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: The Enigma of Room 622 by Joël Dicker

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The Enigma of Room 622 by book review of the enigma of room 622 joël dickerJoël Dicker is a Swiss book that has been translated into English for American audiences, and the expected publication date is September 13, 2022.  The book is about a writer who decides to vacation in the Swiss Alps and stays at the Palace of Verbier where a murder happened several years before and was covered up.  The author stumbles upon the crime and decides to uncover the truth behind room 622.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and HarperVia for the digital copy of the Advanced Readers Copy of The Enigma of Room 622 by Joël Dicker in exchange for my honest review.  I was excited to be selected to review this book ahead of its release in the United States.

Let me begin by saying I had high hopes for Joël Dicker's The Enigma of Room 622, but I found it to be a bit too convoluted and long for my taste.  It could have easily been shorter and still gotten the same point across.  There were times when the transitions between past and present felt a little off, and my interest in the storyline would wane.  Don't get me wrong though, I did enjoy the story quite a bit.

This novel seemed to be somewhat semi-autobiographical with the author using his recently deceased publisher in the story, and the main character is an author having trouble coming up with a storyline after the death of the publisher.  I'd be interested to see if anyone else felt the same way.

I also have to mention that there were quite a few words that I had to look up in a dictionary as I had never heard of those words used in common language, or for that matter, in any other books I've read.  These words included fecundity, anodyne, bis, and attenuating.  I'm all for using synonyms for words, but I don't particularly like it when a word that isn't commonly spoken is utilized when a different, more common word would have sufficed.

All in all, I enjoyed The Enigma of Room 622 by Joël Dicker and didn't see the end coming.  I gave this book three out of five stars and will definitely read some of the author's other works.

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