Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books: Anne Perry's The Face of a Stranger

"With insight, compassion, and a portraitist’s genius, Perry illuminates the shifting tide of emotions encompassing Queen Victoria’s London and the people who live there—aristocrats, brothel owners, thieves, Dickensian ruffians, and their evil keepers. She takes us through dangerous backstreets where the poor eke out their humble livings, and into the mansions of the rich, safe and secure in their privileged lives. Or so they believe..."--Goodreads.com

Not long ago, I realized I was up-to-date with Elizabeth George's mysteries (and not only that, I was having some reservations about her books), when I started casting about for a new series to get involved in.

I love Victorian mysteries, so I decided to check out Anne Perry's Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series.  I read and enjoyed a couple of them.

But then I read the first in her William Monk series, and I was hooked.

William Monk is the kind of man Heathcliff would be if Heathcliff wasn't violent and cruel. :)  He's dark, brooding, attractive and mysterious.  But he also has a heart, and I fell in love with him immediately.

The author's troubling history

It wasn't long before I found out that Anne Perry is a convicted murderer herself.  It's complicated, but she was very young when it happened, she has served her time and apparently deeply regrets the whole thing.

Some people have said they wouldn't read Perry's books because of that.  But I actually believe in redemption, second chances, and that people can change.

And darn it, she writes a great book!

If you decided to get into the series, I definitely recommend you start at the beginning, with "The Face of a Stranger."  There's a definite arc to Monk's story, and each book adds to its trajectory.

The story


I found the book riveting from page one.  William Monk wakes up in a hospital with no memory of who is or how he got there.

He has been in a serious carriage accident that has robbed him of his memory.  Eventually he learns that he is
a London police detective...and a very good one, but also a very disliked one.  Apparently the William he used to be was arrogant and downright mean.

He can't tell the police--especially his supervisor, Superintendent Runcorn, who obviously dislikes him and probably for good reason--that he has no memory.  He has to go back to work, because it's the only way he has of earning a living.

Immediately he's thrust into a high-profile murder investigation.  Fascinatingly, it seems his detecting skills haven't suffered too much from the accident--those seem to return instintively.

But obviously he's hampered by the fact that there are people everywhere who know him (and most can't stand him), while he doesn't know them at all.

(By the way, snatches of his memory do return throughout the series, but I'm well into it, and he still doesn't remember everything.)

Monk is a fascinating character, and as we can see his basic goodness and compassion, we like him and are rooting for him to succeed.

Hester Latterly

This book also introduces a character who becomes extremely important to the series--Hester Latterly, a nurse who worked with Florence Nightingale in the Crimean War and who is on sort of a mission to reform the appalling Victorian hospitals and antiquated ideas about nursing and health care.

Outspoken, independent and strong, Hester is the opposite of the kind of woman Monk is usually attracted to, and yet he is drawn to her.

Thanks to the character of Hester, I've learned so many fascinating things about the history of nursing.  In fact, each Monk book has significantly enriched my knowledge about a remarkable time in history.

I'm really enjoying these books, and I dread when I'm finally up to date on them.  They've pretty much comprised my leisure reading for the past couple of months.

I highly recommend them to anyone who loves mysteries and enjoys books set in the Victorian era.

I'm linking up today with Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books!

Saturday Review of Books: Robin Oliveira's My Name is Mary Sutter

I had this book on my Goodreads to-read list for some time, after reading a glowing review by a fellow book-blogger.

I'm so glad I finally found it at my local library. Mary Sutter is a remarkable heroine, and her story was a fascinating read.

Mary is the latest in a long line of midwives. At a young age, she's made a name for herself as a deliverer of babies. But much as she loves bringing a new life into the world, she yearns for something more: she wants to be a surgeon.

In a world just on the brink of the American Civil War, women who want to be doctors are out of luck--there's even dispute over whether women should be nursing men! (Is that "proper"?)

But Mary is single-minded and determined in her resolve. When a budding romance is cut short, she doesn't stay around to nurse (no pun intended) her broken heart.

The Civil War has just begun, and nurses are needed. Rejected as "too young" by nursing crusader Dorothea Dix, Mary finds a place to serve where she can learn from an experienced surgeon at the same time.

Mary works at a Washington D.C. hospital with horrendous conditions, desperately wounded soldiers and appalling shortages of painkilling medicines and even basically essential supplies.

Her nursing even brings her to the battlefields, where she literally has to make life-or-death decisions. Mary faces it all with untiring equanimity and unflagging bravery.

Through it all, a love story is brewing that will come to fruition when the war is finally at an end.

If you've ever had the slightest interest in the Civil War, this novel is a must-read. Robin Oliveira has obviously researched her subject impeccably. We get to see Abraham Lincoln up close and personal, and this adds the ring of authenticity to Mary's story.

As I said earlier, Mary is a wonderfully admirable heroine, but coming to life through Oliveira's pen, she's real and vulnerable and deeply likable--you're rooting for her throughout the entire book for her to realize her dreams and find a worthy love.

I love how Mary is described as not being beautiful, but how the men in her life are immediately drawn to her personality and spirit. There's definitely something about Mary.

As with all good books that describe war, this one doesn't flinch. I'm once again struck with just how truly horrific was the Civil War.

And so many of the Civil War-era books I've read have been from the South's perspective--it was good to read one from the Northern point of view.

I give it five stars. A fascinating read about a remarkable woman in a turbulent time.

I'm participating today in Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books!

Saturday Review of Books: Siri Mitchell's She Walks in Beauty

She Walks in Beauty, by Siri Mitchell, had been on my to-read list for quite while, so I was delighted to find it at my local library.

Several other bloggers had enthusiastically recommended this book, and I can say it didn't disappoint at all.

The story

Clara Carter is the daughter of a wealthy physician, living on Fifth Avenue in New York City during the so-called "Gilded Age" of the late 1890's.

Although she mourns her beautiful mother, who died when she was a child, Clara is happy enough pursuing her studies with her governess and reading poetry.

In fact, she's bright and intelligent enough that her governess thinks she could get into Vassar, the college for women.

But academically-minded girls are not particularly wanted in society, and Clara had a different destiny.

She must marry. And she must marry the heir to the DeVries fortune, in particular. To that end, her studies are ended and replaced with different learning: things like which fork to use, how to communicate by using a fan, how to waltz, and most difficult of all, how to wear a corset 24/7 to whittle one's waist down from 22 inches to 18.

Clara is to be a debutante, thrust into a whirl of social obligations to which marriage is the only possible outcome.

There are complications. Her best friend, Lizzie, is her main challenger for the hand of Franklin DeVries. Added to that is the fact that Clara much prefers Franklin's younger brother--a kind, funny young man who also has a depth of spirituality that Clara hasn't seen since her mother died.

Then, Clara learns things about her father that cause her carefully-constructed world to crumble.

My Thoughts

I loved this book, and read it in a very short time because I had a very difficult time putting it down.

Siri Mitchell's writing is perfect for getting inside the mind of a young girl of that era. Her obvious in-depth research lends an effortless authenticity to the story.

Things like the corruption of New York City politics, the shameful poverty of immigrant tenement dwellers, as well as the often hypocritical and haughty world of the wealthy are among the themes that inform this truly absorbing story.

Clara's character is also faced with the question, "Does God really love me just as I am?" In a world where she has to change everything about herself, including her waist size, to please society, Clara surmises that God's unconditional love would be an extravagant gift indeed.

I'm participating today in Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books--click the icon for more information!

Saturday Review of Books: Diane Noble's The Betrayal: Brides of Gabriel Book Two

Having read and been very moved by the first book in this series (my review here), I was delighted to find The Betrayal: Brides of Gabriel Book Two, by Diane Noble, at my local library.

It's not a very big book, and I had it read in two shakes of a lamb's tail.

This book is just as engrossing, just as compelling, as the first one.

The first book focused on Lady Mary Rose Ashley, who fell madly in love with Gabriel MacKay aboard an America-bound ship. They married and were converted to Mormonism.

How would you like it if you married someone, both of you deeply in love, planning to spend the rest of your lives together--and your husband decided to add another wife to the mix?

This is what happened to Mary Rose in Book One, and the pain and devastation were made worse by the fact that Wife Number 2 was her very best friend.

Bronwyn's viewpoint

Book 2 is mainly from the viewpoint of Wife Number 2, Bronwyn. At first, I didn't like this. But it's to Diane Noble's credit that I came around to understanding and even liking Bronwyn.

Now, there's a third wife in the mix--Enid, who was Gabriel's teen-aged sweetheart. Enid is determined to supplant both Mary Rose and Bronwyn in wifely status and in Gabriel's heart.

Along with the very real problems of three women married to one man, matters heat up to a dangerous degree for the Latter Day Saints.

Bronwyn and Mary Rose are appalled by the increasing practice of marrying off very young girls to very old men, as well as the Saints' new creed of "blood atonement"...literally killing people they consider apostates, or people opposed to Mormon doctrine.

It becomes clear that in order to save their combined family from danger--and because they are both now repudiating objectionable Mormon doctrines, thus targeting themselves as apostate--they have to make plans to flee.

Gabriel makes me mad

I've got to admit, I can't bring myself to like Gabriel very much.

Although he does it all in the name of his understanding of God's will, it's got to be a pretty cushy gig for a man to keep adding beautiful women to his harem.

These books further illustrate the fact that, although it may be cool for the man, women were simply not created to share a man. A woman needs to know that she alone is the focus of her husband's love and devotion. I cannot, under any conceivable circumstances, imagine sharing my husband with another woman!

Compelling read

Noble refrains from any blanket condemnation of the Latter Day Saints, but she doesn't stint on depicting the faults and excesses of some of the early Mormon hierarchy. That would probably be difficult for a modern-day Mormon to read.

But this book was compelling and absorbing from start to finish--one of the best I've read all year.

I haven't heard if there's going to be a Book 3, but I certainly so! I believe the stories of Gabriel and his wives still have a lot to be told.

I'm participating today in Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books!

Saturday Review of Books: Maggie O'Farrell's The Hand That First Held Mine

A blogger's review is what prompted me to pick up The Hand That First Held Mine, by Maggie O'Farrell, at the local library. (Thanks, blogger, whoever you are!)

The book was immediately intriguing and easily held my interest.

But you know, sometimes I refrain from reading anything on the cover because I want to let it all unfold on its own, without me having any knowledge of what's going to happen. And it might have been a good idea for me to have just a bit more knowledge about the story.

The book begins with Elina, a Finnish artist living with her English boyfriend, Ted, in the present day. Intriguingly, Elina has just had a baby, but she has no memory of doing so.

Simultaneously, we meet Lexie, who is living in the 1950's. Lexie is a beautiful, feisty young woman who wants to leave her Devon family and move to London--and fortunately for her, she just happens to meet a man who will help make that happen.

When I started reading the book, I thought it was going to focus mainly on Elina and Lexie, in their separate eras, and somehow link the two. I thought Ted was just sort of a marginal character. I was wrong.

The two stories do, of course, end up intersecting. And although I was starting to get an idea of where it was going, it still had one of the those deliciously jaw-dropping moments--I think I literally gasped out loud.

My one complaint about the book is that it makes Lexie sort of unlikable. I would have liked to have been able to root for her a bit more. Although she was admirable in some ways, she just wasn't lovable.

As for Maggie O'Farrell's writing? This is the first time I've ever read anything by her, and I loved her style. For instance, there are two babies in the book, and she captures a baby's behavior more beautifully and perfectly than I believe I've ever read.

I really enjoyed this book and plan to read more by Maggie O'Farrell.

I'm participating today in Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books. Click the icon for more info!

Saturday Review of Books: Mona Hodgson's Too Rich for a Bride

I underestimated this book.

When I first started reading Too Rich for a Bride by Mona Hodgson, I thought it was just going to be a lightweight, fluffy romantic historial fiction read. You know, boy-and-girl-meet-cute, boy-and-girl-fall-in-love, and so on.

Instead, I discovered that this well-written little novel makes important points about greed, ambition, trust and doubt.

Ida Sinclair is driven by her desire to succeed as a businesswoman--an unusual and formidable goal for a woman in late 1890's Colorado.

Tucker Raines is an appealing character--a young preacher who just wants to pursue the ministry, but finds himself saddled with the struggling business of a father who is in ill health and seems to want nothing to do with him.

Ida and Tucker do meet kind of cute, but there are obstacles to them getting together--not the least of which is Ida's determination that men have absolutely no place in her life while she climbs the ladder to success.

I enjoyed this thoughtful, insightful story. It was the first time I had read anything by Mona Hodgson, and I came away with a genuine respect for her writing. I will definitely read more by her.

I recommend it, especially if you don't mind your historical romances infused with Christian faith.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Blogging for Books. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

I'm participating today in Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books--click on the icon for more info!

Saturday Review of Books: P.D. James' The Private Patient

I love the fictional character of Adam Dalgliesh. As I mentioned earlier, I totally picture the actor Clive Owen when I read a Dalgleish mystery. (Ironically--and I didn't put this together till just recently--Owen starred in the movie adaptation of James' book, The Children of Men.)

That being said, although I enjoyed The Private Patient and it kept me turning the pages, I'm a bit ambivalent about it.

First let me set the stage for you--this synopsis from amazon.com:

In James's stellar 14th Adam Dalgliesh mystery (after 2006's The Lighthouse), the charismatic police commander knows the case of Rhoda Gradwyn, a 47-year-old journalist murdered soon after undergoing the removal of an old disfiguring scar at a private plastic surgery clinic in Dorset, may be his last; James's readers will fervently hope it isn't. Dalgliesh probes the convoluted tangle of motives and hidden desires that swirl around the clinic, Cheverell Manor, and its grimly fascinating suspects in the death of Gradwyn, herself a stalker of minds driven by her lifelong passion for rooting out the truth people would prefer left unknown and then selling it for money.

My thoughts:

First of all, it's a bit disconcerting that Dalgleish doesn't show up until we're well into the book. This has been true of the two or three other Dalgleish mysteries I've read as well. Since he's my favorite character, I'd like for him to be involved earlier on. Maybe that's just me?

Also, I can't claim to be a conoisseur of mysteries, despite the fact that a few years ago I went on an avid Agatha Christie spree. But I personally enjoy a mystery where I'm really shocked and surprised by who the murderer is, when finally revealed.

That doesn't happen in this book--at least not for me.

Another thing. I had a hard time caring about any of the characters besides Dalgleish and his assistants, Kate and Benton. Most of the characters lacked anything that would draw me to them or make me care about them, including the murder victims.

So why did I keep reading, and actually find the book enjoyable?

Well, I like James' writing style. I DID want to find out who the murderer was. And yes, I really like Adam Dalgleish. He is a character who is three-dimensional...a poet, a detective, a handsome man, an enigma. Dalgleish is just very appealing.

"My" Adam Dalgleish--actor Clive Owen

I would recommend this book to mystery lovers. You may thoroughly enjoy it, and not be bothered by the few things that somewhat bothered me.

That's all despite the fact that when I reached the end of the book, it was oddly anti-climactic. Not a "Wow, that was a great book!" More like an, "Oh...OK."

I'm participating today in Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books. Click on the icon for more info!

Son of Hamas, by Mosab Hassan Yousef with Ron Brackin

It's rare that I step away from my beloved fiction to read a nonfiction book. Most often it's a biography.

Indeed, Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices is autobiographical, but it's a radical reading departure for me.

The Middle East and me

My life has been somewhat connected with the Middle East since I was a child and my parents were missionaries to Beirut, Lebanon.

My brother was born just a couple of weeks after my family was evacuated from Lebanon during the Six Day War in June of 1967.

(Ironically, my brother grew up to serve as a US Marine during the Gulf War, then as a contractor helping train Iraqi police and working alongside the military in Afghanistan.)

Just as I will never forget the beauty of the short time I spent in Lebanon, my heart is saddened at the ongoing violence and bloodshed in the region.

I guess those are the reasons I picked up Son of Hamas. I was intrigued by this story of the son of a founder and leader of West Bank terrorist organization Hamas.

Mosab Hassan Yousef

This from the book's website:

Since he was a small boy, Mosab Hassan Yousef has had an inside view of the deadly terrorist group Hamas. The oldest son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a founding member of Hamas and its most popular leader, young Mosab assisted his father for years in his political activities while being groomed to assume his legacy, politics, status . . . and power. But everything changed when Mosab turned away from terror and violence, and embraced instead the teachings of another famous Middle East leader.

Son of Hamas was not an easy read for me. I sometimes felt as if I were reading a history book and that I needed to focus to keep track of the various terrorist organizations and events, which sometimes seemed to run together.

But I wanted to read this book. My brother once shamed me because I couldn't name all the major terrorist organizations off the top of my head, despite the fact that I've worked in radio news for years.

I wanted to educate myself and delve into the inner workings of terrorism and counter-terrorism. Since Mosab ended up collaborating with Israeli intelligence agency Shin Bet for several years, I was definitely able to do that.

Mosab characterizes his father as a kind, humble, devout man who mostly cared about the welfare of his people. However, it became increasingly hard for Mosab to reconcile his father's gentleness--the man literally was unable to kill a bug!--with a person who would encourage and countenance the killing of thousands of innocent people in the name of Allah.

The remarkable power of God's Word

The ultimate reward for sticking with this gripping and violent book was a revelation. I've always known this, but it's still amazing to see it illustrated so vividly: God's Word has the power to dramatically change lives and situations.

At one point, Mosab is invited to a Bible study by a British missionary. As he's always been open to learning about other religions, he decides to go, sort of on a lark.

To his surprise, he really enjoys it. He's given a New Testament, and since gifts are precious in the Arab culture, he reads it.

Writes Mosab:

"I began at the beginning, and when I got to the Sermon on the Mount, I thought, Wow, this guy Jesus is really impressive! Everything he says is beautiful. I couldn't put the book down. Every verse seemed to touch a deep wound in my life. It was a very simple message, but somehow it had the power to heal my soul and give me hope.

Then I read this: 'You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbour and hate your enemy,' but I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven"(Matthew 5:43-45).

That was it! I was thunderstruck by these words. Never before I heard anything like this, but I knew this was the message I had been searching for all my life......."

There was no Damascus Road experience, but Mosab is ever more drawn to the God of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus, and eventually converts to Christianity.

I won't tell you anything else about the book, in case you decide to read it for yourself. If, like me, you're used to the entertainment of fiction, it may at times be a difficult read. But it's a remarkable one that will stay with you long after you close the book.

I'm participating in Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books--click on the icon for more info!

Saturday Review of Books: Rosslyn Elliott's Fairer than Morning

Expecting a fairly fluffy historical romance, I was pleasantly surprised by a gripping story that wouldn’t let me stop turning pages


Isn't it great when a book totally exceeds your expectations?

When I picked up Rosslyn Elliott's Fairer than Morning, I was expecting a light, enjoyable romance. Having just read a fairly intense Dean Koontz book (What the Night Knows), I needed a change.

What I didn't expect was a solid, engrossing, compelling tale that would scarcely let me put it down (I started it yesterday and finished it tonight!)

Far from a fluffy romance, this novel has a gravitas that caught me pleasantly by surprise. Actually, the "romance" part isn't the main theme.

Instead, we step back in time to 1820's Pittsburgh, when quiet Christians courageously help slaves escape to freedom...when young apprentices could experience real cruelty at the hands of their masters...when the poverty-stricken and downtrodden are forced to live in poor-houses.

The story centers around Ann Miller, the daughter of a man who is a farmer, saddlemaker, and circuit-riding preacher; and Will Hanby, an orphan who eagerly accepts apprenticeship, only to find brutality.

Ann is a likable heroine, accepting her role as substitute mother to two little sisters with maturity and grace, while longing for love and marriage.

But I have to admit I looked forward to Will's scenes. When I read a story in which someone is treated with outrageous cruelty, I'm immediately caught up. Will grabbed my heart. I had to keep turning the pages in the hopes that he would find justice.

I also really liked Ann's father. I loved the way his humble, unassuming life illuminated Christ, with a quiet dignity and sacrificial kindness.

I also liked Rosslyn Elliott's writing style, which seemed perfectly in tune with the era about which she was writing--never a jarring anachronism or out-of-place phrase. Too, she lets her story unfold without any forced drama.

This is, frankly, one of the best books I've read in a while, of any genre. I'm glad it's just the first in a trilogy called "The Saddlemaker's Legacy," because I definitely want to read them all.

An interesting note: The story is based on true events in the lives of the real Will Hanby and Ann Miller--several of the things depicted in the book really happened. The few things that could seem even remotely far-fetched are some of the very things that actually took place.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Wynn-Wynn Media. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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I'm participating today in Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books. Click on the icon to find out more!

Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis

As I've mentioned earlier, I'm on a bit of a Connie Willis binge. It all started with To Say Nothing of the Dog, and before you know it, I was hooked on Willis' time-traveling Oxford historians.

I read Blackout, All Clear (read my reviews of those books here), and even a couple of Willis' non-time-travel sci-fi tales--Passage and Lincoln's Dreams.

But I finally found Doomsday Book at my local library, and plunged into one of the most compelling books I've ever read.

Kivrin is a young history student in 2048 Oxford who is determined to go back in time to visit 14th century England. That's despite the misgivings of her mentor and instructor, Mr. Dunworthy, who obviously feels a fatherly affection and concern for the young woman.

The Middle Ages were an extremely dangerous time. So many things could go wrong, from fatal disease to raping and marauding highwaymen. Not to mention messed-up time travel.

The best-laid plans...

But the Oxford time travelers are nothing if not prepared for just about any contingency. Kivrin has been vaccinated against everything, including Bubonic Plague, which isn't even supposed to happen until quite a few years after her visit.

She's also been schooled in every detail of how a young woman was supposed to act and look in 1320, including lessons in horseback riding, spinning wool, and embroidery--and she's even had a chip implanted that will interpret what passed as the English language in those days.

But if everything went smoothly, there would be no story. And believe me, everything does NOT go smoothly.

Problems in the future...

While Kivrin is trying to survive in the Middle Ages, there's a terrible problem in 2048 Oxford--a fast-moving epidemic of a deadly and baffling disease. It ends up striking many of the people that are concerned with getting Kivrin back to the future, including Mr. Dunworthy.

The juxtaposition of the desperate crises in two separate realities makes for some extraordinarily intense and compelling reading.

At the same time, I like Willis' ability to provide lighter moments to offset the drama. She's able to narrate even such a heavy tale in a calm and even matter-of-fact way.

An admirable heroine

I really liked Kivrin. Her courage, compassion and endurance blossoms under the most dreadful circumstances.

Mr. Dunworthy has become a favorite of mine as well, thanks to his very real concern for his historians.

And you've got to love 12-year-old Colin Templer, who provides some of the lighter moments in the book...and who also figures prominently in All Clear.

Religious questions

As a Christian, I had a bit of a problem with Mr. Dunworthy's identifying with God the Father's concern for the mistreatment of his Son. While reading scripture at a church service, he relates his desire to rescue Kivrin from the Middle Ages to God wanting to rescue Jesus from the cruelty he suffered on the cross.

This theme runs through Dunworthy's compulsion to find any way possible to get Kivrin out of her predicament. It's faulty, though--because Christians know that Jesus' death was the heart of the divine plan of redemption. God wouldn't have wanted to rescue him, because his death was the means of the world's salvation.

It's a minor quibble as far as the story goes, though.

And one of the real heroes of the story is the priest in the village where Kivrin ends up. Though poor, illiterate, and unable to preach flowery and eloquent sermons, his tireless compassion and love for his flock mark him as a genuine man of God. Father Roche will touch your heart.

Doomsday Book was ultimately uplifting and hopeful. I have to agree with this assessment from the amazon.com review:

The book, which won Hugo and Nebula Awards, draws upon Willis' understanding of the universalities of human nature to explore the ageless issues of evil, suffering and the indomitable will of the human spirit.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to those of you who are fascinated with history and time travel, and who don't mind staying up late to read a story that won't let you go.

I'm participating today in Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books! Click on the icon to participate.

Booking through Thursday: Do You Read Reviews?

I'm participating again today in Booking Through Thursday, where the questions are:

Do you read book reviews? Whose do you trust? Do they affect your reading habits? Your buying habits?

The answer? You bet I do!

I have always paid attention to book reviews, even way before I had a blog. I would read the reviews in USA Today (I really liked Deirdre Donahue's reviews), women's magazines and the like.

Since starting blogging, and especially since starting this book blog, book reviews have definitely influenced my reading and buying habits.

A recent case in point: I read (actually bought it, at Borders!) Connie Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog because of a review I read that was part of Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books, and it kicked off a spree of reading Connie Willis books. (I'm still looking for a couple of them.)

I also got into P.D. James' Adam Dalgleish mysteries thanks to a Saturday Review of Books review.

Those are just a couple of recent examples. I'm sure there are more, and at least 5 books on my Goodreads "to-read" list are there because I read bloggers' favorable reviews.

Now, I wouldn't necessarily avoid a book if a reviewer didn't like it, but it would weigh in my decision...and if a reviewer genuinely raves about the book, I'll definitely be influenced to read it.

How about you?

If you're visiting from Booking Through Thursday, please, please, please leave a comment, even if it's a very short one! I'd love to know you stopped by.



You can participate in Booking Through Thursday here!

From the Archives: Sweet Caroline, by Rachel Hauck

(This was originally posted on my main blog, Notes in the Key of Life, May 2008)

When you head off to the beach or on vacation, be sure and tuck a copy of Rachel Hauck's Sweet Caroline in your tote bag. It's the perfect, pleasant diversion for a carefree summer's day.

Caroline Sweeney has a dilemma. Should she stay on as owner/manager of an iconic small-town Southern cafe, or accept a once-in-a-lifetime job with Spain's version of Donald Trump?

Either choice has major implications for other people besides Caroline. If she ditches the cafe, its longtime employees could lose their jobs and the little town could lose a beloved landmark. If she accepts the job in Spain, she could lose the re-budding romance with her ex-boyfriend, who is now a major country singing star.

"Sweet Caroline" is one of those appealing novels in which you truly enjoy spending time with the characters. Caroline is lovely, funny and relatable. Her spiritual journey from near-agnostic to joyful new convert is unforced and believable. The character of her ex-boyfriend, Mitch O'Neal, is attractive and appealing.

What choice will Caroline make? You'll enjoy finding out. Rachel Hauck's writing is fresh, breezy and contemporary, and this book is as refreshing as an ice-cold root beer on a hot summer day.

I'm participating today in Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books--click on the icon for more info!

My Review of a Wonderful Book about Ireland

Frank Delaney's Ireland: a must-read for everyone who loves all things Irish

I've been saying most of my life that I love Ireland, but the truth is, I've had only a rudimentary knowledge of that nation's history. Now, after having read Frank Delaney's Ireland, A Novel, I can say that I learned a great deal about Ireland's history while enjoying an absorbing fictional tale at the same time.

The story begins when a traveling Storyteller--perhaps the last of a long Irish tradition of "seanchais"-- comes to the home of 9-year-old Ronan O'Mara in 1951. As he weaves his tales of ancient Ireland, Ronan feels convinced that he and the Storyteller are somehow connected. When the Storyteller is evicted by Ronan's cold and distant mother, Ronan devotes the next several years of his life to trying to find him.

As we follow Ronan's life during the next few years--his successes and heartaches and the startling revelations he eventually faces--we are treated to more stories, as one reviewer says, "seamlesssly interwoven" into the novel. The stories reach Ronan in various ways--through radio, television, even letters from the Storyteller himself, never signed or with a return address.

I found myself thoroughly enjoying the stories even as Ronan's own story propelled me forward. Tales of St. Patrick, of Brendan the Navigator, Conor of Ulster, the legendary Finn MacCool,the Battle of the Boyne, all the way up to 1916 when the Easter Rising led by men like James Connolly and Michael Collins set the stage for the eventual formation of the Irish Republic.

If you have a yen for all things Irish, I definitely recommend this book. It's a rich, fanciful, imaginative retelling of Irish stories, as charming and appealing as the Irish themselves.

By the way, I kept thinking all along that this would make a wonderful movie. It would have to be sized down, of course, and all of the stories probably wouldn't be included. But I picture it along the lines of The Big Fish...a series of fanciful tales linked together by an ongoing contemporary story.

Gabriel Byrne

I can really picture Irish actor Gabriel Byrne, with a bit of age make-up, as the Storyteller. (They would have to get a younger actor to play the Storyteller as a young man.) And there would be choice roles for actors to play Ronan, his father, his aunt and his mother, and many characters in the tales. Hey, I have it all planned. Is anybody listening?

Have a happy St. Paddy's Day, everyone!

I'm participating in Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books:

Ginny Yttrup's Words--A Poignant, Moving Story

To be honest, I approached Ginny Yttrup's Words with some hesitancy. I knew from the cover information that the story involved the sexual abuse of a little girl, and I have a difficult time even reading about such tragedy, because I know it's all too common in real life.

But once I picked this book up and began reading it, I could hardly put it down. Yes, Words is a story touched with something that's unspeakably horrible, but it's ultimately a story of the triumph of love and grace.

It's the story of Sierra, an artist whose life had become paralyzed by the burden of guilt she's carrying over something that happened twelve years earlier.

And it's the story of Kaylee, a little girl whose circumstances, unfortunately, could have been lifted out of the pages of today's newspaper...a little girl held captive by a sick man who uses her for his twisted desires.

Kaylee's only refuge is the hollowed trunk of a redwood tree, where she flees when her abuser is at work...and the imaginary box of words she keeps in her mind. One of the only books in the dilapidated cabin in which she lives is a dictionary, and she uses it to learn words to add to her mental box.

The words help her escape from the tragic reality of her life of abuse, loneliness and hunger.

One day, when Sierra goes to a secluded area to give way to her personal grief, she catches a glimpse of Kaylee.

The resulting relationship brings love, healing and redemption...but the journey to that ending is one that is poignant and riveting. Words is, quite simply, one of the most moving books I've read in a long time.

Words is so beautifully written, it blows me away that this is the first book for author Ginny Yttrup. Yttrup herself was a victim of child sexual abuse, so she knows whereof she speaks. She writes on her website:

The opportunity to write is the fulfillment of a life-long dream. Words were my salvation as a child, until I met my true Savior, the Word. Through the tumultuous years of my childhood, I lost myself in the stories I read. There, in the world of fiction, I escaped the trauma I faced and found a place of safety and rest. Today, I enjoy the gift of combining my two loves--I write words that, I hope, reflect the glory of Jesus Christ.

(While Words doesn't sugarcoat the reality of abuse, neither does it go into sordid detail, so the reader is spared any especially disturbing scenes.)

Yttrup also doesn't minimize the part that faith in Jesus Christ can play in the triumph over guilt, shame and horrific tragedy. Neither does she pretend that healing is ever a done deal...it's clear that victims of such abuse will need ongoing counseling and therapy to deal with the ordeal they've endured.

I've already read seven books so far in 2011. Without a doubt, Words is the best one so far. I highly recommend it!

For more about author and speaker Ginny Yttrup, go to her website.

Note: This book was provided to me by the publisher.

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My Review of Lonestar Sanctuary, by Colleen Coble

Lonestar Sanctuary isn't a new book--in fact, it's the first in a series of at least three. However, I've read books by Colleen Coble before, and I knew she was a great storyteller. So when I saw this book at a discount price, I snapped it up.

My measure of a really enjoyable book is that I keep wanting to read it. If I pick up a book dutifully or grudgingly, as if it were a school assignment, forget it. A book has to keep calling my name, and this one did that.

Lonestar Sanctuary starts out with the immediate realization that the protagonist, Allie, is in grave danger. Someone is out to get her and her little daughter, Betsy, and she has no idea why.

Betsy hasn't spoken since she witnessed a recent tragedy, and Allie has heard that Bluebird Ranch, located in the Texas hill country, could help her little daughter. Coincidentally, it's also the place where Rick Bailey lives--her late husband's army buddy, the man her husband told her to find if she was ever in trouble.

There's a certain predictability to some aspects of the story--it's no surprise that Rick and Allie overcome their initial aversion to each other. However, the suspense heats up with every turned page. The characters are nuanced and real, and you really care what happens to them.

I enjoyed the book very much, especially since I'm originally from Texas and I love stories that are set there. I definitely want to get my hands on the other books in this series.

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Julie Andrews' Home--a thoughtful, reflective memoir

As a child, I loved Julie Andrews.

I spent hours listening to the album soundtracks of Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music, memorizing the words to every song, and I had all the movie-related merchandise, from books to coloring books.

So when I saw a copy of Andrews' memoir, Home: A Memoir of My Early Years, in a bargain book bin at my local grocery store, I just had to pick it up.

Despite a few forays into relative raunchiness later in her career, one usually thinks of Julie Andrews as being a refined, genteel woman--a real lady. Her thoughtful, reflective memoir does little to dispel that characterization.

A troubled childhood

The book covers only the time from her early childhood until just before the making of Mary Poppins.

I knew that Julie Andrews was a child singing phenomenon in wartime England. I didn't know that her childhood was marked by her parents' divorce and the subsequent alcoholism of her mother and stepfather.

She had to assume the financial responsibility of her family at an early age, and her entire early life was filled with a yearning to be with her real father more--a man who, by all accounts, was as kind, loving and supportive as her stepfather was manipulative and troublesome.

Julie as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady

"That British strength"

Yet, Andrews doesn't really milk these hardships. She has the "Keep Calm and Carry On," keep-your-chin-up attitude for which wartime Brits were famous.

At one point, My Fair Lady director Moss Hart spent 48 grueling, intense hours working with Andrews to help her grasp the characterization of Eliza Doolittle. Andrews writes:

"Later I learned that at the end of that weekend, when Moss returned home, Kitty [his wife, Kitty Carlisle] asked him how I responded.

'Oh, she'll be fine,' Moss replied wearily. 'She has that terrible British strength that makes you wonder how they ever lost India.'"

With Richard Burton in Camelot

It ends too soon

Andrews' accounts of the productions of My Fair Lady and Camelot are fascinating for any lover of musical theater.

My only quibble with the book is that it ends too early--just as Andrews is poised on the brink of the superstardom brought by Mary Poppins. The memoir ends almost abruptly as Andrews, her then-husband Tony Walton, and their brand-new baby Emma are on their way to California for the making of the movie.

I don't know if Andrews plans to write another memoir about her later life--I hope so. I'd love to get, as Paul Harvey used to say, the rest of the story.

I'm participating today in Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books. Click the icon to find out more!

Saturday Review of Books: The Sister Wife by Diane Noble

I can't remember when a novel has affected me as viscerally as did The Sister Wife, by Diane Noble.

If you have a husband that you love, can you imagine having to share him with another woman? Unthinkable...but that's what Mary Rose McKay is forced to do in this beautifully-written, engrossing book.

Author Diane Noble says the story began, as many great stories do, with "what if?" questions. What if there was young, beautiful aristocratic Englishwoman whose grandfather decides to follow Brigham Young to America and the fledgling Mormon religion?

What if she and her newfound love, Gabriel McKay, are swept up in the fervor--and ultimately, she is forced to share the love of her life with another woman who is not only beautiful, but Mary Rose's best friend?

I found myself becoming emotional, especially during a particularly powerful scene in which Mary Rose is in anguish as she hears the sounds of her husband's passion with another woman. Her pain is palpable.

The book is not a rant against the Mormon faith, although its differences from Biblical truth are emphasized.

More than an indictment of any one religion, though, this fascinating story asks important questions about what happens when people look to any man for their standards of faith and practice...and lift up that man to a position demanding worship and obedience that belongs only to Christ.

Mary Rose is a wonderful heroine--beautiful, intelligent, and outspokenly skeptical of the demands of "the Prophet." The book has its light moments to balance out the seriousness, and even danger as the "Saints" face harassment and even death.

I've got to admit, I'm frustrated with Mary Rose's husband, Gabriel, as he submits to the edict requiring plural marriages. (I've always thought the husband in a plural marriage had a nice little thing going, unlike the poor women who had to share him.)

But in my years of being a Christian, I've seen enough otherwise strong men blindly submit to a pastor's capricious whims and forced convictions to know that,sadly, this does indeed happen.

This is Book One in the Brides of Gabriel series, and I'm now in the unfortunate position of having to wait until Book Two comes out. Because I will DEFINITELY be reading it.

I'm participating in Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books:

Saturday Review of Books: Lisa T. Bergren's "Breathe"

(NOTE: This post was originally published on my other blog, Notes in the Key of Life, on 07/09/09.)

As a radio interviewer, I get a lot of Christian fiction crossing my desk. Most of it I enjoy. But frankly, some books I abandon because, even though they're not terrible, they just don't "grab" me.

Breathe: A Novel of Colorado, by Lisa T. Bergren, certainly doesn't fall into the latter category. This book grabbed me from the very first page and kept me reading way past my bedtime--for me, a sure mark of a teriffic read.

I've read lots of fiction featuring people with tuberculosis--or "consumption," as it was called in the 18-hundreds--but never one in which the "consumptive" actually recovered and went on to live a healthy life. That's just one of the intriguing things about "Breathe."

Set in Colorado Springs in the late 18-hundreds, this is the first in a series about the St. Clair family--two sisters and a brother who journey by train from Philadelphia for one of the siblings to "chase the cure" and open a bookstore for their wealthy publisher father.

Apparently Colorado Springs was highly sought-after by people suffering from tuberculosis in that era because of its beneficial climate.

The beginning of the book plunges us immediately into the action: just as the St. Clair's train is about to pull into Colorado Springs, their sister Odessa is on the brink of death.

The scene establishes the three main characters: Odessa, gentle, ladylike and courageous; Moira, loving but flighty and ambitious; Nic, determined to protect his sisters, but frustrated by the role thrust upon him by his father and anxious to find his own place in life.

As we follow Odessa's recovery and budding romance at a sanatorium, Moira's involvement with the town's tyrannical sheriff, and Nic's secret life as an alcohol-swigging boxer, there's a strong subplot involving murder and mystery that would keep you turning the pages even if the interesting characters didn't.

Lisa T. Bergren is an excellent writer. A Colorado Springs resident herself, she infuses the story with the feel of authenticity and a strong sense of place.

Best of all, she's not afraid to acknowledge Christian faith throughout the story, and she portrays it in a way that is neither preachy nor cheesy.

I highly recommend "Breathe," and I can't wait for the next book in the trilogy.

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Saturday Review of Books: Lightning, by Dean Koontz

Although I'm a huge fan of Dean Koontz, I always have to tag that statement with a little disclaimer.

I've actually had to stop reading some of Koontz' earlier books, thanks to gratuitous sex, profanity, and plots so bizarre as to be either too disturbing for me or on the other end of the scale, almost laughable (and not in a good way.)

However, I have to say that some of his later writings are among the best books I've ever read, combining suspense and sci-fi in highly entertaining fashion, and all from a world view with which I identify.


Lightning is one of those terrrific Dean Koontz books.

Knowing I need a real page-turner when I fly, I picked this up at my local library, and it didn't disappoint.

It all begins on the night of Laura Shane's birth, when a mysterious stranger ties up and detains the drunken doctor that was supposed to deliver her.

This handsome, blonde, blue-eyed stranger continues to make cameo appearances throughout Laura's life--always showing up just in time to prevent catastrophe.

The little girl comes to think of him as her Guardian...and she really needs one when she becomes orphaned and has to live in a home where the authorities turn a blind eye to the fact that the janitor is a pedophile obsessed with Laura.

Laura's childhood difficulties just end up making her a stronger person, though, and she's one of those classic Koontz heroines--beautiful but tough, likable and even admirable.

We're dying to discover who Laura's Guardian is just as much as she is...and when we do find out, it adds an even more intriguing and fascinating element to the story.

Lightning kept me involved, absorbed and entertained from beginning to end.

Although admittedly a fantastical tale, Koontz reins in his sometimes unbelievably crazy imagination just enough to make us believe in it and care about Laura and her Guardian through the very last page.

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Saturday Review of Books: Linda Hall's Sadie's Song

This book review was originally written in 2003 and posted on my now-defunct website. Sadie's Song is such a good book, though, that it's well-deserving of a second look...and actually, a first look by those of you who have never read it!

Here's my review:

How many times have you heard the cliche, "This book was so good I couldn't put it down," or "this is a real page-turner"? Well, I can truthfully say both about Sadie's Song by Linda Hall (Multnomah). I picked up the book when a power outage gave me some serious spare time, and I literally read it straight through, stopping only for a few short breaks for absolute necessities! Yes, Sadie's Song is that riveting.

I had enjoyed a few of Linda Hall's previous books, including Katheryn's Peace and Island of Refuge, noting that Hall's is a unique voice in Christian fiction.

Her style is realistic and matter-of-fact, yet powerful and even beautiful, drawing the reader in with characters so believable you half expect to get a phone call from one of them, and stories so compelling and intriguing, you can't rest until you've reached the end. And then, you're disappointed that the ride is over!

Sadie's Song is the story of Sadie Thornton-- an average, slightly overweight and disorganized but loving mom of five. To all outward appearances, despite a house that's too small and money that's too tight, Sadie has a fine life--a handsome, loving husband who is a pillar of his church, and five beautiful children.

But appearances can be deceiving, as we're about to find out.

The story opens with Sadie's church prayer chain requesting prayer for a little girl who has disappeared. The news of the missing girl shocks the Maine fishing village where Sadie lives, especially since it follows another recent missing child case that ended in tragedy.

The case of the missing little girl is woven throughout the story. But even as that case touches Sadie's life on several levels, we see her precarious existence begin to unravel. She must deal with her increasingly volatile husband as well as each of her children, who are acting out in various ways--particularly her violent five-year-old son.

Meantime, well-meaning church members have been misled about her situation, the mom of the missing girl wants to be her friend, and Sadie...who long ago sacrificed her significant musical talent for her husband...is hearing mysterious music that no one else seems to hear.

As we discover more about the domestic violence Sadie lives with, and the new suspicions that plague her, we find ourselves becoming ever more sympathetic and drawn to her.

Will Sadie have the courage to stand up to her husband and take control of her life? Will she re-embrace her long-abandoned musical talent? And most importantly, will she find that God has not deserted her?

These questions, interwoven with the mystery of the missing little girl, do indeed keep the pages turning.

Linda Hall belongs to an online message board frequented by Christian women, and she asked them for their personal stories of being abused by Christian husbands. This research, shocking and sad as it is, helps lend a tone of authenticity to this powerful tale.

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Since writing Sadie's Song, Linda Hall has written several more excellent books, mainly focusing on mysteries and suspense. I've read every one I could get my hands on, and thoroughly enjoyed every one! Find out more about Linda and her books on her website.

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