Tuesday Book Review on Thursday

 

Four-star review of City of Whispers by Marcia Muller

Years ago, I read all the Marcia Muller books I could get my hands on, but I’ve been reading so many other novels lately that I fell behind on the Sharon McCone series. In this one, the twenty-eighth, Sharon is looking for her unstable half-brother Darcy Blackhawk with help from nephew Mick and eventually from her husband. Many of the familiar characters, including other members of her staff are mentioned but don’t appear. With Darcy missing and possibly a murderer, it falls to Shar to search for him. The story revolves around two dead women and their long-ago group of friends. Sharon needs to unravel what happened to the two women in order to find Darcy, whose emotional unbalance is shown in occasional short characters from his POV. The backdrop of a changing San Francisco helps create the atmosphere of the book—especially the slowly clearing fog. My only quibble was the amount of repetition.  

Tuesday Book Review

 Five-star review of The Bone Thief by Claire Buss

 In this third book in the Roshaven fantasy series, the Spice Ghosts’ bones have been stolen. A series of people are found to have had them at one time, but even though the Spice Ghosts accuse Jenni of stealing them, they ask chief thief catcher Ned and sprite Jenni to find them. A series of adventures, with their fathers, Ned’s new wife and others, eventually leads them to a final confrontation. Jenni, my favorite character in the series, has to make decisions mostly concerning magic. The danger in this one is heightened, increasing the tension from start to finish.

Tuesday Book Review

 

Four-star review of Tall Boots by Linda Wilson

 This lovely book tells the story of a young girl, Ashley, who wants to win a blue ribbon at the 4H horse show. Wonderful pictures accompany the story. She’s trained her horse for a race for girls at her experience level but is mistaken for a more experienced girl because her helmet hides her face. Her horse runs the race, jumping over obstacles and winning the race. Her mother rewards her with a pair of tall black riding boots to replace her red rubber ones. Information on joining 4H is at the end of the book.