Welcome to Thursday! Time to check in as to how you’re doing. And, then, time to talk about what we’re reading.
Anyone who has followed the blog this week can tell I’m on deadline. But, I can tell you the book I’m going to start tonight is Deanna Raybourn’s sixth Veronica Speedwell mystery, An Unexpected Peril. “A princess is missing and a peace treaty is on the verge of collapse in this new Veronica Speedwell adventure from the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated author Deanna Raybourn.“
Other than that, you don’t really want to hear about work, Celtic music, and the books that are coming out in three or four months. So, I won’t tell you that.
Instead, I’ll ask what you’ve been reading this week.
Lesa – I’m sure we’d like to hear about all of those things!
But you’re busy and we understand 🙂
This week I am still reading Maeve Binchy – I am finding this an unexpected struggle, as I love her novels, but this is a 400+ page book of short stories all connected to the fictitious Chestnut Street, and I feel that Maeve was not best suited to this format. In her novels we get to know the characters, but these stories are too short to do that (at least these ones are – I do know that other writers can speak volumes in a few paragraphs, but I don’t think she can). Some are only 3 or 4 pages long. None is a bad story, but they are repetitive – so many are about unwanted pregnancies, women torn between staying to look after family members or breaking free, men cheating on their marriages…. all of these are worthy subjects, but there just don’t seem to be any others.
I will press on because I want to write about this for Reading Ireland Month, but I think I might also rehash the review of William Trevor’s collection ‘The News from Ireland’ that I wrote last year. He is a master of the short story, and always leaves you with so many thoughts.
I’ve also been writing my review of the book I mentioned last week, ‘Wild Winter’ by John D Burns. I wrote the first one for The Edinburgh Reporter, then assumed I could just copy it for my own blog and for Amazon (where John has asked me to add it as it helps an author so much to be well reviewed on there), but when I began to do so I realised that I seem to write in a very different voice in different places. The first review just did not use the tone I normally use on my blog, so I have rewritten it (still need to do the Amazon thing, but I’m not sure if they actually accept reviews before the publication date, which is 1 April.)
On TV we are watching more and more from the Gaelic channel, BBC Alba (with English subtitles, of course!) – this week it was a very interesting programme about the Caledonian Canal, which crosses Scotland via Loch Ness.
The two presenters took a cabin cruiser from one end to the other (although it is a canal, you can’t use the narrowboats that travel on other canals on it, as Loch Ness is 23 miles long and prone to quite rough weather – even their substantial boat was tossing about a bit). Along the way they stopped and chatted to people about the history of the canal (which was built entirely by hand, mostly by crofters who had been displaced and left unemployed by the Highland Clearances, an execrable part of our history), the wildlife, the old industries and the new projects to encourage people to use both the canal itself and the towpaths.
You can also take a 4 day trip down the canal on an old Clyde steamer, or ‘puffer’ as they were known. They run on coal. The guys who were crewing this boat were madly enthusiastic, and the tourists on it loved it (they were, I have to say, almost exclusively retired steam enthusiast males, who had dragged their wives along – though the wives did seem to enjoy it too!)
There is also another, much smarter, boat that does very upmarket cruises – on this the visitors seemed to be mainly from the US, Germany, France, Iceland and many other places. The wife of the captain did all the cooking and it was of a very high standard, with a lot of local produce.
My husband – who loves canals – thought both trips looked dreadful, but I bet if he actually went on that steamer he’d be discussing the mechanics of the engineering with the crew in no time.
There is a debate going on just now about tourism in the Highlands. it is of course a huge source of income and employment for a region that is traditionally poor – but last summer, when the lockdown ended but no foreign travel was allowed – people simply poured into the area in far, far larger numbers than the infrastructure could support. Very many came in their camper vans, which meant they contributed little to the local economy, and unfortunately many of them also left rubbish (including in some places the contents of their chemical toilets…) everywhere.
Wild camping has always been allowed in Scotland, but a minority of last year’s campers had clearly never been in a tent anywhere other than at a pop festival before, and they had no notion of cleaning up after themselves, not starting fires, and so on. Many people also had no idea about or consideration towards where they parked – many of the roads in the far north and on the islands are single track with designated passing places, but despite there being notices everywhere (in graphics as well as words) about never parking in these spaces, and making sure you keep looking in your mirror to be aware of long queues behind you, then pulling in to let faster traffic pass, many drivers ignore all the rules and cause mayhem. It is so difficult for the people who actually live and work there – they need to get to where they are going, and they need to access field gates and paths to get to their farms and their own houses.
John Burns discusses some of these problems in his book – he is of the opinion that what tourists need is not sanctions but education. People need to be encouraged to visit the less well known places (after all Scotland is huge) not just Skye, Aviemore and Glencoe. He suggests that we’d be better off with more small camp sites with limited facilities, rather than a few enormous sites with restaurants, pools, etc. Moutaineering Scotland supports this idea. As John says, it would be churlish in the extreme to complain about tourists after all the years we have spent trying to attract them (and their money). It’s a difficult one.
Last night David was working so I treated myself to an episode of Queer Eye, which I do enjoy, the guys are so funny and cheerful. We need positivity at the moment!
Also this week there was a new TV adaptation of Peter James’s novel ‘Grace’. I haven’t seen it yet but it seems to have had good reviews, though many people thought it should have been a serial rather than a one-off. I haven’t read any of James’s books so I can’t tell. It’s set in Brighton, which is always an interesting place (even though much gentrified since my childhood.) Roy Grace is played by John Simm. This is a link to the review in The Guardian in case anyone would like to read it:
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/mar/14/grace-review-a-twisty-race-against-time-for-john-simms-fading-detective
And today is my first vaccine day, so hallelujah.
Like you Lesa I have a backlog of reviews (as usual) – though unlike you I don’t have to fit them round a proper job, so I really have no excuse.
Better get my walk in before I have to head off to the vaccination centre.
Hope everyone is having a good day?
Rosemary
Congratulations, Rosemary! I was so pleased to get my vaccines. I felt as if I did something good for me, my family & the world.
That’s such a shame about Maeve Binchy’s books. Her novels are so wonderful. I’m sorry the book is long and repetitive.
It’s also a shame that people don’t know how to clean up after themselves, or how to behave outside of their own home. That’s terrible what they did to the landscape, and that they don’t know how to travel. Just sad. I tend to agree with your author, John Burns.
Have a great day, Rosemary! The vaccine!
Very interesting, Rosemary. We recently subscribed (because we don’t have enough to watch, right?) to MHz Choice, which shows a ton of shows from all over Europe. I noticed they have been touting recently added Scottish and Irish Gaelic shows, including BANNAN. Will see how it goes when we try it. Right now my favorites on this network are INSPECTOR MONTALBANO, MURDER ON THE LAKE (German-Austrian) and SPIRAL (French).
We’re fine here. It’s been dry for over two weeks and we need rain, though the one to two inches they are predicting for today into tomorrow is a little excessive for one time, you know? It’s been colder again (no eating outside, as we were able to do last week), but Spring is bringing warmer weather over the weekend, which is good for me.
Doing quite a bit of reading lately. This week I finished THE DESTINY THIEF, Richard Russo’s collection of his essays, which was quite interesting; WE LOVE ANDERSON COOPER, a first collection of stories by R. L. Maizes, with the title story particularly good; and Chris Hauty’s exciting thriller DEEP STATE, which I raced through (library Kindle edition) quickly. Former Army member (from West Virginia) Hayley Chill (perfect name) finds herself a White House intern in the office of the Chief of Staff in the controversial new administration when strange deaths start happening. There is quite a twist towards the end and it will be interesting to see where he goes with the second book, out now. Whatever happens, I’m sure Hayley can handle it.
Current reading: Nearly done with HOWDUNIT?, the anthology of pieces on writing and advice to potential authors by members of the Detection Club, edited by Martin Edwards. I don’t know if any of the advice would be helpful, but it is always fun to see what mystery writers have to say off page, so to speak.
DEADLY ANNIVERSARIES is a collection of Mystery Writers of America stories, for the organization’s 75th Anniversary, edited by Marcia Muller & Bill Pronzini, with the theme of anniversaries of some kind – wedding, whatever. Just started this (with Sue Grafton’s story), but many excellent authors here – Child, Maron, Lovesey, Rozan, etc. The other anthology I’m reading is MY FAVORITE FANTASY STORY, edited by Martin H. Greenberg. Authors are asked to pick their favorite fantasy story and introduce the writer and story. For instance, Neil Gaiman picked R. A. Lafferty’s wonderful short “In Our Block.” I’ve also started Antonya Nelson’s collection FAMILY TERRORISTS.
Lastly, I have finally gotten Walter Tevis’s THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT, which I’ve wanted to read long before the outstanding recent Netflix series. If you’ve seen the latter, it is very faithful to the book, at least so far. I had to pause my reading of Thomas Perry’s THE OLD MAN to read these library books first, but will get back to it after the Tevis.
I’m ready for spring, Jeff. And, you’re right. We’d be better off with a little rain that all of it at one time. We’ve had steady rain here, but have several days of sunshine to look forward to this weekend.
I hope Deadly Anniversaries is as good as it sounds with all those authors in it.
Enjoy your reading!
I should have mentioned that Jackie read the new P. J. Tracy book (by the end, she said she liked it more than the last Monkeewrench book) and is now reading the J. D. Robb. She said that so far it isn’t as good as the last one because … Roarke hasn’t been in it!
Tell Jackie to hang in there. Roarke will be there!
Jeff, I’ve not seen any of those programmes you mention, but my mother is a great fan of Inspector Montalbano. I’m amazed that you can get Gaelic programmes in Brooklyn! I hope you enjoy some of them.
We are all beside ourselves waiting for the next series of Line of Duty to start on Sunday. I can’t watch any other detective or thriller series at the same time as I need what little powers of logic and concentration I have left to cope with the LOD plots. So I’ll probably be sticking to Celebrity Bake Off for a few weeks!
Good morning.
This week I read THE CLINCHER by Lisa Preston. It’s the first book in her horseshoer series set in Oregon. I enjoyed the sections about horses and ranch life but didn’t really like the main character.
An ARC of DEATH BY EQUINE by Annette Dashofy. Veterinarian Jessie Cameron agrees to cover her mentor Doc Lewis’ practice at a PA racetrack for two weeks. His last night on duty Doc is killed by a horse he’s called to treat. The police rule the death accidental but Jessie isn’t so sure. I liked this one even though Jessie took some stupid risks.
THE SECRET OF BARNABAS COLLINS by Marilyn Ross. It’s part of a series of books loosely based on the Dark Shadows TV show. They aren’t great literature but I read some of these back when I was in high school and I’m enjoying rereading them.
Sandy, I read the third in Lisa Preston’s series, and I didn’t like the main character either.
Lesa, I finished AN UNEXPECTED PERIL earlier in the week. I will be interested I your thoughts. I liked it much more than the previous book. This one was interesting enough but I think I might be getting tired of the series.
The book I am reading now, LEONARD AND HUNGRY PAUL by Ronan Hession was mentioned by another commenter a couple Thursday ‘s ago. It sounded interesting so I put it on reserve. I am loving this quiet story about 2 introverted men. I am sorry I can’t remember the person’ s name but whoever you were, thank you.
Rosemary, I enjoy reading your posts. I fell down the canal traveling rabbit hole with blogs and Instagram after reading THE NARROWBOAT SUMMER.
No walk for me today we are having fairly heavy rainstorms on and off. The high wind advisory starts at 10 am.
Happy Reading!
Sharon, I was wondering about getting tired of the series when I wasn’t as excited as usual about diving into the book. The plot doesn’t excite me ahead of time. We’ll see what I think, as you said.
Don’t you just love rabbit holes? I learn such interesting things as I dive into them.
Sounds as you have the perfect day to stay home and read!
Sharon – thank you! We have been on three or four narrowboat holidays over the years. My husband loves driving the boat (or whatever it is you do with boats) but I have to admit I find the whole thing a bit of a chore. The canals, especially in parts of middle England, can be very, very crowded, so it’s not necessarily the peaceful holiday you might be given to expect.
In Scotland it’s quieter, but as you can’t take a narrowboat on the Caledonian Canal, you are more or less left with the Union one, which just goes from Edinburgh to Glasgow (ie not far). We also hired a very big narrowboat in France once – we went with another family & it was not a great success – though this was at least partly because it rained almost the entire time! The locks in France are huge, terrifying things – they send 4 boats in at once, and there is a lock keeper to do all the mechanics (whereas although there might once have been one for every lock in the UK, almost all of them are now self-operated). The lock walls are very, very high, so its intimidating (to me) to be on the boat what feels like miles beneath the towpath.
I haven’t read Leonard & Hungry Paul yet but it’s been immensely popular here – I think the author is Irish?
Yes, the author is Irish based in Dublin.
I thought I would probably enjoy reading more about traveling the locks rather than actually doing it, Rosemary. You certainly lead an interesting life. You must live somewhere that is not in the middle of suburbia like me.
My husband and I did travel through the Devol lock in Marietta, Ohio on a sternwheeler. Because the Valley Gem is a tour boat there were lock keepers who took care of the locks. We did it in October to see the fall foliage but our timing was off and it was freezing and the leaves were past peak color already. Still, it was very relaxing being on the Muskingum River for a few hours.
Thank you for your response.
Hi Lesa – I was fortunate enough to snag one of the Net Galley copies of James Lee Burke’s upcoming release Another Kind of Eden. I’ve read three chapters and see right away that I’m going to have a tough time setting the book aside to do other things.
Oh, enjoy the James Lee Burke, Patricia. That means you can tell us about it next week because you’ll have finished it.
That’s the plan…everything else can just wait!
Good morning! I am thrilled to have had my second dose of Moderna vaccine on Monday. Unlike the first one, I did have a bit of sluggishness, and I didn’t sleep well the first night, but I kept exercising and by midday on Tuesday I was almost back to normal. Well worth it!
I’ll say first that yesterday I started reading (successively) two new and popular books by authors I have loved before, and I couldn’t get into either of them. They both seemed too bleak, and I just wasn’t in the mood. I won’t mention what they are because I don’t want to discourage anyone else, but they will go back to the library. Maybe I’ll try again in a few months. Here are those that I did read this week.
Thanks to the person here who recommended ONE IN A MILLION by Lindsey Kelk. I found it a delightful story, although perhaps longer than it should have been. In London, Annie and her best friend Miranda have opened a boutique digital marketing agency called Content London, and they are struggling to get paid in a timely manner by their clients. But they’ve been nominated for three prestigious awards, so things are looking up. At the same time, Annie has made a bet with the staff of the ad agency across the hall that she can launch an Instagram campaign that will attract 20,000 followers in just 30 days for the first person who comes through the door. The “lucky” subject, Samuel Page, has two Ph.Ds., looks like a derelict, and is a historian whose life is devoted to writing books about obscure topics. In addition, he has been thrown out by his long-term girlfriend and is basically living in his office. Annie takes on the additional challenge of helping him win her back, and . . . you can probably see where this is going. But it is so charming that I didn’t care. I will probably look for more from this author.
I wish I had liked COLD WIND by Paige Shelton as much as I did the first in the series. It’s a quick read and Shelton does an expert job of describing the setting in unforgivingly cold and dangerous rural Alaska. But I tired of the character of thriller writer Beth Rivers, who continues to hide from the man who kidnapped and seriously injured her. As Lesa mentioned in her review, Beth frequently risks her safety to interfere in local investigations, and her own situation is still not resolved at the end of this book. I ended up feeling empty, rather than engaged, and I found the reveal about the local crime to be unnecessarily convoluted and unconvincing.
I looked for JOYFUL: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness after watching designer Ingrid Fetell Lee’s TED Talk, Where Joy Hides and How to Find It. The book title is self-explanatory: the book covers the topics of energy, abundance, freedom, harmony, play, surprise, transcendence, magic, celebration, and renewal. It’s not just about home decorating (although there is a great toolkit for that), but about finding joy in sometimes surprising places and surrounding yourself with opportunities to feel joy as much as possible. I especially enjoyed the chapter on renewal–don’t we all need that these days? Inspiring.
Have You Seen Luis Velez remains my favorite Catherine Ryan Hyde book, and was one of my overall favorites of 2019. I found the author’s latest book, MY NAME IS ANTON (she is quite prolific) to be disappointing. The story felt contrived to me and too matter-of-fact to be uplifting. I didn’t feel engaged with any of the characters. Eighteen-year-old Anton’s uncaring parents leave the country during the Christmas season and gift him with a telescope just before leaving. Anton has been through a very difficult year, which included the death of his brother and the loss of his own right hand. Struggling to set up the telescope alone, he inadvertently sees, through a window in the building across the street, a woman being attacked by her husband. He figures out a way to meet the woman, who is 33, and lets her know she can come to him if she wants to leave her spouse. She eventually does just that, and after the holidays she leaves for parts unknown (so that Anton can’t reveal her whereabouts, should her husband bully him). They do meet up, years later, and that’s when the story got very strange (for me).
CLOSELY HARBORED SECRETS by Bree Baker, the fifth in the Seaside Café Mysteries, continues the story of Everly Swan, whose café serves, among other things, many flavors of iced tea. It’s Halloween time, and an unpleasant woman is killed during the annual ghost walk in Charm, NC while in a dark costume, leaving Everly’s name scratched in the dirt next to her. This is the fifth body Everly has found in two years, so of course everyone, including her law enforcement boyfriend, is interested in how Everly is involved (and so is she). It all has to do with a treasure that is thought to be hidden in her large house, but it’s unclear whether there is a treasure at all. I found the ending to have some unlikely components, but I still enjoyed visiting this town for the fifth time, along with Everly, her witchy (in a good way) aunts, and her cat and seagull.
Margie, Don’t you hate it when you have a so-so string of books? I’m glad you had One in a Million and Joyful in the middle of those. And, then there are the books that went back to the library.
Best of all, you had your second vaccine! Yay!
A bit of reading this week, but finally getting warm enough for yard work. Time to start cleaning up the leaves and grasses we leave over winter as habitat for local insects and birds.
I read my first Anne Cleeland, thanks to your reviews Lesa. MURDER IN THRALL from the New Scotland Yard series. I enjoyed the story and the author’s particular phrasing “Beaux Yeux” and “Katy Bar The Door” come to mind. But it had a distracting start with the main character, Doyle, belittling herself beyond what could be new job jitters.
THE LAST STORY OF MINA LEE by Nancy Jooyoun Lee a book from 2020 that had popular recommendations. The author does have some quotable lines, but I could never tell quite what the novel was intending; an illegal immigrant story, a Korean story, a Los Angeles story, a murder mystery, growing up in America. It just jumped from theme to theme. I’d recommend Min Jin Lee’s Korean diaspora trilogy as a better alternative.
And currently finishing up some light reading, Alexander McCall Smith’s THE DEPARTMENT OF SENSITIVE CRIMES: Dectective Varg novel. A few short stories tossed together with a set of unifying characters and a Swedish location.
Hope you get caught up with your deadlines soon Lesa.
Thanks, MM. One last book to finish & I’m over a third way through it.
Doyle is always insecure, and doesn’t feel worthy. I loved those books, but I’ve lost track in recent years and haven’t kept up with the series.
Good morning!
After a bit of snow earlier in the week, we now have beautiful spring weather and will have for the next several days.
I finished Diggin’ Up Bones by Bonnie Wright – a memoir written by a woman who attends the same church I do. Most Sundays, she and her Golden Retriever greet at the front doors of our church. Her dog is trained as an emotional support animal and I have seen many people make a bee-line for the dog when they approach the church. When I learned she had written a book about her journey to faith, I knew I wanted to read it. As a child she lived in a home virtually void of love and filled with name-calling and shame. When she left home, she found herself following the same patterns she had witnessed growing up. She married a man very similar to her dad. It wasn’t until she began training her Golden Retriever that she started to learn what love really looks like. This was a difficult book to read. Bonnie endured things that no human being should ever have to endure. But, the beauty of her relationship with her dogs offered hope and peace.
After finishing that, I need something lighter. I am currently reading Poetry in Motion by Kristin Eckhardt. This is the eighth book in the Secrets of Mary’s Bookshop series. Mary discovers a poem written on a piece of paper that appears to be very old. The poem is dated 1893 with a signature of Katherine Lee Bates. This is the poem that eventually became “America the Beautiful”. But is it the original or a copy? When the poem goes missing, Mary begins to suspect it might be an original.
Have a great weekend!
Gretchen, Both of your books sound intriguing this week. And, the thought of spring! That’s definitely intriguing. Enjoy every minute.
This past week I have binged on a new to me series by a new to me author.
K. F. Breene’s Magical Midlife Madness is just hysterical, laugh out loud funny with the wildest cast of characters imaginable.
“A woman starting over. A new house with an unexpected twist. A cape wearing butler acting as the world’s worst life coach.”
I was drawn to the first in the series by an ad with a big creepy old house (which I’m a fool for). Little did I know I’d be buying the second in the series at midnight on my Kindle.
After gobbling up the first 4 like Skittles, I am now impatient for Book #5 which is due out in May. I don’t know when I’ve had so much fun unless it was reading Charlaine Harris’ Midnight, Texas series.
Lord a Mercy, I misspelled my own name . . .
THAT is why I had to approve your comment this week, Kaye. It surprised me, but I didn’t notice you spelled your name wrong.
Now, I’m going to have to look up that book.
This sounds amazing. I just bought the first one for $2.99 on Kindle. Thanks, Kaye.
Lesa and Margie, they just get better and funnier with each entry. I can’t wait to hear what you think.
I ordered a copy. I know the ebook was free, but I never would have read it on my iPad, so I ordered the actual book. It will be here Saturday or Sunday.
I’ve read the first three in that series and enjoyed them. I still need the fourth
Sandy, I’m looking forward to trying it since you and Kaye both recommend them.
I’m so over my job. If I get one more stupid question…. (And yes, there is such a thing as a stupid question.) It seems I’ve been getting more of them over the last couple of weeks. The new VP isn’t helping. I get that she needs to learn, but how she is going about it isn’t working. At all.
Sorry, I bet you can tell what I’ve been doing so far today. 🙂
Last night I finished DEATH AT THE SALON by Louise R. Innes. Really enjoyed it. Today, I’ll be diving into MURDER AT WEDGEFIELD MANOR by Erica Ruth Neubauer. Enjoyed the first, so hoping to enjoy this one as well.
So, you’re training a new VP, Mark? At least your books help. I’m sorry about the problems at work. That doesn’t inspire you to want to go into work each day.
Yeah, we had a new VP join the company about six weeks ago. There is lots she doesn’t know. I get it. But the way it is all unfolding is very frustrating.
I finished reading Invisible by Daniel Alenman. Need to review it this morning. I had refrain from takings it with to my medical appointments this week for fear of crying in the waiting rooms I now consider it a classic. It was the author’s first book and I plan to read everything he writes. It will be published next May,
I have been reading a children’s book, The Day That I Was E by Lisa Thompson. Almost done and I am very impressed by her imagination, Magical Realism is essential to this book. I got real scared and even had nightmares by one book. Good writer but I don’t want nightmares so the author is of authors not to read.
I was in doctor offices all this week, and have another appointment tomorrow. Then next week is even worse! Every day again, sometime two appointments. Tomorrow, will be my day of being fully vaccinated -YAY!!!. With Co-vid getting worse, the snow and ice here in Plano another car repairs needed-I have a lot of catching up to do. I have iron infusions to get scheduled -because my iron deficient anemia is awful and will probably hav are to have a surgery later after that. Lately, books to carried to my appointments and all those appointment in the future are my main focus lately bu,t I am determined to get them done. The books are the best part of the deal!
Cold breezes lately here in Texas, looking forward to warmer weather.
Oh, Carolee. I’m sorry. I’m glad you had your vaccine, though. With all the health issues, I’m sure you’re happy that you do as well.
And, thank heavens for books. They can be the perfect escape in the hardest of times. Take care of yourself.
We’re getting a little bit of rain. Good thing, as the rainy season, such as it is, is almost over.
I read:
Undercover Kitty by Sofia Ryan; The angels are hired to protect a cat show from sabotage. Murder eventually happens. A bit low octane, but I enjoyed the descriptions of a serious cat show.
Hidden Spring by Mark Solms; a book about consciousness and where it comes from. I tend to find all of these sorts of books frustrating, because it seems that the more we learn, the less we know.
The Reunion by Guillaume Masso: 20 years ago, the prettiest girl in a prep school ran off with a professor…but that’s not what actually happened. Now at a reunion, some former students have to cover up. Are prep schools really as hellish as so many students describe? If they are, we should be shutting them down.
Legends of the North Cascades by Jonathan Evison; Despite rave reviews for this tale of a PTSD suffering guy who runs off to the woods with his daughter, all I could think was that this guy needed help.
Shoot the Moon (and More) by Max Allan Collins; A pretty darn good collection of early Collins. The first story has to do with streaking, the fad from the early 70’s where folks would run through an event naked. Probably have to register as a sex offender if somebody did this now.
I, Theresa, Registered Nurse by Diane Frazer; Months ago, in a casual conversation, I mentioned that some blogs were discussing old fashioned nurse fiction. So now people give me nurse books that they find on their bookshelves that have been there for 60 years, mainly to get rid of them, I think. In this one, a rich nurse learns that she was adopted from Europe in the aftermath of WWII, and her fiance dumps her. I was disappointed she wasn’t a werewolf or something.
The Purple Nightgown by AD Lawrence; part of a series based on true crimes of the past, each with a color in the title. A young woman suffers from migraines, and goes to health camp to heal. Unfortunately, it’s a scam, and the method of healing is fasting…Really creepy,and not something you should read if you’re on a diet.
Finally, I got to be on the “street team” for JT Sawyer’s Search and Destroy. I found an error nobody else was able to find, which made me feel like an all-star editor! A CIA guy is framed for a crime he didn’t commit. Unlike Richard Kimble, he’s armed and dangerous…The old Mack Bolan type books really seem to be making a comeback in epublishing.
You should feel like an all-star, Glen, for finding an error! Good for you! I love the comment that you were disappointed the one character wasn’t a werewolf. Funny, Glen!
I recently finished STAGE FRIGHT by Christine Poulson, one of her earlier books. Set in a theater environment in the UK. I loved it.
Currently I am reading THE SECRET PLACE by Tana French for Reading Ireland. I have always liked her books and this one is good, but it is taking me a long time to read. Maybe I am saving my reading until too late in the evening.
I just purchased DEADLY ANNIVERSARIES that Jeff mentioned. Surprisingly, my husband put it on our wishlist, probably because Marcia Muller & Bill Pronzini edited it, and I was that one that bought it. And conversely, I added the Cary Grant biography by Scott Eyman, and he was the one who bought that one. Some good reading ahead.
Tracy, I love the thought of any books set in a theater environment. I miss Broadway.
It’s always wonderful to have good reading ahead!
I am still working my way through Dell Shannon and will then read the other books she has written under other names i.e. Lesley Egan…I have started to reread Ngaio Marsh and Dorothy L. In between those I have read The Lost Manuscript by Kathy Bonidan, Killer Triggers by Joe Kenda – he of Homicide Hunter fame…I have started The Book of lost names by Kristen Harmel and The Moment of Tenderness – short stories by Madeleine L’Engle chosen by her granddaughter.
I haven’t read The Book of Lost Names, Gram. There were holds on it when I had it checked out, so I returned it to the library. But, it was one of my Mom’s favorite books of last year. And, you already know how much I like Dell Shannon/Lesley Egan.
Finally solved some computer problems (aren’t they frustrating?) and can now chime in.
Reading:
TINTIN AND THE WORLD OF HERGE by Benoit Peters, a companion reference to the exceptional Tintin graphic novels.
LONDON’S GLORY THE LOST CASES OF BRYANT AND MAY AND THE PECULIAR CRIMES UNIT by Christopher Fowler. I really enjoy Fowler’s Bryant & May novels and these short stories are a lot of fun too. It helps if you already know the cast, but it’s not necessary.
I also spent considerable time reading the latest issue of MYSTERY SCENE magazine, and as a result my library hold list has grown.
The two types of problems I find the most frustrating, Rick – computer and car. I’m dependent on both, and can’t fix either.
I have a friend who is a big fan of all of the Bryant and May books. She loves London, and used to go several times a year, and she just loved those books.
Mystery Scene succeeded then, if your hold list has grown!