The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

 

Title:  The Body in the Library

Author:  Agatha Christie

Narrated by:  Stephanie Cole

Publisher: Harper Audio

Length: Approximately 5 hours and 21 minutes

Source: Amazon Music

Are you involved in any book challenges or book clubs this year?  I am once again a part of the #ReadChristie2026 challenge this year, although I am running a bit behind.  The theme for 2026 is Biggest, Best, Beloved Stories.  The January theme was “Best Opening.”  The Body in the Library certainly has a great opening…

The Bantrys wake up one day to find the body of a dead woman in their library.  Who is this woman and how did she end up in their library?  The Bantrys ask Miss Marple to help solve the case.

My thoughts on the novel:

·       This is the second novel in the Miss Marple series.  I love how sharp Miss Marple is and how she is able to use her knowledge and observations of human nature and behavior to solve mysteries.

·       This seemed a slightly more gruesome Agatha Christie mystery to me with the burned body of a “Girl Guide” (equivalent to a girl scout) victim in a car.  The book didn’t go into great detail, but I was very disturbed by it.

·       Stephanie Cole is a new audiobook narrator for me.  She did a good job and this was an enjoyable audiobook.

·       The plot of this novel was very clever.  I did not guess the ending and was intrigued as Miss Marple laid it all out in the end.

·       It is funny how Miss Marple recognizes the small things or clues and is able to put together the scenario while the police have no idea what is going on.

·       The poor Bantrys.  St. Mary’s Mead starts to cut them out of society as they are sure Colonel Bantry had something to do with it.

·       This is one of my favorite Miss Marple mysteries so far.

Overall, The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie was an enjoyable classic mystery with Miss Marple in her prime.

 

Mail-Order Baroness by Misty M. Beller

 

Do you order things through the mail or prefer shopping in person?  I love getting things in the mail, but it’s still fun to shop in person and browse through items (especially books).

Rose is a singer in Virginia City stuck in a twenty-year contract she signed with her stepfather when she was fifteen.  She dreams of the happy days she spent in her childhood with her mother on the Balfour ranch.  When an ad appears advertising for an assistant housekeeper at a ranch, Rose takes it upon herself to make her escape to try out the new job.  She soon discovers the job is at the Balfour ranch, and she is reunited with her childhood friend James, the middle Balfour brother.  James has never forgotten Rose and is happy to have her back.  Will these two find love?  Will her stepfather find her?  Why did her mother leave the ranch suddenly when she a child?

My thoughts on the novel:

·       I enjoyed the mystery in this book. Why did Rose and her mother leave the ranch?  I also enjoyed the suspense of her escape.

·       I enjoyed the romance and relationship between James and Rose.

·       I also enjoyed the continuing story from book one of Enoch and Mandie’s story.

·       The plot line was similar to the first book but was still enjoyable.

·       I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

·       I love the beautiful Montana setting.

·       It was unique having the British aristocracy living in Montana.  Enoch will need to return to England soon leaving James in charge of the ranch which is added stress.

·       There were moments of tension and danger toward the end of book which added excitement.

·       This is a second chance romance novel which is one of my favorite tropes.

·       This was a Christian book and a clean read.

·       This was a quick read and good escapism reading. 

·       This is the second book in the series but can be read as a standalone.  I did enjoy reading both books in the series. 

·       I love how understanding and empathetic James is.

Overall, Mail-Order Baroness by Misty M. Beller is a wonderful historical western romance with great characters and a suspenseful storyline.  It’s a great story to get lost in.

Book Source:  Thank-you to author Misty M. Beller for a review copy of this novel.

 

Jazz by Toni Morrison

 

Title:  Jazz

Author:  Toni Morrison

Narrated by:  Toni Morrison

Publisher: Random House Audio

Length: Approximately 3 hours

Source: Purchased from Audible and checked out a physical copy of the book from Kewaunee Public Library

Do you have a favorite jazz song or musician?  I have always loved the classic songs by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.

In 1926, a middle-aged man named Joe murders his teenage girlfriend, Dorcas.  His wife, Violet, attacks the corpse at the funeral and stabs it across the face, earning her the nickname, “Violence.”  How did they end up in this situation?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I read Jazz by Toni Morrison this month for the Classics Buddy read hosted by @Dees.Reads.

·       The audiobook is read by the author, but it is abridged so I also had the physical book from the library to fill in the gaps.

·       I loved the jazzy music and sound effects in the audiobook and Toni Morrison reading her own work.

·       There is a great forward by Toni Morrison that sets up the book.  She was inspired by seeing an old picture of a pretty girl in a coffin and the description that went with the picture.  How creepy and interesting.

·       This is the second book in a series after Beloved.  Beloved centered on mother love and Jazz centers on couple love.  They are both set at different points in Black history, otherwise they are not related.

·       Jazz is a beautifully written book that flows like a jazz song.  Like jazz, the narrative does not flow the way you would expect it too, which made it hard to understand at times.

·       Just like when I recently read Beloved, I found using SparkNotes to be helpful after I read it to make sure I understood what I had read.

·       I am still confused though – why didn’t Joe go to jail for shooting Dorcas?

·       The setting for the book was mostly 1920s Harlem, but there are plenty of flashbacks to the past.

·       Violet and Joe’s marriage gets better after the shooting.  I guess they were finally about to talk through their problems, but I was disturbed about Joe.  He, a man in his fifties, was so upset that his teenage girlfriend had decided to date men her own age that he shot her.  I think Violet deserved a better man, but she also does bad by slashing Dorcas’s face at the funeral.  This was meant to represent her sadness as she wanted to be a mother, but her and Joe had decided not to have children and she realized she wanted to be a mother too late.  Violet learns she has to take control of her own life and happiness.

Overall, Jazz by Toni Morrison was an interesting novel written in a unique way.  I am glad I read this book.

Taming Lady Temperance by Karen Witemeyer

 

Title:  Taming Lady Temperance

Author:  Karen Witemeyer

Narrated by:  Kate Forbes

Publisher: Recorded Books

Length: Approximately 12 hours and 51 minutes

Source:  Thank-you to @karen.witemeyer @bethanyhousefiction @greatreadsbookpromo for the review copy of the physical book as part of the Great Reads Book Promotion Tour and thank-you to @Netgalley for the audiobook review copy.

Do you have a cause that you believe in?  I have many, but a lifelong cause I have is to promote engineering to youth and to help increase the number of women in engineering.

Noreen O’Sullivan firmly believes in the temperance cause.  When she is invited to join the Secret Society of Spinsters, she hopes she will be able to rally others to her cause to close the local tavern.  Not everyone is town is happy about this, and Deputy James Paxton is often called in to keep the peace.  Noreen and the Deputy are at odds at first, but soon sparks fly.  Will these two be able to find love?  Will Noreen be able to shut down the tavern?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I loved the discussion of favorite books including Little Women.

·       It was interesting to think about “spinster” ladies and how they could be devoted to a cause back then, like temperance, and work together for a change for the greater good.

·       I was not sure about Noreen’s crusade at first, but as she described her abuse by her alcoholic father and his early death, it made sense that she wanted to shut it own.  The cruel violent beating of her friend in a similar circumstance was horrifying.

·       I loved Deputy James Paxton and how he is always trying to do with is right for the community. He was caring and empathetic man.  I also liked how he investigated a crime at the end and was able to put together all the clues.  I also loved how he was able to change his viewpoint as he emphasized with people.

·       I was call this enemies to friends to lovers book.

·       This was a western frontier historical romance set in Albany Texas in 1894.  It was a clean romance and a Christian read.

·       The point of view would switch between Noreen and James.

·       I loved Noreen and James’s relationship and the growth of both characters throughout the novel.

·       The audiobook was interesting with a good narrator. 

·       There are great discussion questions at the end of the book for a book club to use.

·       This is the first book in a new series, The Secret Society of Spinsters.  I am looking forward to continuing to read this series.  An exciting excerpt of the next book in the series is included at the end of this book.

Overall, Taming Lady Temperance by Karen Witemeyer was a good western historical romance that had an interesting spin with the temperance and spinster women topics.

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman

 

Title:  Us Against You

Author:  Fredrik Backman

Narrated by:  Marin Ireland

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 14 hours and 17 minutes

Source:  Purchased from Audible.com

What series are you currently reading?

Beartown had a transformational year and change in continuing when they find out that their hockey team is going to be disbanded.  A local politician pulls strings to keep the team in place with a surprising new coach. With much of the team now a part of their rival team, Hed, how will they build back the Beartown team?  How can they work through the trauma of the last year?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I read Us Against You for the February Pick for the Rogue Book Club. We are going to discuss it in March as there was not enough time for everyone to get the book and read it before our book club meeting.

·       This is the second book in the Beartown series.  We all loved Beartown, and it was a previous book club pick.  We decided to keep reading this series as a book club.

·       Sports mean so much to a small town.  When you try to take away sports, you can cause violence.

·       Sadly, the girl or victim is often blamed for a rape. A rape occurred in Beartown and Us Against You continues the story and shows that while it was a one-time act of violence, it will forever impact the life of the victim.

·       There was a line in the book about how someday there will not be female hockey coaches, there will just be coaches. This really spoke to me.

·       I loved being immersed in this town and in the lives of these characters again.

·       There is a good refresher at the start of the book to remind you about the first book.  You could potentially read this as a standalone, but I highly recommend reading Beartown first.  They are both excellent reads.

·       I liked the nice short chapters.

·       The twist in the book was heartbreaking, but I don’t want to spoil it up for others.  It was very emotional, and I teared up.

·       I like how Backman sets up what will happen in a book with a question or foreshadowing at the start.

·       Fredrik Backman is one of the best authors out there today.  He is able to capture how it feels to be human at any age.  He fully captures the complexity of humanity.

·       One such moment was when a dad pondered on how he didn’t have time to play with the kids when they were small and now that they are teens, they want nothing to do with him.  How did this time pass away?

·       Another such moment was when a teen told her Mom that she had been a great role model to her.

·       Marin Ireland is a great audiobook narrator, and I fully enjoyed this audiobook.

·       I am really looking forward to reading the next book in the series, The Winners.

Favorite Quotes:

“Have you ever seen a town fall? Ours did. We’ll end up saying that violence came to Beartown this summer, but that will be a lie; the violence was already here. Because sometimes hating one another is so easy that it seems incomprehensible that we ever do anything else.”

“You try to be a good parent, in every way, but you never know how. It's not a difficult job. Just impossible.”

“Love and hate. Joy and sorrow. Anger and forgiveness. Sports carry the promise that we can have everything tonight. Only sports can do that.”

"Fathers need to seize the day, because childhoods are like soap bubbles; you get only a few seconds to enjoy them.”

"The complicated thing about good and bad people alike is that most of us can be both at the same time.”

"It's hard to care about people. Exhausting, in fact, because empathy is a complicated thing. It requires us to accept that everyone else's lives are also going on the whole time.”

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman is a story about a town that loves sports, but beyond the rivalries it shows empathy and what it means to be human.  The humor and drama in this novel are top notch.  I highly recommend this series and any book by Fredrik Backman. 

Mail-Order Duchess by Misty M. Beller

 

What is your weirdest reading habit? When I was younger, I used to like to sit in trees and read.  I haven’t done that since my teen years, but I still remember it fondly.  Now I sit under trees when I can.  I love reading outdoors. 

Widow Mandie Beaumont needs to leave her hometown of Savannah to escape her evil brother-in-law who has raped her and is trying to force her into marriage.  She answers an advertisement seeking a bride in Montana and she moves out west.  When she arrives, she discovers that her prospective groom, has passed away.  His brother, Enoch, will become the next Duke of Clarence.  He finds himself drawn to Mandie.  Will these two be able to move beyond past hurt to find new love?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I loved the Enoch was so accepting of the fact that Mandie was pregnant and sympathized with her when she explained that she had been raped.  He said the baby was innocent and that he would accept it as his own.  What a good guy and how romantic.

·       This was a very romantic book and a quick read.

·       The tropes in this novel included mail order bride, amnesia, and marriage of convenience.

·       It is set in the Rocky Mountains which were both beautiful and rugged.

·       The Balfour family is living in Montana even though they are English aristocracy to protect the family from nefarious people back in England who want to destroy them.

·       Mandie hits her head before her arrival and has amnesia at first.

·       Enoch lost his previous love and is afraid to move on.

·       It is a sweet story and very readable.

·       I am currently reading the second book in the series, and I am loving it.

·       Trigger alert that rape is discussed, but the act is not described in detail.  Besides the topic of rape, this was a clean read.

·       I loved the development of Enoch and Mandie’s relationship.

·       There was great tension and action at the end!

Overall, Mail-Order Duchess by Misty M. Beller is a riveting family saga and western historical romance.  I greatly enjoyed this novel!

Book Source:  Thank-you to author Misty M. Beller for an e-book review copy of this novel.

 

Notes on Heartbreak by Annie Lord

 

What is the genre of the book you are currently reading?

Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @harperperennial for the review copy of Notes on Heartbreak by Annie Lord.

In Notes on Heartbreak, Annie Lord details her break-up after a long-term relationship ends.

My thoughts on this book:

·       This was a memoir, but also read at times like a self-help book as well.

·       Lord discusses the relationship from how it started to how it slowly ended and dealing with the aftermath.

·       Lord was very honest on her feelings and made me remember how hard it is being in this type of situation.

·       It is good to know this happens to everyone and you are not alone in your heartbreak.

·       This book detailed the best and worst parts of being in love.

·       I liked that it read like it was her diary.  The reader got to know her inner thoughts, friends, and family. 

·       The author lives in England, which gave me Bridget Jones vibes at times.

·       I thought this memoir was interesting, but I think I would have enjoyed it more when I was younger and experiencing this type of break-up myself.

Overall, Notes on Heartbreak by Annie Lord is an interesting memoir that details the best and worst of being in love and the end of a relationship.

 

Passage to Tokyo by Poppy Kuroki

 

If you could take a secret passage to any time period, what would you chose?  I think at this moment, I would pick the 1920s.  I’d like to go and visit my Great-Grandma Kile as a teenager and help her out during the terrible time when she and her siblings were abandoned by her father, and she was trying to keep care of her dying mother.

Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @harperperennial for the review copy of Passage to Tokyo by Poppy Kuroki.

In 1995 Tokyo, Yui Sanada is struggling to help her mother make ends meet and raising her twelve-year old brother Hiro.  One day, Hiro disappears into a tunnel at Ueno Park.  Yui follows him and finds herself in 1923, Tokyo.  As she looks for her brother, she meets a young nanny named Chiyo.  Chiyo takes her home to stay with her family.  While she searches for her brother.  Yui realizes that the Great Kanto Earthquake will happen in a few weeks.  Will she be able to save her brother before the earthquake?  Without about Chiyo and her family?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       There was a historical romance between Yui and Chiyo as their relationship grows.

·       This was also a historical fantasy with time travel involved in the story. I love time travel in novels.  It brings up so many ethical concerns and interesting questions.  If two different time travelers leave at the same time, will they end up in the same time period? When you go “back,” what time period are you going back to?  How does the past change due to time travelers?  How many time travelers are there in this world?

·       This was a new time period for Japanese history for me and it was very interesting.

·       I did not know about this devastating earthquake.  It was written in vivid detail and would have been a terrible thing to see and experience.

·       Immediately after the earthquake there was terrible racism against Koreans and non-Japanese.  Thousands of deaths were actually people murdered after the earthquake due to the rumors that Koreans were poisoning the wells or doing other terrible things.  The rumors were not true, but they caused a lot of deaths.

·       I was sad again thinking about how many people died in the past due to not having proper medicine or medical care.

·       I was sad that at the end of this book, a character disappears during WWII, and it is never determined what happened to the character.

·       This was the second book in the Ancestor Memories series, but it can be read as a standalone.  I do want to go back and read the first book.

·       There was an interesting author’s note at the end as well as historical timeline and glossary.

Overall, Passage to Tokyo Poppy Kuroki was a fascinating historical fantasy sapphic romance that has the reader to experience the Great Kanto Earthquake in real time.

The Jilted Countess by Loretta Ellsworth

 

Title:  The Jilted Countess

Author:  Loretta Ellsworth

Narrated by:  Caroline Hewitt

Publisher: Harper Audio

Length: Approximately 8 hours and 24 minutes

Source:  Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @harperperennial for the review copy of the paperback copy The Jilted Countess by Loretta Ellsworth.  Audiobook copy purchased from Audible.com.

What is your favorite Valentine’s Day candy?  I am a fan of chocolate myself – dark or milk chocolate!

Roza Meszaros was a ballerina in Vienna and a Hungarian Countess.  WWII destroyed the opera house, and the communists have taken the family estate.  Her father never returned after being taken by the Nazis. The one bright spot is her fiancé, Joe, an American GI.  After falling in love and becoming engaged, Joe returned to the US.  They continued to write and figure out how to get Roza to the United States.  Two years later, she arrived in Minneapolis, ready for marriage with Joe, but he doesn’t show up.  She soon discovered he has married another.  Needing to find a husband in just under two weeks to stay in the US, Roza tried a desperate bid and told her story to the Minneapolis Star newspaper.  She received over 1,000 offers of marriage.  Who will she marry, and will it work out?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       How terrible to travel all the way to the United States to marry your GI American fiancé, only to find him married to his former American sweetheart.

·       This book was set in St. Paul and Red Wing, Minnesota. This was the second book that I read within two weeks to mention a date at Como Zoo in St. Paul.  I visited that zoo once when my kids were small, but it made me want to visit again. 

·       This was a very engaging story; I didn’t want to stop listening to the audiobook!  The narrator was fantastic.

·       I loved how the letters and dates made it seem like an old-fashioned bachelorette.

·       Roza is a fish out of water in Red Wing Minnesota living a very different life than what she grew up with as an aristocrat.  I loved how she was able to make a life that worked for her with starting a ballet school.

·       This historical romance had one of my favorite tropes of marriage of convenience. 

·       The romance was closed door.

·       Finn has PTSD after losing his entire platoon in WWII.  He has invisible wounds that no one can understand except for Roza.

·       Finn has a degree in mechanical engineering and works for the railroad.

·       I was very annoyed by some of the poor choices that Roza made, but I loved the ending.

·       There is a fascinating author’s note at the end about the real-life countess who inspired the story.  It was interesting that there is no trail for what really happened to her after she was married.

Overall, The Jilted Countess by Loretta Ellsworth is an engaging historical romance that shows how life can go on with a marriage of convenience when two people work together on their relationship.