The Woman in Cabin 10

The Woman in Cabin 10 is my selection for October's Clock Reading Challenge entry. Yes, I am late reading and reviewing this one but I was traveling in Japan last month. The story is advertised as a gripping psychological thriller but I beg to differ.

The publisher's summary:

In this tightly wound, enthralling story reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s works, Lo Blacklock, a journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins. The sky is clear, the waters calm, and the veneered, select guests jovial as the exclusive cruise ship, the Aurora, begins her voyage in the picturesque North Sea. At first, Lo’s stay is nothing but pleasant: the cabins are plush, the dinner parties are sparkling, and the guests are elegant. But as the week wears on, frigid winds whip the deck, gray skies fall, and Lo witnesses what she can only describe as a dark and terrifying nightmare: a woman being thrown overboard. The problem? All passengers remain accounted for—and so, the ship sails on as if nothing has happened, despite Lo’s desperate attempts to convey that something (or someone) has gone terribly, terribly wrong…

I really hated to feel I had to read the book in its entirety. The pace of the story was slow. If I remember correctly this author writes atmospheric mysteries. In this mystery sub-genre,  action takes second place to atmosphere. It definitely shows in this novel. I can see how it could be a nice psychological thriller if the pace was faster but gripping?  I don't think so. 

The main character, Lo, was too wretched to be able to conduct any investigation. She couldn't think straight because of lack of sleep and she was constantly drinking an alcoholic beverage. Experience tells me that there is no such thing as a lovable drunk so I could not like the protagonist. When a reader does not like the protagonist, it bodes a death knell for the book.

Sorry Ruth Ware. I just did not like this novel and cannot give it any rating.

The Last One at the Wedding

The Last One at the Wedding was my choice for the Calendar of Crime Reading Challenge last month. Due to my trip to Japan, I just got around to reading it this week. The book was published on October 8, 2024 and is a suspense novel about a father trying to save his daughter from a life-altering decision that will put everything he loves on the line.

The publisher's summary:

Frank Szatowski is shocked when his daughter, Maggie, calls him for the first time in three years. He was convinced that their estrangement would become permanent. He’s even more surprised when she invites him to her upcoming wedding in New Hampshire. Frank is ecstatic, and determined to finally make things right.

He arrives to find that the wedding is at a private estate—very secluded, very luxurious, very much out of his league. It seems that Maggie failed to mention that she’s marrying Aidan Gardner, the son of a famous tech billionaire. Feeling desperately out of place, Frank focuses on reconnecting with Maggie and getting to know her new family. But it’s difficult: Aidan is withdrawn and evasive; Maggie doesn’t seem to have time for him; and he finds that the locals are disturbingly hostile to the Gardners. Frank needs to know more about this family his daughter is marrying into, but if he pushes too hard, he could lose Maggie forever.

The title insinuates that the person who was the last guest at a wedding was the main character. This is not so. There was a character shown to be the last guest but she was a secondary character. The reason for the title is unclear to me. Perhaps I am missing something. The main characters were Frank and his daughter Maggie. Maggie did not seem realistic to me. All of the scenes that she was in were with her father Frank and she tried to avoid having any conversations with him, all while demanding that they spend time together. While that does not appear to be any different than other father/daughter relationships, Maggie had an aura of the supernatural. I am sure that the author was trying to create some suspense with Maggie's behavior but Maggie's behavior was off.

Frank, on the other hand, was an excitable person. Every time he spoke with Maggie he shared something negative, or someone, that she needed to avoid. Frank's instincts were spot on but his warnings to her were overkill. I can see people whom I know who have this trait and I try to avoid them just as Maggie avoided Frank, who was a realistic character in my mind.

The Gardner family characters all had something to hide. The mystery of the novel is slowly revealed as we read about their activities. Aiden Gardner, the groom, did not seem to want to marry Maggie and we don't know why until the end of the story. He was an odd ball character with much to hide. Aiden's father Errol is your typical billionaire. He also has a lot to hide and initially I thought that his business activities were the crux of the plot. This panned out somewhat but there is so much more about Errol than meets the eye. These two characters were the villains in the novel. Aiden's mother Catherine was also a mysterious character and I expected this mystery to be key to the plot. Once again, I was wrong but the author did a great job with her red herrings concerning the Gardners.

The setting was the Gardner's estate in Osprey Cove. The estate was hidden behind long roads that seem to go nowhere for several miles before you see the entrance. You did not even see the main house until you drove another mile inside the entrance. There was heavy security at the estate which felt odd to me. It was almost like the security that you would expect at a Middle East terrorist facility. All this security added another measure of mystery. After passing all of this security the reader sees the beautiful buildings, rolling green hills and a private lake. You expect to see perfection in the decor of the buildings and there is some of that. However, Frank's room had a lot of spiders. This dissonance created more mystery. 

All in all, this book was a fun read. I still have some questions about the title, Maggie's character and those spiders and I am still thinking about what they could mean. I am rating this  novel 4 out of 5 stars.

The Butcher Game

The Butcher Game was published in September 2024. It's the second book in a new serial killer series featuring Dr. Wren Muller as the main character. I reviewed the first book in the series, The Butcher and the Wren, here. The story has an alternating format where the reader sees the perspectives of both the serial killer and the medical examiner Dr. Wren Muller, a format I love.

The publisher's summary: 

Destruction follows the ruthless serial killer, Jeremy Rose, the Bayou Butcher, as he heads north to evade capture for his horrific crimes. As he seeks safe harbor with a former friend, he remains focused on unfinished business with forensic pathologist Dr. Wren Muller, the only target who’s ever escaped him—twice. But not this time. He’s determined to make Wren suffer, and he’s promised to make her play by his own twisted rules.

Still in shock over the harrowing encounter with her old nemesis, Wren is on forced medical leave in New Orleans, attempting to mend the deep scars of her traumatic past. But with growing evidence that Jeremy is leaving a fresh trail of mutilated victims across Massachusetts, Wren realizes the best way to heal is to renew her pursuit of this vicious killer. She sets her sights on Jeremy, only to discover that she may have walked directly into his trap. As their twisted cat-and-mouse game rachets up to a violent clash of good versus evil, Wren prepares to sacrifice everything to bring Jeremy to justice.

With intense true-to-life details from autopsy technician and Morbid podcast cohost, Alaina Urquhart, The Butcher Game is a gripping addition to the New York Times bestselling Dr. Wren Muller series.

As I mentioned above  the story is told from a dual point of view. Every other chapter alternated between Jeremy and Wren's perspective. This format is what made the book a page turner. I had to keep reading to find out what happened at the end of every chapter. Mentally I was telling myself to keep reading just one more chapter until I finished the book. 

I enjoyed reading Jeremy's backstory, how he came to be a killer. Learning what makes these people tick has always been intriguing for me. For Jeremy, his abusive mother affected him deeply. However, there is a clue that Jeremy may have been born a bad seed because his mother used to tell him from a young age that he became too obsessed with things. Can you be born with an obsessive trait? Does obsession drive serial killers?  Beats me. Wren on the other hand had a lifetime of trauma to process. In many ways she and Jeremy are similar. It was interesting that they grew up in the same community and even enjoyed each other’s company. While Wren is not a killer, she seemed more messed up than Jeremy. Even with all the information on Jeremy's backstory, we are not told how his personality split into making him a killer. We read more about Wren's traumatic past and how it made her what she is today.

Wren is a medical examiner. As such I was expecting to receive clues from the autopsies performed on the victims. There weren't any. All of the forensic information came from the scene of the crime. Basically, this amounted to Jeremy's calling cards. He always removed an organ from his victims and stabbed them in a particular manner. The descriptions were graphic. It would have been nice to read what these calling cards revealed about Jeremy and how the police used, or could have used, this information to find him. The information was not part of the reveal so I believe the author made a mistake in not pursuing this avenue.

All in all the book was a great read. It was a little dark in several places but I found it easy to overlook. 4 out of 5 stars.

Agony in Amethyst

Agony in Amethyst is the 5th book in the Harriet Gordon historical cozy mystery series. The series takes place in Singapore during the 1910s. It was a fantastic finale to the series and was published last month on October 28, 2024.

The publisher's summary:

Harriet Gordon, newly settled in her new role as a teacher at a girls' school in Singapore, faces uncertainty in her budding relationship with Robert Curran, who has just returned from months in Kuala Lumpur. Curran's expected promotion turns sour when the position is given to an old adversary from his Scotland Yard days.

The arrival of the Colonial foreign secretary, Sir Henry Cunningham, revives memories of one of Curran's unresolved cases. The death of a schoolgirl at a lavish ball, hosted by the Governor in honour of the visitor, brings Curran into direct conflict with his new superior officer. When he confides his suspicions to Harriet, she inadvertently betrays his trust, threatening his already shaky career.

With their relationship on the brink of irreparable damage, a second death changes the course of the investigation. Can Harriet and Curran bring justice to a grieving family and emerge from this ordeal with their connection intact?

I loved this novel! The past of the new foreign secretary Sir Henry Cunningham is the basis for the three deaths that occur in the story.  The first death is the murder of sixteen-year-old Amelia Hardcastle while at a ball celebrating the coronation of King George and the arrival of the Cunninghams. Amelia was thrown off of a balcony while wearing a beautiful amethyst colored dress and it was initially thought to be either a suicide or an accident. However, the position of the body doesn't show suicide. Her autopsy shows injuries to her head which happened before she fell.

Sir Henry dies in his sleep a few days later. Again, the position of his body shows he probably was killed and poison becomes the leading reason for his death. The powers that be would like these deaths to be swept under the rug but Curran will not let that happen. Then Lady Cunningham's maid is killed, further intensifying Curran's investigation.

There’s also a secondary plot that involves the search for some jewel thieves that will be fraught with personal danger for Robert Curran which is a given in the series. Curran always gets injured at least once in each book in the series. The personal relationship between Harriet and Curran has been developed over the course of 5 books and reaches new heights in Agony in Amethyst. I don't want to be a spoiler but the author gives us a very satisfactory finish for these characters.

The writing is superb as usual. You have to think hard about the evidence as it is presented and wonder how the clues come together. The perpetrators are not obvious until the end of the book, mainly because there are alot of villains to choose from. Through Curran we get to see a thorough police investigation.  There are several intriguing twists to weigh in determining the whodunnit, which I was unable to figure out. 

I am sad that the author has no plans to continue this series. She made this same statement after book number 3 but we are lucky to have received books 4 and 5. She did not say that we have seen the last of the Harriet and Curran characters though. Perhaps we will see them again in the future. The author has left that possibility open. 

5 out of 5 stars.

Pike Island

Pike Island is a political mystery set in Washington DC and Minnesota. It is about a young rising congressman from Minnesota whose shadowy past threatens to end his career and his future shot at the presidency. It was published on November 1, 2024.

The publisher's summary:  

Andrew Harrison “Harry” Leonard is destined for politics. Getting his start on the Rochester City Council, he quickly rose to become the youngest representative in Congress. Now the up-and-comer from Minnesota is on the brink of something big. If all goes well, he’ll be in perfect position to aim for the presidency.

Then a postcard arrives, blank except for the name on the address: Andy Leonard. Harry hasn’t used that name since high school. Krista Walsh, Harry’s chief of staff, recognizes his old moniker, and when he dodges questions about it, she wonders what he’s trying to hide. She soon discovers the lake pictured on the postcard holds secrets too.

Krista’s investigation into Harry’s past uncovers the truth of what happened one fateful teenage summer. But as disturbing details come to light, how far will Krista go to keep Harry’s career—and her own—headed to the top?

This story is told in an alternating format with one plot dated back 20 years ago and the other in the current time period. I must admit the subplot from 20 years ago was more interesting than the present where Congressman Leonard and his staff set about covering up something he was involved in after high school graduation. Shortly after their high school graduation Harry Leonard and his three best friends went on a weeklong vacation to friend Jake Nelson's family lake house on Cedar Lake. Along with Harry, known as Andy at the time, and Jake were Ryan and Seth. This foursome had no real plans for the week other than drinking, boating and sunning. Their curiosity got the better of them when they decided to sail to Pike Island which had been uninhabited during its entire history.

Jake tells his buddies about an old abandoned mansion on the island that had been built by a wealthy man who died before he could move in. The mystery surrounding the home included lore about furniture being delivered there as well as clothing in the closets. One room had several pairs of children's shoes neatly lined up. However, the owner had never married or had kids. The teens' immaturity and drunkeness sent them to the island but they were stopped by a MN Department of Natural Resources cop who questioned them. Officer Schroeder let them go with a warning not to encroach on the island. However, they did just that and regretted it later.  

It seemed like Andy was the main character in the early plot but I feel that it was Jake. The mystery surrounding the island is revealed by him and he was in control of the vacation because the teens were lodging at his family's home. Also, his character brought us the mystery surrounding the hate mail Andy's Congressional office was receiving. Jake is furious with Andy over what Andy did on that island. Andy's actions are the basis of both subplots and it was a riveting tale that kept me reading the story.

Seth and Ryan don't play much of a role in the plot. Jake, Andy and Andy/Harry's chief of staff Krista are the prominent characters that pushed the story forward. The mystery of what happened on the island is slowly revealed by Krista’s investigation into her boss. She did some internet and library research as well as interviewing the other three teens, now adults. Her reaction to what she discovered is classic Washington. I liked her much more at the end of the book. 

I enjoyed reading this novel and am rating it 4 out of 5 stars. While the mystery was entertaining I don't feel that it is a thriller which it is advertised as being. 

An Age of Winters

An Age of Winters is a historical mystery set in Germany in 1625. The plot concerns the witch trials that occurred in Germany and the execution of those found guilty. It was published yesterday. 

The publisher's summary:

In 1625, the Franconian village of Eisbach has been plagued by disease, famine, heinous crimes, and a merciless winter. Katarin Jaspers is the maidservant to the enigmatic Reverend Zacharias Engel, appointed by Rome to cure the village of suspected diabolism and save every God-fearing soul.

Zacharias soon finds his first witch, and the public burning of a local man could spell the end of misfortune. As a sense of peace settles over the village, Katarin finds herself increasingly infatuated with Zacharias, who is a disruption to her predictable existence and a balm for her cruel past. But peace for Katarin is short-lived. Margaretha Katz—the new midwife—is seen as a rival for the reverend’s attention. Fear and recrimination reach a fever pitch when a great tragedy sets the town fully on edge.

With the walls of winter closing in around Eisbach once again, rumours flourish and villagers turn on each other. Now, no one is safe from the pyre.

The book had an interesting plot but the action was low-key. While many residents of Eisbach were accused and executed for witchcraft, there was no overriding concern to find one person responsible for the several child murders that had occurred. Everyone assumed the devil took their lives because their bodies were mutilated. We read about out one wealthy townsperson after another accused of witchcraft by those who wanted their property. Although there was no search for one villain as you would see in a typical mystery, the story kept me interested and reading even though there was no suspense ending the chapters. The historical part of the book was more prominent than the plot. Even so, I enjoyed the book despite it's dark storyline. 

4 out of 5 stars.

The Real Watergate Scandal

I have been a follower of the America's Untold Stories You Tube Channel. The channel hosts recently interviewed Geoff Shepard who wrote this book on the Watergate scandal. Shepard worked in the Nixon White House and has an intriguing viewpoint on the scandal. This book was published in 2015.

The publisher's summary:

“The system worked’—Carl Bernstein’s famous assessment of Watergate—turns out to be completely wrong. Powerful new evidence reveals that in the prosecution of the most consequential scandal in American history, virtually nothing in the justice system worked as it should.

The roles of heroes and villains in Watergate were assigned before Marine One carried Richard Nixon into exile on August 9, 1974. But Geoff Shepard’s patient and persistent research has uncovered shocking violations of ethical and legal standards by the "good guys”—including Judge John Sirica, Archibald Cox, and Leon Jaworski.

The Watergate prosecutors’ own files reveal their collusion with the federal judges who tried their cases and heard their appeals—professional misconduct so extensive that the pretense of a fair trial is now impossible to maintain.

Shepard documents that the Watergate Special Prosecution Force was an avenging army drawn from the ranks of Nixon’s most ardent partisan foes. They had the good fortune to work with judges who shared their animus or who quickly developed a taste for the media adulation showered on those who lent their power to the anti-Nixon cause.

In the end, Nixon’s fall was the result of the “smoking gun” tape recording in which he appeared to order a cover-up of the Watergate burglary. Yet in a stunning revision of the historical record, Shepard shows that that conversation, which he himself was the first to transcribe, was taken out of context and completely misunderstood—an interpretation with which Nixon’s nemesis John Dean concurs.

Crimes were committed, and an attempt was made to cover them up. But by trampling on the defendants’ right to due process, the Watergate prosecutors and judges denied the American people the assurance that justice was done and destroyed the historical reputation of an exceptionally accomplished president and administration. This book will challenge everything you think you know about the Watergate scandal.

Author Geoff Shepard believes that the Nixon resignation was a coup d'etat and that Nixon should not have had to resign the presidency. Normally I would reject such a notion as a conspiracy theory. Having lived through Watergate I believe that I know everything about it because I read many newspapers around the time that it occurred. However, since Shepard worked in the White House as a lawyer at the time of the scandal, I believe that his opinion matters. Shepard's main argument is that the judges hearing separate Watergate cases met together several times with prosecutors and colluded to bring down a president that they opposed politically. This reasoning does not ring true for me. 

Leon Jaworski and John Sirica were at the juxtaposition of the case. Leon Jaworski served as the second special prosecutor during the Watergate scandal. John Sirica,  as a D.C. District Court judge, was responsible for hearing a request by Jaworski to force Nixon to turn over evidence. Jaworski had issued a subpoena for the tapes of 64 presidential conversations to use as evidence in the criminal cases against indicted former Nixon administration officials. Sirica issued an order granting the request. Nixon refused and Jaworski followed up with an appeal to the U. S. Supreme Court and won the appeal. Nixon, with his back to the wall and having been impeached by the House of Representatives, chose to leave office.

Years later the author obtained full copies of the judicial record of each case. Inside those boxes of documents he uncovered contact between the prosecution and the Judiciary that the defendants were not aware of. It is true that if one party in a lawsuit contacts a judge, that a copy of the request to see the judge must be given to all parties and all the parties must be present together with the judge in any meeting. Also, there is alot of case law overturning convictions based on this type of due process violation. However, it happens all the time in the U. S. and usually to people no one will ever know or care about.

My question for the author is "who cares" if this happened to Nixon. Shepard acknowledges in the book that crimes were committed and that Nixon was "flawed." OK. He admits Nixon is guilty. So what if there was a technical violation of the law. It happens every day in this country and to people who are not guilty of a crime. It is hard to feel any pity for Nixon who was guilty. Not only was he guilty of several crimes but he tarnished the office of the presidency. I feel no compassion for him and reject the author’s premise that the resignation was a coup d'etat. 

Nixon resigned in order to receive a pension. If he stayed in office and was removed after a trial in the Senate, then he would lose his pension based on official misconduct. Nixon did not want to risk losing his pension. That was his decision to make. It was not forced upon him. It was not scandalous for him to choose this path and was not the "real" scandal in this matter. Therefore, I reject the author’s premise that the resignation was a scandal and a coup d'etat.

I am rating the book 3 out of 5 stars mainly because the material was not presented in chronological order. I understand what Shepard is saying because I lived through Watergate. Younger generations may not understand and will need to have the facts laid out in order.

Family Money

I woke up at 2 am last night and couldn't go back to sleep. I found the synopsis of Chad Zunker's Family Money on Kindle Unlimited. I loved the summary and immediately picked up a copy of it. I read the book right away. It was absolutely wonderful! 

The publisher's summary:

Alex Mahan is married to his high school sweetheart, Taylor. They have two daughters and a beautiful home, and Alex’s startup business is about to explode thanks to massive private funding from his compassionate and supportive father-in-law, Joe. With millions more to come, all is perfect—until Joe is abducted and murdered during a family trip in Mexico.

Alex’s world is about to be turned upside down. He can’t bear to tell his grieving wife why. The man they’ve both idolized has been keeping secrets. The pledged millions are nowhere to be found. The source of the original investment is a mystery, even to Joe’s financial adviser. No one, it seems, has any idea who the man they knew, loved, and trusted really was.

As Alex digs deeper into Joe’s shadowy life, the most shocking surprises are yet to come. Deadly ones, too, because every lie that Alex uncovers in Joe’s dark past puts his family in more danger.

There was so much suspense in the first chapter that I was completely hooked. This story was so, so good. Every chapter ended with a cliffhanger that kept me reading. The characters were realistic and I loved all of them, except for the two "adorable" screaming kids. Alex's thought process on how to protect his family was believable but I knew that some of his decisions would not turn out well. I could almost hear violins playing in the background as there is a Twilight Zone feel to the story. Taylor was a dull character. Her father Joe on the other hand was uber pleasant. He was such a lovely man that it was hard to believe later on in the story that he had secrets. Joe did not seem to be that kind of guy. He was solid. As Alex kept researching Joe's life he found puzzling facts and that ratcheted up the suspense a notch or two. The ending was shocking as I expected it would be given the plot. 

This is an amazing thriller. Readers of all genres will love this novel. 5 out of stars.

Art Club

Art Club Dare to Create was published on February 6, 2024. The story was inspired by the author’s own childhood and paints a picture of an aspiring young artist on a mission to prove that the arts are worth fighting for. The book was written with 8 - 12 year olds in mind and it is a graphic novel.

The publisher's summary:

Dale Donavan has heard the same lecture over and over again: Art will get you nowhere in life. A kid with a creative streak, Dale wants nothing more than to doodle, play video games, and create comics forever—maybe even as a full-time job one day. But between his grandfather pushing him to focus on his studies and a school with zero interest in funding arts programs, Dale feels like his future has already been decided for him. 

That is, until he comes up with the perfect plan: What if he starts an after-school art club, gathers a team of creative students like himself, and proves all the naysayers—his stubborn vice principal in particular—wrong? This might just work, but if the club isn’t financially successful by the end of the semester, the school with shut them down. This may be Dale’s only chance to show the adults in his life that a career as an artist is not just a dream but a possibility! 

The club doesn't get going until the halfway point in the story. The first half sets up the reason it was created as well as all of the obstacles that were put in the kids' way. The main obstacle is Mr. Ruffins, the school vice principal. He tasked the students with researching and writing a paper on a well paying career they are interested in. He hopes students will pursue math or science. Dale only likes reading comics so he takes a risk in writing his paper on the cartoonist field. This backfires on Dale but he convinces another teacher to sponsor an art club to show Ruffins that it can be profitable. If the club fails, Dale will flunk his class. 

The book teaches that there are many choices a student has to make before pursuing an art career. Dale is interested in becoming a comic book creator who does his own illustrations. Other students in the club like creating video games, drawing and fundraising. Their sponsor, Miss Jen'ae, begins with teaching the club members about different types of art and even takes them on field trips to art shows and comic conventions. Dale ultimately hopes that his school will resume teaching art classes.

Of course, there is a happy ending. Art Club is a fun read and is an ideal reading choice for a youngster interested in art. 5 out of 5 stars.

Saving Sunshine

Saving Sunshine is a graphic novel about Muslim American siblings who must learn how to stop fighting and support each other in a world that is often unkind to them. They are always being teased for having a funny sounding name or wearing a hijab. It was published in 2023 and won several awards including a Kirkus Best Book of the year and the New York Public Library Best Book for Kids for the year.

Zara and Zeeshan Aziz are twins who really can't stand each other. During a family trip to Florida where their mother received an award for best pediatrician of the year, their bickering, shoving, and insults reached new heights of chaos. As punishment, their parents sentenced them to the worst possible fate: confiscation of their cell phones and each other’s company! They are instructed to always stay together while their parents attend a medical conference. They are depressed beyond belief. Zeeshan loves to watch NASA videos on his phone while Zara takes photos of animals for her animal rescue group. However, when the twins find an ailing turtle whom Zara named Sunshine, it presents a rare opportunity for teamwork if, of course, the two can put their differences aside.

The book was written for kids aged 8 - 12. It's a sweet story with gorgeous watercolor drawings in muted tones. The Aziz family has to deal with alot of Islamophobia. The parents were born in Pakistan but emigrated to the U. S. as adults. The twins were born in New York but their classmates didn't accept them as true Americans. Mrs. Aziz wears a hijab and always encounters alot of stares and rude comments.

There were many facts about animals and outer space interspersed throughout the story which I enjoyed. It's always nice to learn something from a book. The book is a fast read and I recommend it for adults as well as kids of any age.

5 out of 5 stars.

The Sound of a Thousand Stars

I was immediately drawn into this story from the first chapter. The story is about two young Jewish physicists who work at Los Alamos under Dr. Robert Oppenheimer during WWII. The book has an alternating plot that alternates between the perspectives of our heroine Alice in the 1940s and Haruki in the 1960s. Haruki is an old man who survived the bombing of Hiroshima. Alice is a physicist who is working toward a Ph.d Both plots were entertaining. This novel will be published on October 8, 2024 

The publisher's summary:  

Alice Katz is a young Jewish physicist, one of the only female doctoral students at her university, studying with the famed Dr. Oppenheimer. Her well-to-do family wants her to marry a man of her class and settle down. Instead, Alice answers her country’s call to come to an unnamed city in the desert to work on a government project shrouded in secrecy.

At Los Alamos, Alice meets Caleb Blum, a poor Orthodox Jew who has been assigned to the explosives division. Around them are other young scientists and engineers who have quietly left their university posts to come live in the desert.

No one seems to know exactly what they are working on—what they do know is that it is a race and that they must beat the Nazis in developing an unspeakable weapon. In this atmosphere of fear and uncertainty, and despite their many differences, Alice and Caleb find themselves drawn to one another.

The book was inspired by the author’s grandparents and is her debut novel. I was expecting a story where the main character's Jewish faith was either prominent or a problem for her. After all, the book summary discusses two Jewish characters. However, just about every character working at Los Alamos was Jewish. The faith didn't have much part in the story other than in the character descriptions. The book is basically a historical romance although Alice wasn't the romantic type. Caleb more than made up for her. He could not stop dreaming about Alice all day and night. Caleb felt inferior to her both because of her family's wealth and her physicist work at the ranch. 

The work of the scientists was not developed. I guess that since the work among them was secret that the author did not write much about their experiments into the plot. It's possible that the actual history of the research they were doing is still confidential and that the author did not find anything specific about it in her research for the book. The reader is only allowed to see the parties the scientists attended and whatever they did in their off hours.

I am rating  novel 4 out of 5 stars. Please note that I received an advanced review copy of this book from Librarything's Early Reviewer's Club in exchange for an honest review.

Enlighten Me

Enlighten Me is a graphic novel by Minh Le. It features a young boy named Binh who gets in trouble at school after he hits another boy who has been bullying him over his Vietnamese heritage. He is afraid of being suspended but only receives a verbal warning from the vice principal at his school.  During the summer break, Binh's parents take him and his two sisters on a silent meditation retreat. Binh has to turn in his electronics and refrain from talking for an entire weekend. Of course, he is bored. However, when a Buddhist nun gathers all the kids to tell them the Jataka tales - the stories of the Buddha’s many past lives - Bình takes a fantastical dive into his imagination and starts to see himself in these stories. The questions remains, will he retreat further into himself or will he emerge from the weekend open to change?

This is a funny story written for kids 9 - 12. I learned a few new facts about the life of the Buddha that I have not read elsewhere in adult books. The Jakarta tales were new to me and I want to learn about all of them. While Bình is the protagonist of the story, the book is really an introduction into the life of Buddha. I was impressed that Bình found peace at the retreat but I guess that is the whole point of the book. The fact that he obtained this in the short span of a weekend seems like a fairy tale but, then again, it's a children's book.

5 out of 5 stars.

The Girl in Apartment 9

I selected this book for the Clock Reading Challenge. In this challenge I need to read books with numbers 1 through 12 in the title. This book is the 20th book in the Emma Griffin FBI Mystery Series. There are 32 books in the series to date.

The publisher's summary:

There once was a girl. A beautiful girl with the world at her palms. But then the girl slowly and surely discovered, the world she once loved was nowhere to be found. Happiness and hope? That’s for fairy tales. There’s no prince charming to the rescue, no knight in shining armor. And for the Girl in Apartment 9? Well, her story is about to be told...

FBI Agent Emma Griffin has had to overcome many obstacles throughout her life to get to her happily ever-after. But somehow death and destruction always loomed over her shoulders. When she is asked by her neighbor Paul to find Sydney Parker, a girl that has gone missing from a nearby college, Emma jumps on the case. On the surface, Sydney seems like a high-achiever. A good student, a good daughter, and a girl that champions for mental health awareness. So, what could have possibly happened to cause her to vanish from her apartment? Did she leave on her own or was she taken?

I had some difficulty becoming interested in the story. I was expecting a thriller that would catch my interest from the start. However, this is a murder mystery. There is nothing wrong with that but because the most recent mysteries I have read were thrillers, I assumed this book would follow suit. It took me several chapters before becoming interested in the plot.

Note that if discussion of suicide is a trigger for you then you will want to skip reading this book. The story focuses on depression, anxiety and other mental health problems with a plot that has a character leading young adults to kill themselves. I didn't particularly care for this aspect of the novel but wasn't bothered by it either. The heroine, Emma Griffin, had several cases to resolve. She only dealt with one case, the Emperor's case, wherein Emma realized that the students who were missing had actually committed suicide.

The negativity surrounding the issue of suicide pretty much kept me from enjoying the story. The plot was well developed with an appropriate number of twists and turns. However, this novel did not interest me much.

3 out of 5 stars.

My Husband’s Affair

Ruth Heald is one of my favorite authors. She recently published a new psychological thriller on April 10, 2024. Her books are always mesmerizing with plenty of suspense so I picked up a copy of it. It did not disappoint and, as the advertising says, it is unputdownable.

The publisher's summary:

I thought I had the perfect marriage. But as our beautiful children sleep soundly in the next room, I stare at the messages between my husband Rob and another woman, their promises to run away together bringing tears to my eyes. My heart stops when I see the latest one: ‘Leave my wife to me. I’ll get rid of her.’

My blood runs cold. I know this woman. I’ve let her into my home, where she’s bounced my rosy-cheeked baby on her knee. She could ruin my life in moments – she knows things about me even Rob doesn’t…

They think they can get rid of me so easily. They think they can just tear apart the perfect life we’ve built. But they've made a mistake underestimating me. He doesn't know I've uncovered his secrets. And now I know just enough to destroy him.

I can play the perfect wife for just a little longer. I’ll do anything to protect my children and my life. And he has no idea just how far I’ll go…

The story was one wild ride. The identity of the mistress was easy to figure out but because earlier books by Heald had many uncertainties, I could not be sure. Heald is known for throwing her readers for a loop. I kept thinking about all the female characters as possible mistresses. I didn't particularly like the main character Jen. She was a stepford wife whose only goal in life was to keep a clean home for her husband and cook his dinners, which was always later than when his kids ate. Jen lived to please him. When she finally got sick of that husband Jen sought revenge. She was more likeable as an angry wife.

Jen has two close friends, Natasha and Amy. One is in love with Jen and the other is in love with Rob. Jen doesn't know any of this until at least page 250 of this 350 page novel. Rob is the perfect villain. He not only cheats on his wife but he doles out money for household expenses only as they are needed. Jen does not have any money of her own but isn't aware of it because he always gives her what she needs. Any other woman would see him as controlling and demand access to bank accounts.

Lots of plot twists kept coming and it was hard to tell how this story was going to end because these relationships were weird. I wasn't sure which character was going to come out in top. I hoped Jen would win in the end but, hey, I'm not going to tell you. Read the book. It's awesome!

5 out of 5 stars.

Japanese Dolls

Japanese Dolls: The Fascinating World of Ningyo, has a wealth of information for Japanese art collectors such as myself. I am planning to visit Japan in a few weeks and I bought this book to help me select souvenirs. It is a nice coffee table book too.

The book is full of beautiful photographs and details 18 different kinds of widely collected antique and vintage dolls and figurines (ningyo). Author Alan Scott Pate writes in detail about the history of each type of doll and shares practical tips on how to collect this amazing Japanese art form. Information on several artists who create the dolls is also included.

Included in this guide to Japanese dolls are:

• Festival dolls: hina-ningyo, musha-ningyo, tableau dolls

• Display dolls: saga-ningyo, gosho-ningyo, isho-ningyo, iki-ningyo

• Wood dolls: kamo-ningyo, nara-ningyo, kokeshi-ningyo

• Clay dolls: fushimi-ningyo, hakata-ningyo

• Mechanical dolls: karakuri-ningyo, kobe-ningyo

• Theatrical dolls: bunraku-ningyo, takeda-ningyo

• Play dolls: ichimatsu-ningyo, keue saiko

It's amazing to me that there are so many different names for the dolls. Perhaps we have similar descriptions for types of dolls in English but at the moment I can't think of any. Personally, I am interested in festival and wood dolls. The history and traditions of them was interesting reading as was the information on how to care for them. At the end of the book is a list of dealers in Japan, the U. S. and Europe. If I run out of money in Japan at least I know that I can still get them.

Most of the pages are filled with photos. This is a wonderful book to peruse off an on. It's relaxing to read a few pages with a cup of coffee. 5 out of 5 stars.

Twice on Christmas

I selected Twice on Christmas for the Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge. It is a psychological thriller by McGarvey Black and it was published in 2023. This is the second book of his that I have read and he is now one of my favorite authors.

The publisher's summary:

After choir practice for midnight mass, college sophomore Rose Grandon takes a short-cut through Harbor Park. Grabbed from behind, she is violently assaulted, beaten and left for dead. The last thing she hears is a tenor voice singing Silent Night. Several hours later, the police find Rose lying in a ditch. Badly beaten - but alive. As she recovers in hospital, Rose is told she's pregnant. She has a terrible choice to make. She decides to keep the baby. Nine months later, she gives birth to a beautiful baby girl. She names her Mary. Rose lives quietly in her small Connecticut hometown raising her daughter - the one good thing to come out of her horrible ordeal. She begins to get her old self back. But her evil attacker has never been caught. He strikes twice a year. Once on Christmas Eve, once on Christmas Day. And until he's behind bars, Rose and her baby can never be safe. But now he's found out he has a daughter. And that changes everything . . .

This story was incredibly fast paced. Each chapter ended with sky-high suspense that kept me reading from page 1 until the end in one sitting. The ending was shocking and I am still thinking about it several days after finishing my read.

The police investigation took place over fifteen years. There weren't a lot of clues to follow up on as the perpetrator only killed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. He also did not kill in the same state twice so local law enforcement initially did not connect the crimes. A FBI Agent figured out the connection but, still, there were not enough clues to determine the identity of the perp. For the first half of the book, the time period of the chapters was one year after the last chapter. The reader sees a new assault and murder in every chapter and this ratcheted up the suspense.

Rose stopped dating men after her attack. She began to have coffee dates with male family friends and two priests who served at her church after about 12 or 13 years. They all made her feel uncomfortable so she always stopped these casual dates. Her daughter had behavior issues but not with her new 3rd grade teacher, David Zeliga and a new priest in her parish, Thomas Villane. Mary was prone to hitting other children at school and drew horrifying pictures of stick figures attacking people with knives. The reader gets the feeling that these new folks in Rose's life could be the perp. The aha moment in law enforcement resolution of the crimes came toward the very end. I won't tell you what it is but I must admit that the author came up with a brilliant connection between the crimes.

Twice on Christmas is a scary story that sticks with you for days. I am rating it way over 5 out of 5 stars. You simply must read this book.

By Evening's Light

I was lucky to receive a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.  It was published on August 20, 2024 by Bethany House and is an Amish fiction story.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the novel. Treva is the main character. She was raised Mennonite but after her parents died both she and her sisters were taken in by their Amish grandparents. From her grandparents Treva learned about a great-great aunt, Rosene, who suffered under the Nazis. The book alternates chapters between their respective stories. Treva has recently returned to Pennsylvania following a mission in Haiti. While there, Treva broke up with her boyfriend Zeke. Treva had planned to move to Alaska but she missed her expected leave date because her family needed her help. Treva’s quandary is whether she will be able to move to Alaska or whether to stay on the family farm.

I loved that the story was about Amish folks in post WWII Germany. We don’t usually see this topic in Amish fiction. I also loved the contemporary feel of the book and was impressed that Treva had been on a mission. I was not aware that the Amish went on missions. Now that this author on my radar I am planning to read more books written by her.

4 out of 5 stars.

Ash's Cabin

Ash's Cabin is a coming of age graphic novel by Jen Wang. It was published on August 13, 2024 and has been written for young adults in grades 10 through 12. 

The publisher's summary:

Ash has always felt alone. Adults ignore the climate crisis. Other kids Ash’s age are more interested in pop stars and popularity contests than in fighting for change. Even Ash’s family seems to be sleepwalking through life. The only person who ever seemed to get Ash was Grandpa Edwin. Before he died, he used to talk about building a secret cabin deep in the California wilderness. Did he ever build it? What if it’s still there, waiting for him to come back…or for Ash to find it? To Ash, that cabin is starting to feel like the perfect place for a fresh start and an escape from the miserable feeling of alienation that haunts her daily life.  But making the wilds your home isn’t easy. And as much as Ash wants to be alone…can she really be happy alone?  

 

The publisher's website states that this graphic novel tackles the topic of gender identity. I was not aware of this until the ending and I looked up the book. A classmate places her hand on Ash's hand and Ash's face lights up. I feel a little stupid for not picking up on the new masculine name but in my defense let me say the reader doesn't know what Ash's name originally was. In fact, in the first chapter I thought Ash was male. Her desire to learn survival skills didn't cause me to suspect anything either. It just sounded like a great adventure. Her withdrawal from her high school classmates didn't make me suspicious either. Half the kids in school are withdrawn. My only clue that she was gay was that hand.

I would not categorize the book as LGBTQ fiction. It's about Ash's six month long plan to camp in the wilderness and then her execution of the plan. She takes her beloved dog Chase with her and, as an animal lover, I enjoyed their exploits. She was only supposed to be gone two weeks but Ash lasted 42 days in the wilderness. After Chase became injured Ash should have taken him home. She didn't and that upset me some.

All things considered, Ash's Cabin was a fun read. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Secret War of Julia Child

I have always loved Julia Child. I learned how to cook from her TV programs on public television. When I  saw this ARC on Net Galley, I immediately requested it. The book did not disappoint. It was fantastic.  The book will be published next month.

The publisher's summary:  

Before she mastered the art of French cooking in midlife, Julia Child found herself working in the secrets trade in Asia during World War II, a journey that will delight both historical fiction fans and lovers of America's most beloved chef, revealing how the war made her into the icon we know now.

Single, 6 foot 2, and thirty years old, Julia McWilliams took a job working for America's first espionage agency, years before cooking or Paris entered the picture. The Secret War of Julia Child traces Julia's transformation from ambitious Pasadena blue blood to Washington, DC file clerk, to head of General "Wild Bill" Donovan's secret File Registry as part of the Office of Strategic Services.

The wartime journey takes her to the Far East, to Asia's remote frontlines of then-Ceylon, India, and China, where she finds purpose, adventure, self-knowledge – and love with mapmaker Paul Child. The spotlight has rarely shone on this fascinating period of time in the life of ("I'm not a spy") Julia Child, and this lyrical story allows us to explore the unlikely world of a woman in World War II spy station who has no idea of the impact she'll eventually impart.

Before starting my read, I was aware of Julia's WWII work for the OSS. This part of her life was included in a biography, Appetite for Life. I was interested in finding out if this historical fiction account of her life had more information. It didn't. The author stated on her website that she spent months doing research but many details could not be confirmed. If you have never heard of Julia Child that should not affect your enjoyment of the novel. It reads like any good spy novel with some romance thrown in. 

As the grand-daughter of a railroad tycoon, Julia grew up wealthy in Sacramento, CA. When WWII broke out many kids from wealthy families were able to obtain these plush jobs with the OSS. Julia was one of them. She wanted some adventure before marrying and bearing children. She initially traveled to India but was soon sent to nearby Ceylon, now known as Sri Lanka. It was here where she met her future husband Paul Child. After a tumultuous six months, Julia was reassigned to China where she worked under Louis Mountbatten. You can't make this stuff up! While not hired to be a spy, it was soon evident to her bosses that she had talents and she managed to ferret out a double spy. While in China Julia found that two compatriots were double spies also. One was executed for treason and the other spent the rest of her life in prison. It is around these facts that the author spun her tale. The story ends with the conclusion of the war in Japan when she and Paul become engaged. 

5 out of 5 stars.

Tender

Tender was published on March 12, 2024. It is a psychological thriller in comic format and is the author's debut graphic novel.

The publisher's summary:

Carolanne wanted a perfect wedding, a perfect husband, a perfect family. She carefully performs her own roles (gal pal, bestie, girlfriend, wife, and expectant mother) and manipulates those around her to try and get the results she wants. Her desire to control the uncontrollable ultimately becomes her undoing. When things don't go her way, she exerts dominance over the one thing she does have total control over: her body; until that "betrays" her. After suffering a horrible loss, Carolanne spirals into a literal, all-consuming delusion causing her body to produce symptoms of a hysterical pregnancy ― as a result of her slicing off bits of her own flesh and eating them.

Chicago cartoonist and educator Beth Hetland’s graphic novel debut is a brilliant psychological thriller that tears down the wall of a genre ― body horror ― so often identified with male creators. Heady and visceral, Tender uses horrific tropes to confront women’s societal expectations of self-sacrifice despite those traditional roles often coming at the expense of female sexuality and empowerment.

 

I won't lie. After finishing the book I had to read the summary above in order to figure out what I just read. The story alternates between time periods as you would see with any psychological thriller. However, I was not expecting it and was confused as to what happened in Carolanne's life. A re-read helped me understand.

The horror aspect of the book is from Carolanne's self mutilation. We only have illustrations to know she was doing this to herself. Some of the illustrations were so jarring that I couldn't look at them. It's only apparent that Carolanne was trying to have a perfect life from these drawings and that the pressure she put on herself had to come out somewhere. We read about her striving for the perfect relationship, perfect wedding and perfect motherhood. Unfortunately none of that actually happened.

The ending was unexpected. I am still thinking about it a week after reading the novel and have a sinking feeling in my stomach. The author deserves accolades for writing the usual date, wedding, baby story from the horror genre. It works.

Not recommended for kids. The drawings have nudity and self-mutilation. 5 out of 5 stars.