Sunday, July 30, 2023

The Clue in the Old Album by Carolyn Keene, 180 pages

 Nancy witnesses a purse snatching and chases the thief. She rescues the purse, but not its contents. The owner, a doll collector, asks Nancy to do some detecting. The woman provides a mysterious note: "The source of light will heal all ills, but a curse will follow him who takes it from the gypsies." Nancy interprets this clue in her quest to find an old album, a lost doll, and a missing gypsy violinist. The girl detective’s valiant efforts bring happiness to a misunderstood child and her lonely grandmother. This book is the revised text. The plot of the original story (©1947) is similar with one major and other minor revisions.




The Housemaid's Daughter by Barbara Mutch, 403 pages

 Barbara Mutch's stunning first novel tells a story of love and duty colliding on the arid plains of Apartheid-era South Africa When Cathleen Harrington leaves her home in Ireland in 1919 to travel to South Africa, she knows that she does not love the man she is to marry there ―her fiance Edward, whom she has not seen for five years. Isolated and estranged in a small town in the harsh Karoo desert, her only real companions are her diary and her housemaid, and later the housemaid's daughter, Ada. When Ada is born, Cathleen recognizes in her someone she can love and respond to in a way that she cannot with her own family. Under Cathleen's tutelage, Ada grows into an accomplished pianist and a reader who cannot resist turning the pages of the diary, discovering the secrets Cathleen sought to hide. As they grow closer, Ada sees new possibilities in front of her―a new horizon. But in one night, everything changes, and Cathleen comes home from a trip to find that Ada has disappeared, scorned by her own community. Cathleen must make a should she conform to society, or search for the girl who has become closer to her than her own daughter? Set against the backdrop of a beautiful, yet divided land, The Housemaid's Daughter is a startling and thought-provoking novel that intricately portrays the drama and heartbreak of two women who rise above cruelty to find love, hope, and redemption.




Stupid History: A Collection of Stupidity, Strangeness, and Mythoconceptions Through the Ages by Leland Gregory, 538 pages

 This is a compilation of two previously published book by Leland Gregory: Stupid History(2007) and Stupid American History(2009).




Friday, July 28, 2023

The Royal Mess by MaryJanice Davidson, 210 pages

 A tough princess meets her match - a rugged bodyguard - in the third book of the royally entertaining series from the New York Times best-selling author.

When it comes to the wild Kingdom of Alaska, in a reality where Russia never sold the territory to the United States, a Rodinov has always protected the Baranov royal family. And Jeffrey, born and raised to be the next in the long and illustrious line of protectors, is not about to let the tradition fail with him.

But Princess Nicole isn't exactly the easiest charge: an expert at hunting who's sharp as nails, stubborn as a bull, and completely convinced she doesn't need anyone watching her back. Even worse, she's got the most kissable lips Jeffrey has ever seen.

What Nicole really needs is a man with the perfect combination of brains and brawn to show her the royal ropes (and cuffs...and scarves...). Someone who can make her feel like a queen - in bed and out of it. And, after all, taking care of the royal family is exactly what Rodinovs are trained to do....




Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett, 219 pages

 A seven-year-old boy is transported from the mean streets of nineteenth-century New York to the splendor of his grandfather's English manor in this beloved classic of children's literature. Young Cedric is astonished to find himself in possession of the title of Lord Fauntleroy and dismayed at his separation from his adored mother during the schooling for his new position. The Earl of Dorincourt, Cedric's crotchety grandfather, intends to instruct Cedric in the manners of the peerage; as it happens, the child teaches the man some valuable lessons about the true meaning of nobility.

Written by the author of A Little Princess and The Secret Garden, Little Lord Fauntleroy has enchanted generations of readers. Its conviction that nothing in the world is as strong as a kind heart has made the lovable lordling’s name synonymous with his gentle sincerity and tenderness.



Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Bernard the Brave by Margery Sharp, 108 pages

 While Miss Bianca is away, Bernard faces the most daring prisoner rescuing mission yet. Miss Thomasina, orphan heiress to the Three Rivers Estate, has been kidnapped by her wicked guardian. With only one clue to follow, Bernard stamps off into the night. And what dangers he faces! But with obstinate determination and the help of a most unusual ally, Bernard does not falter from his purpose.




The Something Girl by Jodi Taylor, 275 pages

 The Nothing Girl has grown up…

It’s life as usual at Frogmorton Farm – which is to say that events have passed the merely eccentric and are now galloping headlong towards the completely bizarre.

Once again Jenny struggles to stay afloat in the stormy seas of matrimony with her husband, Russell Checkland, together with an unlikely mix of Patagonian Attack Chickens, Jack the Sad Donkey, and Mrs Crisp’s mysterious boyfriend. The old favourites are still around, of course. There’s Marilyn the Omnivorous Donkey, Russell’s ex-girlfriend Don’t Call Me Franny, and the neurotic Boxer, currently failing to deal with butterfly trauma.

So nothing much is new … except for the mysterious figure dogging Jenny’s steps and who, if she didn’t know better, she would swear was her sinister cousin Christopher, last seen being hurled from the house by her wayward husband. He couldn’t possibly be stupid enough to come back and try again … Could he?