3 Stars This is the fifth in the Detective Inspector Armand Gamache series.  My verdict, like for the previous four books, is that it’s okay, but not great.  The body of a stranger is found in the village bistro in Three Pines.  It’s obvious that he was murdered.  Gamache and his team arrive to investigate.  Though Olivier doesn’t admit to knowing him, the reader knows that Olivier visited the man, a hermit, who lived in a cabin in the woods surrounding the village.  When the cabin is located, it is found to be filled with very valuable antiques and collect ..read more

 3 Stars This historical fiction book is set in Italy (Florence, Venice and Mantua) in the late 16th century. Giulia Albizza, an orphan, is chosen to test the virility of Prince Vincenzo Gonzaga of Mantua before the powerful Florentine de’ Medici family will approve his marriage into the family.  In return for her virginity, Giulia is promised a dowry and a husband.  The de Medici’s minister, Belisario Vinta, picks Giulia from the orphanage and after her meeting with the prince in Venice, finds her a husband, Giuliano Sperati. Most of the book is narrated in first person by Giu ..read more

 3. 5 Stars A couple of years ago I read Karen Jennings’ novel entitled An Island which was nominated for the 2021 Booker Prize.  I loved it (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2022/01/review-of-island-by-karen-jennings.html) so I was anxious to read her next offering. Crooked Seeds is set in near-future Cape Town, South Africa, which is experiencing a years-long drought and wildfires.  Fifty-three-year-old Deidre van Deventer lives in a dilapidated public housing complex after her family home was reclaimed by the government.  She is contacted by the police when several ..read more

 3 Stars This is a serial killer thriller from a different perspective – that of three women. Aidan Thomas is an ex-Marine, widower, single father, and serial killer living in the Hudson River valley of New York state.  For five years he has kept a woman captive in a shed.  When forced to move, he takes the woman with him and his daughter Cecilia, telling her that the woman, whom he calls Rachel, is the friend of a friend needing a home.  Once she is ensconced in the house and has met Cecilia, Rachel wonders how she can escape and if she can get Cecilia to help her.  ..read more

 3  Stars I was intrigued to read this retelling of Shakespeare’s Macbeth told from the perspective of one of the three witches.  Having been rescued by Nettle and Mad Helga, Gilly has lived with the two women in Birnam Wood for seven years.  She then decides it is time to take revenge against Him whom she considers responsible for destroying her entire family.  (It does not take a genius to figure out that Him is Macbeth.)  Disguised as a boy, Gilly gets a job in the castle kitchen, hoping she will find an opportunity to take vengeance.  While some of the p ..read more

 4 Stars This story of an unlikely friendship between two misfits is set in 1980s Ireland. Twelve-year-old Juno defends a classmate, Seán McGuire, from school bullies and a friendship develops.  Juno nicknames him Legs.  The two live on the same housing estate and have troubled lives.  Juno lives with an alcoholic father and a downtrodden, life-beaten mother who shows little affection, whereas Legs’ mother is both a germophobe and a homophobe.  At school they are subjected to the cruelties of a Catholic education where corporal punishment and humiliation are a daily o ..read more

 2.5 Stars I am by no means an art expert, but I love the work of Vincent Van Gogh.  I’ve been fortunate to be able to visit Nuenen in the Netherlands where he lived from 1883 to 1885 and to tour the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.  In fact, the cover of the tablet on which I read many books is a copy of “Almond Blossoms”.  According to the book blurb, this novel purports to give voice to Johanna Van Gogh-Bonger, Vincent Van Gogh’s sister-in-law, the key player in the growth of Vincent's posthumous fame:  “The tireless efforts of one woman gave the world one of its grea ..read more

 4 Stars Remote Sympathy by Catherine Chidgey was one of my favourite books of 2022, so I thought I’d read this one by her.  It came out last summer.  It did not disappoint:  it’s truly compelling psychological suspense. There are two timelines.  Most of the events take place in 1984 in Wellington, New Zealand.  Twelve-year-old Justine Crieve, like virtually all of her classmates, is drawn to Mrs. Price, their glamorous and charismatic teacher.  Justine is very happy when she is chosen as one of the teacher’s pets.  However when items start going missi ..read more

 4 Stars This book asks about the possibility and price of the American dream. Ashok and Priya Shah immigrated to the U.S. from India almost two decades earlier.  By working hard, they’ve achieved success, having recently moved to an affluent gated community in southern California.  Deepa, the eldest daughter, insists on staying at her old school with its multi-ethnic students, including her best friend Paco whose mother is undocumented.  However, Maya, the middle child, loves her new school and strives to be accepted by her wealthy classmates.  One day, twelve-year-o ..read more

 3 Stars The fourth Armand Gamache book takes place at the Manoir Bellechasse rather than in Three Pines.  Armand and his wife Reine-Marie are staying at the exclusive resort to celebrate their wedding anniversary.  The other guests are the Finney family; they have gathered for a family reunion.  As expected, one of the Finneys is killed so Gamache and his team investigate.  The story has the feel of a locked-room mystery because the murderer is certainly one of the guests or staff.  What is particularly unusual is the method used to kill; it is even more of a my ..read more