In the second book we return to the Irish village of Kilbane and the lives of the O’Sullivan Six. Specifically we spend time with the oldest, Siobhan as she’s delivering her famous brown bread to Kilbane Castle to the wedding guests of a famous fashion model, and her not well-known fiancé.

It’s not long though before someone discovers the body of one of the wedding guests in the woods behind the castle. The guards suspect everyone in the wedding party, including Siobhan’s boyfiend, Macdara.

Within minutes Siobhan inserts herself into the investigation.

My Thoughts

Sadly, I did not enjoy Murder at an Irish Wedding as much as I enjoyed the previous book.

First off, we’re supposed to believe that Siobhan, on the heels of her solving her first mystery in the last book, is some sort of savant now, who immediately knows more than her Police Officer boyfriend, the other men on the force (no women there) as well as the detectives and their superiors. And that her detecting skills are so good that when those superior officers aren’t yelling at her to butt out, they’re actually deferring to her to solve the case? Come on. She’s no Hercule Poirot and the Guard treating her as such, is completely unbelievable.

Second, let’s assume that she this delicate genius, why then when a potential target of the killer goes missing, does she not immediately raise the alarm instead of going about her business for hours before thinking, maybe we should find him?

Third, there’s were glitches – incongruities in the story that didn’t make sense. For example, the wedding party all has these matching track suits. We find out they were gifts from the castle owners but then literally the next page she makes a comment about sussing out the anonymous donors. Donors of what? The tracksuits? Never were we led to believe they were anonymous. We know exactly who gifted them. Siobhan found out one page earlier! Poor editing.

Lastly, one of the things I enjoyed about the first book were the interactions of Siobhan and her five siblings as well as getting to know the villagers. This time, all of them were background characters with hardly any bearing on the story. It all felt one dimensional, with Siobhan being that dimension, making her less appealing and approachable.

I liked the first book enough to give this series one more try. However, for Murder at an Irish Wedding 1.5 maybe 1.75 stars. Very disappointing.

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In it, we find Inspector Gamache suspended from his position as head of the Surete. His son in-law, Beauvoir, has taken over Gamache’s old position, temporarily, as head of the Homicide Division. And thankfully, eventually, we find out what happened to Inspector LaCoste, shot in the head at the end of Glass Houses.

The action begins with Armando, Myrna and another, being summoned to an old farmhouse by a notary who informs them they are the liquidators (think executors) of a stranger’s will. This storyline runs parallel to the story of former Cadet Choquet, from A Great Reckoning, and her search for the drugs that slipped through Gamache’s fingers at the end of Glass Houses.

My Thoughts

First, the persecution of Gamache has worn me down. It always seems someone politically or physically is out to get him. There’s always a boogie monster under the bed. Enough already. I want to have him enjoy his licorice pipes in peace.

Second, the mysteries weren’t too mysterious. Yes, I didn’t figure all of it out but I figured out enough.

Third, there were some scenes that felt extraneous to me (why did Myrna and Clara go to the Notary’s office; nothing came of that). Others, I wish developed more (Myrna and Billy’s budding relationship makes me want to go back to the older books to familiarize myself with him) and one felt completely out of place. Why the heck was that little girl in the story at all?

That said, I still enjoyed the story. Still enjoyed my time in Three Pines and still love the characters.

I’d say a solid 3.5 stars.

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The book tells the story of Elizabeth Zott, a chemist who starts her career as a research assistant at “The Hastings Institute.” Good things happen. Bad things happen and Elizabeth ends up hosting a local television cooking show.

My Thoughts

I’ve seen publicity snippets describing Lessons in Chemistry as “Laugh-out-loud funny.” Let me tell you though there is very little funny in a story that takes place in the 1950s and 60s where a woman tries to have a career as something other than a teacher, secretary or nurse (to name a few). I found much of what Elizabeth endured infuriating, if not completely reprehensible.

Yet, at some point the tables did turn. Many of the loose threads tossed out in the first half of the book, came together (though predictably), to nicely tie up Elizabeth’s story. There were even some points where I did laugh out loud.

There are some moments you will need to suspend belief. Afterall, Ms. Garmus tells chunks of the story from the dog’s perspective (ala The Art of Racing in the Rain?). Nevertheless, despite the misogeny, violence, talking dogs and predictability of the story, I actually did enjoy it. A solid 4 stars for me.

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I’ve struggled writing these thoughts because this is not an easy story. Jesmyn Ward, in her fourth novel, does not sugar coat slavery. This isn’t Margaret Mitchell’s south. There was nothing cheerful, humorous or beneficial for black people. The beatings, the destruction of families, the rape, the starvation and more all occurred at the whim of white people.

Yet, there is a twist to Anniss’s story. You see spirits of all sorts inhabit Annis’s world. They support her, frighten her, abuse her and help her. So while you have to suspend belief to accept this reality, you also are forced to fully face the reality that was slavery.

It’s strange though, as I write this, I wonder if we’re not meant to believe  a world inhabited by spirits? Or instead, these spirits represent a coping mechanism created by Annis to survive the horrors? Just another lingering thought from reading this book.

Regardless, my point is this is not an easy story. I don’t want to say I loved it. Like Killers of the Flower Moon, you don’t want to love a story of abuse, murder, genocide. But authors must tell these stories and we must read them. So I will say some people will appreciate this story. Others will not.

My Thoughts

I appreciated Let Us Descend.

Ms. Ward writes beautifully, almost poetically. She creates images so thorough, I felt mist on my arms, mud on my feet, wounds on my body.

I  smelled the scent of the woods, the stench of sickness, the smell of cooking.

I saw the rivers rushing, crowded streets of the city, the stars at night.

I heard the barks of dogs in chase, the screech of wounded women, the soft whispers of a lover.

It took a bit for me to be fully absorbed by the story. Each night for a week, as I climbed in bed, I promised, tonight I will read something … lighter. Yet after I read a page or two of Let Us Descend, I found me reading more and more. Until the last two nights, when I plowed through the last third of the book. It quietly grabbed me and would not let go.

When it comes down to my rating, I go between 4 and 5 stars. Let’s call it 4.5.

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Background

What the River Knows tells the story of Inez, a nineteen year-old, trying to solve the mystery of her parents’ deaths in Egypt. The story takes place in the late 1800s, starting in Argentina and continuing in Egypt. It is the first of a duology, Secrets of the Nile.

When I chose the book, I didn’t realize Amazon classifies it as Young Adult. That doesn’t bother me though. What appealed to me was the subject and setting. I’ve always been fascinated with Ancient Egypt. And though it’s been a while since I’ve read historical fiction, I consider it a go to for me. However, there was another genre within this story to which I am unfamiliar, fantasy romance.

My Thoughts

Don’t get me wrong, I read a decent amount of fantasy novels but the only ones that may come close to romance were The Others. Yet, The Others felt more like a growing tension in a relationship that built over five books. On the other hand, this book’s  “romance” element beats you over the head from the moment Inez lands in Egypt. Sadly, for me, that detracted from the story. It just felt to “given,” to contrived.

Yet, for as much as the romance beat you over the head, I found the fantasy aspect so subtle and matter of fact, that I had to remind me it wasn’t real. I found the concept that there was once magic in our world, and it still lingers in some places and in some items, completely appealing. I would love for that concept to be explored more.

Lastly, for the story, I don’t want to say it’s simplistic, but I did figure chunks of it out early on. Furthermore, much of the conflict ensued because characters weren’t forthcoming with each other. Too much of that feels like a copout to me.  I also found the character of Whit pretty formulaic. All that said, I liked Inez. I want to know what happens to her. So, I can chalk some of these issues up to the fact that the story is geared towards the YA crowd and there’s enough of a cliff hanger for me to want to read the next book, Where the Library Hides (don’t read this book’s description unless you want spoilers for the first).

All in, I’d give this book a solid 3.25 stars

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Charlotte Illes Is Not a Detective by Katie Siegel tells the story of a twenty-something who well, was a detective. There’s more to it but before I dive in, let me give a caveat. Only one degree separates me from the author. I’ve never met her but she’s friends with my daughter’s best friend. Follow that? Anyway, make of that what you will. I think it’s cool that somone from our local high school is a published author.

The premise of Charlotte Illes is Not a Detective is that Charlotte, now post college twenty-something, was once a child detective alla Encyclopedia Brown, Nancy Drew and the Boxcar Children. Now she’s grown and trying to figure out her life and the last thing she wants to do is be a detective.

Yet Charlotte can’t help being who she is. When her brother’s girlfriend receives some creepy post it notes left on the brother’s front door, Charlotte is drawn into solving a mystery. Through it, we get to meet her brother, his girlfriend and Charlotte’s two besties.

My Thoughts

I liked this Scooby Gang of interesting and diverse characters. To me they’re the heart of the story. Having the aforementioned twenty-something year old daughter, it’s interesting and eye-opening getting that generation’s perspective. They’re not perfect. They mess up but we should all be able to relate.  I enjoyed spending time in their world.

To be fair there are some issues with the story too.

Lets face it. The premise of a famous child detective who solves mysteries professionals cannot, is a hard premise to swallow. Swallow it anyway. Once you get passed that premise, there’s enough meat on the bones of this book, that if this is the first in a series, I’d continue with it.

Also, there’s some repetitiveness in the story. For example, the story hammers home Charlotte’s angst about not wanting to do what comes naturally to her, detect. It also dwells a bit too much on the rift between Charlotte and her friends. I blame the editing for that.

Lastly, let’s not use fictional towns or settings. If we’re going to ride NJ Transit and spend time in Manhattan, use real NJ town and city names too. Janet Evanovich does it. It always gives me a kick when we visit Quakerbridge Mall with Stephanie Plum. Let’s put Charlotte in some real NJ locations. I think it adds a bit of fun for readers. It will at least for me.

Final Thoughts

Is Charlotte Illes Is Not a Detective great literature? No but it’s not meant to be. It’s a fast-paced cozy mystery featuring a young and diverse group of characters who I wouldn’t mind joining again in another story. I give it 3.5 stars, which is pretty darn good for the first book of a mystery series.

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Theo narrates the story in first person. Normally, I love when an author tells a mystery using first person. You get to solve the mystery along with the narrator, matching wits with them as they reveal the clues. However, that didn’t work for me in this story for several reasons.

First, from the get go, I didn’t like Theo. He felt off to me. I didn’t appreciate a psychotherapist seeking out a famous patient, it felt wrong, among other things. My dislike of Theo almost landed this book in my DNF (did not finish) pile.

Second, in addition to Theo’s point of view. Alicia shared her story with us via a journal to which Theo did not have access. It gave me “an edge.” It also made me empathise more with Alicia than Theo. I had to fight my inclination to read the last chapter to make sure all works out for Alicia.

Now we’re getting into major spoiler territory here. It’s a hard book to discuss without giving things away, so…

It’s  funny, as I read the book, I thought to myself, this is a maybe a three star. The story is fine, there are plenty of red herrings and enough mystery but I just don’t like the characters. Having finished it though, and reflecting upon it as I write this, I realize I am wrong, It’s a solid four star for me.

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As the history goes, we forced the Osage like all other native Americans, off their native lands. They resettled in Oklahoma. Unlike other tribes, they negotiated a deal with the US Government. They would forever retain the rights to what lay under the land.  Even if they sold the land. So when oil was found in Osage Territory, they became some of the richest people in the world (think Qatar today).

This set the stage for what became known as the Reign of Terror.

Killers of the Flower Moon starts by focusing in on one person, Mollie Burkhart. In the first part or chronicle, we meet many people in Mollie’s orbit and learn of the tragedies that befall different members of her family over and over. We also learn of the horrid treatment of the Osage not just from local white people but the state and federal government. Honestly, I struggled to get through this part of the book because it was so heart breaking to me. It makes me wonder how many other stories are out there like this we do not know.

In the second part of the book, the focus of the story switches to Tom White, the federal agent sent by J. Edgar Hoover to investigate the killings among the Osage. At this point the story becomes almost pure detective novel and my heart break switches to utter outrage. For as the first part took me a week to get through the first part, it took only two days to get through parts 2 and three.

The third part switches to the author’s perspective. We go with him as he goes to present day Oklahoma. He visits with some of the descendants, combs through newspaper clippings and archives. It’s here we learn the extent of the Reign of Terror. Or at least as much as we can learn without witness testimony and investigations. Truely horrific.

To me, reading this is likereading Night by Elie Wiesel. You’re not going to say you enjoyed it. Who enjoys reading about genocide? But it’s a compelling story, if you can keep the names straight, and one that I think everyone should know. Definitely 4 stars for me.

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I’ve never read a fiction book that had a real person feature so prominently and it provided an interesting twist. Especially, because in my brain, I kept hearing the character Julia speak with Julia’s signature lilt. Not to mention, I also pictured Dort completely looking like Jane Lynch (ala Julie and Julia).

This real character though provided some issues for me too. Having read My Life in France as well as watching the aforementioned movie several times, parts of Colleens descriptions of Julia felt almost lifted from these other sources. They were not. I just conjured these images based upon knowing how she cooked and worked in the kitchen. I also found me questioning Julia’s actions more than was necessary because she was a real person. My hangups.

On the flip side, having Julia Child as a supporting character allowed for some loverly market, cooking and eating descriptions. I loved that. as I’m a sucker for food porn.

All that aside, the story made for a good cozy, a bit formulaic but that’s why I read cozies, for the mystry and comfort. While I was able to figure out some of the broad strokes early, and note some of the clues before Tabitha, I didn’t have the full picture figured out until the reveal in the end. So that’s always good.

My Rating

Is this great literature? No. But that’s not what it is meant to be. It’s an entertaining, easy to read mystery. It takes place in Paris. It has good food porn and a strong female lead (though she does do some stupid things). There’s enough here for me to rate it 3.5 stars. Also enough to make me want to read the next in the series, A Murder Most French when it’s released in April.

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Then, one morning, she comes down to her shop and there is a dead body in it.

Now, we are off to the races as Vera sets out to solve the mystery of what she deems to be a murder though the police disagree. We soon learn the identity of the “victim” and four potential “suspects” as we pivot to each’s point of view. The story cruises along to inevitable “reveal” resolving all mysteries along the way.

It’s a fun cozy with a new setting to me. The plot moves at a nice pace with plenty of red herrings and subplots to keep you guessing for a bit while the overall flow is comfortably predictable. Warning, the food and tea descriptions will have your cravings going through the roof if you’re anything like me.

I think the only thing that would have increased my enjoyment more would have been a change in narrative. We focus on Vera and the “suspects” but all in the third person. I would have enjoyed the split focus more, I think, if we were in first person. That way we could have a bit less exposition describing Vera and more of our own impressions based upon her actions. It’s a minor quibble though. It doesn’t detract from the actual story.

I hope this is the first in a series of Vera Wong stories, four stars.

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