THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB discussion
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WHAT BOOKS HAVE YOU FINISHED?
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by Judy Melinek and T.J. MitchellDr. Judy Melinek describes her two years as a forensic pathology fellow at the 'Office of the Chief Medical Examiner' (OCME) in New York.
Very good book. 4.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Diane Mott DavidsonCaterer/amateur sleuth Goldy Shulz investigates when her neighbor is killed at a law firm that's Goldy's client.
Entertaining cozy. 3 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Graham MooreA black teacher accused of killing a white female student is tried, and gets a not guilty verdict when one juror holds out. The verdict is unpopular with the public and one of the fellow jurors regrets giving in.
Good legal thriller. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Vigdis HjorthSiblngs who are estranged (in part) because of a childhood incident have disagreements over their parents' will.
Book was a scandal in Norway because it's supposedly autobiographical. Good story. 3.5 stars
My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Gilly MacmillanA piano prodigy is involved in a tragic accident when she's a young teen and it has deadly repercussions later on.
Good suspense novel. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Anjelica HustonAnjelica Huston's autobiography is wonderfully comprehensive and evocative, including particulars about friends, relatives, her passions, her emotions, her movies, her television shows, etc.
4 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by M.C. BeatonScottish police sergeant Hamish Macbeth investigates several crimes, including the murder of a skulking police officer.
Good mystery. 3 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by David RosenfeltIn this spin-off from the Andy Carpenter series, Andy's wife Laurie joins a private detective firm that tries to help a judge who's being blackmailed.
Good debut for the new series. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise PennyU.S. Secretary of State Ellen Adams rushes around the world trying to stop nuclear bombs from being detonated in American cities.
Good thriller. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Susannah CahalanAt the age of 24 the author became sick with a rare autoimmune disorder; she tells the story of her illness and recovery.
Good memoir. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Leslie BennettsIn this lively biography, which is informative, poignant, and funny, author Leslie Bennetts provides an insightful portrait of Joan's life - from childhood to death.....and beyond.
Good book. 4 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Jeffrey EugenidesAt puberty, a young person raised as a girl realizes he's a boy (because of a genetic maladaption).
Very good story. 5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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These Women by Ivy PochodaThe murder of prostitutes in Los Angeles goes unsolved, and 15 years later killings start again.
More character study than thriller; good story. 4 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Diane ChamberlainThis dual timeline book alternates between a female joining the civil rights movement in 1965, and the same female in 2010 - when she looks back at wrongs of the past.
Very good book. 4 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Heather GudenkaufA girl with the potential for a golden future goes to prison for five years, changing the lives of many people.
Poignant story. 3 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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The Long Drop by Denise MinaA fictionalized story about a real multiple murderer named Peter Manuel - who's known as 'Scotland's First Serial Killer.'
Interesting 'true crime' story. 3 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Faye KellermanDetective Peter Decker searches for a missing man and investigates the death of a college student.
It's always fun to visit with favorite characters but this mystery is just okay. 3 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by John ConnollyIntrepid private investigator Charlie Parker is chasing a long-time enemy, and trying to prevent Armageddon.
Complicated but compelling story. 3 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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Visitation Street by Ivy PochodaA tragic mishap leads to a character study of the residents of the Red Hook area of Brooklyn.
Good book. 4 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Tamar MyersIn this comic mystery, amateur sleuth Magdalena Yoder - a Mennonite woman who eschews things like television, movies, and dancing - is accused of murder.
Amusing mystery. 3 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by M.C. BeatonPrivate Detective Agatha Raisin is on the trail of a poisoner.
Fun mystery. 3 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
My review of Meteors and Menorahs by Nessa ClaughMeteors and Menorahs
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by William Kent KruegerTwo young brothers in Minnesota find a body, experience a tragedy, and contemplate faith and death.
Good character study. 4 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Lawrence BlockIn this comic mystery, professional thief/amateur sleuth Bernie Rhodenbarr investigates a nefarious scheme.
Amusing story. 3 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Beyond Atlantis: An Epic of the Ancient Americas.“There was romance in every word, every nuance.”
Despise some minor things, I liked this book.
The quote from the book is quite appropriate.
Review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Ron Howard and Clint HowardIn this memoir, Ron and Clint Howard write about growing up as child actors - and remaining successful in Hollywood - under the guidance of their devoted parents.
Very good book. 4.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Walter MosleyPrivate detective Leonid McGill runs into trouble when he agrees to deliver a letter.
Good thriller. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Greg Sestero and Tom BissellMemoir about Sestero's friendship with Tommy Wiseau who made 'the worst movie ever filmed'....called The Room.
Good story. 4 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Graham MooreA Sherlock Holmes expert claims to have discovered the lost diary of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in which Doyle details mysteries he investigated.
Entertaining story. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You by Matthew InmanCartoons about clever off-beat cats.
Fun book. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Virginia FeitoA rich uptight housewife is shocked to learn a prostitute character in her husband's book is modeled after her.
Good story. 4 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Ian RankinAn investigation into a space satellite that glitches and a space shuttle that explodes becomes dangerous.
Good thriller. 3 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor TowlesAfter the Russian Revolution a former aristocrat has permanent 'house arrest' in the hotel where he was living.
Wonderful story and characters. 4.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Yesterday, I finished reading "The File: A Personal History" by Timothy Garton Ash.
In The File: A Personal History, the author shares with the reader the experiences he had upon returning to what was once East Germany in the immediate post-Cold War years of the early 1990s from a series of visits he made to the Federal Authority for the Records of the State Security Service of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR). The purpose of these visits: to examine and analyze a secret file that had been kept on Timothy Garton Ash by the GDR secret police (the Stasi) who had unknowingly been surveilled during the late 1970s and early 1980s, when, as a young Oxford graduate, he had lived and worked in East Berlin - to carry out research for a book he was writing about Berlin during the Nazi era.
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by John le CarréA long-time British spymaster gets a letter from a whistleblower which leads him to investigate a former spy.
This is le Carré's last novel, published after his death. 3 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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In The File: A Personal History,..."
This looks interesting. 🙂
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by Michael FinkelThis is about Christopher Thomas Knight, also known as 'The North Pond Hermit', who lived in the Maine woods, without human interaction, for 27 years.
Fascinating story. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Mikel JollettMikel Jollett, frontman for the indie rock band Airborne Toxic Event, was in a cult until his mother grabbed her two sons and ran away. Mikel tells his story here.
Poignant memoir. 4 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Harlan CobenHester Crimstein - the formidable criminal defense lawyer - is a secondary character in Harlan Coben's 'Myron Bolitar' series. In this book Hester gets a starring role.
Engaging mystery. 3 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joël DickerA complex mystery in which a famous sixty-something author named Harry Quebert is accused of murder....but the homicide occurred three decades ago.
Good mystery with a lot of humor. 3.5 stars
MY review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Barbara K. Lipska and Elaine McArdleNeuroscientist and brain expert Barbara Lipska (ironically) develops brain tumors. She writes about her treatment and recovery in this book.
Interesting narrative. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Boze HayleighIn this book Hadleigh uses quotes from people in and around the LGBTQ+ community to illuminate the quandary - past and present - of homosexuals in show business.
Enlightening book. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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I Found You by Lisa JewellA man with amnesia is taken in by a single mother while another woman searches for her missing husband.
Good mystery. 3 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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by Daniel H. WilsonIn this sequel to The Andromeda Strain, a strange alien structure appears in the Brazilian rain forest, and a team of scientists is sent to study it.
Good sci-fi story. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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Hollywood Ending: The Second Detective by Day Humorous Mystery by Kellye GarrettPrivate detective Dayna Anderson investigates when a Hollywood publicist is killed.
Fun mystery. 3.5 stars
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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THE JAMES MASON COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB
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