Moonlight Murder by Uzma Jalaluddin

Reviewed by Jeanne

Nearly twenty years ago, Kausar Khan’s sixteen year old son Ali was killed by a hit and run driver.  His death sent her into a spiral of grief and depression. She moved away from  Toronto to avoid being reminded of Ali’s death. Kausar had not planned on coming back, but when her daughter needed her help Kausar steeled herself to face the memories from the past.

Now her granddaughter Maleeha is asking for Kausar’s help. One of her classmates, a gifted writer named Qasim, has been found dead.  The police think it was a suicide but Maleeha is sure he would never have killed himself and implores her grandmother to find the truth.  Kausar knows what it is to grieve the loss of a child, so she begins to investigate Qasim’s death. The similarities in the two cases make Kausar decide that perhaps it is time to find answers about Ali’s death as well.  Perhaps she can put two ghosts to rest.

But there are other things going on in the neighborhood as well, and Kausar may be putting herself in more danger than she knows.

I loved the first book in the series, Detective Aunty, so I was delighted to have a second book.  Kausar is a wonderful character.  She’s been wounded but has found the strength to come back to help her family. She is still learning how to navigate life after the death of her husband, but her compassion and intelligence will see her through. 

Most of all, I loved learning about the South Asian culture.  It’s one of the things that draws me to fiction, discovering other ways of life and beliefs.  Wrap that up in a good mystery and compelling characters, and I’m one happy reader.

Here's hoping for a third book!

Nevermore: Calamity Club, St. Dale, Familiaris

Nevermore 6-9-26

Reported by Rita

 

The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett

In 1933 Oxford, Mississippi, Prohibition is on the wane, and the Great Depression is tightening its grip. Poor and rich folks alike have fallen on hard times, even as the old social order remains. For women on the margins, the options are few and the price of dignity and self-determination is unbearably high.

Eleven-year-old Meg, one of the unadoptable “big girls” at the Lafayette County Orphan Asylum, fights each day to keep her spirit unbowed. Birdie, unmarried and outspoken, has come to Oxford on a mission to ask her social-climbing sister to help the struggling family she’s left behind. And Charlie is a woman with a past, running low on luck but driven by fire, fury, and grit. When their fates converge, they come up with an audacious plan to take back control of their lives. Together, they form an unlikely sisterhood—but in a place and time where hypocrisy is rife, women’s freedom is fragile, and making an enemy can have dire consequences, will the price they pay for their outrageous risk-taking be too high?

I listened to the audiobook and loved it! 10 out of 5 stars!      -WJ        5+ stars

 

 

St. Dale by Sharyn McCrumb

This is a modern-day retelling of the Canterbury Tales, following a group of unlikely friends on the Dale Earnhardt Memorial Pilgrimage. The “Number Three Pilgrims” travel to several of the sites of prominent victories of the late NASCAR legend and North Carolina native. In the course of their journey, they visit Piedmont, North Carolina, “the land of textile mills and furniture factories, of tobacco fields and hog farms — and race tracks.” At stops at the Richard Petty museum in Randolph County, the North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, and the Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, the pilgrims find solace and inspiration in the life and legacy of Earnhardt.

It was good. I learned a lot about racing.      -AH       5 stars

 

 

Familiaris by David Wroblewski

It is spring 1919, and John Sawtelle's imagination has gotten him into trouble ... again. Now John and his newlywed wife, Mary, along with their two best friends and their three dogs, are setting off for Wisconsin's north woods, where they hope to make a fresh start—and, with a little luck, discover what it takes to live a life of meaning, purpose, and adventure. But the place they are headed for is far stranger and more perilous than they realize, and it will take all their ingenuity, along with a few new friends—human, animal, and otherworldly—to realize their dreams.

The characters are unusual, but the story is enjoyable.       -WJ       5 stars

 

 

Other Books Mentioned

 

The Dark Hours (DCI Harry Grimm, #13) by David J. Gatward

In the Fields of Fatherless Children by Pamela Steele

The Safe Room by Lisa Unger

The Garden of Lost Souls by Kelly Bowen

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

The Idiot by Elif Batuman

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

Misadventures With a Professor by Sierra Simone

 

 

New Books

 

Art From the Garden by Kerry Michaels

The Family Man by James Lasdun

Jane on Her Own: A Catwings Tale by Ursula K. Le Guin, illustrations by S.D. Schindler

 

Reviewed by Kristin 

Book Bingo can make all of us here at the library read outside of our usual fare. I have a square for “…with an animal on the cover” and I was charmed by the juvenile fiction book featuring Jane, a flying cat. 

Jane lives on Overhill Farm with her siblings, all of whom have wings. Big sister Thelma doesn’t know why they have wings. Their mother didn’t have wings, but she still lives back in the city. One day, Jane flies up, up, up, and goes out on her own for some adventures. 

This small chapter book has delightful illustrations. Jane is solid black with yellow eyes, and of course, wings. After a brief brush with fame (and captivity) Jane’s “Homing Instinct” takes her back to reunite with family. 

Of course, there is a happy ending. If there wasn’t, it would have scared this cat lover off before the end of the book. 

Catwings Tales include: 

   Catwings (1988) 

   Catwings Return (1989) 

   Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings (1994) 

   Jane On Her Own (1992) 

   Tales of the Catwings (1996) 

   More Tales of the Catwings (2000) 

   Cat Dreams (2009) 

Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block by Jesse Q. Sutanto

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Mebel Tanadi is a trophy wife and proud of it.  She’s even trophy shaped. She’s been groomed to be the perfect trophy wife practically since birth. Her son (because of course she produced a son, just as expected) says she is a CHIP—a Chinese Indonesian Princess, and Mebel thinks that is a perfect description. It’s hard work keeping one’s face and figure, not to mention being sure one is perfectly dressed (Mebel is not going to be caught dead in last year’s fashions) and sport flawless make-up.

Then her husband drops a bombshell.  He’s leaving her for Wendy, their 26 year old chef.

Once the shock wears off, Mebel knows what she has to do.  Obviously, Henk is leaving her because Wendy is a fabulous cook and not because she’s 40 years younger so all Mebel has to do is learn to cook.  There’s a cooking school in Paris which she takes as a sign because that’s one of the places she likes to shop.  So she packs her monogrammed Louis Vuitton luggage and head for the City of Lights.

Cooking—how hard can it be?

I’ve enjoyed several of Sutanto’s books (I adore Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers) so I decided to give this one a try even if it wasn’t a mystery. I was amply rewarded.  Like Vera, Mebel is a force of nature and laugh-out-loud funny.  There are so many passages that beg to be read aloud that I lost track.  What I love best about the book is that while as we readers are discovering Mebel, Mebel is discovering Mebel. 

For me this book was a delight from start to finish.  Not only is it very funny, but it has heart. I found myself cheering for Mebel as she learns to navigate knives, fellow students young enough to be her children, and a dorm room smaller than one of her closets.  I didn’t recognize all the luxury brands named dropped in the book but that didn’t matter. Mebel’s sincere delight shone through in every mention of Birkin bags or Kate Spade.

I’ll be recommending this to a lot of people!

Nevermore's Books

 

An Event in Autumn by Henning Mankell

 

The Family Man: Blood and Betrayal in the House of Murdaugh by James Lasdun

 

How to Do Hard Things: Actual Real Life Advice on Friends, Love, Career, Wellbeing, Mindset, and More by Veronica Dearly

 

Below Stairs: The Classic Kitchen Maid's Memoir That Inspired "Upstairs, Downstairs" and "Downton Abbey" by Margaret Powell

 

Sooley by John Grisham

 

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

 

Enrique's Journey: The True Story of a Boy Determined to Reunite with His Mother by  Sonia Nazario

 

The Library of Fates: A Dark Academia Magical Realism Psychological Thriller by Margot Harrison

 

If the Creek Don't Rise by Leah Weiss

 

ADHD for Smart Ass Women: How to Fall in Love with Your Neurodivergent Brain by Tracy Otsuka

 

In Her Defense (a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick) by Philippa Malicka

 

NEW BOOKS

 

Travels with Agatha Christie by David Suchet

Sex and Death on the Beach: A Florida Beach Mystery by Elaine Viets

Reviewed by Jeanne

The Florodora is a very exclusive apartment complex in Peerless Point, Florida.  You can’t just buy your way in, or win a spot because of celebrity.

No, you have to be a genuine Florida Man.  Or Florida Woman.

You know, the ones who make improbable headlines usually involving alcohol or alligators or both, and ill-advised run-ins with the law. It makes for a very colorful mix of characters who form a close-knit family.

Norah inherited the Florodora from her grandmother, a true Florida Woman who was a former showgirl,  married rich, and became a widow at 17.  And as a true Florida Woman, Grandma was stubborn and had a bit of a temper. She refused to sell out to developers who wanted to raze the old Florodora and put in more cookie-cutter condos, and Norah is following her lead, despite the Florodora needing a lot of maintenance, especially around the pool.

While the pool area is being excavated yet again, the first body turns up. Unfortunately, it’s someone Norah recognizes—Sammie Lant, an adult film star who Norah had loudly and angrily refused to rent an apartment to, and not because of her occupation.  That would have been acceptable.  No, it was because Sammie filmed herself having sex on the beach with a college football player and posted the video to promote her new movie, costing the young man his scholarship. Norah is justifiably outraged.

The argument lands Norah in the police crosshairs as a person of interest, but that’s nothing compared to what happens when the next body is found.

That body belonged to someone who disappeared a long time ago and who was directly responsible for the deaths of Norah’s parents.

Now Norah has to not only clear her name; she has to clear Grandma’s as well.

Not to mention save the Florodora.

Viets is a veteran mystery author who has written several different mystery series.  I read her because I like her sense of humor, which can be sharp but never mean.  I also like the plots, and I love the characters who tend to be more free-spirited than not. Norah herself, while sometimes serving as the adult on the premises, is also a Florida Woman which means she has a temper and may take ill-advised actions in the best of causes.

This is the first in a new series and I look forward to Beach Blonde Betrayal, due out this month.

And I really hope to see a photo of the pool with its “Twenties bathing beauty” mosaic.

King's Mountain

 

Happy 250^th birthday, United States of America!  This is a good time to remember the role our region played in the American Revolution. In September of 1780, troops gathered under a tree known as the Pemberton Oak which stood near what is now Highway 421.  They marched to North Carolina where they met the British in battle at a place called King’s Mountain.  Their victory there is often cited as the turning point in the Revolution.

In honor of this heritage, the Bristol Public Library is excited to present the VA250 Community Read:  King’s Mountain by Sharyn McCrumb. As many will know, McCrumb is known for her novels about our region which focus on our history and culture.  She is a New York Times best-selling author and is known for her fascinating and informative presentations.

John Sevier, like many living in the mountains, had been more concerned with everyday survival than with the dispute brewing between England and her American colonies.  Then an arrogant British officer, Major Patrick Ferguson, sends a message: join the British or I will “lay waste your country with fire and sword.” His words have the opposite effect and soon the mountain men are rallying to meet Ferguson and his troops.

McCrumb tells the story from multiple viewpoints, most notably from John Sevier on the rebels’ side and Virginia Sal, a woman accompanying the British and Loyalist troops. Her vivid portrayal gives readers a “you are there” feel and truly brings to life this important battle.

The library has a limited number of copies of the book to give away as well as bookmarks, while supplies last.  Copies will be available for pick up at both the Avoca Branch Library and at Bristol Public Library.

McCrumb will be leading a book discussion of her novel at Main on Thursday, September 24, at 6 p.m. This is definitely an evening you won’t want to miss! No registration is required; just bring your curiosity and a love of good stories.

The library would like to thank our sponsors, The Bristol Public Library Foundation, The Friends of the Bristol Public Library, and Arts Alliance Mountain Empire for making this program possible.