Review: Ruth, A Portrait: The Story of Ruth Bell Graham by Patricia Daniels Cornwell

Title: Ruth, A Portrait: The Story of Ruth Bell Graham
Author: Patricia Daniels Cornwell
Publisher: WaterBrook
Publication Date: January 5, 2011 (first published January 1st 1983)
Edition: ebook
Genres:

• Nonfiction
• Biography

Literary Award: ECPA Christian Book Award for Biography/Autobiography (1985)

Ruth, A Portrait: The story of Ruth Bell Graham by Patricia Cornwell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Ruth Bell Graham was born to medical missionaries serving in China, and she spent her formative years there. She met Billy Graham when they were both students at Wheaton College, before he became Billy Graham, the famous evangelist.

I found this biography of Ruth Bell Graham fascinating. Prior to reading it, I knew next to nothing about her life, other than a few magazine articles I read. She was a true woman of faith and definitely not just an echo of her husband. She was a strong woman and passionate in her beliefs.

As you might expect, from reading other works by Patricia Cornwell, this book is well written, interesting, filled with information and anecdotes. You feel as if you're experiencing life right along with Ruth Bell Graham, herself.

Lynn's List (February 23, 2018)

Each Friday I publish a list of titles I have come across, during the past week, that I find interesting. Happy reading!

• Father Figure by Ann Widdecombe
• Amy's Diary by Maureen Lee
• In-Flight Fitness by Andreas Reyneke
• Phoenix by John Connor
• The Vanishing by John Connor
• Touching Distance by Graham Hurley
• A Woman's Life by Rachel Billington
• Becoming the Story: War Correspondents since 9/11 by Lindsay Palmer
• The Faithful Spy: (John Wells, #1) by Alex Berenson
• See No Evil by Patricia Robins
• How To Be a Bad Christian: ... And a Better Human Being by Dave Tomlinson
• After Auschwitz: A Story of Heartbreak and Survival by the Stepsister of Anne Frank by Eva Schloss
• The Light of the World: A Memoir by Elizabeth Alexander
• Another Place by Matthew Crow
• Voices from D-Day: Eyewitness accounts from the Battles of Normandy by Jon E. Lewis
• Risky Redemption by Marissa Garner
• Deadly Deception by Marissa Garner
• Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House by John O'Connor and Mark Felt
• The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey
• The Plan by Rahm Emanuel and Bruce Reed
• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
• Whitewash: The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer, and the Corruption of Science by Carey Gillam
• In the Enemy's House: The Secret Saga of the FBI Agent and the Code Breaker Who Caught the Russian Spies by Howard Blum
• The Common Good by Robert B. Reich
• Everything You Love Will Burn: Inside the Rebirth of White Nationalism in America by Vegas Tenold
• The Agony of Alice (Alice, #1) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
• Agent in Place by Mark Greaney
• Stillness and Shadows by John Gardner
• Ruth, A Portrait: The Story of Ruth Bell Graham by Patricia Daniels Cornwell

Review: Postmortem (Kay Scarpetta, #1) by Patricia Cornwell

Title: Postmortem (Kay Scarpetta, #1)
Author: Patricia Cornwell
Publisher: Scribner (first published January 9th 1990)
Publication Date: December 1, 2009
Edition: ebook (215 pages)
Genres:

• Fiction
• Crime Fiction
• Mystery
• Suspense
• Thriller

Literary Awards:

• Macavity Award for Best First Mystery Novel (1991)
• Anthony Award for Best First Novel (1991)
• CWA New Blood Dagger (1990)
• Edgar Award for Best First Novel (1991)
• John Creasey Memorial Award (1990)
• Prix du Roman d'Aventures (1992)

Series: Kay Scarpetta #1

Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Night-time stranglings of young women have left everyone in Richmond, Virginia, fearful--including Medical examiner, Kay Scarpetta. Her job is to figure out who is committing these murders, and her task is made more difficult by leaks of information to the press which seem to be coming from within her own department, in what she believes is an effort to undermine her credibility and that of her office.

This story caught my interest, immediately. I could feel the atmosphere of the crime scenes and the emotion of the characters, with each event, as the story progressed. The tension came right off the page at me. I found this story even more interesting because of its science and technical aspects of profiling and what the forensic evidence yielded. I also liked Kay Scarpetta a lot. She's smart, conscientious, and possesses a heartwarming humanity with no pretension, in the bargain.

Anyone interested in the procedural aspects of how medical science and criminology work together to solve crimes will enjoy this story. I am looking forward to reading more of this series.

Review: The Bridge by Karen Kingsbury

Title: The Bridge
Author: Karen Kingsbury
Publisher: Howard Books
Publication Date: October 23, 2012 (first published January 1, 2012)
Edition: ebook (272 pages)
Genres:

• Fiction
• Christian Fiction
• Christmas
• Romance

The Bridge by Karen Kingsbury

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


For thirty years, The Bridge has been there for anyone who wanted a good book, conversation or just a place to hang out. Charlie and Donna Barton started the bookstore to help others and to heal after the loss of their baby girl. Now, after a one-hundred-year flood, Charlie has no books, no money, and no lease on The Bridge. But he still has faith.

Molly Allen and Ryan Kelly fell in love at the Bridge. They spent hours there studying and talking during their first two years of college, but it all ended, abruptly. Now with things looking so hopeless for The Bridge, will everyone come together?

I first read this book shortly after it was published in 2012. I laughed and cried my way through it. It's a lovely story, one that I wanted to reread, and will likely reread every year during the Christmas season, from now on. It's a wonderful story, especially for those who have a love for books and reading. It touches the heart.

Review: The Ones Who Got Away (The Ones Who Got Away, #1) by Roni Loren

Title: The Ones Who Got Away (The Ones Who Got Away, #1)
Author: Roni Loren
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication Date: January 2, 2018
Edition: ebook (386 pages)
Genres:

• Fiction
• Contemporary Romance
• Romance

Series: The Ones Who Got Away

The Ones Who Got Away by Roni Loren

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Liv Arias survived a high school shooting, twelve years ago. She, Somewhat unwillingly, returns there to participate in a media documentary being made about the shooting. While there, she sees her old flame, Finn Dorsey, and their attraction is still as strong as ever. Finn feels it too, but he has a life that keeps him undercover as an FBI agent. And Liv has a satisfying professional life--or does she?

There is much I liked about this book. The author writes convincingly about psychological trauma, and I definitely wanted these characters to find happiness. However, I thought the physical connection between them sometimes outweighed the emotional one in the story.

Lynn's List (February 16, 2018)

Each Friday I publish a list of titles I have come across, during the past week, that I find interesting. Happy reading!

• Deception by Denise Mina
• James Madison by Richard Brookhiser
• The Peter Savage Novels Boxed Set: (Books 1-4) by Dave Edlund
• Jefferson: Architect of American Liberty by John B. Boles
• Alone Together by Sherry Turkle
• Killing Secrets by Dianne Emley
• The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin
• Dawn on a Distant Shore (Wilderness, Book 2) by Sara Donati
• The Perfect Nanny: A Novel by Leila Slimani
• Wild Texas Wind by Victoria Thompson
• One of a Kind by Bette Ford
• Clouds and Rain by Zahra Owens
• Could It Be Forever? My Story by David Cassidy
• Blood Ties by Sam Hayes
• Unspoken by Sam Hayes
• Where the Mersey Flows: A powerful saga of poverty, friendship and love by Lyn Andrews
• Angels of Mercy: A gripping saga of sisters, love and war by Lyn Andrews
• When Tomorrow Dawns: An unforgettable saga of new beginnings and new heartaches by Lyn Andrews
• The Other Side of Happiness by Pamela Evans
• Sadness Is a White Bird: A Novel by Moriel Rothman-Zecher
• Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews
• Palace of Treason by Jason Matthews
• The Kremlin's Candidate: A Novel by Jason Matthews
• Poison: A Novel by John Lescroart
• Hamilton and Peggy!: A Revolutionary Friendship by L. M. Elliott
• White Houses: A Novel by Amy Bloom
• Don't Forget Me: A Novel by Victoria Stevens
• Night Moves: An Alex Delaware Novel by Jonathan Kellerman
• Maggie by Lena Kennedy
• Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter by Dionne Warwick and Randy L. Schmidt
• Lay This Body Down: The 1921 Murders of Eleven Plantation Slaves by Gregory A. Freeman
• Sally Hemings: A Novel by Barbara Chase-Riboud
• Radical Disciple: Father Pfleger, St. Sabina Church, and the Fight for Social Justice by Robert Mcclory
• Freedom's Journey: African American Voices of the Civil War by Donald Yacovone and Charles Fuller
• First Class: The Legacy of Dunbar, America’s First Black Public High School by Alison Stewart
• Convenient Suspect: A Double Murder, a Flawed Investigation, and the Railroading of an Innocent Woman by Tammy Mal
• Let the Children March by Frank Morrison and Monica Clark-Robinson
• Hostage: A Year at Gunpoint with Somali Pirates by Paul Chandler, Sarah Edworthy, and Rachel Chandler
• Munich: A novel by Robert Harris
• What We Knew: Terror, Mass Murder, and Everyday Life in Nazi Germany by Eric A. Johnson and Karl-Heinz Reuband
• Liberty of Conscienc by Martha Nussbaum
• Second Chance by Zbigniew Brzezinski
• The Politics of Truth by Joseph Wilson
• The Disappearance by J. F. Freedman
• Rogue Nation: American Unilateralism and the Failure of Good Intentions by Clyde Prestowitz
• The Snow Angel by Michael Graham

Lynn's List (February 9, 2018)

Each Friday I publish a list of titles I have come across, during the past week, that I find interesting. Happy reading!

• The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation by Philip Shenon
• Seasons by Bonnie Hopkins
• Hard Times in Paradise: An American Family's Struggle to Carve Out a Homestead in California's Redwood Mountains by David Colfax and Micki Colfax
• When You Believe by Deborah Bedford
• Susannah Morrow by Megan Chance
• An Inconvenient Wife by Megan Chance
• One Scream Away by Kate Brady
• Carly by Lyn Cote
• The Good Daughter by Jasmin Darznik
• True Blue by David Baldacci
• Spooner by Pete Dexter
• The Ones Who Got Away by Roni Loren
• When She Came Home by Drusilla Campbell
• In Doubt by Drusilla Campbell
• The One Good Thing by Kevin Alan Milne
• Tumbleweeds: A Novel by Leila Meacham
• Aly's House by Leila Meacham
• Barefoot in the Rain by Roxanne St. Claire
• Barefoot in the Sand by Roxanne St. Claire
• The Ice Cream Girls by Dorothy Koomson
• Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie
• A Beautiful Poison by Lydia Kang
• The Undertaker's Daughter by Sara Blaedel
• Between Sisters by Cathy Kelly
• Summer on Firefly Lake by Jen Gilroy
• The Cottage at Firefly Lake by Jen Gilroy
• My (Underground) American Dream: My True Story as an Undocumented Immigrant Who Became a Wall Street Executive by Julissa Arce
• The Kent Family Chronicles: Volumes One Through Three by John Jakes
• Collision Course by Alvin Moscow
• Only Child: A novel by Rhiannon Navin
• Abandoned by Rhonda Pollero
• Exposed by Rhonda Pollero
• Water from My Heart by Charles Martin
• A Life Intercepted by Charles Martin
• How Will I Know You?: A Novel by Jessica Treadway
• Testimony by Scott Turow
• Blood Sisters: A Novel by Jane Corry
• George Washington: A Life by Woodrow Wilson
• Haven Creek by Rochelle Alers
• Cherry Lane by Rochelle Alers
• Twenty-Six Seconds: A Personal History of the Zapruder Film by Alexandra Zapruder
• The Blessings by Elise Juska
• Signed, Sealed, Delivered by Sandy James
• The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
• The Nightingale by Morgana Gallaway
• Labor of Love, Labor of Sorrow by Jacqueline Jones

Review: All the President's Men by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein

Title: All the President's Men
Authors: Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein
Publisher: Simon Schuster
Publication Date: November 1, 2007 (first published 1974)
Edition: ebook (352 pages)
Genres:

• Nonfiction
• History
• Politics
• Presidents
• Scandal

Literary Awards:

• Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, Washington Post (1973)
• National Book Award Finalist for Contemporary Affairs (1975)

All the President's Men by Carl Bernstein

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were young reporters for the Washington Post, in 1972, at the time they were asked to cover the arrest of burglars who broke into Democratic headquarters at the Watergate complex, in Washington D.C., on June 17, 1972. Little did they know this would begin a journey that would uncover a political scandal of epic proportions eventually leading to the indictment of 40 White House officials and cause U.S. President Richard M. Nixon to resign in disgrace.

All the President's Men reads like a political spy novel--except that it is real life politics, perhaps, at its worst. I have read this book three times, and each time I read it, I still have difficulty grasping the complexity of what happened during Watergate, and the lengths President Nixon and his aid went to perpetrate crimes and cover them up. I was a teenager when the scandal broke, and I watched the Watergate hearings as much as time permitted.

I highly recommend this book, and the two subsequent books by the authors on this subject. All three books serve as a historical record of what happened, and, in my opinion, also represent journalism and the power of the free press at its best.

Lynn's List (February 2, 2018)

Each Friday I publish a list of titles I have come across, during the past week, that I find interesting. Happy reading!

• From House to Home (Karina's Journey Book 1) by Patricia Bell, Clifton Bell, and James Blackwell
• Wilbur and Orville: A Biography of the Wright Brothers by Fred Howard
• So Much Pretty by Cara Hoffman
• The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie Klassen
• Lady Maybe by Julie Klassen
• When We Wake by Karen Healey
• Catherine by April Lindner
• The American Journey of Barack Obama by The Editors of Life Magazine
• Rules of Summer by Joanna Philbin
• Since Last Summer by Joanna Philbin
• Blood at the Root: A Racial Cleansing in America by Patrick Phillips
• The Assassin Trilogy by Derek Haas
• Stella Bain by Anita Shreve
• Ice Forged by Gail Z. Martin
• Gun Machine by Warren Ellis
• The Company We Keep: A Husband-and-Wife True-Life Spy Story by Robert Baer and Dayna Baer
• The Shout by Stephen Leather
• The Visionist by Rachel Urquhart
• Breed by Chase Novak
• The Woman in the Window: A Novel by A. J Finn
• Trials of the Earth: The True Story of a Pioneer Woman by Mary Mann Hamilton
• The Exiled by Christopher Charles
• Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars by Nathalia Holt
• Eat Fat, Get Thin by Mark Hyman
• The Murder House by James Patterson and David Ellis
• Last Words by Michael Koryta
• Truevine: Two Brothers, a Kidnapping, and a Mother's Quest: A True Story of the Jim Crow South by Beth Macy
• The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter by Malcolm Mackay
• How a Gunman Says Goodbye by Malcolm Mackay
• The Sudden Arrival of Violence by Malcolm Mackay
• Before This Is Over by Amanda Hickie
• The Bridge by Stuart Prebble
• Desperation Road by Michael Farris Smith
• Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
• Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig
• Beautiful Killer: A Lawless Kings Romance by Sherilee Gray
• American Pravda: My Fight for Truth in the Era of Fake News by James O'Keefe
• Never Get Angry Again: The Foolproof Way to Stay Calm and in Control in Any Conversation or Situation by Dr David J. Lieberman
• Leveled by Cathryn Fox
• The Lonely Life: An Autobiography by Bette Davis
• Grist Mill Road: A Novel by Christopher J. Yates
• Watch Me: A Gripping Psychological Thriller by Jody Gehrman

My Reads (January, 2018)

At the beginning of each month, I publish a list of books I have read the previous month. By clicking on the links in the list, you will be taken to my review of that title. Happy reading!

• Little Girl Lost (DI Robyn Carter, #1)
• Killman Creek (Stillhouse Lake Series Book 2) by Rachel Caine
• Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House by Michael Wolff
• Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
• The Girl Behind the Door: A Father's Quest to Understand His Daughter's Suicide by John Brooks
• Terminal Secret by Mark Gilleo
• The Girl on the Velvet Swing: Sex, Murder, and Madness at the Dawn of the Twentieth Century by Simon Baatz