2022 What Are You Reading?

[Carolyn]

For those who enjoy Regency mystery series here is my review for Death at the Manor by Katharine Schellman, #3 in her series featuring young widow Lily Adler

review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Don]

Thank you, Carolyn, for this review enticing all of us into this mystery. A ghost as a suspected whodunnit. Wow. As for Captain Jack Hartley, your mention of your desire likely serves as a strong influence to bring him back in future episodes. Well done.

[Carolyn]

Don wrote: "Thank you, Carolyn, for this review enticing all of us into this mystery. A ghost as a suspected whodunnit. Wow. As for Captain Jack Hartley, your mention of your desire likely serves as a strong i..."

Thanks Don. I have to say I was a little disappointed in the ghost - the stage was set for a more gothic tale with a ghost running amok in a decaying mansion but it was unfortunately fairly well behaved after the murder! And yes, I do hope Captain Jack Hartley is back soon!

[PattyMacDotComma]

Peggyzbooksnmusic wrote: "PattyMacDotComma wrote: "Peggyzbooksnmusic wrote: "Finished The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie #1 Flavia de Luce by Alan Bradley. YA historical mystery set in 1..

Listened to audio while reading. Fantastic narration by Jayne Entwistle."

How great! That's good to know.

[PattyMacDotComma]

I only just missed Nikola Tesla's birthday (July 9) when I read the children's bio by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara. It's another in the great Little People BIG DREAMS series about historic figures.
4★ My review of Nikola Tesla with several illustrations

[PattyMacDotComma]

Leavers, Schoolies, Spring Break - whatever you call it when kids on the brink of adulthood take off on their own - parents hope for the best.

Guess what? Town destination refused entry, so where to go? The Brink, Brink Island, an isolated island off the coast of Western Australia, of course. Western Australian author Holden Sheppard understands this place and these kids.
4★My review of The Brink

[Chris]

Finished The Calligrapher's Daughter by Eugenia Kim. Set in the Korea during the first half of the 20thC during the Japanese occupation. Interestsing and enjoyable read. 4 stars.

[Sarah-Hope]

I really enjoyed Catriona McPherson's historical mystery In Place of Fear set in post-WWII Edinburgh and beginning on the day the National Health Service launches. Along with a solid mystery, the book explores issues of class and gender during that time.

My **** review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Ashley Marie]

Four stars to Ruta Sepetys's newest, I Must Betray You. A taut, fast-paced novel centered on the Romanian Revolution. I deeply enjoyed the audio, read by Edoardo Ballerini.

[Kathryn]

You Have a Friend in 10A: Stories. These stories are so good that I feel like, "Oh. I'm not even really a writer. Real writers write THESE stories."

[PattyMacDotComma]

In the Market for Murder by T.E. Kinsey finds amateur sleuths Lady Hardcastle and her maid, Armstrong, investigating why a local farmer died suddenly in the pub where they were lunching. Hardly the atmosphere they moved to the country for!
3.5~4★ My review of In the Market for Murder

[Carolyn]

The Keepers of the Lighthouse by Kaye Dobbie is a very enjoyable dual timeline mystery set on a small island near Tasmania, connected to a shipwreck in 1882.

review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Alice]

This morning I woke up early and finished The Book Woman's Daughter Author: Kim Michele Richardson. I gave it 5 stars. Second book in series. The first book was excellent and so was this one. Really brought you deep into social issus of Appalacia in the 1950s. I I enjoyed learning about roles of women (Pack Horse librian, fire watchwather and frontier nurses). There is so much history in the USA that we know little about.. I highly recommend.

[Kathryn]

Just started Elektra

[PattyMacDotComma]

I love it when a favourite author is convinced to continue a story. Lying Beside You is celebrated Aussie mystery writer Michael Robotham's excellent addition to the Cyrus Haven (& Evie Cormac) series. But you can pick it up and enjoy the suspense and action straight away, because Robotham will fill you in.
5★ My review of Lying Beside You

[Alice]

I am reading The Paris Showroom by Juliet Blackwell


I will admit I am a bit tired of books in occupied France during WWII, but I do very much enjoy Juliet Blackwell books. The story pulled me right in book.

[Carolyn]

Jess Kidd's new book based on the true story of the wreck of the Dutch ship Batavia off the west Australian coast in 1629 is quite different from her previous books but I really enjoyed it.

The Night Ship

review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Sarah-Hope]

I enjoyed Alys Clare's The Man in the Shadows. A historical mystery set in Victorian London and the countryside, this title moves between two story lines—neither of which could carry a book by itself, but which work well together.

My *** review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Sarah-Hope]

I really enjoyed Lawrence Osborne's On Java Road. On the surface, it's a mystery novel, but its temporal setting in Hong Kong after the British return of the territory to mainland China is what really makes it interesting.

My **** review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Finished The Summer Queen #1 Eleanor of Aquitaine Trilogy by Elizabeth Chadwick. Set in 12th century Europe. Rated 4 stars. Looking forward to reading #2 and #3!
Link to my short review:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

[PattyMacDotComma]

Peggyzbooksnmusic wrote: "Finished The Summer Queen #1 Eleanor of Aquitaine Trilogy by Elizabeth Chadwick. Set in 12th century Europe. Rated 4 stars. Looking forward to reading #2 and #3!
Link..."

Peggy - Your link goes to the book. This is the link to your review!!!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[PattyMacDotComma]

Chinese-born Qian Julie Wang was only five when she was warned she had to behave, be quiet and blend in - or they'd be deported. As she writes in Beautiful Country: A Memoir, it was hard for her to understand why her professor parents became menial workers.
3.5★ My review of Beautiful Country

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

PattyMacDotComma wrote: "Peggyzbooksnmusic wrote: "Finished The Summer Queen #1 Eleanor of Aquitaine Trilogy by Elizabeth Chadwick. Set in 12th century Europe. Rated 4 stars. Looking forward ..."

Thanks, Patty! Not sure what I did incorrectly! Blaming it on being a senior citizen :)

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

Finished Acorna's Rebels and starting The Best of Me

[Alice]

Violeta by Isabel Allende. Takes place in Chile. I like her books a lot but this is not a favorite. Some characters were interesting but most I did not like much.Spans 100 years. Beautiful cover art though

[PattyMacDotComma]

I always enjoy the investigative exploits of the self-made computer-nerd 'family' known as the Monkeewrench crew. Off the Grid by P.J. Tracy has Native Americans, terrorists, and kidnappers. Loved it!
4.5★ My review of Off the Grid

[Kathryn]

Alice wrote: "Violeta by Isabel Allende. Takes place in Chile. I like her books a lot but this is not a favorite. Some characters were interesting but most I did not l..." I didn't absolutely love this book either. I felt like Violeta's sudden business success was unrealistic and her abusive relationship with Julian felt out of character for such a strong woman. Here's a link to my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[PattyMacDotComma]

An Artist's Eyes by Frances Tosdevin shows, through Clémence Monnet's beautifully clever illustrations, that all artists (and we) see things differently. Gorgeous!
4.5~5★ My review with illustrations

[Margaret]

The Romanov Sisters by Helen Rappaport.

[Ashley Marie]

I started a nonfiction book this morning, The Makers of Scotland: Picts, Romans, Gaels and Vikings. It's a little dry in spots and bounces around a bit, but it's short so I'm remaining hopeful.

[Lawrie]

Ashley Marie wrote: "I started a nonfiction book this morning, The Makers of Scotland: Picts, Romans, Gaels and Vikings. It's a little dry in spots and bounces around a bit, but it's short so I'm remain..."

This is a period of North British/Scottish history which I have always found fascinating.I am not familiar with this particular author. There has always been an academic debate depending on which weighting is given to the few literary sources compared to the archaeological evidence. It’s a period ripe for historical fiction which I might get round to some day.

[Ashley Marie]

Lawrie wrote: "This is a period of North British/Scottish history which I have always found fascinating.I am not familiar with this particular author. There has always been an academic debate depending on which weighting is given to the few literary sources compared to the archaeological evidence. It’s a period ripe for historical fiction which I might get round to some day."

He appears to be fairly indie, and has several books published.

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

[booFinishedk:The Best of Me|10766509] need to finish Off the Leash: A Year at the Dog Park

[Alice]

I have started The Secret Stealers by Jane Healey. Set in 1942 Washington DC start with. Story line is really pulling me in. I read The Beantown Girls by Ms. Healey and really enjoyed it.

[Kathryn]

I just started The Great Passion. It's a novel about a young man who is a student of Johann Sebastian Bach.

[Peggyzbooksnmusic]

Finished Forever and a Day a James Bond prequel novel by Anthony Horowitz. I guess this would be considered historical fiction as it's set in the 1950's. I'm 72 so I still think of the 1950's and 1960's as contemporary :)
Rated this 3 stars. Amazingly this is my first James Bond read. Enjoyed more then I expected. Read and listened to entertaining narration by Matthew Goode. Maybe will read original books by Ian Fleming.

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

I finished reading Off the Leash: A Year at the Dog Park and starting Can You Keep a Secret?

[PattyMacDotComma]

I'll be surprised if this one doesn't win some more awards. Auē, by Becky Manawatu is centred around a contemporary Maori family. Loved it!
5★ My review

[Carolyn]

I think this fits into the HF category, as it partly deals with internment of Japanese Americans during WW2 and their treatment afterwards.

The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende, a moving love story of two people kept apart by class and wealth.

review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[PattyMacDotComma]

I'm ashamed I know so little about Alexander von Humboldt, who explained how important it is to know that everything is connected in nature. Thanks to Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, I know more. Get this into the hands of kids!
5★ My review with illustrations

[Eric]

I finished More Than I Ever Had. Fairly, fast paced snapshots of the early settlements of Australia seen through the eyes of a British Army private. Four stars.

[PattyMacDotComma]

What's not to like in a Mick Herron novella? You don't know have to know Herron's work to enjoy poor old 'retired' spook John Bachelor's dilemma in The Catch.
4.5★ My review

[Sarah-Hope]

I just finished The Yeoman's Tale, the second volume in M. J. Trow's Chaucer mystery series set in the 14th Century. This one takes place during the peasants' revolt which made it particularly interesting.

My **** review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Lawrie]

I have started Bloody Scotland a crime compilation Each of the twelve stories is set in a different iconic Scottish location including Maes Howe, Mousa Broch and Edinburgh Castle. A great and entertaining way to learn about these historical sites if you were not familiar with them and a new twist if you were

[PattyMacDotComma]

Lawrie wrote: "I have started Bloody Scotland a crime compilation Each of the twelve stories is set in a different iconic Scottish location including Maes Howe, Mousa Broch and Edinburgh Castle. A..."

That looks like a good collection, Lawrie.

[PattyMacDotComma]

My Name Is Yip by Paddy Crewe is the off-beat 'memoir' of a most unusual character. Yip is like no one I've ever met (or am likely to meet), and I loved the way he told his story of early nineteenth century America.
4★ My review of My Name is Yip

[Sarah-Hope]

Just finished Chris Nickson's A Dark Steel Death , which is being released on September 9. This is the 10th historical mystery in his DI Tom Harper series. Set in Leeds in 1916, the book offers some interesting glimpses of life in England during WWI.

My **** review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Chris]

Just finished The Black Tulip by Alexander Dumas and continue to read and enjoy The Rossetti Letter by Christi Phillips.

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

I finished Can You Keep a Secret? and starting Acorna's Triumph

[PattyMacDotComma]

Shakespeare's Tales Retold for Children by Samantha Newman is a great collection of 16 plays, also available as individual books. Simple language, entertaining cartoon illustrations, characters of all colours. Great for kids and new readers of English.
4.5~5★ My review of the set with a few illustrations