reviews

Educated: A Memoir of Abuse and Overcoming Author: Tara Westover I’ve seen Educated’s distinctive cover working its way across bookstores and Amazon recommendations for a while, yet when my book club chose this as one of our next reads, I rapidly discovered that I didn’t know what it was about or what to expect from it. I only knew that it was non-fiction. Educated covers Tara Westover’s traumatic experience growing up with mentally unstable, fundamentalist Mormon parents who are convinced that doomsday is upon us, the system will soon disintegrate, and a head-for-the-hills pack must always be ready. In this world, Tara was [...]

The Brokenness of Family Author: Tana French In the night, in a ghost town beleaguered by broken dreams and the poverty of recession, a fomented secret comes to a head. There is blood and forgiveness, paranoia and release, and ultimately love transformed into desperation, tinged with the failings of lost money and unrealized promises. Enter Detective Michael Kennedy, alias Scorcher, and his newbie assistant, Richie, as they travel to a forgotten place and try to look beneath the surface of chaos to find the killer and lay the dead to rest. Only, it appears that in this family murder – [...]

Agatha Starts a Detective Agency Author: M.C. Beaton In the 15th book of the Agatha Raisin series, our cantankerous heroine is once again bored with village life and devoid of a love interest. After a Parisian holiday gone awry, Agatha decides that it’s time to take on murder and mayhem big-time with her own detective agency. But the big time so far consists of finding lost cats and run-away teens with daddy’s car. Armed with two freelance retainers – a retired police officer recommended by Bill Wong and a video surveillance expert, Agatha soon creeps into the world of extra-marital investigation. [...]