Frances Timbers examines the superstitions and myths that continue to surround magic and witchcraft today by delving into the history of the misconceptions that have created these thoughts in A History of Magic and Witchcraft: Sabbats, Satan & Superstitions in the West. By bringing together Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, Christianity, popular culture, and gender beliefs in the Middle Ages and early modern period, Timbers examines how all of these elements contributed to the creation of the witch and the later prosecution of those identified by that word. This work hopes to reveal what was real and what is fiction in the history of witches and magic. Continue reading “A History of Magic and Witchcraft Book Review from @kleffnotes”

Kieran Kelly has been the subject of a three year investigation by journalist Robert Mulhern. This two-time convicted killer is believed to have actually killed 31 people. In 1983 Kelly confessed to having killed his cellmate and then went on to say he had killed many more people over roughly 30 years. These claims escaped public scrutiny until 2015, when a former police officer insisted the government had covered up these crimes. With media interest suddenly high a new investigation began and the Metropolitan Police chief at the time, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe committed to re-examining the case. The Secret Serial Killer: The True Story of Kieran Kelly spans two countries and three police forces as they search for the truth. Continue reading “The Secret Serial Killer Book Review from @kleffnotes”

Madame Marie Tussaud is known throughout the world for the chain of waxworks that continue to showcase her name. At the age of 28 Tussaud was a tutor at Versailles, teaching the youngest sister of Louis XVI how to make waxworks, but this is not what would lead to her famous future. Tussaud created visceral displays of events that she experienced. The French Revolution and the horrors it entailed gave a frighteningly real element to her work. In Madame Tussaud: Her Life and Legacy the woman’s life is shared through unique and informative stories about her own life and the historical events she experienced. Continue reading “Madame Tussaud: Her Life and Legacy Book Review from @kleffnotes”

Melody Foreman brings to life the story of Mary Ellis within the pages of A Spitfire Girl: One of the World’s Greatest Female ATA Ferry Pilots Tells Her Story. The qualified journalist and graduate with experience in newspapers and television documentaries is the author of the best-selling Bomber Girls and has written two books on the history of Kent. Her avid interest in the Air Transport Auxiliary is maintained and is something that made telling the life story of Mary Ellis so perfect. Her story is remarkable and brings to light the powerful actions she completed during the war. While she stayed in the background and let others take the spotlight, this is the moment for Ellis to shine in her own way. Continue reading “A Spitfire Girl Book Review from @kleffnotes”

Chris Epting’s Roadside Baseball: The Locations of America’s Baseball Landmarks returns in a newly updated third volume with a foreward from Joe Buck. This new edition includes more than 500 important events in baseball history with descriptions of these events and locations. For baseball fans this new volume will include a variety of great new information and details that will make for perfect future baseball themed trips. Continue reading “Roadside Baseball Book Review from @kleffnotes”

Set in November of 1519 following the arrival of Hernan Cortés in the Mayan empire controlled by Moctezoma, Arrows of Fire focuses on a warrior woman who could turn the tide of the invasion. Flower has been chosen by Moctezoma as a sacrifice for the God of War, but his obsession with this young girl leads him to question whether she should be killed or if he should keep her as his concubine. Through Flower readers are shown the brutality of not just the conqueror, but also of the leader of the people who he has set out to conquer. Continue reading “Arrows of Fire Book Review from @kleffnotes”

Police Chief Detective Koa Kāne is led by a scrap of cloth to the gruesome remains of someone left to be destroyed by a lava flow, but this dark crime is not his first dead body of the day. On Hawaiʻi’s Big Island these crimes could change everything and even cost Kāne his career. Off the Grid is the second book in the Koa Kāne Hawaiian Mystery series from Robert McCaw and drops readers into the darker side of paradise. Continue reading “Off the Grid Book Review from @kleffnotes”

Sam was once the preacher at the community church, but after revealing some of his marital secrets to his congregation he is now away from the flock and living with his sister. While he personally feels like a bit of a freeloader, Sam works for his sister Dani in her bookstore and deli combination store and acts as a male presence when she thinks it might be helpful. After a bit of a blow up at his nephew’s school, Sam is covering the store by himself when the new preacher comes looking for him and bit of help with something a bit less liturgical and bit more homicidal. Preacher Sam shows the ousted preacher returning to the church to try and find out just what really did happen the night two women seem to have been involved in a deadly meeting. Continue reading “Preacher Sam Book Review from @kleffnotes”

Stacy Russo is a community college librarian and professor at Santa Ana College who sees the importance of accessibility to gaining knowledge every day. In the introduction to A Better World Starts Here: Activists and Their Work she highlights the fact that while there are academic writings about activism and social justice, that this style of writing is often difficult for readers to access or connect with. Through her writing she hopes to be able to provide a source that will make accessing information about social justice easier. Another important element is the use of storytelling, which allows readers to gain insight into various social justice warriors and their work. Continue reading “A Better World Starts Here Book Review from @kleffnotes”

Millie Chase is devastated by the loss of her mother and in her need to escape from her sort of step father, while married to her mother he never adopted her officially, she decides to run away. At 14 she doesn’t really know where she can go until she remembers that her mother had a friend named Ginny Baker and she thinks she could be her salvation. Ginny and her husband, Nate, both live in Yellowstone National Park and while they love each other deeply their life is not easy, especially with so little work available in the 1930’s and Ginny’s family struggling with monetary issues of their own. The Winterkeeper showcases strength against all odds, especially when love is there. Continue reading “The Winterkeeper Book Review from @kleffnotes”