THE FROZEN PEOPLE, author Elly Griffiths' latest book, has many of the same features as her previous books. She has a well drawn central character, great supporting characters, experts in a variety of subjects, and the wonderful English humor, countryside, and history. Her new book has now added time travel to the mix ... How much easier crime solving would be if the police could arrive in time to see the villain running from the body with a bloody knife in his hand? ( Why they couldn't arrive before the murder and stop it is a question for another time!) This book takes the investigators back to Victorian times. Why were they looking into such an old case? You'll have to read the book to find out ... Or, better yet, start reading her series featuring forensic pathologist Ruth Galloway!!

Trapped in a terrifying marriage with two young daughters, and a baby on the way, Ciara knows that she and her children are no longer safe in their home. Her husband is cruel, and although he has not become physical, he is emotionally torturing her. While she has been thinking about it for a while, she impetuously leaves when one evening taking the children. Things become impossible. From here on, the book describes her attempt to leave, navigating the impossible bureaucracy, the challenging housing market, being penniless, with children, being unable to work, and being tormented by her husband, as she tries to navigate the situation and keep her children safe, and regain control of their lives. Along the way she encounters the good, the bad and the ugly. Friendships blossom; professionals try to help. The mean stay mean. An emotional rollercoaster, an insider’s look into the difficulty of “leaving”. A good attempt at exposing of how difficult it can be for a woman, especially with children to leave a marriage. A look at the practical as well as the emotional.

I enjoyed this book, which tells the story of 4 well known fairy tale characters when they are around 50 years old. I figured out who 2 of the characters were right away, but took longer to be sure of the other 2. This book takes a strong stand for women's rights. Although I like strong female characters, I felt it was out of place for time period to have so many women fighting for their rights. This is the reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5.

I thought this was a very interesting book. When this book came out, I was too young for it, but I know it was a world wide phenomenon, and I always wanted to read it, so I finally got around to it. Even knowing the spoilers from hearing about them, reading about them, etc. it was still attention grabbing. I enjoyed how it told you parts of history and connected ideas you never thought of before. Even though it was fiction, it made you think about the world around you.

Martha Hall Kelly presents well integrated woven with some family memories into historical fiction. The mystery is set in current time when a young Californian woman travels to Martha’s Vineyard for an Art Class to begin her quest. During her visit, the art instructor shares the story of a local family set during WWII. I came to know the family well and wanted to know the fate of each person. A beautiful summer read. When finished check out Martha’s website. She shares some of the recipes dating back to the ‘40s.

Great summer reading

The beginning of the book was warm and informative; Ina was totally relatable. The middle of the book was interesting-learning about her foray into the food business; the failures and successes and lessons learned. At the end, I didn't want to read about her apartment in France and the interior decoration. Advice would have been good; bragging/name -dropping was a turn off. Although overall, the book was engaging, an editor should have removed many of the exclamation points!

This non-fiction book tells the story of Elizabeth Packard. She is a woman I have never heard of but should have. Sane women are institutionalized by their husbands on whims including Elizabeth. She fought to get back rights for her and others caught in this situation . The story is at times tedious but I am glad I learned about this formidable woman.

I'm not saying this book is awful, it actually draws some interesting parallels between Vietnam and the Holocaust. It is with sadness I say that the gladness was sucked right out of me with the repetition and long draw out story

Elizabeth Hoyt, the very prolific author of more than 20 Recency Romance novels has written another one. Her latest, NO ORDINARY DUCHESS, is rich with characters, charm, and social settings that existed in the early part of the 1800's in Great Britain. To this is added the unique story for whatever novel. All of Hoyt's Recency Romance novels have a hero (handsome and brooding), a heroine(charming and headstrong) and , of course, a villain (ruthless and cruel). Frequently a kidnapping or blackmail is involved. So far, so good. However, this latest offering goes into great detail about the hero's problem. Rather than his problem being about money, the life of a second son, or a forced marriage - Julian Greycourt's problems are sexual. And, in a twist of roles, Lady Elspeth comes along to save him, rather than visa versa.... I'm all for gender bending stereotypes in literature (and life?) but a found this book to be more graphic than I like in Regency England.