Month: January 2024

One of our newer picture books, this title by Lina Maslo is beautifully illustrated, from the beginning endpapers to the ending. It relates a story from a Ukrainian child’s point of view, of life in Ukraine during the Holodomor, the Great Famine of 1932-33, caused by Russia demanding unreasonably high grain quotas. Millions died from starvation and villagers turned in their neighbors for hiding food. Personal property was seized as well, including Zlata’s beautiful hand embroidered shirt. But the story does have a happier ending despite the gravity of the time. There is an Author’s note about the famine, as well as an explanation about the tradition of Ukrainian embroidery. Recommended for older children.

Rayleen D’Agostino Mautner has penned a guide to the secret of the Italian lifestyle, or living la dolce vita, the sweet life. She divides her book into different areas: food, time, the self, relationships, beliefs and lifestyle, and dispenses advice on how to live happy and healthy, no matter where you live or how much money you have. Many of her suggestions are common sense: the importance of exercise and eating healthy, spending time with friends and family, and “blooming where you are planted,” or being happy with yourself. I did enjoy this, and intend to take some of her advice 😉

Part #1 of the DCI Clements 2-book series (I accidentally read them out of order), fills in the gaps of the story of Kylie Gillingham, married to 2 men at the same time. We learn about the two how-they-met scenes and see how she began to lead two separate lives: one as the stepmother to 2 boys and the other in a more glamorous, glitzy world. Understanding how she managed to maintain these parallel lives and her feelings towards both men was the most fascinating part of the stories. The actual crimes that followed and the fallout was less interesting. Although the reader will question how she managed to pull it off and fool both families, you also leave feeling a little jealous that she had two full, rich lives and wonder if you too, could pull it off. Also available as an ebook and audio on hoopla.

After a painting purchased by his girlfriend Alex is stolen, Luke Perrone, an artist and art history teacher, teams up with Alex and a former analyst with Interpol to search for the snatched painting. All three of them believe it to be an original painting by Van Gogh, which had disappeared at his funeral. This novel is a follow-up to a previous one by the author, The Lost Mona Lisa, and has a fast moving plot and plenty of characters to keep you guessing as to who has the painting. I enjoyed it, and am circling back to read the previous title. For mystery fans, especially for those who enjoy reading up on art history.

Adele Parks is one of my favorite modern British mystery writers, but this title did not stand out. One woman is missing and discovered to have been leading two lives and married to two men. As the police try to find her and fear her dead, her best friend turns out to have quickly stepped in and begins an affair with one husband while also spending time with the other husband. Suspicious? Possibly. The plot was disjointed and too fragmented for my liking although I wanted to finish and see how the characters ended up. The detectives made too many obvious mistakes to be believable. A quick read (I listened to the audio on Hoopla).