Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Books with the Word "Secret" in the Title on My TBR

Today I'm linking up with Top Ten Tuesday hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl which is all about lists.  Since lists are one of my favorite things this is one of my favorite linkups!  Today's topic is Books with a Word in the title.  The word I chose is Secret/Secrets because I do love a book that exposes long held secrets.  I don't know that much about most of these but they all look intriguing.

1.  The Secret to Southern Charm by Kristy Woodson Harvey 

2.  The Lost Arts of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice

3.  The Secrets of Love Story Bridge by Phaedra Patrick 

4.  The Secrets of Bones by Kylie Logan

5.  The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Kate Lumsden

6.  The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton

7.  The Cartographer's Secret by Tea Cooper

8.  The Secret Love Letters of Olivia Moretti by Jennifer Probst

9.  Every Single Secret by Christina Dodd

10. Where Secrets Sleep by Marta Perry

All of these look fantastic though very different.  Have you read any of these?

The Murder Machine - Mystery Review

Goodreads:  The Murder Machine by Heather Graham

Rating: Liked It! (3.5 Stars)
Source:   Publisher

Description:   This state-of-the-art smart home has a next-generation entertainment system, an ultramodern kitchen where every appliance is online and even a personal AI to control it all. Standing above its owner's lifeless body, FBI agent Jude Mackenzie is faced with the daunting task of discovering how the woman was killed by her own home. How do you catch a murderer that doesn't leave any fingerprints?

Enter Special Agent Victoria Tennant, whose familiarity with cybercrime reveals the stark a machine can only do what it's been directed to. As the number of grisly "accidents" begins to rise, the pair must race to uncover the perpetrator even as they find themselves caught in their digital crosshairs! There's nowhere to hide when danger may be as close as the very phones in their pockets.

Genre: Mystery - Romantic Suspense

Why I Picked This Book:  I always enjoy this author's books and this sounded like a fun one.

My Impression:  I really enjoyed this one.  Was it the most realistic or well written book?  Nope - not even close but it was a total candy bar treat of a book.  It was entertaining and fun and with lots of twists and turns that kept me hooked and looking forward to getting back to the story.  

The mystery is an entertaining concept - a series of accidents prove to be not so accidental and are all linked to AI and hacking into cars, a yacht, and even a house. It's a little creepy when you think about how much tech and AI is in our regular life and how loosely protected most of it is.  The characters here are all at varying levels of tech-savvy who are trying to figure out just how things are going on and how everything is happening.  

I did guess the who well before it was revealed but this didn't impact my enjoyment in seeing everything unravel.  If you're looking for a fun read to take to the beach or the pool or just for distraction this is a fun bit of escapism.  

Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Absolutely!  While her books rarely make my Top Ten favorites lists I always enjoy them.

Would I Recommend this Book?   Yes, if you're looking for something light and for a bit of escapism.

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *

This Week in Reading - April 27

It's Sunday Post time!  This is hosted by the awesome Caffeinated Book Reviewer and gives us all a chance to recap our week.

What I Got:

Something Whiskered by Miranda James - A castle in Ireland + Diesel!  What could be better? (Publisher)

Murder, She Wrote: A Body in Boston by Jessica Fletcher and Terrie Farley Moran - I love this series and this one features PI Harry McGraw who in the show was played by Jerry Orbach who was my favorite.  (Publisher)

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser - I've had this book on my TBR for ages so when it was on the list of free books on Libro.fm I had to pick it up.  (Purchased)

The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict - This stars Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham solving a murder in Paris.  I couldn't resist! (Purchased)

Currently:

Reading: Shot Through the Book by Eva Gates and Parting Breath by Catherine Aird

Listening:  The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst 

It's been a rainy stormy week here but otherwise fairly quiet.  I'm enjoying my reading and am really excited about the books.  My birthday is in early May so it is now the start of what I consider Birthday season which lasts all the way end of April to the beginning of June.  I've made a list of things I want to do am excited to start checking off the boxes!  

Have a great week and happy reading!

Friday Fives - Five Quick Reviews For Books I've Read Recently

I'm in a list making kind of mood so I thought I'd start making random five lists.  Sometimes they'll be bookish other weeks not so much. This week I'm sharing 5 quick reviews for books I've read recently.

1.  The Desk from Hoboken by M.L. Clondike - I'm fascinated by genealogy and solving mysteries from the past so obviously picking up this book was a no brainer for me.  Unfortunately, I found the book didn't quite live up to its potential for me.  RaeJean was an interesting main character and I'm always here for a dog sidekick.  However, language and subject matter as well as a few incidents kept this from being a cozy but there wasn't the pace that typically makes a more straightforward mystery work for me.  I was interested in how everything came to be but not enough I will continue this series. My Rating: Liked It (3 Stars)

2.  Let Me Lie by Claire Mackintosh - I've read one book by this author that I loved and found seriously fast paced.  This one didn't quite live up to that but I did enjoy overall and the end definitely had me hooked.  Anna is struggling with a loss of both her parents within a year as well as other dramatic changes in her life. Anna's relationship with partner gave me a bit of the ick and there were times the plot felt a bit slow.  The character of Murray was really what kept me reading the story and while I guessed aspects of the solution there were a few surprises in the end.  This wasn't a favorite but I'm looking forward to reading another book by this author.  Liked It! (3.5 Stars)

3.  Murder Flies the Coop by Jessica Ellicott - This is such a fun cozy series that takes place in a small English village between the Wars.  Edwina is a proper English spinster and her old school friend, American divorcee and adventuress, Beryl Halliwell is anything but.  Together though they make for an excellent crime solving team.  I really enjoyed this one that tackled pigeon racing (long distance which is much more gentlemanly than short distances somehow) and how coal mine life was viewed by the other residents.  I love Beryl and Edwina and the solution of the mystery was a bit of a surprise.  This is a nice cozy mystery series with a likable set of characters and I'm looking forward to picking up the next book.  My Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)

4.  Someone to Wed by Mary Balogh - I love this series so far and this was just a lovely story.  I wasn't entirely sure I was going to connect to Wren at the very beginning as she does come across as very cold and distant.  However, as the story went on I quickly grew to love her.  Alex and the rest of the Westcott family is delightful as usual and I loved seeing more of Violet and her daughters as they are still navigating their new circumstances.  I enjoyed this one from beginning to end and when I came to the last page I found I wanted more time with the characters which is always a good sign.  This was a lovely historical romance with an older than usual female lead and an interesting set of challenges.  My Rating: Loved It (5 Stars)

5.  The Lake of Lost Girls by Katherine Greene - This was a recommendation from a friend and I really enjoyed this in audiobook form.  Four girls at a small Southern US college went missing 20+ years ago and a body has just been found.  Between that and a true crime podcast about the subject going viral Lindsey's life has been turned on its ear - because Lindsey's older sister was the fourth girl to go missing.  Through multiple POVs and two different timelines the investigation unfolds and made for a seriously interesting listen that definitely had me hooked.  There are a lot of twists and turns and while I did guess a few things there were also a lot of surprises.  I haven't read anything by this author before but I'll definitely be looking for more by her.  My Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)

Books from the Backlog - Murder in Piccadilly

Today I'm linking up with Carole from Carole's Random Life of Books for Books from the Backlog.  I really enjoy the chance to feature a book that's been hiding in the piles of books for far too long!

Goodreads: Murder in Picadilly by Charles Kingston

Blurb:  'Scores of men and women died daily in London, but on this day of days one of them had died in the very midst of a crowd and the cause of his death was a dagger piercing his heart. Death had become something very real.'
When Bobbie Cheldon falls in love with a pretty young dancer at the Frozen Fang night club in Soho, he has every hope of an idyllic marriage. But Nancy has more worldly ideas about her future: she is attracted not so much to Bobbie as to the fortune he expects to inherit.

Bobbie's miserly uncle Massy stands between him and happiness: he will not relinquish the ten thousand a year on which Nancy's hopes rest. When Bobbie falls under the sway of the roguish Nosey Ruslin, the stage is set for murder in the heart of Piccadilly - and for Nancy's dreams to be realised. When Chief Inspector Wake of Scotland Yard enters the scene, he uncovers a tangled web of love affairs, a cynical Soho underworld, and a motive for murder.

The good-natured vintage mystery novel is now republished for the first time since the 1930s, with an introduction by the award-winning crime writer Martin Edwards, the leading expert on inter-war detective fiction.

Why It Needs to Come Off the Shelf:  This has been on my Overdue Review shelf for far too long which is too bad because it looks like it'd be fantastic.

Reading What I Want to Read - Agatha Christie + Seeing Darkness

The last few years I've made a list of 10 books - 5 books off my shelf, 5 books from the library - that I'm really wanting to read.  There's no real rhyme or reason.  I just go through my library list and my shelves and pick the books that are calling to me.  Here are two that I've read recently.

Goodreads:  Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman by Lucy Worsley

Blurb:  "Nobody in the world was more inadequate to act the heroine than I was."

Why did Agatha Christie spend her career pretending that she was “just” an ordinary housewife, when clearly she wasn’t? Her life is fascinating for its mysteries and its passions and, as Lucy Worsley says, "She was thrillingly, scintillatingly modern." She went surfing in Hawaii, she loved fast cars, and she was intrigued by the new science of psychology, which helped her through devastating mental illness.

So why—despite all the evidence to the contrary—did Agatha present herself as a retiring Edwardian lady of leisure?

She was born in 1890 into a world that had its own rules about what women could and couldn’t do. Lucy Worsley’s biography is not just of a massively, internationally successful writer. It's also the story of a person who, despite the obstacles of class and gender, became an astonishingly successful working woman.

With access to personal letters and papers that have rarely been seen, Lucy Worsley’s biography is both authoritative and entertaining and makes us realize what an extraordinary pioneer Agatha Christie was—truly a woman who wrote the twentieth century.

My Thoughts:  I don't think it's a secret that Agatha Christie is one of my favorite authors.  Coming into this one I had already read quite her autobiography as well as other books surrounding her life.  I loved Lucy Worsley's take on this biography.  She seems to genuinely love and admire her subject yet she isn't blind to some of the issues that are problematic in Christie's books.  She does a fantastic job of putting Christie and her books in context both with what is going around Christie and with where Christie herself is coming from.  I also liked that she gave a more developed picture of Max Mallowan.  I've always thought Archie Christie was bad and Max Mallowan was a saint and while I'm still not a big fan of Archie Christie I have a much more realistic view of Max.  Not only did I enjoy this book for itself but getting more insight into Christie's life gave me more enjoyment when reading her books. My Rating: Loved It (5 Stars)

Goodreads:  Seeing Darkness by Heather Graham

Blurb:  She’s being murdered.

It was supposed to be a fun girls’ weekend in Salem, but when a past-life regression session instead sends a terrifying vision of murder to Kylie Connelly, she’s shaken and doesn’t know what to think. Worse, later she identifies the attacker from her vision: he’s a prominent local politician.

Special Agent Jon Dickson of the FBI’s Krewe of Hunters is on the trail of a suspected serial killer based on the scantest of clues and unreliable witness testimony. When he realizes Kylie’s vision might be his best lead, he must gain her trust and get close enough to guide her new talent. Though she doubts herself, the danger Kylie sees is all too real—and the pair will have to navigate a murderer’s twisted passions and deceptions to stop the killer from claiming another victim.

My Thoughts:  As expected from this series this was fun read.  There are ghosts and history and likable characters.  The mystery was an entertaining one with multiple possible solutions.  Like most books in this series it isn't the most memorable but it was an enjoyable and entertaining read.  I'm looking forward to reading more in the series liek usual.  My Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)

Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Books That Surprised Me

Today I'm linking up with Top Ten Tuesday hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl which is all about lists.  Since lists are one of my favorite things this is one of my favorite linkups!  Today's topic is Books That Surprised Me - both in good ways and bad ways.

1.  Moonraker by Ian Fleming - I absolutely loved this book which surprised me as the movie is SO bad but the movie and the book have very little in common except for the title and the name of the main character.

2.  Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan - I had no idea which way this book was going to go and definitely kept me on my toes as the plot developed.

3.  The Birds and Other Stories by Daphne du Maurier - I enjoyed all the stories in this collection but the novella The Birds absolutely blew me away.  I had always thought the concept of the movie was kind of silly but the way du Maurier told the story turned me into a believer.  One of the creepiest and most disturbing stories I've ever read.

4.  Funny Story by Emily Henry - I had DNF'd the one book by her I tried and really was pretty sure she didn't work for me as an author until I picked this one up and was absolutely blown away.  I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end and I absolutely did not expect to like it.

5.  Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire - This pulled me in from the beginning and it was in no way anything that I expected.  This is definitely a series I want to continue with.

6.  Death on the Agenda by Patricia Moyes  - I have really enjoyed every book in this classic mystery series that I have read but in this one the actions of the main character really disappointed me and I have had a hard time reading more from this series.

7.  Everyone in My Family Has Killed Somone by Benjamin Stevenson - Not only was I surprised by just how much I enjoyed this one but there were several plot points that had me completely mind blown.

8.  Night of a Thousand Stars by Deanna Raybourn - I really love everything by this author that I've read except this book.  I couldn't stand the main character and the story was kind of boring.  This has been such a reliable author for me and the blurb sounded fantastic so I was shocked.

9.  Overture to Death by Ngaio Marsh - The method of murder was a surprise and I was also surprised by just how much I enjoyed this mystery.  Marsh tends to be hit or miss for me but this was such fun.

10.  Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie - I love Christie's books and while this isn't my favorite short story I do enjoy it and that last conversation between a character and the defense attorney gets me every time.

What books surprised you?

The Keeper of Lost Art - Historical Fiction Review

Goodreads:  The Keeper of Lost Art by Laura Morelli

Rating: Really Liked It! (4.5 Stars)
Source:   Publisher

Description:  During World War II, a girl makes an unbreakable connection with a boy sheltering in her family’s Tuscan villa, where the treasures of the Uffizi Galleries are hidden. A moving coming-of-age story about the power of art in wartime, based on true events.

As Allied bombs rain down on Torino in the autumn of 1942, Stella Costa’s mother sends her to safety with distant relatives in a Tuscan villa. There, Stella finds her family tasked with a great responsibility: hiding nearly 300 priceless masterpieces from Florence, including Botticelli’s famous Primavera.

With the arrival of German troops imminent, Stella finds herself a stranger in her family’s villa and she struggles to understand why her aunt doesn’t like her. She knows it has something to do with her parents—and the fact that her father, who is currently fighting at the front, has been largely absent from her life.

When a wave of refugees seeks shelter in the villa, Stella befriends Sandro, an orphaned boy with remarkable artistic talent. Amid the growing threats, Sandro and Stella take refuge in the villa’s “treasure room,” where the paintings are hidden. There, Botticelli’s masterpiece and other works of art become a solace, an inspiration, and the glue that bonds Stella and Sandro as the dangers grow.

A troop of German soldiers requisitions the villa and puts everyone to forced labor. Now, with the villa full of German soldiers, refugees, a secret guest, and hundreds of priceless treasures, no one knows who will emerge unscathed, and whether the paintings will be taken as spoils or become unintended casualties.

Inspired by the incredible true story of a single Tuscan villa used as a hiding place for the treasures of Florentine art during World War II, The Keeper of Lost Art takes readers on a breathtaking journey into one of the darkest chapters of Italy’s history, highlighting the incredible courage of everyday people to protect some of the most important works of art in western civilization.

Genre:  Fiction - Historical

Why I Picked This Book:   I'm fascinated by how art was protected during World War II and the blurb caught my eye.  

My Impression:  I've read a few books set in Italy during World War II but none quite like this.   There is no pressure release valve of a dual timeline story here.  This is just the life of Stella, a preteen girl who has been sent to live with her aunt, uncle and cousins in the country while her mother stays in Torino to work in an ammunitions factory.  Stella is suddenly in a new place with new people and away from everyone and everything she has ever known.  There is no reliable news source or communication outside the village and news is passed from person to person in rumors and whispers.

This was a poignant story of survival as Stella and her family focus on feeding an ever-growing group of houseguests - some welcome and some not as well as an assortment of occupiers.  Stella really doesn't fully understand what is going on in the world around her she just knows she wants to survive it along with the people she cares about.  Through everything is her friendship with Sandro and their love of the art that is occupying a portion of the villa they are all living in.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and found it a bit different from other World War II Homefront stories.  I did have a bit of trouble keeping up with who was who as there are a lot of side characters but the feeling of the book made up for that.    

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  Absolutely!  This is my first book by this author and it won't be the last.

Would I Recommend this Book?  I would - especially if you enjoy stories of endurance and survival.

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *

This Week in Reading - April 20th

 

It's Sunday Post time!  This is hosted by the awesome Caffeinated Book Reviewer and gives us all a chance to recap our week.

What I Got:

A Moment's Shadow by Anna Lee Huber - I'm so excited about this one!  The previous book kind of ended on a cliffhanger and I'm looking forward to seeing more of Verity and Simon's adventures.

Currently:

Reading:  The Murder Machine by Heather Graham and Sweet Little Lies by Jill Shalvis

Listening:  Murder at Kensington Palace by Andrea Penrose

Happy Easter to all who celebrate.  We are having a low key day at home and spending some time outside since the weather has been gorgeous.  Allergies are driving me crazy but I'm hoping the allergy meds will hold enough so I can enjoy some time outdoors.  It's been a bit of a tough week but with migraines and allergies but I got a massage Friday and my shoulders feel so much better and more relaxed.  I'm slowly gaining range of motion back with the broken finger so it's nice to have that positive momentum.

Have a great week and happy reading!

Classics I Want to Read

 

I always get sucked into lists with titles like "30 Classics Everyone Should Read" or "50 Books You Should Read if You Want to Be Well Read".  There are so many books I want to read or reread as an adult and here are 10 that are top of my list.

1.  Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - I read this in high school and enjoyed most of it but it's one I really want to reread to see what I think of it now.

2.  Middlemarch by George Eliot -   I read one book by George Eliot that I really enjoyed even though it was incredibly sad but I haven't read this one.

3.  Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy - I have heard several people mention this as their favorite book but I've never read it.

4.  The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins - I loved The Woman in White and now need to read this one.

5.  Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez - I've heard this was beautiful and it's one I've always meant to read.

6.  The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas - This is my father's favorite book so I feel like it's one I should try.

7.  The Bell Jar by Slyvia Plath - I have my grandmother's copy of this book and it's one I've meant to read for decades.

8.  Watership Down by Richard Adams - This is my husband's favorite book so of course I need to read it.

9.  The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway - I've been to Hemingway's home in Key West but I've never read anything by him but recently I heard someone talking about how much they loved this book so I figure I should try it.

10. Animal Farm by George Orwell - I don't know why I haven't read this one as it's supposed to be a fairly fast read - maybe because books with animals make me nervous?  I have a copy on my shelf so should take the time to read it.  

What classics are on your TBR?

Friday Fives - Five Spring-y Books

 

I'm in a list making kind of mood so I thought I'd start making random five lists.  Sometimes they'll be bookish other weeks not so much.   Given the amount of pollen that is currently covering everything outside spring has clearly sprung so I'm listing 5 books that give me spring vibes.

1.  Recipe for a Charmed Life by Rachel Linden - The book opens in April and involves cooking and starting over.  

2.  The Secrets of Flowers by Sally Page - I do love a dual timeline and this book involving the stewardess who arranged the flowers on the Titanic and a modern day woman researching her sounds lovely.

3.  The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman - I love this author and this sounds a bit like a new beginning with a gardening slant.  Perfect for spring!

4.  Spring Fever by Mary Kay Andrews -  The title literally has spring in it and I've been wanting to read this author for awhile.

5.  Flowers and Foul Play by Amanda Flower - I can't have a list without a mystery and I love this cozy author.  A magical garden shop in Scotland with lots of mystery, magic and flowers sounds like a fun spring read.

Books from the Backlog - Everyone on the Train is a Suspect

Today I'm linking up with Carole from Carole's Random Life of Books for Books from the Backlog.  I really enjoy the chance to feature a book that's been hiding in the piles of books for far too long!

Goodreads:  Everyone on the Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson

Blurb:  When the Australian Mystery Writers’ Society invited me to their crime-writing festival aboard the Ghan, the famous train between Darwin and Adelaide, I was hoping for some inspiration for my second book. Fiction, this time: I needed a break from real people killing each other. Obviously, that didn’t pan out.
The program is a who’s who of crime writing royalty:

the debut writer (me!)

the forensic science writer

the blockbuster writer

the legal thriller writer

the literary writer

the psychological suspense writer

But when one of us is murdered, the remaining authors quickly turn into five detectives. Together, we should know how to solve a crime.

Of course, we should also know how to commit one.

How can you find a killer when all the suspects know how to get away with murder?

Why This Needs to Come Off the Shelf:  I adored the first book but really only picked that one up because I wanted to read this book.  And now I need to reaed this one!

What I'm Reading - April 16

 

I always have a few books going.  Here is what I'm reading and what I'm thinking about them.

Print Book:

Seeing Darkness by Heather Graham - So far I'm enjoying this pretty well but I haven't gotten fully hooked by the story.  

Ebook:  

The Keeper of Lost Art by Laura Morelli - This hasn't been exactly what I expected but so far I'm really enjoying it and it's a litte different from other WWII Homefront books I've read in the past.

Audio Book - 

Winter in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand - I just started this so no opinion yet but I'm so looking forward to it!

Slow Read: 

Manor of Dying by Kathleen Bridge - This is an overdue review book and a cozy mystery that looks fun. It takes place in a remote mansion that once housed an asylum where a murder took place.  This isn't my favorite cozy author but so far it is fun and the setting is hard to top.

What are you reading right now?

My Spring Reading Retreat Reading List

 

I like to do imaginary reading retreats each season and plan my ideal reading list based off how I'm feeling and what the year calls for.  It's spring and while I love seeing the flowers start to bloom and everything turning green again spring is always a bit of a struggle for me.  Between the time change, allergies, and allergy meds I am dragging and foggy brained.  For my imaginary reading retreat I'd stay in a little cottage on the grounds of a large estate with beautiful gardens to walk through and maybe a water feature or two to sit near - and of course lots of comfortable benches and hammocks.  And unlike where I am now, in my imaginary garden cottage mosquitos don't exist.  Here's what I'm reading -

1. But Have You Read the Book? 52 Literary Gems that Inspired Our Favorite Films by Kristen Lopez - I love classic movies and am frequently surprised what was based on a book.  I also love a good flip through book

2.  The Self-Care Year: Reflect and Recharge with Simple Seasonal Rituals by Alison Davies  - This may not end up being for me but it does look interesting and I love the idea of it.

3.  How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing by KC Davis - Drowning is a bit of an overstatement but there are definitely times I feel overwhelmed and I've heard good reviews of this one.

4.  Jane of Lantern Hill by L.M. Montgomery - After some nonfiction I want to reread one of my very favorite Montgomery books.  

5.  The Healing Season of Pottery by So-Min Yon - This looks like a nice soothing read and would be perfect for my reading retreat.

6.  A Morbid Taste For Bones by Ellis Peters - After some healing reading a historical mystery sounds like a perfect next step.

7.  Every Single Secret by Christina Dodd - It wouldn't be a reading retreat without a fast paced thriller!

8.  Christa Comes Out of Her Shell by Abbi Waxman - I loved the last book I read by this author which had all the warm fuzzy feelings and found family goodness so this one is on the list.

9.  The Stormy Petrel by Mary Stewart - Now that the retreat is winding down I'm digging into some light fiction from a favorite author.

10.  The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai - For my final read I'm picking up this book that's been on my TBR since it came out. I've heard fantastic things about it as well.

What would you read during your reading retreat?

Who Will Remember - Historical Mystery Review

Goodreads: Who Will Remember (Sebastian St. Cyr #20) by C.S. Harris

Rating: Really Liked It (4 Stars)
Source:   Publisher

Description:  August 1816.   England is in the grip of what will become known as the Year Without a Summer. Facing the twin crises of a harvest-destroying volcanic winter and the economic disruption caused by the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the British monarchy finds itself haunted by the looming threat of bloody riots not seen since the earliest days of the French Revolution. Amidst the turmoil, a dead man is found hanging upside down by one leg in an abandoned chapel, his hands tied behind his back. The pose eerily echoes the image depicted on a tarot card known as Le Pendu, the Hanged Man. The victim—Lord Preston Farnsworth, the younger brother of one of the Regent’s boon companions—was a passionate crusader against what he called the forces of darkness, namely criminality, immorality, and sloth. His brutal murder shocks the Palace and panics the already troubled populace.

Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, learns of the murder from a ragged orphan who leads him to the corpse and then disappears. At first, everyone in the dead man’s orbit paints Lord Preston as a selfless saint. But as Sebastian delves deeper into his life, he quickly realizes that the man had accumulated more than his fair share of enemies, including Major Hugh Chandler, a close friend who once saved Sebastian’s life. Sebastian also discovers that the pious Lord Preston may have been much more dangerous than those he sought to redeem.

As dark clouds press down on the city and the rains fall unceasingly, two more victims are found, one strangled and one shot, with ominous tarot cards placed on their bodies. The killer is sending a gruesome message and Sebastian is running out of time to decipher it before more lives are lost and a fraught post-war London explodes.

Genre:   Mystery - Historical

Why I Picked This Book:  I've really enjoyed the previous books in this series.

My Impression:  I really enjoy this series and the last few have really worked for me.  This latest mystery was no exception.  This isn't a quick and cozy read but one where the setting and time period are a heavy presence throughout the book.  The hardships in post-Napolean London are a major plot-point both for Sebastian and Hero and appear on every page in someway or another.  I love Sebastian and Hero's relationship and how they treat each other as equals.  

The mystery was an interesting one and did a good job of showing the danger of "do-godoers" without being heavy handed.    I love the at times gritty gloomy feel of this series and this book and how it compares with the cold power of Hero's father's world and the family coziness of the St. Cyr household.  This isn't the fastest paced read but it is a good one and one I really enjoyed from beginning to end.  

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  Absolutely!  I'm really looking forward to going back and reading the earlier books in the series and look forward to seeing how this series progresses.

Would I Recommend this Book? If you like historical fiction or historical mysteries with a look at multiple sections of society this is a good pick.  It is a series best read in order though you can start with this one.

* I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *

This Week in Reading - April 13

It's Sunday Post time!  This is hosted by the awesome Caffeinated Book Reviewer and gives us all a chance to recap our week.

What I Got:

The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau by Kristin Harmel - This sounds fascinating and heartbreaking and I've really been wanting to read this author.  (Publisher)

Currently:

Reading:  The Keeper of Lost Art by Laura Morelli and Seeing Darkness by Heather Graham

Listening:  The Lake of Lost Girls by Katherine Greene

Two Fun Things I Did This Week:

1.  Sat outside on a pretty day with my dog and listened to my audio book

2.  Tried a new restaurant with friends and had such a good time!

Have a great week and happy reading!

The Seven Dials Mystery - Classic Mystery Review

Goodreads:  The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie

Rating: Really Liked It! (4.5 Stars)
Source:   Publisher

Description:  A practical joke goes chillingly, murderously wrong in Queen of Mystery Agatha Christie’s classic detective story, The Seven Dials Mystery.

Gerry Wade had proved himself to be a champion sleeper, so the other houseguests decided to play a practical joke on him. Eight alarm clocks were set to go off, one after the other, starting at 6:30 a.m. But when morning arrived, one clock was missing and the prank then backfired, with tragic consequences.

For Jimmy Thesiger in particular, the words "Seven Dials" were to take on a new and chilling significance...

Genre: Mystery - Classic 

Why I Picked This Book:  This was the April pick for the Read Christie 2025 Challenge

My Impression:  While the plot isn't exactly the strongest in this mystery it's always been one of my favorites because it's so much fun.  Bundle Brent is one of my favorite Christie heroines and the time period is pretty much a character on its own.  I adore Bundles' father, Lord Caterham, and his absolute dedication to avoiding conflict and really any kind of activity. 

The mystery is a fun one and my enjoyment was enhanced by just finishing Lucy Worsley's biography of Christie before I started this book.  This is one of the books Christie considered a "thriller" and I couldn't help but wonder if Bundle's love of driving fast was a reflection of Christie's enjoyment of the same thing.  

This was a quick entertaining read with fun characters and a 1920s feel.  It's also a bit different from the standard Christie mysteries.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  Of course!  I can't wait to pick up the May pick.

Would I Recommend this Book? Definitely!  This is a bit different from the classic Christie mysteries and is a fun read if you enjoy a 1920s setting.

Friday Fives - Five Non-Bookish Things That I'm Loving Right Now

 I'm in a list making kind of mood so I thought I'd start making random five lists.  Sometimes they'll be bookish other weeks not so much.  This week I'm looking at 5 Non-Bookish Things I'm Loving Right now.

1. Duolingo - Will has been using the highest level of Duolingo for awhile for his language and I decided a few weeks ago to give the freebie version a try and I'm having so much fun with it!  I picked Irish to learn and added in math review and I enjoy both every day.  And it helps keep me from mindlessly scrolling with is always good.  

2.  Strawberry-Vanilla and Cherry-Vanilla Ollipop Sodas - I'm a big Diet Coke drinker but have started mixing these in to help with the soda fix and am really enjoying them.

3.  It's a Southern Thing YouTube Channel - I've been subscribed to this channel for awhile and while they don't post as often as I'd like their sketches never fail to make me laugh.  

4.  Murder in Paradise on BritBox - We finally started watching this show and I have really be thoroughly enjoying it.  The mysteries are great and I love the cast - even when they change things.

5. Dr. Teal's Epsom Salts - I'm always a fan of a nice hot bath but I've been having some insomnia and Epsom salt baths are helping so much.  My favorite versions are the Pink Himalayan salt one, the rose one, and the elderberry one.

What non-bookish things are you loving right now?