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Reviews by Anne M. (Austin, TX)

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Ruth's Journey
Ruth's Journey: The Authorized Novel of Mammy from Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind
by Donald McCaig
Ruth's Journey (9/10/2014)
A totally unnecessary journey, if you ask me. I learned a few things about the Haitian revolution Ruth, who became Scarlett's Mammy, was born there when it was still St-Domingue, but the book didn't add much to the story of GWTW.
The first two-thirds of the book are told in …more
The House We Grew Up In
The House We Grew Up In
by Lisa Jewell
Every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way ... (3/12/2014)
I liked and hated this book in pretty much equal measure. The family in question has a hoarder for a mother, a wimp for a father, and four completely different offspring. All of them are devastated by a tragedy that occurs on an Easter Sunday, and the book takes us through …more
Jacob's Oath
Jacob's Oath
by Martin Fletcher
Jacob's Oath (9/10/2013)
This is the story of two survivors -- both Jews, one of whom survived Bergen-Belsen and one of whom survived living in bombed-out houses and other inhospitable spaces during the war. The title's "oath" refers to the promise Jacob made to his little brother, Maxie, to kill …more
Three Things You Need to Know About Rockets
Three Things You Need to Know About Rockets: A Memoir
by Jessica A. Fox
Don't waste your time (6/17/2013)
This is one of the worst-written books I have ever read -- the "prose" is overwrought and the "action" it's supposedly non-fiction is pretty much non-existent. I don't know if Jessica Fox's movies actually get made or distributed, but if so, I don't know how.

The book is …more
The Last Girl
The Last Girl: A Maeve Kerrigan Novel
by Jane Casey
Really tricky plotting (4/12/2013)
I LOVED THIS BOOK. Normally I can figure out a whodunit long before the author gives it up, but I was stumped until the final "reveal." What a nice surprise!
I hadn't read Casey's previous Maeve Kerrigan books there are two so some of the references to the past flew by me ... …more
Ghostman
Ghostman
by Roger Hobbs
Ghostman keeps you guessing (1/2/2013)
"Jack" not his real name -- we don't think is called in to clean up the mess made by two casino robbers in Atlantic City. One of them got away with the money, but if it isn't retrieved within 48 hours, the cash will explode ... Jack doesn't want to be part of this heist at …more
15 Seconds
15 Seconds
by Andrew Gross
15 Seconds by Andrew Gross (5/7/2012)
Andrew Gross has definitely absorbed the lessons he learned at the knee of James Patterson, with whom he has written several books -- the chapters in 15 Seconds are short, punchy, and full of action.
Henry, a doctor, is wrongly detained, then let go, by a police officer who …more
No Mark Upon Her
No Mark Upon Her: A Novel
by Deborah Crombie
Excellent mystery! (12/28/2011)
I really enjoyed this mystery; I'd read a couple of Crombie's earlier books in the series but didn't remember much about them, and this was a good way to catch up a bit. (I do want to go back and read the entire series now, however!)

A woman rower is found dead in the river, …more
Heat Wave
Heat Wave: A Novel
by Nancy Thayer
Berg's "Open House" was better (5/16/2011)
I was about a quarter of the way through this book when it hit me: Elizabeth Berg had written a book very like this one -- but had done it much better. I couldn't feel much sympathy for Carley's loss of her husband, and her older daughter just needed smacking about half the …more
Original Sin
Original Sin: A Sally Sin Adventure
by Beth Mcmullen
Please let it be the ONLY sin ... (2/8/2011)
This wasn't even all that exciting a "suspense" novel: I felt as though I knew what was coming every time I turned the page. The character of "Sally Sin," aka Lucy Hamilton, is fairly well-drawn, but I just couldn't really make myself care what happened to her by the end of the book.
Minding Ben
Minding Ben: A Novel
by Victoria Brown
Trini Nanny Diaries (12/20/2010)
This book brought back fond memories of my own time as a nanny for two different families -- mainly because my own treatment was so much better than that received by Grace, the narrator/protagonist of "Minding Ben." The book gives a harsher view of a caregiver's work in New …more
A Lonely Death
A Lonely Death: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery
by Charles Todd
Excellent mystery (11/9/2010)
Although this mystery is quite far along in the Inspector Ian Rutledge series, it can be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel -- although some background knowledge of the detective does help.

The setting is rural England, post-Great War Rutledge is a shell-shocked veteran, and …more
After the Fall
After the Fall
by Kylie Ladd
After the Fall (6/15/2010)
Like many of the other reviewers, this book left me cold. I couldn't keep the cast of adulterers and their spouses straight (or maybe I just didn't care enough to do so) and I found little passion in Kylie Ladd's writing to draw me in. She writes in a James Patterson-esque …more
The Crossing Places
The Crossing Places: A Ruth Galloway Mystery
by Elly Griffiths
Mystery on the Flats (11/3/2009)
Elly Griffiths' new mystery is set on the Norfolk salt marshes in eastern England, and the bleak surroundings match perfectly the desolation felt by the families of two young girls who have gone missing from the area. Ten years pass between the two disappearances, with the …more
Gifts of War
Gifts of War: A Novel
by Mackenzie Ford
War Novel -- better than some (4/29/2009)
This novel about the Great War - specifically about a soldier and his life after service - isn't wonderful, but it isn't terrible either. Ford's description of the Christmas Eve Truce 1914 at one particular line is lovely, and it's nice to read a "non-prettified" version of …more
Murder in Mykonos
Murder in Mykonos
by Jeffrey Siger
Murder in Mykonos (10/28/2008)
I know where my next vacation will be ... Anyone who can read this book and NOT want to go to Greece needs his head examined! The mystery part of the book is well-plotted [although the resolution is a wee bit sudden and pat], but the landscape and atmosphere described by …more
The Critic
The Critic: The Second of the Enzo Files
by Peter May
The Critic by Peter May (11/26/2007)
Before I began this one, I went to my local library to find Extraordinary People, the first in the Enzo Macleod series by Peter May, and I'm glad I did -- otherwise some of the relationships between Enzo and his various "women" would have been confusing to me. And there are …more
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