Book Review: The Splendour Falls by Susanna Kearsley

 

Having given up on love, Emily Braden--the protagonist of Susanna Kearsley's The Splendour Falls--isn't terribly excited about vacationing with her unreliable cousin Harry in the very romantic town of Chinon, France. But Harry, a history professor, believes Queen Isabelle hid a treasure there, and he convinces Emily to meet him.

Harry never shows up--typical behavior for him, though, so Emily assumes he got sidetracked and starts making friends with the other guests at her small hotel. The group forms an unlikely bond, connecting with one of the more important families in Chinon--the owners of the Clos des Cloches vineyard.

Emily is contentedly playing the tourist at Chinon's famous château and chapel, flirting with the handsome owner of the vineyard, until she finds signs Harry did make it to Chinon after all. If he'd been there, though, why would he leave? Could it be connected to the lost treasure of 13th-century Queen Isabelle? Suddenly suspicious, Emily and some of her fellow guests begin digging into Harry's disappearance, only to uncover far more deadly secrets than they'd ever imagined.

The lovely French setting adds a romantic air to the mystery, as do brief flashbacks to the tragic life of Queen Isabelle. The reader will be rooting for Emily to choose the right man as the romantic tension tightens and the secrets of Chinon are revealed. With The Splendour Falls, Susanna Kearsley has created a gothic romance worthy of Mary Stewart, sure to appeal to romance and mystery readers alike.

I'd never read any Kearsley before, but I really liked this! It wasn't a breathtaking mystery by any means, but it was a sweet story, and it reminded me quite a bit of Madam, Will You Talk? or Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart.

Rating: 4 out of 5
Should I recommend this to my grandma? Absolutely!

 Do YOU like romantic mysteries?

I originally wrote most of this review for the always-awesome Shelf Awareness. The image is an affiliate link, thanks for supporting Quirky Bookworm!

What I'm Into: The Post-Vacation, Harry Potter, Re-Arranging Edition

Phew, I'm finally starting to find my feet again. Between my "vacation hangover" (sniffle, I just want to be riding Thunder Mountain right now!), the fact that Juliet has been up all night ever since we got back, and that it's the worst allergy season I can remember in years... my brain has been unfortunately foggy. Note to self: next time you go on vacation for a week, in addition to scheduling posts for while you're gone, you should also schedule posts for the week you get back!

What I'm Into

• Frozen - Eleanor and I finally jumped on the bandwagon. I was going to wait and get her the DVD for her birthday, but a friend loaned it to us, and she's obsessed. She's been going around pretending to be Elsa all day (because, of course, she wants to be the one with "snow power".)
• Dairy-free, veggie-heavy meals - Recently I've been regularly making a bacon, chick pea, and Brussels sprouts dish. Then last week my friend Meghan and I made this amazing roasted veggie and kielbasa dish with fried eggs on top.
• Vacation planning - Due to the aforementioned vacation hangover, I've been consoling myself with planning out all the trips and getaways we might take in the next three years. Such fun!

• Harry Potter - The YABMC read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban this month and discussed important questions like who do we dislike more: Snape or Malfoy? And as usual, the food at our Azkaban party Friday night was amazing. (Plus I forgot to share any pics from last month's Chamber of Secrets party, so you get a bonus!) 
• Re-arranging - I changed around all the dishes in the kitchen, so now our everyday plates are in Eleanor's reach, and she's in charge of table-setting. And we got a new-to-us armchair from Noel's sister, so naturally I had to tear the living room apart at 9:30 the other night.
• HIMYM - I haven't been enjoying season 9 much (whhhhyyy did they make the wedding take up the whole season?‽) but I'm plodding through to the series finale, since I loved the early seasons so very much.
• Mysteries - I read Gary Corby's The Marathon Conspiracy (book four in a series of mysteries set in ancient Athens, I reviewed The Ionia Sanction a few years ago); which was a lot of fun. Rollicking mystery + lots of history = quick read for me! And now, ironically, I'm in the middle of two mysteries by Camilla Lackberg. I was already listening to The Preacher on audiobook when I got sent The Hidden Child for review. Rather disconcerting to flip back and forth - in one book Erica's pregnant, and then in the other book Erica and Patrik's daughter is already one!

What I'm Not Into:

• Basketball - even though my husband and two of my siblings are U of A alums, I just haven't cared about bball at all this year. I think it's because I forgot to make a bracket, so there's no competition in it for me. But, #beardown Arizona! Elite 8 game is tonight... which means I'd better go dig out Juliet's Arizona onesie.
• Sneezing - the fact that southern Arizona didn't actually get a winter this year means that allergies are AWFUL. The pollen counts have been astronomically high almost every day. I can't tell you how much Claritin and tissue we've been going through.

So what are YOU into? 

Hopefully you're thinking about Judging Books by Their Covers since next Friday is the April Bookworm Fridays link-up! 

Planning to link up with Leigh Kramer's What I'm Into series!

I Went to Disneyland, and All You Get is This Little Blog Post

If you follow me on social media, especially Instagram, you probably noticed the profusion of Disney-themed pics.

We spent four days at Disneyland (plus a driving day either way). It was wonderful and fun and completely exhausting.

I read 12 pages of Georgette Heyer's Venetia, and listened to about 90 minutes of Camilla Lackberg's The Preacher. And that's it.

But a pile of laundry the size of Mt. Rushmore needs my attention before I can read or blog more. 

In the meantime, I thought I'd send you this quick post (which I'm writing on my phone! Here's hoping it works!) so you don't wonder why I vanished.

Did you do anything fun for Spring Break?

Book Review: The Last Death of Jack Harbin by Terry Shames

 

Terry Shames (A Killing at Cotton Hill) brings retired police chief Samuel Craddock back for another investigation in The Last Death of Jack Harbin. A little crusty around the edges, Craddock is concerned when Bob Harbin has a fatal heart attack, leaving his son, Jack--who lost a leg and his eyesight in the Gulf War--without care. No one in the small town of Jarrett Creek, Tex., knows how Jack is going to manage without his dad to take care of him.

Jack, a high school football star who signed up for the military because of a girl (who then married his best friend), is bitter about his situation and devastated at the loss. Then, less than a week later, Jack is murdered.

Jarrett Creek's current police chief is an alcoholic, so the mayor quietly asks Craddock to investigate the death. Craddock knows all the key players: Was the killer Jack's erstwhile best friend or his creepy brother who was involved in a Branch Davidian-type cult or someone who'd resented Jack's status as a football star and war hero? For that matter, did Bob really die of a heart attack?

Craddock's methodological investigative strategies and occasionally curmudgeonly ways of thinking (narrated in the first person) are a joy to read. The Last Death of Jack Harbin brings the rivalries and secrets only possible in a small town to the forefront, creating a host of entirely believable minor characters. Football fans, mystery lovers and anyone who's ever lived in a small town will all enjoy The Last Death of Jack Harbin.

Two things surprised me about this book: one, I liked it a lot. Somehow you wouldn't think I'd like a slightly curmudgeonly detective, and I've never liked small-town life, but I loved how vividly Shames recreated it.

Two, Terry Shames is a woman. I guess because my dad is named Terry, I always assume Terry is a male name. Boy was I surprised at the Tucson Festival of Books when she was sitting in a panel with Cara Black! Ironically, I couldn't get The Last Death of Jack Harbin signed, because I'd already given it to my dad.

Rating: 4 out of 5
Should I recommend this to my grandma? Hesitantly. There's some language.

Do YOU like small town life?

I originally wrote most of this review for Shelf Awareness. And it contains a few of my affiliate links.

In Which I Drive Deborah Crombie Around in Circles (TFOB 2014)

Deborah Crombie was kind enough to agree to meet me for dinner and an informal interview last Saturday night, after the TFOB ended for the day. (Don't worry, a whole separate post about that will be coming! I had such a good time talking about Duncan and Gemma like they were real.) But first of all, I got lost* on the way to dinner and on the way back to drop her at her hotel, and I managed to get a parking ticket** while we were eating. Luckily she's very nice, and didn't mind the delays.***

I didn't get to any sessions on Saturday, because I was busy cleaning and laundering and prepping for our Disneyland trip!

But on Sunday, I got to attend a panel featuring Jacqueline Winspear. She was being interviewed by Jennifer Lee Carrell, who was rather awkward. Perhaps nervous? But Jacqueline was poised and charming and surprisingly funny. And a story from her childhood about her mother and an air-raid siren totally made me cry.

I'd decided that I'd not be a chicken like last year, and would ask her to pose for a pic with me, but then they announced she had to leave straight to catch her flight, and she might not be able to sign books for everyone in line. I didn't want to cost anyone a book-signing, so I just snapped her picture while she signed my book.

I told her I'd brought The Mapping of Love and Death because it was my favorite, and she said it was her favorite too!

Then I stopped for a quick selfie with Nikki from BookPairing, and headed off to a panel with Timothy Hallinan, Terry Shames, and Cara Black.

Hahah we had to have our annual run-in and selfie! Have a great day @quirkybookworm! pic.twitter.com/BuJdknLhCy
— Nikki Steele (@bookpairing) March 16, 2014

On my way I spied Little Critter! (Shh, don't tell Eleanor, she'd be sad she missed out.)

Then I just strolled around and enjoyed the crowds and the festive atmosphere while I waited for Cara Black to finish signing books.

After that, we sat on the curb and chatted for about 20 minutes. It's the first time I ever actually recorded an interview, but it was fun. (Although, I forget how much I hate my voice till I hear it recorded.)

That interview was for Shelf Awareness, so stay tuned to see it soon.

It was a pretty perfect couple of days! My only regret (well, other than the driving nonsense), is that I couldn't go to even more panels, because I was having so much fun!

Do YOU get lost easily?

*I usually pride myself on my sense of direction. But I very rarely go downtown; and almost never am on the NW side, since it's an hour from me. Apparently unfamiliar parts of town + a dark evening = disaster.
**Ugh. I'm super mad about the $65, but also mad that now I can't tease Noel anymore. I had never had a parking or speeding ticket in my life, and he's had several!
***So embarrassing. Seriously. Embarrassing.

Irish You a Happy St. Patrick's Day (and A Few Bookish Links)

How can you tell if an Irishman is having a good time?
He's Dublin over with laughter.

Knock. Knock.
Who's there?
Irish.
Irish who?
Irish you a Happy St. Patrick's day.

Eleanor doesn't really get jokes yet. She'll tell jokes like "Knock knock, who's there? Tree. Tree who? Tree banana pants. Hahahahaha!" So all of the jokes in that St. Patrick's Day book are completely over her head, but she knows she's supposed to laugh, and so she does this really hearty fake guffaw. And, even better, she's started repeating the jokes, but with the timing all wrong. Cracks me up every time.

In less-funny, but more-bookish news, I've had a bunch of tabs open in my phone for a while, and decided to share them with you!

• I was intrigued by how far ahead India is on Mental Floss's map of countries that read the most -- almost double the US total! (Although: it doesn't specify what people are reading. Books only? Do magazines and blogs and newspapers count too?)
• Look, John Green sort of a did a Judging Books by Their Covers post... of his own book! Check out all the TFiOS covers.
• I really liked this NYT piece about audiobooks - it partly explains why I love them so much. "The inner imagining of the story becomes commingled with the outer senses..." -- which is why if I've listened to a book while driving, for example, the next time I go through that intersection I'll flash back to where I was in the book.
•  

Got any dumb jokes or bookish links for me?

P.S. Why are potatoes good detectives? They keep their eyes peeled.

The Tucson Festival of Books

Meeting Curious George at the 2011 TFOB.

 This weekend is the Tucson Festival of Books again! I'm so excited to be attending for the fourth year in a row. Last year 120,000 people attended, and it sounds like it'll be even bigger this year.

I'll be doing some in-person author interviews this time, which I'm mostly excited about (but partly terrified). But right now I have Cara Black and Deborah Crombie's numbers in my phone, which makes me feel a tiny bit famous by association!

While you're waiting for my gushing wrap-up of TFOB 2014, here are some posts I've written about TFOB in the past!

• This one (from my mommy blog) tells about the fun Eleanor and I had there in 2012.
• Two years ago was a very sci-fi/ fantasy heavy year for me - I was excited to get books signed by Robin Hobb and Naomi Novik.
• Last year I got all fan-girly about Maggie Stiefvater, and I really enjoyed Mary Doria Russell too.

Obviously this is the year of the mystery for me, since in addition to the Black and Crombie interviews I'm also planning to attend a Jacqueline Winspear panel. We'll see what else I can swing, maybe Terry Shames too.

Do you have a book festival where you live?

Book Review: The Harlot's Tale by Sam Thomas

In The Harlot's Tale, Sam Thomas returns to 1645 York, England, and the courageous investigations of midwife Bridget Hodgson (introduced in 2013's The Midwife's Tale). With the help of her obstreperous maid, Martha, Lady Hodgson is busy delivering babies--while trying to please the increasingly strict Puritan city government--until her brother-in-law, a York alderman, asks her to look at the body of a woman brutally murdered along with her lover.

Lady Hodgson and Martha discover that the woman had been horribly mutilated; in her hand, they find a slip of paper with a Bible verse referring to whores. They're shocked to realize that the killer seems to be twisting scripture to suit his needs--and they're even more appalled when the bodies begin piling up.

The murders inflame tensions in the city, as Puritan preachers begin speaking of the deaths as God's judgment on the city for its sinful ways. Most of the city leaders are dismissive of the deaths of mere prostitutes, but Lady Hodgson (with the help of Martha and her nephew Will) is determined to find the killer and bring him to justice.

The Harlot's Tale brings the squalid living conditions of 17th-century York to life. The descriptions of the town's primitive medical care and its narrow-minded people are equally appalling. Readers will keep guessing about the mystery until the end as Lady Hodgson, Will and Martha frantically try to find the truth. And the shocking denouement will make the anticipation for the next midwife mystery even greater.

I liked this book, and thought that the mystery was probably better than that of The Midwife's Tale. But my petty irritation is that the title is 'The Harlot's Tale' -- but they don't use the word harlot in the book! The whole book all the Puritan preachers and Bridget and even the prostitutes themselves use the word whore. I have a feeling the publisher was like, "We can't call a book 'The Whore's Tale'!" I just wish they'd made the text match a bit.

Rating: 3 out of 5
Should I recommend this to my grandma? Maybe. There's some rather serious mutilation to the, ahem, "privities" of the dead women, as Lady Bridget delicately phrases it...

Have you read Sam Thomas? 

Or any other Puritan mysteries?

I originally wrote most of this review for Shelf Awareness. And the post contains a few of my affiliate links.

When a Bookworm Isn't Reading

So when a bookworm isn't reading, is she still a bookworm? My blog's subtitle is "The Literary Adventures of a Sorta Blonde Mom". Lately the emphasis has been more on the mom and less on the literary adventures. (And rather heavy on the blonde; it's amazing how my brain does NOT work when I'm sleep deprived).

Juliet from age 3 months on had been only waking up 1-2x a night to nurse, which was awesome. But this last week we're suddenly at 4-5x a night, and whew it's killing me.

In happier news, Eleanor and I have been really enjoying reading some more Very Fairy Princess books from the library. That's what I'm reading in the pic above, since she nearly always requests one before bed. (Sidenote: I love how excited Juliet gets about books. See how her hands and feet are just blurs? She waves them frenetically whenever I start reading aloud!)

I also got out a few St. Patrick's Day books I bought last year. They're full of dumb jokes like "What's a leprechaun's favorite kind of music?" "Sham-ROCK", etc. I'm pretty sure most of the jokes are over her head, but Eleanor still laughs heartily at them.

As for me - I'm working through Prisoner of Azkaban in French and on audio still... At first I did every other chapter in French. Then it was 2 on audio, 1 in French. Now I've regressed to doing mostly audio... and a few pages of French here and there. And I've read about 2 chapters of a mystery called The Dog Killer of Utica. And that's all. I'm just so busy with the normal mom stuff + planning for TFOB and Disneyland that I can't focus on reading!

Ah well, if I can get the Dog Killer read and reviewed before we go, hopefully a little vacation time will reset my brain and help me get my reading mojo back. My amazing January/early February reading pace couldn't be sustained forever!

Any of YOU in a reading slump too?

This post contains a couple of affiliate links. Thanks for supporting Quirky Bookworm!

Bookworm Friday Link-Up #1 - #bookwormproblems

Welcome to the first official Bookworm Friday link-up! For those of you who don't know, I'll be hosting a bookish link-up on the first Friday of every month; alternating between Judging Books by Their Covers and #bookwormproblems.

This month we're sharing our #bookwormproblems. I have two that come to mind.

1. I recently had a doctor's appointment, and forgot to take a book! Which means that inevitably I pulled out my phone, and wasted time playing Candy Crush. The same thing happens if I sit to nurse Juliet and she falls asleep. I don't want to move and wake her, but if I don't have a book handy, I just pin things or read blog posts, or take Buzzfeed quizzes. (Speaking of which, on the "Which Jane Austen Heroine Are You?" quiz I got Elinor Dashwood, but my Mr. Darcy is my Jane Austen Soulmate... which I could've told you anyway!)

2. I guess it's not quite a book problem, but it's a library problem, which is close enough! We somehow lost a kids' Christmas music CD that I checked out in December. I have torn the house and the van apart, but I can't find it. So I just keep renewing it, in the hopes that it'll turn up. But alas, we've reached the maximum number of renewals, and now I only have four more days. I'm so very annoyed to have to pay for it, because it was a pretty dumb CD anyway! Sigh.

Now it's your turn: what are YOUR #bookwormproblems this month? 

Link-up your posts below, or just share in the comments!

An InLinkz Link-up

E-Reading: Yay or Nay?

I know I'm probably the minority in holding out against an e-reader. I'm planning for our trip to Disneyland right now though; and I have to admit that whenever we're vacationing, I'm slightly tempted to get one.

You may remember that a couple of years ago I bought a Kindle, but ended up returning it. I'm toying with the idea of putting a Kindle Fire or maybe a mini iPad on my birthday list this year. 

But first! I need opinions. 

• Do you have an e-reader?
• How often do you use it? 
• Do you think it changes your typical reading pace? (I feel like I read too fast for one - I get annoyed with having to tap to turn the page so often. Unless maybe I just need to make the font tiny to fit more words? But then there's that reading glasses issue...)
• If you were going to change something about the e-reader you have, what would it be? (Like would you rather switch to something with backlighting? Or do you wish it was bigger/smaller?)

Please weigh in in the comments -  I'm super curious!

Author Interview: Jennifer McMahon

Do you remember me mentioning reading a creepy (but good) book a couple of months ago? It was The Winter People -- and I recently got to interview Jennifer McMahon, the author, for Shelf Awareness!

Do you have a high tolerance for scary movies and books? How do you write such deliciously creepy fiction without scaring yourself?
I love scary movies and books, but the truth is I'm not all that brave--I'm really a big scaredy cat! I love a book or movie that makes me need to sleep with the light on (and it doesn't take much, believe me!).
And I do scare myself when I'm writing. When I'm sitting in front of the computer and I feel the hair go up on the back of my neck and get goose bumps, then I know I'm onto something good. There's one particular scene in The Winter People that terrified me when I wrote it and still scares me when I think about it--the bit where Martin wakes up and finds Sara sitting in front of the closet and he hears a scrabbling, scratching sound coming from inside the closet. I think we all had that deep, almost primal fear of our bedroom closets at night when we were kids, and I guess I never really got over mine.

The Winter People is your sixth book, and they all fall somewhere between literary suspense and supernatural mysteries. Do you think of yourself as falling into a particular genre? If so, which one do you claim?
Honestly, I don't think any of my books fit neatly into one particular genre and I'm certainly not thinking about trying to make them fit when I'm writing. I'm just doing my best to write the book that I would most want to read. Even though it can be tricky at times, I really love that my books are enjoyed by mystery/thriller fans, paranormal/horror fans, women's fiction readers and young adults.

When you were writing The Winter People, which came first: the idea for Sara Harrison Shea's story (set in 1908) or the modern framework starring Ruthie?
I had Ruthie's storyline before anything else. It was inspired by a game my daughter, Zella, had me play several years ago. She could be kind of a bossy kid, and her games at the time were very tightly scripted.
The set up for this one went something like this:
"We're sisters. You're 19 and I'm seven. You wake up one morning and I'm in bed with you. I tell you our parents are missing."
"Missing?" I said. "That's terrible. What happened to them?"
Then Zella told me they were taken. Into the woods. She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly and said, "Sometimes it just happens."
I wrote down this idea for a book with two sisters whose parents disappear into the woods, but it didn't go anywhere, so I put it away for the time being.
Years later, I had this idea for a book set during the Civil War. I was watching Ken Burns's Civil War, and there was a short bit in there about Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln's young son dying in the White House. Mary Todd believed the boy came back to visit her and started having séances in the White House. I dropped my Civil War idea and decided to write a book about a spiritualist at the turn of the century who loses her young daughter, but believes she can still communicate with her.
As I was writing this, my character, Sara, had a few surprises up her sleeve. One day, when I was writing, I got this line from her: "The first time I saw a sleeper, I was nine years old." I got chills, wondered what on earth a sleeper was (part of me wasn't sure I really wanted to find out, because I knew that whatever it was, it was going to scare the heck out of me!). The whole book took a turn and I soon realized I wasn't writing about a woman who believes she can communicate with her dead child, I was writing about a woman who believes she can bring her daughter back.
It was around this time that I decided I'd put my sisters with their missing parents in there, too. They'd live in Sara's house in the present day. They'd wake up one morning to discover their mother had vanished, and eventually come to realize that her disappearance was linked to a dangerous secret over a century old.

Was Sara's story inspired by any legends or stories from New England history?
I wish! Nothing specific, but when writing The Winter People, I definitely relied on the atmosphere of a long, hard Vermont winter, where shadows loom large and trees seem to morph into something more sinister, and if you listen hard enough, the creaking of the snow-burdened tree limbs could be mistaken for someone--or something--stealthily approaching.

You write about small-town Vermont very convincingly. Have you come across any haunted houses in your area?
Thank you! I grew up in Connecticut, but have been in Vermont since the late 1980s. Even though I've lived here ever since, any native Vermonter will tell you I'm a flatlander. I think not being a real Vermonter gives me a bit of outsider perspective that helps me to pick up on little details I might not catch if I'd grown up here.
I went to Goddard College in Plainfield, Vt., where there were ghost stories aplenty. There's a building called the Manor that now houses faculty offices and classrooms--it used to be the grand home of the Martin family, who owned the farm that would eventually become the Goddard campus. (I just looked it up, and believe it or not, the Manor was built in 1908--
the year of Sara's diary.) It was full of curving hallways and alcoves, as well as some big echo-y rooms with old tile floors. If you went in there at night and sat quietly, you could just tell you weren't alone; doors would open, you'd hear the creak of what you'd swear were footsteps, and every now and then catch a shadow moving in the corner of your eye.
Here in Vermont, in all of New England, we have a lot of old houses and I have to believe that if a house is well over a hundred years old, there may well be a ghost or two hanging around.
Hopefully we don't have any sleepers hiding in closets, but you never know....

If you're interested in reading The Winter People, you can find my full review of it at Shelf Awareness. I was compensated for the interview - but my opinions are all my own!

Rating: 4 out of 5
Should I recommend this to my grandma? Well, I'd say no. But I'm a pretty big wuss. So if your grandma likes horror movies, then yes!