The New York Times gave this novel it’s Best New Historical Novel in 2021. A wonderfully imagined tale based partly on fact and actual characters…like so many historical novels. Having just read and loved Act of Oblivion this book was reminiscent and set in the same era. Here is my book review The Bloodless Boy by Robert J. Lloyd.

London 1678. The city is still in upheaval 12 years after the Great Fire and 18 years since the fall of Oliver Cromwell. No one trusts anyone and papist plots are rumored daily. But then the body of small boy, drained of all blood, is discovered on a cold and snowy night and suspicious grow.

Lloyd introduces us to several real life characters, such as Robert Hooke, scientist, engineer and curator of the newly formed Royal Society. Hook’s assistant, the young and ambitious Harry Hunt is by his side when they retrieve the bloodless boy from the river bank.

A well defined story-line makes this novel a page turner as large cast of characters come and go…who is the real villain? Is this a plot against King Charles II? And what of more young bloodless boys they learn about?

During a time in history where science is just coming into play, but paranoia and witchcraft remain, Lloyd takes the reader through the complicated facts and fiction of this engrossing story. If you liked Wolf Hall or The Name of the Rose you will enjoy The Bloodless Boy.

Thanks for reading my book review The Bloodless Boy by Robert J. Lloyd.

Four stars for The Bloodless Boy by Robert J. Lloyd****

See last week’s book review The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman.

The New Year is bringing lots of fantastic book reviews and travel posts from around the world. Sign up to receive each post in your email box by clicking here.

We love it when you pin and share our book reviews. Thank you.

British Author and Comedian Richard Osman is the creator of The Thursday Murder Club book series. The Man Who Died Twice is second of the series, but you don’t need to have read previous book to enjoy this fun novel. Here is my book review The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman.

A group of retirees, and long-time friends, who at first blush seem a bit of a misfit bumbling group are actually the heroes of this book. Unassuming solvers of murders all.

Osman introduces us to Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim who are trying to quietly enjoy their later years at the Cooper’s Chase retirement village. But this eclectic cast of characters can’t seem to keep out of the murder-solving world, along with their close friends from the local police.

A rollicking set of circumstances keeps the plot moving forward as reserved yet brilliant Elizabeth and demure but observant Joyce lead the charge to find the murderer…and as more murder victims are discovered Ron goes undercover. Meanwhile is a violent attack on Ibrahim part of the murder plot?

Questions are numerous, diamonds are missing, people are dead and suspects are numerous. The Thursday Murder Club to the rescue.

Light, fun and simple read everyone will enjoy. Thanks for reading my book review The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman.

****Four stars for The Man Who Died Twice.

See last week’s book review Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver.

We love it when you pin and share our book reviews.

One of America’s greatest and most prolific modern day authors, Kingsolver brings to us another masterpiece. I loved her work in Unsheltered and in Flight Behavior, but my all-time favorite is The Poisonwood Bible. Even at 20 years old it’s still very readable and if you haven’t read it you should. But her latest work is really remarkable…here is my book review Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver.

I’m actually struggling a bit to write this review. This book was disturbing in many ways…for it’s gritty and real portrayal of drug addiction in the United States…specifically in the mountains of southern Appalachia.

Kingsolver

Apparently Kingsolver used David Copperfield as inspiration of this novel…but it wasn’t something that came through strongly for me as a reader. What did come through though is Kingsolver’s incredible talent for descriptive narrative, palpable and often painful. There was one passage in this book that I had to set the book down and take a minute it was so real and alarming to read.

But don’t let me scare you away…because this is a must read. It’s deep, factual and substantive.

Meet Damon

Damon is our narrator, only eleven when we meet him, dealing with a single mother who is addicted. Damon has faced things in his short life most of us will never deal with; addiction, starvation, neglect, abuse and violence. There are very few stable adults in his life…not even the Department of Social Services representative cares about him.

As Damon bounces around several unsavory, neglectful and dilapidated foster care homes, he dreams of being an artist. A dream so far beyond his reach he can’t even imagine getting there. Penny less, homeless, motherless – Damon encounters a variety of distrustful characters and only has a tiny handful of friends.

When he finally finds his Grandmother she will get him set up in a foster care home that seems stable on the outside. This is when Damon will become a football star, loose it all when injured, get addicted to opioid painkillers, fall in love with an addict and spiral totally out of control.

A Cry for Help

How can so many horrible things happen to one child? It’s a eye-opening testament to our underfunded welfare, child and social services system not to mention the deep prejudice and misunderstanding of the rural region of southern Appalachia. But don’t fret. Damon “Demon” will get his shit together and you will be astonished at how this book unfolds. A new American Masterpiece with a message we all need to hear. Thank you for reading my book review Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver.

See last week’s book review The Book of Goose by Yiyun Lee

We love it when you pin and share our book reviews. Thank you.

Fabienne and Agnes are best friends growing up in a provincial French village during the post war WWII. Poor beyond words, both girls cling to each other for the affection neither get at home. But life is about to take a big twist, and neither girl will ever be the same. Here is my Book Review The Book of Goose by Yiyun Lee.

Agnes can’t imagine her life without Fabienne, she is everything to Agnes. While Agnes’ parents are preoccupied with her dying brother Jean, Agnes hangs on Fabienne’s every word.

Fabienne has her own troubles at home, with a drunken father and brothers who expect her to cook and clean, she finds solace in fantasy stories she creates. But Fabienne is also manipulative, demanding and often rude to Agnes…while Agnes does anything Fabienne wants to please her.

But when Fabienne hatches a plan to write a book and say that Agnes is the author, neither girl has any idea how many people will be hurt and scandalized as they fall deeper and deeper into a world of lies.

Yiyun Lee is a unique writing talent, and her character development of these two adolescent girls, one a leader the other a follower, their choices, mistakes and ultimate outcome will have you sad and joyful, amazed and astonished. If you had a best friend forever as a child, you should read The Book of Goose.

Thanks for reading my Book Review The Book of Goose by Yiyun Lee.

Four stars for The Book of Goose by Yiyun Lee.

Read last week’s book review The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz.

We love it when you pin, comment and share our book reviews. Thank you.

Three siblings…in fact triplets…who have absolutely nothing in common. Throw in a father in absentia and an overly doting mom. This is a recipe for a hateful and dysfunctional family barreling down the track to disaster. From the author one of my top books of 2021 The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz comes another twisting and turning novel. Here is my book review The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz.

Triplets Harrison, Lewyn and Sally, conceived in vitro, grow up with a distant father Salo, who loves his art more than his family and harbors guilt and grief from events of his past. Meanwhile mother Johanna learns no matter how wealthy this New York family is, money can’t buy her a happy marriage or family.

As the plot slowly and deliberately develops the past will rear it’s head for Salo and Johanna and Johanna, facing a future of loneliness chooses to have a fourth child after her triplets have gone to college. How will this “latecomer” affect the dynamic of this family and what other siblings might make a surprise visit?

Although I did not love this book as much as I loved The Plot, the story is well choreographed with many interesting themes pertinent to today such as prejudice and race, wealth and privilege, politics and religion and above all, family. Thank you for reading my book review The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz.

****Four stars for The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz.

Read last week’s book review Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris.

We love it when you pin, comment and share our book reviews. Thank you.

Oh boy. I loved this engaging story for so many reasons. I had never heard of Robert Harris but he has several best sellers under his belt. And the exceptional storytelling of Act of Oblivion clearly shows why. Here is my book review Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris.

I read a lot of historical novels that are part fiction and part fact. I love an author who can seamlessly combine the two. Robert Harris is one of those. I had never heard of the historical fact of the killers of King Charles I in England escaping to New England. This part is true. What Harris does so eloquently is imagine how the manhunt for these killers evolves over more than a decade.

General Edward Whalley and his son-in-law Colonel William Goff sail to the new world after being involved in a brazen execution of the King…essentially ending the English Civil War between the parliamentarians and the royalists.

While more than fifty men have been imprisoned or hung for their role in the King’s death, only two have escaped. Long time foe of these men, Richard Nayler will not sleep until he sees them dead, blaming them singularly for the death of his wife.

Through the help of clergy and faithful in the colonies Goff and Whalley manage to stay hidden for more than a decade, but their life is lonely, cold, boring, humiliating. And most of all, they miss their wives and children back in England.

How will Harris imagine the end to this years long manhunt? Through unprecedented storytelling, and realistic and heartfelt character development, Act of Oblivion unfolds like a symphony. Fans of Ken Follett, Maggie O’Farrell and Hilary Mantel will love this action packed historical novel.

Thanks for reading my book review Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris.

*****Five stars for Act of Oblivion byt Robert Harris.

Read last week’s book review When We Fell Apart by Soon Wiley.

We love it when you comment, pin and share our book reviews. Thank you.

Strange but also heartfelt, this story of how family and identity can take someone to the brink, is sad and moving. A testament to mental stability, family expectations and the importance of being who we are. Here is my book review When We Fell Apart by Soon Wiley.

Min, a Korean American man working in Seoul for Samsung, is devastated when he learns the Korean women he has been dating has committed suicide. He begins a long and dangerous search for answers.

Yu-jin was a beautiful, ambitious, smart and happy young women, in love with Min…or so he thought. But the real Yu-jin was someone completely different. Someone playing a dangerous game in a country that does not accept anyone who is “different’.

But an even greater danger to Yu-jin and then to Min as he searches for answers, is Yu-jin’s parent. Her father a high ranking government official and her mother who sets appearances above all else, will go to great lengths to keep Yu-jin’s secret under wraps…lengths that threaten the lives of Min and Yu-jins closest friends.

It’s a novel that gives close inspection to the social expectations of South Korea, while also opening a window to understanding the Korean/American status in the United States. A very poignant story.

Thank you for reading my Book Review When We Fell Apart by Soon Wiley.

Read last week’s book review This Time Tomorrow by Emma Staub.

We love it when you pin, comment and share our book reviews. Thank you.