The French Paradox

The French Paradox is the 11th wine country mystery by Ellen Crosby. The mystery here involves Jackie Onassis and Lucie Montgomery's grandfather during their time together in Paris in 1949.  Jackie was there as an exchange student from Smith College.  While she was living there Jackie purchased several inexpensive paintings by an unknown 18th century artist.  Jackie also had a romantic relationship with a Virginia vineyard owner, Lucie's grandfather, which until recently was a well kept secret.

Seventy years later, Cricket Delacroix, Lucie's neighbor and Jackie's schoolfriend, is donating the now priceless paintings to a Washington, DC museum.  Lucie's grandfather is flying in to Virginia for Cricket's 90th birthday party which is being hosted by her daughter Harriet.  Harriet is rewriting a manuscript that Jackie left behind about Marie Antoinette and her portraitist.  Harriet is also planning on adding tell all secrets about Jackie to ensure that her book is a success.  On the eve of the party a world renowned landscape designer is found dead in Lucie's vineyard. The question is whether someone killed him for his thoughts on climate change, his connection to Jackie and the paintings.  

I had a difficult time getting interested in this novel and put it down for a few weeks. When I started reading again, it was still a little off. I noticed that the reader does not know that the landscape designer's death was a murder until the 80th page. That's is a long time to wait in a 243 page cozy mystery. There were several new characters too that probably won't be in future books. I wasn't sure if I should care about them or not but they were not memorable to say the least. Several of the usual characters did not have a role.

Perhaps I am just used to the usual formula that the author uses when writing her novels and expected the same.  I had a hard time accepting that Jackie Onassis had a connection but once I did the story then changed to a murder. The alternating plots didn't gel for me but several reviewers enjoyed the book.

2 out of 5 stars.

The Queen's Marriage

I don't usually read biographies let alone salacious ones at that. However, I have been watching Lady Colin Campbell's You Tube channel and she certainly knows alot about the royal and aristocratic families. I decided to take this book out of the library and see what new information there is inside it.  Most of the information is well known but there are a few shockers. Yes, this is a spoiler alert!  

So what's the shocking story?  When the Queen's sister Margaret was told that she could not marry her divorced love, Margaret let her sister know that her husband had been sleeping around.  The Queen not only lost her closest friend, Margaret, but felt estranged from her husband Phillip.  She fell into a deep depression and had electric shock treatments administered to her.  The Queen's advisors all said that she couldn't do her job if she was on psychiatric meds and in the 1950s shock treatment was well regarded and a fast treatment.  I find this shocking ( pun intended).  How could anyone believe that electric shock therapy was a good thing?  The Queen could have been permanently physically damaged.  What were they thinking?

The other astonishing tidbit was both the Queen and Princess Margaret were conceived via artificial insemination. Their mother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, did not like sex and cut her husband off while on their honeymoon.  A reliable physician inserted King's George VI 's semen into her.  This all sounds pretty gross to me but the author said this was not unusual for aristocratic couples who could not conceive.  Sometimes a surrogate was used too.

The biography is a quick read and I enjoyed it despite having to reread the sections that seemed unbelievable. I had to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me.  5 out of 5 stars.

The Blended Quilt

The Blended Quilt is Wanda Brunstetter's 56th novel.  She created the Amish fiction genre in 1997 with the publication of her first book A Merry Heart.  She was 60 years old when that book was published! Although her ancestors were of the Anabaptist faith, her fascination with the Amish began when she married her husband, who had been raised as a Mennonite.  She is so well thought of in the Amish community that they read her books.  In addition to her Amish fiction series, Ms. Brunstetter has published 8 novellas, 7 cookbooks, 3 devotionals, 4 gift books and 14 middle grade children's novels, all set among the Amish.  She publishes between 3 and 8 books per year and began writing with her daughter-in-law Jean Brunstetter in 2016.  The Robin's Greeting was published earlier this month and next month An Amish Barn Raising will be published.

The Blended Quilt follows the life of Sadie Kuhns.  A year after returning to Indiana from a trip to Hawaii (see The Hawaiian Quilt) Sadie wants to create a quilt that blends the traditional Amish quilt with a Hawaiian quilt.  When she finishes it, a friend suggests that she write a book on the quilt. While she is writing her book, her boyfriend Wyman Kauffman becomes distant as she spends more time writing and talking about it than in paying attention to him.  He is jealous of the time that she spends with her personal pursuits and wonders if she is marriage material.  However, Sadie had concerns about their relationship before she even thought about making the quilt.  Wyman does not seem to be able to a job or profession.  Without a secure profession, Sadie doubts that he can support a wife and family.  Both wonder if there is any reason to continue their courtship.  

I have only read 4 other books by Wanda Brunstetter.  I am not sure why since her books are so well written.  At one time I was only interested in political mysteries but I believe I have let myself down by not reading her entire bibliography of books.  I loved The Blended Quilt and must make a determination to read through her book list.  As a feminist I was put off by Wyman's insistence on being center stage in Sadie's life.  Perhaps that is impractical given Sadie's Amish life but he annoyed me. Sadie, however, is a woman after my own heart.  Wanting to create a new type of quilt is impressive.  Writing a book about it is even better (in my view). Being a strong woman was not looked upon well in her community. Neither was travel, something Sadie has done while single.  She would like to return to Hawaii but never expects to be able to afford it.  While I realize that this is Amish fiction, I cannot wrap my head around the fact that being strong and proactive is considered a negative trait in a woman. 

5 our of 5 stars.

Haunted Hibiscus

Haunted Hibiscus is the 22nd Indigo Tea Shop mystery by Laura Childs.  I have loved this series since it began but in the last several years the books have been hit or miss for me.  This particular installment of the series is a miss.  I think that because the author writes three different series concurrently and pushes out 3 books per year, she is getting lazy with her writing.  I will explain more fully below but here is the publisher's summary of the novel:

"It is the week before Halloween and Theodosia Browning, proprietor of the Indigo Tea Shop, and her tea sommelier, Drayton, are ghosting through the dusk of a cool Charleston evening on their way to the old Bouchard Mansion.  Known as the Grey Ghost, this dilapidated place was recently bequeathed to the Heritage Society, and tonight heralds the grand opening of their literary and historical themed haunted house.

Though Timothy Neville, the Patriarch of the Heritage Society, is not thrilled with the fund-raising idea, it is the perfect venue for his grandniece, Willow French, to sign copies of her new book, Carolina Crimes & Capers.  But amidst a parade of characters dressed as Edgar Allen Poe, Lady Macbeth, and the Headless Horseman, Willow's body is suddenly tossed from the third-floor tower room and left to dangle at the end of a rope.  Police come screaming in and Theodosia's boyfriend, Detective Pete Riley, is sent to Willow's apartment to investigate.  But minutes later, he is shot and wounded by a shadowy intruder.

Timothy begs Theodosia to investigate, and shaken by Riley's assault, she readily agrees.  Now, she questions members of the Heritage Society and a man who claims the mansion is rightfully his, as well as Willow's book publisher and fiance, all while hosting a Sherlock Holmes tea and catering several others." 

Perhaps I have become tired of this series. The exact same things happen in the exact same places in the novels. You always know what Timothy Neville's reactions will be. The Heritage Society is always about to go under.  There is no variety to the series.  While all of the prior books in the series could have been standalone novels, this one isn't.  There is no background information on the characters.  Also, Theodosia seemed quite angry throughout the story.  She is normally a sweet, polite southerner.  A few of the phrases in Haunted Hibiscus that annoyed me in include:

• the front door da-dinged
• I only have time for drive-by kisses and hugs
• He's as wide as a soccer mom's van
• Holy cats, what a mess
• Floradora Florist
• Being young and dipped in folly, I fell in love with melancholy

I think that I will check out from this series.  I doesn't do anything for me.  I am rating it 2 out of 5 stars because the plot premise was good.  It just wasn't executed well.

Book of the Month: March

Comic book Primer is my favorite book for this month.   It is a fun, lighthearted book featuring superheroine Ashley Rayburn. When Ashley is sent to a foster home with parents Kitch and Yuka Nolan, she finally finds a family where she fits in.  Yuka is a geneticist and brings home the bacon. Kitch is an artist and has a 1960s vibe that Ashley is attracted to as she loves art too.  When Yuka brings home and hides a secret weapon that looks like paint canisters, Ashley finds it and thinks it's a birthday gift for her. When she uses the paints, Ashley becomes powerful. She feels like a superheroine and decides she needs a superheroine name.  Primer is chosen because the "paints" are primary colors. Now she can use her skills to prevent accidents and fight evildoers.

Freiheit!

Freiheit! The White Rose graphic novel takes place in Germany during WWII. It is a true story about a group of young German students who questioned the authority of the Nazis and paid for their actions with their lives.  It was published last month.  I received an advanced review copy from the Librarything Early Reviewer's Program. This book is the graphic version of  a book by the same name.

Most of the members of The White Rose were Munich University students. The name of the group was selected by them from the title of a poem by a famous German poet. It was formed in 1942 and was active through 1943.  The group opposed Hitler on ethical and religious grounds.  They tried to get the German people to passively resist the Nazi Party and distributed six leaflets before they were caught.  The initial six members who were arrested were found guilty four days later and immediately guillotined. A copy of the leaflets in both German and English are at the back of the book.

This is a compelling story and I would like to know more about the White Rose movement.  These students were incredibly brave. If I didn't know it was true story I would be tempted to say it is farfetched. Who in their right mind opposed Hitler? You knew you would die if you did so. However, it is nice to be reminded that there have been many people in past centuries who stood up for what they believed in and did not follow the crowd.

The artwork was colored in dark tones to fit the mood of the story. The illustrator did not use the typical comic strip format, which made the graphics meet the seriousness of the topic. The fonts used were typical of the 1930s and 1940s so the reader can tell which era this happened in. 

The word "freiheit" means both liberty and political freedom in German. The White Rose frequently used it in their leaflets. It's perfect for this graphic biography.

5 out of 5 stars.

White Ivy

White Ivy is both a coming-of-age and coming to America story.  When I bought this book I knew it was about a Chinese family from the back cover blurb. The title is typical for a Chinese family saga.  However, I did not expect it to be about race and didn't figure that out until some point after the middle of the story. I was surprised to say the least. 

The story opens with some background information on the Ivy Lin character.  She was born in China and her parents  emigrated to America when she was two, leaving Ivy behind. Ivy was raised by her grandmother Meifeng who taught her to be clever by stealing. Stealing becomes second nature to her.  At the age of 5 her parents, Nan and Shen Lin, send for her and she moves to Boston. Ivy does not know them. They are strangers to her as is her newborn brother Austin. She does not get along with her parents and wishes to be with her grandmother in China.  Meifeng had been affectionate but her parents were distant. Ivy quickly learns English and becomes friends with Roux, a Romanian immigrant, and Gideon, a boy from a patrician New England family whose father is a senator.  However, she continues to steal. 

As Ivy grows she begins to receive party invitations from classmates. One weekend Gideon invites her to an overnight at his home. Ivy knows her mother would not approve and tells her parents she will be staying overnight at a girlfriend's house. The next morning when they find out she is at a boy's house, they go and pick her up, heavily embarrassing Ivy. In a few days her parents pack her up and send her back to China for the summer in order to learn to be Chinese.  Ivy spends the first 2 weeks with a cousin she never met but she loves being with. Sunrin Zhao is Western and loves to shop for expensive designer clothes. Ivy feels like she can be herself with Sunrin.  Ivy then is dropped off with her grandmother in a poor village where Ivy cannot stand to be. Ivy no longer likes living with her grandmother and is excited to travel home at the end of the summer. However, when her plane lands in Boston, her parents tell her that they moved to New Jersey. Ivy has to start over in a new city, losing all of her friends in Boston. 

When I figured out this novel was about race I was disappointed. We hear so much about race relations in the news. It's depressing. I want my reading material to be relaxing, nothing serious. I am looking for escape. While the story was well written this realization affected how I feel about it.  It seems the author is saying that stealing is a Chinese thing to do and winning at all costs is white. Ivy definitely wants to win and be successful in that white, patrician world.  She is what white Americans call a "model minority." I am sure there's much, much more the author intended but this is the main idea I got. 

4 out of 5 stars.

The Lost Ancestor

The Lost Ancestor is the 2nd book in Nathan Dylan Goodwin's geneological crime mysteries but the 5th story.  3 earlier books are novellas. It is a little different from the prior books in the series as the sleuth, Morton Farrier, is trying to find a person who went missing almost one hundred years ago. Morton's new client, Ray Mercer, asked him to investigate the 1911 disappearance of his great aunt, a housemaid working in a large Edwardian country house. Instead of spending his time reviewing microfilm at national and local record offices, Morton uses old photographs and interviews members of the Rothborne family who still live at the estate.

As an amateur geneologist myself, I couldn't help but love this novel. I learned how to use photographs to piece together a family history.  It also shows how someone can disappear off a census and ship passenger lists as well as not have a death certificate.  This information will serve me well in the future.

The story alternates between 1911 and 2014.  The ending nicely ties up all of the loose ends for the characters but there is one surprise for the reader that isn't revealed until the last sentence. The did a great job with this book. I highly recommend it.

5 out of 5 stars.

Primer

Oh my goodness! What a fabulous story.  I read this 130 page comic twice in one day and a third time the next day. I just love it.  The vibrant colored illustrations are what initially attracted me to the book but it has a creative plot that will keep you reading.  

Ashley Rayburn is an upbeat girl with a downbeat past.  Her father is in jail and once used her to help him evade justice. However, someone got killed and he is incarcerated in a federal prison.  In the meantime, Ashley has bounced from foster home to foster home and is a challenge for her social workers.  Her latest set of foster parents are Kitch and Yuka Nolan. Kitch, like Ashley, is an artist and he has a groovy sixties vibe.  Yuka is a geneticist who works for a tech company with a government contract. Yuka's top secret project has her concerned and she brings the project home so that her superiors can't get ahold of it.  It is a set of body paints that when applied to the skin grants the wearer a wide range of special powers.  When Ashley comes home from school, she sees the set of paints and thinks that it is a surprise birthday present for her.  Ashley soon realizes that she has stumbled upon something dangerous but she decides that she can use the paints for good and appoints herself a superhero with a new name, Primer.

I am the type of artist called a colorist.  That means I use an excessive amount of color and do not follow color theory.  Primer had me swooning with its colorful illustrations. It inspired me to get back to work after falling behind for a few days.

The characters all had very different but strong personalities. Ashley is a comedian who can't stop cracking jokes. She always has a positive attitude even though life has dealt her an awful hand. Her friend Luke is also quite positive even though he is an outcast at school. Ashley is an outcast too and that is why she and Luke get along so well. The Nolans are a modern couple.  Kitch is a professional artist and works out of the home. Wife Yuka is the breadwinner. Although Primer is a comic, these characters are fully fleshed out.

I wish that this was the start of a new comic series but I believe that it is a stand-alone novel for young adults.  5 out of 5 stars.

Raven Black

Ann Cleeves's Raven Black is a fantastic story.  Taking place on the main island of the Shetland Islands, it is the first book in her Shetland series.  It has also been produced as a TV drama for BBC1.  There are 5 other books in this series.

It is a cold January morning and Shetland lies buried beneath a deep layer of snow.  Trudging home, Fran Hunter's eye is drawn to a vivid splash of color on the white ground with ravens circling above. It is the strangled body of her teenage neighbor Catherine Ross. As Fran opens her mouth to scream, the ravens continue to peck at the body. The locals on the island stubbornly focus their gaze on one man - loner and simpleton Magnus Tait. However, when Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez insists on opening out the investigation, a veil of suspicion and fear is thrown over the entire community. For the first time in years, Catherine's neighbors nervously lock their doors, while a killer lives among them them.

The ice cold setting of Shetland is prominent to the story. Not only does the harsh weather hide most of the body, it also impedes the law enforcement investigation. Experts from other islands, as well as Scotland, cannot travel to the crime scene immediately. They must wait for weather conditions to safely allow them to fly in to the island. Thus, Catherine's body lies in the snow for more than a day. However, the snow and ice prohibit her deceased body from decaying. The Shetlands are only accessible via boat or plane.  They lie several hundred miles north of the Scotland coast.  

I really liked the Magnus Tait character.  He was a lonely person who seemed to be afraid of people but I thought he was lovable. Because he is a recluse, Tait was taunted by the children in their community.  The Jimmy Perez character had a good introduction as the protagonist.  However, without the kooky citizens in town this book would not be as great. They are essential for providing contrast to the serious minded Jimmy.  

The element of surprise in each twist and turn of the plot make this novel a thriller. The ending was also a surprise when the killer's identity is revealed. It was not anyone that I suspected.  5 out of 5 stars.

The Lost Daughter

History tells us that every member of the Russian royal family, the Romanovs, were killed in 1918.  When I spotted this book at the library I thought that it might be interesting, but not great given that the premise for the plot was not believable.  However, it is so well written that I enjoyed spending an entire afternoon reading it.  In this novel Grand Duchess Maria, the third child of Tsar Nicholas, survives the assassination and is carried away from the scene by an admiring guard.  Below is the plot summary from the publisher:

1918:  Pretty, vivacious Grand Duchess Maria Romanov, the nineteen-year-old daughter of the fallen Tsar Nicholas II, lives with her family in suffocating isolation, a far cry from their once-glittering royal household.  Her days are a combination of endless boredom and paralyzing fear; her only respite is clandestine flirtations with a few of the guards imprisoning the family - never realizing her innocent actions could mean the difference between life and death.

1973:  When Val Doyle hears her father's end-of-life confession, "I didn't want to kill her," she's stunned.  So, she begins a search for the truth - about his words and her past.  The clues she discovers are baffling - a jewel encrusted box that won't open and a camera with its film intact.  What she finds out pulls Val into one of the world's greatest mysteries - what truly happened to the Grand Duchess Maria?  

The setting of Ipatiev House where the family lived and were murdered, showed alot of insight into the family's final days.  It was fascinating to read the descriptions of the rooms and the layout of the building.  It was a decrepit old building that had a sense of foreboding.  The family must have known they were coming to a bad end.  If they were really waiting for European relatives to save them, they had to be nuts.  Royalty is not sent to a building that is practically falling down to wait for repatriation.  

The daily lives of the residents of Leningrad during the Siege of Lenigrad was shown in all its horror. Most people only had 2 pieces of bread to eat per day at its end.  They were all skeletons at its ending and had endured standing in line here, there and everywhere to find food on a daily basis and that was only after a full work day.  While I have read history books on this issue, it only came to life for me from reading this book.  The shear drudgery of trying to survive was clearly apparent as the characters dealt with the war.  

There are many good reasons to recommend this book.  These are only two of them.  I highly recommend The Lost Daughter.  5 out of 5 stars.

Sarawak Sketchbook

I have been trying to find a copy of this book for a year and finally found one on Ebay.  Although it was shipped to me from Australia, it arrived quicker than mail sent to me from within my own city.  The watercolor sketches of this major city on the island of Borneo were drawn by A. Kasim Abas in 2004. Sarawak is Malaysia's largest state and home to a multitude of ethnic groups with colorful material cultures.  It's unique history as the land of the "white rajahs" means that it architecture is varied in styles. Grand colonial edifices stand next to longhouses and modern buildings.  

The sketchbook is divided into the city's geographic areas and include Kuching, Iban, Miri and the coastal areas.  Abas drew prominent buildings and scenery in pen and ink and then colored them with watercolors.  There are handwritten notes by the artist for each drawing that explains what he has depicted.  I was surprised that almost all of these drawings were done in brown tones.  I expected that Sarawak would be a colorful city like other cities in Malaysia.  Another surprise was that there was only one two-page spread and just a few full page drawings.  Most of the pages inside this book were mini-drawings.  I was expecting the opposite as the other sketchbooks that I have in my collection have large sketches.  

I have 29 sketchbooks by various artists and Sarawak is the last one that I needed to complete my collection.  As I said above, it was difficult to find as the artist is from Malaysia. These watercolorists travel to well known cities and spend time there painting famous buildings and landscaping. The books can serve as travelogues as well as artist books. They are all published on watercolor paper to enhance the artwork.

I was a little disappointed that the drawings were small and brownish but cannot expect the artist to draw something that isn't there.  The architecture of the buildings is quite detailed, which is something I love to see.  Not all of these watercolorists are detail oriented.  Later this year Graham Byfield will publish his Menorca Sketchbook.  I am looking forward to seeing this book, even though his style is loose.

4 out of 5 stars.

Stacking the Shelves #3

 

I am anxiously awaiting the publication of books from 2 of my favorite authors: Cleo Coyle and S. D. Sykes. Coyle's next book, Honey Roasted, won't be published until December so I have a long wait. Sykes, who writes historical mysteries, will publish in August The Good Death.

Honey Roasted is the 19th coffeehouse mystery by husband and wife team Alice Alfonsi and Marc Cerasini. They write under the pen name Cleo Coyle. The series takes place around a fictional coffeehouse in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. The couple also co-author the Haunted Bookshop series, which was originally published under the pen name Alice Kimberly.  I haven't read the Haunted Bookshop series yet but have read every book in the coffeehouse series. This series is probably my favorite series of all time.  Pre-orders for Honey Roasted will begin in a month.  This story opens with Clare Cosi trying to find a romantic, and affordable, destination for her honeymoon. While she searches for a destination, Clare creates a new coffee that will be unveiled at her wedding:  Honey Cinnamon Latte.  An amazing honey was sourced for the drink by her mother-in-law's friend Bea Hastings.  One night, Bea is found dead at the coffeehouse, and this is the mystery to be solved in the novel.  

The Good Death is the 5th Somershill Manor mystery.  These mysteries take place in England in the 1300s, featuring Oswald de Lacy, Lord of Somershill Manor, as the sleuth.  In this installment of the series, Oswald will make a devastating confession to his dying mother concerning the death of a novice monk at Kintham Abbey.  Vowing to find the killer, Oswald's beloved tutor insists that they stay inside due to the approaching plague.  However, Oswald leaves the manor to investigate and finds that there were several women who disappeared.  They were from impoverished families who had no political influence and nobody seemed to care that they were missing. As Oswald closes in on the killer he finds himself in a situation where he either has to kill or be killed. 

So, there are many books to look forward to this year.  These two are just a highlight of things to come.