Mystery Manor Adventure Forum

I never read the book The Notebook, but I saw the movie not knowing it was a book. The movie also was sweet, funny, sad, and very memorable.

I like the book reviews, too, and have gotten several good suggestions out of this forum.

Thanks for the heads up on the new Jodi Picoult, Stella. I'll add it to my list. I currently have her House Rules on the shelf waiting to be read. I didn't know Sparks' book was based on his grandparents, but I had heard that some of his books are autobiographical.

I've discovered some excellent books here, too, Jen. I like getting my book ideas from people I know. I can't tell you how many times I've disagreed with professional critics on the books I've read. Sometimes I'm surprised that we're thinking of the same book.

By the way, Manorites, you don't have to set up a special section here in the library in order to review a book. If there's one you've enjoyed or decided to throw in the trash, please tell us about it. You can start a thread or just add it to the "What Are You Reading Now?" thread. If you include a quick synopsis and the reasons you liked or didn't like it, I'll be sure to add it to our archives.

Ex Libris by Ross King
In the midst of the conflicts over religion and knowledge in 17th century Europe, we meet an unassuming and orderly bookseller with a shop on London Bridge whose life is changed dramatically when summoned to Pontifex Hall, once a splendid house now ruined by war. He is asked by the lady of the house to search for a rare and special book previously owned by her father. At first reluctant but then intrigued, our narrator's search becomes fraught with obstacles and dangers as others begin searching for this book as well.

Along with the bookseller's story, we also find out how the book traveled from Prague Castle when the king and queen had to flee the encroaching Catholic armies, and we learn where the book eventually ended up. In a couple of places, the author gets a bit bogged down with the convoluted history of the times, but on the whole, the story moves along quite well and proceeds to a very dramatic ending. Lovers of books and history should enjoy this one.

Ship of Fools by Richard Paul Russo
The starship Argonos has been wandering the galaxy for hundreds of years, looking for alien life, which they have never found. Now the ship is in crisis because they have been unable to make landfall in 14 years due to uninhabitable worlds in the numerous star systems they have explored. Deep restlessness is pervading the ship, and a rebellion by the working class is fomenting. Finally a possible planet is found. The exploration team finds what seems to be a long-abandoned human colony that could be a possible haven for them, but when they come across the grim remains of the colonists, the Executive Council orders the ship to leave.

Soon after, the ship finds an enormous alien starship just floating dead in space. Because their mission is to explore alien life, they decide to investigate it. Overcoming unexpected hazards, such as sudden changes in gravity, the teams slowly and cautiously make their way further into the seemingly empty ship. What they discover may change the fate of the humans aboard the Argonos forever.

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
I will say up front that this is a must-read novel that should capture you from the very first page. Beautifully written, it tells the story of identical twin brothers, born in unusual circumstances at a hospital in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia. With their Indian mother, a nursing sister, dead in childbirth and their surgeon father gone because he can't face the responsibility of them, they are taken in by foster parents, both doctors at the hospital, who raise them with love. The boys have a strong bond to each other, but they are very different in outlook and personality. Both find their life's work in medicine but are eventually separated through circumstances having to do with the political upheaval of their country. Their separate journeys and how they come together again will both warm and wrench your heart, and the marvelously drawn characters will live on long after their story is done.

Betrayer by C.J. Cherryh
Atevi politics can be hazardous to one’s health. In the previous novel, Bren Cameron, the human diplomat allied with the leader of the Western Association, had begun negotiations with an enemy named Machigi, a young warlord of a clan noted for its infighting, who has every reason to be suspicious of Bren’s motives and loyalty.

Bren wears the white ribbon that designates the human-atevi negotiator, but before the humans came, the white ribbon was worn by the negotiator between atevi clans. When Machigi challenges Bren to represent him equally with the parties of the Western alliance, Bren agrees, seeing this often deadly role as the only way to prevent an all-out war. The trick is surviving the infighting long enough to make sure all parties are heard.

This is another exciting addition to the Foreigner series, and I’m already looking forward to the next.


The Other Life by Ellen Meister
We’ve all made decisions in our lives which have resulted in roads not taken, and sometimes we imagine with regret or longing the life we could have led if only we had chosen differently. What if we could do more than just imagine an alternate life? What if we could actually experience it?

Since childhood, Quinn Breverman has been able to sense her alternate life stream but she has always been afraid to investigate it further. She gave up a glamorous life with her famous but neurotic boyfriend to marry a sweet man and have a family. However, when she finds herself pregnant with a baby with a potentially severe disability, she rashly crosses over to her alternate life. There she discovers the one person she needs desperately and who she thought was lost to her forever, her mother. Living both lives is not possible, and soon Quinn has no choice but to decide to live her existing life or choose the one she left behind.

This is a well-written and emotional story that will resonate with anyone who has struggled with and questioned the difficult decisions of life.

The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
Elizabeth Kostova writes beautiful books. Her lyrical style draws us in, and her unusual stories and deep characters capture and hold us fast to the very last page.

In this story, a well-known artist is undergoing a psychological evaluation for his attempt to destroy a 19th century painting in the National Gallery. The story is told by his psychiatrist, who, because his patient refuses to speak and seems obsessed by drawing the same images over and over, must go outside the normal guidelines to figure out why the attack happened and what the artist meant when he said, “I did it for her.”

The story takes us into the life of this troubled genius and the women he left behind. A set of love letters from the late 1800s, written in French, begin to give us clues about the patient’s artistic obsession, and they draw the narrator out of his comfortable world in his quest to help his patient. Kostova deftly combines the past and present worlds of art and gives us an unforgettable mystery of secret love and heart-breaking treachery at the time when Impressionism was flourishing in France. The novel itself is a beautiful work of art that deserves the highest accolades.

Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith
Precious Ramotswe, head of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, is a fixer and a problem solver, but her aged little white van is making alarming noises that she fears can’t be fixed with a chat over a cup of red bush tea.

On top of worries about her van, she must deal with the game of football (aka soccer), about which she knows little, in order to find out who might be sabotaging the games and turning a winning team into losers.

In the midst of all this, her assistant, Grace Makutsi, discovers that her fiancé has just hired someone new in his store, the husband-stealing Violet Sephotho. Grace knows that Violet is up to no good but needs help sorting out this happiness wrecker in high heels.

Smith, as usual, expertly weaves all of these themes into a delightful story with gentle humor and insights into human nature. It’s a wonderful addition to this ongoing series.


The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith
In this next novel in the series, the ladies of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency are commissioned to find a tour guide who has been left a sizable sum of money from a tourist who was impressed with his kindness. They have to travel to a safari camp in the north of Botswana to find this man, and the task may be more difficult for them than it looks, especially for Grace, who has lived in the city all her life. In addition, the ladies are very worried about Grace’s future husband who has suffered a severe accident and is now in the care of his aunt who won’t let Grace see him.

In her usual kind style, Precious gets to the bottom of both problems using common sense and patience, and we get to enjoy at the unexpected situations that arise and the humorous way they are resolved.


The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith
This is the twelfth and very welcome addition to the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. While Grace Makutsi plans her upcoming wedding and shops for just the right pair of shoes, Precious Romatswe is asked to solve the case of two cows who have been killed at a remote cattle station, and she must also deal with the disappearance of Charlie, the apprentice at her husband’s auto repair shop, whose girlfriend is pregnant.

In the middle of all these problems, Precious seems to be haunted by the ghost of her beloved old white van, which she reluctantly had to take to the junkyard because it was beyond repair. Is it just wishful thinking on her part, or has there been a mechanical resurrection of her old friend?

Delightful twists and the author’s sweet humor make for another charming mystery in this lovely series.