Review of Sex with Presidents by Eleanor Herman

Author: Eleanor Herman

Release date: September 22, 2020

Publisher: William Morrow

Buy from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sex-Presidents-Outs-White-House/dp/0062970569/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=sex+with+presidents&qid=1600982506&sr=8-2

Why are so many Americans obsessed with the sexual transgressions of their elected officials? On one level, it’s quite simple to see because it’s just another version of the old saying that sex sells; on another level, it’s just weird. Each time a new scandal breaks it seems to shock the public and there are new ones surfacing practically daily; and the question at the center of it all is character: What was he or she thinking? How could they have taken the risk? But what if, before people judged, they could see inside the person, see the humanity, see what it feels like to be them? Why do we put our political leaders on a pedestal only to tear them down? This is one political issue that everyone seems to have an opinion about, and yet people still ask: Why did they do it?

Sex with Presidents: The Ins and Outs of Love and Lust in the White House by Eleanor Herman attempts to answer some of these questions. She does a remarkable job of psychologically profiling and detailing the many sex scandals that have dogged nearly a dozen men who have held our nation’s highest office, as well as other high-profile politicians. Herman is the New York Times bestselling author of several books that include Sex with Kings (2004) and Sex with the Queen (2006). She is also the host of Lost Worlds for the History Channel, The Madness of Henry VIII for National Geographic Channel, and America: Facts vs. Fiction for the American Heroes Channel.

“It is a logical assumption that most sane people would not want to become president of a nation . . . Americans have a reputation for being straight-laced, many of the nation’s leaders have been anything but puritanical.”

In this fascinatingly humorous and surprisingly illuminating book, Herman does a terrific job of psychologically profiling and re-examining the sex scandals that shook the White House and the nation. She does a thorough and exceptional job of answering several tantalizingly provocative questions: What is sex like with a president? Does charisma, passion, and zest for power make it better than average? Does a strong sex drive has any relevance to political success or failure? And does rampant adultery show a lack of character needed to run the country?  

“The sex drive . . . is resistant to common sense. This primeval instinct overpowers us, causing us to lose all self-control. Such loss of control never has had more explosive consequences than when played out in the bedrooms of world leaders . . . They affect entire nations.”

Overall, Sex with Presidents is a delightfully shocking read, and like with her previous books on sex with powerful people, Herman maintains both her sense of humor and commitment to research. With loads of spicy tidbits that include riveting insight into the past, Herman brings sympathy and kindness to those who deserve understanding, explaining that it isn’t easy to stand next to a person in power who displays despicable behavior while keeping your head held high.

She also declares, “Given that so many men who seek high office suffer from hubris syndrome, bipolar disorder, narcissistic disorder, and a superfluity of testosterone, it is likely many of them will continue to seek sex on the side, in ways both dignified and sordid.” Thus if you find yourself mesmerized by the private sex lives of public figures such as US Presidents then this is the book for you!

This review first appeared at the New York Journal of Books on September 24, 2020 - https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/sex-presidents

Review of Miss Austen by Gill Hornby

Author: Gill Hornby

Release date: April 7, 2020

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Purchase at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Miss-Austen-Gill-Hornby/dp/1250252202/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1586561626&sr=8-1

England, 1840. For the two decades following the death of her beloved sister, Jane, Cassandra Austen has lived alone, spending her days visiting friends and relations and quietly, purposefully working to preserve her sister’s reputation. Now in her sixties and increasingly frail, Cassandra goes to stay with the Fowles of Kintbury, family of her long-dead fiancé, in search of a trove of Jane’s letters. Dodging her hostess and a meddlesome housemaid, Cassandra eventually hunts down the letters and confronts the secrets they hold, secrets not only about Jane but about Cassandra herself. Will Cassandra bare the most private details of her life to the world, or commit her sister’s legacy to the flames?

Miss Austen by Gill Hornby is a touching and exceptionally well-researched fictionalized account of Cassandra Austen’s life, both before and after her famous sister’s death. Hornby is the critically acclaimed author of several novels that include The Hive (2013), All Together Now (2015), and the young readers biography Who Was . . . Jane Austen: The Girl with the Magic Pen (2009). 

Alternating between the past and present, Miss Austen begins with an aged Cassandra Austen, as she travels to the tiny village of Kintbury in West Berkshire. There she visits Isabella, a family friend and niece of her late fiancé Tom Fowle. Isabella's own brother, a local clergyman has recently died, and its learned that she has to vacate the home they shared. Feeling sad and depressed, Isabella doesn't know what to do and is not overjoyed to have to entertain an unannounced visitor. Nonetheless, Cassandra is determined to stay and help Isabella pack and move. But her real motivation in visiting Isabella is to search for and destroy any letters that were written by her famous sister that might be damaging to the literary legend’s legacy.

“She was tired from the day, and quite exhausted by Isabella. But there was little sleep that night. Work must be done . . . All correspondence had been individually arranged, tied into packets with pale blue ribbon . . . She took them out, and there below—a rich rush of love flooded through her—was the writing of Jane . . . There had been a time when Cassandra—grief raw and still smarting—would stumble across some little trace, and the slow-healing wound would break open. . . . But all that had passed. The pain had abated. The practical was here her concern . . . First, and as soon as possible, she would deal with the letters of Jane . . . She unfolded the paper and began to read.”

As Cassandra begins to examine these letters a highly personal journey unfolds in which she is forced to reevaluate her very own life choices. In this highly emotional and entertaining novel, Hornby successfully illustrates the many joys and heartbreaks of both Austen sisters. She does a terrific job of relating how these critically important events helped shaped them both, especially Jane’s literary works.

In Miss Austen, Gill Hornby had created an exceptionally entertaining addition to the Jane Austen legacy. In this exciting new interpretation of historical fiction, fans of the genre will not be disappointed and undoubtedly will cheer the opportunity to revisit the grandeur and anguish of the extended Austen family. With poignant intricacy and unique perspective, Hornby gives a voice to and brings to life an extraordinarily charming adaptation of one the most overlooked and most important people in Jane Austen’s life, her older sister Cassandra.

This review first appeared at the New York Journal of Books on April 7, 2020

https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/miss-austen-novel

Review of Murder in an Irish Cottage by Carlene O'Connor

Author: Carlene O'Connor

Release date: February 25, 2020

Publisher: Kensington Books

Buy from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Irish-Cottage-Village-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07R7RXMKQ/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=charlene+O%27Connor&qid=1582665693&sr=8-6

Family is everything to Siobhán: her five siblings; her dear departed mother for whom the family business, Naomi's Bistro, is named; and now her fiancé, Macdara Flannery. So precious is her engagement that Siobhán wants to keep it just between the two of them for a little longer.

But Macdara is her family, which is why when his cousin Susan frantically calls for his help, Siobhán is at his side as the two garda rush from Kilbane to the rural village where Susan and her mother have recently moved. Unfortunately, tragedy awaits them. They find Susan, who is blind, outside the cottage, in a state. Inside, Aunt Ellen lies on her bed in a fancy red dress, no longer breathing. A pillow on the floor and a nearby teacup suggest the mode of death to their trained eyes: the woman has been poisoned and smothered. Someone wanted to make sure she was dead. But who?

Devout believers in Irish folklore, the villagers insist the cottage is cursed—built on a fairy path. It turns out Ellen Delaney was not the first to die mysteriously in this cottage. Although the townsfolk blame malevolent fairies, Siobhán and Macdara must follow the path of a murderer all too human—but just as evil. . . .

Carlene O’Connor is the USA Today bestselling author of the Irish Village Mystery series. Murder in an Irish Cottage is the eagerly anticipated fifth installment of the wildly successful series. Other books in the collection include Murder in an Irish Village (2016), Murder at an Irish Wedding (2017), Murder in an Irish Churchyard (2018), and Murder in an Irish Pub (2019).

In Murder in an Irish Cottage, summer has arrived in the picturesque village of Kilbane, County Cork, where Siobhán and her brood are on a short 10-day vacation. We soon learn that she and fellow police officer Dara Flannery’s slowly evolving romance has now blossomed into a secret engagement. The action heats up when Dara receives a panicked call from his cousin, apparently his Aunt Ellen is in some sort of trouble. Distressed by the call, the pair heads off to find out what has happened and soon horrifyingly discover that his aunt has been murdered. We follow the pair as they try to unravel the mystery and find the killer.

Wonderfully captivating, Murder in an Irish Cottage does not disappoint. Interwoven with charming descriptions of lush green Irish landscapes and tales of folklore and legends, it is a thrilling addition to the murder mystery series. Readers have over time bared witness to Siobhán O’Sullivan’s personal growth from the beleaguered caregiver of five siblings to self-confident police officer.

“The meadow glistened and Siobhán could smell the peat and imagine how soft the ground would be beneath their feet. The sun was out now, and just as Siobhán had the thought, she turned and saw it; just behind the largest hill arched a magnificent rainbow. The colors were so bright and clear, it didn’t look real.”

Carlene O’Connor has continued to evolve the story lines of each of her characters into people that are likeable and engaging. She has done an outstanding job of crafting distraction and misdirection that is essential to any successful murder mystery. As the plot unfolds in this current tale, there are loads of twists and turns that keeps the reader riveted to their seats, guessing whodunit until the very end.

The review first appeared at the New York Journal of Books on February 25, 2020 - https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/murder-irish-cottage

Review of The End of the Ocean by Maja Lunde

Author: Maja Lunde

Release date: January 14, 2020

Publisher: HarperVia

Pages: 304

Buy from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/End-Ocean-Novel-Maja-Lunde/dp/006295136X/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=maja+lunde&qid=1579110586&sr=8-2

In 2017, 70-year-old Signe sets out on a hazardous voyage to cross an entire ocean in only a sailboat. She is haunted by the loss of the love of her life and is driven by a singular and all-consuming mission to make it back to him.

Twenty-two years into the future, David flees with his young daughter, Lou, from a war-torn Southern Europe plagued by drought. They have been separated from their rest of their family and are on a desperate search to reunite with them once again, when they find Signe's abandoned sailboat in a parched French garden, miles away from the nearest shore. As David and Lou rummage through personal effects from Signe's travels, their journey of survival and hope weaves together with Signe's, forming a heartbreaking, inspiring story about the power of nature and the human spirit.

The End of the Ocean is Maja Lunde’s second foray into adult fiction and is a spellbinding read that focuses on the realities of climate change though the eyes of a father and daughter. Lunde is one of Norway’s most prominent authors and screenwriters, who is best known for writing the critically acclaimed international bestseller The History of Bees (2015). Her previous writings focused on children and young adult themes.

First published in 2017 in Norway, The End of the Ocean centers on base level survival in the not too distant future. Mankind is facing possible multiple ecological calamities that include droughts and a lack of sustainable resources. The plot focuses on three characters: Signe, David, and Lou. Signe's narrative is based in present day Norway where she has lived a lifetime of activism fighting for conservation of natural resources. During her college years, she meets Magnus, and they become lovers. Both initially want to protect the environment, but after graduation Magnus takes a different path that leads him to harvest glaciers and sell the ice. Because of this the pair drift apart. The legacy of their actions impact the future.

“All life is water, all life was water . . . It gushed from the sky as rain or snow, it filled the small lakes in the mountains, lay in the form of ice in the glacier, it flowed down the steep mountains in thousands of small streams . . . The ground, the mountains, the pastures were tiny islands in that which actually was the world. I called my world Earth but thought that is should actually be named Water.”

Storyline two follows the father-daughter duo of David and Lou. They reside in France several decades in the future where mankind is struggling to survive in a world filled with chaos. Because of severe drought there are massive wildfires ravaging Europe and food, water, and medical supplies are in short supply.  

“. . . the stores were emptied of food staples, and the city became emptier, quieter. And hotter. The drier the earth became, the hotter the air. Previously the sun had applied its forces to evaporation. When there was no longer any moisture on the earth, we became the sun’s target.”

Chillingly frank in its discussion of our planet’s fragile ecological system and the fight to save our basic natural resources, Lunde’s two superbly written interlinking narratives are emotionally charged and the beautifully expressed underlying message of hope, love and forgiveness helps to soften the ominous realties that could befall humanity if nothing is done to reverse the bleak certainties of climate change.

***This book review first appeared at the New York Journal of Books on January 14, 2020 - https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/end-ocean-novel

Review of The Adventure of the Peciluair Protocol by Nicholas Meyer

Author : Nicholas Meyer

Release Date: October 15, 2019

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Pages: 256

Buy from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Adventure-Peculiar-Protocols-Adapted-Journals/dp/1250228956/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=nicholas+Meyer&qid=1571262619&sr=8-1

January 1905: famed detectives Sherlock Holmes and his associate Dr. Watson are summoned by Holmes' brother Mycroft to embark on a secret investigation. An agent of the British Secret Service has been found dead in the River Thames. In the agent’s pocket is a document that appears to be the notes of a meeting of a secret society that’s focused on taking over the world.

Based on real events, the adventure takes the fabled private detective’s and other captivating characters through the heart of Europe aboard the legendary Orient Express. As they travel from Paris into the heart of Russia, Holmes and Watson attempt to trace the origins of the dangerous document. Hot on their heels are men of dubious loyalty, who will stop at nothing to prevent the release of the secret plans. 

The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols is Nicholas Meyer’s third Sherlock Holmes novel and in this highly entertaining murder mystery we are whimsically transported back in time. Harkening back to the writings of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie, Meyer’s capably takes the reader on a gripping journey where Holmes and Watson exposes a secret so massive it shakes the duo to their core. An Academy Award nominated film writer, producer, and director. Meyer’s is also the author of three additional Sherlock Holmes novels that include The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1974), The West End Horror (1976), and The Canary Trainer (1995).

In this newest adaption we find Sherlock Holmes contemplating his future in the new century. The year is 1905 and there are fewer and fewer mysteries to solve. The aging detective finds himself at a crossroads with technological advances. Just before he and his distinguished partner John H. Watson, M.D. are set to retire, they find renewed propose as they are drawn into another exhilarating murder mystery.

At first the detectives are skeptical of the facts but as they wade deeper and deeper into the case it becomes crystal clear that the stakes are dire. Will Holmes and Watson be able to solve the mystery in time to prevent the secret organization from succeeding in their bid for global supremacy? It is set on the fabled Orient Express, which was made famous in the writing of Agatha Christie. Along the way, Holmes and Watson find themselves intertwined with several eccentric characters. As they contemplate the mystery that is currently unfolding they also ponder the changing world.

“A revolution was taking place half a world away. Events were unfolding that, if the nearsighted chemist enjoying Holmes’s sherry was correct, could conceivably drag the rest of Europe into a conflagration in which massive quantities of British gunpowder might well be required.”

Meyer’s expertise with Sherlock Holmes’ exploits are undeniably evident in this newest adaption. He effortlessly combines his screenwriting and storytelling skills into a fresh take on an old-fashioned murder mystery. While the exchanges between Holmes and Watson feel natural, Holmes’ side narrative of sibling rivalry with his older brother is undeniably entertaining.

“How is your French, Sherlock?” Holmes endeavored to conceal his surprise. “Schoolboy at best, as you are aware,” he confessed. Mycroft, I knew, spoke at least six languages, claiming it took but eight weeks to master a new tongue, which Holmes sneeringly once asserted in my presence was a sure sign of idiocy.” “It will have to do for now,” his brother replied, handing him the envelope.”

Invigoratingly engaging from start to finish, Nicholas Meyer has yet again created a fresh take on an old genre. The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols is a sure bestseller in which 21st century readers are gloriously transported back to the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.  

Review first appeared at the New York Journal of Books on October 16, 2019 - https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/adventure-peculiar-protocols

Review of Cold Stone Heart by Caz Frear

Author: Caz Frear

Release date: July 2, 2019

Publisher: Harper Collins

Pages: 368

Buy from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Stone-Cold-Heart-Novel-Kinsella/dp/0062849883/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=caz+frear&qid=1563225707&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Caz Frear has done it again. The author of the critically acclaimed bestseller Sweet Little Lies (2018), has created another can’t miss summer hit with Stone Cold Heart, the sophomore edition of the Cat Kinsella detective mystery series.    

After a brief stint in the mayor’s office, Detective Constable Cat Kinsella is back at the London Metropolitan Police, wisecracking with her partner Luigi Parnell and trying to avoid the wrath of the boss, Detective Investigator Kate Steele.

But for Cat and Parnell, it’s serious business when a young Australian woman turns up dead after a party thrown by her new boss. The initial investigation of Naomi Lockhart's murder points to Joseph Madden, the owner of a coffee shop around the corner from police headquarters. Madden insists he’s innocent, that he was home with his wife Rachel at the time of the murder. When police question her, Rachel contradicts his alibi, swearing that she was home alone.

While the team builds its case against Joseph, Cat is tasked with getting to the heart of the Maddens’ marriage. Cat knows that one of them is lying—but the question of which one, and why, is far more complicated than she could have expected. As she tries to balance the demands of the investigation with a budding romance and unresolved family drama, Cat has to decide how far she’ll go to keep her own past mistakes buried.

Caz Frear grew up in Coventry, England, and spent her teenage years dreaming of moving to London and writing a novel. After fulfilling her first dream, it wasn’t until she moved back to Coventry 13 years later that the second finally came true in 2018 with the publication of Sweet Little Lies.

In Stone Cold Heart we witness the highly anticipated return of the unforgettable Cat Kinsella, the smart and sassy London Detective Constable. And like its predecessor this novel is spellbinding from start to finish. Frear effectively combines a family drama with a captivating psychological mystery, while incorporating effective descriptions of police procedurals. Blend all of that with an unpredictable and intelligently witty storyline and you’ve got a winner.

“. . . pretending I haven’t heard him over the incessant gurgle of the coffee machines and the insipid soft jazz. I’m nearly out the door now. Just a few more strides and I’ll be safely outside, away from Casanova’s attention and basking in the scents of a grimy London summer. Warm beer. Bus diesel. Raindrops hitting the hot pavements. Bliss.”

Our character, Cat Kinsella is a strong and feisty woman, who also happens to be an excellent detective. Her character’s sarcastic sense of humor is appealing on so many levels but most importantly her everyday imperfections allow her to stand out because she doesn’t let herself be defined by these shortcomings. This character continues to resonate with readers because of her struggles balancing a dysfunctional personal and family life with career. Although her personal development is less of a focus in this book, that minor fact does not diminish the novel’s appeal. If you haven’t read Sweet Little Lies, it is highly recommended to catch up on all of the happenings and to fully appreciate Kinsella’s multilayered and enchanting character. Efforts like this are rare in fiction publishing today, and Frear has succeeded in this sequel where many writers have failed.

Overall, Stone Cold Heart is masterfully written, and Caz Frear’s trademark sense of humor shines brightly; add in a character worth cheering for and plenty of mystery and suspense (that leaves you guessing to the final pages), and you’ve got the recipe for a sure thing bestseller.

This review first appeared at the New York of Books on July 12, 2019 - https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/stone-cold-heart