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The Lady’s Guide to Death and Deception by Katherine Cowley | Book Review

March 12, 2023 / Monique

My venn diagram of reading is spy novel meets literature. So I’m glad that ages ago at a marketing conference Scott Cowley mentioned his wife Katherine Cowley was writing Jane Austen spinoffs. I have read and loved all 3 books in the series (review #1, review #2).

In Jane Austen novels, Mary is the underestimated, often overlooked character, which makes her the perfect inspiration. In Katherine Cowley’s series, Mary Bennet is living a secret life as a spy for Britain.

The Lady’s Guide to Death and Deception is set in Brussels. Napoleon Bonaparte has escaped from the Isle of Elba, and England with the Allied forces are preparing for war. Mary’s spy work has her in multiple disguises, befriending strangers, kissing men (oh the impropriety, it’s 1815), and learning the French waltz. It’s a fun and witty historical novel, influenced by Austen.

In Memory of Darren Barefoot

February 24, 2023 / Monique

db and Julie in Bonn when he worked for the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat

My dear friend Darren Barefoot passed away on Feb 20, 2023. He was young.

There are so many things I learned from him, without knowing I was learning.

To unapologetically embrace your quirks
To know when to engage and when to disengage
To appreciate getting down to business
To practice self care
To get on with it
To show up
To be the adult in the room (or designate one)

He was smart, funny, caring, inquisitive, kind. He once described himself as “sort of geeky, but with a lot of friends.” So true.

I have been introduced to the tech community, the nonprofit circles, the Irish friends, the DND guys, the theatre crew, the family … there are so many Venn diagrams of awesome.

He always made me chuckle. From presentations on profundity to taxidermy to more serious campaigns on climate action, Darren enjoyed himself. He made time to be amused. He found joy, he created joy in the world. I will miss him.

A friend reminded me of something he once said in response to a question about what was next in his life, “above all else, I want to live an interesting life.”

He did just that. You can see it clearly in his words, images, videos of him speaking. That’s not all he left us.

Darren did remarkable work in the nonprofit space and was especially committed to environmental sustainability.

Darren was a firm believer in mentorship, education, advocacy and environmental protection. There is a fund set up in his honour: Darren Barefoot Legacy Fund (Vancouver Foundation). The fund will offer support to the next generation of marketing professionals dedicated to climate action.

Goodbye, for now, my friend.

Elizabeth Finch by Julian Barnes

February 23, 2023 / Monique

Elizabeth Finch is about a platonic teacher-student relationship and how we come to idolize people who create poignant moments in our lives.

In this novel Neil is an adult learner in Elizabeth Finch’s class. She is an enigma. Although her teaching style is not to everyone’s liking, she has an affect on Neil that leads to a lifelong friendship (maybe friendship is too strong, mentorship).

The novel is broken into three parts. The first is the most charming, and where we are introduced to Elizabeth Finch. The second part is Neil’s look at EF’s research into early Christian history. It’s an academic essay parading as part of the novel. And, it is fascinating if you want to think about moments in history where we could have made different choices. In the third part, Neil tries to offers a more objective perspective of EF and her research.

I really like Julian Barnes’ work and this was a good read. Like EF, it’s not for everyone. The Guardian suggests that each new section is forced to compensate for the shortcomings of the last. Fair comment, I’d say. But I still liked it.

Available everywhere. Published in Canada by Penguin Random House.

Agatha by Anne Cathrine Bomann | Book Review

February 20, 2023 / Monique

Set in 1940s Paris, this is a charming debut novel about a psychiatrist who is counting down his days until retirement. He has a client list that is quite a collection of characters but he is bored and ready to be done with them. That is until his secretary, against his wishes, accepts a new client, Agatha.

Agatha becomes his muse. He can’t stop thinking of her. He is excited when it is her appointment day. But he’s also running out of time, and realizing that he hasn’t made much of his life.

This novel captures the lonely spirit of a 1940s Parisian bachelor and presents the timeless lesson of living in the present.

If you like the tv series Shrinking on Apple TV then this is a similar story with a literary bend. Fans of A Man Called Ove will enjoy this book as well.

A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny

January 10, 2023 / Monique

Louise Penny is one of those authors that gets me hook, line and sinker, every time. I find her Chief Inspector Gamache so charming that it’s hard to not read each instalment in a single day. Yes, I binge read Louise Penny.

In this book (18th in the series), Gamache spends most of his time in Three Pines. Drama and murder has come to his door step. This book is a psychological thriller. It has some Silence of the Lambs characteristics. No cannibalism, but it’s steeped in psychological horror.

Without giving too much away: the story is told through a series of flashbacks to one of Inspector Beauvoir’s first cases with Gamache. Two children have been abused and their mother is murdered. The older child is convicted of the murder but Gamache suspects the younger was as involved, if not more. Memories of that tragedy are brought to the forefront in a present-day discovery of a mysterious painting locked away in a hidden room above the village bookstore. The children, now grown, are involved in the discovery but the danger to Gamache is unclear. There’s some psychological warfare happening right under his nose but it’s a puzzle within a puzzle that Gamache just can’t solve. It’s about revenge, but who is seeking the revenge? Gamache has enemies.

Louise Penny is a fabulous writer. The Gamache books have always woven in art and music, along with politics and suspense. There’s less politics in this one and more psychological thriller. The series has steered that way since an absolute page-turner two books ago, The Devils Are Here, which was set in Paris, France. If you’re new to Louise Penny and don’t want to go all the way back to book #1 then I’d start partway through the series at #7 A Trick of Light.

The Pigeon Tunnel by John le Carré | Book Review

January 10, 2023 / Monique

John le Carré is a masterful storyteller and listening to his voice telling the stories of his life is epic. In The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from My Life, he covers his short years of service in British Intelligence and how that paved the way for the writer he became and the opportunities he had to meet politicians and leaders around the world.

This type of memoir could be a bit of a brag but instead it’s like your worldly uncle telling you his crazy stories. I loved it.

There are funny asides and mishaps, like a certain parrot meeting his end due to alcohol in his feed and wrong number phone calls that lead to late-night bar dates. Then there are serious tales of interviewing terrorists and navigating the security around Yasser Arafat. At every turn, le Carré is giving us glimpses into his life and how you might connect real life people to his story characters.

You can hear the wisdom and humility in his voice, along with the cheek.

Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson

December 21, 2022 / Monique

Get ready to step into the grittiness of London and the glam (and gangs) of Soho clubs during the period between the World Wars.

Our cast of characters includes:

Nellie Coker who is newly released from prison and back to managing her infamous nightclubs.
Chief Inspector Frobisher who’s cleaning up corruption on the streets and in his own force.
Gwendolyn Kelling who’s in London from York and looking for two runaway girls who are hoping to make their fame on the stage–and are likely to end up at one of Coker’s clubs as a dance hostess.
Nellie’s children: Niven (the eldest and most put together), Edith (the brains of the operation), the twins Betty and Shirley, the youngest girl Kitty, and the youngest boy Ramsey (coke addict and aspiring novelist).

It’s an all-star cast. They are each great in their own way and their lives are woven together like a braid. The storytelling is amazing and I cheered for each of them. The basic rivalry is between the Cokers and Frobisher, with Miss Kelling caught in the middle. But actually they all face another nemesis and that’s what lets readers cheer for them all.

The dialogue is wonderful. The quality of word choice is top notch. The quick wits and pacing of the novel is superb. I can’t say enough. I loved this book.

Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson is available from Penguin Random House.

Who Is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht

December 1, 2022 / Monique

Who Is Vera Kelly? is a quick witted spy novel set in 1960s Buenos Aries. Vera is newly recruited to the CIA and soon enough finds herself wiretapping congressmen and infiltrating a group of student activists.

Vera is smart, a fast learner, a lesbian, and about to find out what it’s like to be caught up in Cold War politics during a coup.

Vera Kelly Is Not A Mystery is the follow-up story. Vera is back in New York and loses her job and her girlfriend in a single day. But Vera is feisty and sets up shop as a female detective. Suddenly she’s on hot on the trail of a Dominican exile who’s wanted by Dominican Republic President Balaguer (and his goon squad). Vera can’t depend on the CIA (although could she ever). So it’s just her and her wits. And I must say, Vera is witty.

Rosalie Knecht has crafted a tight Cold War spy series. A bit of a nod to the character driven Le Carré style of writing but more modern. If you liked Ben MacIntyre’s The Spy and the Traitor or David Benioff’s City of Thieves, then you’ll like the dark, slow burn of these novels.

A Trace of Deceit by Karen Odden

November 3, 2022 / Monique

A Trace of Deceit is a great whodonit and peak into the world of art auctions. Miss Annabel Rowe is a young painter who’s studying at the Slade in London. She’s set to meet her brother Edwin for their regular Tuesday dinner but he never shows. Went she goes to his apartment, she finds two inspectors investigating his murder.

Annabel isn’t your usual Victorian lady who will demure and defer. She marches down to Scotland yard and demands to speak to Inspector Matthew Hallam. She has a plan and a plea that leads to her job shadowing Matthew.

They have a lovely romance that blooms out of their efforts to solve the mystery of Edwin’s death, recover a stolen valuable painting, and catch the culprits.

The behind-the-scenes look at the art work, auction houses, and the underworld of politics and the shipping industry are highly entertaining. Author Karen Odden draws on some of her personal experience from working at Christie’s auction house in the mid-1990s.

My favourite moments were the descriptions of various paintings throughout the novel. It was a short course in art history and painting techniques.

The Bookseller’s Secret by Michelle Gable

June 12, 2022 / Monique

It’s 1942 in London and the war is raging on, but in a small bookshop Nancy Mitford is toiling away stacking books and writing an autobiography. She moves in literary circles with Evelyn Waugh, is well connected to wealthy families due to her father’s title, and has done a bit of spy work. The story running in parallel is that of modern-day Katie Swift, acclaimed novelist (one book), and fan of Nancy Mitford. Katie finds herself in London visiting a friend and solving the mystery of Mitford’s missing autobiography.

This is a fun novel with interesting characters and a bit of romance. It’s good for fans of historical fiction, WWII, cozy mystery novels, and indie bookshops. It’s not a wild pageturner but it’s a good read.

So Misguided