Unnatural Death by
Patricia Cornwell
My rating:
3 of 5 stars
To tell you the absolute truth about what I just read -it scares the dickens out of me. While this book starts off dealing with the unusual deaths of Huck and Brittany Mason, it is filled with so much more. You soon find out that the Mason's have become, well, let's just say they are not on the side of America.Russia plays a nice little part in this novel, as well as China. In this political era, well, this era period, we seem to have a lot to be concerned about with both of those countries, and this book really caused me some anxiety!Finding out who killed the Mason's was really interesting. However, I need to warn you that there is a lot of technical speak in this book, and if you are not up on the latest computer hacks, not up on AIor just a Luddite like I mainly am, you are going to find yourself getting lost and sometimes a tad bored.We also found an old adversary of Kays showing up again, and I assume that this will follow in the next couple of books.Yes, the murders of this couple do get solved, and in a spectacular, almost George Lucas kind of way.Oddly, this slow-moving novel has several sections that will make you bite your nails. I neither loved nor hated this book, and I will probably be re-reading it to see if I change my opinion.
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SYNOPSIS: " Two mauled bodies in the woods. Top secret autopsies. The most chilling cases of Scarpetta’s career.
In this thrilling new installment of Patricia Cornwell’s #1 bestselling Scarpetta series, chief medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta finds herself in a Northern Virginia wilderness examining the remains of two campers wanted by federal law enforcement.
The victims have been savaged beyond recognition, and other evidence is terrifying and baffling, including a larger-than-life footprint.
After one of the most frightening body retrievals of her career, Scarpetta must discover who would commit murders this savage, and why."
The Watchmaker’s Hand by
Jeffery Deaver
My rating: 4
of 5 stars
It has been quite a while since I have read one of the Rhyme/Sachs novels, and I had completely forgotten what I was missing. I'm going to have to go back and get the two books I'm missing!
The suspense, subterfuge, twists, and turns make these books stand out; this book was no exception.
This novel has a lot of technical detail, and it detracted somewhat from my enjoyment of the story. However, the twists and turns made up for that slight detraction.
The ending was a complete surprise to me, so be sure you get there!
Happy reading!
*ARC Supplied by the publisher G.P. Putnam's Sons, and will be published November 28, 2023, by the author, and NetGalley.
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SYNOPSIS "When a New York City construction crane mysteriously collapses, causing mass destruction and killing several people, Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are on the case. A political group claims to be behind the sabotage and threatens another crane collapse in twenty-four hours, unless their demands are met. The clock is ticking.
With New York in a panic, the stakes are higher than ever for Rhyme and his team to unravel the plot before the timer runs out and more cranes crash down, reducing the city and its people to rubble. Then Rhyme realizes that the mastermind behind the terror is his own nemesis—the Watchmaker."
The Roaring Days of Zora Lily by
Noelle Salazar
My rating:
4 of 5 stars
3.5 Stars
This book is set mostly in the 1920's (the Roaring Twenties) but does venture on a bit into the century.
As the synopsis tells us, we start with a new exhibition at the Smithsonian of movie costumes from the 1920's to the present. A conservator finds, quite by accident, that a costume that was thought to be by one designer has really been created by someone else. And that turns this book into a look at Zora Houghs' (Zora Lily) life.
Zora Hough is born into poverty, but we soon learn she has an exceptional way with a needle and all her siblings. When her best pal gets a job in a speakeasy dancing, Zora is soon dragged into the world of Flapper's, dance, hooch, and glorious costumes.
Most of the book is taken up by Zora's relationships, her sewing, family, designing ambitions, and trying to get ahead. It was a wonderful book; if you love dress design and learning about the darker side of the early Twentieth century (prohibition, racial discrimination, etc.), then this is going to be the perfect book for you.
Frankly, I thought we would be learning a little more about the conservator and her effort to find the original designer mixed in with the life of Zora Lily. Sadly, it was not. You don't hear more about the conservator until the last part of the book.
This was a very wonderfully written novel that had me a little confused when reading the synopsis.
*ARC was supplied by Above the Tree Line (ATTL), the publisher MIRA, and the author. My thanks to all.
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SYNOPSIS "“Noelle Salazar captures the hazy, liquor-soaked days of the Jazz Age in this mesmerizing tale . . . of family, ambition, love, and self-discovery.” — Entertainment Weekly
“Beautifully written and vividly drawn . . . [a] dazzling and sexy, dangerous and inspiring journey through the speakeasies of the jazz age to the glamour and darkness of Hollywood.” —Jillian Cantor, USA Today bestselling author of Beautiful Little Fools
The discovery of a hidden label on a famous gown unearths the story of a talented young seamstress in this glittering novel of family, love, ambition, and self discovery by the USA Today bestselling author of The Flight Girls.
2023, The Smithsonian's National Museum of American A costume conservator is preparing an exhibition featuring movie costumes from the 1920s to present day. As she gingerly places a gown once worn by Greta Garbo on a mannequin, she discovers another name hidden beneath the designer's label, leaving her to wonder—who is Zora Lily?
1924, Poverty-stricken Zora Hough spends her days looking after her younger siblings while sewing up holes and fixing hems for clients to bring in extra money, working her fingers to the bone just to survive. But at night, as she lies in the bed she shares with one of her three sisters, she secretly dreams of becoming a designer like Coco Chanel and Jeanne Lanvin.
When her best friend gets a job dancing in a club downtown, Zora is lured in by her stories of music, glittering dresses and boys. She follows her friend to the underground speakeasies that are at once exciting and frightening—with smoke hanging in the air, alcohol flowing despite Prohibition, couples dancing in a way that makes Zora blush and a handsome businessman named Harley. It’s a world she has only ever imagined, and one with connections that could lead her to the life she's always dreamed of. But as Zora's ambition is challenged by tragedy and duty to her family, she'll learn that dreams come with a cost.
Inheritance by
Nora Roberts
My rating:
5 of 5 stars
4.5 rounded up.
As you can see by the book's synopsis, this is a lost family, a huge odd inheritance, a murder mystery,
possible time travel, (we'll have to see what happens in the next part of the trilogy), a ghost mystery with romance thrown in. Whew! Heck of a sentence!
I loved this book, although it was a bit childish in parts for me. I so wanted to yell to these people to, you know, DON'T GO IN THE BASEMENT!! But no, they wouldn't listen to me, and it's a good thing, or the book wouldn't be the thriller/horror/romance it is.
I do think this book is going to resonate with many readers, but you are going to have to have patience. This book ends on a nail-biting cliffhanger, and so far there is no date for the next book. Crumb buns...
*ARC Supplied by NetGalley, the publisher St. Martin's Press, and the Author.
Release date is November 21, 2023.
#Inheritance #NoraRoberts #StMartinsPress #NetGalley
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SYNOPSIS "Inheritance is the first in The Lost Bride Trilogy by #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts―a tale of tragedies, loves found and lost, and a family haunted for generations.
1806: Astrid Poole sits in her bridal clothes, overwhelmed with happiness. But before her marriage can be consummated, she is murdered, and the circle of gold torn from her finger. Her last words are a promise to Collin never to leave him…
Graphic designer Sonya MacTavish is stunned to learn that her late father had a twin he never knew about―and that her newly discovered uncle, Collin Poole, has left her almost everything he owned, including a majestic Victorian house on the Maine coast, which the will stipulates she must live in it for at least three years. Her engagement recently broken, she sets off to find out why the boys were separated at birth―and why it was all kept secret until a genealogy website brought it to light.
Trey, the young lawyer who greets her at the sprawling clifftop manor, notes Sonya’s unease―and acknowledges that yes, the place is haunted…but just a little. Sure enough, Sonya finds objects moved and music playing out of nowhere. She sees a painting by her father inexplicably hanging in her deceased uncle’s office, and a portrait of a woman named Astrid, whom the lawyer refers to as “the first lost bride.” It’s becoming clear that Sonya has inherited far more than a house. She has inherited a centuries-old curse, and a puzzle to be solved if there is any hope of breaking it…"
