Author: hudsonarealibrary

Three years ago, 16-year old Ellen Vicksburg disappeared.  One year after her disappearance, her younger brother, Ben, discovered her body . . . Devastated, he devotes his life and math and computer skills to finding her killer. 

Flash forward three years.  Ben is now a senior in high school and based on his extensive research thinks he’s found potential other victims, and the serial killer’s pattern, based on the changing seasons.  He’s also found a surprising ally in the beautiful new girl in his class.  But as his senior year nears its end, the hunt for the killer escalates and Ben finds himself – and his new friend – in mortal danger!

I did not want to put this down!!!

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Mariana Andros is a group therapist still trying to deal with the unexpected death of her husband, Sebastian.  When her niece’s best friend is found murdered in Cambridge, Mariana is drawn to return to her own alma mater to help Zoe cope with the loss of her best friend, but finds herself fixated on a professor of Greek tragedy as a suspect in the case.  Not only is Professor Fosca surrounded by a circle of adoring women/students known around campus as “the maidens” who have conveniently provided him with an alibi for the time of the murder, but he seems to take especial delight in taunting Mariana about her own Greek background.  Add in more murders, blackmail, and other odd characters (including Theo Faber, the psychotherapist main character in this author’s The Silent Patient) and this book was extremely hard to put down.  And, I had NOT predicted the ending.

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It’s 1933, and former World War I nurse, now private investigator, Maisie Dobbs accepts an undercover assignment from the British Secret Service.  The assignment uses her philosophy training, and mentorship with the late Maurice Blanche, to teach at a small college in Cambridge.  The college was founded by a controversial pacifist and has been attracting international students and so her assignment is to teach a philosophy class and at the same time keep an eye out for activities “not in the interest of His Majesty’s Government.” 

But when the head of the college, Greville Liddicote, is murdered, Maisie finds that her assignment overlaps with the murder investigation of the police and leads her to shameful secrets kept by the British government from World War I, plagiarism, and cells of people supporting the ideas and Nazi Party of Adolph Hitler.

This is #8 in the Maisie Dobbs series, but is a complete and satisfying story on its own.  Also, I didn’t want to put this down, and it’s a vivid reminder of how early Adolph Hitler was becoming a global influence.

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Imagine being on a remote Irish island to attend the wedding of two beautiful and accomplished people.  The bride, Jules, has taken her blog to a fully-fledged online magazine, while Will, the groom, is the start of a reality TV show called “Survive the Night.”  That sounds great, until you realize that someone on the island is a predator and that several other people have secrets in their past that might provide motives to kill. . .

Much of the action takes place on a dark and stormy night which only adds to the suspense in this mystery.  I wasn’t sure who the victim – or the killer – would be until the very end!  A Reese Witherspoon Book Club selection that I didn’t want to put down.

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This interesting book was – in 2019 – voted 16^th in a list of 100 best books of the 21^st century so far by The Guardian newspaper.  It was also, briefly, an Oprah Book Club Selection until Franzen expressed his discomfort with the selection and expressed concern that the Oprah connection would suggest that it’s a “women’s book” and discourage men from reading it (Wikipedia.org, 9/29/21).  But the “sprawling, satirical family drama” earned a National Book Award and was a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction finalist. 

As for me, I’d picked it up in the bookstore several times without buying it, until I finally took the opportunity to borrow it from the library.  It has interesting characters, including Enid and Alfred Lambert, now married for fifty years.  As empty-nesters, Enid is looking forward to freedom, to traveling, to spending time with the grandkids, but Alfred is struggling physically, and mentally, with Parkinson’s disease.  Their kids, Gary, Chip, and Denise, are busy dealing with the challenges of their own lives and despite Enid’s dream of one more (probably the last) Christmas in the family home, it’s unclear if that can be accomplished or not.

There are recognizable feelings, motives, and desire in this bittersweet, but ultimately hopeful novel.

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What other author could bring together characters such as a Nobel Peace Prize nominee from the Sudan, a statistician arguing for mercy killing, a real book (Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay, written in 1841), and real – very scary – people like Ewen Cameron (a psychiatric researcher whose experiments on unwitting patients led to torture guidelines used by the CIA)?  In my opinion, no one but Louise Penny.

In a post-pandemic world, head of Homicide for the Surete, Chief Inspector Gamache is asked to provide security for a controversial speaker at a small college near Three Pines, the tiny village where he lives.  As he researches the speaker, Professor Abigail Robinson, a noted statistician, he finds her conclusions repugnant, though they are finding support among many who hear her.  When Abby’s best friend/business partner is murdered, Gamache and his team find themselves exploring the past – as well as the nature of good and evil – in order to find the motive for the crime.

Despite what sounds like very heavy subject matter, this is an excellent read, with characters who are completely human, yet comfortable and a story that is compelling.  Penny – as always – entertains and creates opportunities for considering our own moral compass. 

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The little-known history is Bletchley Park, Britain’s World War II code-breaking center, is brought to light in this story of friendship, love and heartbreak.  In 1940 three women from widely different backgrounds come together at Bletchley Park to serve their country and spread their own wings. . . . There is Osla, a Canadian socialite dating Prince Philip of Greece, Mab, a working-class girl with aspirations to better herself, and Beth, a shy village girl living under the thumb of her mother.  But nothing good lasts forever.

By 1947 these women are no longer friends and one has even been confined to an insane asylum!  But a code from the war days just might hold the key to finding a traitor if these women can manage to work together once more.

An excellent read, and hard to put down. 

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Even though the police have already abandoned the search for an engineer who disappeared while on a camping trip in a remote area of the Boundary Waters Wilderness Area, Cork O’Connor renews the search at the behest of the man’s granddaughter.  But Cork’ family begins to worry as days pass without contact from him, as his daughter’s wedding is imminent, and winter is beginning to set in, so they begin a search for him.  But when they get to the site of the original man’s disappearance hey don’t find Cork, or the granddaughter, they do find blood – lots of blood – but no bodies.  And, when the aunt of Jenny O’Connor’s fiancé starts having visions of many people dying, their urgency to find Cork increases. . .

A Cork O’Connor mystery, part of a series, but completely enjoyable by itself and taking place in Northern Minnesota. 

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While the forward of this book suggests that “this is not a detective story, this is a story about a detective” there is still a mystery or two.  The detective is William Warwick who has wanted to be a police officer forever, despite the objections of his attorney father.  One of the mysteries involves a priceless stolen painting, while another involves secrets being kept by his new girlfriend who just happens to work at the museum from which the priceless Rembrandt painting was taken. 

This is a British police procedural with interesting characters and stories that provide a look at the British Justice system.  And the ending leaves a wide opening for future books involving this character. 

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As she is taking food to the Mignon Cosmetics banquet – at which the cosmetic company’s fall line will be presented, caterer Goldy Schultz is harassed by an animal rights group.  The group’s slogan is “spare the hare” and expresses their objection to the cosmetic company’s animal testing practices.  Goldy also nearly witnesses the hit and run death of one of Mignon’s top salespeople.  And both of these events are just the beginning of the drama!  Of course, Goldy’s Police Detective husband doesn’t want her help with the investigation – he only wants her to “dish” with her friends to get the local gossip (and possibly some clues).  But Goldy plunges full steam into her own investigation leading her to corporate espionage, photos from dressing room security cameras, exotic flowers, and more death! 

A fun, sweet treat – with recipes!

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