The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore

July 16, 2025

The Last Days of Night by Graham Moore

A young lawyer, Paul Cravath, is drawn into the hundreds of lawsuits that Thomas Edison brought against George Westinghouse, claiming patent infringement. Westinghouse didn't claim to invent the light bulb or electricity, but to have improved on Edison's design to the point that it was a different invention. Westinghouse claimed his alternating current was safer and more reliable, while Edison continued to champion direct current.

Let me lead off with this: there is a scene of animal cruelty at about the midpoint of the book that I found extremely upsetting. It is historically accurate: Edison's spin doctor actually performed these demonstrations publicly, so animal lovers and dog lovers in particular may want to skip these pages. The opening scene in the book is also disturbing, as is the description of the first execution by electric chair at about the 2/3 mark which is extremely brutal.

With that said, this is historical fiction based on the Edison vs. Westinghouse lawsuits, which was the war between direct current and alternating electrical current (alternating current prevailed as safer and more reliable and is used for power grids today, while direct current is used for batteries and electronic devices - this isn't a spoiler, go look it up in Google or Wikipedia).

There are quotes at the beginning of each chapter, many of them from Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, which makes it almost impossible for the reader not to draw comparisons between the Edison/Westinghouse electric war, and the Microsoft/Apple technology battle a century later. Nikola Tesla gets in on the action too. Around page 105, there is a good explanation about how alternating current works and why it is less likely to kill you than direct current. Overall the characters are interesting and well-developed. Chapters are short, which makes the narrative a little choppy. Recommended for readers who enjoy historical fiction with a scientific slant.

Examples of two of the first light bulbs

Cellar Rat by Hannah Selinger

May 16, 2025

Cellar Rat by Hannah Selinger

I've always had a secret desire to open a restaurant or a bar, probably because I enjoy cooking and feeding people, but the author here makes it sound a lot less appealing. She worked in fine and ultra fine dining establishments, first as a server and then as a cellar rat while she learned about wines and later as a sommelier or wine steward (a cellar rat is one of the people who unpacks cases of wine and stocks the wine cellar). It is not at all a healthy environment, as it turns out: the hours are long, the work is hard and thankless, and chefs and restaurant managers prey on vulnerable staff members. Sensitive subjects include child abuse, sexual abuse, workplace abuse, body image, and misogyny. The whole memoir comes off as repetitious and a little whiny. The author read the audio version - it might have been better if she'd hired a professional reader. A much better memoir of the restaurant industry is Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential

Trust by Hernan Diaz

February 3, 2025

Trust by Hernan Diaz

A novel comprised of four shorter books: a novel called Bonds, about the life of a New York financier; the outline of a memoir/family history by a Wall Street investor who believes Bonds is a fictionalized account of him and his wife; a memoir by a woman hired to write the financier's autobiography but later decides to discover the truth about the couple; and a journal by the financier's wife. But what is true, and what isn't?

A complex novel that explores themes of family, wealth, ambition and deception in a non-traditional format. I really enjoyed the first three sections of the book, but I found the last section to be disappointing. Since that section was in the wife's voice, I was hoping for answers to the questions posed in the earlier sections, and while there were some revelations, I mostly found it unsatisfying. Love the cover art, a skyscraper under a bell jar. Five stars for the first 3/4 of the book, 2 stars for the final section. For readers of literary fiction, especially if you enjoyed books like Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell.

Panic on Wall Street in 1929, which figures in all sections of the novel

Lazarus Man by Richard Price

November 30, 2024

Lazarus Man by Richard Price

When a five story apartment building in Harlem collapses, there are a lot of questions: how did this happen? Why did it happen? Who is missing? How will this affect the survivors? And mainly, how did a man survive being buried in the rubble for two days, yet escape with minimal injuries, and how will it change his life?

Price writes literary fiction and I have read some of his previous books such as Clockers and Lush Life. Based on reviews, I wasn't sure if I would enjoy his latest book, since some readers complained about the slowness of the story and the POVs of multiple characters. A lot of readers seemed to be expecting suspense or an action story, but that's not what Price writes. Once I started reading, I read over half the book in a single day (it's really remarkable how much you can read during the commercials while watching an NFL game). Characters are imperfect, thoughtful, and well-developed. Will appeal to readers of literary fiction, especially Colson Whitehead's Harlem novels or James McBride's fiction.

Brownstones in Harlem

The Astrology House by Carinn Jade

July 1, 2024

The Astrology House by Carinn Jade

A group of wealthy Manhattanites go on an astrology-themed weekend retreat at a restored mansion on Long Island. All of the participants have secrets as well as their own agendas, including the host. With a hurricane bearing down on them, tensions increase until they reach the breaking point.

To paraphrase Shakespeare, does the fault lie in our stars or in ourselves? Is everything preordained, or do we have free will to change our destinies? Like other novels of the psychological fiction genre, the plot focuses on revenge for a long-ago act. Some of the reactions are extreme - I doubt I would have a breakdown if I found out that one of my brothers was having an affair. I might tell him he's a jerk, but he's an adult and it's his business. Fans of Lucy Foley and Mary Kubica will enjoy this debut novel, as well as anyone looking for a good beach/vacation/summer read.

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

Astrological birth chart

Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

March 21, 2024

Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

A family gathers for their granddaughter's coming of age party, and each family member reminisces about the past. Told from multiple POVs, the storyline follows three generations of a middle-class African American family.

Someone recommended this to me, but damned if I can remember who it was. Let me just say that Jacqueline Woodson is a wonderful writer, but this was just okay. I know a lot of readers really loved it, but I found it sad and depressing. Even a celebration of a grandchild reaching the age of 16 has very little joy, since everyone seems to be remembering only the bad times. Even the events of 9/11 get dragged in. Ultimately I found the story to be very unsatisfying.

The Great Mrs. Elias by Barbara Chase-Riboud

March 19, 2024

The Great Mrs. Elias by Barbara Chase-Riboud

Hannah Elias was one of the richest Black women in America in the early 20th century. She started her life as Bessie Elias, a domestic servant wrongly accused of theft. She was sent to prison, and when she was released, she was unable to find a job as a domestic, so she became a courtesan at a high-level brothel. There she met a number of wealthy men, mostly bankers and real estate barons, who taught her how to invest her money and accumulate wealth. She enjoyed her affluent lifestyle, until one of her long-time lovers decides Hannah duped him into giving her money and accuses her of criminal activities.

This is a portrayal of a strong Black woman, born in the 19th century, who rose to wealth, power and fame (or infamy), based on her real life. Hannah was a light-skinned Black woman, and for much of her life, passed for white, claiming to be Cuban. Women do what they need to do to survive, to feed themselves and their children. While I don't think it's as good as the author's previous book Sally Hemmings, it will appeal to readers of historical fiction and is a good choice for Women's History Month.

Hannah Elias

Cinema Love by Jiaming Tang

January 16, 2024

Cinema Love by Jiaming Tang

After he was caught with another man, Old Second left his village in rural China and went to Mawei City to work at the clothing factories. At the local workers' cinema, he found other men like him, and he also met Bao Mei, who worked at the cinema selling tickets. But being gay is illegal in communist China, so as the oppression grows, Old Second marries Bao Mei and they leave China for the United States. They settle into New York's Chinatown and find a community of men like Old Second, gay men who have married women to provide a cover story for themselves and hide in plain sight.

A complex story that revolves around a set of inter-connected characters, each with their own story and shared emotions: grief, loneliness, shame, sadness, desire. There is a lot to absorb here: the shame and oppression that gay men are subjected to in both China and the United States; the loveless marriages that their wives tolerate; emigrating to the U. S. and living in poverty while trying to survive and stay under the radar. A difficult story to read but wonderful writing and language.

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

New York's Chinatown

The Lost Van Gogh by Jonathan Santlofer

December 6, 2023

The Lost Van Gogh by Jonathan Santlofer

In Paris in 1944, an artist paints a portrait of his wife over a Van Gogh painting, hiding the original work from the Nazis. Over 75 years later, the picture resurfaces in upstate New York, where a woman named Alex Verde buys it at an antique store. When they discover the hidden Van Gogh, Alex and her boyfriend Luke Perrone, an artist and art history professor, can't figure out how the painting got there. They enlist the help of an INTERPOL agent and follow him to Amsterdam, where the police and INTERPOL are trying to catch a major dealer in stolen art looted by the Nazis.

I didn't enjoy this book that much because it's more of an espionage novel than a book about art theft, and I can never figure out what's going on in spy books. Everyone has a code name, everyone is spying on everyone else and double-crossing them. The reader gets quite the tour of Amsterdam, complete with a visit to the Anne Frank House, plus we get a lecture on looted Nazi artwork. Some of the main characters appeared in Santlofer's previous novel The Last Mona Lisa. Overall, just meh.

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

Amsterdam

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

What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jimenez

September 29, 2023

What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jimenez

On a cold autumn night, 13 year old Ruthy Ramirez goes missing on her way home from track practice. Twelve years later, her sisters Jessica and Nina are convinced that a woman on a trashy TV reality show is their missing sister. They set out to learn if this could possibly be Ruthy after all these years.

This is a debut novel about a Puerto Rican family living in Brooklyn, whose middle daughter Ruthy goes missing. Not a missing person story or a mystery as much as the story of the fallout for the women in Ruthy's family following her disappearance. There is humor as well as sorrow. We do find out what happened to Ruthy on the very last page. Some readers may be put off by the foul language, but it didn't bother me. One of my selections for Hispanic American Heritage month.

Three Puerto Rican sisters

Broadway Butterfly by Sara DiVello

August 1, 2023

Broadway Butterfly by Sara DiVello

Set in 1923 in New York, flapper/model Dot King is a fast-living Broadway girl with several sugar daddies supporting her lifestyle, found dead in her 57th Street apartment. Homicide detective John Coughlin in assigned to the case and immediately sets about identifying Dot's gentlemen friends. Over at the Daily News, Julia Harpman is one of the few women reporters in New York, and the only one covering the crime beat. When it becomes apparent that several influential men were involved with Dot, the police allow the case to go cold. Julia is determined to secure justice for Dot and begins her own investigation.

True crime fiction based on an actual murder case. The story is told from three POVs: the detective, the reporter, and the wife of one of the sugar daddies. The story is well-researched and the author gathered the facts from a variety of sources. I love true crime cold cases so this one should have ticked all the boxes for me. But the story seemed to drag - maybe it was the author's writing style. It was disappointing that the case has never been solved.

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

Dot King, murdered in 1923, never solved

Hilda Ferguson, Dot's ex-roommate 

The Men Can't Be Saved by Ben Purkert

July 24, 2023

The Men Can't Be Saved by Ben Purkert

Seth is a junior copywriter at a large firm that specializes in branding - not logos or marketing campaigns, but brand identification (think "I'm lovin' it" or "The San Francisco Treat"). After writing a successful tag line for an obscure product, he considers himself to be a creative genius. But then an account executive that he disparaged leaves the firm, taking the company's most profitable account (that Seth also disparaged) with him. With over half of the firm' revenue gone, most of the staff is let go, including Seth. The only job he can find is as a barista, which he considers to be beneath him. With time on his hand, he is left to ponder his life: what does work do to us? who is he without his job? what does it mean to be a Jew? does he have a substance abuse problem or just an addictive personality?

What does work do to us, particularly to men? Seth is an anti-hero whose identity is tied to his job, and when he is let go from his job, he can't quite let go of it. Seth is also obsessed with other things: sex, drugs, his self-perceived brilliance. But he does become more self-aware by the end of the book, also more aware of those around him, able to see others' needs as well as his own. He is assisted in his growth journey by his friendship with an Orthodox rabbi as well as a co-worker. Humorous and a fast read. Reminded me somewhat of American Psycho, but without the violence and killing.

(I seem to be on a roll with books featuring Jewish characters - this is the third book in a row.)

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

The Spectacular by Fiona Davis

June 29, 2023

The Spectacular by Fiona Davis

Marion Brooks has always wanted to dance, but even though she is extremely talented, her family discourages her, pushing her toward a "normal" life as a homemaker and mother, or if she insists on working, as a teacher, secretary or nurse. When she is hired to be a Rockette, instead of being happy for her, her father threatens to disown her. Marion decides to follow her dream and loves being a Rockette, but a serial bomber attacks the theater with dire consequences for her family. The police discount Marion's information because she is a woman, but she is determined to force them to listen to a psychologist who has a theory about the bomber.

Like the author's previous books, this is a well-researched historical novel that centers on a famous building in New York. Lots of history about the Rockettes as well as information about their dance/precision style. There are dual timelines set in 1956 and 1992. Marion's father seems repressive about her life choices, but things weren't that different in the 1970s when I was growing up. Anyone who enjoys dance or crime fiction will enjoy this behind-the-scenes look at Radio City Music Hall.

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

The Rockettes' famous "fall" during the Toy Soldier sequence

What the Dead Know by Barbara Butcher

May 25, 2023

What the Dead Know by Barbara Butcher

Barbara Butcher was an medicolegal death investigator for the New York Office of the City Medical Examiner for 22 years. Her job was to go out to death scenes to collect information, examine the remains and the surroundings, and determine the manner of death (accident, suicide, homicide, natural causes, misadventure). 

Riveting account of a job that most of us know very little about. The author treated both the victims and their families with dignity and respect. The chapters about working at the World Trade Center after the 9/11 attacks are particularly intense. Not something to read while eating dinner. Highly recommended to readers of narrative nonfiction and true crime.

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

The Pile (aka Ground Zero) at the World Trade Center

The Cabinet of Dr. Leng by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

April 10, 2023

The Cabinet of Dr. Leng by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Constance Green, Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast's ward, has traveled back in time to 19th century New York City, to save her siblings Joe and Mary, and also her younger self. Not only has Constance gone back in time, she is in a parallel universe, so she is able to encounter herself as a child. When Pendergast realizes what Constance has done, he has the time machine reassembled (it was destroyed at the end of the previous book) by an eccentric scientist named Gaspard Ferenc. Enlisting the help of his old friend Vincent D'Agosta of the NYPD, Pendy follows Constance back to 19th c. New York, because although he knows Constance is deadly, he also knows that his ancestor Dr. Leng is absolutely a match for her.

Meanwhile, Special Agent Armstrong Coldmoon, Pendy's sometime partner, is tracking down a killer who has been trafficking in Native American artifacts, substituting fakes for the real thing (like Sitting Bull's peace pipe). His investigation takes him to New York, where he learns that his case is tied to a murder case that Vincent is working on. He traces the artifacts to a Colombian drug lord living in Ecuador and sets up a sting operation to draw the man back to the U.S. The sting goes off without a hitch, but there's something not sitting right with Coldmoon. 

And then the book ended.

Damn. So this is only the first half of the story, and the conclusion will be another book (this one was close to 600 pages). I was really irritated when I got to the end, and there's this semi-apology from Douglas saying they're writing the conclusion as fast as they can. Not nice, Douglas and Lincoln. I put that in my Goodreads review so that other readers are aware that they're going to be left hanging, probably for another year. Also, Pendy still hasn't gotten around to telling Constance that he loves her - maybe at the end of the next book. Although considering that Constance has killed several people, it might be prudent to review the situation first.

Blackwell Island, New York, now Roosevelt Island - prison, workhouse, and insane asylum

Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl by Renee Rosen

March 22, 2023

Fifth Avenue Glamor Girl by Renee Rosen

At the height of the Great Depression, Gloria Downing's father is jailed for having swindled thousands of people out of their live savings in a Ponzi scheme. Broke, homeless and basically unemployable, Gloria takes a job as a shampoo girl at a beauty salon, where she meets an enterprising young woman named Estee Lauder. Estee has created a new cosmetics line and will stop at nothing to get her products into the finest department stores and become famous in the process. Both Gloria and Estee are hiding secrets - when those secrets start catching up with them, will they be able to outrun their pasts?

Very enjoyable story about two women forced to reinvent themselves at a difficult time in American history. I love novels about the fashion and beauty industry, so this one called my name. Fans of Fiona Davis, Marie Benedict, and Jeanne Mackin (The Last Collection) will enjoy this fictionalized biography of one of the icons of the cosmetics industry.

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

Estee Lauder

Confidence by Rafael Frumkin

February 13, 2023

Confidence by Rafael Frumkin

Ezra and Orson are best friends and sometime lovers, both growing up poor, who meet as baby criminals at Last Chance Camp, one stop before juvie. Ezra has his first experience with con games when he's ten, and he and his mother stop at a tent revival meeting, and his mother cons the church goers. He and Orson run their first scam together on a site like Etsy, then get into a bigger con game involving Bitcoin, because most people don't actually understand what it is or how to use it. Their target market is the ultra-rich, "the man," the blood suits (as Orson and Ezra call them), the kind of people who are so rich they have no idea what real life is like and don't bother to closely research the schemes of con men like Orson and Ezra. They are also the kind of people that the rest of us secretly enjoy watching get swindled because they deserve it and they can afford it. What does it matter if they get taken for a little money? But then the boys come up with an idea for a much bigger scam, a (phony) behavior altering device/program that takes off when they market it to the wives of ultra-rich men. They find themselves riding a billion dollar wave until it comes crashing down. Who needs the American Dream, these guys have the American Con.

Pyramid or Ponzi schemes have been around for a long time, as have con artists. Famous con artists include P. T. Barnum, L. Ron Hubbard, and Donald Trump, and Ezra and Orson aspire to join their ranks. The key to a successful con is offering something that is too good to be true, and making it a little obscure so that people don't understand exactly what they are buying. Orson and Ezra are opposites: Ezra is short, nerdy, brilliant, introverted and addicted to the internet; Orson is movie star handsome, charismatic, charming, and a born salesman. Ezra literally has tunnel vision, suffering from glaucoma and progressively poor eyesight, and he has a hard time seeing Orson for who he really is. Greed is always their driving force, but their real problems begin when Orson starts believing the BS that they are selling. 

Mel Brooks made a movie called The Producers, about a Broadway producer who concocts a scheme to produce the worst play ever written and make a killing by over-selling shares to investors (The Twelve Chairs is another Brooks film about con artists). 

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

The Producers

The Measure by Nikki Erlick

January 14, 2023

The Measure by Nikki Erlick

On a spring morning, little wooden boxes show up at every door in the world, even non-traditional doors such as Bedouin tent flaps and next to homeless people sleeping outdoors. Every adult over the age of 21 receives a box with their name on it. Inside the box is a string that measures the length of each person's life. Nina, a magazine editor, gets a long string while her girlfriend Maura's string is barely half the length of Nina's, yet they stay together. Nina's parents and her sister Amie opt to not open their boxes, preferring to live in blissful ignorance. Ben, an architect, gets a short string and his girlfriend of two years breaks up with him almost immediately. Hank is an emergency room doctor who receives a short string and decides to resign from the hospital and use his remaining time as best he can. Political figures, governments, and religions all weigh in on the importance, meaning, and origin of the strings. What do the strings really mean? How will they change society and impact the future? Written by several narrators with differing viewpoints.

Normally when I see a book with one of those celebrity book club stickers on the cover, I go the other way or don't expect much, in this case the "Read with Jenna" TV book club. I decided to read this book since it was recommended to me by a friend. It's an interesting take on a futuristic/dystopian society combined with the mythology of the Fates and also the story of Pandora. After people begin receiving the strings, the societal response is similar to the varied responses to COVID-19 and the vaccines: some extreme, some violent, some benign, some believing it's a hoax, some looking to profit. Highly recommended.

"Que sera, sera (Whatever will be, will be)" - song by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, sung by Doris Day

The Fates — Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos — were divinities in Greek mythology who presided over human life. Clotho spun the thread, Lachesis measure it out, and Atropos cut it off. They represented birth, life and death.

Drunk on All Your Strange New Words by Eddie Robson

December 4, 2022

Drunk on All Your Strange New Words by Eddie Robson

Lydia Southwell is a translator for the Logi cultural attache, Fitzwilliam (not his real name, but as close as possible in English). Translating from English to Logi is exhausting and leaves the translator feeling drunk. After having a public meltdown, Lydia takes a short vacation home to England, then returns to New York to resume her duties. After a cultural event and banquet, Lydia wakes up the next morning to discover that Fitzwilliam has been murdered and that she is the prime suspect.

Confusing plot as conspiracy books often are. There are a lot of peripheral characters who are red herrings or have no bearing on the plot at all (like Lydia's brother Gil and his friend Rank), who are in the story briefly and then just fade away. It all turns out to be an elaborate set-up, a lot of the characters turn out to be actors, and there is actually just one person behind the murder. The reader is left wondering why. Overall rating: meh.

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