The Girl in the Painting

 

This story takes place in Australia and it alternates between 1906 and 1862. Orphan Jane Piper is nine years old when philanthropists Michael and Elizabeth Quinn take her into their home to further her schooling.  The Quinns are no strangers to hardship. Having arrived in Australia as penniless immigrants, they now care for others as lost as they once were. Despite Jane's mysterious past, her remarkable aptitude for mathematics takes her far over the next seven years, and her relationship with Elizabeth and Michael flourishes as she plays an increasingly prominent role in their business.  When Elizabeth reacts in terror to an exhibition at the local gallery, Jane realizes no one knows Elizabeth after all - not even Elizabeth herself.  As the past and present converge and Elizabeth's grasp on reality loosens, Jane sets out to unravel her story before it's too late.  

This was an enjoyable read although the reason for the book title was not known until the latter third of the story.  I kept waiting to read about a painting and when it finally came I was somewhat disappointed that it didn't happen sooner.  If a mystery concerns a painting, the author should showcase that painting early on.  I enjoyed reading the descriptions about the Australian landscapes as I have never read a book set there.  This novel was set in Sydney, Hill End and Maitland as well as Ireland and England.  It was interesting that Maitland was more urban than Sydney in the late 1800s.

I always love a story that is told from alternating viewpoints and eras.  They read faster for me and this one was no exception.  While the story varied from the 1860s to the 1910s, it was also told from several viewpoints including Michael, Elizabeth and Jane's.  The author was able to weave a great story from these differing viewpoints, settings and a time period that spanned fifty years.  

5 out of 5 stars!

The Art Collector's Daughter

As I was reading this novel I had a sneaking suspicion that I had read it before or saw a movie based on it. It seemed familiar. A search of my blogger posts did not find anything so I continued to read.  It has an interesting plot but because it was so familiar I didn't enjoy it as much as I would have if the storyline was new to me. I guess I have read too many Nazi art theft novels.

The publisher's summary:  

As the German's advance on Paris in 1940, a young Jewish girl, Sylvie Vasseur, is sent by her father to rural Ireland to live with the Courtney family.  He also sends his valuable art collection - including a portrait of Sylvie by the renowned Mateus, Girl on a Swing.  Sylvie is education by the narcissistic elder son Nicholas Courtney when she is eighteen, but he abandons her when he discovers she is pregnant.  To avoid the inevitable social stigma, Sylvie marries his brother Peter.  In Dublin, she becomes involved in the art scene, achieving critical acclaim as a painter.  But, trapped in a loveless marriage, she continues to be obsessed with Nicholas.  Until, unexpectantly, secrets from her father's past emerge, leading her to question everything she once believed.  Shortly after, she is found drowned on a Wexford beach.

Seventeen years later, Claire Howard, struggling art historian, is hired by the Courtney family to record Sylvie's lifeworks.  Fascinated by the artist and working with Sylvie's son Sam, Claire travels between Dublin and Paris, eventually unravelling a labyrinth of deceit and lies that threaten to endanger her life.

The books is advertised as an historical thriller.  It is not a thriller but rather an historical mystery.  I don't think that the writing style meets the thriller formula. That said, the plot is intricate and sophisticated.  A plot twist at the halfway point moves the direction of the expected outcome toward a different path.  I was not expecting this twist and it added to my enjoyment of the novel.

The Irish setting interested me because I have never read a book that was set in Ireland.  When the story alternates between Ireland and Paris, the Paris setting is familiar to me as I have read many books that were set in France.  I have always loved reading about Paris.  The writing about Ireland, on the other hand, could have been more descriptive.  I was expecting to read more about the weather and the topography of the island.  What we read read about is the societal norms of the country, which I believe most readers already know about for this war era.

The characters could have been more developed, particularly Peter.  We don't really know what makes him tick.  Why did he put up with so much shunning from Sylvie? What is his personality like?  We know more about Nicholas than Sylvie's husband.  Nicholas is the usual male cad and we women know exactly what to expect from him.  Sylvie was a compelling character.  She grew from being a shy, fearful girl into a confident woman but only after discovering her artistic talents.  As an artist myself I can feel exactly what she feels when she is painting.  There is an ecstasy to the process of creating something on a canvas.

This was a good book but as I stated earlier, the familiarity of the story to other books that I have read affected my enjoyment of it. 3 out of 5 stars.

One Perfect Grave

What a great book!  This tight, psychological thriller kept me on the edge of my seat.  One Perfect Grave begins when the remains of two bodies are found in an open grave along a highway in Stillwater, Minnesota.  FBI Special Agent Nikki Hunt knows exactly who they are.  The bright blue jacket lying on the frozen ground belongs to Kellan Rhodes, the missing boy that she has been desperately trying to find for the last two days.  The other body is his mother Dana, who had been Nikki's main suspect.  Dana had lost custody of Kellan several years earlier due to her drug use.  Although the wounds on Dana's body suggest that she murdered her son and then committed suicide, Nikki finds evidence that suggests Dana was a victim too.  Dana was trying to regain custody of Kellan and Nikki finds boot prints at the scene that belong to someone else. When another child is reported missing, local journalist Caitlin Newport claims that the cases are linked.  Zach Reeves was taken away from his own mother in a custody battle, just as Kellan was.

This is the second book in the Nikki Hunt series, following last year's The Girls in the Snow.  I knew it would be a great read because The Girls was fabulous.  I was not disappointed.  The suspense began on the first page and continued until the ending which surprised me somewhat.  I was not expecting the plot to go in the direction that it did.  The setting is Minnesota during the winter.  This is the same setting as The Girls in the Snow and I wonder whether winter will be a theme in all of the books in the series.  The author grew up in Minnesota and is well familiar with its weather patterns.  Finding a dead body frozen in the snow is not unusual for Minnesota.  

The pace was fast but not as fast as The Girls in the Snow.  The Girls was more of a thriller than One Perfect Grave because of the pacing.  However, this one was just as good.  The clues and twists kept me guessing who the killer might be throughout my reading of the book. The Nikki character is a strong woman.  She shares custody of her daughter with her ex-husband, just as the mothers of the two missing/dead boys did.  This link to Nikki's private life was strong enough to make me think that perhaps her own daughter would go missing also  (she didn't). It certainly gave her the impetus to solve the crimes quickly. 

Highly recommended.  5 out of 5 stars! 

The Easter Sepulcre

I had already read three of Mel Starr's books in his Hugh de Singleton series before picking up this novel. Easter Sepulcher was fantastic as were the previous three books.  I really need to finish reading this series because I know that I will love them all.

Easter Sepulchre opens with several priest's clerks guarding the Easter Sepulcher, where the host and crucifix are stored between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. An Easter Sepulcher is a niche in the wall of a church where the host and a crucifix are placed on Good Friday and removed on Easter Sunday.  A velvet cloth is placed over it.  It is a privilege to keep watch over it so it is shocking when it is discovered that a priest's clerk named Odo has abandoned his post.  When the cover is removed on Easter Sunday in front of the congregation a dead man's body is there along with the host and crucifix.  It is Odo.  Surgeon Hugh de Singleton is called upon to investigate the death.  Hugh is also the bailiff to the powerful Lord Gilbert.

This story has alot of action.  There are thefts and more dead bodies piling up. Hugh organizes several all-night stakeouts in order to determine who the killer might be. The pace is quick which makes this a fast read. The characters are quite interesting, especially a homeless, mute holy man who lives in a run down cabin in the forest. At first he seems a little sketchy but it turns out that he has noticed much of what happens outside during the late hours when he goes out for walks.  Hugh's medical skills are interesting. Given that this story takes place in the medieval era, he uses poultices to draw out bacteria. The food consumed by the characters has a prominent place.  They are served meals such as sops in fennel, eels in bruit, peas and beans pottage, fraunt hemelle, dighted crab and leach lombard.  I am curious about what these meals taste like but would be afraid of tasting them if placed in front of me. The names of the foods certainly add to the medieval flavor of the novel. 

All in all, this book was a great read.  The fact that I read it yesterday, on Good Friday, added to my enjoyment.  5 out of 5 stars.

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.