Great reads for adults and children!
Here is the twelfth edition of one of my favorite reads. These samplers offer such a good way to learn about forthcoming mystery titles. I now know that I want to read just about every one of the books featured on the cover.
Read the book descriptions. Take a look at the generous excerpts and learn about the authors. Then make your choices! What fun.
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press-Minotaur Books for this title. All opinions are my own.
Five stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
#DeathattheSignoftheRook #NetGalley
My first impression is that Kate Atkinson must have enjoyed herself when writing this book. In this novel, she has created unique, over the top and idiosyncratic characters who often, in my opinion, require some suspension of disbelief on the reader’s part. The plot here includes a number of tropes, including the murder mystery weekend, the small English village, the snowstorm that isolates characters, stolen art, family relationships and more.
Readers who have read other Jackson Brodie mysteries will be delighted to meet up with him, his family and his police contacts once again. This time, he has been hired to look into stolen art but stumbles on much more.
There were times when I felt that Atkinson was going for the comic, even farcical, effect. That said, some of her portraits of the characters, were quite moving. While many jokes were made, often by Ben, about his war experiences, he is very sympathetically presented. Ben reminded me of Strike in the JK Rowling series. Their situations are similar in dealing with the loss of a limb. He is just one among a group that includes a vicar, actors, down on their heels aristocrats and others.
This book just gallops along. Events and situations pile up on one another. Atkins fans will rejoice!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for this title. All opinions are my own.
pub date: 03 September 2024
Many thanks to everyone at HTP for this opportunity. It is a pleasure to share this book with readers. It will be enjoyed by those who love historical fiction with a bit of mystery.
Beatriz Williams meets Laura Spence-Ash in this fast-paced and tension-filled novel about secrets and betrayal in a small community recovering from war, and the two young women at the center of a volatile mystery.
In June of 1945, Jersey is in the midst of change as the German occupation of the Channel Islands comes to an end. However, demands for punishment are rising for those suspected of collaborating with the Nazis. Neighbor turns against neighbor as distrust flourishes and accusations fly, especially towards women who had romantic relationships with the German soldiers.
When Jean Parris learns that her father, who died in a German prison, was reported to the Nazis by an anonymous woman, her rage hits a boiling point. The suspect, Hazel Le Tourneur, denies the accusation but has a motive for wanting Jean’s father gone. Then, when Hazel catches Jean secretly meeting with a German soldier, the women form an unexpected bond in the face of ruinous consequences. With tension running high and secrets at every turn, the truth behind the accusations may be more complicated than anyone could imagine.
1
Jersey, Channel Islands
June 1945
Excitement billowed down the street. It poured out of every doorway and crackled in the air, tickling the back of people’s necks, beckoning everyone into this thrilling, historic morning. And what a morning! Yesterday’s storm had vanished north over the English Channel, leaving bright sunshine and a powder blue sky. Now the whole of St Helier was waiting, rinsed and gleaming, impatient with anticipation. A stiff southwesterly gusted through the streets of the town, carrying on it the faint murmur of a distant, chattering crowd, and standing on her front path to breathe it all in, Jean felt a surge of genuine optimism. She ran her fingers through her mousy hair to revive its sagging shape, tugged at her jacket to make sure that the moth hole in her blouse was hidden, then called back into the house:
“Mum! Hurry up, or we’ll get stuck at the back.”
Violet Parris shuffled out, her ancient leather handbag perched carefully on her arm. Jean watched as she turned, methodically, to lock the Chubb. It was a habit that recent years had ingrained, and with pilfering still rife around the parish, it made sense to be cautious, though everyone missed the days of open front doors. “Things will settle down by Christmas,” people kept saying. And perhaps they would. Jean took in the pallid face beneath the battered felt hat and considered what a frail, brittle figure her mother cut these days, the anxious, darting eyes and slight stoop of constant burden more pronounced in sunlight than in the gloom of the house. Certainly, most people would have guessed her to be older than forty-six. But then, Jean supposed, every living soul on this island had aged a lifetime in the last five years. She felt a sudden urge to reach out and hug her mum tightly but, knowing Violet would balk at such a display, offered her arm instead.
They set off at a pace that Jean calculated her mother could maintain for the half-mile walk. The street was filled with the sound of garden gates clanging as women shooed husbands and children onto the pavement, reknotting ties and smoothing errant hairs before scuttling toward the town center. One or two of them carried folded Union Jacks ready to unfurl at the crucial moment, and Jean felt a pang of envy; their own flag had been used for kindling back in the winter, and no replacements could be bought now. But then, it would be inappropriate for the family to appear in any way frivolous. Jersey was a small island. People liked to talk.
By the time they reached the end of Bath Street, the roads were already thick with people heading for the Royal Square. At the corner of the covered market on Halkett Place, two streams of moving bodies became a human river, pushing the two of them along like paper boats, and Jean wished again that they had set off earlier. As a woman behind stumbled slightly, forcing them both forward, she felt her mother’s fingers tighten on her arm; quickly, Jean tugged her away from the melee toward a quiet side street and leaned her mother against the concrete wall, supplying a handkerchief, which Violet immediately dabbed across her forehead.
“All right?”
Violet shook her head. “So many people. Why didn’t we go down the Albert Pier, see the SS Jamaica coming in, or find a place along the Esplanade?” Jean, who had suggested these exact choices last night, merely took the dampened handkerchief back and tucked it into her sleeve. As she did so, her eyes fell on the shop front, a small bakery set halfway down the turning. The display window had been boarded up to replace the shattered glass, but evidently the vandals had returned for a second visit, because now a huge swastika was painted on the plywood in black pitch. She glanced at her mother and saw that she too had become transfixed by it.
Violet jerked her chin a little. “Collaborators.” Jean nodded. What had the proprietors done to earn such a reputation? Had they served German soldiers their bread? Fraternized with them? She imagined the angry faces of men rushing toward the shop in the dead of night, bricks and rocks in their hands. What had happened to this island in such a few short weeks?
Liberation Day, less than a month earlier, had been the most significant, emotional event that any islander, young or old, had ever experienced. The most longed-for day in their history had come at last, and, with the arrival of a British task force in the harbor and the official surrender of the German military, five brutal years of Nazi occupation had finally come to an end. So long and arduous had the Occupation been—Jean was a schoolgirl of just fourteen when it began—that for the first week of freedom she had found the transformation impossible to take in. To be able to leave the house without curfew…to speak fearlessly on the street without fear of spies or listen to the BBC news on a neighbor’s radio! But best of all was the joy of eating a proper meal again, as the British army unloaded crate after crate of supplies, and the Red Cross ship Vega brought more relief parcels. Given the near starvation of the previous year, extravagances such as tinned meat, lard for cooking, sugar and tea had moved them to tears of relief as they unpacked their box. The taste of raspberry jam, spooned straight from the jar in a moment of pure elation, would stay with her forever.
Yet those early days had also brought bewilderment. After years of inertia, with entire months punctuated by nothing but the tedious struggle for food and fuel, Liberation brought a tornado of welcome but exhausting developments. They had dutifully exchanged their reichsmarks for sterling at the local bank and watched the mines being cleared from the beaches; they had read public announcements that the non-native islanders deported by the Germans in the autumn of 1942 had been flown back to England, and that their return was imminent. They had even received, at long last, a letter from Jean’s older brother, Harry, released from service and now back home with his own family in Chelmsford. Horrified at the long-belated news of his father’s arrest, Harry spoke of his frustration at being cut off from all island information for so long but, to Jean’s delight, promised that he would visit as soon as regular transport services resumed. Encouraged by a sense of returning normality, she and her mother would sit at the kitchen table of an evening, cutting out every significant article from the Evening Post and pasting them all into a scrapbook for posterity. And as they pasted, in a whispered voice too soft for the fickle fates to hear, Jean would dare to speak of the coming weeks and the news from the continent that even now might be on its way. Violet would nod and smile, but rarely responded. Hope, Jean calculated, was too heavy a burden for this exhausted woman in the final length of a horrendous journey; better for Jean to button her lip and direct her own dreams into the rhythmic movements of her pasting brush.
Not all the recent news was good. Among the celebratory headlines and the public announcements had been other, troubling pieces. Dreadful photographs of murderous Nazi camps where untold numbers had died. Accounts of local “jerrybags”—island women who slept with German soldiers—chased through the streets by marauding gangs who shaved their heads and stripped them naked. Reports of the island’s insurmountable debts. And one terrifying front-page report of a local father and son, deported eighteen months earlier, who had both perished during their incarceration. After reading these, Jean would retire to her bed and lie awake for hours in the grip of a dark, low-level panic, until falling into a fitful sleep just as the sun rose. She told no one about this, especially not her mother. She could not pinpoint the exact moment when she had assumed the maternal role in their relationship, and suspected it had crept up on them over many months. But Jean now knew instinctively that her mother’s shaking fingers indicated that Jean would need to peel the vegetables for dinner, or that Violet’s single, hot tear on her book’s page in the quiet of the evening required a hot drink and an early night. There would be time enough for her own feelings, Jean told herself, when this nightmare came to an end, which it surely would soon. So today, despite the sight of the boarded-up bakery and the unsettling feelings it brought, Jean squeezed out a comforting smile and placed a hand on her mother’s arm.
“We can just go home now, if you want.” Jean thought of their still, gray kitchen at the rear of the still, gray house and dreaded her mother’s nod. But Violet just gave a little frown.
“No, we’ve come this far. Come on.”
The Royal Square was, as expected, heaving with people.
Men, women and children were squashed together like blades of grass and stewards had placed barriers across the middle of the square to contain the crowd. Jean dragged her mother through the jostling bodies and, instructing Violet to hang on to the back of her jacket and not let go, began to slither her way through the crush, making the most of any tiny gap. She smiled helplessly at any gentleman in her path until he retreated, and threw apologetic backward looks when she trod on someone’s foot or dislodged their hat, until they found themselves only two heads back from the barrier just as the official cars pulled into the square. A huge cheer tore through the crowd, and by standing on her tiptoes and craning her neck Jean managed to find a sliver of a clear view.
The cars lined up outside the library. A young, uniformed Tommy opened the door of the shining black Ford. And suddenly there they were. Right there on the pavement in front of the States of Jersey government buildings, not thirty feet away, all the way from Buckingham Palace—the King and Queen! Jean gazed at King George, resplendent in his uniform, as he was greeted by low-bowing Crown officials. The Queen, magnificent in a feathered tam hat and draped decorously in a fox fur, accepted a huge bouquet of Jersey carnations, waving graciously. The cheers around the square were thunderous now, with snatches of patriotic songs breaking out here and there. Jean looked at her mother and saw her own excitement reflected back. But at that moment a woman next to them wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and grinned at Violet.
“Isn’t it marvelous? I can’t believe it!’
Jean felt her mother’s body stiffen beside her as she dredged up a suitable courtesy. “Yes, wonderful.”
“It’s over, really over! We can start living again!”
Jean watched Violet’s mouth turn to a grim line of sandbagged wretchedness. By the time her bottom lip began to tremble, Jean knew it was over—public tears were a humiliation that could not be tolerated, and the window of fake composure was closing fast. With one last reluctant look at the royal couple, Jean put her arm around her mother’s waist and pushed out through the crowd until they were both back on the high street, breathless and unsteady. In the doorway of a shop, shielding her from passersby, Jean again offered her handkerchief, and this time Violet pressed it across her face as she sobbed into it for several moments, emanating tiny stuttering sounds like a wounded animal. Eventually the shaking eased, and she took a deep breath.
“Sorry. It was just what that woman said.”
Jean rubbed her arm. “I know. But it can’t be long now. For all we know Dad’s already on his way home. Could be out there on a boat right this minute.”
Violet nodded and managed a small wet smile. Jean, working hard to hide her disappointment at missing this once-in-a-lifetime spectacle, again offered her arm, and the two of them began the slow walk back to the house, Jean’s mind whirring. Was it right to offer such optimism? No one knew if her father was actually on his way home. It was fifteen months since he’d stepped onto that German prison boat, headed God knows where. Twelve months since his last letter. And not a word from the authorities since Liberation. She told herself they had no choice but to believe, but one thing was certain—the Occupation was far from over. Not for them.
Excerpted from Beyond Summerland by Jenny Lecoat. Copyright © 2024 by Jenny Lecoat. Published by Graydon House Books, an imprint of HarperCollins.
Buy Links:
HarperCollins: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/beyond-summerland-jenny-lecoat
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/beyond-summerland-jenny-lecoat/1144022096
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Summerland-Jenny-Lecoat/dp/1525831542
Social Links:
Author website: https://www.jennylecoat.com/
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20096261.Jenny_Lecoat?from_search=true&from_srp=true
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JennyLecoat
| Jenny Lecoat was born in Jersey, Channel Islands, where her parents were raised under German Occupation and were involved in resistance activity. Lecoat moved to England at 18, where, after earning a drama degree, she spent a decade on the alternative comedy circuit as a feminist stand-up. She also wrote for newspapers and women’s magazines (Cosmopolitan, Observer), worked as a TV and radio presenter, before focusing on screenwriting from sitcom to sketch shows. A love of history and factual stories and a return to her island roots brought about her feature film Another Mother’s Son (2017). She is married to television writer Gary Lawson and now lives in East Sussex. Her debut novel, The Girl from the Channel Islands, was an immediate New York Times bestseller. |
This is Jenny Lecoat’s second work of historical fiction. She has again written a dramatic and involving story. The novel is set on Jersey. Many may not know that the island was occupied by the Nazis which, of course, led to a difficult life for the islanders with subsequent issues of loyalty, collaboration and more. When the war ended there were many complex personal situations left in its wake.
This novel tells the story of two of these women and those around them. They are Jean and Hazel. Their stories and connections will engage readers in this work of historical fiction with a bit of mystery and an involving plot.
Note that the author’s parents experienced life under the Nazis. This adds a deep understanding to the author’s work.
Many thanks to NetGalley and HTP for this title. All opinions are my own.
BEYOND SUMMERLAND
Author: Jenny Lecoat
Publication Date: July 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781525831546
Format: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Harlequin Trade Publishing / Graydon House
Price $18.99
#TheLondonHouse #NetGalley
I have read and enjoyed a number of this author’s earlier novels. In my opinion, Ms. Reay’s first foray into historical fiction has been most successful. I recommend this dual time line story, even knowing that there are many such novels that take a look at WWII, just as this one does.
Caroline, the Caroline of the present, is trying to be a good daughter. She has left law school so that she can be available to her father who has a serious illness. She finds satisfaction in her work for a pharmaceutical company whose products will, she feels, help others.
Caroline has a bit of a tough back story. She has a rather successful brother but lost a sister in a tragedy. This ripples into Caroline’s feelings about her family and theirs about her. Further, Caroline’s mom has been living in England and they have unresolved issues.
When Caroline hears from Mat, a college friend, she is thrown into a family mystery. Was Caroline’s aunt, also name Caroline, a traitor or not? What happened in her relationship with her identical twin (and present day Caroline’s grandmother) Margaret that led them to grow apart? Follow along as Mat and Caro learn more while in London.
The story is told through narrative but also through letters and diary entries. Readers enjoy a contemporaneous view of the events that shape Caro and Margo’s world. Early in the novel, Margo worries about the war while Caro, who is enjoying life in Paris, seems less worried by the behavior of Hitler. Margo spends time at the family country estate; after being ill she retreats and loses some of her gusto; will this change? Carol works for Elsa Schiaparelli. I enjoyed learning more about this fashion house and its unique designs, influenced in part by Dali. What will Caro do when she returns (at least temporarily) to England?
No spoilers, so readers will need to pick up the novel to find out what happened to Caro and Margo. They will see how these events played out in the lives of Caroline’s parents and in Caroline’s own world as well.
This is historical fiction done well. I recommend The London House.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.
#ReturntoVirginRiver #NetGalley
Robyn Carr wrote her first Virgin River novel back in 2007. Many books followed before Ms. Carr moved to other series including Thunder Point and Sullivan’s Crossings. Perhaps the author was inspired to return to Virgin Riven because of the TV series that is now on Netflix. Whatever the motivation, long term readers of the Virgin River novels will undoubtedly be happy to return. They know that they can count on good people, a nice community and a love story.
This novel is about Kaylee and Landry. Kaylee is an author of suspense novels who is experiencing writer’s block following the death of her mother. Through family friends, she chooses to travel to Virgin River in the hope that she will finish her novel. No spoiler to say that she does and even that she moves into a new genre, that she falls in love and that some unexpected things happen to her. That is the Virgin River formula.
Kaylee’s romantic foil is Landry, an artist and dog trainer. He helps Kaylee to overcome her fear of dogs and to move forward even as she recognizes that she will always miss her mom.
The relationship that Kaylee had with her mom is lovingly described and maybe even idealized a bit. I suspect that many readers will wish for the same closeness, acceptance and encouragement that Kaylee’s mom gave her.
There are other characters in Kaylee’s orbit but readers will perhaps most enjoy that the names of all the characters from the earlier novels are called out here. While many make an appearance, it is Jack and Mel who are most featured.
As an extra treat, the story is seasonal. Readers will enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas in this most perfect of towns. I especially enjoyed the description of the tree lighting.
This is a sweet novel. I don’t know if Robyn Carr will write about Virgin River again. Regardless, this novel is a gift to her fans.
An additional bonus in the novel is a section describing the making of the TV series and Ms. Carr’s visit to the set. There is also a long excerpt from one of her other novels.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.
An e book bargain
Often WWII historical novels take place in France or Germany. However, the European front was not the only location where battles were fought. Novels have also been written about the code breaking that took place at Bletchley Park. However, this is the first time that I have read a WWII novel that involves breaking Japanese ciphers.
In her latest book, Ms. Ackerman has readers enter into the stakes of the war immediately as they meet Isabel. Isabel is in DC where she strives to decode Japanese messages. She is a bright and somewhat quirky young woman. For example, when her brain is humming, she literally wants to hum as well. Isabel’s life has been influenced by deep loss. Readers will viscerally feel the tornado that leads to her first reasons to mourn. Isabel also has lost her brother in the war. She longs to be in Hawaii so that she can learn more about what happened to him.
It is not a spoiler to say that Isabel goes to Hawaii. After all, all of the author’s historical novels take place there. Readers will eagerly follow Isabel’s life there as Pearl Harbor events unfold. Especially intriguing is the male character who enters the story. He is a “hotshot” pilot, a friend of Isabel’s dead brother and a man with his own story. Will he and Isabel come together?
As is often the case in historical novels, there is a dual story and timeline. Lu’s story takes place in the 60s as a luxury Rockefeller hotel is about to open, again in Hawaii. A guest goes missing. Lu links up with her own male counterpart. How will their stories intersect with that of Isabel? Readers will most definitely want to know.
I very much enjoyed this novel. It contains both mystery and romance in each of the time periods. I recommend this one to those who read WWII fiction and are looking for something new.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 02 August 22
NOTE: There is a book tour blog entry for this title in the archive at http://www.joycesmysteryandfictionbookreviews.wordpress.com
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|---|---|---|
| The Lieutenant’s Nurse | Red Sky Over Hawaii | Radar Girls | The Codebreaker’s Secret | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| More historical fiction by Sara Ackerman |
“Beautifully structured and well-told with authentic historical detail, interesting relationships, and the mystery of two young women who go missing from the same spot 22 years apart, this is another top historical novel by Ackerman.” —Booklist (starred)
An e book bargain
#NoStrangersHere #NetGalley
No Strangers Here is the first entry in a new series by Carlene O’Connor. It is the start of some titles by this author that move away from the cozy genre.
Dimpna is a vet who left Dingle (where she grew up) a number of years ago. During the time she was away, Dimpna raised a son from whom she has kept a very big secret, married but found that scandal surrounded her husband, and was left struggling. She decided to return to Dingle, where a man had been murdered, her parents were suspects, it wasn’t clear if an old friend could be trusted, and more.
The body is found with a message. Does it mean what Dimpna thinks it might? How deeply will she be drawn into events and what will it be like to see an old friend with police connections as well as interact with the detective on the case? As can be guessed by this description a lot goes on in these pages.
I enjoyed this book. I will look forward to the next in the series.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 25 October 2022
Praise for No Strangers Here
“This solid series launch from O’Connor takes a more somber approach to crime solving than her Irish Village mysteries…O’Connor adds plot twists that many won’t anticipate. Judicious use of Irishisms (“I swear to ye”) adds color. Readers will eagerly await what happens next in County Kerry.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Exciting, convoluted, and rich with compelling characters, this is the best of O’Connor’s Irish mysteries to date.” —Kirkus Reviews STARRED REVIEW
“Known for her cozies, O’Connor moves into darker territory here. For fans of Louise Penny.”
—Library Journal
NOTE: A free sneak peek is available on Amazon.
Dorothea Benton Frank loves the Carolina Lowcountry. The setting is as much a part of her novels as any of the characters. She encourages readers, wherever they live, to fetch a glass of sweet tea, put their feet up and enjoy a summer read.
This novel is about Holly, her sister Leslie, their mother QB (Queen Bee) and all those with whom they interact. The people in their lives include two adorable boys who live next door and their widowed father, Archie; Leslie’s husband Charles who likes to dress in women’s clothes, the new love of QB’s life and… as you read, you will also find out who is Holly’s true love.
Holly is a beekeeper. As a result there are loads of fascinating facts about honeybees in the novel. They add to the quality of the story. Readers will enjoy watching Holly find her strengths and her voice even as she chats to her bees.
This novel is a most pleasant read and I recommend it.
A couple of my favorite quotes:
If I haven’t learned anything else this whole year, I learned that love comes in every color, shape and size.
That’s what it is to live in the Lowcountry. The colors are a little brighter. The air is a little sweeter.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book in exchange for an honest review.
Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too! 