THE CEMETERY OF SECRETS by DAVID HEWSON

This stunning novel is the third Venetian book in a row that I have read and gosh, what a read. Mr. Hewson is a skilled teller of stories, cleverly weaving together two intricate, intertwined plots, separated by 250 years. At first, the stories seem to be running parallel to each …

A SEA OF TROUBLES by DONNA LEON

I am a recent convert to the wonderful Commissario Brunetti series of books by Donna Leon, and am devouring them almost too quickly, if that makes sense. Instead of taking them at a measured pace, I’m binge-reading these novels, and loving every minute of it! In “A Sea of Troubles”, …

THE SUMMERHOUSE by JUDE DEVERAUX

It probably sounds dismissive to describe Jude Deveraux’s “The Summerhouse” as perfect airplane reading, but it is. And that is not a bad thing at all. A slightly improbable premise – 3 young women meet briefly on their (joint shared) 21st birthdays, all waiting to get their driving licenses. They …

BALZAC AND THE LITTLE CHINESE SEAMSTRESS by DAI SIJIE

This slim, charming novel about one of the darkest periods in recent Chinese history, the Cultural Revolution, manages to combine ugliness and brutishness with a life-saving thread of hope and young love and dreams. It is 1971, and 2 young men, teenaged sons of then-reviled intellectuals, are sent off to …