Manufacturing a Duchess by Tracy Wise explores all the unwritten laws of planned and plotted marriage in England during the Regency. The story presents two young girls on the marriage market: Aurora Hardcastle and Missie Westworth. One young lady shines as an heiress and the other lady glisters as a beauty with no money. Enter two suitors: Alec Raeburn, a penniless duke with a young daughter and his cousin Finlay Mackenzie, also a duke, but very wealthy. Wise employs short chapters, but the wording seems very juvenile. The book quickly begins and ends with the expected results. A little trouble darkens the mood, but is quickly handled. A jaded look at marriage among the titled and wealthy.

Too many pages in the novel The God of the Woods and I wanted to stop reading after every new chapter. The story centers on events in 1961 and 1975. Bear, the young son of Peter and Alice Van Laar, goes missing in 1961, never to be found. In 1975, Bear’s sister, Barbara, disappears. Are the cases related? Liz Moore brings in multiple narrators for each event. The problem starts at the “summer” camp for wealthy children. The story jumps back and forth along with many characters relating their story. A local man, Carl, is arrested as the police believe Carl killed Bear. Carl dies of a heart attack before a trial. So many twists and turns in this story, and the ending presents a huge surprise. The book is too lengthy, but worth the effort.

What a treat to read Too Old For This by Samantha Downing! Lottie Jones reminds this reader of Maud, the elderly woman in An Elderly Lady Is Up To No Good by Helene Turston. The novel by Turston brings chuckles and laughter as Maud terminates people that annoy her. The reader cheers for all the Maud accomplishes. In Samantha Downing’s novel, Lottie Jones starts out her killing spree while still a young woman, and her advancing years slow her down and force retirement, or so she believes. Lottie kills for pleasure and to atone for her discomfort with certain people. Downing style of small and forceful chapters urges the reader to keep reading. A chapter ends in suspense that must continue reading to learn the outcome. Does the reader cheer for Lottie in the same manner as Maud, well that must be determined by each reader.

Harlan Coben has written many, too many books. The detective in this novel, Nobody’s Fool, Sami Kierce, does not present himself well. Sami has lost his job on the police force due to questionable tactics. His fiancée, Nicole Brett (also a cop), has been murdered. The killer, Ted Grayson, has just been released from prison. Sami believes he sees an ex-girlfriend, Anna, who Sami supposedly murdered. Then Sami discovers that Anna might be the missing Victoria Belmond. Chaos and bedlam follow as Sami attempts to discover what has happened. The chase involves assistance to Sami’s investigation with the help of his students and friends. The adventure proves interesting, but the story contains too much dialogue and very little refined development of characters and setting.

My Brilliant Friend lumbers down the path that so many writers have chosen concerning friendship and relationships among girls and women. Maybe, the force of Elena Ferrante’s novel hides with the translation into English from the original Italian. The chapters drone on and on, and miss sentiment. As usual, one of the characters, either Lenu or Lila must encounter a problem or disaster. This is the first novel in a series of four novels. This reader will not venture into another book of Lenu and Lila, as too many other books to enjoy.

J Martin writes a novel seeped in imagery and eloquent language. Hatteras Island stands as the major character of this story. Seraphina Lockwood returns to the island to sort life after the death of her father. Of course, an ex-lover, Beckett Crown, reenters the picture. Sera must decide what path to take: return to a career she love or stay on the island with Beckett. The island calls to her and urges her to make the right choice, but what is the logical pick? The description of the island and the various seasons and storms and serenity bring wishful thinking. But sometimes, the island speaks too much. A lovely written book a little long on description.

I am not a fan of books written in the future, and Bonded in Death fits that model. J D Robb/Nora Roberts crafts a story big on dialogue and short on complex characters and unique setting. The story jumps from 2026 to 2061 where The Twelve a group of Freedom fighters from 2026 are now old and only seven survive. One of The Twelve sets out to murder the survivors, will he succeed? Enter Lieutenant Eve Dallas of the New York Police Department as she races to find the killer and solve this case with the assistance of husband, the ultra-rich Roarke. The killer beats all the odds against as he is a master of disguise and has amassed wealth and weapons. So many names and code names to attempt to keep straight. Yes, I completed the novel, but I did not enjoy the journey.

When Paris Whispers by Marianne C Bohr provides a fabulous story about Paris in 1981, and inserts wonderful tidbits of Paris, French countryside, and French writers and artists in this knowledgeable novel. These are my own musings and what could have been done better: the multitude of quotations by various French and American writers should have been places at the heading of each chapter and not within the chapter and too much French words that were translated into English, but distracted from the flow of the chapter. The story enriches the love story with young love, very old love, and married love. Bohr enriches the characters with maturity and growth and development. Bitterness as in Delphine and Eugene grows into acceptance and optimism. And what a twist for Catrine in the end of the story! Bohr captures the beautiful sites of Paris and finds treasures the ordinary tourist does not see. Bohr also highlights the writing of Maupassant and Flaubert that impel the reader to reread these classic. A wonderful literary journey!

Another book that does not catch my interest is Colored Television by Danzy Senna. Senna centers her story on the various shades of Black Americans and the injustice suffered by each shade. The main character and her family live a life bordering on poverty due to work ethics. For one year, a friend plans a jaunt to another country, and Jane and her family house sit in a mansion stuffed with thousands of luxury. An ideal setting, but of course, Jane and her family run amok. Not an amusing tale.

Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell confused me with all the aliases pf Nick Radcliffe. Nick plays so many women and somehow convinces each woman to trust him. The majority of the book focuses on Nick seduction of all these stupid women. The story bothers me and I must stop reading this terrible plot of exploited women. Finally, the tide turns, and daughters and friends plot revenge against all Nick’s misdeeds. This event comes too late for me. Jewell employs many voices like Freida McFadden, but the effect does not work as well, since Jewell jumps around with time in her story. Not a book I would recommend.

Dear Debbie by Freida McFadden provides hours of laughs and a little sadness newspaper personal writer Debbie seeks revenge for other people cheating her. McFadden gives wonderful narratives on several individuals(Cooper, Debbie, Harley) that enhance the story. Debbie justifies her actions with what people have done to her: a boss, three neighbors, her daughter’s soccer coach, her other daughter’s boyfriend, her husband’s potential girlfriend, and other people. What an utter surprise at Debbie’s events! Two events went too far, but in the end all ends well, as revenge has been served as a cold dish. An amazing quick read.

The Woman in Suite 11 progresses the story of Carrie and Laura shown in The Woman in Cabin 10. Fortunately, Ruth Ware inserts constant background of the prior book, maybe too much detail. The main character, Laura, or Lo Blacklock employs vulgar language too often for my taste. Lo is a journalist and her difficulty to speak the King’s English diminishes her credibility. The story involves the filthy rich and the apparent murder of a wealthy and powerful man. Lo hears a scream and goes to offer assistance, but instead becomes the primary murder suspect. The cat and mouse ramblings provide excitement but the story drags as the police investigate and more unnecessary characters jump into the story. Again, Lo’s lack of utilizing adequate language lessens the story.

The Lion Women of Tehran commences in an easy style with the description of Homa’s family and their traditional Iranian hospitality. Homa’s friend, Ellie, follows a different life style. The two girls form a forceful friendship that time and distance will corrode the ties of this friendship. The story line gathers little strength in the boring rendition of life with these two girls growing into womanhood. Ellie’s mother, a cold hearted woman, bemoans her terrible fate when her husband dies. As is custom, her brother-in-law must provide for her and Ellie. This arrangement decries the gentle, loving nature of traditional Iranians. The story contains too much brutal feelings and dark thoughts.

Another bleak look at life with Tell Me What You Did. I felt that Carter Wilson must have been paid by the numbers of pages. Too much of the story repeated too often. Does the ends justify the means? Does Poe Webb receive a fair sentence? What a horror individual in Ian Hindley aka John Worbly. The story describes the infidelity of Poe’s parents and the brutal murder of Poe’s mother by one of her conquests. Poe ruminates this murder for seventeen years and then decides to take action. Now, Poe starts receiving calls from a man professes that Poe killed the wrong man. Back and forth goes the story with little relief. Halloween Day stands as the day of truth. What will happen? Suspenseful, but too lengthy.

Gone Before Goodbye does not live up to all the good reviews. The story centers on a surgeon who has lost her license, her husband, and many other important events in her life. Authors Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben employ too much medical terminology that forces one to have a dictionary close at hand. This distracts from the flow of the story. Another issue rests with sister Sharon’s invention of AI generated individuals. The story line shows promise, but too many jumps into difficult terrain. Greed and power stand as the almighty god. What little humanitarian effort erases the struggle for power and financial gain. Not a very optimistic look at humanity.

The Dentist by Tim Sullivan presents a different type of police detective. George Cross has Asperger Syndrome and that makes life difficult for his family and his co-workers. Tim Sullivan slips in facts about George’s behavior due to Asperger. Sometimes, this explanation provides too much detail and halts the story from progressing. I remember that the television series, Boston Legal, had a character with Asperger. Sullivan actually goes into more detail about this health issue. The other characters provide an excellent backdrop for George. Josie Ottey, George’s partner, tries very hard to understand and work with George. Josie is a black, single mother. Alice Mackenzie, a young and new police detective, gives constant insight ito George. I hope the other books in the series contain both Josie and Alice.

Crime on the Coast by Marty Eberhardt did not urge me to read more of the Bea Rivers series. Thank goodness the book was extremely short. The mystery utilizes too much dialogue and the sense of characters and setting suffer with the explosion of dialogue. Maybe, I was not in a receptive mood to enjoy this short novel, I tried so hard to find a reason to enjoy this novel, but nothing happened as I waded through this dreary story. Sometimes, a novel does not grab your interest, and this novel lost me very quickly.

Hamish MacBeth and his team of constables enrich an afternoon of reading. Many laughs and giggles as these Scottish men protect their turf against crime and larceny. Two young women escape from the men holding them, and these women aid Hamish in uncovering a gang of smugglers of liquor and tax evasion. A lady smuggler ends up dead. Hamish believes the two runaways killed the woman. Hamish and Constable David Forbes follow the clues, and David ens up in the hospital due to injuries received from a fight with Michael Gallagher. An interesting view of a small, Scottish town, and the loyalties of the population.

Sally Goldenbaum presents a cozy mystery complete with a list of the characters, recipes for the food mentioned in the novel, and a knitting pattern featured in the book. The friendship within the community highlights a Minnesota attitude where every life matters. The murdered victim does not display graphic description of the wounds. The story begins with the town preparing to celebrate the one hundredth birthday of Angus McPherron, a beloved citizen. Someone murders Angus the night before his birthday. Why? And Who? The dedicated knitters of Izzy’s shop try to find the killer before someone else dies. A beautiful story of love and friendship.

I disliked So Far Gone strongly. Jess Walter picks an interesting story about zealous religious cults and individuals who live off the normal grid, but the chapters drone on and on and dialogue dominates the novel. Rhys Kinnick, a notable reporter, clucks life and moves to a remote cabin. Out of the blue, Kinnick’s two grandchildren appear at his door and request his assistance in finding their mother, Kinnick’s daughter. Chaos and danger follow this quest to reenter life and locate his daughter and keep his grandchildren safe. Of course, more characters enter the picture: Lucy Park, an ex-lover, Chuck Littlefield, a struggling detective, and the minor characters of the religious cult. The characters lack depth and the setting seems nonexistent. I would not recommend this novel.

The Tortoise’s Tale enlightened me to the life of a tortoise. A female tortoise lays eggs every year, but unless a male comes and spreads his life giving substance, the eggs do not hatch according to Kendra Coulter. According to Wikipedia, no male is needed. A tortoise may live between 150 and 200 years, and this book covers Magic’s life of 150 years. The reader witnesses the changes in America and the change in the America family. Music plays an important part in the story. Coulter does not mention specific names but hints at Dwight D Eisenhower, Robert F. Kennedy, Ronald Regen, and many notable musicians. An interesting book filled with the plight of animals, the acceptance of homosexuality, and domestic violence.

What an amazing book, The Backyard Bird Chronicles, by Amy Tan! So many interesting points explored by Amy Tan, and a brief history of her early exploration of the world outside her window. I am amazed that Amy Tan does not drive! Her husband and friends remain heroes for this woman’s journeys. The book helped me understand so many birds that frequent my own backyard. And what valuable information about bird feeders and food for these lovely beings. To see all the beautiful pictures of the birds was delightful. A fabulous book for the living room table.

My first Fixer-Upper mystery, a half-way treat. Framed for Murder, A Hallmark movie, follows Crowned and Moldering by Kate Carlisle. I briefly remember the movie that contains romance, murder, and Victorian renovation. The actual book by Kate Carlisle borders on too much information on house renovation and too many characters. One character, Betsy, jumped into the story, but her outcome faded away with no resolution given. Yes, the tips about removing wallpaper and other facts concerning construction provided fabulous insight, but detracted from the story. While working on a renovation of an old Victorian mansion, Shannon discovers bones in a dumbwaiter. The bones belong to a young woman who disappeared fifteen years ago. Shannon and the police slowly search for the killer of Lily Brogan and her baby, but the killer strikes again. A fun, but too lengthy story.

One by One by Freida McFadden took me by surprise. The ending illustrates the unique skill employed by McFadden. Two narrators: Claire and Anonymous, detail the events of a distant past and the current day trauma. Who is this Anonymous, and why is this individual important? McFadden writes short chapters that push the reader to read, full speed ahead. The characters run the gamut from good to bad, as six people head to a week at a luxury hotel nestled in the wild. The new car breaks down and the three couples must hike to the hotel that should be only two hours away. Instead, more problems arise, as one by one six individuals become only three. The story reminds me why I do not enjoy camping.

Paula Hawkins writes an exciting and well crafted novel. She employs short chapters and brief journal entries of artist Vanessa Chapman. Each of the characters contribute to the narrative. The water plays an important role in the story as the tide controls when individuals may enter or leave the island Eris. This sense of control creates a feeling of loneliness and despair, at times. James Backer travels to Eris to speak with Grace Haswell, the executor of Vanessa’s estate. A sculpture by Grace creates tension as an anthropolist claims a human bone hangs in the glass-enclosed sculpture. Hawkins presents the life of Vanessa, Grace, James, and Julian through journals and the entwined history of these individuals. Mysteries lay hidden in the past of these characters. Will James learn the truth from Grace? The ending arrives with many surprises that each reader must complete.

Many enjoy the books by Ann Cleeves and love the movie series fashioned on her various series. Ann Cleeves does not write a cozy mystery. Her works portray a messy and brutal world, and this Jimmy Perez novel does not fall far from the tree. The story begins with the brutal murder of Archie Stout, who happens to be Jimmy’s best friend. Should Jimmy allow some other detective to handle the case due to his closeness to the murdered victim? In jumps, Willow Reeves, Jimmy’s partner, supposedly on maternity leave with the couple’s second child. The book travels back and forth from the ferry among the multiple islands of Shetland, while two more victims crowd the inquiry. Cleeves does a wonderful job with the characters and the setting, but too much detail, at times. What brutal weather, almost a malicious character plotting against these individuals.

A late Christmas novella by my favorite mother and son team, Charles Todd. Ian Rutledge stands as a gentle, but troubled soul in this brief tale of an entitled landowner, Colonel Edward Braxton, who has been injured supposedly by a galloping horse and rider. Chief Superintendent Markum forces Ian to travel to Kent at Christmas to handle and solve the Braxton dilemma. Clues and explanations seem out of Ian’s grasp. The short story fixates too often and too much on Ian’s car and driving. The words “turned off the ignition” appear with dreaded regularity throughout the story and this reader felt this was employed to reach a certain word count. The story concludes with a heavy hint to Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol.

Julia Kelly’s novel, The Light Over London, jumped from 1941 to 2017, and involved two women searching for love and fulfillment during troubled times. Many authors employ this method of writing of two periods to show the differences for individuals. Kelly’s novel hinges on too much detail and too long chapters that do not move the novel flawlessly. Cara, an associate in an antique shop, finds an old diary from 1941 during an inventory for an estate sale. Cara starts reading the novel in hopes of finding the diary’s owner. Louise, the diarist, tells of her life in the Royal Artillery and her love affair with a pilot. During the search for Louise, Cara uncovers a secret of her grandmother, Iris Warren Parsons. The reader briefly learns of the positions that many English women held during Worl War II and the secrets that were required for many of these positions.

Pre-code Essentials, a very detailed and interesting book about various movies made during 1931 to 1934. Not every movie risked censorship due to undressed actresses. Many movies risked editing and censorship based on religious, political, or social norms. The scene displaying the drowning of Little Maria cancelled in many movie theaters. Much dialogue from The Divorcee with Norma Shearer blocked as too risky for that time. So many actors and actresses gain stardom with roles during the early 1930’s: Clark Gable, Barbara Stanwyck, Norma Shearer, Boris Karloff, Frederic March, James Cagney, and Marlene Dietrick. All Quiet on the Western Front with Lew Ayres received censorship due to treatment of the Germans and to death of soldiers. Turner Classic Movies shows most of the movies discussed in this book. I will be watching for these movies to be shown again, so I may witness what certain movie theaters thought to be too severe for the gentle public to see.

Elly Griffiths writes an interesting mystery with vivid landscapes, but too many characters. This tome presents a story set during the Covid lockdown. This brought back sad memories of that desperate time for all countries. A medieval story illustrates what happened during medieval times. The village locks a young woman and her parents in a house to die due to having a plague. When people return, the young woman has started eating her parents. The present story hinges on a woman dying in her locked bedroom, but the room stands locked from outside. One of the main characters of the Ruth Galloway series falls ill and battles for his life. Ruth and Nelson continue their on-again-off-again romance. Many ups and downs in this adventure, as well as a mystery surrounding Ruth’s mother. Again, too many characters!