WWW Wednesday

It's time for WWW Wednesdays hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words 

   

This mid-weekly meme consists of answering The Three Ws:

What are you currently reading?

 What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

I'm reading . . .

I first saw this book featured by Cleo on her blog, Cleopatra Loves Books.  She's an avid reader and reviewer, and I find the best mystery, crime, and suspense novels in Cleo's posts.  Thus it's no surprise that I'm totally enthralled by The Crooked House. which is a very atmospheric mystery set primarily in an English village on the marshes.  

I finished reading . . .

  

The Vanishing Year features a troubled protagonist, now known as New York society wife Zoe Whittaker.  She is on the run from the dangers of her past and fears that her rich, distant husband will learn her darkest secrets.

Henry Whittaker has given Zoe a life she never dreamed possible, but is he the charming knight in armor she initially imagined him to be?  Changes in his behavior toward Zoe and his secretive nature unsettle her at an extremely vulnerable time.  Why is Henry so reluctant to share information about his own past, and what is he hiding?  This fast-paced suspenseful thriller is a satisfying read that twists and turns its way to an unexpected conclusion.  

and . . .

                  

Set in Edwardian London, Death on the Sapphire is the first book in the Lady Frances Ffolkes mystery series.  Unwilling to settle for the traditional female roles of the time, Lady Frances is a suffragist and advocate for the poor who is determined to make her own way in society.  Her intelligence and curiosity lead her to investigate the death of a family friend believed to have committed suicide and the disappearance of his tell-all manuscript.  Her keen powers of observation and deduction put her in harm's way as she unravels the truth of this and other deaths of military men who served during the Boer War.  Aided by her loyal lady's maid, Franny encounters danger--and romance--along the way.  This historical series is off to a fascinating start, and I am eager for the next installment.

I'm reading next . . .

 

I'm actually 124 pages into this much anticipated novel (more from Goodreads), but admit to being distracted by sampling The Crooked House, which quickly became my current read due to its un-put-down-ability.   So, I will be picking up The Little Paris Bookshop next so that I have it finished in time for a book club meeting at the end of the week.

I'm waiting for . . .

Publisher:  Crooked Lane Books

Publication Date:  October 11, 2016

After recently reading and enjoying Death on the Sapphire, I was delighted to learn that it won't be too long of a wait before the second book in the series is published.

From barnesandnoble.com:  Lady Frances Ffolkes is incensed when she finds out that her dear friends Gwendolyn and Thomasina have been subject to vicious threats. Promising to uncover their attacker, she travels with them to Kestrel's Eyrie, the fabled estate belonging to Gwen's family. But soon Frances faces an even greater problem, when Gwen’s father, a powerful diplomat, is stabbed to death with his prized ruby dagger.

Frances, with her loyal maid June Mallow at her side, jumps right into interrogating the estate's numbered guests: a charming Turkish diplomat with a habit of sneaking off into the night, a brash American heiress with lofty dreams of becoming mistress of the Eyrie, two gossiping widows with their own scandalous secrets, and Gwen's own aunt tasked with keeping the affairs of the estate in order among the chaos of the investigation. But as the case unfolds, Frances's righteous conviction might just be the very thing that leads danger--and even more death--to her own doorstep.

Old sins do indeed cast long shadows in Death Among Rubies a delightful closed-room mystery in the vein of Agatha Christie and the second in R.J. Koreto's effortlessly charming historical series.

What are your Wednesday updates?

WWW Wednesdays was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution. Retweeting and sharing on Google+ are appreciated.  

WWW Wednesdays

It's time for WWW Wednesdays hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words

  

This mid-weekly meme consists of answering The Three Ws:

What are you currently reading?

 What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

I'm reading . . .

 

I borrowed an ARC of this book, which will be published this September, from a librarian friend.  It is a suspenseful read that hooked me immediately.  More from Goodreads.

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I finished reading . . .

I didn't expect to, but I fell completely in love with the oddball called Ove.  On the surface, Ove is a stickler for details, unsociable, ornery, and set in his ways.  As the story unfolds, however,  the details of the trials and traumas Ove has suffered over the years give insight into what has shaped his character.  When it appears that Ove can no longer endure the sadness and losses of his life, encounters with his new neighbors and a stray cat lead to unexpected friendships and give new meaning to Ove's life.  This novel, filled with dark humor and unforgettable characters, is ultimately uplifting and profound.  More from Goodreads.

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I'm reading next . . .

 

This mystery, described as a dark and gothic tale, is very popular at the library.  It took a while to get my hands on a copy.  More from Goodreads.

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I'm waiting for . . .

 

Publisher:  St. Martin's Press

Publication Date:  November 22, 2016

From barnesandnoble.com:  "They think I am still a little girl who is not capable of being a Queen.”

Lord Melbourne turned to look at Victoria. “They are mistaken. I have not known you long, but I observe in you a natural dignity that cannot be learnt. To me, ma’am, you are every inch a Queen.”

In 1837, less than a month after her eighteenth birthday, Alexandrina Victoria – sheltered, small in stature, and female – became Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. Many thought it was preposterous: Alexandrina — Drina to her family — had always been tightly controlled by her mother and her household, and was surely too unprepossessing to hold the throne. Yet from the moment William IV died, the young Queen startled everyone: abandoning her hated first name in favor of Victoria; insisting, for the first time in her life, on sleeping in a room apart from her mother; resolute about meeting with her ministers alone.

One of those ministers, Lord Melbourne, became Victoria’s private secretary. Perhaps he might have become more than that, except everyone argued she was destined to marry her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. But Victoria had met Albert as a child and found him stiff and critical: surely the last man she would want for a husband….

Drawing on Victoria’s diaries as well as her own brilliant gifts for history and drama, Daisy Goodwin, author of the bestselling novels The American Heiress and The Fortune Hunter as well as creator and screenwriter of the new PBS/Masterpiece drama Victoria, brings the young queen even more richly to life in this magnificent novel.

What are your Wednesday updates?

WWW Wednesdays was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution. Retweeting and sharing on Google+ are appreciated.  

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph

It's Tuesday . . . time for . . .

                                                      

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea, where bloggers post the first paragraph(s) of a book they are currently reading or planning to read sometime soon.

Today I'm featuring The Vanishing Year by Kate Moretti, which I borrowed from a librarian friend.  This book will be published on 9/27/16 by Atria Books.

 

Goodreads Page

Chapter 1

April 2014, NEW YORK CITY

Lately, I've been dreaming about my mother.  Not Evelyn, the only mother I've ever known, the woman who raised me and loved me and taught me to swim in the fresh water of Lake Chabot, bake a sticky sweet pecan pie, fly-fish.  I've thought about Evelyn plenty in the five years since she died--I'd venture to say every day.*

*Text taken from an advanced reader copy.

 

What do you think?  Would you continue reading?   

I'm half-way through this suspenseful novel, and I can't put it down.  The protagonist, now known as New York society wife Zoe Whittaker, is on the run from the dangers of her past and fears that her rich,distant husband will learn her darkest secrets.  

Henry Whittaker has given Zoe a life she never dreamed possible, but is he the charming knight in armor she initially imagined him to be?  Changes in his behavior toward Zoe and his secretive nature are unsettling her at an extremely vulnerable time.  Why is Henry so reluctant to share information about his own past, and what is he hiding?  I can't wait to finish this page-turner to find out.

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution. Retweeting and sharing on Google+ are appreciated.