REVIEW: The Secret Garden Cookbook

The Secret Garden Cookbook, Newly Revised Edition
Author: Amy Cotler

I absolutely love bookish cookbooks! They make me happy in my heart. :) The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett is one of my favorite classic children's books. I've loved the story of a sad little girl discovering a hidden, overgrown garden and bringing it back to life since I was a little girl myself. So, of course, I jumped at the chance to review the new edition of this cookbook!

This book is definitely going into my collection of bookish cookbooks! Each section of the book has a bit about the Victorian traditions regarding food, serving food, and cooking meals. Each recipe is accompanied by a bit of background, color photographs and illustrations, and a concise, easy to follow, recipe. The layout is easily readable, and visually appealing. The recipes are varied, ranging from main courses to tea and lighter fare such as cucumber sandwiches. It also includes some dishes from India and picnic foods.

Lovely cookbook! And definitely an awesome companion for a much beloved classic book!

**I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book from Quarto Publishing via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own**

REVIEW: How Quickly She Disappears

How Quickly She Disappears
Author: Raymond Fleishmann

Living in rural Alaska, Elisabeth is lonely. Soul crushing lonely. A plane comes once a week to deliver supplies and mail,but other than that human contact outside her family is infrequent. Then a stranger arrives....he's a substitute pilot for the supply plane. Alfred Seidel says he has a secret....but he will only tell her if she agrees to three demands. The secret? He knows about the disappearance of Elisabeth's twin sister 20 years before. Elisabeth has been haunted by thoughts of her sister since she vanished....and the obsession Seidel creates will lead to murder and an unraveling of Elisabeth's life and relationships.

I think I liked the setting and the emotional vibe of this book better than I liked the mystery portion of the plot. I can't imagine the mental stress of living isolated in the middle of nowhere....then add in a creepy guy with a very very dark secret. Yikes. Double yikes, in fact. I feel like this book was more about Elisabeth sliding into obsession and a very dark place, rather than about the mystery of her sister's disappearance. Elisabeth changes from a woman dedicated to her child who is trying to make a difficult marriage work into a changed person....pretty much a hot mess....by the end of things. A stranger and his strange secrets and actions upend her life. The vibe and emotion was heavy and dark, and I ended up really not liking Elisabeth or any of the characters.

I've been mulling over this book for more than a week as I tried to decide how I feel about it. The story is good....but, for me, the emotion/darkness of it was difficult to read. Heavy stuff. But in my opinion, a book that leaves me thinking heavy thoughts for several days because I'm having to come to terms with events, character's actions, and the ending.....deserves at least four stars from me. This book left me thinking about how fragile people can be, and how I might react in the same circumstances.

A bit distressing for me....but, all in all, a good story. Excellent debut novel! I will be reading more by this author!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Berkley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

REVIEW: Daisy McDare and the Deadly Legal Affair

Daisy McDare and the Deadly Legal Affair
Author: K.M. Morgan

When Daisy gets a decorating job at a local Cozy Creek law firm, she looks forward to the challenge of updating the office's outdated look. Defense Attorney Max Cash proves to be a stressful person to work for....he is demanding, rude, and unlikable most of the time. His employees, his wife....even his girlfriend...don't really seem to like him much. When he's murdered, Daisy feels they arrested the wrong person....and she sets about doing some sleuthing to set things right.

Another cute short book in this cozy mystery series. I'm enjoying the audio book versions of this series. At about 3 hours long, the audio is short enough that I can easily listen while working at home or running errands. The stories are entertaining, and definitely cute and cozy. No spurting blood. No graphic sex or violence. No cussing. Quirky characters, and a cute dog. Pretty much the standard cozy mystery fare.

I like Daisy as a main character. She is funny, intelligent and always up for a bit of sleuthing. I think she needs to lay off the desserts though. In every book when she hits the difficult part of her investigation, she turns to cake, cupcakes, pudding....whatever food with chocolate and sugar in it that she can get. And sometimes not just one serving. At times, when she is headed to the local bakery, I almost wish I could hop into the story and tell her that something more healthy might be a better choice. All the woman talks about is sugar. lol. But, I can understand.....if I was dealing with murder and dead bodies while really just trying to do my job....I might turn to chocolate, too. Just makes me smile...the author is always referring to Daisy's more than well-rounded figure. Daisy, honey....it's the chocolate. Cut back a bit, babe. :)

This is an entertaining simple mystery. A fun, quick read (or listen). There are 11 books in this series. I'm going to work my way through them all. :) Moving on to book 3 -- Daisy McDare and the Deadly Directorial Affair.

**I voluntarily listened to a free audio book provided by the author, K.M. Morgan. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

REVIEW: Daisy McDare and the Deadly Art Affair

Daisy McDare and the Deadly Art Affair
Author: K.M. Morgan

Daisy McDare is trying to get over a recent breakup, but it seems she can't even take her pup to the dog park without seeing her ex and his new girlfriend. When she is contacted by an old friend about redecorating a room in her home, she jumps on the project. Anything to get her mind off her love life...or lack thereof. The decorating job becomes an even bigger distraction when a member of the household is murdered. Daisy gets pulled into some amateur sleuthing to keep her friend from taking the fall for a murder she didn't commit.

This book is a cute start to a cozy mystery series, and a short, entertaining listen. I wanted something short and fun to listen to while putting away all our holiday/winter decorations....at just over 3 hours, this book was the perfect choice. This is a cozy mystery so the plot is simple and there is nothing graphic. No spurting blood. No sex. No cussing. Just a love lorn decorator ferreting out a murderer. Simple plot. A few cute moments. A fluffy dog. The usual cozy fare.

I enjoyed this story. I chuckled a few times and, while the ending wasn't a complete surprise, it worked. All in all, a fun listening experience. I will definitely listen to the rest of this series on audio. Perfect length. Fun story. Enjoyable characters.

This audio book was narrated by Caroline Shively. She has a nice voice and did a good job of voice acting. The narrator really does make or break the audio book experience for me, especially because I have partial hearing loss. I was easily able to hear, understand and enjoy Shively's performance.

There are 11 books so far in the Daisy McDare series. I'm definitely going to listen to the rest!

**I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this audio book from the author, K.M. Morgan. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

REVIEW: Big Lies in a Small Town

Big Lies in a Small Town
Author: Diane Chamberlain

The lives of two women are brought together decades apart by a post office mural. In 1939, Anna Dale won a national contest to paint a mural for a small town post office in NC. In 2018, Morgan Christopher is hired to restore the mural. All those years ago, Anna disappeared. As Morgan works on the painting, she discovers small town secrets, lies, deception, hostility. She becomes determined to not only finish the restoration on time for opening of an art gallery in the town, but to find out the truth about what happened to Anna Dale.

This book sucked me in from the first page, and I couldn't stop reading. I had to find out the truth before I put the book down! Very entertaining and suspenseful! I'm not going to say anything more about the plot to prevent any spoilers.

The chapters alternate between the two women...Anna and Morgan....with the stories coming together at the end. Usually I really don't like time jumps back and forth like that....but with Diane Chamberlain at the helm, it worked perfectly this time.

Very enjoyable story....kept me guessing until the ending. And the end did not disappoint!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from St. Martin's Press. All opinions expressed ar entirely my own.**

REVIEW: The Phantom Brakeman & Other Railroad Stories

The Phantom Brakeman and Other Railroad Stories
Author: Freeman Hubbard

I was lucky enough to come across a stack of old children's paperback books at a thriftstore recently. I love old books! They were only 10 cents each, so, of course, the entire stack came home with me. I put them on a shelf waiting for the right time. Just before New Years, I caught a cold...felt miserable. It was time to start reading my thriftshop treasures! This book was an enjoyable, fun read while I was snuggled under my warm blankets, sipping hot tea. 

There are six stories for children collected in this book. The stories were selected from an earlier anthology published by Freeman, The Train that Never Came Back and Other Railroad Stories (1952). From a mystery about a brakeman who seemingly returned from the dead to a teenage girl  who prevented a train wreck, the stories are varied and interesting. Although a bit dated (the book was published in 1969), the tales are age appropriate and entertaining. As an adult, I enjoyed reading them, too! My favorite is The Broken Lantern, a story of a girl who risked her life during a storm to warn a train that a bridge ahead had washed out. The stories are short and each one has at least one illustration.

One thing I love about old books is that sometimes they have interesting inscriptions, notes written in the margins, a note left inside....you never know what you might find. This particular book was....um....personalized by a young former owner. Faces drawn on a couple pages. A sports car running over a stick figure on another page. And just plain scribbles. Something about one day lavatory growth formula scrawled on the back cover. 

The grandma and bibliophile in me wanted to go straight to -- We DONT write in books! -- but the child who wrote all over the inside of this book is probably older than I am, and forgot all about this book....and the artwork inside....long ago. Old books have a history to them....and I love reading them and thinking about all the other people who read the pages before me. :) Sadly, this book is too damaged to keep. It's falling apart, and the artwork really makes it impossible to keep or give away. So I took a couple photos, wrote my review, and I'm sending this old book off to the library in the sky via the trash can. 

This book is long out of print, but I see copies of it quite frequently and it is available in digital format on openlibrary.org. For kids (and adults) who enjoy trains, railroads or just interesting stories from the past -- it's a fun read!! 

The author, Freeman Hubbard, was editor of Railroad Magazine and published many stories about railroads. 

REVIEW: The Secret Cave

The Secret Cave
Author: Claire Huchet Bishop

I love old books, especially old, out of print, children's books. I found an old copy of this book at a thriftshop recently for 10 cents. I purchased it and several others, saving them for holiday reading. I'm glad I did. Just before New Year's I came down with a cold. I spent a day snuggled in my warm blankets with hot tea....and several really great books. I started my reading binge with this title, first published in 1951 under the title Twenty and Ten.

I didn't realize it when I first started reading, but by page 10 or so I realized I have read this story before under its original title. I definitely enjoyed re-reading it! A group of fifth graders and one 4-year old sibling are tucked away at a country house in France. The German army is occupying France, so children have been moved away from cities for their safety. The nearby village has German soldiers though...so it isn't completely safe.  Their teacher, Sister Gabriel, asks them to participate in a very important secret....they must not tell, even if German soldiers threaten or torture them for the information. They are going to hide 10 Jewish children. It's a matter of life and death for them all.

The book is only 80 pages long, but it packs a lot of story in those few pages! The story is not graphic and totally age appropriate for middle grade level readers. As an adult, I also enjoyed the story.

The used copy I bought is quite old....and in the middle, I found that 3 pages were missing. Luckily, I found a digital copy online to read those missing pages as they were right in the middle of an important part of the plot! I also discovered some long lost school notes from a prior book owner:

I hope she passed her quiz on the 13 colonies! You never know what you might find in an old book.....or not find (the missing 3 pages!). I enjoyed the last read of this very old book, and then threw it away as it was too damaged to share with anyone or keep.

The Secret Cave is a very entertaining story about 30 courageous children! Great quick read for a day where I was feeling totally under the weather. Very uplifting story!