Vanessa Lillie

January Book Club: Katie Tietjen

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Katie Tietjen

As always our book club meetings are open to all.  During the winter months, we meet exclusively on zoom.  Simply message us on facebook or email me at store (at) auntagathas.com for a zoom link.  In October, we’ll meet on the 20th at 2 p.m. to discuss Michael Bennett‘s debut novel, Better the Blood, featuring a Māori detective.  This is a strong start to a new series.  In November, we are delighted to welcome author Vanessa Lillie on Sunday, November 17 at 2 p.m.  She’ll discuss her wonderful novel, Blood Sisters, which I very much hope is a series kick off.  We take December off and in January we are lucky enough to have new author Katie Tietjen join us on Sunday the 19th at 2 p.m.  Katie will discuss her first novel, Death in the Details. The book is loosely based on the work of Frances Glassner Lee who created crime scene “nutshells” (miniature rooms, basically) and revolutionized the way crime scenes are processed and investigated.  As Katie is a novelist, however, she brings the reader her own fascinating story.  This is a terrific debut novel, one of my favorites of this year. read more

November Book Club: Vanessa Lillie

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Vanessa Lillie, author of last year’s Blood Sisters, will be joining our November book club via zoom on Sunday, November 17th at 2 p.m.  This is a wonderful first in a series novel featuring a Cherokee woman who works for the Bureau of Indian Affairs.  She lives in Rhode Island but is called back to her Native Oklahoma, where she encounters ghosts of her past as well as a wall of family resentment and hostility.  She’s an archeologist, so she’s been called back to examine a skull that’s been found with her ID in it’s jaws.  This was a wonderful, textured, emotional read, one of my favorites of 2023.  My review can be found here.  All are welcome.  Copies (paperbacks available after October 1) are available on our website.  If you’d like the zoom link, message me on facebook or email me at store (at) auntagathas.com. read more

Best of 2023

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I was unable to limit my list to ten and present twelve titles this year, and the “also notables” at the end are excellent too.  My criteria is always a book that stayed with me and moved me throughout the year.  When I cast my mind back to reading these books the feeling of being captured by prose returns to my mind.  It’s such a magical experience – I think one hoped for by every reader – and sharing the books that provide that kind of reading experience is a real joy.  As will be obvious I have a real love for traditional detective work (Crombie, Cleeves, Griffiths, Stewart Taylor).  I also love the odd and memorable (Cotterill, Bennett) and I have a fondness for kick ass women (Allen, Lillie, Khan). I love a good gothic mystery (Goodman) and there are a couple of outstanding debuts: Danielle Arceneaux’s Glory Be and Michael Bennett’s Better the Blood.  Mysteries are finding a glorious diversity lately as illustrated here, with Muslim, Cherokee,  African American and Maori sleuths finding a voice. Full reviews can be found by searching the site, though with a few exceptions they are only to be found at Deadly Pleasures. read more

Vanessa Lillie: Blood Sisters

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I had a love-hate relationship with this read.  Love: I loved the characters, the set-up, the cultural background, and the rocket powered story.  Hate: I hated the way the main character runs into danger, alone, even though she knows it’s stupid.  The 4th or 5th time she did it I almost closed the cover, but I am so glad I didn’t because this read is powerful, moving, and difficult to forget.

The main character is Syd Walker, a Cherokee from Oklahoma who has made a life for herself far from home.  She’s an archeologist, married to a dentist, and the two women are trying for a baby, though Syd doesn’t seem to be totally on board with the baby idea.  As the book opens, Syd is examining the bones of a woman found on Native land in Rhode Island. As she’s on her way home from the site, she gets a call from her boss. read more