Midwinter Murder by Agatha Christie

 

Do you like to curl up to the fire with a cozy mystery, romance, or other type of genre? 

Midwinter Murder by Agatha Christie is a collection of stories that was recently published in 2020 and contains a variety of stories that were originally published from the 1920s to the 1970s.  The stories have a holiday or winter theme. 

My thoughts on this collection of stories:

·       This was the November Pick for the Back to the Classics Book Club.  We all enjoyed it!  I’m also using it for a pick for #ReadChristie2024.  The challenge this year was exploring Christie’s works through the decades, which you can do with this collection as well!

·       My book club all liked the introduction which contained Christie’s memories of Christmas from her youth.  In the bibliography at the end, it looks like it was taken from her autobiography.

·       I enjoyed all the stories, but especially the first, “Three Blind Mice.”  It was longer like a novella and seemed to have more plot and character buildup.  Apparently, this later became Agatha Christie’s longest running play, The Mousetrap.  I still haven’t seen this play yet!

·       All the stories were different, interesting, and fun.

·       This was the first time I had read any stories involving Mr. Harley Quin.  We all thought he was interesting.  He only appears in Christie’s short stories but was apparently one of Christie’s favorite characters.  Two stories in this collection had Quin as a character.

·       While I was reading “The Plymouth Express,” it seemed very familiar to me.  It was later made into the full-length book, The Blue Train, which I had read earlier this year.

·       Tommy and Tuppence had a cute story in this collection and my fellow book club members enjoyed them as characters.  I highly recommend their full-length novels.

Overall, Midwinter Murder by Agatha Christie was a great collection with stories that were unique, interesting, and fun.  It was a good Christmas read for my Back to the Classics Book Club.

The French Winemaker’s Daughter by Loretta Ellsworth (Bibliolifestyle Book Tour)

 

Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @harperperennial for the review copy of the French Winemaker’s Daughter by Loretta Ellsworth.

Do you like wine?  If so, what is your favorite type of wine?  I enjoy many, but one of my favorites is Riesling.  Another favorite is Pinot Noir which is featured heavily in this book.

The book starts off with a bang.  In France in 1942, seven-year-old Martine is handed a bottle of wine by her father and is told that it is her legacy, and she is hidden in a cupboard.  Her father is then taken away by the Nazis and they only barely miss taking Martine.  She has a note pinned on her to send her to her Aunt in Paris.  After a perilous journey to Paris, she arrives only to find that her Aunt is gone.  Saved by Sister Ada, Marine starts a new life hiding in a convent.

In 1990, Charlotte is a female airplane pilot in a man’s world.  Her boyfriend, Henri, invites her to attend a wine auction with him and gifts her a bottle of wine that is deemed to be not valuable.  Charlotte takes off the label and discovers beneath it another label.  It starts her on a journey of discovery to determine what happened to this Jewish family and their winery during WWII.  Will Charlotte find the answers she seeks?

My thoughts on this book:

·       This was a quick read and a riveting story.

·       I enjoyed both the 1940s and 1990s storylines equally.  Often, I enjoy one storyline more than the other, so I am always happy to find one where I enjoy each of the storylines.

·       This book really made me think again of all that the Nazis confiscated from the Jewish people and others that they deemed enemies.  Your family winery and all its stock would be gone in an instant.  You yourself could be gone.  They made entire families disappear from the world.  It’s horrifying.

·       I liked that Charlotte’s quest was also a journey of self-discovery for herself.  What did she want out of life and love? 

·       I loved that Marine even as a young girl had a knack with the grapes and vineyard.  Her story made me realize the sacrifices that many made to help others during the war.

·       This novel had both great memorable characters as well as an interesting plot line.  I did guess the ending of this one, but it was a great journey to that ending.

·       I also liked the side theme of struggle between family obligations (i.e. keeping your family winery running) versus pursuing your own dreams.

·       There was a great author’s note at the end of the novel on the winemakers in France, how their wine was stolen, and the secret resistance they had with trying to hide their wines behind false walls and false labels.

·       This was my time reading a book by author Loretta Ellsworth, but I will be looking for more of her novels in the future.

Overall, The French Winemaker’s Daughter is a riveting WWII story with great characters.  I learned a lot about wineries in France during and after WWII.

Squanto: A Native Odyssey by Andrew Lipman

 

Title: Squanto:  A Native Odyssey

Author:  Andrew Lipman

Narrated by:  David Colacci

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Length: Approximately 8 hours and 59 minutes

Source: Review Copy from NetGalley.  Thank you!

What historical personage would you like to learn more about?  With Thanksgiving coming up, I decided to listen to an audiobook about Squanto, as I did not know much about the true historical figure.

Historian Andrew Lipman researched and describes Squanto’s childhood, kidnapping, career, downfall, and death using historical records.  Squanto had much more of a fascinating life than what is depicted in children’s books about Thanksgiving.

My thoughts on this book:

·       Squanto is known as both Squanto and Tisquantum in historical record.  He was part of the Patuxet Tribe of the Wampanoags. 

·       Squanto’s childhood was told in general of how his tribe was known to live at the time.

·       The book also discussed the meaning of the Manitou and how the name is passed down in place names such as the down the road town from me, Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

·       He was kidnapped by explorer, Captain Thomas Hunt, and sold in Spain.  By the time he made it back to his tribe, they were gone.  They had all died from a disease brought over by the European explorers.  Hunt had been exploring the Northeast with Captain John Smith.  They parted ways when Hunt decided he was going to make money by tricking Native Americans to board his ship to trade and sailing away with them to sell them as slaves.  Afterwards, explorers were instantly attacked when they appeared.

·       The Pilgrims of history are so different from what I learned in school.  As Squanto’s tribe had all died, the Pilgrims just showed up and settled on the tribes cleared land and stole other tribes’ corn to survive.  The Pilgrims had a hard time surviving, but it would have been even harder if they would have had to clear their own land and were not able to eat the Natives’ corn.

·       The last part of the book was about how the history of Squanto was passed down and how the story was “reimagined” and retold through modern day.  It is interesting when the real history doesn’t match the simplified tales that are told.  I’ve noticed that people will say this is “rewriting” history, when it is just going back to the historic record rather than inaccuracies that were passed down.

·       I thought it was interesting that there were native pirates.  They taught themselves how to sail ships that they overtook and surprised European explorers.

·       I didn’t realize that Squanto died so young and so soon after the historical Thanksgiving.

·       David Colacci, the audiobook narrator, had a newsperson type of voice and made the audiobook interesting.

Overall, Squanto:  A Native Odyssey by Andrew Lipman is an informative book and interesting audiobook experience which tells the fascinating history behind the myth of Squanto.  I highly recommend it.

 

Persuasion: A BabyLit® Colors Primer by Jennifer Adams, Art by Alison Oliver (Austenprose PR Book Tour and Giveaway)

Do you like classics that are reformatted for children?  I was a great fan of Children’s Illustrated Classics growing up.  They gave me a taste for the stories that I later read in entirety as a teen and as an adult.

When my daughter was younger, we read and enjoyed Little Miss Austen Emma: An Emotions Primer and Little Miss Austen Pride & Prejudice:  A Counting Primer both by Jennifer Adams and illustrated by Alison Oliver.  I would give her a review of the general story and how it related to the book.  She really enjoyed it. My daughter is older now, but I thought it would be fun to review Persuasion: A BabyLit® Colors Primer by Jennifer Adams, Art by Alison Oliver

Persuasion: A BabyLit® Colors Primer has beautiful illustrations and is formatted as a board book.  The illustrations and colors focus on characters and objects from the original story.  The colors are more sophisticated as compared to other children’s books about color with sage, navy, ivory, mauve, chestnut, umber, gray, scarlet, and periwinkle as the colors in this board book.  I myself learned what color umber is with this book. If I was reading this one to my child, I would definitely be telling the story of Persuasion along with the pictures and colors.

Overall, the Persuasion: A BabyLit® Colors Primer is a fun book to learn about more unique colors for your future Austen loving child.  It is also a fun book for an Austen loving adult to read as well.

Book Source:  Review copy from @babylitjen @alisonoliverdesign @babylitbooks @austenprose as part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

The million-copy selling Classic BabyLit® series now has a new title to add to your toddler’s bookshelf.

BabyLit ® is a fashionable way to introduce your toddler to the world of classic literature. With clever, simple text by Jennifer Adams, paired with stylish design and illustrations by Allison Oliver, these books are a must for every savvy parent’s nursery library.

Persuasion: A Colors Primer exposes little ones to the world of Jane Austen through words and artwork that offer an awareness of the Regency era and the preferred color palette of the time period: beige, olive, navy, ivory, chestnut, lavender, umber, grey, scarlet, and periwinkle.

AUTHOR BIO

Jennifer Adams is the author of more than 60 books for children. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, and Parents magazine. Jennifer has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She lives in Salt Lake City, where she works weekends as a bookseller at The King's English Bookshop. Visit her website at jennifer-adams.com.

ILLUSTRATOR BIO

Alison Oliver is the author-illustrator of Moon and Sun, and the illustrator of 32 BabyLit board books. Alison lives in New York City, where she runs a creative studio called Sugar that focuses on design and illustration.

GIVEAWAY 

In celebration of the release of Persuasion: A BabyLit® Colors Primer, author Jennifer Adams, illustrator Alison Oliver, and their publisher BabyLit are generously offering a giveaway contest open to US residents.

Grand Prize Winner – 4 board books in the BabyLit series including Persuasion, Sense & Sensibility, Pride & Prejudice, and Emma to one lucky winner.

To enter the giveaway, go to my Instagram Post at:

https://www.instagram.com/laurasreviews_1/p/DDPbNdQJ5lI/

James by Percival Everett

 

Title:  James

Author:  Percival Everett

Narrated by:  Dominic Hoffman

Publisher: Random House Audio

Length: Approximately 7 hours and 49 minutes

Source: Checked out with Libby through the Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you!

What side character in a classic novel do you think deserves to have their own story told?  James is the story of the runaway slave, Jim, from Huckleberry Finn.

When James (Jim) hears that he is going to be sold south and separated from his wife and daughter, he decides to hide on Jackson Island and come up with his own plan. Huckleberry Finn has faked his own death and stumbles onto Jim.  The two set off on an adventure on a raft down the Mississippi River.  Will James be able to save his wife and daughter?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       It’s been a long time since I’ve read Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.  I did remember many of the happenings that end up in James now told from his point of view.  James is also separated from Huck at times.  You don’t need to reread Huckleberry Finn before you read James, but it may make you want to reread it by the time you have finished the book.

·       Huck and James have a good relationship.  It was interesting to see their adventures through James point of view.

·       Many adventures in the novel seemed surreal. At one point, James wears black face to pretend to be a white man wearing black face to imitate a black man in a minstrel show. 

·       James finally has his own voice to tell his own story in this novel. He knows how to read and has taught other slaves to read as well.  He must play dumb and talk down to hide his intellect (codeswitching) to keep himself safe.  It’s interesting on the audiobook to hear how James switches his way of talking depending on who he is around.  It makes it an excellent audiobook.

·       Poor James is humiliated and in fear for his life in parts of their journey south.

·       James feels paternal about a young slave, Sammy, that reminds him of his daughter.  She is running away as she has been beaten and is constantly raped.  I felt so sorry for her.

·       This novel had a powerful ending, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I read it last month.

·       James just won the National Book Award and was a Goodreads Nominee for Best Historical Fiction and audiobook.

Favorite Quotes:

“Dey takes the lies dey want and throws away the truths dat scares ’em.”

“If you're not making mistakes, you're not learning.”

“I felt tired of the failures of men. They were always failing in the most basic ways, like looking down or away at the moment when they should be gutsy enough to meet your eye.”

“I considered the northern white stance against slavery. How much of the desire to end the institution was fueled by a need to quell and subdue white guilt and pain? Was it just too much to watch? Did it offend Christian sensibilities to live in a society that allowed that practice? I knew that whatever the cause of their war, freeing slaves was an incidental premise and would be an incidental result.”

Overall, James by Percival Everett is one of the best books I’ve read this year.  It’s a great tale that makes you think.

 

 

The Third Girl by Agatha Christie

Title:  The Third Girl

Author:  Agatha Christie

Narrated by:  Hugh Fraser

Publisher: HarperAudio

Length: Approximately 6 hours and 59 minutes

Source: Checked out with Libby through the Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you!

Which genre help you get out of reading slump?  Mysteries often get me out of a reading slump.

I read The Third Girl by Agatha Christie last month for #ReadChristie2024.  #ReadChristie2024 has a theme this year of through the decades.  January – March were books published by Agatha Christie in the 1920’s, April through June were books published by Agatha Christie in the 1930’s, July through September were books published by Agatha Christie in the 1940s and 1950s, and October through December were books published by Agatha Christie in the 1960s and 1970s.   The Third Girl was published in 1966 and features Hercule Poirot. 

A mysterious woman shows up and tells Poirot that she thinks she murdered someone and then promptly disappears.  Poirot must figure out who the girl is and why she thinks she killed someone.

My thoughts on this novel:

·       Hugh Fraser is such a great audiobook narrator.  He makes all the voices unique and in tune with their character.

·       Hercule Poirot is sad about being called old in this one.  As he has been retired since the books written in the 1920s and this one was published in 1966, I think he is doing well for his age.

·       Ariadne Oliver is a character in this one and is a great partner to Poirot.

·       Agatha Christie really seems to not like the youth of the day.  There is much talk about “dirty” and unkept youth, long hair, beards, drugs, and sex.

·       I learned what “third girl” actually means.  A first girl rents a flat and invites a friend (second girl), and then they place an ad for a third girl to share the rent.

·       Once a wig became involved in the story, I was suspicious, but I still didn’t solve this one on my own.

·       I thought it was interesting that it was the first novel in years where Hercule Poirot was present from the beginning to the end.

Overall, Third Girl was another good Agatha Christie mystery.  I think reading through the different decades was very interesting. 

The Seaside Homecoming by Julie Klassen (AustenProse PR Book Tour)

 

Which book would you love to live in?  I always want to live in Regency England for a day.

Claire Summers is the disgraced eldest of five daughters.  She ran away to Gretna Green with a Lord hoping to be married, only to find herself abandoned and ruined.  She lives with her Great Aunt in Edinburgh afterwards as she is no longer welcome at home.  After her Great Aunt dies, she is left adrift.  She finds an advertisement for a “respectable female partner” for a boarding house in Sidmouth.  Her family has a home in Sidmouth and hoping to be able to connect with them again, she travels with her aunt’s maid Mary to Sidmouth with all the money she has.  Will she be able to make a go of it as a partner?  Will she be able to reconnect with her family?  Will she be able to find a second chance at love?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       This is the third novel in the On Devonshire Shores series.  I loved knowing all the sisters and their backgrounds from the previous books, but I believe you could read this as a standalone.

·       The setting of the seaside town is wonderful and scenic.  It allows for a constant stream of interesting visitors as well as scenic vistas for the characters to travel through.

·       I was fascinated by Claire herself as a character.  She is what would have happened to Lydia Bennet in Pride & Prejudice if Mr. Darcy had not forced Mr. Wickham to marry her.  It’s sad to think that while there were no repercussions for the man in the situation, the woman was “ruined” forever and could be cast out by her family.  They would not want the reputation of being a loose woman to hinder the other four girls from being married.  I had wondered about the mysterious Claire in the first two books, and I was excited to finally get to read about her.

·       I enjoyed the romance in this novel.  It was a second chance at love for both characters after sadness in their lives.  It was the first time the two of them had fallen in love with each other.  I also always enjoy when a romance brings people together to form a new family.

·       I liked that Claire was able to come back to her family and work on getting forgiveness.  I liked that her sisters and mother all were able to forgive, it just took longer for her mother.

·       There was also an interesting look into prejudice during the Regency era.  Mr. Hammond who owns the boarding house, was once married to an Indian woman and has a child, Mira, who is part Indian.  Sonali was a friend of the late Mrs. Hammond and has stayed to care for Mira.  As the only Indian woman in a rural part of England, she is a unique person.

·       I was excited to see that this story will continue next year with Christmas at Seaview.  I enjoyed the sneak peak at the end of the novel.  I enjoy these characters, story, and setting and I love Regency Christmas romance.  I am so excited about this!

·       I also enjoyed the authors note and discussion questions at the end of the novel.

Overall, The Seaside Homecoming by Julie Klassen was a wonderful regency romance novel with great characters, setting, and story.  It was like reading a Christmas gift for myself.  I highly recommend this novel.

Book Source:  Review copy from BethanyHouse as part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

A surprise homecoming tests the bonds of sisterhood as a hidden past comes to light . . .

Disgraced eldest sister Claire Summers has been living in exile as companion to a stern great-aunt in Scotland. About to lose her place and longing to be reconciled with her estranged family, Claire sees an advertisement from someone looking for a "respectable female partner" in a Sidmouth boarding house. Is it a sign? She answers the ad, hoping she has not made another reckless mistake. When she meets the handsome, secretive proprietor, she wonders what he's hiding and if he's any more trustworthy than the nobleman who betrayed her years ago. Claire is drawn to him even though she fears he will reject her when he discovers her genteel façade hides a less-than-respectable past.

Meanwhile, the Summers family learns their great-aunt has died and Claire has disappeared without a word. The sisters rally together to find their lost sibling, but will their unexpected reunion heal old wounds and rekindle their bonds . . . or deepen the divide?

Return to the captivating Devonshire coast as the Summers sisters navigate romance, second chances, and the enduring strength of sisterhood in the face of adversity

AUTHOR BIO

Julie Klassen loves all things Jane—Jane Eyre and Jane Austen. Her books have sold more than 1.5 million copies, and she is a three-time recipient of the Christy Award for Historical Romance. The Secret of Pembrooke Park was honored with the Minnesota Book Award for Genre Fiction. Julie has also won the Midwest Book Award and Christian Retailing's Best Award and has been a finalist in the RITA and Carol Awards. A graduate of the University of Illinois, Julie worked in publishing for sixteen years and now writes full-time. She and her husband have two sons and live in St. Paul, Minnesota. For more information, visit JulieKlassen.com.

The Last Witch in Edinburgh by Marielle Thompson

 

Title: The Last Witch in Edinburgh

Author:  Marielle Thompson

Narrated by:  Siobhan Waring

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Length: Approximately 10 hours and 20 minutes

Source: Audiobook Purchased from Audible. Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @kensingtonbooks for the review copy of the paperwork version of the book.

What are you currently reading?  Leave a hashtag of the book that you are currently reading so that I can check it out.

Nellie is a young beautiful woman that is trying to keep her motherless brother alive and happy in 1824 Edinburgh.  She encounters the Roe Women’s Apothecary and learns about the Cailleach and magic.  After a fire destroys the shop, Nellie is adrift in the world, mourning for her lost love.  After 200 years she finally returns to Edinburgh with her daughter and finds both friends and foes waiting.

My thoughts on this novel:

·       The narrator of the audiobook had a nice Scottish accent. 

·       Fear lingers over all with women being seemingly selected by random to be hanged as witches.

·       This novel was historical fantasy, there were no witch hunts in the 1820s, but the author researched the witch hunts that did take place in Edinburgh and used the historical detail for this novel.

·       The focus of the story was of men trying to keep powerful women down and to keep them from expressing their ideas and helping each other. 

·       The novel switches to modern times as witches live very long lives. 

·       The novel got very preachy at the end about the patriarchy.  There were no good men in the story.  I got tired by the end of only women being good and all men being evil.

·       I didn’t like the turn in the story in the second half of the book.  The first half of the book, Nellie’s brother was so important to her and then she just abandons him.  It seemed out of character.  I also didn’t understand why it took her 200 years to check back on who had survived the fire.

·       The novel focused on social issues and feminism.

·       A same sex romance was featured in the story.

·       It was an engaging story, but the second half was not as good as the first half.

Overall, The Last Witch in Edinburgh was a good fall read and interesting historical fantasy.

The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins

 

Are you a fan of Jane Eyre?  Have you read the book?  Do you have a favorite movie or TV version?

The Wife Upstairs is a modern day take on Jane Eyre.  Jane has recently moved to Birmingham Alabama and works as a dogwalker in the rich Thornfield Estates Community.  She takes trinkets on the side and is always watching. Resident Eddie Rochester’s wife Bea has recently been presumed dead.  Bea had started a Southern homestyle line and made a fortune.  Eddie and Jane soon start a romance, but Jane has a lot of questions.  What exactly happened to Bea and how was Eddie involved?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       This was a Rogue Book Club selection for November.  Unfortunately, only one other member read it, but she enjoyed it as much as I did.  She had not read the original Jane Eyre and still enjoyed this book on its own merits.

·       This retelling of Jane Eyre was a new story in itself.  It kept the names and some scenarios from the original tale, but it gives the story its own unique spin.

·       This book kept me guessing.  I kept thinking that I had it figured out and then the story would switch.  This was often achieved with changing the point of view.

·       I didn’t really like any of the characters.  Unlike the original novel, this Jane was not a good person.  I still wanted to know what would happen to the characters.  It was a plot driven novel.

·       Jane grew up in foster care.  She is street smart, but she can read people and blend into her surroundings.  She mimics Bea’s style and that of the ladies in the neighborhood.  Jane is strong willed and will get her happy ending.

·       The author said at the end that she gives Jane the ending she deserves.  I’m not sure if I agreed with the ending of the book being the ending that Jane deserved.

·       Minus one star for the “Reader, I F&*^ed him” quote.  While it did make me chuckle, I didn’t like this rewrite of the famous Jane Eyre quote.

·       This also reminded me of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier which is itself a modern day take on Jane Eyre.  Just like in Rebecca, the start of the novel was romance between Eddie and Jane as they got together. 

Overall, I thought The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins was very entertaining!

Book Source:  A gift from a friend