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Reviews by Harriette K. (Northbrook, IL)

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Niceville
Niceville: A Novel
by Carsten Stroud
Niceville (6/10/2012)
A seemingly pleasant southern town is rocked by the mysterious disappearance of a child, his recovery and then a bank robbery and the murder of four policemen who are chasing the robbers. What starts out as a "cop" drama turns into a Southern Gothic tale, with mysterious …more
The Darkening Field
The Darkening Field: A Novel
by William Ryan
The Darkening Field (11/14/2011)
A police detective from Moscow is sent to the Odessa area to investigate a suspicious death, and we are plunged into 1937 Communist U.S.S.R. I started reading with low expectations, and then the plot, the time in history and the frightening world the characters lived in …more
The Things We Cherished
The Things We Cherished: A Novel
by Pam Jenoff
The Things We Cherished (5/12/2011)
The story takes off from a pre-trial meeting of the protagonist and an elderly man who is accused of betraying his brother during the Holocaust. The brother had led a secret life rescuing Jews and sending them out of harm's way. Is he guilty or just the victim of his own …more
Outside Wonderland
Outside Wonderland: A Novel
by Lorna Jane Cook
Outside Wonderland (2/6/2011)
Although the story kept me interested enough through to the end, and there were some very good lines here and there, I found "Outside Wonderland" rather predictable. The device of giving "the departed" a window into the living world is a delicate one, and this time the …more
The Discovery of Jeanne Baret
The Discovery of Jeanne Baret: A Story of Science, the High Seas, and the First Woman to Circumnavigate the Globe
by Glynis Ridley
The discovery of Jeanne Baret (12/27/2010)
We are treated to the story of Jeanne Baret, a truly gifted herb woman, who assists a noted French botanist while gathering and naming plants during a round-the world trip during the mid 1700's. We are aware of the competition between nations and the deprivations suffered …more
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter: A Novel
by Tom Franklin
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter (9/28/2010)
The title puts us in the place. Who doesn't remember the way we were taught to spell Mississippi? The jacket then gives the reader an idea of what to expect, a mysterious disappearance and hidden secrets revealed. Immediately the reader is pulled into the story and learns …more
Pearl of China
Pearl of China: A Novel
by Anchee Min
Pearl of China (2/7/2010)
The author imagines a friendship between a young, impoverished Chinese girl and the very young Pearl Buck. Their lives take them from the early 20th century through the Boxer Rebellion, the many changes in China and the Cultural Revolution. The real Pearl Buck grows up to …more
Alice I Have Been
Alice I Have Been
by Melanie Benjamin
Alice I Have Been (10/22/2009)
At the age of 80, the "real Alice" of Alice in Wonderland looks back on her life and the unusual friendship she shared with the author, Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll). She recounts their visits, his photographing her and his telling of stories to amuse her and her two …more
The Secret Keeper
The Secret Keeper
by Paul Harris
The Secret Keeper (3/26/2009)
When a journalist returns to Sierra Leone to uncover the cause and reason for the mysterious death of his former lover, he runs into danger wherever he turns. The story leads us to all the answers, but not before taking us and our protagonist through many harrowing …more
The Air Between Us
The Air Between Us
by Deborah Johnson
the air between us (2/7/2009)
The era of integration and impending desegregation is the backdrop for an engrossing character driven story of the people of a small town in Mississippi. A mystery unfolds as the protaganists, a white doctor and a black doctor, face the problems and the questions that arise. …more
Blacklight Blue
Blacklight Blue: The Third Enzo Files
by Peter May
Blacklight Blue (9/6/2008)
Enzo MacLeod is a professor of forensics, helping a journalist to solve "cold cases". When he comes too close to a solution of a 20 year-old murder, he becomes the target and the chase is on. In the style of one of my favorite mystery writers, Harlan Coben, he keeps us …more
Holding My Breath
Holding My Breath: A Novel
by Sidura Ludwig
Holding My Breath (5/26/2008)
By the time I reached the second chapter (yes, the first was a little slow, almost turned me off), I was caught up in the dynamics of this very engrossing family. The pull of tradition against the modern was by turns familiar and new to me. The setting, Winnipeg starting …more
Heavenly Pleasures
Heavenly Pleasures: A Corinna Chapman Mystery
by Kerry Greenwood
Heavenly Pleasures (3/31/2008)
Anytime a love of food and cooking is combined with a bit of mystery & danger, a good read is in store. I enjoyed Kerry Greenwood's very quirky characters although I did get a little confused occasionally by her slightly frenetic narrative. In the main, it was good and …more
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    The River Knows Your Name
    by Kelly Mustian
    A haunting Southern novel about memory and love, from the author of The Girls in the Stilt House.
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