Louise Penny's Still Life:

 

Still Life: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel (A Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery

by Louise Penny

A Coming of Age of a Different Sort

 

Five Stars!

A wonderful story, full of accuracy and poignancy! Drew's excellent writing shines through in this, his first novel that is not a mystery story. He bravely dives into the complexity of coming of age in dire circumstances, and finishing the growth to adulthood in learning the reality of parent care with Alzheimer's twisting ways. I look forward to more wide-reaching novels from him.

Lessons in Chemistry

 

This novel reads like a well researched, highly entertaining, informative and encouraging biography. The author has composed an accurate, engrossing tale of women's struggles in attaining professional status within the scientific community. I am so pleased to have learned of this book. I was riveted to the unfolding story. Five stars to Bonnie Garmus!

THE WRONG GIRL: Jane Ryland Book 2: by Hank Phillippi Ryan

 Never a disappointing read ... Hank's THE WRONG GIRL has a plethora of characters that, while disparate in the beginning are brought together skillfully in the end. This is another of her books that deals openly with real social concerns and has value as both a well written mystery and relevant, current wake-up call for public responsibility in improved funding for wards of the state. This is a must read for undergrads considering a career in social work.

The Other Woman

 

Hank Phillippi Ryan begins a five book series featuring investigative reporter Jane Ryland with this mystery involving politics, deception and murder(s). With Boston and surrounding Massachusetts areas as the primary setting, her characters quickly develop as believable and memorable. Hank's own experiences in television reporting and investigations support her readers' ability to follow the ins and outs of political campaigning and police procedures.  I'm looking forward to following these characters through this series. 

A mysterious old quilt tells a story

 

THE FORGOTTEN SEAMSTRESS is a heartbreaking story that reaches across the centuries to be told, waiting for just the right person to hear it. Liz Trenow has a shelf full of accomplished works that mystery readers will no doubt want to read in succession, though all appear to be stand alone titles in their own right. Quilters, embroiderers, and needle workers of all sorts will enjoy the fabrics and designs addressed in small part through out this engaging story. I heartily give this book and author five stars, and look forward to reading more of her books.

THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH.

Meredith shares her story with clarity and honesty, taking the reader through the various events that led up to and followed her diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis. I share those similar events in my own life, and admire her eloquence and simplicity in choosing the words and tone that help the reader understand the seriousness of this sometimes invisible condition. I recommend this story to family and friends of newly diagnosed people with MS, as all can benefit from a stronger understanding.

Read more about this local author at her bio page at Amazon.

Award Winning Massachusetts Author

https://www.amazon.com/House-Guest-Hank-Phillippi-Ryan-ebook/dp/B09XL6QYYS?ref_=ast_author_mpb

HANK Phillippi Ryan is a familiar name to many Massachusetts families. From her Amazon Author page:

"Her work has resulted in new laws, people sent to prison, homes removed from foreclosure, and millions of dollars in refunds and restitution for victims and consumers. She's been a radio reporter, a legislative aide in the United States Senate and an editorial assistant at Rolling Stone Magazine, working with Hunter S. Thompson, Richard Avedon and Richard Goodwin.

Hank is a founding teacher at Mystery Writers of America University and served as 2013 president of national Sisters in Crime. She blogs at Jungle Red Writers and Career Authors. She is a co-host at FIRST CHAPTER FUN and a founder and co-host of THE BACK ROOM, and the host of A Mighty Mystery on A Mighty Blaze."

HOUSE GUEST is the first book I've read in a year or so that held my interest from start to finish. As I'm reading slower these days, it did take me a few days to reach the end on my new Kindle. But her characters, her settings and her plot twists kept me reaching for her story in every free moment. As one reviewer labeled it, it is "unputdownable."