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I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger

May 14, 2024

cheerfully

I’m once again fortunate enough to have a book find me and sweep me away despite my proclaimed inability to focus. It’s Leif Enger’s I Cheerfully Refuse an elegant novel of dystopia, mystery, and literary fiction. It’s a not-so-distant point in America’s future where climate change and political upheaval have erased all familiar landscapes, leaving what was once a network of ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: adventure, literary, suspense

Nightwatching: A Novel

May 9, 2024

nightwatching

On Tuesday I shared a slow-burn novel of suspense, so I’m wrapping up the week with a fast-paced dreadfest extravaganza. Author Tracy Sierra takes on the primal ‘stranger in the house’ fear that’s spawned decades of movies and books and makes it her own in her debut, Nightwatching. In this modern take on old-fashioned terror one woman is trapped alone in her home with her two ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: debut, suspense, thriller, vacation reading

The Return of Ellie Black

May 7, 2024

return

A father and son hiking in the forest in Southwestern WA encounter a young woman, emaciated and bruised.  Her name is Elizabeth Black and she’s been missing for two years. This is the attention-grabbing opening of Emiko Jean’s new novel The Return of Ellie Black, a tactic she uses superbly right up until the end of this slow burn suspense novel. Ellie’s return brings joy to ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: mystery, Pacific Northwest, suspense

Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame

April 30, 2024

mrs. quinn's

The trend of lighter reading has been working for me so I thought I’d wrap up April with one more charming novel. Mainly because it combined two things I really love: a favorite TV show and sumptuous descriptions of baking. The novel is Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame and is about Jenny, a 77-year-old British woman who applies to and gets on a national TV show called Britain Bakes. ... Read More...

4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: England, food, humor, vacation reading

Aug 9- Fog: A Novel

April 23, 2024

fog

What a pleasure to be able to start the week with a review for one of the most unusual novels I’ve read in a while. Not so much for its premise, but its backstory. The book is Aug 9- Fog and the author Kathryn Scanlan, who found a beat-up, mildewed, crumbling diary at an estate sale, took it home with her and forgot about it for 15 years. Until the day she started thumbing ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: historical, literary

The Sicilian Inheritance by Jo Piazza

April 18, 2024

sicilian

Sara is at a low point when her favorite aunt dies. Her well-reviewed restaurant has closed, she’s bankrupt, and her husband is leaving her and wants custody of their daughter. It’s a mixed blessing when she’s given a letter left to her by the aunt containing a final request, a deed for a piece of land in Sicily, and a plane ticket there. This is the intriguing groundwork laid ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: historical, vacation reading, women

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