Midnight in St. Petersburg

Midnight in St. Petersburg takes place in pre-revolutionary Russia.  Orphaned Inna Feldman flees her home in Kiev where a pogrom is beginning, for St. Petersburg where she has a distant relative that she hopes will take her in. The Leman family agrees to let her stay for a few days but are fearful of letting her stay longer as Inna has no papers to identify herself. She left them behind, as well as her Jewish identity, and stole the papers of a wealthy woman during the pandemonium of the prime minister's assassination at a concert that the Tsar had also attended.

Inna and her cousin Yasha Kagan, who lives and works for the Leman's in their violin making workshop, soon become attracted to each other and Yasha convinces them that Inna should stay for awhile and begin an apprenticeship in the workshop to help pay for her keep. Inna agrees and stays for several months, meeting all of the Leman's friends including an Englishman, Horace Wallick, who works for Faberge and has fallen in love with her. She also becomes enamored with a priest that she met on the train to St. Petersburg, Father Grigory, who is becoming famous by his last name, Rasputin.

As the revolution continues to get bigger, restrictions on Jews are lifted but soon are put back into place.  When Inna is asked by a member of the aristocracy to repair a Stradivarius, she thinks that she can get away from another coming pogrom by escaping St. Petersburg for Yalta when she delivers the repaired violin.  Does she go alone? Take Yasha or Horace with her?  Is she able to escape? You will have to read the book to find out!

The plot was somewhat predictable. I knew which man Inna would pick based on the type of woman that she was. What I could not predict was the ending, which surprised me a little.  You knew it was going to end in either 1 or 2 ways.  I did enjoy, however, learning about the era and how the Russian people coped with all of the problems a revolution brings, ie, food shortages, uncertainty and for the Jews, deciding whether to leave Russia or stay.

The storyline about Inna's passion for one of her suitors was exciting. I won't tell you which one! Most of the hints that the author gave the reader were from Inna's thoughts.  It would have been nice to have had more of them.

I enjoyed the book and hope to both read more about this era and more from this author.

The Scribe of Siena

The Scribe of Siena is Melodie Winawer's first novel.  It takes place in Siena in the 1340s, before, during and after the Plague killed most of the residents. While there is some time travel involved, 90% of the story takes place in the 1340s.

Beatrice Trovato is a neurosurgeon in New York City.  Her brother Ben, a medieval researcher lives in a house in Siena where he is researching why Siena lost more people from the Plague than other European cities. After agreeing to visit him, Beatrice receives a letter in the mail from his attorneys advising that her brother has died and that she has inherited his estate, including his research notes.  They advise her that several local scholars would like to finish his research and write a book.  Beatrice travels to Siena and moves into his house.  She intends on finishing his research project.

While following up on his research notes, Beatrice finds a journal from a fresco painter of the era in a library.  She is fascinated by his life and finds within one of his paintings an image of her own face.  Beatrice falls asleep in a cathedral and when she wakes up she is still in the cathedral but 650 years before the 21st century.

Of course Beatrice finds people staring at her because she is improperly dressed for the time period.  After being charged with this crime a nun, Umilta, rescues her and takes her to the Opsedale where she will live and work.   Because Beatrice is literate, unusual for women of the era, she is allowed to work in the scriptorium as a scribe.  While taking a break one day she meets a fresco painter who is painting a fresco for the Opsedale.  He is Gabriele Accorsi, whose journal she had read.

As Beatrice tries to sort out how she traveled back in time and how to return to the 21st century, she continues to work as a scribe.  She worries about catching the Plague as she knows from history that it is about to be unleashed in Siena, but realizes that she is better suited to life in the 14th century than the 21st. She loves her new job and has friends, including Gabriele.

I loved this book. I was spellbound from the moment I began reading.  While I am not a fan of time traveling, most of this book was a medieval mystery.  I did enjoy, though, the present era where Beatrice was trying to figure out what her brother had discovered in his research. The beauty of Siena captivated me and I think that I am going to have to put this city on my travel bucket list. I want to see everything that Beatrice saw. This is a wonderful debut book for the author and is a must read.

The Tea Planter's Wife

I loved this book!  It is the first novel by Dinah Jeffries that I have ever read and I am impressed.

The story begins in the 1920s with 19 year old newlywed Gwendolyn Hooper traveling from England to Ceylon to join her thirtysomething husband Laurence at his tea plantation. Culture shock is her initial problem with the need to learn new words for workers such ayah and appu, get accustomed to the loud noise and fragrant smells of the country as well as the danger of the political strife between the Tamils and the Sinhalese. She also has to learn how to manage a household staff of employees who are much older than her.  In addition, Gwen has to deal with the other women in Lawrence's life, his ex-mistress Christina, his sister Verity and his deceased first wife Caroline. None of this is easy for the teenager.

The Tea Planters Wife was a fast read.  I loved the setting descriptions of Ceylon's topography, weather patterns, the smell of cinnamon in the air and life on a tea plantation. The fragrance of cinnamon captured my imagination as it is so different from Chicago where I live which smells like . . . something different. The only exception would be when the latrine coolie did not arrive on time. Ugh!

The characters were interesting. Gwen had nothing but adversity to deal with throughout the novel. Sister-in-law Verity is a pretty nasty person, Christina is still pushing Laurence to continue their relationship and Laurence is something else. I felt he totally ignored his wife's needs and put the needs of the other women in his life first as well as those of his employees. I would have dumped him.

All in all, I would give this novel 4 out of 5 stars.

The River of Kings

I had a difficult time getting interested in this book.  I re-read pages 1-50 several times but could not get into it.  I then skimmed over a few more pages but could not follow the plot.  The back cover blurb describes the writing style as prose which is not the style normally used in historical fiction. This might be my stumbling block. However, here is what the book is about, per the inside cover blurb:

". . . The Altamaha River, Georgia's 'Little Amazon's one of the last truly wild places in America. Crossed by roads only five times in its 137 miles, the black-water river is home to thousand-year-old virgin cypress, to the direct descendents of eighteenth century Highland warriors, and to a staggering array of rare and endangered species.  The Altamaha is even rumored to harbor its own river monster, as well as traces of the oldest European fort in North America.

Brothers Hunter and Lawton Loggins set off to kayak the river, bearing their father's ashes toward the sea.  Hunter is a college student, Lawton a Navy SEAL on leave; they were raised by an angry, enigmatic whimper who lived the river and whose death remains a mystery that his sons are determined to solve. As the brothers proceed downriver, their story alternates with that of Jacques de Not be, the first European artist in North America, who accompanied a 1564 French expedition that began as a search for riches and ended in a bloody confrontation with Spanish conquistadors and native tribes. . ."

Almost every review that I have read of the book has been a 5 star review.   I don't get it.  If you have thoughts about the book please leave a comment.

Valley of the Kings

Valley of the Kings is the first book in a trilogy about the pharaohs of Egypt. Book 1 covers the 18th dynasty and is about the lives of Amenhotep III, Akhenaten, and Tutankhamen.  Nefertiti makes an appearance as she was married to Akhenaten. It is the debut novel of Terrence Coffey.

Ancient Egypt is a fairly new historical period for me and this was one of the easiest books for me to read.  Gary Corby's mysteries are the only other books about this era that I have read but I need to read them slowly as I get bogged down in the Egyptian names and words that he uses.  Coffey's book has more contemporary language which made it is fast read.  

I am looking forward to reading the next two books and whatever else this author writes.  Thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Bones of Grace

The Bones of Grace is the third book in the Bengal Trilogy.  I had not previously heard of the trilogy when I saw this book at my public library so I have not read the first two books.  Because I had some difficulty with how the story was told I will not be reading them.

The inside front cover blurb summarizes the book as follows:  "On the eve of her departure to find the bones of the walking whale-the fossil that provides the missing link in our evolution-Zubaida Haque falls in love with Elijah Strong, a man she meets in a darkened concert hall in Boston.  Their connection is immediate and intense despite their differences: Elijah belongs to a prototypical American family; Zubaida is the adopted daughter of a wealthy Bangladeshi family in Dhaka. When a twist of fate sends her back to her hometown, the inevitable force of society compels her to take a different path: she marries her childhood best friend and settles into a traditional Bangladeshi life..."

I did not continue with the blurb summary because I did not read any further than the above part of the story. It is told from Zubaida's perspective but is only told through her thoughts and her thoughts are not written in a straight storyline.  The storyline jumps back and forth without chapter breaks.  I do not even remember if the storyline changes by paragraph. All I know is that I could not follow the plot with Zubaida's random thought process.

While I have a rule to stop reading a book if I cannot get interested by the 50th page, I read to page 175 (out of 407 pages) because the plot seemed so interesting and I thought that the book would get better.  It didn't.  It is unfortunate as I had high hopes for the book because it is about Bangladeshi culture.  

2 Sisters

2 Sisters is a World War 2 spy thriller written in a graphic novel format.  It has very little dialogue so you need to view the drawings closely to determine the plot.

Elle and her sister Anna live in England with their alcoholic father.  Elle takes a job as an ambulance driver in order to help out during the war.  She then meets a man named Alan and they become friends.  Soon after, Elle is recruited to be a spy for England and is sent overseas. While Elle is performing as a spy she constantly has flashbacks to growing up with her sister.

I expected more from this story than I got.  Perhaps because I am used to reading spy thrillers I expected more detail.  The drawing style was crude and grey toned colors gave the book a sinister feel which is appropriate for the storyline. However, this book just did not do much for me.

3 out of 5 stars. 

Everything Belongs to Us

I have struggled with categorizing this book as historical fiction.  It takes place in 1978.  I remember 1978.  I was 20.  My millennial co-workers tell me that this was a historical period of time, Korea after the Korean War.  However, it is not historical fiction.  It is a story about the relationships between friends who just happen to come of age during this time period.

The inside cover blurb summarizes the story as follows:  "Seoul, 1978. At South Korea's top university, the nation's best and brightest compete to join the professional elite of an authoritarian regime. Success could lead to life of a rarified privilege and wealth; failure means being left irrevocably behind. For childhood friends, Jisun and Namin, the stakes couldn't be more different. Jisun, the daughter of a powerful business mogul, grew up on a mountainside estate with lush gardens and a dedicated chauffeur. Namin's parents run a tented food cart from dawn to curfew. Her sister works in a shoe factory. Now Jisun wants as little to do with her father's world as possible, abandoning her schoolwork in favor of the underground activist movement, while Namin studies tirelessly in the service of one goal: to launch herself and her family out of poverty. But everything changes when Jisun and Namin meet an ambitious, charming student named Sunam whose need to please his family has led him to a prestigious club: the Circle. Under the influence of his mentor, Juno, a manipulative social climber, Sunam becomes entangled with both women, as they all make choices that will change their lives forever."

The four student characters in this story were loveable and how they handled their friendships as they grew up forms the basis for the plot.  The characters are the success of this novel.  While they faced the usual ambition, desires, anxiety and betrayal that all young people deal with, they also are coming of age at a time when their nation is trying to become an economic powerhouse in a short period of time.

5 out of 5 stars!

Mercy

Mercy was written by Dan Palmer, the son of medical mystery author Michael Palmer who died a year or two ago.  I don't know if Mercy was an unfinished manuscript by Michael or whether his son is going to continue to write medical mysteries in his memory.  Either way, I am glad that there is someone still interested in writing medical mysteries. It is my favorite mystery sub-genre. With the death of Michael Palmer and Robin Cook no longer writing there currently isn't anyone specializing in this sub-genre.

The topic of Mercy is the critically ill patient's right to die with dignity.  In the novel's White Memorial Hospital expensive, critically ill patients mysteriously die of heart attacks even though none of them have heart disease. It saves the hospital a bundle of money but how is it happening and who is involved?

ICU doctor Julie Devereaux is an outspoken advocate for a patient's right to die until her fiance becomes a paraplegic from a motorcycle accident. He dies of an unexpected heart attack. His autopsy reveals an unusual heart defect, one that is only seen in people under extreme stress.  Since the defect disappears when the stress is alleviated it is not seen as a fatal disease.  Julie investigates similar cases and finds herself the target of threats, even to the point of being accused of a mercy killing herself.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was quite relaxing to read a book that I knew I would like because of its genre.  I also knew that any book written by the Palmers will have great characters, excellent pacing, and suspense.  They have the writing gene.  Mercy was somewhat bittersweet due to personal circumstances that have put me in the hospital several times over the past 2 months.  I have been subjected to nurses yelling at me for not having a living will and they let it be known that they wanted me to sign a DNR (do not rescesitate order).  Being stubborn I refused.  But the beginning of the book was too real for me and made me a little paranoid.  However, it has a compelling plot and excellent writing and I highly recommend it.

The Butcher Bird

The Butcher Bird is a sequel to Sarah Sykes' Plague Land.  In this installment of the series Oswald de Lacy must solve the murders of infants Catherine Tulley and Margaret Beard. The villagers of Somershill believe that they were killed by a butcher bird but Oswald knows that no such bird exists.  Oswald also has to contend with the villagers who work his farm fields.  With half of them dead from the Plague, the survivors have twice as much work to do and want to be paid more money.  The Ordinance of Labourers prohibits raising wages above what they were before the Plague and the local earl enforces the Ordinance with the area lords. Oswald does not want to break the law and he certainly fears getting caught if decides to increase wages.  As usual he has to contend with his contrary mother and sister who manipulate him well.

Oswald is a loveable character. However, I think I like his spiteful mother and sister Clemence better. Clemence knows how to push Oswald to his limits in order to get what she wants, a trait that I share. His family reminds me of my own so their interactions are humorous to me. Ah . . . sibling rivalry.  You gotta love it!

It goes without saying that the author knows her medieval history well.  She shows the era as it was and uses many terms of the day.  I have had to pull out an old English language medieval dictionary that I bought years ago at a travel bookstore to keep track of everything. However, if you do not have such a dictionary you should be fine using the glossary at the end of the book.

I am looking forward to reading the next Somershill Manor Mystery.  Since The Butcher Bird was published last year I assume the third book in the series will be published in 2017.  Can't wait.

Wizzywig

Wizzywig is a story about a brilliant child computer hacker.  Kevin Phenicle gets beat up daily at his elementary school until he finds a way to cheat the phone company out of excessive fees.  He then becomes popular.  His first hack is of the phone company.  After overhearing 2 older men discuss sex as "boingthump" he takes that word as his online name.  After finding ways to scam free pizza and rigging radio contests, Kevin creates some of the world's first worms and viruses all before graduating high school.  He has to go on the run though as several companies have each lost $10,000,000 from his hacking of their computer systems.

I loved this kid.  He is a composite character of 3 young hackers of the early computer era.  If you want to learn about this era you should read this book. Though informative, it is hilarious.  I really enjoyed this one.

Insomnia Cafe

Peter Kolinsky is an expert on rare books and had a good job at an auction house. After black marketers use him in their schemes Peter loses his job and a friend gets him a job at a book depository company.  However, Peter has insomnia, stays up all night, wakes up late and is frequently late to his new job.  He is fired again.  Peter has found a cafe that is open all night called Insomnia.  There he befriends a waitress named Angela and she helps him get a job at the cafe.  On one of their dates she takes him to the archives-a place where books being currently written by famous writers are on the shelves.  However, the black marketers have not forgotten about him and are pursuing him.  Peter is terrified and seeks refuge in the archives.  Most of the story, though, takes place at the cafe.

Insomnia Cafe is a cute book and is a fast read since it is only 80 pages.  The artwork consists of black and white drawings in comic strip panels. Turkish illustrator M. K. Perker wrote and drew the book.  It was a relaxing read for me last weekend where I read it in a park on a hot and sunny day.

5 out of 5 stars.

Plague Land

This is S. D. Sykes' first novel and it was published in 2015.  The sequel, The Butcher Bird, was published last year and I hope that this series has an annual installment.  They are both medieval mysteries featuring Oswald de Lacy as the Lord of Somershill Manor and the amateur sleuth.

Upon hearing of the deaths of his older brothers, Oswald de Lacy has to leave the monastery where he is studying to be a priest in order to take over the management of his family's estate. His mentor, Brother Peter, comes with him. Oswald has not been trained to manage the property as he entered the monastery at age 7 and is now just 17.  The Pestilence has changed the estate with half of its residents succumbing to the Pestilence and those that survived are now quite fearful and superstitious.

After his arrival home, Oswald hears of the death of a local girl, Alison Starvecrow, and is told by Brother Peter that it is his job to investigate the death as he is now Lord of the manor.  The parish priest John Cornwall believes she has been killed by a demonic dog headed monster and convinces the village people that they are in danger of these creatures.  Oswald knows these creatures do not exist but has to deal with the villagers' beliefs in order to solve the crime.

Oswald gets grief from his mother and sister Clemence as well as from John Cornwall as he learns how to investigate the crime and manage an estate as well. He gets alot of advice from Brother Peter who seems to always know what the best approach to a problem is.

I am so happy that someone is writing a medieval mystery series.  I haven't seen too many of them lately and miss them. The medieval period is my favorite period in history.

Anyone who loves the medieval era will like this book.  The author has well-researched the era and it shows.  She has created plausible characters and there are many twists and turns in the solving of the crime.  A great read.