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Reviews by Mary S. (Bow, NH)

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The World's Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant
The World's Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant
by Liza Tully
Fun but not great (3/3/2025)
I am an avid reader of murder mysteries and thrillers. For me they are excellent escapes from everyday life and I love trying to solve the puzzle with the clues the given by the author. In this book, I found the main characters to be contrived and too similar to Stephen …more
Beast of the North Woods
Beast of the North Woods: Monster Hunter Mysteries #3
by Annelise Ryan
A beast of a book (11/8/2024)
This is book is based on the interesting concept that maybe mythical creatures (yeti, unicorns, etc) may exist or did exist. Don't worry the book is mystery/thriller, not an examination of those creatures but features a cryptozoologist who researches and does some searching …more
Harlem Rhapsody
Harlem Rhapsody
by Victoria Christopher Murray
Midwife of the Harlem Renaissance (9/22/2024)
Victoria Christopher Murray has done it again. She has found yet another remarkable, but probably unknown to most, woman and celebrated her life in this well written piece of historical fiction. In this book, Harlem Rhapsody, the focus is on a woman who should be recognized …more
The House on Biscayne Bay
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
History, mystery & intrigue (1/17/2024)
If you like mystery, a little history, and a lot of intrigue you will love this book. Set in Miami in the 1920s, we first see the mansion on Biscayne Bay through the eyes of Anna, the wife of the builder. Anna and her husband, Robert, already live on Park Avenue in NYC and …more
All You Have to Do Is Call
All You Have to Do Is Call
by Kerri Maher
A great historical fiction perspective on current troubles (7/10/2023)
It took me a few chapters to become engrossed in All You Have to do Is Call, but once it grabbed me, I was swept away. The book is set in the early 1970s just before Roe v. Wade becomes law of the land. Its focus is on a group of friends, some of whom are abortion providers …more
King of the Armadillos
King of the Armadillos
by Wendy Chin-Tanner
A must read (5/11/2023)
King of the Armadillos should be on everyone's must-read list. Wendy Chin-Tanner style is reminiscent of Anne Tyler and Ann Patchett in that Chin-Tanner is an excellent storyteller and her command of language envelops you, so much so that I found myself frequently fully …more
The Long Ago
The Long Ago: A Novel
by Michael McGarrity
It's a good, solid book (3/22/2023)
The Long Ago follows the lives of siblings from Montana in the early to mid 1960s. The brother leaves Montana via his enlistment in the Army. Two years later he comes back to find that his younger sister has disappeared and he tries to find her. We learn that the sister …more
Sisters of the Lost Nation
Sisters of the Lost Nation
by Nick Medina
Stick with it - it's worth it! (11/10/2022)
As you can tell from the title of my review, my initial impression of the book was less than outstanding but that changed as the story progressed. The story starts with the usual trope of two sisters that have grown apart as they hit puberty and one sister, our narrator, is …more
The Last Russian Doll
The Last Russian Doll
by Kristen Loesch
Russian Doll is a must read (10/25/2022)
I don't know how I can convince you to read this book, but I will do my best. It is masterpiece of plot and writing. Like a matryoshka doll, just as you get comfortable with a story line, a new plot twist is revealed. Plus, the skill at which the author toggles back and …more
River Sing Me Home
River Sing Me Home
by Eleanor Shearer
Grit can take you far (9/7/2022)
This engrossing novel is a must read for anyone wanting to see grit and determination in action. Our hero, Rachel, is technically a formerly enslaved person because the novel begins with the declaration of emancipation in 1834. However, emancipation was a farce as local …more
Fruiting Bodies
Fruiting Bodies: Stories
by Kathryn Harlan
A great debut (6/3/2022)
What an interesting collection of short stories - somewhat disparate yet somehow come together in unity. Some of the stories are fantastical and dreamlike (looking at you Fiddler, Fool, Pair), while others are down to earth. I am not a huge fantasy/speculative fiction fan …more
The Paris Bookseller
The Paris Bookseller
by Kerri Maher
C'est magnifique! (11/10/2021)
This historical fiction novel ended too soon for this reader. It's a wonderful story that sweeps you up in the life of Sylvia Beach, owner and founder of Shakespeare & Co, a bookstore in Paris that sold books from the US and UK in English. (The current Shakespeare & …more
Take My Hand
Take My Hand
by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Read this book! (9/17/2021)
Take my Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez is a tour de force of a novel. Inspired by true events, the story follows Civil Townsend, a fresh out of nursing school woman, working at a reproductive health clinic in Montgomery, AL. Civil quickly discovers that impoverished woman are …more
The Sunset Route
The Sunset Route: Freight Trains, Forgiveness, and Freedom on the Rails in the American West
by Carrot Quinn
Interestingly irritating (7/14/2021)
Am I glad I read this book? Yes. Did I get irritated while reading it? You betcha. (Shoplifting is not a victimless crime - those of us without a lot of money get to pay the higher prices caused by the store's loss; try telling a family whose daughter is missing that it's …more
A Million Things
A Million Things
by Emily Spurr
Home alone - but so much better! (5/5/2021)
I groaned when I read the first few pages of A Million Things, thinking here we go again, the old "child left on their own" trope. Fortunately, I stuck with it and by the next chapter, I was hooked.
This is a delightfully sad story about a 10 year-old girl (Rae), a dog ( …more
The Personal Librarian
The Personal Librarian
by Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray
A woman ahead of her time (2/10/2021)
The Personal Librarian is an engrossing story about Belle da Costa Greene, a unique woman for her time and for our time as well. This piece of historical fiction is a well written and well plotted biography for a remarkable woman. Ms. Greene was the personal librarian to JP …more
The Fortunate Ones
The Fortunate Ones
by Ed Tarkington
Humming CCR (10/30/2020)
Every time I picked up The Fortunate Ones the Credence Clearwater Revival Song "Fortunate Son" ran through my head. If you know the lyrics, you can't help but wonder if Tarkington got some inspiration for his book from the song.

This book is the fall of the tragic hero in …more
The Woman Before Wallis
The Woman Before Wallis: A Novel of Windsors, Vanderbilts, and Royal Scandal
by Bryn Turnbull
Historical fiction at it's most fun (7/23/2020)
Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and The Woman Before Wallis did not disappoint this reader. It is based on the adult lives of Morgan twin sisters. One sister you've probably heard of: Gloria Vanderbilt, wife of Reggie Vanderbilt and mother of Gloria …more
The In-Betweens
The In-Betweens: The Spiritualists, Mediums, and Legends of Camp Etna
by Mira Ptacin
4 stars for writing; 2 stars for content pacing (10/23/2019)
I think I would describe my relationship to psychics and mediums as "curious with a healthy dose of skepticism". This book helped satisfy my curiosity and I think made me less of a skeptic - but I'm not running out to get my cards read anytime soon. Ptacin's strength is her …more
Nothing to See Here
Nothing to See Here
by Kevin Wilson
Normal weirdness (6/18/2019)
A longtime fan of The Family Fang, I had high expectations for Nothing to See Here and I wasn't disappointed. Each character was so well defined and all of their quirks and foibles served to enrich the story-telling. The pacing was excellent and it was easy to become …more
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