Hello Friends,

In April, I managed to read 9 books.  Just like March, most of them were mystery or suspense.

 

 

The first book I read was The House on Foster Hill by Jaime Jo Wright, a new-to-me author. This book was very intriguing with two time lines, one historical and one modern. In both, there is a woman terrified by similar situations and they both involve the house in some way. I enjoyed it very much.

For library book club, we read Midnight at Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan, another new-to-me author. This book was filled with interesting characters all centered on the bookstore in Denver, Colorado. When one frequent regular, Joey, hung himself, Lydia, one of the employees at the store, took it upon herself to find out why. She also learns startling news in an unsolved case from her childhood.

Over Maya Dead Body by Sandra Orchard was the third and final installment in the Serena Jones FBI series where Jones works in the art crimes division. Jones is on vacation with her parents in Martha’s Vineyard to attend a family friend’s wedding when they learn the groom has just been murdered. The end seemed to wrap up her romantic choice a little quickly, and I could have easily seen several more stories in this series.

I read a mystery from the 20s called Murder at Lowry House by Leighann Dobbs, the second book of hers I’ve read. I like this series with a plucky female detective, Hazel Martin, who solves mysteries around her English manor home.

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When I was looking for resources for my library talk last month, one of the books that came up was So You Want to be an Author by Pat Nekola. This was an older book, when self-published books were sold from a trunk of a car. But this author, a former teacher, somehow traveled all over the country, often with her husband, and talked to numerous librarians and sold her books one at a time. The book she sold was on Alzheimer’s since she had a mother with it and she was able to meet a lot of people who wanted more information on that topic.

High as the Heavens by Kate Breslin was WWI related, and also by a new-to-me author. In this suspenseful story, Evelyn Marche, is a widowed nurse working in Brussels. But she has many secrets, and can’t always trust those around her. She works evenings in a cafe run by relatives and there are soldiers billeted upstairs. She must always be careful and the stress never relents. I will read more books by this author.

In a new series by Colleen Coble, The View from Rainshadow Bay is about a young widowed helicopter pilot with a young son. Shauna blames her husband’s best friend for his death, but needs Zach’s help. If she asks him, can they put their past behind them and solve who is behind the murder of Shauna’s business partner? I found this book enjoyable and look forward to the next one in the series, coming in July.

I don’t read pure romance books often, but this book had some intriguing elements in it that contained some research in finding the hero’s real mother and made this a good book to read. I liked Nora and John and the supporting characters. There will be more in the series, one for each of the three sisters, and I will definitely read them. Becky Wade is a new-to-me author, and quickly becoming a favorite.

A story of love, heartbreak, life and death. Emma is a baker in France, where she is forced to use most of her rations to bake bread for the occupying soldiers. That doesn’t mean she can’t find a way to make extra loaves to help feed her starving neighbors. She is a cunning and stealthy survivor, using many skills to network and find items to swap among her people all the while trying to stay alive. This was a great WWII book from the French perspective.

That wraps up my reading summary for April. Now, I’m almost done reading for May already. I hope you enjoyed these mini reviews. Let me know what you’re reading.

Happy reading!

Michelle