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 the third person the last third is in Ruth's own voice and patois and reveal Ruth's origins and her "adoption" by Solange Fournier, who became Scarlett's grandmother. Unlike GWTW, Ruth's Journey moves rapidly and skims over the major historical events of the novel, as if the author were in a rush to get to the "good stuff': "introducing" the reader to Scarlett and the O'Hara clan.
I didn't read McCaig's "authorized sequel," Rhett Butler's People, but I did read Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley, which was yet another unnecessary sewuel to GWTW. If you need a Scarlett fix, just re-read GWTW and don't bother with this waste of paper.

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 the many years that follow, and the effect the tragedy -- as well as the extant problems -- has on the family.
The story reminded me a bit of the movie "August: Osage County" in the depiction of the squabbles and problems of a relatively close-knit family, although the book is set in the Cotswolds and thus we see, to Americans anyway, a "typically" repressed English family.
The book also hit a bit close to home for me, as well; I need to go unpack a whole lot of book boxes that have been sitting in the spare room since my last move!

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 the camp guard who killed the boy; but it also refers to the vow Sarah made to make a life for herself, despite having lost everyone she loved.

Jacob and Sarah meet in Heidelberg after his concentration camp is liberated; Jacob finds that he has a talent for making money in all sorts of semi-questionable ways, and Sarah is still trying to recover from a rape that was perpetrated by a Russian soldier. "Jacob's Oath" is the story of their growing love for each other, and the choices they make as they decide whether to live in the past or create lives for themselves for the future.

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 the story of her "meet-cute" with a bookshop owner in Scotland, and the resulting "relationship" that develops from her month-long stay after she essentially invites herself "working" at the shop. No idea how Euan stands her nor she him: both of them are the biggest passive-aggressive types I've ever read about. Save your money and time and don't bother.

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 ... but I'm going to remedy that situation as soon as I get through the rest of my bedside stack. The characters are interesting -- I do wish Maeve would punch her partner/immediate boss in the mouth, though he's a real sexist pig, to use 1970s terminology -- and Casey can really spin a twisted yarn. Highly recommended!

"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 all but thanks to a foul-up of another robbery in Kuala Lumpur 5 years earlier, he's forced to dance to the tune piped by his boss.

The narrative shifts back and forth between KL and AC, and we get glimpses of the planning that led to the KL debacle and thus to the current situation; Hobbs kept my attention very well with his backstory and descriptions of Jack and his fellow burglars. I really enjoyed this book.

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 appears to have the wrong man. As the doctor is getting back in his car after being released, the arresting officer is shot in a drive-by and Henry of course becomes the only suspect -- despite the evidence of surveillance cameras and other modern technology. Henry goes on the run to the home of a nearby friend ... only to find that friend murdered too. OMG, Henry's being FRAMED!
There are two -- if not three -- sub-plots about parent-child relationships in the book, two of which really push the story along. IF, that is, you're willing to suspend disbelief long enough to get through this book. I found Henry's ability to hide from various law enforcement agencies, and to find a stealable car whenever he needed, a bit tough to swallow. There is also a confusing timeline issue can't spoil that eventually gets resolved, but it had me wondering for a good third of the book. This is a good beach read, but don’t bother if you’re looking for a really in-depth, character-driven thriller.

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, and of course there are plenty of suspects; but the plot also comprises a bit of the back-story of the detective assigned to the case and that of his family. I actually found that part of the book more interesting than the main mystery -- I am not in the least interested in any sport, and rowing may be at or near the bottom of that list for me -- but the solution of the mystery, and the steps leading to it, was believable and kept my attention.

Crombie writes about English village/small-town life as if she were a native; I've visited some of the places she describes in this book and she was spot on in her depictions. This novel is definitely a keeper!

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 time! The book is an easy read but the ending is too pat and "perfect." It's not a bad book, just not very good. Possibly a good beach-book -- if you don't want to have to think much.

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.

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 York than does "The Nanny Diaries," although why any of these women put up with the treatment they did is beyond me ... is the "American Dream" really THAT strong?!
Victoria Brown really makes the non-WASP sides of Brooklyn come to life, as well as the worries of a young woman leaving her family for the first time, having to make it on her own with little support even from her own immigrant community. The book made me realize how lucky I was to be employed by the families I cared for!

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 three men -- all veterans -- have been murdered. It's interesting to see how Rutledge manages to solve the mystery without today's technology (he has to go to another village to use the phone, and of course DNA is not even a pipe dream yet), but also to see how little English country life has changed in almost a century.

I highly recommend this book and can't wait to dig in to other Rutledge novels!

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 manner -- without the talent for keeping the reader's interest -- by keeping her chapters short and rat-a-tat-tat ... but when the narrator changes with every third page, and they all sound much of a muchness, you tend to stop caring.
At least I did.
I wouldn't recommend this book except as a remedy for insomnia.

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 same policeman in charge of both cases; however, in the latter case, he is "assisted" by a local archeologist, Ruth Galloway. Ruth's solitary life on the marshes is disrupted in more ways than one by the intrusion of this mystery, and Griffiths does an excellent job of making the reader feel the loneliness of the area and of Ruth herself -- and of the changes that occur to both.

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 what happened in several locations on that night.

Hal, the protagonist, is given a task to complete in England by his German counterpart, and the rest of the book is taken up by how he decides to handle that task. I loved the descriptions of lower-middle-class life during and after the War - most novels are concerned with the truly lower classes or with the aristos - and, although I didn't find the ending satisfactory, I've read too much Danielle Steel in my day, it was nevertheless fairly well done.

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 Siger are vivid and beautifully detailed. I could almost smell the drunk Europeans and hear the roar of the motorbikes and tavernas on Mykonos.
The characters are also well-depicted; they're believable and -- for the most part -- congenial or despicable, depending on Siger's intent.
Can't wait for the next in the series!

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 plenty of women!

There's also a good deal of oenology to keep up with, but as I enjoy an occasional glass myself, The Critic just added to my [admittedly small] store of knowledge about French wines and wine-making. This is a good mystery set in a part of France I don't know at all, although I teach French [and I am appalled at the spelling errors May's "editors" allowed him to get away with in his first book; for someone who actually lives in France, he has a limited grasp on the language, or so it seems] and have travelled there extensively. I'd love to see this part of the country and, having very much enjoyed this book [and I'm looking forward to more of the series], will put this area on my itinerary.

Not really suited for a book club, but mystery lovers should enjoy it.