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Reviews by John A. (Austin, TX)

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In the Garden of Monsters: A Novel
by Crystal King
Surrealistic (8/17/2024)
The author was inspired by Salvador Dalí's visit to the Sacro Bosco in Italy in 1948. She employs a historical fiction account of Dali's renting the estate containing this garden as the setting for his project of painting a series of surrealistic works that feature themore
Leaving: A Novel
by Roxana Robinson
Leaving Believability (12/11/2023)
Leaving is a very well written book with interesting characters and events, but it has a major flaw in my opinion. The male lead is true to form in the first half of the book, but behaves in an increasingly unbelievable manner as the book progresses. The character changemore
Above the Salt: A Novel
by Katherine Vaz
Excellent Historical Fiction (10/2/2023)
Above the Salt by Katherine Vaz is a very well researched and fascinating historical fiction novel. The characters are well developed and interesting. The plot is excellently laid out, and the historical material is very illuminating. All in all, this is a top notch readmore
The Continental Affair: A Novel
by Christine Mangan
A Disappointing Ride (7/20/2023)
Henri, a former Algerian gendarme who is now working for relatives in southern Spain, tails Louise, who is running from her past in London and whoever expected the money that she accidentally came into possession of while visiting the Alhambra.

The story that includes amore
The Montevideo Brief: A Thomas Grey Novel
by J. H. Gelernter
James Bond Equivalent in the Early Nineteenth Century (4/22/2023)
The Montevideo Brief features an early nineteenth century James Bond equivalent whose adventures carry him from Europe to South America with intermixed duels, a Beethoven concert, many seafaring battles, imprisonment by pirates and later a very successful venture againstmore
Iron Curtain: A Love Story
by Vesna Goldsworthy
What Is Freedom? (1/8/2023)
Iron Curtain is a very interesting story contrasting the freedom of an entitled daughter of a powerful Communist leader in her home country with the freedom of a very financially poor wife of a feckless poet in England. Milena, the female protagonist, grows during the storymore
The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill
by Brad Meltzer, Josh Mensch
Little Known Events of WWII (12/14/2022)
The Nazi Conspiracy is an interesting story revealing many of Germany's plots during WWII to change the outcome of the war. In particular, Nazi involvement in Iran played a very large role in this novel. Nazi special forces were sensationally successful in rescuingmore
The God of Endings: A Novel
by Jacqueline Holland
A Bloody Disappointment of a Vampire Book (10/29/2022)
This was a very original take on the vampire saga, and it was well written and sensitive. Unfortunately, it moved at a glacial pace and was frequently repetitive and uninteresting. It was a challenge to make it through the entire book, and I can't recommend it.
The Lies I Tell: A Novel
by Julie Clark
Suspenseful, psychological thriller. (3/27/2022)
The Lies I Tell is a fascinating story about an avenger con artist and a journalist who is also on a mission of revenge. The story is superbly told with lots of twists and turns, and it is a fast, fun read. It is one of the most enjoyable books that I have read over the past few years.
Two Storm Wood: A Novel
by Philip Gray
Great Historical Fiction (12/17/2021)
Not only is this great historical fiction, it is also a fascinating mystery/detective story. One gets a real feel for the carnage of WWI. The incredible number of dead left in the battlefields after the war ended was vividly illustrated as were the lives of the trenchmore
The Latinist: A Novel
by Mark Prins
The Latinist (10/25/2021)
The Latinist was an interesting, complex story involving classical mythology, early Roman poets and their mysteries, present day grief, deceit, longing and love, and multiple surprises along the way and at the end. Set predominantly in Oxford, but also in Italy and in themore
Smalltime: A Story of My Family and the Mob
by Russell Shorto
The Johnstown Mob (3/11/2021)
Smalltime is an amalgamation of Italian American, western Pennsylvania, mafia, and family histories that come together in an interesting, entertaining fashion.  One really got a feel for the hardships that Italian Americans faced in being accepted into American society,more
The Blind Light: A Novel
by Stuart Evers
Bittersweet (10/21/2020)
Set in England, this multigenerational novel focuses on the interpersonal relationships between two families that started with the military service friendship of the two patriarchal figures. The book starts slowly as the reader is introduced to the characters and theirmore
The Woman Before Wallis: A Novel of Windsors, Vanderbilts, and Royal Scandal
by Bryn Turnbull
A Pleasant Diversion (7/23/2020)
The Woman before Wallis was an entertaining, escapist read about a cast of characters who were particularly prominent in the first half of the twentieth century.  The majority of these people were neither particularly likeable nor admirable in their behavior, but themore
Catherine House: A Novel
by Elisabeth Thomas
Disappointing (3/12/2020)
Basically, Catherine House is a refuge for brilliant, but alienated youth where more time appears to be spent drinking wine, having sex and playing games than studying. Plasm studies are the pinnacle of success at Catherine, but would not pass any ethics board in the USA.more
Welcome to the Pine Away Motel and Cabins
by Katarina Bivald
A Magical Story in Oregon (12/1/2019)
Very entertaining book with great characters. While the book makes one think a bit of Lovely Bones and Fried Green Tomatoes, it is much, much more. It could easily be converted into a great Netflix or Amazon Prime series with such a cast of lovable, interesting figures. Imore
The Seine: The River that Made Paris
by Elaine Sciolino
The History and Magic of the Seine (9/22/2019)
As somewhat of a Francophile, I enjoyed this book very much. It is very well written and filled with interesting facts and stories about the Seine and its cities. Although I was just in Paris, it makes me want to go back in the immediate future and see more of the sitesmore
The Secrets We Kept: A novel
by Lara Prescott
The Secrets We Kept (7/22/2019)
I had the good fortune of hearing Lara Prescott present an abbreviated synopsis of her wonderful book, The Secrets We Kept, at the University of Texas, Austin. This book of historical fiction is even better than her excellent talk.

The book is a multifaceted story centeredmore
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