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The Quality of Mercy.
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I guess it would be true to say I am one of the first generation of white, English-speaking South Africans who identify as African. I got that red dust in my veins at an early age, and it hit me hard. I have spent almost all my professional life as a travel journalist and writer of natural history books, all about South Africa and beyond. I have traveled the world, but I really only love and can live in this place. Also, it’s the only place I ever want to write about. So, as you can guess, I like to read about it too. And I hope you do as much.
The word “visceral” comes to mind when I attempt to distill what this book is about. A not-so-fictional auto-biography opens in the slum called Paradise, where Chipo, Bastard, Sbho, Stina, and “I” are headed to the–relatively–more affluent area of Budapest to steal fruit. These dirt-poor kids don’t know it, but they are victims of the far-off, murderous regime of President Robert Mugabe–but that always remains hidden in the background. They are brutalized and never know it or know why.
Courtesy of an invite from an Aunt in the United States, the protagonist eventually escapes Zimbabwe. But once there, while things get materially much better, in reality, it is no less bewildering and bereft of meaning: she and her friends spend their afternoons watching hard-core porn while eating popcorn and discussing inane stuff, like “what the hell are they doing?!” It’s funny in parts, but it also hurts in parts. The…
'To play the country-game, we have to choose a country. Everybody wants to be the USA and Britain and Canada and Australia and Switzerland and them. Nobody wants to be rags of countries like Congo, like Somalia, like Iraq, like Sudan, like Haiti and not even this one we live in - who wants to be a terrible place of hunger and things falling apart?'
Darling and her friends live in a shanty called Paradise, which…
I guess it would be true to say I am one of the first generation of white, English-speaking South Africans who identify as African. I got that red dust in my veins at an early age, and it hit me hard. I have spent almost all my professional life as a travel journalist and writer of natural history books, all about South Africa and beyond. I have traveled the world, but I really only love and can live in this place. Also, it’s the only place I ever want to write about. So, as you can guess, I like to read about it too. And I hope you do as much.
In truth, I bought this one (yes, I bought all my books in actual paper form) because it won the Booker Prize in 2021. Not all reviews back home in sunny old SA were favorable, but hey, surely it had to have something special. And turns out it does.
Reading it will be a tortured journey for just about any South African: the basic plot, if there is one, is about the promise made by a dying (white) woman to her (black) domestic worker, about the shack in which the latter lives. Of course, the promise is broken again and again. I really liked it, in a really bad-smell-in-the-room kind of way. There’s a problem with being so close to a bad situation, so don’t take it from me–the Booker committee surely can’t be wrong!
WINNER OF THE 2021 BOOKER PRIZE A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE
On her deathbed, Rachel Swart makes a promise to Salome, the family’s Black maid. This promise will divide the family—especially her children: Anton, the golden boy; Astrid, whose beauty is her power; and the youngest, Amor, whose life is shaped by feelings of guilt.
Reunited by four funerals over thirty years, the dwindling Swart family remains haunted by the unmet promise, just as their country is haunted by its own failures. The Promise is an epic South African drama that unfurls against the unrelenting march of history, sure…
I guess it would be true to say I am one of the first generation of white, English-speaking South Africans who identify as African. I got that red dust in my veins at an early age, and it hit me hard. I have spent almost all my professional life as a travel journalist and writer of natural history books, all about South Africa and beyond. I have traveled the world, but I really only love and can live in this place. Also, it’s the only place I ever want to write about. So, as you can guess, I like to read about it too. And I hope you do as much.
The fact that the author lives close to my own little boho surfing suburb on Cape Town’s False Bay coastline might have swayed me. But I assure you this is a very fine and engaging tale of a woman seeking insight into and escape from a childhood overshadowed by a brilliant but alcoholic father. The title, at least, should grab you.
The story is set about between Cape Town and England, from where the father hails. The crocodile tamer works in a circus, where and how the poor young man falls from grace. What sets this book apart from most is that the author weaves her own real and imagined misgivings about writing while she is writing. For any writer-reader, it’s one of the best aspects of the book. Example: “Catholicism taught me three things: I’ve done something wrong, I’ve done something wrong, I’ve done something wrong.” It really is…
.The greatest tragedy of the family is the unlived lives of the parents. - Carl Jung
GINA knows hardly anything about her father apart from the fact that he was once engaged to Koringa, a crocodile tamer, and that he is buried in an unmarked grave. In between shifts at a call centre, with Doubt always looking over her shoulder, she works on a novel about him, ultimately drawing back the curtains on a complex, sad but also funny and enchanting life. The Man Who Loved Crocodile Tamers is a story about love, family, fear and the banishing of fear:…
I guess it would be true to say I am one of the first generation of white, English-speaking South Africans who identify as African. I got that red dust in my veins at an early age, and it hit me hard. I have spent almost all my professional life as a travel journalist and writer of natural history books, all about South Africa and beyond. I have traveled the world, but I really only love and can live in this place. Also, it’s the only place I ever want to write about. So, as you can guess, I like to read about it too. And I hope you do as much.
I loved this book because, although we have another, more celebrated writer in the genre of magical realism, I think this is better than the other, which garnered that author a Nobel Prize. And by the way, that is “Sir” Anthony Sher to me and you (and with good reason). Cape Town-born Sher–descended from Lithuanian religious refugees in the late C1–gained fame as a lead male actor in the Royal Shakespeare Company.
The book is an allegory of South African race relations, in which a Lithuanian refugee, Smous (Dutch for traveling salesman), is ordained to travel the South African wastelands with a San (Bushman) woman. Neither can speak the other’s language or English, which, of course, sets up any number of hilariously deplorable situations. It is comedy, tragedy, and farce, set in a mythological South African of the past. It is spell-weaving and spell-binding.
Fleeing pogroms in his native Lithuania, a young man named Smous arrives in Cape Town in 1901, determined to travel to the interior city of Calyinia but temporarily sidetracked in the isolated settlement of Middlepost
I graduated from Lower Cape May Regional High School in the '80s. My classes revolved mostly around the culinary sciences and theater, with the occasional nap in Chemistry. I write culinary cozy mysteries from my Northern Virginia office while trying to keep my naughty cat off my keyboard. I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that prevents me from eating gluten without exploding. I now create gluten-free goodies at home and include the recipes in my Cape May-based Poppy McAllister series. Most of my hobbies revolve around eating and travel, and eating while traveling. My secret powers include finding my way to any coffee shop anywhere in the world, even while blindfolded.
Twenty-eight-year-old widow Ricki James leaves Los Angeles to start a new life in New Orleans after her showboating actor husband perishes doing a stupid internet stunt. The Big Easy is where she was born and adopted by the NICU nurse who cared for her after Ricki’s teen mother disappeared from the hospital.
Ricki’s dream comes true when she joins the quirky staff of Bon Vee Culinary House Museum, the spectacular former Garden District home of late bon vivant Genevieve “Vee” Charbonnet, the city’s legendary restauranteur. Ricki is excited about turning her avocation—collecting vintage cookbooks—into a vocation by launching the museum’s gift shop, Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbooks and Kitchenware. Then she discovers that a box of donated vintage cookbooks contains the body of a cantankerous Bon Vee employee who was fired after being exposed as a book thief.
The skills Ricki has developed ferreting out hidden vintage treasures come in handy…
A fantastic new cozy mystery series with a vintage flair from USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award–winning author Ellen Byron.
Twenty-eight-year-old widow Ricki James leaves Los Angeles to start a new life in New Orleans after her showboating actor husband perishes doing a stupid internet stunt. The Big Easy is where she was born and adopted by the NICU nurse who cared for her after Ricki’s teen mother disappeared from the hospital.
Ricki’s dream comes true when she joins the quirky staff of Bon Vee Culinary House Museum, the spectacular former Garden District home of late bon vivant Genevieve “Vee”…
Growing up, most books seemed to feature strong and adventurous boys but rarely were the female characters cast in the same roles. Remember Anne in the Famous Five? Bless her. Even non-gendered animal characters in books were almost always called ‘he.’ And, as I look for books to empower my daughter, I’m so happy to see that things are moving in the right direction. Nowadays, I actively seek out books that feature strong female leads, which, thankfully, are many in the crime fiction world. These are just five of my favorites, but there are so many to choose from!
I was already a fan of Clare Mackintosh’s standalone thrillers, but when I found out she was launching a police procedural series, I was so excited! Set in Wales, this compelling book stars the complex, courageous character of DC Ffion Morgan as she tries to get to the bottom of who killed Rhys Lloyd during his New Year’s Eve party and dumped his body in the freezing lake.
I won't reveal much about the plot itself because I want you to experience the twists and turns for yourself. I want your heart to pound like it wants to escape your chest. I want you to lose hours of sleep because 'one more chapter' turned into twenty. You'll order the next book faster than I can say 'no comment.'
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES TOP 5 BESTSELLER AND START OF A THRILLING NEW SERIES: AT MIDNIGHT, ONE OF THEM IS DEAD. BY MORNING, ALL OF THEM ARE SUSPECTS . . . 'Superb, with echoes of Agatha Christie' PATRICIA CORNWELL 'A dark delight of a murder mystery' JANICE HALLETT 'Mackintosh is just getting better and better' PETER JAMES 'A wickedly enjoyable reprise of the traditional crime novel' THE TIMES
On New Year's Eve, Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests. His lakeside holiday homes are a success, and he's generously invited the village to drink champagne with their wealthy new…
I’m a cozy mystery writer and reader who loves to suss out family dynamics in the books I’m devouring. My love of genealogy and turning family stories into fiction played a large role while writing my first book, Hammers and Homicide. Wherever my husband and I travel, we search for ancestors in ancient cemeteries and try to find out more about their stories. You’ll find a few of them between the pages of my books. I hope you’ll enjoy these books, all featuring some level of family ties, as much as I did!
I can’t even tell you how much I love Aunt Ginny in Libby Klein’s Poppy McAllister Mystery series! She is an absolute hoot. While I love the whole series, the first introduction to Aunt Ginny in this book remains my favorite.
Poppy is newly widowed and a grief-stricken disaster when she receives an invitation to her high school reunion. She heads home to Cape May and her eccentric Great Aunt Ginny’s house. As they do in cozy mysteries, a murder happens, and Poppy and Aunt Ginny are on the case.
Poppy and her aunt’s relationship, paired with Aunt Ginny’s crazy antics, always leaves me wiping tears of mirth out of my eyes. Such a fun read!
Fans of Jana DeLeon and Joanne Fluke will love Libby Klein! For fortysomething Poppy McAllister, taking a stroll down memory lane in Cape May, New Jersey, isn't just awkward--it's deadly.
Newly widowed and stuck in a middle-aged funk, Poppy has been running on cookies, infomercials, and one-sided chats with her cat for months. There's no way on earth she's attending her twenty-five-year class reunion--especially after receiving a very bizarre letter from Barbie, the popular cheerleader who taunted her all through high school. At least, not until Poppy's best friend practically drags her to the event . . .
I’ve loved murder mysteries since childhood, and during the pandemic–when reading became a challenge–I returned to my first literary love, binging on one mystery series after another. Eventually, I decided to write one with my friend Elizabeth Renzetti. It’s been the most enjoyable writing experience either of us has had. I’ve written three other published novels, and I have a day job as a therapist (I like to think this helps with realistic characterization, but it also pays the bills). I write humor because I like to have fun at work, and I appreciate a good laugh when I’m reading.
I couldn’t help but root for Miranda Abbott, the hilariously self-absorbed heroine of I Only Read Murder. The formerly famous television star of the Pastor Fran crime-fighting series, Miranda’s path to redemption requires her to solve a real-life murder where all the suspects are members of an amateur theatrical society. I Only Read Murder is ridiculously entertaining, a very fun romp that takes full advantage of the cozy mystery tropes we all love.
“Strap in for a hilarious and satisfying ride.” —Terry Fallis, bestselling author of Operation Angus
A once-famous TV sleuth An amateur theater production An onstage murder A town full of suspects…
Miranda Abbott, once known for the crime-solving, karate-chopping church pastor she played on network television, has hit hard times. She’s facing ruin when a mysterious postcard arrives, summoning her to Happy Rock, a small town in the Pacific Northwest. But when she gets there, nothing is what she expected.
In dire straits, she signs up for an amateur production at the Happy Rock Little Theater. On opening night, one…
I’ve always loved peculiar heroes and heroines. Characters with strange gifts and an equal number of challenges. It started with Sherlock Holmes, whose mind fascinated me. As a child, I gravitated to the unnatural protagonist, Tarzan, in the Edgar Rice Burroughs novels and Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I was never a big fan of Superman, I preferred people who adapted quickly to new surroundings and could think on their feet. Once I began my writing career, I kept those protagonists in my mind. Four novels in, I do my best to capture their spirit and determination to overcome whatever lands in front of them.
I loved this book because Antonia Scott might just be my favorite protagonist of all time.
She’s literally the most intelligent person in the world, with an I.Q. of over 200. She’s plagued by guilt and awkward social skills, but she has more crime-solving abilities than an entire police force. She’s Sherlock Holmes on steroids, with a hyper-intelligent sense of humor!
Now an Amazon Prime Original series, Red Queen is the first in Juan Gomez-Jurado's internationally bestselling thriller series, translated by Nick Caistor. Winner of the Cognac Prize 2022 with more than two million copies sold in Spain alone.
Sunday Times - Best Thriller Books of the Year
'A Spanish spin on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo . . . A female Sherlock Holmes' - The Times
You've never met anyone like her . . .
Antonia Scott is special. Very special. She is not a policewoman or a lawyer. She has never wielded a weapon or carried a badge,…
I’m a voracious reader, and I’ve come across way too many books where the female MC was an airheaded TSTL (too stupid to live) ninny. I don’t want to read about women who have to be saved by big, strong men. I want to see women who can pull themselves up by their bootstraps and save themselves, maybe with a little help from the big, strong man if she needs or wants it, AND who can turn around and do some saving of said man of her own, should HE need it. I think the healthiest relationships, even fictional ones, are those based on mutual strength, trust, and respect.
I adore the character of Sam Holland. She is a badass cop, not willing to take crap from anyone, even her fellow officers, with a smart mouth that gets her into as much trouble as it gets her out of. Her character is written with such nuance and honesty that she’s someone I’ve willingly followed through 22 books (and counting).
Sam works twice as hard to make sure she’s living up to her own expectations as much as anyone else’s, always afraid of falling short, something I think we all tend to be too hard on ourselves about at times. The love interest throughout the series sometimes struggles with her strong personality, even as he admires her for it, which I think lends a depth of realism to their relationship as it grows and sometimes flounders.
Detective Sergeant Sam Holland of the Washington, DC, Metro Police needs a big win to salvage her career—and her confidence—after a disastrous investigation. The perfect opportunity arises when Senator John O'Connor is found brutally murdered in his bed, and Sam is assigned to the case. Matters get complicated when Sam has to team up with Nick Cappuano, O'Connor's friend and chief of staff…and the man Sam had a memorable one-night stand with years earlier. Their sexual chemistry still sizzles, and Sam has to fight to stay focused on the case. Sleeping with a material witness…
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