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.

Into the Leopard's Den

Into the Leopard's Den is the 4th Bangalore Detectives Club Mystery. The series takes place in 1920s India and features Kaveri Murtha as the main character. Initially this installment of the series Kaveri investigates several murders occurring in Bangalore and Coorg. The book was published on July 1, 2025.

The publisher's summary:

Bangalore, 1922: Pregnant and confined to the house by her protective mother-in-law, Kaveri Murthy has resolved to take a break from detection. But when an elderly woman is murdered at night and dies clutching a photograph of Kaveri while asking for her help—how can she refuse? Missing the assistance of her husband Ramu, who is working in Coorg, Kaveri investigates her new case with her able assistants, milk boy Venu and housemaid Anandi. They find a trail of secrets that lead them to suspect the killer may be in Coorg.

Eager to be reunited with her husband, Kaveri sets off to Coorg to investigate. When she arrives, she encounters a thorny thicket of cases. Why does a ghost leopard prowl the forests at night, terrorizing the plantation workers? And who is trying to kill Colonel Boyd, the Coffee King of Coorg? She finds suspects in every coffee bush and estate—from Boyd’s surly plantation manager and security guard to the feuding brothers who own the neighboring plantation—and the many women the Coffee King has pursued and abandoned.

When two vulnerable children appeal for her help, Kaveri is drawn deeper into the case, becoming emotionally involved in finding the killer. Soon, one murder turns into two—and then a few days later into three. Now the killer has tasted blood and needs to be stopped. Racing against time, Kaveri must take on her most complex challenge so far, with the assistance of Anandi and Venu in Bangalore, and with Ramu and Inspector Ismail in Coorg. In this stunning new novel by an acclaimed master of the form, the Bangalore Detectives Club must find and expose a brutally intelligent killer before they strike again.

I have read every book in the series and loved getting reacquainted with the characters. Kaveri was a little less aggressive in this particular investigation, obviously because she was 8 to 9 months pregnant. Kaveri used to avoid her mother in law as much as possible. Now she enjoys the pampering she receives from her. Her husband Rami took a more active roll in the investigation than normal. He loves her enough to stop what he's doing to help assuage Kaveri's curiosity about the case. It's lovely to see this happening, particularly because it wasn't typical for the era.

The murders kept piling up giving Kaveri 5 mysteries to solve. She didn't get far though. All she was able to do was eliminate several suspects. Inspector Ismail, an old friend, worked out the identity of the killer but received some assistance from Rami and Kaveri. A re-occurring fear among the residents has to do with several sightings of an albino leopard cub. The fear is that this ghost will eat children. It plays a part in the mystery but you will never guess what that is! The story ended with Kaveri delivering a baby girl. It was a sweet ending for this tale. As I was reading I got the feeling that this series is a cozy. I have never categorized it before as a cozy historical mystery but it fits well.

5 out of 5 stars.

Part of the Solution

I received an advanced review copy of this book from Book Sirens in exchange for an honest review. The book will be published on July 14, 2025.

The publisher's summary: 

It's 1978, and Jennifer Morgan, a sassy New Yorker, has escaped to the counterculture village of Flanders, Massachusetts. Her peaceful life is disrupted when one of her customers at the Café Galadriel is found dead. Everyone is a suspect—including the gentle artisan woodworker, the Yeats-wannabe poet, the town's anti-war hero, the peace-loving Episcopalian minister, and the local organic farmer who can hold a grudge.

Concern for her community prompts Jennifer to investigate the murder with the sometimes-reluctant help of Ford McDermott, a young police officer. Little does she know that the solution lies in the hidden past.

Part of the Solution blends snappy dialogue, unconventional settings, and a classic oldies soundtrack, capturing the essence of a traditional whodunnit in a counterculture era. ​

I have a rule that I cease reading a book if I am not interested by page fifty. With this book page 50 is where the story took off. This is when the murder occurred. The investigation though was slow, even nonexistent, until page 175. 

While I am over 60 and am familiar with the hippie language and outlook on life, I doubt that younger readers will understand or even care about it. There was too much culture written in to the story and not enough action. Dialogue between the characters on topics unrelated to solving the murder was prominent. In fact, too prominent. There was little action other than the characters talking together and working. A good writing tip would be to use only 2 or 3 hippie idioms and concentrate on solving the crime. A writer can always add more culture in future books. It's best not to go overboard with the culture. It confuses the reader.

Jennifer Morgan is the protagonist. I know this because of the publisher's summary. Her 7 or 8 friends have equal billing in the book though. It's hard to tell who is supposed to be in charge of the investigation. Of course there wasn't much of an investigation either by the police or the characters. 

I was disappointed with this book. It had several problems. There was no main character, no investigation and way too much culture. 2 out of 5 stars.

The Master Jeweller

Weina Dai Randel published the Empress Wu duology in 2016. It was a smash success. My reviews of The Moon in the Palace and The Empress of Bright Moon were chart topping. Her next book was The Last Rose of Shanghai which was published in 2021. She has written another fantastic story of a young Chinese teenager who is on her own at 16 after her mother’s death.

The publisher's summary:

Harbin, China, 1925. Fifteen-year-old Anyu Zhang discovers a priceless Fabergé egg in the snow and returns it to the owner, Isaac Mandelburg, a fugitive and former master jeweler for Russia’s imperial palace. In gratitude, he leaves her his address in Shanghai and a promise of hospitality, forever altering her fate.

A dazzling world of jewelry shrouded in secrecy and greed awaits, when later Anyu arrives at Mandelburg’s jewelry shop as an orphan. Single-minded and relentless, Anyu will stop at nothing until she masters the craft of jewelry making. But she soon finds herself entangled in the treacherous underbelly of the city, where violent gangsters stalk the streets, vicious rivals seek to exploit her, and obsessive collectors conspire to destroy the people she loves.

From snow-crowned land to diamond-sparkling showrooms to a pristine island on the brink of war, The Master Jeweler chronicles an exciting journey of a bold prodigy artisan―including her losses and triumphs―in a glamorous yet perilous world of treasure.

At first I thought that the story was slow in the beginning. Anyu did not even know that she wanted to be a jeweler until one third of the way into the story. I was expecting a quicker transition for her and thought that her life story would begin when she was making jewelry. To understand Anyu's decision-making, though, the reader needs to know about her childhood.

I loved reading about the different types of techniques utilized in crafting jewelry from drilling, chasing,  filing metal, cuttlefish casting, enameling, and lost-wax casting. Other techniques included metal using roller printing, reticulation, and etching techniques. Some learning about gemstones was also part of her education. I also enjoyed reading about Anyu learning to handle the tools in order to get the results she wanted.

The ugly part of Anyu's life was the discrimination she experienced from the Chinese warlords and the Japanese soldiers. Anyu has what we Americans call "true grit." Nothing stopped her from achieving her goals. Once Anyu became a jeweler she had to deal with gangsters demanding protection money as well as competitors taking advantage of her. 

The Master Jeweler is a masterpiece of writing that historical fiction fans will love.  5 out of 5 stars.

The Story She Left Behind

I chose this novel for the Key Word Reading Challenge. The book was published on March 18, 2025. Inspired by a true literary mystery, its a story of a legendary book, a lost mother, and a daughter’s search for them both.

The publisher's summary:

In 1927, eight-year-old Clara Harrington’s magical childhood shatters when her mother, renowned author, Bronwyn Newcastle Fordham, disappears off the coast of South Carolina. Bronwyn stunned the world with a book written in an invented language that became a national sensation when she was just twelve years old. Her departure leaves behind not only a devoted husband and heartbroken daughter, but also the hope of ever translating the sequel to her landmark work. As the headlines focus on the missing author, Clara yearns for something far deeper and more insatiable: her beautiful mother.

By 1952, Clara is an illustrator raising her own daughter, Wynnie. When a stranger named Charlie Jameson contacts her from London claiming to have discovered a handwritten dictionary of her mother’s lost language. Clara is skeptical. Compelled by the tragedy of her mother’s vanishing, she crosses the Atlantic with Wynnie only to arrive during one of London’s most deadly natural disasters—the Great Smog. With asthmatic Wynnie in peril, they escape the city with Charlie and find refuge in the Jameson’s family retreat nestled in the Lake District. It is there that Clara must find the courage to uncover the truth about her mother and the story she left behind.

This was an intriguing story. The mystery to be solved concerns Clara's mother. Clara knows she is dead but hopes that she isn't. Clara also hopes to find the language that Bronwyn created so that she can translate Bronwyn's sequel. The details are revealed slowly. The author builds up the mystery with plenty of suspense that kept me reading until I finished the book in one sitting.

The setting description of London on the 1950s was awful to imagine. The air was polluted from the use of coal that people couldn't see more than 3 feet in front of them. Londoners always had handkerchiefs to cover their mouths so that they would not choke yo death. For our characters, Wynnie almost died twice. Clara had to give her injections of medicine to keep Wynnie's asthma under control. England's bad air is a historical fact and resulted in the Parliament enacting a clean air act in the late 1950s.

The story had a feel-good ending. I am happy that it ended this way because the author could have chosen a number of different endings that would be plausible. I loved the book and am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

The Holy Roller

I found this newly published comic while browsing at Barnes and Noble. It has an interesting premise. Pro bowler Levi Coen must quit his job and return to his hometown in order to care for his ailing father. He discovers that the town is now run by neo-nazis. Levi becomes a vigilante hero who smashes people's faces with a bowling ball. He only uses balls from his bowling ball collection to defend himself. Levi then battles to liberate the town and becomes the Holy Roller.  This edition, 978-1-5343-9732-3, collects all nine issues of The Holy Roller. It was published in March 2025.

The story begins with Levi as a child, then as a sailor. We don't see him deciding to be a superhero until a third of the way into the story. Levi's father was a pro bowler too and his father is upset that Levi didn't bowl professionally. Levi is Jewish. The nazi town leaders do not like him so they burned down his father's house, leaving them with no where to live. This is when Levi becomes a superhero. 

The artwork was fantastic! However, some of the pages showed violent scenes as well as the victims with their heads bashed in and bleeding. Young readers may not want to see these images. Also, there is alot of salty language that may be inappropriate for young readers. I love how Levi dispensed justice by slamming people with the bowling ball. It was comical. There was alot of humor written into the story too.

I thoroughly enjoyed this comic and am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

Kill Your Darlings

I discovered Peter Swanson two years ago and love his heart-pounding thrillers. Kill Your Darlings was just recently published on June 10, 2025 and it's a different kind of mystery. It's a murder mystery in reverse, tracing a marriage back in time to uncover the dark secret the couple shares.

The publisher's summary:

Thom and Wendy Graves have been married for over twenty-five years. They live in a beautiful Victorian on the north shore of Massachusetts. Wendy is a published poet and Thom teaches English literature at a nearby university. Their son, Jason, is all grown up. All is well…except that Wendy wants to murder her husband.

What happens next has everything to do with what happened before. The story of Wendy and Thom’s marriage is told in reverse, moving backward through time to witness key moments from the couple’s lives—their fiftieth birthday party, buying their home, Jason’s birth, the mysterious death of a work colleague—all painting a portrait of a marriage defined by a single terrible act they plotted together many years ago.

Eventually we learn the details of what Thom and Wendy did in their early twenties, a secret that has kept them bound together through the length of their marriage. But its power over them is fraying, and each of them begins to wonder if they would be better off making sure their spouse carries their secrets to the grave.

I expected the book to be about a crime and cover up because of the genre the author writes. However, it's really about the end of Thom and Wendy's marriage. The story opens in the year 2023 and is told in reverse until the year 1982, when Thom and Wendy, who share a birthday, met at the age of fourteen. Toward the end we find out what their secret is. Even though the story unravels slowly, I was engaged until the 70% mark. After that I just wanted to be done with the book. As a character study of a marriage it's brilliantly written. However, this author usually writes psychological thrillers so my expectation was that Kill Your Darlings would follow that format. I am disappointed with the book but realize how well the end of the marriage was revealed. 

3 out of 5 stars.

Bad Lands

I selected this book for the Calendar of Crime Reading Challenge. It was published on June 3, 2025 and is the 5th Nora Kelly mystery by the authors.When I began reading the book this afternoon, I was planning on reading just 3 or 4 chapters. That plan became impossible. I couldn’t stop reading until I finished the story. It's a gripping thriller with plenty of setting references to the climate of New Mexico and Indian artifacts. 

The publisher's summary:

In the New Mexico badlands, the skeleton of a woman is found—and the case is assigned to FBI Agent Corrie Swanson. The victim walked into the desert, shedding clothes as she went, and died in agony of heatstroke and thirst. Two rare artifacts are found clutched in her bony hands—lightning stones used by the ancient Chaco people to summon the gods. 

Is it suicide or… sacrifice? 

Agent Swanson brings in archaeologist Nora Kelly to investigate. When a second body is found—exactly like the other—the two realize the case runs deeper than they imagined. As Corrie and Nora pursue their investigation into remote canyons, haunted ruins, and long-lost rituals, they find themselves confronting a dark power that, disturbed from its long slumber, threatens to exact an unspeakable price. 

I didn't have huge expectations for the novel as I felt earlier books in the Nora Kelly series were OK, not great. Badlands is the exception. The plot doesn't just center on the Nora character but significantly includes her younger brother Skip and his newfound buddy Edison Nash, FBI Agent Corrie Swanson, University of New Mexico professor Carlos Oskarbi and his adoring female students. A few secondary characters added salt to this brew. Emma Bluebird was my favorite. She is a gun-toting, elderly Navajo Indian woman who distrusts white people. When Nora and Corrie knock on her door, they are greeted with a shotgun. She doesn't speak much English but is able to give them a clue for their investigation. They are looking into the deaths of two women, both doctors in archeology. Both women had been walking through a wilderness area, took of all their clothes, and collapsed into the hot sands of the Gallina Canyon to die. Emma is always in control of the conversation and uses that shotgun to tell the ladies when their meeting is over.

The artifacts that are used in the plot are called lightening stones. When they are rubbed together, a soft light emerges. The stones are rare. Only two pair of them are known to exist but it is presumed that there are many in the wilderness areas of the state. As the story progresses, we learn more and more about them. The Gallina people, who existed up to 1200 BC, used them in religious rituals. 

The plot was complex. While the story opened with the death of an unknown woman in the wilderness, it quickly moves to identify her and another body as well as what connected them. Both were professors at the University of New Mexico and while still studying were known to be groupies of Dr. Carlos Oskarbi. Here the plot takes off in several different arcs.

Badlands may be my favorite Preston and Childs novel. It's the most thrilling tale I've read from them to date and I am happy to give it high marks. 5 out of 5 stars.

Lincoln's Lady Spymaster

Lincoln's Lady Spymaster was published two days ago. I pre-ordered a copy of it after reading an interview the author gave online. I love the history included in the book. Her story is about real life Southern belle Elizabeth Van Lew. Elizabeth was an abolitionist who lived in the best mansion in Richmond, Virginia. She supported the Union even though she lived in a Confederate state. She put everything she had at risk in order to assist the Union Army.

The publisher's summary: 

Why would Southern belle Elizabeth Van Lew risk everything in order to spy for the Union Army?  The answer was simple: freedom. Right in the heart of the Confederate capital, Elizabeth played the society lady while building a secret espionage network of slaves, Unionists, and prisoners of war.

It would cost her almost everything. Flouting society’s expectations for women, Elizabeth infiltrated prisons and defied public opinion. Her story is filled with vivid personalities, including:

Assassin John Wilkes Booth

Washington socialite and Southern spy Rose Greenhow

Prison escape artist Thomas Rose

Cavalry hero Ulrich Dahlgren

Cross-dressing intelligence agent Frank Stringfellow

From grave robbery to a bold voyage across enemy lines, Elizabeth’s escapades only grew more daring. But it paid off.

By the war’s end, she had agents in both the Confederate War Department and the Richmond White House, and her couriers provided General Ulysses S. Grant with crucial, daily intelligence for his final assault.

With extensive and fresh research, Gerri Willis uncovers the Southern abolitionist heroine that the Lost Cause buried—an unbelievable tale of one woman’s courage, resistance, and liberation. Heartfelt, thrilling, and inspiring, Lincoln’s Lady Spymaster restores a forgotten hero to her rightful place as an American icon.

This is an engaging history of abolitionist Elizabeth Van Lew. Most history books are academic but Willis wrote this book in a historical fiction style. It reads fast. I enjoyed reading about this unknown American heroine. I had no idea that women could be spies. Van Lew lost all her wealth from her advocacy on behalf of slaves and Union soldiers. Her political views were more important to her than money and a position in society. She lived forty more years after the end of the Civil War in near poverty but never regretted her actions during the war.

It was eye opening that women served as soldiers if they wore men's clothing. Women also collected charitable donations for the care of Union soldiers in the amount of $400 million. Very impressive. "Phoebe Pember served as a matron at the nation’s largest military medical center at the time, Richmond’s Chimborazo Hospital. It treated 75,000 patients over the course of the war. Women physicians were rare, but Dr. Mary Edwards Walker was a surgeon who treated soldiers on the front lines."

So how did Van Lew become a spy? She learned information about troop advances from attending balls and dances. The prisoners of war that she attended to left her written messages inside borrowed books with information also. Van Lew was bold enough to visit the wife of Jefferson Davis after hearing Mrs. Davis was seeking a maid. Van Lew offered her one of her servants, which was another way to obtain information. Using servants  she forwarded her information to General Ulysses S Grant.

Lincoln's Lady Spymaster is a fantastic history of women during the Civil War, or as some say the War of Northern Aggression.  5 out of 5 stars.

Save Her Life

Save Her Life is my choice for the Key Word Reading Challenge for June. Hostage negotiator Sandra Vos is the protagonist of a new police procedural series with Save Her Life being the first installment of the series. Sandra chose law enforcement as a career because her brother was murdered when they were young. When her teenage daughter disappears, Sandra feels like life is repeating itself. The book was published on May 27, 2025.

The publisher's summary:

The tears fall down the girl’s pale face as she desperately tries to struggle free from the ties around her wrists. The only sound in the room other than her muffled cries is the ticking of a clock. Her mother has less than one hour to find her alive.

It’s been more than thirty years since Special Agent Sandra Vos’s twin brother was shot dead, an innocent victim caught in a kidnap gone wrong. It devastated Sandra’s family, but it made her who she is today, one of the FBI’s most successful negotiators.

After dropping her teenage daughter, Olivia, at school, Sandra is alerted to a potential hostage situation at her local grocery store and races to the scene. A man has pulled out a gun and is refusing to talk or let anyone out of the building until his demands are met. The fate of dozens of lives rests in Sandra’s hands.

But as Sandra starts to make a breakthrough with the hostage taker, she receives a call that makes her blood run cold. Someone has taken Olivia, and their demand will push Sandra to her absolute limit. If it’s not met within twenty-four hours, she will never see her daughter again.

Sandra knows she should step aside, letting her team take over, but she doesn’t trust anyone else to bring Olivia home alive. Breaking every rule in the book, Sandra is ready to go into her most personal negotiation yet. But how much will she have to sacrifice to save her daughter?

The story opened with Sandra attending a parole hearing for the man who killed her brother over thirty years ago. The man was denied parole. The story then moved to a hostage negotiation that Sandra lead. I don’t think I needed to read 80 pages of Sandra negotiating with a hostage taker to understand her job. It was overkill. Also, her daughter wasn't kidnapped until 40% of the way into the story. Since saving daughter Olivia's life is what the book is supposed to be about, I think the kidnapping should have occurred early on in the story.  

The book concentrates more on procedure than relationships and I was somewhat bored. I did not connect with Sandra as a character. I felt more for the criminals instead. After reading other reviews of the book I am aware that my opinion is a minority opinion. Given that these criminals are not going to be involved in future stories, I don’t see much to entice me to continue to read the series. There aren't any secondary characters that were drawn upon either. We basically only read what their names are.

The plot was interesting but I had a few issues with the writing. I am rating the book 3 out of 5 stars.

Spent

Alison Bechdel's Spent graphic novel was published earlier this week. The novel's main character is Alison herself but this Alison has a different life history. Book Alison runs a pygmy goat sanctuary in Vermont. She is upset over climate change and the possibility of civil war in the U. S.  Book Alison’s first graphic novel was about her father’s taxidermy business and was made into a successful, Emmy award winning TV show. Alison is trying to sell her second graphic novel, which is about late capitalism and her guilt over being white. She wants to free people from consumer capitalism and live a more ethical life. However, she wonders whether her love of her middle class lifestyle is a betrayal of her lifelong values.

The book is quite funny. The plot is structured around the contents of a Marxist explanation of money. While this sounds serious, it is written with funny lines by all of the characters who are not afraid to poke fun at themselves and the politicians they follow. Alison has a conservative sister Sheila who is a nationally renowned seed artist. Sheila and Alison just barely tolerate each other. The story became slow in the middle. There was too much dialogue on politics and special interest groups and not much action. We read about Alison’s daily life here.

Alison’s partner is Holly. She is a sculptor by trade. Holly's character resembles the author’s own wife, Holly Rae Taylor, an artist who did the coloring on Spent. The couple meets daily with their friends, which includes Stuart who is a Bernie Sanders look-alike, Stuart's wife Sparrow and their college dropout kid, J.R., and Lois, who acts as a sort of tour guide to other people’s sexual hangups and fetishes.

I would not recommend the book for children. While there is no profanity, the book has several drawings of characters having sex. In addition, there are discussions among them about being lesbians. I don't think kids would be interested in it anyway because the storyline is about middle aged characters. All of the characters are extremely liberal in their politics. They constantly talk about their activities volunteering for many political groups.

I enjoyed this comic but there was too much politics for my taste. I am rating it 4 out if 5 stars.

The Retirement Plan

I chose The Retirement Plan as my selection for the Calendar of Crime Reading Challenge this month. It was published a few days ago. The story is a funny cozy mystery that anyone whoever has been married, yes everyone, will enjoy.

The publisher's summary:

Three best friends turn to murder to collect on their husbands’ life insurance policies… But the husbands have a plan of their own in this darkly funny debut that will delight readers from the first laugh to the final twist.

After thirty years of friendship, Pam dreams of her perfect retirement with Nancy, Shalisa, Marlene, and their husbands—until their husbands pool their funds for an investment that goes terribly wrong. Suddenly, their golden years are looking as dreary as their marriages.

But when the women discover their husbands have seven-figure life insurance policies, a new dream forms. And this time, they need a hitman.

Meanwhile, their husbands are working on their own secret retirement scheme and when things begin to go sideways, they fear it’s backfired. The husbands scramble to stay alive…but soon realize they may not be quick enough to outmaneuver their wives.

I feel that the first few chapters were slow while the author set up her plot. There were alot of characters introduced as well as the backstory on the two retirement plans. This plot is the most ingenious plot I ever heard. I knew the book would be entertaining so while it began slow I kept reading and soon was hooked. 

The characters are hilarious. The three wives and the three husbands behaved ridiculously. None of them could successfully carry out a plan and they all bumbled their actions. The person in the middle of it all is the barber, Hector, who just happens to be an organized crime killer from Central America. The story was revealed through four alternating points of view. The wives had one viewpoint, the husbands had theirs, the new manager of the casino where the husbands worked, Padma, had hers  and then we have Hector's. The novel switches points of view frequently. And while I enjoyed the antics of the husbands and wives tremendously, I think my favorite chapters were probably from the perspective of Padma, the frazzled casino boss of two of the husbands with an overbearing mother. Hector is also a cool character to follow.

Humor exudes throughout the story because of the zany plot. You can't help but chuckle at everyone's antics. The Retirement Plan is the type of yarn that all will enjoy. I highly recommend it. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Great British Bump Off: Kill or be Quilt #1

Following the success of the Great British Bump Off baking murder mystery series, John Allison brings us a companion series. The Kill or Be Quilt series will have five releases and takes place in a fabric shop that we quilters refer to as a quilt shop. The next release will be published later today.

The publisher's summary:

When wildcat arson hits her new employer right where she lives, Shauna Wickle is drawn into the brutal and vindictive world of quilting, as sisterhood and community needlecraft deteriorate into internecine strife. With the promise of an end to all her financial worries, Shauna must cross enemy lines and infiltrate a cadre of “monsters in human skin”. But they seem…so nice

This is a light hearted cozy mystery in graphic novel format.  Shauna Wickle is the main character. She is a bright, kind, peppy girl who embarks on a relaxing vacation, sailing down English canals in a boat she borrowed from her uncle. However, Shauna is not an experienced sailor and soon finds that the boat has run aground and needs to be fixed before Shauna can continue her vacation. She is lucky to land in Barton-on-Wendle, and gets a job working at a fabric shop in order to earn money for repairs. At the shop she learns what a fat quarter is and is delighted to see bobbins of thread organized by color. Because of her bubbly personality, the shop owner believes Shauna will scare off their customers. We have to wait for the next release to find out how she fits in with the employees.

Way, way over 5 out of 5 stars.

Alienated #1

Alienated is one of the best comics I've ever read. I am anxiously awaiting release #2 in a few days. In this release the arrival of aliens on earth shakes the world. All of the alien bodies found were deceased except for one, aptly named Alien. He was found hiding in a man's closet. A disconnected family of a grandfather, TJ, and his grandkids, Lily and Winter, get together and decide to hide it from the curious world. The big question here is whether they can keep Alien hidden.

The story ended abruptly with Alien trying to communicate with the family. He was unsuccessful but the family thought they understood him. We have a cliffhanger concerning the nature of Alien's statements but we have to wait a few weeks to find out.

Release #1 has setup the series and the characters well. Now that we have the backstory in mind, the rest of Alien's needs and desires can be focused on in future installments of this 5 release series. 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.

Six Days in Bombay

Alka Joshi is the author of the Jaipur Trilogy which I loved. The Henna Artist was the best of the three. Her latest novel was published on April 15, 2025. It primarily takes place in Bombay during the late 1930s and it is a standalone novel. The story also travels to Prague, Florence, Paris and London, to uncover the mystery behind a famous painter's death.

The publisher's summary:

When renowned painter Mira Novak arrives at Wadia hospital in Bombay after a miscarriage, she's expected to make a quick recovery, and her nurse, Sona, is excited to learn more about the vivacious artist who shares her half-Indian identity. Sona, yearning for a larger life, finds herself carried away by Mira's stories of her travels and exploits and is shocked by accounts of the many lovers the painter has left scattered throughout Europe. When Mira dies quite suddenly and mysteriously, Sona falls under suspicion, and her quiet life is upended.

The key to proving Sona's innocence may lie in a cryptic note and four paintings Mira left in her care, sending the young woman on a mission to visit the painter's former friends and lovers across a tumultuous Europe teetering toward war. On the precipice of discovering her own identity, Sona learns that the painter's charming facade hid a far more complicated, troubled soul.

In her first stand-alone novel since her bestselling debut, The Henna Artist, Alka Joshi uses the life of painter Amrita Sher-Gil, the "Frida Kahlo of India," as inspiration for the story's beginning to explore how far we'll travel to determine where we truly belong.

This novel offers the reader two trajectories to follow. Sona Falstaff, a 23 year-old nurse, has been coddled by her mother all her life. When her mother suddenly dies after she is fired, Sona has to come to terms with who she wants to be. Her mother wanted her to be more adventurous and do new things. Then there is the flamboyant Mira Novak, a patient of Sona's who died after spending six days in the hospital. Mira had a miscarriage at home and was admitted by her husband the same day. Sona was enthralled with Mira's stories about her friends as well as living in Prague, Paris and Florence as a painter. The title comes from the six days that Sona knew Mira. 

These two characters were complete opposites. As the story goes along we see Sona branching out as well as discovering the truth surrounding all of Mira's stories. She is an insecure person, being the product of an Indian mother and a British father. Sona was taunted while growing up due to her skin color as well as being fatherless. Some in Bombay accuse her of being too Indian and others say she is too British.

While Sona travels throughout Europe she meets Mira's friends, all of whom make colorful secondary characters. The other secondary characters work at the Bombay hospital. They are the stereotypical people you would expect for the time and place. As Mira's life unfolds, Sona wonders whether she could live so boldly.

The ending ties up all the loose ends and is sweet. Six Days in Bombay is an engaging story that historical fiction fans will love. I am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

The Lost Girls

The Lost Girls was published in February 2025. It was previously published in 2023 with the title The Flash Girls. I don't know the reason for changing the title, especially since several flash girls were killed in the story. Perhaps the story was revised. I don't know. As usual, though, J. M. Cannon has written another outstanding novel. He is the king of psychological thrillers.

The publisher's summary:

Charleston, South Carolina. Four years ago. Three girls disappear into the night. One by one they go missing, never to be seen again. No witnesses, no leads, nothing. The only thing they had in common? An uneasy sense of being watched in the days before they vanished. Noises in the night, and boot prints in the flower beds outside their bedroom windows . . .

Today. One of the lost girls was Anna Klein's best friend. With no body, the case went cold. But Anna never stopped looking for Sylvie - or whoever took her. Now, four years later, Anna finally has a lead when a body turns up in an abandoned mansion. She has to know: is it Sylvie? But time is running out. As the storm of the century threatens the whole East Coast, the clock is ticking to find the answers before this trail goes cold.

Can Anna find Sylvie and the other girls before they're lost forever?

I was mesmerized by this story from the first page:  

"Marble eyes. That's the rumor. A woman's corpse has been found with eyes like a doll. Anna thinks it sounds just strange enough to be what's she's after. The location is right. So is the body's estimated age."  

I had alot of questions already about the plot from this first paragraph. It was so intriguing that I couldn't stop reading until I finished the book in one sitting. The pace was fast but the last quarter of the story was super fast.  

Anna's job as a newspaper journalist was perfect for an amateur sleuth. She was assigned to covering a fast approaching hurricane but she felt that was beneath her. The murder story should have been assigned to her, not the newby reporter on staff. She was always ahead of the police but they didn't always know it. There are subtle hints throughout the book of Anna having intimate knowledge of the missing girls. While I was reading I was not sure whether this was a clue or red herring.

The secondary characters were all important to the plot. Anna worked with Justin at the newspaper and her favorite teacher Geller helped her with unscrambling the meaning behind the killer's poem. Her mother was awful. She was an unrepentant alcoholic but her importance is revealed toward the end. Anna's school friends Hannah, Tess and Sylvie have been missing for four years. They are the flash girls. The meaning behind "flash" was part of the killer's modus operandi and it was an intriguing part of the story.

The Charleston setting wasn't prominent until the latter half of the book as the hurricane approached. Here we read about famous buildings being ripped apart from the waves. The ending was a surprise I did not expect  ur it was a satisfying feeling to finish the book.

I loved this book and mystery fans will want to read it, especially if they like psychological thrillers. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Lotus Shoes

Asian stories are are some of my favorite historical fiction novels. The Lotus Shoes was another enjoyable read for me. It is an uplifting tale about two Chinese girls who are from different classes. One serves the other as a slave but as they grow up, their relationship takes on a new facets.

The publisher's summary:

1800s China. Tightly bound feet, or "golden lilies," are the mark of an honorable woman, eclipsing beauty, a rich dowry and even bloodline in the marriage stakes. When Little Flower is sold as a maidservant—a muizai—to Linjing, a daughter of the prominent Fong family, she clings to the hope that one day her golden lilies will lead her out of slavery.

Not only does Little Flower have bound feet, uncommon for a muizai, but she is extraordinarily gifted at embroidery, a skill associated with the highest class of a lady. Resentful of her talents, Linjing does everything in her power to thwart Little Flower's escape.

But when scandal strikes the Fongs, both women are cast out to the Celibate Sisterhood, where Little Flower’s artistic prowess catches the eye of a nobleman. His attention threatens not only her improved status, but her life—the Sisterhood punishes disobedience with death. And if Linjing finds out, will she sabotage Little Flower to reclaim her power, or will she protect her? 

The Lotus Shoes is an engrossing journey through 19th century rural China. The lives people led were sad from living in abject poverty but for the most part they accepted their lot in life. Our heroine was the exception. Little Flower a compelling character. Every time her hopes are dashed she comes up with a new plan to better herself. Linjing, on the other hand, is spiteful and she relies on others to fix her mistakes. She is the villain of the story. Linjing constantly shoves Little Flower down because she can. Little Flower is her slave.

Little Flower's ups and downs provide the mystery for the story. You don't know if she can survive all the horrible things that happen to her. She is punished for running away from the Fongs by having a hand clubbed. Linjing is so jealous of Little Flower that she forces her to stop binding her feet. There will be no prospective marriage for her with normal feet. Linjing also makes her cut up a wedding quilt that Little Flower embroidered. At every turn Little Flower's upworldly mobile plans are dashed. After the two of them are kicked out of the Fong home, Little Flower asserts her independence. Her character is what saves her, though, as she is viewed sympathetically from her superiors.

The plot is revealed with a dual narrative from Linjing and Little Flower's perspectives. I like this type of format for a novel. The Chinese setting was prominent to the story as it detailed the harsh life of 19th century. It brought a sadness to me as everyone was poor, but we see different degrees of poverty. 

The Lotus Shoes is a revealing look at women's lives of the era. 5 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.