Killer Jam by Karen MacInerney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was in the mood for a cozy mystery and I found this gem:

"When Houston reporter Lucy Resnick cashes in her retirement to buy her grandmother’s farm in Buttercup, Texas, she’s looking forward to a simple life as a homesteader. But Lucy has barely finished putting up her first batch of Killer Dewberry Jam when an oil exploration truck rolls up to the farm and announces plans to replace her broccoli patch with an oil derrick. Two days later, Nettie Kocurek, the woman who ordered the drilling, turns up dead at the Founders’ Day Festival with a bratwurst skewer through her heart and one of Lucy’s jam jars beside her…and the sheriff fingers Lucy as the prime suspect."

But is Lucy's home just to good to be true???

It was very enjoyable and a quick read, and I would read more of her books.

My thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

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The Whale Chaser: A Novel by Tony Ardizzone
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really wanted to like this book as the premise is remarkable, but I just couldn't get into it. I thought the protagonist was a lout and trying to make amends at the end just didn't send me over the edge.

But it also could be I was a child of the 60s also but didn't go in the same direction as the author. Therefore, my interest wasn't there.

It was well written, though, and very readable.

My thanks to Net Galley and the publisher was letting me read this book.

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A Decade of French Fashion, 1929-1938: From the Depression to the Brink of War by Mary Carolyn Waldrep
My rating: 5 of 5 stars











Spent a glorious afternoon reading and gazing at all the lovely pictures of fashion. I was on my chaise lounge wearing a pink ensemble while eating grapes. Not true, but that's what I felt like going through the history of the fashions from 1929 to 1938.


The flapper look to the long sleekness of the post-depression look.


The glamour of the Hollywood look of oh so long ago.



Recommend highly.



My thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

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Finding Family: My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA by Richard Hill (www.dna-testing-adviser.com)
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Now I Know Why I am Addicted to Genealogy.



Genealogy is one of my favorite hobbies. Others have reviewed this book, and even though they said they liked genealogy they thought it was boring. Not to me. I read with great interest each clue, each tidbit that helped the author find his parents -- and he started before the advent of the Internet.


I applaud him on his endeavors and I applaud him on a great book.



There was one discrepancy, though. He said the Social Security Death Index was maintained by those who only sent in information on the death. This is not true. It is put out by the Social Security Administration.



My thanks to the author, Net Galley and the publisher for letting me read and review this book.

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I am little behind on my reading but:




Judy: A Dog In A Million by Damien Lewis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

How in the World did this Dog Live?

What a great story about a dog, Judy. It started out slow but built up to one after another conflict in the World War II Pacific.



There were two quotes in the book I especially liked about Judy.



The men would chant to keep their spirits up:



They would stagger to their work place.
Though they really ought to die,
and would in their beards,
If that bitch can, so can I...



Judy, the mascot of World War II -- saving lives while still loving her humans.

At the end of her life, a plaque was put up:

In memory of Judy DM Canine VC
Breed English Pointer
Born Shanghai February 1936,died February 1950
Wounded February 14, 1942
Bombed and sunk HMS Grasshopper
Lingga Archipelago February 14, 1942.
Torpedoes SS Van Waerwijck
Malacca Straits June 26, 1943.
Japanese Prisoner of War March 1942-August 1945.
China Ceylon Java England Egypt Burma
Singapore Malaya Sumtra E. Africa
They Also Served.

I recommend this unique dog and the book to all. My thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the privilege of reading this book.

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Solitude Creek by Jeffery Deaver
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So much better than James Patterson's books!

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Sweet Forgiveness by Lori Nelson Spielman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hannah Farr is the number television personality in New Orleans, Louisiana, but she wants more. This is not to be due to a pouch of Forgiveness Stones and Fiona Knowles, creator of the Forgiveness Stones, who appear on Hannah’s show -- whereupon, Hannah inadvertently reveals the story about the falling out with her mother.

Because of this Hannah embarks on a journey to heal the decades-long parting from her mother. She must forgive her mother, and she must forgive herself. This turns out not to be so easy for Hannah, and she almost loses everything.

This is a very sweet novel good for a summer read by the pool. If you like the Hallmark Channel, you will like this book.

My thanks to Net Galley and the publishing company for letting  me review this book. 




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Men of War: The Experience of Battle, from Bunker Hill to Gettysburg to Iwo Jima by Alexander Rose
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Among old soldiers there exists the discombobulating sessation that war was simultaneously exhilarating and horrifying, terrifying and boring, cruel and kind, tragic and farcical. The Great Red God demands much of its adherents."

Men of War is a fantastic book about the soldiers who go to war and how they adapt and how they are made different from it.

Mr. Rose covers three battles from three different American Wars - Bunker Hill, Gettysburg and Iwo Jima. Battle tactics differ from each war, but the soldiers are the same. They obey, they fight, they fight and they adapt - and they die, which Mr. Rose goes into great detail at each battle. But the soldiers persevere and life goes on.

I am so please that Net Galley and Random House allowed me to review this book.



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Seeing Home: The Ed Lucas Story: A Blind Broadcaster's Story of Overcoming Life’s Greatest Obstacles by Ed Lucas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Seeing Home: The Ed Lucas Story is the incredible true tale of a beloved Emmy-winning blind broadcaster who refused to let his disability prevent him from overcoming many challenging obstacles and achieving his dreams.”

Ed Lucas was born with eye problems which were exacerbated when he was hit between the eyes with a baseball (his childhood love). This, though, did not deter him from what he wanted to do – to have a career in sports writing.

Seeing Home: The Ed Lucas Story details the highs and lows of his life in achieving this goal. I looked up one of his columns that he had recently written on the retirement of David Letterman – and yes – he is a great writer.

I really enjoyed this book with all his anecdotes about the great baseball players of the 50s, 60s, 70s – up to the present time. I would like to know the athlete who put him down in an interview, but he did not divulge the secret.

Read it for all the great baseball history and trivia.

My thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for letting me review this great book. 




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I now have three followers!  Whoo hoo. 

The Fall by John Lescroat
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Fall was a very engaging and interesting murder mystery and courtroom drama.

Late one night, a teenage African American foster child named Tanya Morgan plummets to her death from the overpass above San Francisco’s Stockton tunnel. But did she fall…or was she pushed?

Dimas Hardy takes up the search and his interest falls on a suspect, Greg Treadway. Treadway goes on trial for the murder and Hardy's daughter, Rebecca, takes up the defense of this young man.

But is he guilty? There are theories abound that he is not the murderer, and Dimas and Rebecca work to prove them.

I enjoyed this book very much and plan to read more of Lescroat's work. I recommend highly. My thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for letting me review this book. 


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Aunt Dimity and the Summer King by Nancy Atherton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I made a mistake and started reading the Aunt Dimity books in the middle series, and I did not understand a lot of it, especially Aunt Dimity.

The gist of the book is that there are four unsold cottages in the little village of Finch and it is up to Lori Shepherd to find out why they aren’t sold. She fears they are going to be turned into expensive weekend homes, which will ruin Finch. This is the mystery.

She then goes about trying to unravel this mystery and also the mystery of Arthur Hargreaves otherwise known of the Summer King by his eccentric family.

It was a good book, but I wish there had been more Aunt Dimity.

My thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for letting me review this book.


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Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thought this was a mystery, and I read and read but there was no murder. But then, lo and behold, there was a murder and mystery.

A clever book about lies, rumors and cattiness in an upscale school with helicopter parents flitting all about thinking they know how to raise kids. Meow.

Loved it.

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Third Girl by Agatha Christie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was rather disappointed with this book. It was not a typical Hercule Poirot, but maybe that is because Agatha Christie was at the end of her life and her little grey cells were diminishing. It takes place in the 60s when the detective was an old man. The book seems to flounder about with a girl who thinks she may have murdered someone but maybe not. It is up to Hercule Poirot to figure everything out.

I saw a televisioned version on the same book starring the great David Suchet. The scriptwriters ironed out all the flaws in the book and the televised version was so much better.



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The Abominable Snowman: A Short Story from Dragons at Crumbling Castle by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was such a cute and humorous little story but then everything by Terry Pratchett is.

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Whispering Shadows by Jan-Philipp Sendker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Whispering Shadows is an excellent book in the start of a trilogy by Jan-Phillip Sendaker.

American Paul Leibovitz was once a successful advisor and father in Hong Kong for nearly thirty years. But then he experiences a personal tragedy and his marriage unravels.

He is now living as a recluse where he makes a connection Elizabeth, an American with a tragedy of her own. Her son was found dead. Paul then finds a new purpose and sets out to investigate this murder for her.

What he finds are dark secrets in China where the rich can corrupt the system. Who killed Michael – and why? All will be explained in this exciting book.

My thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

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The Shadow of the Crescent Moon: A Novel by Fatima Bhutto
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Shadow of the Crescent is a beautiful book about the horrors of war and terrorism in Afganistan.

The story takes place all on one Friday in Mir Ali, a small town in Pakistan’s Tribal Areas close to the Afgan border where three brothers meet for breakfast. Three hours later their day will end in devastating circumstances.
What decisions they must make is compelling reading and I recommend this book to all.

By the way, Mina is my hero.

My thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for letting me read and review this book.


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