Well, this past week I read several good books and I thought I'd pass them on (in a manner of speaking!) I'm always looking for new authors or new titles myself so I figured maybe other readers are too!
The Fudge Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke - lots of good recipes and interesting, realistic characters. Hannah Swenson discovers the body of a disliked sheriff and investigates in order to clear her brother in law. Part of a series, but easy to pick up if you haven't read the others.
Eat Cake by Jeanne Ray - started slow but I really got into the characters; they were very well written and believable. A SAHM who has her elderly mom living with her has to take in her estranged father - at the same time her husband is laid of from his job. I liked that the main character and her husband truly loved each other, and how they learned to rely on each others strengths. (But between this one & Fudge Cupcake, I got VERY hungry for desserts!)
The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler- another slow starter that wound up drawing me into the characters. A group of women (& 1 man) are friends through a JA book club. Each has problems or aspects that you learn about as they host each book mtg. You don't have to have read any Austen to get into it, but if you have you will enjoy it even more. I liked how the Austen book for each month mirrored what the character's were experiencing in the present.
Grave Circle by David Nolta - the style of writing was a little "mannered" for me but the story was a good one; lots of atmosphere and good descriptions of living in a small college setting. The discovery of the body of a professor's wife, who everyone had assumed to have run away 10 yrs. prior, leads to shakeups at a prestigious New England college.
In the Blink of an Eye by Wendy Corsi Staub - good mystery thriller. Similar to Mary Higgins Clark. A medium and the blind daughter of her best friend both sense a presence in an old mansion. Is it the ghost of the best friend or is there someone else at work? Good job of detailing the secondary characters; they (and the main characters) remained very realistic. Also very interesting look at the Spiritualist community of Lily Dale NY (which is real) and some notes from the author explaining her own "ghostly" experiences.
I also re-read Anne of Green Gables and Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery. (Yes, I skipped over Anne of Avonlea to get to the romantic entanglements of Anne/Gilbert/Roy/Christine.) If all you've ever seen is the movie version of "Anne" I urge you to read the books - and if you've only read Green Gables please try the remaining books. I have to "visit" Anne & family several times a year!
One more recommendation (although I didn't read it this week) is for The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl. I thought this was way better than The DaVinci Code; I don't know why that one gets all the good press. It was OK, I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't rush to read it again; IMHO it was a "cotton candy" read - good but no substance. The Dante Club is about H.W. Longfellow, O. W. Holmes and other poets who are translating the first American version of Dante's Inferno. They discover that someone is committing murders which re-enact certain aspects of Dante's work. It's a thriller/murder mystery with many interesting historical tidbits.
Well, that's all I can remember for now! Hope someone finds something they like
The Fudge Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke - lots of good recipes and interesting, realistic characters. Hannah Swenson discovers the body of a disliked sheriff and investigates in order to clear her brother in law. Part of a series, but easy to pick up if you haven't read the others.
Eat Cake by Jeanne Ray - started slow but I really got into the characters; they were very well written and believable. A SAHM who has her elderly mom living with her has to take in her estranged father - at the same time her husband is laid of from his job. I liked that the main character and her husband truly loved each other, and how they learned to rely on each others strengths. (But between this one & Fudge Cupcake, I got VERY hungry for desserts!)
The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler- another slow starter that wound up drawing me into the characters. A group of women (& 1 man) are friends through a JA book club. Each has problems or aspects that you learn about as they host each book mtg. You don't have to have read any Austen to get into it, but if you have you will enjoy it even more. I liked how the Austen book for each month mirrored what the character's were experiencing in the present.
Grave Circle by David Nolta - the style of writing was a little "mannered" for me but the story was a good one; lots of atmosphere and good descriptions of living in a small college setting. The discovery of the body of a professor's wife, who everyone had assumed to have run away 10 yrs. prior, leads to shakeups at a prestigious New England college.
In the Blink of an Eye by Wendy Corsi Staub - good mystery thriller. Similar to Mary Higgins Clark. A medium and the blind daughter of her best friend both sense a presence in an old mansion. Is it the ghost of the best friend or is there someone else at work? Good job of detailing the secondary characters; they (and the main characters) remained very realistic. Also very interesting look at the Spiritualist community of Lily Dale NY (which is real) and some notes from the author explaining her own "ghostly" experiences.
I also re-read Anne of Green Gables and Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery. (Yes, I skipped over Anne of Avonlea to get to the romantic entanglements of Anne/Gilbert/Roy/Christine.) If all you've ever seen is the movie version of "Anne" I urge you to read the books - and if you've only read Green Gables please try the remaining books. I have to "visit" Anne & family several times a year!
One more recommendation (although I didn't read it this week) is for The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl. I thought this was way better than The DaVinci Code; I don't know why that one gets all the good press. It was OK, I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't rush to read it again; IMHO it was a "cotton candy" read - good but no substance. The Dante Club is about H.W. Longfellow, O. W. Holmes and other poets who are translating the first American version of Dante's Inferno. They discover that someone is committing murders which re-enact certain aspects of Dante's work. It's a thriller/murder mystery with many interesting historical tidbits.
Well, that's all I can remember for now! Hope someone finds something they like
I hear the new book is about 2/3 done, so hopefully we'll have that one soon. I liked the Lord John mystery, but I miss Jamie & Claire.
