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: Clammed Up (Maine Clambake Mystery, #1) by Barbara Ross

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book review clammed up maine clambake mystery barbara ross

Clammed Up (Maine Clambake Mystery, #1) by Barbara Ross is the first book in a series about a family owned clambake business on an island in Maine.  When Julia Snowden returns home to Busman's Harbor to help her mother, sister, and brother-in-law to help with the family business, she finds a corpse hanging from the banister of their family summer home, which causes the local police detectives the shut the business down.  Who murdered the victim?  Will the Snowden Clambake be able to withstand being closed during the investigation?

Barbara Ross is a phenomenal story teller and weaves such an extraordinary tale that I was completely sucked into Clammed Up (Maine Clambake Mystery, #1). Time seemed inconsequential, and the story played like a movie in my mind.  I have absolutely fallen in love with the Maine Clambake Mystery series.

There were twists and turns aplenty, and I wasn't exactly who the culprit was going to be.  With that being said, I did know that some of the suspects were innocent because they appeared in a later book in the series.  Without a doubt, I was completely shocked at who ended up being the culprit.  The backstories of the characters were interesting and not boring in the least.  I loved the way the small town of Busman's Harbor was painted . . . a very close knit community that is suspicious of outsiders.  This is something I've found to be true when visiting smaller towns around my home state.  The author has painted such a lovely picture of Maine that I now would like to visit the state, especially the coastal areas.

Five out of five stars is what I give Clammed Up (Maine Clambake Mystery, #1) by Barbara Ross.  I am very fond of this cozy mystery series.   It's one of the best in the genre, in my humble opinion.

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