Book Beginning: CONFUCIUS JADE by Frederick Fisher

The Friday 56: *Grab a 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, visit Book Beginning at Rose City Reader

Confucius Jade by Frederick Fisher, published February 11, 2010 by Dudley Court Press
Genre: historical fiction
Book beginning:

Prologue - Mangin Taung, Burma 

Under gray skies, leaden with the September monsoon, the burros wound their way down the mountain, known as Mangin Taung in northern Burma. Twelve of the pack animals were tethered to each other. A drover led the train and another followed. An A frame of rough hewn wood, strapped over hemp-pad blankets, burdened the sturdy animals. They bore fifty-kilo burlap sacks containing jade boulders, lashed tightly to each side of the frame. Twelve hundred kilos of precious jade rough traveled on a route from the ancient mines at Hpakant in the Kachin Territory to Rangoon, far to the south. 

Page 56:  Only a storyteller could imagine how the jade came from the mountains of Kachin, split and lay there many years at this precise bend of the river, to be discovered by our Mei Hua. Only a storyteller could imagine what would emerge from the jade to affect the lives of so many. 

About the book: A fantastic jade carving of Shou-Xing Lao, the Chinese God of Longevity has mystical properties and guides the Kong family from Burma back to their homeland of China, then to family in San Francisco's Chinatown and a high-stakes bidding war among three billionaires - each of whom covets the priceless jade for its promise of long life and redemption. A Japanese pearl magnate, an Arabian oil sheik and an American media mogul find their destinies intertwined in this compelling epic of loyalty and treachery, generosity and greed, deception and love. (pubisher)

My comments: I am always willing to give interesting historical fiction a try, to get what nuggets of history I can while reading. The author is a certified gemologist and registered jeweler with the American Gem Society for many years. Until recently, he and his wife spent six months each year in Southeast Asia. I am eager to read what he has to say about this fascinating subject - jade and the ancient myths surrounding it. 

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

Waiting on Wednesday: The Cat, the Sneak and the Secret by Leann Sweeney

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

The Cat, the Sneak and the Secret: Cats in Trouble Mystery #7 by Leann Sweeney, to be published August 4, 2015 by NAL

For cat and mystery lovers....
 A feline with a penchant for pilfering ends up unearthing a deadly mystery.…

Jillian Hart and Tom are finally tying the knot, but first they need to make sure Tom’s stepson, Finn, is as comfortable as possible in the lake house they will all call home. So when it becomes clear that Finn has fallen for a pretty cat from the Mercy Animal Sanctuary, Jillian and Tom readily agree to make room for one more—even though the tortoiseshell kitty is a notorious kleptomaniac.

So far, the cat has sneaked out of the adoption center time after time, bringing back trinkets, shoelaces, and socks. But when she brings back an antique locket, Finn enlists Tom’s and Jillian’s sleuthing skills. They hope to return the treasured item to its owner, but their search for answers is sidetracked when a body is found. Still, their sneaky cat’s find may just lead them to a killer.… (publisher)

What book are you waiting for to be published? 

Book Review: Flask of the Drunken Master by Susan Spann

First Chapter, First Paragraph is hosted weekly by Bibliophile by the Sea. Share the first paragraph of your current read. Also visit Teaser Tuesdays meme hosted by Jenn

Flask of the Drunken Master: A Shinobi Mystery #3 by Susan Spann
Published July 14, 2015; Minotaur Books
Genre: historical mystery, 16th century Japan

Opening paragraphs:

"Halt!" The armored samurai stepped forward to block the bridge. "No one crosses the Kamo River without identification. State our names and your business in Kyoto."

Hattori Hiro gestured to the Jesuit at his side. "Father Mateo Avila de Santos, a priest of the foreign god, from Portugal . I am Matsui Hiro, his interpreter and scribe." 

My comments: And so begins the third book in the Shinobi Mystery series, featuring Hiro, a samurai in disguise as an interpreter, whose job is to guard the Jesuit priest, Father Mateo, in Japan. The two have solved murders before, and continue to do so in this book. Hiro is the main crime solver, with Father Mateo as his sidekick or helper.

Samurai and Japanese codes of conduct are very much in the forefront, and Hiro must steer Father Mateo clear of any offence the Jesuit might make in speech, manner, or conduct while they interrogate people and make inquiries regarding the crime they are determined to solve. The two make an interesting pair of sleuths and their complimentary characters add to the interest of the novel. 

The author brings Japanese history, its customs and politics, to life in this series and in this book, as we enjoy detecting from an unlikely pair of sleuths. I highly recommend it for history and mystery buffs alike. 

The plot: "August 1565: When a rival artisan turns up dead outside Ginjiro’s brewery, and all the evidence implicates the brewer, master ninja Hiro Hattori and Portuguese Jesuit Father Mateo must find the killer before the magistrate executes Ginjiro and seizes the brewery, leaving his wife and daughter destitute....

But with Kyoto on alert in the wake of the shogun’s recent death, a rival shinobi on the prowl, and samurai threatening Hiro and Father Mateo at every turn, Ginjiro’s life is not the only one in danger."  (publisher)

Powells | Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble

Susan Spann is a transactional publishing attorney and the author of the Shinobi Mysteries, featuring ninja detective Hiro Hattori and his Portuguese Jesuit sidekick, Father Mateo. Her debut novel, CLAWS OF THE CAT (Minotaur Books, 2013), was named a Library Journal Mystery Debut of the Month. Susan has a degree in Asian Studies from Tufts University, where she studied Chinese and Japanese language, history, and culture. Her hobbies include cooking, traditional archery, martial arts, and horseback riding. She lives in northern California with her husband, son, two cats, and an aquarium full of seahorses.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours and the author for a review copy of this book. For other reviews of this and other books in the mystery series, for giveaways, and author posts, visit the tour schedule.

BOOK GIVEAWAY: 

A hard copy of Flask of the Drunken Master to a resident of the U.S. or Canada. To enter the contest, please email me at harvee44@yahoo.com with the email heading, FLASK CONTEST. The contest will run now through July 27. A winner will be notified by email on July 28 and will have two days to respond with a mailing address. TLC Book Tours will arrange for the mailing of the book to the winner. Good luck!

UPDATE: The winner, chosen at random, is Kay Stewart. Congratulations, and thanks to all who entered the contest. 

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Sunday Salon: Female Photographers in WWII

Welcome to the Sunday Salon where bloggers share their reading each week. Visit The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also visit Mailbox Monday

I am excited to have two historical novels about female photographers who made their mark taking photos of the aftermath of WWII.

 The Race for Paris by Meg Waite Clayton is based on the life of real women who photographed aspects of WWII. The other is:

The Woman in the Photograph by Dana Gynther, a novel based on the real life photographer, Lee Miller, who captured startling images from WWII. It is to be released August 4, 2015 by Gallery Books.
The Woman in the Photograph is the richly drawn, tempestuous novel about a talented and fearless young woman caught up in one of the most fascinating times of the twentieth century. (publisher)

I also have an ARE of Gregory Maguire's After Alice, to be published October 27 by William Morrow. 

From the author of Wicked comes a new twist on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, published to coincide with the 150th anniversary of Lewis's Carroll's beloved classic. Gregory Maguire turns to the question of underworlds, undergrounds, underpinnings — and understandings old and new, offering an inventive spin on Carroll's enduring tale. (publisher)

I have begun to read, among other books, 

Losing Me, a novel by the English author Sue Margolis,  published July 7, 2015 by NAL.
Knocking on sixty, Barbara Stirling is too busy to find herself, while caring for her mother, husband, children, and grandchildren. But when she loses her job, everything changes. Exhausted, lonely, and unemployed, Barbara is forced to face her feelings and doubts. Then a troubled, vulnerable little boy walks into her life and changes it forever. (publisher)

Last week, I reviewed for a book tour:
The Festival of Insignificance by Milan Kundera and
Bum Rap by Paul Levine

and will post a book tour review this coming week for the historical mystery, Flask of the Drunken Master by Susan Spann. There will be a giveaway of the book. Look for it!

What's on your reading list?

No Comfort for the Lost by Nancy Herriman: Book Beginnings

The Friday 56: *Grab a 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, visit Book Beginning at Rose City Reader.

No Comfort for the Lost (Mystery of Old San Francisco #1) by Nancy Herriman, to be released August, 4, 2015 by NAL.

Book opening:

San Francisco, March 1867. The Chinese believed that some days are inauspicious, the ill tidings written in the passage of the heavenly bodies. Celia Davies gazed down at her patient, a delicate Chinese girl whose skin displayed more bruises than unblemished flesh, and wondered if today would probe to be one of those days. 
"You heal!" The old woman who'd been watching from the doorway flapped wrinkled hands, causing the lengthy twist of her silver-tinged ebony hair to swing across her chest. "You heal.""I shall try," Celia answered. "I shall try my best."

In this historical mystery series debut, a courageous nurse and a war-scarred police detective in 1860s San Francisco champion the down-trodden and fight for justice. British-born Celia Davies left her privileged family for an impulsive marriage to a handsome Irishman. Patrick brought her to San Francisco’s bustling shores but then disappeared and is now presumed dead.  Celia partnered with her half-Chinese cousin Barbara and her opinionated housekeeper Addie to open a free medical clinic for women who have nowhere else to turn. But one of her Chinese patients is found brutally murdered…and Celia’s hotheaded brother-in-law stands accused of the crime.

Detective Nicholas Greaves is intent on discovering the killer of the girl, whose ethnicity and gender render her as powerless in death as they did in life. Nicholas’s efforts are complicated by Celia, who has a knack for walking into dangerous situations that may lead to answers…or get them both killed.  For as their inquiries take them from Chinatown’s squalid back alleys to the Barbary Coast’s violent shipping docks to the city’s gilded parlors, Celia and Nicholas begin to suspect that someone very close to them holds the key to a murderous conspiracy… (publisher)

Page 56: "I'm trying to imagine you with a younger sister, Mr. Greaves. You must be very protective of her."  

A new mystery series that I am eager to get into. Nineteenth century San Francisco is a great setting for an historical series. 

Book Tour: The Festival of Insignificance by Milan Kundera

The Festival of Insignificance by Milan Kundera, published June 23, 2015 Harper. Contemporary novel.

"From the internationally acclaimed, bestselling author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, an unexpected and enchanting novel—the culmination of his life's work.

Casting light on the most serious of problems and at the same time saying not one serious sentence; being fascinated by the reality of the contemporary world and at the same time completely avoiding realism—that’s The Festival of Insignificance." (publisher)

Having read only The Unbearable Lightness of Being put me at a disadvantage for reading this book, the "culmination of his life's work." I admit I was somewhat lost as to the author's message and intention and realize that the book, though very brief, would have more significance for those who have read more of his work and followed this well known author. 

Nevertheless, there are fascinating parts to The Festival of Insignificance.The women he refers to are unsympathetic to say the least. I was tempted to think him a misogynist in this book, but I would have to judge his words by the body of his work. 

Unfortunately, I think I would need to read more of Kundera to comment adequately on The Festival of Insignificance. I would welcome comments from Kundera fans and readers and refer readers to other reviews at TLC Book Tours.

About the Author

The Franco-Czech novelist Milan Kundera was born in Brno and has lived in France, his second homeland, since 1975. He is the author of the novels The Joke, Farewell Waltz, Life Is Elsewhere, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, andImmortality, and the short-story collection Laughable Loves—all originally written in Czech. His most recent novels Slowness, Identity, and Ignorance, as well as his nonfiction works The Art of the Novel, Testaments Betrayed, The Curtain, and Encounter, were originally written in French.

Purchase links: Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble

For more reviews of the book, visit the tour schedule at TLC Book Tours.
I received a free proof of this book from TLC Book Tours for the tour.

A Little Night Murder by Nancy Martin: Waiting on Wednesday

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

A Little Night Murder: A Blackbird Sisters Mystery #10 by Nancy Martin, to be published August 4, 2015 by NAL

This is the first time I've seen this series which now has ten books! I love the cover - those stairs, the elegant gown, and the title!

Book description: Nora Blackbird turns the spotlight on a killer in the latest in the series.

While a pregnant Nora relaxes in her best friend’s Bucks County pool, a Broadway show is in rehearsal next door at the home of the legendary late composer “Toodles” Tuttle. His diva widow, Boom Boom, has racked up a chorus line of enemies, so the old broad’s death is a hotly anticipated event. But it’s her beloved daughter, Jenny, who drops dead just as the lights are set to go on for the lucrative new Toodles musical.

Nora must first deal with her sisters’ love lives and a visit from her mobster boyfriend’s mother. Only then can she bring the curtain down on a daring killer....(publisher)

What new release are you waiting for?