Fish-Boy by Vanita Oelschlager

Fish-Boy by Vanita Oelschlager

by Carol6 Comments
I wanted to love Fish-Boy. It's a re-telling of an Inuit tale and the illustrations are gorgeous. It has several good lessons about acceptance, hospitality and fear. It also shows that people with handicaps can be full contributors to a community. There's a bit of magic and like in any good tale, the bad guys get punished and the good guys get rewarded. My problem was it was a little confusing and perhaps a touch long. The legend is being told by an elder to a boy during a trading expedition. I like that the emphasis here is on passing down stories. The legend itself is about Fish-boy and his adoptive father and tells why there are so many puffins near the Bering Strait. There were a couple bits that I didn't quite understand why they happened, but I liked the fish-boy's attitude and his father's kindness. The illustrations are lovely and may be worth picking up the book on their own. Here's...
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Codename Villanelle by Luke Jennings

Codename Villanelle by Luke Jennings

by Carol5 Comments
Codename Villanelle stars two women, a top-level assassin and the former MI6 operative whose job it is to find and eliminate her. Both women are strong and well-drawn. Villanelle is a psychopath, but one who knows she's different and uses the knowledge as a strength. Eve is a tough, but has more connections. she has a husband and subordinates; her choices effect not only her life, but theirs too. This is an action story, full of violence and sex, but happily it never quite tips over into graphic or gratuitous. It's a quick read and I enjoyed it, right up until the end. I guess this a collection of 4 novellas. It felt seamless to me, but then it ended with more or less "to be continued," which always just annoys me. If your series is good enough, I will continue to read it without a middle school book trick. Give me a semi-conclusion and leave it there. I'll know the...
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Lost Books and Old Bones by Paige Shelton

Lost Books and Old Bones by Paige Shelton

by Carol4 Comments
A bookshop, Scotland, and a murder - do I really need to say more? Lost Books and Old Bones is the 3rd in the series, not counting a Christmas novella (which I haven't read yet). I've read all three and definitely enjoy spending time in Edinburgh with Delaney and her crew. I don't often feel like I would actually love to hang out with the characters in books, but I would love to work in the bookshop and drink at the pub across the road, and visit the castle. Lost Books and Old Bones could probably be read as a stand-alone, but I think the first couple of books will give some needed background on Delaney and what makes the bookshop so special. All of the major characters return here, and there is a touch of romance for Delaney, but not enough to take away from the plot. This time around, Mallory, one of Delaney's new friends, is killed in the alley behind...
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The Italian Party by Christina Lynch

The Italian Party by Christina Lynch

by Carol11 Comments
There are so many secrets in The Italian Party, personal and professional. Scottie and her new husband, Michael, move to post-war Italy for Michael's job. He's opening a new Ford Tractor store in Siena. Except we learn quickly that it's just a cover, he's actually in the CIA, a fact he doesn't share with Scottie. We also learn one of Scottie's secrets early; she's pregnant and The baby is not Michael's, but those are just the tip of the iceberg. Secrets, both theirs and others', unfold throughout the story against the global backdrop of the "Communist Threat" and a citywide horse race that seems like the big event of the year. Scottie's teenage Italian tutor was supposed to be in the race, but he's disappeared. Scottie is determined to find. Scottie is interesting. She's beautiful, seems maybe not so bright, but she's fun and friendly. Truth is she's as smart, and sly, as any of them. She is definitely guided by...
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The Bookworm by Mitch Silver (with giveaway)

The Bookworm by Mitch Silver (with giveaway)

by Carol8 Comments
The Bookworm by Mitch Silver is a gripping thriller and enjoyable for the most part. There's so much going on though that it gets a bit overwhelming. Lara, the bookworm, is a Russian history professor who get caught in the middle of a couple of conspiracies. First, we have the WW 2  hoax that manages to draw Hitler's attention away from England toward Russia, stalling the invasion long enough that it never happens. Lara is given the Dictaphone cylinders to listen to by someone who is a little suspicious. Then we have the Alaskan oil field that is merely a prop in a "deal" between the Russian and American presidents, with no actual drilling going on. Lev, Lara's brother, discovers the charade, takes photos and barely escapes with his life. Somehow this all ties together in a well-pace novel with chase scenes, chess games, and a couple of dead bodies. The problem for me though is that it could have been fabulous, but...
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The Body in the Casket by Katherine Hall Page

The Body in the Casket by Katherine Hall Page

by Carol13 Comments
The Body in the Casket is the first in the Faith Fairchild mystery I've read. On the one hand that doesn't matter because it stands on its own well. On the other hand, it means I didn't care as much about Faith's family and friends as I might have if I had started the series at the beginning. I enjoyed the mystery portion of the book a lot. I'm a sucker for a good old-fashioned manor house mystery, which this was at heart, although with a New England touch. I love the addition of the theater folk and the whole Heaven and Hell theme of the weekend. I was not entirely surprised by the who dunnit, partly because it was reminiscent of a mystery I read earlier last month. Faith didn't really shine as a detective here though. I don't know I that's standard for this series or not, but she never really put any clues together or seemed to have...
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