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

#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.

The hot books of summer 2024 as chosen by the editors of Publishers Weekly. Picks for fiction, mystery, memoir, romance, children’s books, YA, graphic novels, picture books, middle grade
— Read on best-books.publishersweekly.com/pw/best-books/summer-reads-2024

Many would acknowledge that we are currently living in a time of deep unease, uncertainty and strife. It can feel quite discouraging as people clash with one another, there are wars, elections, court cases, environmental issues and more to unsettle us. Some may call the overall resultant feeling doom.

The author of this entry in the Essentials series defines doom as the “un-peaceful, uneasy, unwanted feeling” that “we humans have made a mess of our civilization and our planet, and not enough of us seem to care enough to change deeply enough or quickly enough to save ourselves.” In this book, the author looks at this complex topic from a vareiety of perspectives. He offers a guide and reflection in these pages to what he calls “wisdom and courage for a world falling apart.”

Chapter title include Letting Go, Letting Be, Letting Come and Setting Free. There is much to think about and readers may see the world and their actions in it differently upon finishing. Look at the questions that the author provides for the reader to think about in each section.

This book does not offer an easy read. It does, however, provide an important one.

Note that the author is a pastor so writes from this perspective.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this title. All opinions are my own.

Three stars ⭐⭐⭐

#LanguageIsFun #NetGalley

This book offers an appealing way to teach young kids about the importance of vowels. A, E, I, O, U are not sure that they will be comfortable playing with the consonants because, as vowels, they are different. Kids will learn why and why letters want to be friends with them.

This book is a title in a good series that teaches kids some basics about grammar.

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

Pub date: 10 September 2024

#OffTheAirBook #NetGalley

Off the Air is, I hope, the first of a series. Debut author, Christina Estes, does a great job with creating her characters, setting and storyline. I enjoyed that the novel takes readers into the world of journalists. I loved learning more about how the news we hear and see comes to us.

Protagonist, Jolene, is a TV news reporter in the southwest. As it turns out, she was the last person to interview Larry Lemmon, a talk show host who was not universally loved. When he is murdered there will be suspects and red herrings.

Justine wants this story. She really does! Will she solve the case? Find out here in a novel that has already won a Tony Hillerman prize. You can’t go wrong.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press-Minotaur for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 06 March 2024

Within the pages of this title readers will find a cornucopia of delights. There are so many places to see here. For each, there is an illustration, some history and a comment. Go everywhere from the Brooklyn Museum to Greenfield Village to the Mob Museum to the Shelburne Museums and many, many more.

This is a fun book to look through at random. For those who want to focus, there are chapter headings that help to give the reader organized.

I found this to be a delightful book.

Many thanks to Chronicle Books amd MetGalley for this title. All opinions are my own.

Five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Here is the most adorably illustrated book that will teach kids about punctuation. The Punctuation Family has just moved to town so Exclamation Point, Question Mark, Period, and Comma go to school to meet the letters. What will they do there? Kids will enjoy finding out.

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

This book was published in 2019.

The Traitor Beside Her is the second title in Evans’s WWII set series. (First in the series was The Physicist’s Daughter.) It offers an enjoyable read.

As the novel opens, Justine is working as a welder and training for secret missions. What does she see at her job as the story begins and what does that mean? This will lead readers right into the story and Justine’s new assignment.

Justine will be incognito as Smantha Ogletree, appearing as the daughter of a Southern minister and his wife. Her cover job is to be the the assistant to a Doctor Van Dorn in the German section at Arlington Hall, a place where cryptologists work. Of course, Justine is really there to figure out who is “The Traitor Beside Her.” Plans change however and readers will find out why.

Some favorite characters appear again in this story. They include Georgette, Paul and Jerry.

Readers will hope for Justine’s success as she tackles espionage, murder and maybe some romance. There is much to enjoy here.

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

Note: This book can be enjoyed even if a reader has not read the first in the series.

Pub date: 06 June 2023

THE PHYSICISTS DAUGHTER

There have been so many WWII set novels in recent years. I am not sure when a saturation point will be reached but it hasn’t arrived yet. Even among many WWII novels though, this one stood out for me. There are a few reasons for this.

First, the story is based in the U.S. It is set in Louisiana. I don’t know of any other WWII books with this setting. Second, I found the characters intriguing. Protagonist, Justine, is the daughter of two physicists and the goddaughter of a third one. She works in a war plant. What is being produced there and why is carbon involved? Who wants to sabotage this workplace?

That popular term, plucky, applies to Justine but she has more going for her thn just that; in addition she is bright and has unique talents for a woman in her time. She is a welder who is called upon to make emergency repairs to the factory’s equipment. Why is it always breaking down? Someone has died because of one of the industrial incidents.

The story is filled with characters both good and bad. Justine has quite a sexist boss. She has good friends including a fellow worker and boarding house resident. Justine herself is multifaceted and I enjoyed spending time with her.

This book pays tribute (literally in the book’s introduction) to the many women scientists whose contributions have impacted us. The novel has been carefully researched by the author.

I recommend this title to those who enjoy historical fiction and mysteries. I hope that there will be further additions to this series.

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

⭐⭐⭐⭐

As a reader, I have been on quite a journey with this author and her character Maggie Hope, sometimes known as Paige Kelly. This title is the last and eleventh in the series that began with Mr. Churchill’s Secretary. Over the course of the novels, Maggie has taken on new jobs, new relationships, new challenges and also has experienced risks and loss. She feels like a friend to me and I will miss her. (or maybe I will just begin again with book one and keep going).

In many of these titles, real people intersect with the fictional ones in the story. This time, Coco Chanel is just one of those real people along with her German lover. Anyone who watched the Apple series on Chanel and Dior will recognize the way that she is portrayed here. How will her life intersect with Maggie’s this time? The two have history from an earlier book.

Maggie is tasked with going to Spain by none other than Kim Philby. People who know their history may have some idea about what this might mean. Maggie is told to assassinate a prominent German scientist to prevent his work on atomic bombs going forward. Will she do what is expected of her?

Just one person Maggie meets along the way is a famous bullfighter. There are people from the embassy and a rich and full cast of characters here.

In addition, there are developments in Maggie’s personal life in this story. No spoilers so no more to be said.

All in all, the author has ended the series in a most satisfying way. Nonetheless, I am sorry to say good-bye.

I recommend this title highly but note that readers may want to enjoy some of the earlier title first.

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

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