Book Chat - CLOSED by original moderator discussion
What Are You Reading / Reviews
>
What Are You Reading / Reviews - January thru March 2021
date
newest »
newest »
Mod
Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra, Vaseem Khan
★ ★ ★ 1/2
Inspector Chopra has been forced to retire from his police job in Mumbai due to a heart attack... At the same time his Uncle Bansi has left him a most unusual inheritance: a depressed baby elephant that is given the name Ganesh.
After a young man is murdered, the now retired Inspector Chopra continues the investigation and comes across a criminal that should be dead... With Ganesh along at his side, the elephant comes to the Inspector's aid...
Very unique, likable characters, but rather slow in many places,, hence the 1/2 star.
Mod
Ask Me No Questions, Shelly Nobel
★ ★
I'm not sure why I didn't care for this book, but I didn't. It just seemed flat, as did the characters, and I do not know why. The storyline about horseracing was interesting, but that didn't really come into play until later in the book, and I was able to figure out who-done-it pretty early.
Countess Philomena is just coming out of mourning & into a scandal; her father who forced into a titled but moneyless marriage has given her an ultimatum: move back into his home, move into the estate's dower house or.... go stay with her school chum Beverly in N.Y.
Phil's maid abandons her and she picks-up a new maid with a secret past on the ship. Her Butler is there to help things along.
When they land in New York Bev is there to meet her, and for some reason Bev's husband Reggie is there as well, with his mistress, a Florodora girl.... Just as Bev is walking up to her husband's car he is shot and fall back against his mistress...
When Bev & Phil get back to the brownstone, the police open the library door to find a dead man shot with Bev's pistol...
Then there is a quite a bit of whining on Bev's part... and it bored me. There was just something missing from this book, it seemed dull.
Mod
Cursed Objects, J.W. Ocker
★
This book's subject matter could be highly interesting if wasn't written in a smug, sarcastic, condescending manner and aimed at scaring young readers.
Contents include, but are not limited to: the Hope Diamond, King Tut's Tomb, Annabel the Doll, Dybbuk Box, & other "cursed" historical objects.
It is simplistic, brief, and has illustrations instead of photographs. It may be cataloged as Adult Non-Fiction, but it is clearly written for children.
Not only did it bore me, the attitude of the writing aggravated the hell out of me.
Mod
What the Dead Leave Behind, David Housewright
★ ★ ★
This was rather interesting: Nina's daughter, Erica, beings home a friend (Malcom) whose father, Frank, was murdered a year previously. Malcom asks McKenzie's help in discovering who killed his father...
Malcom's father was a wife-beater, and everyone in their dinner group knew it.... With the agreement of 2 other police jurisdictions, McKenzie investigates Frank's murder & he finds two other murders that are very likely connected to Frank's murder.
Frank worked as HR director for a cosmetics manufacturer, the previous owner (also murdered) was a rapist and preyed upon the female employees; a member of the dinner group was promoted to run the company and she subsequently fired the HR Director that allowed the abuse to continue.
Also in the story is a company spy... and the children of the dinner group.... All involved in some manner or another.
I like McKenzie: he's not a "tough", he's not arrogant, but he's really a good guy who does his best to help people pro-bono. The book was pretty fast moving & held my interest.
Mod
Mr. Popper's Penguins, Richard/Florence Atwater
★ ★ ★
Well as children's books go; this was imaginative, fun, & entertaining. I had never read this before and now I can say I have....
Mr, Popper writes to Admiral Drake, who is on an expedition to the South Pole. Admiral Drake sends Mr. Popper a penguin that he names captain Cook.
When Captain Cook becomes ill from loneliness the local zoo send Mr. Popper a female penguin, Greta, and soo there are twelve penguins that go on to perform at variety theaters across country...
At the end of the tour Mr. Popper must decide to allow the penguins to go to Hollywood to star in a movie or go with Admiral Drake in order to populate the North Pole.
I'm thinking the movie might be better.
Mod
The Mangle Street Murders, MRC Kasasian
- ★
This is what you get when an author believes himself to be clever: The characters are smug, erudite, arrogant, self-righteous, & sarcastic.
The book was poorly written, the characters shallow, and the plot scattered. March goes to stay with her godfather Sidney Grice, who is a private detective. Where March is modern, Grice is upright, opinionated & stuffy.
Together they work to solve a grisly murder & many years later during WW II march begins to write about their experiences.
I will not be reading the other two I borrowed from the Library.
Mod
Tell Me No Lies, Shelley Nobel
★ ★ ★
Countess Philomena (Phil) is invited to a debut ball where the intended fiancée is found dead inside the laundry chute. The mother of the young woman whose ball Phil attended has requested that Phil come and help find out who murdered the man & why.
Included is a high ranking government official, dubious friends of the deceased, Mr. X (they mystery man), and assorted family members.
The dead man was a schemer who teamed up w/ known financial schemers to bankrupt his company and a seducer of young women.
I liked this book much better than its predecessor and found the characters rounding out. The book held my interest and I most likely will continue with the series, where I had originally thought not.
Mod
Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret – Judy Blume – 3***
First published in 1970, this has become a staple of children’s literature, as well as a frequently challenged book. I think if I had read this at a young age I would have easily identified with Margaret. I certainly recognize some of my own anxieties about growing up, though my situation was very different from Margaret’s.
My full review HERE
Mod
A Bookshop In Berlin – Françoise Frenkel – 4****
Subtitle: The Rediscovered Memoir of One Woman’s Harrowing Escape From the Nazis. Originally titled ”No Place To Lay One’s Head”, this is an interesting first-hand account of the author’s ultimately successful journey to safety in Switzerland.
My full review HERE
Mod
Dark Fire CJ Sansom
★ ★
501 pages: 300 pages too long...
All the intrigue, double dealing & ignoring what was in front of their faces all along....
The book deals with Cromwell's betrayal & his grasping to save himself with an ancient "Dark Fire" a most voluble substance & against Norfolk's machinations.
There were other story lines, but they served as distractions... and the blindness of Shardlake & Cromwell's retainer inability to figure out who was the betrayer as well as who was behind the plot to discredit Cromwell was amazingly boring & over-written.
Won't be reading another one of these mysteries again.
Mod
Who's Sorry Now, Maggie Robinson
★ ★ ★
At first the narrative was down right boring, but as soon as the dialog & action began, the book improved.
Lady Adelaide (Addie) & her deceased (now ghost) husband, Reggie, investigate the poisonings of a group of nightclubbing young friends as well as the actions of a member of the Forty Dollies (a gang of dolled up young women thieves)
The book held my interest & next I'm on to the 3rd in the series.
Mod
Just Make Believe, Maggie Robinson
★ ★
Widow Lady Adelaide (Addie) & her ghost husband, Rupert are back; this time at a weekend house party for "neighbors"; where the hostess is found poisoned in her conservatory just prior to tea.
I wasn't fond of this book, it fell flat due to the over abundance of narrative, lack of dialog & action (snooping) on Addie's part. Also tiring is Addie's continual haranguing of Rupert for his infidelities while he was alive.
The narrative was rather boring and the over-done conclusion came out of nowhere.
Mod
Olive Kitteridge – Elizabeth Strout – 4****
After my F2F book club chose to discuss the sequel, Olive, Again , I decided to revisit the original. I can clearly see her growth as a character. And I’m more sympathetic to Olive, even though she is still hard to like.
My full review HERE
Mod
The Dutch House – Ann Patchett – 4****
Patchett uses the youngest member of the Conroy family, Danny, to tell this decades-long story of the family’s fortunes. I love Patchett’s writing. I love the way she reveals her characters in what they say and do. We see Danny grow from a young child to a middle-aged man with children of his own. And we watch Maeve take on the mantle of responsibility for her younger brother, encouraging and pushing him to succeed, to prove that they can thrive without the legacy they expected.
My full review HERE
Mod
The Perplexing Theft of the Jewel in the Crown, Vaseem Khan
★ ★ ★
Retired Mumbaikar Detective Chopra is viewing the visiting Coronation Crown of England when he hears a high pitched noise, then an explosion, and is knocked unconscious. When he awakes the Crown is missing and it is up to him to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
Later the Crown shows up in a most unlikely spot but the Koh-i-nor diamond is missing and so off goes Chopra with his baby elephant, Ganesh, on a hunt for the diamond.
In many places I skimmed, as I found most of the narrative long, drawn out, & boring; but once the dialog & the action got going the book picked-up.
Mod
The Strange Disappearance of a Bollywood Star, Vaseem Khan
★ ★
While Chopra works to discover the whereabouts of a kidnapped young Bollywood Brat/Star his partner goes undercover in the Eunuchs' quarter in order to untangle the mystery of the invisible Master who pays for the girls to dance, sing & entertain for 3 days at a time, as he remains invisible.
The kidnapping part was boring, I certainly disliked the characters, even at the end during the grand revelation.
However, the part about the history of the Eunuchs & their life in Mumbai was very interesting, which earned the book a 2nd star.
Again I skimmed most of the narrative in order to get to the dialog & action portions of the book.
Mod
The Jungle Book – Rudyard Kipling – 3.5***
Of course I was familiar with Mowgli, Shere Khan, and Baloo, but I had never this classic of children’s literature. This edition had Mowgli’s tale, but also included three bonus stories: Rikki-Tikki-Tavi (the mongoose), Toomai (who watches the elephants dance), and Kotick (the white seal). They are marvelous adventure stories with a few life lessons included. The exotic nature of the setting appeals to the imagination as well.
My full review HERE
Mod
The Perplexing Theft of the Jewel in the Crown, Vaseem Khan
★ ★ ★
..."
I've added this series to my tbr based on your reviews. Thanks!
Mod
The Last Rhinos – Lawrence Anthony & Graham Spence – 3.5***
Lawrence Anthony has been called the Indiana Jones of conservationism. He certainly lives up to that moniker in this memoir of his efforts to save the last remaining Northern White Rhinos in the wild. Anthony went to great lengths to plan a rescue of these magnificent beasts. I only wish that more of the book was focused on the animals rather than on the negotiations with government officials and rebel group leaders.
My full review HERE
Mod
Murder at the Grand Raj Palace, Vaseem Khan
★ ★ ★ ★
Definitely the best so far: Inspector Chopra is called in by a former colleague to investigate a murder which his superiors have deemed a suicide in order to bypass any work that might be involved.
The murdered man has a secret/hidden past in India and has returned in order to purchase a painting of historical & cultural importance to India.
At the same time, Chopra's wife, Poppy (much to his consternation), has checked in to be with Chopra on their 25th wedding anniversary and has become involved with the search for a missing (run-away) bride of Indian Royalty.
The narratives were thankfully shorter & less often... but the scene of Baby Ganesh tracking down the missing bride with a huge crowd of nosey people following him was over-done.
Mod
Bad Day at the Vulture Club, Vaseem Khan
★ ★ ★
Inspector Chopra is investigating the murder of Cyrus Zorabian, a highly esteemed member of the Persian-Zoroastrian community & Vulture Club. The Zoroastrians of the Vulture Club & community do not bury their dead, rather they leave them for the sacred vultures to devour, thus ensuring the natural cycle of death & life.
Cyrus has been bludgeoned to death on the grounds of the Vulture Towers.... but such an upstanding member of the Persian Community, who could possibly want him dead? Chopra finds that there are many people...
As Chopra's investigations continue he comes across a dubious land buying scheme which has left an innocent man in prison, too many people dead, & a paper trail leading back to Cyrus.
I did take off a star for the boring narratives throughout the book, but still the story held my interest.
Mod
Tin City, David Housewright
★
Although I really like McKenzie, I did not like this book, the story, or the characters.
McKenzie is investigating the death of his 2nd father's, Mr. Mosley, bees... and although we find out what is killing them we never find out who. Then Mr. Mosley's attorney's wife is raped & brutalized, someone else is attacked, & Mr. Mosely is murdered....
Both the FBI & the mob are involved, as well a a rogue agent.
The ugly people & the violence put me off.
Mod
Pretty Girl Gone, David Housewright
★ ★ ★
I really do like McKenzie, but once again I really didn't like the characters except for police Chief Mallinger and a few others... Most everyone else involved in the crime was a p.o.s., including the previous Chief of Po-lice.
The Governor of Minnesota has hopes for a Senate seat; his wife receives an e-mail suggesting that he killed his h.s. girlfriend, Elizabeth. The Governor's wife asks McKenzie to find out who sent the w-mail....
Most everyone then attempts to stop McKenzie from finding out what happened to Elizabeth.
The clue to the murderer is right near the beginning... What McKenzie discovers, along with who murdered the girl is the perversion of justice & the guilt of an entire small town.
Mod
Dead Man’s Switch – Tammy Kaehler – 3***
This was a fun, fast read that taught me a bit about racing. I liked Kate as a lead character. She’s intelligent, prepared, determined, skilled and strong. I liked the way she thought through the scraps of information she collected to arrive at her conclusions. I also really liked her focus on the job at hand – driving that Corvette as part of a team.
My full review HERE
Mod
Three To Get Deadly – Janet Evanovich – 3***
Book three in the Stephanie Plum series features “Uncle Max” – the proprietor of a storied candy shop / soda fountain who has gone missing. This is a hugely entertaining series that continues to delight and make me chuckle even on re-reading. The success of the series is due in part to the likeable Stephanie, and her romantic conflict between Joe Morelli and Ranger. But the supporting characters are also marvelous.
My full review HERE
Mod
Madman on a Drum, David Housewright
★ ★
Bobby Dunston's oldest daughter, Victoria, is kidnapped & McKenzie is demanded to pay the ransom for her return....
Both Bobby & McKenzie recognize the voice of the kidnapper from their childhood & McKenzie goes after him only to find him murdered... Someone is one step ahead of McKenzie and it seems as he is being set-up at every move by someone on the inside.
I figured out who was behind the kidnapping but not who was actually doing the killing...
It was a riveting read, but once again I skimmed most of the redundancies & long narratives.
Mod
Dead Boyfriends David Housewright
★ ★ ★
When answering an add for a vintage dining room table, McKenzie gets lost and finds himself stopping to help a woman who is sitting on a curb sobbing; inside the house is the body of her boyfriend, bashed in the head & bled out.
When the cops arrive, the young rookie slaps the woman around attempting to get a confession, so McKenzie intervenes....
The DA, running for Senate, plans to make an example of the woman.... until one of her other violent ex-boyfriends turns up & gets nasty.... and then McKenzie uncovers a string of dead ex-boyfriends, who somehow died of a combination of alcohol & carbon monoxide poisoning.
I did not figure out who murdered the current dead boyfriend, but I did figure out who killed the others,
Again a riveting story with many a place to skim over.
Mod
Murder on Pleasant Avenue, Victoria Thompson
★ ★
This was a bit over the top: Italian women & children are being kidnapped by the local "Black Hand" and are returned after a ransom is paid.... Sarah & Frank Malloy, Gino Donatelli, & Maeve Smith all work together investigating different aspects of the crime.
Then a woman volunteer from the neighborhood community house disappears & reappears it is assumed that she too has been a victim of the local thugs...
When the "boss" is found dead in his love nest Gino is arrested for the crime; But when his wife is poisoned and Gino is kidnapped, things begin to heat up even more.
It was obvious from the beginning who the murderer was... and the rescue of Gino was overdone & audacious.
This was a fast & easy read, I think Thompson's earlier books were better written.
Mod
The Taking of Libbie, SD, David Housewright
★ ★ ★ ★
Wow... The book begins with McKenzie's door being broken down, him being tazered, dumped in the trunk of a car by 2 thugs & him waking up in Libbie S.D. with a group of people trying to figure out who he is & why he is not the Rushmore "Rush" McKenzie that they know.
The Rush that they know scammed the town into believing he was going to build a mall just outside of town with their $$$$ and disappearing along with their investment.
The town is dying the women are beautiful, & the men are assholes.
When the Sheriff realizes that McKenzie is not the man who was using his name or scammed the town, the Sheriff asks McKenzie to help recover the lost money.
Now here's the thing, there had to have been an insider helping... who else knew the password to the escrow account?
There is the town bully who likes to set peoples property on fire, but who is bested by McKenzie, but doesn't learn his lesson..
There are all the beautiful lonely women in the town who all look for love in all the wrong places.
There are the men who run the town who all seem to be assholes, with the exception of the City & County Sheriff.
Then there is the fire & the double murder... as well as McKenzie again being drugged, stripped, beaten, & dropped off nearly naked in the middle of the plains of Montana.
Lots of action, no lack of assholes & once again McKenzie saves everyone's bacon while delivering justice to those who are in need.
Mod
The Curse of the Jade Lily, David Housewright
★ ★ ★
When an antique carved jade Lily on loan to a local museum is stolen by a staff member, McKenzie is called in to deliver the ransom money and retrieve it. The problem is there are several people out there who want the Lily or the money and are willing to harass McKenzie to get it.
When the thief is shot before the exchange and the crooked cop as well, all hell breaks loose. Some of the police are not unhappy the corrupt cop is dead, but at the same time the code of honor that states "Thou shalt not kill a police officer" .
Also in the mix are Mr Donatucci, the insurance adjuster; Heavenly Petryk, a wildcard bounty hunter; a crooked government State Department Agent; the glib owner of the Lily; and several nasty people from the museum all with their eyes on the prize.
When McKenzie makes the exchange of ransom for the Lily, he receives a call from the thieves stating that he has 10 seconds to get out of the hotel room where the Lily is waiting to be retrieved... and so McKenzie jumps over the railing of the 2nd floor just as the bomb goes off.
So what about the money, the murders, & the Lily? More twists and turns than Twisted Colossus Rollercoaster, but not as fun.
Mod
The Devil May Care, David Housewright
★ ★ ★
The granddaughter of an obscenely rich grand political manipulator, who happens to be not a fan of "That Fuckin' McKenzie", asks McKenzie to find her boyfriend who has taken his boat & disappeared.
As it turns out there are some very ugly & dangerous people looking for him as well and as McKenzie discovers the boyfriend is not who his girlfriend, her family, & new friends know him as.
The book definitely held my interest, but the violence towards the women in the book made me take off a star.
Mod
Hot Six – Janet Evanovich – 4****
Episode Six in the Stephanie Plum series has our charmingly inept bounty hunter on the trail of her mentor, and man of hot dreams, Ranger. This is possibly the funniest of the books in the series that I’ve read. I first read this in about March 2003, and I remember clearly reading in the cafeteria during my lunch break and bursting out in laughter loud enough to have people several tables away look up to see what was going on.
My full review HERE
Mod
Like to Die, David Housewright
How about - 1 ★?
McKenzie gets drawn into helping Salsa Girl, whose business is being sabotaged by an insider. What she doesn't know is the insider & two of her staff members are running heroin in the boxes of her fresh produce.
Salsa Girl is not only a liar (which McKenzie spotted from the beginning) she has a criminal past w/ the Chicago Mob, who is looking for her... and then they set up to take over her business and expand the heroin sales.
I really disliked Salsa Girl, I didn't find any redeeming qualities about her and so I gave the book 1/2 star, as I felt McKenzie was just plain stupid for helping her. Also unlikeable was her business partner and his family, with the exception of his mother.
Mod
Flowers by Jeff Leatham
★ ★ ★ ★
I got this for the photos, it is perfect for my collage work: BEAUTIFUL, colorful flowers.
Some botanical information is included... That was not important to me, just the photos; can't wait to get started using this for my art work!
Mod
How To Train Your Dragon – Cressida Cowell – 4****
A delightful children’s fantasy book about dragons and Vikings and young people who rise to the occasion. I’ve never seen the movie, and I don’t have children, so really didn’t know what to expect. But I was completely charmed by this outrageous story. It’s fantastical, but relatable. The names of the characters (SnotLout, Fishlegs, Dogsbreath…etc) will appeal to tween boys as well.
My full review HERE
The Librarian's Vampire Assistant, Book 5
by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff
4**** for book but series only 2*
I thought this was going to be the book with HEA for main characters but while there are changes, the romance continues to be one step forward, two steps back.
Next book is from different character's POV. While villain redeemed stories can be great after 3 years and 5 books with no HEA I'm tired of this.
I'm through trying to keep up with any Pamfiloff series. Her writing style is interesting and I find the events in individual books entertaining but I don't like how her series develop.
Mod
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll
★
I have no idea what to write except to say; I just did not like "Through the Looking Glass" and I couldn't wait until it was ended.
I fared a bit better with "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", but I found Alice to be a quite rude & arrogant little girl.
What I did like, were the illustrations, which I'll use on my ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) as well as the text, which is why I'm rating this 1 star.
Mod
White Fragility – Robin DiAngelo – 3***
I’m not sure what to think about this book. I am a person of color. And this book is written by a white woman, trying to explain why it is so difficult for white people to have meaningful conversations – and, more importantly, change behaviors – about racism. I agree with some of her perspectives and applaud her efforts at calling out racism in a tactful manner. Not that her tactic always works. I listened to the audio because it was the version that arrived first, and I needed to read it for my F2F book club discussion. But I think this is a book best absorbed via text format.
My full review HERE
Book Chat - CLOSED by original moderator
Books mentioned in this topic
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism (other topics)Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (other topics)
The Librarian's Vampire Assistant, Book 5 (other topics)
How to Train Your Dragon (other topics)
Flowers By Jeff Leatham (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Mimi Jean Pamfiloff (other topics)Brittany White (other topics)
David Weber (other topics)
Chris Kennedy (other topics)
Ralph Lister (other topics)
A Lady's Guide to Mischief and Murder, Diane Freeman
★ ★ ★ 1/2
Lady Frances, Countess of Harleigh's sister, Lily is pregnant. Lily, her Aunt, & her fiancée, Leo inform Frances that they plan to forego their society wedding and elope. To save the couple from a scandal, Frances's fiancée, George offers his brother's estate for a country weekend and a last minute wedding.
Things seem to be falling into place, but then a string of accidents befall the guests & one of the footmen is poisoned, leading Frances & George to believe that Leo is the target....
Meanwhile Frances's & Lily's mother does everything she is able to thwart the wedding.
There are plenty of suspects & plenty of motives; and just when George captures the main suspect, an undercover man from the Home Office, the twist in the plot is revealed.
I like the characters, with the exception of Frances's mother; but as she is finally put in her place I'm hoping subsequent events & investigations will be a bit easier for Frances.