Nonna's Book of Mysteries by Mary Osborne

ISBN: 978-1-936181-162

$14.95

Lake Street Press

June 2010

A magical book about a resolute and courageous girl determined to follow her dreams despite the many obstacles in her path. 14 year old Emilia Serafini lives in Renaissance Florence. She dreams of becoming a painter, but there are no opportunities for this; only the expectation of being a dutiful daughter and wife.

A book of wisdom has been given to her by her mother, A Manual to the Science of Alchemy; a book passed down from her Nonna, Santina, her thrice great grandmother. She often turns to the book for guidance when she is troubled and seeks direction. One of the passages from the Manual that informs her actions is: “Achieving the desires of the heart and mastering of the physical world by persistent efforts are the noblest of endeavors”, which encourages her not to give up on her dreams.

She finds an apprenticeship with a newly arrived artist from Byzantium, the kindly but aged Makarios, and learns to paint in the Byzantine style. As an artist, Emilia is very talented, and her work gains notice. She begins to correspond with Giacomo, a fellow artist apprenticed to another master, who has sent him to work in Pisa.

She meets Franco Villani one day while reading the Manual at Makarios’ bottega. He is a wealthy man who desires only to get into the court of Cosimo Medici, and will do whatever he has to do to attain this goal. Villani realizes that her book would be quite valuable to Medici, and endeavors to get it however he can, even if it means courting Emilia to do so. But Emilia is an intelligent and perceptive girl, and, although flattered by Villani’s attentions, is suspicious. Villani becomes jealous when he discovers a newly returned Giacomo visiting Emilia at Markarios’ bottega.

When her book goes missing soon after her engagement to Villani, Emilia’s qualms increase. Villani leaves Florence for several months due to a business trip, but has his manservant Tomasso spy on her. While Villani is away, she innocently spends time with Giacomo, and their friendship deepens. Giacomo confronts Tomasso about following her, but is badly injured by a runaway horse the next day. Due to this attack and the suspicious loss of the book, Emilia breaks off her engagement with Villani when he returns, and soon thereafter is also almost ridden down by a man on horseback. Even though she only glimpses the man, she recognizes Villani. Things look bleak for Emilia, she is no longer engaged, and now is threatened by a powerful man. How will she be able to rectify the wrong done her? Will she ever be able to get the Manual for the Alchemy of Science back?

Emilia is an engaging character, resourceful, wise beyond her years and committed to achieving her “impossible” dream. Nonna’s Book of Mysteries is an absorbing and enjoyable read about the determination it takes to realize one’s dreams, the results of our choices, and the alchemical wisdom from a cherished book that helps a young girl follow her heart. This wonderful historical fiction book would be great for both young adults and adults interested in art, mystery and the magnificence of Florence during the Renaissance. This writer very much looks forward to Ms. Osborne’s next book, Alchemy’s Daughter.

Thereby Hangs a Tale by Spencer Quinn

Published by Atria Books

ISBN 10:  1416585850

ISBN 13:  978-1416585855

January 2010

309 pages

Canine Private Investigator Chet of the Little Detective Agency and his owner Bernie Little get involved in the dog eat dog world of dog shows in this humorous mystery.

Chet is the smart, loyal but goofy 100 pound mixed breed mutt we were first introduced to in Dog On It. Told totally from Chet’s very doggie point of view (“Bacon smells find me, every time!”); Chet is on the job, head up, eyes front, and alert.

Chet is the better investigator of the duo, despite his not being able to focus on long conversations, understand  odd figures of speech such as "crocodile tears", or the fact he’s easily distracted. It’s absolutely hilarious when he describes how a wind suddenly comes up, only to discover that it’s him wagging his tail! However, Chet, with his sensitive nose, is able to find clues that puny nosed Bernie would otherwise miss. And that nose does come in handy.

Hired to protect a pampered show dog named Princess; one of the favorites to win at the Great Western Dog Show, by Angelina Borghese, they are almost immediately fired after Chet enthusiastically steals a treat meant for Princess. However, mere minutes after they leave, their now former clients, Angelina and Princess, are kidnapped.  Hired by Angelina’s husband, Count Borghese, Bernie and Chet try to find them. A call from Bernie’s girlfriend, reporter Suzie, takes them to the ghost town of Clausen Wells, where Bernie and Chet are both knocked out.

Bernie is gone when Chet wakes, and he goes in search of him. But instead he finds a very frightened Princess, and they travel across the desert until they are taken in by two hippies. The hippies sell Chet to a large man, but he escapes, jumping a barbed wire fence into a restricted area. Found in a military target range, he is reunited with Bernie, (who was knocked out in a case of mistaken identity).

But now Suzie is missing as well, and Bernie is frantic. He interviews the owner of the other contender in the dog show, the trainer, the ex-trainer, but gets nowhere until they catch up to the RV with the two hippies, and Chet identifies them. Then Thurman, the man Chet was sold to, shows up. Assisted by some jaw action by Chet, Bernie arrests them all and finds Princess in the RV.

Bernie and Chet are out searching for clues in the desert one night, when Chet, following the scent of dog biscuits, starts digging a hole and unearths Suzie’s yellow Beetle with a dead Angelina Borghese in it.  But where is Suzie?

Together Chet and Bernie have to unravel a twisted plot between a corrupt sheriff, a resentful dog trainer and a poor but greedy member of the gentry before Suzie is killed. This fast paced, fun mystery will win over animal and dog lovers alike!  A great summer read.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

Published by Random House

ISBN 10: 1400068932

ISBN 13: 978-1400068937

March 2010

386 Pages

This delightful book is about an older, widowed man who realizes what really matters when he is confronted by both proposed development changes in the small town of Edgecombe St. Mary, and the overt prejudices of his friends, family and neighbors.

 

Major Ernest Pettigrew lives a quiet life at Rose Lodge, his family’s ancestral home. He is thoroughly British, valuing the traditional things; honor, duty, good manners, and restraint. His only brother’s death causes him to reevaluate his life, and he finds it wanting. He realizes how lonely he’s felt since the death of his wife six years ago, and how little he has seen of his only son, Roger.

 

He befriends Mrs. Ali, a widowed, independent shopkeeper of Pakistani descent, when she helps him through the shock of his brother’s death. After her kindness, he finds reasons to go to her little store to buy tea and sundry items almost daily. They discover they have a shared love of literature and arrange readings and then outings together. Their friendship grows slowly, with the two quite aware of their very different lives. However, by this time he is quite smitten with the lovely and intelligent Jasmina Ali, and begins to  court her. As their friendship deepens, she shares with him her fear of giving up her shop, returning to her family and taking on a more traditional role; a move her morose nephew Abdul Wahid encourages for his own reasons; two of which are an antagonistic single mom with a small boy that looks just like him.

 

Roger arrives with a stylish blond American girlfriend, and they make plans to purchase and renovate a cottage close to his father, but need money to do so. Roger encourages his father to sell a very valuable matched pair of rifles his grandfather had left Ernest and Bertie, but Pettigrew resists because he promised never to sell them. However, Marjorie, Bertie’s widow, is also pressuring him to sell the rifles as she needs money as well. Roger is entirely self absorbed and is only interested in furthering his career any way he can, even if that means marrying a woman he doesn’t care about.

 

The local village ladies have made plans for the annual Golf Club dance, the theme of which is 'An Evening at the Mughal Court,’ and have roped Pettigrew into being on the committee and Mrs. Ali into helping also. They both, especially Mrs. Ali, work very hard to make this a success. Pettigrew asks Mrs. Ali to the dance and they attend together. The evening begins beautifully, but then devolves into a nightmare. Mrs. Ali is subtly and then more blatantly insulted several times until she rushes home without Pettigrew; then decides to return to her Pakistani family.

 

Pettigrew is distraught, feeling he has lost Mrs. Ali forever and cannot imagine his life without her. He throws restraint to the wind and goes to rescue her from a dismal life with her hidebound relatives. They escape together, and later, in a climatic scene, Pettigrew faces death, and loses one of the precious guns, in order to save the life of her surly, conflicted nephew.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand looks closely at the expectations and friction not only between generations, but also between cultures, and delves deeply into the notion of the good of progress (good for whom?) and the idea of home. A totally absorbing read, you’ll cheer when Pettigrew goes to rescue his lady love. This thoughtful, charming, and delightful book is Ms. Simonson’s debut novel, and this author can hardly wait for her next book.

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

20th Anniversary Edition
256 pages

ISBN-10: 054739117X

ISBN-13: 978-0547391175
March 2010

This book is based on O’Brien’s tour of duty in Vietnam, and delves acutely into the emotional baggage that the soldiers who served carried both during and after the war. A fictional retelling of factual occurrences, this novel is presented as a series of short stories, and recounts events experienced by O’Brien and the men in his unit.

You are there as he faces down his doubts in a small fishing boat close to the Canadian shore, where a gruff old man has brought him to give him a chance to escape the draft. This is the moment he realized that he was too embarrassed not to go to war and admit he was a coward. You are also with him on a jungle trail looking at the first man he ever killed, experiencing the horror and guilt that paralyzed him. He details the revolting task of removing his buddy’s body parts from a tree after a live grenade he was playing with exploded. Then there is the unexpected transformation of a young American civilian woman into a deadly soldier; who walks into the jungle one night and becomes a legend. He describes the horror of watching his best friend, Kiowa, sink into a field of putrid mud. All of these awful moments, encapsulated into short narrative chapters, produce quite an emotional wallop.

This war story is filled with the immaturity, cruelty and ignorance of young men that at times committed disturbingly senseless and violent acts to balance the horrible monotony and weight of being at war. However, the camaraderie between the men buffers their rage and bitterness and allows their basic goodness to surface. There is respect for an old papa-san who guides them through a minefield and gratitude for the monks that shelter them in their temple. But there is also the adrenaline of being in a battle with the Viet Cong with gunfire and bombs exploding around them; countered by the emptiness of returning home without a sense of purpose.

The bonds forged in war between these men lasted long after the fall of Saigon and the end of the war, just as the images from this book will stay with you long after the final page is read. A visceral and introspective read, The Things they Carried is being republished twenty years after its original publication by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana by Anne Rice

Rice’s second book in her “Life of Christ” cycle begins during the last winter before Jesus’ baptism in the River Jordan by his cousin, John the Baptist.
Jesus, Yeshua as he is called, is enduring a year of no rain, dusty roads and talk of trouble in Judea.

Those who know him and have heard of his miraculous birth are waiting for a sign of what he will do; and there are some who are growing impatient. Why does he not marry? Why does he continue to work as a common carpenter?

When a beautiful girl is almost stolen from Nazareth by brigands, Yeshua is the first to go to her, and almost causes a catastrophe because he might of touched her. But he finds a way to avert this and helps to arrange the girl’s marriage.

He travels with his family to the River Jordan to meet John; and it is there that his destiny is revealed to him. And after 40 days in the desert and a confrontation with the devil, he is prepared to do his Father’s work.

A beautifully written story about the essence of Christianity; that of compassion and good will towards men.

Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt by Anne Rice

Anne Rice gives us this unusual take on the life of the young Jesus. This character driven novel is told from the viewpoint of seven year old Yeshua. He realizes he is different, but is not sure why. His quest to find out is difficult because no one, not even his mother or Joseph will tell him, so he has to resort to his own devices to find out. He learns bits and pieces about the events surrounding his birth from an Uncle, his elderly great aunt, and from slyly asking the Rabbis. As well, his dreams are filled with strange and fearsome beings and images.

The book opens with the young Jesus inadvertently killing the bully Eleazer simply by wishing him dead; but then he brings him back to life. Confronted by an angry mob over this incident, Joseph takes Mary, Jesus, and his extended family back to Nazareth.

The journey to the Holy Land is not easy, as King Herod has recently died and his kingdom is in turmoil. The roads are full of Roman soldiers putting down Jewish uprisings. As they enter Jerusalem for Passover, they are caught in a riot in the Temple, and Jesus sees a man impaled on a Roman’s spear. This is a horrific thing for the young Jesus to see, and the image does not leave him.

It is not until the next Passover that Jesus learns, from his half brother James, the full story of the night he was born, and the message the shepherds were given from the angels “… for today, to you, is born in the city of David a Savior: Christ the Lord!” He also learns of the terrible thing that King Herod did once he learned of this.

This book captures Jesus’ compassion, wisdom and also guilt over the things done by others due to his birth. This is very different from what we’re used to from Anne Rice, (remember all the wonderfully angst filled vampires stories she used to write?) but she has done her research well, and it shows in the accurate portrayal of life in the first century. An excellent beginning to a new cycle on Christ the Lord that is continued in Christ the Lord:  The Road to Cana.

Souless by Gail Carriger

Carriger’s debut, a combination of paranormal Victorian romance and a comedy of manners is a fast and fun read.

The setting is Victorian London. But this is not your ordinary London, England. In this 19th century London, werewolves, vampires and even ghosts are accepted as a normal part of the population.

Bluestocking Alexia Tarabotti is a 25 year old spinster who doesn’t quite fit into London society. And it’s not just because she’s half Italian (her swarthy complexion isn’t the sought after pale look), outspoken, and has a rather large nose. She really is something else. Alexia was born without a soul; which gives her the ability to disarm any paranormal creature just by touch.

After Alexia kills a vampire with her specially made parasol at a party, she is confronted by Lord Maccon, the handsome chief investigator of the Bureau of Unnatral Registry (BUR), who just happens to be a werewolf. They dislike each other immensely but agree that this particular vampire attack could be part of something more nefarious.

As they go about their separate investigations, we are introduced to an interesting cast of paranormal characters. Lord Akeldama is a foppish but influential vampire, and one of Alexia’s friends. Then there is the feared Countess Nadasky, the Queen of the London vampire hive, and the Professor Lyall, Lord Maccon’s second in command.

We also meet Alexia’s family; her stoic father, her hysterical mother who cares only for the family’s societal standing, and her two airheaded sisters. We also meet her best friend, Ivy Hisselpenny; whose goal in life appears to be wearing the ugliest hats ever created.

Over the last several months, loner vampires and paranormal creatures have gone missing, and no one can sort our why. As well, in London, a new club for scientists has opened recently called the Hyprocas Club, which has attracted scientists from as far away as the colonies.

An unlikely romance begins between Alexia and Maccon and heats up by degrees, leading them into some shocking situations.

On a visit to Lord Akeldama, on a full moon night, Alexia and Akeldama are kidnapped and imprisioned. Akeldama is taken to become part of a horrific experiment, a fate that Alexia will soon share. With no one to rescue her; since all werewolves are locked up on full moon night, her fate is sealed. Or is it?

This breezy, funny paperback novel is a great combination of steampunk and urban fantasy, and is geared to a young adult audience. This writer is looking forward to the sequel, Changeless, due out on March 30, 2010.