Apr 14, 2018

Sunday Salon: Mysteries and a Literary Novel

The Waters & The Wild

The Waters and the Wild by DeSales Harrison
Published April 3, 2018; Random House
Genre: literary, mystery
With lyrical prose and masterful plotting, The Waters & The Wild is a sophisticated and surprising literary mystery about passion, betrayal, and redemption. (publisher)

Murder on Union Square (Gaslight Mystery, #21)

Murder on Union Square by Victoria Thompson 
Publication: May 1, 2018; Berkley
Genre: Gaslight Mystery #21
Frank finds himself in an unusual position--the prime suspect in the latest installment of the national bestselling Gaslight Mystery series...(publisher)

The above are the two new books on my desk, and I am eager to read them! 

I  finished reading:
Sold on a Monday by Kristing McMorris; see my review.
The Lost Family by Jenna Blum
The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy
Flat Broke With Two Goats: A Memoir of Appalachia by Jennifer McGaha;
see my review on Goodreads.

Burning Ridge (Timber Creek K-9 Mystery #4)

Burning Ridge: Timber Creek K-9 Mystery #4 by Margaret Mizushima. The author's husband is a veterinarian, so this must help her write about a deputy sheriff and her police search and detect dog, Robo. A five star mystery, in my mind!

What books are you reading this week?
The Sunday Post  hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer,  It's Monday, What Are You Reading? by Book Date., and Mailbox Monday.What books are you reading this week?

Apr 13, 2018

Book Review: Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris

Sold on a Monday

Title: Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris
Publication: August 28, 2018, Sourcebooks Landmark
Genre: historical fiction
Objective rating: 5 stars

Lily, a secretary with a newspaper in 1930s Pennsylvania, gets caught up in the story of a photo taken by young reporter Ellis, who snapped a picture of two boys in front of a For Sale sign. The sign was not for the sale of produce or other items, but for the sale of the two boys, a grim indication of the hardship and privation of the times. Scandalized by the implications, Lily takes the photo to the newspaper editor, who assigns Ellis to write the story behind his revealing photo.

Complications arise about the original two children in Ellis's photo, and Ellis makes do by taking another photo, but of different children. Barely bothered by the lie, Ellis makes a name for himself in the newspaper world with the photo and story and rises rapidly in his career.

Lily,  however, gets involved in sorting out fact from fiction as she later helps Ellis to go after the truth of the four children in the two photos, some of whose lives may have been severely affected by Ellis's photos and newspaper story.

The novel is based on a real life photo and its story of children up for sale in 1948, researched by the author, which became an inspiration for her historical novel, Sold on a Monday. Poverty, desperation, and the plight of poor children during those hard times are among the book's themes. Add to that the investigative skills of Lily and the reporter Ellis, who track the story to its conclusion in a suspenseful and heartfelt plot. Well written and researched, with details that bring the characters and the story to life, Sold on a Monday is a novel I would recommend for history buffs and for those interested in a well told tale. 

Book beginning:
Chapter 1
August 1931
Laurel Township, Pennsylvania
It was their eyes that first drew Ellis in.
Seated on the front porch of a weathered gray farmhouse, among the few homes lining the road surrounded by hayfields, two boys were pitching pebbles at a tin can. Ages six and eight at most, they wore no shoes or shirts. Only patched overalls exposing much of their fair skin tinted by grime and summer son The two had to be brothers.... (from an advanced readers copy; final copy may differ

56 percent: 
...She considered the disparity of fortunes between bankers and too many of their patrons, those with little choice but to live in shantytowns or to beg on the street. 
Thanks to the author and Netflix for an advance readers copy of the book, for review purposes. 

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

Apr 8, 2018

Sunday Salon: Historical Fiction, Travel, and a Memoir

New books for spring!

Why Travel Matters: A Guide to the Life-Changing Effects of Travel


Why Travel Matters: A Guide to the Life-Changing Effects of Travel by Craig Storti, published April 18, 2018

A Date with Murder (Murder, She Wrote, #47)
A Date With Murder: Murder, She Wrote by 
Publication: May 1, 2018, Berkley Books

The Lost Family: A Novel
The Lost Family by Jenna Blum
Publication: July 3, 2018, Harper
Marriage, family, and the haunting grief of World War II in this emotionally charged story that spans a generation, from the 1960s to the 1980s. (publisher)

 Another Side of Paradise
Another Side of Paradise by Sally Koslow
Publication: May 29, 2018, Harper
Theme: the romance between legendary gossip columnist Sheilah Graham and F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Perfect Mother
The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy
Publication: May 1, 2018, Harper
Genre: psychological thriller

Finished reading:
Flat Broke with Two Goats: A Memoir of Appalachia

Flat Broke with Two Goats: a Memoir by Jennifer McGaha
Published Jan. 23, 2018; Sourcebooks
Source: library ebook borrow
My comments: A five star book for just being such an unusual memoir about a couple going from being city dwellers to becoming farmers in a run-down cabin surrounded by forest and wildlife in Appalachia, the couple making their own goat cheese, rearing chickens and goats, and growing agricultural products for a living. The change from resisting the move with its hardships to accepting and loving her new life in the woods is the main theme of the author's memoir. Loved it! 
Sold on a Monday

Also finished Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris
Publication: August 28, 2018, Sourcebooks Landmark

From bestselling author Kristina McMorris comes another unforgettable novel inspired by a stunning piece of history.
2 CHILDREN FOR SALE
The scrawled sign, peddling young siblings on a farmhouse porch, in 1931. 
Review to be posted soon.

Currently reading:
The Lost Family by Jenna Blum (see above); I'm enjoying the easy storytelling of the author's and the fascinating novel of a man surviving WWII to becoming a successful restaurateur, only to continue to be haunted by his past. 

What books are you reading this week?
The Sunday Post  hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer,  It's Monday, What Are You Reading? by Book Date., and Mailbox Monday.

Apr 2, 2018

Miss Burma by Charmaine Craig: It's Monday, What Are you Reading?

Miss Burma

Miss Burma tells the story of modern-day Burma through the eyes of Benny and Khin, husband and wife, and their daughter Louisa.

Based on the story of the author’s mother and grandparents, the book is a portrait of how modern Burma came to be, and of the ordinary people swept up in the struggle for self-determination and freedom. It is a powerful novel of love and war, colonialism and ethnicity, and the ties of blood. (publisher)

Publication date: May 2, 2018.
Thanks to Grove Press for a review copy.

Memes: Visit It's Monday, What Are You Reading? by Book Date, and Mailbox Monday. 

Mar 30, 2018

Sunday Salon: Mystery in Cuba and Montana

Death Comes in Through the Kitchen
Death Comes In Through the Kitchen by Teresa Dovalpage
March 20, 2018; Soho Press
Genre: mystery set in Havana, Cuba
Objective rating: 4/5

Matt travels to Havana to meet up with his Cuban fiancee, to get married, and hopefully persuade her to return with him to New Mexico, where he is a reporter for a small local newspaper. But nothing is as simple as it appears, and complications arise that floor Matt when he has to deal with the police and Cuban security all while he interacts with the various local people, learns about life and culture and religion in Havana, and tastes a variety of their food.

This murder mystery is seen first through the eyes of Matt, then a detective turned private investigator, and then finally through the eyes of detective Martinez. We travel with Matt and learn about current Cuban culture and about the trends in relations with foreigners, including Americans.

Eye opening, a cultural tour that I enjoyed taking.

Book courtesy of  Soho Press


A Sharp Solitude: A Novel of Suspense
A Sharp Solitude by Christine Carbo
Publication May 29, 2018 by Atria Books
Genre: mystery set in northwest Montana
Source: NetGalley ebook

I was attracted to this book by the title and cover and the setting in the wilds of northwest Montana, not far from Glacier National Park. FBI investigator Ali Paige becomes involved in a murder case, interesting to her because the suspect is her former boyfriend Reeve, who is also the father of her five-year-old daughter. With all these complications, Ali has to tread lightly while she investigates on her own, thinking all the while of her daughter, who is close to her father.

I had thought that the plot was predictable, since the themes of gun control and journalism came up early in the book. But flipping through and reaching the end, I saw that the mystery is not what I had expected and there was a twist to the plot!

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Next, I'll be reading Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris, an historical novel based on true incidents.
Publication: August 28, 2018, Sourcebooks Landmark

What books are you reading this week?
The Sunday Post  hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer,  It's Monday, What Are You Reading? by Book Date., 

Mar 25, 2018

Sunday Salon: A Kitchen in Havana and a Coffeehouse in NYC

Still waiting for spring. There is no new greenery to speak of in the yard, but the sun has come out the past few days!Hope for spring!

Two new books for review:
Death Comes in Through the Kitchen
Death Comes In Through the Kitchen by Teresa Dovalpage
March 20, 2018; Soho Press
Genre: mystery set in Havana, Cuba
Set in Havana during the Black Spring of 2003, a charming but poison-laced culinary mystery reveals the darker side of the modern Revolution, complete with authentic Cuban recipes (publisher)

Shot in the Dark (Coffeehouse Mystery #17)
Shot in the Dark by Cleo Coyle
April 17, 2018; Berkley
Genre: Coffeehouse Mystery #17
A new smartphone dating game turns the Village Blend into a hookup hot spot, until one dark night, when a gunshot leaves a dead body behind and the landmark coffeehouse becomes the center of a whole new scene--a crime scene. (publisher)

Finished reading:
Blue Light, Yokohama, Inspector Iwata #1
Author: 
Setting: Tokyo
Genre: mystery, police procedural
Source: library book
My comments:
A new mystery series with a very sympathetic main character, Inspector Iwata of Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. A complex plot involving cults, murder, and corruption. I'm looking forward to the second in the series!


Elizabeth Is Missing by Emma Healey
June 10, 2014; Harper
Genre: mystery, thriller

My comments:
A surprising main character, Maud is in her late seventies or early eighties, is increasingly forgetful, and seems to get more disoriented as the book progresses. However, she remembers her childhood clearly, and her missing sister, Sukey, who left home and never returned. Maud is obsessed with finding her elderly friend, Elizabeth, who doesn't answer her phone and is not at her home.

Between periods of forgetfulness, Maud clings to a few memories - her missing friend Elizabeth, and her memories of childhood and Sukey. She pieces bits of items and clues together and her persistence pays off, even after the police have written her off as just a forgetful, demented lady who has to be humored when she insists on finding Elizabeth.

With her patient daughter Helen and her young granddaughter Katy, Maud eventually points the way to solving a murder. Engrossing and unusual. the book is being made into a TV movie by the BBC.

Ebook borrowed from the library. 

An Event in Autumn (Kurt Wallander, #9.5)
An Event In Autumn by Henning Mankell
August 12, 2014, Vintage
Genre: police procedural, crime fiction
Source: library book
My comments: 
Enjoyable police procedural with a Swedish policeman whose personal characteristics make him endearing. I have read two in the Wallander series and looking forward to the others.
What books are you reading this week?
The Sunday Post  hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer,  It's Monday, What Are You Reading? by Book Date., and Mailbox Monday.

Mar 23, 2018

The Girl in Times Square by Paullina Simons: Book Review

The Girl in Times Square
The Girl in Times Square, a novel by Paullina Simons,
December 19, 2017, William Morrow.
"(A) riveting novel about a young woman whose search for her missing friend turns into a life-shattering odyssey." Part mystery, part romance, part family drama . . . in other words, the perfect book.—Daily Mail 

Book beginning:
What happened to love? Lily whispered to herself. Has someone else taken all that was given out for the universe, or have I just not been trying hard enough? What happened to overwhelming, crushing love the kind of love that moves earth and heaven, the kind of love my Grandma felt for her Tomas half a century ago in another world in another life, the kind of love my father says he felt for my mother when they first met swimming in that warm Caribbean sea? Doesn't anyone have that kind of love anymore? Isn't anyone without armor, without walls, without pain? Isn't anyone willing to die for love? 
Obviously not tonight. 
Page 56:
"Your hand is still spontaneously bleeding, I see," he said.She looked around groggily. His partner was not with him. "Did you come here to tell me that?" She felt disgusting. 
My comments: 
I don't remember crying so much while reading a book! The protagonist Lily grabs at your heart and doesn't let go. The author writes in dramatic superlatives, be warned - great love, great tragedy, great illness, great addiction, and an intriguing mystery of a missing girl, Lily's roommate. Enjoyed the excellent storytelling and characterizations in this book and looking forward to other novels by the author.

Galley provided by William Morrow. 

What new books are you reading this weekend? 
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

Sunday Salon: Letting Go of September by Sandra J. Jackson

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