The case starts when Tommie Leokuk’s husband brings her to Active’s office to show him what she found in her latest midnight ramble around the Arctic hamlet of Chukchi. From the pouch of her traditional atiqluk, she pulls a human jawbone with a single molar still in place.
Tommie’s dementia means she can’t explain where she found it. As her husband explains, “She lost her brain few years ago.”
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Ghost Light is the 7th in the Nathan Active series set in Alaska, but the first one I've read. Nathan Active was adopted by a white family and raised in Anchorage, but in the first book, Active found himself back in the area where he was born as Police Chief, trying to fit in culturally with the Inuit community. (I may have to go back to the first book and read through the series.)
I liked the way this case was investigated and the way information had to be filtered as new information became available. The characters were also interesting, not just Chief Active, but the minor characters who are part of the community. The murderer is one of two options...but which one? I will check out the previous books at some point and get to know the characters better.
Purchased.
Mystery. Sept. 15, 2021. Print length: 258 pages.
Toni and Sam have a small wedding planned, done their way, without elaborate plans, and on that morning, Toni is looking forward to seeing Sam and after the ceremony heading to the Scilly Isles for their honeymoon. But the person at the door is not her ride; it is the police to inform her of Sam's death, and Toni's world begins to unravel in the worst of ways. The police tell her that Sam and a teenage girl have been drowned in an apparent suicide.
Unable to come to grips with Sam's death and unable to believe that he was having an affair with an underage girl, Toni eventually contacts Tyrone Swift.
She wants him to find out the truth. The police have found no evidence of anything other than suicide, and Toni still doesn't believe it. Swift warns her that he may not be able to prove Toni right, that the truth may be unpalatable, but Toni insists on hiring him.
Toni's friends have given her strong support over the months since Sam's death, but they are not at all sure that Toni has done right thing in hiring Swift. They seem to want her to eat better and begin getting on with her life. With little to go on and some reluctance from people trying to protect Toni, Sam begins interviewing people, looking for a way into Sam's life and behavior before the wedding.
NetGalley/Joffe Books
British Detective. Dec. 22, 2022. Print length: 318 pages.
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I'd much rather read than review, and many other readers face the same dilemma. How many of you are caught up with your reviewing?
I love the sound of both of these. And I agree with you. I'd much rather read than review. Some days I have to force myself to write that review. I think I'm all caught up right now, but it's a struggle sometimes.
ReplyDeleteKeeping up with reviews is a struggle. I always want to get on to the next book!
DeleteBoth books are solid yes to read.
ReplyDeleteWriting a review of books I've read isn't something I do. I write short notes. I see now a review is better.
Sometimes a short note is all that is needed! Note to self: short notes.
DeleteDeath by the Thames sounds riveting.
ReplyDeleteI write a review that minute I finish a book. Otherwise I'd be way behind!
The organized librarian in you knows that it is better to review immediately. The procrastinator in me knows it as well, and yet, I procrastinate.
DeleteCaught up with my reviews? Surely you jest! I'm always two or three books behind, sometimes more than that. And sometimes that's a problem as the plots can sort of elide into each other. The cure is to read fewer books and I can't do that. I'm an addict.
ReplyDeleteA simple solution: read fewer books. For book addicts, however, that ranges from difficult to impossible. I never really considered it an addiction, but truly--it is!
DeleteI don't even try to review every book I read; but if I did I know I would never be caught up. Because some books just don't make for easy reviews. But then I don't get ARCs either which makes a difference. The Nathan Active series sounds like a good one. I'll have to try it next year. (And then not review it. ;D )
ReplyDeleteI don't review every book I read, either. Because I don't stop and review after each one, but pick up the next one. Read and un-reviewed books languish, and it seems like to much trouble to bother.
DeleteGhost Light really intrigues me. I've found lately that a good setting is almost as much fun as the plot itself in a good mystery, and this setting is one I'd like to learn more about. Now I wonder what the earlier books were like, and if they used the same setting (since the main character only seems to be going "home" in this one).
ReplyDeleteI think I saw this on Cathy's blog, where I pick up many of my mysteries. I do like the setting and the characters and plan to read more. Chief Active has been home for a while in this one, and he is respected and welcomed, but still reminded that he didn't grow up with the culture or the language. I want to know more about him and his transition to his culture.
DeleteYes, I've reviewed and recommended this series several times. I'm so glad you enjoyed Ghost Light enough to go back and read the earlier books, which are set in the same area as this one. Nathan may stray outside it from time to time, but he lives there now. Really interesting characters and a fascinating culture.
DeleteI need to see about finding a copy of Death by the Thames at my library. It sounds wonderful!
ReplyDeleteAs far as reviews vs. reading, I've done pretty well keeping up. I usually read at night and write my reviews in the morning, so I'm able to stay on top of it. It wasn't as easy when I was working full-time, though. Retirement definitely allows me to spend more time on blogging.
I've enjoyed several of the Tyrone Swift books. Retirement offered more time to read, but I still struggle with "finding the time" to review. A fallacy and faulty reasoning, because I'll find all kinds of displacement activities to delay writing a review! :O
DeleteThe Mulrooney book sounds like a very good read. Thank you for the review.
ReplyDeleteDeath by the Thames certainly kept my interest!
DeleteDeath by the Thames sounds intriguing to me. I'm behind on reviews and the same goes to my reading lately. I do try to write the review after finishing the book though so as not to miss anything. Nowadays I'm happy enough to read a book quickly. ;)
ReplyDeleteWe are always in cycles of how much time we have. When pushed for time, it is more comforting to simply immerse yourself in a story (when you can) than to worry about a review.
DeleteOff to look for Death by Thames, good review. I would need to start at book one for the Nathan Active series but that sounds very good as well.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I often begin a series in the middle or with the latest book, the Nathan Active book is one I felt I'd have enjoyed even more if I had begun with the first book and gotten to know the characters over time. Ghost Light is complete and works as a stand-alone, but I would like to know the community and the characters from the beginning. :)
DeleteI do a write up on Goodreads for every book I read. But they do get backed up. However, I think it is worth taking the time to do it because I remember better what I read that way. Death by the Thames sounds very interesting to me. I want to know what happend and why!
ReplyDeleteI immediately write down my thoughts about a book after I finish reading it. I never get behind this way.
ReplyDeleteBut, like you, I prefer to read!