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Review Date: 8/7/2016
Fans of Dorothea Benton Frank will love this book. I think it's her best in several years - a great mix of Charleston-area vibe, believable, likable characters and a good dose of humor. This review is for the unabridged recording which is fabulously done - I'm off to look for more books narrated by Robin Miles!
Review Date: 7/5/2015
My advice before you read this is to have the next book in the series on hand. When you finish this fabulous page-turner, you will want to immediately begin the next book in the 'Clifton Chronicles' series.
I loved the first two 'Clifton' books and this one was as good (which is quite high praise). Besides being well written, it has all the elements Archer's fans expect - villians, heroes, excitement, twists & turns, as well as a real feel of post-war England.
If you haven't read Archer, this series is a great place to start.
I loved the first two 'Clifton' books and this one was as good (which is quite high praise). Besides being well written, it has all the elements Archer's fans expect - villians, heroes, excitement, twists & turns, as well as a real feel of post-war England.
If you haven't read Archer, this series is a great place to start.
Review Date: 7/5/2015
This is not Rosamunde Pilcher's best novel (in my opinion), but it's a fun read. It's perfect for fans of Pilcher who have read (and perhaps re-read) all her better known works, like The Shell Seekers and want something new from her.
Confederates in the Attic : Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War (Vintage Departures)
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
122
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
122
Review Date: 5/11/2015
Helpful Score: 2
This book is the perfect combination of pathos and humor. You will laugh out loud at some of the characters and situations, but Horwitz never belittles or laughs at the people he includes in the book. I think this is his greatest gift as a writer.
He takes you on a journey through history and makes it incredibly appealing. You will want to visit many of the places and meet the people just as Horwitz did, and you don't have to be a Civil War buff to enjoy it.
A great book to read on a road trip. I'm off to find more books by Tony Horwitz!
He takes you on a journey through history and makes it incredibly appealing. You will want to visit many of the places and meet the people just as Horwitz did, and you don't have to be a Civil War buff to enjoy it.
A great book to read on a road trip. I'm off to find more books by Tony Horwitz!
Review Date: 9/14/2017
I loved this novel. It's the first adult book by Judy Blume I've read and it was a delightful surprise, with good characters, great historical details and mood, and enough mystery to make you read one more chapter each time you plan to put the book down. Blume really captures the early days of jet travel and of Las Vegas while creating characters you care about. I'd love to see a sequel to this...
Review Date: 7/27/2015
In my opinion, this is Sophie Kinsella's best book. It's laugh-out-loud funny and has compelling characters. I couldn't read it quickly enough. If you're a Kinsella fan, this is a must-read!
Review Date: 5/11/2015
I expected to love this book, as I have the other Bridget Jones books (and movies). However, after 70 pages I gave up. The characteristics that made Bridget appealing as a "singleton" don't appeal once she's a married mom. Some of the main characters are missing from this book and it seemed to be trying too hard to be up-to-date (I personally found the ubiquitous "f" word tiring and unnecessary) while keeping Bridget scatterbrained and clueless.
Review Date: 5/11/2015
Helpful Score: 1
I think this is worth reading if you're a Poirot/Agatha Christie fan. However, I found it disappointing, even allowing for the difficulty any writer must have taking over the Poirot series. The plot is confusing - not in a Christie 'red herring' way, but just confusing. And it's missing the clever surprise that makes Christie novels so special.
I found the book a little too modern - the Scotland Yard detective is a bundle of doubts - much more Alan Alda than Inspector Japp and (for me) not at all what a 1920s/30s detective should be. Instead of working alongside Poirot, or pursuing his own leads (which may be totally wrong but at least move the case, and book, forward) like Japp and the other Christie police characters do, this Inspector is almost incapable of viewing the victims which seems incredible and he would apparently do nothing if Poirot didn't tell him exactly how to proceed.
Poirot gives the floor to several other characters and lets them drone on for pages, which isn't as interesting as when Poirot dominates the narrative and again this feels a bit out of place - as if the author wanted to be more democratic or politically correct, but fans of Poirot want Poirot - at least this fan does. In the original Poirot novels, he questions and has lengthy conversations with "suspects" to get information, but he doesn't just let them talk and talk without interrupting. His questions are part of the fun of the books, determining which ones are crucial and why he asks them - which is missing here.
Another thing I found out of place is one of the main characters who is a servant but is on a first name basis with her employers and their social circle - again, a but unrealistic for the time period. When period details are correct, you don't notice them and can focus on the plot which is much more enjoyable.
Overall, I'm glad I read this, but it will not be a Poirot to re-read.
I found the book a little too modern - the Scotland Yard detective is a bundle of doubts - much more Alan Alda than Inspector Japp and (for me) not at all what a 1920s/30s detective should be. Instead of working alongside Poirot, or pursuing his own leads (which may be totally wrong but at least move the case, and book, forward) like Japp and the other Christie police characters do, this Inspector is almost incapable of viewing the victims which seems incredible and he would apparently do nothing if Poirot didn't tell him exactly how to proceed.
Poirot gives the floor to several other characters and lets them drone on for pages, which isn't as interesting as when Poirot dominates the narrative and again this feels a bit out of place - as if the author wanted to be more democratic or politically correct, but fans of Poirot want Poirot - at least this fan does. In the original Poirot novels, he questions and has lengthy conversations with "suspects" to get information, but he doesn't just let them talk and talk without interrupting. His questions are part of the fun of the books, determining which ones are crucial and why he asks them - which is missing here.
Another thing I found out of place is one of the main characters who is a servant but is on a first name basis with her employers and their social circle - again, a but unrealistic for the time period. When period details are correct, you don't notice them and can focus on the plot which is much more enjoyable.
Overall, I'm glad I read this, but it will not be a Poirot to re-read.
Review Date: 5/11/2015
This is one of Jeffrey Archer's best novels - his homage to 'The Count of Monte Cristo'. If you listen to the audiobook, he discusses the parallels and it made me appreciate the book even more.
A real page turner with characters you will love. I'm sad I can't read this again for the first time...
A real page turner with characters you will love. I'm sad I can't read this again for the first time...
Review Date: 7/5/2015
I was eager to read this book, but was very disappointed. Being a Southerner, I found the stereotypes (North & South) to be very simplistic and annoying - I mean who in the South doesn't understand the word "dibs" and how often do you really hear someone use the terms "by a country mile" and "youngin" or"knee-baby" repeatedly? And if the town is so isolated that basic terms like "pumped" are not understood, why would the bakery sell black & white cookies - which really are a Northern item? I felt like the author got a dictionary of Southernisms and just stuck them in for "authenticity".
I also got the feeling the author is not a seamstress because while other similar mysytery series - like Laura Childs' tea shop mysteries (which, while light reading, have better developed characters and do feel Southern) - evoke a real feeling for tea/food/catering, there was nothing about sewing that seemed real to me. The costumes made by the sewing circle could have been a great time to throw in some descriptive info that would not have bored non-sewers, but could have made those sections much more interesting.
A few other annoying things: why does the main African American character call her boss "Miss Sinclair" while the boss calls her by her first name? It's like the author watched a re-run of 'Heat of the Night' and took it to be authentic. And an emphasis is placed on the friendships formed (in a mere three weeks), but the "friends" refuse to call Tori by her preferred name, instead sticking to the full name "because that's the way it's done in the South". How long would you stay friends with a whole group of women who call you by a name you do not use? Weird.
So, those are the main reasons I could not wait to finish this book and will not read others in the series. My suggestion is to try Laura Childs or even the Ann B. Ross "Miss Julia" books for a true flavor of the South (in the quick-read, light genre).
I also got the feeling the author is not a seamstress because while other similar mysytery series - like Laura Childs' tea shop mysteries (which, while light reading, have better developed characters and do feel Southern) - evoke a real feeling for tea/food/catering, there was nothing about sewing that seemed real to me. The costumes made by the sewing circle could have been a great time to throw in some descriptive info that would not have bored non-sewers, but could have made those sections much more interesting.
A few other annoying things: why does the main African American character call her boss "Miss Sinclair" while the boss calls her by her first name? It's like the author watched a re-run of 'Heat of the Night' and took it to be authentic. And an emphasis is placed on the friendships formed (in a mere three weeks), but the "friends" refuse to call Tori by her preferred name, instead sticking to the full name "because that's the way it's done in the South". How long would you stay friends with a whole group of women who call you by a name you do not use? Weird.
So, those are the main reasons I could not wait to finish this book and will not read others in the series. My suggestion is to try Laura Childs or even the Ann B. Ross "Miss Julia" books for a true flavor of the South (in the quick-read, light genre).
Review Date: 5/11/2015
Helpful Score: 2
This is a fun read - perfect to pack in your beach bag. If you're a Downton Abbey fan, you'll like it even more. It is a bit of a chick-lit/happy ending type, but sometimes that's just what the librarian ordered.
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