The Jackal’s Mistress by Chris Bohjalian

Posted on June 20, 2025 by bseat

I have always loved historical novels! So when I saw this book by Bohjalian, who is a masterful storyteller, it made it all the more attractive!  The combination of being immersed in history with an author who creates strong, interesting characters is so satisfying! The fact that this novel is also based on a true story just added another layer of reality to this exceptional novel.

Libby Steadman has been operating a grist mill in the Shenandoah Valley with her niece and a hired hand and his wife, ever since her husband left to fight in the Confederate Army. The war is all around them, with the battle lines moving and changing almost daily. Although she received official word that her husband had been captured and taken North to a camp  for prisoners of war, that was months and months ago and she has heard nothing else. They have survived thus far by operating the grist mill but that is a mixed blessing since the Confederate army requisitions most of what she grinds leaving little for her to sell.

After an intense skirmish just a few miles from the mill, Libby and her hired hand find a wounded Union soldier in an abandoned house. He had been left for dead since he had lost most of his leg and some of his hand. It was dangerous for her to try and save him, but Libby kept on thinking of her husband, and hoped that if her husband was in the same state at this soldier some Union wife would take care of him. They try and keep the soldier a secret but small communities talk, and soon Confederate officers come and search their property trying to find the Union soldier. As things get more and more dangerous, Libby and her family must decide how to save themselves and the soldier they are hiding.

This book was very well written as it slowly shows how each choice Libby makes, restricts her options. Since it is based on true story, that adds to the depth of Libby’s anguish as she tries to figure out how to save everyone in her care. Bohjalian, creates a vivid portrait of living under the threat of war, and the stark divide between North and the South. This was an impressive and insightful book.

Brenda’ Rating: ***** (5 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Sharon, Keith, Ken and Marian

Book Study Worthy? YES

Read in e- library format.

Posted in Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction | 1 Comment

Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz

Posted on May 30, 2025 by bseat

“A classic whodunit with a twist, ” is the way I would describe this book. I absolutely loved the first book in this series, The Magpie Murders, which introduced the main character, Susan Ryeland the editor for the Atticus Pund series of mysteries by Alan Conway. This is a wonderful follow-up, with all the surprises and twist you could want!

After solving the Magpie Murders, Susan retired and moved to a small island in Greece with her boyfriend, Andreas, where they run a small hotel. It should have been blissful, but after just a few months, Susan is tired of all the ways things do not work on a small island.  The hot water always runs out, sinks clog, the staff is always getting sick or needs time off, and there is never enough time to just enjoy the sunsets. She is even beginning to miss cold, drafty London!

That is when the Mr. and Mrs. Trehearne arrived with the strangest story. It turns out that a murder took place in the hotel the Trehearnes own on the Suffolk coast called Farlingaye Hall. It occurred on the day their younger daughter Cecily, was married and eventually a Romanian immigrant who worked at the hotel was arrested and found guilty. The case seemed to be over and the Trehearnes and their family moved on, until just recently when Cecily read one of the Atticus Pund mysteries based on the murder at their hotel and told her parents and others that she was now convinced that the man who was convicted was innocent and then she disappeared.

Although the police are trying to find their missing daughter, the Trehearnes came all the way to Greece looking for Susan, hoping that as an editor who knew Alan Conway, she would have some new insights and could help them find their daughter. Intrigued and a bit relieved that she now has an excuse to go back to England, Susan takes the case, along with a sizable fee which will help with the upkeep of the hotel!

At first Susan thinks the case is pretty straightforward, but the more she investigates the stranger it seems. There are more than enough suspects, for both the murder and Cecily’s disappearance- the glamorous husband, the testy nanny, the jealous and angry sister, the dimwitted clerk, the ex wife of Alan Conway who was at the wedding and is now living nearby in the village as well as several staff people who are not what they seem to be, and finally the hostile couple who were related to the victim. Will Susan be able to solve this mystery before time runs out?

Horowitz is really quite adept writing in different styes. He is the author of the Alex Rider series for young people, as well as two Sherlock Holmes continuation novels which were authorized by the estate of Sir Conan Doyle, several books based on the character of James Bond, and this series which is reminiscent of Agatha Christie. I know you will find these books as interesting as I do!

Brenda’s Rating: **** (4 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Sharon and Marian 

Book Study Worthy? Yes

Read in e-library format.

 

Posted in Beach Read, Detective novel, Fiction, Mystery, Series, Suspense, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Suspicion by Joseph Finder

Posted on May 23, 2025 by bseat

Ever since the election I have been compulsively reading thrillers. There is something very satisfying when the bad guys get their comeuppance. (Even an armchair psychologist can see what is REALLY going on here, but enough said- after all this is NOT a political blog!) Joseph Finder is also a “new to me” author and I have been dipping into some of his older books and really enjoying them! He has a way of creating tension and non-stop suspense with great twisty plots, builds engaging characters and displays a keen insight into what motivates them.

Danny Goodman is a divorced single dad to his teen age daughter. His former wife, who had custody, has recently died of cancer and now he must deal with the aftermath of grief and teenage emotional volatility. He is a historian and writer of biographies of historical figures who were influential in their time but are relatively unknown today. His current work has suffered greatly and he is months behind on his scheduled delivery of his book. To add to his financial anxiety, he is also seriously in arrears on his payment to the ridiculously expensive private school that his daughter is going to. He would like to transfer her to the local public school which give him some financial breathing room, but this is the one thing in her life that has not changed dramatically after her mother’s death, and so he has been reluctant to broach the subject.

As Danny wrestles with these issues, he and his daughter are invited to dinner at his daughter’s best friends home. Danny assumed they were wealthy, but after seeing their home and  lifestyle he realizes that Thomas Galvin is probably one of the richest men in Boston, which is saying quite a lot. So when Galvin offers to loan Danny the tuition money so their daughters can remain friends in school together, Danny reluctantly, but gratefully agrees.

However, no sooner has the money been transferred into his account, when DEA agents appear wanting to meet. They make him an offer he can’t refuse: Cooperate or you will be indicted for accepting drug money.  He reluctantly agrees and almost immediately the lies begin. He lies to protect his daughter and his girlfriend and he lies to Thomas Galvin, the target of the DEA’s investigation. At some point, though, Danny understands that this is untenable and he must decide who is really the enemy and what he really needs to do to protect the ones he loves most.

This was a great book and despite it being almost 10 years old, the story still feels fresh and timeless. I think you will enjoy it too!

Brenda’s Rating: **** (4 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Marian, Sharon and Keith 

Book Study Worthy? Yes

Read in e-library format.

 

   

Posted in Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Summer Guests by Tess Gerritsen

Posted on May 16, 2025 by bseat

One of the risks in reading a series is that the second or third books may not be as wonderful as the first book you read. That is not, however, a problem with this second installment in Gerritsen’s new Martini Club series, whose main characters are retired CIA spies.

After Maggie Bird, a CIA operative, retired to Maine, she began raising chickens, befriended her neighbor and his teenage daughter, and formed the “Martini Club” with her fellow CIA retirees where they ate good food drank martinis and reminisced about their lives in the CIA.. Then a dead body turned up on her driveway and suddenly Maggie had to prove her innocence with the help of her friends from the Martini Club and the local police chief, Jo Thibodeau. As a result of that case, Thibodeau and the Martini Club members have formed a somewhat uneasy alliance.

Now a young teenager has gone missing and the last person to see her is Maggie’s neighbor who becomes a prime suspect. Maggie and the Martini Club must swing into action to try and prove his innocence. The case becomes even more complicated however, when the police drag the lake in front the missing girls home and discover another woman’s body.  Now the police, Maggie and the Martini Club must to solve a murder as well as find the missing girl and time is not on their side.

Gerritsen keeps the tension going in this novel, as the plot takes some significant twists and turns, but the plot is not the only thing that makes this book interesting, it really is the characters who are lively, insightful, and very well developed. I really enjoyed this book and hope we continue to hear more from Maggie and the Martini Club!

Brenda’s Rating: **** (4 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Sharon, Marian and Keith

Book Study Worthy? Yes, and enjoy a martini together too!

Read in ebook format.

Posted in Detective novel, Fiction, Mystery, Series, Spy/Covert Operatives | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell

Posted on May 9, 2025 by bseat

It is so satisfying to read a book by an author who is clever in their plotting! This book was quite intricately and deftly written with three or four different plot lines, depending on how you count them, interwoven in such a way that it kept me guessing until the very end.

On the shores of the Thames a gruesome discovery of bones requires DCI Samuel Owusu to begin an investigation. What he learns is that the bones are connected to a thirty year old cold case that left three people dead in a large mansion in Chelsea.

Lucy Lamb has finally returned to England after leaving thirty years ago in the wake of a tragedy. Now with her children in tow she wants to settle down and purchase a home. But just as she finds the perfect place, her brother disappears trying to find a boy they both knew when they were children, someone who may know something about their past.

Rachel Rimmer answers a phone call from a French area code, only to discover the she is speaking with a French police officer who informs her that her husband, Michael has been found dead in the cellar of the house in France. Now they want her to come to France to identify the body and to answer questions about Michael, something that fills her with dread.

What they don’t know is that each of these mysteries is related, creating a large and convoluted mystery that will keep all of them and the reader guessing until the very last page!

Brenda’s Rating: ***** (5 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Sharon, Marian and Keith

Book Study Worthy? Yes

Read in ebook format.

Posted in Detective novel, Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Mystery, Suspense, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas

Posted on May 2, 2025 by bseat

It is always a delight to find a series, especially a a fantasy series, that you really enjoy! Recently, I am finding that I am getting more picky, or just not willing to commit to a fantasy series unless I really enjoy the characters or if I find the plot and world making in-cohesive. Maas is a well established fantasy writer and I tried her fantasy series about a fairy empire (A Court Thrones and Roses) but found the main character petulant and whiney and gave up part way through the first book. But my daughter recommended the Throne of Glass series and I am really glad I did!

In a land without magic, Celaena Sardothien, an assassin, is summoned from prison to the castle by the prince. The king needs a new King’s Champion and the prince is tasked with running the competition to become the Champion. Celaena must defeat twenty three competitors- warriors, thieves and murderers and if she does she will earn her freedom and have the honor of serving the king.

But when her competitors begin to die one by one under mysterious circumstances, Celaena begins to suspect that something evil has infiltrated the castle. Along with the Captain of the Guard who is her training partner and a princess from a foreign country, Celaena begins to uncover the mysterious deaths and the strange circumstances that caused the kingdom to lose its magic. As she gets closer to finding answers, she realizes that this is no longer a competition but a fight for her very survival!

The series contains the following books : The Assassin’s Blade (prequel novella), Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, Heir of Fire, Queen of Shadows, Empire of Storms, Tower of Dawn and Kingdom of Ash.  Maas has created many engaging characters who are complicated and motivated in different ways. As we follow the various characters who go on different missions to find answers to the evil that seems to taking over the land, the plot lines begin to weave back and forth as new information, new alliances, new enemies and new challenges emerge. Maas is a good writer, and her world building is very comprehensive, although there were times when I wished the war sequences could have been a bit more concise, over all I really enjoyed all of these books!

Brenda’s Rating: **** (4 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend these books to: Lauren, Marian and Sharon

Book Study Worthy? Yes

Read in ebook format.

Posted in Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery, Romance, Series, Suspense, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Kills Well with Others by Deanna Raybourn

Posted on April 25, 2025 by bseat

The four senior citizen assassins from Killers of a Certain Age are called back into service and they are more than ready to be back in action. After all there is only so much yoga and watercolor classes a person can take!  Raybourn is back with her Fab Four- Billie, Helen, Mary Alice and Natalie and this time they have to find an Eastern European mobster who has begun murdering agents who have gotten in the way of his plans to create a vast criminal enterprise. Which means that someone their organization- The Museum- is a mole who has ratted out their fellow agents. Following the trail of both the mole and the mobster, they soon realize that this a a global cat and mouse game and they are next on the list to be killed.

Raybourn has created the most diverting and interesting characters. These women have known each other for 40 years, their conversations are witty, snarky and vastly amusing. The plot is twisty and surprising and in between we see glimpses of the women in action at earlier points in their careers and how those experiences have impacted them over the years. There were a few times when things seemed a bit over the top, but this was a hard book to put down, so be prepared to read long into the night!

Brenda’s Rating: **** (4 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Sharon, Marian and Lauren.

Book Study Worthy? Sure, why not?

Read in ebook format. 

Posted in Adventure, Fiction, Series, Spy/Covert Operatives, Suspense, Thriller | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Presumed Guilty by Scott Turow

Posted on April 18, 2025 by bseat

Turow has written a superb novel about the complicated process of defending someone accused of murder. How much do we really know about another person? How much do our past experiences of betrayal, or misjudgments about someone color the way we look at people right now? How does that impact our ability to defend someone we are close to?

Rusty Sabitch has moved out of Kindle County and has begun a new life in the country. Now in his 70’s, he has a small mediation practice after retiring from being a judge. He is dating and plans to marry, Bea, an educator in the local school system. Bea’s adopted Black son, Aaron, that she co-parents with her ex-husband Aaron, is currently living with Rusty and Bea after getting paroled for a drug related conviction. Rusty’s life, although full is much more quiet and calm than when he was a prosecutor in Kindle County, and he is grateful for that. But that all changes when Mae, local girl, last seen with Aaron, is found dead in her car at a campsite in the next county

Aaron swears he is innocent, but Mae’s parents who never liked Aaron, are convinced that Aaron killed her and since Mae’s father is the local prosecutor he can exert the right kind of pressure to make sure that Aaron is convicted of the crime. Since the body was found in an adjoining more rural and conservative county, the trial will be held there, and because of Bea’s insistence Rusty decides to come out of semi-retirement and defend Aaron.

But as Rusty knows all too well, a murder case has many twists and turns and his own experiences in being tried and framed for murder come back to haunt him. Is Aaron truly innocent? Is Bea being truthful or just trying to protect her son? Does Rusty, at his age, still have the stamina and knowledge to defend Aaron in a place where a black teenager with priors is presumed guilty?

As always, Turow, does an excellent job in explaining all the minutia that goes into a trial. There is no one that does that better than he does! But in this novel, he also addresses the deep under currents of emotion, bias, and doubts that surround the person who is on trial. In other books, Rusty was the one on trial and he may not have understood the full extent of the doubts that existed about his innocence and impacted those around him, but now he is the one defending his soon to be step son and he has to contend with his own doubts about Aaron’s innocence even as he defends him.

This was a pleasure to read! It had many twisty plot lines that all converged in a single satisfying ending.  I also noticed that Turow as he ages and Rusty, his character ages that they both have become more reflective, with a more gentle and nuanced understanding of humanity.

Brenda’s Rating: ***** (5 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this Book to: Keith, Sharon and Marain

Book Study Worthy? YES

Read in ebook format.

Posted in Fiction, Legal Procedural, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Mystery/Detective, Series, Suspense, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Seventh Floor by David McCloskey

Posted on April 11, 2025 by bseat

A good spy novel makes me very happy! It’s even better is when a former CIA agent is the author because you get a sense of truth and reality in the writing. But when the former CIA agent has a flair for creating interesting, non-traditional quirky characters you are in for a great and satisfying reading experience!

Artemis Proctor knew the minute that the mission in Singapore went bad that there was something deeply wrong. She had sent Sam Joseph to Singapore to meet with a Russian agent who was trying to sell some important information. But when Sam goes missing and the Russian agent is killed, Proctor knows the mission was compromised. But before she can even begin an investigation, she is dismissed from the service, a scapegoat for the massive failure of a mission gone wrong.

Months later, Proctor is surprised to find Sam on her doorstep. After months of being “interrogated” by the Russians, he was unexpectedly returned to the US as part of some deal negotiated by the State Department. During his time of captivity, Sam becomes convinced by the way he was questioned and the information that the Russians apparently knew, that there must be a mole in the CIA. Procter, who had also suspected that the Singapore mission failure had resulted from some sort of information compromise, is more that willing to entertain the idea of a mole. Quickly the two begin to analyze the flow of information, and draw up a short list of possible suspects within the CIA including some of Proctor’s closest friends and a few enemies. 

Now Sam and Proctor must figure out a way to test their theory and somehow catch the mole before anymore intelligence is compromised. The Russians, however, are willing to protect their critical asset in the CIA at all costs and soon Sam and Proctor are in the middle of a deadly cat and mouse game. 

I really enjoyed meeting Artemis Proctor. A woman who drinks more than is good for her, is brutally honest and who fights crocodiles as well as she fights Russians, is someone you can really root for!  Sam is still a bit naive, still believes in the good of the world and provides the perfect foil to Procter’s jaded cynicism. Not only must they confront how little they actually know about their friends and colleagues, but Proctor must also deal with the fact that although she has given her all for the organization, the CIA does not reciprocate her devotion.

This is book three in this series- Damascus Station and Moscow X which were both great as well, but Procter was not given a starring role in those two books. McCloskey is definitely a writer to be following! 

Brenda’s Rating: **** (4 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Marian, Sharon, and Keith.

Book Study Worthy: Yes

Read in ebook format.

Posted in Fiction, Mystery, Series, Spy/Covert Operatives, Suspense, Thriller, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

How To Sleep at Night by Elizabeth Harris

Posted on April 4, 2025 by bseat

You know that feeling when something awful happens and someone makes a joke about it? That cringey, sick to your stomach feeling, but also a little gurgle of laughter? I know you know what I mean. Maybe telling the joke now was a bit too soon, but in six months it will be hilarious! That was how I felt about this book initially, but by the end I was all in! I hope you give it a try, too!

Ethan and Gabe had a great life until Ethan decides to run for political office as a Republican! He wants Gabe’s blessing, which puts Gabe, a progressive lefty, in a serious dilemma. Gabe worries about the attention, the impact this will have on their young daughter, and just the clash in values that he sees between himself, Ethan, and the current Republican Party. But he doesn’t want to be the one that prevented Ethan from achieving his dreams and so he agrees. But once the campaign starts, Gabe feels like he is drowning from the weight of the compromises he must make for Ethan’s ambitions.

Meanwhile Kate, Ethan’s sister and a political reporter with a major newspaper, is struggling to find meaning in the work she is doing. The adrenaline rush of chasing a story is not as thrilling as it once was and she feels limited by the breathless pace of her reporting, when she really wants to get deeper into what is behind the headlines. In this moment of ennui and soul searching, two things happen that disrupt her life: She finds out that her brother Ethan is going to run for office as a Republican and her old girlfriend, Nicole, the one who broke her heart, reaches out.  Needless to say, both of these things happening at the same time causes Kate’s life to go into a tailspin.

With Ethan’s campaign in full swing, Gabe’s struggles to maintain a facade of normality for their daughter while sticking to his own values and principles which causes many sleepless nights, while Kate loses sleep over her own ethical dilemmas caused by  her personal relationship to the hottest political story in town, and her relationship with Nicole who is now married with children.

Somehow Harris manages to deal with some really heavy and emotional topics in an informative but breezy way, without losing sight of their seriousness. The dilemmas that face Gabe, Ethan, Kate and Nicole are complicated and Harris treats them with the dignity they deserve. I really enjoyed this book even though some of the politics was cringey!

Brenda’s Rating: **** (4 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this book to: Sharon, Marian, and Keith.

Book Study Worthy? Yes

Read in ebook format.

Posted in Fiction, Romance, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment