The Overbooked Bibliophile

Rating:  3.5⭐️ After the shocking death of her mentor and former employer antique dealer Arthur Crockleford, Freya Lockwood is drawn back into the world of antiquities after almost twenty years. Arthur has left his business to her and his friend, her Aunt Carole. As Freya returns to her village and finds out more about Artur’s death and receives a coded letter Arthur left for her, she begins to suspect that someone aware of the true nature of Arthur’s work might have been responsible for the same. As the narrative progresses, we follow Freya as she travels to Copthorn Manor to value the estate of one of Arthur’s associates for probate as per Arthur’s last wishes. The guests at the Antiques Enthusiast Retreat include the family members of the late Lord Metcalf, the house staff and Arthurs's lawyer, among others. Freya is sure that the antiques on display are reproductions and senses that Arthur had his reasons for sending her there – reasons connected to the events that led to her r...

Rating:  3.75⭐ Five years ago, twenty-four-year-old Lucy Chase was found injured and barely coherent, wandering on a highway covered in her best friend's blood. Her friend Savannah “Savvy” Harper was found dead and despite her traumatized state, Lucy was deemed the prime suspect though no solid evidence was discovered to prove her guilt. Almost everyone who knew her including her parents, believed that Lucy was responsible for Savvy’s death. Subsequently, her marriage ended and she left her hometown Plumpton, Texas for Los Angeles. Lucy still doesn’t remember what transpired on that fateful night and the voices in her head do not let her forget that she might be guilty. Lucy is drawn back to Plumpton when popular podcaster Ben Owens decides to investigate the case for his true-crime podcast,  Listen for the Lie . As Ben embarks on a deep dive into Lucy’s life and the events from five years ago, Lucy decides to cooperate with him hoping that the facts uncovered in the process w...

Rating: 4.25⭐️ Set in 1960s North Carolina, this story revolves around seventeen-year-old Lorraine Delford. An only child of dutiful parents who take pride in her accomplishments, Lorraine has a good life at home, is top of her class and has ambitions beyond being a wife and mother as is traditionally expected of women. When an unplanned pregnancy threatens to change everything for her, Lorraine is resilient and makes an effort to accept how her life will change, but her boyfriend abandons her and her parents offer no support instead sending her away to a maternity home for unwed mothers to hide their shame and protect their reputation in their community. Hoping that she would be able to continue her education while there, she is shocked to see the indifferent, uncaring attitude of the housemother and doctors in whose care she has been entrusted realizing that she is expected to return to her former life after she gives birth and gives up her child. She meets others- both like and unli...

Rating:  3.5⭐ When a cleaner at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao discovers a pair of young lovers in a passionate embrace during her morning shift – a naked man and a woman in a wedding dress - everyone, including Detective Aitor Larramendi who is looking into the case, is flummoxed by how they entered the museum and spent a whole night there without being caught on security cameras. As the indignant Detective interrogates Bibiña Aranda and her lover Indar Zubieta, their accounts of the events from that night and how they ended up together leave him with more questions than answers. With elements of magical realism, romance and humor  Lovers at the Museum: A Short Story  by  Isabel Allende  is a delightful read. Though all my questions weren’t answered (the story was a tad too short to explore the fantastical elements mentioned in the narrative), I found the characters interesting and was both amused and entertained. I enjoy Isabel Allende’s writing and would lov...

Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Novelist from Berlin  by  V.S. Alexander  is a well-researched work of historical fiction. Based loosely on the life of German novelist Irmgard Keun, the story revolves around Niki (real name Marie Rittenhaus), once an aspiring actress, who eventually becomes a novelist (under a pseudonym) writing about the life of German woman of that era. Her novels are popular and though she continues to write despite Nazi Germany enforcing censorship, her true identity is eventually revealed, and her novels are banned by the Nazi regime on account of her work defying the norms of acceptability as imposed by the ruling party. Her husband, a film producer, bows to political pressure to produce propaganda films. Niki eventually flees but is tracked down by her husband and his contacts and is separated from her young daughter. The novel follows Niki’s journey from 1929 through the end of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Nazi Germany, the WWII years as she flees to Amste...