Book Recommendation: Before We Were Yours

This is another book that was recommended to me by my wife. When I read what it was about, I wasn’t sure I could get through it. There is something about the poor treatment of children that I have a hard time with. I wasn’t sure I could handle this emotionally. I added it to my “To Read” list.

It seemed like I kept seeing this book pop up on the “Must Read” Historical Fiction lists, on Facebook, and even in blogs that I follow on Word Press. I decided to read it and I was not disappointed. It was a powerful read that made me aware of some real terrible things that happened in real life.

Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge—until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents—but they quickly realize the dark truth. At the mercy of the facility’s cruel director, Rill fights to keep her sisters and brother together in a world of danger and uncertainty.

Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career as a federal prosecutor, a handsome fiancé, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. But when Avery returns home to help her father weather a health crisis, a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions and compels her to take a journey through her family’s long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or to redemption.

Based on one of America’s most notorious real-life scandals—in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country—Lisa Wingate’s riveting, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong.

With each chapter, I got more and more engrossed in the story. As I made my way through the book the past and the present begin to slowly come together and many of the questions are answered. It was an emotional read, but I am glad that I picked this one up.

Book Recommendation: Killers of the Flower Moon

This title kept showing up as a “must read” by my friends. It also started showing up as a recommendation on Goodreads. Then I heard it was a movie with Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro and I figured it was time to check it out.

This book was fascinating, sad, and eye opening. I was completely unfamiliar with this story. David Grann, who wrote The Wager (which I really enjoyed), does a great job of presenting this true story almost as a “mystery.”

Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

A twisting, haunting true-life murder mystery about one of the most monstrous crimes in American history.

In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Indian Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe.

Then, one by one, they began to be killed off. One Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, watched as her family was murdered. Her older sister was shot. Her mother was then slowly poisoned. And it was just the beginning, as more Osage began to die under mysterious circumstances.

In this last remnant of the Wild West—where oilmen like J. P. Getty made their fortunes and where desperadoes such as Al Spencer, “the Phantom Terror,” roamed – virtually anyone who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered. As the death toll surpassed more than twenty-four Osage, the newly created F.B.I. took up the case, in what became one of the organization’s first major homicide investigations. But the bureau was then notoriously corrupt and initially bungled the case. Eventually the young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to try unravel the mystery. White put together an undercover team, including one of the only Native American agents in the bureau. They infiltrated the region, struggling to adopt the latest modern techniques of detection. Together with the Osage they began to expose one of the most sinister conspiracies in American history.

In Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann revisits a shocking series of crimes in which dozens of people were murdered in cold blood. The book is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, as each step in the investigation reveals a series of sinister secrets and reversals. But more than that, it is a searing indictment of the callousness and prejudice toward Native Americans that allowed the murderers to operate with impunity for so long. Killers of the Flower Moon is utterly riveting, but also emotionally devastating.

It was a very good read. If you love history or Historical Non-fiction, you will enjoy this one!

I’ve read mixed reviews on the movie, so I’m on the fence about watching it.

Book Recommendation: The Mystery Guest

Here I am again with a book that has a recurring character in a series. I read Nita Prose’s book The Maid awhile back. It was one of those that kept popping up on my friend’s list of books to read. I picked it up and read it in just a couple days. You can read my initial thoughts here:

Thoughts on “The Maid”

I was excited to see that there was a follow up due out and I went to NetGalley where you can sometimes get an advanced copy to read. I was lucky enough to get be able to read it there. Here is the Goodreads synopsis for you:

When an acclaimed author dies at the Regency Grand Hotel, it’s up to a fastidious maid to uncover the truth, no matter how dirty—in a standalone novel featuring Molly Gray, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid, a Good Morning America Book Club Pick.

Molly Gray is not like anyone else. With her flair for cleaning and proper etiquette, she has risen through the ranks of the glorious five-star Regency Grand Hotel to become the esteemed Head Maid. But just as her life reaches a pinnacle state of perfection, her world is turned upside down when J.D. Grimthorpe, the world-renowned mystery author, drops dead—very dead—on the hotel’s tea room floor.

When Detective Stark, Molly’s old foe, investigates the author’s unexpected demise, it becomes clear that this death was murder most foul. Suspects abound, and everyone wants to know who killed J.D. Grimthorpe? Was it Lily, the new Maid-in-Training? Or was it Serena, the author’s secretary? Could Mr. Preston, the hotel’s beloved doorman, be hiding something? And is Molly really as innocent as she seems?

As the case threatens the hotel’s pristine reputation, Molly knows she alone holds the key to unlocking the killer’s identity. But that key is buried deep in her past—because long ago, she knew J.D. Grimthorpe. Molly begins to comb her memory for clues, revisiting her childhood and the mysterious Grimthorpe mansion where she and her dearly departed Gran once worked side by side. With the entire hotel under investigation, Molly must solve the mystery post-haste. If there’s one thing Molly knows for sure, it’s that dirty secrets don’t stay buried forever…

Molly reminds me a bit of Monk. She’s an odd bird, but very observant. It was nice to see what she’s been up to since book one. There are plenty of suspects and there were times I found myself going back and forth between who I thought was the killer.

I felt that this book lacked a little of what the first one did, but it was still a good read. Again, it didn’t take me very long to read it, and I almost felt like this fell into one of those “cozy mysteries” that people talk about. It was an easy read that kept me guessing.

The ending is left in a way where a third book is entirely possible, with possible big changes for Molly. It is left in a way where I will definitely want to read the next in the series – should there be one.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this book and offer thoughts here.

Book recommendation: Remarkably Bright Creatures.

I have seen this book come up over and over again on Goodreads, in blogs I follow, and online. You know the old saying, “You can’t judge a book by its cover?” Well, that holds true here.

This was a book that I just wouldn’t have read by looking at it or even after reading the brief descriptions of it. It just didn’t seem like something I would enjoy.

My wife, you may recall, recently joined Goodreads and has been listening to audio books now. It’s been fun to see many of the books I have read pop up on her “want to read” list.

She read this book and loved it. She said she thought I would like it. A few of my friends had recently read it as well and said it was one of the best books they read this year. So I checked it out and was not disappointed.

It was a great story! Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

Remarkably Bright Creatures, an exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope, tracing a widow’s unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus.

After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.

Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors–until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.

Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late.

Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.

The characters were very real and they dealt with real life issues (death, addiction, grief, gossip, depression, love, etc). At first you wonder how everything fits together, but as the story moves along the puzzle comes together nicely.

It is a heartwarming story that I am so glad I read. I highly recommend it.

Book Recommendation: Death Comes to Marlow

You may recall that a couple weeks ago I wrote about the Marlow Murder Club. It is very similar to the Thursday Night Murder Club books. I loved it. You can read about that here:

Book Recommendation: The Marlow Murder Club

I was glad to see that the second book in the series was also available in audiobook form and I checked it out immediately. It did not disappoint, even though I had an idea of how the murder was accomplished without knowing who the murderer was.

Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

It’s been an enjoyable and murder-free time for Judith, Suzie and Becks – AKA the Marlow Murder Club – since the events of last year. The most exciting thing on the horizon is the upcoming wedding of Marlow grandee, Sir Peter Bailey, to his nurse, Jenny Page. Sir Peter is having a party at his grand mansion on the river Thames the day before the wedding, and Judith and Co. are looking forward to a bit of free champagne.

But during the soiree, there’s a crash from inside the house, and when the Marlow Murder Club rush to investigate, they are shocked to find the groom-to-be crushed to death in his study.

The study was locked from the inside, so the police don’t consider the death suspicious. But Judith disagrees. As far as she’s concerned, Peter was murdered! And it’s up to the Marlow Murder Club to find the killer before he or she strikes again…

For a long time, I tried to steer away from some of the books that featured the same main character(s). Many years ago I read the Ben Kincaid series from William Bernhardt. I enjoyed the first couple, but then I felt like each book after consisted of recaps from the books before. It got old and I stopped reading them.

Lately, however, the series I have read with returning characters have been fantastic. Much like watching Columbo, Perry Mason, or Murder She Wrote, it is a joy to revisit these main characters.

There was a point in the middle of the book where a piece of evidence is presented and I began to realize just how the murder was committed (in a sense). Despite that knowledge, I didn’t know who the killer/killers was/were. It was a satisfying ending and another great mystery.

The third book of this series was just released to bookstores and it is called “The Queen of Poisons.” I will be looking for that one soon!

Book Recommendation: The Marlow Murder Club

One of the things I love about Goodreads is how they will take books that you have read and offer suggestions based on them. You may recall that I have read all of the available books in the Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman. This book was suggested based on those. I admit there are similarities, but this one was just as good.

This is the first book in the series. It was very well written and there were plenty of twists and turns throughout it. There were likable characters and characters that you like to hate. I was left guessing right up to the end, and there were some surprises that wrapped everything up nicely.

Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

To solve an impossible murder, you need an impossible hero…

Judith Potts is seventy-seven years old and blissfully happy. She lives on her own in a faded mansion just outside Marlow, there’s no man in her life to tell her what to do or how much whisky to drink, and to keep herself busy she sets crosswords for The Times newspaper.

One evening, while out swimming in the Thames, Judith witnesses a brutal murder. The local police don’t believe her story, so she decides to investigate for herself, and is soon joined in her quest by Suzie, a salt-of-the-earth dog-walker, and Becks, the prim and proper wife of the local Vicar.

Together, they are the Marlow Murder Club.

When another body turns up, they realize they have a real-life serial killer on their hands. And the puzzle they set out to solve has become a trap from which they might never escape…

The author, Robert Thorogood, is an English screenwriter. He is best known as the creator of the BBC 1 Murder Mystery Series, Death in Paradise. I was excited to learn that the PBS show Masterpiece is adapting this book into a 4-part miniseries that will air on PBS soon.

It’s no secret that I love a good mystery, and I enjoyed this one a lot!

Book Recommendation: A Man Called Ove

With each book I read by Fredrik Backman, the more I like him. I just finished A Man Called Ove, and it was so good.

I kind of held off on reading this one because I heard people say how sad it was. Were there some sad parts, yes, but life is not always happy. We all go through sad times. This book was that way. Much like the other Backman books I read, I found myself laughing out loud at times. Other times, I was anxious to find out what happened next.

Backman has a way of presenting his characters in such a way that you connect to them. They are real people with real emotions and experience real life situations. I think we all know someone like Ove, and all of the people in his neighborhood. To me, this could take place in almost any city anywhere.

Here is the Goodreads Synopsis:

A grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.

Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations.

I compare Ove to Ebenezer Scrooge of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Not because he has this miraculous change and becomes a happy, cheery guy, but because of that grumpiness that IS Ove. That doesn’t mean you can’t like him, because you can. He has quite a story.

This book was made into the movie A Man Called Otto starring Tom Hanks. I like Hanks, but I’m not sure I want to see an American movie take on such a wonderful book. I started this blog by saying that I held off reading this book because of things I had heard about it. After finishing it, my only regret is that I didn’t read it sooner.

Book Recommendation – Britt-Marie Was Here

Frederik Backman is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. His books are full of characters that you connect with. They are “real.” His books make me “feel,” if that makes sense. I find myself belly laughing out loud at times and holding back tears at other times.

Just this week I posted about the novella I read by Backman. You can read that here:

Book Recommendation – And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer

I believe the first book I read by him was Anxious People, which I simply loved.

Book Recommendation: Anxious People

When I read My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, I was first introduced to the main character of today’s recommendation – Britt-Marie. You can read about that one here:

Book Recommendation: My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry

In the above story, Britt-Marie leaves her husband and drives off. Her story picks up in Backman’s follow up, Britt-Marie Was Here. I was intrigued to know what her story would be and I found this to be a delightful read. Again, there was laughter and moving moments. There was a whole lot more to Britt-Marie than I could have imagined.

Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

Britt-Marie can’t stand mess. A disorganized cutlery drawer ranks high on her list of unforgivable sins. She is not one to judge others—no matter how ill-mannered, unkempt, or morally suspect they might be. It’s just that sometimes people interpret her helpful suggestions as criticisms, which is certainly not her intention. But hidden inside the socially awkward, fussy busybody is a woman who has more imagination, bigger dreams, and a warmer heart that anyone around her realizes.

When Britt-Marie walks out on her cheating husband and has to fend for herself in the miserable backwater town of Borg—of which the kindest thing one can say is that it has a road going through it—she finds work as the caretaker of a soon-to-be demolished recreation center. The fastidious Britt-Marie soon finds herself being drawn into the daily doings of her fellow citizens, an odd assortment of miscreants, drunkards, layabouts. Most alarming of all, she’s given the impossible task of leading the supremely untalented children’s soccer team to victory. In this small town of misfits, can Britt-Marie find a place where she truly belongs?

The one thing that really stood out in this story was that you have Britt-Marie, fresh from leaving her husband in a rundown and dying community and they both really need each other. Despite the obstacles that are thrown in the paths of each of them, they both learn to persevere and compliment each other. Both experience change as the novel progresses and it will leave you wanting more.

In 2019, there was a movie made based on the book. I think you can see it on Amazon Prime, but I’m not sure I want to as the overall rating was 5 out of 10 stars. Probably proof again that the book is almost always better than the film adaptation.

Book Recommendation – Everyone On this Train is a Suspect

You may remember that I stumbled on Benjamin Stevenson’s Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone last year and I just loved it! You can find my review of it here:

Book Recommendation: Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone

I have been waiting a long time for the follow up sequel – Everyone on This Train is a Suspect. Thanks to the good folks at NetGalley and Mariner Books, I was able to read an advance copy of it. It did not disappoint.

The main character of the book is again Ernest Cunningham. In this sequel, he has had great success with his first book (Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone) and comes face to face with some authors who are, well, much better known than he is. Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

Ernest Cunningham returns in a deliciously witty locked room (train) mystery.

When the Australian Mystery Writers’ Society invited me to their crime-writing festival aboard the Ghan, the famous train between Darwin and Adelaide, I was hoping for some inspiration for my second book. Fiction, this time: I needed a break from real people killing each other. Obviously, that didn’t pan out.

The program is a who’s who of crime writing royalty: the debut writer (me!), the forensic science writer, the blockbuster writer, the legal thriller writer, the literary writer, and the psychological suspense writer.

But when one of us is murdered, the remaining authors quickly turn into five detectives. Together, we should know how to solve a crime. Of course, we should also know how to commit one.

How can you find a killer when all the suspects know how to get away with murder?

It is just as entertaining as the first book. Ernest will, as he did in the first book, keep you abreast of things that you need to know. He offers up hints as to what is coming, etc. That was one of the things that I loved about the first book.

We see a bit of insecurity in Ernest this time around. He is the newly successful writer who is now among all of these other writers and he feels that he really doesn’t belong. He feels that way because he really didn’t come up with the story he wrote, he just wrote down what he experienced. He didn’t actually come up with the plot. He feels these other authors are way above his level of writing.

Now, his publisher wants another book from him. We learn fairly quickly that he has – nothing. No idea, no story, no nothing! Well, that is until one of the authors is murdered. The events that unfold on the trip come together and wind up being this story.

Once again, I was guessing right up to the end. Benjamin Stevenson does such a wonderful job in keeping you guessing. I love that we get the thoughts of Ernest and how he speaks directly to the reader at times. How it all plays out and how it all comes together is like wrapping a Christmas present – everything falls into place and it is tied up with a nice ribbon on top.

I loved it just as much or more than his first book. I truly hope that there might be another book in the future. I enjoyed this so much!

Thanks again to Net Galley and Mariner books for allowing me to read such a wonderful mystery!

Book Recommendation: The Keeper of Hidden Books

This was a book that I added to my list because of its title and because it is based on a true story. I have never read anything by Madeline Martin, but I think I will visit some of her other stories after this one.

Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

All her life, Zofia has found comfort in two things during times of hardship: books and her best friend, Janina. But no one could have imagined the horrors of the Nazi occupation in Warsaw. As the bombs rain down and Hitler’s forces loot and destroy the city, Zofia finds that now books are also in need of saving.

With the death count rising and persecution intensifying, Zofia jumps to action to save her friend and salvage whatever books she can from the wreckage, hiding them away, and even starting a clandestine book club. She and her dearest friend never surrender their love of reading, even when Janina is forced into the newly formed ghetto.

But the closer Warsaw creeps toward liberation, the more dangerous life becomes for the women and their families—and escape may not be possible for everyone. As the destruction rages around them, Zofia must fight to save her friend and preserve her culture and community using the only weapon they have left—literature.

I know I had read about Hitler destroying books and replacing them with “approved” books instead, but I hadn’t realized there were so many people who worked to save the ones the Nazis were trying to get rid of. These librarians played such an important role in saving great literature.

I was also aware of the destruction of Warsaw, but had no idea of the group of people who fought back against the Nazis. This fictional story that is woven into real historical events includes real people and those who were created based on real people. It is a story that serves as a reminder of just how terrible things were and how badly people were treated. I found myself engulfed in these characters and felt their emotions, too, as I read.

The author really makes you feel the cost of the occupation and it makes The Keeper of Hidden Books a tough story to “enjoy”. As another reader put it “I would recommend it to everyone, but I would also recommend choosing a moment when you’re ready to experience some angst and heartache.” When you finish this book, you cannot help but feel grateful for the freedom and peace that we enjoy as you are reminded what that freedom cost.