a little history and a little mystery.

I love a good conspiracy novel, and Oliver Potzsch really delivers with his The Ludwig Conspiracy.

Ahh, the Neuschwanstein Castle. It plays a large role in the novel as the actual real-life King Ludwig commissioned its building in the late 1800’s. I visited Munich, Germany a few years back and was supposed to visit the fairytale castle, but it was closed on the day my tour group was supposed to go. I was so, so upset. I mean, as a princess, fairytale castles are my thing. I’ll have to drag Manfriend off to Germany one of these days.  Now back to our story…

The Ludwig Conspiracy moves between time periods, giving us glimpses of past and modern day Bavaria, while our two main characters from the present, Steven Lukas and Sara Lengfeld race to solve a mystery and stay one step ahead of those that would kill them for the secrets contained in an encrypted diary written by Theodor Marot, Assistant to the Royal Physician to King Ludwig.  It takes Steven's knowledge of 19th Century history and Sara's computer expertise to begin to make sense of the encrypted text, and their journey takes them to Ludwig's famous castles searching for the clues needed to crack the diary's code, all the while trying not to get murdered. History and mystery buffs alike will love this novel.

education system comparisons, oh boy.

In the US, we are not known for our public education system. I mean, we have Yale and Harvard to brag about, but even our elite schools fall short compared to other countries. Amanda Ripley, investigative journalist wrote a book on educational policy that will shed some light on what we are missing here in America when it comes to education.

Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way is jam-packed with research and storytelling that will surprise you. The main purpose of this book is to show a more personal side to education in other countries. Readers gain a real life student view of what the education experience is like in Finland, Poland, and South Korea - three countries that score highly on standardized international tests, by following three American high school students in their exchange school experiences in these three countries. Ripley also includes research about other countries, and makes a compelling argument for educational reform.

great storyline, great read, loved it.

It’s almost Christmas in Northern Minnesota opening William Kent Krueger’s Tamarack County novel. During a blizzard a car belonging to an elderly woman and wife of a retired judge is discovered abandoned on a country road, gas tank empty. Without much hope of finding her alive, Cork O’Connor joins the team in search for the missing person. As time passes, other strange things start to happen in Tamarack County, and ex-sheriff O’Connor has an inkling that it has something to do with an investigation he was on twenty years ago when he was a deputy, leading him to believe that he helped send the wrong man to prison.

Most of you are probably familiar with the popular Cork O’Connor series and you won’t be disappointed with this installment.

for a good time…

It’s not every day that you open a novel as fun to read as Amy Sohn’s Motherland, which is a follow up to her previous Prospect Park West. Both novels accentuate the more recently popular “mommy-lit” genre, which may help you choose whether this is next on your reading list or not. I’m no mommy and I had a good time reading both.

In Motherland, you meet up with previous characters. Five couples who have their share of issues, and that give you an honest and hysterical look into parenthood in NYC today. It’s honestly a hilarious read, and Sohn who was born and raised in the big city definitely knows what she’s talking about.

an enjoyable detective story.

A young woman is brutally raped near her apartment in Tel Aviv….to open the debut crime novel Lineup by Liad Shoham.

Inspector Eli Nachum is assigned the case, and in his eagerness to bring closure for the victim and her family, makes an error in judgment that allows the prime suspect off on a technicality that results in his release from custody. As Nachum struggles to come to terms with his error, he teams up with a newspaper reporter to try and uncover the truth. Meanwhile, our freed suspect, Ziv Nevo has to try to untangle himself from the crime mob that's got their hooks in him. When another rape occurs and Nevo isn’t identified as a suspect, Inspector Nachum realizes that he had the wrong guy all along, and the real search begins.

Shoham has an excellent writing style for someone who originally wrote the story in Hebrew and had it translated to English, so props to his translator as well!

tell your kids, tell your wife, tell your husband.

Author Danielle Walker of Against the Grain saved her own life through food, and you can too. Basically Walker has created a cookbook that cuts out the ingredients that make her sick in her favorite recipes. So she can have her ice cream, and eat it, too. Yes, ice cream. You have to admire her creativity as she brings recipes like crepes, muffins, and chocolate chip cookies to the plant-based lifestyle. Get it girl.

The only thing I have made personally out of Against the Grain so far is the vanilla frosting. A girl's got her priorities. And let me tell you, Y-U-M! If you have a restrictive diet, are gluten free, want to eat paleo, or just want to start cutting out the occasional dairy/sugar situation, this is absolutely the cookbook for you. I mean, Walker even has a (tasty) recipe for fake ricotta cheese. She's pretty amazing.

always an adventure.

Power couple Sam and Remi Fargo has made quite the name for themselves as jet setters who travel around hunting down lost treasures.  The Mayan Secrets takes Sam and Remi to Mexico and Guatemala, searching for an ancient Mayan artifact.

Author Clive Cussler moves well from location to location and his character development of the dashing hero's, fearless heroines, and villains you love to hate will please both avid and new readers of the series. This adventure packed story is so well-written; you will forget that it’s fiction.