I stayed up one night to finish The Memory Library this week, but I really spent a couple days celebrating my birthday instead of reading. On Tuesday, I spent time on the phone with family and friends, and then went to my sister’s for my birthday dinner and cake. On Wednesday, my Mom and other sister came down and we sat and talked, went out to lunch, and then came back home for homemade brownies (mmmm) and ice cream. Thanks to my family for the celebrations, Kevin for my birthday dinner, and Christie for the brownies, as well as the nice gifts, including flowers. So, that’s what I did the last couple days. Now, as I”m writing this, we’re under a tornado watch until 4 AM.
I’m currently reading Black Tunnel White Magic by Rick Jackson and Matthew McGough. It’s true crime, with an introduction by Michael Connelly because it was one of his early stories as a crime reporter. Rick Jackson was one of the two detectives that worked on the case up to and through the time he retired.
Here’s the summary since I’m only about a third of the way through it. In June 1990, Ronald Baker, a straight-A UCLA student, was found repeatedly stabbed to death in a tunnel near Spahn Ranch, where Charles Manson and his followers once lived. Shortly thereafter, Detective Rick Jackson and his partner, Frank Garcia, were assigned the case. Yet the facts made no sense. Who would have a motive to kill Ron Baker in such a grisly manner? Was the proximity to the Manson ranch related to the murder? And what about the pentagram pendant Ron wore around his neck?
Jackson and Garcia soon focused their investigation on Baker’s two male roommates, one Black, and one white. What emerges is at once a story of confounding betrayal and cold-hearted intentions, as well as a larger portrait of an embattled Los Angeles, a city in the grip of the Satanic Panic and grappling with questions of racial injustice and police brutality in the wake of Rodney King.
In straightforward, matter-of-fact prose, Rick Jackson, the now-retired police detective who helped inspire Michael Connelly’s beloved Harry Bosch, along with co-writer, Matthew McGough, take us through the events as he and his partner experienced them, piecing together the truth with each emerging clue. Black Tunnel White Magic is the true story of a murder in cold blood, deception and betrayal, and a city at the brink, set forth by the only man who could tell it.
What about you? How are you doing this week? What are you reading?
Hope nothing happens, Lesa. I hate these late night stress events. We also should be under a watch soon. Probably for severe storms since they are talking about tennis ball sized hail.
Current read is Nightshade by Michael Connelly.
I hope you’re okay, too, Kevin. It’s 2 AM here, and there’s lightning and a downpour. If that’s it, that’s okay.
A fairly uneventful week over here. Just relentless rain.
Black Tunnel White Magic – I just don’t think I can read true crime Lesa! I love mysteries and have no trouble reading about fictional crimes but true crime affects me differently; real people committing real murder. Shiver. Nope. Can’t read about it. (One of the books I’m going to talk about today had a scene which – I found out from the author’s notes at the end – was true. That scene will stick with me forever, and even more so because it actually happened.)
Two books this week:
THE SOCIALITE’S GUIDE TO DEATH AND DATING by S. K. Golden
(second in the Pinnacle Hotel Mystery series set in the late 1950s; the first is The Socialite’s Guide to Murder)
I thought it was interesting that I happened to be reading this book just when there were some comments here last week about there not being many mysteries these days that are set in hotels.
Evelyn’s mother died when she was young, and her wealthy businessman father (owner of the Pinnacle Hotel) was largely absent throughout her childhood. She’s 21 years old now, suffers from agoraphobia and never leaves the hotel. But because she has a boyfriend now she’s making a real effort to conquer her phobia, although her father does not approve of him and makes that very clear on one of his rare visits to the hotel. In many ways Evelyn is very naive, self-centered, and has come to learn that most problems can be fixed with money. And yet at the same time she’s a nice person and genuinely means well in whatever she does.
This time around a famous judge has been murdered in the hotel’s parking garage (Evelyn found him), and a woman was locked in the trunk of the car in which he was found. Detectives investigate, her father is attacked, there’s a dead woman nearby, and now Evelyn’s boyfriend has been accused of the crimes. It’s up to Evelyn to solve the cases in order to free her boyfriend.
I thought this second book was better than the first one; we learn more about Evelyn and it’s fun to see her grow and slowly become more self-aware. The mystery was pretty good too. The only thing I didn’t like was that there were several typos and/or wrong words, which is always jarring, and they should have been caught in the editing process.
THE LONDON BOOKSHOP AFFAIR by Louise Fein
A thoroughly researched and gripping historical fiction novel based on real events from both WWII France and the early 1960s at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, told in easily-followed dual timelines. A tale of the world of espionage and how ordinary people did extraordinarily brave things for their country.
The novel opens in 1942 with an intriguing few pages introducing us to Jeannie, whose story we learn bit by bit as the novel progresses. Next we move on to 1962 and we meet Celia – 19 years old, has had a strict upbringing, works in an antiquarian bookshop but has dreams of doing more with her life. She has a good friend in Sam, the young man and childhood friend in the house across from her family’s house. But then she meets Septimus, a handsome, charismatic man who comes into the bookshop one day.
There are secrets upon secrets in this book, and with nuclear annihilation looking more likely every day, it’s becoming difficult to know what to believe and who can be trusted. The book becomes more and more suspenseful. The author does a great job of getting us invested in all the characters, getting into the mindset of the time, and the rationales for the things people do in the name of justice and right. I was only about 8 years old at that time so too young to understand what was going on. From this book I learned way more about the Cold War than I ever knew before and I will remember it because now in my mind it’s all tangled up and personal with the lives of these fictional characters, but it’s those very characters who brought home to me what it all meant and how close the world truly was to a nuclear war. Scary. The author’s notes at the end are enlightening as well.
We’re having that rain tonight, too, Lindy. Lots of rain. If that’s it, it’s okay.
The London Bookshop Affair sounds interesting. You’re right. I don’t remember the Cold War either, and really haven’t read much about it.
I’m with you on that one Lindy. True crime podcasts seem to be immensely popular, at least here in the UK, but I can’t see the attraction at all. I also don’t watch true crime documentaries.
Both of your books sounds good. Although I also don’t remember the Cold War, I took my daughters, when they were much younger, to visit The Secret Bunker in Fife. This was actually a whole set of rooms underground, to which government officials and top military would have retreated in the event of a nuclear attack.
We all found it fascinating. Some of the advice given out on publicity posters and in public broadcasting announcements seemed ludicrous 40 years later – eg ‘if you are in your house and don’t have a shelter, take a door off its hinges, stand it against the wall at right angles and hide underneath it’, ‘if you are outside and nowhere near shelter, jump into a ditch and put your hands over your head.’
The bunker has been completely restored and is one of Fife’s main tourist attractions. As well as information about and artefacts from the Cold War, the exhibitions look at the birth of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, the Aldermaston marches, etc.
Since then another secret bunker has been opened up in Edinburgh. This is still in the process of being renovated, but the group who are working on it opened it up for one of the annual Doors Open days. At that point it had hardly been touched, and was so atmospheric.
Last year the National Museum of Scotland also had an exhibition about the Cold War, and again that was so interesting. It included recorded interviews with people who had taken part in the anti-nuclear campaigns, including a woman who used to take her children’s pram into the centre of a Scottish town every Saturday and had out leaflets and balloons to passers-by.
All of this really helped us to understand how terrified my parents’ generation had been.
And now of course we are all starting to feel that way again. Desperate times. It’s probably why I’m reading very pedestrian books at the moment.
Rosemary, I’ll write about this in my comment, but in case you miss it (since I’m so late posting), I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed listening to SMALL PLEASURES by Clare Chambers, which you recommended to me, although the end nearly destroyed me. The premise about the possibility of a virgin birth was fascinating, and I followed the investigation–and the romance–with great pleasure. She’s such a good writer. Have you enjoyed any more of her books besides Shy Creatures?
Hi Kim – I’m so glad you enjoyed Small Pleasures. I haven’t read anything else by this author yet. I did read an interesting interview with her a while ago, if I can find it again I’ll post a link.
Kim – here is the link to the Clare chambers interview:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/dec/05/most-people-flee-the-suburbs-but-nowhere-land-is-the-perfect-backdrop-for-my-novels
I grew up in Bromley so this really resonates with me – although I was one of the ones who was desperate to escape!
How interesting Rosemary! Thank you for all that information. Now that I’ve read this novel I’d love to see those bunkers. The book mentions all those things – the bunkers and the fact that they were for gov’t officials and the like, leaflets, anti-nuclear campaigns. At the time apparently the general public knew next to nothing about what was really going on; other than knowing there was a threat of nuclear war. And goodness! Those public broadcasting announcements you mentioned were useless! Not to mention that by the time you’d gotten the tool to take a door off its hinges and arranged it just so and hidden under it, it would have been far, far too late. There wouldn’t have been time to do any of it. Or anything at all. And I must admit it did all make me wonder about what might befall the world we live in today, given today’s political climate.
My sister and I saw an exhibit with a checkpoint from East Germany, an actual checkpoint when we were in D.C. at the Newseum. Unfortunately, it no longer exists, but since we didn’t remember anything about the Cold War, it was fascinating.
Been rainy around here. We had some funnel cloud warnings, but nothing touched down close to me, thank goodness.
Watched A Working Man, on of the best Jason Statham movies in recent years. It’s the usual fare, but with Sylvester Stallone as producer, the production values are pretty high. One thing I liked was that there were a lot of horror/gothic type imagery surrounding the villains. I’m online friends with the author of the series the movie was based on and have all the books autographed.
This week I read:
The Collaborators by Michael Idov; Despite all of the fancy updating and technology, this is actually a good old fashioned Cold War Romance, like they wrote in 1952.
Laughter is the Best Medicine; For some reason, Reader’s Digest sent my parents this book book in the mail. It’s got the kind of warm hearted humor RD has always provided. Kind of a nice change of pace.
A Brew To A Kill by Cleo Coyle; The co-owners of the coffee shop are spatting over a food truck. Of course, there’s a murder, and it has to do with smuggling cocaine. It seems like forever ago when cocaine was the big drug everybody was talking about.
Hikaru No Go Volume 1: Descent of the Go Master by Yumi Hotta; While American comic book companies are making super hero comics as boring as possible, Japanese folks are making the game of Go, where two people sit across from each other and move little titles tense and exciting.
Laughter is the Best Medicine. I could use a book like that right now, Glen.
I hope we all stay safe from those funnel clouds.
Stay safe!
I’ve been complaining out our weather (low 60’s), but I’ll take that over tornadoes. Although I am looking forward to the warmer weather we are supposed to get starting on Friday.
Reading wise, I just finished a book with a murder in the middle of a severe storm, including a tornado – DEATH ON THE GOLDEN MILE by Caleb Wygal. It’s the third in his Myrtle Beach Mysteries. A couple of times it fell into mystery cliches that made me roll my eyes, but overall, I really enjoyed it.
Up next is THE LIBRARY GAME the newest Secret Staircase Mystery from Gigi Pandian. I’m one chapter is as I type this, so I’m just getting back into it, but I’ve enjoyed the others in the series, so I’m looking forward to it.
I have a copy of The Library Game, Mark, but I’ve been distracted by other books. We’ll see when I get back to it. Enjoy yours!
A few days return to winter weather allowed me time to finish some books I had in progress. The snow will melt when the sun comes out – although I do feel sorry for the daily commuters
A year late, but I finally read THE MYSTERY WRITER by Sulari Gentil. It starts off a bit slow, but quickly picks up the pace. This uniquely literary thriller features a naive Australian writer living in Kansas with her lawyer brother and a Management Company quite willing to manage every detail. The central characters are quite likeable, along with a colorful support cast of dooms-day-preppers. Fun read!
THE SNOW KILLER Good pacing and interesting characters in this suspenseful crime novel by Ross Greenwood. The first in the DI Barton series set in Cambridgeshire constabulary in England. The protagonist is a middle-aged police officer who enjoys his family and work life but is beginning to wonder if that’s all there is. The bad guy is a unique and surprising character.
DEAD IN THE FRAME, the fifth in Stephen Spotswood Pentecost and Parker series. 1947 New York and famed detective Lillian Pentecost is under arrest for murder. Originally reminiscent of the Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin duo, the series now stands on its own.
I wanted to like THE FOUR QUEENS OF CRIME by
Rosanne Limoncell, more than I actually did. I enjoyed the setting of a charity ball at a country manor, the myriad of suspects, the Scotland Yard investigators, and the famous writers (Christie, Sayers, Allingham & Marsh). But the politics of pre-WW 2 England, while essential to the plot, seemed a bit too close to current times.
I was interested in your review of Ross Greenwood’s book MM, as I read one of his Norfok series, PARADISE PARK, last year and wasn’t that taken with it. I will see if my library has any of the DI Barton series – Cambridgeshire is an area I know from way back, and a friend has recently moved back to a small North Cambridgeshire village from France, so I have visited more recently. I always enjoy reading a novel set in a familiar location.
This author was recommended by the same person that recommended the MW Craven series. Greenwood has the added benefit of being available for download from the library app.
That’s one of Sulari Gentill’s books that I haven’t read, MM. I also want to go back and read her series.
For some reason, your description of Ross Greenwood’s book reminded me of Dorothy Simpson’s series. That was one I was sorry to see end. I liked the combination of police and family.
Lesa, I hope you’re safe from the weather.
We enjoyed Ride the Cyclone. It was sort of an oddball story. Five students in a high school chorus from a small town in Canada is riding a rollercoaster that derails and they are all killed. One of those carnival fortune telling machines gives them each a chance to plead their case to be the one that’s brought back to life. The casting was really well done and each character had their own musical style.
My favorite book of the week was an ARC of TERMINAL IMPASSE by Sara Driscoll.
NYPD negotiator Gemma Capello and her date, SWAT team member Sean Logan are cutting through Grand Central Terminal when the shooting starts. They and a number of other survivors are taken hostage by armed terrorists, one of whom is wearing an explosive vest. Faced with the terrorists’ impossible demand and a rapidly approaching deadline, Gemma and Sean must find a way to save themselves and the other hostages.
I read it in one afternoon because I couldn’t put it down.
I also read two cozy mysteries: THREE TAINTED TEAS by Lynn Cahoon and MURDER IN AN IRISH GARDEN by Carlene O’Connor.
Terminal Impasse sounds good Sandy. Your synopsis reminds me of the opening scene of the TV series BODYGUARD, when PC David Budd is on a train bound for London when it is held up by a terrorist. I won’t spoil the story for anyone who hasn’t seen it, but it’s a classic Jed Mercurio opener – nothing is as it seems, and our preconceptions are rapidly skewered as events unfold.
Thank you, Sandy. We were under a tornado watch most of the night, but I finally went to bed. Made it through with lots of rain and lightning.
Ride the Cyclone sounds absolutely fascinating. I’d like to see it someday.
Good morning from Edinburgh!
And firstly, a very happy belated birthday to you, Lesa! Sounds like you had a lovely few days. It’s so nice that you are now able to see your family so much more often.
And I do hope you don’t get any tornados – take care. What are you advised to do if one comes along? Just stay home, or something else?
I’ve been down here all week, and I have to say the weather has been fabulous – very sunny and warm. I’ve only done walks from the house, and Leith is a predominantly built up area, but nevertheless I enjoyed walking around Leith Links. The Links were once, long ago, a golf course, but are now just a wide open green space, popular with dog walkers, parents with small children, and all locals who want some fresh air.
Leith being the rapidly gentrifying place that it is, the Links now have lots of initiatives like comunity gardens, an eco cafe with outside tables, and a tiny book swap library outside the local primary school. Yesterday, with the sun shining, there was a great feeling of spring in the air.
Then in the evening I walked to Newhaven and the Western Harbour. Newhaven used to be a separate fishing community. Sue Lawrence has set at least one of her historical novels there. Although there is now lots of new building, the old fishermen’s cottages are still there, and greatly sought after. The ones right on the road must be pretty noisy now, but many are arranged in little squares behind them, and must be delightful places to live.
At the harbour itself you can walk out to the lighthouse, and watch the sun setting over the city and the Firth, then walk in a circle back to Leith. It’s a good one to do before dinner.
Last Thursday we spent the day shopping with my mother. After two separate shopping centres in Livingston and a trip to the mobility aids shop in Bathgate Anna and I were on our knees, but my mother still wanted to visit another centre on the way back! We stopped for tea and cakes at a lovely cafe in Juniper Green – so much nicer than a chain, very friendly and a huge selection of fine baking.
Then on Monday I was back to Haddington again to take mother to the dentist. It was a very short appointment, so we had time to have a cup of tea and a chat – we are so often rushing from one appointment to another that it was nice to have some down time with her.
On Friday David and I were at the Voodoo Rooms to see Rob Green, a young singer from Nottingham. I was so tired that I almost didn’t go, but I was so glad I did as it was a fun night, and Rob is such a friendly, entertaining person. In between the songs he talked about his personal history, in particular his struggle to come out as a gay man in a very traditional family, and he also read some of his poetry. I’d recommend him if he ever tours in the US, though I’m sorry to say many performers are increasingly reluctant to do so at the moment.
On Saturday we rushed up the road to Aberdeen so that I could attend (and minute) the Friends of the Art Gallery AGM, which went well. Then I was back down to Edinburgh on the bus on Sunday to cat sit. Charlie and Herbie are on good form, though not pleased that Anna has left them (and me!) with a huge box of food that was on offer, and which they predictably hate. So we’ve been having a battle of wits every evening – Charlie is particularly furious, and Herbie keeps putting his place mat over the top of his bowl, as if to say ‘that’s what I think of this stuff.’
So books – as you can imagine, I’ve not done too well on the reading front. I finished KILLED IN CORNWALL, the very last of Janie Bolitho’s Rose Trevalyn mysteries. Although I have had reservations about each of the books – Rose *always* puts herself in unnecessary danger and inevitably has to be rescued by Detective Jack Pearce, her on/off partner, and she frequently refuses to pass information on to him, purely out of stubborness – I have enjoyed getting to know the other characters, especially Rose’s friends Laura and Doreen.
Laura is married to a fisherman and has always lived in Newlyn. She is embedded in the local community, and it has been interesting to learn more about the lives of fishermen and their families. Doreen is the wife of a former tin miner, made redundant when the industry collapsed (remnants of the mines can be seen across central Cornwall – if you watched the Poldark series you’ll know all about it) – she is even more traditional than Laura, calls women ‘maid’, and uses colloquialisms like ‘you’m’ and ‘if it keeps ‘en happy’.
It’s a long time since I’ve been to Cornwall, but before I was married I used to spend summers there. I still remember the way locals speak, though these days I imagine you hear more (loud) London accents in the coastal villages than anything else. House prices are astronomical, and, as in so many places, the locals are being driven out of the areas in which they were born.
I’m now about to start another Rosamund Pilcher novel, VOICES IN SUMMER. Pilcher is an author whose books I find very variable. I loved WINTER SOLSTICE and THE SHELL SEEKERS, but some of her others have failed to impress – so fingers crossed for this one.
On television I have signed up for a three months free offer on Disney Plus – this has allowed me to watch RIVALS, which came highly recommended by Anna. I’m enjoying it a lot – Jilly Cooper wrote the book in the 80s, so its values are very different from today’s, but if you just want to watch a good romp (there’s a LOT of sex, but all of it concensual and fun) and see wealthy people living their ridiculous lives in the Cotswolds (lots of beautiful houses and estates) it’s a real hoot.
The cast is led by David Tennant, who plays self made milionaire TV mogul Tony Baddingham, Alex Hassell, playing the incorrigible aristocratic stud and bad boy Rupert Campbell Black, and Aidan Turner (yes, he of Poldark fame) playing Declan O’Hara, famous TV presenter, whom Tony poaches from the BBC to increase his channel’s ratings, and most importantly to take down Rupert C-B, whom he loathes.
My favourite characters, however, are Lizzie Vereker, played by the wonderful Katherine Parkinson, and Freddie Jones, played by Danny Dyer. Lizzie is the sweet, neglected wife of a very narcissistic TV presenter, Freddie the working class man who has made a fortune in the electronics industry. While Tony Baddingham likes people to think he comes from the aristocracy, Freddie has no such concerns. He’s a lovely man, who sticks up for his rather dim wife (whom the others love to mock) but is also becoming friends with Lizzie.
The thing with Jilly Cooper is, she writes these fast paced and hilarious stories but she actually develops her characters – they aren’t ever just tropes, they all have their own back story and their own problems, (even Campbell Black), so you become very invested in their lives. And of course Jilly knows just how the rich landed gentry behave because she lives amongst them and is just as posh as they are.
Jess Cartner Morley has written an excellent article in the Guardian about why she loves Cooper’s books so much. I don’t know if this will work, but here is a link:
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/oct/12/jilly-cooper-rivals-guaranteed-joyous-television
Both Anna and I would agree with every word she says.
I also discovered that Disney is showing every series of the fabulous sitcom FRIDAY NIGHT DINNER. I’ve seen it all, but I’m enjoying re-watching it. Tamsin Greig, Simon Bird, Tom Rosenthal and the marvellous and much missed Paul Ritter (people may have seen him play the pathologist in some episodes of VERA. In FND he’s completely different and all too lifelike as the late middle aged husband of the long suffering Jackie [Grieg.])
Anna is currently in Austria – yesterday she and Molly did the ‘Sound of Music Experience’, which looked absolutely amazing. Part of it was a boat trip on the lake to see the Von Trapp mansion. They were lucky to have excellent weather, and seem to have had a great time. I’d love to do that. David can’t bear musicals, especially The Sound of Music, so unless I can persuade a friend to come with me, I think I’ll just have to enjoy this experience by proxy!
I have a decorator here repairing a ceiling, so I have had to shut the cats into Anna’s bedroom. I have now started hearing huge crashes and yowls, so I had better go and investigate the damage. If any of you remember the Siamese sisters from Lady & The Tramp – it was all true…
Have a good week all!
Rosemary, agree with you about Paul Ritter. That was a real loss.
I so enjoy your posts Rosemary. Always entertaining. Good luck with Charlie and Herbie! And the ceiling.
Rosemary! I’m so glad your link worked to the article about Jilly Cooper.
Oh, poor Charlie and Herbie. Worst of all, they probably ate it just fine when Anna was home, and are just mad she isn’t there right now. I’m sorry!
You always seem to find a place to walk and even a place to swap books on your walks. That’s just great.
I can’t believe how busy your life is, but our lives probably always seem busy to others.
Thank you! You’re right. It is so good to be close to family. In fact, I’ll be going up to Mom’s for a week soon.
Good morning, Lesa. Hope your weather has improved. We’ve been lucky on the road home so far. Sunny and very warm on Monday, cool, overcast and breezy (good driving weather) Tuesday and cooler but mostly sunny yesterday. Today is supposed to be showery but warm (around 70) when we get home this afternoon. (We’re in Fredericksburg now.)
Books, then. Despite two days of packing and three days of driving, I got a surprising amount of reading done this week. First, Jackie read Sunrise On the Reaping (of which more later) by Suzanne Collins, the new Hunger Games prequel. She is now reading Emily Henry’s Funny Story.
After the James Sallis collection, I’ve been reading a short story collection by Charles Dickinson, With Or Without, that was recommended by a friend. More when I finish it.
I pretty much raced through John Scalzi’s fast, fun WHEN THE MOON HITS YOUR EYE, which Lesa reviewed recently. As usual with Scalzi, I liked it a lot, especially what happens to the Musk character.
THE QUIET LIBRARIAN is the newest by Allen Eskens, who I have been reading since his first book. Chapters alternate between present day Minnesota (the title character) and flashbacks to the war in Bosnia. Very good, very fast read for me, definitely recommended despite some very dark doings.
Lastly, on the road I read SUNRISE ON THE REAPING, another fast read. If you’ve read the Hunger Games series or seen the movies, you’ll remember Katniss’s “mentor,” the drunken Haymitch Abernathy (played by Woody Harrelson), the only previous living winner from District 12. This is Haymitch’s story from his win at 16 in the 75th Games, and a dark, bloody tale it is. Good, fast read though.
Up next is the new Chris Offutt.
Thanks, Jeff! We’re supposed to have lousy weather through the weekend, but it is spring. I hope the rest of your trip is okay.
I’m glad you liked the Scalzi and the Eskens. Quite different, but very good books!
I only read the first two in the Hunger Games series. I just get tired of waiting when I read them from the time they first come out.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LESA! Albeit a bit late! It sounds like it had all of the trimmings necessary for a happy day!
Northern Michigan was hit with a whopper of an ice storm this past weekend. Luckily it stayed North and East of us, but many communities are still without power and schools have been closed for the entire week. March definitely went out like a lion.
I am giving a talk this evening at our local historical society, so I am a bit distracted this morning. Without much fanfare, I’ll just share the two books that I read this week so that I can get on with my day. Sadly, in both cases, they were the last books in two of my favorite series.
The first book was “Dead West” #4 in the Nils Shapiro series by Matt Goldman. I gave it a solid 4 stars. The 2nd book was “A Blood Red Morning” #3 in the Henri Lefort Mystery Series by Mark Pryor. Again another solid 4 star rating, which could have been a 5 if the culprit had been someone other than who it was.
Have a wonderful first week of April!
I think I’ve read all the Mark Pryor books. I enjoyed both this series & the Hugo Marston series. His explorations in Paris always seem to believable. His nonfiction true-crime was a complete miss for me.
Mary, In case you didn’t know, Nils Shapiro makes an appearance in Goldman’s new book, The Murder Show. You might want to check it out.
Glad you weren’t affected by the ice storm. Sounds nasty, and, especially for those who still have power outages.
Good luck tonight! I hope you have a little fun, too!
Oh Wow! Thanks for that tip, Lesa! I’m going to look for it right now!
Happy belated birthday, Lesa!
Back to cold weather and scraping windows in the morning. Warm weather didn’t last long but we’re supposed to get high 60s next year so there’s hope on the horizon.
This was a slow reading week. I started watching “The Residence” on Netflix and that’s been eating into my reading time. I have two more episodes to go and am dying to know who did it. For those who haven’t seen it, there’s a murder in the White House during an Australian state dinner. That detective is a hoot. I love how everyone starts spilling the beans when she just sits and stares at them. Does that really happen in real life? In any case, it’s a typical Shonda Rhimes show. Weird and silly but totally addicting. Hoping for a 2nd season.
The one book I did read this week was THE MAILMAN by Andrew Welsh-Huggins. Several people on here have read it and Lesa did a review of it so I won’t go into the details but what a great book. It’s definitely going on my list of best books for 2025.
Thank you, Bev, for the birthday greetings!
Darn. Spring just tempted you, and then winter decided to pile on again.
I’m so glad you loved The Mailman!
Sounds like a wonderful birthday week, Lesa! It’s been another quiet week here. The rain finally stopped, and the highs are in the mid-60s, but in about a week, we have a forecast for the low 80s again! I hope I’ll know when it’s time to pack the sweaters away. Here’s what I finished this week:
I picked up MRS. ENDICOTT’S SPLENDID ADVENTURE because I am a fan of Rhys Bowen and her books, especially the Lady Georgie series and some of the standalones. This one is a standalone and quite different from her other books. It starts in 1938 in England and quickly progresses to a picturesque French fishing village, where Ellie has come to heal from the humiliation of her divorce and her husband’s plans to marry his much younger paramour. Ellie is tired of her boring life as her husband’s doormat anyway, but she wasn’t expecting to pick up several traveling companions: her maid, a prickly elderly woman with a terminal diagnosis, and a pregnant teenager they rescued along the way. All of the women are looking for an escape from something, and they find it when Ellie’s car fortuitously breaks down in Saint-Benet. The results are truly magical, as the women come to love the small-town atmosphere, their new friends, and the opportunity to rent and renovate a beautiful but neglected house by the sea. But WWII is not only encroaching; it ultimately affects and endangers their lives. What happens in the later chapters of the book is anything but “splendid,” so I wouldn’t have chosen the book if I had read the synopsis a bit more closely. I’m a lightweight when it comes to war stories–I avoid them like the plague–and I didn’t correctly interpret some quotes from the synopsis—“blindsided by betrayal in pre-WWII England” and “becoming an adventure she never expected.” However, having said that , I can affirm that Rhys Bowen has a wonderful writing style and always creates memorable characters, so I will still be delighted when she releases her next book. I will just try to read the synopsis a bit more carefully. (August)
It helps to have read How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin before reading HOW TO SEAL YOUR OWN FATE because there are myriad characters who appear in both book. The murders in the first book have been solved, and Annie is a rich woman, living in a house she inherited from her great-aunt. Another murder occurs early in this book. and the victim is Peony Lane, the fortune teller who accurately predicted that Aunt Frances’s life would end in her own murder. Annie resolves to investigate this murder as well, especially as it appears that Peony Lane (for unknown reasons she is referred to by both names throughout the book) has some new predictions that may affect the lives of other characters. In addition, Annie has a lot of time on her hands, as it seems she has made very few changes in her life to date. It could be a fascinating premise, but for me, the problem lies with Annie. She is the first-person narrator of the chapters occurring in the present day, and her voice is consistently low-key, repetitive, and lacking in any spark of excitement. Again in this book, I failed to make a connection with Annie for these reasons. A few of the many other characters are interesting, but I felt there were too many to leave time for the author to achieve any depth. I also found the alternating between the two timelines more confusing this time around, as the switch to the historical chapters (50 years earlier) is indicated by the date change, but never the switch back to the present. There are many very positive reviews of this book, and fans can probably look forward to future series entries, as there is a hint of a continuing story. Unfortunately, it was too lackluster for me, and I had to skim the later chapters to finish. (April)
FIRST-TIME CALLER (Heartstrings Book 1) is my first contemporary romance by B.K. Borison, but it won’t be the last. I’ve already requested her next book, Good Spirits, which has earned an average of five stars from NetGalley reviewers. My request is still pending, but the book won’t be published until until October, so fingers crossed! The premise of First-Time Caller is that precocious 12-year-old Maya calls a relationship podcast late one evening to ask for dating guidance for her single mom, Lucie. Taking her call is Aiden, who has sworn off love himself because he has become jaded by all of the boring and often ridiculous calls, and his spirit has been crushed by his mother’s three successive cancer diagnoses. Anyone who reads romances can guess where this is going, especially once Lucie joins the podcast as a co-host. Listeners of the previously-dying podcast are suddenly energized, and the shows go viral. Of course, there are roadblocks in the way of a successful relationship between Lucie and Aiden, but both characters are relatable and fun to read about. Young Maya is a standout character–full of intelligence, personality, and sass and surrounded by love, and her biological father and his husband are engaging and memorable. AIden’s coworker Jackson and boss Maggie inject humor into the story. The book is on the long side for a romance–400+ pages– but I enjoyed every page and finished it quickly. Happily, it was a much-needed palate cleanser after some disappointing reads. While I’m waiting for the next book, I might have to dip into Borison’s backlist, the four books of the Lovelight Farm series.
Ha! Margie, not two days ago I bought a copy of First Time Caller. After reading your review I’m looking forward to it even more than I already was.
Glad I can e of service, Lindy! 🙂
First Time Caller does sound good, Margie, especially with good characters. You’re right. It’s easy to guess where it’s going, but I like the sound of that one.
I hope you have some good weather soon!
Wishing hard that your tornado watch has led to nothing, Lesa! Here, we are having spring sun that is almost summery and spring flowers blooming everywhere. Last Friday, my husband and I drove at a leisurely pace to the village of Klosters (near Davos) in the eastern Swiss canton of Graubünden, where we stayed until Sunday evening. The drive on Friday was through beautiful scenery, and we stopped to have a long lunch with Swiss/Japanese friends who live along the way. Our son arrived by train from Zürich on Saturday to snowboard with my husband while he skied, but the visibility in the mountains was so terrible that we hung out talking, took walks in the rain, and spent time in the hotel’s indoor pool and sauna instead. Sunday, luckily, was gorgeous weather, so the men got up early and skied/snowboarded all day while I hiked near the village with an audiobook, read, and had some delicious coffee and pastry in a country bakery. A wonderful three-day weekend.
Like Bev, I also read THE MAILMAN this past week, especially during my long weekend, and I was very entertained. Welsh-Huggins’s hero is so much more appealing than that more famous loner, Reacher. I think I like him even better than Dez Limerick. Besides, he isn’t a loner, since he has a wife and a dispatcher (his uncle.) I also listened to a book recommended to me by Rosemary after I read Shy Creatures, by Clare Chambers. This earlier book of hers, SMALL PLEASURES, has a very intriguing plot and a very likable heroine. She is a journalist for a small town newspaper who embarks on a fascinating investigation of whether a young woman has had a baby without ever having sex. (Seems ridiculous now, but the book is set in the 1950s). I recommend the book because it’s so good, but I have to warn anyone who picks it up that it has a sad ending.
I’m now reading another of Peter Grainger’s DC Smith books, THE TRUTH, and as several of you have reported, these ARE only available as audiobooks and ebooks, not paperbacks. This is not a problem for me, since I only buy books in those two formats, but I realize it’s a problem for many others. And I’ve just started listening to a mystery by a Ghanaian, Kwei Quartey, which is set some in the US and mostly in Ghana. So far, THE MISSING AMERICAN is very good, and I’m learning a lot about Ghana.
Survived nasty weather, Kim, and we didn’t get a tornado. Thank heavens!
It sounds as if you had a wonderful family weekend. But, I really liked the sound of that bakery! Sounded like one of Rosemary’s stops on her walks.
Kwei Quartey! I have a friend who just loves his books.
Doesn’t it. :esa? I want to go to this one now!
Happy belated birthday, Lesa!
The rainstorm hit my area much later than predicted-after midnight. The lightning and thunder were pretty impressive. We have more in store for us the next 4 days but not as severe.
Two books for me this week. WHEN THE MOON HITS YOUR EYE by John Scalzi was an enjoyable albeit uneven read for me. My daughter and I read it at the same time and agreed on the chapters we could have done without (the one with the senator was one).
My second book was from Kindle Unlimited. LET’S PRETEND THIS WILL END WELL by Maddie Dawson. Mimi is a 32-year-old teacher who falls for another older teacher in NYC in 1982. When his ex-wife suffers a stroke and he returns to New Haven to take care of her, she follows him. She becomes involved with the cooperative day care that is run in the building where she has an apartment on the second floor. Like all Maddie Dawson’s books, this one has a little magical realism and found family. It was a very sweet story that I enjoyed very much.
Hope all that are having weather stay safe! Happy Reading
Thanks, Sharon. Yes, I think our weather is supposed to be nasty all weekend.
I love that you and your daughter read Scalzi’s book at the same time, and could talk about it. That’s so great.
You stay safe, too!
Good morning all!
I read two good books this week. The first was Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks. The book was written to reflect on a loving marriage cut short by an unexpected death and the grieving process as the author tries to move forward. A very good read.
The other very good read was Pesticide by Kim Hays. I really found the setting interesting and loved the characters. Highly recommend this one as well and have ordered the second in the series. Great job, Kim!
Currently waiting to see if the current tariffs will cause job loss for our family. 2 kids work for an automotive firm and 2 work with students who have disabilities. Enough said.
Hope everyone will have a good rest of the week.
Jennifer, I know what you mean about waiting for the other shoe to drop for family members. I have nephews who work in automotive plants, and three nieces who work for the government. Everyone is just holding breath.
I’m glad you liked Pesticide and ordered the next in the series!
Wow, Jennifer, you’ve just made my day! Thank you very much for the compliment to Pesticide. I’m so glad you enjoyed it. It’s lovely that you’re trying #2, Sons and Brothers, as well!
🎂🎉🎊Happy Belated Birthday, Lesa. Mine is next month, We need bright spots now to get us through these times.
Surprise! I am still reading Elizabeth I by Margaret George. Now on page 406. My eyes are glazing over her many suitors and the attacks by Spanish Armada encouraged by the current post. I love the human interest parts like her friendship with a little Irish girl who spoke Latin and proud showing of the water closet by the inventor, He wanted to name it AJAX because it miraculously got rid of orders when flushed. Elizabeth demanded that the invention be renamed after the inventor’s first name, John! She didn’t like the invention, very costly, and she did not want every one to know when she was using, very noisy! Thank goodness for the humor in this book.
Thank you, Carol! You are so right. We do need bright spots to get us through our weeks.
I’m glad the print is a good size for you in Elizabeth I. Sounds as if you’re enjoying it!
Hi everyone and happy belated birthday, Lesa! I am so glad I can chime in since today is not as busy as most Thursdays lately. This was a fun reading week, I read the latest in a couple series. The first was Onyx Storm, the latest in Rebecca Yarros’ series where dragons partner with humans to wage what seems like a never-ending war. It is LONG, and I found myself not tracking all of the characters well because I was dying to know what happened. So after I raced through that book I started the series over again.
I did the same thing with a book and series I love. The newest book is The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison, which Kim has recommended here. It was very good, and I think this series has one of the best depictions of spiritual practices and following a calling I’ve seen in fiction.
Thank you, Trisha. I can see why you’d want to reread a book if you raced through it to see what happened.
Lesa, I love birthday celebrations that extend over several days and your week sounds very good. Happy birthday.
This week I had to go to Urgent Care after a grocery store visit due to extreme fatigue and weakness. I had multiple blood tests and repeated blood tests and and an EKG, and by the end of the day I was feeling pretty much OK. But one of the blood tests concerned the Physician Asst. at Urgent Care, so I will be checking in on Tuesday with my primary care doctor.
Glen has had a good reading week. He finished EREBUS: THE STORY OF A SHIP. He liked the last few chapters of that more than the earlier parts because those were more like the travelogues that Michael Palin writes. I checked it out and I want to give it a try someday.
Then he read THE DAY THE WORLD CAME TO TOWN: 9/11 IN GANDER, NEWFOUNDLAND (by Jim DeFede). It was a quick read and he found it interesting how important the Gander airport was both before and after 9/11, due to the runway size and because it is major air traffic control center. I will definitely be reading it this year.
Now he has started A COLD WELCOME: THE LITTLE ICE AGE AND EUROPE’S ENCOUNTER WITH NORTH AMERICA by Sam White. So far he is finding it a slog but he is determined to finish it.
I am currently reading a fantasy novel, ROYAL ASSASSIN by Robin Hobb. The second book in the Farseer Trilogy, and 670 pages long. I am about 40% done. It is a very good read but it is going to take a while to finish it.
Tracy! Scary stuff. I hope your doctor will have some answers for you next week. How worrisome, and Tuesday’s a long way off yet. I shall be thinking of you.
Oh, Tracy. As Lindy said, scary stuff. We’ll be thinking of you. And, I hope your primary care doctor can tell you what’s going on.
I read Robin Hobbs’ first book. Very good, but I just didn’t go on with the series.
Just wanted to add a note that we got home around 2:30 this afternoon. Not a very nice day, but other than delays around the awful Beltway, it went well enough. Of course, we had to pick up groceries and food to eat today, then I spent hours unloading the car and unpacking everything we brought back from Florida. I guess it’s because I’m anal, but I could not go to bed at night without unpacking everything and putting it all away.
Welcome home, Jeff. I hope you get some decent weather now that you’re back.
Oh, I get it. I don’t do it anymore, but when I was younger, I insisted on unpacking everything when I moved, before I’d go to bed that first night.
Jeff, David does exactly the same – I’d love to just leave the bags and get to bed, but no, everything has to be tidied away….Same as when we go away, even for a couple of days – I leave all my clothes in my suitcase, he hangs everything up.
Possible (just) that’s why he looks smart and I look like a bag lady……..
And yes, welcome home – that’s a very long journey, at least by UK standards.