The Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor

by Carol9 Comments
The Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor "More ghosts," Elinor said. "It seems that we constantly manufacture them. We are factories of ghosts." (pg. 438, ARC) Jerusalem College in Cambridge in 1786 is full of secrets, privileges, abuses, power struggles, illicit sex. And a ghost. Sylvia Whichcote, who drowned in the garden pond, is said to haunt the garden and was seen by young Frank Olderhaw. Frank was subsequently committed to a home for the mentally unstable, but his mother wants him cured and returned to London. To this end, she hires John Holdsworth, a bookseller and widower who has fallen into financial ruin. John has written a book, The Anatomy of Ghosts, that explains his disbelief in ghosts, and so Lady Anne believes he is perfect for the task. When he arrives in Cambridge, Holdsworth realizes that to help Frank he must solve the mystery of Sylvia's death. In the process, he is drawn deeper in the Cambridge community, and encounters...
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The Devil Amongst the Lawyers by Sharyn McCrumb

by Carol27 Comments
The Devil Amongst the Lawyers by Sharyn McCrumb This was a good story, although not the story I expected. In 1935, a young school teacher in the remote mountains of Virginia is charged with murdering her father. Because she is beautiful and the story sensational, national reporters are sent to cover the trial, and the young woman's brother seeks exclusive rights to her story, with the money supposedly going to her defense fund. The national reporters don't find the hillbillies living in run down shacks that they expect, so they fabricate them.  Carl Jenkins, a recent college-graduate, is a reporter from Tennessee, who realizes that the star reporters are not actually reporting the truth, more perpetuating myths about Appalachian life. Truth is the main issue here. Reporters shape what they know and see into a story their audience wants. But what is the truth? Is there a truth? The commonwealth's attorney warmed to his topic. "I had one of those reporters ask me...
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Silver Dollar Girl by Katherine Ayres

by Carol1 Comment
Silver Dollar Girl by Katherine Ayres From the cover: Valentine Harper's father has been in Colorado for more than a year, seeking his fortune in the silver boom, and she's tired of waiting for him in Pittsburgh. If her father isn't ready to come back to her, she'll go to him! Of course, in 1885 a girl can't set off on her own. So, armed with a haircut, a dash of luck, and a big dose of courage, Vallie trades her skirts for boy's trousers and starts out on a cross-country journey to discover a world most girls never see. With a strong fighting spirit, Vallie faces over-whelming odds in this well-paced adventure and stays true to the search for her father despite every setback. My thoughts: I don't think I've read many stories set in America in the 1880s and I'm sure I've never read anything about the silver boom. I knew it was a piece of our history, but really learned a lot from...
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The Heretic’s Daughter

by Carol2 Comments
The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent Description: Martha Carrier was one of the first women to be accused, tried and hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts. Like her mother, young Sarah Carrier is bright and willful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which they live. Often at odds with one another, mother and daughter are forced to stand together against the escalating hysteria of the trials and the superstitious tyranny that led to the torture and imprisonment of more than 200 people accused of witchcraft. This is the story of Martha's courageous defiance and ultimate death, as told by the daughter who survived. Kathleen Kent is a tenth generation descendent of Martha Carrier. She paints a haunting portrait, not just of Puritan New England, but also of one family's deep and abiding love in the face of fear and persecution.  My thoughts: This was an engrossing book for me, from beginning to end. Kent did a good job of exploring the family's dynamics...
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