I have been in New Jersey for the past nine weeks, helping my son and his family finish the COVID school year. As I packed for the visit, these are among the books that accompanied me:
The Bombay Prince by Sujata Massey
November 1921. Edward VIII, Prince of Wales and future ruler of India, is arriving in Bombay to begin a four month tour. The Indian subcontinent is chafing under British rule, and Bombay solicitor Perveen Mistry isn’t surprised when local unrest over the royal arrival spirals into riots. But she’s horrified by the death of Freny Cuttingmaster, an eighteen-year-old female Parsi student, who falls from a second-floor gallery just as the prince’s grand procession is passing by her college.
Freny had come for a legal consultation just days before her death, and what she confided makes Perveen suspicious that her death was not an accident. Feeling guilty for failing to have helped Freny in life, Perveen steps forward to assist Freny’s family in the fraught dealings of the coroner’s inquest. When Freny’s death appears suspicious, Perveen knows she can’t rest until she sees justice done. But Bombay is erupting: as armed British secret service march the streets, rioters attack anyone with perceived British connections and desperate shopkeepers destroy their own wares so they will not be targets of racial violence. Can Perveen help a suffering family when her own is in danger?
If you have not started this series set in 1920’s India, take note and begin with The Widows of Malabar Hill. Sujata Massey gives great insight into the history of India, much like Jacqueline Winspear does for England.
The Killing Hills by Chris Offutt
Mick Hardin, a combat veteran now working as an Army CID agent, is home on a leave that is almost done. His wife is about to give birth, but they aren’t getting along. His sister, a new sheriff, has just landed her first murder case, and local politicians are pushing for city police or the FBI to take the case. Are they convinced she can’t handle it, or is there something else at work? She calls on Mick who, with his homicide investigation experience and familiarity with the terrain, is well-suited to staying under the radar. As he delves into the investigation, he dodges his commanding officer’s increasingly urgent calls while attempting to head off further murders. And he needs to talk to his wife.
The Killing Hills is a novel of betrayal—sexual, personal, within and between the clans that populate the hollers—and the way it so often shades into violence. Chris Offutt has delivered a dark, witty, and absolutely compelling novel of murder and honor.
The Other Black Girl: A Novel by Zakiya Dalila Harris
Twenty-six-year-old editorial assistant Nella Rogers is tired of being the only Black employee at Wagner Books. Fed up with the isolation and microaggressions, she’s thrilled when Harlem-born and bred Hazel starts working in the cubicle beside hers. They’ve only just started comparing natural hair care regimens, though, when a string of uncomfortable events elevates Hazel to Office Darling, and Nella is left in the dust.
Then the notes begin to appear on Nella’s desk: LEAVE WAGNER. NOW.
It’s hard to believe Hazel is behind these hostile messages. But as Nella starts to spiral and obsess over the sinister forces at play, she soon realizes that there’s a lot more at stake than just her career.
The Other Black Girl was highly anticipated and will have great appeal to anyone who has ever felt manipulated, threatened, or overlooked in the workplace. Part satire, part mystery with an ending twist that will have you immediately start re-reading!
Ridgeline: A Novel by Michael Punke
On December 21, 1866, Crazy Horse and his warriors lured 80 US soldiers into a trap, killing them all. Whether you know the battle as The Fetterman Massacre or The Battle of the Hundred Hand, this book tells who was there and what happened. The prologue is set on the day of the battle and then moves into the five months leading up to that day. Punke lists the key players—The Lakota, soldiers, and civilians that came to a valley in Wyoming.
Crazy Horse and his people called the valley sacred. They came to teach the ways of the tribe, to wander the land and to hunt. Col Henry Carrrington led “a traveling circus” of cavalrymen, a military band, a herd of cattle and women and children to bring civilization to the valley. Fort Phil Kearney was established to protect miners going to and from the Montana gold fields despite Jim Bridger’s advice.
The key players come to life as Punke imagines the inner thoughts and conversations of these real people. He states: “I have worked to stay true to important facts so that readers are not left with as misimpression of historical events.” The “Historical Notes and Further Reading” section at the end of the book gives further insight. Ridgeline is historical fiction at its best.
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray
In her twenties, Belle da Costa Greene is hired by J. P. Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork for his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library. Belle becomes a fixture on the New York society scene and one of the most powerful people in the art and book world, known for her impeccable taste and shrewd negotiating for critical works as she helps build a world-class collection.
But Belle has a secret, one she must protect at all costs. She was born not Belle da Costa Greene but Belle Marion Greener. She is the daughter of Richard Greener, the first Black graduate of Harvard and a well-known advocate for equality. Belle’s complexion isn’t dark because of her alleged Portuguese heritage that lets her pass as white—her complexion is dark because she is African American.
The Personal Librarian tells the story of an extraordinary woman, famous for her intellect, style, and wit, and shares the lengths to which she must go—for the protection of her family and her legacy—to preserve her carefully crafted white identity in the racist world in which she lives.
I have been fascinated by the concept of private libraries and the process of their acquisitions ever since my library science class took a tour of New York City libraries which included The Morgan Library. The authors have given a rightful tribute to Belle Greener and her determination to build a great library.
As you travel, remember to bring enough books! Thankfully, there are e-books and audio books that can cut down luggage space and weight. Thankfully, I was staying with a family of readers who took me to two local libraries to supplement my choices. But I still packed seven books, most are being left behind...
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