Naked in Death by JD Robb

This is the first book of the "In Death" series by JD Robb (Nora Roberts). I really enjoyed it. I like the protagonist, Eve Dallas, a lot. She is tough, intelligent, brave and doesn't care what other people think of her. She cuts her own hair even - and she wears it short. Yikes! She has a pretty significant trauma history of abuse, which she hasn't dealt with and doesn't like to talk about. She is a New York police lieutenant and has been on the job for 10 years.

This series is set in the future, which is unique for a mystery series. The police don't use guns. Guns are a thing of the past. Their weapon of choice is more like a laser. Prostitution has been taken off the streets. Now women and men can apply to be a "Licensed Companion". They accept appointments in their own residence and keep a electronic log of all their clients. Of course some things are the same in this future: politics (liberals against conservatists) and drugs. Apparently, nothing solves the drug problem, even in the future.

Eve is called in as the "primary" on a case involving the murder of the granddaughter of a Senator. The granddaughter, Sharon, happens to be a Licensed Companion. The Senator's politics is extreme right, so having a granddaughter who is a LC is problematic. The Senator states that "blood is blood" however and he demands (often) that his granddaugter's murderer be found. Since the murderer leaves a note at the murder site (Sharon's bed) that states "One of Six", Eve knows there will be more murders - and two more murders of LCs happen in short order.

Hard, cold, non-trusting Eve also finds herself attracted to one of the suspects. Roarke is intelligent, handsome, self-motivated, driven, bossy and wealthy. He actually reminded me of Christian Grey from Fifty Shades of Grey (which yes, I read, although the writing was terrible!) I kept picturing Christian Grey whenever Roarke was involved in the story. Anyway, Eve has her hands full between trying to find the murderer before he kills again, dealing with the Senator and dealing with her feelings for Roarke.

A very entertaining read.

Wendy's Rating: ****

Handbook of Us Understanding and Accepting People with Autism by Matteo Musso

Matteo Musso wrote this book when he was 13 years old. He lost his ability to speak at age 15 months and was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 3. This book was written one letter at a time by Matteo pointing to a letter on a letter board and his mother recording it on paper. Matteo communicates using SOMA RPM (Rapid Prompting Method). Matteo was first able to communicate using this method in April 2015. He told his mother that he wanted to write this book in August 2015. A fast learner for someone who was "silent" the first 12 years of his life! It's remarkable.

I had the priviledge of hearing Matteo (& his mother) speak at an ARRM Conference a few years ago. (ARRM stands for Association of Residential Resources in Minnesota.) Matteo is an intelligent and talented young man. He writes poetry, which is included in this book. What I love most about Matteo is his positivity. His best friend is Jesus. He feels called by God to speak for those living with autism. His comments and observations are extremely helpful since I work with people on the Autism Spectrum.

Six key things he wants people to know when communicating with people living with autism:

1) Talk to everyone in full sentences and assume they understand, even if they can't respond to you.

2) When someone has brain damage, other parts of the brain can make up for the damaged part, so please give them age-appropriate, stimulating information, no matter what their age or situation.

3) Challenge people living with autism with enthusiastic support and confidence that they can always learn new things.

4) Please know that we are all extra sensitive to emotions; our own and those around us.

5) Challenge yourself to be totally present with us.

6) Believe that we have joy in us.

Matteo states that we CHOSE to help them live better lives. "Having choices is a luxury of the human condition but it also comes with responsibility. People do choose their paths in some respects, and in others, they only choose their reactions to circumstances." (Pg 109) Wise beyond his years.

Wendy's Rating: *****

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

This novel includes the stories of two women: one in 1791 and one in present day. Nella is an Apothecary in 1791. She has become a bitter woman living in a dark, hidden home off of a back alley in London, England. She was betrayed by a man she loved and she now spends her time and energy helping other women who have been betrayed by their men by expediting their deaths using poisonous concoctions. Her physical health is suffering along with her mental health. This is a perfect example of how living in anger, bitterness and resentment can lead to a shortened physical life.

Caroline is excited to go on her 10-year anniversary trip to London with her husband, James. Shortly before their expected departure, she finds out that James has been having an affair. She is devastated and heads to London alone. Caroline & James have been trying to have a baby, and Caroline fears she may be pregnant and is obviously upset about the timing of everything. Caroline starts a journey of self-reflection in London that shows her she has been living her life for everyone else (her husband, her parents) and forgoing her own passions and interests. Before she married James, she had applied to Cambridge for school with the intent of being a historian.

These two stories connect when Caroline finds an old Apothecary bottle with the crude etching of a bear on it. The repressed historian in her decides to figure out where the bottle came from. This leads her to "the Apothecary Killer". Meanwhile, James decides to follow her to London, which she was not expecting.

Caroline goes to the British Library to do some research and finds a friend in Gaynor, a British Librarian. Gaynor helps her navigate the system to find old papers from the 1700s. Nella also finds an "assistant" in her work. She is a 12 year old named Eliza who comes to the Apothecary for a poison to kill her mistress' husband who is continuing his pattern of raping the young housemaids (such as Eliza).

Nella, Eliza and Caroline all make decisions that affect the rest of their lives. Their futures are a product of their beliefs. This is a pretty fast read and I enjoyed it for the most part. There were a couple of parts that I felt myself raising by eyebrows about (concerning Caroline & her thoughts when doing research), but all in all, I liked her journey.

Wendy's Rating: ****

The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith

This is the 6th book of the Cormoran Strike series. Robert Galbraith aka JK Rowling continues to be one of my all-time favorite authors. Her storytelling and intelligence astounds me. This latest installment of Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott's detective adventures is a very complex story. I can't even imagine how Rowling keeps her details straight. She must have an amazing "story board".

Strike & Robin are finally making some money. They are becoming well-known private detectives. The problem is lack of help, not lack of cases. Personal issues always seem to interfere with their work lives as well. Strike pushes himself too hard, which is never good for his amputated leg/prosthetic. Reading how much pain he is in makes me grit my own teeth! And then there is Strike's personal life. He is still dealing with Charlotte. Heavy sigh. I am hoping after what she (and her soon to be ex-husband) put him through in this book, he will finally be rid of her forever. Strike also got involved with another woman named Madeline. I am still waiting patiently (impatiently??) for Strike to just admit to Robin how he feels about her and stop getting entangled with these other woman who sincerely don't interest him more than beauty and good sex. Honestly. Robin, who knows she loves Strike, can't bring herself to admit it either. So.... maybe in book 7??

This story brings us into the world of gaming. Edie Ledwell and Josh Blay develop a cartoon (a deep, dark cartoon) called the Ink Black Heart. This cartoon is a "hit" and inspires an impressive number of fans. Anomie & Morehouse decide to develop a game featuring the characters of the Ink Black Heart, called Drek's Game. Then things get crazy. Edie & Josh get attacked in a graveyard. Edie is killed and Josh is wounded so severely he is paralyzed after the attack. Strike & Robin are hired to find out the identity of Anomie who was terrorizing Edie online before her death. (She attempted to kill herself once.)

Rowling's knowledge of gaming is impressive. There are eight moderators of Drek's Game. The moderators talk (in the book) to each other in the Moderator Channel and also talk to each other using the Private Channel feature. They also use Twitter. The reader does not know who anyone is - and the moderators are not supposed to know who each of the other seven are. ("Rule 14") These chats are formatted within the book. It's super hard to keep everyone straight, especially since we don't know who anyone is, and we don't even know their genders. In order to figure out who Anomie is, Strike & Robin need to get into the game. Anomie, who admits online that he killed Edie, is wary of the police getting into the game, so he refuses to let new players in. Robin manages to figure out a way to get into the game.

Like I said earlier, this is a very complex storyline with a lot of characters! The book is over 1,000 pages long too. Despite the length, I am always sad when I get near the end. I really love Strike, Robin and their relationship. There are supposedly only four more books left in this series. I will treasure every word of them, because I will be super bummed when it's all over.

Wendy's Rating: *****

Uniquely Human by Barry M. Prizant, PhD with Tom Fields-Meyer

Barry M. Prizant has worked with children on the autism spectrum and their families for over 40 years. He is an international consultant. Many of his ideas in this book are based on the SCERTS Model, which stands for Social Communication , Emotional Regulation, and Transactional Support. "SCERTS provides specific guidelines for helping an individual become a competent and confident social communicator and an active learner, while preventing problem behaviors that interfere with learning and the development of relationships."

Dr. Prizant seems to have amazing listening and observational skills when first meeting a new family who is struggling to understand autism. He also seems to bring a very calming presence to every situation. One thing he explains is that there is no such thing as "autistic behavior". There are "human behaviors" and "human responses" based on a person's experience. I remind people all the time when teaching crisis intervention that people react to situations based on their own perception of what's happening. People on the spectrum often fixate on one thing or subject because that's what is calming for them, or what grounds them.

When people experience emotional dysregulation, they are not available for learning and engaging with others. They experience more feelings of discomfort, anxiety, and confusion than others. They have more difficulty learning how to cope with these feelings and challenges. When these people demonstrate the so-called "autistic behaviors", these behaviors are actually strategies used to feel emotionally regulated. We all use rituals or have habits that help us regulate (deep breathing, pacing).

We need to meet people where they are at. We need to use a person's particular interest as a tool for learning and creating. If we can engage people by using their own interests in the process, they will continue to progress. We need to stop and ask ourselves, what is motivating the behavior? We need to know what is underlying the behavior. 

Autism can be seen as a disability of trust. People with autism have difficulty trusting their own body, trusting the world around them, and trusting other people. "The opposite of anxiety isn't calm, it's trust." All humans can feel anxious and we can react with fear while seeking ways to control our lives, surroundings and relationships. We can help people with autism develop trusting relationships by acknowledging their attempts to communicate, practice shared control to build self-determination, acknowledge the person's emotional state, be dependable, reliable, and clear and celebrating successes.

This is an incredibly insightful book filled with important messages and techniques. I highly recommend it to all families, therapists, teachers and anyone else that is supporting someone on the Autism Spectrum.

Wendy's Rating: *****

The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. I am still giving it four stars because of the writing, but I thought it would be a five-star book. I love books about literature, writing, book stores, books. I like how this story was set in a independent book store (that actually exists) - and certainly that it was set in Minnesota, which is where I live. (This is the second book I have read in the last month set in Minnesota.) This story was entertaining to a point, but I guess I didn't know where it was really leading. Obviously, I knew before I started the book that the book store was haunted for one year, and I assumed we would know why by the end of the book. 

But in addition to that storyline, the author reminds us how scary it was in March of 2020 when Covid took over our lives. It was interesting to me to read about all the things we did to protect ourselves from the virus (keeping newly purchased items outside, wiping everything down, etc.) As time passes, I forget all those little details. I know that Covid-19 and its seemingly unlimited variants, is still wreaking havoc today, but it's interesting to remember how the world initially shut down.

In addition to Covid, the author reminds us of the tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. It was a scary time in Minneapolis, with all of the riots and protests - all in the midst of Covid-19. I thought Erdrich captured these two significant events very well.

As far as the haunting of the book store by Flora, this was less interesting to me. I loved learning about Native American culture, their beliefs and rituals. And I loved the growth of Tookie in her relationships with her husband, daughter and grandchild. Tookie did not have an easy life and she made some really poor decisions. The arrival of her grandchild was life-changing for Tookie. It's the first time she truly knew what unconditional love was. This changed her relationship with her daughter and her husband, Pollux. Tookie was finally able to address what Pollux had done to her (arrested her), forgive him, and accept his love. Tookie's growth and the realistic portrayal of Tookie's struggles with relationships, is why I give this book four stars.

Wendy's Rating: ****