We Were Killers Once by Becky Masterman

 My Rating: 3.5

This recounts the famous Truman Capote murders from In Cold Blood. The family of four that were murdered by Perry Smith, Dick Hickock....and possibly one additional person. 

Maybe it was my mood or maybe it was that this wasn't on audio like the other books I read in the series but, this was not near as enjoyable for me. I felt very pulled down as I got immersed into the multiple killings and the cold dysfunctional of the killers - which may mean it was well written but just not for me. Sadly disappointing when I enjoyed the other three books in this series. I did enjoy the tie in with history and that it made me research a few things.

Bookmarks Magazine Nov/Dec 2021

I am always so excited when my Bookmarks Magazine comes in the mail and this issue was EXCEPTIONALLY good - 32 books! I don't think I have ever had so many books added to my queue from one issue. They had the books from the Booker Prize 2021 and also Recent Historical Fiction broken out by topic of geography. My queue overfloweth!! 😁

Let me know any good books you have read that you think I should add to my list.

Click on any book cover to go to Amazon and read the reviews.

     

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

  

Heaven by Mieko Kawakami

My Rating:  1.0

A 14-year-old boy is subjected to relentless torment for having a lazy eye. Instead of resisting, the boy chooses to suffer in complete resignation. The only person who understands what he is going through is a female classmate who suffers similar treatment at the hands of her tormentors. 

There are raw and realistic portrayals of bullying.

UGH! Despite the writing, the story line was horrific. It is graphic and uncomfortable about bullying and there didn't seem to be any redeeming value to the story,. Don't ask me why I stuck with it but I hope I can save you the time and you skip it.

The Mystery of Mrs Christie by Marie Benedict

My Rating: 4.7

In December 1926, Agatha Christie goes missing. Investigators find her empty car on the edge of a deep, gloomy pond. Her husband and daughter have no knowledge of her whereabouts, and England unleashes an unprecedented manhunt to find the up-and-coming mystery author. Eleven days later, she reappears, just as mysteriously as she disappeared.

It took me a while to puzzle out how I felt about this book. On one hand, it was a lot about nothing and, if it hadn't been Agatha Christie, this plot would never have been able to be pulled off. That being said, it was about a very mysterious little known time of Agatha Christie and I wanted to know what happened! After finishing the book I think that, as always, Ms. Benedict did an amazing job of researching and filling in the gaps with very plausible hypothesis of what happened. I also enjoyed getting to know Agatha's life.

Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers

My Rating: 4.9

This incredible book will help you to discover what it means to offer God your very best for His greatest purpose--to truly offer Him your utmost for His highest

In fictional books there are "light and fluffy" and there are "solid and meaty". This daily devotional book is definitely 'solid and meaty'. Each daily devotion is only one page long but you will find yourself reading to 'absorb' the meaning of each sentence and it will stay with you.

Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon

 My Rating: 4.4

Nancy is a bold unapologetic Aussie living in Britain during the war. Nancy ends up being recruited as a spy and becomes the unsung French Resistance leader who was #1 on the Gestapo’s most-wanted list by the end of the war. Told in interweaving timelines around the four code names Nancy used during the war.

I enjoyed the audio book but, Nancy does come off as very brash. There was also a lot of extraneous details that I felt should have been edited out. Maybe I read this too closely on the heals of Trapeze which was a very similar plot line - so much so that I wondered if it was a remake of the same plot (no, this is based on real life spy Nancy Wake). If I had read this first, perhaps I would have rated it higher. All in all, an enjoyable read.

Trapeze by Simon Mawer

My Rating: 4.8

In WWII, Marian Sutro gets only a few short weeks of training to be a spy before she is dropped from the sky. Being bilingual, a quick study and willing to sign up were almost all the qualifications needed during the rampant War time recruiting. You quickly realize, along with Marian, how much France has changed, how risk taking and nerve-wracking it is to be a spy as well as despite her training, how little it has prepared her for having her boots on the ground.

This was my first, but definitely not my last Simon Mawer book. Excellent writing and plot. It really helped me to understand the recruiting of a spy and how ill equipped they were once they were deployed. Also, the subterfuge was even more than you would expect. Excellent!

The Book Of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd

 My Rating: 4.9

This is about Ana, the fictional wife of Jesus. After the death of her betrothed, Ana marries Jesus and they live with his brothers families, and their mother, Mary in Nazareth

Having strong Christian beliefs, I wasn't sure how I would feel about this book. I truly enjoyed it. It captured very real characters and the time period. While there was much that I could have balked at, I went with it as a work of fiction. If you can put aside any personal beliefs and read this story as the fiction that it is, I think you may enjoy it. The writing is wonderful and she brings the relationship and the people to life. She obviously did a lot of research and handled this topic with reverence. It very much focuses on Jesus' humanity and takes the approach that, not only did he marry but, initially he has no idea of his purpose here on earth. A very entertaining piece of fiction.