joycesmysteryandfictionbookreviews

A Florence Nightingale Mystery (Trent)

No Cure for the Dead: A Florence Nightingale Mystery by [Christine Trent] I enjoyed this mystery novel which seems to be the start of a new series with Florence Nightingale as the sleuth.

Florence has just been placed in charge of the Establishment, a prototype hospital for gentle women (those who would not be at a workhouse hospital but could not afford to be cared for at home). A nurse is murdered and the story builds from there.

The author does an excellent job of setting the scene and of bringing 1850s London to vivid life. Many historical personages appear in the book and seem to fit right in. The mystery is solved in a very Agatha Christie like manner with all of the main characters in a room together. Like Hercule Poirot, Florence deduces all. A thoroughly enjoyable read for fans of Anne Perry. Of additional note, I learned a lot about Florence herself.

Thanks NetGalley!

#NoCureForTheDead #NetGalley

Find this teashop (Ashley)

The Little Teashop of Lost and Found The following quote sums this novel up nicely: “Glorious escapism . . . A foundling turned star baker, a tough childhood, the Yorkshire moors and a dashing neighbour are a winning mix in this bittersweet novel with nods to the Brontes.” —The Lady

I notice that I am doing a lot of comfort reading recently…hmmm. Well, I do still have Anna Karenina with its vast panorama, complex relationships and depiction of the Russian social classes to finish. Meanwhile…this novel was a soothing read. We watch as Alice rebuilds her life following a tragedy, is helped by many along the way and finds herself. There is adoption, romance, baking, antiques, friends…great ingredients indeed! Try it.

Now in paperback (Steiner)…a repost

Product Details I loved Missing Presumed, Susie Steiner’s first book in this series, and was very eager to read Persons Unknown. What I most enjoyed in reading both books was the author’s ability to create a quirky, interesting protagonist in Manon. I related to Manon’s observations on the bonds of parenting and her experience of pregnancy. Early on, I was glued to this book because I was so worried for Fly, Manon’s adoptive son. I found the mystery itself a bit less strong but that did not lessen my enjoyment of this book. Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book. I hope that there will be more in the series in future!

E-book bargains (Macmillan and Reay)

I enjoyed both of these books that have absolutely nothing in common! What She Knew is the author’s first book. It is a good thriller about Rachel and her son who goes missing after gehe runs ahead of her in the park. Will they be okay? What happened? Is Rachel responsible? Someone else? I turned the pages briskly as I waited to find out.

Dear Mr. Knightley is a light and fun read. It is a modern version of the novel Daddy Longlegs. In this update, Sam is given a scholarship at Northwestern University. The caveat…she must write regular letters to her mysterious and unnamed benefactor. This is a good book when you need something easy. The author has written several novels; others update books by Jane Austen.

Best Books

The Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday’s book critic posted his list of 100 books that changed his life. Fifty of these are non-fiction and fifty are fiction. Just thought I would share some of these. Let me know what you think and what you might add if you were listing your favorites.

Classics that Craig Brown lists:

Tess of the Durbervilles: I have read this and was very drawn into Hardy’s world. Hardy does not write novels with happy endings but they are very involving.

Middlemarch: I read this in college and also went back to it last year. The setting and characters are so well and deeply portrayed. I feel as if I know Dorothea with her literal and figurative short-sightedness and she is just one of many who live in this novel.

Cousin Henry: This one by Anthony Trollope I have not read. I read this author’s Can You Forgive Her once when I was home sick and it took my mind off my woes.

Crime and Punishment: I have not read this novel but always feel that I should. Thoughts on this one??

Great Expectations: This may be my favorite Dickens. I was glued to it when I read it. Great plot and characters.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: Not just for children. I read this when I was about fourteen and then again about two years ago. A whole world is created. It does not operate by the usual rules but gives new perspectives including “Off with her head!” and a unique game of croquet.

I think that I would include Anna Karenina in my list. I will blog on that one soon.

An e-book bargain (Mansell)

You and Me, Always I am currently reading and enjoying this author’s Meet Me in Beachcomber Bay which I will blog on later. But for today, this book by the author is an e-book bargain. Jill Mansell’s books are always good reads that are women’s fiction with a bit of depth. If you would like a book that is perfect for relaxing with, try this one!

For National Poetry Month

How to Read Poetry Like a Professor: A Quippy and Sonorous Guide to Verse I learned about this one from BookPage. It sounds like a great resource for learning more about poetry in a very non-intimidating way. Seems like one worth thinking about during poetry month.

From the Back Cover

An essential primer to reading poetry that unlocks the keys to enjoying works from Lord Byron to the Beatles

No literary form is as admired and feared as poetry. Admired for its lengthy pedigree—a line of poets extending back to a time before recorded history—and a ubiquitous presence in virtually all cultures, poetry is also revered for its great beauty and the powerful emotions it evokes. But the form has also instilled trepidation in its many admirers mainly because of a lack of familiarity and knowledge.

Poetry demands more from readers—intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually—than other literary forms. Most of us started out loving poetry because it filled our beloved children’s books from Dr. Seuss to Robert Louis Stevenson. Eventually, our reading shifted to prose, and later when we encountered poetry again, we had no recent experience to make it feel familiar. But reading poetry doesn’t need to be so overwhelming. In an entertaining and engaging voice, Thomas C. Foster shows readers how to overcome their fear of poetry and learn to enjoy it once more.

How to Read Poetry Like a Professor examines a wide array of poems and teaches readers:

• How to read a poem to understand its primary meaning. • The different technical elements of poetry such as meter, diction, rhyme, line structures, length, order, and regularity, and how to learn to see these elements as allies rather than adversaries. • How to listen for a poem’s secondary meaning by paying attention to the echoes that the language of poetry summons up. • How to hear the music in poems—and the poetry in songs!

With How to Read Poetry Like a Professor, readers can rediscover poetry and reap its many rewards.

An important read (Diaz) with the highest recommendation I can give

You may know Junot Diaz from his novels which include The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Drown and This is How You Lose Her. He has just published a piece, The Silence: The Legacy of Childhood Trauma, in The New Yorker Magazine. It is about his having been a victim of childhood sexual abuse, the profound impact of this, how he both avoided and tried to come to terms with the abuse and how it has impacted his life. This is a riveting, heartbreaking and incredibly important article about how we can create ways to seemingly survive when we are breaking on the inside and how we might slowly get better. You should not miss this one!!

Two good E-book deals (Bryson and Gee)

Bill Bryson’s take on life in England is humorous and fun. This one is perfect for the curmudgeonly armchair traveler. If you enjoy Notes…, I would also recommend his more recent book, The Road to Little Dribbling. Yes, it is a real place in England!

I also enjoyed The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society when I read it years ago. I recall it as good women’s fiction with likeable characters. A blurb:

From Booklist

Isabel Kidd is having enough trouble getting over her cheating almost-ex-husband’s death without the interference of her busybody neighbor, Bettie Shelton, cajoling her into hosting a scrapbooking party. Ava is struggling to make ends meet for her and her son, Max, making bottle-cap jewelry. Frances Latham and her husband discover some troubling news about Mei Ling, their prospective adoptive daughter from China. And there’s a goat loose behind Madeline’s Tea Salon. There are many threads to this story (including a female plumber with a secret past), but, like a good scrapbooker, Gee puts them all together beautifully. Bettie is the glue that holds the residents of Avalon together—whether they like it or not—and as she seems to unravel, the town comes together. This funny, moving book is the follow-up to Friendship Bread (2011), although The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society can stand on its own. A welcome addition to any women’s-fiction collection and a good choice for fans of Debbie Macomber’s knitting series. Recipes and scrapbooking tips are included. –Susan Maguire

Happy reading!