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Reviews by Mary P. (Bellingham, WA)

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Greek to Me: Adventures of the Comma Queen
by Mary Norris
Greek to Me (4/4/2019)
The author, Mary Norris, is an unabashed devotee of Greece-- its language, culture, history. ancient remains. Her enthusiasm comes through in this memoir, written with love and humor. Greece, here I come!
Meet Me at the Museum
by Anne Youngson
Meet me at the Museum (5/13/2018)
I enjoyed this quiet, contemplative book, a correspondence between Tina Hapgood in Bury St. Edmonds, England, and Kristian Larsen, curator of Silkeborg Museum in Denmark, where Tollund Man, a 2,000 year-old preserved and found in a Danish Bog, resudes, Tina attended amore
A Piece of the World: A Novel
by Christina Baker Kline
A Piece of the World (1/3/2017)
This biographical novel deserves a 6 rating, for excellent. "Very good" is an understatement. The subject of the novel is Christina Olson, the woman in the foreground of Andrew Wyeth's "Christina's World." Christina is reaching for her home, and pulling herself through amore
News of the World
by Paulette Jiles
News of the World (9/15/2016)
I like this novel a lot. It's the story a 400-mile journey through a lawless Texas in the 1870s, by horseback, a well-used wagon, and on foot. Retired Army Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, who is 70 years old and feeling his age, is offered a $50 gold piece to take a 10-year-more
The Secret Language of Stones: A Daughters of La Lune Novel
by M. J. Rose
The Secret Language of Stones by M.J. Rose (5/29/2016)
Mysticism, magic, emotion, intrigue, poetic language, suspense, romance--this novel has it all. It takes place during World I in Paris, with a foray into England, and the heroine is Opaline. Her name suits the story--opals are intriguing stones with swirls of color and firemore
Girl Waits with Gun
by Amy Stewart
Girl Waits with Gun (7/14/2015)
This historical novel, set in New Jersey in 1914, about one of the nation's first female deputy sheriffs is great fun. The Kopp sisters, orphans, hold onto their farm, despite the attempts to persuade them that they need a man around the house. A gangster dares to challengemore
Circling the Sun: A Novel
by Paula McLain
Circling the Sun (6/7/2015)
Beryl Markham lived remarkably and fully. Her childhood was idyllic, if you like horses, the outdoors, nature, and the freedom to do anything, despite the urgings of female teachers and a school to become "a lady." She spent most of her life in colonial Kenya, before andmore
Whispering Shadows
by Jan-Philipp Sendker
Whispering Shadows (2/4/2015)
I found Whispering Shadows, which takes place in Hong Kong, to be a pretty good read, but not initially compelling It took many pages to become engaged, but it grabbed me as the protagonist, an expat journalist, Paul Liebovitz, in contemporary China, seeks to solve a murdermore
The Mouse-Proof Kitchen
by Saira Shah
Mouse-Proof Kitchen by Saira Shah (7/28/2013)
I thoroughly enjoyed this book with its intelligent, idiosyncratic characters, and its descriptions of Provence. The main character, it can be argued as the plot and characters revolve around her, is Freya, the infant daughter of Anna and Tobias. Freya is born severelymore
The Last Girl: A Maeve Kerrigan Novel
by Jane Casey
The Last Girl (5/13/2013)
This is a solid police procedural with an interesting cast of characters, the main one being London DC Maeve Kerrigan. I enjoyed the bits of humor, present in the conversations and reflections of the characters. It was easy to slip into the story as it was written in firstmore
Where You Can Find Me: A Novel
by Sheri Joseph
Where you can find me (2/26/2013)
This novel would usually be something I avoid because it involves child abuse. That said, I found it to be thought-provoking in a way that I had not thought of before. How does a person find themselves after a mind-bending event? Caleb was kidnapped when he was eleven, andmore
The Light Between Oceans: A Novel
by Margot L. Stedman
The light between oceans (8/15/2012)
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It's literary fiction, taking place in Australia after WWI, with fully developed characters and poetic descriptions of physical and emotional aspects. It probes a moral question of whom a child belongs to--biological parents, or the parentsmore
The Secrets of Mary Bowser
by Lois Leveen
The Secrets of Mary Bowser (5/5/2012)
This is one of the best books I've read in recent years.

While it is fiction, based on a small bit of probable history, it reads like a true story, told by a participant in an amazing part of American History. You have to admire Mary Bowser, who follows her heart to do themore
Wayward Saints
by Suzzy Roche
Wayward Saints (12/3/2011)
I enjoyed Wayward Saints by Suzzy Roche, identifying with the daughter, Mary, who is trying to find her authentic voice, and her mother who is seeking to understand her daughter. Love is the thread that stitches the two together, in spite of their differences. A chainmore
Next to Love
by Ellen Feldman
For real--Next to Love (7/29/2011)
Another one-sitting book. Many writings have focused on the effects of war on the soldiers, but this is one that brings to the fore the battles of the women in the lives of those soldiers. I was taken by how true the characterizations were, without over sentimentality. It reads for real.
The Kitchen Daughter: A Novel
by Jael McHenry
In one sitting--The Kitchen Daughter (4/20/2011)
I meant to start this wonderful novel before going to bed, and finish later, but was compelled to finish--encouraged by the imagery and plot. The jacket note says it's about what is normal; but I think it's about whether "normal" is even desirable, and if being close-mindedmore
The Stuff That Never Happened
by Maddie Dawson
The stuff that never happened (9/17/2010)
Maddie Dawson's "The Stuff that Never Happened" is first and foremost, an enjoyable read. The author can turn a phrase and encapsulate feelings in few words, often humorously. Because it is written in first person, and definitely from a woman's point of view, I think themore
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