The author, trained as a structural and forensic engineer, designed her young structural engineer protagonist, Iris, in her likeness. Iris’ boss at Cleveland-based WRE, asked Iris to map the inside of a mothballed 15-story bank building, an edifice with a complex and dark history. Lonely, scared and vulnerable, Iris was […]
Two by Alan Bradley
As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust, by Alan Bradley I would not spill too many beans were I to say that in volume 007, Flaiva is older (12), wiser (IQ = 134) and exiled to the frozen tundra (Toronto.) Sad and virtually alone, Flavia, nevertheless, quickly returns to her […]
The Catholic Fiction Critique Group
“I remember the trembling, nausea, and inability to focus that hit me when I first submitted a chapter to a critique group. That was many years ago. Those symptoms persisted for several years. Despite the agony, I continued to submit chapters and to give critiques on others’ work, because I […]
Sisters of the Last Straw, Book # 3: The Case of the Stolen Rosaries, by Karen Kelly Boyce
The title suggests the work of the famous, pink cat-burglar, but Mr. Lemon cast a darker interpretation of the recent shenanigans on and about the convent property. With their usual aplomb, the sisters raise the level of hilarity as they investigate a crime with far-reaching, social consequences. Readers of […]
Don’t You Forget About Me, by Erin McCole Cupp – Free on Kindle June 10-12
Don’t You Forget About Me is free on Kindle June 10 through June 12. Mary Catherine Whelihan dreaded the reunion at Our Lady of the Seven Dolors School. She, her former classmates and neighbors gathered to bury the dead. The exact number of funerals had yet to be determined. […]
The Sisters of the Last Straw: The Case of the Haunted Chapel, by Karen Kelly Boyce
Rejection, unrealistic expectations and behavioral issues often brought frowns to the faces of children. The Sisters of the Last Straw addressed these issues, firmly and lovingly; inspiring and consoling their young readers with their examples. The Case of the Haunted Chapel, in stories and drawings assured that there […]
A Subtle Grace, by Ellen Gable
Kathleen O’Donovan gazed out her bedroom window, wondering if at the ripe old age of nineteen, she was doomed to spinsterhood, but soon she found herself the center of attraction, not all of it welcome. A Subtle Grace (O’Donovan Family #2) set in the late 1890s, is much […]
Sisters of the Last Straw: The Case of the Missing Novice, by Karen Kelly Boyce
A caricature can reveal more truth than a photograph. The Sisters of the Last Straw, reminiscent of the antics of Don Camillo in the stories by Giovannino Guareschi (1908-68), were in fact human. Thank God. Each had her own “fault,” be it a temper, an obsession or an addiction. […]
Flavia 006: The Dead in their Vaulted Arches, by Alan Bradley
Trains, planes and automobiles, along with Winston Churchill and a military escort greeted Hillary de Luce upon her return to her husband, her daughters and her ancestral estate: Buckshaw. Thus began episode 006 of the Flavia de Luce Mystery Series. Alan Bradley had left Flavia, his protagonist, the youngest of […]
The Flavor of Flavia
Why read a Flavia de Luce mystery? Besides the “who done it”- brain jogging action of a tightly crafted plot, when the eleven-year old sleuth isn’t creeping through the grave yard on a foggy night in search of clues, author Alan Bradley entertains with humor, family interactions, village idiocy […]