The Right Sort of Man by Allison Montclair

July 12, 2019

The Right Sort of Man by Allison Sinclair

Post-World War II London is still in shock:  many residents died fighting in the war and during the Blitz, and some parts of the city are in shambles, especially the neighborhoods around the docks, the airport, and the industrial areas.  Both food and clothing are still rationed and in short supply.  With so much loss, a number of single Londoners no longer know where or how to go about making connections with others.

Iris Sparks and Gwen Bainbridge establish the Right Sort Marriage Bureau to assist single Londoners looking for a life partner.  Their combined skills help them identify what a client is really looking for and find a suitable match.  Both women also have secrets in their backgrounds.  The business has a promising start (seven marriages in three months!), until one of their clients is found murdered shortly before she was to meet up with her first potential match.

This was such an entertaining book, perfect in tone for vacation reading.  Gwen’s frequent crying gets to be a little annoying (but she is working on it), but Iris and the witty dialogue more than make up for it.  The Right Sort of Man almost a cozy, but the setting, atmosphere, and themes are darker.  Readers who enjoyed the Lady Hardcastle mysteries by T. E. Kinsey will enjoy this first title in a new series, and I for one look forward to future Sparks & Bainbridge mysteries.

The Gone Dead by Chanelle Benz

July 11, 2019

The Gone Dead by Chanelle Benz

Billie James is a biracial woman, about 35 years old, who inherited a house in the town of Greendale on the Mississippi Delta.  Her mother, Pia, was a medieval scholar, recently deceased.  She returns to the house with her dog (Rufus, who used to belong to her recently deceased grandmother) because she wants to find out what happened to her father, Clifton James, a well-known local poet who fell and hit his head and died.  Billie was missing for several hours on the day her father died.  Billie and her mother have been estranged for several years from her father’s family, because inter-racial marriage was a felony in Mississippi.  After hearing snippets of information, Billie decides to investigate the events surrounding what happened the day her father died, but her family and the locals don’t want her digging around.

This was a little heavy for reading during the summer, but you take your new library books when your hold comes in.  Very slow moving, like the Mississippi Delta where it is set; the overall themes are the importance of family, place, and the truth.  Many of the characters are well-drawn, even Rufus the dog.  The ending was flat:  one of the things I didn't care for was getting to the end and having one of the characters (Billie's uncle) say, "Okay, this is what happened," after letting the other people in the town lie to her, terrorize her, beat her up, and shoot her dog (the dog is okay at the end).  It turns out Clifton dies as a result of being beat up; he refused to get medical help at the time of the beating and later when De tries to get him to go to the hospital; and when he is found later that night collapsed in his yard, the sheriff doesn't take him to the hospital.

Even though it's described as a mystery, I wouldn't give it that label.  I only finished it because I did want to find out what had happened to the father.  I did not really enjoy this one and don't recommend it.

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

July 5, 2019

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Casiopea Tun and her mother live with her horrible maternal grandfather and his family, treated as servants even though Casiopea’s mother was once her father’s favorite daughter.  Casiopea longs for a different life, away from her awful relatives, but when she opens a locked chest and lets out what was inside, she gets more than she bargained for.  She embarks on a quest across Mexico with the Lord of Death as he seeks revenge on his fellow supernaturals, while Casiopea strives to figure out her heart's desire.

Really good!  This is a quest story that blends mythology, folklore, and a splash of Cinderella, set during the Jazz Age in Mexico.  Anyone who enjoyed Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik should enjoy this novel.

The Chelsea Girls by Fiona Davis

July 6, 2019

The Chelsea Girls by Fiona Davis

The Chelsea Hotel in New York was always a home for artists and eccentrics.  Meeting on a USO tour during World War II, Hazel and Maxine form a friendship that lasts after they return home.  Maxine goes to Hollywood to try to break into the movies, while Hazel moves into the Chelsea Hotel and works on an idea for a play.  Another Chelsea resident reads the play and hooks Hazel up with some of her theater connections.  Maxine’s movie career has stalled, so she returns to New York and takes a room at the Chelsea. When she hears that Hazel’s play will be performed on Broadway, she is determined to star as the leading lady.  Maxine secures the role, but it results in disaster as both women and many of their friends are swept up in McCarthyism, HUAC, and the communist witch hunts of the 1950s.  I can’t think of another novel that addresses the activities of HUAC and the consequences for artists, actors, and others in the creative fields this well.  The Chelsea Girls would make a great book club book, since there is much to discuss here.

(If you don’t know what HUAC was, it was the House Un-American Activities Committee, originally formed to investigate the possibility of spies sending information to Russia, but quickly descended into a witch hunt focusing on the entertainment industry.  Sort of like a precursor to Homeland Security.)

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in return for a review.

The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt by Andrea Bobotis

July 4, 2019

The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt by Andrea Bobotis

I was looking forward to reading this title since it ticks a lot of the boxes for me (family secrets, small towns, narrators looking back at their lives from an advanced age).  Judith Kratt is a 75 year old woman who has lived her whole life in the same house in a small town in Alabama.  The Kratt family was once the leading family in town, owning the local cotton gins as well as the only department store in the area.  But a series of misfortunes sent the family into a downward spiral and the youngest daughter fleeing from the town, and now Judith lives in her old house surrounded by family possessions, with only her old friend Olva as a companion.

Judith isn't happy to learn that her prodigal sister Rosemarie is returning to town after an absence of 60 years, and Rosemarie's return triggers changes and upheavals in Judith's orderly life.  She decides to create an inventory of the family's possessions, telling her story in the process.

This is a debut novel and it was interesting enough to keep me reading, although I guessed at some of the family secrets well before the end.  It contains many themes of Southern fiction such as small towns, old houses, siblings, and secrets.  I found it to be an enjoyable read, great for the summer, and look forward to more from this author.

Happy Independence Day!  

Killing with Confetti by Peter Lovesey

July 2, 2019

Killing with Confetti by Peter Lovesey

Meh.  Part of a long-running series featuring Detective Peter Diamond, and not the strongest entry.

The premise is intriguing:  the son of a police chief and the daughter of a crime boss decide to marry, causing a security nightmare for the Bath police force.  Diamond finds himself assigned to act as unwilling bodyguard to the crime boss.  But too much time was spent in the first half of the book on characters who have nothing to do with the plot and essentially disappear in the second half.  The final plot twist was clever, but not that well supported, so no recommendation on this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in return for a review.

The Last Collection by Jeanne Mackin

July 1, 2019

The Last Collection by Jeanne Mackin

Two fashion icons:  Coco Chanel is French, born into poverty and raised at an orphanage, known for her simple lines and neutral color palette; Elsa Schiaparelli is Italian, from a wealthy background, and famous for her whimsical and colorful designs.  They manage rival couture salons in Paris prior to WWII, competing for the patronage and money of the wealthy and the titled while the threat of war creeps ever closer.  Lily Sutter, a widowed American artist visiting her brother, becomes acquainted with both designers through her brother’s titled lover.  Full of glitz, jazz, fashion, and parties, The Last Collection is sure to appeal to anyone who enjoys the glamour of the golden age between the world wars.  Meticulously researched, this is solid historical fiction.  Perfect for summer reading, this is another one to toss in your suitcase or beach bag.