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cjeanne99's reviews
974 reviews
Good Night, Irene by Luis Alberto Urrea
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Story of two of the Red Cross Donut Dollies who served in Europe during WWII. A little sappy at times - and covering most of the major events of the European theater - we follow Irene and Dorothy - Dot - as they take their training and travel across Europe serving coffee and donuts to GIs. The descriptions of the battles were well done - kept the book moving.
Towards the end of the book , the focus switches to Irene. And just when I thought that the ending was a bit melodramatic - Urrea tells a similar story of his own grandmother and one of her Donut dolly sisters.
Towards the end of the book , the focus switches to Irene. And just when I thought that the ending was a bit melodramatic - Urrea tells a similar story of his own grandmother and one of her Donut dolly sisters.
The Long Way Home by Louise Penny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
A focus on Three Pines residents - with a murder tossed in. Not my favorite in the Gamache series. In a previous book, Clara Morrow has asked for a one year trial separation with Peter - feeling that he is not appreciative of her as an artist - which is effecting their marriage.
Peter does not come home on the appointed night - and one week later, Clara asks Gamache for help. With the help of everyone in the Three Pines “group” - they begin their search for Peter. They find where Peter went from his credit card charges (which - somehow have been paid over the past year - and Clara didn’t know) They talk to old art school colleagues and professors, they decipher where Peter has been - and magically (not really) - Gamache determines Peter’s most recent location.
Clara, Myrna, Jean-Paul, Gamache, and a gallery owner they have met in Quebec - all travel to a remote village in search of Peter.
No surprise - they find him.
Peter does not come home on the appointed night - and one week later, Clara asks Gamache for help. With the help of everyone in the Three Pines “group” - they begin their search for Peter. They find where Peter went from his credit card charges (which - somehow have been paid over the past year - and Clara didn’t know) They talk to old art school colleagues and professors, they decipher where Peter has been - and magically (not really) - Gamache determines Peter’s most recent location.
Clara, Myrna, Jean-Paul, Gamache, and a gallery owner they have met in Quebec - all travel to a remote village in search of Peter.
No surprise - they find him.
Dead Lions by Mick Herron
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Lamb and his crew get involved investigating why a retired agent ends up dead on a bus transporting rail passengers from a train station with a problem. Russian agents, a 1980’s rumor of a sleeper cell of cicadas. Min Harper and Louisa Guy are co-opted to assist with Spider Webb’s plan to nurture a man he believes to be a Russian agent. Lamb sends River Cartwright to a small a town in Gloucestershire to determine why the dead agent was headed that way.
Herron makes some abrupt switches in character which sometimes makes the narration seem to skip a beat - but I was still able to follow the story line. In the end -Cartwright once again calls what is a false alarm of a terrorist attack in London, allowing the fake Russian agent to steal diamonds from businesses in the building that is being evacuated. Webb is shot but lives - Min Harper is killed earlier in the book - leaving Louisa seeking answers - and revenge. River learns that Old Tom is the true Russian agent - who has recruited people to live in the small town - waiting for their orders. Except - Tom is the only one who complies
Herron makes some abrupt switches in character which sometimes makes the narration seem to skip a beat - but I was still able to follow the story line. In the end -
How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
Jean Guy battles addiction - and is being used by the Chief Superintendent of the Surete.
Gamache is "disgraced" after he stopped a plot to destruct a hyrdo-electric dam that would have destroyed lives and lands - but also cost the lives of some officers.
Gamache's department is being dismantled and new adjuncts are disrespectful.
Myrna's friend - last surviving sister of a famous set of quints - is murdered. While investigating - Gamache discovers the intrigue of the parents of the quints - and - corruption that runs from the Chief Superintendent up to the Prime Minister. Corruption that involves millions of dollars being diverted from infrastructure into people's personal pockets.
Jean Guy is going to be the lure to bring Gamache to a location where both will die. But - the corrupt Chief Superintendent underestimates the people of Three Pines.
We end with Jean Guy marrying Annie.
Gamache is "disgraced" after he stopped a plot to destruct a hyrdo-electric dam that would have destroyed lives and lands - but also cost the lives of some officers.
Gamache's department is being dismantled and new adjuncts are disrespectful.
Jean Guy is going to be the lure to bring Gamache to a location where both will die. But - the corrupt Chief Superintendent underestimates the people of Three Pines.
We end with Jean Guy marrying Annie.
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A Swedish widower who wants to die so he can be reunited with his wife, is foiled in his plans by his neighbors and a young man who parks a bicycle in an unauthorized zone in Ove’s housing development. Interspersed in the book are vignettes of Ove’s life as a young man, as a newlywed, with his pregnant wife, with his paraplegic wife, and as a widower.
He really just wants people to follow the rules - and - drive a Saab. His various attempts at suicide are thwarted by a variety of interactions that have you cheering for Ove and laughing at his curmudgeonly responses.
He really just wants people to follow the rules - and - drive a Saab. His various attempts at suicide are thwarted by a variety of interactions that have you cheering for Ove and laughing at his curmudgeonly responses.
Slow Horses by Mick Herron
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
A delightful espionage book featuring a group of has been British intelligence officers who get involved in the cover up of a kidnapping gone sideways that then becomes a chance for the assistant head of M5 to frame the Slough House crew. Jackson Lamb, the curmudgeon who leads the group, is like all the anti-social habits of Harry Bosch, Nero Wolfe, Rustin Cohle, Dave Robichaux and Travis McGee all rolled into one person. Yet - he’s brilliant.
Looking forward to more escapades with the crowd from Slough House.
Looking forward to more escapades with the crowd from Slough House.
Macbeth by Jo Nesbø
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Yes - it took me close to two months to work my way through this book. My previous encounters with Jo Nesbo have been the Harry Hole novels. In Macbeth - Nesbo works so hard at the beginning to get the Macbeth story line woven into his story of corruption and greed in a nameless town - that I had trouble reading more than a few pages a day.
It picked up midway through - when Lady convinces Macbeth to murder Duncan and his guards. I think part of my issue is that Nesbo focuses so much on Macbeth's actions - and I prefer to pull for the hero - not the evil, murdering character.
It picked up midway through - when Lady convinces Macbeth to murder Duncan and his guards. I think part of my issue is that Nesbo focuses so much on Macbeth's actions - and I prefer to pull for the hero - not the evil, murdering character.
Beartown by Fredrik Backman
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Generations of hockey players have built a culture in Beartown that gets turned on its head when a teenage girl dares to challenge the status quo - when a young man from the poor side of town is such an exceptional skater that he is pushed up to the A team - when the star player and his best friend begin to understand that they view life differently,
Well done.
Well done.
Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Some critical events in Gamache’s life occur in this book. And we learn of many of them in “flashbacks” of sorts.
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
informative
fast-paced
3.0
Not great literature - but - interesting to learn from Helen herself about her life. Like many people, I know the story of the Miracle Worker - but not about Helen getting in to college, and her prolific writing.