Are you reading this week, or are you watching the horror that is Hurricane Milton? I lived in Southwest Florida for eighteen years, and have friends and relatives all over the state. I hope most of you who participate on Thursdays are okay, and I hope your loved ones are okay.
With one eye on The Weather Channel, I’ve also escaped into a juvenile book. It’s The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin. I’ve read Sepetys’ YA novel, Salt to the Sea, though. So, I know the first one hundred pages of this novel may be okay, but it doesn’t mean some of the young people in this book won’t die.
Fourteen-year-old Lizzie Novis was supposed to be on a ship to America to stay with her Gran in Cleveland. But, she knew people were lying to her about her mother’s death in Poland in 1939. So, she ran from the ship to meet up with her older brother, Jakob. But, Jakob can’t and won’t answer Lizzie’s questions about what he’s doing. The young mathematician is working at Bletchley Park as they try to break the Enigma Code. Before she knows it, Lizzie signs the Official Secrets Act. Despite her protests she has a mission of her own, trying to find out the truth about her mother, she’s assigned to work as a messenger at Bletchley.
Lizzie has a problem, though She has many talents, including the ability to make friends. She can’t keep a secret. “I am the candidate most likely to violate the Official Secrets Act. And I will be convicted of treason when I do.”
I’ve been fascinated by Bletchley ever since I watched “The Bletchley Circle” on PBS. And, I should read Kate Quinn’s The Rose Code, and other books. Right now, though, The Bletchley Riddle is just what I need.
What about you? What are you reading this week? I hope you found some books to enjoy this week.
Hurricane Milton! I saw on the news that 7.2 million people had to evacuate from Florida. It’s absolutely unbelievable; where will they all go? And what will they come back to? If there’s even anything left to come back to.
Two books this week, both far too light in view of what’s happening around the world, but maybe that’s a good thing.
THE MAYFAIR DAGGER by Ava January
A light, cozy, historical/mystery/romance.
1894. With her mother, brother, and father no longer alive, Albertine’s horrid cousin Franklin is responsible for her. Not being willing to endure this situation, she and her best friend Joan escape the tiny village and go to London to reinvent themselves.
Albertine becomes Countess Von Dagga and Joan becomes her maid, and they embark on their fledgling business of private detecting, catering to women at the upper end of society – although things aren’t going well. None of the ladies they help seem to want to pay for services rendered so lack of money is a big issue; not to mention that Albertine becomes a suspect in a lord’s murder after one of her cases goes awry – as well as a suspect in her fictional husband’s death. To add to her complicated life, she and Joan have hired Spencer to work for them and be the ‘face’ of their detective business, but he has ulterior motives and secrets of his own. There are many other characters, some helpful but most of them not at all.
This story was a lot of fun; a completely silly madcap romp, laugh-out-loud funny several times, has characters you want to root for, and situations where if something can go wrong it will – to amusing effect. Pure escapism, and I liked it a lot.
ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR by Virginia Heath
When her mother dies, Georgie’s mean and nasty stepfather sends her to Miss Prentice’s School for Young Ladies, where for the next six years she will learn to be a governess. She is kind, fun, and has a wonderful way with children but tends to speak her mind quite forcefully, thereby definitely not excelling at interviews, meaning she has yet to be employed by anyone.
Harry works for the admiralty, is on a fast-track to being given his own ship to command but is over-burdened, over-worked, very set in his ways, and certainly has no time to look after his nephew, two nieces, and a dog when his sister suddenly decides to up sticks for three months. Off he goes in desperate need to find a temporary governess, which of course ends up being Georgie.
They clash from the get go as their points of view are not at all similar, but this being a regency-set rom/com we all know how it will end. Getting there is full of amusing situations and dialogue, and the three children and their dog are delightful. Yes it’s predictable and sometimes things are too modern and don’t fit the time period but it doesn’t matter. The book won’t change the world but it will certainly entertain us.
And, sometimes, Lindy, we need those light escapes from the real world. I loved the trial scene in The Mayfair Dagger. That was just a fun book.
Lindy, I thought ALL’S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR was great fun too. I just saw in her newsletter the next one is out in June.
I saw that too Sharon, although not in a newsletter (didn’t know she had one).
Go Lottie!
I’ve been really busy, but I’ve had time to have some fun.
Friday, I went to see One Republic in concert. It’s not my kind of music, but sometimes you have to suck it up and pay your taxes. I thought these guys should be on Dancing with the stars or something. The show was pretty decent, and the lead singer was very personable, but then the show was only 75 minutes with no opener! This has never happened at Thunder Valley. Some folks (the ones who paid oodles of money to sit up front) were very disappointed and upset. There is an understanding a show will be usually two hours there. Ninety minutes is okay sometimes, at a tribute or something but not 75. I think everyone felt a bit ripped off.
Tuesday, I went to Folsom. An organization was having a grand opening because they moved their dance across the hall in the community center. The room was large, and the floor not too bad. They said there’d be food. I was expecting finger food or something, but there was a veritable feast, complete with a roast pig! The music wasn’t too bad. They were Filipinos, so the played more Latin music than I like, but I’m not their target audience.
This week I read:
My Secret Admirer by Carol Ellis; Another teenybopper horror book for the club. Didn’t some of these things used to be actually scary, or is that just nostalgia?
The Beautiful Game by Jonathan Littman; about a girls’ travelling soccer team that fought its way to the top. I think the author was angling for a movie deal here, as it contains almost every cliche known to sports movies. It’s almost exactly like Hoosiers. The thing about systems in team sports is that no system suits everybody, (Ask Larry Bird about his time playing for Bobby Knight). And apparently, girls’ sports is very different than boys’ sports. If ever told a coach I was tired during a game, the next practice, I’d be running laps, as I obviously needed conditioning, but that didn’t happen here. There had to be a conversation.
The Mystery of The Two Toed Pigeon by Marc Brandel; A late era Three Investigators entry. The Boys are at a diner, when out of the blue, a strange man gives them a a box. It contains a pigeon. Then we’re off to the races. There are so many distractions, I’m surprised the book wasn’t 300 pages.
Gideon’s Art by JJ Marric; Marric is an alias of John Creasey. I’ve read books from various series by him. I think the best were The Toff and The Baron, but Gideon seems the most popular. A gang of thieves steal a valuable painting, and Gideon has to solve the case, along with the usual distractions of running the police force, and trying to spend time with his family. Sort of a big city Dan Rhodes.
The Wild by Whitley Streiber; A man changes into a wolf, and his family tries to get him back. It felt like a horror movie Woody Allen might direct. I spent most of the book hoping they’d encounter Streiber’s other werewolf type creatures The Wolfen and get eaten.
Oh, I like OneRepublic’s “I Lived”, but that’s the only song I know by them. You’d think they’d have enough hits to do a two hour program.
I used to read the Gideon books. I like police procedurals. I think my sister read both The Toff and the Baron books.
Sounds as if it wasn’t a bad week for reading, Glen.
I’ve read all the Gideon books written by Creasey – the series was continued by William Vivian Butler after Creasey’s death – and liked them a lot at the time, which was 50 years ago! I think my taste has refined somewhat since then, but they were entertaining. I liked his Roger West books too.
That reminds me, one year our British friend took me to a warehouse in Southampton that had a huge number of Creasey’s personal books for sale, including many paperback originals under various pseudonyms. I wish I had bought more of them. Sadly, they didn’t have the western he wrote where (real? apocryphal?) he supposedly had a man look up and see a coyote flying by.
I can’t even imagine, Jeff! It must have been hard to restrain yourself from buying so many of those books!
Jeff, that Creasey western doesn’t exist and, if it ever did, that part was edited out before publication. The story was used to emphasize the fact that Creasey at the time had never been to America and had no real knowledge of a American West. I strongly suspect that Creasey started the story himself as a joke on himself.
Some enterprising small publisher should bring out Creasey’s non-mysteries — westerns, romances, juveniles, etc. — for Creasey’s many still active fans. I understand the Creasey family owns the rights to these works so there may be some problem in getting permissions.
That would be pretty funny, Jerry, if Creasey started that rumor himself.
Jeff, I didn’t know that Marric was a pen name for Creasey until fairly recently.
I’m tracking the hurricanes some, but life in So Cal goes on. I work for a cruise line, and one of our ships is impacted, but it should be a minor amount, fortunately. Still, it will mean extra work for me. That’s minor in the grand scheme of things, I know. I’m thinking about all those who will be hit hard.
Reading wise, I just finished THE BAFFLED BEATLEMANIAC CAPER by Sally Carpenter. It’s the first in a series featuring Sandy Fairfax, a former teen idol who gets involved in mysteries. In this book, he’s at a Beatles fan convention when a member of the tribute band is killed and the police think Sandy did it.
That means Thursday, I’ll be diving into DEATH CHECKED OUT by Leah Dobrinska. I’ve heard great things about the series, so I’m looking forward to reading it.
Mark, I like to catch up with what you’re reading because I usually haven’t heard of the series. Thank you!
I really enjoyed the Sandy Fairfax series, although I think the author has moved on.
I’m following the hurricane news from afar, but I am suffering for Floridians nevertheless. Here in Bern, we have blue skies and temperatures in the 50s, and I feel very lucky.
I’m starting a new series by Val McDermid, now that I’ve finished all the Karen Pirie books until the next one comes out. THE MERMAID’s SINGING is the first book in McDermid’s series featuring criminal psychologist Tony Hill and DI Carol Jordan. It has a serial killer in it, and I try to avoid those, but her writing is terrific and the investigators are smart and likable. I’ll finish this one and see if I want to continue the series. What I’m enjoying even more is listening to UNSHELTERED, the novel Barbara Kingsolver wrote before Demon Copperhead, which I loved. I’m also a huge fan of her early books, The Bean Trees, Pigs in Heaven, Animal Dreams, and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. But I couldn’t even finish The Poisonwood Bible and never understood its popularity. Now I’m back to loving her work–UNSHELTERED is funny and moving, with two storylines about families who live in the same ramshackle house in a New Jersey small town, now and in the 1870s.
Kim, I think I started out wrong with Barbara Kingsolver. The Poisonwood Bible didn’t do it for me, either. My best friend loves everything she writes, though. Everyone has different taste.
Your weather sounds gorgeous! Enjoy it!
The Hill & Jordan series was filmed beginning in 2002 and was very well done. Starring Robson Green. I don’t think I ever read the books.
I have been watching Milton on and off., Currently, I am reading The Cold Light of Day by Anna Lee Huber. I won it by GoodReads and it is getting good reviews and is supposed to be comparable to Agatha Christie. All talk, no discoveries. I want to get this book done fast, I cannot believe how boring it is. The spy who is married goes to Dublin to find a missing spy who she knew well and may have gone over the Irish rebels. I hope that he did in order to escape her, the most boring spy of all time. I am being harsh, I know but I will never read another book by her again, ever!
Carol, You’ve been reading Glen’s reviews. This one just made me laugh. I’m sorry you’re suffering through The Cold Light of Day featuring “the most boring spy of all time”. Sorry about that!
I skimmed the rest of it on the way to my appointment in Austin. I going to reviews and start the one from LibraryThing,, Glad to be done with it!
I don’t blame you one bit, Carol, for skimming the rest. I’m sure you felt you owed Goodreads a review, or you would have quit.
We’ve been watching the hurricane coverage off and on. My boyfriend has family down there but they are north and inland so hopefully they’ll be OK.
I read Gingerbread Danger by Amanda Flower. It’s the latest in her Amish candy shop series and it wasn’t my favorite of the series. There were side issues that took away from the mystery and the ending felt rushed.
We’ll Prescribe You A Cat by Syou Ishida. Five short stories about a mental health clinic that prescribes cats as treatment. I enjoyed the first story but after that the book felt repetitive.
I’m currently reading an ARC of The Weird and Wonderful World of Bats by Alyson Brokaw which I’m enjoying.
Sandy, I have a copy of We’ll Prescribe You a Cat, and a friend told me I’ll love it. We’ll see.
I’ve been following the news from Florida and was happy to hear there was not a direct landfall at Tampa Bay. My husband was a search and rescue pilot for the Coast Guard for many years and we were stationed in that area for several years. It is a lovely area but seems to be more and more often in the path of horrific weather. So scary.
Like Kim I am flying through books by Val McDermid. I had often heard her name but never read her and then saw the miniseries Karen Pirie on PBS. I am currently reading the fifth book in her cold cases series about DCI Karen Pirie and really enjoy them. I love when I find a new to me author with a large back list.
Susan, You’re right. I kept watching the news, and one of the meteorologists was on Davis Island. My husband lived there before we were married, so we spent some time there. It’s sad to watch places I know on those reports.
Karen Pirie. Jeff and Kim feel the same way you do about that series. I should like it, cold cases. Just haven’t taken the time to start it.
We are having a sunny, crisp autumn morning here in Northern Michigan. My heart goes out to those in Florida dealing with the aftermath of Milton. I hope that calm can descend for a period of time.
I am almost done with “We Solve Murders” by Richard Osman. As Lesa pointed out in an earlier review, this is not written in the same vein as “The Thursday Murder Club”, but the characters are enjoyable and the story line keeps moving at a brisk pace.
I’ve started Karen Odden’s 2nd book in the Inspector Corrovan series “Under a Veiled Moon”. I’m already sad that there isn’t a 3rd book to look forward to.
I agree with you, Mary. Florida could use some calm.
I just couldn’t care much for the characters in “We Solve Murders”. I’m sure it’s me.
Just finished Long Past Dues, the second entry in The Unorthodox Chronicles. Author James J. Butcher has created an interesting world with compelling characters and a good story arc.
The weather is cooling down in Michigan. We are off to the pumpkin patch with our grandchildren tomorrow. I hope everyone has a terrific weekend. Thoughts are with those impacted by Helene and Milton.
Thank you, Jennifer. I always wondered if James J. Butcher could live up to his father. I loved The Dresden Files.
Have fun with your grandchildren!
The Dresden Files is my favorite series, Lesa, but James Butcher can write and his series is pretty good so far!
Good to know, Jennifer. I’ll have to mention it to my nephews.
Mary, I greatly enjoyed Karen Odden’s series as well! Fingers crossed she may get back to it. And Lesa, Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Septys is also wonderful!
I agree with you about The Bletchley Circle, and also about Florida. We have friends with relatives down there who refused to evacuate, but as far as we know they’re OK. Looks like Sarasota got it worse than Tampa, the original target as far as the forecasters thought. One of our friends’s brother moved from Virginia to Ft. Myers two years ago and he has had three major storms since! Maybe he should have stayed in Virginia.
OK, books. Yes, I’ve been reading. Jackie is reading Patricia Briggs’s 14th Mercy Thompson book, WINTER LOST. Mercy is a coyote shifter, and her boyfriend is the head of the wolf pack. It’s in the Pacific Northwest.
This week I finished:
The Stark House Anthology. I talked about this the last couple of weeks.
Cara Hunter, The Whole Truth. This is the fifth Insp. Adam Fawley book I’ve read this year (plus one standalone), with only one more to go, and the next one coming out next May. Fawley is the Oxford cop in this procedural series, with his team – Gislingham, Quinn, Everett, Somer, etc. In the previous book, the very dark ALL THE RAGE, a couple of attacks on women appear to echo serial rapes carried out nearly 20 years earlier, a case that was the first success for then-Sgt. Fawley. The convicted rapist, Gavin Parrie, is still in prison after 18 years, because he refuses to admit his guilt and insists Fawley framed him. Of course, true crime podcasters rush to amplify his charges and “investigate” the old case, further pressuring Fawley. At the end of the book, Fawley is cleared but Pirrie gets parole, and we know he’ll be back.
In the new book, the main case at the start is the usual he said/she said story of a professor taking sexual advantage of a student. But in this case, the professor is a woman and the student a strapping male rugby player. But, without giving too much away (as you should read it), Fawley gets into trouble himself, while waiting for his wife to give birth. I raced through this one in a couple of days. Even though you know it will turn out alright in the end, getting there is not easy. I recommend you start with book one (CLOSE TO HOME) and read them all. Definitely my discovery of the year. I can’t remember the last time I read six or seven books by the same author in one year.
Current reading: I finally got the new Edward D. Hoch collection (from Crippen & Landru), The Will-o’-the-Wisp Mystery. In 1971, Hoch published 6 strories – monthly – in EQMM as by “Mr. X’ under “The Will-O’-The-Wisp Mystery.” Five men and one woman escape from a prison van transferring them, and David Piper, the “Manhunter” of the Department of Apprehension (it seems to be in Upstate New York) has to track them down and bring them in. I did figure out the surprise “reveal” in the last story. As usual, Hoch is entertaining and worth reading, even without the “impossible crime” elements he so often used. The second half of the book featured Catholic priest Father David Noose, and I’ll cover those next week.
Lesa recommended James Byrne’s Dez Limerick books a few weeks ago, and I got the first, The Gatekeeper, from the library. Think Jack Reacher with a sense of humor (and perhaps not quite as large) and you have Dez, a “gatekeeper” (“He can open any door, keep it open, and control who goes through and who doesn’t”). When he sees armed men trying to kidnap a woman he – naturally – steps in. She turns out to be Petra Alexandris, the Chief Legal Counsel (and daughter of the CEO) of Triton Enterprises. Someone has stolen over a billion dollrs from the company, and there is talk about using it to finance a new state, carved from the center of California. Not on Dez’s watch. This ia just a lot of fun, Dez is a great character, and I hope t finish it today or tomorrow at the latest.
Stay safe out there!
Jeff, I knew you’d have friends or family in Florida. I hope everyone was okay.
My pleasure to introduce you to Dez Limerick and to Cara Hunter’s books. I’m so pleased you enjoy them!
I’ve added Cara Hunter to my “to read” list!
Good morning, all! Jeopardy last night was briefly interrupted by a bulletin about Hurricane Milton, and I thought one of the reporter was going to be blown away any minute! This one and Hurricane Helene have been so scary for those in the affected states. Side note: what happened to Hurricanes, I, J, K, and L?
I managed to finish three books this week, hopefully getting back to my former reading routine, and I enjoyed them all.
It took me a few chapters to get used to David Nicholls’ writing style in his new book, YOU ARE HERE. But once I settled in, I thoroughly enjoyed the story of two damaged almost-strangers in their late thirties/early forties whose mutual friend has convinced each of them to participate in a 10-day group hike in the English countryside. Geography teacher Michael and his wife are in the process of divorcing because of some problematic issues in their married life, but he is having a hard time letting go. Copy editor Marnie was happy to divorce her husband, but she has been living a solitary and financially challenged life ever since. You might expect that the two will get together in the course of the walk, but although there are many flashes of humor, I found the story more serious than a romcom. As some of the other walkers give up and go home in the face of poor weather, fatigue, and other priorities, Michael and Marnie carry on–Marnie for longer than she had planned– and we get to know them from alternating POV chapters. I found it interesting to learn more about their careers, their inner thoughts, and their eccentricities. As they begin to open up to each other, their relationship evolves, but it’s a slow burn. Both are sympathetic characters and I wanted them to find happiness together, but it’s a physically, and often mentally, difficult road to navigate. I found many of the details of the physical hike to be somewhat repetitive, but overall, I am glad someone made this selection for a book club I attend. (Note: Not everyone in the club liked it, one finding it “tedious” and others saying it wasn’t realistic enough.)
Kristan Higgins books are always enjoyable reads for me, and NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT (2017) is no exception . . . even though I think the title is unnecessarily generic. Nora Stuart is a Boston gastroenterologist who owes much of her success to winning a full ride at Tufts University for having the highest GPA in her high school senior class. The prize’s perks provided by its wealthy scientist sponsor made it possible for Nora to leave behind her childhood on Maine’s Scupper Island. Her father, who was idolized by Nora and her younger sister Lily, had abandoned them abruptly. Her mother was strong and self-reliant but was never the warm maternal figure the girls needed. And her fellow students had constantly bullied her about body issues, and for winning a prize that they felt should have gone to a rival classmate–one of a pair of popular male twins. Now both slender and successful, Nora has suffered an accident with an exterminator truck that leaves her with physical injuries, as well as the indignity of hearing her ER doctor boyfriend tell another (sexy, female) doctor that he was planning to break up with Nora that weekend. Needing some time off to recuperate and regroup, Nora decides return to the island and rekindle her relationship with her always-distant mother and establish one with Poe, Lily’s teenage daughter, while Lily finishes s prison sentence. I love the variety of multifaceted characters in this book, including: Nora herself, who is still damaged from a traumatic event in her past; angsty Poe, trying to deal with the absence of her mother; Sullivan, “the other twin,” who is slowly losing his hearing; Sully’s delightful daughter Audrey; and Nora’s endearingly eccentric friend Xiaowen; not to mention Nora’s ultimately surprising mother and so many more. Most characters distinct and are developed well throughout the story. There is a sprinkling of romance (though not enough to call the book a romance) and more than a sprinkling of welcome humor, much of it coming from the narrator, Nora. Finally, some deeply felt emotion caught me by surprise. A winning formula!
DEAD IN THE FRAME, the fifth in the Pentecost and Parker historical mysteries series, is equally as enjoyable as the first four books. And the premise is shocking. Prominent private detective Lillian Pentecost is accused of murder and imprisoned, which doesn’t bode well for her health, as she suffers from multiple sclerosis. And it leaves her young, street-smart lead investigator, Will (Willowjean) Parker, with the primary responsibility for finding the real killer of a millionaire who is known for his Black Museum of grisly murder memorabilia, while trying to deal with the firm’s other clients. Set in New York in 1947, the story is convoluted and the charges are tough to fight–after all, Lillian was present when the murder happened and fled the scene. Will uses her analytical skills, acquired contacts on both sides of the law, and sheer fearlessness to vindicate her boss before it’s too late, and Lillian does what she can from the confines of prison to help her own cause. Will’s narration is sometimes interrupted by excerpts from the journal Lillian is trying to keep, some of it written in code that only the two understand (thankfully decoded for the reader). The two main characters have been defined and developed over the course of the series and are always a delight to encounter again. Supporting and incidental characters are also brought to life in an interesting and memorable way. You can’t go wrong with this excellent series. (February).
Margie, it’s good to hear you’re getting back to your reading routine. I always enjoy your reviews and will be looking forward to the fifth in Stephen Spotswood’s series in February. Thanks
Isaac
Joyce
Kirk
Leslie
Guess they didn’t make the grade.
So far, we’ve had two storms with names of relatives this year – Francine is my cousin’s wife and Helene is Jackie’s sister.
Looking forward to the Pentecost & Parker book too.
Margie, I know there are a number of readers here on Thursday that enjoy your reviews. So, MM and I aren’t the only ones happy to know you’re getting back into your reading routine. It must still be difficult with your braces.
Take care of yourself!
Thank you for the heads-up about the new Stephen Spotswood book – love that series!
I am reading A Sinister Revenge from Deanna Raybourn’s Veronica Speedwell series, but I am also keeping a watch on the hurricane as my father-in-law lives on the east coast of Florida where Milton was to go nearly directly over them.
Tracy, I hope your father-in-law didn’t have too many problems with Milton.
Not easy to read while worrying about someone. But, Deanna Raybourn is usually an escape.
Lesa, we enjoyed The Bletchley Circle on PBS too and just finished The Bletchley Circle San Francisco on Britbox. Not as good as the original but entertaining.
I finished 2 books this week.
THE AXEMAN’S CARNIVAL by Catherine Chidgey takes place in New Zealand. Marnie rescues a magpie chick that becomes a viral internet sensation. Meanwhile she and her husband, Rob, are trying to save their family sheep farm during the incredible drought. This was very different and had me had out of my comfort zone with a domestic violence subplot. I actually liked it very much despite that as the world’s love of Tama (the talking magpie) showed just how absurd social media can be at times.
My second book I loved like everyone else at Lesa’s. I was a little late to the party, but WE SOLVE MURDERS by Richard Osman was fabulous.
We went up for early voting yesterday. I am more than ready for the election to be over.
Praying for Florida and those still suffering in North Carolina.
Happy Reading!
Sharon, it’s good to know that you liked The Axeman’s Carnival. I read about a third of the book and then set it aside with the intent to finish. It came back around on my library holds, maybe this time I’ll complete.
Oh, I didn’t know there was The Bletchley Circle San Francisco on BritBox, Sharon! Thanks for letting me know.
I will say I’m watching more series this year than I usually do – A Murder in a Small Town, Matlock, and High Potential. We’ll see how long they keep my interest.
I’m with you. I’m ready for the election to be over, too.
The original Bletchley Circle was better, but the San Francisco one was still worth watching too.
I’ll have to look for it sometime, Jeff.
Was going to recommend High Potential. We like it.
My heart continues to ache for victims of Helene, and now Milton.
Helene left my area in devastation and I’m still trying to wrap my head, and my heart, around it.
Unable to concentrate on reading, I did finally find refuge in
Chris Penhall’s The House That Florence Left.
Description
A HEARTWARMING AND UPLIFTING ROMANCE OF NEW BEGINNINGS.
ESCAPE TO PORTUGAL FOR SUMMER SUN AND SECOND CHANCES.
Could an unlikely inheritance be the secret to Bella’s happiness?
Bella Cresswell likes her life organized. But when she inherits her great-aunt Flo’s house in the Algarve, her life gets decidedly disorganized.
She flies to Portugal hoping for a quick sale and to return home. Except there is a clause in the will stopping her. Before she can sell the house, Bella must ‘make it better’.
As she tries to fix up the dilapidated property, Bella discovers the faded walls are filled with the memories and secrets of Florence’s vibrant life. And, as she looks further into her great-aunt’s time in Portugal, she realises, there’s more to making it better than she first thought.
Soon Bella finds herself caught up in the charm of the lively Portuguese village, the eccentric and friendly locals and her handsome, yet mysterious, neighbour, Hugo.
But when it’s time to sell and say goodbye will Bella be able to return to her old life?
Or will she discover that some things are meant to be held onto forever?
This gorgeous, escapist, holiday romance is perfect for fans of Sue Moorcroft, Milly Johnson, Kim Nash, Jessica Redland and Jo Bartlett.
Readers love Chris Penhall’s charming Portuguese paradise romances!
I know, Kaye. And, I’m sure your heart aches for the places you love.
I like the sound of The House that Florence Left. Portugal appeals to me, if it wasn’t so hilly!
It is shocking and saddening to read about the multitudes of problems and deaths caused by the hurricanes hitting Florida. It is hard to take in and process.
Last week I finished 3 books:
THE HAMLET TRAP by Kate Wilhelm, which I enjoyed very much. I liked that it was different type of mystery and I liked the setting in Ashland, Oregon. I have ordered two more of the books in that series from ABEBOOKs and I am looking for the first book in her other mystery series.
I read LADIES’ LUNCH AND OTHER STORIES by Lore Segal, which I learned about from Jeff Meyerson. A very good read. Jeff also let me know that she died on Oct. 7 at 96.
Then I read WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE, by Maria Semple. I don’t really know what I think of that book. The characters were (mostly) all over the top, and did not seem realistic. But I could not stop reading it and I read it very fast (for me). I did love the parts about Antarctica.
Glen has been reading MOSQUITO by Graham M. Simons on the Kindle for quite a while. It is a nonfiction book about the combat aircraft . He finished it this week. It was too technical for him but he did learn a lot from the book. He is now reading TURNED OUT NICE AGAIN: LIVING WITH THE WEATHER by Richard Mabey. It is a compilation of essays about weather, and not very long. We both find weather interesting, and we both like rain and overcast days.
You’re right, Tracey. It is hard to take in. And, that’s coming from you who enjoys weather, including rainy, gloomy days!
There’s nothing I enjoy more than to see people here suggesting books, and others reading them. I like that Jeff let you know about one of the authors of a book you both read and enjoyed.
OK. Finished THE GATEKEEPER. Great stuff.
Wasn’t it fun, Jeff? I didn’t care for the second one as much, but the third that comes out January, Chain Reaction, is fun.
Watching the hurricane coverage is hard. I don’t know how you start over when your home is destroyed.
So, I never did get THE WAITING by Michael Connelly. They had my status as “pending” for months. I checked Monday and they had the read archived and said buy it at these various places. So, they did nothing. Not cool. Should have just denied me earlier and i would not have been checking it several times a day. It will be now be sometime in January, or later, before I can get it via the library.
Current read— DEATH AT A SCOTTISH CHRISTMAS.
Hey Lesa, I’m currently reading A Long Time Gone (Ben Packard series) by Joshua Moehling (through netgalley). It releases in February 2025. I currently have the Bletchley Riddle audio on hold from Libby through my library.
I’m really enjoying The Bletchley Riddle, Katherine.