Author: joycesmysteryandfictionbookreviews

I have reviewed several Anne Perry books on this blog so those of you who read regularly know that I love her historical mysteries.  From the offer: “In the posh London street of Paragon Walk, a young woman is brutally raped and murdered. Once again, an incomparable team of sleuths—Inspector Thomas Pitt and his young wife, Charlotte—peers behind the elegant masks of the well-born suspects and reveals that something ugly lurks behind the handsome facades of Paragon Walk. It’s something that could lead to more scandal and more murder. Deal expires 3/23/18.”  I think if you read one book by Anne Perry, you will read two or three…or twenty!

I recently blogged Summer at Willow Lake which is the first novel in Susan Wiggs’ Lake Shore Chronicles.  This is the start of a great series with 11 novels to date.  In this one, Olivia Bellamy is restoring her grandparent’s summer camp site in the Catskills.  The characters are lovingly portrayed and this is a wonderful start to a long relationship with the Bellamys.  As the series goes on both new and old characters make appearances which makes for a perfect read with many books to enjoy.

Everyone, I think, knows Jojo Moyes three book series about Louisa that starts with Me Before You and recently finished with Still Me.  However, Ms. Moyes has been writing for years and has a number of good books to her name.  Sheltering Rain is an early one.  I have not yet read it but it is on my TBR list.  Maybe you want it to be on yours too?

These are both books that I think are more than worth their price!  Enjoy.

I recently blogged about The Paris Wife which is an historical novel telling the story of Ernest Hemingway and Hadley, his first (of five, but who is counting?) wives.  It fictionalizes Hemingway’s early years as a writer, his move to Paris, falling in love with bull fighting and trying to become a published author.  There are appearances by the amazing denizens of Paris including Gertrude Stein, the Fitzgeralds and the Murphys.  I cam to admire and like Hadley very much. This was Paula McLain’s first book but reads like that of a more experienced writer.

Before I Go to Sleep was written before the surge of novels like Gone, Girl and The Girl on the Train.  As you see, it does not have the word “girl” in its title.  Nonetheless, it is a good and suspenseful read of that genre.  The novel is about a woman who has suffered a memory loss.  She keeps a journal with what she recalls each day as per her doctor.  Who should she trust?  What should she do?  It is a thrilling read.  This was made into a movie with Nicole Kidman although I have not see it.

At first I thought that these books had nothing in common but actually they do.  They are about marriages; how and can they work, who is trustworthy and how does one make it through.  Hope you put one or both of these on your TBR pile.

Today, it is cold and snowy where I live.  What better weather for reading a novel that is set in a hot climate, in this case India.  A full review of this novel is to follow but so far I am truly enjoying it.  This is the first in a series about Perveen Mistry, the first female lawyer in her Indian city in the 1920s.  I look forward to finishing this and to reading the next novel when it is released.

The author, Sujata Massey, is an author I know well.  I have read all of her Rei Shimura mysteries and I cannot recommend them too highly.  In each, while reading an absorbing and character driven story, the reader learns about an aspect of Japanese culture.  The first novel, The Salaryman’s Wife, is about exactly what this says, a wife who is home while her husband works.  In other novels, I learned about manga, flower arranging, pearl diving, etc.  There are recurring characters, romance, family, murder and excellent mysteries.  If you have not tried this series, you should! (in order)  And when you finish, move on to India and Malabar Hill.

These are just a few of the books but look for them all.  You won’t regret it but, if you do, please let me know.

This is a gorgeous book and one that I highly recommend to travelers, both armchair and ready to go. The photos are so beautiful and evoke the best of the American spirit. The narratives add a deeper dimension to the book. A number of trips are described that can be taken on classic American roads in all parts of the country. Enjoy looking at places you have been while dreaming about where you would like to go next. You won’t regret spending time with this volume.

#NorthAmericanRoadTrips #NetGalley

March is that terrifying, sometimes exhilarating time of year for those who are waiting to hear from colleges.  The season made me think about two novels.  Admission is the story of an admissions officer at a college who has to make all of the usual difficult decisions about who is in and who is out.  Portia’s situation becomes more complicated as issues from her past arise.  Will she compromise her values?  How much power do those admissions officers have?  This is a good read and the basis for the movie starring Tina Fey.

The Gilded Years is an historical novel that takes place at Vassar at the turn of the 20th century.  It gives a clear picture of what it was like to be a student at an elite women’s college at a time when many women did not receive higher education.  The reader also gets to experience the many and unique traditions that the college had.  Added to this narrative is an important historical dimension as the novel tells the story of an African American young woman who was passing as white in order to attend the school.  What was this like for her?  Will she be found out?  How alone did she feel?  This novel is based on true events and I would highly recommend it.  You will get a sense of how far (and not) we have come over the years.

Good luck to all high school seniors out there.   Read these novels for evidence that you are not alone.

Maybe you would like to read some of these…

Next Week’s Notables:
Noteworthy Books Releasing on March 20th

Below are some notable titles releasing on March 20th that we would like to make you aware of. We will have more on many of these books in the weeks to come. For a list of additional hardcovers and paperbacks releasing the week of March 19th, see our “On Sale This Week” newsletter here.

ACCIDENTAL HEROES by Danielle Steel (Romantic Suspense)
Two planes have just departed for San Francisco — one a 757, another a smaller Airbus A321. At a security checkpoint, TSA agent Bernice Adams finds a postcard of the Golden Gate Bridge bearing an ambiguous — perhaps ominous — message. Senior Homeland Security agent Ben Waterman becomes convinced that someone on the A321 is planning something terrible. And he’s right.

ALTERNATE SIDE by Anna Quindlen (Fiction)
Some days, Nora Nolan thinks that she and her husband, Charlie, lead a charmed life. And why not? New York City was once Nora’s dream destination, and her clannish dead-end block has become a safe harbor, a tranquil village amid the urban craziness. Then one morning, Nora returns from her run to discover that a terrible incident has shaken the neighborhood, and the enviable dead-end block turns into a potent symbol of a divided city.

THE BISHOP’S PAWN by Steve Berry (Thriller)
History notes that the ugly feud between J. Edgar Hoover and Martin Luther King, Jr., marked by years of illegal surveillance and the accumulation of secret files, ended on April 4, 1968 when King was assassinated by James Earl Ray. But that may not have been the case. Now, 50 years later, former Justice Department agent Cotton Malone must reckon with the truth of what really happened that fateful day in Memphis.

DUEL TO THE DEATH: An Ali Reynolds Mystery by J.A. Jance (Mystery/Thriller)
After taking down the man responsible for his best friend’s death, Stuart Ramey thinks the case is finally closed. That is, until Stu finds himself left with a multimillion dollar fortune in Bitcoin in a desperate bid by Frigg, a rogue A.I. program created by the killer, to keep itself from being fully deactivated. To sort out his situation and take Frigg down for good, Stu enlists the help of Ali Reynolds and the rest of his cyber security colleagues.

EVERY NOTE PLAYED by Lisa Genova (Fiction)
An accomplished concert pianist, Richard now has ALS, and his entire right arm is paralyzed. Three years ago, Karina removed their framed wedding picture from the living room wall, but she still hasn’t moved on. When Richard becomes increasingly paralyzed and is no longer able to live on his own, Karina becomes his reluctant caretaker — and both try to reconcile their past before it’s too late.

THE ITALIAN TEACHER by Tom Rachman (Fiction)
Conceived while his father, Bear, cavorted around Rome, Pinch learns quickly that Bear’s genius trumps all. After Bear abandons his family, Pinch strives to make himself worthy of his father’s attention — first trying to be a painter himself; then resolving to write his father’s biography; eventually settling into a job as an Italian teacher. But when Bear dies, Pinch hatches a scheme to secure his father’s legacy — and make his own mark on the world.

THE LAST STAND by Mickey Spillane (Hard-boiled Mystery)
When Mickey Spillane died in 2006, he left behind the manuscript of one last novel he’d just completed: THE LAST STAND. He asked his friend and colleague Max Allan Collins to take responsibility for finding the right time and place to publish it. Now, on the 100th anniversary of Spillane’s birth, his millions of fans will at last get to read it, together with a second never-before-published work, this one from early in Spillane’s career.

THE PUNISHMENT SHE DESERVES: A Lynley Novel by Elizabeth George (Mystery)
The cozy, bucolic town of Ludlow is stunned when one of its most revered and respected citizens — Ian Druitt, the local deacon — is accused of a serious crime. Then, while in police custody, Ian is found dead. When Barbara Havers is sent to Ludlow to investigate the chain of events that led to Ian’s death, all the evidence points to suicide. But Barbara can’t shake the feeling that she’s missing something.

THE RECIPE BOX by Viola Shipman (Fiction)
Samantha Mullins felt trapped on her family’s orchard and pie shop, so she left with dreams of making her own mark in the world. But life as an overworked, undervalued sous chef at a reality star’s New York bakery is not what Sam dreamed. When the chef embarrasses Sam, she quits and returns home. Unemployed, single and defeated, she spends a summer working on her family’s orchard cooking and baking alongside the women in her life.

THE TEMPTATION OF FORGIVENESS: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery by Donna Leon (Mystery)
Commissario Guido Brunetti is surprised by the appearance of a friend of his wife’s, fearful that her son is using drugs and hopeful Brunetti can somehow intervene. When Tullio Gasparini, the woman’s husband, is found unconscious and with a serious brain injury at the foot of a bridge in Venice after midnight, Brunetti is drawn to pursue a possible connection to the boy’s behavior. But the truth is not straightforward.

All or any one of you who has done widgets on wordpress, can you help me?  I need some direction on how to add and delete these.  I keep having difficulty.  Thanks!

A New York Times Notable Book • An Entertainment Weekly “Must List” Pick • “Prepare to be dazzled.”—Paula McLain • “Quite simply astonishing.”—Sarah Blake
I noticed that this excellent historical novel is currently only $2.99 for the digital edition.  This is the author’s wonderful first novel.  It is about Virginia Woolf and her sister Vanessa Bell.  There are insights into the girls’ early family life and then of course, the reader spends time with Leonard Woolf, Roger Bell, Lytton Strachey, Duncan Grant who are all members of the Bloomsbury group.  This is an easy and absorbing way to learn more about Virginia Woolf, her mental illness and those who cared about and for her. It raises interesting issues about sibling bonds and responsibilities.

I saw the movie “The Theory of Everything” and adored it when it first came out.  Inspired by what I had seen, I wanted to know more about this remarkable couple.  I then read Travelling to Infinity and found it to be a fascinating read.  In this memoir/biography both Stephen and Jane come to life as real people, not icons.  Highly recommended if you want to think more about the life of this influential scientist as a man, husband and father.