Book Review: Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo (Kate Burkholder #1)

Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Kate Burkholder is the chief of police in the small town of Painters Mill, Ohio, in Holmes County which has the largest population of Amish in the U.S. There have been three brutal murders of young women, which bring back memories of similar murders from 16 years ago.  Chief Burkholder has a small but committed group of officers and dispatchers, but they are not equipped to handle a serial killer of this extent.  State FBI and local sheriff personnel are called in to help catch the killer.

This book is intense, the violence towards women is graphic and gory, and I really didn't want to read it before bed.  That being said, I was on the edge of my seat turning pages, wanting to find out exactly 'who dunnit.'  There's a large cast of law enforcement characters, so once again I made my trusty list to keep track of them.  

Kate Burkholder is an incredibly strong female character and her intelligence, strength and commitment to her job help her solve these crimes.  This is the first book in the Kate Burkholder series, and I am definitely going to be following this author and reading more of Chief Kate in the future!  I'm not sure that I would have picked up this book to read on my own, which is the joy of so many of the book club selections -- reading books not necessarily in my wheelhouse!

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Book Review: The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The setting is a very upscale mansion and the summer camp that the Van Laar family owns in the Adirondack Mountains.  The story takes place between the mid-1950s and 1975, and is told from multiple points of view.  An 8-year old boy has gone missing in 1961, never to be found, and then a 13-year old girl goes missing in 1975.  The book is an incredible family drama, and has multiple mysteries, secrets and red herrings before you reach the end. 

The structure of this book is very unique, but works quite well in the telling of the story.  There is a very large cast of characters, both main and peripheral characters.  The chapters are short and the point of view changes with each chapter.  On top of this, the timeline of the book is not at all linear.  I ended up keeping a running list of the characters in order to keep them all straight in my mind.  In addition, I kept flipping back and forth to keep the timeline clear.  All this to say, reader, pay attention when you are reading!  And I'm not sure how it would work if you are listening to the audio book.  Bonus feature is the map of the compound, the summer camp, and the surrounding area.  It's always helpful when an author includes a map so that the reader can get the lay of the land.

This was quite a page turner, and I raced through the 476 pages in three days.  I'm definitely looking forward to reading more by Liz Moore.  And I can certainly see why it was chosen as Jimmy Fallon's Summer Book Club Pick for 2024!

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Book Review: My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (Neapolitan Novels #1)

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the story of two best friends - Elena and Lila - living in the slums of Naples, Italy during the 1950s.  It is the first in a series of four books - The Neapolitan Novels.  The girls both live in the same run-down area of Naples and the book begins when they are in 1st grade and continues until they are 16 years old.  Lila is the strong-willed troublemaker and Elena is the studious and introspective follower.

Reader, be prepared!  There is a Index of Characters at the beginning of the book, however I found it very difficult to keep all the characters and their families straight.  There are nine different families with a total of 47 characters listed, and this doesn't even include other children in each of the families and additional peripheral characters.  

I love the ambiguity of the title - My Brilliant Friend.   Through the majority of the book, we assume that it refers specifically to one of the girls.  However, towards the end of the book , it’s actually the other girl who says it to her friend - “Not for you,” Lila replies ardently, “you’re my brilliant friend, you have to be the best of all, boys and girls.”  Looking at the book as a whole, this phrase can be used to describe each of the girls.

This author and book series kept popping up as recommended, and I had to wait months for the Kindle version from my library.  I started reading it as soon as I downloaded it, but it took me at least 30-40% of the book before I got into the story and the characters.  I was ready to abandon the book several times.  I plugged away at it and finally got caught up with the story, and I'm giving it a strong three stars.  However, I'm not sure whether I'll be reading the three other books in the series.  Time will tell.

Content warning for violence. 

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Book Review: The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore by Evan Friss

The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore by Evan Friss
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Evan Friss has written an incredibly comprehensive and compelling history of bookstores in the United States, ranging from Benjamin Franklin's printshop/bookstore in the early 18th century to Ann Patchett's independent bookstore in Nashville, Parnassus, opened in 2011.  In between he includes early bookmobiles (bookstores on wheels), Marshall Field, the Gotham Book Mart, The Strand, specialty bookstores, Barnes & Noble, sidewalk booksellers in NYC, and Amazon -- and how they have shaped bookstores and reading today.

As the back book flap indicates, Friss has written a "love letter to bookstores," and I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has a love of reading and bookshops.  It is riveting narrative non-fiction, and incredibly well-researched.  The notes at the back of the book cover 70 pages!  And in the introduction, he admits "To you, dear reader, who thumbs through the index and finds no mention of your beloved bookstore:  I'm sorry....While this book covers a lot of ground, it hardly covers everything.  Word-count restrictions, ticking clocks, my own blind spots, and the availability of sources imposed limits."  Run, don't walk, to your local bookstore or library and read this book immediately!  You will not be sorry!

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Book Review: Italian American Forever: Classic Recipes for Everything You Want to Eat: A Cookbook

Italian American Forever: Classic Recipes for Everything You Want to Eat: A Cookbook by Alex Guarnaschelli
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is Alex Guarnashelli's latest cookbook and is truly a combination cookbook and memoir of her family life growing up in Manhattan.  Both of her parents were great cooks and many of the recipes included are family recipes or inspired by childhood memories at the "red-checkered tablecloth joints" of NYC.  The recipes are definitely targeted to the home cook, with detailed instructions and beautiful photographs.   She includes two pages of "My Italian American Pantry" where she even mentions her favorite brands (un-sponsored!) 

I had the good fortune of eating at her restaurant, Butter, when I was in New York City in October 2024.  It was a delicious and lovely dinner, from start to finish.  She mentions several Little Italy shops which are her favorites -- grocery (DiPalo's), pasta (Piemonte), and pastry/bakery (Ferrara).  I'll definitely be visiting those the next time I'm in NYC!

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Book Review: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow - this book was incredible and I'm still thinking about it several days after finishing it. Definitely five stars!! Elizabeth Zott is a chemist in a man's world in the 1950s and 1960s. After being fired for being pregnant without being married, she stumbles upon a job hosting a cooking show on the local TV channel. The show becomes wildly successful due to the way she approach cooking (like a chemistry experiment) and the support that she gives her audience of housewives. She has a very precocious 4-year daughter and a dog named Six-Thirty (the time he followed her home from the market). In my opinion, if you take Dr. Temperance Brennan from the Bones TV show, make her a chemist in the 1960s, and throw in Wes Anderson along with some quirky characters, and you've got Lessons in Chemistry. This is the author's debut novel, and I didn't want it to end. Looking forward to more from Bonnie Garmus in the future.

UPDATE:  I re-read this book in January 2025 after recently watching the Apple TV+ streaming version.  There were a lot of similarities to the book, but also content unique to the TV series.  Both were both entertaining and poignant.  Brie Larson was spot-on in her portrayal of Elizabeth Zott, and I was also very impressed by Lewis Pullman in the role of Calvin Evans.  I would definitely recommend watching this series, especially if you enjoyed the book!

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Book Review: La Paella: Recipes for Delicious Spanish Rice and Noodle Dishes by Louise Pickford

La Paella: Recipes for delicious Spanish rice and noodle dishes by Louise Pickford
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

We received a paella pan for Christmas so I was looking for instructions on how to use it and various recipes.  In addition to several basic paella recipes, it also includes various rice dishes, noodle dishes, soups and sweet treats.  There is a helpful section called The Spanish Storecupboard, which details and describes all the ingredients you will need. 

I was able to get this book from my local library, not in print, but from Hoopla.  I read it on my iPad so I was able to see the beautiful photographs.  It was simultaneously published in London and New York, and includes both American and British (metric) measurements.  Overall, I would recommend it as an excellent book of paella and related recipes.

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Book Review: The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey (Perveen Mistry #1)

The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The setting is Bombay and Calcutta between 1916-1921. Preveen Mistry is one of the first female solicitors (lawyers) in India. By Indian law, she is not permitted to try cases in court, but she works with her father, an esteemed lawyer in Bombay. Omar Farid, a long-term client of her father has died and left three widows. These widows live in isolation and cannot come in contact with men, so it falls to Perveen to talk to them and discover why they have left their inheritance to a charity.

This book is part mystery and part historical fiction. Someone in the Farid household is murdered and a child a missing. Perveen questions everyone, investigates, and assists the local police. More riveting than the mystery is the historical information about the role of women in India in the early 20th century. It is amazing how they were treated and the expectation that their fathers or husbands would make decisions for them in all aspects of their lives.

I read this as a Kindle book, which was very helpful in getting the definitions of many of the Indian terms. When I finished the book, I discovered a glossary in the back; it would have been much more helpful if the publisher had put it in the front so the reader would be aware of it! There are two maps showing various portions of Bombay, so it’s easy to see where the action takes place.  This is the first in a series of four books. 

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Book Review: The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten

The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the first cookbook written by Ina Garten (published in 1979), and based exclusively on the recipes she used at her Barefoot Contessa shop on Long Island.  At that point, she had owned the shop for 20 years. 

A couple of interesting notes about this cookbook.   Ina uses a LOT of butter in virtually all of her recipes, but that's no surprise to those of us watching her on Food Network and reading her other cookbooks.  Because the recipes are based on her cooking and baking at her gourmet shop, most of the recipes are designed to feed 8-10 (or 12!) people, and not very useful for those of us trying to cook for our smaller families.  She mentions that quite a few of the ingredients are available at food specialty stores, which was definitely the case in 1999; however, most of these ingredients are now available at any grocery story (progress!!).

The photographs are beautiful, but not every recipe has an accompanying picture.  In fact, some of the more complex recipes should have had a photograph, but didn't.  She does give instructions (and photos) of how to make a platter -- fruit and cheese, roasted vegetables, crudites, fresh fruit, and desserts.

It's a beautiful book to look at, but the only way that I'm going to try any of these recipes is if I cut it in half or more!

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Book Review: Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #1)

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This small Tokyo coffee shop is famous for its ability to allow patrons to travel back in time - but only until their coffee gets cold and then they are abruptly transported back into reality.  However, there are quite a few very strict rules about time travel, the first being that the only people you can meet while in the past are those who have visited the cafe.  The book is divided into four sections, each the tale of a different person and a different reason for visiting the past -- The Lovers, Husband and Wife, The Sisters, and Mother and Child. 

This book was recommended to me by a couple fellow readers whose opinions I trust, and it certainly didn't disappoint!  A little fantasy, a little time travel, a little magical realism, all taking place in this small out-of-the way Tokyo coffee shop.  This is a very quick read, but I wanted a chance to savor it so I brewed a cup of tea and took my time reading it.  And I just discovered that this is the first in a series of what is now five books, so I'm very anxious to read the next in this wonderfully transporting series!

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