A Feisty Female PI Story

 

It’s 1946, the war is over. Billie Walker, former journalist, is glad to be home in spite of the sadness she feels for her dead father and Jack, her photojournalist husband, who disappeared in Europe. Billie’s mother encourages Billie to accept that Jack is dead, but Billie hasn’t given up hope.

Women in Sydney, Australia are giving up their war jobs to the returning servicemen, but Billie needs something to do. She reopens her father’s detective agency assisted by Sam Baker, a ex-soldier who is both competent and trustworthy. For a time their business is mostly divorce cases. Then a teenage boy goes missing. His mother Nettie believes he’s a good boy, but as Billie and Sam begin the search they realize that he was mixed up in some pretty nasty business and may not be alive.

Billie is tough and resilient. She’s a terrific heroine for the start of this new series. She faces danger and isn’t about to be put off. In the course of the investigation she meets DI Hank Cooper. At first she thinks he won’t take her seriously and may even try to thwart her, but they become allies. I’m sure we’ll hear more of Hank in future books.

If you enjoy mysteries with a feisty female protagonist, you’ll enjoy this look at post WWII Australia.

I received this book from Penguin Random House for this review.

Chanel’s Early Life with her Sister

 

Coco Chanel told very little about her early life. It wasn’t a pretty picture. She had two sisters and two brothers. When her mother died of consumption, her father placed the girls in a convent orphanage where they would be prepared for marriage to tradesmen or laborers. The brothers went to farms as convenient labor. However, Coco and her sister Annette dreamed of bigger things.

This story is told from Annette’s point of view. Since much less is known about Annette than Coco, much of the story is fiction buttressed by historical incidents. Although the theme of fashion design starting with hats runs through the book, the focus is on romance. In the early part of the book, the sisters are looking for men who will raise them out of poverty.

I found the scene of life at the convent very interesting. The author suggests that many of Channel’s fashion ideas were based on her time in the convent: the black and white habits of the nuns, the curves in the windows, the nubby wool fabrics reminiscent of the nun’s habits, and the stars and moons in the floor which inspired her jewelry.

Annette is an interesting character. Little is known about her historically. I thought the author did a good job bringing her to life. I wish the emphasis had been more on the development of Chanel’s fashion ideas than on romance, but it was an enjoyable read.

I received this book from Harlequin for this review.

A Rape Case, An Explosive Trial, and Racial Tension

 

Zara Kaleel is a brilliant lawyer and a Muslim. Being a traditional Muslim woman didn’t work for her. She gave up her arranged marriage and her brilliant career as a barrister to work as an advisor at a center for victims of assault. She is estranged from her family and finds ways to cope with her inner tension with pills and unsuitable men.

Jodie Wolfe is sixteen. She lives with her alcoholic mother. Her father disappeared long ago and worse she has a facial deformity caused by neurofibromatosis. Jodie has few friends. When she accuses four popular Muslim boys of rape no one believes her except Zara.

This is a hard-hitting thriller. Because Jodie is white and the boys are Muslim the community splits along racial lines and it gets ugly. Zara also has to contend with prejudice. The community is enraged that a Muslim woman would defend a white girl against the boys of her own race.

The story is told from multiple points of view. As we hear the stories of Jodie and the boys each side seems plausible. Who do you believe? The ending is shocking and something you won’t guess.

The book is well written. It could have turned into a political polemic, but the author avoided that trap. The story is sensitively told and will make you questions your beliefs about how safe you are in society.

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.

What Monuments Tell Us

 

Keith Lowe tells an important story about war, in this case WWII, through the monuments erected by the participants. In the US the monuments depict victory, in Europe the monuments usually immortalize the victims, in Japan the monument A Bomb Dome depicts great tragedy. These are only a sample of the twenty-five monuments Lowe discusses.

I found it fascinating to realize how different countries view war through the memorials they erect. In Lowe’s view, the sentiments depicted by the monuments structure the way we view WWII. His case is persuasive, but I wasn’t convinced. I think memorials can color our view, but there are many other ways to get information and decide what we believe about war, specifically WWII since it is now quite far in the past.

I recommend this book for two reasons. It is an excellent source of information some of it even as a history buff you may not be familiar with. The second reason is the relevance to the destruction of monuments we see across the country today. Those monuments are primarily related to the Civil War, but this book asks us to think about what pulling down monuments means. Can we erase history?

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.

An Iconic Hotel, Talented Women, and McCarthyism

 The Chelsea Girls paperback goes on sale December 8th. This is my review from 2019 when it was publishing.

Hazel Ripley was supposed to be an actress following in the footsteps of her famous family, but she's neve achieved better than understudy status. To try to improve her chance to shine, she joins a USL troop in Italy during WWII. There she meets Maxine Mead, a talented actress. Hazel also finds her calling, writing radio scripts for Maxine to read.

In the fifties, Hazel and Maxine come together again in the famous Chelsea Hotel. The gorgeous Victorian hotel has been famed for creative artists who lived there. Hazel has now written a play and Maxine is to star in it. Their hopes are high, but this is a volatile time in the entertainment industry. McCarthyism is sweeping the country and the girls are caught up in it. 

For me, the best part of the book was the excellent descriptions of the Chelsea Hotel. I could see the art, the furnishings, and best of all the out of the way spaces and passages that are unique to the hotel. The author has done an excellent job of folding her substantial research into the story. 

The history of the McCarthy era and the House Un-American Activities Committee was fascinating and gave a good background for the plot which centered around love, trust, freedom and wartime memories affecting the main characters.

This is a good historical novel that well creates the era and showcases the famous Chelsea Hotel. 

I received the book for this review from Dutton.

Fast Paced Cybercrime Thriller

 

Net Force, the president’s new cybersecurity team is operating out of a base in Romania. The cybersecurity team has located a threat in the Carpathian Mountains where their archenemy, The Wolf, opens an attack. He used technologie vampiri against the base in Romania turning the defenders against the people on the base.

This story has two prongs, the attack being launched against The Wolf and the attach on the base that puts the residents into hiding until they can be rescued. Both attacks are fast paced keeping you reading to find out what will happen. A further complication is whether the attack on the base was spurred by a traitor in the unit.

Although the emphasis in the book is on action. I thought some of the characters were well developed. Kali, who has been in previous novels, is a favorite. She is very adept at her job, but she is a loner whose loyalties are often in question.

In this book, two characters on the base during the attack are very interesting. Marcus is a robotics specialist and Laura works at the Px. They make decisions that help to turn the tide against the invaders and as an added benefit there’s the hint of romance.

If you enjoy cyber thrillers, the fast pace and well developed descriptions make this worth reading.

I received this book from Harlequin for this review.

Know What You’re Feeding Your Dog

 

Many pet parents think they’re giving their dog the best nutrition when they purchase a more expensive brand of dog food. After reading this book, you’ll know that isn’t the case. Although there appear to be many brands of dog food. in effect there are few. Through acquisitions and mergers almost 80% of the brands are made by the same companies. However, this isn’t the worst problem.

Dog food is classified as feed allowing substandard, cheaper ingredients, often things like dust, diseased meat, or harmful chemicals to be present in the food. The authors have heartrending stories of dogs sickened and killed by ingredients in dog food that no pet owner would feed their pet if they were aware of the consequences.

This book while somewhat repetitive is well worth reading. The authors are advocates for dog food using human ingredients. They have a company that manufactures and sells this type of dog food, but they also provide recipes so pet lovers can make their own food at home.

I highly recommend this book if you love your dog.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.