Reviews by Terri O. (Chapel Hill, NC)

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Exiles
Exiles: Aaron Falk Mystery #3
by Jane Harper
Another winner from Jane Harper! (8/14/2022)
Jane Harper has done it again with Exiles, the third (and sadly last) book in the Aaron Falk series. In this installment, Falk, a federal agent whose day job is investigating financial crimes, finds himself embroiled in a missing persons case when he travels to South …more
Sisters of the Great War
Sisters of the Great War: A Novel
by Suzanne Feldman
Sisters of the Great War (9/6/2021)
Sisters of the Great War is an unflinching look at life on the front lines of WWI for the women who volunteered to serve. The story follows two American sisters: Ruth is a nurse with ambitions to be a doctor, and Elise is a mechanic and ambulance driver. The descriptions of …more
Palace of the Drowned
Palace of the Drowned
by Christine Mangan
Palace of the Drowned (2/28/2021)
Palace of the Drowned is suspenseful and atmospheric, but its sinister undertones never quite pay off. The best character in this book by far is Venice. The author did a wonderful job describing the city in the off season and then the historic flooding of 1966. The human …more
The Narrowboat Summer
The Narrowboat Summer
by Anne Youngson
The Narrowboat Summer (11/12/2020)
The Narrowboat Summer by Anne Youngson is a gentle, peaceful exploration of the possibilities of momentous change in lives that seem completely settled. The three main characters, two middle aged (Sally and Eve) and one elderly (Anastasia), find their lives turned upside …more
The Lost Apothecary
The Lost Apothecary: A Novel
by Sarah Penner
The Lost Apothecary (8/29/2020)
I enjoyed the historical plot line of this book very much and would give that part of the book five stars. I found Nella and Eliza to be fascinating, well written characters, and their story line was compelling. The author did a great job invoking late 18th-century London …more
Miss Austen
Miss Austen
by Gill Hornby
Miss Austen (2/12/2020)
As a devoted fan of Jane Austen, I have always considered Cassandra Austen's burning of her sister Jane's letters to be one of the worst literary crimes in history, so I was interested to see how this book would portray Cassandra's personality and her motivation for this …more
The Lost Man
The Lost Man
by Jane Harper
Slow-burning, atmospheric family drama (11/8/2018)
The Lost Man is a fantastic family drama/mystery that explores the consequences of both taking action and failing to do so. In the aftermath of the seeming suicide of Cameron Bright in a desolate part of the Outback, his family must come to terms with his death and what may …more
So Much Life Left Over
So Much Life Left Over
by Louis de Bernieres
So much life left over (7/21/2018)
So Much Life Left Over is set in the years between the end of WWI and the beginning of WWII and examines the lives of characters who are struggling to find meaning in a post-war world that many of them did not expect to live to see. The novel is written as a series of short …more
Force of Nature
Force of Nature: Aaron Falk Mystery #2
by Jane Harper
Harper Is a Force to Be Reckoned With (10/7/2017)
Force of Nature is Jane Harper's second mystery featuring Federal Agent Aaron Falk and it's just as good, if not better, than her first book, The Dry. Once again, Harper has penned a layered and suspenseful tale with complex and believable characters. The story involves the …more
The Essex Serpent
The Essex Serpent
by Sarah Perry
Highly recommended (2/17/2017)
The Essex Serpent is a beautifully written novel that explores such themes as love and friendship, science and religion, reason and superstition, freedom and powerlessness, and poverty and wealth, set against the divergent backdrops of bustling London and rural Essex in the …more
The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins
The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins
by Antonia Hodgson
The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins (12/20/2015)
The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins is a worthy sequel to The Devil in the Marshalsea, the first book in this wonderful Georgian mystery series. The book opens with Tom condemned to hang for a murder he did not commit and hoping for a royal pardon. Over the course of the …more
We That Are Left
We That Are Left
by Clare Clark
Began well but fizzled out (7/2/2015)
We That Are Left is a complex tale of a family, their crumbling estate, and a godson who becomes inextricably entwined with both. It is clearly well researched and well written, and the writer did a good job of conveying time and place (England around the time of World War …more
Little Black Lies
Little Black Lies
by Sharon Bolton
Compelling psychological thriller--highly recommended (4/30/2015)
Little Black Lies is the best kind of thriller, the kind that grabs the reader early on and doesn't let go until the very end. I literally did not want to put this book down. The plotting is intricate and brilliant, the characters are well developed and believable, and the …more
Her Name Is Rose
Her Name Is Rose
by Christine Breen
Enjoyable novel but too many coincidences (2/5/2015)
"Her Name Is Rose" is an engaging novel with a cast of interesting characters. The author writes very well; her descriptions of flowers and gardening are particularly lovely, as are her descriptions of the Irish countryside. And I found the main character, Iris, to be very …more
First Frost
First Frost
by Sarah Addison Allen
Spellbinding sequel (11/3/2014)
Sarah Addison Allen is back with a charming sequel to her best-selling novel Garden Spells. Once again, she casts a spell over her readers with her seemingly effortless, graceful prose, making us happily suspend our disbelief and enter wholeheartedly into the world of the …more
Bitter Greens
Bitter Greens
by Kate Forsyth
Lush retelling of a familiar fairy tale (8/24/2014)
Bitter Greens is a beautifully written retelling of the Rapunzel story, as well as the story of Charlotte-Rose de la Force, the 17th-century French writer who wrote the version of Rapunzel that the Brothers Grimm popularized. The novel is told from the points of view of 3 …more
The Devil in the Marshalsea
The Devil in the Marshalsea
by Antonia Hodgson
The Devil in the Marshalsea (3/16/2014)
The Devil in the Marshalsea is a well-written and thoroughly entertaining tale of murder and mayhem in the infamous Marshalsea prison in the early 18th century. Tom Hawkins, a charming rogue whose debts have finally caught up with him, enters the Marshalsea and quickly …more
Bellman & Black
Bellman & Black
by Diane Setterfield
Well written but ultimately disappointing (9/16/2013)
There is no denying that Diane Setterfield is a good writer. Her prose is eloquent and atmospheric, and she does a good job in Bellman & Black of bringing Victorian England to life. Unfortunately, I found the characters to be largely flat and uninteresting, and the …more
Letters from Skye
Letters from Skye
by Jessica Brockmole
A gem of a novel (6/18/2013)
Letters From Skye is a beautifully written gem of a novel. Written entirely as letters spanning 1912 to 1940, it tells the story of Elspeth Dunn, a Scottish poet, and David Graham, an American college student. What begins as a fan letter from David to Elspeth deepens to …more
Eighty Days
Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World
by Matthew Goodman
Nonfiction that reads like fiction (1/14/2013)
Eighty Days is a hugely entertaining account of a now-forgotten race around the world in 1889 between Nellie Bly and Elisabeth Bisland, two young female journalists in New York. Goodman recounts Bly's and Bisland's journeys in alternating chapters, and he does a good job …more
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