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mwgerard's reviews
1665 reviews
In the Fog by Richard Harding Davis
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
My full review: https://www.mwgerard.com/review-in-the-fog/
I’ve been absolutely devouring the mystery titles being rediscovered from the Library of Congress and the British Library. There are so many amazing tales that deserve new generation of readers. Though short, this one was an absolute charmer.
I’ve been absolutely devouring the mystery titles being rediscovered from the Library of Congress and the British Library. There are so many amazing tales that deserve new generation of readers. Though short, this one was an absolute charmer.
On a rainy, late Victorian evening in London, a group of men sit in their club. They are bemoaning the fact that a bill they oppose will pass in Parliament before the session closes that night. As they sit there in defeat, they notice Sir Andrew, the bill’s main supporter, is across the room. They hatch a Scheherazade plan to tell him intriguing tales and distract him until the vote is over.
The American ambassador begins the distraction. He tells a harrowing story of being lost in the London fog at night. He quite literally has to feel his way along the fence line of front gardens to avoid falling off the curb. The gas lamps do nothing to dispel the gloom. And just when he decides it’s hopeless, a bright light spills out from an opening front door. He decides he will throw himself on the mercy of its inhabitants and starts to fumble at the gate when an unseen figure rushes past him. The figure doesn’t help him but he crawls up the stoop to the interior of the home. Entering the parlor in search of residents whom he can beg sanctuary, he finds a surprise: two dead bodies and a sleeping servant. He learns it is home to Princess Zichy, a Russian aristocrat, now deceased. But was she really a princess, or simply a talented scammer?
The American ambassador begins the distraction. He tells a harrowing story of being lost in the London fog at night. He quite literally has to feel his way along the fence line of front gardens to avoid falling off the curb. The gas lamps do nothing to dispel the gloom. And just when he decides it’s hopeless, a bright light spills out from an opening front door. He decides he will throw himself on the mercy of its inhabitants and starts to fumble at the gate when an unseen figure rushes past him. The figure doesn’t help him but he crawls up the stoop to the interior of the home. Entering the parlor in search of residents whom he can beg sanctuary, he finds a surprise: two dead bodies and a sleeping servant. He learns it is home to Princess Zichy, a Russian aristocrat, now deceased. But was she really a princess, or simply a talented scammer?
Mystery Lights by Lena Valencia
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Wordhunter by Stella Sands
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Read my full review: https://www.mwgerard.com/review-wordhunter/
Young, smart, and brash, Maggie Moore should have the world at her fingertips. Instead, she carries her emotional baggage like it’s her job. She drinks too much, smokes too much, works overnight hours at a cheap diner, and tries to ignore the everything holding her back.
Young, smart, and brash, Maggie Moore should have the world at her fingertips. Instead, she carries her emotional baggage like it’s her job. She drinks too much, smokes too much, works overnight hours at a cheap diner, and tries to ignore the everything holding her back.
One place she does allow herself to excel is the college classroom, specifically the forensic linguistics course. Ever since she was in middle school, language just made sense. Words and phrases slot together in perfect and personal ways. They just make sense for her.
The Murders in Great Diddling by Katarina Bivald
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Read my full review: https://www.mwgerard.com/review-murders-great-diddling/
Every once in awhile you read a book you wish you had written. This is one of them. Great Diddling lies somewhere in the English countryside between the Father Brown tv series, the headquarters of the Thursday Murder Club, and Cabot Cove.
Every once in awhile you read a book you wish you had written. This is one of them. Great Diddling lies somewhere in the English countryside between the Father Brown tv series, the headquarters of the Thursday Murder Club, and Cabot Cove.
Berit Gardner, an author of Swedish extraction, has come to live in the tiny, crumbling country village of Great Diddling. But she likes that it is a nondescript, humble place. It means she can finish her novel uninterrupted. Her editor, anxious to have the manuscript as soon as possible, sends her own niece to Diddling as an assistant (spy) and keep Berit on track.
Always up for a distraction, Berit accepts an invitation to a garden tea party at the local manor house. The hostess, Daphne Trent, is anxious to welcome the noted author to town, and is also hopeful the open invitation to the villagers will bring together new residents and old. What she doesn’t expect is an explosion will tear apart her beloved library and kill her nephew.
Always up for a distraction, Berit accepts an invitation to a garden tea party at the local manor house. The hostess, Daphne Trent, is anxious to welcome the noted author to town, and is also hopeful the open invitation to the villagers will bring together new residents and old. What she doesn’t expect is an explosion will tear apart her beloved library and kill her nephew.
This is more excitement than Great Diddling knows what to do with — and it’s a perfect excuse for Berit to ignore her manuscript and help the authorities gather clues. Ultimately, the town will turn the publicity from the outrageous explosion into a boon. They launch a combination book and murder festival (honestly, not sure why a picturesque English town hasn’t done this already) to being in tourists, prop up business, and rally the community together.
She Left by Stacie Grey
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Read my full review: https://www.mwgerard.com/review-she-left/
A few friends, a rented cabin, cheap alcohol, some ill-advised decisions, many some regrets. A house party with your friends in high school is a dumb idea, but it’s hardly unheard of. But when Amy agrees to go a Memorial Day party, she has no idea she will somehow escape the unexpected fate of her classmates.
A few friends, a rented cabin, cheap alcohol, some ill-advised decisions, many some regrets. A house party with your friends in high school is a dumb idea, but it’s hardly unheard of. But when Amy agrees to go a Memorial Day party, she has no idea she will somehow escape the unexpected fate of her classmates.
Insulted by their bullying of her, she decides to walk out of the first and hitch a ride home. Shortly after she leaves, the cabin explodes. She is the only survivor of the incident, making her a suspect among the parents and friends of her classmates. Even the ones who don’t think she planted the bomb think she must know much more than she has shared with authorities.
Now it’s twenty years later. Amy is an FBI agent, and someone has invited her and family members connected to that night to a reunion that will be covered by journalist. Amy has no interest in reliving that night, but as a grown woman and a law enforcement agent, she decides to set aside her sentiment and see if she can discover any clues to the still-unsolved murder.
Swimming Pretty: The Untold Story of Women in Water by Vicki Valosik
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Read my full review: https://www.mwgerard.com/review-swimming-pretty/
When I stop to think about it, it’s somewhat surprising how much I have crossed paths with artistic swimming. Aside from the chance viewing of an Esther Williams musical, I live in a neighborhood with multiple Esther Williams pools. There is even a newspaper article with her posing on their diving board. When the neighbor was having it remodeled, I went and gathered the original turquoise tiles. I made a mosaic top table and have dozens more under plants or leveling uneven tables.
As a kid, I learned to swim in a neighbor’s pool (different neighborhood). That family’s matriarch gave swimming lessons to children but she was also my gymnastics coach. When I got a bit older, I took lessons at the local YMCA to learn the various strokes and pass official testing levels. I never felt scared of the water, always secure in the fact that I could swim, or at least float, if not win any races. It’s easy to forget that a century ago basic swimming skills were rare in the general populous, and practically nonexistent for women.
When I stop to think about it, it’s somewhat surprising how much I have crossed paths with artistic swimming. Aside from the chance viewing of an Esther Williams musical, I live in a neighborhood with multiple Esther Williams pools. There is even a newspaper article with her posing on their diving board. When the neighbor was having it remodeled, I went and gathered the original turquoise tiles. I made a mosaic top table and have dozens more under plants or leveling uneven tables.
As a kid, I learned to swim in a neighbor’s pool (different neighborhood). That family’s matriarch gave swimming lessons to children but she was also my gymnastics coach. When I got a bit older, I took lessons at the local YMCA to learn the various strokes and pass official testing levels. I never felt scared of the water, always secure in the fact that I could swim, or at least float, if not win any races. It’s easy to forget that a century ago basic swimming skills were rare in the general populous, and practically nonexistent for women.
Swimming Pretty is not just a book about what we now know as synchronized swimming. It follows the throughline of women earning the right to be swimmers at all — recreationally and competitively. From aquacade stunt shows to endurance swims across the English Channel, these swimmers showed their strength and determination in and out of the water.
The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia by Juliet Grames
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
My full review: https://www.mwgerard.com/review-lost-...
It’s 1960. Optimistic Francesca has been assigned to help the tiny mountain village of Santa Chionia. Her mother was Calabrian. She knows the language and she has the confidence of the international relief organization she is working with. She has every reason to believe, with a bit of elbow grease and little persuasion, she will be able to open a daycare center and kindergarten.
Santa Chionia is rich is natural beauty and tenacity, but little else. Regular mudslides and floods scar the rocky landscape. Just after Francesca arrives another massive storm takes out the rickety bridge to the next village. It also washes away the post office, revealing a skeleton buried in the foundation.
As Francesca gets to know the villagers, she will have to face her naivete. But in a town with no running water, no telephone, no secure food source, she doesn’t understand why elders won’t contact authorities to find out who the skeleton is. People shrug or tell her that’s not how things work around her. And a dead body is only the first concerning incident.
It’s 1960. Optimistic Francesca has been assigned to help the tiny mountain village of Santa Chionia. Her mother was Calabrian. She knows the language and she has the confidence of the international relief organization she is working with. She has every reason to believe, with a bit of elbow grease and little persuasion, she will be able to open a daycare center and kindergarten.
Santa Chionia is rich is natural beauty and tenacity, but little else. Regular mudslides and floods scar the rocky landscape. Just after Francesca arrives another massive storm takes out the rickety bridge to the next village. It also washes away the post office, revealing a skeleton buried in the foundation.
As Francesca gets to know the villagers, she will have to face her naivete. But in a town with no running water, no telephone, no secure food source, she doesn’t understand why elders won’t contact authorities to find out who the skeleton is. People shrug or tell her that’s not how things work around her. And a dead body is only the first concerning incident.
A Death in Door County by Annelise Ryan
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
The dog is fine!