The Way of the Wicked

The Way of the Wicked is the second book in the Hope Street Church Mysteries by Ellery Adams. I loved the first book The Path of the Crooked. The amateur sleuth in the series is Cooper Lee who has an interesting job. She repairs copy machines. I love that the sleuth is a woman doing what is typically a man's job.

The publisher's summary:

Cooper Lee and her friends in the Hope Street Bible study group have just volunteered for a local charity, delivering much-needed food and cheer to shut-ins in their community. It seems like the perfect way for the group to do good, and to Cooper it offers the welcome opportunity to get out of the house and spend more time with her new boyfriend, Nathan. But when one of the charity’s recipients is murdered, the police have no choice but to single out the church group and their fellow volunteers as the prime suspects.

Determined to make sure no evil deed goes unpunished, Cooper and her friends decide to discreetly interrogate each volunteer in their search for the killer, even if it means putting themselves at risk in the process. And as serving the needy becomes more treacherous than any of them could have imagined, they just might discover that the road to murder is paved with good intentions.

The beginning of the book was slow because it took a long time for the murder to occur. The reader was introduced to several new characters and the Bible study group members became involved in delivering food to the elderly. The first fourth of the story was basically dialogue among them and not much happened. The action picked up and by the midpoint in the story the pace became fast.

The romance between Cooper and fellow Bible study group member Nathan heated up in this installment of the series. They are not yet a couple but both realize that they have feelings for each other. Also, there was religious material in the book as the study group met several times to study the life of the Biblical Joseph from Genesis. They saw a connection between the way Joseph's brothers treated him to the way the seniors were treated by volunteers of the charity that delivered meals on wheels. By the end of the story three seniors died in similar circumstances.

This was a charming story and I enjoyed it. I would have liked to see the murders occur in the first or second chapter so that the rest of the story could be about solving the crime. 3 out of 5 stars.

The Bright Ages

The Bright Ages is a 1,000 year history of medieval Europe beginning in the 400s. I selected it for the Nonfiction Reader Challenge because I am fascinated with this era. 

The publisher's summary:

The word “medieval” conjures images of the “Dark Ages”—centuries of ignorance, superstition, stasis, savagery, and poor hygiene. But the myth of darkness obscures the truth; this was a remarkable period in human history. The Bright Ages recasts the European Middle Ages for what it was, capturing this 1,000-year era in all its complexity and fundamental humanity, bringing to light both its beauty and its horrors. 

The Bright Ages takes us through ten centuries and crisscrosses Europe and the Mediterranean, Asia and Africa, revisiting familiar people and events with new light cast upon them. We look with fresh eyes on the Fall of Rome, Charlemagne, the Vikings, the Crusades, and the Black Death, but also to the multi-religious experience of Iberia, the rise of Byzantium, and the genius of Hildegard and the power of queens. We begin under a blanket of golden stars constructed by an empress with Germanic, Roman, Spanish, Byzantine, and Christian bloodlines and end nearly 1,000 years later with the poet Dante—inspired by that same twinkling celestial canopy—writing an epic saga of heaven and hell that endures as a masterpiece of literature today.  

The Bright Ages reminds us just how permeable our manmade borders have always been and of what possible worlds the past has always made available to us. The Middle Ages may have been a world “lit only by fire” but it was one whose torches illuminated the magnificent rose windows of cathedrals, even as they stoked the pyres of accused heretics.  

 

My expectation for the book was that each European country would be delved into. It does that but it is still Rome-centric. There are chapters on Rome, Jerusalem, Britain, France, Russia, Spain and Mongolia. People from other areas are covered briefly with a sentence or two. I was disappointed with this focus of the book. Alot of history was left out but note that the author covered 1,000 years of history in 250 pages. There is a 60 page bibliography at the end. 

The book opened with a fascinating profile of Galla Placidia, sister and mother of Roman emporers. In addition, she was the queen of the Visigoths and led many successful battles for them. Placidia lived in the 400s. A devout Christian, she built or restored churches in Jerusalem, Rome, and in Ravenna where the book begins. This lady captivated me and I must find material to read about her. Maybe someone has written a historical novel about her?  I was disappointed that other historical figures were not discussed later in the book because a fun way to learn history is through the lives of people.

I was struck by the description of the book as a new history of medieval Europe. I was expecting information new to me but halfway through I realized that I knew more about medieval history than the author. From this point I began critiquing the information he included as well as what he excluded. Too much was left out and much of what was included was not explained.

Two sentences in the last chapter refers to the Dark Ages of our present time and the author blames the U. S. for it. He states that the U. S. was founded on white supremacy.  Obviously, he did not study U. S. history but as I contemplated this remark I realized The Bright Ages could be considered a history of just white people. While he centered the book on Europe, which is primarily white, he excluded the contributions of Muslims to our "white" art and literature. All the credit is given to well known Europeans. Also, I was frustrated when he mentioned the Paris physicians who were consulted on the origins of the plague. All of the medical knowledge that we have originated from the Muslims. Jewish scholars learned medicine from them and brought it to Europe. In addition, there was no mention of the contributions from North Africa to our culture. Thus, if the author wants to put blame somewhere for white supremacy let's lay it at his feet. Yes, I was offended by his remark over the founding of the U. S. as you most likely can tell. The remark came abruptly with no references so why include it? 

Having taken many courses on medieval history, I feel that I can write my own history book of this era. My book would be over 1,000 pages and no one would read that! However, it would be a complete history of the era that included every area of the map and explain how each culture intermingled with each other. As such, it is hard to give The Bright Ages a rating. It delivers a Eurocentric history which is what we were promised. I will go with 3 out of 5 stars. There are probably few people as interested in this era to be as dogmatic as I am. I know we are probably a little crazy.

Where Waters Meet

Where Waters Meet is Zhang Ling's second novel to be translated into English. It follows A Single Swallow. It is a heartwrenching story about a daughter and her journey to discovering the truth about her mother's life after her death.  

The publisher's summary:

There was rarely a time when Phoenix Yuan-Whyller’s mother, Rain, didn’t live with her. Even when Phoenix got married, Rain, who followed her from China to Toronto, came to share Phoenix’s life. Now at the age of eighty-three, Rain’s unexpected death ushers in a heartrending separation.

Struggling with the loss, Phoenix comes across her mother’s suitcase—a memory box Rain had brought from home. Inside, Phoenix finds two old photographs and a decorative bottle holding a crystallized powder. Her auntie Mei tells her these missing pieces of her mother’s early life can only be explained when they meet, and so, clutching her mother’s ashes, Phoenix boards a plane for China. What at first seems like a daughter’s quest to uncover a mother’s secrets becomes a startling journey of self-discovery.

Told across decades and continents, Zhang Ling’s exquisite novel is a tale of extraordinary courage and survival. It illuminates the resilience of humanity, the brutalities of life, the secrets we keep and those we share, and the driving forces it takes to survive.

I loved this story enough to immediately reread it after finishing it. There is alot of nuance to the story and I wasn't sure whether I picked them all up during the first read. It's such a lovely story which also made me want to read it again. It reminded me of last year's Peach Blossom Spring by Melissa Fu.

Women are the main characters in the book. Phoenix Yuan-Whyller is the narrator. She took care of her mother Rain, born Chunyu, during her entire life including during her marriage to George Whyller. Rain’s sister Mei is another strong character. Rain and Mei's mother is also featured in a few chapters and the reader gets the sense that strength runs in the women of the family. They overcome everything. It was interesting that they chose weak men as husbands. For Rain and Phoenix it was a matter of wanting to take care of someone. Mei is still a mystery to me as she was to both her sister and her niece. 

The family originated in China. Rain and Mei lived through three wars there: WWII, the Japanese War and the Civil War between the nationalists and the communists. They suffered severe hunger and bombing raids, as did everyone else in China. Rain and Mei's parents died in a bombing of their village East End. The sisters were captured by Japanese soldiers and forced to be prostitutes. Rain handled it better than Mei who was unable to eat or even get up off her mattress. With her sister's help Mei escaped and joined the communists and fought alongside Mao's warriors. Rain eventually made her way to Hong Kong and then Toronto where she and her daughter lived with Phoenix’s husband George. I see George as weak compared to his wife. He was American and refused to fight in the Vietnam War. He fled to Canada. Rain’s husband was a war hero who was disabled from war wounds and needed a wife to provide for his needs.

While the book begins in Toronto most of the action takes place in China. This family saga is definitely the exquisite tale that it is advertised to be and it has captured my heart. I am rating it way, way over 5 out of 5 stars.

The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax

This book is a re-read for me. Several decades ago I read every one of these Mrs. Pollifax cozy mysteries. There were fantastic. As I was looking for a book for the Calendar of Crime Challenge, I realized that author Dorothy Gilman was born in June. Books whose authors were born in June are eligible for the challenge. A match!

The publisher's summary:

Mrs. Virgil (Emily) Pollifax of New Brunswick, New Jersey, was a widow with grown, married children. She was tired of attending her Garden Club meetings. She wanted to do something good for her country. So, naturally, she became a CIA agent.

She takes on a “job” in Mexico City. The assignment doesn’t sound dangerous at first, but then, as often happens, something goes wrong. Now our dear Mrs. Pollifax finds herself embroiled in quite a hot Cold War—and her country’s enemies find themselves entangled with one unbelievably feisty lady.

Although the book was written in 1966, the writing is still current with today's language. While the premise for the stories may seem far-fetched, nothing about the plot is unusual. It unfolds just like any other spy novel. The knowledge that Mrs. Pollifax gained throughout her years as a wife and mother helped her to see situations clearer than professional spies. She is simply adorable.

The first three chapters reminded me how Mrs. Pollifax got into the spy business to begin with. While discussing with her doctor that she was bored with her life as a volunteer, she remembered that when she was young she wanted to be a spy. Feeling encouraged by him, Mrs. Pollifax traveled to Washington DC and applied for a job with the CIA. She did not know that you need to be asked to join but was hired for a courier job in Mexico City after being mistaken for another lady. Her age, including her white hair, would make her unexpected by the CIA's moles. From this auspicious beginning, readers were lucky to have 13 subsequent novels to enjoy.

5 out of 5 stars.

The Jerusalem Scrolls

The Jerusalem Scrolls is the latest installment of Gary McAvoy's Vatican Secret Archives series. It is fantastic as are all of the books in the series and the initial Magdalene Chronicles series. McAvoy recommends reading the books in order but I have not followed this advise and I don't think I suffered from skipping between the novels. The only real change in the stories is how the friendship between main characters Father Michael Donovan and Hana Sinclair has grown.

The publisher's summary:

Two young Israeli boys discover an ancient red clay jar in a hidden cave tucked away in the Judean Desert near Qumran. Inside the jar are several scrolls written by the Essenes two thousand years earlier, before the Great Jewish Revolt, including one legendary scroll engraved on silver that speaks of what may be the great Lost Treasures of Solomon buried around Jerusalem—consistent with the predictions of the fabled Copper Scroll discovered in 1947 near the Dead Sea. But one of the overlooked parchments turns out to be far more pivotal to Christianity than anything ever before discovered—a startling manuscript written by St. Paul himself that could rewrite religious history.

Father Michael Dominic and his friends are called to Jerusalem to inspect the silver scroll, but others are trying to get to the precious manuscripts first—members of a little known sect called the Mithraists, the chief rival to Christianity up to the fourth century...a wealthy Texas televangelist...an Egyptian antiquities broker...Israeli Mossad agents...and a cast of rogues each out for themselves.

The fiction here is inspired by the question of what if more scrolls were found? What if the scrolls disputed everything Christians believe today about the Resurrection? The plot weaves together archeology, history and religion which I find fascinating. There many twists and turns in the plot with the Vatican, Mossad, and illegal antiquities dealers all vying to obtain the silver scrolls as well as the parchments supposedly written by St. Paul. After a brief beginning, the story quickly becomes a murder mystery, an archeological hunt, a race through the Middle East and America to find the missing scrolls. Along the way we read about the ancient cult of Mithraism. I had never heard about this cult before so the information about it was a fun learning experience for me.

I thought it was odd that Father Michael Donovan and Hana Sinclair did not work as closely together as they have in previous novels. They are the main characters in the series. Father Donovan was prominent in the search for the scrolls though. The story had quite a few bad men searching for the scrolls and initially it was difficult figuring out who they were. I stopped my reading and returned to the beginning two chapters to set them straight in my mind. There were no problems afterward deciphering the characters.   

I  have always loved these treasure hunt mysteries ever since Dan Brown wrote the DaVinci Code. Brown created a new mystery sub-genre with his books and I have been reading five new authors who began writing these stories. McAvoy's stories always have a fantastical element to them as the treasure his characters are seeking dispute the main beliefs of Christianity. I use the word "fantastical" because I am a Christian. Those who are not Christians won't have this impression toward McAvoy's books.

The next book in the series, The Galileo Gambit, will be published in a few days on June 12, 2023. I am looking forward to its release.

The Light Ages

The Light Ages is a history of science in the medieval era. The author has redefined what we today call the Dark Ages as the Light Ages as far as science is concerned. Many scientific discoveries were made that are still current science.  Others were later improved upon by subsequent scientists. 

The publisher's summary:  

Soaring Gothic cathedrals, violent crusades, the Black Death:  these are the dramatic forces that shaped the medieval era. But the so-called Dark Ages also gave us the first universities, eyeglasses and mechanical clocks. As medieval thinkers sought to understand the world around them, from the passing of the seasons, to the stars in the sky, they came to develop a vibrant scientific culture.

In The Light Ages Cambridge science historian Seb Falk takes us on a tour of medieval science through the eyes of one fourteenth century monk, John of Westwyk. Born in a rural manor, educated at England's grandest monastery and then exiled to a cliff top priory, Westwyk was an intrepid crusader, inventor and astrologer. From multiplying Roman numerals to navigating by the stars we learn emerging science. On our way we encounter the English abbot with leprosy who built a clock, the French craftsman turned spy and the Persian polymath who founded the world's most advanced observatory.

The book opens with a question concerning whether Geoffrey Chaucer wrote a book on science. It was later determined that John of Westwyk wrote the book. I thought it was fascinating how scholars figured this out. The chapters are laid out by type of science. We read about how monks learned to tell time and that there are planets they mistook as stars. From figuring out the time of day by watching the daily difference in light and dark hours, these monks, the scholars of the day, later brought the world clocks. While they initially thought the sun orbited Earth, their conclusions about time were correct. The later discovery that the Earth orbited the sun did not change these conclusions. Astrology was a major topic for study as was the invention and later improvement of the astrologer.

I enjoyed the first half of the book but was less interested in the second half. Alot of material was repeated and I was bored. I found myself skipping pages. At 396 pages in length, the book may have been easier to read if it was shorter. 

3 out of 5 stars.

Stolen in the Night

I selected Stolen in the Night as my May book for the Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge. While I have read earlier books by Patricia MacDonald, it has been awhile since I have read them. It is time I rediscovered her as I remember that I enjoyed those books.

The publisher's summary:

TWENTY YEARS AGO.

Tess’s heart pounds and she rubs her eyes, wondering if she is really awake or in a nightmare. Her sister Phoebe’s blue eyes are wide with fear, a dirty hand with ragged fingernails covering her mouth. Pressed against Phoebe’s neck is a knife that makes a dent in her skin.

“If you make one peep or tell anybody, I’ll kill your sister here. Do you understand me?” the man hisses at her.

Nine-year-old Tess DeGraff is the only witness to the knife-point kidnapping of her teenage sister, Phoebe, at the beautiful lakeside New Hampshire campsite where she’s staying with their parents and brother.

Phoebe’s body is found two days later and a local offender is arrested. The trial lasts only three days after Tess describes the abductor and points to him in court.

NOW.

Tess has finally got herself together. She has a beautiful home and her ten-year-old son is the light of her life.

But new DNA evidence exonerates her sister’s killer. Tess is left questioning everything she thinks she knows. If he didn’t do it, who did?

Tess must go back to where it all happened and find out what really went on that night.

The book is advertised as a gripping psychological thriller.  While the mystery of the whodunnit was compelling, I wouldn't say that the story was gripping in any sense of the word. I felt more affinity with the potential perps than I did with our main character Tess or any of her family members. Tess was a little dull and her accusations against this person and that person based on nothing realistic was annoying. She was an excitable character that I did not like. What kept me reading? I really wanted to know who killed Phoebe. 

Most of the twists and turns came near the end of the story and I felt that they were almost on top of each other. I had to concentrate hard on catching them as they came quickly. Also, some of the twists seemed far-fetched but maybe that is just a result of them coming all at the same time. It would have been better to have them equally placed throughout the plot. 

The whodunnit drives this story although the whydunnit was surprising. For this reason I am rating the book at 3 out of 5 stars.

Murder Under a Red Moon

Murder Under A Red Moon is the second Bangalore Detective Mystery. The first book, The Bangalore Detectives Club, was published last year and I loved it. As you would expect, the stories take place in Bangalore, India during the 1920s. Kaveri Murthy is our main character and she is the amateur sleuth of the series. While she has a group of women who help her with investigations, Kaveri is the star. Her group includes a street urchin, a nosy neighbor, an ex-prostitute and a policeman's wife.  In this installment of the series she is a fairly new bride with a domineering mother-in-law. After a murder occurs during the blood moon eclipse, Kaveri agrees to investigate. Against a backdrop of rising anti-British sentiment and a charismatic swami's influence, Kaveri's hometown of Bangalore is becoming more and more a dangerous place to live. Kaveri continues to investigate anyway, wearing her usual sari and driving her 1920s Ford. 

I loved that Kaveri always wore a sari. Even when it restricted her legs as she maneuvered through fields and muddy paths Kaveri always wore a beautiful sari. The Hindu faith tradition is a huge part of the story. Most of the characters are practicing Hindus whose insights into the why and how of the murder are influenced by their faith. As for Kaveri and her husband Ramu, a doctor, they are atheists. Food is another big part of the story. The author writes meals into her story which were both captivating to me and giving me angina at the same time from imagining the spiciness of these foods which I myself have eaten in the past. The investigation of the murder had twists and turns that I did not expect and I was surprised by the ending. The identity of the killer was not a surprise but why the killer felt the need to kill was a surprise. 

Murder Under a Red Moon was a satisfying read.  I highly recommend this historical mystery series to all mystery fans and am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

His Fatal Legacy

 

This third book in the Alardyce House series ended with a cliffhanger just as the earlier books ended. Now I will have to wait until June for the next one to be published. Grrrr. The series is fantastic. It takes place in Victorian Edinburgh and features the Alardyce family as the main characters. Amy is married to Henry and is the mother of Robert. Robert is the villain. He has beaten, raped and killed several characters and is unable to stop his compulsion for violence. The family don't want him to hang so his crimes are covered up. 

The publisher's summary:

Amy Alardyce's once-perfect life is in tatters. Her eldest son, Robert, has come of age, become the master of his own home, and married his childhood love Jane.  But with maturity has come a terrible legacy, and the dark desires Robert inherited from his evil father Matthew, are fighting to get loose.

Whilst Jane is working hard to get her and Robert accepted into fashionable society, poor women are being hunted on the streets of Edinburgh, and Amy fears her son is to blame.  And once the infamous Inspector Murphy takes up the case, Amy has to face a stark choice - denounce her son as a monster or risk her own safety to protect him from the consequences of his lethal actions.

This series is remarkable. It has captivated me since I read the first two books last month. They all are page turners and His Fatal Legacy is no different. The Edinburgh setting is not prominent. The Victorian era is more of a setting here as the characters fumble under the era's strictures on life.  It is amazing to me that the Alardyce family is more concerned about their reputation than stopping one of their own from beating and raping women.  Every decision they make is centered around maintaining their social standing. Robert is the perfect villain.  We don't know why he kills other than a darkness coming over him before he strikes. It sounds like schizophrenia to me and a diagnosis for Robert in a future novel would be interesting to read about. His dark side was abated for a short while after the birth of his daughter which I did not believe would last. It didn't. Robert is a character that I enjoy hating. He does not like anyone in society, refuses to attend balls or parties with his wife and is generally disagreeable. 

His mother Amy metamorphoses quickly between motherly love and the desire to protect society from her son. While she has tried to help him, ultimately, she will protect him from himself.  I don't think her character, or Henry's, was as strong in this installment of the series as in earlier ones. This novel was primarily about Robert and his wife Jane. The arrival of Inspector Murphy brings suspense to the story because he is never far behind Robert and I thought that he would catch Robert in the act. 

The writing in the novel was suspenseful and with its quick pace is a fast read.  I highly recommend this historical mystery.  5 out of 5 stars.

The Last Russian Doll

I have been looking forward to the publication of this novel for several weeks. It is an epic story about three generations of Russian women, from the 1917 Communist Revolution to the final days of the Soviet Union.  The Last Russian Doll is a mesmerizing story that is going to stick with me for a long time.

The publisher's summary:

In a faraway kingdom, in a long-ago land...
 
...a young girl lived happily in Moscow with her family: a sister, a father, and an eccentric mother who liked to tell fairy tales and collect porcelain dolls. 
 
One summer night, everything changed, and all that remained of that family were the girl and her mother.
 
Now, a decade later and studying at Oxford University, Rosie has an English name, a loving fiancé, and a promising future, but all she wants is to understand--and bury--the past. After her mother dies, Rosie returns to Russia, armed with little more than her mother’s strange folklore--and a single key.
 
What she uncovers is a devastating family history that spans the 1917 Revolution, the siege of Leningrad, Stalin’s purges, and beyond.
 
At the heart of this saga stands a young noblewoman, Tonya, as pretty as a porcelain doll, whose actions—and love for an idealistic man—will set off a sweeping story that reverberates across the century....

OMG! This was such a captivating read. It's going to be in my top ten books of the year; the third book I have read this year that will most likely be on that list. I learned alot about Russian history during the twentieth century and how that history affected common people. The reader gets to see how the economy tumbled after the czar's abdication, during the Russian Revolution, and the end of the Soviet Union. I was surprised at how little people helped out their neighbors and how they instinctively knew to not talk about their families even in the beginning of the Revolution. This begs the question: what happened before the twentieth century that caused the Russians to not trust their neighbors?

As for Rosie and Tonya, their characters were sympathetic enough for me to worry about them as I read. Rosie has memories of her early years living in Russia that frighten her. She remembers a man shooting her sister and father in their home but does not remember much about the rest of the family's flight to England. When an opportunity arises that allows her to travel to Russian as a research assistant, she takes it even though she is given up a promising career and relationship. When she arrives in Russia, she feels like she is at home. The fairy tales that her mother told her seem to be more and more real. Rosie tries to determine what part of these fairy tales are truth and what part is fiction. They confuse her take on reality. Tonya was the wife of a government employee when the Russian Revolution began but her husband bores her. When she sees a man publicly speaking about the need for revolution she is attracted to him and they soon begin a rather risky affair. Theirs is a love affair for the ages, lasting until the end of their lives. However, the reader does not know this because they were separated frequently by the throes of history. Tonya's story is the main storyline of the book.

Each section of the book began with a short fairy tale supposedly written by Tonya. As I was reading I wondered if these were actual Russian fairy tales. The Acknowledgment at the end of the book tells us that the author made them all up for this novel. They were so good that I think author Kristen Loetsch should write a children's book of fairy tales. Interspersed with the fairy tales are the porcelain dolls that several characters collect and which hold the key to the family's history.

The Last Russian Doll is simply magnificent.  It is a must read. 5 out of 5 stars.

Red Queen

Red Queen was written by the author in 2018 in his native Spanish language. It was translated into English by Nick Caistor in 2023. Gomez-Jurado is one of my favorite authors. In Red Queen he has moved away from his usual religious thrillers to a political thriller. While I loved his religious thrillers and wish he would continue to write them, Red Queen was a fabulous read.

The publisher's summary:  

Antonia Scott―the daughter of a British diplomat and a Spanish mother―has a gifted forensic mind, whose ability to reconstruct crimes and solve baffling murders is legendary. But after a personal trauma, she's refused to continue her work or even leave her apartment.

Jon Gutierrez, a police officer in Bilbao―disgraced, suspended, and about to face criminal charges―is offered a chance to salvage his career by a secretive organization that works in the shadows to direct criminal investigations of a highly sensitive nature. All he has to do is succeed where many others have failed: Convince a recalcitrant Antonia to come out of her self-imposed retirement, protecting her and helping her investigate a new, terrifying case.

The case is a macabre, ritualistic murder―a teen-aged boy from a wealthy family whose body was found without a drop of blood left in it. But the murder is just the start. A high-ranking executive and daughter of one of the richest men in Spain is kidnapped, a crime which is tied to the previous murder. Behind them both is a hidden mastermind with even more sinister plans. And the only person with a chance to see the connections, solve the crimes and successfully match wits with the killer before tragedy strikes again...is Antonia Scott.

Antonia Scott is a lovable investigator regardless of her personality quirks. She has been chosen to be Spain's red queen, a titled bestowed on one brilliant investigator in each European country. Antonia relies on pills that her Mentor gives her to help her filter outside stimuli so that she can focus on what she is seeing at a scene. The pills only work for an hour so she has to be selective about when she takes them. Red Queen is a crime fighting organization in Europe, similar to Interpol. Her sidekick Jon Gutierrez had been seriously wronged by a former employer and I couldn't help but root for him. This team of crime fighters work amazingly well together which is a good thing as Red Queen is the beginning of the Antonia Scott series. 

Despite Antonia and Jon's differences they quickly begin working on tracking down a criminal named Ezekiel who has slowly drained the blood from a man's carotid artery.  There was no blood at the scene nor was there any blood in the victim's body. Ezekiel then kidnaps Carla Ortiz, the daughter of the richest man in the world. I saw shades of Bill Gates here.  Ezekiel is an interesting character. He frequently tells himself "I am a good person." He also uses a line from Psalm 23 to add his signature to each crime scene:  annointing the dead person's head with oil.

The story had a super fast pace and was unputdownable. If you decide to read this book, make sure that you have time to finish it in one sitting. You won't be able to stop reading. It seemed that each chapter had a new twist to add to the story and this created alot of suspense. The short chapters also helped me keep reading because what's a few more pages before taking a break. Right?  

The Red Queen is a must read. 5 out of 5 stars.

Weyward

Weyward is Emilia Hart's debut novel and it is terrific. This story is told in three alternating points of view. The first viewpoint comes from Altha, a seventeenth century healer who was accused and tried for witchcraft. Violet's viewpoint is next and her story is the main story being told in the book. Kate is the twentieth century Weyward whose story we read about. All three of these women have characteristics in common. They were emotionally abused by men who were supposed to take care of them. Two of them were also sexually abused. This victimhood tendency of the ladies was unfortunately passed down through the generations. However, it was presented instead as them inheriting healing power from their ancestors.

The publisher's summary:  

I am a Weyward, and wild inside. 

2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.

1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. As a girl, Altha’s mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom.

1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family's grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives––and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.

Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart's Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world. 

This was a spectacular story. I know its going to be a contender for my book of the year. Each of the Weyward ladies were beguiling, ensnaring you in to their orbit. I couldn't stop reading about their lives and hated for the book to come to an end. I loved these women. The eras is which they lived, while different, affected what happened to them and how society would or would not allow them to respond to their challenges. This is very much a feminist novel. We see the Weyward women rising above their circumstances and defeating the men who oppressed them. 

There is a touch of magical realism in the story. The Weyward women are nature lovers who feel that birds understand them and can help them with their healing powers. Altha and Violet were close to insects and kept them in their rooms; even talking to them. Both studied insects and found out alot about nature as well as people from how the insects lived. At the end of the book we see them completely covering the home of one of the male abusers. 

I am amazed at the author Emilia Hart's ability to weave such a gripping tale in her debut novel. I have high hopes for her in the future and cannot wait to read her next book. Hart is a lawyer who lives in London. Her writing education came from Curtis Brown Creative’s three month online novel writing course. Doesn't this give all of us newby writers hope for our own success?

I cannot recommend this book more highly. I absolutely loved it. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Rail Splitter

I received a copy of John Cribb's The Rail Splitter from the Early Reviewer's Group at Librarything. As you would expect from the title, it is a historical fiction novel about Abe Lincoln. It tells about his journey from his youth living in a log cabin to his candidacy for the Presidency.

The publisher's summary:

The story begins with Lincoln’s youth on the frontier, where he grows up with an ax in one hand and book in the other, determined to make something of himself. He sets off on one adventure after another, from rafting down the Mississippi River to marching in an Indian war. When he is twenty-six, the girl he hopes to marry dies of fever. He spends days wandering the countryside in grief. A few years later, he purchases a ring inscribed with the words “Love Is Eternal” and enters a tempestuous marriage with Mary Todd.
 
Lincoln literally wrestles his way to prominence on the Illinois prairies. He teaches himself the law and enters the rough and tumble world of frontier politics. With Mary’s encouragement, he wins a term in the US Congress, but his political career falters. They are both devastated by the loss of a child. As arguments over slavery sweep the country, Lincoln finds something worth fighting for, and his debates with brash rival Stephen Douglas catapult him toward the White House.
 
Part coming-of-age story, part adventure story, part love story, and part rags-to-riches story, The Rail Splitter is the making of Abraham Lincoln. The story of the rawboned youth who goes from a log cabin to the White House is, in many ways, the great American story. The Rail Splitter reminds us that the country Lincoln loved is a place of wide-open dreams where extraordinary journeys unfold.

I loved this book! It was a page turning exploration of Lincoln's life. I wondered as I read whether the story would be as interesting if it was not about Lincoln. I couldn't figure that out because Lincoln is such a beloved figure in America that it doesn't matter. I also wondered what parts of the story were historical and what parts were fiction. Obviously, Lincoln's work history was true. I am wondering whether the social aspects of the story were true. The author tells us in the Acknowledgments that he found information about Lincoln's social life in the Abraham Lincoln Museum in Springfield, Illinois. 

One thing that surprised me was that Lincoln's bouts of depression and anxiety began in early childhood. I had always thought that the depression began while he was in the White House. However, he had an episode of delirium that lasted 3 days before he was even 18. Later in life he tried hard not to give in to these impulses. It would be interesting what diagnosis today's psychologists would come up with. I am sure the death of his mother when he was young was a factor but I have never heard any commentary on this subject.

The book does not tell us why Abe left home at 18 but if you really think about it, there had to be trouble at home. The book shows Abe having a good relationship with his step-mother. That leaves his father Thomas as the source of the family feud. Lincoln couldn't wait to get away so this relationship had to be tense. 

Wife Mary appears sympathetic until she reaches her 50s, around the time her husband is being considered to be a candidate for the Presidency. She has become a nag and has violent arguments with Abe. She even hit him with a piece of wood on his nose,causing it to bleed. Since I am female, my mind automatically goes to menopause as the cause of her outbursts. Again, I have never heard any realistic reasons ever being given for her mental disorder.

You will not be able to put this book down. I highly recommend it and am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

Follow You Home

Follow You Home is an eerie psychological thriller by Mark Edwards that was published in 2015. I selected it for the What's in a Name Reading Challenge and, boy, am I glad that I did. It was fantastic.  The story begins with Brits Daniel Sullivan and Laura Mackenzie traveling to Romania at the end of a two month trip through Europe.  Planning to marry and have children, they decide that they should have one last holiday together before family issues come in the way. They have already visited Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Hungary and Belgium and want to see Eastern Europe as a contrast to the traditional European sites. Daniel is an app developer and Laura works in marketing for a children's charity. After boarding a train to Romania, the couple meets Ion and Alina. Alina is a comic writer and Ion, well, he is a professional bully. When Ion convinces them to take a nap in a sleeping car that is unused, they wake up to find that their passports, credit cards, and phones are missing from their bags. Soon they are confronted by a train conductor who is checking tickets. After explaining that they were robbed, the conductor throws Daniel, Laura and Alina off the train. The terror begins but when the return to London, Daniel and Laura are emotionally unable to even mention what happened after they were let off that train in Breva, Romania. Laura begins to see ghosts and is the first to realize that something evil followed them home.

This is an atmospheric thriller. We don't know what actually happened in Breva until the midway point of the story when Daniel finally tells his psychologist what happened. I expected the couple to have seen something pretty horrific in order to substantiate their diagnoses of PTSD and Daniel's excessive drinking. Laura began seeing ghosts, something that she also dealt with in childhood. While it was bad, I expected more. The eerie atmosphere begins when they get home and Laura starts seeing Alina, who was killed in Breva, and other men whose faces they both remember seeing in Breva. Daniel believes that every person he tells about the horror he experienced is being murdered and he feels that all these events are connected. His psychologist is killed in a fire and his best friend kills himself one night when he was should actually be happy about getting a record contract. Connected? Maybe. I don't want to be a spoiler.  

I thought this was a fantastic story.  It kept my interest from the first pages all the way to the end. I am rating it only 4 out of 5 stars because I wanted the Breva horror show to be more dramatic.

The Cursed Heir

The Cursed Heir is the 2nd book in author Heather Atkinson's Alardyce House series. The series takes place in Edinburgh during the Victorian Era and in this installment of the series the family has gathered to celebrate the engagement of Alardyce House heir Robert to his childhood sweetheart Jane. For his mother Amy the moment is marred by the darkness she sees in Robert, a darkness that his biological father  Matthew had. Matthew was a criminal who beat and killed women and was hung for his crimes. Amy wants to prevent her son from the noose. However, reports are emerging about Robert beating female household staff. Amy fears that the streets of Edinburgh are not safe when Robert is in town. To make matters worse, the increasing distance between him and his step-father Henry threatens the peace of Henry's marriage to Amy. The only question is whether this most cursed heir will ruin the family's reputation forever or will a mother's love save them all.

This was an exciting page turner with alot of plot twists. The reader never knows when Robert is going to strike again or when other characters will prevent him from obtaining access to girls that he is interested in. The story begins several years after the first book ends. Since the family relationships are complex, I recommend that you read The Missing Girls of Alardyce House first. Even though I read the first book month or two ago, I found it difficult in the beginning to remember who hurt who previously.  While I loved The Cursed Heir, I think that The Missing Girls of Alardyce House was better.  Cursed Heir had less action but more family drama. The story ended with an unresolved cliff-hanger that won't be resolved until the third book of the series, His Fatal Legacy begins.  His Fatal Legacy was published last month on March 20, 2023.  I will be reading it next month.

4 out of 5 stars.

Clerical Errors

Dr. Diane M. Greenwood is the author of Clerical Errors. She describes herself as a low level ecclesiastical civil servant and is the retired diocesan director of education in Rochester. She wrote this series between 1991 and 1999. Her books span a time of turmoil in the Church of England when the issue of ordaining women as priests was debated. Clerical Errors was her first novel.

The story opens with Julia Smith sitting peacefully in the Medewich Cathedral after a job interview at the diocesan office when she hears a loud scream coming from the chapel. The housekeeper, Mrs. Sprigg, has found the severed head of a young vicar assigned to the cathedral in the baptismal font. Deaconess Theodora Braithwaite, the main character, and Julia look into the murder and other unusual incidents at the cathedral along with the help of Ian Caretaker who is, of course, the caretaker.

I found the book difficult to read. The writing seemed awkward as though it had been written in another era. However, the book was written in the 1990s. The plot was also difficult to follow. While Julia and another character named Dhani solved most of the mysteries, main character Theodora is the one who came up with the resolution of the murder toward the end of the story. Many of the clues that Theodora figured out were not mentioned in the story, which was odd. What I did enjoy was the Anglican Church setting. It was not enough, though, to carry the story.

The Path of the Crooked

The Path of the Crooked is a charming Christian cozy mystery. It is the first book in the Hope Street Church Mystery Series by Ellery Adams. It was originally published under the pen name Jennifer Stanley but the author revised the story and has published it under the pen name Ellery Adams. There were only three books in the original series and I am not sure whether she will continue to write novels for the series.

The main character is Cooper Lee. She is a copy machine repairman who has recently been dumped by her boyfriend of five years. While repairing a copier at a client's office Cooper meets Brooke Hughes, a member of the Hope Street Church. The two ladies have a short conversation wherein Brooke gives Cooper a church brochure and invites her to church. Cooper accepts the brochure and leaves.

Later that evening she considers whether to visit the church on the next Sunday. Her family sees the brochure and asks her if she will go. They also are devout Christians who hope Cooper will return to church after a several year absence. When she visits Hope Street Church a few weeks later Cooper meets the members of the Sunrise Bible Study group. During that initial meeting the news broke that Brooke Hughes had been murdered. Brooke's husband Wesley had been arrested for the murder and the group cannot believe that he killed his wife. They begin their own investigation hoping that they can free Wesley Hughes.

I absolutely loved this story. There were plenty of clues for the group to follow up on. I was surprised that the police did not play much into the investigation but perhaps they will in future installments of the series. The pace was perfect, not too fast and not too slow. The characters were memorable. Each Bible study member were quirky characters that made the sleuthing entertaining. Savannah is legally blind and is the leader of the group. Nathan is a love interest for Cooper. TV meteorologist Bryant, realtor Trish, Jake and Quinton complete the group. It was fascinating that the group did the sleuthing together. I have never read a book where there was more than one amateur sleuth. However, in this instance, it works. Cooper's family was also memorable. Her mother is constantly cooking and baking for people in need and reading about her foods made me hungry. There are recipes of hers at the back of the book. Cooper's sister Ashley is also quirky. Ashley is an overbearing lover of fashion, expensive restaurants and is a social climber. Cooper herself is interesting. She is a smoker who dresses in a masculine style and is fine to be by herself alot. All of these folks will contribute to fantastic storylines in the future.

The Path of the Crooked was an excellent read and I highly recommend it. 5 out of 5 stars.

Six Feet Deep Dish

Six Feet Deep Dish is the first book in a new cozy mystery series by Mindy Quigley. The main character is Delilah O'Leary and and she has just opened up a new pizzeria in Geneva Bay, Wisconsin. Funded by her rich fiance Sam Van Meter, Delilah is realizing her lifetime dream of owning a restaurant. To help her out is sous chef Sonya Dokter, a sassy, plus size woman who likes rockabilly fashion. The police detective is Al Capone's great-grandson Calvin Capone. A few other characters who work at the pizzeria round out the characters. 

Just after the restaurant's soft opening, Delilah's fiance dumps her and leaves her with their plus size cat Butterball. Delilah and Sam are polar opposites with Delilah being a type A person and Sam being laid back. Her aunt Biz and her caretaker Jeremy join the crowd on opening night. However, early in the evening Jeremy wheels Aunt Biz outside for some fresh air. Soon Delilah and her diners hear a gunshot and run outside. There they find Jeremy's body and a gun in Aunt Biz's hand. Aunt Biz denies killing Jeremy but doesn't know what happened. Detective Capone opens an investigation and threatens to run the new restaurant to the ground while pursuing Aunt Biz. In order to save her aunt, Delilah has to find out the identity of the killer.

This is an excellent start to a new series. There are several quirky characters to base future stories on. Sonya is always going to be the comedian with sassy remarks. I am going to love her the most. Detective Capone is a little stiff but I am certain that he will mellow out and probably be a love interest for Delilah. Daniel the bartender is a kayaker and Melody is the sacharine sweet hostess. Rabbit has just been released from jail and begged for a job to support his family. He's the dishwasher. I can think of many scenarios for future stories from this gang.

I love the pizzeria, Geneva and Chicago settings. Lake Geneva, Wisconsin is a well known weekend getaway for Chicagoans. The Chicago setting comes into play because Delilah decorated her restaurant with posters of Chicago mobsters. These settings alone will offer the author many plot premises.

The Six Feet story was well paced with plenty of twists and turns. I thoroughly enjoyed the novel and am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

The Papal Assassin's Curse

The Papal Assassin's Curse is the third book in a new series by S. J. Martin. Called the Papal Assassin's Series, the stories take place in the early Middle Ages in France and Rome. It was published on March 26, 2023.

The publisher's summary:

Piers De Chatillon, antihero, paid assassin, wealthy and powerful, now seems to have everything.  A beautiful, loving wife, thriving twin boys and the friendship of some of the most feared warriors in Europe.  Nonetheless, he has made dozens of enemies along the way, and one of them is prepared to risk everything to destroy him.

Europe in 1096 was a turbulent place.  Duke Robert's invasion of England has failed and he is trying to hold on to Normany while both of his brothers plot to take it.  Piers De Chatillon, as Papal Envoy, is trying to steer a ship through these troubled waters just as his uncle, Pope Urban, calls for a crusade to liberate the Holy Land. Duke Robert foolishly leads this crusade leaving Normandy in the hands of his brother, William Rufus.  At the same time, Chatillon receives an assassination request that shocks him.  He is offered a fortune to kill a king.

Meanwhile, Yusuf Ibn Hud, known as Sheikh Ishmael, one of he most brutal and feared pirates in the Mediterranean, is launching a plan to tear the hears out of Chatillon's world.  The pirate intends to snatch Pier's wife and children while Piers is on his way to Rome with the Crusaders.  Will Pier's friend, Edvard, and the Irish warlord, Finian Ui Neil be able to stop them, or will Chatillon lose everything?

This installment of the series was fantastic. Chatillon's wife and two sons are kidnapped by the Shiek Ismael at the beginning of the second third of the story and are to be sold as slaves. The Shiek's men separate Chatillon's wife Isabella from her sons and they travel in different directions on the European continent so as to impede efforts by Chatillon to save them. The chase was riveting and I think I felt as much fear as Isabella. My imagination went wild because I could see myself in her shoes. There are several maps at the back of the book of France and ports in the Mediterranean. It would have been helpful to place them at the beginning of the book because I didn't know they were there until I finished the book. 

The first third of the book was about Chatillon's friend and Irish warrior Finian Ui Neill. Finian's relative Padraig comes to visit and brings along Pierre. Padraig is friendly with Chatillon's wife and children but Pierre is anti-social and quick tempered. He is only allowed to stay with the family because he is with Finian's cousin.  I did not know where the story was going until Isabella was kidnapped. Looking back, it seems odd that so many pages were devoted to Padraig and Pierre's visit. 

The story ended with a cliffhanger and we won't know the outcome of the kidnapping until The Papal Assassin's Wrath is published in June 2023. I am way too excited for this release. 

The Flame Tree

The Flame Tree is the first book in a duology set in Hong Kong during WWII.  I was attracted to the book because of its beautiful cover and also because the setting was in China. I love reading asian fiction. However, this book was not as interesting to me as other asian fiction novels that I have read.

The publisher's summary:

In the spring of 1939, dashing young William Burton and the beautiful Constance Han set sail from London on the same ocean liner to Hong Kong. Romance blossoms while they enjoy games of deck quoits and spend sultry tropical evenings dancing under the stars. Connie is intrigued by Will’s talent for writing poetry, and she offers to give him Cantonese lessons to help him with his new job— a cadet in the colonial service.

But once in Hong Kong, Connie is constrained by filial duty towards her Eurasian parents, and their wish for her to marry someone from her own background. She can't forget Will however, and arranges to meet him in secret under the magnificent canopy of a flame of the forest tree— where she fulfills her promise to teach him to speak Chinese. Before too long, trouble looms as Japanese forces gather on the border between Hong Kong and mainland China. Will joins a commando group tasked with operating behind enemy lines, and Connie becomes involved in the fight against local fifth columnists.

When war breaks out, they find themselves drawn into a wider conflict than their battle against prejudice. Can they survive and achieve a future together? Or do forces beyond their control keep them forever apart?

The first half of the book was about Will and Connie's relationship. The second half was more war story with the author giving us a full account of the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong. I got bored reading about Will's military activities. When the plot returned to him and Connie, I became interested in the book again.  

The title of the book comes from the name of the tree under which Will and Connie would secretly meet in the botanical gardens. They were hidden from view when they sat under it which was important to Connie because her reputation would have been destroyed if people knew she was seeing a European man. Her marriage prospects would have taken a nose dive.  After a year of weekly secret meetings, Connie fell madly in love with Will and the relationship turned physical. She agreed to ask her father if they could marry, knowing he would day no. At this point, the Japanese invaded Hong Kong and the story switched from a romance to a war story.  

I enjoyed the Hong Kong setting. I felt that I was alongside Will as he experienced new places in the city. As he found delight in the culture,  I felt it too. Each restaurant and home that he visited was a new experience for him and I couldn't help but want to have that experience myself. 

I am not sure how to rate The Flame Tree. I only liked half of it but I am interested in reading part 2 of the duology, mainly to see what happens with Will and Connie.  I am giving it a 3 out of 5 stars.