Wanting Daisy Dead

Wanting Daisy Dead is my selection for What's in a Name Reading Challenge this month. The title fits the "flower" category. The story is a psychological thriller and it was published on October 1, 2025.

The publisher's summary:  

They all had a reason. Only one had the nerve.

Twenty years ago, student Daisy Harrington went out for the evening and never came home. Her body was found a week later. The killer was caught. Case closed.

Now, on what would have been her fortieth birthday, her five university housemates are invited to a weekend gathering. None of them want to go. But none of them can refuse—the invitation makes it clear that if they don’t attend, the past they’ve spent two decades hiding will finally come to light.

Because the man convicted of Daisy’s murder was innocent. And one of the five has known this all along. As the weekend unfolds, the truth threatens to finally be revealed…

They all wanted Daisy dead, but one wanted it more. The question is…who? And why?

The story's suspenseful beginning had me hooked. First one ex-roommate of Daisy’s received the invitation to her 40th birthday party. Then the next and the next and the next. All of them thought about their college secrets so it was impossible to determine who the whodunnit was at this point in the story. The weekend birthday celebration was sponsored by a true crime podcast called The Killer Question. The podcast looks at unsolved crimes as well those where there has been a conviction. If the podcasters believe the wrong person is incarcerated they will investigate the crime and find the real killer. In Daisy’s case, they believe the wrong man was convicted. 

As the plot moved forward, each roommate seemed to me to be her real killer. The chapters alternated between their perspectives. Maddie, Lauren, Dan, Alex and Georgie seemed innocent enough but each feared their secret being exposed. If they were smart, the roommates would have spoken with each other and decided as a group not to go to this party. I eventually settled on Lauren as my prospective whodunnit. She continued to think about her actions during the night Daisy died as evidence of her guilt. Was she just the obvious choice? I can't say.

All of these characters were ridiculously stupid. None of them should have attended the party but once they were there, they made one bad remark after another. Georgie was my favorite character. She broke up with Alex while in college and married Dan for financial security but  ruled over him harshly. Georgie also talked alot about violence toward people she didn't like and she was highly excitable. In my mind she was the bright star among the other milquetoast characters. However, she made a mistake with Alex. He became a tech billionaire. Lauren was an author who was planning to write a non-fiction book about Daisy’s murder. When the friends spoke about wanting to leave early, in order to prevent them from leaving Lauren reasoned with them to stay. The longer the roommates stayed at the party the more treacherous it became for each of them. 

Wanting Daisy Dead was a quick read. Each twist in the story made me think and this notched up my enjoyment of the book. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Editor's Daughter

The Editor's Daughter is a historical fiction novel set in 1814 Washington, featuring Ella Rutherford. Ella is a secret editorial writer who must navigate political upheaval, romance, and the British invasion. I received a free copy of this book from Book Sirens in exchange for an honest review. This 411 page novel was published on May 26, 2026.

The publisher's summary:  

A war. A fire. A bond written in ash and ink. And a voice that refused to be extinguished.

In Washington, 1814, Ella Rutherford grew up amid the noise of the printing press and the uproar of congressional halls as the secret protégé of her father. Skirting society's demands, she authors editorials under a false name while waging a rivalry with cynical war correspondent Grant Dashwood and avoiding every attempt at a match.

When British troops march on the capital in a night of fire and smoke, Ella loses everything. With no inheritance and even fewer options, Ella must wed—but the cost of marriage is more than she can afford. Through ruin, conspiracy, and a love written between the lines, she must choose between the people she loves and who she was meant to be.

I always enjoy historical fiction stories about feminists in earlier eras. Ella Rutherford is one such woman. She is in the fourth season of the marriage market but continues to reject every suitor. All of them wanted to stifle her intellectual curiosity and talents. Ella has no intention of being obedient to a man so she believes she cannot marry. Female obedience is expected on marriage. That said, Ella has an attraction to Grant Dashwood who has liberal ideas concerning women.

Since the backdrop to the story is the War of 1812, Dashwood tries to warn the Rutherford's that the British were soon to be in the new city of Washington where the Rutherfords reside. Ella's father decides to ignore the warning and when the British knock on his door they immediately shoot him dead. Ella flees with Dashwood and later learns that her mother and younger sister have taken refuge with their Montgomery cousins. She is now destitute and must live with them also. The British troops burned the entire city of Washington. If memory serves me correctly, Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Bangled Banner during this siege.

The story is a historical romance. Dashwood and Ella exchange letters while Dashwood is serving as a war correspondent with the American troops. Both are trying to avoid their feelings for each other. In the meantime Ella's mother has foumd another suitor for her. Thomas Gray is wealthy and Ella's family is pressuring her to marry him. Ella is concerned about his weak view of women but knows she must make a match soon.

I don't want to gave any further summary of the plot. It's best to read the book for yourselves to find out what happens to Ella. I loved her character though. She was such a strong woman for the era. Her mother, however, was the stereotypical wealthy wife bent on fitting into society at any cost. I was surprised that Ella's father gave in to her mother regarding her prospective suitors. In the beginning of the novel he always sided with Ella and let her write news stories for his paper. Grant Dashwood was, of course, dashing. 

I enjoyed this book. It gives alot of detail about the War of 1812 and I learned alot. The story was somewhat slow in parts so I am rating it 4 out of 5 stars.

The Margin of Death

The Margin of Death is a financial crime thriller featuring Detective Sarah Reeves. She has a missing-person case that later becomes a murder investigation and then a much larger investigation into genealogy, wealth and ancient secrets. I received a free copy of this book from Book Sirens in exchange for an honest review. The book was published on May 5, 2026.

The story began quickly and I was instantly hooked. Sarah is working on a financial crime investigation into insider trading at Apex Capital. She had received an email complaint from portfolio analyst Marcus Chen. Chen almost immediately disappeared so Sarah made an appointment to see his boss James Harrington. The complaint was related to the Cross Industries merger announcement. Chen claimed to have evidence of options trades placed weeks before the public announcement, using client accounts without authorization.

Cross Industries was owned by U. S. Senator William Cross who was the chair of the Senate Banking Committee and was running for president. Sarah discovered that Cross was using his daughter's shell companies to launder illegal foreign contributions from Russian oligarchs, Saudi nationals and Chinese businessmen. He laundered forty-seven million dollars over two years.

Harrington allowed an IT technician to open up Chen's computer for Sarah to review. The tech informed Sarah that Chen had him set up a deadman's switch on his computer so that if he didn't log in every 48 hours an automated email would be sent out. With Chen's disappearance 2 days ago, the switch was triggered. What Sarah found in a "deleted emails" folder was the beginning of her investigation into the firm. Chen was close to the firm's Head of Compliance Leo Jenkins. They attended college together and were long time friends. However, Leo was found dead that same day. His murder was set up to look like a suicide as was Chen's. I found this start to the plot riveting and I couldn’t put the book down. I read it in one sitting.

As Sarah began organizing the facts of the crime, she found additional factors that changed the essence of the investigation. The financial crime investigation process continued but Sarah was led to a spreadsheet with 37 lines. Each line referenced a name and the date killed. Her father was #4 on the list and she was #37. Her murder was pending. The investigation further led her to genealogical insights into the Parke family dating back to 893 AD and the family of Æthelflæd. I loved this part of the plot as genealogy is a hobby of mine. The Æthelflæd connection became a major part of the plot. 

What is the margin? It is explained toward the ending. I was not expecting the explanation. It was a surprise that I had to think about for awhile to fully understand it. 

There is so much more to the plot that I cannot expand on due to space restrictions. For each of the story descriptions above, there is much more detail than I mentioned. Suffice to say that I  was stuck to my seat while reading this riveting story. I loved the intersection of politics, money and old family secrets. 

5 out of 5 stars.

The Fatal Farandole

This delightful cozy mystery was published a few days ago on May 29, 2026. It is the 9th installment of the Provence Cozy Mysteries series by Ana T. Drew. The main character is baker Julie Cavallo. Please note that I received a free copy of this book from Book Sirens in exchange for an honest review.

The publisher's summary:

A beloved Provençal festival.

A murderous conspiracy.

A bullfighter who knows too much.

When two local chefs are killed within a week, shockwaves ripple through the region’s tight-knit culinary world. Suspicion lands squarely on baker Julie Cavallo. As whispers turn to accusations, her eccentric family closes ranks, and her loyal friends rally to her side.

But Julie’s running out of time. Her pastry shop is at risk. Her love life is unraveling. The gendarmes are tracking her every move. Julie can’t afford to wait for the official investigation to uncover the truth. Her instincts go into overdrive. Dots connect. Patterns appear. . .

Can Julie make it through this case, when asking the right questions has already gotten others killed?

The story opened with a bang. Our main character Julie wakes up freezing and soon sees her grandmother’s dog Lady lying near her. Lady is whimpering. She is freezing also. Julie soon realizes that she is locked in a walk in freezer. With her mind moving fast Julie sees a metal grate that she can probably fit through. All she has to do is unscrew the nails. After several nerve-wracking minutes, the grate comes off and Julie squeezes through the space, then grabs Lady. The next thing she knows she is in a hospital.

While scrounging her memory for details on how she ended up in the freezer, Julie remembers chatting with fellow chef and friend Mylene Nivault. She cannot remember anything else. After hospital discharge Julie returns to work at her gluten free pastry shop. Unfortunately, she finds out that she is a suspect in Mylene's murder. Julie didn't even know Mylene was dead, let alone murdered. Capitaine Bauer has focused on her because she is always at the scene of suspicious deaths. The news travels fast in her village, Beldoc, and Julie’s shop is not approved to be a caterer at a local festival. Friends intervene and she is finally approved. Once the bull fest begins, all hell breaks through both before and after the farandole.

So what is the farandole? I asked my french teacher. I thought she said it was a festival. After reading a few more pages I learned that the farandole is a dance. Dancers wear a cultural dress, the l'arlesienne, and the dance music was written by composer Bizet. After listening to the music on YouTube I realized that I have heard it several times in the past. 

The story had many twists, much more than I am accustomed to seeing in cozy mysteries. This was a nice surprise. Another surprise was the extensive descriptions of the Provençal setting. I learned alot more than new insights into the culture but also quite a few new French words. How the police, gendarmerie, investigated crimes and how wine appellation laws mandate which grape varieties can be used, yield limits, and specific aging processes was interesting to say the least.

Note that the differences between the wine appellation laws figure prominently in the plot. It was fascinating see how fraudsters can exploit these laws both legally and illegally. There are other laws regarding what type of paperwork is required to prove provenance. The requirements under these laws vary significantly. They, too, can easily be exploited and this created alot of suspense in the story.

The characters were well developed. Julie is an amateur sleuth who, in the past, was at the scene of several murders. Her sleuthing always puts her in danger. Julie’s grandmother Rose is a fine example of a woman aging gracefully. Rose always chooses to participate in village events and takes chances on ruining her reputation in order to have fun. Julie has a boyfriend named Gabriel. Gabriel is a police officer who seems to good to be true. However, he really is that perfect caring man. Julie has an assistant, Flo, who is the voice of reason in Julie’s circle of friends. Flo can discern the best action for situations in which Julie finds herself and force Julie to think objectively. 

I loved The Fatal Farandole and am planning on reading the entire series. While I have already read several books that I think will be in my top ten for 2026, I am adding The Fatal Fandole to my prospective list. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Singapore Secret

The Singapore Secret is a new release from Clair Willis. The narrative alternates between 1942 Singapore and present-day England. A young woman named Dorothy makes a promise during the evacuation of Singapore. Years later, her granddaughter Annabel finds a photo of her with an unknown man and Anabel begins to research the photo. 

The publisher's summary: 

Singapore 1942: With the war drawing ever closer, Dorothy faces a heart-rending choice to leave the country she has come to call home and the people she loves most. As she boards a boat full of evacuees with warplanes advancing across the ocean, a tiny baby is pressed into her arms. In that moment, Dorothy makes a promise that will echo through the years...

England, 2019: When Annabel's grandmother, Dotty, passes away aged one hundred she discovers a bundle of letters and photographs hidden in her desk that document her life in Singapore during the 1930s. But Dotty had always said she never travelled further than their small village in Cornwall. What could have made Dotty conceal this past life? Who is the man standing next to her in a wedding dress who is not Annabel's grandfather?

Determined to uncover the truth, is Annabel prepared for what she will find?

What a great story! I was hooked from the first chapter. Dorothy's story is extraordinary. She suffered so much during her eight years living in Singapore but ended up with a long and happy life in Cornwall. The book is written in a dual timeline which is a format that I enjoy. The chapters alternated between Dorothy's perspective and Annabel's perspective. I enjoyed Dorothy's story more because she had unusual life experiences. 

The story opened with Annabel Penrose deciding to spend the Easter holiday with her beloved grandmother, Dotty, in Cornwall. She needs to get away for awhile from her cheating boyfriend. When she arrives, she finds Dotty has suffered a fall and is in the hospital. Scans reveal Dotty has a tumor and could not have ever had children. Annabel is shocked because her father Noel has always been known to be Dotty’s son. Dotty soon passes away and Annabel finds herself traveling to Singapore to find out more about her grandmother. 

The story is set in Singapore during WWII. I didn't know much about the Japanese occupation of the island before reading the book but it was horrific. I don’t know how anyone could possibly have survived. Many died but many also forced themselves to survive on a day to day basis. The people living in Singapore at that time had harsh existences; too awful to describe. Reading how the war affected them was certainly eye-opening. 

The Singapore Secret was an engrossing read. I think it offers a unique perspective on the WWII historical fiction sub-genre. 5 out of 5 stars.

Midnight in the House of Commons

Midnight in the House of Commons is the 16th Charles Lenox mystery by Charles Finch. In this installment of the series a member of parliament is poisoned. The series takes place in the Victorian era in London.

The publisher's summary:

In the spring of 1881, Lenox is caught up in the whirl of London life when his brother arrives to tell him that there’s been a murder in the House of Commons. Robert Baddeley, a charismatic, womanizing Member, has been found poisoned in the hallowed chamber itself. Suspicion immediately falls on the women in his life, including his wife and mistress, but as Lenox digs deeper, he realizes that there were more than a few people who might have wanted Baddeley dead. 

Meanwhile, Lenox must balance his investigation with his family life, which has grown increasingly complicated: his ward Sari struggles with heartbreak, the Lenox household receives an odd visitor, and a young woman comes to Lenox to implore him to find her fiancé, who has mysteriously vanished. 

And just when Lenox is nearing the truth of Baddeley’s murder, someone close to him is arrested for the crime—and Lenox must race to solve the case before losing everything.

Joyfully set in ballrooms, supper parties, palaces, and Parliament, Midnight in the House of Commons takes Charles Lenox through his trickiest, most satisfying case yet.

I was disappointed with the book. It wasn't much of a whodunnit. There was plenty of Victorian era verbage that I did not see advancing the plot and after awhile I became bored. This is highly unusual for me with a Charles Finch novel. In addition, it took a few chapters for the unknown woman, Violet Goodhue (I love this name) to see Lenox and describe her predicament, which was that her fiance disappeared. Lenox interviewed the man's family and closest friends who all said he wanted out of the engagement. Of course, there is more to this subplot.

 The murder itself did not occur until we were almost at the halfway mark in the story. That is too late for a mystery novel but note that the plot picked up speed here. Member of Parliament Robert Baddeley was found dead at midnight in the House of Commons Chamber. Baddeley was known to work late into the night so none of the maintenance crew were surprised to see him working late that evening. They were surprised to find his body when they opened up the Chamber for cleaning. The police later determined that he was poisoned with chloral. Chloral will kill within 15 minutes of exposure. For his investigation, Detective Lenox interviewed Baddeley’s associates as well as the night crew on site that evening.

I have been known to watch Prime Ministers Questions which is shown live on TV from the House of Commons Chambers on Wednesdays. As such, I am familiar with the decor and procedures in the House. The author accurately portrayed the scene. I was surprised where the body was placed in the Chamber and instantly knew it was staged. However, the Chamber was locked and no one should have been able to access it. A woman claiming to be Baddeley’s sister signed herself in on the premises though. The sticky point here is that Baddeley did not have a sister. Another unusual fact was the location of his office. Baddeley should have been assigned a better location for his office. Lenox was told by several men that the office was where men could meet their mistresses. All these facts Charles Lenox had to sift through in order to find the killer. The rest of the story followed the murder mystery formula with several twists and turns.

The suspects included Baddeley’s chief assistant whom he was going to fire. Mr. Cole was the last person to see him alive and his father was a chemist. The French and Russian governments were also considered. Baddeley’s wealthy wife and mistress rounded out the pool of suspects. 

I am rating the book 3 out of 5 stars. While the beginning was slow, once the investigation began the story became much more interesting. Also, note that I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

The Sapphire Child

The Sapphire Child is the sequel to The Emerald Affair. It is part of a trilogy that takes place in India during the British Raj era. The sequel concerns the same characters as well as their progeny. The book is chunky with its 515 pages and qualifies for the Big Book Summer Challenge as well as the Color Coded and Historical Fiction Challenges.

The publisher's summary:  

In 1930s Northern India, childhood friends Stella and Andrew have grown up together in the orbit of the majestic Raj Hotel. Spirited Stella has always had a soft spot for boisterous Andrew, though she dreams of meeting a soulmate from outside the close-knit community. But life is turned on its head when one scandal shatters their friendship and another sees her abandoned by the man she thought she loved.

As the Second World War looms, Andrew joins the army to fight for freedom. Meanwhile in India, Stella, reeling from her terrible betrayal, also throws herself into the war effort, volunteering for the Women’s Auxiliary Corps, resigned to living a lonelier life than the one she dreamed of as a child.

When Andrew returns to the East on the eve of battle with Japan, the two former friends are reunited, though bitter experience has changed them. Can they rekindle what they once had or will war demand of their friendship the ultimate sacrifice?

The Sapphire Child is a captivating and sumptuous novel. It is well researched with vivid descriptions of an India of yesteryear. The weather descriptions were spot on. I could feel the oppressive humidity. The pungent smell of spices were fully described. I was totally lost in this exotic setting. I didn't expect that the book would be better than The Emerald Affair but it is way more entertaining than Emerald. 

This novel was much more emotional than the Emerald Affair. I had my heart in my hands from start to finish. I worried about Stella the most. Stella was taken advantage of by just about everyone. She is a sweet woman so it always felt wrong for her to be mistreated. Esme and Tom held second place but as the plot unfolded I got tired of Tom’s depression and outbursts. Lydia, Andrew’s mother, was the villain. You knew she would hurt everyone around her and she did. When Andrew grew up he joined the army. His exploits during WWII were intense. We read alot about the progress of the war. I think Andrew was one of the most mature characters in the story, with the exception of the easy-going Esme. 

Childhood friends Stella and Andrew grew up together in the majestic Raj Hotel, owned by Andrew's father Tom Lomax.  Stella has always had a soft spot for Andrew, but she dreams of meeting a soulmate. She gets reacquainted with a man she met on the ship from Scotland to India. Hugh Keating seems to be the perfect man. He's attractive, suave, and available. Hugh proposes but avoids conversations about getting married so I knew he was too good to be true. He had both me and Stella fooled. Much more happened between these two but I don't want to be a spoiler. Suffice to say this relationship was heart-wrenching.

The Sapphire Child was enjoyable from beginning to end. I am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

Big Book Summer Challenge

I love chunky books. When I saw that there is a new reading challenge concentrating on them I had to join in on the fun.

Rules:

1.  Anything 400 pages or more qualifies as a big book.

2.  The challenge runs from the Friday of Memorial Day weekend (May 22 this year) through Labor Day (September 7 this year).

3.  Choose one or two or however many big books you want as your goal. Wait, did you get that? You only need to read 1 book with 400+ pages this summer to participate! (though you are welcome to read more, if you want).

4.  If you are a blogger or YouTuber and want to share your Big Book Summer plans, book reviews, or wrap-ups, you can add your link(s) to the links list in the challenge post so others can find you (it will remain open until September 30). If you post a YouTube video for Big Book Summer, please tag Melinda (@awebofstories) and I (@SueJacksonDE), so we can visit and share it with others.

5.  Join the 2026 Big Book Summer Goodreads group to enjoy Big Book discussions all summer long! Or if you prefer, join the Big Book Summer Storygraph group and/or Big Book Summer Storygraph Challenge

6.  For chatting on other social media platforms, use #BigBookSummer

7.  What kind of   books "count"? All kinds! Middle-grade, YA, graphic novels, classics, all genres, all types as long as they are at least 400 pages. Yes, e-books and audio books count, too--just check online for the number of pages in the print edition.  

I am currently reading The Sapphire Child (515) by Janet Macleod Trotter and plan on reading All This and More by Peng Shepherd (472) sometime this month.  Later in the summer I plan on reading Joseph Finder's The Oligarch's Daughter (440), Canticle by Janet Rich Edwards (412), The Calamity by Kathryn Stockett (640). Last month I picked up an 840 page fantasy novel The Priory of the Orange Tree. I don’t know if I will have time to finish the novel though. The Daughters of Shandong (400) and The Young Will Remember (448) both written by Eve Chung are also on my tbr list.

Ice Cold Body

I selected this book for the What's in a Name Challenge. I needed a book title that referenced cold weather. Icy Cold Body is a cozy mystery set in Alaska and is the first book in a five book (to date) series by Kelli Fudge. The Snowy Alaskan Murder Mystery series features Maggie Calloway as an amateur sleuth. 

The publisher's summary:  

She came to Alaska for peace. Her cat found a killer.

Retired schoolteacher Margaret "Maggie" Calloway traded her Ohio life for a cozy cabin in remote Frosthaven, Alaska. With her enormous cat, Kodiak, by her side, she dreamed of quiet days amid breathtaking wilderness. But on the first big snowfall, Kodiak drags her to Frosthaven Lake—where the ice-entombed body of beloved fish hatchery owner Earl Benton stares up from below.

The sheriff calls it a tragic accident. Maggie spots the truth: Earl's boots are bone dry. He didn't drown—he was placed there. As Maggie digs into Frosthaven's secrets—over diner coffee, in dusty archives, and among tight-lipped neighbors—she uncovers land disputes, buried grudges, and a missing deed worth a fortune. Someone will kill to keep it hidden.

With a blizzard sealing the town off and 300 suspects snowed in, Maggie and Kodiak race the storm. Clues are vanishing under feet of snow, and the killer knows she's closing in.

I loved this story! Maggie discovered a frozen body on the lake and was struck by the deceased's boots being dry. I never figured out how this could happen because the entire body was in the lake. It was never explained either. However, the story moved along at a quick pace and I kept reading. Initially, there weren't many characters introduced. There was basically Maggie and her cat Kodiak. About the midway point in the story we are introduced to town archivist Harriet Voss, Leland Gruber, owner of the Trading Post diner, Sheriff Miller and a few secondary characters. 

Harriet and Maggie became a team. They researched the belief among Frosthaven's citizens that their lakefront could not be developed. There were whispers that a deed from 1972 prohibited any development. Earl Benton, the deceased, was known to have proof. Together these two ladies solved the mystery of the deed as well as who killed Earl. Harriet and Maggie worked so well together that I think they will be the amateur sleuths in future releases of the series. 

Maggie's former career as a schoolteacher helped her deal with adversary characters. On almost every page Maggie is thinking back to her classroom and how she dealt with students, other teachers and school administration. She instinctively knew how to handle difficult people. It was fascinating to see how she was able to use her skills in a different setting.

I was surprised that the book only had 145 pages. I checked the page length of subsequent books in the series and they all were short. Despite this, the book followed the mystery formula to a T. It was an exciting novel. 5 out of 5 stars.

June Armchair Travel Plans

Next month I will be returning to India with the next book in Janet MacLeid Trotter's Raj Hotel historical fiction series. The Sapphire Child meets the requirements of two reading challenges:  the Color Coded and Historical Fiction Challenges.  Singapore is another stop I will make on my travels with The Singapore Secret by Clair Willis. Also, I will cross over the pond for Charles Finch's newest novel Midnight in the House of Commons. The book is the 16th Charles Lenox mystery. Last month I didn't get around to reading White River Crossing. It's a popular new book taking place in the sub-arctic Canada. Eve Chung's The Young Will Remember is set in China just after the end of the Cultural Revolution. 

My American travel includes Washington DC in the early 1800s to read The Editor's Daughter by K. A. Felstad. The Margin of Death is a financial crime thriller with a dual timeline. It connects 893 England with the current era in New York City.  Then we have Ice Cold Body, an Snowy Alaskan Murder Mystery by Kelli Fudge. This book is a cozy mystery. Favorite author Wanda Brunstetter will publish Melody of Love in a few days. Since this is an Amish fiction story it is set in the American Midwest. Finally, A River Red With Blood takes place in Maine’s Kennebec River Valley. Written by John Connolly it is a June 2026 new release. To complete my U. S. based armchair travel I will read Lisa See’s newest novel Daughters of the Sun and Moon. It takes place in post Civil War Los Angeles. I think this is a new, to me, setting for a Chinese immigrant story. I am looking forward to getting my hands on the book. It's going to be published next month.

Where are you traveling in June?

Captivating Character of the Month: May

My captivating character of the month is Debbie Mullen from Freida McFadden's Dear Debbie. Debbie is both the protagonist and the villain of the story. She writes an advice column for a local newspaper similar to the Dear Abby columns I read while growing up. 

When the story began Debbie was frequently featured at social events with friends. Nothing untoward was obvious. She attended a monthly book club with neighbors living on her block who openly disparaged her lack of class and higher education. Debbie desperately wants to fit in and accepts this mistreatment as necessary in order to climb the social ladder. Later these friends begin to ridicule her intense behavior behind her back. They gossip about rumors that she spent a few months in a psychiatric hospital. Yeah, Debbie is nuts.

Most of the chapters begin with drafts of her column wherein she suggests that the complaining women kill their husbands. The reader doesn't know if the drafts were eventually published until the halfway point in the story where we read she was fired for suggesting murder in a column that had been published. Debbie’s psycho behavior takes off from here. Anyone who hurt her husband or kids ended up dead. Debbie was always back in form the next day being way too cheerful and overdoing the housewife duties.

I agree with the revenge that Debbie plotted on her adversaries. They were definitely deserving of everything they received. Maybe I'm nuts too.

Book of the Month: May

After perusing the book reviews I wrote this month, I decided that there are only three options for my best book of the month. All three are them are graphic novels:  Do Admit by Mimi Pond, Tall Water by S J Sindu and This Place Kills Me by Mariko Tamaki. It seemed impossible to pick just one but I must select Do Admit because of the drawings in the book. I believe this graphic biography of the Mitford Sisters is a masterpiece! 

This biography is about the six Mitford sisters Nancy, Unity, Diana, Pam, Jessica and Deborah as well as the other members of their aristocratic family, and their geo-political influence on major events of the 1920s and 1930s. I did not know much about them before reading the book. The sisters knew many famous people of the twentieth century. Diana and Unity knew Adolf Hitler. Deborah became the Duchess of Devonshire. Other celebs in their orbit include William Faulkner, Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. The phrase "do admit" was one of the sisters' favorite sayings. 

What I loved the most about the book is the color palette. Another aesthetic I liked was the use of info-graphics for the narrative part of the story. I thought this was creative and enjoyed reading the narrative. The author used lines of text of different font sizes placed at different angles. She is a master of typology. The rest of the story was shown in whimsical illustrations all drawn in prussian blue ink.

It took the author six years to complete this 444 page book.  It is a MASTERPIECE and contender for my 2026 book of the year. It was published in September 2025. 

Book Cover of the Month: May

We'll Prescribe You Another Cat has an enchanting book cover of two cats in a prescription bottle. I love it! The cover design was created by Adam Auerbach. 

Auerbach is designer, illustrator, and art director from Brooklyn. He has over 15 years of experience in the publishing industry as both a children's book author and as an illustrator for other authors. You can see his work on his Instagram page and also on his webite.

 

The Once and Future Riot

This graphic novel investigates the 2013 Muzaffarnagar Riot that took place in India. Graphic journalist Joe Sacco examines the sectarian violence, crowd dynamics and competing narratives concerning the riot. The book was published in October 2025.

The publisher's summary: 

Compared to other episodes of lethal Indian communal violence, the clashes in Uttar Pradesh in 2013, the Muzaffarnagar Riot, were a relatively small-scale affair―some scores of people were killed and several tens of thousands displaced. It had happened before and will probably happen again: Hindus and Muslims, armed with guns and swords, riled up by vitriolic rhetoric and a tangle of accusations, turn on one another. The truth fragments along religious lines, both in the lead-up to the rampage and in its bloody aftermath.

In The Once and Future Riot, Joe Sacco immerses himself in Uttar Pradesh, speaking to government officials, political leaders, village chiefs, and especially the victims, who were mostly landless peasants, in a quest to understand this riot as an archetype of political violence. In the process, he probes the role of savagery in a democracy; the power of crowds, rather than leaders, to influence the course of events; the collision of competing narratives; and the accounts that perpetrators construct to explain away their participation in bloodshed.

Hailed as “the heir to R. Crumb and Art Spiegelman” (Economist), Sacco has chronicled the urgent histories that define the world around us, from the Great War to Gaza. Here, he turns his masterful visual reportage to a story that is specific to India but with implications and resonance for all precarious multiethnic, multiracial societies everywhere.

 After finishing the book I thought that one side had to be primarily at fault for the riot. I had some difficulty determinating which party held that fault so I re-read the book. I kept a cheat sheet detailing who did what in each village. It was an exercise in futility.

The root cause of all of the distrust between the Hindus and the Muslims was the Partition of 1947. The Partition forced Muslims to leave India and move to a new country, Pakistan, where they would be the majority population. Hindus no longer wanted Muslim neighbors even though Muslims were working on their farms. The economics of the Partition resulted in Hindu farm owners paying double the wages to anyone willing to work their farms. Muslims were too far away to labor for them. Before Partition Hindus and Muslims lived peacably side by side. Each faction respected the other. What a mistake it was.

The trigger of most of the clashes was mistreatment of women. The men would then kill the perpetrators but they would eventually be killed themselves in retaliation. The political and religious leaders were never able to prevent the violence and in many cases they did not want to stem the violence. Leaders on both sides fueled anger by spreading misinformation. Unfortunately, Muslims were forced to live in camps after Jat Hindus burned down their villages. The riot itself lasted a few days but violence seems to be a norm in Indian politics, hence the "future" riot. 

I enjoyed reading the book and learned alot about Indian politics. I felt the author's frustration as he traveled throughout the Uttar Pradesh region trying to obtain the truth. Very few people told him what really happened in their villages, preferring to tell him a narrative set by their personal politics. This was a difficult assignment for the author but he did well in telling the reader how he searched for answers on a daily basis.

5 out of 5 stars. 

Do Admit

The gorgeous color pallette of this graphic biography prompted me to read the book. I have read previous books by Mimi Pond so I knew it would be spectacular. The biography is about the six Mitford sisters Nancy, Unity, Diana, Pam, Jessica and Deborah as well as the other members of the aristocratic family, and their geo-political influence on major events of the 1920s and 1930s. The book won the 2026 Cartoonist Studio Prize for Long-form Comic from the Center for Cartoon Studies as well as the 2025 Graphic Novel Critics Poll. The title "Do Admit" is a favorite saying of the sisters. This 444 page book was published in September 2025.

The publisher's summary:

Born with pedigrees but without the pocketbooks to match, The Mitfords were certainly no strangers to lies, intrigue, or scandal. Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica, and Deborah. All six sisters were weaned on their family’s well-documented upper class eccentricities: a ne’er do well would-be entrepreneur father; a stern, stiff-upper-lipped mother; a revolving door of governesses of varying propriety, all against the backdrop of a crumbling estate falling into disrepair.

The sisters grew from cloistered turn-of-the-century country girls into debutantes who would marry into political influence―for better or worse. Is it any wonder that a young, working class Mimi in Southern California becomes enamored with The Mitfords’ downright fanciful rich-and-famous lifestyle? This charming, inventively cartooned, and lovingly researched biography captures the dramatic, over-the-top antics of high society’s strongest personalities as they rubbed elbows with some of history’s most infamous fascists and communists.

Pond’s genius for classic cartooning in the vein of the Vanity Fair caricature and the satirical illustrations of Charles Addams brings the aesthetic decadence of the 1920s and ‘30s to life with effortless aplomb, warts and all.

I had heard the Mitford name before but knew nothing about the family. The book fills in all of the details of each of the sisters' lives who lived during the first half of the 20th century. I wondered why the author, Mimi Pond, decided to write about  them as I believe we are around the same age. How did she become interested in the family? Regardless, she wrote an entertaining and informative book about the sisters.

As I stated above, I loved the color palette. Another aesthetic I liked was the use of info-graphics for the narrative part of the story. I thought this was creative and enjoyed reading the narrative. The author used lines of text of different font sizes placed at different angles. She is a master of typology. The rest of the story was shown in whimsical illustrations. The copyright page states Pond owns the copyright to every part of the book. From this information it becomes apparent that she drew the illustrations and did the lettering in addition to writing the text. I hope Pond wins more awards for the book because it is fantastic. 

There are dozens of characters. We have the six sisters, two parents, many spouses, a few children, and many famous people inside the story. The Mitfords knew Hitler, Winston Churchill, Lyndon Johnson, John F. Kennedy, and William Faulkner. Two of the sisters were fascists. Diana and Unity were deeply entrenched in the Nazi inner circle. Diana married Sir Oswald Mosley, founder of the British Union of Fascists. Unity became obsessed with Adolf Hitler, befriending him and remaining a dedicated follower in Germany. Hitler's records show he met with Unity 140 times. Jessica was a staunch communist and she moved to the U. S.  Deborah became the Duchess of Devonshire. Jessica and Deborah married nephews of prime ministers Winston Churchill and Harold Macmillan, respectively. Needless to say, these divergent political views created distance in their relationships with each other.

Do Admit is going to be in my top books for 2026. It is a masterpiece. 5 out of 5 stars.

Can't Wait Wednesday #49

This weekly meme is hosted by the Wishful Endings blog. The meme spotlights the books that we are excited about but have yet to read. Generally, they're books that have yet to be released.

Today I want to highlight a book that I plan to read next month for the Calendar of Crime Reading Challenge. A River Red With Blood will be published on June 2, 2026. It is part of the Charlie Parker series by John Connolly and takes place in Maine’s rural Kennebec River Valley. The plot is interesting. Two teen girls disappear and one of them attends a troubled teens school. Her body is later found in the water and the police assume that she has drowned. However, Detective Parker finds a connection between the two girls, one new and one ancient. I am particularly interested in the ancient connection and can't wait to find out what happened to the girls.

What book(s) are you anxiously awaiting to read?

The Housemaid is Watching

The Housemaid is Watching is the third book in the Housemaid trilogy and it's just as wonderful as the first two.  Its a psychological thriller with yet another twisty finish that surprised me. The story takes place ten years after the first novel and Millie Calloway returns with husband Enzo and their two kids. 

The publisher's summary: 

“You must be our new neighbors!” Mrs. Lowell gushes and waves across the picket fence. I clutch my daughter’s hand and smile back: but the second Mrs. Lowell sees my husband a strange expression crosses her face. In that moment I make a promise. We finally have a family home. My past is far, far behind us. And I’ll do anything to keep it that way…

I used to clean other people’s houses—now, I can’t believe this home is actually mine. The charming kitchen, the quiet cul-de-sac, the huge yard where my kids can play. My husband and I saved for years to give our children the life they deserve.

Even though I’m wary of our new neighbor Mrs. Lowell, when she invites us over for dinner it’s our chance to make friends. Her maid opens the door wearing a white apron, her hair in a tight bun. I know exactly what it’s like to be in her shoes. But her cold stare gives me chills…

The Lowells’ maid isn’t the only strange thing on our street. I’m sure I see a shadowy figure watching us. My husband leaves the house late at night. And when I meet a woman who lives across the way, her words chill me to the bone: Be careful of your neighbors.

Did I make a terrible mistake moving my family here? I thought I’d left my darkest secrets behind. But could this quiet suburban street be the most dangerous place of all?

Millie and Enzo have two nosy, annoying neighbours. Suzette Lowell cannot stop flirting with Enzo and Millie is jealous. The neighbor across the street, Janice, is the neighborhood spy. She spends the entire day and night looking in everyone's windows with her binoculars. The Lowells have a maid, Martha, with Thursdays open and Suzette talks Enzo into hiring her even though the Accardis cannot afford it. 

Millie and Enzo have two kids, eleven year old Ada and nine year old Nico. Ada is quiet but Nico has tons of energy. Millie repeats several times that she is obsessed with her new house and that the mortgage payments are too high for her to pay. She also has quite a few internal thoughts about her husband maybe cheating on her. Why repeat these two items?  It seemed unusual for McFadden to repeat any information in a novel. It felt odd as I was reading. In addition, Millie's usual housemaid activities are not written into this novel. It made me confused until the ending. 

Who was the villain?  There were a few possibilities. Suzette, Janice and Martha were the characters I was thinking about. The identity of the whodunnit wasn't revealed until the ending but all three characters were suggested throughout the story. 

I had a few issues with the writing.  The formula used in the prior two books in the series was not followed. This reduced the suspense factor during my read. While the ending tied up all of the loose ends, it was not as shocking as the earlier novels. Unfortunately, I have to reduce my rating of the book to 4 out of 5 stars.

Honey in the Wound

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Honey in the Wound is the debut novel of Jiyoung Han. The story is about a Korean family confronting the brutality of the Japanese empire. The Japanese occupied Korea and parts of China during this era. It's an epic tale of five generations of one family. It was published on April 7, 2026.

The publisher's summary:

A sister disappears and returns as a tiger. A mother’s voice compels the truth from any tongue. A granddaughter divines secrets in others’ dreams. These women are all of one lineage—a Korean family split across decades and borders by Japanese imperialism.

At this saga’s heart is Young-Ja, a girl who infuses food with her emotions. She revels in her gift for cooking, nourishing the people she loves with her cheerfulness. But her sunny childhood comes to an end in 1931 when Japanese soldiers crush her family’s defiance against the Empire. Young-Ja is cast adrift, her food turning increasingly bitter with grief. When a Korean rebel fighter notices her talents, however, she is whisked off to Manchuria to join a secretive sisterhood of beautiful teahouse spies. There, Young-Ja finds a new sense of belonging and starts using her abilities for the resistance. But the Imperial Army is not yet finished with her…

Decades later, Young-Ja lives alone in Seoul, withdrawn from the world until her Tokyo-born granddaughter Rinako bursts into her life with the ability to see into dreams. In cultivating a tentative bond, they confront the long-buried past in a stunning emotional climax.

As an unforgettable family perseveres in the long shadow of colonialism, Honey in the Wound transports readers to mountain forests where tiger-girls stalk, to Manchurian teahouses and opium dens where charming smiles veil secrets, and to the modern metropolises of Tokyo and Seoul where restless ghosts stir. This debut novel is a tender yet powerful multi-generational drama that shines light onto the twentieth century’s darkest corners and gives voice to those who bore witness.

I found writing my review of this book was difficult. So much happened that I didn't know where to start. It's an emotional story for sure and I felt that my emotions were overwhelmed. Heart-wrenching is the best word to describe the book. The story centers on Young-Ja, whose ability to cook her emotions into food was her superpower as a youth. This is where the magical realism joins the plot. When her family was executed by Japanese soldiers, Young-Ja ran and hid. She was lucky to survive but her overwhelming grief made her susceptible to corrupt men. Right after Young-Ja's family passed away, she was found unconscious near a lake. A barren couple took her in and treated her as their own. Young-Ja stayed with them for several years but when the husband began sexually assaulting her during the night, the wife gave her to a man who offered Young-Ja a fantastic job in China. 

The job was not fantastic. Young-Ja was forced to work long hours in a tea house kitchen in the northern area of Korea.  However, she thrived there and was promoted to hostess in the tea rooms. She and her fellow hostesses and servers listened to conversations that Japanese soldiers had among themselves. This information was given to people in the resistance movement. After nine years, the Japanese arrested the tea house owner and burned it to the ground. Unfortunately, Young-Ja ended being kidnapped and taken to Manchuria to be a comfort woman for Japanese soldiers. Her life gets even worse.

This is a sad story but realistic for the time and place. The author did a fine job writing about this unknown event in history. She showed how horribly the Koreans were treated by the Japaneses soldiers. Young-Ja's life affected me deeply. I mourned with her every time something bad happened to her. 

All of the characters were well developed. Young-Ja's grandparents had an interesting backstory. I loved reading about them. Her grandmother Myoung-Ok toiled as a farmer. When Myoung-OK eventually married Dahn, who was considered a giant by the villagers, she left her agrarian existence and moved to the mountains with him. There they gave birth to twins. Geum-Jin married Song Jung-Soon even though she had a facial disfigurement. They raised several children including Young-Ja. Their story was also intriguing and one of the best parts of the book. 

While Honey in the Wound is a good book, I don't know if I should recommend it. It made me sad for about a week after I finished reading. Who wants to deal with that! My rating of 5 out of 5 stars reflects the fantastic research that went into the story as well as the writing of this saga.

The Porcelain Maker's Daughter

The Porcelain Maker’s Daughter is a historical romance novel that is based on a true story about a sunken ship. The Tec Sing (True Star) was a large three mast Chinese junk that sank in 1822. It contained a massive cargo of porcelain and 2,000 people. Only 200 survived.

The publisher's summary:

Southern China, 1822. Looking to marry her off to a wealthy Indonesian merchant, Cheng Yafang’sfather arranges for her voyage aboard the Tek Sing—the largest trading vessel ever to sail the South China Sea. For Yafang, the second daughter in a family of master porcelain artists, there is no greater honor: a way to safeguard her family business and secure her future. But as she boards the mighty ship containing hundreds of thousands of her family’s finest porcelain, her heart—and the ship itself—harbors a secret that defies generations of tradition.

From a young age, He Zuyao was raised to hate the Chengs. After decades of rivalry rooted in their mastery of the art of porcelain-making, their disdain had grown into a bitter feud. But when he sees Yafang accosted by robbers on her way home, Zuyao doesn’t think twice before risking his life to defend her. Despite their heritage, Zuyao and Yafang vow to marry each other—a love that blossoms in the most unexpected of places.

But after Zuyao discovers her arranged marriage, their vow is pushed to a breaking point. When disaster strikes the He household and a legendary Guanyin statue is stolen, Zuyao follows its trail to the Tek Sing. Hoping to find the lost family heirloom and reunite with the woman he loves, Zuyao stows away on the ship. As the Tek Sing departs, a tragedy unfolds in the shadows of its bow. And even if they make it to the new land—can they really sacrifice their families’ honor for something as lowly as love?

Based on the true story of the “Oriental Titanic,” The Porcelain Maker’s Daughter is a moving, unputdownable saga. An immersive historical experience surrounding one of the greatest tragedies of 19th-century China.

While the book was enchanting, it was a slow read. I can't put my finger on what was the problem. I only know that I could only read it in small doses and then I started reading other books, always returning to this one. The story has a Romeo and Juliet plot. Yafang is the main character. She was born into a family of master artisans and carried both the weight of expectation and the burning desire to only marry if she was in love. She was normally quiet, respectful and reserved but could scream at her father when he discussed her future marriage to a wealthy man that she never met. Yafang was known in her community as trustworthy. I found her to be very sympathetic. Her boyfriend He Zuyao had a similar personality. They made a great couple but the He family was not rich. Also, the He and Cheng families had a long standing feud that could not be disrupted. It would anger the ancestors so the plot is definitely the Chinese version of Romeo and Juliet. 

The backdrop of their families being master porcelain artists was interesting to read about. I wish that there had been more of it. The descriptions of clay, firing, painting, and the translucent glazes are outstanding. These details serve not just as setting but also symbolically reflect Yafang's own internal transformation. She is fired by life challenges, shaped by relationships, and finally emerges as something beautiful.

As in real life, the Tec Sing sank in the novel, killing 1800 people. The number of people who died was 300 more than those who died on the Titanic. Most of the characters in the beginning of the story were on the ship. Some were saved, others weren't. If you want to know if your favorite character survived, read the book.  

It's nice to read a story about characters who pursue goodness and kindness. I enjoyed the story tremendously and am rating it 4 out of 5 stars.

The Housemaid's Secret

Millie Calloway returns as a maid in this sequel to The Housemaid. She takes a new job working for the wealthy but mysterious Douglas Garrick. Millie has been told to not disturb his wife Wendy who stays locked in a guest room supposedly sleeping.

The publisher's summary:

As he continues showing me their incredible penthouse apartment, I have a terrible feeling about the woman behind closed doors. But I can't risk losing this job – not if I want to keep my darkest secret safe . . .

It's hard to find an employer who doesn't ask too many questions about my past. So I thank my lucky stars that the Garricks miraculously give me a job, cleaning their stunning penthouse with views across the city and preparing fancy meals in their shiny kitchen. I can work here for a while, stay quiet until I get what I want. It's almost perfect. But I still haven't met Mrs Garrick, or seen inside the guest bedroom. I'm sure I hear her crying. I notice spots of blood around the neck of her white nightgowns when I'm doing laundry. And one day I can't help but knock on the door. When it gently swings open, what I see inside changes everything....

That's when I make a promise. After all, I've done this before. I can protect Mrs. Garrick while keeping my own secrets locked up safe. Douglas Garrick has done wrong. He is going to pay. It's simply a question of how far I'm willing to go....

An unbelievably twisty read that will have you glued to the pages late into the night. Anyone who loves The Woman in the Window, The Wife Between Us and The Girl on the Train will be completely hooked!

The writing formula for this sequel is exactly the same as in The Housemaid. For me, this is a plus and it is what I wanted and expected. The mystery surrounding wife Wendy is the focus of the story. I enjoyed following the small reveals concerning Wendy's situation throughout the book but felt that Millie's early attempts at intervention were not called for. Wendy's situation did not change enough for Millie to need to intervene. That said, it was proper for the plot to have Millie try to intervene early and often. I wish, though, that something more severe than shouting would have alarmed Millie to take action. 

Despite my above misgivings, there was a slow ratcheting up of the tension in the story to keep me riveted to my read. There were many twists and turns that maintained my interest and some of these twists involved the characters having ulterior motives. It was hard to tell where the story was going when none of the characters seemed trustworthy.

In this installment of the series Millie has a boyfriend. Brock is an attorney who wants Millie to move in with him. She prefers to stay independent even though Brock's apartment is luxurious. When Millie gets arrested for killing Mr. Garrick he dumps her. Of course, Millie did not kill anyone. She's the heroine so I knew that she would be exonerated. What Millie does not know is that her former boyfriend Enzo is back in the country and has been following her. She had believed that someone affiliated with the Garricks was stalking her. It goes without saying that the ending was shocking. It is something McFadden's readers both expect and receive.

I loved this story. It is a wonderful sequel to The Housemaid and I am looking forward to reading the third and final book in the series.  4 out of 5 stars.