The Woman in Valencia

The Woman in Valencia is a Staff Recommended book at the Chicago Public Library this month. I took it out of the library, though, because it takes place in my favorite international city, Valencia, Spain. It was originally written in French by Annie Perreault in 2018 and translated into English by Ann Marie Boulanger in 2021. It was published by QC Fiction, the Canadian imprint that specializes in translating French fiction into English.

The publisher's summary:  

While on vacation with her family in Valencia, Claire Halde witnesses a shocking event that becomes the catalyst for a protracted downward spiral and a profound personal unravelling as she struggles to come to grips with her role in the incident. This haunting novel, which unfolds across three timelines set in as many decades, takes the reader on a dark journey through the minds of three women whose pasts, presents, and futures are decided by a single encounter on a scorching summer afternoon.

Every published review of this novel that I have seen has highly rated it. However, I did not like it much. It was hard to get into and I restarted reading it about 4 times. The plot concerns Claire's obsession with a suicide that she witnessed in the rooftop pool of the hotel where she was staying in Valencia. We primarily read about Claire's internal thoughts whether she should have intervened and why she did not intervene. Claire kept the bag that the victim had with her at the pool and brought it with her when she returned to Valencia a few years later. Here, Claire dyes her hair blonde and assumes a Russian name. It was difficult to figure this out because Claire's internal thoughts about the Russian blonde made it seem that this was a different character. Herein lies the problem that I had with this book. It was near impossible to figure out the difference between plot action and Claire's thoughts. I also question whether there was any plot action at all. 

I cannot give this book a rating. In fact, I don't even know what genre it is and cannot figure out why this book is so highly rated.

A Dark and Stormy Tea

 

A Dark and Stormy Tea is the 23rd Indigo Tea Shop Mystery featuring Theodosia Browning as an amateur sleuth. Book 24, Lemon Curd Killer, will be published in March 2023. I have read all of the books in the series and have been mostly pleased with the writing. Since the author writes two other cozy mystery series and publishes three books every year, I think that she sometimes doesn't put in the same effort that she used to.

The publisher's summary:

A possible serial killer on the loose sends tea maven Theodosia Browning into a whirlwind of investigation in this latest installment of the New York Times bestselling series.

It was a dark and stormy night, but that was the least of Theodosia Browning's troubles. As she approaches St. Philips Graveyard, Theodosia sees two figures locked in a strange embrace. Wiping rain from her eyes, Theodosia realizes she has just witnessed a brutal murder and sees a dark-hooded figure slip away into the fog.
 
In the throes of alerting police, Theodosia recognizes the victim—it is the daughter of her friend, Lois, who owns the Antiquarian Bookshop next door to her own Indigo Tea Shop.
 
Even though this appears to be the work of a serial killer who is stalking the back alleys of Charleston, Lois begs Theodosia for help. Against the advice of her boyfriend, Detective Pete Riley, and the sage words of Drayton, her tea sommelier, amateur-sleuth Theodosia launches her own shadow investigation. And quickly discovers that suspects abound with the dead girl’s boyfriend, nefarious real estate developer, private-security man, bumbling reporter, and her own neighbor who is writing a true-crime book and searching for a big ending.

I was delighted with the crisp writing in this installment of the series. It was quite suspenseful and there was some development of Theodosia's character. The murder occurred in the first chapter, which I always prefer so that the rest of the novel can be about the investigation of the case. Also, there seemed to be more discussion than usual between Theo and Drayton about what specialty afternoon tea events that they want to plan, such as Garden Party Tea, Jane Austen Tea, Great Gatsby Tea, Limon Tea, Primavera Tea, Butterfly Tea, and Bridal Party Tea. I love when Drayton recommends the decor that he would like to have for each of them as well as the types of tea that he would like to serve. It makes me wish that I could attend.

Theo has a new boyfriend in this novel so it will be interesting to see how that relationship develops. It would be nice to see Drayton's character experience a new development. He is the only character to never had any change in his life. While I think he is perfect, I wonder what changes could be made to his character without changing his identity. Baker Haley has had some development but not alot. With Drayton being more central to the series than Haley, I would like to see something happen with him.

All in all, this is a fantastic entry into the Indigo Tea Shop series.  5 out of 5 stars.

The Apple Creek Announcement

 

The Apple Creek Announcement is the third book in Wanda Brunstetter's Creektown Discoveries trilogy.  It is light reading and hit the spot for me as I was reading while recovering from a COVID-19 vaccine. Yes, vaccine. In this installment of the series piano teacher and artist, Andrea Wagner, has a fascination with painting the rural Amish landscapes around her home. She has made it to her thirties feeling like she has had a charmed life and finally has fallen in love with Brandon Prentice, a local veterinarian. But then she discovers she was adopted and all she thought she knew about herself has crumbled. She does not know why her adoptive parents kept the adoption a secret. Andrea becomes so fixated on finding her birth mother that she puts her wedding plans on hold and writes to the "Dear Caroline" column in the newspaper for romance advice. 

Why Apple Creek in the title? The story takes place in Apple Creek, Ohio where Andrea and her family reside. A nearby town, Walnut Creek, is where two additional characters, Orley and Lois Troyer, live and run an antique shop called Memory Keepers. The couple enjoys mentoring others and frequently pray for God to bring people into their lives that need help. In addition, Lois writes the "Dear Caroline" newspaper column. I loved these characters who led lives of simple pleasure. It takes me back to a time in my life that seemed easier. It probably wasn't, but today I look back on my life and see simplicity. Without the presence of modern conveniences, the characters' lifestyles helped them focus more on God and their faith. However they are still challenged by their circumstances. 

I also love that the story is clean romance. The subplot of Andrea's search for her birth mother added some drama that you don't normally see in Amish fiction. With a surprise twist at the end, the novel read more like a mystery than the typical Amish story. It was fantastic.

5 out of 5 stars.

Book of the Month

Daniel Silva's Portrait of an Unknown Woman is my favorite read for this month. The plot is based upon the true stories of art forgers John Myatt, John Drewe, Guy Ribes and Wolfgang Beltracchi. John Myatt painted more than 250 forgeries that John Drewe sold through well established London art galleries. Ribes was able to paint approximately 1,000 Chagall and Picasso forgeries that his network sold. His German counterpart, Beltracchi, sold forgeries through all of the prominent auction houses. All four of these men have a matching character in Portrait. Most of their forgeries are still in circulation today.  

The novel was spell-binding. I read this chunky book in one sitting late one evening. I am apprehensive, though, about the retirement of Allon from the spy business. His work for the Office has catapulted the series into fame and I don't see how the series can continue much longer if he no longer works as a spy. I hope that this isn't Silva's last hurray.

Book Cover of the Month: August

The cover of Dan Silva's Portrait of an Unknown Woman was designed by Will Staehle (pronounced stay-lee). I love the gold color and the peek at a canvas. Staehle's studio, in Seattle, is called the Unusual Corporation where he focuses on commercial design and original content creation.

He grew up reading comics and during summers he worked at his parents' design firm. You could say that art is in his blood. He has had jobs as the Art Director for HarperCollins Publishers and the Vice President of Design at JibJab in Venice. Staehle has received a prestigious award from Print Magazine which featured him in an article on the Top Twenty Under Thirty New Visual Artists. Staehle has designed book covers for well known writers such as Michael Crichton and Michael Chabon.

He got his start in the business when he was a senior in college and entered a national design contest. Staehle was awarded two second place awards in the design and illustration categories. Since the award ceremony for this contest was held at the Guggenheim Museum in NYC, he immediately received two job offers and accepted one at Harper Collins. He began there as a senior designer and worked his way up to the art director position.

In an interview on the Book Riot Blog, Staehle stated that he designs about fifty book covers each year and that it is difficult for him to design a cover for books that he does not enjoy. In order to obtain two perspectives on the cover, he will sketch cover designs after reading the quick cover brief and then prepare a second batch of designs after he has read the entire manuscript. 

50 book covers a year seems like alot to me but perhaps this isn't too much work for a professional artist.  In any event, I love what he has created for Portrait of an Unknown Woman.

World Record Holders

I had high hopes for this long anticipated graphic novel. However, it did not interest me. The comic was written by one of my favorite cartoonist's, Guy Delisle. The comic showcases a collection of his work from the beginning of his career to the present. There are 12 stories contained within the book that range from wistful childhood nostalgia to chagrined post-fame encounters. In one story we see Delisle visiting an exhibition of his work in another country and being confronted by an angry spouse who blames him for destroying her marriage. A juvenile game of Bows and Arrows turns menacing as arrows shot straight up in the air turn into barely visible missiles of death. A coded message from space creates different reactions from different people―debates, dance festivals, gallery shows. 

DeLisle's artistic style is not one that I particularly care for, but it worked well in his prior comics. However, with the stories in World Record Holders not making much sense, the illustration style becomes even more important. DeLisle has written several travelogues and autobiograhies that were fantastic so I am very disappointed with this graphic novel. In fact, I cannot even give it a rating. Only the most devoted DeLisle fans are going to want to read this book.

Nazi Gold

Nazi Gold is an expose on Switzerland's senior government officials and bankers who conspired to keep billions of dollars in gold and other valuables that were deposited by Jews in Swiss banks or stolen by the Nazis. The amount of facts given in the book were overwhelming to read and resulted in the book reading like a textbook. The main thrust of the book is that Swiss bankers and politicians were just as anti-Semitic as the Nazis. The extent of the hate toward Jews in Switzerland was a surprise for me. 

The publisher's summary:

The 1945 Allied victory in Europe ended that military and political might of the Third Reich but its financial power lives on in the secret vaults and numbered accounts of Swiss banks.  In Nazi Gold, author Tom Bower uncovers the sordid lengths to which Swiss bankers went after the war to protect the plundered wealth hidden in their coffers. Switzerland's excuse for even accepting Nazi gold is a plausible one: in order to maintain their status as a neutral country, they were forced to deal equally with all sides. This does not, however, explain their postwar reluctance to return hundreds of millions of dollars of stolen wealth to central European banks or even to Holocaust victims as a means of restitution. 

In this well-researched book, Tom Bower revisits the years following the war's end, focusing on the unholy alliance between Swiss bankers and Nazi sympathizers. He leaves no doubt as to the bankers' motives for maintaining secrecy: they were setting a precedent for potential customers in need of safe refuge for other looted fortunes.  Finally, he chronicles the United States' overwhelmingly ineffective attempts to force the Swiss to disgorge the Nazi millions. Nazi Gold is certain to raise the hackles of the Swiss banking industry, but Tom Bower has bravely tacked a complicated topic. 

Is is surprising to me that even today Swiss bankers refuse to release these assets to the descendants of the Jewish depositors. Tactics such as demanding death certificates for Jews who were gassed in the camps prevent family members from obtaining the assets. These bankers know there are no death certificates and they are becoming wealthy by stealing the assets for themselves personally or getting rich off the interest accruing on these accounts.

It is estimated that $400 million dollars of gold was shipped to Switzerland by the Nazis. Swiss bankers have held onto the gold by arguing that they are merely holding on to the assets for the eventual legal government of Germany. The only problem here is that 70 years after the end of the war, Switzerland still has possession of the gold.  This is just another lie perpetrated by the bankers who remain anti-Semitic to this day. Bower names the guilty bankers. However, nothing has happened to them since the publication of this book in the 1990s. 

Nazi Gold is an informative book but it is hard to read. The textbook style of writing does not do the material justice. 3 out of 5 stars.

Moms

I have been thinking about reading this graphic novel ever since it was published in English two years ago. I finally took the plunge and took it out of my public library. Moms is a humorous look at the way middle aged women think. Taking place in South Korea, there are three main characters. Lee Soyeon, Myeong-ok, and Yeonjeong are mothers in their mid-fifties. They’ve had it with their dead-weight partners and the grind of the menial jobs they have. Their overbearing bosses control everything, down to how much water they can drink while they are working. Lee Soyeon divorced her husband years ago after his gambling debts forced them to file bankruptcy. She finds herself in another decade-long relationship with Jongseok, a waiter at a nightclub whom she has grown tired of. Myeong-ok is having an illicit affair with a younger man, and Yeonjeong, whose husband suffers from erectile dysfunction, has her eye on an acquaintance from the gym. All three of these ladies have become bored with conventional romantic dalliances and are embracing outrageous sexual adventures in nightclubs, motels, and even the occasional back-alley. I think they are giving twentysomething women a run for their money. 

It is refreshing to read a book about the emotional and sexual needs of middle aged women. This is not something you find very often. The author, Yeong-shin Ma based the story on his divorced 50 year old mother. He asked his mother keep a journal where she would write about her dating experiences. He also asked her to write about her girlfriends, who were also on the dating scene. What Ma discovered was that older women do not put aside their desires just because they are no longer young. I wonder if he was shocked to find this out. I am betting that he was.

Moms is an amusing story that women will be able to relate to.  I am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

Dark August

I chose this book for my August entry in the Calendar of Crime Reading Challenge.  The author is a successful screenwriter and this is her debut novel. I am a little confused, though, about the publication date of her next book Poison Lilies. It was published in Canada on May 22, 2022 while Dark August was published on June 30, 2022. Why is Dark August her debut novel? Is it a debut novel in the U. S.?  

The publisher's summary:

Augusta (Gus) Monet is living an aimless existence with her grifter boyfriend when she learns that her great grandmother—her last living relative—has just died. Ditching her boyfriend, Gus returns to the home she left as a young girl. Her inheritance turns out to be a dilapidated house and an old dog named Levi. While combing through her great grandmother’s possessions, Gus stumbles across an old trunk filled with long-lost childhood belongings. But that’s not all the trunk contains. She also discovers cold case files that belonged to her mother, a disgraced police detective who died in a car accident when Gus was eight. Gus remembers her mother obsessing over these very same documents and photographs, especially a Polaroid of a young ballerina.

When Gus spots a front-page news story about the unearthing of a body linked to one of the cold case files from her childhood trunk, she can’t resist following her mother’s clues. As she digs deeper, determined to finish her mother’s investigation, her search leads her to a deserted ghost town, which was left abandoned when the residents fled after a horrific fire. As Gus’ obsession with the case grows, she inadvertently stirs up the evils of the past, putting her life in danger. But Gus is undeterred and is committed to uncovering long-buried secrets, including the secrets surrounding a missing geology student, the young ballerina in the Polaroid, a prominent family’s devastating legacy, and a toxic blast that blew an entire town off the map. 

But is Gus ready to learn the truths that culminated on one terrible August night, more than a decade earlier, when lives were taken, and secrets were presumed buried forever…? 

I loved this novel! It is a tightly paced, engrossing mystery with a captivating cast of characters. Gus is a fantastic female investigator so I hope that this book will become a series. She is a strong enough character who can anchor a series. The plot was pretty amazing as well. It had a couple of huge surprises that floored me. In fact, there is absolutely nothing negative that I can say about the story. It is the perfect mystery. The Ontario, Canada setting felt somewhat international to me because I am not Canadian and I would love to continue to read stories set here.

I am rating this book way over 5 out of 5 stars!  Mystery fans are definately going to want to read this one.

Not In It To Win It

It's a rare occasion when I read any book about religion. The title of this one intrigued me and after seeing the author being interviewed on CNN I knew that this was going to be a great book to read.

The publisher's summary:  

Is it possible to disagree politically and love unconditionally? The reaction of evangelicals to political and cultural shifts in recent years revealed what they value most. Lurking beneath our Bible-laced rhetoric, faith claims, books, and sermons is a relentless drive to WIN!

But the church is not here to win. By every human measure, our Savior lost. On purpose. With a purpose. And we are his body. We are not in it to win anything. We are in it for something else entirely. That something else is what this book is about. 

You'll discover:

• How to take a stand the right way. You'll learn how to make your case with a posture of humility and understanding, rather than being fueled by the fear of losing something.
• How to view politics through the lens of faith. Learn curiously, listen intentionally, and love unconditionally.
• How the life of Jesus and his teaching applies to modern-day challenges in a fresh way. The "biblical" stand may not be what we've been taught.

Jesus never asked his followers to agree on everything. But he did call his followers to obey a new command: to love others in the same way he has loved us. Instead of asserting our rights or fighting for power, we need to begin asking ourselves: what does love require of me?

The first thing I noticed about the book is the writing style. Stanley writes casually, in the way he talks. This is not a criticism but an observation. For me, though, there was an adjustment to make. 

The message of the book is powerful. Alot of Christians are not going to like it because Stanley goes after every Christian who puts politics above faith. A few of the quotes that I loved include: 

"When a local church becomes pre-occupied with saving America at the expense of saving Americans, it has forsaken its mission."

"The church or church leader who publicly aligns with a political party has relinquished their ability to make disciples of half their own nation, much less all nations."

"Saving America is not the mission of the church."

"When I die, I won't go the Washington, DC.  Neither will you."

The above quotes give you a bite sized view of the content of the book.  It is thought provoking and required reading in my opinion. However, many Christians will be offended that the way they have conducted their lives is heavily criticized.

5 out of 5 stars.

The Spanish Daughter

A cacao plantation in Ecuador is the setting of this historical fiction novel by Lorena Hughes. The Spanish Daughter is Hughes' second novel, following The Sisters of Alameda Street. Sisters takes place in 1960s Ecuador while Spanish Daughter takes place in the 1920s. I love this new setting for historical fiction and hope that Hughes continues to write stories taking place there.

The publisher's summary:  

As a child in Spain, Puri always knew her passion for chocolate was inherited from her father. But it’s not until his death that she learns of something else she’s inherited—a cocoa estate in Vinces, Ecuador, a town nicknamed “París Chiquito.” Eager to claim her birthright and filled with hope for a new life after the devastation of World War I, she and her husband Cristóbal set out across the Atlantic Ocean. But it soon becomes clear someone is angered by Puri’s claim to the estate…
 
When a mercenary sent to murder her aboard the ship accidentally kills Cristóbal instead, Puri dons her husband’s clothes and assumes his identity, hoping to stay safe while she searches for the truth of her father’s legacy in Ecuador. Though freed from the rules that women are expected to follow, Puri confronts other challenges at the estate—newfound siblings, hidden affairs, and her father’s dark secrets. Then there are the dangers awakened by her attraction to an enigmatic man as she tries to learn the identity of an enemy who is still at large, threatening the future she is determined to claim.

I had a hard time not only becoming interested in this story but also maintaining interest. In addition, there were several flaws in the plot. The story starts out with Puri traveling to Ecuador because she has inherited part of her father’s cacao plantation. While sailing on a ship to South America Puri’s husband is killed. She soon realizes that she was supposed to be the intended victim. As a former chocolate store owner in Spain, I expected that she would continue her interest in selling chocolate in Ecuador. I would have liked this storyline. However, the story becomes a search for who signed or perhaps forged a blank check. Whoever signed the check is the one who wants her dead. Puri begins to imitate her dead husband, wearing his clothes, in order to more easily find out information about the plantation and who wants her dead. It's a crazy strategy that results in Puri not being eligible to inherit the plantation. However, she continues to disguise herself. 

None of this seemed plausible to me. Who would give up a cacao plantation? Puri should have stopped pretending to be her husband and forged a new life in Ecuador. Also, the fight on the ship that resulted in her husband's death was merely a short scene. It did not figure into the story much nor did the idea that she was supposed to be the victim. The writing was disjointed given the plotline faults.

Another problem is that the characters were not very interesting. Puri has two half sisters in Ecuador who could have played the role of villains. Unfortunately, they didn't. While the story alternated between the three women's viewpoints on events that occurred between 1907 and 1920, none of them had strong feelings about anything and I wondered why the alternating plot lines were present in the novel. The lack of suspenseful writing is another reason the book falls short. Very short.

2 out of 5 stars.

Stacking the Shelves #20

I have not done much reading for the Nonfiction Reader Challenge and decided to buy Mark Kurlansky's Salt: a World History. Published in 2003, Salt is a history of how the product has shaped civilization from the beginning. It is surprising that it has been valuable enough to serve as currency, influenced the establishment of trade routes and cities, provoked and financed wars, secured empires and inspired revolutions. Yet it still remains a common household item, one that humans cannot live without consuming. 

P

My non-fiction preferences tend to be toward food and art. In one sense, food is art. Earlier in the year I explored champagne and now I am taking a look at this mineral which Homer called a divine substance.  Plato thought is was dear to the gods. Not knowing how prevalent it is on the planet, earlier generations believed that it had enormous value. Today we take it for granted that we can find it in a box at the grocer whenever we need it.

Reviews of the book state that Salt has a number of fascinating characters within its pages. I am looking forward to reading about them as I learn how this mineral has shaped our civilization.

Revenge

I rarely read gossipy books about celebrities. A dislike for the Harkles, however, made me want to buy this book. Author Tom Bower shows in great detail the reasons for the war between Prince Harry, Meghan and the crown. This is the first book of Bower's that I have read. I was not even familiar with his name before and was surprised to discover that he has 25 titles to his credit. His typical subjects are the British royal family along with British celebrities and politicians. 

The publisher's summary:

The British Royal Family believed that the dizzy success of the Sussex wedding, watched and celebrated around the world, was the beginning of a new era for the Windsors. Yet, within one tumultuous year, the dream became a nightmare. In the aftermath of the infamous Megxit split and the Oprah Winfrey interview, the Royal Family's fate seems persistently threatened. 

The public remains puzzled. Meghan's success has alternatively won praise, bewildered and outraged. Confused by the Sussexes' slick publicity, few understand the real Meghan Markle. What lies ahead for Meghan? And what has happened to the family she married into? Can the Windsors restore their reputation? 

With extensive research, expert sourcing and interviews from insiders who have never spoken before, Tom Bower, Britain's leading investigative biographer, unpicks the tangled web of courtroom drama, courtier politics and thwarted childhood dreams to uncover an astonishing story of love, betrayal, secrets and revenge.

It was apparent from the first pages that Meghan Markle's current behavior is not anything new. She behaved the same way both before meeting Harry as well as during their courtship. I was surprised to read that her behavior is not due to any racism that she experienced or the royal family disliking her, which is the storyline that she has been putting out in the media. I was also surprised that Harry has always been just like her. They are the perfect couple. 

Bowers presents a ton of information about both their backgrounds and has shown many examples of their erratic behavior throughout their lives. In fact, the last 100 pages of the book are a list of references from where he obtained his information. Another surprise, yes a spoiler, is that Meghan's father Thomas Markle had quite a few conversations with Harry before the wedding. The Harkle's narrative is that Harry never met nor spoke with Thomas but that is not true. Bowers presents every text, email and phone call between them. Also, Harry was quite cruel to Thomas after his heart attack. The level of cruelty was yet another surprise. 

As I said above, Harry and Meghan are two of a kind. When destructive people get together it never ends well. I hate to see how their marriage turns out.

5 out of 5 stars.