Mrs. Plansky’s Revenge by Spencer Quinn

Loretta Plansky is a tennis-playing retiree in Florida; she is comfortably off but misses her deceased husband. She has a demanding family: a 98 year-old-father whose unruly behavior in assisted living is about to cost her additional thousands per month, a daughter who wants money for a start-up (and her new fiancé), and a son who wants her to fund a dubious business venture. It is easier to say yes than to argue, also she's generous.

Spell the Month in Books - July 2024

Spell the Month in Books is hosted by Reviews From the Stacks and occurs on or near the first Saturday of each month, so I am quite late this month - and it took some finagling! But here goes:

Taken at the Flood by Agatha Christie #ReadChristie2024

Gordon Cloade’s family has always relied on his wealth and generosity so they are appalled when he marries an attractive widow less than half his age. Weeks later, he dies tragically in the London Blitz and his new bride, Rosaleen, inherits everything. 

Guest Review: A Parcel of Rogues by Pamela Belle

A Parcel of Rogues begins with Sam, a middle-aged businessman from Oxford, rather lost in London as he searches for his runaway daughter Mary. It is 1715, and James Stuart, the “Old Pretender,” is gathering supporters to overthrow the Hanoverian King George I. For a while we stay with Sam and a new acquaintance, Mr. Dark, as they follow leads toward Mary. They are joined by a beautiful young woman of dubious virtue, Polly Paradice.

The Secret Stealers by Jane Healey - Review

In this historical novel set during World War II in the United States, England, and France, a lovely young widow from Boston is determined to show she can contribute meaningfully to war effort, using her language skills and experience living in Paris.

Since Anna’s doctor husband died near Pearl Harbor, she has taught French in Washington, DC and resisted her family’s efforts to get her back to Boston.

The Last Apple Tree by Claudia Mills

Description: Moving to a new state, a new school, and into a house with family she barely knows is challenging for twelve-year-old Sonnet, especially when she begins to worry about Gramps’ memory issues, in this absorbing story by veteran author Claudia Mills.  Sonnet, her little sister Villie, and their mother moved to Indiana from Colorado recently to live with her grandfather after his wife died. 

My June 2024 Reading

June found me starting an absorbing new-to-me series by Susan Hill about Simon Serrallier, a police detective in a Cathedral town in southern England where there is an unexpected amount crime. I am already on book five! Other winners this month were two new historical novels, the delightful The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson, which reminded me of Flambards, and the more serious Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray, about Roosevelt’s female Secretary of Labor.

Two Historical Mysteries From My 20 Books of Summer

Many books from the Golden Age of Mysteries involve a detective analyzing all the witnesses’ stories and alibis to determine who is lying (although that does not necessarily mean that person is the killer). I am not very good at this although I read attentively and look at maps, if they are included.

It is helpful if there are characters discussing these issues (this is why Watson and his ilk exist; in The Word is Murder, Daniel Hawthorne refuses to discuss, just tells the Anthony Horowitz character how obtuse he is).

Six Degrees of Separation – from Kairos to Season of Storms

It’s time for #6degrees, inspired by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. We all start at the same place as other readers, add six books, and see where you end up.  The starting book this month is Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck, winner of the 2024 International Booker Prize, which is described as a German novel about a tortured love affair.

The Maplin Bird by K.M. Peyton

In this historical novel set in 19th century England, orphaned siblings escape their abusive relatives and try to make a new life for themselves in a coastal fishing village.

After Emily and Toby Garland’s parents die from cholera, they are lucky to have a home with Uncle Gideon and Aunt Mercy, although it’s hardly charity, as Toby (16) is beaten often and works unpaid on his uncle’s boat while Emily (15) slaves away on household chores.

Testimony by Anita Shreve - 5/20 Books of Summer

In Testimony, Shreve’s fifteenth novel, a night of underage drinking at a boarding school in Vermont ends in disaster, resulting in a sex scandal that destroys several lives. Rumors start quickly because there is an explicit video of the incident.

The Patchwork Girl of Oz by L. Frank Baum #Ozathon24

Title: The Patchwork Girl of Oz
Author: L. Frank Baum
Illustrator: John R. Neill
Publication: Dover paperback, originally published in 1913
Genre: Juvenile fantasy/series

Description: The seventh Oz book features Ojo, a Munchkin boy who lives in an isolated part of the magical realm with his taciturn Unc Nunkie. When their food supply runs out, they realize they must leave home, and head to their closest neighbor, the Crooked Magician, who was responsible for the magic powder that Ozma (then Tip) used to bring Jack Pumpkinhead and the Sawhorse to life back in The Land of Oz.

WWW Wednesday – June 26

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson

Title: The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club
Author: Helen Simonson
Publication: Dial Press, hardcover, 2024
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: Seaside England

Description: Recently orphaned Constance Haverhill is staying at the Meredith Hotel at Hazelbourne-on-Sea as a sort of companion to elderly Mrs. Fog (in reality, they are chaperoning each other). Mrs. Fog’s daughter, Lady Mercer, and Constance’s mother had been at school together and continued as neighbors when one married a lord and one a farmer, exchanging favors. During the Great War, Constance did invaluable work running the Mercers’ estate office but has been relieved of her (unpaid) duties once the men returned home.

The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill, an addictive series launch

Title: The Various Haunts of Men: A Simon Serrailler Mystery
Author: Susan Hill
Narrator: Steven Pacey
Publication: The Overlook Press, hardcover, first published in 2004.
Genre: Mystery
Setting: England

Description: People – and a dog – are disappearing without a trace in the fictional Cathedral town of Lafferton. After leaving an unhappy marriage in London, Detective Sergeant Freya Graffham is making a new life for herself at the CID division in Southern England, regaining her confidence and joining the local choir.

The Ration Book Baby by Ellie Curzon

Title: The Ration Book Baby
Author: Ellie Curzon
Publication: Paperback, 2023
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: WWII Britain

Description: It is a dark night in West Sussex, 1940, when nurse Annie Russell hears a knock on her front door and finds a newborn baby girl in a hat box on the front steps, with a ration book tucked beneath her.

My May 2024 Reading

There is no doubt my two favorite books of the month were Going Zero, a thriller involving a chase I am still thinking about, and The Diamond Eye, about a Russian sniper during WWII. I suspect they will be on my "Best of 2024" list and I recommend both of them highly.  Overall, there were some very strong and some disappointing books with two good rereads, Lucy Parker's Act Like It and The Emerald City of Oz for Ozathon24.

A series set in Northern Ireland featuring a magical cat for #ReadingtheMeow2024

Mallika of Literary Potpourri invited us to read and discuss books with cats in them this week.

I recently came across Meta Mayne Reid (1905-1991), who wrote some twenty children's books as well as two novels for adults and one collection of poetry from 1936 through 1980.

Two Recent Mysteries

I always try to find a few mysteries for my sister’s birthday that she hasn’t read (especially if the new Jane Casey isn’t available yet) but I had mixed feelings about these two:

Jack Russell https://www.akc.org

Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray

Title: Becoming Madam Secretary
Author: Stephanie Dray
Publication: Berkley, hardcover, 2024
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: United States

Description: This fascinating historical novel about Frances Perkins, Franklin Roosevelt’s Secretary of Labor, begins in 1933 when FDR asks her to join his Cabinet and she presents him with a list of ground-breaking goals she would need him to support – get rid of child labor laws, limit working hours, create a minimum wage . . .  .

Spell the Month in Books - June

Spell the Month in Books is hosted by Reviews From the Stacks and occurs on or near the second Saturday of each month:

20 Books of Summer 2024

This is my third time participating in the 20 Books of Summer Reading Challenge, which is hosted by Cathy at 746 Books from June 1 to September 1, and gives me a fun opportunity to prioritize some books for summer and not simply read my library reserves as they come in.  This is a week late but I was busy trying to organize the world, or at least, my particular corner of it (middling success so far). I have enjoyed Cathy’s challenge twice before although last year I just read 11/20.  I added one of those unread books to my list.

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

Title: Listen for the Lie
Author: Amy Tintera
Publication: Macmillan, hardcover, 2024
Genre: Mystery
Setting: United States

Description: Five years ago, Lucy was married and living in her Texas home town with a handsome husband, dream house, and her best friend, Savannah, not far away.

Six Degrees of Separation – from Butter to The Blue Castle

It’s time for #6degrees, inspired by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. We all start at the same place, add six books, and see where we end up. This month’s starting point is a Japanese mystery, Butter by Asako Yuzuki, which I have not read.

The Emerald City of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Title: The Emerald City of Oz
Author: L. Frank Baum
Publication: Books of Wonder, hardcover edition, originally published in 2010
Genre: Juvenile Fantasy/Series

Description: In this sixth Oz book, Uncle Henry and Aunt Em are faced with bankruptcy as their Kansas farm has failed.

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn

Title: The Diamond Eye
Author: Kate Quinn
Narrator: Saskia Maarleveld
Publication: HarperAudio, 2022
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: Soviet Union and United States

Description: When Lyudmila (Mila) Pavlichenko is sent to the United States during WWII to join Eleanor Roosevelt’s international student conference, Stalin’s goal is to showcase a military sniper whose skill has earned her the nickname Lady Death, hoping she and the rest of Russian delegation can generate American support on the Eastern Front.

WWW Wednesday – May 22

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading:

Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra (2022) is this month’s book group selection. It is set at a Hollywood movie studio during WWII that is full of European refugees trying to make a living as screenwriters or actors.

The Striped Ships by Eloise McGraw

Title: The Striped Ships
Author: Eloise McGraw
Publication: Macmillan, Margaret K. McElderry, hardcover, 1991
Genre: Juvenile Historical Fiction
Setting: 11th century Britain

Description: On what seems like an ordinary autumn morning in 1066, eleven-year-old Juliana, daughter of a Saxon thane, follows her usual routine of joining her future mother-in-law, Lady Editha, where she is instructed in embroidery and other household arts. When she slips away to the waterfront, she sees an onslaught of ships striped in red, gold, black and green, and realizes it is invading Normans.

Spell the Month in Books - May

Spell the Month in Books is hosted by Reviews From the Stacks and occurs on the second Saturday of each month or maybe a bit later!

Here is my May installment:

Going Zero by Anthony McCarten - you have two hours to get off the grid!

Title: Going Zero
Author: Anthony McCarten
Narrator: Marin Ireland
Publication: Harper Audio, 2023
Genre: Suspense
Setting: United States

Description: Ten Americans – five skilled, five amateurs – have been chosen to test a new surveillance software in a partnership between the CIA and a no-holds-barred company called WorldShare, run by brilliant Cy Baxter and his girlfriend/co-founder Erika Coogan. Any contestant who can go off the grid and avoid being caught by Cy’s Fusion spyware and brilliant analysts for an entire month will win $3 million tax free.

Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien Charles

Title: Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade
Author: Janet Skeslien Charles
Publication: Atria Books, hardcover, 2024
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: France

Description: Jessie Carson, a children’s librarian at the New York Public Library (NYPL) in 1918, is flattered when Anne Morgan, daughter of the most powerful financier in America's history, J.P. Morgan, invites and pays her way to France to help with war relief work.

My April 2024 Reading

Lots of good books in April, including some for the #1937Club, a spine-tingling Orphan X book, a book by Nicholas Stuart Gray I’d always wanted to read, and Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame, which was the most delicious read of the month - I'm surprised I didn't gain weight just reading it!

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin

Title: How to Solve Your Own Murder
Author: Kristen Perrin
Publication: Dutton, hardcover, 2024
Genre: Mystery
Setting: Britain

Description: In 1965, Frances Adams was at a fair with teenage friends when a fortune teller warns her she will be murdered. Over the years, this changes a lovely, outgoing young woman into a neurotic person who alienates everyone she knows, including her own relatives.

Six Degrees of Separation – from The Anniversary to A Killing of Innocents

It’s time for #6degrees, inspired by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. We all start at the same place as other readers, add six books, and see where you end up. This month’s starting point is The Anniversary by Stephanie Bishop (2023), a mystery in which the protagonist’s husband falls overboard while they are on a cruise celebrating their wedding anniversary (hello, I can sense an unreliable narrator from a distance).

The Night War by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Title: The Night War
Author: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Maps: Juliet Percival
Publication: Dial Books, hardcover, 2024
Genre: Juvenile Historical Fiction (with a little fantasy)
Setting: 1942 France

Description: Miri and her parents fled Germany for Paris after Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass), when the Nazis accelerated their persecution of German and Austrian Jews in November 1938. They have settled in a Paris neighborhood that welcomed many Jews and have made friends.

The First Law by John Lescroart

Title: The First Law
Author: John Lescroart
Publication: Signet, paperback, first published in 2003
Genre: Mystery/Suspense

Description: There is a neighborhood in San Francisco that uses a security firm called Patrol Specials to protect private businesses. When Sam Silverman, an elderly pawnshop owner, can no longer afford its rates, he turns down the protection and hopes for the best, then is murdered during an apparent robbery.

The Road to Oz by L. Frank Baum - Ozathon24

Title: The Road to Oz
Author: L. Frank Baum
Illustrator: John R. Neill
Publication: Dover, paperback, originally published in 1909
Genre: Children’s fantasy/series

Description: When a shaggy man asks Dorothy Gale to show him the road to Butterfield, she should probably yell, “Stranger danger!” instead being beguiled by the twinkle in his eye.

WWW Wednesday – April 24

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

Gilbert & Sullivan Set Me Free is an unusual and appealing young adult book set in a women’s prison outside Boston in the early 1900s, based on a real occurrence.

The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie #ReadChristie2024

Title: The Murder at the Vicarage
Author: Agatha Christie
Publication: Dodd, Mead & Co., hardcover, first published in 1930
Genre: Mystery/series

Description: When Colonel Protheroe, a domineering retiree in the village of St. Mary Mead, is murdered, there are many suspects. For weeks, the church ladies have been gossiping that Mrs. Protheroe is a little too friendly with a handsome young artist, Lawrence Redding.

Deep Summer by Gwen Bristow, for the #1937Club

Title: Deep Summer
Author: Gwen Bristow
Publication: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., hardcover, 1937
Genre: Historical fiction, late 18th century

Description: Fifteen-year-old Judith Sheramy is traveling by flatboat with her family from Connecticut to Louisiana where they have a royal grant to establish a homestead. When handsome Philip Larne, an adventurer from South Carolina, pulls up alongside on the Mississippi, the inexperienced girl is captivated, although her father and brother Caleb distrust him on sight.

A Bullet in the Ballet by Caryl Brahms & S.J. Simon, for the #1937Club

Title: A Bullet in the Ballet
Author: Caryl Brahms & S.J. Simon
Publication: Library of Crime Classics, paperback, originally published in 1937
Genre: Mystery/series

Description: It is opening night of the London season for the Stroganoff Ballet, a less than first-rate company that is putting on Petroushka, when the male lead, Anton Palook, collapses with a bullet in his head, just as he should be taking his curtain calls.

Baby Island by Carol Ryrie Brink, for the #1937Club

Title: Baby Island
Author: Carol Ryrie Brink
Illustrator: Helen Sewell
Publication: Macmillan, hardcover, 1937
Genre: Juvenile fiction

Description: Twelve-year-old Mary Wallace and her younger sister Jean are on their way to Australia from San Francisco to join their father, who has been managing a ranch there for the past two years. Mary and Jean have long been devoted to other people’s babies and entertain themselves by playing with those on the ship.

The Family from One End Street by Eve Garnett #1937Club

Title: The Family from One End Street
Author and Illustrator: Eve Garnett
Publication: Vanguard Press, hardcover, originally published in 1937
Genre: Juvenile
Setting: England

Description: The Ruggles are a large and carefree family living in Otwell, in Southeastern England. Mr. Ruggles is a dustman (garbage collector) and Mrs. Ruggles takes in laundry to support Lily, Kate, twins (James and John), Jo after his father, Peggy, and baby William.

The Case is Closed by Patricia Wentworth – a Miss Silver mystery for the #1937Club

Title: The Case is Closed
Author: Patricia Wentworth
Publication: Warner Books, paperback, originally published in 1937
Genre: Mystery/series
Setting: London and environs

It's the first day of the 1937 Club, hosted by Simon at Stuck in a Book and Karen at Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings to feature reviews of books published in that year.

The Stone Cage, a fantasy by Nicholas Stuart Gray

Title: The Stone Cage
Author and Illustrator: Nicholas Stuart Gray
Publication: Dennis Dobson, hardcover, 1963
Genre: Juvenile Fantasy

Description: Old Mother Gothel, an evil witch lives in a remote cottage with Marshall, her enchanted raven, and Tomlyn, an embittered cat who tells the story. The bird and cat have an uneasy relationship, tattling on each other to win the witch’s temporary favor, as both dislike and fear her.

Quick Curtain by Alan Melville

Title: Quick Curtain
Author: Alan Melville
Publication: British Library Crime Classics/Poisoned Poisoned Pen Press, paperback, originally published in 1934
Genre: Mystery
Setting: England

Description: It’s opening night at the Grosvenor Theatre for Blue Music, a musical produced by the impressive (at least to himself) impresario, Douglas B. Douglas, and everything is going well until actor Hilary Foster pulls out what is meant to be a prop revolver and aims it at the leading man.

Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame by Olivia Ford

Title: Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame
Author: Olivia Ford
Publication: Viking, hardcover, 2024
Genre: Fiction
Setting: Britain

Description: When Bernard Quinn tells his doctor he and his wife Jenny won’t be undertaking any great adventures in their late 70s, she is taken aback and realizes she at least is not ready to take it easy and let life pass her by. Without telling her beloved Bernard, she completes an extensive online application for Britain Bakes, the country’s well-known culinary contest.

Six Degrees of Separation – From Frommer's New England to Charlotte's Web

It’s time for #6degrees, inspired by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. We all start at the same place as other readers, add six books, and see where you end up. This month’s starting point is any travel guide from our bookshelves. I used to work for the publisher of Frommer’s Travel Guides and happened to pull down Frommer’s New England the other day for a friend who was visiting Salem (when you work for a travel publisher, you collect a copy of every book/location you think you might visit or need as a reference in the future).

Meet the Austins by Madeleine L’Engle

Title: Meet the Austins
Author: Madeleine L’Engle
Publication: Laurel-Leaf paperback, originally published in 1960
Genre: Juvenile
Setting: New England

The original cover

Description: The Austins are a close-knit family of six – John is 15, Vicky, 12, Suzy 9, and sensitive Rob about five – they say grace at meals, Mrs. Austin reads aloud to all four at bedtime, and Dr. Austin is an old-fashioned country doctor with an office in his home as well as at a local hospital. Their lives are disrupted when their courtesy-aunt Elena calls to tell them her husband and his copilot were killed in a plane accident.

My March 2024 Reading

This month’s best reads were all historical fiction: The Phoenix Crown, set around the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco; Daughter of Lir by Diana Norman, about an abbess in medieval Ireland; and Wheel of Fortune by C.F. Dunn, in which a 15th century orphan learns she is powerless against men who should be her protectors.

Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz by L. Frank Baum – Ozathon24

Title: Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
Author: L. Frank Baum
Publication: Books of Wonder/HarperCollins, hardcover, originally published in 1908
Genre: Juvenile fantasy/series

Description: In this fourth installment, Dorothy has returned from Australia where she was visiting with her Uncle Henry (including a detour described in Ozma of Oz), and has been staying with friends in San Francisco prior to rejoining her uncle.

WWW Wednesday – March 27

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Taking on a World of Words.  

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I am reading Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame by Olivia Ford (2024), a fun story about a woman about to celebrate her 60th wedding anniversary who decides to try out for a British Baking Show.