Category: Books

Humbug Witch by Lorna Balian is a charming Halloween read for young kids. The little witch is perfect. She has her "slightly squashed, tall, black, pointed hat," her witchy shoes, long stringy hair and a sturdy broomstick. Her only problem is her spells never, ever work. Finally she gives up and goes to bed, but the ending is a cute suprise. She's just a little girl pretending to be a scary witch. Originally published in 1965, this picture book has a timelessness I appreciate.  The vocabulary is simple and I like how it goes through the simple sequence of getting dressed up and taking the costume off. The illustrations are cute and whimsical and full of Halloween colors.  It's one I could see myself reading over and over in October if Amber was still little. Humbug Witch is a perfect seasonal read-aloud for preschoolers through early elementary. 4 out of 5 stars Category: Picture book- Halloween Amazon | IndieBound | Book Depository First published 1965 32...

Attorny-Client Privilege by Pamela Samuels Young is different from the other legal thrillers I've read over the years; it is written by and about a black female lawyer. I have to admit that that perspective was one that drew me to the story. Vernetta Henderson is a lawyer in LA who is representing three women who have filed a sexual discrimination suit against a large corporation. The opposing attorney is a tough woman willing to do anything she has to to get a win, but Vernetta's determined. Then one of her clients is killed and documents go missing, upping the stakes. Attorney-Client Privelege had a bit of everything. Multi-dimensional characters, both ones you like and ones you're rooting against, controversial topics, like sexism, racism, religion, and the twists and turns any good thriller needs. The characters feel real. They are dealing with life and love as it comes at them, supporting each other and questioning each other's choices if necessary. This is the fourth...

The Stonecutter by Camilla Lackberg is the third in her Patrick Hedström series. I've listened to the first two and while I may not have loved them but I enjoyed them enough to continue with the series. With The Stonecutter, I'm done. I didn't even bother finishing it. Here's the blurb: The remote resort town of Fjällbacka has seen more than its share of tragedy, though perhaps none worse than that of the little girl found in a fisherman's net. But this was no accidental drowning. Not only was there no seawater found in the girl's lungs, the autopsy yielded far more sinister findings. Local detective Patrik Hedström has just become a father. It's his grim task to discover who could be behind the murder of a child both he and his partner Erica knew well. Little Sara Florin's family history could provide the key, but how do you probe into the past of a family who has just suffered the consummate tragedy? What...

I feel like I would have enjoyed Bullet for a Star by Peter Kaminsky more than I did if I were a fan of old movies. The story takes place in Hollywood circa 1940 and several of the big names of the day show up, but I miss a lot of the charm of the book by not actually knowing who these people are. Errol Flynn, for example, is one of the main characters, but while I recognize the name I don't have much other info to go with it. Warner Studios has hired our PI, Toby Peters, to deliver a blackmail payment in exchange for a photo of Errol Flynn and a too young girl. Flynn says the photo's a fake, but the studio's not taking any chances. Of course, it doesn't turn out as easy as it sounds. Toby gets knocked out and when he wakes up he finds the blackmailer murdered and both the money and picture gone. He...

I'm sad that I've read all of Louise Penny's Gamache stories that are currently published; it's going to be a long year until the next one. I am glad however that the final one I read was The Hangman as it kind of gave me a bit of what I was missing with The Beautiful Mystery. The Hangman is not a full-fledged Gamache mystery. It's a stand-alone novella set in Three Pines featuring Gamache, but it was written as part of GoodReads Canada, a literacy program, so it's on a 3rd grade level aimed at adults, adults who are "emerging readers" primarily. It's clear and simple and the plot and writing are understandably not as complex as her usual novels. The story takes place in fall, November actually, and opens with a jogger discovering a dead man hanging in a tree, presumably a suicide. The dead man was a guest at the local inn and spa and has left a suicide note, but things don't...