Book of the Month: October

The expectations that I had for my reading this month were not fulfilled.  I planned on reading specific books from international authors.  However, I did not read any of them.  There were several books by favorite authors that were published last month and they are what I read.  Three of them were spectacular and it was hard to choose a favorite from them.  Ken Follett's The Evening and the Morning, Laura Morelli's The Night Portrait and A. M. Stuart's Revenge in Rubies captivated me.  I would have to say, though, that my favorite book for October is Revenge in Rubies.  It is the second book in the Harriet Gordon Mystery series and was even better than the first, Singapore Sapphire.  It is a superbly plotted whodunit that takes place in Singapore during 1910.

I thought it was pretty cool that the author created a Pinterest page for this book.  On this page you will find photos of churches, grand mansions, maps, clubhouses and famous military men who were stationed in Singapore. This is an ingenious way to advertise the book.

The Perfect Life

 

Psychological thrillers are one of my favorite genres so I decided to purchase the Kindle version of The Perfect Life. It was a fun read but probably should be classified as a murder mystery, not a thriller. While there was enough suspense to keep me reading it did not have the intensity that a thriller should have.  That said, below is the publisher's summary of the plot:  

"Molly Chatwell has a beautiful house, a handsome husband, two children and a job she likes. It all seems so perfect but when her two children leave for university, she realizes her life has become dull and empty.  When her husband refuses to go away with her, Molly decides to go alone.  But what should have been a relaxing break turns into a nightmare.  Back at home in London, Molly tries to put it all behind her but when the police arrive at her door and tell her that a body has been found with connections to her, Molly realizes that her perfect life is under threat."

I had a hard time putting the book down. I read it in one day.  There were some unexpected twists in the plot and the ending was a surprise.  The characters, though, were not appealing, including the main character Molly Chatwell. She was dull.  However, most of what the reader knows about her comes from action in the plot line.  It is hard to like someone you don't know well before the action begins.  

All in all, I did enjoy this plot driven book. I rate it 3 out of 5 stars.

Little Girls Tell Tales

 

Wow!  Rachel Bennett's second novel is an engrossing murder mystery. I read this in one sitting. It strung me along from the first page until its satisfying conclusion. I loved it!

The story opens in 2004 with Rosalie walking with her brother Dallin in the isolated wetlands on the Isle of Man. After losing step with her brother she stumbles across the dead body of a girl who is lying partially in a pond.  Rosalie becomes scared and quickly walks away. She then gets lost in the wooded curraghs of the island and isn't found until her mother asks the other residents to help her find Rosalie.  When Rosalie tells the authorities what she saw, no one believes her. 

Fast forward to the present day with Rosalie still living in her mother's home following the death of her wife Beth. She is shocked into helping Dallin's girlfriend Cora, who is searching for her long lost sister Simone.  Simone disappeared around the same time that Rosalie saw a dead body and Cora wants Rosalie to return to the area with her to search. Rosalie is reluctant because she had been ridiculed all her life for telling the "story" about seeing a dead body. However, she likes Cora and agrees to help her look for her sister.

The book had a quick pace that was led by many twists and turns in the plot. The characters were OK but not memorable enough for a series.  While there were plenty of twists, I wouldn't call the book a thriller as it is advertised. A lack of tight suspense makes it a murder mystery, albeit a fine one. 

4 out of 5 stars.

My First Trip to a Bookstore in a Pandemic

I was excited to find out last week that a Barnes and Noble Bookstore in my neighborhood has reopened.  It's been closed since March 13.  I have missed having a physical book in my hands but was only able to find one book that I was interested in to buy. They are no longer selling magazines and the books on the shelves are old.  Most of the mystery and historical fiction on the shelves I had already read.  This location should do more advertising that it is open.  I was one of four customers in a store that is usually packed at all times.

I bought The Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee.  It takes place in Calcutta in 1919 and is advertised as a whodunit. The book won the CWA award for best historical fiction in 2017. It is Mukherjee's first novel and the first book in a series featuring Sam Wyndham, a former Scotland Yard detective, as the sleuth. He has already published three additional books in the series: Death in the East, A Necessary Evil, and Smoke and Ashes.

The Evening and the Morning

This is the fourth book in Ken Follett's Kingsbridge series.  It is a prequel to The Pillars of the Earth and concerns the founding of the town of Kingsbridge.  At 916 pages it is definitely a chunkster but I love chunky books.  It was a fast read though.  I read it in two days. The Evening and the Morning was published last month on September 15, 2020.  

The story begins in the year 997 CE with the family of Edgar, his brothers Erman and Eadbald, and his parents living in Combe, Shiring Parish, in the west of England. Edgar's father is a well respected boat builder and Edgar hopes to inherit the business one day.  However, after a Viking raid, fire destroyed the entire town of Combe, including the boatyard. Edgar's father is also killed in the raid, leaving the family destitute.  Relying on the good graces of the Dean of Shiring, the family is given swamp land to cultivate and they start over as farmers in Dreng's Ferry. The farm is a mess and they can barely grow crops but they are able to eke out an existence during the rest of the year. Edgar plans to get his family settled and then leave two or three years later to find a job as a boat builder. The book is Edgar's story.

Among the four Kingsbridge novels I like this one is the best.  The Pillars of the Earth is my second favorite. While I loved Pillars, there were lengthy passages on construction that did not interest me. Given how much I liked Pillars, it just goes to show how well The Evening and The Morning was written. Also, the plot moved more smoothly with this novel than with Pillars. The period of time covered is only ten years and the lives of the characters are more entangled together. 

There were two other characters who were prominent to the novel. Brother Aldred is an English monk at Shiring Abbey. He joins the story while on his way home to England, after purchasing books on the continent for the scriptorium at his abbey. Ragna comes from a noble family in Cherbourg. After accepting a marriage proposal from the Ealdorman Wilwulf she travels to England to marry and live with her soon-to-be husband. Aldred and Ragna's lives intersect frequently as they share a common enemy with Edgar:  Bishop Wynstan, the main but not only villain and Wilwulf's brother.

The Evening and the Morning is a must read. 5 out of 5 stars!

Growing Up Meathead

I received a free copy of this book through the Early Reviewer's Club at Librarything. When I requested a copy of the book I thought it was a graphic novel. However, it is a memoir of the author's life growing up with the nickname Meathead. When I realized that it was written for young adults I set it aside for a few days. After reading the book today I am sorry that I waited. I loved it! 

Probably a big part of why I like this book has to do with having similar experiences growing up as the author had. Meathead is egged on by his friends to shoplift candy, gum and other items from a local store.  I hate to admit I did the same thing under peer pressure. However, Meathead becomes the best shoplifter at his school, takes orders from classmates, steals the merchandise and distributes it at school the next day.  His best friend Matt is a frequent accomplice. Together they steal higher priced and larger items such as comic books, batteries, and bags of snacks. They have so much stuff that they have to scramble to find hiding spaces.  When they get caught six months later their parents make them return the merchandise to the store manager.  The manager is shocked that they each have 6 full bags of stuff. Fearing the loss of his job because of the amount that was stolen under his nose, the manager decides not to call the police and keep the matter quiet. However, Meathead and Matt are banned from the shop. 

The two of them move on to other antics such as terrorizing girls, fighting older boys and lying about their age. These are the stories of childhoods long passed. I cannot imagine kids today being allowed outside all day to play and get into this kind of hilarious trouble. 

5 out of 5 stars.

My Favorite Graphic Novel Authors

I began reading comic books and graphic novels about eight years ago.  I particularly enjoy those that are illustrated with bright colors.  After reviewing the types of comics that I have reviewed in the past on this blog it appears that I like the "coming to America" books the best. I am always fascinated by these stories, particularly the ones that have occurred in the past twenty years.  These immigrants have personal stories that are much different from those told by people who came to America a hundred years ago or earlier.  

I have been regularly following these authors: 

Mimi Pond:  fiction

Riad Sattouf:  autobiographical

Joe Sacco:  reportage

Gene Luen Yang:  autobiographical and history

Lucy Knisley:  autobiographical

Dan Dougherty:  autobiographical Beardo series

Guy DeLisle:  autobiographical travelogue series

Sarah Glidden: reportage

Rutu Modan:  fiction

This past year I have found new favorites:

Marieke Nijkamp:  fiction

Robin Ha:  autobiographical

Owen Pomeroy:  historical fiction 

Malaka Gharib:  autobiographical

Cynthia Copeland:  autobiographical

Philippe Thibault:  history

Robert Mailer Anderson:  history

I look forward to finding new (to me) authors next year and beyond.

Revenge in Rubies

Revenge in Rubies is the perfect whodunit. This second Harriet Gordon Mystery, following 2019's Singapore Sapphire, is a superbly plotted mystery. The fact that it takes place during a historical period, 1910s Singapore, is secondary.  I love that the murdered body of Sylvie Nolan was found on page three so that the remainder of the story can be about finding the killer.  Sylvie is the very young wife of  middle aged Lieutenant Colonel John Nolan, an army officer in the South Sussex Regiment. When Inspector Robert Curran of the Straits Settlements Police Force Detective Division begins to investigate, the military families stationed in Singapore come together to thwart his investigation.  They prefer to keep their truths in-house.  Amateur sleuth Harriet Gordon works as a typist for Inspector Curran. He has come to rely on her for advice and assistance with his investigations as she has proven herself adept at finding clues in the past.  Her friendship with the victim's sister-in-law, Priscilla Nolan, proves to be useful and she is able to learn many family secrets from Pris. Harriet lives with her brother Julian Edwards, an Anglican priest stationed in Singapore. Together they run a school for young boys, the St. Thomas School.

I love the names of the characters, names which can only belong to the British. Lavinia Pemberthey-Smythe is perennially British and I had to laugh when I saw her name in the book.  How did the author create this one? Some of the names of the Asian characters are true to life such as Huo Jin, Sergeant Gursharan Singh, constable Tan Jian Ju and constable Musa Bin Ahmed.  One interesting thing that I like about this series is that all of the characters are strong.  They have interesting backgrounds too, which could come into play in future books in the series.  

Author A. M. Stuart has created a Pinterest board for Revenge in Rubies that is worth checking out. Here she has pinned photos of grand mansions, churches, vehicles, maps, clubhouses, fashions and famous military men who were stationed in Singapore. It is pretty cool for an author to have created this type of advertising for a novel. Now I have to wonder if other authors whom I have read are doing the same thing.

The third book in the series, Evil in Emerald, is scheduled to be published some time in Spring, 2022.  I cannot wait!  I love this new series.  5 out of 5 stars.

The Night Portrait

Laura Morelli has changed her usual historical period from the Renaissance to 1930s and 1940s Germany with The Last Portrait. It includes an account of the Butcher of Poland Hans Frank's acquisitions of stolen art from Polish families and museums. He is an historical figure who was executed at Nuremberg in 1946 for his war crimes.  Frank is known for killing six million Poles during WWII. Morelli's fictional characters were not likable but, of course, they worked for the Nazis.  The story alternates between the WWII era and 1490s Milan.

The blurb summary reads:  

"Milan, 1492:  When a 16-year-old beauty becomes the mistress of the Duke of Milan, she must fight for her place in the palace - and against those who want her out.  Soon, she finds herself sitting before Leonardo da Vinci, who wants to ensure his own place in the ducal palace by painting his most ambitious portrait to date.

Munich, World War II:  After a modest conservator unwittingly places a priceless Italian Renaissance portrait into the hands of a high-ranking Nazi leader, she risks her life to recover it, working with an American soldier, part of the famed Monuments Men team, to get it back.

Two women, separated by 500 years, are swept up in the tide of history as one painting stands at the center of their quests for their own destinies."

I am not sure how I feel about the Edith Becker character who was a conservator at an art museum.  I believe the author tried to portray her in a positive light. I just don't buy it. While I understand that it is hard to go against the political tide, especially when that puts your life in danger, she did in fact participate in stealing artworks in Poland for the Nazis.  She got off easy.  Edith was never tried for war crimes.  She was retained as an adviser to the Allies when the war ended.  I don't know if this is plausible or not. Likewise, I don't know if it is plausible for a German citizen to have felt sympathy for those whom the Nazi's targeted as Edith did.  My history education showed that the Germans were enthusiastically behind Hitler. They were crushed when he died and the war ended.  I wish that I could find out what the author intended for her characters and her plot.  Did she just want her readers to think? I would love to interview her to find out.

I am always suspicious when WWII stories are told by characters who were German but never felt the love for Hitler. If this many people opposed Hitler in real life would he have been successful? When am I going to see a WWII story about a German who loved working and killing for Hitler? I guess this protagonist would not be sympathetic to readers but neither are the white washed characters in current historical fiction. With 68% of American youths disbelieving that the Holocaust happened, these stories are not helpful. 

The Cecelia Gallerani character was more believable. She had no choice in life other than to enter a convent or become a kept woman. I respect her decision. This is the type of character Morelli is good at writing about. She excels in writing Renaissance novels.  In addition, I had a slight problem concerning the promotion of the book. It is advertised as a novel of DaVinci's Italy. However, DaVinci was not central to the plot. Also, the WWII subplot overshadowed the Renaissance era subplot. The WWII story covered 70% of the book and I did not feel that I was reading a DaVinci plot as advertised. The horrors of the second world War made me feel overwhelming sadness as I read the book.  For example, Morelli explicitly details Allied soldier's thoughts as they liberated one concentration camp after another.  One striking fact that I never thought of before is that someone (soldiers) had to clean up the emptied camps; such a gruesome thought.

I usually love a Laura Morelli book but this one left me with many questions.  As I contemplated Edith more and more I realize that I just did not like her. I did enjoy following the plot even though half of it left a bad taste in my mouth. I hoped that Edith would get her act together but she never did.  An unlikable protagonist is death to a novel.

I don't know how to rate this book.  It was an emotional journey.  It certainly made me think and my misgivings affected how I feel about the book.  My personal biases concerning the actions of the German people during WWII  were challenged, which made writing this review difficult.  If the author intended to create such a flawed and unlikable character, she just wrote the book of the year. 

October Armchair Travel Plans

Next month I will be traveling via the armchair to six countries. With my supersonic mind I will be flying to Israel, Iran, Spain, Italy, Burma and China with books written by Rachel Kadish, Guy Gavriel Kay, Marjan Kamali, Charmaine Craig, Ken Tentarelli, and Maxine Hong Kingston.  I will be transported to the 1930s as well as the medieval era. The books from my bookshelf that I will be reading can be seen in the below book covers.

Rage

"I bring rage out.  I do bring rage out.  I always have.  I don't know if that's an asset or a liability, but whatever it is, I do."  Donald Trump, March 31, 2016.

Rage is the second book Bob Woodward has written about Donald Trump's presidency.  It is a sequel to Woodward's 2018 book Fear and covers Trump's entire first term in office. I was thrilled to get one of the first copies of the book.  While reading I sensed that much of the information presented in the book I already knew about, but it seemed new. Trump fatigue has affected my ability to remember. 

The first third of the book concerns all of the scandals, foreign policy problems, impeachment and all of the discord among staffers. Woodward then begins to talk about COVID-19.  Since I am a news junkie I will only mention information that is new to me that I feel is noteworthy. The timeline of events was one of those things new to me. Two U. S. government offices, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Institute of Health (NIH), received notice about the coronavirus on December 31, 2019. Robert Redfield immediately began working on a memo.  On January 1, 2020 he distributed the first internal report regarding the virus within the CDC.  On January 3, 2020 the U. S. was aware that it spread from human to human contact by deciphering the lies it was told by a Chinese representative over the phone. On January 5 Chinese social media sites were using #WuhanReportedMysteriousPneumonia and the posts indicated community spread of the virus.  By January 10, 2020 when the Chinese posted online the virus's genome, a vaccine began being worked on by Dr. Anthony Fauci at the NIH. This timeline is vastly different from what the media has reported. Essentially, the U. S. government knew everything it needed to know to act by the end of the first week of January. The problem with acting swiftly was that Trump was not on board. He did not want to act. Trump did not declare a national emergency until March 13.

Another interesting piece of information is how Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner behaved in his role as senior advisor to the president. He stated that the Administration's communication strategy was called "intentional wrongness persuasion."  He was quoting the Dilbert cartoon.  Kushner also told Woodward that "controversy elevates message."  He was further quoted saying "Trump would say that he is going to respect the One China policy, that is wasn't that big if a give because you can always say you wouldn't respect it a day later." Whew!  Is Kushner just as nuts as Trump or is this something he came up with to explain why Trump behaved as he did?

The timing of the publication of Rage is perfect for reminding voters of all we have been through with Trump. Whether you like Trump or not, Rage is the reminder we need in order to determine how to cast our ballots. After all, all of us have Trump fatigue.

5 out of 5 stars.

The Lover's Portrait

 

The Lover's Portrait:  An Art Mystery is the second book in Jennifer Alderson's Zelda Richardson Mysteries. Three additional books have been published and all of them are art mysteries.  The author also writes the Travel Can be Murder cozy mystery series.

The Lover's Portrait alternates between the WWII era and the present day. The story opens with Philip Verbeet and Arjan van Heemsvliet storing artworks in a secret location to keep the Nazis from finding them.  The scene then flips to the present day Germany with Konrad Heider perusing his computer for sightings of paintings from his late father's lost art collection. The scene changes one more time to Amsterdam in the current year. Zelda Richardson has just been hired as an intern at The Amsterdam Museum and tasked with revising the website for an exhibition of over 3,000 stolen artworks that have gone unclaimed since WWII. When the exhibition opens one month later, Zelda is invited to attend with her boss. There she meets Rita Brouwer, an American who is claiming that her father owned one of the lesser known paintings that she calls Irises. Zelda falls in love with Rita's family story and wants to help her prove that she is the owner of the painting. When a photo of Rita and the painting appear in the newspaper the next day, another claimant comes forward. Who is the owner? The Museum meets with the claimants as an investigation into the ownership of the painting begins. 

I loved this art mystery. Zelda's extensive investigation into a stolen artwork was fascinating. Before reading the book I did not know the process that museums follow to determine the history of a painting. Alot of research has to be done concerning the artist's business and personal life. Business records, mortgages, leases, letters, birth and death records, new articles, exhibition catalogs, and government documents are reviewed to become familiar with the artist. Likewise, a claimant's background is similarly reviewed to see if it matches up with the artist's background. 

Zelda is a great amateur sleuth. With an art history baccalaureate degree, she is seeking to be admitted to a master's program in museum studies. Zelda is ambitious enough to defy her superiors at the museum. She wants to come up with new facts to impress her bosses and has to take risks to find them, even if that puts her in danger.

The other two books in the series are now on my tbr list. This mystery was that good.  5 out of 5 stars.

Upcoming Books in September

Two of  my favorite authors will publish a new book next week.  On September 15, 2020 Bob Woodward's second book on the Trump presidency, Rage, will be published.  It is a sequel to his 2018 book Fear. Likewise, Ken Follett is publishing his fourth book in his Knightsbridge series. It is titled The Evening and the Morning. I cannot wait to read both of them.  As soon as I get up out of bed next Tuesday I will be on Amazon.com to purchase them. I want to read and review them both ASAP but since they are both chunksters it will take a few days.  Rage is 480 pages long and The Evening and the Morning has 926 pages. 

There is a new book by Laura Morelli. The Night Portrait was published a few days ago on September 8. On September 29, Joanne Fluke's 26th installment of her Hannah Swenson Mysteries will be published. The Christmas Cupcake Murder is a cozy mystery. I enjoy the light reading that Fluke provides with her books. Next month, on October 20, 2020, Ariana Franklin's fifth and final book in her Mistress of the Art of Death series will be published. Franklin has passed away so the book is co-authored by Samantha Norman. I cannot wait for Death and the Maiden to be released!