The Marlow Murder Club
The Marlow Murder Club
by Robert Thorogood
Narrator—Nicolette McKenzie
Judith Potts is seventy-seven years old and is known in Marlow as the eccentric old lady who lives in an aging mansion. As someone who sets crosswords for The Times, she excels at puzzles of all types. She unintentionally gathers two friends along the way of putting together clues that lead to the solution of several murders. Her unlikely friends are Susie, a rough-around-the-edges dog walker and Becks, the ultimate homemaker and vicar’s wife.
The three ladies grow individually and as a team through the course of their humorous escapades. I enjoyed this audiobook on a trip and several fun filled hours afterwards. The narrator did a good job of differentiating between the various characters. I never had to wonder who was talking.
For a book with multiple murders, The Marlow Murder Club managed to be humorous while engaging me in a complex mystery that I couldn’t solve. I liked that the protagonist was an older woman and that she could interact so well with the other ladies with whom she had so little in common. I’m going to add the second book in the series, Death Comes to Marlow, to my queue. The first book was that good!
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery, Humor
Notes: Contains bad language, but in British English so not as offensive to me.
Publication: First published January 7, 2021—Poisoned Pen Press
Audiobook released May 3, 2022
Lessons at the School by the Sea–depressed characters
Lessons at the School by the Sea
by Jenny Colgan
Although there were two boys’ boarding schools in my home town in the the U.S., boarding school seems more important in British history and culture than it is in the United States. Jenny Colgan originally wrote this series about a pair of neighboring boys’ and girls’ boarding schools in Great Britain under a pen name at her publisher’s suggestion. They are currently reissuing The School by the Sea Series under the same name as her other popular books.
Having read the first book in the series, I was interested in revisiting the two schools and catching up with the characters. I was disappointed with the pace in Lessons at the School by the Sea. The characters are stymied by their respective roles and are frankly unlikable. There are two storylines. One focuses on the teachers and the other one on a core group of students. The two plot lines in the story overlap.
There is a new character in this addition to the series. Ismé is a scholarship student who keeps her three roommates at arm’s length. Suddenly, one of the roommates questions her own gender and sexual orientation and falls in love with Ismé because of a kiss in a play. The relationship seems contrived and unrealistic.
The only part of the book that truly got my attention is the efforts of David, who has to take a job teaching English literature to high school students at a low income school in a rough part of town. I was interested in his methods to draw the students in. He doesn’t give up even when they resist his attempts to get control so that he can actually teach them. He is somewhat naive but stands by his moral principles and has a positive effect on his students and the whole demoralized school.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 3/5
Category: Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Young Adult
Publication: March 7, 2023—Avon and HARPER
Memorable Lines:
“But everyone here is so rich and knows everything and how to get by…” Maggie stared out the window. “Nah,” she said. “They’re faking it just as much as anybody else. Posh people are just better at pretending.”
She couldn’t bear to think that any Downey girl—any student who had ever been in her care—would be capable of doing such a thing. But she knew this was bias, that people did do horrible things on the internet, every single second of the day.
“…if you behaved like a bad person, whatever your intentions, it was entirely possible that you would become one.”
Special Memorable Quote for Those Who Love All Things Bookish:
On Saturday morning she had driven all the way into Exeter, which had the nearest Paperchase, and spent a very happy hour there—like all book lovers, she had a special affinity with stationery and could happily spend half a day among it—choosing the finest, most beautiful writing paper and pen she could find.
Letters of Trust–guarding secrets
Letters of Trust
by Wanda E. Brunstetter
When Eleanor and Vic get married, they move to Paradise, Pennsylvania, where, given the name of the town, they should expect a happily ever after. Eleanor is a very sweet Amish young lady with a strong faith. Despite her mother’s hesitation about Vic based on reports of his rumspringe experiences before he joined the church, Eleanor is in love with Vic, a carpenter, and is determined to be a good wife to him. For the most part, their first year of marriage is a happy one. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes Vic’s family, and Vic is overcome with guilt over what happened. Unable to handle his feelings and unwilling to ask for help, Vic seeks survival through an addiction which threatens his marriage, his job, his future child, and his relationship with family, friends, and church. Most importantly, the addiction stands between Vic and God. Eleanor learns that Vic will need to hit rock bottom before he stops denying his need for help.
I have read several Amish themed books by Wanda E. Brunstetter. Letters of Trust has a more serious focus than the others I have read. My heart went out to the fictional Eleanor as she tries to be a good wife and hold her marriage together. She shares her trouble first with her long time friend Doretta in letters, knowing she can trust her not to discuss her problem with others as gossip. The two young ladies pray for and encourage each other. Eleanor sees the dangers in Vic’s addiction and shows her own strength when she stands up to and for Vic as he struggles in his own personal mire of guilt and depression.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Christian, Romance
Notes: 1. #1 in The Friendship Letters Series
2. At the end of the book, the reader will find Discussion Questions and notes from the author about why she chose to write about such a sensitive subject.
3. Also included is a recipe for Chocolate Chip Pie, a favorite of one of the characters.
Publication: March 1, 2023—Barbour Publishing
Memorable Lines:
Evening light poured into the room, but no one wanted to eat a thing. Their world had stopped, and they’d been left hanging over a cliff filled with the darkness of grief.
When Vic entered the house behind Eleanor, a wave of exhaustion settled over him like a dark cloud about to dump rain.
People should realize that we’re all human, and sometimes we do things we shouldn’t, Vic thought. Just because we get baptized, join the church, and go to worship services regularly doesn’t mean we’re perfect, by any stretch of the imagination.
Standing Dead–K-9 page turner
Standing Dead
by Margaret Mizushima
The story of Standing Dead opens with Mattie, a Deputy Sheriff, and her newly found sister Julia driving to a little town in Mexico looking for their mother. Mattie had a traumatic childhood (ages 2-6) involving a kidnapping and abuse from a man who pretended to be her father. Her real father, a Border Patrol Agent, was murdered and eventually the case was a designated “cold.” Mattie wants to get to the bottom of this case and bring her mother out of hiding.
After her long trip home from Mexico and a reunion with her boyfriend, veterinarian Cole Walker, his two daughters, and her K-9 officer Robo, Mattie and Robo return to their house. There she discovers the first of many creepy notes taunting Mattie and directing her through a variety of difficult situations. She is led to a beetle-kill pine forest where the trees are not the only “standing dead.” Mattie, her family, and her friends are all in deadly danger.
As always with the Timber Creek K-9 Mystery Series, watching the relationship between Robo and Mattie is touching as Mattie understandably has trust issues. Robo is highly trained and intelligent and does some pretty amazing things.
As things get “interesting” for Mattie, Cole is called out to the same area in the mountains to attend to some very sick horses. Their paths cross, and Cole is able to provide a clue that helps the law enforcement team determine the cause of death. Cole goes through his own crisis as he supports Mattie by backing off when she makes decisions to put herself in danger to save those she loves.
Other branches of law enforcement join in with the small local squad. They pool their manpower and resources for the good of the team. Also, there is a local sheriff’s posse that helps as needed, and Cole is a trusted and active member.
I stayed up late to finish this page turner. I am looking forward to the next book in the series and plan on returning to the few that I have not yet read.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #8 in the Timber Creek K-9 Mystery Series. It could be read as a standalone, but to understand more of Mattie’s background I would recommend reading some of the previous books.
Publication: March 7, 2023—Crooked Lane Books
Memorable Lines:
She leaned to stroke the dark fur between his ears while she kept up with Sophie’s banter, and soon Cole noticed the taut muscles in her face relax as kids and dogs—two of Mattie’s favorite things in the world—seemed to ease her distress.
He knew how hard it was for her to trust others, and he felt he’d passed a test. He just wished it wasn’t a test involving life and death.
She drove steadily into the night seeing ahead only as far as the headlights would allow. She decided it was symbolic of the mission that lay ahead—she could only see ahead one step at a time. The rest of it would play out and reveal itself very soon.
My Several Worlds: A Personal Record
My Several Worlds: A Personal Record
by Pearl S. Buck
WHAT IS MY SEVERAL WORLDS?
It is a collection of essays integrated into a memoir. Author Pearl S. Buck, as she writes this tome, considers herself midway in her writing career. She presents it as a “record of the age in which I lived” and “as nearly an autobiography as I shall ever write.” It is not a linear book. The place she is located when she writes each section is noted, but not the date because it is such a combination of times. Although a confusing style at first, it makes sense because as she is writing about her current life in the United States, she will suddenly revert to recounting her younger years in China and historical world events or advance her opinions on a variety of subjects from practical to esoteric.
WHO WAS PEARL S. BUCK (1892-1973)?
She was a prolific author, primarily a novelist, and the winner of both the Pulitzer Prize in 1932 and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1938. The child of Christian missionaries, she spent much of her life in China until politics forced Americans to leave. Completely bilingual, Pearl was an astute translator of Chinese and had great admiration for Chinese social structure and love for the Chinese people. When she returned to the United States, she found that she lived in two separate worlds and never felt quite at home in either. She was well-traveled and had friends from all over the world.
WHERE DID BUCK GET HER INSPIRATION?
Buck’s source material was mainly her observations of people. In her travels, she paid attention to people, listening more than talking. Her focus was more on the common man and woman than the famous people who wanted to entertain her as a celebrity.
WHAT ARE SOME OF BUCK’S “SEVERAL WORLDS”?
Buck watched various political groups attempt takeovers in China. This land she loved and which helped shape her was subject to political strife from inside the country and by forces from the outside. She was witness to Western influences on young Chinese who studied in the United States and tried to bring change to ancient Chinese customs. These endeavors were not always positives for the Chinese people.
As an American adult with Chinese training, Buck experienced disparate worlds in the United States. Looking past geopolitical issues, Buck also had several worlds on a personal level. Although equipped to mingle in high society circles, she preferred a rural lifestyle with a large household of adopted children who learned life and family skills on their farm. She had a long, unhappy marriage to an agricultural missionary in China followed by a long, happy marriage to her publisher in the U.S. Although a teacher and primarily a writer, Buck devoted her talents to social enterprises as well. She opened The Welcome Home for U.S.-born children of Asian descent whose mixed-race status made them “unadoptable” according to adoption agencies. She also advocated for appropriate care for the disabled, a cause close to her heart as her first child was unable to live independently.
WHAT IS YOUR OPINION OF MY SEVERAL WORLDS?
This is not an easy read; there is no fluff to it. In My Several Worlds you will discover a lot of Chinese history since, as Buck points out, the Chinese civilization is very old. She refers to many events in China’s past without details as she feels they have already been discussed thoroughly in books she and others have written. Her thoughts on the various subjects she examines are interesting although I do not always agree with all of them. They are informed by her unique background of living a cosmopolitan life. She was homeschooled by Christians but tutored by a Confucian. She went to college in the United States, but despite altering her clothing never felt like she fit in.
Buck is an excellent writer, but the reader needs to approach this non-fiction work with a desire to learn—to learn more about China, about adults who have grown up in more than one culture, and about the fascinating Pearl S. Buck. Having read this memoir, I think a good follow up would be to read one of her many novels.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Memoir, Nonfiction
Publication: 1954—John Day Co.
Memorable Lines:
But I had never known what hatred was. I had neither been hated nor had I ever hated anyone. I could not understand why we, who were still ourselves and unchanged, should be lumped with unknown white men from unknown countries who had been what we were not, robbers and plunderers. It was now that I felt the first and primary injustice of life. I was innocent but because I had the fair skin, the blue eyes, the blond hair of my race I was hated, and because of fear of me and my kind I walked in danger.
No people can be educated or even cultivated until books are cheap enough for everybody to buy.
I went back to my own resurrected home with a heavy heart indeed, for I knew that from that day on the new government was doomed in the end to fail. Why? Because it had failed already in understanding the people whom it purposed to govern and when a government does not rule for the benefit of those ruled, sooner or later it always fails, and history teaches that lesson to every generation whether or not its rulers can or will understand.
Wined and Died in New Orleans–discovery of hidden wines
Wined and Died in New Orleans
by Ellen Byron
Ricki fled from Los Angeles to New Orleans to escape a past tarnished by her innocent association with a Ponzi scheme billionaire. Now connected with the Bon Vee Culinary House Museum, Ricki opens her own museum gift shop, Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbook and Kitchenware Shop. She purchases old cookbooks and kitchen tools for resale in her shop.
The plot centers around a murder. Ricki leads friends who are also her co-workers at the museum in trying to solve the case. She feeds any information she discovers to Nina, a local detective with whom she “collaborated” on a previous case. The plot is good and has plenty of complications and surprises involving some very old wine discovered on the property. Suddenly the family tree expands as people claiming to belong to the Charbonnets descend on Louisiana in hopes of a share of wealth and fame. Also the reader gets a taste of Louisiana from references to food, dialect, and an impending hurricane.
I have enjoyed other books by Ellen Byron with a Louisiana setting, but this one does not appeal to me and is definitely not a page turner. I didn’t identify or empathize with any of the characters. Ricki and her friends/coworkers seem to go round and round in their efforts to discover the murderer. Ricki has a revelation of a personal nature that is an interesting twist. Ricki and her neighbor, Chef Virgil, are co-parents of two dogs, making the potential for interesting scenarios which never develop. The dogs have very minor roles.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 3/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1. The author provides a list of characters at the first of the book which helps orient the reader.
2. This is the second book in the Vintage Cookbook Mystery Series. I have not read the first book in the series, but I don’t think that affected my reflections on this cozy mystery.
3. There is a recipe section describing selected vintage cookbooks and any information about them that emerged during the author’s research. She also chose a recipe from each book to add to that section.
Publication: February 7, 2023—Berkley
Memorable Lines:
“You need a drink.” “Everyone keeps liquoring me up. Is a drink New Orleans’s answer to everything?” “Pretty much.”
“I guess you could call me a California Charbonnet. Kind of like a California chardonnay but with notes of murder and bizarre family dynamics.”
“Sam’s on the Crisis Negotiation Team. I din’t pass the training. Apparently, sarcasm isn’t perceived as an ‘effective oral communication skill.’ “
The Sound of Light–Denmark in WWII
The Sound of Light
by Sarah Sudin
Through the fictional characters of Baron Henrik Ahlefeldt and Dr. Else Jensen, a physicist working in the lab of the famed Niels Bohr, Sarah Sudin tells the story of the German occupation of tiny Denmark. Initially, freedoms are not as restricted by the Nazis as in the rest of occupied Europe, but many Danes resist through sabotage, work slowdowns, and underground newspapers. Henrik assumes several identities and uses them to hide covert activities; he also uses his skills as an Olympic rower to transfer messages from Denmark to Britain. Else, while fighting her personal battles of discrimination as a female in a traditionally male field, becomes involved in helping the underground cause.
There are a lot of subplots and threads that are woven into this story. Henrik is working as a laborer in his estranged father’s shipyard. Henrik portrays himself as barely literate instead of the well-educated nobleman he is. He and Else live in the same boarding house but are unable to share their identities or secrets with each other because of the confidential nature of the underground. The final straw for the Danes is when the Germans begin to round up Jews for deportation. Many Danish citizens quickly rise up to protect their Jewish friends and neighbors. I will leave it to the author to share what happens to the Jews and to Henrik and Else as they grapple with the question of whether it is “right to do wrong (i.e. to break the law) to do right.”
I highly recommend The Sound of Light. I didn’t feel like I needed to be an expert on Danish history to appreciate the story. I did learn a lot about Denmark’s wartime experiences. The book is fast-paced, and there is good character development. It contains a good plot, scenes tense with intrigue, and a Christian viewpoint on good versus evil.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Historical Fiction, Christian, Romance
Notes: Includes historical notes by the author, pronunciation guide and glossary, and discussion questions.
Publication: February 7, 2023—Revell
Memorable Lines:
Henrik, on the other hand, hadn’t endured Far’s anger. He’d absorbed it, every biting word. For fourteen years, he’d absorbed the anger, and it had fermented inside, loathsome and noxious, until at last, in one moment of clarity, he’d turned from his father and all he stood for.
She was one small individual in a sea of people. But if each person did just one thing to help, a lot of good could be done.
On the deck, the captain sprinkled powder, a mixture of dried blood and cocaine, developed by a Swedish scientist. If the Germans brought police dogs on board, the compound would deaden the dogs’ sense of smell so they couldn’t detect the passengers below.
A Light in the Window–Mitford, a good place to live
A Light in the Window
by Jan Karon
Earlier this year the members of my book club decided that for the upcoming months each person would select a book for all of us to read. I couldn’t have been more delighted when A Light in the Window was chosen as one of our reads. It is the second book in Jan Karon’s The Mitford Years series and a reread for me.
I enjoyed so much returning to the little town of Mitford where no one is perfect and everyone has hiccups in their lives. Yet the people there are good. Miss Rose has a screw loose, Edith Mallory gets carried away with romantic intentions on Father Tim, and the town is in danger of losing its café. These are just some of the problems in Mitford, but the focus of the plot is the relationship of Father Tim, the never-married Episcopal priest, and his neighbor Cynthia, an artist and the author of a successful series of children’s books. Father Tim likes Cynthia, but his inexperience makes him a reluctant suitor.
This major plot thread dominates A Light in the Window, but many other threads are woven into the book. It is a relaxing book, full of humor. The unexpected visit of Irish cousin Meg is a source of both humor and concern as are many of the stories in the book. There is character development as the characters mature and work through their problems. Themes include love, forgiveness, and trust. There are many denominations included in the book and there is an emphasis on how Father Tim and other preachers work together for the good of the people of Mitford and to further their exposure to the love of Jesus. Father Tim is an excellent listener and very accepting of others and their differences. At the same time, it is clear that he has standards and the townsfolk know they can count on him from his cooked hams to his pastoral care. There are a lot of characters, but the author makes it easy for the reader to distinguish them by their uniqueness. Father Tim’s dog Barnabas and his foster son Dooley are two of my favorites.
I very much enjoyed my return trip to Mitford and look forward to rereading more of the books in the series.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Fiction, Christian
Notes: There are a lot of characters in this book. Most of them were introduced in the first book. This book could be read as a standalone, but I recommend reading the first book in the series prior to reading this one. Both are relaxing and enjoyable.
Publication: 1995—Penguin
Memorable Lines:
He wanted to get at something more compelling, more life-changing—the process of personal confession, of personal relationship with Christ. He also wanted to point out that being a priest no more assured him of heaven than being a chipmunk would assure him of nuts for winter.
“Do you think God would have me batter through your locked doors?” “I think that you and only you could do it. I read something the other day—‘What is asked of us in our time,’ the writer said, “is that we break open our blocked caves and find each other. Nothing less will heal the anguished spirit, nor release the heart to act in love.’ Locked doors, blocked caves, it’s all the same. It is so hard to…” “To be real.” “Yes. Terribly hard. Frightening. But there’s no other way.”
Stolen time. He took her hand and turned it over to see the small, uplifted palm. He kissed its softness and placed her palm against his cheek. Stolen time. He would willingly be the blackest of thieves.
education pathways 