Just finished
The Last Days of Kira Mullan, by Nicci French. March 2025, William Morrow, NetGalley
Chef and restaurant owner Nancy North had a psychotic breakdown that has her at the mercy of her boyfriend, Felix, who is determined to run all aspects of her life from then on. No one believes her when she insists that downstairs neighbor Kira was murdered and had not committed suicide as ruled by the police.
I liked all aspects of the personality and character of Nancy, who fights for her independence and for her mental health, at the same time determined to see that Kira's death is seen for what it is. Together with detective Maud, the female investigator who is overlooked in her department, the two women dominate the story as two people who become friends, both fighting for their rights to be heard and to be given their due in their respective lives.
The ending is realistic, especially for Maud, whose outcome was nevertheless a bit disappointing for me. Overall, another good psychological mystery by Nicci French.
Reading about Vietnamese families
The Family Recipe by Carolyn Huynh, April 1, 2025, Atria Books, NetGalle
Genre: family drama, Vietnamese
Description: "a family dramedy about estranged siblings competing to inherit their father's Vietnamese sandwich franchise and unravel family mysteries. These mysteries begin to unravel along the way as they learn the real intention behind the inheritance scheme."
I read the previous book by the author, The Fortunes of Jaded Women, about a group of Vietnamese women whose personalities it was hard to believe at the time. But since the author is from the Vietnamese community, there must be some truth to the portrayals, however humorous.
Description: "a family of estranged Vietnamese women who experiences mishaps and unexpected joy after a psychic makes a startling prediction about their lives.
It started with their ancestor, Oanh, who dared to leave her marriage for true love—so a fearsome Vietnamese witch cursed Oanh and her descendants so that they would never find love or happiness, and the Duong women would give birth to daughters, never sons."
A humorous novel of family superstitions and family matters.
Forgot to mention, after reading books in French, I'm now reading books in Spanish - all on my Kindle of course, with its built in dictionary aids. I took only high school Spanish, but my first attempt at reading a long novel in Spanish is going pretty well.
El Amante Japones (The Japanese Lover) by Isabel Allende, May 2015.
Language: Castilian Spanish
What are you reading/watching this week?
I liked the Frieda Klein series by Nicci French, they are a good team for writers. Sometimes you can tell which one authors a particular chapter.
ReplyDeleteThe Family Recipe looks like a good one. Right now we are watching Burn Notice starring Jeffrey Donovan. Had not heard of it before and it came out in 2007.
I watched Burn Notice when it first aired and loved it! Now you've made me want to rewatch it. I will as soon as I'm finished with my current rewatch.
DeleteThe Fortunes of Jaded Women appeals to me. And wow for reading books in both French and Spanish! That's cool. I wish I could do that. But I'm sadly monolingual. ;D
ReplyDeleteI took both Spanish and French in college (started out majoring in Modern Languages before switching to Social Work} and used to read novels in those languages but it's been quite a while since I attempted that. I'm not sure my skills would be up to the challenge any more, but I probably should try. Kudos to you for doing so.
ReplyDeleteThe first three books sound good and I love the cover of the 2nd one!
ReplyDeleteYay for being able to read in other languages! That is impressive. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteGood for you. Reading books in French would maybe be a way for me to gain back the French I used to have.
ReplyDeleteMy Sunday Salon: https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2024/09/sunday-salon-wonderful-week.html
Sounds like some interesting books.
ReplyDeleteBoth The Family Recipe and The Fortunes of Jaded Women sound like fresh and intriguing stories.
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful that you are reading stories in French and now Spanish. Until I tried Madame Bovary last summer, I had only read children's picture books in other languages.
Kudos to you for reading books in their original languages!
ReplyDeleteYour books look so good. The Nicci French book looks like one I'd like. Hope you have a great week.
ReplyDeleteThe Family Recipe sounds like a fun read! I love your writeup about them, I'll see if I can pick up a copy! Enjoy your week ahead!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately the book is not out till April next year but it’s available on NetGalley as an arc ebook. The book on Jaded Women is available in libraries tho.
DeleteGood to know, thank you!
DeleteJust starting 'The Little Book of Hygge - The Danish Way to Live Well' by Meik Wiking. After that I'll be continuing my Classic spree with 'Treasure Island' by Robert Louis Stevenson.
ReplyDeleteInteresting assortment of books. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteI started a Nicci French series on audio, but never went on to the second one! So easy to lose track of books on the TBR!
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed you read in French & Spanish too, that's awesome! Let us know if The Japanese Lover is any good.
ReplyDeleteTruthfully, I read them when I am in the mood. I have several French language books waiting for me too.
DeleteHmm, haven't read much about Vietnam, I need to expand my Eastern horizon!
ReplyDeleteI love Nicci French novels!
ReplyDeleteI just added The Family Recipe to my TBR a few days ago.
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