This is a really good book.  First of all, it's a historical novel, which I love, then is it a mystery, which I also love.  How can it go wrong?  Well in this case, it can't.  The story takes place in 1924 Chicago, where 18 year old, Pipe Sail, is about to graduate and all is well, until her best friend disappears.  Piper sets out to find her and what happened.  Things begin to become nervous for all when she gets involved with Mafiosi, bootleggers, etc.  Really good read.

The secret diary of Lydia Bennett by Natasha Farrant

This is a delightful creation relates a story of what happened to Lydia Bennett when she went to Brighton and ended up being married to Wickham.   Very interesting to hear her side of her adventures, and find out "the truth."  Loved it!

  Another wonderful Flavia de Luce mystery.  This time she finds a body (as usual) on her first day back from Canada and her last murder adventure.  It's the Christmas season; her father is in the hospital with pneumonia so she can't see him and her sisters are ignoring her in spite of her long absence.  So things are about normal. She then jumps into another murder investigation (her favorite thing) which helps her cope with this difficult time.  Wonderful, funny and rather difficult to figure out, as are all these books.  Love them!

  I am always interested in history, and this book is a collection of mini-biographies about people who served during WWI. Some very well known names, such a J.R.R. Tolkien, Ernest Hemingway and Harry Truman to famous, but not as well known people, such as Irene Curie (Marie Curie's daughter) and Buster Keaton (silent film star).  I learned a lot about these people and the actual war, which I believe is losing its place as "the war to end all wars," because so many young people really don't know much about it.  Highly recommend.

 "Elizabeth Borden took an axe..." This is a great book covering one of the most sensational murders in history.  It takes us from the crime to the trial and the aftermath with wonderful, often gory, descriptions.  Miller brings in newer information that has been uncovered since the crime in 1882, which seem to support further the finding of the jury.  The author is not the least boring and "textbook like" in her handling of the narrative, and it reads more like a historical novel.  Loved it.

  A historical fiction, murder mystery by a good author is a combination that can't be beat.  This one grabbed me right away.  It is the story of a young woman from a wealthy, prestigious New York family circa 1890, whose father is discovered dead by his own hand, or so it seems.  She soon discovers he was murdered and sets out to find the killer and, in the process, finds much more disturbing facts.  Sometimes a bit predictable, but still a great read.

Joan is a 14-year-old girl who lives on a hard-scrabble farm in Pennsylvania in 1911. She is the youngest child and the only girl.  Her mother died when she was nine, and her father and older brothers treat her as if she were their personal house slave.  She loves reading and education, but she only has 3 books, and when she tries to demand some respect  for the work she does, her father burns them.  She then decides it's time to leave and ends up in Baltimore working for a Jewish family.  The book is inspired by the diary of the author's grandmother, so, like much historical fictions is a fascinating read.  Highly recommend.