Wrap Up of 2025 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge

I came close to completing this challenge. Book titles beginning with the letters C, J, Q, T, U, X, Y, and Z were not read although I already have those books in my stash. Time ran out on me. I will read them next year. Links to the book reviews for the 18 books that I read can be found below.

A:  The Amish Quiltmaker's Unruly In-Law by Jennifer Beckstrand 

B:  Black is the Color by Julia Gofrorer

D:  Death at a Scottish Wedding by Lucy Connelly 

E:  Edge of Honor by Brad Thor 

F:  First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston 

G:  Ginseng Roots by Craig Thompson

H:  High Tea and Misdemeanors by Laura Childs 

I:   An Inside Job by Dan Silva 

K:  The Keeper of Lost Art by Laura Morrelli

L:  The Lindens by Barney Jeffries 

M: The Medici Return by Steve Berry 

N:  No Roast for the Weary by Cleo Coyle 

O:  Old Habits Die Hard by Melissa Westemeier 

P:  The Pot Thief Who Studied Calvin by J Michael Orenduff 

R:  Rising Sun Falling Rain by Trish Devine

S:  Sleep in Heavenly Pizza by Mindy Quigley 

V:  The Verifiers by Jan Pek 

W: The World's Fair Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini 

Favorite Book:  Ginseng Roots

Second Favorite Book:  The Keeper of Lost Art

Least Favorite Book:  Rising Sun Falling Rain

Ginseng Roots: A Memoir

It's always a pleasure to find hard cover copies of graphic novels by my favorite cartoonists. Two weeks ago I found Craig Thompson's newest graphic novel at an odd place: my local hospital's bookshop. Thompson is the author of the world renowned comic "Blankets" so I had high expectations for this read.

The publisher's summary:

Ginseng Roots follows Craig and his siblings, who spent the summers of their youth weeding and harvesting rows of coveted American ginseng on rural Wisconsin farms for one dollar an hour. In his trademark breathtaking pen-and-ink work, Craig interweaves this lost youth with the 300-year-old history of the global ginseng trade and the many lives it has tied together—from ginseng hunters in ancient China, to industrial farmers and migrant harvesters in the American Midwest, to his own family still grappling with the aftershocks of the bitter past.

Stretching from Marathon, Wisconsin, to Northeast China, Ginseng Roots charts the rise of industrial agriculture, the decline of American labor, and the search for a sense of home in a rapidly changing world.

To describe this memoir with one word I would say it is poignant. It is also funny and a visual masterpiece. Thompson gives the story of his life from age seven to the present. His parents were overly strict evangelical Christians and made him work every summer in local ginseng farms alongside his family for twelve to sixteen hours per day. He never had free time the way most American kids have. Thompson grew up in the rural town of Marathon, Wisconsin which is where most of the world's ginseng is grown. When his brother was old enough to join the toil, they worked next to each other telling tall tales and making games out of their labors. The activities included pulling weeds, gathering rocks out of the fields and at the end of summer, harvesting berries. It seemed abusive to me but farm families probably still operate this way. However, I felt sorry for him and his siblings not to be allowed to enjoy in the fun of summer days. Both Craig and his brother left Marathon as soon as they could seeking an easier life. They found it. Craig was lucky to work as a cartoonist, his dream job. 

The story gives the reader all the information you could ever want on how to grow and harvest ginseng. When Hmong laborers joined work on a nearby farm, Thompson tells their story from living in Laos, leaving, and starting over in America. After Thompson developed an immune system disorder, his hands were in alot of pain, affecting his ability to draw. We read about his progress with a Chinese medicine practitioner and the difficulty he dealt with in creating this wonderful book.

The artwork is striking. It has been drawn in vermilion ink with intricate details. The red color is what initially drew me to the book. The reason this color was chosen is explained at the end of the story: because he was told it should never be used.

I cannot say how much this book touched me. I am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

An Inside Job

An Inside Job is Dan Silva's 25th Gabriel Allon spy thriller. The hero, Allon, is a retired Israeli spy who now works as an art restorer in Venice. This installment of the series is an art theft thriller. Allon, however, uses associates from his spy career to solve the mystery.

The publisher's summary: 

Sometimes the only way to recover a stolen masterpiece is to steal it back . . .

Gabriel Allon has been awarded a commission to restore one of the most important paintings in Venice. But when he discovers the body of a mysterious woman floating in the waters of the Venetian Lagoon, he finds himself in a desperate race to recover a lost masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci.

The painting, a portrait of a beautiful young girl, has been gathering dust in a storeroom at the Vatican Museums for more than a century, misattributed and hidden beneath a worthless picture by an unknown artist. Because no one knows that the Leonardo is there, no one notices when it disappears one night during a suspicious power outage. No one but the ruthless mobsters and moneymen behind the theft -- and the mysterious woman whom Gabriel found in a watery grave in Venice. A woman without a name. A woman without a face.

The action moves at breakneck speed from the galleries and auction houses of London to an enclave of unimaginable wealth on the French Riviera -- and, finally, to a shocking climax in St. Peter's Square, where the life of a pope hangs in the balance. An elegant and stylish journey through the dark side of the art world and the Vatican's murky finances, An Inside Job proves once again that Daniel Silva is the reigning master of international intrigue and suspense.

Silva writes intense suspense stories and An Inside Job is one of his finest. It is impossible to take a break from reading the book as each chapter ends with suspense. Silva thoroughly researched the politics of the countries involved in the story, historical facts, the art of the old masters, as well as the restoration of oil paintings before beginning to write. I learned alot about the art world from reading the book. The information about the restoration of paintings went over my head because Silva was quite technical in the description of the materials that his character Allon used.

This installment of the series had the most character development. With the spy business put aside, Allon could concentrate on his relationships with his wife and kids. It was cute to see the brash Gabriel Allon playing with his kids and even attempting to cook. He is not domestic but is growing in that regard. Wife Chiara is seen as the main breadwinner which I thought was about time. Chiara manages the art restoration business for Gabriel. 

The pace is fast from the first page but it speeds up during the final third of the book. Resolving the mystery surrounding the stolen artwork seemed similar to Allon's spy escapades. He used his connections from that part of his life to find and return the art.

An Inside Job is a fun and fast read read. Mystery lovers are going to want to read it. 5 out of 5 stars.

Edge of Honor

 

Edge of Honor was published several days ago on July 1, 2025. I have read each book in this Scot Harvath spy series so I just had to get a copy of this book. The book meets the requirements of the Calendar of Crime Reading Challenge for the publication month category.

The publisher's summary:

After six months abroad, America’s top spy returns to a new administration, a new set of global priorities, and a power struggle—the likes of which the United States has never experienced.

Drawn into a web of deceit and deadly politics, Scot Harvath is thrust into a high-stakes conspiracy that could change the course of history. A cabal of shadowy elites is maneuvering for control and if they succeed, they will bring the country to its knees.

When trust is fleeting and survival means making impossible decisions, Harvath finds himself at the precipice. The actions he takes will shape the future of America—and might cost him everything he holds dear.

With enemies at every turn, one wrong move could push the nation over the edge.

This was a fun read. The suspense wasn't as intense as earlier books in the series but the plot still moved quickly. Harvath's character has mellowed since his marriage to Solvi and I think that's a good sign of character growth. Many readers of this series may disagree, wanting Harvath to remain a hardcore spy. However, with 24 books published already, it is past time for Harvath to develop as a character. How has he mellowed? First of all, Harvath took second place in the ambassador's protection. He was not in charge of the details unless the plan didn't work and Harvath had to improvise. Secondly, his dialogue with Solvi showed her to be his equal. He joked about calling Solvi's boss to report her transgressions. I was surprised to see him defer to her on several occasions. 

The plot seemed to be ripped from today's newspapers. There was a mass shooting near the Vice President’s mansion, a populist president with supporters who behave similar to MAGAists, disloyal Secret Service and FBI officers, and a nation divided by ideology. The Iranians were suspected of killing the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense in one evening attack. Their deaths were attributed to heart attacks but Harvath didn't buy that reasoning. This part of the story reminded me of the recent Israeli attacks in Iran killing military leaders in one evening. It was not Iran, however. 

Edge of Honor is a fun and fast read. Mystery lovers will enjoy it. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Keeper of Lost Art

Laura Morelli is one of my best authors. In the past she has written art themed stories that took place in the Middle Ages. She returns in 2025 with a coming of age WWII novel that is based on true events.

The publisher's summary:

As Allied bombs rain down on Torino in the autumn of 1942, Stella Costa’s mother sends her to safety with distant relatives in a Tuscan villa. There, Stella finds her family tasked with a great responsibility: hiding nearly 300 priceless masterpieces from Florence, including Botticelli’s famous Primavera.

With the arrival of German troops imminent, Stella finds herself a stranger in her family’s villa and she struggles to understand why her aunt doesn’t like her. She knows it has something to do with her parents—and the fact that her father, who is currently fighting at the front, has been largely absent from her life.

When a wave of refugees seeks shelter in the villa, Stella befriends Sandro, an orphaned boy with remarkable artistic talent. Amid the growing threats, Sandro and Stella take refuge in the villa’s “treasure room,” where the paintings are hidden. There, Botticelli’s masterpiece and other works of art become a solace, an inspiration, and the glue that bonds Stella and Sandro as the dangers grow.

A troop of German soldiers requisitions the villa and puts everyone to forced labor. Now, with the villa full of German soldiers, refugees, a secret guest, and hundreds of priceless treasures, no one knows who will emerge unscathed, and whether the paintings will be taken as spoils or become unintended casualties.

Inspired by the incredible true story of a single Tuscan villa used as a hiding place for the treasures of Florentine art during World War II, The Keeper of Lost Art takes readers on a breathtaking journey into one of the darkest chapters of Italy’s history, highlighting the incredible courage of everyday people to protect some of the most important works of art in western civilization. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. The plot shows us what Italians had to deal with during WWII. This is a viewpoint I have never read about before. The families left behind by the Italian soldiers was fraught with food and gas shortages as well as fear of the Germans who were occupying their country. For Stella's family, they were tested beyond belief. Her uncle, zio Tino, and her aunt, zio Angela, allowed over 200 refugees to live in their wine cellar, for almost a year. Angela, Stella, and her cousins Livia and Mariasole did all of the cooking, using up the family’s private storage of food for these strangers. A representative of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence talks zio Tino into storing a few hundred paintings on the property. Tino is now responsible for preventing the Germans from taking them. Stella befriends a boy named Sandro who is skilled in drawing and they often seek out the paintings to copy. The Germans soon arrive and decide to stay at the villa. The family and refugees are terrified but they all dutily perform the labor that the German soldiers demand. 

The main characters were all compelling. Zio Tino is a compassionate man who cannot turn away any refugees. He is mild mannered but is strong enough to handle the Germans. His wife zio Angela argues with him constantly over using up their food and other resources for people who aren't family. She is an unhappy woman who takes it out on everyone else in the family. Stella is an intriguing character and she is also the main character. Initially she is afraid of her aunt but Stella becomes more confident from learning how to cook, clean, and find new friends. 

The Tuscany countryside is the setting. It affects the type of fighting that can be done as well as the recipes that the ladies cooked. The villa is located in a rural area of Tuscany so it's a much safer place to be than in the city. Life is easier here than in Florence which is hit hard by the armies. I was surprised that properties owned by British citizens became the property of Italy. I did not expect this but it was not any different from what the Germans did throughout Europe.

The Keeper of Lost Art was a wonderful coming-of-age story that historical fiction fans will enjoy. I am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

The World's Fair Quilt

I have sorely missed reading the Elm Creek Quilt series. It ended several years ago but author Jennifer Chiaverini gives us a new installment of the series with The World's Fair Quilt. It was published on April 1, 2025.

The publisher's summary:

As fall paints the Pennsylvania countryside in flaming colors, Sylvia Bergstrom Compson is contemplating the future of her beloved Elm Creek Quilts. The Elm Creek Quilt Camp remains the most popular quilter’s retreat in the country, but unexpected financial difficulties have beset them and the Bergstrom family’s stately nineteenth-century manor. Now in her eighth decade, Sylvia is determined to maintain her family’s legacy, but she needs new resources—financial and emotional.

Summer Sullivan—a founding Elm Creek Quilter—arrives to discuss an antique quilt that she wants to display at the Waterford Historical Society’s quilt exhibit. When Sylvia and her sister Claudia were teenagers, they had entered a quilt in the Sears National Quilt Contest for the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition, also known as the Chicago World’s Fair. The Bergstrom sisters’ quilt would be perfect for the Historical Society’s exhibit, Summer explains.

Sylvia is reluctant to lend out the quilt, which has been stored in the attic for decades, nearly forgotten. In keeping with the contest’s “Century of Progress” theme, the girls illustrated progress of values—scenes of the Emancipation Proclamation, woman’s suffrage, and labor unions. But although it won ribbons, the quilt also drove a wedge between the sisters.

As Sylvia reluctantly retraces her quilt’s story for Summer, she makes an unexpected discovery—one that restores some of her faith in this unique work of art, and helps shine some light on a way forward for the Elm Creek Quilts community.

I loved catching up with my favorite characters from the series. Sylvia's story is told through a 1937 narrative as well as through the current time period. I enjoyed the 1937 narrative the best because that time period in the prior novels was fantastic. Sylvia's nuclear family always had some drama going on. Sylvia couldn't stand her older sister Claudia, who her mother always sided with. Her younger brother Richard was barely five years old in 1937 and was not a prominent character. Sylvia's extended family were more likable and were prominent in the first few books of the series. Her grand-aunts were expert quilters and bakers and they were sweet characters as were her grand-uncles. All of these characters were charming and I loved them all. Their appearance in the story was heartwarming.

The rivalry between Sylvia and Claudia brings tension to the plot. This has been true for each novel. Here, we have them squabbling over creating an original quilt for the Sears quilting competition, which was a real event.  Claudia's poor sewing skills kept them from winning at the regional and national levels of the competition but Sylvia never let her see the Judge’s critique of their quilt. Claudia was in denial concerning her skills and never gave in during an argument with Sylvia, arguments that Claudia always won.

If you have not read the Elm Creek Quilts series yet, I doubt that you would enjoy this book. You really need to understand who all of the characters are from the past 100 years of the storyline or none of it will make any sense. This is a cute cozy series but note that it's not a mystery.

I highly recommend the series to cozy fans, especially if they love quilting. 4 out of 5 stars.

Old Habits Die Hard

I received a free copy of this book from Book Sirens in exchange for an honest review. It is the first book in a new series called Nun the Wiser. It was published on April 2, 2025.

The publisher's summary:

When retired nun and teacher Sister Bernadette returns with her fellow residents to The Abbey: Senior Living, she is the first to discover the body sprawled in the hallway of the converted school where she once taught English and now lives. Instead of freezing with horror, Sister Bernie has questions. Lots of them. Why does Toni Travi, the bedazzled and bejeweled resident from apartment 218, have so much chest hair? Did anyone at The Abbey know Toni was a man? Was Toni’s death related to allegations that she cheated at cards? Where’s the murder weapon? Who had motive? And did someone kill Toni, or the man hiding beneath the Revlon foundation and blonde wig?

Detective AJ Lewis is in charge of the investigation though Sister Bernie acts as if he is still her student. With unholy stubbornness, she dogs his every step, eavesdrops, sneaks beyond the police tape and offers unsolicited conjecture and clues. He wants to keep her safe, but she’s determined to lend a helping hand—it’s her habit, after all!

Old Habits Die Hard is a cute cozy mystery with a retired nun as the amateur sleuth. The murder of a resident at a senior residence happened early in the story and the investigation began quickly. It was realistic with the police following protocol regardless of how fast it took them to solve the murder. Protocol prioritized over untangling the mystery. The officer charged with the investigation used to be a student of Sister Bernadette/Bernie, our amateur sleuth and he was a little afraid of engaging her with his questions. He also spent alot of time ignoring her questions about the investigation. Their relationship will make this new series unbeatable.

Several of the characters who lived at the residence will make interesting villains, or at least suspects, in future installments of the series. I can even see Bernie as a suspect. She's nosy and knows everyone's business. She also knows where all the secret nooks and crannies are in the senior building because it used to be the school where she taught for 48 years. Bernie used these spaces to eavesdrop on AJ's witness interviews. She then used the information gleaned to further her own investigation.

5 out of 5 stars. Cozy lovers should check this one out.

The Lindens

I received a free copy of this book from the Librarything's Early Reviewer's Club. The story spans 150 years in the life of a house in the English countryside weaving together the tales of its inhabitants over the decades. There is a dairymaid with big dreams, a lonely evacuee, a damaged army veteran and aging hippies. We also have teenagers partying on midsummer’s night eve, grown-up kids coming home for Christmas and a bored Slovakian housewife receiving some unexpected visitors. This is an epic novel about home and family, love and loss, vengeful goats and mushroom trips.

I particularly love reading long sagas so I knew I would enjoy this book. It did not disappoint.  Each era told a new story with new characters and new plot. They were basically different books to read. It was obvious that the author did a lot of research into each era. I enjoyed reading about the details of life in each time period. What didn't I like? There wasn't much to dislike but at times the story was sad. 

The first era was my favorite. Here we have a rich boy who falls in love with a beautiful but poor girl. His family is dead set against them getting married but they go ahead and marry anyway. To everyone's chagrin, it's a successful marriage. This story was super sweet.

All in all, The Lindens is a fantastic novel. I am rating it 4 out of 5 stars.

No Roast for the Weary

This coffeehouse mystery series by husband and wife writing team Cleo Coyle is my favorite cozy mystery series. In No Roast for the Weary the tables are turned on protagonist Clare Cosi and her Village Blend staff after opening a Writer's Block Lounge on the second floor of the coffeehouse.

The publisher's summary:  

When the Village Blend opens a Writer's Block Lounge, a cold case crime turns up the heat on Clare and her crew in this gripping new entry in the beloved Coffeehouse Mystery series from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle.

As much as master roaster Clare Cosi adores coffee, the landmark shop she manages won't survive if she doesn't sell enough of it. So when the Village Blend's customer traffic grinds to a halt, she turns to her staff for creative ideas, and the Writer's Block Lounge is born.

Madame, the eccentric octogenarian owner of the shop, is upset by this news. Years ago, a group of accomplished writers used the shop's second-floor lounge to inspire each other, but the group disbanded when something dark occurred. Though that history is shrouded in mystery, Clare presses forward...

Soon the Village Blend tables are filled with aspiring novelists, playwrights, and poets, all happy to be coaxed, cajoled, and caffeinated by her coffeehouse crew. Clare admires the stamina of these scribes, many of them toiling at night jobs—driving taxis, tending bar, ushering for Broadway—while penning projects during the day.

Then one of their fictions turns fatal when a shocking secret leads to a deadly end. Unless Clare can untangle this mystery, uncover the truth, and stop a desperate killer, she fears more of these weary writers may be marked for eternal rest. ~ Includes a knockout menu of recipes.

No Roast for the Weary is cozy mystery perfection! I was hooked from the first chapter and loved that she incorporated current events into the story. The Village Blend is suffering financially because of the COVID-19 pandemic shut-down. Customer traffic hasn’t recovered from the pandemic. In order to increase business, the coffeehouse team brainstorms and decides to reopen the Writer’s Block Lounge, a second floor lounge that the coffeehouse hosted a few decades ago. With ads on social media sites, the crowds return.

There is an incident, though, with a regular customer who begins shouting and fighting against someone who is invisible to everyone but him. The staff call him Mr. Scrib because he spends hours every day drinking coffee and writing in a notebook. Scrib tells barrista Esther that he is writing a true crime book that will upset all the politicians and cops in New York City. The mystery to be solved concerns Mr. Scrib whose real name is Jensen Van Dyne. There is a murder to solve in the current time period but the one that happened years ago in the Writer's  Block Lounge is the main mystery.

This is another fun, fast-paced contemporary mystery. I love that this story delved into a mystery that occurred decades ago in the coffeehouse. It keeps the series fresh when the authors write about both current and former murders that happened at the Village Blend.

5 out of 5 stars. 

High Tea and Misdemeanors

The Indigo Teashop mysteries are one of my top three cozy mystery series. High Tea and Misdemeanors is the 29th installment of the series and it is one of the best to date. If you haven't yet read the series, you simply must. It's magnificent and has the fastest pace of all 29 books.

The publisher's summary: 

When a wedding is tragically averted by the death of the bridesmaid, Theodosia is determined to prove that it was murder in the latest entry in this New York Times bestselling series.

Theodosia Browning and her tea sommelier, Drayton Conneley, are tapped to cater the elegant wedding of Bettina and Jamie. Theodosia and Drayton are setting up when they hear a crash from the greenhouse. Shockingly, they discover that part of the roof has collapsed trapping a bridesmaid and the groom. He will pull through but the bridesmaid is no more. Theodosia is convinced it was murder.

INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS!

I always have a good laugh at some of the rhyming two word adjectives that author Laura Childs uses; eg, a florist shop in Charleston is called Flora Dora and a sound was thump-thumpering. What I particularly noticed in this novel was that tea sommelier Drayton Conneley was described as being sixtysomething. He has been this age for 29 years! I must acknowledge, though, that if the characters aged throughout the series, none of them would still be alive and there would be no books anymore. We can't have that.

The murder occurred in the first chapter which I always appreciate because the rest of the story can be about the investigation. I noticed how well written the first chapter was compared to earlier books in the series. The story opens with the killer doing his thing. I don't believe Childs has written this chapter with a hook before. Usually we see setting descriptions and introductions to the main characters. The hook is the reason the chapter was so fast paced. 

The pace was maintained throughout the story. Theodosia didn't think about investigating, she just started to do so. While cozies require a suspension of belief, I thought it was bizarre that Theo's boyfriend, police detective Pete Riley, followed her ideas on how to investigate the murder. He did what he was told. Then again, with a long series it becomes dry reading about the amateur sleuth always scratching for leads from the police. I guess in this case the suspension of belief is appropriate.

High Tea and Misdemeanors is a wonderful entry into the Indigo Teashop series. 5 out of 5 stars.

Rising Sun Falling Rain

I received a free copy of this book from Book Sirens in exchange for an honest review. The book was published on January 30, 2025 and the story is set in post-WWII Japan after the atomic bombs were dropped.

The publisher's summary:

 

Introducing the stunning debut RISING SUN FALLING RAIN by Trish Devine. This powerful novel explores the clash between tradition and new ways, weaving a story spanning cultures and generations, celebrating the enduring strength of the human spirit.

 

New Zealand serviceman Mick Mitchell tackles the recovery of Hiroshima with compassion, Kiwi ingenuity and the determination to make a difference.

 

Eighteen-year-old Emiko Tanazawa, determined to break free from the constraints of her traditional upbringing, emerges as a driving force for social reform. Advocating for the rights of marginalised women and children, she embraces modern ideals born from the chaos of war.

 

Drawn together in the wave of change, Mick and Emiko fall in love and furtively marry, but dreams are not enough. Their plans for a better life are thwarted by the controlling influences of others, forcing them into an unforeseen future.

Twenty years later their daughter sets out to unlock the mysteries of her past...

I was expecting more from this novel than what I got. Mick's work as a truck driver was dull. He gave rides to folks going to and from a local hospital and work, if there was any. The beginning of the story described each day of Mick's but with a boring job comes a boring story. We read alot of sentences stating Mick drove here or he turned left. It might have been interesting if life on the military base was described in more detail. Early in the story Mick decides to help a young boy named Kazu learn English in exchange for help building wooden steps for buildings. When Mick sees a friend of Kazu's grandmother, he is smitten. Kazu is the link to Emiko, his grandmother's friend.

Once Mick and Emiko become a couple the pace picks up. This is around page 90 of this 256 page novel. However, for me the story was still slow. I wasn't engaged in the story until Karina, Mick and Emiko's daughter, came into the picture. Karina is the only character with emotion. All the others fell flat. When Karina found out that Mick was her father the story  became compelling and the pace was at lightening speed. The second half of the book was devoted to her and her search for her biological mother It was exciting. The only other problem I had was how the story ended. SPOILER ALERT. After Emiko recognized that Karina was her daughter there wasn't even another sentence.

This book was a disappointment. I am rating it 2 out of 5 stars.

Black is the Color

I loved the cover of this graphic novel and decided to get a copy. I wondered whether the comic strip panels inside would have some color or whether they would be black and white. Unfortunately for me, they're black and white. 

The story opens with a 17th-century sailor abandoned at sea by his shipmates. It was cruel for the captain to pick Xavier and Warren to offload in order to protect the ship from damaging winds. Xavier is ill and can't stop coughing. The sound annoys Warren so much that he pushes Xavier out of their lifeboat. As the story progresses Warren endures, and eventually succumbs to both his lingering death sentence and the advances of a cruel and amorous mermaid; a nakedness and voluptuous mermaid of course. The narrative also delves into the experiences of the loved ones he left behind, both on his ship and at home, as well as of the mermaids who witness his destruction. Most of this was about the mermaids though. Per the author, the story is about "the value of maintaining dignity to the detriment of intimacy, and the erotic potential of the worst-case scenario."

The story didn't grab my attention. I couldn't figure out why the plot premise was something to write about. There wasn't much action. Many of the comic strip panels had no dialogue. However, it was easy to determine what was happening. While there are many comic fans who would love this type of book, it just wasn't my cup of tea. 3 out of 5 stars.

The Medici Return

The Medici Return is the newest and 19th installment of Steve Berry's Cotton Malone spy thriller series. The story is currently in development as a streaming series. In The Medici Return, Cotton travels to Italy in order to solve a five hundred year-old mystery.  

It is always hard to summarize a book with a complex plot so I will let the publisher summarize it for me:

Cotton Malone is on the hunt for a forgotten 16th century Pledge of Christ—a sworn promise made by Pope Julius II that evidences a monetary debt owed by the Vatican, still valid after five centuries—now worth in the trillions of dollars. But collecting that debt centers around what happened to the famed Medici of Florence—a family that history says died out, without heirs, centuries ago. 

Who will become the next prime minister of Italy, and who will be the next pope? Finding answers proves difficult until Cotton realizes that everything hinges on when, and if, the Medici return.

Former Justice Department operative, Cotton Malone, has been asked to assist the Swiss guard with determining whether Cardinal Jason Richter has engaged in bribery and theft. It’s a favor for Stephanie Nelle, once his boss at the Magellan Billet, who is doing a favor for the Vatican. But nothing is as it seems. Four hundred thousand euros are found, a Swiss Guardsman is murdered, and a killer sets his sights on both Cotton and the cardinal.

Together they are thrust into a search for a forgotten document, a 16th century Pledge of Christ executed by Pope Julius II that reveals a debt owed by the Vatican, still valid after five centuries, now worth in the trillions of dollars. But when the trail to collecting that debt leads Cotton to the famed Medici of Florence—a family that history says died out, without heirs, centuries ago—he realizes that two more things also hang in the balance. Who will be the next prime minister of Italy, and who will become the next pope.

From a quiet hilltop village in central Germany, to the ancient city of Siena with its famed Palio horse race, and finally to the historic piazzas, churches, and crypts of Florence, Cotton Malone uncovers the answers, one by one, everything hinging on when, and if, the Medici return.

I have read all of the Cotton Malone books all of them have been good. The Medici Return is one of the best though. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the history of the Medici and Pazzi clans. The Pignus Christi, the Pledge of Christ, referred to in the plot is not real however. While I was still reading, I researched the pledge online and found nothing. "Pignus" is a Latin word that means "pledge" so a pignus christi is translated as the pledge of christ. In Roman law, pignus referred to a pledge given to a creditor to secure an obligation. In this story Pope Julius gave this such pledge to Giuliano de Medici in exchange for ten million flori. The Author's Note at the end of the story cleared up my question whether the Pignus Christi was real. It isn't. Berry made it up. This was creative! By the time Malone is searching for this IOU, the Medici family has died out and a man who believes he is a lawful Medici heir is also searching for it. Others who are looking for it include two powerful Cardinals, one who is striving to be the next Pope.

The pace was pleasant, neither fast nor slow. With so much history written into the novel, a slower than normal pace for a Steve Berry book was appropriate. If there was anything that bothered me it was the part where Cotton participated in a horse race in Siena called the Palio. It did not advance the plot so I am puzzled why it was inserted. Steve Berry stated that he saw this race during one of his visits to Italy and that he was fascinated by it. Maybe that is the answer to my question.

I loved The Medici Return and highly recommend it to mystery fans. 4 out of 5 stars.

First Lie Wins

First Lie Wins is my selection this month for the Key Word Challenge. It is an exciting, page-turning read that keeps you hooked until the end.

The publisher's summary:

Evie Porter has everything a nice Southern girl could want: a doting boyfriend, a house with a white picket fence, a tight group of friends. The only catch: Evie Porter doesn’t exist.

The identity comes first: Evie Porter. Once she’s given a name and location by her mysterious boss, Mr. Smith, she learns everything there is to know about the town and the people in it. Then the mark: Ryan Sumner. The last piece of the puzzle is the job.

Evie isn’t privy to Mr. Smith’s real identity, but she knows this job isn't like the others. Ryan has gotten under her skin, and she’s starting to envision a different sort of life for herself. But Evie can’t make any mistakes—especially after what happened last time.

Evie Porter must stay one step ahead of her past while making sure there's still a future in front of her. The stakes couldn't be higher—but then, Evie has always liked a challenge. . . .

It took a few chapters for me to engage in this book. I needed to understand what Evie was about before getting hooked. The story took off around the third chapter. Evie steals high end items such as jewelry and paintings for her boss Mr. Smith. Another character, Devon, assists Evie in planning and executing her jobs. The story has the feel of a spy thriller. No one knows the identity of Mr. Smith or why he is interested in obtaining these goods. Sometimes he just wants information to be stolen. 

Evie uses a different name for each job. These jobs are sometimes quick but can last for months and be in different locales. While she is with Ryan, Evie is introduced to a woman who is using her real name and life history which throws her off her game. Evie cannot imagine why this woman, claiming to be Lucca Marino, was in her path.

The novel is more of a whydunit than a whodunit. I was surprised by the big reveal (how all of the characters were related) and then by the ending. None of it was anticipated.

First Lie Wins is a  fun read. 4 out of 5 stars.

The Pot Thief Who Studied Calvin

The Pot Thief Who Studied Calvin was published last month. It is author J. Michael Orenduff's 10th Pot Thief murder mystery. The series features an antique seller who specializes in ancient works of clay and porcelain. Each installment of the series is titled "The Pot Thief Who Studied.  . ." It’s an interesting premise for a series. 

The publisher's summary: 

An Albuquerque ceramics dealer soon turns amateur sleuth after he gets a 3D-printed pot to die for.

Hubie Schuze usually digs through the dirt—often illegally—to find the ancient ceramics he sells in his shop, Spirits in Clay. But thanks to his nephew, Tristan, a computer science student at the University of New Mexico, Hubie receives a unique 3D-printed pot. And after a photo of it runs in the local paper, it becomes a popular item.

Unfortunately, the pot is sought-after by all the wrong people, and strange characters start darkening the doorway of Hubie’s shop. They’re willing to do anything to get their hands on the pot, and after Det. Whit Fletcher summons Hubie to the morgue, he discovers that includes murder. Now, to get to the bottom of things, Hubie must uncover what's so hot about this pot, before the cold-as-ice-killer strikes again. 

I wasn't expecting this story to be a cozy mystery but that's exactly what it is. Our amateur sleuth sells ceramic pots in between telling one joke after another. He is an expert on Calvin, Ross Calvin that is, but had to learn the finer points on John Calvin's predestination theory for his soon to be father-in-law. Ross Calvin wrote Sky Determines: an Interpretation of the Southwest, one of Hubie’s favorite books. This Calvin was a real-life Episcopalian priest whose 1934 book is a classic of New Mexico literature. He also was an adherent on predestination.

The story opened with a prologue at the local Albuquerque morgue where Hubie was present to identify the body. The story then shifts backwards in time to explain how the body ended up there. The first third of the book did not include a murder and I was getting anxious for it to happen so that I could read about the investigation. However, it came more than halfway through the story. The "investigation" consisted of the big reveal where Hubie explained every part of the case to a group of all the possible suspects. 

I had never heard of 3D-printers before. The author gives a good presentation of how they work early in the story. 

"It can operate in several ways. The one I used sets the printer to run its stylus over the surface of an object you want to copy. The movements of the stylus are stored in the printer’s memory. Then you have it follow the pattern of the object it now has in its memory, but this time it’s laying down soft clay as it goes, so it makes an exact duplicate of the object it traced.”

The book ends with a discussion between Hubie and his new bride whether the deceased's death was predestined. This story began and ended with the merits of predestination, which I had originally assumed given the title of the book. Pretty interesting. 

5 out of 5 stars.

The Art Collector

I received a free copy of this lovely mystery from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. I can honestly say that it is spectacular. The book was published last year on August 28, 2024 and it is the second book in author Susan Bacon's mystery series.

The publisher's summary:  

A Warhol protégé, a Manhattan murder and a long-hidden truth. 

It is February 1987. Seal Larsen is a photographer, denizen of New York’s downtown scene and the subject of one of Andy Warhol’s short films. When she dies in a suspicious fall from the 15th floor of her Manhattan apartment building, her friend and neighbor, Emma Quinn, is determined to find out what happened. A history professor at Columbia University with connections to the intelligence community, Emma soon realizes how little she really knows about her friend.

Exploring Seal’s life, her work, her past, Emma makes her way down to Memphis and to rural Tennessee, putting herself at risk. It’s there, on an isolated 2,000-acre farm, that she begins to grasp the tragedy that defined Seal’s life and the truth about her death.

A sequel to The History Teacher, Susan Bacon's award-winning political mystery, The Art Collector is an intrigue, a puzzle, a plot-twister. It is also an exploration of the value of art and the people who make it and of the culture that fueled Manhattan's art boom in the second half of the twentieth century.

This story hooked me from the start. It perfectly blends art and history along with a spectacular mystery. I love art so the phenomenal amount of art history within the pages of the book also kept me interested. However, a reader who isn't interested in art probably won't like it. That said, it was fascinating that Seal’s connection to Andy Warhol, one of my favorite artists, was a main feature of the story. 

I loved the setting too. The 1980s New York City art scene was mesmerizing. I didn't know much about this era before reading the book and learned alot about how artists and their dealers did business. Another setting included in the book is the Deep South during the 1960s. Seal and her mother came from small town Tennessee. They left Tennessee with an African American cook named Merna and opened a restaurant in Harlem. The final leg of Emma's investigation leads her to a remote Tennessee farm where the final pieces of the puzzle fall into place.

The only complaint I have is that the middle part of the story moved rather slowly. All of the details about various artworks and the artists that created them was probably the reason. 4 out of 5 stars.

The Amish Quiltmaker's Unruly In-Law

When I just want a quiet day of easy reading I reach for an Amish fiction novel. This month I chose two books from the Amish Quiltmaker series by Jennifer Beckstand. In a few days I will review The Amish Quiltmaker's Unconventional  Niece.

In The Amish Quiltmaker's Unruly In-Law quilter Esther Kiem has recently moved to a new Amish settlement in Byler, Colorado. It is a new start for her as well as her husband Levi and baby Winnie. Esther's reckless brother-in-law Ben Kiem is the subject of the story. Mischievous and rebellious, young Ben has been making the wrong kind of name for himself throughout the town of Byler. He and his two buddies, Wally and Simeon, have stolen and destroyed the property of several neighbors. When the story opens Ben attached himself to the back of a buggy owned by the Eicher family and used water skis to ski most of the way on a snowy day. Of course, he gets hurt but he also ruins the back of the buggy.  Mrs. Eicher demands that Ben pay for the repairs but daughter Linda, the same age as Ben, laughed at him for his stupidity. He resents Linda for ridiculing him.

Once Ben and Linda meet, the story takes off. Esther puts her special matchmaking skills to the test. She somehow coaxes Ben into keeping company with the sensible Linda Eicher. Ben can’t see anything that they have in common or that he could ever be good enough for someone like her. Linda has a down-to-earth nature that makes Ben want to live a better Amish life. The suspense in the story is created from the ups and downs in their relationship and there are many.

 

I love the simplicity of Amish fiction but this story read like a mystery novel. There were so many problems that needed to be resolved in Ben and Linda’s relationship. They were complete opposites. Linda followed all the rules of the church while Ben didn't follow any if them even though his father was the bishop. Ben believed if he behaved badly enough times that there would be no expectations of him. There weren't. All of the members of the Byler church steered clear of him. This is Amish fiction so you know there has to be happy ending, and there is.

This was a lovely story to read and I am rating it 4 out of 5 stars.

The Verifiers

The Verifiers was one of the Washington Post's best mystery books for 2022. This debut novel follows amateur sleuth Claudia Lin as she verifies people's online lives, and lies, for a dating detective agency in New York City. 

The publisher's summary:  

Claudia is used to disregarding her fractious family’s model-minority expectations: she has no interest in finding either a conventional career or a nice Chinese boy. She’s also used to keeping secrets from them, such as that she prefers girls—and that she's just been stealth-recruited by Veracity, a referrals-only online-dating detective agency. 

 

A lifelong mystery reader who wrote her senior thesis on Jane Austen, Claudia believes she's landed her ideal job. But when a client vanishes, Claudia breaks protocol to investigate—and uncovers a maelstrom of personal and corporate deceit. Part literary mystery, part family story, The Verifiers is a clever and incisive examination of how technology shapes our choices, and the nature of romantic love in the digital age.

I love Claudia's method of investigation. Claudia is inspired by her favorite amateur sleuths and thinks back to the steps they followed in their own investigations. Likewise, when Claudia becomes stumped she thinks about the villains she has read about and how they committed murder. She particularly loves the 'Inspector Yuan' mystery series. The second book in the series, The Rivals, follows these strategies so I expect that future books will continue in this vein. 

The story opens with Claudia meeting a new client, Sarah Reaves, who has the feeling her latest match may not the wonderful guy that she thinks he is. Claudia's company, Veracity, is a business that performs investigations, both electronic and in-person, for those customers using match-making apps but who are having some doubts about their matches. They are able to access the databases of several dating apps. Claudia determines that Sarah's match, Jude Kalman, has been chatting with three other women. She decides to stake out his home but never finds him coming or going. A week or so later, Sarah's sister Iris visits the Veracity offices to request an investigation into her match. She does not mention that Sarah killed herself. Claudia believes that these are not suicidal deaths but murder and, after being told to close this file, she continues to investigate. 

Author Jane Pek was born and grew up in Singapore. She holds a BA from Yale University, a JD from the New York University School of Law, and an MFA in Fiction from Brooklyn College. She currently lives in New York, where she works as a lawyer at a global investment company.

This book was a fun read. I am rating it 4 out of 5 stars.

Sleep in Heavenly Pizza

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this Christmas themed cozy mystery while sitting on my couch with some hot chocolate. Christmas is the only time of year that I actually like winter weather and looking outside at the snow with a good book. Sleep in Heavenly Pizza is the fourth book in Mindy Quigley's Deep Dish Mystery series, set in a Lake Geneva, Wisconsin pizzeria.

In this installment of the series pizza chef Delilah O’Leary and her staff are serving at a private party where the nation’s premier snow sculpting championship is held. On the eve of the festival though, a too-good-to-be-true Chrismukkah catering gig heralds an unexpected visit from Delilah’s high-intensity older sister. Then one of the town’s snowy sculptures is discovered with a dead body inside. CCTV showed the slightly clad deceased woman being pushed off a balcony and sliding downhill. Delilah’s boyfriend Calvin Capone heads the police investigation. His investigation keeps coming back to two of Delilah’s employees and two of her family members. 

Delilah is a control freak who tries to figure out who could have a motive for murder. She questions her people to get information but doesn't always tell Capone her findings. She wants to protect her friends and family. They have been arguing throughout the story which is unusual for the series. They are normally lovey dovey.  

The whydunnit for the murder was a let down for me. I was expecting something more complex. However, after the big reveal Delilah and her family's sit down Christmas dinner was a heartwarming scene. I wish I could be part of this family. As usual, there are recipes at the end of the story. I will be trying the Christmas tree pizza bread recipe.

All in all, this was a fun read. I am rating the book 3.5 out of 5 stars.