Review of A King’s Ransom by Sharon Kay Penman
Sharon Kay Penman’s epic novel of the latter part of Richard the Lionheart’s life, A King’s Ransom, engages in some literary alchemy.
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Book Reviews
Review of Sea Witch: The First Voyage of Captain Jesamiah Acorne by Helen Hollick
Review of Helen Hollick’s Sea Witch: a rich pirate yarn with magic mixed into the ships and battles–oh, and a love story.
Book Club Discussion Questions
Book Club Discussion Questions for Hand of Fire: A Novel of Briseis and the Trojan War Early on Briseis faces several crises and takes on adult responsibilities, although she is only fifteen at the time. Did you find her character believable? Did you find parallels to contemporary teenage life? What do the varied responses of women to the violent circumstances they face in this novel show about human nature and about some women’s resiliency in the face of tragedy? What does the novel say about the source of women’s strength? Is Achilles’ half-immortality more of an advantage or disadvantage to… Read More »Book Club Discussion Questions
Review of Blade of the Samurai by Susan Spann
Susan Spann’s second historical mystery, Blade of the Samurai, is set in medieval Japan and has several unpredictable twists for its two “sleuths,” a Portuguese Jesuit priest and a shinobi assassin. Highly recommended.
Review of Sinners and the Sea by Rebecca Kanner
Kanner has filled in the sparse Biblical account of Noah, telling the story of the flood from the point of view of Noah’s wife, and thus creating an extended modern midrash.
Review of The Promise by Ann Weisgarber
Set in Galveston in 1900, The Promise brings us inside two utterly different women’s voices and experiences as they cope with upheaval, loss and love. A masterful book.
Review of The Lincoln Deception by David O. Stewart
Lincoln is a popular topic these days with sometimes fanciful results in fiction and movies. This book has a solid historian behind the fantasy. The prosecutor of the Booth conspirators told on his deathbed of a dangerous secret concerning Lincoln’s assassination, but he took the secret to his grave and the provenance of this tale was “by no means sturdy.” The story being too juicy to ignore, Stewart turned to fiction.
Review of Girl on the Golden Coin: A Novel of Frances Stuart by Marci Jefferson
Flirtations of the most dangerous and serious sort entangle Frances Stuart first in the court of Louis XIV and then in the Restoration court of Charles II. Despite the luscious gowns and extravagant jewels she wins for herself, we don’t envy her the high-wire balancing act she must maintain as she tries to win first one king’s influence and then another, while concealing the tragic secrets that would destroy her family and herself.
Review of Becoming Josephine by Heather Webb
“Webb holds up a light into the inner recesses of a fascinating and contradictory woman . . . Becoming Josephine is an accomplished debut.” Read my review of Heather’s excellent novel about Josephine, Empress of France, Napoléon Bonaparte’s wife on the New York Journal of Books.
Review of Delivering Death by Julie Kramer
Another page-turning, alternately funny and bone-chilling mystery from Julie Kramer. A delivery of an envelope of human teeth gets Riley going on another lethal investigation.