Sharon E. Cathcart

I majored in forensic anthropology, so I think I can confidently say that life is too short to finish reading this book. There really is no excuse for making such an interesting subject so very dull. After 93 pages, I think I've given this book more than a fair shake -- and I quit.

The book starts out with a rather dry treatment of Gross and Locard's early works on forensic investigation. Okay, I get it. You're looking at the founding fathers of forensics, in a time when we didn't have the same tools we do now. I'm okay with that. And then we move on to Sir Bernard Spilsbury's investigation of a rather notorious murder ... and I had hope, really, I did, that we would see how Gross and Locard applied to the case.

Alas, instead we saw Spilsbury's self-aggrandizing perspective of himself as a modern-day Sherlock Holmes, bolstered by the media giving him what amounts to matinee idol status by talking about how handsome he was compared to ordinarily policemen, etc. And even *that* managed to be somnolent.

I just couldn't take it anymore, and I abandoned the book. I regret nothing.

While this book just skims the historical information, it's well worth the read and investment for the delightful watercolors. Author and illustrator Diana Hollingsworth Gessler not only provides paintings of flowers and animals that might be found in the New Orleans area, but also provides the reader with beautifully detailed maps, sketches of people, places, artifacts, and even food.

I did glean some new information from the book that I did not previously have about the so-called Cajun Country ... but the main charm for me was in the beautiful artwork. Nicely done.

This fast-paced tale takes place at New York's famous Barbizon Hotel (now condominiums), alternating between 2016 and 1952.

When journalist Rose Lewin's relationship falls apart, she decides to learn more about the women on the fourth floor of her condo building ... which had once been a residence for single ladies. Her interest is spurred by the mysterious Miss McLoughlin, who lives directly below Rose. With her jazz records and heavily veiled hats, Miss McLoughlin is an intriguing and mysterious feature.

The story proceeds to show parallels to Rose's life and that of Darby McLoughlin in the 1950s. The author takes us into the world of prejudice, rigid gender roles and yes, crime to paint a clear picture of how various people who lived and worked together had widely varying experience and lifestyles.

I found the book well-written and entertaining, and would recommend it to those who like historical fiction with more than a little intrigue.

I was only a little ways into this book when I posted on Facebook that all who identify as women, regardless of size, needed to read Jes Baker's book -- and I stand by that assessment.

True confession: I don't spend a lot of time in the blogosphere, so I had no idea who Jes Baker was until I saw that fabulous new JC Penney ad that she and several other women of size did. When the ad identified her as an author, I looked her up and found this book -- which made me laugh, cry, and learn new ways to improve my self esteem.

Okay ... I flat-out learned that there was no shame in loving my body right this minute. My body, which has Hashimoto's disease. Which is significantly larger than it used to be as a result. But what Jes Baker points out in this book is that our bodies, even when they have issues, still do pretty amazing things.

With chapters on fashion, dating, and more, Baker uses good humor and straight talk to point out that it's okay to have the life you want *now* instead of waiting until the day (if it ever comes) that X amount of weight is lost.

Highly recommended to every damn body.

This was a challenging book to read, and not because of a level of difficulty.

It's easy to look at New Orleans, with its primarily Black population, and assume that desegregation is complete and all is well. Yet, in the 1990s, Dorothy Mae Taylor, a Black city councilwoman, put forth a bill to require that the old line parade krewes be required to desegregate.

The krewes had their origins in white supremacy, led by the Americans on the uptown side of town as a way to show their superiority to the Creoles, free people of color, etc., in the French Quarter. They focused on obscure mythologies, and promoted that membership should only be among whites. Krewe members were instrumental in the white supremacist uprising in the 1870s referred to as the Battle of Liberty Place, and some of their parades referred to that theme.

This book chronicles the history of the old line krewes, as well as Taylor's attempts to force integration in the krewes and social clubs that spawned them. As such, it is an outstanding text on civil rights and the history of suppression in the South. That Taylor was even remotely successful ( the adopted bill was amended and water down so many times as to be essentially toothless) was an affront to the white populace, such that three of the old line krewes (Comus, Momus, and Proteus) cancelled their parades in perpetuity and now only meet for private balls.

This is an important book for those studying the civil rights movement, as many seem to resume that ours is a post-racial society for having elected a Black president. Those paying attention to the bigotry he faces know better, and this book is an interesting look at one aspect of the problem.

This book has been on my "to be read" list for quite a while. I picked up a copy at the Rosie the Riveter Museum gift shop last week.

Wow. This book takes on a lot of heavy subjects. The author, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, was interned (along with her family) for three years as a result of Executive Order 9066. She was seven years old when the family entered Manzanar and 10 when they left.

Houston gives us a clear picture of what life was like for Japanese internees during World War II. She tells us not only of what the camps were like, but what reentry was like for Japanese-Americans when the camps were closed.

I worked with a man who had been an internee, and one of my favorite school teachers was an internee as well. This book gave me insight into what their lives had been like.

Sadly, I must say that this book is a timely one that people should read *today.* With calls for "walls" and other bigoted commentary about people who look or believe differently from the majority being considered mainstream due to the present presidential race, it seems that Santayana was right: those who have not studied history are doomed to repeat it.

I read 40 percent of this eBook, which I think is more than enough to say I gave it a fair shake.

I usually enjoy magical realism. This time? Not so much.

Life is too short to keep reading books you don't enjoy ... unless they are a school assignment, in which case "suck it up, buttercup." That doesn't apply here.

Not even the fact that the perfume shop in the book is a place I've really visited (Hove, in New Orleans) could save this.

Cree Black is a paranormal investigator, called to New Orleans to remediate (as she puts it) a ghost who is attacking a woman who has moved back into her childhood home.

When she meets Lila Beauforte Warren, Cree quickly figures out that the ghost is more than immediately meets the eye ... and, in fact, that there are two ghosts in the house. With the help of Lila's psychiatrist, Paul, and with no small amount of hindrance from Lila's old-money family, Cree gets to work.

Because this is not a typical paranormal tale about things that go bump in the night, it's hard to write a review without spoilers. Suffice it to say that pretty much no one in the Warren and Beauforte families is quite what they seem, and that there are depths to this lengthy mystery novel that are a little unexpected from the description.

Well-written and entertaining.

I am sorry to say it, but this book reminded me of why I almost always avoid so-called Christian fiction. From the first page, it was as preachy as all get-out -- and that's unfortunate.

Elizabeth King, the protagonist, goes to work for Donaldina Cameron in Cameron's Chinatown mission. Miss Cameron was a crusader against human trafficking of young girls (some as young as 8) in the Chinatown brothels, and worked very hard to get them out.

Why is Elizabeth doing this? Well, she's interested in social justice -- even in 1908 -- but mainly she thinks she needs to be punished for having been seduced by the promises of an older man who has a great deal of power over her. The book is rife with Elizabeth being told, indirectly (because she keeps her secret) that she is worthless and needs to repent for what amounts to having been raped (there, I said it). Even the young man she meets, Charles McKinley, tells her he could never love a woman who "surrenders her virtue."

This is the worst kind of preachiness, to me. The author is clearly blaming women for their own harassment or rape ... which is absurd. Sure, the book takes place in 1908 ... when society as a whole still talked about "ruined women." But that didn't mean it was necessary for the author to gas on throughout the entire book about how certain Elizabeth is that God won't love her anymore.

It really is unfortunate, as I said above. The story of Donaldina Cameron's work is an important one, and the book touches on other issues like the Chinese Exclusion Act. This information is generally glossed over in history courses, and it needs to be talked about. I just wish it hadn't been talked about in this context.

This is a lengthy, but interesting and often entertaining book about the history of New Orleans' underworld. The author takes us from the 17th Century up to what was, for him, the present day of the 1930s with anecdotes, data, and even newspaper reproductions to show us what life was like during the area's colorful past.

Asbury's research is impeccable, and he most certainly takes the reader with him on a journey. I found myself remembering that the 1930s were not present times and giving leeway for some of his attitudes (when dealing with history and historical documents, it's imperative to leave out the presentism).

I bought this book on a recent trip to New Orleans to serve as research for my own work, and it was a very good choice indeed.

I have been a fan of C.W. Gortner's meticulous historical fiction since reading "The Queen's Vow" a few years ago. With this book, Gortner has left the world of the Spanish royal family and entered war-torn Germany for a look at one of Hollywood's most glamorous leading ladies.

We start with a very young Marlene Dietrich, attending private school and taking violin lessons ... and discovering her sexual orientation is not quite what she expected it to be. Throughout the book, Dietrich's relationships with men and women alike are examined through thoughtful eyes.

As Marlene gets a little older, we see her becoming a film star at a very young age ... and finding the challenges of working in both Germany and Hollywood. Dietrich's well-known anti-Nazi sentiment is shown in depth, with a clear understanding of how she came to dislike the country where she grew up as it changed radically under Hitler's regime.

Gortner never fails to do his homework, which results in pages full of rich historical detail and well-developed characters. In this book, every person mentioned actually existed; the details were gleaned from correspondence, biographies, and more.

Gortner really hits it out of the park with this one.

I don't often get to describe a book as a true page-turner. This one meets the criteria; I finished it over the course of two nights.

Author Anne Girard gives us an inside look at the early career of actress Jean Harlow. I am sure I'm not alone in being unaware that Harlow was so young (she was 19 when she starred in "Hell's Angels"). We get a look at her tempestuous early marriage to Chuck McGrew, her domineering stage mother, and the challenges the bookish intellectual faced when being marketed as the first blonde bombshell.

Girard's writing is well-paced, and she brings readers into her story with great skill. I found myself alternately cheering and wanting to cry for young Harlean Carpenter as she got caught up in the machine that turned her into Jean Harlow.

Well-done historical fiction, highly recommended for Hollywood buffs.

I felt like I needed just one more travel guidebook before going to New Orleans in a week, and I chose this one. Fodor's is one of the oldest names in travel guides and, as a result, tends toward the more traditional side of things. I did like that there were some good sidebars on cultural matters, like LGBT travel, and other issues -- whether or not they pertained to me.

This is the kind of book that will give you the tourist highlights of a city, along with a smattering of "where the locals go" information. I would recommend including it as part of a reading list before traveling, but not necessarily your only material.