A blog about some of the books I've read
This year Black History Month’s theme is “A Century of Black History Commemorations,” to recognize the 100th anniversary of the first Negro History Week founded by Carter G. Woodson in 1926. The title, Savannah Footprints by DJ Bwakali, covers 100 African leaders that approximately span this time period, from the late 1800’s to present day.
This is a tale, The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa, about Nana and Saturo, a cat and his young male, human friend. The story is told through the eyes and mind of Nana, a stray cat. Nana describes how he and Saturo met, how he came to live with his friend and how he got his name. Nana also tells us, with great pride, of his independence and skill-sets he developed living as a street cat.
The story’s main chapters take place as Saturo tries to find Nana a new home and owner because he can no longer take care of him, even though Nana tells us readers it’s quite unnecessary, for he is perfectly fine with going back to the streets. Chapter by chapter, they go on the road and travel to different prospective caretakers for Nana, and we learn of each prospect’s lives, of their connection and relationship to Saturo and how they feel about cats.
Through these travels, however, Saturo, a devout cat-lover since he was a child, remains vague as to why there is a need to give up Nana and find him a new home for him. Saturo’s reasoning becomes clear as we reach the end and we see how close and endearing a relationship Saturo and Nana have, especially through a cat’s perspective. We also see how Saturo and Nana’s travels and friendship bring people together and help these relationships heal and strengthen.
This story by the author is very insightful, creative, heartfelt and funny, giving us a cat’s narrative and point of view. As the book progresses, we get a full backstory of Saturo and his friends and how caring for a cat would affect each of their lives. We also see the countryside and cities of Japan through a cat’s eyes, seeing things we take for granted for the very first time.
This book is a 281-page testament to our need for connection – human or animal. The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa, is a stellar representation, an anthem to friendship, giving and sacrificing, taking pleasure in the small things in life with the ones you love. This read is a great way to start the new year!
This book, Christ in the Rubble, a religious commentary and analysis by Munther Isaac, a pastor, theologian, and biblical scholar, really makes you question if are on the right track as a Christian. The Christ story is one of survival under occupation, and resistance to corruption. Being a Christian, Being a Christian (not a typo, written twice for emphasis) should be about honoring the birth, life and death of Christ. Pastor Munther Isaac is a Palestinian Christian living in the West Bank and pastors at churches in Bethlehem and Beit Sahour. He writes giving a Palestinian and Christian perspective, one the outside world rarely hears. He describes what is happening to his people and asks – Where is the church?
He points out the shortcomings and lack of support of Palestinian Christians by the global church, its disappointing lack of courage. The church would rather stay away from controversy, and remain neutral – a cowardly approach, not the path of truth, or Jesus for that matter. Jesus was about taking action, speaking to power, helping the suffering and outcast despite the opposition and cost, and encouraged others to do the same.
The church remains neutral, he argues, when it comes to Palestinians, but publicly gives support to Israel and Zionism. It gives support to the status quo, the State. And it’s not like the global church, and politicians don’t know the argument of the other side. Pastor Isaac and his Christian colleagues from Palestine have been active since the war began. They’ve visited the White House, reached out religious leaders by letter, phone and in person, but the rhetoric and actions of politicians (most Western leaders are Christian and trumpet Judo-Christian values) and the global church hasn’t changed – they continue to support Israel and this war.
He talks about objectives of the West being in line with the traditional church. One main problem is the Western Christian ideology, which seems to be in line with imperialist ambitions of empire building. Religious ideology is used to justify killing in mass and land-grabbing, while declaring superiority and regarding their victims as non-historical-factors and inferior. The author points out that notable evangelical Christians express their support of Israel from a place of superiority and power, with a serious lack of compassion and empathy, contradictory to Christian teaching itself.
This is alarming and disappointing behavior from religious and political world leaders who continually stoke their Judo-Christian values. Pastor Isaac reminds us in his writing that “the church is the voice, hands, and feet of Jesus on earth. We are all called to continue his ministry on earth.” He argues that the credibility of this Christian witness is at stake when the church is silent and/or complicit in the face of genocide. Concerning the true meaning of Christmas, the author writes, “The Christmas story is a very Palestinian story! Its vocabulary is census, control, empire, occupation, Caesar, Herod, military, refugees, pain, exhaustion, and massacred children (not trees, lighting, or Santa).” I say here-here and Amen to that thought.
‘Where was I when Gaza was going through a genocide?’ This is the penetrating, telling question for humanity. The author contemplates the way forward. There can be no real peace without equality and equity for both and all people of Israel/Palestine. He remains hopeful – his people are resilient, and they believe God is good. They believe in justice. This book is filled with powerful, insightful, balanced and intelligent commentary, history and analysis. I believe any person, or any Christian with a conscience or camaraderie with humanity, interested in its future and well-being, should give this book, Christ in the Rubble by Munther Isaac, a read, especially during the Christmas season. Happy Holidays to all!
This historical mystery, Death in the Details by Katie Tietjen, is about a young woman, Maple Bishop, who uses her skill for creating intricate doll houses, to recreate a crime scene and solve a murder. The author was inspired by forensic specialist Francis Glessner Lee’s nutshells of unsolved murders on NPR. Glasser Lee used her nutshells of these crime scenes to train police officers on crime scene analysis. This novel is the first in the Maple Bishop series.
The novel takes place in post-World War II Vermont. It’s 1946. Maple Bishop, living in a small town with a law degree she can’t make use of because no one will hire a woman, has just lost her husband, the town doctor. Tragically, he was killed while stationed in France. She finds out that after the bills of his estate have been paid, there is next to nothing left of the life insurance payment. Mabel finds herself broke with bills of her own to pay.
Unable to work in the legal field and with pressing bills, Maple decided to try and make some money from something that she was extremely good at and was also gender-appropriate, selling the dollhouses she made as a hobby. From top to bottom, inside and outside, Maple was very skilled at paying attention to every miniscule detail. She called her business Maple’s Miniatures.
To get the mystery started, she finds the husband of her first customer dead when she went to their farm to deliver a dollhouse. He was hanging in the barn. At first sight, certain things seemed strange to Mabel’s eye, namely, bruises on his body and the height he chose to self-hang himself. The town sheriff, when he arrived at the farm, immediately thought it was a suicide, ignoring Maple’s concerns.
Maple reasoned that the best way to illustrate her concerns and work through her questions, was to make a miniature of the farmer hanging in the barn – the crime scene in a nutshell. Even with this effort however, the sheriff remained convinced the case was closed. He was not going to change his mind based on the reasonings of a woman, who he believed had no business dealing in such matters. But a young officer-in-training takes an interest in the case and works with Maple to discover the truth. Here’s where Maple’s adventure, which was sometimes very threatening, begins. This was really interesting, using the skill of visual crime scene analysis to figure things out.
Maple’s talent for detail and seeing things others miss, makes her uncompromising and firm in pursuing open questions and secrets of the people in this town. The author gives rich background to her characters as they interact in this post-World War II era novel. The effects of war reached even this small town. The setting in wintry, rural, small-town Vermont served more than as just a backdrop. It helped shape the characters, their quirky personalities, their distrust of outsiders and attitude toward women. The well-developed setting also made it easy to immerse yourself, making the story feel real, leaving a powerful impact. I thought this was well done by the author and I will definitely read the next book in the series, Murder in Miniature, just published in September. I hope you give this historical, crime scene mystery a read, Death in the Details by Katie Tietjen.
This title, The House on Buzzards Bay by Dwyer Murphy, was bought and autographed at this year’s Brooklyn Book Festival, and it was the only discussion panel I wanted to attend and was locked out of due to it being filled by the time I got there – Oh Boo Hoo. I just waited outside the venue, perused the titles by the authors on the panel, bought this title, and waited to get it signed. I’ll have to watch the taped discussion when it becomes available online.
This novel is a small-town mystery with supernatural elements. A group of friends get together at a remote location and one of them disappears. A light Halloween read if you don’t want to be scared out of your mind but just teased a bit.
The House on Buzzards Bay by Dwyer Murphy is a mystery that takes place at the summer beach home of Jim, whom has a wife and two small children, in a small Massachusetts town. Jim has invited his four college friends to spend the summer with them. This year is special because all four friends are attending, which is unusual because their schedules and careers kept them from all getting together in the past.
In particular, Bruce, a famous successful author, is able to attend. Jim is surprised because in the past, Bruce was not a beach lover and when he arrived, Jim and the others saw nothing about that had changed. Bruce was also not in the best spirits to mingle and engage with everyone. Jim wondered why Bruce came to the beach house at all.
Things came to a dark climax between the two of them when Bruce made insulting remarks about Jim’s wife and the two exchanged blows. The following evening Jim discovered that Bruce’s things were gone, and he and the others just assumed that Bruce left during the night without saying goodbye. They were all a bit relieved. Bruce was judgmental and a damper on the summer vibe from the start, so good riddance to him.
Soon after, a friend of Bruce’s named Camille, shows up saying Bruce invited her. Everyone is wondering why Bruce didn’t inform her he was no longer there. Camille told them she was there to assist Bruce in writing his current novel. She later told Jim she also wanted to research the Spiritualist Camp that was there one hundred years before. She also mentioned in passing that perhaps Bruce was dead. She seemed to be there among them acting as a provocateur, making them doubt themselves.
By way of her research, Camille discovers that Jim’s great-great grandmother was a member of this Spiritual Camp and was planning to devote the beach house to this group before she died. Camille comes up with the idea to perform a seance in the house to explore what spirits, if any, linger and learn more about the house itself. Jim and the others agree. Side note – off course you have to put quirky, clueless, non-aggressive people in situations like these, or the story won’t work. Why didn’t they ask this woman to leave?
After the seance begins and things seem unproductive, Camille brings forward a personal item of Bruce’s and suggests they try to reach him, making everyone uncomfortably nervous. After this seance, things become very mysterious. Camille also disappears and the exact nature of the house comes into question. Jim has to face the possibility that the house, his family’s summer home, has an energy of its own.
It was just very interesting to learn about the relationship and connection between Jim and his friends. The author takes his time to deal with complexities of long-term friendships. We also learn about the history of the house, the town and the connection the spiritualists have with both. The novel has a slow simmering, unsettling atmosphere. I recommend this enjoyable read, The House on Buzzards Bay by Dwyer Murphy.
As I mentioned in my alibi series, July 2025 post, I got some reading done while vacationing in Trinidad and Tobago. In addition to the alibi series, I also read three other titles, Christ in The Rubble, Happy Life (I’ll cover these in future posts), and the topic of today’s post, Black Shield Maiden by Willow Smith and Jess Hendel.
The co-author, Willow Smith, informs us that she has been intrigued by Viking culture and history over the years and wondered if they ever encountered African peoples. Through discoveries during her research this novel, Black Shield Maiden, and its characters were born. The authors take us through a thrilling, page-turning, historical tale of women in a vicious world controlled by men.
The six short stories in this alibi crime collection about lies, deception, accountability, and without proof of means, motive and opportunity, the guilty party can walk free. These are really interesting, well written, thrilling mysteries that are great to finish-off on a ride somewhere or on vacation. I read them over a few days while vacationing in Trinidad.
Death Row by Freida McFadden
The first in the series is a pretty good short thriller. A woman is on death row, but all is not what it seems. She’s been convicted of murdering her husband but spots him alive in the visitor’s area. She races against time to convince someone of her innocence. You don’t realize until the end what’s really happening. It’s a story about guilt, trust and actions you take when betrayed and going too far may lead to tragic, irreversible consequences. Creative, compelling story. I’ve read a couple novels from this author – Want To Know A Secret; The Wife Upstairs.
The Ex-Wife’s Club by Sally Hepworth
Book two in this alibi series. Great short about the annoying, womanizing restaurant owner, who’s murdered but everyone, the apparent suspects, has an alibi! When a celebrity chef is found murdered in his walk-in freezer, his three ex-wives, who meet at the restaurant every Friday are immediate suspects. But who did it if everyone has an alibi? Sally Hepworth is author of Mother-in-Law and The Good Sister.
False Note by David Lagercrantz
A man is accused of killing his father and the only one who can verify his alibi, he has abused. His life is literally in this person’s hands. He’s the main suspect because of the toxic relationship he had with his charismatic, but cruel, womanizing, opera-singer father. He vows never to be like his father, but an explosive episode leads him directly to a dark side like his father’s, jeopardizing his alibi. Great short story! David Lagercrantz is the author of The Girl in the Spider’s Web.
The Skydivers by Chris Bohjalian
Thrilling short story of two brothers who go skydiving and one ends up dead. Only the surviving brother knows what happened and the one witness on the ground tries to figure things out. Two brothers who are very different, one is a musician and the other an aerospace engineer, are battling over whether to keep their inheritance, their father’s dairy farm. All they can agree on is to spread their father’s ashes over the farm – a skydive, where everything goes wrong.
Good Neighbors by Chad Zunker
Nice fast-paced short story about a neighbor who witnesses her friend’s husband murdered, only to run for her life and figure things out along the way. Kara only wants to help her neighbor, who suspects her husband is having an affair. So, one evening when she sees someone walking into her neighbor’s house with the husband, Kara slips out to take a closer look to possibly catch him in the act. But what she sees puts her in danger and running for her life.
Small Things by Wanda M Morris
The sixth and last story in the collection. A woman in an abusive marriage, where the husband belittles and controls her, decides to take her life back. A jewelry maker with a seemingly perfect marriage, is living an emotional nightmare behind closed doors. When her husband threatens to take away the only small thing that brings her peace and joy, she comes up with a plan that will leave no trace behind. Unexpected, satisfying ending.
The Alibi collection is a great set of six stories, that are filled with thrills, suspense and mystery, that can be read in one sitting or whenever you have a little time, you know, when you don’t want to take on a novel – just read one story and have closure, while taking a short break. It’s aIso a good, convenient way to explore new authors without giving up the time commitment. I discovered a couple new ones while reading them. Hope you give this entertaining collection a read.
This psychological thriller, The Haters by Robyn Harding, is a story about what can happen with fame and the public that you depend on for that fame. It’s a twisted tale of stalking, manipulation, obsessive behavior and the intrusive negatives of social media.
The protagonist, Camryn Lane, is a high school counselor with dreams of becoming an author. When she finally gets her first novel published, she is thrilled at her success and her new schedule her agent has planned for her. Except one thing, something haunts her. She continues to receive negative, abusive comments and reviews from one, just one individual.
Her book is about a young woman, sexually abused as a child, who ends up on the streets after time in a detention center for killing her abuser, eventually becoming a power player and a politician’s wife. Camryn’s critic accuses her of taking advantage of her position and using the lives of her students for ideas in her book and encourages a boycott of her book. This upsets Camryn a great deal that someone would tarnish her professional reputation this way.
She is told by fellow writers and her publicist not to worry so much, that this type of bad reviews comes with the territory of putting yourself out in public by being published. And also, responding/engaging could make things much worse – the person may be unstable.
Camryn doesn’t respond, but she believes this critic is following her around to her events and sending her things and calling anonymously. When this stalker really gets personal by posting messages on Camryn’s school portal and sending her best friend hurtful texts, she decides to take action.
Confronting the person she believes is her stalker only makes things worse, which makes her truly afraid and on edge to the point where she begins to distance herself from everyone, because she no longer trusts anyone. Camryn is convinced that the person harassing her is someone she knows, but why?
With these suspicions of her friends and family, Camryn becomes her own worst enemy. She becomes suspicious and defensive, often lashing out at and alienating those around her. It seems, the more alone time she has with her own thoughts just makes her situation worse.
Hitting rock bottom – her daughter stops speaking to her, she’s asked to take leave from her job, she’s afraid to leave her apartment – Camryn hires a cyber detective, that a friend recommended. He warns her she may not like the results of his probe – she tells him to go ahead because she needs to know. Camryn holds on to the idea that no one who really cares about her would do this to her.
At this point, things take a really dark turn, an unexpected, chilling twist. I can’t say more, don’t want to spoil it for you all, but the author really closed the novel well, really brought everything together. I highly recommend this basically social media psychological thriller, The Haters by Robyn Harding.
He Burns By The River by Khalia Moreau, author of The Princess of Thornwood, reviewed in my November 2024’s post, takes readers to Trinidad in this novel. Set in the 1960’s, a period just after the island’s independence, this historical fiction deals with the occult, colorism and racism, modernity vs tradition, as it explores the rivalry between two brothers.
The two brothers are Roran and Danny. As boys growing up, they both have to deal with the impact of their differences in complexion – Roran is dark, Danny is fair-skinned. Two brothers, same mother and father, but one is favored over the other in society, in their village community and in the family. It makes younger Roran wonder about his self-worth, if he is loved less than his older brother. This difference between the brothers breeds resentment of Roran towards his older brother.
Moreau pairs this subject of resentment with the island’s cultural belief of obeah, dark magic, that keeps people mindful of their ancestors, bad omens, the jealousy/envy of others and the good or harm that may come because of it. Questions come to surface when the seemingly healthy Danny falls into a strange waking stupor, during a foot race, wearing shoes just returned from a rival, another boy from their school, named Kenneth.
Now, only Roran and Danny know that instead of Roran lending his shoes to this boy, it was Danny’s. Roran does not reveal this information to his family out of guilt or perhaps something else, but when pressed for the truth, he keeps silent. Their grandmother suspects Roran is holding back and also, the practice of obeah by this boy from their school.
It takes the loss of his grandmother and the failure of the village priest to help his brother, for Roran to realize that Danny’s illness or troubles started when he put on those shoes, obeah may be at work, and the key to fight for his brother’s life is with this boy, Kenneth. But confronting Kenneth isn’t as easy as it seems and leads to more unforeseen consequences for Roran and his family. Roran must put aside his jealousy and come to terms with his guilt to help his brother – I believe this was the core obstacle for Roran taking the steps to help his brother.
We may all debate, agree, disagree, questioning whether obeah exists, but the subject of colorism among us certainly does. It exists within families and their communities. It is engrained within society, not just in the Carribean, but around the world. I just heard the other day a neighbor of mine using the term ‘light-skinned badness’, referring to Alicia Keys – so disturbing and unfortunate. This passes on from generation to generation. Moreau deals with what binds people together as a community and what keeps them apart.
Moreau also notes that the obeah idea of the story actually comes from an incident within her family history. So, please read the author’s note at the end for details. That’s why it’s always best to read a book cover to cover. The novel was a fast paced, interesting, sometimes scary read, mixing descriptive everyday village life with battling dark forces and the people behind them. It was really a treat to read a period piece that takes place in Trinidad. Reading about so many familiar things was a nice change. This was a great story of the island’s cultural superstitions and a boy’s battle to save his brother, while being haunted by his own insecurities. He Burns By the River by Khalia Moreau – great read!
