Faro's Daughter by Georgette Heyer

Faro's Daughter by Georgette Heyer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was an enjoyable read from the time of "prim and proper". From when ladies, if they didn't have money of their own, really had to find a husband with wealth. Love, or falling in love, was secondary.

Deborah is lucky that her aunt has taken her in. Unfortunately, her aunt, though titled, is widowed and very heavily mortgaged. She has found that gaming in her house can be the means to supporting herself and her niece.

The plot thickens. Very nicely done.



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Songs of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford

Songs of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Willow Frost has lost her father and brothers. Her mother is ill and is forced to take a husband, but in the end she dies anyway. Willow is abused by her step father.

This is a great story. Jamie Ford is becoming a favourite author of mine. He certainly understands the female and their difficulties. This tale of the Spanish flu, the depression and unwed motherhood is the best I have read.



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Steven Truscott Decades of Injustice by Nate Hendley

Steven Truscott Decades of Injustice by Nate Hendley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am so happy to have the chance to read this book. Its a case that every Canadian over a certain age knows about and lived through. Nate Hendley has put it into a timeline that is easy to follow and explains what actually happened back in 1959.

Steven Truscott was convicted of killing twelve year old Lynne Harper on June 9, 1959 in Clinton Ontario. He was only fourteen at the time, living on a forces base with his family.

This is a very heartbreaking story. Steven himself always carried himself with dignity no matter what was happening to him. It took many years and many fights to right this wrong.

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Sycamore Row by John Grisham

Sycamore Row by John Grisham
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Seth Hubbard has lung cancer and not long to live so at the last minute he writes a new will and then commits suicide. In the new will he leaves the bulk of his estate of 24 million to his maid, Lettie and cut out his own two children and grandchildren.

The children contest the will and that is where the story begins. It becomes a complicated, intriguing trial by jury.

John Grisham can make you sit in a chair until you have finished reading the book. There are lots of twists and turns in the plot and many lawyers, but not so many that you lose track.

A terrific read.

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The Burning Girl by Mark Billingham

The Burning Girl by Mark Billingham
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This story is set in London, gangland members and Turkish people smugglers
clash. The burning girl was a young girl targeted by a rival gang many years previously, however, the wrong girl was hit and set afire.

Usually I like these London/England set crime novels, but this one was just a bit too "much" and in the end just became silly; that is if you can call
lots of murders and dead bodies silly.

I will read more from this author though as I do like the setting.

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The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is my first Liane Moriarty book and it won't be my last. She has a lovely, natural writing style. You slot yourself right into the story in a way that makes you feel like you are right there. This is a gift of the author.

The story itself is seemingly not complicated, until you take it as a whole. One unguarded act can affect so many people, for their whole lives.

Rachel lost her daughter, Janie, years before. The whole world has continued to live their lives, except Rachel. She needs to know why her girl died; who killed her; what happened.

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Hanging Hill by Mo Hayder

Hanging Hill by Mo Hayder
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Mo Hayder can pack a whollop with her dark characters, dark plots and just downright darkness.

In this book, a teenaged girl is brutally murdered and Zoe is on the trail.

Some say that it isn't as good as some of her other books, but I think Ms. Hayder did a very good job on this plot considering they were just ordinary people in ordinary times.



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Templar Legacy by Steve Berry

Templar Legacy by Steve Berry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A very good historical fiction novel. The story involves Cotton Malone and his former boss, Stephanie. Cotton operates a used book store in Denmark while Stephanie still works in the US.

She was sent her late husband's journal and this sets off a whole world of repercussions. Her husband has been dead for about ten years and her son also was lost in an avalanche a few years previously.

She went to Europe to tie up loose ends and find out why she was sent the journal.

Much information regarding monks, cathedrals, churches and popes in France.

A very satisfying read.

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The Forsaken Inn by Anna Katharine Green

The Forsaken Inn by Anna Katharine Green
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Anna Katharine Green was considered the "Mother of Historical Mystery", a John Grisham of her time and then some.

This was my first reading of her works and I loved it. She has all the elements required for a good mystery. A wonderful imaginative novel. A creepy Inn holds a secret passage that even the owner doesn't know about.

One night a newly wed couple comes to the stay the night. He is lugging a heavy box which he says is books.

Sixteen years later, another man, Mr. Tamworth, visits the Inn and tells the owner quite a tale.

Great works by this author and I will be reading more from her list.

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One False Move by Harlan Coben

One False Move by Harlan Coben
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Brenda Slaughter is a smart basketball star and medical student. Twenty years before her mother disappeared and she was raised by her father alone.

Now there is a mystery. Her father is missing and something seems very wrong.

Myron Bolitar is not a private investigator nor a body guard, but she has hired him to help her unravel the mystery.

A terrific tale, another Coben winner.

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