Sinister Secrets by Traci Hunter Abramson, Clair M Poulson, and Paige Edwards

This is a compilation of short novels by three of Covenant Book's most famous mystery authors. All of them involve a man who is working as some kind of agent, trying to solve some kind of mystery, and ending up saving a girl/woman as well.  In the first, a family man is investigating a money laundering scheme and finds a teenage girl in distress.  In the second an ex-Army Ranger joins a detective agency and helps a woman wrongly accused of murder, and in the third, a woman gets caught up in a FBI drug bust and must escape, with the aid of a handsome agent, the drug lords who don't want any witnesses. 

I haven't read short novellas, and it is interesting how they differ from a full length novel.  For one thing, these were more plot driven than character driven. This is partially because they are mystery stories which are already plot heavy,  but I was surprised how little character development there was.  Also, there was less effort to plug up all the plot holes.  Since they are so short, you just have to take it on faith that certain things make sense. The most surprising thing, however, was not due to their length.  I think it is due to to the fact that the publisher is associated with a conservative Christian organization that still has a pretty strong patriarchy.  So very rarely in modern popular books do you have a woman rescued by a strong male character.  The feisty woman who doesn't need rescuing, and the weak male who does, is such a strong trope in the modern world that few books with a damsel in distress ever gets published by the major publishing houses anymore.  Or maybe they do, but they just aren't the kinds of books I choose to read (ha, ha).  Anyway, it was a bit refreshing.  I think the pendulum has swung a little too far in the direction of "woman power" and needs to swing a little bit back to allow men to be heroes again, at least some of the time. (2022, 304 p)

The Dreaming Beauty by Anneka Walker

Tansy White lost her mother at a young age and doesn't know who her father is.  She has been raised by three aunts who love her, but who each have a peculiar personality trait.  When Tansy's fiancée cheats on her, Tansy's aunts decide it it time to take her out of London and back to their family homestead, Rose Cottage.  While there, Tansy is caught in a storm one night and ends up making her way to a nearby estate, where she collapses in the library.  She is found by Marcus Taylor, the younger brother of the estate's owner, who cares for her until he can find out who she is and where she belongs.  Thus starts a tentative friendship.  Marcus is interested in Tansy because both Tansy and Marcus have vivid dreams of the past they can't explain.  Tansy is eager to learn more about her mother and the identity of her father, and Marcus agrees to help.  Tansy's aunts and other local people tray to thwart their fact finding efforts, but their search leads to a truth neither of them expected. 

Ok, I am back to the historical Christian romances.  This one wasn't bad.  Of course, I have read enough of them now that they are terribly predictable, but this one had an interesting premise and nicely drawn characters.  I liked that fact that the author keeps hinting that there is something supernatural happening. It is not until the very end that the reader discovers whether there are mystical powers at work or not.  The writing is clean and blessedly free from commentary about "rippling muscles" or "heaving bodices."  It turns out that this is the second in the series, so now I will have to go back and read #1. I have a list of my favorite clean romance writers, and Ms Walker's place on the list is well deserved.  (256 p. 2022)

Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit by Jesse Q Sutanto

 Theo Tan is a Chinese American with the emphasis on "American".  He doesn't understand why his older brother is so "in" to learning about his Chinese heritage.  Then one day his brother is killed.  Theo is torn with grief and remembers that strange way his brother was acting and the strange things he said before he died.  Theo starts to investigate and is led to a summer camp where his brother had worked as an intern.  Dark things are happening there and as Theo investigates with the help of Kai, the fox spirit he inherited after his brother's death, he walks deeper into mystery and danger. 

This is a Rick Riordan-esque fantasy focused on Chinese folk stories and magic.  The story is told in chapters alternating between Theo's voice and Kai's voice.  Kai is an appealing character, sassy and arrogant but with a soft heart.  Theo is intelligent but insecure.  There are times when one feels elements were stollen from Harry Potter, especially in the character of Theo's friend, Namita, who is very like Hermione Granger. Still, it is well written and well read. I wouldn't say it is fabulous, but I can imagine a lot of kids who would enjoy it.  (320 p. 2022)

Tom Lake by Anne Patchett

Lara knows that the global pandemic is a huge tragedy, but it has brought her three young adult children back to the cherry farm and she can't help but rejoice at their presence. To fill the long days picking cherries, Lara tells the girls about one summer from her childhood when she had a fleeting affair with a man that later became a huge movie star. The girls, each on their own life's path, examine their choices and come to see their mother, and her first great passion, in a new light.

This book has been on the top 10 most requested books in the Libby App for a couple of months now. Ann Patchett is one of the most successful authors currently writing. Every character is fully drawn, utterly believable and heartbreakingly complex.  The story is at the same time tender and--in a few spots--brutal. The emotion is raw and intense in some places and gentle and subtle in others. As a whole, the story is hopeful.  It is a testament to Ms. Patchett's popularity and prowess that they got Meryl Streep to be the narrator of the book.  Ms Streep is masterful and it is hard to imagine a better performance of the text.

All that being said, I almost gave up on the book half way through.  It is hard for me to watch characters make stupid choices, and Lara, as a young hopeful actress, made some pretty stupid choices. I guess the reason the book feels hopeful is that the worst stupidity is in the past, and the reader knows, from the very beginning of the book, that she has both survived and overcome her youthful mistakes.   After I finished the book it haunted me so much that I couldn't fall asleep. I kept thinking, "I am so grateful that my religious upbringing helped me avoid some of the pitfalls Lara went through."
(2023, 320 p.)

Great Courses: The Real History of Secret Societies by Richard Spence.

 Secret societies have existed from ancient times to today.  In 24 lectures, Richard Spence touches on every kind of secret society imaginable from ancient Greek wisdom cults to modern ISIS.  He spends quite a bit of time on the Free Masons and related organizations, focusing on their influence in history.  He has a lecture on the Mafia, a couple of lectures on the Knights Templar, and several on modern political societies.  In his lectures he gives both what is know through historical documentation about these groups, but also seems to delight in recounting unsubstantiated rumors as well.  He is careful to distinguish between the two, but he is also clearly focused on entertainment value as much as education.  

I had started another book whose plot turned out so silly that I couldn't finish it,(Come Back to Me by Jodie Hedlund)  so I picked this title since I vaguely thought it went along with the spooky tone of October.  It was interesting, and Spence is an entertaining lecturer.  As I mentioned above, Spencer is just as happy to quote obscure historical novels and he is historical documents. It seems like he not only quoted them for entertainment purposes, but because he doesn't discount their possible veracity. Despite the liberal mixing of fact and fiction, I came away from the series with the understanding that "secret" societies are more ubiquitous than I had thought, and that they have many similarities with each other.  It seems that forming secret societies meets some common human need, and therefore when one organization dies another is sure to pop up.  This is a good choice for those interested in listening to fairly light pseudo-nonfiction about an engaging topic. (2020, 24 1/2 hr lectures)

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

 Vera Wong is a widow who runs an unfrequented tea shop in China Town.  She often has only one customer each day, a gentleman who comes and talks about his ailing wife. Vera is lonely but keeps up appearances by adhering to a strict routine and sending frequent "advice" texts to her unmarried son. Her life changes drastically when she wakes up to find a dead body in her tea shop.  When she realizes that the police are not investigating the murder as aggressively as on CSI shows, she decides to take matters into her own hands.  She knows that murderers usually return to the scene of the crime, so she waits to see who shows up.  Over the next two days four young people show up at her shop, and she is sure one must be the murder.  She now just has to discover a way to find out which one is guilty. 

I put this one on hold because it was one of the top 10 items on hold on Libby last month.  It turned out to be pure delight.  Vera is the stereotypical Chinese dragon mother, terrifying everyone she meets, but underneath she is soft hearted and really does want to help people.  The relationship between the four young "suspects" is cute and well written.  It mystery plot is pretty good too, and I didn't really see the whole solution until it was revealed at the end.  If anyone has ever encountered one of these Chinese mother forces of nature before, this book with make them chuckle all the way through.  (352 p. 2023)

Tumble by Celia C. Perez

 Adela loves her mom and her step dad, Alex, but when he asks her if he can adopt her, red flags go up in her mind.  She knows nothing about her biological dad, and her mother won't answer her questions about him.  With the help of a best friend, Adela does some snooping and discovers her bio-father comes from a famous family of luchadores. As she explores this new side of her heritage, she learns a lot about her family, both good and bad, and a lot about herself. 

I read this one in honor of Hispanic Heritage month.  It won the Pura Belpre Award last year.  It was interesting learning about luchadores, a sport I never really followed before, and the story is well written, but, in the end, it was just like so many other coming of age stories I have read.  How often have we seen the story line that a kid is in some kind of crisis, and against their parent's wishes, learns both the glorious moments and dark secrets of their family's past.  I feel like Maisy Chen's Last Chance fits this description, as does Ariana del Mar Jumps In and Front Desk.  It is a good, important, and relevant trope, reflecting some of the difficulties many kids face.  But...Yeah. (368, 2022)

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

 Tova Sullivan is over 70, but still works as a janitor at a local aquarium, mostly to fill time. She has been widowed for a few years, and the solitude of the night shift suits her. She morns her late husband but is haunted by the disappearance of her then teenage son 14 years earlier.  The police called his death a suicide, but she has never believed it.  She talks about her troubles to the fish in the aquarium as she cleans, never knowing that one of the aquatic residents understands her and wants to help.  Marcellus, a giant Pacific Octopus is more intelligent than any human would guess, and watches with interest the unexpected friendship between Tova and the new maintenance kid, Cameron.  Then there is Ethan, the Scotch grocery story owner, the Knit Wits, Tova's gossip group, and Alex, the young owner of the paddle board shop. They are all terribly lonely and Marcellus can end all of the loneliness, if he could only find a way to get through to them.

When you have read 1,100 books in 11 years, it isn't often when you find a book that is both unique and really good.  Such an one is this book.  The characters are richly drawn, totally sympathetic and believably flawed.  Van Pelt manages just the right mixture of sweetness and sadness and Tova faces the hard decisions that come with aging without close family support. Cameron's search for his unknown father is both tender and endearing. It is strange to have one of the POV characters be a giant octopus, but his supercilious voice was one of the best parts of the book. It reminds me of Bartimaeus from the book of the same name. I will be recommending this book to my friends who like A Man Called Ove and Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. (My only dilemma is trying to choose a genre heading for it, besides, or course, "starred":). (2022, 368 p)