Yes, I’m frantically reading for both moderating a panel and reviews for Library Journal. But, I took time to walk a couple days this week in parks here in the Columbus area. My sister, her dog, and I go. They could walk for a much longer time than I can, but I’m glad they drag me along, and get me out of the house. And, yesterday we went to a pumpkin patch while we were out, so she could buy decorative pumpkins. Depending on the weather and the Ohio State game, we might even go to a festival this weekend.
I’m currently reading Lisa Gardner’s March release, Still See You Everywhere. That’s one of the books we’ll be discussing on the panel I”m moderating. It’s the third Frankie Elkin book. Here’s what it says on Gardner’s website about this series.
Frankie Elkin looks for the missing the world has forgotten, starting with a Haitian teen who mysteriously vanishes in broad daylight in Boston in BEFORE SHE DISAPPEARED, then heading to the wilds of Wyoming in a desperate search for a lost hiker in ONE STEP TOO FAR, before her toughest challenge yet on a remote island in the Pacific in STILL SEE YOU EVERYWHERE.
I think my brother-in-law will like this series if he hasn’t read it yet.
What about you? What are you reading this week? How is October treating you?
Things are going well here. Just had some rain. It’ll be nice if we can get through October without any wild fires.
This week I read:
Cold Vengeance by Preston and Child; I recently read the sequel to this book. Such is my reading life. Pendergast finds out his wife isn’t dead, while his brother in law tries to kill him. I’m glad I get along with my brother in law a little better than that.
The Diva Haunts The House by Krista Davis; Sophie is constructing a Haunted House for charity, while her arch rival, homewrecker Natalie, is having the biggest Halloween party in town. A body is found at the party, with vampire bite marks on his neck. Pretty soon, we have a full blown vampire panic, while Sophie tries to solve the murder. I really enjoyed this one.
Shout At The Devil by Wilbur Smith; The movie, starring Lee Marvin, Roger Moore, and Jayne Seymour is better remembered, but this is a boys’ own adventure that would never be published today.
Tokyo Torpedo by Edwyn Gray; Another book that would never be published today. Piccadilly War novel about a Nazi who goes to Japan to acquire top secret submarine technology, to bring the Allies in the Pacific to a standstill… and if the Japanese won’t let him have the tech, he’ll have to take it!
Ghosts of the Wilderness by Daniel Toujours; A guy goes on various hikes, and tells us about the nature he sees. He particularly likes the desert. To each their own.
It would be wonderful if you could get through October without wildfires. Keeping fingers crossed, Glen.
The Diva Haunts the House is probably my favorite in that series, and I’ve read them all. Much better than some of the more recent ones.
Loved that final comment. I guess it can sum up all our reading. “To each their own.”
Glen is right–we’ve had some rain, and the temperatures have gotten much cooler. Tomorrow morning it’s supposed to be 48 or 50 degrees at 8:00 when I walk. Just a few days ago I was walking in short sleeves. I love the change in the weather. Lesa, I know you love summer, but I am Team Autumn! Here’s what I finished this week:
Holmes, Marple, and Poe–that’s Brendan Holmes, Margaret Marple, and Auguste Poe–are three well-to-do NYC private investigators working and living together to solve crimes in James Patterson’s and Brian Sitts’ HOLMES, MARPLE, and POE. Their individual skills will remind the reader of their famous namesakes, but how they got together and why their names don’t appear on any government records remains a mystery. This book is clearly intended to be the first in a series, and I expect the format will be similar in future books. Together and separately, the PIs are working on a few cases simultaneously–here they are a cold-case murder in their new digs, a kidnapping, an art theft, and a plethora of human skeletons discovered in a subway tunnel. Their methods may not always be strictly legal, but they have good connections and seem to operate with little fear. The story is told in a mostly breezy manner using Patterson’s signature short chapters, so it is a quick, easy read. There will be a lot of opportunity to expand on the backgrounds and idiosyncrasies of each of the trio, as we end the book without knowing much about any of them. I think the book would have benefited by including more depth about the protagonists and what makes them tick. I also look forward to learning more about their amazing new assistant, as well as the female NYPD police lieutenant who used to be an FBI agent. Just a minor detail–two of the PIs are named after fictional characters and one after a real author. Making them all one or another would have made more sense (to me, at least). I will be interested to see where the series goes and whether Brendan, Margaret, and Auguste are fleshed out further into complex characters to engage with and root for. (January)
Sujata Massey’s Perveen Mistry Novels continue to be an outstanding historical mystery series. In THE MISTRESS OF BHATIA HOUSE, the fourth installment, set in 1922 in India, Perveen is still the sole female lawyer in Bombay, working in her father’s firm. Because women weren’t permitted to take the test to secure their law degree or be a member of the bar association, she was not allowed to speak in court. Women could, however, work with clients and do research, and that is where Perveen excels. But she is constantly reminded of the prejudices–and sometimes hostility–against female lawyers and often prevented from gaining the entry and information she needs. In this book, Perveen focuses her attention on Sunanda, a young woman employed as an ayah (governess) for the influential Bhatia family. She is injured when she rescues one of the children from a fire but is soon summarily dismissed and arrested when the police receive a report from a man outside of the family that she has had an illegal abortion. Realizing that Sunanda cannot even count on her own family for support, Praveen goes above and beyond to help her, despite overwhelming roadblocks. What makes these novels special to me is the immersion into the life of women–both wealthy and penniless–of that time in India. I felt every bit of Praveen’s frustration as she fights for the rights of women, both legal and medical, in the face of seemingly relentless opposition and lack of respect. I also enjoy learning more about her personal life, including her separation from her husband and her forbidden romantic relationship with a white man. I will continue to look for more books in this ultra-satisfying series.
I found out only after reading THE CATCH that it is the third in Amy Lea’s influencer series, but it works well as a standalone. Melanie is a Boston fashion influencer who is told that her content may be getting a bit stale. So she jumps at the opportunity of an all-expenses-paid week in small-town Nova Scotia, photographing Canadian local color for her blog. But thanks to a booking error, she finds herself staying in a rundown hotel with Lucy, a welcoming front desk clerk and Evan, a definitely NOT welcoming hulk of a lobster fisherman. Mel has always kept things inside after her mother abandoned her and her younger brother Julian and her father passed away–wary about making new connections so she can avoid more loss in her life. Even her close friends (protagonists of the previous books in the series) don’t know everything about her. The story focuses on Melanie’s initial reluctance to meet the challenges of a new environment, not to mention a hostile man. This is a romance, so we can guess what happens, but it’s a lot of fun getting there. Evan, the fisherman (and so much more), is a terrific romantic foil. Lucy and Evan’s relatives are embroiled in difficult family dynamics, but they can be a hoot as well. Julian turns out to be a surprising character, and Melanie’s friends in Boston are cute and supportive. I thought Melanie’s background could have been enhanced a bit more, but overall It’s a faux romance story that evolves delightfully into something else entirely. Now I’m thinking seriously about looking for the first two books in the series. (February)
MARGIE: I also really enjoy reading Sujata’s historical series. I had never heard of Amy’s books, and will search for THE CATCH. I spent a week on vacation in Nova Scotia in late June, so I am curious to see where her book is set.
Grace, I also picked an Amy Lea novel as an Amazon First Read this month, so I am interested to see how I like that one.
I thought Holmes, Marple, and Poe sounded interesting, Margie, until you said there isn’t enough background for the characters. I would have found that frustrating.
Margie – I recently finished book two (The Satapur Moonstone) in the Perveen Mistry Novels. Nice to know I a couple more to enjoy. Thanks
It’s cooling off in So Cal, too. I hate it!! And it is getting windy. Debating about running tomorrow or waiting until Friday when it’s supposed to be less windy.
I’m currently just over half way through MISTLETOE AND MURDER by Connie Berry. It’s a novella in her Kate Hamilton series. Obviously, it is set at Christmas, but Kate is getting ready to marry Tom on Christmas Eve while also worrying about an acquaintance who has disappeared. I’m very anxious to find out what is going on and if they can solve it before the wedding.
I agree with you, Mark. I’d keep the warmer weather for the rest of the year – at least in the 70s. It’s chilly here in the mornings, and we’re expecting rain today.
Connie Berry’s series is one of my favorites.
After record-breaking heat on Oct 3-4 (31C/88F) in Ottawa, we have had 6 days of cool rainy weather with highs of only 8-12C/46-53F. This dreary weather put a damper on our Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, but that meant I spent more time reading this week.
I finished listening to THE LONGMIRE DEFENSE by Craig Johnson (Longmire #19). This is probably Walt’s most personal case with him investigating a 70-year old cold case death involving his late estranged grandfather & his associates. I like this book better than the previous one, HELL AND BACK.
I started listening to EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE by Benjamin Stevenson. Blogger pals Dru Ann Love & BOLO Books’ Kristopher Zgorski both loved this quirky story, and I understand why.
I am a long-time reader of the Faith Fairchild culinary mystery series by Katherine Hall Page. THE BODY IN THE WEB is book #26 in the series. But it’s unique book with the story taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic’s beginnings & continuing a year later with vaccinations. This is probably one of the better books I have read which deals with how the pandemic has affected every day life.
And I am just starting to read OVERDUE OR DIE by Allison Brook. It is Haunted Library mystery series book #7. Librarian Carrie Singleton has a lot on her plate, including searching for a wedding venue & supporting her great-uncle Bruno who has suffered a heart attack. There’s also a stolen art conspiracy & the opening of the new library auditorium thrown in the mix. I really enjoy this series.
Grace, Thank you for telling us a little about what’s happening in Ottawa. I’m sorry the weather put a damper on the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend.
I thought The Body in the Web was one of the best in the Faith Fairchild series. I agree with you. Katherine Hall Page did a wonderful job reminding us of that early time with COVID.
What a surprise – they’re predicting another rainy Saturday here. I hope it starts late as Jackie wants to go to the farmers’ market downtown for apples. But in the meantime, it’s nice – 69 and sunny yesterday.
She read book 8 (she’s 5 behind) in Linda Castillo’s Kate Burkholder series, AMONG THE WICKED, and said it was the most vicious one yet, with Kate going undercover in what is virtually an Amish cult group and nearly getting herself killed. She started the new J.D. Robb book last night, and I already have the new Thursday Club Murder book on her Kindle for her to read next.
I finished the Ed Hoch collection I was reading last time, LEOPOLD’s WAY, and before I read the new one I’m reading THINGS GET UGLY: THE BEST CRIME STORIES OF JOE R. LANSDALE, chosen by the man himself. He is always worth reading, and these are no exception, especially “Driving to Geronimo’s Grave” and “Mr. Bear” so far.
I read the third (and final, so far at least) of John Scalzi’s Dispatcher series, THE DISPATCHER: TRAVEL BY BULLET, a post-Pandemic book which has Tony Valdez back at his job at a hospital and trying to protect a friend and fellow dispatcher, whose recklessness could get him killed. Short and fast read.
In between library books, I thought I’d pick up the next Slider book in Cynthia Harrod-Eagles’ series, KILL MY DARLING, and read it first. Too early to see where it’s going, but I’m assuming the missing paleontologist is not going to have a happy ending.
A couple of weeks ago, a friend reviewed a ten year old book on her blog that was right up my alley, a book that somehow totally escaped me when it first came out and ever since, THE BOYS ON THE BOAT: NINE AMERICANS AND THEIR EPIC QUEST FOR GOLD AT THE 1936 BERLIN OLYMPICS by David James Brown. The central character is Joe Rantz, who had a tough childhood (mother died when he was young, nasty stepmother made his father send him away, etc.) before discovering rowing at the University of Washington. I’ve read about 20% so far, and as my friend so rightly put it, Brown turns improbable material into a real page turner – the Depression, the Dust Bowl, the rise of the Nazis, etc. There is a long-delayed movie (directed by George Clooney) coming this Fall, but if you have any interest in books like SEABISCUIT and haven’t read this one, try it. Or maybe you read it ten years ago and I am the only latecomer to it.
Have a good week, everyone.
No, Jeff. I haven’t read The Boys in the Boat either, although I did enjoy Seabiscuit, both the book and the movie. I thought the book was better.
I think I have a Nora Roberts book in my TBR pile. I tend to read her as J.D. Robb more than Nora Roberts, but this one sounded good.
Hope you can get to the farmers’ market before the rain. We had hoped to go to an Apple Butter Festival on Saturday, but they’re predicting rain here, too.
Jackie said the change in tone from the dark Amish book to the warm beginning of the J.D. Robb (in Ireland for their Anniversary) was startling, in a good way. The Robbs usually start with a murder.
You’re right. The Robb’s do usually start with a murder. I enjoyed the opening in Ireland.
Jeff, I’ve never read any Cynthia Harrod-Eagles books, though by coincidence I saw one on our library’s sale table this morning. I considered buying it but it was just so BIG. It was called THE WINDING ROAD. Would you recommend this author?
Rosemary, I really enjoy Cynthia Harrod-Eagles’ Bill Slider mystery series. I have not read her other series, but plan to one day.
I’ve never read her historical family saga books. But her mysteries I would definitely recommend, as would Lesa, I know. Her main character is Ch. Insp. Bill Slider, and he and his team are very good characters, even to the malaproping boss. Their personal lives get mentioned, but don’t interfere with the police work.
Good morning. Like Jeff, we’re in for another rainy Saturday. I think it’s rained four Saturdays in a row now. A local playhouse is putting on a musical version of Carrie and we may go see it just to get out of the house.
I just finished an ARC of THAT OTHERS MAY LIVE by Sara Driscoll. Meg, her dog Hawk, and her fellow FBI search and rescue teams are called to the site of an apartment collapse in Washington DC to search for survivors. At the same time, experts are trying to determine the cause of the collapse.
This is a tense, emotional book told mostly from the point of the first responders and I found it really hard to put down.
Sandy, I read That Others May Live. It had more of an impact on me, knowing the authors based it on the collapse in Florida.
I don’t blame you for wanting to get out of the house. Rain is expected here at any time, so I don’t know if we’ll walk today, or not. But, we have a musical show on Sunday night, and I”m looking forward to that.
I am nearly finished with MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING by Viktor E. Frankl. Not a new book but one that truly matters. As for October, I’ll post a blog tomorrow about ghost fiction.
http://jacquelineseewald.blogspot.com
Thank you for the link to your blog, Jacqueline! I’ll have to check it out.
For some reason, Rosemary’s post didn’t come through this morning, so she sent it to me to post. I’m glad she emailed because I would hate to miss one of her posts from Scotland.
Good morning from Aberdeenshire, where it is a sunny 48F. The sky is blue, the birds are singing, and this really is one of my favourite times of the year.
I finally finished Mary Stewart’s THE MOONSPINNERS, which I wrote about last week, but I really had to force myself through the second half of the book. It just went on and on, the plot ever more ridiculous and the descriptions of Cretan flora and fauna feeling as though they would never end. I don’t know if I have just grown out of Stewart or if this is one of her weaker novels – but may people have given it four and five star reviews, so it’s most likely just me.
I’m now re-reading HOLIDAY AT THE DEW DROP INN by Eve Garnett. I’m sure I’ve mentioned THE FAMILY FROM ONE END STREET before; this is the third book in the trilogy. I’ve loved these books since I was a child, and I’m glad to say they hold up really well decades later. Garnett could have taught Stewart a few things about economy in scene setting and description too.
In this instalment Kate, the imaginative and ambitious second daughter of the Ruggles family, is thrilled to be returning to the Dew Drop Inn by herself, having contracted measles earlier in the summer. In those days measles involved a stay in an isolation hospital and a lengthy convalescence, but Kate is now feeling fine, and is absolutely delighted to be staying with Mr & Mrs Wildgoose and meeting up with her old friends (and a few adversaries) in the village.
My mother was evacuated in the war to a tiny village in the Welsh valleys, where she stayed with a childless couple. At home she was the youngest of five in a very poor family. Like Kate she loved being on her own and the centre of attention, and if she had had her way she would never have returned to the slums of London. To me, as an only child, being sent away would have been horrifying, but I suppose if you feel overlooked and misunderstood in a family that’s just scraping by, this is heaven.
It’s hard to explain what makes these little books so special. They are not in the least twee or sentimental, but I think Garnett had a wonderful ability to see things from a child’s point of view. Kate, for all her dreaminess, is tough and takes no nonsense from the naughty village boy who wants to beat her in the village flower show, nor from the spoilt child of the head gardener at the big house who looks down her nose at this skinny, shabbily dressed incomer.
Both of these books are part of my contribution to the #1962club. I’m hoping also to read Sylvia Plath’s JOHNNY PANIC AND THE BIBLE OF DREAMS, but I may be being a tad ambitious there.
Last weekend we had atrocious weather with widespread flooding across Scotland, especially in the west. Our son and daughter-in-law live in Aviemore, which was very badly affected, but thank goodness their house is on a new development to the north of the village and far enough away from the Spey river to avoid any problems. Our son was working with the ambulance service all day and says the roads were terrible – he and his partner only got back to base at 7.45pm, almost two hours after they would normally have finished their shift.
We were driving to Edinburgh to repatriate Charlie, and I must say I was frightened on the motorway, so much surface water and so many people driving at ridiculous speeds. Thankfully we got there, and indeed back on Sunday. We were anxious to see if our own burn had flooded, but although it was high and very fast, it had remained well below the garden wall. The Dee itself flooded in several places, but since the weekend the weather has been dry and the water levels are quickly subsiding.
On our way back up the road we thought we would stop at South Queensferry (the town just before the Forth bridges) for a cup of tea. We drove down the *very* narrow road to the main street, wondered why there was so much traffic – then discovered that there was a charity event taking place, with people abseiling down the bridge columns. It took us so long to get out again that we thought our hopes of tea were scuppered, but luckily the café at Hopetoun House Garden Centre was open – I’ve rarely been so pleased to see a teapot and a slice of ginger cake. Hopetoun House itself dates from the 17th century but was mainly designed by Robert Adam in the 18th. Nowadays it’s a tourist attraction and wedding venue, but the Hope family still lives in part of it.
Yesterday Nancy and I decided to try one of the trails that the council has devised around the city. They have published a whole series of leaflets highlighting various aspects of Aberdeen and its environs, each one focusing on a different topic.
The one we did was ‘sculptures and monuments’ and it was really quite shocking to realised how many of these things I had been walking past and not seeing for 30+ years. Statues are of course a controversial subject, at least here in the UK, but most of the ones in town are fairly OK – Robert Burns, William Wallace (who probably never came to Aberdeen at all, but someone wrote a book that convinced a lot of people he did), and some much more modern sculptures, including an amazing leopard designed by Andy Scott, whose other projects include the huge kelpies that rise above the main Glasgow – Edinburgh road. The leopard is apparently a symbol of regeneration. It was a fun morning (interspersed with coffee, of course…) and I hope we’ll find time to do this again.
Tomorrow I am attending the preview night for a new exhibition at the art gallery, Constructed Narratives, featuring three well known artists, Lennox Dunbar, Ian Howard and Arthur Watson, who were all educated at Aberdeen Grammar School. I am also on the panel to select the next three recipients of the gallery’s micro-commissions, so I am working my way through the 13 applications just now – it’s very interesting to find out about the various proposals.
Jeff, what have you been watching on TV? I started Irvine Welsh’s CRIME, about a troubled (of course!) police detective and his sensible (of course!) female colleague who are attempting to find the killer of a young girl snatched on her way to school. Meanwhile two French nationals have been murdered in their beds in the Old Town; their deaths look to have resulted from sex games gone wrong, but I somehow doubt that this will be the final solution. And are the three deaths connected – in particular, are they the work of The Confectioner, who was ostensibly caught years ago, but was very likely not the man in prison for these crimes?
There are lots of themes going on in Crime; corrupt politicians, the independence movement, the sharp contrast between Wester Hailes, the deprived area of Edinburgh where the girl’s family lived, and the New Town, where politicians, businessmen and those with inherited wealth spend their time hobnobbing and giving each other self-satisfied pats on the back.
I’m enjoying it so far.
I finished THE BEAR and loved it. I’m glad they seem to be making a third series. Every actor is good, but I was especially impressed by Ayo Edebiri, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Oliver Platt.
Next week we’re off down to Edinburgh (again…) to see WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, a band from Cornwall that David really likes.
We have quite a few concerts coming up, but I’m glad to say some of them are in Aberdeen, so we won’t have to brave the motorway quite so often as the winter weather comes on.
Have a good week all – enjoy your walks, Lesa!
Rosemary, I’m sorry, too, that your mother had to return to London after her brief time as an only child. That must have been difficult.
So Charlie is home again. I miss Charlie stories since I don’t have a cat anymore myself. Someday.
Why are statues a controversial subject, other than ones that were built about slaveholders? I would imagine so many from history are now problematic.
Thank you for sharing your accounts of the flooding, your walks, your travels. I enjoy it!
Thanks for posting for me Lesa – I’ve just written a reply to Jeff and it posted no trouble, so goodness knows what was happening earlier.
Rosemary – your adventures in South Queensferry gave me the feeling of being immersed in a novel wondering what was going to happen next. And I appreciate your mention of THE BEAR. My library has a reading list for “fans of The Bear”, now I know the context.
Oh I’d love to know what your library recommends MM. The Bear is set in a (fictional) restaurant in Chicago. It’s very fast paced, and focuses as much on family (real and found) as food, though the scenes in the kitchen are also very well done, and have certainly shown me how much I’d hate working in one!
Yes, our time in South Queensferry did start to feel a bit like a Kafka novel – there was no escape. We definitely regretted taking that turn off the ring road!
Rosemary I’ll send the lengthy list of the suggestions to Lesa, hopefully she can forward on to you. Probably generated off a few key words.
Rosemary, we once spent the night in South Queensferry, but it was a Trust House Forte hotel. My friend Bob and I would go bookhunting all day, and our wives insisted on a nice hotel and good dinner at the end of the day. I remember the profiteroles at this hotel in particular.
Another time, Jackie and I stayed at a hotel (I think it was the same chain) that was NEXT DOOR to the Edinburgh Zoo, and we heard the lions roaring all night! For those (most, I guess) who don’t know this zoo, it is on a steep hill and you walk up halfway on one side, and then down the other side. Good zoo.
Rosemary, yes! We are also watching CRIME and also enjoying it a lot, despite the dark theme. It was startling, I must admit, seeing how huge Ken Stott has gotten since his Rebus days. I think that Jamie Sives, who plays a deliberately obnoxious cop, also plays a cop in ANNIKA (series two starts here Sunday). I love the Edinburgh scenes, especially as they show various ends of the town, several of which I recognized. I will be curious to see who The Confectioner is.
Oh that’s brilliant that we’re both watching CRIME Jeff!
I agree, Ken Stott looks so different that at first I thought he was dressed up to look old and huge, but I really don’t think so, I think that’s how he must be now.
Jamie Sives is good, isn’t he? He looks entirely different IRL, and apparently went to Leith Academy with none other than Mark Bonnar.
I’m glad you’re enjoying the Edinburgh scenes. And I’m glad this programme is showing some of the dreadful parts as well as the areas the tourists see. Wester Hailes and Saughton are not great, although Wester Hailes improved quite a bit when Polish people started to come over and were housed there. They really raised the standard of community life and looked after their properties. Wester Hailes is actually alongside the canal – in other parts of the city people pay a premium for properties overlooking the water, so WH could be really good if it had more investment and support. There are some initiatives going on over there, but of course their funding is always being cut as the council desperately tries to manage its budget and meet the enormous costs of providing social care for an aging population.
One more: Derek Riddell. We just saw him as the ex-husband in HAPPY VALLEY and Siobhan Finneran’s controlloing boyfriend in A CONFESSION, but man, is he sleazy here, or what? So nice to see his wife take a bat to him.
After a couple cloudy days it’s below freezing this morning. Mentally I’m in no way ready for winter, but today is forecast to be sunny and 70. And then the clouds move back in to frustrate any number of photographers hoping to record the ‘Ring of Fire’ eclipse Saturday morning.
An eclectic reading week for me.
I’ve been waiting for Amy Chua’s fiction debut THE GOLDEN GATE since it was first mentioned here earlier this year. To quote jacket intro: “A sweeping, evocative, and compelling historical thriller that paints a vibrant portrait of a California buffeted by the crosswinds of a world at war and a society on the brink of massive change.” I found it an interesting look at the Bay Area circa 1940’s and a well-plotted murder mystery.
Claire Pooley’s recent novel, Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting, was such an enchanting read, I decided to read her first novel, THE AUTHENTICITY PROJECT from 2020. The story is about a notebook that brings together six strangers and leads to unexpected friendship. Same general concept in both novels, but interesting to see the improvement in the second.
Also finished reading a Martin Edwards edited collection of classic mystery short stories that I’ve been enjoying, THE MEASURE OF MALICE. Subtitled Scientific Detection Stories, they all feature scientific or technical know-how in the mystery. Some are terribly dated, but I enjoyed most.
And a recent novel THE LIBRARIAN by Patrick DeWitt
A retired librarian passing his solitary days surrounded by books and small comforts. I’m not quite sure what to make of it. Almost a series of short stories that bring the reader back around to the beginning “the human landscape in all its odd detail”. Interesting and well-written, but I’m more comfortable with a stronger plot.
Perusing the recently published list “The 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books of All Time” (From the editors of Time magazine with the assistance of a panel of celebrated authors)
I’m going to try to fill in some gaps in my mystery reading starting with Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers (1935).
Happy Friday the 13th tomorrow!
Right there with you, MM. Not at all ready for winter or those colder temperatures.
I had a lot of issues with those best mystery and thriller books. I prefer an older list done by the Crime Writers Association. I understand why there are so many contemporary titles on the list. I just wonder if they’ll stand the test of time.
After the horrible book I read last week, I had to go with an author that I knew was good and read Zero Days by Ruth Ware – her book The Woman in Cabin 10 is still one of my favorites. This was good too – all about the world of cyber hacking – very timely. I highly recommend you get another cat – that’s what will make your home complete!
I agree, Donna, that it will feel complete with a cat. But, right now, it’s good to be able to just close up and go to Mom’s for a few days. I’m doing that at the end of next week, and probably at Christmas..
Difficult to concentrate. We looked at the apartment but don’t think we can afford it. Will ask if we can get a one bedroom one. James is going back to the idea of Las Vegas!
Mornin’, everyone!
My “Pick of the Week” was JOHN LEWIS by Raymond Arsenault
Description from NetGalley –
“The first full-length biography of civil rights hero and congressman John Lewis
For six decades John Robert Lewis (1940–2020) was a towering figure in the U.S. struggle for civil rights. As an activist and progressive congressman, he was renowned for his unshakable integrity, indomitable courage, and determination to get into “good trouble.”
In this first book-length biography of Lewis, Raymond Arsenault traces Lewis’s upbringing in rural Alabama, his activism as a Freedom Rider and leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, his championing of voting rights and anti-poverty initiatives, and his decades of service as the “conscience of Congress.”
Both in the streets and in Congress, Lewis promoted a philosophy of nonviolence to bring about change. He helped the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders plan the 1963 March on Washington, where he spoke at the Lincoln Memorial. Lewis’s activism led to repeated arrests and beatings, most notably when he suffered a skull fracture in Selma, Alabama, during the 1965 police attack later known as Bloody Sunday. He was instrumental in the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and in Congress he advocated for racial and economic justice, immigration reform, LGBTQ rights, and national health care.
Arsenault recounts Lewis’s lifetime of work toward one overarching goal: realizing the “beloved community,” an ideal society based in equity and inclusion. Lewis never wavered in this pursuit, and even in death his influence endures, inspiring mobilization and resistance in the fight for social justice.”
Excellent!!
I’m getting a little political here, Kaye, and saying we lost such important people to age and health – people who could compromise, or wouldn’t compromise when it came to important things such as voters’ rights. This country missed them.
Walks are wonderful, even short ones. 😀
I’m reading While Time Remains by Yeonmi Park. Park and her mom escaped from North Korea when Park was young, going through China where they were treated brutally before ending up in South Korea. Eventually she came to the U.S. and became a citizen. She loves this country and its promise but warns of things that seem to be going wrong. The book is both uplifting and a little alarming.
After what she saw, I’m sure Yeonmi Park is alarmed, Patricia.
We had a wonderful walk today, a couple miles. That might be it for a while since we’re both going to be busy next week. But, it was good.
Hi Lesa, I just finished What Remains by Wendy Walker (not my favorite of hers). I am currently reading The Trade Off by Sandie Jones and Dead and Gondola by Ann Claire (Christie bookshop mystery). My current audio is a netgalley of The Last Close Call by Laura Griffin.
How are the Christie Bookshop mysteries, Katherine? I haven’t read any of them yet.
Lesa, I’m not enjoying. It’s slow moving and not holding my interest. I haven’t picked it up since Wednesday. Going back to some of my others on my tbr.
Katherine, I am curious how you are faring with Dead and Gondola. So far I am underwhelmed and struggling to finish.
Sharon, I understand what you’re talking about. I have not had the urge to pick it up in a few days. May turn it back into the library and get back to the other 100+ on my tbr.
Well, you and Sharon answered that question, Katherine. I won’t be looking for those books.
Walking in parks in Columbus sounds really nice, Lesa. It has been a week of doctor’s appointments for us. Just normal stuff, including the Covid vaccine tomorrow afternoon. And next week the cat even goes to the vet for her annual visit.
Last week I finished reading GREENWOOD, a book by a Canadian author (and set in Canada). It is a multigenerational family story with a focus on nature and ecology, especially trees, old growth forests, and climate change. It was a fantastic story, starting in the future, 2038, and going back through generations to 1908. Long, at 501 pages, but for once I did not mind that.
Then I read a much shorter (150 pages) novel in the Nero Wolfe series by Rex Stout. I read it for the 1962 Club that Rosemary mentioned. The novel was Gambit, and of Stout’s over 30 novels it is not my favorite, but I was glad to read it again. It is the only one of the novels that I remember exactly who the culprit is, so it has been a long time since I reread it. I enjoyed it. Archie Goodwin, Wolfe’s assistant, is a wonderful narrator.
Glen finished the book he was reading last week, SOLDIER, SAILOR, FROGMAN, SPY, AIRMAN, GANGSTER, KILL OR DIE: How the Allies Won on D-Day by Giles Milton. He liked it a lot, gave it five stars. Then he read THE THIN MAN by Dashiell Hammett. He had expected it to be more like the film; the plotting and the characters were very different. Now he is reading THE GHOST SHIPS OF ARCHANGEL: The Arctic Voyage That Defied the Nazis. It is about a convoy taking supplies to the Soviet Union to the port of Archangel; this book focuses on four Allied ships that separated from the convoy and went further north to avoid Nazi bombers and U-boats. Sounds like an interesting read.
Hope your weekend will be nice and fun, whatever you decide to do.
There are a lot of Metro Parks in the system, Tracy, so we have a lot of choices. Today, we walked for a couple miles. Linda and Ginger (her dog) could probably do much more than I can, but we enjoy our walks.
I love Rex Stout’s books, as you said, even the poorer ones are good.