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The love in this family, and the humor shines through this memoir.

Reviewed: 06-14-24

It was very entertaining and I was swept up in compassion and outrage at the injustice of watching a killer not suffer the consequences of his hideous act. The narrator was a very sympathetic character with an ability to laugh at his own foibles. The old Hollywood gossip was fun and I loved his lifelong friendship with Carrie Fisher. We got to know her wicked sense of humor too.

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Love the title

Reviewed: 05-16-23

Sharon Gless first was on my radar screen when she did a miniseries called The Immigrant. Knowing now about her background I wonder if she drew upon her patrician grandmother to play the part of a socialite who falls for a poor immigrant. My only complaint about the book would be that she had little to say about that fabulous miniseries that launched her.

She is very self effacing and honest in her autobiography. I found the recollections of her interactions with old Hollywood celebrities very intriguing. What a life she has led! This book had me feeling sad when it ended because I was so entertained during the hours I listened to it.

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Riveting Detective Novel in Unique Time and Place

Reviewed: 08-09-22

I happened upon this novel some time ago and read it in Kindle format, along with the sequels in the series. I opted to listen to the audible version even though I already knew the outcome of the search for a child separated from his mother during the Holocaust. I was not disappointed and felt it well worth a credit.

I have read many novels about the Second World War but few about the aftermath, especially what happened to the survivors who immigrated to Israel. I know very little about Israeli history so this series has given me insight about a fascinating locale. The characters are well written and they aren’t all good, or all bad, just humans with flaws. Well, some of the villains are truly without redeeming qualities but most of the characters are complex.

The hero, Adam, is tortured by the loss of his family in the concentration camps and it makes him want to right wrongs, punish the wicked and see justice prevail. He has unique survival skills and his experience as a police detective in Hungary has given him an understanding of how police in Israel operate.

The reader is pretty good and has an American accent. I hadn’t pictured Adam Lapid with an American accent but it works. He does female voices well without simpering. I’m looking forward to more installments available on Audible format.

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Honest autobiography

Reviewed: 06-13-22

Yes, she went there. Walter Cronkite said “If both sides are mad at you, you are doing it right.” Her story is honest and she admits her mistakes but also defends her choices and clears the record. I enjoyed the warts and all tale of TV news and journalism.

After reading some of the reviews, I almost didn’t select this one but my neighbor was listening and was enjoying it so I went ahead. Katie is pretty down to earth but she is competitive and doesn’t suffer fools gladly. I’m sure that there are a lot of people out to get her because she occasionally let people dig their own graves with her spot on questions. I found it amusing that she is credited with Sarah Palin’s political demise because she asked her what she reads. Earlier in the day, she saw her reading the New York Times so she was surprised she couldn’t come up with an answer.

Her very fair treatment of Matt Lauer had my sympathy. She was pretty shocked at what came to light because she seemed to get along with him and thought him to be kind and compassionate. To find out he was not must have been a big blow.

Reconciling her late husband’s fascination with the Confederacy and lovingly believing he would have become more sensitive to the symbolism of its flag and how offensive it is was a generous observation. It sounds like she raised a two very grounded daughters.

This listener got the impression that Katie really likes people, is open minded but when crossed, she doesn’t take it lying down. If somebody is a jerk, she will call them out.

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Too long

Reviewed: 04-12-22

The book was just so very slow. After several hours of nothing much happening, I realized I had two hours left. I stuck with it but felt the ending, while tying up loose ends, was not satisfying.

What annoyed me was that the perpetrator didn’t have a legitimate motive. Another contrivance was that the baby of the protagonist was 15 months old and showed no signs of walking. If I were the mother I would have the child evaluated. A massive home remodel took just days instead of months. The sister and best friend were really unsympathetic characters.

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Awful narration

Reviewed: 01-17-22

This narrator was different than the woman used in previous books in the series. Her male voices were terrible and she made them sound like bumbling idiots. That ruined the book for me.

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Melania doesn’t have any friends.

Reviewed: 09-04-20

I expected a gossipy tome on life in the White House but this book, that reads like a novel, is a lot more. I vaguely remember the Inaugural debacle and its mismanagement was lain at the feet of Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a close chum of Melania Trump. I read she was referred to as a Party Planner. I assumed it was a case of cronyism and Melania had picked someone who was wholly unqualified, some what Like Bush’s pal, a horse trader, who was put in as head of FEMA when the hurricane hit New Orleans (“Way to go Brownie, you’re doing a hellofa job.”)

Turns out that Ms Winston Wolkoff was eminently qualified to plan the inaugural festivities in that she ran the Met Gala for ten years and Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. These are huge events and raise staggering amounts for charity. If the Trumps decided she could be played for a sucker and thrown under the bus for their friends being unable to account for $75 million dollars they picked the wrong patsy. She kept detailed records and could account for every penny. Her fee was very modest considering the scale of the event.

What I did find hard to believe was that the author would seek out a friendship with the airheaded Slovenian girlfriend of Donald Trump. Yes, their kids went to the same school and she seemed sweet but during the long friendship, the author gave more than she got and, wouldn’t she find Melania’s company a bit boring? Her loyalty was commendable and I have girlfriends like that too. As the book progressed she found out that Melania would betray her more and more, she would stiff the people working hard on her behalf (her stylist) and just didn’t give a damn about anyone but her family. Most of all, Melania didn’t care about her adopted country and was not willing to make any sacrifices for it. She was wholly intent with letting the taxpayers accommodate her. For instance she refused to move into the White House until the toilet that former First Ladies had used was replaced with a new one. Sounds like the poor little communist girl growing up with virtually no luxuries in Slovenia had really grown to expect to be catered to on every level.

There were some surprises however. She did not care about Donald’s affairs. Nothing hurts her feelings as she has no feelings. She is the epitome of an ice queen and she is as much a sociopath as her husband.

I did not understand how the author could be so politically naive and she admitted that 2016 was the first time she voted. It seemed that she would accept any degrading thing the Trumps would do because of her misplaced loyalty to Melania, somewhat like a dog who is loyal to his master after being beaten and starved. I’m glad she finally got her revenge. It is best served cold.

Yes the gossipy revelations are fun such as Operation Block Ivanka, where they strategically kept Ivanka out os the photo of the swearing in. The hideous taste of the First Lady, decorating her entire office in pink and demanding a pink telephone was a revelation. Don’t read any symbolism into the First Lady’s choice of attire. She isn’t that educated to worry about symbolism, just caring only about how an outfit looks on her. She has to be begged to support American designers, she just wears what she wants and if a designer dressed Ivanka, that designer was crossed off her list. It will be interesting to see what comes out of this.

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Implausible plot bothered me

Reviewed: 08-07-19

This shameful period in our nation’s history was worth fictionalising but I wish it had been handled by a more skilful writer. Some parts were good and so descriptive that I found it difficult to bear thinking about the suffering of these children. Other parts were implausible and the author relied on some cheap tricks to justify the extraordinary twists of fate.

The modern day romance just didn’t fly with me. I guess to hammer down the importance of genetic family the male character had custody of a son he didn’t know he had because the child needed a liver transplant. As soon as that extraordinary event was disclosed, it was no longer referred to.

As well I could not understand why this modern day female protagonist was convinced her family’s future in politics would be impacted by the revelation of an adoption 78 years prior. It seemed implausible that as a potential future politician her accepting a lunch date with a man whom she was not engaged to would be cause for comment and dismay by her staff. The novel was hokey with implied social norms of 40 years ago. The modern day romance angle was just cobbled together to make the story more palatable to romance readers but the story could have held its own without that element.

The readers were adequate but slightly annoying.

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2 people found this helpful

Depressing with horrible ending.

Reviewed: 07-15-19

I stuck with this even though I felt no sympathy or affinity with the lead character. She was selfish and immoral, possibly due to her bipolar mother’s cruelty.

The ending was just too cruel, and she did not step up to right the terrible mistakes she made that ended in tragedy. I don’t always require a happy ending but this one left me with no hope. My only positive is that I gained a better understanding of the relations of Hindus and Muslims in India.

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Best of the series

Reviewed: 09-11-17

I savored this book over several days. i would listen two hours at a time and I must say that this one had me hooked.

Not once did I figure out the murderer until it was revealed. I thought back then and realized the clues were there but they were so subtle. I will take pleasure in listening to Glass Houses again.

Ms Penny is at the height of her craft. My only criticism is that when listening vs reading, it was slightly confusing about the time frame. I didn't always know if it was flashback or present. If I were reading I would have been paying a little bit more attention.

The reader is superb.

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