The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djeli Clark

 October 31, 2020

The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djeli Clark

In a parallel Cairo in the early 20th century, magic has been unleashed on the world by the djinn.  Normally the magic is well-contained but it occasionally gets out of control.  When a city tram car starts displaying strange phenomena, the agents of the Department of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities are called in to investigate.

A quick steampunk read that features some of the same characters from the author's previous novella.  I look forward to more from her.

I hurt my back a couple of weeks ago and haven't been able to sit comfortably at the computer.  There's not much to do beside read, watch TV, and play on my tablet.  It's getting better and I'll start catching up with the blog.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab

October 22, 2020

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab

Addie LaRue is a girl who always wanted more than life in her small French village offered.  Born in the late 17th century, in a moment of desperation, she makes a bargain with a dark god, gaining immortality but cursed by the god to be forgotten by everyone she knows or meets.  But all of that changes 300 years later, when she meets a young man in a bookstore and he remembers who she is.

This was an interesting take on the Faustian bargain with the devil, bartering one's soul for eternal life.  Characters throughout fiction have made such deals, including Faust and Dorian Gray.  Although at devastated at first at everything she has lost, Addie gradually learns what she has gained from her pact.  We experience history through her eyes, from Paris in the early 18th century through World War II, up to the present day. 

To be honest, I got a little bored and felt this could have been 50 or so pages shorter - the reader doesn't need to know every little facet of Addie's life as an immortal.  But fantasy enthusiasts will find it entertaining and fresh.

The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton

 October 17, 2020

The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton

Samuel Pipps is the most valuable agent employed by the Gentlemen 17 who run the United East India Company.  His cases are read by the public like the adventures of Sherlock Holmes.  But after successfully completing a mission in Batavia on the island of Java, he is suddenly arrested and imprisoned in a dungeon before being transported to Amsterdam to stand trial for an unknown offense.  His bodyguard and associate Arent Hayes is determined to not only find out what Sammy stands accused of, but also to discover and thwart the unknown force that is threatening to destroy the ship they are sailing on.

The second title by the author of The Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, this is another historical mystery but with less of a fantasy overtone than Turton's first book.  Almost all of the story takes place on an Indiaman, a type of 17th century sailing ship, and without a diagram of the ship, it was difficult to figure out exactly where the players were located at any given time.  It is a clever mystery although the ending felt rushed and therefore a little unsatisfactory.

Sailors were a superstitious lot in the 17^th century – they may still be, although my husband was in the Navy and while there were lots of bad habits, they didn’t seem to indulge in much superstition.  But it seems like just about everyone was extremely superstitious in the 17th century.  Superstition, religion, and social standing ruled everyone's lives.

I have an uncommon last name, and I was startled to find that it was used in this book – it was a little disconcerting every time I saw it in print. 

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in return for a review.

Sex with Presidents by Eleanor Herman

October 6, 2020

Sex with Presidents:  the Ins and Outs of Love and Lust in the White House by Eleanor Herman

Oh my.  The men that the American people have elected president, and those who have sought this high office.  It's surprising some of the men who have been sex magnets for women - who would have thought that women would be throwing themselves at chain-smoking 5-pack-a-day Lyndon Johnson?

Best presidential lover:  Bill Clinton.  He always tried to satisfy his (many) sexual partners and give them a good experience.

Worst presidential lovers:  it's a tie between Kennedy and Trump (there are a number of other parallels between the two).  One actress noted that her sexual encounter with JFK was "a memorable minute."

Full of trivia about a select collection of presidents and First Ladies, this is a light and entertaining read to get your mind off the pandemic.  Don't feel too sorry for some of those First Ladies:  most of them knew what they were getting when they married their husbands (some knew and schemed to marry them anyway), and some First Ladies gave as good as they got.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in return for a review.

Lady in Waiting by Anne Glenconner

 September 24, 2020

Lady in Waiting by Anne Glenconner

Lady Anne Glenconner met the princesses Elizabeth and Margaret when the three girls were small children living on neighboring estates, long before Elizabeth became the heir to the British throne.  They remained friends into adulthood, and Princess Margaret eventually asked Anne to become one of her ladies in waiting.  Wanting to take a break from her disaster of a husband, Anne gratefully accepted and remained in the princess's household for the next 30 years.  As lady in waiting, Anne's role varied from actual serving duties to being just a companion to Margaret, accompanying her on her world travels as representative of the crown and attending social occasions with her.  Both women had made disastrous marriages, and while Margaret was forced to divorce her husband Tony Snowdon when his mistress became pregnant, Anne stayed married to her childish husband for 54 years, although they only lived together occasionally for the last 40 years of their marriage.

Anne's husband Colin Tennant, later Baron Glenconner, had serious psychiatric issues and was well-known for throwing public fits of rage and temper tantrums.  Today he would probably be diagnosed as having manic depression and narcissistic personality disorder.  But it was highly unusual for the English aristocracy to divorce at the time - instead, they all had multiple affairs (including Lady Glenconner).  It's surprising more of them didn't murder their spouses.  As Violet, Dowager Lady Grantham, states in Downtown Abbey, "People of our social class are never unhappily married.  We just aren't able to spend as much time together as we might like."

In addition to her erratic husband, Anne's children were also a source of heartache and tragedy in her life.  She takes the blame for some of it, being an absent mother for much of the time.  Again, it was traditional in the English aristocracy to have others raise your children while the parents spent their time socializing and organizing parties, working for charity, and sucking up to the royals.  

Anyone who is a fan of the Netflix series The Crown will enjoy this memoir by one of Princess Margaret's closest friends and confidantes.  Lady Anne didn't like Vanessa Kirby's portrayal of Princess Margaret in the first two seasons of the series, and was more pleased with Helena Bonham Carter as the older Princess Margaret.  English actress Nancy Carroll is playing Lady Glenconner in seasons 3 and 4 of The Crown (photo below).

 

 

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

 September 21, 2020

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

January Scaller lives with her guardian, Cornelius Locke, in a vast mansion filled with odd and unusual objects.  Her father works for Mr. Locke, traveling the world and collecting rarities for him, leaving January alone much of the time.  January is sure that Mr. Locke loves her, for she finds gifts that he leaves for her, most recently a wonderful book called The Ten Thousand Doors.  But then her father doesn't return from one of his trips.  With her faithful canine companion Bad (short for Sindbad, her favorite great adventurer and explorer) by her side, January resolves to go and look for her father or at least find out what happened to him.

First:  let me tell you that Bad the dog is fine at the end of the book, and he and January are together.

This is a wonderful fantasy adventure story about the power of words, books, and doors.  There is a book-within-a-book which I actually liked better than the story that frames it.  I'm not going to say too much more because that would spoil the story.  Wonderful characters, great world building and a complex plot, plus a beautiful cover, all contribute to making this a most satisfying read.  Set aside some time, curl up with your favorite cozy throw, and immerse yourself in January's world.

A Most English Princess by Claire McHugh

 September 18, 2020

A Most English Princess by Claire McHugh

Victoria, Princess Royal, was the first-born child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.  Intelligent and outspoken, at age 17, she married the Prussian prince who would later become Emperor Frederick III and went to live with him in Prussia.  Although their married life was happy and they had eight children together, the political climate was tense and Vicky found the court etiquette to be restrictive.  From the beginning, the aristocracy and their Prussian subjects did not trust Vicky, feeling she was too English and would always support causes that benefited the land of her birth.  Vicky and her husband Fritz favored a parliamentary government based on the English system and backed progressive causes, but were strongly opposed by Fritz's father and his chancellor Bismarck.

Extensively researched, this is a very well-written historical novel about a lesser known historical figure.  You can see the roots of the wars to come in the 20th century.  However, I have to say that I would have preferred more about Vicky and less about the politics of the time.  The constant infighting in the Prussian royal family and the wars grew repetitious after awhile.  There were also a lot of guys named Frederick and nicknamed Fritz!  Unfortunately, the novel ends when Vicky is 30, before her husband even becomes emperor.  Personally, I would rather have heard more about the last 30 years of Vicky's life rather than to have them very briefly glossed over in the epilogue.  

Victoria, Princess Royal, as a young woman

When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson

 September 15, 2020

When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson

A six year old child witnesses the brutal murder of her mother and siblings; 30 years later, the 16 year old baby-minder is the only one concerned when a mother and her child go missing; an ex-detective is convinced that his ex-girlfriend's child is his son and is dragged back into detective work by his ex-boss.  Four separate lives, each with their own tragedies and flaws, and four separate story lines are woven together.

There are a lot of good reviews for this book, but this isn't one of them.  Although this book is supposed to be a mystery or thriller, it is more about dysfunctional families.  The first 150 pages of the book really drag and I found myself skimming the rest of the book.  The plot is confusing and there are too many characters introduced who serve no point in the story.  Do we really need to have the back story and ruminations of every character in the book?  

The bright spot in the book is 16 year old Reggie, an "old soul" who is street-smart, loyal, and prepared for emergencies.  She is the link between the characters in the book and the true heroine of the story.

Another book where a good editor should have whacked out about 50 or 75 pages.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

 September 12, 2020

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Piranesi lives by the sea in a vast house filled with statues.  There is only one other inhabitant that he refers to as the Other.  Piranesi has contact with him only twice a week, when the Other issues his latest request for Piranesi's help with his research.  Piranesi's life work is to map the vast halls and chambers of the place where he lives, drawing the statues along with his maps, and to chart the tides.  But when the Other warns him about a third person in the house, Piranesi begins to suspect that there is something going on that is not right.

I'm not even sure what to say about this book.  It is vastly different from Clarke's previous novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.  The beginning of the novel is very confusing, and while the story does come together eventually, it takes about 200 pages to get there.  There are also a lot of things that aren't explained.  Not sure who I recommend this to, if anyone.  A reader would have to be a huge fan of speculative fiction to really enjoy it.  I admit it, I like books that have characters and a story line.

Piranesi knows that that is not his real name, it is just the name that it amuses the Other to call him.  Giovanni Batista Piranesi was an Italian artist who lived in the 18th century, known for his etchings of fictitious and fantastical prisons.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in return for a review.

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd

The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd

Ana is the daughter of Matthias, the chief scribe to Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee who burns to be named king of the Jews by the Roman government.  Ana’s family is wealthy and she is destined to marry a wealthy man of her parents’ choosing, but what she really longs to do is study and write.  She especially wants to write down the stories of women in the Old Testament and also the stories of the remarkable women around her.  A chance meeting in the marketplace with a laborer named Jesus, who lives in the neighboring town of Nazareth, changes her life forever.

Wonderful writing and a completely different type of novel from Sue Monk Kidd, author of The Secret Life of Bees.  While Jesus and his followers are there, Kidd focuses on Ana and the women around her.  She skillfully weaves in the tales from the four gospels, but only those that would have been reasonable for Ana to have witnessed.

The story is about Ana, the fictional wife that Kidd created for Jesus, but Kidd also imagines the missing 18 years of Jesus’s life, based on historical record and traditions of the time.  It would have been unheard of for a Jewish man not to have a wife in the 1st century - marriage was the entry into manhood for a young man at that time.  It would have been expected by his family, his community, and his religion.  The celibate and ascetic Jesus of modern Christianity came into being about 200 years after Jesus lived, courtesy of a bunch of old guys who were running the church.  Kidd also notes that Jesus would have been a pariah (mamzer) in his community due to the questionable circumstances of his birth.  He might have been an outcast if not for the support of his earthly father Joseph.

Highly recommended, one of the best books I’ve read this year.  Don’t miss this one unless you can’t tolerate an idea that steps outside mainstream Christian teaching.

The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes by Elissa R. Sloan

September 3, 2020

The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes by Elissa R. Sloan

"When I grow up, I wanna be famous,

I wanna be a star, I wanna be in movies.

When I grow up, I wanna see the world,

Drive nice cars,I wanna have groupies.

When I grow up, be on TV

People know me, be in magazines,

When I grow up, fresh and clean,

Number one chick when I step out on the scene.

Be careful what you wish for, cuz you just might get it."

- When I Grow Up, The Pussycat Dolls

When Cassidy Holmes competes in a national TV singing competition (a la American Idol), she doesn’t win, but she does catch the attention of a large music producer.  A year later, she is tapped to round out the girl group Gloss (think Pussycat Dolls or Spice Girls), and the recording company thinks they can be BIG.  They hire publicists and stylists who set about remaking the girls' images, and marketing the girl group.  The four members of Gloss are shocked and delighted with their instant success, but they quickly realize there is a dark side to fame.  Cassidy decides abruptly to leave the group when they are at the height of their success, and the group quickly falls apart.  The other three girls shun and ignore Cassidy, and largely go their own ways, until they hear of her suicide 15 years later.

I loved Daisy Jones & the Six, and Sloan’s debut novel has been compared to it, but it is nowhere near as good.  The plot crawls along, with each of the four girls narrating in turn.  Every costume, every tour stop, every spat, is described in minute, incredibly painstaking detail, yet there is little about the four girls' lives since the group disbanded.  Rose, Merry, and Yumi, the other three Gloss girls, had been chasing fame and fortune since they were in middle school, but once they achieve it, they whine about wanting to be loved for themselves, not for their stage personas, and they’re upset when their fans give them nicknames (Rosy, Cherry, Tasty, and Sassy).  None of the three seemed like really fleshed-out characters – there were hints of their lives since their break-up but the only one whose life gets any detail is Merry.  Yumi in particular is like a cut-out.

There was a little more substance to Cassidy, but she suffers from depression and insecurity, and I wish the author had written more about that, rather than throwing in side bits about current event topics like directors who sexually abused starlets, and Hollywood men who were physically abusive.  We find out that a rival singer breaks Cassidy’s arm when she is 20, but then there is very little about her life over the next 15 years, except when her sister gives her eulogy, which is easily the most moving and best-written part of the book.  Not recommended - read Daisy Jones & the Six instead.

Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for providing an eARC in return for a review.

 

The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer

 August 30, 2020

Since they were children, Alina Dziak knew she was going to marry Tomascz Slaski because they were perfect for each other.  In 1938, when he turns 18, Tomascz leaves their small town to travel to Krakow to attend the university so that he can become a doctor like his father.  He and Alina become engaged before he leaves, and Tomascz vows he will always return to Alina.  But World War II is looming and the Nazis interrupt their plans when they invade Poland.  Seventy years later, Alina suffers a stroke and what may be her final wish is for her granddaughter Alice to go to Poland to find out what happened to Alina's family.

This is another one of those historical novels that has a historical narrative that alternates with a modern narrative.  It's more like a historical fiction/women's fiction hybrid, since the modern story is pure women's fiction.  This seems to be Kelly Rimmer's style, based on the other books she has written.  It took me a while to get into this one, mostly because I didn't like Alice, the main character in the modern storyline.  She was a bully and a know-it-all, even though she was remarkably stupid at times.  Her husband was almost perfect, like a guy out of a fantasy romance novel.  However, Alina and Tomascz's story redeemed the novel, and although I still disliked Alice, I stayed with the book because I wanted to find out about their story.

Readers who enjoyed The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly, or All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr should enjoy this one, although I thought those were all better books.  Women who like women's fiction will read it for the modern narrative.

Death Beside the Seaside by T. E. Kinsey

July 28, 2020

Death Beside the Seaside by T. E. Kinsey

July 1910 – after two years of prodding, Lady Hardcastle has agreed that she and Florence Armstrong, her faithful sidekick and maid, should take a holiday at the seaside.  They choose the holiday town of Weston-super-Mare, a couple of hours’ drive from Bristol.  In their new and improved automobile, they set out for traditional English holiday fun, including toffee apples, donkey rides, and Punch-and-Judy shows.  When they arrive at their elegant boutique hotel, they are surprised to find an international group of guests, while the sea is noticeably absent (the tide goes out about a mile at low tide).  But more surprises await Lady H. and Flo as their fellow guests begin to vanish one by one, and they are once again pressed into service to solve the mysterious goings on at the hotel, while at the same time not generating any unfavorable publicity.

Interesting that I picked up two books in a row set in an English seaside towns.  But the tone of T. E. Kinsey’s mystery is totally different from the previous title, much lighter and more humorous.  No one at the hotel is who they appear to be, except for the manager and some of the staff.  We also learn more about Flo and Lady Hardcastle's backgrounds and past exploits.  Characters from previous Lady Hardcastle mysteries make appearances, and there is a great deal of fun and wit as always.  I suggest starting with the first book in the series if you are looking for a light read to relax with.

Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel by Ruth Hogan

 July 24, 2020

Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel by Ruth Hogan

Tilda and her mother Grace were never close.  Tilda always suspected it was because she inherited an ability to see the dead from her father, a trait that her mother detested.  After her father’s death, the best thing to happen to Tilda was moving into Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel in Brighton, where Tilda found a second mother in Queenie and a family in the quirky group of employees and guests at the hotel.  But shortly after their move, Grace inexplicably shipped Tilda off to a remote boarding school, wrenching her away from the only real home she had ever known.  After Grace’s death over 40 years later, Tilda fears that she has inherited not only her father’s psychic ability, but also her mother’s mental illness.  She is desperate for answers, and with her faithful canine companion Eli by her side, Tilda returns to Brighton to search for answers about their lives, why her mother always seemed to be punishing her, and what really happened to her father.

My sciatica was acting up yesterday, so I spent most of the day lying down on a heating pad, reading.  I was fortunate to have Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel checked out from the library.  I fell in love with Queenie and her hotel at the first description.  Brighton in the 1970’s sounds like a child’s paradise.  There is a slight supernatural element in Tilda’s ability to see those who are no longer living – she can’t always distinguish between the living and the dead.  Things aren’t always the way you think they are (especially when you’re a child) and the plotline has a number of unexpected developments.  But children also accept some things without question, while adults might be put off or make judgments.

Eli the dog is a wonderful character, and yes, he is fine and living with Tilda at the end of the book.  Queenie also is a marvelous flamboyant character, but she makes only sporadic appearances until the middle of the book.

Although the story has a dark side and there are complex issues here, I found Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel to be a delightful and engaging read.  I finished the novel in a day, and I highly recommend it if you enjoy quirky fiction.

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

 July 23, 2020

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

On the day before New Year's Eve, eight people attend a viewing of an apartment that is for sale.  Each person has their own reasons for being there, ranging from the mundane to the bizarre (including a guy wearing a rabbit head).  They are eight strangers, until a bank robber bursts into the apartment waving a gun, and suddenly they become eight hostages.  As they begin to talk to each other, they realize that they have more in common than it first appears.  But as the situation progresses and the police surround the building, the eight anxious people are forced to decide how they will move forward (in more ways than one).

Although not as good as Backman's A Man Called Ove (but seriously, what could be?), this is a novel filled with the author's signature wit and exploration of complex human relationships.  It's also a sort of "locked-room" mystery that keeps twisting and turning on itself, and just about when you think you have the story figured out, you find out that you're wrong.  The characters are ALL unreliable witnesses (except maybe the young policeman Jack) and probably the worst hostages ever.  Although there are themes of depression and suicide that run through the book, don't let that stop you from reading it, because Backman ultimately delivers a story that is heartwarming and life-affirming.  Probably one of the best books of 2020.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in return for a review.

The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai

July 16, 2020 

The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que

Huong is born into a Vietnam torn by war, and as her parents and uncles go off to fight in a conflict that is tearing the country apart, she is left in the care of her grandmother in Ha Noi. They survive repeated aerial bombings until eventually they are forced to flee to the countryside.  Huong’s voice set in the last years of the Vietnam War alternates with her grandmother Dieu Lan, who shares the story of her childhood and her family, including her flight to Ha Noi with her five children in 1955 and the many times that she has had to reinvent her life.

The only thing that most of us know about Vietnam is the Vietnam War of the late 1960’s/early 1970’s when the United States as well as other United Nations countries became involved in a conflict to oppose the communist regime of North Vietnam.  But Vietnam is an ancient country, and artifacts have been found that date back to the Paleolithic Age.  Vietnam has a long and turbulent history, and in the 20^th century alone, the Vietnamese people suffered through wars, famine, communist land reform where landowners were forced off their land or killed and their property reorganized as collectives, and reunification that resulted in over a quarter of a million residents of South Vietnam being sent to re-education camps that were nothing more than forced labor camps.  In the novel, Huong notes that many of the governmental crimes against the Vietnamese people have been excluded from their history and are forbidden to be discussed.

Readers who enjoyed In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner, When the Elephants Dance by Tess Uriza Holthe, or Pachinko by Min Jin Lee will enjoy this multi-generational family history of Vietnam.  The author is a poet and it shows in her writing.  However, you should be aware that there are a number of incredibly brutal incidents that make the reader wonder how much one country can be expected to endure.  Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys historical fiction or books about Vietnam.

Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry

 July 12, 2020

Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry

Career criminals Maurice and Charlie wait in the ferry boat terminal in Algeciras, Spain.  They have been told that Maurice's missing daughter Dilly will be either arriving on the ferry boat coming from Tangier, Morocco, or departing on one of the ferries going to Tangier.  In between handing out missing person flyers and terrorizing the waiting passengers, they reminisce about their long life of crime together.

Kevin Barry won the Dublin IMPAC award in 2013 for his previous novel City of Bohane, set in a gritty Ireland of the not-too-distant future.  Night Boat to Tangier is written in the same Irish colloquial dialect, salted with frequent vulgarities.  Sometimes it's hard to figure out which of the two main characters is speaking/thinking, since the author doesn't bother with phrases like "Maurice said" or "Charlie replied."  If you're easily offended by curse words and disturbed by various types of abuse, Kevin Barry is not for you.

This is my second week of retirement, and it's been hectic to say the least.  On Monday, a woman in an SUV hit the front end of my car when she was turning left into a parking lot (or maybe she was trying to make a u-turn).  Tuesday was spent finding a repair shop and getting a rental car, a cute little Hyundai Elantra hatchback.  Hyundai wasn't on my new-car-buying radar but the Elantra is a small sedan, very quiet and nice to drive.  Today I'm venturing out to the library to return a couple of books and to the grocery store for a few items.

On the plus side, my good friend Marj Monaghan stopped by and we had coffee and conversation on my patio in the backyard.  She brought a yummy carrot cake and flowers from Whole Foods.  It's always so good to catch up with her.

The rescue group (As Good as Gold) has identified an adopter that they think will be a good fit for foster guy Tommy.  They are coming to visit him on Tuesday.  Is he a cutie or what?

Tommy, the foster dog

I also talked to Bonnie at the library, who had some good work gossip in addition to needing to vent.  She is going to come over and drink wine on the patio one of these days.  AND I got the first shipment of wine from Winc - the LIT staff gave me a gift certificate as a retirement gift.  So much fun to try different kinds of wine!

Feast of Sorrow by Crystal King

 July 11, 2020

Feast of Sorrow by Crystal King

Thrasius is a Greek slave, purchased by patrician Marcus Gavius Apicius to be his new cook.  Apicius is a gourmand, and also ambitious - he wants to be Caesar's gastronomical adviser for his banquets.  He is blocked by rival gourmand Octavius Publius, Caesar's current adviser, who is threatened by Thrasius' extraordinary cooking skills.  Thrasius unexpectedly finds a home, friends, and a family in the Gavius household, but his happy life is threatened when the entire household including the slaves is caught up in Roman politics and intrigue.

I love books set in ancient Rome, also about food and cooking, with well-developed characters, so this one checked a lot of boxes for me.  It was why I enjoyed Anthony Bourdain's lukewarm mystery Bone in the Throat - the mystery itself wasn't that great, but the descriptions of food and cooking were wonderful.

Apicius is the first known gourmand from ancient times, although there were undoubtedly others when you consider the scope of the banquets that the patricians held.  He left a collection of recipes (that his slave chef undoubtedly developed) that are the first known cookbook, dating from the 1st century C.E.  While there is no record of any of the slaves, there are a number of historical characters throughout the book.  For a look at life in ancient Rome, you may want to watch the PBS series I, Claudius, based on the two novels by Robert Graves, I, Claudius and Claudius the God.  The series is available on Acorn TV (subscription is around $6/month).

I needed a change after reading two mediocre books, and this fit the bill nicely.  Great cover art, too.  Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys historical fiction set in the ancient world.

Vanishing Falls by Poppy Gee

August 7, 2020

Vanishing Falls by Poppy Gee

Celia Lily lives in the town of Vanishing Falls on the Australian island of Tasmania.  She has it all - she is rich, beautiful, is married to a doting husband, and lives in a mansion.  But then she disappears one evening after returning home from a charity event.  The town residents immediately suspect her husband, who has some expensive hobbies like orchids and art collecting, and at least one unsavory secret vice.  But just about everyone in this town has secrets that they would rather keep hidden.  Did Celia disappear of her own volition, or did someone else make her vanish?

Although the premise really appealed to me, it was a slog to finish this one.  Almost all of the main characters were unlikable, and the one that you were supposed to like was somewhere on the autism spectrum.  Nothing wrong with that, except that she didn't understand sarcasm, irony or other figures of speech, as well as not having a filter.  This is fine at first but her meltdowns and other actions start to wear on the reader.  The atmosphere was oppressive as well - it rained almost constantly, and when it wasn't raining, it was snowing.  I personally don't need to be hit over the head repeatedly about the setting and the rotten characters (didn't have to hear about the guy with the meth addiction scoring drugs and getting high quite so often).  I got bored about halfway through due to the repetitiousness and started skimming.  The solution to the mystery wasn't even all that interesting.  The only reason I read it was that I received an eARC from the publisher, so I felt obligated to finish it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in return for a review.

Gentleman Jack: the Real Anne Lister by Anne Choma

August 5, 2020

Gentleman Jack: the Real Anne Lister by Anne Choma

Anne Lister, the subject of the BBC series "Gentleman Jack," lived in the early 19th century.  She is best known for having the first recorded same-sex marriage in 1834.  But thinking that was the only thing notable about Anne is selling her short.  She was highly intelligent and read widely, and was unusually physically fit for a woman of her time.  She was a businesswoman and landowner who traveled the world, mingled with aristocrats and was presented to the King and Queen at the Danish court.  Anne was a prolific diarist, recording her daily life in obsessive detail from the time she was in her late teens until her untimely death at the age of 49.  From an early age, Anne knew she was attracted to women and the parts of her diary that dealt with her sexual exploits is written in a code that she devised.

While male homosexuality was a criminal offense in Georgian and Victorian England, lesbianism was largely ignored and virtually tolerated.  Almost everyone who knew her in Yorkshire appears to have been aware of her sexual preferences.  Butch lesbians were called Jacks, hence the title of the series, although Anne seems to have been unaware that the local populace referred to her as Gentleman Jack.

This is the companion book to the BBC series, covering the years from 1832-1834.  There are few portraits of Anne:  if she had lived a few years longer, there may have been photographs of her.  Below is one of the few portraits of Anne Lister, which still hangs in Shibden Hall, her family's estate that she owned and managed.  From a young age, Anne dressed in a black dress and greatcoat, with sturdy black boots.  She had an androgynous appearance.

This is Suranne Jones who portrays Anne Lister in the series.

Gentleman Jack is quite a different picture of 19th century England than usually presented.  The text is well-researched and the narrative flows smoothly.  Very interesting biography.

Memento Mori by Ruth Downie

August 2, 2020

Memento Mori by Ruth Downie

Gaius Petreius Ruso, retired army medicus, is living with his wife Tilla, baby daughter Mara, and two slaves with his wife's Briton family.  He spends his days working on the family farm until his former clerk Albanus arrives with the unexpected news that Serena, wife of Ruso's friend Valens, has been found murdered in the sacred springs of Aquae Sulis (modern day Bath).  Valens is considered to be the prime suspect, and he has sent Albanus to urge Ruso to come to Aquae Sulis to help him.  Instead of traveling alone, Tilla insists on traveling with him, along with the baby, the nanny, and their second slave to mind their luggage.  But when Ruso arrives in the famous resort town, he finds that the situation is a lot more complicated than he expected.  Serena's father Pertinax, who not only loathes Valens but is one of Ruso's frenemies, is already on the scene and howling for Valens' blood.  It turns out everyone in the town knew that Serena had a boyfriend, who has conveniently disappeared.  In addition, the chief engineer, the high priest, and the baths manager all want to hush up the crime so as not to damage the town's reputation and scare away the tourists.  Ruso and Tilla must work together to solve the crime and clear Valens' name so that he can retain custody of his twin sons.

The 8th installment in Ruth Downie's Medicus series featuring Roman military doctor Gaius Petreius Ruso and his British wife Tilla is just as well-researched as previous titles in the series.  It is also a snapshot of two marriages where neither partner understands the other, but Ruso and Tilla care deeply for each other and are determined to continue stumbling forward together, as compared to the crumbling marriage of Valens and Serena.  Valens has treated Serena shabbily and she has fallen out of love with him and found someone who loves and values her; Valens, like many men before and since, doesn't particularly want to be with Serena, but he doesn't want anyone else to have her, either.  A sad but all too common tale.

Recommended for anyone who enjoys accurate historical mysteries or novels set in ancient Britain.

A Saint from Texas by Edmund White

July 30, 2020

A Saint from Texas by Edmund White

Yvonne and Yvette Crawford are twins from a wealthy Texas country family.  After their mother dies, their father brings home a new wife who immediately moves the family to a prestigious neighborhood in Dallas.  The sisters attend the University of Texas in Austin, but follow very different paths.  Yvette devotes herself to a life of service to others in Colombia, while Yvonne sets a goal to move to Paris (that’s Paris, France, not Paris, Texas) and marry a titled aristocrat.

This book was a real slog to get through.  It’s pretty obvious early on that Yvonne and Yvette were going to lead very different lives.  From childhood, Yvette dedicated herself to helping the poor in Colombia, while Yvonne had more superficial interests such as social standing, trendiness, and fashion.  There is a strong contrast between the letters that the twins write to each other.  The beginning was good, I was interested in the characters, but then the author spent a lot of time educating the reader about the trivialities of French culture and society.

There are some truly disturbing aspects to this novel.  On the night of Yvonne’s society debut, their father locks Yvonne out of the twins’ bedroom, then rapes Yvette while Yvonne listens outside the door (Yvonne refers to this as Yvette’s troubled history with their father, not as a sick, criminal act).

Ultimately, there is no point to the book, and no plot.  The narrative focuses almost entirely on Yvonne with very little about Yvette except her letters and a couple of scenes of the father's incest.  Even Yvonne admits at the end of the book that she has led a useless life.

We Cast a Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin

July 28, 2020

We Cast a Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin

In an unspecified City in a racist American South, set in a slightly futuristic time, the unnamed narrator works as a lawyer at a prestigious law firm.  As an African American man, he has been hired mainly to help the firm improve their multi-cultural image.  The narrator and his Caucasian wife Penny have a son, Nigel, who is born with light skin that gradually begins to darken.  Neither Nigel nor his mother are bothered by this, but the father see the darkening (which he refers to as “birthmarks”) as a racial defect.  He becomes convinced that Nigel must have a new extremely expensive (and painful) demelanization procedure which will turn his skin white permanently.  To increase his income, the father agrees to become the new multi-cultural face of the law firm, forcing him into increasingly hypocritical behavior and increasing his need for illegal drugs.

Although classified as a satire, there is nothing amusing about the book.  At what point does trying to protect your child through extreme measures cross over into doing harm?  There are some interesting plot twists, but overall, the story felt disjointed to me.  There were definitely aspects of the absurd and a number of surreal episodes.  The library nominated this title for the 2020 IMPAC awards, which was why I read it, but I’m not sure I would have picked it up otherwise.  It does have a rather cool cover.

To Die For by Sandra Byrd

July 26, 2020

To Die For by Sandra Byrd

Meg Wyatt and her siblings grew up with the Boleyn children, Mary, George, and Anne.  Meg's brother Thomas adores Anne from the time they are small children, but Anne flirts with him in the same way she flirts with everyone.  As Anne catches the eye of Henry VIII and rises in the court, she takes her best friend Meg to court with her.  At first, the two girls are maids of honor to Katharine of Aragon, Henry’s queen.  But as Katharine falls farther out of Henry’s favor and Henry seeks to divorce her to marry Anne, Meg finds herself sought after by those who want to find favor with Anne.  But as Anne’s star begins to fall, Meg’s fortunes fall with her.

Anne Boleyn is one of those historical figures whose lives fascinate us.  We keep reading books about them in the hope that somehow their stories will change and have a happy ending.  Other tragic figures include Mary Queen of Scots, Marie Antoinette, Alexander Hamilton, Amelia Earhart, the Princes in the Tower, and the Romanov family.  There have been a few books recently about Queen Elizabeth II's sister, Princess Margaret, who spent most of her life trying to figure out her role in the royal family.  I think Diana, Princess of Wales, and members of the Kennedy family will eventually join this group as well.

I was reading a book called A Saint from Texas  and the story was so dismal, that I needed a break about halfway through.  This title had been on my reading list for a while and it seemed the perfect antidote.  It was like mental sorbet, refreshing to my reading palette.  I thoroughly enjoyed the angle that this book had, written in the voice of one of Anne’s closest friends and a lady in waiting.  Not only do we get Anne’s story from the point of view of a loyal friend, we also get a good look at what life was like for a well-born woman of the 16^th century in this well-researched novel.  Daughters and sisters were often used by their families as pawns, entering arranged marriages that would be advantageous for political, social or monetary reasons.  Anne Boleyn and her cousin Catherine Howard (who was Henry VIII's fifth wife) were no different - the Howard family used both girls to their advantage, and when they fell from favor, distanced themselves as much as possible.  A very enjoyable read.

Time to go slog through some more of A Saint from Texas - I have an eARC from the publisher, so I feel obligated to finish the book and write a review. 

Murder Knocks Twice by Susanna Calkins

July 19, 2020

Murder Knocks Twice by Susanna Calkins

To support herself and her father, Gina Ricci takes a job as a cigarette girl at one of Chicago's most notorious speakeasies.  At first, the atmosphere enchants her:  the glamorous socialites, the free-flowing liquor in the middle of Prohibition, the entertainers and famous people.  But no one wants to talk about Dorrie, the previous cigarette girl, and Gina learns to her horror that Dorrie was murdered on a rapid transit train.  Then a photographer who turns out to be Gina's cousin is murdered in the alley behind the speak, and Gina wonders who will be next.

Initially, everything about this book appealed to me:  the Roaring 20's, Chicago, Prohibition, an elegant speakeasy, flappers and gangsters, glamorous costumes and jewelry.  The author obviously did a lot of research into the Prohibition era and speakeasies, and the descriptive parts of the book are really interesting, although they grow repetitious after a while.  I also liked the cover art.  But the main character was so boring and immature that I gave up about half way through the book.  Too many references to her mama and her papa (even though she's a grown woman), all the wide-eyed wonder (why is he doing that?  what does that mean?  do you know my papa?  what should I do now?).  There is also too much backstory about the main character:  did we have to learn EVERYTHING about Gina in the first book of what's supposed to be a series??

Did not finish.  Really disappointing.

A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djeli Clark

July 20, 2020

A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djeli Clark

Set in 1912 in an alternate-universe Cairo, Special Investigator Fatma el-Sha'arawi of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities is called in to investigate the suicide of a djinn.  She quickly realizes that something isn't right about the case and begins to follow the trail of the djinn's contacts, which leads her through the bizarre supernatural underworld of Cairo.

At just 43 pages, this falls somewhere between a short story and a novella.  An interesting aspect is that when the local populace let magic into their midst, they were able to evict their British colonizers.  There are steampunk elements, supernatural beings, and a skillful use of myth, magic, and religion to advance the story.  The main character is erudite, smart and confident, and she picks up a supernatural being who assists her and whose powers are interesting to say the least.  This is a fast-paced read as the characters race to save the world as they know it.

This was a perfect antidote to the historical mystery that I was reading and gave up on (see next review).  The author has several more novellas set in this parallel world, not necessary about the same set of characters.  I already downloaded her next novella, The Haunting of Tram Car 015.  

The Lost Jewels by Kirsty Manning

July 14, 2020

The Lost Jewels by Kirsty Manning

At a London building site in 1912, a group of workmen unearth a bucket of priceless jewels that had been buried in a cellar.  Who would have buried the jewelry and then never returned for them?  When the jewels are scheduled to be put on public display for the first time at the Museum of London, historian Dr. Kate Kirby is assigned to cover the exclusive story for an American magazine.  But as she digs into the history of the jewels, her research takes her from London to India to Sri Lanka to Paris and back again.  Along the way, she discovers an unexpected link to her own family’s history, beginning with a sketch of one of the jewels that she finds in her great-grandmother’s files in Boston.

Based on the discovery of the Cheapside Hoard, a collection of over 400 pieces of Elizabethan and Stuart jewelry, this cache of jewels have fascinated experts and the public alike.  It is believed that the building where the jewels were found were the premises of a London jeweler, and that the jewels were buried for safekeeping either during the English Civil War or the Great London Fire.  There are many incredible pieces in the collection, including an emerald large enough to have a watch set into it, cameos carved from amethysts and sapphires, and carved buttons set with precious stones, and there may have been more pieces that were taken by the workmen and pawned or sold.  The majority of the collection is owned by the Museum of London and is not currently on display.  They are building a gallery specifically to house the collection that is expected to open in 2024.

As with so many stories that move from the present day to the past, the 21^st century part of the story is far less compelling than the parts set in the 17^th and early 20^th century.  There is an awful lot of romance in the modern story:  a woman who has been devastated by a tragedy is rescued from despair by a gorgeous guy who turns out to have unexpected depths (gag me), and they live happily ever after.  I found myself skimming over the modern story to get back to Essie’s story in 1912.  It would have been refreshing to have Kate be an independent professional woman doing her job and researching a family story at the same time, and not needing to be rescued by a man.  Kate's angst over her long-dead great-grandmother also seemed overdone.  In addition, there is a confusing section about 2/3 of the way through the book, where Essie and her sister Gertie are fleeing London, and then they are suddenly back home - maybe that was just an error in the eARC and will get fixed in the final publication.

Necklaces found with the Cheapside Hoard now in the Museum of London

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in return for a review.

A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn

July 12, 2020

A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn

Veronica Speedwell and her partner Revelstoke Templeton-Vane (i.e., Stoker) are back for their 5th adventure, this time involving Prince Eddy, oldest son of Edward, Prince of Wales.  Eddy has been visiting a house of pleasure run by the mysterious Madame Aurore, and he hasn't been very circumspect about his activities.  He ordered a piece of diamond jewelry for Madame Aurore from his mother's jeweler and billed it to her account, thinking she would never find out (sigh).  Worse yet, Lady Wellie, guardian of royal secrets, has been receiving anonymous notes and newspaper clippings insinuating that Eddy is involved in the Jack the Ripper murders.  Urgently needing a discreet inquiry into both matters, she calls on Veronica and Stoker to investigate and retrieve the jewel before it falls into the wrong hands.  Veronica's mysterious ancestry unexpectedly comes into play as well, and matters between Veronica and Stoker personally continue to heat up.

I really enjoy this series, for the entertaining dialogue and the perils that the characters land in.  I usually don't enjoy mysteries with sleuthing couples since they tend to be simpering and sugary, and the couple are almost never in conflict with each other.  Not so with Veronica and Stoker - their verbal sparring and undeniable chemistry keep things entertaining.  There is enough quirkiness to keep the reader amused - Patricia the Galapagos tortoise is getting married, Lady Rose (Lord Rosmarron's daughter) is scheming to poison her brother (but only a little), and Stoker's brothers make an appearance as well.  I also like how historical characters and events are skillfully woven into the story line.  This series is smart, sexy, and well-plotted, with fast pacing and frequent twists.  The Victorian-style silhouette covers only add to the series' attraction.  The only bad part is that once you finish the book, you want the next adventure, and it's probably going to be about a year before you get it.

If you haven't read any of the titles in this series, I highly recommend starting with the first book, A Curious Beginning, where we first meet Veronica and Stoker.

Universe of Two by Stephen P. Kiernan

July 10. 2020

Universe of Two by Stephen P. Kiernan

At the height of World War II, mathematician Charlie Fish is pulled from Harvard University immediately after graduation and assigned to the Manhattan Project at the University of Chicago.  For security purposes, each scientist is assigned a single task and forbidden to share his assignment with the others working on the project.  Charlie finds himself assigned first to figuring out complex arcs, and later to soldering complicated components.  After a few months, he is reassigned to Los Alamos in New Mexico.

While living in Chicago, Charlie meets a girl named Brenda who works in her family’s music store, demonstrating and selling organs.  Brenda is a lot more interested in all the soldiers on leave than she is in the war or even in Charlie.  When Charlie leaves for New Mexico, he and Brenda agree to write to each other, but that doesn’t stop Brenda from pursuing what she sees as an innocent flirtation with a high school friend, a pilot on leave from the air force.  When the pilot’s intentions turn out to be far more serious than Brenda’s, she decides to follow Charlie to New Mexico.  The bits and pieces that Charlie has been working on turn out to be the detonator for the atomic bomb, and when Charlie realizes the devastation that the weapon will wreak, he is overwhelmed with guilt.  Although Brenda urges him at first to go on with his work, once the first bomb is dropped, they are both overcome with remorse, and their great mental anguish affects their relationship.

The story line is based on the life of Charles Fisk, a real mathematician who worked in Los Alamos on the atomic bomb.  The reader knows almost immediately what Charlie is working on, and it should have been a great home front story.  The secrecy surrounding the project and the devastation that the bomb caused are described well, and there is good research here.  But unfortunately, the story drags and would have been improved by some editing that cut out 50-100 pages (did we REALLY have to hear about all 23 of Charlie's failed attempts to build the detonator, until another character waltzes in and tells him how to do it?).  

There are characters who make no contribution to the story – one character in particular, Mather, is extremely unlikeable and taunts Charlie throughout the book, for no apparent reason other than he thinks he’s smarter than Charlie.  The truly annoying thing is that there is no resolution to their "conflict" - Charlie and Brenda just move away.  There is another character named Beasley who is supposed to teach Charlie how to solder, and instead he is a complete asshole - could have done without him, too.  Why not just put Charlie in a lab by himself with a soldering iron and tell him to see what he can do?  Again, no character resolution.  Other characters are introduced but then disappear - Charlie's friend Monroe resigns from the project one day and vanishes, a cat adopts Charlie in New Mexico, and then disappears with no explanation.  A character should be introduced because they will move the story forward in some way.

The author also did not write his female characters very well.  I did not connect at all with Brenda – she was selfish and pushy, and then all of a sudden, she has turned into a mature woman who helped her husband through a difficult time, but we don’t know how this transformation came about.  There is also too much about their sex life after they get married, coming rather late in the book, that didn’t add anything to the story.  I didn't need to hear about all the times and places they had sex, and what kind of underwear Brenda wore.  You can tell a guy wrote the book, because that's the kind of stuff guys are interested in.  Too much interest in and description of clothes, in general.

Disappointing overall.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in return for a review.