The Sisterhood by Tasha Alexander

Wow! Lady Emily has made it to her nineteenth case in this long running historical mystery series. While I have not read every one, I have enjoyed a number of them.

Here, I welcomed the time spent with the recurring characters. The plot is a dual time one with readers going from the early 20th century, to Roman Britain. It is one of those situations where readers have to trust the author and count on her ability to tie things together.

Who killed Victoria? Why did the King get involved? Will the case get solved (yes)? Find out fans of the author and maybe some new readers as well.

How it starts: Victoria Goldsborough was wearing white that evening, satin shimmering like pearls. (I was ready to read more!)

Kirkus Reviews observes “Plenty of motives and a surprise ending… [with] a bit of British Roman history woven into the mystery.”

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press-Minotaur Books for this title.

Pub date: 23 September 2025

Post first published on 2 January 2026

Description:

from the publisher

Lady Emily investigates the murder of a glamorous debutante in the next irresistible mystery of Tasha Alexander’s New York Times bestselling series.

London, 1907: When the Season’s most accomplished and elegant debutante, Victoria Goldsborough, collapses and dies at her engagement ball, the great and good of London Society prepare to mourn the tragic loss of an upstanding young woman. But all is not what it seems, and after a toxic beverage is revealed to be the cause of death, the king himself instructs Lady Emily and her husband Colin Hargreaves to unearth the truth.

Who would want to harm one of the most popular women of the year? Is it her fiancé with whom she had an unusually brief courtship; a rival for his affections bitter at being cast aside; her best friend who is almost certainly hiding a secret from Colin and Emily; a disappointed suitor with a hidden gambling habit; or a notorious jewel thief who has taken a priceless tiara from the Goldsborough home? When a second debutante succumbs to poison, the race is on to find a ruthless killer.

Emily and Colin’s investigation leads to a centuries old tomb in the center of London with a mysterious link to another death dating back to Roman times and the violent reign of Boudica, ancient Britain’s fearsome warrior queen. As the stakes rise and the clock ticks down, Emily must find the killer before they strike again.

About the Author:

Tasha Alexander is the author of the Lady Emily novels, a historical suspense series, as well as a novella and a stand-alone novel. She studied English literature and medieval history at the University of Notre Dame. Her work has been nominated for numerous awards and has been translated into more than a dozen languages

Birds of a Feather by Tricia Stringer

Tricia Stringer is an author whose books I first read in 2025. She writes women’s fiction, set in Australia, that offers good characters and plots. They are relaxing reads for me so especially valued when I feel stressed.

Birds of a Feather tells the story of three women and those around them. They do not always get along but come to realize how much they value one another.

Eve is in her sixties. She is a widow whose children live far away. Eve has had some run ins with the women in her community and feels a bit isolated as the story opens. Her business partner of many years wants to sell-who will Eve be if she loses this as well? Eve faces a further difficulty when she injures her shoulder and requires surgery.

Lucy is married to a husband who often works away for long stretches. It is hard having the full responsibility for young Poppy and Noah. Even though, her in-laws would help, Lucy hates to rely on them. Lucy is a nurse who had a bad event that has made her question herself. Nonetheless, she helps Eve.

Julia is adrift. She is Eve’s niece and surprises her with a visit. She clashes with Lucy, seemingly finding it hard to share Eve.

How will these three find their way? Find out in this most enjoyable read.

Other books by Stringer:

It takes a lot of energy: Keeping up Appearances by Tricia Stringer
What is the nature of: The Family Inheritance (Tricia Stringer)

Some book thoughts:

Reading this year was very special. My biggest and most enjoyable accomplishments were taking a class on all of Jane Austen’s novels and another on the Iliad and adjacent texts. Reading these books within a class was like being a part of the best book groups ever. I was left with so much to think about.

I most highly recommend Emily Wilson’s translation of the Iliad. Anyone who picks that up should definitely take the time to read the introduction. Parts of it were deeply moving. I also loved The Song of Achilles.

Some of the books that I really enjoyed this year were The Correspondent, Mona’s Eyes, The Killing Stones, This Book Made Me Think of You, At Midnight Comes the Cry, Winter, Silent Bones, The Eights, The Memory Garden, By Your Side, The Mademoiselle Alliance, A Case of Mice and Murder, Atmosphere, The Secret of Orange Blossom Cake…and the list could go on forever. Have you read and enjoyed any of these? Will you put any on your list?

Some of the titles that I am looking forward to in 2026 are:

So, here’s to lots of good reads, good blogs, good friends in the reading community.

Happy New Year to all!

Joyce

We could all use: Lessons in Chemistry

A Novel

by Bonnie Garmus

An e book bargain

#LessonsinChemistry #NetGalley

Unique, original, funny, poignant…I find that all of these words can be overused when praising books but this time, in my opinion, they are truly deserved. This novel is like none other that I have read although there is some connection to The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano in terms of what does it mean to become a parent when a woman does/did not wish to. Otherwise, the protagonists of the two books are quite different.

Lessons in Chemistry includes such a wonder box of treasures. Why is there a dog named 6:30 of all things? What will you think of his tragedy early in the book but his vigilance afterwards? Will you enjoy his empathy and understanding along with his understanding of a wide vocabulary? What would lead a baby to be named Mad? What are ergs doing in the story?

Readers become intimately acquainted with the idiosyncratic Elizabeth Zott. She is a woman placed in the wrong time by history. It is the 1950s into the 60s. She WANTS to be a chemist and a working woman who is respected but the times challenge her. Look for her work around to solve this.

Lessons in Chemistry refers, in part, to the science of cooking. What leads Elizabeth to be the host of TV cooking show? She is no Julia Child to be sure.

I loved this book! There were times when I laughed out loud. Anyone who may have found the transition to a life full of baby demands will know what Elizabeth is experiencing. There were many moments when I felt for the characters as they tried to get through their lives.

I highly recommend this title. Let me know what you think.

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

This book will be published on 05 Apr 2022.

From the Publisher

page turning and highly satisfying says maggie shipsteadi loved it says nigella lawsonan utter delight says claire lombardo

“[An] energetic debut…A more adorable plea for rationalism and gender equality would be hard to find.” 
—Kirkus (starred review)
“Indefatigable and formidable, Elizabeth pushes the bounds of how women and their work are perceived in this thoroughly engaging debut novel.”
—Booklist

Explore: The Inner Life of Mrs. Dalloway by Edward Mendelson

#TheInnerLifeofMrsDalloway #NetGalley

I have read Mrs. Dalloway at least three times. Every time I spend time with the novel, I think about, and learn something new.

Within a short novel that is structured around a single day, Woolf seems to take on all of life. There are so many themes; among them are love, regret, choices, empire, mental illness, the after effects of war, parents & children, youth & aging, and so much more.

So, I had already thought a fair amount about Mrs. Dalloway by the time I picked up this book, as noted above. Reading Mendelson’s work deepened my knowledge of, and appreciation for the book, even more.

Mendelson is a trusted guide to Woolf and Mrs. Dalloway. He focuses, to good effect, on three areas-medicine, empire and love, in sections that are based on lectures that he gave.

I recommend this title to those who are studying the novel or to those, reading it on their own, who are seeking some deeper insights.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Columbia University Press for this title. All thoughts are my own.

Pub date: 02 September 2025

Post first published on 30 December 2025

Description:

Mrs. Dalloway is a novel about almost everything. The story of a single day in London after the First World War, it travels backward and forward in time and consciousness, venturing beyond the ordinary world into epic, mythic, and mystical modes. The novel is a work of extraordinary richness, as much for its interwoven webs of meaning as for its moral and psychological vision.

Edward Mendelson explores the novel’s deepest questions, focusing on the core themes of medicine, empire, and love. He traces how Virginia Woolf thought and wrote, considering the complexities and resonances of her works. Mendelson casts Mrs. Dalloway as an extended protest against authorities that wield power over others and a defense of the equality of inner lives. He also examines the place of the book in literary history going back to Homer, Dante, and Shakespeare as well as its influence on later writers from Erich Auerbach through Zadie Smith. Both incisive and passionate, this book is at once a wide-ranging critical study of Virginia Woolf’s writing and a love letter to a great novel.

Editorial Reviews:

A rip-roaring tribute to a canonical work forged from diverse literary and philosophical traditions. ― London Review of Books

In Edward Mendelson, Virginia Woolf has found a profoundly generous and intelligent reader, one who considers Mrs. Dalloway in its full complexity. Elegant and eloquent―this book is excellent company. — Anne Fernald, editor of The Oxford Handbook of Virginia Woolf

In Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf set out to “dig out beautiful caves behind [her] characters.” Edward Mendelson’s triumph of scholarship shines a light into the beautiful caves behind Woolf herself and the fascinating, complex characters, major and minor, who populate her novel: to read this masterpiece through his eyes is to appreciate anew its myriad connections, its moral vision, its humanity, and its enduring pleasure. Mrs. Dalloway offers a transformative reading experience, and Mendelson is the ideal companion to guide us, with deft erudition, through Clarissa’s day. — Francesca Wade, author of Square Haunting: Five Writers in London Between the Wars

Thanks to Edward Mendelson, I’ve lived Mrs. Dalloway all over again, and seen and felt the novel anew. Rare for literary criticism to act like a revelation, but The Inner Life of Mrs. Dalloway does just that, showing how Virginia Woolf creates dramas of intimacy and epiphany in the larger contexts of empire, and medical and emotional coercion. A work of admirable acuity and ethical force. — Rosanna Warren, author of So Forth and Max Jacob: A Life in Art and Letters

About the Author:

Edward Mendelson is the Lionel Trilling Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University. His books include Early Auden, Later Auden: A Critical Biography (2017); Moral Agents: Eight Twentieth-Century American Writers (2015); and The Things That Matter: What Seven Classic Novels Have to Say About the Stages of Life (2007). His essays and reviews have appeared in the New York Review of Books, the New York Times Book Review, the London Review of Books, and the Times Literary Supplement.

Review

A rip-roaring tribute to a canonical work forged from diverse literary and philosophical traditions. ― London Review of Books

In Edward Mendelson, Virginia Woolf has found a profoundly generous and intelligent reader, one who considers Mrs. Dalloway in its full complexity. Elegant and eloquent―this book is excellent company. — Anne Fernald, editor of The Oxford Handbook of Virginia Woolf

In Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf set out to “dig out beautiful caves behind [her] characters.” Edward Mendelson’s triumph of scholarship shines a light into the beautiful caves behind Woolf herself and the fascinating, complex characters, major and minor, who populate her novel: to read this masterpiece through his eyes is to appreciate anew its myriad connections, its moral vision, its humanity, and its enduring pleasure. Mrs. Dalloway offers a transformative reading experience, and Mendelson is the ideal companion to guide us, with deft erudition, through Clarissa’s day. — Francesca Wade, author of Square Haunting: Five Writers in London Between the Wars