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

This book will interest those who are very interested in the foods that they eat, be that for personal or more professional reasons. It is very easy to dip in and out of this title which features foods from all the letters of the alphabet, starting with Acheke and ending with Yougurt (right after Yak butter).

Many but not all of these foods were familiar to me. All of the entries were interesting. Take Christmas Pudding for example. Who knew that in 1927 a giant one was made and presented to the Lord Mayor of London? What are all of the ingredients and from whence do they come? Any idea when the term pudding came into regular use in Britain? Ever wonder how it was made in various parts of what was once the British Empire years ago? Curious about Charles Dickens’ contribution? Find the answers in that entry. Readers will want to keep going and learn more. Plus, if you want to know even more, there are suggested resources.

This is a terrific and fun encyclopedia of food. It would make a great gift.

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

Pub date: 12 August 2025

360 pages

More:

Using food as a lens through which to draw out the economic, cultural, and social changes wrought by globalization, contributors highlight both what’s lost when foods are stripped of their cultural specificity and how cultural exchange can produce creative and beneficial results. Readers will want to dig in. ― Publishers Weekly –This text refers to the paperback edition.

I had a real reaction to the end of this novel, though no spoilers here.  If you read it, or have read it, I’d love your opinion.

“In Jenna, [Jodi] Picoult has created an unforgettable character who will easily endear herself to each and every reader. . . . Leaving Time may be her finest work yet.”—Bookreporter

“[A] captivating and emotional story.”—BookPage
 
“With plenty of twists and a surprising ending, [Leaving Time] explores the grieving process and what happens when we cannot move on.”—Woman’s Day

“A moving and emotional story.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
 
“A truly engaging read . . . Full of the deep characters and multilayered story lines that have earned [Picoult] a spot in many readers’ hearts.”—Library Journal

“Delivers a powerhouse ending.”—Booklist

“Memorable and poignant.”—Publishers Weekly

#IKnowScared #NetGalley

This book offers an excellent resource for helping children to recognize what they are feeling. It also has suggestions for how to cope with feelings, as for example, anxiety. Young kids are invited to interact with this book when they are asked about their own feelings; they are encouraged to be feeling detectives and to keep a notebook.

Throughout there are cute illustrations. A cat figures in them as do the adults in this child’s life.

I recommend this book as it will help to build children’s emotional intelligence. It also offers a good starting point for important conversations between adults and children. There is even a helpful section for adults.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Teacher Created Materials for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 19 August 2025

36 pages

Grimes published a new book in 2025

2025 DAGGER AWARDS PRESENTED
The Dagger Awards, awarded by The Crime Writer’s Association to celebrate the best in crime and thriller writing, were presented on July 6, 2023 in London. Our congratulations to the winners (listed first in each category) and to all of the nominees.

Diamond Dagger *

Mick Herron

Gold Dagger
*	The Book of Secrets by Anna Mazzola
°	A Divine Fury by D.V. Bishop
°	I Died at Fallow Hall by Bonnie Burke-Patel
°	The Bell Tower by R.J. Ellory
°	The Hunter by Tana French [review]
°	Guide Me Home by Attica Locke

Ian Fleming Steel Dagger
*	Dark Ride by Lou Berney [review]
°	Nobody’s Hero by M.W. Craven
°	Sanctuary by Garry Disher
°	Hunted by Abir Mukherjee [review]
°	Blood Like Mine by Stuart Neville
°	City in Ruins by Don Winslow

First Novel Dagger
*	All Us Sinners by Katy Massey
°	Miss Austen Investigates: The Hapless Milliner by Jessica Bull [review]
°	Knife River by Justine Champine
°	Three Burials by Anders Lustgarten
°	A Curtain Twitcher’s Book of Murder by Gay Marris
°	Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney [review]

Historical Dagger
*	The Betrayal of Thomas True by A.J. West
°	A Divine Fury by D.V. Bishop
°	Banquet of Beggars by Chris Lloyd
°	The Book of Secrets by Anna Mazzola
°	Poor Girls by Clare Whitfield

Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger
*	The Night of Baba Yaga by Akira Otani
°	Dogs and Wolves by Hervé Le Corre
°	Going to the Dogs by Pierre Lemaître
°	The Clues in the Fjord by Satu Rämö
°	Butter by Asako Yuzuki
°	Clean by Alia Trabucco Zerán

Non-Fiction Dagger
*	The Peepshow: The Murders at 10 Rillington Place by Kate Summerscale
°	Unmasking Lucy Letby: The Untold Story of the Killer Nurse by Jonathan Coffey and Judith Moritz
°	The Lady in the Lake: A Reporter’s Memoir of a Murder by Jeremy Craddock
°	Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey
°	The Criminal Mind by Duncan Harding
°	Four Shots in the Night: A True Story of Stakeknife, Murder, and Justice in Northern Ireland by Henry Hemming

Short Story
*	“A Date on Yarmouth Pier” by J.C. Bernthal   Midsummer Mysteries
°	“The Glorious Twelfth” by S.J. Bennett   Midsummer Mysteries
°	“Why Harrogate?” by Janice Hallett   Murder in Harrogate
°	“City Without Shadows” by William Burton McCormick   Midsummer Mysteries
°	“A Ruby Su” by Meeti Shroff-Shah   Midsummer Mysteries
°	“Murder at the Turkish Baths” by Ruth Ware   Murder in Harrogate

Whodunnit Dagger (cosy crime, traditional mysteries, and Golden Age crime)
*	The Case of the Singer and the Showgirl by Lisa Hall
°	A Death in Diamonds by S.J. Bennett [review]
°	Murder at the Christmas Emporium by Andreina Cordani
°	A Good Place to Hide a Body by Laura Marshall
°	A Matrimonial Murder by Meeti Shroff-Shah
°	Murder at the Matinee by Jamie West

Twisted Dagger (psychological and suspense thrillers)
*	Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra [review]
°	Emma, Disappeared by Andrew Hughes
°	Beautiful People by Amanda Jennings
°	The Stranger in Her House by John Marrs
°	The Trials of Marjorie Crowe by C.S. Robertson
°	Look in the Mirror by Catherine Steadman

Le Fay follows the first in this series. I very much enjoyed that novel and recommend it. Le Fay picks up after the events of I am Morgan and readers watch as Morgan spends time in Camelot (and other locales).

Morgan and Arthur share a deep bond as the story opens. They are half siblings who have the same mother. Morgan is a trusted advisor to the idealistic, yet strong Arthur. Morgan gets along less well with Queen Guinevere who seems jealous of her sister in law and whom, in turn, Morgan does not seem to respect. Neither does Morgan feel any fondness toward Merlin whose influence over Arthur is quite pronounced. How will Morgan fare with these characters in this second in Keetch’s trilogy?

Other characters from the first book are here again including, to name a few, Accolon, Morgan’s son Yvain and the husband from whom she is separated, Morgan’s two closest female attendants and a pageant of others. I was delighted to again spend time with them.

Keetch’s imagination deftly creates the world of Camelot with its physical appearance, events (such as pageants), and the ideals upon which Arthur has endeavored to build his kingdom. She also portrays the crises that Morgan faces.

While this story of Camelot comes from the author’s imagination, it feels real. I loved spending time in this world and think that those who enjoy stories of Morgan, Arthur and those around them will like this one as well. I am eagerly waiting for the third book to see how the story will go.

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

Pub date: 16 July 2024

432 pages

Sci Fi & Fantasy

www.bookreporter.com/sites/default/files/July_2025_Bookaccino_Live_Featured_Titles.pdf

I have just begun reading this book which is gently provocative and inspiring.  The author, ordained within the Episcopal Church, has left the ministry to begin teaching World Religion in a small, largely Christian college.

Written in a highly accessible, almost novelistic tone, Ms. Taylor introduces the reader to her students and their studies.  She encourages the reader to think about the role of religion in our lives.  Although I have not yet finished the book, I have the feeling that I will be savoring it right up to the end.  This is a thoughtful and highly recommended read.

From Goodreads:

The renowned and beloved New York Times bestselling author of An Altar in the World and Learning to Walk in the Dark recounts her moving discoveries of finding the sacred in unexpected places while teaching the world’s religions to undergraduates in rural Georgia, revealing how God delights in confounding our expectations.

Barbara Brown Taylor continues her spiritual journey begun in Leaving Church of finding out what the world looks like after taking off her clergy collar. In Holy Envy, she contemplates the myriad ways other people and traditions encounter the Transcendent, both by digging deeper into those traditions herself and by seeing them through her students’ eyes as she sets off with them on field trips to monasteries, temples, and mosques.

Troubled and inspired by what she learns, Taylor returns to her own tradition for guidance, finding new meaning in old teachings that have too often been used to exclude religious strangers instead of embracing the divine challenges they present. Re-imagining some central stories from the religion she knows best, she takes heart in how often God chooses outsiders to teach insiders how out-of-bounds God really is.

Throughout Holy Envy, Taylor weaves together stories from the classroom with reflections on how her own spiritual journey has been complicated and renewed by connecting with people of other traditions—even those whose truths are quite different from hers.  The one constant in her odyssey is the sense that God is the one calling her to disown her version of God—a change that ultimately enriches her faith in other human beings and in God.

Wayward Girls tells the stories of six young women who, for various reasons, were sent to an institution in Buffalo, New York that was much like Ireland’s Magdalen Laundries. These were places were vulnerable young girls, many times the victims of others, were sent when they became pregnant when they were single or otherwise were not conforming to society’s rules. Even worse, one character was sent to this hell, when it was her stepfather who was the offending party. The men often seemed to be able to continue as they had been with little consequence for their mistreatment of their victims.

Anyone who wonders about the historic (lack of) rights for young women will be justifiably appalled by what happened to these girls who were further victimized and judged by those who should have helped them. Readers will very much hope that somehow these six young women will be able to go on to better lives post institution. Their friendships should help.

Disclosure: I have worked with birth mothers from this time and know many of their stories. This made a book, that was excellent, very difficult for me to read.

One note: The story begins with a girl who says that she needs a pre-adoption certificate to get a passport. I have never heard of that requirement.

Kudos to Wiggs for bravely showing readers what life was like for some young women. I believe that she hopes that a time like this will not come again.

This is definitely a worthwhile title. It is not all depressing.

The audio:

This is an excellent audio version of Susan Wiggs’s latest novel. In a special treat for her readers, Wiggs reads the author’s note. The narration for this title is clear and easy to follow, though the story itself is harrowing at times.

Many thanks to Harper Audio for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 15 July 2025

This book has been on my bookshelf for years. Not sure what took me so long to read it as I enjoyed this one and will read others in the twelve book series.

In this title, readers meet Lane Winslow. She has moved to the country outside of a small town in far western Canada. Lane left England after WWII. Then, she worked under the Official Secrets Act and had her heart broken as the death of her lover was reported. She needed a new start and has no idea of the events that will shake her in her new home.

The story takes place in 1946, a time of party lines for the phone and no technology. This means that the policing will reflect that time.

Lane is glad for her new start and comes to know the neighbors/suspects in her new community. These include a WWI veteran who suffered the loss of his marriage and a fire on his property when he returned home, a family who has a secret and came from the eastern U.S., a family with an unstable mother, feckless son and a father who made some bad decisions, and the family from whom Lane bought her house. There is also the appropriately named Inspector Darling who will most likely become romantically involved with Lane as the series goes on.

A stranger comes to the community and is murdered. Who is he? What brought him to Nelson? Why is someone trying to frame Lane? How will his death reverberate for these characters? How will elements of Lane’s past come into play? Find out and then decide to perhaps read the next in the series. It is solid.

Next up: