Momma, Stop! I'll Be Good!

Momma, Stop! I'll Be Good! by shannon bowen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In this book, Kevin's situation is still dire and the young neighbor who reports is isn't sure if she has helped Kevin or made the problem worse. It is certain that he is being abused, but the overburdened New Hampshire Social Services is limited by the law, not enough funds and, I think worse, very few options that are good for Kevin. It is obvious that they are all between a rock and a hard place.

The book doesn't have a lot of answers, but it does make the plight of children like Kevin, and also the role of a concerned stranger, much clearer. In a perfect world, Kevin would be sent to loving relatives while his mother received the help and care she needed, but that isn't always possible, and when it is not, children like Kevin suffer.

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Cruel Deception

Cruel Deception by Gregg Olsen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a fascinating book about Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. It is also the story some people who showed incredible tenacity in hunting down the proof that Tanya Reed had smothered her infant daughter, Morgan and was attempting to do the same to her son, Michael. It is hard to believe that a person, usually a mother, would risk her child's life in order to draw attention to herself and to become a "partner" with the doctors and nurses who try to protect the lives of her children.

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Run, Mummy, Run

Run, Mummy, Run by Cathy Glass
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is different from most of Cathy Glass' books. Usually, she writes about foster children which they have had, but this is about an abused woman who thinks she has married the perfect man, but after the marriage, he begins to dictate more and more to her and to isolate her. It doesn't take long before he starts physical abuse.

The author made it easy to get inside the mind of a person who is being abused and understand why they find themselves powerless to fight back. I think that is the hardest thing to understand. Sitting her reading the book, I know exactly what she should do, but the insidious nature of the soul destroying intimidation places a person into a completely different world.

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The Corpse Reader

The Corpse Reader by Antonio Garrido
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. It was so refreshingly new. It is set in the thirteenth-century Tsong Dynasty. It is based on the work of a real person, Cí Song, who is considered to be the founding father of forensic science.

The book starts out with Ci Song as a scholar who is supported by his grandfather who is a noted scholar. Unfortunately, the grandfather dies and Song is forced to return home and become subject to his crass and dissipated older brother. When a crime is committed, he is forced to flee and he returns to the city where his talent for "reading corpses" eventually leads him to the Emperor himself.

Even though one misfortune after another dogs his footsteps, his talent is recognized by his mentor at the school he once attended and he is able to continue to study. There is a serial killer who is killing and mutilating within the circle of even the Emperor himself and Song finds himself in a race to find the killer or be executed.

The author is Spanish and I look forward to more of his books.

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Two for Sorrow (Josephine Tey, #3)

Two for Sorrow by Nicola Upson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was a little hard to rate. It isn't as much a mystery as a "true crime" story with a more current mystery added on. In 1903, two women were hanged as "baby farmers." That is, women who cared for mothers during the birth of their children, mainly illegitimate children and were supposed to be finding them good homes. In reality, they often killed the babies while they maintained the delusion that the children were in happy homes. This was all mixed up in the extremely contradictory practices and laws of the Victorian era. In so many cases, the women had very little choice and what was done to many of the was criminal.

Josephine Tey, the main character, and also a real person was writing a book about the life of the two women hanged and the author has her involved in a number of coincidences which at times stretch the imagination. The point of the book isn't who committed these crimes, but why.

There is also a section of the book devoted to a lesbian relationship which I found very distracting as it had virtually nothing to do with the book. While somewhat grounded in truth in that Tey was almost certainly a lesbian, this relationship is fictitious and does nothing to contribute.

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Brooklyn Bones

Brooklyn Bones by Triss Stein
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I listened to this on a 600 mile trip and it held my attention. The story is about single mother and her 15 year old daughter who live in an area of Brooklyn which is being renovated. In the process, a skeleton is found in a bricked up fireplace. Both the mother and daughter are intrigued by the bones, especially because it was a young teen who was buried with a teddy bear and some other personal effects. Looking into the history of the house, the two find that there is information that someone does not want to get out.

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James Potter and the Hall of Elders' Crossing (James Potter, #1)

James Potter and the Hall of Elders' Crossing by G. Norman Lippert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was wonderful! I was afraid that any fan literature would be a disappointment, but this wasn't. We meet James as he is catching the train for Hogwarts for his first year. He makes friends with boys who are not in his house and one is even from Slytherin. The plot centers on a prophesy which says that Merlin will return when ever certain conditions are met. In this book, we see visitors from the American branch of magical people and they are woven seamlessly into the scenes in Hogwarts.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the Rowling books.

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The Screwtape Letters

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've read this so many times it's hard to even remember when I first read it. I think about 1974. Every time I read it, I get something new from it. This last time, I was listening to an audio book on a day long trip which meant that I read the whole thing in one setting which helped me focus more.

Essentially, the story is written as letters between a newly graduated devil, Wormwood, and his Uncle Screwtape who is in a position of power in the underworld. As a young tempter, he makes many he mistakes in his attempt to corrupt the soul of an middle aged man living in London during WWII. In correcting and advising Wormwood, Screwtape points out the many wiles that devils use to corrupt mankind. In the process, Screwtape discusses what type temptations worked in earlier times and why they are no longer effective today.

This edition also has the later addition that Lewis wrote many years after the original book. In this, Screwtape, now retired, proposes a toast and the graduation banquet of his Alma Mater. This provides even deeper areas of comparison between the bureaucracy of Hell and the gentle wooing of Heaven.

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Low Pressure

Low Pressure by Sandra Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an interesting book. Bellamy Lyston Price wrote a bestselling book about a supposedly fictitious tragedy which happened when she was twelve. At a Memorial Day picnic a terrible tornado swept through the park and one of the casualties was her sister. When a reporter figures out that the plot was an actual tragedy, Bellamy begins to get threats to leave the story alone. Bellamy never knew what happened to her sister and there were a lot of questions about whether this was an accident or murder. Bellamy held the key information although she didn’t know it. What follows is lots of action, mystery and a little romance. The book is compelling and fast paced.

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Seed

Seed by Ania Ahlborn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was very interesting. Jack Winter seemed to escape a horrific tragedy when he was growing up in rural Georgia, but something is happening to his daughter and Jack is beginning to fear for her. The book is written in a compelling way and I found myself identifying with several of the characters. It is part mystery, part thriller and part horror.

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Farriers' Lane

Farriers' Lane by Anne Perry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was the story of a heinous crime which was committed five years prior to the time of this novel's setting. A young man was stabbed and hung, as if in crucifixion, a fact that leads the police to conclude that the assailant was a Jew. A young actor, who was Jewish was tried and executed, but his sister has always insisted that he was innocent. The story opens with the death of an Appellate Judge's death, which just happens to occur in the Opera Box next to the one in which were Charlotte and Thomas Pitt. It seems that this judge had received a visit from the young man's sister and something she said made him interview a number of the participants in the earlier trial. It seems as if the Farrier's Lane murder is at the heart of this murder.

While it is hard to figure out who the guilty person is until near the end, there are "facts" that are accepted as evidence that are easy to see through. There are several examples of circular logic which even Pitt accepts during most of the book. Usually Anne Perry is more subtle than in this book, but it doesn't distract from the story

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The Hyde Park Murder

The Hyde Park Murder by Elliott Roosevelt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Eleanor Roosevelt helps a young girl whose parents want her to stop seeing the young man she intends to marry because his father has been arrested for financial scandal involving investments. She wants to prove that the young man has been framed. Unfortunately, the young man's father appears to have committed suicide, but Bob is sure that he has been murdered. As the plot develops other actual people like the newly appointed SEC Commissioner, Joe Kennedy become involved.

The plot has many twists and turns, but moves at a pretty fast pace and the history of the era is very interesting. It is a nice way to get a little history lesson with a pretty engaging mystery.

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(Chronicles of Ancient Darkness #2)

Spirit Walker by Michelle Paver
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book was OK, but I never engaged with the characters. The book was mainly about surviving in the woods and escaping a huge maniacal bear and eventually stealing its power. I can't say the book is poorly written, because it is not. It just wasn't for me.

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A Long Way Gone

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the terrible wars in Africa. It is the story of a 12 year old boy who, along with some friends, is separated from his family when the rebels attack. The first quarter of the book is about the children's attempt to keep out of the way of either of the armies and to find their families. Eventually, they are caught by the army and given guns and drugs and turned into soldiers. The book does not go into great detail about all the atrocitis the children commit, but the ones that are alluded to are horrifying. The use of drugs and the tactics that engender hatred of the enemy are terrible.

One of the strongest things about this book is the ease with which children can be turned into terrorist. Ishmael Beah is able to give us enough of a glimpse into his pre-war life to realize that he is an intelligent and kind boy who was turned into a monster despite his intention to not become a soldier.

The last part of the book is his reclaimation and I was just in awe of the people who do this incredible work. One scene stays with me. The boys are in the reclaimation center with other boys who fought on the opposite side, but finally out of danger. Despite the work of the staff, they end up in a fight and boys are killed. The terrible brain-washing that inflames their hatered is so difficult to eradicate that even when they are safe, it is hard to let go of. To all the things that happen, the staff continues to convey to the boys that it is not their fault. That is probably one of the strongest messages...the boys are not at fault. They have been turned into killing machines by adults and used for their own ends.

This book is about Sierra Leone, but it is found all around the world. Children raised on hatred to this extent are unable to use the same kind of reasoning as adults and they kill blindly. Their childhood is being stolen from them and turned into something terrible.

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The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book was excellent. The complicated relationship between the characters is rich and well articulated. I liked this especially because it gave me some insight into the complicated thinking of the Taliban and the people who are effected by them. Apart from that, the book was an excellent thriller.

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Genie: A Scientific Tragedy

Genie: A Scientific Tragedy by Russ Rymer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The story of Genie is a truly a tragedy in every way. There was no "right" way for Genie. In some respects, it would have been better for Social Services to have given her to a family who would have raised her as a beloved pet. In actuality, that was the only level at which she could have happily functioned, but who would have thought that when she was found? Because of how she was raised, she was an empty slate, a perfect subject for understanding how language was learned and emotions were formed. No one would have denied her the right to learn as much as she possibly could, but when she began to level out and no further progress could be made, she became a problem with no solution. The people who studied her cared for her, but their job was to study her, not adopt her. Social Services then had the problem of where to place her. She wasn't a puppy. Even with her limited emotional development, leaving the people who spent so much time with her was difficult. There was no good answer, and it was apparent that she would again be "abused," although not intentionally.

The information gleaned from the study of her life was tremendous. In fact, what they learned from her made it possible to better help if another child was found. It is amazing to me that people's experiences actually "create" their brains. If children are raised like an animals, as with feral children, they develop aspects of the brain that help with survival, rather than language. Our brains respond to our environment. I think that was the rational I was given with respect to studying algebra...it seems a lot more sensible now.

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The Iron Tongue of Midnight (Tito Amato, #4)

The Iron Tongue of Midnight by Beverle Graves Myers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoy these mysteries. I am learning more and more about opera, history and Italy. The author is able to recreate the time period and adds enough historical value to actually teach something as well as entertain.

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Cruel Music: The Third Baroque Mystery

Cruel Music: The Third Baroque Mystery by Beverle Myers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In this book, we find our valiant Tito and his friend Gussie attempting to come to the rescue of Tito's older brother, Alessandro. Someone has framed him and he has been arrested on smuggling charges. Helping his brother has Tito traveling to get to the bottom of this mystery.

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Painted Veil (Tito Amato, #2)

Painted Veil by Beverle Graves Myers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tito Amato has gotten cocky. His talent is enormous, but he has not been giving his best and his delivery has gotten sloppy. Suddenly an guest Castrati appears and Tito is forced to take supporting roles. This is especially galling because the young man is something of a "sacred monster" and lives up to the Diva reputation of the profession.

When the talented scene painter of the company is found dead, Tito is only too glad to do some sleuthing himself and hopefully to get back into the good graces of the Opera owner and producer. Why does a man with the mask of the Plague Raven keep showing up and who is he? Tito and his English friend Augustus "Gussie" Rumbolt are determined to get to the bottom of the mystery.



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Monday Mourning (Temperance Brennan, #7)

Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was the fascinating story of bones from three girls who were buried in an old cellar. Detectives think the bones are from the past, but Tempe Brennan feels that they are current. When her lab results indicate that she is correct, she begins to look for people who were living on or near the premises at the time she thinks the bones were interred. I found that the combination of the forensics on the bones and the investigation of the history of the buildings fascinating.

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Interrupted Aria (Tito Amato, #1)

Interrupted Aria by Beverle Graves Myers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a fascinating series about a fascinating subject. The series takes place in the opera world of Venice in 1731. The opera in Venice is something like football season. Wealthy patrons purchase boxes and attend sometimes daily to see and be seen, but even the not so wealthy attend as devotedly. Tito Amato is a "castrati" and a darling of the opera. As a child, he had an exceptional voice and so his father had him castrated to preserve it and he began his opera training. That in itself is interesting, but when you add to it, a murder and a mystery the book is captivating.

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In the Sanctuary of Outcasts

In the Sanctuary of Outcasts by Neil White
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was fascinated by this book.  Neil White, a successful magazine publisher, was convicted of bank fraud for kiting checks.  He was sentenced to 18 months in a Federal Penitentiary in Louisiana.  The penitentiary was also a leprosarium where a number of patients resided, many of them for most of their lives.

As Neil comes to know the patients and inmates, he learns a great deal about himself and the philosophy of life which caused his downfall.  The interactions with the patients, their stories and their reactions to the life sentence their disease gave them helped him to see himself as he truly was.

The book was very interesting, especially the part about the leprosarium.  It is unbelievable that people were taken from their families and sent to places like Carville without any concern for their human rights.  I thought that this was a practice from the middle ages rather than a policy in the United States.  Despite of their treatment, many of the patients became mentors to Neil and each other.  I would like to have known more about their lives.


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Secrets in the Cellar

Secrets in the Cellar by John Glatt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is as fascinating a book as it was tragic.  Elizabeth Fritzl was tricked into an underground bunker by her father when she was about 18 and for the next 24 years, she lived as his pseudo wife & sex slave.  She bore him 7 children 3 of whom lived as his cellar children and 3 others as his upstairs children. To cover her disappearance, he made her write a letter stating that she had become a member of a cult and to not try to find her.  Several years later, she supposedly left a note with each of 3 of the children born to her who were raised by him and his wife as the "upstairs children."  There was another child, one of a pair of twins, who died in the cellar after living 3 days and was disposed of in an incinerator.

It is hard to believe how a seemingly normal man could be so base. In a psychological interview he related a history of abuse by his controlling mother and the influence of the Nazi philosophy, but it hardly seems sufficient to have produced such a monster.  He grew up in the shadow of the Amstetten-Mauer hospital which was built as a Nazi death camp and he and his mother ascribed to the Nazi philosophy, but so did scores of others. Ironically, it was to this hospital that his family went to heal from the psychological trauma.

I remember when Elizabeth was discovered and always wondered how he was able to keep this a secret for so long and how she and her children fared.  The book goes into the former extensively, but there is little information on the family afterwards as they are desperate to keep their lives private and to heal.


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Mommy's Little Girl

Mommy's Little Girl by Diane Fanning
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was published before Casey Anthony's trial and it was very hard to read in light of the verdict.  Everything in the book leaves you with no doubt that Casey killed her daughter.  There is just no other explanation for her conduct.  She went 31 days without reporting Caylee's absence and then it was her mother who reported it. She said she left the child with an nanny, but the nanny didn't exist, the apartment where she said she had been taking her for almost 2 years didn't exist, the nanny's mother didn't exist.  Casey went out partying, stealing from her parents and friends, writing checks against her grandmother's account as well as her best friend.  She pretended she had a job and even took to police to her supposed office at Universal, but then confessed that she didn't have the job, and her boss and coworker didn't exist.  Every thing she said was a lie.

The book does, however does go a long way towards explaining the family background and the extent of Casey's narcissism.  For whatever reason, Casey's parents enabled her and helped her become the person she was.  I have to say that they only helped, though.  There was noting in Casey's background that could have caused her to become the complete narcissistic sociopath that the was.  Which makes this miscarriage of justice even harder to take.


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Gregor and the Code of Claw (Underland Chronicles, #5)

Gregor and the Code of Claw by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the fifth and last book in the series.  The Regalians and their allies prepare for battle with the rats for the existance of all Regalia.
No one wants Gregor to see the Prophecy of Time because it contains someting terrible.  Of course, Gregor does get to read it and it says that the Warrior must die.  With Gregor's mother and two sisters in Regalia there is no option but to fight, so Gregor sets out into battle.

The conclusion to the series is good, but I have trouble with the mixed messages about War that fill the book. It is a concept that is contradictory, but I wish there was a little more resolution.


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Gregor and the Marks of Secret (Underland Chronicles, #4)

Gregor and the Marks of Secret by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the fourth book of this series and of all of them, this was the slowest for me.  In it the grounds are being laid for the final battle.  The rats have cornered the nibbler and sent most of the to a terrible death. Luxa declares war to revenge the deaths of the mice and the stage is set.

I found this the weakest book in the series because there is no resolution of the conflict.  The main characters go out on a "campaign" but the book can't stand on its own.  You have to read the next one or the book is a waste of time.


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Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods (Underland Chronicles, #3

Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was probably the best book in this series.  Gregor has to come back to the Underland because he is desperately needed.  His mother wants no part of him going back, but she allows him to return for a meeting as long as she can go with him.  That means that Boots is to return also.

When Gregor returns it is to find that the Bubonic plague has appeared and his bat, Ares, is terribly afflicted.  Gregor is conflicted about going on the quest, but when he finds that his mother has contracted the plague, there is no question about his participation.

The quest introduces some more fascinating characters to the series and is filled with adventure.  Some of the main characters have begun to change as their involvement with each other brings out the best and sometimes the worst in them.  More of the history of the humans and their treatment of the other creatures is revealed and a lot of it isn't pretty.  Our heros succeed, but not without great cost.


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The Stranger in the Opera House (Emma Winberry, #2)

The Stranger in the Opera House by Helen Macie Osterman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If you like books about ghosts, you will like this one.  A stranger in ragged dress keeps appearing at the rehearsals for a new opera.  Not everyone can see him though.  After some research into the history of the building site of the opera house, the identity of the ghost is suspected, but there are some flesh and bone problems going on also.

This is definately in the cozy-mystery corner.  It is pretty easy to see where the book is going, but the characters are good and the mystery is plausible.


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Murder at the Opera (Capital Crimes, #22)

Murder at the Opera by Margaret Truman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I haven't read any of Margaret Truman's mysteries for a long time and was pleasantly surprised at this one. I picked it out because I am studying opera with my 10 year old granddaughter whom I homeschool and I was looking for something that would give a feel for how an opera was staged.

This book deals with a young soprano who is killed in the first chapter and it veers off to a terrorist cell and an 8 year murder in which a manuscript disappeared.  The manuscript was alleged to be a composition in which Mozart an Handel corroborated.  The various threads do come together and the mystery is summed up in the last chapter.

I enjoyed the background on the Opera and the Opera Ball and what has to happen when the President appears at a social function.  It was fascinating to see what goes on behind a simple appearance at a ball or a trip to a restaurant entails.


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Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane (Underland Chronicles, #2)

Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the second book in the series and is even better than the first.  Gregor and Boots are sledding in Central Park when Boots disappears.  Gregor soon learns that Boots has been taken down a passage that leads to the Underland.  It is the rats who have grabbed her, but the giant roaches have rescued her and taken her to Regalia.  Gregor follows her and learns of the Prophecy or Bane.  The Prophecy seems to indicate that the rats need Boots and intend to kill her.  Gregor's is the one who has to lead the quest for the Bane in order to save the Underland. He is accompanied by a number of humans and creatures and they have numerous exciting adventures leading to a surprise fulfillment.


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Intrigue at the Grand Opera (Nancy Drew, #171)

Intrigue at the Grand Opera by Carolyn Keene
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I am beginning a homeschool unit on Opera with my granddaughter and I picked this to perhaps pique her interest.  I found it to be perfect in that respect.  Nancy Drew's friend Bess has a chorus role in the three operas the American Opera Company are performing, but strange things begin to happen and the director encourages Nancy to join the chorus as a cover for some sleuthing.  As a mystery for its target audience, I think it is quite good.

There is actually quite a bit of information about the 3 operas and how opera companies work, including some prima-donna behavior which becomes part of the plot.  There is a rivalry between the older opera star who is getting ready to pass her peak and the younger, and somewhat ill mannered diva.


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Resolutions

Time for some new resolutions for 2013.

1.  To do more reading from my Goodreads list instead of picking books at random from the library.  I have 723 books in my "To Read" section and I keep adding them.  I'm not sure just what number or percentage of  "To Read" books I should aim for.  I homeschool my granddaughter, so I am always getting books to read for our subjects that are not in my list.  I think I will make it 50 books and, hopefully, end up with under 675 books.

2.  I want to do better at entering my books on this blog.  Last year, due to computer problems and being in VA for half the year, I got behind.  The amount of books on my blog for this past year doesn't reflect what I actually read.

3.  I want to read 150 books this year

4.  I want to read 25 classics again, especially Dickens.

5.  I want to read and get rid of at least 15 of the books I own and don't want to keep.

Bertie Plays the Blues

Bertie Plays the Blues by Alexander McCall Smith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As usual with this series, I loved this book.  Parts of it are hilarious and parts filled with pathos.  For me, the main story is Bertie.  In this book, he finally is so desperate that he tries to put himself  for adoption on eBay.  When that doesn't work, he and Ranald skip school and take the train heading for the adoption agency in Glasgow where Bertie hopes to find new parents.

Domenica and Angus continue their plans for marriage, but not without a hiccup or two.  Combining their households poses a problem as does an old flame who appears out of  nowhere.

Big Lou finds another possible suitor, but there are shades of her previous boyfriends in this one also.  She has a falling out with Matthew and bans him from the coffee bar to everyone's discomfort and Matthew has his own problems with the triplets.

As usual, things wind down to a semi-satisfactory conclusion by the end of the book.  There is just enough left hanging to insure that there will be another in the series.


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The Moor

The Moor by Laurie R. King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read this in stops and starts, but it still hung together very well.  Laurie King really captures the Sherlock Holmes that Doyle presented and the character of Mary Russell is believable and a complement to Holmes.

In this book, Baskerville Hall is revisited because of mysterious sights of a hound and a spectral carriage which was seen on the moor.  When a person turns up dead, a local rector, an actual person, calls in Sherlock Holmes.  There is a new owner of Baskerville Hall and he has a mysterious secretary with him.

The plot twists and turns and there is a lot of interesting information on the people who live on the moor and those in the villages surrounding it which adds dimension to the book.


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Sand Sharks

Sand Sharks by Margaret Maron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars




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End of the Year

As this year comes to a close, I realize that I have not done reviews for about 80% of what I have read.  I have many of them in Goodreads, but my computer has been acting up for so long, I have gotten way behind in my posting.  In the next few days, I am going to use my library book due slips to at least record what I have read.

I am pleased with the reading I have done this year.  I have read several books by Dickens and finished a number of series books I wanted to read.  On the other hand, I still have many books around my house that I want to get read and donated to the library, (so I can make room for more books!)

The Twisted Root

The Twisted Root by Anne Perry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was one of the best of this series that I have read.  It would be hard to guess the ending of this one through 3/4 of tyounhe book.  An admirable young woman was engaged to a wealthy and quiet younger man, when suddenly, at a croquet party, she flees in obvious distress.  She has a coachman drive her away and later, he is found dead and she has disappeared.

When eventually found, she will say nothing about why she left and is loath to return.  She was found with a nurse who took her in when she was found, about 13 years old wandering in the heath covered with blood.  The nurse is one of the nurses at the hospital where Callandra and Hester work and is one of the best they have.  When it appears that she is the one stealing supplies from the pharmacy, Hester gets involved.

The story, as usual, gives fascinating information about the plight of nursing and the male-dominated Victorian era in which Hester, Oliver and William Monk live. Anne Perry does her usual good job of showing the cost of progress for the poor and for women.


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The Murders of Richard III

The Murders of Richard III by Elizabeth Peters
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was hard for me to get into.  I just never could connect with the characters.  It did give a glimpse into the controversy over Richard III.  I was amazed that there was evidence that seemed to conflict with the popular portrayal of Richard.


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Locked Rooms

Locked Rooms by Laurie R. King
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is part of the Mary Russell series that explores her past in San Francisco and the death of her parents, for whom she always felt responsible.  She and her brother were quarreling in the car when her father turned to them and in a moment's inattention, lost control of the car and plunged over a cliff.  Everyone in the car was killed but Mary  and she has always felt like she was guilty of their deaths.

On a trip back to San Francisco, she begins having flashbacks and detail about the crash and the earthquake come back to her.  The details don't add up and there is someone who doesn't want Mary to learn the truth.

This was one of the best books in this series.  Laurie King has been able to capture the essence of Sherlock Holmes as Doyle presented him and these books flow as if they had been been penned by him.


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Gregor the Overlander (Underland Chronicles, #1)

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am reading this series again because I am using it for homeschooling my granddaughter.  It is an excellent adventures series with a lot of interesting twists.

Gregor follows his 2 year old sister down a hole behind the washing machines in his apartment laundry room.  They end up in a world that has existed under the world we know of since the earliest days of America.  There is a race of humans who are his descendants.  They are very pale and have violet eyes, but the are otherwise the same as the Overlanders.

In their palace, there is a room of prophecies and it appears that Gregor and his sister are the Overlanders whose coming was predicted, but they aren't the first ones to come down from above.  Gregor's father has been missing for about 3 years and Gregor learns that he had been taken by the rats, but there is some indication that he is alive.


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A Breach of Promise

A Breach of Promise by Anne Perry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was one of the best book of this series that I've read.  I was totally broadsided twice by the plot turns and yet they were plausible.  Oliver Rathbone took a "Breach of Promise" case against his better judgement.  He is representing a brilliant young architect who seems to have entered into a marriage agreement without realizing it.  What he experiences as a wonderful friendship is interpreted by the young girl's mother as a marriage proposal and wedding plans were already proceeding before he realizes that everyone believes he has proposed.  Unfortunately, the family sues and Rathbone is left with absolutely nothing to say in court except that it was a misunderstanding.

There seems to be no solution to this problem or to a subplot and they twist and meander until a stunning conclusion.  There is also a surprise in the ongoing relationship between the main characters.


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Helping Gifted Children Soar: A Practical Guide for Parents and Teachers by Carol Ann Strip

Helping Gifted Children Soar: A Practical Guide for Parents and Teachers by Carol Ann Strip
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this book when I first started teaching Addie and read it again in December.  The information in the first chapters which discuss the gifted child's unique learning style has proved to be true.  My granddaughter does most of the things mentioned.  For example, being able to picture lists of vocabulary words in her head and check them off as they appear in an oral test, unusual reasoning processes and the ability to synthesize information and apply it to other situations.

The rest of the book deals with getting a gifted child's needs met in the public school setting.  In almost every example of a problem and possible solution I found that homeschooling eliminated the problem.  For example, we are able to make all my granddaughter's work appropriately challenging and are able to present work that she doesn't like to do in a way that makes it more interesting.  We have included Home Economics as a hobby/subject and it provides us with an infinite number of math reasoning, creativity, understanding and writing complicated step-by-step instructions as well as a vehicle for creativity.

As suggested in the book, we are able to teach units such as Opera, Self discipline, Political Science (in an election year), and reading units based on classical literature which preserves the interest level of a child with the vocabulary and history of a much older student.

I recommend this book to parents who have a gifted child and choose to stay in the public school system.  There are many solutions to the most common problems and give a reasonable approach to dealing with school officials in a reasonable manner.


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The Great Cake Mystery

The Great Cake Mystery: Precious Ramotswe's Very First Case by Alexander McCall Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a charming story of Precious Ramotswe's first case involving a schoolmate who has been accused of eating from from the other children's lunches.

It is written for children, but fan's of the First Ladies series will enjoy the book.


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The Mermaid Chair

The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I wanted to like this book, but I just didn't.  I hate books that have a female protagonist who trys to get a celibate cleric to break his vowes and sleep with her.  There is this idea nowdays that no one can have a fulfilling life without sex.  Come on!  There are people who are passionate about other things...God, medicine, scholarship, research, dangerous persuits.

Then I hate the idea that it is in some way noble to steer a person away from his or her vows, especially if they involve sex.  This is especially true of someone who has chosen to be celibate, although to encourage a person to engage in adultry is bad enough.

The vows of a person should be respected.  Would it be noble to encourage a recovering alcoholic to drink?  Would it be noble to encourage an adult who struggles with a desire for young girls or boys to fulfill those desires?  To encourage a person to break their vows is completely selfish and entirely self absorbed. It isn't romantic to think that someone wants you so badly that they broke their vows, or that somehow the love was so strong it had to be acted on. Tell that to Mrs. Eddie Fisher or Mrs. Richard Burton!  And did those relationships last?

Sorry to rant!  This one just hit me wrong.


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Bel Canto

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I liked so much about this book.  I realize that it had many improbable moments, but I liked the concept of music being a common ground between people.  The terrorists became people in the book and developed a relationship with their hostages.

There were some things I wished were changed.  I know it is based loosly on a similar situation in Peru.  I would like to have the reasons these people became terrorists explored more.  I think it would have made the individual relationships more explainable.  What did the three generals believe in?  We get only a vague hint at their demmands.  We hear a lot about the other lives of the hostages, but the terrorists, especially the generals seemed to have no platform.

As with others, I did not like the epilogue.  There wasn't enough to support it.  There needed to be more of a connection built up between Roxane and Gen; a bond that would have made it plausable for the two, who had just lost their lovers, to turn to each other.  I could see them realizing that they never would be able to relate to anyone but each other because of this common experience, but there wasn't any understructure to support this.

That said, I felt like it was a wonderful book and I loved reading it.  It sent me to my computer to find the "Bel Canto" of the book.  I listened to many of the pieces of music that was mentioned and loved the ones that were familiar and enjoyed the ones I had never heard.  I can understand how people who would have had no interest in Opera could have loved Roxane's singing.  Once you enter into the music, you have to be amazed at the incredible beauty of the talented and well trained human voice.


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Crewel Yule

Crewel Yule by Monica Ferris
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a light, enjoyable, if improbable mystery.  It takes place at a Needlework convention when one of the most belligerent attendees is murdered. It is a good quick read, especially at the holidays.


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Ballykissangel: The New Arrival

Ballykissangel: The New Arrival by Hugh Miller
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I don't know how to rate this book. If you haven't seen the series, it is a nice cozy book.  If you have seen the series, it is more like a screen play.  The dialog is taken right from the script.  I was hoping for some more depth to the characters and some additional story lines, but nothing was there.  If you were a devoted fan of the series, there isn't much point in reading the book.


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The Girl with the Botticelli Eyes

The Girl with the Botticelli Eyes by Herbert Lieberman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a little hard to get started, but once I got into it, it was very interesting. The premise is that a killer is murdering young women and carving out their eyes.  At the same time, there is a major show of Botticelli which is being planned by a curator on the way up.  He is trying to arrange to get a descendant of one of Botticelli's young models who resembles her to come to the exhibition. The two stories merge in a dramatic and life changing way.


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Winter Study (Anna Pigeon Mysteries, #14)

Winter Study by Nevada Barr

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This rating is actually 2-1/2 stars. I was very disappointed in this book. I found it to be more thriller than a good mystery and there was too much violence and disgusting sexual content. I hesitate to say that because there will be those who say that anyone who objects to such content is prudish, but this seems to be a substitute for a well drawn mystery that proceeds from character traits of the perpetrator.

Anna Pigeon has come to Isle Royale in Lake Superior to learn about managing and understanding wolves because her Rocky Mountain National Park may soon have a pack of wolves introduced. She is joining a research team which is part of a 50 year old study of wolves and their behavior. The park has always been closed during the winter for the study, but Homeland Security is considering opening the park to supposedly close a weak border where terrorists may enter the country. They have sent a consultant to report on that possibility.

Shortly after Anna’s arrival, the team discovers evidence that a huge wolf has been seen and there is DNA evidence that it is a cross between dog and wolf, which they call a “Wog.” This animal has been mysteriously introduced and has a behavior pattern foreign to the 3 packs that are already on the island. When a researcher is killed, Anna is no longer studying the wolf packs and becomes a detective and it is at this point that the book degenerates into a sex and violence thriller with improbable behavior and bad language. I am very tired of books that substitute shock value for good writing.

The characters in this book are not well drawn and their roles as victim and killer are pretty evident from the beginning. The conclusion, I believe, is also very weak and does not proceed from the personality of the characters. There are so many places where this book seems to have great potential, but it just doesn’t make it. I hope this is not a trend for the future, because I really enjoy Nevada Barr’s books and would like to enjoy many more.





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Dyer Consequences

Dyer Consequences by Maggie Sefton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was a little lightweight and predictable, but just the right thing for a life of complications and sometimes chaos.  The story revolves around a murder and the friends who frequent the most wonderful yarn shop in the world.  It is nice to read about such a fantastic yarn heaven and dream of unlimited time to knit.


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The Silent Cry

The Silent Cry by Anne Perry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one of the best in this series.  It is really hard to see where it is going until the end, but there is suspense all the way through it.


Two gentlemen lay bleeding in the seedier side of London, one dead and one dying.  They are covered in blood but their injuries don't account for the amount of blood.  The younger man lives, but is terribly injured and can no longer speak.  His hands are shattered and he can't communicate with writing either.  Hester Latterly is called to nurse the young man.

At the same time someone is beating up and raping women in Seven Dials and St. Giles.  The wife of a sweatshop owner comes to Monk to pay him to investigate who is doing this.   The women are not professional prostitutes, but young women who work in the factory for a pittance are forced to make a little money on the side to feed their children.  They are already beaten down by poverty and indifference and now someone is making their existence even more miserable.  The violence is escalating and it is just a matter of time before one of them is killed.

The two cases twist and turn towards each other as Evan investigates the former and Monk the latter.  At the same time, Monk is coming across street people who knew him when he and Runcorn patrolled these streets.  Throughout the book, he gets hints as to what he did to make Runcorn detest him so.  If you follow the series, this book pushes the story line much further along the line.


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The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This series of books was recommended by the Duke Talent Identification program for gifted kids.  It is a wonderful book and especially for gifted children who may have some difficulty understanding their intelligence which often puts a distance between them and their peers.  The children in the Mysterious Benedict Society are all gifted in different ways and they have to learn to accept the differences and making use of their individual gifts.

The story involves the apparent kidnapping of their mentor, Mr. Benedict, who had planned an interesting scavenger hunt for them, but ended up depending on the clues he left for the children to rescue him.


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