How The Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Prior

HOW THE PENGUINS SAVED VERONICA – Hazel Prior

This is a lovely story about an 86-year-old curmudgeon who decides to go to a scientific station in Antarctica to see the penguins.  What ensues is gently humorous, scientifically factual, and full of family, love, disappointment, sorrow, overcoming setbacks, relationships, and coming to terms with yourself.  

Prior writes warmly, gracefully, and clearly. Her characters live and grow and endear themselves to the reader. I enjoyed the relationship growth between the characters as they dealt with isolation and extreme cold along with the hardships of living and working in the unforgiving environment of an Antarctic scientific base.

The relationship of Veronica and her grandson develops in a natural way as they alienate each other on first meeting and then write notes and letters to each other as they each attempt to make amends.

A lovely book by a  newish author. This is her second book. Her first, ELLIE AND THE HARPMAKER, is also worth your time.

5 of 5 stars

Camino Winds by John Grisham

CAMINO WINDS  by John Grisham

Wade your way through the first half of the book to get to the exciting second half.  True Grisham but without the lawyers (until the final third).

A book store owner caught in the storm of the century in a small beach front Florida town, has a dinner party just before the storm. The party serves to introduce all the main players, including the soon to be murder victim. The first half of the book lays out the ground work for the shenanigans of Bruce and his crew of would be crime solvers and sets up the intricate details of the much bigger crime than the small time murder of a best-selling author. 

Tautly written, full of surprises and fully fleshed out characters, this is a tale not to be missed.

5 of 5 stars.

AS BRIGHT A S HEAVEN by SUsan Meissner

AS BRIGHT AS HEAVEN   by Susan Meissner

In 1918 there was the Spanish Flu. It was devastating. Millions died. This is the story of how one ordinary family was affected.

The Bright family chooses to move to Philadelphia where they will take over the family mortuary just as the Great War and the Spanish Flu descend upon the city.  Thomas and Pauline and their three daughters, Evie, Maggie and Willa, take up residence and intend to have a better life than tobacco farmers.  The victims of the flu upend their plans as the mortuary fills and then is inundated with bodies.  Disease strikes every family even as the war takes away the young men. 

This picture of how a family and a city is changed, gives a realistic picture of medicine and funerary practices as well as family life in a middle class family. Well written and researched, the book is compelling even as Corona 19 claims lives today. 

5 of 5 stars  

A Conspiracy of Bones by Kathy Reichs

A CONSPIRACY OF BONES   by Kathy Reichs

Temperance has been summarily ejected from her own office in this outing by forensic scientist Kathy Reichs.  Out maneuvered at every turn, Temperance is stymied but undeterred when a body with no face and no hands is brought to the lab.

Also battling a life threatening condition, Temperance battles to keep her job, discredit her opponent and discover who the faceless man is and how he came to die.

Exciting and full of red herrings, this is one of the best tales by an expert in the fields of writing and forensics.

5 of 5 stars

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

THE HENNA ARTIST   by Alka Joshi

India in the 1950’s was not a welcoming place for an unwilling bride who is also poor and desperate.  Lakshmi, the unwilling bride, takes matter into her own hands and runs away – successfully. She is taken in by a group of prostitutes in a brothel and taught the art of Henna. Lakshmi has great skill and is soon able to launch out on her own with help from a businessman who acts as her banker.

Lakshmi is set to achieve all of her dreams when a sister she did not know she had shows up on her doorstep seeking protection.  The two women clash over talent and fulfillment as Lakshmi’s world is endangered by innocence and guile. A young beggar boy Lakshmi had taken on as partner may help one of the two sisters. 

India, in all its beauty and cruelty, is ever present in this tale of women in a closed and oppressive society. THE HENNA ARTIST is well written with interesting and multi-dimensional characters and a compelling plot.

5 of 5 stars

THE UNWILLING by John Hart

THE UNWILLING  by John Hart
If you are squeamish, this is not the book for you.  Violence abounds in this gripping thriller.  Animal lovers beware.  Hart is an excellent author who doesn't miss this time. 
Jason, a decorated former soldier, is also violent and out of reclaim his good name after his release from prison for a crime he did not commit.  A woman who taunts and then is dead, a corrupt warden who takes pleasure in pain (other people's pain!), a vice lord out to put him back in prison, and an innocence project that takes on his case, all combine for a thrill ride with lots of violence. Once you start this book, you won’t be able to put it down.
5 of 5 stars with a warning for violence

LOST BOY FOUND by Kirstin Alexander

LOST BOY FOUND  by Kristen Alexander

Based on a true story this novel follows a family after their 4 year old son goes missing.  The family, wealthy and socially important, leaves no stone unturned in their search for the child. Two years later, a child is found in the company of a supposed tramp. Is this the missing child?  Why does this tramp have this child?   The family believes the child is their missing Sonny and uses every means to keep him.  But then there is the other mother who also claims the child. Who is this child? And what happened to Sonny?

Well written. Contains a reading group guide. Lots of things to talk, or think, about here.

4 of 5 stars