The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman

October 27, 2023

The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman

Sage Winters has always known that her twin sister Rosemary died of pneumonia when they were children. But at age 16, Sage learns that her sister didn't die and is living at the Willowbrook School, a school for children with special needs. She learns that Rosemary vanished from the school a few days earlier, and Sage is determined to go to the school to find her twin.

Based on a true story. My hair stylist's oldest sister was a resident at Willowbrook in the 1970s, which was how I originally heard about it. The first third of the book is mostly about how terrible the conditions were at the school, and it takes a while for the plot to get moving. The main character is pretty dense for someone who is supposed to be street smart. I started with this novel as an audiobook, but I switched to the ebook version because I could skim over the slower parts. The story moves a lot slower than in Wiseman's earlier books. Geraldo Rivera did a prize-winning expose about living conditions at the school, which were truly horrible, with most of the residents contracting hepatitis and other diseases due to the filthy living conditions and lack of care. Definitely has a YA feel to it. Meh.

Willowbrook State School, New York

Kismet by Amina Akhtar

October 26, 2023

Kismet by Amina Akhtar

Ronnie Khan moves from Queens, NY, to Sedona, AZ, to follow her friend, wellness fanatic and wannabe guru Marley Dewhurst. Ronnie wants to escape her family and pursue her own wellness journey. But Ronnie hates every minute of the wellness regime and almost everything about the desert, except the birds. Early one morning while the two women are out on a hike, they find human remains out in the desert. It turns out to be a well-known wellness coach, and Marley sees it as an opportunity for her to grow her following and get free publicity. But that's not the only body that turns up, and Ronnie starts to wonder if there is a serial killer on the loose.

This was an Amazon First Reads freebie, and fairly typical of the monthly offerings. I rarely download any of the free books, but this one sounded like a decent thriller and something that I would enjoy reading. I hesitate to call this a thriller or suspense, since there wasn't any. Overall it was disappointing, since none of the characters are likeable and appear to be caricatures, and they are all shallower than a puddle. I really didn't care what happened to any of them. Not recommended.

Scenic Sedona

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

October 23, 2023

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

When she was a toddler, Ruby McTavish went missing from a family picnic in the mountains near their North Carolina home. Missing for almost a year, there was always speculation whether the child who was returned to the family was really Ruby. Almost 70 years later, Ruby's adopted son gets an email telling him that it's time for a reckoning and he needs to come home.

Psychological suspense with multiple plot twists. Just when you think you know what's going on, there is a twist in the story. Also, all of the narrators are unreliable! I like this novel much more than the author's previous book The Villa. If you liked The Maid's Diary with its twisty plot, multiple narrators, and dual timeline, you'll enjoy Hawkins' upcoming book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

North Carolina mountains

Murder and Mamon by Mia P. Manansala

October 19, 2023

Murder and Mamon by Mia P. Manansala

Lila Macapagal and company are back for another cozy mystery set in Shady Palms, Illinois. Her three godmothers April, Mae, and June (aka the Calendar Crew) are opening a laundromat, which has started a war with the owner of the only other laundromat in the town. Just in time for their grand opening, April's niece Divina arrives from the Philippines, and the aunties figure they'll put her to work at the laundromat to keep her busy. But someone doesn't want them to open and vandalizes the laundromat, and the suspect list is long, since the aunties have offended most of the town residents at some point with their nosiness and gossip. Then disaster really strikes a few days later when Divina is found dead next to a washer.

The fourth adventure in the Tita Rosie's Kitchen cozy mystery series, complete with recipes. This entry is not as strong as some of the earlier books, with a lot of filler about food and meals. The romantic relationships are progressing slowly. There are recipes in the back for some of the yummy dishes. I worked for many years with Mia's mom, and I am so glad to see that Mia is fulfilling her dream of being a writer. 

Mamon cakes, a fluffy chiffon-y cake often made with coconut

The Break by Katherena Vermette

October 17, 2023

The Break by Katherena Vermette

In the middle of a snowy night, Stella McGregor witnesses a violent crime in the Break, an open field near her house. Stella is sure that a woman was being attacked by several people and calls the police. Although the police find a large quantity of blood in the snow, they doubt Stella's information, until two victims show up in the emergency room of the local hospital. While the family members want the police to find the perpetrators, they are reluctant to provide any information that might lead back to them.

This was one of my selections for Native American History month, something that I have been meaning to read for a while. Intense but extremely good. Violence against Native American women and girls often goes under-reported and unsolved. My only complaint with the story is that several of Stella's family members are critical of her because she didn't "do" anything to stop the crime or save the victim. Stella is a young mother home alone with two babies in the middle of the night - her husband is at work and there is deep snow outside. What was she supposed to do - leave her two children and run outside in her pajamas to confront the perpetrators? Other than that, it's great writing. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy serious literary fiction like Rene Denfeld's The Enchanted.

Don't Forget to Write by Sara Goodman Confino

October 17, 2023

Don't Forget to Write by Sara Goodman Confino

Returning home after her second year in college (which her father allowed her to attend primarily to find a husband), Marilyn Kleinman is confined to living under her father's rules again, which include attending services every Saturday. After being caught kissing their rabbi's son in front of the whole congregation, Marilyn finds herself shipped off to spend the summer with her great-aunt Ada who is the best-known matchmaker in Philadelphia. It's either that or marry the rabbi's son, who she barely knows. Marilyn isn't expecting much from the summer, but Ada turns out to be a lot different than she expected. In a good way.

Sweet and heart-warming, perfect for when you need something light and fun. This is a great choice for a beach or vacation read.

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

The Jersey Shore, circa 1960

The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner

October 15, 2023

The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner

After her sister was murdered on Halloween, Lenna Wickes travels to Paris to study with Vaudeleine D'Allaire, a famous medium who specializes in conjuring the ghosts of murder victims to solve their cases. In London, the head of the London Seance Society (a men's club) had coincidentally also been murdered on Halloween. The vice president of the society asks the two women to travel to London to conduct a seance to solve the man's murder, but the two women also plan a seance to solve the murder of Lenna's sister. But the more Lenna and Vaudeleine dig around, the more they suspect that the society is a fraud.

This was part of my seasonal reading for Halloween. I started with the eARC but switched to the audiobook, which I much preferred. The London Seance Society is loosely based on The Ghost Club, which still exists in London today. It took a long time to get to the seance and the solution wasn't that interesting, and the narrative dragged. There is also some LGBTQ tossed in rather casually. This is mainly historical fiction and anyone reading this expecting ghosts and scary things will be disappointed. It's about as creepy as that Long Island Medium television show.

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

19th century seance

Northwoods by Amy Pease

October 7, 2023

Northwoods by Amy Pease

After serving in Afghanistan, Eli Woods suffers from PTSD and self-medicates with large amounts of alcohol. He has a job as a sheriff's deputy only because his mother is the town sheriff. When a teenaged boy is found dead and his friend is missing, Eli partners with an FBI agent and joins the search. But the more answers he gets, the more tangled the mystery becomes.

The whole story here swirls around addiction. Although this is a decent mystery, the author tried to cover too many big topics: PTSD, alcoholism, addiction, the opioid crisis, big pharma, white collar crime, family relationships. The narrative would have benefited from less description involving extraneous characters (is it really important that the wife of the guy who owns the fishing camp wears a ton of make-up and has her boobs practically hanging out of her top?). 

Set in the North Woods of Wisconsin, this really could have been set in any small vacation town. I know this area - we vacationed there several times when I was a kid, and later with my husband. "Resort" is something of a misnomer - the term resort makes me think of luxury linens, spa facilities, golf, and fine dining. The resorts in the North Woods are more like fishing camps. Nothing bad about that, we loved them as kids. I've never seen a country club in this area like the one described in the book, but I do know the gangster John Dillinger had a hideaway in Wisconsin called the Little Bohemia Lodge (it's still there today).

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

North Woods fishing camp

A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab

October 6, 2023

A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab

Four months after the events of A Darker Shade of Magic, Lila Bard is living her dream life on The Night Spire, a privateer craft. Kell is living in Red London with the royal family, assisting with preparations for the upcoming magicians' tournament and trying to keep his brother Rhy from getting himself killed. But with all the great magicians gathered in Red London, it's only a matter of time before the situation gets out of hand and becomes explosive.

The second book in Schwab's Shades of Magic series. People seem to either adore or despise it on Goodreads. Like many sequels, this isn't as good as the first book, but it's not terrible either, although the last third did start to drag. There are lovely descriptions of magic, the settings, and the characters. While the first book can be read as a stand-alone, there is a cliffhanger at the end of this one. Not sure if I'm interested enough to read the third book. Recommended for hardcore fantasy readers.

Dueling wizards

Neferura by Malayna Evans

October 2, 2023

Neferura by Malayna Evans

Neferura is the daughter of the great female pharaoh Hatshepsut and Tutmose II. Her half-brother Tutmose III is co-ruler with Hatshepsut and hates her for a variety of reasons. Tutmose III is the son of one of Tutmose II's concubines, so to solidify his claim to the throne, he marries Neferura in order to produce legitimate offspring. Neferura fears that once he has an heir, Tutmose III will have no further use for her and will have her killed. She decides to save her own life with the help of a group of strong and talented women.

Very little is known about Neferura's life: she was the only known offspring of Hatshepsut, she was the high priestess of Amun (known as the god's wife of Amun), one of her tutors was a court official named Senenmut, and her name appears in a royal cartouche, indicating that she may have been a queen. She may or may not have been married to Tutmose III and they may or may not have had a child. Ancient Egyptian royals traditionally married their siblings to keep the dynasty in the family. Sometimes it was a symbolic marriage, sometimes it was a consummated marriage (Hatshepsut and Tutmose II were sister and brother). This is almost pure fiction, especially the "and they all lived happily ever after" ending, but readers who like strong women characters and want a happy ending will enjoy it.

(About 20 years after Hatshepsut's death, an organized attempt was made to erase her name and her reign from the historical record, probably by Tutmose III's son and co-regent Amenhotep II. For a long time, historians believed that Tutmose III was responsible, but he wouldn't have waited until 20 years after her death. It most likely wasn't personal but political, since Amenhotep II was not related to Hatshepsut and may have wanted to emphasize his legitimate claim to the throne.)

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

One of a number of surviving statures of Senenmut and Neferura