Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Quick, What One Book are You Reading This Week?

 LUCY BURDETTE: Okay, we are all officially crazed right now--usually we try to take turns! Sorry about the delay...but here's today's question: What are you reading and do you recommend it? Here's mine, A SPECIAL PLACE FOR WOMEN--one young woman, jobless and reeling from grief decides that infiltrating the most exclusive women's club in New York City is a good idea...the writing is great and I'm holding my breath for Jillian. How about you?




105 comments:

  1. I just finished THE PLOT by Jean Hanff Korelitz. What a Thumping Good Read. And what a premise. I won't say more, no spoilers, but I think anyone here will be surprised at the twists and turns.

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    1. Oh, I am reading that too! I cannot put it down.

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    2. And where is Julia? Isn't she supposed to be here today? Or am I confused. Again.

      BTW, I finally got the courage to get on the scales this morning, first time in forever. Only up five pounds. Not the 20 I was expecting. So tell me, how is it I've spent three months doing nothing by eating and still I can get into my summer clothes, button free of course.

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    3. I have the plot on my nightstand. Is it scary? If so, I will have to wait for the right moment to read.

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    4. Ann, you managed to gain only five pounds because you are a magical creature, and the food only enhances your delightfulness. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Or, if you prefer, Trust me. I'm a stage manager. I know how magic is made.

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    5. THE PLOT is on my reading list and I hope that it is not violent. It sounds very interesting and I wanted to read the book after reading the description of the book.

      Diana

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    6. I am now convinced that I have to read The Plot. So much buzz about it and now your comments about it, Ann. And, you only gained five pounds. That's awesome.

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    7. Yes, I finished it today! We MUST talk. And no, it's not one bit scary. Not at all.

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  2. I am reading THE HOSTAGE By Clare Macintosh, one of my very favorite authors. So crazy: I also read FALLING By TJ Newman, which has almost exactly the same hook. It’s so bizarre – – out of nowhere, these two books are so similar!

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    1. Interesting. I think you should read THE PLOT.

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    2. Oops, I think we are posting at the same time

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    3. I've noticed that there are times that hooks and themes seem to unite in the ozone and several writers will offer their own treatments. It's always interesting to see where the various stories might go.

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    4. Hank, these novels sound chilling scary! Maybe I'll read them for Halloween season?

      Diana

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    5. I have read so much praise for FALLING from authors I follow. I can’t wait for it to arrive.

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    6. I have read so much praise for FALLING from authors I follow. I can’t wait for it to arrive.

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    7. FALLING is a real discussion book--it's SO fascinating in SO may ways.

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    8. The Hostage is definitely on my list, Hank.

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  3. I'm reading THE SUMMER WE LOST HER by Tish Cohen. Not sure if I would recommend it or not; the main characters do not appeal to me at all. However, by the time I finish it maybe it will all come together and impress me more.

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    1. Judi,

      Totally understand the feeling. I just finished a cozy mystery by a debut author and this novel got lots of high praise. I liked the recipes better than the story. I didn't like how nonchalant the protagonist was. It may be a cultural thing. I'm not familiar with that culture. And the police were sketchy too.

      Diana

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  4. I just finished Death by Equine by Annette Dashofy and LOVED it. Now I'm reading A Death of No Importance by Mariah Fredericks - also fabulous, but historical. Because she was an Edgar nominee, I wanted to start at the first book in the series.

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    1. Yes! I've read all of Mariah's and they are totally excellent. I am picky about historicals, too. Truth is that she is a friend - but if I didn't like them, I wouldn't say anything at all.

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    2. Edith, I want to read DEATH BY EQUINE.

      Diana

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    3. Death by Equine is on my Kindle. I hope to get to it soon.

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    4. My copy came from Mystery Lovers Bookshop the other day, but I have to finish the book club book for tomorrow night first.

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    5. Edith, I loved Death by Equine, too.

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  5. I'm still in serial mode. I'm reading the Webb Glass shop mysteries by Cheryl Hollon. Loving them. Perfect for spring/summer reads and nice to visit St. Petersburg.

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    1. Kait, I love the Webb Glass shop mysteries, which I discovered at my first mystery conference.

      Diana

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  7. Stop adding to my TBR!!! Just kidding! Pile on, folks, this summer going to be a long one if they don’t open the border so we can go to our cottage in Nova Scotia.

    Currently, I am reading a YA series - Red Queen - by Victoria Aveyard. I am undecided as I’m only halfway through book 2 of 4. I wanted something totally different to take me away but it’s not happening...yet.

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    1. Jenn,

      Have you tried Ladies No.1 Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith? His novels takes me away.

      If you are looking for YA Fantasy, I have heard many people rave about the Sarah Maas novels. They love her books.

      Diana

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    2. Love Sarah J Maas and Alexander McCall Smith. The Red Queen book got really good last night and I stayed up way too late. LOL. I'm back in.

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  8. I'm waiting for THE MAIDENS by Alex Michaelides, set in Cambridge, and mentioned in today's NYT beach reads roundup. Currently reading Ellen Crosby's THE FRENCH PARADOX.

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    1. Margaret,

      I want to read THE FRENCH PARADOX by Ellen Crosby.

      Diana

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    2. Margaret, my request for The Maidens is still pending on Netgalley, and at this point, I'm going to have to wait and read it in June anyway. I am looking forward to it, too.

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  9. There you are!

    I'm listening to a biography of Isak Dinesen by Judith Thurman. Dinesen, aka Karen Blixen, author of Out of Africa, Babette's Feast, and other tales, was a complicated and fascinating woman.

    And I'm finishing up Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore for book club tomorrow night. It is not quite science fiction, and reminds me of Kurt Vonnegut's crazy books, only deeper. I almost ditched it in the middle when there were some violent passages, but I'm glad I've stuck with it. Very unusual book, and one I would not have picked up on my own. But worth the time investment.

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    1. Karen,

      When I was in Denmark, I visited a museum that used to be the home of Karen Blixen. I'm adding the biography to my reading list.

      Diana

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    2. You'll do better reading it, I think, than I am listening to it. So many Danish names, I can't keep them all straight.

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  10. There's a choice on my nightstand: Ann B. Ross' Miss Julia Happily Ever After--last book in the series and I know exactly what to expect. Or something entirely different: Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard--have not read anything by her, but sounds like it could be a winner. On the kindle: Murder in an Irish Bookshop by Carlene O'Connor, High Strung: A Humorous Cozy Mystery by Janice Peacock, and A Cotswold Mystery #4 by Rebecca Tope--all new authors--as well as The White Cottage Mystery by Margery Allingham.

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    1. Flora, I do love Carlene O'Connor's Irish Village series a lot!

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    2. Jay, I was missing Sheila Connolly's Irish series. Thanks for the thumbs' up.

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  11. I am finally reading Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby, whose newer book has been widely praised, just like this one. I heard him speak at a con, pre-covid, and thought, "Sounds so interesting." Then covid and I could not seem to concentrate on anything but fluff for awhile. :-( So I started it again yesterday. So far? Earned all the good reviews.He can really write.

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  12. Flora, I've read A Cotswold Mystery by Rebecca Tope and enjoyed it. It's more thoughtful and not as fluffy as you might think.

    I'm reading A Killer in King's Cove by Iona Wishaw, the first Lane Winslow mystery, and LOVING IT. This is recommended AND loaned to me by Gigi Norwood, and it is really brilliant. Wonderful setting, great characters, and best of all, just gorgeous writing.

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    1. I've been raving about Iona Whishaw here since I read A Killer in King's Cove during the winter. What fabulous characters! I've read all of them except for the latest which tops my TBR pile! Delighted that you and Gigi have discovered her beautiful stories.

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    2. I have her name written down somewhere--plan to get to her first book sooner rather than later.

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    3. SHe's on First Chapter Fun next week!

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    4. With you and Gigi both enjoying the Iona Wishaw books so much, I'm off to look them up now.

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  13. I'm reading the first three Anne Cleeves, the Vera Stanhope series. I am very late to Anne's party but I made it. Julia gave me her latest book with a new detective, set in Devon, which I loved. I love, love, love the Shetland series. So far the jury is out on my feeling about the VS series. I am also reading in a church book group, The Church Cracked Open, by Canon Stephanie Speller. This book addresses the Episcopal Church's history with racism. It's well written, not too wordy and really upsetting. Still I will also read the third VS books, and was so taken by Tim North's entry with Debs that I bought his first too. More on that later.

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    1. I binge-read ALL of Ann Cleeves last spring, Celia. I am hooked on each series.

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    2. I really loved The Long Call, Celia. I'm a bit on the fence with the Shetland and Vera stories.

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    3. I love the Shetland series most, but have read the Long Call and all the Vera books too. Vera will grow on you, or at least she did on me. I saw A BIRD IN THE HAND, one of her earliest books, in our local bookstore RJ Julia. So I have that on my nightstand too. She's a master.

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  14. BAND OF SISTERS by Lauren Willig is at the top of my stack.

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  15. I am reading A Curious Beginning, the first book in the Veronica Speedwell series by Deanna Raybourn, and LOVING it. I would say if you liked Phryne Fisher in the Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries, this book is for you. It is a historical novel, but with a very modern-minded protagonist who loves adventure. It's just plain fun!

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    1. Agree, that series is so much fun! Not always convinced, but who cares, when I am enjoying the characters and events so much? Just what we needed this year and thank you, Deanna Raybourn.

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    2. OMG, Susan, I love that series. Once I read book 1, I've just plowed through them. Almost all caught up!

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    3. I love those, Susan. I've read them all and the series doesn't lag, or go soft and predictable as it progresses. Good stuff.

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    4. Susan,

      The Veronica Speedwell mysteries are wonderful!

      Diana

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  16. I just finished reading YOU WILL REMEMBER ME by Hannah Mary McKinnon. It was a brilliantly twisty tale.

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  18. I am currently reading Anxious People by Fredrik Backman. It's okay. So much praise for him, but like with horse races...

    I just finished A Dangerous Collaboration by Deanna Raybourn and adore this series. Much less realistic than many historical, it totally tickles my fancy!

    Last weekend I finished Lives Laid Away by Stephen Mack Jones. His character, August Snow, of black/Mexican descent, is a tough ex-cop who mixes it up for righteous reasons.

    Last week I read For Batter or Worse and gave it a five star review on Amazon. As far as I'm concerned, the Delaura Brothers are a 5 star act as soon as they walk into a room, and they're not even the glorious mains!

    I also read The Jasmine Trade, by Denise Hamilton, darker, sadder, so, to lift my spirits, I read Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron. It definitely did the trick.

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    1. Judy,

      ANXIOUS PEOPLE starts off slow then it starts to pick up in the middle and the ending is a big surprise!

      Love the Veronica Speedwell mysteries.

      Added FOR BATTER OR WORSE to my reading list. I still need to read the books in order.

      Diana

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  19. I'm not reading crime fiction currently - I have HERETICS, by GK Chesteron. But I have a couple on order at Mystery Lovers, including RG Belsky's newest Clare Carlson and REMEMBRANCE from Rita Woods (ordered it after her guest post here).

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    1. Liz, I do love the Clare Carlson series but I have to get book 3 before I head on to Book 4.

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    2. SO pleased you found Rita here! YAY!

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    3. Jay, I haven't been able to "get into" the last couple crime fiction books I picked up, so I'm looking forward to Clare.

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  20. Well, I finished reading the Eva Gates mystery A DEATH LONG OVERDUE yesterday. While my disdain for the continued inclusion of series lead Lucy Richardson's recurring nemesis Louise Jane continues unabated, as a whole I would definitely recommend the book.

    And since I'm done with that one, I'm hoping to start the 2nd Local Foods mystery 'TIL DIRT DO US PART by Edith Maxwell today. And I always recommend Edith's books!

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    1. Gosh, Jay, I hope you love it. It opens at a farm-to-table dinner, the details of which (right down to the utility kilt-clad man) I stole directly from the dinner we attended at Cider Hill Farm a mile away! (But I also wrote it 8 or 9 years ago, and it was my third published book, so I'm a little nervous...)

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    2. Jay,

      Loved A DEATH LONG OVERDUE! And there is a new Eva Gates mystery, which was published on the 11th of May. Have you read the Quaker Midwife mysteries by Edith Maxwell? That is my favorite series by Edith Maxwell.

      Diana

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    3. Diana, he owns signed copies of all of them!

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    4. As Edith said, I own signed copies of all of them. Now I just need the three short stories to be put out in print form so I can get those. Though one of them is available in a printed anthology I plan to get ASAP. Maybe I'll have to cheat and print out the other two?

      As for the new Eva Gates mystery, I just got off the phone with the library and there's a 3 month wait for it.

      Edith, I loved the first one so I don't see how I wouldn't love the 2nd Local Foods mystery as well.

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    5. The Quaker Midwife series is my favorite, too! I might very well start the final book tonight. I've been saving it, somehow thinking it will last longer that way.

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  21. I just bought Noopiming: The Cure for White Women by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson. I am trying to improve my understanding of indigenous culture and this looks interesting. I am balancing that out with the new Peter Robinson....

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  22. Will North kept me up past 1 am to finish his first mystery, Harm None. It was a little slow out of the gate for me, but picked up as it went along, and I enjoyed it. Now, however, I am starting Iona Wishaw's Death in a Darkening Mist, which is Lane Winslow #2. I'm really looking forward to it. See what you did to us, Judy?

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    1. Gigi,

      My Mom loves the mysteries by Iona Whishaw.

      Diana

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    2. So far, I'm loving them, Diana.

      The book that most recently blew my mind, however, Is How Stella Learned to Talk, by Christina Hunger. Read it if you want to know what your dog is really thinking!

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    3. OMG Gigi, that's terrific! Iona Whishaw needs to be a guest on JRW! Also, her latest book will be featured on First Chapter Fun in the near future.

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    4. Gigi, I am so happy that you are loving Will's books. Having just finished his latest Davies and West book, Murder on the Commons, and reviewed it, I am such a fan of this series. It looks like I'm going to have to check out Iona Wishaw's books now.

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  23. I've been bouncing around, mood-wise. Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall had me howling. Think of Adrian Mole mixed with Bertie Wooster. I raced through an ARC of Lizzie & Dante by Mary Bly. Wow. I'm still reeling from that one. And recovering. Right now I'm in The Night Hawks by Ellie Griffiths. A dose of Ruth and Nelson is just what the doctor ordered!

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  24. The Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian

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  25. Lucy,

    Reading several books :

    Captain Wentworth's Persuasion via Libby ebook from the Library;

    a new novel by Stacey Abrams ebook from the library;

    Pride and Premediation from the bookstore;

    Jane Eyre, B

    eauty in Breaking by Dr. Michelle Harper (recommended by Jacqueline Winspear),

    and Before the Coffee Gets Cold.



    There are so many wonderful books that I have not had a chance to read yet. I am on a book buying ban until I finish reading these books in addition to books that I have on my unread shelves. I have TWO unread books from my book subscription and I am hoping to read and finish these before June. We will see.

    Diana

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    1. Oh no, a book buying ban! I have Stacey Abrams' book too--can't wait to try it.

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  26. sorry about the typo: BEAUTY IN BREAKING by Dr. Michelle Harper

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  27. I just finished the middle grade mystery BEAR BOTTOM by Stuart Gibbs. It was fun, but I felt like there was too much lecture in the book. Not sure if the lectures have become worse in the series or I'm just more sensitive to it.

    Now I'll be starting 21ST BIRTHDAY, the newest Women's Murder Club Mystery from James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. I'm only 20 pages in, so I don't have an opinion on it yet.

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  28. I just finished two fabulous books: FIND YOU FIRST by Linwood Barclay (dying man who donated sperm to a fertility clinic in his youth sets out to find his progeny) and LEFT YOU DEAD by Peter James (the latest in his Roy Grace series). Both blew my socks off.

    I just started THE HUNTRESS by Kate Quinn about trying to track down a Nazi war criminal living under cover in the US.

    THere are some great books out this year.

    - Marianne in Maine

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    1. Marianne, I loved THE HUNTRESS. Actually, so far I've loved everything I've read by Kate Quinn.

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  29. Books I’ve finished this week include a couple of excellent books: “Universal Language: The Airlocked Room Mystery” by Tim Major and “Space Exploration: A History in 100 Objects” by Sten Odenwald. Also read: “The Essence of Nathan Biddle” by J. William Lewis and “Lethal Liaisons” by Deanne King. Right now I’m reading “The Twin Paradox” by Charles Wachter . . . .

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    1. THAT is an intriguing selection! Tell us more!

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    2. “Universal Language” and “The Twin Paradox” are both science fiction [and especially good stories]; “Lethal Liaisons” is a police procedural; “Nathan Biddle” is a coming of age story. The "100 Objects" book takes a fascinating look at things related to space discoveries and exploration, such as the event horizon telescope, Galileo’s telescope, the slide rule, and more . . . .

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  30. I feel like such a slow reader when I see how much you all read! I have just recently finished The Wolves at the Door, a biography of Virginia Hall, the amazing American spy/agent in WWII. She worked for both the UK and US. I found my way to this book after a guest post here on JRW by Jane Healey. Her book, The Secret Stealers, is on my TBR pile.

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    1. Oh, yes, I knew that name sounded familiar! Brilliant!

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  31. I'm reading The Playground Murders by Lesley Thomson, and it is sooooooo good. It's #7 in her Detective's Daughter series. The eighth book, The Distant Dead, just came out, and I wanted to read this one first. I met Lesley through Elly Griffiths at the St. Pete Bouchercon, and she is as fantastic as her books.

    Some books that are coming up next for me include the already mentioned The Distant Dead, Justice Jones and the Ghost in the Garden by Elly Griffiths (#3 in her children's series, which I am loving), Castle Shade by Laurie King (this will be for sale on June 8th), and The Pact by Sharon Bolton.

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    1. I read the first Justice Jones, book, Kathy, and loved it! I ordered it from the UK.

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  32. Yesterday I finished MURDER HAS A MOTIVE by Francis Duncan, this morning I started SO PRETTY A PROBLEM also by Duncan. Both are in his five (six?) book series featuring Mordicai Tremaine.

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  33. Lucy,

    I won RADAR GIRLS by Sara Ackermann in a giveaway from the publisher and I look forward to reading the book this week and perhaps this weekend, depending on what else is going on. Sometimes I have more time to read.

    Diana

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  34. Rhys's The Venice Sketchbook. I've barely started it, but I've enjoyed--no, make that loved--everything else Rhys has written, so I'm settling in with a book that will soon an old friend. Thank you, Rhys. Lenita

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    1. Loved THE VENICE SKETCHBOOK by Rhys Bowen. I just finished reading and I cried. Lots of tissues!

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  35. I've been reading a lot lately - recently finished "Red Adam's Lady" by Grace Ingram, a fun medieval action/romance, "The Short Drop" by Matthew FitzSimmons, a really great mystery/thriller, "The Inquisitor's Wife" by Jeanne Kalogridis, interesting historical fiction, the first in Allison Brennan's new series, "The Third to Die" and just last night "Nation" by Terry Pratchett. All great reads. Just starting "Euphoria" by Lily King. Thanks for the chance to review my reading - couldn't keep it to just one! And I saw lots of familiar titles in the other posts - we read the first Veronica Speedwell book as part of our Feisty Female Protagonists theme for our book club a while back and really liked it.

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  36. I just started Rhys Bowen's A VENICE SKETCHBOOK and already hooked. I don't expect to get much done for the next few days. ;-)

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