Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too!
Great reads for adults and children!
#FamiliusBooks #NetGalley
Oberman’s alphabet book featuring NYC is very cute(as is her counting book, Let’s Count NYC). See 26 iconic NYC sights/sites while learning the alphabet with your little one. NY natives will recognize all of these and maybe those from away will start a wish list of places to see.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Familius for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 06 August 2024
#HasAnyoneSeenCharlotteSalter #NetGalley
French, actually a husband and wife team who write together, has penned a long (544 pages), suspenseful and immersive read in this latest novel. It definitely kept me coming back on a regular basis to find out what happened.
Here is a domestic drama that is filled with suspense in its portrait of two families and the impact that Charlotte’s disappearance had in the past and also in the present day. What happened to Charlotte? Each of her four children has a take on her. Husband Alec, whose decade birthday she missed, initially seemed dismissive of her absence while Elizabeth/Etty (a daughter) was very worried.
Around the same time that Charlotte is missing in the past storyline, a body is found in a river. Is this death related to the disappearance of Charlotte? Readers will want to know.
The story moves forward thirty years when A LOT happens. There are secrets, murder, podcasts and a case that will challenge Detective Inspector Maud O’Connor. She is a terrific character and readers will hope that she gets a sequel.
Recommended for fans of domestic drama and crime stories.
Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 19 March 2024
An e book bargain
In The Thing He Told Me, Laura Dave offers a perfect and immersive novel. Readers, put this one on your list of summer musts!
When Hannah falls in love with Owen, she marries him and moves to California to live with him and his teen daughter, Bailey. Owen has deep computer knowledge and is involved in the launch of a software program that is primed to make investors lots of money. The program that Owen works on will help users to erase items from their public histories. Is there an irony in this being Owen’s work?
One day, Owen disappears. He leaves a note for Hannah asking her to protect daughter, Bailey. From what? Who? From here a brilliant story filled with slow burning suspense engrosses readers. No spoilers so no more here.
The characters in this book and their relationships are so very well portrayed. I felt as if I knew Hannah and Bailey and found myself rooting for their developing connection with one another. Will Hannah, Owen and Bailey be reunited?
What led Owen to run? Is Hannah correct to believe in him? Find out. I highly (!) recommend this one.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.
The CWA Daggers – The Crime Writers’ Association
— Read on thecwa.co.uk/awards-and-competitions/the-daggers/
An e book bargain
I am always delighted to settle in for another visit with Rowly, Edna, Clyde and Milton. Each of these characters is eccentric and interesting. We have an aristocrat, an artist, a poet and an artisan. Together they form a formidable quartet.
The Rowland Sinclair mysteries take place in the run up to WWII and in a world that feels rather ominous. Ms. Gentill always does her research and brings authenticity to both the setting and the background history of her stories. This time, I learned about Chiang Kai Shek, those who were pro or anti-Communist and the troubled relations between Japan and China. This history adds verisimilitude to the story.
The story begins as Rowly’s brother ( a more conventional sort) wants to send him and his friends to Shanghai to meet with those who may want to purchase Sinclair wool. Rowly is firmly instructed to equivocate in all of his business dealings. Can he?
The Shanghai that the protagonists visit is depicted as a city of immigrants and locals with many classes and nationalities in its society. For example, Rowly has a Chinese butler and an Indian driver.
As readers of the series know, where Rowly goes, trouble follows. In this novel, he meets a “taxi girl” named Sasha. She is reputedly from the Russian aristocracy. Alexandra now sells dances with her to those at the Cathay Hotel. This is quite a step down from her former life in her own country. Rowly dances with her…when the worst happens to Sasha and she is found dead in Rowly’s hotel room, there is a case to be solved.
This is an intricate and involving story. It is part of a series but can be read as a standalone. I do think, though, that many readers will want to explore all of the titles after they finish this book.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.
#MyFirstStoryOrchestraSwanLake #NetGalley
This title , which is beautifully illustrated, tells the story of Swan Lake in the simplest terms. What makes the hard copy of this book special is that a child can hear excerpts from the music.
A nice title for a young child. There are others in the series.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 03 September 2024
#CharlotteIllesIsNotaTeacher #NetGalley
Charlotte Illes was once a child sleuth who had much success. Sometimes, as a person in her twenties, she wants to leave that identity behind. However, as readers of the first book in the series know, that does not seem to work out for her.
Charlotte and her friends (Lucy and Gabe) are back in this sparky and fun story. This time, Charlotte becomes a substitute teacher at her old middle school. Once again, she will be drawn into events that require her skill.
This title offers a fun and quick read. It is a “New Adult” title but older readers may enjoy it as well. It is easy to recommend this one.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 23 July 2024
An e book bargain
Those who have read The Scarlet Letter, no doubt remember Hester Prynne. I can’t help but feel that the book would make an interesting reread in this time of MeToo.
In this novel, author Albanese, offers a twist of the kaleidoscope variation on that book. Here readers meet a young woman with synesthesia who emigrates to the U.S. with her husband. Isobel meets Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of The Scarlet Letter. They are brought together with intensity.
Readers will long remember Isobel. She is a risk taker, a woman of action who acts upon her strong beliefs.
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 04 October 2022
Named a Most Anticipated Book for Fall by Goodreads • Washington Post • New York Post • BuzzFeed • PopSugar • Business Insider • An October Indie Next List Pick • An October LibraryReads Pick
Starting out, know that this is one of the very best of Marian Keyes’s novels. It is engaging and absorbing. The characters are so alive and the pages turn quickly. Note, too, that in this novel, Ms. Keyes takes on some big themes including addiction, relationships and SPOILER BELOW
stillbirth, along with much else.
Ms. Keyes writes like a true insider here. Her descriptions of what it means to lose a much longed for baby ring so true. Anyone who has had to deal with infertility, miscarriage or pregnancy loss will know just how authentically the experience is described. Those who have not had these woes will certainly develop empathy for those who have.
SPOILER ENDED
Rachel works at a treatment center. Anyone who wonders what goes on when addicts are facing their actions and lives will learn a great deal. This could be very helpful to anyone who has a loved one who has needed such care. These sections give a real “fly on the wall” feeling.
Now, be clear that this is a wonderfully involving novel with good story lines. It is by no means a didactic title.
Rachel and those around her first became known to readers through Rachel’s Holiday, a novel that was published twenty years or so ago. Fans of that title will be delighted to see Rachel again. Those who have not read that book, no worries. It is very easy to step into the lives of this clan.
As the story opens, Rachel’s life seems to be going well. But, of course, there will be challenges. Readers will be hoping for all the best for Rachel. She is a character that it is easy to love.
Order this. It is such a good book. I highly recommend it!
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Some other opinions:
“A witty and warm-hearted sequel. . . . Effortlessly segueing from tragedy to comedy. . . . A novel replete with beautifully well-rounded secondary characters. . . . Again, Rachel has all of Keyes’s trademark wit, humour and whip-smart dialogue, but it’s also a novel teeming with compassion and redemption.” —The Observer
“Simply superb. . . . [Keyes] is hands down the funniest writer in the business.” —The Irish Times
“Keyes delivers punchy home truths with wit and charm. . . . Keyes’s beady-eyed observations and sparky, sweary dialogue . . . lighten another agonisingly painful story. There is a real genius to the way Keyes brings deep, awful truths to the surface. The plotting is more skillfully turned than in Rachel’s Holiday, and Keyes’s ability to keep the balance between realism and fantasy works like a kind of fairy charm. . . . Keyes has mastered the art of writing books that read like treats, but turn out to be good for you.” —The Telegraph
“Assured, wise and witty with superb observational detail, the characters and dialogue are so on point that reading Marian Keyes is like being cradled in safe arms. . . . Keyes fans won’t be disappointed and this is destined to be as successful as its forerunner.” —Woman & Home
“Rachel’s recovery storyline . . . is expertly crafted, as Keyes delves into what happens when a loss is so overwhelming that your usual support systems stop providing comfort. That portrait of grief, in particular the challenge it poses to those in recovery, is rendered with great compassion and acute emotional honesty.” —Independent (Irelan
Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too! 