To Believe In Women: What Lesbians Have Done For America - A History By: Lillian Faderman

I love history and this book was so well thought out, well written and well laid out!!  A necessary look at the MASSIVE contributions that lesbians have made to America, despite massive odds, set backs and triumphs.  Full of folks you should have heard of, and many that you probably haven't!  A necessary read for any one who likes history!

Vampires and Violets: Lesbians in Film By: Andrea Weiss

A fascinating treatise on the history of lesbian images in film.  Likewise, a fascinating history on lesbian images not in film.  I was really struck by the author's ability to explain the phenomenon of finding the images of lesbians/lesbianism in film by their absence.  Really, a compelling read for film buffs and anyone interested in film history, and LGBTQI history.

A Separate Battle: Women and the the Civil War By: Ina Change

There is a lot of information packed in to very few pages in this book.  A smart and insightful look at the Civil War as told through the eyes of the women who were there!

Stonewall By: Martin Duberman

A detailed look at the Stonewall riots, within it's historical context of the gay rights movement prior to Stonewall-through the lives of six activists. All from varying backgrounds, these six lives tell the story of the gay rights movement, warts and all prior to and immediately after Stonewall. A must for history buffs, biographies and a total must for LGBTQI folks.

Let's Fake a Deal By: Sherry Harris To Be Published: August 2019

No time is wasted in this, the 7th installment of the Sarah Winston series, as we start of with Sarah's arrest and things quickly get worse from there.  Can Sarah find the couple that set her up?  Can she help her friend stave off a murder charge-and how is she going to organize and sell all of the cat items from her latest client?  If you think you're having a bad day, read any book in this series and you'll realize that your day can't be as bad as Sarah's-and if she can come through, so can you!  This is one of the best series that's out-the real crime would be if you were to miss it!

A Murder is Announced By: Agatha Christie

Ten years ago I performed in a production of A Murder is Announced, and then read the book.  As I'm slowly gathering all of Christie's work on my kindle, this was the next in line, so I re-read it.  It still makes a better book than play (Christie didn't write the play), but I did notice, this time round, that there is a major plot point that doesn't make a lot of sense. I can't say what it is here because I don't want to spoil the mystery-suffice it to say a fun read, but not one of her best.

Crooked House By: Agatha Christie

A delicious tale of murder and mayhem in the crooked little house.  Oft cited as Agatha Christie's favorite work, read it and it will quickly become yours as well!

Murder's No Votive Confidence By: Christin Brecher

Follow your nose and sniff out the murderer with Stella Wright, in this stellar opening book in the Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery series.  Stella is a great protagonist-she knows what she knows and won't be deterred from doing what is right.  With wonderful insights into candles, candle making and it's history, this mystery ticks all the boxes and smell like a hit!!

Tilling the Truth By: Julia Henry To Be Published: September 2019

Dig in and gets your hands dirty with Lilly and the rest of the Garden Squad!  With more twists than a creeping ivy, the second installation of this series blooms into a full blown bouquet of who did what to whom!  You'll breeze through this one, and wish there were more. Now, we readers must lay dormant and wait for the third book! I LOVE THIS SERIES!

Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation By: Robert W. Fieseler

Forty-six years ago a tragedy occurred and most people have no idea that it happened.  The deliberately set fire that fitted the Up Stairs Lounge in New Orleans at the end of June of 1973, killed 32 people.  Why do you not know about it?  Simple...the Up Stairs Lounge was a gay bar and the people who died were gay.  In this humanely written and deeply researched book, the reader will meet the victims of the fire, the person who committed the arson, and see the tragedy put into it's proper historical and social context.  This is quite an achievement!  Told with no judgement, it's a difficult book to get through, but it's necessary.

Murder in an English Village By: Jessica Ellicott

If Cagney & Lacey and Miss Fischer had a baby, it would be Murder in an English Village.  Two "women of a certain age" in a small English village following WWII, search for the truth and don't let social conventions get in their way.  New heroines to adore!  Plenty of twists, great history, dry wit, and memorable characters: this is a great read and a brilliant start to this series!

Lincoln in the Bardo By: George Saunders

I have absolutely no idea what I just read, but whatever you want to call it, it was a hell of a read! Set in the Bardo (purgatory) the night that Willie Lincoln (young son of the President) is buried-this story is told in two parts: the first is the story of how the President and the country reacted to Willie's death told via actual quotes from publications at the time; the second is the story of what happens to Willie in the Bardo as told by the other "residents".  It is an ingenious way to structure a story-quotes that make up a whole narrative!  I flew through this one because it was a fascinating story and told in a fascinating way!

Us Against You By: Fredrik Backman

 don't know why I do this to myself-I know if I pick up a book by Fredrik Backman I'm going to end up sobbing!  And I did...for the last quarter of this book.  Backman knows how to present difficult topics with an ease that belies the struggles behind them.  The town of Beartown is the main character in this book (as well as in Beartown), and it's characters is shaped by it's denizens and vice versa.  You'll be caught up in everything that happens, you'll take a side, you'll switch sides (several times), and what you'll left with a deeper understanding of the human condition (as well as red puffy eyes and a runny nose)!

Salem's Cipher By: Jess Lourey

A thrill-a-minute ride through history, cryptography and current day issues!