The Whispers of War by Julia Kelly

Three women became best friends while attending a boarding school in England, and this absorbing story looks back at their dramatic life-changing events and interactions at the beginning of World War 2. The surviving 103-year-old Nora relates them to the granddaughter of recently deceased German-born Marie, who faced bigotry and possible internment as Hitler marched across Europe and the British became increasingly hostile to German immigrants regardless of the longevity of their residence in England. This well written historical fiction imparts a vivid flavor of a horrible consequence of wartime fervor and fear for ordinary people suddenly made alien and unsafe in their adopted country.

The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves

 Another well-written Vera Stanhope mystery. Driving home in a fierce snowstorm, Vera finds an abandoned vehicle and inside it an abandoned baby. Recognizing that she is close to the family estate of her estranged relatives, she descends upon them to get shelter and t0 c0ntact her team for help. Soon she is caught up in a mystery about the dead mother and puzzling about who is the baby's father. Her team spreads out to interview many, in an attempt to discover significant connections to explain why first one, then a second murder occurs in this small rural enclave. DC Holly plays a more forceful role in this story which is a nice update for her character.

The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths

I have enjoyed every previous book by Elly Griffiths and her latest one is no exception. Her skill with descriptions of settings and character development is always so evident. Forensic Archaeologist, Dr. Ruth Galloway works to unearth the story for why three skeletons of young women are found where a creepy jailed murderer requested she dig to find two. The Fens, a marshy region in England becomes an important element in the story as the mythology of Lantern Men with their mysterious, luring light unfolds and builds up tension. Interlaced as always with the mystery is the complexity of daily life for Dr. Galloway and her group of family and friends which adds depth to the narrative. As a reader, I was fully engaged by this book, and recommend it highly.

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel

This is a powerful historical fiction that reveals a likely largely unknown resistance effort carried on in Southern France in the Vichy area, at first a free zone from German occupancy but then the Germans take over this area as well. Residents are hiding Jewish children, a few people skillfully forge identification papers, others are transporting Jews to Switzerland. These brave resistors put their lives in danger to try to protect and rescue victims of the German genocide. The main character, a young Jewish woman who flees Paris with her mother after the French Police arrest her father, originally intended to get herself and her mother to Switzerland but the local resistance movement recruits her because of her skill in document forgery to help others. The story told in two time periods when the main character is an older woman who takes off to Berlin to take care of something important to her, and as the young person who lives in constant danger as she works around the clock to produce vital documentation. The narrative is well written, drawing the reader into the scary time of resistance, imparting both the fear and the dedication these people embraced as they resisted the Germans and even some French citizens who often for greed supported the German occupiers.

The Body by Bill Bryson

Fascinating! I started this book, semi-interested because I have enjoyed other books by this author. I advanced slowly at first, musing that I was not all that interested in reading about my body functions. Then I developed a fascination with the information provided so clearly and at times with a dash of humor or sarcasm. Probably, most of us recognize that our bodies are truly remarkable machines. How many realize that it is incredibly amazing that with the complexity of necessary coordination of so many parts that our bodies can deal successfully with abundant threats to its survival. Bill Bryson is known for his delightful travelogues and this travelogue through the human body offers a great deal to ponder as it reveals engaging details about the human body.

The Sentence Is Death by Anthony Horowitz

This absorbing mystery novel is full of vim and vigor. So many mysteries follow a tried and true pattern. This book thankfully steps outside the typical mystery novel box. The author becomes a significant character who is accompanying the freelance detective, he is writing a book about, as the detective works to solve a murder mystery. Layers of intriguing details are tantalizingly revealed as both the author and the reader struggle alongside the detective to figure out "who done it". The detective often irritates the author with his smug close-mouthed pursuit of the murderer that at times leaves the author floundering as he encounters one suspect after another. Recommended. 

That Wild Country by Mark Kenyon

Wow! This is a wonderful book extolling the beauty of our public lands, and advocating passionately for all of us to protect our incredible heritage, so carefully preserved over more than a century. It is filled with detail about the evolution of the Public Lands preservation movement, and the current horrific assault by some rapacious corporations and politicians to privatize, exploit, and to sell to developers our incredible natural legacy. The author is an avid outdoorsman, a hunter of meat to feed his family, and also a hiker and backwoods camper who loves the serenity and beauty of wild habitat. Admittedly, I am uncomfortable with the occasional brief description of a hunt (I am a vegetarian, leaning toward vegan) yet I unquestionably have an admiration for this man who writes so beautifully about his forays into the wilderness, and advocates so eloquently for everyone to join together to protect our public lands. The author presents a clear case for people of all backgrounds and beliefs to join together to preserve our common heritage of public lands for future generations. Highly recommended!

Hid From Our Eyes by Julia Spencer-Fleming

I have enjoyed other titles in this series, and this was also very good. Three separate but definitely copycat or serial murders over a fifty-year period challenge the Millers Kill Police Department even as they in the present face a budgetary threat to their very existence. The narrative weaves back and forth from 1952, to 1972 and to the present, revealing the eerie identical circumstances of the murders of young women, the efforts to solve these cases and potential suspects. Russ Van Alstyne and his wife, the Reverand Clare Fergusson are great characters that draw the reader into their lives and community. Recommended.

An Impartial Witness by Charles Todd

I really enjoy this series, featuring a nurse usually on the WW2 front lines in France trying to save lives. However, whenever a murder takes place she succumbs to her abundant compassion, curiosity, and sense of justice that drives her into solving the mystery. Much of the action takes place back in England, where her family lives so the historical context includes not just a war zone, but also the Homefront where ordinary citizens are struggling with the resource shortages of a war economy, but also the frightening consequences of enemy bombings. Recommended.

An Elephant In My Kitchen by Francoise Malby-Anthony

This is an incredible sequel to The Elephant Whisperer which I read less than a year ago and loved. Written by the widow of Lawrence Anthony it expands and updates on the unimaginable reality of running an animal reserve dedicated to providing a wild habitat for endangered African animals like elephants, rhinoceroses, and hippos, protecting them from relentless poaching, and more recently providing an orphanage for young animals whose mothers have often been brutally slaughtered for their horns. Delightful descriptions of the escapades of the young rescues are interspersed with frank details about the horrific daily struggle to keep these marvelous creatures safe from greedy, amoral poachers who will kill animals and their human protectors without compunction. It trumpets the devotion and commitment of the many wonderful people who staff the reserve, those who provide funds for its operation, and the growing effort to educate young Africans about the need to protect the marvelous creatures that inhabit their beautiful continent. I hope this book and its predecessor are widely read because they make it clear that wild animals not only deserve to exist, but also just how diminished our Earth will be if they are destroyed. This remarkable narrative reveals the majesty of wild creatures that display feelings and intelligence that we humans have too often denied they could possibly have, mostly I think to enable us to use and abuse them rather than embrace them as fellow travelers on our singular planet.

The Dutch House by Ann Pachett

I have enjoyed many of this author's books but found this one disappointing. The house is a character and drives much of the plot, however, the denouement was just mediocre. It just absolved the house of all its imports.