"The Tower, The Zoo and The Tortoise"

Did you know that The Beefeaters who guard the Tower of London are obligated to live within its walls?  I didn’t.  Not until I read Julia Stewart’s new novel “The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise”.  

The story’s main character is Balthazar, one of the Beefeaters, and not only has his wife left him, the Queen of England has decided to leave him in charge of the new Menagerie at the Tower, and his 181 year-old pet tortoise has run away.  The characters are charming and the story is really delightful.  It is a tale of things lost and things found, of love and the pursuit of happiness and all within the day-to-day life of a being a Beefeater.   It is a book that is clever, funny and poignant and you will not want to put it down.  

"The Last Talk With Lola Faye"

Thomas Cook’s latest novel “The Last Talk with Lola Faye” is a fantastic mystery novel, but not necessarily in the traditional sense.  

It is the story of Luke, a not so successful writer, who finds himself face to face with Lola Faye, the woman he believes responsible for the murder of his father.  He agrees to have a drink with her in order to find out why she has come to see him, but the evening doesn’t turn out the way he expected.   As the truth comes out you will discover things are not always what they seem.  Mr. Cook does a wonderful job of leading you down one path and then leaving you off somewhere completely unexpected.  I loved every minute of this book.  An absolute page turner.  If you want a great book to take with you on vacation, this one should be on the top of your list.