The Reading List

 If you are a reader, you know how books can help you escape all your problems and make you  feel better when things seem overwhelming.  Author Sara Nisha Adams show us how well this works in her book, The Reading List.

After Mukesh's wife dies he does not know how to communicate with his granddaughter, Priya.  She always had a special connection with her grandmother.  They would read the same books and discuss them. Mukesh is lonely and wants to discover a way to start a conversation with Priya.  He stops by the local library and  meets Aleisha, another lonely teen working behind the checkout desk.  

Aleisha is working when she finds what appears to be a forgotten list of books in the back of a returned copy of To Kill a Mockingbird.  She starts reading the books on the list to escape the painful problems that face her at home.  When Mukesh asks her for a book recommendation she starts sharing the books from the list with him.  They begin books and discussing them and create relationship that helps both of them. Each reader is able to relate something in their life and situation to the book they are reading.  

It is always amazing when you can find a connection to your own life through the books you read. It is also fabulous when the books can help you feel better.  The list of books Adams chose are all great books ;

To Kill a Mockingbird

Life of Pi

Pride and Prejudice

Little Women

Beloved

A Suitable Boy

The Last Checkmate

 The Last Checkmate is a novel written by Gabriella Saab.  This is another in  the long list of Holocaust fiction.  The theme of chess that runs throughout this book, as a connection for the young girl who has been brought to the concentration camp.  Marie  Florkowska, is a Polish teenager who is working for the resistance.  She is captured and tortured to find out her accomplices.  Then she and her family are sent to Auschwitz.  She is escapes immediate death when Karl Fritzsch, the camp deputy notices a chess piece she has been carrying.

Marie is able to survive by playing chess.  Fritzsch keeps her alive having her play chess with himself, other officers and prisoners for his entertainment.   Interestingly this is a story of a Polish citizen who did not agree with the Germans taking over Poland and killing off all the Jews there.  Marie and her family were working with the underground to save Jewish people.

This is another historical novel in the Holocaust genre. It is interesting that this plot shows us how the Polish were prisoners were treated in the camps.  This is a book that takes the reader back and forth between a young girl's experience in a concentration camp and afterwards trying to exact revenge on her oppressor.   An interesting story but it would have been better in my opinion if it had been based on a real character.  Though there is some historical accuracy and and some characters based on real people, the main character is not based on a real person which I think would have made this a better story.

The Other Passenger

 I am starting to enter the genre of psychological thrillers.  I have not really like that style of writing because I do not really enjoy being scared or nervous as a I reading a book. But I have found some clever entertaining books out there in this space that offer an interesting story and a good twist at the end, that you did not see coming.  There have been some very clever ones that really throw me at the end when the twist comes and I was not expecting it or it is so different from where I thought the plot was going.  

But this book, The Other Passenger, written by Louise Candlish, to me, is not one of those books.  This plot had a slow start, then dragged through the middle and the ending was too predicable.  I  felt like we were spending quite a long time setting up the relationships between the characters.  I guess also I did not like any of the characters.  So as the plot progressed I could not feel sorry for anyone or take any one side and that made me feel bored through the middle when the plot started to really drag.

The ending was close to what I thought was going to happen.  I had some other ideas running through my mind as I read and maybe, looking back, if one of those other points had led to a different twist at the end I would have felt more satisfied.  This ending was too simple.

An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed

 An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed  is the sequel to An Elderly Lady is Up To No Good and she is definitely still up to no good.  This time the elderly lady is on vacation traveling to South Africa and as she sleeps on the plane flight  from England, she dreams about the past and the awful things she has done in the past.  There is a certain tension as you wait to see what she will do next or if or when she will get caught for her horrible behavior.  Can you applaud her because she is  clever or condemn her because she has committed crimes.  Do feel sorry for her because she is elderly or angry because she is devious? 

A clever idea for a plot idea to have this little old lady with hearing aids and a walking stick close to ninety years old being so devious.  This time she takes us back to her youth and young adult years to share the crimes of her past.  As she is sits on the plane snippets of conversation remind her of things that happened years before.  She always thinks strategically and seems to know all the angles so she does not get caught when she misbehaves.  Could it only be a matter of time before her past catches up with her?

There is a feeling of foreboding that followed me through the book waiting for the other shoe to drop.  How long can you go before your problems are uncovered.  Also the elderly lady does some good deeds.  Does the good outweigh the bad?  Can you erase the evil with some caring and better behavior?

An entertaining book with an interesting premise .

State of Terror

 State of Terror, is written by one of my favorite authors, Louise Penny.  This time she has collaborated with Hillary Clinton to write a mystery novel that is both political and a statement on the social and political situation that gripped our country and the world in 2021.

Louise Penny is known for writing mystery novels that are more like novels with a threat to someone's life  or a threat to the way of life in society.  She has a distinct and unique style of writing that brings the reader  in and makes you feel like you are there as a character int he plot.  When she writes about Three Pines, a small cold, snowy village hidden behind trees in the  wilderness of Canada you  can  almost smell the pine trees.  You can almost taste the hot cocoa as her main characters gather around the fire at the Inn.

This book started off feeling like a departure from Penny's signature style,  but quickly became a  political intrigue that followed that same writing theme. Her main character seems to  be a take off on Hillary Clinton.  Except that Clinton has a lifetime of experience that prepared her to Secretary of State and this character has been appointed to her position after running a media empire for years.  The tension between the President and Ellen Adams is deep seated.  The  President, it seems, wants Ellen to fail, but she  is a determined and feisty character who pushes forward and is determined to win the day.

When three bombs go off in various European countries Ellen and her assistant and best friend, Betsy Jameson, are off to meet with different world leaders trying to discover who knew what when.  It seems clear  to Ellen  that an  old political enemy is behind the attacks; Bashir Shah, an evil Pakistani arms dealer “intent on creating a hell on earth.”  Ellen Adams even thinks Shah might have killed her husband in revenge for articles her media company published about him.  Her travels send her to Russia, the grand Ayatollah of Iran and even to Florida to visit a previous president at his compound.

The book plays with characters that resemble members of the US government's previous administration including the Secretary of Defense who is trying to undermine Adams.   The Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff and the Secretary of Defense both look really guilty of being behind the crimes and even have a fist fight in the Oval office. 

This book  is quite full of characters.  Sometimes it is hard to keep track of  them all and there are many twisty plot turns. But that is in true form for Penny.  The book is very different than her Armand Gamache series, though her emotional writing style does come through, her prose and style of offering so many  different directions and not following them directly to a conclusion.  Her ability to write about friendship and present philosophical views are all there.  

Then  there is Penny's co author Hillary Clinton.  She brings the political viewpoint to the book. This is her chance to vent about the way things turned out during the presidential election she lost to Trump.  Though his name is not used there are references to him and his followers.  The president, Eric Dunn, in this book is called "Eric the dumb".  To her credit though she also pays tribute to a long time friend Betsy Ebeling, who died recently, in the character of Betsy Jameson.

In t he end it is a fun book to read and could possibly  lead to another political mystery that Ellen Adam and her entourage need to solve.

Comfort Me with Apples

 Comfort Me With Apples is being described as a terrifying new thriller written by bestselling author,  Catherynne M. Valente.  There is a feeling of suspense and dread as you read this thin novel.  The plot is definitely building toward the uncovering of a mystery.

Sophia wakes every morning and her first thought is , I was made for him. She is convinced her husband is perfect. She can feel it in her bones. He is perfect. Their home together in Arcadia Gardens is perfect. Everything is perfect.

It's just that he's away so much. So often. He works so hard. She misses him. And he misses her. He says he does, so it must be true. He is the perfect husband and everything is perfect.

But sometimes Sophia wonders about things. Strange things begin to appear in the house.  She starts to have dark thoughts. The look on her husband's face when he comes back from a long business trip. The questions he will not answer. The locked basement she is never allowed to enter. And whenever she asks the neighbors, they can't quite meet her gaze....  She is very popular with the neighbors, Mrs Orpington and Mrs. Palfrey and the others.  

They  all live in Arcadia Gardens and there are quite a number of rules for living in this perfect setting. Each chapter starts off with some rules, like no walking on the grass and no children are allowed to live here. The novella is short and you need to pay close attention to the details to discover the secret to the story.  I read through once and then had to go back and see the multitude of clues that I missed the first time.

I  do not want to ruin the plot for you so I highly recommend you pick up this short book, but I will not give you anymore details.

Where the Grass is Green and Girls are Pretty

 Where the Grass is Green and  Girls are Pretty is the newest book written by author, Lauren Weisberger. Weisberger is best known for her novel, The Devil Wears Prada, and she has a number of other entertaining novels.

In this newest story we meet two sisters living perfect lives. Peyton Marcus has it all.   A career as a popular TV anchor for the most viewed morning show, an apartment in New York City. Her husband, Issac, who loves her and a teenage daughter, Max who is on her way to college in the  fall.  Peyton is the obsessed  woman who works out at the gym and has beauty treatments to keep her looking young  and  worries about making sure she is always presenting the perfect image to the world. 

Her sister, Skye also has it all, living the life of a stay at home mom in the town of Paradise.  She has the perfect, loving husband, Gabe, and a beautiful young child, Aurora. She is trying to find herself as her daughter gets older and Skye is feeling like she needs to make an impact on the world and use the expensive college degree she worked hard to get.

Jealousy is such an ugly thing.  Each sister has jealous memories of their shared childhood.  Though they are close and tell each other everything now there are secrets each is afraid to share.  Their mother, whose outrageous behavior pulls them together, is misunderstood.  As the story develops the secrets each sister holds onto builds.  Sometimes one's actions have far rippling affects.  That is the case in this plot.  As we find out the extent of the mistakes Peyton and Skye make and how it extends out to affect their husbands and children, and finally each other.   It strains their relationship.

The story is told in a delightful entertaining way, but the messages of jealousy and envy are well  developed.  There is much to discuss about the world of college admissions to the relationship of siblings  and the need to the best.  Wanting the most for your child..even  if its not what your child may want.  Your child as a reflection of yourself.

Weisberger captures the current dichotomy between teens and their parents in this quote about how parents are not caught up on the social changes today.  "Did they totally  understand the social changes that were taking place in her generation? Of course not. They still expressed incredulousness when Max told them that this boy came out as gay or that girl came out as transgender, and it wasn't a thing. That these were un-newsworthy announcements. They struggled with the idea that people had pronoun preferences. They could grasp the concept that a whole lot of her friends, and maybe even  Max, thought of sexuality as fluid, and something that happened on a continuum , not a fixed point on a straight line.  Hell, they probably freak out if she wanted to marry someone who wasn't Jewish one day, despite being the lest religious people she'd ever met.  And the y were  the liberals ones! The New Yorkers!"

This example really captures the age gap  between not only teens but millennials  and their parents today. I remember when I was young how old fashioned my grandparents and parents seemed. Now I feel like one of those out of touch elders, trying hard to keep up with the times.

This was book was very enjoyable to read and it brings up many issues I think so many people struggle with and might not want to admit.  The only character I was unsure about was Peyton's husband who stands by her through thick and thin.  He is so easy going and accepting of her personality and her foibles and shortcomings and never really seems to get angry enough with her.  It did not seem realistic.

Recipe for Disaster

Recipe For Disaster is the story of Hannah, daughter of a Jewish mother and a dad who was raised Catholic. 

The author, Aimee Lucido grew up under similar circumstances to her protagonist, Hannah. 

In this story Hannah struggles with feelings about whether she is really Jewish or not and wanting a

Bat Mitzvah.  Also thrown in the story are cooking sessions with her Jewish grandmother

baking rugelach.  

I liked the clever way the author writes recipes that are about the ingredients for friendship and relationships. Also the author is very perceptive about the family dynamics between her parents, grandmother and siblings and friends.  This is a good story for middle schoolers to read for themselves 

and also for parents to read and discuss with their kids.

The Dictionary of Lost Words

 If you enjoy historical novels this is a really interesting book, looking at the beginnings of dictionaries.

Pip Williams has written a wonderful novel called The Dictionary of Lost Words.  This is the story of a young girl who grow up in the world of the first dictionary.  Her father is a collector of words and definitions for the dictionary and Esme grows up to follow in his footsteps.  We follow Esme as she goes off to school, gets involved with the women's suffrage movement, finds lust, love and passion for people in her life and in the words she is gathering.

It is fascinating the way they gathered the words and definitions for the First Oxford English Dictionary.

People from the public would send in words and definitions on slips of paper.  These were edited and verified by men who were working on the dictionary.  IT took forty years for the first sections A - B to be printed.  The original dictionary was printed in sections every two letters or so, years apart.  When the author found evidence of a member of the public had written to the men compiling the dictionary that a word had been left out, Williams said she knew she had the plot of her novel.

The word left out was bondmaid, the definition, a young woman bound to serve until her death.

Williams creates her story around the premise that Esme as a young girl found this word on the floor under the table where the words were sorted and hid it.  She goes on to collect words that are considered unfit for the dictionary but that she thinks are important.  Williams examines the idea that men and women look at words differently.  Certain words have different meanings and there were mainly men who worked on the dictionary.  Esme looks at words like sisters and mother and sees that there can be multiple meanings to these words.

It was very interesting thinking about the definitions and learning how the dictionaries were compiled and how it was decided which words to include or exclude.  Also following the historical events of the time, the war and women's fight for the right to vote, how women were treated and the class differences in terms of language and lifestyle were all well presented.,

Crying in H Mart

 I have always loved shopping in H Mart and eating from the little kiosks that sell Korean and Japanese food there.  People watching and trying different ethnic foods is always delicious and fun.

I will never visit an H Mart again without think of Michelle Zauner's book, Crying in H Mart.

This is a wonderful trip through the market picking out the produce and ingredients she needed to fill her memories of her mother through food.  When Zauner loses her mother at a young age to cancer, she tries to reconnect with the Korean side of her family through the shared foods she grew up eating.  

She takes her new husband to Korea and they visit her mother's family the way she did as a child.  Michelle tells the story of her childhood and the feeling of wanting to fit in in America and now when her mother is gone, the feeling of wanting to make sure people know she is also Korean.  She gave her parents a hard time as a teenager and feels bad for the time lost having good relations with her mother.  SO when her mother is sick and dying she tries hard to be the perfect daughter and make up for the unhappy years.

This story was so wonderful because in some ways I could relate to her sadness, I also lost my mother way too soon,  and because the food descriptions were so fascinating.  I am not sure I would eat many of the dishes that she describes but it was very interesting reading about this other culture.

I guess in a way there are similarities between different cultures, because there were points in the book where I thought something similar happens in the Jewish culture also.  

Once Upon A River

 Diane Setterfield has written many wonderful books.  My other favorite is The Thirteenth Tale, but here I am going to  review, Once Upon A River.  This is one of those books that has been sitting forever on my to read pile.   So I was thrilled when one of my book groups decided to make it a discussion book.  Though once I started it I was thinking so many  books to read, this is so confusing, should I keep reading?

But like every good book discussion  book this one did not let me down.  I pushed through and it became quite interesting and mesmerizing the further I got.  Also the discussion was fabulous and that always makes a reader walk away feeling fulfilled by the book.

This is an unusual story of an inn where the locals come to drink and tell stories. In the town there are three families who have lost young girls.  The Vaughn family, who lost a child  to an abduction, the Andersons, who eldest troublesome son, had a daughter who is missing, and Lily, who works for the church pastor, who  lost a baby sister many years ago.

One evening a man arrives in a terrible storm carrying a  small child in his arms who appears to be dead.  The local young woman who is the only doctor in the area treats  the man, and then realizes that the child is now alive.   As the story unfolds we get to know all  the many characters in this story which clearly centers around the river Thames that flows through the town.  

An historical fiction based on a real town on the river, this is becomes a fascinating tale of the families and how they are interconnected and how people can want something so much they  are willing to defy their true knowledge to make it so. There are multiple plot line working along side each other in this meandering novel.   Setterfield writes, . “A story ought to go clearly in one direction, then, after a distinct moment of crisis, change to go in another."   But that is not how she has written this book.  This story flows like a river and when it hits a rock or a bend, it redirects around to a new direction.

Halloween Murder Party

 What a crazy book cover.  This book presents the author's name in large print at the top of the cover, Leslie Meier and the at the bottom of the cover int he same green large typeface, Halloween Party Murder.

So I started reading the mystery and found it was an entertaining simple cozy mystery novel.  Just what I was looking for, a mindless entertainment for a weekend read.   Then all of a sudden half way  through the book, the mystery seemed to be solved.  Wait what?!?!  Yes that was it.  A somewhat weak finish, so more of a short story than a novel.

But still so many pages left in the book and it was starting over with chapter one...

Finally I realized that there were really three stories in this book.  Looking back at the book cover I realized that there were tow other authors listed in smaller font.  It turns out that maybe this is a way for big name, Meier to write shorter book and to help promote to lesser known authors with their short mystery stories. Lee Hollis and Barbara Ross are the other authors in this book.  I did not enjoy Hollis's book at all and Ross's book was ok but not really enticing.

So I am not really recommending this book .... quick reading but not fulfilling.

The Paris Library

 Janet Skeslien Charles is the author of The Paris Library.  This is a wonderful entertaining novel. Though it takes place during the Holocaust and touches on that topic, but this book centers on the American Library in Paris during that time period.  The book touches on the horrific happenings that were present in Paris as the Germans invaded France, but the story seems to be a plot about relationships, jealousy, regret, trust and hurt. 

The plot centers around the library, where Odile is a new librarian who knows the Dewy Decimal system number for every title and subject.  We follow her as she becomes a woman, her relationship to her parents and  her twin brother, Remy.  We watch her interact and learn as she  interacts with  the librarians who give her excellent advice.   She also is developing a romantic relationship with Paul, a young policeman who works for her father.  As she is going through everyday life the war is encroaching on their lives.  Odile learns about what her father and Paul are doing thinking they have no choice.  She also makes decisions about saving books and lives as she risks her life facing up to Germans as she makes her way  around the streets of Paris.  Many of the individual character's stories are based on real people who existed in the 1930s in Paris.

Then as a parallel plot line is 14 year old, Lily and her family living in Froid,  Montana, next  door to an older Odile.  Lily reaches out to Odile asking to interview her for a school project. Her friendship with Lily does open the door to her past and causes her to reflect on and maybe see past events in a different light.  In the end this is a beautiful story of the connection between generations and how they can help each other in many ways.   Odile's life experiences and stories help Lily through her modern day controversies.  

A Death in Belmont

 Recommended by a friend, I pulled out this book thinking it was just about a murder that happened in Belmont, MA ...  it turns out that it is much more than that.  

This book ties the local murder in with the Boston strangler murders.  It is an in-depth look at the murders and the history of what was happening back in the 1960s in Boston while someone was it seemed indiscriminately murdering the women of Boston.  I was fascinated with this subject back when  I was in high school, and I found myself still intrigued today also.  But as with so many books, I see it from such a different perspective now.  

This book sets out the facts as the author was able to gather them and presents this case from his personal experience. From the news reports and court documents he was able to put together in a very suspenseful telling of this story.  Sebastian Junger, the author, is a writer who knows how to build the story almost as you would a novel.  It keeps the story flowing smoothly and keeps the reader engaged until the end, even if you  know the news story before you start reading.

Junger admits that he also thought he knew the outcome of the story when he started the research.  He was as surprised as I was a reader that in the end there are still questions and not complete definite answers.

Written in a very readable style, by the excellent author of The Perfect Storm.

The Man Who Died Twice

 What a fun new series, now having read book two in the series I can say this is one series I will keep tabs on and look forward to reading each one as they are published.  The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman follows the now fully established Thursday murder club.

The Thursday Murder Club both the title and the group that solves mysteries, originally old cold cases as a group of proper British elders living in an assisted living situation.  In the first novel, when one of the friends in the assisted living home dies this group gets a chance to help solve the mystery of their death.

So now, Elizabeth, who was working for MI5 years ago, Joyce who once was a nurse, Ibrahim and Ron have teamed up with Chris and Donna both local police officers and are ready to solve another case.

As luck would have it, this time Elizabeth's ex husband appears on the scene and is looking for some help from Elizabeth.  Teaming up with her friends and thinking back to some memories of her past with her ex, Douglas, they are all caught up in another mysterious death.  Intertwined is an act of violence suffered by Ibrahim, when three hooded teenagers knock him down and take his cellphone.  

Wonderfully tied up in the end are all the loose ends and all the divergent plots pull together in a neat package.  This is an entertaining series that could easily be recreated for a BBC mystery series.  Not too much violence and lots of interesting characters, with light twisty plots that you will not figure out ahead of the ending.

The Guest List

 Lucy Foley has figured out the perfect setting for a psychological thriller.  The Guest List is the ultimate wedding list to be on.

Everyone loves being invited to a wedding.  A wedding that is scheduled for a weekend of endless socializing at a destination is one of the best kind of invitations.  So the game is afoot when all the guests arrive on this island that can only be accessed by boat.

Foley has really captured the imagination as she describes the scene leading up to the island.  The members of the wedding party coming across on a little boat to this deserted island.  The desolation on the island and how the party is cut off from everything while they are there.  Of course there is the storm coming in off the coast that will churn up the waters so much so that they cannot leave the island.

The bride is described as very narcissist, only focused on herself and her career.  The groom is similar and they are a perfect match it seems because he is a TV personality that is very concerned about his appearance and how he comes across to the public.  They are involved with each other because of how it looks to the outside world, them as a couple.    But also because each is so focused on themselves that they are really not looking too closely at each other.  

So many  secrets can be kept in a relationship when you are not looking or listening to the person you are going to marry.  The wedding party is made up of the bride's sister, the bride's best friend and his wife, the groom's  group of friends from boarding school.  As we meet each of these people, we learn a little more about the bride and groom and their past.  Then there is the wedding planner who has created the scene for the perfect wedding.  

Foley lures the reader in and makes them feel apart of the wedding party.  Slowly she reveals each of the secrets that will lead to a thrilling ending... This is going to be a wedding to remember!!

Remember

 Remember written by neuroscientist and novelist of Still Alice, Lisa Genova, is a terrific view of how our brains work.   This book can ease your troubled mind about all the things you have been forgetting.

There are so many times, I feel that my memory is not what it used to be.  I have been saying for years that each child I had took another small piece of my mind, and I became more and more forgetful as the years have gone on.  And now after reading this book, I feel so much more relaxed about those small losses.   I see that it is all normal aging and overextending myself.  For years I have tried to multitask so many things.  Try to take on so many responsibilities it is hard to keep them all straight.

Now I see that writing lists and making written notes about things are the correct way to not forget things.  Writing things down helps you  remember both by reinforcing the memory as you write and also having a list to double check as you  go through the day.  

Genova offers different techniques to help us remember things.  Like connecting names to other memories as we are introduced to someone new so we can recall their name later.  Making connections to items we want to pick up at the grocery store to places in the house which will help us recall the items as we walk through the store.  These are all clever ideas, if you can remember them.

I  still  have a few questions at the end of the book, but for the most part this was a fascinating look at how our minds work and a reassuring reminder that though my kids are teasing about my memory being broken, I am only suffering from normal forgetting . So I do not need to loose sleep over this, which will help me get my 7-8 hours a night, which also helps keeps my memory functioning well.

The Madness of Crowds

 Louise Penny has taken the art of writing a mystery novel to new heights.  All of her books have been more than just a whodonit.  They are beautiful pieces of art, the plots have a depth that goes far beyond the idea of revenge or passion or random killing.  She always find a way into the human soul, the psyche.  There is always so much more to the plot than just the murder and finding the victim.  There is a vision of what makes people tick.  There is a statement on our society.

This novel is Penny's best yet.  Not only does the reader get a terrific mystery with many twists and turns, there are moral dilemmas that are clouding the investigation and making the reader really look deep inside themselves as they are reading the novel.

Written during the world wide pandemic of 2020, without knowing the actual outcome, Penny does a good job of presenting the feelings that we are all facing.  Though she does seem to bring the lockdown and feelings of distance to more of a solution, and the world coming back together after the vaccines then is the reality of our lives, it does feel rather real.  It is also always fascinating to learn something new while reading for entertainment.  Penny has left me looking up the book, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, Charles Mackay.  It is referred to in the novel and sounds like something that will help us understand what is happening now in the world and in the US, though it was written originally in 1841.  

Talking about the idea of euthanasia, killing those who are elderly, sick, or vulnerable or killing to save yourself.  Are these ideas justified and is there a time when taking a life to benefit the healthy or the group as a whole is agreeable.  Using the idea that the pandemic killed many in nursing homes, and that financially it saves the larger population money, having to take care of those who are most vulnerable, is this now a way to move forward. Purposely shortening the lives of those who are a burden to society,

Then there is a the storyline of a young woman who saves her own life, by killing her captures,   She was captured and tortured over a long period of time, then was able to escape by killing the men who were raping and torturing her.  She is going to get a Nobel Peace prize for her bravery.

Life and death, who is in control.  What are our rights, on both sides of the seesaw, what is the correct balance to keep the seesaw even??    Penny writes such powerful prose, "Professor Robinson was revealing, not creating, the anger. The fear.  And yes, perhaps event he cowardice they kept hidden away. She was like some genetic mutation awakening illnesses that would have normally lain dormant."Penny really know how to make you think and examine your feelings on the subject.

And again you feel also the security of being with your friends in Three Pines.  Wishing you were invited to the dinner party at Clara's.  Wanting to bundle up,  to walk across the green, covered in snow, to the Inn and nibble a croissant, sip a cup of hot chocolate and listen to the conversation between Ruth and Myra.  That is how close you feel to this group of people after reading along through to this the 17th book in this series.

The Hidden Palace

 OK, this may sound strange when talking about a book in the fantasy genre, but I think this plot was too far fetched .  The Hidden Palace written by Helen Wecker is a follow up to her really great novel, The Golem and the Jinni.  The original book about a Golem who is created by a disgraced Rabbi and then shipped to New York City, to marry a man who inconveniently dies and leaves her alone, and a Jinni, released from a bottle but captured in human form, who also finds himself alone in New York, was improbable but by the end of the book was captivating and almost believable.  

I was excited to see that Wecker had brought back the Golem, Chava, made of river clay, and the Jinni, Ahmad, who is created fire, continuing to develop their awkward but sweet romance.  Chava, who can hear what mortals are thinking, works in a bakery and helps humans in trouble, sometimes to her own detriment.  Ahmed, who spends his days as a smith, enjoying the heat and hard labor of bending tin into beautiful objects.  At night the two come together and wander the streets of Manhattan.

In building this relationship between Chava and Ahmad, there is coming together  Jewish and Arabian folklore in harmony.  But in this new novel, Wecker shakes up the peaceful relationship between our two main characters, showing their more dangerous sides.  The undercurrent that is never really gone, from their characters.  As Chava and Ahmad become more human, the negative qualities of their makeup threatens to pull them apart and could ultimately destroy them.  Around them in the early days of the 20th century, history also affects their lives, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory  fire and the sinking of the Titanic are two historical events mentioned int he book.

But then into the reality of their world the author beings in two more characters, Yossle, a Golem who is brought to life and only thinks to destroy to protect its master and Dima, a wild jinni, made of wind and fire, selfish in her wish to deceive and destroy a human to get what she wants.  These characters add a bit of suspense and anticipation to the plot but also for added a feeling of forced believability to a storyline that I was really enjoying develop.

The Matzah Ball

 The Matzah Ball is the book everyone is talking about right now, written by Jean Meltzer.  This entertaining novel is hitting bookstores just in time for giving as a fun Hanukkah gift.  

It is a fun, quirky and a little kooky plot that really does carry a deeper meaning.  It brings to the forefront so much of the difficulty Jews have struggled with for centuries in America, though I hesitate to write the overused theme, “the December dilemma” this time for adults.  It also looks at the 

Rachel Rubinstein-Goldberg has grown up feeling the scrutiny of being the Rabbi’s daughter. Her mother is the Rabbetzin extraordinaire and Rachel has felt the pressure to always behave and appear as the proper role model.  So when she decides that Christmas is a much more romantic, colorful holiday, she feels a need to keep her obsession secret.   She earns her living writing Christmas romance novels under a pseudonym and collecting Christmas tchotchkes.   She keeps this all hidden in her Upper East Side, New York apartment.  

The only friend who knows her secrets is Mickey, a childhood friend.  They have been friends since they were eight and even experienced Rachel’s greatest disappointment, when her first love at summer camp played a mean prank on her.  She has never forgiven Jacob Greenberg for the embarrassment she remembers.  

Jacob, of course, saw the incident differently and has held onto his feeling of abandonment all these years.   When the now successful party planner comes back to New York to throw the biggest fundraiser party of his career, the extravaganza, Matzah Ball Max, their lives all cross paths again.

When Rachel’s editors tell Rachel she must write a Hanukkah romance this year and she decides to get a ticket to the Hanukkah soiree hoping to find the inspiration she needs to change her mind about the minor Jewish holiday not having enough magic to create a romance novel around.

Of course added to the misunderstanding of their childhood, Rachel and Jacob have to work through a few current disagreements, which brings us to the crux of the plot, girl meets boy, wonders if she can trust him, they argue, and it all leads to romance.  Though along the way  there is laughter, tension, suspense and the big finale..the eighth night of Hanukkah!

The Light of Luna Park

The Light of Luna  Park is  written  by Addison Armstrong. She has written  this novel at the age of 24 and that gives her a long career of writing more interesting and entertaining historical novels.   I  enjoyed this book, though I did not think it was the most sophisticated writing style I have faith she will improve with experience.  

The subject matter of this plot carries the book. Looking at the idea of high infant mortality rates in this  country during the early 20th century.  We look  back to the beginning of neonatal care in hospitals.   To  think that it was pushed forward by a man who set up incubators at Luna Park, Coney Island, NY and on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, NJ.  He was really  using the babies who were premature and could survive if started out in an incubator as a tourist attraction, but amazingly he was really onto a serious scientific sound idea.  He was able to save hundreds of babies.

In this novel, Armstrong takes the idea and creates a nurse who has seen the incubators and has delivered babies prematurely, who are going to die in the hospital.  She decides that even though the babies are on display, the chance of survival might be worth it.  Challenging the doctor she works with in the hospital is risking her career as a nurse, but finally it is one child too many that is left to die.  The doctor and the parents don't believe int he possibility of the incubator.

Althea Anderson is a young woman on her own going to nursing school at Bellevue Hospital.  Life for a woman alone in 1926  is difficult, but one night Althea decides to risk it all for a baby born two months too early.  She decides to save a baby's life against the order of the doctor and the wishes of the father.

It will drastically change the trajectory of her life.  This story line is told along side that of 25 year old Stella Wright,  a young, newly married school teacher.  Her mother has just died and she is having a crisis of faith in her teaching ability.   Working with special needs students that she is not properly trained for, she doubts herself.  She misses her mother and when she goes to close up the apartment she grew up in she begins to uncover a confusing past. 

Althea tells her story as Stella slowly discovers hers.  Stella's husband Jack is there dealing with his own demons following his return from war.   The year is 1950.  Stella and Jack are working to keep their marriage together as they both deal with their secrets.

The writing is a bit stilted but the story  is entertaining and the history is interesting so you will want to keep reading until the end of this novel.

The Faberge Secret

I fell in love with Charles Belfoure after reading The Paris Architect,

a fascinating story about an architect who designed secret spaces during World War II,

risking his life to help others.  I also really  enjoyed reading Belfoure's, House of Thieves,

again a novel based on an architect who makes an ethical decision when designing homes in

1880's Manhattan.  His next novel, The Fallen Architect, takes the reader to London. 

When a theatre balcony collapses and people are killed the architect knows the flaw is not

in his design but this time in a twisty historical thriller, Belfoure brings us the story of a man

who must clear his name by digging through the debris of his past and correcting his personal mistakes.

Now we come to Charles Belfoure's newest novel, The Faberge Secret.  This one is not as

memorable as his past works.  In this novel we meet architect Prince Dimitri Markoff, a close

friend of Nicholas II and Alexandra, the Tsar and Tsarina, the Imperial Court of Russia. 

This novel takes place as the pogroms and persecution of Jews is happening outside St Petersburg

in 1903.  

Prince Markoff is living a life of luxury and good fortune, as an architect to the Tsar because

he loves the work not because he needs the money.  His wife the Princess Lara has tired of him

and prefers a life of gossip and parties.  When Markoff meets  the educated and passionate

Doctor Katya Golitsyn, he falls in love with her and begins to see a world outside the palace walls.

During this time period in Russia there is an undercurrent of unrest and violence brewing. 

We are leading up to the Russo-Japanese War of 1904.  The Tzar is becoming unpopular.

Markoff witnesses the Easter Sunday pogrom, where the police force fires on agitators demonstrating

for constitutional monarchy or the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine.  Markoff tries to warn

Nicholas about his increasing unpopularity.  But Nicholas tells him the Jews themselves were to blame.

Markoff cannot forget what he has seen.  He and Katya, who has discovered she has Jewish

ancestry are determined to take a stand and try to make a difference.  The results could be costly.

This is another fascinating historical novel, but though Markoff is an architect, Belfoure does not

use the  profession to assist in the solving of a problem in  this novel. The career role is not as

important to the plot line in this novel.  I think that is the downfall of this book.  Though a story

that holds your attention, the ultimate unique factor that makes Belfour's other novels so special

is missing this time.

 

Flight of Dreams

 Flight of Dreams by Ariel Lawhon is based on the real people who were on the last flight of the HIndenburg.  Lawhon has studied the ships register and logs and learned about the private lives of some of the passengers who flew on that fateful flight form Germany to the United States, landing in a ball of flames in New Jersey.

We meet the first and only female crew member to fly on the airship., Emilie.  She is a widow who has some unusual duties on the flight.  Max, who is in  charge of the mail being flown to America and he also works on the flight crew.  He is trying to woo Emilie throughout the flight.  Werner is a young teen hired as crew member, away from home for the first time.  He is trying hard to be as helpful as he can.

Then there is the American, who is nefarious and the reader is trying to figure out his plan along the way.

There are the captains of the airship, who are responsible for bringing the craft safely to NJ.  The aircraft is full of hydrogen and there are numerous rules and safety precautions taken so there will be no sparks.

It is not a surprise how the trip will end, and there has never been a clear answer to what really  caused the fire.  Lawhon takes the facts she does know and builds her novel around those facts adding in some fiction to bring her to the conclusion she will reach as a possible ending to the story of the Hindenburg.

the amazing part of this novel is how attached you feel to the characters.  You  are hoping that things will turn out well for them in the end.

The Reading List

Another terrific novel written with multiple voices.  I  am  really enjoying the plots that are revealed as you  read the story from various viewpoints.  Sarah Nisha Adams has created a wonderful experience for readers.  If you a re a reader and love libraries this is the perfect novel for you.

We meet Aleisha who  at age 17 would much rather be out with her friends partying in the park and going to bars.  But her mother is suffering from depression, her father has left and started a new family nad she and her older brother, Aiden are trying to keep things together at home.  Aleisha takes a summer job at the local library, even though she really does not enjoy reading.

Mukesh is recovering from the blow that his wife,  Nania, has died and he is on his own.  He has three daughters and three grandchildren.  But his wife was always the social person in the couple.  He relied on her for the small talk.  His daughters are trying to  take care of him, but not really communicating and his granddaughter, Priya really misses her connection through books with her grandmother.  Mukesh finds a way to connect with his granddaughter and learn about himself through books.

Mukesh comes into the library looking for book recommendations.  Aeisha finds a list of books and starts reading them in order.  then she recommends then to Mukesh. There are many copies of the book list and other people are reading them also.  They are all books that many of us have read.  It is interesting to see how each of the characters interprets the novels to fit into their own experiences.  They find answers and solace in the story lines they  are reading about.  

The book had me mesmerized until the  end.  I will add it to the list of great books that the author uses in the novel and then another list of her favorite books at the end.  

Toward the Light

 Toward the Light by Bonnar Spring is a book I reviewed for a NH book award. I am glad it was brought to my attention.  It was a very entertaining book with a satisfying ending.

This is a wonderfully developed plot that really brings the characters to life. You become quite attached to Luz as she tries to figure out her feelings and who to trust in this cat and mouse game she is caught up in.  

Luz Concepcion travels back to Guatemala as an adult after being whisked away years ago from a guerrilla raid that left her father dead on the forest floor.  Her childhood memories of the experience have built up an anger and desire for revenge.  She is on a mission to retaliate against the man who she saw kill her father.

Her main contact when she gets to Guatemala is Evan, an expat painter, who finds himself wanting to paint Luz.  She tries to spurn his advances, but it gets harder to do as she becomes confused about who she can really trust.  Her mentor, Richard Clement, who has sent her on this mission, has set her up as the nanny to Cesar, a lonely child, grandson of Luz's enemy and son of an absent playboy father.

Reading all the different plots overlapping keeps you on your toes, watching behind your back and peeking around corner.  You are hoping that the romantic interest works out.  Though the romance and involvement of Evan is not quite as clearly spelled out.  Who is his girlfriend and how is he connected to Richard's business?  

You can picture the colorful market with the fresh fruits and vegetables Luz goes each morning,  The different factions of guerrilla fighters are clearly explained. Luz also has multiple agendas and she is getting herself into trouble and confused by who she can trust and who is trying to kill her.

Horse Shoes and Hand Grenades

 This is a very interesting novel.  Not one that I would normally  pick up to read, but I was reading and reviewing it for the NH book awards.   It captured my attention and I could not put it down.

The story of two young women who are each going through a trauma.  This book deals with the #metoo movement and the topic of abuse of women.  Three friends help each other through tough times that lead to great friendships and some fun social activities.

Being a twenty something in Boston can be a great experience.  You are in your first apartment, your first job and meeting new friends and boyfriends.  There are lots of parties and bar hopping.  That is the setting for this novel.  To this add in all the baggage each of us carry from our family and childhood.  Now meet Shelby Stewart, who has suffered abuse at the hands of her step father as a child and has been trying to bury the memories.  Astrid Ericcson, who comes across as a confident, ambitious well dressed woman, who is also trying to negotiate office romance and politics.  

Even though these women become fast friends along with Tina who also is having dating troubles, it becomes clear that they cannot ignore their past.  You cannot party away your problems and things get out of control as we follow their stories.  Each of the women struggle through highs and lows to work on coming out whole and into a positive romance in the end.

Dream Girl

 Laura Lippman has a long list  of mystery novels to her credit.  I love her Tess Monaghan series and her stand alone mystery, Lady in the Lake was terrific.  This time Lippman is exploring the psychological thriller genre with her newest book, Dream Girl.

This book is interesting in that is not so much a scary, heart stopping thriller but a slower moving, look  inside the main character's  head as he waits along with us to see what is going to happen. This book builds the suspense slowly and precisely, each small development at a time.

We meet Gerry Anderson, an author, who at 70 years old has lived a very full life.  He has written a best selling book, has three ex-wives and can remember the number of one night relationships he has entertained. Living in a glamorous penthouse apartment, he falls down the stairs and ends up immobilized in a hospital bed in the living room.  In this dependent state, he now relies on two young women to take care of him.  One, Victoria, is his assistant, keeping his business in order, picking up his mail and his lunch. The other, an agency nurse, Aileen, spends the nights, dosing him with painkillers and sleeping aids.

As he lays there, incapacitated, he starts to relive in in his mind the history of his life that led him to this point.  Receiving mysterious letters and phone calls from the lead character in his bestselling novel, Dream Girl, who Gerry insists is a creation of his imagination, he becomes more and more confused and terrified.  She cannot be real, and he cannot figure out which woman from his past could be thinking she is the real Dream Girl.   The novel moves back and forth between the current situation of Gerry in his bed waiting for another call and the past as he remembers his marriages and his childhood with a faithless father and his loyal mother.  

This novel of psychological suspense touches on issues that we all are concerned about; power and the  control over our own lives, appropriation and influence.   You will be chilled to the bone and sitting on the edge of the bed as you read this mind bending novel.

Squeeze Me

 Squeeze Me, the newest mystery novel written by Carl Hiassen is the eighth novel in the Skink series.

Carl is a famous, well loved mystery writer.  Though to be honest, I do not really like his writing style and will probably not seek out another novel by him.  This novel turned out to be entertaining.  I did push thought the beginning because I was reading this novel for a book discussion group.  

As I got further in I realized that he was writing a tongue in cheek sarcastic novel about our immediate past commander in chief and his wife.  So the whole novel became more interesting and funny.  

Again this novel takes place in Florida and this time we are at a imaginary resort area that mimics       Mar-a lago.  In a complicated tangled way the first lady and the president are mixed up with the murder of an elderly socialite.  She, of course, is a big fan of the Mastodon , which is how they refer to the President.  There is also a problem with an abundance of huge python snakes that seem to be loose around the area in unusual places.  Between our heroine, Angie Armstrong, who animal control agent trying t o solve the mystery along with the police and secret service, and the First Lady and her relationship to the Secret Service, this is a clever, funny novel.  Also playing up the immigrant battle cries and mistakes that  Donald Trump always made in his speeches, in a comic way,  Hiassen captures the humor of the situation and creates a twisted mystery.

The Life in a Day of Edna Zaminski

 A very interesting concept. A slim novella about an elderly woman in an assisted living facility. She does not speak to the nurses around but you listen to the voices in Edna's head and the memories sparked by the sights and sounds of her day. So each time an event happens during the day, it reminds Edna of a memory and you learn about her life history through her thoughts. It is interesting that people can interpret a different experience than the life lived when they do not know your inner story.

This is a short but interesting look inside the mind and a look back at the life of a woman who was born in the 1940s and lived through the 1960s.   She grew up in Chicago in a rough neighborhood.  She became a teacher moving to Shaker Heights, Ohio.  Then she moves on to Washington, DC.  She has suffered trauma, love and a broken heart. She has tried to make her life meaningful, working through the riots of the '60s, demonstrating for what she believed was right.  She married and found love.  She found photography and happiness.  

But the nurses taking care of her int he assisted living, just seeing the small elderly woman, do not see the scope of her life.  To them she is a quiet woman who may have had a simple quiet life.

How can we leave a legacy that tells the story of the life we really lived?  How can we make sure the people left behind remember us and the stories that made us who we are?

Salted Caramel Sorcery

 Salted Caramel Sorcery by H.Y. Hanna is the newest installment in her series about an enchanted chocolate shop in the Cotswolds of England.  The shop is run by Widow Mags, who the author describes as a crabby old woman who makes incredible chocolates.  The rumors are that she and her daughter who runs the herbal shop, also in town, are witches.  

In this book, number seven in the series, Caitlyn finds herself caught up in another murder.  This time she is anxious to solve the crime because her cousin, Pomona is the number one suspect.  

It is interesting that even though this reads like an entertaining cozy mystery with a lighthearted style, this time I kept thinking of how the author used the topic of witches as others to make some important social commentary.  I am not sure that is her intent but I could not help relating to her examples and today's problems. In the book the townspeople are afraid of Widow Mags and her daughter because they do not understand them which is so similar to what is happening in our society today. People are fearful of those they do not understand, who are different in any way from the norm. 

James Fitzroy is the handsome prince character, who owns the mansion and oversees the town.  He also is the one who stands up for the little guy. He defends the Widow Mags and is always trying to explain to the townspeople that the chocolate at the Bewitched By Chocolate shop is not magic it is just great tasting chocolate.  

Caitlyn and James are in a developing relationship that is slowly building to where they are recognizing that they are in love.  The romance moves slowly but we are getting closer in each book.  Also there is the continuing mystery around who Caitlyn's mother is, what happened to her and how Caitlyn came to be abandoned as a baby.  In this book there is even some more information about that, though no big reveal yet.

So this is a fun series with endearing characters, some intrigue to keep you coming back for more and always a good twist at the end with a murderer you will have guessed in advance.

Above the Bay of Angels

Rhys Bowen has written 40 novels and two mystery series.. I really enjoyed her newest series about a young woman, Lady Georgie, who is 35th in line to the throne of England, but she is flat broke and struggling to survive during the Great Depression.  She finds solving crimes entertaining and keeps her busy.  

Bowen has quite a bit of knowledge about the royal family and the workings of the upper class because she married into a family like that.  In this novel, Above the Bay of Angels, we meet a young girl who was sent into service when her mother died.  Her father lost his job due to drink and Isabella goes from living a comfortable life to working in a kitchen of another well off family.  

When she happens to see another young girl hit in the streets of London, she runs over to help.  The dying girl gives her a letter as she passes.  The letter is her entrance to the Queen's royal kitchen.  Isabella's life will change now forever.  Arriving at the palace as Helen Barton to the kitchen at Buckingham Palace, she embarks on a new life.  There will travel, intrigue, blackmail and poison.  

Quite a fun entertaining historical mystery novel.  Helen will cook her way into the Queen's heart.  She will help to solve the mystery so she can absolve herself of being accused of murder.  Also do not worry there is romance and the description of foods and recipes to round out this entertaining novel.

Hope Valley

 I grew up during the 1960s and early '70s sitting at the holiday table with relatives who were Holocaust survivors.  By  high school I was a proud Zionist and marched in New York City in an Israeli Day parade chanting "Never Again".  I thought my understanding of what was happening in Israel was the only story. We took pride in the strength of the Israeli  army to win the 6 Day War and the Yom Kippur War.  We thought the Jews were right in taking land and pushing Palestinians out in 1948.  

Well as time has gone on and we are learning more of our history all the time, reading both non-fiction and fiction stories can offer other opinions and different interpretations of the events of Israel's history.

In Hope Valley, a novel set in northern Israel near the Galilee, author Haviva Ner David explores the history of the land from an Israeli point of view and a Palestinian perspective.  Beautifully written this novel has found a unique way of showing us both sides of the story. 

We meet Tikvah, a woman who followed her Zionist dream from Long Island, NY to make aliyah to Israel and marry Alon, a displaced Israeli who becomes an officer in the Israeli army.  We also are introduced to Ruby, or Rabia, her Palestinian name.  She was born in the settlement of Yakut al-Jalil a stone's throw away  from the village her father grew up in.  He has been attached to the area all her childhood, until she left to find herself and become an artist.  

Ruby has come home for the health treatments she needs for her cancer.  Tikvah, Alon and their daughter, Talya are living on the moshav that developed after Ruby's father's family and their neighbors were evacuated from their village.  Moshav Sapir is where Tikvah and Alon have come to create a safe and secure world for themselves after the tragedies and difficulties in their lives.  

Two women, one Jewish-Israeli , one Palestinian-Israeli, seem worlds apart, but they build a friendship as they are both artists and are dealing with disease worrying about the fragility of life and remnants of trauma.  The accidental, casual encounter leads to a strong friendship that helps them both.  Meeting in the valley between their opposing villages at the beginning of the second intifada. They share their personal stories and offer the reader hope that getting to know an individual can change the course of the Israeli Palestinian divide.

Ner David's characters insinuate their way into the reader's heart.  Each of the women seems to really  believe her version of the history of the area and it takes the love that is developing between them to keep them open to seeing that maybe the other person's story may have some credibility.  This can give the reader hope that there is hope for the future of Israel to reach peace someday with the Palestinians if everyone can just really hear what the other side is saying and want to make peace.

A wonderfully expressive novel written from the perspectives of three characters, Tikvah, Ruby and Jamal, Ruby's father.  We read Jamal's diary to give us the background story to Tikvah and Ruby's friendship.  With incredible sayings like, "Open your mouth only if what you are going to say is more beautiful than silence."  What a perfect concept.  Another theory to contemplate;  "It's when you stop trying to swim against the current and just let it carry   you, instead. It's about learning to surrender to the flow instead of trying to grab on to rocks along the way.  Because in the end, you won't be able to hold on forever. Rocks are slippery, and no one has endless strength. Nothing is permanent."

This is a novel that will stay with you after you finish the last page.  There is quite a lot of food for thought.

Miss. Kopp Investigates

 Yeah!  The Kopp Sisters series continues!!!  Amy Stewart is the author of this great series.  I have enjoyed reading every one of these fun mystery novels set mainly in Northern New Jersey in the early part part of the century.  

The newest, Miss Kopp Investigates has Fleurette, the youngest of the Kopp sisters out saving the family from bankruptcy with her ingenuity.  All three sisters had big personal plans. they were going to pursue now. that the first world war has. ended, but when a family tragedy. brings them all home again together they strike out again in. pursuit of justice and correct any. wrongs to help their sister-in-law and others.

Fleurette uses her talents as a seamstress to earn money altering clothes and also making costumes so she can do her new job.  Constance gives up. her dream to go to Washington DC and takes a job as a store detective and Norma leaves France and instead of staying in Europe she comes home to take the lead on organizing everyone and trying to get the farm ready to sell.

Along the way through many trials and tribulations the family fights with each other but always comes together and resolves their problems and works together to solve all the issues they are facing.

There is always a fun different kind of mystery to solve and it is so much fun to read about New Jersey towns I remember from childhood.

The Masterpiece

 The Masterpiece written by. Fiona Davis, is. almost exactly that.  Fiona Davis is one of my favorite historical novelist .  This novel is beautiful portrait of the history of Grand Central Station in New York. City and the art school that existed within its walls.

Using real artists from the time period as her inspiration to create her characters, Clara Darden and Levon Zakarian.  Davis paints with bold, broad strokes to develop the storyline of a woman who is trying to break into a man's world as a serious artist.

Clara has left everything behind to become a painter in New York.  She becomes an art teacher at the Grand Central Art School and is also illustrating advertisements for lingerie and cars.  She wants to be taken seriously. as an artist which is hard to do in the 1920s , it is a man's career. 

Levon is a well known artist and popular teacher at the school, with his help Clara is offered more opportunities.  They have a challenging relationship between. them.  Clara is also pursued by Oliver, an up and coming poet, who also helps Clara get established.

Davis also sketches out the lives of Virginia and her daughter Ruby who are living in New York. in the present day.  Newly divorced trying to make it on her own and keep her daughter happy is difficult.   She has a new apartment and. needs to find a job.   She ends up at the information booth in Grand Central Station.  Ruby has dropped out of Sarah Lawrence and does not want to go to college. Virginia and Ruby need to find themselves and reconnect with. each other.  

The building is in disrepair and there is a lawsuit pending to knock it down and build a skyscraper on top of it.   Virginia gets involved and becomes passionate about saving the building.   She brings Ruby along with her and they find something in common.  The building can save a woman, a family relationship. and even more.  The finished painting of this book is wonderful, you will stand looking at it on the wall, examining it from different angles and metaphors even after you finish reading it.

All The Little Hopes

 All The Little Hopes is written by Leah Weiss.

What a delightful novel this was.  I was enchanted by Lucy and Allie Bert right from the very first chapter.

It is beautiful the way the author ties together the two characters voices in alternating chapters.  Their voices are in harmony sharing their viewpoints of the events that are happening to them both through this novel.

Allie Bert grows up int he mountains of North Carolina, uneducated and without the love and communications of a family sharing their feelings. So when her mother dies in childbirth, she is sent away without understanding what has happened.  She is lucky to meet Lucy who is growing up on the farmland of North Carolina.  Though it is only a few hours bus ride to other side of the state, it is a world apart from the rural shack Bert has only known.  Lucy and her family welcome the lost Bert into the family.  They feed her, cloth her and love her.  They also educate her and explain the ideas of how to act and how to deal with your feelings.  This is really the depth of the story, though there is a mystery that flows through the novel as men in the small town are disappearing.  The girls read Nancy Drew and mysteries and try to use available information as clues to solve these disappearances.   

Intertwined throughout this novel is also the story of Nazi POWs working on farms during the war.  This book covers so many topics that all related to hate, forgiveness and 

My favorite quote,  :I do know this - and I spend some of my ten dollar words to make the point: hate is incendiary, provocative , dangerous..  Can Byron hope to eliminate it? Or even keep it at bay? Or will it lie in wait like a glowing ember ready to ignite when the wind shifts?"  This quote is said by Lucy thinking about Byron who is a US army Captain, looking after the German POWs whoa re working on the family farm.

This turned out to be a surprisingly great read .

A Line To Kill

 Horowitz has done it once again!! 

There is nothing more entertaining to read than these Hawthorne and Horowitz mysteries. 

Writing himself into the mystery as the biographer of the detective is so clever. Sometimes it is hard to tell if maybe some of it is actually real.. Horowitz follows Hawthorne around taking notes as Hawthorne solves the crime. He is the funny Watson to Hawthorne's Holmes. You the reader are listening to the same clues and descriptions and trying to figure out the killer as they go along. Always a good clever twist...right under your nose.

This time Horowitz finds himself at a literary festival with Hawthorne thinking he will have the upper hand, showing Hawthorne how to meet the literary fans and how to handle himself in an interview.  
But once again Hawthorne seems to get the tables turned.  He is already comfortable with the environment on this English island and he seems to run into people from his past.  

When a murder occurs at a literary party on the island Hawthorne is right there to begin the investigation until the police can get there.  Of course Horowitz is right there beside him with pen and pad in hand to record all the facts.  But Horowitz is reluctant to begin another mystery novel featuring the detective.

In the end multiple, seemingly unsolvable, murders and a cast of suspects pulls them both into the fray and Horowitz is making lists of suspects and trying to figure out who it could be.  Is it the blind author with a physic sense? Is it the French poet ? Or maybe the chef who writes cookbooks?  So many authors with the timing and the motive... and of course there are quite a few distractions that can send you in a variety of directions.

Along with a very well disguised killer and a clever mystery there is also the wonderful funny and entertaining dialog.  Already looking forward to another great mystery novel by Anthony Horowitz.

American Baby

American Baby was thoroughly researched and written by Gabrielle Glaser.  The subtitle is A Mother, A Child, and the Shadow History of Adoption.  This book is an in depth look at the creation and development of the American adoption system.  

Glaser has set down the history of how adoption services were built around the embarrassment of young women who became pregnant in the 1950s and 60s at a time in our country when unwed motherhood was damaging to a family's reputation.

Taking advantage of the soldiers returning from World War II, coming home to marry and start a family, and the number of young wives who could not conceive, adoption services took advantage of the young girls who could not keep their babies.

In American Baby, Glaser follows the story of 16 year old, Margaret Erle, grew up in a strict Jewish family where discussions of sex education, and childbirth were taboo.  Her parents were Holocaust survivors who had big dreams of success for their daughter.  She fell in love with her high school sweetheart, George who was 17 at the time she became pregnant.  Both sets of parents were scandalized.  

Margaret was taken to Lakeview, a maternity hospital on Staten Island, NY, owned by the Louise Wise Agency, which in return for a fee would keep the young women fed and sheltered until she gave birth.  There she would be sequestered so no one would ever know about her indiscretion.

After she had delivered her son, Margaret was forced to sign papers giving him up for adoption.  Though she and George kept explaining that they wanted to get married and keep their child, their parents were all unsupportive.  They had no choice in the end and Margaret gave up her rights to her own son to the Louise Wise Adoption Agency.  The Louise Wise kept all the records of these transactions sealed.  Margaret never could find out what happened to her son and the Rosenbergs never knew the truth about their adopted child's past, or any family health issues that might affect David's health.

Glaser finds both Margaret Erle Katz and eventually her son, who goes by the name David Rosenberg so many years later.  She tells the story of how Margaret searched for her son for years.  The story of David Rosenberg's life and the obstacles of a closed, harsh adoption system.

This is a fascinating look at a system that was cold and unfeeling toward the women who were giving up their children and the children who were pawns in the business of babies.  Luckily over time the rules were challenged and now there are much better practices in place.

If you are adopted, are adopted parents or are looking for a child you put up for adoption this is an informative heart felt story.  For all of us it is an incredible story of a family separated and reconnected.

Three Hours in Paris

 This is a stand alone book by Cara Black.  Black takes us to Paris, France on the day Hitler comes to attend church there.  He only spends three hours in Paris.  

Around the truth. of that visit without anymore information than that Black builds a novel of suspense, spies and intrigue .  A young widow is set up to assassinate the Furher.  She was a marksman sharpshooter from America who found the love of her life in Paris.  He is in the Royal Navy and they have been assigned to the Orkney Islands.  When a German plane explodes a war ship the husband and their young chid are killed in a terrible accident as a result of the bombing Kate is ready to take revenge.

The plot revolves around her escape from the scene of the crime and how she is trying to get back to safety. The Germans are investigating and seem to be hot on her trail. 

The Invisible Woman

 The Invisible Woman by Erika Robuck is an historical novel based on a true story.  Again a novel that reveals the life of a woman who defied the odds and showed how brave and determined a woman could be during the horrors of Word War II.

Based on the real life of Virginia Hall, who through out the book goes by Diane as her code name.  Though there are other names that people refer to by.  The Germans who have a price on her head call her one name, the French resistance fighters think of her as a hero and have a very different way of referring to her.

 Leaving the safety and comfort of the life of a Baltimore debutant, Virginia travels to Paris the city of her dreams.  She has just arrived, getting a job and making friends, when the Germans invade France.  Instead of returning to America and avoiding the war, Virginia jumps in with both feet .  She is recruited as an Allied spy and becomes the best at her job.  Traveling from safe house to safe house, communicating by radio messages and plotting drops for food and guns to arm the resistors hiding in the woods.  

They are preparing for D-Day.  Of course along the way there are the catastrophes that devastate Virginia and she wants to give up but she is driven to help the French and save France from the Nazis.  She dresses up as an elderly woman.  Putting grey dye in her hair, make up that sets lines and wrinkles on her face, and stuffs her clothes to appear heavier.  German soldiers ignore her on the streets and others laugh at her for trying to do things as an old woman.  She becomes invisible to those around her even though in reality her real face is on wanted signs and she is being hunted by the Nazis.

She keeps saying that she has outlived her time, that Vera her contact person told she had 6 days to live. But she will not give up until she has avenged the people who have assisted her who have died fighting the enemy.

It makes me wonder how invisible I am when I go somewhere now.  My grey, white hair and older body, do I fade.into the background for people walking down the street?

Flower of Darkness

In some ways this book, Flower of Darkness,  is quite different than de Rosnay ‘s previous novels.  Though some themes run through this book that are similar, this book is more futuristic. 

Clarissa is leaving her husband and looking for a new apartment. This in the Paris of some future time, when everything is automated. You do not have to lift more than a finger to get anything done. A virtual being takes care of you. Just ask it a request and your wish is granted. From cooking meals to answering your emails. Look in the bathroom mirror and your health is checked. But sometimes too much of a good thing can be just that or maybe even a bit more sinister.

Author Tatiana de Rosnay has taken her previous theme of finding out what took place a particular building and brought into the future.  In this novel Clarissa loves old buildings.  She can stand in a building and the walls seem to speak to her.  She can see or feel what happened there in the past.  Now she is moving into this futuristic new building where no one has lived before her.  She is trying to escape the past. She has left her husband for an unspeakable transgression that she cannot even bring herself to speak about.  She is starting over on her own.  But when things start to seem very odd, she reaches out to her granddaughter to help figure out what is happening in her building  and to her friends.  

This was quite a fascinating plot that keeps you  on your toes to try and figure out what is happening and stay up to date on the technology and sci-fi futuristic ideas that are happening here.  Definitely a future I hope never really comes to fruition . 

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder

 The perfect time to read this light mystery, Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder is not when you are hungry but after you have eaten and are relaxing for the afternoon.

Joanne Fluke has just shared her 27th mystery novel with us.  Not only is it amazing that she has come up with a new murder plot for Hannah Swenson who runs The Cookie Jar, coffee shop in Lake Eden, Minnesota along with her friend and with the help of her sisters, Andrea and Michelle.  They also are great at helping the local police solve murders.  Of course Andrea is married to the police detective, Michelle is dating his deputy and Hannah is sort of being courted by another detective on the force.  Hannah's other love interest is the town dentist, who also is always happy to assist in solving the current case.

This time it is the Mayor of the town who is not well loved and there are any number of suspects that would be happy to see him dead, including Andrea.  So Hannah is doubly interested in finding out what really happened to exonerate her sister.

The other amazing part of this series is that once again Fluke has included 27 recipes in the book, that Hannah and the others cook for each other throughout the story.  None of the recipes are repeated in all these novels.  That is quite a bit of cooking, testing and tasting.  They all always sound delicious but I must admit that I have never cooked any of them.  So many of them seem to have very high caloric levels.

These plots are no longer quite that unique, the dialog is not really snappy. So I guess what keeps me reading is that I know the characters so well that it is just like traveling to Lake Eden, sitting down for a visit with them and catching up on what's new.