The Priory of the Orange Tree

Shannon, Samantha. The Priory of the Orange Tree. Bloomsbury, 2019.

There are four storylines in this book which intertwine:

• Tane: a Seiikinese orphan drafted into the Houses of Learning as a child to train for the High Sea Guard in the East.
• Doctor Niclays Roos: an anatomist and alchemist whose current residence is in the East after being banished by Queen Sabran of Inys in the West.
• Ead Duryan: a sorceress of the Orange Tree posing as an Ordinary Chamberer in the Upper Household of Queen Sabran of Inys.
• Loth Beck: Heir apparent to the wealthy northern province of the Leas in Inys. He is a close friend to Queen Sabran.

Obviously there is a large cast of characters and some new vocabulary to master, but this is typical of most epic fantasy stories, so those who enjoy that type of story should not be surprised. Similar to the grandfather's description of The Princess Bride at the start of the movie with the same name, this book includes adventure, sword fights, miracles, true love, ... and dragons.

This is quite a long story, but that doesn't lessen its impact at all. I enjoyed the fact that I could read so much of this book and still know I had many more pages to go. The story makes full use of its length to build the world and develop the characters as well as move the plot along. I am glad for the diversity of characters, which is a welcome change after so many whitewashed fantasy stories. Those who enjoy epic fantasies will be able to savor this one for a long time. I echo what many others have said about reading carefully for the first 100 pages or so and referring often to the character list and glossary; you'll thank me later.

Recommended for: adults who enjoy epic fantasy
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars
Read-Alikes: Eragon, Lord of the Rings, Seveneves (even though it's science fiction)

I received a complimentary ARC of this book through the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Was the Cat in the Hat Black?

Nel, Philip. Was the Cat in the Hat Black? The Hidden Racism of Children's Literature, and the Need for Diverse Books. Oxford University Press, 2017.

Considering the recent kerfuffle over the American Library Association's choice to rename the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award the Legacy Award, this book should be required reading for everyone who thinks they are entitled an opinion on diverse books, racism in the library world, etc.

This book is exceptionally academic and is not easy or fast reading. It does not have a conversational tone, does not propose solutions to the obvious problems in children's literature, and will not give new information to those who are already reading and studying this topic.

However, that does not remove the book's merit. It is an important book, and if the renaming of the Legacy Award was the first time you considered that children's books, even beloved classics, could be racist, this is a good jumping off point.

Recommended for: adults, particularly those who work with children and books

The Calculating Stars

Kowal, Mary Robinette. The Calculating Stars. 2018.

A meteorite crashes to Earth during the 1950s and obliterates Washington, D.C., killing hundreds of thousands of people and leaving many more homeless and injured. The resulting steam and ash in the air sets off several years of cold weather, which will soon be followed by accelerated global warming. Elma is concerned that this is an extinction event, and she and her husband convince the fractured U.S. government to focus on colonizing the moon and Mars while there is still a chance to get off Earth. Elma served as a WASP during the second world war and would make a fantastic astronaut, be she and the other female pilots she knows are routinely passed over because of their gender. Will she be able to convince the good old boys that women would make excellent astronauts?

I was the first one to check out this book from my local library, and I finished it in less than a day, often choosing not to eat or sleep because I wanted to find out what happened. This book is set in the same general time period as Hidden Figures, so if you liked that story where "computer" refers to a woman who does math by hand and there is rampant sexism but women are fighting back, you'll love this one. If you enjoyed any of the myriad dystopian disaster books that followed on the heels of the Hunger Games (a la Life as We Knew It), then you'll enjoy this one. If you like astronauts and space and thinking about how they train and how they build the rockets and actually get them into space, you'll like this book.

With well-rounded characters, appropriate amounts of world-building, and a compelling plot, this book is highly recommended.

Recommended for: adults and teens
Red Flags: Not many as it's set in the 1950s and the characters are adults. Rampant sexism is obvious - more than one person refers to the female astronauts as "astronettes" and asks how they'll do their hair and makeup in space.
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Hidden Figures, Life as We Knew It,

Record of a Spaceborn Few

Chambers, Becky. Record of a Spaceborn Few. Hodder & Stoughton, 2018.


This book picks up near the end of A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, and follows several different characters on board the ships of the Exodus Fleet. Reading the previous two works in the series is recommended but not required in order to enjoy this story.

This is a standard science fiction tale told from multiple viewpoints (which do eventually converge, for those who wonder), focusing on life on board the generation ship that left Earth decades ago in search of a new home for humanity. There is a lot of interaction with other sapients, some of whom look similar to humans and many who do not. If you enjoy watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, you will probably enjoy this story, as the Exodus Fleet has finished its journey and is now operating as a de facto space station.

I really enjoyed the world-building: descriptions of life in the ship and the way it is organized, the hi-jinks of the teen characters who just want off of the ship, the interactions with other sapient species, etc. While this isn't a plot-driven, action-focused page-turner, it is nonetheless highly enjoyable for its focus on character development. I found the writing compelling in spite of the lack of invasion by Borg or other such disasters. Also worth noting is the diversity within the human race: frequent use of gender neutral pronouns for persons whose gender identity is unknown as well as lack of assumptions regarding a person's sexual orientation, make this a relief and a comfort to read for those in the queer community. Highly recommended.

Recommended for: science fiction fans (teens and adults)
Red Flags: some mild action sequences; some dead bodies are seen (although we do not watch them die); teens use illicit drugs and attempt to obtain services from a sex worker (the issue here is that they are underage, not that they want sex).
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Edelweiss for the purpose of review. 

Love Came Calling

Popovich, C.A. Love Came Calling. Bold Strokes Books, 2018

Josie has inherited her dad's rustic Michigan resort, has renovated it, and has turned it into a lesbian retreat center. She has almost paid off the debt on the resort and is hoping that business will start booming. But a strange man starts showing up at her door and demanding that she sell him the land that is "rightfully his."

Kelly is stressed out at her job at a nursing home, so when her boss sends her to northern Michigan to help start a new nursing home, she is glad for the break. However, she does insist that she can still take her planned vacation with her group of friends, who end up at Josie's resort.

Kelly is looking for her happily-ever-after. Josie is not ready for commitment. Can the two of them still make a relationship work?

This is a fairly standard lesbian romance story, and I did enjoy it. I didn't think the added tension of the subplot with Abe, the guy who wanted to take over the resort, was necessary. I can't speak to the accuracy of the Ojibwe elements, either, but they are fairly prominently featured as the cover suggests. This would make a great summer read or a light read during a vacation.

Recommended for: adults
Red Flags: N/A this is an adult book. Abe does once use a slur in reference to Josie's lesbian resort, and a character is shot.
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of review.

Boy Erased

Conley, Garrard. Boy Erased. Riverhead Books, 2016.

This is Garrard Conley's story of his time in an outpatient program through Love In Action (LIA), a "restorative therapy" program meant to turn gay kids into straight kids. Conley grew up in the American South, aka the Bible Belt, and as such was highly involved in Baptist-esque Christian values that pervade nearly everything in that part of the country. After he was raped in college, his rapist called his parents and outed him; the result of this is his brief visit to the LIA program before he decided it was baloney and chose to leave the program.

I was so excited to read this story because, like Conley, I too was raised in a fundamentalist Christian church. I, too, knew I was gay but kept it hidden because I knew what my church thought about that, so I had the internalized homophobia to the degree that only fundamentalists experience. Not only was my gayness wrong, but it was so wrong it could ACTUALLY CONDEMN ME TO HELL, regardless of my current relationship with Jesus or the fact that I had never acted on my feelings. I, too, came to the conclusion that I needed help with healing from my "same-sex attraction (SSA)." I, too, attempted to use a program like LIA, although mine was entirely online.

So what I can tell you is that his description of the way they treat people at these programs - from dress codes to strict rules to emphasis on finding the source of a person's gayness - rings entirely true. The idea that you just need to pray harder or try harder or want to be straight more in order to be healed by God - this is what was pounded in my head, too. Like Conley, I too decided that this was a lie fed to me by the church, although it took me a good deal longer than Conley.

I feel for Conley in his feeling that he needed to choose: abandon his sexuality and his new found ideas and things he's learned outside his church circle, or abandon his family/faith/church community, the community he grew up in.

So why only three stars? The book itself jumps around from Conley's time in LIA to the time beforehand, including a large portion of time he spent with his father. It's too long to tell his story, and the middle of the book focuses almost exclusively on the past, when I was reading to understand how LIA would be similar to the program I went through. If Conley had followed a typical memoir timeline by starting with a brief peek at his LIA time, then reversing to his childhood and zipping through to the LIA visit again, this would have made sense. But all of that could have been maybe two chapters, not the entire center of the book.

Overall, this is a good book, but not a GREAT book.

Recommended for: adults, particularly those who were raised as Christian fundamentalists
Red Flags: lots of homophobic language
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Does Jesus Really Love Me?, Rapture Practice, Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays vs Christians Debate

A Closed and Common Orbit

Chambers, Becky. A Closed and Common Orbit. Hodder & Stoughton, 2016.

Lovelace was supposed to be the AI aboard the ship, however, due to events in the first book in this series, her program was placed into a body instead and she has been sent to live with Pepper. Pepper is a human who has a complicated past as well, and this book alternates chapters of Pepper's past with the story of Lovelace adapting to being in a body instead of a ship.

That description makes this book sound really dry, which it definitely is not. Sidra (the name Lovelace chooses for herself) has to deal with all the overwhelming sounds and sights of the beings around her all the time, and she has to adjust to being confined to a body with certain programming protocols (for example, she can't lie). In addition, she's not actually allowed to inhabit a body, so her very existence is illegal. Add that to the descriptions of several alien species and their various languages, habits, festivals, etc., and you get a fantastic mix that's perfect for any Star Trek fan.

On top of this we have Pepper's story. Pepper was bred to be an employee in a factory. She and her fellow workers (it's never clear if they are all clones or whatnot) never see the sunlight and never interact with anyone else. When there's an explosion at the factory, Pepper doesn't even know what to make of the "big blue ceiling" she sees outside the walls. But she escapes and ends up living in an abandoned shuttle, which she works on repairing so she can escape. These sequences are equal parts The Martian, combined with any "escape from a cult" type story you can imagine, because Pepper doesn't know anything about the outside world.

Bottom Line: This book is positively fantastic, and my only complaint is that I've finished reading it and the next one isn't out until later this year. Highly recommended.

Recommended for: teens, adults
Red Flags: Pepper's language develops around the time she turns 14 - she learns to swear and therefore uses her new language abilities extensively
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Head On

Scalzi, John. Head On. Tor Books, 2018.

Head On continues where Lock In left off, with Chris, a rookie FBI agent, and Chris's partner, Leslie, solving cases. This case involves a new sport called Hilketa that is primarily played by Haden's survivors. An athlete dies in the middle of a game - a first for the league and the sport, and Chris and Leslie are rushing to uncover the truth as witnesses die and evidence is tampered with.

This is a standard detective novel with the added twist that Chris and other Haden's survivors navigate the physical world using Threeps, robot bodies that they can control with their minds so they can speak, drive, work, and be with the rest of the world while their bodies are "locked in" in their beds. These Threeps are also what they use to play Hilketa, a game where one player is chosen at random and the other players attempt to remove that player's head and score points with it. I had a bit of a shock when I started reading this book and learned about Hilketa, but had forgotten about the use of Threeps and thought that players were actually ripping each other's heads off. Hilketa is a brutal and violent game, but the damage is only to the Threeps.

I initially read Lock In because it won an Alex Award, which is given for adult books with teen appeal. Since then I have read Scalzi's other novels, including the Old Man's War series, which I particularly enjoyed. Lock In and Head On are detective stories, and they would make great read-alikes for fans of gritty detective novels and crime procedural shows like Criminal Minds, Law & Order, Bones, etc. Another interesting point is that never once during either of the books is Chris's gender revealed. Scalzi wrote on the Tor blog about this choice, and I think it's really interesting. During the first book I assumed Chris as male, probably because Chris is often referred to by their last name, Shane, which is typically a male name.

Recommended for: older teens and adults
Red Flags: language, violence similar to that in crime procedural shows like Criminal Minds
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of review.

An Unkindness of Magicians

Howard, Kat. An Unkindness of Magicians. Saga Press, 2017.

New York City is filled with magicians who all belong to various houses. When there is a Turning, the houses compete to see who will be the ruling house. Some of the competitions are deadly. Sydney is a magician who escaped from the House of Shadows, and she has more power than can be imagined. Will she beat the others in the Turning and become the new ruler, or is something more sinister at play?

This is a great read-alike for those who enjoyed Lev Grossman's The Magicians series. This is grown-up magic: dangerous, serious, and deadly. It took a while for my questions about the backstory in this novel to be answered, but they were eventually answered. Recommended.

Recommended for: adults and teens
Red Flags: as an adult book, it contains adult themes as well as violence and language
Overall Rating; 4/5 stars

Artemis

Jazz lives in Artemis, the only city on the moon. She's a courier and a smuggler, and ends up involved in a complicated plot to take over the city's oxygen business.

If you are looking for another Martian story, this isn't it. If you're looking for a story similar to The Martian, this isn't it. What this is is a mystery-thriller type story that happens to take place on the moon, so there are complications one wouldn't expect on Earth. Weir's "voice" is very clear in this book and I enjoyed it, but it is not, I repeat, another Martian story.

Recommended for: adults, teens
Red Flags: language, violence
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purposes of review.

False Hearts

Lam, Laura. False Hearts. Tor Books, 2016.

Tila and Taema were raised in a cult outside of future San Francisco. Conjoined twins, they escape the cult at adolescence and are surgically separated in order to save their lives. Now banished from the cult, they start new lives in San Francisco. But when Tila shows up on Taema's doorstep covered in blood and is immediately arrested, Taema begins to discover the seedy underbelly of San Francisco as she goes undercover to find out the truth about her sister and the man she murdered.

I picked up this book for lots of reasons: the main characters had been raised in a cult, which I found interesting; the setting of San Francisco was definitely interesting; and I enjoy both science fiction and mysteries, so I thought I'd like this one.

I did like it, although the mystery aspect is completely predictable. Fans of mystery stories will likely figure out the secret sooner than Taema as well. As with many mysteries, this one took a while to end, and I found myself skimming simply to confirm my suspicions. Also, most of the San Frnacisco details are spot-on; however, those familiar with the city will scratch their heads when reading that the protagonist was living near the panhandle and was able to see Grace Cathedral from her window. Nonetheless, this is a good read and was worth the time.

Recommended for: adults
Red Flags: violence, language, etc - this is a book for adults
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Running Out of Time, My Life with the Liars, The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly

I Fired God

Zichterman, Jocelyn. I Fired God: My Life Inside - and Escape From - the Secret World of the Independent Fundamental Baptist Cult. St. Martin's Press, 2013

This memoir details Zichterman's childhood in an abusive IFB home, her marriage to an IFB man, and their eventual escape from the cult, along with details of Zichterman's mission to help rescue those who have been abused within the IFB.

As a person who also grew up in the IFB, attending camp at the Wilds of the Rockies, at Northland Baptist Bible College (now the defunct Northland International University); spending six years earning two "degrees" from Bob Jones University, and leaving the world of the IFB behind after six additional years teaching at an IFB school, I can attest that Zichterman details accurately the life within the IFB. To be sure, her home life was more extremely abusive than may be typical, but the church politics, the breaking of a child's will, the focus on women staying home to serve their men - all of this is seen throughout various sub-cultures of the overall IFB culture as a whole.

I myself have interacted with many of the people Zichterman mentions in her book and was not remotely surprised at the character abuse she endured upon her escape, along with multiple pleas to return to "the truth that she knew." I myself was chastised for not tithing exactly ten percent of my paycheck, which was easily discoverable at my church since one of the deacons was also the school principal. I, too, was chastised for being female and wanting to think or learn or have opinions. I, too, experience flashbacks to childhood abuse and was told the most important thing was to forgive my abuser and ask for forgiveness for any sin I may have committed while having the flashbacks to being raped as a 6-year old child. I also left the IFB behind, discovered my "degrees" from Bob Jones University were worthless, and was forced to start over again, working multiple jobs while I put myself through an accredited university education so I could get a new position outside of fundamentalism.

This book isn't an easy one to read, and I'm certain it wasn't an easy story for Zichterman to tell. But it is the truth, and it behooves us to remember that there are many of these churches scattered throughout the country where children are growing up uneducated, abused, and virtually trapped because they cannot imagine a way out and have no support system in place should they choose to leave. Recommended

Recommended for: adults, those who wish to learn more about the IFB or Bob Jones University, etc.
Red Flags: lots of descriptions of abuse, language
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Wild Things

Bird, Betsy. Wild Things! Acts of Mischief in Children's Literature. Candlewick Press, 2014.

This book is the combined work of Betsy Bird, Julie Danielson, and the late Peter Sieruta. Chronicling the history of children's literature, the authors draw upon their extensive knowledge as well as exhaustive research (the bibliography itself is over twenty pages long) and present the seldom-seen side of children's literature: subversive messages hidden in books, the censorship/banning process, and what to do when Madonna writes a picture book. This book is a treasure trove of trivia for librarians and bibliophiles, and I was really disappointed when I discovered I was on the last page, so this book is definitely begging a revisit.  I would recommend this book to any current or aspiring children's librarian or literature/language arts teacher.

The Magicians

Grossman, Lev. The Magicians Series (The Magicians, The Magician King, The Magician's Land). Viking, 2009, 2011, 2014.

Quentin Coldwater is a genius, and his only real friends are the other two geniuses at his high school. He also harbors a lifetime obsession with a series of children's books about a magical place called Fillory, a Narnia-esque fantasy land only accessible through magic portals from our world to theirs. When Quentin is chosen to attend a super-elite magical college a la Hogwarts, he begins to wonder: what if Fillory is real after all? Any more summation will involve spoilers, so I'll stop here.

I don't know how I missed this book when it first came out, but I started reading it and I loved it so much I forced myself to slow down and read at a pace that for me felt like the struggle of a three-legged turtle stampeding through peanut butter. Similar to the way I felt when I read Harry Potter or Ender's Game for the first time, I realized early on that I was going to love this book and also that I would be sad when I finished. I was right. There are enough Narnia, Harry Potter, Watership Down, Star Wars, and other references throughout this book to warm my little geeky heart. I love the world that Grossman created, both the world of Brakebills and also the land of Fillory. I was the kid who read and re-read the Narnia books and always wished there was a magical land hidden in the back of my closet, so this "Narnia for grown-ups" book where not everything had a happy ending was excellent.

I don't keep many books in my own personal library, as I rarely re-read as an adult and think my books should find new life in the hands of another reader, but The Magicians series will be going on my shelf next to Harry Potter and the Ender series.

Recommended for: adult fans of Harry Potter, Narnia, etc.
Red Flags: it's an adult book, so lots - drinking, sex, violence, language
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

The Cost of Truth

Parrott, Julie. The Cost of Truth. Xlibris Corporation. 2014. $28.03. 228p. SC 9781499000898. 

This biography of Donna Gordon covers her dramatic transformation from joining the Missionary Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception in Brisbane to leaving her calling and marrying her first love, giving birth to five children, then realizing that she is a lesbian and coming out of the closet. After leaving her family behind, Gordon was diagnosed with bone cancer. The Cost of Truth details Gordon’s struggles as she battles cancer and attempts to reconcile with her family whose religious beliefs will not allow them to accept her orientation.

The first-person narration in this book demonstrates that Parrott has spent much time with Gordon in order to tell her story properly. The story is personal, and the easy, conversational style and slow pace match this perfectly. Unfortunately, the story of a deeply religious person who comes out as LGBT has been told in many other venues already, and most libraries will find the price of this book to be prohibitive. While it is indeed a good thing that Gordon’s story has been told, this book is recommended as a purchase only for the libraries in Gordon’s and Parrott’s hometowns. Other libraries may find Aaron Hartzler’s Rapture Practice or Michelle Theall’s Teaching the Cat to Sit a better investment for their collection.

Gender Failure

Spoon, Rae and Ivan E. Coyote. Gender Failure. Arsenal Pulp Press. 2014. $17.95. 252p. SC 9781551525365.

This collection of essays and personal stories is the collaborative work of Ivan E. Coyote and Rae Spoon, both performers, musicians, and writers who admit that they have “failed” at gender. While Spoon has identified as transgender in the past and has now retired their gender altogether, Coyote has chosen to identify as trans* where they used to be identified as a butch lesbian. Both Coyote and Spoon have at times felt like outsiders and are now bringing awareness to the world at large and the LGBT community about those who live off the gender grid.

In alternating chapters, this book is a collection of the authors’ essays, song lyrics, drawings, and photographs all describing the their journeys as they have traveled through and beyond the gender spectrum. The essays and stories are personal, poignant, humorous, and bittersweet. They cover a variety of topics, touching on each author’s experience with gender, growing up in Canada, the LGBT community, and other seemingly-mundane topics such as airport restrooms. This book, like the multi-media show it’s based on, demonstrates that gender isn’t a binary thing. As such, Gender Failure is a necessary addition to any LGBT special collection, and is strongly recommended for public libraries, particularly those where there is emphasis on representing diversity within the library’s collection.

She of the Mountains

Shraya, Vivek. She of the Mountains. Arsenal Pulp Press. 2014. $18.95. 149p. SC 9781551525600.

Simultaneously retelling the Hindu story of creation and the story of a boy and the girl he loves, She of the Mountains weaves mythology and reality together until the line blurs and the reader sees both as one story. The main character, referred to only as he, is oblivious to the quite-obvious fact that he is gay. As he becomes aware of his own orientation, the reader also watches the relationship between Parvati, the Hindu mother of the universe; Shiva, the lord of destruction, and Parvati’s son Ganesh.

Shraya effectively tells a large story using a small number of pages. This brief tale has merit in both its retelling of Hindu mythology and its story of the love that he and she share. Intentionally ambiguous, this story avoids much of the typical character development and plot devices other stories share. The literary writing style of this short novel will discourage readers used to more standard plot-driven writing; nonetheless Shraya’s work would fit well in an LGBT special collections library or with a collection of Hindu tales. Recommended for academic institutions.

Anatomy of a Girl Gang

Little, Ashley. Anatomy of a Girl Gang. Arsenal Pulp Press. 2014. $16.95. 254p. SC 9781551525297.

Anatomy of a Girl Gang tells the story of a gang of girls in Vancouver who call themselves the Black Roses. Originally bonded together to make up for what each has lost in her own life, the gang quickly escalates to violence and crime. Told in chapters alternating among the gang members, this urban tale of gang culture will have readers turning the pages even after they’ve guessed at the ending.

Little manages a feat few others have done: her narrating characters’ voices read differently from each other. Chapters that tell the same story from different perspectives truly sound different, and Little has managed to capture the voice of an urban gang, the reasons the girls would join, and how the gang devolved into violence. This book has a dark tone, and the gritty writing style perfectly matches the story being told. The novel packs an emotional punch and is a recommended read for anyone who works with young adults in urban settings. This book would be a good addition to an adult collection at a public library, but would also do well as a “grown-up” read-alike for S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders.

Olive Oil and White Bread

Beers, Georgia. Olive Oil and White Bread. Bywater Books. 2014. $14.95. 240p. SC 9781612940496.

Most romance stories begin with characters who meet, then fall in love, and the story ends with the characters living happily ever after. For Angie and Jillian, however, their happily-ever-after begins this novel, and the novel follows them throughout many years of their lives as they change jobs, fight, make up, move to new places, and face the mundane challenges of life. Angie’s Italian-American family is happy to embrace her and her partner, but Jillian’s family would prefer to keep her closeted. The differences in their backgrounds and family values become obvious as they live each day together throughout their lives.

Fans of romance novels will enjoy this unique twist on a typical love story. Rather than watching the characters fall in love, readers get to watch the characters stay in love through all the typical ups and downs of life. The focus in this novel is on the characters themselves, so there is not much plot to be found. Readers who enjoy an obvious problem –resolution pattern to a novel will find themselves frustrated, but those who appreciate a character sketch will enjoy getting to know Angie and Jillian and their individual quirks, struggles, and triumphs. The novel’s slow, measured pace and focus on characters will make it a hit with readers who enjoy cozy stories they can pick up as they have time to read. Recommended for public library romance collections and LGBT special collections for its unique twist on the typical romance story.

Puzzled by the Clues

Sheldon, Jean. Puzzled by the Clues. Bast Press. 2014. $14.95. 287p. SC 978-0-9838136-3-7.

Charles Bowen is found dead, presumably of suicide, but when the gang looks into his death, they discover a crossword puzzle with hidden clues, clues which lead around the world to Nuremburg and implicate more people in more wrongdoing than they could ever have imagined. Much more than the murder of one man, Nic, Nora, and the gang are now investigating the genocides of the Second World War. But will they be able to find their answers before it’s too late?

This second installment in the Nic & Nora mystery series is more globally aware and action-packed than its predecessor. Set at the conclusion of the Second World War, the historical details in this story again will be a delight to readers who enjoy period mysteries. The characters from the first mystery return and continue to provide depth to the story as they deal with their own personal traumas and triumphs in the midst of a murder investigation. Historical perspectives on the difficulties of being a lesbian couple will intrigue readers of all stripes. Compelling writing will keep readers turning the pages to find out who is responsible. Public libraries with many avid mystery fans will want to add the entire Nic & Nora series to their shelves.