Fiction by Marie Benedict
In 1926, mystery novelist Agatha Christie disappeared for eleven days, sparking a huge scandal, only to return unharmed without much public explanation. This is a historical fact, but what actually happened to Mrs. Christie during that time is a mystery.
In this book, author Marie Benedict puts forth her ideas about what really happened during those eleven days. It's pretty good.
I also read by this author: The Personal Librarian
Fiction by Karen Swan
At the beginning of this story, set in approximately 2017, an apartment in Paris is discovered that has been sealed and unoccupied since the second world war. The place is owned by the rich Vermeil family, but they had been unaware of its existence; that is, most of them did not know about it. When the information comes to light, M. Vermeil finds out that his widowed nonagenarian mother had kept the property a secret on purpose, and indeed the old lady still wants to completely forbid entry. But why?
M. Vermeil calls on British art agent Flora Sykes to investigate the property and see what it contains, keeping to the letter of his mother's wishes by not going into the apartment himself. Flora discovers a treasure trove of artwork, including several pieces of great value. She begins to research the provenance of the art so that it can be sold, and runs up against a problem: the valuable art pieces seem to have all passed through the hand of a known and hated Nazi collaborator, a man known for stripping assets from Jewish families during the war. It's an ethical dilemma. Does this art belong to the Vermeil family at all?
As an intellectual exercise, this plot is really interesting and gave me a lot to think about. However, as a story it was a bit lacking. The author left some loose ends but still managed some leaping coincidental plot twists, and the characters were often less than believable. I didn't love this book.
Fiction by Brendan Slocumb
Dr. Bern Hendricks is a musician and a historian, and his specialty is early 20th century composer Frederick Delaney. So when the Delaney Foundation calls him to say they have found documents needing review, he jumps at the chance to fly to New York and study them. After all, there is still some mystery surrounding Delany's work, and Bern longs to be the one to find out the truth. He enlists help from his friend Eboni Washington, a computer tech expert who had helped him with his Delaney dissertation some years before.
But soon Bern gets the feeling that the Delaney Foundation may not be interested in the truth. Or is it just because he and Eboni are the only Black scholars working with the all-white Foundation members that makes him uneasy? The reader knows something more is definitely going on! Then the book makes a time shift back to the early 1900's and the real Frederick Delaney's life and the plot thickens.
This was a really good book, a blend of historical and mystery fiction with interesting musical and cultural aspects as well. I highly recommend it!
I also read by this author: The Violin Conspiracy
Fiction by Katherine Center
Lainie is a stay-at-home mom with three small children who only wants to stay in Houston near her parents when her composer husband moves them all to Cambridge. For him, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but for Lainie, it's just new place to slog through motherhood without help. Will the pressure of life bring the couple closer together or push them apart? And will Lainie ever feel like a person again instead of just Mom?
This is a lovely character story about finding yourself after parenthood has changed everything.
Fiction by Marta Molnar
Fiction by Maggie O’Farrell
You know from the beginning of the book that Duchess Lucrezia is going to die at the age of sixteen in 1561. There’s a note that explains to the reader about her, a real historical person who was rumored to have been murdered by her husband.
So I shouldn’t have liked this book, already knowing the main character was doomed. But I loved it!
I cannot explain how this author brings her characters to life and makes me love them so much I long to keep reading even though I know it will never end well. I should want to throw the book across the room in despair; instead I’m in love with it. The other book (see below) I read by her was literally subtitled “a novel of the plague,” and it was wonderful! I can’t explain it.
This was a really good story!!
I also read by this author: Hamnet
Fiction by Joshilyn Jackson
Leia Birch Briggs is an artist and author on the verge of some big success; she's just gotten a contract to write a prequel to her self-published graphic novel that had become a surprise hit. But she's experiencing some writer's block, she's unexpectedly pregnant, and Birchie, her beloved grandmother in Alabama, is losing her marbles.
First things first, she's got to head to Alabama to try to force Birchie into assisted living, but of course the pregnancy and the writer's block go with her. In addition to that, Leia's stepsister Rachel is going through an unexpected crisis of her own.
This was a great story with an exciting plot and great characters; also it really gives you something to think about.
Fiction by Elizabeth Little
Fiction by Ken Follett
Fiction by Diane Chamberlain
