Monthly Archives: December 2019

Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay and a Mother’s Will to Surviveby Stephanie Land 2019/ 289 ppread by the authorrating: 8 / memoir-social science I think I’d heard about this book at some point because it did get a lot of … Continue reading →

This book started out absolutely wonderful- like Great Kitchens of the Midwest, Stradal’s prior novel. And I was well entertained until probably 1/2 way through when the plot seemed to start wandering. Fortunately it came back together about together about … Continue reading →

Very disappointing. Probably ought to be a Young Adult book.  The idea behind the book was first introduced to me by the reviews of Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes which hit the hype machine. But several reader-reviewers mentioned The … Continue reading →

Cute – I actually bought a second in this series – another Christmas book reviewed now but read earlier. In this one a man is found dead after a snowed-in Christmas party. It’s very short but enjoyable enough in a … Continue reading →

It was this or a James Patterson does Christmas and this sounded preferable. It’s an odd book – a serious crime is about to be committed and the perpetrators have set it up to look like the protagonist is going … Continue reading →

Another cute goodie in this series – they’re all really short and even advertised as being great for commuters. From what I’ve read they’re not totally fluffy or romances. Good narrator. *******Cherringham: Secret Santa by Matthew Costello and Neil Richardsread … Continue reading →

This is so short it’s almost like a short story, but it’s sold separately, and it’s rather expensive for under 2 hours, so I’ll give it its own review because it is quite good and well done. I listened to … Continue reading →

If you’re looking for a light Christmas read and can tolerate short stories with a nice mix of romance and speculative fiction, along with a splash of religion and great humor, then I found a goodie by a favorite author. … Continue reading →

*******Mr Dickens and His Carolby Samantha Silva2017 / 288 ppread by Euan Mortan- 8h 9mrating 6 (liked parts) historical fiction ******* I was disappointed but apparently a lot of folks loved it so take my view with a grain of … Continue reading →

If there was one book I’d give to my entire gift list for Christmas this year (coming up in 10 days) this would be the one. Climate change in my correct opinion is the number one issue facing the world … Continue reading →

I think I read one of Perry’s Christmas tales years ago and was unimpressed. I still am. The book is slow and pretentious. I suppose the main plot was okay and I did finish but … I’ll pass on any … Continue reading →

Well it’s that time again and I’m reading Christmas books for the holidays. They’re usually rather fluffy mysteries but there are other thrown in. I can do anthologies. *******Murder at Melrose Courtby Karen Menuhin2018 /read by Sam Dewhurst-Phillipsrating: B / … Continue reading →

This story takes place mostly right at the week of Christmas so I saw that and decided to read it now. I like Crombie well enough – I read her Thanksgiving book – but she’s not anywhere near a favorite. … Continue reading →

I sometimes save Christmasy books back through the year as I come across them. I did that with A Redbird Christmas. A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flaggread by Fannie Flaggrating 7 (fun)/ fiction A combination of human interest threads, humor, … Continue reading →

The Long Take: A Noir Narrative by Robin Robertson 2018 / 238 pagesread by Kerry Shale – 5h 26mrating: 9.25/ historical fiction******* Innovative and excellent historical novel which includes a few pictures along with source notes. The era is the … Continue reading →

I felt like I’d read this before –  how odd.  I know I’ve read quite a number of the scenes in the first part – right up to the kids going to see their mom at Christmas and confronting their … Continue reading →

This is certainly a legal thriller – both words, by any definition. There was some need for a suspension of disbelief in places because certain actions seemed highly unlikely but …. in general I enjoyed the read. *******The Hallowsby Victor … Continue reading →