Perilous Deliveries.

Book Review for “The Postmistress of Paris” by Meg Waite Clayton. Summary: "Wealthy, beautiful Naneé was born with a spirit of adventure. For her, learning to fly is freedom. When German tanks roll across the border and into Paris, this woman with an adorable dog and a generous heart joins the resistance. Known as the … Continue reading Perilous Deliveries. →

Resistance in Red Lipstick.

Book Review for “Code Name Hélène” by Ariel Lawhon Nancy Wake was an ex-pat Australian, working as a freelance journalist in France sending stories to the Hearst papers in the US, when she fell in love with the wealthy businessman, Henri Fiocca. That was in 1936, and Nancy had already witnessed the beginnings of the … Continue reading Resistance in Red Lipstick. →

A Sheepishly Pseudo Autobiography.

Book Review for “The Lost Diary of M” by Paul Wolfe. This book is written as if it is the diary of Mary Pinchot, an American painter who was murdered October 12, 1964, shot twice at close range, and whose death remains an unsolved mystery to this day. What makes her murder so significant is … Continue reading A Sheepishly Pseudo Autobiography. →

Three Belles’ Secrets.

Book review of "The Glass Ocean" by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White. The sinking of the Lusitania by Germany was the tragic event that brought America into the first World War. In this novel, the three co-authors, look at that event through the eyes of three women, two of whom survived the disaster, … Continue reading Three Belles’ Secrets. →

Theatrical Turbulence

Book Review of "Hag-Seed" by Margaret Atwood. It was Felix’s dream to mount his own version of Shakespeare’s play “The Tempest” at the (Canadian) Makeshiweg Theater festival, but before he could get started, he found himself ousted as their artistic director. That was the last blow, since came on the heels of a broken marriage, and … Continue reading Theatrical Turbulence →

Unraveling the Complexes

Book review of The Alice Network by Kate Quinn. During the first World War, the British government employed many people as spies in German-occupied Europe, and many of them were women. One of those women was code-named Alice DuBois (who preferred to be called Lili), and became their "Queen of Spies," managing an underground slew … Continue reading Unraveling the Complexes →

Reconstructing Music

Book Review of "The Prague Sonata" by Bradford Morrow. The publishers describe this book as follows: In the early days of the new millennium, pages of a weathered original sonata manuscript—the gift of a Czech immigrant living out her final days in Queens—come into the hands of Meta Taverner, a young musicologist whose concert piano … Continue reading Reconstructing Music →

Looking for the next Agatha Christie

Book Review of "Cocaine Blues" by Kerry Greenwood. When the wealthy Phryne Fisher decided to quit London, it wasn't because the season had ended - to the contrary! No, Phryne left to set sail for Melbourne to investigate the mysterious illnesses of Lydia, whose father was suspicious that her husband might be poisoning her to … Continue reading Looking for the next Agatha Christie →

The Mystery of Christopher Marlowe

Book Review of "Tamburlaine Must Die" by Louise Welsh. During the Elizabethan era, Christopher Marlowe was a famous and popular playwright, but today when we think of that time, practically the only writer that comes to mind is Shakespeare. One reason for this could be Marlowe's untimely and early death, at the height of his … Continue reading The Mystery of Christopher Marlowe →

The Calm within the Storm

Book Review of "Restless" by William Boyd. Ruth Gilmartin is a single mother, working on her Master’s Thesis and teaching English as a Second Language in Oxford. Her mother, Sally, has decided to write down the story of her experiences during WW2 and give them to Ruth. This is when Ruth discovers that the woman … Continue reading The Calm within the Storm →