June Books

The Human Scale by Lawrence Wright
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An incredible book. Takes a look at the Israeli Arab conflict from a perspective that I had never explored. Although a work of fiction, the characters and story are steeped in reality. The hopelessness and dispare on both sides is brutal and disgusting. No one, in this book, has the high ground. This book is well worth the read. It may enlighten and change perspectives.

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The Paris Network by Siobhan Curham
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a wonderful book filled with memorable characters. I must thank this brilliant author for helping me to realize that the French did not fold under the German boot, their government did. The people remained chained and terrorized by their German captors while they waited for their allied friends to come and save them. I had always believed that the people of France were cooperating with their captors, from this book I see that they were unwilling participants in their captivity.
Many brave and selfless people were part of the resistance, and from this book one might guess that it was a greater number than we might imagine.
Thank you Siobhan Curham for sharing this story. You are what we call nice people in Yiddish, a mench!

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May Books

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

William Kent Krueger is a great author. His books are filled with wonderful imagery and the characters are rich and three dimentional. This book is no exception. The story is sad and the reader has a feeling of melancholy all through the book. This is not surprising as the whole world was in the midst of a great depression and almost everyone was hungry and grimy.
I am glad I read it and stuck it out to the end, even though I had retty much guessed the ending. Getting a glimpse of the depression was the saving grace of the story for me.

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Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loved it. I loved the characters, the plot, the resolution, all of it.
What is it like to be old. Deanna Raybourn got it nailed. What could be more interesting than four delightful assasins. Their personalities don't always jive but they work well together.
This is a fitting book to follow Veronica Speedwell. The author does a masterful job of moving to a different era. Read it!

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April Books:

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Quite a good mystery... A little too atmospheric. I'm sick of looking at sun setting over this river that is only attractive under just the right moonlight. (I'm asleep)
The plot was well structured and Krueger leaves us guessing, and guessing until the end. So many characters that at times I was confused. In his defense the main characters stood out and were well developed.
I finished this book in a seven hour reading session. That may be why I thought the ending, or the post ending, where he wrapped up the characters was not needed and a bit corny.

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Vienna at Nightfall by Richard Wake
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Without a doubt, Wake is a great writer. He has forged a great character and I look forward to seeing how he copes in the later episodes. He has the sort of naive oblivious personality but a very quick mind.
This pre-WWII era in Germany is fascinating. The political situation in Austria might be compared with the Canadian dilemma right now. I hope it end differently.


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Miami Purity by Vicki Hendricks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I chose this book from a NY Times review. It is from 1995 and I thought it might be interesting. It was described by the reviewer as a very sexy novel that exposed how women see things. Maybe some women but not many that I know. It did make for some interesting reading and the characters were fascinating. I so many people could make so many bad decisions. All in all I liked the story. It was an iteresting change of pace.

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Time Lost: A Time Travel Novel by Elyse Douglas
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a routine not too exciting time travel story. The author had a lot to work with. Woman transported to another time. Without spoiling anything, I thought the story and characters were too simplistic. I have got to stop reading books because of advrertising blurbs. It almost always dissappoints me.

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March Books