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.

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano

July 4, 2020

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano

Edward Adler was 12 years old when a plane crash killed the rest of his family.  They were in the process of relocating from New York City to California, where his mother had taken a job as a screenwriter.  As the sole survivor of the crash, Edward's story captures the nation's interest.  Fortunately for Edward, his mother's sister Lacey and her husband John care deeply about Edward and immediately travel to where he is hospitalized to take him home with them.  

The story line moves back and forth between the day of the plane crash and Edward's life as he tries to come to terms with both his physical injuries and the grief of losing his family, especially his beloved older brother Jordan.  His aunt and uncle shield him from the news media and the intrusion of strangers who view him as a Miracle Boy, while still trying to give him a normal life.  Other friends use their own forms of therapy to help Edward, including his school principal, his psychologist and his best friend Shay.  One night a few years after the crash, Edward and Shay find bags of letters addressed to Edward that his uncle has hidden in the garage, keeping them for when Edward is older, from survivors of other victims and people who just want to urge Edward to live his life to the fullest.  They begin to read the letters and have to decide what to do about them.  Ultimately, Edward has to find his own way forward and to find closure.

The novel is inspired by a news story that the author read many years ago, about a flight that crashed en route to London with one child surviving, but this isn't just a disaster novel.  Ann Napolitano does a masterful job of portraying Edward's confusion and grief as he learns to cope with an unimaginable tragedy and go on with his life.  We also hear Lacey and John's story as they attempt to help their damaged nephew while dealing with their own grief.  At one point, Lacey laments that her sister Jane (Edward's mother) would be appalled at what a poor job they were doing and blamed it on their own childlessness.  My immediate thought was that this is a situation no one is prepared to deal with, even if they have six children.

My heart was deeply touched by Edward and all of the passengers on the flight, from the girl dealing with an unexpected pregnancy to the gay soldier who has been forced to hide his feelings for a fellow soldier.  The characters are well-rounded and multi-dimensional, and the story is satisfying without being maudlin or sappy.  Highly recommended

As You Wish by Cary Elwes

July 1, 2020

As You Wish by Cary Elwes

When he was selected to play the part of Wesley in the now-classic movie The Princess Bride, he never suspected it would be the defining role of his career.  This is a charming behind-the-scenes look at the making of the movie, with a number of the original cast members providing narration and comments.  But it’s not just about the film – Elwes shares annecdotes from his life, from his self-inflicted broken toe on the set to the death of his beloved grandfather during filming.  Deeply affectionate and full of fond memories of being part of a very special project, this is a real love letter to fans of this enduring classic.

The Princess Bride has always been a movie favorite.  I love the way it works on two levels – kids see a cool adventure movie with pirates, princesses, and giants, and adults laugh at the clever dialogue and the caricatures and satires of movie stereotypes.  True love, sword fights, pirates, wizards, giants, and evil princes – what’s not to like?  The book narration is wonderful, and I need to re-read the book and watch the movie again.  As soon as possible.

Who Buries the Dead by C. S. Harris

July 1, 2020

Who Buries the Dead by C. S. Harris

 

When a socially ambitious Londoner is found decapitated on the outskirts of the city, and a number of prominent citizens appear to be involved, Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is drawn into the investigation.  But as the brutal murders increase, Sebastian finds himself not only in the drawing rooms of Mayfair but also in the haunts of London’s poorest residents.  Joining forces with his independent wife Hero, Sebastian must identify the killer and figure out their motives before harm comes to himself or his family.

This is the 10^th book in the Sebastian St. Cyr series, set in the early 19^th century during the Regency period, and there ends up being more than one mystery to solve.  I love the way C. S. Harris weaves historical figures such as the Prince Regent and novelist Jane Austen through the story, as well as historical events such as the discovery of the lost tomb of Charles I.  I also really like the way that Sebastian and Hero’s relationship is deepening with each book, as well as the growth of Sebastian’s backstory.  Sebastian’s hobby of investigating murders is no more popular with his or Hero’s families than is her hobby of investigative journalism.  While the Devlins are definitely one of London’s glam couples, it is also charming to read the domestic scenes about things like having a colicky baby – it is so satisfying that someone who suffers as much as Sebastian does for the acts he committed or witnessed during war, finally has a happy life.  But it was shocking when one of the recurring characters was murdered quite suddenly.

The Sebastian St. Cyr series is one of my favorite historical series, and I’m so glad there are several more books to look forward to.  The books are all well-written and researched, and I save them to enjoy like special treats.