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ClareR (6256 KP) rated The Sealwoman's Gift in Books

Apr 29, 2019

The Sealwoman's Gift

Sally Magnusson | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics

8.0

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

This is set in 17th century Iceland, and based on the true story of the kidnapping and enslavement of 250 Icelanders in Algiers.
We follow a Pastors family, Olafur and his wife Asta, as they and their family are kidnapped by corsairs and pirates, and sold off separately to their owners. Olafur is sent back to Denmark to seek a ransom, but he fails. So we follow the life of Asta, how she lives and adapts in the house of Cilleby, and how she copes with the loss of her children and husband.
The Icelandic Sagas are Asta’s Means of escape and comfort, and in telling them she gets Cilleby onside and makes her own life more comfortable. She refuses to give up her Lutheran belief, and believes that she will be reunited with her family - at least in death - because of this.
This was such a touching novel, and the narrator (I listened on Audible) really did the story justice.

Kudos

Erika Kehlet (21 KP) rated Kneaded to Death in Books

Feb 19, 2018

Kneaded to Death

Winnie Archer | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Ivy Culpepper has come back to her home town of Santa Sofia and is trying to put her life back together after her mother was killed in a hit-and-run accident. When a murder occurs outside the local bakery where Ivy is taking a baking lesson, the three sisters who own the bakery are suspected of the crime. Sure that they wouldn’t kill anyone, Ivy starts investigating on her own.

The author did such a great job with the descriptions that I could almost feel the warmth from the ovens and smell the bread baking in Yeast of Eden. The characters were true-to-life, and the mystery well thought out. This book will leave you hungry – for more of Ivy Culpepper, and for fresh baked bread!

Kneaded to Death is the first book in Winnie Archer’s new Bread Shop Mysteries series.

<i>Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced review copy</i>

Kudos

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2672 KP) rated “K” is for Killer in Books

Jun 26, 2018

Kinsey Faces a Daunting Case

PI Kinsey Millhone’s latest case is a cold one. Lorna Kepler has been dead for 10 months, and when she died she had been dead for two weeks before she was found, so the police couldn’t even determine the cause of death. As Kinsey begins to investigate, she realizes that Lorna had a completely secret life, and the investigation causes Kinsey to become a night owl like Lorna was. Will following her footsteps lead to her killer?

This is another great mystery. The cold case quality leads to some interesting complications to the investigation. Lorna’s life included some things that don’t normally pop up in my cozies, but we didn’t get gratuitous detail, which I appreciated. The ending was a bit rushed, but that’s a minor complaint. We don’t see much of the other series characters, but Kinsey is fantastic as always, and the book is populated with real people that draw us into the story.

Kudos

Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Girl Who Digs Graves (The Gravedigger #1) in Books

Dec 16, 2019

Contains spoilers, click to show

My name is Helena Pierce, Hel for short. I’m a gravedigger... well I was when I was alive anyway.
I had a rough start in life, losing both my parents before I was even a week old. Thankfully, Ray took me in and taught me his trade. I grew used to death, just another part of life.
I enjoyed being the caretaker of the old mountain cemetery, and one day while I was ...

This is a hard book for me to rate. At first I struggled with the way it was written and the whole story. I never try to leave a bad review and I didn't think I would continue with this book. But I pushed through and I'm so glad I did!!! I really ended up enjoying it. It's certainly a different spin on being dead and I really came to enjoy the book enough to give the second book a try to! My advice if you're struggling stick with it.

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