Monthly Archives: May 2016

In “Property of a Noblewoman” by Danielle Steel, the contents of a safe deposit box, among them some fine pieces of jewelry, are soon to be auctioned if an heir cannot be identified.  A law clerk at the surrogate’s court … Continue reading →

Readers are asking about “The Nest” by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, an “irresistible story of four adult siblings who await a watershed inheritance.” The Plumb siblings have been counting on that nest egg to solve their self-inflicted problems, but it may … Continue reading →

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly is a war drama based on the lives of three actual people whose destinies converged in the Ravensbrück concentration camp.   Kasia, a prisoner, Herta, a camp doctor, and Caroline, a rescue worker, narrate their … Continue reading →

In Tom Wolfe’s wickedly humorous Bonfire of the Vanities (1987), an investment banker on a clandestine date gets lost in the South Bronx and sideswipes a young black man, leaving him seriously injured. The incident becomes a cause celebre,  driven by a manipulative minister, a … Continue reading →

In “The Last Goodnight”,  Howard Blum offers a riveting biography of Betty Pack, a dazzling American debutante who became an Allied spy during WWII.  This “unsung heroine”   seduced diplomats in exchange for ciphers, cracked embassy safes; and obtained the codebooks  Alan Turing used … Continue reading →

Many of you by now have seen the DVD Trumbo, the story of the blacklisted  Hollywood screenwriter who wrote award-winning screenplays under  assumed names before being recognized for Exodus and Spartacus in 1960.   Want to check him out? The … Continue reading →