I don’t know about where you live, but we’ve had gorgeous weather for the last week or so – low humidity, temperatures in the 60s or 70s in the morning, and low 80s by evening. Just gorgeous. Able to turn off the air conditioning, and open the house.
And, today, I’m off to one of our branch libraries to talk about books! There’s nothing I’d rather do as you all know.
I’m on deadline this week, but I should have finished Patricia Skalka’s final Dave Cubiak Door County mystery, Death Casts a Shadow, by Sunday. The books are set in Door County, Wisconsin. Dave Cubiak is the local sheriff who fled to Wisconsin after his wife and daughter were killed. I’m only thirty-five pages into it, but there has been a suspicious death. I’m not even going to guess what’s going on. I’ll save my comments for this weekend. I do like this series, and I hate to see it end, but Skalka’s comments say she closed the character arc for Cubiak. (I think Kevin Tipple reviewed this book some time ago, but I don’t have the link. He’s welcome to put it in the comments, though.)
I’ve been deleting old emails this past week (I have thousands!), and I’m back to 2019. Do you know what’s sad? I have comments from Nann and Gram and other people who were commenting on the blog in 2019. They were regulars, and then the world shut down in 2020, and I haven’t seen comments from them since. They may have just moved on. I hope so. I also saw emails from Henery Press, which closed before COVID hit. Now, Five Star is about to eliminate their Western line. Looking back at old emails makes me realize people and publishers are missing. And, of course, we lost Richard within the last couple months.
What about you? How are you doing? What are you reading?
Good morning. We’ve had nice weather here too since last Friday. My brother stayed with my mom this past weekend so my boyfriend and I were able to go away for a few days. We stayed in New Hope, PA which isn’t that far but there’s enough to do in the area to justify staying for two nights.
While we were away we listened to an audiobook of Echo Park by Michael Connelly. It’s the 12 book in his Harry Bosch series. In this one Harry is back working as a police officer and is still digging into a 13 year old cold case. He believes he knows who the killer is but can’t prove it. Then the police catch a killer who confesses to the cold case but Harry doesn’t believe his confession. I’ve only ever listened to a few of these on vacations. One of these days I’m going to have to start at the beginning and read them.
An ARC of Fatalities and Folios by ACF Bookens. Poe Baxter and her best friend and mentor Beattie travel to Scotland to kick off Poe’s career buying rare books. When they go to visit the previous owner of a rare book of sea monster lore to verify the book’s provenance he’s been murdered. This is the first in a new series so there was a lot of background information but I’d read the next book when it comes out.
I’m about halfway through THE MAGIC OF LEMON DROP PIE by Rachel Linden. I wasn’t sure about this since it’s a bit outside of what I usually read but I’m enjoying it.
Just like all of you, my response to Sandy didn’t go through. That’s okay. I was logged into my Poisoned Pen account instead of this one.
I’m glad you had the chance to get away for a weekend, Sandy. Caregivers need a break now and then.
I’ll have to watch for Fatalities and Folios. Sounds as if it could become an interesting series. Thank you!
Good Morning!
We have the same weather as you, Lesa. Cool enough in the evenings to make for good sleeping. I’m still watching baby Fritz at the Cincinnati Zoo. He’s ventured out to the water in hippo cove this past week. He is just too stinking cute.
Two good books this week. Thanks to your review, I read The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston. It was a little different and like you said, difficult to summarize without giving too much away. I didn’t expect to like a book about death, funerals, and ghosts so much but mostly it was a book about love and family. I thought it was good.
Next I stayed up late to finish The Unkept Woman (Sparks & Bainbridge #4) by Allison Montclair. These keep getter and better and this one is my new favorite. Gwen is working hard to get her independence and control of her son back and needs to stay out of trouble. But Iris is a murder suspect when Helena Jablonska is found shot in her apartment and Gwen is determined to help her friend. There are the usual ex-spies and ex-boyfriends and a chapter describing the new exhibit at the V&A Museum in 1946. Great fun, great banter and I thought a surprise ending. I just loved it!
We started watching Night Sky on Amazon Prime. Halfway through and I finally figured out where it is going. It is rather science fiction-y (not my favorite) but I really like Sissy Spacek and JK Simmons in it.
Enjoy your visit to the library! Happy Reading!
Sharon, I agree! Fritz is just as cute as can be, and I enjoy watching the videos. I just hope Fiona accepts him when they all get together. She’s so used to getting all the attention from the adult hippos.
I’m glad you enjoyed The Dead Romantics!
Even when I don’t read a series (Sparks & Bainbridge), I’m always happy to learn someone is loving it. That’s great, Sharon!
I too am reading the Sparks/Bainbridge series and think each book gets better and better which is really something since it started off as wonderful! The writing is just so good. The Unkept Woman was really lovely.
Morning, all! Still pretty hot here in El Dorado Hills, CA, so I’ve opted not to walk with my group this morning. Besides my weekly Toastmasters meeting at noon today, I’m also looking forward to hosting my grandchildren for an hour or so in the early evening so my son and daughter-in-law can attend parent-teacher night together at the elementary school (Henry started kindergarten last week). Reading has been a mixed bag for sure this week.
In her Accidental Alchemist series, Gigi Pandian has skillfully created a world where modern alchemists may transform plants rather than metals and may have found the Elixir of Life, which stops their aging process and appearance. It’s a world where a stone gargoyle judged too small for Paris’s Notre Dame Cathedral has come to life, though he has to hide himself from disbelievers with a childlike disguise. Dorian the gargoyle prides himself on being French and an expert chef, and fancies himself a clever detective. He lives with Zoe, a plant alchemist and antiques dealer who is more than 300 years old and worries about the day when she will have to abandon her lover and the place she calls home because she clearly isn’t aging–it’s happened several times before. In THE ALCHEMIST OF RIDDLE AND RUIN, the sixth in the series, Zoe and Dorian are called upon to help solve an intricate puzzle to determine why Riddle, a local teenager who was murdered sixteen years ago, has suddenly reappeared–is she a ghost, has she faked her own death, and is she bent on revenge? Six of her friends who attended a party where she promised to reveal an important secret many years ago are still wondering who killed Riddle, but it seems clear that the seventh is actually her murderer. It is a quiet story, told with a deft hand by a seasoned storyteller.
In Viola Shipman’s (aka Wade Rouse) latest book based on his grandmothers’ lives, THE EDGE OF SUMMER, I most enjoyed reading about the setting in coastal Michigan, to the point where I desperately wanted to experience it for myself. The author excels at nature descriptions in particular. I also liked reading about the seamstress careers of Miss Mabel and her apprentice daughter Sutton, who became a clothing designer, and in particular their use of beautiful decorative buttons to make their creations special. Other than that, I found this book disappointing, although I know I’m in the minority of readers who feel this way. After what I consider a slow start, very little actually happens. Sutton spends most of the book philosophizing and lamenting her lot in life, wondering why her deceased mother had never identified her father or told her anything about her own life before motherhood. Sutton never engaged me as a protagonist to root for, so I didn’t really care when she finally found some answers. There is a bit of romance in the book, but I couldn’t understand what her very nice beau found attractive about her. Finally, there was no mention in the book description about a Covid connection, which I don’t think is fair to those who might like to avoid this plot element. And the unimaginative title doesn’t appear to have any connection whatsoever with the story. My favorites by the author remain The Heirloom Garden and The Summer Cottage, which I highly recommend.
I love the character of Zoe Chambers, paramedic and county coroner in rural PA, newly married to police chief Pete Adams. She is grounded, courageous, and highly skilled at her job, but she sometimes worries she is too soft-hearted and emotional for her new coroner role. As Annette Dashofy’s FATAL REUNION, the 11th in the series, opens, Zoe is helping with the search for a teenager who has disappeared. When the missing girl is found dead, memories of the Monongahela Strangler are suddenly evoked. Several girls in Zoe’s high school class were murdered two decades ago, but the murders stopped when the prime suspect committed suicide. The latest murder has similarities to those earlier killings–could the real murderer still be on the loose and murdering again? At the same time, Zoe’s graduating class is having a 20th reunion. Zoe refuses to attend because she doesn’t want to be reminded of her own behavior in those days, but it means that more people are gathering in the area, making it increasingly difficult for the police to do their investigation. The supporting characters in this book are realistically drawn and developed, and the relationship between Zoe and Pete is solid and inspiring. Fans of traditional mysteries with a strong protagonist and intriguing plots should enjoy this engrossing series.
Middle grade readers who enjoy a lively fantasy will surely relish THE INKWELL CHRONICLES: THE INK OF ELSPET, BOOK 1. Eleven-year-old Everett and his 8-year-old sister, Bea, are devastated when their father, a vicar and adventure comic book creator, disappears while on a train trip to Scotland. The children are suddenly launched on an adventure of their own to find their father, aided by magical creatures and a very special ink that their father uses to create his comic book hero. It seems that this ink can do wondrous things for those who know how to use it for good, but there are those–the nefarious “blotters”–who want it eradicated. Unfortunately, the ink supply is running low, so helping to save the last inkwell is also part of the children’s quest. The action rarely stops in this imaginative story, but the underlying message comes through clearly–believe in yourself and your own special talents. (September)
Thanks to Lesa and Kaye for recommending Rachel Linden’s THE MAGIC OF LEMON DROP PIE, which was a delightful change from the other books I read this week. Lolly had big plans for her life way back in middle school but real life intervened. She had to scrap her plans to open her own restaurant, not to mention her engagement to the love of her life, when mother died unexpectedly and Lolly had to take over her duties at the family bistro. Her father was a good chef but useless when it came to business responsibilities, and her much-younger teenage sister needed a strong female influence in her life. Now approaching 33, with her sister in college and the restaurant failing, Lolly feels empty and unfulfilled. When her elderly Aunt Gert offers her a way to spend three days living the dreams she didn’t follow, she jumps at the chance. After experiencing these amazing days, she has to decide whether any of them is really the life she wants for herself. I loved the magical realism in the story but was nervous about how things could possibly be resolved. I didn’t need to worry–the author expertly wrapped things up in a way that made sense to me, while requiring just a modicum of suspension of disbelief.
Margie! I’m so glad you enjoyed The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie. That book does make you a little nervous, doesn’t it? I’m happy it ended the way it did.
I don’t read Viola Shipman, but my mother does, and my best friend and her mother do. I don’t think I’d really heard comments about the latest book, other than my Mom saying she liked it.
Enjoy your grandchildren this evening.
Hugs, Margie!
Yes, Simmons and Spacek were the main reasons to watch NIGHT SKY. The otherwise soso show was not renewed for a second series. Too bad, because they are always worth seeing.
After last week, the weather has improved here too, though I wouldn’t call it “cool” just yet. Still, average (mid-80s) with lower humidity is an improvement. We had our last summer concert/hotel stay over the weekend and it was a great one – Santana & Earth, Wind & Fire
I have the first book in that Door County series waiting to be read.
Jackie read Christine Feehan’s RED ON THE RIVER and is reading Kelley Armstrong’s A DARKNESS ABSOLUTE.
SIGNAL MOON by Kate Quinn is called an Amazon Short Story but it is really more a novella. I downloaded it because it was a free Prime offer last month and sounded good for time travel fans like yours truly. In 1943 Yorkshire, a young woman listening to German broadcasts to break the codes hears a strange American broadcast of a ship being attacked and sunk. She later discovers that it happened in 2023! If this premise doesn’t intrigue you, it did me, and it was a fun, quick read.
I’ve liked a couple of Emma Straub’s books, so read her short story collection OTHER PEOPLE WE MARRIED. Pretty good.. I’ve enjoyed the collections Martin Edwards has edited for the British Library series, but his new MUSIC OF THE NIGHT, a Crime Writers Association collection with a music theme, left me mostly cold. It was readable, and there were a few well known authors among the others (Peter Lovesey, Kate Ellis, Edwards himself, Catherine AIrd, Andrew Taylor), but overall it was pretty unmemorable
A good friend recommended Peter Spiegelman’s A SECRET ABOUT A SECRET very highly (he claimed it was his favorite book of the year), but so far I’m just not seeing it. Not that it’s bad, but after 80 pages I still don’t see what he found so fabulous. A research scientist is found murdered in a remote facility and Myles, from Standard Division (this seems to be slightly in the future) is sent to investigate. We’ll see, I guess.
Also currently reading John Varley’s 1976 SF collection, THE PERSISTENCE OF VISION, plus Stanley Tucci’s charming memoir, TASTE: MY LIFE THROUGH FOOD, which I definitely recommend.
If the Siegelman book continues to disappoint, I also have Erica Ferencik’s intriguing sounding GIRL IN ICE. A linguist gets a call from northern Greenland (where her brother recently – apparently – committed suicide). Seems a young girl was dug out of the ice, and when she was thawed out, she was alive. But she is speaking some language unknown to modern man, and they need her to come and see what she can make of it. Again, the kind of intriguing premise I find hard to resist.
Jeff, I didn’t remember you enjoy time travel. I won’t say I didn’t know it, because I probably did. Do you read Jodi Taylor? I own quite a few of the Chronicles of St. Mary’s, but I’m way behind in reading them. I also have the first Time Police, but haven’t read that either. Time, kind of ironic to say I need time when referring to that series.
I really enjoyed Stanley Tucci’s Taste, but my friend, Donna, says it’s even better when you listen to it on audiobook.
I’m sorry the last summer concert is over. I enjoy it when you say where you’ve been with those concerts.
Good Morning Thursday Peeps!
We are having cool Fall weather in these NC mountains. I know Fall is officially still a month or so away, but it’s sure feeling as though it has arrived early. I love it.
I also love these three books –
They’re Going to Love You by Meg Howrey
“Throughout her childhood, Carlisle Martin got to see her father, Robert, for only a few precious weeks a year when she visited the brownstone apartment in Greenwich Village he shared with his partner, James. Brilliant but troubled, James gave Carlisle an education in all that he held dear in life—literature, music, and, most of all, dance.
Seduced by the heady pull of mentorship and hoping to follow in the footsteps of her mother—a former Balanchine ballerina—Carlisle’s aspiration to become a professional ballet dancer bloomed. But above all else, she longed to be asked to stay at the house on Bank Street, to be a part of Robert and James’s sophisticated world, even as the AIDS crisis brings devastation to their community. Instead, a passionate love affair created a rift between the family, with shattering consequences that reverberated for decades to come. Nineteen years later, when Carlisle receives a phone call that unravels the events of that fateful summer, she sees with new eyes how her younger self has informed the woman she’s become.Â
They’re Going to Love You is a gripping and gorgeously written novel of heartbreaking intensity. With psychological precision and a masterfully revealed secret at its heart, it asks what it takes to be an artist in America, and the price of forgiveness, of ambition, and of love.”
Pub Date 15 Nov 2022Â
The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre by Natasha Lester
Just when you think you’ve had your fill of WWII stories, a new stunner hits the shelves. Natasha Lester’s books are so well researched, i always know I’m going to end up down a rabbit hole with books she’s recommended in her author notes at the end of her story. And the characters are characters you will love, embrace, and enjoy spending time with.
“Alix St. Pierre. An unforgettable name for an unforgettable woman. She grew up surrounded by Hollywood glamor, but, as an orphan, never truly felt part of that world. In 1943, with WWII raging and men headed overseas to fight, she lands a publicity job to recruit women into the workforce. Her skills—persuasion, daring, quick-witted under pressure—catch the attention of the U.S. government and she finds herself with an even bigger assignment: sent to Switzerland as a spy. Soon Alix is on the precipice of something big, very big. But how far can she trust her German informant…?
Â
After an Allied victory that didn’t come nearly soon enough, Alix moves to Paris, ready to immerse herself in a new position as director of publicity for the yet-to-be-launched House of Dior. In the glamorous halls of the French fashion house, she can nearly forget everything she lost and the dangerous secret she carries. But when a figure from the war reappears and threatens to destroy her future, Alix realizes that only she can right the wrongs of the past …and finally find justice.”
Pub Date 10 Jan 2023
I’ll Weave a Song for You by Sandra Leavesley
A debut novel which has some of the issues you might expect. I’m hoping those can be ignored to allow other readers to fall off into this gorgeous novel as fully as i did. Beautiful, lyrical writing.
“When Megan dies, she leaves a promise with her twin Emily: ‘I’ll weave a song for you…it may take a while, but I’ll come back to you Em, somehow’. Her song threads a tapestry, spinning through a mosaic of memories and weaving into the present day, touching the lives of Alice and Jon.Â
The Café by the Oak is in the heart of Crayshead, a Cornish seaside town with a sleepy tortoise, a vocal parrot, and a dog named Wellington. Emily is charmed by Alice, an old lady with secrets hidden behind the walls of a convent. Jon’s life lacks purpose. After taking up a new teaching post he feels settled enough to begin unravelling his past, but when he finds something he isn’t looking for it causes him to question everything.
Emily seeks comfort in her art, reflecting on her childhood, and helping Jon pursue his past. And as Alice slowly reveals her secret, Emily breathes life into a painting on canvas… Can Megan weave a song without leaving them all with a sense of betrayal?”
Pub Date 28 Aug 2022
Good morning, Kaye! Enjoy every minute of that weather, as I know you do. I don’t think I know anyone else who is as content in their life as you are, and it always makes me smile. Sending hugs, my friend.
I don’t think any of those three books are for me, but I’m always so happy to read that you’re sharing books you love.
All three of these books sound good, I really like Natasha Lester. Thanks for adding to my TBR list!
Yes, I’ve read a lot of the Jodi Taylor books (and two short story collections), though, like you, I am some books behind, especially with the spin off series.
Jack Finney’s TIME AND AGAIN is an all-time favorite book of mine. Also Kem Grimwood’s REPLAY.
REPLAY–one of my all-time favorites! And I finally got it back from one of my sons. We’ve all read and enjoyed it.
Yes, I really liked Replay. Jack Finney is a favorite, no matter what he wrote.
Agree. I wonder how many fans of Finney’s time travel books know that he also wrote THE BODY SNATCHERS (filmed several times, usually as INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS).
I knew! And, I read it when I was going through my “Must read Finney” stage. I read it, along with The Woodrow Wilson Dime (1968)
Time and Again (1970)
Marion’s Wall (1973)
The Night People (1977)
From Time to Time (1995)
I also read I Love Galesburg in the Springtime. (I’ve also been to Galesburg.) I think that’s it. You’ve probably read his earlier books, which I haven’t read.
Hi – I was off last week and had a delightful time reading at the beach and at home, however, this week back at the office has been a nightmare trying to catch up. I keep saying to myself – you can only do one thing at a time! Anyway, I read from my favorite author Elizabeth George the latest Inspector Lynley book Something to Hide. She always delivers and I can understand why it takes so long between books as she really does research and puts a lot of info into each book. So highly recommend her books. I also read the latest Ruth Ware book The It Girl – keeps you guessing and is a fast read. Also as I said before – the Stanley Tucci book is a very enjoyable read so hope you have a chance to read it or listen to it. I’ve recommended it to a number of my friends and everyone has loved it.
Oh, that’s a good week, Donna, when you’re off, have relaxing and reading time. And, a new book by a favorite author. Does it get any better?
I liked the Stanley Tucci, too.
I am way behind in my reading of this series. I have book two from the library here.
My review of the first book is at https://kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/2021/04/review-death-stalks-door-county-dave.html
Aubrey also reviewed the first book on my blog at https://kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/2022/03/aubrey-nye-hamilton-reviews-death.html
Well, I got that wrong. For some reason, I thought you’d read the most recent in the series, Kevin. Thank you for clarifying that!
I read Stephen King when he writing under a different name, Thinner. I won it long ago,a used copy and loved. The book was not very frightening and some of it was funny. That may be the only Horror book for my life!
Started another book from my TBR shelves, TeaTime for the Firefly by Shona Patel. I think I put off reading because of the mostly out of focus. It is going slowly and is a long book but interesting. The main caharacterm, Layla wants to be a teacher and she thinks English pronounciation is illogial but American English makes more sense. Not likely to marry because of her bad horoscope says that she will be warlike and very independen. That reminded me that Chinese men do not want to marry a woman born under the sign of the horse (wild and uncontrollable).
Also loving an audiobook, The Queen of Tiles, by Hanna Alkaf. I heard about the book being discussed on a podcast. The main character is grieving over the death of her best friend, Tina Low, who was the Queen of the Tiles in a Maylasian Scrabble tournament. The main character, Narwa decides to win the tourament in honor of her friend. There is a murder mystery there but it takes a backseat to insights in Scrabble. I knew some already and they are true but the words that they use to play the game are spectacular. Only 8 discs only, I wish it was 16!
Carolee, Now, that’s a good audiobook or book when you wish it was twice as long!
I read a number of Stephen King’s books, including Thinner, but I stopped with Misery. That one was just too much for me.
I feel naked – my iPad broke and I’m without a device to read any of my digital books! It just up and stopped working for no apparent reason and the repair shop read its last rites. Of course I could pick up a print book (gasp) but with my eyesight as bad as it is right now, that wouldn’t be much fun. I was taking a particular medication that messed with my sight that I’ve finally weaned off so I can make a trip to the eye doctor and get some new glasses. Til then I’ve been using clip on magnifiers! Not pretty, but they work. I’ll need to visit the Apple store and see if I can afford a new iPad – or maybe smile prettily at my husband and ask for my birthday (next week)?
But I couldn’t resist this new title on Kindle – by Alicia Thompson LOVE IN THE TIME OF SERIAL KILLERS. Sounds like a lot of fun.
Sandie, I’m so sorry. Oh, yes. An early birthday present sounds wonderful. Good luck!
Here it’s stayed pretty hot. Nothing to do but endure it.
I guess I’ll have to do my list in a couple of parts.
Part 1
Stay True by Hua Hsu; A momento Mori biography about a guy’s friendship with a murder victim in Berkeley, CA. These sorts of books seem to be proliferating. Is death really so distant?
Two things stood out to me.
First the guy says he never understood the appeal of The Beach Boys, until he, my gosh, actually listened to the music.This seems a Millennial thing, to make verdicts without actually knowing what they’re talking about.
One doesn’t have to like The Beach Boys to understand their appeal. Here’s “I Get Around”
I’m getting bugged driving up and down the same old strip/I need to find a new place where the kids are hip
Yeah, My buddies and me are getting real well known/ The bad guys know us and they leave us alone
I get around/From town to town/I got a real cool head/I’m making real good bread/ I Get Around
We always take my car cuz it’s never been beat/And we never miss tricks with the girls we meet
None of the guys go steady cuz it wouldn’t be right/To leave your best girl home on a Saturday Night
I wish my teen years had been like that. Vin Diesel’s become a near billionaire using this concept.
Also, this guy is from the Bay Area of CA. He seems scared to leave it, because he’s frightened of people who live in…Sacramento? This is a condition in several Millennial biographies. Blue state kids are really that scared of their own countrymen? Sad. I blame the education system.
That is sad, Glen. It’s hard to believe people are scared to leave their hometown. Yes, I’m a Boomer, but most of us couldn’t wait to get out. Now I understand how great my hometown was, but I lived all over the country, and I’ve been in most states. I know that isn’t the point of what you’re saying, but it is sad.
I am currently reading “The Younger Wife” by Sally Hepworth and for my book club “A Distant Shore” by Karen Kingsbury. On my commute, I am listening to “Stay Awake” by Megan Goldin.
I hope you’re enjoying your books, Katherine.
Part 2:
The Blight Way by Patrick F. McManus; I’m always looking for a series to replace Bill Crider’s Dan Rhodes. Not even close.Sheriff Bo Tully is an egotistical jerk. Most of the humor is mean. There’s none of the whimsy or whistfulness of Rhodes.
Friends Like These by Kimberly McCreight; Six Ivy Leaguers go to a luxurious cabin in The Catskills to stage an intervention. People start to die mysteriously. They make every bad decision possible. I think they got into college via the Lori Loughlin method. If these are the best and brightest, God help us.
The Last Sentinel by Simon Gervais; Eight years ago, Clayton White killed the head of Iraqi Intelligence. Now his sons want revenge. There’s almost too much action, with people shooting just to be shooting sometimes. Needless to say, eventually the right people get killed.
Murder At The Beacon Bakeshop by Darci Hannah; After discovering her celebrity chef fiance cheating on her, a woman moves to Michigan, and buys a lighthouse to open a bakery. At the grand opening, the former fiance and his new fiance show up. The new fiance appears to choke on a donut and die. It is no an accident. The baker investigates, and eventuallygets to the bottom of things. It’s one of those stories, where there’s some sort of “undercover sting” going on and law enforcement knows everything happening, but nobody can do anything because of the sting. I wouldn’t be surprised if that happens a lot in real life.
I know what you mean. As a close friend, Bill is irreplaceable. Every time I read a story about feral hogs, I think how much Bill would have loved it.
I agree with both you and Jeff. I’ve read McManus, and his books don’t compare to Bill Crider’s.
And Berkeley isn’t really all that nice of a place. As college towns go, San Luis Obispo, Palo Alto, Chico, and I’ll say it…Freson are nicer towns with nicer people.
Part 3:
The Kill Squad by JT Sawyer; Cal Shepherd is on an airplane that the pilot lands on a deserted island for some of The Most Dangerous Game. His friends try to find them. The Chi-Coms try to conduct a coup in Myanmar. Everybody’s so busy running around, they don’t actually do a whole lot.
Poster Girl by Veronica Roth; A girl who was on a progovernment poster in a surveillance state was put in a gulag for 10 years. Interesting, but the author didn’t actually seem to know a lot about revolutions.
Murder on the Serpentine Bridge by Andrea Penrose; Once again, the title says it all as Wrexford and Sloane are on the trail of a secret weapon, as are anumber of world powers in 1814. Not completely ridiculous.
Tahoe Ice Grave by Todd Borg; Owen McKenna gets on the case when a Hawaiian is murdered just before committing suicide. There’s tikis around, but they don’t seem to be cursed. When I was a kid, cursed tikis seemed to be a real problem, as they were such common tropes in TV shows. Everybody from Greg Brady to Thomas Magnum encountered them. These don’t seem to be cursed. which I felt was a bit of a rip off.
Oh, Glen. That’s just funny that you felt ripped off because there were no cursed tikis. You made me laugh.