Four Steps Missed

Here is another entry for me in the Clock Reading Challenge. In this 4th installment of the Titus Ray thriller series our CIA spy is sent to Israel in order to determine if the U. S. Deputy Director of Operations (DDO) made a deal with Israel to allow them to tell their assets in Iran that they were working for the CIA.  The Israelis made a number of Iranians believe that they were ultimately working for the CIA. The plan was made because MOSSAD had a hard time finding assets. The Israelis are known to use intelligence that they gather in order to carry out assassinations. However, it is illegal for the U. S. government to assassinate foreign leaders. The U. S. Inspector General had an active investigation into the DDO. Titus Ray and his cohort Ben Mitchell were given the assignment to find evidence against the DDO. Titus had another reason for traveling to Israel. He needs a grandmother to consent to his and his wife Nikki's adoption of their foster child who they have been raising since her CIA father died in an operation one year earlier.

The plot moved fairly quickly and I was able to read the book in one sitting. I was somewhat surprised that the title has more to do with the adoption than a CIA operation. The four steps missed concern steps that should have been made before Titus would be allowed to adopt. For instance, verification of the grandmother's mental health is one of the items that should have been made in writing. Grandma was in a mental health facility in Israel after the death of her daughter. If you have read any title in the series then you know that our spy Titus is a new Christian. Consequently, there is no foul language or sex inside the pages of these books. They are all clean thrillers. 

I loved the story and am rating the book 5 out of 5 stars.

The Psychology of Secrets

I purchased a Kindle copy of this book for one main reason: I follow the author's two You Tube channels. He hosts Heretics and the Andrew Gold channels. Gold conducts fascinating interviews about cult leaders, murderers, psychopaths and the British royal family.  He believes that secrets are the basis of power in this world and has written this book to teach us about the psychology of secrecy.

The publisher's summary:

We all keep secrets. 97 per cent of us are hiding a secret right now, and on average we each hold thirteen at any one time. There’s a one-in-two chance that those secrets involve a breach of trust, a lie or a financial impropriety. They are the stuff of gossip, of novels and of classic dramas; secrets form a major part of our hidden inner lives.

Andrew Gold knows this better than anyone. As a public figure, he has found himself the unwitting recipient of hundreds of strangers' most private revelations. This set him on a journey to understand this critical part of our societies and lives. Why do we keep secrets? Why are we fascinated by those of others? What happens to our mind when we confess?

Drawing from psychology, history, social science, philosophy and personal interviews, The Psychology of Secrets is a rollicking journey through the history of secrecy.

 

Let's address the book cover first. While I  love the bright colors, the drawing of the man picking his nose is off-putting. If I didn't know the author, I would never have read the book. However, Gold has utilized the drawing to explain the difference between privacy and secrecy. Those who pick their noses do it in private because it's embarrassing to be seen doing it. It's not a secret that people pick their noses because everyone does it at some point. 

The book delves into secrecy and power, the detection of secrets, the deception of secrets, the use of technology and how cults use secrecy again their members. The author gives many examples of each but I failed to find any conclusions. The book reads as a rolling repertoire of things that have happened in the world but without any idea that ties them all together. For example, he cites the U. S. government's secrecy surrounding Guantanamo Bay as representative of the dangers of secrets toward the prisoners and the American public. However, he doesn't give the outcome of the dangers.

I could not determine any reason for the writing of this book. I was bored and had a hard time staying awake while I was reading. It is surprising to me that a major publisher like Macmillan published the book. I am even more surprised that they decided not to publicize it. Per the author, he was disinvited from a publicity campaign. I am rating the book 1 out of 5 stars.

An American in Scotland

I selected this book for the Calendar of Crime Reading Challenge. It fits the publication month category as it was published on April 4, 2023.  An American in Scotland is the first book in a new cozy mystery series by Lucy Connelly and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

The publisher's summary:

Sea Isle was supposed to be the fresh start Dr. Emilia McRoy dreamed of. Far from the busy emergency room across the Atlantic in Seattle, she hoped to settle down and begin this new chapter as a small-town doctor to the quirky residents who immediately welcomed her. When she stumbles across a dead body, she starts to think that she may not be as Scot free of the drama and intrigue as she initially thought.

Emilia soon learns she has bigger issues at hand. It starts with realizing she'll work closely with the less than helpful local constable, Laird Ewan Campbell. Her luck continues when she discovers that part of her new responsibilities includes being the coroner for the very body she found. Finally, when the body goes missing before she can even begin the autopsy, Emilia must convince the townspeople that a crime did, in fact, occur. The deeper she digs into the picturesque town, the more suspicious she becomes. And then there are her sleep issues. It may be due to the ever-growing list of suspects, a number of threatening letters, or the surprise visitor who breaks into her house at night. But she’s never backed down before, and she doesn’t intend to start now.

Someone doesn’t want this doctor to treat the ailments of Sea Isle, but Emilia McRoy is determined to find the murderer before they kilt again.

 

I loved this novel. It takes place in a lovely small village in Scotland and I enjoyed reading about the weather challenges that the characters had to deal with. With mail and package delivery severely affected in the winter months, the characters came up with ways to handle it such as ordering everything and anything they could possibly want in huge quantities. Emilia's office has been outfitted with every type of diagnostic machine, a surgical suite and plenty of medications for every type of illness and injury. It was amusing to read about Emilia's attempts to walk around the village without the proper footwear. She fell alot. Bothies are interspersed throughout the village in case someone gets stuck outdoors when a storm comes rumbling through the area. I had never heard of a bothy before and am glad that it had to be explained to Emilia.

Emilia's home and office are inside a defunct church and has a gorgeous view of the sea. It comes with a gardener and maid/office assistant. These two helpers, Abigail and her brother Tommy, seem to be in her home all the time. Abigail has a key, as does the constable, which is rather eerie. They show up at all hours of the day and night which scares Emilia almost every single day. However, all three get along well. 

The characters are quirky but lovable. Mara, who works in her grandparents pub, The Pig and Whistle, becomes a fast friend as does Angie who works in her family's fabric store. Angie is engaged to a duke. Abigail is devoted to her disabled brother Tommy and has given up on living her own life in order to take of him. Constable and Laird Ewan is full of surprises and is hard to figure out. He basically owns the town and has his own mansion and a castle. He is the richest man in Britain according to UK newspapers. For some reason he prefers to live in this tiny village. With other interesting shop owners as characters, there are plenty of scenarios for future stories.

The mystery to be solved is who killed an old man named Smithy.  Nobody liked him. He had an ugly personality and did not get along with anyone in the village, including Emilia. He was rude to her on the day she moved in and she later found out that he did not like the McRoy family, her family. Since part of Emilia's job was to act as a coroner, she took it upon herself to investigate the murder. Being new in town she fell afoul of several residents who did not like having an American doctor around. With her new friends help, Emilia slowly learns how to adjust to life in Scotland.

The story was an enjoyable and relaxing read. The author has done a great job of setting up the series for future installments. I am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

Can't Wait Wednesday #29

This meme is hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings. Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme that spotlights the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released as well. 

This week I am happy to report that Laura Childs has another new novel to be published this year. Peach Tea Smash is expected to be published on August 8, 2024.  In this installment of the Tea Shop Mystery Series our heroine Theodosia Browning is hosting the Mad Hatter Masquerade, a fundraiser hosted by the Friends of the Opera on the grounds of the old Pendleton Grist Mill. Duri g the event Harlan Sadler, husband of Cricket Sadler, the chairwoman, is killed. He’s been hit in the head with a croquet mallet, and his body hung on the chains and paddles of the grist mill. Nobody can figure out why since Harlan was much beloved by everyone. It’s only after Cricket and Delaine beg Theodosia to investigate that she realizes the killer might have mistaken Harlan for his crazy son, Duke. After all, Duke is a slum landlord and recently injured a woman in a boating accident. 

It sounds like another good yarn from Ms. Childs.

Uniquely Japan

Uniquely Japan is one of several travel guidebooks that I purchased for my upcoming trip to Japan. Most of them are in comic strip format. Three have been written by Abby Denson! She also wrote Cool Japan Guide and Cool Tokyo Guide which I will review later this month. Denson has used her own drawings and photographs in this book. There are chapters devoted to Arts and crafts, fun things to do, fashion, food, high tech toilets, Japanese creatures. and street sights.

I have learned to look down at the ground to see lavishly decorated manhole covers, pink polka-dotted backhoes, and toilets with warmable seats and blow dryers. I now know that I can get my ramen from a vending machine and I will see silly mascots promoting serious businesses and whimsical architecture for neighborhood police stations. Denson also discusses several types of sweets available in Japan, which is important to me! However, I have already begun researching sweets by ordering boxes of sweets and tea directly from Japan.

Uniquely Japan is a nice resource to have. While it is in no way a comprehensive guide, I know that there are a few things I will remember due to the comic strip format.  I am rating it 4 out of 5 stars.

Displacement

Displacement is a graphic novel about the internment of the Japanese in America during WWII.  I have read 2 other comics on this subject and they all gave the same information. In this story our heroine Kiku is on vacation in San Francisco where her family is from. The displacements begin when she magically finds herself transported back to the 1940s when her grandmother Ernestina was forced to relocate to an internment camp. Living alongside her young grandmother and other Japanese-American citizens in internment camps, Kiku gets the education she never received in history class. She witnesses the lives of Japanese-Americans who were denied their civil liberties and suffered greatly, but managed to cultivate community and commit acts of resistance in order to survive.

What separates this account of the tragedy from others is the illustration. I like that the comic strips were larger, with 4 to a page. It made the dialogue much larger for me to be able to read on a cell phone. When reading other comics on my phone, I have to enlarge the page in order to be able to read. Then I have to reduce the page in order to turn the page. Author Kiku Hughes drew all the illustrations. This is her first graphic novel and I am very impressed with both her ability to tell a story and her drawing skill.

Hughes makes many insightful quotes in her book. One of them is:  "I think sometimes a community's experience is so traumatic, it stays rooted in us even generations later. And the later generations continue to rediscover that experience, since it's still shaping us in ways we might not realize. Like losing the ability to speak Japanese, losing connection to Japanese culture, they're all lasting impacts of the camps that travel down the generations." I never realized before that the generation who suffered through the internment experience would raise their children to be American, not Japanese. They felt it would make successive generations safer from the government. They made sure their descendants did not know how to speak Japanese or cook Japanese food. It was a strategy that the entire generation followed.

Displacement gives an honest history of the internment camps run by the U. S. government during WWII. While it is a sad story, it is one we all should know about. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Museum of Lost Quilts

The Museum of Lost Quilts is a sequel to the author's popular Elm Creek Quilts cozy series.  Jennifer Chiaverini wrote the novel in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the publication of the first book in the series. I was lucky to receive an advanced review copy from Net Galley. The book will be published at the end of the month on April 30, 2024.

The publisher's summary:  

Summer Sullivan, the youngest founding member of Elm Creek Quilts, has spent the last two years pursuing a master’s degree in history at the University of Chicago. Her unexpected return home to the celebrated quilter’s retreat is met with delight but also concern from her mother, Gwen; her best friend, Sarah; master quilter Sylvia; and her other colleagues—and rightly so. Stymied by writer’s block, Summer hasn’t finished her thesis, and she can’t graduate until she does.

Elm Creek Manor offers respite while Summer struggles to meet her extended deadline. She finds welcome distraction in organizing an exhibit of antique quilts as a fundraiser to renovate Union Hall, the 1863 Greek Revival headquarters of the Waterford Historical Society. But Summer’s research uncovers startling facts about Waterford’s past, prompting unsettling questions about racism, economic injustice, and political corruption within their community, past and present.

As Summer’s work progresses, quilt lovers and history buffs praise the growing collection, but affronted local leaders demand that she remove all references to Waterford’s troubled history. As controversy threatens the exhibit’s success, Summer fears that her pursuit of the truth might cost the Waterford Historical Society their last chance to save Union Hall. Her only hope is to rally the quilting community to her cause.

The Museum of Lost Quilts is a warm and deeply moving story about the power of collective memory. With every fascinating quilt she studies, Summer finds her passion for history renewed—and discovers a promising new future for herself.

I loved this novel!!!  It was an enjoyable trip down memory lane. I have read every book in the series and loved them all.  The last book was published five years ago but the passage of time has not affect the quality of the writing or the plot.

In many ways this book is historical fiction. As Summer researches quilts loaned for display, she finds clues to her hometown's past. During the Civil War, the ladies of the area quilt guild made a victory quilt with the names of local soldiers stitched into each block. Summer uncovers that there was another local quilt guild that made a victory quilt for auction too. The reality that these guilds were segregated by race shocks her. The main historian for the town in the mid-1800s was a former slave who was a successful businessman. However, when the KKK found its way into Waterford, he packed up his family and moved to Colorado.  As news about the quilt display spreads, Summer hears about additional quilts that the owners have lost. Her daily readings of old newspapers and diaries shed light on other area quilts such as the Sugar Camp Quilt and an Authors Album Quilt where she is unable to locate the quilt owner. As she researches these quilts, Summer uncovers more and more secrets in the area's history.

In addition, she finds examples of signature quilts (contains signatures of well known people) as well as opportunity quilts, which were made for the sole purpose of raising money to fund a worthy cause. While Summer is a long time series character, it seemed to me that her research activities mirrored those of the author. Both did research on Civil War era quilts for this novel. 

Fans of the series will definitely want to read this one. If the series is new to you, I recommend starting with the first book in the series. I am rating this awesome book 5 out of 5 stars,

Three Weeks in Washington

In this third installment of Luana Ehrlick's Titus Ray Thriller series, American spy Titus Ray has uncovered a Hezbollah plot to attack the nation's capitol with chemical weapons. I have been reading the series for the Clock Reading Challenge which requires books to have a number in the title. Ehrlich has several series with numbers in the title and I am in the process of reading two of them.  Both are fantastic thriller series.

The publisher's summary:

Encountering a Shooter . . .

CIA intelligence operative, Titus Ray, arrives in Washington, D.C. on the day a terrorist enters the Washington Navy Yard and murders five people. Convinced the incident is connected to a Hezbollah plot to use chemical weapons on an American city, Titus jeopardizes his own career to interrogate the killer and learn the truth.

Exposing a General . . .

After the shooter reveals the identity of an Iranian deep-cover operative living in Washington, D.C., Titus embarks on an intelligence operation spanning two continents and exposing an Iranian general obsessed with destroying America. 

Engaging an Enemy . . .

As time runs out, Titus engages the enemy in a treacherous game of cat and mouse to save the lives of thousands and defeat the terrorists. Can his faith sustain him as he faces his greatest challenge yet? Is he willing to lose Nikki to save his country? 

What People Are Saying About Titus Ray Thrillers:

“The characters are very well-developed and believable. I enjoyed the way the author described Titus Ray's internal struggles and character flaws creating a very authentic main character. The story was action-packed and one is left wondering how the author could be so knowledgeable of the CIA and the work of their covert operatives.”

I finished reading the book quickly because it was hard to put down.  The plot moves from one intense situation into another. I am learning alot about how the U. S. intelligence community functions from reading this series. I wonder, though, if working as a spook is as action packed as the author's novels indicate. The main character, Titus Ray, is a practicing Christian.  In these stories, he shares his faith in a realistic way but his faith does not have a prominent role in the novels. We read about it here and there. Concerning the chemical weapon threat, it felt like I was living through the anthrax poisonings of a few years ago. 

5 out of 5 stars.

Kitchen Front

The Kitchen Front is a fairly new World War II era story that takes place 2 years after Britain entered the war. It was published in 2021. The plot follows four women from Fenley Village who are competing for a spot hosting a wartime cookery program called The Kitchen Front. The contestants must create an appetizer, entree and dessert. Points are given by the judge and the lady with the most points wins the competition. This book was based on an actual BBC program of the same name. With German U-boats frequently disrupting the UK's supply of food, Britain's housewives had to use ration coupons in order to obtain goods. In an effort to help housewives with food rationing, this BBC show ran a cooking contest. The grand prize was a job as the program’s first-ever female co-host.

For young widow Audrey, winning the competition could be a chance to pay off her husband’s debts and keep a roof over her children’s heads. However, her estranged sister Gwendoline is equally set on success even if her own kitchen maid, Nell, is competing against her. Then there is Zelda, a trained London-trained chef desperate to succeed in a male-dominated profession. These four women found that in order to finish the competition they will have to bend the rules. Lady Gwendoline has borrowed a french trained chef from another manor house to cook her entries. Both Nell and Zelda obtained the meat for their main courses from friends but Zelda's came from a black market source. Audrey "borrowed" some herbs from someone else's garden.

I thought the author made a wise decision to write a WWII historical novel that focused on food rationing. The book is not your typical WWII novel. We don't read anything about the progress of the war or the soldiers fighting it. It's all about the families left behind. I loved the small town English setting of this novel. I also enjoyed reading the detailed descriptions of the food and the recipes that were given. It's amazing how clever cooks were able to make food that was delicious given all the food rationing they had to deal with. Recipes are given at the end of each chapter. 

Initially I disliked both Zelda and Gwendoline, particularly Gwendoline. As the story developed, their pasts were defined and I began to admire them for what they overcame in life. Audrey Landon is the most sympathetic character in the story. She is trying to raise her kids in a dilapidated house. She is only able to get by financially with a small pie making business. Her sister Gwendoline is an upper class lady with a condescending attitude and no joy. She thought that marrying well would bring her happiness but it didn't. Her husband was abusive, both mentally and physically. Zelda is a pregnant single woman who wants to be a head chef in a ritzy London restaurant. Nell Brown is a shy kitchen maid with amazing cooking skills and a wonderfully patient and kind teacher, Mrs. Quince. Both she and Quince work for Gwendoline's husband at Fenley Hall where they all live.

The Kitchen Front is an inspiring story that captured my heart. It has put author Jennifer Ryan on my radar and I plan to read her other books. 5 out of 5 stars.

Darling

I selected this book for the Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge. It's a psychological thriller that takes place in Britain just after the Brexit vote. Teenager Lola's father Thomas Waite has taken up with a black woman named Darling White and proposed marriage to her only three months after their initial meeting. Both Thomas and Darling are single parents. Lola and Darling dislike each other big time. Although happy in her new relationship, Darling is burdened by her five year old son Stevie's illness. He has Duchenne Muscular Distrophy, a severe muscle weakness disease, which will cut his life short. Thomas is confused by Darling's behavior. She frequently receives phone calls that she refuses to answer and appears to have a shadowy past. Lola cannot stand her Caribbean cooking and will do anything to destroy the marriage in order to get Darling out of her life.

The chapters alternate between the perspectives of Lola and Darling. I was somewhat confused on and off throughout the story because of the excessive use slang terminology that the author used. Lola's chapters in particular were unreadable. For example, in the beginning of the story there were six consecutive pages that I did not understand at all. Perhaps my British friends will understand all the slang. The book is mainly about Lola and Darling's characters. Once Thomas married Darling he was pretty much out of the picture. This seemed odd. 

This book was advertised as a psychological thriller. A thriller it isn't, although the prologue was exciting. The prologue kept me reading because I wanted to know who was killed and by whom. However, the book was a big miss for me and I am rating it 2 out of 5 stars.

Book of the Month: March

Animal Pound is my favorite book for this month. It is a 4 part comic series where the dogs, cats and rabbits of an animal pound remove the employees and take over. Led by a cat called Fifi and dog Titan the doors to all of the cages are unlocked and all of the cats, dogs and rabbits roam freely throughout the building and grounds. After enjoying free reign for several weeks they realize that they will need to find a new source of food in order to survive on their own. Enter politics. A campaign to elect representatives begins. There are 2 additional releases coming soon and I cannot wait to finish reading this adorable story.

You Only Call When You're in Trouble

You Only Call When You're in Trouble is author Stephen McCauley's seventh book.  It follows the lives of the Kemp family and their friends and acquaintances. Tom Kemp is a sixtysomething architect about to be replaced by a younger employee. He specializes in tiny houses. Sister Dorothy has never had stable employment but managed to raise daughter Cecily. Cecily is a 34 college professor who is being investigated for improper behavior with a student. Tom has always supported Cecily and Dorothy to the detriment of his romantic relationships. After decades of lying about the identity of Cecily's father, Dorothy decides

to invite both of them to the opening of her new business where she has promised herself that she will tell Cecily the truth.

I thought the first half of the book was entertaining but got bogged down in all the details of this weekend business opening. There were several other characters who didn't provide much insight into the story.  When these other characters failed to offer a reason for the action, or lack of action, I became a little bored. While in the beginning I thought this book was going to be a 5 star read, it fizzled into a 3 star story. The novel was the first of McCauley's that I have read and I am sad that it will probably be my last. It had such promise.

3 out of 5 stars.

Can't Wait Wednesday #28

The Can't Wait Wednesday meme is hosted by the Wishful Endings blog. While I am having a difficult time this month concentrating on books, I am still interested in adding books to my TBR list. Go figure. This morning I discovered that Susan Witting Albert will be publishing the 29th China Bayles cozy mystery novel on June 4, 2024. This is something to celebrate. When she did not publish a book for the series last year, I was afraid that the series was over. I am thrilled to hear about this new novel, Forget Me Never.

In this installment of the series, Pecan Springs resident Olivia Andrews has a blog and podcast, “Forget Me Not: A Crime Victim’s Storyboard,” that is dedicated to telling the stories of victims of crime. She has a stunning story to tell about a decades-old murder mystery involving a prominent citizen of Pecan Springs, someone who isn’t the man everybody thinks he is. Olivia is killed by a hit-and-run driver while she’s out jogging early one morning. Was it an accident—or something else? Her sister and China Bayles want to know.

Who is the prominent citizen Olivia was about to expose? How did he manage to get away with murder twenty years ago? Did he kill Olivia to keep her from revealing his secret? What is local lawyer Charlie Lipman trying to hide? Then there’s another murder. With a cousin's scrapbook that was compiled to honor the memory of one of the victims, China wants to determine whose face was scissored out of the photos. The answer to that question may solve the murder investigations.

I love that a scrapbook is part of the story and cannot wait to read more about it.