Sunday Salon: Early Morning Reading

Welcome to the Sunday Salon where bloggers share their reading each week.Visit The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer; Also visit It's Monday: What Are You Reading hosted by Book Journey.

Had visitors today so cleared out my books from around my desk and computer to declutter for a while. Now I don't want to go downstairs to the basement to retrieve them just yet. So nice not to be kicking books around while I'm typing.

Here's what I'm currently reading:

Sons of Sparta, a mystery novel by Poisonwood Press was released October 7, 2014. I'm reading an advance reader's copy and enjoying it as I've always wanted to visit Greece and setting is really important to me in a mystery novel. This book puts you into the Peloponnesus region as well as Athens. The intro to the book by the publisher will pull you right in with the description of the background and setting:

Did the warriors of ancient Sparta simply vanish without a trace along with their city, or did they find sanctuary at the tip of the mountainous Peloponnese? That stark, unforgiving region's roots today run deep with a history of pirates, highwaymen, and neighbors ferociously repelling any foreigner foolishly bent on occupying this part of Greece. Less well recorded are the Mani's families' strict code of honor and their history of endless vendettas with neighbors and with their own relatives. No wonder their farms look like fortresses.

I'm also reading The Folded Earth by Anuradha Roy, longlisted for the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize. My paperback was published April 24, 2012 by the Free Press.

The Folded Earth

Set in the foothills of the Himalayas, the novel is about a young widow who leaves her sorrows and past behind and becomes a school teacher in a small village. The storytelling is exquisite.

It's early morning but I might just sit up for another hour with this book.
What are you reading this Sunday day?

French Pastry Murder: by Leslie Meier

The Friday 56: *Grab a book, any book. *Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader  *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you. *Post it. *Add your (url) post in Linky at Freda's Voice. Also, Book Beginnings at Rose City Reader.

French Pastry Murder

page 56:

This was an emergency, she was yelling her head off, but where were all the other people in the building? She feared he was already dead, but then he groaned, and she realized she had to get help, fast. 

Book beginning:

Lucy Stone shut her eyes tight and rolled over, trying to ignore the ringing phone on her bedside table. When that didn't work, she wrapped a pillow over her ears and held it tight but the ringing continued. She knew who was calling, and it was beginning to be a nuisance, these phone calls at five and six in the morning. 

Publisher's description:  

Leslie Meier's beloved sleuth Lucy Stone is saying "Au revoir!" to Tinker's Cove, Maine, and "Bonjour!" to Paris to take in the sights, learn how to bake authentic French pastries, and experience some joie de vivre. But her dreams of la vie en rose are put on hold when the City of Lights turns deadly.  ( published September 30, 2014 by Kensington) 

Book Review: Bless Her Dead Little Heart by Miranda James

Bless Her Dead Little Heart

Title: Bless Her Dead Little Heart by Miranda James
Published October 7, 2014; Berkley
Genre: cozy mystery

Athena, Mississippi. An all-new mystery featuring Miss An’gel and Miss Dickce Ducote, two snoopy sisters who are always ready to lend a helping hand. But when a stressed socialite brings murder right to their doorstep, even they have trouble maintaining their Southern hospitality…

My comments: This setting and theme is based on an Agatha Christie plan - all the possible murder suspects are in the same house, where the murders take place. The two elderly Southern sisters in their eighties, An'gel and Dickce (pronounced An-Gell and Dixie), try to determine which one or ones of their guests are the culprits.

Interesting and unusual characters, a good plot that unrolls gradually but inevitably to a surprise conclusion and suspect, a good Southern atmosphere and setting - quite a good cozy read. I recommend it!

Objective rating: 4/5
Thanks to the publisher for a review copy of the book for their book tour. 

New Release: Last Winter We Parted by Fuminori Nakamura

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

The Last Winter We Parted

Title: The Last Winter We Parted by Fuminori Nakamura
To be released October 21, 2014; Soho Press
Genre: thriller, suspense, mystery

Publisher's description:

A young writer arrives at a prison to interview a man arrested for homicide. He has been commissioned to write a full account of the case, from its bizarre and grisly details to the nature of the man behind the crime.  

The suspect, while world-renowned as a photographer, has a deeply unsettling portfolio—lurking beneath the surface of each photograph is an acutely obsessive fascination with his subject. He stands accused of murdering two women—both burned alive—and will likely face the death penalty. But something isn't quite right, and as the young writer probes further, his doubts about this man as a killer intensify. He soon discovers the desperate, twisted nature of all who are connected to the case, struggling to maintain his sense of reason and justice. What could possibly have motivated this man to use fire as a torturous murder weapon? Is he truly guilty, or will he die to protect someone else? 

The suspect has a secret—it may involve his sister, who willfully leads men to their destruction, or the "puppeteer," an enigmatic figure who draws in those who have suffered the loss of someone close to them. As the madness at the heart of the case spins out of control, the confusion surrounding it only deepens.  

What terrifying secrets will this impromptu investigator unearth as he seeks the truth behind these murders?

I enjoyed and reviewed his previous books, The Thief, and Evil and the Mask, both of which had intriguing and unexpected twists at the end. I'm looking forward to similar surprises in this book. If you like noir in your mystery, go for it.

What new release are you waiting for? 

Book Review: The Moonlight Palace by Liz Rosenberg

First Chapter, First Paragraph is hosted weekly by Bibliophile by the Sea. Share the first paragraph of your current read. Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB.

The Moonlight Palace

Publisher description:
Agnes Hussein, descendant of the last sultan of Singapore and the last surviving member of her immediate family, has grown up in the crumbling Kampong Glam palace, given to her family in exchange for handing over Singapore to the British. Now Agnes is seventeen and her family has fallen into genteel poverty, she struggles to save her family and finds bravery, love, and loyalty in unexpected places.

The Moonlight Palace is a coming-of-age tale rich with historical detail and characters set against the backdrop of 1920s Singapore. Published Oct 1, 2014 by Lake Union Publishing.

First chapter, first paragraph: 

I have always lived in the crumbling Kampong Glam Palace. Istana Kampong Gelam. Because it is white, with rounded arches in a row, it has the look of an ancient wedding cake. It has always been falling apart, as long as I have known it. Even my nighttime dreams are always set inside the palace compound. Unlike friends and schoolmates who share exciting flying dreams, where they sail away over the tiled rooftops through surging grey clouds beyond tiny Singapore, in my own dreams I skim low through the rooms of the palace, barely above the ground. I see the patterned carpets, the wooden floorboards worn to the smoothness of satin. But never have I risen above the level of the palace ceiling , not even in my dreams. 

My comments:

I learned something new about the history of the tiny country of Singapore, a sliver of land that was "created" by the British who took control of it and developed it. The mixture of people and cultures there at that time and into the present is fascinating. Our heroine Agnes is part Chinese, part English, part Malaysian, and describes her family as both Buddhist and Muslim.

Agnes almost loses her family inheritance, the Kampong Glam Palace, because some resented that her ancestor, Sultan Hussein Shah, "gave away" to the British the land that later became Singapore. She fights to save her palace inheritance in spite of everything. An intriguing look at history and place, with a charming story of a young girl growing up and finding love in the Singapore of the 1920s. My objective rating: 3.5/5.

Liz Rosenberg has written more than thirty novels and nonfiction for adults, poetry collections, and books for young readers.

She is a professor of English and creative writing at Binghamton University, New York, and has written a book column for the Boston Globe for the past twenty-five years.

Her best selling novels are Home Repair and The Laws of Gravity. She and her husband, David, were raised on Long Island.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours and the author for a review ARC of this book.
For more reviews, visit the tour schedule

Book Reviews: Gossamer Ghost by Laura Childs; Gilt Trip by Laura Childs

Gossamer Ghost

Title: Gossamer Ghost: A Scrapbooking Mystery #12 by Laura Childs
Published October 7, 2014; Berkley Hardcover
Genre: cozy mystery

Ava glanced at Carmela and said, "What's a Ghost Train?" 

"Are you serious?" said Jekyl. "The Ghost Train is being touted as New Orleans's premier Halloween event and has been promoted up the wazoo!" 

There are so many events that scrapbook shop owner Carmela and her friend Ava must attend while taking care of their respective shops in New Orleans during Halloween week. But when Carmela enters her neighbor's Oddities shop next door and finds shop owner Marcus dead and stuffed in a tall wooden cabinet, she and friend Ava and boyfriend detective Edgar Babcock soon become involved. Edgar warns Carmela off the dangerous case but Carmela and her sidekick Ava can't resist a hunt for a killer.

Lot of New Orleans Halloween fun such as balls, cemetery walks, Ghost Trains, zombies, parades, fill the pages in between Carmela and Ava's sleuthing. The book is great to read, both for the New Orleans ambience and for the mystery plot. Loved it!

I also read the previous Laura Childs Scrapbooking Mystery, #11, coauthored by Diana Orgain - Gilt Trip.

Gilt Trip

This 11th in the Scrapbooking Mystery series, released October 1, 2014 by Berkley.The unusual plot and the engaging characters of amateur sleuths Carmela and Ava, as well as scrapbooking details and the New Orleans food made this a great read for me.

Carmela kicked things off..., passing around sheets of vellum, crinkle paper, linen paper, batik papers, and others that she'd pulled earlier.  (ch. 11)

Carmela investigates the murder of Jerry Earl, the husband of prominent New Orleans socialite Margo Leland, while also running her craft shop and craft classes.She had discovered Jerry Earl's body at a ball, stuffed in the laundry room of his wife Margo's mansion. Quite an inventive though gruesome way to go!

I loved the mystery and the craft tips, food recipes in both books. Especially the shrimp recipes. Gotta try them! I gave five stars to both books,

Thanks to the publisher for review copies of both books.

Sunday Salon: Traveling Through Books

Welcome to the Sunday Salon where bloggers share their reading each week.Visit The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer; Also visit It's Monday: What Are You Reading hosted by Book Journey and Stacking the Shelves at Tynga's Reviews.

My recent armchair travel has taken me from the backlands of Brazil to New Orleans, then to Mississippi, to Scottsdale AZ, and next to Singapore. I've had some good adventures in these places via my recent books!

Some rew cozies will head me further to Victorian London, to Oyster Bay in North Carolina, then to Michigan and Northern California. Can't wait!

Mrs. Jeffries and the Merry Gentlemen: The holiday season brings a mix of merriment, mayhem, and murder. And it falls to Inspector Witherspoon—with a significant portion of help from the ever-watchful Mrs. Jeffries—to find the culprit… 

Lethal Letters:  Restaurant owner and aspiring novelist Olivia Limoges is busy planning a delicious menu for Oyster Bay’s biggest soiree of the spring. But she’ll need to serve some justice as well after one resident gets eighty-sixed…

The Chocolate Book Bandit :When it turns out a member of Warner Pier’s library board has been living on borrowed time, Lee is determined to discover who wrote the victim’s final chapter…

A High End Finish:  In the seaside town of Lighthouse Cove in northern California, everyone knows the best man for the job is actually a woman—contractor Shannon Hammer. But while Shannon can do wonders with a power drill and a little elbow grease, she’s about to discover that some problems aren’t so easily fixed....

And back to the Victorian times, but in Manhattan, a new series:

Snow White Red-Handed:  Miss Ophelia Flax is a Victorian actress who knows all about making quick changes and even quicker exits. But to solve a fairy-tale crime in the haunted Black Forest, she’ll need more than a bit of charm…

Where are your current reads taking you?