The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie

 

Title:  The Secret Adversary

Author:  Agatha Christie

Narrated by:  Emma Fenney

Publisher: Dreamscape Media

Length: Approximately 8 hours and 33 minutes

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

 

Do you have any favorite spy novels, shows, or movies?  I always enjoy watching the James Bond movies.

I read The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie in February for #ReadChristie2024.  #ReadChristie2024 has a theme this year of through the decades.  January – March are books written by Agatha Christie in the 1920’s.  The Secret Adversary was Agatha Christie’s second novel published in 1922 and the first novel featuring the detective solving pair, Tommy and Tuppence.  Christie wrote a novel or short story collection about this crime solving duo each decade of her writing career and they aged along with her.  I have read their first two books and I can’t wait to read the rest of their adventures!

The Secret Adversary is set right after the first world war or “The Great War.”  Friends Tommy Beresford and Prudence “Tuppence” Cowley run into each other in London in 1920.  They  discover they are both searching for a job.  They start the “young adventurers” to solve cases.  A man overhearing them talk asks for their help in in finding the missing Jane Finn who disappeared when the  Luisitana sank about five years before and may have had secret government documents with her.  They are off on an adventure that includes foreign agents, the mysterious Mr. Brown, amnesia, kidnapping, proposals, and more.  Will they find Jane and the missing documents?

I really like Tommy and Tuppence and their capers.  This was a fun adventure with witty banter, evil villians, and a lot of action.  It was a lot of fun to me, but it isn’t like her “typical” Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple novels.  I really like the Agatha Christie wrote such different types of mysteries.  I also liked the romance between Tommy and Tuppence.  She wants to marry a rich man and I enjoyed how they both realized their feelings for each other and that they didn’t want her to marry rich when given the chance.  This wasn’t my favorite mystery of Christie’s, but I did really like the fun and adventure.

I really liked the opening line of this novel, “It was 2 p.m. on the afternoon of May 7, 1915. The Lusitania had been struck by two torpedoes in succession and was sinking rapidly, while the boats were being launched with all possible speed.”  I thought it was interesting that this book used an event that had happened not too long before it was published.  I was also intrigued to learn that Tommy served in the military and Tuppence was a nurse during the Great War.

I listened to The Secret Adversary on audiobook and Emma Fenney was a great narrator!

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

 Title:  The Mysterious Affair at Styles

Author:  Agatha Christie

Narrated by:  Hugh Fraser

Publisher: HarperAudio

Length: Approximately 5 hours and 57 minutes 

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

Do you participate in any reading challenges?  I discovered the Read Christie Challenge a few years ago and I have been having a wonderful time discovering all of Christie’s works for the first time.  #ReadChristie2024 has a theme this year of through the decades.  (See Challenge Card Below).  January – March are books written by Agatha Christie in the 1920’s.  

If you’d like to join this challenge, you can do the following:

1. Go to https://www.agathachristie.com/news/2024/read-christie-2024 to see the reads for each month of 2024.

2. Print a Challenge Postcard, pick out your book for the month, and start reading.

3. If you post on social media, use #ReadChristie2024 on Instagram for your chance to be featured in monthly reading round-ups.  

4. You can also join an end of the month book club at the link above.

5. Have fun reading and seeing what others are reading for this challenge.

For January, I read The Mysterious Affair at Styles which was published in 1920.  This novel introduced her most famous detective, Hercule Poirot.  Captain Arthur Hastings has just returned from the Great War and is recuperating at Styles Court as the guest of the Cavendish family. While there, the family matriarch and owner of the estate, Emily Inglethorpe, mysteriously dies.  She appears to have been poisoned, but by who and why?  Hastings enlists his old friend Hercule Poirot to help solve the case.

This was an excellent first novel by Agatha Christie.  I love that Hercule Poirot was introduced as a Belgian refugee from World War I who is also a retired famous detective.  Series regulars Inspector Japp and Hastings first appear.  Hastings is still not great at putting clues together without Poirot’s help.  He is also helpless when it comes to a pretty face, just like he is in the follow-up novel, Murder on the Links.  Poirot uses his little grey cells and many of his mannerisms and characteristics first appear here that will continue over the many novels in which he is featured.  I find it interesting that he is already retired and supposedly old in this first novel.  

The mystery was good with lots of red herrings that fooled me as usual.  I liked the conclusion of the novel.  I also loved that Christie used her job experiences during World War I in a hospital dispensary to write about poison.  She even had a character in this novel that had the same job she did during World War I.  

Hugh Fraser is a good narrator of Agatha Christie’s novels.  I was very entertained by this audiobook.

Sugar Plum Poisoned by Jenn McKinlay

 

Title:  Sugar Plum Poisoned:  Cupcake Bakery Mystery, Book 15

Author:  Jenn McKinlay

Narrated by:  Susan Boyce

Publisher: Dreamscape Media

Length: Approximately 7 hours and 14 minutes

Source: Review Copy from NetGalley

 

Cupcakes or cake?  I love them both.

In Sugar Plum Poisoned, Mel and Angie run a bakery in town.  As they prepare for the holidays, Angie’s old friend, the now famous singer Shelby, has arrived back in town to give a Christmas concert.  The friends enjoy being together again, but when Shelby’s manager is found murdered, will they be able to solve the crime?

Sugar Plum Poisoned was a cozy Christmas mystery that I enjoyed.  I loved the friendships, the baked goods, and trying to solve the mystery.  I did guess who the murderer was before the end, but I enjoyed the journey getting there.  I did feel stressed out for Mel when both sides of her family wanted her to host a very specific holiday celebration when she was already busy with her bakery and solving a crime.

I did not realize this was book 15 in the series when I read it.  It worked well as a standalone novel, but I would love to learn the history of the characters.  I may need to check out the other books in this series.

Susan Boyce was a good narrator for this audiobook.

The Jolliest Bunch: Unhinged Holiday Stories by Danny Pellegrino

 

Title:  The Jolliest Bunch: Unhinged Holiday Stories

Author:  Danny Pellegrino

Narrated by:  Danny Pellegrino

Publisher: Recorded Books

Length: Approximately 6 hours and 30 minutes

Source: Review Copy from NetGalley

 

Are you a fan of the movie Christmas Vacation?  It is one of my favorite Christmas movies and I relate more to it the older I get.  When I saw the title of this audiobook and how it referenced Christmas Vacation, I knew that I needed to read it.

Danny Pellegrino narrates this audiobook himself, which I thought was delightful.  His delivery of the stories made them even more fun.  This is a group of essays about Danny’s true holiday experiences including Christmas and other holidays.  It includes memories, as well as experiences working at Borders, taking road trips, fictional tales, etc.

My favorite story was how his mother had a perfectly put together Christmas but would have a meltdown at the very end of putting it all together before the rest of the family arrived.  Then she would act perfectly fine when guests arrived.  It was relatable as were most of his stories about his youthful holidays.  There was also a crazy story about Danny going on a cross country trip with an unhinged co-worker.   I loved the stories but didn’t like them as much when he veered into writing Mrs. Claus fan fiction.  That bit went on a little too long.  The audiobook overall made me interested in checking out his podcast and hoping that he will have another audiobook in the future.

The Christmas Guest by Peter Swanson

 

Title:  The Christmas Guest

Author:  Peter Swanson

Narrated by:  Esther Wane

Publisher: HarperAudio

Length: Approximately 2 hours and 48 minutes

Source: Purchased from Amazon.com

Do you like to read novellas or short stories?  I do, especially during the busy holiday season.  I have enjoyed Peter Swanson’s thrillers in the past and was excited to see what he would craft with a Christmas story.

Ashley Smith is an American Art student studying in London in the 1980s.  She is excited to be invited to spend the Christmas season with a fellow student Emma Chapman at her family’s country estate.  Ashley is intrigued and smitten by Emma’s brother Adam.  There is also a sinister stranger lurking in the woods between the manor house and the local pub the young people like to hang out at.  Has Ashley stumbled into a romance, a gothic story, or something else at this picturesque estate over the Christmas season?

I don’t want to get too much more into the story as I appreciated all the twists and turns.  As with other Peter Swanson novels, things are not what they seem at first glance and the characters are much more than they first appear.  I liked how this story was told through Ashley’s diary entries from the 1980’s and the second half was Ashley filling in the rest of the story in the present day.  This is definitely NOT a Hallmark Christmas story, but I loved the English manor atmosphere, the mystery, and the psychological thriller aspect.  It was a good Christmas story and definitely had me thinking at the end.

Esther Wane was a good narrator and was the voice of Ashley through the novel for me.

 

Fortune and Glory by Janet Evanovich

 

Title: Fortune and Glory (Tantalizing 27)

Author:  Janet Evanovich

Narrated by:  Lorelei King

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 7 hours and 13 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster Audio.  Thank you @simonandschuster #BookClubFavorites for the free books!

What is the longest running series that you’ve read?  I believe for me it is the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich.  I finished up book 27 this fall, but there are currently 30 published books in the series.

Grandma Mazur’s new husband passed away on their wedding night.  Grandma Mazur is left with an old La-Z-Boy chair and the keys to a supposed fortune.  Stephanie Plum and Grandma Mazur become treasure hunters in this novel, while trying to avoid the people out to get the keys from Grandma. All of the old favorites are in this book, the love triangle between Stephanie – Morelli- and Ranger, cars blowing up, Lula causing mayhem, and great descriptions of food.

I always return to this series when life is stressful and I need a good laugh.  I love the audiobook versions narrated by Lorelei King.  She has the perfect voices for all of the characters and makes it a joy to listen.  I do wish that Stephanie would make some forward movement in her life at some point and chose between Morelli and Ranger.  I still think the book series could just be just as fun if Stephanie is married and has kids.  This was another fun installment in the series, and I can’t wait to read what is next!

Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks

 

Title:  Dreamland

Author:  Nicholas Sparks

Narrated by:  Ella Turenne

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Length: Approximately 9 hours and 4 minutes

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

 

Do you like books with songs in them?  The first books I enjoyed with songs in them were the Little House on the Prairie series where Pa would play his fiddle and sing various folk songs.  I have enjoyed songs in books since then.

Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks was an October pick for the Page-turners Book Club at the Kewaunee Public Library, and it prompted good discussion.  The story is split in two.  One story is about a woman named Beverly fleeing her abusive husband with her young son, Tommie.  The other story is about musician Colby Mills.  He is playing a gig at St. Pete Beach Florida, and meets the beautiful singer, Morgan Lee.  They fall in love, but Colby feels his real life pulling him back home.

Dreamland was a good look at mental illness and the sacrifices people make to care for family members.  I enjoyed the characters in this book and the innovative way that Sparks wrote this novel.  I did not know how the two stories related at all and he masterfully revealed how they were related towards the end of the novel.  This story had romance and suspense and was a riveting book.

Dreamland was an enjoyable audiobook to listen to. I really liked the guitar music that accompanied the Colby chapters and when the songs were sung.

Murder at Midnight by Katharine Schellman

 

Title:  Murder at Midnight

Author:  Katharine Schellman

Narrated by:  Henrietta Meire

Publisher: Dreamscape Media

Length: Approximately 10 hours and 49 minutes

Source: Review Copy from NetGalley

 

Do you like mysteries that are set around holidays?  I love cozy mysteries for all holidays including Christmas, Halloween, Valentine’s Day, etc.  I love holiday books and it’s fun to mix up the genres.

Lily Adler is a widow in the Regency time period and is planning on spending her holiday with her late husband’s family in the country.  At a ball, Lily meets new people with new secrets.  A snowstorm forces the guests to stay for the night.  A dead body is found in the courtyard the next morning.  Will Lily be able to determine who is the murderer among them?

This is book number four of the Lily Adler series.  I have not read the previous books and I feel like I would have known the characters better if I had.  That being said, I did enjoy the story and it worked as a standalone.  I loved the intrigue, mystery, and the interesting characters.  It also made me wonder what is next for Lily Adler and for her friend, Captain Jack.  I always love a locked room mystery, especially when it is at Christmas time and caused by snow.

Henrietta Meire was a good narrator, and I will be checking out more of the Lily Adler historical mystery series.

A Jane Austen Christmas: Regency Christmas Traditions by Maria Grace

 

Title:  A Jane Austen Christmas:  Regency Christmas Traditions

Author:  Maria Grace

Narrated by:  Barry Shannon

Publisher: Maria Grace

Length: Approximately 2 hours and 19 minutes

Source: Purchased from Amazon.com

Do you like to learn about holiday traditions?  I have loved to read about the traditions of all holidays since I was a child.  I really like seeing how our celebrations of holidays have changed through the years.  I was delighted to see this audiobook that focused on regency Christmas traditions, which is one of my favorite time periods to read about.

This book is not about Jane Austen, but it is about how Christmas was celebrated during her time period.  I thought it was interesting that there were no Christmas trees in the Regency period, but that houses were decorated with greenery on Christmas Eve.  Christmas was celebrated during the traditional twelve days of Christmas from Christmas Day through the Epiphany (January 6^th).  The book also explained traditional dishes that would have been eaten during the celebrations.  A lot of the celebrations seemed to revolve around card playing and getting together with family and friends.

I thought the book was well researched and informative.  Barry Shannon was a fine narrator.

Lady Osbaldestone’s Plum Puddings by Stephanie Laurens

 Title:  Lady Osbaldestone’s Plum Puddings 

Author:  Stephanie Laurens

Narrated by:  Helen Lloyd

Publisher: Stephanie Laurens

Length: Approximately 7 hours and 53 minutes 

Source: Purchased from Amazon.com

Do you have any specific subgenres that are a favorite?  I LOVE regency romance Christmas novels.  This seems like a very specific subgenre, but I love it.  I realized in December that I was lacking Christmas regency romance novels, so I decided it was time to return to the world of Lady Osbaldestone.  Lady Osbaldestone’s Plum Puddings is the third book in this series.

Therese, Lady Osbaldestone, is happy to welcome her grandchildren for a visit during the Christmas season to her estate in the village of Little Moseley.  The children gather donations for plum puddings to be made for the entire village when they discover that some of the coins they collected are ancient Roman coins.  Where did these coins come from and is there more Roman artifacts to be found?  

I love this series and I loved this book.  It’s a sweet and gentle story full of regency Christmas traditions.  The characters are fun, and I enjoyed the star-crossed romance in this book. I feel like I am visiting the village of Little Mosely each Christmas when I read one of these books.  I sadly only have one left in this series.  

I also enjoyed the cozy mystery in this book, and I was intrigued by the ancient Roman find myself.  It was a fun treasure hunt.

Helen Lloyd was a great narrator and I enjoyed listening to this audiobook.

The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett

 

Title: The Christmas Appeal

Author:  Janice Hallett

Narrated by:  Aysha Kala, Daniel Philpott, Rachel Adedeji, Sid Sagar

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 3 hours and 36 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster Audio.  Thank you @simonandschuster #BookClubFavorites for the free books!

 

Do you like it when books are narrated in unique styles?  I had heard of The Appeal and really wanted to read it.  I didn’t get to it yet, but I was excited to get a chance to review The Christmas Appeal.  It is a unique story told through a variety of mediums including emails, text messages, police reports, etc.  A full cast brought the story to life.

The Fairway Players are putting on a production of Jack and the Beanstalk for the Christmas season.  The production is trying to get going with arguing players, missing players, egos, etc.  During the first production, a dead skeleton in a Santa suit appears on stage bursting out from the beanstalk.  How did the dead body get into the beanstalk and why?

I thought the way this story was told was very innovative.  I also loved how the mystery went in one direction and was seemingly solved, but then the real story was revealed at the end.  The story was very engaging on audiobook, and I enjoyed also reading along in the physical book.  I loved trying to figure out the mystery, but I also loved the humor as well. This is a standout audiobook production.  If you love audiobooks, you should definitely try this one out.

This is meant to be a follow-up to The Appeal, but I read it fine as a standalone novel.  I do want to go back and read The Appeal now.

In The Shelter of Hollythorne House by Sarah E. Ladd

 

Title:  In the Shelter of Hollythorne House

Author:  Sarah E. Ladd

Narrated by:  Jude Mason

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Length: Approximately 8 hours and 49 minutes

Source: Purchased from Amazon.com on Audible, physical copy won from a Bookclub Giveaway from TLC Book Tours, e-book from NetGalley

Do you like second chance romance novels?  Do you have any favorite romantic tropes that you love or hate?

Second chance romance is one of my favorite romantic tropes.  I was happy it was part of this novel.  Charlotte Grey and Anthony Welbourne fell in love as teenagers, but Anthony left for war in the United States.  Their fathers were enemies, and they knew that their love could go no further.  While Anthony was gone, Charlotte married Roland Prior.  Their marriage was not a happy one, but she did have one son, Henry, whom she adores.  When Roland dies, Charlotte returned home to Hollythorne house with Henry for a chance to live life on her own terms.  Her brother-in-law sent guards to watch her and Henry due to unrest in the mills after Roland’s death.  One of the guards is none other than Anthony.  Will the two be able to live with their new roles in life, or will the spark of love return?

I found this story to be very engaging.  I liked both Charlotte and Anthony and their second chance at romance.  I also liked how there was a mystery and adventure in the story.  I also thought there were hints of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte in this story with the mysterious widow living on the moors after an unhappy marriage.

My JASNA Northwoods Book club won editions of this novel from the TLC Bookclub Giveaway, which was very exciting.  I handed them out at our last meeting in October and we discussed it today.  Most members liked the book, and we had an interesting discussion of marriage during the Regency time period and how women were trapped in unhappy marriages.  We also discussed that Charlotte’s father left a good marriage settlement on her which really helped her out after her father’s death.  Not all women had this.

I listened to the audiobook of the novel while following along in my physical copy.  Jude Mason was a good narrator, and it was an engrossing story to listen to.

Pemberley: Mr. Darcy’s Dragon by Maria Grace

 

Title:  Pemberley:  Mr. Darcy’s Dragon

Author:  Maria Grace

Narrated by:  Benjamin Fife

Publisher: Maria Grace

Length: Approximately 8 hours and 11 minutes

Source: Purchased from Amazon.com

Do you like to read stories with dragons in them?  If so, what is your favorite dragon related book?

Pemberley:  Mr. Darcy’s Dragon by Maria Grace was the October read for the JASNA Northwoods book club, but I did not get my review up in a timely manner.

Pemberley:  Mr. Darcy’s Dragon was a very imaginative and unique Pride and Prejudice variation.  England has dragons everywhere but most people are unaware of them.  The Pendragon Treaty keeps peace between humans and dragons.  Some people are born with the ability to hear dragons and become their care takers, including Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy.  When the firedrake egg is stolen from Pemberley, Mr. Darcy scours England is search of it.  Will he find it? 

This was a fun adventure and I enjoyed reading it.  It seemed like it was a hit in our JASNA Northwoods Bookclub.  Others have read the series further and say that it is a good series.  I need to continue reading on!

Benjamin Fife is a great narrator.  I loved the voices of the different dragons as well as the sound effects for things such as dragon thunder.  It made it a fun listening experience.

Jack Frost by Debbie Macomber

 

Title:  Jack Frost

Author:  Debbie Macomber

Narrated by:  Lisa Negron

Publisher: Debbie Macomber Inc.

Length: Approximately 1 hours and 44 minutes

Source: Purchased from Amazon.com on Audible

 

Have you ever met anyone who seemed cranky at first but was really a wonderful person once you got to know them?  I worked at my local Dime Store in high school with an older woman named Ann.  She seemed very cranky when I first started working at the Dime Store, but as I got to know her, she turned out to be a wonderful person who has a reason to be cranky (her beloved husband died young). 

Jack Frost is this type of story.  Lindsay Calhoun’s family is on a cruise, and she will be spending Christmas alone.  She volunteers to organize the office Christmas party.  The office scrooge, Jack, is not happy about an office Christmas party and always seems grumpy.  When the power goes out as the two are tying up things at the end of the party, they find themselves trapped together in the office.  As they get to know each other better, they begin to really understand one another.  Will love blossom between these two?

Jack Frost was the November pick for the Brenda Novak Book Group, but I didn’t get to it until December.  It was a perfect light and uplifting Christmas book, perfect for the season.  I think this one would make a great Hallmark movie.  Lisa Negron was a good narrator.

The True Meaning of Christmas by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

 

Title:  The True Meaning of Christmas

Author:  Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Narrated by:  Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen and Matthew Arnold

Publisher: Casscom Media

Length: Approximately 47 minutes

Source: Purchased from Amazon.com

 

Do you listen to or read any religious material during the holiday season?  I feel like with all the decorations, great food, and fun, sometimes it is easy to forget the reason for the season.  I listened to The True Meaning of Christmas on Christmas day and enjoyed it.

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen hosted a radio program from 1930 to 1950 and then a television program in the 1950s and 1960s as he also moved up the ranks of the Catholic church.  I have listened to an 18 CD collection of his talks called Life is Worth Living, which is the name of one of his television programs.  I have since purchased the same talks digitally and like to listen to them.  I find Archbishop Fulton Sheen to be a very gifted and inspirational speaker.

In the True Meaning of Christmas, Matthew Arnold reads out the biblical passages on the birth of Christ which are followed by a related discussion by Archbishop Fulton Sheen.  He talked about the foretelling of Christ’s birth, the historical significance, and the deeper meaning of his birth.  It very much put me in the Christmas spirit.  I didn’t really like the music that they overlayed on the talks and would have rather just listened to the talks without the music.

Overall, the reading of the Christmas story from the Bible accompanied by the discussions on the significance by Archbishop Fulton Sheen were wonderful.

Endless Night by Agatha Christie

 

Title:  Endless Night

Author:  Agatha Christie

Narrated by:  Hugh Fraser

Publisher: HarperAudio

Length: Approximately 6 hours and 14 minutes

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

What season is your favorite?  Do you like winter?  It seems like an endless night to me with it being dark shortly after 4 PM in Northeastern Wisconsin.  I enjoy it when it snows, but I prefer the sunshine of the other seasons.

I listened to the audiobook of Endless Night by Agatha Christie for #ReachChristie2023 in October. The overall theme for #ReadChristie2023 is Methods and Motives.  Endless Night was my read in November for the motive of Greed.

Michael Rogers dreams of building his dream home on a piece of land he has found in Kingston Bishop, but he does not have the funds.  While walking by the property, he meets Ellie.  They fall in love and Michael is surprised to learn that she is an American heiress.  After they wed, they hired architect Rudolf Santonix to design their dream home.  Their marriage seems idyllic except for a local legend that says their property is cursed.  A local old woman confronts Ellie more than once to warn her off the property.  After a death does occur on the property, was it murder?  If so, who did I and why?

I really liked how unique this novel was compared to Agatha Christie’s other novels.  I enjoy how she kept experimenting with her writing throughout her lifetime.  This novel read like a gothic romantic suspense novel with the murder occurring very late in the story.  The novel is narrated by Michael telling the story.  I really liked the conclusion of this novel and how it related to her other works.  I don’t want to say more than that, as I really liked the ending and surprise of this novel.

What is even more impressive to me is that Agatha Christie was seventy-seven years old when she wrote this novel.  It received critical acclaim and is considered the best of her later works.

I have been enjoying reading Agatha Christie’s novels as part of the #ReadChristie2023 challenge and I am looking forward to #ReadChristie2024!

I enjoyed the audiobook narration by Hugh Fraser.

Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews

 

Title:  Bright Lights, Big Christmas

Author:  Mary Kay Andrews

Narrated by:  Kathleen McInerney

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Length: Approximately 8 hours and 8 minutes

Source: Review Copy from NetGalley

Do you have a live Christmas tree or an artificial one?  In Bright Lights, Big Christmas, Kerry Tolliver is helping out her family after her father’s heart attack, by traveling from her family’s Christmas tree farm in North Carolina to New York City with her big brother Murphy and his dog Queen to sell their Christmas trees.  This is how the family makes their money for the year. Their family has been selling Christmas trees in the same location since Kerry was a child, but she hasn’t been a part of it since she was a kid.  She is now in her thirties and at a crossroads in life.  What does she want to do moving into the future?   

Kerry meets a handsome single dad, Patrick, who lives nearby with his son Austin.  She grows close to them both, but how can she start a relationship if she returns to North Carolina soon? 

Kerry also befriends an elderly man, Heinz, that stops by her Christmas tree stand daily.  She is an artist, and together with Austin and Heinz, they start to create a Christmas book.  When Heinz goes missing, Austin will not stop until they discover what has happened to him.  Will they find him before it is too late?

Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews was the Brenda Novak Book Group pick for October, but I didn’t read it until December.  I greatly enjoyed this book.  It was a light tale filled with second chances, found family, and the spirit of Christmas.  I loved the characters in the community surrounding the Christmas tree lot including Spammy, the old camper Kerry and Murphy live in that does not have any heat or a functioning bathroom.  I felt very cold reading about this.  I enjoyed the mystery at the end and the romance.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Kathleen McInerney, and I greatly enjoyed it. This is a clean read and it felt like a Hallmark movie.  I would love to see this story as a movie.

Overall, Bright Lights, Big Christmas is a feel-good Christmas novel with great characters.

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord by Celeste Connally

 

Title:  Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord

Author:  Celeste Connally

Narrated by:  Eilidh Beaton

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Length: Approximately 11 hours and 15 minutes

Source: Review Copy from NetGalley and Purchased from Amazon.com

 

What is your favorite type of tea?  I love black tea and it must be caffeinated.  I purchase looseleaf tea from TeaSource.  Some of my favorite flavors are Georgia Sunshine and Prairie Passion.

Lady Petra Forsyth is the daughter of an Earl living in Regency England.  After tragically losing the love of her life, she has declared herself a spinster.  This does not sit well with some people, such as her detestable Uncle who believes it is unnatural.  She believes she does not need to give up her freedom and wealth without finding true love.  One of Lady Petra’s friends dies suddenly, but her old servant is sure he saw the friend just the other day in London. This sparks Lady Petra’s curiosity, and she starts to investigate.  Lady Petra soon finds out that there are other missing women amongst the ton.  Where have they gone and why?

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord is full of a lot of interesting characters.  I liked Lady Petra’s headstrong ways and inquisitive nature.  Her childhood friend, Duncan, is a perfect foil for her.  I was confused about his place in society though as he was born on the wrong side of the blanket.  It didn’t seem to matter as much in this Regency world as it did in the real Regency world.  I loved his grandmother, the Duchess, and wish she would have been in the book more.  Street urchin Teddy and her lady’s maid, Annie, were also great characters. 

I was intrigued by the mystery and was dismayed when my audiobook copy from NetGalley stopped working at 27% into the book.  I had to purchase it from Amazon.com as I wanted to see where the mystery went and how it would end.  The mystery had a satisfying end and the overall book ended on a cliffhanger.  This is the first book in the Lady Petra Inquires series.  I will be reading the next book in the series.

Eilidth Beaton was a great narrator that gave personality to the different characters.  It was very enjoyable to listen to it while driving.

The storyline was feminist and had a lot of modern thinking about the place of women in society that would not have been prevalent in Regency England.  It reminded me of Enola Holmes in this sense.

 

The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer

 

Title:  The Talisman Ring

Author:  Georgette Heyer

Narrated by:  Joe Jameson

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Length: Approximately 9 hours and 39 minutes

Source: Purchased from Amazon.com

Are you a fan of Georgette Heyer?  I randomly discovered her books at the Kewaunee Public Library fifteen or so years ago.  I read Frederica first and I was hooked.  Her Regency romances are a delight and the next best thing to a Jane Austen novel.

In October for my JASNA Northwoods Book Club, we read and discussed The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer.  I had not previously read The Talisman Ring.  It is truly a delight and fun story.  It seemed that everyone in this book club enjoyed it.

Sir Tristam Shield has been called to the deathbed of his great uncle, Baron Lavenham.  It is the Baron’s dying wish that Sir Tristam marry his granddaughter, Eustacie Lavenham.  She has been raised in France and is looking for an adventure in life.  She is silly and full of ideals, while Sir Tristram is, to her eyes, a bit boring.  They resign themselves to a marriage of convenience.  Eustacie meets another cousin, Basil, or Beau Lavenham, who is a renowned dandy, and she learns of her mysterious cousin Ludovic.  Ludovic is the baron’s heir and whom she was originally intended to marry. Ludovic had allegedly committed a murder over a gambling debt and a missing heirloom Talisman ring.  He has been on the run since that time.  Eustacie decides that Tristam is very boring and does not understand her.  Naturally she runs away.  One the road she meets highwaymen, Cousin Ludovic, and Miss Sarah “Sally” Thane.  Sarah is a woman who is “on the shelf” and traveling with her brother, but she is also up for a bit of adventure.  Will true love prevail?  Will the talisman ring be found?  Did Ludovic really commit the murder?

This was a fun romantic mystery and screwball comedy.  I found myself laughing out loud at some of the antics.  I greatly enjoyed the witty dialogue.  I loved all the characters, and I especially enjoyed it when Sarah Thane and Ludovic joined the story.  This book is set in 1793 so it is in the Georgian era rather than Heyer’s usual Regency era.  The Talisman Ring would be a great first Georgette Heyer book to read.

This was fun to listen to on audiobook and Joe Jameson is a good narrator.

 

Sailing the Graveyard Sea by Richard Snow

 

Title: Sailing the Graveyard Sea:  The Deathly Voyage of the Somers, the U.S. Navy's Only Mutiny, and the Trial That Gripped the Nation

Author:  Richard Snow

Narrated by:  Jacques Roy

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 8 hours and 4 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster Audio.  Thank you @simonandschuster #BookClubFavorites for the free books!

 

Do you like to listen to audiobooks in the car on long trips?  If you are traveling with someone, how do you decide what book to listen to?  We traveled to Michigan over Thanksgiving weekend.  My daughter enjoys watching movies on trips and opts out of audiobooks.  I read the descriptions of several non-fiction audiobooks to my husband and two sons and they all voted to listen to Sailing the Graveyard Sea by Richard Snow.

Sailing the Graveyard Sea introduced us to a new part of history that we had never heard before.  In 1842, the US brig-of-war Somers was being used a training vessel for many 14- to 18-year-olds and was captained by Commander Alexander Mackenzie.  When the ship arrived in Boston, Mackenzie announced that he had narrowly prevented a mutiny and had hanged the three mutineers at sea.  One of the mutineers was 18-year-old acting Midshipman Philip Spencer, the son of the Secretary of War, John Spencer.

As officials look more into the case, they could not find any evidence that a mutiny did indeed take place.  Everything was based on the testimony of one crew man who stated that Spencer had talked about taking over the ship and becoming a pirate.  After Mackenzie heard this, he locked up Spencer and two other men and through paranoia started to believe that everyone was against him and that mutiny was imminent.  He decided to hang the three men without a trial before arriving back at port.  For this decision, he was put on trial.  The trial was riveting and did not end as we all expected it would.

This was a fascinating story that kept us enthralled through our voyage.  Jacques Roy was a good narrator.   I enjoyed hearing the back story of Philip Spencer, the ne’er-do-well son of the Secretary of War.  Spencer loved reading pirate stories and talking about pirates.  Was he just entertaining himself and the other sailor with pirate stories or did he indeed want to take over the ship?  One thing was for certain, the training of officers had to change.  After this trial, the Naval Academy was started in Annapolis.

Overall, Sailing the Graveyard Sea is a fascinating look into a forgotten episode of naval history.