Book Reviews

I'm taking a break from holiday things to share a few things I've been reading recently.

Heirs and Graces by Rhys Bowen, Adult mystery, 2013

This is #7 in the Royal Spyness Mystery series*. In this book, Georgie is asked to help an Australian heir learn the social graces of the English upper class. Everyone in his "new" family has a beef with the current heir, so guess who winds up dead? Georgie eventually makes a connection and solves the murder.

This was typical of the others in the series, and in the beginning, I was getting tired of it and thought it would be a while before I read another. However, once the real mystery began, I enjoyed the book as much as, or more than, the others I've read.

* The Royal Spyness books follow Georgie, 35th in line to the British Throne, in the 1930s, as she stumbles onto murder after murder. There are castles, rich people, royalty, and many class restrictions that surround the stories. Despite being royalty, Georgie has no money, which causes a set of problems all its own. The stories are in historically accurate settings, and humorous relief is provided by her inept maid, Queenie.

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer, Adult fiction, 2023

The Wishing Game is a predictable but nicely woven tale. The story revolves around a series of fictional children's books by Jack Masterson about Clock Island. (BTW, these are not real books, but I had to check to make sure because the author has a list of them in the back and quotes different ones.) Wishes are granted on Clock Island after the children learn to be brave. Lucy, when she was 13, went to Clock Island, where Masterson lives, hoping for a resolution to problems she was having at home. Years later, she and 3 other people are invited back to Clock Island as adults to compete for a million dollars. Lucy wants to adopt 7-year-old Christopher, but doesn't have enough money to qualify, so she jumps at the chance.

On the island, there are riddles to solve and challenges to win. And of course, there is the hunky artist who paints the covers for the books, who lives there. And you know where this is going...

Everyone in the book has a past tragedy they are trying to overcome, and the book ends happily, offering hope for all of them. And that's not giving anything away. Like I said, a predictable story, but an entertaining read all the same.

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, Adult historical fiction, 2021

This book was a NYT best seller, NPR book of the year, and a Washington Post notable book of the year.

The book tells the story of Belle de Costa Greene, the personal librarian for J. P. Morgan. Belle helped grow his collection of rare books, manuscripts, and art to be one of the finest in the world. The book begins in 1905 when Belle is recommended for the librarian job by J. P. Morgan's nephew. She gets the job, but Belle has a secret. She is passing as white. She was born "colored" (the term used at the time), but her mother chose to have her children pass as white, as she saw hatred towards blacks increasing. Her father was the first black man to graduate from Harvard and an advocate for black rights. The family separated from him when they decided to live as whites.

Belle became one of the best-known women of her time with her knowledge and success in obtaining rare books and manuscripts. She was a lone female working in a male-dominated world. 

The book was interesting to me as I once again learned about a part of history that I knew nothing about. The only thing I knew about J. P. Morgan was that he was rich. I didn't know anything about his extensive collection that eventually became the public Pierpont Morgan Library, which Belle was director of. 

Having recently read The Vanderbilts, I had insights into many of the parties and people that Belle was intermingling with. I like it when things tie together like that. :) 

There was tension throughout the book over whether Belle's secret would be discovered. And that question was never answered, even in the author's notes about the actual history that the book was based on. A little Googling revealed that during her lifetime, Belle passed successfully as white. It wasn't until research for a 1999 biography on Belle was conducted that it was learned that she was listed as "Colored" on her birth certificate.

I think there are two reasons that this book found its way onto so many "Best of" lists. One is that it covers an important part of history that was not well known, and two, it is a well-written story of a very interesting person.

Ms. Pennypickle's Puzzle Quest by Chris Grabenstein, children's fiction (elementary-middle grades), 2025

Twelve-year-old Ben does nothing but annoy his older brother Ethan. However, Ethan is forced to take a cross-country trip with his brother in the summer before he goes away to college. His parents have promised him a truck if he does that. Ethan grudgingly agrees.

Ben loves to solve puzzles, and at the beginning of the trip, he earns a place to compete for a million-dollar prize by solving a puzzle on a restaurant placemat. 

The brothers are competing with five other couples in the race across the country, where they have to solve puzzles to learn the next destination. One family is eliminated at each stop. The race takes them across historic Route 66, and you learn interesting tidbits about this famous highway along the way. Also, the puzzles that they have to solve are shared, and both of these things make the story more interesting. Predictably, Ben and Ethan learn to cooperate and become closer as the race progresses.

I won't spoil the somewhat implausible ending, but I didn't see it coming. The book is humorous, and I think it would be a good match for an elementary school boy in particular.