Author: joycesmysteryandfictionbookreviews

#TheOtherMarchSisters #NetGalley

This book has been in my TBR pile for a little while. When I recently began reading Little Women to the woman with whom I volunteer (due to her sight issues), I started thinking more about the March sisters. So, I knew that it was time to pick this one up.

Everyone seems to have their favorite among the Little Women-who do you think that the OTHER March sisters are? If you guessed, Meg, Beth and Amy, you would be right. Jo seems to have been both Alcott’s and many readers favorite.

Here three authors work together to more deeply imagine the stories of those other young sisters. I was most drawn to the sections of Meg as I remembered thinking about her quite a bit as she married and struggled with her role as a wife (remember when she cooks a disastrous dinner in the original?) when I reread the novel.

Note that there are some elements of LGBQT in the story as the authors imagine their characters.

Could this book replace Little Women? Certainly not. It was not written as well in my opinion. I think that it might appeal more to the “new adult” readers.

Still, anyone who wants to think more about the March sisters and their worlds, may want to give this one a look.

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

Pub date: 25 February 2025

Women’s fiction

302 pages

Note: Today the e book version is just $3.99

From the Publisher

A Novel

by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

#ChristmaswiththeQueen #NetGalley

Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb have mastered the art of writing together. This book reads seamlessly and I have no absolute idea of where one author’s voice ends and the other begins. This was also true in their earlier collaboration, Meet Me in Monaco, a book that I very much enjoyed. I loved this one too.

Christmas with the Queen was exactly the kind of read that I was looking for, one that would transport me to another time and place. The story opens in 1952 when London was enveloped in a murky fog. Elizabeth was new to the throne. The novel goes on to cover a five year period (with some back history).

The story principally follows two characters, each of whom has an interesting profession and story. Jack is working in the Sandringham kitchens during the festive period. Olive is a trainee reporter with the BBC. When her boss became ill, she travels to Sandringham to write a seasonal story. These two (re) meet and readers follow them over the years.

There is enough detail to bring Sandringham, the Queen, her corgis and the royal experience to life. It is delightful to observe Elizabeth in the novel. There is a charming scene fairly early in the book when Elizabeth strolls into the room where a star struck Olive is sitting. She will reappear.

This is a charming and lovely book. Readers will want the best for these characters.

If a reader wants to get into the Christmas spirit without the frenetic quality of holiday life, come to this book with a cup of tea and relax. I am very glad that I did just that.

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

Pub date: 19 November 2024

From the Publisher

So many historical fiction titles on WWII have been published.  I think that this has to do with many important anniversaries and commemorations and perhaps also because it was a war in which the right thing seemed clear.  As a result, it seems that some look back on the war almost nostalgically even while noting and recalling its enormous tragedies.

So, I wondered if I wanted/needed to read another title set in this time period.  I will emphatically say yes (!) as I very much enjoyed Dragonfly.  In my opinion, this is by far the author’s bests book.

Dragonfly tells the story of five people who are recruited as spies in occupied France.  The backstory of each character is fully explored and I cared about each of them.  These characters are an athlete from Texas with German roots, a young man whose biological father turns out to be an important fighter in the French resistance, a fly fisherman, a fashion designer and a fencer.  Three are men and two are women.

Each is embedded in Paris and interacts with the main German characters in the story, some of whom are described sympathetically.  Code named Dragonfly, the team gets to work.  There is much suspense as they do so and this aspect of the story is handled beautifully by the author as the plots and characters intersect.  At times, I truly worried for these characters especially as the beginning of the book states that one of them may well have died while on their mission.  The suspense is indeed suspenseful.

I highly recommend this title for those who would like to sink into a long (577 pages) and absorbing story.

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

#Dragonfly #NetGalley

Editorial Reviews:

A Forbes “Best Historical Novels for Summer 2019”

“Gripping…In this fast-paced and enjoyable WWII espionage tale, Meacham takes readers to 1942 Nazi-occupied Paris to follow five American spies as they attempt to gather information to assist Allied and French Resistance forces…. Meacham’s nail-biting tale will please fans looking for an intricate story of spycraft and deception.”― Publishers Weekly

“Complex, epic, and rich in historical detail-an uplifting story of finding friendship behind enemy lines.”― Kirkus

“Meacham ratchets the suspense ever tighter, while providing fascinating backstory on the intrepid five [American spies] as well as delivering a detail-rich portrait of Paris during the Occupation.”― Booklist

Recently I blogged about a book called Everything Love Is.  If that book seemed like your kind of book, I am pretty certain that you would like to read Nina George’s novels.  I adored The Little Paris Bookshop with its story of how one can become isolated and yet have a richer and more meaningful life when moving beyond that unsatisfying safety.  From Amazon:  “Monsieur Perdu calls himself a literary apothecary. (INTERJECTION BY ME…WHAT COULD BE BETTER?)  From his floating bookstore in a barge on the Seine, he prescribes novels for the hardships of life. Using his intuitive feel for the exact book a reader needs, Perdu mends broken hearts and souls. The only person he can’t seem to heal through literature is himself; he’s still haunted by heartbreak after his great love disappeared. She left him with only a letter, which he has never opened.”  Will Perdu open the letter?  If he does, what will this mean to him?  Find out in this lovely book.

Confession…I have Little French Bistro but have not as yet read it.  I have been holding on to it because once I read it, I will not be able to read it for this first time ever again.  Does that make sense?  I surely do look forward to it though.

#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

A Novel

by Allison Pataki

An e book bargain

Readers of historical fiction, mark your calendars for this books release da te. It is fabulous.

Allison Pataki tells the story of Marjorie Merriweather Post from her childhood right on through her “many lives.” She was a daughter, wife (multiple times), mother, key part of Post (later known as General) Foods, society woman, charitable worker and donor, ambassador’s wife, builder of multiple estates and more. The pages just flew as I followed Marjorie through her life.

Readers will travel with Marjorie to many locations. Among these are Battle Creek, Washington DC, Manhattan, the Adirondacks, Palm Beach (Mar-a-Lago) and Moscow. Readers experience Marjorie’s own experiences in each of these places.

Relationships were a big part of Marjorie’s life. No spoiler so I won’t write about how many times she married or who her husbands or children were.

I so highly recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fiction. It is one of the best that I have read in this genre.

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

I have just begun reading this book which is gently provocative and inspiring.  The author, ordained within the Episcopal Church, has left the ministry to begin teaching World Religion in a small, largely Christian college.

Written in a highly accessible, almost novelistic tone, Ms. Taylor introduces the reader to her students and their studies.  She encourages the reader to think about the role of religion in our lives.  Although I have not yet finished the book, I have the feeling that I will be savoring it right up to the end.  This is a thoughtful and highly recommended read.

From Goodreads:

The renowned and beloved New York Times bestselling author of An Altar in the World and Learning to Walk in the Dark recounts her moving discoveries of finding the sacred in unexpected places while teaching the world’s religions to undergraduates in rural Georgia, revealing how God delights in confounding our expectations.

Barbara Brown Taylor continues her spiritual journey begun in Leaving Church of finding out what the world looks like after taking off her clergy collar. In Holy Envy, she contemplates the myriad ways other people and traditions encounter the Transcendent, both by digging deeper into those traditions herself and by seeing them through her students’ eyes as she sets off with them on field trips to monasteries, temples, and mosques.

Troubled and inspired by what she learns, Taylor returns to her own tradition for guidance, finding new meaning in old teachings that have too often been used to exclude religious strangers instead of embracing the divine challenges they present. Re-imagining some central stories from the religion she knows best, she takes heart in how often God chooses outsiders to teach insiders how out-of-bounds God really is.

Throughout Holy Envy, Taylor weaves together stories from the classroom with reflections on how her own spiritual journey has been complicated and renewed by connecting with people of other traditions—even those whose truths are quite different from hers.  The one constant in her odyssey is the sense that God is the one calling her to disown her version of God—a change that ultimately enriches her faith in other human beings and in God.

2025 ANTHONY AWARDS PRESENTED
The 2025 Anthony Awards were presented at Bouchercon New Orleans on September 6, 2025. Our congratulations to the winners (listed first in each category) and all the nominees.

Previous Anthony Awards

2025 BARRY AWARDS PRESENTED
The Barry Awards, voted on by the readers of Deadly Pleasures, were presented at the Opening Ceremonies of Bouchercon New Orleans on September 4, 2025. Our congratulations to the winners (listed first in each category) and to all of the nominees.

Previous Barry Awards

2025 SHAMUS AWARDS PRESENTED
The Shamus Awards are given annually by the Private Eye Writers of America to honor excellent work in the Private Eye genre, were presented at the Opening Ceremonies of Bouchercon New Orleans on September 4, 2025. Our congratulations to the winners (listed first in each category) and all the nominees.

Previous Shamus Awards

I have enjoyed other novels by Eliza Knight including The Mayfair Bookshop and The Queen’s Faithful Companion. So, when I see her name on a book cover, I am excited.

This time, Knight explores the world of publishing in the early 1960s. To say that women were not highly valued for their skills is an understatement.

As this story opens, Bernadette is working on editorial tasks but is not respected for this. Rather, she is asked to bring her boss’s dirty laundry to the cleaner. Understandably, Bernadette does not appreciate this and wants more. Will she succeed? Will friends that she makes at the New York Public Library help her? Find out in this enjoyable read that also features a likeable editor who has fallen for Bernadette. I recommend it.

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

Pub date:10 June 2025

From the Publisher

This was the first book that I have read by Rachel Hore although she has a substantial backlist. I will, most likely, read some of her others now.

This is a dual time story that readers learn is partly based on the experiences of the author’s family. It is about Nancy and the many people around her, from before her university days and well beyond them, up to the present day. They include her family, fellow students and scientists, academic figures and, romantic interests.

In the present, a journalist named Stef is writing a book about women scientists. She finds that Nancy and others were, in fact, not given credit for their discoveries and achievements. She hopes to change this.

In addition to following Stef’s work and interviews with Nancy, readers spend time with her family and watch as her life intersects even more with Nancy, due to her involvement with her grandson.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this book. The settings were beautifully described as was the weather and a storm. I do think that the novel dragged a tiny bit in delineating Nancy’s work with insects in such detail. This is not to say that the work that is described wasn’t important. It was indeed as readers will learn.

Those who enjoy women’s fiction, dual time line stories and immersion into academic life in the 1940s and beyond will want to give this title a look.