A Nutritional Diet for Middle-Aged Women

 

Dr. Mary Claire Haver, an OB/Gyn, specializes in the problems of menopausal women specifically their nutritional needs. She developed the Galveston Diet based on her own problemss and has found that it helps many other women.

The three prongs of the diet are: diet modification to include healthy fats, some lean protein, and good carbohydrates; intermittent fasting, basically eating in a six to eight hour window and fasting for sixteen to eighteen hours; and limiting sugar and processed foods. Dr. Claire provides food lists, and recipes to help achieve these goals. The book also contains scientific discussions to give you an understanding of why the diet works. Although technical, the discussions are clear and readable.

I thought this was an excellent plan for women both pre- and post- menopause. I have been eating this way for years, including intermittent fasting and for me it works like a charm. I combine it with regular exercise, and it’s perfect to maintain my weight where I’m happy with it.

I highly recommend this book.

Friendship and Psychopathology

 

Clare left her grandmother’s home in France to study in Edinburgh, Scotland. She is trying to escape an incident in her past. Gradually, she finds a job and starts taking classes in art history. In her classes she meets Tabitha, Ava, and Samuel. The group of rich, privileged young people, draws her. She wants to be involved. Tabitha is beautiful, but there’s something about her that makes Clare nervous. Still she is drawn to the other girl.

When Clare becomes a member of the group, Tabitha reveals her plan. She needs Clare. Clare is wary but by then the friendship has become a dominant factor in her life, and she can’t pull away. It becomes even more threatening when it appears that Tabitha knows something damaging about Clare.

This is an interesting psychological thriller based on friendship, or more accurately co-dependence. As the girls become more entwined the mood becomes darker and darker. The opening incident sets the dark tone, the novel then becomes slower as Clare adjusts to her new life, then it speeds up at the end in a much darker conclusion.

I found the book interesting. The author writes well. However, she seemed much more interested in creating atmosphere than plot development. The characters are well drawn, but I couldn’t like any of them, including Clare. For me, that made the book less enjoyable.

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

A Romantic Adventure Among the Fairies

Professor Emily Wilde, a dyradologist, has come to a remote island off the coast of Norway to study the Hidden Folk as part of the preparation of her encyclopedia on the fairies. Emily is a well respected researcher, but she finds people difficult. She is happiest alone with her dog Shadow and a good book.

The remoteness of island should keep people at bay, but shortly she is joined by her only friend and academic rival, Professor Wendell Bambleby. Wendell is everything Emily is not and soon he has the villagers enjoying his company. However, Emily and Wendell are there for serious research and as they pursue their objective rather frightening things begin to happen.

This is a delightful book. It takes place in 1909 and the author has done an excellent job making Emily’s diary entries true to the period. Emily and Wendell are good foils for each other. He annoys her, but she can’t help responding to him. Their banter is amusing and gives the story a light tone.

The book is a good combination of fantasy, romance, and mystery with scholarly overtones provided by the footnotes Emily appends to her diary entries. Emily is a very self contained character while Wendell is much more outgoing even chaotic. They make an interesting pair. I thought it was an excellent combination. Since this is the first book in a series, I’m looking forward to meeting them again in a new adventure.

If you enjoy romance, and fantasy with some mystery in a historical setting, you’ll love this book.

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

Courtly Love and the Tudor Dynasty

 

Europe was enthralled with courtly love from the time Christien De Troyes wrote about Lancelot and Guinevere. Eleanor of Aquitaine brought the Courts of Love and practice of chivalry to England when she married Henry II. However, the proponents who used courtly love to their advantage and disadvantage were the Tudors.

Jousts, greats feasts and romantic games played major role at Henry VIII’s court, particularly in the later years. Henry had mistresses, notably Mary Boleyn, however, his romance with her sister Anne was in a different category. Anne was trained in the courts of Europe and knew how to entice a man in large part through the games of chivalry. Henry, loving to joust and seeing himself as a knight was caught up in the game. The game became serious when Henry divorced Katherine to marry Anne, but the magic faded, and when she couldn’t produce an heir her days were numbered.

Elizabeth, Henry’s daughter by Anne Boleyn, used chivalry and romantic love to her advantage. The court was filled with her cavaliers. She was the untouchable virgin queen for whom they all strove. It helped her to keep her reign as a single woman supported by her male courtiers.

The book is well researched and engaging to read, particularly if you’re interested in the Tudor Dynasty. It is written as history rather than a historical novel, but for me the reading was easy and went quickly, possibly because I was very familiar with the historical era. If you are interested in courtly love and the Tudors, this is an excellent book.

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.

Fast Paced Action with Super Thief Riley Wolfe

 

Riley Wolfe, a super thief, specializes in robbing the very rich. Riley’s powers of disguise, agility, and the ability to disappear into thin air qualify him as a super hero. This time Riley is faced with an almost impossible situation. His mother and Monique, an art forger friend, have been kidnapped by Chase Prescott, a CIA team leader, to force Riley to break into the secure residence of a Russian icon collector to steal a tiny jump drive with secret information.

Riley has no choice but to accept the challenge, but the time pressure are almost more than he can deal with. He’s helped in this adventure by Frank Delgado, an FBI agent, and Miranda Shaleki, a hacker friend. They try to locate where his mother is being held. This is an interesting plot line, but can break up the action.

If you like fast paced adventure, this is a fun read. The dialog is amusing and while Riley’s feats are quite impossible, it makes the plot move quickly. There are plenty of twists to keep you guessing.

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

An Ill Fated Arctic Expedition

 

In 1913 looking for fame and fortune, Vihjalmur Stefansson decided that being an explorer was the route he would take. At first he thought of an African expedition, but when an Arctic adventure became available he jumper at it. He hired a well known Arctic explorer, Captain Robert Bartlett, to head the expedition. They left Canada on the Karluk. The ship had seen better days, but Stefansson decided that she would do well enough.

The voyage took place late enough in the season that before they reached their destination, ice enclosed the ship making further progress impossible. Stefansson took most of the able bodied men and the dogs saying that he was going for help, but instead when he reached safety he said the others had probably gotten out also and sent no rescue parties. This left Bartlett and the remaining crew to fend for themselves on a boat mired in ice

This is a very well researched and beautifully written book telling a true story of courage and also one of self-serving connivance. The story is historically accurate and filled with detail. The use of diaries from the members of the expedition was particularly helpful in understanding who the members of the expedition were and how they reacted to the way the expedition ended.

Although the book is an historical adventure, the best part is the character development. Captain Bartlett and Stefansson were quite different leaders. The book is a much a case study of leadership as it is of Arctic exploration. I highly recommend this book.

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

A Cold Case Solved Using Familial DNA

 

In 1987, Tanya Van Cuylenborg and her boyfriend, Jay Cook, were excited to be going to Seattle to make a delivery for Jay’s father. Both teens were very responsible. When they were not heard from for several hours, the families became concerned. The bodies were found in a remote location with no witnesses, no murder weapon, and only a hand-print on the van.

Thirty years later Detective Jim Scharf received the case. With little to go on he turned to laboratory analysis which included the DNA on the biological evidence that had been in cold storage. DNA is now a feature of criminal investigations. The new twist in this case was provided by CeCe Moore. She had become interested in tracing families through genetic information.

When CeCe teamed up with Detective Scharf, this was the first case in which familial DNA had been used to identify a suspect who was later tried. This opened a new avenue for criminal investigations, but it also raises privacy issues. People have become fascinated with finding out about their genetic heritage. A number of companies offer DNA analysis along with an interpretation of the findings. This is fun and educational, but the data bases are there and can be used by researchers as well as law enforcement.

This book was very well done. The cold case illustrates the effectiveness of using familial DNA in tracing criminals. The author goes into the process in some detail. I found this very interesting. However, the problems of unrestricted us of DNA for either research or law enforcement raises ethical issues that need to be addressed.

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