December Reads: Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo and The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros

I'm a bit behind on reviewing some of the books I read in November and wanted to quickly introduce two YA novels I read for the Iowa High School Battle of the Books 2023. High school kids form teams, read a book, take a quiz, and it all ends up with a "battle" in March, 2023 between teams, along with a virtual meeting with one of the authors of the 28 books chosen this year. 

My role, as a librarian, was to pick a book I want to read and after reading it, partner with another Iowa librarian to discuss the book, create questions for the students, and get those in before the deadline in mid-December. 

I, of course, decided not to pick one book, but three. That's what I do. Hey, no problem reading three, I thought. Plenty of time to do it. Sure. no problem. 

I'll just say the only thing that saved my butt on this was getting sick and being home on the couch for most of a week. When I wasn't feeling miserable, I managed to read two of the books. I'll review the third book, The Girl from Widow Hills, in another review. 

Both Last Night and The City Beautiful are YA historical fiction and wow, did the authors hit it out of the park. I love historical fiction, and I haven't found a lot of YA historical fiction that gets me excited to read it. Until I picked these two novels from the list. I'm so glad I did. 

Last Night at the Telegraph Club takes place in 1950's San Francisco, specifically Chinatown, during the Red Scare. Lily Hu is 17 and is feeling confused. She's not interested in boys, is fascinated by the idea of space, and has budding feelings about another student-Kath Miller. Lily and Kath are worlds apart, but share similar interests in science and someday working in that field-where women are not very welcome. Lily is fascinated by the Telegraph Club, a club where a women gather to drink and watch impersonators. It's known as a lesbian club, and while San Francisco has a growing gay underground, it is definitely not something the officials want and raids are pretty common. Kath invites Lily to the Telegraph Club, where Lily realizes she's not alone in her feelings and she discovers who she really is--which goes against everything her conservative Chinese family believes in. 

Does Lily stay true to herself, or bury her feelings for Kath? It's a difficult choice, since she knows admitting the truth to her parents will mean alienation from her family and a scandal in the Chinese community. This is a story about telling the truth, being true to yourself, and living your life even when it would be easier to stay quiet. Lots of historical background, Chinese culture and family ideals, as well as the excitement of a country on the verge of incredible growth post World War 2.

The City Beautiful knocked my socks off. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was drawn to it because it takes place during the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. 

Alter Rosen is a young Jewish immigrant living in the tenements of Chicago, sharing a room with four other young men and barely scraping by. He's working hard to save money to bring his mother and two sisters over from Romania. The Jewish community is large, with many immigrants from Romania, Russia, and Ukraine. 

Someone is killing young Jewish men, and the authorities could care less. When one of Alter's roommates, Yakov, is found murdered at the World's Fair, Alter is devastated. Helping the Jewish elders ritually prepare Yakov's body, Alter experiences horrifying visions that appear to come from Yakov's spirit. Alter becomes possessed by Yakov's dybbuk. Alter must find who killed Yakov, or he will slowly lose his soul and become fully possessed by the dybbuk. 

Wow, this novel was so rich in Jewish history, mythology, and ritual. There was so much going on politically in 1893 Chicago. The corruption was out of bounds! This novel, told from the perspective of a Jewish immigrant is powerful. It took me a bit to get into the novel, but wham! it grabbed me and I couldn't put it down. Alter and his companions are racing against time to uncover Yakov's murder (is he a victim of a serial killer?) before the dybbuk takes Alter over completely, but there is much, much more to the story. It unfolds and takes you to unexpected places. 

Both of these novels have LGBTQ themes and are rich in historical detail. Both are about the immigrant experience in the U.S.; sad to say they echo modern headlines. Both novels were so, so good. I am glad I stumbled upon them and have already recommended The City Beautiful to a few friends.  Last Night at the Telegraph Club has a sequel of sorts that I am eager to read ( it takes place 30+ years after). Both are available in paperback, audio, and ebook. 

Rating for The City Beautiful: 5/6

Rating for Last Night at the Telegraph Club: 5/6

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December Reads: Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo and The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros

The Ghost Tree by Christina Henry

 I naturally turn to books that have the potential of keeping me up at night just as soon as the weather cools down, and Fall arrives. Halloween is my favorite holiday. I think I loved it so as a child (and still do today) because it was the unofficial kick off to the countdown towards my birthday in November, then Thanksgiving and Christmas. Now, as an adult, it's less about the build up of excitement for those holidays and more of a nesting thing. I also love to watch paranormal shows, and October is definitely the time for those to pop up everywhere. My DVR works overtime to record everything I can't possibly watch during the week. I also love to watch the Halloween baking shows on Food Network, too...which lead directly to the winter holiday baking shows! 

Onto the review. I realized as I was reading the author's bio in the back of the book that I had read Christina Henry before, and liked what I'd read. I read the first of her Black Wing series years ago, and enjoyed it enough to want to read the rest of the series. But did I?  Nope. Going on my list. What I like about Christina's writing is that she gives enough horror to make you uneasy and get you sucked into the plot, but not so much that you're grossed out. I like to read scary books, but not books where there's so much gore illustrated. Yes, there is some gore in this book, but I can handle it because it doesn't go over the top and we're not lingering over it for pages. 

Lauren and Miranda are fifteen, and have always met under the ghost tree in the woods surrounding their town of Smiths Hollow, about an hour or so away from Chicago. Their friendship is going through a rough patch, since Miranda is all about boys, and Lauren is lagging behind. One day in June, they're together in the woods, and swiftly leave so Miranda can meet a few boys in town. Lauren's not interested, but goes anyway. She's got a migraine coming on-so strong that she gets sick in the alley behind the arcade and decides to grab her bike from the woods and get home. But this migraine is different-she sees a horrifying vision of two young women being killed in the woods, by something that is not human and not a wild animal. Something that leaves the girls in pieces. When Lauren reaches her bike, she notices something terrible: a bloody handprint on her bicycle seat. A handprint that looks human, but not quite. 

Sheriff Alejandro Lopez receives a call that there are remains in a neighbor's back yard. When he arrives, he sees a terrible sight: bits and pieces of two young women, with their heads next to each other. He's recently moved his family to Smiths Hollow from Chicago, and thought he'd left this kind of violence behind. Trying to coordinate an investigation, he notices how everyone around him seems to be forgetting all about these murders. The Police Chief isn't doing anything to find out who these victims are, and Alejandro himself struggles to write down every detail he can remember. Why are people acting like nothing happened? 

There's so much more that happens, and I can't tell you more without giving a lot away. Let's just say Smiths Hollow is not an ordinary town, and something terrible has been taking place for decades--and Alejandro and Lauren are two keys to unlocking the mystery, and stopping the monster that stalks the town. 

At first, I will admit, I struggled to concentrate enough to get through the first few chapters. But I finally sat down Saturday and read a chunk and was hooked. I will definitely read more of Christina Henry's novels. Folks who like horror novels will definitely enjoy this book. There is some blood and blech moments, but they are short and not so horrible I was grossed out or had to put the book down. 

Rating: 4/6 for a spooky, entertaining read about a cursed town, a monster in the woods, and a young girl who may be the only hope to break the curse. You'll love Lauren and her little brother, David-they are quite the pair. 

Available in paperback, ebook, and audio. 

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The Ghost Tree by Christina Henry

Dating Makes Perfect by Pintip Dunn

I haven't read a YA novel for a very long time. Quite honestly, I'm afraid if I start diving into YA, I'll go down a rabbit hole and never come out again! Same goes for children's fiction, too. Sometimes thinking about everything I want to read overwhelms me and I panic and hyperventilate. I kid you not. 

Sometimes, however, the book universe magic happens, and I'm given the opportunity to read a novel that ends up being so utterly charming and lovable it actually changes the course of my reading plans for the rest of the year. In a bizarre, whirly-gig 2020, what's another shift in my universe? So yes, I'll be incorporating YA into the remainder of my 2020 reading choices. 

Dating Makes Perfect had me from the first few pages. I can't say that about a lot of books. Most of the time I have to read about 50 or so pages before I get invested in a story-but Winnie and her family are so engaging I was sucked in immediately. Winnie's older twin sisters are off in their first year of college-and dating a lot. It's a bit of a backfire on Winnie's parents, who forbid their daughters from dating in high school. They wanted to spare their daughters some heartache and also respect their Thai culture. Now Mom wants her daughters to get married and have grandbabies STAT but they've announced since they couldn't date in high school, they're going to spend YEARS dating. Oops. So Mom and Dad have decided Winnie can practice date in high school, so she's ahead of the game when she goes to college.

This is great, only they've picked the young man Winnie has to practice date: Mat. Ugh. Mat and Winnie had been friends all their lives, until about four years before, when suddenly, they went from friends to enemies. And there's a new cute boy who just moved to town that Winnie has her eye on...this could spoil things. 

Mat and Winnie have such great chemistry and they sizzle on the pages. Of course their past friendship break up is based on lack of communication and hurt feelings. Mat's willing to go along with the fake dating so he can take a trip after graduation--a trip that rests on his cooperation. Dates are pretty simple: driving Winnie home from school, meeting her at a local festival, accompanying Winnie clothes shopping. However, as they spend more time together, it's apparent both have deep feelings for each other. Can they untangle those feelings and repair their broken friendship? How can Winnie reconcile her feelings for Mat with her desire to obey her parents and be a good Thai girl? 

I absolutely loved the incorporation of Thai culture into the story. I appreciated reading about a first generation Thai-American and the difficulty in navigating honored traditions and modern life. Winnie grows by leaps and bounds in this novel, from a young woman who is afraid to go against her parent's wishes, to a young woman who owns her voice and shows her family and Mat just what she wants. Heck yes, I even got a little sniffly a few times. 

This novel will be published in August in the U.S. I've already talked to a few co-workers about how much I loved it, and I will certainly be recommending it to friends and family. 

A big thank you to Entangled and NetGalley for an advanced reader's copy. 

Rating: 5/6 for a completely delightful novel full of characters you will fall in love with very quickly. The weaving of Thai culture with modern American life was so good! I will definitely read more of Pintip Dunn. The chemistry between Winnie and Mat was palpable, and their romance was realistic and full of humor, tears, and great conversations. 

Available in August in paperback, audio, and ebook. 

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Dating Makes Perfect by Pintip Dunn

Death of a Wandering Wolf: A Hungarian Tea House Mystery by Julia Buckley

Cozy mysteries are my go-to books when I need something in between heavy books or when I just need something that easily grabs my attention and takes me away for a bit. This series has quickly become a favorite of mine after only two books. 

Death of a Wandering Wolf is the second in this series by Julia Buckley. I'm a bit bummed that now I'll have to wait for awhile before I can read the third. I may check out a few of her previous series while I wait. 

The Hungarian Tea Shop Mysteries center around Hana, her mother and grandmother. They own and operate a tea shop in the suburbs of Chicago. They are Hungarian, and many of the folks that live in the community are also either first or second generation Americans. Their tea shop is pretty popular, and  a big part of their community. There's also the interesting angle of Hana's grandmother: she reads tea leaves with eerie accuracy. And that little gift of magic has also been passed down to Hana-which she's quickly becoming aware of in the first two mysteries. That magic is helping her solve some murders. With the help of handsome Erik Wolf, a local detective, she's quickly realizing that there are many connections between her family and the community they live in-connections that go back decades to Hungary. Those connections are putting Hana in danger. 

This mystery revolves around the sudden murder of local well known artist William Kodaly--a man Hana just met at a garage sale, where she purchased a few of his paintings and a ceramic wolf. Hana collects antiques, and the wolf caught her eye. Kodaly was happy to sell it on the cheap, because he said it gave him bad vibes and he wanted it gone. Shortly after Hana leaves the sale, someone murders him. And when Erik discovers a tracking device on the wolf, Hana realizes this murder was not random, but deliberate. Now she's got to figure out who murdered Kodaly, and why. 

The list of suspects is large, thanks to Kodaly's romantic past-he dated a lot of women. Does one of his paintings point to the murderer? 

Besides the murder mystery, we continue to see Hana and Erik's relationship evolve, and Hana's decision to accept her magical gifts and develop them into something she can use and understand. And the food! Oh, the food. All the talk of sour cream and paprika had my mouth watering. My stomach is growling just thinking of it. 

I've really enjoyed both the first and second novels in this series. I certainly hope there are more to come. This series has me looking at other cozy series and expanding my TBR list for cozy mysteries. 

Rating: 4/6 for an entertaining read full of delicious food, warm and likable characters, and a mystery that isn't easily solved. Love this series. 

Available in paperback, ebook, and audio. 

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Death of a Wandering Wolf: A Hungarian Tea House Mystery by Julia Buckley

Death in a Budapest Butterfly: A Hungarian Tea House Mystery by Julia Buckley

I first saw this mystery at my library, and decided to buy a copy for myself. I was intrigued by the Hungarian tea house and wasn't quite sure what to expect in this cozy mystery. What I found was a mystery that actually gave me a few hours of time away from  checking the news and staring at my phone. 

This is the first in a new series, and I can't wait to read more about Hana Keller and her extended family. Hana's mother owns Maggie's Tea House in Riverwood, a suburb of Chicago. Hana's family is Hungarian, and her grandmother is especially gifted at reading tea leaves for guests. Most people think she's just using it as a parlor trick, but she's actually quite gifted, as is Hana's mother (who ignores her gift), and Hana, too. Getting ready for a ladies tea, Hana is overcome with dread and reluctant to enter the tea house. And she's correct, as later on one of the women is found dead in the bathroom-by Hana. Someone poisoned her tea, but who could it be in a room full of senior citizen women? 

Enter Erik Wolf, local detective. He's handsome and professional, and sparks fly between Erik and Hana. Her family's tea house is in danger of closing, thanks to the murder that happened there-can Erik and Hana figure out who poisoned Ava Novak and why?

I loved Hana's family--her grandparents, her parents, and her brother. Close knit, supportive, and wow--the food! My stomach was growling the whole time. I would love to try some traditional Hungarian food. I'm all about noodles! 

The mystery itself was interesting, and wove Hungarian mythology into the mix. It was more of an unfolding rather than an aha! kind of a mystery, but I liked that. Lots of tradition, resentment, old histories, and love turned to hate made this murder mystery pretty darn solid. I always enjoy a cozy mystery that has a little magic involved, too. 

I'd add this one to your TBR list is you like cozy mysteries. The second in the series is due out at the end of June, 2020 in the U.S.:

If you love mysteries full of good food, strong family connections, cats, tea and an unfolding romance this is perfect for you. It was perfect for me. 

Rating: 4/6 for a delightful start to a new mystery series set in suburban Chicago. Recipes are also included so you too can try out some Hungarian dishes. 

Available in paperback, a Kindle ebook, and audio. 

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Death in a Budapest Butterfly: A Hungarian Tea House Mystery by Julia Buckley

The Westering Women by Sandra Dallas

Sandra Dallas knocked it out of the park again with her latest novel about women pioneers, Westering Women. I've had the pleasure of meeting Sandra, and I've read pretty much all of her novels over the years. I'm never disappointed. 

One of my favorite history subjects is pioneering women. I've always been fascinated by these incredible women, who gave up everything they knew and loved to follow their husbands out West to start new lives. Imagine walking from St. Louis to California. In a dress. No A/C, no iced coffee, no comforting hotel to sleep in at night. Maybe giving birth while out in the middle of nowhere. Losing children and husbands to cholera, accidents, drowning. When I think of these women, I can't help but admire their tenacity, strength of mind, and downright badassery. I wonder if I would have been able to do what they did; if I had the hardcore toughness, and grace, to make it West and start a new life. This is what Sandra's novel had me thinking about every time I sat down to read Westering Women. 

It was pretty easy to slip right into Maggie Hale's story, which starts in Chicago. She's fleeing a horribly abusive husband with her small daughter, Clara. She sees an advertisement for women to travel West as potential brides for miners in California. It's her only chance to get out of Chicago before she's arrested for her husband's murder. A seamstress, she's been working hard to keep herself and Clara going, but money is running out, and after defending herself and Clara from the latest abuse of her husband, she fears she will pay the ultimate price. 

Maggie meets Mary at the church where they gather to apply to go West. Mary is one tough woman. Standing tall and broad, she works on the farm she shares with her brother and his wife. She's treated badly by both, and does the work of two without much reward. She's ready to travel West and start anew. 

Maggie and Mary are two of the main characters, but there's also a host of other folks who round out the wagon train: William and Joseph, both reverends who have organized the wagon train; Caroline, Joseph's wife and William's sister, who shows compassion and love to all she meets; Penn, a runaway from an abusive man and his brothers; Winny, a servant who wants to find her brother in California, and Bessie, the rich widow who is sponsoring the trip and also going West to start over again. There are more characters, and you'll get to know them all. 

The women endure many hardships, challenges, and tragedies. It may seem like a lot, but in reality, this was life on the trail. Most of the men in the novel aren't the best characters. Penn and Maggie are always looking over their shoulders, afraid they will be caught. But as the weeks go by, the women learn to defend themselves, perform the hard labor required to keep the wagons moving forward, and find strength they never knew they had. The trail hardens them in all the best ways. William and Joseph also change for the better, as they face the reality and responsibility of their journey. 

Most of all, this novel is about friendship and sisterhood, and the ties that bind women together. It's about working as a team even when it's hard or when it doesn't benefit you. It's about supporting, celebrating, and comforting those on the journey with you. This is always a theme in Sandra's novels, and I can't think of a better over-arching theme to weave into every story she creates. 

Fans of Nancy Turner's These is My Words--if you haven't read Sandra's novels, I would highly recommend you do. I can't get enough of them. 

Rating: 5/6 for another wonderful story about women who keep moving forward through strife, heartbreak, and pain. The characters are endearing, the story moves swiftly, and it is hard to put down! 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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The Westering Women by Sandra Dallas

Curious Toys by Elizabeth Hand

Wow. This was one weird book. And weird not in a bad way, but weird in holy buckets! This was not at all what I expected. However, I am so very happy I read it. Definitely something out of my comfort zone. 

I was prepared for a fairly straightforward thriller/murder mystery. But it really is more than that. Curious Toys is set in Chicago in the summer of 1915. Most of the action takes place at the Riverview Amusement Park. Thousands of folks come to the park every day to drink beer, try their luck at rigged games, see the titillating shows, and ride the roller coaster. Pin, a young fourteen year old, spends each day running around the park, looking for loose change, running errands, and trying to stay out of trouble. Pin is actually a young girl, but her mother has insisted Pin cut her hair and dress as a boy as a form of protection against the men and boys who would harass her and, quite honestly, probably sexually abuse her, given the rough crowds at the park. Most importantly, Pin's mother wants to protect Pin after her younger daughter wandered off and disappeared two years before, never to be seen again. No one at the park knows Pin is actually a girl, and she likes it that way just fine. 

There's something dark underlying the basic crumminess of the park, and that is a serial killer, preying on young girls. One has been found inside the Hell Gate ride by none other than Pin herself--who began nosing around when she spotted a man entering the ride with a young girl, and later, stepping out of the boat at the end of the ride all by himself. Where did the girl go? To Pin's horror, the girl was murdered and left inside the dark ride, carelessly tossed aside by the killer. 

The reader also gets a glimpse inside the killer's mind, as we follow him on his quest to keep adding to his count. He's one twisted man; obsessed with dolls and girls and oh geez--what a muddle of weirdness. The question, of course, is who is the killer? And while I thought I had it figured out, I didn't. There are all sorts of unstable male characters in this tale, and each of them is, in one way or another, interested in young girls. The young film industry that is flourishing in Chicago adds fuel to the flames; grown women were picked for film roles based solely on their ability to look like little girls--young tweens. 

Anyway, I found this story to be both unsettling and oddly compelling at the same time. I couldn't stop reading; Pin is one tough young lady, and smart as a whip. The author's skillful writing had me smelling all the smells of a hot summer day at an amusement park, where air conditioning didn't exist, and folks weren't as shower fresh. The struggle for people like Pin's mother to escape poverty is very real, and painful to read; even a nickel became the difference between eating for a day or two or not eating at all. 

There's much more to this story--including the tale of Henry Darger, one odd duck who became famous for his works of art (which are actually in the American Folk Art Museum). He befriends Pin in the novel, and the two of them work to solve the mystery of the murders. 

I'd recommend this novel for anyone who wants to read a thriller/historical mystery, and a novel with a character who is struggling to understand their sexuality and their place in the world. It was a really good read, and I'm glad I picked it up. 

Rating: 4/6 for one compelling novel that combines great historic detail, mystery, thrills, and commentary on a society where the poor just didn't have a chance to ever get out of poverty. You'll definitely feel like you're in 1915 Chicago. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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Curious Toys by Elizabeth Hand

A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg

I decided to deviate from my planned holiday reads and picked up Fannie Flagg's A Redbird Christmas after spotting it at the library and realizing it was time to finally read it. I've spent many Christmas retail years putting this book on endcap displays and holiday book tables, but never planned on reading it. I guess I had to wait for the right time. 

The holidays can be a really tough time for many folks. It seems like loss is amplified, surrounded by what should be a cheerful, exciting time of the year. I've had two family members pass on during this time: one at the beginning of the season, and one just after Christmas. It's now become a bittersweet time of year for me. I love the music, the lights, the excitement, but it's become more of a reflection and remembering of what Christmas was for me as a kid and young adult. Now it's a chance to reconnect with friends, even if only for a few hours. It's a time to be home, spending quiet time reading or just chilling out. I suppose all of that is normal as we grow older, and think about making our own Christmas traditions. 

I've read a few Fannie Flagg novels, and they always find me at the right time. There's something about her gentle humor, endearing characters, and storytelling that puts a smile on my face. This novel was no different. Published in 2004, A Redbird Christmas has become a modern holiday classic. It's the story of Oswald  Campbell, a middle-aged man who is a recovering alcoholic living a rather lonely life in Chicago. A visit to his doctor gives him bad news: if he stays in Chicago, he'll probably die of pneumonia within a few months. Years of trouble with his lungs have made living in the cold winters of Chicago deadly. 

Oswald's doctor recommends a place his father, also a doctor, sent his patients years ago: a small town in Alabama called Lost River, where folks can stay and rest in the warmth of a southern winter. Oswald's got nothing to lose, so he packs up his meager possessions and travels to Lost River, not knowing what to expect. 

What follows once Oswald arrives is a perfect Christmas tale about neighbors becoming family, a funny little redbird called Jack, and the kindness of strangers. Oswald finds himself in a place that is unlike anywhere else he's ever been, and just what he needs. A little girl named Patsy becomes part of Lost River's community, and her friendship with Jack, the redbird that lives at the general store, is the main storyline of the novel. Lost River is a small town full of quirky, kind folks who take care of each other and gently stay in each other's business. I kept thinking I had overlooked when this novel takes place, but I realize it's never mentioned. I like to think it's somewhere in the 1960's or 1970's, but I'm not sure. It didn't bother me, and I actually preferred the story without a specific era--it added to the sense that Lost River was timeless. 

Jack, the redbird, figures prominently in this novel, and I didn't realize until the end that I understood cardinals are seen as a message from our loved ones on the other side. I knew this, but didn't make the connection until the very end. And considering that this holiday season is a little more bittersweet and sad than it usually is, well, I think my redbird visit came from a book this year. I've always believed books come into your life when you need a certain message, and this one has come in loud and clear for me. 

Now if I see a cardinal at all in the next week, I just may freak out! But in a good way. 

Rating:  4/6 for a gentle, sweet tale of finding family, finding a new beginning out of an ending, and enjoying the simple joys of life. This is a perfect gift for readers who enjoy short tales, Southern locales, and characters who worm their way into your heart. 

Available in paperback, audio, and ebook. 

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A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg

Sweet Tea and Sympathy (A Southern Eclectic Novel) by Molly Harper

I picked this novel out at my library and decided to read it last weekend while the temperature outside had a high of -10 (without the wind chill) and I went deep into hermit mode. I reluctantly left the house Sunday morning for a grocery run, and then returned, not leaving until Tuesday morning for work.  January through March, I prefer to stay home every night, out of the cold.  The bitter cold Iowa has had for the past week or so has made it even easier to just say "Nope, not going out!" and plopping myself on the couch.  I haven't even turned the TV on; preferring quiet and a good book. 

I recognized Molly Harper's name from the years of shelving romance novels at Barnes and Noble.  She's pretty popular, and has fun, paranormal romance down.  I may have even read one or two of her books in the past, so I was willing to give this one a try.  The subtitle: A Southern Eclectic Novel had me wondering just what the heck that was--does it go along with country sophistication?

I think I figured it out.  It just means you're going to read about a big family and a town that has some oddballs in it.  And yes, running a funeral home/bait shop is unusual.  Margot Clary lives in Chicago, and is a successful event planner, on the cusp of getting a huge promotion.  But then what should be a successful party turns into a disaster after the chef disregards her directions and serves shrimp to the crowd, not understanding that one of the big-wigs is allergic to shrimp in a horrible way.  Cue the allergic reaction, waiters tripping, fire starting, and media there to capture the whole disaster.  She's fired, and basically blackballed from the industry.  

Margot is saved by a phone call from her Aunt Tootie, living in Georgia in the small lakeside town of Sackett.  Margot's paternal cousins (and her father) are complete strangers to her, but she's got nowhere to go, and Tootie's offer of a full-time job and a place to live have Margot leaving Chicago for Georgia.  It's the typical big city girl moves to small, rural Southern town schtick, and there are no surprises here as Margot puts her foot in her mouth, dresses inappropriately for the hot, humid weather, and realizes she's actually working in the town's funeral parlor.  There is the hot principal that she meets on her second day in town; he's an intriguing guy.  There's Margot's difficult relationship with her father, who she hasn't heard from or seen since she was a very small child.  And there are the small town politics she needs to navigate.  It's a pretty formulaic novel with no surprises, but that's okay.  My only beef was that it seemed as if every character just had to be quirky and endearing in some way; I got exhausted and went looking for just a normal, small town character.  I didn't really find one.  But, I enjoyed the novel enough that I want to read the second in the series, coming out in June: Ain't She a Peach, which focuses on Frankie, Margot's cousin, the colorful and quirky mortician.  Yes, that's what I said: colorful and quirky mortician.

If you like to read light southern fiction with a big splash of romance, this is your cup of tea.  Or your glass of sweet tea.  

Rating:  3/6 for a light novel about finding family and your place, along with plenty of quirky characters and a small town struggling to survive.  I felt that there were too many quirky characters, and longed for just your average Joe.  I will, however, read the sequel, coming out in June.  Cause I'm quirky that way. :)

Available in paperback and ebook. 

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Sweet Tea and Sympathy (A Southern Eclectic Novel) by Molly Harper

A Hundred Thousand Worlds by Bob Proehl

My plans to read like hell over my long 4th of July weekend were completely dashed by last minute opportunities to spend time having fun outside in the sun and an unexpected (but happy!) home project. But this was  a good thing, as it gave me time to think about this novel after I finished it. It's one that you need to read and digest slowly. 

I'll begin by saying I read this book with very little knowledge regarding the world of comic books and comic book conventions, so there were probably many things that I missed just through lack of knowledge.  But, I worked in a bookstore for many, many years, and have friends who are comic book fans, so I completely get the fandom that surrounds series, superheroes, authors and illustrators.  
There is a large cast of characters, with Valerie Torrey and her nine year old son, Alex, in the center of the plot. Valerie was once Bethany Frazer, the female lead on a wildly popular sci-fi tv show, Anomaly.  Valerie and the male lead, Andrew (who plays Ian Campbell) meet, marry, and have Alex during the course of the series.  But their marriage falls apart, and Valerie flees to New York with Alex, and six years later they are returning to Los Angeles so that Alex can live with Andrew.  Valerie is dreading this, but doesn't have a choice, since she basically fled in the night and has made no attempt to contact Andrew or let him see his son.  And Andrew hasn't made any attempt, until lately.  Something momentous had happened that tore them apart, and ended Anomaly prematurely.  

Stopping at comic conventions from Cleveland, to Chicago, to finally L.A. gives Valerie time to spend with her son, and a reconnection to her fame as the iconic Bethany Frazer.  It's been a long time since she had identified with Bethany, and she's not ready to revisit the past. 

There are a host of other characters, each with a sizeable storyline of their own.  Gail is the only female comic writer; she's tough, frustrated with her career, and dreams of striking out on her own without being bound by the ties of a large publishing company.  Brett is part of a duo that is working the conventions to bring attention to their independently produced comic series Lady Stardust.  He's also at a crossroads, and wondering how to be happy and make it in the comic book industry.  

Valerie and Alex have a road trip story; full of questionable hotels, late night storytelling, and many moments of wanting to be back home.  All the characters cross paths over and over again as we get to know their stories, their motivations, and how each uses storytelling to work through their problems.  They are all at major crossroads; who will leap forward, and who will let the past limit them?

I have to say it was a bit slow going at first; but about halfway through I realized I was invested in each story and wanted to see where they lead.  There's a point in the novel where one character talks about how stories are so much bigger in the beginning, because they can go anywhere, but eventually they are winnowed down because there needs to be an ending.  That's kind of how this novel plays out.  Alex is a smart kid, but he's trying to write his own story; Gail and Brett both change the endings of their stories; and Valerie finds it in herself to make a big decision and make peace with her tragic past.  The plot is neatly tied up, except for Alex's.  Maybe I missed something, but the way I read the last few pages, author Bob Proehl leaves it up to you to finish the story how you would want it.  Instead of feeling frustrated, it's a great way to demonstrate the power of storytelling, the power in all of us to write our own story, and the knowledge that our stories never end.

A big thank you to Viking/Penguin for the chance to read and review this book.  It's not something I would have ever picked up myself, but I'm glad I rewrote my reading story this summer and dipped my toe into the world of comic book fandom.  I would recommend this novel for a sci-fi or even a comic book group.  There are a lot of things to discuss, and many characters who represent real world giants in the comic book industry.  There are plenty of plot points, characters, and real world references to keep a group of fans busy for hours. 

Rating:  4/6 for a novel that has a bit of everything:  road trip adventure, mother-son dynamic, comments on the comic book industry with all of the good and bad, and characters that read like everyday people just trying to write their lives.  

Available in paperback and e-book. 

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A Hundred Thousand Worlds by Bob Proehl

The Matchmakers of Minnow Bay by Kelly Harms

Yes, I know this wasn't on the list for March. But, I finished it at the end of February and didn't have a chance to review it before March rolled around, so here is a bonus review for you.  

Kelly Harms writes a novel that is what I call, to borrow a term from the foodie world, a "palate cleanser".  By this I mean after reading something heavy duty, like Sisi, I needed something fun, light, and entertaining to shake off the really sad story of Empress Elisabeth.  Something that would reset me for more good books in March. 

Matchmakers is chick-lit set in Chicago and Wisconsin.  Lily Stewart is in her early 30's, and still lives in the lousy apartment she first rented 10 years before after graduating from art school with her best friend, Renee.  Her dream was to make her living from her painting, and live a wonderful, carefree life in Chicago.  Now ten years later, she's broke, her paintings aren't supporting her, and she's just been evicted from her apartment.  With only one place left to stay for a few days (her step-brother's place), she's packing up when she finds an envelope hidden in her kitchen drawer.  Oops.  It's the annulment papers she was supposed to sign 10 years ago after a quickie Vegas wedding to a stranger.  

Except she forgot to sign them.  She's been married to this man for 10 years.  Lily, with the help of Renee, her college bestie now turned lawyer and married to Lily's ex-college boyfriend, tracks him down to Minnow Bay, WI.  Ben Hutchinson is a computer science high school teacher and no longer the rich computer guru Lily met on that night in Vegas.  She decides the only decent thing to to is to travel to Minnow Bay, find Ben, and apologize in person and hand him the signed papers. 

Of course not all goes as planned.  Lily ends up prolonging her stay in Minnow Bay, meets some great people along the way, and struggles to figure out her life and her awakened attraction to Ben.  Minnow Bay is not Chicago, and Lily's gallery owning boyfriend (who's a creep) is expecting her back in Chicago.  But whatever kept Lily blocked from painting with her heart in Chicago is gone in Minnow Bay, and she finds herself getting inspired by everything around her.  Does she stay or does she go back to Chicago?  Are the people in Minnow Bay as kind and friendly as they appear to be?  What about Ben?  

Lily's got a lot to figure out.  She's not a bad character, but there were certainly  times when I wanted to shake her.  She's pretty naive about money, people's motives, and the art world.  It's time for her to grow up.  Heck, I'd move to Minnow Bay in a second if it actually existed.  Sounds like a wonderful place. 

Rating:  4/6 for an entertaining mix of chick lit, romance, a bit of the art world, and small town friendships.  I really enjoyed the folks of Minnow Bay. 

Available in hardcover and e-book. It will be out in paperback in August, 2017. 

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The Matchmakers of Minnow Bay by Kelly Harms

Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge by Paul Krueger

I've missed reading my sci-fi/fantasy books.  Somehow I got away from them this year, but I plan on making up for my horrible neglect. 

Science Fiction, like other genres, has many sub-categories. I tend to stick to contemporary fantasy, but also like good old magic tales.  I generally avoid techie science fiction. I love Mercedes Lackey's Elemental series, Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles,  Simon Green's Ghostfinders series, and Kristen Britain's Green Rider tales.  And of course, I was a huge fan of Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse novels until she jumped the shark at about novel #9.  Ugh.  Same with Laurel K. Hamilton and the Anita Blake novels.  There are many, many more I will read and love as the years go by.  I've got Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea series sitting on my bookshelves,unread.  I've got bits and pieces of other series also waiting patiently on my shelves.  I always love to peruse the science fiction/fantasy section at my local B&N.  You never know what will pop out.  

Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge is just one of those books that popped out at me.  I'd seen it on a recent visit to the bookstore, but didn't buy it.  Then I was somewhere, looking at something, and I saw it again.  I checked out some reviews, and decided to go back to B&N and buy it.  The idea of bartenders saving the world from monsters by mixing the ingesting certain cocktails that give them certain powers appealed to me on many levels.  For one, the creativity Paul Krueger had to come up with this story line.  For two, it takes place in Chicago--my "ancestral" home: place of my birth, where my parents grew up and married.  I'm a sucker for stories that take place in Chicago.  

So, Bailey Chen has returned to live with her parents after graduating from Penn State.  She's unemployed, but hoping to get a job--any job--soon.  Her childhood friend Zane gets her a temporary job at his Uncle's bar, the Nightshade Lounge.  Bailey and Zane have a friendship that is layered with all sorts of unresolved issues of the romantic kind.  When he was interested, she wasn't; now she's interested, and he has a girlfriend.  One night, Bailey is left to close up the bar.  She decides to mix a screw driver  to drink before leaving for the night.  The strange thing is, this drink Bailey makes gives her some super human strength.  And she doesn't realize it until she's walking home, by herself, and runs into something not so human: a tremen.  Tremens are demons that look like blobs of grossness, and they jump humans and literally suck the life out of them.  They especially like people who have been drinking.  Something about the mix of alcohol and human produces a life force that tremens love.  

Bailey quickly finds herself as a bartender-in-training of a different kind:  a monster-fighting bartender.  They patrol the streets at night, making sure humans are safe from tremens. Properly mixed cocktails produce magical effects on bartenders that usually last an hour, enough time to patrol, kill tremens, and get back to the bar.  Vodka gives tremendous strength, whiskey grants telekinesis, and rum will get you the ability to blast fire from your fingertips.  Pretty awesome stuff!  

But of course, things aren't so simple.  There are more and more tremens popping up, and in packs, which is highly unusual.  Something strange is going on, and it's got to do with one mystical drink:  the long island iced tea.  

I'm not telling you anymore.  This is a fun novel, and the first in what I hope will be at least a trilogy.  In between each chapter are bits of cocktail magical history from "The Devil's Water Dictionary", Bailey's guide to creating cocktails. Bailey is your usual out of college, don't know what to do with my life twenty-something.  She's pretty smart, but finds out that sometimes being book smart just isn't enough when it comes to fighting demons.  The characters that surround Bailey are all colorful and slightly quirky, and I can't wait to see how everyone evolves--if, hopefully, there are more adventures ahead for the magical bartenders.  

Rating:  7/10 for a quirky take on contemporary urban fantasy.  I'll never look at a cocktail quite the same again!  

Available in paperback and e-book.

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Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge by Paul Krueger

Wedding Girl by Stacey Ballis

This is my first Stacey Ballis book, and I'm sure it won't be my last.  She is firmly under the "chick lit" moniker, but her character Sophie is a refreshing change of pace from the typical lovelorn heroine I've read in other chick lit novels.  I am a big fan of novels where women are faced with rebuilding a life whether it's due to a job loss, or a loss in their romantic life.  I want women to know, even if it's just by reading a novel, that we can continually remake ourselves, and find happiness and strength in moving past a rough patch in life.  

Okay.  I'm off my soapbox!  You've got to feel bad for Sophie:  it's her wedding day, she's spent $70,000 on her wedding, and her fiancee never shows to the wedding.  He doesn't even send her a note.  Instead, guests at Sophie's wedding see on social media that he has eloped to an island paradise with a thin, moneyed woman that is the opposite of Sophie.  Crushed, but being brave, Sophie instead invites everyone to enjoy the food, the band, and the venue.  Sophie throws herself into her party, and unfortunately, pictures flood social media, and she's humiliated.  Sophie is a well-know pastry chef in Chicago, and her plans to open a restaurant with her ex-fiancee were big news, and her humiliation is complete.  

Months later, Sophie has lost her job, sold her condo, and is living with her lively grandmother Bubbles.  She's in debt up to her eyeballs, and burned a few bridges professionally with her bad attitude.  Seeing a sign in the local neighborhood bakery, she starts working part-time, with an eye to getting back into the pastry world in Chicago.  But life, of course, has a way of throwing curve balls, and Sophie is about to get a few tossed her way.  

There is a lot of plot going on in this book.  There is Sophie's relationship with Bubbles, her relationship with her parents, who have been together for 40 years of unwed bliss, her budding career at the local bakery (which is threatened by a new entry into the neighborhood), and there is the annoying son of the owner--Mark, who wonders why Sophie is even bothering to save the bakery.  I found Sophie refreshing because she isn't a size 8, she enjoys food with no feelings of guilt, and instead of jumping into a big job and career change right away, she takes the time to sift through her feelings to decide where she wants to go next with her serious pastry skills.  And most of all, I love the family dynamics between Sophie, Bubbles, and her parents.  Chicago is a big part of this novel, and I always have a soft spot for the city in which my family made home for three generations.   

There's much more going on in Sophie's life, and you'll get the title pretty quickly.  I did feel there was almost too much going on in the plot and in Sophie's life.  I was exhausted!  And it seemed that the end was pretty quick, after many pages of Sophie's life moving a bit slowly.  I would have liked an epilogue.  

Thank you to Penguin-Random House for an advanced copy to review.  

Rating:  7/10 for an enjoyable novel about restarting life, being resourceful, enjoying food and loving the people in our lives.  

This book will be available May 3rd in paperback and e-book format.  

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Wedding Girl by Stacey Ballis

Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal

The cover of this novel gives you an idea of what's in store for you as you begin the delightful journey into Eva Thorvald's beginnings.  Eva is the  daughter of Lars Thorvald, a Midwestern chef, and his wife, Cynthia, a waitress who longs to run away to the vineyards of California and become a sommelier.  I won't tell you more about the cover, except that you'll be flipping this book back and forth every time you begin a new chapter to see how the cover ties into it.  

Eva Thorvald is the center of this book, but it's not told from her point of view.  Rather, each chapter is told by someone in Eva's life as she grows from a  four month old baby with a desire to eat fresh tomatoes at a farmer's market, to an 11 year old growing peppers in her bedroom closet (using her brother's grow light equipment after he ends his weed growing business), to a young woman poised to become a famous chef with an impeccable palate.  Eva's life is filled with tragedy, and adults that just don't know what to do with her.  She's statuesque, smart as a whip, and obsessed with food.  Someone who is destined to make their mark and nothing will stand in their way--the stars will align, connections will be made, and yet another step will be taken on the path to celebrity.  

It took me a few chapters to settle into this novel, but I absolutely loved it.  At first I was laughing over Lars and his desire to feed his baby food she just wasn't old enough to eat; yet as I read along, the pitfalls that liter Eva's life sobered me up a bit.  I guess what I would say about this novel is that it is endearing, as only a Midwesterner can say and understand.  Travels in Minnesota, Chicago, and Iowa all form the backbone to what I consider a love letter to potlucks, lutefisk, small towns, and most importantly, bar desserts.  Cause really, you haven't lived until you've eaten a pan of bar desserts--doesn't matter which kind, just that they are made with real butter and sugar.  

I read a lot of "foodie" books, and I enjoy them all.  Most of them are either about homemade goodness, or new movements in food and how it is presented, processed, and treated as a trend.  This is probably the first book I've read where there's a blend of the two movements.  I believe this is a good thing, because we all crave something new and different, but those small town church recipe potlucks dishes are what remain in our souls, and remind us of where we come from and all those gentle people we loved who just aren't around anymore.  They live on in those jello molds, cream cheese concoctions, and the ever dreadful but required at holidays lutefisk. 

 My family has a recipe that we simply call "the green beans", as well as "the cheese ball".  We all know what these are, and they're only made one way.  They are required at every family Christmas and Thanksgiving.  There are no shortcuts, and there are no healthy versions.  They are simply what keep us connected generation after generation.   

Penguin/Random House generously sent me a copy of this book for review, as well as a wonderful book club guide.   This is the book you need to read for your next book club, and make it a festive occasion by having everyone bring a covered dish to help soak up the wine you'll be serving.  I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of one woman's journey to become the  super star of the pop-up supper club.   It's an interesting way of looking at the main character of a novel--seeing her through everyone else's eyes is a treat and a great discussion for your book club!  The people in this book loop around, pop in and out of each others stories, and it all finally comes together in a wonderful, once in a lifetime memorable feast at the end. 

This book is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook the week of July 28th.  

Rating:  8/10 for a batch of characters that are funny, tragic, sad, and very memorable.  A great treat for anyone from the Midwest.  It will make you homesick even if you still live in the Midwest; it may soon have you in the kitchen to create a family favorite from years gone by. 

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Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal

The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison

Well.  This one is certainly worthy of a book club discussion or two.  The "wife" in this novel is Jodi, who has lived with Todd for 20 years.  They've never married; Todd wanted to get married, Jodi never did due to issues with her childhood.  No kids.  Again, Jodi didn't want them.  She keeps a tight reign over her emotions, her life, and her part-time practice as a psychologist.  She lives a good life with Todd as long as she ignores his chronic cheating.


Todd is struggling through bouts of depression; his inability to stay faithful to Jodi is never an issue with him.  It's just the way he is and he offers no excuse for it.  They have an unwritten rule:  it's never talked about directly; innuendoes are used to refer to his overnight trips and weekends away; and unbeknownst to him, Jodi gets back by doing little things to Todd that make his life miserable for brief moments of time.  He has no idea Jodi is behind such small things; small blips that disrupt his daily schedule.

Until the day his young girlfriend tells him she's pregnant and they have to get married.  

This is the turning point in the story; this is the beginning of the descent on the highest hill of the roller coaster.  Todd and Jodi are nuts.  Plain and simple.  Both are so fundamentally damaged they can't even begin to see it.  And this will cost them both.

This novel is a quick read; you will find that you don't like anyone in the novel.  Not one person.  There is no one to like.  It makes you wonder just how many people are clinging to a life they think they want and ignoring all the wrong things that are in it.  

Read it.  Discuss it with someone.  It is a page turner, and it will leave you dwelling on the story of Todd and Jodi for a long time.

Rating:  8/10 for a few twists and turns, and characters that are deeply flawed and don't even know it.  

Available in paperback and e-book

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The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison

The Life List by Lori Nelson Spielman

This is one of those novels that has you looking at your life, turning and twisting it; examining where you are and who you are now.

Brett Bohlinger is a 34 year old woman who has just lost her mother to cancer.  Her mother owned a cosmetics company that went from zero to a big business over the years, and Brett expected to take over as CEO when her mother died.  

But her mother has left a few surprises for Brett, and that is what this novel is about.  Elizabeth Bohlinger leaves a will that gives her two sons plenty of money, and her daughter-in-law the position of CEO in the company.  Stunned, Brett learns from Brad, her mother's lawyer, that she has one year to accomplish her "life list" in order to receive her inheritance.  Brett composed this life list when she was 14 years old.  Her mother rescued it from the garbage, and kept it all these years.  Now it will define and change Brett's life.  Her mother was a clever one; leaving a pink envelop for each thing Brett accomplishes.  Her mother is determined to wake Brett up to a life she should be living, not the one she currently occupies.  

Some of the life list items that  Brett has to accomplish:  fall in love (really really in love), have a dog, help the less fortunate, become a teacher, have a relationship with her father, and be friends with Shelley forever.  Written from a 14 year old's perspective, it sounds pretty simple.  But for a 34 year old woman, it's not so easy:  her father is dead, and she let down her friend Shelley years ago and hasn't heard from her since.  Her one foray into teaching ended in disaster and made her leave teaching.

Brett struggles through all of this with the help of Brad, her mother's lawyer.  He seems like quite a catch, but he's already in a relationship.  Will sparks fly?  Just who is Brett supposed to fall in love with, when she's already in a relationship with Andrew?  And why does her mother instruct her sister-in-law (the CEO) to fire her from her job at the cosmetics company?  Her life is crumbling around her and she's forced to rebuild from the ground up.  Can she make the deadline, find happiness, and move past her grief?  

I did enjoy this novel.  Brett takes a while to realize just how unhappy she is; her life is not at all going in the right direction and she's changed into a scared, second guessing woman.  She's not the person she used to be, and that's the point of her mother's strange request.  


I did think sometimes things fell into place a bit too neatly for Brett, but it was a minor glitch in reading this novel.  Yes, she was without a job, and no income.  But she did have some resources to get her through until she did get a job, and really was never in any danger of becoming homeless or completely broke.  It can be easier to change your life when you're not penny pinching and just getting by every week.  

All in all, this was a quick read and perfect for any woman of any age to read.  It does make you think about your dreams and aspirations, and if you're living the life you want to live.  And it may give you the courage to make some changes.  

Rating:  6/10 for a clever plot and engaging characters

Available in paperback or e-book

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The Life List by Lori Nelson Spielman

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes: My Wow Book of the Year

Just so you know, I will be using profanity in this review because this novel was so disturbing on so many levels that Holy Shit! it is unforgettable.

Here's the gist of the novel:  a man, Harper, is a serial killer.  But let's not stop there.  Harper will pretty much kill anyone who looks at him wrong.  He keeps his special knife skills for the "shining girls", women who somehow have a life force that is so strong he has to kill them to make himself feel better.  Oh--and he gets excited killing them, too.

This story isn't your typical serial killer novel.  Oh no.  What kicks it up into another realm is the added bonus of time travel.  Yep.  Harper is a grown man in 1932 Chicago; one night he's fleeing a mob (cause of course he killed a man) and finds himself entering a derelict home in a dicey Chicago neighborhood.  On the outside, it looks abandoned.  But on the inside, it's a lovely, cozy home complete with a burning fireplace and a decanter of whiskey waiting on a side table.  He also finds out that in an upstairs bedroom someone has collected little "trinkets" from victims--all whom are listed in chalk on the wall.  He knows the house wants him to kill these women, and he has no problem doing just that.  When he leaves the house, he enters another time--up to 60 years in the future.  And Harper can kill without worry, since he simply slips back into the house and into another time.  All of his victims are heartbreaking parts of the story.  

Except Kirby.  She's the only one who survived.  She was attacked in 1989 and survived--barely.  I can't tell you her experience, since a lot revolves around it. Move forward to 1993, and she is a college journalism student determined to find out who attacked her and why.  She knows this man is a serial killer, but lacks the evidence to prove it.  And of course she has no idea he travels through time, and has been killing women for the past 60 years.  Freaky, right?  

Reading this novel is disturbing on many levels, but the writing is so good you can't help but keep reading it.  And then you love Kirby, cause she is a kick-ass survivor and she's pissed.  Harper is possibly the most horrible character I've read about in years and he has no redeeming characteristics.  He kills because he likes to.  No other reason.  

So how can this end?  You think I'll tell you here?  Hell no!  You must read this novel.  There are some graphic parts that will make you uncomfortable and so angry at Harper that this will fuel you through the novel.  You want Kirby to find him and punish him for all the women he's murdered through time.  Jackass. 

Read it!  It really is very very good.  I've had a friend read it, and when I talked about it in my reading group he jumped up and down and couldn't wait to share his feelings on this novel.  It will certainly move you--there's no way you can remain unemotional about this story.

Rating:  9/10 for superb story telling, a completely horrible character who makes Jack the Ripper look friendly, and a twist on the usual serial killer story.

Available in hardcover, e-book, and audio.  So you have no excuse not to read it!

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The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes: My Wow Book of the Year

Krewe Of Hunters Is At It Again

 I've been reading Heather Graham since my teen years.  She writes good stories, whether they're historical, suspenseful, or paranormal.  Her latest trilogy involves the Texas Krewe of Hunters.  They're a group specially formed by the FBI that all have one common talent:  they can see and speak to the dead.  They first appeared in The Unseen, which takes places in San Antonio and involves ghostly happenings and murders at a hotel.  Logan Raintree and Kelsey O'Brien first meet to investigate the hotel, and from this book the Texas Krewe of Hunters is formed.  Logan, Kelsey, Sean, Kat, Jane, and Tyler all become trained and certified with the FBI to travel the country and investigate crimes that have a touch of the paranormal.  They're smart, gifted, and have a reputation as "unusual FBI agents".  

The Unholy takes the group to Los Angeles, and the investigation of a murder involving the son of the owner of a well known special affects company.  The studio is located directly next to a very old cemetery, and the studio itself has been around for decades.  They're currently producing the costumes and effects for a remake of a 1930's film involving a mummy, an ancient curse, and murder. The original film was clouded in murder, too.  But now someone is killing people disguised as Amun Mopat, the alleged  evil magician who lived during the time of Ramses II.  How is it all connected?  And can the Krewe--especially Sean, a film effects wizard, put the pieces together before more people are killed?  How will his budding feelings for artist Madison Devril play into this investigation?  Oh--and guess what--Sean and Madison can both see and hear the dead.  One very special spirit even hangs out at Madison's apartment.  

The story of Amun Mopat continues in the second novel of this trilogy The Unspoken.  While still in Los Angeles, Kat is tagged to go to Chicago to find out if the drowning of a diver in Lake Michigan was an accident or murder.  It's got the Krewe's attention because the diver was a well known expert on a local shipwreck:  The Jerry McGuen, which mysteriously sank in the lake 100 years before. When the ship sank, it was on its way to Chicago with a cargo hold full of artifacts from the real Amun Mopat's burial site in Egypt.  The ship went down with 60 souls, and no one has been able to find it.  Until now.  

But someone is willing to kill for the treasure.  But who is dressing up as a mummy?  Who is diving the wreck?  What are they looking for?  Kat soon arrives and meets Will Chan--a member of the original Krewe of Hunters.  He's been in Chicago on other business, and finds himself becoming part of this investigation.  The two soon find themselves diving the newly discovered wreck; Kat is having dreams and visions of what happened to the ship just before it sank.  What are all the dreams and visions trying to say?  The rest of the Krewe soon arrive in Chicago and the investigation swings into action.  Just who was Amun Mopat, and why is someone trying to steal the artifacts from the bottom of Lake Michigan?

I found The Unholy to be a bit thin as far as a storyline goes.  It's definitely readable and an entertaining story, but not much to it.  The Unspoken was much much better.  I loved the Egyptian history and diving the wreck of the Jerry McGuen.  There was a much more solid story and more to work with in this novel that the previous story and many more suspects.  I figured out who "did it" in the The Unholy pretty quickly, but The Unspoken  took a little longer to figure out.  

The third in this trilogy is called The Uninvited and it will be out in paperback this week.  I will definitely pick it up.  

Ratings:  The Unholy 2/5 for weak storyline and not much action.
The Unspoken 3/5 fascinating look at Egyptian history and shipwrecks.

Both are available as mass market paperbacks and e-books at your nearest bookstore.

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Krewe Of Hunters Is At It Again