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The Secrets We Kept
by Lara Prescott

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I was pleasantly surprised by this debut historical fiction novel. The characters are the women relegated to office keyboards after their skills were used in collecting and disseminating sensitive information at the end of WWII... But many continue to hold secrets and the exploration of their relationships, secrets, and projects provided an engaging narrative in a classic noir.

The Maidens
by Alex Michaelides

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I wanted this to be more than it was. I felt like it had such great premise but fell short in how it was carried out.

Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel
by Jeanette Wall

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If you read The Glass Castle, you are going to love this. Wall's writing is impeccable and it was great to hear the background story of her parents growing up with their parents (Wall's grandparent). Page turner.

The Code Breaker Jennifer Doudna
by Walter Isaacson

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Phew! Finally finished this book about the scientists whose work on gene editing resulted in the development of CRSPR. I found parts of it a real slog and parts fascinating. (The parts that talked about the infighting and legal battles over patents were the slog for me; the parts about the scientific discoveries and the ethical questions of gene editing fascinating.) I'm really glad I finished it after having run out of time and it going back to the library when I was a few chapters from the end. Reading about the events around the Covid vaccine was very interesting, and I actually cried when Doudna reconnected with her French collaborator and they both ended up winning the Nobel Prize. Another 3-1/2 star book.

The Other Black Girl
by Zakiya Dalila Harris

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A true page Turner, I did not want to put this down!

The Last Guard
by Nalini Singh

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I'd rate this 3-and-a-half stars if possible. Anyway, this is about Payal, CEO of a major Psy family conglomerate based in Delhi, India and Canto (stupid name, sorry), chief spymaster for the Mercant family. Both are Designation As - Anchors - and strong ones at that. Both were also severely damaged as children because apparently Designation A children often have physical and mental problems that cause some family groups to disown them before their Anchor status can be confirmed. As usual with Nalini's Psy/Changeling series, they are stronger together as they work to shore up the PsyNet which is being damaged by The Architect and her Scarab minions. (Kaleb & Sahara played parts, which made me happy, and we also got to see Aden, Valentin, Silver and Arwen plus the other members of The Council.) Not my favorite in the series but kept me reading, so good enough!

Malibu Rising
by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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Wow! I couldn’t put this book down. The course of the book tells the happenings of the 24 hours leading up to a party and also the flashbacks of how the family got there and what they went through. All of that built up and came to the surface making them acknowledge who they are, what they need to heal, and what brought them to where they are.

Chance Developments
by Alexandr McCall Smith

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The author includes 5 short stories written around photographs given to him ranging from a story about a nun who

Long Road to Mercy
by David Baldacci

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A different mystery thriller series by Balducci features Atlee Pine, an FBI special agent assigned (by choice) to a single-agent office in Shattered Rock, AZ. Atlee's twin sister was abducted and probably murdered when they were six, which is likely why she chose law enforcement as a profession. Baldacci writes well, but from all I've read of his work so far, his stories are quite improbable. I like his characters tho - Amos Decker and Atlee Pine are alike in some ways, quite different in others, but both speak to me. I also like the way they gather up unlikely friends and allies without actually trying to or even wanting to. Note: This is a 3-1/2 star book that I rounded up to 4 stars because it's definitely not just a 3-star book. So...

A Good Neighborhood
by Therese Anne Fowler

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A fine read, but no discussion is deep enough to make a lasting impression, and the quality of the prose is not strong enough to compel the reader.