A Memory of Violets by Hazel Gaynor
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A story about the little flower sellers in London at Covent Garden. A pair of orphaned sisters are separated from each other and the elder of the two spends the rest of her life searching for her little sister.

I was very excited about reading this book because it takes place in many of the places that I have been including Covent Gardens and Grasmere, Preston and most of the Lake District in England. It was a "nice" story, but I felt that it failed to reach its potential. It was too "clean" and mapped out, hardly touching on the real nitty gritty streets of London and failing to teach the true atmosphere surrounding London in the late 1800's.



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Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain

Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had never heard of the eugenics program and I am so appalled at this that it is hard for me to write a review.

It is a story of the very poor in South Carolina. The government had a program to sterilize the young, poor and what they call mentally infirm.

A new social worker arrives on the scene to discover this program and she disagrees with it entirely and tries to change it, putting herself into serious trouble, and even landing in jail.

An interesting read, a good fictional story based on true policies.

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The Burning Room by Michael Connelly

The Burning Room by Michael Connelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Of course I like to give every Harry Bosch novel five stars, but this story was good, but not as good as some others. An interesting twist in that one cold case was never solved, but the victim lived for ten more years. When he did die, they recovered the bullet from his spine, which they could not do previously. Meanwhile Harry and his new, young partner were working another cold case "on the side" which involved a fire where nine people including children had died. In the end Harry is suspended from duty for some minor infraction and you have to wonder if it was all a set up. Will Harry be back?

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Rush Home Road by Lori Lansens

Rush Home Road by Lori Lansens
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A beautiful first novel for Ms. Lansens. The story starts with heartbreaking episode where a toddler baby girl is abused by her too young mother. You might think that the story is not for you at this point, but read on. Its a lovely story which moves between the present and the past of Addy, a lady who had a very hard life but seemingly took it all in stride.



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The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very suspenseful story. A girl travels every day on a train through London and sees many things each day. It seems very innocent at the outset but as the story deepens we begin to see another side of the issue.

A very enjoyable read.

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The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis

The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very enjoyable, satisfying read. A political aide wants out of government and to go into the teaching field. Before he is released however, he is forced to run a losing campaign in a riding that has been conservative "forever" and without any hope of every changing.

He makes a deal with another teacher/engineer, Angus, to run in the riding and he will take a teaching assignment that the older Angus wants to drop in exchange. There will be not problem because of there being no hope whatsoever of being elected to this riding!!!

Lovely humour surrounding interesting characters. A must read.



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419 by Will Ferguson

419 by Will Ferguson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a story about a man who was duped by a Nigerian scam artist. I was immersed in this story from the beginning. So vivid was it that I could smell and taste Nigerian as I was reading.

I think we all have received these types of letters and emails, usually from someone calling himself "Mr." The story is realistic to the point that you wonder if this has truly happened.

For anyone who uses the internet, this is a must read.



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