New crime fiction for September — Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie returns

https://www.thetimes.com/article/621e5ae2-e0b3-4370-b902-1e2e3694565e?shareToken=adbff53d585d8b085a320b69c0f44991

Stephen Fry wears a few hats. One of these is author and, in that guise, he has written his version of the Greek myths. Readers are lucky that he has taken on these stories of the gods with all of their powers but also their human flaws.

This is a long (over 500 pages) book that will keep readers entertained for hours. So many stories are included here. Read about Gaia’s Revenge, Hera, Artemis, Cupid, Phaeton, Hyacinthus, Pyramus and Thisbe, Midas… and that is just a very small sample of the characters found in these pages.

This is a new edition of the previously published Mythos. It is lavishly illustrated. Mythos will bring so much pleasure to readers. Think about giving this as a gift to someone who loves Greece, mythology and beautiful editions of books. I am certain it will be welcomed.

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

Five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

by M. S. Greene

#TheresNoMurderLikeShowMurder #NetGalley

Crooked Lane Books has become one of my favorite publishers. They publish so many good traditional mysteries and this book is no exception.

I enjoyed the background and setting to this story. Readers are invited into the world of a regional theater and costume designer Tasha Weaver. Or course, this is a world that is filled with egos and can be cutthroat. So, it is no surprise when Kurt Mozer is killed. He was the star of Annie Get Your Gun, a musical that once was performed at my summer camp.

Read this one for the plot, the suspects and the knowledge that all should work out. I hope that this is the first in a series.

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

Pub date: 23 July 2024

100 Ways to Beat Loneliness and Live a Happier and More Meaningful Life

by Dr. Ruth K. Westheimer

#TheJoyofConnections #NetGalley

Ruth Westheimer, who recently died, was beloved by many for her straightforward advice and way of looking at the world. The Joy of Connections is her last book but it is by no means the least.

There has been much attention given to what is termed an “epidemic” of loneliness. Given that people need and thrive with connections, this is indeed an important issue and one that Dr. Ruth addresses in this title.

Dr. Ruth writes a meaningful introduction to the book. She notes the difference between loneliness and solitude. Westheimer also reflects on the loneliness that she experienced throughout her life. Nonetheless, note the title of this book-Dr. Ruth wants to offer hope and tactics.

Readers follow Dr. Ruth’s “Menu for Connection.” This leads to an examination of significant life areas including Self, Family, Friends & Lovers, Community and, outside her circle graph but close by, technology. As she looks at each of these, Dr. Ruth offers practical help and many examples from her own life.

This is a title that will appeal to those who are looking for change and to those who are fans of the author. It is filled with ways to find pathways to more connection and joy.

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

Pub date: 03 September 2024

Death at the Sign of the Rook

A Jackson Brodie Book

by Kate Atkinson

My first impression is that Kate Atkinson must have enjoyed herself when writing this book. In this novel, she has created unique, over the top and idiosyncratic characters who often, in my opinion, require some suspension of disbelief on the reader’s part. The plot here includes a number of tropes, including the murder mystery weekend, the small English village, the snowstorm that isolates characters, stolen art, family relationships and more.

Readers who have read other Jackson Brodie mysteries will be delighted to meet up with him, his family and his police contacts once again. This time, he has been hired to look into stolen art but stumbles on much more.

There were times when I felt that Atkinson was going for the comic, even farcical, effect. That said, some of her portraits of the characters, were quite moving. While many jokes were made, often by Ben, about his war experiences, he is very sympathetically presented. Ben reminded me of Strike in the JK Rowling series. Their situations are similar in dealing with the loss of a limb. He is just one among a group that includes a vicar, actors, down on their heels aristocrats and others.

This book just gallops along. Events and situations pile up on one another. Atkins fans will rejoice!

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

Four stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the Publisher

by Katherine Rundell

 #ImpossibleCreatures #NetGalley

Remember when the first Harry Potter title was published? It went on to become one of those books that just took off and has been loved by so many. Similarly, I think that Impossible Creatures has every chance of being that next, very special book.

This novel tells an involving story of two children and a created world. First readers meet Christopher. One day he rescues a baby griffin and his life changes for ever. On this very same day, Christopher meets Mal (and her magic coat). She is in need of his help. Of course the two join forces.

Over the course of this book much happens to these characters in a story that is heroic, magical and engaging. Note that the illustrations add much pleasure to the reading. These are whimsical and quite appealing.

In my opinion, young readers will be very eager to get their hands on this one! I am sure that it will get kids reading. Yay!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s-Knopf Books for Young Readers for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 10 September 2024 in the U.S.

* BRITISH BOOK AWARDS CHILDREN’S FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR * WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER * BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS’ AWARD WINNER * FOYLES CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE YEAR * SHORTLISTED FOR AMAZON KIDS AND YA BOOK OF THE YEAR

* THE TIMES CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE WEEK * THE INDEPENDENT CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE WEEK * THE DAILY TELEGRAPH CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE WEEK * SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER IN SEPTEMBER 2023

There’s a place where all the wildest stories began . From Katherine Rundell, the British Book Awards Author of the Year, comes the paperback release of the first novel in the critically acclaimed, award winning, best-selling Impossible Creatures series. This edition includes The Centaur’s Spectacles bonus short story.

Christopher is stunned when he discovers a passage to the Archipelago: a cluster of magical islands where all the creatures of myth still live and breed and thrive in their thousands. There he meets Mal: a girl from the islands, who is in possession of a flying coat and a baby griffin, and who is being pursued by a killer. Together they embark on an urgent quest to discover why the creatures are suddenly perishing, voyaging across the wild splendour of the Archipelago, where sphinxes hold secrets and centaurs do murder, in a bid to save both the islands and the world beyond them from a rising evil – before it’s too late.

‘Rundell’s first foray into fantasy is both a deft, rich homage to the greats of children’s literature and an absorbing, profoundly poignant quest story for those aged 9+ – quite possibly her best yet’ – The Guardian

‘A marvellous, imaginative fantasy told with great style and sparkle – a book to race through in a day and keep for a lifetime’ – Jacqueline Wilson

‘The world of this new book is so intriguing and so well put together that I couldn’t resist it. Readers who already know her books will seize this with delight, and new readers will love it and demand all her others at once’ – Philip Pullman

‘A masterpiece to rival Tolkien and Pullman’ – The Daily Telegraph

‘Fantastically exuberant, wildly imaginative, impossibly brilliant. Rundell’s best, which is something to be marvelled at’ – Kiran Millwood Hargrave

‘Between the covers of Impossible Creatures is a world as enchanting, as perilous, as richly imagined as Narnia or Middle Earth‘ – Frank Cottrell-Boyce

‘Rundell’s book packs a punch with imagination and creativity in its purest form. She has created a story with potential to be adored by fantasy lovers for years to come’ – The Independent

‘With a delightful cast of characters, breathless adventure, and an abundance of myth and magic, Impossible Creatures offers the very best of fantasy’ – Aisha Bushby

‘A fierce, fantastic, wild-hearted adventure that roars and bristles with imagination. I devoured it like a hungry dragon’ – Sam Sedgman

‘A rare and remarkable feat of glittering imagination from a truly masterful storyteller’ – Catherine Doyle

‘The action is gripping. Every sentence sparkles. You can feel the flutter of griffin feathers and the menace of strange poisonous shrews. Magnificent’ – The Times

‘Surely the next classic’ – The I

edited by Otto Penzler 

#ChristmasCrimesatTheMysteriousBookshop #NetGalley

The Mysterious Bookshop is a wonderful place to visit in person. Luckily for those who can’t get there, Penzler publishes many titles. This time, he has collected seasonal stories that were first given to the store’s favored customers as a holiday gift. Now they can be read by bibliophiles everywhere.

Here are stories that follow three rules-they had to be seasonal, there needed to be a crime and, at least in part, must take place in a bookstore. From there, writers created their own engaging tales.

Some of the authors included in this volume are Lyndsay Faye, Ace Atkins, Laura Lippman, Ragnar Jonasson and Tom Mead. There are sure to be finds here for readers with varied tastes.

This book would make a perfect stocking stuffer. Penzler had indeed offered a gift to readers.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers-Mysterious Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 22 October 2024

If you love Jenny Colgan: The Bookshop on the Shore

by joycesmysteryandfictionbookreviewsJune 22, 2019

This book is related to the author’s earlier novel, The Bookshop on the Corner.  Some characters from that book are present as is the book van book shop, which I love.

While I enjoyed The Bookshop on the Corner, I did not find this novel to be nearly as good.  The premise is there; young mom with a mute child wants to find a new life.  So, Zoe moves to Scotland to work with Nina, the protagonist of the earlier title.  Zoe’s trials caring for three children plus her own and her experiences on the book van are central to the plot.  Of course, there is also a romance. In addition, readers who enjoyed Nina from the last book, will get to see how her pregnancy goes.  There just might be a surprise!

This book may be best for true lovers of this author.  I found it to be a bit slow and surprisingly, for the first time, I did not find myself fully enjoying a book by this author.

I will still read Jenny Colgan’s novels in the future.  I hope that the next one will be as good as I know that she can be.  Let me know what you think if you read this one.  I am interested to know.

Leonard Cohen

by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara

Leonard Cohen is beloved by many. His musical talent and unique perspective got people listening to his music. But…how did he become this icon? Young readers and their adults will find out in this title.

As a child, Leonard loved the stories around him; he found them everywhere from his books to the stories he heard in his synagogue. All that he took in influenced his later song writing as did the message he wrote to his father on the day of his (father’s) funeral. Over time, Leonard moved from writing poetry to making music and collaborating with Judy Collins.

Adults who love Leonard’s music will enjoy this title. Children will, as always in this series, feel encouraged to pursue their own creative dreams.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.

Four stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Novel

by Diana R. Chambers

#TheSecretWarofJuliaChild #NetGalley

Julia Child has been having a fictional moment. She has been a detective in Paris in the new series by Colleen Cambridge and has been in a TV series as well. In The Secret War of Julia Child, Diana R. Chambers nimbly lets readers into Julia’s world.

In these pages, readers get a sense of how Julia felt about herself (too tall, for one), her parents, her hopes to do something with her life, her wishes for a relationship and more. Readers also find out about Julia’s experiences in WW II. She worked for “Wild” Bill Donovan and was stationed in India and Ceylon, among other places. Some of her work was clandestine. Some of it led to her meeting Paul Child-of course, Julia McWilliams became Julia Child in time.

This story is about much that happened before Child became known for her cooking. It offers an immersive look at her life and WWII. I recommend it highly to fans of Child and historical fiction.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks-Landmark for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 22 October 2024

Delightful: Mastering the Art of French Murder

Now out: A Murder Most French (Colleen Cambridge)