Book Review Club: Lady Julia Grey Mysteries

THE LADY JULIA GREY BUNDLE by Deanna Raybourn
SILENT IN THE GRAVE, SILENT IN THE SANCTUARY and SILENT ON THE MOOR, Mira.

To say that I met Nicholas Brisbane over my husband's dead body is not entirely accurate. Edward, it should be noted, was still twitching upon the floor.

In SILENT IN THE GRAVE, Lady Julia Grey literally meets Brisbane over her husband's dying body. Brisbane informs Julia her husband may have been poisoned, but she refuses to believe him. Edward's death brings the large and mostly eccentric March family down on her en masse, including her Lesbian sister Portia with her obnoxious, flatulent pug, and The Ghoul, an aging aunt whose mission in life is to comfort the bereaved and make sure they observe the elaborate rituals of Victorian mourning.

Nicholas Brisbane is a private enquiry agent (19th c. PI) with a mysterious past. Almost a year after the death, Julia finds a threatening note sent to Edward and begs Brisbane to re-open his investigation. He refuses, as the trail is now cold, but she eventually talks him into it, appointing herself his partner, much to his dismay. He knows she isn't prepared for the dangers of the business and tries to protect her from herself, but she has had a taste of freedom and refuses to go back into her gilded cage.

I came across this bundle of three books at Amazon for the incredible price of $9.99 total and bought it immediately for my Kindle. Before I knew it, I had devoured all three books in no time at all, even though they are not short books. It's fun to watch Julia change from conventional Victorian widow to amateur sleuth and daring conspirator. Her family is delightful, esp. in the second book SILENT IN THE SANCTUARY when they gather for a very unusual Christmas celebration, marred by murder.

Nicholas Brisbane is a fascinating character: sexy and mysterious, a dangerous man with a soft spot for the lovely Julia. He's an intriguing combination of Sherlock Holmes' brilliance, including his skill with a violin, Heathcliff's wildness, and Rhett Butler's dark good looks and bad boy attitude. In SILENT ON THE MOOR, we finally learn more about his mysterious background. (There are definite Gothic overtones to this one.) The romance takes a back seat to the mysteries, and it takes all three books for Julia to bring Brisbane to heel, though it's clear he will never be tamed. Recommended.

Raybourn is a Rita winner for SILENT IN THE GRAVE (Best Novel with Strong Romantic Elements)

Linda

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@Barrie Summy

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Book Review Club: A FIERCE RADIANCE

A FIERCE RADIANCE
by Lauren Belfer
HarperCollins 2010

Shortly after Pear Harbor, divorcee Claire Shipley, a staff photographer for Life Magazine, is sent to the Rockefeller Institute to document trials of an experimental drug called penicillin. There she meets attractive doctor Jamie Stanton and his sister, Lucretia, a researcher. Romance blooms between Claire and Jamie, but the war frequently intervenes. Tapped by the government which is determined to develop penicillin for the military, Jamie travels across the country to oversee production of the drug. Claire is also recruited to document the progress of the project and to conduct a little industrial espionage to make sure the drug companies are living up to their agreement with the government. Claire and Jamie's relationship is complicated by a shockingly personal murder and Claire's father, a successful but ambitious businessman.

Last month's topic for my library reader's group was medicine, so I was thrilled to find this on the "new books" shelf. The characterization is excellent and I came to care about the main characters, esp. Claire and Jamie. Claire is a strong modern woman, and Jamie is a good man who has experienced more heartache than he deserves. Claire's wheeler-dealer father is a complex mix of loving father and ruthless capitalist. I found it well-written except for the author's tendency to head hop from one character to another. The description is excellent, and the New York City of the period is as much a character as the people. I found myself wishing I could see it as it was then before the rise of the modern skyscrapers.

All in all, a fascinating glimpse of the home front during WWII and a reminder of what life was like before wonder drugs like penicillin, a time when a person could die from a scratch on the knee. The politics were particularly interesting and not that much different than what we see now in terms of the power games played by the federal government and the pharmaceutical companies. This is a story that will stay with you long after you finish it. Recommended. 

I'm also reviewing Carla Kelly's Regency romance, The Surgeon's Lady, at Lyndi's Love Notes.

Linda

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@Barrie Summy

Losing Weight, the New Old-Fashioned Way

Last fall I finally decided to do something about my excess weight, mostly to try to lower my cholesterol. I'd put this off for a long time because I couldn't decide how to go about losing weight. I asked myself, which diet did I want to follow? The answer was none. I've dieted before, and lost weight, but I always gained it all back and then some.

I finally decided that the best method would be old-fashioned calorie counting. The hope was that by not changing my food intake to conform to someone else's idea of what I should be eating I might actually be able to maintain the weight loss. But calorie counting can be a drag. So I looked for some help at the Apple Apps Store. There I found the app for My Fitness Pal, a free app that was highly rated, with a corresponding website, http://www.myfitnesspal.com/.

I set up an account and the program helped my figure out how fast I wanted to lose and how many calories I could consume on a daily basis. I elected to lose fairly slowly because I knew I'd have limited patience for a very low calorie diet. I ended up at about 1700 calories per day, which turned out to be quite doable. The calorie counting is much easier now when the computer does most of the work for you. My Fitness Pal has a huge database of foods, and nowadays manufacturers list calories on many food items, plus the computer (or iPhone app does the addition for you.  I often just have to check off the foods I've eaten from a master list of my favorites. This made the whole process much easier to stick with. At the website, you can even invite friends to diet with you. If you decide to try it, look me up. My name there is lyndilamont.

Now, eight months later, I've lost 28 pounds and my cholesterol is back in the normal range. Color me happy. If you're looking to lose weight, I recommend this plan. It's free and easier than ever.

Linda aka Lyndi

Linda aka Lyndi Lamont