148. A Surprise for Christmas

A Surprise for Christmas And Other Seasonal Mysteries. Martin Edwards, Editor. 2021 (US) 2020 (UK). 304 pages. [Source: Review copy]

Love mysteries and suspense? Enjoy holiday/winter themed short stories? I recommend Martin Edwards' newest collection for the British Library Crime series. The series includes novels and short story collections. (I have read several in this series, but not all by any means!)

The stories included in this collection are as follows:

The Black Bag Left On a Doorstep by Catharine Louisa Pirkis
The Hole in the Wall by G.K. Chesterton
Death on the Air by Ngaio Marsh
Persons or Things Unknown by Carter Dickson
Dead Man's Hand by E.R. Punshon
The Christmas Eve Ghost by Ernest Dudley
Dick Whittington's Cat by Victor Canning
A Surprise for Christmas by Cyril Hare
On Christmas Day in the Morning by Margery Allingham
Give Me a Ring by Gilbert Lucy Malleson
Father Christmas Comes to Orbins by Julian Symons
The Turn-Again Bell by Barry Perowne

I found the collection to be a blend of familiar authors and new-to-me authors. Most of the stories stayed within the mystery/suspense genre. A couple, however, flirted with other genres or sub-genres. For example, stories that focused on crimes from the criminal point of view. One story is definitely ALL thriller. (Give Me a Ring was a LONG thriller-esque story that kept me turning pages.)

I enjoyed almost all of the stories within this collection. (Perhaps with the exception of Father Christmas Comes to Orbins. I don't know WHERE I've read the story before. Perhaps in another Christmas-themed collection. But I didn't enjoy it the first time around. A few paragraphs in, I was THAT STORY AGAIN??? 

Still for the most part I can wholeheartedly recommend this collection for those that enjoy this genre. 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

2022 Historical Reading Challenge

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2022

Host: The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader (sign up post)

Dates: January - December 2022

# of Books: I'm aiming for Ancient History -- 25 Books

What I Read for The Challenge
1) Road of Bones (Billy Boyle #16) James R. Benn. 2021. [September] 312 pages. [Source: Review copy]
2) Hawaii. James A. Michener. 1959. 1136 pages. [Source: Library]
3) The Chilbury Ladies' Choir. Jennifer Ryan. 2017. 371 pages. [Source: Library]
4) Exodus. Leon Uris. 1958. 610 pages. [Source: Library]
5) I Must Betray You. Ruta Sepetys. 2022. [February] 336 pages. [Source: Library]
6) The Kitchen Front. Jennifer Ryan. 2021. 408 pages. [Source: Review copy]
7)  The Last Kingdom. (The Last Kingdom #1) Bernard Cornwell. 2004. 351 pages. [Source: Library]
8) A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice. Rebecca Connolly. 2022. 320 pages. [Source: Review copy]
9) Yours Cheerfully. (The Emmy Lake Chronicles #2) A.J. Pearce. 2021. 304 pages. [Source: Review copy]
10) The Great Passion. James Runcie. 2022. [March] 272 pages. [Source: Library]
11) The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle. Jennifer Ryan. 2022. [May] 432 pages. [Source: Review copy]
12) Alias Anna: A True Story of Outwitting the Nazis. Susan Hood. 2022. 352 pages. [Source: Library]
13) Louisa June and the Nazis in the Waves. L.M. Elliott. 2022. 320 pages. [Source: Library]
14) Katherine. Anya Seton. 1954. 512 pages. [Source: Bought]
15) When the Sky Falls. Phil Earle. 2022. 320 pages. [Source: Library]
16) Cyrano de Bergerac. Edmond Rostand. Translated by Gladys Thomas and Mary F Guillemard. 1897. 240 pages. [Source: Bought]
17) Sense and Second Degree Murder. Tirzah Price. 2022. [April] 416 pages. [Source: Library]
18) Front Page Murder. (A Homefront News Mystery #1) Joyce St. Anthony. 2022. [March] 304 pages. [Source: Library]
19) Death on a Deadline (Homefront News #2) Joyce St. Anthony. 2022. [November] 304 pages (guess). [Source: Review copy]
20) My Own Lightning. (Wolf Hollow #2) Lauren Wolk. 2022. [March] 320 pages. [Source: Library]
21) The Belle of Belgrave Square. (Belles of London #2) Mimi Matthews. 2022. 432 pages. [Source: Review copy]
22) The Peach Rebellion. Wendelin Van Draanen. 2022. 416 pages. [Source: Library]
23) The Bachelor and the Bride. (The Dread Penny Society #4) Sarah M. Eden. 2022. [September] 368 pages. [Source: Review copy]
24) Lines of Courage. Jennifer A. Nielsen. 2022. 400 pages. [Source: Library]
25) A Gambling Man. (Archer #2) David Baldacci. 2021. 432 pages. [Source: Library]
26) Laura's Shadow (Doors to the Past) Allison Pittman. 2022. [August] 256 pages. [Source: Review copy]
27) The Siren of Sussex. (Belles of London #1) Mimi Matthews. 2022. [January] 400 pages. [Source: Review copy]
28) Long Way Home. Lynn Austin. 2022. [June] 391 pages. [Source: Review copy]
29) Dream Town. (Archer #3) David Baldacci. 2022. 432 pages. [Source: Library]
30) The Star That Always Stays. Anna Rose Johnson. 2022. 224 pages. [Source: Library]
31) African Town: Inspired by the True Story of the Last American Slave Ship. Irene Latham and Charles Waters. 2022. 448 pages. [Source: Library]
32) The Lindbergh Nanny. Mariah Fredericks. 2022. [November] 320 pages. [Source: Review copy]
33) Miraculous. Caroline Starr Rose. 2022. 352 pages. [Source: Library]
34) Singing with Elephants. Margarita Engle. 2022. [May] 224 pages. [Source: Library]
35) Magic of Ordinary Days. Ann Howard Creel. 2001. 304 pages. [Source: Library]
36) A Light Beyond the Trenches. Alan Hlad. 2022. [March] 362 pages. [Source: Library]
37) From the Shadows (Billy Boyle #17) James R. Benn. 2022. [September] 336 pages. [Source: Library]
38) We Own the Sky. Rodman Philbrick. 2022. [September] 208 pages. [Source: Library]
39) Beauvallet. Georgette Heyer. 1929. 272 pages. [Source: Library]
40) Marmee. Sarah Miller. 2022. [October] 432 pages. [Source: Library]
41) Flying Fillies: The Sky's The Limit. Christy Hui. 2022. [July] 202 pages. [Source: Library]
42) The Door of No Return. Kwame Alexander. 2022. 432 pages. [Source: Library]
43) Making Bombs for Hitler. Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. 2012/2017. 191 pages. [Source: Review copy]
44) Five Decembers. James Kestrel. 2022. 432 pages. [Source: Library]
45) Murder at Mallowan Hall. Colleen Cambridge. 2021. 272 pages. [Source: Library]
46) The Picture Bride. Lee Geum-yi. Translated by An Seonjae. 2020/2022. 320 pages. [Source: Library]
47) Emily of Deep Valley. Maud Hart Lovelace. 1950. 304 pages. [Source: Library]
48) Switchboard Soldiers. Jennifer Chiaverini. 2022. 464 pages. [Source: Library]
49) Great or Nothing. Joy McCullough, Caroline Tung Richmond, Tess Sharpe, and Jessica Spotswood. 2022. 400 pages. [Source: Review copy]
50) Winterkill. Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. 2022. [September] 288 pages. [Source: Library]
51) A Holiday by Gaslight by Mimi Matthews. 2018. 175 pages. [Source: Bought]
52) A Darcy Christmas: A Holiday Tribute to Jane Austen. Amanda Grange, Sharon Lathan, Carolyn Eberhart. 2010. 290 pages. [Source: Library]
53) The War Below. Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. 2014. 256 pages. [Source: Review copy]
54) Murder at Morrington Hall (Stella and Lyndy Mystery #1) Clara McKenna. 2019. 304 pages. [Source: Library]
55) Stolen Girl. Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. 2010. 208 pages. [Source: Review copy]
56) Prisoner of War. Michael P. Spradlin. 2017. 272 pages. [Source: Review copy]
57) The Enemy Above. Michael P. Spradlin. 2016. 240 pages. [Source: Review copy]

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

147. The Last Daughter of York

The Last Daughter of York. Nicola Cornick. 2021. [November] 368 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence (of the prologue): Snow spattered the windows of the old hall, carried on the sharp north wind that spun it into fierce spirals before battering it against the diamond mullions.

First sentence (of chapter one): Serena stretched out on the sun lounger, relishing the sensation of the last heat of the day against her skin. 

Premise/plot: The Last Daughter of York is a time slip novel. It is set in the present day (presumably) and during the 'War of the Roses.' Serena Warren, our modern day heroine, is still traumatized by her [twin] sister's disappearance. It's been YEARS--over a decade--since that night. But her memories are just as elusive as ever. So when Caitlin's body is found in a grave that seemingly has not been disturbed since 1708, well, it's shocking, disturbing, intriguing. It doesn't change things--dead is dead is dead. But HOW did her sister's body travel back through time? For that is indeed what it looks like--there is a diary entry from the period that describes in detail the finding of a dead body and giving it a proper burial in a proper grave. Anne Lovell, our historical heroine, is married to Francis Lovell who has sworn allegiance to Richard III. (Long before Richard III assumed the crown. Lovell served Edward as well. Despite some of Anne's own family playing around with treason. (Anne is related to the Nevilles, to the Kingmaker himself.) This story involves Anne's determination to do ANYTHING and everything she can to protect the young Prince Richard. Of course, there's some 'magic' involved--a lodestar that connects the stories.

My thoughts: I wasn't sure if I would enjoy this time slip novel or not. It is not--I repeat not--a traditional time travel story. The lodestar isn't so much a "time machine" as it is a complete and total mystery. History and mystery--two of my favorites. This book doesn't--to my recollection--seek to answer the question if Richard III ordered the deaths of the princes in the tower. So much as it provides a way of escape for one of them.

I found the story intriguing. However, I always wanted just a little more from it. Like, for example, WHAT it would have been like for Richard as a fifteenth century boy to SUDDENLY show up in the nineteenth century. We get glimpses of his story--and it sounds SO INTERESTING and amazing. But these are tiny, tiny glimpses of what his experience was like. The characters of the past, in my opinion, were definitely more fleshed out than the ones in the present. 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

146. Escape from Chernobyl

Escape from Chernobyl. Andy Marino. 2021. [December] 176 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Yuri Fomichev picks a wooden splinter from his palm.

Premise/plot: For those who enjoy reading about historical disasters--and yes, 1986 is history--Andy Marino's newest book is Escape from Chernobyl. There are a handful of young narrators--Yuri, Alina and Lev, Sofiya--that provide an up close perspective of the disaster as it unfolds hour by hour. [Yuri is cousins with Alina and Lev. He is currently living with them. Sofiya is a neighbor in the same building. She and Yuri are crushing on each other.] All are living WAY too close to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on the fateful day--April 26, 1986. 

My thoughts: One word: BLEAK. You might be saying WHAT WERE YOU EXPECTING???? True, all true. I have no one but myself to blame. I checked it out from the library. I started reading. I got hooked and had to keep turning pages.

This one is fiction. Don't be fooled by the epilogue where one of the character is catching readers up to the modern day.

Earlier this year, I read Meltdown which was about another nuclear disaster. That one was nonfiction--and awesome. Part of me wishes I'd read a middle grade appropriate nonfiction title on the subject instead. Or perhaps I just wish that they'd been fewer narrators? I don't know. This one was definitely one that I had to finish after I started it. But honestly it's feeling more like an almost for me. 

But for readers--and there definitely are readers of all ages--who LOVE reading about disasters, this one is worth considering.

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

145. The Legend of Auntie Po

The Legend of Auntie Po. Shing Yin Khor. 2021. 290 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: This is a story about stories. This is a story about gods and men.

Premise/plot: The Legend of Auntie Po is a coming-of-age graphic novel. It is set in the American West (Nevada, to be precise) circa 1885. Mei, our young heroine, helps her father who is the chief cook for the logging camp. Mei's specialty is making/baking pies. And her pies are quite beloved. But she isn't known just for making pies, no, she's also known (and beloved) for telling stories. Her stories center around a larger-than-life figure, Auntie Po, who knows more than a thing or two about the logging life. What is less clear for Mei, though less clear may not be the best way to describe it, is the future. She has hopes and dreams--for sure--and she knows exactly what she wants from life. But she isn't sure that her happily ever after is even remotely, remotely possible. It seems far-fetched. Like seeing Auntie Po in real life is WAY more likely than having her dreams actualized. But are all things possible?

Life is hard. It's hard for loggers in general--if by hard you mean physically exhausting and sometimes dangerous--but for the Chinese immigrants in particular it is made more difficult. Politics and racial tension. Even those with the best of intentions--who are making an effort to be good and kind and just--can stumble and fall. Like the log camp foreman. He comes into the story as a boss, true, but also as the father of Mei's best-best-best-best-best friend Bee (or Beatrice). Mei is totally head over heels in love with Bee. (Does Bee love her in that way too??? Is it unrequited???  Requited??? Definitely working mainly with non-verbal body language. Perhaps in part because it is a graphic novel. So much of the story is communicated through the illustrations.)

My thoughts: This was not a good fit for me. Reading is 100% subjective. That's why I did my best to stay completely objective in the summary. But graphic novels are so rarely my thing. This offers a blend of coming-of-age, first crushes (same-sex crush in this instance), fantasy, history, POLITICS and RACE. There are a couple of dramatic action scenes. But mainly readers are in Mei's head exploring her thoughts, feelings, hopes, and dreams. I don't know if I wanted a more central focus or what exactly it was that kept me from really enjoying this one. I don't know if a fresher acquaintance with Paul Bunyan would have helped or not.

 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews