Book Review: The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell

The Other Typist

The door banged shut. We all turned to find Odalie standing in front of the threshold peering at us with her wide blue eyes and a faint smile on her lips. Her sudden apparition and elegant countenance were utterly incongruous with her surroundings. We were struck. (ch. 3)

About the book: Rose Baker's life is one of a struggling typist living in a boarding house in NYC during the 1920s, doing her work as a typist at the NYPD with resolute efficiency. That is, until a new typist Odalie enters the scene. Odalie persuades Rose to move into her luxurious hotel rooms with her as a roommate and slowly effects a change in Rose's habits and appearance. Rose is smitten with the new typist, the new experiences, their visits to speakeasy joints, drinking during a time of prohibition, wearing fancy dresses, and dining in elegant restaurants.

Things begin to change, however, when Rose changes the wording in a "confession" by a suspected murderer. And then someone from Odalie's past shows up to question Odalie about a suspicious death years previously. Events quickly begin to tumble out of order and reason, and the reader is left in a maze, wondering about the two women, "What...?"

My comments: Rose is an unreliable narrator who sees herself as enlightened and reasonable, but we the readers can see how flawed she is in her rigidity and her prejudices. Her head over heels infatuation with the new typist, Odalie and Odalie's lifestyle and manners, is just another contradiction in her personality. 

I believe the author could have ended the novel and its suspenseful plot in about three different ways. She chose to use all three ways in the novel, however, a technique which may leave the reader gasping. I was nonplussed at first until I realized what the author was doing.

The book kept my attention till the very end, to the culmination of the suspenseful events, so I give this read a 4/5 rating! Though I might have wanted a more definitive end to the story!

Thanks to Penguin for a review copy of this book for their book tour.

THE OTHER TYPIST has also been optioned for film produced by and starring Keira Knightley, seen here in The Guardian this past summer.

Murder on Bamboo Lane by Naomi Hirahara

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B; choose two teaser sentences from a random page of your current read. Give the title and author for readers.

Murder on Bamboo Lane

Title: Murder on Bamboo Lane: An Office Ellie Rush Mystery by Naomi Hirahara

Published April 1, 2013 Berkley

Genre: mystery

Most locals consider Olvera Street just a tourist trap where you can be swallowed up in a pit of tchotchkes that look Mexican but are probably made in China. Dig a little deeper, I tell my friends. It's more than taquitos. There's an adobe house there that may not look like much, but it's the oldest standing house in Los Angeles. And then there is the Siqueiros mural, painted in the 1930s and restored recently for ten million dollars. (ch. 7)

My comments: This new mystery series by Hirahara may sound as if it's about the Mexican population in Los Angeles, but in reality it has a new bike cop, Ellie Rush, ranging around in areas populated by Asian groups - Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and Vietnamese. Apart from the mystery plot, the novel takes you through Los Angeles ethnic neighborhoods and enclaves. I liked that about the book, in addition to the unique murder story.

Publisher description:
Trouble awaits rookie LAPD Officer Ellie Rush as she patrols the mean streets of Los Angeles on her bicycle… Bike cop Ellie Rush dreams of becoming a homicide detective, but it’s still a shock when the first dead body she encounters on the job is that of a former college classmate.

At the behest of her Aunt Cheryl, the highest-ranking Asian-American officer in the LAPD (a source of pride for Ellie’s grandmother, but annoyance to her mom), Ellie becomes tangled in the investigation of the coed’s murder—with equal parts help and hindrance from her nosy best friend, her over-involved ex-boyfriend, a smoldering detective, and seemingly everyone else in her extended family…only to uncover secrets that a killer may go to any lengths to ensure stay hidden.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review/feature.. 

Book Tour: The Collector of Dying Breaths by M.J. Rose

"It is with irony now, forty years later, to think that if I had not been called a murderer on the most frightening night of my life, there might not be any perfume in Paris today. And that scent—to which I gave my all and which gave me all the power and riches I could have hoped for—is at the heart of why now it is I who call myself a murderer."
From The Collector of Dying Breaths


“When nothing else subsists from the past, after the people are dead, after the things are broken and scattered...the smell and taste of things remain poised a long time, like souls...bearing resiliently, on tiny and almost impalpable drops of their essence, the immense edifice of memory.”  ―Marcel Proust 

Title: The Collector of Dying Breaths by M.J. Rose
Published April 8, 2014; Atria

My comments: Definitely a book for those who enjoy fantasy in novels of reincarnation, romance, and history. I can see its appeal for lovers of magic and romance. It's a novel those who do not normally read fantasy might have to be in a particular mood for, however. But it is rich in historical detail and setting and highly recommended in its genre.

Publisher description:
A lush and imaginative novel that crisscrosses time as a perfumer and a mythologist search for the fine line between potion and poison, poison and passion…and past and present.

 Florence, Italy—1533: An orphan named René le Florentin is plucked from poverty to become Catherine de Medici’s perfumer. Traveling with the young duchessina from Italy to France, René brings with him a cache of secret documents from the monastery where he was trained: recipes for exotic fragrances and potent medicines—and a formula for an alchemic process said to have the potential to reanimate the dead. In France, René becomes not only the greatest perfumer in the country but the most dangerous, creating deadly poisons for his Queen to use against her rivals. But while mixing herbs and essences under the light of flickering candles, Rene doesn’t begin to imagine the tragic and personal consequences for which his lethal potions will be responsible.

 Paris, France—The Present: A renowned mythologist, Jac L’Etoile, is trying to recover from personal heartache by throwing herself into her work, learns of the 16th century perfumer who may have been working on an elixir that would unlock the secret to immortality. She becomes obsessed with René le Florentin’s work—particularly when she discovers the dying breaths he had collected during his lifetime. Jac’s efforts put her in the path of her estranged lover, Griffin North, a linguist who has already begun translating René le Florentin’s mysterious formula. Together they confront an eccentric heiress in possession of a world-class art collection. A woman who has her own dark purpose for the elixir… a purpose for which she believes the ends will justify her deadly means. This mesmerizing gothic tale of passion and obsession crisscrosses time, zigzagging from the violent days of Catherine de Medici’s court to twenty-first century France. Fiery and lush, set against deep, wild forests and dimly lit chateaus, The Collector of Dying Breaths illuminates the true path to immortality: the legacies we leave behind

Thanks to Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for a review copy of this book. Click on the link for more tour stops and reviews.

M.J. Rose is the international best selling author of fourteen novels and two non-fiction books on marketing. Her fiction and non-fiction has appeared in many magazines and reviews including Oprah Magazine. She has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, USA Today and on the Today Show, and NPR radio. Rose graduated from Syracuse University, spent the ’80s in advertising, has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and since 2005 has run the first marketing company for authors – Authorbuzz.com. The television series PAST LIFE, was based on Rose’s novels in the Renincarnationist series. She is one of the founding board members of International Thriller Writers and runs the blog- Buzz, Balls & Hype. She is also the co-founder of Peroozal.com and BookTrib.com.

Rose lives in CT with her husband, the musician and composer, Doug Scofield, and their very spoiled and often photographed dog, Winka.

For more information on M.J. Rose and her novels, please visit her website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

Sunday Salon: Mixed Genres, Again

Welcome to the Sunday Salon! Also visit The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer; It's Monday: What Are You Reading? at Book Journey. Also visit Mailbox Monday.

Isn't it exciting about the canonization of two Popes today? Brings back memories -  I remember John XXIII being considered as a candidate to become the new Pope; I was just a young kid in school then. Later, we saw John Paul II celebrate Mass in the stadium in Bangkok on May 10, 1984! Who knew these two would later become saints in the Church!
At home, we planted a vegetable garden, a medium sized raised bed, and seeded another round bed with flowers. Can't wait to see what will come up after all our digging in the soil and watering!

A few new books this week:

Where Earth Meets Water

"In this poignant and breathtaking debut, one man searches for meaning in the wake of incomparable tragedy…

Karom Seth should have been in the Twin Towers on the morning of 9/11, and on the Indian shores in 2004, when the tsunami swept his entire family into the ocean. Whether it's a curse or a blessing, Karom can't be sure, but his absence from these disasters has left him with crushing guilt—and a belief that fate has singled him out for invincibility. " (goodreads)

Queen's Gambit

Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived...

This is the story of the last wife of Henry VIII, the one who survived.

Widowed for the second time at age thirty-one Katherine Parr falls deeply for the dashing courtier Thomas Seymour and hopes at last to marry for love. However, she attracts the attentions of the ailing, egotistical, and dangerously powerful monarch Henry VIII, who dispatches Seymour to the continent. No one is in a position to refuse a royal proposal so, haunted by the fates of King Henry's previous wives, Katherine is obliged to become his sixth queen. (goodreads)

Herbie's Game

It’s everyday business when Wattles, the San Fernando Valley’s top “executive crook,” sets up a hit. He establishes a chain of criminals to pass along the instructions and the money, thereby ensuring that the hitter doesn’t know who hired him. Then one day Wattles finds his office safe open and a single item missing: the piece of paper on which he has written the names of the crooks in the chain. When people associated with the chain begin to pop up dead, the only person Wattles can turn to to solve his problem is Junior Bender, professional burglar and begrudging private eye for crooks. (goodreads)

What new books are you reading this week?

Whip Smart: Lola Montez and the Poisoned Nom de Plume

Visit Book Beginnings by Rose City Reader for this weekly Friday meme.

Title: Whip Smart: Lola Montez and the Poisoned Nom de Plume by Kit Brennan
Published October 1, 2013; Astor + Blue Editions
Genre: historical fiction

The main character in the series is based on the real life Victorian character, Lola Montez.

Book beginning:

The Return - 1844
Teeth chattering, arms clasping my body for warmth, I gazed out the window at snow and more snow. I seemed to have spent my whole life sitting motionless in freezing cold post-coaches, rumbling along! At least we were now headed south. Fool that I am.
What a ludicrous idea it had been, trying to get to St. Petersburg in the depths of winter. I'd convinced myself that Imperial Russia would become my spirited style and flamboyant nature, that perhaps I could talk my way into a dancing engagement at the largest, most prestigious theatre in the city - a venue that would attract royalty, exalted military types, and the creme de la creme of Russia's dancer and artists...

Goodreads book description:
Kit Brennan’s second in the Whip Smart series opens with the ever-headstrong Lola Montez careening around Europe, on the run from the haunting memories of Spain and the wild adventure that nearly cost her life.

It is 1844. Lola encounters celebrated pianist and composer Franz Liszt, who encourages her to set her sights on Paris to establish her dancing career. The night that Lola performs her racy Spider Dance at the Paris Opéra, she meets quite possibly the man of her dreams: Henri Dujarier, co-owner of La Presse newspaper.

Lola seems on the verge of breaking Victorian tradition and actually having it all, but forces are at work to keep Lola and Henri apart. Deadly threats and rumors turn into reality, as shadowy figures stop at nothing to sabotage Lola’s new endeavor (unheard of for a woman): to pen an adventure novel, using a nom de plume, about a feisty female character.

Visit the author's website for more about her books.

First Chapter: The Whole Cat and Caboodle by Sofie Ryan

First Chapter, First Paragraph is a weekly meme hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea.
Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Miz B; choose two teaser sentences from a random page of your current read.

Title: The Whole Cat and Caboodle: Second Chance Cat Mystery #1 by Sofie Ryan
Published April 1, 2014; Signet
Genre: cozy mystery

First chapter:

Elvis was sitting in the middle of my desk when I opened the door. The cat, not the King of Rock and Roll, although the cat had an air of entitlement about him sometimes, as though he thought he was royalty. He had one jet-black paw on top of a small cardboard box - my new business cards, I was hoping.
"How did you get in here?" I asked. 

Book description:
Sarah Grayson is the happy proprietor of Second Chance, a charming shop in the oceanfront town of North Harbor, Maine. At the shop, she sells used items that she has lovingly refurbished and repurposed. But her favorite pet project so far has been adopting a stray cat she names Elvis. Elvis has seen nine lives—and then some. The big black cat with a scar across his nose turned up at a local bar when the band was playing the King of Rock and Roll’s music and hopped in Sarah’s truck. Since then, he’s been her constant companion and the furry favorite of everyone who comes into the store.

 But when Sarah’s elderly friend Maddie is found with the body of a dead man in her garden, the kindly old lady becomes the prime suspect in the murder. Even Sarah’s old high school flame, investigator Nick Elliot, seems convinced that Maddie was up to no good. So it’s up to Sarah and Elvis to clear her friend’s name and make sure the real murderer doesn’t get a second chance. (goodreads)

What do you think? Would you keep reading? I would, as long as Elvis was not a talking cat!

Book Review: Leaving Everything Most Loved by Jacqueline Winspear

Title: Leaving Everything Most Loved (Masie Dobbs #10) by Jacqueline Winspear
Published March 26, 2013; Harper
Genre: police procedural, British mystery

London, 1933. Two months after Usha Pramal’s body is discovered in the waters of a city canal, her brother, newly arrived in England, turns to Maisie Dobbs for help. Not only has Scotland Yard made no arrests, but evidence indicates they failed to conduct a full investigation. Usha had been staying at an ayah’s hostel, a refuge for Indian women. As Maisie learns, Usha was different from the hostel’s other residents. But with this discovery comes new danger, as a fellow lodger who was close to Usha is found murdered.

As Maisie is pulled deeper into an unfamiliar yet captivating subculture, her investigation becomes clouded by the unfinished business of a previous case, and by a growing desire to see more of the world. At the same time, her lover, James Compton, gives her an ultimatum she cannot ignore. Bringing a crucial chapter in the life and times of Maisie Dobbs to a close, Leaving Everything Most Loved signals a vital turning point in this remarkable series. (publisher)

My comments: Winspear tackles discrimination in the London of the 1930s and has her detective Maisie Dobbs investigating the death of an Indian immigrant, a former ayah with a British family. The woman, Usha Pramal, branched off on her own after she was dismissed by the family, living in a hostel for other ayahs.

This historical mystery novel is fairly plot driven and makes you anxious to know about Usha's circumstances and her past, things that may have led to her death and that of another Indian woman in London. A clear departure from the usual Maisie Dobbs novels in the series, and an interesting one! I recommend this latest in the series!


Jacqueline Winspear is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Leaving Everything Most Loved, Elegy for Eddie, A Lesson in Secrets, The Mapping of Love and Death, Among the Mad, and An Incomplete Revenge, as well as four other Maisie Dobbs novels. Originally from the United Kingdom, she now lives in California.
Visit her website, www.jacquelinewinspear.com, and find her on Facebook.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours and the publisher for a review copy of this book.
Visit the tour schedule for more reviews of this book.