A new novel from this author is always most welcome! What I love about this series is not so much the mysteries, although those are well constructed, but the relationships among the characters and the ways in which the city of Venice is brought to life. Guido and Paola seem so real and affectionate with one another; they have a marriage that many would envy. Watching Guido and Paola with their children is a treat as is reading about their latest family dinner. Guido’s relationships with his extended family and work colleagues are also brought vividly to life.
In this book, a friend of the family who is elderly wants to adopt an adult male to be his heir. Will you as the reader feel empathy for this lonely man? All around wonder if this adoption is a good plan but he is determined and undeterred. Is this what leads to his and one other’s death? What are the reasons for what is happening? How are families constructed? They are not all like Guido’s.
For fans of Donna Leon, the chance to spend time with her will be a delight. New readers will also enjoy the book and will probably then look to read others in the series.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this good read. The opinions are mine alone.
Today, I went to my local botanical garden. I sat by a pond, read, stared into space, saw ducks, and heard and saw birds-not that I could identify them but I thoroughly enjoyed leaving city life behind and experiencing nature. I left feeling so much better than when I arrived.
Lili Taylor, a successful actor, has also come to enjoy spending time with and noticing birds. Here in beautiful essays, Taylor shares her observations with readers. They will be better for it. Hopefully, they will begin to pay attention too. They may even become acquainted with their “spark bird.”
Recommended to current and perspective nature lovers.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 29 April 2025
208 pages
Nature/Memoir
From the Publisher
Editorial Reviews
Review
“By turns introspective, inquisitive, and funny, the book is a love letter to nature and the solace it can provide.”—The New Yorker
“Lili Taylor has always been such a wonderful actor to watch—perhaps partly because of the watchful quality she so often brings to her characters. . . . In Turning to Birds, Taylor brings that sharp eye to her own backyard, chronicling her own pleasure at observing the birds at play there. Her enchantment by the various feathered beings whose lives she witnesses may be catching.”—The Boston Globe
“A profoundly relatable story about falling in love with the avian world.”—Audubon Magazine
Many readers will recognize that the title of this historical mystery refers to Julia Child and her classic cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. And indeed, most happily, Julia, her husband (Paul), and sister (nicknamed Dort) are all found in these pages. There is also a fictional character, Tabitha, who is nowhere near the cook that Julia is but who is a good friend to her.
The story takes place in the late 1940s in Paris so I was immediately inclined to like this book. The opening has Julia trying to figure out what is wrong with her mayonnaise. Soon, she will have much bigger problems. After a party at her apartment, a body is found in the basement area of Julia’s flat. The victim was a guest and the knife used to kill her came from Julia’s kitchen. Therese also was employed at the theater where Dort works.
Tabitha, the book’s amateur sleuth, has a father who was in the police. This makes her wanting to solve the case feel credible. She has come to Paris to spend time with her grandfather and his partner who becomes like an uncle to her. They add color and relationships to the story.
This book was entertaining and fun. I liked the setting, the characters, the food and the story. Kudos to the author. She has also written a series featuring Agatha Christie’s housekeeper showing how versatile she is. I have enjoyed her contributions to the historical mystery and recommend this title. I hope that this is the start of a series.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 25 April 2023 Mark your calendar
And the next in the series
This series began with last year’s Mastering the Art of French Murder. This second title is every bit as delightful.
Here is an historical mystery set in post WWII Paris. It features a fictional protagonist, Tabitha, and a friend of hers. That friend is the larger than life Julia Child. Together the two become involved in murderous situations.
This time, chefs should beware what they drink. Not too far into the novel, two have died after imbibing what should have been very special vintages. Tabitha and Julia are on the case even if the police inspector (and possible romantic interest for Tabitha) does not want their help.
What I like best in this book (and in the first one) is the evocation of Paris. When Tabitha and Julia visit a market it is easy to visualize the food and want to start cooking. And speaking of which, every time Julia is around food, and that is often, the book is so much fun.
Highly recommended to those who are foodies, those who love Paris and those who like historical mysteries. I hope there will be a third book soon
Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for this title. All opinions are my own.
Debbie Macomber has been writing women’s fiction for many years. She has a keen sense for what her fans want; this includes a family story, a romance, something heartwarming and nothing that is rated above PG…and she delivers.
In this story two single moms, Jenna and Maureen, have children who are growing up, leaving home and facing some adult issues…college, leaving college, having a baby. The empty nest looms for both, especially Jenna who struggles as her daughter leaves home.
Jenna, a nurse, and Maureen, a librarian become involved in romances with Rowan, a surgeon and Logan, a plumber/construction worker. Each couple has their ups and downs but the ending of the novel is never in doubt.
If you are looking for a comfort read, nothing too taxing but a gentle escape, Debbie Macomber could be just the author you need.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book in exchange for an honest review.
Reviews
“This heartwarming story sweetly balances friendship and mother-child bonding with romantic love.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Macomber’s work is as comforting as ever.”—Booklist
In recent English classes I have reread Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion and, most recently, Sense and Sensibility so I was seriously excited about this book. Fans of Jane Austen and cozy mysteries will NOT want to miss this one. It is a lot of fun as, in it, Wickham (that rogue), gets his comeuppance.
The conceit of the novel is most clever. It is to bring together many beloved Austen characters in one place, a house party, and watch as they interact. Readers will learn how these men and women are interconnected and will enjoy the glimpses of what happened to each after their time in their original novel ended. I very much enjoyed the young detectives, children of some of the well-known parents. I so hope that this will be the start of a series.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday for this title. All opinions are my own.
Readers who devoured Richard Osman’s mysteries are pretty sure to enjoy The Marlow Murder Club. It has many similar good eccentricities while telling its own story.
As in Osman’s novels, our woman on the scene is a pensioner. Eccentric Judith Potts is in her seventies. She may be a little too fond of whisky. She sets crossword puzzles to earn money, lives in an inherited property and observes everything around her. She is also intrepid.
One night Judith hears a shot. Her neighbor Stefan is dead. It is quickly established that Stefan was murdered. His character is less clear; there are those who saw him as a good and kind man and others who did not. What was the nature of his association/relationship with an antiques business and Elliott, its proprietor? How, if at all, is Stefan’s death connected to another victim, a well-liked taxi driver named Iqbal? And, what about the people Judith gets to know along the way? There are a mysterious redhead, a dog walker and a vicar’s wife among others. It all crescendos in a satisfying story.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this title. All opinions are my own.
Death Comes to Marlow is the next in a series, following on The Marlow Murder Club. I enjoyed this title even more than that first book. The author knows how to tell a story; he is also known for TV’s Death in Paradise.
Anyone who enjoys Richard Osman’s series is sure to enjoy spending time with Judith, Becks and Susie. They help the police and specifically Tanika to solve another case in these pages.
Judith is in her 70s and deliberately eccentric. Susie finds it hard not to blurt and has a dog walking business, while Becks is married to the local vicar but…who is she seeing now?
One day, a man named Sir Peter invites Judith to his posh engagement party. He has had an intimation that he will be murdered and indeed he is. There are many suspects in the pages that follow, including his son and daughter, and his new fiancee, or is it someone else?
The plot just rattles along and I liked spending time with Judith and Co. I highly recommend this title to those who enjoy cozy mysteries and women of a certain age. I am eager for the next book by this author.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this title. All opinions are my own.
Five Stars
And, this just in from PBS
New Series: The Marlow Murder Club
A four-part adaptation of Robert Thorogood’s The Marlow Murder Club is coming to MASTERPIECE! Find out all about the new mystery starring Downton Abbey and Home Fires favorite Samantha Bond as retired archaeologist Judith Potts, Jo Martin (Doctor Who) as local dog-walker and empty-nester Suzie, and Cara Horgan (The Sandman, Traitors) as unfulfilled vicar’s wife Becks.
We currently live in a rather fractured and partisan world in which, it seems to me, we often lose the ability to disagree without being disagreeable, to attempt to understand another’s perspective and to venture out of communicating only with those with whom we already know that we will agree. How did we get to this point? Is it where we want to be? If, those reading this post recognize that there is work to be done but need help getting there, please pick up this book.
David Brooks has written a work that cries to be read by just about everyone, including the mental health community, politicians, the person who is a friend, a parent, a partner, and so on. He has synthesized a great deal of research on how to relate to others while also sharing some of his personal experiences with the reader.
Brooks observes that, despite being a reporter, he did not always communicate well outside of his professional role. In some ways, he wrote this title for himself as well as the reader.
Some of the topics artfully explored include how to really see another person and to listen to them, what gets in the way of that, whether a person wants to be an “illuminator” or not, defense mechanisms, talking about the hard things, understanding what empathy really is and much more.
The number of highlights that I have added to my copy of this book reminds me of how much I was left to ponder. Book clubs, teachers, social workers and others, read this book and then talk tabout it. It will be worthwhile.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too! 