A Riveting Nautical Adventure

Rough Passage to London is a riveting tale of intrigue, danger, and adventure told in the tradition of Patrick O’Brien and C.S. Forester. In this fascinating novel, Robin Lloyd brings his ancestor Ely Morgan and the seafaring world of the 19th century vividly to life. Lloyd’s meticulous research and masterful storytelling ability transport the reader… Continue reading A Riveting Nautical Adventure

The Debt to Pleasure: A Novel, by John Lanchester

I had in mind a project for a novel which would begin in the usual manner … except that gradually the characters’ identities would begin to slip and to blur, and so would the geographical surroundings. …Only the style of the book would remain consistent …. gradually … the work would become more troubling …… Continue reading The Debt to Pleasure: A Novel, by John Lanchester

Dangerous Island, by Helen Mather-Smith Mindlen

This is an excellent chapter book for young readers, or a great read-aloud book for the younger set. Three children visiting the New Jersey seaside are cast adrift in the Atlantic Ocean when the raft from which they are fishing pulls its moorings loose in an unusually high tide. Eleven-year-old Frank and his nine-year-old sister… Continue reading Dangerous Island, by Helen Mather-Smith Mindlen

Two-Minute Mysteries

This is a great set of books by Donald J. Sobol, who also gave us the incomparable child-detective, Encyclopedia Brown. These books are published as both a compendium volume and as separate books by Scholastic, and have been in print since 1967. Each book contains a number of one or two-page scenarios setting up a… Continue reading Two-Minute Mysteries