The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes by Leonard Goldberg

This is the first in a series, and I've looked at it for a while and finally bought it a few months ago. 

I have to say Sherlock Holmes novels always make me feel like I'm just not that observant.  It's like a test on every page! And this mystery was no different. 

It's 1914. Sherlock Holmes has recently died, and Watson is an elderly retired physician, lost in the memories of all the cases he and Holmes solved in their glory days. Now Watson's son, John Jr. (a physician) makes sure his father is taken care of at 221b Baker Street, the same apartment where Holmes lived. A woman visits, asking for Watson's help. Her brother has recently died--jumped from a window to his death. She, however, doesn't believe it was a suicide, and asks for help to clear her brother's name. 

Two witnesses to the death--a young mother and her son, turn out to be Joanna  and Johnnie Blalock. Joanna is Holmes' daughter, the product of a one night affair between Holmes and Irene Adler; adopted after Irene dies shortly after giving birth to Joanna. Watson knows exactly who she is, and wow, she is as intellectual and brilliantly observant as her father and mother. 

Watson, John Jr., and Joanna soon begin digging into the mysterious suicide of Charles Harrelston, and quickly find a culprit: Dr. Christopher Moran. It seems pretty cut and dried, but this quickly became much more complicated and in-depth than I expected. There are more deaths, a secret code, old war secrets, and a race against time before Dr. Moran claims his final victim. 

My only issues were the "romance" between Watson Jr. and Joanna. It seemed kind of dumb and just thrown in for no good reason. And not much of a romance, either. Also, I was a bit annoyed at all the men being astounded at Joanna's ability to decipher clues and figure things out. Come on! Women are smart! 

I'l probably read more in the series--there are at least another 2-3 in the series after this first mystery. 

Rating: 4/6 for a good mystery that kept unfolding. A few things annoyed me, but overall a satisfying beginning to a smart series. 

Available in paperback, audio, and ebook. 

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The Daughter of Sherlock Holmes by Leonard Goldberg

Eat Pray Love Made Me Do It: Life Journeys Inspired by the Bestselling Memoir

I may be one of the few women in America that haven't read Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.  I think I started it, but never finished it.  I actually watched the movie and formed a horrible crush on Javier Bardem.  Most of my reluctance to read the book stems from that old bookstore danger:  getting so sick of everyone asking for the same book, over and over, for months at a time.  I end up loathing any mention of the book and never wanting to read it.  I think that's what happened with Eat, Pray, Love. So years passed, and I never read it.

I knew the basic story, and at any other time I would have read the book right away.  And I did really enjoy the movie.  Cut to years later, and I see this book somewhere in my bookish wanderings.  I immediately checked it out of the library, and proceeded to dive in and be amazed at some of the stories people have shared.  

This non-fiction book is a collection of essays by various men and women (mostly women) who read Eat, Pray, Love  sometime in the past 10 years and had such a visceral reaction to it they changed their lives.  For some, like Elizabeth, it was a wake up call to leave an unhappy marriage or relationship; for others it was a reminder that life can and should be joyful and creative.  If we find ourselves stuck, we need to get moving.  For other women, it was about coping with motherhood and finding balance.  

One woman says "From Liz, I learned that it is never too late to start again.  I forgave myself my indiscretions and granted myself the permission to create the life I now understood I deserved."  Liz's story resonated with so many women that I was a bit floored by how her journey became the spark women needed to change their lives into more meaningful, peaceful, and vibrant quests.  

There wasn't one essay in this compilation that wasn't touching and amazing to me.  I can't imagine how Liz Gilbert feels knowing she's influenced so many people simply by telling her story.  It is a prime example that we never know who we will touch just by being open with the good and the bad in our lives.  

I think this would make an obvious choice for anyone who loved Eat, Pray, Love.  But you don't have to read that to feel the impact of these essays.  It will probably drive you to read Liz's memoir after you've turned the last page.  Powerful stuff.

Rating:  7/10 for so many touching essays about the power of one woman's journey of discovery to give courage, grace, and peace to those who struggle through life.  

Available in paperback, audio, and e-book.

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Eat Pray Love Made Me Do It: Life Journeys Inspired by the Bestselling Memoir

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick

This novel snuck up on me and once I'd checked it out of the library I had to quickly read it in between the books I've planned on reading in June.  It was an endearing tale that revolves around a charm bracelet and a man's discovery of his wife's life before they met and married.

Arthur Pepper is 69 years old; his wife Miriam has been dead for a year.  He has a routine to his days:  he wears the same clothes, eats the same breakfast (at the same time every morning), and hides in his house to avoid Bernadette, a neighbor who brings sausage rolls and pies to Arthur every week.  His children rarely call; Lucy is a teacher and lives in the same town as Arthur; his son Dan lives in Australia and was too busy to even come back for Miriam's funeral.  It's a lonely and colorless life.  

Arthur decides on the one year anniversary of Miriam's death that it's time to clear out her closet.  In her boot, he finds a charm bracelet that he's never seen before.  It is obviously of high quality gold with delicate charms:  an elephant, a ring, a flower, a book, a heart, a tiger, a gold thimble,  and a paint palette.  Why didn't Miriam ever wear this around Arthur?  What do the charms mean?  Arthur begins his quest to understand what each charm means and where they came from. He learns that the Miriam he was married to for 40 years had a colorful and eventful life before she settled down to a quiet married life and motherhood.  But was she happy with the life she chose with Arthur?  Did she have any regrets?

Arthur steps out of his comfort zone in many ways during his adventures to uncover the meaning behind the charm bracelet.  He's a deeply thoughtful person who thinks back on his behavior with Miriam over the years, and how he could have done things differently.  It is poignant when he realizes the mistakes he made and how his wife was always graceful and kind no matter what Arthur did or didn't do.  Arthur is a likable character who isn't afraid to reflect, accept blame, and change.  Anyone who is in a relationship nowadays understands the person they know had a life full of experiences, places, and people before the life they have now.  We know that, but do we really think about who they knew, where they went, what they experienced without us?  How it shaped who they are, and why they made the choices they made?  Do you share it all with your loved ones, or do you keep a bit back just for you?  

Rating:  7/10 for a delightful novel about moving on from the death of a spouse, and discovering a bit about their past that helps you embrace life after loss.  A sweetly poignant tale.  It would make a great movie. 

Available in hardcover and e-book. 

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The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick

The Serpent's Shadow by Mercedes Lackey

I have read 2 novels by Mercedes Lackey, both in the Elementals Series.  There's a bit of confusion about which is the first novel in this series--if you look in the books, this is the first novel, but if you look online it's listed as the second in the series, after The Fire Rose.  Either way, the important thing is that you can read either one first.  They are completely separate stories--the only link is the Elemental magic part.  

My sis-in-law has adored Mercedes Lackey for years and years--when I lived with her and my brother during my college years in PA (ahem 20 years ago) she had every book Mercedes Lackey ever wrote and I'm pretty sure she still does.  

Here's what I like about this series, based on two books:  they are fun, they are historical and magical fantasy, and they are based on magic that works with fire, earth, air, and water.  They can get a bit preachy at times--the first two take place in the early 1900's when women were fighting for the right to vote.  I just take that with a grain of salt and move on.  It's not a big deal to me and doesn't interfere with the gist of the novel. In this novel, Maya is a "half-breed"--half English, half Indian.  Her parents are dead, and she flees India to London in order to put some distance between whatever killed her parents and herself.  Her father was a doctor, and she is, too.  Female doctors aren't very common in England, and she has to fight to get her certificate to work in the local charity hospital.  On the side, she has a clinic set up in her home to help people who live on the streets.  Maya has to fight against people who judge her by her skin, the fact that she's a female doctor, unmarried, and a foreigner.  

She's also an Earth elemental, but doesn't really know it.  For reasons you find out in the story, her mother (a super magical woman herself) would not teach her anything, so she's cobbled together some small spells she can use to keep her home, herself, and her loyal servants safe from whatever is out to get her.  

But, she needs to learn, and quickly.  For whatever was looking to kill her in India has come to London, and it's looking for her.  

This is a retelling of Snow White; all of the Elemental books are based on a fairy tale.  The Fire Rose is Beauty and the Beast in San Francisco just before the great earthquake.  

So if you're looking for a fun fantasy series, try this one.  I've been happy enough with the first two books that I've managed to buy the next 3 or so and they're waiting on my shelves.  I think there are seven or eight in the series so far, and I don't see an end anytime soon.  They are a welcome break from some of the contemporary fiction I've been reading.  

Rating:  7/10 for sheer enjoyment factor.  I have found another author I can enjoy!

This series is available in mass market paperback and as e-books.  You could also probably get used hardcover editions either in used bookstores or online.

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The Serpent's Shadow by Mercedes Lackey