Sister's Choice Quilts

My interests are quilting, reading, cooking, family, decorating, and matters of style. I post regular quilting tutorials and book reviews of current fiction.

Some Good Books for December

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Snow by John Banville was so good!  It starts just like an Agatha Christie book. "The body is in the library", said Colonel Osborne. "Come this way". The scene is set in County Wexford, Ireland, in an old manor house where a priest is murdered. There is the typical Christie-type cast of characters, but the style is more gritty than any of her books ever was. Aristocratic Detective Inspector St.John Strafford is determined to get to the bottom of things during the course of a blizzard. It was very entertaining, and of course, since the book is set in Ireland, I was hooked from the get-go. Four stars.

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This is the year for Agatha Christie for me.  There are a couple of new books that feature fictionalized biographies of her life that are very intriguing.  The first one I read is The Woman on the Orient Express by Lindsay Jayne Ashford. As many of you may know, there was a huge scandal involving Agatha Christie back in the 1920s.  Her husband was having an affair with a younger woman and asked Agatha for a divorce, whereupon she disappeared for 11 days.  When she finally turned up, she claimed amnesia, and would never speak of the incident again. True story. This novel is set after Christie's divorce and gives a fictional accounting of her trip to Baghdad on the Orient Express. She was very interested in archaeology and joined a "dig" in Mesopotamia.  Her books Murder in Mesopotamia and Death on the Nile were inspired there. She stayed in Iraq for some months and then returned to England where she married her second husband. I loved this accounting of Christie's activities and the real historical people she met on her travels. I give this book three and a half stars.  It was quite entertaining. It's only $4.99 on Kindle.

The second Agatha Christie-inspired book is coming out on Dec. 29 and is called The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict. I can't wait for that one and am hoping it is a Book of the Month selection.

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I just started The Arctic Fury by Greer Macallister and am loving it so far. Set in the 1850s, a dozen women undertake an Artic expedition and not all of them come back. Mysterious Lady Jane Franklin wants them to find her husband's lost expedition after four male-led parties have not been successful in locating him.  She thinks she will have better luck if she puts a group of women in charge. The main character Virginia Reeves is very appealing.  Your attention is grabbed right away, as the book opens with Virginia standing trial for the murder of one of the women on the expedition. $7.99 on Kindle right now.

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I accidentally purchased this book, thinking it was a Christmas themed book.  I was wrong about that but still enjoyed the book.  Jenny Colgan is a very good writer who writes cozy books for women, that often feature a sweet romance. In Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe, we meet Issy Randall who is romantically involved with her sleazy boss and ends up getting laid off from her job, thanks to him. It turns out the girl can bake like a champ and uses her severance package to start up a little cafe outside of London. And the banker who gives her a business loan may be a better choice of a boyfriend than her previous one. The book is amusing and is full of recipes and fun secondary characters. Fast read. Three plus stars. The book I meant to buy was Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe.  I just ordered it for my Kindle and hope I like it as much as this first one in the series.

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Another Christmas themed book by Jenny Colgan, Christmas at the Little Beach Street Bakery. This one was ok. It is the third book in the Little Beach Street Bakery series.  It can stand on its own, but there were constant references to events and characters from the previous books (that I didn't read), which I found distracting and annoying. It was like when you get together with friends and they keep talking about things they did in the past that didn't include you.  Snore. Set in Cornwall, which was fun. Very annoying secondary characters with problems they created due to their own stupid decisions. Only two and a half stars for me, but you might like it better.  I do enjoy this author and will read more of her stuff. This one just wasn't my cup of tea.

In December I often tend to read faster, lighter themed books.  This month has gotten off to a great start. I hope if you pick up any of these books you will enjoy them!

 

 

30 responses to “Some Good Books for December”

  1. The Arctic Fury caught my eye; I’m putting it on my wish list. Thanks for the reviews. I’m always looking for new books!

  2. The Arctic Fury caught my eye; I’m putting it on my wish list. Thanks for the reviews. I’m always looking for new books!

  3. The Arctic Fury caught my eye; I’m putting it on my wish list. Thanks for the reviews. I’m always looking for new books!

  4. Thank you for the recommendations. I will see if I can get these books from the library. I’ve read 85 books so far this year. Always was a big reader!
    Happy holidays!

  5. Thank you for the recommendations. I will see if I can get these books from the library. I’ve read 85 books so far this year. Always was a big reader!
    Happy holidays!

  6. Thank you for the recommendations. I will see if I can get these books from the library. I’ve read 85 books so far this year. Always was a big reader!
    Happy holidays!

  7. Thanks for the recommendations — I’ll look into the Ashford book. I keep trying with Marie Benedict but in every book there’s a bit that she gets wrong and her editors didn’t catch. It’s enough to bother me.

  8. Thanks for the recommendations — I’ll look into the Ashford book. I keep trying with Marie Benedict but in every book there’s a bit that she gets wrong and her editors didn’t catch. It’s enough to bother me.

  9. Thanks for the recommendations — I’ll look into the Ashford book. I keep trying with Marie Benedict but in every book there’s a bit that she gets wrong and her editors didn’t catch. It’s enough to bother me.

  28. Thank you, as always, for your recommendations! I have just finished In a Holidaze, it was a light and fun read.

  29. Thank you, as always, for your recommendations! I have just finished In a Holidaze, it was a light and fun read.

  30. Thank you, as always, for your recommendations! I have just finished In a Holidaze, it was a light and fun read.