The Real Rosalind: The Truth About Rosalind Franklin's DNA Discovery and How It Was Erased

 The Real Rosalind: The Truth About Rosalind Franklin's DNA Discovery and How It Was Erased is a non-fiction account written by Debbie Loren Dunn and Janet S. Fox.

This is a very interesting look at the life of Rosalind Franklin who was among the first to discover that DNA was a double helix. She worked during from 1930 - 1950 in science labs in Paris and London with a variety of colleagues and competitors all racing to be the first to discover and understand DNA.

 She wanted to collaborate and share knowledge but was working in a mostly male dominated environment who were very competitive and not open to working with a woman. She also was determined to work only with proven facts and not rush to an incorrect answer with shoddy research or unverified facts. Another strong woman scientist who should not be forgotten and possible should get her awards posthumously .

This book is written aimed at a young adult audience. It is very scientific in its descriptions.  It is a great learning experience and if you are interested in the science will be fascinating to those readers.

Queen of Poisons

 To round out the weekend I read the newest Robert Thorogood mystery novel, Queen of Poisons.  This is the latest in the Marlow Murder Club series.

Each novel gives the reader a little more information about the main characters, Judith, Becks and Susie.   Judith has a pst she is trying to escape and keep hidden from her friends.  She has to come to an understanding with that past.  Susie has to see that her life is very full and she cannot take on any more projects. Becks is having trouble this time with her mother-in-law, Marian.  Marian has run out of money and wants to move in with Becks, Colin and her kids at the church rectory. Becks will try everything she can think of to entice her mother-in-law to move out.

Again they are invited by the police to help investigate another death.  Susie was at the town council meeting when the mayor took a sip of coffee and fell off his chair dead. Tanika the police detective inspector is called in to solve the case.  She knows that the women will investigate no matter what so she decides to work with them instead of trying to get them stay out of the way.

As Judith and her friends start interviewing suspects they find out everyone has something they are trying to hide.  There are so many red herrings and characters that it becomes a little complicated to keep it all straight. But in the end Judith again ties up all the missing pieces, twists and turns and brings the murderer to justice.

She not only discovers which of the suspects is guilty, she also figures out how they were able to kill the mayor right under the noses of everyone at the meeting.  Another entertaining novel in this series and this time it took me longer to figure out who I thought committed the crime.

Death Coms to Marlow

Death Comes to Marlow is the second book in the new mystery novel series written by Robert Thorogood.  

In book one Judith, Susie and Becks helped the police solve a murder and became the Marlow Murder Club.  Now a year later Judith is invited to a engagement party for a man she does not know.  Sir Peter suggests he is afraid of something bad happening as his reason for the invitation.  Judith shows up at the garden party with her two friends in tow.  Of course there is a death and once again the Marlow Murder Club is ready to investigate.  His young nurse and fiancée, Jenny is there along with Sir Peter's two adult children, Tristram and Rosanna when the catastrophe strikes.  It is up to Judith and her friends to help the police get to the bottom of the crime.

This continues to be an entertaining light mystery series. With many twists and turns, a cast of unusual characters and various reasons they could all be suspects. Judith and her tin of boiled sweets is always ready with a question for a suspect and a suggestion of how the murder could have taken place.

Judith Potts creates crossword puzzles for the local paper, and solving murders as if they are a puzzle is her specialty.  Susie is a dog walker by trade and now also a local radio personality.  Becks is the vicar's wife and a mother to two teenagers.  She brings the personal side to the trio.  She knows the citizens of Marlow and also can converse easily with the suspects and the victims making them feel calm and secure to reveal their secrets.

I will just mention also that this series has been made into a television series. I found the books much more in depth than the TV show.  Too many shortcuts are taken with the TV series, which takes away from the plot. Also the characters are so different from the characters I pictured in my head from the reading the books first.

The Lion Women of Tehran

Yeah, I finally read The Lion Women of Tehran, written by Marjan Kamali.

I have missed two in person opportunities to meet Marjan and listen to her speak about her book.  That is disappointing. But I did finally sit down and read the book and I am so glad I did.  This is a powerful, fast moving, intimate look at the life of women living in Tehran during the 1950s through the 70s.  You will not put the book down once you start reading.  You will not be able to wait to make sure the characters you become close to are safe.  

Kamali makes the characters so human and likable you will be invested in their successes and failures.  You will be concerned when they suffer and cheer when they are succeed.

Ellie at the age of seven and her mother are forced to move from the wealthy neighborhood of Terhan to a small home in a poor neighborhood when her father dies unexpectedly.  Her mother always concerned with her standing in society tries to keep Ellie from making friends with Homa, a girl from the neighborhood.  Ellie does not understand her mother's opinions and rebels.  Homa and Ellie will be live long friends. 

When her mother remarries her Uncle he brings them back to the wealthy society that her mother feels comfortable in.  The girls are separated and Ellie is now a popular student in a fancy school.  Homa works hard to pull herself up and attend the same high school and reappears in Ellie's life. Homa is a strong person with a great self image.  She is herself wherever she is.  Ellie is the weaker person, not secure in herself, needing to fit in and follow the crowd.

Though the girls have different dreams in life, they connect and separate many times because their friendship really runs deep.  Life experiences bring them together and tear them apart over and over again.

Against the backdrop of Iran's history we follow Homa and Ellie through college and marriages,,, through the country struggling with political turmoil toward democracy.

This book will bring back all the news stories of the 1970s and 80s, The Iran Hostage Crisis, the Shah leaving Iran in disgrace and the Iran Revolution and the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini.  

Ellie now married moves to New York in the 1980s.  She is following the news about Iran from there.  Homa is a part of the women's resistance movement in Iran trying to get women's rights. 

With many twists and unexpected turns this is a fabulous story about the power of friendship, and the tenacity of "Lion Women"fierce, courageous, and brave women.

The Phoenix Pencil Company

 The Phoenix Pencil Company written by Allison King.  I picked this book off the self because it must have something to do with pencils. I enjoy writing and my father and sister use pencils for their artwork. So the book might be interesting, and maybe I could recommend it to one of them.

Ok, so the book is about pencils and a company that makes the pencils. But that is where any connection to real life use of pencils pretty much ends.  So if you suspend your attachment to reality and go along with the premise of the novel this is a romantic story of cousins and their jealousy and connection.  A story of true love and heartbreak.  

Narrated by Monica Tsai , a young woman living in Boston with her grandparents.  She is in college and working with her professor coding a new program that connects strangers online.   Her grandmother, Yun, whose memory is beginning to fade, has lived through two wars in China and spent her youth working with her mother, aunt and cousin, Meng, in a Pencil Factory in China.  But this was not just a pencil factory and the owners had a secret.   They had a special gift that allowed them to see what had been written with the pencil, which was called Reforging..

The pencils were hollow. Whatever was written with the pencil would be saved and if it was brought back to Yun and her family, they could reforge it and know everything that has been written with the pencil.  When the government finds out about this power they are forced into a life of espionage, revealing people's stories to survive.

Monica meets a woman through her new program who brings Yun a pencil to reforge after so many years.  Through this relationship and the memories of Yun we learn the history of and story of Yun and Meng and how they lost touch.

Monica learns about the family secret and reveals a secret of her own. She learns about trust, love and memory.  The book also quietly compares how the reforging of pencils and the technology of the computer to save memories and personal information are similar.  

Too Old For This

 Too Old For This is anther in my pile of mystery novels about elderly women. Again the author, Samatha Downing may just be a little too young to understand that 75 years old is not considered so old these days.

As I get closer to the that age it dos not seem so much like the old ladies I remember as a young person.  We are mostly not the old lady stereotype that wears a housecoat all day and walks bent over with a walker.

Lottie Jones is living the quiet life she thought she wanted, bingo at church with friends, her son is getting married for the second time and she has two teenage grand children from her son's first marriage. The past is behind her until one day a young persistent woman rings her doorbell.

Plum Dixon comes calling with a file from Lottie's past, when she was Lorena Mae Lansdale.  Plum wants to make a documentary about Lottie and she says help clear her name from the three murders she was accused of killing forty years ago.

When Plum doesn't take a simple no as the answer, Lottie has to take action even though she really does not want ruin her idyllic lifestyle. 

This starts Lottie off on a killing spree to cover her tracks. As the list of missing persons grows, Lottie has to be careful not to make a mistake that will lead back to her. This is both a very entertaining look at an elderly woman trying to keep her secret safe and a disturbing story about a woman who kills first and asks questions later.

A funny, macabre novel with a great twist at the end.  You are enthralled with Lottie and her friends as they cook together and play bingo .  Then you are nervous anxious every time Lottie someone knocks on her front door.

A Study in Secrets

 A Study in Secrets, Last Chance Academy #1is written by Debbi Michiko Florence.

This book is a fun middle grade novel showing how friendship can be really strong or sometimes can go sideways.

Learning to trust friends is difficult and learning to be a trustworthy friend is hard.  

Meg is sent to a boarding school after her mother dies and because she thinks her father is too busy too live with her.  Her best friend from childhood has turned her back and Meg thinks she needs to only take of herself.  As her new roommate starts to get Meg to let down her guard a secret contest begins at the Last Chance Academy.  Along with two other classmates they start solving the puzzles that will lead to the prize, a vacation trip. Meg really wants to win, but is it all costs?  A lesson in working together , realizing that sometimes trusting your friends leads to a better outcome than working alone.

It looks like author, Debbi Michiko Florence has more plans for Meg and her friends at the Last Chance Academy.  

The Teacher of Nomad Land

 Another great middle school novel, The Teacher of Nomad Land by Daniel Nayeri teaches us all a great lesson.

This novel is a World War II story set in Iran. For me this was a new perspective of the war.  A country that I had not thought about being involved in the war. Iran was a neutral country but it was occupied by both British and Soviet forces.

We meet a two young children, a brother and sister, who have just lost both their parents.  Orphaned and afraid of being separated they set out to meet up with a nomad troop as they travel from their winter home to the their summer land.

Babak needs to prove himself useful to the leader of the tribe to be able to continue along with the nomads.  He carries the heavy blackboard his farther used as a teacher and offers to teach the nomad children as they travel.  His little sister, Sana, proves to be even more compassionate and understanding of the human condition than 12 year Babak.  Together they work against the odds to survive in a barren war torn country.

Along the way they meet a young Jewish boy trying to stay one step ahead of a Nazi hunter.  At first because of the language difference and his appearance they do not trust him. Then as Babak tries to communicate and the children all understand the situation they become allies. 

This is a story of survival, bridging cultural divides and the power of education and empathy.

Goldenseal

 Goldenseal is the newest novel written by author, Maria Hummel.  This is a short, simple story with a large, intense plot and message.

When two women have a very close long friendship that we learn about as it revealed from the present looking backwards.  The novel starts with the two women coming back together after years apart after a betrayal tears them apart.

Lacey grew up with her loving parents in a luxury hotel her father owned and managed. Her father, Papi, came to the United States from Germany before WWII.

Her mother, Mutti, is from a Jewish family who all lost their lives in the Holocaust. This affects her mother for the rest of her life.  Lacey is sent to summer camp for one summer which changes the direction of her life. She meets Edith at camp and they become fast friends.  Edith comes from a poor, uneducated family.  

Lacey and Edith prick their fingers, mixing their blood, the way young girls did in the 60's,  making them sisters. Their lives intersect and intertwine through their 30s.  Then a tragic event breaks them apart.  

Lacey retreats to the hotel and becomes a hermit until the fateful day that Edith comes to visit many years later as an elderly woman.  Over a carefully  planned dinner, each woman tells her interpretation of what happened revealing their hidden secrets. Each woman is searching for some remnants of their lost love or the ties that bound them.

Remembering how close my early friendships felt made this story come alive for me. Now at a older age, I can think back to where those friendships diverted and how we each changed over the years. This short novel packed a large punch.

The May House

 Jillian Cantor has written a new novel titled, The May House.  This is a very captivating novel about the lives of three sisters.  The plot follows them from childhood to becoming adults and how their lives develop and their reationships change.

We meet the May sisters as they visit their grandmother at her beach house on Coronado Island in California for a week in May. This becomes a family ritual, to visit the house the same week every May as the girls are growing up and they look forward to wonderful visit with their grandmother.

When they are in the twenties, away at school and starting their first jobs, visiting at the same time gets more complicated.  When their grandmother dies, she leaves them the house with the stipulation that they need to continue their visits.

Julie, Emily and Nora are not close as adults, thy different interests, they are busy in their own lives, they keep secrets from each other. The week every May at the beach house is the only connection between them. 

 The year Julie down't show up at the house changes everything.  Nora and Emily are worried and as they start to search for Julie they start to uncover the secrets that have been pulling them apart. 

The book is told in alternating voices of each of the sisters. Learning how family secrets, experiences and memories have shaped each of their personalities and their lives helps bring them closer.  It is a story of family ups and downs and learning how important sisters are. 

The Clementine Complex

 The Clementine Complex is a quirky mystery novel written by Bob Mortimer, a British comedian.  

The novel is written in a comedic style and is the story of a young man who seems to be very awkward socially.  Gary Thorn works for a law firm as a legal assistant.  He wears the same cheap suit everyday to work and carries a plastic briefcase.  He lives in an apartment that he has never really furnished or decorated.  He tells his next door neighbor that he is not sure how long he will be staying, though he has been there for two years. 

One night a coworker, Brendan asks to meet for a drink at the local bar.  While they are talking Brendan gets a phone call and says he needs to leave.  Gary stays a while longer striking up a conversation with a woman at the end of the bar.

A few days later, two policemen meet up with Gary to say he was the last person to see Brendan alive.  Gary tries to find the woman he thinks of as Clementine from the bar to give him an alibi.  These two actions set in motion the circumstances that follow. Gary does not seem very smart as he gives away information and doesn't seem to understand what is happening around him as he gets further and further mixed up in the dealings of these unsavory characters.

In this bumbling plot, Gary also spends time asking advise from a squirrel he sees when he is walking.  He assumes it is always the same squirrel and he carries on a conversation with it.  I did not really find it added much to the plot.

A simple mystery and a quick read, but not a book I would reccomend.

Boy From The North Country

We read books for entertainment, for education and for escape. Sometimes a book will surprise you and draw you into the pages, not letting you leave even after you close the back cover.  It stays with you for a while.  

Boy From the North Country is that kind of novel.  Some people have actually described this book as an autobiographical novel. It is based on the author, Sam Sussman's, real life experience with his mother, Fran Sussman.  Writing it as novel gives the author room to explores feelings and emphasize where he would like to and not worry about quotes and exact details.

Sam, or Evan in the book, comes home from studying in England when his mother, June, calls to tell him she has been diagnosed with cancer and is scheduled for surgery.  Evan comes home to the farm in upstate New York where he grew up.  He and his mother will go through the ordeal of chemo treatments and trying to fight the cancer taking over his mother's body.  

June has lived a holistic lifestyle on this north country farm.  She eats all the foods that she has read will help with the reactions to chemo, including extremely rare burgers.  Evan will overcome his aversion to red meat, as a vegetarian, to cook his mother this possible life saving food.  

Evan as a youngster could not wait to get away from this life. As soon as he was eighteen he ran off to college and to England to study.  He has been working on a novel that is never finished.  But now he promises to stay with his mother through her whole sojourn.

June has never really spoken about her life or the past with Evan.  She had divorced Evan's father when he was very young.  Over the years there have been a few men who have played the role of stepfather until the relationships became too toxic and June told them to leave.  But June is still a strong believer in the power of love.  She is still looking for and telling Evan the importance of finding true love.

Now as they sit through long hours of chemo treatments, June shares her story with Evan. Talking about her childhood, her time at college and her adventures in New York City.  She was an actress and took painting classes with Bob Dylan.  Many people over the years as Evan grew up told him he resembles Dylan.  Evan has always wondered if Dylan is really his father.  

With this little mystery running pushing the plot along, June and Evan really come together supporting each other.  Sussman writes beautiful prose as he describes the house, farm and nature.  He explores his feelings about losing a parent, themes of love, loss, grief and healing.  He learns to put into perspective the seduction of money, power, and fame.  As an observer you will have a wonderful journey reading this novel.

The Art of the Lie

 The Art of the Lie is an incredible novel written by the Laura Shepard-Robinson.

Though every mystery novel has some kind of twist the reader should have seen coming which leads to the uncovering of the murderer this novel is even more deceptive than most.

The book opens with Hannah Cole trying to keep her small confectionary, the Punchbowl and Pineapple in business.  Her husband has ben found murdered and there is question that he was involved in something illicit.  When the magistrate freezes her husband, Jonas' estate Hannah is having trouble keeping the business open.  Along comes William Devereux, who seems like a gentleman and offers Hannah the recipe for a new frozen invention, ice cream.  Her business is exploding with customers and success.  

But Hannah and Devereux it turns out are not what they seem.  Each has a secret they are hiding.  As they are working it seems to together, there are dark forces working against them.  They are also working individually, pulling off their own illusions and deceptions. 

This is a story of truth and honesty and how being deceptive can destroy lives. The plot is so well written that the reader is surprised at each stage and the ending is a surprise.

Agnes Sharp and the Trip of a Lifetime

 Leonie Swann has written book two of the series, Agnes Sharp and the Trip of a Lifetime,  This time Agnes and her friends are off on an adventure.  They travel to a resort hotel when Edwina wins a trip to the Cornwall seaside resort. 

Charlie agrees to treat everyone else to the vacation so that they can escape the cold winter weather and the fact that the boiler is not working.

Of course there will be trouble wherever this group goes and there seems to be a few murders that Agnes and others may have witnessed.  But with the elderly sometimes they are not to be believed, it could just be their faulty memories.

This is a clever followup to the previous novel.  The plot builds as the friends try to find the murder victims and their killer.  Hettie, the tortoise was left home but Edwina finds a boa constrictor this time that helps with the murder case.  We also learn a little more background on each of the characters which helps the reader relate to the characters.  There are still a few experiences that happen in this novel that are quite not believe even with a good dose of imagination.

The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp

The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp is the first in the new mystery series authored by Leonie Swann.  In the author picture on the back cover of the book , Leonie looks way too young to be writing about senior citizens solving mysteries.

This is another book in the new genre of senior citizens who are amateur detectives.  In this first book week meet Agnes who is living in her childhood home along with some friends.  They have come to live together to avoid the typical end of life experience of living in assisted living and leaving their end of life to chance.

Now the five member so of the house have signed a pact to help each one end their life when the time comes and they do not feel productive anymore.,  in the meantime they are sharing house hold duties.

When someone ends up dead in the neighborhood Agnes leads the group to help sove the crime. Also living with the group is a tortoise named Hettie who in a way helps solve the crime. An entertaining plot with many twists and turns and quite a number of red herrings along the way.

 There are a few experiences that happen in this novel that are quite not believe even with a good dose of imagination.

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year written by Ally Carter kept me entertained while watching te snow come down outside.

This turned out to be a cute entertaining book to read in the snowstorm.  This must be a new genre of mysteries that include a romance while solving the crime.  Mystery Romance.... two mystery authors are invited to a country house for Christmas.  They do not know who invited them, and when they find out the aother has been invited the tension begins.  They start out by always arguing and then of course join forces when the hostess goes missing and murders are being attempted.  Can they solve the crime together and also fall in love under the mistletoe before the ending?  

This book is all about misunderstanding and finding self confidence.   Maggie had a difficult, lonely childhood and she filled the hole in her life with mystery novels written by Eleanor Ashley.  She grows to become a mystery author herself. 

Ethan seems to be the perfect man, handsome, self assured and all the women love him. He is also a writer of mystery novels. When there is a contest for the best author they are in the running against each other and Ethan wins. Maggie hates him. She creates an image of him without really knowing the man. 

Now they are thrown together in this country house during a snowstorm, the roads are closed and then the power goes out.  Someone is trying to kill the host .

Maggie and Ethan join forces and oof course what starts as competition and arguments turns to agreement and working together ... is love in the air?

Julia : A Novel Inspired by the Life of Julia Child

 Julia : A Novel Inspired by the Life of Julia Child written Heather B Moore was a fascinating book.

Having watched Julia Child cooking on Public television during my childhood she was already an icon in my mind.  Reading about her life and road that led her to the television studio was amazing.

This book was well written, taking you into Julia's world and describing her feelings and thoughts as she leaves home starting a new life working for the war effort during turbulent times in our history.  Her path took many twists and turns before she ever even found her way to our living rooms .  Meeting Paul Child is described in such a sweet innocent way.  She was not the forceful woman that came across on the screen.  Her fondness for French food which led her to cooking school.  The friends she made in France who wrote a cookbook and taught cooking classes with her.  These and other experiences are described in the book in great detail.  

The reader really gets to know Julia in an intimate way.

The Carpool Detectives

What an amazing book, The Carpool Detectives written by Chuck Hogan follows four women as they break wide open a cold case in California. 

Four young mothers who are finding their lives a little stale come together to investigate a cold case they saw in a newsreel.  Marissa, Jeannie, Samira, and Nicole meet at a school function and decide to use their varied special strengths to start looking into a car that has turned up at the bottom of steep ravine with two dead bodies. 

The women whose children are becoming more independent, are feeling useless and decide this will be a way to feel productive again.  They start going through old news stories and making phone calls finding out that 10 years ago a couple went missing along with a million dollars and closed up the family business. Then their bodies were found in the crashed car. The two people are now victims instead of thieves.  Then the case went cold and police stopped investigating.

The women with no law enforcement background, interested in journalism, start looking at old newspaper clippings, looking through old police files and meeting with a policeman willing to give them a little information that keeps them moving the investigation further ahead.  At times it gets dangerous but they are determined too find the answers that have alluded the law for so long.

This is a true story that reads like a crime novel.  A fascinating story of some very impressive ladies.  

The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp

 This year there are so many mystery novels using the elderly as amateur detectives. Today's book is The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp.  This book was written by author Leonie Swann.  This novel. is entertaining but our book discussion group had some interesting points to make about this book.

This is the story of a group of elderly people living in a house together in their sunset years.  They have made a pact between themselves that each person has signed stating that when the time comes that they are not living the life they want to be leading the others can end their life.  They have each stated what that moment is for them.

As the novel opens a dead body has been discovered in the garden shed.  The members of the house are discussing the death of their roommate Lillith.  As they are making plans about how to handle this situation the police arrive and tell them about another death in the neighborhood.  The characters back stories are developed as they search for the murderer trying to stay ahead of the police.

Our group felt the characters were not well enough developed to understand how they all ended up in house together. We also were concerned with the idea of elderly people being invisible and scatterbrained.

There quite a few red herrings that tried to make it difficult to follow the plot.  Some of the distractions did not feel realistic.  But all in all it was a little funny and kept our attention right to the end.

Violet Thistlewaite is not a Villain Anymore

Violet Thistlewaite is not a Villain Anymore, is Emily Krempholtz's first attempt at a cozy fantasy. romance novel. But she is not new to writing.  She has been a ghost writer, editor and book coach helping other writers with their work.

Now she has created the entertaining novel about a small town finding its again in the aftermath of a horrible dark sorcerer .   Guy Shadowfade has died and freed the town of Dragon's Rest from his grip.

Even the names of the characters in this novel are wonderful. Violet comes to the town to start a new life after leaving the castle and Guy Shadowfade. She wants to start over and be a good person this time. Setting up a flower shop alongside the sop of the struggling alchemist Nathaniel Marsh they each have secrets they are keeping.

They are each a bit suspicious of the other, but Nathaniel's sister is open, cheerful and welcoming. As Violet makes friends and starts to feel comfortable in the town trouble seems to following her .  

Violet and Nathanial must learn to trust themselves and each other so they can hep save Dragon's Rest.  The characters will learn what it really means to be a good person.  Maybe a villain can change and find a happy ever after ending.

The Wildes; A Novel in Five Acts

 Louis Bayard has created an interesting novel about the life of Oscar Wilde and of course written it in five acts in The Wildes; A Novel in Five Acts.

Each act is written from a different person's point of view about the life of Oscar Wilde and his family. Starting with his wife, Constance we see how the life they lived together with their two small sons is blown open when Oscar is accused of the outrageous act of homosexuality.  It is in the fall of 1892 when Constance, Oscar and their son, Cyril are staying in a country house in the Norfolk countryside for a holiday.  Oscar invites young poets to come visit and finally when aristocratic young wannabe poet named Lord Alfred Douglas, arrives Constance begins to see what has been hiding in plain site.  Her husband's affections are revealed and their world begins to crumble.When Oscar is brought up on trial and sent to prison for homosexual relations, Constance moves her family away and changes their last name. B ut the damage is done and the two boys, Cyril and Vyvyan lives are turned upside down.  

In the next acts we learn the extent of how the adults choices have affected these tow boys lives hearing their stories and how their lives turned out.  

It is a well written account of life and the scandal of the time.  In act five the reader will see that maybe if there things were handled a little differently there could have been a different outcome. It is a fabulous story and the reader may wish that people then were as open minded as we wish to be now.

The Lost Baker of Vienna

 Today I went to a book talk by Sharon Kurtzman, author of The Lost Baker of Vienna.  It was a wonderful addition to my enjoyment in reading the novel.

Kurtzman talked about how she was able to sit down with her mother years ago in college and hear about her mother's childhood as a Holocaust survivor. It took her many years to finally reach the moment when she could create a novel out of her mother's lived experience.  The Lost Baker of Vienna is that book.

The book is based on her mother's story but the baker and some other facts are changed to create the novel. This is a well researched plot though and the facts are real even the delicious pastries mentioned were researched in Vienna by the author.

This novel is the story of a mother and her two young adult children who have managed to live through the atrocities of the war and finally escape a DP camp to be smuggled into Vienna.  They are trying to get to family in America but the quotas are making it difficult. 

Now in Vienna with nothing they get work in a hotel kitchen and a room in a boarding house.  But life here is also still dangerous for Jews. 

Alongside this plot is the current day story of a young woman, Zoe Rosenzweig, who is working to make a career as a journalist.  When her grandfather dies and leaves her some information about her past she is determined to find out the family history.  She follows a lead to Vienna and members of the family who were connected to her grandfather and the great aunt she never knew. \

A story of love, hardship and perseverance both through the Holocaust and to learn about family history.  A willingness to take chances and work for what you believe in. 

Under the Stars

 Beatriz Williams one of the authors who work never disappoints has another historical novel out titled, Under the Stars.

Tying the plot to the historical event of the sinking of the SS Atlantic of the coast of Nova Scotia in 1873 Williams has created a delightful novel of relationships.  Husbands and wives and parents and children and the truths that are both hidden and revealed.

Meredith is a famous Hollywood actress who needs to dry out before her next picture contract.  Her daughter, Audrey is getting over the desertion of her husband and the loss of her restaurant. Audrey steps up and takes on the responsibility of bringing her mother home to Winthrop Island for a quiet somber summer before reporting to the set of her new movie. Meredith grew up on the Island and left her boyfriend Mike when she went off across the country wit their baby daughter, Audrey to California many years ago.

A third narrative of the story of Prudence Dare. How she came to be aboard the ill fated ship but escaped when it went down off the coast and came ashore on Winthrop Island.

Now back on the Winthrop Island secrets will be revealed and memories will be remembered.  Audrey will have to make some hard choices with her life.

An entertaining mystery with a little suspense but also a wonderful story of love between a mother and daughter, and maybe even some lessons learned about the importance of family and trust.