Inspector Ian Frey has problems. A shake up at Scotland Yard has his position in jeopardy, his father is a bully, his older brother is sly and devious, and his fiancee has just ended their engagement. What else could go wrong?
Why, he could be sent to Scotland, the land of the primitive and uncouth Scots. For Frey, an arrogant snob, this is tantamount to perdition. To make matters worse, his partner is "Nine Nails" McGray, who heads the unusual department for investigating the supernatural.
The two mismatched protagonists allow the author to make fun of both characters and of some of the cultural views of the Victorian period. A touch overdone, perhaps, but as this is the first in a new series, hopefully the author will make adjustments that tone the exaggerations down a bit. It has potential. :)
NetGalley/Pegasus Books
Historic Mystery. May 2, 2016. Print length: 412 pages.
Miller's Valley by Anna Quindlen is a novel about families and communities, a beautifully written coming-of-age story. Pulling you in slowly, Quindlen concentrates on the small world that Mary Margaret (Mimi) Miller inhabits--her family, friends, and her initially limited understanding of the threat of imminent domain.The government wants to flood the valley, but they are not in a great hurry. Some folks don't believe it will ever happen, but as the years go by, and the valley experiences serious flooding, more and more families agree to sell.
It is a slow book, a quiet book, and there is not a great deal of action. Quindlen develops the characters and the daily routines and personalities of those who live in the small community of Miller's Valley.
The story is told from Mimi's point of view as she looks back on her childhood in the '60's, through high school and college. In the present, she reviews the history of her family and of the slow acceptance that their town will become one of "drowned towns."
NetGalley/Random House
Literary Fiction. April 5, 2016. Print length: 273 pages.
The Anatomist's Wife by Anna Lee Huber is set in Scotland in the 1830's and features Lady Kiera Darby, an artist who was forced by her husband to attend dissections and make drawings. After her husband's death, people discover that Kiera is the artist behind the drawings and call her unnatural. Offered sanctuary by her sister and her husband, Kiera attempts to stay out of the public eye, but a murder causes more accusations against her. If you like Deanna Raybourn's Lady Julia Grey series, you might enjoy this book which offers a mystery and a little romance. It is the first in the Lady Darby series, and I will read another to see if there is more depth in the next installment. I had some problems with several things that did not seem appropriate for the 1830 time period. Sometimes, though, an author has to get her feet a little wet before characters and settings begin to gel, so I'll check with the library for Mortal Arts which sounds interesting.
It was entertaining, but I like Imogen Robertson's series with Harriet Westerman and the reclusive anatomist Gabriel Crowther better.
Library book.
Historic Mystery. 2012. 369 pages.
I have read some really great stuff by Anna Quindlen, but been ages since I read her. Should fix that!
ReplyDeleteThe Strings of Murder stood out among the three for me; perhaps due to the premise and of course the interesting characters. And Miller's Valley sounds like a book which requires the right frame of mind to read it; well at least to me. :-)
ReplyDeleteThe Strings of Murder has a lot of possibility as a series. :) Miller's Valley took me at least a chapter to get interested, then I was hooked. It won't appeal to everyone, but I like Anna Quindlen's writing.
DeleteI like the idea of the locked-room mystery in The Strings of Murder. Sounds like it was a fun read. Does it have a touch of supernatural in it, too?
ReplyDeleteMaybe yes, maybe no. Frey doesn't believe in the supernatural; Nine Nails McGray does and is looking for an answer to a specific question. :)
DeleteI just finished reading a quiet sort of book and, thinking on it, I don't think the characters were very fleshed out--other than the main character and maybe one other. And yet, it worked. Your comments about Anna Quindlen's book made me think of that.
ReplyDeleteI like the sound of The Anatomist's Wife. I may have to check that one out. And I definitely want to give Imogen Robertson a try.
The locked room mystery appeals to me too. It will be interesting to see how the books progress. Hopefully it will get better as it goes as it does sound promising.
The two mysteries were entertaining historical mysteries.
DeleteQuindlen's Miller's Valley is in a different category, slow but thoughtful, with wonderful characterization. The Roosevelt Dam that will flood the valley, and I wonder about how accurate some of the details are. The Roosevelt Dam expansion in 1989 did drown the town of Roosevelt.
I really like Anna Quindlen's writing. I'm adding Miller's Valley to my list.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is still One True Thing, which I read when it was first published years ago. I really admire Quindlen's ability to climb into another person's skin.
DeleteThe Strings of Murder mystery sounds like fun. Glad you enjoyed The Anatomist's Wife - it is more of a cozy type mystery isn't it. I really want to check out the others you mentioned though!
ReplyDeleteThe two mysteries were fun. Quindlen's is an excellent character study. I would read a little of Quindlen's at a time, but swallowed the other two whole. :)
DeleteDid you like the Quindlen book? I haven't read her other fiction because the topics did not appeal to me. This one sounds like a book I might like. We have a 'drowned town' near us. And I just read about one in a mystery by Jane Langton.
ReplyDeleteI did like it. It is really about a woman looking back at the time "before," a slow, character-driven novel about a family. I tried to find out if any of the things Mimi suspected were true about the Roosevelt dam and the government's role were true, but, of course, I could not find confirmation. I've read a couple of mysteries about drowned towns, but not Langton's. Will have to check it out. :)
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