Book Review: The Merchant of Menace by Richard T. Ryan
It’s a joy to revisit the world of Sherlock Holmes with author Richard T. Ryan and his latest novella, The Merchant of Menace. Holmes and Watson need to catch a thief who’s angling for priceless, one-of-a-kind items. And threatening the owners’ loved ones as he does...Book Review: A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline
Christina Baker Kline opens the doors and invites us into the farmhouse in Andrew Wyeth’s iconic painting, Christina’s World. This fictional work offers readers a chance to understand the world of the Maine residents he painted. It’s not about Wyeth very much,...Book Review: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
I remember just enough of The Kite Runner to know that Khaled Hosseini would break my heart in A Thousand Splendid Suns. And so he did, over and over and over. It’s the story of two women in Afghanistan who each forge a path for themselves, despite and because of the...Book Review: The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
Eleanor Catton creates an epic story of the New Zealand Gold Rush in her prize winning 2013 book, The Luminaries. It captivated and confused me, as Catton takes many disparate characters and creates a constellation of mystery. She builds it piece by piece, jumping...Book Review: City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert
Elizabeth Gilbert creates an enchanting story of one woman’s turbulent and rebellious life, starting just prior to World War II. Vivian Morris is a good girl from a well-to-do family in a small, upstate New York town. Well, when she’s not getting kicked out of...Book Review: A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne
In A Ladder to the Sky, John Boyne and his main character, Maurice Swift, take us inside the world of a writer. And a sociopath. It’s so completely wrong that it’s right. This is the follow up to Boyne’s fabulous 2017 book, The Heart’s Invisible Furies....Book Review: Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
Lilac Girls from Martha Hall Kelly is an entrant into the crowded field of World War II historical fiction. She tells the story of three women, inspired by real life people and events. While everything about the book is appropriately tragic and inspiring, for me it...Four Audible Originals: A Combined Review
After some long books in May, I decided to catch up on some shorter books. In my Audible collection, that means listening to a few Audible Originals. And finally Audible let’s you sort your titles by length, which makes it much easier to manage via time. Instead...Book Review: Woman 99 by Greer Macallister
Greer Macallister did it again. With Woman 99, she wrote another book I couldn’t stop listening to and reading. Macallister has a way with her portrayals of strong, but flawed, women. In Woman 99, she gives us several who fit that mold.Her chief protagonist is...Book Review: Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset
Kristin Lavransdatter is a Norwegian literature classic by Sigrid Undset. In fact, Undset is so revered that she won a Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928, after Kristin was published. But, let’s also clarify that this is actually a trilogy, now published as a 1100+...Book Review: The Paragon Hotel by Lyndsay Faye
In The Paragon Hotel, Lyndsay Faye brings us a character nicknamed Nobody. She’s actually Alice James, but is skilled at disappearing into the corner of a room or a street. She uses some disguise, but mostly changes voices and attitudes to blend in. It’s a skill she...Book Review: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Madeline Miller tells a story replete with Greek gods, kings, warriors, battles, and death. And yet what it’s really about is the love between Achilles and Patroclus. Both young men are high born princes. Achilles is also half god, with a human father and goddess...Book Review: Promised Land by Martin Fletcher
Martin Fletcher, veteran Middle East reporter, crafts an historical fiction story set in 1960’s Israel. His main characters are brothers Arie and Peter Nesher, along with Tamara, a young refugee from Cairo. In truth, the brothers are refugees as well. Peter escaped...Book Review: The Widows Of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey
Sujata Massey takes her readers back to 1920s Bombay, India in this intriguing legal mystery. Our heroine is Perveen Mistry, a young woman who’s broken with societal norms and gotten a law degree from Oxford. She’s working in the menial aspects of her father’s law...Book Review: The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff
Pam Jenoff writes the story of two women trying to survive Hitler’s Europe. Noa and Astrid have absolutely nothing in common. They’ve both had troubles with men, compounded by the deadly prejudices of the time. In order to survive, they’ve team up as aerialists in a...Book Review: Daughter of Moloka’i by Alan Brennert
Daughter of Moloka’i is the sequel to Moloka’i by Alan Brennert. And, unlike the first book, very little of it takes place on Moloka’i. I can’t discuss the plot without revealing at least one spoiler from the first book. So if you haven’t read Moloka’i, I’d suggest...Currently reading
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