All week, I’ve been talking about what I’ve been reading as I get ready for next week’s Library Journal Day of Dialog. I’m moderating the mystery panel. Today, I’ll mention the last of the five books. In the meantime, how are you doing? What have you been reading this week? I hope you haven’t felt as if you needed to read nine books in six days.
I’m reading The Raging Storm, the third Detective Matthew Venn novel by Ann Cleeves. These are thoughtful, atmospheric books set in North Devon in England. Because I haven’t finished it as I write this, I’ll include the quick summary. I’ll review the book when it comes out in September.
Fierce winds, dark secrets, deadly intentions.
When Jem Rosco―sailor, adventurer, and legend―blows into town in the middle of an autumn gale, the residents of Greystone, Devon, are delighted to have a celebrity in their midst. But just as abruptly as he arrived, Rosco disappears again, and soon his lifeless body is discovered in a dinghy, anchored off Scully Cove, a place with legends of its own.
This is an uncomfortable case for Detective Inspector Matthew Venn. Greystone is a place he visited as a child, a community he parted ways with. Superstition and rumor mix with fact as another body is found, and Venn finds his judgment clouded.
As the winds howl, and Venn and his team investigate, he realizes that no one, including himself, is safe from Scully Cove’s storm of dark secrets.
What about you? What are you reading this week?
I’m reading with great interest 1979 by Val McDermid.
That’s one of the series I hope to get to someday, Reen.
Hello, all! Here’s what I’ve been reading this week:
The third in Joanna Schaffhausen’s excellent Detective Annalisa Vega series has everything I admire in a mystery–a canny but flawed protagonist, a credible police procedural, memorable supporting characters, a panoply of persons of interest, a challenging romantic relationship, and surprises at the end. In DEAD AND GONE, Annalisa is still feeling the effects of turning her father and brother in for a crime a number of years earlier, and it hasn’t exactly made her the most popular detective in the Chicago PD. She and her ex-husband partner are investigating the hanging of a P.I. investigating several cases when Annalisa’s niece reports that her roommate is missing. Another hanging follows. It’s a convoluted story, but I didn’t have trouble following the investigation and the action. It was a convincing conclusion, even though not everything turned out the way the reader would have liked. Highly recommended. (August)
The family drama in THE SISTER EFFECT is a bit too overwrought for my taste, although I like the author’s writing style. Sloane is an alcoholic who stole from her sister, Finley, and left her young daughter for Finley to raise, basically changing the course of Finley’s life and leaving her with a lot of bitterness. Finley loves Aubrey, now 8 years old, but she is still fighting financial issues and can’t believe her mother wants her to put it all aside and forgive Sloane. Jericho has his own construction business but is still smarting from the fact that his former wife cheated on him with his own brother, Gil, leading to a divorce and estrangement. And his mother–you guessed it–wants him to forgive Gil, Gil wants him to be his best man at his upcoming wedding, and his ex-wife wants him to plan the bachelor party. Really?! About three-quarters of the book is consumed with grumbling and moaning on all sides. There is a romantic component that comes way too late in the story, and there are some developments in the family relationships. There is also a heavy focus on alcohol addiction. I found it all a bit too bleak. I was engaged enough to finish the book, but I much preferred Mallery’s The Boardwalk Bookshop and Home Sweet Christmas, among others, so I may give the next one a try.
Mary Kay Andrews has followed up her delightful 2021 holiday-themed book, The Santa Suit, with BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CHRISTMAS, due out in September. It ‘s a charming story with a minimum of conflict–just enough to keep things lively. Kerry and her brother Murphy, both in their thirties, have packed up a load of their family farm’s Christmas trees and traveled from North Carolina to NYC to garner those high prices city dwellers are willing to pay for the perfect tree. It’s usually their father with Murphy, but he is home recuperating from a heart attack. Kerry was recently laid off from her ad director job and had returned home while planning for the next phase of her career and her life. Roughing it in the city in a tiny old trailer for a month in New York’s biting cold isn’t her idea of fun, but she soon realizes that her temporary neighbors are gradually becoming her second family, and she revives her interest in creating art–gorgeous custom wreaths and whimsical drawings. Competitors encroach on their territory and plot to dethrone them as the area’s most successful Christmas tree sellers, an elderly man takes an interest in Kerry’s drawings and later disappears mysteriously, an attractive divorced man and his young son endear themselves to Kerry, and New York displays all of its glitter and vitality when draped in festive decorations. The characters are captivating and the story satisfying. Ultimately, this reader was treated to a comfort read that makes this year’s holiday season even more highly anticipated.
Margie, there we go again enjoying some of the same books. BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CHRISTMAS was a delight!
Two out of three this week, Margie. I’ll have to try Joanne Schaffhausen’s series. And, of course, the Mary Kay Andrews. I’m wondering if there’s a reason the publicists for The Sister Effect tried to push it so much pre-publication. It doesn’t sound like anything I’d like at all. And, it doesn’t sound like anything for most of Mallery’s readers.
Hi Lesa,
I’m drafting this a day early as I will be in Edinburgh tomorrow, so if it makes even less sense than usual, that’s (maybe) why!
We’ve finally got some sunshine this morning after days of freezing temperatures, a little snow and a lot of rain and hail. I have been pounded by hailstones several times when out for a walk; not nice! But today the sun is shining, and I have already been down to the river and enjoyed the peace and quiet.
I’ve also been to our library to return PAUL TAKES THE FORM OF A MORTAL GIRL, to which I ended up awarding 5 stars as I enjoyed it more and more as I read on. I even reviewed it. Andrea Lawlor’s writing is superlative, so many flashes of genius in the language alone.
So now I’ve had to put aside what I intended to be my next book in order to read Charlie Laidlaw’s THE SPACE BETWEEN TIME. Laidlaw is an Edinburgh author who has a new book coming out, and his agent has asked if The Edinburgh Reporter would be able to do an interview with him. I don’t feel comfortable doing this unless I’ve read at least one of an author’s books – luckily The Space Between Time was in the Aberdeen library catalogue, and so far I am enjoying it.
It’s about Emma, the narrator and the only child of a very famous film star. As her father’s career becomes stratospheric, he buys a huge house in North Berwick (most desirable seaside town in East Lothian) and moves Emma and her beautiful but troubled mother into it. They had previously lived in a smart flat in Edinburgh, and Emma’s mother does not want to be marooned in NB, but she has no choice.
Emma’s grandparents are Italian, though they now live in Scotland. Her grandfather is a physicist who has developed a theory about Black Holes, but it has been widely criticised by the academic community. Emma’s father disowns his Italian origins and has changed his name from Rossini to Ross. Emma, however, loves her grandparents, and especially the family’s annual holiday in the Italian hillside village where her grandfather grew up.
The book is partly about the effects of great wealth and fame on both the individual and on his family. People have a very different image of Emma because they know who her father is, and her mother hates the limelight and certainly does not want to be president of the NB Floral Art Club, or any of the other things that people ask her to do as soon as she arrives.
She is aware – as Emma gradually becomes – that her husband is a serial philanderer and has many alternative lives away from home.
When tragedy strikes (quite literally) Emma’s world is destroyed. The book then moves forward to Emma first as a student and then as an adult working woman. The entire narrative is shot through with references to Emma’s grandfather’s ideas on the origin of the universe, string theory and plenty of other concepts that I have only even heard of because my husband’s parents were similar academics. I have absolutely no idea what any of the clever stuff means, but it seems to work in the context of the novel. I’ve got around 100 pages to go, and I’m looking forward to finding out what life holds for Emma.
Apart from that, I’ve just listened to a podcast that was new to me – OURSHELVES, which I think is something to do with Virago Press. The episode I heard was an interview with the author of SMALL PLEASURES (and several other books), Clare Chambers. She had been asked to write an introduction to a Virago re-issue of Barbara Pym’s A GLASS OF BLESSINGS (one of my favourites) and she made some really good points about Pym’s work, in particular its connections to the author’s work at an anthropological institute.
But the basic format of the podcast is that the interviewee talks about their current reads, books that have inspired them, also music and plays, poetry, etc. Chambers was an excellent subject, very modest about her own work (and I loved Small Pleasures), and eloquent and generous about the work of others. I’ll definitely listen to Ourshelves again (especially now I’ve found that it’s on Spotify.)
On Sunday we went on a tour, led by my friend Jon Reid, of some of the NUART works in Aberdeen city. Nuart is now an annual festival of street art, attracting acclaimed street artists from around the world – the next one will be in June, so this was a tour of some of the existing stuff. Despite the wind and rain I really enjoyed it – there are so many things that I’ve walked past numerous times and never noticed.
On Saturday we had the AGM of the Friends of Aberdeen Art Gallery – this was held at the Treasure Hub, which is really the store for all of the items that the gallery, the Maritime Museum and Provost Skene’s House don’t have room for, plus new acquisitions that are still being catalogued.
The curators told us that the store has about 10,000 items, compared to about 1,000 on display in the museums/gallery, and that this ratio is quite normal for a museums’ service.
Of course they do rotate the stock, and curate special exhibitions from it. They are about to do one about swimwear – they have lots of ladies’ costumes (including knitted ones – imagine!) but they are in need of some men’s trunks from times past. Apparently these are much harder to find.
The store also has all lots of paintings and ceramics, and all sorts of weird objects such as the huge helipad sign from the Brent Delta platform, a ‘tardis’ that a child and her very enterprising parents made (mostly from tinfoil) as an ‘escape vehicle’ during the Covid lockdowns, lots of vintage dresses and shoes, many dolls’ houses, a rocking horse, and a scale model of an oil rig. They are always open to donations, especially of items relevant to local and social history. It was such an interesting tour, I hope to go back for a longer one, which they do for groups.
My friend Nancy is now in France for two weeks visiting her sister, and another friend is in Japan for her son’s wedding. David is in Norway for work. So it’s pretty quiet her! But Heather is about to come and collect me so that we can drive down to Edinburgh together (she’s on grandson-sitting duty), so I will stop now.
Have a super week all, and I hope everyone is now getting better weather.
What a terrific post, as always, Rosemary. The Treasure Hub sounds fascinating. I’ve been in one small area of storage at The Metropolitan Museum. It’s as much fun as the museum itself. And, I’m still reading, a couple chapters at a time, a book I bought about behind the scenes items at museums. I love the hidden pieces. I’ll have to look to see if The Treasure Hub is in it.
The podcast, Ourselves, also sounds fascinating.
Enjoy your time in Edinburgh.
You haven’t mentioned Charlie lately. How is he?
Life has been conspiring against me reading. Despite my best efforts, I didn’t finish #TAGME for Murder by Sarah E. Burr today. That’s nothing against the book, which is the second in her trending topics series. I’m really enjoying it and can’t wait to see how it is going to end. I should be able to finish it up on Thursday.
Time isn’t always on our side, Mark. Hope life and work are both okay.
Good morning. It was a cool rainy week so I managed to finish several books.
I read an ARC of Helpless by Annette Dashofy and it was one of my favorites of the year. The latest in her Zoe Chambers series, Zoe and her police chief husband, Pete must find a murderer and save the child he kidnapped during the worst storm in years. I couldn’t put the book down.
Death Dates the Oracle by Kristen Painter. A funny paranormal romance. I enjoyed it even though it was a bit predictable.
Never Name the Dead by D.M. Rowell. Looting and murder on the Kiowa reservation in Oklahoma. The author is Kiowa and she works a lot of information about her tribe into the book. I found that as interesting as the mystery.
Sandy, I had an article about how DM Rowell’s Kiowa background influenced her debut mystery in the Sisters in Crime NorCal newsletter I edit. You may find it interesting: https://www.sincnorcal.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/November-2022-Stiletta-PDF.pdf (page 12).
Thanks, Margie
Sandy,
It’s so nice to know you enjoyed Annette Dashofy’s latest book.
Sandy, I love the Zoe Chambers series and Helpless will be my next read.
I’ve been enjoying the look at the five books for shared this week, thanks!
Beautiful weather here, so lots of time outdoors. But a heat wave is predicted starting today (April!) triggering warnings about flooding and icy waters. We visited a wetlands in Reno yesterday. The local Park Foundation is rehabilitating the area after a major new road was cut through an old golf course. First visited pre-covid, so interesting to see the changes.
I’m not a television watcher so I miss all the interesting series I read about here. But I did see MARLOWE, the 2022 neo-noir crime thriller film based on a novel, The Black-Eyed Blonde by Benjamin Black (John Banville). Stars Liam Neeson as PI Philip Marlowe – Raymond Chandler’s fictional detective. Not a great movie, but definitely interesting for the late 1930’s Hollywood setting.
EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE by Benjamin Stevenson (2022)
The author, an Australian comedian, created a clever blend of classic and modern mystery novel.
Full of asides to the audience. The best part being that the narrator can’t cheat, refreshing as I’m not a fan of the popular “unreliable narrator” gambit.
I had the opportunity to read an arc of the memoir IT. GOES. SO. FAST.: THE YEAR OF NO DO-OVERS by Mary Louise Kelly (of NPR’s All Things Considered)
When her oldest son was entering his senior year in high school, the author decides to take a year off work to show-up for all the important events in her child’s life. And write a book. Humorous and captivating, an interesting look at how a successful mother pursues her passion. But also lives a privileged life.
“I knew that I was fortunate to have a choice, when the majority of working parents do not”
BOOKWORM debut by Canadian author Robin Yeatman. Fantasy/romance – a life of daydreams with an underachieving main character. Her husband puts her on a two week reading ban (did I mention fantasy?) Not the light-hearted rom-com one might expect from the cover art or the publicity.
Hi MM,
You’re welcome! It was a way of sharing that I’m reading, but don’t have time for a book review at the moment. I finished last night!
Oh, I agree with you. I’m not a fan of “unreliable narrators” either.
Nope. I’d skip Bookworm. A two week reading ban? You said fantasy, but I think that’s horror.
I finished and really enjoyed The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley and am now reading Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane. So many new titles right now that I’m looking forward to, and lots on my hold list!
I hope to get back to The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise, Linda. Loved Small Mercies! I agree with you. So many new titles right now!
I liked the first two Venn books without really warming up to the character. I will definitely read this one.
This week I’ve been buying more books than reading books, though a couple were free (two Jeffery Farnol books recommended by Michael Dirda, I think), and the rest were $3.95 or $5.95 on the Kindle. One was the intriguing sounding reprint of three “trashy” books from the ’50s under the title TRAILER TRAMPS (by the legendary Orrie Hitt and others). There were a couple more (surprise!) short story collections by the late John Lutz. And there was the third Dispatcher book by John Scalzi.
But what are you actually reading, you ask? Well, I did read Edith Maxwell’s collection of Quaker Midwife short stories that you reviewed a couple of weeks ago, A QUESTIONABLE DEATH. I liked it and I’m thinking of getting the first book in that series from the library, as soon as I get a little breathing room. Also on the short story front is the previously mentioned HIGH CONCEPTS by Bill Pronzini, still in progress.
I am two-thirds of the way through Colin Cotterill’s THE DELIGHTFUL LIFE OF A SUICIDE PILOT, the last of his Dr. Siri Paiboun books. Dr. Siri is a great character, but I’d guess this series is not for everyone, so go back to the first in the series and try it, is my recommendation. THE CORONER’S LUNCH was the title. Dr. Siri is the National Coroner of Laos in the 1970s, though in the later books he is retired. Fun series.
Just got a notice that the final Alan Banks book by Peter Robinson is at the library, awaiting pickup.
Also reading:
Ross and Kathryn Petras, AWKWARD MOMENTS: A Lively Guide to the 100 Terms Smart People Should Know. This is a fun little book about words e’ve heard and may use without being 100% sure of their actual definition. They give you the word, the usuage, where it came from (and when) and how it should be used. Words include anathema, crepuscular, insouciant, recondite, sententious, and trope, among others. It’s a quick read and you could learn something. I did.
Also, Judy Gold, YES, I CAN SAY THAT: When THey Come for the Comedians, We Are All in Trouble. Comedian Judy Gold published this at the start of the pandemic, and she has now turned it into a one woman show, which we saw off-Broadway two weeks ago. She starts with a tribute to the early women in standup who inspired her – Phyllis Diller, Totie Fields, Joan Rivers. Again, it’s a fun, fast moving book. This was the third of her shows we’ve seen.
Jackie read the Margaret Mizushima, STANDING DEAD., and I think she liked it more than I did. She is now reading the first in a four book series by Linda Lael Miller from the ’90s about vampires, FOREVER AND A DAY.
As you said, Jeff, I haven’t really warmed to Matthew Venn, and that didn’t change with this book. I liked the storyline, but Matthew is a cold fish.
It sounds as if you and Jackie enjoy Judy Gold’s shows. I’ve never heard or seen her.
Time! We all need more reading time, don’t we?
Love Ann Cleeves so will look forward to this one when it comes out. Also thanks to Jeff as I didn’t know the last Peter Robinson book was out so I just put in a reserve on that. I read No Strangers Here by Carlene O’Connor -good mystery and it takes place in Ireland so I just love all of the different expressions they use. I hadn’t read any of her books so am glad I now discovered her. Rain expected here for the weekend so I’m glad I have books on hand.
I loved No Strangers Here, Donna, but we all know I’ll at least try books set in Ireland. I was happy with this one.
I love Ann Cleeves, too.
Good Morning! Rain is on the way but at least it won’t be in the 50’s today.
A slow reading week for me. I did finish The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell. It was about a cooking competition. I did enjoy it but wished all the contestant characters had been more fleshed out. The mystery was fairly by the book with no real surprises either.
I am halfway through When the Moon Turns Blue by Pamela Terry. It is an interesting story that is a somewhat a commentary on our divisive times. It takes place during a rare ice storm in Georgia during which a Confederate statue is knocked down. There are a lot of characters and I had not had the time to read it in big enough chunks to get them all straight in my head.
Have a great week and Happy Reading!
Happy Reading to you as well, Sharon!
I wondered about The Golden Spoon.
Stay comfortable, despite the rain.
NO TWO PERSONS by bestseller Erica Bauermeister, coming out May 2, is a charming novel that will delight book lovers — and writers. The story illustrates the truth that no two persons read the same book because no two readers bring the same life experience and viewpoint to it. A young writer completes a novel but is reluctant to try getting it published because it is so intensely HERS and she doesn’t think anyone else will receive it properly and understand her character. A writing professor and friend tells her that every book is different for everyone who reads it, and that is its true value. The rest of the book follows nine people — beginning with the harried literary agency assistant and new mother who discovers the book in the slush pile –whose lives are affected, and even dramatically altered, by having read the book. No car chases or shootouts, no murder in every chapter — this book is just pure pleasure all the way.
Also read THE WRONG GOOD DEED, Caroline Clooney’s second mystery to feature 70-something Clemmie, who has been living under a false identity for 50 years because of a threat to her life. I loved the first Clemmie book, BEFORE SHE WAS HELEN, and this one is equally enjoyable. Clemmie is surprised to discover that another woman living in the same small retirement community in SC is also living incognito because of danger to her safety — and now that danger has tracked her down. The two join forces to evade the threat, and their quick thinking and shrewd scheming lead to a satisfying conclusion. I don’t know how long Clemmie can continue to confront deadly threats in her little world, but both novels are thoroughly entertaining.
I just love the sound of No Two Persons. I think Kaye Barley said the same thing you did – pure pleasure. I’ll get to it!
Hmmm. I don’t remember Before She Was Helen. Eventually, I need to get around to it.
I know several people who have read advance copies of No Two Persons, and they all say it’s one of the best books they’ve read recently. I do think you would love it, Lesa.
Good morning, Lesa! I picked up The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore at the library, hoping for a lighter read for a change. I’m only a few pages into the book, but I already like the librarian POV character as well as the curmudgeon who’s making her work life a challenge.
Happy Thursday at Lesa’s!
Two books to recommend – one is my favorite of the year, so far.
Bright Lights, Big City by Mary Kay Andrews
“From Mary Kay Andrews, the New York Times bestselling author of The Santa Suit, comes a novella celebrating the magic of Christmas and second chances.
Newly single and unemployed Kerry Tolliver needs a second chance. When she moves back home to her family’s Christmas tree farm in North Carolina, she is guilt tripped into helping her brother, Murphy, sell trees in New York City. She begrudgingly agrees, but she isn’t happy about sharing a trailer with her brother in the East Village for two months. Plus, it’s been years, since before her parents’ divorce, that she’s been to the city to sell Christmas trees.
Then, Kerry meets Patrick, the annoying Mercedes owner who parked in her spot for the first two days. Patrick is recently divorced, a father to a six year old son, and lives in the neighborhood. Can Kerry’s first impressions about the recently divorced, single father, and–dare she say, handsome–neighbor be wrong?
Surrounded by warm childhood memories, sparkling possibility, and the magic of Christmas in the City, will Kerry finally get the second chance she needs to find herself… and maybe even find love?”
This was a delight. I love a good Christmas book.
Silence of the Seamaid by Ann Medlock
“Dive into second-wave feminism, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, gurus, hippies, Mafiosi, the Pill, the Beatles, class distinctions, astrology, but most of all, the eternal mystery of what’s going on between men and women.
Ann Medlock’s roman á clef follows Lee Palmer, a smart woman swimming solo against the powerful tides of the Mad Men era—a time not designed for a divorced mom working “outside the home.” Beset by nightmares of homelessness, Lee welcomes the safety of having a knight protector, the brilliant, charming Joe Montagna, who becomes the greatest danger she’s ever faced.
Silence of the Seamaid will piss you off and break your heart—it will also make you laugh out loud. And maybe even cheer.”
This excerpt from Elana Sztokman’s review sums it up perfectly – “Silence of the Seamaid is an engaging, enraging, and inspiring story about women and the will that it sometimes takes for them to simply live.”
This book touched me, resonated loudly, and satisfied me on multiple levels.
I cheered for Lee, even when I sometimes wanted to shake her.
I laughed with her, and cried with her. And I got angry as hell.
I admired her strengths and talents, enjoyed her curiosity, her eye for beauty, and her need for more.
Ms. Medlock’s writing has us experiencing this elegantly written story with all our senses.
This is one of those books you’ll hear me talking about, urging you to read, and placing in your hands if you don’t do it quickly enough.
It is, most especially, I think, a book that will speak to women who remember the not so distant past when women were supposed to get married. That’s it. Get married. Take care of the husband and the obligatory children. And not expect anything more out of life.
Silence of the Seamaid was published last year and is available at your favorite bookstore. It is also right now available through NetGalley.com
Kaye, With all you read, that says a lot when one book is one of your favorites of the year.
And, I agree with you. I love a good Christmas book.
Reading Hot and Sour by Vivien Chen almost finished with it. I love the Chinese food in it and am addicted to her series.
Also an e-book,,001 Old-Time Household Hints: Timeless Bits of Household Wisdom for Today’s Home and Garden by Yankee Magazine. Learned that you can use non-gel toothpaste for spackle, more than the hints, I am enjoying the wonderful pen and ink illustrations.
Had chills running through my body all evening, and finally at 11:00 p.m. they quit. Now worn and just want to sleep and read. But I have to leave for a neurology appointment this morning for another cognitive test and the PA and doctor telling me what to do. Feel like telling them to leave me alone, I am tired!
That’s another series I need to try, Carol, Vivien Chen’s. So many people love it.
Take care of yourself! Good luck with the doctor appointment.
Thank you! The appointment went OK! Will take it easy today.
Good to hear, Carol.
Hi everyone! Thanks to the hot tip that the Jeri Howard books by Janet Dawson that Lesa mentioned were available on kindle unlimited, I read the first four this week. 🙂 They were fun but I am going to take a little break for a while. I haven’t picked out what I’ll read instead though! Maybe the Christmas book a few of you mentioned.
Thanks for the reminder! I wanted to read this series also.
It is a good series, isn’t it, Trish? Like you, though, I think I needed a break. But, I’ll definitely go back to the Jeri Howard books.
It suddenly got hot. I went to Wine Down Wednesday (It’s a 6 week event) and folks were almost passing out. The band was also affected, and were only able to play three songs in the hour I was there. At least they had some decent wines.
I went to a birthday party at Thunder Valley Casino. We ate at the Chinese Restaurant there, and they forgot about us! Made us late to the concert. I didn’t really mind, as it was CantoPop, which is even worse than k-pop, IMO.
This week I read:
Boundary Waters by William Kent Kreuger; Cork O’Connor tries to find a pop star who went into the woods to find herself, and is now missing. Her country singer father wants to find, as do some FBI agents, but not for the same reasons.
The New Adventures of the Blue Circle by Brian Morris; The Blue Circle is an obscure golden age super hero, and certainly wouldn’t be my first choice for a prose revival, but these stories are pretty good for what they are.
The Sleep Lady’s Gentle Newborn Sleep Guide by Kim West; I won this in a drawing years ago. I entered because my niece and nephew were having trouble sleeping. I finally received it now that they’re in kindergarten. Oh well. Better late than never, I suppose.
Carnacki, The Ghost Finder by William Hope Hodgson; I’ve been reading Carnacki stories for months, but all revivals. I found the original stories on line, and they are a lot different than the modern stuff. A lot of the hauntings are fake, and some of the real ones occur alongside fake hauntings. A whole different vibe.
Bookman Dead Style by Paige Shelton; There’s a film festival in town, and when a movie star is accused of killing his lover, the amateur sleuth goes to work. There’s a lot of pages devoted to sister wives. Apparently polygamy is hip now. Aren’t there laws in this country?
Camera Girl by Carl Sferrazza Anthony; A biography of Jackie Kennedy delving into her college years, and early marriage to JFK. Like all books on the Kennedys, the PR machine gets in the way. I’m sorry, but scheming for ways to get ones parents to buy them a camera is not in any way “independent.”
13 Days: The Pythagorus Conspiracy by LA Starks; This is a strange series about a businesswoman in the oil business who finds that there’s all these conspiracies to take away America’s energy independence. I’m surprised they even got published in today’s atmosphere.
Last Stage to El Paso by William W. Johnstone; a stagecoach seems cursed. All the shotgun rider are killed. Red Ryan takes his turn. Just another western.
Lying Beside you by Michael Robotham; A forensic psychiatrist who lives with an Eastern European refugee, who looks like a hot teenybopper, but is really 21, and can always tell when somebody lies, has a lot going on. His brother, who killed the rest of their family during a psychotic episode, is moving back home. Somebody is killing women after shaving their heads. Everyone, especially the police, hope it’s a serial killer for the headlines, but our hero has his doubts. A lot better than I thought it would be.
Still working on SLEEPLESS CITY by Reed Farrel Coleman.
I hope you’re actually enjoying Sleepless City, Kevin, and not just “working” on it.
I absolutely am. Just having a tough time reading as my pain level is really bad right now.
I’m sorry, Kevin.
That’s interesting, Glen, that Lying Beside You turned out to be better than you expected. The plot sounds so unlikely!
Your comments about the Carnacki books attracted my attention. I think I read a couple, way back when, so now I don’t know if they were the originals or not.
I’m sorry the heat ruined your concert. Dinner doesn’t sound much better.
Air conditioning has made us weak. The band was strange anyway. As we’re standing in line, the most frequently asked question is who is the band playing. The volunteers said they thought it was a 60’s band, but it was a blues band. We heard an organ starting up, and everyone was expecting the Doors, and Jefferson Airplane, but we got blues, and not Ray Charles either. The 3 songs they played weren’t bad, but still, 3 songs in an hour…
There’s a lot of Asian music around here. I prefer songs where I have a chance of understanding the lyrics.
You’re right, Glen. Three songs in an hour is not entertaining.
Lying Beside You, #3 in the Cyrus Haven series by Michael Robotham. Just love this series…
Another series that I need to try sometime. (sigh) Thanks, Karen.
Well, it’s the end of the week, so once again we are expecting rain today and tomorrow. I have lost count of how many weeks this has been our weather pattern. Mother Nature doesn’t seem to like Fridays though.
I just completed and sent in my ballot for Anthony nominations for Bouchercon. Some categories are easier than others, when I have five selections only picked out. When I have more than five, like in Best Novel, it’s quite challenging to narrow it down to five. I like the categories for the Anthony awards because they encompass many books and stories. I really like that they include children’s/Young Adult. I can’t wait to see who has made the final cut.
In reading, I have a few more chapters to go in Blackstone Fell by Martin Edwards, the third Rachel Savernake book. This one is mainly set in 1930 in the isolated Yorkshire village of Blackstone Fell, which has boundaries including a moor and a deceptively dangerous river. Nell Fagan is a London journalist who is interested in some disappearances from the village, one as far back as 300 years ago. She is also interested in the Sanatorium located in this village, as its purpose and operations are controlled closely by its owners. There’s a mysterious gatehouse and tower in play, too. Rachel, who is an enigma in herself, is intensely interested in solving puzzles, some of which are murders, and she becomes involved in the disappearances and deaths surrounding the village. Jacob Flint, head of the crime desk at one of the Fleet Street in London newspapers knows both Nell and Rachel. In fact, he’s one of the few people Rachel Savernake will allow into her closely knit group of herself and her three servants. He acts as an intermediary between Nell and Rachel. He is also on a project much pushed by the editor of his paper to discredit the mediums or spiritualists who are milking the grieving who long to hear the voice of their dearly departed one more time. I loved the atmospheric element of this book, both the village with its sinister aspect and the other worldly connection of the spiritualists (although it’s not at all a paranormal books or even close). Martin Edwards is one of those authors and people I most admire in the mystery/crime fiction community, and he is such an expert in its history.
I will be starting my friend Annette Dashofy’s Helpless, the latest Zoe Chambers mystery. I so love this series. When we had the lockdowns in 2020, it was this series that kept me sane. I read all the ones out through several months of that year, and for a short bit I was able to escape all the doom and gloom around me. Annette, while still writing the Zoe series, has a new series out, too. Where the Guilty Hide is the first in the Detective Honeywell series, and it promises to be another great series from Annette.
I have to mention my TV or streaming watching. So many people are enthralled with the new show The Diplomat, starring Rufus Sewell and Keri Russell. Well, I could watch Rufus Sewell read the phone book, but, luckily, this show lives up to its hype. My husband and I both are watching it and have one more episode to go. We’re hoping for a second season. I’m excitedly awaiting season 3 of Happy Valley with Lancashire. I came to this show late, just having watched the first two seasons last month. This proved to be a good decision, as season two was in 2016, and it’s taken this long for writer Sally Wainwright to get back to it.
Kathy, Did you see Sandy’s earlier comment that she loved Helpless? I’m sure you will, too.
You’re right. Something in the spring doesn’t like weekends. And, where’s the 70 degree weather that we’re supposed to average this time of year? Blah.
I haven’t tried any books from the Matthew Venn series by Ann Cleeves, but I do want to try the first one some time. I have read 4 books from the Shetland series and a few books from two of her other series. So I know I like her writing.
Last week Jennifer commented that she was reading the books in the Bill Slider mystery series by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. I used to love that series but got side-tracked and I decided to pick up the series again with BODY LINE, the 13th book in the series. I had just finished a very violent and dark police procedural and I wanted to go in the opposite direction. I enjoyed BODY LINE very much, and liked reading about Bill Slider’s family again.
I also finished THE ECHOING STRANGERS by Gladys Mitchell book, which I have been doing as a group read. It was good, with an unusual ending.
Tracy, Those Bill Slider books are excellent palate cleansers after something violent and dark, aren’t they? I love the humor with crimes that are taken seriously.
Hey Lesa, I am currently listening to Happy Place by Emily Henry. My print books are Reef Road by Deborah Goodrich Royce and Once Upon a Tome by Oliver Darkshire.
I’ve read two out of three, Katherine, and I have Happy Place. Maybe I’ll get to that soon!