Turns of Fate

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Turns of Fate: An Isle of Wyrd Novel by Anne Bishop

“Words have power. Intentions matter.”

The Arcana allow visitors on the Isle of Wyrd from the Spring Equinox until the Fall Equinox. They will need a coin for the Ferryman, and can have their fortunes told. In Destiny Park uncanny statues can be glimpsed and the most daring venture through a Moon Gate. Read and heed the signs, and don’t fall in the water.

Turns of Fate begins a new dark fantasy series which will have strong appeal for readers of The Others series by Bishop. Young Detective Beth Fahey loses a coin toss and makes her first visit to Wyrd on official police business, and meets Lucas Frost at the dock. She will return again, drawn to the island, and for information on missing people. The Arcana may show antlers after dark, or webbed hands. There are even purple cows, and llamas. Well, sort of llamas.

People who need refuge may find it, traveling far or transforming their lives. Some overly curious or violent men will regret their visit. Creative, amazing, uncanny, and occasionally very dark, this long novel is a pageturner for the right reader.

Brenda

Close to Home

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Close to Home: The Wonders of Nature Just Outside Your Door by Thor Hanson

Conservation biologist Thor Hanson has done field research in Alaska, Tanzania, Costa Rica, and with mountain gorillas in Uganda, as well as writing a number of books, including some for children. Here, Thor explores his own yard, on an island in Washington state. Along with his wife and teen son, their acres house a wide variety of plants and wildlife, most of which he hadn’t previously observed.

This book is about how to observe nature in your own yard or neighborhood and what you might discover, from ponds and trees to soil, insects, birds, flowers, and much more. The book describes how and why to attract more wildlife and plants to your yard. The author also zooms, calls, or visits scientists around the world to learn about their projects and how citizen scientists have helped them, especially with iNaturalist and Zooniverse.

This book about observing nature and creating biodiversity was lovely to read to start or end my day, especially in mid-winter when springs feels too far away. I also enjoyed the black and white illustrations and photos. My gardening is mainly containers on the deck and doorstep, but I live near a creek, a neighborhood park, and other natural areas. I hope to spend more time soon being still in nature and just seeing what’s nearby.

Brenda

The Impossible Fortune

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The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman

Four residents of an upscale British retirement village are back to solve a crime, and hope to prevent another, in another good read from the author of The Thursday Murder Club. I most liked the improving relationship between retired nurse Joyce and her daughter Joanna. Elizabeth, a former spy, hasn’t been herself lately, but gets back to work when a wedding guest disappears after asking for her help.  The group works to gain access to a remote storage facility where an extremely valuable bitcoin is kept. I certainly don’t understand bitcoins, but you don’t need to in order to follow the storyline.

Ron is worried about his daughter, and is spending more time with his grandson. A car bombing is witnessed, and Ibrahim learns that his favorite criminal hasn’t exactly reformed. This is a lively, clever crime thriller that fans of the series will definitely enjoy. I haven’t mentioned much of the plot, as I don’t want to give any spoilers. I liked Osman’s non-series book, We Solve Murders, but I’m very happy to return to the village of Cooper’s Chase.

Brenda

Costumes for Time Travelers

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Costumes for Time Travelers by A. R. Capetta

I really enjoyed this teen time travel fantasy. There is plenty of adventure and some romance. Calisto (they/them) is growing up in Pocket with three parents and siblings. One parent was a history professor in Australia, another was a priestess in ancient times, while the third parent is a Pocket native. Pocket has several moons and is a waypoint that most time travelers pass through. The travelers get new costumes for the next time period they’ll be visiting and have the cobblers resole their time boots. Calisto works in the costume shop with their grandmother Mena, a tailor. They design and sew costumes with a huge variety of fabrics for their customers. I really liked how the author makes costume design and sewing seem very cool.

Fawkes, a time savant, arrives in a dramatic fashion from the far future, where he had a mostly solitary upbringing. Calisto is shocked that Fawkes has only one outfit, and no home to return to. In a kaleidoscope of a story, Fawkes and Calisto time travel to the Elizabethan era where Fawkes is in one of Shakespeare’s plays. They also meet the Minotaur in Crete, and travel to Stanford University where Californians are worrying about Y2K and computers. Time wardens want to stop new time lines, and Fawkes and Calisto try to stop a time quake that may affect Calisto’s beloved Pocket, which is governed by a group of elders at their book club meetings. The romance is sweet, and the sense of place and time are vividly drawn, along with the costumes. I didn’t get any sense of how time travel actually works, and wasn’t sure if this was as much science fiction as it is fantasy, but definitely enjoyed the journey.

Brenda

A Case of Mice and Murder

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A Case of Mice and Murder: The Trials of Gabriel Ward by Sally Smith

It is a joy to discover a new author and then learn they’ve already published a second book. I started this historical mystery while I was still reading a Victorian mystery by Charles Finch set in 1879 London. This mystery is set in London at the very start of the Edwardian era, in May, 1901.

Gabriel Ward is a London barrister, a King’s Counsel, and argues court cases in the courts of the Inner Temple. He has book-filled rooms near his office chambers and very particular, regular habits. Every morning at two minutes to seven, Sir Gabriel firmly closes the door to his rooms and presses the door three times, just to be sure. One morning, on his way to work, he discovers a body, that of a powerful judge.

Gabriel, who has read quite a bit about modern crime detecting, is assigned to investigate the death, much to his dismay, along with Constable Wright. The pair interview other barristers and judges, cooks, a laundress, porters, a man who sleeps outside a bookstore, and the members of the late judge’s household.

Meanwhile, Gabriel is preparing for a court case representing the publisher of Millie the Mouse, an anonymous bestseller that was left on the publisher’s doorstep. A former governess is claiming authorship and suing the publisher. I’m happy to say that no mice come to harm during the mystery, but some cats help establish someone’s alibi. Gabriel is rather eccentric, and also an appealing and memorable character. I look forward to reading A Case of Life and Limb, which was recently published.

Brenda

Cinnamon Star Bread

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Holiday Baking 2025

I have mostly been baking healthy recipes like whole wheat bread recently, along with some Christmas cookies. This is a delicious and festive recipe my whole family enjoyed. If you like cinnamon rolls but don’t love all the cream cheese icing, this is a great option for a holiday brunch. I’ve seen similar recipes elsewhere online; this is from the always reliable King Arthur Baking website: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/cinnamon-star-bread-recipe. I started the bread after a late breakfast, and the bread was ready to eat before lunch, and made the house smell delicious! I still have a serving in the freezer.

Brenda

The Queen Who Came in from the Cold

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The Queen Who Came in from the Cold: Her Majesty the Queen Investigates by S. J. Bennett

This book is the fifth mystery in one of my favorite series, featuring Queen Elizabeth II and her assistant private secretaries. This one is set in 1961, as Buckingham Palace is preparing for a state visit from the Kennedys. Before that, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip and their staff are going to Italy. I especially enjoyed the scenes set on the royal train and the royal yacht, HMY Britannia. A number of years ago I got to tour Britannia, now a floating museum in Edinburgh, and it was lovely to picture the family quarters while reading this mystery.

On the train, Sandra Pole, a temporary lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret, says that she saw a body flung into a pond from the train, but no one else saw anything, and is she a reliable witness? It may have been too dark for her to see much, at any rate. The Queen, along with her assistant private secretary, Joan McGraw, has some experience in solving crimes without taking any of the credit. Joan, a former codebreaker at Bletchley Park, does some investigating. A missing photographer, possibly connected to Princess Margaret’s new husband, could be the victim. But where to search? The Queen interviews a clergyman with a passion for trains and railways who has some useful information.

The Space Race and the Cold War come into play, as a possible defector was in contact with the missing photographer, and the Britannia may be involved. Scenes in Rome and Venice add to the story, and the pace and danger intensifies. While Joan is a fine sleuth, Queen Elizabeth is the star here, and it’s great fun to see her in the 1961 setting, and also while trying to keep secrets from Prince Philip, who is very supportive. We don’t see much of the Queen’s corgis here, but there is a very naughty chihuahua on board the train, and the Queen Mother makes an appearance. The previous book, A Death in Diamonds, is set in 1957, while the first three, beginning with The Windsor Knot, are set in 2016 and 2017.

Brenda

Mrs. Endicott’s Splendid Adventure

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Mrs. Endicott’s Splendid Adventure by Rhys Bowen

Ellie Endicott is surprised at breakfast one morning in 1938 when her husband Lionel tells her of his plans to get a divorce and marry a younger woman named Michelle. Also, he wants the house that Ellie has furnished and decorated over many years. Ellie can, perhaps, have a small cottage by the train station instead. After decades in Surrey, southwest of London, Ellie has had enough. Her household help, Mavis, and older, outspoken Dora encourage her to make a fresh start.

They all end up in Lionel’s Bentley, heading for the south of France. They wind up in St. Benet, a small fishing village, along with scared and pregnant Yvette. Ellie speaks excellent French, and Dora speaks enough, while Mavis is willing to learn. They find rooms in a guesthouse just getting ready to close for the season, and get to know the villagers. Then the war begins, and Lionel and their grown sons encourage Ellie to come home again.

The village and the scenery are beautifully described, along with the larger hillside house Ellie decides to rent and restore, with help from the villagers. As the war progresses, they acquire a pair of goats, chickens, and a beehive. Ellie learns to drive a speed boat and occasionally visits a monastery on a nearby island. Dora’s failing health improves and Yvette’s baby arrives. There are no battles in St. Benet, so the plot is mostly about life and food in southern France during the occupation, making do, trading food, and helping the resistance. Also, unexpectedly, finding love. Ellie is resilient and very good company for the reader. Not every villager makes it through the war years, and there is certainly danger and hardship, but Ellie is still happy with her choice to stay in St. Benet. Splendid storytelling with a strong sense of place makes this a good choice for readers of World War II fiction on the homefront.

Brenda

Gemini

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Gemini: Stepping Stone to the Moon, The Untold Story by Jeffrey Kluger

Mercury astronauts were first in space while Apollo astronauts went to the moon. Gemini, the NASA program in between, sometimes gets overlooked. Kluger, the author of Apollo 8 and Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13, tells the story of Gemini very well. The Gemini Project began in 1961 and was always meant to set the stage for the Apollo missions. The new spacecraft held two men (no mention here of the Mercury 13 women who hoped to be astronauts), used a larger rocket to launch, and included the first spacewalks and attempts to rendezvous with another spacecraft. Ten manned missions were launched in 1965 and 1966, which was truly unprecedented.

The names of many of the astronauts who flew the Gemini missions will be familiar to space buffs, including John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell, and Gus Grissom, as well as flight directors Chris Craft and Gene Kranz. The quest to build the spacecraft did not go smoothly, and there was always the pressure of not enough time, trying to catch up and pull ahead in the space race with the Soviet Union. The flights themselves make for compelling reading, and the personalities of the astronauts and NASA engineers are memorably sketched. Very interesting and informative reading. Here’s one fun fact: NASA pronounces Gemini as “Geminee”.

Brenda

The Keeper of Magical Things

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The Keeper of Magical Things by Julie Leong

The second cozy fantasy by the author of The Teller of Small Fortunes is not a sequel, but is set in the same world. Certainty Bulrush has been living in the city of Margrave for six years, as a novice in the Guild of Mages. Her only magical talent is to communicate with objects, especially magical objects such as a talking teapot. If she becomes a mage, her family, who have a pear orchard, can afford an apprenticeship for her brother.

Certainty is sent on an assignment with Mage Aurelia Mirella, a farspeaker. Their task is to take two wagons of minor magical artifacts to a remote and unmagical village. Their housing and storage for the artifacts have been pre-arranged, supposedly. The pair are to inventory, organize, store, and ward the collection. Too many magical items at the Guild have created an overflow of magic, leading to some humorous magical incidents. Aurelia has a reputation for being standoffish, and is from a wealthy family in the city. She also has a big secret, which is soon revealed to Certainty. Aurelia has high standards, and neither their housing, storage, or meals meet her approval. Cert has to show by example how to fit in to the village. With assistance from some of the minor magical items, they help the village’s apple orchards, water supply, and help create very tasty pasta. There’s also some romance, and a small catdragon.

When their assignment ends badly, Cert is unfairly blamed and goes home in disgrace to her family, where she is shown … kindness and love. Back to the city she goes, to explain her motives and actions. An enjoyable read, though different in setting and tone from her first book.

Brenda