The Binding

The Binding is set in a fantasy world where binders have the power to erase bad memories from clients who want to forget.  It took me awhile before I figured this out as our protagonist began his apprenticeship working on actual book binding covers. For some, being able to forget a traumatic event is a godsend. For our protagonist Emmett Farmer, his binding caused tremendous confusion and illness.  The story is written in three parts. The first part shows Emmet's current situation. The second delves into the past and shows how he ended up being sent away by his family.  The third part takes the story forward into his future and the resolution of the plot.

The book begins with teenager Emmett Farmer working in the fields of his family's farm.  A letter arrives that summons him to an apprenticeship as a bookbinder. This vocation arouses fear and superstition in his small community.  However, his parents feel that he cannot afford to refuse the offer.  He has been ill in the past year and the illness has caused the family to be embarrassed by his symptoms.  His father has difficulty understanding how this happened to Emmett because he had kept a pure home.  

Emmett has always been attracted to books, even though they are strictly forbidden.  His bookbinding master, Seredith, tells him that bookbinding is a sacred calling and that he was born to be a binder.  Under this old woman's watchful eye, Emmett learns how to hand-craft elegant leatherbound volumes. Each volume will capture a memory.  If you want to forget something, a binder can help you erase it.  The binders then place the memory inside a book, which the binders always store in a vault owned by the binder.  After Emmett has settled in his new occupation he discovers that one of the books in the vault has his name on it.  He has no idea that he was ever bound or what memory could have been erased from his mind.

This book was amazing.  It has parts of magic and gay coming-of-age that I normally don't like reading about but I could not stop reading this book.  The imaginary past of an alternate England in the 1700s was somewhat difficult for me to grasp.  Fantasy is not a genre that I read and it took some getting used to.  The idea that you can have someone erase a traumatic memory is appealing to me.  If binders were real, I might visit one.  To be technical, The Binding seemed sort of the "don't ask, don't tell" scenario currently playing out in the U. S.  When parents have their kid's memories erased, they leave their children with a sense that they have done something wrong but cannot be absolved of their wrong-doing. This cannot be comfortable for those who have been bound.

4 out of 5 stars.

In the Blood

In the Blood is a genealogical mystery featuring Jefferson Tayte as the geneologist.  The geneological mystery sub-genre is a new favorite for me. This is book one of seven novels to date and it is fantastic.  

Jefferson "JT" Tayte has been working on a project for Walter Sloane. Sloane believes that he is related to a loyalist family that fled to England at the end of the American Revolutionary War.  The family seems to have disappeared after leaving the American shore and Tayte has been tasked with finding a link between Sloane and the Fairborne family. With few clues to the family history left to do via a phone, Sloane orders him to catch a plane ASAP for England and finish the research within a week.  Tayte is afraid of flying but he cannot give up another assignment because of his fears. It will affect his ability to get new jobs. The research leads him to the short life of a woman in Cornwall, a writing box and a possible dark secret about the Fairborne family.

I loved this book!  The mystery is not just about the resolution of Sloane's genealogy but also about why several minor characters were killed. JT believes that everything is connected to his research and he needs to find proof. Each new lead turns into a plot twist that moves the plot along quickly.

The JT character is sympathetic given all of his phobias and difficulties communicating with British record office staff. He is a goofy introvert.  JT's nemesis, Peter Schofield, is hired by Sloane to assist him after JT's first few days in England.  Sloane wants fast results and believes that JT needs assistance. However, JT does not trust Schofield because he senses that Schofield wants to take all of his clients away. On this particular assignment Schofield is trustworthy but  JT does not realize this until Schofield is killed. This is a shame because Schofield could have provided some conflict in future novels. The author has not given the reader any other prominent characters other than JT.  The secondary characters are so far in the background that I would categorize them as third party characters, if there is such a thing.

I can't wait to read the remaining books in the series.  To date, there are six more novels in the series. 5 out of 5 stars.

Stacking the Shelves

I have added three books to my Kindle library this week.  All of them were purchased for the Color Coded Reading Challenge.

Shadows of the White City is the second book in the Windy City Saga series by Jocelyn Green.  I haven't read any book in the series yet.  This one was just published on February 2, 2021 by Bethany House Publishers.  Sylvie Townsend is the main character and she desperately wants to have a family.  After taking in Polish immigrant Rose Dabrowski, the seventeen year old Rose goes missing at the World's Fair.  Law enforcement will not investigate (After all, it is just a Polish woman) so Sylvie asks one of her boarders, Kristof Bartok, for assistance.  Kristof is Rose's violin instructor as well as the concertmaster for the Columbian Exposition Orchestra and he is vital for navigating the immigrant communities in Chicago where the story takes place.  

The Woman in Blue was written by Elly Griffiths who I haven't had the pleasure of reading yet.  The book is the number 8 in the Ruth Galloway Series and takes place in Little Walsingham, an English town known for religious apparitions.  When Ruth's friend Cathbad sees a woman in a white dress and blue cloak standing in a cemetery, he believes that she is a vision of the Virgin Mary.  A woman wrapped in a blue cloth is found dead the next day. Ruth's friend and Anglican priest Hilary begins to receive threatening letters.  Are the two crimes connected? Probably.

Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister: Three Women at the Heart of Twentieth Century China was written by Jung Chang, another new author for me.  They were known in China as being the most famous sisters.  One was married to Sun Yet-sen, another became Madame Chiang Kai-shek and the other became Chiang's main advisor.  All three ladies remained close even though they embraced different political views.  

Killer Deadline

Lauren Carr writes stand alone cozy mysteries. I have to wonder, though, if Killer Deadline is the beginning of a series as the front cover references "a Nikki Bryant cozy mystery."  The characters are perfect for one and the main character has a job as a TV news station owner, which will give her a good reason for being an amateur sleuth.  Add in Nikki's photogenic "ugly" dog and you have the ingredients for a perfect series.

This awesome story begins with Nikki's return to Pine Grove, Pennsylvania after working as a journalist for several years in Las Vegas and Washington, D.C. With her mother's decision to retire from the news business, Nikki comes home to take over the station that her father began over thirty years ago.  Soon after her arrival Nikki finds the dead body of her news anchor Ashleigh Addison, who is also her childhood rival.  The night before her death, Ashleigh was at a party to welcome Nikki where Ashleigh stated that she would be airing live an explosive news story the next day.  The question for the police and for Nikki  is whether her news story is connected to the murder of Nikki's father in his office at the station.  

Killer Deadline was an enjoyable read. It is a modern cozy with accomplished, power hungry women. Ashleigh is the traditional female character who cares more about appearances than substance. The fact that she is the novel's victim is telling for me.  I would expect the aggressive female character to be the victim in a cozy.  I like to see this connection to the modern world. 

The plot was a straightforward murder mystery.  It moved fast with the murder of Nikki's father taking precedence over Ashleigh's murder. I love it when the mystery formula is followed faithfully. Of course, you can never go wrong by using a dog as a character. 

5 out of 5 stars!

The Grand Odalisque

Carole and Alex are childhood friends who become partners in crime.  They specialize in art thefts and have been working as a team for nine years.  The story begins with them successfully pulling off the theft of a painting at the Musee D'orsay in Paris. After a deserved vacation, they receive a request to steal a painting from the highly secured Louvre Museum. The Grand Odalisque is a painting done by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. Odalisque means concubine and that is the subject matter of this artwork and, hence, the title of the comic.  The mission is quite daring because it must be done during daytime. Knowing that they will need a third assistant to pull off this assignment, they hire a third person for their team as well as a diplomat's son who also happens to be an arms dealer.  

The relationship between Carole and Alex is just as prominent as the heist itself.  The two women have different personalities and strengths but also recognize this difference.  They are able to rely on each other's strengths in order to get the job done. Some times it becomes problematic. For instance, when the heist at the Musee D'orsay is occurring, Alex is not able to help Carole because her boyfriend is dumping her via a text message.  The two authors of this comic are men. Would a female writer allow this to happen?  

This is a fun, short book of 125 pages and brightly colored illustrations. Bastien Veves illustrated the comic. 5 out of 5 stars.

Can't Wait Wednesday #2

The Can't Wait Wednesday meme is hosted by Tressa at the Wishful Endings blog. Here, you write a post about a book you want to read, preferably one that hasn't been published yet. 

One of my favorite authors has a new book coming out on March 1, 2021. Ellen Crosby's 11th wine country cozy mystery, The French Paradox, adds an historical aspect to the plot, a first for the series.  Our main character Lucie Montgomery, owner of a Virginia vineyard, discovers that her grandfather had a romantic relationship with Jackie Kennedy Onassis in 1949 during Jackie's junior year abroad in Paris. During her time in Paris, Jackie purchased several paintings of Marie Antoinette by an unknown artist. These paintings suddenly appear for sale in the present time.

From what I have read about this novel I gather that this is also an art mystery. In addition, it also seems that Lucy's grandfather will be more prominent than Lucy herself. What confuses me is that the earlier books in the series have always been straight murder mystery novels where the murder occurs in Lucy's vineyard. Lucy's disability has also been featured prominently in the series. She has a mobility impairment from an auto accident and needs to use a cane. How all these issues become tied together will be interesting to discover. I hope that this installment of the series won't be a disappointment. Other authors I read who crank out a book year after year tend to get bored with their series and change the formula for the genre as well as the setting of the books. It usually doesn't turn out well but we will see how Crosby's newest novel reads. Perhaps there is a murder somewhere in the plot and maybe the vineyard will be the spot for all of the action. I will have to wait for March to find out.

Deliberate Duplicity

Deliberate Duplicity is David Rohlfing's debut novel. It is the first installment of the Sasha Frank Mysteries, a police procedural series. The author is a retired businessman and I am blown away at his ability to craft a magnificent novel with no prior work in the writing world. Deliberate Duplicity will keep you up at night reading until you finish the book. It grabbed me from the first chapter mainly because it takes place somewhere I used to live but the suspenseful chapter endings grabbed my attention too.

When bodies begin to appear along the Constitution Trail in the Bloomington Normal twin cities, detective Sasha Frank is assigned to investigate.  The killer has a particular method of staging the bodies.  He/she poses them in a park with their eyelids glued open and he kills every ten days.  The book is more a howdunnit that a whodunnit.  The police cannot find decent clues to the killer's identity until the fifth death occurs.  What the readers sees in this book are the meticulous methods used in investigating a homicide. 

It was interesting to see the strange way that the serial killer set up the murders to avoid getting caught.  The reader gets a glimpse into the mind of a serial killer as the book is written from the point of view of both the police and the killer. The book does not follow the traditional serial killer formula. Most of these type of books begin with establishing the main character and then show a sequence of unsolved crimes.  Normally there is an unrelated subplot but there wasn't one here.  However, the usual bureaucracy in a police department is shown in the novel.  

If you like serial killer novels, this one is for you.  4 out of 5 stars.

Now and Then Stab

Now and Then Stab is the seventh Francis Bacon Mystery novel by Anna Castle.  I thought that the series ended a few years ago when The Spymaster's Brother was published in 2019. However, it will continue. The eighth book in the series will be published in 2022.

The story opens in the Spring of 1593 when a ballad promoting violence against immigrants is found posted on the Dutch Church door in the center of London. After the Lord Mayor promises a 100 crown reward to the person who can identifiy the author, Tom Clarady begins to investigate. He needs that money in order to file legal papers to assert his livery in the Court of Wards.  Tom interviews poets while his patron Francis Bacon analyzes the verse. At first, this investigation is solely about collecting the reward. After two of Britain's best poets are targeted, both are killed. One of them dies after being tortured for information and the other dies under dubious circumstances. Christopher Marlowe, one of Tom's friends from his Cambridge University days, is killed after starting a brawl in a pub. However, Tom doesn't believe Marlowe started the fight and thinks he was murdered.

This novel is one of the best in the series. The period is, as usual, meticulously researched. Our real-life Francis Bacon was at odds with Queen Elizabeth in 1593. The author wrote this fact into her novel to add to its authenticity. English poet Marlowe was, likewise, killed in a bar room brawl. These facts are only background information to the plot, which moved forward quickly. 

The characters are lovable, even the stern Francis Bacon.  I love how their lives advance significantly with each novel.  Here, Francis is about to receive the promotion he has longed for and Tom's love affair with Alice "Trumpet" Trumpington continues after her marriage.  Tom, Trumpet and Tom's university friends provide lightweight fare while Francis Bacon's serious demeanor offers a contrast.

Another great installment of the series!  5 out of 5 stars.

One by One

 

One by One is a modern locked room mystery, offering technology with old-fashioned suspense.  Locked room mysteries consist of a key set of ingredients: a fixed location, a fixed set of characters and a murder or two.  There is a striking aspect to this novel which I doubt the author intended as it must have been written before its 2020 publication date.  The characters, as well as the readers, are confined in isolation.  Sound like a pandemic? 

The publisher's summary of the plot:

"When the co-founder of Snoop, a trendy London based tech startup, organizes a weeklong trip for the team in the French Alps, it starts out as a corporate retreat like any other:  PowerPoint presentations and strategy sessions broken up by mandatory bonding on the slopes.  But as soon as one shareholder sends the agenda by pushing a lucrative but contentious buyout offer, tensions simmer and loyalties are tested. The storm brewing inside the chalet is no match for the one outside, however, and a devastating avalanche leaves the group cut off from all access to the outside world. Even worse, one Snooper hasn't made it back from the slopes when the avalanche hit.  As each hour cases without any sign of rescue, panic mounts, the chalet grows colder, and the group dwindles further . . . one by one."

I loved this book! There were a few hiccups, though. There are nine major characters in the novel.  Initially, it was hard to remember who was who. Once I got them all firmly set in my mind, I could not put the book down. The suspense was riveting. Another hiccup is that the story is told from the point of view of two characters. I could not tell the difference between them because their personalities were similar. I am not sure why the author wrote the story in this way but these points of view didn't make a difference in how the plot unfolded. However, the suspense was ratcheted up high and it carried the novel. 

I will definitely be reading more of Ware.  4 out of 5 stars.

Vendetta

Vendetta is another fantastic historical mystery by Christine De Melo, this one set in Venice in 1570. The publisher has summarized it best:  "Under the guise of "Beto," seventeen-year-old Isabetta Bastian runs her father's successful shipping business. Her older brother sails their commercial galley between Venice and Lisbon, exporting exotic spices obtained by the Portugese.  A heinous crime shatters her ideal life and a risky attempt to save the family business ends in failure.  Now, Isabetta is forced to live with the harsh consequences.  Resentment brews until she seeks the advice of her sophisticated neighbor, Veronica Franco.  With the savvy courtesan's help, Isabetta devises a scheme to avenge her loved ones but will her fall from grace be worth a brilliant vendetta?"

There is a lesson for everyone here.  While at one time or another we all plan to get revenge against someone, the courtesan's advice to Isabetta is insightful: can you accept the outcome of your revenge?  I don't think our Isabetta understood what the fallout would be of her plan to avenge her murdered father and brother. She was just seventeen and had no real life experiences yet as she has been sheltered by her parents.  As with most of De Melo's novels, Isabetta is a woman with a desire to have a man's job, something seemingly impossible during the Renaissance period of time.  It is a theme I never get tired of reading about.  In Vendetta, Isabetta's dream of working in the shipping business is affected in a myriad of ways be her vendetta.  Yes, you reap what you sow.

5 out of 5 stars!

Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line

Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line is Deepak Anappara's debut novel.  It concerns three friends who are searching for a missing classmate and is based on a real-life story.  The novel tells of children living in a slum in a fictional Indian city who are disappearing.

Nine-year-old Jai is upset that his best friend Bahadur has gone missing.  No one knew that Bahadur had gone missing until three weeks after he was last seen at home with his parents. His mother then contacted the police to find him.  Believing that Bahadur has run away from home, Jai gathers two other friends to help him find Bahadur. Pari and Faiz work with Jai and together they decide that a criminal called Quarter is their first suspect.  The threesome walk down market lanes, passing people, dogs, food stalls and tin-roofed houses all the way to the local train station, which is the end of the purple metro line where Jai's father works.  When the three kids are unable to find Quarter at his usual hangout, the Bhoot (ghost) Bazaar, they decide the next step is to interview the press-wallah's son Omvir.  However, Omvir is not home because he also is out searching for Bahadur.  The owner of Hakim's TV Repair Shop suggests that a djinn kidnapped Bahadur even though djinns rarely abduct children.  The trio go to the purple line train station and show passersby Bahadur's photo.  Jai uses the sleuthing skills he obtained from watching reality police shows on TV to conduct his investigation.  When other children start disappearing from their neighborhood, Jai, Pari and Faiz talk to the terrified parents and a couple of indifferent police officers all while discussing rumors of soul-snatching djinns. 

I had a hard time classifying this book in a genre. When I began reading it I thought it was a historical mystery. Later I realized it was not historical. What confused me was the level of impoverishment in Jai's basti (slum).  I couldn't imagine that type of poverty existed today. However, it does exist. In slums all over India 187 children disappear each day. This fact is what prompted the author to choose this subject for her novel. The next difficulty I had in determining the genre was that the book didn't read like a mystery. While Jai, Pari and Faiz were investigating the disappearance of their neighbors, they are kids and kids don't "investigate" the same way as amateur sleuths or detectives investigate. The point of view from which everything occurs is from nine year old Jai's eyes. In some respects it  seems like a children's book. How do I classify the book? As a novel. 

The slum setting is integral to the story. Part of this setting includes the names and faces of many characters, most of whom have nothing to do with the plot and some who are only mentioned once. The author is creating a scene for the reader to help us understand what a slum looks like; people living upon each other.  It is grim.  With the point of view being from a child, it was a little difficult to figure out who all the characters were because the kids gave everyone a nickname. Towards the end of the story we learn most of their real names but after 300 pages of identifying characters by a nickname this didn't make sense.

As the historical mystery that I expected, the book fell short. Knowing now what the genre actually is, I would say that this is a great book.  4 our of 5 stars.

The Glass Ocean

The Glass Ocean has a dual plot that takes place in 1915 and the present day. It concerns the sinking of the Lusitania and the British Langford family.  The story opens in May 2013 with author Sarah Blake struggling to come up with an idea for a new book. In desperation, she broke a promise to her Alzheimer stricken mother and opened an old chest that belonged to her great-grandfather who died when the RMS Lusitania was sunk by the Germans. What she discovered could change history. Sarah then traveled to England to  enlist the help of John Langford, a disgraced member of Parliament, whose family archives might contain the key to the catastrophe.

This plot alternates with one set in April 1915. Caroline Hochstetter believes that her marriage to Gilbert Hochstetter is on the rocks as Gilbert is no longer attentive to her. He is preoccupied with work. When Gilbert suggests that they travel to England in the best suite on the Lusitania, Caroline hopes that they can become closer. However, her attraction to old friend Robert Langford  becomes a problem when he also books passage on the ship.  Another character is part of this plot. Tessa Fairweather is also traveling on the Lusitania, but in second class. Tessa has been supporting herself for years by stealing and forging artworks. Tessa's sister plans a robbery on the ship that will financially set both of them up for life.

As a cruise fan, I loved the ship setting. It reminded me of the cruises that I have had and makes me dream of booking another trip even though we are living in a pandemic. The descriptions of the dinner menus and dining room made me drool. If only I could cook as well as the onboard chefs.  Also, the action that took place on the promenades had me remembering my own walks on those public places. 

The characters were fully developed and engaging. I loved the twosome thieves Tessa and her sister Ginny. They are experienced thieves who have never gotten caught in their decades of crime.  While we learn about Tessa's inner thoughts, Ginny is a mystery to the reader. She appears on pages where action is occurring and the plot is advanced as we learn bit by bit what their robbery plan is all about.  Gilbert Hochstetter is the stereotypical neglectful husband. We don't learn much about his psyche. What type of business he in is only revealed at the end. The reader knows alot more about Robert Langford. He is a suave, womanizing gentleman that all women are attracted to even though they all know he gets around.  His life also is revealed in action scenes as well as in the present day plot with Sarah Blake. I didn't like the Sarah or John Langford characters as much as I liked those in the 1915 plot. However, that probably can be expected in a novel with a dual plot. One of the plots is always more appealing.

I absolutely loved this novel. It has me dreaming of a Balticc Sea or South American cruise. 5 out of 5 stars.

Can't Wait Wednesday

I can't wait for February to arrive.  One of my favorite authors will be publishing her latest novel. Stacy Green's One Perfect Grave will be published on February 25, 2021. I loved her debut novel The Girls in the Snow. She writes tight psychological thrillers that would make entertaining movies.

I am also anxiously waiting the publication of a new graphic novel by Jerome Mulot. The Grand Odalisque will be published on February 9.  In this comic two childhood friends make plans to steal a painting from the Louvre.  It is an 1814 painting by Ingres titled The Grand Odalisque. An odalisque is a concubine so I am wondering if that is the scene in the art work. I love art mysteries of every genre and expect this will become another great entry in this genre.