The Tuscan Child by Rhys Bowen

The Tuscan Child by Rhys Bowen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.5/5.0 stars - My favorite Rhys Bowen book so far! This takes place in England and Italy, where Joanna Langley travels after finding a letter addressed to Sofia Bartolia, after her father dies. Her father was wounded in Italy during World War II, and comes home to find his wife and son have gone to America, and his family estate, which has housed an English regiment during the war, in disrepair and without funds due to the death tax imposed when his father died. Joanna is stunned to discover that there was at least one brother and possibly two that she wasn't aware of, as the letter to Sofia mentions that he has hid their beautiful boy. She then feels compelled to travel to Tuscany to find out more. The more she finds out, the greater danger she finds herself in, but ultimately the story unfolds and she finds hope for the future.
Book 196 of 2020

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Along the Infinite Sea by Beatriz Williams

Along the Infinite Sea by Beatriz Williams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5/5.0 stars - This is my second book by Beatriz Williams, and I am just figuring out how interrelated all her books are. This story is told in two voices - Pepper, a young American socialite from the 1960s, and Annabelle, whose story spans starts in prewar Europe to the time she meets and rescues Pepper. There was a lot of dot connecting needed as you read through the two timelines and multiple family connections, but if you could keep it straight or had the backstory that I suspect was provided in earlier books, it was an interesting read.
Book 191 of 2020

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What You Have Heard Is True: A Memoir of Witness and Resistance by Carolyn Forché

What You Have Heard Is True: A Memoir of Witness and Resistance by Carolyn Forché
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5.0/5.0 stars - This is a book that I'd likely never had picked up if it hadn't been a book club selection. First, she is a poet and second, it is a memoir. It would have been a great loss to me, though. I was moved by this book in ways I can't begin to describe - both by the beauty of her prose, her mastery of language, and the horrors of the events that she witnessed. The setting is El Salvador in the late seventies, the time leading up to a 12 year civil war. Carolyn is a young, but established poet, teaching at a university in California when Leonel Gomez Vide shows up at her door and changes her life. He invites her to come down to El Salvador and over the weeks she is there, lifts the veil of innocence and naivete from her eyes. Look, see, observe and write he tells her. Read this book, it may well change your life.
I was gifted a copy by a friend, purchased the Audible version, as well. During my library work career, I had the privilege of working with a great collection of interviews with great writers that had been filmed over a 50 year at Brockport. I wrote grants to digitize several dozen of the interviews, including a young Carolyn Forche in 1982. It is freely available through our repository here: http://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/w..., as well as the transcription of it here: https://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/....
Book 190 of 2020

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Daughter of Black Lake by Cathy Marie Buchanan

Daughter of Black Lake by Cathy Marie Buchanan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.0/5.0 - In the first century A.D., in a remote part of Britannia lives a small community who follow pagan ways, who honor Mother Earth, the Protector, The War Master and the Begetter. Their lives are simple with clans for hunters, smiths, carpenters, shepherds and hands. One man, the head of the Smith clan has crossed the boundaries, by loving and marrying Devout, a healer and a hand, whose first love, Arc, has died at the hands of the Romans. Devout and Smith have a daughter, a seer, called Hobble because she has a hip dysplasia. The book is told in the dual timeline of Devout and Hobble's coming of age.
The world is changing for the community, and like our own time, the choice must be made whether to cling to the old ways, or forge ahead and embrace the new. This is the major conflict of the story, and one that the author tells beautifully. The love of family, the conquering of fear, the embracing of hope are all major themes in this book.
Book 189 of 2020.

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The Last of the Moon Girls by Barbara Davis

The Last of the Moon Girls: A Novel by Barbara Davis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.0/5.0 - Elzibeth (Lizzy) Moon, a young, successful perfumer in NYC, comes from a family of wise women. Women who heal, who have gifts that others don't understand and are often ostracized for them. Lizzy's is the gift of scent, and while she appreciates her gift, she has spent her adult life running away from her legacy - Moon Girl Farm, and all the bad memories that live there. Lizzy grew up on Moon Girl Farm, raised by a loving and wise grandmother, but when she was a young adult that all changed. Two local teenage girls were found dead in the pond on the Farm, and fingers were pointed at and blame placed at her grandmother's feet. Some of the town thought the idea preposterous, Althea was a healer. But in a town named Salem Creek, you can imagine what others thought, and life became unbearable for both Lizzy and her mother, Rhanna. Both left town, Rhanna to carry on her hippie lifestyle, and Lizzy to attend college and become a successful businessperson. Fast forward eight years. Althea has died, Lizzy has inherited the farm, which she intends to sell as quickly as possible. Here is where the story actually begins with twists and turns, some of which I didn't expect.
The best part of the story for me involved Althea, the journals she left, and the gifts of the Moon women. The interaction later in the book between Lizzy and Rhanna was interesting, and spoke to the theme of "family is everything, you don't give up on family." Evvie was another interesting character, a singing beekeeper, but her storyline could have been better developed. I liked the fact that Lizzy wanted to prove her grandmother's innocence, but didn't do it in the typical female detective style. And finally, I loved the "Books of Remembrances" that each woman in the Moon line left as her legacy. I could see this being the beginning of a series, perhaps.
This book reminded me of several others that I've read recently (The Mercies and The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs) which speak to the dangers for women of being different; and Midnight at the Blackbird Café for its grandmother-granddaughter, wise gifted women, coming back home to sell the farm (or cafe) and finding true love trope.
Book 188 of 2020

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Guilty as Cinnamon by Leslie Budewitz

Guilty as Cinnamon by Leslie Budewitz
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3 or 3.5 stars for this second in the A Spice Shop Mystery series. This is set at the famous Pike Place Market in Seattle and I loved the market interactions. I enjoyed the tension between Tag and Pepper as they navigate their way from marriage into friendship, all the while trying to decide whether friendship is all they want. It's definitely not all Tag wants, but Pepper is not as sure. Either way, with Pepper being a shop owner, and Tag being a bike patrol policeman whose beat is the market, they are sure to be in each other's lives for the long haul. While the Flick Chic group didn't play as much into this plot as in some of her other books in this series, I am always attracted to strong women characters and friendships. And books that include recipes, sign me up! All in all, not a bad way to pass the time.
Book 184 of 2020


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The Orphan's Guilt by Archer Mayor

The Orphan's Guilt by Archer Mayor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.0/5.0 stars - This was my first book by Archer Mayor, although I understand it to be the 31st in the series. It must be tough for an author who writes long-lasting series to make each book be comprehensible to a new reader without being too repetitive to old ones. I think I would enjoy this more if I had a better understanding of the relationships of the cast of characters. However, that has just inspired me to go back and start the series from book one.
This is a police procedural that takes place in Vermont and includes a cast of characters ranging from police officers and a coroner, to lawyers, private investigator and a reporter, who amazingly all work together to get to the truth.
Book 183 of 2020.

The guilt mentioned in the title refers to the main character, John's guilt about not protecting his younger brother better. View all my reviews

The Solace of Bay Leaves by Leslie Budewitz

The Solace of Bay Leaves by Leslie Budewitz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.0/5.0 - New (to me) cozy mystery series by Leslie Budewitz that takes place in Pikes Place Market in Seattle that I finished on a recent trip. I like the location and the characters, all in all it was an enjoyable read and now I'm going to go back and start from the beginning of the series and see if it holds up.

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