State of Terror by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny

 I recently read State of Terror. It was written by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny. 

When it first came out, I didn't plan on reading it. I thought, like may others, that it as a book about politics that Hillary Clinton wrote. I am not a person that spends alot of time on "politics." But several of the members of our Mystery Book Club read it and really liked it. 

It is very popular at our library. I put myself on the hold list and waited a couple of months. I finally got it a few weeks ago. 

About: " After a tumultuous period in American politics, a new administration has just been sworn in, and to everyone’s surprise the president chooses a political enemy for the vital position of secretary of state.

There is no love lost between the president of the United States and Ellen Adams, his new secretary of state. But it’s a canny move on the part of the president. With this appointment, he silences one of his harshest critics, since taking the job means Adams must step down as head of her multinational media conglomerate.

As the new president addresses Congress for the first time, with Secretary Adams in attendance, Anahita Dahir, a young foreign service officer (FSO) on the Pakistan desk at the State Department, receives a baffling text from an anonymous source.

Too late, she realizes the message was a hastily coded warning.

What begins as a series of apparent terrorist attacks is revealed to be the beginning of an international chess game involving the volatile and Byzantine politics of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran; the race to develop nuclear weapons in the region; the Russian mob; a burgeoning rogue terrorist organization; and an American government set back on its heels in the international arena.

As the horrifying scale of the threat becomes clear, Secretary Adams and her team realize it has been carefully planned to take advantage of four years of an American government out of touch with international affairs, out of practice with diplomacy, and out of power in the places where it counts the most.

To defeat such an intricate, carefully constructed conspiracy, it will take the skills of a unique team: a passionate young FSO; a dedicated journalist; and a smart, determined, but as yet untested new secretary of state."

I loved this book. I didn't expect to. I thought it would be "about politics.". 

It is a political thriller. It reads like the T.V. show "24" to me. It is very fast paced and reads quick despite the number of pages. It is very intense and hard to put down. If you are a fan of Louise Penny's series, you will stand up and shout out loud (in a good way) at the last couple of chapters. 

Be sure to read the Acknowledgements at the end. Three of the characters are named after friends of Hillary Clinton. Ellen Adams. Katherine who is the real Ellen's daughter. Betsy Jameson who is named after Hillary's childhood friend and my high school Spanish teacher - Betsy Ebeling. Knowing Mrs. Ebeling, having gone to Spain with her in a high school group, this was a great tribute to her. She really was a wonderful person.  "Mrs. Ebeling" and Ellen that Ellen Adams is named for, have passed away. 

The Acknowledgements also talk about how H. Clinton and Louise Penny met and ended up writing this book. Even that part of the book was really good.

I really recommend it.

What else did I read on my blog hiatus?

 First, we had a very successful Mystery Book Club last week. Not on our usual day and kind of last minute, but we had a good turnout. The weather was not good so I was a bit worried. Cold, windy, drizzly early in the day. But the regulars persevered! Everyone was so glad to meet in person at the library again. It was exactly two years since we met there regularly, had one false start back in January and hoping this "sticks". I said we need a t-shirt. 

Everyone liked The Vanishing Season by Joanna Schaffhausen and several plan to explore other books in the series. Everyone commented on Bump the dog and how he was their favorite. One person expressed her shock that everyone else was so concerned about the dog. lol

Everyone had the same thoughts about The Current that I talked about last time. A bit confusing in parts but interesting story. A lot of bad things happened to everyone in the book.

So what have I been reading to and/or listening too since December? A mix of traditional mysteries, cozies, and cozies with a paranormal twist. It was funny that authors that I am on their ARC lists and haven't heard from in quite awhile, all published a new book in February and March. So I got to read those. The timing was a bit tricky but I did it.

I finished listening to the Atlee Pine series. I really liked this series and highly recommend it. I believe that was the last book (4) in the series.

Books three and five  (Yep. I had read book four evidently but when I went to read book five, I realized I had three but never read it.) in the Madeline Brooks English cottage type traditional mysteries by Tannis Laidlaw. Madeline is a newly divorced, trying to be a realtor to support herself woman who keeps finding bodies in the houses she is showing.

There are five books in this series - The Grace Street Mysteries. 

"David Randall's perfect family life came derailed when his little daughter Lindsey died in a car crash. Thrown out by his second wife and wanting to leave a dead-end detective agency to start his own, he reluctantly accepts his psychic friend Camden's invitation to stay in Camden's boarding house in Parkland, North Carolina"

As the series goes, more people move into the house on Grace Street. They are a pretty quirky bunch. Humorous at times. Big Bang feeling group but one is a P.I., one is slightly psychic and the women who love them? They all hang around together, live together but don't always agree. And in Fatal Fantasy, David and Camden go to Extravaganzacon.I found the books entertaining.

This book two in the series. I also read the first one. I liked them. Scarlet and the Duke feel.

"Amateur sleuth Kitty Worthington once more jumps into the fray to nab the wily murderer of a high-ranking member of the nobility. Can she catch the killer before her sister's beloved pays the ultimate price?

London. 1923. Much to her consternation, Kitty Worthington's debut season is a resounding success, prompting marriage proposals from lords, rogues, scoundrels, and ne'er do wells. Even as she dodges them, a new intrigue arises, and at Westminster, no less. A high-ranking member of the nobility is murdered, and her sister's beau has been framed to take the fall."

This is a historical fiction book based on true events. Not going to sugar coat it. It was tough book to listen to.

"Inspired by the life of a real World War II heroine, this debut novel reveals a story of love, redemption, and secrets that were hidden for decades.
 
New York socialite Caroline Ferriday has her hands full with her post at the French consulate and a new love on the horizon. But Caroline’s world is forever changed when Hitler’s army invades Poland in September 1939—and then sets its sights on France.
 
An ocean away from Caroline, Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish teenager, senses her carefree youth disappearing as she is drawn deeper into her role as courier for the underground resistance movement. In a tense atmosphere of watchful eyes and suspecting neighbors, one false move can have dire consequences.
 
For the ambitious young German doctor, Herta Oberheuser, an ad for a government medical position seems her ticket out of a desolate life. Once hired, though, she finds herself trapped in a male-dominated realm of Nazi secrets and power.
 
The lives of these three women are set on a collision course when the unthinkable happens and Kasia is sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious Nazi concentration camp for women. Their stories cross continents—from New York to Paris, Germany, and Poland—as Caroline and Kasia strive to bring justice to those whom history has forgotten. "

And after The Lilac Girls, I luckily got to read a couple of ARC''s that were lighter. I have read the first four books in this series also.

"On the private island of a wealthy banker, a young and talented stonemason falls from a cliff. A tragic accident? Or murder?

The dead man’s sister is obsessed with justice and will stop at nothing.
A glamorous French widow and her heart-throb son are certain they have been cheated of their legacy.
A daughter is bequeathed an island mansion beyond her means.
An enigmatic letter hints at a hidden fortune.

After the collapse of her theatrical tour, actress Derry O’Donnell must work to pay her way in a West of Ireland village. As Madam Tulip, she tells fortunes for a local charity only to be drawn into a maze of mystery and intrigue."

This is a fun, quick read cozy series. I have listened to the previous books in this series too.

"A touching gift. A shocking truth. Can this psychic sleuth solve a decade-old murder?
Mitzy Moon is happy to leave her painful past buried. But a thoughtful present turns her world upside down and forces her to abandon Ghost-ma and her fiendish feline to search for answers in the Southwest. Turns out her mom’s death was no accident, and proving it could be the last thing she does…"

Whew!

Currently listening to The Lions of Lucerne by Brad Thor and reading State of Terror by Hillary Clinton Rodham and Louise Penny. (pleasantly surprised)

The Vanishing Season, The Current

 Hi all,

I think I am back. Not sure if anything is more settled but the Covid Stage here is back down to three, from five all winter, masks requirements are coming down, it is warmer with a couple of cold fronts coming through again but with less frigid cold, thankfully. After a false start to March, as of today our Mystery Book Club can meet in the library again.

I thought I would start off with the books we read for February (our meeting had to be cancelled) and March (which should have been last week but will be this coming week.)

The Vanishing Season by Joanna Schaffhausen (Ellery Hathaway #1)

About: "Ellery Hathaway knows a thing or two about serial killers, but not through her police training. She's an officer in sleepy Woodbury, MA, where a bicycle theft still makes the newspapers. No one there knows she was once victim number seventeen in the grisly story of serial killer Francis Michael Coben. The only one who lived. When three people disappear from her town in three years―all around her birthday―Ellery fears someone knows her secret. Someone very dangerous. Her superiors dismiss her concerns, but Ellery knows the vanishing season is coming and anyone could be next. She contacts the one man she knows will believe her: the FBI agent who saved her from a killer all those years ago. Agent Reed Markham made his name and fame on the back of the Coben case, but his fortunes have since turned. His marriage is in shambles, his bosses think he's washed up, and worst of all, he blew a major investigation. When Ellery calls him, he can’t help but wonder: sure, he rescued her, but was she ever truly saved? His greatest triumph is Ellery’s waking nightmare, and now both of them are about to be sucked into the past, back to the case that made them...with a killer who can't let go."

I really liked this book. It was very suspenseful, creepy in parts and was definelty a page turner. The author was really good at redirecting your focus to potential suspects. I was sure the culprit were two different people and then they weren't.. Although there were clues, totally caught off guard with who the killer was. Loved Bump (the dog) and got worried. I liked  Ellery and Reed and glad to see he the Ellery is in the next book. 

There are five books in the series. https://www.joannaschaffhausen.com/

The Current by Tim Johnston

About: "Tim Johnston, whose 2015 national bestseller Descent was called “astonishing” by the Washington Post and “unforgettable” by the Miami Herald, returns with another tour de force about the indelible impact of a crime on the lives of innocent people.

When two young women leave their college campus in the dead of winter for a 700-mile drive north to Minnesota, they suddenly find themselves fighting for their lives in the icy waters of the Black Root River, just miles from home. One girl’s survival, and the other’s death—murder, actually—stun the citizens of a small Minnesota town, thawing memories of another young woman who lost her life in the same river ten years earlier, and whose killer may yet live among them. One father is forced to relive his agony while another’s greatest desire—to bring a killer to justice—is revitalized . . . and the girl who survived the icy plunge cannot escape the sense that she is connected to that earlier unsolved case by more than a river. Soon enough she’s caught up in an investigation of her own that will unearth long-hidden secrets, and stoke the violence that has long simmered just below the surface of the town. Souls frozen in time, ghosts and demons, the accused and the guilty, all stir to life in this cold northern place where memories, like treachery, run just beneath the ice, and where a young woman can come home but still not be safe "

I received this book as one of The Strand Book Hook Up books. I thought it was pretty good, very suspenseful, a good thriller. Lots of secrets being kept by the characters. I did have a little trouble getting into rhythm of the writing. I was a little confused at first because the story does flash back 10 years on and off. I can usually follow that ok, but maybe after reading some cozies, I had to get into a different mode. It is a stand alone. 

http://www.timjohnston.net/

The April Mystery Book Club selection is Brad Thor month - reader's choice. 

I will post some the ARC's and audio books I have read/listened too in the past few months, soon.

The Madness of Crowds, The Clockmaker's Wife and wrap up!

 Happy Holidays.

Posting the last book I listened to and the most recent book I read. Then I will share favorites of the year from the Mystery Book Club.

I listened to The Madness of Crowds, book 17 in the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny. If you are a fan, I bet you already read it. It seems to me this is a book you either hate or you love. 

About:

"You're a coward.

Time and again, as the New Year approaches, that charge is leveled against Armand Gamache.
It starts innocently enough.
While the residents of the Québec village of Three Pines take advantage of the deep snow to ski and toboggan, to drink hot chocolate in the bistro and share meals together, the Chief Inspector finds his holiday with his family interrupted by a simple request.
He's asked to provide security for what promises to be a non-event. A visiting professor of statistics will be giving a lecture at the nearby university.
While he is perplexed as to why the head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec would be assigned this task, it sounds easy enough. That is, until Gamache starts looking into Professor Abigail Robinson and discovers an agenda so repulsive he begs the university to cancel the lecture.
They refuse, citing academic freedom, and accuse Gamache of censorship and intellectual cowardice. Before long, Professor Robinson's views start seeping into conversations. Spreading and infecting. So that truth and fact, reality and delusion, are so confused it's near impossible to tell them apart.
Discussions become debates, debates become arguments, which turn into fights. As sides are declared, a madness takes hold.
Abigail Robinson promises that if they follow her, ça va bien aller. All will be well. But not, Gamache and his team know, for everyone.
When a murder is committed, it falls to Armand Gamache, his second-in-command Jean-Guy Beauvoir, and their team to investigate the crime as well as this extraordinary popular delusion.
And the madness of crowds. "

Several people I know, did not like this book. Several others, said they liked it. This is a post Covid story and mentions all of the things people have gone through or are going through.

The message that Professor Abigail Robinson is sharing, is very controversial. She has come to Three Pines at the invitation of the chancellor of the university. She brings with her, her assistant Debbie.  Another strong and opinionated woman, up for the Nobel Peace Prize, is in town from the Sudan. She doesn't seem to like anyone and no one is sure what she is doing there. After chao ensues at the lecture Abigail is giving, it is New Year's Eve and Three Pines is celebrating. Debbie is found murdered near the woods.

Gamache and Jean Guy have to entangle the events leading up to finding Debbie, sorting through many personalities, secrets and lies..

There is actually quite a bit of humor in the first half of the book. I found the interactions between the usual village characters hysterical. More than usual. A new resident has been added to the village. I did find the ending a bit tedious- wondering when they were going to figure this out, for Pete's sake. lol 

You know you have to read it if you are a Louise Penny fan. 

I read The Clockmaker's Wife by Daisy Wood. I believe this is the first book by this author. It is historical fiction but there is a mystery to it.

About: "London, 1940. Britain is gripped by the terror of the Blitz, forcing Nell Spelman to flee the capital with her young daughter – leaving behind her husband, Arthur, the clockmaker who keeps Big Ben chiming. 

When Arthur disappears, Nell is desperate to find him. But her search will lead her into far darker places than she ever imagined… 

New York, Present Day. When Ellie discovers a beautiful watch that had once belonged to a grandmother she never knew, she becomes determined to find out what happened to her. But as she pieces together the fragments of her grandmother’s life, she begins to wonder if the past is better left forgotten… "

I really enjoyed this story. It does go back and forth between 1940 and present day. We get pieces of Nell's story and then her granddaughter Ellie's quest to find our more about her family history. Her mother, Alice, has broken her hip and had to go into a nursing home for a bit to recover. Her mother doesn't seem to have much information to share about the watch, Nell and her life. And doesn't seem to want to share. Ellie decides to go to London and visit her Aunt Gillian and get some info. But Gillian is kind of cranky about the whole thing and tells her to leave it all alone. As it any good story Ellie does not leave it alone.

We had the final meeting of our Mystery Book Club. What a crazy year. We went from virtual meetings, with our leader of 13 years, bowing out. (Yes I mean you Kay). We then had a promise of returning to the library meeting room each month. With that promise and a librarian to help pick our monthly reads, I volunteered to moderate our group, going forward. Of course then our hopes were dashed, as they say, as a month later, as Delta came to town.  The librarian that was going to help me, transferred to another branch. The next librarian assigned to our group, did give me a few ideas for planning our books for a few months. And then she went on leave. Sigh

But never underestimate the power of books! We persevered, and found a park to meet in for the fall. We had about 10 people that showed up each time. Then the weather turned and we went back to Standard Time. It was too dark and cold for the park. One of the newer members offered her large living room for December, and again people showed up. She has volunteered her home for January again as there is still no word on the meeting room at the library.  So on we go, like nomads.  Take that Covid!

Here are some of the favorites of our MBC of 2021.

I am going to take a break from posting for a month or two. We are experiencing The Great Resignation at work, and it has been challenging and energy sapping. I will see what 2022 brings in the work arena. I will be reading more! New Years Resolution and the MBC will keep on. 

Enjoy your holidays. 

A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins, Joe Pickett t.v. series

 Just finished A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins. She also wrote The Girl on the Train.

About: "When a young man is found gruesomely murdered in a London houseboat, it triggers questions about three women who knew him. Laura is the troubled one-night-stand last seen in the victim’s home. Carla is his grief-stricken aunt, already mourning the recent death of yet another family member. And Miriam is the nosy neighbor clearly keeping secrets from the police. Three women with separate connections to the victim. Three women who are – for different reasons – simmering with resentment. Who are, whether they know it or not, burning to right the wrongs done to them. When it comes to revenge, even good people might be capable of terrible deeds. How far might any one of them go to find peace? How long can secrets smolder before they explode into flame?"

I haven't read The Girl on the Train. I read this book on recommendation from a book buddy. I really liked it. 

It is a very good psychological suspense, quick read. Every character in the book has "a slow fire burning", which makes for several suspects. Each suspect has had something traumatic happen to them with a good set up for wanting revenge. Who did it? All had a motive. Who does the right thing in the end? You will be surprised. 

Joe Pickett fan? The T.V. series is finally going to start on Dec. 6, 2021 on Spectrum Originals. It is a 10 part series. Here is the most recent article about it. 

https://cowboystatedaily.com/2021/11/19/joe-pickett-series-to-premiere-in-december/

Now I have to figure out where that will be found. I have a couple of weeks.

Our next Mystery Book Club is Dec. 1. It has been tricky figuring out how to continue to meet, but one member offered to host in her home this time. (All appropriate protocols will be followed. We don't expect too many people this time.) While we won't be discussing a specific book, we will share our favorite reads for the year. I will share that list with you.

Until then, Happy Thanksgiving!

Twenty One Days by Anne Perry and Zoom with Virginia King

 Hey all. Been a few weeks since I checked in. 

Time is really flying as work continues to interfere. I also signed up for a Norwegian language class for 8 weeks. I always wanted to take Norwegian. My father's side of the family is 100% Norwegian. I remember my great grandfather who immigrated at age 14. He used to speak to me in Norwegian but I was really young and shy and hid behind my grandmother (his daughter) when he did that. Everyone laughed and said they didn't know what he was saying. I am not so sure about that now. Anyhow, that is one night a week for 1.5 hours and some prep time. It is proving to be a bit much for my old brain but kind of fun. It will end in December.

For November, the Mystery Book Club read Twenty-One Days by Anne Perry.

About: "It's 1910, and Daniel Pitt is a reluctant lawyer who would prefer to follow in the footsteps of his detective father. When the biographer Russell Graves, who Daniel is helping defend, is sentenced to execution for the murder of his wife, Daniel's Pitt-family investigative instincts kick in, and he sets out to find the real killer. With only twenty-one days before Graves is to be executed, Daniel learns that Graves is writing a biography of Victor Narraway, the former head of Special Branch and a close friend of the Pitts. And the stories don't shed a positive light. Is it possible someone is framing Graves to keep him from writing the biography--maybe even someone Daniel knows in Special Branch?

The only answer, it seems, lies in the dead woman's corpse. And so, with the help of some eccentric new acquaintances who don't mind bending the rules, Daniel delves into an underground world of dead bodies and double lives, unearthing scores of lies and conspiracies. As he struggles to balance his duty to the law with his duty to his family, the equal forces of justice and loyalty pull this lawyer-turned-detective in more directions than he imagined possible. And amidst it all, his client's twenty-one days are ticking away."

You may have read Anne Perry's Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series. The main character, Daniel, in this series, is Charlotte and Thomas's son, all grown up.

I really enjoyed it. Very good writing, very good mystery, suspenseful with twists. Everyone in the group liked it and some have even gone on to read the other four books in the series. Some have read the Charlotte and Thomas series and really recommend it but said you should start with the first book in the series. I would say that about the Daniel Pitt books also.

The MBC was also treated to a Zoom chat with Virginia King, author of the Selkie Moon series. We read and discussed her prequel to the series, Planting Pearls. Did I mention that Virginia lives in Australia? We had fun discussion with her all the way from the Blue Hills. 

About: "When Selkie Moon escapes her controlling husband to start a new life in Hawaii, she’s under pressure to support herself, while keeping hidden from her ex.

But when she encounters a so-called haunting, Selkie delves into the mystery surrounding an old Honolulu house.

Are there dark forces at work and is a child in danger?

Or is something else going on?

As Selkie gets caught up in something that’s way beyond her skillset, the disturbing events not only hint at secrets buried in her own past, but she unwittingly makes herself a target for the man she’s fleeing from."

Virginia shared that she is writing a brand new mystery that will be a traditional mystery and it is off to the editor. I am looking forward to finding out more about it.

Currently reading: A Slow Burning Fire by Paula Hawkins.

Murder on the Golden Arrow by Magda Alexander

 I was sent this book as an ARC and just finished it. (Yes, after the publication date. 😞) I really liked it.

About: "England. 1923. After a year away at finishing school where she learned etiquette, deportment, and the difference between a salad fork and a fish one, Kitty Worthington is eager to return home. But minutes after she and her brother Ned board the "Golden Arrow," the unthinkable happens. A woman with a mysterious connection to her brother is poisoned, and the murderer can only be someone aboard the train.

When Scotland Yard hones in on Ned as the main suspect, Kitty sets out to investigate. Not an easy thing to do while juggling the demands of her debut season and a mother intent on finding a suitable, aristocratic husband for her.

With the aid of her maid, two noble beaus, and a flatulent Basset Hound named Sir Winston, Kitty treads a fearless path through the glamorous world of high society and London’s dark underbelly alike to find the murderer. For if she fails, the insufferable Inspector Crawford will most surely hang a noose around her brother’s neck.

A frolicking historical cozy mystery filled with dodgy suspects, a dastardly villain, and an intrepid heroine sure to win your heart, Murder on the Golden Arrow is the first book in The Kitty Worthington Mysteries. For lovers of Agatha Christie and Downton Abbey alike."

I would add for lovers of Scarlett and the Duke which was on PBS earlier this year. 

I thought it was very well written, grabbing my interest right away. The author does a great job of taking us through the solving of the mystery, sharing bits and pieces as it all escalates towards the end. Besides a great story, I like the historical aspects; describing Kitty going to finishing school, what is now expected of her, being presented to society, obtaining the right wardrobe, who may be an appropriate husband (after all that is what finishing school is for isn't it?), the dinners, the parties...I have always been interested in that time period, reading what life was like. This is a good look into London high society in 1923.

The second book in the series, Murder at Westminster, is coming out June 3, 2022. I was ready to read it. Will have to wait.

About the author: 

"Magda Alexander is the USA Today bestselling author of several books, including the popular STORM DAMAGES series. She's equally at home writing historical mysteries and sexy contemporary romances. When she's not glued to her laptop writing her next book, Magda loves to bake and try out new recipes in her Instant Pot. A lifelong learner, Magda earned her degree from the University of Maryland and now resides in a Maryland city whose history dates back to colonial times."

Visit Magda Alexander website at: https://www.magdaalexander.com/

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