Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too!

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.

This is the first, but will not be the last, book that I read by this author. Her novels are now being published by the wonderful Poisoned Pen Press, a great place to find new authors and series.
The Rowland Sinclair mysteries take place in the 30s and Rowly reminds me of that great thirties sleuth, Lord Peter Wimsey. He is an artist who is surrounded by his communist leading friends including the lovely Edna, a sculptress. This novel picks up where the prior one ended with the group escaping from Germany at a time when the Nazis were rising and brutal. They come to England where they try to alert the government to upcoming perils and to solve the mystery of an upper class man who is found dead. Subsidiary figures abound including H.G. Wells and Evelyn Waugh.
I truly enjoyed this novel and recommend it to fans of historical mysteries. I look forward to reading more. Thanks for this one, Poisoned Press and NetGalley.

Note:  I will now try to add author’s names to the titles of the posts in order to make the site easier to search.

Last week, my class on Adultery in 19th Century Literature, was finishing up discussion of Madame Bovary.  There was so much more to explore but it is the nature of classes to keep moving on so…here we are.  Next up is one of the best known and I think loved novels, Anna Karenina.  This is a long one so I will need lots of time to read or should I say reread as I read this many years ago.  Going back is always interesting because the book stays the same while the reader changes and may bring different insights the next time.  Thus far, I am getting to know the characters including Prince Oblsonsky, his wife Dolly, Levin and Kittty.  In the next few pages Anna will come in.  The writing is so rich that I want to savor this novel as I go.  I will share a snippet or two below.

First the opening line which is one of the best known in literature.  “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”  What do you think?  Do you agree?

Next Prince Oblonsky (Stiva) and his reflections on himself, marriage and adultery. He…
“was a truthful man concerning his own self…He repented only that he had not managed to conceal things (his affair).”   How does each of us rationalize, justify and hide things? Is this self-knowledge of the Prince useful?

More to come…hope you are interested because I think that there will be a lot to say.

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If you have read and enjoyed books by Susan Wiggs, I saw an offer today that you might welcome.  Between You & Me will be published in June.  For today only, you can preorder the ebook for $4.99 from sites like Amazon.  This is good news if you tend to buy this author’s new releases.  Below is Amazon’s summary of the novel:

I read I Let You Go when it was released in 2016.  This was the author’s first novel. A former police officer, the author knows her crime details.  The book told the story of a mother who lost her child after a brief moment of inattention when picking him up from school.  This is not a spoiler; you learn this early on. What happened in the hit and run?  Who was responsible?  How does the mom, Jenna, cope? Where does she go to try to recuperate?  This atmospheric novel had me turning the pages quickly and left me looking forward to reading other books by this author.

Today is the release date for Let Me Lie which promises to be a good read as well.  I will let you know once I have made my way through it…something to which I look forward.

#TheGigglyGuideOfHowToBehave #NetGalley

This book is adorable! Your child will probably enjoy it and I think that the adult doing the reading will find it quite amusing. Each example of how to behave is illustrated with an animal drawing that shows what the result of bad manners would be. I especially enjoyed the beginning of the book with the rabbit and the turtle. Look at the book to see how cute this is! Talking about manners does not always seems like fun but this short book may make the subject more appealing in your household.

 

I read The Paris Wife when it was released in 2011 and loved it.  Paula McLain did a marvelous job of bringing Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley, to life.  Many secondary characters in the novel were also well known figures from the time, including Sara and Gerald Murphy and the Fitzgeralds.  Settings came vividly to life including the Midwest, Paris and France, as well as Spain.  Here are some of the accolades for this novel:

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
 
WINNER—BEST HISTORICAL FICTION—GOODREADS CHOICE AWARDS
 
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY People • Chicago Tribune • NPR • The Philadelphia Inquirer • Kirkus Reviews • The Toronto Sun • BookPage

If, by any chance, you missed this one, pick it up now before Love and Ruin is released.

I have just started Love and Ruin which is about Hemingway and Martha Gelhorn.  First there was Hadley, then Pauline, then Martha and then…My full review will follow.  I will say for now that Paula Mclain does a masterful job of capturing Martha’s voice and experience.  Hemingway, once again, come very much to life with his complex personality.

As I write this, I am free associating to other great fiction about real people.  I would also highly recommend Loving Frank if you have not read it.  This is about Frank Loyd Wright’s early life both professionally and in terms of his personality and relationships.  SPOILER…there is tragedy but the book is so well written and involving that this just adds to its impact.

by Nancy Horan

Happy reading!