Broken Harbour by Tana French

Somehow the review of Broken Harbour fell into the "I'll do it soon" pile.  I don't review all of the books I read, sometimes just because I forget, but I don't forget Tana French's novels; they linger, not just in certain details, but in the atmosphere that emerges while reading,

Broken Harbour is one of those with a pervasive atmosphere that leaves the reader uneasy almost from the beginning.  French pulls Mick "Scorcher" Kennedy, a secondary character from Faithful Place, and gives him top billing in Broken Harbor.  

Ever since In the Woods, French has made a habit of including characters that will appear in new works.  Rob and Cassie took pride of place in In the Woods; Cassie stepped out alone in The Likeness (which introduced Frank Mackey);  Frank Mackey leads in  Faithful Place which introduced both Mick "Scorcher" Kennedy and Stephen Moran; Broken Harbour features Mick Kennedy, and The Secret Place features Stephen Moran (with appearances by Holly and Frank Mackey), and I expect her next novel will include Detective Antoinette Conway.

This is a clever way to go deeper into the lead characters while introducing prospective lead characters.  We learn more about each protagonist, but we don't get tired of them, and we are familiar with characters in the new novels.  A series that provides both continuity and discovery....

Broken Harbour  examines the ramifications of the recession and is set in a small housing estate where the homes look good, but have actually been cheaply constructed.  In addition to cheap construction and out-of-the-way location, the builders went bankrupt and most of the houses in the planned project remain unfinished and uninhabited.  When a dreadful murder leaves only the mother of the family alive, Mick Kennedy and his rookie partner are called in.  Was it a murder or was the father responsible?

What is so compelling is the way little things (what is said and unsaid, small decisions that loom large, different ways of seeing the same thing) have huge ramifications when accumulated.  Decisions made by the Spain family and their friends, by Kennedy and his much less experienced partner, situations from the past-- influence each character including the investigating detectives and shape the events in the novel.  The outside factor,  the recession and its effect on the economy, sets everything in motion with disastrous effects. 

A novel without an evil character out to harm anyone, Broken Harbour sees many flawed, but decent characters inadvertently hurtling toward tragic consequences.  

After reading Tana French's latest novel The Secret Place, I'm so glad I went back and read this one.  Now, I am up to date with all of the novels in this series.

When I went to Goodreads to post my review, I saw this one by Nataliya.  It is a terrific review and has excerpts from an interview with Tana French about what prompted the book.  

I read this in  August before the RIP Challenge began, but it would make a great RIP choice.

Psychological Suspense.   2012.  Print length:  426 pages.  

In the Woods

French, Tana. In the Woods.

Oh, Tana French is good. Very, very good. Hard to believe this is a debut novel.

In the Woods is a compelling piece of writing; I really could not put it down -- beautifully written, vivid descriptions, suspenseful, complex characters.

The story is about Adam Robert Ryan, now a detective with the Dublin Murder Squad, but formerly one of three children who went into the woods in Knocknaree in 1984, and the only one who came out again. Jamie and Peter were never found, but Rob was discovered in shock, his socks and shoes bloody, and without any memory of what happened.

Nearly 20 years later, Rob and his partner Cassie Maddox find themselves on the case of a murdered child at an archaeological site next to the same wood in Knocknaree. Is there a connection to the earlier case?

The relationship, the friendship, the interaction between Rob and Cassie is a large part of the attraction of the book.

I really want to tell more, but don't want to give anything away. There are several subplots and some surprises.

So...just a couple of quotes from the prologue:

"Picture a summer stolen whole from some coming-of-age film set in small-town 1950s. This is none of Ireland's subtle seasons mixed for a connoisseur's palate, watercolor nuances within a pinch-sized range of cloud and soft rain; this is summer full-throated and extravagant in a hot pure silkscreen blue."

"The wood is all flicker and murmur and illusion. Its silence is a pointillist conspiracy of a million tiny noises..."

Iliana recommended this one. Thanks!

Fiction. Mystery/Psychological. 2007. 429 pages.

The Secret Place by Tana French

The Secret Place     

I could not resist starting this one as soon as I received it from NetGalley.  Then I couldn't put it down.  Enthralled from the very beginning (not that unusual, since this is Tana French), I loved the language, the atmosphere, the sense of being on the edge of something with disaster on the other side, the way the book moved from character to character and present to past and back again--easily, with a finesse that avoids confusion.  The shifts alternate between the unfolding involvement of Detective Stephen Moran and the events that led up to the unsolved murder of a young man on the grounds of the exclusive St. Kilda's private school.

When Holly Mackey brings Detective Stephen Moran a photo of Chris Harper with the words:  "I know who killed him" pasted on it, Moran believes this may be his chance of getting a spot on the Murder Squad.  He gets permission to take it to the Detective who headed the as yet unsolved case. 

 Detective Antoinette Conway is not popular with the lads in the Murder Squad and agrees to let Moran accompany her to the school, but lets him know right away that she can kick him off at any time.  Moran has the advantage of already knowing Holly from when she was a witness when she was ten, but that association cuts both ways because Detective Frank Mackey is her father, and Conway is leery of his relationship with Mackey and believes Moran has a soft spot for Holly.  

Moran is determined to get along with the touchy Conway.  If he can, and if they can solve Chris Harper's murder, his dream of a place on the Murder Squad may actually happen.  Although both detectives come from hard-scrabble backgrounds, Conway resents the rich and privileged while Moran longs for those privileges.  He is impressed with the beauty of St. Kilda's; Conway is offended by it.

Nevertheless, the two eventually find they work well together, and Moran's ability to adapt himself to the people he interviews proves helpful to Conway, whose manner is much more aggressive.  

Dense with detail, layer on layer of possibilities--the plot unwinds slowly over the course of a single day as Moran and Conway interview the students, adding gradually to their information and keeping them just off balance with changing perspectives.  

About 1/3 of the way in, something is revealed that changes the outlook.  I'm not going to reveal what it is, but if you read it, you might be a bit taken aback.  I'm still not sure about this section because it sort of ...dissipates;  its purpose may be connected to something that occurs near the end, but it still puzzles me.

And about 3/4 of the way through, the tension ratchets up to the point, that I'd have to read a little, realize I was skimming, and have to go back and read again--or put it down and walk away.  No matter how French cranks up your emotions, you can't afford to go too fast looking for a release of tension.  The increase in tension has nothing to do with violence; it has to do with concern for the characters.

French is a master at characterization and suspense, and The Secret Place kept me enthralled.  Recommended!

I had missed Broken Harbor for some reason, and as soon as I finished The Secret Place, I ordered and read Broken Harbor.  Which, of course, was also excellent!  Will review soon.

NetGalley/Penguin Group/Viking

Mystery/Police Procedural.  Sept. 2, 2014.  Print length:  464 pages.

The Likeness

French, Tana. The Likeness.

I was so delighted to realize that Cassie from In the Woods was the protagonist in The Likeness. Rob gets a few mentions, but doesn't figure into the story, although Sam does.

This one was even better! Cassie is still trying to recover from all of the fallout from Operation Vestal in the previous book. Six months later, a woman identified as Lexie Madison is found dead. Lexie Madison was Cassie's identity when she worked undercover. Weird enough, since the identity was created out of whole cloth by Cassie and Frank, her boss at the time, but stranger still is the fact that the woman appears to have been Cassie's physical double.

Once again, Cassie slips back into the identity of Lexie Madison, but this Lexie has a different personality. Lexie's housemates are told that she survived the attack, and Cassie begins studying to assume Lexie's role before she moves in and attempts to discover who is responsible. This undercover situation, however, is one that Cassie begins to enjoy. She likes her housemates, she loves the house, she really enjoys the relaxed and intellectual lifestyle that these five individuals are living.

Once again, French manages to separate the reader from any questions about the believability of the plot by creating characters that seem fully-fleshed and achingly alive. Her evocative language, her poetic descriptions of the individuals, the setting, and the events enmesh the reader completely.

The book is long, not entirely plausible (nor was In the Woods), and entirely entertaining.

And there will be another one. French is working on a book that features Frank, the undercover fella'.

Other reviews: To the Lighthouse , Hey Lady, Whatcha Readin'?, Bookgirl's Nightstand -- I know that Ann of About this Blog has read The Likeness, but I couldn't find the review.

And, by the way, Hey Lady, Whatcha Readin'? is offering a give-away copy.

This is an interview with Tana French about In the Woods.



Fiction. Mystery. 2008. 466 pages.

Faithful Place by Tana French

(Another December read)

• I'm a fan of Tana French's first two novels and was eager to read her latest, Faithful Place.  Like the two previous novels, this one has a definite dark edge, but if the edge in the previous novels was a knife blade, the edge in this one is more like an ax.

As a teenager, Francis Mackey (Frank Mackey from The Likeness by French) planned to leave Faithful Place, a depressed neighborhood in Dublin, with his girlfriend Rosie Dailey and travel from Dublin to London, escaping their bleak, oppressive neighborhood, their dysfunctional families, and the general hopelessness of the times and the area.  Rosie, however, didn't show up for the meeting.

Francis was crushed on discovering a note that indicates Rosie went to London without him. Nevertheless, he made his own escape, if not from Dublin, at least from his family and his past.  He cut all ties with his alcoholic and abusive father, his unpleasant, weird mother, and his siblings until eventually he and his youngest sister develop a friendship

It is his sister Jackie who calls him one night twenty-two years later to tell him that a suitcase belonging to Rosie was found stuffed in the fireplace opening of a derelict house scheduled to be torn down.

Like it or not, Francis must return and try to untangle old relationships and discover what happened to Rosie.

Dysfunctional is an overused term that can mean so many different things.  The Mackey's qualify at the worst end of dysfunctional.  Given the extent of craziness in the household, it is almost a miracle that any of the children managed normal  lives.  Each of the children bear scars and suffer damage, but some more so than others.

I didn't like Faithful Place as much as the previous two novels.  It was much more brutal.  Not the description of the crime, but the family relationships, which were so twisted, so mired in anger and bitterness.

Despite the fact that this in not my favorite of French's 3 novels, French does a masterful job of communicating the warped family relationships, the sense of poverty, the substance abuse, the violence both verbal and physical, and the frustrations and sense of hopelessness of the Mackey family and many of  their neighbors.

Fiction. Mystery/ Crime. 2010.  400 pages.

In the Barren Ground

In the Barren Ground by Loreth Anne White takes place in a Canadian wilderness bordering the Arctic Circle.  Tana Larson, young and pregnant, becomes the sole law enforcement for an area that covers 17,500 miles when her superior has some issues with the cold, isolation, and prolonged darkness of the area.

Two young researchers are savaged by wolves, and Tana, after viewing the scene begins to have some doubts about whether the wolves killed the two young people--or arrived after they were dead.

A mixture of legend, madness, and a determined young Mountie who has a surfeit of suspects.

I liked it.  White's writing evokes the atmosphere of the far north.      

Kindle Unlimited.  Read in March.   

The Boy in the Field by Margot Livesey was my favorite book in March, but it won't be published until August, so I'm holding the review.

My husband didn't get this,

but anyone who has grown an avocado tree from an avocado pit will.

stats (updated)

January

Consequences - Penelope Lively -258
Death of the Fat Man- Reginald Hill -404
Interred With Their Bones- 416
Baltimore, or The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire - Mignola & Golden - 285
Hunting Fear - Kay Hooper -338
Outlander - Diane Gabaldon - 627
An Absolute Gentleman - R.M. Kinder -288
Dedication - Emma McLaughlin/ Nicola Kraus - 278
Forgive Me - Amanda Eyre - 234
The Winter Rose - Jennifer Donnelly -707
total pages Jan. - 3835; 10 books

February

Immortal - Traci L. Slatton - 513 pages
Raven Black - Ann Cleeves - 376
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents - Terry Pratchett - 241
Standing Still - Kelly Simmons -262 pages
War of Honor - David Weber - 861
Why Mermaids Sing - C. S. Harris - 342
Silent in the Grave - Deanna Rayburn - 552
The Sonambulist - Jonathan Barnes - 353
Nameless Night - G.M. Ford - 338
total pages Feb. -3838; 9 books


March

In an Instant - Bob & Lee Woodruff - 292 pages
The Devil's Bones -Jefferson Bass - 309
Shadow of Saganami - David Weber - 755
Notorious - Michele Martinez - 336
The Serpent's Tale - Ariana Franklin -i371
The Book of Old Houses- Sarah Graves -294
Dance of Death - Douglas Preston, Lincoln Childs - 451
Letting go of the Person You Used To Be - Lama Surya Dad - 210
Christine Falls -Benjamin Black/John Banville- 340
Zel - Donna Jo Napoli- 227
Mystic and Rider -Sharon Shinn - 440
East -Elizabeth Pattou - 494
The Dream-Maker's Magic - Sharon Shinn - 261
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox - Maggie O'Farrell - 245

March - 5,025 pages; 14 books

April

An Ice Cold Grave - Charlaine Harris - 280 pages
The Ghost Brigade - John Scalzi - 314
New Moon - Stephenie Meyer - 563
City of Bones - Cassandra Clare - 485
Aphabet of Thorn - Patricia A. McKillip - 314
Mad Kestrel - Missy Massey - 320
Book of a Thousand Days - Shannon Hale - 305
Death Walked In - Carolyn Hart - 293
Cauldron - Jack McDevitt - 373
A Flaw in the Blood - Stephanie Barron - 286
American Bloomsbury - Susan Cheever -200
Assassins at Osprey - R.T. Raichev - 222
The Pandora Prescription - James Sheridan - 414
The Fault Tree - Louise Ure - 336
The Girl with No Shadow - Joanne Harris - 444

April - 5,149 total pages; 15 books

May

The Forgery of Venus - Michael Gruber - 318 pages
A Lady Raised High - Laurien Gardner - 284
Belong to Me - Marisa de los Santos - 388
Late Night Talking - Leslie Schnur - 308
Shadow of Power - Steve Martini - 390
Garden Spells - Sarah Addison Allen - 290
Souls of Angels - Thomas Eidson - 286
A Pigeon and a Boy - Meir Shalev - 311
The Stone Gods - Jeannette Winterson - 207
May - 2,782 pages; 9 books

June

The House at Riverton - Kate Morton - 473
A Fatal Waltz - Tasha Alexander - 289
Dreamers of the Day - Mary Doria Russell - 253
Eden's Outcasts - John Matteson - 428
Rubicon - Lawrence Alexander - 295
Blue Smoke and Murder - Elizabeth Lowell - 404
Ivory - Mike Resneck - 315
The Year She Disappeared - Ann Harleman - 306
Go Green - Nancy H. Taylor - 135
The Chameleon's Shadow - Minette Walters - 370
A Charmed Life: Growing Up in Macbeth's Castle - Liza Campbell - 321

June - 3, 589 pages; 11 books

July
Dark Summit - Nick Heil - 251 pages
A Pale Horse = Charles Todd - 360
The Sorcerers' Plague - David B. Coe - 393 pages
The Pajama Girls of Lambert Square - Rosina Lippi - 351 pages
Shadow Gate: Book Two of the Crossroads - Kate Elliot - 475 pages
The Poisoner of Ptah - P.C. Doherty - 378
The Crows - Maris Soule - 262
Light of the Moon - Luanne Rice - 386
A Magic of Twilight - S.L. Farrell - 526

July - 9 books, 3,382 pages

August
Touchstone - Laurie R. King - 548
A Slice of Organic Life - Sheherazade Goldsmith, ed. - 347
Moving Forward: Taking the Lead in Your Life - Dave Pelzer - 192
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society - Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows - 274
The Calling - Inger Ash Wolfe - 371
Alice: Alice Roosevelt Longworth - Stacy Cordery - 483
The Invention of Hugo Cabret - Brian Selznick - 533
Hand of Evil - J. A. Jance - 384
An Advancement of Learning - Reginald Hill - 288
The Primrose Convention - Jo Bannister - 267
By Schism Rent Asunder - David Weber- 494
Fathers and Sins - Jo Bannister - 201

August - 12 books; 4,382 pages

September
The Blood of Caesar - Albert Bell - 252 pages
A Clubbable Woman - Reginald Hill - 255
In Fury Born - David Weber - 828 pages
Pharmakon - Dirk Wittenborn - 403 pages
The Intention Experiment - Lynn McTaggert - 222
At All Costs - David Weber - 864
Calling Home - Janna McMahan - 307
Written in Blood - Sheila Lowe - 306

September 8 books; 3, 437 pages

October
Exit Lines - Reginald Hill -255 pages
The Blackstone Key - Rose Melikan - 435
Wild Life - Molly Gloss - 255
O'Artful Death - Sarah Stewart - 277
Mesmerized - Gayle Lynds - 451
Dark Celebration - Christine Feehan - 301
The Crystal Skull - Manda Scott - 365
Live Bait - P.J. Tracy - 204
I Am Legend - Richard Matheson - 170
A New Earth - Eckhart Tolle - 309
My Lady of Cleves - Margaret Campbell Barnes - 328
The Mindful Woman - Sue Patton - 219
Mansfield Park Revisited - Joan Aiken - 201
The Society of S - Susan Hubbard - 304
In the Woods - Tana French - 429
The Likeness - Tana French - 466
The Poet of Lochness - Brian Jay Corrigan - 302
Dead Run - P.J. Tracy - 324
Snow Blind - P.J. Tracy - 320
Still as Death - Sarah Steward -304

October: 20 books; 6,219 pages

November
March to the Stars - David Weber & John Ringo - 526
Laced - Carol Higgins - 352
How We Choose to Be Happy - Rick Foster & Greg Hicks - 228
The Wasted Vigil - Nadeem Aslam - 320
Blasphemy - Douglas Preston - 416
The Reluctant Widow - Georgette Heyer -316
Brother -James Fredericks - 410
The Book of the Dead - Patricia Cornwell - 511
Regency Buck - Georgette Heyer - 392
Dune - Frank Herbert - 517

November - 10 books; 3,988 pages

December
The Grift - Debra Grinsberg - 329
Still Waters - Nigel McCrery - 275
The Broken Window - Jeffrey Deaver - 414
The Terror - Dan Simmons - 776
Pardonable Lies - Jacqueline Winspear - 352
An Incomplete Revenge - Jacqueline Winspear - 320
Second Hand Smoke - Karen E. Olson - 259
Water Like a Stone - Deborah Crombie - 407
Careless in Red - Elizabeth George - 640
The Mermaid Chair - Sue Monk Kidd - 332
The Book of Lies - Brad Meltzer - 344
Last Post - Robert Barnard - 241
The Keepsake - Tess Gerritsen - 368
On Account of Conspicuous Women - Dawn Shamp - 304
The Mephisto Club - Tess Gerritsen - 448

December: 15 books; 5, 809 pages

------
total pages read: 47,846
total books:142

books by female authors: 90
books by male authors: 52

fiction: 128
nonfiction: 14 (OMG - how sad is that?)

Waiting for Fall

I finally finished this fella'.

He went through a couple of incarnations.

My Halloween Eccentrics

have had a good run this summer.

Still have a couple in progress from early July.

When I run out of ideas,

and they have personality issues,

I leave them alone until they 

decide who they want to be.

My Goblin and Frank-N-Stein

have been stalled for a while.

And the witch that I abandoned 

along with them also needs attention.

--------

I just finished Tana French's

latest book:  The Secret Place!

Is there anyone better 

at creating atmosphere?

I loved it and will review it soon.

I do love NetGalley.

I'm still adding to my R.I.P. challenge list, 

and eagerly awaiting the date I can begin reading.

Have you thought of good choices 

for Carl's challenge?

I'm eager to add to my list.

Commenting Difficulties

For some reason, I can't post my replies to comments on the previous post about In the Woods by Tana French. So I'm posting them here:

Kay - I just finished The Likeness a few minutes ago. Excellent! Hope you and your book club will tackle one or both of French's novels.

Callista - Oh, yes! And move it up toward the top of the list!

SuziQ - French is extremely talented and much more complex than most authors!

rache - I was disappointed that some things were not resolved, but it didn't spoil my feelings for the book. I checked out both of her books at the same time, and The Likeness is just as fascinating!

Ann - I can't get my comments to post and in the meantime, you've commented! I was not sure French could get any better, but she does! Such evocative writing. Have you read Half-Broken Things by Morag Joss? The atmosphere is very similar.


Also here is a link to a great give-away: Shooting Stars Mag is giving away The Dracula Dossier. Even if I don't win, I'll be looking for this one.

A Sharp Solitude by Christine Carbo

I've been reading Christine Carbo's suspenseful novels set in Glacier National Park since NetGalley offered the first one (The Wild Inside) in 2015.  The natural beauty of the park and the often terrifying threats of the wilderness are always crucial elements in the novels.  The park itself is more than setting; it is character as well.

Carbo's tendency to take a minor character from one novel and give him or her a lead in the next novel is much the same as in Tana French's novels.  This penchant of developing secondary characters contributes a freshness and energy to each succeeding plot.  

A Sharp Solitude features FBI investigator Ali Paige and Reeve Landon.  Landon is Ali's former boyfriend and the father of her daughter.  When Anne Marie Johnson (a journalist who was last seen accompanying Reeve Landon  and his service dog for an article she was writing) is murdered, Landon becomes the chief suspect.  Intensely private and with a secret past he is desperate to keep hidden,  Landon is arrested after not admitting that Anne Marie visited his cabin.

Ali Paige refuses to believe Landon is guilty and gets involved in the investigation using her FBI position to get information.  But Ali is not authorized to do so and is jeopardizing her own career.  She is also afraid she may discover something she doesn't want to know.

I thought I knew where the novel was going because issues concerning gun control appear early, but while that is an interesting aspect, the truth is something different.

Shifting between Reeve Landon and Ali's perspectives, the reader learns of the events in their pasts that contribute to the situation in which they find themselves.

Monte Harris and Gretchen Larsen have only cameo appearances.  

A fine addition to this series, but I wonder who will take the lead in the next installment.

Read in March; blog review scheduled for May 17.

NetGalley/Attria Books

Suspense.  May 29, 2018.  Print length:  368 pages

Hangman by Stephan Talty

Hangman 

Serial killer Marcus Flynn has escaped from prison, and Abbie Kearney finds herself the lead in the investigation.

After murdering four young girls, Flynn's attempt at suicide failed, and the brain injured man was tried and incarcerated. The body of the 4th girl was never recovered, a loose end that hangs over the heads of the police and of her father.

Despite the dragnet in place after his escape, Flynn makes his way back to his old hunting grounds, and almost immediately begins killing again.

Abbie Kearney desperately attempts to stop the Hangman before he kills again, and a young girl has only hours left if Abbie isn't successful.

Hangman reads reads quickly and is a suspenseful adventure.  There are no surprises, really; you can figure most of it out very early, but the turns the investigation takes will keep you interested.

Talty has been compared to Jo Nesbo and Tana French, but Abbie lacks the strange charisma of Nesbo's Harry Hole and the writing lacks the multi-layered psychological approach of French. Not as violent as Nesbo, not as well-written as French.

I had a few questions about a few situations, but didn't go back to see if I just overlooked a few things.   

 Read in Jan.; blog post scheduled for April

NetGalley/Random House/Ballantine

Police Procedural/Crime.  May 23, 2014.  Print Version: 320 pages.

Books Read and Reviewed in 2010

 Lots of mysteries in last year's list.  I've spent so much time catching up on reviews that the idea of separating them into categories doesn't work for me this year.  I kept this list without any additional information I've included in the past and won't be going over it to separate into male/female, fiction/nonfiction, etc. 

I found some new authors that I enjoyed, followed authors I've liked in the past, taken recommendations from many of my fellow book bloggers, didn't include all the books I've read with Bryce Eleanor (and reread, and reread, and reread). 

Some books were really good, most were pretty average, and a few that were pretty bad.

1.   The Typist - Michael Knight
2.  Zero Day - Mark Russinovich
3. Blood in the Water - Gillian Galbraith
4.  The Other Side of Dawn - John Marsden
5.  The Night Is for Hunting - John Marsden
6.  Burning for Revenge - John Marsden
7. Darkness Be My Friend - John Marsden
8.  A Killing Frost - John Marsden
9.  The Dead of Night - John Marsden
10.  Faithful Place - Tana French
11.  I'd Know You Anywhere - Lara Lippman
12. Damaged - Alex Kava
13. The Passage - Justin Cronin
14. Bitter in the Mouth - Monique Truong
15.  Predator's Gold -Philip Reeve
16.  Mortal Engines - Philip Reeve
17.  Fever Crumb - Philip Reeve
18. Senseless- Mary Burton
19.  Merciless- Mary Burton
20. Death Echo - Elizabeth Lowell
21. Bury Your Dead - Louise Penny
22.  The Hunchback Assignments - Arthur Slade
23.  Tomorrow When the War Began - John Marsden
24.  A Conspiracy of Kings - Megan Whalen Turner
25. An Impartial Witness- Charles Todd
26. The Tourist - Olen Steinhaur
27.  Class Collision
28.  The Mapping of Love and Death - Jacqueline Winspear
29. Operation Mincemeat-
30.  Boneshaker - Cherie Priest
31.  Burn - Nevada Barr
32.  Ghosts in Trouble - Carolyn Heart
33.  Blameless - Gail Carriger
34. Changeless - Gail Carriger
35.  The Affinity Bridge - George Mann
36. The Return of Dr. Fu-Manchu - Sax Rohmer
37.  Kidnapped - Jan Burke
38.  The Waters Rising - Sherri Tepper
39.  Soulless - Gail Carriger
40.  The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu - Sax Rohmer
41.  Maids of Misfortune - M. Louisa Locke
42.  A Stranger in the Family - Robert Barnard
43.  The Ring of Death - Sally Spencer
44.  A Small Death in the Great Glen -by A.D. Scott
45.  Four and Twenty Blackbirds - Cherie Priest
46.  Crimson Rooms - Katharine McMahon
47.  The Haunted Abbot - Peter Tremayne
48. The Sting of Death - Rebecca Tope
49.  Shakespeare Undead - Lori Handeland
50.  A Murderous Procession - Arianna Franklin
51.  The Throne of Jade - Naomi Novik
52.  Reader & Raelynx - Sharon Shinn
53. The Whisper - Carla Neggars
54. Bellfield Hall - Anna Dean
55.  Teaching Yoga - Mark Stephens
56. The Price of Revenge - Dennis Vaughn
57. The Burning Wire -Jeffery Deaver
58.  The Man from Beijing - Henning Mankell
59.  The Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton
60.  206 Bones - Kathy Reichs
61.  Stress Fracture - D.P. Lyle
62. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larsson
63.  The Traffickers - W.E.B Griffin
64.  This Body of Death - Elizabeth George
65. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo -Stieg Larsson
66. The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag - Alan Bradley
67.  The Dark Vineyard -Martin Walker
68. 61 Hours - Lee Child
69.  Krishnamacharya:  His Life and Teachings - A. G. Mohan
70.  His Majesty's Dragon - Naomi Novik
71.  Blood Harvest - S.J. Bolton
72. Witch Week - Diana Wynne Jones
73.  The Magicians of Caprona - Diana Wynne Jones
74.  What Alice Knew - Paula Marantz Cohen
75. Heresy - S.J. Parris
76.  Hush - Karen White
77. The God of the Hive - Laurie R. King
78.  The Nobodies Album - Carolyn Parkhust
79.  The Village of the Ghost Bears -Stan J. Jones
80.  Citizens of London- Lynne Olson
81. The Black Cat - Martha Grimes
82.  Snow Angels - James Thompson
83.  Burning Lamp - Amanda Quick
84.  The Strange Case of the Composer and His Judge - Patricia Duncker
85.  Sacrifice - S.J. Bolton
86.  How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk - Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish
87.  Land of Ghosts _E.V. Seymour
88. The Price of Revenge - Dennis Vaughn
89.  Fever Dreams - Preston & Child
90.  The False Mermaid - Erin Hart
91. The Cold Dish - Craig Johnson
92. The Hypnotist - M. J. Rose
93. The Bradbury Report - Steven Polansky
94. A Bad Day for Pretty - Sophie Littlefield
95. The Bone Thief - Jefferson Bass
96. The Owl Killers - Karen Maitland
97. Whiter than Snow - Sandra Dallas
98. The Magicians - Lev Grossman
99. The Last Illusion - Rhy Bowen
100. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane - Katherine Howe
101. The Ice Princess - Camilla Lackberg
102. Saving Max - Antoinette Van Heugten
103. Season of Water and Ice - Donald Lystra
104. Perfect Reader - Maggie Pouncey
105. Blindman's Bluff - Faye Kellerman
106. The Persuader - Lee Child
107. Jericho's Fall - Stephen Carter
108. The Red Door - Charles Todd
109. Nothing to Lose - Lee Child
110. Catalyst - Anne McCaffrey & Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
111. A Plague of Secrets - John Lescroart
112. Hounding the Moon - P.R. Frost
113. Her Fearful Symmetry - Audrey Niffenneggar
114. Spellwright - Blake Charlton
115. Troll Blood - Katherine Langrish
116. The Healing Path of Yoga - Nischala Joy Devi
117. Warrior - Erin Hunter
118. Troll Fell - Katherine Langrish
119. Tears of Pearl - Tasha Alexander
120. Until Its Over - Nicci French
121. The Coldest Blood - Jim Kelly
122. Balancing Acts -  Zoe Fishman
123. Torch of Freedom - David Weber & Eric Flint
124. One Shot - Lee Child
125. Roadside Crosses - Jeffrey Deaver
126. The Hard Way - Lee Child
127. When Gods Die - C.S. Harris
128. A Duty to the Dead - Charles Todd
129. A Season of Second Chances - Diane Meier
130. Grave Surprise - Charlaine Harris
131. Satchel:  The Live and Times of an American Legend - Larry Tye
132. Remarkable Creatures - Tracy Chevalier
133. The Body Has a Mind of Its Own - Sandra & Matthew Blakeslee
134. The Visibles - Sara Shepherd
135. Toad Cottages and Shooting Stars - Sharon Lovejoy
136. American Rust - Philipp Meyer
137. The Wisdom Paradox - Elkhonnan Goldberg
138. The Siege - Stephen White
139. Bad Luck and Trouble - Lee Child
140. Scare the Light Away - Vicki Delany
141. The Swan Thieves - Elizabeth Kostova
142. Without Fail - Lee Child
143. Sun Storm - Asa Larsson
144. The Armada Boy - Kate Ellis
145. The Innocent Spy - Laura Wilson
146. A Reliable Wife - Robert Goolrick
147. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie -  Alan Bradley
148. I Can See You - Karen Rose
149. That Old Cape Magic - Richard Russo
150. The Brutal Telling - Louise Penny
151. Gone Tomorrow - Lee Child
152. Borderline - Nevada Barr
153. A Proper Education for Girls - Elaine de Rollo

Caught Up

I have caught up with my reviews. Yes!

I have several non-fiction books in progress and am still trying to formulate my reading plan for next year. Fiction will still probably be the largest part of it with healthy doses of mystery, science fiction, and fantasy. It is the nonfiction that I'm contemplating right now and with the goal of pursuing some interests with more organization than previously.

Lately, I've had a run of very poor mystery choices, but I will continue to pursue new authors to accompany my old favorites: Reginald Hill, Peter Robinson, Carol O'Connell's Mallory novels, Deborah Crombie, Jacqueline Winspear, James Lee Burke (haven't read one of his in a long time), Jan Burke, Laurie King, Colin Dexter, Minnette Walters, P.D. James, Elizabeth George, P.J. Tracy, and Charles Todd.

New discoveries this year have been Tana French and Robert Barnard. Winners, both!

Oh, yeah, the nonfiction...I've ordered several books about yoga and checked out some at the library. The goal is to study this a little more thoroughly--adding the intellect to the physical.

Biographies -- there was some serious slacking in this category in 2008 which definitely needs to be remedied. I think I'll look for a biography of Richard Feynman first.

Because I enjoyed The Terror, a novel about the real Franklin Expedition, I'm going to look for nonfiction on the subjects of Arctic exploration and the search for the Northwest Passage widening perhaps to other adventurous exploration. I've no problem with mixing fiction with the nonfiction, either, as fiction often leads to other digressive topics. :)

Stefanie at So Many Books (who instigated my reading of The Terror) mentioned that she might order the Nova documentary about the Franklin Expedition. I put it in my que yesterday. :) Another "reading itenerary" in the works!

The Edgars

I've been looking over The Edgar Winners and Nominees, and of course, jotting down some titles.  I've read two of the nominees for Best Novel, Faithful Place by Tana French (which I didn't like nearly as well as her first two novels, both of which I loved) and Laura Lippman's I'd Know You Anywhere (which I liked much better than I expected).  On my list already were Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin and the winner of the Best Novel, The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton.

Of those nominated for Best First Novel, I've only read Snow Angels by James Thompson.  Didn't like this one at all and won't be reading his second novel.  Too graphic, among other things.  The winner was Rogue Island by Bruce DeSilva, which I'll look for at the library.

Haven't read any in the Paperback, Best Fact Crime, or Best Critical Biography categories, although Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History by Yunte Huang was already on my list.  A recent review in the paper made this one sound well worth reading.

I'm interested, too, in Jo Nesbo, another Scandanavian crime author.  Think I'll start with some of his older novels before moving on to The Snow Man, the one that is getting such buzz right now.

Lately, crime and mystery novels have been taking top priority around here. 

-----


 Remember my review of The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating?  Well, Bryce Eleanor found a tiny snail shell in the garden, and I used it when I was creating another eccentric little doll.  His name is Augustus, and I gave him a little book of his own, but The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating is on his library list.

More on Augustus and his creation here.

Monday...

Drove down to Baton Rouge yesterday because Erin was having a tonsillectomy this morning. We were at the surgery center by 6:30 for all of the paper work and pre-op stuff. They took her in around 8:00, and things went well. Home by about noon. This is not an easy surgery for an adult, but Erin is hanging in there -- thanks to hydracodone.

I brought several books for me and for Erin (+ embroidery stuff to play with). Right now I'm reading P.J. Tracy's Snow Blind and How We Choose to Be Happy by Rick Foster and Greg Hicks.

Maybe some of you read about the happiest places to live and saw this list of the 15 happiest countries and an explanation of why Denmark tops the list. I had a friend who lived in Copenhagen several years ago, and she was fascinated by the Danes and commented that they didn't seem melancholy at all. Take that Hamlet! Evidently she was right since Denmark has the highest rating of life satisfaction in the study.

Maybe because I minored in sociology and psychology years ago, human behavior and its causes always fascinates me, and I love reading about some of the factors that contribute to a person's sense of well-being.

Foster and Hicks have been studying the components of happiness for a number of years and are involved in research with the Mayo Clinic and Wake Forest University Medical Center (and others). While there is definitely a genetic/inherited predisposition toward optimism, Foster and Hicks have developed a "cognitive roadmap" of nine behaviors that give people a way to control their reactions to circumstances.

I'm almost half-way through and enjoying it. The language is geared for the layman and reads quickly, yet the content provides much food for thought, especially when considering one's own behavior patterns, both genetic and learned.

Poor Erin...maybe she will feel like reading tomorrow. I hope so because one of the books I brought her is In the Woods by Tana French. That will make her happy!

Some Good'uns!

Out of Bounds by Val McDermid 

I'm a great fan of Val McDermid's Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series, but this is only the second book I've read featuring Karen Pirie.  

Head of the cold case division of Police Scotland, Karen uses work to keep her busy as she struggles with the loss of her partner.  She likes her job and has an excellent reputation for solving difficult cases, but she also has a reputation for contravening authority is creative ways. 

When a car crash leaves three young men dead and the young driver in a coma--a curious situation arises.  The young man's DNA has a familial connection to a murder that occurred 22 years ago.   The first complication arises when Karen realizes the young man was adopted, so tracing the familial connection will be more difficult.  

While getting information about how to navigate the legal system to find out about the boy's biological father, Karen takes an interest in a case that a detective seems to be too eager to write off as a suicide.

The relationship between Karen and her second in command adds just the right touch of humanity.  Jason provides the perfect foil for Karen; while he lacks Karen's sharp intelligence, his dedication and loyalty more than make up for it.  McDermid's characters always feel genuine, her writing flows, and her complex plots have perfect pacing.

I'm all for more of Karen Pirie and will check the library for the two books I've missed.

Library copy.

Mystery/Suspense.  2016.  464 pages.

The Trespasser is Tana French's latest entry in the excellent Dublin Murder Squad series. Antoinette Conway (The Secret Place) and Stephen Moran (The Secret Place and Broken Harbor) take the lead, and the dialogue between these two is such a pleasure.  Conway is a hard case with some justified paranoia, and Moran's ability to tone her down and offer new perspectives is spot on.  They work to each other's strengths.

The Trespasser has a slow, thoughtful pace as Conway and Moran try to navigate the treacherous waters of a murder that at least one detective on the squad wants solved quickly with a predictable outcome.  As Conway and Moran seek to give the case a more thorough investigation, they have to be cautious with their information.

French has the ability to toss in situations that keep the reader on edge about the outcome.  About half way through, a situation occurs that really worried me, making me question so much of my first thoughts. Near the conclusion, another twist occurs.  These aren't the kind of gaudy twists that you find in some books, they are plausible changes as a result of characters' thoughts and actions.

I've read and reviewed all of this series, and French never disappoints.  Now--two more years before another book, and I've been wondering who will be featured.  Breslin?  Oooh, that makes me uneasy.

French is one of the best in the business.

Library Copy

Police Procedural.  2016.  449 pages.


The Lies Within by Jane Isaac is the third in the DI Will Jackman series by Jane Isaac, and I enjoyed it as much or more than the previous books.  Isaac manages to write intriguing police procedurals that keeping me engaged with her characters as I try to determine the what, why, and who of the mystery.

The prologue is a trial scene in the present, but Chapter One flashes back about 10 months.  Jackman has been seconded to a neighboring district to review some adult sexual offence cases when the murder of a young woman occurs that has similarities to two of the cases he has been reviewing.  Although he is not in his home district, he asks to be assigned to the case.

The victim is the nineteen-year-old daughter of Grace Daniels.  Devastated, Grace's despair and depression worry her family; Grace, consumed by grief, can't seem to return to a normal life.  A chance connection with an old acquaintance provides some support, and Grace is able to move away from her fugue state. It is clear from the beginning that this new relationship is problematic.

Isaac concentrated more on Grace Daniels than on DI Jackman in this book.  However, a character from the last book puts an awkward spin on Jackman's role in Leicestershire, and I'm curious to know if the character will make an appearance in future books.

A clever plot and well-drawn characters make this third entry in this series a winner.

NetGalley/Legend Press

Police Procedural.  May 2, 2017.  Print length:  288 pages.

New books that are on my Must Read List:

Reginald Hill's The Woodcutter.  Not part of the Dalziel and Pascoe series (which is probably my favorite series of all time), this is a stand-alone about Wolf Hadda who was thrown in prison for a crime he didn't commit.  When a psychiatrist helps Hadda win parole, Hadda plans revenge.  Although I've never liked his stand-alones as well as the Fat Man and Pascoe novels, Hill is always, always good.

Tana French's Faithful Place.  Frank Mackey, mentioned in French's second book The Likeness, is the protagonist in French's new novel.  Mackey returns to Dublin when the remains of his girlfriend are discovered 25 years after she disappeared.  I liked The Likeness even better than In the Woods, her first novel-- so I hope this will be at least as intriguing as her first two.

Martin Edward's The Serpent Pool.  DCI Hannah Scarlett is investigating the death of an aspiring writer seven years previously when she becomes involved with the murders of rare book dealers.  Yeah, the rare book dealer theme always draws me in.

I guess the weather has me in a reading mode; so darn hot!  Rather than do anything on my list of chores, I find myself curled up with a book in hand. I'm really getting tired of summer.  Stinker has the right idea--sprawl out, blink a few times, and go to sleep.

Even knowing that cooler weather in our neck of the woods is a long way off, everyone is yearning for fall.  We yearn for fall for much of the summer, actually.