Holy Fools

Holy Fools by Joanne Harris
Historical Fiction

This book is set in seventeenth century France in an out of the way monastery by the sea. When Juliette finds herself pregnant she escapes her life as a gypsy and tightrope walker to lead a peaceful and serene life at the monastery. She tends to her garden and her daughter and teaches the novices to read Latin.

All is well until the abbess dies and the new abbess who is only eleven comes with an old acquaintance, Le Merle. He is posing as a priest but has the most evil of agendas. Juliette, now Sister Auguste would expose him but he is holding her daughter and she must find a way to help the other nuns and save her daughter.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I found the storyline compelling but the ending fell flat. I had difficulty getting into the story but once there, was riveted. The information about the nuns and their lives during this time period was interesting.

First Line: "It begins with the players."

Rating:
(3.5/5)

Dead Until Dark

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
Cozy Mystery

Sookie Stackhouse is a cocktail waitress in a small town in Louisiana. She leads a quiet life because she has a disability, the ability to read minds. Bill, a vampire comes into the bar and Sookie is immediately attracted to him as she can not read his mind and therefore he is very peaceful to her.

Around the same time some young women who like to date vampires (fang-bangers) start being murdered. Sookie's brother has known all these women and is the main suspect. As Sookie's relationship with Bill grows, Sookie's grandmother is murdered and Sookie realizes she was the target and starts to get involved in finding the killer. This takes her deeper into the dark world of vampires.

As a side story, Sookie's boss is interested in her and happens to be a shape-shifter.

This mystery was just a little too easy to figure out. There were times I wanted to slap Sookie as she just didn't seem to care for her own well-being. I really don't know how I feel about the series and will wait for Lauren's reaction on the next in the series.

First Line: "I'd been waiting for the vampire for years when he walked into the bar."

Rating:
(3.5/5)