according to family and witnesses, was a sweet-natured child, with a crush on an unsuitable youth. She was in good health; so could this be a case of unrequited love aided by a poisonous love potion? As Flavia digs deeper, the name of Pandora keeps cropping up as the source of both beauty products and less salubrious offerings for the women of the toney Aventine neighborhood. The friends who show up at the Volumnii's funeral feast for Clodia are no prizes themselves, and seem determined to close ranks against Flavia's investigation.
Meanwhile, Flavia has her own problems. Her new husband has done a bunk after his ex-wife's visit. He left everything behind, including his aedile's signet and wedding rings. Somehow, Flavia's not surprised when he turns up in the middle of her inquiries, with some helpful information of his own.
Lindsey Davis's Flavia Albia series is a worthy successor to her popular Marcus Didius Falco mystery series. In fact, the two are related because Flavia is Falco and Helena's adopted daughter from Britain. Humorous and clever, these novels are a joy to read if Ancient Rome is a place that appeals to you. Placing Min the Mountain Man in this novel was a personal challenge to Ms. Davis. It's a hoot what she did with him here. You could say it rises to new levels for her!
I'll be looking forward to the next installment in this series. As they say, the past is prologue...
Thursday, August 9, 2018
The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock
What a strange, compelling and wondrous book The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock (#763) is! Imogen Hermes Gowar's novel has been on the Best Sellers list in England since its debut, and after reading it practically non-stop myself, I can understand why.
Set in London in 1785, it follows the lives of Angelica Neal, a famous courtesan who must scrabble to support herself after the death of the Duke who had her in keeping for the past three years with alas, nothing of value to show for it. Jonah Hancock, on the other hand is an unimaginative widower and honest ship owner who is startled when one of his missing captains returns from the Far East with a most unexpected treasure: a mermaid. What is he to do with a mermaid, especially since it is tiny, ugly and dead?
When Mrs. Chappell, a noted bawd, hears of Mr. Hancock's new treasure, she sets in motion a scheme to make a tidy fortune for herself by duping Mr. Hancock out of his mermaid while being distracted by her former protégé, Mrs. Neal. Things do not go as she had planned; nothing ever seems to. And what of the mermaid? That's one of the most intriguing parts of this unusual story.
The characters here are fully formed and sympathetic. Imogen Hermes Gowar has done her homework to produce such an immersive background for her story. Highly original, and highly recommended.
Set in London in 1785, it follows the lives of Angelica Neal, a famous courtesan who must scrabble to support herself after the death of the Duke who had her in keeping for the past three years with alas, nothing of value to show for it. Jonah Hancock, on the other hand is an unimaginative widower and honest ship owner who is startled when one of his missing captains returns from the Far East with a most unexpected treasure: a mermaid. What is he to do with a mermaid, especially since it is tiny, ugly and dead?
When Mrs. Chappell, a noted bawd, hears of Mr. Hancock's new treasure, she sets in motion a scheme to make a tidy fortune for herself by duping Mr. Hancock out of his mermaid while being distracted by her former protégé, Mrs. Neal. Things do not go as she had planned; nothing ever seems to. And what of the mermaid? That's one of the most intriguing parts of this unusual story.
The characters here are fully formed and sympathetic. Imogen Hermes Gowar has done her homework to produce such an immersive background for her story. Highly original, and highly recommended.
Tuesday, August 7, 2018
Rocket Men
Robert Kurson's non-fiction account of the men and events who made the mission of Apollo 8 possible is as gripping as a best-selling thriller. The difference here is that everything Kurson recounts about the daring, sacrifices and bravery in making Apollo 8 happen to fulfill the goal set famously by John F. Kennedy is real.
Most Americans recognize the names Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins, but their epic landing on the moon's surface would never have been possible without the preliminary work done by Apollo 8's launch against seemingly impossible odds.
Kurson's book takes it one step further, though. He includes the astronauts' wives and families in the mix. Their courage and sacrifices had to measure up to that of their husbands' and fathers'. The emotional strength it took on the part of all personnel involved in the project either directly or indirectly was a contributing factor to the mission's success. Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders deserve their prominent place in the annals of space history. Read Rocket Men (#762) to learn why.
Most Americans recognize the names Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins, but their epic landing on the moon's surface would never have been possible without the preliminary work done by Apollo 8's launch against seemingly impossible odds.
Kurson's book takes it one step further, though. He includes the astronauts' wives and families in the mix. Their courage and sacrifices had to measure up to that of their husbands' and fathers'. The emotional strength it took on the part of all personnel involved in the project either directly or indirectly was a contributing factor to the mission's success. Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders deserve their prominent place in the annals of space history. Read Rocket Men (#762) to learn why.
Dear Mrs. Bird
I feel my time curled up reading A.J. Pearce's World War II novel Dear Mrs. Bird (#761) was time well spent. It put me in mind of one of my all time favorite movies - Mrs. Miniver - starring Greer Garson. Chin up, and keep the homes fires burning.
Plucky Emmeline Lake is keen to do her part to help the war effort, preferably by becoming a fearless Lady War Correspondent. After all, her roommate and best friend Bunty is doing her part working in the War Office. So when Emmy sees an ad in the paper for a job with the prestigious Evening Chronicle, she knows this is the job for her. In fact, she's so excited that she fails to notice when she appears for her interview that she's actually landed the position as assistant to the advice columnist for the Chronicle's sister publication The Woman's Friend.
Mrs. Henrietta Bird is an overwhelming personality who has been writing her advice column since before World War I. Times have changed, but she sees no reason why she should let down her standards. Emmy's job is to dispose of any letters from readers with even the slightest whiff of Unpleasantness (And yes, there is a list Mrs. Bird furnishes as a guide to what constitutes "Unpleasantness" and it's a long one!). But the more letters Emmy reads, the more she longs to reach out to these women and girls, until the day she rebels and sends a private answer back to a desperate reader signed Mrs. Bird...
Living with the privations and very real danger of London during the Blitz, Emmy, Bunty and the colorful cast of characters here still manage to hang onto their humanity and sense of humor. It's very easy to get wrapped up in the lives of these young woman and their friends and coworkers, until heartbreak and tragedy befall them. How they manage to cope and carry on makes for a very satisfying read. Just be sure to have tissues on hand - I guarantee if your heart is not made of stone, you'll need them!
In fact, the only thing I didn't like about Dear Mrs. Bird was the cover art. Frankly, I think it's downright ugly. If I hadn't already read a blurb about this book, I never would have picked it up based on its cover, and that would have been a crying shame.
Plucky Emmeline Lake is keen to do her part to help the war effort, preferably by becoming a fearless Lady War Correspondent. After all, her roommate and best friend Bunty is doing her part working in the War Office. So when Emmy sees an ad in the paper for a job with the prestigious Evening Chronicle, she knows this is the job for her. In fact, she's so excited that she fails to notice when she appears for her interview that she's actually landed the position as assistant to the advice columnist for the Chronicle's sister publication The Woman's Friend.
Mrs. Henrietta Bird is an overwhelming personality who has been writing her advice column since before World War I. Times have changed, but she sees no reason why she should let down her standards. Emmy's job is to dispose of any letters from readers with even the slightest whiff of Unpleasantness (And yes, there is a list Mrs. Bird furnishes as a guide to what constitutes "Unpleasantness" and it's a long one!). But the more letters Emmy reads, the more she longs to reach out to these women and girls, until the day she rebels and sends a private answer back to a desperate reader signed Mrs. Bird...
Living with the privations and very real danger of London during the Blitz, Emmy, Bunty and the colorful cast of characters here still manage to hang onto their humanity and sense of humor. It's very easy to get wrapped up in the lives of these young woman and their friends and coworkers, until heartbreak and tragedy befall them. How they manage to cope and carry on makes for a very satisfying read. Just be sure to have tissues on hand - I guarantee if your heart is not made of stone, you'll need them!
In fact, the only thing I didn't like about Dear Mrs. Bird was the cover art. Frankly, I think it's downright ugly. If I hadn't already read a blurb about this book, I never would have picked it up based on its cover, and that would have been a crying shame.
Friday, July 27, 2018
A Twist in Time
A Twist in Time (#760) by Julie McElwain is an FBI procedural mystery with a twist, indeed. Kendra Donovan has the skills to investigate a brutal murder in the heart of London Society. Her problem is that there are almost too many suspects. Oh, and she's still stuck in 1815's Regency period, unable to find a way back through the wormhole that transported her there at Aldridge Castle.in A Murder in Time. (See my post of 8/22/16.).
When the beautiful Lady Dover is murdered and horribly mutilated, London is shocked. Her recent scandalous behavior already had tongues wagging. Lord Sutcliff, the Duke of Aldridge's nephew and heir, seems to fit the bill as the murderer in their gossip. Kendra knows that he is not guilty, but can she find the evidence to prove it? Her life and Alec's will both be on the line if she cannot.
This time-travel novel checks all the right boxes; the murder mystery is challenging, the suspect pool is large, and the customs and mores of both time periods add some piquant touches. Kendra has never had close friends or family in the twenty-first century; might she reconcile herself to them in the nineteenth? I can't wait to read the next installment of this intriguing mystery series.
When the beautiful Lady Dover is murdered and horribly mutilated, London is shocked. Her recent scandalous behavior already had tongues wagging. Lord Sutcliff, the Duke of Aldridge's nephew and heir, seems to fit the bill as the murderer in their gossip. Kendra knows that he is not guilty, but can she find the evidence to prove it? Her life and Alec's will both be on the line if she cannot.
This time-travel novel checks all the right boxes; the murder mystery is challenging, the suspect pool is large, and the customs and mores of both time periods add some piquant touches. Kendra has never had close friends or family in the twenty-first century; might she reconcile herself to them in the nineteenth? I can't wait to read the next installment of this intriguing mystery series.
Monday, July 23, 2018
The Calculating Stars
Hidden Figures meets the Big Bang in Mary Robinette Kowal's The Calculating Stars (#759). In this alternative history novel of America's Space Race, it's 1952 when a meteorite strikes the East Coast of the United States, wiping out most of the cities along with it. Dewey was President, and the United States has already successfully launched three satellites ahead of their rivals, the Russians.
Elma York is in the Poconos with her husband, head engineer for the satellite program, when the strike occurs. Her skills as a WASP pilot during World War II allow them to escape the devastation all around them in her small Cessna. They make it safely to Wright-Patterson Airfield, the closest surviving installation, where Dr. York is immediately pressed into service. What those in charge fail to realize at first is that Elma, too, is Dr. York, with doctorates in both physics and mathematics. With refugees pouring in from the East Coast, she is reduced to passing out drinks to the new arrivals instead of using her unique skills. As she soon discovers, she is not alone. Many of the women around her are equally unhappy with being forced back into a "happy homemaker" role after serving in critical roles during the War. Some with those same skills were never even given the chance to serve because of their race or nationality.
This book was hard to put down. Elma York is a well-rounded character, appealing as both the heroine of disaster survival, and emotionally in her attempts to use her incredible skills to overcome the casual dismissal of her work because she is a woman. She soon has her eyes opened to realize that she is having an easy time of it, compared to many of those around her. Once she makes up her mind to become a "Lady Astronaut" in fact as well as PR releases, you can't help but root for her.
If you are at all interested in the Space Program, or saw or read Margot Lee Shetterly's wonderful non-fiction account of real-life "computers" Hidden Figures, this book should be right up your alley. I can't wait for the second book in this Lady Astronaut series - The Fated Sky - to come out in August!
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Elma York is in the Poconos with her husband, head engineer for the satellite program, when the strike occurs. Her skills as a WASP pilot during World War II allow them to escape the devastation all around them in her small Cessna. They make it safely to Wright-Patterson Airfield, the closest surviving installation, where Dr. York is immediately pressed into service. What those in charge fail to realize at first is that Elma, too, is Dr. York, with doctorates in both physics and mathematics. With refugees pouring in from the East Coast, she is reduced to passing out drinks to the new arrivals instead of using her unique skills. As she soon discovers, she is not alone. Many of the women around her are equally unhappy with being forced back into a "happy homemaker" role after serving in critical roles during the War. Some with those same skills were never even given the chance to serve because of their race or nationality.
This book was hard to put down. Elma York is a well-rounded character, appealing as both the heroine of disaster survival, and emotionally in her attempts to use her incredible skills to overcome the casual dismissal of her work because she is a woman. She soon has her eyes opened to realize that she is having an easy time of it, compared to many of those around her. Once she makes up her mind to become a "Lady Astronaut" in fact as well as PR releases, you can't help but root for her.
If you are at all interested in the Space Program, or saw or read Margot Lee Shetterly's wonderful non-fiction account of real-life "computers" Hidden Figures, this book should be right up your alley. I can't wait for the second book in this Lady Astronaut series - The Fated Sky - to come out in August!
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Wednesday, July 18, 2018
The Revolution Business
The Revolution Business (#758) is the fifth book in Charles Stross's The Merchant Princes scifi series. Do not attempt to read this one unless you've just recently completed the previous books in this series, or you won't have any idea what's going on, as the author does not provide any back story for the reader. Since this book ends on a cliffhanger, the same will be true for the next book(s) in this series. An intriguing read, though, and worth the time.
Basically, this is a soap opera with Miriam Beckstein at the center. She's introduced as an ordinary business journalist living a mundane life in Boston. Everything changes when her foster mother, Iris, gives her a locket with a curious interwoven knot design. When Miriam looks at it, she suddenly finds herself in the woods, but she hears horses nearby. As she peers out through the foliage, she sees an impossible sight: medieval knights on horseback armed with assault rifles and Glock hand guns. Who are they, and how did she get here?
The answer is that there are alternate universes located in the same geographical area, but with differing levels of culture and technology. Only certain inhabitants of these places possess the ability to pass between worlds. All have a few things in common, however: the desire to dominate all other worlds through power, money and whatever means necessary. Miriam, as a long-lost member of the Clan with the ability to world-walk, begins to adjust to her situation as a pawn, but in The Revolution Business, she finds herself a reluctant queen.
When the medieval Gruinmkt and the US Government decide to go to war with nuclear weapons, the outcome won't be pretty...
Basically, this is a soap opera with Miriam Beckstein at the center. She's introduced as an ordinary business journalist living a mundane life in Boston. Everything changes when her foster mother, Iris, gives her a locket with a curious interwoven knot design. When Miriam looks at it, she suddenly finds herself in the woods, but she hears horses nearby. As she peers out through the foliage, she sees an impossible sight: medieval knights on horseback armed with assault rifles and Glock hand guns. Who are they, and how did she get here?
The answer is that there are alternate universes located in the same geographical area, but with differing levels of culture and technology. Only certain inhabitants of these places possess the ability to pass between worlds. All have a few things in common, however: the desire to dominate all other worlds through power, money and whatever means necessary. Miriam, as a long-lost member of the Clan with the ability to world-walk, begins to adjust to her situation as a pawn, but in The Revolution Business, she finds herself a reluctant queen.
When the medieval Gruinmkt and the US Government decide to go to war with nuclear weapons, the outcome won't be pretty...
The Bishop's Pawn
Cotton Malone returns in Steve Berry's latest thriller The Bishop's Pawn (#757). This time he's exploring conspiracies surrounding the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. That in itself is an interesting topic, but this novel marks a departure for Mr. Berry. This is his first full-length narrative written in the first person, and if you're a follower of this series, we meet Cotton Malone at the very beginning of his career with the Magellan Billet when Stephanie Nelle, his boss, first seconds his services as a young JAG lawyer at the Jacksonville, Florida naval station.
Cotton is assigned to retrieve a package from a private boat anchored near Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas. He's told by Ms. Nelle that it contains an extremely rare, and illegal to own gold coin - a Double Eagle. He soon realizes that there is much more at stake here, and that it concerns Martin Luther King, Jr. Trusting the wrong person here could get him killed.
Almost all of the action is set in Florida, including my home town. From the description in the book, it's not clear to me that Steve Berry actually set foot here, since his descriptions didn't jibe with the reality. Oh, well. Cotton Malone does meet with a character in a cemetery in Port Mayaca, Florida, near Lake Okeechobee, where a mass grave of 1,600 black victims of the 1928 Hurricane are buried. In his Notes at the end of the novel, Mr. Berry does say that the cemetery is real,, so my husband and I went exploring. The cemetery is there, all right, with a marker on the side of the highway noting that the bodies are buried there, but we couldn't find the obelisk in the graveyard he mentions in the book marking the actual burial spot. Sadly, their grave is unmarked.
If you haven't read any of Steve Berry's previous best sellers, The Bishop's Pawn might not be a bad book to start with.
Cotton is assigned to retrieve a package from a private boat anchored near Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas. He's told by Ms. Nelle that it contains an extremely rare, and illegal to own gold coin - a Double Eagle. He soon realizes that there is much more at stake here, and that it concerns Martin Luther King, Jr. Trusting the wrong person here could get him killed.
Almost all of the action is set in Florida, including my home town. From the description in the book, it's not clear to me that Steve Berry actually set foot here, since his descriptions didn't jibe with the reality. Oh, well. Cotton Malone does meet with a character in a cemetery in Port Mayaca, Florida, near Lake Okeechobee, where a mass grave of 1,600 black victims of the 1928 Hurricane are buried. In his Notes at the end of the novel, Mr. Berry does say that the cemetery is real,, so my husband and I went exploring. The cemetery is there, all right, with a marker on the side of the highway noting that the bodies are buried there, but we couldn't find the obelisk in the graveyard he mentions in the book marking the actual burial spot. Sadly, their grave is unmarked.
If you haven't read any of Steve Berry's previous best sellers, The Bishop's Pawn might not be a bad book to start with.
Monday, July 9, 2018
The Maze At Windermere
I am really on the fence about The Maze At Windermere (#756) by Gregory Blake Smith. I almost gave up reading halfway through, but I pressed on, only to find that only two of the five interlocking stories all set in Newport, Rhode Island throughout the centuries, were resolved.
Windermere here is a Gilded Age cottage, and it does, in fact, have a maze planted by the original owners, based on the one in Hampton Court, England. Since three of the stories here - the first about a Quaker girl in the time of the Salem Witchcraft trials, the second about a mentally disturbed British officer (not a gentleman, despite his claim to be!), and the third about the future novelist Henry James during the Civil War - take place before the maze was even planted, the reader is given to understand that the Maze of the title is metaphorical. The remaining two tales concern the hunt for an heiress during the time of the Robber Barons by a debonair man-about-town, and a fading tennis star in the not-distant-past who falls into a couple of casual summer affairs with consequences.
Each of these plots are interwoven, going backwards in time in the same sequence until the very last section of the novel, when snippets are thrown at the reader in seemingly random order. The action is revealed bit by teasing bit, but there are references to the other on-going stories sprinkled throughout the narrative - repetitive names, locations and themes, that appear to connect them, but, in fact, do not. They seem just to be the blind turnings of the eponymous Maze. The theme that does tie all the stories together is sexuality, although that is not at first apparent. I suppose it's cleverly done, but I was disappointed that there didn't seem to be any there there at the end. Can't say I recommend this one.
On the other hand, I would be remiss if I did not mention the intriguing cover art on this volume. I found myself studying it at some length. It wasn't until I read the credits for the cover design that I even realized that a seascape by one of my favorite artists, Martin Head, was cleverly worked into the composite images. Definitely worth taking a look at, even if you don't peruse the contents. Kudos to the designer!
Windermere here is a Gilded Age cottage, and it does, in fact, have a maze planted by the original owners, based on the one in Hampton Court, England. Since three of the stories here - the first about a Quaker girl in the time of the Salem Witchcraft trials, the second about a mentally disturbed British officer (not a gentleman, despite his claim to be!), and the third about the future novelist Henry James during the Civil War - take place before the maze was even planted, the reader is given to understand that the Maze of the title is metaphorical. The remaining two tales concern the hunt for an heiress during the time of the Robber Barons by a debonair man-about-town, and a fading tennis star in the not-distant-past who falls into a couple of casual summer affairs with consequences.
Each of these plots are interwoven, going backwards in time in the same sequence until the very last section of the novel, when snippets are thrown at the reader in seemingly random order. The action is revealed bit by teasing bit, but there are references to the other on-going stories sprinkled throughout the narrative - repetitive names, locations and themes, that appear to connect them, but, in fact, do not. They seem just to be the blind turnings of the eponymous Maze. The theme that does tie all the stories together is sexuality, although that is not at first apparent. I suppose it's cleverly done, but I was disappointed that there didn't seem to be any there there at the end. Can't say I recommend this one.
On the other hand, I would be remiss if I did not mention the intriguing cover art on this volume. I found myself studying it at some length. It wasn't until I read the credits for the cover design that I even realized that a seascape by one of my favorite artists, Martin Head, was cleverly worked into the composite images. Definitely worth taking a look at, even if you don't peruse the contents. Kudos to the designer!
Thursday, July 5, 2018
The Throne of Caesar
Steven Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa series has finally taken Gordianus the Finder to his well-deserved retirement, and a totally unexpected honor from Julius Caesar. Not to give anything away, but this honor will be bestowed by The Dictator during the Senate Meeting on the Ides of March. It's no mystery that things will not end well.
The last three books in this series have been about Gordianus at the opposite end of his life, as a youth touring the Seven Wonders of World under the watchful eye of his distinguished tutor Antipater of Sidon. They are full of action and youthful ambition. The Throne of Caesar (#755) provides a stark contrast in mood and subject matter. Saylor himself says in his Notes that it took him a long time to bring himself to write about Julius Caesar's assassination. The conundrum for him was how to place Gordianus so that he is once again a witness to history. His solution is ingenious, and allows him to inject a mystery into the plot concerning a lesser character.
The reader does not have to have read the previous books in this excellent series about Ancient Rome to understand and enjoy the story here. It can serve as an introduction. Steven Saylor does reference Barry Stauss' excellent work The Death of Caesar which came out in 2015. I made the mistake of lending this book to a professor friend of mine, and have yet to see it returned. Oh, well, at least I don't think it met the same fate as Cinna's work does in The Throne of Caesar!
The last three books in this series have been about Gordianus at the opposite end of his life, as a youth touring the Seven Wonders of World under the watchful eye of his distinguished tutor Antipater of Sidon. They are full of action and youthful ambition. The Throne of Caesar (#755) provides a stark contrast in mood and subject matter. Saylor himself says in his Notes that it took him a long time to bring himself to write about Julius Caesar's assassination. The conundrum for him was how to place Gordianus so that he is once again a witness to history. His solution is ingenious, and allows him to inject a mystery into the plot concerning a lesser character.
The reader does not have to have read the previous books in this excellent series about Ancient Rome to understand and enjoy the story here. It can serve as an introduction. Steven Saylor does reference Barry Stauss' excellent work The Death of Caesar which came out in 2015. I made the mistake of lending this book to a professor friend of mine, and have yet to see it returned. Oh, well, at least I don't think it met the same fate as Cinna's work does in The Throne of Caesar!
Monday, July 2, 2018
The Outcasts of Time
I seem to be reading a lot of time travel novels recently, but Ian Mortimer's The Outcasts of Time (#754) is different. Most books in this genre feature travelers from the present day going back in history to witness important events, meet famous persons, or thwart catastrophes in the making, all very enjoyable in their own way.
However, The Outcasts of Time features two brothers, John and William, caught up in the midst of the bubonic plague sweeping across England in 1348. When John's actions to help another lead to the brothers being exposed to the plague themselves, still miles away from home they are presented with a choice: go home and be with their loved ones for their remaining few days on earth, or spend each day of their allotted time ninety-nine days in the future from the time they fall asleep. John chooses to face the unknown.
John's chief concern is for the welfare of his soul, as he seeks to atone for the harm done to others when his intention was solely to help them. This component of the story is as riveting as the changes he finds in each generation, and the difficulties the brothers face as they try to adapt. In many ways, I felt as though The Outcasts of Time could have been a text for my EfM studies, as the concepts of love, redemption and atonement discussed here are profound. This book is special, and highly recommended if you are looking for a thoughtful read with substance.
However, The Outcasts of Time features two brothers, John and William, caught up in the midst of the bubonic plague sweeping across England in 1348. When John's actions to help another lead to the brothers being exposed to the plague themselves, still miles away from home they are presented with a choice: go home and be with their loved ones for their remaining few days on earth, or spend each day of their allotted time ninety-nine days in the future from the time they fall asleep. John chooses to face the unknown.
John's chief concern is for the welfare of his soul, as he seeks to atone for the harm done to others when his intention was solely to help them. This component of the story is as riveting as the changes he finds in each generation, and the difficulties the brothers face as they try to adapt. In many ways, I felt as though The Outcasts of Time could have been a text for my EfM studies, as the concepts of love, redemption and atonement discussed here are profound. This book is special, and highly recommended if you are looking for a thoughtful read with substance.
Thursday, June 28, 2018
The Merchants' War
The Merchants' War (#753) is the fourth book in Charles Stross' s fantasy series The Merchant Princes. The saga centers on Miriam Beckstein, a business journalist from Cambridge, Massachusetts, whose everyday existence is upended when she discovers her ability to walk between alternative universes in the same geographical location. The new world she finds is peopled by medieval knights on horseback armed with machine guns, and ruled by powerful feudal lords. Oh, and Miriam is a long-lost heiress of one of the richest Clans. They've amassed their wealth by sending other "world-walkers" to Miriam's Boston to smuggle drugs, arms and modern conveniences for their own use back to the medieval Gruinmakt. You have to know all this before you can read The Merchants' War, which makes this a perfect series for binge reading, because Charles Stross ends each book on a cliffhanger, and jumps immediately back into the action with the next installment with no back story to aid the clueless.
In this book Miriam has survived plots against her life, and has made a few discoveries of her own; namely that there is yet another alternative universe out there with its own plots and political maneuverings. All Miriam wants at this point is to find a place where she can be safe, but she now has enemies in all three universes. On the plus side, she's made some friends and allies as well. Which is just as well, since the DEA in Miriam's Boston is about to launch a full out offensive against the Gruinmakt as retaliation for planting nuclear warheads there. Things are not going well... To Be Continued.
I am really enjoying this series my husband introduced to me, but I do have a nitpick; although Stross gets the geographical details of the Boston area mostly right, Miriam Beckstein was raised in Cambridge, and works there professionally. Her ex-boyfriend, Mike Fleming, who pops up in the series because of his government job, is also from the area. So my question is, why do they Brit Speak? They don't speak American English, not even tinged by a Boston accent. They "go on holiday', put their cars in the "car park", ride the "lift" in their office buildings while waiting for a signal on their "mobiles". And darn, they left that "anorak" in the "boot" of their car! I have to admit, anachronisms bother me when I read historical fiction, or watch period dramas, so the wrongness of Miriam's conversations is very jarring. It makes me wonder what else is wrong with this picture? It's a good thing that the Miriam's alternative worlds don't need verification!
In this book Miriam has survived plots against her life, and has made a few discoveries of her own; namely that there is yet another alternative universe out there with its own plots and political maneuverings. All Miriam wants at this point is to find a place where she can be safe, but she now has enemies in all three universes. On the plus side, she's made some friends and allies as well. Which is just as well, since the DEA in Miriam's Boston is about to launch a full out offensive against the Gruinmakt as retaliation for planting nuclear warheads there. Things are not going well... To Be Continued.
I am really enjoying this series my husband introduced to me, but I do have a nitpick; although Stross gets the geographical details of the Boston area mostly right, Miriam Beckstein was raised in Cambridge, and works there professionally. Her ex-boyfriend, Mike Fleming, who pops up in the series because of his government job, is also from the area. So my question is, why do they Brit Speak? They don't speak American English, not even tinged by a Boston accent. They "go on holiday', put their cars in the "car park", ride the "lift" in their office buildings while waiting for a signal on their "mobiles". And darn, they left that "anorak" in the "boot" of their car! I have to admit, anachronisms bother me when I read historical fiction, or watch period dramas, so the wrongness of Miriam's conversations is very jarring. It makes me wonder what else is wrong with this picture? It's a good thing that the Miriam's alternative worlds don't need verification!
Thursday, June 21, 2018
Margaret Truman's Allied in Danger
My husband picked up a copy of Donald Bain's continuation of Margaret Truman's Capitol Crimes Series, Allied in Danger (#752). Donald Bain himself is now deceased, but oh, how I miss Margaret Truman's writing! Mr. Bain apparently worked closely with her during her writing career, but even so, I don't think his work comes anywhere close to hers.
Mackenzie Smith and his wife Annabelle, attorneys both, appear peripherally here, but the action in this story is carried mainly by Mac's friend Robert Brixton, a private investigator with whom he shares office space. Mac has a client whose father was caught up in a Nigerian financial scam, and after squandering all his savings, killed himself. His son wonders if there is any way to recoup his father's losses. At the same time, Robert Brixton's friend working security at the British Embassy encounters a Nigerian Security Guard wearing a unique bracelet belonging to his murdered son. Donald Portland had been told two years ago that his son was killed by rebels while on assignment in the Nigerian Delta. If so, how did the bracelet he wore at all times wind up in a London pub? Donald is determined to find out, and he enlists Robert's help.
I found that the book dragged in the beginning and middle, but ends rather abruptly, without tying up all the loose ends. It was a most unsatisfactory conclusion after a lot of work to get there. I could understand Donald Portland's motivation, but Robert Brixton's involvement to the point where he accompanies Donald on a dangerous trip to Nigeria strained credulity. Actually, I found myself heartily disliking Robert Brixton I failed to see why anyone, but especially his paramour (yes, he was proud of using that term to describe his live-in lover.) or the supposedly intelligent and discriminating Smiths would ever put up with him. I'm glad I never have to again. Not recommended.
Mackenzie Smith and his wife Annabelle, attorneys both, appear peripherally here, but the action in this story is carried mainly by Mac's friend Robert Brixton, a private investigator with whom he shares office space. Mac has a client whose father was caught up in a Nigerian financial scam, and after squandering all his savings, killed himself. His son wonders if there is any way to recoup his father's losses. At the same time, Robert Brixton's friend working security at the British Embassy encounters a Nigerian Security Guard wearing a unique bracelet belonging to his murdered son. Donald Portland had been told two years ago that his son was killed by rebels while on assignment in the Nigerian Delta. If so, how did the bracelet he wore at all times wind up in a London pub? Donald is determined to find out, and he enlists Robert's help.
I found that the book dragged in the beginning and middle, but ends rather abruptly, without tying up all the loose ends. It was a most unsatisfactory conclusion after a lot of work to get there. I could understand Donald Portland's motivation, but Robert Brixton's involvement to the point where he accompanies Donald on a dangerous trip to Nigeria strained credulity. Actually, I found myself heartily disliking Robert Brixton I failed to see why anyone, but especially his paramour (yes, he was proud of using that term to describe his live-in lover.) or the supposedly intelligent and discriminating Smiths would ever put up with him. I'm glad I never have to again. Not recommended.
Monday, June 18, 2018
Tangerine
Joyce Carol Oates' cover blurb for Christine Mangan's debut novel, Tangerine (#751) really says it all; "As if Donna Tartt, Gillian Flynn, and Patricia Highsmith had collaborated on a screenplay to be filmed by Hitchcock."
After a Prologue in which a man's body is pulled from the water, the story alternates between Alice Shipley, a young British bride who has accompanied her husband John to Tangier in 1954, and Lucy Mason, who arrives unexpectedly on Alice's doorstep one day. As the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that these former college roommates have an uneasy history between them. The atmosphere becomes increasingly fraught both inside and outside the household as Moroccans struggle for independence until the day that John goes missing...
I couldn't believe how swiftly the time passed as I was absorbed in this story. It has so many twists it leaves the reader wondering what is real and what is imagined. Without giving away too much, all I can say about the ending is "Oh, no!" You must read it for yourself to find out whether your reaction is the same.
After a Prologue in which a man's body is pulled from the water, the story alternates between Alice Shipley, a young British bride who has accompanied her husband John to Tangier in 1954, and Lucy Mason, who arrives unexpectedly on Alice's doorstep one day. As the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that these former college roommates have an uneasy history between them. The atmosphere becomes increasingly fraught both inside and outside the household as Moroccans struggle for independence until the day that John goes missing...
I couldn't believe how swiftly the time passed as I was absorbed in this story. It has so many twists it leaves the reader wondering what is real and what is imagined. Without giving away too much, all I can say about the ending is "Oh, no!" You must read it for yourself to find out whether your reaction is the same.
The Woman Left Behind
Linda Howard's thriller The Woman Left Behind (#750) has a great storyline. Jina Modell is happy working at her office-bound job flying drones to support the activities of Go Teams, civilian equivalents of Navy SEALS or Army Rangers. That is until the day that her computer gaming skills promote her right onto the Go Team led by Levi Butcher, code name Ace. She'll be embedded with the team on its future missions, but first that means getting into the physical and mental shape to keep up with the team in the field. What she and the rest of the team don't realize is that they have a deadly enemy in Congress, determined to do anything to destroy the agency.
There's plenty of action and humor here as Jina tries to fit in with the members of her Go Team. She's not a quitter, so despite herself she tries her best at everything Levi throws at her, even tolerating the nickname she's saddled with - Babe. The reader is aware of the traps being laid for the team as Jina and the others deploy to Syria on a dangerous mission, where she becomes The Woman Left Behind.
What I didn't care for in this book were the many explicit sex scenes, real and imagined, between Jina and Levi. Although many readers love steamy romances, I'm not one of them. They really spoiled the book for me. In real life, I would have yanked Jina from that Go Team and reassigned her before anyone could be hurt by the constant sexual tension here. Much as I liked Ms. Howard's basic premise, in future, I'll look elsewhere for political thrillers.
There's plenty of action and humor here as Jina tries to fit in with the members of her Go Team. She's not a quitter, so despite herself she tries her best at everything Levi throws at her, even tolerating the nickname she's saddled with - Babe. The reader is aware of the traps being laid for the team as Jina and the others deploy to Syria on a dangerous mission, where she becomes The Woman Left Behind.
What I didn't care for in this book were the many explicit sex scenes, real and imagined, between Jina and Levi. Although many readers love steamy romances, I'm not one of them. They really spoiled the book for me. In real life, I would have yanked Jina from that Go Team and reassigned her before anyone could be hurt by the constant sexual tension here. Much as I liked Ms. Howard's basic premise, in future, I'll look elsewhere for political thrillers.
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
The English Wife
The English Wife (#749) is full of elegant twists right up to the last page of Lauren Willig's latest stand-alone novel. I've been a fan ever since my librarian introduced me to Ms. Willig's fabulous Pink Carnation spy series. Shades of the Scarlet Pimpernel!
Here the setting is a murder at an imposing Hudson River mansion during an elaborate costume ball in 1899. The master of the house is found dying by his sister and cousin. Janie Van Duyvil thinks she hears Bay murmur "George..." as he is dying. But who is George, and where is Bay's wife Annabelle? Janie's mother is content to sweep everything but the fact of Bay's death under the rug; it's scandal enough that a scion of a prominent old New York Society family managed to get himself killed in such a flamboyant fashion.
But Janie, a cipher to most of that same society, is not. She wants to get to the truth of the murder both for Bay's sake and that of his twin children, still in the nursery. To that end, she recruits the help of a prominent journalist from The World newspaper. James Burke has a reputation for digging deep and exposing the truth in his stories. While this unlikely duo work to find who and what are responsible for the untimely death, Bay and Annabelle's story unfolds in alternating chapters. Nothing is as it seems on the surface.
This book was so entertaining, I really hated to see it end. But that's the point here, too. Not everything is tied up neatly in a bow at the end. There are still some questions out there, allowing the reader to imagine a possibly happier ending for some of the characters than appears here. It was completely satisfying in its own way. How many writers can perform that kind of magic?
Here the setting is a murder at an imposing Hudson River mansion during an elaborate costume ball in 1899. The master of the house is found dying by his sister and cousin. Janie Van Duyvil thinks she hears Bay murmur "George..." as he is dying. But who is George, and where is Bay's wife Annabelle? Janie's mother is content to sweep everything but the fact of Bay's death under the rug; it's scandal enough that a scion of a prominent old New York Society family managed to get himself killed in such a flamboyant fashion.
But Janie, a cipher to most of that same society, is not. She wants to get to the truth of the murder both for Bay's sake and that of his twin children, still in the nursery. To that end, she recruits the help of a prominent journalist from The World newspaper. James Burke has a reputation for digging deep and exposing the truth in his stories. While this unlikely duo work to find who and what are responsible for the untimely death, Bay and Annabelle's story unfolds in alternating chapters. Nothing is as it seems on the surface.
This book was so entertaining, I really hated to see it end. But that's the point here, too. Not everything is tied up neatly in a bow at the end. There are still some questions out there, allowing the reader to imagine a possibly happier ending for some of the characters than appears here. It was completely satisfying in its own way. How many writers can perform that kind of magic?
Thursday, June 7, 2018
I Am Malala
I Am Malala (#748) hardly needs an introduction to most of the world. Malala Yousafzai tells her story in the engrossing book co written with noted war journalist Christina Lamb. The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban is the subtitle of this volume, although Malala makes it clear in its pages that it is not why she wants to be known. She prefers her activism in the cause of education, especially for women, to be the reason she is famous. She has already won several prestigious international prizes, and is showing no signs of stopping, even though she is not yet twenty one!
What is surprising are the circumstances her family had to overcome before her father could begin making an impact on local and national affairs, including celebrating her birth and adding her to the formerly all-male family tree. Their struggles are outlined here as the world around them changed and danger became a part of everyday living. How and why Malala and her father became targets of the Taliban are explained in chilling detail. Malala's story is one of courage; physical, moral and spiritual.
Since I am reading this for my book club, I went to the Little Brown website to print out the Reading Group Guide available on line. Although the questions for discussions are worthwhile, I was surprised that the role Malala's faith played in her story and her reactions to what happened to her were totally ignored. It seemed to me that it was a key element to what makes Malala Malala, and why her life story is so admirable. Just my opinion...
What is surprising are the circumstances her family had to overcome before her father could begin making an impact on local and national affairs, including celebrating her birth and adding her to the formerly all-male family tree. Their struggles are outlined here as the world around them changed and danger became a part of everyday living. How and why Malala and her father became targets of the Taliban are explained in chilling detail. Malala's story is one of courage; physical, moral and spiritual.
Since I am reading this for my book club, I went to the Little Brown website to print out the Reading Group Guide available on line. Although the questions for discussions are worthwhile, I was surprised that the role Malala's faith played in her story and her reactions to what happened to her were totally ignored. It seemed to me that it was a key element to what makes Malala Malala, and why her life story is so admirable. Just my opinion...
Monday, June 4, 2018
The Other Alcott
Elise Hooper's novel The Other Alcott (#747) is the fictionalized story of May Alcott, the real life sister of Louisa May Alcott, and the basis for the character of Amy in Little Women. May turns out to be just as independent and successful in her own way as her more famous older sister, and the bones of her story as told here are mostly true.
Like Amy in Little Women, May did pursue a career in art at a time when it was not generally accepted to do so, traveling to Europe to study several times. Her work appeared in the famous Paris Salons not once, but twice, and like her sister, she also authored a popular guide book for aspiring women artists abroad based on her own experiences. Throughout her life, May and her more famous sister Louisa, struggled personally and professionally, often at odds with each other. It makes for an interesting story.
Like Ms. Hooper, I grew up near Orchard House in Concord, where the Alcott family lived, and was fascinated by all things Alcott. Growing up, I read and re-read all the Louisa May Alcott books I could get my hands on, although I have to admit Little Women was never my favorite; I preferred Rose in Bloom or Eight Cousins myself. My father was equally taken by Bronson Alcott, Louisa and May's father, a Transcendentalist and experimental thinker/philosopher, so my family spent a good deal of time in Concord. When a trove of Louisa May Alcott's sensational stories were discovered and published in Behind the Mask, I read those with relish as well. It presented an entirely different picture of her, albeit one alluded to through her character of Jo March. May's story illuminates yet another aspect of an American family we thought we knew well.
Like Amy in Little Women, May did pursue a career in art at a time when it was not generally accepted to do so, traveling to Europe to study several times. Her work appeared in the famous Paris Salons not once, but twice, and like her sister, she also authored a popular guide book for aspiring women artists abroad based on her own experiences. Throughout her life, May and her more famous sister Louisa, struggled personally and professionally, often at odds with each other. It makes for an interesting story.
Like Ms. Hooper, I grew up near Orchard House in Concord, where the Alcott family lived, and was fascinated by all things Alcott. Growing up, I read and re-read all the Louisa May Alcott books I could get my hands on, although I have to admit Little Women was never my favorite; I preferred Rose in Bloom or Eight Cousins myself. My father was equally taken by Bronson Alcott, Louisa and May's father, a Transcendentalist and experimental thinker/philosopher, so my family spent a good deal of time in Concord. When a trove of Louisa May Alcott's sensational stories were discovered and published in Behind the Mask, I read those with relish as well. It presented an entirely different picture of her, albeit one alluded to through her character of Jo March. May's story illuminates yet another aspect of an American family we thought we knew well.
The Pope of Palm Beach
Tim Dorsey has finally taken his character Serge A. Storms back to his roots in Riviera Beach, Florida, and set most of the action in his latest novel, The Pope of Palm Beach (#746), in and around Palm Beach County. It's always fun to read about places with which you are familiar, so I particularly enjoyed Serge and Coleman's latest adventure.
The Pope in this case is a legendary surfer, Darby Pope, who knows everyone in the Riviera Beach/ Palm Beach area in the 60s, high and low, good and bad, supporting his surfing habit by welding on the docks of the Port of Palm Beach. The day he invites gawky young Kenny Reese to catch a wave with him will change both of their lives. He introduces Kenny to reading, which in turn leads Kenny to become a successful author. But one day when the pair are out gathering material for Kenny's newest book, things go badly awry, and the Pope winds up dead.
Fast forward to the present where Serge and Coleman are following a literary trail through Florida, visiting sites where Hemingway and Zora Neale Hurston once lived and wrote. But this time around, Serge wants to see if he can find the hangout of one of his favorite contemporary authors, Kenny Reese, who has disappeared from the publishing world without a trace. Not that his search is without problems. In typical Serge fashion, he does deal with several folks who richly deserve their ends.
I thought the justice he rendered to a thinly-disguised Martin Shekreli Big Pharma tycoon named Sterling Hanover was fitting, as was the punishment meted out to drunken frat boys molesting nesting sea turtles along the beach. Is it wrong to applaud such satisfying payback? If so, I'm guilty! But it is good to read a novel that can defeat the bad guys and let the nice guys win for a change. You go, Serge!
The Pope in this case is a legendary surfer, Darby Pope, who knows everyone in the Riviera Beach/ Palm Beach area in the 60s, high and low, good and bad, supporting his surfing habit by welding on the docks of the Port of Palm Beach. The day he invites gawky young Kenny Reese to catch a wave with him will change both of their lives. He introduces Kenny to reading, which in turn leads Kenny to become a successful author. But one day when the pair are out gathering material for Kenny's newest book, things go badly awry, and the Pope winds up dead.
Fast forward to the present where Serge and Coleman are following a literary trail through Florida, visiting sites where Hemingway and Zora Neale Hurston once lived and wrote. But this time around, Serge wants to see if he can find the hangout of one of his favorite contemporary authors, Kenny Reese, who has disappeared from the publishing world without a trace. Not that his search is without problems. In typical Serge fashion, he does deal with several folks who richly deserve their ends.
I thought the justice he rendered to a thinly-disguised Martin Shekreli Big Pharma tycoon named Sterling Hanover was fitting, as was the punishment meted out to drunken frat boys molesting nesting sea turtles along the beach. Is it wrong to applaud such satisfying payback? If so, I'm guilty! But it is good to read a novel that can defeat the bad guys and let the nice guys win for a change. You go, Serge!
Monday, May 21, 2018
The Map of Salt and Stars
I hope Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar's novel The Map of Salt and Stars (#745) gains a wide readership. She intertwines the stories of a Syrian refugee family with a parallel tale of wanderings through the Arabic world during the twelfth century. Both are compelling stories couched in exquisite language. Nour, born and raised n Manhattan, and Rawiya, raised in Africa in sight of the Rock of Gibraltar, are linked by maps and a love for the stars.
After Nour's Baba dies, her mother decides to take her and her two older sisters back home to Homs, Syria, to continue her map-making business. But Nour, at twelve, has never been there and speaks only a word or two of Arabic. What's home to the rest of her family is alien to her. Although her mother tries to ignore the political unrest surrounding them, a stray shell destroys their home and their belongings. With her older sister Huda injured in the blast, the family tries desperately to find a safe refuge. Their story is harrowing. Nour comforts herself by retelling herself a story her father used to share with her as they roamed New York. It's the story of Rawiya, who longed to apprentice herself to a famous map maker, al-Idrisi, and see the world.
Readers will recognize some elements of the Arabian Nights in Rawiya's story, but al-Idrisi is a real figure who created the most accurate map of the Arabic world at the time of the Second Crusades. Both the maps and the stars guide these girls through their dangerous journeys. Although Nour and her family are fictional, the plight of Syrian refugees most assuredly is not. This is a glimpse into a world and culture unexamined by most of us. Highly recommended.
After Nour's Baba dies, her mother decides to take her and her two older sisters back home to Homs, Syria, to continue her map-making business. But Nour, at twelve, has never been there and speaks only a word or two of Arabic. What's home to the rest of her family is alien to her. Although her mother tries to ignore the political unrest surrounding them, a stray shell destroys their home and their belongings. With her older sister Huda injured in the blast, the family tries desperately to find a safe refuge. Their story is harrowing. Nour comforts herself by retelling herself a story her father used to share with her as they roamed New York. It's the story of Rawiya, who longed to apprentice herself to a famous map maker, al-Idrisi, and see the world.
Readers will recognize some elements of the Arabian Nights in Rawiya's story, but al-Idrisi is a real figure who created the most accurate map of the Arabic world at the time of the Second Crusades. Both the maps and the stars guide these girls through their dangerous journeys. Although Nour and her family are fictional, the plight of Syrian refugees most assuredly is not. This is a glimpse into a world and culture unexamined by most of us. Highly recommended.
Thursday, May 17, 2018
The Escape Artist
I could hardly put down Brad Meltzer's latest thriller The Escape Artist (#744). When a small plane crashes just after takeoff at a remote Alaska army base, there's a government VIP on board. The bodies are flown back to Dover Air Force Base, which deals with preparing the bodies of fallen military. Jim "Zig" Zigarowski is a skilled mortician working there. When he recognizes the name Nola Brown as one of those ill-fated passengers, Zig volunteers to prep her body. For him, it's personal. The only problem is the body is not Nola Brown's. In fact, it reveals a clue that Nola may be alive and in danger. When the body is whisked away before Zig has a chance to ask too many questions, he suddenly finds himself chasing ghosts from the past and in very real danger in the present.
Who would have thought a mortician could be such a compelling hero? Brad Meltzer has done his homework in researching the meticulous work carried out at Dover's Mortuary every day to honor the dead. Of course, he did consult another one of my favorite authors, Mary Roach, while working on the background. (See my posts of 3/28/11, 4/25/13, 5/14/13, and 7/8/16.)
And how the heck does Harry Houdini figure into the plot? You'll just have to read The Escape Artist to find out!
Who would have thought a mortician could be such a compelling hero? Brad Meltzer has done his homework in researching the meticulous work carried out at Dover's Mortuary every day to honor the dead. Of course, he did consult another one of my favorite authors, Mary Roach, while working on the background. (See my posts of 3/28/11, 4/25/13, 5/14/13, and 7/8/16.)
And how the heck does Harry Houdini figure into the plot? You'll just have to read The Escape Artist to find out!
Monday, May 14, 2018
The Hellfire Club
Jake Tapper's political thriller The Hellfire Club (#743) hits all the right notes. All of his experience reporting on the Washington D.C. scene is put to good use in his fictional newly-appointed Congressman Charlie Marder. It's 1954 and his power broker father has just had him named to finish out the term for a dead congressman. But when Charlie tries to block funding for a corporation responsible for the death of one of his men in France during the War, he attracts attention from influential senators pulling the strings behind the scenes - the wrong kind of attention. It's impossible to tell who is a friend and who an enemy in the political quagmire. When he wakes up in the mud after a car wreck with an attractive woman's body nearby, Charlie is forced to play by rules that pit him against his own moral compass and strain to breaking point his marriage.
Not only did this novel have a gripping plot, but it's filled with characters and events pulled straight from the history books - McCarthy, Eisenhower, Jack and Bobby Kennedy - but Mr. Tapper has included all kinds of interesting Washington trivia and factoids. His notes at the end of the book help the reader sort out what is fact-based with sources for further reading, and what is a product of the author's imagination. Recommended.
Not only did this novel have a gripping plot, but it's filled with characters and events pulled straight from the history books - McCarthy, Eisenhower, Jack and Bobby Kennedy - but Mr. Tapper has included all kinds of interesting Washington trivia and factoids. His notes at the end of the book help the reader sort out what is fact-based with sources for further reading, and what is a product of the author's imagination. Recommended.
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
Cave of Bones
Officer Bernadette Manuelito isn't fond of public speaking in front of anyone, especially a group of teen-aged girls with problems, but she's promised a fellow officer in the Navajo Police to do it at Wings and Roots as a favor. Besides, she's been promised a grilled hamburger at their camp site in the remote Malpais area of New Mexico. Things soon go south in Anne Hillerman's Cave of Bones (#742), her fourth in the Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito series.
Annie Rainsong, daughter of a powerful Navajo Councilwoman, and all-around troublesome teen, has gone missing from her overnight solo camp site. Now the experienced trail guide and group leader, Domingo Cruz, has gone missing as well while searching for her. Bernadette is pulled into the search for both missing campers. When Annie stumbles into camp on her own she confides in Bernadette what she saw in a cave where she took shelter; it's a body, but the remains are ancient. Officer Manuelito soon finds herself embroiled in stolen native art, accusations of financial irregularities at Wings and Roots, and on the receiving end of Councilwoman Walker's wrath for allowing her daughter to wander off on own. Since Bernie's husband is away in Santa Fe for training, she bounces some of her ideas off retired cop Joe Leaphorn. It isn't long before some similarities turn up between the case of the missing group leader and one of Joe's own cold cases.
What I really love about these books is their setting; the isolated desert areas belonging to the Navajo Nation and adjoining reservations, and the peeks into the Navajo culture and way of life hidden to most of us. It's always a treat to go back and visit this world with some of my favorite characters.
Annie Rainsong, daughter of a powerful Navajo Councilwoman, and all-around troublesome teen, has gone missing from her overnight solo camp site. Now the experienced trail guide and group leader, Domingo Cruz, has gone missing as well while searching for her. Bernadette is pulled into the search for both missing campers. When Annie stumbles into camp on her own she confides in Bernadette what she saw in a cave where she took shelter; it's a body, but the remains are ancient. Officer Manuelito soon finds herself embroiled in stolen native art, accusations of financial irregularities at Wings and Roots, and on the receiving end of Councilwoman Walker's wrath for allowing her daughter to wander off on own. Since Bernie's husband is away in Santa Fe for training, she bounces some of her ideas off retired cop Joe Leaphorn. It isn't long before some similarities turn up between the case of the missing group leader and one of Joe's own cold cases.
What I really love about these books is their setting; the isolated desert areas belonging to the Navajo Nation and adjoining reservations, and the peeks into the Navajo culture and way of life hidden to most of us. It's always a treat to go back and visit this world with some of my favorite characters.
Thursday, May 3, 2018
Hush, My Inner Sleuth
There's a lot going on in Hush, My Inner Sleuth (#741), author M.E. Meegs' homage to the pulp fiction dime novels of the 50s. Maybe too much: swapped identities, exploding pool houses, family issues, a parade of Hollywood types and a plethora of outlandishly improbable statuary ae all wrapped up in a private investigator's murder and plenty of purple prose.
Two Smith grads decide to switch their names and identities to pursue future plans which seem so much brighter than their own prospects. For Willie Tigue it means a trip to Los Angeles to visit Betty Moran's uncle, whom she hasn't seen since she was a little girl. He has his own detective agency so Willie is guaranteed a summer job. Betty, on the other hand, yearns for the graduate school position given to Willie who doesn't want it. Easy enough to pull it off in post WWII days. Willie arrives in LA to the news that "her" uncle, Skip Ryker, is dead in an explosion. There's a long list of possible suspects if, in fact, the bomb was meant for Ryker, and not her! Secrets, blackmail, femme fatales, corrupt cops and the FBI are all in the mix.
That kept me reading to find out "Who done it?" What slowed me down was the intrusive narrator who kept interjecting herself into the story. Between her and Skip Ryker's ghost lodging himself in Willie Tigue's consciousness and trying to take over the investigation, it was often difficult to keep track of just whom was speaking and what was going on.
M.E. Meegs is in love with the slang from this period, the more prurient, the better. You could figure it out from the context, but for me, at least, there was some head-scratching involved. I must admit, I did find that aspect a bit over the top.
On the whole, an enjoyable read for mature audiences, but I'm not sure Smith alums would approve. I have a feeling my sister-in-law wouldn't!
Two Smith grads decide to switch their names and identities to pursue future plans which seem so much brighter than their own prospects. For Willie Tigue it means a trip to Los Angeles to visit Betty Moran's uncle, whom she hasn't seen since she was a little girl. He has his own detective agency so Willie is guaranteed a summer job. Betty, on the other hand, yearns for the graduate school position given to Willie who doesn't want it. Easy enough to pull it off in post WWII days. Willie arrives in LA to the news that "her" uncle, Skip Ryker, is dead in an explosion. There's a long list of possible suspects if, in fact, the bomb was meant for Ryker, and not her! Secrets, blackmail, femme fatales, corrupt cops and the FBI are all in the mix.
That kept me reading to find out "Who done it?" What slowed me down was the intrusive narrator who kept interjecting herself into the story. Between her and Skip Ryker's ghost lodging himself in Willie Tigue's consciousness and trying to take over the investigation, it was often difficult to keep track of just whom was speaking and what was going on.
M.E. Meegs is in love with the slang from this period, the more prurient, the better. You could figure it out from the context, but for me, at least, there was some head-scratching involved. I must admit, I did find that aspect a bit over the top.
On the whole, an enjoyable read for mature audiences, but I'm not sure Smith alums would approve. I have a feeling my sister-in-law wouldn't!
Tuesday, May 1, 2018
Fascism - A Warning
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's latest book Fascism - A Warning (#740) is a thoughtful and sobering read. In it, she chronicles the rise of fascism through a series of essays on twentieth and twenty-first century leaders who have exemplified its principles.
Beyond Mussolini, Hitler and Franco, most of the names in the book are familiar to anyone who reads print newspapers and news magazines. Who better to profile them than one who has actually met and worked with a number of them during her long career in diplomacy?
The United States has traditionally been the champion and defender of democracy throughout the world. Sadly, it no longer is. The question is whether our own beliefs in a democratic society will be strong enough to maintain us through the assaults on our Founders' core principles by a president who openly admires autocrats, not diplomats.
As Ms. Albright herself says when questioned about whether she is an optimist or a pessimist, "I am an optimist who worries a lot." I'm right there with you, Madeleine.
Beyond Mussolini, Hitler and Franco, most of the names in the book are familiar to anyone who reads print newspapers and news magazines. Who better to profile them than one who has actually met and worked with a number of them during her long career in diplomacy?
The United States has traditionally been the champion and defender of democracy throughout the world. Sadly, it no longer is. The question is whether our own beliefs in a democratic society will be strong enough to maintain us through the assaults on our Founders' core principles by a president who openly admires autocrats, not diplomats.
As Ms. Albright herself says when questioned about whether she is an optimist or a pessimist, "I am an optimist who worries a lot." I'm right there with you, Madeleine.
Thursday, April 19, 2018
Origin
If you are going to read Dan Brown's latest thriller Origin (#739), be sure to have your smart phone or tablet handy. The action takes place in Spain, and I found it extremely helpful to pull up photos and videos of the many sites where key scenes are set: The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, El Escorial and the Valley of the Fallen near Madrid, and Gaudi's famous works in Barcelona Casa Mira and Sagrada Familia Basilica. Although I've already visited El Escorial (Brown's description left out my favorite detail; St. Hyacinth's body enclosed in rock crystal beneath an altar visible from King Philip's bed. It was a wedding present from the Pope.), I've added the other places to my bucket list.
Young tech genius Edmond Kirsch is assassinated in front of a capacity crowd attending his invitation-only lecture at the Guggenheim. He has promised that his latest scientific discovery will change the future. Robert Langdon, symbologist extraordinaire, is in the audience, having developed a relationship with Edmond when he attended Harvard. Edmond had worked closely with Ambra Vidal, beautiful director of the Guggenheim, to ensure that his presentation goes perfectly. It seems whoever killed Edmond is also responsible for setting up Langdon and Vidal to take the fall for the crime. The two scramble to complete Edmond's mission by live-streaming the conclusion of his presentation from a secure location. You can probably figure out the ending. I did.
I just wondered why it seemed to take Robert Langdon so long to figure out what was going on, and who was responsible. The answer seemed so obvious to me. It also struck me how virulently anti-religion the tone of the book was. That was another thing I wondered about: did Dan Brown have some traumatic experience with organized religion at some point in his life? He seemed to soften his tone somewhat towards the end of the book, especially in the character of Father Bena at Sagrada Familia. I must admit, I did find that off-putting. Just my opinion, and it sure didn't keep Origin off the Best Seller list!
Young tech genius Edmond Kirsch is assassinated in front of a capacity crowd attending his invitation-only lecture at the Guggenheim. He has promised that his latest scientific discovery will change the future. Robert Langdon, symbologist extraordinaire, is in the audience, having developed a relationship with Edmond when he attended Harvard. Edmond had worked closely with Ambra Vidal, beautiful director of the Guggenheim, to ensure that his presentation goes perfectly. It seems whoever killed Edmond is also responsible for setting up Langdon and Vidal to take the fall for the crime. The two scramble to complete Edmond's mission by live-streaming the conclusion of his presentation from a secure location. You can probably figure out the ending. I did.
I just wondered why it seemed to take Robert Langdon so long to figure out what was going on, and who was responsible. The answer seemed so obvious to me. It also struck me how virulently anti-religion the tone of the book was. That was another thing I wondered about: did Dan Brown have some traumatic experience with organized religion at some point in his life? He seemed to soften his tone somewhat towards the end of the book, especially in the character of Father Bena at Sagrada Familia. I must admit, I did find that off-putting. Just my opinion, and it sure didn't keep Origin off the Best Seller list!
Thursday, April 12, 2018
Breaking Cover - My Secret Life in the CIA and What It Taught Me About What Worth Fighting For
I recently heard Michele Rigby Assad, author of Breaking Cover - My Secret Life in the CIA and What It Taught Me About What's Worth Fighting For (#738) speak at our local BookMania! event, so I was prepared for her unusual story.
This non-fiction work is a curious amalgam of her experiences in the CIA, most in active war zones in the Middle East, and her strong Christian beliefs which led her to feel that the CIA was the preparation to fulfill her real calling: helping to evacuate Iraqi Christians from Erbil until perilous circumstances.
Who would ever have expected a homecoming queen and cheerleader from rural Florida to pursue a passion for Arab studies and become half of a successful pair of husband and wife covert operatives in the Middle East? In Breaking Cover, Ms. Assad explains how it all happened. Full of anecdotes both frightening and funny she lays out (with the CIA's permission) what life under cover involves, and the sacrifices made by those who choose to serve in this arena. After ten years. both she and her husband knew it was time to move on. But how do you flesh out a resume when everything you've done in your career still has to be kept under wraps? That's the second half of Ms. Assad's story.
I did find her story is well worth reading even if it is tad heavy on the "God Speak". Her commitment is admirable, and so are her accomplishments.
This non-fiction work is a curious amalgam of her experiences in the CIA, most in active war zones in the Middle East, and her strong Christian beliefs which led her to feel that the CIA was the preparation to fulfill her real calling: helping to evacuate Iraqi Christians from Erbil until perilous circumstances.
Who would ever have expected a homecoming queen and cheerleader from rural Florida to pursue a passion for Arab studies and become half of a successful pair of husband and wife covert operatives in the Middle East? In Breaking Cover, Ms. Assad explains how it all happened. Full of anecdotes both frightening and funny she lays out (with the CIA's permission) what life under cover involves, and the sacrifices made by those who choose to serve in this arena. After ten years. both she and her husband knew it was time to move on. But how do you flesh out a resume when everything you've done in your career still has to be kept under wraps? That's the second half of Ms. Assad's story.
I did find her story is well worth reading even if it is tad heavy on the "God Speak". Her commitment is admirable, and so are her accomplishments.
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
I Was Anastasia
Ariel Lawhon does a masterful job spinning the tale in I Was Anastasia (#737). Starting in 1970, she pulls the reader further and further back in time to relate what happened to Anna Anderson and the Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanov. Are they, could they possibly be, the same person? Anna Anderson always claimed so. This novel will keep the reader guessing until the final pages.
The story switches from the Grand Duchess' experiences told in first person, to what has happened to Anna Anderson over the intervening years in third person. If you have a hard time keeping track of a book that jumps from character to character, and back and forth in time, this may not be the book for you, but the way the author chooses to tell her story makes perfect sense once you understand what she is doing. That said, Ms. Lawhon specifically cautions the reader in her Author's Note not to read the ending first; it will spoil the book, and she is absolutely right about this. If you've ever had any interest in the doomed Romanov family, you will definitely want to add this book to your "Must Read" list. Recommended.
The story switches from the Grand Duchess' experiences told in first person, to what has happened to Anna Anderson over the intervening years in third person. If you have a hard time keeping track of a book that jumps from character to character, and back and forth in time, this may not be the book for you, but the way the author chooses to tell her story makes perfect sense once you understand what she is doing. That said, Ms. Lawhon specifically cautions the reader in her Author's Note not to read the ending first; it will spoil the book, and she is absolutely right about this. If you've ever had any interest in the doomed Romanov family, you will definitely want to add this book to your "Must Read" list. Recommended.
Saturday, April 7, 2018
Elizabeth; The Virgin Queen and the Men Who Loved Her
I wasn't sure quite what to expect when my GoodReads giveaway arrived in the mail. Like many others, I find the Tudors and their times fascinating. What a delightful surprise Robert Stephen Parry's Elizabeth: The Virgin Queen and the Men Who Loved Her (#736) turned out to be!
This slim volume is based on a series of lectures which Mr. Parry attended in the past at an aging Elizabethan manor hosting a history retreat. He took notes in shorthand, and thus this entertaining weekend event lives on for readers to enjoy. There are brief biographical sketches of the significant men in Elizabeth's life with a helpful timeline, and several essays on court life in general. These sketches are each followed by a "Vignette", an imaginative dramatization of events alluded to therein, thus blending fact and fiction. Like GoodReads each man, from her father Henry VIII on down the line, are given a tongue-in-cheek "Tudor Roses" rating for their usefulness, importance and commitment to the Queen.
This book can easily be read in a single sitting, and will be a useful "Who's Who". It's a welcome addition to my library.
This slim volume is based on a series of lectures which Mr. Parry attended in the past at an aging Elizabethan manor hosting a history retreat. He took notes in shorthand, and thus this entertaining weekend event lives on for readers to enjoy. There are brief biographical sketches of the significant men in Elizabeth's life with a helpful timeline, and several essays on court life in general. These sketches are each followed by a "Vignette", an imaginative dramatization of events alluded to therein, thus blending fact and fiction. Like GoodReads each man, from her father Henry VIII on down the line, are given a tongue-in-cheek "Tudor Roses" rating for their usefulness, importance and commitment to the Queen.
This book can easily be read in a single sitting, and will be a useful "Who's Who". It's a welcome addition to my library.
Wednesday, April 4, 2018
The Kremlin's Candidate
The Kremlin's Candidate (#735) is the concluding book in Jason Matthews' Red Sparrow trilogy. Moscow has been developing an asset in the United States for many years, and now that mole is poised to be appointed to a high-level Government position. Can CIA case officer Nate Nash and his Russian asset, the beautiful Dominika Egorova discover the identity of this American traitor before their own covers are blown?
You just know that things aren't gong to end well for Nate and Dominika, especially now that she's caught the eye of Vladimir Putin himself. As the action moves between Athens, Vienna, New York, Washington, Hong Kong and the presidential compound on the Black Sea, there are traps and traitors around every corner. As Dominika's star rises in the Kremlin, her rivals are plotting against her. If only they knew the real secret she's keeping...
This series is not for the faint of heart, and in this final chapter, not everyone does make it out alive, but it's still a satisfying conclusion to this espionage saga. From his time served in the CIA, Jason Matthews puts the reader in the center of the action, and makes you wonder what's really going on out there? What more can ask from a book? Be sure to read this series from the beginning.
You just know that things aren't gong to end well for Nate and Dominika, especially now that she's caught the eye of Vladimir Putin himself. As the action moves between Athens, Vienna, New York, Washington, Hong Kong and the presidential compound on the Black Sea, there are traps and traitors around every corner. As Dominika's star rises in the Kremlin, her rivals are plotting against her. If only they knew the real secret she's keeping...
This series is not for the faint of heart, and in this final chapter, not everyone does make it out alive, but it's still a satisfying conclusion to this espionage saga. From his time served in the CIA, Jason Matthews puts the reader in the center of the action, and makes you wonder what's really going on out there? What more can ask from a book? Be sure to read this series from the beginning.
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