Teasers on Books to Be Released in the Next Few Months

Some of my recent reading has been from Net Galley sent to my Kindle.  Some are excellent, of course, and some are not.  I've  enjoyed the following, though I haven't reviewed them yet, and haven't even finished The Secret Lives of Codebreakers.

 The Secret Lives of Codebreakers:  The Men and Women Who Cracked the Enigma Code at Bletchley Park by Sinclair McKay is my current read.  The book won't be released until Sept. 25--so my review will have to wait until closer to publication, but I can tell you that it is one of the most interesting books I've read in a long time.  The nonfiction account of Bletchley Park is fascinating; I'm about 1/2 way through and have highlighted something on almost every page.

McKay writes nonfiction with the same attention to detail and suspense that you might find in a spy novel.  I've mentioned before my interest in Bletchley Park and the Enigma machine (and cryptography and code breakers in general), but I have to admit that I expected the book to be on the dry side.  Not at all the case!  Codebreakers is an absolute pleasure to read, and I return to it with enthusiasm each time.

I've finished, but must also hold the review for Peaches for Father Francis by Joanne Harris which continues the story of Vienne Rocher that Harris began with Chocolate and continued with  The Girl with No Shadow.  I've enjoyed all three of these books and several others by Harris.  They are all light reading, magical realism.














The Joy Brigade by Martin Limon is due out at the end of this month and is set in North Korea in the 1970s.  The information about North Korea and the Joy Brigade (distasteful as it is) was worth the read, but I found the story itself less satisfying.  As I know little about North Korea other than the what I read in the news or know about the Korean War from brief comments, books about North Korea interest me.

I did a little research to see if there really is a Joy Brigade-- unfortunately, yes.  However, the Manchurian Battalion did not exist.

Also found some sad, but interesting info about an incident called the Axe Murders in which two unarmed American officers were slain by North Korean soldiers in 1976.  Not connected to the book's narrative, but provide interesting insight to the existing tensions at the DMZ.

Another interesting look at life in the closed society of North Korea is A Corpse in the Koryo by James Church.

The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro (due out in Oct.) provides an intriguing look at art theft and art forgery.  There really is an Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, but the story is fiction.  Claire Roth is a young artist, who due to a difficult situation in the past, finds herself pretty much blacklisted by galleries.  She makes a living reproducing famous works of art for an online retailer.  The works are reproductions, not forgeries, but the skills are similar, and when a gallery owner approaches Claire with a dubious project, Claire had decisions to make.

I enjoyed both the story and the sections on art in this one.


The above Net Galley teasers (along with others that I've reviewed fully) have been both entertaining and educational.  There have, of course, been some real duds, books that whether I  finished them or abandoned them don't really rate reviews or mention, but the majority of my Net Galley ebooks have been a pleasure.

The Broken Token by Chris Nickson

The Broken Token  is the first in a series by Nickson featuring Richard Nottingham, the constable of Leeds in the 1730s.

An early morning knock on his door calls Nottingham to the scene of a double murder with the victims posed in a sexual manner.  If this were not shocking enough, the female victim is a young woman who once worked in Nottingham's home.

The murder is itself appalling, but as it turns out, it is only the first in a series.  Each new outrage puts more pressure on Nottingham.  The pressure to catch the killer is personal for the constable, whose family treasured the young woman.  In addition to this, his job is endangered;  if he doesn't make an arrest soon, he could be dismissed from his position.

Nottingham, a devoted husband and father, is a likable protagonist, as is John Sedgwick, his devoted deputy, whose family life is not as successful as Nottingham's, but whose dedication to finding the murderer is almost as strong as that of his superior-- despite their different views concerning the case.

An interesting and entertaining historical mystery.

Library book.

Fiction.  Historical Mystery.  2010.  269 pages.

Istanbul Passage by Joseph Kanon

Istanbul Passage  evokes the atmosphere of late 1945, shortly after the end of the war.  During the war Istanbul remained neutral, and spies from all sides gathered there, but at the time the novel takes place most have departed.

Which is not to mean that unusual machinations had ceased.  Istanbul served as a kind of way station in the efforts to aid Jewish refugees in their efforts to reach Palestine.

After the war millions of displaced Jews who had survived the Nazi regime sought refuge in the newly established Jewish state.  The British had set up quotas that were minuscule to the numbers of survivors seeking to enter.  The story involves not only the smuggling of Jews into Palestine, avoiding the British blockade, but also the effort to smuggle a notorious Nazi collaborator to the U.S.    

Leon Baur finds himself caught up in a number of deceptions that threaten his ethics, his life, and his livelihood.  

Guilt, love, deception, and ethical questions abound in this story of a turbulent time; Leon Baur's difficulties mirror, in a way, the larger difficulties of nations.  Tense drama and great characterization.

Joseph Kanon's novels include Los Alamos (received an Edgar for Best First Novel) and The Good German (made into a film with George Clooney and Cate Blanchett).

I found the novel interesting on a number of levels and thoroughly enjoyed it.

This one was from Net Galley.

Fiction.  Suspense.  2012.  print version -  416 pages.

Under Oath by Margaret McLean

Under Oath is largely a courtroom drama.

"McLean's first novel takes the reader on a terrific journey through the machinations of Boston law. Under Fire is a compelling legal thriller with vivid characters, a realistic feel to the proceedings, and a case that ignites our interest practically on the first page. McLean, a law professor and former criminal prosecutor, knows her stuff and, even better, knows how to translate it to fiction."

—Booklist

 I didn't find the book the courtroom proceedings that believable, but evidently most people did.  

Not a bad way to spend an evening, but perhaps (for me, at least) not the best way, either.  I'll stick to John Lescroart for legal thrillers.

Fiction.  Courtroom Drama/Mystery.  2012.  380 pages.

The Aleppo Codex by Matti Friedman

I've always been curious about ancient manuscripts, and some of the most ancient include those connected to religion.  When Algonquin Press sent me a copy of The Aleppo Codex:  A True Story of Obsession, Faith, and the Pursuit of an Ancient Bible, I was intrigued.

Aleppo is located in Syria, and the Great Synagogue of Aleppo served the Jewish population of Aleppo since the 5th century.  The synagogue housed the Aleppo Codex (or The Crown), the oldest extant copy of the Bible, the most authoritative and the most precise, for over five hundred years.  Written circa 930 C.E., the Aleppo Codex remained in tact for a thousand years, despite being moved, stolen once, and ransomed.  The Jews of Aleppo continued to keep the codex safe for another 500 years.

A pogrom in 1947, however, resulted in the burning of the Great Synagogue, and although the codex was rescued, there were pages missing.  How the codex was saved and eventually carried to Jerusalem, how many pages were missing and when, and what happened to those pages is what Matti Friedman pursues over the course of four years.

Originally, Friedman intended to tell the story of rescue of the codex from the fire and the details of how it eventually made its way to Jerusalem and into the hands of the Israeli authorities rather than back in the possession of the Aleppo community.  He got much more than he bargained for.  At almost every turn he met problems:  by 2008 many of those involved in the original tale were dead, some stories had serious flaws, government officials and others refused access to documents.

His research paid off in unexpected ways, revealing a story of intrigue and deception, solving some of the mysteries of the Crown's recent history, but not all.  Friedman raises the questions of ownership in regard to religious and historical documents, the ethics of appropriation of manuscripts belonging to various sects, the location of the missing codex pages, official neglect of ancient manuscripts, and what can be discovered about a manuscript when undergoing expert preservation.

An engrossing read if you like history or mystery--both are in abundance here.

Nonfiction.  History.  2012.  320 pages.

The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson

I know a lot of people participated in the Mistborn trilogy read-along, but I quickly skimmed through those posts because I thought I might want to read the series and didn't want to know too much.  The library didn't have the books, but they did have The Alloy of Law, a Mistborn novel, but one that is not part of the original trilogy.  The Alloy of Law is set in a different time period, centuries in the future of Scadrial, and it is a stand-alone novel that doesn't require one to have read the earlier series.

The cover is very steampunk, and the content follows in this vein as well.  It opens in the Roughs, the equivalent of the Wild West.  Waxillium Ladrian is a law man in this wide-open country, taking care of the bad guys and keeping order in the turbulent and relatively untamed hinterland--until two events cause him to abandon his role and return to the city where he must reluctantly change his role from free-for-all law man to head of the House of Ladrian.

I wasn't much taken with the magic of allomancy and feruchemy which seemed contrived and self-conscious--as if trying to find a new way to present magic was the main intention.  The villains were certainly bad guys, but they were pretty much cardboard figures to promote or explain the action.

Words have great power of connotation (home, hearth, apple pie), and it is always fun to see authors give power to the word itself and not just to the content of the sentence.  Dickens was a master of this, and the example that comes to mind is the use of "brass" in Hard Times.  He used the word in so many ways:  the metal itself (brass door knocker), authority (top brass), counterfeit (as in coin), brazeness (brassy), audacity, arrogance, etc.

All that to explain the unpleasant connotation I felt (for some unknown reason) to the name Waxillium.  When the author referred to him as Wax, I was fine, but each time he used Waxillium, my skin crawled.

The novel felt like it tried too hard, and I think I'd have liked it better without the over-the-top incidents, but there were some things that worked for me.

Wax was a likable character, with potential to gain substance if there is a sequel.  My favorite character, however, was Wayne, the sidekick.  Wayne was funny, charming and pretty much a chameleon, changing his accent and persona with ease.  Marasi, the female protagonist, was good with a rifle, but for some reason  in spite of a large role, she never felt solid.  On the other hand, Steris, the woman whom Wax is to marry (he for money, she for status), played only a very small role, but has inherent possibilities.

If there is a sequel, I would read it just to see if Sanderson does something interesting with Steris.

I'll give Sanderson another try and see how it goes.

Fiction.  SF/Fantasy.  2011.  336 pages.  library book.

Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear

Elegy for Eddie is the 9th book in the Maisie Dobbs series, which I usually enjoy.

When a group of costermongers approach Maisie about investigating the death of Eddie Pettit, a gentle and simple man, Maisie feels that her background with the men and their families deserve her time and effort.

Maisie undertakes the investigation and gradually comes to the conclusion that there was a deliberateness in the "accident."  I never felt the evidence for a deliberate accident was clear, but Maisie made enough connections to convince herself, and of course, we have a handy villain on the scene.  Whether Eddie's death was a result of an intentional murder or a warning gone wrong, Maisie is determined to discover the culprit or culprits.  While she may suspect the individual who actually caused Eddie's death, she wants to know if that person acted on his own or was given orders.

The investigation into Eddie's death leads Maisie to question the death of a young reporter who was acquainted with Eddie, and who supposedly committed suicide a short time prior to Eddie's death.

I'm afraid that I did not find this as satisfying a read as most of the Maisie novels have been.  The dialogue seemed stilted, Maisie's character seemed to be regressing (as did James' character), and there were a number of ethical dilemmas whose resolutions were tacitly approved.

After reading the novel, I looked for other reviews and found that most felt this was one of best in the series.  So there you go...I'm certainly in the minority.

One character that I did like was Eve.  She had color and verve despite her grief and was much more vibrant (even in her very minor role) than Maisie, who seemed like lukewarm milk toast in this novel.

Fiction.  Mystery.  2012.  331 pages.  library book.

Midnight in Peking by Paul French

Midnight in Peking is a true-crime novel set in Peking in 1937 in the midst of China's civil war and shortly before the invasion of Japan.  In fact, the Japanese have already begun preparations and are encamped right outside the city.

When the body of a foreigner, a young woman, is discovered brutally murdered, the situation is fraught with political ramifications.  Not only is the victim a young white woman, nineteen-year-old Pamela Werner, daughter of a former British consul,  but the murder is so savage that even experienced policemen are appalled.

French researched the events thoroughly and presents the evidence discovered, the obstacles  presented by the British Legation, the cover-ups, the attempts to save face, and the corruption.

When both the British and Chinese detectives were stymied by circumstances and the investigation closed, Pamela's father, the seventy-five-year-old E.T.C. Werner, began his own investigation, spending the last years of his life pursuing the evidence and the leads that might bring his daughter's murderer to justice.

 What the official detectives failed to discover, Pamela's father doggedly seeks, using his own money to follow the trail and to hire private detectives to aid in the search.  The characters he encounters are often seedy, sinister, and in the case of the White Russian hermaphrodite, bizarre.

The story French reveals is based largely on Werner's notes and letters to the authorities as he relentlessly tracks down anyone with information about what really happened that January night in 1937.

The book reads like something between a case history and a novel.  The story, the villains, the collusions and deceptions, even the characters are almost more fantastic than fiction.

I think I first read about this novel at Mary's Library, and I'm glad I added it to my TBR list and found it at the library.

Nonfiction.  Crime.  2012.  272 pages.

Internet Absence and Three Reviews

I took a bit of a blogging break, for various reasons, but I had several reviews scheduled to occupy about a little more than a week.

Which was a good thing, as I've since had both computer problems and internet problems.  When SuddenLink did an upgrade, their instructions about getting connected again didn't work.

Of course, as a technodunce of the first order, my efforts were fruitless.  However, even my husband had difficulty and several phone calls were required.   I may go days without wanting to use the computer, but as soon as it is unavailable...I'm frantic.

Finally, Fee got us connected again, and I'm sighing with relief.

Three short reviews:

 Safe Harbor  by Rosemary McCracken is another debut novel.  Here is the book description:

Financial advisor Pat Tierney’s world is shattered when a visitor to her office tells her that Pat's late husband is the father of a seven-year-old boy. Stunned by the revelation of her husband's affair, Pat is even more shocked when the woman bolts from the office, leaving young Tommy behind. 

When Tommy's mother is murdered, police tell Pat that the boy may be the killer's next target. In a desperate race to protect Tommy, Pat's searches for the truth.... (I omitted spoilers)


 Set in Toronto, the novel deals with legal and illegal immigration as well as the personal crisis Pat faces when she learns about her husband's affair and must deal with the sense of betrayal she feels.  The novel also deals with parent-child relationships.

Overall--a moderately entertaining mystery and a fast read.

Fiction.  Mystery.  2012.  220 pages.  library book.

The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty is the story of Cora Carlisle, a housewife from Wichita, Kansas who accompanies the fifteen-year-old Louise Brooks to New York City in 1922.

I really liked that Cora was one of the orphans on an Orphan Train from New York.  I wrote about this fascinating and neglected part of American history here after seeing the documentary.

I also liked the parts about Louise Brooks, that icon of silent movies from the twenties and thirties.  I really want to read her autobiography LuLu in Hollywood.  Brooks was intelligent, beautiful, arrogant, and unconventional.

An entirely readable novel that involves a kind of coming of age for  the thirty-six-year-old Cora who has never questioned much about convention or how to manage certain difficulties in her own life. I enjoyed this one.

An ARC from the Penguin Group.

Historical Fiction.  2012.  423 pages (with extensive bibliography).

The Last Good Man by A.J. Kazinski.  I'm only mentioning this one because of the Lamed- Vav Tzadikim (or Tzadikim Nistarim), who in Jewish tradition are the "thirty six righteous ones" in each generation that are responsible for saving the world.

The book was pretty awful, but the coincidence of reading the book at the same time I was watching the last episode of Touched  with Kiefer Southerland on Hulu was interesting.  I was not familiar with this idea and to have it show up at the same time in a book and a television series was one of those synchronicitous occasions that catch your attention.

When doing a little research on Wikipedia, I discovered that Jodie Picoult, Sam Bourne, Neil Gaiman, and Michael Chabon have all made use of the Talmudic statement about the Lamed-Vav Tzadikim.

I wouldn't even have mentioned this book if it had not been for the fact that the Lamed-Vav Tzadikim was such an intriguing concept.

Mystery. 2012.  480 pages.  library book.

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach

The Art of Fielding  is one of my favorite books this year.  Not because of the plot, but because of the baseball.  My favorite parts were the descriptions of Henry Skrimshander's fielding ability, the practices, and the games.  Harbach can romance the action on the field with remarkable clarity, and I love these sections.

Another favorite part--the excerpts from the fictitious book The Art of Fielding by Aparicio Rodriguez:

"The glove is not an object in the usual sense," said Aparicio in The Art of Fielding.  "For the infielder to divide it from himself, even in thought, is one of the roots of error."

"The shortstop is a source of stillness at the center of the defense.  He projects this stillness and his teammates respond."

"To field a ground ball must be considered a generous act and an act of comprehension...." 

Aparicio's book is the only book that Henry takes with him to Westish College, but for him, the book is a mentor and a philosophy.

The first half of the book was excellent, and I enjoyed all of the Melville connections, even the name Skrimshander evokes scrimshaw and images of whaling.  As the complications involving the relationships began taking more precedence, however, I felt much less attached.

Nominated for a Pulitzer (although it did not win), the book has garnered great praise and severe criticism.  I loved the book, but did feel that some of the relationships off the field were a bit forced, nor did the last few chapters work that well for me.

It isn't a book that I'll forget; it will linger much longer than many of the books I read.

Fiction.  Contemporary Lit.  2011.  512 pages.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus has been on my list for quite a while, and recently, the library had an available copy.  This one has been read and reviewed so many times that you may not want to bother with reading another review.

I can say that it didn't disappoint in the realm of imagery.  The Night Circus is a visual feast that makes black and white magical and chimerical.  The descriptions are beautiful, enticing, seductive, and you want to experience the magic for yourself, to wander among the tents, have your fortune told, and to marvel at the illusions.

My relationship with magical realism is ambivalent, and while  I've loved some books in this category, others have left me cold.  The Night Circus falls on the more positive side of this division, but as lovely as the package, the content was not completely satisfying.

The language, the descriptions, the originality, and the creative imagination of the book are tremendously appealing, but the pacing, the chronological shifts, and the thin characters are a drawback.

I really enjoyed the book, but I did want it to be more, to be fuller in some way.  Morgenstern is a conjurer herself, creating a beautiful and enticing atmosphere that the reader gladly enters with all of the curiosity and amazement of the reveurs who follow the circus from place to place.  If only I could have connected more with the characters....

This is, however, Morgenstern's first novel, and she has created a work of remarkable art and beauty.  I definitely look forward to more from this author.



Fiction.  Fantasy/Magical Realism.  2011.  387 pages.

The Girl in the Garden by Kamala Nair

The Girl in the Garden  begins with a long letter that Rakhee Singh leaves her fiance before leaving on a flight to India.  On top of the letter sits her engagement ring.

In the letter, Rakhee explains that she cannot marry him until she has  confronted the problems she has wrestled with for years and resolved some issues from her past.

She begins by telling about her childhood, the relationship of her parents in their small Minnesota town, her sense of being different from the blonde and blue-eyed children at school, her mother's unhappiness, and the sudden trip to India when she was ten.

The writing is effortless, and it was easy to fall headlong into this story of a child who visits the ancestral home in India one fateful summer.  Nair's descriptions of the family she meets in India--her grandmother, her aunt and uncle, and her cousins--and the differences between life in India and life in Minnesota are vivid enough to make you feel the scorching heat, the incipient friendships of the cousins, and the feeling of something unsaid and mysterious behind the family relationships.

When Rakhee ventures alone into the jungle and discovers a house with a walled garden, events begin to slowly unravel the intricate secrets the family has been keeping.  Rakhee's courage and persistence bring to light truths that are painful to confront and with which the adult Rakhee is still  struggling and must resolve before she can marry the young man she left behind.

I loved Nair's writing and watching the story unfold from Rakhee's childhood viewpoint.  Of the family secrets that are eventually revealed, there was one that I wished the author had avoided, but it diminished my pleasure in the novel only slightly.

Fiction.  Contemporary Lit./India.  2011.  305 pages.

Cambridge Blue by Alison Bruce

Cambridge Blue, first published in the UK in 2008, was a debut novel for Alison Bruce.  She has written two more in this series featuring Gary Goodhew, the young DC whose eagerness to solve crimes sometimes leads him to unauthorized behavior.

DC Goodhew is well-liked by most of the department, but remains something of a loner.  His unorthodox actions have him in hot water with his superior DI Marks, and I can't disagree with Marks' irritation.  In fact, although Goodhew shows promise as a developing character,  DI Marks has a distinctive personality that I hope is developed in the next two novels.  He certainly deserves more time.

Not a novel in which you can easily determine the murderer, as Bruce keeps the information she releases under tight control to keep you guessing.  A cast of unpleasant characters and a truly dysfunctional family provide many possibilities for a guilty party.

In addition to her fictional series featuring DC Goodhew, Bruce has written two nonfiction books:  Cambridgeshire Murders and Billington: Victorian Executioner.

Fiction.  Mystery/Police Procedural.  2009.  256 pages.

Bone Reapers by Jeanne Matthews

I was doing a fair job keeping up with and scheduling my reviews for a while, then fell down on the job and have 4 or 5 reviews to write and schedule.  Hate it when that happens.

Bone Reapers initially caught my interest because the blurb mentions a seed repository to preserve seeds in case of a catastrophic event or gradual climate change that could potentially destroy our current agricultural systems and eliminate countless species of plants.  There are various gene banks around the world, but the one in Svalbard, Norway is the last-ditch hope, built to preserve the seeds in all foreseeable disasters.


The Svalbard Global Seed Vault does exist, and the author uses both the vault and the town of Longyearbyen--located not terribly far from the Arctic Circle--as part of  setting and plot.  Dinah Pelerin is a minor part of a U.S. delegation delivering seeds to the plant.   Her superior at the University of Hawaii is a bit suspicious about the safeguarding of the seeds (think genetically modified crops) and sends Dinah to discover more about the procedures, contracts, etc.

Matthews descriptions of the town, the formidable cold (in January, the average low in Longyearbyen is -20 and the average high is -13), and the effects of Polar Night are very well done.  Also interesting are the possibilities for corruption and mismanagement concerning gene banks and seed repositories that Matthews employs in her mystery.

While some of the corruption possibilities seem far-fetched at first glance, it is interesting that a large part of the funding for the Svalbard Vault comes from Monsanto.  Gives one pause.

I liked this book mostly because of the information about the seed vault and the location, but the mystery was just OK.




Poisoned Pen Press.  Net Galley.

Fiction.  Mystery.  June 2012.  250 pages (print version)

Operation Napoleon by Arnaldur Indridason

Operation Napoleon failed to overcome my disbelief...or I was simply not able to suspend it.

In 1945, a German bomber with American camouflage crashes into a glacier in Iceland.  An immediate, extensive search for the plane results, but the blizzard that caused the crash lasts for days, and the plane is effectively buried in the glacier.  Another huge search is mounted in 1967.  In 1999, satellites again see a possibility of the missing plane, and the evil Americans set about another retrieval effort.  Headed on the scene by Ratoff--not very subtle.

Two young men working with an Icelandic Rescue Team, leave their group to test their new snowmobiles, and happen on the evil Americans recovering the plane.  One young man, unsuspecting,  has used his cell phone to call his sister.  Kristin hears the broken message of her excited younger brother as the evil Americans capture the boys and end the phone call.

But they trace the phone call.  Of course.  And get information from the brother about Kristin.  Now Kristin is in danger.  And so on.  And on.

Except this 30 year-old lawyer manages to outwit and out run professional killers, not once, but over and over.  She WILL NOT BE STOPPED.  She WILL find out what happened to her brother, overcome all odds, and discover the secret the evil Americans do not want revealed.

 Without giving spoilers, it isn't that  plans such as the one the novel depicts might not have been floated by either British or Americans near the close of WWII or that there aren't some pretty unpleasant characters in the military, it is more that the actions of the American Embassy and  the decisions and behavior of the Icelandic president (as presented in the novel) not only fail to ring true, but cast a bad light on both countries.  An exaggerated and sinister view of both governments-- pretty much black and grey.  No white.

I'm pretty snarky on this one because I expected much more from this author.  The conclusion, such as it is, boggles the mind.


Fiction.  Mystery/Thriller (?)   May 2012.  352 pages.

The First Rule of Ten by Gay Hendricks and Tinker Lindsay

The First Rule of Ten:  A Tensing Norbu Mystery  from Hay House Publishing is the first in a series about Tenzing Norbu, the "Dharma Detective."   Tenzing Norbu is an ex-monk who later joins the LAPD.  Room for some internal conflict there.

Ten eventually makes detective, and initially, enjoys his job, but as the job becomes more and more laden with paper work and desk time, he recalls his early fascination with Sherlock Holmes and the thrill of solving  crimes rather than dealing with red tape.

After being shot during a call to a domestic violence situation, Ten decides that perhaps his destiny lies elsewhere, and he decides to resign and follow his dreams as a private investigator.

Ten's intriguing and unusual background inform both his thinking and behavior.  Since Ten spent his childhood moving back and forth between his mother's home in Paris and  Dharamshala, the Tibetan monastery in India, where he lived with his father--the contrast between the worldly and the spiritual began early.

Enough said.   This detective novel has some unusual twists and introduces characters who will no doubt inhabit the next book in the series.  The authors have created a fascinating protagonist in Ten Norbu and an interesting plot with murder but not gore.  I really liked this one!

Fiction.  Mystery.  Jan.  2012.  312 pages (print version).

Sunday Thoughts

I've finished a few more mysteries and have one review scheduled, one in draft form, and one that I haven't even started:

The First Rule of Ten by Gay Hendricks and Tinker Lindsay.  The protagonist is a PI who is also a former monk.  I really liked this one.

Operation Napoleon by Arnaldur Indridason.  One of Indridason's early stand-alone novels (originally published in 1999);  I was not impressed.  It is not one of his Detective Erlendur novels--this one features evil, sadistic Americans.

Cambridge Blue by Alison Bruce.  A British police procedural with interesting characters in DC Gary Goodhew and his superior DI Marks.

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I've also recently finished two excellent YA fantasies, but the publishers want  the reviews scheduled for shortly before their release dates.  I can add them to my Once Upon a Time reads, but not to the Once Upon a Time review site because of delayed reviews.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas - to be released in August (my review is scheduled for July)

Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier - to be released in September  (review scheduled for August)

It is a bit frustrating to want to share these now and not be able to do so, because both are engrossing reads with great characters.

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I've been having one of those manic reading cycles, often starting and finishing a book in one evening.  This is fairly easy to do when reading most mysteries, but then I think of how long it took me to read IQ84 and Cryptonomicon.  And reading most non-fiction is also a slower process.

As Sir Francis Bacon noted:

Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested: that is, some books are to be read only in parts, others to be read, but not curiously, and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.



I think most fiction falls in the second category--swallowed,  read for entertainment and escape.  They are interesting, but may or may not require much thought, effort, or diligence.
This is where I place the above books.  They provide entertainment, a glimpse into another world, although a fictional one, an offer of vicarious adventure.

Not Cryptonomicon, however; that one demanded not just time, but effort, and sent me researching in a half-dozen directions.  Nor do the classics fall into that second category, the classics give us insight into ourselves, our neighbors, and the world beyond our doorstep.  They are to be read wholly and require digesting.  Definitely the third category.

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I was reading this post about building communities and found #6 a great idea!

6. Put up a Book Lending Cupboard. Take a book, lend a book. Collect your old reads and share them with passersby in a book-lending cupboard mounted next to the sidewalk out front. Give it a roof, a door with glass panes, and paint it to match the flowers below.

Or, change the story: read a poem, write a poem. Create a poetry cupboard with poems to share.

Now wouldn't a little lending cupboard be a nice place to visit on a walk?

Tilt-a-Whirl by Chris Grabenstein

Tilt-a-Whirl is a mystery I first read about on Kay's blog, and so a nod to the lady from Austin for introducing me to a new series that is a little grittier than a cozy, but still retains many cozy elements.

Sea Haven is a tourist mecca located on a small island off the New Jersey coast, and the locals depend on the summer influx of tourists to keep their economy healthy during the rest of the year.  When a highly publicized murder occurs and the murderer isn't caught, the islanders are concerned about their finances as much as anything else.

Enter the newest police department hire John Ceepak, formerly military police, and "summer cop" young Danny Boyle.  Ceepak is a "Boy Scout" and his adherence to his strict code of conduct acknowledges no exceptions.

Although a bit annoying with his Dudley Do-Right personality, Ceepak is a thoughtful and thorough cop and proves a great mentor for Danny Boyle.

The conversation is sometimes stilted and the characters fairly stereotypical, but somehow for this particular sub-genre, it works.

This is the first novel in the series,  which has been very successful, and it will be interesting to see the series as it develops.  Many authors deepen their characters and plots with succeeding books, and I enjoyed this one enough to want to read the next in the series.

Fiction.  Mystery.  2006.  321 pages.

As the Crow Flies by Craig Johnson

Wyoming Sheriff Walt Longmire's daughter will be getting married in two weeks, and he and Henry Standing Bear are checking out a scenic location for the wedding in As the Crow Flies, when they witness a young Indian woman fall from a cliff.

Accident, murder, suicide?  Although they are in Montana and out of Longmire's territory, he becomes involved in the investigation.

I've loved the two books in the Sheriff Longmire series I've read, and I'm just as pleased with this one.

Craig Johnson does an excellent job of bringing characters to life, describing the settings, and pulling together tight plot lines laced with both drama and humor.  This is the third in the series I've read, but I want to go back and pick up the earlier books as well.

What I like:  the characters, the humor, the information on Native Americans, the politically incorrect jokes that Indians tell about themselves, the dignity ascribed to certain elders and cultural practices, the friendship between Walt and Henry Standing Bear, the prose, the allusions (although there are fewer in this novel)....

Johnson creates believable characters; whether likable or not, they are never caricatures or stereotypes.  They are uniquely human and treated with respect.

Aided by Henry Standing Bear, and in this book, by the new Tribal Police Chief Lolo Long, Sheriff Longmire investigates Audrey Plain Feather's death, and he carries us with him in the investigation with an adept skill that brings us quietly and easily into his world.

What I dislike:  Nothing.

Oh, and I love the last names:  Katrina Walks Nice,  Herbert His Good Horse,  Audrey Plain Feather, Clarence Last Bull, Artie Small Song.... and Elk Shoulder,  Fire Crow,  Old Mouse,  Bear Comes Out,  Crazy Mule,  Bobtail Horse.

If you haven't read any of the this series,  you're missing something.  If you like Tony Hillerman or Michael McGarrity or other mysteries set in the West,  give Craig Johnson a try.  In fact, of the three (and I like them all), my favorite may be Johnson's Longmire series.

Another one from Netgalley.

Fiction.  Mystery.  May 2012.  print version- 320 pages.  Penguin Group.

Garment of Shadows by Laurie R. King

Garment of Shadows features Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes and is scheduled for release in September.

I'm happy to say that I did, indeed, enjoy Garment of Shadows which takes place right after Pirate King (which did not keep my interest).  In fact, Mary disappears from a Pirate King film location and reappears in Morocco.  She awakens in a strange room with no idea of who she is or how she got there.  Ever-resourceful,  Mary acts on instinct when soldiers arrive at the building and makes good her escape.  Since she doesn't know who she is or how she was injured, she isn't sure where to go to find the answers, but she discovers several interesting talents the she possesses (picking locks, etc.), and she acquires a young ally as she moves through the twisting streets and alleyways of Morocco.

Meanwhile, Holmes, unaware that Mary is missing from the film crew of the Pirate King, is visiting a friend and distant cousin in Morocco and learning about the threats of war, about the Rif revolt, Spain's use of poison gas against the Rif , massacres on both sides, and other internal and political difficulties of the 1920's in Morocco.   The historical facts are especially interesting to me as I didn't know much about the politics of this region, but the facts are seamlessly blended with the fiction.

This was a typical Russell and Holmes--fast-paced, good historical information, tightly plotted, old friends, and interesting new characters.  A fun read and a relief after the disappoint of the previous novel.

If you like this series, look for it in September.

This was from Netgalley, and I read it on my Kindle.

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Oh, and we've discussed at different times all of the analogues and pastiches of  concerning Holmes and Watson, books, television series, and films, and recently  I discovered a blog by Dr. Watson which is interesting.  This post lists some recent and yet to be released books, audio books,  and some upcoming Sherlock films.

Fiction.  Historical Mystery.  2012.  print version- 288 pages.  Random House.

Reading and Stitching

Once Upon a Time Round Up :

1. The Summoner:  Book I in the Chronicles of the Necromancer
2. Heartless by Gail Carriger (The Parasol Protectorate)
3. The Apothecary by Maile Meloy
4. Beauty by Sheri S. Tepper
5. River Secrets by Shannon Hale (The Books of Bayern) 
6. The Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb (Vol. 1 of The Rain Wild Chronicles)
7. Dragon Haven  by Robin Hobb (Vol. 2)
8. City of Dragons by Robin Hobb (Vol. 3)

I may read another one, but then again, I may not as I'm back to enjoying my mysteries. 

 I have three more reviews scheduled--WooHoo!  I have only two more to do, and I'm caught up with reviews!

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Stitching lately has been white on white blocks of various sizes that will be sewn together eventually for a small quilt.  Moving from sorting through various vintage linen pieces and choosing various white fabrics...

vintage handkerchiefs, doilies, napkins, tatting...

to hand stitching together blocks like the one below, adding prairie points to some seams.

 

Then embellishing the seams with embroidery and adding thrifted  or vintage lace, creating button hole lace, and adding other embroidery.

And moving on to other embellishment techniques like ruching draped with French knots and bullion knots.

And puffy tufts--and more embroidery, of course.

I'm having fun with this!  There are five blocks in progress, and I move from one to another.  There is no telling how long it will take to fill almost every square inch of space on the five blocks.  

Reading and stitching--two of my favorite activities.  And some gardening, although it is really getting to hot and humid for much of that.  

The Solitary House by Lynn Shepherd

My favorite Dickens novel is Bleak House, so it isn't much of a surprise that The Solitary House caught my attention...and held it.  From the first page, I was definitely hooked by the language of Victorian London so reminiscent of  Charles Dickens, and Wilkie Collins.  The inclusion of some of the characters from Bleak House added to the fun.

Charles Maddox is the young detective who takes an assignment from the well-known lawyer Tulkinghorn, even though he has reservations about both the man and the assignment.  At the same time, he is working on a case for another client in which he is attempting to locate the client's grandchild who disappeared some sixteen years previously.  Maddox persists in searching for information about the infant, although he knows the chances of locating the grandchild are slim--at best.  Of course, from the beginning we suspect that the two cases will eventually be intertwined.

The plot is rather slowly developed, as is typical of Victorian novels, but I enjoyed the detailed descriptions of 1850 London and the unhurried revelations/clues.  Since I like Dickens and love Wilkie Collins (not the usual order of things to prefer Collins, but I love mysteries and Collins did them so well) the detail and language were not off-putting to me, but this may not be the case for some readers who may prefer a faster pace.

The omniscient narrator was sometimes beneficial and sometimes annoying--kind of an amalgam of the 4 ghosts from A Christmas Carol.  At times I appreciated the Victorian style of including the omniscient (or mostly so) narrator, and at times the voice was intrusive and distracting and, well, annoying.

 I don't like the tendency to make crimes more horrific (there is a character who presages Jack the Ripper) and more sordid than would have been included in a Victorian novel-- although beneath the surface of the prudish Victorian culture, there was definitely a great deal of sexual misconduct that spanned the social hierarchy from top to bottom.

My preference is always for the development of characters, the discovery of clues, the search for motivation, and the process of  solving the mystery rather than descriptions of the crimes themselves.  Unfortunately, the current predilection is to make the crimes increasingly gruesome and bizarre and to dwell on those aspects rather than untangling a mystery.

Charles Maddox is an intriguing  character and not  completely likable; he is a flawed individual with a number of secrets --some of which remain only hints of a prurient nature, some are gradually revealed.  His great-uncle Maddox, the famous thief-taker who has been young Charles' mentor provides a means of viewing Charles from another angle.  As the elder Maddox slips into dementia, Charles' care and concern for his great-uncle show Charles at his best.  When lucid, the older man is able to provide information and advice that aid in the investigation, and I'm sorry that his role was so limited as he was one of the more interesting characters in the novel.

The plot doesn't work all that well for me, and the conclusion has several points that bothered me a bit, but I will certainly read Shepherd's next novel to see if she reveals some of Charles' secrets that she held back on.

Fiction.  Historical Mystery.  2012.  352 pages.

Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal

Mr. Churchill's Secretary is a debut novel introducing Maggie Hope, whose parents were British, but who was raised in America.  Maggie arrives in London in 1939 to settle her grandmother's estate and sell her grandmother's house.  In September of that year, Britain declared war on Germany, and Maggie, who has made friends decides to stay and aid the war effort.

Winston Churchill  replaced Chamberlain as PM in May of 1940, and when one of  Mr. Churchill's secretaries is murdered,  Maggie is able to fill the opening, which puts her in a unique position at the heart of Britain's decision making.  Although Maggie is a mathematics whiz who postponed her entry to M.I.T. to settle her grandmother's estate, her skills are not needed in her current position...which is not to say, of course, that they will not be employed in the novel.

The historical information is interesting, and MacNeal's research as far as secretarial duties includes the memoir Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Elizabeth Layton Nel and a correspondence with Mrs. Nel.  She also cites works by other Churchill secretaries and Churchill's own memoirs of the period in the Historical Notes at the end of the novel.

The inclusion of IRA activity and links between the IRA and Nazi sympathizers and undercover agents operating in Britain was interesting.  There were, however, some historical inaccuracies that bothered me, especially concerning MI5.

Murder, spies, secret codes and code breakers, a little Bletchley Park, the Battle of Britain and the nightly bombing, the safe guarding of St. Paul's Cathedral by the Fire Watch...

Bothersome:  Maggie seems a little too modern for the time period and her mathematical brilliance didn't quite gel for me.  Some of the characters took up time, but did nothing to really advance the characterization of other characters or the plot.  The mystery concerning the death of Maggie's parents (can't say much because of spoilers) didn't ring true in many ways.

On the whole, the novel is a light, enjoyable read, but by no means as good as Winspear's series about Maisie Dobbs or the Charles Todd novels about Ian Rutledge.  The characters are not as well developed, the writing isn't as smooth, the events and history are not as well blended.  The second in the series is Princess Elizabeth's Spy due out in October.

Fiction.  Historical Mystery.  2012.  384 pages.

Two and a Half Reviews

I'm back in  mystery and mayhem mode.

Beneath the Shadows by Sarah Foster is a Netgalley read.


"In this thrilling gothic suspense debut by Sara Foster in the tradition of Rosamund Lupton and Sophie Hannah, a young mother searches Yorkshire's windswept moors for the truth behind her husband's mysterious disappearance." 


 I didn't find is suspenseful and the characters were one dimensional.  Awash in details that didn't further the plot or the characterization.  I love the setting on the Yorkshire moors, but the rest, not so much.   (Release date June 5)


Dead Scared by S.J. Bolton, another Netgalley read.  


 "When a rash of suicides tears through Cambridge University, DI Mark Joesbury recruits DC Lacey Flint to go undercover as a student to investigate. Although each student’s death appears to be a suicide, the psychological histories, social networks, and online activities of the students involved share remarkable similarities, and the London police are not convinced that the victims acted alone. They believe that someone might be preying on lonely and insecure students and either encouraging them to take their own lives or actually luring them to their deaths. As long as Lacey can play the role of a vulnerable young woman, she may be able to stop these deaths, but is it just a role for her? With her fragile past, is she drawing out the killers, or is she herself being drawn into a deadly game where she’s a perfect victim?" 


Bolton can do suspense.  I like and dislike exactly the same things I've noted about her earlier books, great tension and rushed conclusions.  Her plots are kind of out there, and the heroes always have to deal with evil, not just murder, but creepy, spooky, gruesome evil. Bolton does keep my nose in the book whatever criticisms I may have; she skillfully builds tension and keeps the reader on edge...even after you know exactly where things are going.  I also liked seeing Dr. Evi Oliver from Sacrifice take a role in this one.  (Release date June 5)



The Receptionist (an ARC from Algonquin) by Janet Groth is a memoir of Groth's years as a receptionist at the iconic New Yorker.  It starts out well and has two very interesting chapters about John Berryman and Muriel Sparks.  She drops a lot of names, as she had contact with some very important literary figures, but the chapters on Berryman and Sparks are much more detailed.  Unfortunately, the book slows down, and although I have only about 70 pages left, I haven't picked it up again.  I will finish it...eventually.  (release date June 26)




I've more than completed the Once Upon Challenge journey I chose, but may continue to read a few more in the fantasy/fairy tale genre.  I also watched Red Riding Hood with Gary Oldman, but it was pretty bad.

All I really want to read at the moment are mysteries.  :)

Hush by Donna Jo Napoli

I thought Hush would fit into the Once Upon a Time challenge, but it doesn't really, although the inspiration for Napoli's YA novel has its source in the Icelandic Saga of the People of Laxardal.

Using the names and the general circumstances of Melkorka's fate as recorded in the saga, Napoli embellishes the tale of the Irish princess taken by slave traders and purchased by an Icelandic chieftain, Hoskuld.  After her capture, Melkorka refuses to speak and is considered a mute, but when her child is two years old, Hoskuld hears her speaking Gaelic to her son.  Those are pretty much the bare facts from the saga, and Napoli uses her imagination to spin a created history around Melkorka's life.

Napoli has done an excellent job of using historical facts from the early 900's to add details to her version of Melkorka's history and creating the world in which Melkorka would have lived-- including the plants that produced the dyes for clothing, social and religious details of the time, fear of Viking raids, etc.

However, while Hush does create an interesting and historically accurate picture of Ireland in the early 10th century, most of the book is set on the slave ship or on Hoskuld's ship and feels rather placid, especially given the circumstances. The story line never offers much excitement or suspense.

I enjoyed the book; it was interesting, and yet the pace is slow--not necessarily a bad thing, but there are few surprises and little suspense.

Fiction.   YA / Historical Fiction.  2008.  340 pages.

Dragon Haven and City of Dragons by Robin Hobb (once upon a time challenge)

Dragon Haven is the second in the Rain Wild Chronicles.  Only fifteen of the sea serpents that ventured up the Rain Wild river to make their cocoons have survived, and all of them are imperfect, deformed or misshapen, arrogant, and angry at their fate.  Thanks to Mercor, the dragons have managed to manipulate humans into sending them on their journey to the ancient Elderling city of Kelsingra.

Humans:  Captain Leftrin and Alise's relationship develops, Sedric struggles with his secret purposes for the journey; Thymara's physical changes are challenging and frightening.

Dragons:   Mercor's wisdom continues to aid the dragons through their hardships on the journey; Sintara is as egoistical and vain as ever; Relpa, originally without a keeper, bonds with Sedric and becomes much more interesting, not the brightest dragon in the bunch, she has a sweetness and innocence that helps Sedric become a better person.

In  City of Dragons, both dragons and keepers explore their new environment which is across the river from the fabled city of Kelsingra.  Unable to dock the live ship Tarman on the Kelsingra side of the river, visiting the city to awaken its magic is difficult.  Although there is more game for feeding the dragons, with one exception, the dragons are still unable to fly, so the keepers are still busy hunting to keep their dragons fed.

More story lines are being developed--hopefully, to be resolved in the next book.

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If I had not expected the same quality as previous trilogies by Hobb, I wouldn't be disappointed in this series.  I found the books enjoyable, just not as good as her previous works in this fantasy world.

Whew!  I've had the heading for this review for nearly two weeks; I'm glad to have it done.

Fiction.  Fantasy.   2010 -528 pages and 2o12-352 pages.

Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb (Once Upon a Time Challenge)

I had planned to read Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb with Kailana, but last week, I couldn't resist beginning the series.  I'd finished Cryptonomicon, River Secrets, and A Rising Thunder and wanted to immerse myself in some dragon lore.

Years ago, I read Hobb's Liveship Traders trilogy and fell in love with Robin Hobb's (Megan Lindholm) fantasy.  I went on to read The Farseer trilogy and then The Tawney Man trilogy.    Eagerly awaiting each new installment.

Later, Hobb developed two more series that didn't engage me much, and there was a long drought without her fantasy.   I was more than eagerly awaiting this series.

The Rain Wild Chronicles is most closely related to the Liveship Traders and even allows brief cameos of Althea Vestrit, Brashen Trell, Paragon, and Tintaglia.  Reyn Khuprus, Malda Vestrit, and Selden Vestrit are also present in the Rain Wild Chronicles, but have smaller roles that may be expanded later.

Because!  This is not a trilogy!  In a few days, I'd gone through Dragon Keeper, and Dragon Haven, and was more than half-way through City of Dragons when I realized that there was no way Hobb could conclude this story line in what was left of the book.  Groan.  I thought I could get the whole kabob in one go...but no.  I'll have to wait.

Back to Dragon Keeper.  At the end of the Liveship trilogy, the dragon Tintaglia was leading the sea serpents up the Rain Wild River, to their hatching ground.  When they arrived, the serpents used the mud of the Rain Wild to form cases, a kind of mud chrysalis, from which they would eventually emerge as dragons.

When the time for their emergence arrived, everyone was eager to see the return of dragons to their world.  The length of time the prospective dragons had spent as sea serpents, among other factors, unfortunately had terrible consequences, and the young dragons that broke free of their shells were deformed and puny things that were unable to fly or to feed themselves.

The Rain Wilders fed the young dragons poorly and treated them as useless things for five years.  Feeding the dragons became more and more difficult, and they began to fear the dragons would not be content to satisfy their hunger with the handouts provided.  The dream of dragons returning to the world had become a nightmare.

A dragon conspiracy led by a golden dragon with more memories from the past deceives the Rain Wilders into thinking that it is their idea to send the dragons (along with dragon keepers) on a journey to the fabled Elderling city of Kelsingra.

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I enjoyed the book and rushed headlong into Dragon Haven and then to City of Dragons, but I have to say that none of the Rain Wild books have the same quality of characters and narrative pace that the other series set in this world have.

It is a good fantasy series, but not on a par with the Liveship Traders or Farseer trilogies.

Fiction.  Fantasy.  2011.  528 pages.

Dragons

I used the following quote years ago as part of a workshop presentation for the National Endowment for the Humanities and found it again on The Drawing Board blog.

"I desired dragons with a profound desire. Of course, I in my timid body did not wish to have them in the neighborhood  . . . .  But the world that contained even the imagination of Fáfnir was richer and more beautiful, at whatever the cost of peril." -- J.R.R. Tolkien (from his essay "On Fairy-Stories")

I've just finished reading the first three books in Robin Hobb's Rain Wild Chronicles and the above quote is a perfect introduction to the series:  Dragon Keeper, Dragon Haven, and City of Dragons, which are part of my reading for Carl's Once Upon a Time challenge.