First Chapter: Hope Is Our Only Wing by Rutendo Tavengerwei

Hope Is Our Only Wing by Rutendo Tavengerwei

September 10, 2019, Soho Teen

Setting: Zimbabwe 2008

A fifteen-year-old girl and her new friend find courage in the face of terrible personal losses during a time of upheaval in Zimbabwe

First chapter, first paragraph:

Shamiso's heart broke into a shudder of beats. She could hear the jazzy trails of the mbira spiraling in the air. Her father would have loved that sound. She glanced at her mother, who stood next to her, fanning her sweaty neck. She seemed preoccupied. The music played on, painful and familiar.

Meme: Each Tuesday, Vicki, from I’d Rather Be At The Beach hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros where  readers post the opening paragraph (sometime two) of a book they are reading or that they plan to read. 

Sunday Salon: Books Reviewed and Books Not Yet Read

Finished reading:

Closed Circles by Viveca Sten, borrowed from Amazon Unlimited.

Genre: mystery, police procedural

I really enjoy the books in this series, and will be reading the next, #3, Guiltless soon. The setting of the Swedish archipelago and the touristy island of Sandhamn adds much atmosphere to the story. 

This is part mystery, part police procedural, cleverly written to always keep you on your toes. 

The sailing regatta organized by the Royal Swedish Yacht Club is the starting point for this excellent murder mystery. 

The Blue Hour

The Blue Hour by Douglas Kennedy, February 16, 2019, Atria Books

Genre: travel adventure, family drama, contemporary fiction

Setting: Morocco

Source: library book

A couple take their troubles with each other all the way to Morocco, at the insistence of the husband, Paul. His wife Robin goes along but finds out soon that all is not what it seems and that Paul seems to be living a double life, having a past that he never revealed to her.

This dramatic thriller involves accountant Robin and her talented but enigmatic artist husband Paul, in Morocco. Their relationship begins to deteriorate  on this trip, their actions drive them further apart. 

The realism of the novel, while telling a lot about traveling in this North African country,  made me wish for a more artistic and less stark telling of the story, however.

New books:

Cookies and Clairvoyance, Magical Bakery Mystery by Bailey Cates, August 27, 2019, Berkley

Baker Kathie Lightfoot makes cookies with magical properties. She also acts as an amateur sleuth. 

Silent Night, Deadly Night by Vicki Delany, August 27, 2019, Berkley 
In this Year-Round Christmas series, Merry, the owner of a Christmas shop, must solve a murder to keep the spirit of the holiday going.

Memes: 

The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and the Sunday Salon,  Mailbox Monday.

Book Beginning: The Last Widow by Karin Slaughter

The Last Widow by Karin Slaughter, August 20, 2019, William Morrow

The Last Widow

Description: A mysterious kidnapping

On a hot summer night, a scientist from the Centers for Disease Control is grabbed by unknown assailants in a shopping center parking lot. Vanished into thin air, the authorities are desperate to save the doctor. 

A devastating explosion

A diabolical enemy

Book beginning:PROLOGUE 

Michelle Spivey jogged through the back of the store, frantically scanning each aisle for her daughter, panicked thoughts circling her brain: How did I lose sight of her I am a horrible mother my baby was didnapped by a pedophiole or a human trafficker should I flag store security or call the police or --
Ashley.
Michelle stopped so abruptly that her shoe snicked against the floor....

Page 56: 

Maggie said, "I'll briefly run down the SWAT Bible on transport from the APD perspective. We're all following the Active Shooter Doctrine. No negotiation. Just pop and drop....

Memes: The Friday 56. Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% of your eReader. Find any sentence that grabs you. Post it, and add your URL post in Linky at Freda's Voice. Also visit Book Beginning at Rose City Reader

Book Review: The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms

The Overdue Life of Amy Byler

The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms, May 1, 2019, Amazon Digital Services

Source: Amazon Unlimited

For moms, single or otherwise, who need a life of their own on top of being a super parent. An inspiring read for moms, and single parents, everywhere! Amy Byler's husband left her permanently for Hong Kong three years earlier, left her with two kids in grammar school whom she had to support financially and physically. After John comes home unexpectedly for one summer and decides to bond with the kids for a brief while, Amy gets a chance to spend a week on her own in New York City to attend a librarian's conference. How she finds herself in her new surroundings, among new friends and acquaintances, and even with the prospect of new loves and a boost in her career, is the theme of the story. A thumbs up novel for overworked moms. A novel meant to inspire parents , especially women and single mothers.

For moms, single or otherwise, who need a life of their own on top of being a super parent. An inspiring read for moms, and single parents, everywhere!

Amy Byler's husband left her permanently for Hong Kong three years earlier, left her with two kids in grammar school whom she had to support financially and physically. After John comes home unexpectedly for one summer and decides to bond with the kids for a brief while, Amy gets a chance to spend a week on her own in New York City to attend a librarian's conference.

How she finds herself in her new surroundings, among new friends and acquaintances, and even with the prospect of new loves and a boost in her career, is the theme of the story.

A thumbs up novel for overworked moms. A novel meant to inspire parents , especially women and single mothers. 

The Satapur Moonstone by Sujata Massey: A Brief Review

The Satapur Moonstone by Sujata Massey, May 14, 2019, Soho PressSetting: India, 1922, southeast of BombayGenre: mystery

My goodreads review:

Traveling back in time to 1922 in British India, where the Raj (the British) oversaw royal families and princely states, while allowing local religious and other traditions to continue. I learned a lot about what it might have been like then, for men,  and women as well who were living in purdah or seclusion. 

A mystery novel, with intrigue and suspense, and romance, in a unique historical setting and time period.  Perveen, a female lawyer, is sent to Satapur state to help resolve the conflicts over where the young raj is to be educated. There are conflicts between the boy's grandmother, who wants him to stay close to home, and his mother, who wants an English education for him. There have been unfortunate deaths in the family, and Parveen wonders if the young raj is in danger. 

I enjoyed this second in the Perveen Mistry series and look forward to the next.

Opening paragraph:

Perveen Mistry sighed, adjusting her hat on her sweating brow. It was six thirty in the morning, and already eighty-two degrees. Cantering around the riding ring at the Royal  Western India Turf Club, never quite keeping up with her friend Alice, was vigorous exercise. 

 Memes: First Chapter/Intros, now hosted by I’d Rather Be at the Beach; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by The Purple Booker.

Sunday Salon: Two Thrillers reviewed

The Reunion

The Reunion by Guillaume Musso, Kindle edition, July 9, 2019, Little, Brown and Company

Source: Netgalley

A novel of suspense about high school students in the south of France, the Cote d'Azur, and the secrets two of them have kept for 25 years. Their school reunion forces them to confront what happened years ago, when their popular classmate Vinca disappeared, believed to have run off with her philosopher teacher, Alexis. Another murder soon puts everything into question, and the former students must discover what really happened to Vinca and what role others around them may have played in her story.

I read this in one day and part of the night, intrigued by the story and the characters and the unfolding of the unusual plot. The setting of the south of France - the cliffs and the sea - add to the interest of the novel. Recommended. 

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides,  published February 5, 2019, Celadon Books

Source: library book

Theo, a psychotherapist gets a job with a secure private medical unit in order to try to reach a patient, Alicia, who is said to have murdered her husband and then gone silent for years.  Theo is obsessed with her case and feels he can get her to open up and even talk again about what happened years ago. 

The case of Alicia is interesting to Theo as Alicia was a successful painter in what seemed like a healthy marriage.  But things are not what they seem, as I found out as I read along. And everyone becomes suspect!

The twist at the end caught me by surprise and totally turned everything around. Four stars.  

I must finish other books I started before reading the above psychological thrillers. Now reading three good books:  The Satapur Moonstone by Sujata Massey, 

Tahoe Deep by Todd Borg, and The Dragonfly Sea by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor

What are your favorite book genres this summer? 

Memes: 

The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and the Sunday Salon,  Mailbox Monday.

Sunday Salon: Mystery Novels Set in France and India

I got through a French novel, a thriller, in record time. Hooray! My reading in that language is getting better, with the help of the built-in dictionary in my ereader.

Un Juge Sous Surveillance

Un Juge Sous Surveillance by John La Galite, December 6, 2014, in French, borrowed through Kindle Unlimited.  The book is also published under the title, Justice Pour Tous (Kindle and paperback editions)

Setting: France and Spain

An investigating judge tries to find the truth behind two murders in one family and unwillingly involves her daughter Ines in her investigation. Thrilling and suspenseful, especially a dangerous climb in the snowy Pyrenees to reach a dead man and the evidence he carries that could condemn some in high positions.  

Timely topics, and a daring main character in the judge, Marion Lambert, made this an enjoyable reading challenge. 

On a recent visit to the library, I netted more books that I had intended to borrow! This is one I'm currently reading. 

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The Satapur Moonstone by Sujata Massey, May 14, 2019, Soho Press

Setting: India, 1922, southeast of Bombay

Genre: mystery

India's only female lawyer, Perveen Mistry, is asked to help made a decision re the education of a young crown prince in the kingdom of Satapur. She finds she has walked into a trap. (publisher)

I'm enjoying it so far, especially since there is a hint of possible romance in the remote mountain area for the main character, Perveen.

Memes: 

The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and the Sunday Salon,  Mailbox Monday.