Book reviews of mysteries, historical fiction and graphic novels with a smattering of non-fiction books.
Tuesday, December 26, 2023
Top Ten Books of 2023
Monday, December 25, 2023
Top Ten Historical Fiction Novels of 2023
Sunday, December 24, 2023
Top Ten Mystery Books of 2023
Tuesday, December 19, 2023
Wrap-up of the 2023 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge
Monday, December 18, 2023
Wrap-Up of the 2023 New Release Reading Challenge
Sunday, December 17, 2023
Wrap-Up of the 2023 Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge
Saturday, December 16, 2023
Wrap-Up of the 2023 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
Sunday, December 10, 2023
Wrap-Up of the 2023 Color Coded Reading Challenge
Nine books were required to meet the Color Coded Challenge. Each book had to have the follow colors in the book title or book cover: blue, red, yellow, green, brown, black, white, any other color and something that implies a color.
I met this challenge by reading and reviewing the following eleven books:
The Blue Bar by Damyanti Bistros
The White Ship by Charles Spencer
A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch
Red Queen by Juan Gomez Jurado
Murder Under a Red Moon by Harini Nagendra
Black River by Matthew Spencer
The Infidel Stain by M. J. Carter
Blood Oranges by Jim Cannon
Key Lime Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke
Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See
Terror in Topaz by A. M. Stuart
The Yellow Rambutan Tree Mystery by Ovida Yu
Favorite Book: Blood Oranges
Second Favorite Book: It's a tie! Red Queen and Murder Under a Red Moon.
Least Favorite Book: Key Lime Pie Murder
Friday, December 8, 2023
End of Year Book Memes
Meme #1
Describe yourself: The Middle Ages by Eleanor Janega
Describe how you feel: Cor Rotto by Adrienne Dillard
Describe where you currently live: The House of Pines by Ana Reyes
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Russka by Edward Rutherfurd
Your favorite form of transportation: The Ghost Ship by Kate Mosse
Your best friend is: Mistress of Bhatia House by Sujata Massey
You and your friends are: Night Angels by Weina Day Randel
What’s the weather like: Red Winter by Tom Clancy
You fear: Date Night by Samantha Hayes
What is the best advice you have to give: Vanish is Plain Sight by Marta Perry
Thought for the day: Honey Drop Dead by Laura Childssds
How I would like to die: Six Feet Deep Dish by Amanda Quigley
My soul’s present condition: Weyward by Emilia Hart
Meme #2
Shortest book title? Poison by Charlotte King
How many re-reads? 1: The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman
Most books read by one author this year? I read 5 books by Gary McAvoy: The Avignon Affair, The Magdalene Deception, The Magdalene Veil, The Magdalene Reliquary, and The Jerusalem Scrolls
Any in translation? 1: Juan Gomez Jurado's Red Queen
How many books were borrowed from the library? 19
Name a book you’ve read this year which was recommended by a blogger? Ashes to Ashes Crust to Crust by Mindy Quigley
Wednesday, December 6, 2023
The Red Citadel
Issac is desperate to return from exile to his family in Seville. Haunted by accusations of heresy he is still recovering from the death of his wife. Granada is riven by religious tension: the Catholics want the Muslims to convert. Isaac falls in love with Aisha, the wife of the rebel Muslim leader and his friend, Abdul Rahman. If he finds out Isaac will be a dead man. The king offers Isaac a chance to return to Seville, in return for gathering intelligence on the rebels. Where do Isaac’s loyalties lie? Then an old enemy accuses Isaac of murdering the Grand Inquisitor. Can Isaac’s daughter, Isabel, save him? Issac must prove he is innocent of murder, satisfy the king, and reconcile his feelings for Aisha. Can he quell a rebellion and reunite his family?
I had some difficulty getting interested in the story because of the many historical terms used by the author in the initial chapters. There are a lot of them. However, since I have studied this era in Spain and am well acquainted with its history, I was surprised by this. There is an assumption that the reader knows this history and can figure out what is going on. In addition, there were a lot of characters introduced early in the story and that also slowed me down. I continued reading and it all soon gelled in my mind.
As I mentioned above, the book is advertised as a historical thriller perfect for fans of CJ Sansom and SJ Parris. I agree that Sansom and Parris fans will like the book. However, it is not a thriller. As mentioned above, the book is the third book in a trilogy and I have not read the first two books. I am sure that this is affecting my experience reading the novel. The author said in an online interview that he believes he did a good enough job of weaving the back story into this novel so that it can be read as a standalone. Since I have not read the earlier books I cannot make any comments about these statements.
If you have not read any historical fiction about the Spanish Inquisition, I recommend that you read the trilogy but in order. There is much to learn about how Jews and Muslims were treated by the Spanish monarchs during this era. Some of the Jews had converted to Christianity but many of them secretly continued worshipping as Jews. Some of the Muslims also converted but those that did not had to agree to be subject to their Christian rulers. It's a heartbreaking fact of history. I am planning to read the earlier two books in the series and re-read The Red Citadel sometime next year. I feel that the author is giving us a good history lesson in his writing.
I am excited that he plans on returning to Granada next Spring to research his next book. It is going to be a young adult novel set in the same time period. The story will focus on Isaac's ten-year-old ward Juana. Juana's father was executed by the Inquisition and her mother died in "mysterious circumstances." The Alhambra, which is the red citadel in the title, will be the setting of this new novel also. I love this setting and have been pining to travel to Spain to see it in person.
The book was a slow read so I am rating it 3 out of 5 stars.
Thursday, July 6, 2023
Best New Mysteries of 2023 . . . So Far
Monday, May 1, 2023
Red Queen
Antonia Scott―the daughter of a British diplomat and a Spanish mother―has a gifted forensic mind, whose ability to reconstruct crimes and solve baffling murders is legendary. But after a personal trauma, she's refused to continue her work or even leave her apartment.
Jon Gutierrez, a police officer in Bilbao―disgraced, suspended, and about to face criminal charges―is offered a chance to salvage his career by a secretive organization that works in the shadows to direct criminal investigations of a highly sensitive nature. All he has to do is succeed where many others have failed: Convince a recalcitrant Antonia to come out of her self-imposed retirement, protecting her and helping her investigate a new, terrifying case.
The case is a macabre, ritualistic murder―a teen-aged boy from a wealthy family whose body was found without a drop of blood left in it. But the murder is just the start. A high-ranking executive and daughter of one of the richest men in Spain is kidnapped, a crime which is tied to the previous murder. Behind them both is a hidden mastermind with even more sinister plans. And the only person with a chance to see the connections, solve the crimes and successfully match wits with the killer before tragedy strikes again...is Antonia Scott.
Antonia Scott is a lovable investigator regardless of her personality quirks. She has been chosen to be Spain's red queen, a titled bestowed on one brilliant investigator in each European country. Antonia relies on pills that her Mentor gives her to help her filter outside stimuli so that she can focus on what she is seeing at a scene. The pills only work for an hour so she has to be selective about when she takes them. Red Queen is a crime fighting organization in Europe, similar to Interpol. Her sidekick Jon Gutierrez had been seriously wronged by a former employer and I couldn't help but root for him. This team of crime fighters work amazingly well together which is a good thing as Red Queen is the beginning of the Antonia Scott series.
Despite Antonia and Jon's differences they quickly begin working on tracking down a criminal named Ezekiel who has slowly drained the blood from a man's carotid artery. There was no blood at the scene nor was there any blood in the victim's body. Ezekiel then kidnaps Carla Ortiz, the daughter of the richest man in the world. I saw shades of Bill Gates here. Ezekiel is an interesting character. He frequently tells himself "I am a good person." He also uses a line from Psalm 23 to add his signature to each crime scene: annointing the dead person's head with oil.
The story had a super fast pace and was unputdownable. If you decide to read this book, make sure that you have time to finish it in one sitting. You won't be able to stop reading. It seemed that each chapter had a new twist to add to the story and this created alot of suspense. The short chapters also helped me keep reading because what's a few more pages before taking a break. Right?
The Red Queen is a must read. 5 out of 5 stars.
Monday, November 29, 2021
2022 Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge
1) The challenge runs all year long from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022.
2) Eight “key words” are given for each month. Your task is to read 1 book that includes one or more of the key words in the title.
3) Synonyms and different suffixes are allowed. For example, if the keyword is ‘Lake’ you may also use the words ‘Lakes’, ‘Water’, ‘Sea’, ‘Ocean’.
4) A check in post will be published here on the blog, in our Goodreads GXO Reading Challenges group and on Instagram each month. You can link up on the blog posts to announce your completion of that months challenge using the hashtag #Monthly KeyWordGXO
5) Please properly credit and link back to Girlxoxo or Kim on Instagram any time you post about the challenge on your blog or social media.
6) If you post what you’ve read to social media please use the hashtag #MonthlyKeyWordGXO.
7) If you are on Goodreads consider joining our GXO Goodreads Reading Challenge Group. You can get book suggestions, do progress check-ins and meet other challenge participants.
8) You can track your progress using a blog or any social media platform. We are active on Instagram, Twitter, and Goodreads.
MONTHLY KEY WORDS
JAN – Last, Kingdom, Girl, Dark, When, Winter, Light, Window
FEB – Midnight, Never, Into, Sun, Love, Good, Spell, Search
MAR – End, Fall, Loud, Queen, Woods, Nine, Beautiful, Crown
APR – Race, Now, Chose, While, Stop, Burn, Red, One
MAY – Thorn, Catch, Black, Under, City, Cloud, Sing, Legacy
JUN – Sea, You, Hate, Perfect, Shade, Until, Beach, Little
JUL – Star, Next, Infinity, Iron, Word, People, Rise, Clear
AUG – Breath, Case, Hundred, Day, Happy, Language, Stay, Lie
SEP – Bright, Here, Out, Life, Strange, Rule, Story, Salt
OCT – House, Bone, Haunt, Body, Blood, Witch, Murder, Mystery
NOV – Many, Boy, River, Fever, Down, Gold, Jade, Hill
DEC – Still, Cabin, Cafe, Night, Lake, By, Holiday, Fire
Saturday, February 2, 2019
Murder by Misrule
The mystery formula was followed here with the murder occurring early in the novel and the suspects and red herrings being in their proper order. The fact that the story took place in 1586 was secondary to the solving of the crime. Murder by Misrule, while a historical mystery, followed the formula of a straight mystery not the formula of a historical mystery.
I found the novel to be enormously entertaining. I was engaged in the plot from the first chapter. It had a light feel to it similar to a cozy mystery which made it a fast read. The Francis Bacon character was interesting. As a 25 year old he had a brilliant mind but was a bumbling young man who had made some major political mistakes in his career. This is not how I remember him from history but everyone has to start somewhere.
Murder by Misrule was a pleasant surprise. I didn't know what to expect since I had never heard of the author before. Now I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.