The Witch of Delft

The Witch of Delft is a historical fiction novel with some magical realism included.  It takes place in Holland in 1692. It has a creative plot and is another fantastic read from Christine De Melo.

The publisher's summary:

"Renowned healer, Lisbeth Vos, concots a cunning revenge against her childhood friend, Hannah Brouwer, for a wrong committed decades ago. The audacious scheme requires a marriage between Lisbeth's granddaughter and Hannah's widowed son.  Desperate for her grandmother's attention and approval, Mila agrees to wed a man she doesn't know. She begins entertaining doubts when Hannah proves to be a loving mother-in-law instead of the monster her grandmother described. Mila is thinking and acting independently for the first time, going as far as initiating an illicit affair.  Her refusal to commit a heinous act at Lisbeth's insistence results in shocking consequences. With danger looming on the horizon, Mila discovers powers that have lain dormant beneath her grandmother's oppressive shadow. Now, she must learn to use her gift and salvage her only chance at happiness."

I don't normally read books about witchcraft but was pleasantly surprised with The Witch of Delft. The book is primarily about the deceptions between the characters than the occult. My choice to read this novel was based on who the author is. I have loved reading all of Christine De Melo's other novels so I had to give this one a try. I was not disappointed.

I adored the main witch in the book, Lisbeth Vos. Her character is a nasty one and I always love the villain in a story. Lisbeth runs the lives of her daughter and granddaughter as she has a bossy personality.  While Mila becomes more assertive as she matures in life, she is not the most dominant character in the novel.  As the protagonist I would expect that she would dominate the story but Lisbeth dominates instead.  It is Lisbeth's machinations that all of the other characters need to maneuver through.  With secondary characters also being witches, the question to ask is who is the official "witch of Delft" in this novel. Read the book to find out.

5 out of 5 stars!

The Three Women

The Three Women is Valerie Keough's third novel.  It is advertised on the front cover as being a jaw-dropping psychological thriller and it most definitely is.  The ending was such a surprise. I was not expecting it. I think the author did an awesome job in creating this plot.

The publisher's summary:

"When Beth, Megan and Joanne meet at university, they become inseparable friends who'd do anything for one another - even agreeing to keeping what happens on one shocking night a secret. Now in their forties and outwardly successful, each of the three has dealt with what happened in their own way. But secrets and lies leave their mark. When Megan decides to tell her fiancé the truth about that night, it threatens to ruin the lives of everyone around her. And someone is prepared to do anything to stop that happening."

The Three Women scared me straight! The consequences of telling lies is huge here. Of course, I am not really a liar but if you are then you might want to read this novel. It starts out as just the stories of the 3 women but toward the midway point the reader begins to see how lies transform people.  Lies transform the hearers as well as the people speaking the words.  Within the plot, you will be shown how the choices that people make in their lives are impacted by lies.  ooh...scary!

I loved this book!  The characters were compelling but after reading the ending one of them became my favorite. The makeup of her psychology makes sense at the end. While this particular character seemed a little dull during the unfolding of the plot, at the conclusion of the book you see her shining in all her nasty glory.

5 out of 5 stars!

The Oracle Code

Marieke Nijkamp's newest graphic novel addresses the physical and psychological issues of newly disabled individuals. The Oracle Code is a fictionalized account of a young girl, Barbara Gordon, who becomes a paraplegic after a shooting accident. Her father places her in a rehab facility in order to learn how to live with a disability. Manuel Prietano drew the illustrations.

The publisher's summary:

"After a gunshot leaves her paralyzed below the waist, Barbara Gordon must undergo physical and mental rehabilitation at Arkham Center for Independence.  She must adapt to a new normal, but she cannot shake the feeling that something is dangerously amiss. Strange sounds escape at night while patients start to go missing. Is the suspicion simply a result of her trauma? Or does Barbara actually hear voices coming from the center's labyrinthine hallways? It's up to Barbara to put the pieces together to solve the mysteries behind the walls.  In The Oracle Code, universal truths cannot be escaped, and Barbara Gordon must battle the phantoms of her past before they consume her future."

The plot of this book is not only informative regarding the problems of the disabled but it is also a mystery novel as our protagonist, teenager Barbara Gordon, has to solve a mystery in the center for independent living (CIL) where she resides. Using the mystery format makes it easier, and more fun, for non-disabled persons to learn about disability. The author chose her plot well.  The progression of Barbara Gordon's character is a highlight of the book. She solves crimes from her wheelchair using her computer hacking skills and it is through these skills that she sees that she never really changed after her accident. The secondary characters are not as strong and they do not progress as individuals.  This is Barbara's story.

The artwork enhances the story.  The colors focus on certain characters in each panel. Only the characters of interest are in full color while the other characters fade into the background by coloring them all in the same color.  Manuel Prietano did the drawings. The coloring was done by Jordie Bellaire and the lettering was done by Clayton Cowles.  Their joint effort was successful in telling this story. In a Q&A with the Disability Visibility Project the author stated that she sent Prietano photos and videos of wheelchairs and other mobility aids so that he could draw them accurately.

Barbara Gordon, a/k/a Oracle, is an iconic disabled character in the DC Comics world. The Oracle Code is her origin story. Her transition from Barbara to Oracle happens here.

I think that The Oracle Code is the best book that I have read thus far in 2020. I am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

The First Husband

The First Husband is McGarvey Black's second novel. It was a fast paced psychological thriller that I was unable to put down. It opens with Trina Holmgren and her best friend Jenn Fairfield arriving in India for a vacation. When they step off a bus in Kashmir they are met with the loud shouts of men trying to rent their boats. When they meet Sam Ayad, who is quiet among this crowd, he offers them his parents' houseboat as a place to rent while they are there. They agree. Sam stays with them all day guarding the boat and provides tours in the Kashmir area. Trina and Sam begin to fall in love with each other and Trina decides not to return to America at the end of her stay. She agrees to remain in Kashmir for another two weeks in order to spend time with Sam. Just before her departure she agrees to marry Sam and gives him her grandmother's silver locket as a promise that she will return to India for him. When Trina returns several months later Sam refuses to return the locket unless she marries him. In order to get it back, she and Sam are married and Trina returns to the U.S., promising him that she will begin the process of getting him entry to America. However, she has no intention of seeing him ever again. Trina returns to her life in New York City and ignores all of Sam's letters. After 18 months of writing to Trina with no response from her, Sam resolves to get revenge. He comes up with a plan that will devastate her and many others.

Wow! This book was fantastic. The suspense began in the first chapter and continued until the last page. The ending was unexpected but brilliant. The characters were compelling and believable, although I felt that Trina was superficial in all of her relationships. She was presented as a sweet woman but deep down I thought she had a cruel side. I don't think that I can find any fault with this book. It was written tight as a psychological thriller should be written and was a satisfying read. I am just blown away with how Sam gets his revenge. Not wanting to be a spoiler, I will leave it at that. The First Husband is a must read!!

5 out of 5 stars.

The Cup

The Cup takes place in Morocco in the 11th century. It is a 112 page novella that is the first historical novel in a four book series, all of them set in Morocco.  Each book focuses on a different woman.

The book begins by introducing the main character, Hela, helping her slave trader father with his sales. This first chapter was uncomfortable reading for two reasons. It was disheartening to see people bought and sold and viewed as chattel.  In addition, Hela's nonchalant attitude toward the slaves was gut-wrenching. Fortunately, this setting ended as the next chapter brought the reader a character learning her healing trade from her mother. The rest of the novel is about Hela plying her trade.

The publisher's summary:

"Hela has powers too strong for a child - both to feel the pain of those around her and to heal them. But when she is given a mysterious cup by a slave woman, its powers overtake her life, forcing her into a vow she cannot hope to keep. Trapped by her vow, Hela loses one chance after another to love and be loved.  Meanwhile, in her household a child is growing into a woman who will become famous throughout the Muslim world."

The Cup was an enjoyable read once the discomfort of the first chapter passed. I have some questions for the author about why the story was written with an initial focus on slavery.  There are the scenes with Hela interacting with her father's slaves.  One of them gives her the cup but no information is given in the story as to why this particular female slave gave Hela her cup. There are no other scenes with this slave.  While I was reading I thought that this slave would be mentioned later in the story.  She wasn't. Neither was Hela's slave-trading father's business. The theme of the story is obviously slavery as Hela later gives up having her own life to staying with and making another woman feel safe. However, there is no connection between the opening and the rest of the plot. With that said, the book was splendid reading.  It's just that as I was reading, I was expecting the people in the first chapter to be somehow connected to the rest of the story.

4 out of 5 stars.

The Land Beyond the Sea

Sharon Kay Penman's latest novel The Land Beyond the Sea was just published last month on March 3, 2020.  It is the story of King Baldwin IV of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and his defense of his kingdom from Saladin's army.  It takes place in the Middle East beginning in 1172 when Baldwin was 10-years-old and concludes in 1187, long after he has died.

The Kingdom of Jerusalem is the land beyond the sea. After the Franks captured Jerusalem from the Saracens in the First Crusade, it became a medley of different cultures that included everything except Muslims.  The young Baldwin is quite intelligent but he becomes afflicted with leprosy at an early age.  Political machinations abound as he has no heir and is expected to die at a young age. However, when Saladin starts a war to recapture the city, Baldwin has to respond in a way that shows him as a strong leader.

I felt that this story had a rough start. It was hard for me to stay interested until page 200 of this 670 page novel. There were many characters to keep track of as well as where they were from.  Many of the place names were foreign to me and it was hard to figure out who was from where. Another problem is that the story opens with 2 characters who aren't featured in the rest of the plot. One is dead and the other is his wife. This caused me to be confused as I expect that when a story begins with a character that the character will be important to the story. Around the 200th page the plot became centered on Baldwin the king.  The story then became more focused and it was easier to read and much more enjoyable.

4 out of 5 stars.

Fever Year

Fever Year is a history of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic told in a graphic novel format.  Don Brown published this book in 2019, the newest addition to his disaster novels. Brown has previously written about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Great American Dust Bowl, and about Syrian refugees.

Fever Year is a short, 51 page, book on the 1918 flu pandemic.  It is written as a straight history book.  There are no characters or plot.  The author tells the reader how the pandemic began,  how it worked its way around the globe and how people reacted to it.  It is eerily similar to our current COVID-19 pandemic. With governments arresting those who violated the quarantine it provides some details concerning what may be next for us today.  This quarantine was a real quarantine.  It was not a stay-at-home order where you could leave your home to buy food and prescriptions. People had to do without. Those who needed medication for pre-existing illnesses died. Masks were required to be worn and there were several health care hucksters pedaling drugs that did not ease the symptoms of the flu.  Sound familiar?

I liked this book.  It gives us a history of an event that we should know about and inside are clues to what can happen again.  Humans being humans, it does not matter how technologically advanced society is. We will act in desperate ways.  5 out of 5 stars.