Sadly, today marks the end of Penguin Random House’s advance galley review service, First to Read. Now I need all five of you reading this to share and comment so I can be cool enough for NetGalley (;
One of my favorite parts of this program was reading things I probably wouldn’t have gotten to on my own. The last three I received from First to Read were no exception.
Body in Question, by Jill Ciment
Two jurors on a scandalous murder case find another scandal during their sequestration.
So many bodies, so many questions…. I was expecting more courtroom drama, but enjoyed getting into the body of “C-2”, exploring her brain and her heart, and the choices we make when life doesn’t go as planned.
I think it would have been interesting to hear more from juror F-17’s POV… but, then again, we have enough stories about cis white men, right?
The Second-Worst Restaurant in France, by Alexander McCall Smith
This is the second of a series about food writer Paul Stuart. Like most cozy mysteries – and this isn’t quite a mystery, per se – it’s quite ok if you’ve not read the first. I didn’t and still enjoyed this little tale of Paul and his Remarkable Cousin Chloe and the small French town they accidentally take over.
This second-worst restaurant did mange to whet my appetite for more of Paul’s culinary adventures.
…..too cheesy? (;
The third book….. ok, yeah, I didn’t actually get to my last assignment between ANNIE rehearsals and starting to advance read works from a few new series – but it’s hard to feel guilty about that when the program folded. More on the show and the new author connection soon!
….as soon as I properly recover from the one-weekend-show family visit craziness…
Keep reading! I certainly will… from a horizontal position on the couch.
Ann Davis-Rowe 