Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen

Started: 9/15/2023

Finished: 9/18/2023

Year: 2022

Pages: 274

Genre: Literature

Grade: C

Reason for reading: Reese's book club, library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "Money can’t buy happiness… but it can buy a decent fake.

"Ava Wong has always played it safe. As a strait-laced, rule-abiding Chinese American lawyer with a successful surgeon as a husband, a young son, and a beautiful home—she’s built the perfect life. But beneath this façade, Ava’s world is crumbling: her marriage is falling apart, her expensive law degree hasn’t been used in years, and her toddler’s tantrums are pushing her to the breaking point.

"Enter Winnie Fang, Ava’s enigmatic college roommate from Mainland China, who abruptly dropped out under mysterious circumstances. Now, twenty years later, Winnie is looking to reconnect with her old friend. But the shy, awkward girl Ava once knew has been replaced with a confident woman of the world, dripping in luxury goods, including a coveted Birkin in classic orange. The secret to her success? Winnie has developed an ingenious counterfeit scheme that involves importing near-exact replicas of luxury handbags and now she needs someone with a U.S. passport to help manage her business—someone who’d never be suspected of wrongdoing, someone like Ava. But when their spectacular success is threatened and Winnie vanishes once again, Ava is left to face the consequences."

Opinion: Eh. Not a subject matter that I care about (fashion) and the "friendship" was annoying. I did like how it was written-basically Ava telling her story to a detective.

(Need) Blind Ambition by Kevin T. Myers

Started: 9/11/2023

Finished: DNF

Year: 2023

Pages: 274

Genre: fiction

Grade: D

Reason for reading: Early Reviewers giveaway on Librarything.com

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "The desire for relevance—and to save his marriage—is ultimately what pushed Peter Cook to leave his beloved Alaska for the prestigious Parker College. Lured by the chance to work with his childhood political idol turned college president, Peter moves his family to Portland, Oregon to help promote his hero’s fundraising initiative that would eliminate financial status from the college’s admissions process. 

"Peter arrives on campus as the Great Recession looms, the stock market is trending toward disaster, and the opioid crisis has breached the walls of the privileged college. He quickly learns the reality of Parker College strays far from its professed idealistic mission after discovering a plot to cover-up felonious drug activity in return for a seven-figure payday to the Need Blind Campaign. 

"While plumbing the depths of his conscience for the conviction to do the right thing, Peter’s untreated childhood trauma resurfaces, threatening to cloud his perception when it needs to be at its sharpest. Peter must stabilize his mental health while also trying to parse competing versions of “the truth” as law enforcement investigates the criminal conspiracy.

"Need Blind Ambition asks: how far will a college stray to protect its reputation?"

Opinion: A thorough review is posted on librarything.com

Fear Street: The Beginning by R. L. Stine

Started: 9/10/2023

Finished: DNF

Year: 1989

Pages: 552

Genre: mystery, horror

Grade: D

Reason for reading: local bookstore horror bookclub pick

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Welcome to Fear Street…

\"Where strange things happen, people go missing, and nightmares come true.

"This is where it all began. When Fear Street became legend, forever linked with danger, and curses, and things that go bump in the night. Go back to how it all started—to the moment when Corey Brooks falls for perfect, incredible Anna, only to learn that she’s gone missing...on Fear Street.

"Venture into the terrifying Fear Street woods where Meg Dalton’s best friend Evan died under mysterious circumstances, and discover why only Meg can uncover the truth behind his death. Follow Della to Fear Island and learn about the terrifying threats that force Della to confront her past—and the incident that occurred on the island between her and a dangerous stranger.

"Return to Fear Street with Mark and Cara Burroughs who come home to find that their parents have disappeared, plunging them into a nightmare of chaos that neither of them could have ever predicted. The only thing they know for sure is that though Fear Street may be a mystery, not everyone escapes such an evil place alive.

"Only danger awaits those brave enough to travel down Fear Street. You’re not afraid…are you?"

Opinion: This also falls under the young adult category and I just can't seem to get into those. It definitely wasn't a bad collection of stories but eh...just wasn't feeling it.

The Confidante by Christopher C. Gorman

Started: 9/1/2023

Finished: 9/5/2023

Year: 2023

Pages: 313

Genre: history, biography

Grade A

Reason for reading: sounded interesting, library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "As Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s special envoy to Europe in World War II she went where the president couldn’t go. She was among the first Allied women to enter a liberated concentration camp, and stood in the Eagle’s Nest, Hitler’s mountain retreat, days after its capture. She guided the direction of the G.I. Bill of Rights and the Manhattan Project. Though Anna Rosenberg emerged from modest immigrant beginnings, equipped with only a high school education, she was the real power behind national policies critical to America winning the war and prospering afterward. Astonishingly, her story remains largely forgotten.

"With a disarming mix of charm and Tammany-hewn toughness, Rosenberg began her career in public relations in 1920s Manhattan. She became friends with Eleanor Roosevelt, who recommended Anna to her husband, who was then running for Governor of New York. As FDR’s unofficial adviser, Rosenberg soon wielded enormous influence—no less potent for being subtle. Roosevelt dubbed her “my Mrs. Fix-It.” Her extraordinary career continued after his death.

"By 1950, she was tapped to become the assistant secretary of defense—the highest position ever held by a woman in the US military—prompting Senator Joe McCarthy to wage an unsuccessful smear campaign against her. In 1962, she organized John F. Kennedy’s infamous birthday gala, sitting beside him while Marilyn Monroe sang. Until the end of her life, Rosenberg fought tirelessly for causes from racial integration to women’s equality to national health care."

Opinion: A remarkable history about a woman that most people probably never have heard of and she did so much for ALL Americans despite not even being born in America.

Hardcore Twenty-Four by Janet Evanovich

Started: 8/31/2023

Finished: 8/31/2023

Year: 2017

Pages: 275

Genre: mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: continuing with the series

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Trouble comes in bunches for Stephanie Plum. First, professional grave robber and semi-professional loon, Simon Diggery, won’t let her take him in until she agrees to care for his boa constrictor, Ethel. Stephanie’s main qualification for babysitting an extremely large snake is that she owns a stun gun—whether that’s for use on the wandering serpent or the petrified neighbors remains to be seen.

"Events take a dark turn when headless bodies start appearing across town. At first, it’s just corpses from a funeral home and the morgue that have had the heads removed. But when a homeless man is murdered and dumped behind a church Stephanie knows that she’s the only one with a prayer of catching this killer.

"If all that’s not enough, Diesel’s back in town. The 6-foot-tall, blonde-haired hunk is a man who accepts no limits—that includes locked doors, closed windows and underwear. Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli isn’t pleased at this unexpected arrival nor is Ranger, the high-powered security consultant who has his own plans for Stephanie.

"As usual Jersey’s favorite bounty hunter is stuck in the middle with more questions than answers. What’s the deal with Grandma Mazur’s latest online paramour? Who is behind the startling epidemic of mutilated corpses? And is the enigmatic Diesel’s sudden appearance a coincidence or the cause of recent deadly events?"

Opinion: More silly antics, another car destroyed-really creative way this time though. Just another fun mystery.

Monsterland: Encounters with UFOs, Bigfoot and Orange Orbs by Ronny Le Blanc

Started: 8/29/2023

Finished: 8/30/2023

Year: 2016

Pages: 247

Genre: paranormal

Grade: B-

Reason for reading: fan of Expedition Bigfoot and Paranormal Caught on Camera, wanted to know more about him

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "There is an area known to the locals of Leominster, Massachusetts as MONSTERLAND™. There are sightings of UFOS, Bigfoot and Orange Orbs. They have been coming and going for years. But where are they coming from? Why are they here? It seems that the state of Massachusetts has had a long history of sightings and encounters with these mysterious entities and they are occurring in the present day.Could all of these events somehow be connected? What is so special about Leominster that they have plagued the area for so long? Author and Researcher Ronny Le Blanc of Leominster thinks that he might have the answers to some of these questions. But the answers received lead to a whole new understanding of the unknown....Welcome to MONSTERLAND"

Opinion: It is very obvious that he did A LOT of research for this book and for his own passion. Even though it starts off being about Leonminster, MA, other interesting sites are discussed.

N is for Noose by Sue Grafton

Started: 8/24/2023

Finished: 8/29/2023

Year: 1998

Pages: 353

Genre: mystery

Grade: B+

Reason for reading: continuing with the series

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Tom Newquist has died. A detective in the Nota Lake sheriff's office, Tom was tough, honest, and respected by all. He was also a heavy drinker and a workaholic, much to his wife Selma's distress. And now that Tom is gone, Selma can't help but wonder what it really was that was troubling him….

"What made Tom so restless during the last six weeks of his life? Why was he up all night and brooding all day long? What―or who―was at the heart of his dark moods? With the coroner's report in hand, Selma decides to enlist the help of Kinsey Millhone to find the truth about what happened to her husband.

"But the residents of Nota Lake keep their secrets close―and their enemies closer. And the deeper Kinsey's investigation goes, the closer she comes to confronting the most dangerous outcome of all: the truth…"

Opinion: Much more suspenseful than most of Grafton's other books...which I like.

Brother by Ania Ahlborn

Started: 8/21/2023

Finished: 8/23/2023

Year: 2015

Pages: 319

Genre: horror

Grade: B

Reason for reading: library book, book club book with local bookstore-even though I'm not participating in it, I'm still interested in reading the books that are chosen.

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Deep in the heart of Appalachia stands a crooked farmhouse miles from any road. The Morrows keep to themselves, and it’s served them well so far. When girls go missing off the side of the highway, the cops don’t knock on their door. Which is a good thing, seeing as to what’s buried in the Morrows’ backyard.

"But nineteen-year-old Michael Morrow isn’t like the rest of his family. He doesn’t take pleasure in the screams that echo through the trees. Michael pines for normalcy, and he’s sure that someday he’ll see the world beyond West Virginia. When he meets Alice, a pretty girl working at a record shop in the small nearby town of Dahlia, he’s immediately smitten. For a moment, he nearly forgets about the monster he’s become. But his brother, Rebel, is all too eager to remind Michael of his place…"

Opinion: Certainly not the family that I would want to be living with after being kidnapped.

A Wicked Snow by Gregg Olsen

Started: 8/17/2023

Finished: 8/21/2023

Year: 2014 (this edition)

Pages: 389

Genre: mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: read other books by Olsen, booksfree.com

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Hannah Griffin was a girl when tragedy struck. She still remembers the flames reflected against the newly fallen snow and the bodies the police dug up--one of them her mother's. The killer was never found....

"Twenty years later Hannah is a talented CSI investigating a case of child abuse when the past comes hurtling back. A killer with unfinished business is on the hunt. And an anonymous message turns Hannah's blood cold:

"Your Mom called..."

Opinion: Interesting twist near the end and wish that it was elaborated more. Interesting development of an evil character.

Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird by Agustina Bazterrica

Started: 8/16/2023

Finished: 8/17/2023

Year: 2020

Pages: 159

Genre: horror, dark fiction

Grade; C

Reason for reading: library book

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "From celebrated author Agustina Bazterrica, this collection of nineteen brutal, darkly funny short stories takes into our deepest fears and through our most disturbing fantasies. Through stories about violence, alienation, and dystopia, Bazterrica’s vision of the human experience emerges in complex, unexpected ways—often unsettling, sometimes thrilling, and always profound. In “Roberto,” a girl claims to have a rabbit between her legs. A woman’s neighbor jumps to his death in “A Light, Swift, and Monstrous Sound,” and in “Candy Pink,” a woman fails to contend with a difficult breakup in five easy steps."

Opinion: Like with all short story collections, some are better than others. Some of these will linger in my mind longer than others. 

The Children's Book by A. S. Byatt

Started: 8/15/2023

Finished: DNF

Year: 2009

Pages: 675

Genre: literature

Grade: F

Reason for reading: grabbed off the TBR pile

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "A spellbinding novel, at once sweeping and intimate, from the Booker Prize–winning author of Possession, that spans the Victorian era through the World War I years, and centers around a famous children’s book author and the passions, betrayals, and secrets that tear apart the people she loves.

"When Olive Wellwood’s oldest son discovers a runaway named Philip sketching in the basement of the new Victoria and Albert Museum—a talented working-class boy who could be a character out of one of Olive’s magical tales—she takes him into the storybook world of her family and friends.

"But the joyful bacchanals Olive hosts at her rambling country house—and the separate, private books she writes for each of her seven children—conceal more treachery and darkness than Philip has ever imagined. As these lives—of adults and children alike—unfold, lies are revealed, hearts are broken, and the damaging truth about the Wellwoods slowly emerges. But their personal struggles, their hidden desires, will soon be eclipsed by far greater forces, as the tides turn across Europe and a golden era comes to an end."

Opinion: It had grabbed my attention...and then it didn't. And the longer I went, the more my attention was not grabbed so off I go to start a different book.

Woom by Duncan Ralston

Started: 8/14/2023

Finished: 8/15/2023

Year: 2016

Pages: 129

Genre: dark fiction

Grade: C

Reason for reading: library book

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Warning: this book contains graphic violence and sexuality most readers will find offensive."Trust me when I say, this is messed up..." - Matt Shaw, author of Sick B*stards"I believe pain lingers," Angel said. "Do I believe in spirits? In the supernatural? Probably not."The Lonely Motel holds many dark secrets... and Room 6 just might possess the worst of them all.Angel knows all about pain. His mother died in this room. He's researched its history. Today he's come back to end it, no matter the cost, once and for all.Shyla, a plus-sized prostitute, thinks the stories Angel tells her can't be true. Secrets so vile, you won't want to let them inside you.But the Lonely Motel doesn't forget. It doesn't forgive. And it always claims its victim."

Opinion: Definitely could trigger some people so it isn't for everyone. It's horrific in some aspects. Psychologically disturbing in others.

Murder Your Employer by Rupert Holmes

Started: 8/13/2023

Finished: 8/14/2023

Year: 2023

Pages: 388

Genre: Literature

Grade: B

Reason for reading: library book, title sounded interesting

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "Who hasn’t wondered for a split second what the world would be like if a person who is the object of your affliction ceased to exist? But then you’ve probably never heard of The McMasters Conservatory, dedicated to the consummate execution of the homicidal arts. To gain admission, a student must have an ethical reason for erasing someone who deeply deserves a fate no worse (nor better) than death. The campus of this “Poison Ivy League” college—its location unknown to even those who study there—is where you might find yourself the practice target of a classmate…and where one’s mandatory graduation thesis is getting away with the perfect murder of someone whose death will make the world a much better place to live."

Opinion: Wasn't quite what I was expecting but definitely interesting way of looking at murder and what it takes to perform a perfect one.

Turbo Twenty-Three by Janet Evanovich

Started: 8/9/2023

Finished: 8/10/2023

Year: 2017

Pages: 319

Genre: mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: continuing with the series

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Larry Virgil skipped out on his latest court date after he was arrested for hijacking an eighteen-wheeler full of premium bourbon. Fortunately for bounty hunter Stephanie Plum, Larry is just stupid enough to attempt almost the exact same crime again. Only this time he flees the scene, leaving behind a freezer truck loaded with Bogart ice cream and a dead body—frozen solid and covered in chocolate and chopped pecans.

"As fate would have it, Stephanie’s mentor and occasional employer, Ranger, needs her to go undercover at the Bogart factory to find out who’s putting their employees on ice and sabotaging the business. It’s going to be hard for Stephanie to keep her hands off all that ice cream, and even harder for her to keep her hands off Ranger. It’s also going to be hard to explain to Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli, why she is spending late nights with Ranger, late nights with Lula and Randy Briggs—who are naked and afraid—and late nights keeping tabs on Grandma Mazur and her new fella. Stephanie Plum has a lot on her plate, but for a girl who claims to have “virtually no marketable skills,” these are the kinds of sweet assignments she does best."

Opinion: Working undercover at an ice cream factory allows for more silly antics that Stephanie gets herself into.

Mrs. Plansky's Revenge by Spencer Quinn

Started: 8/7/2023

Finished: 8/9/2023

Year: 2023

Pages: 291

Genre: Fiction

Grade: B-

Reason for reading: library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "Mrs. Loretta Plansky, a recent widow in her seventies, is settling into retirement in Florida while dealing with her 98-year-old father and fielding requests for money from her beloved children and grandchildren. Thankfully, her new hip hasn’t changed her killer tennis game one bit.

"One night Mrs. Plansky is startled awake by a phone call from a voice claiming to be her grandson Will, who desperately needs ten thousand dollars to get out of a jam. Of course, Loretta obliges―after all, what are grandmothers for, even grandmothers who still haven’t gotten a simple “thank you” for a gift sent weeks ago. Not that she's counting.

"By morning, Mrs. Plansky has lost everything. Law enforcement announces that Loretta's life savings have vanished, and that it’s hopeless to find the scammers behind the heist. First humiliated, then furious, Loretta Plansky refuses to be just another victim.

"In a courageous bid for justice, Mrs. Plansky follows her only clue on a whirlwind adventure to a small village in Romania to get her money and her dignity back―and perhaps find a new lease on life, too."

Opinion: In the era of phone scammers, this had an interesting take on how to handle these scams and what most people would want to do.

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

Started: 8/2/2023

Finished: 8/7/2023

Year: 2021

Pages: 359

Genre: Literature

Grade: C

Reason for reading: library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "Esme is born into a world of words. Motherless and irrepressibly curious, she spends her childhood in the Scriptorium, an Oxford garden shed in which her father and a team of dedicated lexicographers are collecting words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. Young Esme’s place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day a slip of paper containing the word bondmaid flutters beneath the table. She rescues the slip and, learning that the word means “slave girl,” begins to collect other words that have been discarded or neglected by the dictionary men.

"As she grows up, Esme realizes that words and meanings relating to women’s and common folks’ experiences often go unrecorded. And so she begins in earnest to search out words for her own dictionary: the Dictionary of Lost Words. To do so she must leave the sheltered world of the university and venture out to meet the people whose words will fill those pages.

"Set during the height of the women’s suffrage movement and with the Great War looming, The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative, hidden between the lines of a history written by men. Inspired by actual events, author Pip Williams has delved into the archives of the Oxford English Dictionary to tell this highly original story. The Dictionary of Lost Words is a delightful, lyrical, and deeply thought-provoking celebration of words and the power of language to shape the world."

Opinion: Not quite sure what I was expecting while reading this but it didn't grab my attention. And the way that it jumped between certain scenarios....those scenarios did not need to be included.

M is for Malice by Sue Grafton

Started: 7/30/2023

Finished: 8/2/2023

Year: 1997

Pages: 372

Genre: mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: continuing with the series

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "M is for MONEY…

"Malek Construction is a mega-million-dollar company that grew out of modest soil to become one of the big three in California construction―and one of the few still in family hands. Today, the three Malek sons stand to inherit a fortune, but in order for any one of them to claim his share, the missing fourth brother must be found.

"M is for MISSING…

"Now it's up to Kinsey Millhone to find the man who, eighteen years ago, vanished without a trace. Did he run away―or was he abducted? Did he intend to make something of himself on his own, apart from the wealth and prowess of his family, or were his motives something more sinister?

"M is for MALICE

"The ties that bind. The rivalries of brotherhood. The fall of an empire… As Kinsey tries to unravel the mystery of the missing Malek brother she finds herself in a heart-stopping race against time in which loyalties are tested, greed is rampant, and no one―including Kinsey herself―is safe…"

Opinion: Another decent book with Kinsey as the PI...what she thought would be a simple missing person location turned out to be a lot more.

Fatherland by Burkhard Bilger

Started: 7/30/2023

Finished: 7/30/2023

Year: 2023

Pages: 279

Genre: narrative nonfiction

Grade: C

Reason for reading: library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "As a boy growing up in Oklahoma, Burkhard Bilger often heard his parents tell stories about the Germany of their youth. Winters in the Black Forest, when the snow piled up to the eaves and haunches of smoked speck hung from the rafters. Springtime along the Rhine, when the storks came home to nest on rooftops. His parents were born in 1935 and had lived through the Second World War, but those stories, vivid as they were, had strange omissions. His mother was a historian, yet she rarely talked about her father’s relationship to the Nazis, or his role in the war. Then one day a packet of letters arrived from Germany, yellowed with age, and a secret history began to unfold.

"Karl Gönner was an elementary school teacher and father of four when the war began. In 1940, he was posted to a village in Alsace, in occupied France, and ordered to reeducate its children—to turn them into proper Germans. He was a loyal Nazi when he arrived, but as the war went on his allegiance wavered. According to some villagers, he risked his life shielding them from his own party’s brutalities. According to others, he ruled the village with an iron fist. After the war, Gönner was charged with giving an order that led police to beat a local farmer to death. Was he guilty or innocent? A war criminal or just an ordinary man, struggling to do right from within a monstrous regime?

"Fatherland is the story of Bilger’s nearly ten-year quest to uncover the truth. It is a book of gripping suspense and moral inquiry—a tale of chance encounters and serendipitous discoveries in archives and villages across Germany and France. Long admired for his profiles in The New Yorker, Bilger brings the same open-hearted curiosity to his grandfather’s story and the questions it raises. What do we owe the past? How can we make peace with it without perpetuating its wrongs? Intimate and far-reaching, Fatherland is an extraordinary odyssey through the great upheavals of the past century."

Opinion: This is a kind of a test for your morality-reading everything in the book, do you feel that Karl was a war criminal? I could see why it could go either way-especially because it was in Nazi Germany.

The 9th Man by Steve Berry with Grant Blackwood

Started: 7/29/2023

Finished: 7/30/2023

Year: 2023

Pages: 346

Genre: thriller, mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "Luke Daniels is in London, between assignments with the Magellan Billet, when he receives a frantic call from an old friend.  Jillian Stein is in trouble.  She made a mistake and now her life may be in danger.  She needs Luke’s help.  Immediately.  Racing to Belgium Luke quickly finds that she was right.  A shadow team of highly-trained operatives are there on the hunt.  Intervening, he finds himself embroiled in a war between two determined sides — one seeking the truth, the other trying to escape the past — a war that has already claimed one life and is about to claim more.   

"Thomas Rowland is a Washington insider, a kingmaker, problem-solver, but also a man with a past.  For him everything turns with what happened on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas.  What history has recorded is wrong.  There is more to the story, much more, and Thomas Rowland is at the center of that terrible reality.  But forces are working against him, and Rowland will do anything to keep the world from learning what actually happened on that fateful day, including killing Luke, Jillian and anyone else who might be a threat. 

"In a race from Belgium, to Luxembourg, to the bayous of Louisiana and the Wyoming wilderness, to a final confrontation in the Bahamas, Luke Daniels confronts a series of shocking truths which not only rewrite history but will forever change his own life — as he comes face to face with the ninth man."

Opinion: Definitely a different look at Kennedy's assassination and done in thrilling way. Lots of action.

The Art Thief by Michael Finkel

Started: 7/28/2023

Finished: 7/29/2023

Year: 2023

Pages: 222

Genre: True Crime

Grade: C

Reason for reading: library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "In this spellbinding portrait of obsession and flawed genius, the best-selling author of The Stranger in the Woods brings us into Breitwieser’s strange world—unlike most thieves, he never stole for money, keeping all his treasures in a single room where he could admire them.

"For centuries, works of art have been stolen in countless ways from all over the world, but no one has been quite as successful at it as the master thief Stéphane Breitwieser. Carrying out more than two hundred heists over nearly eight years—in museums and cathedrals all over Europe—Breitwieser, along with his girlfriend who worked as his lookout, stole more than three hundred objects, until it all fell apart in spectacular fashion.

"In The Art Thief, Michael Finkel brings us into Breitwieser’s strange and fascinating world. Unlike most thieves, Breitwieser never stole for money. Instead, he displayed all his treasures in a pair of secret rooms where he could admire them to his heart’s content. Possessed of a remarkable athleticism and an innate ability to circumvent practically any security system, Breitwieser managed to pull off a breathtaking number of audacious thefts. Yet these strange talents bred a growing disregard for risk and an addict’s need to score, leading Breitwieser to ignore his girlfriend’s pleas to stop—until one final act of hubris brought everything crashing down.

"This is a riveting story of art, crime, love, and an insatiable hunger to possess beauty at any cost."

Opinion: Definitely a different type of art thief which makes his motive more interesting.

Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind by Ann B. Ross

Started: 7/27/2023

Finished: 7/28/2023

Year: 1999

Pages: 272

Genre: mystery

Grade: B-

Reason for reading: reread to start the series

Type: Paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Miss Julia, a recently bereaved and newly wealthy widow, is only slightly bemused when one Hazel Marie Puckett appears at her door with a youngster in tow and unceremoniously announces that the child is the bastard son of Miss Julia's late husband. Suddenly, this longtime church member and pillar of her small Southern community finds herself in the center of an unseemly scandal-and the guardian of a wan nine-year-old whose mere presence turns her life upside down.

"With razor-sharp wit and perfect "Steel Magnolia" poise, Miss Julia speaks her mind indeed-about a robbery, a kidnapping, and the other disgraceful events precipitated by her husband's death. Fast-paced and charming, with a sure sense of comic drama, a cast of crazy characters, and a strong Southern cadence, Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind will delight readers from first page to last."

Opinion: So Julia is still annoying (I read this back in 2009) but I did not dislike this book as much as I did. The mystery is still a clever one.

The Seaside Library by Brenda Novak

Started: 7/25/2023

Finished: 7/26/2023

Year: 2023

Pages: 381

Genre: Romantic mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "Mariners Island is barely ten miles long, but when Ivy, Ariana and Cam were teenagers, it was their whole world. Beyond the pristine beaches and iconic lighthouse lies the beautiful old library that belongs to Ivy’s family. While that bound Ivy to the island as an adult, Ariana could not leave Mariners behind fast enough. The town holds too many…memories. Not only her unrequited feelings for Cam, but the tragedy that left a scar on the community.

"When a young girl went missing, a teenage Cam was unthinkably the prime suspect. Ariana and Ivy knew he couldn’t have hurt anyone, and they promised to protect him—even if it meant lying on his behalf.

"Now, twenty years later, Ariana returns to Mariners just as new evidence emerges on the case, calling into question everything the three friends thought they knew—and everyone they thought they could trust. What really happened that night? Over the course of one eventful summer, Ariana, Ivy and Cam will learn the truth—about their pasts, their futures and the ties that still bind them as closely as the pages of a book…"

Opinion: So the mystery of the missing girl was easily figured out, the twists and turns are still there. The romance is decent.

Maribelle's Shadow by Susannah Marren

Started: 7/21/2023

Finished: 7/25/2023

Year: 2023

Pages: 303

Genre: Fiction

Grade: B

Reason for reading: review for Library Thing

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "As the editorial director of Palm Beach Confidential, Maribelle Walker knows what lurks beneath the glittering facade of the moneyed elite on Florida’s most glamorous coast. Or does she?

"When her adored and impressive husband, Samuel, dies suddenly, the secrets and lies between Maribelle and her sisters rise to the surface. Compounding the anguish, the authenticity of their socially ambitious mother and lavish lifestyle of mansions, privilege and couture clothes is thrown into doubt.

"As their carefully constructed image unravels, each sister realizes she must fend for herself. The pathway out is steep and worth any risk. Until the winner takes all."

Opinion: A thorough review is posted on Library Thing

Where are the Children Now? by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke

Started: 7/20/2023

Finished: 7/21/2023

Year: 2023

Pages: 275

Genre: mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "Of the fifty-six bestsellers the “Queen of Suspense” Mary Higgins Clark published in her lifetime, Where Are the Children? was her biggest, selling millions of copies and forever transforming the genre of suspense fiction. In that story, a young California mother named Nancy Harmon was convicted of murdering her two children. Though released on a technicality, she was abandoned by her husband and became such a pariah in the media that she was forced to move across the country to Cape Cod, change her identity and appearance, and start a new life. Years later her two children from a second marriage, Mike and Melissa, would go missing, and Nancy yet again became the prime suspect—but this time, Nancy was able to confront the secrets buried in her past and rescue her kids from a dangerous predator.

"Now, more than four decades since readers first met Nancy and her children, comes the thrilling sequel to the groundbreaking book that set the stage for future generations of psychological suspense novels. A lawyer turned successful podcaster, Melissa has recently married a man whose first wife died tragically, leaving him and their young daughter, Riley, behind. While Melissa and her brother, Mike, help their mom, Nancy, relocate from Cape Cod to the equally idyllic Hamptons, Melissa’s new stepdaughter goes missing. Drawing on the experience of their own abduction, Melissa and Mike race to find Riley to save her from the trauma they still struggle with—or worse."

Opinion: I'm glad that I reread "Where are the Children" before I read this one. There are several mentions to the first one especially since Melissa was one of the kids kidnapped in the first one. An interesting twist but it could have been predictable if you're more involved in trying to solve the mystery instead of just reading to read.

Madame Curie's Piano Tuner by Steven Barron

Started: 7/18/2023

Finished: DNF

Year: 2023

Pages: 811

Genre: Literature

Grade: F

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "When newly licensed piano tuner RAYMOND DOVER visits the burg of Bucksnort, his intent is to provide services for a veteran's retirement home. Shortly after arrival, he's stricken with a mysterious amnesia and subsequently obliged to spend time at a county bughouse (Dixxmont) for observation and treatment. Therapeutic success leads to discharge, and Ray subsequently decides to stay on awhile in the area.

"Bucksnort is archetypical, small-town America; a dream town of wearisome proportions; a sometimes metropolis with all the attendant vexations of other city centers but still with the blinkered, tar black menace. It is impossible to know anyone in Bucksnort, and after frequenting, it's also impossible to care.

"Whether found or invented history, varied characters present, some historical while scores of others are conceived on the run. Recognizable eras are also referenced; timelines are breached and boarded and, together with the myriad personalities, are riffled and sailed across the page like casino playing cards.

"Madame Curie's Piano Tuner is a loose, less than linear assemblage of scenes, scenarios, staged bits, gags, etc., recounted by Ray. Soon enough, the moderately-adjusted reader may adjudge him an unreliable narrator. Still, for these times, he's reliable enough, and though a vocal faction may seek to blow the confines, Ray makes clear long before final words are laid to page that exiting Bucksnort is easier said than done."

Opinion: Ray's character is interesting but there is a lot of rambling and it was hard for me to focus on what was going on.

Stefan's Promise by Sam Rennick

Started: 7/11/2023

Finished: 7/16/2023

Year: 2019

Pages: 546

Genre: Literature

Grade: C

Type: Paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "It’s 1968. America is rocked by assassinations, war protests and political upheaval. Alan Young, 21, is brooding over having been dumped by his girlfriend. This won’t last long. His draft notice is in the mail.

"Stefan Kopinski isn’t about to let the war get in his way. He spends his days at the mercy of his reckless ambition. When fate steps in, will he finally understand what has been right in front of him for 30 years?

"'Stefan’s Promise' is the story of Alan and Stefan. Circumstances part them and sharply diverging temperaments further erode their bond. Yet, Alan and Stefan are wrong in supposing their friendship has ended. It’s just getting started."

Opinion: The characters were interesting but there was a lot that could have been removed and the story would still have been good. The timeline was hard to follow because flashbacks happened in the middle of current situations which led to confusion at times.

Truly, Darkly, Deeply by Victoria Selman

Started: 7/17/2023

Finished: 7/18/2023

Year: 2022

Pages: 342

Genre: thriller

Grade: B-

Reason for reading: library book

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Matty Melgren is a convicted serial killer serving life without parole for the murders of several women in London in the 1980s. He has consistently protested his innocence, and the evidence against him was largely circumstantial. At the time of his arrest, Matty’s girlfriend was Amelia-Rose, a single mother to 12-year-old Sophie. Sophie adores Matty. He’s handsome, funny, respectable—she could never suspect him of the brutal killings in the headlines. Then a police sketch of a suspect is released that looks a lot like Matty. Was it him? Sophie is consumed with doubt and guilt, causing her to act impulsively, ripping her family apart. Years later, she is still haunted by her actions. Was she wrong to have done what she did all those years ago? Then Sophie receives a letter from Matty—he’s dying and asks her to visit him in prison. Will she finally get the answers she needs to be able to reclaim her future?"

Opinion: An interesting take on a serial killer novel.

Sailor's Heart by Martin Campbell

Started: 6/28/2023

Finished: 7/2/2023

Year: 2020

Pages: 278

Genre: military/mental health

Grade: B-

Reason for reading: review for Reader Views

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Based on true events

"1942.The war at sea is being lost. One per cent of all naval personnel are being referred as psychiatric casualties. The British Admiralty introduces the Stone Frigate approach.

"Three men fight for their country in the Arctic convoys of World War II, then for their sanity and dignity, labelled as cowards and subjected to experimental psychiatry at an isolated facility set up to by the British Admiralty to recycle men back into battle.

"To the Navy they are faulty parts, not constitutionally suited to operate at sea. To the public they are poltroons, malingerers and psychiatric cases.

"The places in this story are real, but everyone who played a part in what happened is now dead. It is safe to tell what really happened. What was important then, nobody cares about now.

"True courage is facing danger when you are afraid, surviving in the circus of war."

Opinion: It is obvious that a lot of research went into this novel.

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

Started: 7/8/2023

Finished: 7/11/2023

Year: 2023

Pages: 384

Genre: Romance

Grade: B+

Reason for reading: library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (From Amazon): "The many lives of theoretical physicist Elsie Hannaway have finally caught up with her. By day, she’s an adjunct professor, toiling away at grading labs and teaching thermodynamics in the hopes of landing tenure. By other day, Elsie makes up for her non-existent paycheck by offering her services as a fake girlfriend, tapping into her expertly honed people-pleasing skills to embody whichever version of herself the client needs.

"Honestly, it’s a pretty sweet gig—until her carefully constructed Elsie-verse comes crashing down. Because Jack Smith, the annoyingly attractive and arrogant older brother of her favorite client, turns out to be the cold-hearted experimental physicist who ruined her mentor’s career and undermined the reputation of theorists everywhere. And he’s the same Jack Smith who rules over the physics department at MIT, standing right between Elsie and her dream job.

"Elsie is prepared for an all-out war of scholarly sabotage but…those long, penetrating looks? Not having to be anything other than her true self when she’s with him? Will falling into an experimentalist’s orbit finally tempt her to put her most guarded theories on love into practice?"

Opinion: I'm all for the romance between smart nerdy people. Predictable but done in a great way.

I Came as a Shadow by John Thompson

Started: 7/4/2023

Finished: 7/8/2023

Year: 2020

Pages: 323

Genre: autobiography

Grade: B

Reason for reading: won a Goodreads.com giveaway, been a Syracuse fan for ages...always hated Georgetown

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "John Thompson was never just a basketball coach and I Came As a Shadow is categorically not just a basketball autobiography.

"After three decades at the center of race and sports in America, the first Black head coach to win an NCAA championship is ready to make the private public. Chockful of stories and moving beyond mere stats (and what stats! three Final Fours, four times national coach of the year, seven Big East championships, 97 percent graduation rate), Thompson’s book drives us through his childhood under Jim Crow segregation to our current moment of racial reckoning. We experience riding shotgun with Celtics icon Red Auerbach, and coaching NBA Hall of Famers like Patrick Ewing and Allen Iverson. How did he inspire the phrase “Hoya Paranoia”? You’ll see. And thawing his historically glacial stare, Thompson brings us into his negotiation with a DC drug kingpin in his players’ orbit in the 1980s, as well as behind the scenes on the Nike board today.

"Thompson’s mother was a teacher who couldn’t teach because she was Black. His father could not read or write, so the only way he could identify different cements at the factory where he worked was to taste them. Their son grew up to be a man with his own life-sized statue in a building that bears his family’s name on a campus once kept afloat by the selling of 272 enslaved people. This is a great American story, and John Thompson’s experience sheds light on many of the issues roiling our nation. In these pages, he proves himself to be the elder statesman college basketball and the country need to hear from now.

"I Came As A Shadow is not a swan song, but a bullhorn blast from one of America’s most prominent sons."

Opinion: As stated above, I have always liked Syracuse and the rival between them and Georgetown was always a good one...so with that said, I always disliked Georgetown. I entered the giveaway to learn more about Thompson..basically a know more about your enemy type of thing. This was definitely insightful and I truly hope that he is resting in peace.

It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover

Started: 7/2/2023

Finished: 7/3/2023

Year: 2022

Pages: 320

Genre: romance

Grade: B

Reason for reading: continuing with the series

Type: paperback

Blurb (from Amazon): "Lily and her ex-husband, Ryle, have just settled into a civil coparenting rhythm when she suddenly bumps into her first love, Atlas, again. After nearly two years separated, she is elated that for once, time is on their side, and she immediately says yes when Atlas asks her on a date.

"But her excitement is quickly hampered by the knowledge that, though they are no longer married, Ryle is still very much a part of her life—and Atlas Corrigan is the one man he will hate being in his ex-wife and daughter’s life."

Opinion: Probably what "It Ends with Us" should have been-a safe and loving relationship. The romance between Lily and Atlas is what everyone should have.