While weather here is delightful right now, sunny and in the 70s, the world is a mess. We all need to take a break from the news to talk about books.
I’m just starting to read SJ Bennett’s second book in the Her Majesty the Queen Investigates series. Here in the states it’s called All the Queen’s Men. I’m going to just give you the brief online summary, but I do want to mention that I’ll be interviewing Bennett next Thursday, March 10, for a virtual event for The Poisoned Pen Bookstore. It’s at 3 PM ET on The Poisoned Pen’s Facebook and YouTube channels. You don’t have to have a Facebook account to watch it there. And, it “should” be available to watch later on YouTube. Let’s hope it all works out. Bennett is in England. I’m in Indiana, and the bookstore will be filming it in Arizona. We did it successfully last year with her first book, The Windsor Knot, so we’ll try again.
“Amateur detective Queen Elizabeth II is back in this hugely entertaining follow-up to the bestseller The Windsor Knot, in which Her Majesty must determine how a missing painting is connected to the shocking death of a staff member inside Buckingham Palace.”
So, what about you? What have you been reading this past week to stay occupied? Have you found some distractions?
I’m about 2/3rds into A DISMAL HARVEST, the second Marketplace Mystery from Daisy Bateman. I’m enjoying this one more than I did the first one. I grew up close to the fictional setting, which also helps. Strong plot, good characters, and just all around fun. I’m hoping to finish the book Thursday (I’m writing this just before I got to bed on Wednesday night), but we will see if my job cooperates or not.
Good luck with the job, Mark, so you might get finished with it!
Good morning Lesa and everyone.
I expect to be in Edinburgh on Thursday so I am writing this a bit early. We have just had the most beautiful day – warm, with blue skies and no wind. Nancy and I had a wonderful walk at Garlogie – the very walk we had had to abandon last week in gales and sleet. Today it was just lovely – though when we went through the woodlands there were so many fallen trees from the storms that we had to climb over or under one after another to keep to the path. But when we came out onto the hillside all we could see were green fields, sheep, and the blue waters of the Loch of Skene in the distance.
I also started to tidy up my garden, which I had hardly touched since the autumn. It’s very small, but even so, once you start looking you realise what a lot needs doing. I love gardening, so that’s not a problem – it’s just finding the time to do it. I cleared up lots of leaves, and will have a proper go at it next week. It’s fine to see the daffodils poking through, and the buds on the trees.
BOOKS – this week I am reading ELIZABETHAN SECRET AGENT by Tim Ashby, one of the books I was sent by Scotland Street Press. It does require a lot of concentration, especially if you’re as ignorant about Scottish history as I am, but it is very rewarding if you stick with it.
The first part of the book was about the ‘Low Countries’ at the time of Elizabeth I, and the attempts by France, and especially Spain, to restore them to Catholicism (as a vassal state). The second part is about Scotland – Sir Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth I’s chief spymaster, sends Ashby to the Stuart court to try to stop James VI accepting the advances of France and Spain, who are offering him all sorts of incentives to join forces with them and provide a base for their planned invasions of England.
None of the English nobles wants to be sent to Scotland as they see it as barbaric, and a dreadful posting – and also a dangerous one in more ways than one, as Elizabeth is notoriously fickle, changing her mind about what she wants them to do, reneging on offers she has authorised them to make to James (and other heads of state), and in some instances beheading ambassadors whom she decides haven’t acted in her interests. She’s also famously stingy, and James is needing to be bought.
I also read THE END OF THE AFFAIR by Graham Greene, which is the starter book for March’s ‘6 Degrees of Separation’ challenge. I often don’t read the first book, but this one is short and my library had it, so I thought I’d give it a go.
In the (in some cases distant) past I have read Brighton Rock, The Power and the Glory, Our Man in Havana and The Quiet American, and enjoyed them, but I have to say I was not impressed with this one. It seems to have had very good reviews from many literary critics, but I found it boring, unconvincing and largely plotless. The two main characters, Maurice and Sarah, who have the affair in question, are both so self-centered and obsessive that I could not have cared less what became of them.
Some of the minor characters were better, but the last section of the book became a philosophical discussion about faith, redemption, atheism, etc and just went on and on and on. I appreciate that Greene brought Catholicism into many of his novels – but in, for example, Brighton Rock, this works with the plot, which itself is fast paced, engaging and terrifying. In The End of the Affair there were just these two and their incessant navel gazing.
I think I must have missed something.
I realised today that this is READ IRELAND MONTH, which is run by Irish blogger Cathy746Books. I have taken part in this before, but had completely forgotten that it was coming up and had no books sorted out. Then on my shelves I caught sight of a Molly Keane novel, GOOD BEHAVIOUR. I remember reading a few of her other novels many years ago, but they probably went right over my head. Now, having learned about her Anglo-Irish childhood in the early part of the 20th century from ‘A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl’, I am finding her much more accessible.
This book appeared in 1981 – thirty years after her previous novel, and so far it seems to me to draw on her very strange (to us – it was no doubt normal for children of the Irish aristocracy at that time) upbringing.
She and her siblings rarely saw their parents, and instead wandered around the estate all day, doing pretty much as they pleased, and being far closer to the servants than they were to their mother and father. The mother had no interest in them, and was a recluse who spent her days gardening and painting; the father was a leisured gentleman who was obsessed with hunting, shooting, fishing, and going to the races (which have always been a big thing in Ireland.) The girls were barely educated (the boys were of course sent away to school.) The food they ate in the nursery was almost inedible (their mother paid no attention to what was sent up, which was entirely different from the parents’ formal dinners.)
The estate was burned to the ground in the 1916 Easter Uprising; Keane appears to have had no bitterness about this at all. I think she must have been such an interesting woman.
On the radio I have been listening to Dorothy Sayers’ MURDER MUST ADVERTISE and Francis Durbridge’s PAUL TEMPLE AND THE MARGO MYSTERY. I quite enjoyed the Sayers but felt the solution was even more ridiculous than usual. All of the Paul Temple stories follow a very set formula, but somehow I can’t stop myself from downloading them – I think they are just so much of their time (1930s), and Temple is such a dreadful self-satisfied snob that he is actually quite funny. And I do like Steve (his wife, whose real name is Louise) though she gives Paul far too much credit for working things out (when often he’s just got someone to tell him what happened by pulling class status…)
At the weekend we watched LAST ORDERS, the film based on the book by Graham Swift. I had seen it when it came out in the early 2000s, but of course I had forgotten most of it. It is about three old friends (Bob Hoskins, David Hemmings and Tom Courtenay) going to Margate to carry out the last wishes of their deceased friend (Michael Caine.) The deceased’s adult son drives the car – he is played by Ray Winstone, which is quite enough enticement for me to watch any film. Helen Mirren plays the widow, who decides, for her own reasons, to stay home in Bermondsey while the men make the trip. The history of the friendship is told in flashbacks. It’s a wonderful film (and not *just* because of Winstone…)
Last Saturday we had a day out to Speyside (whisky country) – we wanted to take a look at a house for sale over there, and we also stopped off in Huntly, a very traditional little town in Morayshire. For some reason we had never actually been into Huntly before – I thought it was great, so down to earth and ‘ungentrified’. We had coffee at The Merry Kettle, a café that had definitely never seen a coffee machine or a plant milk – the staff were so friendly and helpful, we loved it. We also discovered that this tiny place has five charity shops – so of course I had to check out the book shelves in each of them. It’s always good to visit a charity shop in another area, as they often have a completely different selection of stock (and indeed they did…)
I hope everyone has a good week. The news is of course horrifying, but I think we still need to find small pleasures where we can, and to be grateful for being free, and able to enjoy them.
Ah, to me you can’t go far wrong with Edinburgh, Rosemary. Hope it’s fun.
I liked Swift’s LAST ORDERS a lot and enjoyed the film version too. Great cast. Courtenay has been in quite a few things in recent years – 45 YEARS, UNFORGOTTEN (TV), THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY. Nice to be still working at 85.
Thanks Jeff.
I had no idea Courtenay was that age – he is well preserved! I haven’t seen any of the other films you mentioned, though we do have the DVD of 45 Years, and I keep meaning to watch it – then I think it looks too depressing, and watch something like Waking Ned instead.
Rosemary, Sometimes I’m just grateful for your posts, and the times they make me laugh. There was your whole description of The End of the Affair, and then your comment, “I think I missed something.” Huntley sounds delightful. Those Miss Read books you posted on Facebook? Did they come from Huntley charity shops. Rosemary had a picture of some books she picked up on a recent Facebook post, and they included a number of the Miss Read books. Just delightful stories. So cozy.
Oh thanks Lesa, that’s very kind of you to say.
Yes, I found a lot of Miss Read books in one of those shops – I only rarely see them in shops in Aberdeen and Edinburgh. Somebody must have been having a clear out. Of course I still haven’t filled in the spreadsheet my husband set up for me to catalogue all my books – so that when I am in such a shop, I can check if I already have a book or not. So I did come home with that turned out to be a couple of duplicates, but I don’t mind – I will give them to one of my local charity shops, and they will, I hope, make some money out them too.
It had been cold and windy here so I decided to treat myself to some chocolate. There’s a small local company that sells at the farm market when it’s open but they ship the rest of the year. So the box of chocolate that was mailed from a post office 4 miles from my house has now traveled almost 600 miles. It’s been through 4 post offices in NJ, Boston MA, Nashua NH, and 2 more post offices in NJ. I’m hopeful that I might get it today and that it’ll still be in decent shape.
This week I read an ARC of A HALF-BAKED ALIBI by Devon Delaney. A dead body turns up at a cooking competition.
BUTTONS AND BLOWS by Gayle Leeson. This is the latest in her haunted dress shop mystery series. I really like the characters in this series – especially the ghost Max.
FUNNY FARM: MY UNEXPECTED LIFE WITH 600 RESCUE ANIMALS by Laurie Zaleski. This was my big disappointment for the week. I’ve had this on hold for several months at the library and based on the title I was expecting a book about the animal rescue and stories about the animals. It turned out to be a biography of the author and her mother with only a page or page and a half about an animal at the end of each chapter.
GRAND OPENINGS CAN BE MURDER by Amber Royer. One of the employees drops dead during the grand opening of a new chocolate shop and the owner is a suspect. It wasn’t a bad read but I figured out who the killer was way to easily.
Oh, Sandy! I hope your chocolate arrives, and it’s still in good shape.
What a disappointment! That title Funny Farm, with the subtitle, would have attracted me, too. What a disappointment. It could have been such a good book in the right hands.
I’ll look forward to that interview Lesa. The author, recalling your prior interview, seems such a lovely person.
Some of my reading for this week:
The Artist and the Eternal City (2021) Loyd Grossman.
Engaging nonfiction about Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) and the grandeur of Baroque Rome. I especially appreciated the author’s consideration of including photos or sketches for much of what was covered.
Next up Linda Holmes first novel, Evvie Drake Starts Over (2019). Such a good writer, the book just flows. Margie Bunting had it on her Best of 2019 list. Everyone thinks Evvie is mourning her recently deceased husband as she hid he was emotionally abusive, but she’s just stuck. I have her latest reserved, Flying Solo, published in February.
Bibliolepsy, mentioned in Treasures in My Closet for January releases. The slightly expanded US edition was recently published, but it was Gina Apostol’s debut novel first published in the Phillipines in 1997. The author conceived of the novel in the mid-1980s caught between a real revolution and the desire to escape into books. “it is a strange history of events trailed by a track of books”. Some readers value characters or plot highest in a book, this is for those that value words the most. A reviewer says of the writer, she paints a picture with words.
But my current reading is eclipsed by my new library stack: Diablo Mesa, The Goodbye Coast, Love and Saffron, On Rue Tatin, All The Queen’s Men and Disappearance of a Scribe.
Thank you, MM, for saying you’re looking forward to the interview.
Oh, you have quite a nice stack of library books. I have several as well, and I’ll be interested to read your reactions. I hope you like Love and Saffron!
Time just seems to pass by while we’re frittering it away online and elsewhere, which is mostly OK, though I have not been getting as much reading done as I’d hoped to. Jackie is reading (and enjoying) her Jessie Mihalik book, HUNT THE STARS. I downloaded the J. D. Robb for her, which she will be reading next, and put off the new Jayne Ann Krentz for a week.
I’ve been reading mostly short stories, as usual. After the Peter Lovesey book, I’ve been reading (and I’m close to finishing) the Stuart Palmer collection, HILDEGARDE WITHERS: FINAL RIDDLES? The question mark is because there are still a number of Withers stories that were published in the 1930s and ’40s – perhaps in newspapers – that have not been found and could be published later, if found. The retired schoolteacher so perfectly embodied in three films by Edna May Oliver – and Palmer confirms in a piece here that Oliver was his role model for the character), along with her foil Insp. Oscar Piper (played by James Gleason) is your classic amateur thief. Many of the stories were published in EQMM in the ’50s.
I’m also reading (actually, I would have thought I’d read it before, but without my records I can’t check, and it isn’t familiar so far) Bill Pronzini’s 2015 collection of hardboiled stories, DAGO RED. The first two, at least, were set in California (San Francisco and Los Angeles) around 1930. Tough stuff, good writing as ever.
Last week I was undecided which of the two books I’d read, Megan O’Keefe’s VELOCITY WEAPON or Ben H, Winters’s BEDBUGS. I tried them both and have ended up reading both at the same time, alternatively. BEDBUGS does have one mistake in its Brooklyn setting – the Trader Joe’s downtown is on Court Street and Atlantic Avenue, not Smith Street. Winters may have lived in Brooklyn at one point, but he is in Southern California now. The rest has been accurate so far. I like the space book (VELOCITY WEAPON)< but I'm still not sure where she is going, as she alternates between the "present" (3541) and the future (3771). We'll see.
Yesterday I picked up the new Dean Koontz book at the library – QUICKSILVER. I'll see how that goes next.
Frittering your time away, huh, Jeff? It sounds as if Jackie is doing as much reading as you are. That’s okay. Florida in March is a delightful place for frittering.
I always enjoy the history that comes with your comments about books, such as the Hildegarde Withers books. Thank you!
Me too lesa – I love to learn about the authors’ lives and where they got their ideas. Thanks Jeff!
I watched a delightful show on TV about Inveraray Castle and Clan Campbell in Scotland and I thought of our book lover Rosemary. I think it was produced by the BBC and I highly recommend it. I read The Runaway by Nick Petrie which I know is not your cup of tea Lesa but my husband and I both enjoyed it. If you a fan of Lee Child’s Reacher then you will like Peter Ash. I also read Her Perfect Life by Hank Phillippi Ryan – I usually like her books but I didn’t like any of the characters in this book-they all had flaws and were annoying so I would not recommend it. I have banished winter and am thinking Spring – no matter what those little rodents say.
What do little rodents know anyways, Donna? We had gorgeous weather yesterday, and even the 50s today seem nice because it’s sunny. I’m thinking spring, too.
Oh, my brother-in-law really enjoys the Peter Ash books. I think I might have enjoyed them more if I had started at the beginning of the series instead of starting with The Runaway.
Donna, I thought THE RUNAWAY was the most Reacher-like of all the Peter Ash books.
Donna – was that one of the ones where the presenter is an American lady who married a British aristocrat? I haven’t seen any of those but I have read about them.
We were actually in Inveraray on our way back from Islay last summer – I’ve been through it many times but never stopped. This time we had our coffee there and (of course) visited the charity shop. It’s a nice little town, popular with coach tours. Still haven’t been to the castle – one day!
It’s been a busy week, traveling 2 hours each way to visit my son in the hospital, 3 times in the past 5 days. But yesterday’s mission was a good one–Nick was discharged and will stay with me for a while. We didn’t get home till almost 10:00 p.m. last night, but it was great to have his company in the car. He’s starting on a new chapter in his life (dialysis, etc.), but he has a great attitude. Anyway, I only finished two books this week.
In THE LIBRARY OF LOST AND FOUND by Phaedra Patrick, Martha Storm is a doormat. A competent library volunteer, she really wants a full-time paid job but is disrespected by the library manager. She took care of her ailing parents for years, giving up a long-term love affair in the process, and was treated as if it was expected of her. Now she willingly does odd jobs for her friends and family–errands, sewing, and much more–and receives little to no remuneration for it, only complaints and demands. When Martha finds a battered book of stories on her doorstep, with a personal note from her beloved grandmother Zelda, she is stunned. The note is dated three years after Nana’s date of death (as reported by Martha’s parents), and many of the stories in the book are those Martha and Zelda wrote during her childhood. Martha is obsessed with finding out who published the book and whether her parents had lied to her about her grandmother’s death, leading to events and adventures that do more than broaden her horizons–they change her life forever. I have read and enjoyed Patrick’s three previous books and look forward to her 2022 release, so when I realized I hadn’t read this one, I grabbed it. While it isn’t my favorite (The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper gets that distinction), it is true to the author’s theme of heart-warming stories with uplifting endings.
Jamie Brenner has a deft hand for portraying families devoted to building empires. In GILT, it’s an elite jewelry empire. Pavlin and Company is regarded as the first to make diamonds the premier engagement ring stone. But their success has come at the expense of family strife, particularly among three sisters who were immediately estranged when their father declared that the first to get engaged would be given the company’s fabled Electric Rose wedding band. Celeste, the oldest, didn’t want any part of the family business and settled down in Provincetown’s beach community with her longtime lover. Elodie ultimately became the CEO of Pavlin and Co., sacrificing her personal happiness after a betrayal by her younger sister, model Paulina, to maintain the company’s success during tougher times. Gemma, the daughter of the now-deceased Paulina, has been raised by her late father’s family and feels rejected by the Pavlins. Newly graduated from college, she struggles to launch her own jewelry design company with very little money but a lot of determination. The author does an excellent job of juggling the sisters’ current relationships with some flashbacks to their earlier years and those of their mother, which can be problematic when not handled expertly. I enjoyed the juxtaposition of the Provincetown and NYC settings. While each of the major characters has her strengths and weaknesses, it kept my interest in seeing how each might be able to grow and put the past behind her, and I enjoyed the upbeat ending. I would have loved to see more focus on Gemma and her career in the jewelry market–maybe a spinoff (hint, hint)? (June)
So glad to hear your son is doing well and will be spending time with you!
You did have quite a week, Margie. I’m so glad your son has a good attitude. I’m sure that will make it easier for him and for you. Sending hugs.
I’m surprised you found time to read amidst all of this, but books are a break for me. I hope your son likes to read. He’ll probably have hours ahead of time for reading or listening with dialysis.
Such good news regarding your son, Margie! Yay!
Thank you for letting us know.
I am a day late reading these posts Margie, but I wanted to say that I am so happy for you that your son has been able to come home. As you say, a different life awaits, but it’s great that he has a positive attitude. (My son, who has a different chronic illness, took a while to come to terms with it, but lately he has been much more upbeat and is also doing well. It’s such a relief, I know.) Very best wishes to both of you.
Good morning to all my fellow book lovers.
I read Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘em Dead by Elle Cosimano. It was a fun, light story. Reading this book requires a certain level of disbelief, for some of the situations are farfetched. You have to sit back and just enjoy the capers of Finlay and Vero. It is a perfect escape during these troubling times.
I am listening to the The Maid by Nita Prose on audio. It is easy to root for Molly and be bothered by those who take advantage of her goodness. I have certainly come to appreciate maids and the work that they do.
Have a wonderful week.
Good morning, Kathleen! The Maid does make you appreciate all the work they do, doesn’t it? I always tip when I stay in a hotel, but I guess I usually don’t think much about all the work that goes into it.
Good morning!
It is starting to feel like spring in my neck of the woods also. We have had above freezing temperatures and lots of sun which has led to lots of snow melting. I have really enjoyed my daily walks. However, the walking conditions are not the best yet as there is some ice, some slush and some clear spots. The uneven terrain combined with the work my husband and I have been doing on a bathroom remodel were not kind to my back. It went out yesterday and I am still in a lot of pain today. Fortunately, it is comfortable to sit, sometimes it isn’t. The bright spot is that I have been able to do lots of reading!
I finished The Big Four by Agatha Christie – Hastings returns to England and shows up unexpectedly at Hercule Poirot’s residence. As they are catching up, a mysterious man stumbles out of Poirot’s bedroom and collapses. How did the man get into the house? Who is he and why did he write the number four repeatedly on a piece of paper.
Poirot has recently been approached by Abe Ryland, the American Soap King, to investigate some “hocus-pocus” going on in connection with a company in Rio. Poirot has no desire to take an ocean voyage, but the sum of money offered him to investigate was such that he couldn’t say no. In the course of his investigation he has come across the term “The Big Four”. As far as he can tell it refers to a gang of international criminals. Could the number four written on the paper by the man who collapsed be referring to this gang?
This was a bit of an unusual mystery for Hercule Poirot. It felt more like a Mrs. Pollifax novel than an Agatha Christie novel.
I am on the last few pages of Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala and have really enjoyed it. The characters are likeable, the pacing is good and the mystery kept me guessing.
Hope you all have a great week!
Oh, I’m sorry about your back, Gretchen. I hope it’s okay, soon.
As you summarized The Big Four, I was thinking, that doesn’t sound like a Hercule Poirot mystery.
I’m glad you enjoyed Arsenic and Adobo!
Have a great week, and I hope your back is okay!
Gretchen, those early (about 1920-1925) Christie books were mostly not among her best. A lot were the “young adventurers” type my wife likes so much more than I do – the two with “Bundle” and the Tommy & Tuppence ones- and THE BIG FOUR was, if I emember correctly, more an attempt at a spy novel than a typical Poirot book.
Jeff,
An attempt at a spy novel was definitely what The Big Four felt like.
It was spring for two days here, but we are having a blip today of back to the low 40’s. I don’t mind. I do think winter is over.
Two books this week. I enjoyed The Impossible Imposter by Deanna Raybourn. After the last 2 which I did not enjoy at all, I was determined to give up on the series. Then I read your review on the latest one, Lesa and decided to give it another chance. It felt like she reinvented the series, and I will be back for at least one more adventure.
Next, I read Blush by Jamie Brenner about a family winery in upstate New York. Leah is back for a summer vacation at her parents’ winery only to learn it is up for sale. Her daughter is also home from college after stalling out with her thesis. While trying to work on her studies, Sadie discovers her grandmother’s journal from her long-lost book club. She begins reading Lace by Shirley Cochran. Eventually her mother, grandmother, and her uncle’s fiancee start reading the book club classics and are able to come to decisions about the winery as well as their lives. I enjoyed this too but felt it was a little long. I learned a lot about winemaking. It was fun to read about all the books that were best sellers from Judith Krantz, Jackie Collins, etc. I remembered reading most of them.
So glad to hear your son is out of the hospital, Margie.
Happy Reading!
I think winter is over, too, Sharon, despite a blip here or there. I like that comment – a blip.
I’m with you. I had tired of Deanna Raybourne’s books, but she redeemed herself with this one. As you said, I’m willing to hang in there if the books do. I like Veronica.
I like the book club aspect of Blush more than the subject of the book itself, especially after you said it was a little too long.
Enjoy your week!
Poop.
So.
My post disappeared. Trying again –
Loved Out of the Clear Blue Sky by Kristan Higgins. Protagonist Lillie rocks.
Hated and did not finish, other than to skim to the end, The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley. Not a single likeable character living in this building. Disgusting, despicable, deplorable. Although I must be the only person who feels this way seeing how the rave reviews just keep coming.
I’d probably feel the same way you did about the characters in The Paris Apartment, Kaye. I have to have likeable characters in my books. Sure, the rave reviews ALWAYS come in first, and then in a few weeks, someone has the guts to say, well, it wasn’t for me. Good for you!
I think I read the summary someplace of Out of the Clear Blue Sky, and it’s on my TBR list. Hugs! (I’m glad you did try again.)
Lesa, thank you. I didn’t even mention the fact that the book’s main premise was as disgusting as it’s characters!
I think you’ll enjoy Out of the Clear Blue Sky. It hits all the right notes while avoiding going too too far.
Looking forward to that one, Kaye!
Kaye – the surest way I’ve found to prevent the post dissappearing here is to refresh the page just before you add your comment. Good Luck!
What a good hint this is, thank you!
I started How to Fight Racism by Jemar Tisay. It is the children’s edition, I took it because the print was too smqll. The audience is for young black Christian children. I have already learned more about the historical origins of white priviledge than before and about some historcial figures that are new to me.
Finished The Invention of Wings, by Sue Monk Kidd. I loved that audio CD. I read a lot of reviews and found two arguments that I wanted to counter.
Carolee, I admire your urge to continue to learn and read difficult material.
While it’s taken me some time to get over whatever bug hit me a couple weeks ago (flu I think despite having a flu shot), I’m finally able to concentrate again and have resumed reading the Kate Burkholder series by Linda Castillo. I’m on book #11 Shamed. I’ve been enjoying the books and short stories (one between each book) so much that I just keep going. There are only 13 in the series. #14 comes out in July, so I’ll be done soon enough. It’s been a nice diversion to stay with the same series so long. That’s part of what I like about going back and starting at the beginning of a series in full swing.
And we’re deep into spring and veering into summer in Florida with temps in the mid 80s. Definitely a change in the weather, just in time for the time change.
The temperatures probably bother you more than me, Sandie. But, even so, the humidity in Florida bothered me more than Florida’s heat.
We actually got just enough rain to make the cars wet today, but there might be more coming, thank goodness!
This week I read:
Razor: Book One: A Dying Wish by Henry Roi; A boxing master criminal snorts a lot of cocaine while trying to stop the Vietnamese mob from taking over Biloxi. Like a very poor man’s Fast and Furious.
Sierra Six by Mark Greaney; Latest in the excellent Gray Man series, has something of an origin tale set during the Afghan War, and a current assignment in Mumbai. Both are pretty exciting, but one has a sadder ending than the other.
Where Loyalties Lie by Val Collins; An Irish reporter, reduced to working a part time job between assignments takes ona job of investigating the death of a young man. The suspect is rich, which leads to its own problems. The boss at her part time job is a harasser, which leads to its own problems. She doesn’t handle either very well.
Jam Up and Jelly Fright by Donna Walo Clancy; Cozy about the usual small business owning woman. A newbie to the area asks for her help as he is finding human bones on his farm, but doesn’t want to go to the sheriff. Also her best friend seems to be in an abusive relationship. She solves both with aplomb,
Kingdom of Bones by James Rollins; a virus book written during the pandemic, but seems to be much older, as people act ike they might have some sense. Reminded me of Arthur O. Friel’s The Pathless Trail (Okay, I read a translation, not the original.)
Oh, Glen. That statement that Rollins’ book seemed older because people had sense. That was funny.
You had two good books there, the Greaney and the Rollins!
We had good news at the eye doctor yesterday. The macular hole in my husband’s eye has closed. He still has the gas bubble in his eye, it has shrunk to about 25% of its original size, but as long as it is there he has to be creative about finding ways to read. But still, that is fantastic news.
I am also planning to do some reading in March for the Read Ireland event at 746 Books (mentioned above in Rosemary’s comment). At first I had picked two crime fictions books, one by Declan Hughes and one by Ken Bruen. Both had been on my TBR forever so would be good choices. But then I remembered that I have STAR OF THE SEA by Joseph O’Connor, so I may go that way. Plus, I have had a book by Marian Keyes for quite and while and I really should read something by her. But I also have two more books for Japan I want to read. Such a quandary.
Only book I have read this week: THE POSTSCRIPT MURDERS. I enjoyed reading it. I am trying to figure out why I liked it so much when I don’t care that much for the Ruth Galloway series. It is the second book that features Harbinder Kaur, a lesbian Sikh Detective Sergeant in the police in Shoreham, England. I like Habinder, and her partner Neil, and the three amateur detectives who go to a literary festival to investigate the crime. So I guess it is the characters that make a difference. Some of the secondary characters are authors, in publishing, or mystery fans, and a portion of the story takes place at a literary festival, and I liked that.
I’m not fond of the Ruth Galloway series either, Tracy.
That’s wonderful news about your husband’s eye. I hope it continues to improve!
Me too.
Thanks, Rick. I don’t have any idea when he will be able to get a new prescription for glasses, we will be waiting as patiently as possible for that. But his vision is functional and continues to get better.
Thanks, Lesa.
I keep trying the Ruth Galloway series now and then and each time I like the book and characters a bit more.
That’s such good news about your husband Tracy – and I’m also delighted to hear of someone else taking part in the Read Ireland month!
I’ve never read or even heard of Declan Hughes or Ken Bruen, I will look them up. I will be interested to hear your thoughts on Marian Keyes, as I do read one of her books from time to time, and much as I want to like them, I am never that impressed (at least not so far.)
There are just so many interesting ‘weeks’ and ‘months’, aren’t there? I think it might also be a Welsh reading month, and I really would like to take part in that as my knowledge of Welsh literature is woeful. But when?!
Rosemary, I have read a few books by Ken Bruen. He has a long running Jack Taylor series (and a TV series) but my favorite books by him are the Detective Sergeant Tom Brant books set in London. I have not read Declan Hughes yet at all.
I hope I like the Marian Keyes book well enough to get through it. That is not my usual type of reading. WATERMELON, the first in the Walsh family series, is the one I have, and there is a later one in that series that is a mystery that I plan to read (THE MYSTERY OF MERCY CLOSE).
I did see a blogger (who is Welsh I believe) talking about both the Irish and Welsh reading months, but I can’t add another area to my March list. But I don’t know much about Welsh books either, so some day I should read some books from there.
I’m reading Murderabilia by Carl Vonderau. It’s an intense thriller about a guy and his family trying to separate themselves from the notoriety of the guy’s father who was a serial killer. But there’s someone out there who’s sabotaging their efforts. Chilling! Other than that, I have an advance copy from Net Galley of the upcoming James Lee Burke novel, Every Cloak Rolled in Blood. I love Burke, so that will be a treat.
I haven’t read one of James Lee Burke’s books in quite a while, Patricia, but his writing is beauiful.
(sigh) Trying to type with a cat between me and the keyboard is not easy. Beautiful. I do know how to spell it.
I get that. My cat has decided it’s cool to walk across my keyboard whenever she likes.
I forgotto add I watched some South Korean movies this week. If there’s subtitles, that’s reading, right?
Badminton: Three people join a badminton club, but there’s something hinky going on…
Big Bang: A strait laced guy who always obeys the rules loses his wife, his job, his money and his dignity. He meets a petty criminal and starts acting out. Couldn’t be made here.
Kidnap: A cop and and a jounralist team up to take down a crime boss. It’s impossible to believe this guy with perfect hair and eyeliner is a cop.
Funny Neighbors: A failing newspaper is on tough times. When they start an argument at a restaurant, they’re taken hostage…or are they?
Glen, If you read the entire movie, it certainly should count!
It has been a rough week with the situation in Ukraine and the rising gas prices in the states. I have been reading the Bookshop of Dust and Dreams by Mindy Thompson for middle grade march. I am listening to the Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley on audio and enjoying it.
It has been a rough week, Katherine. I should have just started this post off by sending hugs to everyone. It’s been very rough.