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Alex Gray was born and educated in Glasgow. After studying English and Philosophy at the University of Strathclyde, she worked as a visiting officer for the Department of Health, a time she looks upon as postgraduate education since it proved a rich source of character studies. She then trained as a secondary school teacher of English. Alex began writing professionally in 1993 and had immediate success with short stories, articles, and commissions for BBC radio programs. She has been awarded the Scottish Association of Writers’ Constable and Pitlochry trophies for her crime writing. A regular on the Scottish bestseller lists, she is the author of thirteen DCI Lorimer novels. She is the co-founder of the international Scottish crime writing festival, Bloody Scotland, which had its inaugural year in 2012.
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THE GIRLS IN THE PICTURE by Melanie Benjamin
I love Melanie Benjamin’s writing, so I was excited to find this book on Net Galley. If you know me, you know I LOVE reading about the heyday of Hollywood. This novel is a fictionalized account based on the true story of the relationship between Frances Marion and Mary Pickford. I didn’t know any of this and found it both interesting, and a bit sad. If you like reading about old Hollywood, you’ll enjoy this one!
Here’s the description:
Description
“Girls could not be more timely—or troubling—about the treatment of women in the workplace. . . . [A] rich exploration of two Hollywood friends who shaped the movies.”—USA Today
“One of the pleasures of The Girls in the Picture is its no-males-necessary alliance of two determined females—#TimesUp before its time.”—NPR
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Swans of Fifth Avenue and The Aviator’s Wife, a fascinating novel of the friendship and creative partnership between two of Hollywood’s earliest female legends—screenwriter Frances Marion and superstar Mary Pickford
It is 1914, and twenty-five-year-old Frances Marion has left her (second) husband and her Northern California home for the lure of Los Angeles, where she is determined to live independently as an artist. But the word on everyone’s lips these days is “flickers”—the silent moving pictures enthralling theatergoers. Turn any corner in this burgeoning town and you’ll find made-up actors running around, as a movie camera captures it all.
In this fledgling industry, Frances finds her true calling: writing stories for this wondrous new medium. She also makes the acquaintance of actress Mary Pickford, whose signature golden curls and lively spirit have earned her the title “America’s Sweetheart.” The two ambitious young women hit it off instantly, their kinship fomented by their mutual fever to create, to move audiences to a frenzy, to start a revolution.
But their ambitions are challenged by both the men around them and the limitations imposed on their gender—and their astronomical success could come at a price. As Mary, the world’s highest paid and most beloved actress, struggles to live her life under the spotlight, she also wonders if it is possible to find love, even with the dashing actor Douglas Fairbanks. Frances, too, longs to share her life with someone. As in any good Hollywood story, dramas will play out, personalities will clash, and even the deepest friendships might be shattered.
With cameos from such notables as Charlie Chaplin, Louis B. Mayer, Rudolph Valentino, and Lillian Gish, The Girls in the Picture is, at its heart, a story of friendship and forgiveness. Melanie Benjamin perfectly captures the dawn of a glittering new era—its myths and icons, its possibilities and potential, and its seduction and heartbreak.
For My Ears: ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE by Elizabeth Strout
I really loved OLIVE KITTERIDGE and I enjoyed MY NAME IS LUCY BARTON, so I knew I would like ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. Elizabeth Strout is a master storyteller. She makes the ordinary extraordinary with her subtle emphasis on details. She creates and fleshes out characters like no other author; and she does it through simple prose. She is amazing.
Like her earlier books, it’s hard to describe her novels and make them sound amazing (or even interesting). This one tells the stories of people who touched the life of Lucy Barton. Sounds like a snooze fest, but it wasn’t. I laughed. I cried. I listened to it while commuting and I didn’t mind the drive! (It was superbly read by Kimberly Farr). I got mine through Audible. It will be one of my top books of 2018.
Here’s the overview:
An unforgettable cast of small-town characters copes with love and loss in this new work of fiction by number one best-selling author and Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout.
Recalling Olive Kitteridge in its richness, structure, and complexity, Anything Is Possible explores the whole range of human emotion through the intimate dramas of people struggling to understand themselves and others.
Here are two sisters: One trades self-respect for a wealthy husband while the other finds in the pages of a book a kindred spirit who changes her life. The janitor at the local school has his faith tested in an encounter with an isolated man he has come to help; a grown daughter longs for mother love even as she comes to accept her mother’s happiness in a foreign country; and the adult Lucy Barton (the heroine of My Name Is Lucy Barton, the author’s celebrated New York Times best seller) returns to visit her siblings after 17 years of absence.
Reverberating with the deep bonds of family and the hope that comes with reconciliation, Anything Is Possible again underscores Elizabeth Strout’s place as one of America’s most respected and cherished authors.
DEAD MAN’S CHEST by Kerry Greenwood
I love watching Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries on PBS. Phryne is definitely in a class by herself. And the costumes are to die for — very Downton! I was thrilled to find a Miss Fisher mystery on Net Galley. I have read other mysteries of favorite shows, but this one was different. It gave a greater depth to the characters and spent a lot of time in character development. There was a mystery, of course, and lots of twists and intrigue, but overall, it was a very solid and pleasant story.
Here’s the overview:
Description
Traveling at high speed in her beloved Hispano-Suiza with her maid and trusted companion Dot, her two adoptive daughters Jane and Ruth, and their dog Molly, Phryne Fisher is off to Queenscliff. She’d promised everyone a nice holiday by the sea with absolutely no murders, but when they arrive at their rented accommodation that doesn’t seem likely at all.
An empty house, a gang of teenage louts, a fisherboy saved, and a missing butler and his wife seem to lead inexorably toward a hunt for buried treasure by the sea. Phryne knows to what depths people will sink for greed, but with a glass of champagne in one hand and a pearl-handled Beretta in the other, no one is getting past her.
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If you enjoy the series on PBS (haven’t watched it? start now and thank me later!), you will enjoy this novel full of favorite people and fun!
Thank you for my review e-copy!
My Top 12 Reads/Listens for 2017!
I’m a bit late to the party on this post (blame my vacation travel, Disney, NYC, or the fact that I got sick), but I wanted to share my very favorite reads (and listens) from the past year.
First I must say that EVERY book I post about is a book that I’ve enjoyed. If I’m not liking a book, I don’t finish it; and if I don’t finish it, I don’t review it (though I will book blast a book I haven’t read – I generally say just that in the post). So, ALL the books I posted about this year are great books!
Here are the ones that stand out – that stay in my mind – that I recommend most often:
(all can be found on my blog for this past year)
THE HUNDRED LIES OF LIZZIE LOVETT by Chelsea Sedoti YA
THE CHILBURY LADIES’CHOIR by Jennifer Ryan HF
THE ODDS OF LOVING GROVER CLEVELAND by Rebekah Crane YA
IN FARLEIGH FIELD by Rhys Bowen HF
ARMSTRONG AND CHARLIE by Steven B. Frank KIDS
THE LIFE SHE WAS GIVEN by Ellen Marie Wiseman HF
THE ALICE NETWORK by Kate Quinn HF
BEARTOWN by Fredrik Backman F
THE PARIS SPY by Susan Elia MacNeal HF
BEFORE WE WERE YOURS by Lisa Wingate F (I listened to the audio)
LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE by Celeste Ng F (I listened to the audio)
THE TEA GIRL OF HUMMINGBIRD LANE by Lisa See F (I listened to the audio)
Have you read any of these? What’s on your list?
(image from google free photo library)
LOSING LEAH HOLLOWAY by Lisa Regan
Description
Five years ago, Claire Fletcher escaped her abductor. But some scars never fade, and surviving was just the beginning…
When Claire sees a car full of children careen into a river, she rushes to the rescue. But the driver, a mother named Leah Holloway, prefers to drown. For Claire and her ex, Detective Connor Parks, it doesn’t add up. What would motivate a woman with a beautiful family and a successful career to resort to such unspeakable extremes? What Connor finds out confirms Claire’s suspicions of something dreadful behind Holloway’s picture-perfect facade: a link between the terrified mother and a serial strangler targeting Sacramento soccer moms.
As Claire and Connor are drawn back together, their investigation leads them to unearth everything Holloway was hiding. What they find could be the only way to stop a killer from striking again.
A Note From the Publisher
Lisa Regan, the author of Finding Claire Fletcher, is a bestselling suspense novelist and a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and International Thriller Writers. She has a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in education from Bloomsburg University, works full-time as a paralegal, and lives with her husband and daughter in Philadelphia, where she writes books while waiting in line at the post office. Readers can learn more about her work at http://www.lisaregan.com.
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This novel is the second in a series, but can work as a stand-alone. I hadn’t read the previous title.
I chose this book on Net Galley as it looked intriguing and suspenseful. It was, but it was also rather sad and depressing. The novel starts with a carfull of passengers plunging off a bridge. The driver, a young mother, refuses to be saved and drowns. The story then goes from the present unraveling of the mystery to the past to uncover the chain of events that put the tragedy in motion. While at some points you know the characters’ motivations, there are some twists and surprises as well.
While this was a solid read, it felt different from a typical mystery to me. I generally don’t relate to the murder victim (especially when they die at the beginning of the novel). This story was different in that you could see why and how things came to be. I found the final ending to be so sad for the children involved, too. Definitely not your typical mystery. Well-paced and plotted, I’d recommend it to those who want a mystery that goes beyond the action.
Thank you for my review e-copy.
GIN AND PANIC by Maia Chance
Description
“Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets—and has a high old time doing it! So will you.”—Ann B. Ross, New York Times bestselling author of the Miss Julia series
Former socialite Lola Woodby is now struggling to make ends meet as a not-so-discreet private eye in Prohibtion-era New York City, along with her stern Swedish sidekick, Berta. When they’re offered a piece-of-cake job—retrieving a rhinoceros trophy from the Connecticut mansion of big game hunter Rudy Montgomery—it seems like a no-brainer. After all, their client, Lord Sudley, promises them a handsome paycheck, and the gin and tonics will be plentiful and free. But no sooner do they arrive at Montgomery Hall than Rudy is shot dead.
When the police arrive to examine the scene, they conclude that Rudy had actually committed suicide. But Lord Sudley can’t believe his friend would have done that, and there’s a houseful of suspicious characters standing by. So Lord Sudley ups the ante for Lola and Berta, and suddenly, their easy retrieval job has turned into a murder investigation. Armed with handbags stuffed with emergency chocolate, gin flasks, and a Colt .25, Lola and Berta are swiftly embroiled in a madcap puzzle of stolen diamonds, family secrets, a clutch of gangsters, and plenty of suspects who know their way around a safari rifle.
Gin and Panic is the next jaunty, compelling Discreet Retrieval Agency mystery from beloved crime writer Maia Chance.
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What a fun read! I received this through the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I hadn’t read anything in this cozy mystery series before, and I found this novel to be both fun and funny. At times I laughed out loud! I love mysteries that are tied into time periods and reading about how these two women got around Prohibition was at times hysterical. I plan to read more by this author.
Thank you for my review copy!
Partners in Crime Tour for THE BODY IN THE CASKET by Katherine Hall Page
I absolutely adore the Faith Fairchild cozy mysteries! They are set in Massachusetts and Faith, a transplanted New Yorker, is a caterer and wife of a minister. Faith has amazing recipes (included!), lives her life as as typical wife and mother, and gets involved in murders and mystery quite unintentionally. All this takes place right where I live, so it’s really fun to read about Faith enjoying the same restaurants, etc. that I do! I wish so much these books were a series to watch (are you listening, Netflix?). I’ve read them all.
As for this one, what’s not to like? There’s food, murder, theater, and subplots galore! Thank you for my review e-copy via Edelweiss.
Here’s the overview for this one:
The inimitable Faith Fairchild returns in a chilling New England whodunit, inspired by the best Agatha Christie mysteries and with hints of the timeless board game Clue.
For most of her adult life, resourceful caterer Faith Fairchild has called the sleepy Massachusetts village of Aleford home. While the native New Yorker has come to know the region well, she isn’t familiar with Havencrest, a privileged enclave, until the owner of Rowan House, a secluded sprawling Arts and Crafts mansion, calls her about catering a weekend house party.
Producer/director of a string of hit musicals, Max Dane—a Broadway legend—is throwing a lavish party to celebrate his seventieth birthday. At the house as they discuss the event, Faith’s client makes a startling confession. “I didn’t hire you for your cooking skills, fine as they may be, but for your sleuthing ability. You see, one of the guests wants to kill me.”
Faith’s only clue is an ominous birthday gift the man received the week before—an empty casket sent anonymously containing a twenty-year-old Playbill from Max’s last, and only failed, production—Heaven or Hell. Consequently, Max has drawn his guest list for the party from the cast and crew. As the guests begin to arrive one by one, and an ice storm brews overhead, Faith must keep one eye on the menu and the other on her host to prevent his birthday bash from becoming his final curtain call.
Full of delectable recipes, brooding atmosphere, and Faith’s signature biting wit, The Body in the Casket is a delightful thriller that echoes the beloved mysteries of Agatha Christie and classic films such as Murder by Death and Deathtrap.
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Katherine Hall Page is the author of twenty-three previous Faith Fairchild mysteries, the first of which received the Agatha Award for best first mystery. The Body in the Snowdrift was honored with the Agatha Award for best novel of 2006. Page also won an Agatha for her short story “The Would-Be Widower.” The recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at Malice Domestic, she has been nominated for the Edgar Award, the Mary Higgins Clark Award, and the Macavity Award. She lives in Massachusetts, and Maine, with her husband.|
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HFVBTour for Anna Belfrage’s THERE IS ALWAYS A TOMORROW – Book 9 of the Graham Saga – with Giveaway!
As always, I am beyond thrilled to be chatting about Anna Belfrage’s new book in the Graham Saga: THERE IS ALWAYS A TOMORROW. While all of the Graham books can stand alone as titles, I enjoy reading them in order. This time-travelling series is the only time travel books I truly enjoy (beyond Outlander) and I think that is due to Anna’s ability to capture incredibly realistic details, while creating relatable and very “human” characters, full of emotion, flaws, and lovable characteristics. This one was no exception. I immediately picked up where I left off with these characters, and enjoyed following their exploits.
Thank you for making me part of the tour and for my e-copy!
Here’s the overview on this installment:
There is Always a Tomorrow by Anna Belfrage
Publication Date: November 5, 2017
Timelight Press
eBook & Paperback; ISBN: 9781788039666
Series: Graham Saga, Book #9
Genre: Historical Fiction/Time-Slip
There is Always a Tomorrow is the ninth book in Anna Belfrage’s time slip series featuring time traveller Alexandra Lind and her seventeenth century husband, Matthew Graham.
It is 1692 and the Colony of Maryland is still adapting to the consequences of Coode’s Rebellion some years previously. Religious tolerance in the colony is now a thing of the past, but safe in their home, Alex and Matthew Graham have no reason to suspect they will become embroiled in the ongoing religious conflicts—until one of their sons betrays their friend Carlos Muñoz to the authorities.
Matthew Graham does not leave his friends to rot—not even if they’re papist priests—so soon enough most of the Graham family is involved in a rescue attempt, desperate to save Carlos from a sentence that may well kill him.
Meanwhile, in London little Rachel is going through hell. In a matter of months she loses everything, even her surname, as apparently her father is not Master Cooke but one Jacob Graham. Not that her paternity matters when her entire life implodes.
Will Alex and Matthew be able to help their unknown grandchild? More importantly, will Rachel want their help?
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound
About the Author
Anna was raised abroad, on a pungent mix of Latin American culture, English history and Swedish traditions. As a result she’s multilingual and most of her reading is historical- both non-fiction and fiction. Possessed of a lively imagination, she has drawers full of potential stories, all of them set in the past. She was always going to be a writer – or a historian, preferably both. Ideally, Anna aspired to becoming a pioneer time traveller, but science has as yet not advanced to the point of making that possible. Instead she ended up with a degree in Business and Finance, with very little time to spare for her most favourite pursuit. Still, one does as one must, and in between juggling a challenging career Anna raised her four children on a potent combination of invented stories, historical debates and masses of good food and homemade cakes. They seem to thrive…
For years she combined a challenging career with four children and the odd snatched moment of writing. Nowadays Anna spends most of her spare time at her writing desk. The children are half grown, the house is at times eerily silent and she slips away into her imaginary world, with her imaginary characters. Every now and then the one and only man in her life pops his head in to ensure she’s still there.
Other than on her website, www.annabelfrage.com, Anna can mostly be found on her blog, http://annabelfrage.wordpress.com – unless, of course, she is submerged in writing her next novel. You can also connect with Anna on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.
Blog Tour Schedule
Monday, November 27
Review at A Holland Reads
Tuesday, November 28
Review at So Many Books, So Little Time
Excerpt at Locks, Hooks and Books
Wednesday, November 29
Review at Pursuing Stacie
Thursday, November 30
Feature at WS Momma Readers Nook
Excerpt at What Is That Book About
Excerpt at Myths, Legends, Books & Coffee Pots
Friday, December 1
Review at Just One More Chapter
Sunday, December 3
Feature at T’s Stuff
Monday, December 4
Review at A Chick Who Reads
Tuesday, December 5
Excerpt at A Literary Vacation
Wednesday, December 6
Feature at The Lit Bitch
Thursday, December 7
Feature at A Bookaholic Swede
Friday, December 8
Review at A Bookish Affair
Monday, December 11
Feature at View From the Birdhouse
Feature at Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen
Tuesday, December 12
Review at Beth’s Book Nook Blog
Wednesday, December 13
Feature at Historical Fiction with Spirit
Thursday, December 14
Feature at Passages to the Past
Friday, December 15
Review at Book Nerd
Monday, December 18
Feature at A Book Geek
Tuesday, December 19
Review at CelticLady’s Reviews
Wednesday, December 20
Review at Jorie Loves a Story
Thursday, December 21
Review at Broken Teepee
Interview at Jorie Loves a Story
Giveaway!
During the Blog Tour we will be giving away 2 eBooks & 2 paperback copies of There is Always a Tomorrow! To enter, please enter via the Gleam form below.
Giveaway Rules:
– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on December 21st. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.
Direct Link: https://gleam.io/vAREM/there-is-always-a-tomorrow
Christmas on the Coast by Rebecca Boxall
This was one of my many holiday reading picks from Net Galley this year. I really enjoyed this story that jumped between current day and WWII, as a woman reads her great-aunt diary.
Description
Can the secrets of the past be forgiven this Christmas?
Christmas is approaching on the island of Jersey, but Libby is feeling far from festive. Her police work and duties as vicar’s wife weigh heavily on her, she’s anxious about her troubled children, and now her best friend, Stella, has suddenly turned against her, citing a mysterious family grudge.
Libby is devastated by Stella’s unexpected coldness. But then her father shows her a diary written by her great-aunt Queenie, which sheds light on a long-hidden secret—one rooted in love, loyalty and betrayal. Writing during the Nazi occupation of Jersey in the winter of 1941, Queenie reveals a community torn apart by illicit romance, heartbreak and revenge—and by dark acts of fear and desperation.
The more Libby immerses herself in Queenie’s journal, the more she understands why its secrets still haunt her family and Stella’s. Christmas is a time of forgiveness, but is the treachery of their shared past too shameful to be forgotten?
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This was a fast and easy read, and it was so interesting to read about Jersey during the war. The modern day story didn’t capture my imagination as much as the “olden story” did, but the two stories intertwined for a nice conclusion. I’d like to look for more titles by this author!
Thank you for my review copy!
Beth's Book-Nook Blog 