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.

The Sugarcreek Surprise

The Sugarcreek Surprise is Wanda Brunstetter's newest novel. It is the second novel in her Creektown Discoveries series and was published earlier this month. The story concerns 25 year old Lisa Miller who became an orphan when she was seven after her family was killed in an auto accident. Lisa's grandparents decide to take her to their home in Sugarcreek, Ohio and raise her themselves. Lisa, however, has trouble making friends and has never opened up to her grandparents about her loss.  She is afraid that if she ever loves anyone again, that they will die and leave her alone in the world. 

When Paul Herschberger moves into her community, Lisa has already been teaching for 7 years. She has no plans to ever marry and have children of her own. Paul is also heartbroken. His longtime girlfriend in Indiana was also dating his best friend. Paul expected to marry the girl but broke things off with her after catching her with his buddy.  Paul decides to move to Ohio and work with his uncle as a carpenter. Soon he meets Lisa and is attracted to her.  Paul thinks that he met Lisa sometime in the past but cannot remember where they could have ever met. He tries to get her to go out with him but Lisa refuses all of his advances. Eventually they become friends over their mutual love of antiques and books. The question for the reader is whether these two hurt souls can ever overcome their handicaps and become a couple.

Romance is not usually the kind of book I read.  However, these Amish romance stories get to me every time. There is something about how these stories are told that attract me. There is a mystery to them and reading them is similar to reading a mystery novel because you want to know how the characters overcome whatever personal problem that they have. The Sugarcreek Surprise was no different. I was captivated from the first page until the ending. The religious aspect of the story is also intriguing for me. It is always fascinating to see how other people deal with their problems. We all have problems and the Amish are no different from the rest of us. Having a faith tradition of my own, I enjoy reading how the characters resolve their conflicts by using their faith. The answer is always the same, regardless of your faith tradition: will you allow God to change you so that you can overcome negative circumstances? 

This novel is appropriate for all ages and women in particular will enjoy it. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Opus Dictum

The Opus Dictum is the 2nd Vatican Secret Archives Thriller by Gary McAvoy. He previously wrote the Magdalen Chronicles trilogy but all of the characters in the Magdalen Chronicles are also in the Vatican Secret Archives series. McAvoy stated on his website that the Vatican series is a sequel to the Magdalen series and recommends that readers start his books with his first, The Madgalen Deception. If I had known this, I would have started reading his books in order.  However, I just discovered him as an author in January 2022 when I read The Vivaldi Cipher. In April 2022 McAvoy will have his 6th book published called The Petrus Prophecy. He is a promising new author and likes to write religious thrillers. 

The publisher's summary:

In 1982, Roberto Calvi, known as “God’s Banker,” was discovered hanging under London’s Blackfriars Bridge. What wasn’t found was the briefcase he was known to have had with him the night before, reportedly stuffed with incriminating documents, a special key, and a computer disk filled with codes, which together unlock a piece of the Vatican's troubled past.

When the briefcase mysteriously reappears in the Vatican Secret Archives, Father Michael Dominic and his team—Hana, Marco, Karl, Lukas, the feisty young nun Sister Teri, and Dominic’s new assistant, Ian—are up against two powerful and enigmatic organizations, Opus Deus and the ultra-secret, outlawed Masonic Lodge P2, who savagely fight for control of the briefcase and its contents. Their goal? To carry out one of the most dangerous conspiracies the Church has ever faced—all happening during an unexpected conclave to elect a new pope.

From Rome, Italy, to Geneva, Switzerland, join Dominic and friends as they fend off plotters, kidnappers, and blackmailers who have threaded their way into Vatican politics for decades, in a conspiracy known as The Opus Dictum.

I enjoyed this book immensely. When the Dictum was first mentioned at the midway point, I remembered what the story was supposed to be about. I have to question why it took so long to introduce the main thrust of the plot. Aside from this, the story was still entertaining and kept me reading until the quiet hours of the night. 

The characters were fully developed and interesting. The villains provided all the suspense a good thriller needs. With several characters being villains, it was hard to know which one was going to be the main one but having several ratcheted up the suspense a notch. 

The scientific methods used to decode documents was fascinating. I had never heard of steganography before. With steganography you can hide messages in digital images that the human eye cannot see. There are several other scientific tools used by the characters in the story. It gave authenticity to their pursuit of either good or evil.

A great read! 5 out of 5 stars.

The New Girl

Ruth Heald is one of my newest favorite authors.  I read her The Wedding and I Know Your Secret, both of which were fantastic psychological thrillers. When I saw an ad for her newest book, I couldn't wait to get it. Heald now has a respectable six novels to her credit. She only writes the psychological thriller genre and is superb with this type of writing. Heald studied Economics at Oxford University and then worked in a mix of sectors from nuclear decommissioning to management consulting. She worked at the BBC for nine years before leaving to write full time. Heald stated on her website that she is fascinated by psychology and finding out what drives people to violence, destruction and revenge.

Sophie Williams has moved from Dorset to London in order to escape her past. She thought that she could keep her past a secret by moving with no possessions other than a few clothes. She soon lands her dream job in advertising and it comes with a bonus. Sophie is offered the use of an apartment that her new employer owns for free. She is attracted her boss James and he feels the same about her. With James by her side, Sophie begins to feel safe again, more secure than she has felt in years. However, Sophie begins to hear odd noises at night and has a feeling that she is being watched. James convinces her that she is imagining things but when a new dress appears in her closet, Sophie wears it to work the next day. She is stunned when the atmosphere becomes chilled. 

Wow! This was a page turning mystery with many twists and turns. I found my heart beating fast everytime something happened to Sophie. I thought she was pretty gullible and knew she would be in danger because of her poor decisions. She should have known that all of the gifts that her new employer gave her were for a reason, a reason not good for her. I think most women would have had their antenna up and swirling furiously. I began dreading each new chapter because I knew she would find a simple reason to excuse all the bad things that were happening and ignore the obvious. The author did a great job of writing suspense into each chapter. The suspense was so high that I was scared for Sophie. It's been a long, long time since I cared this much for a character. However, I have had similar experiences with men and recognized every trap that she fell into. 

5 out of 5 stars.

The Perfect Home

This is Kevin Lynch's second book. The Perfect Home is a psychological thriller set somewhere in the UK. The place is not mentioned but since the author uses the anglicized spelling of words, it must be in either England or Ireland. The author lives in Dublin so Ireland is a good guess. 

The story opens with June Sweeney gardening in her back yard. She loves her home, which she retained in her divorce from Nick. It is where she raised her two kids who are now college age. June has filled every room with family photographs and trinkets. She especially loves the garden and works on it every day. June likes the neighbors in her cul-de-sac and the feelings are mutual. The neighborhood is peaceful. She has the perfect home . . . until Steve Murray moves in next door.

Steve keeps 3 or 4 cars parked in his driveway and plays music loudly all day and night while he repairs them. June meets with her neighbor Fred almost every day to discuss their mutual complaints about Steve. When June brings her complaints to son Sam and daughter Cathy, they do not side with her. They believe Steve is an OK guy. He is just trying to recover from a setback. June begins to feel all alone in her misery thinking that it can't get worse. It does. Strange things are happening in her house late at night and even more disturbing, June’s cheating ex-husband suddenly seems to always be at her house. It’s almost as if he’s stalking her. Then Fred is murdered. What is happening to June's perfect home?

I love finding new authors who can write these tension filled thrillers. Kindle seems to bring many of them to my attention and I am thrilled (pun intended) to discover Kevin Lynch. He had my complete attention from the first page and I couldn't put the book down until I read it in one sitting. The pace is fast as each page moves the plot forward. There is no wasted dialogue or setting descriptions other than this perfect cul-de-sac, referred to in the book as "the estate." I am not sure what that is but in my mind I picture a cul-de-sac.

June is presented as a June Cleaver on steroids. With the eerie atmosphere of the novel, I can see her as a character in the movie Psycho. The story felt like it could have been written by Alfred Hitchcock and would have made a great episode of the Twilight Zone. 

I am rating this a 5 out of 5 stars. It is a must read for all.

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.

Honey Roasted

Honey Roasted is the 19th coffeehouse mystery by Cleo Coyle, the pen name of husband and wife writing duo Alice Alfonsi and Marc Cerasini. This series is my favorite cozy mystery series and I waited over a year for this installment of the series. I was not disappointed. Honey Roasted was a fun, relaxing read. 

The story opens with Village Blend coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi creating a new coffee drink for her upcoming wedding reception. The drink is made from honey processed coffee. The honey for the new Honey Cinnamon Latte was sourced by Village Blend owner Madame's old friend Bea Hastings. Bea has cultivated a rare, prize winning nectar from her rooftop bee hives. One night after the shop was closed for business, Clare finds a swarm of bees in the Blend's chimney and basement. She believes that the bees may have come from Bea's rooftop greenhouse and walks over to Bea's home for a conversation about them. However, Clare finds Bea unconscious on her balcony. The police determine that Bea attempted suicide but Clare disputes this idea knowing that Bea would never abandon her hives. She sets out to investigate what happened to Bea and discovers the world of competitive urban beekeepers. 

I enjoyed this novel. I read it in one sitting but had a few adverse thoughts about the story. Clare is depicted for the first time in the series as an anxious woman who can not make any decisions on her own. This is not in keeping with her character. Also, her relationship with Mike Quinn is portrayed differently. For the first time, they have problems. While this can be attributed to their approaching matrimony something felt wrong about how much stress they were under. They were not communicating at all. What has always made their relationship solid was their ability to talk with each other about anything. To suddenly start avoiding each other was unusual. Another different aspect to the story was that there was no murder, only an attempted murder. I thought alot about these differences from earlier books in the series and began to see that the authors needed to make changes in their series to keep it fresh. It was all entertaining anyway so were these changes damaging? I don't think so. When there is always a murder in the same place the reader can become bored. 

While this book is advertised as a being able to be read as a standalone, I think it would be best if new readers start with another book in the series. The story presupposes knowledge about the Blend and the characters.  Highly recommended. 4 out of 5 stars.

Putin's Russia

Darryl Cunningham's latest graphic novel is Putin's Russia: The Rise of a Dictator. It was published on February 15, 2022 and is a biography of the Russian dictator. As publisher Drawn & Quarterly said recently, it is unfortunate that this comic arrived at this point in time. With Russian troops now in eastern Ukraine, it could not be more timely. News articles state that World War III is right around the corner. I do not understand why WWIII is a possibility but when you read about Putin's rise in Russia you see what he is capable of. 

In this biography of Vladimir Putin we see the development of a schoolyard bully in Soviet era Leningrad into a KGB officer, then on to a corrupt commodities trader and continuing on to being the president of Russia. The reader is shown the brutality that Putin has waged against his detractors as well as his lawless financial dealings. What I gleaned from the book is that everything Putin does politically enhances his personal finances. Taking that idea further, I imagine that Putin will make billions off of Ukraine. Money is the only thing he is interested in. Yes, there are advantages to Russia for invading Ukraine. It has oil and plentiful wheat fields that Russia could benefit from. However, when you see the totality of Putin's life you see that every political decision he makes only makes him richer. 

Putin was lucky is obtaining jobs that brought him more and more power. He was able to join the KGB in which membership is by invitation only. When returning from an assignment in East Germany he somehow found jobs that allowed him to take advantage of the post-Soviet chaos. By becoming affiliated with Boris Yeltsin, Putin was able to become president of Russia. Someone obviously helped him rise to power but the author does not tell us who that person is. Most likely no one knows this information other than Putin himself. Anyone with knowledge about Putin's past ends up dead and by controlling the media, he is able to create his own biography. 

This is an eye opening picture of the Russian dictator. Personally, I like to refer to him as Czar Putin. Highly recommended. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Taste of Ginger

The Taste of Ginger is Mansi Shah’s debut novel. While advertised as the story of a first generation American trying to figure out where she belongs, it touches so much on race that it is hard to view the book as traditional Indian fiction. The main character is Preeti Desai, a thirty year old woman living in Los Angeles who is working seventy hours a week as an attorney. She has an older brother Neel who she is close to as they shared the experience of emigrating to the U. S. from India when they were children. The two of them emulated their white fellow students in an effort to assimilate into American culture. How much that affected both of them is not discussed between them until the family returns to India for a family wedding.

Neel's wife Dipti is pregnant with their first child when the family travels to India for a wedding. During a rickshaw ride through town, a car crashed into them and Dipti is injured. She is immediately hospitalized and soon falls into a coma. Neel calls Preeti to give her the news and she agrees to fly to India immediately. For two weeks Dipti hovers near death until a decision is made to terminate her pregnancy in order to save her life. While Preeti is in India she has to deal with her mother whom she has been estranged from for several years.  Her mother did not like that Preeti lived with a white Christian American man without the benefit of marriage. It was bad enough that she chose a white man but living with him pushed her mother over the edge. Preeti refused to give Alex up. Alex was her first relationship with a man and she took the relationship seriously.  While supporting her brother, they begin to talk about the difficulties they had in moving to America. It was never spoken out loud before. The reasons that their parents made the decision to leave India did not make sense to them as they suffered financial problems that they would have avoided by staying put. 

I enjoyed this book immensely but feel that the race card was played too heavily. Preeti saw everybody in terms of the color of their skin. She attached judgments also based not only on color but also on the darkness of a person's skin. Sure, she developed these feelings from her parents but no one else in the family had as many issues with race. She worked hard to be like the white people she worked with and thought it made her happy. During her trip to India she saw her countrymen in different ways depending how light or dark their skin was. Darker skins were from a lower class while Preeti was a Brahmin. Around the halfway point in the story I got tired of the use of labels and decided that I no longer liked the Preeti character. As the main character she should be admirable but her constant thoughts of race turned me off and I don't think that she was happy with all of her hangups. 

There was one other problem that I had with the book. The author writes about Preeti finding an old photo of her mother with a man that she did not know. Preeti asked several family members who the man was but they all told her to ask her mother. She never asked her mother and the book does not tell us anything more about the photo. It seemed like to photo was going to reveal a family secret but we never discovered what that secret could have been.

All in all, this was a good read.  I am rating it 4 out of 5 stars.

2022 New Release Reading Challenge

The 2022 New Release Challenge is a year-long challenge in which we aim to read books released in 2022.  Brandee and Linda at the Unconventional Bookworm Blog are the hosts of the challenge. There is one post on the top of their homepage for all review links for the year, where the link is open for books you read and review each quarter. While I read 55 new release novels in 2021, I am signing up at the New Release Newbie Level which requires me to read between 1 and 30 books.

There is a 2022 Release shelf on Goodreads and a Facebook Group for the New Release Challenge, to have a place where we can keep up with each other, cheer each other on, and get to know each other better. It is also a place where we can help each other find even more new releases. For those of you who have participated in the challenge before, it’s the same group as before.

The rules for the 2022 New Release Challenge are simple:

• Books have to be released and reviewed in 2022.
• Other challenges can be used as well. Books can count towards more than one challenge, as long as the ones you use for the 2021 New Release Reading Challenge qualify to the other rules.
• The minimum length for a book to qualify is 100 pages, it can be in any format though, physical, e-book, ARC or audiobook.
• The New Release Challenge is open from January 1 through December 31, 2022 and sign-ups are open until September 1, 2022.
• You don’t have to be a blogger to participate, you can link to your review on Goodreads or Booklikes instead.
• If you want to spread the love, please use #2022NewReleaseChallenge on Twitter.

There are five levels  in the 2022 New Release Challenge:

1. 1-30 books per year – New Release Newbie (my challenge level)
2. 31-60 books per year – New Release Pro
3. 61-100 books per year – New Release Veteran
4. 101-200 books per year – New Release Enthusiast
5. 200+ books per year – New Release Obsessed