NYC

Review: MURDER IN CHELSEA by Victoria Thompson

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If you read me, you know I enjoy historical cozy mysteries and the “Gaslight Mysteries” featuring turn of the century, NYC midwife Sarah Brandt. The latest has recently been published and I bought it with a gift card I received from my friend as a birthday gift.

While I think it’s best to read this series in order, one can read them individually. In this installment, Sarah learns that a woman has arrived at the mission, looking for little Catherine and she fears that she will lose the child she has grown to love as her own. However, the woman soon turns up murdered and Sarah and Malloy need to protect Catherine while figuring out exactly who wants her and why. Sarah’s parents get in on the action and help to solve the mystery. At the end – finally! – Sarah and Malloy are together (which has been coming and hinted at for a looong time).

This was an enjoyable and easy read. The only beef I had with it was the amount of surprising personality changes among the characters, especially with Sarah’s parents. At one point, the characters were all looking at each “in surprise” so often that even I was confused how quickly the about-faces had occurred! However, the changes had to happen in order for the plot to move forward and for Sarah and Malloy to get together.

If you have followed this series, I think you’ll like this one!

Review: RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA: A NOVEL by Kimberly McCreight

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It seems that RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA is all over the blogosphere these days, so I requested it from the library. There were a ton of holds already ahead of me. When it didn’t materialize after a month, I purchased it for my kindle. I had heard a lot about this book and it didn’t disappoint me!

In RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA, high powered attorney Kate Baron gets a phone call from her daughter’s private school that there’s been an incident of cheating and her daughter is being suspended. When she reaches the school, her daughter Amelia is dead, apparently having committed suicide by jumping off the roof. “Sorry” is written on the wall near where Amelia was. Then Kate receives a text: “She didn’t jump”. Thus begins Kate’s journey into discovering who her daughter really was – her secrets, her desires, her inner self. Kate harbors a lot of guilt for being a working single mom, and she seeks to prove that Amelia did not commit suicide and she did not plagiarize. The more she digs, the more she finds, and that makes her rethink all that she thought she knew.

This story is told in present day tense (Kate’s voice) and then through flashback (Amelia’s voice), texts, blog posts, and emails. Even though it jumped around a lot chronologically, I liked that way of telling the story.

There were some of elements in this story that did NOT work for me (SPOILER ALERT!! SPOILERS AHEAD!!). For instance, this principal at Grace Hall had a lot of spare time on his hands (having worked in independent schools for over twenty years I can tell you that spare time for a headmaster is rare!). Also, no one questioned the writing on the wall at first. And Amelia didn’t think it odd that Ben got her private cell number supposedly from Princeton since they would be attending a summer session there (strangers, but both attending, and Princeton just gives it out?). Kate, supposedly brilliant, was the last to figure out who Amelia’s father was (I figured it out before she did – lol). And that English teacher?? Can we say: quick way to lose your job?

But – overlooking these things – I found this novel to be compelling and thought-provoking, suspenseful and exciting. I could hardly put it down because I wanted to know what happened. My only sadness was that it started with Amelia’s death and I knew she wasn’t coming back. Having the book in her voice and getting to know her made for a poignant reading experience.

Here’s a book trailer I found on You Tube for this book — also found on the Amazon page — it’s interesting and thought-provoking!!

The BEA Bloggers’ Conference 2013

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This week I had the chance to attend the BEA Bloggers’ Conference, held in NYC. The Bloggers’ Con is part of the overall BEA (Book Expo America) which is HUGE and has hundreds of authors signing books and lots of sessions. I just couldn’t get away for more than one day, though, so I just attended the blogger con (this year!).

There is something so exciting and rejuvenating about attending a conference filled with people who love to read and write about books. Sometimes blogging can be a tad lonely, and even though I connect with a lot of people through blogging, there is a sense of “if I write it, will they read it?” when I create my posts. It’s so refreshing to meet people who feel the same way, and oh so flattering to be recognized by readers!

However, the point of this post is to share some of the highlights of that day’s sessions. I had attended Blogger Con two years ago and there was a different feel to the air this year. Two years ago I heard a lot of “publishers are starting to realize the power of the blogger”. This year a big theme was “people are listening to you – you are powerful”. (I’ve always found authors partial to bloggers, but then most authors love a person who has taken the time to read their books).

The opening keynote was Will Schwalbe who talked about the role of book bloggers and shared a personal story about starting an “end of your life book club” with his mother as she was dying.

My morning session focused on editor insights into YA books. As you know, I am a huge YA fan! They previewed some coming titles and they had ARC’s available for us to take. The editors talked about how “mash-up” genres were growing in popularity – so a book that is contemporary, but a mystery with some horror or a ghost element. Or a coming of age story that is also a mystery. Contemporary seems to be coming back into play, replacing fantasy as the hot seller – though fantasy is still popular! Narrative non-fiction is also a new hot genre (well, it’s not really new per say, but it’s been out of vogue for a while).

At lunch there was an ethics session with lawyers going over how you need to disclose if you got the book for free, or if you know the author, if you are being paid, etc. Anyone who has been blogging for a while should be aware of these legalities.

The first afternoon session I attended dealt with taking your online presence offline. The bloggers involved (including Jenn’s Bookshelves, whom I follow) talked about how they interact in their community to promote reading (book clubs, work at schools, etc.) A big theme in this session (which had two regional independent bookseller people on it) was the independent bookstore and the importance of supporting your local/nearby independent bookstore. I thought about this for a bit. I’m a big fan of my local bookstore (for me, The Concord Bookshop in Concord, MA). I just never thought about featuring it in my blog. However, I’ve now been inspired to feature it more prominently and to promote its many wonderful events. I’ve even finally figured out how to successfully post pictures (this free version of Word Press kills me), so I will post shots of events, too. If you are ever in the area, do yourself a favor and visit the Bookshop – it is right on Main Street. Also in this session it was strongly suggested that Twitter be used regularly to promote yourself as a 3D person, not just post book reviews (um – that was what I’d been doing because who could possibly care what was happening in my daily life if you don’t know me?). I started tweeting away throughout the day to see what would happen and boy she was right – my followers immediately started increasing. I guess people do want to feel like they know YOU, not just read you! They also suggested starting memes, etc. on Twitter.

The next session had to do with increasing your presence, which is a goal of mine. I am hard pressed for time to blog, but the more you blog, the more people read you. The participants on this panel shared all sorts of apps and websites (most of which were new to me) that can get you “out there”. These included in part: instagram (popular photo site that I used to use but then got freaked out that strangers might see pictures of my kids); estella society (which I need to check out); Vine (app that makes 6 second looping stop-motion movies – I tried it yesterday and posted to Twitter); Twiangulate (not entirely sure how this works, but shows your connections); Tweet reach (who are you reaching); Reddit (shows popular web posts); triberr (form a tribe of bloggers since strength lies in numbers); and distillry (full disclosure – I can’t remember what this one is and I can’t find it online, but I was impressed when I saw it!).

The final key-note address of the day was Randi Zuckerberg of Zuckerberg Media and I’m sure she was wonderful, but by that point I had been in sessions all day, met with Net Galley people, met with a publisher, and been up since 4:30 am. My head hurt and I was pooped and I had tickets to “My Name is Asher Lev” that night, so I headed back to the hotel to rest up and recharge!

All in all, it was a fun day that made me want to go back next year – same time same place!!

Saturday Snapshot: Fun at BEA in NYC

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I attended the BEA (Book Expo America) Bloggers’ Conference this week for one day in NYC. It was great! I took a few snaps out my window and at Madame Tussaud’s next door. Next year I must go and attend the whole week!

Here are a few pics from my hotel room (Hilton Times Square) and Picasso and Dali from Madame Tussaud’s:

photo (2) DALI

photo (2) PICASSO

photo NYC TS

photo NYC view

Saturday Snapshot is now hosted by Melinda at www.WestMetroMommy.blogspot.com
It’s easiest to participate! Just post a picture you or a friend took and link it on the site. Appropriate content please! 🙂

Review: The Body in the Boudoir by Katherine Hall Page

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If you read my blog, you know I love, love, love the Faith Fairchild mysteries! The latest came out in May – The Body in the Boudoir – and I read it this rainy Hurricane Sandy weekend. In this installment, Faith is preparing for her wedding when her uncle’s housekeeper is mysteriously murdered. At the same time, Faith’s sister, Hope, is being blacklisted at work. All the while Faith is dealing with the emotions and chaos that are involved in moving from NYC to Massachusetts and marrying her beloved.

I just love this series! I have read them all and particularly enjoy how they take place near to where I live. I also like how several of Faith’s recipes are included in the back. It was an interesting take for Page to jump back twenty years for this story, and I really enjoyed it. I recommend it to those who are fans of the series, or even if it’s your first time!

I got mine from the library, where you can get yours!

Review: “Cascade” by Maryanne O’Hara

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I heard great things about this novel, so I knew I needed to read it. Then I saw that the author will be speaking at the Concord Bookstore next week, so I knew I had to buy it since the wait list at the library was soooo long. I read it last week and just loved this compelling and thought-provoking novel!

“Cascade” is the story of Desdemona Hart Spaulding, an artist in the 1930’s, who has married for comfort, not love, and who feels too confined in her hometown of Cascade, Massachusetts. Dez’ father has owned and ran the town’s Shakespearean theater, but he passes away at the start of the novel, leaving the theater to Dez’ husband, Asa, the town’s well-respected pharmacist. As the story starts, Dez has befriended a local travelling salesman, the Jewish artist Jacob Solomon. Dez dreams of leaving Massachusetts with Jacob and going to New York to draw and be free. Her husband, of course, has other ideas. Behind this storyline is the back story of the town itself: Cascade is being considered for demolition so that the state can create a water reservoir for the people of Boston. The townspeople, led in part by Asa, are trying to save their town, and Dez uses her art as a way to help the cause. Will the town be spared? Will Dez’s feelings for Jacob lead to actions she may regret? Will she stay forever at home with Asa or become the artist she feels she is capable of being?

I just loved reading this book. It is beautifully written with a well-paced, well-plotted story. The symbolism of the river and the damming of the river tying in to emotions and the release of emotions and feelings really spoke to me. While I loved this story, I didn’t love Dez. I thought she was extremely self-centered and self-serving. However, Dez’s actions, as well as Jacob’s, seemed fairly true to life to me. Sometimes the people you hold most dear disappoint you.

I loved, loved, loved it —

I also loved the cover!!

And this is a great You Tube book trailer:

Quick Review: Tick, Tock by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge

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I enjoy James Patterson mysteries. When I saw “Tick Tock”, his latest Michael Bennett novel, on the new release shelf at the library I could not help but grab it. This is typical Patterson fare: quick-moving and easy to read. I read my copy in one evening.

This, I believe, is the fourth Michael Bennett mystery. Bennett is a tough NY police detective, widower, and father to a diverse brood of ten adopted children. His grandfather, Seamus – an Irish priest, and Mary Catherine, his attractive Irish nanny, round out the adult regulars in these novels. Bennett’s family and personal life form a back story to the crime that is the center of the novel. In this installment, a copy cat killer is loose in NYC, planting bombs and brutally murdering people. Bennett must figure out the connection between crimes and victims and then stop the killer.

As always, a quick read. Glad I got it from the library, though. Fans of Patterson will probably enjoy it. I’d love to see a movie made of this character as I’d find the family situation interesting and fun on-screen.