Conundrum or Dilemma?

Hester: A Novel by Paula Reed

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



A woman returns to London, after a sojourn in The Colonies, with her precocious, and wealthy, 8-year-old daughter. After settling in with old friends, she finds herself in the midst of the political machinations of Oliver Cromwell's England.....due to a certain "gift" of "seeing into the hearts of men".....her ability to spot lies and treason, while retaining her womanly propriety..While employed as such a Judge, she meets a hunky Sir John, who is playing both ends against the middle, politically. He's also pretty much of a libertine...Life continues...Cromwell "falls" and dies. The precocious daughter matures into a "boy crazy" drama queen, ultimately landing an "impossible" match.....marriage-wise. she hies of to Germany, pregnant but "in love"....satisfied to be a "kept woman" all her life..Mother returns to The Colonies....the site of her own past "sins"

This would be a pretty good Historical Romance, for those who fancy such, if not for the overt reference to The Scarlet Letter and the character of HESTER PRYNNE.

For one thing, any woman in possession of such a 'gift", as mentioned above, would more than likely have been condemned as a Witch and dispatched without qualms, or a trial. She would never have been given a seat in Oliver's STAR CHAMBER.

The back alley skulking betwixt her and Sir John probably did occur, but people made an art of Discretion in those days.....being Puritans and all

The intrusion of modern attitudes towards boys/men and sex were pretty un-subtle and annoying

I had a difficult time making a connection between Ms Reed's Hester, and Nathaniel Hawthorne's original...though I haven't read the original SCARLET LETTER in years, I seem to recall that Hester as being more of a slow burn.

With all of the historical detail present in this book, I am surprised at the anomalies I have mentioned. I found them to be rather jarring.....and a distraction from the story Ms Reed was trying to tell..Maybe that's my fault....but if the book had just been titled HESTER without the reference..i think it would have "gone down" easier

My rating:
4 stars for the story
3 stars for the delivery
3 1/2 stars total


* I got this book through the Library Thing EARLY REVIEWERS program*

Fluff-#1

Identity Crisis by Debbi Mack

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Just another Chick Dick book...in this case, though, she's an attorney with a Nancy Drew streak....a decent amount of moxie..a married boyfriend....and a temperamental automobile. The story is set in and around Baltimore...old CHARM CITY herself.

This little tale of identity theft and murder-most-foul (with a back story of High School hijinks gone wrong, and the revenge that followed) was a sweet respite from heavier fare. Nothing earth shaking, mind you...but it flowed smoothly, without too much Romantic mush (though the ending tends toward SAPPY CITY)...a few car chases...a little gun play...a scar-faced Mafioso...put it squarely in Chick Dick territory. It reminded me of Sue Grafton's KINSEY MILLHONE/Alphabet series....in the character of Sam mcRae, that is..

My version of "fluff"...rates 3 stars..

*this was an ePub version...i read it on my NOOK)

Look Out, Sam's on the Case...

Judgment Calls by Alafair Burke

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


One more in a long line of novels featuring a female PI/cop/lawyer...this is the first of a series, and the author's first novel. It possesses all the necessary elements: a smart, savvy protagonist(ess)....a semi-hunky love interest/foil.....a corrupt DA...some honest cops....and less-than -brilliant criminals. Ms Burke drew on her own experience in the legal profession, here.....the characters seem more 'believable" as a result.



We have here a teenage prostitution ring....an earlier death-penalty case that is "on the rocks"since those incarcerated for the crime could well be "innocent" of the crime.....several degrees of Bad Guys, from the seriously psychotic to the merely confused....and DAs playing both ends against the middle.



The book dragged in spots due to over explanation of the trial process/police procedure....but Ms Burke (daughter of James Lee) at least kept the "lectures" in the character's voice...less hectoring. Alafair has her Daddy's gift for dialogue and fast pacing....i look forward to reading her other offerings.



As I said, this is the first of a series featuring Samantha Kincaid...there is another series starring Ellie Hatcher, which joys I have yet to sample...Books like this are my idea of "fluff" and I recommend it to anyone who likes sassy, smart women in somewhat tough situations....anyone who likes the work of Sue Grafton and Laura Lippmann. Ms Burke is one writer to keep an eye on



3 Stars (***)





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We Are Family???

So Many Ways to Begin by Jon McGregor

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



David Carter - Curator of a local museum; obsessive collector and archivist of his own life

........until a senile relative reveals a long-buried family secret. Then David's life slips out of orbit. So begins his own personal Reconstruction..and his coming to terms with the fact that his life has not been what it seemed....that he isn't who he thought he was. so begins his search for "self".

Add to this a wife with bipolar disorder and its attendant strains...troubles in the workplace both personal and professional.....a daughter turned rebellious...and David's own batch of demons and weaknesses..and you have a heartbreaker of a story.

The author has an engaging style that moves the story along without undue sentimentality or "drama"...The ending could have been "tighter", but that's a minor quibble..and seems perfectly correct, in hindsight. The book has a definite British feel to it...."brave stoicism" with hysteria and rage lying just below the surface.

I liked the way McGregor portrayed David's situation as his life spiraled downwards- the confusion, frustration and anger so well-contained....only bursting forth at intervals..then receding quietly..until the next time. McGregor also writes about sex between married people in a healthily realistic fashion- no "throbbing" or "heaving" here...just "the way it is" in all its glory...the blessed "routine" of it all.

I recommend this to anyone who enjoys intelligent Soap Opera......who enjoys a good story, well told, without a patent "happy ending"...who is still "searching for self" (though maybe not this thoroughly)......I say give this one a try...

4 Stars (****)

Way To Go, Ohio

Summer Of Shadows: A Murder, a Pennant Race, and the Twilight Of the Best Location in the Nation by Jonathan Knight

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Summer of 1954......three stories



:The Cleveland Indians battled their arch-rivals...The New York Yankees...for the Pennant....only to lose the World Series to....The New York Giants



:Marilyn Sheppard was found, brutally murdered, in the home she shared with her husband...the charismatic "Dr Sam'...the prime suspect....His subsequent trial thrilled the nation



:The seeds of economic failure were being sown....thereby turning THE BEST LOCATION IN THE NATION into THE MISTAKE BY THE LAKE





I have to admit the the Baseball "play by play" lingo left me cold...i am not, and have never been, a Sports Fan.....but, the manner in which these Ball Games were presented....was enjoyable.....even to a curmudgeon like me...and made this book an enjoyable read..



Sam Sheppard's second trial....in 1966, i do remember (i was born in 1951...the events of 1954, i don't recall first hand).....it was big news in Akron, Ohio (my home town)...and still resonated, albeit a bit weakly, in 1969, when I left home for college...but my Dad did send me the newspaper clippings...when the Cuyahoga River caught fire in June '69....sowing those Seeds of Failure, i mentioned before..



I recommend this book to Sports Fans (who will understand the lingo)...Ohio History buffs....and any one who enjoys a good story, well told.....Mr Knight is the best Historian, in that respect....



4 stars



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Relief, Indeed!

The Sweet Relief of Missing Children by Sarah Braunstein

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Five stories going back and forth through time.....ending, or focusing, on the disappearance of 12-year old Leonora Coulter...deemed a "good" girl by her family and friends...a girl who got caught in a 'twist of fate"



Five sets of characters who interact with each other in unexpected ways throughout the book.



Awkward, damaged people going through life with enough "baggage" to down an airplane.



Small town life...the flip side of Bucolic



The awkward style of this book bothered, and distracted, me...until i realized it was perfect for these characters...most of whom are searching for reinvention...seeking acceptance, and comfort, and a sense of identity. The surprising ways in which they interact and separate remind me of broken glass on the sidewalk....that, in spite of the separateness of the pieces, the whole splintered mess, in fact, forms a weird kind of Whole



This wasn't an easy read and these people are not lovable......the atmosphere was desperate, claustrophobic, and strange....In an odd way I like it, and respect Ms Braunstein for letting her characters speak in their own tongues...



*this was an ARC from Library Thing Early Readers*



3 stars



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Is Dinner Ready?

One Bite Won't Kill You by Ann Hodgman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is one of my "Reviews-on-the-Fly"....Be Warned:



I became aware of this book through some Childrens Catalogue (to remain nameless because I can't remember) where it was tucked in the last pages.



Now that i own my copy...I was looking at it, the other night...and figured it needed a review



Ann Hodgman is a wonderful comedienne "on the page"...and Roz Chast is...well..."i swoon" at her talent..



The book itself is full of recipes...some good..some bland. BUT...this book is geared toward parents with kids who are "picky eaters"......an alien life form, when I was a kid. I ate what was served...or creeped downstairs after dark for a bowl of cereal...UNTIL i learned how to cook....for my own self ( and after my Mom went AWOL). Ms Hodgman does a bang up job in the Introduction....explaining the world of "Kids & Food"...i skipped that...no kids here...Her Afterword WHY NONE OF THIS MATTERS....matters....read it.



The recipes:



BROC BAKE-page220- is seriously fine...be sure to use Fresh Broccoli



PERFECT BROILED CHICKEN-page68- is just that



BREAKFAST "ZA-page 29- is so good..and a good reason to keep Crescent Roll Dough "in the house'



I recommend this to anyone who has to feed kids every day..if only for the humor element....and to anyone who loves to cook...and can tweak otherwise pedestrian recipes



4 Stars