The War Widow by Tara Moss -- Billie Walker owns a private-inquiry agency in post-World War II Australia. When she's asked to find a missing 17 year old boy, she realizes Adin Brown has been the victim of something much bigger than earlier expected. With her secretary/assistant Sam, Billie is off to investigate! Pretty good story!
Better Luck Next Time by Julia Claiborne Johnson -- The story of Ward Bennett's time as a young man living as a cowboy on a ranch in Nevada where women would live six weeks before their divorces were final. Interesting, huh? Pretty cute story.
Rocket Men by Robert Kurson -- "The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First Journey to the Moon" -- Andrew read this book and told me, "you'd like this one!" so I read it and I did really like this one! Great story about astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders along with their wives and all the many people who helped make Apollo 8 a success.
Pretty as a Picture by Elizabeth Little -- I'd like this book better if I were a movie lover, but even without that, this was a rather cute book. Movie editor Marissa Dahl - a loveable quirky character - is hired to work on a movie set based on a real-life murder on an island off the coast of Delaware.
In Farleigh Field by Rhys Bowen -- My mom finished this book and instead of taking it back to the library for her, I decided to read it first since she enjoyed it. I did too! Takes place mostly in World War II England with the aristocratic folks from Farleigh and the curator's son, Ben. Pretty good story.
The Heiress by Molly Greeley -- I liked her first book better; this was just ok to me. It's subtitled "The Revelations of Anne de Bourgh" and there are many admirable bits in the book for sure, but it wasn't a favorite.
Pirate Hunters by Robert Kurson -- So, Andrew decided to find another book by this author and again, "you'll want to read this one" so I did. It's subtitled, "Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship." The author interviews John Chatterton (from a former book) and his new partner, John Mattera, as they hunt for the Golden Fleece, a missing pirate ship from the late 1600s which was captained by Joseph Bannister. Another good story!
Unorthodox: the Scandalous Rejection of my Hasidic Roots by Deborah Feldman -- I found this in a Free Little Library last year, and finally read it. The author talks about her childhood in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, and her marriage and the birth of her son. An ok story.
The Children's Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin -- An interesting story from the Great Plains in the late 1880s when a blizzard surprised folks by its suddenness and timing: when children were just being dismissed from school for the day. Good story!
Adrift by Steven Callahan -- A story from over 15 years ago that I read most of on Valentine's Day since it was cold, wet, and Andrew had finished it so I decided to read it before returning it to the library. The author's story about his seventy-six days lost at sea. I admire how he overcame so many obstacles - wow. Pretty interesting story.
Unveiling the Past by Kim Vogel Sawyer -- Sean and Meghan are a husband and wife cold-case detective team who are looking for answers for a young lady whose father supposedly embezzled money and took off. This is completely different from the father Sheila knew. Meanwhile Meghan decides about meeting her absentee father. A decent book.
The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister -- A rather odd story about a father and daughter who lived alone on a small island where the dad, a scent scientist, tried to capture scents much like folks captured pictures on Polaroid cameras. Emmeline knows nothing of the outside world until one day when everything changes. Suddenly she's living off the island and having to get used to people. Pretty good story.
The Bible Doesn't Say That by Dr. Joel M. Hoffman -- this popped up on Amazon's suggestions for me, and I do tend to like stuff like this so I put it on my Wishlist and got it for Christmas. It's "40 Mistranslations, Misconceptions, and Other Misunderstandings" from both the Old and New Testaments. Decent book; some things were interesting, and others seemed a bit of a stretch to me, but I'm not the language expert as he is so...
Jackie and Maria by Gill Paul -- An interesting book about Jackie Kennedy and Maria Callas, and one man they had in common Aristotle Onassis. I didn't know much about these folks despite hearing about Jackie and her second husband over the years. While the author admits much of this is made up, it was still an interesting way to learn more about their personalities and such. Parts of the book had some about the Kennedy family as well, especially the former president.
All That We Carried by Erin Bartels -- Two sisters who haven't been together in about a decade meet for a hiking trip in Michigan's upper peninsula. Olivia is a prosecuting attorney while Melanie offers uplifting messages to her YouTube and other social media followers. Pretty cute story of their time together in the woods.
Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly -- Here's another book Andrew read that he thought I'd like. This one didn't capture my attention and excitement quite like the Kurson books (remember rocketing around the moon, deep-wreck divers, pirate ship?), but it was a great look at many women, mostly black women in the book, who were the computers, the math aides, the mathematicians, the engineers behind the United States' flights in wars and later to space.
Recipe For A Perfect Wife by Karma Brown -- good book about "women daring to take control"; alternating between Alice of recent times as she and her husband move from NYC to the suburbs, and Nellie, the lady who lived in the house in the 1950s.
The Flicker of Old Dreams by Susan Henderson -- Mary Crampton has barely traveled out of Petroleum in her life. After her mother died in childbirth, Mary lives with her father who runs the community's mortuary. A decent story about small-town living and growing up in an odd house.
Fever by Mary Beth Keane -- An interesting look at the life of Mary Mallon also known as Typhoid Mary. I enjoyed this story.
Waiting for Wednesday by Nicci French -- More in the Frieda Klein mystery series; pretty good story. Frieda searches for a missing woman, and her house is invaded by people as her niece's friend and his siblings stay with her for a day or two, and as her Ukraninan friend replaces her bathtub. Troubling situation for an introvert.
An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen -- Jess is working as a make-up artist in New York when she comes across a study by a Dr. Shields that would earn her $500! The need for some quick money gets her involved in a morality and ethics study which lasts longer than the initial two days. Pretty good story!
