Wrap-Up of the 2022 Library Love Reading Challenge

When I signed up for this year's Library Love Challenge I agreed to read 24 books.  My expectations were low because I was still afraid of catching COVID-19.  I still am. However, I did find a few excellent reads.

Peach Blossom Spring by Melissa Fu

Black Ice by Brad Thor

Girl in Ice by Erika Ferencik

Hotel Portofino by J. P. O'Connell

London by Edward Rutherford

Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis

Evil in Emerald by A. S. Stuart

Fear Thy Neighbor by Fern Michaels

Kingdom of Bones by James Rollins

My Wife is Missing by D. J. Palmer

The Good Wife of Bath by Karen Brooks

The Omega Factor by Steve Berry

Portrait of an Unknown Woman by Daniel Silva

Rising Tiger by Brad Thor

Star Spangled Murder by Leslie Meier

Booth by Karen Joy Fowler

Take Your Breath Away by Linwood Barclay

A Dark and Stormy Tea by Laura Childs

World Record Holders by Guy Delisle

The Woman From Valencia by Annie Perrault

William at 40 by Robert Jobson

Starry Messenger by Neil deGrasse Tyson

Ducks by Kate Beaton

The Butcher and the Wren by Alaina Urquhart

The Nanny by Ruth Heald

A Billion Years by Mike Rinder

Iced in Paradise by Naomi Harihara

Acting Class by Nick Drnaso

Alice Guy: First Lady of Film by Catel and Bocquet

The American Adventuress by C. W. Gortner

Favorite Book:  Peach Blossom Spring

2nd Favorite Book:  My Wife is Missing

Least Favorite Book:  Hotel Portofino

The American Adventuress

The American Adventuress is a biography of Jennie Jerome Spencer-Churchill, the mother of Winston Churchill. This novel is Gortner's 7th. He writes historical fiction accounts of women and in the past has written about Catherine de Medici, Coco Chanel and Lucrezia Borgia. He holds an MFA in writing, specializing in Renaissance Studies, from the New College of California.  

The publisher's summary:

Daughter of New York financier Leonard Jerome, Jennie was born into wealth—and scandal. Upon her parents’ separation, her mother took Jennie and her sisters to Paris, where Mrs. Jerome was determined to marry her daughters into the most elite families. The glamorous city became their tumultuous finishing school until it fell to revolt. 

Fleeing to Queen Victoria’s England, Jennie soon caught the eye of aristocrat Randolph Spencer-Churchill, son of the Duke of Marlborough, one of Britain’s loftiest peers. It was love at first sight, their unconventional marriage driven by mutual ambition and the birth of two sons. Undeterred by premature widowhood or society’s rigid expectations, Jennie brashly carried on a lifelong intimate friendship with Edward, Prince of Wales—a notorious bon vivant—and had two later marriages to younger men. When her son Winston launched his brilliant political career, Jennie guided him to success, his most vocal and valuable supporter.

By turns scandalous, tragic, and exciting, Jennie Jerome lived an unconventional life full of defiance—one that enshrined her as an American adventuress.

The American Adventuress is a fantastic read.  Gortner did a great job of telling Jennie's story. I knew before reading the book that she married into the British aristocracy when she married Randolph Spencer-Churchill and that she was the mother of Winston Churchill. I did not know though that she was a playwright, entrepreneur, interior decorator, and publisher. I also was not aware of her affair with Edward, Prince of Wales who later was crowned King Edward VII. Jennie also married twice after Randolph died. Both of these husbands were half her age which was scandalous at the time. She was definately a woman ahead of her time. 

I enjoyed the New York City, Parisian and English settings. Jennie's childhood was in New York City where her parents attended and hosted banquets for the Guilded Age millionaires. When her mother separated from her father, they moved to Paris where Jennie met Randolph. Former Empress Eugenie became a friend of Jennie's mother so they were in the top social circles. After her marriage, Jennie and Randolph moved into Blenheim Palace where Randolph's family lived. I was surprised to read that it was cold and oppressive inside it's walls. That is not how I believed living in a castle is really like. The Palace did not appeal to me but Jennie and Randolph's London homes did. This is where they did their politicking and hosted many parties. Another fact that I learned was that Randolph's oldest brother Charles, the heir of the Dukedom of Marlborough, married an American himself, Consuelo Vanderbilt. 

I loved this historical biography and am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

Iced in Paradise

Iced in Paradise is a cozy mystery taking place in Hawaii. It is the first of two novels in the Leilani Santiago Hawaii Mystery series and is the first book that I have read by the author, Naomi Hirahara. She is the Edgar-winning author of the Mas Arai mystery series and the L.A.-based Ellie Rush mystery series. Her Mas Arai books earned a best book of the year award from Publishers Weekly. Iced in Paradise was published in 2021.

The publisher's summary:

Leilani Santiago is back in her birthplace, the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i, to help keep afloat the family business, a shave ice shack. When she goes to work one morning, she stumbles across a dead body, a young pro surfer who was being coached by her estranged father. As her father soon becomes the No. 1 murder suspect, Leilani must find the real killer and somehow safeguard her ill mother, little sisters, and grandmother while also preserving a long-distance relationship with her boyfriend in Seattle.

Iced was not as exciting as I had hoped. I struggled with the Hawaiian slang and could not always figure out what was being said. I wasted too much time trying to figure it all out and kept reading. However, the slang was too big of a disturbance for me. In the beginning I thought that it was pretty cool to learn all these new words. It became cumbersome though. I found it hard to decipher what the action was because it too was told to the reader through slang terms. The plot shown above in the summary is a good one. I just didn't see it and am disappointed with the book. I had high hopes for it due to the positive reviews but it just didn't click with me.

1 out of 5 stars.

A Billion Years

Mike Rinder's autobiography details his life in the church of scientology. Mike was a child when his parents became scientologists which made him one too. He rose to the highest levels in the church before escaping from its grasp.

The publisher's summary:

Mike Rinder’s parents began taking him to their local Scientology center when he was five years old. After high school, he signed a billion-year contract and was admitted into Scientology’s elite inner circle, the Sea Organization. Brought to founder L. Ron Hubbard’s yacht and promised training in Hubbard’s most advanced techniques, Mike was instead put to work swabbing the decks.

Still, Rinder bought into the doctrine that his personal comfort was secondary to the higher purpose of Hubbard’s world-saving mission, swiftly rising through the ranks. In the 1980s, Rinder became Scientology’s international spokesperson and the head of its powerful Office of Special Affairs. He helped negotiate Scientology’s pivotal tax exemption from the IRS and engaged with the organization’s prominent celebrity members, including Tom Cruise, Lisa Marie Presley, and John Travolta.

Yet Rinder couldn’t shake a nagging feeling that something was amiss—Hubbard’s promises remained unfulfilled at his death, and his successor, David Miscavige, was a ruthless and vindictive man who did not hesitate to confine many top Scientologists, Mike among them, to a makeshift prison known as the Hole.

In 2007, at the age of fifty-two, Rinder finally escaped Scientology. Overnight, he became one of the organization’s biggest public enemies. He was followed, hacked, spied on, and tracked. But he refused to be intimidated and today helps people break free of Scientology.

In A Billion Years, the dark, dystopian truth about Scientology is revealed as never before. Rinder offers insights into the religion that only someone of his former high rank could provide and tells a harrowing but fulfilling story of personal resilience.

I thought the book was well written. It begins with a description of the author's childhood in Australia before entering scientology and it seemed idyllic compared to what came next. Once his parents became interested in founder L. Ron Hubbard's writings, the family traveled alot internationally so that the parents could get to courses that would take them up the scientology bridge. However, when Rinder was 17 he signed a billion year contract to work for the Sea Org and was busy 20 some hours a day, every day. I didn't understand why no one refused to work these hours. With no prior knowledge of working in the Sea Org entailed, it was a surprise to all of the Sea Org members. Why did they put up with it? I would have quit. Rinder learned many years later that if he had tried to leave, the church would have prevented it. Herein lies the truth that scientology is a cult. Cult leaders do not let their followers leave.  What follows next in the book is incident after incident of abuse that Rinder endured, mainly at the hands of the successor to L. Ron Hubbard: David Miscavige. Gradually Rinder began to see that he was not advancing scientology but rather Miscavige's personal desires. I am glad that Rinder was able to escape the church and start a normal life. 

This is an eye-opening read about the dangers of scientology.  It has been in the news alot lately because of the Danny Masterson rape trial in California. Masterson is a scientologist who is accused of raping 3 women who are former scientologists. The church's requirement that no member give up another to the civil authorities has played into the trial. 

5 out of 5 stars.

The Butcher and the Wren

The Butcher and the Wren is Alaina Urquhart's debut novel. Her day job as an autopsy technician certainly was helpful for her in writing this fantastic psychological thriller. I was completely engrossed in the book from the first chapter.

The publisher's summary:

"Something dark is lurking in the Louisiana bayou: a methodical killer with a penchant for medical experimentation is hard at work completing his most harrowing crime yet, taunting the authorities who desperately try to catch up.

But forensic pathologist Dr. Wren Muller is the best there is. Armed with an encyclopedic knowledge of historical crimes, and years of experience working in the Medical Examiner's office, she's never encountered a case she couldn't solve. Until now. Case after case is piling up in Wren's examination table and soon she is sucked into an all consuming cat and mouse chase with a brutal murderer getting more brazen by the day."

This is a fast paced plot driven story that takes place in Louisiana. Here there are plenty of good places to stash a dead body. They can be hidden in tall grass by the water's edge or next to exposed tree roots. The variety of these places provide different decomposition times which could confuse a medical examiner not as experienced as Dr. Muller.

The serial killer and Wren Muller characters are well developed. We read more about the serial killer's background than Muller, who is the protagonist. He has a data entry day job but also attends medical school at Tulane. Because of his busy schedule he can only "work" on weekends. He always leaves different calling cards when he dumps a body in order to confuse the police. I liked him as a character. Wren is the perfect sleuth. She has the educational background and employment experience to conduct forensic investigations and would be great as a series protagonist. There is a side to her personality that could make her character a little softer. She was a crime victim herself. I don't know if the author plans on this being a series but I hope so. 

Mystery lovers will definitely want to read this book. 5 out of 5 stars!

Ducks

Ducks is a graphic memoir by Kate Beaton. Inside the pages of this hardcover book we read about the two years of her life spent working in Canada's oilfields. When Kate graduated from college, she had a hefty student loan to repay. Knowing that she would never make enough money from working in her chosen field to pay it off, Kate took a job in Alberta's oil sands where she worked as a laborer and then in the crib shop where she handed out tools to workers. She took a few months off after the first year and paid off half her student loans. Kate then worked in a museum but couldn't make her minimum loan payments on that salary. She returned to the oil sands for another year. Her student loans were then paid off and she decided to work as a cartoonist. The rest, they say, is history.

I was impressed with her concern for paying off her student loan debt. Kate delayed beginning her career until the debt was paid. Many residents of the Cape Breton island that she grew up on traveled to the oil sands so they could support their families. I was astonished by the amount of sexual harassment that she had to endure while working there. It doesn't say much for Canadian men and I am surprised by the conduct because I have always heard that Canadians were more group oriented than individualistic. So why the Ducks title? During her second year hundreds of ducks died from getting caught in the sands. This received alot of media attention at the time.

The story itself is well written with an obvious beginning, middle and end. There were twists and turns during her employment which gave it a mystery flare. The drawings were done in black and white in comic book strip format. At over 400 pages it is a hefty book but is also a fast read. I am looking forward to reading more from this young cartoonist.

5 out of 5 stars.

Starry Messenger

Starry Messenger is Neil deGrasse Tyson's 18th book but the first one that I have read. I didn't know what to expect. I thought that maybe he would make a statement about Christianity being a false religion. This is not a problem for me. I know what his views are from regularly watching his Star Talk TV program. I also wondered whether the material would be over my head. 

I did not see any main point that Tyson was trying to communicate in this book. While there are chapter divisions, the reader sees him pontificating on various social issues with no connection between the material. In the Preface, Tyson states that societal ills could all be solved by people thinking as scientists. If we could just see earth as the Apollo astronauts did, our differences would disappear.  Scientists are the only objective people on the planet. Scientists do not have opinions, they just have facts.

As I was reading I kept looking for the reason that the book was written. I didn't find one. I did notice, however, that there were two ideas repeated in every chapter. First, he is concerned how visiting space aliens view humankind. I don't know why he is upset about this as there is no scientific proof that aliens exist. Remember, all scientists are objective and only deal with facts. Second, Christianity is the reason for all of the problems in the world. Tyson states that the God of the Bible demands competition among his earthlings which promotes racism, colonialism etc..., as well as the idea that Christians are superior to non-Christians. He cites at least one verse from Genesis in each chapter to prove his points. I have to say that he has a psychological complex about the Bible because he has written about it so much in this work. So what if he's an atheist. But when someone can't stop writing and talking about the Bible in this way, he has a personal problem separate from being an atheist.

The material was not over my head. This is not a scientific book. It is about society as a whole from caveman days to the present. With the two main ideas presented in each chapter being ideas that have not been proved by science, why are his "objective" "opinions"  being touted as truth? Also, I got the impression that he feels superior to us regular folks who are not scientists. Superiority runs deep in this work. Again, I had to wonder how he became superior to everyone else since God is the entity requiring superiority from his followers and Tyson is not a God follower.

The book was a disappointment. I expected a scientific book. What I got was unorganized ramblings regarding problems on earth. The writing itself was good but the content was lacking. I am rating it 3 out of 5 stars.

William at 40

My review of Tom Bower's Revenge was a popular read, for my blog at least. I decided to take on another royal family tome, Robert Jobson's William at 40 The Making of a Modern Monarch. I was expecting a few new revelations but, sadly, the only new facts that I am aware of were written in the Preface.  

The publisher's summary:

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, is destined one day to be king. Determined to serve his country as his grandmother, the Queen has so selflessly done for seven decades, William is the epitome of a loving husband to Catherine, and a devoted father to their three children: George, Charlotte and Louis. In public, William appears calm, balanced and determined. He is passionate about safeguarding the environment and helping to protect species under threat of extinction. The Duke and his wife have also worked tirelessly to remove the stigma that continues to mark mental health problems. In private, however, those close to him say that William, while being a dedicated servant of the Crown can defy his calm, family-guy public demeanour. This is the definitive account – insightful and nuanced – of the life of the Duke of Cambridge as he approaches his milestone birthday. Jobson explores the complex character of the man who will one day reign as King William V. It is the story of the making of a king for our times. THE STORY OF THE MAKING OF A MONARCH FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY.

 

If you have ever read any newspaper article about William, or a social media post, then you probably are familiar with the material in this biography. These posts seems to rehash his life in its entirety. There isn't anything new here other than the description of William's temper in the Preface. The book seemed to me to be a fluff piece. It begins with his birth and continues to the present day. I guess readers of a younger generation than mine might find something new here but I did not learn anything new about the future King William V. I also did not read anything to justify the subtitle "the making of a modern monarch." Jobson talks about William's listening skills and his use of modern technology as proof that his dynasty will be modern. Any fortysomething individual is going to use modern technology. I don't see that as a reason to call him a modern monarch. I was looking for other reasons for the use of the subtitle. I am not sure what I was looking for, but more than what I got.

3 out of 5 stars.

The Woman in Valencia

The Woman in Valencia is a Staff Recommended book at the Chicago Public Library this month. I took it out of the library, though, because it takes place in my favorite international city, Valencia, Spain. It was originally written in French by Annie Perreault in 2018 and translated into English by Ann Marie Boulanger in 2021. It was published by QC Fiction, the Canadian imprint that specializes in translating French fiction into English.

The publisher's summary:  

While on vacation with her family in Valencia, Claire Halde witnesses a shocking event that becomes the catalyst for a protracted downward spiral and a profound personal unravelling as she struggles to come to grips with her role in the incident. This haunting novel, which unfolds across three timelines set in as many decades, takes the reader on a dark journey through the minds of three women whose pasts, presents, and futures are decided by a single encounter on a scorching summer afternoon.

Every published review of this novel that I have seen has highly rated it. However, I did not like it much. It was hard to get into and I restarted reading it about 4 times. The plot concerns Claire's obsession with a suicide that she witnessed in the rooftop pool of the hotel where she was staying in Valencia. We primarily read about Claire's internal thoughts whether she should have intervened and why she did not intervene. Claire kept the bag that the victim had with her at the pool and brought it with her when she returned to Valencia a few years later. Here, Claire dyes her hair blonde and assumes a Russian name. It was difficult to figure this out because Claire's internal thoughts about the Russian blonde made it seem that this was a different character. Herein lies the problem that I had with this book. It was near impossible to figure out the difference between plot action and Claire's thoughts. I also question whether there was any plot action at all. 

I cannot give this book a rating. In fact, I don't even know what genre it is and cannot figure out why this book is so highly rated.

A Dark and Stormy Tea

 

A Dark and Stormy Tea is the 23rd Indigo Tea Shop Mystery featuring Theodosia Browning as an amateur sleuth. Book 24, Lemon Curd Killer, will be published in March 2023. I have read all of the books in the series and have been mostly pleased with the writing. Since the author writes two other cozy mystery series and publishes three books every year, I think that she sometimes doesn't put in the same effort that she used to.

The publisher's summary:

A possible serial killer on the loose sends tea maven Theodosia Browning into a whirlwind of investigation in this latest installment of the New York Times bestselling series.

It was a dark and stormy night, but that was the least of Theodosia Browning's troubles. As she approaches St. Philips Graveyard, Theodosia sees two figures locked in a strange embrace. Wiping rain from her eyes, Theodosia realizes she has just witnessed a brutal murder and sees a dark-hooded figure slip away into the fog.
 
In the throes of alerting police, Theodosia recognizes the victim—it is the daughter of her friend, Lois, who owns the Antiquarian Bookshop next door to her own Indigo Tea Shop.
 
Even though this appears to be the work of a serial killer who is stalking the back alleys of Charleston, Lois begs Theodosia for help. Against the advice of her boyfriend, Detective Pete Riley, and the sage words of Drayton, her tea sommelier, amateur-sleuth Theodosia launches her own shadow investigation. And quickly discovers that suspects abound with the dead girl’s boyfriend, nefarious real estate developer, private-security man, bumbling reporter, and her own neighbor who is writing a true-crime book and searching for a big ending.

I was delighted with the crisp writing in this installment of the series. It was quite suspenseful and there was some development of Theodosia's character. The murder occurred in the first chapter, which I always prefer so that the rest of the novel can be about the investigation of the case. Also, there seemed to be more discussion than usual between Theo and Drayton about what specialty afternoon tea events that they want to plan, such as Garden Party Tea, Jane Austen Tea, Great Gatsby Tea, Limon Tea, Primavera Tea, Butterfly Tea, and Bridal Party Tea. I love when Drayton recommends the decor that he would like to have for each of them as well as the types of tea that he would like to serve. It makes me wish that I could attend.

Theo has a new boyfriend in this novel so it will be interesting to see how that relationship develops. It would be nice to see Drayton's character experience a new development. He is the only character to never had any change in his life. While I think he is perfect, I wonder what changes could be made to his character without changing his identity. Baker Haley has had some development but not alot. With Drayton being more central to the series than Haley, I would like to see something happen with him.

All in all, this is a fantastic entry into the Indigo Tea Shop series.  5 out of 5 stars.

Moms

I have been thinking about reading this graphic novel ever since it was published in English two years ago. I finally took the plunge and took it out of my public library. Moms is a humorous look at the way middle aged women think. Taking place in South Korea, there are three main characters. Lee Soyeon, Myeong-ok, and Yeonjeong are mothers in their mid-fifties. They’ve had it with their dead-weight partners and the grind of the menial jobs they have. Their overbearing bosses control everything, down to how much water they can drink while they are working. Lee Soyeon divorced her husband years ago after his gambling debts forced them to file bankruptcy. She finds herself in another decade-long relationship with Jongseok, a waiter at a nightclub whom she has grown tired of. Myeong-ok is having an illicit affair with a younger man, and Yeonjeong, whose husband suffers from erectile dysfunction, has her eye on an acquaintance from the gym. All three of these ladies have become bored with conventional romantic dalliances and are embracing outrageous sexual adventures in nightclubs, motels, and even the occasional back-alley. I think they are giving twentysomething women a run for their money. 

It is refreshing to read a book about the emotional and sexual needs of middle aged women. This is not something you find very often. The author, Yeong-shin Ma based the story on his divorced 50 year old mother. He asked his mother keep a journal where she would write about her dating experiences. He also asked her to write about her girlfriends, who were also on the dating scene. What Ma discovered was that older women do not put aside their desires just because they are no longer young. I wonder if he was shocked to find this out. I am betting that he was.

Moms is an amusing story that women will be able to relate to.  I am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

Take Your Breath Away

Take Your Breath Away is Linwood Barclay's 21st crime thriller. Barclay has written a few short series but this book is a standalone novel. It was published on May 17, 2022.

The publisher's summary:

One weekend, while Andrew Mason was on a fishing trip, his wife, Brie, vanished without a trace. Most everyone assumed Andy had got away with murder—it’s always the husband, isn’t it?—but the police could never build a strong case against him. For a while, Andy hit rock bottom—he drank too much to numb the pain, was abandoned by all his friends save one, nearly lost his business, and became a pariah in the place he once called home.

Now, six years later, Andy has finally put his life back together. He sold the house he once shared with Brie and moved away. To tell the truth, he wasn’t sad to hear that the old place was razed and a new house built on the site. He’s settled down with a new partner, Jayne, and life is good.

But Andy’s peaceful world is about to shatter. One day, a woman shows up at his old address, screaming, “Where’s my house? What’s happened to my house?” And then, just as suddenly as she appeared, the woman—who bears a striking resemblance to Brie—is gone. The police are notified and old questions—and dark suspicions—resurface. 

Could Brie really be alive after all these years? If so, where has she been? It soon becomes clear that Andy’s future and the lives of those closest to him depend on discovering what the hell is going on. The trick will be whether he can stay alive long enough to unearth the answers. 

The book is billed as suspense. However, I think it is more realistic to call it a crime thriller. There was some suspense but it was not tightly written as you would normally see with a suspense novel. The characters were masterfully drawn. Their backgrounds are what created most of the suspense. With their backstories being slowly revealed the reader comes away with the thought that perhaps they could be motivated to kill. As far as whether Brie was or was not alive, the author was able to keep us guessing until the end.

4 out of 5 stars.

Portrait of an Unknown Woman

Portrait of an Unknown Woman is Dan Silva's 25th novel and his 22nd Gabrial Allon novel. He has also written one standalone novel and two books in his Michael Osborne series. At 448 pages, Portrait it is just 2 pages short of qualifying as a chunkster for the Chunkster Challenge.  The book was published on July 19, 2022.

The publisher's summary:

Legendary spy and art restorer Gabriel Allon has at long last severed ties with Israeli intelligence and settled quietly in Venice, the only place where he has ever truly known peace. His beautiful wife, Chiara, has taken over the day-to-day management of the Tiepolo Restoration Company, and their two young children are discreetly enrolled in a neighborhood scuola elementare. For his part, Gabriel spends his days wandering the streets and canals of the watery city, bidding farewell to the demons of his tragic, violent past.

But when the eccentric London art dealer Julian Isherwood asks Gabriel to investigate the circumstances surrounding the rediscovery and lucrative sale of a centuries-old painting, he is drawn into a deadly game of cat and mouse where nothing is as it seems.

Gabriel soon discovers that the work in question, a portrait of an unidentified woman attributed to Sir Anthony van Dyck, is almost certainly a fiendishly clever fake. To find the mysterious figure who painted it—and uncover a multibillion-dollar fraud at the pinnacle of the art world—Gabriel conceives one of the most elaborate deceptions of his career. If it is to succeed, he must become the very mirror image of the man he seeks: the greatest art forger the world has ever known.

Stylish, sophisticated, and ingeniously plotted, Portrait of an Unknown Woman is a wildly entertaining journey through the dark side of the art world—a place where unscrupulous dealers routinely deceive their customers and deep-pocketed investors treat great paintings as though they were just another asset class to be bought and sold at a profit. From its elegant opening to the shocking twists of its climax, the novel is a tour de force of storytelling and one of the finest pieces of heist fiction ever written. And it is still more proof that, when it comes to international intrigue and suspense, Daniel Silva has no equal.

I LOVED this novel! Daniel Silva has never written a book that wasn't fantastic and Portrait follows his successful ride. The plot is based upon the true stories of art forgers John Myatt, John Drewe, Guy Ribes and Wolfgang Beltracchi. John Myatt painted more than 250 forgeries that John Drewe sold through well established London art galleries. Ribes was able to paint approximately 1,000 Chagall and Picasso forgeries that his network sold. His German counterpart, Beltracchi, sold forgeries through all of the prominent auction houses. All four of these men have a matching character in Portrait. Most of their forgeries are still in circulation today.  

The novel was spell-binding. I read this chunky book in one sitting late one evening. I am apprehensive, though, about the retirement of Allon from the spy business. His work for the Office has catapulted the series into fame and I don't see how the series can continue much longer if he no longer works as a spy. In this installment of the series, Allon is resting after his retirement but will soon begin working as an art restorer for his wife Chiara who owns the Tiepelo Restoration Company. With Allon being sixtysomething years old and retired, where does this series go?  

5 out of 5 stars.

Booth

I had high hopes for this book about the family of James Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln.  It started out dull and continued to be so throughout the book. The family dynamics were interesting, though, but I felt that it could have been written more exciting than it was.

The publisher's summary:

In 1822, a secret family moves into a secret cabin some thirty miles northeast of Baltimore, to farm, to hide, and to bear ten children over the course of the next sixteen years. Junius Booth—breadwinner, celebrated Shakespearean actor, and master of the house in more ways than one—is at once a mesmerizing talent and a man of terrifying instability. One by one the children arrive, as year by year, the country draws frighteningly closer to the boiling point of secession and civil war.

As the tenor of the world shifts, the Booths emerge from their hidden lives to cement their place as one of the country’s leading theatrical families. But behind the curtains of the many stages they have graced, multiple scandals, family triumphs, and criminal disasters begin to take their toll, and the solemn siblings of John Wilkes Booth are left to reckon with the truth behind the destructively specious promise of an early prophecy.

Booth is a startling portrait of a country in the throes of change and a vivid exploration of the ties that make, and break, a family.

It was interesting to read that John Wilkes always had tendencies toward supporting southern causes, including slavery. He was the only member of his family to not associate with the family's black employees. All of their employees were free as the patriarch was an abolitionist. While the story was a little boring, I am glad that I read the book. It is important to know all of the factors that made John Wilkes Booth kill Lincoln. The author stated in an interview that she did not want to write a book about John Wilkes but rather about the family.  She felt that John Wilkes craved attention and she did not want to give him the satisfaction of a book about him. Thus, his birth does not happen until page 59. When I read that he tortured animals, beat people up and loved guns from an early age, I realized that he was always going to turn out to be an assassin or serial killer.  We all have read the news stories about killers and their childhoods, which predict their future. With an absent father and a mother not interested in raising her children, John Wilkes fit the recipe for becoming a dangerous person.

Booth is an enlightening book about a dysfunctional family that changed the course of American history.  3 out of 5 stars.

Rising Tiger

Rising Tiger is Brad Thor's 23rd Scot Harvath spy thriller. All of the books in the series to date have been fabulous. However, with Rising Tiger Brad Thor is beginning to slip.

The publisher's summary:

An unprecedented, potentially nation-ending threat has materialized on the world stage. Fearful of the global consequences of engaging this enemy, administration after administration has passed the buck. The clock, however, has run out and doing nothing is no longer an option. It is time to unleash Scot Harvath.

As America’s top spy, Harvath has the unparalleled skills and experience necessary to handle any situation, but this assignment feels different.

Thrust into a completely unfamiliar culture, with few he can trust, the danger begins mounting the moment he arrives. Amidst multiple competing forces and a host of deadly agendas, it becomes nearly impossible to tell predator from prey.

With democracy itself hanging in the balance, Harvath will risk everything to untangle the explosive plot and bring every bad actor to justice.

As I mentioned above, the book was no where near as good as the others in the series. In fact, it was rather dull. It's hard to believe that Thor wrote it as the writing formula is quite different from his earlier books. Harvath did not approach his investigation in his usual manner. In addition, there is no suspense. When Harvath meets with his Indian counterpart they have boring conversations about food and '70s music. There is an alternating plot involving Asha Patel of India's Defense Department Special Ops Division and this plot was also dull. I had to skip pages in order to stay awake so I have to ask again:  Did Brad Thor write this book?  

This was a disappointing read but I have noticed that when a series gets to be as long as this one, the author usually has 1 or 2 setbacks. 2 out of 5 stars.

Peach Blossom Spring

Peach Blossom Spring is a poignant family saga that begins in China in the 1930s. It is Melissa Fu's debut novel and I am impressed with her ability to write such a beautiful story. The novel is about Dao Meilin and her son Dao Renshu. Meilin's husband Xiaowen is killed during a battle with the invading Japanese army but she remains with her in-law's family for support. She relies heavily on her husband's brother Longwei and his wife Wenling, who resents Meilin's presence. As the Japanese continue their advance through China the Dao family is displaced over and over again in their effort to survive. It is always hard to summarize these sagas so let's go with the publisher's summary:

It is 1938 in China and, as a young wife, Meilin’s future is bright. But with the Japanese army approaching, Meilin and her four year old son, Renshu, are forced to flee their home. Relying on little but their wits and a beautifully illustrated hand scroll, filled with ancient fables that offer solace and wisdom, they must travel through a ravaged country, seeking refuge. Years later, Renshu has settled in America as Henry Dao. Though his daughter is desperate to understand her heritage, he refuses to talk about his childhood. How can he keep his family safe in this new land when the weight of his history threatens to drag them down? Yet how can Lily learn who she is if she can never know her family’s story? Spanning continents and generations, Peach Blossom Spring is a bold and moving look at the history of modern China, told through the story of one family. It’s about the power of our past, the hope for a better future, and the haunting question: What would it mean to finally be home?

When I finished this novel I went back in the story searching for each reference to Peach Blossom Spring. Henry first learned of this fable from his mother while he was a youth. After Henry moves to America he hears the story again, but with a different ending. He wonders why his mother changed the ending. In the last chapter of the book he figures it out. Without being a spoiler I can say it refers to wherever your home is located. The location can be a specific place or state of mind. The way the author ended the story gives us a much bigger idea of what a Peach Blossom Spring is but I won't elaborate here. However, please note that I wanted to immediately re-read the novel after I finished reading it. There has never been a novel that has had this effect on me. Perhaps I am searching for my own Peach Blossom Spring.

The Chinese setting descriptions were spot on. The reader definitely feels the effects of war on all the Chinese cities and villages that Meilin and Renshu walked through on their way to safety. Whenever they found sanctuary, they soon had to move on because of the bombs that the Japanese planes dropped. No place was safe. Eventually Meilin and Renshu moved to Taiwan with their Dao relatives to escape the Japanese and the fledgling Chinese Communist Party. We get a glimpse that Longwei is working with Taiwan's KMT Party but this fact is never specifically stated. Longwei's actions show how the KMT spies operated in mainland China. The problems of emigrating to other countries is also shown. Many Chinese had to lie about their family background in order to get access to boats that would take them to a new place. The lies would always be a problem for the countries in which they relocated.

All the characters seemed flawed. However, each character had to make a decision on how to best handle the circumstances of war. Is this a flaw? Maybe not. When you are in a lose-lose situation, whatever you decide to do looks suspicious. The Dao family did not have positive options available and they used whatever power their family had in order to survive. Instead of saying that they were flawed it may be best to state that the characters were realistic for the era in which they lived, including Henry in America. The current Chinese government does threaten Chinese Americans with harming their relatives who are still in China in order to get concessions. Henry was afraid that he would hurt his mother if he associated with other Chinese in the U. S. 

I LOVED this novel! I am rating it 5 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.

Girl in Ice

Girl in Ice is Erica Ferencik's third novel. I am not sure how to categorize it. Environmental thriller is the closest description but this is not an end of the world horror story. The story is about a girl who is found frozen in the ice in a deep crevice in Greenland and the climate scientists who are trying to communicate with her. Valerie Chesterfield is a linguist who loves the dead Nordic languages. She languishes in the shadow of her twin brother, Andy, an accomplished climate scientist who was stationed on a remote island off Greenland’s coast. Andy has recently committed suicide. He ventured into unprotected into 50 degree below zero weather wearing nothing but boxer shorts. Valerie suspects foul play though. She knows her brother loved life and would not have killed himself.

When Wyatt, Andy’s fellow researcher in the Arctic, discovers the girl, he immediately calls Val. Despite her agoraphobia Val journeys to Greenland to solve the mystery of the girl's language as well as her brother’s death. However, the moment she steps off the plane, her fears almost overwhelm her. She medicates herself with pills and alcohol. The landscape is tough and Wyatt, brilliant but difficult, is an enigma. The girl, Sigrid, is intriguing, and Valerie has a special connection with her. A few weeks after she thaws out, Wyatt believes that Sigrid may be ill. Valerie thinks that the answer to healing Sigrid lies in discovering the truth about Wyatt’s research. She does not know whether his data can be trusted and wonders if it has anything to do with her brother's death. 

Whew! This was a riveting read. I was hooked from the first page with its foreshadowing narrative: "There would be no bursting into tears at school. Grief was for after hours, for the nightly bottle of merlot, for my dark apartment, for waking on the couch at dawn, the blue light of the TV caressing my aching flesh." I couldn't put the book down until I  finished reading it. Not only did each chapter end with suspense to keep me reading, but practically every page did also. 

I enjoyed reading about the Greenland setting. It is an integral setting where the physical landscape, climate, weather and culture become part of the story. In addition, it's harsh landscape matched Valerie's emotions. Both were frozen. While the characters were careful when they went outside, I couldn't help but see the beauty in the snowy scenes they were navigating. Snow is always beautiful when you don't have to go outside yourself! It was fascinating to learn about the three languages that are spoken in the island: West Greenlandic, East Greenlandic and the Thule Greenlandic called Inuktun. Val was an expert in these languages. She stated in the novel "A language is far more than a means of communication. It is the very condition of humanity."  Her problem in communicating with Sigrid was that Sigrid did not speak any of these languages. She spoke a few words from each language but Val could not determine what Sigrid was trying to tell her. 

The author did a great job creating her characters. Val's emotional state matched the landscape of the novel. The agoraphobia that she suffered from was shown, not told. We saw Val medicating herself in order to be able to leave her home and later, leave the the comfort of her workspace in Greenland. Wyatt Speeks was the perfect villain. The climate scientist was impatient with others and this caused Val to be wary of him. She was not sure whether she could trust him or any of his decisions. Wyatt's assistant, Jeanne, was equally as emotionally frozen as Val. Her conversations were always cryptic but she suffered the loss of family members too. Jeanne was the cook and mechanic at the station. I thought it was odd that someone who wasn't a scientist was working at the station. The two other scientists working at the Greenland station were married to each other. Polar marine scientists Nora and Rajeev Chandra-Revard were way too lovey-dovey and their passion for each other was a little sickening. However, they did provide a break from the three other dark personalities.

I loved Girl in Ice and am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

Hotel Portofino

I had high hopes for Hotel Portofino. The beautiful cover attracted me to pick it up but that old adage, don't judge a book by it's cover, seems appropriate. I just didn't care for the story. The plot premise was good, which was another reason why I borrowed it from my local library. The story revolves around a British family who opens an upper class hotel on the Italian Rivera during the 1920s. After only being open a few weeks, owner Bella Ainsworth is struggling to deal with a pile of problems. Her high society clientele are demanding and Bella is targeted by a corrupt politician. When her marriage falls apart Bella doesn't think she can handle any more adversity but it keeps on coming.

I had difficulty becoming interested in the book from its opening pages. I thought that once I knew who all of the characters were that it would get better. It didn't. Other reviewers have said that the story is similar to Downton Abbey and I think Hotel Portofino might make a great movie like Downton because it is high on atmosphere. However, it falls short as a novel. There was not much action and even that beautiful setting couldn't keep me interested.

Unfortunately, this one a little dull. 2 out of 5 stars.

The Magnolia Palace

The Magnolia Palace is the 6th book written by Fiona Davis. I had previously read her books The Address and The Masterpiece and loved them.  The Magnolia Palace takes it place among them both as great historical fiction.

The publisher's summary:

Eight months since losing her mother in the Spanish flu outbreak of 1919, twenty-one-year-old Lillian Carter's life has completely fallen apart. For the past six years, under the moniker Angelica, Lillian was one of the most sought-after artists' models in New York City, with statues based on her figure gracing landmarks from the Plaza Hotel to the Brooklyn Bridge. But with her mother gone, a grieving Lillian is rudderless and desperate—the work has dried up and a looming scandal has left her entirely without a safe haven. So when she stumbles upon an employment opportunity at the Frick mansion—a building that, ironically, bears her own visage—Lillian jumps at the chance. But the longer she works as a private secretary to the imperious and demanding Helen Frick, the daughter and heiress of industrialist and art patron Henry Clay Frick, the more deeply her life gets intertwined with that of the family—pulling her into a tangled web of romantic trysts, stolen jewels, and family drama that runs so deep, the stakes just may be life or death.

Nearly fifty years later, mod English model Veronica Weber has her own chance to make her career—and with it, earn the money she needs to support her family back home—within the walls of the former Frick residence, now converted into one of New York City's most impressive museums. But when she—along with a charming intern/budding art curator named Joshua—is dismissed from the Vogue shoot taking place at the Frick Collection, she chances upon a series of hidden messages in the museum: messages that will lead her and Joshua on a hunt that could not only solve Veronica's financial woes, but could finally reveal the truth behind a decades-old murder in the infamous Frick family.

This was a relaxing, easy read. I enjoyed Lillian's story more than Veronica's and am not sure the 1966 subplot was necessary. Usually alternating plotlines end up with characters being related in some way. Not so for Veronica. While Veronica and Joshua figured out what happened in the Frick family in 1919, I don't think the author had to use an alternating plot to inform the reader what happened earlier in the century. I usually like alternating plots but this book might have been better without it.

Lillian is an engaging character. Her ability to go with the flow contrasted with Helen's cryptic personality. As a model past her prime at age 18, Lillian shows us the futility of relying upon beauty for riches. Helen, on the other hand, was a woman who yearned for a career instead of marriage. Normally I would love this kind of character. For some reason she didn't impress me. I didn't see her as an independent person even though she turned away suitors so she could help out in her father's business. Still, this was an amazing story and I highly recommend it.

4 out of 5 stars.