Weekend Reads: “The Last Bookshop in London”

The Last Bookshop in London: A Novel of World War II by Madeline Martin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Grace and Viv come up from Drayton to London, with plans to have a glamorous life. Viv, with a letter of reference in-hand, goes to work at Harrods. Grace, who worked in her uncle’s store, has no reference … but one of the local booksellers, Mr. Evans, agrees to take her on at Primrose Hill Books. The problem is, she’s not much of a reader. George, a handsome patron of the shop, gives her recommendations.

Soon, though, as Grace reorganizes the shop, it’s WWII … and everything changes. George is called up, and Viv volunteers for one of the women’s corps and goes away. Grace becomes a rescue volunteer, going out at night to help during the Blitz or reading aloud from the books she’s coming to love to those gathered in the Tube stations by night.

We also see the tribulations in Grace’s boarding house and neighborhood, and get to know the fancier bookstores just a few blocks away from Grace’s little shop.

The book is based on an amalgamation of the few bookstores that survived the Blitz. The characters are believable, and I came to care and worry about them. There were both smiles and tears as I read. Grace learns a lot about herself and others throughout the pages and, in true hero’s journey fashion, is irrevocably changed by the end of the book.

Madeline Martin has clearly done her homework in order write so vividly about life in London during WWII. Even those for whom the era is not a specific/especial interest are sure to enjoy this tale of a community that grows up in adversity around the little book shop. Highly recommended.

View all my reviews

Weekend Reads: “The Bone Code”

The Bone Code by Kathy Reichs
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am a huge fan of the Temperance Brennan novels, and this latest edition is a great example.

Tempe is assigned to a case with two sets of remains in a medical container, which wash up on the shore after a storm. She’s immediately reminded of a similar case in Canada, her other jurisdiction, fifteen years previously. The condition of the skeletons is similar, and so is the way they were discarded.

In the meanwhile, she’s also trying to help an older woman locate a missing twin sister … and help her friend Anne through a crisis.

Plus, Tempe’s boyfriend Andrew, now retired from the police and working as a PI, has a case that may be related … and someone has him in their sights. Literally.

As with all of the Brennan novels, this is a solid fair-play puzzle with a significant thriller element. I didn’t really see the “whodunnit” coming, but it was all laid out. Throw in a subplot about a fictional pandemic (although COVID is referenced, that’s not it) brewing in Tempe’s area, and you have a lot to work through.

It’s worth every minute I stayed up too late reading.

View all my reviews

Bonus Weekend Read: “Pompeii: A Captivating Guide”

Hi, everyone. From time to time, I like to give readers a peek into my research process. Here’s a book I read recently while working on Pompeii Fire.

Pompeii: A Captivating Guide to the City in Ancient Rome That Was Buried Because of the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius during the Rule of the Roman Empire by Captivating History
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This little book is an excellent overview of Pompeii, ranging in subject matter from topography to daily life. It is three years old, so it lacks some of the latest discoveries. However, author Matt Clayton still did a good job of introducing the ancient city and its destruction.

Clayton cites numerous Roman historians, including Suetonius and Cassius Dio, in the text. He also includes numerous photographs to help bring the text to life.

I would call this a good starting place rather than a definitive work, but it’s still worth reading.

View all my reviews

Weekend Reads: “What Girls Are Good For”

What Girls Are Good For: A Novel of Nellie Bly by David Blixt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’ve been fascinated by Nellie Bly for decades. Maybe it’s because my own (eventually realized) ambition was to be a newspaper reporter. Maybe it’s because she was such an iconoclast. In any event, the interest was there.

I heard author David Blixt speak during the Historical Novel Society conference and decided to grab his book. I’m glad I did; his narrative style in giving voice to Nellie is delightful. We get a good look at Nellie’s life as she remembers things that happened in her childhood, and as she gets her feet wet reporting on various social issues.

Blixt relied heavily on two books I’ve read (10 Days in a Madhouse and Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland’s History-Making Race Around the World) for his sourcing, but was also able to obtain newspaper clippings and other primary source documents to fill in around the edge and present a set of characters who are well-rounded and believable.

The culminating event of the book is Bly’s stay on Blackwell Island and thus the work does not address her around-the-world journey. Honestly, it doesn’t need to. It’s full and complete, engaging, well-written, and jam-packed with historical detail.

Highly recommended.

View all my reviews

Weekend Reads: “House of Desire”

House of Desire: A Claire Scanlan Haunted House Mystery by Margaret Lucke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I heard the author read an excerpt from this book during a Sisters in Crime showcase and picked it up right away … although I delayed reading it. The fact that I stayed up way too late finishing this book is testimony to how gripping I found the tale.

Claire is a real estate agent involved in the possible sale of a San Francisco mansion (based loosely on the Haas-Lilienthal House) to a historical organization — but the heirs are considering selling to a higher-paying development company. Claire can also see and talk to ghosts, a fact that she keeps pretty well hidden.

Roxane is a young woman living in that same house in the 1890s. And, to the shock of each woman, they’re able to see each other!

When a man is murdered in the house, both Claire and Roxane get to work trying to solve the mystery.

In many ways, this book reminded me of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia. The action taking place in the same rooms, during both modern and past times was an interesting take on the usual dual timeline or time travel historical. The mystery was a fair play puzzle; all of the information was there, but with a zillion red herrings thrown in for distraction.

View all my reviews