Wrap-Up of the 2022 Color Coded Reading Challenge

I participate every year in the Color Coded Reading Challenge. It is a fun way to find new books and new authors.  I must admit, though, that finding a book with "brown" in the title is impossible. I only read 9 books though. I missed finding titles with the colors brown and white in them.  Here is what I read:

Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dao Randel

Blue Murder by Emma Jameson

The Orange Lilies by Nathan Dylan Goodwin

Black Ice by Brad Thor

19 Yellow Moon Road by Fern Michaels

Purple Lotus by Veena Rao

Mandarin Plaid by S. J. Rozan

Evil in Emerald by A. S. Stuart

A Patchwork Past by Leslie Gould

Favorite Book: 19 Yellow Moon Road

2nd Favorite Book:  Evil in Emerald

Least Favorite Book:  Mandarin Plaid

Blue Murder

Blue Murder is the second book in author Emma Jameson's Lord and Lady Hetheridge Mystery Series. It was interesting to learn that to "scream blue murder" is a British slang term for complaining in an angry way.  All of the books in the series have the word "blue" in the title and there are seven book in the series to date.

In Blue Murder two men were found dead at a Halloween party hosted by Emmeline Wardle, the teen daughter of a frozen food baron. Handsome Trevor Parsons was found with an axe in his head and computer nerd Clive French was also found dead in the garden of the home. Clive also had an axe in his head. Clive was not invited to the party but showed up anyway. Since all of the party goers, thirty nine, were children of the wealthy New Scotland Yard asked Chief Superintendent Anthony Hetheridge, ninth baron of Wellegrave, to investigate. His girlfriend, Detective Sergeant Kate Wakefield was also involved in the investigation as was her partner, Detective Sergeant Deepal "Paul" Bhar.

I really enjoyed this novel. In fact,  it was even better than Ice Blue. The dialogue between the police officers showed the closeness of their relationships with each other. The three of them work well together. I am not usually a fan of a police procedural but this cozy mystery hit the spot. The British flavor of the setting helped, even though many of the colloquiallisms  were very American. They still came off as British.

4 out of 5 stars.

Black Ice

Black Ice is the 21st Scot Harvath spy thriller from Brad Thor. I have read every book in the series and loved them all. However, Black Ice was a slow read with little suspense. In this installment of the series we have Harvath enjoying a summer off from work with his girlfriend Solvi. She is also a spy but for her own country, Norway. Near the end of his vacation, Harvath is told he must return to Washington ASAP or resign. He agrees to go back to Washington but as he leaves his favorite Oslo cafe, Harvath sees a man he killed enter a cab in front of the cafe. Harvath had confirmed the death of the Chinese  spy before informing his bosses and knew he was dead. Now he wonders whether he killed a double or if he had just seen a double. 

For the first time for a Brad Thor novel, I was frequently able to put the book down. Normally I would read his books in one sitting. It took me several days to get through it. When I read about Scot's girlfriend Solvi, it was apparent that the author was a man. Scot is always the catch, not the other way around. Scot's job is always more important than the women's job. The women are submissive to the man. I am not sure why this irked me now. Maybe the pattern is more apparent after 21 novels. I also wonder if men are his target audience.

I must also wonder whether I was not in the mood for a spy story or whether something was off in the writing. All I know is that I wasn't as interested in this installment of the series as I have been with prior novels. Perhaps Thor should switch up his formula for the series to breathe new life into his plots and characters. 

I am sorry to have to rate Black Ice 3 out of 5 stars. Thor usually gets a 5 star rating from me.

The Orange Lilies

The Orange Lilies is the 4th Morton Farrier, Forensic Genealogist story. In this installment of the series Morton's own family history comes alive when he visits his Aunt Margaret. Before the death of Morton's father earlier in the year, Morton was told that he was adopted and that his birth mother was actually Aunt Margaret. Morton brings girlfriend Juliette along for the visit. Being afraid to ask Margaret the important questions, he is glad when Margaret opens up to him freely. She explains that she was raped when she was sixteen-years-old and sent to visit her grandmother in another part of England until she gave birth. The Farrier family insisted that she let her older brother and his wife adopt the baby. They were married, owned a home and had a good income. Margaret does as she is told and returns to her home after she recovers from the birth. However, before she leaves, her grandmother tells Margaret about her own grandparents. This information is also discussed between Margaret and Morton during his visit with her.  The family history is that Morton's great-grandfather, Charles Ernest Farrier, died in a trench in WWI. Morton finds, though, that there is something off about the story of Morton's conception as well as his great-grandparents' lives.

The Orange Lilies is a fascinating story with many twists. As Morton researches his family, he takes the reader through his online research. Morton shares the genealogy clues (the twists)  with his aunt as together they look at old family photos and documents. Morton also talks every day with her about how his digital research is progressing. As Aunt Margaret learns the ins and outs of genealogy research, the reader likewise learns how to conduct research. There are also several surprises along the way that keep the reader wanting to read.

The story has three alternating plots: 1914, 1974 and 2014.  The 1914 plot concerns Charles Ernest Farrier, the 1974 plot concerns Margaret and her grandmother during Margaret's pregnancy and the 2014 plot is about Margaret and Morton. All three plots are fully developed and fascinating in their own right. I would not be able to pick a favorite one. They were all entertaining. I love this series. I am an amateur genealogist and enjoy reading about Morton going to this office and that office in order to find information. We see the tedium that genealogy research can be but also the excitement when a fact or person is found.

If there are any mystery fans out there who have not yet read this series, I highly recommend it. 5 out of 5 stars.

19 Yellow Moon Road

It's been quite a few years since I read a Fern Michaels book. I selected her 2021 novel 19 Yellow Moon Road for the What's in a Name Challenge and was pleasantly surprised to find that this a a well plotted mystery novel with a fast pace. I am going to give her books another chance because Yellow Moon was a fantastic read.

The publisher's summary:

Maggie Spritzer's nose for a story doesn't just make her a top-notch newspaper editor, it also tells her when to go the extra mile for a friend. When she gets a strange message from her journalism pal, Gabby Richardson, Maggie knows her services are needed. Gabby has become involved with The Haven, a commune that promises to guide its members toward a more spiritually fulfilling life. But Gabby's enthusiasm has turned to distrust ever since she was refused permission to leave the compound to visit her sick mother.  

Maggie wants to learn more about The Haven, and the Sisterhood is eager to help. It turns out The Haven's founders are the sons of a disgraced Chicago busnessman in prison for running a Ponzi scheme. They also have connections to a Miami billionaire with dubious sidelines. Soon, the Sisterhood gang embark on a search - and uncover a web of crime that runs deeper and higher than they ever imagines.  And they'll need all their special skills to bring it down.

As I mentioned above, I was surprised to be reading a suspense thriller. For some reason I thought that Fern Michaels wrote romance novels. Yellow Moon captivated me from the first chapter and I could not put it down. After finishing the book I took a look at the author's website and discovered that the Sisterhood is a series and this one is number 33.  The women in the Sisterhood all have employment backgrounds that complement each other's investigatory skills. Myra used to be married to a MI6 agent and operates a candy company. Annie owns the Washington DC newspaper where Maggie works. Lizzie is a lawyer, as is her daughter Nikki. Kathryn is an MIT graduate with a degree in nuclear engineering. Alexis is also an attorney and Yoko runs a plant nursery business.  

The plot twists were amazing. SPOILER ALERT!! The storyline concerns a cult that provides women to a wealthy man who uses them as sexual entertainment for the rich and powerful. Leaders of nations and U. S. Senators are part of this group. I found this to be topical given the information the public has read recently about conspiracy theories and human trafficking in the U. S.  Twin brothers Liam and Noah Westlake are operating a spiritual retreat. Liam handles the programming and Noah handles the business side of the company. Liam has no idea what Noah has been doing until Noah gets arrested. I enjoyed reading about the twins' family background and though they have vastly different personalities, I can see how they would end up in business together. They have that twin bond. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

A Patchwork Past

A Patchwork Past is book two of the Plain Patterns trilogy. It is about former Amish girl Sophie Deiner, daughter of a bishop, who left her home in Napanee, Indiana while she was pregnant with her boyfriend's child. Three years later Sophie is suffering from lupus and must rest for two weeks per doctor's orders. She decides to return to her parent's home because she knows that she will be able to get alot of rest as well as eat her mother's fabulous home cooked meals. As Sophie heals, she befriends a group of migrant workers who work in Amish owned farms in Napanee. The farm owners rely on them to work their fields. None of them would survive without the migrants. Sophie is shocked when she learns how bad their living conditions are and begins to advocate on their behalf. However, that ex-boyfriend who got her pregnant opposes her ideas. Lyle is the foreman of a farm in the area and bullies his help as well as Sophie. He wants to know about the baby. Lyle is afraid that one day a kid will land on his doorstep and accuse him of being their father. Sophie has never told anyone about her miscarriage and does not plan to. Friend Jane who runs a local newsletter also runs a quilting bee. During the weekly quiltings Jane relays the history of an Amish couple who rescued survivors of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. This encourages Sophie to become more involved in fighting for the migrants in her region.

As a Chicagoan, I thought it was interesting that members of the Sullivan family met Sophie's ancestors in Chicago before the fire began. They are mentioned in passing. The traditional story concerning the start of the fire is that a cow owned by an immigrant Irish woman, Mrs. O'Leary, knocked over a lantern which resulted in the entire city being burned to the ground. However, as most Chicagoans know, this is a myth. This story began as an anti-immigrant story directed at America's newest immigrants, the Irish. The person who really started the Great Fire was Pegleg Sullivan who was drunk when he tripped over the lantern. It is also interesting how the author was able to create a story based on immigration. Both the 1870s plot and the current era plot deal with the issue of immigrants. This is pretty unusual in Amish fiction but the author pulled it off amazingly. The book had an Amish fiction feel to it, not a political feel. I must admit, though, that at times it seemed that the author was preaching her politics. While my politics appears to match the author's, I prefer not to read about it in fiction.

The main character, Sophie, was presented well. The reader learns how her anguish over deciding to run away and live as an Englisher affected both her and her family. While reading I thought that Sophie might stay in Napanee and return to living the Amish lifestyle. However, there won't be a spoilers here. Most of the book was about the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 which also makes the book historical fiction. I loved this plot. It was a trip down history lane for me but I think everyone will enjoy reading about the Fire, including how the Amish were involved. 

All in all, A Patchwork Past was a great read. 4 out of 5 stars.

Mandarin Plaid

Mandarin Plaid is book 3 in the Lydia Chin/Bill Smith Mysteries.  6 novels in the series have already been published. The story opens with the theft of designer Genna Jing's sketches of her inaugural collection of her new Mandarin Plaid label. Genna is positive that these designs are worth a fortune so when she is contacted by the thief who demands a $50,000 ransom, she is willing to pay. Genna contacts Lydia Chin, a Chinese American private investigator, to perform the drop. However, during the drop everything goes wrong. Lydia loses the ransom money and her partner Bill Smith is arrested. Genna is shocked about the loss of her money and sketches and fires Lydia. Unable to let it go, Lydia and Bill continue to look into matter and are led from sweatshops in New York City's Chinatown to the drawing rooms of New York's wealthiest citizens and into the dark underworld of prostitution, drugs and murder. The task they have taken on includes no only to find out who stole the ransom money but also who is willing to kill in order to keep all of this a secret.

The story started out slow. A conversation about the need to drop the ransom ran several pages and some of the characters repeated the same information over and over. While the conversation was realistic it did not advance the plot and I was bored. The author wrote about the fashion business which was appealing to me as I enjoy sewing. There were a number of aspects to putting on a runway show that I was not familiar with and it added some enjoyment to the story. However, I still  could not become engaged in the novel. The characters didn't captivate me either. The dialogue between Lydia and Bill was boring. Yes, people actually talk like they did but it detracted from solving the mystery. The slow beginning seemed to have a snowball effect that I was unable to overcome. The plot premise was good though and the title of the fashion collection was sublime. 

An entire series could be written about the travails of the fashion business and this fashion label specifically. It would need to be executed better. Unfortunately, I can only rate this mystery 2 out of 5 stars. I feel bad about the rating because this story had considerable promise and is highly rated by other reviewers.

Purple Lotus

I indulged my love of India fiction with Purple Lotus.  This beautiful book is the debut novel of Veena Rao, who was a finalist in the 2021 Georgia Author of the Year Award.  In addition, she was a finalist in several other book of the year awards for this novel.  Purple Lotus tells the tale of a woman's journey from a pariah in India to a free-spirited woman in the American South. 

The publisher's summary:

Tara moves to the American South three years after her arranged marriage to tech executive Sanjay.  Ignored and lonely, Tara finds herself regressing back to childhood memories that have scarred her for life.   When she was eight, her parents had left her behind with her aging grandparents and a schizophrenic uncle  in Mangalore, while taking her baby brother with them to make a new life for the family in Dubai.

Tara's memories of abandonment and isolation mirror her present life of loneliness and escalating abuse at the hands of her husband.  She accepts the help of kind-hearted American strangers to fight Sanjay, only to be pressured by her patriarchal family to make peace with her circumstances.  Then, in a moment of truth, she discovers the importance of self-worth - a revelation that gives her the courage to break free, gently rebuild her life, and even risk being shunned by her community when she marries her childhood love, Cyrus Saldanha.

Life with Cyrus is beautiful, until old fears come knocking.  Ultimately, Tara must face these fears to save her relationship with Cyrus - and to confront the victim shaming society she was raised within. 

This story ends with a bang.  Tara's newspaper article in the Morning Herald about her journey ends the novel. Her aunt makes an observation about her that gives us the title of the book. Aunty says that Tara has always been a shrinking violet. Tara responds that she is not a shrinking violet but rather a purple lotus. It was lovely ending to a lovely story.  Perhaps, you could say that Tara finally grew up.

It's impossible not to have empathy for this character. Tara has to endure emotional abuse from her parents and then from her husband. After several years of marriage, that abuse becomes physical. Thanks to strangers in her Atlanta, Georgia neighborhood, she finds the courage to face Sanjay and demand a divorce. Sanjay, of course, complains about this demand to her parents. Tara then receives more emotional abuse from her parents who tell her it is her job to make the marriage work. She must sacrifice her needs to her husband and eventually it will all work out. However, her American friends from the local church encourage her to leave Sanjay. Tara breaks free from her marriage but still has to consider her self-worth in order to be free.

Purple Lotus shows us that you may not come of age until you are much older than the 18 year old norm. Tara was 36 when she realized her worth.  Not every person starts out in life with all the necessary tools for a healthy existence. Some of us take longer.  The point here is that you can grow if you have the courage.

5 out of 5 stars.

2022 Color Coded Reading Challenge

I am signing up again for the Color Coded Reading Challenge. It was a successful challenge for me this year as every book I read was from a new (to me) author. Nine books must be read with the various colors listed below in their titles or as a dominant color/image on their covers. 

1. Read book with "Blue" (or a shade of blue):

2. Read a book with "Red" (or a shade of red):

3. Read a book with "Yellow" (or a shade of yellow):

4. Read a book with "Green" (or a shade of green):

5. Read a book with "Brown" (or a shade of brown):

6. Read a book with "Black" (or a shade of black):

7. Read a book with "White" (or a shade of white):

8. Read a book with any other color:

9. Read a book a word/image that implies color (rainbow, polka dot, etc)