The Great Divide by Cristina Henriquez

October 1, 2024

The Great Divide by Cristina Henriquez

In 1904, construction begins on the Panama Canal. But not everyone is in favor of building the canal, particularly the local people whose lives are being uprooted in order to make way for the canal.

Historical novel about the building of the Panama Canal, told from several viewpoints: the Americans in charge of the project or who travel to Panama for other reasons, local people whose lives are affected by the canal, and workers from other countries. The canal divides the country physically but also divides the characters emotionally and psychologically. While the subject is interesting the story was slow moving and I found the ending to be unsatisfying. There were a lot of characters and very little character growth or resolution to their situations. This was one of my choices for Hispanic Heritage Month. Disappointing. Recommended only for readers who read only historical fiction.

The Panama Canal

The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel

September 30, 2024

The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel

Alfred invites his five closest college friends to spend the weekend at his Alfred Hitchcock themed hotel, free of charge. Alfred has always been a huge Hitchcock fan and collects Hitchcock memorabilia. But something bad happened during their senior year of college (maybe more than one something), and Alfred has waited 16 years to exact his revenge.

This had a good creepy vibe, great for the season: an old house in a college town, converted to a boutique hotel and filled with movie memorabilia, a creepy housekeeper who is always lurking about, plus an aviary full of crows behind the house. All the characters have secrets in addition to being morally bankrupt. There are a couple of good twists that I didn't see coming. I read the author's previous book (Darling Rose Gold, based on the Blanchard case), which had its own squirm factor. Fans of Alfred Hitchcock and psychological suspense will enjoy Wrobel's latest novel.

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

Alfred Hitchcock with a Thanksgiving turkey - this photo is referenced several times in the book

Return to Wyldcliffe Heights by Carol Goodman

September 28, 2024

Return to Wyldcliffe Heights by Carol Goodman

Ever since her bestselling romantic suspense novel was published, fans of reclusive author Veronica St. Clair have been clamoring for the author to write a sequel. When editorial assistant Agnes Corey loses her job at the publishing house that published the novel, she secures a position as the author's assistant to help her write a sequel. Little does she know that the job will open up a window into her own life story.

When I was in high school, I was a huge fan of Victoria Holt's gothic novels. The cover and description reminded me of those books (in fact, at least one is referenced in the text), but this one is no where near as well written or engaging. It's a book within a book, a trope which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. There are too many dreams that repeat the same thing, too much falling asleep in the bathtub. The plot is really slow moving and the characters are unlikeable as well as confusing. All the narrative threads are jumbled together at the end in a confusing heap, with the characters proving to be exceptionally stupid. It was a slog to get through, and a good editor should have deleted at least 25 pages. It will appeal to readers who are big gothic fans - maybe.

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

I remember this being one of my favorite Victoria Holt novels

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune

September 27, 2024

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune

In the sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea, Arthur Parnassus, magical adult and caretake of a group of magical children, petitions to adopt the children in his care, rather than just supervise the group home where they live. With his partner Linus Baker, they work to thwart the bigoted government agency that is attempting to force their beliefs on the world by gaining control of one particular magical child: Lucifer, aka Lucy, spawn of Satan, age seven.

While I loved revisiting the characters from the first book, there is a certain amount of lecturing here, with more emphasis on politics. In addition to being a fantasy, it is also a parody of the current issues on gay and transgender rights. A certain percentage of the population believes that anyone who is different from them, is a lesser life form and not entitled to the same rights as a human being. Gorgeous cover art. It's still worth reading. Recommended for fantasy readers everywhere.

A phoenix, like Arthur

Diamond Dust by Russ Swain

September 17, 2024

Diamond Dust by Russ Swain

After borrowing $10,000 from a loan shark and realizing he had no way to repay the loan, Russ Swain decided to put his artistic skills to good use and forged a pile of $20 bills that were so good even the Secret Service had a hard time detecting them. After his life crashed down around him, Swain used his talent to rebuild his life.

Who doesn't love a good Mormon book? A lot of information about what makes U.S. currency unique (who knew there was silk in the paper or that the surface has a slight grit to it), as well as how to counterfeit a $20 bill. Will appeal to readers of true crime, general nonfiction, and do-it-yourself.

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

Example of a counterfeit $20 bill

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

September 15, 2024

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

In a little coffee house on a Tokyo side street, there is an urban legend that visitors who sit in a certain chair can time travel and meet someone from another time in their life. But it's risky: there are rules and conditions, and the most important rule is that you only have as much time as it takes for a cup of coffee to grow cold. If you don't drink the coffee during that time period, there are dire consequences. Knowing this, a number of regulars at the cafe are still willing to take the risk.

A short book with an interesting concept about being able to time travel yet not change anything in the present. Slow moving, character driven with the characters' lives and stories being intertwined. All of the characters have some regret or something left undone that they want to correct if possible. Some readers have complained about the quality of the writing, but that may be due to the fact that the book is translated from the Japanese. There is a certain amount of repetition of the rules and limitations that wasn't necessary after the first time. Overall, I was left with a feeling of sweet sadness, which I didn't need at the time. I also felt disappointed - I thought the story could have been a lot more.

Tokyo

The Lost Letters from Martha's Vineyard by Michael Callahan

September 14, 2024

The Lost Letters from Martha's Vineyard by Michael Callahan

After being nominated for an Academy Award, starlet Mercy Welles suddenly vanished without a trace from Hollywood. Sixty years later, Kit O'Neil and her sister are cleaning out their late grandmother's house on Martha's Vineyard when Kit comes across photos of her grandmother that look suspiciously like the missing actress.

I didn't love this as much as many other readers have. I thought this was going to be a really good end-of-summer read, and I usually love books about old Hollywood, but something about this one didn't sit right with me. Maybe because it was written by a man, and he was fixated on what the women in the story look like, especially whether they are slim or frumpy or the kind of woman a man (like him) wouldn't look at twice. Also, there are a lot of familiar over-used tropes, like the struggling unknown actress who is suddenly nominated for an Oscar and catapulted to stardom, the wealthy dysfunctional family, the pile of family secrets in the attic that somehow no one else has discovered, among other things. The story is also overly long and the plot drags. Although billed as a mystery, there isn't much mystery and a lot more romance. Recommended for readers of romantic suspense.

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

Martha's Vineyard