Dragonbone Chair; Follow Me to Hell

 

A friend at work recommended this one to me, and even though Fantasy isn't usually my thing, I really liked it. Even if it got a bit complicated 😃 I'll try to sum it up as best I can. 

When good King John dies, his oldest son Elias takes the throne. Elias has a suspicious advisor named Pyrates, who is some kind of dark wizard. Young Simon lives in the castle when a civil war breaks out between Elias and his younger brother, Josua. Simon escapes the castle at the behest of his benefactor, Dr. Morgenes. He ends up traveling with a troll named Binabik, trying to get to Prince Josua's camp. They fall in with a group of soldiers for Josua who are searching for a magical sword to help him defeat his brother. It got pretty complex and ventured off into a bunch of stories about side characters. Since it's the first in a trilogy I imagine it's only going to get more complicated from here on out. I *might* not have the mental energy to read book two right now, but I would like to eventually. 

"Follow Me to Hell" was an interesting read about the rise of the Texas Rangers, specifically under Leander McNelly. They went after and caught a lot of bad guys. One story that I thought was especially good was when he led his Rangers to Mexico to arrest cattle thieves and return the stolen cattle, and of course he had no authority in Mexico, but he managed to bluff his way through it. He died very young, in his early thirties, but he seems to have been a true Texas larger than life character. 

Quiet Tenant

 

"The Quiet Tenant" was a very interesting psychological thriller. 

We are introduced to the Woman in the Shed. She has been told her name is Rachel, and she was nothing before Aiden found her and saved her. Aiden keeps her chained up in his shed, away from his house where his wife and daughter live. Rachel has been there for five years. 

Aiden's wife passes away, and his in-laws force him to move out of the house, so he starts renting a place closer to town. Rachel talks him into taking her with him and his daughter, Cecelia, posing as a friend who is renting a room. In the new house, Aiden continues to keep Rachel handcuffed in her room. 

Emily is a local restaurant owner who has always had a crush on Aiden. Now that his wife is gone, she feels comfortable taking their previous innocent flirtation to the next level. 

The book is told from alternating points of view between Rachel, Emily, and Cecelia, who all see Aiden very differently. It was well told, I enjoyed it. 

Only One Left; The Cuban Heiress

 

Riley Sager's books are always terrific, and I really enjoyed this one. 

Set in the 1980s, Kit is a home healthcare worker. She was suspended for six months for leaving medication out and her last patient (who happened to be her mother) took the bottle and died. The police, and Kit's boss, suspect she assisted her mother with her suicide, but Kit swears she is innocent. After an investigation fails to prove any wrongdoing on Kit's part, she is cleared to come back to work and her boss assigns her to Leonora Hope. 

Leonora Hope is the only surviving member of the Hope family. In 1929, her parents and sister were brutally murdered. The killer was never caught, and most people, including Kit, think that Leonora killed her family and got away with it. Leonora is paralyzed after a series of strokes and can only move her left hand, but she is able to type, and she types something that chills Kit to the bone: she wants to tell her. Everything. 

What follows this is a bunch of twists and turns and a final conclusion that was satisfying. 

I enjoyed the first two books in Cleeton's Cuban series, but this one isn't about the Perez family, so it wasn't what I was expecting. It wasn't bad, but it also didn't thrill me like the first two did.

Elena is in disguise on the cruise ship Morro Castle, which is headed to Havana from New York in 1934. Also on board is her husband, Raymond, who believes she died in a fire back in New York--a fire he deliberately set to try to kill her in order to steal her money. Raymond is there with his fiancée, Catharine, who is actually pretending to be a wealthy heiress. She's really Elena's maid who is helping her get revenge on Raymond. Complicating matters is Harry, a sly pickpocket that Catherine falls for. It was interesting enough, if predictable. The real life story of the Morro Castle is very interesting and I'd like to learn more about it. 

George VI and Elizabeth: the Marriage That Saved the Monarchy

 

George VI is quickly becoming one of my favorite people to read about, after reading "Churchill and the King" a few years ago. I've always greatly admired Winston Churchill, but it's amazing how brave King George VI was. And he freely admitted he would not have been able to be the king he was without his wife, Elizabeth, by his side. 

George, or "Bertie", as he was known to the family (his given name was Albert), courted Elizabeth Bowes Lyon for years and proposed three times before she finally accepted. George never imagined he would one day be king, but when his older brother David (King Edward VIII) abdicated so he could marry the divorced Wallis Simpson, Bertie and Elizabeth became king and queen. Considering the events that happened not long afterwards, with the start of World War II, Smith argues it was probably for the best. She's not wrong, I can't imagine that David would have been a terrific king during war, since he was always more intent on partying than ruling. But of course the greatest gift George and Elizabeth's marriage gave Britain was their daughter, the future Queen Elizabeth II. 

The Lincoln Miracle; When We Left Cuba; Lord John and the Hand of Devils

 

"The Lincoln Miracle" was brilliant, I loved it. It's amazing how he was able to make the story of the 1860 Republican National Convention so suspenseful and tense, even though of course we know how it ends: Lincoln wins the nomination. But *how* he won it is really fascinating!

William Henry Seward was the premier Republican in the U.S. at the time, and from New York. Most people assumed he would win the nomination without any problems. Chicago, in their bid to host the convention, even pointed out that they had no "hometown son" in the state of Illinois to compete, even though Lincoln of course lived in Springfield. He was so far out of the realm of possibilities that most people discounted him before it even started. 

His friends however did not. Seward was a polarizing figure, and Lincoln's supporters figured they could put Honest Abe forth as a good alternative candidate to the folks who didn't want to vote for Seward. It helped that Lincoln hadn't really ticked off too many people yet. And that's exactly what happened--Lincoln siphoned off the other candidates' votes and ended up surpassing Seward, and was elected President of the United States in November 1860. There was some discussion of his supporters promising plum jobs in the government to all the delegates who agreed to vote for him, even though Lincoln emphatically (and in writing) told them not to do so. 

"When We Left Cuba" follows the story of Beatriz Perez, one of the sisters from "Next Year in Havana". Beatriz is strong willed and determined to get back to her beloved home, she's sick of waiting around in Palm Beach for someone else to do something about Castro. She meets a senator who is related to Jack Kennedy, Nick Preston, and despite her better judgement ends up falling for him. Then there's her old pal from Cuba, Eduardo, who introduces Beatriz to the CIA and she becomes an operative. 

Her ultimate goal, of course, is to kill Castro, but things don't go as planned. It was a fun book, very engaging, and I liked Beatriz a lot. She lived her life the way SHE wanted, which was pretty revolutionary for the time. 

And finally, a Lord John reread from Diana Gabaldon. "Outlander" started a few weeks ago, so of course I wanted to reread some of my favorite Lord John moments. This book contained several short stories. I originally read it in April of 2020:

https://bekkisbookblog.blogspot.com/2020/04/a-longer-fall-lord-john-and-hand-of.html

Sin City Gangsters

 

A surprisingly dry look at the Mob in Vegas. I have to admit, I was disappointed. Such a fun topic and yet it just fell flat. 

He started out with Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegal and recounted the various mobsters who took advantage of all the money flowing through the Vegas casinos. Eventually the Mob got pushed out of Vegas to make room for the visionaries, like Kirk Kerkorian and Steve Wynn.