Review: Secrets She Left Behind

Secrets She Left Behind by Diane Chamberlain
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this book before reading the first in the series. It was fine with enough explanations as to what happened previously. An excellent read once you get the characters sorted out.

One afternoon, single mother Sara Weston says that she's going to the store - and never returns. In her absence, she leaves her teenage son alone with his damaged past and a legacy of secrets.

Keith Weston nearly lost his life in an act of arson. He survived - but with devastating physical and emotional scars. Without his mother, he has no one to help him heal, no money, nothing to live for but the medications that numb his pain. Isolated and angry, his hatred has one tight focus: his half sister, Maggie Lockwood.

Nineteen-year-old Maggie Lockwood spent a year in prison for the acts that led up to the fire. Now she's back home. But her release cannot free her from the burden of guilt she carries. She grew up with Keith Weston, played with him as a child…and recently learned they share the same father.

Review: The Full Cupboard of Life

The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another winning story. Life at the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency keeps on rolling along. Now the assistant has her own thriving little business teaching typing to men in the evenings. Precious has a few cases that she is finding interesting, and the manager of the orphan farm is throwing her weight around and trying to get donations for her children.

Just a great series. It has kept the cold and horrible weather outside and a nice warm feeling for reading these stories inside.



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Review: Tears of the Giraffe

Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

In 1999 The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency received two Booker Judges' Special Recommendations and was voted one of the ‘International Books of the Year and the Millennium' by the Times Literary Supplement.

Tears of the Giraffe takes us further into the life of the engaging and sassy Precious Ramotswe, the owner and detective of Botswana's only Ladies' detective agency. Among her cases are wayward wives, unscrupulous maids and a challenge to resolve a mother's pain for her son, who is long lost on the African plains. Mma Ramotswe's own impending marriage to that most gentlemanly of men, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, the promotion of her secretary to the dizzy heights of Assistant Detective and new additions to the Matekoni family, all brew up the most humorous and charmingly entertaining of tales.

I love this series.

Review: A Study in Stone

A Study in Stone by Michael Campling
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Faced with a mystery, some people walk away, but others are driven to solve it.
Dan Corrigan never walked away from a problem in his life, but burnt out by the pressures of corporate troubleshooting, he needs to escape, to disconnect.
His hideaway in a quiet rural village should be ideal, but it soon throws up a mystery of its own.
An ancient legend, a coded message on a stone slab, and a secret concealed in a country manor house: these are the clues that will take Dan on a journey into the past, delving deeper into a hidden history.
Uncovering the truth might give him the confidence to rebuild his life, but if he fails, there’s no going back.
Take the first step alongside Dan as he begins a Study in Stone.

I am looking forward to this new series.

Review: The Joy and Light Bus Company

The Joy and Light Bus Company by Alexander McCall Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It was so much fun to revisit The Ladies' Detective Agency.

Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni attends a course hosted by the local chamber of commerce entitled “Where Is Your Business Going?” But rather than feeling energized, he comes back in low spirits, unsure how to grow the already venerable and successful Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. Then an old friend from school approaches him about a new business venture that could be just the ticket. When it turns out he will need to mortgage his property in order to pursue this endeavor, Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi wonder what this will mean for his current business―as well as their own.

Even as she puzzles over mysteries on the domestic front, Mma Ramotswe’s professional duties must take precedence. When a concerned son learns that his aging father’s nurse now stands to inherit the family home, he begins to doubt her intentions and takes his case to Botswana’s premier detective agency. Fortunately, Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi are committed agents of justice and agree to investigate.

Tricky as these matters may be, Mma Ramotswe knows that the most creative solutions are often found with the support of loving friends and family. Working together over a cup of red bush tea, she and Mma Makutsi will rely on their tact, humor, and goodwill to ensure that all involved find the happiness that they deserve. 

Review: The Last Thing I Saw

The Last Thing I Saw by Alex Sinclair
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Had really looked forward to this book but have found that it fell flat for me.

This is when I question myself because basically it probably should have been really good. For me I believe that I knew the story and how it was going to end. It repeated itself so much that my eyes just hazed over.

The characters didn't draw me in or make me feel close to them.

I am sorry that I can't give this a better review.

Review: Find Me

Find Me by Alafair Burke
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Convoluted and boring.

Review: Animal Instinct

Animal Instinct by David Rosenfelt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Corey Douglas and his K-9 partner, a German shepherd named Simon Garfunkel, are recently retired police officers turned private investigators. Along with fellow former cop Laurie Collins and her investigating partner, Marcus, they call themselves the K Team, in honor of Simon.

The K Team’s latest case – a recent unsolved murder – gives Corey a chance to solve "the one that got away". Corey knew the murder victim from his time on the force, when he was unable to protect her in a domestic dispute. Now, he is convinced the same abusive boyfriend is responsible for her murder. With some help from Laurie’s lawyer husband, Andy Carpenter, the K Team is determined to prove what the police could not, no matter the cost. What they uncover is much more sinister than they could have imagined.

Known for his dog-loving stories and addictive characters, bestselling mystery author David Rosenfelt presents Animal Instinct, the second installment in this engrossing new series about a dynamite investigative team and their canine partner.

Review: Darling Rose Gold

Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For the first eighteen years of her life, Rose Gold Watts believed she was seriously ill. She was allergic to everything, used a wheelchair and practically lived at the hospital. Neighbors did all they could, holding fundraisers but no matter how many doctors, tests, or surgeries, no one could figure out what was wrong with Rose Gold.

Turns out her mom, Patty Watts, was just a really good liar.

After serving five years in prison, Patty begs her daughter to take her in. The entire community is shocked when Rose Gold says yes. And Rose Gold is no longer her weak little darling...

And she's waited such a long time for her mother to come home.

A very good read.

Review: The Last House on the Street

The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In two voices, Ellie from the 60s and Kayla from current times.

Kayla has lost her husband to an accident that happened while

he was working on their new-build house which they both designed.

Kayla father helps look after their little girl Raine but has

decided that its time for them to move to the house. It is a huge

house and far too big for them, but she does move in.

Meanwhile we are hearing about Ellie's involvement in the civil

rights movement, going to the houses of the poor in the south and

helping them know how to sign up for the vote. They are all waiting

for LBJ to sign the bill putting this voting rights into law.

Current time; Kayla has moved in and has visited her neighbour, Ellie.

She is back from where she has lived for the last 30 years to care for

her brother, Buddy, and her mother. Buddy has congestive heart failure.

Originally Ellie seemed friendly and invited Kayla to practice yoga, but

she has all of a sudden done a turn about and has told Kayla that she 

doesn't have time because of caring for her brother and mother. Kayla was

perplexed by this, but said that she understands.

The next time Kayla drives past their house she notices smoke coming from

the back, then flames. She got out of her car and went running to try to

see what was happening. She was able to get help and they were able to put

the fire out.

The story is told by two voices, Kayla and Ellie. Ellie from back in the

1960's and Kayla 2010. As it goes we learn all about Ellie as a young person.

She joined the civil rights movement and worked hard one summer. But we learn

a lot about what it was like back then and a lot about the KKK. Ellie had

been going out with Kayla's father back then until she met the love of her

life during her time working for civil rights.

An excellent read, couldn't put it down.