What a concept! Imagine you are on a plane. You have your reasons for being there, things that you are thinking about and have settled in. Imagine that in the midst of whatever you are doing, a woman stands in front of you and tells you when you will die and of what. How would you react? How intense would that be? This is the monumental basis for Moriarty’s latest novel. No spoiler-she spectacularly pulls it off.
Get to know many characters. They are of different ages, sexes, experiences. How will they move forward when they have this information? Will it be true? Who is the woman making the predictions? Read this long (500 plus pages) novel that is divided into many short sections to find out. See if it will change you.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.
Peter James has written many Roy Grace thrillers. I am among, what I suspect, are the very few not to have read them. I made up for this with The Hawk is Dead, a title that I thoroughly enjoyed. I trust that I will make my way to the author’s backlist post haste.
There was much that I loved in this novel that is based on a killing that took place after a train on which Queen Camilla was traveling was derailed. Who was the intended victim? Whodunnit? Why? Find out while enjoying this lengthy (over 500 pages) title.
The plot was involving, the characters (including the Royals) well drawn, the settings vivid and the detection involving. So much to like here.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for this title. All opinions are my own.
About the Author (from the Amazon website)
PETER JAMES is a New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author best known for his crime thrillers featuring Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, who Queen Camilla recently named as her favourite fictional detective. Praised by critics and much loved by crime and thriller fans for his fast-paced page-turners full of unexpected plot twists, sinister characters, and accurate portrayal of modern-day policing, he has won more than 40 awards for his work, including the WHSmith Best Crime Author of All Time Award and the Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger.
His books have sold over 23 million copies worldwide, achieved 21 Sunday Times No 1s, and have been translated into 38 languages. His Roy Grace novels are currently filming their 6th season for the hit ITV drama, Grace, starring John Simm as the troubled Brighton copper and available to view on ITVX and on Britbox.
Seven of his novels have been adapted into hit stage plays, with his most recent, Picture You Dead, now on national tour in the UK. His plays have have been named as “The most successful stage franchise since Agatha Christie.
A sweeping history of changing critical standards and values in American art across 200 years. Art lovers, perplexed why their favorite artists are no longer on the walls of their local museums, will understand why change is constant. All art lovers will find a cautionary lesson about the unpredictable future.
Each generation of experts believes its own taste is the last word.
As the author writes, “People are inclined to view past changes in taste as unique misjudgments that will not happen again…. How unthinking, how stupid, they think, not realizing that the pattern has been repeated again and again in the past and will be in the future. We now recognize that the process is a continual one. Each past canon was established for good reason; there are no mistakes, there is only history. Many of the favored artists of any period including our own will drop from favor, something that art dealers never tell their clients, or museum curators their boards.” Stebbins describes the taste and outlook of each generation through his extensive research on the critics, museum activities, and the art market of each era.
An entire section of the book is devoted to some of the most important collectors of the 20th century. Rejecting the typical curator’s role as a flatterer of collectors, Stebbins examines these collectors in depth for the first time, outlining their successes and failures and their quirky personalities. He takes a hard look at the warring brothers, Sterling and Steven C. Clark; the inhibited Grenville Winthrop who left over 4,000 works to Harvard; Maxim Karolik, the gifted Ukrainian Jew who miraculously created a new canon during the Second World War; and, more recently, the enormously wealthy Alice Walton who built a new, ambitious museum of American Art in Arkansas. Of special interest is the author’s explanation of the rise and fall of American Impressionism and of the role played by the New Yorkers Raymond and Margaret Horowitz in this development.
This important volume concludes with several chapters devoted to the aesthetic standards that came to dominate the art world in recent years. At their core is a new emphasis on diversity, and a greatly expanded effort to showcase Black and women artists. Nearly every museum with collections of American art took this direction. Stebbins describes the successes and failures of many of these museums’ efforts to reinstall their collections and redefine their audiences, from the Met and the Philadelphia Museum of Art on the East Coast, to Houston and San Francisco. Most importantly, he explores the question of whether the old ideal of seeking quality in art needs to be sacrificed to the aim of diversity.
The author, Theodore E. Stebbins, Jr., was in the center of every development in American art collecting and exhibitions from the 1960s to well into the 2000s, as curator of American art at the Yale University Art Gallery, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Harvard Art Museum. He is the author of twenty-five books on nearly every important American painter starting with Copley. Stebbins is uniquely able to put recent shifts in the canon within the context of regular, generational shifts in taste that tell us much about the value that is placed on art—including who decides what matters and why. In this book, he presents a new way of looking at American art, and he doesn’t pull his punches.
Profusely illustrated, deeply informed, fascinating and controversial, Rethinking American Art is indispensable for those seeking an understanding of American art and art collecting.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“I cannot think of another book like this—both in its descriptions of the influential critics and curators of the past and its insider’s perspective on a handful of key American art collectors. Bringing older notions of ‘quality’ and ‘masterpiece’ into the present, Stebbins also tracks the current generational shift, reviewing without partisan rancor the scholarly and cultural changes that have rocked American museums and classrooms in the last two decades. The profiles of collectors he knew personally are touching; his familiarity with dealers and the art market is invaluable. This is a book the field of American art has been waiting for.” —Dr. Kathleen Foster, Curator of American Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art
“Ted Stebbins and I have been friends for fifty years. He has long been a guide to Carolyn and me in the world of American art. His help has been extraordinary. I value his judgment and his integrity. All of his recommendations have been outstanding and with great perspective. This book is a great read.” —Peter Lynch, investor, philanthropist, collector
“Ted Stebbins has written a book of keen insight and clear analysis, filled with cautionary tales for the future. He has done so with a keen respect for the past, and a brilliant and ever-present engagement with the wonders of art. He writes of works of art as if he is seeing each for the first time, with a freshness and enthusiasm that helps us to see and understand. He recalls with clarity and discernment the many great individuals with whom he navigated institutions, and the marketplace, with a candor that will long be remembered. It is a memoir that, though steeped in history and memory, anticipates the future with boundless, inspiring energy.” —Matthew Teitelbaum, Director Emeritus, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
“Stebbins is our guide to the shifting canon of painters that he actively helped redefine. Stebbins’s shrewd purchases for museums, his original exhibitions, his teaching and his persuasive writing have changed the field of American studies. He’s known practically everybody in that field. His sharp portraits of collectors and dealers, competitors and colleagues, make for entertaining reading.” —John Walsh, Director Emeritus, Getty Museum
“This highly informative and deeply insightful book beautifully charts the many ways American art has been appreciated, studied, valued, collected—and ultimately judged—across time. Stebbins, employing the knowledge and wisdom gained from more than 60 years as a preeminent scholar and curator of American art, provides a meticulously researched and documented history that is engagingly enriched by personal knowledge and experience. I know of no one who could have told this story more eloquently.” —Franklin Kelly, Deputy Director and Chief Curator, National Gallery of Art (retired)
“I was Director of American Paintings at Sotheby’s from 1976-2008, years of great growth in the field. Ted Stebbins was the one museum curator who attended virtually every auction preview, closely examining every painting, as well as contributing his scholarship to us on numerous occasions. His book is a thorough investigation into all facets of the American art world, both in depth and with great insight. Truly a treasured resource.” —Peter Rathbone, former Director of American Paintings, Sothebys
My thoughts:
This book will be welcomed by those who have a serious interest in American art. It is beautifully formatted and a bit pricey. It is worth it though. This title is gorgeously filled with American art and the text is quite readable.
Rethinking American Art belongs in college libraries and private collections.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Godine for this title. All thoughts are my own.
Samuel Burr has written a lovely book and one that I very much enjoyed. Here is a story about friendship, community, figuring out one’s life and the ways in which life might puzzle us.
The premise is that Pippa, a superb cruciverbalist, wants to form a group for those who love puzzles in all their guises. This leads to the collection of characters and eccentricities that fill these pages.
When Pippa was well past child bearing age, a child was left on her doorstep. He was in a hatbox (pay attention to this). Pippa took on parenting him as did the other fellowship members (each of which has a special talent). The time comes when Clayton, now grown, goes on a quest to learn more about his origins. Readers and he learn much in the process.
Readers will hope for Clayton’s happiness. They may be surprised by some of the details of the story. For example, Pippa adored Danielle Steel and had all of her novels. Her friend Nancy frequently reread them as well. Will this be significant? What other clues will Clayton find as he tries to solve what might be his biggest puzzle?
Anyone who enjoys a touching story should reach for this one. Those who loved The Wishing Game as much as I did will find much to enjoy here as well.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Vintage Anchor-Doubleday for this title. All opinions are my own.
I do note that in the beginning it was a bit difficult to keep the characters straight. Readers can trust that it will all come together and don’t need to worry about this.
This title was published in April 2024.
From the publisher:
READERS GUIDE
Teeming with heart, humor, and lovably eccentric characters, The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers is a moving, wildly clever, and life-affirming triumph about finding one’s place in the world.
Right up until her death at age ninety-two, life was a fabulous puzzle for crossword doyenne Pippa Allsbrook. The missing piece was Clayton. He’s the infant she found tucked in a hatbox twenty-five years earlier and raised among the brainiest, quirkiest extended family a boy could imagine: the riddlers, jigsaw artists, maze designers, and codebreakers in Pippa’s collective, the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers.
It’s so like Pippa to leave Clayton with one last puzzle: that of his own personal history and the fates that led him to the Fellowship. For Clayton, this is his chance to figure out where in the world he belongs. Clue by clue, he’s also discovering more about Pippa’s past and where his future lies. Like all great puzzles, it won’t be simple. But nothing worth solving ever is. The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers is a poignant and exuberant debut novel about finding human connections at the crosswords of life.
The following questions are designed to enrich your book club’s discussion of The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers and illuminate its themes of family, secrets, and coming of age—no matter how late that might be.
Questions and Topics for Discussion
1. In Pippa’s Fellowship, she found her people. In what ways does the Fellowship mirror the communal experience and commonalities of your own reading group?
2. One of the first challenges for the Fellowship (and for readers) is the cryptogram on page 40. How many of you tried to solve it before reading on? And in what ways does the solution—In the end we only regret the chances we didn’t take—reflect the journeys of the characters?
3. On page 5, Pippa describes finding the infant Clayton as “miraculous” and a “solution she’d spent a lifetime searching for.” To what problem in Pippa’s life is his appearance a solution?
4. At first, Clayton bristles at the idea of Pippa’s game “from the beyond the grave” (on page 9) Why does Pippa think Clayton still needs to be challenged?
5. The motto of Pippa, the cryptic queen, is Veni, Vidi, Solvi—I Came, I Saw, I Solved (on page 23). That certainly sums up the Fellowship, but how does it also apply to life?
6. Though brilliantly skilled, Pippa says that in her younger years she always felt invisible. In what ways does establishing the Fellowship finally make her feel seen?
7. The puzzles, mazes, and brain games of the Fellowship aren’t just for enjoyment’s sake; they help, as Pippa says on page 31, to make “sense of the world around us.” How is that true of the word games you yourself indulge in for fun?
8. On the one hand, Clayton is intrigued about following his mother’s clues toward the discovery of his past. That’s understandable. But do you also understand his apprehension?
9. Clayton, having been raised among people considerably older than him, dresses, feels, and acts older than he is. In what ways does he still have growing up to do? Other than his biological parenthood, what aspects of life has he yet to learn and discover?
10. Operating in a man’s world, Pippa took joy in confounding people’s expectations of her. When was the last time you confounded someone else’s expectations? How did it play out for you?
11. One of the reasons for the Fellowship partaking in puzzles is the pleasure of routine. What routines do you have in your life? What are the ones you’re unconscious of? Aware of? And those you can’t imagine living without?
12. Why do you think Clayton has difficulty in making human connections? In your own life, even in this reading group, are you eager to make new connections? Or do you tend to wait for someone else to do the connecting?
13. Clue words during Clayton’s quest include adventures, appearance, dared, anger, remorse, and anew. How did they apply to Clayton in his quest?
14. Ultimately, Pippa just wanted Clayton to find a zest for life. Why did she think he’d lost it? How did she help? In what ways did Clayton help himself on his journey of self-discovery?
15. In the end, Pippa wonders if there is one clear path to happiness or, as Earl the mazemaker puts it on page 321, it’s a matter of “moving forwards or backwards, sideways even.” How true is that of Pippa’s and Clayton’s journeys?
16. Before reading the novel, were you already a “gamer”? Or were the cryptograms, word games, crosswords, mazes, and brain teasers something new for you?
Suggested Reading
Other Recommended Novels Miss Benson’s Beetle, Rachel Joyce The Thursday Murder Club, Richard Osman River Sing Me Home, Eleanor Shearer A Single Thread, Tracy Chevalier Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus The Book of Secrets, Elizabeth Joy Arnold Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Nonfiction for Further Reading Why We Remember, Charan Ranganath, PhD Attached, Amir Levine, M.D., and Rachel S. F. Heller, M.A. The Charisma Myth, Olivia Fox Cabane Who Do You Think You Are?, Michelle Brock Incognito, David Eagleman
This absolutely gorgeous, WWI-set, historical fiction title is one to savor and read at a leisurely pace. At 448 pages in length, it is one that requires the reader’s time.
Oxford, England-right before war (WWI) breaks out. Two sisters (twins), Peggy and Maude, live on a narrowboat on a canal. They work at the Oxford University Press putting together the books that will one day be read. The job is tedious but, in compensation, Peggy takes home any books with faults, adding to an already large home library.
Maude has an undiagnosed condition that seems somewhat like what today would be called autism. She requires much supervision from Peggy as the story opens. Maude seems content to live in the moment while Peggy is aware of the academic life in Oxford and deeply wishes that she could be part of it.
Oxford-war has begun. A group of Belgian refugees come to work at the press; each has her own backstory. Much attention is given to Lotte, someone who bonds with Maude. Wounded soldiers also come to town and Peggy begins to read to them.
This is how the novel begins; it slowly entrances the reader who wants to spend time in this community and its wide range of characters. There are those who live on the water, those who work in publishing, Gwen (who has the life that Peggy seems to want), the Belgians and many others. Spending time with all of them is a wonderful experience.
Highly recommended to historical fiction readers. They will want to know how the lives of the characters unfold in friendship, family, work and love.
As an aside, those who are interested in how books were actually made in the days long before a digital world, will learn a great deal here. These details enhanced the reader’s ability to enter the characters’ worlds.
Note that the author has written one previous novel; readers may well want to look for that one as well.
Here is what Library Journal concluded in a starred review:
VERDICT Highly recommended for readers who enjoy historical fiction about strong women, like the works of Kate Quinn, Beatriz Williams, and Laura Willig.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
I started reading this novel soon after Serena Williams retired and when I had tennis on my brain. Carrie is not Serena but there is no doubt that tennis has defined her life. As the story opens, Carrie is at the U.S. Open waiting to see if her long held record for most wins will be shattered. From here the book moves back in time to when she first began playing and goes forward to the time of the book’s title.
I understand the basics of tennis but don’t have the knowledge base to know how accurate the descriptions in the matches played were. I know that they were deeply involving and that I always wondered how Carrie would do.
This novel, however, is not just about Carrie’s tennis but is also about Carrie. She has a rather hard and brittle shell and most although most everything about her has been about tennis, she has things to figure out. Readers get to know the people around her; there are those that she lets in to some degree. The most important one is her father who has shared Carrie’s dream. Another is a player on the male circuit named Bowe and, of course, many of the women players.
Along with a page turning story, this novel offers some food for thought. Are we our accomplishments? Does winning mean everything? How is it to have to deal with being in a constant limelight? What happens when a game that one started to play out of love becomes so dominant? No spoilers for the end of the book. Find out for yourself what happens to Carrie.
I recommend this title to tennis lovers, Taylor Jenkins Reid’s fan base and those who enjoy an involving story.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 30 August 2022
From the Publisher
Editorial Reviews
Review
“The books in Reid’s famous women quartet stand alone. . . . But each of the books centers a vibrant protagonist managing the tensions between her glamorous life in the public eye and the pressures she feels in private . . . with Reid meticulously collecting minute yet meaningful details to help build immersive worlds”—TIME
“Carrie Soto [Is Back] . . . is like other sports novels in which underdogs punch, volley, bat and birdie their way to victory or additional defeat, but it goes beyond this to explore sexism and racism in the tennis world in the 1990s. . . . This novel will grab you. You’ll tear through blow-by-blow descriptions of championship matches on some of the most famous tennis courts in the world. . . .”—The Washington Post
“An epic story about bravery, endurance, but also the power of vulnerability.”—BuzzFeed
“Reid . . . draws on the lives of actual tennis pros (think Serena, Sharapova) to build a world of believable rivalries and intrigue infused with the whiplash suspense of a nail-biting tennis match.”—People (Book of the Week)
“Nearly every Taylor Jenkins Reid novel reads like a survey course in some flagrantly glamorous specialty and era. . . . Come for the King Richard–level attention to the art of the game; stay for the more personal soap operas unfolding off the court, and the final score.”—Entertainment Weekly
One thing that I love about Sulari Gentill is that she never seems to rest on her laurels. I very much enjoyed her novels about Rowly Sinclair and his group of friends. These are historical mysteries, set in the 1930s, in a series that began with A Few Right Thinking Men. There are good characters who are good friends and good stories in each of the entries.
Ms. Gentill then began to write some standalone novels and stories set outside of Australia. These include After She Wrote Him, The Woman in the Library, and now, The Mystery Writer. Each has an intriguing and, perhaps quirky, story.
In this new book, Theo (Theodosia) has decided to leave law behind. She wants to be a novelist. When her mentor is killed and her brother becomes a suspect, the scene is set.
A few things to ponder…who was the murderer, where is Theo’s manuscript, and what secret things are happening? Get ready for the unraveling.
It is easy to recommend this one.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this title. All opinions are my own.
I was so delighted to receive an e-galley of this title which sounded magical and enchanting. It did not disappoint.
This is a story that, of course, required suspension of disbelief. I was quite willing. It was intriguing and fascinating to get my first glimpse of this special theater. Imagine seeing a sign advertising The Story of You and realizing that was really meant. Yes, Ellie and Drake are able to purchase ten tickets. Each one will yield a movie about a time in their lives, beginning when they were babies.
While this seems enticing, it also has its challenges. Drake is, initially, less than sold on the idea. What will Drake and Ellie learn? How will this knowledge impact them in their lives and relationships? Those looking for an absorbing read will want to find out.
Kirkus Reviews states: The highlight here is the cinema itself: funny, beautiful, and surreal.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
From the Publisher
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Weiss’s debut novel pulls back red velvet curtains to reveal an auditorium filled with nostalgia and a thought-provoking analysis of how the past shapes the present. This story seamlessly moves from past to present, dwelling upon the importance of love, grief, personal fears, and genuine acceptance. This tantalizing escape is more than a magical theater; it leads readers to consider the weight of past decisions and long-held secrets.” —Library Journal (starred review)
Weiss, in her debut novel, shows the destructive power of secrets and the healing power of vulnerability and acceptance in relationships. Readers will root for Drake and Ellie in this sweet and charming story of second chances. —Lynnanne Pearson, Booklist
Sophie Hannah has developed a reputation as the inheritor of Agatha Christie’s best known character. Christie’s estate gave Hannah the go ahead to write the new stories that feature Poirot and Inspector Catchpool. I think that many have enjoyed these novels. The Last Death of the Year is the sixth of these mysteries.
This time, Poirot and Catchpool are on a Greek Island (better December weather) with a group of characters that have come to live with a man with a vision. With such noble purpose, could something as dastardly as a murder occur? No spoiler…of course.
All who live on the dilapidated Nash Athanasiou’s estate agree to a set of rules, among which the most important is forgiveness for wrongs. The group who come to live here and to (supposedly) abide by this dictum is varied and complex. There are many backstories and interconnections among this group. When murder strikes, will Poirot be able to solve the case? No spoiler…yes, but I think that it will be very difficult for the reader to do so. Kirkus Reviews states:
Fans hoping to beat Poirot to the mind-bogglingly ingenious solution are well-advised to concede the competition in advance.
Those who want more Christie stories, those who like crime fiction set at the holiday period, those who want a clever story and those who want a fictional escape to a warmer climate in winter will want to pick this up.
Overall, I did enjoy this book. That said, it took a moment or two for me to get all of the characters straight in my mind and to decide if I cared enough about them.
Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this title. All opinions are my own.
Remain Silent is the third book in Susie Steiner’s Manon Bradshaw mystery series. I very much enjoyed this author’s first two novles in the series and was eager to read this one as well.
Remain Silent is, in some ways, a very tough read. It is the second book that I have finished recently that has a theme centering on the plight of illegal immigrants. Ms. Steiner portrays what happens to these characters including Matis, Lukas and others, with such brutal reality that it was painful to read. The message is an important one however and something that needs to be considered.
Manon herself can be acerbic, funny and a woman who makes many pithy parenthetical statements. In this book, Manon is overwhelmed with challenges. She has a young son, a teenaged son and a partner, Mark, who is in the hospital. Manon’s lament on how she wishes that she had been treating Mark better will strike a chord with anyone who has faced challenges in a relationship.
Around all of this, of course, there is a mystery. The murder is that of one of the immigrants and Manon is tasked with solving the case. Readers who have read the series will welcome back characters on her team including Davy.
SPOILER:
The afterword by the author reveals some of what she, herself, has been experiencing and this, too, has been quite sad and difficult.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in an excellent series in exchange for an honest review. I hope that Ms. Steiner will continue writing. She is a talented and clear eyed author.
Remain Silent is the third book in Susie Steiner’s Manon Bradshaw mystery series. I very much enjoyed this author’s first two novles in the series and was eager to read this one as well.
Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too! 