Book review: ‘The Spectacular’
The Spectacular By Fiona Davis (368 pages, historical fiction, 2023) If you like historical fiction, the latest offering from Fiona Davis would be a great choice. “The Spectacular” combines a backstage Radio City Music Hall story set in 1950’s New York with an unsolved police hunt for a mad bomber and delivers a truly engaging read. The heroine, Marion Brooks, defies the conventions of the day to join the Rockettes and becomes...
Book review: ‘Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?’
‘Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?’ By Dr. Julie Smith (351 pages, self help, 2022) “Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?” is a concise and accessible self-help book for folks looking to strengthen their personal repertoire for dealing with life’s ups and downs. “People should not have to pay to come and see someone like me just to get access to…education about how their mind works,” says the author, clinical psychologist Dr....
Book review: ‘The Last Tale of the Flower Bride’
The Last Tale of the Flower Bride By Roshani Chokshi (292 pages, fantasy, 2023) Rooted in fairy tales and folklore, “The Last Tale of the Flower Bride” can leave the reader wondering what really happened. Is there magic? Did it touch the two narrators? I’m still thinking about the events in the story. The first narrator we meet is The Bridegroom. We never learn his name. He’s a scholar of folklore and fairy tales who has traced...
Book review: ‘Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman’
‘Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman’ by Lucy Worsley (2022, 415 pages, biography) “Once I’ve been dead ten years, I’m sure no one will ever have heard of me.” This statement wouldn’t be nearly so ironic, had it not been uttered by one of the 20th century’s best-known authors: Agatha Christie. Even today, nearly half a century after her death, Christie is a household name. She has been identified by UNESCO as the world’s best-selling...
Book review: ‘Erik vs. Everything’
“Erik vs. Everything” by Christina Uss (2021, 282 pages, Juvenile Fiction) Erik Sheepflattener is a worrier. Unfortunately (or fortunately, as it turns out), he is a worrier who was born into a family of warriors of Viking descent! His sisters (Brunhilde and Allyson), parents, and extended family love a good brawl and there is no challenge or sport they are not willing to tackle. Erik on the other hand, is afraid of almost...
