Greenwich Park starts with prenatal yoga and ends with a punch to the gut. Katherine Faulkner’s debut is a twisty domestic thriller that unwraps like a baby shower gift with something sinister inside. Helen is pregnant after years of loss, married to a charming architect, and living in a dreamy Victorian home. But when she meets Rachel—a chain-smoking, wine-guzzling hot mess at her prenatal class—her carefully built life cracks. Rachel latches on fast. She’s fun, unpredictable, and clearly hiding something. So is everyone else, apparently. We get multiple narrators (Helen, her chic sister-in-law Serena, and Katie, a dogged reporter), all tied together by a dark event from their Cambridge days. […]
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A Bookshop, a few Mitfords, and a Slow-Paced Novel
Let’s start with what worked: The Mayfair Bookshop has a great hook—London, WWII, a charming bookshop, and a spotlight on Nancy Mitford. The historical setting is rich, and the real-life Mitford drama adds some sparkle. If you’re already a fan of Nancy and her scandal-prone sisters, you might find the behind-the-scenes stuff intriguing. There’s gossip, heartbreak, and the war looming in the background, which makes for decent historical fiction. But here’s the thing: the dual timeline structure doesn’t quite balance. Nancy’s chapters are clearly the main event, while the present-day storyline feels like filler. Lucy, the modern book curator, just didn’t do it for me. Her quest to uncover a […]
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Under the Golden Sun Shines with Love, Resilience, and a Stunning Australian Setting
Jenny Ashcroft’s Under the Golden Sun is both heartwarming and heartbreaking, a breathtaking historical novel filled with love, resilience, and the beauty of second chances. From the moment we meet Rose Hamilton, a young woman searching for purpose, we’re swept away on an unforgettable journey from war-torn England to the sun-drenched landscapes of Australia. Tasked with escorting young orphan Walter to his family, Rose embarks on an adventure that reshapes her understanding of love and belonging. Walter, with his heartbreaking past, is more than just a child in her care—their bond is deeply moving. The novel beautifully captures their shared sorrows and joys, as well as the rich customs and […]
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Breaking Barriers in 19th-Century Medicine
The Girl in His Shadow is a fascinating historical novel set in 19th-century London. The story is about Nora Beady, an orphan raised by the brilliant and eccentric Dr. Horace Croft after her parents died during a cholera outbreak. Unlike other young women of the time, Nora is trained in suturing and anatomical illustrations, rather than embroidery, defying societal norms that restrict women from practicing medicine. Nora secretly assists Dr. Croft with surgeries and medical research, honing her skills and expanding her knowledge. Dr. Daniel Gibson, a charming and ambitious young doctor, threatens to expose Nora’s hidden talents. As Nora navigates the challenges of working in a male-dominated field, she […]
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Science Novel Critique
Her Hidden Genius by Marie Benedict tells the story of Rosalind Franklin, an unsung hero of science who braved the storm of gender bias to map the structure of DNA, despite constant harassment and undermining in the late 1940s and 1950s. As an X-ray crystallographer, Franklin battled not only the complexities of scientific discovery but also the demeaning attitudes of her male colleagues in academia. Despite her pivotal contributions, the theft of her work shadowed her achievements by other scientists who later won a Nobel Prize. Benedict, who has a knack for bringing the stories of overlooked women in history to light, paints Franklin as a tenacious and intelligent trailblazer. […]
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Miss Aldridge Regrets
In 1936 London, Lena Aldridge, a talented mixed-race singer and actress, dreams of performing on grand stages. Yet, her reality finds her stuck in the dimly lit confines of a shabby basement jazz club in Soho. Life takes a cruel turn as her beloved single father passes away, her married boyfriend walks out on her, and her best friend involves her in a murder. Just when it seems like all hope is lost, a mysterious stranger extends an irresistible offer: a starring role on Broadway and a luxurious voyage aboard the RMS Queen Mary. Lena jumps at the chance to skip town. So what if the offer is too good […]
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Messenger of Truth
Once again, Maisie Dobbs did not disappoint. I love historical mysteries, and author Jacqueline Winspear gets extra points for having the detective be a woman, which in 1931 would have been unprecedented. It was a 2006 Agatha Award Nominee for Best Novel—always a good sign. (Incidentally, Louise Penny has won the award seven times.) Nicholas Bassington-Hope was commissioned to paint war propaganda after sustaining injuries in combat. On the night before the opening of his exhibition at a celebrated Mayfair art gallery, he falls from a scaffolding to his death. The police rule it an accident, but the dead man’s twin sister suspects foul play. Where is the painting […]
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The Mystery of Mrs. Christie
In December 1926, novelist Agatha Christie and her husband Archie have a vicious argument about his unfaithfulness. On that frigid night, she vanishes. Investigators find her abandoned car on the edge of a deep pond, her fur coat still inside. Her daughter and unfaithful husband have no idea where she is. English officials unleash an unprecedented manhunt to find her and are joined by people all over the country. She reappears eleven days later, claiming amnesia. Marie Benedict wrote the book in a dual narrative: one story line is from Archie’s point-of-view as he contends with the media circus, the other from Agatha’s as she describes their relationship in […]
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Bloomsbury Girls – Book Review
Bloomsbury Books is an old-fashioned new and rare bookstore that has resisted change for a hundred years. It is run by men and guided by the general manager’s unbreakable fifty-one rules, but in post-war 1950, the world is changing, especially the world of books and publishing. At Bloomsbury Books, the women who work in the shop have plans. Vivien Lowry: Brilliant and stylist, Vivien has been single since her aristocratic fiancé died fighting during World War II. A budding writer, she works in the shop’s fiction department. Grace Perkins: Married with two young sons, she’s been working to support the family following her husband’s mental breakdown in the war’s aftermath. […]
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