tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-226169742024-03-13T11:01:10.642-05:00A Garden Carried in the PocketA Book Is Like A Garden Carried in the Pocket -- Chinese Proverbjenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.comBlogger2680125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-35698289639087550182022-10-15T06:51:00.003-05:002022-10-15T06:51:00.200-05:00<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEglALTCY8Og0j-T-qpu6HavxGKCrRvW3UZl1pjvjn7H9wNMtbR9c6HxbZ1qt50k7DpLyJv0tyo3s3oLP110O9pcXvgbpMY8YI6Ups7nMBTbUrPrQt6X1m2O08M8NETW5Seh-mi40xRtmuOstoyplXti2Hr3otbFqnZqwqvEIaMh-lzdpNz-pJE=s617" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="617" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEglALTCY8Og0j-T-qpu6HavxGKCrRvW3UZl1pjvjn7H9wNMtbR9c6HxbZ1qt50k7DpLyJv0tyo3s3oLP110O9pcXvgbpMY8YI6Ups7nMBTbUrPrQt6X1m2O08M8NETW5Seh-mi40xRtmuOstoyplXti2Hr3otbFqnZqwqvEIaMh-lzdpNz-pJE=w640-h502" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>jenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-44861025019862913722022-07-25T06:30:00.003-05:002022-07-25T06:30:00.190-05:00Long Gone by Joanna Schaffhausen<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUoIvoBhWDKZjgG0fXqjp_soDXsnyRUmu7DZ5Ym3JS1jUeINt0qqR8zmcgzGXYtnIZVm3DHpHs7MuqetYwcoyhPru-ytrqS2-fKckBdBcRP68fB9E34DhibmgKO3UaDTPAMFvaw0EnD6uMlf--EX2H2AjhUIqLszOZsWkcn1NqfVddbXcEGQI=s400" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="263" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUoIvoBhWDKZjgG0fXqjp_soDXsnyRUmu7DZ5Ym3JS1jUeINt0qqR8zmcgzGXYtnIZVm3DHpHs7MuqetYwcoyhPru-ytrqS2-fKckBdBcRP68fB9E34DhibmgKO3UaDTPAMFvaw0EnD6uMlf--EX2H2AjhUIqLszOZsWkcn1NqfVddbXcEGQI=s320" width="210" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">The second in Schaffhausen's Annalisa Vega series. </span><div><br /></div><div><b>From description: </b> <span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">Chicago detective Annalisa Vega shattered her life, personally and professionally, when she turned in her ex-cop father for his role in a murder. Her family can’t forgive her. Her fellow officers no longer trust her. So when detective Leo Hammond turns up dead in a bizarre murder, Annalisa thinks she has nothing to lose by investigating whatever secrets he hid behind the thin blue line.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">The first book in this series was OK, but I didn't love it. I liked this one better, but still not completely satisfied with it. I like the Ellery Hathaway/Reed Markham series better.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Read in March. Review scheduled for July 25.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">St. Martin's Press</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Suspense. Aug. 9, 2022. Print length: 304 pages.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikxYCR2iTceFt0tpcnS3iEYdMa7zwzersIdHpfDruMtrv4MQW8BQximvxRxImW387o6RwUSdxoURIMKu51C6zVoBnt7afo23Nhe2jRhtT1gxj2RvxMQOfer6_PCymqLpuH8uDiaoIXNO0hAMUtJX0FECtv-6aSOAOI5zNIQJBoBLWmY2j2b3M=s500" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="500" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikxYCR2iTceFt0tpcnS3iEYdMa7zwzersIdHpfDruMtrv4MQW8BQximvxRxImW387o6RwUSdxoURIMKu51C6zVoBnt7afo23Nhe2jRhtT1gxj2RvxMQOfer6_PCymqLpuH8uDiaoIXNO0hAMUtJX0FECtv-6aSOAOI5zNIQJBoBLWmY2j2b3M=w477-h358" width="477" /></a></div><br /> <p></p></div>jenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-73193295907155743982022-07-18T07:00:00.005-05:002022-07-18T07:00:00.197-05:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx8AbEqFx9cexcztPaPkIwWV3_CDTCkkIPN8HgF0rvy4h7cn0L354V-7mPjheI4btqR4OcvlxzwP1ZKwi8OIF0vV1cvFMT9b8dPztr3BgR67TarJljJNOh1EDXILg3UV__JeqnBmul18UFHdnSDSswXPw0tDHDKdbkyyKoueL5oJAXOnoXQYQ/s400/athomeunrulyplanet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="263" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx8AbEqFx9cexcztPaPkIwWV3_CDTCkkIPN8HgF0rvy4h7cn0L354V-7mPjheI4btqR4OcvlxzwP1ZKwi8OIF0vV1cvFMT9b8dPztr3BgR67TarJljJNOh1EDXILg3UV__JeqnBmul18UFHdnSDSswXPw0tDHDKdbkyyKoueL5oJAXOnoXQYQ/w131-h200/athomeunrulyplanet.jpg" width="131" /></a></div><br /> This is simply a reminder that <b>At Home on an Unruly Planet</b> will be published soon. I reviewed it in February, but it is so good and so timely that it needs to be read widely. <a href="https://bookgarden.blogspot.com/2022/02/at-home-on-unruly-planet-finding-refuge.html"><b>Reviewed Here</b></a>. Scheduled for July 18.<p></p>jenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-42301481255142869992022-04-28T12:36:00.059-05:002022-04-29T13:19:33.168-05:00True Biz by Sara Novic<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCeb9Ni8M6JpL0xtWzLDcd8XARiTz0bAxOy9vWe158l7FonadLhGrkeP14xZR1PIyVln8mdz8dQrlM8E-_qOds1FoYLplp2L3OFnpAo09ZjgnstjNTVgbbIZWoc_sBx1VK8t7NOCk6LsrynKyNUQQv-8F8I9qI8ZMLDVaL3su1-XzlSYXD0P4/s400/tru%20biz.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="263" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCeb9Ni8M6JpL0xtWzLDcd8XARiTz0bAxOy9vWe158l7FonadLhGrkeP14xZR1PIyVln8mdz8dQrlM8E-_qOds1FoYLplp2L3OFnpAo09ZjgnstjNTVgbbIZWoc_sBx1VK8t7NOCk6LsrynKyNUQQv-8F8I9qI8ZMLDVaL3su1-XzlSYXD0P4/s320/tru%20biz.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><b>from description:</b> <span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">A transporting novel that follows a year of seismic romantic, political, and familial shifts for a teacher and her students at a boarding school for the deaf, from the acclaimed author of <i>Girl at War</i>.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">True biz (<i>adj/exclamation; American Sign Language): </i>really, seriously, definitely, real-talk</i><br /><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I really enjoyed this novel, mostly for what I learned about the deaf community, its successes and its battles. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The first time I discovered the beauty of ASL was in college watching a family in a restaurant signing, later I saw the National Theater of the Deaf perform Dylan Thomas' <u>A Child's Christmas in Wales</u> on PBS. Then there was <u>Children of a Lesser God</u>. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">For a year or so, I've been enjoying Nicky Elliot's <a href="https://www.instagram.com/songsinasl/" target="_blank"><b>videos</b></a> "<i>Signing to the Oldies</i>" which are delightful. This month, I happened on <u>True Biz</u>. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CYrewuFghV6/" target="_blank">Behind the Green Door</a>. The ASL is so smooth and I love the old songs that Nicky chooses. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">This month, I happened on <u>True Biz</u>. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">I learned much more about the history and evolution of sign language and its variations while reading </span><u style="font-family: georgia;">True Biz</u><span style="font-family: georgia;"> as I followed the teachers and students at the fictional River Valley School for the Deaf. I expect this renewed interest in ASL and the deaf community will result in one of the wandering literary itineraries I love.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I already wanted to see <u>Coda</u>, but now...even more so.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">NetGalley/Random House</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Fiction. April 5, 2022. Print length: 386 pages.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p>jenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-57279344729437884892022-04-05T08:49:00.014-05:002022-04-05T08:49:00.198-05:00Woman Eating by Claire Kohda<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dXmxpxhzFV8/YX00yCg8GWI/AAAAAAAAmBw/hG1ycogQohkoX482LvVmhkSnV4uDYmVXgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/womaneating.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dXmxpxhzFV8/YX00yCg8GWI/AAAAAAAAmBw/hG1ycogQohkoX482LvVmhkSnV4uDYmVXgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/womaneating.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>Lydia or Lyd has been <u>keeping the lid</u> on emotions her entire life: on her condition, her relationship with her mother, her loneliness, and her hunger. <p></p><p>Having just graduated from art school, Lyd has an internship at a prestigious art gallery and has just placed her mother in a home for dementia patients. She feels as if her life is finally beginning, but she is not prepared for the hunger as her normal food source is much harder to acquire. </p><p>She rents a studio, meets other young people, and Ben, the friendly manager of the studio spaces, and struggles with her desire to fit in and overcome the sense of shame instilled in her by her mother. The internship is not at all what she expected--more an unpaid assistant than a learning experience.</p><p>She distracts herself with videos of women eating, cooking, and discussing food or with Buffy, the Vampire episodes. </p><p>Lydia is hungry. Always. But if you are looking for a "vampire" book, you will be disappointed. <u>Woman Eating</u> is psychological and allegorical, an intriguing anomaly with multiple themes. </p><p>Read in Oct. 2021. Review scheduled for April 5, 2022.</p><p> NetGalley. April 15, 2022. Print length: 240 pages.</p>jenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-9143938356957899982022-03-18T07:56:00.002-05:002022-03-18T07:56:17.890-05:00Love You More by Lisa Gardner, One Bad Turn David J. Gatward<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLyuMMKFgicZeOByfXuUsFkKx8AZgooFufW-b5vGSNW7zognPetK-Fgt7OgSvDN4wjAbxao1SbRGdP3W9zEvTSNaODF9PPGuCBhlVQPXRuSaiDTl0njGczUKxEitfsV2S9Eajl3e9P7wi2Bhdsdcc8RcDs3OnPj0_jsz9PgAs09r63hH7OIcs/s475/love%20youmore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="311" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLyuMMKFgicZeOByfXuUsFkKx8AZgooFufW-b5vGSNW7zognPetK-Fgt7OgSvDN4wjAbxao1SbRGdP3W9zEvTSNaODF9PPGuCBhlVQPXRuSaiDTl0njGczUKxEitfsV2S9Eajl3e9P7wi2Bhdsdcc8RcDs3OnPj0_jsz9PgAs09r63hH7OIcs/s320/love%20youmore.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><u>Love You More </u>(D.D. Warren #5, Tessa Leoni #1). State Trooper Tessa Leoni claims she shot her husband in self-defense. She has been seriously beaten and no one questions her injuries, but D.D. Warren doesn't quite believe Tessa, something is off--and Tessa's six-year-old daughter is missing. <div><br /></div><div>Tessa is hospitalized for her injuries, then arrested for the murder of her husband. Six-year-old Sophie is still missing, and D.D. and Bobby Dodge believe they are looking for her body, the kind of thing that disturbs even veteran cops.</div><div><br /></div><div>Like in the Flora Dane books, D.D. plays a big role in the procedural portions of the book, but the alternating chapters in Tessa's voice propel the plot. </div><div><br /></div><div>Gardner ratchets up the tension and slowly reveals all the complications involved in this engrossing thriller.</div><div><br /></div><div>Suspense/Thriller. 2011. Print length: 368 pages.</div><div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwkKzJUfXFX73E4eY_4a9U3dxYNH0fUwUJmlrOr7Trw85x5D8i47VmfxOIBuCfolXqflg5sy4DJUBN61SimK5MyurtqcugBBoacpCh87-7eHY4xTinoy2G5w_AMwTHMn0ravkh7Tsuecz4V2_OOmPkxnSEPmLFwSy404145F4gPS7IpkjjQZw/s475/onebadturn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="308" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwkKzJUfXFX73E4eY_4a9U3dxYNH0fUwUJmlrOr7Trw85x5D8i47VmfxOIBuCfolXqflg5sy4DJUBN61SimK5MyurtqcugBBoacpCh87-7eHY4xTinoy2G5w_AMwTHMn0ravkh7Tsuecz4V2_OOmPkxnSEPmLFwSy404145F4gPS7IpkjjQZw/s320/onebadturn.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>I've caught up on the <u>Grimm Up North</u> series, which I really enjoy. The characters and the setting work well together, and it is obvious how much the author himself loves the Yorkshire Dales. </div><div><br /></div><div>There are some chilling scenes as the body of a young woman is discovered and the terrible and unanticipated aftermath of the discovery.</div><div><br /></div><div>This has become a favorite series, and I'm so glad stumbled on the first book and already looking forward to the next.</div><div><br /></div><div>Kindle Unlimited.</div><div>Police Procedural. March 3, 2022. Print length: 343 pages.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix4CqpZM8I2Iue1fC48iaGdmPdaicQ-XTxnUlmEUR3P54RAZ7mJHI3g2VybFOrmAUCqAvA_s4yIlIUXN3aY01VwPGs7FmjweaBL_kFNoy3tKRuIHdMyefKXwfR4CrHKiryB_hAe5QXuMRITvJsLqxJ9sDydTLzWq8aWPEB4gkOXUKzMUNIOks/s475/churchill's%20bandofbrothers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix4CqpZM8I2Iue1fC48iaGdmPdaicQ-XTxnUlmEUR3P54RAZ7mJHI3g2VybFOrmAUCqAvA_s4yIlIUXN3aY01VwPGs7FmjweaBL_kFNoy3tKRuIHdMyefKXwfR4CrHKiryB_hAe5QXuMRITvJsLqxJ9sDydTLzWq8aWPEB4gkOXUKzMUNIOks/s320/churchill's%20bandofbrothers.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><br />Currently reading <u>Churchill's Band of Brothers.</u> Excellent so far.<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBRS4gpuelOafb2TflkpLoxBYFFMCk1zqmNHAS4n-k2UPsljVwyXdG2728haFMIp9OfqBpvbbWwYFMgQ1OJZjVy510Kn4c9gmfWTLSeB0G0GRXYpZTQaIi_ktaLOs8M_HGTXFGLkoce_x2K9czx0cSPCknnp--6d6_YvaVtebT0XkudlYvJ4g=s403" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="403" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBRS4gpuelOafb2TflkpLoxBYFFMCk1zqmNHAS4n-k2UPsljVwyXdG2728haFMIp9OfqBpvbbWwYFMgQ1OJZjVy510Kn4c9gmfWTLSeB0G0GRXYpZTQaIi_ktaLOs8M_HGTXFGLkoce_x2K9czx0cSPCknnp--6d6_YvaVtebT0XkudlYvJ4g=w640-h640" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Something I've never thought of before,</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> but the last two comments make it clear. :)</span></div><br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCF9m_u1dw5OCy2FEkFVqtjXXHKW2N0CBCKdcxSLkhauzBkUB_MkZMctmGHPdHK0r3Tt29jRMCsl9MqxmyTey-2Ces8lcqmpRVUkHabCP2_OldyxJEmT683C3KWrf1TfTITuKSXO2Ixfw60GMSGmqUlBHywkbvF6GT6AdCrgyY3KpQVrgh5qU=s790" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="790" data-original-width="526" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCF9m_u1dw5OCy2FEkFVqtjXXHKW2N0CBCKdcxSLkhauzBkUB_MkZMctmGHPdHK0r3Tt29jRMCsl9MqxmyTey-2Ces8lcqmpRVUkHabCP2_OldyxJEmT683C3KWrf1TfTITuKSXO2Ixfw60GMSGmqUlBHywkbvF6GT6AdCrgyY3KpQVrgh5qU=w426-h640" width="426" /></a></div><p></p></div></div>jenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-91303404778836020382022-03-16T07:22:00.004-05:002022-03-16T07:22:46.133-05:00Three DI Zoe Finch books by Rachel McLean and Touch & Go by Lisa Gardner<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqgGGSRzK8g85RIpO_z3ZpzluZ3jqJiy-h0vwSKA4pDPV_9REpnequykuu-0di5WgzBJgIVs5GPSLEsOB2Xp3idjKvncceJCZm7c5ZqhZGXFWEUDGM7DJEm7tkHdLZeglJUpmZVOdihNltnfczMtQZCTHQh50kZzIxNjNPzpu6bpcugUhnnNc=s475" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="298" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqgGGSRzK8g85RIpO_z3ZpzluZ3jqJiy-h0vwSKA4pDPV_9REpnequykuu-0di5WgzBJgIVs5GPSLEsOB2Xp3idjKvncceJCZm7c5ZqhZGXFWEUDGM7DJEm7tkHdLZeglJUpmZVOdihNltnfczMtQZCTHQh50kZzIxNjNPzpu6bpcugUhnnNc=s320" width="201" /></a></div>Assistant Chief Constable Bryn Jackson is murdered shortly after returning home on the night of his retirement. Recently promoted DI Zoe Finch, fresh off a case involving corruption, fraud, and abuse against children, finds herself on the scene. <div><br /></div><div>Is Jackson's wife Margaret responsible? Even with what little is revealed early on, it seems Margaret might have motive. Zoe is surprised and confused by the way her DCI is handling the case and relegating Zoe to more tedious tasks. Is he protecting Margaret? And what changes his mind?</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Deadly Wishes</u> is the first in McLean's Zoe Finch series, and I liked it even better than McLean's <i>Dorset Crime</i> series. Zoe's commitment and perseverance made this police procedural an enjoyable experience. Zoe's team helps add to the interest: DS Mo Uddin, DC Connie Williams, and DC Rhodri Hughes.</div><div><br /></div><div>If the murder of an ACC who spent his life on the force isn't bad enough, Zoe senses a sinister underside to the murder and is determined to dig until all the pieces fit.</div><div><br /></div><div>Kindle Unlimited</div><div>Police Procedural. 2020. Print length: 402 pages.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEggnqxWpWYekP0Gld0RuGDaz761Py26RrW9pQoSSjuKu_1xsP3R18Krz454Z5AMxvlivVKdHqey9ZZtbwT38fYqtmORJDooqdh6E2ei47RIMXpxxVTHyZwMU9Vc_xzSMCDVNFdjdvAa2JbsaXY6ONCxCan6M4qgI9TtgKujIN7KvnGSgnThGdA=s475" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="294" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEggnqxWpWYekP0Gld0RuGDaz761Py26RrW9pQoSSjuKu_1xsP3R18Krz454Z5AMxvlivVKdHqey9ZZtbwT38fYqtmORJDooqdh6E2ei47RIMXpxxVTHyZwMU9Vc_xzSMCDVNFdjdvAa2JbsaXY6ONCxCan6M4qgI9TtgKujIN7KvnGSgnThGdA=s320" width="198" /></a></div>Allison Osman takes her children to Cadbury World in a planned excursion her husband Ian was supposed to join. Ian doesn't show. Allison leaves twelve-year-old Maddy to watch her little brother while she stands in line to get their food.<div><br /></div><div>A matter of minutes and both children are gone. </div><div><br /></div><div>Another good police procedural with interesting characterization and plenty of suspense. DI Zoe Finch and her team have to examine several unsavory possibilities in their attempt to determine who and why the children have been abducted.</div><div><br /></div><div>Kindle Unlimited.</div><div>Police Procedural. 2020. Print length: 400 pages. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEim_bzyi-xxFVr0V2MFQiPCaY71zyVKFcxXl5xdCFx0TdqZp51DRoF5q3YK_ibuG1j4OMHowq1QbfMcrPrQTpgZHjY42Qtgxl0g3wmNGER4GQW8cFUftLRzvN1el5H9_9Ei79Go0wcIizb_fQ1HAfznVo_v553VqecnsDkRifw6RRusXPTzcGs=s475" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="306" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEim_bzyi-xxFVr0V2MFQiPCaY71zyVKFcxXl5xdCFx0TdqZp51DRoF5q3YK_ibuG1j4OMHowq1QbfMcrPrQTpgZHjY42Qtgxl0g3wmNGER4GQW8cFUftLRzvN1el5H9_9Ei79Go0wcIizb_fQ1HAfznVo_v553VqecnsDkRifw6RRusXPTzcGs=s320" width="206" /></a></div>Someone has been making horrific assaults on gay men, creating anger and fear in the gay community. Amid the pressure to solve the case, Zoe also fears for her eighteen-year-old son who doesn't seem to think he is danger.<div><br /></div><div>There is a connection to police corruption that has been running through from the first book in this series, but as in the previous book, there is a plot that is resolved. While I'd recommend beginning with the first book, each book can be read as a standalone. </div><div><br /></div><div>Two things I like about this series: the characters on Zoe's team and the fast-paced plots!</div><div><br /></div><div>Kindle Unlimited</div><div>Police Procedural. 2020. Print length: 430 pages.</div><div><br /></div><div>(I'm not sure whether all these books were released at once, but each one has a 2020 publication date.)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhweLwCQUcF4WaPHe10yeNssQM3BuLfoe-wpcMbvh9soR-x5LySUU3XIOzylBPuc5nLhL092uYXmrWK4qt5ZhhceGrnEYp0hYDzWMXn7gBCDdLfCwgcgnZJwuyzzAR5pa5P6HhsaT15YuGNvq_q9n1F0KX26T1OyFPWjXzsn3RQMBa95An3QNY=s500" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhweLwCQUcF4WaPHe10yeNssQM3BuLfoe-wpcMbvh9soR-x5LySUU3XIOzylBPuc5nLhL092uYXmrWK4qt5ZhhceGrnEYp0hYDzWMXn7gBCDdLfCwgcgnZJwuyzzAR5pa5P6HhsaT15YuGNvq_q9n1F0KX26T1OyFPWjXzsn3RQMBa95An3QNY=s320" width="320" /></a></div>Lisa Gardner has rarely failed to keep my interest, and certainly the abduction of the Denbe family was a compelling example. <div><br /></div><div>In 2014, I read and loved <u>Crash & Burn</u> as an ARC. It started me looking for any Lisa Gardner book available from NetGalley or the library, regardless of publication date or series.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, I listened to <u>Touch & Go</u> the second book as an audio book, and was quickly immersed in the story. A common approach in many of Gardner's books is to give the victim as much or more time than the lead detective. The secondary characters often turn up again in different books. </div><div><br /></div><div>Tessa Leoni, former state trooper, current investigator for a security firm, is called in by the Denbe Construction company. D.D. Warren makes a cameo appearance in her role with the Boston Police Department, but the FBI takes over and Tessa must work with them. In this case, the story moves back and forth between Tessa and Libby Denbe. </div><div><br /></div><div>Libby's voice describes the abduction and the imprisonment of the family. Justin, Libby, and their fifteen-year-old daughter Ashlyn are stashed in a newly built but unoccupied prison facility in the wilds of New Hampshire. Through Libby we learn of the mechanics of the family's abduction and the circumstances of their imprisonment. We also learn a lot of the dynamics of the "perfect" family. </div><div><br /></div><div>In the investigation, Tessa interviews employees of the construction company, piecing together an outside version of the Denbes. Detective Sergeant Wyatt Foster is also involved in the investigation and provides a nice balance to Tessa. Getting the gradual information about the company, Justin, Libby, and Ashlyn was intriguing. </div><div><br /></div><div>Suspense and secrets. Twists and turns. When you think it is over. It isn't.</div><div><br /></div><div>There is a backstory to Tessa, that D.D. Warren first alludes to, but which relates to the reason that Tessa is no longer a state trooper. This was a little frustrating, as I had not read that book.</div><div><br /></div><div>The narration was OK, but Elizabeth Rodgers' attempts to distinguish different characters was not always successful and her occasional attempts at Boston and New Hampshire accents were often annoying. I'm not sure any single narrator could have done a good job on so many characters, but that was a distraction. </div><div><br /></div><div> It took a little while to find the first Tessa Leoni book because the first book that includes Tessa Leoni is actually the 5th book in the D.D. Warren series--<u>Love You More</u>. I couldn't wait and started it last night.</div><div><br /></div><div>I recommend reading these three books in order. One of those "do as I say, not as I do" situations.</div><div><br /></div><div>Love You More (2011)</div><div>Touch and Go (2013)</div><div>Crash and Burn (2015)</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj36Nk2JcHCueSubV5nl8OMD9jFhHMaOtepsMjKVkr0eT9HAt2nhr-w-tPCpK4xzpNGTsrBeo7l5USM-NgoWYpBjS6NkvdPWqOJYxfFq59dmSXPaEiVK_u3-SZ2NYh5YATdsjm5qw4phBgWo97psQmpOWJBgTNPIV9g-mDrz5kdxXG7t65vESA=s620" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj36Nk2JcHCueSubV5nl8OMD9jFhHMaOtepsMjKVkr0eT9HAt2nhr-w-tPCpK4xzpNGTsrBeo7l5USM-NgoWYpBjS6NkvdPWqOJYxfFq59dmSXPaEiVK_u3-SZ2NYh5YATdsjm5qw4phBgWo97psQmpOWJBgTNPIV9g-mDrz5kdxXG7t65vESA=w496-h640" width="496" /></a></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgaGpHvCPmNsZCYos9HIhsCutMJfRbI3J61cCsIaFh1CqD_fPe0x5eBIHj-u3vRIywciHnEUhHKOBsm7IDnh-LaDGa6YWVnh-zqzMbfFcqMnWTrHOjYnIN04HpdzysQa_LBUKmQWHWax8Mium6-V3mie512tHstKBEjOeo0GXJJe4hAM5ATxvM=s542" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="542" height="550" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgaGpHvCPmNsZCYos9HIhsCutMJfRbI3J61cCsIaFh1CqD_fPe0x5eBIHj-u3vRIywciHnEUhHKOBsm7IDnh-LaDGa6YWVnh-zqzMbfFcqMnWTrHOjYnIN04HpdzysQa_LBUKmQWHWax8Mium6-V3mie512tHstKBEjOeo0GXJJe4hAM5ATxvM=w640-h550" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p></div>jenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-40044856504664275282022-03-09T07:30:00.090-06:002022-03-09T07:30:00.220-06:00The Hidden One by Linda Castillo and The Verifiers by Jane Pek<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj4GKB4BexQaqX0SYYUUKRWlslBkgN0MlszXLfXmqaJlwSNKnpN0PzJW4fm1n13gnHCL45RicfYQka3Zdx_2wC3SdmniJ7acvCI-257B9LxB0oYl3HqLqKlOea7oyitpn3ByJRibguj411rM8ZZX9PNX1zxVtpz88Q1i3cN30kVIc2J4D2upOo=s483" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="483" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj4GKB4BexQaqX0SYYUUKRWlslBkgN0MlszXLfXmqaJlwSNKnpN0PzJW4fm1n13gnHCL45RicfYQka3Zdx_2wC3SdmniJ7acvCI-257B9LxB0oYl3HqLqKlOea7oyitpn3ByJRibguj411rM8ZZX9PNX1zxVtpz88Q1i3cN30kVIc2J4D2upOo=s320" width="211" /></a></div>An Amish Bishop's remains are discovered 18 years after his disappearance, and an old friend from Kate Burkholder's childhood and adolescence has been arrested for the Bishop's murder.<p></p><p></p><p>Three Dieners, church elders, come to Kate and ask her to investigate as they are positive that Jonas is innocent.</p><p>As always, I enjoy the way Castillo reveals Amish customs and culture and I enjoy the way Amish beliefs influence the plots. When I finished <u>The Hidden One</u>, I felt like this was one of my favorite books in the series. </p><p>The next morning, however, I had some questions... something that was not resolved. Doesn't change my overall opinion about the book because I was completely engaged throughout, but I am <i>really</i> curious about a couple of things that were not explained. <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #444444;">Spoiler:</span><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"> Who called Kate and said, "They were all there!"? Were the Dieners there? Did I miss something? </span></span></p><p>I checked the reviews on Goodreads, and no one mentions the thing that is bugging me. </p><p>NetGalley/St. Martin's Press</p><p>Mystery. July 5, 2022. Print length: 320 pages.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEifR4LJPybkKjAUxbRImrf1zY-DnCWg_-42kf6QnOUMEAgCKcogZR-J67EbtGhxcUQvyFmWDz7Kk9bRPqpY5IJsQcWjqY38hk_yeqF3hT6HKA3vbcn30JB9NFX-8KVY-BJcq9V3UkLCkD3UNU5RVubHNWZvsKPnqZek136ufBvljBw3CZ2_sqk=s202" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="202" data-original-width="134" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEifR4LJPybkKjAUxbRImrf1zY-DnCWg_-42kf6QnOUMEAgCKcogZR-J67EbtGhxcUQvyFmWDz7Kk9bRPqpY5IJsQcWjqY38hk_yeqF3hT6HKA3vbcn30JB9NFX-8KVY-BJcq9V3UkLCkD3UNU5RVubHNWZvsKPnqZek136ufBvljBw3CZ2_sqk=w212-h320" width="212" /></a></div>An interesting concept that involves internet dating sites, algorithms, and a company that verifies information of members.<p></p><p>Claudia Linn works for Veracity, a company that verifies profile information if a client finds something that doesn't ring true or that worries them. When a client ends up dead, Claudia gets involved.</p><p>There were several elements that evoked my interest about online dating profiles. I mean, we've become accustomed to the jokes about "I enjoy sunsets and walks on the beach" kind of thing. I was curious about the kinds of questions matchmaking sites <u>actually</u> asked to try for a match. Do these sites try to match only similar interests (if people are even honest in their interests)? Do they ever match "opposites," I wonder. What algorithms?</p><p>On a more serious level, how <u>do</u> companies go about checking for out-and-out dishonesty about professions, locations, financial situations, etc. in a client's profile? The match-making sites are part of our lives since the advent of the internet, but I have never really thought about them in a way that doesn't include the use of online-dating in a mystery novel or thriller. </p><p>Unfortunately, this book was not a match for me--the characters felt artificial, the promised humor was hit or miss, I didn't learn much about what I was curious about, and the plot itself didn't really engage me. Note: I'm in the minority about this according to GR reviews. </p><p>NetGalley/Knopf/Doubleday </p><p>LGBQT Mystery. February, 2022. Print length: 368 pages</p><p>--------</p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span face="Roboto, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 16px;"><b>Note</b> about earlier review of <u>The Silenc</u>e. In America: <i>An 1893 court ruling increased pressure to keep Indian children in Boarding schools. It was </i></span><i><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span face="Roboto, arial, sans-serif" style="color: #202124; font-size: 16px;">not until </span><b style="color: #202124; font-size: 16px;">1978</b></span><span face="Roboto, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 16px;"> with the passing of the Indian Child Welfare Act that Native American parents gained the legal right to deny their children's placement in off-reservation schools.</span></i></span></p><p><span face="Roboto, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: georgia; font-size: 16px;">Also, Cathy mentioned the film <u>The Rabbit-Proof Fence</u> in her comment , and I want to see it. I may just read the book, but Kenneth Branagh is in the film, and he is always worth watching.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Love this!</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEib5Mc7dta3k_eYnVf6xeXJtdhyN1Xl8gVxiYAHUrWaq7v14PKwRZl7g7oeIcoUdraF9uuF9P1Xk3boHoPXYBKy2exOYCMES1wdyavkeO3AQjO3rE9J08bH4IocLamOduvQb-0XlEkhJrrofzdlTJc7mTU3AqfwnBYGErLxbdbf35QSdUqmG68=s540" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="511" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEib5Mc7dta3k_eYnVf6xeXJtdhyN1Xl8gVxiYAHUrWaq7v14PKwRZl7g7oeIcoUdraF9uuF9P1Xk3boHoPXYBKy2exOYCMES1wdyavkeO3AQjO3rE9J08bH4IocLamOduvQb-0XlEkhJrrofzdlTJc7mTU3AqfwnBYGErLxbdbf35QSdUqmG68=w606-h640" width="606" /></span></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgg7VQ-D3MdT6HjZd1cz_LfDa2SPhcNWxCJxbcxjKqnXQYePMtlLXLtkUX0K1igCmmtJ6Stif837C3wetYS0c1-aYzvKR0NBqhdh2kjMUHNPhzCfDyW2X9oG_sQlReNF3q0K0BydDplzfVo74rX0Kx0JY7Aw4vumVpXKuNgyT2P8zsdKhHwL8w=s526" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="526" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgg7VQ-D3MdT6HjZd1cz_LfDa2SPhcNWxCJxbcxjKqnXQYePMtlLXLtkUX0K1igCmmtJ6Stif837C3wetYS0c1-aYzvKR0NBqhdh2kjMUHNPhzCfDyW2X9oG_sQlReNF3q0K0BydDplzfVo74rX0Kx0JY7Aw4vumVpXKuNgyT2P8zsdKhHwL8w=w640-h640" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>jenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-46805428691818525942022-03-07T08:06:00.001-06:002022-03-07T08:06:15.857-06:00Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens by Andrea Penrose, The Silence by Susan Allott, and The Summer We Forgot by Caroline George<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMjCeE_tT5G3e_UJd-Bpv5Wd5kBt6TucBElUU8yLd67EUaU6Bss-jCAzlBPf82ErNpKs5qF-d1tlNHPSVZAbkuOQ63EirpbrpZy7Idilva24jG0j7wZyvmrzDJ5IynDQsrg5CGNs2WoJ8KyFNT5axyBd0SdrePzH7JrBqPQmmc-SWu31yEROo=s475" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMjCeE_tT5G3e_UJd-Bpv5Wd5kBt6TucBElUU8yLd67EUaU6Bss-jCAzlBPf82ErNpKs5qF-d1tlNHPSVZAbkuOQ63EirpbrpZy7Idilva24jG0j7wZyvmrzDJ5IynDQsrg5CGNs2WoJ8KyFNT5axyBd0SdrePzH7JrBqPQmmc-SWu31yEROo=s320" width="212" /></a></div><div>The first book in the Wrexford & Sloane series was so much fun! The last couple of books have been less so. </div><div><br /></div><div>The spark has gone out somehow. The Weasels are still fun, but Wrexford and Charlotte have become less vibrant. I hope the next one gives the MCs a bit more of their previous élan.</div><div><br /></div><div>Read in Feb.</div><div><br /></div><div>Kindle Unlimited</div><div>Regency Mystery. 2021. print length: 353 pages</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYBqg5xUO5QPzTB6XdUaIiIRrWXCuBS7cUmjcJGCQPP8AM_G35aLX-M7bxPm1VZMraQAwJYOpb0yaTfeqsHXepBl8xCQSJ4bM1VVMw4txRsoICO1yfJ2TxGQAmqNHoccZxk4PLiUkHi1P9Ab4klnR_Qay05OTx0RZuFLvD1YsKLuDq7hDi4Jc=s459" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="459" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYBqg5xUO5QPzTB6XdUaIiIRrWXCuBS7cUmjcJGCQPP8AM_G35aLX-M7bxPm1VZMraQAwJYOpb0yaTfeqsHXepBl8xCQSJ4bM1VVMw4txRsoICO1yfJ2TxGQAmqNHoccZxk4PLiUkHi1P9Ab4klnR_Qay05OTx0RZuFLvD1YsKLuDq7hDi4Jc=s320" width="222" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><u>The Silence</u> is a layered story told in alternating timelines that unfold gradually. Slow paced and character driven, the 1967 backstory reveals the human flaws in two families, flaws that are exacerbated by the situations in which they find themselves. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Steve, a policeman, hates the frequent requirement of removing aboriginal children from their homes and placing them in institutions, and he doesn't believe that the institutions will actually provide a better life regardless of what the government says. The strain builds until he can no longer cope; he is unraveling, coming undone. Mandy, his wife, never grasps the effect the job has on her husband <u>or</u> on their marriage. Steve wants children, but Mandy doesn't tell him that she is still taking her birth control pills.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next door, Joe, an alcoholic, and Louisa, homesick for England, have marital problems that are only partially revealed until later, but Louisa hates Australia and wants to return to England. All of this is divulged in the chapters that give the backstory. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">(Think: "The past is not dead. It is not even past."--Faulkner; "What's past is prologue."--Shakespeare)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">In the 1997 timeline, Isla Green, an alcoholic working for sobriety, receives a call from her father. Joe tells her that he is under suspicion for Mandy's disappearance thirty years ago, and Isla returns to Australia for the first time in ten years--to her dysfunctional family and some vague memories of her early childhood.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">The characters are not always likable, but they are very human and three-dimensional. The scenes are visual and atmospheric--drawing the reader into the story in a palpable way. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: ff-tisa-web-pro, Garamond, serif; font-size: 18px;">Theoretically, the removal of indigenous children from their parents was colonial Britain’s attempt to improve their living conditions. But in practice, kids were stolen from loving homes and brought to institutions that trained them to work for white people. Abuse, cruelty, and inhumanity filled their new lives. (via <a href="https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/index.php/bookreview/the-silence-a-novel">Washington Independent Review of Books</a>)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Being <i>silent</i> about past mistakes doesn't remove the influence of those mistakes. Not in families, not in social norms, not in government actions. The problems these two families deal with are both personal and general. The practices of Australian government are not unique, they have been pretty universal, and we have our own situations to atone for.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Powerful.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Audiobook read by Nelle Stewart. </span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhH740QaYWE0TjsIy1I51_Vymojf2zfjc5_QNX6oFuaFO7H5BMz1xR9h_CPAgrNtVNz7bwY5my0u-UaVHzbh5ZMl6hSTbQ35haY6Xt6CcSpFjayDPq6cPwMoa9Tph7I0U5Be5Ew_Z7JTslmvMRQRJ0xPh7v6gjPqdiUgyO1OimJwZmE7z-7LQ=s2400" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1576" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhH740QaYWE0TjsIy1I51_Vymojf2zfjc5_QNX6oFuaFO7H5BMz1xR9h_CPAgrNtVNz7bwY5my0u-UaVHzbh5ZMl6hSTbQ35haY6Xt6CcSpFjayDPq6cPwMoa9Tph7I0U5Be5Ew_Z7JTslmvMRQRJ0xPh7v6gjPqdiUgyO1OimJwZmE7z-7LQ=s320" width="210" /></a></div><div><b>from description:</b> "<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">Darby and Morgan haven’t spoken for two years, and their friend group has splintered. But when the body of their former science teacher is found in the marsh where they attended camp that summer, they realize they have more questions than answers . . . and even fewer memories."</span></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">A group of friends who attended a summer camp, can't remember the experience. The two voices, Darby and Morgan's are indistinguishable. I had to stop and think about who was actually speaking numerous times. Difficult to have much character development when the voices don't indicate individuality.</span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Plot is...less than believable, and the style is disrupted in a number of ways, disjointed and ponderous, and too long.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">NetGalley/Thomas Nelson</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Mystery. March 8, 2022. Print length: 413 pages. <br /></span><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUeQjy_rYPiAOP5Z7Z3Vj6wOpp8WL1GW8R2YJpO2ET8ShKu81hazOKDPPlV4fcDEooGLOEVYRFasn4GMxOi7XKSwzzjUfB0vTal84UV8MSckMmt8Sznf1-35UEe3T6o5vOSZhbZqrKkQN3oZKNPJaVzIVseU38b3keFXGthiu9BG8XmVDS_tc=s690" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="690" data-original-width="526" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjUeQjy_rYPiAOP5Z7Z3Vj6wOpp8WL1GW8R2YJpO2ET8ShKu81hazOKDPPlV4fcDEooGLOEVYRFasn4GMxOi7XKSwzzjUfB0vTal84UV8MSckMmt8Sznf1-35UEe3T6o5vOSZhbZqrKkQN3oZKNPJaVzIVseU38b3keFXGthiu9BG8XmVDS_tc=w488-h640" width="488" /></a></div><br /> <p></p></div></div>jenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-8148023925920989492022-03-04T12:05:00.002-06:002022-03-04T12:05:26.347-06:00Dorset Crime Series by Rachel McLean<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b> International Correspondence Writing Month</b> (InCoWriMo) is over, but I still have some letters to respond to. It was difficult to get a letter in the mail each day in February and there were days when I had to catch up with three or more letters at a time. A challenge, but fun--especially getting so much mail!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I've received letters from new people, in addition to the folks I usually write, and this has been especially enjoyable. The incoming mail will continue into March--because letters written later in the month take awhile to arrive and some folks are from the UK, Canada, France, and Australia. The main requirement is to write back to everyone who writes you, and I already do that. Maybe not promptly, but persistently. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The last batch of February letters went out on Saturday and on Monday (2.28.22).<br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjdP7-tCl8lQ3GXTwE1r2amWjYafKLCXw0N785UMht6eS49CU97gUrv8Up4VgBBYrmoZpuKDhqtHGGCzEJRGF0Db0qxFPgi4OHl2bccpi4Wwhlb8z80O8v4MMtM5CFlw1VytGIElk9eNzuUn09p5W3h8V5SmbFyQA14BXE_6DeVyhLK5JQS4Gg=s1600" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjdP7-tCl8lQ3GXTwE1r2amWjYafKLCXw0N785UMht6eS49CU97gUrv8Up4VgBBYrmoZpuKDhqtHGGCzEJRGF0Db0qxFPgi4OHl2bccpi4Wwhlb8z80O8v4MMtM5CFlw1VytGIElk9eNzuUn09p5W3h8V5SmbFyQA14BXE_6DeVyhLK5JQS4Gg=w640-h640" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Of course, I've been reading, too. A new-to-me series by Rachel McLean; the Dorset Crime books are fast-paced, and I couldn't go through them fast enough! There is an overarching plot that links the books, but each is fine as a standalone. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnWjP2xDaUuXj2SvBACYNDGqn514ETL1qY_fF5DZlBhWPuXH3acawnbNCnNibGYAZt2QQQikwDQevYUiJieelZov37bBBezyb1EMqWVN0kPrC0TB9fQP5T5qyDlDuY-ine7F6FbMVpRSuN9CEvjqW4SGBW0rz2jN3ZRvr72o1dQ9KAVLqSvXM=s5120" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5120" data-original-width="5120" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnWjP2xDaUuXj2SvBACYNDGqn514ETL1qY_fF5DZlBhWPuXH3acawnbNCnNibGYAZt2QQQikwDQevYUiJieelZov37bBBezyb1EMqWVN0kPrC0TB9fQP5T5qyDlDuY-ine7F6FbMVpRSuN9CEvjqW4SGBW0rz2jN3ZRvr72o1dQ9KAVLqSvXM=w640-h640" width="640" /></a></span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">:)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMdmM9xOSfAbz0EFLy0TR2y6-0jsH5sBb7AAeV3MyIF-BS7lj2_HXLEQjdIoDChI-ed3-arbjoXJ4Gg8bakLlLDOuHc_tXq4bvoV5mQAuLhoR0VAQ9j3iY1azJKbkylpYJ8GJn3a_cbTD79sHtysyiq4_M1uZYddOxkcCV80OufSvgYqE2_TI=s600" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="527" data-original-width="600" height="562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMdmM9xOSfAbz0EFLy0TR2y6-0jsH5sBb7AAeV3MyIF-BS7lj2_HXLEQjdIoDChI-ed3-arbjoXJ4Gg8bakLlLDOuHc_tXq4bvoV5mQAuLhoR0VAQ9j3iY1azJKbkylpYJ8GJn3a_cbTD79sHtysyiq4_M1uZYddOxkcCV80OufSvgYqE2_TI=w640-h562" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjt9mUrd9bOnLkY57pEhr4pfsARNZzwl8ZC45Zbxke3JWwKoGqao3OOZg4o8C8SmalBOWovjOQ5gSBokhjJZp8I9yLE4LdvvR4faIcxJEM1GP3PLZstxRK4sk1_7yU4Ai3vrU9sjrFxQlO09yx987wF0Z38JJqQZYUuBf31ufc5LABqusmpTH0=s560" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="560" data-original-width="500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjt9mUrd9bOnLkY57pEhr4pfsARNZzwl8ZC45Zbxke3JWwKoGqao3OOZg4o8C8SmalBOWovjOQ5gSBokhjJZp8I9yLE4LdvvR4faIcxJEM1GP3PLZstxRK4sk1_7yU4Ai3vrU9sjrFxQlO09yx987wF0Z38JJqQZYUuBf31ufc5LABqusmpTH0=w572-h640" width="572" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>jenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-62042687933889604532022-02-23T13:53:00.000-06:002022-02-23T14:13:49.745-06:00A Divided Loyalty by Charles Todd, The Wilderwomen by Ruth Emmie Lang, and Carville's Cure: leprosy Stigma, and the Fight for Justice by Pam Fessler<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEim1zbiOHeoAuwX6zwAqd57vNCNa1IWLkwspk6TFe7OwLeSW0Go74d3zl3o9Vw7QhDZUDDUtExsxoHVS4uJvGBVcb39Y_OQ4yKS3oVX-2fsjXok0u2no1py66BVimzbi5nznXTu8aaUzn10FvPB6u0wYBRL0GrPXbPsJxOfbQf-qKNVua-WoS8=s400" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="264" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEim1zbiOHeoAuwX6zwAqd57vNCNa1IWLkwspk6TFe7OwLeSW0Go74d3zl3o9Vw7QhDZUDDUtExsxoHVS4uJvGBVcb39Y_OQ4yKS3oVX-2fsjXok0u2no1py66BVimzbi5nznXTu8aaUzn10FvPB6u0wYBRL0GrPXbPsJxOfbQf-qKNVua-WoS8=s320" width="211" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">I began reading this series with the first book years ago, but have missed many recent adventures. Fortunately, the books can be read as standalones. A historical mystery series featuring Scotland Yard detective Ian Rutledge, the series begins shortly after WWI when Rutledge returns to Scotland Yard. </span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Charles Todd books plot excellent mysteries and deal with the aftereffects of the war on society in general and on Rutledge, who suffered from shellshock, in particular. </span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">The voice of the dead corporal Hamish MacLeod, occurs more frequently in the earlier books, but has diminished over the years. Rutledge has become more accustomed to the voice, recognizing Hamish as a part of his own mind.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><u>A Divided Loyalty</u> has Rutledge assigned to a case that a friend and superior officer did not solve: the murder of a young woman whose body was found next to a standing stone at Avebury. Rutledge is aware that Chief Superintendent Markham does not expect him to solve the case and that Markham hopes to use his failure as a means of getting rid of Rutledge. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">There is almost nothing to go on, but that does not stop Rutledge from pursuing every avenue he can. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Written by the mother and son team who publish as Charles Todd.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">William Morrow Publishers</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Historical Mystery. Feb. 4, 2022. Print length: 335 pages</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjlP4NnO3ewfGJDPpBb3l-b6MA9C733fOtCq133QUuptIrHk0j7uwOETRV68rs5TAFhm1Mpu2hustVJFiZ2hXQhCKtJJh5jrfBRTisDYPkeeS9H1Mop_Of0WzMz_bcRyUZXgxx0my1K2y-6wLWiG90wGrWm6SQOFbksh12s4Y9GXjXv5A5Kieo=s2550" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2550" data-original-width="1650" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjlP4NnO3ewfGJDPpBb3l-b6MA9C733fOtCq133QUuptIrHk0j7uwOETRV68rs5TAFhm1Mpu2hustVJFiZ2hXQhCKtJJh5jrfBRTisDYPkeeS9H1Mop_Of0WzMz_bcRyUZXgxx0my1K2y-6wLWiG90wGrWm6SQOFbksh12s4Y9GXjXv5A5Kieo=s320" width="207" /></a></div> From Description:</b> f</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">ive years ago, Nora Wilder disappeared. The older of her two daughters, Zadie, should have seen it coming, because she can literally see things coming. But not even her psychic abilities were able to prevent their mother from vanishing one morning.</span></div></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">I am not at all sure what I think of this one. The writing is excellent, the premise is intriguing, but even though parts that were quite interesting, I wasn't satisfied.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">I glanced at reviews when I finished, and almost everyone else loved it. Several reviewers found it fast-paced, when I found it slow--but I'm definitely in the minority. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">NetGalley/St. Martin's Press</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Fantasy? Nov. 15, 2022. Print length: 336 pages.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgge94PgCbTzsbT9tWSz1FT5nfHwJd18ycl2XS9is025ZPojwpY1cJV_PF5dEFKmCtOdAVawmaWgVkD1-BSolu5nuA2FAKmwxDLvoF217ULRWuhznPhXbF2trXNfx3TBinRJ3OvafTyHt3JKa-WR7nYIdoLvNu0min-TBo_uDVvwJ5ysA2ml7k=s475" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgge94PgCbTzsbT9tWSz1FT5nfHwJd18ycl2XS9is025ZPojwpY1cJV_PF5dEFKmCtOdAVawmaWgVkD1-BSolu5nuA2FAKmwxDLvoF217ULRWuhznPhXbF2trXNfx3TBinRJ3OvafTyHt3JKa-WR7nYIdoLvNu0min-TBo_uDVvwJ5ysA2ml7k=s320" width="211" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">For some reason, I have associated the leper colony at Carville with Walker Percy, but it must of been just a brief mention in one of his novels. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">At any rate, Hansen's disease was and is one of the real boogiemen of diseases, largely because it has been misrepresented for centuries. The disfigurement and the stigma associated with leprosy was almost as bad as the disease itself.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">In 1894, the first seven patients were taken to what would become the Louisiana Leper Home near Carville in Iberville Parish, Louisiana. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Pam Fessler's research is impeccable and fortunately the history of the colony has been recorded in detail by the doctors, the nursing sisters of the Daughters of Charity, and the patients themselves.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">I had no idea that the history of Carville would be so enthralling, and the credit is largely due to Fessler's compassionate writing. The account ended up being as compelling as a novel, something I never expected. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Quickly immersed in the history and in the lives of those who were patients and the lives of those who treated them, I found the book difficult to put down. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Once diagnosed, patients had no choice, if they did not go willingly, then they were forcefully taken to the facility, sometimes in handcuffs. Their names were changed to save their families from the shame and fear of the disease, and they were isolated from the public and even their own families. All ages, genders, races, religions, and cultures created a diversity almost unheard of as patients from all over the country ended up in Carville. Many patients spent almost their entire lives in Carville.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">abandoned plantation that was to house </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">the Daughters of Charity</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">when they arrived in the 1894</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjNAl--4fF2Hgg7mPYkLFUcOvlfHopfGEU1zPvbUj39KAZdbQoUgcNmPCDO1yUrlwFgEXkAT1hJwIqYLF-GD279YDp8UhxrztY2vlgLelXHBkuaN7J_y1FqKMR2eDNAuPTgR4XOlwQ_DWLXVTPrsjirjqmDVwrIR4y0c6RF1Jvfj6LPi8GEzZY=s880" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="606" data-original-width="880" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjNAl--4fF2Hgg7mPYkLFUcOvlfHopfGEU1zPvbUj39KAZdbQoUgcNmPCDO1yUrlwFgEXkAT1hJwIqYLF-GD279YDp8UhxrztY2vlgLelXHBkuaN7J_y1FqKMR2eDNAuPTgR4XOlwQ_DWLXVTPrsjirjqmDVwrIR4y0c6RF1Jvfj6LPi8GEzZY=w640-h440" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">slave cabins to house patients</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-BD53ckJmi6Ylmd1YN8e0yiZ6HCdxi_BPna5DbNPIbi4AN7v3f6KgU836v5IEFoKs29Ki_z2gIYRjTAcnxecT898Kfky04xzxgaQExqh-r-nSdfkxfpodIQpHXkjEz8JvCOCM_DypKpBBRlrOurtOVpvvZata08D8sx6JCLVwyGaJajOaeq0=s800" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="800" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-BD53ckJmi6Ylmd1YN8e0yiZ6HCdxi_BPna5DbNPIbi4AN7v3f6KgU836v5IEFoKs29Ki_z2gIYRjTAcnxecT898Kfky04xzxgaQExqh-r-nSdfkxfpodIQpHXkjEz8JvCOCM_DypKpBBRlrOurtOVpvvZata08D8sx6JCLVwyGaJajOaeq0=w640-h504" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">The situation improved, bit by bit over the decades to follow, and I was completely invested in both the history and the patients. I was horrified at the separation of children from their families and at of some of the early rules to prevent contagion (even though they knew that the disease was not very contagious). I celebrated the triumphs and marveled at the resilience and determination of both caretakers and patients. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">This was a remarkable book, and I'm so glad I happened on it. It is not one I will forget--from John Early to Stanley Stein to Betty and Harry Martin, to Jack and Rachael Pendelton, to Simeon Peterson (known as <i>Mr. Pete</i>, who spent 83 of his 89 years in institutions, first in the St. Croix Leprosarium and then in Carville. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Highly recommended. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">(<b><a href="https://prcno.org/revisiting-louisianas-medical-legacy-national-leprosarium-carville/">More about Carville</a></b>) Many of you might mark this one down for November's Nonfiction Month if you don't have time to read it now.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nonfiction. 2020. Print length: 409 pages.<br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh647o6DREWNmHlXLyzus0wFqJUvDMod21GJUR6rE2iUDvP_En8RkqFv14b1Uj1cDzHLZYtFet4MHl4EvGuRplOlO5uqFQ0KhHUz_Rwb3dKMVM6MXZwo-xtMo1gKRoIN9cGlpKjp3JkxYTTEoXOd7Y42Dz8XSyd9pXZlO39oYtSyYsqKCkQc9M=s600" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="512" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh647o6DREWNmHlXLyzus0wFqJUvDMod21GJUR6rE2iUDvP_En8RkqFv14b1Uj1cDzHLZYtFet4MHl4EvGuRplOlO5uqFQ0KhHUz_Rwb3dKMVM6MXZwo-xtMo1gKRoIN9cGlpKjp3JkxYTTEoXOd7Y42Dz8XSyd9pXZlO39oYtSyYsqKCkQc9M=w546-h640" width="546" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p></div></div>jenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-36962302482453309992022-02-19T12:45:00.003-06:002022-02-19T12:45:40.428-06:00Finders Keepers and End of Watch by Stephen King; Hideout by Louisa Vega<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgoFxflVyRlUEE6mOE27UAINjhLQ8JhUswjLMZru1--y0ZVdNMq8462uYss073Fa2s-F2CyGLjT6Q8DqmtYYDrxWYiPtBh_d4KYcQyg5CEbJyblwcs7zGthA1JERgs0_aGqZe_l7tZPikD9DdEbGoxLFJ7LLdguqDSxPUrY0HklbkxB0kIWhKU=s475" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="306" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgoFxflVyRlUEE6mOE27UAINjhLQ8JhUswjLMZru1--y0ZVdNMq8462uYss073Fa2s-F2CyGLjT6Q8DqmtYYDrxWYiPtBh_d4KYcQyg5CEbJyblwcs7zGthA1JERgs0_aGqZe_l7tZPikD9DdEbGoxLFJ7LLdguqDSxPUrY0HklbkxB0kIWhKU=s320" width="206" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">During February, I finished listening to <u>Finders Keepers</u> and to <u>End of Watch</u> by Stephen King. I didn't like <u>Finders Keepers</u> as much as <u>Mr. Mercedes</u>, although it was a good mystery/thriller. I think this was because, as the second book in the trilogy, I expected Bill, Holly, and Jerome to be a larger part of the book, and they didn't appear at least have way through. My expectations were more at fault than the book, and the characters were well drawn and believable. </span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEicG9cCRQr0FFaQulnuhk_p71v9XSeHVmY5oTdV3KXNAfRU1xonjuaBkvWLPdSASPJqPO1o8BOGpOdQbXYhtfl7ELeslTkF9fdDtS4o9XrsRahrjkZHCGdaPnjrFlHD9cojG-dDoXcYq_HmTpd0rHxCmHKC8Vuzlyi2U7L7p8oM-war1YedVPg=s475" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEicG9cCRQr0FFaQulnuhk_p71v9XSeHVmY5oTdV3KXNAfRU1xonjuaBkvWLPdSASPJqPO1o8BOGpOdQbXYhtfl7ELeslTkF9fdDtS4o9XrsRahrjkZHCGdaPnjrFlHD9cojG-dDoXcYq_HmTpd0rHxCmHKC8Vuzlyi2U7L7p8oM-war1YedVPg=s320" width="211" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Although I read <u>End of Watch</u> in 2016 (my first ever book by King), I went ahead and got the audio version because I knew I'd forgotten much of it, and I could listen while doing other things. Will Patton does an excellent job on the narration, but there were so many characters! All of the female characters had the same speech patterns and intonations. </span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><b>If</b> </i>I had not <i>read</i> the book first (giving Holly my own imagination of her voice and style), I might not have been bothered with Holly's "voice" in the audio version. But I did, and I was. Otherwise, the narration was great and kudos to Patton for all the voices he had to deal with. Trying to differentiate so many voices is pretty much impossible. <br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">While </span><u style="font-family: georgia;">Mr. Mercedes</u><span style="font-family: georgia;"> and </span><u style="font-family: georgia;">Finders Keepers</u><span style="font-family: georgia;"> are crime thrillers, </span><u style="font-family: georgia;">End of Watch</u><span style="font-family: georgia;"> introduces a supernatural element. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg83sJle8auOla1p3FgF9XSuR14W2T8J1BW2FTzXLsqnhzdaHBYVPn3t0JU5IoTJLZNEnaZPbD2FD_IPV1qrIQ8mJxTZVeHlcJkohQfPsSZ_vWTbMJvlDFgu2eGEmTFllV0KkNg0pp0CcBPf6yJqr1xBwiLkJkQ9qmIHY9FL4hpVEjPfRIf6BA=s500" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="329" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg83sJle8auOla1p3FgF9XSuR14W2T8J1BW2FTzXLsqnhzdaHBYVPn3t0JU5IoTJLZNEnaZPbD2FD_IPV1qrIQ8mJxTZVeHlcJkohQfPsSZ_vWTbMJvlDFgu2eGEmTFllV0KkNg0pp0CcBPf6yJqr1xBwiLkJkQ9qmIHY9FL4hpVEjPfRIf6BA=s320" width="211" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Private Investigator Alice Vega, takes on a cold case, not her typical kind of thing, but the money is good.</span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Zeb Williams has been missing for 30 years. A rising football star, who in 1984 took the ball and ran to the rival team's goal post and kept on running--out of the stadium and out of the lives of everyone who knew him.<br /><span><br />Zeb Williams became a cult figure and while initially there were occasional supposed sightings, thirty years later, no one knows if he is alive or dead. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span>Alice Vega was given one photograph that showed Williams in a small town in Oregon. After failing to induce Max Caplan to accompany her, Vega goes alone.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span>For several reasons, this third book in the series did not resonate with me. I did not want to abandon it, but Vega didn't feel as genuine in this installment. Caplan, at home with his daughter, had some problems of his own. <u>Hideout</u> isn't bad, but I didn't find it as enjoyable as the previous two books. Maybe Vega needs Caplan to help make her believable. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span>NetGalley/Doubleday</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span>Mystery/Suspense. March 8, 2022. Print length: 368 pages.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span>I've continued reading the <i>DCI Harry Grimm series</i>, which are fast-paced and fun with likable Yorkshire characters and distasteful villains. :)</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span>February is International Correspondence Writing Month (InCoWriMo), and I decided to participate this year. It is quite the challenge, and I've found it a bit overwhelming, but it is such fun to find even more letters in my mailbox!</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzSaEzr4fkrulexLkYEQHKqMySwDHPZVkMNcK1TNLMxi5M-d8JepyCiKYRUpMYDBZS1F2MG2Wgd_1hha9vsCL1xVWhjpBCD-3Qb0czwbSrVhX51UlXdirqDZf6Bw_6-aUx4WxamjViLzDYZzFNQ0nn0JSR0wmkwwZEo7_aAFRmRnj2mW0LhpM=s480" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhzSaEzr4fkrulexLkYEQHKqMySwDHPZVkMNcK1TNLMxi5M-d8JepyCiKYRUpMYDBZS1F2MG2Wgd_1hha9vsCL1xVWhjpBCD-3Qb0czwbSrVhX51UlXdirqDZf6Bw_6-aUx4WxamjViLzDYZzFNQ0nn0JSR0wmkwwZEo7_aAFRmRnj2mW0LhpM=w640-h640" width="640" /></a></p></div></div>jenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-91777569569416637152022-02-16T12:11:00.000-06:002022-02-16T12:11:54.379-06:00At Home on An Unruly Planet: Finding Refuge on a Changed Earth by Madeline Ostrander<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjpvKop1h1Ybu4Yt3vpEebCzsetm1VmLU1E_RpzXXBQPphfute3-1shjISM4U_ZJ4kg20ywGp-ABFamms1xDog0tLmR_No3x3u5eckHFXxhc0iNZp5VsfSNQQ7RxyzrKyhSosIA4Wfqs0WyEMDipZuK-MXqo-6gZ0YWmf5SgwlwC6sUqmTPaSg=s400" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="263" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjpvKop1h1Ybu4Yt3vpEebCzsetm1VmLU1E_RpzXXBQPphfute3-1shjISM4U_ZJ4kg20ywGp-ABFamms1xDog0tLmR_No3x3u5eckHFXxhc0iNZp5VsfSNQQ7RxyzrKyhSosIA4Wfqs0WyEMDipZuK-MXqo-6gZ0YWmf5SgwlwC6sUqmTPaSg=s320" width="210" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><u>At Home on an Unruly Planet</u> by Madeline Ostrander discusses the effects of climate change on our sense of home, community, tradition, and history. As it is often difficult to follow all the dominoes that have been set off by a warming planet, Ostrander looks at a few places specifically to illustrate the larger picture.</span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Many of us have recognized, if even in a vague way, that there will be more climate refugees as people lose homes and/or an economic base to the changing climate . In some regions, especially in coastal regions, the movement away from the encroaching sea and more frequent and powerful storms has been recognized for years. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">The damage to the coastal areas of our country and to the livelihoods of people who, for generations, have </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">depended on the sea (and who have lost homes and possessions many times)--for these people, the recurring losses can create a sense of homelessness that is beyond housing. It is the loss of a way of life that includes family history, community, culture and hope for the next generation. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">By looking at a few places in greater detail, Ostrander lets readers extrapolate that information to apply in varying degrees to all disaster prone areas. The country and the world is confronting climate disasters, experiencing higher tides, more frequent and severe flooding, drought, and wildfires. These catastrophes result in the loss of local histories, traditions, culture, historic buildings, and communities as well as individual homes. Ostrander examines instances in which communities struggle to prepare for more change, but there are also places where continuing the fight is no longer feasible; where individuals and entire areas have accepted that they have to let go. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Ostrander looks at an Inuit village in Alaska lost to the sea and thawing tundra that must relocate an entire village (there are more since Ostrander visited and researched Newtok); the fires in the Pacific North West that burn hotter, faster, and more frequently; the effect of pollution on the local population from a refinery in Richmond, CA; and the loss of historic buildings in St. Augustine, FL. Her writing is personal and reflects on predictions of how and when the warming climate will make changes in our lives, what is being done to prepare for the changes, and what must yet be done to ease the transitions that are required.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Individuals can and should plan and prepare (as those in wildfire areas and in areas threatened by flooding know--having a <a href="https://www.ready.gov/kit"><b>go bag</b></a> with important papers, water, food, flashlights, etc. can make a huge difference in case of a disaster). Communities are often more effective working together as a unit, harnessing the talents and knowledge of its citizens when an emergency occurs. Individuals and even communities, however, cannot prevent or mediate climate change emergencies on their own. It is imperative that local, state, and national government be involved in planning for the changes to come. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Highly Recommended.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">NetGalley/Henry Holt & Co</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nonfiction/Climate Preparedness. Aug. 2, 2022. Print length: 352 pages. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span> <br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhH6G8drSZzBQnJVMpTXRl5oN54NJA7-CFb3aquZ_WUSYVtt62WMF9M2z1zq0H33sxpbMVzDWVAkdosv1FpxiIWW-DYHqWkknaVmSM8SR3cI5eBxyWNwyTsHWioPUqYPI04ehwIzKU8dLKjGyIdd1EvBD5cyHe6s68d3Xi-ttuyoCcDXFz70lA=s526" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="526" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhH6G8drSZzBQnJVMpTXRl5oN54NJA7-CFb3aquZ_WUSYVtt62WMF9M2z1zq0H33sxpbMVzDWVAkdosv1FpxiIWW-DYHqWkknaVmSM8SR3cI5eBxyWNwyTsHWioPUqYPI04ehwIzKU8dLKjGyIdd1EvBD5cyHe6s68d3Xi-ttuyoCcDXFz70lA=s16000" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p></div>jenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-54089190050021269262022-02-12T11:14:00.000-06:002022-02-12T11:14:56.745-06:00The Raven Spell by Luanne G. Smith, Between Kings by W.R. Gingell, Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiraHhFbj0Am0HijFKfQT7DLuL8q9FipjHzhx2O9TlMyg64hRxUxkiOvb8bKY9mlfTJ0TCF0gWjEwYDfULreCme4JfEPPP6Xw_Pgor7pIbsjOErCw3Rg82RQmMy_EuIBhgJ1iI8LZhXNW47gKD9YzaSBrE-0qNEIJXZ3nLpgHakjROZ3trfGRM=s475" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiraHhFbj0Am0HijFKfQT7DLuL8q9FipjHzhx2O9TlMyg64hRxUxkiOvb8bKY9mlfTJ0TCF0gWjEwYDfULreCme4JfEPPP6Xw_Pgor7pIbsjOErCw3Rg82RQmMy_EuIBhgJ1iI8LZhXNW47gKD9YzaSBrE-0qNEIJXZ3nLpgHakjROZ3trfGRM=s320" width="214" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">from description: <i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px;">In Victorian England a witch and a detective are on the hunt for a serial killer in an enthralling novel of magic and murder. </i></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">This was a fun mystery with a lot of magical elements thrown in. First in a new series.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Read in January.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Fantasy. Feb. 1, 2022. Print length: 256 pages.<br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjnc95L_vZa6pXPFxWdSsd_-Cm310BK3LbH8jFA0hw7jxr1p_XK-dQVaaD8QKo5h6zLsm7l7-J24hhUiTRKNEvAXPGX2kL5wPnNs6Af3XS7VKa8sGXxstoPp6M4jMkuQEz9FAsoa7XgQS9-g1bpI5nTTK2_KAOKke9ro_3uIY3zSUUeuWexJ8c=s475" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjnc95L_vZa6pXPFxWdSsd_-Cm310BK3LbH8jFA0hw7jxr1p_XK-dQVaaD8QKo5h6zLsm7l7-J24hhUiTRKNEvAXPGX2kL5wPnNs6Af3XS7VKa8sGXxstoPp6M4jMkuQEz9FAsoa7XgQS9-g1bpI5nTTK2_KAOKke9ro_3uIY3zSUUeuWexJ8c=s320" width="210" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">F<span style="font-family: georgia;">inal installment of the <i>Between</i> series, which has been building characters throughout. Some surprises, one that made me happy! </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Gingell has had fun with the series, and so did I. ; ) </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Urban fantasy. Dec. 31, 2022. Print length: 273 pages.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgx3nOmjxf1S3sJeTFS3cqXemMD8F4-E5UGYzEryB155Lk9ClBRHdfdoxnsQ_aCMbMgBuzKjyPMwLR9WctSld88lUVpXl5hFwqbBcQPUJNCqKgZjz1CwVta65vdaBw1lHTmnaT8eGjl6p_mDwgX2VQaULb3xgeqZFTyYyvGcZZVb8xzaZef-WE=s475" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgx3nOmjxf1S3sJeTFS3cqXemMD8F4-E5UGYzEryB155Lk9ClBRHdfdoxnsQ_aCMbMgBuzKjyPMwLR9WctSld88lUVpXl5hFwqbBcQPUJNCqKgZjz1CwVta65vdaBw1lHTmnaT8eGjl6p_mDwgX2VQaULb3xgeqZFTyYyvGcZZVb8xzaZef-WE=s320" width="211" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Although I read <u>End of Watch</u>, the third in this trilogy several years ago, only now have I gone back to read the first book.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">A crime thriller (not horror) featuring retired detective Bill Hodges and a couple of interesting helpers. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The book opens with a man driving a Mercedes into a crowd of job seekers, killing eight people and grievously injuring fifteen others; the reader experiences empathy with the folks gathered in hopes of finding jobs. Then...the devastation of lives lost and damaged when the murderer plows into the crowd.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It was the last case of Bill Hodges before retirement, and a case that remains unsolved. Now retired, bored, and depressed, Bill gets a letter from the Mercedes Killer that taunts him, encouraging him to commit suicide. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The effect is the opposite of what the killer wants, the smug and sinister letter galvanizes the retired detective and now Bill Hodges want to get to Mr. Mercedes for personal reasons as well as fear of another massacre.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Definitely creepy, but with fascinating characters, three of whom you end up liking a great deal and cheering on. This is the third Stephen King I've read: <u>End of Watch</u> some years ago, <u>Billy Summers</u> recently, and now <u>Mr. Mercedes</u>. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><u>Mr. Mercedes</u> was an audio book that allowed me to work on the poor apron I spilled bleach on and have been slowly covering with embroidery. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjwY4LR3FfqM67F8jsx9KQS4xqy7BmUBqevtF4phVfOFDUz37twCHLNe_zWESXBAfKaRXfDNZ5NTZHT6UP4I6FyG55G1qTeAi3q3tGl7wlRgy1eN6-pKPlE3iczWvgqJ6gGiTW3b-hXYVQQqk2IeGpuJDkkcFjM686IuaNwvFo0ueIamnGKeaQ=s479" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="479" height="546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjwY4LR3FfqM67F8jsx9KQS4xqy7BmUBqevtF4phVfOFDUz37twCHLNe_zWESXBAfKaRXfDNZ5NTZHT6UP4I6FyG55G1qTeAi3q3tGl7wlRgy1eN6-pKPlE3iczWvgqJ6gGiTW3b-hXYVQQqk2IeGpuJDkkcFjM686IuaNwvFo0ueIamnGKeaQ=w640-h546" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">The colors don't show up on this, but it is quite colorful on the black.<br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"Read" in February. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><a class="award" href="https://www.goodreads.com/award/show/365-hammett-prize" style="background-color: white; color: #00635d;">Hammett Prize (2014)</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">, </span><a class="award" href="https://www.goodreads.com/award/show/3816-edgar-award" style="background-color: white; color: #00635d; text-decoration-line: none;">Edgar Award for Best Novel (2015)</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;">, </span><a class="award" href="https://www.goodreads.com/award/show/21332-goodreads-choice-award" style="background-color: white; color: #00635d; text-decoration-line: none;">Goodreads Choice Award for Mystery & Thriller (2014)</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;"><i> </i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Audiobook narrated by Will Patton. 2014. Print length: 437 pages. </span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivRxfjfZFUQ17hID0XaQZk3fIizP0U-M6cQtr3LI1jzUoo2O-Uv_zJQaXGNuhAtx0JnLtr3lbbmP9hgpRYAEEP_zlmq31amliMTYS03uawBGsX165DNPgO1Ns4GhodtshvOyHIE8Bi8WA-7FfV_lvknnJRkE-250BKzo1vbABvCqIh3fdPXgk=s526" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="526" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivRxfjfZFUQ17hID0XaQZk3fIizP0U-M6cQtr3LI1jzUoo2O-Uv_zJQaXGNuhAtx0JnLtr3lbbmP9hgpRYAEEP_zlmq31amliMTYS03uawBGsX165DNPgO1Ns4GhodtshvOyHIE8Bi8WA-7FfV_lvknnJRkE-250BKzo1vbABvCqIh3fdPXgk=w640-h640" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <p></p></div>jenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-36125844745969323092022-02-05T11:18:00.001-06:002022-02-05T11:18:27.926-06:00Dust Bowl Girls: The Inspiring Story of the Team that Barnstormed its Way to Basketball Glory by Lydia Reeder; The Self-made Widow by Fabian Nicieza; Best Served Cold by David J. Gatward <p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Still catching up on January book reviews.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhV0LnqHshR-5nf1gM7RV4gaxcBh8DxNwjfw-BrTga_9s62d82wtIpQKXN0v7VnXpUTUxyJuKzuVY5FHgYLS2K3jlQR3bJxcrDlZzWagzIqFTJdy9UZUHF9oEaE_6mh6pzsxrsPQHEUuzOnZ-6g8hKM4RnU8R7MJJDHr2TqWyYf97DZ4ytyLTY=s475" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhV0LnqHshR-5nf1gM7RV4gaxcBh8DxNwjfw-BrTga_9s62d82wtIpQKXN0v7VnXpUTUxyJuKzuVY5FHgYLS2K3jlQR3bJxcrDlZzWagzIqFTJdy9UZUHF9oEaE_6mh6pzsxrsPQHEUuzOnZ-6g8hKM4RnU8R7MJJDHr2TqWyYf97DZ4ytyLTY=s320" width="212" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">In the early 1930's Coach Sam Babb went on a search to recruit girls for the basketball team at Oklahoma Presbyterian College. Girls basketball was big in rural Oklahoma, and Sam Babb offered farm girls the opportunity to continue playing <u>and</u> get a college education--something most of these girls never dreamed possible.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The girls Sam Babb recruited were used to hard work; they fed the animals, planted and harvested crops, learned to drive early in order to further aid their farming families, had outdoor toilets in many cases, and no spare money during the depression and the early years of the drought that was turning their state into a dust bowl. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">An education, a dorm with indoor plumbing, and the chance to play basketball provided an opportunity none of them had expected, and the recruits were eager to take advantage of that opportunity.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Primary and secondary sources of interviews with some of the remaining team, letters, journals, scrapbooks, and newspaper articles give insight into these young women who loved the game and were willing (not necessarily eager) to undergo the strenuous practices and keep up with their college courses. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">A little slow at first, but then Lydia Reeder's story of the barnstorming season that led to the 1932 AAU championship captures the inspiring story of the girls and their one-legged coach and hauls you cheering from Durant, OK through Dallas, Houston, and Galveston, TX; through tiny towns like Castor, LA, and the small city of Shreveport, La to Eureka Springs, Ark.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Aside from the continuous shortage of funds plaguing the OKC Cardinals, President Herbert Hoover's wife was actively campaigning against competitive sports for women (with a special distaste for women's basketball) and many colleges had eliminated their popular girls' teams. I was unaware of this organized campaign that thought competitive sports too strenuous and too "rough" for young women. Oh, and Lou Hoover was also totally against women competing in the Olympics. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Doll Harris, Lucille Thurman, and other members of the OKC Cardinals had mostly grown up on farms or ranches and were in no way incapable of the demands of the basketball court. In 1932, their final match was with the Golden Cyclones led by the Cyclones star player--Babe Didrikson, who later that year went on to win 3 gold medals in track and field at the 1932 Olympics . Mrs. Hoover be damned. :)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><u>Dust Bowl Girls</u> proved more captivating than I expected. I thought it would be interesting because I find the 1930's and the dust bowl fascinating, but when I found myself wishing I'd been in the stands for some of their games...that was more than I expected!</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9tsVkoHAd4CoW7UfY_OadYG8u56UJvVlQ64OgHalSfbaJCIXRgFm909D5lJS7GdDynROSsCpqiS__-ZZ9m3rudlFR8tFY79HMtT7_UR3jTnsk53GZFFC2hPW1MTd6Anc6pDfLMsVffsYHuMJ6RacWrp1AQJbBaL1d-jpIiLDEbIHe50uoS5c=s299" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="299" data-original-width="200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9tsVkoHAd4CoW7UfY_OadYG8u56UJvVlQ64OgHalSfbaJCIXRgFm909D5lJS7GdDynROSsCpqiS__-ZZ9m3rudlFR8tFY79HMtT7_UR3jTnsk53GZFFC2hPW1MTd6Anc6pDfLMsVffsYHuMJ6RacWrp1AQJbBaL1d-jpIiLDEbIHe50uoS5c=w268-h400" width="268" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">Algonquin Books. nonfiction. 2017. Print length: 304 pages.</span><p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgezsP1CWuvsSzbpna2Vc2j_dZFgrXm7_1I9-uYEyk1tC00A8UMLMTfjS5Fu-7dG9aUnsEDD-enzB4hKRCVwEYcFrETCxMBKoQbd1lJNvHokkhODiH3vOknkCTFa8PTdsIRxxpN5qwL7t1z8bxOgQzZ4RWI7D8XC2JD1yTkPGeBAziYTJzzqv0=s400" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="265" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgezsP1CWuvsSzbpna2Vc2j_dZFgrXm7_1I9-uYEyk1tC00A8UMLMTfjS5Fu-7dG9aUnsEDD-enzB4hKRCVwEYcFrETCxMBKoQbd1lJNvHokkhODiH3vOknkCTFa8PTdsIRxxpN5qwL7t1z8bxOgQzZ4RWI7D8XC2JD1yTkPGeBAziYTJzzqv0=s320" width="212" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">I have not read the first book in this series, and it took me a while to adjust to it. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>from description:</b> <b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-size: 14px;">From the cocreator of <i>Deadpool</i> and author of <i>Suburban Dicks</i> comes a diabolically funny murder mystery that features two unlikely sleuths investigating a murder that reveals the dark underbelly of suburban marriage.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I'm not sure what I thought of <u>The Self-Made Widow</u>. There were, after I began to finally get a grip on the characters, some amusing and satiric elements, but I didn't find it "diabolically funny." </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Andrea (Andie) Stern and Kenny Lee, college friends who were successful in solving an important crime, have another crime to involve them. Kenny, a journalist, won a Pulitzer for his articles about their college crime-solving, but he has not lived up to his promise. Andrea, married with five kids, has begun to find the domestic situation exhausting and less rewarding than if she had joined the FBI as a profiler as originally planned. The two got back together in the first book in this series and once again they are finding crime solving as interesting and invigorating as before.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Currently, one of Andrea's friends has become a widow. At first sympathetic, Andrea begins to wonder if Molly's husband actually died of a heart attack...or was helped along by Molly?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">NetGalley/Penguin Group</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Mystery. June 21, 2022. Print length: 400 pages. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiMJEnMKrmc1O3PJi3ftSYJ2WcPd20ktzbHBKH5c-4uVq-nz-U7wiz-gTClQzLgI9JiQkng5mlORDo076fUzso_6F_gq3GGLxHHoS3iSdEn7A4tVsIF6vfLZsRU-kKg-4RYhUBn-4KD8tiS0F85fkdZX1DRYDdnr8ztHBXLCguUk8dnvBNXyi4=s472" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiMJEnMKrmc1O3PJi3ftSYJ2WcPd20ktzbHBKH5c-4uVq-nz-U7wiz-gTClQzLgI9JiQkng5mlORDo076fUzso_6F_gq3GGLxHHoS3iSdEn7A4tVsIF6vfLZsRU-kKg-4RYhUBn-4KD8tiS0F85fkdZX1DRYDdnr8ztHBXLCguUk8dnvBNXyi4=s320" width="216" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">The second in the Harry Grimm series set in the Yorkshire Dales. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book and liked this one as well. </span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">The team is, as I hoped, becoming three-dimensional and the friendships are deepening. When confronted with an awful farm accident, they reluctantly conclude that there is something "not right" about it. The next death makes it clear that while accidents happen, they don't usually have the twisted connections that these deaths have.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Again, I find the camaraderie of this little group in rural Yorkshire warm and funny and the mysteries intriguing.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Weirdstone Publishing</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Mystery. 2020. 300 pages.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">------------</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I find myself suffering from post-dramatic stress.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQvMIUlQVmiERdhUFALUJZ9zhKKDzwN14FbYkFbiI9W_tznB7Pd6bssXhQqPTgu6pt2xo6-UQXkDcyAMuTnAu6WUnr0NCgF9TBlFVJFwphRD_FuuZarg2jFW8-UCx84WPnAfpEcs-R6RCd4co9vz53Z6I4byF3cA32dPgBQ868ito_bd_qvlo=s636" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="526" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjQvMIUlQVmiERdhUFALUJZ9zhKKDzwN14FbYkFbiI9W_tznB7Pd6bssXhQqPTgu6pt2xo6-UQXkDcyAMuTnAu6WUnr0NCgF9TBlFVJFwphRD_FuuZarg2jFW8-UCx84WPnAfpEcs-R6RCd4co9vz53Z6I4byF3cA32dPgBQ868ito_bd_qvlo=w530-h640" width="530" /></a></div><p><br /></p></div>jenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-63982423772671671792022-02-02T07:33:00.000-06:002022-02-02T07:33:37.702-06:00Crowbones by Anne Bishop, The Dying Day by Vaseem Khan, and The Adventures of Dillon Heilberg's Crismis<p> I am still a month behind in reviewing. More from January.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgqJia8op_sxWMnnEfgBjG-HyBGlHkyTb1GB2hvYuBy-Woog5pU9POFSCyRN4Sa97PDAmryd5LkkjXUo4fO9bzfQC1AfSK-XM5pJ59-_2Ejhnlw_AJDBYBaH39HTuvkYG-6VL9dY-VIxbp9ZUb5quTo3R_qlYr9uBt6LZoTUBlvP8AxqbdQoks=s450" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="298" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgqJia8op_sxWMnnEfgBjG-HyBGlHkyTb1GB2hvYuBy-Woog5pU9POFSCyRN4Sa97PDAmryd5LkkjXUo4fO9bzfQC1AfSK-XM5pJ59-_2Ejhnlw_AJDBYBaH39HTuvkYG-6VL9dY-VIxbp9ZUb5quTo3R_qlYr9uBt6LZoTUBlvP8AxqbdQoks=s320" width="212" /></a></div>I fell for Anne Bishop's world of <a href="https://bookgarden.blogspot.com/2016/02/anne-bishop-others.html"><b>The Others</b> </a> in 2016 and have read them all since then. <u>Written in Red</u>, the first book was published in 2013. The rebellion of "Humans First and Last" was a sort of prescience of the Maga movement. <div><br /></div><div>There are 5 books in the first series and 3 in the <i>Lake Silence</i> series--all set in the world of The Others.<br /><div><div><br /></div><div><u>Crowbones</u> is the 3rd in the spin-off series set in Lake Silence (and I enjoyed it and the first two books in the spin-off), but not as much as the first books in the original series. </div><div><br /></div><div>I recommend beginning with <u>Written in Red</u>, I didn't and had to go back and pick it up back in 2016. It's a strange world that fits in a weird way with many of the chaotic problems of our current world--almost like an allegory, given the way things have changed since Bishop published the first book. The world of The Others is urban fantasy unlike any of the others I've read.</div><div><br /></div><div>NetGalley/Berkley Publ.</div><div>Urban Fantasy. March 8, 2022. Print length: 384 pages</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAMEP--iQAngxFN3xwIcaydB5FDurkDpWU6yxDZdRWEljqPatz9gzl6TPUEgkFYZ8jJSp_gueSo7V_DYjoxsPRFdQV68KGRwT7-QXOfG-TipEPmM34BdvteOUKMnZdI5hncqep0r6SfcaEw6AgGGHgSV4U4iOD6ACkDkQUAK4PP5JaYP6xj08=s475" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="309" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAMEP--iQAngxFN3xwIcaydB5FDurkDpWU6yxDZdRWEljqPatz9gzl6TPUEgkFYZ8jJSp_gueSo7V_DYjoxsPRFdQV68KGRwT7-QXOfG-TipEPmM34BdvteOUKMnZdI5hncqep0r6SfcaEw6AgGGHgSV4U4iOD6ACkDkQUAK4PP5JaYP6xj08=s320" width="208" /></a></div><u>The Dying Day</u> is the second in the Malabar House series by Vaseem Khan. </div><div><br /></div><div>1950--Persis Wadia is India's first female police officer and the time and culture make her position unusual and difficult. And Persis is not always tactful or patient. She's opinionated, stubborn, and often her own worst enemy, but she is determined.</div><div><br /></div><div>A priceless manuscript of Dante's <i>Divine Comedy</i> goes missing and so has John Healey, the English scholar working on a translation. </div><div><br /></div><div>There are murders and riddles and political implications and threads going back to the war. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm liking this series and look forward to the next book. </div><div><br /></div><div>Audiobook. Narrator: Maya Saroya. </div><div><br /></div><div><div><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/01/books/crismis-book-school-library.html?name=styln-books-general&region=MAIN_CONTENT_3&block=storyline_most_recent_recirc&action=click&pgtype=Article"><b>An 8-year-old Wrote a Book and Placed It on a Library Shelf. It's a Hit.</b></a> I love this!</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiIFvDkqlyrwbJ83EU5WEv9kSCrVM1_yFymQYWo6ZWkgIAJKdwXqonE2iX6zpCUJyR4-BY_tCEmf0La6yMlIpNNXpAr_7RnwGlELPs1YyODIAMcP1dIW7mOCOW-HC_I3HUbqYB--ZpoHpzZtnqy-AnGtLyziPDcrVdX6VKvr9EQb1JkTI8NHeU=s1367" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1367" data-original-width="911" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiIFvDkqlyrwbJ83EU5WEv9kSCrVM1_yFymQYWo6ZWkgIAJKdwXqonE2iX6zpCUJyR4-BY_tCEmf0La6yMlIpNNXpAr_7RnwGlELPs1YyODIAMcP1dIW7mOCOW-HC_I3HUbqYB--ZpoHpzZtnqy-AnGtLyziPDcrVdX6VKvr9EQb1JkTI8NHeU=w426-h640" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div></div></div></div>jenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-59672916075389809922022-01-31T14:41:00.000-06:002022-01-31T14:41:13.270-06:00The Echoes by Jess Montgomery, Grimm Up North by David J. Gatward, Billy Summers by Stephen King<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRfK0jTQQ4GC1Pke0zmy2ozRwpByoOw6-e7VruM-Qf8EJ-FPcWMEenlBRwmtIjH6nZl9nWOpqdFPfa3Tv2Mc4-Wh1CukhxRStugKWy-g8jMPjjpUcnhe9NHzABSlDvsSqTJQVieVYQzAA2ieYvYXGM1sRZ4i7K1zwdN2wwZJ9oMCsArUuRSBk=s400" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="263" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjRfK0jTQQ4GC1Pke0zmy2ozRwpByoOw6-e7VruM-Qf8EJ-FPcWMEenlBRwmtIjH6nZl9nWOpqdFPfa3Tv2Mc4-Wh1CukhxRStugKWy-g8jMPjjpUcnhe9NHzABSlDvsSqTJQVieVYQzAA2ieYvYXGM1sRZ4i7K1zwdN2wwZJ9oMCsArUuRSBk=s320" width="210" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Another visit to Kinship and to Sheriff Lily Ross and her family. Lily's mother takes on a bigger role in this one--because she has been keeping a secret for three years and now there is no way to avoid the consequences.</span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">In the meantime, there is preparation for the new amusement park to be opened on July 4th, and Chalmer Fitzpatrick's 97-year-old woman has called Lily (again) because there is a drowned woman in a pond which is slated to be part of a new amusement park. Once again, Lily finds no drowned woman, and the question is whether the old woman's vision is dementia or the "the sight."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">It's 1928, but there are connections to the Great War that claimed Lily's brother and the discovery of a truly unexpected legacy. There are so many secrets in this one! As usual, Jess Montgomery uses some actual history in her plot.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Montgomery's characters and setting feel so genuine that the opportunity to visit Kinship again is always appreciated...but now another year to wait for the next book.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">NetGalley/St. Martin's Press. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Historical Mystery. March 29, 2022. Print length: 288 pages.<br /></span><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjlh2_yJ1U_erg1pqcl1WUYK6u-dlJNm4gg0FbuJnDA1py-exyzbA7eL9_gRkDAljhf8i-piyl5-YU-dSLUjvy6mfhglV1k5tuV510uM45s_SQaUGtzEnYX1xe819rOCqKHlww1olcn0zFudquUIGJqj5_9fIkkQid3mvWzLXPBEZ9nVRt5PRA=s472" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjlh2_yJ1U_erg1pqcl1WUYK6u-dlJNm4gg0FbuJnDA1py-exyzbA7eL9_gRkDAljhf8i-piyl5-YU-dSLUjvy6mfhglV1k5tuV510uM45s_SQaUGtzEnYX1xe819rOCqKHlww1olcn0zFudquUIGJqj5_9fIkkQid3mvWzLXPBEZ9nVRt5PRA=s320" width="216" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">DCI Harry Grimm is seconded to a small village in Yorkshire. He isn't happy about it. Accustomed to a big city and an active life, Harry finds that sheep rustling is the crime du jour in the Yorkshire Dales. Not exactly the fast-paced criminal element Harry is accustomed to policing.</span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Set in the country of <u>All Creatures Great and Small</u>, Harry does find the people friendly and the location beautiful, but he doesn't feel cut out for the pastoral life. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">His first case is a missing girl, not missing sheep, and it develops into more than he and his new team considered possible in the peaceful dales.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">A lot of humor, an interesting puzzle, and some good secondary characters kept me engaged. :) </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Kindle Unlimited/Weirdstone Publishing. 2020.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSqgw6h82jhyfU7jG1ZctGqDTgBv0I5uglaeqzdPIi_7CcxyslldMWWrbwFay2-YPjYMmPnqvu5RCh1ElXFV6Vnex6DNKBpc2BhTgnzCLj5-q8ibIRQ3zHMM-arYPWsOBi_g8hA9WU7OuaEgCTYg7WkqfHDAJyMIuVO-HXl04nnsZNhsvv8kU=s2138" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2138" data-original-width="1400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSqgw6h82jhyfU7jG1ZctGqDTgBv0I5uglaeqzdPIi_7CcxyslldMWWrbwFay2-YPjYMmPnqvu5RCh1ElXFV6Vnex6DNKBpc2BhTgnzCLj5-q8ibIRQ3zHMM-arYPWsOBi_g8hA9WU7OuaEgCTYg7WkqfHDAJyMIuVO-HXl04nnsZNhsvv8kU=s320" width="210" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Another long audiobook with a lack of the supernatural horror often associated with Stephen King.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">For the most part, I liked it. There are "two" Billy Summers, there is the dumb one his clients see, a hired killer who chooses the jobs based on whether or not he believes the victim deserves it--because after all, that was what he did as a military sniper in Iraq. But the other Billy, the one hiding behind the mask is much more perceptive, shrewd, and cautious. He may appear easy to manipulate, but that assumption is a mistaken one. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">On what is supposed to be his final job, Billy must live and work in a small town while waiting for the man he is to kill to be extradited to the local courthouse. The way Billy is taken in by the neighborhood where he waits for the signal to act on his current contract, forming friendships he knows he shouldn't, but discovering a life with which he was unfamiliar appealed to me. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Even as Billy hopes to retire, he is aware of fictional "final jobs" in books and films and that they often go wrong.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">The last third of the book didn't work as well for me, for several reasons. I also wanted to know where Billy lived when he wasn't working on a hit. Such a blank from his years as a sniper in Iraq and his current situation--maybe twenty years of no information even hinted at beyond his hired kills. More than that, I wondered when and where did Billy become some acquainted with the classics. The Billy he presents to clients is a simple man who loves comics; the other Billy has read widely and is currently reading Zola. I'd have liked some information on the missing years. Just me, but these omissions kept me wondering. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Audiobook. Simon & Schuster Audio. Paul Sparks Narrator. <br /></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGJv19MgRGNWjjgt23dnEe6HA0K-xThwFwtwJzoxK8eu3oJVXBSGNGo1hh0YiUpOrxhtLbpA1FcRLvOr6X9s_qho94W7eHLolbVlK978N7r187PbZXZenLIcAVTD3QriaZhFHIHPti2mPeM8mU_-4RAhC-LVNMjD5LwLP9vjnEwlOoEJbtUkc=s720" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="526" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjGJv19MgRGNWjjgt23dnEe6HA0K-xThwFwtwJzoxK8eu3oJVXBSGNGo1hh0YiUpOrxhtLbpA1FcRLvOr6X9s_qho94W7eHLolbVlK978N7r187PbZXZenLIcAVTD3QriaZhFHIHPti2mPeM8mU_-4RAhC-LVNMjD5LwLP9vjnEwlOoEJbtUkc=w468-h640" width="468" /></a></div></div><div><p><br /></p></div></div>jenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-59863301448218250402022-01-29T07:51:00.000-06:002022-01-29T07:51:00.359-06:00Letter From the Dead by Jack Gatland, The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles, and Cohen's MacBeth<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Some January books. Already a month behind. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixMOeQrFhFWV8HtFlEdqO1hvpb0dhRkKqtb-fEtsqqu7PNxfYoU1rBJOBVbFd2FWIPC5DhS7_Eo_2RVrwbLo8YWwWH_3nu9Jam8a7dJz48unUeHYwZ0Eh0-ig-mPKabYfDOHpqztO5r4MXrJP60R_PKTKFL2jqZZFy13Fvo5hJz5MjLBaXGwo=s475" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="297" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixMOeQrFhFWV8HtFlEdqO1hvpb0dhRkKqtb-fEtsqqu7PNxfYoU1rBJOBVbFd2FWIPC5DhS7_Eo_2RVrwbLo8YWwWH_3nu9Jam8a7dJz48unUeHYwZ0Eh0-ig-mPKabYfDOHpqztO5r4MXrJP60R_PKTKFL2jqZZFy13Fvo5hJz5MjLBaXGwo=s320" width="200" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>from description:</b> <i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Recently blacklisted from the police for punching a priest on live TV (long story), </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">D.I Declan Walsh </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">is one step away from quitting the force for good - and privately investigating the mysterious death of his </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">father</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">, Chief Superintendent Patrick Walsh, who died shortly after writing a </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">tell-all memoir</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"> of his time on the force.</span></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Despite his problems, when his father's old friend DCI Alex Monroe offers Declan a place on his recently formed cold case squad, made up of "officers who are too valuable to lose," but who have had some kind of problems within the force--Declan accepts.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Known as "The Last Chance Saloon," the new squad has an ensemble of characters that create loyalty in a reader. The kind of team that keeps <i>me</i> intrigued and eager to read more about them.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Victoria Davies died when pushed off a roof in 2001, and her husband Michael was convicted. Two decades later, a letter is discovered that casts doubt on the earlier conviction of Victoria's husband and adds some powerful men to the suspect list.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Complex and complicated, and I don't usually use both terms in describing a plot, but this was a Gordian Knot (maybe a net of Gordian Knots) of threads and connections. A</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">s the team attempts to ply through all the implications of the new suspects, each member of the team begins developing into a three-dimensional personality. One lead after another untangles in the team's investigation of a twenty year old murder.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><u>Letter to the Dead</u> was a great introduction to the New Year. So much so that I read books 1-8 in quick succession!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Hooded Man Publ.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Mystery/Thriller. Print length: 334 pages.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEioWyiiG0q10DigLqwI0tATuS1M2gGrkkdt56K3GbhbXnMTsuQ50Y8i87OXMNGVnOBa1duq7JmhIGlspRqDM2UIxXKyz2tHF7xFGbVO_9DXAK247e7PF4CsUtL_mPEE3zRAyIPSWVB5Hlv26UQY0jE5-AaCGsDHnCDMvEwsf0T5XUtxKiywbzM=s500" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="331" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEioWyiiG0q10DigLqwI0tATuS1M2gGrkkdt56K3GbhbXnMTsuQ50Y8i87OXMNGVnOBa1duq7JmhIGlspRqDM2UIxXKyz2tHF7xFGbVO_9DXAK247e7PF4CsUtL_mPEE3zRAyIPSWVB5Hlv26UQY0jE5-AaCGsDHnCDMvEwsf0T5XUtxKiywbzM=s320" width="212" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><u>The Lincoln Highway</u> was a surprise for me. I'd seen positive reviews, but had not read them because the book was on my list. When I finally got to it (audio book), much of the plot was a surprise for me. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">I certainly enjoyed it and got a lot of chores done while listening: <u>Because it was long</u>--16 hours of listening.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><u>The Lincoln Highway</u> is a sort of "hero's journey" </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">as young Billy reads <u>Professor Abernathe's Compendium of Heroes, Adventurers, and Other Intrepid Travelers</u> on the road trip he and his older brother Emmett set out on. There is a definite Joseph Campbell vibe (Professor Abacus Abernathe) as T<u>he Lincoln Highway</u> is a picaresque novel with shifting points of view and the much abbreviated stories/myths in Professor Abernathe's book. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">In a hero's quest, the hero is supposed to be changed, and Emmett certainly has experiences that have changed him, but does he bring back something to his community? Maybe--if that community is Billy and perhaps Sally, who will have fresh hope in California. At any rate, I like books that reimagine myths and archetypes, often turning them on their heads.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">The last section of the book takes a rather abrupt turn in tone; it has been set up, but still seems sudden. The conclusion was ambiguous, and I still can't decide what Emmett intended. I was not disappointed because I've not read <u>A Gentleman in Moscow</u> or <u>The Rules of Civility</u> the books most often associated with Towles, but I did have mixed feelings about some things.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Viking. 2021. print length: 564 pages; audio 16 hours, 39 minutes.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">----------</span></div><div>Joel Cohen's <u>The Tragedy of MacBeth</u> was a big disappoint for me. I'd looked forward to it and to the performances of Denzel and McDormand, but the entire film felt like Cohen's effort to be original and artistic--and the nuances and language of Shakespeare were less important than Cohen's need to be innovative. </div><div><br /></div><div>Frustrated with the lack of emotion and passion in the actors (due to Cohen's direction?), I still looked forward to Malcolm's testing of MacDuff's sincerity in Act IV, scene III. I love that speech in which Malcolm claims to be worse than MacBeth in order to determine if MacDuff wants him to return to Scotland to meet the same fate as his father had at MacBeth's hands. It wasn't there. Skipped. Absent.</div><div><br /></div><div>And MacDuff's reaction to hearing about the deaths of his wife and children? Must have taken an effort to make that speech bland and without genuine grief.</div><div><br /></div><div>My daughter liked it; I didn't like it at all. Maybe it would make Shakespeare more appealing to some because of the famous actors, but hopefully they will see a better production in the future. Rant concluded. </div>jenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-34983696137297749442022-01-27T10:15:00.000-06:002022-01-27T10:15:19.800-06:00Dead Drop by Marilyn Todd, The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood, Fates Ransom by Jeff Wheeler <p> More December books. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjahQ-MrjODHxJ9RvjevvaftKcDDI-tATsjMijVc_VX7wT7Do6qtAfROkdWZwi9GaUWLXpaPIxCITxBwb6jNdNtZFXKvKXyNA206m80Y6tR69sEEChPfeFRbe0sJhNeCRDxmIi7Oabeu16oRJqobTInUzdk8KKQzid3sqlGtxuz_stRGvPXZng=s475" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjahQ-MrjODHxJ9RvjevvaftKcDDI-tATsjMijVc_VX7wT7Do6qtAfROkdWZwi9GaUWLXpaPIxCITxBwb6jNdNtZFXKvKXyNA206m80Y6tR69sEEChPfeFRbe0sJhNeCRDxmIi7Oabeu16oRJqobTInUzdk8KKQzid3sqlGtxuz_stRGvPXZng=s320" width="214" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">I enjoyed the first three books in this series about a female photographer who has inherited the studio of her mentor, but who needs to pretend he still lives because her clientele remain leery of a woman as a photographer.</span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">The first book (<u>Snap Shot)</u> introduces Julia McAllister, who takes normal photographs, including some of the recent dead, a Victorian custom, but is supplementing her income with risqué pictures. First one, then another of her models are murdered, and Julia comes under suspicion. Her knowledge of <a href="https://www.sdfi.com/Newsletters/CSI-Photography-History-Alphonse-Bertillon-France.asp#:~:text=Bertillon%20was%20one%20of%20the,the%20job%20description%20of%20detectives.&text=By%201884%2C%20he%20was%20known,as%20they%20still%20do%2C%20today!">Alphonse Bertillion</a> and his use of photography to solve crimes.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">I liked this use of a female photographer and the inclusion of the first uses of crime scene photography and liked the first books.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Unfortunately for me, <u>Dead Drop</u> did not live up to what I was expecting. The book seemed to have lacked something with the traveling "wild west show." Disappointing, but hope the next book will be better.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">None of the covers have much to do with the contents.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">NetGalley/Sapere Books</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Historical Mystery. Dec., 2021. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgvjiuFxXw4RbeA9TCx1AlRUrHtefH4K5c6ENhJcpqoWUa9a2lBWfKW7uJi2aU28KBfD7jxYnonH8eV0Xy11i-n1zTmWtJwqp4ifwF0jnaOXAPb47TFJAgwQ8ojNcsZV-U0Z4HbGFWwF-q2lcnoV9DtLfj04zuQ6gZoAlab_cPs9yA04scsXfY=s468" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgvjiuFxXw4RbeA9TCx1AlRUrHtefH4K5c6ENhJcpqoWUa9a2lBWfKW7uJi2aU28KBfD7jxYnonH8eV0Xy11i-n1zTmWtJwqp4ifwF0jnaOXAPb47TFJAgwQ8ojNcsZV-U0Z4HbGFWwF-q2lcnoV9DtLfj04zuQ6gZoAlab_cPs9yA04scsXfY=s320" width="217" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Every once in a while, I enjoy a cozy, and I did find <u>The Marlow Murder Club</u> fun, in large part because the main character is 77, wears a cape, and loves good whiskey. :) </span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">I'm drawn to older eccentric protagonists and Judith Potts fits the description. Having introduced the characters and setting, this new series has the potential, but isn't quite there.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">NetGalley/Poisoned Pen Press</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Cozy Mystery. Jan. 7, 2021. Print length: 340 pages.<br /></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihVkg9ibwNPhljncIDxJ4XQp3FBEK9FZ1RUIDuJ-GRvDDNzx0ZXdxDvMbJv8GlQSthW65rrJRet_TdGtKiHp3WKLNC3ioWXuZmW4BnhJd_FqwY2nYKzas109EfJPqCJ4KSq2UlMq_xHqT1I5EYeJR2vnJ0hmHpyG8i296fyuApuT64WeGzIpo=s475" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihVkg9ibwNPhljncIDxJ4XQp3FBEK9FZ1RUIDuJ-GRvDDNzx0ZXdxDvMbJv8GlQSthW65rrJRet_TdGtKiHp3WKLNC3ioWXuZmW4BnhJd_FqwY2nYKzas109EfJPqCJ4KSq2UlMq_xHqT1I5EYeJR2vnJ0hmHpyG8i296fyuApuT64WeGzIpo=s320" width="214" /></span></a><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Jeff Wheeler has written a number of series in related kingdoms and worlds: Muirwood, Mirrowen, and Kingfountain, and I've read and enjoyed many of these series. The Kingfountain books are a mixture of alternate history, fantasy, and excellent story telling.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> <u>Fates Ransom</u> is the fourth and final book in the <i>First Argentine</i> series and is set in Kingfountain. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">My favorite is <a href="https://bookgarden.blogspot.com/2016/03/two-fantasies.html">The </a><a href="https://bookgarden.blogspot.com/2016/03/two-fantasies.html">Queen's Poisoner</a>, the first in the six book <i>Kingfountain</i> series, but each series is full of great characters and exciting adventures and each book is hard to put down. Wheeler's characters have depth--he excels at creating the kind of characters that the readers want to know more about.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">I recommend starting with <u>The Queen's Poisoner</u> to become acquainted with the kingdom and see if you might become as addicted to Wheeler's books as I've become.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">NetGalley/47North</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Fantasy. Jan. 4, 2022. </span></div></div></div>jenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-89664915845368889182022-01-25T07:00:00.001-06:002022-01-25T07:00:00.206-06:00What Can't Be Seen by Brianna LaBuskes (Gretchen White #2), One for Sorrow by Helen Fields, and Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians but Were Afraid to Ask by Anton Truer<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> When I read <a href="https://bookgarden.blogspot.com/2021/07/july-4th-and-familiar-sight-by-brianna.html"><b>A Familiar Sight</b></a>, I was fascinated and found it compulsive reading while at the same time, having a lot of questions. The character of Gretchen White, acknowledged sociopath <u>and</u> a psychologist and consultant for the Boston PD, is seductive and disquieting. I knew I'd want to read the next book.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAGhGTGHg39yoasPMeOe9dp3gf_cw_-GJP6peYhSCa9ni2UAx2JOqcy5pD6NCjNHKt0BdJxcaSK3Q6q9KN7q6P6rdmFv8NoPiNxhCeg7VoHCwnJkQu329IuOXaRUmIeIt7ygfKFbcY03a9_JTZD1BiBnwzxNNwwaoRCMVB0K_Jig3gT6Nf4Co=s475" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAGhGTGHg39yoasPMeOe9dp3gf_cw_-GJP6peYhSCa9ni2UAx2JOqcy5pD6NCjNHKt0BdJxcaSK3Q6q9KN7q6P6rdmFv8NoPiNxhCeg7VoHCwnJkQu329IuOXaRUmIeIt7ygfKFbcY03a9_JTZD1BiBnwzxNNwwaoRCMVB0K_Jig3gT6Nf4Co=s320" width="213" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><u>What Can't Be Seen</u> has Detective Lauren Marconi persuading Gretchen to look at her own case. This, Gretchen has never been willing to do. Did </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Gretchen</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> really kill her Aunt Rowan when Gretchen was eight years old? Marconi wants Gretchen to use her skills as a psychologist and criminologist discover what really happened that night--because Marconi doesn't believe Gretchen is guilty. Gretchen, however, believes she <u>is</u> guilty and has done her best to avoid examining her own case as a result. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Looking into her own case threatens Gretchen's tight control of her own dark impulses. A brilliant woman, she has done her best to prove herself in the world, knowing that her world view is that of a sociopath and that her abilities are always impaired by her lack of emotional empathy. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Detective Shaughnessy believes she got away with murder when she was a child, and Gretchen has used him as a kind of guidepost to controlling her impulses. She is determined not to let her impulses prove Shaughnessy right in his opinion. The two of have worked together on many cases that Gretchen has solved, but he still waits for her to screw up. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Eventually, Gretchen and Marconi come to an arrangement, and the two begin investigating the thirty year old case. The book moves from present to past and back again and is told from differing perspectives in a complex plot that kept me guessing.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The first book had me completely engrossed (despite all my questions), and <u>What Can't Be Seen</u> is even better. I want more of Gretchen White and Detective Lauren Marconi.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Read in December </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">NetGalley/Thomas & Mercer. Psychological Thriller. May 24, 2022. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiRaTcNSpNIVMlPkS0MFlyEZdp8O6550PFvBEhEY2Ly-2Epx1NcZmXGKCSVqGsyXQuJs8DfgRsj1dfofc_ahhxKdBXwP6r9e7uNssRjFC1XTvBGwVs9b-MDbM8b52P9wYFzUPkS2T9LBpL3-j2-Zy4MVNVGqArGbltVuiMnA7j40QX6E3pjhz4=s475" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="310" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiRaTcNSpNIVMlPkS0MFlyEZdp8O6550PFvBEhEY2Ly-2Epx1NcZmXGKCSVqGsyXQuJs8DfgRsj1dfofc_ahhxKdBXwP6r9e7uNssRjFC1XTvBGwVs9b-MDbM8b52P9wYFzUPkS2T9LBpL3-j2-Zy4MVNVGqArGbltVuiMnA7j40QX6E3pjhz4=s320" width="209" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Helen Field's DI Luc Callenach and DCI Ava Turner series keeps up dramatic suspense in the latest installment. While it is interesting to begin the series with the first book, each can be read as a stand-alone.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">In addition to her main characters, Field has a great cast of secondary characters, and it is always nice to catch up with them. Edinburgh also functions as both setting and character.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><u>One for Sorrow</u> is compelling and fast-paced as a lone bomber creates chaos in Edinburgh. Luc and Ava are at a loss as to motive, but the deaths are devastating. The bomber targets police and ambulance workers, those who are there to help--adding another degree of horror to the chaos being inflicted.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The bomber gives the police tips and leads them into traps, and even after they know what to expect, they have no choice but to respond.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Two timelines, twisty, dark, and engrossing, the book gets your adrenaline going.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Read in December.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">NetGalley/Avon Books UK. Thriller. March 3, 2022. Print length: 400 pages.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVlNmj73-9Iw6VTNssPZ_lKGVmvpng4R1nHJrJyvi242Xnl_-XFZMjAySuLWJEXA_QDFXcFmqcV2G84no4xQbBSdH9Qu66N5xV6Qz6CVcPiAM8IDjPAD8q5z16O1AiQMxYht0WQZqrJlNy7AtLlAvWHi5E2dIvMW3zKh4Q0hSmn3NQMfW-4U4=s400" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiVlNmj73-9Iw6VTNssPZ_lKGVmvpng4R1nHJrJyvi242Xnl_-XFZMjAySuLWJEXA_QDFXcFmqcV2G84no4xQbBSdH9Qu66N5xV6Qz6CVcPiAM8IDjPAD8q5z16O1AiQMxYht0WQZqrJlNy7AtLlAvWHi5E2dIvMW3zKh4Q0hSmn3NQMfW-4U4=s320" width="214" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>from description:</b> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">From the acclaimed Ojibwe author and professor Anton Treuer comes an essential book of questions and answers for Native and non-Native young readers alike. Ranging from "Why is there such a fuss about nonnative people wearing Indian costumes for Halloween?" to "Why is it called a 'traditional Indian fry bread taco'?" to "What's it like for natives who don't look native?" to "Why are Indians so often imagined rather than understood?", and beyond, </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask (Young Readers Edition)</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"> does exactly what its title says for young readers, in a style consistently thoughtful, personal, and engaging.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The questions in the above blurb indicate only a small portion of the content, and the answers to these and many other questions are both thoughtful and thought-provoking. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.bemidjistate.edu/directory/facstaff/wj2863th/">Anton Truer</a>, an Ojibwe, grew up the Leech Lake Reservation in Minnesota. I mentioned it on my other blog in December and am copying and pasting the following: </span><span style="background-color: #eee5d4; color: #333333; font-family: georgia;">The format is question and answer, and includes history, culture, language, stereotypes, racism, sovereignty, and much more. Truer approaches each subject in a non-confrontational manner. It is not, as you may imagine, a pretty picture, but it is fascinating.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Although targeted at young adults, it does not condescend in any way in language or ideas. The book and Truer's comments provide absorbing views of history, stereotypes, the treatment of "the other," government policies, languages, and cultural values that may make you reconsider what you think you knew about Indians. Truer concedes that his views are not universal among all the tribes, even on the the term <i>Indian</i>. He self-references as Indian because that is what he grew up with.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">I read about this one on Deb's <a href="https://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/">Reader Buzz</a> blog during Nonfiction November, and it was one of my early December books. I join others in saying all libraries should have copies of <u>Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians, but Were Afraid to Ask</u>. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Audiobook. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">I won't be reviewing all the books read in December, but I'm making an effort to catch up on many of them!</span></div>jenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-62733710306882055592022-01-24T09:06:00.003-06:002022-01-24T09:06:54.850-06:00Murder at Greysbridge by Andrea Carter, One Step Too Far by Lisa Gardner, The Big Perhaps by John Seeley, Dead Point by LaVonne Griffin-Valade<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I didn't <u>intend</u> to take a break from blogging in December, but the longer I was away, the harder it was to get back. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Some December reads.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9vfhkHUfvd7prJJdkaBEHaGja9Kzea52p6fWQcSk4wdR-lYg8it_h0b0GsUytrQdIYt8_tQC2iy2Cp9LbXKRnXrpAAIP59hSXgwtbzggjUWDpHOo5kkdqhTf96qMua-rS1nUvnJs-F7JjkzCJQXOATLFv31337SpOttQaxTCL8ksyuu5iHlw=s475" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="310" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj9vfhkHUfvd7prJJdkaBEHaGja9Kzea52p6fWQcSk4wdR-lYg8it_h0b0GsUytrQdIYt8_tQC2iy2Cp9LbXKRnXrpAAIP59hSXgwtbzggjUWDpHOo5kkdqhTf96qMua-rS1nUvnJs-F7JjkzCJQXOATLFv31337SpOttQaxTCL8ksyuu5iHlw=s320" width="209" /></a></div> The setting in Inishowen, Ireland, caught my interest and although this is the fourth book in the series, it is the first I've read. <div><br /></div><div>Solicitor Benedicta (Ben)O'Keefe's legal assistant is getting married at the historic and recently renovated Greysbridge Hotel. Of course, things do not go well and two of the hotel's guests end up dead. The hotel has the reputation of being haunted, there is a nice mix of characters, and an intriguing atmosphere.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fun. I'll read more. </div><div><br /></div><div>NetGalley/Oceanview Books</div><div>Mystery. Nov., 2021. Print length: 353 pages.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEimGWjiSSh-Fid_Q2I0cgNHgSSpzWeKHl32cagJNjcSFQpWyFRanlLTZuhaAgpu0jPuE0SlQfFs4Dmw5L3a-0tQfihpslsFptXD02MtNrqIsB23RVeBXW-ANAudsIhJEcKx8ENkg9QH3ZbnJbXeCMMn2c1rASH-mBdMceLvfOnBQp2N-QJaZXY=s346" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="229" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEimGWjiSSh-Fid_Q2I0cgNHgSSpzWeKHl32cagJNjcSFQpWyFRanlLTZuhaAgpu0jPuE0SlQfFs4Dmw5L3a-0tQfihpslsFptXD02MtNrqIsB23RVeBXW-ANAudsIhJEcKx8ENkg9QH3ZbnJbXeCMMn2c1rASH-mBdMceLvfOnBQp2N-QJaZXY=s320" width="212" /></a></div><u>One Step Too Far</u> by Lisa Gardner is the second book in her new Frankie Elkins series, and I liked it much better than the first one. </div><div><br /></div><div>The threats of the wilderness in an isolated area of a National Forest in Wyoming combined with the tension that emanated from the search team kept the suspense high.</div><div><br /></div><div>Timothy O'Day disappeared five years ago when he and his groomsmen went for a bachelor's weekend before his wedding. Only Tim was a skilled outdoorsman; the other young men were at a loss at how to locate him. The searches at the time and since have turned up nothing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tim's father and the four groomsmen are prepared for what might be the final search when Frankie Elkins reads about the search party in a local paper and decides to join in. </div><div><br /></div><div>A number of interesting characters and a great setting becomes even more intriguing as Frankie senses something intrinsically wrong--in the previous stories, the tension, reluctance, and guilt among members of the search party, and in the disturbing incidents that sabotage their efforts.</div><div><br /></div><div>I already love several of Gardner's books, and was not at all sure of this new series, but this was a page-turner and that I could hardly put down. Now, I'm ready for the next one.</div><div><br /></div><div>NetGalley/Penguin Group</div><div>Mystery-Thriller. Jan. 18, 2022. Print length: 418 pages.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhes0QudlawJwHFKGSpOlXI1I2QQobOxEwXQZMPbIp8rtxrj51s9dAQBmEzNKm17yjtL4Johqc_w0JABQwaVOIAuPh3B6nZFzYxpu5nwORre4dPjDgrGisrdfatAaiDrBnY2m33BEjX9jM4sQF0VcKX4SpbxEXCHC_VmevrPUPwLUQOJwdqJSk=s408" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="255" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhes0QudlawJwHFKGSpOlXI1I2QQobOxEwXQZMPbIp8rtxrj51s9dAQBmEzNKm17yjtL4Johqc_w0JABQwaVOIAuPh3B6nZFzYxpu5nwORre4dPjDgrGisrdfatAaiDrBnY2m33BEjX9jM4sQF0VcKX4SpbxEXCHC_VmevrPUPwLUQOJwdqJSk=s320" width="200" /></a></div>from description: <span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 16.2px;">Thirty years after the unsolved murder of hardboiled fiction writer Dan Fargo, a single orphaned manuscript page turns up that could be evidence of a previously unknown novel by the author.</span></div><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 16.2px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Private detective Harry Webster is hired by a wealthy fan to prove or disprove the existence of this long rumoured masterpiece, The Big Perhaps.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: Raleway-Regular, sans-serif; font-size: 16.2px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">It appears on the surface to be a tricky but safe assignment....</p><div>There were plenty of things to like in this one, especially as I tend to like missing manuscripts and some of the secrets went back to WWII. On the other hand, although Seeley's prose is good, the arrogance and condescending attitude of the main character annoyed me. </div><div><br /></div><div>NetGalley/Booksgosocial</div><div>Mystery. Nov. 17, 2021. Print length: 429 pages.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_m5jGuFsrgWhhNZtHvVgQKJxXpr42zq4ThXyJSKCCrPTOq6FDt9DJhRDh5uGZSpsvoYgH9LE4yyF9LbJ7alH14kQF8F2FVeQTVPDN-SH9fZZTgEED_f_xA8JYTUhvM5ZhvUBJ62qMo4uJ6qeG3feTNpgVXfiG-2BW74NrdMd1zlzt6s3iA9k=s475" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="297" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_m5jGuFsrgWhhNZtHvVgQKJxXpr42zq4ThXyJSKCCrPTOq6FDt9DJhRDh5uGZSpsvoYgH9LE4yyF9LbJ7alH14kQF8F2FVeQTVPDN-SH9fZZTgEED_f_xA8JYTUhvM5ZhvUBJ62qMo4uJ6qeG3feTNpgVXfiG-2BW74NrdMd1zlzt6s3iA9k=s320" width="200" /></a> </div>from description: <span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">When Maggie Blackthorne returns to her hometown after nearly twenty years to serve as an Oregon State Police Sergeant, she expects to deal with the usual suspects — drunk drivers, oxy slingers, and the occasional rural scofflaw.</span></div><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">But after she stumbles upon the bullet-ridden bodies of twin brothers, she realizes she’s stepped into something much more sinister</span><div><br /></div><div>An interesting debut novel, and I would certainly give the next one a try. The blurb compares it to the Longmire books, but no--that would be a stretch. Maggie and Trooper Hollis have potential, however.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mystery/Thriller. June 15, 2021. Print length: 390 pages.<br /><p><br /></p></div>jenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-52991574741599993072022-01-02T07:25:00.000-06:002022-01-02T07:25:31.972-06:00Happy New Year<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi42AHJZCmCMvTbiwh2HZDwXGBQ4G6cT0c0FpNrRscvC2EVLgshwLrJwYOgnOF8mc94ak8218sUdtAZ4RkILO5MrblxvzXXy9gsNh1iCduXPc_LQq0_j3dU2yqLxf7g4mgmCE0-ycQ5JvgAjRYzZm3jiWZF3H93V0bCacxNxCG5bnPC3f2dFvE=s1440" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi42AHJZCmCMvTbiwh2HZDwXGBQ4G6cT0c0FpNrRscvC2EVLgshwLrJwYOgnOF8mc94ak8218sUdtAZ4RkILO5MrblxvzXXy9gsNh1iCduXPc_LQq0_j3dU2yqLxf7g4mgmCE0-ycQ5JvgAjRYzZm3jiWZF3H93V0bCacxNxCG5bnPC3f2dFvE=w640-h640" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>jenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-38970139342653947812021-12-06T10:03:00.001-06:002021-12-06T10:03:18.627-06:00Ghost Light by Stan Jones, Patricia Watts and Death by the Thames by Gretta Mulrooney<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-28rbPhxx6hI/YakIM0wRb9I/AAAAAAAAmJk/W992gpCpg-sRkCYpktIZYjw5DSWl0VihACNcBGAsYHQ/s475/ghost%2Blight.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="297" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-28rbPhxx6hI/YakIM0wRb9I/AAAAAAAAmJk/W992gpCpg-sRkCYpktIZYjw5DSWl0VihACNcBGAsYHQ/s320/ghost%2Blight.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><b>From Description:</b><blockquote> <span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">The case starts when Tommie Leokuk’s husband brings her to Active’s office to show him what she found in her latest midnight ramble around the Arctic hamlet of Chukchi. From the pouch of her traditional atiqluk, she pulls a human jawbone with a single molar still in place.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;">Tommie’s dementia means she can’t explain where she found it. As her husband explains, “She lost her brain few years ago.”</span></blockquote><div>---</div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><u>Ghost Light</u> is the 7th in the Nathan Active series set in Alaska, but the first one I've read. Nathan Active was adopted by a white family and raised in Anchorage, but in the first book, Active found himself back in the area where he was born as Police Chief, trying to fit in culturally with the Inuit community. (I may have to go back to the first book and read through the series.)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">I liked the way this case was investigated and the way information had to be filtered as new information became available. The characters were also interesting, not just Chief Active, but the minor characters who are part of the community. The murderer is one of two options...but which one? </span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">I will check out the previous books at some point and get to know the characters better. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Purchased.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Mystery. Sept. 15, 2021. Print length: 258 pages. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--QEobD2xVLY/YakVCUnUofI/AAAAAAAAmJs/z-iVkzA-wFgLAhGi_xREBgyB76kNnOnQwCNcBGAsYHQ/s475/deathbythethames.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="297" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--QEobD2xVLY/YakVCUnUofI/AAAAAAAAmJs/z-iVkzA-wFgLAhGi_xREBgyB76kNnOnQwCNcBGAsYHQ/s320/deathbythethames.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> <u>Death by the Thames</u> is a Tyrone Swift mystery, and Mulrooney also has a newer series featuring D.I. Siv Drummond.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Toni and Sam have a small wedding planned, done their way, without elaborate plans, and on that morning, Toni is looking forward to seeing Sam and after the ceremony heading to the Scilly Isles for their honeymoon. But the person at the door is not her ride; it is the police to inform her of Sam's death, and Toni's world begins to unravel in the worst of ways. The police tell her that Sam and a teenage girl have been drowned in an apparent suicide.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Unable to come to grips with Sam's death and unable to believe that he was having an affair with an underage girl, Toni eventually contacts Tyrone Swift.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">She wants him to find out the truth. The police have found no evidence of anything other than suicide, and Toni still doesn't believe it. Swift warns her that he may not be able to prove Toni right, that the truth may be unpalatable, but Toni insists on hiring him.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Toni's friends have given her strong support over the months since Sam's death, but they are not at all sure that Toni has done right thing in hiring Swift. They seem to want her to eat better and begin getting on with her life. With little to go on and some reluctance from people trying to protect Toni, Sam begins interviewing people, looking for a way into Sam's life and behavior before the wedding.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">NetGalley/Joffe Books</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">British Detective. Dec. 22, 2022. Print length: 318 pages.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">-------</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">I'd much rather read than review, and many other readers face the same dilemma. How many of you are caught up with your reviewing? </span></div>jenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-33255054080631804502021-12-01T00:00:00.002-06:002021-12-01T11:57:47.026-06:00Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult and The Stills by Jess Montgomery<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ClplF3Qn-Xo/YaeMTKZEhoI/AAAAAAAAmI0/whc8e1rcCgw_uZCwuG7OHj88IWj9yRjeQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/wishyouwerehere.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="263" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ClplF3Qn-Xo/YaeMTKZEhoI/AAAAAAAAmI0/whc8e1rcCgw_uZCwuG7OHj88IWj9yRjeQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/wishyouwerehere.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">I first read about this one on Diane's <a href="http://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com/2021/11/first-chapter-first-paragraph-tuesday_16.html" target="_blank">First Chapter, First Paragraph Tuesday</a> and quickly got myself a copy of Jodi Picoult's latest book.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Although I admit to being curious when I read the First Chapter intro, it didn't begin to reveal how much I would love the book. I fell in quickly and was engrossed the entire time. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><u>Wish You Were Here</u> is a book that you want to read without knowing much about it, so it is difficult to review and not give too much information, but it is one of my favorite books of the year and was full of surprises. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">It is a story of Covid and relationships, beautifully written, and revealing. Picoult did a great deal of research for the book and it shows, making the story almost more realistic than some of what we read in the news...but it is also much more than that. A remarkable book and highly recommended.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I <u>want</u> to say more about all of the ways Picoult turned this story on its head, but that would not be fair. I've recommended it to my daughters and friends so I will hopefully have someone to discuss it with.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">You can read Diane's review when she finished it--<a href="http://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com/2021/11/book-review-wish-you-were-here-jodi.html"><b>here</b></a>. <i><span style="font-size: medium;">Don't miss this one! 5/5</span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">NetGalley/Random House/Ballentine</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Literary Fiction. Nov. 30, 2021. Print length: 336 pages.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZBho5J82o8A/YaeWPiXBcyI/AAAAAAAAmI8/0HK8DiVkE0I1nM3xc0w2wL2yUzyQ8BVDgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/the%2Bstills.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="263" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZBho5J82o8A/YaeWPiXBcyI/AAAAAAAAmI8/0HK8DiVkE0I1nM3xc0w2wL2yUzyQ8BVDgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/the%2Bstills.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">I finally got around to reading <u>The Stills</u>, the third book in the Kinship series. World-building is usually associated with science fiction or fantasy, but Jess Montgomery is so skilled at creating atmosphere and historic details that the term applies to her books set in Bronwen County, Ohio, part of the Appalachian range.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Thanksgiving Day, 1927, begins well with friends and family enjoying a dinner together. But when a young boy nearly dies from tainted moonshine, Prohibition and revenuers, moonshiners, and a plan to take over bootlegging territory emerge. The Prologue deals with what Zachariah saw as he watches over Marlena's still and move on to the Thanksgiving celebration at Sheriff Lily Ross' home. </span></p><p></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: georgia;">The section about dehydrated grape brick turning into wine when Mama, Lily, and Marvena are preparing for dinner was fun. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m6aPHcTCj0E/Yaew4ZZu4JI/AAAAAAAAmJc/-IBUP1GsDmoUflSyZSZKSfI2o4C5xXR0QCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/grapebrick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="400" height="316" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m6aPHcTCj0E/Yaew4ZZu4JI/AAAAAAAAmJc/-IBUP1GsDmoUflSyZSZKSfI2o4C5xXR0QCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h316/grapebrick.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></span></blockquote><p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1d2b38; font-family: nimbus-sans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 27px; margin-top: 0px;"></p><blockquote><b>Under the Volstead Act, whose rules regulated Prohibition, grapes could be grown, but only if they were being used for non-alcoholic consumption. Furthermore, if the winemaker sold grapes to someone, aware they were going to use them to make wine, they themselves could be jailed.</b></blockquote><p></p><blockquote><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1d2b38; font-family: nimbus-sans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 27px; margin-top: 0px;">It meant that in selling their grape bricks, winemakers had to be able to maintain deniability that their product could be used to produce alcohol. To get around this, winemakers ensured that their grape bricks carried a warning not to leave it in water for too long in case, heaven forbid, it should begin fermenting and turn to wine.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1d2b38; font-family: nimbus-sans, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 27px; margin-top: 0px;">The warning in fact also served as an instruction manual, specifically advising the buyer “not to leave that jug in the cool cupboard for 21 days, or it would turn into wine”. (<a href="https://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2017/07/rare-prohibition-grape-brick-that-turns-into-wine/">source</a>)</p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">One of the strengths of these novels is Montgomery's ability to create a setting in which landscape, culture, historical issues, and characters blend so authentically that the reader is immersed in the story. In addition, Montgomery has created so many strong female characters--Lily and Marvena and Fiona, such different women, but ultimately made of sterner stuff than they may have ever believed. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">I fell in love with the characters in <u>The Widows</u>, enjoyed them even more in <u>The Hollows</u>, and was glad to join them in <u>The Stills</u>. The book alternates between Sheriff Lily Ross' pov and that of Fiona Vogel. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><b>A couple of other interesting facts:</b> the use of asthma cigarettes to treat asthma and the separation of sexes in many Protestant churches. Lily speaks of the end (in 1927) of separation by gender in the Presbyterian Church, and I could only find that many Protestant churches practiced this gender separation.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Purchased.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Historical Mystery. 2021. Print length: 362 pages.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.9991px;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span></span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><blockquote><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.9991px;">Osler’s support for smoking was reinforced by other physicians. As Eric K Chu and Jeffrey M Drazen have suggested, smoking stramonium remained a recommended treatment option for asthma in medical textbooks published throughout the early decades of the twentieth century.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 0.8461em; line-height: 1.6363em; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class=" fn" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2844275/#fn64" rid="fn64" style="color: #2f4a8b;">64</a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.9991px;"> (<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2844275/">Source</a>) </span></span></blockquote><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", stixgeneral, serif; font-size: 15.9991px;"></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.9991px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman", stixgeneral, serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8uuI4o7eDyM/Yaeox7E0KTI/AAAAAAAAmJI/EQRjjDX4tJAKSx3CtfUGW_kpIbOdC9bNwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1024/cigares-de-joy-1024x459.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="459" data-original-width="1024" height="286" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8uuI4o7eDyM/Yaeox7E0KTI/AAAAAAAAmJI/EQRjjDX4tJAKSx3CtfUGW_kpIbOdC9bNwCLcBGAsYHQ/w640-h286/cigares-de-joy-1024x459.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman", stixgeneral, serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wV-GfICWjVE/YaepFOYq57I/AAAAAAAAmJU/xMXE66HqIN0DrvWK9vGsOtLjyD5OYAhvgCLcBGAsYHQ/s896/Dr-Batty-cigarettes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="896" data-original-width="500" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wV-GfICWjVE/YaepFOYq57I/AAAAAAAAmJU/xMXE66HqIN0DrvWK9vGsOtLjyD5OYAhvgCLcBGAsYHQ/w358-h640/Dr-Batty-cigarettes.jpg" width="358" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">What were some of your November favorites?</span><br /><br /><p></p>jenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22616974.post-54685084849930278312021-11-26T07:30:00.002-06:002021-11-26T07:30:00.199-06:00Where Now Begins by Kerry Hardie and Four Thousand Days by M. J. Trow<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--2N61-z0SGQ/YZ0MT2UvT5I/AAAAAAAAmHI/r9vyubaN0JY_EIRdwrl-rm4uCb_jBBEMQCLcBGAsYHQ/s475/Where%2Bnow%2Bbegins.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="306" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--2N61-z0SGQ/YZ0MT2UvT5I/AAAAAAAAmHI/r9vyubaN0JY_EIRdwrl-rm4uCb_jBBEMQCLcBGAsYHQ/w258-h400/Where%2Bnow%2Bbegins.jpg" width="258" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">After seeing <u>Belfast</u>, I was reminded of a couple of books that I'd read about The Troubles, I remembered reading <u>The Bird Woman</u> by Kerry Hardy, which was particularly touching.</span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">I reviewed it <a href="https://bookgarden.blogspot.com/2006/12/december-reading.html"><b>here,</b></a> among several reviews in December of 2006. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Having been reminded of the book, I remembered that Hardy was a poet and ordered a book of her poetry. Evidently she wrote only the two novels, but seven collections of poetry. I ordered <u>Where Now Begins</u>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div><i><span style="font-family: georgia;">Into the Light</span></i></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">All prayers are poems, incantations,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">arising our of darkness, joy or grief--</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">splinters of feather and bone, </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">that flicker and spin and are gone,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">as brief and intense as a coal-tit's fierce cling</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">to a coconuts strung from an ash in the rainy air.</span></div><div><i><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: georgia;">Real Estate</span></i></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">For thirty years</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">we have walked around</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">inside each other's lives.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">We pay bills, hang out the wash, </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">comfort children who wake.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Sometimes we bury our dead.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">This is the house we inhabit, </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">fragile as glass,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">the light passing through.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">And I loved this line from<i> Daylilies</i>:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">"filling the garden with all the wrong colours--</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">disordered, unruly and joyous."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">I read the poems slowly over a period of days and will go back over them again and possibly, again, as is the way of reading poetry. Hardie is a wonderfully lyric poet who is immersed in her Irish roots, nature, life, grief, and imagery.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Poetry. Nov. 12, 2020. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Some other good books about Northern Ireland and The Troubles:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://bookgarden.blogspot.com/2016/12/the-ghosts-of-belfast-by-stuart-neville.html">The Ghosts of Belfast</a> by Stuart Neville</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://bookgarden.blogspot.com/2014/06/shadows-on-our-skin-by-jennifer-johnston.html">Shadows on Our Skin</a> by Jennifer Johnston</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--gs3zAF5Cgg/YZ0XvLQqdQI/AAAAAAAAmHQ/S3esxE0RgA0K9vBjWeIq8kNEAOlgtS9-QCLcBGAsYHQ/s399/fourthousanddays.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="255" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--gs3zAF5Cgg/YZ0XvLQqdQI/AAAAAAAAmHQ/S3esxE0RgA0K9vBjWeIq8kNEAOlgtS9-QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/fourthousanddays.png" width="205" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Set in 1900 London, M.J. Trow uses the University College of London (UCL) as a fitting backdrop for Dr. Margaret Murray, professor of archaeology. </span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">A young constable who has attended Margaret's free public lectures on Fridays recognizes the body a young woman in a rented room. She, too, had been attending the free Friday archaeology lectures, but Alice Groves/Helen Richardson had been living a double life. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Constable Adam Crawford is not pleased that his superior has decided immediately that the death is a suicide, eager to write off the death of a young prostitute as of no concern.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Margaret Murray, on hearing Crawford's doubts, determines to find out more. She eventually meets retired Detective Reid, who has a formidable reputation with Scotland Yard, and the two try to uncover what Helen and another young woman seeking a degree in archaeology and whose body Reid inadvertently discovers on a beach in Kent, had in common.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">I enjoyed this one, maybe not quite a believable murder mystery, but interesting characters and rather fun. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">NetGalley/Severn House</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Historical Mystery. Nov. 25, 2022. Print length: 224 pages.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">-------------</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 18px;"> “I used to steal magazines from a store on Genesee Street, in Waukegan, and read them and then steal them back on the racks again. That way </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 700;">I took the print off with my eyeballs</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 18px;"> and stayed honest. I didn’t want to be a permanent thief, and I was very careful to wash my hands before I read them.”</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 18px;">—</span><a href="https://tumblr.austinkleon.com/post/25162210327" rel="noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #cf4344; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 18px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;" target="_blank">Ray Bradbury</a></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iXG5zQL_pmM/YYXLUbjDFqI/AAAAAAAAmC4/DiszrFdb4mMxNAAINLiMvfpKf20NjsvyACLcBGAsYHQ/s552/gifts%2Bnot%2Bincluded%2Bmeme.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="552" height="370" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iXG5zQL_pmM/YYXLUbjDFqI/AAAAAAAAmC4/DiszrFdb4mMxNAAINLiMvfpKf20NjsvyACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h370/gifts%2Bnot%2Bincluded%2Bmeme.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <br /><p></p></div>jenclairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.com14