NYSandy23
Hennepin County Library
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Murder at the Merton LibraryMurder at the Merton Library, Book
by Penrose, AndreaBook - 2023Book, 2023
NYSandy23's rating:
Added Dec 28, 2023
NYSandy23's rating:
Added Nov 09, 2023
Comment:
3.75 stars for me. I found this book and story the most convoluted of the stories I have read so far. It started easy with “just” an insurance claim on a 4 million dollar ruby necklace and turned into mess with a kidnapping, a black horse running amok, a few love stories, ancient family history and Sarah Booth and Tinkie all caught in the middle. Like quicksand, they get pulled in deeper and deeper. Sometimes I felt the author just threw in the kitchen sink to distract and confuse and confound both the characters and the reader. Still I enjoy the characters of the Mississippi Delta and will come back for more. It is addicting.3.75 stars for me. I found this book and story the most convoluted of the stories I have read so far. It started easy with “just” an insurance claim on a 4 million dollar ruby necklace and turned into mess with a kidnapping, a black horse running…
Dinners With RuthDinners With Ruth, BookA Memoir on the Power of Friendships
by Totenberg, NinaBook - 2022Book, 2022
NYSandy23's rating:
Added Jul 28, 2023
Comment:
While the premise of the book is the author's frequent dinners with Ruth, this is much more about Nina's story of friendship (mostly her deep connection to the women in her life) of which RBG plays a prominent role. I liked this book for many reasons, perhaps because I am near the same age and had many similar experiences in my youth of breaking barriers, being the first woman in a field, pay inequities and growing a group of friends far from the place I actually grew up in. I find Nina's story engrossing, and her ability to navigate friendship within the confines of her work life as a reporter. Above all, this is a story about love in its many forms and how it enriches our lives. She is an excellent writer.While the premise of the book is the author's frequent dinners with Ruth, this is much more about Nina's story of friendship (mostly her deep connection to the women in her life) of which RBG plays a prominent role. I liked this book for many…
The Borscht BeltThe Borscht Belt, BookRevisiting the Remains of America's Jewish Vacationland
by Scheinfeld, Marisa, 1980-Book - 2016Book, 2016
NYSandy23's rating:
Added Jun 25, 2023
Comment:
What a bittersweet book that brought me back to the “Mountains”. Memories of Route 17, the Red Apple Rest and a childhood spent in idyllic summer days filled with bungalow colonies and the Hotels gone by. Like my summer camp in Port Jervis, now long gone except for the memories that are evoked by sights and sounds. American Jewry of the Eastern Seaboard changed as the country changed. Assimilation, wealth generation, education, acceptance and technology all contributed to the decline of the Catskills. The pictures in this book are important to memorialize the bygone era and become a testament to how the world is constantly changing. Everything has a shelf life even if we can’t yet see it. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.What a bittersweet book that brought me back to the “Mountains”. Memories of Route 17, the Red Apple Rest and a childhood spent in idyllic summer days filled with bungalow colonies and the Hotels gone by. Like my summer camp in Port Jervis, now long…
NYSandy23's rating:
Added Apr 08, 2023
Comment:
This is the darkest of the 18 books in this series. Jane Lawless is a restaurant owner in the Twin Cities that has been involved in mysteries surrounding her friends and family for years. She has had finally decided to stop being a PI in training and concentrate on her businesses when out of the blue her “supposedly ex- husband” shows up. Some secrets just don’t stay buried. Along with the ex comes stolen antiquities, murder, mentally ill characters and lies. You can’t tell the good guys from the bad guys. While the story gets resolved it isn’t until the very last pages and it leaves lots of threads hanging. On to the next story. Ellen Hart is a wonderful author.This is the darkest of the 18 books in this series. Jane Lawless is a restaurant owner in the Twin Cities that has been involved in mysteries surrounding her friends and family for years. She has had finally decided to stop being a PI in training…
NYSandy23's rating:
Added Mar 19, 2023
Comment:
What a quirky little book. One I never would have picked up except it was the chosen one for my book club. The book takes you to a small town in Maine and you live through its inhabitants and Olive’s view of the them and the world. Obviously flawed in personal interactions and sometimes thinking you get swept up into their lives and traumas. There is a tumult of feelings that bounce you around and mostly sadness with sprinkles of hope thrown in that keep you coming back for more. The writing is superb, flowing, picture making and so well crafted. The first part of the book is a bit dis-jointed which knocked it a star for me, but the second half just Carrie’s you along. Wonderful.What a quirky little book. One I never would have picked up except it was the chosen one for my book club. The book takes you to a small town in Maine and you live through its inhabitants and Olive’s view of the them and the world. Obviously flawed…
NYSandy23's rating:
Added Feb 06, 2023
Comment:
Each time I read one of these selections from the series I am drawn more and more into the characters and the time. The stories are delicious. They are seemingly simple but turn out to be complex and I enjoy watching Charlotte uncover the true crime like you would peel an onion. The writing is terrific, the pictures Ms. Thomas evokes are so real I feel as though I am walking the streets of London. I look forward to more in the series. Moriarity better watch out.Each time I read one of these selections from the series I am drawn more and more into the characters and the time. The stories are delicious. They are seemingly simple but turn out to be complex and I enjoy watching Charlotte uncover the true crime…
Added Sep 10, 2022
NYSandy23's rating:
Added Jun 15, 2021
Comment:
Friends have suggested I read Louise Penny and for some reason, I resisted, but no longer. Still Life is the first book in the series starring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surete of Canada 🇨🇦. This is slow moving mystery that takes place in a small town in Quebec. It is almost like peeling an onion, with clues revealed slowly with many red herrings. CI Gamache is an honorable man who does what he feels right sometimes to his detriment. The cast of characters are displayed vividly and you feel like you get to know them intimately. It is a well written debut novel and now I can’t wait to devour the next in the series. Thanks friends.Friends have suggested I read Louise Penny and for some reason, I resisted, but no longer. Still Life is the first book in the series starring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surete of Canada 🇨🇦. This is slow moving mystery that takes place…
NYSandy23's rating:
Added Mar 28, 2021
Comment:
3.75 stars. I have always enjoyed this cozy mystery series from the first book to now the 22nd. The cast of characters that includes Theodosia, the Tea Shop amateur detective, to Dayton, the debonair tea sommelier, Haley, the perky chef, and so many other memorable people never fail to welcome you into their midsts. This story takes place around Halloween so there is an underlying aspect of murder and spookiness. I waffle a lot with Theo. Sometimes she is written as a strong independent woman business owner who uses her smarts to solve crimes. Sometimes, though, as in this book, she becomes an emotional wreck, over reacting to her boyfriend getting shot in the arm, jumping into situations without thinking them through and above all feeling like only she can solve the murder without police help. That inconsistent behavior from book to book bothers me and I don’t know which Theo I will find in the next book. This story had me guessing all the way through so that made it a good read. Looking forward to the next in the series. Now off to make a cup of tea.3.75 stars. I have always enjoyed this cozy mystery series from the first book to now the 22nd. The cast of characters that includes Theodosia, the Tea Shop amateur detective, to Dayton, the debonair tea sommelier, Haley, the perky chef, and so many…
NYSandy23's rating:
Added Feb 01, 2021
Comment:
I am really enjoying this series in the story of Lady Charlotte Sloane and the Earl of Wrexford and their cast of irregulars that go about solving sorid crimes in Regency England. This is the 4th in the series by Andrea Penrose and the stories involve pieces of the coming Industrial Revolution that are woven into the fabric of the Beau Monde in the early 19th Century. Lady Sloane is not your typical aristocratic woman and the Earl is an open minded Lord and they make a non-traditional couple that get their hands very dirty. This story follows perfidy in the powerful East India Company, the greed of men and murder most foul. Throw in the love story developing the two main characters and you have a winner in my eyes. I hope to see more well written mysteries in this series.I am really enjoying this series in the story of Lady Charlotte Sloane and the Earl of Wrexford and their cast of irregulars that go about solving sorid crimes in Regency England. This is the 4th in the series by Andrea Penrose and the stories…
NYSandy23's rating:
Added Jan 01, 2021
NYSandy23's rating:
Added Dec 05, 2020
Comment:
I’m not sure why I never read this before since it has been out for 12 years, but I am glad I picked it up. I am a big high fantasy fan and this story is one of the best of the genre. 700 pages filled with a coming of age story, magic, demon, music and mystery. The premise is interesting, a hero tells his life story to a Chronicler and we get to hear about what he thinks made him the man he has become. It isn’t all light and flowers and the world that has been created is revealed in a long and winding story. Well written, lots of questions that still have no answers, and you know that you have to read Book 2 of the series. I thoroughly enjoyed this read.I’m not sure why I never read this before since it has been out for 12 years, but I am glad I picked it up. I am a big high fantasy fan and this story is one of the best of the genre. 700 pages filled with a coming of age story, magic, demon, music…
Added Oct 20, 2020
NYSandy23's rating:
Added Oct 20, 2020
NYSandy23's rating:
Added Oct 20, 2020
Added Oct 20, 2020
The Case of the Spellbound ChildThe Case of the Spellbound Child, Book
by Lackey, MercedesBook - 2019Book, 2019
NYSandy23's rating:
Added Oct 19, 2020
Comment:
This series had so much promise when it began. There was action and mystery and lots of Elemental Magic. It has devolved into a one arc story line about three “sisters” and John and Mary Watson of Sherlock fame. The stories are pretty one dimensional in scope and mostly plod along. This story that takes place in Devon on the Moors was just bland. The accents written are hard to follow and block the story. I felt like the story was written for pre-teens. Mercedes Lackey is a much better writer than this. I’d rather be in Valdemar.This series had so much promise when it began. There was action and mystery and lots of Elemental Magic. It has devolved into a one arc story line about three “sisters” and John and Mary Watson of Sherlock fame. The stories are pretty one…
NYSandy23's rating:
Added Sep 20, 2020
Comment:
A very good read. I think it is 4.5 stars. The series just gets better and better. This story is about the death of Charlotte’s cousin and the accusations against his twin brother that forces Charlotte’s hand in revealing her own past. The mystery is riveting in the use of the medicine/science divide at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Regency England. There is the budding love between Wrexford and Mrs. Sloan, the great cast of supporting characters in the Weasels, Lord Sheffield, Henning and Tyler and MacClellan and now Lady Allison and you have a series that deserves to continue and be read. Excellent writing and a really good page turner. Hoping book 4 comes out soon. Lots more stories to be told about this pair of High Born sleuths.A very good read. I think it is 4.5 stars. The series just gets better and better. This story is about the death of Charlotte’s cousin and the accusations against his twin brother that forces Charlotte’s hand in revealing her own past. The mystery…
NYSandy23's rating:
Added Aug 30, 2020
Comment:
I like this series with Jane Lawless as the main character. Some of the books are really good, some are average reads. This one is somewhere in the middle. The story lines are filled with difficult subjects i.e., Vietnam War Vets with secrets, political machinations surrounding Ray Lawless, brother Peter with an outrageous and illegal scheme to save his marriage by finding a child his wife had given up for adoption, kidnapping and Jane and Cordelia, each with their own looming heartaches. Much angst, little resolution at the end and hanging solutions. A dark story for sure. Regardless, I enjoy Ellen Hart's ability to tell a story and to weave a good mystery. I am hoping there is more resolution in the next in the series.I like this series with Jane Lawless as the main character. Some of the books are really good, some are average reads. This one is somewhere in the middle. The story lines are filled with difficult subjects i.e., Vietnam War Vets with secrets,…
NYSandy23's rating:
Added Aug 26, 2020
The Satapur MoonstoneThe Satapur Moonstone, Large Print
by Massey, SujataLarge Print - 2019Large Print, 2019
Added Aug 26, 2020
NYSandy23's rating:
Added Jul 10, 2020
Comment:
This is the second book in this series with Lord Wexford and Charlotte Sloan. It follows the developments that appeared in the first book and creates a seamless and enjoyable flow throughout. It is a very good mystery. I wasn't sure who the culprit was until it was slowly revealed in the book. The main characters slowly begin to discover their attraction to each other and the slow, halting thoughts and gestures really fit 19th Century England. I love that it takes place in Regency England at the coming of the Industrial Revolution. That allows for lots of plots and bit bits of history to be woven into the story. The side characters, the kids, the best friends and the hired help are more fully fleshed out and made wonderful additions to the story. I am looking forward to reading Book 3 to see what happens next. A very good read!This is the second book in this series with Lord Wexford and Charlotte Sloan. It follows the developments that appeared in the first book and creates a seamless and enjoyable flow throughout. It is a very good mystery. I wasn't sure who the culprit…
NYSandy23's rating:
Added May 29, 2020
Comment:
A 10 year old story that holds up quite well. The author is one of my favorites and she does not disappoint. From Key West to the glaciers of Fairbanks, Alaska, the sights and sounds of the natural world come alive in this story. Having been to both places, it tickles my memories with colors and feels. The Characters in this book feel real and alive. Ani and Eve are young and innocents in a world of Academic deceit revolving around research grants and they end of losing three years because off it. The secondary characters are fun, acerbic and faithful friends who find their own way forward. Really good writing and plot line but the dastardly deed is a bit contrived dropping it one star in my rating. Even so, a very good read.A 10 year old story that holds up quite well. The author is one of my favorites and she does not disappoint. From Key West to the glaciers of Fairbanks, Alaska, the sights and sounds of the natural world come alive in this story. Having been to both…
NYSandy23's rating:
Added May 09, 2020
Comment:
Holmes on the range. Well not actually but Holmes makes an appearance as he is emulated by a hard worn, cowboy of few words and his younger brother. Gustav does his deducting on the VR ranch as dead bodies turn up along with English royalty, horses, cattle and a cast of unsavory characters. Well developed characters make the story hum. A fun way to bring Holmes to the Wild West without actually transporting him there. Looking forward to the next story in this aspiring series.Holmes on the range. Well not actually but Holmes makes an appearance as he is emulated by a hard worn, cowboy of few words and his younger brother. Gustav does his deducting on the VR ranch as dead bodies turn up along with English royalty, horses,…
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