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Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee: A Book Review

Kill Her Twice Author: Stacey Lee Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, Mystery & Suspense Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers Book Release Date: 2024 Pages: 400 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: A YA murder mystery noir set in 1930s Los Angeles’s Chinatown, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Downstairs Girl .        LOS ANGELES, 1932: Lulu Wong, star of the silver screen and the pride of Chinatown, has a face known to practically everyone, especially the Chow sisters—May, Gemma, and Peony—Lulu’s former classmates and neighbors. So the girls instantly know it’s Lulu when they discover a body one morning in an out-of-the-way stable, far from the Beverly Hills home where she lived after her fame skyrocketed.       The sisters suspect Lulu’s death is the result of foul play, but the police don’t seem motivated to investigate. Even worse, there are signs that...

Can't We Be Friends: A Novel of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe by Denny S. Bryce and Eliza Knight: A Book Review

  Can’t We Be Friends: A Novel of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe  Author: Denny S Bryce and Eliza Knight Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks Book Release Date: 2024 Pages: 386 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Award-winning author Denny S. Bryce and USA Today bestselling author Eliza Knight collaborate on a brilliant novel that uncovers the boundary-breaking, genuine friendship between Ella Fitzgerald, the Queen of Jazz, and iconic movie star Marilyn Monroe.  One woman was recognized as the premiere singer of her era with perfect pitch and tireless ambition.        One woman was the most glamorous star in Hollywood, a sex symbol who took the world by storm.        And their friendship was fast and firm…      1952: Ella Fitzgerald is a renowned jazz singer whose only roadblock to longevity is society’s attitud...

Jackie by Dawn Tripp: A Book Review

Jackie Author: Dawn Tripp Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Random House Book Release Date: 2024 Pages: 497 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: In this mesmerizing novel about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, acclaimed author Dawn Tripp has crafted an intimate story of love and power, family and tragedy, loss and reinvention.       The world has divided my life into three:       Life with Jack       Life with Onassis      Life as a woman who goes to work because she wants to.        My life is all of these things, and it is none of these things. They continue to miss what’s right in front of them. I love books. I love the sea. I love horses. Children. Art. Ideas. History. Beauty. Because beauty blows us open to wonder. Even the beauty that breaks your heart.        Jacki...

Women in the Valley of the Kings: The Untold Story of Women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age by Kathleen Sheppard: A Book Review

Women in the Valley of the Kings: The Untold Story of Women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age Author: Kathleen Sheppard Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: St. Martin’s Press Book Release Date: 2024 Pages: 310 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: The never-before-told story of the women Egyptologists who paved the way who paved the way for exploration in Egypt and laid the groundwork for Egyptology.      The history of Egyptology is often told as yet one more grand narrative of powerful men striving to seize the day and the precious artifacts for their competing homelands. But that is only half of the story. During the so-called Golden Age of Exploration, there were women working and exploring before Howard Carter discovered the tomb of King Tut. Before men even conceived of claiming the story for themselves, women were working in Egypt to lay the groundwork for all future exploration.      ...

The Assassin of Venice by Alyssa Palombo: A Book Review

The Assassin of Venice Author: Alyssa Palombo Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery & Suspense Publisher: Crooked Lane Books  Publication Date: 2024 Pages: 314 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review  Synopsis: A Renaissance courtesan must choose between love and duty in this high stakes 16th-century mystery, perfect for fans of Madeline Hunter and Rhys Bowen.        Valentina Riccardi is many things: beautiful, cultured, deadly. As one of Venice’s famous courtesans, she’s perfectly positioned to seduce powerful men, get them alone, and assassinate them. Spies. Traitors. Who they are doesn’t matter—only that they made an enemy of the Council of Ten, the shadowy and seemingly omniscient power from which Valentina takes her orders without question.        Venice is her home, and after losing everything once before to an invading army, there is nothing she won’t do to protect her city, for...

A Fortune Most Fatal (Miss Austen Investigates #2) by Jessica Bull: A Book Review

  A Fortune Most Fatal (Miss Austen Investigates #2) Author: Jessica Bull Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery & Suspense Publisher: Union Square & Co. Book Release Date: 2025 Pages: 380 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: A witty, engaging murder mystery featuring Jane Austen as an intrepid sleuth—the second installment in the Miss Austen Investigates series.         1797: A broken-hearted Jane Austen travels to Kent to look after her brother Neddy’s children and further her writing. She soon realizes it’s imperative she uncovers the true identity of a mysterious young woman claiming to be a shipwrecked foreign princess before the interloper can swindle Neddy’s adoptive mother out of her fortune and steal the much-anticipated inheritance all the Austens rely on.         My Review: A Fortune Most Fatal  is the sequel to The Hapless Milliner . Jane Austen’s he...

The Hapless Milliner (Miss Austen Investigates #1) by Jessica Bull: A Book Review

The Hapless Milliner (Miss Austen Investigates #1) Author: Jessica Bull Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery & Suspense Publisher: Union Square & Co. Book Release Date: 2024 Pages: 364 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: A witty, engaging murder mystery featuring Jane Austen as an intrepid amateur sleuth—the first in a series.         Jane Austen—sparkling, spirited, and incredibly clever—is suddenly thrust into a mystery when a milliner’s dead body is found locked inside a cupboard in the middle of a ball. When Jane’s brother Georgy is found with some jewelry belonging to the deceased, the local officials see it as an open-and-shut case: one which is likely to end with his death. Jane is certain that he is innocent, and there is more to the murder than meets the eye. Her investigations send her on a journey through local society, as Jane’s suspect list keeps on growing— and her keen observational skills ...