Lynn's List (June 28, 2019)

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

• The Dream House: An absolutely gripping psychological thriller by Jess Ryder
• The Latecomers by Helen Klein Ross
• One Giant Leap: The Impossible Mission That Flew Us to the Moon by Charles Fishman
• Safely to Earth: The Men and Women Who Brought the Astronauts Home by Jack Clemons
• Fight for Liberty: Defending Democracy in the Age of Trump by Jon Meacham and Mark Lasswell
• The Summer Guests by Mary Alice Monroe
• The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert
• Ask Again, Yes: A Novel by Mary Beth Keane
• The Peter Savage Novels Boxed Set: (Books 1-4) (Peter Savage) by Dave Edlund
• A Noise Downstairs: A Novel by Linwood Barclay
• Target Tokyo: Jimmy Doolittle And The Raid That Avenged Pearl Harbor by James M. Scott
• Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation by Eboo Patel
• Written on Your Skin by Meredith Duran
• Food Security and Scarcity: Why Ending Hunger Is So Hard by C. Peter Timmer
• One Wrong Step by Laura Griffin
• Escape Artist: A Memoir Of An Artist On Death Row by William A. Noguera
• Presidents of War by Michael Beschloss
• The Lost Night: A Novel by Andrea Bartz
• The Captured Economy: How The Powerful Become Richer, Slow Down Growth, And Increase Inequality by Brink Lindsey
• A Family of Strangers by Emilie Richards
• Dear Wife: A Novel by Kimberly Belle
• Heels of Steel: a novel about the queen of New York construction by Barbara Kavovit
• The Volunteer: One Man, an Underground Army, and the Secret Mission to Destroy Auschwitz by Jack Fairweather
• The Gone Dead: A Novel by Chanelle Benz
• The Weather Machine: A Journey Inside the Forecast by Andrew Blum
• Lost and Found: A Novel by Danielle Steel
• The Cynthia Freeman Collection Volume One: The Days of Winter, The Last Princess, and Always and Forever by Cynthia Freeman
• The Cynthia Freeman Collection Volume Two: The Jewish Historical Sagas by Cynthia Freeman
• Searching for Sylvie Lee: A Novel by Jean Kwok
• Far from the Tree by Robin Benway

Review: Evergreen: (Werner Family Saga) #1) by Belva Plain

Title: Evergreen: (Werner Family Saga) #1)
Author: Belva Plain
Publisher: Dell
Publication Date: December 16, 2009 (first published 1978)
Edition: ebook (704 pages)
Genres:

• Fiction
• Historical Fiction

Series: Werner Family Saga #1
My Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Anna came to the United States as a poor young immigrant girl because she wanted to escape being married off to someone whom she did not love, and to escape the poverty all around her. Evergreen is her story and the story of the family she built with Joseph Friedman. It is the first book in the Werner family saga.

This book is rich in historical detail and description. The characters, though fictional, come alive in word and deed in a way few writers bring to the page. I am looking forward to the next book in the series, "The Golden Cup."

Review: The Girl on Gander Green Lane by M.J. Hardy

Title: The Girl on Gander Green Lane
Author: M.J. Hardy
Publication Date: April 6, 2019
Edition: Kindle (140 pages)
Genres:

• Fiction
• Psychological Thriller

My Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sarah Standon is living what everyone sees as the perfect life. She has a handsome and successful husband, a beautiful home, good neighbors and a job she enjoys. But nothing is as it seems. And the night when she is about to break from the charade is when her life unravels.

This story was so well put together. One of those edge-of-your-seat psychological thrillers that never stops with the surprises. A great read.

Lynn's List (June 21, 2019)

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

• Deportation: The Origins of U.S. Policy by Torrie Hester
• Dangerous Games: A Novel by Danielle Steel
• Here Lies Daniel Tate by Cristin Terrill
• Dark Paradise: A Novel by Tami Hoag
• Into The Web: A Novel by Thomas H. Cook
• Every Man a Hero: A Memoir of D-Day, the First Wave at Omaha Beach, and a World at War by Jim DeFelice
• Unleashing the Power of Diversity: How to Open Minds for Good by Bjorn Z. Ekelund
• Little Girl Missing: An absolutely unputdownable crime thriller by J.G. Roberts
• The Enemy of the People: A Dangerous Time to Tell the Truth in America by Jim Acosta
• Leningrad: State Of Siege by Michael Jones
• The Amish Teacher's Gift (Love and Promises #1) by Rachel J. Good
• The Amish Midwife's Secret (Love and Promises #2) by Rachel J. Good
• Prayer: Does it Make Any Difference by Philip Yancey
• God's Sons by Tyra Reeves
• The Third Victim (Robin Lockwood #1) by Phillip Margolin
• The Perfect Alibi: A Novel (Robin Lockwood #2) by Phillip Margolin
• A Well-Behaved Woman: A Novel of the Vanderbilts by Therese Anne Fowler
• Theodore Sorensen and the Kennedys: A Life of Public Service by Michelle A. Ulyatt
• Debutante by Anne Melville
• Bismarck: 24 Hours to Doom by Iain Ballantyne
• Mourning Lincoln by Martha Hodes
• Joe Louis: Hard Times Man by Randy Roberts
• An Empire of Ice: Scott, Shackleton, and the Heroic Age of Antarctic Science (Playaway Adult Nonfiction Ser.) by Edward J. Larson
• Galileo: Watcher of the Skies by David Wootton
• The Awakening: A Novel (Modern Library Torchbearers) by Kate Chopin
• Whisper in the Night: An absolutely heart-stopping serial killer thriller by D.K. Hood
• River People (River Women #1) by Margaret Lukas
• Her Sister's Lie by Debbie Howells
• The Prey: A Novel (Predator Trilogy #1) by Allison Brennan
• Clouds above the Hill: A Historical Novel of the Russo-Japanese War, Volume 1 by Shiba Ryotaro
• Jaws by Peter Benchley
• The Girl on Gander Green Lane: A Chilling Psychological Thriller with a Twist by M J Hardy

Review: The Enemy of the People: A Dangerous Time to Tell the Truth in America by Jim Acosta

Title: The Enemy of the People: A Dangerous Time to Tell the Truth in America
Author: Jim Acosta
Publisher: Harper
Publication Date: June 11, 2019
Edition: Kindle (360 pages)
Genres:

• Nonfiction
• History
• Memoir
• Politics

My Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Veteran Chief White House Correspondent Jim Acosta, forthrightly details his confrontation with the Trump White House on matters of truth, fact, lies, deceit, fake news, and the necessity of a free press. He also shares his family history as a first generation American, his views on democracy, and where we go from here.

I anxiously awaited the publication of this book, and it does not disappoint. Jim Acosta's candor about the Trump administration's assault on our democracy and freedom of the press, though scary and disheartening, is also refreshing and hopeful because he, and other journalists, continue to do their jobs and inform the American people about what is happening, speaking truth to power. There is nothing fake about that. It is admirable and, in my view, heroic, especially in the face of threats to personal safety. There is much to think about concerning intolerance, lack of acceptance of others, and immigration and other policies this administration has enacted which stifle democracy, and our response to it as citizens. I am thankful to Jim Acosta for his contributions to journalism and his unwavering efforts to hold the Trump administration accountable to explain to the American people and the world what they are doing and the consequences of those actions and policies. I highly recommend that everyone, regardless of political beliefs, take the time to read this book.

Review: The Third Victim: A Novel by Phillip Margolin

Title: The Third Victim: A Novel
Author: Phillip Margolin
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: March 6, 2018
Edition: ebook (384 pages)
Genres:

• fiction
• Legal Thriller

Series: Robin Lockwood #1
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Regina Barrister, legendary defense attorney, and her new associate, Robin Lockwood, take on the defense of a man accused of murdering two women and torturing another who manages to escape. At first blush, the case seems straight forward, but things are not what they seem. Is the defendant really guilty? Is the defense team doing its best to defend him? And what is really going on that hasn't come to light?

I enjoyed this book a great deal. There was always some fascinating detail lurking around every corner, and the outcome was not at all a sure thing. A really good read.

Review: The Impeachers: The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Dream of a Just Nation by Brenda Wineapple

Title: The Impeachers: The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Dream of a Just Nation
Author: Brenda Wineapple
Publisher: Random House
Publication Date: May 21, 2019
Edition: Hardcover (576 pages)
Genres:

• Nonfiction
• American History
• Politics

My Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Brenda Wineapple tells the story of the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson, Vice President, who became President of the United States upon the death of President Abraham Lincoln in April, 1865. History often refers to him as the accidental President. He assumed the presidency at a time when the Civil War had just ended, and the nation was still torn apart as to whether African Americans should have complete freedom and how the South should be treated following their defeat.

I read this book because I wanted to learn more about President Andrew Johnson. Of course he is mentioned in history books, but more as an after thought than a figure who underwent an impeachment action. I learned much from reading this account. Andrew Johnson was a man who continually made end runs around Congress. He promoted white supremacy and pardoned insurrectionists. He also opposed civil rights and reconstruction. I recommend this book to anyone interested in this period of United States history. It is long and detailed, but also filled with much information, and the political atmosphere of the times.

Lynn's List (June 14, 2019)

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

• Sweet and Deadly by Charlaine Harris
• Prince of Peace by James Carroll
• This Side of Innocence: A Novel by Taylor Caldwell
• Bones of the Earth by Michael Swanwick
• Trail of Secrets by Eileen Goudge
• Compromising Positions (Judith Singer #1) by Susan Isaacs
• Long Time No See (Judith Singer #2) by Susan Isaacs
• Possessing the Secret of Joy by Alice Walker
• A Secret Life: The Sex, Lies, and Scandals of President Grover Cleveland by Charles Lachman
• Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness by Ralph J. Temple
• The King of Chicago: Memories of My Father by Daniel Friedman
• The Collector's Apprentice: A Novel by B. A. Shapiro
• The Defense: A Novel (Eddie Flynn #1) by Steve Cavanagh
• She Was the Quiet One: A Novel by Michele Campbell
• Armed Madhouse by Greg Palast
• Where We Come From: A novel by Oscar Cásares
• Fatal Inheritance: A Novel by Rachel Rhys
• Bone Deep by Sandra Ireland
• Above the Ether: A Novel by Eric Barnes
• Stalingrad by Vasily Grossman
• The Mother's Mistake: An absolutely gripping psychological thriller by Ruth Heald
• Nigger: An Autobiography by Robert Lipsyte and Dick Gregory
• Call Your Daughter Home: A Novel by Deb Spera
• The Summer Guests by Mary Alice Monroe
• This Is Home: A Novel by Lisa Duffy
• Mrs. Everything: A Novel by Jennifer Weiner
• One Giant Leap: The Impossible Mission That Flew Us to the Moon by Charles Fishman
• One Minute Later: A Novel by Susan Lewis
• You Can't Hide: You Can't Hide (Chicago Ser.) by Karen Rose
• Scarlett: The Sequel to Margaret Mitchell's "Gone With the Wind" by Alexandra Ripley
• Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott
• The Age of Light: A Novel by Whitney Scharer
• I Know What You Did Last Summer (Horizons Ser.) by Lois Duncan
• The Stonecutter: A Novel by Steven T. Murray and Camilla Läckberg
• American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America by Chris Hedges
• The Dreamer and the Doctor: A Forest Lover and a Physician on the Edge of the Frontier by Jack Nisbet
• The Forgotten 500: The Untold Story of the Men Who Risked All for the Greatest Rescue Mission of World War II by Gregory A. Freeman
• Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine: A Novel by Gail Honeyman
• House to House: An Epic Memoir of War by John R. Bruning
• Sisters of Summer's End by Lori Foster
• The Lost Vintage: A Novel by Ann Mah
• Masters and Commanders: How Four Titans Won the War in the West, 1941-1945 by Andrew Roberts
• One Deadly Summer by Sébastien Japrisot
• The Struggle for Equality 1955-1975 by Ann M. Rossi
• The Last Day of Emily Lindsey by Nic Joseph
• The Lie by C. L. Taylor
• The Main Enemy: The Inside Story of the CIA's Final Showdown with the KGB by Milton Bearden and James Risen
• American Prison: A Reporter's Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment by Shane Bauer
• Living Small: Life in a Tiny House by Kate Foster

Review: Thin Air (Jessica Shaw, #1) by Lisa Gray

Title: Thin Air (Jessica Shaw, #1)
Author: Lisa Gray
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Publication Date: June 1, 2019
Edition: Kindle (284 pages)
Genres:

• Fiction
• Crime Fiction
• Mystery

Series: Jessica Shaw #1
My Rating: 3 of 5 stars

Private Investigator Jessica Shaw's job is to investigate what happened to missing persons. Looking at a picture on a website, she realizes she has been a missing person for the last twenty-five years, when she disappeared as a three-year-old child. Suddenly her life is not at all what she believed it to be. As she begins to search for the truth of what happened, she finds herself caught up in events that will sorely test her investigative skills and her emotional well being.

I enjoyed the story. It moved along at a good pace, and I'm anxious to see what becomes of Jessica in future investigations.

Review: Sweet and Deadly by Charlaine Harris

Title: Sweet and Deadly
Author: Charlaine Harris
Publisher: Berkley Books
Publication Date: March 1, 2007
Edition: ebook (304 pages)
Genres:

• Fiction
• Crime Fiction
• Mystery

My Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Catherine Linton, news reporter, returns home to LowField, Mississippi, following the death of her parents. She believes her parents were murdered. Months go by with no progress on the case. But, suddenly, within the space of a few days, two more people are murdered, and Catherine discovers the victims. She is left to put the pieces together to solve the crime, though she is under a cloud of suspicion, herself.

This is the first Charlaine Harris book I have read. I enjoyed it very much. It held my attention, from beginning to end, and the writing style and characters made me keep on reading. I read this book almost straight through.

Review: The Secret Life of Bacon Tait, a White Slave Trader Married to a Free Woman of Color by Hank Trent

Title: The Secret Life of Bacon Tait, a White Slave Trader Married to a Free Woman of Color
Author: Hank Trent
Publisher: Louisiana State University Press
Publication Date: June 1, 2017
Edition: ebook
Genres:

• Nonfiction
• Civil War
• Slavery
• Slave Trade
• United States History

My Rating: 4 of 5 stars

The author chronicles the life of Bacon Tait, a white slave trader in Virginia in the decades prior to the Civil War. He lead a double life of slave trader, but was also married to a free woman of color. Together, they parented and raised children.

This book was of great interest to me, not only because of Mr. Tait's life and personality, but also because the book presents a profile of the culture and values of the time. I have always found the self-justification for the ownership of human beings such an insult to my conscience, and doubtless, I will never understand it. Nevertheless, I continue to find the subject interesting and maddening at the same time. I consider the research and detail that went into the writing of this book remarkable.

Lynn's List (June 7, 2019)

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

• Yes We (Still) Can: Politics in the Age of Obama, Twitter, and Trump by Dan Pfeiffer
• Tony's Wife: A Novel by Adriana Trigiani
• The Historical Roots of Political Violence: Revolutionary Terrorism in Affluent Countries (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics) by Ignacio Sánchez-Cuenca
• Little Girls Sleeping: An absolutely gripping crime thriller by Jennifer Chase
• A Time for Vengeance by Geoffrey Osborne
• The Cobbler's Wife: A gritty saga from the bestselling author of The Workhouse Waif by Lynette Rees
• Forgiving Waters by Kenneth L. Capps
• Shadows at War: a novel (Danger in the Shadows #1) by Kenneth L. Capps
• A Jerk, a Jihad, and a Virus: A Novel by Gary F. Jones
• The Children's Train: Escape On The Kindertransport by Jana Zinser
• What It Takes (The\rocky Creek Ser. #1) by Kathryn Ascher
• Blue by Kayce Stevens Hughlett
• Family Inheritance by Terri Ann Leidich
• Destination D by Lori Beard Daily
• A Stranger in the Kingdom: A Novel by Howard Frank Mosher
• The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering by Norman G. Finkelstein
• The False Friend by Myla Goldberg
• Paul Newman: A Life by Shawn Levy
• Operation Mincemeat: How A Dead Man And A Bizarre Plan Fooled The Nazis And Assured An Allied Victory by Ben Macintyre
• The Road to Pearl Harbor: The Coming of the War Between the United States and Japan by Herbert Feis
• The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys: An American Saga by Doris Kearns Goodwin
• No Ordinary Time: Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II (Reading Group Guides Ser.) by Doris Kearns Goodwin
• The Memory Room: A Novel by Mary Rakow
• The Doctor's Wife: A Novel (Paladin Bks.) by Brian Moore
• The Doctor's Wife by Elizabeth Brundage
• That Night by Cyn Balog
• The Hidden History of Guns and the Second Amendment (The\thom Hartmann Hidden History Ser.) by Thom Hartmann
• The Summer We Lost Her by Tish Cohen
• 1941: The Year Germany Lost the War by Andrew Nagorski
• Fire in the Sky: Cosmic Collisions, Killer Asteroids, and the Race to Defend Earth by Gordon L. Dillow
• Your Life Is Mine: A Novel by Nathan Ripley
• The Crowded Hour: Theodore Roosevelt, the Rough Riders, and the Dawn of the American Century by Clay Risen
• Girls of July by Alex Flinn
• Conviction: The Murder Trial That Powered Thurgood Marshall's Fight for Civil Rights by Denver Nicks and John Nicks
• The Murderer's Memories: A Novel by T. S. Nichols
• All the Lost Things: A Novel by Michelle Sacks
• Refugee 87 by Ele Fountain
• When We Were Lost by James Patterson and Kevin Wignall
• VIRAL: The Fight Against Aids In America by Ann Bausum
• The Friends We Keep by Jane Green
• The Favorite Daughter by Patti Callahan Henry
• War over Peace: One Hundred Years of Israel's Militaristic Nationalism by Uri Ben-Eliezer
• Kinda Like Grace: A Homeless Man, a Broken Woman, and the Decision That Made Them Family by Ginger Sprouse
• The Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors Collection: The Memory Jar, The Promise Box, The Kissing Bridge (Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors) by Tricia Goyer
• Dissenter on the Bench: Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Life and Work by Victoria Ortiz
• The Secrets on Chicory Lane: A Novel by Raymond Benson
• Lost Daughter: An utterly heartbreaking and unforgettable page-turner by Ali Mercer
• The Child Before: An absolutely gripping detective thriller by Michael Scanlon
• White Lies: A gripping psychological thriller with an absolutely brilliant twist by Lucy Dawson
• Justice on Both Sides: Transforming Education through Restorative Justice (Race and Education) by Maisha T. Winn
• The Complete Antislavery Writings of Anthony Benezet, 1754-1783: An Annotated Critical Edition (Antislavery, Abolition, and the Atlantic World) by David L. Crosby
• Shattered Glass in Birmingham: My Family's Fight for Civil Rights, 1961-1964 by Randall C. Jimerson
• The Secret Life of Bacon Tait, a White Slave Trader Married to a Free Woman of Color by Hank Trent
• Lieberman's Folly (The Abe Lieberman Mysteries #1) by Stuart M. Kaminsky
• The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver
• Untying the Knot: A Husband and Wife's Story of Coming Out Together by David L. Kaufman
• The Lost Family: A Novel by Jenna Blum
• Costly Grace: An Evangelical Minister's Rediscovery of Faith, Hope, and Love by Rob Schenck
• Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe by Laurence Bergreen
• The Honeymoon: An absolutely gripping psychological thriller by Rona Halsall

Review: D-Day Girls: The Spies Who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis, and Helped Win World War II by Sarah Rose

Title: D-Day Girls: The Spies Who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis, and Helped Win World War II
Author: Sarah Rose
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
Publication Date: April 23, 2019
Edition: Hardcover (320 pages)
Genres:

• Nonfiction
• History
• World War II

My Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sarah Rose tells the stories of three remarkable women recruited by Britain to work as part of the French Resistance to sabotage the Nazis and work toward the allied invasion, D-Day, June 6, 1944. Each one is extraordinary in dedication, bravery and accomplishment.

Not only does the author tell each woman's personal story, but she also chronicles much of the history of the war leading up to D-Day. The risks. The sacrifices. The deprivation. The courage it took to keep going and not cave in under pressure. I am so blessed to have read this book, seventy-five years after the events.

Review: The Mantle of Command: FDR at War, 1941-1942 by Nigel Hamilton

Title: The Mantle of Command: FDR at War, 1941-1942
Author: Nigel Hamilton
Publisher: Mariner Books
Publication Date: May 13, 2014 (first published January 1st 2014)
Edition: ebook (512 pages)
Genres:

• Nonfiction
• Biography
• History
• World War II

Series: FDR at War #1
My Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nigel Hamilton has written a masterpiece chronicling the first year of US involvement in World War II, from events leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, as well as US aid to Great Britain and FDR's relationship with Winston Churchill.

I learned so much from reading this book. Mr. Hamilton has written this account from diary entries of those involved, as well as letters and documents. I will definitely read the next installment in the trilogy. Anyone, a student of history or not, will find this book fascinating, if WWII is of interest to you.