The Intrigue by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

August 16, 2026

The Intrigue by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Ulises Linares (possibly not his real name) is a handsome con man who preys on lonely older women, cheating them out of their life savings. As his next mark, he identifies a woman names Perla who lives in a small town near Veracruz and runs a boardinghouse. But when he arrives at her guesthouse, the woman's niece Inez immediately spots the con game. But rather than expose Ulises as a crook, she wants in on his plan.

Noir fiction set in mid-20th century Mexico. All three of the main characters are morally ambiguous and unlikeable (actually all of the characters are except for the dog) but still fascinating, and I kept reading because I wanted to know how they got that way and what happens to them, which is the mark of a good novel. The plot drags a bit in the middle and the romance isn't much of a romance. Also, no elements of horror that Moreno-Garcia is known for, but still a story that draws you in.

Mountains around Veracruz

Five Decembers by James Kestrel

September 25, 2025

Five Decembers by James Kestrel

In early December 1941, Detective Joe McGrady is new to the Honolulu police department, having been recently discharged from the Army. One rainy night, his captain sends him out to a dairy farm to investigate a wild story told by a drunken farm worker of finding a dead body hanging in a shed. Little does Joe know that the case will take him to China and Japan, far from the woman he loves as he chases down a vicious killer.

Winner of the Edgar award, a traditional noir mystery with the traditional hard-boiled crime cover, beginning in Honolulu in December 1941. Gritty, violent, bloody. There are shocking descriptions of Tokyo after it was fire-bombed by American bombers. It turns out the Americans didn't need the atomic bomb after all - since almost all the buildings in Japan were made of wood, regular fire bombs wreaked just as much destruction as the A-bomb (see picture below). This is a can't-put-down read - I read a third of the book the day that I started it. Readers who enjoy the grit lit fiction of James Ellroy or James McCain or even Don Winslow will enjoy this classic noir.

Tokyo after the fire bombing 

The Dressmakers of Auschwitz by Lucy Adlington

January 25, 2025

The Dressmakers of Auschwitz by Lucy Adlington

An astounding story of a designer dressmaking salon run out of Auschwitz concentration camp, mostly staffed by Jewish women, patronized by the wives of high-ranking Nazis and SS officers. The Nazis were well aware of the importance of clothing to elevate or degrade people, and even in the middle of a war and clothing shortages, they and their families wanted to be well-dressed. (The Nazi culture was so bizarre, wanting to obliterate anyone who didn't fit their mold and keeping meticulous records about how they did it, yet using the talents of those same people when it suited them.) 

Sewing literally saved the dressmakers' lives, while at the same time allowing them to participate in sabotage in the camp. Many parts about the horrors of camp life and the way the inmates were treated were hard to read, but the stories of these smart, courageous women need to be told. The author had the privilege of interviewing the last surviving seamstress while researching this book. Stellar in-depth research. Recommended for readers interested in women's history and the Holocaust.

Berta Kohut and her sister Katka, two of the seamstresses of Auschwitz who survived the war

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

January 3, 2025

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

In 1940, three women are recruited to do war work at Bletchley Park in the English countryside. One is a debutante who speaks several languages, one has superior office skills, and the third can work a crossword puzzle in minutes. Although none of them are sure at first what the people at Bletchley Park are doing, they soon learn that BP is Britain's World War II code breaking center.

Based on actual people who worked at Bletchley Par on the German enigma cypher. They recruited university types at first, but later also people who did puzzles, spoke languages, and had great organizational skills. The reason the cypher was initially so difficult to break is that the code changed daily. Once the code breakers figured out how to break the code, the challenge became preventing the Axis forces from realizing that the British were reading their secret messages. Part of the government's strategy for keeping the secret was isolating each section from the others, sharing only the information that they needed to do their work. The rose code in the book is an example of the types of code they worked on, so called because the code wrapped around like the petals on a rose.

While I was interested in the whole story of code breaking and the enigma cypher, the book is a whopping 650 page and would have been a better book if an editor had whacked out 100 or so pages of repetitious details. Fun fact: Valerie Middleton, grandmother of Katherine, Princess of Wales, was a code breaker at BP during the war and appears in the book. Recommended for readers of historical fiction, especially about World War II.

Bletchley Park

Daughters of Shandong by Eve J. Chung

July 31, 2024

Daughters of Shandong by Eve J. Chung

The cultural revolution erupts in China in 1948, but in rural Shandong, the Ang family is living according to 10th century traditions and is more concerned about the lack of a male heir. The oldest son's wife produced only daughters, considered to be useless mouths to feed until they marry and leave. When the Communists take control of the country, the son and his parents flee, leaving his wife and their daughters behind at the family home, with little food and no money. When they are evicted, the mother and daughters decide to go to the city to try to find the rest of the family.

Based on the author's grandmother's story of fleeing China for Taiwan during the Cultural Revolution. The Chinese treated their girls like crap; they may still. And the mothers and grandmothers not only put up with it, they encouraged it. Not that the Chinese have a patent on treating daughters with disdain - my own parents weren't that crazy about having a daughter (I was the only one) and made it obvious that they much preferred my brothers, until they got old and then having a daughter to look after them was a good thing. Inspiring story but depressing at the same time.

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

Cutting off a man's pigtail, considered to be a sign of the ruling or wealthy class, during the Cultural Revolution

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel

June 10, 2024

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel

Paris 1942 - Eva Traube is a graduate student at the Sorbonne when the Nazis begin to round up the Jews of Paris. Eva's father is arrested by the Nazis, but Eva and her mother escape to the Vichy area which was technically Free France. Eva begins to work with the French resistance, forging documents to help Jewish children escape to Switzerland. But the work becomes increasingly dangerous, and Eva soon finds herself immersed in more clandestine activities.

I was off World War II fiction for a while because there was SOOOOO much of it, but I'm glad I read this one. I really liked the story line and most of the characters, except for Eva's mother. The mother is beyond annoying - she ruined a lot of the book for me (partially because I could hear my own mother's voice in a lot of what she said). If you can, skip any scenes that focus on Eva's mother - I think the author could have left her out altogether without any detriment to the narrative, since Eva had plenty of challenges without her. Recommended to readers who enjoyed The Nightingale or the Alice Network.

Resistance fighters in France

Murder at the White Palace by Allison Montclair

June 18, 2024

Murder at the White Palace by Allison Montclair

It's December 1946, and The Right Sort marriage bureau is celebrating peace and its first holiday season with a New Year's Eve ball. They have a growing client list, and they are in the black financially. The only problem is, all of the venues that they contact are already booked. So they turn to Iris's gangster boyfriend Archie for help, since he always has just the place or a guy with the right connections. But during renovations of an old dance hall, a body is found in the wall of a basement storage area, thought at first to be someone trapped during the Blitz. The truth turns out to be far more complicated (just like the girls' personal lives).

Entertaining historical mystery, #6 in the series featuring former spy Iris Sparks and widowed socialite Gwen Bainbridge. A satisfying plot that includes plenty of snarky dialogue and interesting side characters. We are left with a cliffhanger regarding Iris and Archie's romance. At least Gwen doesn't cry as much in this one. Read the series in order from the beginning. Recommended for readers who enjoy historical mysteries, particularly those set after World War II.

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

New Year's Eve at a London ballroom circa 1940s

The House on Biscayne Bay by Chanel Cleeton

April 9, 2024

The House on Biscayne Bay by Chanel Cleeton

After the sudden death of her parents, Carmen Acosta travels from Cuba to Miami to stay with her sister and brother-in-law, Carolina and Asher Wyatt. They own a grand house on Biscayne Bay, originally built right after World War I for Anna and Robert Barnes, a wealthy New York couple. The house is beautiful but creepy, like the peacocks that roam the property and scream at odd times. Her sister is oddly absent when Carmen arrives, and Carmen quickly senses that all is not right with her sister's marriage. She also comes to realize that whatever is troubling Carolina has something to do with the history of the house.

Atmospheric, reminiscent of classic gothic tales like Rebecca or Wuthering Heights, with all the traditional gothic elements: a big isolated house, creepy grounds, characters who pop up out of no where, an innocent young heroine, an aloof older man. I loved a good gothic when I was in high school - Victoria Holt was a fave! Will also appeal to fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia in addition to readers of gothic fiction.

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

Biscayne Bay

The Lady from Burma by Allison Montclair

December 29, 2023

The Lady from Burma by Allison Montclair

Iris Sparks and Gwen Bainbridge operate The Right Sort Marriage Bureau. While they have their share of unusual clients, their most recent client is one of the strangest. She is terminally ill, and she wants Sparks and Bainbridge to find a wife for her husband, so that he won't be alone after she dies. But then their client is found dead in a wooded area. Suicide or murder?

The fifth mystery in the Sparks & Bainbridge series. The mystery is clever, but I have to say, I find Gwen and her crying and her ongoing tribulations, to be rather boring, and I wish the author would write her out of the series. I tend to skim over the parts about Gwen and the lunacy court, her interactions with her nasty in-laws, her unethical lawyers, the greedy board members at her late husband's company, etc. Everybody is out to get Gwen. Iris Sparks is a lot more interesting. 3 stars because of Gwen's constant weeping.

Coleoptera (beetle), which plays a part in the story

The Unkept Woman by Allison Montclair

September 27, 2023

The Unkept Woman by Allison Montclair

Miss Iris Sparks and Mrs. Gwen Bainbridge are co-owners of The Right Sort Marriage Bureau. Following the end of World War II, many people are alone and adrift, and the two women have a talent for matching people up. But Gwen still struggles to retain guardianship of her son, and Iris' undercover activities during the war are catching up with her. When a woman is found shot to death in Iris' apartment, Iris finds herself at the top of the suspect list.

The fourth adventure for Sparks and Bainbridge, this one centered on Iris (who I personally feel is a lot more interesting and doesn't cry nearly as much as Gwen). We do learn more about Gwen's troubles, but there is very little about the agency and their clients. The ending indicates that there will be continuing adventures. I would recommend reading the series in order.

Earth's the Right Place for Love by Elizabeth Berg

February 18, 2023

Earth's the Right Place for Love by Elizabeth Berg

Arthur Moses is a sophomore in high school, a sweet caring boy, when he meets and falls in love with Nola McCollum. But Nola has enough boyfriends and just wants to be friends with him. Arthur loves nature and enjoys caring for plants and watching the birds, and he talks about everything with his older brother Frank who is also his best friend. Frank shares his thoughts and problems with Arthur as well, including his dream of becoming a writer, his relationship with his English teacher, and their abusive father. When their father finally lands a job and things begin to look up, a terrible tragedy rocks the family. Arthur has to learn how to continue living and deal with his grief and loss, while discovering the kind of life he wants for himself.

A lovely heartwarming story about love in its many forms, loss and grief, and the meaning of family. Readers first met Arthur in Berg's previous novel The Story of Arthur Truluv, where Arthur is an 85 year old man who lost his beloved wife and now goes every day to sit by her grave and talk to her while he eats his lunch. This is a prequel to that novel, providing backstory about how Arthur and Nola met and the events that shaped the man he became. I found it almost impossible to put down, which is surprising since it is almost entirely about relationships and there is little action. Highly recommended.

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

A town like Arthur's in the 1940s

Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra

July 10, 2022

Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra

At the start of World War II, Mercury Pictures is strictly a B-movie studio (possibly a C-movie studio), until a critic hails one of their films as a prophetic masterpiece. The studio owner, a man of many toupees, is called to Washington D.C. and enlisted to make propaganda films (i.e., war fiction) for the U.S. government. Maria Lagana, an associate producer at Mercury, came to the U.S. from Italy as a child but when the U.S. enters World War II, she is subject to the same restrictions as other German, Italian, and Asian Americans. Former architects, poets, and photographers are enlisted to make miniature replicas of Berlin, write B-movie propaganda films, and portray stereotypical evil villains from the Axis countries.

This was a fascinating look at the culture, politics and economics of the movie industry in the WWII era. There was a lot more humor than I was expecting, and I highly recommend it.

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

Typical propaganda film of the World War II era

Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams

June 15, 2022

Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams

In the autumn of 1948, Ruth Macalister's twin sister Iris and her family vanish. Her husband was an American diplomat, and everyone in diplomatic circles is shocked by their disappearance. Were they kidnapped, did they defect, did the Soviets eliminate them? Four years after they went missing, Ruth receives a postcard from Iris, asking her to come to Moscow since she is about to have another baby. With an American intelligence officer posing as her husband, Ruth travels to Moscow to get Iris and her family out.

Williams writes historical fiction, often with a romantic suspense angle. I'm not big on spy books but this one had at least one interesting twist. The story is loosely based on the Cambridge 5, a spy ring passing information to the Soviets after World War II. It's not my favorite of Williams' books but certainly kept me engaged. I think my favorite was the book she wrote about the Duke and Duchess of Windsor after his abdication.

1940's Moscow

Razzmatazz by Christopher Moore

June 10, 2022

Razzmatazz by Christopher Moore

The characters from Christopher Moore's Noir are back for a new adventure. In post World War II San Francisco, Sammy Two-Toes Tiffin, his pals from Cookie's Coffee, and his girlfriend Stilton (aka The Cheese) are following new pursuits. Sammy and Eddie are trying to open a driving school while saving Eddie's uncle's opium den from falling into the hands of a vicious gangster. Stilton and her gal pals from the welding crew are especially up to something mysterious at night, after they get done slinging hash at their daytime gigs. Plus there is a new head of SFPD vice who is cracking down on activities like Mabel and the girls from her brothel going up to the state hospital for the annual Christmas party, like they do every December. There might also be a dragon who is waking up from a long sleep, ready to wreak havoc on the city.

This is a really fun sequel to Noir. There is so much happening that there's no way to describe it and do it justice. How can you not love a book where the highest compliment a man can give a woman is to call her a stand-up dame? Fast, funny, zany.

What Cookie's Coffee must have been like in 1940's San Francisco

Nightmare Alley by William Lindsay Gresham

December 30, 2021

Nightmare Alley by William Lindsay Gresham

Stan Carlisle is a young carnival worker, on his way up in the world. He hooks up with Zeena, another carnival worker who has a mind reading act, and learns how to fool an audience. He leaves the carnival with Molly, a girl who has an act with the circus freak show, and together they develop a mind-reading stage act that does reasonably well. When he realizes how much money people will pay to contact their loved ones in the next world, Stan morphs into the Reverend Stanton Carlisle, spiritualist and medium. His church contacts lead him to an unscrupulous psychologist named Lilith, who helps him gain access to wealthy and powerful men. But he takes his act one step too far and his life begins to spiral out of control, until it comes full circle and he returns to the carnival life where the story began.

Dark, disturbing, atmospheric, bleak, with great characters. The 2021 movie adaptation is well done.

Carnival sideshow

The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan

June 24, 2021

The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan

Four women decide to compete in a cooking contest sponsored by a BBC radio program, for different reasons: newly widowed Audrey wants to win the prize to save her family's home and support her three sons; her estranged sister Gwendoline, married to the local lord who ignores and belittles her, want to win the prize to earn a spot as a radio presenter; Nell, a kitchen maid at Gwendoline's house, wants to win the prize to escape the life of a low-level servant and become a head cook; and Zelda, a self-trained chef working at a local factory but with a secret of her own, wants to win the prize to earn a spot as a head chef in the male-dominated world of fine restaurants.

The contest focuses on creative cooking using the limited ingredients available during rationing, and unexpectedly brings the four together despite being rivals. All four women want a better and different life for themselves. They end up supporting each other and forging bonds of friendship.

The heartwarming story is based on an actual radio program and contest. Food rationing began in England in 1940 and ran until 1954, with coupons necessary to obtain tiny amounts of basics like sugar, butter, and proteins. I had not realized that rationing went on so long in England.

British ration books from World War II

Trials and Tribulations by Jean Grainger

February 20, 2021

Trials and Tribulations by Jean Grainger

In the final installment in the Robinswood trilogy, Sam and Kate Kennefick have renovated part of the Robinswood estate and reopened it as a hotel. But they need help to run such a large house. Siblings Eve and her husband Bartley (seventh son of a seventh son, one of the travelers, tinkers or gypsies), Lady Lillian and her African American husband Beau, and Aisling and her troubled husband Mark all come to the estate, hopefully to contribute. Even Lillian, who at first is referred to as being as useful "as an ashtray on a motorbike" finds her niche. There are joys and sorrows for all of the family members, with a bittersweet conclusion.

I highly recommend this series if you are looking for a sweet, wholesome read, especially if you enjoy family sagas or women's fiction.

Return to Robinswood by Jean Grainger

January 24, 2021

Return to Robinswood by Jean Grainger

It's 1946, and World War II has finally ended. Sam Kennewick, the new Lord Kennewick following the death of his father, marries Kate Murphy, the caretaker's oldest daughter. They return to Robinswood, the family estate in County Clare, Ireland. Sam's mother has attempted to sell the property but it is too run down for anyone to buy it. Sam and Kate decide to turn it into a hotel, but they will need help in order to rehab the decaying house and property. During the war, Sam's sister Lillian had an affair with Beau, an African American serviceman, that resulted in a baby, but they are unable to marry while Beau is still in the military. He returns to the U.S.A. to be demobilized, but ends up in prison. The second Murphy daughter, Eve, is living with a friend, helping to care for her children while they wait for the friend's husband to come home from the war. The youngest Murphy daughter's husband comes home from the war with a severe case of PTSD that results in increasingly violent behavior. When he ends up in jail, Aisling decides to return to her family home in Ireland. Refurbishing the Robinswood Estate and reopening it as a grand hotel may offer salvation for both the Kennewick and Murphy families

This is the second book in the Robinswood series. It's a very enjoyable read with a heartwarming story and familiar characters. I look forward to reading the final book in the trilogy.

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.

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.