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Are you looking for a book that may bring the meaning of Christmas home to children through the eyes of a Christmas Tree? Bruce the Spruce: A New York City Fairytale About the True Meaning of Christmas Trees is excellent. Children will learn about the true meaning of Christmas Trees.

We meet Bruce the Spruce, and he wants to be the attention of the crowds. Will he learn a lesson and what he did for this job to learn his lesson in gratitude? We follow him on his journey from when he was taken and put on to the street to where he ends up.

Children will learn about being grateful and what you cherish. Will Bruce understand what it means to be a Christmas Tree? I enjoyed how this book ended; Children and parents will love this book. The author did a fantastic job with the plot of this story. The pictures are well done. I just loved how Bruce reacted and showed his emotions.

This book is excellent to have on your bookshelves for the holiday season. This book should be read close to Christmas or leading up to Christmas. I show the meaning of Christmas to children and adults as well.
  
Murder in Midtown
Murder in Midtown
Liz Freeland | 2019 | Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Louise Faces a Hot Second Case
Louise Faulk is following her desire to become a New York City police officer by taking the entrance exam, something that is rare for women in 1913. Taking it makes her late for work, which is why she is the last to arrive and find the building completely burned down. What’s more shocking is when she learns that one of her bosses was inside. Guy rarely started before noon, if that early, so what was he doing there already? With time on her hands, Louise digs into what happened. Can she learn the truth?

I’m sad I waited so long to get to this book because it was a delight. There is plenty here to keep us guessing, with some great twists along the way. The suspects in this book were supporting players in the first, so it was fun to see them more developed. The series regulars are all back and it was great to spend more time with. In fact, one of them brings a real person into the book, which I enjoyed. The world of 1913 came to life as I was reading. I was kept guessing until I reached the end. I need to move on to book three sooner rather than later.
  
Murder on Union Square
Murder on Union Square
Victoria Thompson | 2018 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Murder in the Theater Means Trouble for Malloy
Frank and Sarah are upset to learn they can’t legally adopt Catherine, the little girl that Sarah has been caring for for several years, because, in the eyes of the law, Parnell Vaughn is her legal father. Fortunately, the actor is willing to sign his rights over to Frank and Sarah, but his fiancée wants some money from them. When Frank goes back to deliver the payment and get Parnell’s signature, he finds the actor dead in his dressing room. With Frank accused of the crime, he and Sarah have to clear his name. Who really murdered Parnell?

It's always a pleasure to pop back in on Sarah and Frank in 1899 New York City, and this book was no exception. I love the characters. As is often the case these days, we get parts of the story from four different points of view, and it is always easy to tell when we switch from one to the other. I did feel the plot wasn’t quite as good as usual for this series. There are a few twists and a strong climax, but it got bogged down in the middle. Still, fans will be happy to spend time with these characters we love. I know I did.
  
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2336 KP) rated Murder on Bedford Street in Books

Aug 9, 2023 (Updated Aug 9, 2023)  
Murder on Bedford Street
Murder on Bedford Street
Victoria Thompson | 2023 | Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Rescuing a Woman from a Mental Institute
Frank Malloy is hired by Hugh Breedlove who is convinced that his niece, Julia, has been sent to an insane asylum because her husband is abusive and evil. When Frank and his wife Sarah go to visit Julia, she certainly appears sane. But can they prove it to a judge?

It’s always a pleasure to travel back to New York City in 1901 with this series. I thought I knew where this story was going early on, but I turned out to be wrong. Instead, I got a great story that turned into a thriller by the end. It’s always wonderful to spend time with these characters, we even got to see a couple of the recurring characters and some of the regular characters played a different role than normal. The multiple view points are use perfectly to advance the story. I get lost in the time period as I read this story, and that happened here again as well. It’s a little hard to believe I’m caught up on the series, but I’m happy to see the next book in the series will be out in the spring, so I won’t have to wait too long to visit these characters again.