Spirited Away

 A Bay Island Psychic Mystery, book 4 by Lena Gregory. 2019

West With Giraffes

 By Lynda Rutledge. 2021

What started as a book that I didn't think I'd like turned into one of my favorites of the year. An ode to animals, this story tells the tale of an orphan farm boy from the Texas panhandle. He makes his way from the hurricane of 1938 in New York to the San Diego Zoo with two giraffes. As usual, our pick for book discussion group is historical fiction. As usual, it surprised me by how good it was.

to read nonfiction  or fiction accounts try these:

My Life in a Man-Made Jungle. By Belle Benchley. 1940

The San Diego Zoo: the First Century 1916-2016

The Worst Hard Times by Timothy Egan. 2006

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. 1939

The Negro Motorist Green Book by Victor Hugo Green. 1936

The Women

 By Kristin Hannah. 2024

Read this book quite fast. So much I didn't know. The chaos of jungle warfare must have been overwhelming. I know most Vietnam vets don't want to talk about their service to people who weren't there. So sad that the VA wouldn't help the Army Nurse Corps once they were home. Tragic. i recommend this book to everyone. Makes me want to read the true accounts of the nurse's experiences.

To Read more:

Healing Wounds by Captain Diane Carlson Evans with Bob Welch. 2020

American Daughter Goes to War by Winnie Smith. 1992

Home Before Morning by Lynda VanDevanter. 2001

Women in Vietnam: the Oral History by Ron Steinman

A Piece of My Heart by Keith Walker

After the Hero's Welcome by Dorothy H. McDaniel. 2014

The League of Wives by Heath Yardage Lee. 2019

In Love and War by Jim and Sybil Stockdale. 1990

The Turning Point: a History of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War by Andres Hunt. 1999

Night of Miracles

 By Elizabeth Berg. 2018

The Spy Coast

 By Tess Gerritsen. 2023

Real Murders

 Aurora Teagarden mystery, book one by Charlaine Harris. 1990

Clairvoyant and Present Danger

 A Bay Island Psychic Mystery. Book 3 by Lena Gregory. 2018

Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam

 By M C Beaton. 2000 

Occult and Battery

 A Bay Island Psychic Mystery book 2 by Lena Gregory. 2017

Baltimore Blues

 By Laura Lippman. 1997.

Death at First Sight

 A Bay Island Psychic Mystery, book one by Lena Gregory. 2016

The Book of Lost Names

 By Kristin Harmel. 2020 A story of a French Jew who forged  documents for Jews escaping the Nazis during World War II.

To Read more:

Adolfo Kominsky: A Forger's Life by Sarah Kaminsky

a Good Place to Hide: How One French Community Saved Thousands of Lives During World War II by Peter Grose.

the Book Thieves: The Nazi Looting of Europe's Libraries and the Race to Return a Literary Inheritance by Andres Tyrell

Village of Secrets: Defying the Nazis in Vichy France by Caroline Moorehead

Jews in France During World War II by Renee Poznanski

Resistance: Memoirs of Occupied France by Agnes Hulbert

the Journal of Helene Berr

The Sittaford Mystery

By Agatha Christie. 1931. This title was previously published as The Murder at Hazelmoor per The Center Point Large Print edition in 2013.

Devil's Breath

 By G.M. Malliet. 2017

The Good Pilot, Peter Woodhouse

 By Alexander McCall Smith. 2018

From the last line of the book, " You can go on loving people a long time after they have left you; you can love them every bit as much as you loved them when they were still here. Love lasts. Love grows stronger. Love lasts a lifetime, and beyond. "

A heartwarming book of love and friendship. A treasure to read.

A Bean to Die For

 A Coffee Lover's Mystery, book four by Tara Lush. 2024

Banyan Moon

 By Thao Thai. 2023

Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden

 By M. C. Beaton. 1999.

The Last Devil to Die

 A Thursday Murder Club Mystery by Richard Osman. 2023

Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham

 By M. C. Beaton. Narrated by Penelope Keith. 1999.

Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death

 By M. C. Beaton. Narrated by Penelope Keith. 1998

Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist

 By M. C. Beaton. 1997. Watched Ashley Jensen in the Acorn series about Agatha Raisin and was curious what went on in Cyprus that was alluded to in the tv series. Since they wanted all the series shot in the Cotswolds they skipped over the terrible tourist adventure. I liked the adventures that Sir Charles and Agatha got up to. A good listen with Penelope Keith as the narrator.

Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage

 By M. C. Beaton. 1996. Loved the audio version by Penelope Keith. Also watch Ashley Jensen in the Acorn series.

Yellow Wife

 By Sadeqa Johnson. 2021. A hard read.

Bright Young Women

 By Jessica Knoll. 2023. A fictionalized retelling of the Florida murders by Ted Bundy in 1978 from the viewpoint of the President of the sorority house. I read it in three days. Quite compelling. I lived on campus from 1970 to 1975 in Ohio, so I could relate to the time. The book highlights two different viewpoints, one from the sorority and one from Washington state, this time the viewpoint of a murder victim. I am glad I read it but it is very disturbing. 

Her Royal Spyness

 By Rhys Bowen. 2007

It's a Dog's Life, Snoopy

 By Charles M. Schulz. 2001

Happiness Falls

 A novel by Angie Kim. 2023 Part thriller, part mystery the novel takes place in about 3 days time beginning with the disappearance of the father. The only witness is a fourteen year old son who cannot speak. He suffers from Angelman syndrome, a genetic condition. A Good Morning America book  club pick.

Death at High Tide: an Island Sisters Mystery

 By Hannah Dennison. 2020

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: a Memoir

 By Matthew Perry. 2022

Born 1969 Died 2023

Go as a River

 By Shelley Read. 2023