I Am Sophie Tucker: A Fictional Memoir by Susan Ecker & Lloyd Ecker

Review based on ARC.

Sophie Tucker was undoubtably a fascinating person. She seemed to know anyone who was anyone... from Al Pacino to Arthur Conan Doyle to ... well, herself! And this fictional memoir seemed intriguing. I didn't know much about Tucker going into it -- more a recognition of the name than anything else. But I thought it sounded intriguing... a murder mystery, an insider's look at early Hollywood (or, at least, earlier...), the world of Vaudeville.... ok, sign me up!

And... it delivered. to some degree. So, fictional memoir. What was I expecting? I don't know, something more akin to Devil in the White City, I guess... a sort of novelization of real events. An adding of thoughts and emotions -- a researcher's best guess -- and maybe that's what this was. But it seemed a lot more fictional than that. It *felt* like someone was creating a whole persona for a real person. Which just felt weird. It felt like someone had decided THIS must be Sophie Tucker's *real* personality -- her behind-the-scenes personality.  And.... it was unsettling to me.

It felt surface. It felt false. It felt over-simplified. Like, rather two-dimensional. And,  I understand the authors did an inordinate amount of research, and had scrapbooks and many items of Sophie's own words to pull from... so perhaps Sophie was really just a two-dimensional person? Seems far-fetched. Much more far-fetched than the so-called "life and times of Sophie Tucker."

And that was my other complaint. Eyebrow-raising, inward gasping, behind-the-scenes reveals? meh. I get that this was a long time ago, and our standards are different now... but it still felt like this fictional character was going from "hey hey, listen to this CRaaaaay-zee story about me!" to yet another and another... nothing felt organic or ... well, real.

Buuut.... It was Interesting. It was somewhat satisfying to read about that time from a so-called insider's perspective. It was ok. I didn't love Sophie; I didn't hate her. I didn't really feel that particularly strongly about anyone except for her first husband.

As for the others... were they husbands? It felt like a lot was left out. How did she meet her 3rd husband? What happened? How did they break? What about the 2nd .... how did that become, er, formal? (did I just miss that altogether?) So yeah, it was the organization. The organization needed work. And as a result, the story suffered.

But it was ok. And if you're really interested in Sophie Tucker's life, from an arguably inside perspective... check it out.  The memoir is pretty consistent from beginning to end, so if you don't like the first few chapters, then you won't like it. If you do, you will.

Overall, three of five stars.

The Magician's Lie by Greer Macallister

Review based on ARC.

It really wasn't what I was expecting.  The Amazing Arden is the most famous illusionist... illusionist. Right. I get that. But then that word "magic" kept appearing everywhere (reviews, descriptions). And it's not really that kind of book.  Not that there isn't a magic, per se, but this is no fantasy.

So what is it? It's a murder-mystery, a love story, a story about a woman learning about her strengths, and her weaknesses (and of both, she has many). It's a tale, and you (or, rather, Virgil Holt, small-town officer) must decide where there is truth, and where there is illusion.

It starts with murder. It begins with a spectacular show, where the Amazing Arden uses an Ax to cut a man in half. And then voila! He's whole again. It commences with a couple of police-friends enjoying the Amazing Arden's show and then some drinks afterwards.. something to help ease the pain.

And then, once the show is over, one officer is called to investigate the murder of the Amazing Arden's husband. And the other, tiny-town officer Virgil Hold, heads off toward home.

Stopping for a brief bite, Holt suddenly finds himself with the Amazing Arden in his hands---the prime suspect for the murder his pal was called to investigate. And she appears to be fleeing. So Holt takes her in to his office. It is now up to Holt to decide whether and to what extent Arden is innocent, and so the tale begins.

Arden insists on not skipping to the end. She insists on telling of her origin, her loves, her losses, her lessons. And as her tale unfolds, Holt must decide---is she telling the truth? How far does her illusion extend? What can she do for him? What must he do for her?

To say more is to give away too much. It reads quickly enough--dragging only a little toward the middle. Macallister has created at least one great character (Ray), a couple of pretty darn good characters (Miss Bates and Holt), and several additional characters to fill the pages and move the story along. While I didn't particularly like Clyde (though I imagine some will love him!), and I thought a few of the characters were rather two-dimensional, I don't think I *needed* to like Clyde or those other characters. They simply aren't the point.

And the magic? Well, perhaps there's magic. Or perhaps it's an illusion of magic. Or perhaps we'll never know...

FOUR of five stars.

The Happiest People in the World by Brock Clarke

Review based on ARC.

I have been meaning to read anything by Brock Clarke for years! I'm so glad I won this ARC and was "forced" to read it now (sooner, rather than later). He IS funny and smart and dry and witty and thoughtful and enjoyable to read!

This book.... how to describe it. Jens is a newspaper-political cartoonist in Denmark. When an assignment goes horribly awry, an assassin tries to kill him, and the CIA must step in. He heads to the American northeast, to a small town in New York and poses as a high school guidance counselor. And.... that tells you kind of nothing about the book, but serves as a skeleton. And it's not worth anything because what is great about this story has nothing to do with its plot. Rather, it's the characterization and descriptions and humor and observations of an outsider looking in... and of insiders looking at an outsider that make this book so wonderful to read.

It's a quick read, it's funny, it's though-provoking... It presents political and social commentary without being preachy, and it's a story about chances and second chances. One of my favorite things about the book.... I couldn't possibly tell you because it's a spoiler.  But I will say (and I really don't think you should read this unless you've already read the book), I finished the book, laid my head down to sleep, then had a Eureka! moment, where I had to re-read the first chapter. Love what he did there. (highlight to see spoiler)

Highly recommend for people who are looking for a funny, dark, thoughtful commentary, or just an amusing tale about a Dane in New York....

FOUR of five stars.

Sanctum (Asylum #2) by Madeleine Roux

Sanctum is a fine sequel to Asylum.  Not amazing. Not terrible.  Like Asylum, Sanctum is a very quick read; like Asylum, Sanctum has many holes. But, if you read it quickly enough, you almost don't notice the holes and you almost don't mind the lack.

So, what's it about: Dan continues to have weird nightmares and day-mares relating back to the history of Brookline and its warden. His contact with Jordan and Abby has started to fade, and Dan is eager to resolve the issues he's having with both his friendships and his obsession with Brookline.  The three decide to return to New Hampshire College, pretending to be prospies, interested in actually going to college there.

So that's weird. Like, return to the place where you almost died? Sure, yeah, believable. And since it's not, the whole premise is weak. BUT, as I say, it's a quick read. We *quickly* run through all kinds of creepy experiences, hallucinations, and dreams. We meet a handful of new, suspicious characters.  We are introduced to a whole new society of people. And although it's all rather surface, it's enjoyable to read.  I read it in just a few hours, and I will definitely pick up the next one (yep, there's a next one).

I enjoy these. They're not amazing, but they're enjoyable quick reads.

Recommended to someone looking for a creepy escape on a dreary day...
THREE of five stars

Trick or Treat Murder by Leslie Meier

Ultimately, it was an OK murder mystery with some OK twists and turns and conclusions...
but there were some MAJOR flaws... and if those flaws had been, er, done away with... well, what I'm really trying to say is that I think the author actually has potential. Though I don't know if she'd ever realize it, since this formula makes her successful enough...

Major Flaw #1: it's a book called Trick or Treat Murder, yet the murder does NOT happen on Halloween or surrounding any Halloween-related activity. in any way. whatsoever. Rather, the murder happens in the days leading up to Halloween, so ya know, it's being investigated around Halloween time. Which I don't think is enough. But maybe even that could have been if there was more Halloween in this Halloween book. Instead, it's like, they're getting ready for this big Halloween party, and that's supposed to be enough? Where're all the descriptions of all the Halloween decorations all over the neighborhood, the candy being purchased, the costume-planning, the Halloween activities, buying pumpkins, carving them, etc. etc. etc. So, I thought that was a MAJOR let down.

Major Flaw #2: This is the first Leslie Meier book I've read, so maybe this is just what these books are about, but it's NOT about a detective lady, even an amateur detective lady, solving mysteries. It's about a housewife with a bunch of kids, too much time on her hands, and a busy-body attitude. She likes to "investigate" things with not only NO authority to do so, but while being told NOT to do so by the authorities AND while receiving threats. While she has kids. I mean, that's incredibly careless, dangerous, and frankly stupid. Plus, she's not terribly bright. She comes to weird sudden conclusions ... surely crafted to lead the reader astray, but they're not even convincing. Oh! He was having an affair? It MUST BE HIM. I mean, with no other evidence, it's such a WEAK conclusion to draw. All of the various theories are so weakly manufactured, that the reader is, instead of trying to solve a mystery, just waiting for the *right* clues to be "conveniently" dropped on her lap. This, while the main character runs around in circles like a chicken with her head cut off, making grand accusations and essentially ignoring death threats to her and her family. AND THEN? Yeah, this book is more about the trials and tribulations of a housewife with 4 kids, one of which is a brand new baby, than it is about solving a mystery. In particular, it's about nursing, working out, and making 12 dozen cupcakes. Which I can assure the author does NOT take an entire week. Not to mention that the cupcakes that were made earlier in the week would be nice and stale by the time they were eaten.

Major Flaw #3: You've GOT to be kidding me on the husband. He's ridiculously 2-dimensional, which would be fine if he wasn't such a major character with such a major role. From where I'm sitting, he seems like a bit of an arrogant, distant a$$, but for some reason, Lucy Stone ("detective") worships him. And there's quite a bit of hero-worship going on here, which was eye-rolling for me, but might be nice for some people who want to fantasize about... this kind of guy? I don't know. I feel like, he must have been written this way because some people find that attractive....

So yeah. Some major problems. BUT it was enjoyable enough and read quickly enough, once you got past page 125 or so...  It was nice to read a "Halloween themed" mystery at Halloween, even if it wasn't Halloween'y enough.  I'd recommend for people who don't mind the off-topic murder mystery and who don't find reading about a new mom's "milk falling" off-putting...

Two and a half stars... but 3 on cites w/o halves.