Book Review: Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Vera Wong lives in Chinatown in San Francisco and is the owner of Vera Wang's World-Famous Teahouse (hoping to capitalize on Vera Wang's name recognition!). One morning she discovers a dead man lying in the middle of her shop. Anxious to assist the police, she draws a white marker around the body, takes the flash drive from the dead man's hand, makes the tea which will clear their minds, and keeps asking about when they will take fingerprints. Frustrated with their inaction, she decides to take detective matters into her own hands.

Vera encounters four individuals who are each linked to the dead man in some way and may also appear to be guilty of the crime. The group ends up developing a familial-like friendship and hilarity ensues as they try to solve the crime together. This is a charming, warmhearted, cozy mystery and I loved learning more about each of the characters. It was a very quick read and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

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Book Review: Here We Go Again: Recipes and Inspiration to Level Up Your Leftovers by Tiffani Thiessen

Here We Go Again: Recipes and Inspiration to Level Up Your Leftovers by Tiffani Thiessen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is Tiffani Thiessen's second cookbook, which she wrote during the pandemic.  It's an absolute genius idea -- how to use the leftovers that we all have and make them into something wonderful and delicious to eat!  This ranges from stale bread and bagels, the dregs of snack bags, the last of the wine bottle, extra pieces of cheese, veggies lingering in the crisper, and small amounts of mayo.  She has two young children and a hungry husband who serve as her tasters (and are also included in various photos throughout the book).  The book is totally retro -- her outfits, the serving dishes, the decor, and the real emphasis on orange, avocado green, and harvest gold colors!  Beautiful photos of virtually all the recipes.  I'm definitely going to be trying quite a few of her ideas!

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Book Review: Here in the Dark by Alexis Soloski

Here in the Dark by Alexis Soloski
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Vivian Parry is a NYC theater critic who lives a small quiet life in between attending the theater and writing her typically very critical reviews.  In order to cope with a serious trauma ten years ago in college, she has withdrawn from most of the world with alcohol, drugs, and sex with strangers.  She comes alive in the theater as the lights go down and lives vicariously through the players on the stage.

A graduate student contacts her requesting an interview for some research he is doing.  She is very unsettled by some information he has about her past and leaves the interview abruptly.  She later finds out that he has gone missing and she is the last person to see him alive.  Thus begins the cat and mouse game of Vivian trying to figure out what happened to the student, and fearing for her life.  This was an incredible thriller and page-turner!

I originally heard about this book when Maureen Corrigan reviewed it on NPR.  "Soloski, too, might have played it safe, but, fortunately for us readers she didn't. Instead of writing a coy send-up of a theatrical thriller, she's written a genuinely disturbing suspense tale that explores the theater of cruelty life can sometimes be."  

https://www.npr.org/2023/11/30/1215944414/book-review-here-in-the-dark-alexis-soloski-the-mystery-guest-nita-prose

I'm really looking forward to what Alexis Soloski writes next!

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Book Review: Real Tigers by Mick Herron (Slough House / Slow Horses #3)

Real Tigers by Mick Herron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the third in the Slough House / Slow Horses series by Mick Herron, and it is just a fast-paced and page-turning as the first two books.  Many of the same Slow Horses characters are seen again here, along with two new 'recruits.'  Catherine Standish is kidnapped early in the book, and her teammates set out to find and rescue her only to discover that it's part of a much larger plot against MI-5.  In spite of the fact that they have been away from the action and removed from field work, they are able to work together to accomplish what MI-5 wasn't able to, proving again that you can always depend on the Slow Horses.

I love delving into the characters of each of the agents, and also really appreciate the dark humor.  Once again, I'm glad I read the Kindle version so I could easily look up the various British slang terms.

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Book Review: The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow - this was quite a page-turning thriller!  I finished the book in under 24 hours, which is quite an accomplishment for me.  Of course the Michigan sub-zero temperatures this week certainly provided me with more reading time than usual!

The setting of the book is a posh Parisian apartment building.   Each chapter it told from the point of view of a different resident.  We see the same scene told from different perspectives, and not all of the residents can be counted on for reliable narration!  

Jess quits her job in a British pub on the spur of the moment and goes to Paris, where her step-brother is living, hoping to stay a few days and get a fresh start.  He's not there when she arrives, which is surprising since she just talked to him on the phone earlier that day.  She starts asking his neighbors in the apartment building, but no one seems to know anything and there are a lot of suspicious characters.  From there we are taken on a very bumpy ride while she uncovers what really happened to her step-brother and what is transpiring in the apartment building.

This is the first book that I've ready by Lucy Foley, but it definitely won't be the last!  If you like Only Murders in the Building, you'll definitely enjoy this book.  Just the thing for a cold winter's day and a hot cuppa tea!

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Book Review: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot #4)

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was a huge Agatha Christie fan when I was a teenager, and read many of her books including this one. I always remember this as one of her unique books, and I was anxious to re-read it for an upcoming book club. Needless to say, it has survived the test of time. It's also the kind of book that I want to start re-reading immediately after finishing it just to examine the clues and see the structure.

As often happens in small English country villages, there are a number of suspicious deaths and murders. The local doctor, James Sheppard, is the narrator of the story and he is assisted by Hercule Poirot who has just retired and moved in next door. We follow along as they discover clues, interview individuals, and of course Hercule Poirot solves the crime in the end.

This is the sixth book that she has written, and her fourth Hercule Poirot novel. It is also the book which catapulted her to fame. The British Crime Writers' Association voted it the Best Crime Novel ever in 2013. I absolutely love the 1st edition cover of this book from 1926 - https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/57/The_Murder_of_Roger_Ackroyd_First_Edition_Cover_1926.jpg/220px-The_Murder_of_Roger_Ackroyd_First_Edition_Cover_1926.jpg

I read the Kindle version of the book which contains quite a bit of bonus content: A Forward by James Prichard (the great grandson of Agatha Christie); An Introduction by Louise Penny; a letter from Agatha Christie to her publisher; Poirot's Favorite Cases; and Creating Poirot (both written by Agatha Christie herself!). I would definitely recommend getting your hands on the Kindle version in order to read these wonderful documents!

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Book Review: Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is an intensive family saga, written by the author of Dear Edward.  It takes place primarily in Chicago from 1960 through 2008.  It focuses on the four Padavano sisters - Julia, Sylvie and the twins Emeline and Cecelia - who are very close in age and who do everything together.  Julia meets William at Northwestern, they date and end up marrying soon after.  William had grown up in an emotionally vacant household, but he is immediately welcomed into Julia's large and boisterous family. 

As the years progress, we learn about the sisters' strengths and weaknesses, their hopes, dreams and realities, their good and bad decisions, and overall their sisterly love.  The title refers to how the Padavano father greets each of the girls as they come into a room -- "Hello Beautiful!"  

It was a little difficult to get enveloped into the story and to be honest, I thought it was a little long.  It also felt like a book set in an earlier time, perhaps the 1940s and 1950s.  Content warnings apply.

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Book Review: Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child (Jack Reacher #11)

Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I originally read this Jack Reacher book in series order back in 2018.  Recently, I decided to re-read it while I'm watching Reacher season 2 on Prime.   Needless to say, I didn't remember many of the plot details when I started watching the series.  And I thoroughly enjoyed the second reading, although I have to say that other than the characters and the basic premise, virtually all other plot lines have been changed in the streaming series. 

We get to see Reacher during his military police days in the Army, along with the other seven members of his Special Investigation Team.  A few years after the team has broken up, Reacher and three of his team members band together to investigate what happened to the other four team members.

We also get to see how Reacher's mind works with numbers, starting with the SOS number code on his ATM bank balance.  He is continually doing math problems in his head throughout the book.  And for those readers who have watched Reacher season 1, you'll be happy to know that Neagley is back as a major character in this book.  

All in all, a great throwback Jack Reacher book.  

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Goodreads 2024 Reading Challenge

Goodreads - 2024 Reading Challenge

If you are interested in tracking your reading for the year, you may want to join the Goodreads 2024 Reading Challenge.  Just go to this website and indicate how many books you want to read --
https://www.goodreads.com/challenges/11634

Indicate how many books you want to finish this year and they will help you stay on track! 

I'm being conservative and have once again selected an annual goal of 52 books for the year.