CITY OF SHADOWS by Araina Franklin

CITY OF SHADOWS  by Ariana Franklin

What is not to like – the Grand Duchess Anastasia lives, a serial murderer is running amok, Hitler rises in a devastated Germany, an honest policeman is in a warren of corruption and a woman of mystery tries to survive. Although slow getting started, this thriller is truly a thriller.  There is enough actual history laced through the plot to give credence to the tale of murder, fraud and corruption amid a search for love, justice and honor.

Esther, who carries the plot, is the woman of mystery, scarred and scared. Nick is the flamboyant owner of the flashiest and finest cabarets in the world’s flashiest city, although a Berlin struggling under the crushing load of war debt. Anna, who may, or may not, be the Grand Duchess Anastasia,  survivor of the slaughter of her family and resident of an asylum for the mentally ill, is the center of the plotting and murder that swirls around her. Connecting them all is Inspector Schmidt trying to maintain honesty and humanity is a city devoid of both.

The writing is vivid and shows a city devastated by war and greed and slowly coming under the domination of Hitler and his coterie of murderous goons.  Ahh, the murders – the stripper, the good wife, the tale bearer, the innocent and more and more.  Who will survive, who will die, will justice prevail, will love triumph, is Anna really Anastasia, and if not, who is she?  All questions searching for answers.

5 of 5 stars

OUT OF MY MIND by Sharon Draper

Melody, eleven years old, is brilliant. She also has spastic bilateral quadriplegia (cerebral palsy), is confined to a wheelchair and cannot speak. When she gets a Medi-Talker that allows her to communicate, her life changes. 

OUT OF MY MIND tells Melody’s story of being confined in so many ways until her Medi-Talker arrives and the changes it makes in her life and the lives of those around her.  Told sensitively and with compassion, it also tells of the story of a “normal” pre-teen confined in a disability. Draper writes with clarity. Melody is a well-rounded character as are her mother and father, neighbor and mentor, personal assistant and, most importantly, the other fifth graders and teachers in both her “special” classes and her “inclusive” classes.

Book groups (adult, teen, mother-daughter) will all find many topics for discussion including disabilities, friendship, jealousy, cliques, “special” education and others. Many of the topics will resonate with all teens and pre-teens who struggle with image, self-confidence and differences.

5 of 5 stars

AS THE POPPIES BLOOMED by Maral Boyadjian

This bittersweet love story takes place in Turkish Armenia just before and during World War I, a time when the Muslim Turks and the Muslim Ottomans sought control over the Christian Armenians. Hidden away in a mountaintop village, 15 year old Anno, daughter of the village Headman,  falls in love with Daron, son of the local merchant.  As village life proceeds, war and the Armenian genocide come ever closer.

Boyadajian knows her subject well and relates it with sympathy and clarity.  Anno and Daron become people you care deeply about.  Conflict within the village and conflict with the outside world illuminate the plot.  The village of Salor in the province of Sassoun is the focal point of the struggle between religions and politics. Salor and its inhabitants will live long in your memory.

5 of 5 stars

THE STORYTELLER by Jodi Picoult

A story within a story within a story is the only way to quickly describe THE STORYTELLER.  There are three storytellers -- Sage, a baker, who carries guilt and grief that consumes her; Josef, a beloved elderly man, who confesses to Sage and wants her to forgive and then kill him; and finally, Minka, a Polish Jew and resident of a concentration camp during WWII.  I found Minka’s story compelling. Forgiveness is the overriding theme of the book. A sentence on page 450 states that you can only forgive someone the wrong they have done to you personally. Sage, Josef and, even Minka, need forgiveness, but who can forgive them and will they – that is the question.

I found this to be one of Picoult’s more challenging and thought provoking books. She is known for addressing timely topics with a twist ending. THE STORYTELLER addresses forgiveness in way that will give you pause for thought, especially the ending.  Book groups will have a lively discussion of guilt and forgiveness. 

5 of 5 stars

THE LAST CONFESSION OF THOMAS HAWKINS by ANtonia Hodgson

After a thrilling start The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins takes a while before the reader truly cares about Tom, his “trull” Kitty and the other characters in the novel.  But, once apprehension for Tom’s life and liberty sets in, the thrill ride begins and doesn’t stop.   Hodgson’s characters are engaging and fully formed.  The setting and history (London, in the early 1700’s) is well researched and clearly told.  The mystery is exciting with many red herrings and plot twists. The picture presented of Queen Caroline is delightful -- and convincingly nefarious.

Readers of both historical fiction and mysteries will be captivated with this book.  Although this is a second outing for Tom Hawkins and several other characters from The Devil in the Marshalsea are present, the necessary information from the first is presented logically and without undue repetition.

5 of 5 stars

THOMAS JEFFERSON AND THE TRIPOLI PIRATES by brian Kilmeade

THOMAS JEFFERSON AND THE TRIPOLI PIRATES  by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yeager

Have you ever heard the line in The Marine Hymn that states “to the shores of Tripoli” and wondered what happened in Tripoli?  This book will tell you why the Marines are proud their actions in Tripoli and why it might suggest an answer to some of today’s more pressing problems with Islamic nations. 

In the early 1800’s, the rulers of Morocco, Algiers, Tripoli and Egypt extracted tribute payments from the new United States as well as other nations.  The payments escalated until they were simply too much to pay for unfettered access to the Mediterranean Ocean and the northern coast of Africa.  Ships and their contents were being confiscated and the sailors aboard enslaved by the rapacious rulers.  Jefferson determined that the cost of tribute was more than the cost of war and sent a nascent navy to the shores of Tripoli to free the Americans held in the Barbary Coast nations and free the seas for all nations.

Much more “history” than “story” the book reveals the machinations, men and navy needed to win the war.  Interesting and factual with notes and sources, this book is for the historian and the student of public policy as well as those interested in how the past affects the future.

4 of 5 stars