Books Read in 2024

 

Made and error, actually 42 this year!

A Dangerous Goodbye by Fliss Chester
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a good story. The characters were interesting and easy to follow. The plot did seem a bit obtuse but Fliss Chester brought it all together in a wonderful ending. All the red herrings were resolved and I was not asking any questions at the end. This is listed as #1 in the Fen Churche series and I think I will read number two to see where this fascinating lady is going.
The plot is a puzzle and she helps the reader solve it. Fun!

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Blood Alone by James R. Benn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book. I knew nothing about the battles in WWII on the Island of Sicely. I did not know of the Mafia connection, both American and Sicilian.
The story was rambling and I got a bit confused a few times over the characters and the locations.
But James Benn managed to tie it all up and provide a wonderful ending...
Paving the way for more Billy Boyle in my future reading.

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The First Wave by James R. Benn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I like Billy Boyle he is a character that is developing nicely and I believe that I will enjoy a bunch of his stories. Currently there are 19 BB stories and I am reading #3 already.
This story is about Billy's adventure when allied forces landed in Algeria prior to D day. This story is based on actual events but the plot is pure fiction. Billy is Ike's nephew and that alone makes the story a fanciful look at what happened.
Of course Ike probably did have people working for him but I doubt it would have been a young and inexperienced kid from Boston.
Makes a great story.

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Books Read in November

Billy Boyle by James R. Benn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

At first I thought the whole premis of the story was far fetched and ridiculous. As I read on it became a totally engrossing mystery with wonderful characters. Billy is an interesting character who, although simple at first, becomes more and more complex as the story unfolds.
The story itself is the same, starts simple, ends complex.
Based on some real people and places and held my interest from chapter 2 right through the stuff at the end. I am starting number 2 of Billy's adventures in a few minutes.

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The Wedding People by Alison Espach
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It is rare that I don't like a book. This book took too much of a suspension of reality. This from a reader science fiction.
The characters were as shallow as they seem to be as people. They were placed in odd situations and then continued as if it was normal behavior. I don't think there was one character I liked and I never was able to find a real plot. Just an unhappy woman finding herself in a weird situation with a bunch of weird people. Skip this one.

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Flight of Dreams by Ariel Lawhon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a brilliant author. This book is a masterpiece of historical fiction. She brings life to the flight of the Hindenberg and its demise. I have seen movies, pictures and read other accounts but all pale set next to this book. I need not tell you the story, or reveal the ending, because most readers already know those things. This book is about people and their lives. Their emotions and what causes them to act. Put another way it brings actual "humanity" to the story. Flight of Dreams is a masterpiece because it shows us real people and how they might have acted. The book is fiction but, as Ariel Lawhon always does, she has breathed life into the characters.


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Red Lies by Cristelle Comby
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Imagine the the end f the Soviet Union is history. This story brings that slice to life. I liked it because of the way it ended. I must add that it was an adventure and a kick to read. Just enough history to keep me interested and enough action to keep it from being boring. I love the fact that the protaginist is a woman and that the men are pretty much hollow and predictable. Read this, its fun. Can't believe I did not remember reading it in 2021.

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Books Read in September

Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a great book. I did find the jumping around to be a little distracting but... as I read it became clear where the author was going. Ariel Lawhon is a master storyteller. I was sometimes confused but never felt like putting it down. The action is non stop and the personal story is intriguing. If you have read other books on SOE this will become a favorite.

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A Peculiar Combination by Ashley Weaver
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the first in what may be an interesting series. Many questions are raised, many relationships are hinted at and a whole family is caught up in the story. The plot was interesting but I thought a bit thin. I liked the writing and the way that the story was presented so Electra will get another chance on my bookshelf.

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The Kind Worth Saving by Peter Swanson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is another very devious plot by Peter Swanson. A lot of running around and what seem to be false leads. In the end its a pretty intriguing story. These stories never seem to get old. There is no way to imagine where the story is going until it gets there. If you like mysteries and drama, this book will be perfect. I like stories I can't quite figure out. In this case, as in many Swanson stories, its more how will they solve it. Interesting and fun.

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A Talent for Murder by Peter Swanson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sorry to say I read this out of order, do you think it will matter? I read it so fast that my Kindle almost overheated. A devious and convoluted story that had me on the edge of my seat. I was waiting for the next twist. This book is a delight if you like twisty turning books with a good amount of murder in them. Just shows that Peter Swanson should be in the genius category. Characters that jump off the page. You can see what is going on, taste the food and get a little drunk on the drinks. I love a book that feels real.

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Books I read in August, 2024

Leaving Eastern Parkway a novel by Matthew Daub
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Although I would put this book in the category of "Same old story" I still enjoyed it, from the shocking beginning to the.... well, I don't want to ruin it. Let me just say that the ending is not shocking.
Building the story around handball was genius because I don't know anyone who is involved in handball as a player or spectator. Do you? I count it as a pretty obscure sport, not on my radar at least.
I enjoyed the read but is not on my recommend list because it has little to recommend it. Just a simple story of an orthodox, Hasidic Jew gone rogue.

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The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a great year for reading.... Each book I read is better than the one before. I could honestly not put this down. The story was complex but never obtuse. The characters jumped from the page. The action sequences were nail biting.
I hesitate to say too much about the story because my book club has selected this for our next book. Suffice it to say the Ariel Lawhon is a master writer. I think that some of the plot lines were pretty easy to decern but all in all I was enthralled by this story and the characters.
It is a pleasure to read about strong women and their supportive husbands.

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A Death in Cornwall by Daniel Silva
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Like a painting, this story has layer upon layer, ending in some non-stop action. This is pure Gabriel and not to be missed. As his children grow we find a father, husband and fighter for what is right. His helpmates in this book are drawn from earlier stories but round out his team. I enjoyed this story from start to finish and I can't wait for next summer's edition.

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Books Read in July

The Briar Club by Kate Quinn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As good or better than her WWII books. The characters, a lot of them, jump off the page and are very well constructed to seem real. Even though there were a lot of characters, the way they were presented made it easy to keep track of them, and their place in the story.
This may be the best book so far this year. The period of time that it covers and the views that you get from the perspective of the characters was incredible. I won't tell my friends what its about because they should discover these characters and this story themselves. I hope you will.

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Shanghai by Joseph Kanon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Just a brilliant book. Where did jews go when they were kicked out of Germany in the thirties? Places that did not require visas. One of these was Shanghai, the location of this novel from Joseph Kanon. The characters are as real and emotionally tortured as one might imagine. Leaving their homes and often their livelyhoods. Always leaving their wealth behind because the Nazis would not allow it to leave the Reich.
What was Shanghai like? In some ways a lot like Germany. This tells a story that I had only heard about. This book gets down to the nitty gritty of what a lawless society is like and how people learn to cope.
What a special, magnificent piece of writing. I am in awe of Joseph Kanon's skill as a storyteller.
Read it.

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Books I Read in June

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yōko Ogawa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this book a long time ago, maybe 2010, before I kept careful track. I remembered that I liked it and when the title came up at a book club discussion, I recommended it. So, I reread it.
I'm not sure what I liked the first time around. It is not my style of book, although the prose is delightful and the story is a bit enchanting.
How does one adapt to a strange malady and how do the people around the subject, adapt.
I might have missed the point of this book. It is such a simple story that I feel that I might have missed something.
I was a math teacher. That part of the book, getting excited about math, was part of what I did with my students. I'm sure that my love of baseball is tied to its unending use of statistics. But sometimes the housekeeper seemed to get it much too quickly...
All in all I was glad I read it once, the second time seemed tedious.


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Smolder by Brett Battles
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Some of the magic is gone. Stuart Woods and a kind of convoluted sense of humor that made me smile through most of the book. This has a bit of that but for the most part it was a little dry.
The plot was interesting but seemed a little far fetched and remote. I may read more of these, if they continue to write them, but I won't put it at the top of my list. Sixty-four good ones is a pretty good run.

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Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Kept me glued to the book til the very end. Peter Swanson has become one of my favorite authors. He is a fit and healthy looking 56 so I expect to read his books for a long time.
This one presented some strange, yet believable characters. I did get the timeline mixed up a couple of times but he brought me back with ease. Did he mean to do that?
Cousins swap apartments... seems simple enough until he gives us their back stories and from then on the action is non-stop. Could not put it down. If you like mysteries of the murder variety, this is a must read. It is a stand alone novel.

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The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Peter Swanson is my new favorite author. I don't often read murder mysteries but I will read all of his. this story starts with a simple plot and explodes into a complex story. The characters jump out of the pages and it is almost impossible to put it down.
Without any spoilers, it is hard to imagine hating someone enough to plot their demise. That is a special kind of hate that must be reserved for some special kind of people.

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The Girl with a Clock for a Heart by Peter Swanson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the second book by Peter Swanson that I have read. Currently working on a third. I read Eight Perfect Murders in one day, could not put it down. The same with this one.
Weird story but he holds it up very well. Well written and carefully thought out. I love it when I haven't figured a book out until the end.
Interesting characters and a strong story line. I loved it.

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May Books Read

A Grave Robbery by Deanna Raybourn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another wonderful tale about my favorite dectective characters. I kind of worried that they did not have enough to solve this one but I was wrong. In addition the author has added at least one new character that seems to fit in with the existing cast.
Great action in this one. I could almost see the action if I closed my eyes. (that does make it hard to read)
I so hope that there is another Veronica story on someone's computer some where. I want to read it.

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Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a book club selection that I read in 2 days. It is the definition of can't put it down. In retrospect this seems odd because the style was smooth did not seem rushed or hurried. I could not put it down. The plot, though a little convoluted, held up for the whole book. My confusion over what was exactly going on was, I'm sure, due to Mr. Swanson's fine writing.
Even if you don't usually read murder mysteries, read this one. If for no other reason than to enjoy the work of a master storyteller.

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City of Laughter by Temim Fruchter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Quite an ambitious book for a first novel. The prose is beautiful and the story concept is fascinating. The idea of Jewish folklore messaging us in the modern world is fanciful to me but the execution is convincing, and at least interesting.
I often found myself confused between the time and space of the stories unfolding but in the end the author seems to have brought it together.
I seldom seek out reviews for books I am interested in reading or have read. In this case I went to the New York Times. The reviewer brought my feelings into focus:
"Like desire and secrets, “laughter is no controlled substance,” Temim Fruchter writes in “City of Laughter,” her brainy and richly textured debut novel. “It goes where it wants to go.” Grief, too, is hard to contain. In the wake of both her father’s death and a difficult breakup, Fruchter’s 32-year-old heroine, Shiva Margolin, attempts to unravel 100 years of tangled generational trauma in order to find inner peace. The more complicated fate she ultimately embraces makes this unabashedly queer Jewish family story a new take on our uncertain age."

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The Measure by Nikki Erlick
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

An interesting concept. I'm not sure where it could have gone but I found the plot tedious and thin. There was a lot to think about but I have personally little interest in the all over the place philosophical ideas that this story offers.
This book is read for my book club and they will probably convince me I was wrong.
In the end, for me at least, love and devotion has no sell by date. I live each day as if it might be my last and I make sure to let those who I love, respect and am grateful to are told as often as I can. Those I dislike or treat me with disrespect are not worth the time. Life is always too short.

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April, 2024 Books Read

 

A Sinister Revenge by Deanna Raybourn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ok, I figured out what I like about Deanna Raybourn. She is a master storyteller and a genius in the use of era appropriate language. Complex or not she makes the story/plot easy to follow. I'm pretty sure she does this by having Veronica explain things to Stoker, kind of womansplaining. Sometimes he is dense as rock and other times seems to get everything. Veronica on the other hand is seldom confused and often way ahead of Stoker, and me!
Whatever it is I am soon on to #9 and then we all need to pray or beg for a #10.

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An Impossible Impostor by Deanna Raybourn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I may well have figured out what magic these books hold for me. It Deanna Raybourn's incredible use of the English language. I love the language she uses. It is a real pleasure to read a book in which I need, or want, to look up a word on many pages. The plots are interesting and the added characters in each book are fascinating. As are the wonderful characters that repeat. Kind of a different ending. Liked this book a lot.

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His Majesty's Airship: The Life and Tragic Death of the World's Largest Flying Machine by S.C. Gwynne
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a remarkable story that I did not know anything about. I have always been interested in Airships and this book is amazing. The book is beautifully written but became tedious. It was just too much information. You bknow from the get go that this is not going to end well and it didn't. This is not a spoiler, it what the book is about.

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Books Read In March

Hotel Moscow by Talia Carner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Lots of confusing action and characters that I could not keep track of. By the time I figured out what was going on I still wondered essentially who was who.
Now I'm pretty good at figuring things out but this was an obtuse story about things that probably could never have happened. Just hard to believe the story.
The good part is that this is a well written book. I think it’s just the way the author wanted it. I was never surprised but I was astonished at the way the fall of communism and then failure of democracy was portrayed. It may be the saving grace, and for sure it’s why I finished the book. I lived during that period of history and I was amazed.


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The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a great book, and what a masterful author. I was mesmerized from page one. I was sorry when it was over. Marie Benedict seems to be Hedy Lamarr. It feels like it is Hedy telling me her story. It feels so personal and real. Of course, it is a real story of real people in a time of unbelievable upheaval.
Facing personal and state sponsored discrimination. Amazing that one would be able to persevere. She must have been a remarkable person. BTW, I'm going back and watching a few of her first movies.

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An Unexpected Peril by Deanna Raybourn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love Veronic Speedwell books. They are fun and interesting with beautiful prose that often cause me to look up a word or two. Thankfully I read on a Kindle.
This book, much like the others, starts with something benign and ends up in a full-fledged mystery with red herrings galore. I kept telling myself I knew the answer only to change my mind.
Deanna Raybourn is a master storyteller and uses the same kind of language that Veronica might use. Makes for an interesting and very pleasant reading experience.

You should read these in order.

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The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a great book. Great characters, interesting plot and set in an interesting historical period. I loved it. The interplay and final connection of the characters was fascinating and so well thought out. I hate books where coincidence plays a large part in the plot. This story seemed to naturally occurr.
I did have some trouble with the flow. The time was hard to follow.
I would read as many books as this pair, or either of them write. Really worth the time.


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Books Read in February

A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I think I'm in love with Veronica Speedwell! At least stories about her and her adventures. She exists in a fascinating world of science and adventure with a wonderful sidekick who would be angry at me for calling him that.
This, the 5th in the series, finds our characters maturing nicely and their relationships becoming more and more complex. It all seems so natural and realistic while there adventures are often beyond imagination. No spoilers so...... hard to say much about the plot.
Suffice it to say that the story moves quickly with more than one plot twist that is surprising and revealing.
Giver her a try.... these books are fun to read.

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The Women by Kristin Hannah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Put the book you are reading aside and read this book! Kristen Hannah has written a book about war that is so well done as to give one a new perspective on the Vietnam war. This was a war that tore the country apart and forever changed the way we look at our government.
I don't want to spoil the story for anyone so..... Let me just say that the characters are incredibly full size and feel real. The pain and anguish that the war brought to families and yes, the whole nation, is beautifully remembered here.
This is a masterpiece.

Many of my friends and family only know this war from history books or some vague recollections or stories that have been handed down in families. It is important that young people (You all look young to me) read this to understand the roots of today's political situation.

Thank you Kristin Hannah for this bright light on history.

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The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent book. This is book that held my interest from page one. The plot unfolds quickly and the story unwinds in ways that you might not expect. More about classical music than I ever wanted to know but an the same time, interesting. Learned a lot about being a black musician in the classical world. Was reminded what it is like to be a black man in this country.
The horrible behavior of police when dealing with a black man was highlighted twice. My guess is it happens more than that.
Read this book. Its a great story with a great message. This is based on some real events.

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A Dangerous Collaboration by Deanna Raybourn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have not decided what it is I love about this series. The rich characters, the convoluted plot or the odd setting. Whatever it is Deanna Raybourn is a great author. She paints pictures in my mind and leaves me wondering what is on the next page.
If I prompt you to read these Speedwell stories, please start with number one.
The characters change, as real people do, from book to book. I look forward to the next....

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Books Read in January, 2024

The War Pianist by Mandy Robotham
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book for several reasons. First, I never read about the Dutch resistance. Second, I have fond memories of visiting Amersterdam, and this brought them back.
The plot has enough twists to keep my interest, and enough action to keep from getting bored. Not sure if some of the events might really have been able to happen but, I enjoyed the book anyway.
The main characters were well developed and grew on me through the story.
I wish Mandy would write another right away. I'd like to hear more of this story.

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The German Wife by Kelly Rimmer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Very interesting book. I was troubled through the whole book about the moral and ethical dilemma faced by the characters. To support Hitler or perish. It was clearly the question they delt with and their reaction to this conundrum helped to move the plot and give the reader bigger questions to ponder. The ending was a little pat but I guess such a broad story needs to have ends tied.
I have no more compassion for the NAZI scientists but I do have a little more understanding of what it might have been like and the price they might have paid.

As Tom Lehrer said of Werner Von Braun:
Don't say that he's hypocritical,
Say rather that he's apolitical.
"Once the rockets are up,
Who cares where they come down?
That's not my department,"
Says Wernher von Braun.

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The Paris Agent by Kelly Rimmer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A brilliant book. No spoilers here. I just want to say the Kelly Rimmer, with the help of great research and a wonderful imagination, has constructed a book worth reading. A story of courage and emotion that will stay with the reader. It is amazing that young women with almost no training could accomplish so much. The other amazing thing is that these stories are not well known. I found this book well worth the time. In addition, it is a great read.

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