Book of the Month: March

My favorite read for March is Janie Chang's The Porcelain Moon. It is a historical novel from the early to mid twentieth century that takes place in Hong Kong. Chang previously wrote The Library of Legends and Dragon Springs Road. The story follows the travails of two young women in France as the country is torn apart by war.  The main character, Pauline Deng, is Chinese and is living in France with her cousin in order to support the family's porcelain trade. She is able to avoid an arranged marriage in Shanghai by living in Paris. Before reading this book, I knew next to nothing about the Chinese laborers who came to France during WW1. I learned so much about this little part of history. The chapters alternated between Pauline's story and the story of Camille Roussel. Camille is planning her escape from an abusive marriage and is trying to end a love affair that can no longer continue. Toward the end of the book, their stories merged.

Book Cover of the Month: March

The Porcelain Moon historical novel has my best book cover for this month. The cover designer is Elsie Lyons. She used photographs taken by Ildiko Neer to design the cover. Lyons is the Senior Director of Art at Harper Collins Publishers.

Ildiko Neer is a fortysomething German photographer who loves to shoot forests. In fact, she is known as a forest photographer. She said in an online interview that her work reflects the feelings she experiences when she walks through a forest. Many of her photos have a dreamy appearance. Neer typically photographs flowers in either a field or a vase, trees, gardens and grass. She will find locations to shoot from Google Maps. Her favorite theme is nineteenth century. She also loves the post-photography process and uses several software programs, including Photoshop, to enhance her photos.  

Stacking the Shelves #23

Yesterday I searched Amazon for newly published Amish fiction. I wanted something uncomplicated to read. Wanda Brunstetter just published Letters of Trust so I purchased it. It is the first part of a duology called The Friendship Letters. In this series Donna Schwartz, who has always enjoyed writing letters, feels that her letters can be a ministry to her friends.  Exchanging letters that contain open and honest feelings and struggles helps Doretta and two of her best friends through the darkest challenges of their lives.

 The publisher's summary:
 
Life is good on their Pennsylvania Amish farm for newlyweds Vic and Eleanor Lapp—until the day Vic’s youngest brother drowns in their pond and Vic turns to alcohol to numb the pain. Things get so bad that Vic loses his job and their marriage is coming apart. Eleanor is desperate to help her husband and writes letters to her friend, Doretta, living in Indiana for advice. The trust Eleanor places in her friend and the gentle words she receives in return are a balm for even darker days to come.

I am looking forward to reading the book this weekend. 

Can't Wait Wednesday #21

I cannot wait for the publication of Tracy Clark's Fall. I am going to have to wait until December 5, 2023 to get my hands on it. The book is the second installment of her Detective Harriet Foster Thriller series. I loved Hide and reviewed it on February 2, 2023.

I don't know much about what Fall will be about as there is no description online yet. The Harriet Foster character is a police officer in Chicago. As a Chicagoan myself, I can tell you that she has the setting descriptions down pat. When I read Hide, I felt myself traveling down the same streets that Harriet and other characters traveled. When I finished the book, I had to check out where the perp was hiding. He was standing on one of the lower levels of the streets. Chicago has five street levels in its downtown area where this police investigation took place. It was an awesome thriller so I have high expectations for this second book in the series.

The Papal Assassin's Wife

The Papal Assassin's Wife is the 2nd book in the Papal Assassin historical thriller series by S. J. Martin. I had high expectations for the book since the first book in the series was fantastic. However, this installment of the series was seriously lacking in excitement.

The publisher's summary:  

It is 1088, King William the Conqueror is dead, and his two eldest sons are about to go to war for the throne of England. It is a turbulent time in Europe, and Chatillon, at the heart of it all, must decide which of William's sons the Pope should support. Should it be the eldest, Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy or William Rufus, who has already crowned himself King of England?

Piers De Chatillon, the tall, handsome master swordsman, powerful Papal envoy and assassin, has finally married the beautiful young Isabella Embriaco. He intends to turn her into a top political courtesan, assassin and spy. She will be trained to bring him valuable information by moving through the noble beds of Europe and removing those men who cause him problems. His dangerous lifestyle will repeatedly put her life at risk as she becomes a pawn in a deadly game.

Chatillon, involved in the imminent war between the two brothers, disregards the warnings of his friends to take care. They know a brutal Saracen pirate is out for revenge and will try to kill Chatillon and his new wife. Chatillon sends Isabella to Ghent on her first mission to kill an old enemy of his, not realising she is now carrying his child. Meanwhile, the Saracen assassins follow close behind her, and Chatillon is over a hundred leagues away in Normandy, too far away to save her.

I could not get myself interested in the story until Chatilllon marries. This was a good 60 pages from the beginning of the novel. Once he marries Isabella, the story became fascinating. The plot alternated between the war action that Chatillon was involved in and Isabella's love triangles. I was never able to enjoy the Chatillon subplot and skipped pages. There are alot of characters in the book, 49, so perhaps the problem was keeping up with all of them. 

I am still going to read the next book in the series, The Papal Assassin's Curse, which will be published later in the year. If it doesn't excite me, I will give up on the series. 

2 out of 5 stars.

Book of Evil

The Book of Evil is a Comixology Original by Scott Snyder. Part 1 was published in October 2022. The book does not have the feel of a comic but rather an illustrated story about four young friends growing up in a strange future. In this future, over 92% of adolescents become psychopaths when they reach puberty. The four friends embark on a journey across America looking for a safe haven. As they search for this utopia, they find terror behind every corner. At this time, only two installments of the series have been published. #3 was supposed to have been published last month but I cannot find it.

The story was eerie as were the drawings by JOCK. The characters are supposed to reside inside the yellow yolk lines drawn on roads. If they leave the yolk, they get punished. If they get punished bad enough then they cannot become human.  All of the characters are named after famous authors such as Homer, Poe, Milton, Elliott, and Blake which must mean something. I just don't know what it is.

I must admit that I had a hard time following the plot. It seemed to me that the entire first entry only showed the reader what this strange world entailed. I also read part 2 of the series and have come to believe that this series is not for me. I will not be reading any future installments. The story was too weird for me but I know that there are comic fans out there who will enjoy it. 

The Magdalene Veil

This is the 3rd book in the Magdalene Chronicles by Gary McAvoy. He has followed up this series with his Vatican Secret Archives series which has all of the regular characters from the Magdalene Chronicles. The Magdalene Veil was published in April 2021.

The publisher's summary:

An old World War II diary filled with cryptic clues launches two friends on an adventure around the world . . . but their path is fraught with danger and deception . . . and the treasure they seek can change everything for good—or evil. Father Michael Dominic and his journalist friend Hana Sinclair are off to follow a tantalizing lead: a Nazi journal revealing a holy relic’s hiding place. The pair believes the book could lead them to a sacred cloth Christ used to cleanse his face, which according to legend now bears his image — a living record of the Son of God’s true appearance. The diary propels them on a whirlwind adventure from Jerusalem, to Rome, to Buenos Aires. But as they unravel an ancient mystery, they run afoul of a nefarious sect determined to use the Magdalene veil for its own ends. Can Michael and Hana outsmart their ruthless adversaries and bring the artifact home to the Church, or will the revival of Aryan ambition destroy the long-lost relic of Christ?If you love fast-paced novels grounded in history, grab this non-stop action-packed thriller! McAvoy’s fans say his “attention to detail makes the story utterly believable, leaving the reader wondering what is real and what is fiction.”

 

The story begins with a prologue in 33 C.E. in Jerusalem  as Jesus is carrying his cross on the way to his crucifixion.  Along the way, a woman offers him her veil to wipe his brow. The veil becomes soaked with his blood and his face is imprinted on it as well. This veil was never heard about until medieval times and the woman with the veil became known as Veronica. The legend says that she gave the veil to Mary Magdalene who placed it in the tomb of Jesus. It then disappeared for nearly 2,000 years until a Nazi soldier found it hidden in a church in Rennes-le-Chateau and brought it to Heinrich Himmler. Himmler loved the supernatural and he placed this idol in a secret vault in Wewelsburg Castle.

This story is fantastic! It has great characters and a very interesting story line. It's definitely a page turner. With several characters as priests, the plot centers around the Roman Catholic Church. The morals of each of them are different but most are given a positive spin by the author. I was quite surprised that Dominic used information from a woman's confession to find the veil. He should not have used the confessional for this purpose. The author wrote a note at the end of the story to tell the reader which parts of the book were true and which were fictional. I always find myself googling these references for more information because they are all so fascinating. 

I have two more books in the Vatican Secret Archives to read before I am caught up with this series. It's an amazing treasure hunt and I highly recommend it to mystery fans.  5 out of 5 stars.

The Black Ghost

The Black Ghost is a 5 part Comixology Original by Alex Segura and Monica Gallagher. All 5 issues were  published in May 2021 in one volume by Dark Horse Comics and it promises a continuance of the story at the close of #5.  

Our main character is Lara Dominguez. She is a troubled Creighton cops reporter obsessed with the city's debonair vigilante - the Black Ghost. With the help of a mysterious cyber-informant named Lone, Lara has inched closer to uncovering the identity of the Ghost. But as she searches for the breakthrough story that she desperately needs for her paper, Lara navigates the corruption of her city, the uncertainties of virtue, and her own personal demons. The question is whether she can overcome those demons to write spectacular news stories.  

Lara is a fantastic character.  She is a lesbian vigilante of color but her sexual orientation and race do not figure into the story. Lara not only is a journalist but she also teaches a GED class. She is an alcoholic and this prevents her from advancing in her life and career. Another character that I liked was Ernesto who is one of Lara's GED students. He lives in the Dregs and unfortunately gets beat up because of his involvement with her.  Milano's bartender Molly and Lara's boss Maggie are also characters who were interesting and added depth to the story. Crime chieftain Barnabas is the villain of the story and Lara's former classmate Kelly works for him.. All of these characters would make for a fantastic long comic series.

The Black Ghost was a fun read. 5 out of 5 stars.

Can't Wait Wednesday #20

I am anxiously awaiting the publication of Preston and Child's newest novel Dead Mountain. It will be published in August 2023.

The story begins in 2008 when nine mountaineers failed to return from a winter backpacking trip in the New Mexico mountains. At their last campsite, searchers found a bizarre scene: something had appeared at the door of their tent so terrifying that it impelled them to slash their way out and flee barefoot to certain death in a blizzard. Despite a diligent search, only six bodies were found, three violently crushed and missing eyes and tongues. The case, given the code name “Dead Mountain” by the FBI, was never solved. Now, two more bodies from the lost expedition are unexpectedly discovered in a cave, one a grisly suicide. Young FBI Agent Corrie Swanson teams up with archaeologist Nora Kelly to investigate what really happened on that fateful trip fifteen years ago—and to find the ninth victim. But their search awakens a long-slumbering evil, which pursues Corrie and Nora with a vengeance, determined to prevent the final missing corpse from ever coming to light.

Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's are a great team of writers and their books are always fascinating.

Can't Wait Wednesday #19

I am looking forward to the publication of Kristen Loesch's The Last Russian Doll next week on March 14, 2023. What initially attracted me to the book was its gorgeous cover.  You can never go wrong with a gold and red pallet.

This is an epic story about betrayal, revenge, and redemption that follows three generations of Russian women.  The time period covers the 1917 revolution to the last days of the Soviet Union. The story begins with a young girl lived happily in Moscow with her sister, father, and mother who liked to tell fairy tales and collect porcelain dolls. One summer night, everything changed, and all that remained of that family were the girl and her mother.
 
Fast forward a decade later and studying at Oxford University, Rosie has an English name, a loving fiancé, and a promising future. However, all she wants is to understand and bury the past. After her mother dies, Rosie returns to Russia, armed with little more than her mother’s strange folklore--and a single key. What she uncovers is a devastating family history that spans the 1917 Revolution, the siege of Leningrad, Stalin’s purges, and beyond.

I am looking forward to reading this one.

Murder in the Park

I selected Murder in the Park for the Calendar of Crime Challenge. The book was published during March 2022 and because the story takes place in a town that I used to reside in, I knew I had to read it. The book is the first one in a new mystery series taking place in Oak Park, Illinois. Elizabeth Fairchild is the amateur sleuth. She is a widow living with her parents during the 1920s.

The publisher's summary:  

June, 1925. Having been widowed in the Great War, Elizabeth Fairchild lives a quiet life at the home of her wealthy parents in genteel Oak Park village, Illinois. Although she does her best to avoid emotional entanglements, determined never to be hurt again, Elizabeth forms a close friendship with gentle Mr Anthony, who owns the local antiques store.

But tragedy strikes when Mr Anthony is found stabbed to death in the alley behind his shop. Why would anyone murder a mild-mannered antiques dealer who simply loved beautiful things? A robbery gone wrong? A gangland execution? Or could it have something to do with the mysterious customer who bought a gold pocket watch from Mr Anthony on the day he died? 

When one of her father's oldest friends is accused of the crime, Elizabeth determines to expose the real killer. But her investigations soon attract unwelcome attention. With gangsters moving into the neighbourhood from nearby Chicago, Oak Park is no longer the safe haven it once was. Could Elizabeth be seriously out of her depth?

I enjoyed the beginning of the book; just the introduction of the characters. The murder occurred early and I expected the rest of the story would be about the sleuthing. However, there was no sleuthing. Elizabeth relied on other characters to set up a meeting with neighbors. In the meeting she asked too many questions, resulting in the Chicago police breaking into her house to scare her while she hid in the basement. Another character informs Elizabeth that the Chicago police are corrupt and controlled by the mob. He insinuates that Mr. Anthony was a mobster because he was Italian. Anthony's Catholic faith also made him appear suspicious to his Oak Park neighbors and most of them thought he was involved in criminal activity for this reason. Elizabeth thought that the Walosa group, the female branch of the KKK, probably had something to do with Mr. Anthony's death since there was a local branch of them in Oak Park. Elizabeth learns new information about what may have happened at social events she is invited to.

Murder in the Park is a straight murder mystery story. There was no real plot action though. It seemed to me that the author concentrated on the setting with narrative and dialogue. She forgot to write a story. The characters she created could make fantastic characters in future novels.

No rating.

Night Angels

Night Angels is Weina Dao Randel's 4th novel. She wrote the Empress of Bright Moon duology that many historical fiction fans loved. In her newest novel, Randel writes about a diplomatic couple who are risking their lives to help Jews in Vienna escape the Nazis. It is inspired by the true story of Dr. Ho Fengshan.

The publisher's summary:  

1938. Dr. Ho Fengshan, consul general of China, is posted in Vienna with his American wife, Grace. Shy and ill at ease with the societal obligations of diplomats’ wives, Grace is an outsider in a city beginning to feel the sweep of the Nazi dragnet. When Grace forms a friendship with her Jewish tutor, Lola Schnitzler, Dr. Ho requests that Grace keep her distance. His instructions are to maintain amicable relations with the Third Reich, and he and Grace are already under their vigilant eye.

But when Lola’s family is subjugated to a brutal pogrom, Dr. Ho decides to issue them visas to Shanghai. As violence against the Jews escalates after Kristallnacht and threats mount, Dr. Ho must issue thousands more to help Jews escape Vienna before World War II explodes.

Night Angels is a gripping historical fiction novel that grabs your attention from the first page. I found myself rooting for Fengshan as he faced mounting pressure to stop issuing visas. He endured threats to his and his family's physical safety from Adolph Eichmann and his superiors in China. His career in the Republic of China diplomatic corps was also threatened. Fengshan, a Christian, became more emboldened with each threat. As these threats became more intense, Fengshan knew that it was his mission in life to save as many Jews as possible from the Nazis. In the end, he did not care what he had to endure from the Nazis.

Not much is said about Fengshan's faith. The author only tells us that he is a member of the Lutheran Church. However, we never see him going to church. Perhaps the churches were closed by this time period of 1938 to 1940. The author does not tell us. The reader sees Fengsham driving by his church to look at it when he is overwhelmed. He is initially prompted by his wife Grace to save her friend Lola by giving her a visa. Fengshan does not want to do this because his bosses are against angering the Nazis. China needs weapons from Germany in order to fight the Japanese who were occupying China. He is unable to ignore his wife's pleas and with each visa that he processes, Fengshan feels easier about what he is doing.

I loved reading about this little known part of WWII history. The twist of foreign diplomats dealing with the Nazi regime is a new one for WWII fiction. It gives us a fresh perspective on how foreign countries, non-Allies that is, dealt with Germany during the war. 

Night Angels is a must read! 5 out of 5 stars.

The Last Kingdom

The Last Kingdom is Steve Berry's 17th Cotton Malone novel.  I have loved all of them and this one is no different. In this installment of the series King Ludwig II of Bavaria who was deposed in 1886 mysteriously drowned three days later. He was eccentric and has been referred to throughout history of "Mad King Ludwig." In the years before he died, Ludwig engaged in a worldwide search for a new kingdom.  He wanted a new kingdom that was separate from Bavaria because he hated the politics in his home country. This new kingdom was supposed to be a retreat for him. The question posed by history is whether he found a place for this kingdom and whether he built it. 

We then see main character Cotton Malone enter into the story.  His protege, Luke Daniels, has infiltrated a renegade group that is intent on winning Bavarian independence from Germany. Daniels also has gained the trust of the prince of Bavaria who will inherit the throne when his terminally ill brother dies. The princes of Bavaria all descend from the Wittelsbach family who has held the throne for over 700 years. Prince Stefan von Bayern is counting on a 19th century deed proving that Ludwig II found a new kingdom and that he has legal title to the land. Malone and Daniels travel to Ludwig's three fairytale castles, Neuschwanstein, Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee, and battle a number of deadly adversaries who are all intent on finding that last kingdom.

I had some difficulty becoming interested in the story. In fact, I was so bored after reading the first 30 pages that I went online to check reviews. I thought that maybe the author had finally hit a dry spell. All of the reviews were good so I thought that the problem was me. Maybe it was. However, the story picked up around page 65 and it then became a page turner. That said, the premise for the story was a little farfetched. The idea that Bavaria could legally be separated from the rest of Germany was not plausible to me. It is upon this idea that the entire story is based and why would the penultimate spy Cotton Malone even bother with it? 

The writing was crisp but I found myself putting the book down often. It's hard for me to believe that I am rating a Steve Berry book only 3 out of 5 stars.