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.

The Widow Clicquot

The Widow Clicquot is a biography of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot. After the death of her husband she became driven to succeed as a champagne vintner and created the Veuve Clicquot brand. Veuve means widow in French. Nicole was called Veuve Clicquot by her contemporaries and that is how the brand got its name. I think it is the best champagne in the world.

The book begins in 1789 Reims with an eleven year old Nicole. When the French Revolution arrived in Reims, Nicole had to leave the royal school she attended and be disguised as a peasant in order to safely return to her home. Soon thereafter, her family was discussing possible matches for a marriage. Nicole was lucky to catch the dashing François Clicquot. François was from a wealthy textile family. He, however, preferred to dabble in the production of wine than working in the textile business. François died early in the marriage. A business competitor, Jean-Remy Moet, told everyone who would listen that François killed himself because his business was failing. However, Nicole vowed to make something from her husband's vines. Moet, though, continued to lie about Nicole to keep her business from growing. He wanted her out of business so that he could buy her land. 

During this era sparkling wine was rare. It was not yet called champagne. It was vin mousseux. I was surprised to read that there were several successful women in the wine business during the 18th century. I always thought Nicole was a trailblazing anomaly but she wasn't. These other women were not from the bourgeois class and had more freedom to become entrepreneurs than Nicole had.

Most of the book discusses the problems Nicole had in building her company. She had to deal with the internal politics of France as well as Russian politics. Russia was where she could sell alot of wine, if she could get her bottles over there. Moet again was a trouble maker. He frequently thwarted her plans to have her bottles put on ships that were headed towards her market in St. Petersburg. It kind of makes me want to ban Moet champagne in my household so I can be in solidarity with Nicole. She is definitely seen as a heroine in the book, almost like a character would be in a fiction book. 

The Widow Clicquot tells an inspirational story that anyone can prosper if they don't give up. It took Nicole a lifetime to reach her goal. I think today people would give up after a few years of poor sales but our heroine had a vision that she could not ignore.

4 out of 5 stars 

Never

Ken Follett is well known for his historical fiction tomes but in this new novel he has given us a political thriller that takes place in Chad, Beijing, Pyongyang, Soeul, North Africa, the Middle East and Washington DC.  It is about the beginning of WWIII and is narrated by several characters: Paulette Green is the U. S. President, Chang Kai is a Chinese spy for Homeland Security, Tamara Levit works for the CIA at the American Embassy in N'Djamena, Chad, Kiah is a Chad citizen, and Abdul also works for the CIA as he travels throughout the Middle East. Within the book's 804 pages the author aims to show us how WWIII can start without any one nation actually escalating any of its military activities.

The publisher's summary:

A shrinking oasis in the Sahara Desert; a stolen US Army drone; an uninhabited Japanese island; and one country's secret stash of deadly chemical poisons: all these play roles in a relentlessly escalating crisis. Struggling to prevent the outbreak of world warfare a young woman intelligence officer; a spy working undercover with jihadists; a brilliant Chinese spymaster; and Pauline herself, beleaguered by a populist rival for the next presidential election.  Never . . . is full of heroines and villains, false prophets and elite warriors, jaded politicians and opportunistic revolutionaries. It brims with cautionary wisdom for our times, and delivers a visceral, heartpounding read that transports readers to the brink of the unimaginable. 

I expected alot from this novel given the author's reputation. However, I found that parts of the book were a little dull. It started out well and ended with a bang but the middle was excruciatingly slow. I think if Follett cut the page count by one third this would have been a fantastic read. The parts that I feel are dull have scenes that show the foreign policy of several nations in action. It reflects on their ability to act diplomatically in a crisis which is important for Follett to show whether war is escalating. However, it was boring. Certainly these subplots could have been written more skillfully.

The Chad setting was deftly handled. I could feel the effects of the high temperature even though I am currently freezing in my hometown. The poverty and starvation of the people was portrayed adroitly. Their sense of grief was captured perfectly and I felt so bad about their predicament. The choices they had for survival were dim.

The politics of the U.S. and China were displayed well. Here the reader learns what goes on behind the scenes when nations are determining what course of action to take in a given moment of time. Faulty ideas, and some correct ones too, regarding why world leaders will react in a particular way is dramatized toward the end of the story and gives the novel it's suspenseful ending. 

Follett achieved his goal of showing how war can be escalated by countries without officially escalating their military activities. That was magnificent and gives pause to readers. The boring bits were unfortunate. 3 out of 5 stars.

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.

Valentine

Valentine was published in 1996. It is a novel of revenge and was made into a horror/slasher movie in 2001 with superstars Katherine Heigl and Denise Richards playing parts. Valentine is a tightly woven suspense story with a jaw dropping ending. I did not see this one coming and I cannot remember being this surprised by an ending before. In fact, I had to go back a few pages to confirm that the ending I read was correct. I just couldn't believe it.

The publisher's summary:

Jillian Talbot has it all: a beautiful home in New York's Greenwich Village, a string of bestselling suspense novels, and a handsome and adoring lover. She has something else too.  A silent stalker. A secret admirer who sends her pink, heart shaped messages with an unmistakable threat in blood red letters. His motives are as cryptic as the name he goes by:  Valentine. But his intentions are deadly clear. He has watched other women in the past, and he has killed them. Now he's ready to add Jillian to the list, to carry out the punishment he has chosen for her, retribution for a long-ago crime that only he remembers. For Valentine, vengeance will be complete. For Jill Talbot, the terror has just begun. Wherever she runs, he will find her. And soon she will meet him on his terrible day of judgment. His triumphant day. Her darkest day.  Valentine's Day. 

I was hooked on this story from the get go. The plot premise is about a nasty practical joke that went wrong and the long time repercussions of the joke. I would not say that the book is a horror/slasher novel as the movie turned out to be. It is a novel of terror, suspense and a psychological thriller all rolled into one glorious story. The chapters alternated the point of view from Jillian to the killer. It was impossible to figure out the identity of the killer until the author tells us his name late in the story. Not wanting to be a spoiler, I am refraining from telling you more about the plot. Just take note that Valentine is a must read.

I cannot imagine that any other book that I end up reading this year can top this one. 10 out of 5 stars!

Trust

Trust is Sharon Mitchell's 2nd book in her When Bad Things Happen series of psychological thrillers. Her first book Gone was fantastic. Novels 3, 4, 5 and 6 have already been published.  Selfish was published in May 2021, Instinct was published in October 2021, Reasons Why was also published in October 2021 and Mine was published on January 7, 2022. The author is currently writing the 7th novel in the series. 12 books are planned for the series and it looks like they are all going to be fantastic.

The publisher's summary:

Elizabeth thought that after all they'd been through, the bad parts were over. Guess not. After saving herself and her little boy from abductors, Elizabeth yearns to put the terror behind them, to cocoon with her sone, safe and secure at home. Court hearings confirm that they suffered the worst betrayal possible. She never dreamed that she'd have to battle the law to protect her medically fragile boy when his life and sanity are on the line. When her son is targeted and taken, Elizabeth will do anything to save him. 

 

I absolutely LOVED this book. It continues the story of Elizabeth Whitmore and her four year old son Timothy from Gone. In this installment of the series Elizabeth is awaiting the trial of her ex-husband who tried to kill her. She keeps her son within her eyesight at all times and does not let him socialize with other children. Elizabeth does not trust anyone near him not does she trust her neighbors who try to be friendly. Timothy is not speaking since the attempted murder but he did have a late onset speaking ability from birth as well as a seizure disorder. However, whatever gains he made in speech he lost. We see inside Elizabeth's mind as she grapples with day to day decisions on who to trust. Elizabeth does eventually trust someone but it turns out horribly bad.

The novel was full of emotion but had plenty of suspense. With Elizabeth's emotions highly charged the reader cannot figure out what she is going to do and this is what creates the suspense. I don't think that she even knew herself how she was going to handle each new day. As I was reading, I thought that the villain might be Elizabeth's tormented mind.  However, Timothy's court ordered psychologist becomes the villain toward the end of the story. I was surprised at the psychologist's actions and did not see her machinations coming. It was a great ending.

5 out of 5 stars.

The Last Rose of Shanghai

I recently found out that Weina Dai Randel published this book and had to get it. Her prior two novels were fantastic.  The Moon in the Palace and Empress of Bright Moon are popular at my public library and are always checked out.  My reviews of them are my most read reviews. These two books comprise a duology about a woman who became China's only ruling empress. 

The Last Rose of Shanghai was an enchanting read. Beginning in 1940 our heroine Aiyi Shao is an 18 year old heiress and the owner of an unpopular Shanghai nightclub. She soon meets a Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany, Ernest Reismann, and asks him to work for her playing the piano in her club. He agrees and the club gains alot of new customers who want to hear him play jazz on the stride piano. Aiyi and Ernest are attracted to each other and although Aiyi is engaged to childhood friend Cheng, she meets him in the room he is renting. Almost immediately they fall into bed. Ernest becomes famous in Shanghai and is sought after by several other club owners. However, the war in Europe, the South Pacific and the Japanese occupation of China keep tearing the two of them apart. Ernest is wanted by the Japanese for killing a Japanese soldier and the soldier investigating the killing has threatened to shut down Aiyi's club if she does not tell him where Ernest can be found. His fate is bound up in Aiyi's handling of the matter. However, the war continues to escalate and their choices between love and survival become more desperate. 

I love that we now have a WWII story that takes place in China. The Japanese occupation of China is the prominent  war story and I learned alot about how that affected people of that time and place. In addition, the racism of the Asians toward the white Europeans is also prominent and is shown in detail. The Asians had different feelings toward the Americans and British but generally did not trust either of them. The cultural restrictions on Aiyi demanded that she marry the man her parents betrothed her to when she was a baby. Cheng was the typical domineering male but, in contrast, Ernest was sensitive to the needs of others.  

Ms. Randel is a fantastic writer. All 3 of her books were engrossing. I always appreciate it when a historical author shines a light on a not well known history. Randel shows us the horrors of the starving poor in Shanghai amidst the glamour of luxury hotels, nightclubs and family compounds. Soldiers from several countries are present everywhere and add to the unease of the city. Last Rose is told from two different points of view, Aiyi's and Ernest's. It also has an alternating plot from the current era where we read about a documentarian interviewing Aiyi about this time period. This plot has very little space in the novel though.  It is 90% about WWII.  

The Last Rose of Shanghai is an excellent read and I highly recommend it to all readers. It could very be in my top ten books of 2022. 5 out of 5 stars. 

Piecing It All Together

Piecing It All Together is the first book in the author's Plain Patterns trilogy. I reviewed the second book here. The story opens with Savannah Mast's fiance dumping her a week before their wedding. She flees California for the safety of her Amish grandmother's farm near Nappanee, Indiana. Savannah is not planning on staying long but becomes unexpectedly entangled in the search for a missing Amish girl. She can't leave, especially not when her childhood friend Tommy Miller is implicated as a suspect.

When Savannah accompanies her grandmother to Plain Patterns, a nearby quilt shop, the owner and local historian, Jane Berger, relates a tale about another woman's disappearance back in the 1800s that has curious echoes to today. Inspired by the story, Savannah does all she can to find the Amish girl and clear Tommy's name. But when her former fiance shows up, begging her to return to California and marry him after all, she must choose between accepting the security of what he has to offer or continuing the complicated legacy of her family's faith.

I enjoyed the current era subplot, Savannah's story, but was bored by the other one, the story of Emma Fisher. There wasn't much of a connection between the two and the reader is told early on that two of the characters are related. The Emma Fisher subplot does not explain the relation or what characteristics Savannah and Jane inherited from Emma. I found myself skipping pages when Emma's story was being told.

2 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.

The Winthrop Woman

I selected this historical novel because I thought that my ancestors might be in it. The book is a historical biography of Elizabeth Fones Winthrop, daughter-in-law to John Winthrop, the governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony. My people were cousins to John Winthrop and lived in the same English village as the Winthrops. Lavenham is also known as the birthplace of Harry Potter. Yes, my people are in the book and some of them traveled with Governor Winthrop in 1630 to the Massachusetts Bay Colony on the Arbella. I highlighted my copy of the book each time an ancestor was mentioned.

The Winthrop Woman was published in 1958. Elizabeth Fones was the niece of Governor John Winthrop and she married her cousin Harry Winthrop, which gave her prestige among the Puritan set. Elizabeth was a Puritan in name only. She scandalized her family and community with brazen behavior such as sleeping with a cousin before marriage, necessitating the marriage. Before her marriage Elizabeth blasphemed God during a conversation at home and was flogged in front of the entire family and household staff. She became areligious after the flogging and despised her uncle Winthrop for demanding that she receive the beating. Although Elizabeth was in love with her cousin Jack, she agreed to marry Edward Howes after Jack left England. She broke that engagement after dillydallying with Jack's brother Harry. At first, Elizabeth and Harry were happy in their marriage but Harry was an alcoholic and a spendthrift. When Jack returns to England he is shocked that Elizabeth did not wait for him, even though he never told her of his desire for her. Elizabeth still loves Jack but is stuck with Harry. In order to tame his son, Governor Winthrop demands Harry move to the new world with him. On the way, Harry is drowned. Elizabeth follows him to the colonies, not aware that she was a widow. She is unable to abide by societal rules here either, maintaining her damning reputation.

I was surprised that Governor Winthrop became more conservative after emigrating to Massachusetts Bay Colony. He wanted to please the colonists who were already on American soil. The Separatists in Plymouth Bay were much more conservative than the Dissenters in Massachusetts and, being politically ambitious, Winthrop did whatever he had to do in order to be re-elected as the Governor of Massachusetts Bay. Sound familiar? He was cruel toward anyone who opposed him and loved to think up punishments for alleged wrongdoers. You didn't have to actually violate the law to be accused of wrongful acts. Sound familiar again? Some of these acts included celebrating Christmas, which Winthrop celebrated when he lived in Lavenham. However, his conservative views became radicalized as he gained more and more power. I had been taught in elementary school to idolize these first Americans but their personal foibles are fully on display here. Their politics are no different than the brash politics of today with everyone distrusting everyone else. As the saying goes, the more things change the more they stay the same. 

This historical novel was very readable even though it was written over 60 years ago. I loved reading about the people who began this American experiment. I was struck, though, by the similarity of our politics in the initial 25 years on our continent with the politics of today. There is no difference. During the first three elections for selectmen and governor, Governor Winthrop and his buddies changed the voting boundaries to ensure that only their kind of Puritan was elected. There was also alot of name calling.  I can only conclude that we are what we have always been. As for our Elizabeth, she was only able to get away with her misconduct because of her affiliation with Winthrop.

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.

The Vivaldi Cipher

The Vivaldi Cipher takes place during the election of a new Pope in mid-18th century Venice. Famed violinist Antonio Vivaldi is a close friend of Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni who is expected to be elected as the next Pope. Before Ottoboni is killed during the conclave, Vivaldi learns about a ring of art forgers who are replacing the Vatican's priceless artworks with expertly painted fakes. Feeling desperate, Vivaldi hides a message in a special melody hoping that someone will take down the culprits. There is an alternate plot that takes place in the current era. When a dying mafia don gives his final confession, he informs the priest hearing the confession that there are many forged paintings in the Vatican Museum and that the key to their identities lies hidden in a piece of music. Father Dominic, prefect of the Secret Archives, investigates. He is mystified when he finds a cipher in an old composition from Vivaldi. Wanting to stop this centuries long conspiracy, he calls upon fellow sleuth Hana Sinclair and Dr. Livia Gallo, a music cryptologist, to help him crack the code and learn which paintings are fake. However, the Camorra, an Italian mafia clan, refuse to allow Father Dominic to interfere with their lucrative operation.

While this is an engaging story I could not help but think that the secret concerning the art thefts was divulged to too many people. By the time Hana and Dr. Gallo consult with other art experts as well as those providing security for them, 10 people know what the secret is. They, of course, tell more people and this deathbed secret is no longer much of a secret. Everyone in Venice who counts knows and so do several folks at the Vatican, putting them all in danger. 

That said, the story was engrossing. I couldn't put the book down and spent an entire day reading it. As an art lover, the descriptions of the artist studios interested me. Of course, it should go without saying that the Venetian setting was delicious. Reading about the boats gliding through the Grand Canal reminded me of my own gondola rides in Venice several years ago. The mask shop described in the novel sounds like one I actually visited so the book sent me on a huge trip down memory lane. 

It was quite creative for the author to hide clues to the art thefts in a musical score. The score needed a cipher so that someone could discover the clues. Esteemed musician Antonio Vivaldi created the cipher in the story as well as the score. The type of music was also another clue so there were many twists and turns in this mystery.

One of the characters, Dr. Gallo, is a music cryptologist which I had never heard of before. It is an actual profession though. The cipher is created by assigning a letter to each note in a score. A secret message can be found by decoding each word and then each sentence. Music cryptology has been written into the novels of other authors as well as in to a TV program. It is a new concept for me though. I found out from Wikipedia that it was popular in the 17th and 18th centuries.

While advertised as a historical mystery, approximately 60% of the story takes place in the current time period.  I thought that it was a great book and both historical fiction and mystery fans will like it as well. 4 out of 5 stars.

Royal Heir

Royal Heir is the 3rd installment of the Jagiellon Dynasty Series by P. K. Adams.  It takes place in Poland and Lithuania beginning in 1563.  The series began as a historical novel about Queen Bona. Bona has already passed away when this story began and it did not seem fulfilling or interesting to me. The plot concerns the son of Bona's best friend. 

The publisher's summary:  

At twenty-eight, Julian Konarski runs the family estate outside of Krakow, and he finds the job boring. Leaving the day to day work to his steward, he spends his free time reading Machiavelli, debating philosophy with friends at the university, or drinking at taverns at night. It is while on his way back from one such revel that Julian witnesses a brutal attack on a young nobleman in a dark alley in Krakow's ill-repute district. When the attackers flee, Julian rushes to aid the victim, but the unfortunate man dies in his arms. But before the last breath escapes the nobleman's body, he entrusts Julian with a mysterious message. Filled with sympathy, Julian promises to fulfill the dying man's wish and find its intended recipient.

When the judge presiding over the inquest dismisses the death as a result of a drunken brawl, Julian decides to conduct his own investigation. Aided by his cousin Rozalia and an impoverished noblewoman Magda, he soon discovers a connection between the murdered man and the household of Princess Anna, heir presumptive to King Zygmunt August. The search for justice becomes a desperate race to stop the throne from being usurped - but by whom? And will Julian avoid the deadly trap his elusive opponent is determined to set for him? 

I am sad to say that I did not like this installment of the series. It was dull. If you have not read the earlier books in the series, you will have no idea who the characters are. The main character, Julian, is not specifically named until page 57. Every paragraph begins with the word "I" and even though I had read the prior books I was not sure who "I" was. I kind of thought that he was the son of Queen Bona's female assistant but after a year passed from the time the last book came out, I was not sure. The author wrote alot of inner dialogue.  Each page we hear about Julian's thoughts, what he wanted to do on a given day, what he wanted to eat, etc... Even the crime to be solved was not known until around page 83 and I could not tell if this murder was the one that the plot would concern. All our information about it comes from Julian's thoughts.  

The series started out well with books one and two.  If there are subsequent books in the series I hope that the author will go back to the writing formula that has worked for her in the past. This is her fifth novel but only the first bump. I can't see that any action in this story will advance the series for future novels so let's hope she gets her groove back.

The Girl in the Painting

At 495 pages, this epic story of India more than meets the requirements for the Chunkster Challenge. Four alternating plots are gathered together in this captivating story. One plot takes place in 1913 where our heroine Margaret is growing up in Charleston, England. During the same time, Archana is growing up in India. In 1926, Margaret has fallen in love with her new husband Suraj and his native country, India. Having moved from England to India after Suraj obtained his law degree, the couple moved to his parent's home after their sudden deaths. In 2000, Emma McEwen plans to divorce her husband and seeks solace from her grandmother Margaret, now back in England.  

The publisher's summary:

India, 1926:  Margaret is in love, with her new husband and her new home, a sprawling villa amidst beautiful rolling hills, the air filled with the soft scent of spices and hibiscus flowers. Yet, she's unwelcome with the locals and grows close to Archana, her maid, who reminds Margaret of the beloved sister she lost in the great war.  

Overjoyed with her pregnancy, Margaret could stay forever, sipping tea, chatting with Archana, painting in the sun beside the stream full of water lilies. But when Archana finds herself in danger and Margaret makes the choice to save her, she doesn't realize the devastating consequences that will tear her and Archana apart, destroy her marriage, and haunt her for the rest of her life.

England, 2000:  Emma's relationship is falling apart, and her beloved grandmother, Margaret, is dying.  Margaret has one last request:  find Archana.  It's the first time Emma has even heard the name, but desperate for an escape and to bring Margaret closure, she travels deep into the heart of the Indian hills, to a crumbling house overgrown with vines, searching for answers.  

The more Emma learns, the more she sees of herself in her grandmother, and the stronger her need to uncover Margaret's secret.  But if she finds Archana and the truth is finally revealed - the story of a day spent painting by the stream, and a betrayal that tore three lives to pieces - can it help each woman find peace or are some rifts too deep to heal?

For the first time, an English town sounds appealing to me. Charleston, where Margaret met with fellow artists, was a place that intellectuals and artists of every persuasion met to discuss the arts. It was enlightening for Margaret. The cacophony of Bombay even feels appealing to me even though I don't like alot of noise. It seems charming though. I can smell the food being sold in the market places. Margaret, however, must have a few allergies because she initially cannot handle the smells and always has a coughing fit. It amazes me that writers can make a place that I don't think I would like seem so romantic. India has always captured my imagination even though I have my own allergies to outdoor fragrances and cannot stand noise. These are great writers who can accomplish this.

The Emma character did not do much for me but Margaret and Archana were interesting characters. I cannot pick which one I like the most. Both had awful upbringings but Archana was poor because she married an untouchable so she suffered much more both emotionally and physically. Her culture was harsher toward women who did not fit into the expected mold. I felt bad that society demanded that she keep her feelings bottled up but Margaret had a choice. She chose to mess up her marriage and I am not sure what in her background made her do so. Did she just not have decent enough life skills?  Suraj was a dream boat. However, he was a secondary character. The book is really about Margaret and Archana.

All in all, The Girl in the Painting was a captivating story. I highly recommend it to historical fiction fans.  5 out of 5 stars.

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.

The Spyglass File

The Spyglass File is book 5 in Nathan Dylan Goodwin's Morton Farrier Genealogical Mystery Series. I have read several books in the series and, to date, all have been awesome. This book counts as a selection for the 2022 What's In A Name Reading Challenge in the compound word category as well as The Cloak and Dagger and Finishing the Series Challenges.

When the story begins, Morton Farrier is no longer at the top of his game.  His career as a forensic genealogist is faltering and he does not want to accept any new cases. Morton prefers to spend time working toward locating his biological father.  However, when an intriguing case appears, Morton is compelled to help a woman find the relatives that she lost during the Battle of Britain in WWII. He soon discovers that the answer can only be found in a secret document called the Spyglass File. 

As always, I enjoyed reading about the methods Morton uses in his geneological research. Every step he takes forces him to look in different places for information. This is how we get the twists and turns of the story. The mystery element is provided by Morton going from up to down and vice versa in his research. 

The Battle of Britain has been well researched by the author. It was fascinating to read about this particular battle. I don't believe I have ever read any WWII historical fiction novels that focused on just one battle. All the others cover the entire period of the war. It was a treat to learn all of the details about it. What made it even more interesting was that one of the characters in the book worked for a spy agency. 

The Spyglass File is an extraordinary tale. I highly recommend it and am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

Double Blind

Double Blind is Sara Winokur's debut novel. Although she lives in California, this story takes place in Iceland during the 1990s. We have a young boy here, Lukas, who disappears in North Iceland. Twenty years later a mysterious poem lands on the desk of his twin sister Brynja, a forensic geneticist. The poem hints that Lukas may have never died. Brynja job is to work with the police using DNA research to catch criminals. The finding of the poem rekindles her hopes that her brother might be found and found alive. As Brynja unravels the clues, more poems arrive, each bearing dire consequences. 

Double Blind has many different components.  We read about old manuscripts, Icelandic myths, DNA forensics, Icelandic birds, farming, fishing, recipes and a touch of megalomiania.  There is even some romance as Brynja is engaged to Ari, Iceland's prime minister.  The medieval Icelandic Sagas are also part of this story as one of them is scheduled to be displayed for the country's independence celebration.  It seems like everything but the kitchen sink is part of the plot. However, these parts all blend well together.  

Being interested in medieval manuscripts, this story was right up my alley. Iron gall ink was used to make the ink that the words were handwritten with. In one of my classes on ancient manuscripts we had to make ink the old fashioned way and stirred up our own iron gall ink.  It's amazing to me that it was used by ancient scribes as well as modern scribes up until the early twentieth century. A few other components of ancient manuscripts were discussed in the story, which thrilled me. Another aspect to the investigation was the specific style of writing that Icelandic poets used. The poems that Brynja received were different though, adding more to the mystery. Ancient recipes for poisons add yet another layer to the mystery.

In the beginning of the story it seemed like the death of Lukas and the manuscript plotlines could not be intertwined. However, they were and the author also showed her expertise in RNA and DNA matching. The reader learns more about RNA but the information was written in layman's terms. I found it all fascinating. As the plot progresses we see Brinja's co-workers poisoned from eating sweets that are delivered to the office. Clues to the location of her brother are written on the paper used to wrap the sweets in.

Double Blind is unputdownable.  I highly recommend it for mystery fans.  5 out of 5 stars.

Reading By The Numbers Challenge

I just found out about this new challenge for 2022. It is hosted by Bev@My Reader's Block who hosts a few other challenges that I participate in. This is a reading challenge at its most basic - just track everything you read. Anything counts - graphic novels or comic books, hard copy, e-books, audio novels, etc. If it is a book, it counts. And although the covers shown in the challenge image are all mysteries, you may read from any and all genres that interest you.

The Rules:

1)    The challenge runs the 2022 calendar year.

2)    There are no pre-set challenge levels.  You decide on you personal goal.

3)    Books may be used concurrently with other number reading challenges

4)    A blog and reviews of the books are not required to participate, but if you have a blog, please post your sign-up for the challenge and the link to the post in the form on the My Reader's Block blog. 

5)    If you post on Facebook, Instagram or other social media to log a book, please use #ReadingByNumbers2022.

This challenge is easy so why not sign up?  My goal is to read less next year! I have read over 160 books so far in 2021. I am an artist with arthritis and have not been able to get much done this year.  My hands would not cooperate. It may be time for another carpal tunnel surgery. So, I am setting a goal of 100 books.