The Hum and the Shiver

The Hum and the Shiver by Alex Bledsoe is hopefully the first book in a series about the Tufa people of the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Bronwyn Hyatt is returning home a decorated war hero and international celebrity after her capture by Iraqis and subsequent rescue. But she's unsure about how she feels returning home to everything that she fled years ago, including her reputation as the Bronwynator. As a Tufa, there are expectations upon her, especially as a First Daughter, that she's spent her life running from, but she finds that being home begins to heal some of the places within her soul. A new pastor has come to the area hoping to lure some of the mysterious Tufa to his church, but their cheerful disinterest makes him curious about this enigmatic people who were here before the Europeans came to America and have an unusual relationship with music. Bledsoe has filled this novel with a fascinating set of characters, but even better a breathtaking view of the Tufa, whose mysteries and traditions fills the novel with fantasy and wonder. Bledsoe has created an unusual character in Bronwyn who is unrepentantly sexy, fiercely independent, and trying to figure out her role in an ancient culture. Bledsoe kept several secrets while also delivering some shocking revelations; I sincerely hope there is another book soon, because I don't know how long I can stand to wait!

Thank you to PR by the Book for providing me with a copy of this book for review!

Arsenic and Clam Chowder

Arsenic and Clam Chowder by James D. Livingston is a fascinating look at murder in Gilded Age New York. Mary Alice Livingston (a distant cousin of the author) was arrested in 1895 for sending her ten-year-old daughter Grace to deliver an pail of arsenic laced clam chowder to her mother Evelina Bliss in order to gain access to her inheritance. As Evelina suffered a grotesque and painful death, she informed the doctor that she was poisoned by a relative for money. The ensuing investigation and  trial would put capital punishment for women and reasonable doubt on trial for the world to see, while competing newspapers the World and Journal  wrote eloquent stories about her four illegitimate children from three different fathers. The author lays the case against Mary Alice well and captures the heightened tensions in New York City that surrounded the trial. These were the days that were filled with "trials of the century" when female poisoners haunted Victorian imaginations. I love true crime books based in this period, and this book is thoroughly enjoyable and interesting. The author finishes up with a discussion on how reasonable doubt affected this trial and how it works today. My only quibble would be that in one of the pictures included in the center of the book, the author gives away the outcome of the trial. That's a small complaint however. The images included truly help the reader to see the main characters more clearly, and the historical details he adds also bring this era to life. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Thank you to PR by the Book for providing me with a copy of this book for review!

The Lucifer Code

It's a miserable rainy fall day outside so I made the most of it by taking a nap while Jess worked on his homework and some laundry. I'm currently working my way through a hefty biography of Andrew Jackson, number seven in my quest to read a biography of every American president. It doesn't seem like times change much: he was lambasted for his marriage to an already married woman and attacked for being illiterate. The latter charge was a complete lie, the former, mostly likely true. Pretty scandalous for the early 19th century!

The Lucifer Code by Charles Brokaw is the sequel to The Atlantis Code featuring linguist Thomas Lourds. Lourds is in Istanbul to speak at the university for his sometime lover and friend professor Olympia Adnan when he is kidnapped by Irish mercenary Cleena, but before she can whisk him away, another group attempts to capture him, and they are on the run for their lives. Brought to a Muslim group, Lourds is presented with a book that no one has been able to translate, and if he can manage it, he just may survive. They aren't the only group who want both Lourds and the book. The CIA, a rogue group of soldiers directed by the Vice-President, and a mysterious group led by Olympia's brother, Joachim, are all willing to kill to keep Lourds from each other. Meanwhile, the VP is trapped in Saudi Arabia after the assassination of its king and his eldest son, leaving the younger son Khalid who is a hothead ready to commit genocide upon Muslim Shiites within his country as well as throwing out American interests of oil within his country. As Lourds tries to translate the scroll, Cleena and Joachim try to keep him safe, and when they all discover just what secret of the book is, they learn that the fate of the world truly rests in their hands. Brokaw's writing occasionally gets bogged down in history, but Lourds is an interesting storyteller so it keeps the story going. The action is thrilling, and the political machinations are very frightening for just how true they are to life. Lourds is a bit of a randy old man, but as Olympia explains, it's part of his charm. I wish that Brokaw had followed the characters on their travels at the very end, but the conclusion is unexpected and terrific.

Thank you to PR by the Book for providing me with a copy of this book for review.