What We're Reading: Debbie

The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin
A gentle orchardist, known as Talmadge, tends his rows of apples and apricots in the turn of the twentieth century Pacific Northwest. His quiet, solitary life is interrupted when two pregnant, starving, teenage girls enter his orchard, and his life. He ends up risking everything, even his own freedom and life, to give them a chance at life that they had never been given. I loved reading this book. The writing is beautiful, and the story, though one relating unspeakable cruelty and misfortune, is one that really got into my heart. The many moral questions in the plot would make this a great selection for discussion in book clubs, and the beauty of the setting and the depth of the characters would make a great movie too. This novel is one of my all-time favorites.

What We're Reading: Edward

Archive 17: a novel of suspense

by Sam Eastland

     Stalin again needs the investigative skills of Pekkla, the Emerald Eye. Pekkla is sent back to the Gulag where he was imprisoned. He is to solve the murder of one of the four remaining Tsarist soldiers. They were part of a protection detail for the gold treasure of the Tsar. Pekkla slowly realizes that Stalin sent him not just to solve the murder but to find the gold. Stalin needs the gold to support the war effort. Pekkla tries to gain the trust of the remaining soldiers. When he gains their trust he realizes that there really is gold to be found. Will Pekkla be able to survive the murderous soldiers, the Gulag guards, the local tribe, and Stalin?

Sequel to The Eye of the Red Tsar

Great Read!

What We're Reading: Edward

The Spy Who Jumped Off the Screen


by Thomas Caplan


     Ty Hunter was an Army intelligence officer (special-ops) until he was wounded and given a medal. After surgery for his injuries, Ty became a media darling and was offered a movie role. Several successful movies in a row make him a star. Ty wants to take off for a much needed rest, but he gets a phone call to come and see the President. Ty was promoting a movie in France when he was invited aboard the yacht of Ian Santel. The President wants him to return to the yacht to find out if Santel was involved in the theft of three Russian nuclear warheads. Santel's protege Philip Frost and Ty seem to be competing for the attention of Santel's niece. Their competition turns deadly as Ty tries to stop the delivery of the nuclear weapons. Interesting mix of paparazzi, patriots and the perverse.

What We're Reading: Edward

The Mountain of Gold

by J. D. Davies

Captain Matthew Quinton has a new ship. While on convoy duty in the Mediterranean, he captures a pirate ship. Its captain is an Irishman masquerading as a  Muslim. The pirate weaves a tale about a mountain of gold in the interior of Africa. Quinton returns to England with the Irishman. King Charles needs gold to consolidate his reign. So Quinton and the Irishman are sent to the Gambia to get the gold for the King. The cover for this expedition is a possible war with the Dutch. Quinton is beset with problems while sailing up the Gambia to the mountain of gold. Will Quinton lose another ship?



What We're Reading: Edward

The Temple Mount Code (Thomas Lourds, Book 3)

by Charles Brokaw

     Harvard Professor Thomas Lourds is again in the thick of an archeological mystery that involves the fate of the world. While visiting a fellow archeologist working in China, Lourds translates writing on a bit of tortoise shell. This leads to an important find in the Himalayas. While there Lourds gets an urgent message from a colleague in Israel. When Lourds arrives in Israel, he learns that his colleague is dead. But Lourds knows that a message has been left for him to find. He is soon on the trail of Mohammad's Koran and a scroll said to foretell the future. Lourds travels to Vienna and Tehran in search of clues to the book and scroll.Will he be able to find the book and stop the end of the world?

What We're Reading: Edward



The Hope Vendetta: a novel

by Scott Mariani

Ben Hope was tired of all the killing he saw as an SAS operative. He tried working as a private contractor to right the wrongs in the world but ended up losing even more of himself. Ben decides to return to Oxford University and continue his study of theology and become a minister. But his favorite professor's daughter goes missing. Ben gets a former colleague to search for the girl. But when Ben's colleague is killed, Ben sets out to exact revenge on the party behind the kidnapping and murder.Ben ends up in the United States on the trail of a minister, who believes that the end of days is near. When Ben is almost killed, he realizes that there are forces at work that hope to bring about the final conflict for political reasons. Will Ben be able to stop these forces before they bring about the biblical end of the world?

Soon to be a major motion picture.

But read the book first and be sure to get more of Ben's story in the "Mozart Conspiracy".

What We're Reading: Edward

Ashes of the Earth: a mystery of the post-apocalyptic America

by Eliot Pattison

Twenty-five years after the world experiences a series of atomic and biological attacks, people are beginning to gather in communities for their survival. One of these communities, near the Great Lakes, is Carthage. Hadrian Boone was one of the founders of the community. But now he is on the outs with the current leadership. When the leading scientist of the community is killed, the violent underside of the community is revealed. Boone is given the task of finding out what is happening to Carthage. Neighboring communities want to change Carthage. Boone had hoped that the devastation of the Earth would change mankind. But evil and violence still seem to be a part of the human condition. Will it ever change? Start of a new series for Pattison.

What We're Reading: Cathy

The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt by Caroline Preston

This was a fun novel told in the form of a scrapbook. The author uses pictures, postcards, ads, tickets, etc. along with Frankie's comments to tell her story of going off to college, finding a job, traveling to Paris, and meeting Mr. Right (and a few Mr. Wrongs) during the 1920's. The authentic illustrations (which the author got from various archives and eBay) set the tone wonderfully. It made me feel like I was reading my great aunt's memory book. The icing on the cake is that the author's mother was Sylvia Beach's godchild, so there is an actual connection to the Left Bank set.

What We're Reading: Edward

Very Bad Men

by Harry Dolan

Ann Arbor magazine editor David Loogan arrives at work and finds a manuscript. It begins with "I killed Henry Korman". David soon learns that Korman has indeed been murdered. Seventeen years ago, Korman was one of three men involved in a robbery from a bank in the UP. There is an attempt on the life of one of the other robbers. David finds himself working with and against his love interest, Detective Elizabeth Waishkey. David also learns of a connection to a candidate for the U.S. Senate. The candidate's father was a police officer at the scene of the robbery. The third robber is still in prison in the UP. He is killed while out of prison for his father's funeral. Why are these men being targeted? Who is behind the murders? David brings his Swiss Army knife to this gunfight. But he still manages to figure it all out before the police. Another great read by Dolan.

What We're Reading: Edward

Mozart Conspiracy: a novel

by Scott Mariani

Ben Hope left the British SAS and now works as a private emergency response team. Ben gets a call from the sister of his late friend, Oliver. Oliver died under mysterious circumstances while he was working on a biography of Mozart. Oliver's sister, Leigh is an opera star and an old flame of Ben's. When Ben arrives at Leigh's English country home, they are almost killed by a group of masked gunmen. Were the assassins after a letter written by Mozart just before he died? The letter, owned by Leigh's father, detailed the existence of the Order of Ra. The Order works behind the scenes to control the world. Leigh receives a video taken by Oliver that shows that the deadly cabal is still in existence today. The Order of Ra will kill to maintain their secrecy. Will Ben and Leigh be able to survive the group's assassins and reveal the secrets of the Order of Ra?

Ben's adventures may be the start of a great series.

What We're Reading: Edward

Medusa Amulet: a novel

by Robert Masello

David Franco is a researcher at the Newberry Library in Chicago. After giving a presentation at the Library, he is approached by a wealthy woman. She shows him a precious manuscript that gives a clue on how to find a precious object. His reward for finding the object is a million dollars plus expenses. The money would help to pay the bills for his sister's cancer treatment. David flies to Florence to begin his search. At a library in Florence he meets another researcher. She helps him find and follow more clues to the object. It is a mirror that was crafted by Benvenuto Cellini using the dark arts. When it is used properly it can give the gift of eternal life. But David is not the only one searching for the mirror. Has the mirror granted eternal life to someone? Was it Benvenuto, his muse, or someone else? David's sister takes a turn to the worse. Will he be able to find the mirror and save her life?

What We're Reading: Edward

Joy for Beginners: a novel

by Erica Bauermeister

"All serious daring starts within"

Eudora Welty

Kate is recovering from her battle with cancer. Six of her friends gather to help her celebrate her remission. Kate tells them that she plans to go white-water rafting, to conquer her greatest fear. She wants them to conquer their greatest fear. So Kate gives them each an task to master. Kate does go white-water rafting with her daughter. They form a closer bond during the trip. Kate's friends do their part and come to a fuller realization of who they are and what they can become.

Take the time to read Bauermeister's previous book, The School of Essential Ingredients.

What We're Reading: Edward

Carte Blanche

by Jeffery Deaver

If you liked the new sensitive Daniel Craig version of James Bond, you will enjoy Carte Blanche. In this novel, sanctioned by the estate of Ian Fleming, James Bond has all the accouterments that made him a 1960s icon. But James is definitely a modern man. James is investigating a threat to the Realm. Whispers about an attack that will have casualties in the thousands and affect British interests are overheard. The focus is on Afghanistan as the site for the attack. But James follows a lead outside London that sends him to Dubai and then on to South Africa. He is following Severan Hydt, the head of a multinational recycling empire. Hydt is perverse in his taking pleasure in decaying things. What does he plan for the decaying British Empire? Hydt employs Niall Dunne to plan and carry out his desires. Niall is just as dangerous as James. Who will survive their meeting? Will James again save the Realm?

May Deever have carte blanche to write the next James Bond thriller!

What We're Reading: Cathy

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I hate circuses. This book however is lovely.

The Cirque des Reves (Circus of Dreams) arrives without warning. One morning you wake up and the empty field outside of town is filled with black and white tents.The circus is not one of clowns and elephants but of a real magic of the senses: sight, touch, smell. The author manages to create a world that touches ours but remains largely outside it. It takes place around the turn of the last century. Two magicians, Celia and Marco, have been trained from their childhoods to participate in a contest against each other (although neither knows at first who their opponent is and that the contest is to be to the death). The circus is created both for them and by them to be the setting for the contest. One tent is a world of ice, in another, the smells can transport you the Arabian desert, in the next you can watch "illusions" where birds appear out of nowhere and the performer disappears before your eyes. Yet another tent contains a vertical maze of clouds. A hitch in the contest plans appears after a while though. Celia and Marco fall in love. They must decide how to save the circus and its performers while putting an end to the contest.

You may want to become one of the Reveurs, put on your red scarf and follow this circus.

What We're Reading: Edward

"Twice a Spy: a novel"


by Keith Thomson


Keith Thomson's "Once a Spy" has an unique slant on the usual spy novel. In it Charlie Clark learned that his mother was still alive and was a spy. His father, Drummond, is also a spy. He pretended to be a washing machine salesman. The washing machines that he sold were really fake nuclear bombs. He was selling them to terrorists to uncover them before they could do real damage. Drummond is suffering from Alzheimer's. His old CIA group, the Calvary, tries to terminate him before he can give up any secrets. In this sequel, Drummond is being treated for his Alzheimer's at a Swiss clinic. Charlie and his NSA girlfriend are protecting Drummond. But the Calvary needs Drummond to find a missing washing machine in the Caribbean. Charlie and Drummond again manage to outmaneuver the Calvary. But after locating the machine, they lose it. They have a hard time telling the good guys from the bad guys. Will they be able to figure out the target of the bomb? Once they do find it again , they must save the world! Charlie manages some of his own moves in this book, but it is Drummond who often saves the day.

What We're Reading: Edward

"City of Fear: a novel"


by David Hewson


Sovrintendente Nic Costa and his team are on the security detail for the G8 conference in Rome. The kidnapping of a governmental official involved in the security for the conference begins the trail to the Blue Demon. The Blue Demon was a terrorist group that existed until after World War II. Nic's father and the current Italian Prime Minister were involved in the extermination of the group. The new head of the Blue Demon believes that he is the embodiment of the ancient Etruscans and that he should be ruling Rome. His terror attacks strike at the heart of Rome. Nic and his team are frozen out of the investigation by forces inside other police agencies. But Nic's private conversation with the Prime Minister puts the team on the right track to prevent further deaths. This eighth adventure for Nic is a good mixture of political intrigue, a murder mystery, a historical mystery, and a thriller.
Read the whole series!

What We're Reading: Edward

"Hanging Tree: a Starvation Lake Mystery"


by Bryan Gruley


Starvation Lake is a Michigan resort town that has seen better days. It is a small town where everybody knows everybody else's secrets. Gracie McBride has returned from Detroit to start life over again. After a snow storm she is found hanging in the local lover's tree. Is it a suicide or murder? Gus, the editor of the local newspaper, is asked by his mother to get to the truth about Gracie. Gus and Gracie are cousins and frienemies. Gus worked for a Detroit newspaper before he returned to Starvation Lake. Even when they both lived in Detroit, Gus and Gracie rarely saw each other. Gus is running a series of articles on a millionaire lawyer who has moved to a lush estate outside of town. His son is the star goalie for the local hockey team. The lawyer promised to build a new hockey rink for the town. But the rink is not being built as quickly as promised. Everyone in town is willing to give him more time and the town's money to complete the project. Gus's research turns up a link between the lawyer and Gracie. Gus works to restore Gracie's reputation in the eyes of Starvation Lake.

What We're Reading: Edward

"Larry Bond's Red Dragon Rising: Edge of War"


by Larry Bond


Those of you who read the first part of the "Red Dragon Rising" series, will remember that scientist Josh MacArthur witnessed the Chinese invasion of Vietnam.The United States is trying to covertly get him out of the country and to help the Vietnamese. A female CIA agent and a SEAL TEAM join forces to get Josh to safety. Their journey from Hanoi to Saigon finds them avoiding both the Vietnamese army and Josh's Chinese nemesis from the first book. But nothing is easy in a country paralyzed by war. Both an Army Major and a Navy Captain use the newest technology to support the aims of the President. But will it be enough to stop the Chinese?
Can't wait for the next part of the story!

What We're Reading: Cathy

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

Edie's favorite book as a child was "The True History of the Mud Man." It was written by Raymond Blythe who lived in Milderhurst Castle. His 3 elderly and reclusive daughters still live there. Then, by chance, Edie finds out that her mother was evacuated to the castle during WWII. Her mother can even recite the poems that Blythe wrote ..."the ancient walls that sing the distant hours." The place draws her and she makes an impulsive visit to the castle. She meets the daughters: Persephony and Seraphina, who are twins, and Juniper, who has lost her mind. Edie searches for the inspiration behind the famous book and also the mysteries surrounding the sisters' lives. She also finds that her mother isn't really the sort of person she'd always thought. Disappearances, murder, madness, war, guilt, fires - all play their part in the family's history. Oh, and of course, there are ghosts.

What We're Reading: Edward

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"Edge: a Novel"


by Jeffery Deaver


Six years ago, Corte listened over the phone as his mentor was tortured by Loving. Loving is an expert on getting the "Edge" on people to get make them give up the information that he needs. Corte works for a secret federal agency that is tasked with protecting high value targets. Loving is now after a witness being protected by Corte. Loving has a source inside Corte's agency and keeps a step ahead of Corte. But Corte loves gaming and keeps Loving from getting his target. Corte even finds Loving's childhood home to learn more about his adversary. Corte and Loving seem to be evenly matched. But only one of them can get the final "Edge".
Great thriller!
Sure to be one of my favorite reads of the year.