Connie's BFB's for 2023

I like to read 10 BFB's this year. Last year I fell short 1 book so I will try again.

BFB read in 2023

01. Inktzwart hart - Robert Galbraith - 1185 pages -
02. Kruispunt - Jonathan Franzen - 572 pages -
03. De valkentroon - Karen Miller - 778 pages -
04. Atlas, het verhaal van Pa Salt - Lucinda Riley & Harry Whittaker - 698 pages -
05. Augustus - J.D. Barker - 668 pages -
06. Het vijfde meisje - J.D. Barker - 523 pages -
07. Vergeef me - J.D. Barker - 534 pages -
08. De Bronzen Stad - S.A. Chakraborty - 600 pages -
09. De Koperen Koning - S.A. Chakraborty - 579 pages -
10. Het Gouden Rijk - S.A. Chakraborty - 720 pages -
11. Het geheim van het familiehuis - Kate Morton - 555 pages -
12. Oog om oog - M.J. Arlidge - 587 pages -
13. De Lincoln highway - Amor Towles - 574 pages -

In 2022 I started a BFB Kruispunt by Jonathan Franzen, 572 pages. (on hold for now)



The blurb NOT my review

It's December 23, 1971, and heavy weather is forecast for Chicago. Russ Hildebrandt, the associate pastor of a liberal suburban church, is on the brink of breaking free of a marriage he finds joyless - unless his wife, Marion, who has her own secret life, beats him to it. Their eldest child, Clem, is coming home from college on fire with moral absolutism, having taken an action that will shatter his father. Clem's sister, Becky, long the social queen of her high-school class, has sharply veered into the counterculture, while their brilliant younger brother Perry, who's been selling drugs to seventh-graders, has resolved to be a better person. Each of the Hildebrandts seeks a freedom that each of the others threatens to complicate. Jonathan Franzen's novels are celebrated for their unforgettably vivid characters and their keen-eyed take on the complexities of contemporary America.

Good luck with your goal, Connie!

Hi Connie, I read Crossroads last year and enjoyed it, good luck with your reading this year.

Thanks, Bryan and Birgit.

Hi Connie my dear, nice to see you here again my dear friend.

Thanks, John! Give my regards to Karen.

>7 connie53:, I will my dear.

My plans for reading have changed somewhat. My RL book-club has its own challenge for the year.
20 categories with 20 spaces to fill.

The 'smaller then' categorie starts with a very BFB; 1303 pages
And my planned book has 1185 pages and is next in line so I start that one today.


It's Inktzwart hart by Robert Galbraith aka J.K. Rowling, 1185 pages

The blurb NOT my review

When frantic, disheveled Edie Ledwell appears in the office begging to speak to her, private detective Robin Ellacott doesn't know quite what to make of the situation. The cocreator of a popular cartoon, The Ink Black Heart, Edie is being persecuted by a mysterious online figure who goes by the pseudonym of Anomie. Edie is desperate to uncover Anomie's true identity. Robin decides that the agency can't help with this--and thinks nothing more of it until a few days later, when she reads the shocking news that Edie has been tasered and then murdered in Highgate Cemetery, the location of The Ink Black Heart. Robin and her business partner, Cormoran Strike, become drawn into the quest to uncover Anomie's true identity. But with a complex web of online aliases, business interests and family conflicts to navigate, Strike and Robin find themselves embroiled in a case that stretches their powers of deduction to the limits--and which threatens them in new and horrifying ways...

Hi, Connie! Hope the family is well!

Thanks Tess, The kids and grandkids are doing fine. Peet has sort of found peace with his room in the care-centre. He is steady, but can't live at home any more.

Finally finished my first book for 2023

Inktzwart hart by Robert Galbraith -

My review

Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott belong to my favorite detective couples. The books about them are never boring and usually quite complicated. This sixth part is that too. Many, many characters (at one time I had a list of 189 names), conversations in the form of tweets, forum chats and emails, all in column shape and with their own layout. Really well done.

The subject is the murder and attempted murder of Edie Ledwell and Josh Blay. Shortly before, Edie came to ask Robin fro help. Robin had to reject this because of staff shortages and because they don't really have experience with online stalking.

Edie and Josh are the makers of a series of cartoons that have fairly lurid subjects but who are received with great enthusiasm by certain people. A cult arises around the cartoons, but they are attacked by someone who calls himself Anomie and Edie wants Cormoran and Robin to find out who that Anomie is. Later when later they hear about the murder of Edie, they get involved in the search and have to do everything they can to bring the whole case to a successful conclusion.

Very exciting and complicated and with a outcome that I didn't see coming at all.
Tribute to the author and definitely recommended.

Finished BFB # 2 for the year

Kruispunt by Jonathan Franzen - , 572 pages

My Review

Extensive and intriguing story about a fairly dysfunctional family in a small American town at the beginning of the seventies of the last century. Father, mother, 3 sons and 1 daughter. And each of these people is a bit shaky in their actions. Only the youngest son, Judson, can still be called 'normal'. I noticed that I could easily put this book aside and that is not really a good sign. But when I was reading, it turned out to be interesting again. Religion plays a very big role in this book. That of course depends on the time and the place, but for me it was a bit over the top and difficult to empathize with those feelings.
I didn't really get a bond with one of the characters, although the oldest Clem, gets the closets
All in all a nice but not a great book for me.

Read one more



De valkentroon by Karen Miller, 778 pages

The blurb

When kingdoms clash, every crown will be tarnished by the bloody price of ambition. The bastard lord Roric, rising up against his tyrant cousin, sheds more blood than he bargained for. A child prince, believed dead, sets his eyes on regaining his father's stolen throne. A duke's widow, defending her daughter, defies the ambitious lord who would control them both. And two royal brothers, Grefin and Balfre, divided by ambition, will learn the true meaning of treachery. Houses will fall, empires will be reborn, and those who seek the Falcon Throne will pay for it in blood

My review

Nice and a BFB in an old-fashioned fantasy setting. Family feuds, battles around territories, jealousy and murder, love and unreachable love.
Roric is one of the main characters, he is a bastard son and can therefore not make a claim a on anything, let alone his kingdom. Due to an armed coup, Harold the reigning duke, is killed and Roric becomes the Duke of Clemen.
Clemen is a part of an island that is separated by a swampy area from Harcia where his cousin Balfre is in charge. Balfre is a manipulator and a man of intrigues and manslaughter.
In the swamp, the cheerful pig is a sanctuary where Harcian and Clemen people meet and where Marie and Edo provide food and drink in their tavern. Benedikt is Marie's son and they also take care of Willem, (who is actually Liam, son of Harold), but who has been saved by Ellie, his nanny, from the massacre around the killing of Harold. These are all parts of a very easy -to -read book. That tastes like more, but I have not been able to find the second part so far.

Another BFB read BFB # 4

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Atlas, het verhaal van Pa Salt by Lucinda Riley & Harry Whittaker - 698 pages

The blurb

1928, Paris : A boy is found, moments from death, and taken in by a kindly family. Gentle, precocious, talented, he flourishes in his new home, and the family show him a life he hadn't dreamed possible. But he refuses to speak a word about who he really is. As he grows into a young man, falling in love and taking classes at the prestigious Conservatoire de Paris, he can almost forget the terrors of his past, or the promise he has vowed to keep. But across Europe an evil is rising, and no-one's safety is certain. In his heart, he knows the time will come where he must flee once more. 2008, the Aegean. The seven sisters are gathered together for the first time, on board the Titan to say a final goodbye to the enigmatic father they loved so dearly. To the surprise of everyone, it is the missing sister who Pa Salt has chosen to entrust with the clue to their pasts. But for every truth revealed, another question emerges. The sisters must confront the idea that their adored father was someone they barely knew. And even more shockingly: that these long-buried secrets may still have consequences for them today.

My review

What a great end to this series. I hope for many more books to come as spin-offs, but due to the death of Lucinda Riley I'm afraid that will not happen.
Many characters come together in this book. All sisters and their families and the team around Pa Salt are gathered on his yacht and there they all read his diary that tells about his flight from Russia, how the feud between him and Kreeg Eszu was created and how that feud led to the adoption of the sisters. And about his great love for Elle and the dramatic end thereof.
I have been jotting down 6 sheets of paper to try to understand all the connections, but that is extremely complicated. And a summary is therefore also difficult to give. Of course I can't spoiler here, so I won't tell much about the story itself.
I tried to read the last pages through my tears and with a sigh ended the book with the strong tendency to read all the books again. A well -deserved 5 stars.

BFB # 5

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Augustus by J.D. Barker - 668 pages

The blurb

After the loss of his parents, young Jack Thatch first met Stella as a child--this cryptic little girl of eight with dark hair and darker eyes, sitting alone on a bench in the cemetery clutching her favorite book. Gone moments later, the brief encounter would spark an obsession. She'd creep into his thoughts, his every waking moment, until he finally finds her again exactly one year later, sitting upon the same bench, only to disappear again soon after.

The body of a man found in an alley, every inch of his flesh horribly burned, yet his clothing completely untouched. For Detective Faustino Brier, this wasn't the first, and he knew it wouldn't be the last. It was no different from the others. He'd find another just like it one year from today. August 9, to be exact. Isolated and locked away from the world in a shadowy lab, a little boy known only as Subject "D" waits, grows, learns. He's permitted to speak to no one. He has never known the touch of another. Harboring a power so horrific, those in control will never allow him beyond their walls. All of them linked in ways unimaginable. A heart-pounding ride that creeps under your skin and will have you turning pages long into the night.

My review

This is really a very exciting and intriguing book. There are many people involved, but the main characters are Jack, Stella and David. They are all three children of three couples who have been at Penn State University with some other young people. Jack meets Stella when he is 8 years old on August 8 and he is instantly in love with her. In most of the following years, he always meets her on the same bench on the 8th August near his parents' tombstones.
In the meantime, victims are found every year on 8 August who look burned but are not. The bodies look emptied from the inside, but they still wear their normal clothes. Investigators Faustino Brier and Joy Fogel are researching these cases. There is a macabre search for the cause of all these dead people and Jack and Stella form the center.
Really very exciting and you want to keep on reading until the book is finished

Doing good, Connie!

Thanks, Jean.

You are doing good Connie and hope you and family are keeping well, regards

Finished # 6

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Het vijfde meisje by J.D. Barker - 525 pages

The blurb

In the midst of one of the worst winters Chicago has seen in years, the body of missing teenager Ella Reynolds is discovered under the surface of a frozen lake. She's been missing for three weeks... the lake froze over three months ago. Detective Sam Porter and his team are brought in to investigate but it's not long before another girl goes missing. The press believes the serial killer, Anson Bishop, has struck again but Porter knows differently. The deaths are too different, there's a new killer on the loose. Porter however is distracted. He's still haunted by Bishop and his victims, even after the FBI have removed him from the case. His only leads: a picture of a female prisoner and a note from Bishop: 'Help me find my mother. I think it's time she and I talked.' As more girls go missing and Porter's team race to stop the body count rising, Porter disappears to track down Bishop's mother and discover that the only place scarier than the mind of a serial killer is the mind of the mother from which he came.

My review

Second part in the Sam Porter series and just as strong as part 1. Because it is a sequel, I won't tell much about the story itself, but it is exciting and written with speed. The story is told by many characters, among others, Sam, Clair, Poole and Nash. Girls disappear again, there are a lot of deaths and at the end you can only do one thing, right through in part 3.

Started and finished De Bronzen Stad by S.A. Chakraborty - - 600 pages

The blurb

Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of eighteenth-century Cairo, she's a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trades she uses to get by, palm readings, zars, and a mysterious gift for healing, are all tricks, both the means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles and a reliable way to survive. But when Nahri accidentally summons Dara, an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior, to her side during one of her cons, shes forced to reconsider her beliefs. For Dara tells Nahri an extraordinary tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire and rivers where the mythical Marid sleep, past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises and mountains where the circling birds of prey are more than what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass, a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound

My review

What a wonderfully rich book this first volume is. 600 pages of pure enjoyment and read in 2 days.
Thera are all kinds of exotic beasts, Djinns and princes and princesses.
Nahri is the last of her lineage, the e-Nahib. She grows up parentless in Cairo and is a con artist of the nobles. During a ceremonial she accidentally summons a Djinn with all its consequences. She and Dara, the Djinn (Darayalvaloush e-Afshin) have to flee from other beings who also appear at that ceremonial. Their flight eventually takes them to Daêvabad, a fairytale city where they are accepted into the royal palace when it turns out that Nahri is the scion of a line of healers, which everyone thought was extinct. Very very well written and absolutely breathtaking.

De Koperen Koning by S.A. Chakraborty, ROOT # 35 - Forumchallenge # 27 - BFB # - 579 Pages

Started a few days ago and finished today.

The blurb

Nahri's life changed forever the moment she accidentally summoned Dara, a formidable, mysterious djinn, during one of her schemes. Whisked from her home in Cairo, she was thrust into the dazzling royal court of Daevabad-and quickly discovered she would need all her grifter instincts to survive there. Now, with Daevabad entrenched in the dark aftermath of the battle that saw Dara slain at Prince Ali's hand, Nahri must forge a new path for herself, without the protection of the guardian who stole her heart or the counsel of the prince she considered a friend. But even as she embraces her heritage and the power it holds, she knows she's been trapped in a gilded cage, watched by a king who rules from the throne that once belonged to her family-and one misstep will doom her tribe. Meanwhile, Ali has been exiled for daring to defy his father. Hunted by assassins, adrift on the unforgiving copper sands of his ancestral land, he is forced to rely on the frightening abilities the marid-the unpredictable water spirits-have gifted him. But in doing so, he threatens to unearth a terrible secret his family has long kept buried. And as a new century approaches and the djinn gather within Daevabad's towering brass walls for celebrations, a threat brews unseen in the desolate north. It's a force that would bring a storm of fire straight to the city's gates . . . and one that seeks the aid of a warrior trapped between worlds, torn between a violent duty he can never escape and a peace he fears he will never deserve.

My review

Second part of the Daêvabad series and just as good as the first part. It's a very different world than we know. Lots of people with all kinds of magic and lots of magical beasts. Although it is just one city, it is divided into different parts per tribe with clear boundaries that are dangerous to pass since there is a lot of rivalry and anger between most tribes.
The hardest part for me was remembering the names. That is a lot easier in Dutch or English. I am therefore diligently writing down every name to be able to tell everyone apart. Fortunately, I'm getting better and better at separating them.
The main characters are Nahri, Alizayd and Darayavahoush (Dara). This is also a real intermediate book. Lots of things happen and it all points to a climax in book three. So fast forward to part three

- Forumchallenge # 28 - BFB # 10 - 720 pages

Het Gouden Rijk - S.A. Chakraborty

Started at the end of June and finished today

The blurb NOT my review

Daevabad has fallen.

After a brutal conquest stripped the city of its magic, Nahid leader Banu Manizheh and her resurrected commander, Dara, must try to repair their fraying alliance and stabilize a fractious, warring people.

But the bloodletting and loss of his beloved Nahri have unleashed the worst demons of Dara's dark past. To vanquish them, he must face some ugly truths about his history and put himself at the mercy of those he once considered enemies.

Having narrowly escaped their murderous families and Daevabad's deadly politics, Nahri and Ali, now safe in Cairo, face difficult choices of their own. While Nahri finds peace in the old rhythms and familiar comforts of her human home, she is haunted by the knowledge that the loved ones she left behind and the people who considered her a savior are at the mercy of a new tyrant. Ali, too, cannot help but look back, and is determined to return to rescue his city and the family that remains. Seeking support in his mother's homeland, he discovers that his connection to the marid goes far deeper than expected and threatens not only his relationship with Nahri, but his very faith.

As peace grows more elusive and old players return, Nahri, Ali, and Dara come to understand that in order to remake the world, they may need to fight those they once loved . . . and take a stand for those they once hurt

And finished! Wow!

My review

Third and final part of the Daêvabad series. I can therefore only say that it is a worthy conclusion of a great series. There are enough intrigues again, many magical creatures of which the Marids (Water) were my favorites. Nahri learns more about her parents and the ending is also very satisfying. Definitely recommended for fantasy lovers. And in a great writing style that is compelling with a lot of momentum in the story.

Het geheim van het familiehuis by Kate Morton - 555 pages -

The blurb NOT my review

Adelaide Hills, Christmas Eve, 1959: At the end of a scorching hot day, beside a creek on the grounds of a grand country house, a local man makes a terrible discovery. Police are called, and the small town of Tambilla becomes embroiled in one of the most baffling murder investigations in the history of South Australia. Many years later and thousands of miles away, Jess is a journalist in search of a story. Having lived and worked in London for two decades, she now finds herself unemployed and struggling to make ends meet. A phone call out of nowhere summons her back to Sydney, where her beloved grandmother Nora, who raised Jess when her mother could not, has suffered a fall and is seriously ill in the hospital. At Nora's house, Jess discovers a true crime book chronicling a long-buried police case: the Turner Family Tragedy of 1959. It is only when Jess skims through its pages that she finds a shocking connection between her own family and this notorious event--a mystery that has never been satisfactorily resolved

My review

I was happy to see that Kate Morton had written another new book and couldn't wait to get started in it.
This is mainly the story of three women. Mother Nora, daughter Polly and her daughter Jess Turner-Bridges.
It all starts in December 1959 when Percy Summers finds the bodies of Isabel and her three oldest children Mathilda, John and Evie. Their youngest daughter Thea, 2 months old, has disappeared without a trace.

2018: Jess flies back to Australia from London when she learns that her Grandma Nora has suddenly been hospitalized after falling down the attic stairs. Jess was never allowed to go there. She has always had a good relationship with her grandmother and was even largely raised by her after her mother Polly moved away.
Confused, Nora whispers some muddled things that Jess can't understand. When she moves into her grandmother's house, she finds a book about the 1959 murders in the bedroom. Jess is an investigative journalist and is intrigued by the story. She tries to find out the truth and it is completely different than she could have imagined. All her certainties are shaken and under pressure. Who lied and why and for whom. And what does that do to you and the ones you love?
The book contains a lot of characters, almost too many to tell apart and guess who is important or who will be so. You have to read very concentrated and keep an eye on all the storylines, as a writer as well as a reader. Fortunately, Kate Morton can be trusted with that

Oog om oog by M.J.Arlidge - 587 pages -

The blurb

Only nine criminals in the UK have been granted lifelong anonymity. Their crimes so heinous that their identities are permanently changed for their own safety. Upon release, they're given a second chance: new identities and new homes with new neighbours who have no idea. Because, by law, they cannot be named as who they are - or were. But what if someone started systematically exposing their true identities? Not to the press, or the public, but to the families of their victims. Who deserves justice? And who gets to decide?

My review

Another excellent book by M.J. Arlidge. Exciting and occasionally confusing due to the many characters. I decided to make a list of them to keep track of everyone. The story is about 6 people who get a new name, a new background and a new place of residence after serving their sentence for murder. Then one of them is killed, which turns out to have been done by a victim's family.
Chandra Dubral, a police inspector, is assigned to investigate the murder and find out who informed the family of the new identity of their mother's killer.
Meanwhile, Olivia Campbell must help young Jack Walker to adjust to his newly created life. Then more people are killed by the families of their previous victims and even the highest echelons of government are involved.
The ending was stunning.

Started and finished De Lincoln highway by Amor Towles - ROOT # 50 - BFB # 13 - - 574 pages

The blurb

In June, 1954, eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the juvenile work farm where he has just served fifteen months for involuntary manslaughter. His mother long gone, his father recently deceased, and the family farm foreclosed upon by the bank, Emmett's intention is to pick up his eight-year-old brother, Billy, and head to California where they can start their lives anew. But when the warden drives away, Emmett discovers that two friends from the work farm have hidden themselves in the trunk of the warden's car. Together, they have hatched an altogether different plan for Emmett's future, one that will take them all on a fateful journey in the opposite direction--to the city of New York.

My review

What a great book this is. I read this almost in a day and it's quite a chunky one. It is the story of brothers Emmett and Billy Watson. Emmett spent over a year in juvenile detention in Salina house. His father has passed away in the meantime and when he returns home to his 8-year-old brother, the farm appears to have been confiscated by the bank. They have to leave and decide to drive the Lincoln highway in Emmett's old car and look for their mother. Billy has found some postcards that his mother sent to her children. The postcards are of 8 different cities that lie along the Lincoln highway. Then Emmett's friends from Salina house Woolly and Duchess are at the door. All plans fall through because Woolly and Duchess take off in Emmetts car on their own quest in the other direction, New York. That is the pattern around which this book is built. Traveling by train, meeting all kinds of interesting characters, Ulysses, Pastor John, Townhouse, Abacus Abernathe, Sister Agnes, Sally and Sarah.
There is a special role for Billy's favorite book: "Professor Abacus Abernathes Compendium of Heroes, Adventurers and Other Intrepid Travelers". Billy has already read the book twenty-four times and carries it everywhere with him.
The Lincoln highway is occasionally philosophical, comical, dramatic. With profound and nonsensical reflections. I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope to read other books by Amor Towles as well.

Hi Connie, I also enjoyed The Lincoln Highway. Amor Towles has published 2 other books, his first was Rules of Civility which was ok, his next was A Gentleman in Moscow which is one of the best books I have read in recent years! Hope you enjoy it, regards.

Hi Bryan, I read Graaf in Moskou and loved that one too. The other one is not available in Dutch so I will have to look for the English version.