Beginning-to-Read – Big Feelings

by Mary Lindeen

#FeelingAngry #NetGalley

Anger can be such a tough and overwhelming emotion for kids. It can burst upon them and beg to be released. Learning to cope with this emotion when young will serve kids throughout their lives.

This entry in an on-going series for beginning readers is a welcome one. Through photos and text, children are helped to understand this primal emotion and learn ways to manage it. The author points out that it is fine to feel angry but that some responses to this overwhelming emotion can be problematic. Readers then see how much better it feels when anger has been channeled in a helpful way (play drums, draw an angry picture, talk to someone).

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

Broken Ground by Val McDermid

#BrokenGround #NetGalley

Val McDermid writes a number of series; of them all, the Karen Pirie novels are my favorites. Broken Ground is the newest of these.
I enjoy Karen. She is a quirky woman who has faced a significant loss and is still recovering. In this novel, she gingerly considers a new relationship. She is an old fashioned copper who cares about justice and what is right. She is loyal to those on her team who are still learners.
Karen is the head of the Historical Cases Unit in Scotland. Spending time with her, the members of her team (including her adversaries) and her cases is always time well-spent. In this novel, there are several stories; one relates to events of WWII, another to a serial rapist, and there is also a present day murder. Each of these plots is explored satisfactorily.
I finished this book today and am already looking forward to what happens next in the series. I highly recommend both this book and the series.

Many (!) thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this satisfying read.

Others in the series:

Note: Val McDermid is starting a new series with this fall’s 1979. I can’t wait to read it.

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek(Richardson)

by joycesmysteryandfictionbookreviewsJuly 22, 2019

This is a wonderful historical novel based upon the Book Women who delivered library materials to those in the out of the way sections of Kentucky.  The book women were part of a program started by President Roosevelt under the WPA.

There are many book women in Troublesome Creek, Kentucky but the protagonist of the novel is the unforgettable Cussy.  Cussy speaks in dialect which helps the reader to fully enter into her world.  Cussy faces special challenges because she is the last of the ‘blues.’  There really were blue-skinned people in America as a supplement at the back of the novel attests.  They were objects of curiosity and also of prejudice, just as was the case for the African American population.

Cussy wants to be independent both before and after her disastrous short term marriage.  And yet, what will happen with patron Jackson who is one of the few to call Cussy by name, rather than the derogatory Bluet?

Cussy’s love of books flows through the novel.  There are references to books that were popular at the time, including those by Steinbeck and Rex Stout.  Cussy’s inventiveness in making books and delivering what her patrons need is impressive.

The landscape of rural Kentucky, the small towns, the mines, the mountains are all well described.  Each patron that Cussy visits has a back story and readers will even come to learn more about the mule who transports her.

If you are a reader who enjoys historical fiction set in the U.S., consider this one.  Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Sourcebooks, for this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Gift of Therapy is a wonderful book for budding therapists and counselors.

Reviews can be (historically) harsh!

nyti.ms/3sQwijT

The Banker’s Wife” knows (Alger)

The Banker’s Wife is a great summer read, especially for those who enjoy novels like The Expats by Chris Pavone. The set up…Annabel is married to Matthew. Matthew is a banker at a Swiss bank that keeps secrets for its depositors. Marina is a journalist who is engaged to a prospective presidential candidate’s son. She works with Duncan. They are trying to locate a notorious Ponzi schemer. The story, of course, is even bigger than this.

Matthew is reported killed in a plane crash along with a cousin of Syria’s dictator. Annabel is left bereaved and unsafe. Marina is unsafe as well. While the two do not meet, they are both impacted by the business practices of Swiss United Bank.

Both Annabel and Marina are connected to a myriad of other characters. There are questions about whom to trust and how to unravel the bank’s schemes and hold those who are guilty accountable. The reader experiences doubts too regarding what has happened and who all of the ‘bad guys’ are.

Christina Alger has written a book that is suspenseful and engaging. The plot is complex but not too hard to follow. The reader will understand more about financial shenanigans and the private banking worlds that are fascinating and not part of many readers’ daily lives.

I truly enjoyed the settings, characters and the plot of the novel. I highly recommend it!

The Paris Dressmaker

by Kristy Cambron

Pub Date 16 Feb 2021

This is another book set in France during WWII. Before you think that you’ve read enough of these, give this one a chance. It is an engaging and involving read.

The Paris Dressmaker follows several women and the men and families that surround them. Lila is a talented dressmaker and designer. Lila’s closest friend is Amelie, another seamstress. Then there is Sandrine and her close friend Michelle. Sandrine works at the Jeu de Paume. Each of these characters faces moral decisions, choices and moments of fear and courage.

The settings in this book are wonderfully rendered. There are the dress salons, a bookstore, the Jeu de Paume, a bakery, The Ritz..and the list goes on. Each is vividly portrayed as are the streets of wartime Paris.

This is a novel that tells moving stories of love, friendship, resistance, traitorous behavior, courage and consequences. The narrative moves back and forth in time from 1939 and into the 1940s.

I became quite involved in the lives and stories of these characters. I think that readers will as well.

I alternated between reading this book and listening to it. The narration was excellent with characters well delineated and the French accents of the characters.

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

The Windsor Knot

A Novel

by SJ Bennett

#TheWindsorKnot #NetGalley

Please note that this review is for the unabridged audio of this title. It will be released in the U.S. in March. The book is out in the U.K.

Right now, many are absorbed in watching the latest season of The Crown. There is a lot of back and forth about what is true and what is fictional drama. Well, as far as I know, The Windsor Knot is totally fiction about the monarch as detective.

This is an absolutely delightful and enjoyable title and one that I recommend highly for an escapist break. Give it a try.

In The Windsor Knot, there are murder, mysterious Russians, ballet dancers, Chinese speakers, a very likeable Nigerian aide to the Queen called Rosie, various government and palace workers, family members of the Queen, visiting dignitaries, including Obama and more. All are engagingly portrayed.

The character of the queen feels pitch perfect. She is portrayed as a woman well aware of her role and importance but also as someone with an interior life, likes and dislikes. She is a detective who uses her access to information and her Poirot like gray cells to solve the case.

The narrator of the audio book is just splendid. She captures the characters and accents with aplomb and individual voices. I was only sorry when I had to part with her at the end of this title.

Put this one on your TBR or TBL (to be listened to) pile. Enjoy! It is part of a series so there is more to come.

Jackie and Maria by Gil Paul

The cover of this title shows Jackie Kennedy and Maria Callas. In the novel, they are surrounded by those in their lives including Onassis, JFK, RFK, Jackie’s sister Lee and many others. All are brought to life in this excellent historical fiction.
Jackie and Maria had more in common than Aristotle Onassis. According to the book, both had mothers they could not please and both faced terrible losses around pregnancies. In addition, each was involved with a charismatic man who did not believe in fidelity and who did believe in power.
The settings of the novel bring the story to life. Readers will be in many locations including DC, Paris, Greece, the Cape, Aristotle’s yacht and more. The story unfolds in these places in a dual narrative that features the world from both Maria and Jackie’s perspectives.
As in the best historical novels, the world of the characters is portrayed in such a way that I very much wanted the history that I already knew, to somehow magically be transformed for the sake of the people on whom the characters are based. Of course, it could not be.
I enjoyed this title and recommend it highly for those who enjoy historical fiction. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.