Val McDermid is one of my favorite crime writers. She is a pioneer in the crime fiction world, beginning with her Lindsay Gordon series. Lindsay was the first lesbian to feature in a mystery as protagonist. By the way, these titles have been reissued along with the author’s Kate Brannigan novels. And, of course, Ms. McDermid’s fans also follow Tony Hill and Carole Jordan as well as Karen Pirie in the novels featuring them.

Not one to rest on her laurels, now there is a new series. This one follows Allie Burns. Allie is a reporter on a Scottish daily at a time when women in the newsroom were few and rarely reported on anything other than women’s issues. Allie, though, is becoming a tough investigative reporter.

Two of the stories that Allie follows are the one with financial chicanery and tax evasion at its core, and a second that involves Scottish Nationalists who want to plan an IRA like bombing. Allie investigates both of these stories with fellow reporter Danny.

In my opinion this book starts a bit slowly but things speed up to be sure. What follows is a suspenseful and involving story with well sketched characters, settings and situations. McDermid started her career (after an Oxbridge education) at a local paper. She, presumably, uses this knowledge in creating Allie and the newsroom.

Fans of McDermid will be eager to read this title. I enjoyed this one and I look forward to additional titles in this new series.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. I was very excited to read it. All opinions are my own.

Next in the series, 1989, comes out this fall.

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I very much enjoyed Jennifer Saint’s earlier foray into ancient myth and history. Her first novel, Ariadne, was an absorbing read that captured a time and place and did so from the women’s point of view. I also highly recommended this new book to those who like historical fiction and are fascinated by ancient Greece.

Some of the characters in this novel may be known to readers while others may not; they are numerous and may be a bit challenging for some readers to keep track of. It is worth the effort to sort them out!

The historical period is partly around the Trojan War. Complex loyalties and revenge dictate much of the action leading to war and other decisions made by the men in this book.

Some of the couples whom readers get to know are Penelope/Odysseus; Clytemnestra/Agamemnon; and Helen/Menelaus/Paris. There are also many others who are important to the narrative including Elektra, Iphigenia, Achilles and Cassandra. Each is entangled within their family, marriages, infidelities, history and gods. It makes for a satisfying narrative.

Inside this story are wars, complex relationships, revenge, honor, daily life and more. Reading this novel, of course, I saw how over the top the Greek Gods could be. Life from the female point of view is very well portrayed.

I found this title to be an immersive read. I recommend it highly.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub Date 03 May 2022

From the Publisher

by Earl Ofari Hutchinson

In the introduction to this title, the author asks questions about why many “young people” don’t listen to classical music now. Several answers are proposed. Past masters of engagement including Britten and Bernstein are noted. The author also points out that for this music to continue to be available, new audiences will need to be brought into the fold.

The author states that he is not attempting to create converts. He does, however, want to explain in a simple and engaging way some of what makes classical music interesting and intriguing.

This book does exactly what it sets out to do. Within these pages is a fine introduction to classical (western) music. There are section on everything from Classical Music Periods to, the Symphony, the Concerto, the Opera, The Instruments and more. There is also a section on Classical Music Jargon. One aspect of this book that I especially liked were the many recommended listening sections.

Although this book is addressed to “young” people, anyone who wants to better understand this musical tradition might well enjoy this title. I know that I did.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Middle Passage Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 17 April 2022

by Paul Biegel

The Little Captain was written by an author who was born in the Netherlands. This book’s introduction states that the author wrote stories about dwarves, princesses, witches, robbers and talking animals. This title, form 1970 was the author’s best known work. Now it is available for a new generation of children.

This book seems like an ideal one for bedtime reading with a young child who enjoys chapter books or for a slightly older child to enjoy on their own. The Little Captain at first reminded me of the Little Prince. There he was, alone on his boat, but self-sufficient. What will happen as he gets to know the people in the town where he has come to be? Where will he go from here? Who will go with him? Turn the pages to find out.

The text is accompanied by evocative drawings. They greatly add to the pleasure in these pages. There are three stories included in this volume of adventure and imagination.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Pushkin Children’s Books

Pub date: 02 August 22

Brown Girls is a novel that is both universal and highly individual in its portrayal of the titular girls growing up over time. When the novel begins, the girls are children and, as it continues, we readers watch them grow up.

The girls are raised in a most specific location, a poor(er) immigrant neighborhood in Queens. These are the children of immigrants who came to America wanting more for their children. However, at the same time, they want their daughters to be “good.” This can, at times, mean compliant and the wish for them to stay close to home.

However, the world beckons, even if that world in their neighborhood, in Manhattan, and beyond can be quite unkind and worse. The author truly understands micro aggression; there teachers who don’t (bother to) know their students’ names and somehow think that they are interchangeable, store clerks who think girls with tiny purses can hide and steal large dresses in them and more difficult experiences of daily life.

The girls always face decisions-leave the neighborhood for a “better” school, go to college from at home or away, what boyfriends to have and more. Their choices are complex.

The unconscious (is it?) racism of the parents of white friends is well portrayed. So is the girls being asked to answer questions for their whole community, even when they cannot know the answers.

How will these girls grow up? Follow along as they move into their adult lives.

It is hard to believe that this is a first novel. It is so descriptively well written. The author writes in the “we” voice and does it well. Each short vignette builds the readers knowledge of the lives of these girls.

I most highly recommend this novel. I so deeply wished for the brown girls-women to have the futures that they want. And, yes, for the world they live in to be different and better.

From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

Review

“[Daphne Palasi] Andreades’s descriptive writing is glorious, with a confidence one might expect from a veteran novelist . . . . While there is much that many brown girls will relate to—including experiences that feel stolen straight from my memories—Andreades succeeds in making the stories feel specific beyond a singular experience. . . .  Readers become part of scenes where the fourth wall is not only broken but shattered. . . . With their breadth, depth and enormous richness, I found myself wanting to savor these raw stories on a large, overflowing plate.”—The New York Times Book Review

“[A] boisterous and infectious debut novel . . . Brown Girls reads like a rap song, like an anthem. . . . [It] holds worlds within its pages.”—TheGuardian

“Brown Girls achieves immediate liftoff. . . . Along the way a lot of subjects are turned over for examination. Like a DJ, the author picks up the needle and puts it back down in unexpected places. . . . Fearless.”—TheNew York Times

Facing Mighty Fears About Health

by Dawn Huebner

When I was young, I could worry. A book like this one would have been incredibly helpful. I highly recommend it as a resource for kids and their adults. It will help children to understand what they are experiencing when they worry about their health and will offer them help in coping. Kids will learn why they feel these panicky alarms and how to deal with them in four helpful steps.

There are additional sections in the book to help adults in taking with children about this book. In addition, there is a resource section included.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for this title. All opinions are my own.