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Reviews by Sandi W.

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The Silent Patient
by Alex Michaelides

Where does the transference start and stop? (7/21/2019)

4.5 stars

Ewww! I feel like an idiot! I did not follow the clues at all! I was gobsmacked when the plot twist happened. This was a good book! I look forward to reading more by Michaelides. This book is worthy of a seasoned author, and being Michaelides' debut novel only has …more

The Spies of Shilling Lane
by Jennifer Ryan

More meddling busybody than WWII spies... (7/21/2019)

3 stars Thank you to Crown for allowing me to read and review this ARC. Published June 4, 2019.

London, WWII, spies and a mother/daughter situation. Controlling, busybody Mother went in search of her daughter in London. Once there she finds out that she had been lied to and …more

Miss Kopp Just Won't Quit: A Kopp Sisters Novel
by Amy Stewart

Things are a changin'.... (7/21/2019)

3.5 stars rounded up
Another cute caper by the Kopp Sisters. This is book #4 in the series. This series started out based on a real story about Constance Kopp, first female deputy sheriff in Hackensack New Jersey. I believe now, into the fourth book, that maybe fiction has …more

Recursion
by Blake Crouch

Your 'untrue life' ... (7/21/2019)

Thank you to Crown for allowing me to read and review this ARC. Published on June 11, 2019.

Another great novel by Blake Crouch. Having read Dark Matter a couple years ago I was taken by this author. I am not a great fantasy or science fiction fan. However, this author can …more

The Confessions of Frannie Langton
by Sara Collins

The slave's confession... (7/21/2019)

Through the written confession of a slave, a maid, we find out whether or not she committed the murder that she is being tried and convicted of. Frannie Langton has been accused of killing the woman she loves - a wealthy woman whose illness puts her in frail state. Not to …more

Her Kind of Case: A Lee Isaacs, Esq. Novel
by Jeanne Winer

Winer writes to her own experiences - wonderful! (5/24/2019)

There are not many books that get a 5 star rating from me. However this book rose right to the top. I had to often remind myself that this book is fiction. In story and character it ranked right up there with the true crime books that I often read.

Lee Isaacs is a defense …more

Heart in the Right Place: A Memoir
by Carolyn Jourdan

Laugh out loud humorous. (5/11/2019)

Most non-fiction that I read is historical, about a trial, a murder, a famine, a famous person. However, this non-fiction was family-oriented, and humorous. Laugh out loud humorous.

Carolyn Jourdan was where she thought she wanted to be. She had the job she thought she …more

mirrors today's true to life situation. (5/11/2019)

A topic very much in the headlines today - Immigration. Although this is a fictional story it mirrors today's true to life situation.

Nina caring for her elderly mother, gets roped into smuggling immigrants. Her God son befriends a young boy, who she is hiding and things …more

Murder by the Book: The Crime That Shocked Dickens's London
by Claire Harman

true crime revision (5/11/2019)

This is the true crime revision of the death of the British aristocrat Lord William Russell. He was killed in his bed, in London in 1840. The book goes on to solve the crime. However, in the interim, the author goes on to illustrate the beginnings of the 'Newgate novels', …more

The Dreamers
by Karen Thompson Walker

Everything in a dice cup (5/11/2019)

I enjoyed this book right up to the ending. I was disappointed in the ending. I felt like the author just bundled everything possible into a dice cup and threw it out there as an ending. Let it land wherever it may. I didn't feel any real closure there. Just - maybe this …more

The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted
by Robert Hillman

from warm to razor wire (5/11/2019)

My expectation was way off for this book. I was expecting a light romance kindled in a bookstore. So far from the actuality of this novel.

I felt that the book started out well, I really liked the main character Tom and also liked Peter, the son of Tom's wife. I also enjoyed …more

The Island of Sea Women
by Lisa See

Lisa See delivers (5/11/2019)

I enjoyed this book much more than I expected. I probably would not have picked this book to read if it had not been for the book club. I had never heard of the haenyeo before, but then I know very little of the Korean traditions. This book not only helped to educate me on …more

The Last Year of the War
by Susan Meissner

pleasantly surprised (4/1/2019)

This being my first read of a Susan Meissner book I have no past references for comparison. However, with that said, I found this book to be very enjoyable. I enjoyed the way she moved her characters back in time to tell their story. I was pleasantly surprised to see she …more

A People's History of Heaven
by Mathangi Subramanian

Mother/daughter dynamics (3/22/2019)

A poor lowly slum in Bangalore, hidden behind the city high rises. Houses physically built from scrapes. But the homes built with love. Five families - five young girls, well almost - who fight to live in this squalor they call Heaven, as bulldozers nosily idle nearby, …more

Miss Kopp's Midnight Confessions: A Kopp Sisters Novel
by Amy Stewart

warm and spirited (3/9/2019)

3.5 stars

The Kopp Sisters series is going to end all too soon for me, I am sure. Miss Kopp's Midnight Confessions is the third book of the series and one I thoroughly enjoyed. Based on the real life of Constance Kopp, this fictional series is informative of the time, …more

The Secret of Clouds
by Alyson Richman

a family cloud (3/9/2019)

3.75 stars

If there were a place that everyone could find each other after they passed, Yuri a small Ukraine boy, dreamed it would be a family cloud.

A heartfelt novel with a great story line and wonderful characters celebrating teachers, of all ages. Music played a major …more

Becoming
by Michelle Obama

"I'm an ordinary person who found herself on an extraordinary journey." (3/9/2019)

I was very pleased with this book. I felt that Michelle (who made you feel like you were her friend) did a wonderful job of telling her truth. She told of her aspirations, along with her fears. She did not hesitate to spell out her doubts and concerns. By the end of the …more

The White Darkness
by David Grann

An unforgettable entry into one man's dream (2/6/2019)

There is not a thing that I have read by this author that I did not like. Grann tells it like it is, leaving you to decide whether you like the story or not. But always non-fiction and compelling. He is diverse in his projects, from the Amazon to Kitty Hawk to the Osage …more

Once Upon a River
by Diane Setterfield

mastery of detail and readability (2/6/2019)

4.5 stars

I loved this book. It not only attests to the excellent story telling of the author, but it held me in awe of it's mastery of detail and readability. I felt that the story was enthralling, but the attention to detail and story follow up, along with the touch of …more

Sugar Run
by Mesha Maren

strings left dangling (2/6/2019)

I am not sure exactly what it was that I was expecting or waiting for in this book, but it never seemed to materialize. For a debut novel there was plenty of action in the story, some good character development and a plausible plot, but for me it just missed the mark.

The …more

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