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

Image
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...

Book Review: Public Anchovy #1 (Deep Dish Mysteries, #3) by Mindy Quigley

netgalley book review public anchovy #1 deep dish mysteries 3 mindy quigley
Public Anchovy #1 (Deep Dish Mysteries, #3) by Mindy Quigley was published on December 26, 2023 and opens with Delilah O'Leary on her way to a library fundraiser where she's providing the catering.  Of course, everything that can go wrong does go wrong . . . a last minute guest has a special dietary request . . . no gluten, no dairy, and no nightshade foods.  Upon arriving at the Prohibition themed dinner, one of the guests falls down the stairs and dies.  Then, a storm takes out the power, causing most of the guests and staff to be trapped in the remote mansion.  Can Delilah use her skills to deduce what happened?

I received an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Public Anchovy #1 from NetGalley for free in exchange for my honest review.  Thrilled, excited, and delighted were just a few of the words I can use to describe how I felt when I found out I was approved to receive this advanced copy.

Although the story started off a bit slow, it picked up quickly when the first person dies in the book.  I found myself rushing through the story trying to figure out who the culprit was, and I was delightfully surprised.  The author had quite a few red herrings and did a fabulous job of throwing me off.  Mindy Quigley actually reminded me a bit of a modern day Agatha Christie in her writing of Public Anchovy #1, which made the story even more interesting to me.  When the big reveal came about, I thought I should have realized who the killer, or killers, were.

When I requested this book, I didn't realize that it was the third book in a series.  Had I known, I would've made sure to read the first two books in the series before reading this installment.  It would've helped me understand the backstory a bit more.  Don't get me wrong, the author does provide some of the backstory, but I wish there had been a little more of that in the beginning.

All in all, I loved this story and can't wait to read more in the series.  In fact, I plan on reading the first two books to tie me over until the author comes out with a fourth installment, which I do see coming because there was a minor cliffhanger . . . don't worry, all the ends were tied up with the mystery.  Four out of five stars is what I give Public Anchovy #1 (Deep Dish Mysteries, #3) by Mindy Quigley.

Follow Us On Social Media

https://www.facebook.com/runningbibliophile/https://www.instagram.com/therunningbibliophile/https://www.pinterest.com/therunningbibliophile/youtube the running bibliophile

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Book Review: The Dare by Natasha Preston

Book Review: Dirty Thirty (Stephanie Plum, #30) by Janet Evanovich

Book Review: The Business Trip by Jessie Garcia