The Crow's Call

The Crow's Call: Amish Greehouse Mystery - book 1 by Wanda E. Brunstetter. OH: Shiloh Run Press, 2020. 319 pages. **** Discussion Questions

Vernon King, his son and son-in-law are killed in a horrific accident, which leaves their family reeling and grieving from their loss. Belinda has lost her husband and needs to lean on her two daughters to run the family business, Sylvia a widow with two young children and Amy who is courting and looking forward to her future life as a wife and mother. Henry, still a teen, is responsible for all of the farm chores that his father and brother would normally do and is resentful and angry. Adding to the stress, a larger Nursery is being built in town that will compete with their family run Greenhouse business. Small acts of vandalism begin to occur on the farm and in the greenhouse, which causes Belinda to question who wants to force them out of business.

I received a paperback copy to review.

I really enjoy Brunstetter's Amish books, time slows down and she reminds us of what is important in life. This is book #1 in her mystery series and the conclusion left me with many unanswered questions. I am sure that is her intention, however, I started getting anxious close to the end when I realized there wasn't enough pages left to confirm my suspicions. It could be the anxiety created by quarantining, but I felt disappointed that I have to wait until Book 2 (publication date, August 2020). Full-disclosure, I am not a very patient person right now. The real life dilemmas faced by the three women and Henry ring true and their faith is tested individually and as a family. I look forward to cheering the women on and finding out who the mysterious couple across the street are and why they are so unfriendly.

Wanda has included a recipe for "Amy's Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies."

 I read on Facebook that her Granddaughter is the girl on the cover of The Mockingbird's Song.

Wanda Brunstetter is an award-winning romance novelist who has led millions of readers to lose their heart in the Amish life. She is the author of over 100 books with more than 11 million copies sold.
Wanda’s fascination with the Amish culture developed when she met her husband, Richard, who grew up in a Mennonite church, and whose family has a Pennsylvania Dutch heritage. Meeting her new Mennonite sister-in-laws caused Wanda to yearn for the simpler life. In their travels, she and her husband have become close friends with many Amish people across America. Wanda’s desire to explore their culture increased when she discovered that her great-great grandparents were part of the Anabaptist faith.

All of Wanda’s novels are based on personal research intended to accurately portray the Amish way of life. Many of her books are well-read and trusted by the Amish, who credit her for giving readers a deeper understanding of the people and their customs.

For more information about Wanda and her books, https://wandabrunstetter.com.

#amishmystery #thecrowscall #amishgreenhousemystery

A Veil Removed

A Veil Removed (A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Novel Book 4) by Michelle Cox. She Writes Press, 2019. 400 pages. ****

In this fourth book in the series, Clive and Henrietta's honeymoon is cut short by the death of Clive's father, Alcott Howard. Clive is not ready to take over the reigns in the family business and the more he learns about his father's death, he becomes convinced that it was not an accident. Henrietta joins forces with Clive in an effort to assuage his grief and with the hope that they can form their own detective agency. Henrietta's reunion with her family is clouded by her Grandfather's insistence that her brothers be sent to a boarding school and her sister's disastrous love life. Elsie planned to elope while Henrietta was away on her honeymoon but Clive’s sister thwarts her plans.
Henrietta persuades Elsie to enroll in Mundelein, an all girl’s college run by nuns, to escape the gossip and damage to her reputation. Entrance is not easy since Elsie hasn't completed the requirements for high school, but Henrietta is very persuasive. Elsie feels insecure in college until she befriends Gunther, a German custodian, who helps ease her homesickness.

I have loved every one of the Henrietta and Inspector Howard novels, and this one is no exception. They have been compared to Downton Abbey and Miss Fisher's Mysteries rolled into one- part mystery, part romance. Cox captures the 1930s and transports us into that time period.  I would not read this one as a stand alone because the story begins where the last one ended. I felt the ending was a little abrupt, however, it has caused me to preorder the next one, A Child Lost, to be released next week. (It’s on sale for 2.99 on Amazon) I can't wait. If you haven't read the series, start on 1 and keep going until you have read them all.

Michelle Cox is the author of the multiple award-winning Henrietta and Inspector Howard series as well as “Novel Notes of Local Lore,” a weekly blog dedicated to Chicago’s forgotten residents.  She suspects she may have once lived in the 1930s and, having yet to discover a handy time machine lying around, has resorted to writing about the era as a way of getting herself back there. To read more http://michellecoxauthor.com/about-michelle-cox/

#historicalfiction #aveilremoved #mystery

Ghosts of Harvard

Ghosts of Harvard by Francesca Serritella. New York: Random House, 202. 384 pages. *****

Cadence Archer is determined to go to Harvard even though her older brother, Eric, committed suicide there last year. Against her parents wishes, Cady is determined to understand why Eric killed himself and what she and her family must have missed. Eric a genius paranoid schizophrenic, heard voices and the only thing left behind of his is a blue notebook of cryptic writing. Cady tries to make connections from Eric's life at Harvard and it's not long before she starts hearing voices of her own. The voices belong to people from Harvard's past and they are reaching out to Cady for help. Cady soon begins to question her own sanity and whether she is following her brother in his mental illness and paranoia. She begins to suspect that her brother was having an affair with his mentor and professor and if that was the reason he gave up and withdrew his submission from the Bauer Award.

Ghosts of Harvard is part mystery, part ghost story and history all rolled into one story. An intense tale of mental illness and suicide and its affect on the family left behind. Serritella is a master of the twisted plot. As soon as I thought I had it all figured out, a new clue appeared to take the plot in a different direction.

Having read her books written with her mother, Lisa Scottoline, this story was different from what I expected. Their joint writing ventures are a humorous look at life and light hearted in contrast to this thriller. A serious well-written mystery, which will keep you captivated and enthralled.

I received an ecopy for a review.

Francesca Serritella is the New York Times bestselling author of a nine-book series of essay collections co-written with her mother, bestselling author Lisa Scottoline, and based on “Chick Wit,” their Sunday column in The Philadelphia Inquirer. She graduated cum laude from Harvard University, where she won multiple awards for her fiction, including the Thomas T. Hoopes Prize. Ghosts of Harvard is her first novel.

The Book of Lost Friends

The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate. Ballantine Books, 2020.  400 pages *****


Alternating between two main characters and two time periods, Wingate crafts a novel that pulls you in and won't let you go.

Lousiana, 1875: In the tumultuous era of Reconstruction, three young women set off as unwilling companions on a perilous quest: Hannie, a freed slave; Lavinia, the pampered heir to a now destitute plantation; and Juneau Jane, Lavinia’s Creole half sister. Hannie is searching for her family members sold by an unscrupulous relative of her master many years ago. Her Mother gave her and her siblings three blue glass beads so they would know each other if they were freed. Juneau Jane and Lavinia are looking for their father to clarify intentions as to his estate. He disappeared while searching for his wayward son who is always one step ahead of the law. Two young women learn to depend upon each other for survival, especially when the third one is attacked, brutalized and loses her mind.

Louisiana, 1987: For first-year teacher Benedetta Silva, a subsidized job at a poor rural school seems like the ticket to canceling her hefty student debt—until she lands in a tiny, out-of-step Mississippi River town. Her students are uninterested in anything academic until Benny involves them in their family history and the cemetery behind her rented house. The townspeople of Augustine, Louisiana, are suspicious of new people and new ideas and not happy to have their family histories of slavery, illegitimate children, and interracial marriages brought to light.

I love Wingate's writing, the individual voices of her characters, her depth of research and the unveiling of a difficult story. Hannie and Benny are such strong women who overcome the hands that they are dealt. Even with all of the hardships, both are willing to risk it all and open their hearts to create the family that they wished they had.  I was able to lose myself in this book for two days during this self-isolating/social distancing time.

I recieved an ecopy for a review.

Lisa Wingate is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Before We Were Yours, which remained on the bestseller list for fifty-four weeks in hardcover and has sold over 2 million copies. She has penned over thirty novels and coauthored a nonfiction book, Before and After with Judy Christie. Her award-winning works have been selected for state and community One Book reads throughout the country, have been published in over forty languages, and have appeared on bestseller lists worldwide. The group Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organization, selected Lisa and six others as recipients of the National Civies Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life. Booklist summed up her work by saying, “Lisa Wingate is, quite simply, a master storyteller.” She lives with her husband in North Texas.
For more inofrmation on Lisa,  https://lisawingate.com

#thebookoflostfriends #historicalfiction

2020 Monthly Color Challenge - April

April - Honeycreeper  - Purple

For information on the purple honeycreeper, Wikipedia

This is block #4 in the 2020 Monthly Color Challenge created by Patterns by Jen.

To get this month's pattern and suggestions for creating this block, visit Jen's blog.

Jen's instructions for each block are so clear and easy to assmble.

Close your rotary cutter after each use, don't follow my example!

Be sure to lay out your block before sewing it together!

Frankie, Pip, and Charlie are loving this block!

I am going to be sewing these blocks together as I go. It's the only way this quilt is going to get finished.

Check out the bloggers this month:

Patterns by Jen
Ky Whitaker Creations
Kathy's Kwilts and More
Purple Moose Designs
Faith and Fabric
Home Sewn By Us

There are also sponsors for the 2020 Color Challenge, details here.

Follow me on Instagram at kathy.nester


#2020monthlycolorchallenge #Aprilpurplehoneycreeper