Wrap-Up of the 2023 New Release Reading Challenge

Early in January I signed up to rejoin The New Release Challenge. It is an easy challenge for me as most of my book selections every year are new releases.  I increased by personal challenge by selecting the New Release Pro level of participation which required me to read between 31 and 60 newly published books.  I had no problem meeting this challenge.  I read 66 books!  Here is what I read:

House Aretoli by K. M. Butler

The Heirloom by Beverly Lewis

The Blue Bar by Damyanti Biswas

Dead Fall by Brad Thor

Tides of Fire by James Rollins

The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes

Hide by Tracy Clark

The Orchid Hour by Nancy Bilyeau

Night Angels by Weina Day Randel

Someone Else's Life by Lyn Liao Butler

The Red Citadel by Michael Lynes

Sky of Ashes Land of Dreams by Erin Jameson

New America by Curt Piers

Mary Shelley: The Eternal Dream by Alessandro di Vigilio

The Last Kingdom by Steve Berry

The Porcelain Moon by Janie Chang

The Flame Tree by Siobhan Daiko

Five Steps Beyond by Luana Ehrlich

Terror in Topaz by A. M. Stuart

The Shallows by Holly Craig

The Lemon Curd Killer by Laura Childs

The Rail Splitter by John Crabb

Letters of Trust by Wanda Brunstetter

Letters of Comfort by Wanda Brunstetter

The Perfumist of Paris by Alka Joshi

The Papal Assassin's Curse by S. J. Martin

The Paris Notebook by Tessa Harris

The Cursed Heir by Heather Atkinson

His Fatal Legacy by Heather Atkinson

Evil at Alardyce House by Heather Atkinson

An Evil Heart by Linda Castillo

The Ghost Ship by Kate Mosse

The Jerusalem Scrolls by Gary McAvoy

Red Queen by Juan Gomez Jurado

Murder Under a Red Moon by Harini Nagendra

Weyward by Emilia Hart

The Last Russian Doll by Kristen Loetsch

A Marriage of Fortune by Anne O'Brien

Where Waters Meet by Zhang Ling

The Triumph of Lions by Stefania Auci

Fourth of July Forgery by Tanya Kappes

Ashes to Ashes Crust to Crust by Mindy Quigley

Black River by Matthew Spencer

Mistress of Bhatia House by Sujata Massey

The Yellow Rambutan Tree Mystery by Ovidia Yu

Rebel King by Tom Bower

The Armor of Light by Ken Follett

Bulletproof Barista by Cleo Coyle

A Polluted Font by Mel Starr

The Spectacular by Fiona Davis

Six Sweets Under by Sarah Fox

The Tiffany Girls by Shelley Noble

Blood Oranges by J. M. Cannon

Ephemera by Briana Loewinsohn

Sisters by the Sea by Wanda Brunstetter

Final Call by Alex Lake

Honey Drop Dead by Laura Childs

Arca by Van Jensen

Frontera by Julio Anta

Global: One Fragile World by Eoin Colfer

Family Style by Thien Pham

The Collector by Dan Silva

The Party on Laurel Street by Ruth Heald

Banyan Moon by Thao Thai

Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See

Thanksgiving Treachery by Tonya Kappes

Favorite Book:  Weyward

Second Favorite Book:  The Paris Notebook

Least Favorite Book:  Black River

Sky of Ashes Land of Dreams

I received an advanced review copy of this book through Librarything's Early Reviewer's Club in exchange for an honest review. This enthralling story is about three young adults who are living on the cusp of great change in early 20th-century Mongolia. It is a beautiful saga about having dreams, finding love, and learning to survive in a harsh, ever-changing place.

The publisher's summary:

Bolormaa is introduced to the man she is to marry on her eighteenth birthday, over mutton stew and steaming buuz. She has spent her entire life in the Gobi Desert, living a nomadic life with her family, always moving with their animals in search of grazing lands. Reading about other places in a tent school, she dreamed of another sort of life. But now, her education is finished, and her future seems to be laid out before her like the colorful rugs in the family’s ger.

Ganbaatar grew up under the vast, blue-gray, Mongolian sky, the protective arm of his mother, and the withering gaze of his father. He has been a good son and a steady hand, working on the land with the herds, often feeling that he was meant for something different—if only he had the courage to reach for it.

When Aisin’s parents die, she leaves her siblings and everything she knows in China to live with her uncle in Mongolia. She’s unprepared for the level of prejudice she’ll face because of her heritage, but her bravery and stubbornness form a shield she readily dons. An accomplished horse rider and rare beauty, she works alongside her uncle and forges a path as a single woman during challenging times.

Under the mutable sky of the Gobi Desert, these characters find the resilience to face the harsh, brutal winters, the challenges of drought and scarcity, and the political upheaval that will threaten the nomadic lifestyle their people have practiced for generations. A sweeping novel of historical fiction, Sky of Ashes, Land of Dreams is the story of unforgettable characters surviving extraordinary times, a journey of self-discovery and self-determination, and a powerful exploration of love in its many forms.

I loved this story! It is a captivating portrait of people and their ways of life in an isolated, rarely-examined setting, the Gobi Desert. The story begins in the Gobi Desert in 1917 and it ends in 1960. The main characters are husband and wife Bolormaa and Ganbaatar. The novel follows their childhood activities, marriage ceremonies, meal preparations, nursing the dying, unpacking homes, gers or yurts as I would call them, to be reassembled where the grazing is better. A third main character is Aisin. She was born in China but when both of her parents died, she was sent to live with an uncle in the Gobi. Because she is Chinese, Aisin is ostracized by the Mongolians. Ganbaatar falls in love with her the first time he sees her. He marvels at her beauty. Ganbaatar marries Bolormaa instead because his father insisted on the marriage. There is a question throughout the story whether they were having an affair. Both were in love with each other but they may have restrained their feelings. We don't really know.

The story encompasses two world wars and the political upheavals in both China and Russia. These events are seen in the distance, because they are secondary to getting through another day alive. Eventually, though, the Soviet political forces affect the livelihood of the characters when the communist redistribution of land and animal ownership is forced upon them.

The book is a quick read. The ending seemed to be rushed though. Many loose ends are tied up but I wish that the author had taken her time writing this part of the story. The book is about 270 pages in length so devoting more detail to the ending would not have been too much reading for the reader.

I highly recommend this book, especially to historical fiction fans. 4 out of 5 stars.

The Triumph of the Lions

I received an advanced review copy of Stefania Auci's newest novel from Net Galley.  The book will be published in English on March 12, 2024 and is the basis for the upcoming Disney produced series on Hulu The Lions of Sicily. The story is about the Florio family who are the lions. They have amassed a fortune that includes palaces, factories, ships, silks, and jewels. The city of Sicily admires them, honors them and, above all, fears them.

The publisher's summary:

Ignazio was destined to rule Casa Florio since birth, a fearless drive that pulses through his veins, pushing him to look beyond Sicily towards Rome, Europe and its courts, the naval domination of the Mediterranean, and eventually the purchase of the entire Archipelago of the Egadi to build his dazzling empire. But his heart is black as ice. To seize Casa Florio, he abandoned the love of his life—an act of treachery which still casts a dark shadow.

Barely twenty, his son Ignazziddu stands to inherit all that his father has built. Yet he is nothing like Ignazio. A nervous young man, he does not want to be shackled to his infamous name, to sacrifice himself for the family. Despite his fears, he embraces Ignazio’s legacy, and must face a world that changes too quickly, agitated by new, violent, and uncontrollable forces. Ignazziddu eventually realizes that it’s not enough to have Florio blood to become the imposing force his grandfather and father were. What is it they had that he lacks?

Beside father and son are two extraordinary women: Giovanna, Ignazio’s wife, hard and fragile as crystal, full of passion but hungry for love, and Franca, the wife of Ignazziddu, the most beautiful woman in Europe, whose golden existence is threatened by the blows of a cruel fate. It is these women who unforgettably animate The Triumph of the Lions.

The book has a slow pace probably because of the simple plot as well as the plethora of Italian words that I was not familiar with. I quickly got tired of looking up words in the dictionary. Since the story has just been translated into English, I have to wonder if there is an issue with the translation or with the plot. However, the translator should not have left so many of the words in Italian. A few of these words were explained in the next sentence but most were not. When the story moved to Ignazio seeing his French lover once again, we had to decipher the French sayings.

We have all heard the admonition to writers to "show not tell."  In Lions there is alot of "tell," especially in the first half of the story.  The characters were one dimensional until the final third of the story where we see Ignazziddu take over the family business. The reader sees Ignazziddu is not up to the challenge of running the family business from his actions.  We see him spending too much money and that he is a womanizer. Having never been interested in the business while his father was alive, Ignazziddu learned nothing over the years that would have prepared him for running the company. In the end, we see the business faltering. The story ends with the birth of his first child. A girl. I am presuming that this means the end of the family. I don't know because the novel ended abruptly with her birth. 

I am not sure how to rate the book. I was bored throughout most of it but the ending was good. There were serious problems with either the writing or the translation or both. I will give it a 2 star rating.

The Red Citadel

I received an advanced review copy of The Red Citadel through the Early Reviewer's Program at Librarything.  It is the third book in Michael Lynes Isaac Alvarez Mystery series and it was published earlier this month.  The Red Citadel is a historical thriller set in the court of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain.  It takes place in Granada, Spain in 1499.

The publisher's summary:

Issac is desperate to return from exile to his family in Seville. Haunted by accusations of heresy he is still recovering from the death of his wife. Granada is riven by religious tension: the Catholics want the Muslims to convert. Isaac falls in love with Aisha, the wife of the rebel Muslim leader and his friend, Abdul Rahman. If he finds out Isaac will be a dead man. The king offers Isaac a chance to return to Seville, in return for gathering intelligence on the rebels. Where do Isaac’s loyalties lie? Then an old enemy accuses Isaac of murdering the Grand Inquisitor. Can Isaac’s daughter, Isabel, save him?  Issac must prove he is innocent of murder, satisfy the king, and reconcile his feelings for Aisha. Can he quell a rebellion and reunite his family?

I had some difficulty getting interested in the story because of the many historical terms used by the author in the initial chapters. There are a lot of them. However, since I have studied this era in Spain and am well acquainted with its history, I was surprised by this. There is an assumption that the reader knows this history and can figure out what is going on. In addition, there were a lot of characters introduced early in the story and that also slowed me down. I continued reading and it all soon gelled in my mind.

As I mentioned above, the book is advertised as a historical thriller perfect for fans of CJ Sansom and SJ Parris.  I agree that Sansom and Parris fans will like the book. However, it is not a thriller.  As mentioned above, the book is the third book in a trilogy and I have not read the first two books. I am sure that this is affecting my experience reading the novel. The author said in an online interview that he believes he did a good enough job of weaving the back story into this novel so that it can be read as a standalone.  Since I have not read the earlier books I cannot make any comments about these statements.

If you have not read any historical fiction about the Spanish Inquisition, I recommend that you read the trilogy but in order. There is much to learn about how Jews and Muslims were treated by the Spanish monarchs during this era. Some of the Jews had converted to Christianity but many of them secretly continued worshipping as Jews. Some of the Muslims also converted but those that did not had to agree to be subject to their Christian rulers.  It's a heartbreaking fact of history.  I am planning to read the earlier two books in the series and re-read The Red Citadel sometime next year.  I feel that the author is giving us a good history lesson in his writing.

I am excited that he plans on returning to Granada next Spring to research his next book.  It is going to be a young adult novel set in the same time period.  The story will focus on Isaac's ten-year-old ward Juana.  Juana's father was executed by the Inquisition and her mother died in "mysterious circumstances." The Alhambra, which is the red citadel in the title, will be the setting of this new novel also.  I love this setting and have been pining to travel to Spain to see it in person.  

The book was a slow read so I am rating it 3 out of 5 stars.

Bulletproof Barista

Cleo Coyle's Coffeehouse Mystery Series is my favorite cozy mystery series. I have read every book in the series and only have high accolades for each book. Bulletproof Barista , though, was not my favorite installment in the series. The authors have managed to maintain a quality level in their writing over the years but in this 20th novel they faltered.  

Clare Cosi is the main character.  She is the manager of the Village Blend coffeehouse.  She agrees to shut down her business for a week for comedian Jerry Sullivan who is starring in a film that is being shot at the coffee shop.  When the film crew’s location shoot delivers an actual shooting, Clare Cosi finds herself once again at the scene of a true crime.  Only Murders in Gotham, the smash-hit streaming program, is famous for filming in authentic New York locations and using real New Yorkers as extras. For its second season, they’ve chosen to spotlight the century-old Village Blend and its quirky crew of baristas. Clare Cosi is beyond thrilled, especially when her superb bulletproof coffee lands her a craft services contract for the production.

Let me begin my review by saying that I was in a bad mood when I began reading this novel.  I thought it would uplift me.  There was something different about how it started out but I continued reading waiting for someone to get killed.  It didn't happen until over 200 pages into the story. Usually, the murder happens in the first chapter.  I remembered hearing the name of the person who died, Billy Saddler,  but he was not central to the story thus far.  I went back to the beginning searching for his name and did not it until page 99.  There was something else that bothered me while I was reading.  One of the characters, Tina Bird, was referred to over 10 times as "cockadoodledoo."  Again, I went back to the beginning trying to figure out why she gained this description.  It turns out that one of Clare's baristas, Tucker, referred to Bird this way.  When Clare didn't understand why Tucker said this, he said that she should remember the phrase that Kathy Bates used in her 1990 movie Misery.  While I had seen this movie several times I did not remember the phrase.  I then went to Google and found several You Tube videos where her character  described a vehicle as a "cockadoodie car."  She even referred to another character as a "cockadoodie."  With my facts straight about the plot, I returned to reading but promising myself to watch the Misery movie again soon.

The Forward to the story talks about a movie being filmed near the authors' home in New York City.  They decided to write this installment of the series based on a movie being filmed at Clare's Village Blend.  I believe that this was a mistake.  The plot was not anywhere near as exciting as the authors tried to make their mystery fit into a predesigned idea of what the plot should be.  This affected their creativity.  There were a lot of cliches used in the writing, which I have never seen before, and Clare's investigation was more about who was sabotaging Jerry Sullivan's TV show than solving a murder. The person who was shot in the beginning of the book survived. 

If you have never read a book in this series, do not start with Bulletproof Barista.  All of the earlier books were riveting and Bulletproof Barista is an anomaly in the series.  I recommend, though, that you read this series.  It has been enjoyable for me. When I finished this book I was planning on giving it a 4 star rating.  However, as I was writing this review I realized all of the problems that I had with it. Consequently, I am rating it 2 stars.  It was not up to par with the earlier ones.

The Yellow Rambutan Tree Mystery

The Yellow Rambutan Tree Mystery was published this past June.  It is author Ovidia Yu's 4th Su Lin Series novel but the first book of hers that I have read. I must say I was pleasantly surprised with the story. 

The publisher's summary:

The War may be over but Su Lin's troubles are returning - along with the British - to Singapore...

When two of Uncle Chen's associates come visiting Chen Mansion on the third day of Chinese New Year - an unlucky date in the Chinese calendar - Su Lin doesn't let them in. Not just because of the taboo, but because her uncle has been unwell. But the bad luck has clearly followed them as one of them is soon discovered outside the house, dead, with a strip of dried yellow rambutan peel in his mouth. And the other associate has gone missing.

Could this have anything to do with the recent British ban on opium consumption? Singapore is only just adjusting to the return of British rule and the authorities suspect the dead man was killed for threatening to expose the Chens for processing and distributing the drug. And as Su Lin adjusts to the return of Le Froy to Singapore, being Parshanti's bridesmaid and figuring out why scraps of yellow rambutan peel keep showing up around the mansion, she is forced to think about whether she has a future in the Chen family - and in the new, post-Second World War Singapore.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the Singaporean culture. I picked up most of it from the dialogue between the characters and there was alot of it. However, as a mystery novel the story fell short. There were large gaps in the investigation to make space for wedding preparations for Su Lin's girlfriend Parshanti as well as their interactions with other characters. I feel that the murder investigation should have never stopped once the body was found. The book shined more as historical fiction than as the historical mystery it is advertised to be. Perhaps something was lost in the translation.

The series' protagonist, twenty-six year old Su Lin, is a great character. She lives with her grandmother, uncle, aunt and niece. On the third day of the Chinese New Year, she finds that an old associate of her uncle is at the door. She refused admittance to the house because Lin's uncle was too ill to meet anyone.  The associate was subsequently murdered after leaving Su Lin's home.  In his pocket were some yellow rambutan skins. I thought these skins were an awesome clue.  Having never heard of them before, I headed to Wikipedia for more information.

I have mixed feelings about the book. The setting was exquisite but the murder investigation seemed secondary to the setting. I am rating it 3 out of 5 stars.

Thanksgiving Treachery

Tonya Kappes' Thanksgiving Treachery is her 7th holiday cozy mystery. It was published earlier this month on November 2, 2023.  The story takes place in the quaint town of Holiday Junction, where traditions run deep and festivities are the heart of the community.  When the prominent Harden family is struck by tragedy, everyone becomes a suspect. It’s up to journalist, Violet Rhinehammer of the Junction Journal, to unearth the truths buried beneath layers of deception and old grudges.  As Violet delves deeper, she discovers secrets that entwine the art district with the village in ways she never imagined.  As Holiday Junction gears up for its Friendsgiving festivities, one question lingers—can the town’s cherished unity withstand the weight of treachery?

It took me a few pages to become interested in the story.  After two murders had taken place I was excited about the prospect of a serial killer being on the loose.  However, I was disappointed with the investigation of the murders.  The police did not do any investigation at all.  It was 100% investigated by Violet under her responsibilities as a journalist.  Her interviews with the many characters in the story was the investigation. Violet advised the police when she made discoveries but in the end, there was no arrest.  The reveal of the whodunnit in the last chapter was satisfying but did not make up for the problems of having too many characters to keep track of and corny place names and character names that I found annoying.

1 out of 5 stars.

Black River

I have never read any books written by Matthew Spencer and, in fact, never heard of him.  While I was searching for a book with the word "black" in the title for the Color Coded Reading Challenge I found Black River.  It is a serial killer story that takes place in Australia.  Black River is the first book in a duology and it is the author's debut novel.

During a stifling summer in Sydney, the body of a chaplain’s daughter is found wrapped in black plastic on the deserted grounds of an elite boarding school. Eager to find the so-called Blue Moon Killer before he strikes again, Detective Sergeant Rose Riley forms an uneasy alliance with Adam Bowman, a journalist with a valuable, and unsettling, link to the school’s history. As Riley’s investigation takes her deep into the secret lives of Sydney’s prominent citizens, Bowman delves into the darkest places of his own childhood for answers.

I did not care for this book at all. There were too much setting and character descriptions. Also, I did not understand the Australian slang. Riley was always taking panadol and after seeing the word 4 times I went to Wikipedia to find out what it was. It's Tylenol. The book is advertised as "dark, gritty, tense and atmospheric."  I see the dark part but not the tension. It was boring.

I am sad to have to give a low rating of 1 out of 5 stars. The author spent alot of time writing the story but it just didn't suit me.

Sisters by the Sea

Sisters by the Sea consists of four short Amish fiction stories.  All are written by Wanda Brunstetter or a family member of hers.  Each story is about one of four sisters who move to Sarasota, Florida from Middlebury, Indiana. The book was published last month. 

My favorite story was the first. The Seashell Cake was written by Wanda E. Brunstetter and features Leora Lambright as the main character.  Leora is the first to leave home, seeking a warmer climate because she has seasonal affective disorder (SAD).  While on a winter holiday, roofer John Miller meets Leora in the bakery where she is expressing herself through cake decorating.  John has a successful roofing business in Clare, Michigan. The two are instantly attracted to each other and spend several days bike riding, fishing, playing shuffleboard, and trying local restaurants.  Leora, however, makes it clear she’ll never again live in the Midwest without explaining why.

 

The second story, The Beach Ball, was written by Jean Brunstetter.  This story features the youngest Lambright daughter, Violet.  Violet has always been a bit wild. She moves to Florida to live with her sister Leora as she seeks her independence and considers leaving the Amish way of life. Violet meets an Amish man named Levi but later meets a Mennonite man who competes for her attention.

 

Fragments of a Sand Dollar by Richelle Brunstetter is the third story. It was my least favorite. Here we have Francine Lambright who is heartbroken that her longtime boyfriend, Matthew, is thinking of leaving the Amish faith in order to become a missionary.  Their two year courtship ended abruptly after his decision.  Francine is ready to join the church, but her sister Leora invites her to Florida for an extended visit before taking the pledge of faith. While shell hunting at Lido Beach, Francine meets Lucas Hayes, and they soon begin seeing each other, despite him being an Englisher. When Matthew shows up in Pinecraft unexpectedly, Francine finds herself in a quandary.

 

The fourth story, A Sarasota Sunset, was written by Lorine Brunstetter Van Corbach.  Another sister, Alana Lambright, has suffered a series of unfortunate accidents and emotional traumas that have left her plagued by anxiety. She turns to art for peace and healing. While on a visit to Leora in Florida, she takes up seashell artwork and accepts a job in a gift shop. James Miller, a recent college graduate, meets Alana, and, due to his own past, he is initially turned off by the fact that she is Amish. Still he invites Alana on adventurous outings. Alana tries to tamp her anxiety to try the activities but fails and feels like it pushes James away.

Each story is 100 pages in length so they are quick reads. The expertise in writing that we have come to expect from the Brunstetter family was met once again with this book. It's fantastic. The writing style of each author is so similar that you cannot see any difference from one story to the next. If you like Amish fiction you should pick up the book.

5 out of 5 stars.

The Armor of Light

The Armor of Light is the 5th book in Ken Follett's Knightsbridge series. It is fantastic!  I read the book in one day even though it has 740 pages. With the Knightsbridge series now set in the early 1800s Armor is probably the last book. This makes me sad but how lucky we all have been for the opportunity to read these books.

The publisher's summary:

An epic continuation of the series that began with The Pillars of the Earth, The Armor of Light heralds a new dawn for Kingsbridge, England, where progress clashes with tradition, class struggles push into every part of society, and war in Europe engulfs the entire continent and beyond. 

The Spinning Jenny was invented in 1770, and with that, a new era of manufacturing and industry changed lives everywhere within a generation. A world filled with unrest wrestles for control over this new world order: A mother’s husband is killed in a work accident due to negligence; a young woman fights to fund her school for impoverished children; a well-intentioned young man unexpectedly inherits a failing business; one man ruthlessly protects his wealth no matter the cost, all the while war cries are heard from France, as Napoleon sets forth a violent master plan to become emperor of the world. As institutions are challenged and toppled in unprecedented fashion, ripples of change ricochet through our characters’ lives as they are left to reckon with the future and a world they must rebuild from the ashes of war.

Over thirty years ago, Ken Follett published his most popular novel, The Pillars of the Earth. Now, with this electrifying addition to the Kingsbridge series we are plunged into the battlefield between compassion and greed, love and hate, progress and tradition. It is through each character that we are given a new perspective to the seismic shifts that shook the world in nineteenth-century Europe

Oh my! I cannot begin to talk about how good this book is.  The story spans thirty years. It opens with the sad story of a man who gets injured at work and later dies. His wife Sal and son Kit are part of this scene and they continue with the story until the very end. Sal is a strong female character and I would say she's the main character. As other characters are brought into the story Sal is always there. Her struggles are typical of those who lived during the start of the Industrial Revolution and it is she who came up with idea of unionizing the weavers of Knightsbridge. 

Weaving is the main trade in the book. We read about several changes in how weaving is performed over the years. It begins with hand work and becomes mechanized with newer and faster machines. I loved reading about the Methodists competing with the  Anglicans over church membership. All of the mill owners were Anglican but many of the workers were Methodist. The mill owners had no problem bribing and lying for a business advantage. The Methodists refused to compromise their beliefs for the bosses.  A daughter of a wealthy mill owner, Elsie, opened a Sunday School for kids by partnering with both churches and always fed them a meal. She was shrewd and would have been a better heir of her father’s company than her brother. But, of course, the women had to be kept in line.  Good versus evil is another theme for the novel.

Several Wars were covered including the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. I felt there was too much detail concerning battles with Napoleon's army near the end. A few pages could have been cut here to make the book shorter without taking away the personal achievements of the characters. With that said, I didn't want the story to end. 

The Armor of Light is a must read! I am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

Terror in Topaz

Terror in Topaz is the 4th and final installment of Alison Stuart's Harriet Gordon Mystery Series. It is set in 1920s Singapore and features amateur sleuth Harriet Gordon. Harriet volunteers her time at brother Julian's school for boys but after her suffragette past became known, she was fired.

The publisher's summary:  

Singapore 1910: Harriet Gordon has been dismissed from the job she loved and finds herself cast adrift. When her brother receives an invitation to visit a prestigious school in Kuala Lumpur, she and Julian decide to leave Singapore behind for a few days, but their pleasant visit takes a dark turn when a visitor to the school is shot dead on the front steps of the headmaster’s bungalow.

After being suspended from the Straits Settlements Police, Inspector Robert Curran has disappeared on a personal quest to find a missing girl, but his suspension is not all it appears and he receives secretive orders to investigate the mysterious Topaz Club, which seems to be at the center of high-level corruption within the colonial government of Malaya.

The uninvestigated death of a woman with links to the Topaz Club brings Harriet and Curran together in a determination to shut down the notorious establishment for good.

But a devious criminal stands in the way and it is going to take Harriet and Curran all their resources to bring justice for the victims of the Topaz Club and in doing so, find what it is they have been looking for in each other.

I loved this series and am sad it has ended. A prequel to Singapore Sapphire was published in August 2023. Umbrella tells the story of Harriet's earlier life. It is just over 50 pages in length. 

The setting for Terror in Topaz moves from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. Many times when a series author changes the setting, the story suffers. This did not happen here. The plot and writing are superb. It was everything I expected and more. The relationship between Harriet and Inspector Curran grew to be a romantic one. Brother Julian's felt his career was in flux and we see him pondering his options. His usual straightlaced demeanor changes to a softer one. With all of this character growth it is difficult to accept that there is nowhere for the series to continue.

The Kuala Lumpur setting did not seem much different than Singapore. It had the usual clubs and mansions where the British sat for tea on their verandas. Both places share a climate with oppressive heat and the author has shared photographs of both of them on her Pinterest page. If you want to learn more about these novels I recommend checking out the Pinterest page. 

Terror in Topaz is a relaxing read. Historical mystery fans will enjoy it. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Party on Laurel Street

I discovered author Ruth Heald last year and love her fast paced psychological thrillers. The Party on Laurel Street was published in June 2023 and I had to get a copy as soon as I heard about it. It did not disappoint. It is an unputdownable thriller with a shocking ending.

The publisher's summary:  

The party on Laurel Street was meant to be a celebration, of neighbours coming together as friends. But as I look at the shocked faces around me and the wine glass smashed on the floor, I know that our perfect community will never be the same.

I can’t stop thinking about the look on Gabbie’s face when she discovered what her husband had done. Her perfect life, shattered in an instant. She ran from the party as fast as she could but not before locking eyes with my own husband, Luke.

I try to think nothing of it. Gabbie’s probably just had enough, and Luke was being kind and concerned. She’ll be back soon…

But days later, my mind is racing. Gabbie is officially missing. And Luke was the last person to see her alive.

I try to help with the search, but deep down, I am terrified. Though not because of my husband… But because this isn’t the first time someone close to me has gone missing. Gabbie knows what happened all those years ago. And I know that if she isn’t found soon, then my secret is no longer safe.

So as I think back on all the faces at our perfect party on Laurel Street, I have to ask, is someone making me pay for what happened all those years ago? Will I be next to disappear? Or can I find Gabbie before it’s too late?

This story is one wild ride. I was hooked from the first page all the way through the end. Heald's books are always extremely fast paced and Party is no different. In fact, I would say that her stories are the fastest paced among all current authors. The possible whodunnits that I was looking at throughout the story were all wrong. The reveal of the killer was a total surprise and made for a satisfying ending. 

The setting is one street:  Laurel Street. The reader learns that it is not what it appears to be. On its face, Laurel Street is inhabited by wealthy people living in exquisite mansions. However, there is a darkness obscuring the facade. The reader feels it from the start of the story. While there is a scary wooded area surrounding the street, the houses also seem to be covered with gloom. The characters living here all have pasts that they want to hide from each other, furthering the mystery of the novel.

The Party on Laurel Street is fantastic. Mystery and thriller lovers will definitely want to read it. 5 out of 5 stars.

House Aretoli

I received an advanced review copy of House Aretoli last month from the author through Librarything's Early Reviewer's Club in exchange for an honest review. It is a story of medieval Venice, my favorite setting.  The novel is in the running for the short list of the 2023 Chaucer Book Awards for pre-1750s early historical fiction.   It will be published on October 23, 2023.  

The publisher's summary:  

1365, Venice, Italy. For generations, the merchants of House Aretoli have profited through faithful service to the Republic of Venice. Despite being only a minor senatorial family, they’ve established a reputation for reliability, fidelity, and ingenuity.

But the Aretoli are about to face the ultimate test. Caught up in a rebellion on Venice’s territory of Crete, young Niccolo Aretoli returns as a hero after saving the governor’s life and evacuating the loyal citizenry. Yet despite his new fame, not all is well in Venice. Niccolo’s beloved has been forced into marriage to safeguard her family from ruin. Fresh jealousies divide him from his brother Flavio. And traitorous senators and a seductive foreign agent threaten to divide and destroy his family as part of an even darker design.

From brothel to Senate, on land and sea, through marriage and loss, the sons and daughters of House Aretoli struggle against spies, treachery, and assassination. The seeds of discord are already growing, and they threaten to turn sibling against sibling. Chased on land and sea by enemies and betrayed by his closest allies, Niccolo must overcome a conspiracy that threatens his survival, the lives of his family, and the very existence of the republic itself.

 

I was expecting a historical mystery story but after reading the publisher's summary above I realized that was a faulty expectation. The book is more historical fiction than mystery, although there are mysteries that need to be resolved in the plot. This is not to say that I was bored. I enjoyed reading about the Aretoli family dynamics but was expecting Flavio and Niccolo to be as close as they were before Niccolo went off to fight in Crete. This was probably not realistic given that Flavio married Niccolo's girlfriend while he was away.  As the oldest son, Flavio should have been more assertive than Niccolo.  Instead, Flavio was intimidated by his younger brother and carried a lot of angst over their relationship post Crete. He eventually became an angry and vindictive person which I did not see coming.  Niccolo kept his emotions to himself and found ways to keep busy in order to avoid expressing them.  He is definitely the hero of the story. Their relationship, though, is what this story is ultimately about.

Niccolò had the support of his father Angelo.  Angelo saw too many faults in his oldest son and preferred that Niccolo run the family business. He helped him excel in the Senate. This is what made Flavio so jealous and he consequently became a vindictive man.  There were two sisters and another brother in the Aretoli family.  Youngest brother Marco did not involve himself in the family business, preferring to study painting. Oldest sister Asparia was the most politically astute member of the family and I loved hearing her tell the boys what was really happening in Venice and how they should handle the family’s interests.  Camilla, the baby of the family, rounds out the Aretoli cast of characters. 

The family has some amazing characters.  With the Venetian families of Dandolo, Brattori, Feratollo and Madina offering conflict for them, I think this would make a great series.

4 out of 5 stars. 

A Polluted Font

A Polluted Font is the 16th installment of the Chronicles of Hugh de Singleton, Surgeon series by Mel Starr.  I have read every book in the series and all of them were captivating stories. A Polluted Font is no different. I loved it!

The publisher's summary:  

When Hugh and Kate's new-born son is taken to the church to be baptized, they are astounded to find that the locked font is completely dry. The possibility of a leak is quickly ruled out, and just as Hugh is beginning to wonder if there may be a sinister explanation for the stolen holy water, Fr Robert is found lying motionless by the rood screen in a pool of blood . . .

Meanwhile, parliament has passed a poll tax, stipulating everyone above the age of 14 is to be taxed equally. Folk are soon scrambling to find the money to pay and, inevitably, unscrupulous elements in society see an opportunity to feed off people’s desperation and make some cash . . . But what connection can there possibly between this and events at Bampton?

After reading the first couple of chapters I thought maybe the plot wasn't up to par with earlier books in the series. It seemed the only crime for Hugh to solve was the theft of holy water from the baptismal font at St. Beornwald's Church.  The presumption was that the water would being used for the black arts. When Father Robert was found near death in the sanctuary, I was excited. I hoped he would die and there would be a murder to solve. That sounds mean but Father Robert survived not only the attack to his head but he survived Hugh's brain surgery. I thoroughly enjoyed how Hugh removed a blood clot under the skull as well as remove a loose bone that he was not sure where it belonged. He operated with the limited knowledge of medicine in the medieval era but also used common sense to treat his patient. Wine was used as the antiseptic to clean the head both before and after the surgery. Lo and behold Father Robert recovers!  

Hugh’s investigation of the theft and attempted murder were one and the same. If he discovered who was stealing the holy water he would discover who whacked Father Robert over the head. Hugh had to  travel on horseback, usually at night, over unsafe roads where robbers were prevalent. However, with the death of the king, the coronation of his 10 year old heir Richard brought more crooks out in full force. There were frequent all night watches at the church to catch the thief but the thief was wily. He continued to steal holy water and not get caught. Until he did. 

You gotta love a character who doesn't know what to do with a bone inside a brain so he throws it out. The Hugh de Singleton series is a fun read and I highly recommend it to historical mystery fans. I am rating A Polluted Font 5 out of 5 stars.

The Mistress of Bhatia House

This book is the 4th Perveen Mistry 1920s India mystery. I have read every one of them and can honestly say that all of them were fantastic. Our main character, Perveen Mistry, is a lawyer but cannot represent clients in court because women are not allowed to do so. She uses her education by drawing up wills and contracts and works at her father’s law firm. She is allowed to mix with British aristocrats who are stationed in India but may not enter their clubs because of her dark skin. Perveen has been able to build a life for herself despite the restrictions she must abide by.

The publisher's summary:

India, 1922: Perveen Mistry is the only female lawyer in Bombay, a city where child mortality is high, birth control is unavailable and very few women have ever seen a doctor.

Perveen is attending a lavish fundraiser for a new women’s hospital specializing in maternal health issues when she witnesses an accident. The grandson of an influential Gujarati businessman catches fire—but a servant, his young ayah, Sunanda, rushes to save him, selflessly putting herself in harm’s way. Later, Perveen learns that Sunanda, who’s still ailing from her burns, has been arrested on trumped-up charges made by a man who doesn’t seem to exist.  

Perveen cannot stand by while Sunanda languishes in jail with no hope of justice. She takes Sunanda as a client, even inviting her to live at the Mistry home in Bombay’s Dadar Parsi colony. But the joint family household is already full of tension. Perveen’s father worries about their law firm taking so much personal responsibility for a client, and her brother and sister-in-law are struggling to cope with their new baby. Perveen herself is going through personal turmoil as she navigates a taboo relationship with a handsome former civil service officer. 

When the hospital’s chief donor dies suddenly, Miriam Penkar, a Jewish-Indian obstetrician, and Sunanda become suspects. Perveen’s original case spirals into a complex investigation taking her into the Gujarati strongholds of Kalbadevi and Ghatkopar, and up the coast to Juhu Beach, where a decadent nawab lives with his Australian trophy wife. Then a second fire erupts, and Perveen realizes how much is at stake. Has someone powerful framed Sunanda to cover up another crime? Will Perveen be able to prove Sunanda’s innocence without endangering her own family?

The mystery to be solved was not apparent in the first few chapters. It wasn't revealed until a third into the story. While this would normally upset me, the setting descriptions and character dialogue were interesting enough to keep me glued to the pages. Two thirds into the story I became bored. Conflict between Perveen and other characters, seemingly unrelated to the plot, was prominent and it wasn't as interesting as the beginning pages. Sunanda’s innocence or guilt was not fleshed out well as the author concentrated on using her in a cover-up of another crime.  As for the mistress herself, her role was not discussed much. Given that the title of the book was about the mistress, I expected more.

I am disappointed with The Mistress of Bhatia House. Let's hope the next installment of the series will be better. Two out of 5 stars.

The Orchid Hour

I love Nancy Bilyeau's books. Her Genevieve Planche trilogy and Joanna Stafford trilogy were both fantastic so I had high expectations for The Orchid Hour. It is a charming portrait of the Little Italy neighborhood in New York City in the 1920s.

The publisher's summary:  

New York City, 1923. Zia De Luca’s life is about to be shattered. Having lost her husband to The Great War, she lives with her son and in-laws in Little Italy and works at the public library. But when a quiet poetry lover is murdered outside the library, the police investigation focuses on Zia. After a second tragedy strikes even closer to home, Zia learns that both crimes are connected to a new speakeasy in Greenwich Village called The Orchid Hour. 

When the police investigation stalls, Zia decides to find her own answers. A cousin with whom she has a special bond serves as a guide to the shadow realm of the Orchid Hour, a world filled with enticements Zia has shunned up to now. She must contend with a group of players determined to find wealth and power in New York on their own terms. In this heady atmosphere, Zia begins to wonder if she too could rewrite her life’s rules. As she’s pulled in deeper and deeper, will Zia be able to bring the killers to justice before they learn her secret?

While I enjoyed the story, it was not as engaging as Bilyeau's earlier books. Normally I would devour her books in one sitting. The Orchid Hour took me several days. However, it is still a solid story. The book is different because it is a murder mystery that takes place in the 1920s. Bilyeau's earlier books were more in the historical fiction genre. 

I did not connect with Zia as I have with other characters the author has created. She is not the typical amateur sleuth because she does not leave her job or home to determine the identity of the killer. Zia stays inside her home, which is one story on top of the cheese shop her in-laws own. She does not challenge social norms and lets the men in her family make all her major life decisions. How can this type of woman be a sleuth?

The setting is really the story here. It is definitely strong enough to carry the novel but I was disappointed that the novel was not written in the genre Bilyeau is known for. Perhaps if I had advance knowledge concerning the genre I would have read the book with different eyes.

3 out of 5 stars.

The Shallows

The Shallows is a gripping novel about two women who are neighbors in one of Sydney’s most exclusive suburbs. Emma and Ariella appear to have it all. They have expensive five story homes, wealthy husbands, and seemingly perfect lives. Both of them have dark secrets about their marriages that lurk beneath the surface. Ariella's secrets aren't too heavily buried. Her husband has a minder with her 24/7 and other neighbors have noticed. Mateo owns several strip clubs while Emma's husband Charles works for a security company. The two ladies slip notes to each other and share secrets when the minder isn't looking. Ariella's last message says she has a secret to share with Emma. However, Ariella was found murdered the next day after Emma’s daughter Kiki unknowingly filmed the killing while she made a You Tube video that she posted immediately. When Emma’s husband Charles forces the family to leave their perfect life and escape on their yacht, Emma feels trapped and tries to get answers from him. What or who are they hiding from? What did Ariella have to tell her? Does anyone else knows Emma’s own secret?

This story is a page turner. It is told from two perspectives. One is told three months in the past and the other is told in the current date. As the novel progresses three months become two, then one and then weeks. The suspense is ratcheted up from this literary device. Halfway through the book the story is only told in the present day. 

I loved the characters. Both Emma and Ariella were sympathetic ladies. Both of the husbands were villains but Mateo is the ultimate villain. He runs a string of strip clubs where teenagers work and people regularly disappear. He cannot even trust his own wife although he probably had no idea she wanted to leave him. They married when she was just 18 and had no idea what life had in store for her. Ariella did not know much about Mateo's business but she knew enough to fear him. Emma’s two kids, Kiki and Cooper, are a big part of the plot too. 

The Shallows is the debut novel of Holly Craig. It's amazing to me that her first book is this good. 5 out of 5 stars.

Letters of Comfort

Doretta Schwartz used to be a happy person and passed her positive attitude along to her friends in several letters that she wrote each month. All that changed the day she learned of her fiance William’s death and a heavy weight of depression fell upon her. Feeling empty, she puts away her letter writing and won’t even respond to calls from friends. William’s twin brother, Warren, is also grieving his loss, while at the same time, trying to be supportive to his parents and Doretta. Doretta responds to Warren’s friendship, but the question is has he just becoming a replacement for the once-in-a-lifetime love she lost?

Letters of Comfort is the second book in the author's Friendship Letters duology. While we all know Amish fiction ends on a positive note, don't let that make you believe that the plot is simple. Brunstetter gives us several twists and turns in Doretta's recovery as well as showing how deep someone can fall into depression. In many ways it is a medical mystery novel albeit one that is light and in which you can predict a lovely ending. The Author's Note tells us that she intended to write a book with depression as a theme. 

I was surprised to learn that Doretta's boyfriend William was not as good a person that she originally thought he was. Was it necessary to show this in order to make his twin Warren look good? I kind of wish he remained the perfect person. Nevertheless, Letters of Comfort is a primer on what lies beneath a person's exterior.

5 out of 5 stars.

Dead Fall

Dead Fall is the 22nd Scot Harvath spy thriller by Brad Thor. I have read every book in this series and all of them were captivating. I also recently discovered the Libby app. Libby allows me to not only read from 4,000 different monthly magazines in digital format but also take ebooks out from my public library. Dead Fall was one of the ebooks that I was lucky to obtain an early copy of. If I had to wait for a physical copy it may have taken months to be able to withdraw it. 

The publisher's summary:  

In the war-ravaged borderlands of Ukraine, a Russian mercenary unit has gone rogue. Its members, conscripted from the worst prisons and mental asylums across Russia, are the most criminally violent, psychologically dangerous combatants to ever set foot upon the modern battlefield.

With all attention focused on the front lines, they have pushed deeper into the interior to wage a campaign of unspeakable barbarity. As they move from village to village, committing horrific war crimes, they meet little resistance because all able-bodied men are off fighting the war.

Simultaneously, a team of Russian soldiers has been dispatched by the Kremlin to loot truckloads of art and priceless cultural treasures hidden away in a host of churches, museums, and private homes.

When multiple American aid workers are killed, America’s top spy, Scot Harvath, is sent in to settle the score. But in a country so vast, will Harvath be able to find the men in question, and, more important, will he be able to stop them before they can kill again?

The story begins with a bang and the thrill continues until the final chapter. Although the plot premise was taken from recent news stories about the Ukraine War, don't assume that this is all you will get from reading the book. The Ukraine War is merely the framework for the story. The reader gets an original, spine tingling story with plenty of action from the author's imagination. 

The series main character is Scot Harvath. He has always been bold, brash and lethal. In Dead Fall Harvath is surprisingly underequipped with weapons and doesn't have his usual team of spies to help him. Dare I say that he seems somewhat humble from finding himself in this situation? I was not surprised, though, to see him finding the resources that he needs to get the job done. The reader sees more of Harvath's intelligence here as he figures out what each of his steps are going to be in order to finish the mission.

The Ravens are Thor's fictional version of the Wagner Group. While we all have read about Wagner's barbarity from the news, the information we get about the  Ravens is complete. The reader learns more about their movements and how they make decisions. Even the barbarity of their treatment of the Ukrainians has much more detail than what we read in the news concerning the Wagner Group.

Dead Fall is a gripping novel and I highly recommend it. 5 out of 5 stars.