Books Set in Canada: Quebec

The Beautiful Mystery, by Louise Penny (2012)

This book is one in a series of Chief Inspector Gamache detective/crime novels.  Although it is not the first book in the series, it is the first book I had read.   I will definitely read other books in this series.

The novel takes place in a remote monastery in deep woods of Quebec where 24 monks who have taken a vow of silence but for their chanting live.  A recording of their chants has made them world famous and brings money to the monastery.

The choir director, however, ends up dead in the abbot's private garden.  Chief Inspector Gamache and his side-kick, Jean-Guy Beauvoir of the Surete du Quebec are called in to solve the murder.  The discover that all his not peace and quiet in the monastery and several of the two dozen monks could have a motive for the murder.

The book was well written and the outcome of the mystery satisfactory.  I look forward to reading about the Chief Inspector in other books.

4 Stars

Read: December 12, 2014

Books Set in the United States: Boston, Massachusetts

The House of Velvet and Glass, by Katherine Howe (2101)

3 Stars

Read: November 28, 2014

Books Set in Asia and the United States

Honolulu, by Alan Brennert (2009)

Honolulu is a novel about a young Korean girl named Regret who traveled from her native country to Hawaii in 1914 at age 17 as a "picture bride."  She has dreams of being able to go to school and make something of herself.  Together with several other young women, they boarded a ship to meet their handsome young husbands, only to find once they land in Hawaii that the prospective grooms are not what they seemed.  Regret discovers that her husband is much older and, instead of being a prosperous businessman, is a drunken laborer.

After being abused by her husband, Regret runs away to Honolulu, where she now calls herself Jin and begins to make a new life.

Honolulu is the story of Hawaii after the islands became a US territory.  It describes the difficulties of Native Hawaiians and Asians as the white began to take over and govern the islands.  Many of the characters in the latter portion of the novel are historical figures. 

4 Stars

Read:  October 20, 2014

Books Set in Europe and Asia

The Orchid House, by Lucinda Riley (2011)

4 Stars

Read:  October 15, 2014

Books Set in the United States: Missouri

A Good American, by Alex George (2012)

I loved this novel, which is a saga of a family that immigrated from Germany and ended up in a small rural town in Missouri in the early 1900s.  Frederick and Jetta left their native Germany when Jette became pregnant and her parents disapproved of her future husband.  Planning on heading to New York, they boarded a ship bound for New Orleans.  Once they arrive they are encouraged to head north, up the Mississippi River.  They ended up Beatrice, Missouri when Jetta goes into labor and gives birth to Joseph.  His sister, Rosa, is born a few years later.

The novel follows the lives of Frederick and Jette.  When the United States entered World War I, Frederick enlisted and went to fight against his native land.  The novel follows the lives of Frederick and Jette, their children, Joseph and Rosa, then moves on to the next generation.

The novel is narrated by James, the second son of Joseph and Cora.  He retells the events of his and his brothers’ lives, including their religious crises, their friends and tribulations.  This part of the novel has some very funny moments.

In the end, there are family secrets that are revealed.  Some twists in the plot I never saw coming.

5 Stars

Read:  October 11, 2014

Books Set in the United States: Louisiana

The Cottoncrest Curse, by Michael H. Rubin (2014)

This book is billed as a legal thriller, but merely perpetuates stereotypes of blacks, Jews and red-neck Southerners.  It starts with a bloody murder of the Judge and his young wife, who are the owners of Cottoncrest, a still thriving plantation following the American Civil War.  It appears to be a murder suicide, but the local sheriff suspects otherwise.  Throughout the book, the author tosses out legal terms that are unique to Louisiana.  I never cared about any of the characters.

0 Stars

Read:  September 28, 2014

Books Set in Europe: Italy

Blood and Beauty: The Borgias, by Sarah Dunant (2013)

This historical novel about the Borgias gets bogged down in places.  Sarah Dunant has written several novels about Italy during the Renaissance.  I enjoyed her earlier novels, The Birth of Venus and In the Company of the Courtesan much better.  I think that one needs a better history lesson of the Borgias and the events of Italy during the late 1400s and early 1500s to really enjoy this book.

3 Stars

Read:  August 24, 2014