I'm doing another "theme month" and am calling June "Support Your Local Library" month. There are a lot of great series that I have a hard time finding at my primary source of books, paperbackswap.com but that my library has. Of course, with my burgeoning TBR shelves rapidly approaching the 600 mark again, it doesn't seem practical to check out library books, but it's the only way I'll ever get to read these series, I think. So most of my books in June will be library books, although not all.
1. DRAGONSONG by Anne McCaffrey. (AUDIO) #4 in publication order of the Pern books, this is the first one in the Harper Hall trilogy. We were briefly introduced to Menolly in previous books, but this is her story--how she came to be a harper, her life at Half Circle Sea Hold and how she came to reside at Benden Wyr instead. Menolly's father is the SeaHolder (head of the Hold) at Half Circle, and very much a staunch traditionalist. Women are kept in their places, not given much information about the outside world, and most certainly NEVER become Harpers. So when the elderly harper at Half Circle dies, Menolly isn't allowed to follow in his footsteps, even though she is given the task of teaching the children and singing the songs that need singing until the new harper arrives several months later. Despite her talent for singing, playing and songwriting, fifteen-year-old Menolly can only look forward to a life of cleaning fish, repairing nets and caring for the old uncles and aunties of the hold, a prospect which chills her to the bone. She runs away one night, ends up in a fire lizard cave, and then is found during thread fall by a Dragonrider from Benden Wyr and is brought there for safety. Benden is much kinder to its women and Menolly finds she wants to stay. A different reader from the previous books in series, although no less enjoyable. Looking forward to the next in this trilogy within a huge series. A.
2. ALAS, BABYLON by Pat Frank. Post-apocalyptic fiction, a classic written the year after I was born, which I've been meaning to read for years. The scene is set for a devastating nuclear event when Randy Bragg, small-town lawyer in central Florida, receives a telegram from his brother Mark, a military intelligence man, that informs him that his wife and kids will be joining Randy in Florida the next day and ends with the cryptic phrase, 'Alas, Babylon' which is a code word between them for impending disaster. Randy does the best he can to prepare, stocking up on groceries and necessities like batteries and gasoline, and sure enough, just a couple of days after Helen Bragg's arrival, Russia launches a multi-faceted nuclear attack that destroys most major US cities, various strategic military bases, and many allied cities around the world. Randy and a small group of friends and neighbors, curiously untouched by the radiation and fallout, learn to exist without most of the things we take for granted--of course, this was probably a little easier in 1959 than it would be today, given our technology-driven society, but it was still a big fall for them. A bit dated, with responses and dialogue that seem a bit cliched, but still a great story with a lot to think about and a definite must for anyone who likes reading this type of book. B+
3. THE MERCHANT'S MARK by Pat McIntosh. #3 Gil Cunningham historical mystery set in 1490's Glasgow, Scotland. Gil (a lawyer) is present when a merchant friend of his opens a barrel of books that the two of them ordered together, only to find no books--instead, a man's head in brine and a saddlebag of jewels and coins which look to be part of the previous King's bounty that has been missing. Augie, the merchant friend, is soon charged with the unknown man's murder (a frame-up if Gil ever saw one!) so he and his future father-in-law (a master mason) set out to investigate the crime back where the merchant's cart had been loaded and to then follow its path to see if they can find where the obvious switch was made. Meanwhile at home, Gil's betrothed, Alys, and his sister Kate investigate (unbeknownst to Gil) by temporarily moving in to Augie's household. Augie is a widower of two years and his home and children are a shambles, but Alys and Kate soon have them whipped into shape, all the while gleaning information. When they catch one of Augie's cart men breaking into the house and he is then subsequently murdered, they learn that an evil axe-man that they'd previously seen in the pub with the murdered man is likely after them. I enjoy this series and feel that it's a shame that it's not more widely recognized, but I have to admit that the use of the Scottish vernacular sometimes gets old, especially as it's OLD Scottish. Sometimes it's enough to draw you out of the story as you have to look up what is meant, although most of the time it's not too difficult and just slows your reading speed a little. It's also not consistently used, which is kind of puzzling. I wasn't as crazy about this book as I was about the first two, but still a decent read. The book was split, the story told partly about Gil and Pierre, partly about Alys and Kate, and there were just a whole lot of characters to keep straight and several sub-plots. Of course it was only when the two sets of investigators were reunited that all the puzzle pieces fell into place for the characters, but by then there was really no surprises for the reader. Normally I enjoy a more complex, winding mystery, but that coupled with the extensive use of Scots accent/words made it a little more difficult to actually "enjoy" the story. B-.
4. THE LAMORNA WINK by Martha Grimes, #16 Chief Inspector Richard Jury/Melrose Plant British mystery. This is a bit of an odd book, in that we don't really see or hear from Jury until about the last quarter of the book. This book is more about Melrose--he is off to Cornwall, where he's planning to rent a house by the sea for a few months. In a contemplative mood, Melrose reflects on his past, but on his first day there, meets a young man named Johnny (who works three jobs!) and comes to like him almost immediately. Johnny's aunt Chris, who has cared for him since childhood, disappears--and several hours later, a woman's body is found shot to death in the nearby village of Lamorna. No, it's not Chris--but it's a woman who used to live in the area whom Chris once threatened. No one who knew Chris Wells could believe she had killed this woman, but where is she if she isn't involved somehow? Melrose is also intrigued by the four-year-old case of the deaths of two children who lived in the house he's renting, which is why it's available; the parents could not tolerate living there any longer and the tales going around say it's haunted. Melrose calls Cmdr. Brian Macalvie to look into Chris Wells' disappearance (he's already investigating the murder of the Lamorna woman) and discovers that it was he who was the primary officer in the Bletchley childrens' case as well. Of course the cases are related. Jury is off in Northern Ireland and doesn't come to Cornwall until just before the case breaks. An intriguing, interesting story, and although I had a gut feeling about the baddie, I didn't really know WHY until much further along when some more clues got uncovered. Very enjoyable read. A.
5. CHARLIE BONE AND THE HIDDEN KING by Jenny Nimmo (AUDIO) #5 Children of the Red King young adult fantasy series. Another series of adventures await Charlie Bone and his friends at Bloor's Academy. Their nemesis, Manfred Bloor is still about, and although he's lost his hypnotising endowment, something new is brewing. Charlie's best friend Benjamin Brown returns with his parents from Hong Kong after many months away, only to discover that his beloved dog Runner Bean, who has been at the Pets Cafe, has disappeared, along with every other animal in the city. Billy Raven talks to animals and his rat Rembrandt tells him that 'something bad has awoken and the animals are afraid and have run away.' Charlie, his uncle Paton and their circle try to figure out just what's awoken--and Charlie finds that whatever the Shadow is, it has his mother bewitched and his grandmother Maisie literally frozen under a spell. Charlie is in a race against time to recover the Mirror of Amaret so he can travel through it to his father--believed dead, but now known to be simply 'lost'--before he is totally forgotten and fades away. As usual, an excellent reading of an engaging, imaginative story. A.
6. WRITTEN IN BLOOD by Caroline Graham. #4 Chief Inspector Barnaby British police series. A local writer's group invites a famous author, Max Jennings, to come speak to them at their monthly meeting, and lo and behold, he agrees. Turns out he knew the secretary of the group, Gerald Hadleigh, many years previous, although Gerald admits this to no one except his neighbor Rex--and confesses that he's somewhat afraid of Max. When Gerald turns up dead the morning after their meeting, head bludgeoned in with a candlestick, Jennings is the obvious first suspect--and he's apparently done a runner as no one can find him. But was he really the killer, or were there other deep-seated emotions brewing in the small enclave that drove one of the writer's club to kill? I liked this book better than the previous one in the series by far. The mystery itself was more interesting, the people captured my attention, and I felt like I was getting to know Barnaby and Troy in more depth, too. As usual, Barnaby doesn't show up until a good few chapters in, when the central characters in the cast have been introduced and little tidbits of information strewn about. I figured out part of the mystery ahead of time, but not the ever-important 'whodunit' part til close to the end. Jolly good rebound, and I definitely will keep on in the series. A.
7. FACE DOWN BESIDE ST. ANNE's WELL by Kathy Lynn Emerson. #9 Lady Susanna Appleton historical mystery set in Elizabethan England with all its political intrigues. Rosamond, Susanna's 12-year-old foster daughter (the child of one of her dead husband's mistresses) involves Susanna in an investigation involving the death of her French tutor at St. Anne's Well. It's been declared an accident, but Rosamond is sure she was murdered, so Susanna and her housekeeper Jennet are off to supposedly take the baths at nearby Buxton while looking into things. What they discover is a whole nest of plotters to put Mary Stuart back on the throne--but was Madame Poitier's death related to that, or to something personal? This was a fairly typical entry in this series, an easy light read, good period detail and a relatively interesting story. However, I have to say that this series has really lost its shine for me. I absolutely loved the first few, but depsite the fact that I recognize that it's a decent book, I found that it felt like work getting through it. Not really sure why, perhaps it's the lack of Susanna's character development as the series has gone on--she seems to have become much less interesting than she was early on in the series. I do know that I'm glad I got this one from the library rather than spending much effort tracking it down myself. There's one left in the series, and while I do plan to finish it off eventually, I suspect it may be awhile. C+
8. IN BIG TROUBLE by Laura Lippman (AUDIO) #4 Tess Monaghan mystery. Tess is off to Texas when she gets a letter from there with a picture of her ex-boyfriend Crow with the headline "In Big Trouble" above it. She ignores this letter for a few days, but when she eventually tries to contact him, finds that his phone has been disconnected and he's vanished. Contacting his parents, whom she's never met, leads to them hiring her to find him, as they have not heard from him in over a month either--very unusual. So, retainer in hand, Tess tells herself that this is a job and nothing more. A dead body turns up in the last place he was known to be--so Tess can only wonder if Crow is indeed in big trouble. She finds him with a new band, with a waif-like female singer that Tess first believes is his new girlfriend, but eventually finds out otherwise. The plot twists and turns and eventually Tess solves things, not an easy feat in a strange place where she's feeling like a fish out of water and has no idea where to look. But people are people and the motives for murder seldom vary much. I figured out a few of the side plots, but not the main mystery until close to the end. Excellent listen/story, I think my favorite in this series so far. I'm very much looking forward to the next one. A+
9. TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE by Judy Clemens #3 Stella Crown mystery. It's nearly Christmas in rural Pennsylvania, and Stella is half-heartedly making holiday preparations on the farm. The last thing that anyone wants to have to deal with is a murder and a disappearance--although focusing on someone else's problems is ever a way to avoid confronting your own. That's what happens when Wolf, the tattoo artist who is working on Stella's new tat, disappears mid-tattoo. Wolf's wife Mandy calls him into the back room, and Stella, tired and feeling warm and comfortable, falls asleep for about twenty minutes. When she awakens, Wolf and Mandy are both gone, with Mandy's body turning up later in the dumpster. Everyone who knows Wolf knows he would never have done his wife harm, so Stella sets out to help the police by inquiring among the biker and body art crowd who would likely clam up under questioning by the cops. Mandy and Wolf were both political-minded and had been active in a group putting forth the rights of tattoo artists, so the police and Stella wonder whether there is some connection to Mandy's death and Wolf's disappearance or if it was some personal motivation. Meanwhile, Stella's former hottie Nick shows up, and ends up snowed in at the farm for the holiday with Stella and her farmhand Lucy, her daughter Tess and Lucy's boyfriend Lenny. Still unsure of her feelings, things don't go so well, especially at first. Once again in this book, Stella seems constantly on edge with raw emotions and she's prickly as a porcupine. Her family and friends seem to be well-endowed with forbearance, as I think I would have just drifted away from someone who is such a crab-ass all the time! But they stick with her through thick and thin, and so I guess I will, too, if only to discover if she finally finds some happiness. I do like Stella, I wish she'd just lighten up a bit sometimes. There is promise, judging from the ending. B+
10. EMPIRE OF IVORY by Naomi Novik. #4 in the Temeraire historical fantasy series, which is set during the Napoleonic war but with dragons. Laurence and Temeraire and their exhausted team have finally reached the shores of the UK, fighting off a few French dragons along the coast, and Laurence is surprised that they are not met by any of the coverts of dragons and their fliers. When they are landed, they learn that during the year they have been off in China, a horrible virus has attacked most of the dragons and many have died already while others--some of them members of Laurence and Temeraire's own group--are gravely ill. With no cure in sight, the dragon doctors are desperate and eventually Laurence, Temeraire and a crew of the feral dragons they brought back with them head to Africa to attempt to find the cure--to determine what it was that Temeraire ate or did during their trip to keep the virus at bay, since he had nothing but a mild cold. This leads to a whole series of complications, including the issue of slavery. There are political machinations at work that are not in the best interest of dragons, and Temeraire is hot under the collar...er, ruff...to make right the injustices against his kind and to make people realize that dragons are beings in their own right, not someone else's pet or property. I really enjoy this series and look forward to the next and will be eagerly watching the movie news to see if it is going to be adapted for the big screen. (Peter Jackson has bought the movie rights.) A.
11. GASA-GASA GIRL by Naomi Hirahara #2 Mas Arai mystery. Mas, a 70-year-old owner of his own gardening business in Los Angeles, is off to New York in response to a phone call from his daugher Mari. Something is wrong but he doesn't know what, and Mari isn't sure either, just why she's summoned him after being quite stand-offish for many years. Her husband Lloyd is the gardener for a Japanese museum's grounds and they are working on a major restoration project when the main benefactor is killed. Both Mari and Lloyd are suspected in the shooting death, as is Mas initially, as he is the one who found the body. Mas is lost in New York. Add to the stress of not knowing how things work (the subway, for instance) or where to go, his grandson Takeo (Mari and Lloyd's infant son) is quite ill and is hospitalized while the police are questioning them about the murder. Mas barely knows his daughter, having seen her only briefly in the past ten years since his wife's death from cancer. Despite this, and his typically isolationist lifestyle, his sense of family awakens and wanting to protect her, he--with the help of Tug Yamada, a friend from LA who is also in NY visiting his daughter--investigates some aspects of the case on his own. Mas finds he even rather likes his hakujin son-in-law. Eventually the case is solved, with a bit of a surprise (for me anyway) although I'd figured out parts of it. I enjoy this series, a peek at a culture I have little experience with, and wish there were more, but I believe there's only one book left in this series, and that published in 2006, so it looks as though it may be a dead end. :-( A.
12. PUSS 'N CAHOOTS by Rita Mae Brown (AUDIO) #14 Mrs. Murphy mystery set in Crozet, Virginia, although in this book the crew is off to another part of the state for an equestrian event as Harry accompanies her husband Fair (an equine vet) and also plans to look for a horse to purchase for her friend Alicia Palmer. While attending the events, Harry also visits a good friend Joan and her husband Larry who are horse breeders, and they meet a bunch of the other folks associated with the event, from breeders to the riders entered in the events themselves. When one of the Mexican grooms is brutally murdered during a thunderstorm, speculation runs rampant as to why and who had motive. Of course the animals (tabby cat Mrs. Murphy, gray fat cat Pewter and Tucker, the Welsh Corgi) investigate and have a private war with Miss Nasty, the pet monkey of one of the other riders. I liked this book MUCH better than the last one, but it still doesn't seem to be quite up to par with many of the earlier books in the series. Still, like most cozies, it's about the characters and the settings and it was a nice visit with "the gang" as always, and the reader is very pleasant and easy to listen to as well. B.
13. AND THEN THERE WERE NONE by Agatha Christie. Classic "locked room" mystery (or actually, "isolated island" in this case) written in 1939, with ten people invited to an island off the coast of Devon under false pretenses, each thinking they will be having a holiday, some thinking they're meeting someone known to them, or were recommended by so-and-so, or that they will be employed by Mr. U.N. Owen. Each bedroom in the manor house has a copy of the poem "Ten Little Indians" on the wall, and in one of the downstairs rooms there is a setup with ten Indian figurines--which is appropriate as they are on Indian Island. One by one the guests are killed just as described in the poem and the figurines disappear. As time passes the remaining guests of course conclude that since they can find no trace of their host, that it must be one of them...but who? And why?? This is my all-time favorite mystery. I first enjoyed it at the age of 10 or 12, have read it several times since then, and it was a great pleasure indeed to read it once again, even knowing the solution. Christie was indeed the Mistress of Mystery! A+
14. THE ANGEL'S GAME by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. Zafón , the consummate storyteller, returns to Barcelona in his followup to The Shadow of the Wind, although this story takes place years before that, before the main character in TSOTW, Daniel Sempere, is even born. The author has said he plans to write four novels in this setting, all somewhat entwined with a few shared characters and situations, but with stories that are also totally stand-alone. I look forward to them all! This book features David Martin, popular author of 'penny dreadfuls' and suspense novels under the pseudonym Ignatius B. Samson. David, a loner who has been so almost since birth with his mother leaving his father when he was but a child, and his father dying before David reached his teens, finds himself increasingly isolated socially, aside from his enjoyable contacts with Señor Sempere at his bookstore. He is contacted by a mysterious publisher, Andreas Corelli, to write a book for him. The book is to be a story that will inspire a new religion and he will be paid an exorbitant amount of money to write it, paid up front. He agrees, and then David, who has been told he has an inoperable brain tumor, is cured and begins facing his life with a new vigor. After some time working on his book, he begins to see frightening parallels to a book he plucked from the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, and the author who wrote it many years before. While this is happening, his obsession with Cristina, the daughter of the chauffeur of his mentor, Pedro Vidal, grows stronger and becomes dangerous when she marries Vidal himself. Betrayed once again, David's life spirals downward as he still obsessively works on his masterpiece. While similar in style to The Shadow of the Wind, this novel is darker, more overtly violent, and has more supernatural elements to it. I liked it....no, I loved it. Zafón's lyrical, richly textured writing makes his telling of the story a delight to read--even though many times the circumstances the protagonist is in make the story itself painful. This is *not* The Shadow of the Wind reprised. It is less, and yet it is more. There are many dangling loose ends that make you wonder, and I can't help but hope that some of these threads will be grabbed and woven into another tale in the other books planned for Zafón's Barcelona. Another for the Keeper shelf! A+
15. THE BLUE LAST by Martha Grimes. (AUDIO) #17 Richard Jury/Melrose Plant mystery. Jury's policeman friend Mickey Haggerty, whom he's not seen in a number of years, asks to meet him, but upon reacquainting himself with Mickey, discovers it's not a problematic case that has Haggerty calling on Scotland Yard, but a personal case that he wants Jury to look into 'off the record.' Puzzled by the request, Mickey confides that he has a rare form of leukemia and has only months to live, and although he's the officer in charge of the murder of Simon Croft, he has a personal interest in the case as his father had been friends with Croft years previously, and he believes that there is a mystery buried in the past that may be linked to Croft's death. Croft had been writing a book about the war period and since his notes and the book's manuscript were stolen, that some detail that Croft uncovered from that time could be something that someone wanted hushed up. Jury is loathe to go back to explore the details of the past, particularly the Blitz, during which his own mother was killed, but can hardly refuse a dying friend. The Blue Last is the name of the pub where events during the Blitz tie to the present. Meanwhile, Melrose and Trueblood are off to Italy to attempt to authenticate a painting, and upon his return, Jury asks him to pose as a gardener in a rich family's home associated with his case. Although some folks don't like this foray away from the actual cases, I do enjoy Melrose's adventures with his friends in Long Piddlington and this one was especially good. I do have to say though, that I did NOT like the reader for this book. Although he did a very good reading, he totally made Melrose sound like a pretentious git with the snotty, posh accent he gave him--which is not at all how Melrose is. AND he mispronounced Melrose's butler's name, Ruthven--I remember this because in a previous book there was much discussion about just how it was supposed to be said. Argh! I have the next few here in print and I believe I will stick with those, since the readers for the series seem to change with each book, and who knows what the quality of the next one would be. I enjoyed this story despite the reader (which is the reason for the slight markdown in the grading) and was very surprised by the ending, for a nice change too! A-.
16. MAGIC STUDY by Maria V. Snyder #2 in the "Study" fantasy series featuring Yelena, a young woman with magic powers who had been kidnapped from her home in Sitia as a child and kept in a prison in Ixia, then used as the ruler's food taster. When the government changes hands and she is banished, she returns to the home she's not seen since the age of six, only to find that her welcome is a bit thin with her brother Leif accusing her of being a spy. She longs to spend time getting reacquainted with her parents and extended family, but must set out to enroll in the Citadel, where she will learn to control and use her magic. There she learns that some sort of tribal serial killer is on the loose, and that not everyone there is very welcoming, either, with one of the Master Magicians wanting her to be put to death as a spy as well. After a mind-reading assures them that she has no intention of spying, Yelena sets out to learn her lessons while plotting how to catch the serial killer. This book was okay, but I didn't particularly like it as much as the first one, which really intrigued me. The author has a great writing style, and it's easy to read and has an engaging tone. But this book has more of a romancey feel to it, and I thought Yelena in many respects to have lost her appeal as a strong female character and become something of a silly girl prone to making stupid decisions. I probably will at least attempt to read the third one, simply because I have it already, but I'm dubious as to how much appeal it will have for me if the storyline continues in this vein. C+
17. A SUMMER OF DISCONTENT by Susanna Gregory. #8 Matthew Bartholomew historical mystery set in 1350's Cambridge, UK. Matthew (a physician and professor at Michaelhouse College at Cambridge University) and his friend Michael (a monk and also an agent of the Bishop of Ely) are off to Ely at a summons from the Bishop. Matt is accompanying his friend but hopes to spend time in the library at the Priory there to gather more information for the treatise on fevers he's working on. Of course, upon arrival, they discover that the Bishop has summoned Michael because he is accused of murder and wants Michael to investigate and have him exonerated. Michael, not at all sure in his heart of hearts that his boss is innocent, investigates, often times asking Matt to tag along to offer his professional opinion, so Matt doesn't get as much studying done as he would like. When two other deaths that had been presumed accidents are tied to the first death (after Matt's examination of the bodies) the number of suspects skyrockets as none of the dead were liked by the townspeople nor the clergy involved. Of course they eventually (after a long and twisty course of events and much visiting and re-visiting the various suspects) find the killer, who was not a surprise to me. I enjoy these mysteries but the last couple especially seem to have become a bit too long with quite a lot of repetition and needless foraying back and forth, covering the same materials over and over. Still, it's been many months since I had a visit to medieval Cambridge and did enjoy this one, even if it was a bit long-winded. B+
18. THE LACE READER by Brunonia Barry. (AUDIO) Towner Whitney has come home to Salem, Massachussetts, responding appropriately when her brother calls to let her know that her 85-year-old great-aunt Eva is missing. She hasn't been home for fifteen years, and the town is full of harsh memories for her--most notably, her twin sister Lynley's suicide when they were seventeen years old. Lynley had been given to her aunt and uncle at birth as they were unable to conceive, and Towner had
never quite forgiven her mother for that, especially when her uncle Cal turned out to be a drunk and abuser, who beat his wife and sexually abused his adoptive daughter, and who has now 'found God' and become the leader of an extremist religion hell-bent on persecuting witches. Towner is a 'reader' as many of the Whitney women are--intuitives, reading people's thoughts and intentions, and specifically having the talent of reading lace, the way some read tea leaves. Towner's mother May runs a
women's shelter on Yellow Dog Island where the women are taught to make Ipswitch lace by hand; they are not close, and Towner (whose birth name was Sophya, but she refused to respond to that at some point in her childhood) spent her last months with Eva in town. Towner has lived in California for many years, having undergone serious and prolonged psychiatric therapy, including ECT (electro-shock therapy) which has left her with gaps in her memory. So when she comes home, her fragile mental health takes a tumble backward as the memories assault her, complicated by her attempts to recover from a recent hysterectomy and the cop investigating Eva's disappearance, John Rafferty, who finds himself falling in love with Towner. A multi-layered story that shifts back and forth in time with an interesting plot twist that, I have to admit, I did see coming about halfwaythrough the book. Skillfully written, a compelling story that gives you a real sense of place in modern-day Salem (where the author lives) as well as an intimate look into the world of mental illness. With elements of magic, this will probably not appeal to those who aren't fans of "woo woo" but if you don't mind a bit of the supernatural, you'll find this a wonderful and compelling story. I wondered whether there are such a thing as 'lace readers' but it seems that it's a figment of the author's imagination with no historical record of it. Very enjoyable listen, read by one of my favorite readers, Alyssa Bresnahan. I'll definitely be looking out for more by this author--it's hard to believe this is a first novel. A+
19. 47 RULES OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE BANK ROBBERS by Troy Cook. A wacky ride across the southwest begins with father-daughter bankrobbing team Wyatt and Tara pulling off a couple of major jobs. Tara, who's been helping her father rob banks since before her age was in double digits always disguised as a male, has begun to become decidedly less than happy with her father's choice of careers for her. Although she adheres to Wyatt's rules of crime, he's become increasingly violent and seems to thrive on the killing almost more than the money from the bank jobs, and Tara's getting tired of it. When she sees young Max Williams (of course he's a sheriff's son, though Tara doesn't know it yet!) in a bar in the town they're scouting for the next job, something comes alive for the 22-year-old, but Wyatt (as always) practically kills the young man as he does anyone who looks twice at his lovely daughter. And Max, smitten himself, certainly DID look. And then it happens--Max turns up at the bank
during the job and Tara doesn't follow Rule #47. The final rule: When in Doubt, Take 'em Out. She lets him get away--and when her father takes her to task for it later, she snaps and breaks up their little team, clocking a drunken Wyatt a good one and
leaving him naked with some of the money in their hotel room. She hooks up with Max and away they go, not realizing that some of Tara and Wyatt's ex-partners, having recognized Wyatt's voice on the sound bit on the surveillance video played on the
news, are now after them and their share of the cash. Add to the mix the sleazy, perverted FBI agent who ignores his much smarter subordinate and gets off on watching the blood and gore of the surveillance tapes and you've got a right ribald mix of "interesting things" just waiting to happen--and happen they did! This was a highly original work that I mostly liked a lot, but the fact that I was tempted to skim through several parts of it leads me to think that the execution of the idea was just not quite spot on, although I can't pin down just why not. Perhaps it was just too many wacky characters to try to keep tabs on, or the dearth of so-called "normal" folks for them to play off of, I don't know. The book was laugh out loud funny in spots, yet other parts seemed to have humor that was just a little forced. All in all though, an enjoyable read and an author I look forward to reading more of. B+
Current reads:
DNF: THE BLACK WIDOW AGENCY by Felicia Donovan. I gave it 50 pages, but while the concept was quite interesting, the characters were stereotypical and two-dimensional and the book read like a recitation, like pieces of dry, boring prose stacked together rather than woven skillfully into a story I could care about. NEXT!
DNF: THE ANTEATER OF DEATH by Betty Webb. Another one I'm glad I got from the library. I've enjoyed a couple of mysteries in another series this author did, but this is apparently her try at a cozy and it really doesn't work. It's set in a zoo, with the main character (can't even recall her name now, although she had four or five of them...Theodora Something Something Something....Teddy, that's right....) as one of the zookeepers and a Giant Anteater accused of the murder. I yawned my way through about 35 pages and decided to let it go back to the library.
Cheryl
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
May 2009 Reading List
I've proclaimed that May will be "Catch up or finish it off!" month, in which I tackle several ongoing series on my lists--so, there will be no new-to-me authors or series started. I hope to finish off or at least catch up to the end of several series I've got ongoing. I have a list, but...I'm not always the greatest at following lists. As long as I stick to the basic premise of "nothing new," I won't judge myself too harshly. :)
1. MONKEY WRENCH by Liza Cody. #2 Eva Wylie mystery. The street-smart, tough female wrestler Eva Wylie (aka The London Lassassin) is back, this time reluctantly helping another old street friend Crystal, when her sister Dawn, a local doxie. is beaten and killed. Crystal has Eva attempting to teach self-defense to a group of prostitutes who hung out with Dawn, as they're naturally scared silly. It doesn't take long before Eva wishes she'd never laid eyes on the group, as they get her involved in several dodgy schemes, in trouble with her gym's owner, and put her in situations where her memories and emotions get stirred up, and trust me, you don't want to stir up Eva's emotions! Eva's got her problems, but I like her--she tells it like it is, even if 'like it is' is anything but pleasant. She has a total blind spot about her own self, but given her past life, that's not surprising. More details about her childhood come out in this book and it's heartbreaking at the same time you admire this tough survivor, even as your mind boggles at some of the choices she makes. Looking forward to the next--and sadly, last--book in this powerful trilogy. A.
2. THE MAGICIAN by Michael Scott (AUDIO) #2 in the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel YA Fantasy series. Josh and Sophie Newman were working summer jobs in a book store and coffee shop two days ago--and now they're in Paris with Scathach, a centuries-old Amazonian vampire warrior, the mysterious and legendary St Germain who is a French rock star in his current incarnation, and the infamous alchemist, Nicholas Flamel. Oh yeah, and Joan of Arc--who is married to the rock star. And they have a couple of notorious criminals after them--the philosopher and magician Dr. John Dee (once an advisor of Queen Elizabeth I) and the political schemer Niccolo Machiavelli. Yes, they're immortal too, and like Flamel, believe Sophie and Josh to be the "twins of the prophecy" who will either save the world or destroy it. So naturally everyone wants them in their camp! Sophie's magical powers have been awakened, but Josh's haven't been yet, and he is feeling left out and estranged from his sister, but he hasn't much time to think about it as they dash from one disaster to the next, out-maneuvering one legendary creature or person after another. Meanwhile, Perenelle Flamel, Nicholas's wife, is being held prisoner on Alcatraz Island by some of Dee's magical creatures and strives to escape. An action-packed second entry in the series, although I am not as crazy about the reader for this series as I am for some others I've listened to. In this one, set in France and thus full of French phrases and place-names, his rendition of the French accent was accurate with its constant nasal twang and slurring of words together. It probably wasn't his fault; I admittedly find French accents annoying. B+
3. WATER LIKE A STONE by Deborah Crombie. #11 Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James British police procedural. It's Christmas, and Duncan and Gemma have both wangled time off so they can be off to visit Duncan's parents in Nantwich over Christmas week with their kids. It's a nerve-wracking time, as Gemma has only briefly met Duncan's mother (at his first wife's funeral!) and never his father, and is wondering how they will like her and how their odd, cobbled-together family will fit in. But there's no time to really worry about it much; Duncan's sister Juliet, who recently started her own company doing building renovations, while breaking some concrete in a dairy barn on Christmas Eve just before she's set to leave to meet the family for dinner, discovers the long-dead body of an infant walled up inside. Before long, there's another (freshly murdered!) corpse, also found by a member of the Kincaid family, not far from the barn where the baby was found. Is there a connection? Family tensions run high as Juliet and her husband Caspar initiate a very public split, and Kit begins to realize how troubled his cousin Lally (Juliet and Caspar's daughter) is, and has been for some time, apparently. Never mind that I spotted the bad guy early on--I love this series, and Crombie always seems to manage the right balance of police work with personal scenarios, and often a bit of social commentary or information about a given area or segment of the population as well. (In this book, the subculture of the boating community--people who live on boats and navigate up and down the rivers and canals--and how they live.) Very interesting, very well done, and I'm very much looking forward to her newest book. A+
4. THE STARGAZEY by Martha Grimes (AUDIO) #15 Supt. Richard Jury police procedural. This is the first in this series that I've listened to rather than read, and I must say I quite enjoyed Donata Peters rendition as she got a large variety of different voices and accents spot on. Jury gets involved in a case in Fulham, when he follows a woman who's behaving oddly (getting on and off the bus, going into Fulham Palace late at night) and later discovers that she was murdered shortly after he stopped following her. Or was she? He calls the local constabulary with his information and when viewing the body, realizes that the dead woman is NOT the woman he saw, but someone who looks remarkably like her. How can there be two rather distinct looking women in the same area, both wearing a long fur coat? Eventually Jury tracks the other woman down, and gets Melrose Plant involved to check up on the coat angle--the one the dead woman wore had been purchased by her at a consignment shop just that day, and had been set for consignment by a woman in a family who owns an art gallery. Melrose takes up his titles again, staying at his exclusive men's club in London and perusing the gallery in hopes of finding something hinky--and of course he does, more than one something, actually! Sometimes these stories get to be a little on the ludicrous side and you have to laugh at the amazing number of coincidences and plot twists. Some of them I picked up on quite early, some of them I didn't, but despite some of the far-fetched connections, I did enjoy this book quite a lot and plan on carrying on til the end. A.
5. ABHORSEN by Garth Nix. #3 in the Abhorsen YA fantasy trilogy. This book takes up where the second book in trilogy leaves off, with Lirael, now known to be Abhorsen-in-Waiting, and Prince Sammeth, now known to be a Wallmaker, rushing to attempt to stop Hedge, the evil necromancer who plans to ressurect the ultimate evil Destroyer. Along with their two companions, Mogget (a white cat) and The Disreputable Dog (I love that name! LOL) both also magical creatures, they try to formulate a plan while on the run towards The Wall separating the kingdom of Ancelstierre from The Old Kingdom where Hedge and Sam's friend Nick Sayre (whom Hedge is using as a host for the spirit of his evil Master until he can be resurrected) are animating thousands of dead to help them. Lirael and Sam both confront some of their worst fears along the way as the story heads toward its inevitable conclusion. Wonderful series, highly recommended for actual young adults and regular old adults as well. A.
6. THE DIAMOND OF DARKHOLD by Jeanne DuPrau (AUDIO) #4 and so far most recent in the "City of Ember" YA fantasy series. I didn't much care for the third book in this series as it was a prequel to events that happened in City of Ember, but this one gets back on the main storyline with Lina and Doon and their families and friends as they begin adjusting to life in the town of Sparks. A roamer comes to Sparks but has very little to trade, but Doon notices a ripped up book in the back of her wagon that he barters for, and finds some of the same writing as he and Lina discovered in the papers that helped them find their way out of Ember. Unfortunately, the roamer had been using the pages of the book as kindling (gasp!!) and there are only 8 pages remaining, and those are very old, crumbling and smudgy. However, there is enough to convince Doon and Lina that they should go back to Ember to look for something that was left by the Elders to help the city in its time of need. So they plan an excursion and do arrive back in Ember only to find that squatters have taken over the town, looting and pillaging and the Trogg family manages to capture Doon, with plans to make him a slave. Lina heads back to Sparks for help. I really enjoy this series as a whole, although each book has had a different reader so there hasn't been much consistency. I liked this reader, although not quite as much as the woman who read the first one. I hope the author writes more in the series, but typically she takes several years between books, and the way this book ended, it could either be the end or a bridge to a new book/series. A
7. THE DEMON AND THE CITY by Liz Williams. #2 in the Detective Inspector Chen paranormal mystery series set in Singapore Three, a futuristic version of Singapore. DI Chen is on vacation with his demon wife in Hawaii, so his partner Zhu Irzh, a demon temporarily assigned to the police force (due to his ticking off some of Hell's powerful people) ends up being the one to initiate investigation into the mauling death of a young woman from a prominent family. This leads him to Jhai Tserai, the beautiful head of a Singapore pharmaceutical company--and he also learns that she's not quite human--a little secret which could have her exiled to the farthest reaches of Hell if the powers that be knew. She takes powerful drugs that she made herself to keep her true self cloaked, but even through that cloaking, she has a physical effect on Zhu Irzh that he doesn't expect, and after a couple of steamy sessions in the sack with Jhai, is actually contemplating her offer to be part of her attempted coup. Being the most powerful woman on Earth isn't enough for her, she wants to rule in Heaven and Hell as well, and has undertaken some bizarre pharmaceutical experiments on Celestial beings to begin setting that plan in motion. Zhu Irzh is saved from his temptation by the return of DI Chen early from vacation, having been summoned by the worried Sgt. Ma and the badger, a magical creature belonging to Chen's wife--a badger who also doubles as a teakettle some of the time. LOL (He is still my favorite character in this series--I want one!) As Chen and his demon partner investigate further, the very world is rocked by impending war between the realms. I really enjoy this series--it's a strange blend of sci-fi, fantasy and mystery with a world premise that is very bizarre and sometimes so complex that it's hard to keep things straight. But it's so imaginitive that you read on eagerly. Well done! A.
8. SOUR PUSS by Rita Mae and Sneaky Pie Brown (AUDIO) #15 Mrs. Murphy mystery, set in Crozet, Virginia. Mary Minor "Harry" Harristeen and her ex, Fair, have remarried and the second chapter of their life together starts with a bang--a couple of murders, of course. Winemaking has come to Crozet and surrounding areas, and Harry herself is getting in on it with a small plot dedicated to the grape as well as a partnered business with her friend Susan, growing nursery plants. Competition between some of the more prominent vineyards has become fierce, and when a lecturing professor of biology specializing in vineyard toxins disappears and one of the local vineyard owners ends up shot dead just minutes before Fair arrives at his farm to check out one of his animals, tensions rise even further. Was one of the vineyard owners really sabotaging the vines of the others with a virulent disease as the dead man, Toby Pittmann, claimed? I've enjoyed most of the books in the series, some better than others. This was definitely low on the scale with too much technical information, characters jumping on various political bandwagons, not enough of the small-town sweetness and the characters we've come to know and love. Not even the stellar reading by Kate Forbes could totally save this book. I hope the author gets back on track with the next one! C.
9. THE TREATMENT by Mo Hayder. #2 DI Jack Caffrey mystery, set in London. Jack Caffrey is a mess. Still haunted by the disappearance of his brother Ewan when they were children, obsessed with nailing the (now elderly) pedophile next door whom Jack believes was responsible for stealing Ewan, Caffrey is in no condition to take on an investigation into the kidnapping of a nine-year-old boy (just Ewan's age when he went missing) by a likely sexual predator. Rory Peach's parents were drugged and tied up in their home along with Rory for three days before the abductor had to make a run for it with Rory when a shopkeeper looking for money came knocking. Where did they go? The hue and cry was raised quickly afterwards, and every inch of the park behind the Peachs' home has been searched. Caffrey goes into a very dark place as he hunts down clues about who could have done such a thing--and believes it is a serial criminal, so sets to searching old records for similar cases as well. Interviews with neighborhood folks turn up a few clues that lead to a shocking conclusion when they are all pieced together. Meanwhile, Caffrey's personal life is in a shambles as well, as his girlfriend Rebecca also confronts the ghosts haunting her and Ivan Penderecki, the object of Caffrey's obsession, dies, leaving him a package that may contain information about what happened to Ewan. Dark, gut-wrenching and utterly horrible in some places, this is not a book for those with a tendency towards queasiness. At times it almost feels like the author uses some of the more dark stuff purely for the shock value. That said, it's one of the few so-called "thrillers" that has actually thrilled me to any degree of late, that provided a true "edge of your seat, got-to-get-to-the-end-and-see-what-happens" experience, with plot twists that I didn't see coming and slammed me in the gut when they arrived. A+.
10. THE PRICE OF MURDER by Bruce Alexander. #10 Sir John Fielding historical mystery. Sir John and Jeremy have (as usual) two investigations going--one regarding the body of a young girl found in the river, very obviously sexually abused and the other the disappearance of a childhood friend of Clarissa's. The dead child is found to have been the same one reported missing by her mother a few weeks previously, and now the mother's gone missing as well. After Jeremy brings a neighbor woman in to speak with Sir John regarding the disappearance, they determine that the mother had actually 'sold' her child--or, she thought, adopted her out to a well-to-do family for a fee. When Jeremy goes back to question the neighbor further, he finds her brutally murdered also, and they fear the trail has gone cold. Of course it hasn't, and soon the theme of horseracing comes into play as well, when the brother of the missing woman (and uncle of the murdered child) who is also a jockey, helps in their investigation. Clarissa discovers that her childhood friend isn't who she thought she was, and the Fielding household changes yet again as Molly (the cook) and Dr. Donnelly (the Fieldings' friend and the medical examiner) plan to marry and Jeremy and Clarissa's relationship moves forward as well. This was definitely one of the more enjoyable (among many!) in the series although I'm not particularly fond of horseracing. Only one more to go before the end of the series, which I plan to finish off later in the month. A.
11. THE ORACLE'S QUEEN by Lynn Flewelling. Third and final entry in the Tamir Trilogy, in which Princess Tamir (once Prince Tobin, Tamir being revealed in the previous book when a mystical fire burns away her male body, a shell and illusion held in place by magic) takes her place as the leader of Skala from the prophesy--or she will as soon as she can thrust her cousin Korin and his evil wizard Niryn from the usurper's role. Gathering her army and supporters, Tamir begins without much confidence, but grows in assurance as the leader of her country each day. Her personal life is a shambles, of course, what with the big adjustment to her new gender ('there's an empty spot in my breeches!' LOL) and her feelings for Ki, her squire plus her worries over Korin, believing him to be a victim of Niryn's dark wizardry and manipulation . The ending to this was fairly predictable, but I really enjoy Flewelling's writing style and her characterizations, and this was certainly among the most unique series I've read in recent years with its strange premise and storyline. Will be checking out other series by this author for certain! A.
12. SHOT GIRL by Karen E. Olson. #4 (and last, to date) Annie Seymour mystery set in New Haven, CT. Annie is a crime reporter, but in this book she ends up in the middle of her story when her ex-husband Ralph ends up dead in the parking lot of a dance club where's she's attending a bachelorette party for one of her co-workers. Shells from her gun are scattered around the body, but oddly enough, he wasn't even shot--there's not a mark on his body. And several witnesses claim to have seen Annie kissing Ralph before he died, and going from the club to her car--where her gun was found. Someone is setting her up, big time--but who? And why? Where has Ralph's current girlfriend run off to--and why was Annie's mother representing Ralph in an upcoming grand jury investigation but neglected to even let Annie know he was back in town? Something smells rotten in Denmark and Annie's determined to find out why. I enjoyed this book, although it was a bit different in that Annie didn't share some things with the reader until much further along in the story--so we didn't really have all the clues we needed. I can understand her not sharing certain facts with Tom, the police detective handling the case (and Annie's ex-boyfriend) but with her readers? Please! LOL I still managed to figure out the major portion of the mystery anyway. I'm going to miss Annie--she's smart, irreverent, independent and very human; her town and friends are also a big part of these books and I do hope the author brings them all back at some point in time. Meanwhile, I'll be waitng to read the first of Olson's "Tattoo Shop" mysteries, due out in a couple of months. A.
13. MUSCLEBOUND by Liza Cody. Third and last Eva Wylie mystery in which Eva finds herself on the down and outs--her wrestling manager has barred her from the gym and won't speak to her, her Ma was all set to move away and not even tell her, and Anna Lee, the private investigator who sometimes throws her jobs has told her she must stop drinking or their working relationship is done. No money, it's raining, her new pup Milo disrespects her, so Eva is feeling particularly sorry for herself. When she 'borrows' a car that ends up having a sports bag full of money in it, she thinks her luck has changed, but it brings her nothing but trouble, as does the reappearance of her sister Simone in her life. Simone, having been adopted out by a foster family when she was a small girl, hasn't the patience to deal with Eva and her drinking and her bleak lifestyle. However, a pesky fellow-wrestler named Keif wants to be Eva's personal trainer and get her back into fighting shape and he seems to be the one bright spot in her life although she doesn't see it that way. I have to admit that reading these last two books in this series close together makes me rather glad there isn't another--I think I'd have taken a good long break from the series if there were, as Eva's almost-whiny "poor me, none of this is my fault" attitude really began to grate on my nerves and made me think of all my former mental health patients with Borderline Personality Disorder. Granted, she's had a tough life and survived a lot, but get on with it, already! She made so many poor decisions/choices in this book I can't even begin to count them, and most of them did indeed come back to bite her in the bum. Ah well. I did like the ending and would like to think that if Eva's story ever gets resurrected that there is hope for her. B-
14. WHERE MEMORIES LIE by Deborah Crombie (AUDIO) #12 and most recent in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series. I really enjoyed the reader for the one previous Kincaid/James book I listened to, but this is a different one and I must say that at times, she really annoyed me with a couple of her voices. That said, the book itself was great, with Crombie once again tying in a past case (from the 1950's in post-war Britain) to present, when Gemma's elderly friend Erica Rosenthal asks her to look into the reappearance of a valuable brooch made by her father, a well-known jewellery crafter, which she had last seen before the war. Her father, who died in the concentration camps, had made the brooch for her as a special gift, and it turns up in the catalogue of a London auction house. The murder that happened in 1952 was the brutal stabbing of none other than Erica's own husband, David Rosenthal. When the sales girl that Gemma questions about the brooch as an unofficial favor for Erica ends up dead that very same night, something smells fishy and the Yard (with Duncan) is on the case. Is there a connection between the girl's death and David Rosenthal's those many years previous? Gemma also learns that her mother is gravely ill with leukemia and takes some personal time from work but then ends up spending most of it helping Duncan and Erica. Crombie once again leads us on a merry chase with several red herrings--some of which I fell for hook, line and sinker, but I did figure it out well before the final reveal. Now I'm one of those waiting not-so-patiently for the October release of her next book! A.
15. HELL HOLE by Chris Grabenstein. #4 John Ceepak mystery, in which Ceepak and Danny investigate the supposed suicide of a soldier in a wayside rest stop. They're doing this on the sly because the rest stop falls outside of their jurisdiction, but it's obvious to even Danny, a relative rookie, that Shareef Smith did not shoot himself and that some type of coverup is underway. The two Sea Haven cops take on some powerful enemies to bring down Smith's killer, but they get there in the end with some help from folks on both sides of the law. Although the bad guy was obvious to me from the start and I was pretty sure what the motive was (at least in general,) how the murder was achieved was a bit of a puzzle until Ceepak tells all at the end. I have enjoyed every one of these books in this series--they're light reads with just the right amount of humor, interesting characters and an easy-to-read style. Looking forward to Mind Scrambler! A.
16. RULES OF ENGAGEMENT by Bruce Alexander. This is the final Sir John Fielding historical mystery in which the subject of hypnotism and "Mesmerism" is investigated as a means to murder, when a member of Parliament jumps from Westminster Bridge into the Thames in front of a dozen witnesses, one of them being Annie Oakum, former cook of the Fielding household. It was obvious that the man jumped himself--no one pushed him--and it was known that he could not swim, but why would he jump? The mystery itself wasn't much of a mystery in this one, but many threads in the personal lives of the characters were tied together as Jeremy (who tells the stories) and Clarissa prepare for their nuptials. The ending was a bit anticlimactic, but due to the author's untimely death, the last few chapters were written by his wife with the help of another author. I shall greatly miss having more adventures of Jeremy and Sir John to read about, but at least I can always go back and visit them when the spirit moves me. A.
17. SUDDEN DEATH by David Rosenfelt. #4 Andy Carpenter mystery. Andy is a lawyer living in Paterson, NJ and became rather famous in the last book by getting a convicted death-row inmate's guilty verdict reversed. This time around another celebrity case comes his way in the form of Kenneth Schilling, a running back for the New York Giants who's just been charged with murdering a long-time friend who plays for a rival team. Kenny maintains his innocence despite mounting evidence against him, and Andy nearly packs the case in, as he doesn't believe in defending people he believes are guilty. But his gut tells him Kenny is telling the truth, so he sticks it out until evidence proves his case--as always, at the last minute in the middle of the trial. On a personal note, Andy's girlfriend Laurie, who is an investigator for his law office, is thinking of taking a job offer back in her hometown in Wisconsin that would likely lead to her being chief of police in just a few years. Andy is agonizing over this, as he really loves her, but he won't allow himself to try to influence her to stay. I figured the baddie out very early on and chuckled to myself as the tiny little clues were dropped into place, confirming my thoughts. I'm not really a big fan of lawyer mystery and courtroom drama leaves me cold, but I do like Andy and his crew so I'm continuing on with the series. I enjoyed this book despite the "lawyer stuff" in it. B+
18. YOU SUCK by Christopher Moore. (AUDIO) Another crazy romp through Chris Moore's twisted mind, this one a continuation of events that happened in his book Bloodsucking Fiends, with many of the same characters. This one opens with 19-year-old Tommy Flood waking up next to his older, more worldly girlfriend Jody (who just happens to be a vampire) only to find that he gets to stay 19 forever, because Jody's "turned" him, too. Neither one of them are very experienced vampires so they struggle along trying to figure out how to make it in the world, all the while trying to stay ahead of the evil vampire Elijah (who turned Jody) and his associates--who are much displeased to learn of their presence. Also, Tommy's friends from the overnight stock crew at the supermarket ("the Animals") learn he's a vampire and try to capture him for a Vegas hooker (named Blue, because she dyed herself that way) between rounds of turkey bowling at the Safeway. LOL! Yes, it sounds ridiculous, and it really is, but lots of fun, too. This is the first audio I'd listened to by this author and the reader was really good. She was sometimes really annoying to listen to, but only because she got the characters spot on, especially Abby Normal, whom Tommy recruits to be his and Jody's minion (to get stuff done, like, during the daytime, dude!) Is there anything more annoying than a sixteen-year-old Valley Girl Goth wannabe? I doubt it!! LOL Still, an enjoyable and appropriately crazy listen. A.
19. RITUAL by Mo Hayder. #3 Jack Caffrey mystery (and so far latest--at least in the US, as her next one SKIN hasn't been released here yet.) Jack has moved from London, having left girlfriend Rebecca when she kept pestering him to have a child together, something he has vowed he will never do, seeing what he's seen and living what he's been through with his brother Ewan. So he is now in Bristol, and gets a case working with a diving crew who finds a severed hand in the river. This is nothing unusual, but when the lead diver, Phoebe "Flea" Marley, tells Jack that she believes the hand was severed while the person was still alive and the coroner confirms this, Jack definitely knows he's going to be after another sick and twisted bastard of a villain. And of course, it is. The story is also in large part about Flea, about the tragic diving accident her parents were involved in two years previously along with her brother Thom, who has been so badly affected by it that he's unable to keep a job or settle to anything. Flea struggles to find out the truth of that accident while trying not to get involved more than she ought in Caffrey's case, but because her father was a professor, she knows a lot about African black magic rituals in which severed human body parts play a big role. Gritty, grisly and gripping, this was not a book for 'enjoying' per se but was an excellent story. Caffrey is a complex character, one I don't always like very much, but whose life certainly makes for interesting reading. A.
20. CHARLIE BONE AND THE CASTLE OF MIRRORS by Jenny Nimmo (AUDIO) #4 in the Children of the Red King YA fantasy series. Charlie and his friends at Bloor's Academy find that they still must deal with the evil Manfred Bloor, son of the headmaster. Even though he's graduated, he's now a teaching assistant. There are three new endowed children with magical talents and all of them seem to be on the side of the Bloors. The balance is tipping. Billy Raven is adopted, but Charlie has a bad feeling about it which is confirmed when he looks at a photo of the adoptive parents and hears their thoughts. More about Billy's ancestry is discovered and Charlie even thinks he's discovered where his father is being held captive. The story is furthered along nicely and ends on another cliffhanger. Can't wait to get to the next one, I really enjoy this series and the reader is great--Simon Russell Beale is his name. A.
21. TO WEAR THE WHITE CLOAK by Sharan Newman. #7 Catherine LeVendeur historical mystery series set in medieval France. Catherine, Edgar and their household return home to Paris after a year's absence in Germany, where they'd gone to assist Catherine's sister Agnes with a problem. Upon returning, they find a dead body in their counting room, a man apparently a Templar Knight, as he is wearing their distinctive white cloak and a brooch. He was obviously murdered, and Catherine and Edgar struggle to find out who he was and why he was left in their home. The Templars don't recognize him and they are now set to blame Catherine and Edgar as rumors of her father Hubert's association with the Jews fly wildly. Hubert, of course, IS a Jew and has gone back to the Jewish community at Troyes, not on pilgrimage as they've told everyone. I generally enjoy this series, but this one annoyed me on many levels. There were too many sub-plots, too many peripheral characters to keep straight, and too many changes of point of view. Even several of the peripheral characters had their say, with switches often occurring mid-chapter. Just too confusing. I love the main characters in the series, but some of the issues they are dealing with have gone on for multiple books and they are getting a bit tired now. I'm going to finish this series (3 books left, and I have them all) but I'm not as eager to jump on the next one as I was to get to this one. C+.
22. THE SILENT MAN by Alex Berenson. #3 John Wells spy thriller. Another solid entry in this modern-day spy thriller series. John Wells is settling into domestic bliss with Jennifer Exley, his co-worker and fellow spy. But their life is about to be shattered when one of the baddies that John previously wronged seeks revenge in a planned assassination as Wells and Exley make their way to work. They are well-guarded, but though the attack is partially blocked, Exley is severely injured. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, two nuclear bombs have gone missing from a Russian bomb storage facility, having been stolen by a small group of Muslim terrorists. As those people work to get the bombs over the sea to American soil where they will build their own nuclear device, the CIA learns of the missing bombs and must play games behind the scenes to find out what they can because the Russians are not very forthcoming. John Wells has a role in that too--in fact, the two cases eventually intersect. I enjoy this series quite a lot. I really loved the first book where John was more or less on his own--it was a more unique story and he had to rely on his own resourcefulness and wit. The subsequent books, including this one, with all the machinations of the FBI, CIA and the other "initial" agencies and their posturing and game-playing have been slightly less appealing to me. Anyone can accomplish things if you have the CIA providing you with false documentation and 'friends' to talk to to get you what you need or to introduce you to the people you need involved. It's just not as exciting to me as the 'lone wolf.' But still a good read, well-written and as it's addressing concerns of the present day, enough to scare the bejeezus out of you if you let it. B+
23. DEATH OF A DUSTMAN by M.C. Beaton. #17 Hamish MacBeth Scottish cozy police mystery. One of the councilwomen in Strathbane, eager for some attention, targets Lochdubh for her 'go green' campaign and enlists the local dustman, Fergus Macleod, to get the residents to separate their rubbish for recycling. Fergus, a nasty, wife-beating drunk who was on the verge of losing his job before Mrs. Fleming got him a new uniform and reason to be nasty, of course ends up dead. There's hardly a villager who hadn't been heard threatening him at one time or another, but when a second man, a crofter named Angus also dies, the suspect list narrows a bit. Hamish, now a Sergeant with yet another PC--Clarry, this one a great cook but not much in the grooming and cleanliness department--learns that Fergus was blackmailing several Lochdubh residents and wonders if Angus found out somehow and one of those people killed him? Hamish keeps this news to himself, wanting to protect his fellow villagers, and of course it ends up disastrously and by the end of the book, Hamish is once again a lowly PC and Blair gnashes his teeth as his red-haired menace once again escapes being sacked. An enjoyable, light read and this one had a solution that I didn't anticipate, at least for part of it. B+.
DNF: NO REST FOR THE WICCAN by Madelyn Alt. (After 50 pages, the book had gone nowhere and seeing that the main character is likely going to be caught in a Stephanie Plum-esque romantic limbo which began last book and is continuing (Oh! Which guy do I choose?) I decided to give up on the series. Also, the main character is pretty immature for someone who is supposedly an adult. Enough is enough.)
Currently reading: listening to Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey in audio.
Cheryl
1. MONKEY WRENCH by Liza Cody. #2 Eva Wylie mystery. The street-smart, tough female wrestler Eva Wylie (aka The London Lassassin) is back, this time reluctantly helping another old street friend Crystal, when her sister Dawn, a local doxie. is beaten and killed. Crystal has Eva attempting to teach self-defense to a group of prostitutes who hung out with Dawn, as they're naturally scared silly. It doesn't take long before Eva wishes she'd never laid eyes on the group, as they get her involved in several dodgy schemes, in trouble with her gym's owner, and put her in situations where her memories and emotions get stirred up, and trust me, you don't want to stir up Eva's emotions! Eva's got her problems, but I like her--she tells it like it is, even if 'like it is' is anything but pleasant. She has a total blind spot about her own self, but given her past life, that's not surprising. More details about her childhood come out in this book and it's heartbreaking at the same time you admire this tough survivor, even as your mind boggles at some of the choices she makes. Looking forward to the next--and sadly, last--book in this powerful trilogy. A.
2. THE MAGICIAN by Michael Scott (AUDIO) #2 in the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel YA Fantasy series. Josh and Sophie Newman were working summer jobs in a book store and coffee shop two days ago--and now they're in Paris with Scathach, a centuries-old Amazonian vampire warrior, the mysterious and legendary St Germain who is a French rock star in his current incarnation, and the infamous alchemist, Nicholas Flamel. Oh yeah, and Joan of Arc--who is married to the rock star. And they have a couple of notorious criminals after them--the philosopher and magician Dr. John Dee (once an advisor of Queen Elizabeth I) and the political schemer Niccolo Machiavelli. Yes, they're immortal too, and like Flamel, believe Sophie and Josh to be the "twins of the prophecy" who will either save the world or destroy it. So naturally everyone wants them in their camp! Sophie's magical powers have been awakened, but Josh's haven't been yet, and he is feeling left out and estranged from his sister, but he hasn't much time to think about it as they dash from one disaster to the next, out-maneuvering one legendary creature or person after another. Meanwhile, Perenelle Flamel, Nicholas's wife, is being held prisoner on Alcatraz Island by some of Dee's magical creatures and strives to escape. An action-packed second entry in the series, although I am not as crazy about the reader for this series as I am for some others I've listened to. In this one, set in France and thus full of French phrases and place-names, his rendition of the French accent was accurate with its constant nasal twang and slurring of words together. It probably wasn't his fault; I admittedly find French accents annoying. B+
3. WATER LIKE A STONE by Deborah Crombie. #11 Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James British police procedural. It's Christmas, and Duncan and Gemma have both wangled time off so they can be off to visit Duncan's parents in Nantwich over Christmas week with their kids. It's a nerve-wracking time, as Gemma has only briefly met Duncan's mother (at his first wife's funeral!) and never his father, and is wondering how they will like her and how their odd, cobbled-together family will fit in. But there's no time to really worry about it much; Duncan's sister Juliet, who recently started her own company doing building renovations, while breaking some concrete in a dairy barn on Christmas Eve just before she's set to leave to meet the family for dinner, discovers the long-dead body of an infant walled up inside. Before long, there's another (freshly murdered!) corpse, also found by a member of the Kincaid family, not far from the barn where the baby was found. Is there a connection? Family tensions run high as Juliet and her husband Caspar initiate a very public split, and Kit begins to realize how troubled his cousin Lally (Juliet and Caspar's daughter) is, and has been for some time, apparently. Never mind that I spotted the bad guy early on--I love this series, and Crombie always seems to manage the right balance of police work with personal scenarios, and often a bit of social commentary or information about a given area or segment of the population as well. (In this book, the subculture of the boating community--people who live on boats and navigate up and down the rivers and canals--and how they live.) Very interesting, very well done, and I'm very much looking forward to her newest book. A+
4. THE STARGAZEY by Martha Grimes (AUDIO) #15 Supt. Richard Jury police procedural. This is the first in this series that I've listened to rather than read, and I must say I quite enjoyed Donata Peters rendition as she got a large variety of different voices and accents spot on. Jury gets involved in a case in Fulham, when he follows a woman who's behaving oddly (getting on and off the bus, going into Fulham Palace late at night) and later discovers that she was murdered shortly after he stopped following her. Or was she? He calls the local constabulary with his information and when viewing the body, realizes that the dead woman is NOT the woman he saw, but someone who looks remarkably like her. How can there be two rather distinct looking women in the same area, both wearing a long fur coat? Eventually Jury tracks the other woman down, and gets Melrose Plant involved to check up on the coat angle--the one the dead woman wore had been purchased by her at a consignment shop just that day, and had been set for consignment by a woman in a family who owns an art gallery. Melrose takes up his titles again, staying at his exclusive men's club in London and perusing the gallery in hopes of finding something hinky--and of course he does, more than one something, actually! Sometimes these stories get to be a little on the ludicrous side and you have to laugh at the amazing number of coincidences and plot twists. Some of them I picked up on quite early, some of them I didn't, but despite some of the far-fetched connections, I did enjoy this book quite a lot and plan on carrying on til the end. A.
5. ABHORSEN by Garth Nix. #3 in the Abhorsen YA fantasy trilogy. This book takes up where the second book in trilogy leaves off, with Lirael, now known to be Abhorsen-in-Waiting, and Prince Sammeth, now known to be a Wallmaker, rushing to attempt to stop Hedge, the evil necromancer who plans to ressurect the ultimate evil Destroyer. Along with their two companions, Mogget (a white cat) and The Disreputable Dog (I love that name! LOL) both also magical creatures, they try to formulate a plan while on the run towards The Wall separating the kingdom of Ancelstierre from The Old Kingdom where Hedge and Sam's friend Nick Sayre (whom Hedge is using as a host for the spirit of his evil Master until he can be resurrected) are animating thousands of dead to help them. Lirael and Sam both confront some of their worst fears along the way as the story heads toward its inevitable conclusion. Wonderful series, highly recommended for actual young adults and regular old adults as well. A.
6. THE DIAMOND OF DARKHOLD by Jeanne DuPrau (AUDIO) #4 and so far most recent in the "City of Ember" YA fantasy series. I didn't much care for the third book in this series as it was a prequel to events that happened in City of Ember, but this one gets back on the main storyline with Lina and Doon and their families and friends as they begin adjusting to life in the town of Sparks. A roamer comes to Sparks but has very little to trade, but Doon notices a ripped up book in the back of her wagon that he barters for, and finds some of the same writing as he and Lina discovered in the papers that helped them find their way out of Ember. Unfortunately, the roamer had been using the pages of the book as kindling (gasp!!) and there are only 8 pages remaining, and those are very old, crumbling and smudgy. However, there is enough to convince Doon and Lina that they should go back to Ember to look for something that was left by the Elders to help the city in its time of need. So they plan an excursion and do arrive back in Ember only to find that squatters have taken over the town, looting and pillaging and the Trogg family manages to capture Doon, with plans to make him a slave. Lina heads back to Sparks for help. I really enjoy this series as a whole, although each book has had a different reader so there hasn't been much consistency. I liked this reader, although not quite as much as the woman who read the first one. I hope the author writes more in the series, but typically she takes several years between books, and the way this book ended, it could either be the end or a bridge to a new book/series. A
7. THE DEMON AND THE CITY by Liz Williams. #2 in the Detective Inspector Chen paranormal mystery series set in Singapore Three, a futuristic version of Singapore. DI Chen is on vacation with his demon wife in Hawaii, so his partner Zhu Irzh, a demon temporarily assigned to the police force (due to his ticking off some of Hell's powerful people) ends up being the one to initiate investigation into the mauling death of a young woman from a prominent family. This leads him to Jhai Tserai, the beautiful head of a Singapore pharmaceutical company--and he also learns that she's not quite human--a little secret which could have her exiled to the farthest reaches of Hell if the powers that be knew. She takes powerful drugs that she made herself to keep her true self cloaked, but even through that cloaking, she has a physical effect on Zhu Irzh that he doesn't expect, and after a couple of steamy sessions in the sack with Jhai, is actually contemplating her offer to be part of her attempted coup. Being the most powerful woman on Earth isn't enough for her, she wants to rule in Heaven and Hell as well, and has undertaken some bizarre pharmaceutical experiments on Celestial beings to begin setting that plan in motion. Zhu Irzh is saved from his temptation by the return of DI Chen early from vacation, having been summoned by the worried Sgt. Ma and the badger, a magical creature belonging to Chen's wife--a badger who also doubles as a teakettle some of the time. LOL (He is still my favorite character in this series--I want one!) As Chen and his demon partner investigate further, the very world is rocked by impending war between the realms. I really enjoy this series--it's a strange blend of sci-fi, fantasy and mystery with a world premise that is very bizarre and sometimes so complex that it's hard to keep things straight. But it's so imaginitive that you read on eagerly. Well done! A.
8. SOUR PUSS by Rita Mae and Sneaky Pie Brown (AUDIO) #15 Mrs. Murphy mystery, set in Crozet, Virginia. Mary Minor "Harry" Harristeen and her ex, Fair, have remarried and the second chapter of their life together starts with a bang--a couple of murders, of course. Winemaking has come to Crozet and surrounding areas, and Harry herself is getting in on it with a small plot dedicated to the grape as well as a partnered business with her friend Susan, growing nursery plants. Competition between some of the more prominent vineyards has become fierce, and when a lecturing professor of biology specializing in vineyard toxins disappears and one of the local vineyard owners ends up shot dead just minutes before Fair arrives at his farm to check out one of his animals, tensions rise even further. Was one of the vineyard owners really sabotaging the vines of the others with a virulent disease as the dead man, Toby Pittmann, claimed? I've enjoyed most of the books in the series, some better than others. This was definitely low on the scale with too much technical information, characters jumping on various political bandwagons, not enough of the small-town sweetness and the characters we've come to know and love. Not even the stellar reading by Kate Forbes could totally save this book. I hope the author gets back on track with the next one! C.
9. THE TREATMENT by Mo Hayder. #2 DI Jack Caffrey mystery, set in London. Jack Caffrey is a mess. Still haunted by the disappearance of his brother Ewan when they were children, obsessed with nailing the (now elderly) pedophile next door whom Jack believes was responsible for stealing Ewan, Caffrey is in no condition to take on an investigation into the kidnapping of a nine-year-old boy (just Ewan's age when he went missing) by a likely sexual predator. Rory Peach's parents were drugged and tied up in their home along with Rory for three days before the abductor had to make a run for it with Rory when a shopkeeper looking for money came knocking. Where did they go? The hue and cry was raised quickly afterwards, and every inch of the park behind the Peachs' home has been searched. Caffrey goes into a very dark place as he hunts down clues about who could have done such a thing--and believes it is a serial criminal, so sets to searching old records for similar cases as well. Interviews with neighborhood folks turn up a few clues that lead to a shocking conclusion when they are all pieced together. Meanwhile, Caffrey's personal life is in a shambles as well, as his girlfriend Rebecca also confronts the ghosts haunting her and Ivan Penderecki, the object of Caffrey's obsession, dies, leaving him a package that may contain information about what happened to Ewan. Dark, gut-wrenching and utterly horrible in some places, this is not a book for those with a tendency towards queasiness. At times it almost feels like the author uses some of the more dark stuff purely for the shock value. That said, it's one of the few so-called "thrillers" that has actually thrilled me to any degree of late, that provided a true "edge of your seat, got-to-get-to-the-end-and-see-what-happens" experience, with plot twists that I didn't see coming and slammed me in the gut when they arrived. A+.
10. THE PRICE OF MURDER by Bruce Alexander. #10 Sir John Fielding historical mystery. Sir John and Jeremy have (as usual) two investigations going--one regarding the body of a young girl found in the river, very obviously sexually abused and the other the disappearance of a childhood friend of Clarissa's. The dead child is found to have been the same one reported missing by her mother a few weeks previously, and now the mother's gone missing as well. After Jeremy brings a neighbor woman in to speak with Sir John regarding the disappearance, they determine that the mother had actually 'sold' her child--or, she thought, adopted her out to a well-to-do family for a fee. When Jeremy goes back to question the neighbor further, he finds her brutally murdered also, and they fear the trail has gone cold. Of course it hasn't, and soon the theme of horseracing comes into play as well, when the brother of the missing woman (and uncle of the murdered child) who is also a jockey, helps in their investigation. Clarissa discovers that her childhood friend isn't who she thought she was, and the Fielding household changes yet again as Molly (the cook) and Dr. Donnelly (the Fieldings' friend and the medical examiner) plan to marry and Jeremy and Clarissa's relationship moves forward as well. This was definitely one of the more enjoyable (among many!) in the series although I'm not particularly fond of horseracing. Only one more to go before the end of the series, which I plan to finish off later in the month. A.
11. THE ORACLE'S QUEEN by Lynn Flewelling. Third and final entry in the Tamir Trilogy, in which Princess Tamir (once Prince Tobin, Tamir being revealed in the previous book when a mystical fire burns away her male body, a shell and illusion held in place by magic) takes her place as the leader of Skala from the prophesy--or she will as soon as she can thrust her cousin Korin and his evil wizard Niryn from the usurper's role. Gathering her army and supporters, Tamir begins without much confidence, but grows in assurance as the leader of her country each day. Her personal life is a shambles, of course, what with the big adjustment to her new gender ('there's an empty spot in my breeches!' LOL) and her feelings for Ki, her squire plus her worries over Korin, believing him to be a victim of Niryn's dark wizardry and manipulation . The ending to this was fairly predictable, but I really enjoy Flewelling's writing style and her characterizations, and this was certainly among the most unique series I've read in recent years with its strange premise and storyline. Will be checking out other series by this author for certain! A.
12. SHOT GIRL by Karen E. Olson. #4 (and last, to date) Annie Seymour mystery set in New Haven, CT. Annie is a crime reporter, but in this book she ends up in the middle of her story when her ex-husband Ralph ends up dead in the parking lot of a dance club where's she's attending a bachelorette party for one of her co-workers. Shells from her gun are scattered around the body, but oddly enough, he wasn't even shot--there's not a mark on his body. And several witnesses claim to have seen Annie kissing Ralph before he died, and going from the club to her car--where her gun was found. Someone is setting her up, big time--but who? And why? Where has Ralph's current girlfriend run off to--and why was Annie's mother representing Ralph in an upcoming grand jury investigation but neglected to even let Annie know he was back in town? Something smells rotten in Denmark and Annie's determined to find out why. I enjoyed this book, although it was a bit different in that Annie didn't share some things with the reader until much further along in the story--so we didn't really have all the clues we needed. I can understand her not sharing certain facts with Tom, the police detective handling the case (and Annie's ex-boyfriend) but with her readers? Please! LOL I still managed to figure out the major portion of the mystery anyway. I'm going to miss Annie--she's smart, irreverent, independent and very human; her town and friends are also a big part of these books and I do hope the author brings them all back at some point in time. Meanwhile, I'll be waitng to read the first of Olson's "Tattoo Shop" mysteries, due out in a couple of months. A.
13. MUSCLEBOUND by Liza Cody. Third and last Eva Wylie mystery in which Eva finds herself on the down and outs--her wrestling manager has barred her from the gym and won't speak to her, her Ma was all set to move away and not even tell her, and Anna Lee, the private investigator who sometimes throws her jobs has told her she must stop drinking or their working relationship is done. No money, it's raining, her new pup Milo disrespects her, so Eva is feeling particularly sorry for herself. When she 'borrows' a car that ends up having a sports bag full of money in it, she thinks her luck has changed, but it brings her nothing but trouble, as does the reappearance of her sister Simone in her life. Simone, having been adopted out by a foster family when she was a small girl, hasn't the patience to deal with Eva and her drinking and her bleak lifestyle. However, a pesky fellow-wrestler named Keif wants to be Eva's personal trainer and get her back into fighting shape and he seems to be the one bright spot in her life although she doesn't see it that way. I have to admit that reading these last two books in this series close together makes me rather glad there isn't another--I think I'd have taken a good long break from the series if there were, as Eva's almost-whiny "poor me, none of this is my fault" attitude really began to grate on my nerves and made me think of all my former mental health patients with Borderline Personality Disorder. Granted, she's had a tough life and survived a lot, but get on with it, already! She made so many poor decisions/choices in this book I can't even begin to count them, and most of them did indeed come back to bite her in the bum. Ah well. I did like the ending and would like to think that if Eva's story ever gets resurrected that there is hope for her. B-
14. WHERE MEMORIES LIE by Deborah Crombie (AUDIO) #12 and most recent in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series. I really enjoyed the reader for the one previous Kincaid/James book I listened to, but this is a different one and I must say that at times, she really annoyed me with a couple of her voices. That said, the book itself was great, with Crombie once again tying in a past case (from the 1950's in post-war Britain) to present, when Gemma's elderly friend Erica Rosenthal asks her to look into the reappearance of a valuable brooch made by her father, a well-known jewellery crafter, which she had last seen before the war. Her father, who died in the concentration camps, had made the brooch for her as a special gift, and it turns up in the catalogue of a London auction house. The murder that happened in 1952 was the brutal stabbing of none other than Erica's own husband, David Rosenthal. When the sales girl that Gemma questions about the brooch as an unofficial favor for Erica ends up dead that very same night, something smells fishy and the Yard (with Duncan) is on the case. Is there a connection between the girl's death and David Rosenthal's those many years previous? Gemma also learns that her mother is gravely ill with leukemia and takes some personal time from work but then ends up spending most of it helping Duncan and Erica. Crombie once again leads us on a merry chase with several red herrings--some of which I fell for hook, line and sinker, but I did figure it out well before the final reveal. Now I'm one of those waiting not-so-patiently for the October release of her next book! A.
15. HELL HOLE by Chris Grabenstein. #4 John Ceepak mystery, in which Ceepak and Danny investigate the supposed suicide of a soldier in a wayside rest stop. They're doing this on the sly because the rest stop falls outside of their jurisdiction, but it's obvious to even Danny, a relative rookie, that Shareef Smith did not shoot himself and that some type of coverup is underway. The two Sea Haven cops take on some powerful enemies to bring down Smith's killer, but they get there in the end with some help from folks on both sides of the law. Although the bad guy was obvious to me from the start and I was pretty sure what the motive was (at least in general,) how the murder was achieved was a bit of a puzzle until Ceepak tells all at the end. I have enjoyed every one of these books in this series--they're light reads with just the right amount of humor, interesting characters and an easy-to-read style. Looking forward to Mind Scrambler! A.
16. RULES OF ENGAGEMENT by Bruce Alexander. This is the final Sir John Fielding historical mystery in which the subject of hypnotism and "Mesmerism" is investigated as a means to murder, when a member of Parliament jumps from Westminster Bridge into the Thames in front of a dozen witnesses, one of them being Annie Oakum, former cook of the Fielding household. It was obvious that the man jumped himself--no one pushed him--and it was known that he could not swim, but why would he jump? The mystery itself wasn't much of a mystery in this one, but many threads in the personal lives of the characters were tied together as Jeremy (who tells the stories) and Clarissa prepare for their nuptials. The ending was a bit anticlimactic, but due to the author's untimely death, the last few chapters were written by his wife with the help of another author. I shall greatly miss having more adventures of Jeremy and Sir John to read about, but at least I can always go back and visit them when the spirit moves me. A.
17. SUDDEN DEATH by David Rosenfelt. #4 Andy Carpenter mystery. Andy is a lawyer living in Paterson, NJ and became rather famous in the last book by getting a convicted death-row inmate's guilty verdict reversed. This time around another celebrity case comes his way in the form of Kenneth Schilling, a running back for the New York Giants who's just been charged with murdering a long-time friend who plays for a rival team. Kenny maintains his innocence despite mounting evidence against him, and Andy nearly packs the case in, as he doesn't believe in defending people he believes are guilty. But his gut tells him Kenny is telling the truth, so he sticks it out until evidence proves his case--as always, at the last minute in the middle of the trial. On a personal note, Andy's girlfriend Laurie, who is an investigator for his law office, is thinking of taking a job offer back in her hometown in Wisconsin that would likely lead to her being chief of police in just a few years. Andy is agonizing over this, as he really loves her, but he won't allow himself to try to influence her to stay. I figured the baddie out very early on and chuckled to myself as the tiny little clues were dropped into place, confirming my thoughts. I'm not really a big fan of lawyer mystery and courtroom drama leaves me cold, but I do like Andy and his crew so I'm continuing on with the series. I enjoyed this book despite the "lawyer stuff" in it. B+
18. YOU SUCK by Christopher Moore. (AUDIO) Another crazy romp through Chris Moore's twisted mind, this one a continuation of events that happened in his book Bloodsucking Fiends, with many of the same characters. This one opens with 19-year-old Tommy Flood waking up next to his older, more worldly girlfriend Jody (who just happens to be a vampire) only to find that he gets to stay 19 forever, because Jody's "turned" him, too. Neither one of them are very experienced vampires so they struggle along trying to figure out how to make it in the world, all the while trying to stay ahead of the evil vampire Elijah (who turned Jody) and his associates--who are much displeased to learn of their presence. Also, Tommy's friends from the overnight stock crew at the supermarket ("the Animals") learn he's a vampire and try to capture him for a Vegas hooker (named Blue, because she dyed herself that way) between rounds of turkey bowling at the Safeway. LOL! Yes, it sounds ridiculous, and it really is, but lots of fun, too. This is the first audio I'd listened to by this author and the reader was really good. She was sometimes really annoying to listen to, but only because she got the characters spot on, especially Abby Normal, whom Tommy recruits to be his and Jody's minion (to get stuff done, like, during the daytime, dude!) Is there anything more annoying than a sixteen-year-old Valley Girl Goth wannabe? I doubt it!! LOL Still, an enjoyable and appropriately crazy listen. A.
19. RITUAL by Mo Hayder. #3 Jack Caffrey mystery (and so far latest--at least in the US, as her next one SKIN hasn't been released here yet.) Jack has moved from London, having left girlfriend Rebecca when she kept pestering him to have a child together, something he has vowed he will never do, seeing what he's seen and living what he's been through with his brother Ewan. So he is now in Bristol, and gets a case working with a diving crew who finds a severed hand in the river. This is nothing unusual, but when the lead diver, Phoebe "Flea" Marley, tells Jack that she believes the hand was severed while the person was still alive and the coroner confirms this, Jack definitely knows he's going to be after another sick and twisted bastard of a villain. And of course, it is. The story is also in large part about Flea, about the tragic diving accident her parents were involved in two years previously along with her brother Thom, who has been so badly affected by it that he's unable to keep a job or settle to anything. Flea struggles to find out the truth of that accident while trying not to get involved more than she ought in Caffrey's case, but because her father was a professor, she knows a lot about African black magic rituals in which severed human body parts play a big role. Gritty, grisly and gripping, this was not a book for 'enjoying' per se but was an excellent story. Caffrey is a complex character, one I don't always like very much, but whose life certainly makes for interesting reading. A.
20. CHARLIE BONE AND THE CASTLE OF MIRRORS by Jenny Nimmo (AUDIO) #4 in the Children of the Red King YA fantasy series. Charlie and his friends at Bloor's Academy find that they still must deal with the evil Manfred Bloor, son of the headmaster. Even though he's graduated, he's now a teaching assistant. There are three new endowed children with magical talents and all of them seem to be on the side of the Bloors. The balance is tipping. Billy Raven is adopted, but Charlie has a bad feeling about it which is confirmed when he looks at a photo of the adoptive parents and hears their thoughts. More about Billy's ancestry is discovered and Charlie even thinks he's discovered where his father is being held captive. The story is furthered along nicely and ends on another cliffhanger. Can't wait to get to the next one, I really enjoy this series and the reader is great--Simon Russell Beale is his name. A.
21. TO WEAR THE WHITE CLOAK by Sharan Newman. #7 Catherine LeVendeur historical mystery series set in medieval France. Catherine, Edgar and their household return home to Paris after a year's absence in Germany, where they'd gone to assist Catherine's sister Agnes with a problem. Upon returning, they find a dead body in their counting room, a man apparently a Templar Knight, as he is wearing their distinctive white cloak and a brooch. He was obviously murdered, and Catherine and Edgar struggle to find out who he was and why he was left in their home. The Templars don't recognize him and they are now set to blame Catherine and Edgar as rumors of her father Hubert's association with the Jews fly wildly. Hubert, of course, IS a Jew and has gone back to the Jewish community at Troyes, not on pilgrimage as they've told everyone. I generally enjoy this series, but this one annoyed me on many levels. There were too many sub-plots, too many peripheral characters to keep straight, and too many changes of point of view. Even several of the peripheral characters had their say, with switches often occurring mid-chapter. Just too confusing. I love the main characters in the series, but some of the issues they are dealing with have gone on for multiple books and they are getting a bit tired now. I'm going to finish this series (3 books left, and I have them all) but I'm not as eager to jump on the next one as I was to get to this one. C+.
22. THE SILENT MAN by Alex Berenson. #3 John Wells spy thriller. Another solid entry in this modern-day spy thriller series. John Wells is settling into domestic bliss with Jennifer Exley, his co-worker and fellow spy. But their life is about to be shattered when one of the baddies that John previously wronged seeks revenge in a planned assassination as Wells and Exley make their way to work. They are well-guarded, but though the attack is partially blocked, Exley is severely injured. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, two nuclear bombs have gone missing from a Russian bomb storage facility, having been stolen by a small group of Muslim terrorists. As those people work to get the bombs over the sea to American soil where they will build their own nuclear device, the CIA learns of the missing bombs and must play games behind the scenes to find out what they can because the Russians are not very forthcoming. John Wells has a role in that too--in fact, the two cases eventually intersect. I enjoy this series quite a lot. I really loved the first book where John was more or less on his own--it was a more unique story and he had to rely on his own resourcefulness and wit. The subsequent books, including this one, with all the machinations of the FBI, CIA and the other "initial" agencies and their posturing and game-playing have been slightly less appealing to me. Anyone can accomplish things if you have the CIA providing you with false documentation and 'friends' to talk to to get you what you need or to introduce you to the people you need involved. It's just not as exciting to me as the 'lone wolf.' But still a good read, well-written and as it's addressing concerns of the present day, enough to scare the bejeezus out of you if you let it. B+
23. DEATH OF A DUSTMAN by M.C. Beaton. #17 Hamish MacBeth Scottish cozy police mystery. One of the councilwomen in Strathbane, eager for some attention, targets Lochdubh for her 'go green' campaign and enlists the local dustman, Fergus Macleod, to get the residents to separate their rubbish for recycling. Fergus, a nasty, wife-beating drunk who was on the verge of losing his job before Mrs. Fleming got him a new uniform and reason to be nasty, of course ends up dead. There's hardly a villager who hadn't been heard threatening him at one time or another, but when a second man, a crofter named Angus also dies, the suspect list narrows a bit. Hamish, now a Sergeant with yet another PC--Clarry, this one a great cook but not much in the grooming and cleanliness department--learns that Fergus was blackmailing several Lochdubh residents and wonders if Angus found out somehow and one of those people killed him? Hamish keeps this news to himself, wanting to protect his fellow villagers, and of course it ends up disastrously and by the end of the book, Hamish is once again a lowly PC and Blair gnashes his teeth as his red-haired menace once again escapes being sacked. An enjoyable, light read and this one had a solution that I didn't anticipate, at least for part of it. B+.
DNF: NO REST FOR THE WICCAN by Madelyn Alt. (After 50 pages, the book had gone nowhere and seeing that the main character is likely going to be caught in a Stephanie Plum-esque romantic limbo which began last book and is continuing (Oh! Which guy do I choose?) I decided to give up on the series. Also, the main character is pretty immature for someone who is supposedly an adult. Enough is enough.)
Currently reading: listening to Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey in audio.
Cheryl
Saturday, April 4, 2009
APRIL '09 Reading
1. IN LIKE FLYNN by Rhys Bowen. #4 Molly Murphy historical mystery set in New York in the early 1900's. Molly, trying hard to be a private investigator and finding the going tough, accepts a timely case from none other than Daniel Sullivan, her policeman "friend." It's timely for a couple of reasons--she's just had a falling out with her current beau, and also there's a typhoid outbreak in the city and this assignment would take her to a manse in the country to investigate a couple of spiritualists that Sullivan believes are fake. He sets up credentials for Molly to assume the identity of one of Senator Barney Flynn's cousins visiting from Ireland in an attempt to cheer up his wife, who is still despondent from their young son's death five years previously in a botched kidnapping. The Sorenson sisters are hoping to help Theresa Flynn speak to the spirit of her son and are also guests of the Flynns. Molly ends up investigating the kidnapping moreso than the spiritualists and of course ends up in a world of trouble when she uncovers some clues that went unnoticed when the case was originally investigated and riles up those involved. A light and fluffy read that does tackle some tough social issues of the times, but there were a few things that happened that did tend to boggle my mind. (Can't say more lest I spoil things for those who've not read it yet. LOL) I did figure out the mystery (and the plot twist) ahead of time but still enjoyed this foray back in time and plan to keep on reading the series. B+
2. STRIPPED by Brian Freeman. #2 Jonathan Stride police procedural, this one moving from Duluth to Las Vegas. An old murder case, once considered solved, is brought to the fore as people related to those who were associated with Amira Luz, murdered exotic dancer, begin to die off. The killer is giving them clues, even deliberately leaving fingerprints at some of the crime scenes, and Jonathan is trying to figure out why as he delves into the past to try to solve the old crime which will almost certainly lead to the present-day killer. When a case Serena (his lover and the reason he moved to Vegas) is working on ties in with his own case, they get the chance to work together again. I liked this book; I love Freeman's writing style and his characters, but this one was a little weird. There seemed to be an inordinate number of G/L/T (gay/lesbian/transgendered) people in it, which I don't have a problem with in any way, it just seemed like the book was overrun with them for some reason, including Stride's new partner Amanda, a 'she-male' who is also a darned good cop. I also didn't like the Vegas setting as well as Duluth, which is a city I dearly love. And I did figure out part of the mystery, although not a couple of the plot twists. I didn't like it quite as well as the first one, but it was still very good and am looking forward to the next in series. A-
3. WHO CUT THE CHEESE? A CULTURAL HISTORY OF THE FART by Jim Dawson. Nonfiction humor with plenty of serious, factual information too, although the author usually did slant things to the humorous side. It's hard not to when you're talking about intestinal gas, I suppose! LOL I had this as my 'bathroom book' (with the appropriate bookmark of two squares of toilet tissue) for several weeks and quite enjoyed this foray into the world of farts, and tidbits about how farting has been viewed by various cultures throughout the world in various times, including literary references to the foul wind across the centuries--one of the aptly named chapters being "Lit Farts." You get the idea! LOL I did enjoy this--it was a light, fun read, and I did learn a few facts along the way, too. (Who knew that Whoopi Goldberg devoted a whole chapter of her autobiography to farts? Not me! LOL) Sometimes the humor was a bit forced (a bit like a crosswise fart in that respect I guess! HA!) but all in all an entertaining, worthwhile read. B+
4. HONOLULU by Alan Brennert. Historical fiction set first in Korea in the early 1900's to the 1910's-20's in Honolulu, HI. Tells the story of a Korean girl with the unfortunate name of Regret (female babies were often given these types of negative names) who flees the stifling control of her family's Confucian home in rural Korea to the promised paradise of Hawaii as a "picture bride." When the handsome man who has chosen Regret as his bride ends up not to be the wealthy, wonderful man he was portrayed to be, (he is instead a sugar-cane laborer and a drinking, gambling wife-beater) she also flees the rural plantation where they live to the big city of Honolulu. There she begins a new life pretending to be a widow, and Regret takes several different jobs and has many adventures as she seeks her place in the world. Full of pain, sorrow, and often portraying conditions that are brutal and hard to imagine people living in and through, this is also a hopeful story, and one I very much enjoyed. I learned quite a lot along the way too, having not read much about Korean--or Hawaiian--culture before. I haven't yet read Brennert's other book based in Hawaii, Molo'kai, but it won't be long before I get to it! Well done, very readable style, believable characters and descriptions that will put you right there. A.
5. HARD ROW by Margaret Maron. (AUDIO) #13 Judge Deborah Knott mystery set in Colleton County, NC. Judge Knott begins settling in with her new family, step-son Cal having moved in with she and Dwight after his mother's death in the previous book. It's an adjustment for all concerned, but Deborah is distracted when a case that Dwight is working on (body parts found along a roadside) intersects with a case in her court. It takes some time to identify who the hacked up parts belong to (and to find them all!) but once big-time farmer Buck Harris is identified, a few different suspects come to the fore: his ex-wife, his mistress, and a disgruntled employee or ten, among others. I like the way Maron weaves information and a story about some social issue in each of her books--in this one, it's the fate and the life of migrant workers. As always, the reader is excellent for this series, and the author's writing style and characterizations make for easy reading and listening--and in this case, a resolution to the crime that I didn't see coming, though the clues were there. Maron really makes you wish that these were real people that you could meet and talk to. Only one left to catch up to the end of the series, with the newest due in August. A.
6. THE FALLS by Ian Rankin. #13 DI Rebus Scottish police procedural set in Edinburgh. It's been ages since I read a Rebus--the last couple were rather disappointing to me--but Rankin is back in form with this book. The story, one of a young woman who had set off from her flat to meet some friends for drinks and never showed up, sucked me in right away. It's determined that Philippa Balfour ("Flip" to her friends) was playing a dungeons-and-dragons style game, with clues given by the Quizmaster via e-mail. But was this related to her death or not? Supposedly people who play in this way were anonymous to one another. While Rebus works a possible historical connection to other similar cases, Siobhan Clarke works the computer game angle, and both are trying to adapt to their boss "Farmer" Watson retiring and their former colleague Gill Templer taking his place. There's a new lady in Rebus's life too, which lifts his often dour spirit. Very enjoyable--I only figured out part of the mystery, so it was great to be led a merry chase and to be surprised at the end. Excellent entry in the series! A.
7. A NOBLE RADIANCE by Donna Leon. #7 Commissario Guido Brunetti Italian police mystery set in Venice. Another cold case mystery where an old unsolved case is brought to the forefront when skeletal remains are found in a shallow grave in a village north of Venice when the new owner of an estate begins renovating. A valuable gold ring with a family crest with the body leads authorities to believe that the body is that of twenty-one-year-old Roberto Ludovicio, wealthy heir who was kidnapped two years ago and never found. Dental records confirm this and a bullet hole in the back of the head confirms that he was murdered, but can Brunetti track down the perpetrators with so many of the clues gone dead? Of course--Brunetti finds that the clues are merely dormant, not dead at all, and they lead him on a merry chase, throwing red herrings all over the place. As usual, it's not always possible to obtain justice through the Italian penal and court system, but in Leon's Venice, usually the universe knows what its doing, and this was no exception. I love the author's intellectual mysteries, with much philosophy and excellent cooking as well as vibrant atmosphere included in the bargain. In fact I love it so much, I'm going to do something I've not done in many a moon--read a couple of series books back to back. A+
8. FATAL REMEDIES by Donna Leon. #8 Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery in which Guido's wife Paola becomes a lawbreaker. Convinced she must do what she can to stop travel agents from booking "sex tours" to places like Thailand where the tourists have very young girls procured for them in what essentially amounts to rape and pedophelia, Paola gets up in the middle of the night and throws a rock through the window of a local travel agency known to cater to these types of tours. She does this twice and causes a bit of scandal for Guido as the newspapers hound him, her and the Questura. Guido's boss, Patta, puts him on administrative leave until the owner of the travel agency ends up murdered in his apartment--visciously strangled, with a note referring to him being a pedophile. Further investigation of course reveals that Paola's timely rock-throwing just provided an easy excuse for someone else who had it in for the man to kill him. Another solid entry in the series, although I didn't enjoy this one as much as the last--which is my signal that "two in a row is enough." LOL I think it may just have been the subject matter and the emotional roller coaster that Guido was on in part, though. A-
9. REAPER MAN by Terry Pratchett #11 in publication order of the Discworld humorous fantasy series in which DEATH gets a vacation and an hourglass of his own! When DEATH stops coming around, what happens? People who are supposed to die, don't. Case in point, Windle Poons, venerable hundred and thirty year old Bursar at Unseen University. His time is up--he knows it and so does everyone else. So why is he still alive? Er...or rather, undead? Because DEATH is having a working vacation on a ranch under the assumed name of handyman Bill Door, using his scythe to harvest the hay and being decidedly squeamish about butchering chickens. LOL And when things stop dying, life force starts building up--which can only lead to dire (if hilarious!) consequences. As usual, Pratchett's wacky (and yet, still rather profound at times) world never fails to leave me smiling, laughing and chortling with glee--and as always, I often found myself reading only to have the real meaning of some goofy phrase or concept that I read about a few pages previous dawn on me, paging backwards to reread portions of it. Nothing to be said except that Terry Pratchett is a genius! A+
10. BUTCHER'S HILL by Laura Lippmann (AUDIO) #3 Tess Monaghan mystery series set in Baltimore. Tess, now an official private investigator, is hired by two people--the first, a woman who claims to be looking for her long lost sister and the second an elderly man who is just out of prison, having been put there because he shot a neighborhood boy to death when he was harassing the old man. Luther Beale, "The Butcher" of Butcher's Hill wants Tess to find the other children who were with Donny Moore when he died to attempt to compensate them in some way for their suffering, but since they were minors in the foster care system, they won't be easily tracked down. Of course both cases end up being more complicated than they first seem, although I figured out much of both of them fairly early, the main mystery was a bit of a surprise ending for me. I enjoyed this book but not as much as I did the previously book in the series. The reader is pretty good, just not a favorite, and while I mostly like Tess, many of her supporting characters are annoying as heck. Still, a solid entry in the series and I look forward to the next, whether I end up reading in print or listening to it. B+
11. CHARLIE BONE AND THE INVISIBLE BOY by Jenny Nimmo (AUDIO) #3 in the Children of the Red King YA fantasy series, in which Charlie once again seeks to help out someone that the Bloors have enslaved. This time it's Oliver, an invisible boy they're hiding in the attic. Oliver was made invisible by an ensorcelled blue Boa Constrictor. Who is on Charlie's side and who's on the Bloors' becomes more defined in this book, as a pretty new girl, Belle, arrives at Bloor Academy. There's a lot happening in this book! Charlie also has responsibility for his friend Benjamin's dog, Runner Bean, as Benjamin is off to Hong Kong with his private detective parents on a case. Of course this complicates matters a bit, too, as Charlie is worried about his Uncle Paton, who has come up very ill after a week-long absence in which he tries to find out what his nasty sisters are up to. Excellent story as always and I really look forward to listening to the next one! A.
12. HIGH PRIESTESS by David Skibbins. #2 Warren Ritter "Tarot" mystery, featuring the old hippie radical fugitive from the law, now a tarot reader on the street in San Francisco. Warren is also bipolar and heavily involved in therapy attempting to deal with his checkered past. Warren (aka Richard Green in his previous life) is visited by a ghost from his past--someone who knew him back in his days with the Weathermen, a radical anti-war group from the 60's. Edward Hightower (also an assumed name) is now the leader of a small church--an offshoot of the Church of Satan. Their members are dropping like flies and Edward (with his sister, Veronique--who also happens to be Warren's ex-girlfriend) wants Warren to find out who. Instant suspects include several hyper-religious folks who sent threatening e-mails to Edward and the group, tracked down by Warren's current girlfriend Sally--a paraplegic computer hacker. But those solutions seem almost too easy, and soon it's rather obvious that those people haven't committed the string of murders. But someone wants Warren to take the fall for that--so the next crime is brilliantly set up to make him look like the bad guy. Now he has no choice but to investigate and clear his borrowed name. I really like this series! Warren is a definitely flawed and fallible but very likable guy, and the author obviously has mental health experience (I believe he's a therapist of some sort) as he portrays the bipolar swings very accurately. The solution to the mystery was quite simple, but Skibbins manages to still eke out a dynamite twist at the end. Loved it! A+
13. THE SNAKE STONE by Jason Goodwin. #2 in the Yashim the Eunuch historical mystery series set in 1830's Istanbul. The sultan is dying, and the city is in a peculiar mood. Yashim, who works for the sultan, hasn't been summoned to the palace in months, so he's perfectly free to investigate the murder of a French archaelogist on his own behalf. Dr. Lefevre had been a guest in Yashim's home the day before he died and he had been asking a lot of nosy questions about valuable Greek artifacts. He sought a ship back to France which Yashim helped him procure and then his body was found, gutted stem to stern and half-eaten by dogs a couple of days later. With lack of any other suspects, the French ambassador can only conclude that Yashim had something to do with his death, so he sets out to remove the cloud of suspicion from his good name before the ambassador files his final report. Steeped in history, myth and legend, the tale leads Yashim to several different neighborhoods of the city and even below it, as other people that Dr. Lefevre talked to end up attacked or dead also. When his widow arrives, not yet knowing she is a widow, things get even more complicated. An excellent story, full of the culture, sights, sounds, smells and tastes of Istanbul (I want to hire Yashim as my personal chef!!), with lots of history and the added bonus of secrets well-kept and secret societies, this was a very enjoyable read. A.
14. THE WHITE DRAGON by Anne McCaffrey. (AUDIO) #3 in the DragonRiders of Pern fantasy series, which features primarily Jaxom, soon-to-be Lord holder and also dragonrider of the world's only white dragon. Jaxom, still a very young man of eighteen, does much maturing during this book as he finds his way through his confusing position in life--should he focus on being Lord of the hold, or on being a Dragonrider? How can he be both? Exciting new discoveries are made regarding the ancestors of Pern and the three stars known as The Dawn Sisters. It's discovered that they are fixed entities, not stars at all, and when mysterious traveling ships are found during an excavation, it's believed that they may be somehow tied to those ships. Excellent entry in this series and I look forward to the next, although I have noticed that despite its age, it seems to be rather difficult to find. A.
15. DEAD BEAT by Jim Butcher. #7 in the Harry Dresden paranormal mystery series. Something foul is afoot in Chicago, as usual. The evil vampire queen Mavra contacts Harry, basically blackmailing him into searching for a much-sought-after item called The Word of Kemmler. Kemmler was a necromancer--one who could animate the dead, essentially make zombies of them. The White Council had hunted and killed him years previously, but someone (several someones probably!) want his power. Under normal circumstances, Harry would tell Mavra to go fly a kite--in the sun!--but the trump card she's playing has Harry's friend Karrin Murphy, police detective in charge of the Special Investigations department, as the bait. If Harry doesn't cooperate, Mavra will see to it that Murphy's career is ruined. So Harry cooperates--or at least gives the appearance of doing so. This leads him down a twisty path to first of all find out what The Word of Kemmler might be and then locating it. As usual, this is never as easy as it seems as unplanned-for obstacles litter Harry's path. An enjoyable, quick read with a marvelous writing style and a lovely visit with Harry. I do enjoy this paranormal series because it's not chock full of romancey bullcrap like so many of them are. I wish we could visit the poor guy when things are quiet and he actually has time to eat and sleep, but I guess that would be kind of boring! Looking forward to the next. A.
16. GET OUT OR DIE by Jane Finnis. #1 in the Aurelia Marcella historical mystery series set in A.D. 91 in Roman Britannia. Aurelia runs the local mansio (inn) with her sister and with their brother Lucius' permission--he is technically the owner, but as an army spy, is away "on business" most of the time. When a series of local attacks occur, with Roman travelers being killed and left with a badge that says "Get Out or Die!" Aurelia feels threatened to her core, especially as one of the victims is left for dead in her courtyard! But Quintus is another spy, like her brother, although he is loathe to tell her much at first. They all decide that the best way to return their small village to safety is to catch "The Shadow of Death" who is organizing the attacks is to catch him. The list of suspects includes some of Aurelia's friends and the town leaders, and although I knew right away who it was, it took Aurelia and company ages to figure it out. I did quite enjoy the book--the settings and characters were very well drawn, the writing style was easy to read, and I learned plenty of new things about that era. However, I did find the book a bit draggy in the midsection especially and it seemed like they hashed over the suspects' motives, means and opportunities to commit the various crimes over and over again to the point where it became repetitive--which is the only reason I didn't give it top marks. I will definitely be on the lookout for the next book in series and hope that the editor had a bit more a judicious hand with the draggy bits. B+
Currently reading: WATER LIKE A STONE by Deborah Crombie (#11 Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James mystery.) In audio, I'm listening to The Magician: Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott, second in a YA fantasy series.
DNF: MAD SEASON by Nancy Means Wright. I slogged through about 50 pages and just found the writing style stilted and the whole storyline confusing. Couldn't get into it at all. WICKED WEAVES (Renaissance Faire mystery #1) by Jim and Joyce Lavene. Oh, boy, I'm sorry but that book was just BAD...I did read 50 pages but it almost killed me.
Cheryl
2. STRIPPED by Brian Freeman. #2 Jonathan Stride police procedural, this one moving from Duluth to Las Vegas. An old murder case, once considered solved, is brought to the fore as people related to those who were associated with Amira Luz, murdered exotic dancer, begin to die off. The killer is giving them clues, even deliberately leaving fingerprints at some of the crime scenes, and Jonathan is trying to figure out why as he delves into the past to try to solve the old crime which will almost certainly lead to the present-day killer. When a case Serena (his lover and the reason he moved to Vegas) is working on ties in with his own case, they get the chance to work together again. I liked this book; I love Freeman's writing style and his characters, but this one was a little weird. There seemed to be an inordinate number of G/L/T (gay/lesbian/transgendered) people in it, which I don't have a problem with in any way, it just seemed like the book was overrun with them for some reason, including Stride's new partner Amanda, a 'she-male' who is also a darned good cop. I also didn't like the Vegas setting as well as Duluth, which is a city I dearly love. And I did figure out part of the mystery, although not a couple of the plot twists. I didn't like it quite as well as the first one, but it was still very good and am looking forward to the next in series. A-
3. WHO CUT THE CHEESE? A CULTURAL HISTORY OF THE FART by Jim Dawson. Nonfiction humor with plenty of serious, factual information too, although the author usually did slant things to the humorous side. It's hard not to when you're talking about intestinal gas, I suppose! LOL I had this as my 'bathroom book' (with the appropriate bookmark of two squares of toilet tissue) for several weeks and quite enjoyed this foray into the world of farts, and tidbits about how farting has been viewed by various cultures throughout the world in various times, including literary references to the foul wind across the centuries--one of the aptly named chapters being "Lit Farts." You get the idea! LOL I did enjoy this--it was a light, fun read, and I did learn a few facts along the way, too. (Who knew that Whoopi Goldberg devoted a whole chapter of her autobiography to farts? Not me! LOL) Sometimes the humor was a bit forced (a bit like a crosswise fart in that respect I guess! HA!) but all in all an entertaining, worthwhile read. B+
4. HONOLULU by Alan Brennert. Historical fiction set first in Korea in the early 1900's to the 1910's-20's in Honolulu, HI. Tells the story of a Korean girl with the unfortunate name of Regret (female babies were often given these types of negative names) who flees the stifling control of her family's Confucian home in rural Korea to the promised paradise of Hawaii as a "picture bride." When the handsome man who has chosen Regret as his bride ends up not to be the wealthy, wonderful man he was portrayed to be, (he is instead a sugar-cane laborer and a drinking, gambling wife-beater) she also flees the rural plantation where they live to the big city of Honolulu. There she begins a new life pretending to be a widow, and Regret takes several different jobs and has many adventures as she seeks her place in the world. Full of pain, sorrow, and often portraying conditions that are brutal and hard to imagine people living in and through, this is also a hopeful story, and one I very much enjoyed. I learned quite a lot along the way too, having not read much about Korean--or Hawaiian--culture before. I haven't yet read Brennert's other book based in Hawaii, Molo'kai, but it won't be long before I get to it! Well done, very readable style, believable characters and descriptions that will put you right there. A.
5. HARD ROW by Margaret Maron. (AUDIO) #13 Judge Deborah Knott mystery set in Colleton County, NC. Judge Knott begins settling in with her new family, step-son Cal having moved in with she and Dwight after his mother's death in the previous book. It's an adjustment for all concerned, but Deborah is distracted when a case that Dwight is working on (body parts found along a roadside) intersects with a case in her court. It takes some time to identify who the hacked up parts belong to (and to find them all!) but once big-time farmer Buck Harris is identified, a few different suspects come to the fore: his ex-wife, his mistress, and a disgruntled employee or ten, among others. I like the way Maron weaves information and a story about some social issue in each of her books--in this one, it's the fate and the life of migrant workers. As always, the reader is excellent for this series, and the author's writing style and characterizations make for easy reading and listening--and in this case, a resolution to the crime that I didn't see coming, though the clues were there. Maron really makes you wish that these were real people that you could meet and talk to. Only one left to catch up to the end of the series, with the newest due in August. A.
6. THE FALLS by Ian Rankin. #13 DI Rebus Scottish police procedural set in Edinburgh. It's been ages since I read a Rebus--the last couple were rather disappointing to me--but Rankin is back in form with this book. The story, one of a young woman who had set off from her flat to meet some friends for drinks and never showed up, sucked me in right away. It's determined that Philippa Balfour ("Flip" to her friends) was playing a dungeons-and-dragons style game, with clues given by the Quizmaster via e-mail. But was this related to her death or not? Supposedly people who play in this way were anonymous to one another. While Rebus works a possible historical connection to other similar cases, Siobhan Clarke works the computer game angle, and both are trying to adapt to their boss "Farmer" Watson retiring and their former colleague Gill Templer taking his place. There's a new lady in Rebus's life too, which lifts his often dour spirit. Very enjoyable--I only figured out part of the mystery, so it was great to be led a merry chase and to be surprised at the end. Excellent entry in the series! A.
7. A NOBLE RADIANCE by Donna Leon. #7 Commissario Guido Brunetti Italian police mystery set in Venice. Another cold case mystery where an old unsolved case is brought to the forefront when skeletal remains are found in a shallow grave in a village north of Venice when the new owner of an estate begins renovating. A valuable gold ring with a family crest with the body leads authorities to believe that the body is that of twenty-one-year-old Roberto Ludovicio, wealthy heir who was kidnapped two years ago and never found. Dental records confirm this and a bullet hole in the back of the head confirms that he was murdered, but can Brunetti track down the perpetrators with so many of the clues gone dead? Of course--Brunetti finds that the clues are merely dormant, not dead at all, and they lead him on a merry chase, throwing red herrings all over the place. As usual, it's not always possible to obtain justice through the Italian penal and court system, but in Leon's Venice, usually the universe knows what its doing, and this was no exception. I love the author's intellectual mysteries, with much philosophy and excellent cooking as well as vibrant atmosphere included in the bargain. In fact I love it so much, I'm going to do something I've not done in many a moon--read a couple of series books back to back. A+
8. FATAL REMEDIES by Donna Leon. #8 Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery in which Guido's wife Paola becomes a lawbreaker. Convinced she must do what she can to stop travel agents from booking "sex tours" to places like Thailand where the tourists have very young girls procured for them in what essentially amounts to rape and pedophelia, Paola gets up in the middle of the night and throws a rock through the window of a local travel agency known to cater to these types of tours. She does this twice and causes a bit of scandal for Guido as the newspapers hound him, her and the Questura. Guido's boss, Patta, puts him on administrative leave until the owner of the travel agency ends up murdered in his apartment--visciously strangled, with a note referring to him being a pedophile. Further investigation of course reveals that Paola's timely rock-throwing just provided an easy excuse for someone else who had it in for the man to kill him. Another solid entry in the series, although I didn't enjoy this one as much as the last--which is my signal that "two in a row is enough." LOL I think it may just have been the subject matter and the emotional roller coaster that Guido was on in part, though. A-
9. REAPER MAN by Terry Pratchett #11 in publication order of the Discworld humorous fantasy series in which DEATH gets a vacation and an hourglass of his own! When DEATH stops coming around, what happens? People who are supposed to die, don't. Case in point, Windle Poons, venerable hundred and thirty year old Bursar at Unseen University. His time is up--he knows it and so does everyone else. So why is he still alive? Er...or rather, undead? Because DEATH is having a working vacation on a ranch under the assumed name of handyman Bill Door, using his scythe to harvest the hay and being decidedly squeamish about butchering chickens. LOL And when things stop dying, life force starts building up--which can only lead to dire (if hilarious!) consequences. As usual, Pratchett's wacky (and yet, still rather profound at times) world never fails to leave me smiling, laughing and chortling with glee--and as always, I often found myself reading only to have the real meaning of some goofy phrase or concept that I read about a few pages previous dawn on me, paging backwards to reread portions of it. Nothing to be said except that Terry Pratchett is a genius! A+
10. BUTCHER'S HILL by Laura Lippmann (AUDIO) #3 Tess Monaghan mystery series set in Baltimore. Tess, now an official private investigator, is hired by two people--the first, a woman who claims to be looking for her long lost sister and the second an elderly man who is just out of prison, having been put there because he shot a neighborhood boy to death when he was harassing the old man. Luther Beale, "The Butcher" of Butcher's Hill wants Tess to find the other children who were with Donny Moore when he died to attempt to compensate them in some way for their suffering, but since they were minors in the foster care system, they won't be easily tracked down. Of course both cases end up being more complicated than they first seem, although I figured out much of both of them fairly early, the main mystery was a bit of a surprise ending for me. I enjoyed this book but not as much as I did the previously book in the series. The reader is pretty good, just not a favorite, and while I mostly like Tess, many of her supporting characters are annoying as heck. Still, a solid entry in the series and I look forward to the next, whether I end up reading in print or listening to it. B+
11. CHARLIE BONE AND THE INVISIBLE BOY by Jenny Nimmo (AUDIO) #3 in the Children of the Red King YA fantasy series, in which Charlie once again seeks to help out someone that the Bloors have enslaved. This time it's Oliver, an invisible boy they're hiding in the attic. Oliver was made invisible by an ensorcelled blue Boa Constrictor. Who is on Charlie's side and who's on the Bloors' becomes more defined in this book, as a pretty new girl, Belle, arrives at Bloor Academy. There's a lot happening in this book! Charlie also has responsibility for his friend Benjamin's dog, Runner Bean, as Benjamin is off to Hong Kong with his private detective parents on a case. Of course this complicates matters a bit, too, as Charlie is worried about his Uncle Paton, who has come up very ill after a week-long absence in which he tries to find out what his nasty sisters are up to. Excellent story as always and I really look forward to listening to the next one! A.
12. HIGH PRIESTESS by David Skibbins. #2 Warren Ritter "Tarot" mystery, featuring the old hippie radical fugitive from the law, now a tarot reader on the street in San Francisco. Warren is also bipolar and heavily involved in therapy attempting to deal with his checkered past. Warren (aka Richard Green in his previous life) is visited by a ghost from his past--someone who knew him back in his days with the Weathermen, a radical anti-war group from the 60's. Edward Hightower (also an assumed name) is now the leader of a small church--an offshoot of the Church of Satan. Their members are dropping like flies and Edward (with his sister, Veronique--who also happens to be Warren's ex-girlfriend) wants Warren to find out who. Instant suspects include several hyper-religious folks who sent threatening e-mails to Edward and the group, tracked down by Warren's current girlfriend Sally--a paraplegic computer hacker. But those solutions seem almost too easy, and soon it's rather obvious that those people haven't committed the string of murders. But someone wants Warren to take the fall for that--so the next crime is brilliantly set up to make him look like the bad guy. Now he has no choice but to investigate and clear his borrowed name. I really like this series! Warren is a definitely flawed and fallible but very likable guy, and the author obviously has mental health experience (I believe he's a therapist of some sort) as he portrays the bipolar swings very accurately. The solution to the mystery was quite simple, but Skibbins manages to still eke out a dynamite twist at the end. Loved it! A+
13. THE SNAKE STONE by Jason Goodwin. #2 in the Yashim the Eunuch historical mystery series set in 1830's Istanbul. The sultan is dying, and the city is in a peculiar mood. Yashim, who works for the sultan, hasn't been summoned to the palace in months, so he's perfectly free to investigate the murder of a French archaelogist on his own behalf. Dr. Lefevre had been a guest in Yashim's home the day before he died and he had been asking a lot of nosy questions about valuable Greek artifacts. He sought a ship back to France which Yashim helped him procure and then his body was found, gutted stem to stern and half-eaten by dogs a couple of days later. With lack of any other suspects, the French ambassador can only conclude that Yashim had something to do with his death, so he sets out to remove the cloud of suspicion from his good name before the ambassador files his final report. Steeped in history, myth and legend, the tale leads Yashim to several different neighborhoods of the city and even below it, as other people that Dr. Lefevre talked to end up attacked or dead also. When his widow arrives, not yet knowing she is a widow, things get even more complicated. An excellent story, full of the culture, sights, sounds, smells and tastes of Istanbul (I want to hire Yashim as my personal chef!!), with lots of history and the added bonus of secrets well-kept and secret societies, this was a very enjoyable read. A.
14. THE WHITE DRAGON by Anne McCaffrey. (AUDIO) #3 in the DragonRiders of Pern fantasy series, which features primarily Jaxom, soon-to-be Lord holder and also dragonrider of the world's only white dragon. Jaxom, still a very young man of eighteen, does much maturing during this book as he finds his way through his confusing position in life--should he focus on being Lord of the hold, or on being a Dragonrider? How can he be both? Exciting new discoveries are made regarding the ancestors of Pern and the three stars known as The Dawn Sisters. It's discovered that they are fixed entities, not stars at all, and when mysterious traveling ships are found during an excavation, it's believed that they may be somehow tied to those ships. Excellent entry in this series and I look forward to the next, although I have noticed that despite its age, it seems to be rather difficult to find. A.
15. DEAD BEAT by Jim Butcher. #7 in the Harry Dresden paranormal mystery series. Something foul is afoot in Chicago, as usual. The evil vampire queen Mavra contacts Harry, basically blackmailing him into searching for a much-sought-after item called The Word of Kemmler. Kemmler was a necromancer--one who could animate the dead, essentially make zombies of them. The White Council had hunted and killed him years previously, but someone (several someones probably!) want his power. Under normal circumstances, Harry would tell Mavra to go fly a kite--in the sun!--but the trump card she's playing has Harry's friend Karrin Murphy, police detective in charge of the Special Investigations department, as the bait. If Harry doesn't cooperate, Mavra will see to it that Murphy's career is ruined. So Harry cooperates--or at least gives the appearance of doing so. This leads him down a twisty path to first of all find out what The Word of Kemmler might be and then locating it. As usual, this is never as easy as it seems as unplanned-for obstacles litter Harry's path. An enjoyable, quick read with a marvelous writing style and a lovely visit with Harry. I do enjoy this paranormal series because it's not chock full of romancey bullcrap like so many of them are. I wish we could visit the poor guy when things are quiet and he actually has time to eat and sleep, but I guess that would be kind of boring! Looking forward to the next. A.
16. GET OUT OR DIE by Jane Finnis. #1 in the Aurelia Marcella historical mystery series set in A.D. 91 in Roman Britannia. Aurelia runs the local mansio (inn) with her sister and with their brother Lucius' permission--he is technically the owner, but as an army spy, is away "on business" most of the time. When a series of local attacks occur, with Roman travelers being killed and left with a badge that says "Get Out or Die!" Aurelia feels threatened to her core, especially as one of the victims is left for dead in her courtyard! But Quintus is another spy, like her brother, although he is loathe to tell her much at first. They all decide that the best way to return their small village to safety is to catch "The Shadow of Death" who is organizing the attacks is to catch him. The list of suspects includes some of Aurelia's friends and the town leaders, and although I knew right away who it was, it took Aurelia and company ages to figure it out. I did quite enjoy the book--the settings and characters were very well drawn, the writing style was easy to read, and I learned plenty of new things about that era. However, I did find the book a bit draggy in the midsection especially and it seemed like they hashed over the suspects' motives, means and opportunities to commit the various crimes over and over again to the point where it became repetitive--which is the only reason I didn't give it top marks. I will definitely be on the lookout for the next book in series and hope that the editor had a bit more a judicious hand with the draggy bits. B+
Currently reading: WATER LIKE A STONE by Deborah Crombie (#11 Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James mystery.) In audio, I'm listening to The Magician: Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott, second in a YA fantasy series.
DNF: MAD SEASON by Nancy Means Wright. I slogged through about 50 pages and just found the writing style stilted and the whole storyline confusing. Couldn't get into it at all. WICKED WEAVES (Renaissance Faire mystery #1) by Jim and Joyce Lavene. Oh, boy, I'm sorry but that book was just BAD...I did read 50 pages but it almost killed me.
Cheryl
Thursday, March 5, 2009
MARCH 2009 Reading
1. DRAGONQUEST by Anne McCaffrey (AUDIO) #2 in the Dragonriders of Pern fantasy series, taking place some seven turns after events in the first book. This is a little longer than my usual audiobook listen, so I expected to take quite awhile to finish it, but it was a very engaging story that was hard to stop listening to, so it was devoured in just two days. The Dragonriders continue to fight the dreaded Thread, strands of some toxic element that falls regularly from the skies, but things go a bit topsy-turvy when Thread begins falling at irregular times and places. Desperate to figure out what these new chaotic attacks mean, F’lar of Benden Weyr travels far and wide, talking to not only other Weyr leaders, but craftholders, Oldtimers, harpers and the like, gathering information. His influence, garnered of necessity seven turns ago, begins to wane as Oldtimers plot against craftholders, who in turn are becoming resentful of the Weyrs. There’s much political jockeying taking place as well as plenty of Dragon action and several side stories featuring some of the main characters from the first book as well as some new characters stepping to the forefront. Very enjoyable, and I’d even found the reader more appealing in this book—his sometimes overly dramatic reading was the one downfall I found to the first book in this very long-lived series. Great book! A
2. THE MAGICIAN’S APPRENTICE by Trudi Canavan. Prequel to the Black Magician fantasy trilogy, taking place several hundred years before the first book in that series. This is the story of Tessia, a commoner in Kyralia who is a healer’s daughter and who wants nothing more than to follow in her father’s footsteps. But women in Kyralia are not allowed to be healers, so when an episode of attempted rape by a visiting Sachakan magician reveals that Tessia is a natural magician, she becomes a second apprentice to Lord Dakon, who holds the ley her family lives in. First learning control of her magic lest she cause serious damage to her surroundings, Tessia’s goal is to figure out a way to incorporate healing with her magic, which has to that point not been done. A few months after she is apprenticed, she heads off to Imardin, the capital city, with Lord Dakon and his first apprentice (who is of noble blood and doesn’t like Tessia much) to meet the king, beginning a series of political intrigues and growing experiences for Tessia, both as a magician and as a person. I really wanted to love this book as I did the previously-published trilogy, but it really fell flat. Canavan is a good writer, with an easy-to-read style, but the story in this book was just….well, rather ho-hum. None of the characters really stirred me to either liking or hating them much, and while the story did explain some of the events that occurred later in the trilogy, it wasn’t done with the panache I had expected. The best I can say about the book is that it was okay. I don’t think writing prequels is an easy thing, and I will be on the lookout for more work by this author, but I hope she’s planning something new. C+
3. INNOCENT GRAVES by Peter Robinson. #8 Chief Inspector Alan Banks British police procedural set in rural Yorkshire. A young schoolgirl from the local private girls’ school is found strangled in a graveyard on a foggy November night. Is there a serial killer on the loose? Her body was arranged like a sex crime, but she hadn’t been raped or sexually assaulted in any way. Or was this some personal crime against Deborah Harrison herself, she being the daughter of a wealthy computer company mogul? A likely suspect is found in a local college teacher who was seen in the area at the right time, and he even had some of Deborah’s blood and hair on his jacket. He maintains his innocence and said she did bump into him on a bridge in the fog, but the police, wanting a quick solution for the girl’s powerful father, latch onto Owen Pierce and are determined to make the evidence fit. A few months later, he’s acquitted and a short time after his release, another girl is killed in similar fashion—again with some of his hairs on her jacket and some fingerprints on a film canister found nearby. Inspector Banks takes awhile to come around but believes Pierce is being set up, but by whom? Well, duh. I sussed the bad guy out right away and even guessed accurately at the reason why, but the actual clues that would let you figure it out didn’t come til later. It was still a great read despite my instinctive ‘knowing’ who the bad guy was ahead of time. This book didn’t feature just Banks—much of the story was told from the viewpoint of Owen Pierce and also some from other characters, including one of Banks’ subordinates, an ambitious detective who put together the first case against Pierce. Looking forward to the next! A.
4. CHARLIE BONE AND THE TIME TWISTER by Jenny Nimmo (audio) #2 Children of the Red King children’s fantasy series in which Charlie meets a boy of about his age that he first saw in a photograph at home—and who is actually his great-great-uncle Henry, sent forward through time by his evil cousin Zeke using a Time Twister—a marble with magical powers. Of course, evil cousin Zeke is none other than Ezekiel Bloor, now head of the same Bloor family that runs Charlie’s school. When the Bloors find out that Henry Yewbeam has been spotted in the school, they do everything in their power to attempt to capture him as Charlie and his group of friends do their best to protect the poor, baffled Henry, who arrived from 1916 and would be totally sunk on his own. Another enjoyable entry in this interesting children’s fantasy series, and I look forward to the third one soon. A.
5. THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING by Joan Didion (audio) A memoir of this writer’s life in the year after her husband of nearly forty years, author John Gregory Dunne, died suddenly of a heart attack at the dinner table. At the time, their only child, Quintana, a newlywed, was hospitalized and on a ventilator, having developed a septic infection from pneumonia, and after her eventual release a month later, then developed blood clots which led her to be on anticoagulants, which then resulted in a cerebral hemorrhage and coma a few weeks later. As you can imagine, Joan’s life was thrown into utter turmoil, and while she maintained an outward calm, inside her body was compensating by failing to emotionally accept some things. For example, she refused to give away her husband’s last pair of shoes, because she felt he would be upset at not having any when he came back. She called her year of grief her year of magical thinking because she believed that many impossible things were utterly true. The reader for this book set the tone very well, I thought, and it was difficult to stop listening much as people gather to watch the after-effects of a horrible accident. I have to say that I am glad it was short, though (only about 5 hours) or I might have stopped eventually. The tone was quite detached, almost cold, and at times I was irritated at the author’s description of privilege—the best doctors, the best hospitals, the best hotels—and I wondered how she would have handled her grief if she had been a poor housewife from Brooklyn with no money who had to find a job after her husband’s death. Still, it was an interesting book and very far my usual fare, and I can say that I felt it a worthwhile listen, although “enjoy” would be the wrong word. B.
6. ACCOMODATING BROCOLLI IN THE CEMETARY: OR, WHY CAN’T ANYONE SPELL? By Vivian Cook. I’m not really sure what the purpose of the book is supposed to be. I thought it was somewhat of a rant against bad spellers, but it isn’t, really. It’s a mixed bag of things cobbled together into a hodge podge of semi-related things—tests that see how well you can spell, blurbs about the evolution of the English language and how some words evolved over time, a review of some of the rules and fallacies of spelling, including the “i before e except after c” rule (which doesn’t hold much water, by the way) and various and sundry other things. There were photos of stupid spelling mistakes in newspapers (but they weren’t very good ones) and lists of differences between English English and American English, quotations from various famous people about spelling, lists of ways our modern culture has bastardized the language further with things like internet acronyms, texting language, etc. It was very poorly organized without a clear mission that I could glean. I love words and bits about their origins and the evolution of the language, but these bits weren’t even that well-done. (Oh yes; there was a section about hyphenated words too. LOL) I think the author wrote it just because he was pissed off that people think he’s a woman because his name is Vivian. I dunno! I wouldn’t really recommend the book. It took me about an hour to read through it and I was decidedly unimpressed. D.
7. KILLER’S CHOICE by Ed McBain #5 in the 87th Precinct police procedural series set in fictional Isola (modeled after New York.) Published the year I was born, some people would call this book “dated,” which, admittedly it is. But it’s a wonderful time capsule too, and I have to wonder if McBain deliberately set out to accomplish that, if he had any idea how long-lasting his series would be. The opening paragraph lets you know you’ve gone back in time as it talks about “eight dollar Scotch and twenty-five-cent wine” bottles broken together on a liquor store floor. I’m not even sure you can buy a bottle of eight dollar Scotch these days, and that was the expensive stuff back then. LOL There are numerous other clues—twenty-one-cent-a-gallon gas, a policeman’s salary of $3,800 a year, and phone numbers with an exchange listed rather than just a number. All that aside, McBain writes an enjoyable detective story, and already at this point in the series, I’m a big fan of Steve Carella, Meyer Meyer, Bert Kling and the rest of the gang. A young woman employed in a liquor store is brutally shot to death four times, the stock in the store smashed to smithereens. They get several different pictures of who the young woman was—one from her mother, another from her ex-husband, and still another from friends. I had an inkling about who the killer was at the time they were introduced, but the clues as to how it was done weren’t really revealed until the end of the book—and I’d have missed them anyway, as a knowledge as to ‘how certain things were done’ would have been needed to figure it out. I still enjoyed this very much and look forward to the next one. B+
8. KITTY GOES TO WASHINGTON by Carrie Vaughn. #2 Kitty Norville paranormal series featuring the radio talk show hostess who is also a werewolf. Kitty, now traveling around the country doing her night time talk show from different cities, has been subpoenaed by a Congressional Committee to testify regarding an ongoing research project into the causes and potential cures of the ‘supernatural’ races like vampires, werewolves, and the like. She’s never been to the nation’s capital and hopes to combine some sightseeing with her testimony. That doesn’t happen, though, as she is waylaid by the city’s Vampire leader on the way to her hotel, commandeered to Alette’s townhouse and warned of rogue lycanthropes who may want to harm Kitty. She doesn’t know whether to trust Alette and her lackeys and does eventually hooks up with a sexy Brazilian were-jaguar named Luis (he purrs! LOL) whom she met at a party. Luis leads her to a bar that is a hangout for weres—there is no pack, no leader and the place exudes comfort and friendship. Was Alette lying, or are things not as they really seem? Kitty also finally meets the head of the research project she’s testifying about. She isn’t sure whether to trust Dr. Paul Flemming either—he’s been nothing but evasive when she’s tried to speak to him in the past and this is no exception. She knows she doesn’t trust Senator Duke, who is looking for a witch hunt (rather, a were-hunt) and wants Congress to declare open season on all ‘abominable creatures of the devil’ like weres and vampires. But who among those she’s met of the supernatural community has her best interests at heart? She finds out the hard way in a stunning climax that shocks not only Kitty but the whole world. Very enjoyable read—I really like Kitty, and I find the world that Vaughn has created to be believable and plausible, and I like that she is able to incorporate a bit of a sex for her heroine without making romance andsex so pervasive that it takes over the story. Glad to have the next couple in the series here waiting patiently for me. A.
9. THE GHOST WAR by Alex Berenson. #2 John Wells spy thriller in which two incidents, one in Afghanistan and the other involving China and North Korea, entwine to bring about potential disaster. John goes into Afghanistan on a mission to find out who is helping the Taliban. The usual ragtag bands of guerrillas are noticed to be more organized, well-equipped and prepared, and there’s rumor of ‘white’ soldiers helping them. Russians? Or a band of mercenaries? Satellite intelligence gleaned leads the Americans to believe that they need to find out. While John is in the Middle Eastern mountains fighting for his very life, Jennifer Exley, his girlfriend, is working with their boss on ferreting out a recently-discovered mole who betrayed a nuclear scientist in North Korea, leaving him and his American rescue team dead. A fairly typical spy novel, filled with political intrigue, deception, the very latest in spy vs. spy technology and even a modicum of diplomacy. There wasn’t a whole lot of character development since the last book, in fact, I felt like Wells stepped backwards somewhat into the grayness of the pages and became more of a ghost himself. This was a decent read, but a bit of a disappointment after the excellent first in series. If I were prone to spouting clichés, I would say this is probably the author suffering from the ‘sophomore slump.’ I like a good spy novel, but I can’t live on a steady diet of them, so while I have the third one in this series here, I think it’ll be awhile before I get to reading it. I hope things pick up somewhat, as this author has obvious talent. B.
10. THE TAINTED RELIC by “The Medieval Murderers” (audio) The Medieval Murderers is a combination of five historical mystery authors—Michael Jecks, Ian Morson, Susanna Gregory, Bernard Knight, Philip Gooden and Simon Beaufort—yes, that’s six, but Beaufort is actually the same person as Susanna Gregory who has a different series. Each write a short story about their sleuth as a cursed relic (a piece of the “true cross” of Christ) crosses their path leaving murder and mayhem in its’ wake. I wasn’t sure if I’d like this setup or not, but I actually really enjoyed it. A couple of the authors I’d never encountered before, and particularly liked the writing style of Ian Morson, enough to seek out the first in his Falconer series. I’m not particularly fond of Michael Jecks—at least, the one book of his I’ve read I wasn’t wild about, but I’m going to give him another try—but it came off okay in the audio version; it was my least favorite of the stories though. Two of my favorite sleuths were included—Bernard Knight’s Crowner John de Wolfe and Susanna Gregory’s Matthew Bartholomew. The reader for the book was excellent, using many different voices and accents over the course of the story. I have a couple of these combination books on my TBR pile in print—we’ll see if the stories are as appealing that way as this one was in the audio version. Some of the later ones cobble different authors into the mix. Well done and quite enjoyable, it didn’t seem like it was a 15-hour listen! A.
11. THE PESTHOUSE by Jim Crace. Not sure how to classify this—I guess it would be sort of speculative, post-apocalyptic fiction of sorts. It’s the story, mainly, of two people—Margaret and Franklin—and seems to be set in the future, a future in which America as we know it has disappeared. We’re back to wood and bone implements, handmade homespun clothing, horse-drawn transportation (if we’re lucky!), no electricity and a rather bleak landscape in which people are leaving the country in droves—by ship. However, human seem to have changed little, and our age-old cruelty to one another, greediness, hunger for power and self-preservation instinct seems to have survived whatever catastrophe took place. And as always, small pockets of goodness and unselfishness will be found, too, if you look hard enough. Franklin and his brother Jackson, young men in their twenties, set out eastward for the sea after their father’s death and the family farm fails, leaving their mother to hold down the fort and knowing they probably won’t see her again. Margaret, a single woman in her 30’s who developed a flux of some sort, is quarantined in a hut on the edge of town—Ferrytown—with her head and body hair shaved off, basically left to either die or survive by her family, in hopes that they aren’t already afflicted. Through a set of bizarre circumstances, Franklin and Margaret end up traveling together eastward, then become separated, and end up together again towards the end of the book. Initially I found the book mesmerizing and couldn’t put it down, but later wanted more information about what had happened to land America in such a state, and that information really wasn’t forthcoming—just a lot of ‘teaser’ kind of clues. Franklin and Margaret’s stories became a bit stale after awhile, though it was a good book overall and I did come away with some things to think about and ponder. The ending was quite satisfying if a little predictable, and had the book been a bit less bogged down in the middle, my overall opinion would have been higher. B+.
12. A FATAL GRACE by Louise Penny. #2 Three Pines mystery set in a small village outside Quebec, Ontario and featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. When a vile newcomer, CC de Poitiers, who moved into the old Hadley house, is deliberately electrocuted while in the middle of a frozen pond watching a curling match on Boxing Day, Chief Inspector Gamache is once again dispatched to Three Pines to work on the murder. No one liked CC—she was mean, viscious and cruel to virtually everyone she encountered, most noticeably to her own pubescent daughter. But who had means, motive and opportunity to do the wannabe Martha Stewart in in such a complicated and bizarre way? Gamache’s team ponders, puzzles and gets stuck in Three Pines in a snowstorm, and eventually they figure it out. There are a couple of red herrings, but I did have a gut feeling about the killer early on and I was right, though I did doubt myself for quite some time. Wonderful mystery, delightful characters, food descriptions that you can almost smell wafting off the pages, and a writing style that just keeps you wanting more. Humorous at times, yet poignant, rich in the Quebecois culture, there’s a bit of everything. I’m glad I have the third one here but I fear I won’t be able to keep my hands off it for long. Excellent! A+
13. THE BATTLE OF THE LABYRINTH by Rick Riordan. (audio) #4 Percy Jackson and the Olympians YA fantasy series. I really enjoy this series a lot! Percy, AnnaBeth, Grover and their friends are off again on another quest, this time to navigate the labyrinth made by Daedalus, who was also the infamous designer of the wings stuck on with wax that caused his son Icarus to fall when he flew too close to the sun and the wax melted. The half-bloods believe that Luke, their arch-nemesis who has an allegiance with the Titan Kronos, has found a way to easily get to Camp Half-Blood through the Labyrinth and seek to find that path and block it. Meanwhile, Grover sets out with them determined to find the god Pan, given one last chance to do so before his Seeker’s license is revoked by the Council. Percy, fast approaching fifteen, has his share of girl trouble in this episode too, with the usual adolescent confusions that go with it. Another action-packed adventure, with some humor and some very serious moments too. There’s one more installment, and Percy will be turning sixteen, when everyone finds out if his prophecy—whether he will save or destroy Mount Olympus—comes to pass. Excellent stuff, wonderful reader (Jesse Bernstein) who does a multitude of male and female, old and young, human and creature voices very well. A+
14. WHO COOKED THE LAST SUPPER? THE WOMEN’S HISTORY OF THE WORLD by Rosalind Miles. Nonfiction history, from ancient to modern times, as it relates to women’s place in history. Spans the gamut from religious to political history, and this book is difficult to read without getting quite angry at times, me being a woman and all, and a majority of the book being about how women have been second-class citizens since, as the author wryly puts it, ‘the rise of the phallus.’ Viewed as simply man’s property for much of recorded history, women have had to fight tooth and nail for basic human rights. This is a glimpse into how things were through time, from the beginning (when women were revered) and with specific views at different cultures and microcosms. Also points out notable exceptions to the rule of the day, wherever and whenever that might be, with information about various “famous women” but also about how things were for the ‘average Jane’ of the times. I learned a lot reading this book, but despite the author’s attempts at injecting some humor into it, I did read it in small bits rather than devour it in large chunks as it tended to get quite dry in places. A very worthwhile read, though. B+
15. CAT’S EYEWITNESS by Rita Mae and Sneaky Pie Brown. (audio) #13 in the Mrs. Murphy mysteries set in Crozet, Virginia and featuring not only the wise tabby cat but her friends Pewter the fat gray cat and Tucker, the Welsh Corgi. And let’s not forget their human, Mary Minor “Harry” Harristeen. Thanksgiving in Crozet should be a relaxed and happy time, and it is, until Harry’s friend Susan’s great-uncle Thomas, a monk at the local monastery dies, praying in front of a statue of the Virgin Mary that had begun crying tears of blood. Harry, ever the skeptic, wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t witnessed the phenomenon herself. Brother Thomas was over 80, so his death wasn’t investigated as suspicious, but when a reporter who had broken the story about the Virgin also ends up dead, very obviously murdered, Harry’s ‘something’s not right’ antennae start twitching and she starts asking pointed questions, much to the chagrin of her friends and family and Sheriff Rick Shaw. Personally, Harry is a bit at loose ends, having quit her job at the Post Office, and is investigating growing grapes and starting a vineyard. And Fair, her ex-husband, has put more pressure on her with regard to his oft repeated proposal of re-marriage, too. The mystery was fairly straightforward, but I’ve come to love these characters more and more as the series wears on, and I’ve also grown fond of this reader, Kate Forbes, too. I found it hard to stop listening to this one and had to find things to do to occupy me so I could finish it. And now my bathrooms are really, really clean. LOL I’m glad my library has all of these available for audio download—I’ve already got the next one on my list. A.
16. FLESH AND BONE by Jefferson Bass. #2 in the Body Farm mysteries featuring Dr. Bill Brockton, founder of the research institute dedicated to learning more about how we decompose. In the first book, I enjoyed the forensic parts but was not crazy about the main character, and that trend continued in this book. For all that Dr. Bill Brockton is the consummate “nice guy,” I just can’t get attached to him, nor do I really care much about him—even when he’s suspected of murder. He’s just boring milquetoast for me. But I *did* enjoy the forensic aspect of the book a lot—if not for that, it’s doubtful I would have continued reading it. Lots of gory details, so if you’re squeamish, I wouldn’t read this book. Bill gets embroiled in the creationism/intelligent design vs. evolution debate in this book as well as working on the murder of a guy dressed in women’s clothes that appears to be a hate crime. When a colleague of Bill’s—whom he just happens to have slept with also—ends up murdered and displayed in his own Body Farm on top of the body they’re using to research that hate crime murder, he is a strong suspect in the case. Can’t see why, when ‘whodunit’ was as plain as the nose on your face, at least to me. I’m debating whether to continue on in this series or not. The whole package just seems really uninspired, great forensic details or no. One of those, “It wasn’t really bad...it was okay, BUT”...kind of books. C+
17. THE BLADE ITSELF by Joe Abercrombie. #1 in The First Law fantasy trilogy. Set in a world beset by war and utterly devoid of magic, this book tells the story of several very different characters. Loren Ninefingers, an aptly named mercenary who has survived many wars, battles and skirmishes; Sand dan Glokta, a former fencing champion turned Inquisitor, a master of torture after his eight-year experience in an enemy prison leave him crippled and disfigured both physically and emotionally; Jezal dan Luthar, a young nobleman of privilege who has yet to see war and who is hoping to win the upcoming summer fencing Contest. Several other peripheral characters come into play as well, and the world is about to see Magic and all the myths and legends that were thought to be just children’s stories come back to life as Bayaz, the First of the Magi, makes himself known as the country is thrown into war from two directions. The king is a puppet, his heir a worthless fop, and his advisors plot and scheme to gain control of the government. A multi-layered tale, well-written and interesting to read. While this had many of the elements of your ‘classic’ fantasy tale, it was decidedly darker than some, but all the better for it, I thought—me not being a big fan of knights in shining armor and all that rot. I like a world where the lines between good and evil are more realistically drawn, blurred and gray in many places, much like our own world. The characters were well-fleshed, imperfect and varied, and it will be interesting to follow their stories into the next book, which I thankfully have here already. Well-done! A+.
18. COLD GRANITE by Stuart MacBride. #1 Logan MacRae Scottish police procedural series. DS MacRae, on his first day back to work after a year-long medical leave following a stabbing that left him near-dead, ends up as lead investigator on a child murder case—the months-dead body of a four-year-old boy found in a ditch who appears to have been tortured and sexually abused. Logan was supposed to be gently transitioned back into work, but this murder kicks off a couple of weeks from hell, in which several other childrens bodies are found, though not all of them are related to the first case. Logan is also recovering from a break-up with his girlfriend, who happens to be the medical examiner/pathologist. I had a really hard time putting this book down—stayed up later than usual to finish it, in fact. The writing was very compelling and the story was quite interesting. While mostly a bleak, dark book, MacBride does inject enough humor into it so that it doesn’t feel quite so grim. And I really do like Logan. However, after I finished it and thought back, there was much about the book and the procedures, etc. that I found to question. Perhaps police procedure works differently in Aberdeen, but it seemed to me that Logan, as a Detective Sergeant, had a whole lot more direct involvement, leadership responsibility and latitude with his activity than most other DS’s I’ve read about in other series, who seem to be assigned a lot of mundane detail work while the Detective Inspectors and higher do the actual investigation. He basically solves all the cases—obviously he’s brilliant, so why is he still a DS? As often happens I did figure out most of the cases well ahead of the police—these nice juicy obvious clues kept falling right in the reader’s lap! LOL Also, the interconnections of all the various cases just seemed a little too pat, too coincidental. While not a sprawling metropolitan area, Aberdeen does have over 200,000 people and it just doesn’t seem likely that these cases could all connect up like they did. There was also a lot of repetition with regard to descriptions—of the weather, especially. Yes, it was rainy and snowy. We get it. How many ways and times can that (or can wet and miserable policemen) be described without becoming tiresome? At any rate, despite those negatives, I am quite excited about this series and am looking forward to the next one but I’m hoping MacBride learns to tighten things up a bit and makes the plots more plausible in future works. B+
19. THE WOLVES OF SAVERNAKE by Edward Marston. #1 Domesday medieval mystery set about twenty years after William the Conqueror takes Britain by storm. Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret are traveling around compiling The Domesday Book, in which a sort of census is taken along with recording what lands are owned by whom so that the appropriate taxes can be paid to the King. Summoned to the town of Bedwyn near Savernake Forest by the local miller regarding a dispute with the local Abbey over some tracts of land, Ralph and Gervase arrive only to discover that Alric the miller has died--the apparent victim of a brutal wolf attack--throat ripped out and bleeding in the stream. This seems a little too coincidental for our sleuths, and they set out to find who stood to lose by the knowledge the miller would have given to the King's men. I quite enjoyed this introduction to the characters of Ralph and Gervase, with a solution to the murders that I didn't see coming at all. Lots of period detail and atmosphere which was excellent, though the writing style on the whole is just a bit dry in places. I have a couple more of these and will definitely continue on reading, though. B+
20. FLUSH by Carl Hiaasen (audio) Another of Hiaasen's YA books, the theme for this one (like HOOT) is Florida and saving wildlife and the environment. Noah Underwood's father is in jail...again. He's not a bad guy, he just has "principles." He KNOWS that the scumbag owner of a gambling boat dumps raw sewage into the water (instead of the holding tanks they're supposed to use) so he...well, he sinks the boat. Determined to get the public aware and on his side, Mr. Underwood conducts a media campaign from his jail cell. Noah, determined to help his father get the proof he needs, contacts "Lice" (so-named for obvious reasons!) Peking, a former employee of the casino owner--who subsequently goes missing after agreeing to help them. But the Underwoods don't give up that easily, although MRS. Underwood wishes they would, and their marriage is hanging by a precarious thread, much to Noah's dismay. Chock full of Hiaasen's usual quirky characters (including Noah's sister Abby) and environmental themes, this book wasn't as good as Hoot but was still a great listen,with some laugh out loud moments as well as serious issues dealt with, and I have put more of Hiaasen's work on my library download list. B+
21. THREE CAN KEEP A SECRET by Judy Clemens. #2 in the Stella Crown mystery series featuring the amateur sleuth who also is a dairy farmer. Stella sets out to begin life anew after the events of the first book left her good friend and farmhand Howie dead, and herself recovering from a serious motorcycle accident. The first order of business is to hire a new hand. Enter Lucy, a young widowed woman with a little girl, who seems to know her way around a barn and whom Stella likes immediately. But when an anonymous caller warns her off Lucy and there's a visit from Child Protective Services--and then someone paints nasty graffiti directed at Lucy on Stella's barn, Stella begins to wonder if she made the right choice in hiring her. Added to that mystery is Stella's biker friend Lenny, a big teddy bear of a man who it seems has a checkered past which is now coming back to haunt him. Attempted break-ins at his store and home and a brutal attack on his business partner devastate Lenny as he works to confront his demons. I really enjoy this series; the writing style is great, it reads quickly and smoothly and I like the characterizations, too, and am learning a lot about the Mennonite culture--although Stella isn't Mennonite, many of the characters in her series are. The mystery wasn't too much of a mystery in this one, and I'm getting a little weary of Stella's apparently emotionally-stunted personality (for someone so strong and independent, she has a hard time facing personal things) but I still enjoyed it a lot and have put the next one on my library list as they are hard to come by at PBS. B+
22. ALONE AT NIGHT by KJ Erickson. #4 (and as far as I can tell, the last) in the Mars Bahr police procedural series set in Minneapolis. This book tells a case that Mars & Nettie are working on as part of the Cold Case Unit, this one investigating three unsolved convenience store abductions from years previously. The one that intrigues and haunts Mars is the one where a body was never found, having occurred 19 years previously when a seventeen-year-old student named Andrea Bergstad disappeared from the isolated, rural One Stop where she was about to finish her shift. There were precious few clues even back then, and Mars heads back to Redstone Township to talk with the then-sheriff, Sig Sampson, to get a better feel for the case. Of course digging in the past can often dredge up things that someone doesn't want brought to light, and it's not long before Mars believes there is a present-day tie to the case that might be dangerous for anyone looking to discover what really happened to Andrea. This was an excellent entry in the series, although I have mixed feelings about the ending. I wonder whether the author knew this would be the last book--though with several things not resolved, I can't help but think not. It always saddens me when a series that I started out being slightly ambivalent about begins to blossom and then just drops off the face of the earth just as I'm getting truly addicted to it. I keep hoping there will be more. A.
Currently reading: Haven't decided yet!
DNF: After listening for 3 hours, I finally decided to give up on 44 SCOTLAND STREET by Alexander McCall Smith. It’s not that the story is bad—although there isn’t much happening, it’s an interesting peek at the lives of a few wildly different people living in a building in Edinburgh, Scotland. The reason I’m quitting is the reader, who does a very poor job of differentiating between the characters’ voices and often seems to slur his words or try to read parts too fast. I do have the print copy of this and may eventually pick up where I left off in the audio, but no way could I look forward to another 9 hours of listening to (checks audio details) Robert Ian Mackenzie! Why couldn’t they get Sean Connery to read this? LOL
I also tried reading DEATH OF A RED HEROINE by Qiu Xiaolong, which I found to be dry and rather tedious and the main character didn't interest me much. As it was a very long book for a series mystery, I gave up after 50 pages or so, not wanting to slog through another 400+ of the same.
Cheryl
2. THE MAGICIAN’S APPRENTICE by Trudi Canavan. Prequel to the Black Magician fantasy trilogy, taking place several hundred years before the first book in that series. This is the story of Tessia, a commoner in Kyralia who is a healer’s daughter and who wants nothing more than to follow in her father’s footsteps. But women in Kyralia are not allowed to be healers, so when an episode of attempted rape by a visiting Sachakan magician reveals that Tessia is a natural magician, she becomes a second apprentice to Lord Dakon, who holds the ley her family lives in. First learning control of her magic lest she cause serious damage to her surroundings, Tessia’s goal is to figure out a way to incorporate healing with her magic, which has to that point not been done. A few months after she is apprenticed, she heads off to Imardin, the capital city, with Lord Dakon and his first apprentice (who is of noble blood and doesn’t like Tessia much) to meet the king, beginning a series of political intrigues and growing experiences for Tessia, both as a magician and as a person. I really wanted to love this book as I did the previously-published trilogy, but it really fell flat. Canavan is a good writer, with an easy-to-read style, but the story in this book was just….well, rather ho-hum. None of the characters really stirred me to either liking or hating them much, and while the story did explain some of the events that occurred later in the trilogy, it wasn’t done with the panache I had expected. The best I can say about the book is that it was okay. I don’t think writing prequels is an easy thing, and I will be on the lookout for more work by this author, but I hope she’s planning something new. C+
3. INNOCENT GRAVES by Peter Robinson. #8 Chief Inspector Alan Banks British police procedural set in rural Yorkshire. A young schoolgirl from the local private girls’ school is found strangled in a graveyard on a foggy November night. Is there a serial killer on the loose? Her body was arranged like a sex crime, but she hadn’t been raped or sexually assaulted in any way. Or was this some personal crime against Deborah Harrison herself, she being the daughter of a wealthy computer company mogul? A likely suspect is found in a local college teacher who was seen in the area at the right time, and he even had some of Deborah’s blood and hair on his jacket. He maintains his innocence and said she did bump into him on a bridge in the fog, but the police, wanting a quick solution for the girl’s powerful father, latch onto Owen Pierce and are determined to make the evidence fit. A few months later, he’s acquitted and a short time after his release, another girl is killed in similar fashion—again with some of his hairs on her jacket and some fingerprints on a film canister found nearby. Inspector Banks takes awhile to come around but believes Pierce is being set up, but by whom? Well, duh. I sussed the bad guy out right away and even guessed accurately at the reason why, but the actual clues that would let you figure it out didn’t come til later. It was still a great read despite my instinctive ‘knowing’ who the bad guy was ahead of time. This book didn’t feature just Banks—much of the story was told from the viewpoint of Owen Pierce and also some from other characters, including one of Banks’ subordinates, an ambitious detective who put together the first case against Pierce. Looking forward to the next! A.
4. CHARLIE BONE AND THE TIME TWISTER by Jenny Nimmo (audio) #2 Children of the Red King children’s fantasy series in which Charlie meets a boy of about his age that he first saw in a photograph at home—and who is actually his great-great-uncle Henry, sent forward through time by his evil cousin Zeke using a Time Twister—a marble with magical powers. Of course, evil cousin Zeke is none other than Ezekiel Bloor, now head of the same Bloor family that runs Charlie’s school. When the Bloors find out that Henry Yewbeam has been spotted in the school, they do everything in their power to attempt to capture him as Charlie and his group of friends do their best to protect the poor, baffled Henry, who arrived from 1916 and would be totally sunk on his own. Another enjoyable entry in this interesting children’s fantasy series, and I look forward to the third one soon. A.
5. THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING by Joan Didion (audio) A memoir of this writer’s life in the year after her husband of nearly forty years, author John Gregory Dunne, died suddenly of a heart attack at the dinner table. At the time, their only child, Quintana, a newlywed, was hospitalized and on a ventilator, having developed a septic infection from pneumonia, and after her eventual release a month later, then developed blood clots which led her to be on anticoagulants, which then resulted in a cerebral hemorrhage and coma a few weeks later. As you can imagine, Joan’s life was thrown into utter turmoil, and while she maintained an outward calm, inside her body was compensating by failing to emotionally accept some things. For example, she refused to give away her husband’s last pair of shoes, because she felt he would be upset at not having any when he came back. She called her year of grief her year of magical thinking because she believed that many impossible things were utterly true. The reader for this book set the tone very well, I thought, and it was difficult to stop listening much as people gather to watch the after-effects of a horrible accident. I have to say that I am glad it was short, though (only about 5 hours) or I might have stopped eventually. The tone was quite detached, almost cold, and at times I was irritated at the author’s description of privilege—the best doctors, the best hospitals, the best hotels—and I wondered how she would have handled her grief if she had been a poor housewife from Brooklyn with no money who had to find a job after her husband’s death. Still, it was an interesting book and very far my usual fare, and I can say that I felt it a worthwhile listen, although “enjoy” would be the wrong word. B.
6. ACCOMODATING BROCOLLI IN THE CEMETARY: OR, WHY CAN’T ANYONE SPELL? By Vivian Cook. I’m not really sure what the purpose of the book is supposed to be. I thought it was somewhat of a rant against bad spellers, but it isn’t, really. It’s a mixed bag of things cobbled together into a hodge podge of semi-related things—tests that see how well you can spell, blurbs about the evolution of the English language and how some words evolved over time, a review of some of the rules and fallacies of spelling, including the “i before e except after c” rule (which doesn’t hold much water, by the way) and various and sundry other things. There were photos of stupid spelling mistakes in newspapers (but they weren’t very good ones) and lists of differences between English English and American English, quotations from various famous people about spelling, lists of ways our modern culture has bastardized the language further with things like internet acronyms, texting language, etc. It was very poorly organized without a clear mission that I could glean. I love words and bits about their origins and the evolution of the language, but these bits weren’t even that well-done. (Oh yes; there was a section about hyphenated words too. LOL) I think the author wrote it just because he was pissed off that people think he’s a woman because his name is Vivian. I dunno! I wouldn’t really recommend the book. It took me about an hour to read through it and I was decidedly unimpressed. D.
7. KILLER’S CHOICE by Ed McBain #5 in the 87th Precinct police procedural series set in fictional Isola (modeled after New York.) Published the year I was born, some people would call this book “dated,” which, admittedly it is. But it’s a wonderful time capsule too, and I have to wonder if McBain deliberately set out to accomplish that, if he had any idea how long-lasting his series would be. The opening paragraph lets you know you’ve gone back in time as it talks about “eight dollar Scotch and twenty-five-cent wine” bottles broken together on a liquor store floor. I’m not even sure you can buy a bottle of eight dollar Scotch these days, and that was the expensive stuff back then. LOL There are numerous other clues—twenty-one-cent-a-gallon gas, a policeman’s salary of $3,800 a year, and phone numbers with an exchange listed rather than just a number. All that aside, McBain writes an enjoyable detective story, and already at this point in the series, I’m a big fan of Steve Carella, Meyer Meyer, Bert Kling and the rest of the gang. A young woman employed in a liquor store is brutally shot to death four times, the stock in the store smashed to smithereens. They get several different pictures of who the young woman was—one from her mother, another from her ex-husband, and still another from friends. I had an inkling about who the killer was at the time they were introduced, but the clues as to how it was done weren’t really revealed until the end of the book—and I’d have missed them anyway, as a knowledge as to ‘how certain things were done’ would have been needed to figure it out. I still enjoyed this very much and look forward to the next one. B+
8. KITTY GOES TO WASHINGTON by Carrie Vaughn. #2 Kitty Norville paranormal series featuring the radio talk show hostess who is also a werewolf. Kitty, now traveling around the country doing her night time talk show from different cities, has been subpoenaed by a Congressional Committee to testify regarding an ongoing research project into the causes and potential cures of the ‘supernatural’ races like vampires, werewolves, and the like. She’s never been to the nation’s capital and hopes to combine some sightseeing with her testimony. That doesn’t happen, though, as she is waylaid by the city’s Vampire leader on the way to her hotel, commandeered to Alette’s townhouse and warned of rogue lycanthropes who may want to harm Kitty. She doesn’t know whether to trust Alette and her lackeys and does eventually hooks up with a sexy Brazilian were-jaguar named Luis (he purrs! LOL) whom she met at a party. Luis leads her to a bar that is a hangout for weres—there is no pack, no leader and the place exudes comfort and friendship. Was Alette lying, or are things not as they really seem? Kitty also finally meets the head of the research project she’s testifying about. She isn’t sure whether to trust Dr. Paul Flemming either—he’s been nothing but evasive when she’s tried to speak to him in the past and this is no exception. She knows she doesn’t trust Senator Duke, who is looking for a witch hunt (rather, a were-hunt) and wants Congress to declare open season on all ‘abominable creatures of the devil’ like weres and vampires. But who among those she’s met of the supernatural community has her best interests at heart? She finds out the hard way in a stunning climax that shocks not only Kitty but the whole world. Very enjoyable read—I really like Kitty, and I find the world that Vaughn has created to be believable and plausible, and I like that she is able to incorporate a bit of a sex for her heroine without making romance andsex so pervasive that it takes over the story. Glad to have the next couple in the series here waiting patiently for me. A.
9. THE GHOST WAR by Alex Berenson. #2 John Wells spy thriller in which two incidents, one in Afghanistan and the other involving China and North Korea, entwine to bring about potential disaster. John goes into Afghanistan on a mission to find out who is helping the Taliban. The usual ragtag bands of guerrillas are noticed to be more organized, well-equipped and prepared, and there’s rumor of ‘white’ soldiers helping them. Russians? Or a band of mercenaries? Satellite intelligence gleaned leads the Americans to believe that they need to find out. While John is in the Middle Eastern mountains fighting for his very life, Jennifer Exley, his girlfriend, is working with their boss on ferreting out a recently-discovered mole who betrayed a nuclear scientist in North Korea, leaving him and his American rescue team dead. A fairly typical spy novel, filled with political intrigue, deception, the very latest in spy vs. spy technology and even a modicum of diplomacy. There wasn’t a whole lot of character development since the last book, in fact, I felt like Wells stepped backwards somewhat into the grayness of the pages and became more of a ghost himself. This was a decent read, but a bit of a disappointment after the excellent first in series. If I were prone to spouting clichés, I would say this is probably the author suffering from the ‘sophomore slump.’ I like a good spy novel, but I can’t live on a steady diet of them, so while I have the third one in this series here, I think it’ll be awhile before I get to reading it. I hope things pick up somewhat, as this author has obvious talent. B.
10. THE TAINTED RELIC by “The Medieval Murderers” (audio) The Medieval Murderers is a combination of five historical mystery authors—Michael Jecks, Ian Morson, Susanna Gregory, Bernard Knight, Philip Gooden and Simon Beaufort—yes, that’s six, but Beaufort is actually the same person as Susanna Gregory who has a different series. Each write a short story about their sleuth as a cursed relic (a piece of the “true cross” of Christ) crosses their path leaving murder and mayhem in its’ wake. I wasn’t sure if I’d like this setup or not, but I actually really enjoyed it. A couple of the authors I’d never encountered before, and particularly liked the writing style of Ian Morson, enough to seek out the first in his Falconer series. I’m not particularly fond of Michael Jecks—at least, the one book of his I’ve read I wasn’t wild about, but I’m going to give him another try—but it came off okay in the audio version; it was my least favorite of the stories though. Two of my favorite sleuths were included—Bernard Knight’s Crowner John de Wolfe and Susanna Gregory’s Matthew Bartholomew. The reader for the book was excellent, using many different voices and accents over the course of the story. I have a couple of these combination books on my TBR pile in print—we’ll see if the stories are as appealing that way as this one was in the audio version. Some of the later ones cobble different authors into the mix. Well done and quite enjoyable, it didn’t seem like it was a 15-hour listen! A.
11. THE PESTHOUSE by Jim Crace. Not sure how to classify this—I guess it would be sort of speculative, post-apocalyptic fiction of sorts. It’s the story, mainly, of two people—Margaret and Franklin—and seems to be set in the future, a future in which America as we know it has disappeared. We’re back to wood and bone implements, handmade homespun clothing, horse-drawn transportation (if we’re lucky!), no electricity and a rather bleak landscape in which people are leaving the country in droves—by ship. However, human seem to have changed little, and our age-old cruelty to one another, greediness, hunger for power and self-preservation instinct seems to have survived whatever catastrophe took place. And as always, small pockets of goodness and unselfishness will be found, too, if you look hard enough. Franklin and his brother Jackson, young men in their twenties, set out eastward for the sea after their father’s death and the family farm fails, leaving their mother to hold down the fort and knowing they probably won’t see her again. Margaret, a single woman in her 30’s who developed a flux of some sort, is quarantined in a hut on the edge of town—Ferrytown—with her head and body hair shaved off, basically left to either die or survive by her family, in hopes that they aren’t already afflicted. Through a set of bizarre circumstances, Franklin and Margaret end up traveling together eastward, then become separated, and end up together again towards the end of the book. Initially I found the book mesmerizing and couldn’t put it down, but later wanted more information about what had happened to land America in such a state, and that information really wasn’t forthcoming—just a lot of ‘teaser’ kind of clues. Franklin and Margaret’s stories became a bit stale after awhile, though it was a good book overall and I did come away with some things to think about and ponder. The ending was quite satisfying if a little predictable, and had the book been a bit less bogged down in the middle, my overall opinion would have been higher. B+.
12. A FATAL GRACE by Louise Penny. #2 Three Pines mystery set in a small village outside Quebec, Ontario and featuring Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. When a vile newcomer, CC de Poitiers, who moved into the old Hadley house, is deliberately electrocuted while in the middle of a frozen pond watching a curling match on Boxing Day, Chief Inspector Gamache is once again dispatched to Three Pines to work on the murder. No one liked CC—she was mean, viscious and cruel to virtually everyone she encountered, most noticeably to her own pubescent daughter. But who had means, motive and opportunity to do the wannabe Martha Stewart in in such a complicated and bizarre way? Gamache’s team ponders, puzzles and gets stuck in Three Pines in a snowstorm, and eventually they figure it out. There are a couple of red herrings, but I did have a gut feeling about the killer early on and I was right, though I did doubt myself for quite some time. Wonderful mystery, delightful characters, food descriptions that you can almost smell wafting off the pages, and a writing style that just keeps you wanting more. Humorous at times, yet poignant, rich in the Quebecois culture, there’s a bit of everything. I’m glad I have the third one here but I fear I won’t be able to keep my hands off it for long. Excellent! A+
13. THE BATTLE OF THE LABYRINTH by Rick Riordan. (audio) #4 Percy Jackson and the Olympians YA fantasy series. I really enjoy this series a lot! Percy, AnnaBeth, Grover and their friends are off again on another quest, this time to navigate the labyrinth made by Daedalus, who was also the infamous designer of the wings stuck on with wax that caused his son Icarus to fall when he flew too close to the sun and the wax melted. The half-bloods believe that Luke, their arch-nemesis who has an allegiance with the Titan Kronos, has found a way to easily get to Camp Half-Blood through the Labyrinth and seek to find that path and block it. Meanwhile, Grover sets out with them determined to find the god Pan, given one last chance to do so before his Seeker’s license is revoked by the Council. Percy, fast approaching fifteen, has his share of girl trouble in this episode too, with the usual adolescent confusions that go with it. Another action-packed adventure, with some humor and some very serious moments too. There’s one more installment, and Percy will be turning sixteen, when everyone finds out if his prophecy—whether he will save or destroy Mount Olympus—comes to pass. Excellent stuff, wonderful reader (Jesse Bernstein) who does a multitude of male and female, old and young, human and creature voices very well. A+
14. WHO COOKED THE LAST SUPPER? THE WOMEN’S HISTORY OF THE WORLD by Rosalind Miles. Nonfiction history, from ancient to modern times, as it relates to women’s place in history. Spans the gamut from religious to political history, and this book is difficult to read without getting quite angry at times, me being a woman and all, and a majority of the book being about how women have been second-class citizens since, as the author wryly puts it, ‘the rise of the phallus.’ Viewed as simply man’s property for much of recorded history, women have had to fight tooth and nail for basic human rights. This is a glimpse into how things were through time, from the beginning (when women were revered) and with specific views at different cultures and microcosms. Also points out notable exceptions to the rule of the day, wherever and whenever that might be, with information about various “famous women” but also about how things were for the ‘average Jane’ of the times. I learned a lot reading this book, but despite the author’s attempts at injecting some humor into it, I did read it in small bits rather than devour it in large chunks as it tended to get quite dry in places. A very worthwhile read, though. B+
15. CAT’S EYEWITNESS by Rita Mae and Sneaky Pie Brown. (audio) #13 in the Mrs. Murphy mysteries set in Crozet, Virginia and featuring not only the wise tabby cat but her friends Pewter the fat gray cat and Tucker, the Welsh Corgi. And let’s not forget their human, Mary Minor “Harry” Harristeen. Thanksgiving in Crozet should be a relaxed and happy time, and it is, until Harry’s friend Susan’s great-uncle Thomas, a monk at the local monastery dies, praying in front of a statue of the Virgin Mary that had begun crying tears of blood. Harry, ever the skeptic, wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t witnessed the phenomenon herself. Brother Thomas was over 80, so his death wasn’t investigated as suspicious, but when a reporter who had broken the story about the Virgin also ends up dead, very obviously murdered, Harry’s ‘something’s not right’ antennae start twitching and she starts asking pointed questions, much to the chagrin of her friends and family and Sheriff Rick Shaw. Personally, Harry is a bit at loose ends, having quit her job at the Post Office, and is investigating growing grapes and starting a vineyard. And Fair, her ex-husband, has put more pressure on her with regard to his oft repeated proposal of re-marriage, too. The mystery was fairly straightforward, but I’ve come to love these characters more and more as the series wears on, and I’ve also grown fond of this reader, Kate Forbes, too. I found it hard to stop listening to this one and had to find things to do to occupy me so I could finish it. And now my bathrooms are really, really clean. LOL I’m glad my library has all of these available for audio download—I’ve already got the next one on my list. A.
16. FLESH AND BONE by Jefferson Bass. #2 in the Body Farm mysteries featuring Dr. Bill Brockton, founder of the research institute dedicated to learning more about how we decompose. In the first book, I enjoyed the forensic parts but was not crazy about the main character, and that trend continued in this book. For all that Dr. Bill Brockton is the consummate “nice guy,” I just can’t get attached to him, nor do I really care much about him—even when he’s suspected of murder. He’s just boring milquetoast for me. But I *did* enjoy the forensic aspect of the book a lot—if not for that, it’s doubtful I would have continued reading it. Lots of gory details, so if you’re squeamish, I wouldn’t read this book. Bill gets embroiled in the creationism/intelligent design vs. evolution debate in this book as well as working on the murder of a guy dressed in women’s clothes that appears to be a hate crime. When a colleague of Bill’s—whom he just happens to have slept with also—ends up murdered and displayed in his own Body Farm on top of the body they’re using to research that hate crime murder, he is a strong suspect in the case. Can’t see why, when ‘whodunit’ was as plain as the nose on your face, at least to me. I’m debating whether to continue on in this series or not. The whole package just seems really uninspired, great forensic details or no. One of those, “It wasn’t really bad...it was okay, BUT”...kind of books. C+
17. THE BLADE ITSELF by Joe Abercrombie. #1 in The First Law fantasy trilogy. Set in a world beset by war and utterly devoid of magic, this book tells the story of several very different characters. Loren Ninefingers, an aptly named mercenary who has survived many wars, battles and skirmishes; Sand dan Glokta, a former fencing champion turned Inquisitor, a master of torture after his eight-year experience in an enemy prison leave him crippled and disfigured both physically and emotionally; Jezal dan Luthar, a young nobleman of privilege who has yet to see war and who is hoping to win the upcoming summer fencing Contest. Several other peripheral characters come into play as well, and the world is about to see Magic and all the myths and legends that were thought to be just children’s stories come back to life as Bayaz, the First of the Magi, makes himself known as the country is thrown into war from two directions. The king is a puppet, his heir a worthless fop, and his advisors plot and scheme to gain control of the government. A multi-layered tale, well-written and interesting to read. While this had many of the elements of your ‘classic’ fantasy tale, it was decidedly darker than some, but all the better for it, I thought—me not being a big fan of knights in shining armor and all that rot. I like a world where the lines between good and evil are more realistically drawn, blurred and gray in many places, much like our own world. The characters were well-fleshed, imperfect and varied, and it will be interesting to follow their stories into the next book, which I thankfully have here already. Well-done! A+.
18. COLD GRANITE by Stuart MacBride. #1 Logan MacRae Scottish police procedural series. DS MacRae, on his first day back to work after a year-long medical leave following a stabbing that left him near-dead, ends up as lead investigator on a child murder case—the months-dead body of a four-year-old boy found in a ditch who appears to have been tortured and sexually abused. Logan was supposed to be gently transitioned back into work, but this murder kicks off a couple of weeks from hell, in which several other childrens bodies are found, though not all of them are related to the first case. Logan is also recovering from a break-up with his girlfriend, who happens to be the medical examiner/pathologist. I had a really hard time putting this book down—stayed up later than usual to finish it, in fact. The writing was very compelling and the story was quite interesting. While mostly a bleak, dark book, MacBride does inject enough humor into it so that it doesn’t feel quite so grim. And I really do like Logan. However, after I finished it and thought back, there was much about the book and the procedures, etc. that I found to question. Perhaps police procedure works differently in Aberdeen, but it seemed to me that Logan, as a Detective Sergeant, had a whole lot more direct involvement, leadership responsibility and latitude with his activity than most other DS’s I’ve read about in other series, who seem to be assigned a lot of mundane detail work while the Detective Inspectors and higher do the actual investigation. He basically solves all the cases—obviously he’s brilliant, so why is he still a DS? As often happens I did figure out most of the cases well ahead of the police—these nice juicy obvious clues kept falling right in the reader’s lap! LOL Also, the interconnections of all the various cases just seemed a little too pat, too coincidental. While not a sprawling metropolitan area, Aberdeen does have over 200,000 people and it just doesn’t seem likely that these cases could all connect up like they did. There was also a lot of repetition with regard to descriptions—of the weather, especially. Yes, it was rainy and snowy. We get it. How many ways and times can that (or can wet and miserable policemen) be described without becoming tiresome? At any rate, despite those negatives, I am quite excited about this series and am looking forward to the next one but I’m hoping MacBride learns to tighten things up a bit and makes the plots more plausible in future works. B+
19. THE WOLVES OF SAVERNAKE by Edward Marston. #1 Domesday medieval mystery set about twenty years after William the Conqueror takes Britain by storm. Ralph Delchard and Gervase Bret are traveling around compiling The Domesday Book, in which a sort of census is taken along with recording what lands are owned by whom so that the appropriate taxes can be paid to the King. Summoned to the town of Bedwyn near Savernake Forest by the local miller regarding a dispute with the local Abbey over some tracts of land, Ralph and Gervase arrive only to discover that Alric the miller has died--the apparent victim of a brutal wolf attack--throat ripped out and bleeding in the stream. This seems a little too coincidental for our sleuths, and they set out to find who stood to lose by the knowledge the miller would have given to the King's men. I quite enjoyed this introduction to the characters of Ralph and Gervase, with a solution to the murders that I didn't see coming at all. Lots of period detail and atmosphere which was excellent, though the writing style on the whole is just a bit dry in places. I have a couple more of these and will definitely continue on reading, though. B+
20. FLUSH by Carl Hiaasen (audio) Another of Hiaasen's YA books, the theme for this one (like HOOT) is Florida and saving wildlife and the environment. Noah Underwood's father is in jail...again. He's not a bad guy, he just has "principles." He KNOWS that the scumbag owner of a gambling boat dumps raw sewage into the water (instead of the holding tanks they're supposed to use) so he...well, he sinks the boat. Determined to get the public aware and on his side, Mr. Underwood conducts a media campaign from his jail cell. Noah, determined to help his father get the proof he needs, contacts "Lice" (so-named for obvious reasons!) Peking, a former employee of the casino owner--who subsequently goes missing after agreeing to help them. But the Underwoods don't give up that easily, although MRS. Underwood wishes they would, and their marriage is hanging by a precarious thread, much to Noah's dismay. Chock full of Hiaasen's usual quirky characters (including Noah's sister Abby) and environmental themes, this book wasn't as good as Hoot but was still a great listen,with some laugh out loud moments as well as serious issues dealt with, and I have put more of Hiaasen's work on my library download list. B+
21. THREE CAN KEEP A SECRET by Judy Clemens. #2 in the Stella Crown mystery series featuring the amateur sleuth who also is a dairy farmer. Stella sets out to begin life anew after the events of the first book left her good friend and farmhand Howie dead, and herself recovering from a serious motorcycle accident. The first order of business is to hire a new hand. Enter Lucy, a young widowed woman with a little girl, who seems to know her way around a barn and whom Stella likes immediately. But when an anonymous caller warns her off Lucy and there's a visit from Child Protective Services--and then someone paints nasty graffiti directed at Lucy on Stella's barn, Stella begins to wonder if she made the right choice in hiring her. Added to that mystery is Stella's biker friend Lenny, a big teddy bear of a man who it seems has a checkered past which is now coming back to haunt him. Attempted break-ins at his store and home and a brutal attack on his business partner devastate Lenny as he works to confront his demons. I really enjoy this series; the writing style is great, it reads quickly and smoothly and I like the characterizations, too, and am learning a lot about the Mennonite culture--although Stella isn't Mennonite, many of the characters in her series are. The mystery wasn't too much of a mystery in this one, and I'm getting a little weary of Stella's apparently emotionally-stunted personality (for someone so strong and independent, she has a hard time facing personal things) but I still enjoyed it a lot and have put the next one on my library list as they are hard to come by at PBS. B+
22. ALONE AT NIGHT by KJ Erickson. #4 (and as far as I can tell, the last) in the Mars Bahr police procedural series set in Minneapolis. This book tells a case that Mars & Nettie are working on as part of the Cold Case Unit, this one investigating three unsolved convenience store abductions from years previously. The one that intrigues and haunts Mars is the one where a body was never found, having occurred 19 years previously when a seventeen-year-old student named Andrea Bergstad disappeared from the isolated, rural One Stop where she was about to finish her shift. There were precious few clues even back then, and Mars heads back to Redstone Township to talk with the then-sheriff, Sig Sampson, to get a better feel for the case. Of course digging in the past can often dredge up things that someone doesn't want brought to light, and it's not long before Mars believes there is a present-day tie to the case that might be dangerous for anyone looking to discover what really happened to Andrea. This was an excellent entry in the series, although I have mixed feelings about the ending. I wonder whether the author knew this would be the last book--though with several things not resolved, I can't help but think not. It always saddens me when a series that I started out being slightly ambivalent about begins to blossom and then just drops off the face of the earth just as I'm getting truly addicted to it. I keep hoping there will be more. A.
Currently reading: Haven't decided yet!
DNF: After listening for 3 hours, I finally decided to give up on 44 SCOTLAND STREET by Alexander McCall Smith. It’s not that the story is bad—although there isn’t much happening, it’s an interesting peek at the lives of a few wildly different people living in a building in Edinburgh, Scotland. The reason I’m quitting is the reader, who does a very poor job of differentiating between the characters’ voices and often seems to slur his words or try to read parts too fast. I do have the print copy of this and may eventually pick up where I left off in the audio, but no way could I look forward to another 9 hours of listening to (checks audio details) Robert Ian Mackenzie! Why couldn’t they get Sean Connery to read this? LOL
I also tried reading DEATH OF A RED HEROINE by Qiu Xiaolong, which I found to be dry and rather tedious and the main character didn't interest me much. As it was a very long book for a series mystery, I gave up after 50 pages or so, not wanting to slog through another 400+ of the same.
Cheryl
Monday, February 9, 2009
FEBRUARY 2009 READING
1. THE LAST WITNESS by K.J. Erickson. #3 Marshall “Mars” Bahr police procedural series set in Minneapolis. Mars has two weeks left before he and Nettie jump ship from the Minneapolis police department to start working for the state’s expanding cold case squad. What he doesn’t need is a hugely high-profile case, but that’s exactly what he gets when one of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ basketball players’ wives is found murdered in her home and “T-Jack” is a prime suspect—but he has an air-tight alibi, having been in a conference with his wife’s parents present at the time of her murder. The new police chief, who is a media hound and not at all adept at handling this type of case, promises a quick resolution and Mars is doing his best to make that come true, if only so he can leave the department with a clean slate. Of course things are never that simple and there seems to be obstacles at every turn, but eventually Mars comes up with a solution—one that I totally didn’t see coming. On a personal level, Mars’ son Chris is growing up and his ex-wife has a new beau that Chris isn’t fond of. Mars has some hard choices to make both personally and professionally in this book and manages to rise to the occasion like a pro. This is by far my favorite in the series so far. Lots of seat-of-your pants action, a great visit with some characters that finally started to flesh out and grow on me in the last book, and a wonderful portrayal of the Twin Cities area by someone who obviously lives here. I am looking forward to the next—and unfortunately, I believe the last—book in this series. A+
2. THE BODY IN THE TRANSEPT by Jeanne M. Dams. #1 Dorothy Martin mystery. Dorothy is a widowed American whose husband had been a professor and guest lecturer, so when it came time to settle down on her own, she chose to relocate to a village in England, which she’d come to love on visits there over the years. It’s Dorothy’s first Christmas without Frank and her first in England, and it’s destined to be an eventful one, when she stumbles across the dead body of a canon in a darkened side transept after Christmas Eve services at the cathedral. Canon Billings was almost universally disliked so there’s no shortage of suspects, and Dorothy, a fan of British mysteries, feels compelled to look into things on her own since she has a connection to the case, finding the body and all. Doing so seems to help lift her out of the depression she’d been feeling, but it’s bound to get her in hot water with the local police force. This was an okay first effort—it won some kind of award the year it was written, but I didn’t think it was *that* good. I figured out the bad guy and the essential plot bits fairly early, which is not unusual. I couldn’t really get “into” Dorothy, either—she’s a little too “fussy” for me, I guess—she has an affinity for outlandish hats and a bit too concerned at keeping up appearances. Also, at least in this book, there was just a little too much of the ‘poor me’ thing, related to her recent widowhood, being an outsider, etc. I think that is likely to change as the series goes on, though, and I certainly intend to read on. B.
3. A WHISKER OF EVIL by Rita Mae and Sneaky Pie Brown. (Audio) #12 in the series featuring Mary Minor “Harry” Harristeen and her cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter and her Welsh Corgi, Tucker. This book opens with Harry finding Barry Monteith, a horse breeder and neighbor, dying, with his throat ripped out in what is assumed to be a wild animal attack. Later, it’s determined that it wasn’t—he was killed by human hands and a knife, but the odd thing is, the autopsy also reveals that he had rabies. Since Barry essentially dies in Harry’s arms, she’s quite shaken and her life goes topsy-turvy when the word of rabies gets out—first in Barry, and then in his business partner who ends up dying from it. The animal control officer, who begins to doggedly investigate the rabies also ends up dead—shot in the head—hours after telling Harry and the Postmaster that according to regulations she can no longer have her animals with her at the Post Office. I always enjoy these books, but this entry in the series was a little darker than some and slightly off-kilter, but that’s possibly due to Harry’s changing circumstances. I spotted the bad guy right away again, but wasn’t sure why the murders were committed until further along as the clues fell into place. Still, a mostly light, enjoyable listen, easy to concentrate on while unpacking and sorting and such. B+
4. CASE HISTORIES by Kate Atkinson. #1 Jackson Brodie mystery, featuring an ex-cop and ex-Army security officer now a private investigator. Mostly Jackson’s work life is boring—following people suspected of having affairs or stealing from their employers and the like. Suddenly though, several interesting cases fall into his lap at once. All deal with the past—two sisters want Jackson to find out what happened to their sister Olivia who disappeared thirty-four years ago when she was just three years old. A still-grieving father wants him to find the murderer of his beloved eighteen-year-old daughter Laura, murdered right in his own law office by a supposed madman in a fit of random violence. And the sister of an axe-murderer wants him to locate her niece, who was a baby at the time and sent to live with her paternal grandparents after her mother apparently murdered her father right in front of her. Tanya, the niece, ends up being a handful and runs away from home as a teenager and no one knows where she’d ended up. Various chapters of the book tell the stories from the point of view of the different people in the stories and I think at least some of them are meant to be Jackson’s supporting cast of characters in future installments, so if this is the case, they become very well fleshed. I loved this book, although I did figure out two of the three mysteries well in advance. The characters are very human, very engaging, a bit eccentric, and yet the author manages to make you cheer and root for them despite their sometimes annoying foibles. Jackson is a peach, and I do look forward to getting to know him better in upcoming series books. Excellent stuff! A+
5. FEAR IN THE FOREST by Bernard Knight. #7 Crowner John medieval mystery set in and around Exeter. Devon’s coroner is investigating doings in the King’s forest in the nearby countryside, spurred by a verderer found with an arrow in his back. There has long been conflict between forest officials and the people who live there, but this is something different. It seems the forest lawmen have taken up with outlaws, using them to enforce their new, stricter and very unreasonable rules. But why? John de Wolfe thinks there must be someone with money and power behind the whole scheme, and even begins to suspect his brother-in-law the sheriff. While I figured out part of the mystery ahead of time, I think a more comprehensive knowledge of medieval laws and political workings would have been needed to sort the whole thing out. On a personal note, John’s mistress Nesta is expecting a baby and when his wife finds out, she leaves in a huff for the nunnery. While Matilda had long known of John’s dalliances, the news that a baby is forthcoming sends her over the edge and she decides to enter the convent as she’s threatened to do for many years. Nesta, rather than being joyful, is despondent over her condition and John is totally perplexed. While I enjoyed the historical aspects of the book (relating to the King’s laws about ‘venison’ and ‘vert’ in the forest) I thought this book was a bit too long and convoluted. At least, there have certainly been better entries in the series. I’ve got several more of these in series waiting and certainly will read them, but I do hope the story itself is a little more tightly put together in upcoming books. B.
6. LIRAEL by Garth Nix. Second of the Abhorsen trilogy, YA fantasy series. This book moves forward in time by about 20 years from the previous book and deals with Sabriel’s son Prince Sameth and with Lirael, a Clayr who has not yet awakened to the Sight despite being fourteen years of age, long past time when most Clayr begin to See into the future. Finally given a job as a Third Assistant Librarian essentially to keep her out of trouble, Lirael meets the Disreputable Dog and begins reading some of the old texts and discovers ways of getting into some of the locked rooms in the Old section of the library. Sam, meanwhile, begins to realize that he does not want to be Abhorsen-in-Waiting and does anything he can to avoid his training and reading The Book of the Dead that his mother has given him to study so that he can begin to assist her in the troubled times ahead. As Sam and Lirael journey from opposite directions to their inevitable meeting, both are dreading what they are sure their future holds for them as they battle the Dead—but of course are in for some big surprises. Very well done second entry in series, left on a bit of a cliffhanger that definitely causes some anticipation of the finale. A.
7. MIDNIGHT FOR CHARLIE BONE by Jenny Nimmo (audio) First in the young adult “Children of the Red King” fantasy series set in England. Charlie Bone is ten years old and lives with his mum and both of his grandmas. Grandma Maisie, his mother’s mum, is kind and friendly. Grandma Bone, his father’s mother, is not. His father died when Charlie was very young, so of financial necessity, they live with Grandma Bone—a perpetually cross, rigid, mean old woman who lords it over Charlie and his mother. Also living in the big old house is Uncle Payton Yewbeam (I thought this was ‘Youbean’ as pronounced by the reader—had to look it up! LOL) who is an odd and slightly sinister fellow. When Charlie discovers he can ‘hear’ photographs—the thoughts of the people in them at the time they were taken—Grandma Bone calls in the three Yewbeam aunts to test Charlie—and since he turns out to be one of the ‘endowed,’ he is sent to Bloor’s Academy, a school where you must be either a genius or endowed with some odd power like Charlie’s. His power means he’s a descendant of the Red King. Charlie is sad to be leaving his best friend Benjamin Brown (and his dog, Runner Bean—that name gave me fits of giggles every time I heard it!) behind, but he does make some new and interesting friends (and enemies!) at the Academy, and his weird uncle turns out to be Charlie’s ally. While a bit predictable in places, I did enjoy this reading (the reader was excellent!) and look forward to listening to the next in series. A-.
8. THE TITAN’S CURSE by Rick Riordan (audio) #3 Percy Jackson and the Olympians YA fantasy. I normally wouldn’t have listened to another book from the same genre one after another by choice, but this one I was on a wait list for, so when it’s your turn to download it, you snap it up while you can. When Percy’s friend AnnaBeth is kidnapped, he naturally wants to be on the quest to rescue her. But her rescue coincides with another disaster—the kidnapping of the Goddess Artemis, and thus her Hunters have a say in who goes along, and Percy is NOT on the guest list! Does that stop him? It does not! He sets out on his own, but then ends up with the selected group. On a strict timetable—the quest must be accomplished and Artemis rescued before the Council of the Gods on the Winter Solstice—Percy, Grover, Thalia, and some of the Hunters are led across country from New York to New Mexico to San Francisco as various bad guys (led by Percy’s old nemesis Luke) and clues fall into place revealing who is behind Luke’s caper and why. Very well done with an excellent reader, loosely educational as information about mythology is imparted in an informal way, and entertaining too, with a just plain great story. A.
9. PARDONABLE LIES by Jacqueline Winspear. #3 Maisie Dobbs historical mystery. In this episode, Maisie is beginning to settle comfortably into her business as a private investigator, but gets pulled to France on two personal cases—one to confirm the death of the son of a friend of a friend, another she’s looking into informally for her good friend Priscilla, to locate where her brother Peter died. She also is working with a very young girl who is accused of murdering her pimp. During the course of her investigations, Maisie has several attempts made on her life, though she’s not sure which investigation has stirred up such a hornet’s nest. She also confronts many of her own demons and ghosts with regards to her service as a nurse during WWI in France. While I did like this book, I found some of the coincidences tying her cases together to be almost so fantastic as to be nearly unbelievable. I figured out some of the mysteries in advance but the final one was a surprise. I like Maisie and look forward to reading the other books in series but I didn’t like this one quite as much as the previous ones—it seemed a bit long and drawn out in places, too. B+
10. DEATH IN DISGUISE by Caroline Graham. #3 Inspector Barnaby English mystery. Set on a large estate that is run and occupied by a New Age religious group. Chief Inspector Barnaby and Sgt. Troy arrive when The Master, the head of the group, is murdered during a regression session. This book was very slow-moving for me, long and drawn out, with much detail about the lives of the members of the group, such that Inspector Barnaby doesn’t even make an entrance until page 133. I liked the other two books in the series, but really found this one tedious and slow-going. I don’t know if it was just that I couldn’t get interested in any of the characters or what, but to be honest by about page 200, I didn’t much care who killed whom and skimmed through to the end. I do intend to read on in the series—mostly because I’ve already got several of the next ones here, and based on the strength of the first couple of books. I guess every author is allowed to have one worm in the apple basket of their work. C-
11. HOOT by Carl Hiaasen. (Audio) Those of you who read this author’s adult humor books might be surprised to know that he also writes for young adults and is actually a Newbery Award winner for this book. I’ve read a couple of Hiassen’s adult books and while I thought they were okay, I just loved the audio version of this YA story. Set in Hiaasen’s beloved Florida, this is the story of Roy Eberhardt, the new kid at Trace Middle School in Coconut Grove, FL, and his shaky alliance of new friends. They band together to save some burrowing owls (a protected species) from greedy land developers and the bigwigs at Mother Paula’s All-American Pancake House. Determined not to let Mother Paula’s build their 469th restaurant where the owls are currently nesting, Roy, his friends Beatrice and her nameless stepbrother, a runaway living on the streets, plot to take on the town’s officials, the cops, and the foreman of the construction crew all the while Roy is trying to stay out of the clutches of the town bully. Excellent story, with some of Hiaasen’s typical humor, toned down somewhat for the younger set. Great reader, too. I also understand this book has been made into a movie, and I do plan to watch it soon! A+
12. FOOL by Christopher Moore. The wacky Moore goes all medieval in this spoof of Shakespeare’s King Lear story, this time told from the point of view of his jester, Pocket. With more plot twists and turns than a redundant colon, Moore’s ribald wit permeates the tale, poking fun at not only Shakespeare himself, but all his characters as well. The inept yet cruel King Lear, his grasping, whorish daughters and their power-hungry husbands, and Pocket’s own half-wit apprentice, Drool. It’s been years since I actually read King Lear itself, so (to be honest) I’m sure I missed a whole bunch of parallels and puns. It’s also been a couple of years since I read my last Chris Moore book, and this one seems to me to be much more decidedly raunchy than his previous work. I seem to recall that he used to rely more on actual wit than on adolescent sexual jokes.While I don’t mind irreverent humor at all, this book was so full of it that IMO it detracted somewhat from the story itself. Sort of like an X-rated Austin Powers meets Shakespeare, more or less. There were some definite laugh out loud moments, lots of witty repartee and some stellar prose and verse, and Moore’s portrayal of Pocket as the main character rather than Lear was an interesting take on things. But I have to say that this was definitely not my favorite of Moore’s works and when it was finished, I closed the book more with relief than satisfaction. C.
13. PAGAN EVERY DAY: FINDING THE EXTRAORDINARY IN OUR ORDINARY LIVES by Barbara Ardinger. I actually started reading this ‘page a day’ type book several months ago, periodically picking it up and reading a dozen days’ or so worth of ruminations. Each day of the year has some thoughts from the author—information about a particular God or Goddess, holiday, pantheon, or concept, often tying together ancient beliefs and myths with the modern world. Sometimes she suggested mini-rituals, other times it was just information, and sometimes she encouraged the reader to think about some particular thing that might tie in with that day of the year and explore our thoughts and feelings about things. There were even some challenges to help us to live a “greener” life (‘walk to work or take the bus today if you normally drive,’) or just to be a better person (volunteer for a few hours at a homeless shelter or do something kind for someone you really don’t like) and such. I very much enjoyed the book, although I didn’t always follow through with her suggestions since I was reading several days’ worth of things at a time. But I did learn a LOT—not only about various pagan beliefs, but about ties from pagan and mythological beliefs as the origin for some current modern-day practices. And oh yes, it definitely gave me things to think about! I am going to keep this book on my Keeper shelf and perhaps one year will choose to pick it up and actually go through the days one at a time. A+
14. MURDER ON LENOX HILL by Victoria Thompson. #7 “gaslight” historical mystery set in early 1900’s New York and featuring midwife Sarah Brandt and police detective Frank Malloy. Sarah is referred to speak discreetly with the Linton family to examine their seventeen year old daughter Grace, whom they are concerned might be pregnant. Grace is a ‘simpleton’ with the mind of a five-year-old and Sarah does indeed determine that she is several months along—everyone assumes that she was raped or taken advantage of, but most puzzlingly, Grace denies anyone hurting her. Living a very sheltered life, Grace is never alone with any men, but Sarah doesn’t believe in immaculate conception and is determined to find who fathered Grace’s child. Mr. Linton comes under immediate suspicion, being the only man to see her regularly, but he is ruled out fairly quickly and the trail next leads to the church the Lintons attend, which is where Grace and Mrs. Linton spend some time volunteering, and eventually a murder does occur there, though the main mystery seems to be Grace’s pregnancy. Meanwhile, Malloy is asked by Sarah’s father, socialite Peter Decker, to resume investigating Sarah’s husband’s murder, which took place four years previously—Decker believes Dr. Tom Brandt was a womanizer and wants Malloy to prove it so that Sarah will finally forget about carrying on Tom’s legacy of helping the poor and return to her rightful place in society. Frank Malloy, of course, has other motives for wanting the crime solved. A predictable, light historical read that I did enjoy despite the mystery (all of them, actually) being extremely transparent and easy to solve. B.
15. TRIGGER CITY by Sean Chercover. #2 Ray Dudgeon mystery set in the Windy City of Chicago. In the first book, Ray takes on the mob and in this one, he seems to be tackling the US Government and their covert military operations. Battered, bruised and barely holding things together (physically and psychologically) after his torture and near death some months previously, Ray is hired by a retired military man whose daughter was brutally murdered—shot to death by one of her employees who then turned the gun on himself. Her killer had apparently been suddenly psychotic and paranoid and believed Joan was ‘out to get him’ and thus he ended both their lives. Of course nothing is ever that simple—the fact that Joan was set to testify for a Congressional hearing on defense contract spending had *nothing* to do with her death, I’m sure, right!?—and the fact that that information was kept hushed up is even more telling. Ray ends up in a tangled web of deceit, trying to sort out the good guys from the bad while trying to keep himself alive and mend his broken relationship with ex-girlfriend Jill, and also trying to protect Steven Zhang’s widow and daughter—he being the man who killed Joan and then himself. I like Ray, despite his foibles, and the author’s writing style make the reading of his story easy and appealing. Ray lives in a world of realism where things are never perfect and exist in multiple shades of gray, not ever simplistically black and white or right and wrong—much like real life, I suppose. I hope he lives a long and prolific life and I will be eagerly awaiting the next in series to see which major player he goes up against next. A.
16. WINTER’S CHILD by Margaret Maron (audio) #12 Judge Deborah Knott mystery set in Colleton County, North Carolina. Newly married sheriff’s deputy Dwight Bryant is just settling in to his blissful home life with Judge Deborah but is pulled away from her AND from a murder investigation in which a much-disliked, abusive good ole boy is shot in the back of the head while driving home from work. The summons away from Colleton County is a strange phone call from his eight-year-old son Cal, who lives five hours away in Virginia with his mother. Dwight makes a trip north to see Cal, and then learns that Jonna, his ex-wife, is actually missing. When Cal goes missing, last seen being picked up in front of his house by a woman in a blue parka who was assumed to be Jonna, Dwight frantically tries to figure out what’s going on, as his relationship with Jonna has not, to this point, been antagonistic at all. Jonna’s body is discovered in her car a day later, murdered, and Cal is still missing, so Deborah takes emergency leave to be with her new husband in the search for his son. Back home, Detective Maylene Richards is now in charge of the murder investigation, which continues with too many suspects and not enough opportunities. As a twisted tale of family secrets and prideful deception unfolds, Deborah and Dwight begin to piece together the tale of Jonna’s death in hopes of finding Cal unharmed. Excellent entry in the series, which just seems to get better and better with each one, and as a reader, C.J. Critt is wonderful and never lets me down. A+
17. TAILED by Brian Wiprud. #3 Garth Carson mystery. Garth has turned his rental taxidermy business over to his Russian friend Otto to run and is now an insurance appraiser specializing in taxidermy collections. Traveling around the country to check out various big-game hunters’ collections is something he’s enjoying a lot—until he keeps an appointment for an appraisal and comes across the body of Sprunty Fulmore, Chicago Bears football player and the apparent victim of a big game hunt himself. After awhile, Garth is sent to Denver to do another appraisal but finds himself the object of an FBI investigation since Sprunty was the second of his clients to end up dead—not only dead, but with a white gecko placed in his hand, so the authorities believe there is a serial killer on the loose. When a collector in Denver ends up dead the same way while Garth is there, they’re convinced the killer is Garth himself. Garth learns more about his grandfather, “Kit” Carson, big-game hunter whom he inherited his own stuffed animal collection from, and about a secret society he formed with Native American implications. Now, as the last remaining descendant of the founding members of the Order of the White Gecko, the FBI don’t realize that Garth isn’t the killer but the next intended target. Off on a wild gecko—er, goose—chase across the country, Garth, Angie (his long-time live-in girlfriend) and some crazy people he meets along the way head for New Mexico to try to head off an alien evil spirit that will take over the earth if it manages to get hold of the ‘vuka’ (spirit) inhabiting Garth. Enjoyable, wacky, light read—it’s been quite awhile since I read any Wiprud, and I’m not sure why I was so long in getting back to this. So far this is the last in this series, but Wiprud has several non-series books out there, and I’m glad to say a couple of them are on my shelf. A.
DNF: I did end up giving up on SAVING FISH FROM DROWNING by Amy Tan in audio. I may still actually read the print version, but the audio version was read by the author and it didn't seem very professionally done--the sound volume varied frequently (as though she were moving away and towards the microphone) and just wasn't (IMO) very expressively read. I gave it a good two hours before moving on.
CR:
Cheryl
2. THE BODY IN THE TRANSEPT by Jeanne M. Dams. #1 Dorothy Martin mystery. Dorothy is a widowed American whose husband had been a professor and guest lecturer, so when it came time to settle down on her own, she chose to relocate to a village in England, which she’d come to love on visits there over the years. It’s Dorothy’s first Christmas without Frank and her first in England, and it’s destined to be an eventful one, when she stumbles across the dead body of a canon in a darkened side transept after Christmas Eve services at the cathedral. Canon Billings was almost universally disliked so there’s no shortage of suspects, and Dorothy, a fan of British mysteries, feels compelled to look into things on her own since she has a connection to the case, finding the body and all. Doing so seems to help lift her out of the depression she’d been feeling, but it’s bound to get her in hot water with the local police force. This was an okay first effort—it won some kind of award the year it was written, but I didn’t think it was *that* good. I figured out the bad guy and the essential plot bits fairly early, which is not unusual. I couldn’t really get “into” Dorothy, either—she’s a little too “fussy” for me, I guess—she has an affinity for outlandish hats and a bit too concerned at keeping up appearances. Also, at least in this book, there was just a little too much of the ‘poor me’ thing, related to her recent widowhood, being an outsider, etc. I think that is likely to change as the series goes on, though, and I certainly intend to read on. B.
3. A WHISKER OF EVIL by Rita Mae and Sneaky Pie Brown. (Audio) #12 in the series featuring Mary Minor “Harry” Harristeen and her cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter and her Welsh Corgi, Tucker. This book opens with Harry finding Barry Monteith, a horse breeder and neighbor, dying, with his throat ripped out in what is assumed to be a wild animal attack. Later, it’s determined that it wasn’t—he was killed by human hands and a knife, but the odd thing is, the autopsy also reveals that he had rabies. Since Barry essentially dies in Harry’s arms, she’s quite shaken and her life goes topsy-turvy when the word of rabies gets out—first in Barry, and then in his business partner who ends up dying from it. The animal control officer, who begins to doggedly investigate the rabies also ends up dead—shot in the head—hours after telling Harry and the Postmaster that according to regulations she can no longer have her animals with her at the Post Office. I always enjoy these books, but this entry in the series was a little darker than some and slightly off-kilter, but that’s possibly due to Harry’s changing circumstances. I spotted the bad guy right away again, but wasn’t sure why the murders were committed until further along as the clues fell into place. Still, a mostly light, enjoyable listen, easy to concentrate on while unpacking and sorting and such. B+
4. CASE HISTORIES by Kate Atkinson. #1 Jackson Brodie mystery, featuring an ex-cop and ex-Army security officer now a private investigator. Mostly Jackson’s work life is boring—following people suspected of having affairs or stealing from their employers and the like. Suddenly though, several interesting cases fall into his lap at once. All deal with the past—two sisters want Jackson to find out what happened to their sister Olivia who disappeared thirty-four years ago when she was just three years old. A still-grieving father wants him to find the murderer of his beloved eighteen-year-old daughter Laura, murdered right in his own law office by a supposed madman in a fit of random violence. And the sister of an axe-murderer wants him to locate her niece, who was a baby at the time and sent to live with her paternal grandparents after her mother apparently murdered her father right in front of her. Tanya, the niece, ends up being a handful and runs away from home as a teenager and no one knows where she’d ended up. Various chapters of the book tell the stories from the point of view of the different people in the stories and I think at least some of them are meant to be Jackson’s supporting cast of characters in future installments, so if this is the case, they become very well fleshed. I loved this book, although I did figure out two of the three mysteries well in advance. The characters are very human, very engaging, a bit eccentric, and yet the author manages to make you cheer and root for them despite their sometimes annoying foibles. Jackson is a peach, and I do look forward to getting to know him better in upcoming series books. Excellent stuff! A+
5. FEAR IN THE FOREST by Bernard Knight. #7 Crowner John medieval mystery set in and around Exeter. Devon’s coroner is investigating doings in the King’s forest in the nearby countryside, spurred by a verderer found with an arrow in his back. There has long been conflict between forest officials and the people who live there, but this is something different. It seems the forest lawmen have taken up with outlaws, using them to enforce their new, stricter and very unreasonable rules. But why? John de Wolfe thinks there must be someone with money and power behind the whole scheme, and even begins to suspect his brother-in-law the sheriff. While I figured out part of the mystery ahead of time, I think a more comprehensive knowledge of medieval laws and political workings would have been needed to sort the whole thing out. On a personal note, John’s mistress Nesta is expecting a baby and when his wife finds out, she leaves in a huff for the nunnery. While Matilda had long known of John’s dalliances, the news that a baby is forthcoming sends her over the edge and she decides to enter the convent as she’s threatened to do for many years. Nesta, rather than being joyful, is despondent over her condition and John is totally perplexed. While I enjoyed the historical aspects of the book (relating to the King’s laws about ‘venison’ and ‘vert’ in the forest) I thought this book was a bit too long and convoluted. At least, there have certainly been better entries in the series. I’ve got several more of these in series waiting and certainly will read them, but I do hope the story itself is a little more tightly put together in upcoming books. B.
6. LIRAEL by Garth Nix. Second of the Abhorsen trilogy, YA fantasy series. This book moves forward in time by about 20 years from the previous book and deals with Sabriel’s son Prince Sameth and with Lirael, a Clayr who has not yet awakened to the Sight despite being fourteen years of age, long past time when most Clayr begin to See into the future. Finally given a job as a Third Assistant Librarian essentially to keep her out of trouble, Lirael meets the Disreputable Dog and begins reading some of the old texts and discovers ways of getting into some of the locked rooms in the Old section of the library. Sam, meanwhile, begins to realize that he does not want to be Abhorsen-in-Waiting and does anything he can to avoid his training and reading The Book of the Dead that his mother has given him to study so that he can begin to assist her in the troubled times ahead. As Sam and Lirael journey from opposite directions to their inevitable meeting, both are dreading what they are sure their future holds for them as they battle the Dead—but of course are in for some big surprises. Very well done second entry in series, left on a bit of a cliffhanger that definitely causes some anticipation of the finale. A.
7. MIDNIGHT FOR CHARLIE BONE by Jenny Nimmo (audio) First in the young adult “Children of the Red King” fantasy series set in England. Charlie Bone is ten years old and lives with his mum and both of his grandmas. Grandma Maisie, his mother’s mum, is kind and friendly. Grandma Bone, his father’s mother, is not. His father died when Charlie was very young, so of financial necessity, they live with Grandma Bone—a perpetually cross, rigid, mean old woman who lords it over Charlie and his mother. Also living in the big old house is Uncle Payton Yewbeam (I thought this was ‘Youbean’ as pronounced by the reader—had to look it up! LOL) who is an odd and slightly sinister fellow. When Charlie discovers he can ‘hear’ photographs—the thoughts of the people in them at the time they were taken—Grandma Bone calls in the three Yewbeam aunts to test Charlie—and since he turns out to be one of the ‘endowed,’ he is sent to Bloor’s Academy, a school where you must be either a genius or endowed with some odd power like Charlie’s. His power means he’s a descendant of the Red King. Charlie is sad to be leaving his best friend Benjamin Brown (and his dog, Runner Bean—that name gave me fits of giggles every time I heard it!) behind, but he does make some new and interesting friends (and enemies!) at the Academy, and his weird uncle turns out to be Charlie’s ally. While a bit predictable in places, I did enjoy this reading (the reader was excellent!) and look forward to listening to the next in series. A-.
8. THE TITAN’S CURSE by Rick Riordan (audio) #3 Percy Jackson and the Olympians YA fantasy. I normally wouldn’t have listened to another book from the same genre one after another by choice, but this one I was on a wait list for, so when it’s your turn to download it, you snap it up while you can. When Percy’s friend AnnaBeth is kidnapped, he naturally wants to be on the quest to rescue her. But her rescue coincides with another disaster—the kidnapping of the Goddess Artemis, and thus her Hunters have a say in who goes along, and Percy is NOT on the guest list! Does that stop him? It does not! He sets out on his own, but then ends up with the selected group. On a strict timetable—the quest must be accomplished and Artemis rescued before the Council of the Gods on the Winter Solstice—Percy, Grover, Thalia, and some of the Hunters are led across country from New York to New Mexico to San Francisco as various bad guys (led by Percy’s old nemesis Luke) and clues fall into place revealing who is behind Luke’s caper and why. Very well done with an excellent reader, loosely educational as information about mythology is imparted in an informal way, and entertaining too, with a just plain great story. A.
9. PARDONABLE LIES by Jacqueline Winspear. #3 Maisie Dobbs historical mystery. In this episode, Maisie is beginning to settle comfortably into her business as a private investigator, but gets pulled to France on two personal cases—one to confirm the death of the son of a friend of a friend, another she’s looking into informally for her good friend Priscilla, to locate where her brother Peter died. She also is working with a very young girl who is accused of murdering her pimp. During the course of her investigations, Maisie has several attempts made on her life, though she’s not sure which investigation has stirred up such a hornet’s nest. She also confronts many of her own demons and ghosts with regards to her service as a nurse during WWI in France. While I did like this book, I found some of the coincidences tying her cases together to be almost so fantastic as to be nearly unbelievable. I figured out some of the mysteries in advance but the final one was a surprise. I like Maisie and look forward to reading the other books in series but I didn’t like this one quite as much as the previous ones—it seemed a bit long and drawn out in places, too. B+
10. DEATH IN DISGUISE by Caroline Graham. #3 Inspector Barnaby English mystery. Set on a large estate that is run and occupied by a New Age religious group. Chief Inspector Barnaby and Sgt. Troy arrive when The Master, the head of the group, is murdered during a regression session. This book was very slow-moving for me, long and drawn out, with much detail about the lives of the members of the group, such that Inspector Barnaby doesn’t even make an entrance until page 133. I liked the other two books in the series, but really found this one tedious and slow-going. I don’t know if it was just that I couldn’t get interested in any of the characters or what, but to be honest by about page 200, I didn’t much care who killed whom and skimmed through to the end. I do intend to read on in the series—mostly because I’ve already got several of the next ones here, and based on the strength of the first couple of books. I guess every author is allowed to have one worm in the apple basket of their work. C-
11. HOOT by Carl Hiaasen. (Audio) Those of you who read this author’s adult humor books might be surprised to know that he also writes for young adults and is actually a Newbery Award winner for this book. I’ve read a couple of Hiassen’s adult books and while I thought they were okay, I just loved the audio version of this YA story. Set in Hiaasen’s beloved Florida, this is the story of Roy Eberhardt, the new kid at Trace Middle School in Coconut Grove, FL, and his shaky alliance of new friends. They band together to save some burrowing owls (a protected species) from greedy land developers and the bigwigs at Mother Paula’s All-American Pancake House. Determined not to let Mother Paula’s build their 469th restaurant where the owls are currently nesting, Roy, his friends Beatrice and her nameless stepbrother, a runaway living on the streets, plot to take on the town’s officials, the cops, and the foreman of the construction crew all the while Roy is trying to stay out of the clutches of the town bully. Excellent story, with some of Hiaasen’s typical humor, toned down somewhat for the younger set. Great reader, too. I also understand this book has been made into a movie, and I do plan to watch it soon! A+
12. FOOL by Christopher Moore. The wacky Moore goes all medieval in this spoof of Shakespeare’s King Lear story, this time told from the point of view of his jester, Pocket. With more plot twists and turns than a redundant colon, Moore’s ribald wit permeates the tale, poking fun at not only Shakespeare himself, but all his characters as well. The inept yet cruel King Lear, his grasping, whorish daughters and their power-hungry husbands, and Pocket’s own half-wit apprentice, Drool. It’s been years since I actually read King Lear itself, so (to be honest) I’m sure I missed a whole bunch of parallels and puns. It’s also been a couple of years since I read my last Chris Moore book, and this one seems to me to be much more decidedly raunchy than his previous work. I seem to recall that he used to rely more on actual wit than on adolescent sexual jokes.While I don’t mind irreverent humor at all, this book was so full of it that IMO it detracted somewhat from the story itself. Sort of like an X-rated Austin Powers meets Shakespeare, more or less. There were some definite laugh out loud moments, lots of witty repartee and some stellar prose and verse, and Moore’s portrayal of Pocket as the main character rather than Lear was an interesting take on things. But I have to say that this was definitely not my favorite of Moore’s works and when it was finished, I closed the book more with relief than satisfaction. C.
13. PAGAN EVERY DAY: FINDING THE EXTRAORDINARY IN OUR ORDINARY LIVES by Barbara Ardinger. I actually started reading this ‘page a day’ type book several months ago, periodically picking it up and reading a dozen days’ or so worth of ruminations. Each day of the year has some thoughts from the author—information about a particular God or Goddess, holiday, pantheon, or concept, often tying together ancient beliefs and myths with the modern world. Sometimes she suggested mini-rituals, other times it was just information, and sometimes she encouraged the reader to think about some particular thing that might tie in with that day of the year and explore our thoughts and feelings about things. There were even some challenges to help us to live a “greener” life (‘walk to work or take the bus today if you normally drive,’) or just to be a better person (volunteer for a few hours at a homeless shelter or do something kind for someone you really don’t like) and such. I very much enjoyed the book, although I didn’t always follow through with her suggestions since I was reading several days’ worth of things at a time. But I did learn a LOT—not only about various pagan beliefs, but about ties from pagan and mythological beliefs as the origin for some current modern-day practices. And oh yes, it definitely gave me things to think about! I am going to keep this book on my Keeper shelf and perhaps one year will choose to pick it up and actually go through the days one at a time. A+
14. MURDER ON LENOX HILL by Victoria Thompson. #7 “gaslight” historical mystery set in early 1900’s New York and featuring midwife Sarah Brandt and police detective Frank Malloy. Sarah is referred to speak discreetly with the Linton family to examine their seventeen year old daughter Grace, whom they are concerned might be pregnant. Grace is a ‘simpleton’ with the mind of a five-year-old and Sarah does indeed determine that she is several months along—everyone assumes that she was raped or taken advantage of, but most puzzlingly, Grace denies anyone hurting her. Living a very sheltered life, Grace is never alone with any men, but Sarah doesn’t believe in immaculate conception and is determined to find who fathered Grace’s child. Mr. Linton comes under immediate suspicion, being the only man to see her regularly, but he is ruled out fairly quickly and the trail next leads to the church the Lintons attend, which is where Grace and Mrs. Linton spend some time volunteering, and eventually a murder does occur there, though the main mystery seems to be Grace’s pregnancy. Meanwhile, Malloy is asked by Sarah’s father, socialite Peter Decker, to resume investigating Sarah’s husband’s murder, which took place four years previously—Decker believes Dr. Tom Brandt was a womanizer and wants Malloy to prove it so that Sarah will finally forget about carrying on Tom’s legacy of helping the poor and return to her rightful place in society. Frank Malloy, of course, has other motives for wanting the crime solved. A predictable, light historical read that I did enjoy despite the mystery (all of them, actually) being extremely transparent and easy to solve. B.
15. TRIGGER CITY by Sean Chercover. #2 Ray Dudgeon mystery set in the Windy City of Chicago. In the first book, Ray takes on the mob and in this one, he seems to be tackling the US Government and their covert military operations. Battered, bruised and barely holding things together (physically and psychologically) after his torture and near death some months previously, Ray is hired by a retired military man whose daughter was brutally murdered—shot to death by one of her employees who then turned the gun on himself. Her killer had apparently been suddenly psychotic and paranoid and believed Joan was ‘out to get him’ and thus he ended both their lives. Of course nothing is ever that simple—the fact that Joan was set to testify for a Congressional hearing on defense contract spending had *nothing* to do with her death, I’m sure, right!?—and the fact that that information was kept hushed up is even more telling. Ray ends up in a tangled web of deceit, trying to sort out the good guys from the bad while trying to keep himself alive and mend his broken relationship with ex-girlfriend Jill, and also trying to protect Steven Zhang’s widow and daughter—he being the man who killed Joan and then himself. I like Ray, despite his foibles, and the author’s writing style make the reading of his story easy and appealing. Ray lives in a world of realism where things are never perfect and exist in multiple shades of gray, not ever simplistically black and white or right and wrong—much like real life, I suppose. I hope he lives a long and prolific life and I will be eagerly awaiting the next in series to see which major player he goes up against next. A.
16. WINTER’S CHILD by Margaret Maron (audio) #12 Judge Deborah Knott mystery set in Colleton County, North Carolina. Newly married sheriff’s deputy Dwight Bryant is just settling in to his blissful home life with Judge Deborah but is pulled away from her AND from a murder investigation in which a much-disliked, abusive good ole boy is shot in the back of the head while driving home from work. The summons away from Colleton County is a strange phone call from his eight-year-old son Cal, who lives five hours away in Virginia with his mother. Dwight makes a trip north to see Cal, and then learns that Jonna, his ex-wife, is actually missing. When Cal goes missing, last seen being picked up in front of his house by a woman in a blue parka who was assumed to be Jonna, Dwight frantically tries to figure out what’s going on, as his relationship with Jonna has not, to this point, been antagonistic at all. Jonna’s body is discovered in her car a day later, murdered, and Cal is still missing, so Deborah takes emergency leave to be with her new husband in the search for his son. Back home, Detective Maylene Richards is now in charge of the murder investigation, which continues with too many suspects and not enough opportunities. As a twisted tale of family secrets and prideful deception unfolds, Deborah and Dwight begin to piece together the tale of Jonna’s death in hopes of finding Cal unharmed. Excellent entry in the series, which just seems to get better and better with each one, and as a reader, C.J. Critt is wonderful and never lets me down. A+
17. TAILED by Brian Wiprud. #3 Garth Carson mystery. Garth has turned his rental taxidermy business over to his Russian friend Otto to run and is now an insurance appraiser specializing in taxidermy collections. Traveling around the country to check out various big-game hunters’ collections is something he’s enjoying a lot—until he keeps an appointment for an appraisal and comes across the body of Sprunty Fulmore, Chicago Bears football player and the apparent victim of a big game hunt himself. After awhile, Garth is sent to Denver to do another appraisal but finds himself the object of an FBI investigation since Sprunty was the second of his clients to end up dead—not only dead, but with a white gecko placed in his hand, so the authorities believe there is a serial killer on the loose. When a collector in Denver ends up dead the same way while Garth is there, they’re convinced the killer is Garth himself. Garth learns more about his grandfather, “Kit” Carson, big-game hunter whom he inherited his own stuffed animal collection from, and about a secret society he formed with Native American implications. Now, as the last remaining descendant of the founding members of the Order of the White Gecko, the FBI don’t realize that Garth isn’t the killer but the next intended target. Off on a wild gecko—er, goose—chase across the country, Garth, Angie (his long-time live-in girlfriend) and some crazy people he meets along the way head for New Mexico to try to head off an alien evil spirit that will take over the earth if it manages to get hold of the ‘vuka’ (spirit) inhabiting Garth. Enjoyable, wacky, light read—it’s been quite awhile since I read any Wiprud, and I’m not sure why I was so long in getting back to this. So far this is the last in this series, but Wiprud has several non-series books out there, and I’m glad to say a couple of them are on my shelf. A.
DNF: I did end up giving up on SAVING FISH FROM DROWNING by Amy Tan in audio. I may still actually read the print version, but the audio version was read by the author and it didn't seem very professionally done--the sound volume varied frequently (as though she were moving away and towards the microphone) and just wasn't (IMO) very expressively read. I gave it a good two hours before moving on.
CR:
Cheryl
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
January 2009 Reading
1. UNDERGROUND by Kat Richardson. Third book in the “Greywalker” paranormal fantasy series set in Seattle, WA. Featuring Harper Blaine, a woman who becomes a Greywalker after having died for two minutes. She is able to go into the Grey—the murky area between life and death, seeing ghosts other spirit-folk. This story features a series of grisly killings of Seattle’s homeless community, where folks are showing up dead with body parts missing and having been quite literally chewed up. The murders, while being investigated, are not a high priority given the victims’ status, and are being written off as “attacked by dogs” and such. Harper gets involved with the case when Quinton, her friend who does her tech work, designed her security system, etc. asks her to investigate as he knew some of the people who have died—and others who have simply disappeared recently. He knows about Harper’s abilities and thinks she’s the perfect person to look into things, and as she has no pressing cases, she does. Plunging to the world of the homeless, the Seattle Underground, and learning much about a local Native American myth, Harper and Quinton make some startling discoveries. This is the book where I think the author finally comes into her stride. Don’t get me wrong—I liked the first two books just fine, but I didn’t really feel “connected” to Harper and there was an elusive ‘something missing’ from them. Whatever that was, it’s now been found! This story sucked me in right away and I literally read this book in two sittings. I felt as though I finally got to really get into Harper’s head, and the story wasn’t just about her, it *was* her. Excellent—glad my intuition led me to reading this as it was a great way to start the new year! A+
2. BONE BY BONE by Carol O’Connell. Non-series mystery/thriller Oren Hobbs has come home after twenty years, the last several spent as an Army CID officer. The family housekeeper, Hannah Rice, has been writing and letting him know that his little brother Josh (who disappeared the summer Oren turned seventeen) has been coming home—bone by bone. Someone is leaving pieces of what they presume is Josh’s skeleton on his father’s front porch. And yet Judge Henry Hobbs (retired) hasn’t seen fit to contact the local sheriff’s office. Why not? No one knows for sure what happened to Josh—a bright fifteen-year-old with a penchant for photography and for watching people. Oren suspects that a picture Josh took captured someone doing something they didn’t want known and that he was killed because of it. But who? Everyone knows everyone’s secrets in small town Coventry, California. Don’t they? This story sucked me in right from the beginning, never revealing too much, just enough crumbs to keep you following the trail—which was also littered with many red herrings, several of which I fell for along the way. You were never really allowed to get to know Oren too well either—the story didn’t take place inside his head, really, so there were many questions I still had about him at the end of the book, even. The characters were all rather complex—and yet you didn’t ever really ‘know’ them if that makes any sense. But this is one of the few books I’ve read recently where I can honestly say that character development didn’t really matter too much. It was the story that was intriguing, and the entire package worked very well. I had read the first of this author’s series featuring Kathleen Mallory and liked it well enough, but it was one of those that got abandoned and lost along the way, with so many other books to read. I think I will need to get back to it soon. A.
3. THE CROSSROADS by Chris Grabenstein. (audio) The author of the John Ceepak and Christopher Miller adult mystery series branches out into young adult fiction with this book, I would tend to call it a paranoramal fantasy/horror story, a ghost story. Zach Jennings and his father and new stepmother are moving into their new home in rural Connecticut. Fortunately, Zach gets along well with Judy, his stepmother—his real mother had died of lung cancer and actually doesn’t sound like a nice person at all. When they arrive in the small town where Zach’s dad grew up, they’re met by a whole parcel of ghosts—although they don’t realize it at first. They also meet nasty old Mrs. Spratling, who keeps a Monday morning vigil at a large tree in the corner of the Jennings’ property where her boyfriend met his demise fifty years previously—along with about fifty other people who died in a Greyhound bus accident. What emerges is a twisted, sordid tale of secrets, lusts and greed close to the surface of small-town life. Told partly from the view of Zach, and from several other of the characters, too. This was an excellent story, very suspenseful, and probably quite scary when read or listened to by the pre-teen/young teen audience that it’s intended for. Grabenstein certainly makes the crossover to YA fiction very well and tells the story with his usual easy-reading style and enough light humor to offset the scarier parts. Very well done! A.
4. AN EXPERIMENT IN TREASON by Bruce Alexander. #9 Sir John Fielding mystery in which Jeremy and Sir John become involved in a plot involving Benjamin Franklin and the American colonies. Someone has stolen a packet of letters from the home of a prominent member of Parliament, believed to be damning to certain British officials with regard to the rights of the Colonials. A footman was brutally coshed on the head and killed during the burglary, therefore it’s a murder case as well. Mr. Franklin is high on the suspect list as having hired certain thugs to perform the deed, but without proof, Sir John and Jeremy are stuck at a standstill. Several changes are in the works with regards to secondary characters as well, as the Fieldings’ former cook, Annie, stars in a production of Romeo and Juliet, Molly (the new cook) settles in and is courted by Dr. Donnelly (the medical examiner) and Jeremy and Clarissa’s relationship begins to change. Enjoyable entry in the series as always; the author’s notes indicate that he played fast and loose with known historical fact in this book with regard to Ben Franklin’s involvement, but I thought he did it very well. It *is* historical fiction after all! A.
5. EXCALIBUR by Bernard Cornwell. Third of the Arthurian legends “Warlord” historical fiction trilogy in which Derfel Cadarn, Arthur’s one-time second in command and now a monk, completes the tale of what happened to Arthur—who never was a king, though he should have been. It’s 530’s A.D. in Britain, and the Saxons are on the prowl again, trying to gain more land. Arthur still stands behind his promise to Uther that he would support Mordred as Britain’s king, and it does nothing but gain him trouble. He’s also trying to recover from Guinevere’s betrayal and is not himself. The story is told of what happens to Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin, Nimue, Lancelot and to Derfel himself to some degree. I absolutely loved Cornwell’s take on the whole Arthurian legend, treating it as more historical fiction than fantasy and telling a plausible tale of what could have been the basis for the whole “King Arthur/Camelot” legends. Excellently wonderful, and this whole series is staying on my Keeper shelf. A.
6. PRIEST by Ken Bruen #5 Jack Taylor mystery set in Galway, Ireland and featuring the tormented alcoholic ex-Guard once again. Just released from ‘the nuthouse’ where he’s spent many months with his brain on vacation and subdued by medication after the tragic events at the end of the previous book (trying not to give spoilers here!), Jack discovers just how much Galway and his situation can change in just a few months’ time. He discovers that his old landlady at the hotel has died and left him a hefty sum of money and an apartment, his friend Jeff has become a drunken bum, and someone has beheaded a priest—a priest that had been one of those accused of sexual abuse of young boys a few years previously. His old nemesis Fr. Malachy actually approaches Jack and asks him to investigate, and Jack is also approached by a young man who has been following his career and wants to go into partnership with him as a pair of P.I.’s. Through many stressful, horrible situations, Jack manages not to succumb to his desire for a drink, but this tale, too, ends tragically in what is becoming a bit of a formulaic plot device. I really didn’t expect anything different, as Jack can never seem to catch a break or a bit of lasting happiness. A stark and depressing tale, yet a deeply philosophical one that plumbs the depths of Jack’s soul, I wouldn’t read this if you’re looking for something light and uplifting—but despite the predictable ending, it was still a good read. B+.
7. THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH by Norton Juster. A classic children’s fantasy tale that I’d never heard of til recently—written in 1961 and full of the sort of puns and wordplay I would have loved as a youngster—wish I’d known about it then. Milo is a young boy who is disillusioned with life—wherever he is and whatever he’s doing, he wishes he were somewhere else doing something different. Thoroughly bored with life is our Milo. One day he comes home to find a tollbooth in his bedroom, something he’s pretty sure wasn’t there before. He climbs in his little car, pays his toll and finds himself suddenly somewhere else and certainly doing something different! Consulting the map, he decides to head for Dictionopolis, but first must travel through Expectations, the doldrums and the Foothills of Confusion. Wonderful story with a very basic life lesson (that I think some people never quite learn, actually)...hilarious characters, word streams and funky illustrations as well. A+
8. A FISTFUL OF CHARMS by Kim Harrison. #4 in the Rachel Morgan “Hollows” paranormal mystery cum paranormal romance series. Why, why, WHY does every good paranormal series I read start out so great and slowly devolve into a pseudo-romance full of sexual tension, descriptions of clothing, hair, body parts and with a veritable smorgasbord of sexual choices for the heroine? I really liked the first two of this series. The third one was okay, but I could see where it was headed, which is probably why I took so long to get to this one. It’s happened to sooooo many series I started out raving about, though…it drives me freakin’ insane!! The story, the real story of what is happening in this paranormal world between the vamps and Weres and Pixies and witches, etc. gets lost in all the sweating, mingling of scents, rapid hearts beating, descriptions of washboard abs, sexy bottoms, leather clothing exchanging of bodily fluids. Bah! I finished this book two days ago but I can barely recall what it was about. And it’s rather an irrelevant point since I won’t be continuing the series anyway. I’m sad about it, because I really liked Rachel in the first couple books. However, I am happy because although Book 6 just came up on my PBS wishlist, I finished this book in time to cancel the order before the member could respond to my auto request. Yes! The book gods DO love me after all! D+
9. BURNING BRIGHT by Tracy Chevalier (audio download). Wonderful historical fiction tale about a couple of families in 1792 London. The book loosely contains William Blake, noted poet, artist and engraver and all-around ‘odd duck’ as the neighbor of the two families, but it’s mostly about the Kellaways and Butterfields. The Kellaways are innocents, newly-arrived in London from Dorsetshire—chair-maker Tom, his wife Annie and children Gem and Maisie, having been promised work by traveling circus owner Philip Astley. The Butterfields are hardened, street-wise life-long Londoners. The story changes points of view and we come to know particularly Jem Kellaway and Maggie Butterfield very well as they have adventures in the streets of London, have visits with their neighbor Mr. Blake and his wife Kate. I love books like this, not about kings and queens and Lord this-and-that, but the ordinary folk and a snapshot of what their lives were like over a year or so’s time. Chevalier has ever told wonderful stories, and this one is no exception. While William Blake isn’t a central character in the book, he is rather prominent in the minds and eyes of the other characters and it does feature some of his work, as this takes place not long after he’d written his famed “Songs of Innocence” and “Songs of Experience.” I grew fearful towards the ending that the author would wrap everything up in a nice little packages in the way that real life never is, and thus spoil the whole story, but not to worry—it was decidedly satisfying for me. The reader was excellent, too, doing a myriad of voices and accents without faltering. A.
10. THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows (audio download) Wonderful production, a story told in letters back and forth between several people in the UK in 1946. It’s post-war England and writer Juliet Ashton is busy doing book tours when she receives an interesting letter from a Mr. Dawsey Adams on the island of Guernsey. He had picked up a book that used to belong to her, a work by Charles Lamb, which he really likes, and had some questions for her. They begin a correspondence that leads to Juliet corresponding with many people on the island, members of a group called The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—so-named during a ruse to fool the Germans who had been occupying the island at the time of the group’s formation. It started out as a bit of a joke but actually did develop into a book club, and Juliet decides that it might be interesting to write about the group, the German occupation there (which she knew precious little about) and Guernsey in general. After several months of correspondence, and despite the protestations of her steady boyfriend, rich American Markham Reynolds, Juliet heads off to the island to meet her pen pals, totally unprepared for what she finds there. Absolutely wonderful book!! This was the first audiobook I’d read that was done by more than one reader, almost like an old time radio production, with the letters being read by four or five different people. It was very hard to stop listening to this wonderful reading. Yes, it’s rather sappy in places but the way this book was done, I didn’t mind it at all. There were parts that were terribly sad, others that were joyous and hopeful, the characters were brilliant and well-fleshed and there’s plenty of literary reference for the seasoned bibliophile, too. I was saddened to hear that the primary author, Mary Ann Schaffer, passed away before the book was ever released, so we won’t be privy to more of her work. Very likely to make my top ten of the year! A+
11. EIGHT OF SWORDS by David Skibbins. First of a mystery series featuring Warren Ritter, a fifty-something tarot reader with a street stall in Berkeley, California, and fugitive from the law because of his “un-American” activities back in the ‘60’s. Well, actually, it’s believed that he’s dead—and Richard Green, the person he was, IS dead for all intents and purposes. He’s also bi-polar and prone to do a lot of self-medicating. The story sucked me in immediately, with Warren doing a reading for a teenage girl in which he forsees a bad end. He gives his clients one of his tarot cards with a sticker containing his contact information, and when the girl is kidnapped later that day, he’s contacted by the police, as Heather’s backpack with his card in it was found in an alley not far away. To top things off, his sister Tara—who believes that “Richard” has been dead for the last couple of decades—is on a temporary job in Berkeley and sees him at his tarot stall. This puts Warren into a whole dilemma of “fight or flight”—does he stay and try to figure out what happened to Heather, and to resolve things with Tara, or does he run to Spokane or Alaska, where he has two other identities that he can use? He decides to stay, which sets off crisis after crisis for Warren—not easy for anyone, but for someone living on the edge psychologically, especially devastating. I really like Warren, despite some of his stupid choices, and the writing style is easy to read, casual and with just enough humor to balance out the edginess. I’ve already put the second in series on my PBS wishlist. A winner! A.
12. HE WHO FEARS THE WOLF by Karin Fossum. #2 Inspector Konrad Seijer mystery set in Norway. An elderly woman is found dead in her remote cabin home, her garden hoe firmly planted in the side of her head. Meanwhile, Errki Johrma, a disturbed young schizophrenic, has escaped from a nearby asylum so everyone assumes he is the perpetrator of that heinous crime. A young boy walking in the woods taking some bow-shooting practice who discovered the woman’s body reports having seen Errki in the woods near her cabin. But Inspector Seijer isn’t so sure, and even comes up with a bizarre bet with his second in command that their culprit isn’t Errki at all. The young man’s psychiatrist doesn’t believe he did it either, as violence simply doesn’t fit his profile of past behaviors. Seijer is working not only the murder case, but the case of a bank robbery that occurs the next morning—a bank robbery that involves a hostage, no less. The two cases begin to strangely entwine during the course of the investigation. I enjoyed this book more than the first in the series. Seijer wasn’t quite so morose in this book, maybe that had something to do with it. The book rotates back and forth with chapters told from the point of view of several characters, including the bad guys. Sometimes this works for an author and other times I find it annoying, but Fossum uses that tool remarkably well and the book had a very satisfying feel to it: I’m certainly glad to have already procured the next few in the series. A.
13. THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH by Charlie Huston. ARC for review from Amazon Vine. This is the gritty, edgy tale of Webster Fillmore Goodhue, a former teacher cum slacker, now employed by Clean Team, a company that does clean-up at crime scenes after the forensic teams are done. Hired by families too bereaved to deal with such a mess and without the knowledge of how to handle it even if they wanted to, Web finds a certain satisfaction in scraping bloody bits of brains, offal and gore and restoring a room such that you could not tell that a brutal murder or suicide or other messy death occurred there. Web himself is pretty messed up inside, having lived an “interesting” childhood, shall we say, and then suffering a major traumatic incident as a teacher that left him essentially unable to cope with most of life except by sleeping and by being a total jerk while he’s awake. Despite all that, I liked him almost immediately, much as I have liked every one of Huston’s main characters in previous books. I know I’m not supposed to like them, but I can’t help it. Perhaps it’s just the author’s ‘voice’ or writing style, but like his other works, I found this book hard to put down and devoured it in a matter of hours. Not for the faint of heart, nor the prim and proper, this book is graphic, full of gory descriptions of crime scenes, evidence of man’s brutality towards one another and it oozes darkness—and yet, it left me with a sense of hope, too. I believe this book is meant to be a stand-alone, but I hope I’m wrong, because I would love to see it become a series. There’s already a great main character and a set of interesting, well-fleshed out supporting characters too. Excellent and highly recommended for lovers of indecently pulpy noir. A+
14. THE GOLDSMITH’S DAUGHTER by Kate Sedley. #10 Roger the Chapman series set in 1470’s England. Roger and new wife Adela are off to London in January, even though Adela is now three months’ pregnant. Adela has hopes of seeing some of the festivities to celebrate the royal wedding of King Edward’s four-year-old son to Lady Anne Mowbray. Meanwhile, Edward’s brother George, The Duke of Clarence sits in the Tower, charged with treason. Roger has a bad feeling about the trip, and sure enough, while in the crowd at the wedding and again during George’s trial the next day, Roger is spotted by Prince Richard, whom he has done service for in the past and whom he is extremely loyal to. Richard charges Roger to solve the murder of a local goldsmith—or actually, the goldsmith’s son-in-law—as the wife is rumored to be the killer and she is related to King Edward’s latest mistress, Jane Shore. Richard wants to approach Jane to ask her to intercede for his brother George’s life, but he wants a bargaining chip before doing so. He feels that solving the murder and removing the suspicion from her cousin’s head will be enough. Roger ends up spending most of his week in the investigation while Adela spends time with the Lampreys, old friends of Roger’s from previous trips. And of course Roger solves the crime, although the answer was as plain as the nose on your face from midway through the book. This is one of my favorite historical series, with Roger’s ‘voice’ telling stories at an advanced age as he recalls them from his past. Depite the obviousness of the mystery, I still enjoyed this one and always applaud Sedley’s descriptions, settings and of course her characters, too. A.
15. RITUALS OF THE SEASON by Margaret Maron. (audio) #11 Judge Deborah Knott series set in Colleton County, North Carolina. It’s Christmas, and Deborah’s wedding looms large on the horizon, but there’s no time for celebrating just yet. An up-and-coming assistant DA, Tracy Johnson, has been shot while driving down the interstate and her year-old adopted daughter May, who is in her carseat in the back, lives only briefly after the ensuing crash. Suspicion centers around people she’s previously prosecuted, especially since she’s gotten a death threat recently. And then it’s revealed that she was beginning to dig into an old case regarding a woman on death row who is to be executed the following month. On top of that, the autopsy reveals that Johnson was pregnant when no one knew she was seeing anyone seriously—so was her death related to her personal life, or her professional one? Although admonished to stay out of the investigation, Deborah gets tangled in it anyway and solves the old murder case while the sheriff’s office finally draws enough evidence to light to solve Johnson’s murder. As is common, I knew the bad guy as soon as he was introduced, and watched the clues fall into place as they all scrambled around after the wrong guy for quite awhile. But I still love this series, and the reader is just excellent too. The highlight of course was Deborah’s wedding, and watching her huge family prepare for it and spending Christmas in Colleton County was wonderful, although a bit late. LOL A
16. SOLACE FOR A SINNER by Caroline Roe. #4 Isaac of Girona historical mystery set in 1550’s Spain, featuring the blind Jewish physician and his family. In this installment, the Holy Grail has apparently come to Girona in the hands of a merchant who is trying to auction it off to the highest bidder. Rumors abound and then one of the hopeful buyers ends up dead, as does the merchant himself. Near-panic ensues in the marketplaces as the rumors escalate about the Grail and its powers. Isaac begins to investigate as one of the members of the Jewish community is suspect, and the Bishop, whom Isaac tends faithfully. is annoyed with Isaac for stirring up trouble and tries to stay out of the fracas. While I didn’t dislike this book, I certainly didn’t like it as much as the previous ones in the series. It seemed rather blah and I had a hard time getting interested in the political/religious intrigue and in the main part of the story even though I enjoy Isaac, Raquel, Yusuf and the rest of the supporting cast very much. I’ll give this one a B- and hope the next one picks up again.
17. DIE ONCE by Marianne MacDonald. #6 Dido Hoare antiquarian bookseller mystery set in London. A regular customer of Dido’s has committed suicide and a few days later, her bank contacts her to say that the cheque he used to make his last purchase from her has bounced. She contacts the solicitors handling his estate and is hired by them to do a valuation on his books, and in the process of doing so, Dido realizes that something is just not right about the whole situation, and she begins to think perhaps someone helped Tim Curwen over his balcony. Conversations with a small nearly-blind lad who lives next door and a couple of irate CID detectives who pop in to the flat to see what Dido is doing there begin to raise her suspicions even more. Dido, naturally, gets herself into investigating and helps unlock the mystery. Once again I have to say that, much like the last book in this series that I read, I found most of the situations to be totally implausible. Why on earth would a woman with a young toddler to raise put herself in such jeopardy on a continual basis?? This was not a person she had any sort of deep relationship with so that her running hither and yon would be inspired by passion or a deep friendship of great longevity or something. Why would policemen willingly share details of ongoing investigations with her—a bookseller and rank amateur—and even invite her along on snooping expeditions? Why would she willingly withhold vital evidence from the investigating officers and still not be able to figure out the bad guy til the end of the book when I had figured it out about a third of the way through? LOL I just can’t see how any of this could have happened, really… my head was rattling continuously as I shook it incredulously. Don’t get me wrong—I like Dido and her world a lot (what’s not to like about an antiquarian bookstore??) and I’m still wishing her father were a real person that I could call up and natter with. BUT… truly, I think the author needs to make situations that an amateur like Dido could reasonably get into or else make her a policewoman. Were I basing my grade strictly on the characters and settings, the book would get an A, but the continual stream of ludicrous actions by Dido and just plain lowered it to a B-.
18. WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen. Historical fiction set during the Depression about a young man whose parents die suddenly in a car crash when he is away at Cornell University, and is due to take his final exams to become a veterinarian. At a total loss when he finds out that his parents had mortgaged their home and essentially lost the farm with nothing in the estate, Jacob Jankowski just starts walking. Hungry, tired, footsore and grieving, he ends up hooking up with a traveling circus, and this is the story of what life was like under (and behind!) the big top, trying to survive during the Depression. The story actually bounces back and forth in time, being told by a much older Jacob, who is now ninety (or ninety-three, he’s not sure which) and living in a nursing home. When the circus comes to town, all these memories come flooding back. I don’t want to say too much or give anything away, so just GO READ IT! I absolutely loved this book! It’s a gritty tale, doesn’t gloss over the realities of life and yet somehow manages to be a gently told story. I fell in love with the elder Mr. Jankowski—he reminded me so much of one of my favorite residents from when I used to work in a nursing home. I always did like the feisty ones! At any rate, if this book doesn’t make my top ten of the year, I’ll be really surprised. A+
19. THE GHOST AND MRS MCCLURE by Alice Kimberly. #1 in the Haunted Bookshop mystery series, set in small town Rhode Island where Penelope has moved from New Yorkwith her young son Spencer after her husband’s suicide. Moving in with her aging aunt Sadie and buying half-interest in her failing bookstore, Penelope revamps it, modernizes everything and uses her background in publishing to try and make Buy the Book viable again. She manages to snag big-time mystery author Timothy Brennan to come speak and do a book signing. Little does she realize that Brennan, one of her favorite authors, is a real jerk. And it turns out someone else thinks so too, as he’s murdered during his talk right on camera. At first it’s thought he suffered a heart attack, but later it’s revealed that he was deliberately driven into anaphylactic shock with nut oil. While all this is going on, Penelope discovers that her bookstore is haunted by Jack Shepard, a 1940’s tough-guy private eye—the very one that Brennan’s books are based on. The reason he’d agreed to do a signing in Buy the Book was that Brennan and his staff had discovered that Shepard had died there. And of course Penelope is briefly a suspect ibecause of the massive publicity to the shop generated by Brennan’s death on site. This was a fairly decent book for a cozy, but it wasn’t great. The plot was very transparent and I’d figured out whodunit and the subplot way in advance. I’m going to try the next in series—although I’ve put it on my library list rather than taking up a wishlist spot at PBS—and see if it shakes my tree a little more. I like Penelope and the supporting cast, but the characters were a bit weak and, I don’t know—lackluster I guess. A light and predictable read, what will make or break this series for me is whether (as seems typical) it denigrates into a mystery-cum-romance and whether the author will keep Jack’s ghost’s abilities within the parameters she’s set down in this first book. B
20. ROUNDING THE MARK by Andrea Camilleri. #7 Inspector Salvo Montalbano police procedural mystery set in Sicily. Salvo has become disillusioned with the world and with policework specifically and is all set to turn in his resignation when he gets caught up in an unofficial investigation dealing with illegal immigrants. He comes across a scared black immigrant boy at the docks who looks at Montalbano imploringly as if to ask him to help him escape—but the woman who takes the little fellow by the hand appears to be his mother, so why was the boy afraid? The question definitely needs answering a few days later when the boy turns up dead, the victim of a hit and run accident. When this unofficial case ties in with the case of a dead body that Montalbano literally ‘ran into’ while swimming, his instincts go into high gear and the scent of the chase banishes all thought of resignation from his mind. Excellent as usual, and as usual, don’t read this series while hungry—the descriptions of the wonderful foods will leave you drooling! A.
21. BONK: THE CURIOUS COUPLING OF SCIENCE AND SEX by Mary Roach. (audio) The author takes her usual quirky look at a touchy subject, delving particularly into the various documented studies about sex—attitudes, practices, and the actual nitty-gritty science of coupling—done by the likes of Masters & Johnson, Kinsey and other lesser-known researchers, both past and present. She discusses not only the subject matter undertaken by these folks, but the researchers themselves, their lives and thoughts about sex. Traveling the globe to meet with researchers and to observe some studies in action—even to participate in some herself—the author helps to debunk some common misconceptions about ‘the science of sex’ and ‘how it all works’ and offers up a few little-known facts along the way. Roach’s off-beat sense of humor comes in handy during the discussion, and she handles the delicate subject with straightforward aplomb that greatly diminishes any squeamishness or embarrassment. Also explored some were cultural considerations, although I would have liked to have had even more discussion about that. Since her audience is primarily from Western civilization, that’s where she concentrated her efforts. I enjoyed this book quite a lot, learned a lot, and the reader for this audio version was really good too, which made concentrating not a problem—which sometimes it can be when I’ve attempted other non-fiction books. There were many footnotes and asides throughout the book, but to me they weren’t distracting, just added extra information—in fact, some of the most interesting bits were in the footnotes, I thought. It will be really interesting to see what topic Ms. Roach decides to dive into next! A.
DNF: FAULT LINE by Barry Eisler (ARC for review)
Cheryl
2. BONE BY BONE by Carol O’Connell. Non-series mystery/thriller Oren Hobbs has come home after twenty years, the last several spent as an Army CID officer. The family housekeeper, Hannah Rice, has been writing and letting him know that his little brother Josh (who disappeared the summer Oren turned seventeen) has been coming home—bone by bone. Someone is leaving pieces of what they presume is Josh’s skeleton on his father’s front porch. And yet Judge Henry Hobbs (retired) hasn’t seen fit to contact the local sheriff’s office. Why not? No one knows for sure what happened to Josh—a bright fifteen-year-old with a penchant for photography and for watching people. Oren suspects that a picture Josh took captured someone doing something they didn’t want known and that he was killed because of it. But who? Everyone knows everyone’s secrets in small town Coventry, California. Don’t they? This story sucked me in right from the beginning, never revealing too much, just enough crumbs to keep you following the trail—which was also littered with many red herrings, several of which I fell for along the way. You were never really allowed to get to know Oren too well either—the story didn’t take place inside his head, really, so there were many questions I still had about him at the end of the book, even. The characters were all rather complex—and yet you didn’t ever really ‘know’ them if that makes any sense. But this is one of the few books I’ve read recently where I can honestly say that character development didn’t really matter too much. It was the story that was intriguing, and the entire package worked very well. I had read the first of this author’s series featuring Kathleen Mallory and liked it well enough, but it was one of those that got abandoned and lost along the way, with so many other books to read. I think I will need to get back to it soon. A.
3. THE CROSSROADS by Chris Grabenstein. (audio) The author of the John Ceepak and Christopher Miller adult mystery series branches out into young adult fiction with this book, I would tend to call it a paranoramal fantasy/horror story, a ghost story. Zach Jennings and his father and new stepmother are moving into their new home in rural Connecticut. Fortunately, Zach gets along well with Judy, his stepmother—his real mother had died of lung cancer and actually doesn’t sound like a nice person at all. When they arrive in the small town where Zach’s dad grew up, they’re met by a whole parcel of ghosts—although they don’t realize it at first. They also meet nasty old Mrs. Spratling, who keeps a Monday morning vigil at a large tree in the corner of the Jennings’ property where her boyfriend met his demise fifty years previously—along with about fifty other people who died in a Greyhound bus accident. What emerges is a twisted, sordid tale of secrets, lusts and greed close to the surface of small-town life. Told partly from the view of Zach, and from several other of the characters, too. This was an excellent story, very suspenseful, and probably quite scary when read or listened to by the pre-teen/young teen audience that it’s intended for. Grabenstein certainly makes the crossover to YA fiction very well and tells the story with his usual easy-reading style and enough light humor to offset the scarier parts. Very well done! A.
4. AN EXPERIMENT IN TREASON by Bruce Alexander. #9 Sir John Fielding mystery in which Jeremy and Sir John become involved in a plot involving Benjamin Franklin and the American colonies. Someone has stolen a packet of letters from the home of a prominent member of Parliament, believed to be damning to certain British officials with regard to the rights of the Colonials. A footman was brutally coshed on the head and killed during the burglary, therefore it’s a murder case as well. Mr. Franklin is high on the suspect list as having hired certain thugs to perform the deed, but without proof, Sir John and Jeremy are stuck at a standstill. Several changes are in the works with regards to secondary characters as well, as the Fieldings’ former cook, Annie, stars in a production of Romeo and Juliet, Molly (the new cook) settles in and is courted by Dr. Donnelly (the medical examiner) and Jeremy and Clarissa’s relationship begins to change. Enjoyable entry in the series as always; the author’s notes indicate that he played fast and loose with known historical fact in this book with regard to Ben Franklin’s involvement, but I thought he did it very well. It *is* historical fiction after all! A.
5. EXCALIBUR by Bernard Cornwell. Third of the Arthurian legends “Warlord” historical fiction trilogy in which Derfel Cadarn, Arthur’s one-time second in command and now a monk, completes the tale of what happened to Arthur—who never was a king, though he should have been. It’s 530’s A.D. in Britain, and the Saxons are on the prowl again, trying to gain more land. Arthur still stands behind his promise to Uther that he would support Mordred as Britain’s king, and it does nothing but gain him trouble. He’s also trying to recover from Guinevere’s betrayal and is not himself. The story is told of what happens to Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin, Nimue, Lancelot and to Derfel himself to some degree. I absolutely loved Cornwell’s take on the whole Arthurian legend, treating it as more historical fiction than fantasy and telling a plausible tale of what could have been the basis for the whole “King Arthur/Camelot” legends. Excellently wonderful, and this whole series is staying on my Keeper shelf. A.
6. PRIEST by Ken Bruen #5 Jack Taylor mystery set in Galway, Ireland and featuring the tormented alcoholic ex-Guard once again. Just released from ‘the nuthouse’ where he’s spent many months with his brain on vacation and subdued by medication after the tragic events at the end of the previous book (trying not to give spoilers here!), Jack discovers just how much Galway and his situation can change in just a few months’ time. He discovers that his old landlady at the hotel has died and left him a hefty sum of money and an apartment, his friend Jeff has become a drunken bum, and someone has beheaded a priest—a priest that had been one of those accused of sexual abuse of young boys a few years previously. His old nemesis Fr. Malachy actually approaches Jack and asks him to investigate, and Jack is also approached by a young man who has been following his career and wants to go into partnership with him as a pair of P.I.’s. Through many stressful, horrible situations, Jack manages not to succumb to his desire for a drink, but this tale, too, ends tragically in what is becoming a bit of a formulaic plot device. I really didn’t expect anything different, as Jack can never seem to catch a break or a bit of lasting happiness. A stark and depressing tale, yet a deeply philosophical one that plumbs the depths of Jack’s soul, I wouldn’t read this if you’re looking for something light and uplifting—but despite the predictable ending, it was still a good read. B+.
7. THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH by Norton Juster. A classic children’s fantasy tale that I’d never heard of til recently—written in 1961 and full of the sort of puns and wordplay I would have loved as a youngster—wish I’d known about it then. Milo is a young boy who is disillusioned with life—wherever he is and whatever he’s doing, he wishes he were somewhere else doing something different. Thoroughly bored with life is our Milo. One day he comes home to find a tollbooth in his bedroom, something he’s pretty sure wasn’t there before. He climbs in his little car, pays his toll and finds himself suddenly somewhere else and certainly doing something different! Consulting the map, he decides to head for Dictionopolis, but first must travel through Expectations, the doldrums and the Foothills of Confusion. Wonderful story with a very basic life lesson (that I think some people never quite learn, actually)...hilarious characters, word streams and funky illustrations as well. A+
8. A FISTFUL OF CHARMS by Kim Harrison. #4 in the Rachel Morgan “Hollows” paranormal mystery cum paranormal romance series. Why, why, WHY does every good paranormal series I read start out so great and slowly devolve into a pseudo-romance full of sexual tension, descriptions of clothing, hair, body parts and with a veritable smorgasbord of sexual choices for the heroine? I really liked the first two of this series. The third one was okay, but I could see where it was headed, which is probably why I took so long to get to this one. It’s happened to sooooo many series I started out raving about, though…it drives me freakin’ insane!! The story, the real story of what is happening in this paranormal world between the vamps and Weres and Pixies and witches, etc. gets lost in all the sweating, mingling of scents, rapid hearts beating, descriptions of washboard abs, sexy bottoms, leather clothing exchanging of bodily fluids. Bah! I finished this book two days ago but I can barely recall what it was about. And it’s rather an irrelevant point since I won’t be continuing the series anyway. I’m sad about it, because I really liked Rachel in the first couple books. However, I am happy because although Book 6 just came up on my PBS wishlist, I finished this book in time to cancel the order before the member could respond to my auto request. Yes! The book gods DO love me after all! D+
9. BURNING BRIGHT by Tracy Chevalier (audio download). Wonderful historical fiction tale about a couple of families in 1792 London. The book loosely contains William Blake, noted poet, artist and engraver and all-around ‘odd duck’ as the neighbor of the two families, but it’s mostly about the Kellaways and Butterfields. The Kellaways are innocents, newly-arrived in London from Dorsetshire—chair-maker Tom, his wife Annie and children Gem and Maisie, having been promised work by traveling circus owner Philip Astley. The Butterfields are hardened, street-wise life-long Londoners. The story changes points of view and we come to know particularly Jem Kellaway and Maggie Butterfield very well as they have adventures in the streets of London, have visits with their neighbor Mr. Blake and his wife Kate. I love books like this, not about kings and queens and Lord this-and-that, but the ordinary folk and a snapshot of what their lives were like over a year or so’s time. Chevalier has ever told wonderful stories, and this one is no exception. While William Blake isn’t a central character in the book, he is rather prominent in the minds and eyes of the other characters and it does feature some of his work, as this takes place not long after he’d written his famed “Songs of Innocence” and “Songs of Experience.” I grew fearful towards the ending that the author would wrap everything up in a nice little packages in the way that real life never is, and thus spoil the whole story, but not to worry—it was decidedly satisfying for me. The reader was excellent, too, doing a myriad of voices and accents without faltering. A.
10. THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows (audio download) Wonderful production, a story told in letters back and forth between several people in the UK in 1946. It’s post-war England and writer Juliet Ashton is busy doing book tours when she receives an interesting letter from a Mr. Dawsey Adams on the island of Guernsey. He had picked up a book that used to belong to her, a work by Charles Lamb, which he really likes, and had some questions for her. They begin a correspondence that leads to Juliet corresponding with many people on the island, members of a group called The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—so-named during a ruse to fool the Germans who had been occupying the island at the time of the group’s formation. It started out as a bit of a joke but actually did develop into a book club, and Juliet decides that it might be interesting to write about the group, the German occupation there (which she knew precious little about) and Guernsey in general. After several months of correspondence, and despite the protestations of her steady boyfriend, rich American Markham Reynolds, Juliet heads off to the island to meet her pen pals, totally unprepared for what she finds there. Absolutely wonderful book!! This was the first audiobook I’d read that was done by more than one reader, almost like an old time radio production, with the letters being read by four or five different people. It was very hard to stop listening to this wonderful reading. Yes, it’s rather sappy in places but the way this book was done, I didn’t mind it at all. There were parts that were terribly sad, others that were joyous and hopeful, the characters were brilliant and well-fleshed and there’s plenty of literary reference for the seasoned bibliophile, too. I was saddened to hear that the primary author, Mary Ann Schaffer, passed away before the book was ever released, so we won’t be privy to more of her work. Very likely to make my top ten of the year! A+
11. EIGHT OF SWORDS by David Skibbins. First of a mystery series featuring Warren Ritter, a fifty-something tarot reader with a street stall in Berkeley, California, and fugitive from the law because of his “un-American” activities back in the ‘60’s. Well, actually, it’s believed that he’s dead—and Richard Green, the person he was, IS dead for all intents and purposes. He’s also bi-polar and prone to do a lot of self-medicating. The story sucked me in immediately, with Warren doing a reading for a teenage girl in which he forsees a bad end. He gives his clients one of his tarot cards with a sticker containing his contact information, and when the girl is kidnapped later that day, he’s contacted by the police, as Heather’s backpack with his card in it was found in an alley not far away. To top things off, his sister Tara—who believes that “Richard” has been dead for the last couple of decades—is on a temporary job in Berkeley and sees him at his tarot stall. This puts Warren into a whole dilemma of “fight or flight”—does he stay and try to figure out what happened to Heather, and to resolve things with Tara, or does he run to Spokane or Alaska, where he has two other identities that he can use? He decides to stay, which sets off crisis after crisis for Warren—not easy for anyone, but for someone living on the edge psychologically, especially devastating. I really like Warren, despite some of his stupid choices, and the writing style is easy to read, casual and with just enough humor to balance out the edginess. I’ve already put the second in series on my PBS wishlist. A winner! A.
12. HE WHO FEARS THE WOLF by Karin Fossum. #2 Inspector Konrad Seijer mystery set in Norway. An elderly woman is found dead in her remote cabin home, her garden hoe firmly planted in the side of her head. Meanwhile, Errki Johrma, a disturbed young schizophrenic, has escaped from a nearby asylum so everyone assumes he is the perpetrator of that heinous crime. A young boy walking in the woods taking some bow-shooting practice who discovered the woman’s body reports having seen Errki in the woods near her cabin. But Inspector Seijer isn’t so sure, and even comes up with a bizarre bet with his second in command that their culprit isn’t Errki at all. The young man’s psychiatrist doesn’t believe he did it either, as violence simply doesn’t fit his profile of past behaviors. Seijer is working not only the murder case, but the case of a bank robbery that occurs the next morning—a bank robbery that involves a hostage, no less. The two cases begin to strangely entwine during the course of the investigation. I enjoyed this book more than the first in the series. Seijer wasn’t quite so morose in this book, maybe that had something to do with it. The book rotates back and forth with chapters told from the point of view of several characters, including the bad guys. Sometimes this works for an author and other times I find it annoying, but Fossum uses that tool remarkably well and the book had a very satisfying feel to it: I’m certainly glad to have already procured the next few in the series. A.
13. THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH by Charlie Huston. ARC for review from Amazon Vine. This is the gritty, edgy tale of Webster Fillmore Goodhue, a former teacher cum slacker, now employed by Clean Team, a company that does clean-up at crime scenes after the forensic teams are done. Hired by families too bereaved to deal with such a mess and without the knowledge of how to handle it even if they wanted to, Web finds a certain satisfaction in scraping bloody bits of brains, offal and gore and restoring a room such that you could not tell that a brutal murder or suicide or other messy death occurred there. Web himself is pretty messed up inside, having lived an “interesting” childhood, shall we say, and then suffering a major traumatic incident as a teacher that left him essentially unable to cope with most of life except by sleeping and by being a total jerk while he’s awake. Despite all that, I liked him almost immediately, much as I have liked every one of Huston’s main characters in previous books. I know I’m not supposed to like them, but I can’t help it. Perhaps it’s just the author’s ‘voice’ or writing style, but like his other works, I found this book hard to put down and devoured it in a matter of hours. Not for the faint of heart, nor the prim and proper, this book is graphic, full of gory descriptions of crime scenes, evidence of man’s brutality towards one another and it oozes darkness—and yet, it left me with a sense of hope, too. I believe this book is meant to be a stand-alone, but I hope I’m wrong, because I would love to see it become a series. There’s already a great main character and a set of interesting, well-fleshed out supporting characters too. Excellent and highly recommended for lovers of indecently pulpy noir. A+
14. THE GOLDSMITH’S DAUGHTER by Kate Sedley. #10 Roger the Chapman series set in 1470’s England. Roger and new wife Adela are off to London in January, even though Adela is now three months’ pregnant. Adela has hopes of seeing some of the festivities to celebrate the royal wedding of King Edward’s four-year-old son to Lady Anne Mowbray. Meanwhile, Edward’s brother George, The Duke of Clarence sits in the Tower, charged with treason. Roger has a bad feeling about the trip, and sure enough, while in the crowd at the wedding and again during George’s trial the next day, Roger is spotted by Prince Richard, whom he has done service for in the past and whom he is extremely loyal to. Richard charges Roger to solve the murder of a local goldsmith—or actually, the goldsmith’s son-in-law—as the wife is rumored to be the killer and she is related to King Edward’s latest mistress, Jane Shore. Richard wants to approach Jane to ask her to intercede for his brother George’s life, but he wants a bargaining chip before doing so. He feels that solving the murder and removing the suspicion from her cousin’s head will be enough. Roger ends up spending most of his week in the investigation while Adela spends time with the Lampreys, old friends of Roger’s from previous trips. And of course Roger solves the crime, although the answer was as plain as the nose on your face from midway through the book. This is one of my favorite historical series, with Roger’s ‘voice’ telling stories at an advanced age as he recalls them from his past. Depite the obviousness of the mystery, I still enjoyed this one and always applaud Sedley’s descriptions, settings and of course her characters, too. A.
15. RITUALS OF THE SEASON by Margaret Maron. (audio) #11 Judge Deborah Knott series set in Colleton County, North Carolina. It’s Christmas, and Deborah’s wedding looms large on the horizon, but there’s no time for celebrating just yet. An up-and-coming assistant DA, Tracy Johnson, has been shot while driving down the interstate and her year-old adopted daughter May, who is in her carseat in the back, lives only briefly after the ensuing crash. Suspicion centers around people she’s previously prosecuted, especially since she’s gotten a death threat recently. And then it’s revealed that she was beginning to dig into an old case regarding a woman on death row who is to be executed the following month. On top of that, the autopsy reveals that Johnson was pregnant when no one knew she was seeing anyone seriously—so was her death related to her personal life, or her professional one? Although admonished to stay out of the investigation, Deborah gets tangled in it anyway and solves the old murder case while the sheriff’s office finally draws enough evidence to light to solve Johnson’s murder. As is common, I knew the bad guy as soon as he was introduced, and watched the clues fall into place as they all scrambled around after the wrong guy for quite awhile. But I still love this series, and the reader is just excellent too. The highlight of course was Deborah’s wedding, and watching her huge family prepare for it and spending Christmas in Colleton County was wonderful, although a bit late. LOL A
16. SOLACE FOR A SINNER by Caroline Roe. #4 Isaac of Girona historical mystery set in 1550’s Spain, featuring the blind Jewish physician and his family. In this installment, the Holy Grail has apparently come to Girona in the hands of a merchant who is trying to auction it off to the highest bidder. Rumors abound and then one of the hopeful buyers ends up dead, as does the merchant himself. Near-panic ensues in the marketplaces as the rumors escalate about the Grail and its powers. Isaac begins to investigate as one of the members of the Jewish community is suspect, and the Bishop, whom Isaac tends faithfully. is annoyed with Isaac for stirring up trouble and tries to stay out of the fracas. While I didn’t dislike this book, I certainly didn’t like it as much as the previous ones in the series. It seemed rather blah and I had a hard time getting interested in the political/religious intrigue and in the main part of the story even though I enjoy Isaac, Raquel, Yusuf and the rest of the supporting cast very much. I’ll give this one a B- and hope the next one picks up again.
17. DIE ONCE by Marianne MacDonald. #6 Dido Hoare antiquarian bookseller mystery set in London. A regular customer of Dido’s has committed suicide and a few days later, her bank contacts her to say that the cheque he used to make his last purchase from her has bounced. She contacts the solicitors handling his estate and is hired by them to do a valuation on his books, and in the process of doing so, Dido realizes that something is just not right about the whole situation, and she begins to think perhaps someone helped Tim Curwen over his balcony. Conversations with a small nearly-blind lad who lives next door and a couple of irate CID detectives who pop in to the flat to see what Dido is doing there begin to raise her suspicions even more. Dido, naturally, gets herself into investigating and helps unlock the mystery. Once again I have to say that, much like the last book in this series that I read, I found most of the situations to be totally implausible. Why on earth would a woman with a young toddler to raise put herself in such jeopardy on a continual basis?? This was not a person she had any sort of deep relationship with so that her running hither and yon would be inspired by passion or a deep friendship of great longevity or something. Why would policemen willingly share details of ongoing investigations with her—a bookseller and rank amateur—and even invite her along on snooping expeditions? Why would she willingly withhold vital evidence from the investigating officers and still not be able to figure out the bad guy til the end of the book when I had figured it out about a third of the way through? LOL I just can’t see how any of this could have happened, really… my head was rattling continuously as I shook it incredulously. Don’t get me wrong—I like Dido and her world a lot (what’s not to like about an antiquarian bookstore??) and I’m still wishing her father were a real person that I could call up and natter with. BUT… truly, I think the author needs to make situations that an amateur like Dido could reasonably get into or else make her a policewoman. Were I basing my grade strictly on the characters and settings, the book would get an A, but the continual stream of ludicrous actions by Dido and just plain lowered it to a B-.
18. WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen. Historical fiction set during the Depression about a young man whose parents die suddenly in a car crash when he is away at Cornell University, and is due to take his final exams to become a veterinarian. At a total loss when he finds out that his parents had mortgaged their home and essentially lost the farm with nothing in the estate, Jacob Jankowski just starts walking. Hungry, tired, footsore and grieving, he ends up hooking up with a traveling circus, and this is the story of what life was like under (and behind!) the big top, trying to survive during the Depression. The story actually bounces back and forth in time, being told by a much older Jacob, who is now ninety (or ninety-three, he’s not sure which) and living in a nursing home. When the circus comes to town, all these memories come flooding back. I don’t want to say too much or give anything away, so just GO READ IT! I absolutely loved this book! It’s a gritty tale, doesn’t gloss over the realities of life and yet somehow manages to be a gently told story. I fell in love with the elder Mr. Jankowski—he reminded me so much of one of my favorite residents from when I used to work in a nursing home. I always did like the feisty ones!
19. THE GHOST AND MRS MCCLURE by Alice Kimberly. #1 in the Haunted Bookshop mystery series, set in small town Rhode Island where Penelope has moved from New Yorkwith her young son Spencer after her husband’s suicide. Moving in with her aging aunt Sadie and buying half-interest in her failing bookstore, Penelope revamps it, modernizes everything and uses her background in publishing to try and make Buy the Book viable again. She manages to snag big-time mystery author Timothy Brennan to come speak and do a book signing. Little does she realize that Brennan, one of her favorite authors, is a real jerk. And it turns out someone else thinks so too, as he’s murdered during his talk right on camera. At first it’s thought he suffered a heart attack, but later it’s revealed that he was deliberately driven into anaphylactic shock with nut oil. While all this is going on, Penelope discovers that her bookstore is haunted by Jack Shepard, a 1940’s tough-guy private eye—the very one that Brennan’s books are based on. The reason he’d agreed to do a signing in Buy the Book was that Brennan and his staff had discovered that Shepard had died there. And of course Penelope is briefly a suspect ibecause of the massive publicity to the shop generated by Brennan’s death on site. This was a fairly decent book for a cozy, but it wasn’t great. The plot was very transparent and I’d figured out whodunit and the subplot way in advance. I’m going to try the next in series—although I’ve put it on my library list rather than taking up a wishlist spot at PBS—and see if it shakes my tree a little more. I like Penelope and the supporting cast, but the characters were a bit weak and, I don’t know—lackluster I guess. A light and predictable read, what will make or break this series for me is whether (as seems typical) it denigrates into a mystery-cum-romance and whether the author will keep Jack’s ghost’s abilities within the parameters she’s set down in this first book. B
20. ROUNDING THE MARK by Andrea Camilleri. #7 Inspector Salvo Montalbano police procedural mystery set in Sicily. Salvo has become disillusioned with the world and with policework specifically and is all set to turn in his resignation when he gets caught up in an unofficial investigation dealing with illegal immigrants. He comes across a scared black immigrant boy at the docks who looks at Montalbano imploringly as if to ask him to help him escape—but the woman who takes the little fellow by the hand appears to be his mother, so why was the boy afraid? The question definitely needs answering a few days later when the boy turns up dead, the victim of a hit and run accident. When this unofficial case ties in with the case of a dead body that Montalbano literally ‘ran into’ while swimming, his instincts go into high gear and the scent of the chase banishes all thought of resignation from his mind. Excellent as usual, and as usual, don’t read this series while hungry—the descriptions of the wonderful foods will leave you drooling! A.
21. BONK: THE CURIOUS COUPLING OF SCIENCE AND SEX by Mary Roach. (audio) The author takes her usual quirky look at a touchy subject, delving particularly into the various documented studies about sex—attitudes, practices, and the actual nitty-gritty science of coupling—done by the likes of Masters & Johnson, Kinsey and other lesser-known researchers, both past and present. She discusses not only the subject matter undertaken by these folks, but the researchers themselves, their lives and thoughts about sex. Traveling the globe to meet with researchers and to observe some studies in action—even to participate in some herself—the author helps to debunk some common misconceptions about ‘the science of sex’ and ‘how it all works’ and offers up a few little-known facts along the way. Roach’s off-beat sense of humor comes in handy during the discussion, and she handles the delicate subject with straightforward aplomb that greatly diminishes any squeamishness or embarrassment. Also explored some were cultural considerations, although I would have liked to have had even more discussion about that. Since her audience is primarily from Western civilization, that’s where she concentrated her efforts. I enjoyed this book quite a lot, learned a lot, and the reader for this audio version was really good too, which made concentrating not a problem—which sometimes it can be when I’ve attempted other non-fiction books. There were many footnotes and asides throughout the book, but to me they weren’t distracting, just added extra information—in fact, some of the most interesting bits were in the footnotes, I thought. It will be really interesting to see what topic Ms. Roach decides to dive into next! A.
DNF: FAULT LINE by Barry Eisler (ARC for review)
Cheryl
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
December 2008 Reading
1. THE SNAKE TATTOO by Linda Barnes. (audio) #2 Carlotta Carlyle mystery set in Boston in the 1980’s, which is when this book was written. Carlotta, an ex-cop PI who also is a part-time cabbie, works two cases in this book, one for her policeman friend Mooney, who is on suspension while he’s being investigated for an off-duty incident in which he beats up a guy in a bar that he swears had a knife, but no one else saw it, except a witness who disappeared. The other is the case of a teenage runaway, and Carlotta is hired by one of Valerie Hazlim’s friends. The cases intersect somewhat and are brought to an interesting, if somewhat predictable, resolution in both cases. I like Carlotta and her supporting cast of characters a lot, and I do enjoy the reader too—although my library doesn’t have the third one in the series in audio, so I’ll have to order a print copy instead. A fine way to open up the month of December! A.
2. STILL LIFE by Louise Penny. #1 Armand Gamache Canadian police procedural book set in Three Pines, Quebec, a small hole-in-the-wall village not far from Montreal. Gamache, chief homicide investigator for the Surete du Quebec, along with his team are called to Three Pines early Thanksgiving Sunday morning when the body of much-beloved Jane Neal, a retired schoolteacher and lifelong villager, is found dead. It appears as though it was an arrow that caused the fatal wound, and at first is thought to be the result of a hunting accident, but when no actual arrow is found, foul play is suspected. But who would want to kill Jane? Everyone loved the kindly woman! Of course there is a snake in the grass, and of course I did “know” (with my ‘that’s the killer!’ gut feeling when the baddie was introduced) who it was, but didn’t know why. However, that in no way diminished my enjoyment of this stellar book—a book that I had a very hard time believing was a first novel! I love Inspector Gamache already, although some parts of the book seemed a bit unrealistic. It seemed to me that he allowed way too much latitude to the suspects in that he trusted them with a lot of information and made a lot of his deductions based on information—which could have been false information—they gave him. And it just seemed odd to have very little police procedure detail or mention of any other case they might’ve still been working on. Murders must happen one at a time in Quebec? J Anyway, that aside, it was a wonderfully written book with a lot of things to make you think—about life, the universe and everything—and I’m happy to have the next one here waiting. A+
3. A HIGHLAND CHRISTMAS by M.C. Beaton. #16 Hamish MacBeth mystery set in fictional Lochdubh, Scotland. This was an ‘afterthought’ I think, since it was the second Hamish book published in 1999. It’s very short (I read it in about an hour and a half) and there’s no actual murder—it’s just a bit of a cozy look at Christmas in the Highlands with a little burglary and some “Bah Humbugs” to keep Hamish busy. Lots of village spirit and goodwill towards men and all that—a nice little “feel good” book but not really much of a mystery. Enjoyable! B+
4. THE BRIEF, WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO by Junot Díaz (audio version) This is the story of an overweight, luckless young man named Oscar de León who grows up in New Jersey in the 1970’s and who was a nerd before being a nerd was cool. Oscar’s family roots are in the Dominican Republic and the de Leóns seem to have picked up a family curse, a particularly bad curse called a fukú, believed to have been placed on the family by none other than Rafael Trujilla, former dictator of the DR. Oscar, while born in the DR, moves with his mother and sister to America when Oscar is only a couple of years old, but the fukú seems to follow them. The book bounces back and forth in time, and is narrated primarily by Yunior, who was a friend of Oscar’s and a boyfriend of Oscar’s sister Lola for a brief time. While the story is primarily about Oscar, we also learn about his mother Bela, sister Lola, and his grandfather, a once-respected doctor who died in a Dominican prison just days before Trujillo’s assassination. We’re swept away to an entirely foreign and bewildering, yet fascinating, culture that I previously knew next to nothing about—the book even prompted me to do some research after I finished it. A powerful, harsh and often bitter treatise about a family affected for generations by the dictator Trujillo’s reign, how far-reaching and pervasive the evil was, its tentacles reaching out even today. It’s the story of a sad, scorned young man that most of us probably know someone similar to. Excellent narrator, though at one point I did seriously consider giving up on the book in audio form, because of the frequent and pervasive use of untranslated Spanish. Long phrases, words tossed in without explanation, probably lots of colloquialisms too, which at times pulled me out of the story. I decided to stick with it, though, and am glad I did. Most of what was said I was able to guess at, given the context, but if the book had one fault, that was it—at least in audio form. A very worthwhile listen, told in a powerful voice. Definitely not a cozy! A
5. THE WHITE TIGER by Aravind Adiga. This year’s Man Booker Prize winner, I received this from Amazon to review, although it ended up not being pre-release review as the publisher released the book early when it won the award. Very interesting story told in a week’s worth of letters written from an Indian entrepreneur (former servant/driver and now his own man and the proud owner of a taxi business and a chandelier in Bangalore) to the Premier of China, who is planning a visit to India, according to the news radio. Balram Halwai (aka The White Tiger) is a peasant from the Darkness, a rural area characterized by abject poverty, cruelty of the landlords and of people scrabbling for what they can get in any way they can get it. He doesn’t want the Chinese leader to be misled by the progressive, prosperous India that will undoubtedly be shown to him by the country’s leaders and tour guides, oh no! He wants him to know the REAL India, his own India, outsourcing capital of the world, and proceeds to tell him how he went from the Darkness to entrepreneurship in Bangalore with nothing but his own sweat and ingenuity, and he doesn’t leave out the part where he’s also a wanted criminal, nor does he deny his criminal deeds. His resourcefulness and humor come through loud and clear right along with his desperation. Adiga portrays Balram as a classically tragic figure, one you feel compassion for and yet one you despise at the same time. Hilariously funny at times, morally complicated and twisted, and an interesting picture of India from the inside. Highly recommended for those who like to go exploring culturally. A.
6. THE MUSKETEERS APPRENTICE by Sarah D’Almeida. #3 in the “Musketeers” historical mystery series featuring the main characters from Alexandre Dumas’ classic swashbuckling tale. I realized once I was several chapters into the book that I had read this out of sequence—having not read the second one yet. By then it was too late to stop. LOL In this episode, Porthos’ young apprentice dueler is killed, found in an alley incoherent and hallucinating and then has a seizure and dies in Porthos’ presence. Porthos believes he was poisoned and his Musketeer friends concur thinking belladonna is the likely culprit. When they find information about Porthos’ ancestry in his pockets—information that is supposedly unknown but that in reality is an open secret, they feel that the boy (he was only twelve!) was manipulated and used to get to Porthos, and the foursome sets out to figure out who would do such a thing—and of course their investigations are sure to rattle some highly-placed noble cages! But the first chore is to find out who the boy really was so his family can be notified of his demise, as he hadn’t given Porthos much in the way of clues and no one recognized the name given by the boy. I found this book somewhat tedious. The first in the series was unique and interesting, but this one…I don’t know. Maybe it was just too many “main characters”—there were all four musketeers in their ‘secret’ guises as well as their real identities to keep straight, and I kept getting them mixed up. There were also a lot of peripheral characters, servants, mistresses, etc. involved, and the author kept referring back to the first two books in the series with footnotes and details of other cases. The writing style also just didn’t flow easily and I found myself having to re-read a lot of passages. I’m re-thinking whether or not I want to continue on reading this series. C+
7. CRONE’S MOON by M.R. Sellars. #5 in the Rowan Gant ‘paranormal’ mystery series featuring the Wiccan computer geek/sleuth and his friend Ben Storm, St. Louis policeman as well as Felicity O’Brien, Rowan’s wife. This book is pretty much the same plot from the previous four books re-hashed—a serial killer is loose, this one taking young, pretty women, torturing them and then in a little twist, beheading them. Rowan and Felicity become involved when Rowan and Ben, on their way to lunch, witness the abduction of one of the victims, who turns out to be none less than the mayor’s daughter. Actually Rowan had been involved earlier, when he woke up on the floor having had one of his seizures—he just didn’t realize at the time what it was about. Rowan and Felicity both end up channeling the victims and having their otherworldly seizures in this one, and once again are sometimes in grave mortal peril, with the clock ticking as the victims try to lead them to their resting place and/or where they’re being held. Ben and FBI agent Constance Mandalay again are bucking procedure, acting outside of the lead detective’s wishes by allowing Rowan and Felicity to assist them, and Lt. Albright, aka “Bible Barb” once again is riding their tails with scorn and derision. While being quite a seat-of-your-pants thriller, since I’ve already read the first few books in the series, I was pretty sure of what was going to happen and I was right. I do enjoy the Pagan aspects of the book and it’s refreshing to have openly Pagan protagonists, and as much as I’ve come to love Rowan and Felicity and Ben, I do wish the plot would vary a little from book to book and that they would find something different to occupy the pages. It’s also a very graphically violent book, and not for the faint of heart—and I’m not faint of heart, but again, it’s just a lot of ‘same old, same old’ from previous books. I understand the next three books are a trilogy within the series that feature Felicity more, so maybe something different will come of them. I’ve got them all here, so I will read them, but if it’s ‘more of the same’ I’ll most likely end up leaving a year or more between reading each book…had I read all these at one time, I’d have likely not continued what with the marked similarity between them all, which leads to predictability of the outcome. C+
8. THE TAIL OF THE TIP-OFF by Rita Mae and Sneaky Pie Brown. (audio) #11 in the Mrs. Murphy mysteries, also featuring Mary Minor Harristeen, postmistress in Crozet, Virginia along with her super-intelligent tabby cat and other critters. It’s girl’s basketball season, and “Harry” and several of her friends are fans of the University of Virginia’s girls basketball team. When one of Crozet’s land developers/construction contractors ends up dead in the parking lot of The Clam (the basketball facility) it’s assumed it was a heart attack—that’s what it looked like! But it wouldn’t be a murder mystery without a murder, and the autopsy shows a small dart-like skin prick and some surprising toxicology results. H.H. Donaldson had been sitting right in front of Harry during the game, and was within sight of her during the walk to the parking lot as well—so Harry’s trying to piece things together and figure out who had the opportunity (and the motive!) to plan such a foul crime. Jealous wife? Jilted girlfriend? Someone dissatisfied with his business dealings? Before many clues are unearthed, a second murder—much more messy and obvious—complicates things. Enjoyable visit to Crozet as usual with interesting and decent (though certainly not quite what you’d call “cozy”) characters, a wonderful reader, and this one even had a bit of a twist to it that I didn’t see coming. I’m lining up the next audiobook in the series on my library list now. A.
9. WHACK-A-MOLE by Chris Grabenstein. #3 John Ceepak mystery set in Sea Haven, New Jersey, and told by Danny Boyle, Ceepak’s young partner on the Sea Haven police force. It’s summer, the height of tourist season and the beach is crowded with tourists, beachcombers and scantily clad young ladies. Danny Boyle is mourning the loss of his ex-girlfriend Katie, who packed up and headed to California, but enjoying his time as a full-time member of the police force. But when a sneaky old serial killer starts leaving his twenty-some-year-old “trophies” (ears and noses preserved in formaldehyde!) on the shelves of some local tourist attractions, things get interesting real fast. When a bulldozer preparing the grounds for the sand castle building contest digs up the burial grounds for some of the killer’s other trophies, the police chief, rather than contacting the FBI and forensics experts, tries to keep things as hush-hush as possible—you certainly don’t want the tourists to know there’s a religious nutter who takes a passage in the book of Ezekiel literally and slices off the ears and noses of promiscuous girls before hacking their heads off! As the chief points out, these crimes are all over 20 years old, so what’s the rush? But when the killer makes a comeback and begins to taunt Ceepak with clues and lets him know that he has a new victim in mind, things move a bit faster. I pegged the killer without difficulty but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the book. I’m a big fan of Danny, Ceepak, the rest of the crew and especially of Grabenstein’s easy reading style which is humorous but with a serious undertone. Great stuff! I especially like reading about the beach when it’s snowing and colder than heck! LOL A.
10. MASTER OF SOULS by Peter Tremayne. #16 in the Sister Fidelma historical mystery series set in 7th century Ireland. Fidelma and Eadulf have traveled to a small Abbey on the coast to investigate the brutal murder of the Abbess who was stabbed while on pilgrimage with some other nuns. The abbess’s body was left where it was, but the nuns have disappeared. Fidelma was summoned by the leader of the local Ui Fidgente clan, former enemies now at peace with Muman, the kingdom of which Fidelma’s brother is king. Upon arriving at the Abbey, they learn of another death, as one of the elderly venerable scholars who resides at the abbey was bludgeoned to death on the altar. Is there a connection between the two deaths? Of course there is! The struggle is to find it, and that’s no easy task when most of the people questioned by Fidelma and Eadulf are lying or at least not telling the whole truth. When they set out the follow the trail that the Abbess would have taken for the pilgrimage in hopes of finding the missing nuns as well as some clues, their lives are put into mortal danger as they unravel a complicated political plot that plays on old clan rivalries and demands a knowledge of the ancient Irish laws of succession and ancestry. Very enjoyable visit to ancient Ireland as usual—it’s been over a year since my last visit so I always cherish these books. I do have the next in series here—we’ll see how long I’ll be able to resist it. A.
11. CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY by Roald Dahl (audio) Delightful telling of this childhood classic, read by Eric Idle of Monty Python fame. It’s been many years since I read this book, and was surprised all over again how much the movies vary from the book. The newer version is closer, but still much is different. I really much prefer the book to either the Gene Wilder or the Johnny Depp movies, a magical tale of a poor, near-starving boy who manages to win a Golden Ticket for a tour of Wonka’s Chocolate Factory when he finds a stray dollar in the snow and yields to temptation and buys himself two Wonka chocolate bars. Idle’s variable voices characterized the other nasty little children very well and he did an exemplary job with Charlie’s family and Wonka himself as well. A.
12. STILL ALICE by Lisa Genova. ARC for review. Story told from the point of view of Alice, a woman just celebrating her fiftieth birthday, a Harvard professor and researcher in the field of linguistics. Alice begins having memory lapses and word-finding difficulties that she first writes off to menopausal symptoms, but when she at one point finds herself on a jog a few blocks from home feeling totally lost, she schedules a checkup with her family doctor. With a referral to a neurologist in hand, after a barrage of tests, Alice finds herself with a tentative diagnosis of EOAD—Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease, which applies to those under the age of sixty-five. Allowing this to sink in for a full ten days before sharing the news with her husband John, Alice does some research and is at first despondent. But share the news she does, and her husband, a research biologist, seems almost more devastated than Alice. Genetic testing confirms this diagnosis, and Alice must now share the news with her three children, knowing full well that they may have inherited this tendency as well. Alice’s mother was killed in a car crash at the age of forty-one and her father was an alcoholic who died at seventy, and she had attributed his confusion to alcoholic encephalopathy, so she isn’t really sure which parent she inherited the defective gene from. A real tear-jerker of a book, very thought provoking and heart-breaking in many ways. So much attention is focused on the caregivers of those with Alzheimer’s, and so little on the patients themselves, especially in the early stages of the disease when they know they’re confused and understand all too well what’s in store for them. Alice sets out to remedy that problem and forms a support group for other younger people like herself and tries to cope as best she can. Recommended highly for anyone who knows someone with this devastating disease—which is horrible at any age, but particularly for those it strikes in the prime of their lives. A.
13. THE REMORSEFUL DAY by Colin Dexter. Last book in the Inspector Morse series, and a re-read for me, though it’s been many years since I last read it. Sometimes scattered, as it gets told in bits and pieces from the points of view of several people, Chief Superintendant Strange asks Morse to look into a year-old death that stymied the police but which may now have some further clues forthcoming as a caller has rung up with some new information. Morse has been on holiday, attempting rather unsuccessfully to deal with his newly-diagnosed diabetes and high blood pressure, his drinking problem and his melancholia, but Strange wants resolution on this case and feels that only Morse can provide it—and also feels that the best way for Morse to deal with his health is to stay busy and keep his mind active. Morse sets Lewis some investigating to do, but Lewis finds at every turn that Morse has already been there and done the querying. Difficult mystery, twisty plot, and of course the end of Morse and the series. Profound and sad and yet in its own way a fitting end. You always hope that your literary heroes are immortal and in some way they are, I guess. *sniffle* A.
14. ON THE WRONG TRACK by Steve Hockensmith. #2 “Holmes on the Range” mystery set in the 1890’s western USA featuring Otto “Big Red” Amlingmeyer and his wanna-be Sherlock Holmes brother Gustav aka “Old Red.” In this episode, the brothers, cattle drovers cum detectives desperate for a job, are hired by the evil Southern Pacific Railroad as spies and private police to safeguard the passengers and freight aboard the Ogden to Oakland run that’s been previously victimized by a ruthless band of train robbers. What Otto doesn’t know is that Gustav has horrible ‘train sickness’ and the boys must work around that malady which isn’t made any easier when they spot someone’s head go bouncing down the tracks as Gustav is leaning over the railing emptying his stomach. When they try to figure out who killed the baggageman and why, they seem to be stymied at every turn by the railroad staff, especially once they find out that the brothers are spies hired by the railroad bosses. A batch of decidedly odd passengers that includes a legendary railroad detective, a Chinese doctor, a couple of caskets, a huge snake and a crate of bricks complicates the plot, as does Otto’s interest in a rather forward, independent young lady whom Gustav warns him not to trust. When the robber gang stops the train and hops on with nothing more than a message for the railroad bosses and don’t actually rob anything, the mystery becomes even more puzzling. Gustav has to try to keep his mind sharp even as he’s physically exhausted, hungry and dehydrated due to his motion sickness, and eventually is able to assimilate the clues and wrap his head around a solution. Which is more than I was able to do—my bad guy antennae must’ve been on vacation while reading this book, I guess. Enjoyable mystery with some slapstick and some subtle humor to lighten it up, packed with action and historical insights. I found this second entry in the series to be nothing short of delightful and was glad that it didn’t succumb to the sophomore slump. I’m looking forward to Black Dove, the third in the series—and I think this is one series I’ll most likely be trying to keep up with! A
15. HIGH COUNTRY FALL by Margaret Maron (audio book). #10 in the Judge Deborah Knott mystery series set in North Carolina. In this book, Deborah is once again off to some remote county to fill in for another judge. Set in the beautiful mountainous area, it’s easy to see why tourists flock there to see the autumn leaves bursting into color all over the hillsides. But nature’s beauty doesn’t offset the usual human vices—greed, lust, and other various forms of avarice that lead to murder. First the murder of a local doctor, which happens before Deborah’s arrival, and then the murder of a developer that Deborah met at a party the evening he died. And Deborah’s cousins, whom she’s staying with during her week there, know the young man accused of the doctor’s murder and implore Deborah to help them investigate to prove his innocence. Deborah uses her week away from Dwight (her fiancé) to think seriously about the wedding and whether it’s really a good idea or not, too. I also like the way the author is able to incorporate Deborah’s love life into the story without making the book into a typical romance novel, too. I very much enjoy this series and was shocked to see that I’ve only got four left to catch up to the current release. The reader, C.J. Critt, is excellent, so the audio versions are my preferred mode of reading for this series, but I’ve read several in print and enjoy those too. Won’t be too long before my next one, that I’m pretty sure of! A
16. THE SEA OF MONSTERS by Rick Riordan. #2 Percy Jackson and the Olympians YA fantasy series. (audiobook) On the last day of a very quiet school year, monsters infiltrate Percy’s dodge ball game and, rescued by his friend Anna Beth, he once again leaves school a suspect in blowing things up and causing mischief. But this year Percy’s been looking forward to summer when he’ll be able to go back to Camp Half-Blood with his friends and train more in the ways of the demi-gods—which he just found out last year he is. His father, Poisedon, has been very quiescent, which troubles Percy somewhat and he longs for a closer relationship with his dad—but how do you get close to a Greek god? Percy discovers that Camp Half-Blood is changing, with their magical pine tree failing and the borders allowing monsters in. However, he’s been having strange dreams about his friend Grover, a satyr, sewing his own wedding dress, and Percy just knows he’s in trouble. Percy and Anna Beth end up helping Clarice, one of their least favorite half-bloods from the previous year, on her quest to secure the Golden Fleece which will cure the magical pine tree that maintains the camp’s defenses—and also to hopefully rescue Grover at the same time. Tagging along is Percy’s newly-discovered younger half-brother Tyson, a Cyclops. This book certainly didn’t have a sophomore slump going—I really enjoy this series and the reader tells it in such a way that it’s hard to stop listening! Lots of interesting information about Greek mythology as well as a great story. A.
17. FULL DARK HOUSE by Christopher Fowler. #1 in the Bryant and May “Peculiar Crimes Unit” mysteries set partly in modern-day and partly in London during WWII. The book weaves back and forth in time from present-day, with an elderly John May attempting to solve the murder of his long-time partner at the Peculiar Crimes Unit, Arthur Bryant, back to the days of the Blitz in London when the two shared their first case. Bryant was blown up in the PCU’s offices with a bomb, and because of some clues he left behind, May believes the answer to his death lies with the first case they solved back in 1940, involving a series of grisly killings at the Palace theatre, which was putting on a salacious version of a Greek tragedy. The story sucked me in right from the beginning and the book was hard to put down and certainly read “faster” than its’ 400+ pages. My ‘bad guy’ antennae remain on vacation as I hadn’t a clue who the killer was until close to the time of the reveal, though the clues were there, delicately spread out throughout the book. Excellent opening to a new series for me, with interesting, diverse characters, historical realism and a well-told story to boot! A.
18.CURSE OF THE POGO STICK by Colin Cotterill. #5 in the Dr. Siri Paiboun mystery series (he’s the national coroner) set in 1970’s Laos. Dr. Siri is up north at a conference, dragged there unwillingly by his boss, Judge Haeng. On the way back, their convoy is hijacked by a band of Hmong rebels who recognize Yeh Ming, the spirit of the ages-old Hmong shaman who resides within Siri. They need him for the exorcism of the leader’s daughter. Meanwhile, Nurse Dtui and Mr. Geung get involved in their own intrigue with a terrorist they thwarted in a previous book who tries to blow them up with a bomb planted in a dead body. Dtui and her new husband, the policeman Phosy, and Dr. Siri’s fiancé Madame Daeng begin tracking this woman, known as The Lizard, down. As usual, a wonderful story filled with wry humor, cultural detail and of course social commentary, too. I found this one especially interesting as we have a rather large Hmong population here in the Minneapolis area so it was interesting to learn more about their culture and history. These books are never long enough to suit me and always leave me wanting more. A
19.DEATH TIDIES UP by Barbara Colley. #2 Charlotte LaRue mystery featuring the owner of her own cleaning business, Maid-For-A-Day, in New Orleans. Charlotte’s sixtieth birthday is fast approaching and she’s feeling a bit down in the dumps about it. Soon she is wrapped up in another murder mystery though, tied to one of her clients, and to Charlotte herself as one of her employees discovers a dead body in a Mardi Gras mask in the closet of a newly-renovated apartment building that Maid-For-A-Day has the contract to clean. The dead body turns out to be that of Drew Bergeron, whom everyone thought had died two years earlier, and Charlotte’s new tenant Louis Robicheaux and her niece Judith end up as lead detectives on the case again. I didn’t like this book as well as the first one—something was just ‘off’ about it, with Charlotte’s frequent worries about her aging, her health, and about her friends and family getting to be a bit annoying. I also wanted to wring her parakeet’s neck by the end of the book; it seems every time Charlotte walked in the door there was a description of Sweety’s welcoming antics. I like Charlotte in some ways, but she’s just way too nosy despite her frequently saying that she detests gossip and seems much too opinionated about her friends and family’s life choices for my taste. Everything was just a little too pat, too many coincidences, and the mystery in this one was not a strong one. I’ll probably read one more in the series but if it continues in the same vein and this wasn’t just a ‘sophomore slump’ I will likely not go on from there. B-
20. BOGUS TO BUBBLY: AN INSIDER’S GUIDE TO THE WORLD OF UGLIES by Scott Westerfeld. Received this for review from Amazon Vine, though it was actually released about two months before I got it, and the book isn’t an ARC but a regular old copy. It’s a fairly quick, light read, a sort of journal from the author to explain where some of the ideas for the things in the Uglies series came from with maps, diagrams, descriptions, details about the different cliques, etc. An interesting ‘background’ book that offered some insights into things, into parallels between our present-day world and the world before the Rusties came along—which is a few hundred years into our future. Most of what was said as far as the social commentary involved I’d already inferred to some degree. I had to skip over some parts as there were spoilers about the one book in the series (Extras) that I haven’t read yet and I didn’t want to find out too much about what happened there, so I would recommend that others hold off on reading this until after you’ve completed reading the series. I’m not really sure what the purpose of the book is, to be honest…I mean, it was interesting to a degree, but certainly not necessary, though it was a fun, enjoyable read and I’m glad I didn’t actually pay money for it. I think if I had, I’d likely have been more disappointed as it was a pretty lightweight, bubbly book. LOL B
DNFs:
THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH by Ken Follett. I didn’t expect to DNF this book—it’s the type of book that’s right up my alley and came highly recommended by several people whose taste in books is similar to mine. But I read over 300 pages of it (about a third of the whole book) and just couldn’t get interested, the characters all felt very shallow and the religious and political intrigue just left me cold. I wasn’t at all ‘sucked in’ to the story like I should have been, so decided to let it go rather than slogging through it grumpily.
THE CHRYSALIS by Heather Terrell. I read about 40 pages of this—it was supposed to be a thriller tying the past and present together, but what I read was pretty much poorly-written romance-cum mystery. The old “I hadn’t seen him since college but when I saw him I flushed,” and “the tingle where our hands touched,” and yadda yadda yadda. Tell me the story of how this painting came to be something your law firm is involved in litigation—I don’t care how much you like looking at your new client/old friend. Blech.
Cheryl
2. STILL LIFE by Louise Penny. #1 Armand Gamache Canadian police procedural book set in Three Pines, Quebec, a small hole-in-the-wall village not far from Montreal. Gamache, chief homicide investigator for the Surete du Quebec, along with his team are called to Three Pines early Thanksgiving Sunday morning when the body of much-beloved Jane Neal, a retired schoolteacher and lifelong villager, is found dead. It appears as though it was an arrow that caused the fatal wound, and at first is thought to be the result of a hunting accident, but when no actual arrow is found, foul play is suspected. But who would want to kill Jane? Everyone loved the kindly woman! Of course there is a snake in the grass, and of course I did “know” (with my ‘that’s the killer!’ gut feeling when the baddie was introduced) who it was, but didn’t know why. However, that in no way diminished my enjoyment of this stellar book—a book that I had a very hard time believing was a first novel! I love Inspector Gamache already, although some parts of the book seemed a bit unrealistic. It seemed to me that he allowed way too much latitude to the suspects in that he trusted them with a lot of information and made a lot of his deductions based on information—which could have been false information—they gave him. And it just seemed odd to have very little police procedure detail or mention of any other case they might’ve still been working on. Murders must happen one at a time in Quebec? J Anyway, that aside, it was a wonderfully written book with a lot of things to make you think—about life, the universe and everything—and I’m happy to have the next one here waiting. A+
3. A HIGHLAND CHRISTMAS by M.C. Beaton. #16 Hamish MacBeth mystery set in fictional Lochdubh, Scotland. This was an ‘afterthought’ I think, since it was the second Hamish book published in 1999. It’s very short (I read it in about an hour and a half) and there’s no actual murder—it’s just a bit of a cozy look at Christmas in the Highlands with a little burglary and some “Bah Humbugs” to keep Hamish busy. Lots of village spirit and goodwill towards men and all that—a nice little “feel good” book but not really much of a mystery. Enjoyable! B+
4. THE BRIEF, WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO by Junot Díaz (audio version) This is the story of an overweight, luckless young man named Oscar de León who grows up in New Jersey in the 1970’s and who was a nerd before being a nerd was cool. Oscar’s family roots are in the Dominican Republic and the de Leóns seem to have picked up a family curse, a particularly bad curse called a fukú, believed to have been placed on the family by none other than Rafael Trujilla, former dictator of the DR. Oscar, while born in the DR, moves with his mother and sister to America when Oscar is only a couple of years old, but the fukú seems to follow them. The book bounces back and forth in time, and is narrated primarily by Yunior, who was a friend of Oscar’s and a boyfriend of Oscar’s sister Lola for a brief time. While the story is primarily about Oscar, we also learn about his mother Bela, sister Lola, and his grandfather, a once-respected doctor who died in a Dominican prison just days before Trujillo’s assassination. We’re swept away to an entirely foreign and bewildering, yet fascinating, culture that I previously knew next to nothing about—the book even prompted me to do some research after I finished it. A powerful, harsh and often bitter treatise about a family affected for generations by the dictator Trujillo’s reign, how far-reaching and pervasive the evil was, its tentacles reaching out even today. It’s the story of a sad, scorned young man that most of us probably know someone similar to. Excellent narrator, though at one point I did seriously consider giving up on the book in audio form, because of the frequent and pervasive use of untranslated Spanish. Long phrases, words tossed in without explanation, probably lots of colloquialisms too, which at times pulled me out of the story. I decided to stick with it, though, and am glad I did. Most of what was said I was able to guess at, given the context, but if the book had one fault, that was it—at least in audio form. A very worthwhile listen, told in a powerful voice. Definitely not a cozy! A
5. THE WHITE TIGER by Aravind Adiga. This year’s Man Booker Prize winner, I received this from Amazon to review, although it ended up not being pre-release review as the publisher released the book early when it won the award. Very interesting story told in a week’s worth of letters written from an Indian entrepreneur (former servant/driver and now his own man and the proud owner of a taxi business and a chandelier in Bangalore) to the Premier of China, who is planning a visit to India, according to the news radio. Balram Halwai (aka The White Tiger) is a peasant from the Darkness, a rural area characterized by abject poverty, cruelty of the landlords and of people scrabbling for what they can get in any way they can get it. He doesn’t want the Chinese leader to be misled by the progressive, prosperous India that will undoubtedly be shown to him by the country’s leaders and tour guides, oh no! He wants him to know the REAL India, his own India, outsourcing capital of the world, and proceeds to tell him how he went from the Darkness to entrepreneurship in Bangalore with nothing but his own sweat and ingenuity, and he doesn’t leave out the part where he’s also a wanted criminal, nor does he deny his criminal deeds. His resourcefulness and humor come through loud and clear right along with his desperation. Adiga portrays Balram as a classically tragic figure, one you feel compassion for and yet one you despise at the same time. Hilariously funny at times, morally complicated and twisted, and an interesting picture of India from the inside. Highly recommended for those who like to go exploring culturally. A.
6. THE MUSKETEERS APPRENTICE by Sarah D’Almeida. #3 in the “Musketeers” historical mystery series featuring the main characters from Alexandre Dumas’ classic swashbuckling tale. I realized once I was several chapters into the book that I had read this out of sequence—having not read the second one yet. By then it was too late to stop. LOL In this episode, Porthos’ young apprentice dueler is killed, found in an alley incoherent and hallucinating and then has a seizure and dies in Porthos’ presence. Porthos believes he was poisoned and his Musketeer friends concur thinking belladonna is the likely culprit. When they find information about Porthos’ ancestry in his pockets—information that is supposedly unknown but that in reality is an open secret, they feel that the boy (he was only twelve!) was manipulated and used to get to Porthos, and the foursome sets out to figure out who would do such a thing—and of course their investigations are sure to rattle some highly-placed noble cages! But the first chore is to find out who the boy really was so his family can be notified of his demise, as he hadn’t given Porthos much in the way of clues and no one recognized the name given by the boy. I found this book somewhat tedious. The first in the series was unique and interesting, but this one…I don’t know. Maybe it was just too many “main characters”—there were all four musketeers in their ‘secret’ guises as well as their real identities to keep straight, and I kept getting them mixed up. There were also a lot of peripheral characters, servants, mistresses, etc. involved, and the author kept referring back to the first two books in the series with footnotes and details of other cases. The writing style also just didn’t flow easily and I found myself having to re-read a lot of passages. I’m re-thinking whether or not I want to continue on reading this series. C+
7. CRONE’S MOON by M.R. Sellars. #5 in the Rowan Gant ‘paranormal’ mystery series featuring the Wiccan computer geek/sleuth and his friend Ben Storm, St. Louis policeman as well as Felicity O’Brien, Rowan’s wife. This book is pretty much the same plot from the previous four books re-hashed—a serial killer is loose, this one taking young, pretty women, torturing them and then in a little twist, beheading them. Rowan and Felicity become involved when Rowan and Ben, on their way to lunch, witness the abduction of one of the victims, who turns out to be none less than the mayor’s daughter. Actually Rowan had been involved earlier, when he woke up on the floor having had one of his seizures—he just didn’t realize at the time what it was about. Rowan and Felicity both end up channeling the victims and having their otherworldly seizures in this one, and once again are sometimes in grave mortal peril, with the clock ticking as the victims try to lead them to their resting place and/or where they’re being held. Ben and FBI agent Constance Mandalay again are bucking procedure, acting outside of the lead detective’s wishes by allowing Rowan and Felicity to assist them, and Lt. Albright, aka “Bible Barb” once again is riding their tails with scorn and derision. While being quite a seat-of-your-pants thriller, since I’ve already read the first few books in the series, I was pretty sure of what was going to happen and I was right. I do enjoy the Pagan aspects of the book and it’s refreshing to have openly Pagan protagonists, and as much as I’ve come to love Rowan and Felicity and Ben, I do wish the plot would vary a little from book to book and that they would find something different to occupy the pages. It’s also a very graphically violent book, and not for the faint of heart—and I’m not faint of heart, but again, it’s just a lot of ‘same old, same old’ from previous books. I understand the next three books are a trilogy within the series that feature Felicity more, so maybe something different will come of them. I’ve got them all here, so I will read them, but if it’s ‘more of the same’ I’ll most likely end up leaving a year or more between reading each book…had I read all these at one time, I’d have likely not continued what with the marked similarity between them all, which leads to predictability of the outcome. C+
8. THE TAIL OF THE TIP-OFF by Rita Mae and Sneaky Pie Brown. (audio) #11 in the Mrs. Murphy mysteries, also featuring Mary Minor Harristeen, postmistress in Crozet, Virginia along with her super-intelligent tabby cat and other critters. It’s girl’s basketball season, and “Harry” and several of her friends are fans of the University of Virginia’s girls basketball team. When one of Crozet’s land developers/construction contractors ends up dead in the parking lot of The Clam (the basketball facility) it’s assumed it was a heart attack—that’s what it looked like! But it wouldn’t be a murder mystery without a murder, and the autopsy shows a small dart-like skin prick and some surprising toxicology results. H.H. Donaldson had been sitting right in front of Harry during the game, and was within sight of her during the walk to the parking lot as well—so Harry’s trying to piece things together and figure out who had the opportunity (and the motive!) to plan such a foul crime. Jealous wife? Jilted girlfriend? Someone dissatisfied with his business dealings? Before many clues are unearthed, a second murder—much more messy and obvious—complicates things. Enjoyable visit to Crozet as usual with interesting and decent (though certainly not quite what you’d call “cozy”) characters, a wonderful reader, and this one even had a bit of a twist to it that I didn’t see coming. I’m lining up the next audiobook in the series on my library list now. A.
9. WHACK-A-MOLE by Chris Grabenstein. #3 John Ceepak mystery set in Sea Haven, New Jersey, and told by Danny Boyle, Ceepak’s young partner on the Sea Haven police force. It’s summer, the height of tourist season and the beach is crowded with tourists, beachcombers and scantily clad young ladies. Danny Boyle is mourning the loss of his ex-girlfriend Katie, who packed up and headed to California, but enjoying his time as a full-time member of the police force. But when a sneaky old serial killer starts leaving his twenty-some-year-old “trophies” (ears and noses preserved in formaldehyde!) on the shelves of some local tourist attractions, things get interesting real fast. When a bulldozer preparing the grounds for the sand castle building contest digs up the burial grounds for some of the killer’s other trophies, the police chief, rather than contacting the FBI and forensics experts, tries to keep things as hush-hush as possible—you certainly don’t want the tourists to know there’s a religious nutter who takes a passage in the book of Ezekiel literally and slices off the ears and noses of promiscuous girls before hacking their heads off! As the chief points out, these crimes are all over 20 years old, so what’s the rush? But when the killer makes a comeback and begins to taunt Ceepak with clues and lets him know that he has a new victim in mind, things move a bit faster. I pegged the killer without difficulty but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the book. I’m a big fan of Danny, Ceepak, the rest of the crew and especially of Grabenstein’s easy reading style which is humorous but with a serious undertone. Great stuff! I especially like reading about the beach when it’s snowing and colder than heck! LOL A.
10. MASTER OF SOULS by Peter Tremayne. #16 in the Sister Fidelma historical mystery series set in 7th century Ireland. Fidelma and Eadulf have traveled to a small Abbey on the coast to investigate the brutal murder of the Abbess who was stabbed while on pilgrimage with some other nuns. The abbess’s body was left where it was, but the nuns have disappeared. Fidelma was summoned by the leader of the local Ui Fidgente clan, former enemies now at peace with Muman, the kingdom of which Fidelma’s brother is king. Upon arriving at the Abbey, they learn of another death, as one of the elderly venerable scholars who resides at the abbey was bludgeoned to death on the altar. Is there a connection between the two deaths? Of course there is! The struggle is to find it, and that’s no easy task when most of the people questioned by Fidelma and Eadulf are lying or at least not telling the whole truth. When they set out the follow the trail that the Abbess would have taken for the pilgrimage in hopes of finding the missing nuns as well as some clues, their lives are put into mortal danger as they unravel a complicated political plot that plays on old clan rivalries and demands a knowledge of the ancient Irish laws of succession and ancestry. Very enjoyable visit to ancient Ireland as usual—it’s been over a year since my last visit so I always cherish these books. I do have the next in series here—we’ll see how long I’ll be able to resist it. A.
11. CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY by Roald Dahl (audio) Delightful telling of this childhood classic, read by Eric Idle of Monty Python fame. It’s been many years since I read this book, and was surprised all over again how much the movies vary from the book. The newer version is closer, but still much is different. I really much prefer the book to either the Gene Wilder or the Johnny Depp movies, a magical tale of a poor, near-starving boy who manages to win a Golden Ticket for a tour of Wonka’s Chocolate Factory when he finds a stray dollar in the snow and yields to temptation and buys himself two Wonka chocolate bars. Idle’s variable voices characterized the other nasty little children very well and he did an exemplary job with Charlie’s family and Wonka himself as well. A.
12. STILL ALICE by Lisa Genova. ARC for review. Story told from the point of view of Alice, a woman just celebrating her fiftieth birthday, a Harvard professor and researcher in the field of linguistics. Alice begins having memory lapses and word-finding difficulties that she first writes off to menopausal symptoms, but when she at one point finds herself on a jog a few blocks from home feeling totally lost, she schedules a checkup with her family doctor. With a referral to a neurologist in hand, after a barrage of tests, Alice finds herself with a tentative diagnosis of EOAD—Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease, which applies to those under the age of sixty-five. Allowing this to sink in for a full ten days before sharing the news with her husband John, Alice does some research and is at first despondent. But share the news she does, and her husband, a research biologist, seems almost more devastated than Alice. Genetic testing confirms this diagnosis, and Alice must now share the news with her three children, knowing full well that they may have inherited this tendency as well. Alice’s mother was killed in a car crash at the age of forty-one and her father was an alcoholic who died at seventy, and she had attributed his confusion to alcoholic encephalopathy, so she isn’t really sure which parent she inherited the defective gene from. A real tear-jerker of a book, very thought provoking and heart-breaking in many ways. So much attention is focused on the caregivers of those with Alzheimer’s, and so little on the patients themselves, especially in the early stages of the disease when they know they’re confused and understand all too well what’s in store for them. Alice sets out to remedy that problem and forms a support group for other younger people like herself and tries to cope as best she can. Recommended highly for anyone who knows someone with this devastating disease—which is horrible at any age, but particularly for those it strikes in the prime of their lives. A.
13. THE REMORSEFUL DAY by Colin Dexter. Last book in the Inspector Morse series, and a re-read for me, though it’s been many years since I last read it. Sometimes scattered, as it gets told in bits and pieces from the points of view of several people, Chief Superintendant Strange asks Morse to look into a year-old death that stymied the police but which may now have some further clues forthcoming as a caller has rung up with some new information. Morse has been on holiday, attempting rather unsuccessfully to deal with his newly-diagnosed diabetes and high blood pressure, his drinking problem and his melancholia, but Strange wants resolution on this case and feels that only Morse can provide it—and also feels that the best way for Morse to deal with his health is to stay busy and keep his mind active. Morse sets Lewis some investigating to do, but Lewis finds at every turn that Morse has already been there and done the querying. Difficult mystery, twisty plot, and of course the end of Morse and the series. Profound and sad and yet in its own way a fitting end. You always hope that your literary heroes are immortal and in some way they are, I guess. *sniffle* A.
14. ON THE WRONG TRACK by Steve Hockensmith. #2 “Holmes on the Range” mystery set in the 1890’s western USA featuring Otto “Big Red” Amlingmeyer and his wanna-be Sherlock Holmes brother Gustav aka “Old Red.” In this episode, the brothers, cattle drovers cum detectives desperate for a job, are hired by the evil Southern Pacific Railroad as spies and private police to safeguard the passengers and freight aboard the Ogden to Oakland run that’s been previously victimized by a ruthless band of train robbers. What Otto doesn’t know is that Gustav has horrible ‘train sickness’ and the boys must work around that malady which isn’t made any easier when they spot someone’s head go bouncing down the tracks as Gustav is leaning over the railing emptying his stomach. When they try to figure out who killed the baggageman and why, they seem to be stymied at every turn by the railroad staff, especially once they find out that the brothers are spies hired by the railroad bosses. A batch of decidedly odd passengers that includes a legendary railroad detective, a Chinese doctor, a couple of caskets, a huge snake and a crate of bricks complicates the plot, as does Otto’s interest in a rather forward, independent young lady whom Gustav warns him not to trust. When the robber gang stops the train and hops on with nothing more than a message for the railroad bosses and don’t actually rob anything, the mystery becomes even more puzzling. Gustav has to try to keep his mind sharp even as he’s physically exhausted, hungry and dehydrated due to his motion sickness, and eventually is able to assimilate the clues and wrap his head around a solution. Which is more than I was able to do—my bad guy antennae must’ve been on vacation while reading this book, I guess. Enjoyable mystery with some slapstick and some subtle humor to lighten it up, packed with action and historical insights. I found this second entry in the series to be nothing short of delightful and was glad that it didn’t succumb to the sophomore slump. I’m looking forward to Black Dove, the third in the series—and I think this is one series I’ll most likely be trying to keep up with! A
15. HIGH COUNTRY FALL by Margaret Maron (audio book). #10 in the Judge Deborah Knott mystery series set in North Carolina. In this book, Deborah is once again off to some remote county to fill in for another judge. Set in the beautiful mountainous area, it’s easy to see why tourists flock there to see the autumn leaves bursting into color all over the hillsides. But nature’s beauty doesn’t offset the usual human vices—greed, lust, and other various forms of avarice that lead to murder. First the murder of a local doctor, which happens before Deborah’s arrival, and then the murder of a developer that Deborah met at a party the evening he died. And Deborah’s cousins, whom she’s staying with during her week there, know the young man accused of the doctor’s murder and implore Deborah to help them investigate to prove his innocence. Deborah uses her week away from Dwight (her fiancé) to think seriously about the wedding and whether it’s really a good idea or not, too. I also like the way the author is able to incorporate Deborah’s love life into the story without making the book into a typical romance novel, too. I very much enjoy this series and was shocked to see that I’ve only got four left to catch up to the current release. The reader, C.J. Critt, is excellent, so the audio versions are my preferred mode of reading for this series, but I’ve read several in print and enjoy those too. Won’t be too long before my next one, that I’m pretty sure of! A
16. THE SEA OF MONSTERS by Rick Riordan. #2 Percy Jackson and the Olympians YA fantasy series. (audiobook) On the last day of a very quiet school year, monsters infiltrate Percy’s dodge ball game and, rescued by his friend Anna Beth, he once again leaves school a suspect in blowing things up and causing mischief. But this year Percy’s been looking forward to summer when he’ll be able to go back to Camp Half-Blood with his friends and train more in the ways of the demi-gods—which he just found out last year he is. His father, Poisedon, has been very quiescent, which troubles Percy somewhat and he longs for a closer relationship with his dad—but how do you get close to a Greek god? Percy discovers that Camp Half-Blood is changing, with their magical pine tree failing and the borders allowing monsters in. However, he’s been having strange dreams about his friend Grover, a satyr, sewing his own wedding dress, and Percy just knows he’s in trouble. Percy and Anna Beth end up helping Clarice, one of their least favorite half-bloods from the previous year, on her quest to secure the Golden Fleece which will cure the magical pine tree that maintains the camp’s defenses—and also to hopefully rescue Grover at the same time. Tagging along is Percy’s newly-discovered younger half-brother Tyson, a Cyclops. This book certainly didn’t have a sophomore slump going—I really enjoy this series and the reader tells it in such a way that it’s hard to stop listening! Lots of interesting information about Greek mythology as well as a great story. A.
17. FULL DARK HOUSE by Christopher Fowler. #1 in the Bryant and May “Peculiar Crimes Unit” mysteries set partly in modern-day and partly in London during WWII. The book weaves back and forth in time from present-day, with an elderly John May attempting to solve the murder of his long-time partner at the Peculiar Crimes Unit, Arthur Bryant, back to the days of the Blitz in London when the two shared their first case. Bryant was blown up in the PCU’s offices with a bomb, and because of some clues he left behind, May believes the answer to his death lies with the first case they solved back in 1940, involving a series of grisly killings at the Palace theatre, which was putting on a salacious version of a Greek tragedy. The story sucked me in right from the beginning and the book was hard to put down and certainly read “faster” than its’ 400+ pages. My ‘bad guy’ antennae remain on vacation as I hadn’t a clue who the killer was until close to the time of the reveal, though the clues were there, delicately spread out throughout the book. Excellent opening to a new series for me, with interesting, diverse characters, historical realism and a well-told story to boot! A.
18.CURSE OF THE POGO STICK by Colin Cotterill. #5 in the Dr. Siri Paiboun mystery series (he’s the national coroner) set in 1970’s Laos. Dr. Siri is up north at a conference, dragged there unwillingly by his boss, Judge Haeng. On the way back, their convoy is hijacked by a band of Hmong rebels who recognize Yeh Ming, the spirit of the ages-old Hmong shaman who resides within Siri. They need him for the exorcism of the leader’s daughter. Meanwhile, Nurse Dtui and Mr. Geung get involved in their own intrigue with a terrorist they thwarted in a previous book who tries to blow them up with a bomb planted in a dead body. Dtui and her new husband, the policeman Phosy, and Dr. Siri’s fiancé Madame Daeng begin tracking this woman, known as The Lizard, down. As usual, a wonderful story filled with wry humor, cultural detail and of course social commentary, too. I found this one especially interesting as we have a rather large Hmong population here in the Minneapolis area so it was interesting to learn more about their culture and history. These books are never long enough to suit me and always leave me wanting more. A
19.DEATH TIDIES UP by Barbara Colley. #2 Charlotte LaRue mystery featuring the owner of her own cleaning business, Maid-For-A-Day, in New Orleans. Charlotte’s sixtieth birthday is fast approaching and she’s feeling a bit down in the dumps about it. Soon she is wrapped up in another murder mystery though, tied to one of her clients, and to Charlotte herself as one of her employees discovers a dead body in a Mardi Gras mask in the closet of a newly-renovated apartment building that Maid-For-A-Day has the contract to clean. The dead body turns out to be that of Drew Bergeron, whom everyone thought had died two years earlier, and Charlotte’s new tenant Louis Robicheaux and her niece Judith end up as lead detectives on the case again. I didn’t like this book as well as the first one—something was just ‘off’ about it, with Charlotte’s frequent worries about her aging, her health, and about her friends and family getting to be a bit annoying. I also wanted to wring her parakeet’s neck by the end of the book; it seems every time Charlotte walked in the door there was a description of Sweety’s welcoming antics. I like Charlotte in some ways, but she’s just way too nosy despite her frequently saying that she detests gossip and seems much too opinionated about her friends and family’s life choices for my taste. Everything was just a little too pat, too many coincidences, and the mystery in this one was not a strong one. I’ll probably read one more in the series but if it continues in the same vein and this wasn’t just a ‘sophomore slump’ I will likely not go on from there. B-
20. BOGUS TO BUBBLY: AN INSIDER’S GUIDE TO THE WORLD OF UGLIES by Scott Westerfeld. Received this for review from Amazon Vine, though it was actually released about two months before I got it, and the book isn’t an ARC but a regular old copy. It’s a fairly quick, light read, a sort of journal from the author to explain where some of the ideas for the things in the Uglies series came from with maps, diagrams, descriptions, details about the different cliques, etc. An interesting ‘background’ book that offered some insights into things, into parallels between our present-day world and the world before the Rusties came along—which is a few hundred years into our future. Most of what was said as far as the social commentary involved I’d already inferred to some degree. I had to skip over some parts as there were spoilers about the one book in the series (Extras) that I haven’t read yet and I didn’t want to find out too much about what happened there, so I would recommend that others hold off on reading this until after you’ve completed reading the series. I’m not really sure what the purpose of the book is, to be honest…I mean, it was interesting to a degree, but certainly not necessary, though it was a fun, enjoyable read and I’m glad I didn’t actually pay money for it. I think if I had, I’d likely have been more disappointed as it was a pretty lightweight, bubbly book. LOL B
DNFs:
THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH by Ken Follett. I didn’t expect to DNF this book—it’s the type of book that’s right up my alley and came highly recommended by several people whose taste in books is similar to mine. But I read over 300 pages of it (about a third of the whole book) and just couldn’t get interested, the characters all felt very shallow and the religious and political intrigue just left me cold. I wasn’t at all ‘sucked in’ to the story like I should have been, so decided to let it go rather than slogging through it grumpily.
THE CHRYSALIS by Heather Terrell. I read about 40 pages of this—it was supposed to be a thriller tying the past and present together, but what I read was pretty much poorly-written romance-cum mystery. The old “I hadn’t seen him since college but when I saw him I flushed,” and “the tingle where our hands touched,” and yadda yadda yadda. Tell me the story of how this painting came to be something your law firm is involved in litigation—I don’t care how much you like looking at your new client/old friend. Blech.
Cheryl
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)