Author: joycesmysteryandfictionbookreviews

#KillsWellwithOthers #NetGalley

This book invites readers to again spent time with the Killers of a Certain Age. Although I have not read the first in this series, I felt that I was able to jump right in.

Readers meet four women who have a spectacular skill set including proficiency in disguise, strategy and killing. They are Helen, Billie, Natalie and Mary Alice. These women are called back into service to avenge a colleague’s murder and the mayhem then briskly takes off.

This book is full of action, drama, excitement, good characters, a variety of global settings and more. It is a kind of James Bond for the older woman (but not too old) vibe. I found it to be very enjoyable.

I have read other series by this author. This one is a bit different. Kudos to Raybourn for doing something new …and succeeding.

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

Pub date: 04 March 2025

From the Publisher

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/23/books/review/new-romance-books-february.html

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/23/books/review/new-romance-books-february.html

www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/02/24/books/review/books-screen-adaptations.html

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/27/books/winter-books.html

They say that you can’t judge a book by its cover but I have to say that, as soon as I saw this one, the visual appeal made me want to read Murder at the Mena House.  This is an historical mystery set in Egypt in 1926.  The author does a wonderful job with the setting, both in terms of the indolent, luxury hotel and the sites, including the pyramids, museums, camel races and more.  There are a variety of colorful characters and some interesting backstory for the majority of them.

I think that this is the author’s first published book.  I enjoyed this read although the mystery itself was the least engaging part for me.  I will read further adventures of Jane as they are published.  She was a good guide to Egypt and those around her.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.

Stephanie Barron has written in several genres. She is the author of the Nantucket based, Merry Folger mysteries which I read and enjoyed. She also wrote the Jane Austen mystery series and novels with JFK and Virginia Woolf as characters. In this book, That Churchill Woman is Jennie Jerome Churchill, the mother most famously of Winston, the wife of Randall and a lover of Charles Kinsky.

The novel moves back and forth in time allowing the reader to understand Jennie’s upbringing in the Gilded Age and her father’s influence on her life. The reader also learns about the traumas of Jennie’s early life, including the profound loss she faced, her father’s affairs, her move to Europe, etc.

Jennie glitters in British society. There are numerous appearances in the book of Bertie, the Prince of Wales and his wife Princess Alix. Other American women who married into the British aristocracy are also characters in the novel.

The reader empathizes with Jennie, especially during a time when a young Winston is quite ill. Further, as Jennie learns the truth about her husband, (I don’t want to include spoilers), one truly feels for her.

I highly recommend this novel for those who like historical fiction, those who are Anglophiles and those interested in the family in which Winston grew up.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this absorbing read.

#ThatChurchillWoman #NetGalley

I am a fan of Mason’s Oxford set stories featuring Ray and Ryan. The fourth of these A Killing in November was recently published. All of them have been reviewed on my blog.

This new series has two entries out with a third on tap. It is different from the DI Wilkins title noted above. It is more spare in its style. The reader knows all that they need to in a story that has no extra padding.

Readers will soon know that Alice, who had a troubled home life, was not seen after a last sighting while delivering newspapers. What happened to her? No spoiler so readers will have to pick this one up.

Interestingly the finder of the title spends a lot of time reading a particular Henry James story. Is that significant? Readers can decide.

Mason is a talented writer and I look forward to whatever he next writes.

Mason’s novels

Although I reference an e book bargain, that was only true at the time of posting.

#PoemsPlease #NetGalley

In these pages readers will find an engaging selection of poems in sections on Nature’s Realm, Travels, Word-Play and, The Beloved. Some poems are a bit more than a page in length while others are just three lines. The poems often are evocative reflecting the keen observations of the author, while some are more humorous, as for example, the Four Variations on Little Miss Muffet.

A few of my favorites in the collections include Dear France, Spring Journey, Cold Night Haiku, and Friends. The latter two are three line entries that I enjoyed for their ability to say something so seemingly simply.

Take a minute or two to dip into this title. Go in order or browse. You might just find a moment of thoughtful reflection or amusement.

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

Pub date: 28 January 2025

This book has already been greeted enthusiastically by many. Among these readers is Oprah Winfrey who has made it her book club pick. It has been reviewed widely and anyone who read (or saw the movie) Brooklyn will want to spend time with this novel.

This is a story of Eilis twenty or so years after the events in Brooklyn. She has found herself a housewife (with occasional work), mother of two and is still married to Tony; his boisterous clan makes their presence in her life rather prominent.

The catalyst for what happens is that Tony has impregnated another woman. Needless to say Eilis is not pleased. One way that she copes is by going back to Ireland. Yes, she does again meet up with Jim while there.

What will happen to this family as they face a crisis? Eilis once left but returned to Tony. What will she do this time?

I found the writing in this book to be deceptively simple. There is much behind what each character says and does. It is a paean to well written prose.

Even if a reader has not yet enjoyed Brooklyn, they can still read this one. I recommend it.

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

Pub date: 07 May 2024