Book Review: The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

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The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray is a historical fiction novel that spans many years and tells of the friendship between former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune. I don't know if I would have picked up this book if it hadn't been the August selection for one of the book clubs I belong to in my area because I don't read a lot of historical fiction. However, I am so glad that I read it and was able to learn many things I hadn't learned about in any of my history classes.  I don't recall learning anything about Mary McLeod Bethune, and she is an important part of American history. The things she helped spearhead to provide African American people equal rights is quite impressive. One of the things I was horrified to learn about is Franklin D. Roosevelt's resistance to stop lynchings because he was afraid of losing the Southern Democrats backing for his New Deal Bill. Another thing that I fo...
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Book Review: A Cryptic Clue (Hunter and Clewe, #1) by Victoria Gilbert

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book review a cryptic clue hunter and clue 1 victoria gilbert

A Cryptic Clue (Hunter and Clewe, #1) by Victoria Gilbert was published on July 11, 2023.  It opens with sixty-year old Jane Hunter starting a new job for Cameron "Cam" Clewe after being forced to retire from her librarian career.  When Jane finds a dead body on her first day of the job, Cam requests his employee to help exonerate his name.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the Advanced Readers Copy of A Cryptic Clue (Hunter and Clewe, #1) by Victoria Gilbert.  I loved the cover and synopsis of the book and was thrilled when I learned that I was receiving a free copy of it in exchange for my honest review.

At first, I had trouble getting into the story, so I put the book aside and came back to it.  Being in a different mindset definitely made the difference.  I ended up enjoying the storyline.  I really liked the main character, Jane Hunter.  I wasn't as crazy about Cameron Clewe, but he ended up growing on me.

There were lots of suspects, and I wasn't sure who the killer was going to be.  In fact, I didn't figure out who it was, and when the identity was revealed, I felt like it came out of left field.  Additionally, there were a couple of underlying mysteries involving people's identities.  However, those identities were never revealed, and it really bothered me that the author didn't wrap those two storylines up.  Since it appears that there will be at least a sequel, I'm hoping that we find out who these two people are.

All in all, I enjoyed A Cryptic Clue (Hunter and Clewe, #1) by Victoria Gilbert for the most part.  Four out of five stars is what I gave this book.

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