Mailbox Monday and Happy Memorial Day! (5-28-12)

Happy Memorial Day!

 Mailbox Monday will be hosted in May by Martha at Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf.  I got another win this week and a couple of review books.  Come on in and take a look!


The Mailbox Monday host for June will be Sassy Brit at Alternate-Read.com


Books for Review

An Unmarked Grave

by Charles Todd

In the spring of 1918, the Spanish flu epidemic spreads, killing millions of soldiers and civilians across the globe.  Overwhelmed by the constant flow of wounded soldiers coming from the French front, battlefield nurse Bess Crawford must now contend with hundreds of influenza patients as well. 

However, war and disease are not the only killers to strike.  Bess discovers, concealed among the dead waiting for burial, the body of an officer who has been murdered.  Though she is devoted to all her patients, this soldier's death touches her deeply.  Not only did the man serve in her father's former regiment, he was also a family friend.

Before she can report the terrible news,  Bess falls ill, the latest victim of the flu.  By the time she recovers, the murdered officer has been buried, and the only other person who saw the body has hanged himself.  Or did he?

Working her father's connections in the military, Bess begins to piece together what little evidence she can find to unmask the elusive killer and see justice served.  But she must be as vigilant as she is tenacious.  With a determined killer on her heels, each move Bess makes could be her last. 

You Take it From Here

by Pamela Ribon

Practical, patient Danielle Meyers escaped her small Southern hometown as quickly as possible, landing herself in sunny Los Angelas as a successful homemaking consultant and recent divorcee.  Her bossy, loud, impulsive best friend Smidge stayed behind in Ogden, Louisiana, and has succeeded quite soundly -- wife, mother, karaoke superstar, social butterfly, and survivor of cancer.  But when Smidge and Danielle reunite for their annual girls' vacation, Smidge reveals that the cancer is back and terminal, and Danielle vows to do anything to make the last bit of Smidge's life easier.  Expecting her best friend to make such a promise, Smidge has just one request:  for Danielle to take over Smidge's family after she dies.  Move back to Ogden to be a wife to her husband, and finish raising her daughter -- a plan she demands they must keep secret.  When the friend you love "the mostest" wants you to make her last wish come true, are you allowed to say no? 

Bridge of Scarlet Leaves

by Kristina McMorris

Los Angeles, 1941. Violinist Maddie Kern's life seemed destined to unfold with the predictable elegance of a Bach concerto.  Then she fell in love with Lane Moritomo.  Her brother's best friend, Lane is the handsome, ambitious son of Japanese immigrants.  Maddie was prepared for disapproval from their families, but when Pearl Harbor is bombed the day after she and Lane elope, the full force of their decision becomes apparent.  In the eyes of a fearful nation, Lane is no longer just an outsider, but an enemy.

When her husband is interned at a war relocation camp,  Maddie follows, sacrificing her Julliard ambitions.  Behind barbed wire, tension simmers and the line between patriot and traitor blurs.  As Maddie strives for the hard-won acceptance of her new family, Lane risks everything to prove his allegiance to America, at tremendous cost.

Skillfully capturing one of the most controversial episodes in recent American history, Kristina McMorris draws readers into a novel filled with triumphs and heartbreaking loss -- an authentic, moving testament to love, forgiveness, and the enduring music of the human spirit. 

Taste of Home Cooking School Cookbook

No matter what you crave, cook it with confidence with Taste of Home Cooking School Cookbook!

A beautifully carved turkey.  The best-ever chocolate chip cookies.  Popular dishes like Pad Thai, portobello burgers and creamy mac 'n' cheese.  Make all these and more with friendly guidance and savvy advice from Taste of Home Cooking School!

Whatever your skill level in the kitchen, you will earn techniques and discover new favorites with more than 400 best-loved-recipes from our expert instructors.  Create a memorable game-day get-together with nacho dip, hot wings and yummy pizza.  Master the grill with succulent ribeyes, monster stuffed burgers and a whole salmon fillet that's a real showstopper.

Treat your special someone to hot Irish coffee, rich creme brulee or delightful blueberry oatmeal muffins.  Whip up sumptuous holiday meals with all of the trimmings.  Or, wow your morning crowd with decadent pear-mascarpone French toast, baked doughnuts, or a take on eggs Benedict that's astoundingly easy and serves 12 with style!  It's easy with the tricks, tips and recipes in this keepsake collection.

Each chapter is loaded with step-by-step demonstrations, tips, secrets and entertaining ideas from our Cooking School experts -- 140 in all -- you will feel confident moving from one recipe to the next.  Building new skills and discovering additional favorites has never been easier!

The Pleasures of Men

by Kate Williams

July, 1840.  The young Queen Victoria has just entered her second year on the throne when a major recession brings London's underbelly to its sweltering streets.  While the city crackles with tension, orphaned Catherine Sorgeiul stays locked away in her uncle's home.  Nineteen years old and nervous of life, Catherine becomes obsessed with a series of terrible murders of young girls sweeping the city.  Details of the crimes are especially gruesome -- the victims hair has been newly plaited and thrust into their mouths, and their limbs are grotesquely folded behind them, like wounded birds -- and the serial killer is soon nicknamed the Man of Crows.

Catherine begins writing stories about the victims -- women on their own and vulnerable in the big city -- and the story of the murderer as well.  But she soon realizes that she has involved herself in a web of betrayal, deceit, and terror that threatens her and all those around her.

Game of Secrets

by Dawn Tripp

Jane Weld was eleven years old when her father, Luce, disappeared in 1957.  His skiff was found drifting near a marsh, empty except for his hunting coat and a box of shotgun shells.  No one in their small New England town knew for sure what happened until, three years later, Luce's skull rolled out of a gravel pit, a bullet hole in the temple.  Rumors sprang up that he had been murdered by the jealous husband of his mistress, Ada Varick.

Now, half a century later, Jane is still searching for the truth of her father's death, a mystery made more urgent by the unexpected romance that her willful daughter, Marne, has struck up with one of Ada's sons.  As the love affair intensifies, Jane and Ada meet for their weekly Friday game of Scrabble, a pastime that soon transforms into a cat-and-mouse game of words long left unspoken, and dark secrets best left untold. 

PB & J

by Danielle Usher-Niemi

Penny is the organizer, Becca is the bookworm.  Bao is the artist, and Jerina is an A-Lister in her own mind.  These four seventh graders are the best of friends.  For years, they have done nothing but hang out and refer to themselves as PB&J.

Now, they're ready to show the world that kids can make a difference, too. 

I won this book from I am a Reader, Not a Writer

The Time-Traveling Fashionista

by Bianca Turetsky

When Louise Lambert receives a mysterious invitation to a vintage fashion sale in the mail, her once painfully average life is magically transformed into a time-travel adventure. Slipping on a gorgeous pink gown, Louise suddenly finds herself on board a luxurious cruise ship a hundred years ago and relishes the glamorous life of this decadent era.  That is, until she realizes that she's on not just any ship -- she's on the Titanic!

What books came home to you this week?