February, 2022

"The Lives of Diamond Bessie" by Jody Hadlock

16 year old Annie Moore runs away from the Magdalene Convent after her newborn baby is taken from her.  Unsure where to go and what to do, she is found half dead by some friendly ladies of the night.  After she recovers, she desperately looks for work, but ultimately turns to prostitute. 

I don't want to give anything away, but I absolutely loved the twist.  It was completely unexpected and absolutely original!  The characters were well rounded, dynamic and felt very realistic.   I did feel that the jumps in time were a bit much, I would have liked more detail about Bessie's day-to-day life.  Overall, 4 out of 5 stars.

"Portrait of a Thief" by Grace D. Lli

During the middle of a robbery at the museum where he works, a business card is thrust into Will Chen's hand.   When he calls the number, he finds himself putting together a crew and traveling to Berlin for a once in a lifetime opportunity.  The crew is offered 50 million dollars to steal five Chinese artifacts from museums around the world. 

  I had a hard time getting into this book. The characters felt extremely stereotypical.  Just about every chapter had one character or another talking about their displacement and unease as a second generation immigrant.  This in itself wasn't off-putting, but it became extremely repetitious.  With some editing, this could have been a more exciting adventure, but instead I found myself growing bored.  Overall, 2 out of 5 stars. 

"Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" by Dee Brown

This book outlines the horrors and atrocities committed against Native American's during the height of American expansion.  With each broken treaty, Natives are forced into barren land, unable to support themselves and their families.  When they fight back, they are massacred and beaten into submission.   The story of many famous Native American's are outlined, such as Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Geronimo, and Red Cloud.

  This book was heartbreaking and at times hard to read.  I was amazed at all of the broken promises and treaties, I certainly didn't learn about that in school!  My biggest problem, is that the book presented some things in a skewed manner.  A massacre is a massacre regardless of which side commits it.  When the Native American's slaughtered whites, it was portrayed as a skirmish, teaching the white man a lesson, etc.  Presenting torture, mutilation, scalping, and slaughter as something else lessened the author's credibility.  I appreciate the author's attempts to provide a different perspective, but please call a spade a spade.  Despite these criticisms, I highly recommend this book.

"Mrs. Witherspoon Goes to War" by Mary Davis

Set during WWII, Peggy serves with the Women's Air force Service Pilots "WASPS."  As a WASP, she flies ferries planes across the U.S. freeing up men to fight overseas.  After being injured in battle, combat pilot Howie is stationed in the States alongside Peggy.  On a run to Cuba, Peggy overhears soldier talking about captive American soldiers.  When she alerts Howie, she finds outs that the Army will not acknowledge that soldiers have been captured in Cuba, or do anything to rescue them.

The relationship between Peggy and Howie was extremely predictable and stereotypical.  I am so tired of women in war being shown through their romantic entanglements.  This takes away from women's accomplishments in wartime and seems to support the idea that women shouldn't serve.  I wish women were treated as the heroines that they were, rather than falling into the arms of a man at the slightest opportunity.  I doubt I will pick up another book by this author.

"Sister Stardust" by Jane Green

After clashing with her step-mom, Cece leaves her small town for London.  She lands a job in a department store, and begins transforming herself into a glamorous it girl.  When she begins dating a music promoter, she quickly befriends a rock stars girlfriend   and finds herself traveling with the band to Marrakesh.  There she meets Talitha Getty, and finds herself in the midst of drugs and wild orgies.

This was a well written, engaging story.  The characters were fascinating, almost hypnotic.  The book was hard to put down, I found myself reading long into the night.  The lifestyle of the rich and famous was absolutely crazy.  With all of the attention, easy drugs, and risk taking, I see how they burn out quickly.  Overall, I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from this author.

"Bone Deep" by Charles Henry Bosworth, Joel Schwartz

After leaving his weekly game night, Russell returns home to find his wife Betsy in a pool of blood.  His only thought was that his terminally ill wife must have committed suicide.  Running to the kitchen, he calls 911 and waits for help.  When police arrive, it is clear that Betsy had been murdered - she was stabbed over 25 times and a knife was embedded in her neck.  Russell, in shock, was taken to the police station where he endured hours and hours of questioning.  Simultaneously, the police were interviewing friends, family and neighbors.  Pamela Hupp, the last one who had seen Betsy alive, pointed the finger at Russ.  Without critically looking at Pam, who days before had become the beneficiary of Betsy's life insurance policy, they took everything she said at face value.  What ensued was a horrible miscarriage of justice, as a grieving Russell was subjected to two trials, media scrutiny, and years behind bars.

Wow, this poor guy.  Not only did he find his wife dead, but he had to deal with one-sided cops, fanatic prosecutors, and years and years in jail.  It's hard to say a tragedy was fascinating, but this book was hard to put down.  I just had to know how everything ended and whether or not Russ was vindicated.  The author did a fabulous job telling his story.  Overall, highly recommended.