Tuesday Book Review

Five-star review for The Secrets Below: The Whispering Sea Mysteries book 1 by Camilla Sten and Viveca Sten

Twelve-year-old Tuva, a schoolgirl living on one of the sparsely inhabited islands in the Swedish archipelago near Stockholm has been ostracized by her classmates but she doesn’t know why. She has scary, recurring dreams. When she sees lights that focus into faeries as she follows one of the boys during a school orienteering outing, she begins to think she’s going mad. But the truth about her heritage and abilities is even stranger than that. The mysteries about what happened to her as an infant are tied to recent disappearances of people she knows. It was interesting that the authors also brought into the story the current eutrophication of ocean waters due to climate change. The language in this translation to English was wonderful. Although classified as a YA or even pre-teen fantasy, likely because of the age of the protagonist as my books are, adults would definitely enjoy the story.

Tuesday Book Review on Wednesday

Four-star review of The Accidental President: Harry S. Truman and the Four Months That Changed the World  by A.J. Baime

This well-researched biography about the first days of Truman’s presidency, as well as what led up to it, was interesting because I learned a lot about the man and that time in our history. I was too young at the time to appreciate the event other than being told Franklin Delano Roosevelt had died and his vice-president had taken over. It was a difficult time with World War II coming to a close in Europe but continuing in the Pacific. Truman wasn’t an insider in Roosevelt’s cabinet and had a lot to learn in a very short period of time. He’d grown up on a farm and failed at a few businesses, then served in state and federal government positions before he was unexpectedly picked to be Roosevelt’s running mate. Baime’s years as a journalist is apparent in all of the references and quotes included in this. I listened to the book on Audible.

  

Tuesday Book Review on Wednesday

Four-star review of The Torso in the Town: Fethering Mysteries Book 3 by Simon Brett

 

Carole Seddon and Jude are at it again when Jude is invited to one of the Friday night dinners held by Grant Roxby and his wife at their new home in Fedborough and a limbless body is discovered in the basement by the Roxby’s son. With the usual plethora of suspects both for the body and the murderer, leave it to the Fetherington neighbors to ferret out the truth. Their friendship as always is hampered by Carole’s inability to learn more about Jude’s past or even her last name. But that doesn’t stop them from working separately and together to learn more  about the secrets buried in the house.

Tuesday Book Review on Wednesday

Five-star review of Binti: The Complete Trilogy by Nnedi Okorafor

 A fine example of African-inspired science fantasy. I’d read the first part of this trilogy before and knew I had to read it again plus the rest of the story about Binti, a teenaged girl from a somewhat subjugated group of people in a desert town where all the people have certain abilities. Binti and her father are harmonizers who create astrolabes for the people of the village and others to use. Binti’s use of mathematics to calm herself in times of stress comes in handy during her off-planet trip to Oomza University and what occurs on the journey, her experiences with others at school, and the events of her return home. There is so much to this story that I’ll have to think about to really understand her and what is happening around her. There are lessons to be learned and parallels to what’s happened in our time. 

Tuesday Book Review on Wednesday

Four-star review of Death on the Downs Fethering Mysteries Book 2 by Simon Brett

 

Carole Seddon finds a wrapped pile of bones in an abandoned barn on the downs when she takes shelter from a storm. So starts another murder mystery for her neighbor Jude and her to explore. The two women are so different but their skills are complimentary. As always in this series, there are a number of suspects that allow the typical small town gossip and suspicions to shine as the women, separately and together, investigate. I enjoyed this as much as the first in the series although parts of the story were more predictable. 

Tuesday Book Review on Wednesday

Four-star review of The Body on the Beach Fethering Mysteries Book 1 by Simon Brett

 Carole Seddon, a recent divorcee and former Home Office employee, and her neighbor Jude, with a mysterious past she won’t talk about, become an unlikely team of amateur sleuths in this, the first in a series of murder mysteries set on the south coast of England. In this one, they investigate the disappearance of a body Carole found on the Fethering beach while she walked her dog. Typical of small English villages filled with more deaths than inhabitants, we’re introduced to an assortment of both eccentric and typical characters. Touches of British humor are combined with examples of the social strata that seem to still exist in Britain. This was a quite enjoyable solid murder mystery made better by the growing friendship between the two protagonists. 

Tuesday Book review on Wednesday

Four-star review of The Prophet of Yonwood: The Third Book of Ember by Jeanne duPrau

 

This is actually a prequel to the other Ember books, a story about a girl dealing with the impending sale of a family house against the background of an impending war. The story is well-written but not as engaging as the others in the series. Eleven year-old Nickie travels to Yonwood, North Carolina with her aunt after the death of her grandfather to see to the sale of his home. She has three goals that summer: to keep the house from being sold, to meet her true love, and to do something to help the world. Meanwhile, the people of the town follow the so-called prophet’s mutterings as interpreted incorrectly by one zealous woman whose proclamations lead to such actions as banishing all dogs to the forests surrounding the town, and that includes the one Nickie has adopted unbeknownst to her aunt. Although the story doesn’t lead directly into the other Ember books, there are several interesting characters.