Sunday Salon: July Library Loot

 I couldn't resist these library books, listed with the publishers' book descriptions.  

Colorful (see my review)

by 

Eto Mori,

 

Jocelyne Allen (Translator)

July 20th 2021 by Counterpoint Press

About: A beloved and bestselling classic in Japan, this groundbreaking tale of a dead soul who gets a second chance is now available in English.

"Congratulations, you've won the lottery!" shouts the angel Prapura to a formless soul.

Mimi Lee Cracks the Code

(A Sassy Cat Mystery #3)

by 

Jennifer J. Chow,

 November 30th 2021 by Berkley

About: Murder follows pet groomer Mimi Lee and her boyfriend Josh to a romantic Catalina Island getaway, where she puts on her best sleuthing hat with her sassy cat Marshmallow in tow.

Fiona and Jane

by 

Jean Chen Ho,

 January 4th 2022 by Viking

About: Two young Taiwanese American women navigate friendship, sexuality, identity, and heartbreak over two decades.

Fiona Lin and Jane Shen explore the lonely freeways and seedy bars of Los Angeles together through their teenage years, surviving unfulfilling romantic encounters, and carrying with them the scars of their families' tumultuous pasts.

The Swimmers

by 

Julie Otsuka

Published February 22nd 2022, Knopf Publishing Group

About: What happens to a group of obsessed recreational swimmers when a crack appears at the bottom of their local pool.

The swimmers are unknown to each other except through their private routines (slow lane, fast lane), and the solace each takes in their morning or afternoon laps. But when a crack appears at the bottom of the pool, they are cast out into an unforgiving world without comfort or relief.

Lost and Found in Paris

by 

Lian Dolan, 

April 5th 2022 by William Morrow & Company

About: The ultimate escapist adventure in Paris, its world of art, intrigue, and redemption, told with wit, style, and intrigue. 

Joan escapes to Paris right after learning her husband is the father of five year-old twins by another woman. 

Just finished:

A Familiar Stranger

by 

A.R. Torre,  e

xpected publication,  September 27th 2022

Source: NetGalley

About: Lillian Smith is a quiet and ordinary wife and mother. Who will even notice what she’s done?

Here is my goodreads review.

What are you reading this week? 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday

Sunday Salon: Death By Bubble Tea by Jennifer J. Chow

 Books reviewed

Death by Bubble Tea (LA Night Market #1)

by 

Jennifer J. Chow

July 5, 2022, Berkley

Genre: cozy mystery, culinary mystery, amateur sleuth

My review: Two cousins, Yale Lee and Celine, who is visiting from Hong Kong, become amateur sleuths when a young woman is found murdered at the Eastwood Village Night Market, where they were manning a food stall. Celine becomes a suspect because the bubble tea she served the victim may have led to the death. The two cousins are determined to find the real killer to clear their name and the reputation of Yale's father's restaurant.

I enjoyed the developing friendship between the two formerly long-distance cousins who together feature in this new amateur sleuth series. We eagerly follow Yale and Celine as they debate and investigate the crime at the same time as the police do. The culprit in the mystery is unexpected and so puts a twist at the end. 

Although it is sometimes hard to follow Yale's convoluted thinking about possible suspects and their guilt or innocence, the cozy was a satisfying read, and I look forward to reading more about the two in their next mystery. 

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.

Death in the Aegean: An Intrepid Traveler Mystery by  M.A. Monnin Own copy, Kindle edition, May 19, 2022 Genre: international mystery and crime  I learned about antiquities in Crete and Knossos, the museums there and the monuments still existing. The setting was an integral part of this mystery of a missing gold artifact and several murders. The main character seemed somewhat frantic in her thinking and behavior, and the plot convoluted until the final events that revealed all . I still liked the topics and of course, Greece. And the romance thrown in helped the book along. In the Dark We Forget by  Sandra S.G. Wong Published June 21, 2022, HarperCollins Publishers Genre:  psychological thriller, family suspense, multicultural interest My review:  I loved reading this book written from a Chinese-Canadian woman's point of view, although cultural considerations may have made the author deliberately ambiguous about the ending and the resolution of the crime. I think I know who the author intended as the culprit(s) of the crime(s), but I understand many people have been put off by what they see as a vague and ambiguous ending. Nevertheless, this ambiguity could add to the intrigue of the novel. Cleo is an unreliable narrator who gets our sympathies  as well as our wariness about her supposed reputation, real or unfairly imposed by a non-sympathetic society.  It's a book I'd like to read over again, such is its pull and draw.  Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley

What are you reading this week? 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday

Book Tour: Shadow of the Gypsy by Shelly Frome

Shadow Of the Gypsy by Shelly Frome: On Tour

Shadow Of the Gypsy by Shelly Frome

Publisher:  Boutique of Quality Books (May 3, 2022)
Category: Amateur Sleuths, Crime Thriller, Love Story

Description: Shadow Of the Gypsy by Shelly Frome

A nemesis out of the past suddenly returns, forcing Josh Bartlett to come to terms with his true identity.

Josh Bartlett had figured all the angles, changed his name, holed up as a small-town features writer in the seclusion of the Blue Ridge. Only a few weeks more and he’d begin anew, return to the Litchfield Hills of Connecticut and Molly (if she’d have him) and, at long last, live a normal life. After all, it was a matter of record that Zharko had been deported well over a year ago.

The shadowy form Josh had glimpsed yesterday at the lake was only that—a hazy shadow under the eaves of the activities building. It stood to reason his old nemesis was still ensconced overseas in Bucharest or thereabouts well out of the way. And no matter where he was, he wouldn’t travel thousands of miles to track Josh down. Surely that couldn’t be, not now, not after all this.

 Guest post by Shelly Frome on creating her fictional gypsy character 

Story and the Advent of the Gypsy

by Shelly Frome

In creating fiction, there is a longstanding issue over writing what you know or fabricating a plot and filling in the blanks with a little research. By the same token, there’s also a disagreement over character driven action and sheer narrative. But the actual process in search of something sustaining and meaningful can’t be distilled to any surefire approach. As a case in point, you really can’t go on until you understand the special world you find yourself in.

For instance, Shadow of the Gypsy began with a sense of refuge in a small town in the Blue Ridge of North Carolina. There was also a debt I seem to have incurred as a very small child which I never understood, William Faulkner’s dictum that the past is never past, and a fanciful  image of a recurring nightmare stemming from a plunging dagger. When the image became more intriguing along with the notion of an early childhood trauma, the need for a shadowy figure became more pressing.

Admittedly, only an incurable storyteller would be faced with the need for someone foreign and volatile; the time-worn cliché headstrong, unscrupulous band of travelers and wild women with dangling earrings, juxtaposed against the actual Romany people who want to assimilate into society. Thus in order to propel this tale, Zharko Vadja had to become the gypsy, not a gypsy. A rogue gypsy, if you will, with his special backstory and quirks, a nefarious outlook and aim, a jaded scheme that wouldn’t quit. He would have to earn his role as a nemesis.  

After a great deal of research, he began to come alive for me when, imaginatively, he scrawled his response on his lawyer’s coffee table book of Romany life:

Oh, for sure, Novac, you think I going to settle down, sweet Romany life, grow crops, start business? Forget what I know from old country, corruption, paying protection money?  Parasites (good word no?) living off workers? Shell companies and shell bank accounts? As much or more corruption here in U.S. lousy government I hear. As bad or much worse everywhere you go—payoffs under table or what have you got. Race is to the swift so I hear. Winners and losers, zero sum game. This is what I know.  

 

From this moment on I could give Zharko free rein as the tale truly started to become self-generating.

My comments on Shadow of the Gypsy :

Written in the traditional style of crime fiction, the novel slowly reveals the story behind Josh's past, which he thought he had left behind when he changed his name and began working at a small town newspaper in the Blue Ridge mountains. But normal life escapes Josh when a gypsy from his past shows up to demand a favor, or else....

 The action is paced in this crime fiction, with some suspense but a more relaxing read than a thriller. Zharko, the gypsy in question, is unusual, perhaps a bit stereotypical, even though the author describes him as a rogue gypsy. His character as described and developed fits well into the role of villain. 

An enjoyable crime novel. 

Thanks to Virtual Author Book Tours and Teddy Rose for a review copy of this book and for the invitation to tour. Visit the site for other reviews on this book tour. 

 Memes: It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and  Stacking the Shelves

Sunday Salon: Death Doesn't Forget by Ed Lin

 Book Arrival:

Death Doesn't Forget

(TAIPEI NIGHT MARKET #4)

by 

Ed Lin

Published July 19, 2022 by Soho Crime

Setting: Taipei, Taiwan

Genre: humorous mystery, crime fiction

About the book:  

The fourth of Ed Lin's Taipei mystery series is as hilarious and poignant as ever.

Jing-nan, the proprietor of a food stand at Taipei's largest night market, is framed for a string of high-profile murders in the city.

 This could jeopardize his relationship with Nancy, his girlfriend, and with his workers Dwayne and Frankie the Cat, who are facing their own personal trials. For Jing-nan,  everything is on the line. Worst of all, he could lose followers on social media. (publisher)

Thanks to Soho Crime for a hardcopy of this book, for possible review. 

E-book ARCs: I have tons to read, plus several library books, in all genres. The problem is, which of them to read first, then next, then after that? It comes down to my mood, especially inbetween chores. 

Gardening is taking up a lot of time, ever since we took down a huge tree limb that covered half the back yard. We now have the sunlight and the space to be more creative, but it is taking a lot of weeding, replanting, planting, and mulching. All to be done inbetween the very hot weather and the rain!

What are you reading this week? 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday

Sunday Salon: A Climbing Thriller and a Romantic Comedy

 Currently reading:

Breathless (click on title for my review). 

by 

Amy McCulloch 

Published May 3rd 2022 by Anchor Books

Setting: Manaslu, Nepal - the eighth-highest peak in the world

About the book: A high-altitude thriller that will take your breath away--Journalist Cecily Wong is on her most dangerous climb yet, miles above sea level on a mountain in Nepal. But the elements are nothing compared to one chilling truth: There's a killer on the mountain.

I'm half way through, and find it very suspenseful and informative about the dangers and thrills of alpine climbing and mountaineering. 

And now for another rom com, 

Bad Cruz

by 

L.J. Shen

Kindle Edition, published November 10th, 2021

I'm enjoying this  romantic comedy on Kindle Unlimited. 

About the book: Two unlikely people - a quarterback turned beloved small town physician and a single mom with a bad reputation - find themselves thrown together on a pre-wedding cruise meant for their entire families. Several factors could prevent them from getting along.

See my goodreads review. 

What are you reading this week? 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday  

Sunday Salon: New Mysteries for Review

 Books received for review: 

Murder on the Vine

(Tuscan Mystery #3)

by 

Camilla Trinchieri, September 13, 2022, Soho Crime

Genre: cozy culinary mystery, international mystery/crime

About: The latest installment in Camilla Trinchieri's Tuscan Mystery series finds ex-NYPD homicide detective Nico Doyle investigating the murder of a local eighty-year-old bartender.

Shadow of the Gypsy

by 

Shelly Frome, May 3, 2022, BQB Publishing

Genre: murder thriller

About: A nemesis from the past suddenly returns, forcing Josh Bartlett to come to terms with his true identity.
Josh Bartlett had figured all the angles, changed his name, holed up as a small-town features writer in the seclusion of the Blue Ridge. Zharko had been deported well over a year ago. 

Outside of blogging and reading: Gardening, visiting an art museum, dim sum breakfast in Cleveland.

What are you reading this week? 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday  

The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian: Book Beginning

 

The Lioness

by 

Chris Bohjalian

Published May 10th 2022 by Doubleday Books

About the book: A luxurious African safari turns deadly for a Hollywood starlet and her entourage in this historical thriller set in Tanganyika, now Tanzania.

Book beginning/First paragraph:

Katie Barslow

She was watching the giraffes at the watering hole after breakfast, no longer as awed by their presence as she had been even four days ago, when she'd had first seen a great herd of them eating leaves from a copse of tall umbrella acacia, their heads occasionally bobbing up to stare back, unfazed and not especially alarmed by the humans. 

Page 56: 

"No," she told him, feeling more like his mother than his wife. "You're right to be scared. We should be. But..."

 

Click on the title, The Lioness, to see my Goodreads review.  

 Would you read on?

The Friday 56. Find any sentence that grabs you on page 56 of your book. Post it, and add your URL to Freda's Voice. Also visit Book Beginnings at Rose City Reader.