July and August

I read obsessively in July and have continued in early August.  The weather is too damn hot for much of anything else.  After the rain and flooding of late May and early June, the drought returned. Prediction for today:  102 degrees with heat index readings from 105-109.  For the next few days the temperatures are expected to climb to 104-105 degrees--with who knows what heat index readings.  

My best friend was here for about 10 days and found our weather more uncomfortable than New Orleans.  Huh?  At any rate, miserable.  And dangerous, with heat advisories every day.

So I have read and read, mostly forgettable books, but always with some that kept me engaged and truly involved. 

The Hanging Girl by Jussi Adler-Olsen kept me interested.  I did not, however, relish it as much as I have all of his previous books.  The plot was not as suspenseful or believable, the dialogue felt forced and lacked the usual humor, and my reunion with Carl, Assad, and Rose didn't intrigue me as much as I hoped.  Department Q takes on another cold case involving the death of a seventeen-year-old girl found hanging in a tree after having been hit by a car.  Originally dismissed as hit and run, the policeman who discovered the body did not believe it was an accident and never gave up on his investigation.  Enter Dept. Q.

Read in July.

NetGalley/Penguin Group
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Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand.  I find it difficult to resist haunted mansions or hints of ghostly images on photographs.  Add an edgy 1970's folk/rock group that is sequestered in an ancient country house to keep focus as they work on a new album, and you already have a great premise. The story is told in retrospect by various members of the
group, their manager, and a local photographer as they recall events from decades previously.  None have a firm explanation or a resolution concerning the events that took place, but the reader gains insight from the different points of view and forms a better understanding of the individual members of the group and of group dynamics as each one puzzles through his own personal recollections of that summer.  

The work is very short, a novella, not a novel and is reminiscent of Turn of the Screw (yes, my favorite ghost story of all time) in the sense of foreboding and the lack of explanation of events; a pastoral idyll that becomes something else entirely.  If you don't care for ambiguity don't bother with this one because Wylding Hall provides an account of events from different perspectives, but offers no solution.  It works in that nebulous atmosphere of the unexplained and possibly, unexplainable.  I couldn't come to any conclusions about the truth of the events of that summer--nor was I intended to.   Mysterious and atmospheric, and I liked the documentary aspect.  Recommended by Gin Jenny of Reading the End.  

Read in July.  NetGalley/Open Road Integrated Media

Crime/Mystery.  Sept. 8, 2015.  Print version: 512 pages. 
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Disclaimer:  A Novel by Renee Knight

Whew!  Great premise:  Catherine Ravenscroft picks up a book by her bedside table that she doesn't remember buying.  Initial interest in the novel gives way to concern, then the chilling realization that the novel is about her.  

Disclaimer is one of those novels that gives you a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach as you begin to dread the outcome.  A game of revenge is so subtly played at the beginning that Catherine cannot even conceive of how it is being played or by whom.  Secrets will be exposed.  Lives destroyed.  It is always unpleasant to read something that makes you feel there is nothing the protagonist can do to avoid the outcome--even if you don't particularly like the protagonist.  I read Melody's review a while back and purchased Disclaimer because I was intrigued by the premise.  Was it suspenseful? Yes.  Interesting?  Yes.  

In the end, I completely agreed with Melody's assessment that the book was "an emotional roller coaster ride " and "unsettling."  She also mentions that the book left her cold--and I can agree with that.  Disclaimer has that harrowing feeling that makes reading it disturbing, almost painful; there is an icy bleakness to the novel--after all, "revenge is a dish best served cold."  I felt a little more sympathy toward Catherine than did Melody, but found the secrets kept just as frustrating. 

This was an unsettling and uncomfortable novel, and one of those novels that can be appreciated in some ways rather than enjoyed, but it is not one that I will soon forget.  

Purchased and read in July.  Originally offered on NetGalley, but I missed it.

Psychological Suspense.  2015.  Print version:  357 pages.
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Unlikely Traitors by Clare Langley-Hawthorne was another Kindle Unlimited book.  A mystery set in England in 1913, Unlikely Traitors is the 3rd book in the Ursula Marlowe series. 

A plot to sell naval secrets makes it appear that Ursula Marlowe's fiance Lord Wrotham is guilty of treason.  Ursula must uncover the secrets that have led to Wrotham's arrest.  Lovely cover, but the book was a little bland.  The possibilities for development of the pre-WWI Britain storyline were not advanced in a meaningful way, nor were the possibilities involving the Irish Question.  This is a favorite period of mine, but overall, I found the book a bit lackluster.  I wasn't that impressed with Ursula and found her repetitive in reminding the reader of what she had already said or thought.  I have not read the first two books in the series, but overall, I did not find characters, relationships, or plot compelling.  I suspected the antagonist almost immediately, so when the conclusion finally arrived, I was not surprised.  The book was OK, but not a series I am likely to pursue.

Read in July.  

Historic Mystery.  2014.  Print version:  262 pages.
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The Rainy Day Sisters by Kate Hewitt is not my usual reading choice, but nevertheless, an entertaining diversion!  A novel about two sisters--well, half-sisters, who barely know each other--coming to grips with residual family grievances.  When Lucy's life seems to disintegrate around here (mostly through her mother's callousness), she calls her older half-sister Julia in England.  Julia, acting decided out-of-character, invites Lucy to come stay in Hartley-by-the-Sea, a small Lake District village.  Juliet almost instantly regrets her decision, and when Lucy arrives hoping for a warm reunion, she finds Juliet cool, reserved.  A little romance lies in wait for both sisters, but that does not dominate the novel.

Although this differs from my usual reading, I have to admit that it was a pleasant respite from crime thrillers and mysteries.  :)

Read in August.

NetGalley/Penguin Group

Women's Fiction.  Aug. 4, 2015.  Print version:  368 pages.
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Cold, Black Earth by Sam Reaves was a Kindle Unlimited book.  

It was free, which is a blessing because it was pretty tedious with a whiney and unsympathetic protagonist.  Some murder and mayhem and then... I whined about why I wasted my time.  Admittedly, the final third of the book was mostly skimming to see if my thoughts about the murderer were correct.

Crime.   Aug. 1, 2015.  Print version:  274 pages.
   

Two More July Reads

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware is a debut novel, and one that I enjoyed for it's fast-pace and sense of foreboding.  A hen weekend (bachelorette party) invitation for a friend you haven't seen in ten years...would you go?  

Here is the epigraph:

In a dark, dark wood there was a dark, dark house;
And in the dark, dark house there was a dark, dark, room;
And in the dark, dark room there was a dark, dark cupboard;
And in the dark, dark cupboard there was...a skeleton!
              ----traditional Halloween tale    

         Except that, in this case, the skeleton is a metaphor.  Plenty of suspense that kept me eager to continue reading.  The conclusion was a little lacking in several ways that I won't discuss because of spoilers, and there were some bits that didn't seem logical or well-explained, but the novel kept me engaged and turning the pages with alacrity.  I'll read Ware's next novel.

NetGalley/Gallery/Scott Press

Mystery/Suspense.  Aug. 4, 2015.  Print version:  352 pages.
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A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn is, indeed, a curious beginning of a new series.  I loved the first book in Raybourn's Lady Julia Grey series, but was less thrilled with the follow up novels.  This new series is also set in the Victorian period, but features a new protagonist:  Veronica Speedwell, a lepidopterist with a decidedly modern view of a woman's role.  

I really wanted to love this one and expected something a little campy and charming with a bit of mystery and suspense.  Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations.  Victoria was more annoying than I expected and a bit too full of herself to be endearing.  Admiring the independence of a character who is at odds with traditional cultural expectations is one thing, but Veronica's sexual independence comes across as shallow and provoking.  Stoker, whose name has nothing to do with Bram, also failed to project any genuine depth.

Without the camp or witty repartee, and without fully developed characters or a consistently engrossing plot...?   A moderately entertaining way to pass the time, but well short of the first Lady Julia novel whose first line grabbed my attention and continues to please my sense of the absurd: "To say that I met Nicholas Brisbane over my husband's dead body is not entirely accurate. Edward, it should be noted, was still twitching upon the floor." 

I wanted something equally as lively and provocative as the first Lady Julia novel with A Curious Beginning, but didn't find it.  Entertaining enough to keep me reading, but not what I hoped for.

NetGalley/Penguin Group

Historic mystery/Romance.  Sept. 1, 2015.  Print version:  352 pages.
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OOPs...I didn't realize I already had reviews scheduled for today.  And so it goes...

Four More

No Other Darkness by Sarah Hilary

I read and reviewed Someone Else's Skin last year and was impressed with the first in a new series featuring DI Marnie Rome.  Sarah Hilary's writing and her ability to turn a textbook domestic abuse case on its head kept me riveted from beginning to end.

No Other Darkness is just as good, just as suspenseful, and once again, just as thoughtful as it takes a deeper look at family dynamics.  (Oh, it is difficult to review this one without spoilers.)

OK -- DI Marnie Rome and DS Noah Jake are investigating a case involving the bodies of two children found in an underground bunker.  Who are they?  How long have they been there?  Why were they never reported missing?  

The plot twists and turns with psychological insights that challenge the assumptions of both the investigators and the reader.  Complex, involved, and well-written-- I couldn't put it down.

Hilary continues to develop the back-stories of both Marnie and Noah, especially in connection to Marnie's difficulties dealing with the murders of her own parents by their fourteen-year-old foster son.  

This is crime fiction at its best.  She's up there with Jane Casey, for me.

Read in July.  Blog review scheduled for Aug. 5.

NetGalley/Penguin Group

Mystery/Crime/Police Procedural.  Aug. 18, 2015.  Print version:  416 pages.
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Your Turn, Mr. Moto by John P. Marquand 


"The thrilling 1st installment in Pulitzer Prize–winning author John P. Marquand's classic espionage series featuring Imperial Japan's most skillful spy."


Marquand won the Pulitzer Prize for The Late George Apley in 1938, which is why I decided to read this.  He wrote literary fiction, crime fiction, and the Mr. Moto spy novels with great success.  The Mr. Moto novels are similar to pulp fiction and inspired eight films featuring Peter Lorre in the 1930's.

• Think Fast, Mr. Moto (1937)
• Thank You, Mr. Moto (1937)
• Mr. Moto's Gamble (1937)
• Mr. Moto Takes a Chance (1938)
• Mysterious Mr. Moto (1938)
• Mr. Moto's Last Warning (1939)
• Danger Island (1939)
• Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation (1939)

Unfortunately, the novel felt dated, had awkward dialogue, little action, and a stultifying conclusion. The most interesting thing about the novel is the early interest in the imperial power and ambitions of Japan.  First published in 1935, the novel has an interesting perspective, especially so many years before Pearl Harbor. 

 Read in July.  Blog review scheduled for Aug. 5.

NetGalley/Open Road Media

Spy/Espionage/Historic Fiction.  1935; 2015.  Print version:  281 pages.
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Corridors of the Night by Anne Perry

The back-story of the Monk series involves William Monk and the carriage accident ten years previously that left him with no memory of his past and Hester Latterly, who had recently returned from the Crimea where she was a nurse with Florence Nightengale.  Although the books can easily be read as stand-alones, they are easier to understand if you begin with the first one The Face of a Stranger.  It isn't necessary to have read all of them, but the first one gives some important background information.  You can get The William Monk Mysteries:  The First Three Novels as an e-book at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.  

Perry's novels are well-researched and well-written,  and she evokes Victorian London in social atmosphere and mood.  Her characters, including secondary characters, all have depth and personality.  The plots usually have complex moral and ethical situations that Perry does not present in terms of black and white; instead, she makes the reader aware of the ambiguity of characters and events and leaves the reader to deal with the ethical questions.  Sometimes this can be a bit off-putting.

Corridors of the Night deals with medical experimentation.  How does science and medicine advance without experimenting?  What is the price of coming up with a new approach that might save, in the long run, millions of lives?  What are the moral obligations?

Hamilton Rand is experimenting with blood transfusions and has found that the blood of three siblings, young children, works when the blood of other donors does not.  He does not, however, know why the blood of these three children can be successfully transfused, while the blood from other donors causes the patient's death.  His goal is worthy.  His methods, however, have ethical considerations that do not bother him in the least.  

Read in July.  Blog review scheduled for Aug. 5. 

NetGalley/Random House/Ballantine

Historic Mystery.  Sept. 5, 2015.  Print version:  288 pages.
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The Kill (a Maeve Kerrigan novel) by Jane Casey

I read this one in June after reading the 6th book in the Maeve Kerrigan series and realizing I'd missed the 5th book.  As usual, Jane Casey delivers a tightly plotted police procedural while continuing to add depth to her characters.  She is currently my favorite crime writer, and Maeve and the irascible Josh Derwent are two of my favorite characters.

When a policeman is murdered in puzzling circumstances, Maeve and Derwent are on the case, but with a more personal touch than usual--after all, the man was one of their own.  What they never could have expected is that this is only the first murder of someone who is specifically targeting the police.  If they can find the motive, it may lead them to killer.

Maeve is a great character, but the misogynistic, politically incorrect Derwent provides the perfect foil and gives the series its piquant spice.  Casey does a fantastic job of making each novel complete in itself while subtly adding dimension not only to the main characters, but to the secondary characters as well.  The subplots that are woven from the first novel onward and the intricate relationships of the characters keep me immersed in the world Casey has created.

Purchased.

Crime/Police Procedural.  2014.  464 pages.  

The Professor by Robert Bailey

The Professor

A  debut novel, The Professor makes the most of atmosphere and Southern location.  

After a long and illustrious career as a law professor at the University of Alabama, Tom McMurtrie finds himself forced from his position.  Angry and betrayed, McMurtrie is also dealing with serious health issues, apathy, and a little self-pity.

An old friend asks for his help when her daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter are all killed in a terrible collision.  McMurtrie hands the case over to Rick Draper, a former student who has a grudge against McMurtrie.

McMurtrie has been a professor for years, not a trial lawyer.  He gives Draper the case because, as a local, he will have some built-in advantages.  But Draper is a new lawyer, a rookie, still trying to get established and without the experience of an old hand.  As the investigation begins to reveal implications of arson, destruction of evidence, blackmail, and murder, Draper realizes he may be in over his head.  

I liked the overall Southern atmosphere of this novel and Bailey's writing style.  The premise is both interesting and thought-provoking.  How far will a company go to make a profit? How far will the owner of a trucking company go to get the verdict he wants?  The good guys have both strengths and weaknesses.  The villains, however, are one-dimensional, containing no sense of humanity.  

I liked the mention of Bear Bryant; referencing that iconic figure does create a nostalgically favorable impression, but it is easy to lose the positive emotional atmosphere his name evokes if the reference is overused.  Coach Bryant's name still carries such affectionate weight, but a more judicious use would have suited me better.

The violence is excessive and gratuitous, especially concerning the truck driver's widow, and feels at odds with other elements of the novel.  The novel would have been better if the villains had a little depth and the violence (physical, emotional, sexual) had been more restrained.  
The Professor is Bailey's first novel, and I liked it a lot, in spite of my nitpicking.

Read in July.  Blog post scheduled for Aug. 3.

NetGalley/Thomas & Mercer

Legal thriller.   Aug. 18, 2015.  Print version:  416 pages.  

Two More July Reads

Tracer by Rob Bofford.  Tracer is a debut science fiction novel with at least two sequels planned.  The following is from the book description:

"A huge space station orbits the Earth, holding the last of humanity. It's broken, rusted, falling apart. We've wrecked our planet, and now we have to live with the consequences: a new home that's dirty, overcrowded and inescapable.

What's more, there's a madman hiding on the station. He's about to unleash chaos. And when he does, there'll be nowhere left to run."

Some interesting elements in this novel, even if I wasn't terribly satisfied with it.  Tracer's are couriers who deliver packages, papers, etc. around the space station, running at top speed and guaranteed not to look at whatever they are carrying.  

Loved the Parkour elements that Tracer's used and wish there had been more emphasis on this.  (I first discovered parkour a few years ago when I read Data Runner and was fascinated and posted some videos on that review.  Parkour is a remarkable...and remarkably dangerous sport.)

I liked the main character Riley and some of the secondary characters as well, but the novel spent too much time on the dark and dirty of the space station without my having a full sense of anything.  I felt as if I couldn't "see" anything clearly.  A lot of action, but strangely, some of the action dragged.

An interesting book with potential, and yet, it seemed to miss the mark in many ways.

NetGalley/Redhook Books

Science Fiction/Post-Apocalyptic.  July 2, 2015.  Print version:  432 pages.

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The Girl in the Maze 

"When Martha Covington moves to Amberleen, Georgia, after her release from a psychiatric ward, she thinks her breakdown is behind her. A small town with a rich history, Amberleen feels like a fresh start. Taking a summer internship with the local historical society, Martha is tasked with gathering the stories of the Geechee residents of nearby Shell Heap Island, the descendants of slaves who have lived by their own traditions for the last three hundred years."

I enjoyed the idea of trying to protect the Geechee/Gullah culture, but wasn't at all happy with the paranormal path the book took.  It felt as if the author rushed the initial parts of the novel as Martha adjusts to her new job and jumped right into several events that moved the novel to areas that were less realistic.

Don't get me wrong, I love paranormal, but the historical portion of the paranormal especially, just felt silly and contrived.  

NetGalley/Random House/Alibi

Paranormal Mystery.  Sept. 8, 2015.  Print version:  292 pages.

Painted Veil by Beverle Graves Myers

Painted Veil is actually a re-read.  I read in 2006 and liked it and have occasionally thought about it without remembering much about it except that it involved a castrato singer with a Venetian opera house.  

Tito Amati has been accustomed to being the male lead, receiving plum roles with the Teatro San Marco, but he let success goes to his head, indulged himself and neglected his voice.  When another celebrated singer is brought in to play the lead in the next opera, Tito is humiliated, but recognizes his own role in his demotion.

Tito is eager to get back in form and to regain the good graces he once enjoyed with the theater's director.  when asked to locate Luca Cavalieri, the scene designer who has gone missing, Tito willing agrees.

Luca Cavalieri's body washes ashore at an inopportune moment, and now, Tito needs to discover the reason for Luca's murder...and the culprit.

The 18th century Venetian setting, the details concerning the theater and production of an opera, the role of the castrati (what a sad tradition), and political machinations all combine to make interesting reading.

Tito is a charming character who resents his demotion and his replacement, but takes responsibility for his behavior and acknowledges his rival's skill and genuine talent.  He has come to terms with his own situation as a castrato--his prized role as a singer is a result-- but still feels some bitterness about the price.  (Boys were castrated for singing in church choirs and on stage; at the height of the demand for these singers it is estimated that as many as 4,000 boys a year underwent this mutilation--often as in Tito's case--sold by their families in that hopes that their sons' voices would lift them from poverty.)

 "The first openly castrated singers were enthusiastically admitted to the Vatican chapel by Pope Clement XIII in 1599 and by 1625 had completely replaced the soprano falsettists. Taking their example from Rome, the other major Italian chapels quickly sought out and admitted castrati among their ranks and their use openly spread throughout the first half of the century."  via Origin of the Castrati

Beverle Graves Myers has created interesting and well-drawn characters, placed them in a unique historic setting, and provided them with an absorbing murder mystery.

Purchased.

Historical Mystery.  2005.  Print version:  315 pages.

A Chorus of Innocents by P.F. Chisolm

I discovered this fictional series about the real Sir Robert Carey thanks to NetGalley and have  read An Air of Treason and A Famine of Horses so far.  

Here is some information about the real Sir Robert Carey that I lifted from my review of A Famine of Horses:

Background on Sir Robert Carey-- The real Robert Carey was the son of Lord Hunsdon, Henry VIII's illegitimate son by Mary Boleyn.  Lord Hunsdon was also Queen Elizabeth's Lord Chamberlain (and half-brother) and patron to Shakespeare.  Obviously, Robert Carey had some interesting DNA to draw from, and he had an interesting life as a dandified courtier in Elizabeth's court.  Then, for whatever reason, he decided to switch to soldiering, and he accepted the position of Deputy Warden of the English West March.  Quite a switch, that.  From courtier to sheriff/marshall of the wildest part of the kingdom in the West March where murders, horse thieves, and outlaws abounded.

Evidently a charming and cheerful man, his memoirs are lively and entertaining, and Chisholm says that she lifted him "practically undiluted from his own writings." 

A Chorus of Innocents focuses less on Carey and more on Sergeant Dodd and Lady Elizabeth Widdrington.  Another engaging adventure in the Debatable Lands that finally allows Lady Widdrington a way to exert some control over her situation.  I do wish the repeated attention to young Henry's "spots" had been edited, but I like his character.   

As usual when reading historic fiction, I'm constantly researching such terms as couvre-feu (and its evolution to curfew), the rough wooing ( attempt to force the Scots to agree to a marriage between his son Edward and the infant Mary, Queen of Scots), border reivers, wheellock, jacks (leather and other), and arquebus.  Most of these were familiar to me in general, but I liked getting more information about specifics in this time period.

A violent and fascinating era with both fictional and real characters--and P.F. Chisholm writes about it with style.  While it isn't my favorite of the three I've read so far, it is still historic fiction at its best.

Read in February.  Blog post scheduled for July 20, 2015.

NetGalley/Poisoned Pen Press

Historic Fiction/Mystery/Crime.  Aug. 4, 2015.   

Mrs. Hudson and the Spirits' Curse by Martin Davies

Mrs. Hudson and the Spirits' Curse was originally published in 2002.  If  "Mrs. Hudson" doesn't immediately bring to mind Sherlock Holmes' landlady, the clever cover makes the association clear.  

What I liked:  Mrs. Hudson and Flotsam are vividly presented and likable; the inclusion of characters with which I was familiar and new, interesting characters; and plenty of tongue-in-cheek remarks discreetly poking fun at both the canonical Holmes and at itself as a pastiche.

Mrs. Hudson, in this version, is much more than the retiring housekeeper of the canon.  She has a past.  No, no, not that kind of past.  Mrs. Hudson has a reputation for having solved a number of crimes and tricksy situations for past employers who owe her a debt of gratitude.  Her effective methods and contacts  saved the lives and reputations of some powerful individuals who stand ready to give aid when needed.

Her observations are as skillful as those of Holmes, but her areas of expertise differ.  

"Look at it like this, sir."  Mrs. Hudson was now engaged in rooting out and discarding an extravagant selection of unrelated comestibles.  "When we have discarded the inedible, what remains, however unlikely, will have to be dinner." 

Mrs. Hudson's knowledge of how kitchens and households run is far superior to that of Holmes, and her ability to see past the obvious and to separate the wheat from the chaff in the most common sense manner make her a formidable opponent to wrong-doers.

"Very simple, Mr. Holmes," returned Mrs. Hudson steadily.  "One should never overlook the alimentary."

When the orphaned Flotsam is fortunate enough to come within Mrs. Hudson's sphere of influence, she finds safety, mentoring, and an unusual education in social norms, practicalities, and divergent thinking.  

Holmes is eccentric and arrogant, but gentler and more flexible in this version.  He becomes the foil to Mrs. Hudson's astute, but modest personality.  As much as I love Mrs. H. and Flotsam, I was a little uncomfortable with the roles of Holmes and Watson.  I did not mind Holmes being more human, but--he was wrong about several things.  His detailed and accurate observations often led to incorrect conclusions.  

That is my only real quibble with the novel because I loved Mrs. H., Flotsam, the other characters, and the entire entertaining adventure.

One character who interested me was A.J. Raffles, who played a minor role.  I Googled him and discovered that he was a fictional character created by E.W. Hornung, Doyle's brother-in-law (he married Doyle's sister).  "According to the Strand Magazine, these stories made Raffles "the second most popular fictional character of the time," behind Sherlock Holmes.^[1]"

The next installment of this series is Mrs. Hudson and the Malabar Rose.  It is now on my wish list.

NetGalley/Canelo

Mystery/Holmes Pastiche.  2002/2015.  Print version: 235 pages. 

A Review and Some Pondering

A while back I reviewed Ghost Fleet, a novel that imagined what a third World War might look like. I found it frightening, to say the least.  And unnervingly plausible.

Evidently, I'm not the only one who felt that way:

Navy Times:  Ghost Fleet Offers a Realistic Look at an Imagined War

Discover Magazine:  Ghost Fleet's Fiction Aims to Shape Minds on Future War

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After reading Julia Heaberlin's Black Eyed Susans, I was determined to read more by Heaberlin.  When BookBub offered Heaberlin's Playing Dead for $1.99,  I snapped it up.

Tommie McCloud,  former rodeo star, psychologist, and equine therapist, returns to her Texas home after the death of her father.  As she deals with the grief of her father's death and her mother's descent into Alzheimer's, she gets another shock to her system:  a letter from a woman in Chicago who claims that Tommie is her daughter and was kidnapped when she was a year old.

OK -- the plot is a bit fantastic, yet it didn't bother me much while I was reading.  I liked the characters and the Texas atmosphere, but found the thread involving the Chicago mob(s) far-fetched and illogical.  There were plenty of twists and turns, but not all details and digressions were resolved.

There are plenty of mysteries, some surprises, almost everyone carries at least one gun, the novel has a modern wild west flavor, seasoned with Chicago organized crime.

Playing Dead is Heaberlin's first novel.  I liked it even though I thought it had flaws.  

Purchased.

Mystery/Crime.  2012.  Print version:  354 pages.

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Thinking about all those guns made me wonder a bit about gun culture.

"Don't mess with Texas" was a great campaign slogan to prevent litter, but it has a wider application as well.  A frontier mindset still exists in both fiction and fact about Texas.  There is a Texas mythology that prevails even in minds of Texans who have never owned a gun, ridden a horse, or worked a ranch--but the reality is that most Texans don't "carry" or actually lead lives that in any way involve the Western myth.  (Owning a gun and carrying a gun are quite different.)  

I was curious about how Texas ranked in gun ownership because I live in a state that also has a love affair with guns.  I found this article:  Gun Owners as a Percentage of Each State's Population.  Surprisingly, Texas ranked as #30 on the list with 35.9% of its population owning one or more guns. Wyoming held the #1 position with 59.7% .  

But here is another way to look at it--the population of Wyoming (2014 census) is 584,173. The population of Texas is 26.96 million. While the percentages are higher in the sparsely populated state of Wyoming, the number of gun owners in Texas by far exceeds the number of gun owners in Wyoming.  

It is funny what detours the mind takes when reading (or when writing about reading). 

• States with Extremely High Populations of Gun Owners(more than 50%)
• 1. Wyoming - 59.7%
• 2. Alaska - 57.8%
• 3. Montana - 57.7%
• 4. South Dakota - 56.6%
• 5. West Virginia - 55.4%
• 6. Mississippi - 55.3%
• 6. Idaho - 55.3%
• 6. Arkansas - 55.3%
• 9. Alabama - 51.7%
• 10. North Dakota - 50.7%
• (via the above linked article)
• 
  

The state with the lowest percentage of gun ownership?  Hawaii.  Where does your state rank in gun ownership?

Yesterday's Gone by Sean Platt and David Wright

The authors have a definite bias toward writing serial fiction.  :)  Like Dickens and Wilkie Collins and Alexandre Dumas in the 19th century.  Like Lost and Downton Abbey and Buffey on television. Well, maybe not exactly, more like The Walking Dead. The idea is to release the story in installments, and today, the popular mode of dissemination is the internet.  

I didn't read them in installments, though; I read by season when they were offered on NetGalley.

Yesterday's Gone (Season One)

Survivors of an apocalyptic event struggle with the loss of their families and the terrifying creatures that roam a landscape now curiously devoid of life.  Multiple characters in various locations must re-evaluate their world when at 2:15 AM on Oct. 15, almost everyone vanished.  

There are the good, the bad, and the hideous.

Entertaining, sometimes offensive, and weird.  

NetGalley/Sterling Stone

Post-Apocalyptic.  2011.  Print length:  500 pages.

Yesterday's Gone (Season Two)

While I found the first season entertaining, I found season two much less so.  The connection to season one was confusing, Boricio's role is simply abhorrent even with a twist at the end, too much violence, too little character development, and the plot becomes more complicated, not more complex (a considerable difference).

There are six seasons published so far, and I may read another season if offered on NetGalley, but I'm no longer really curious about what happens.

NetGalley/Sterling Stone

Post-Apocalyptic.  2013.  Print length:  514 pages.

For Suzie

My friend Suzie liked the fabric bead necklace

I wore to lunch when she was here for a short visit.

So I made her one.

It is in the mail now,

and I hope she likes it.

I really enjoy making these fabric beads

and they are perfect for using tiny scraps.

Inspiration:  SillyBooDilly

This and That

The Hibiscus have been gorgeous this year.

They have bloomed and bloomed with such abandon!

My creative efforts took a back seat in June,

but I did do a lot of scrap patching.

Using triangles trimmed from other quilts

and tiny left-over scraps,

I pieced several squares like the one below.

 I also played with fabric manipulation

using scraps.

I loved Black Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin (reviewed here).   It is due out July 28.  If you enjoy psychological mysteries, give this one a try!

I can't wait for Mr. Holmes.





I think I'm in love...

  

The Price of Justice by Marti Green

The Price of Justice

Dani Trumball, a lawyer for an agency that seeks to help prisoners who have been incarcerated for crimes they claim they did not commit.  The main criterion for their aid is that the men or women they help are too poor to have had adequate legal representation at their trials.

 Amelia Melton requests that Dani take on the case of her grandson Winston Melton, a young man convicted of rape and murder.  Win has been in prison and on death row for seven years;  his death warrant has been signed, and he has 180 days left until his execution.

 Dani initially refuses.  The Melton's are billionaires; they have had the best representation available.  Dani believes the calling of the agency (and her personal calling) is to seek justice for those who haven't been able to afford the kind of help they needed.  She resents the idea that the Melton's money can commandeer her services.

Eventually, however reluctantly, the agency takes the case, and as requested by Amelia Melton, Dani and her team must take the lead.  

Dani isn't comfortable with the case--not with the original conviction, not with the last minute confession by Earl Sanders that he, not Win, committed the murder, not with the idea that the Melton's money may have bought the confession.  Even when she believes Win Melton, who still maintains his innocence, several things about the case bother her.

Several twists and turns keep the novel interesting as Dani's team work to discover what really happened seven years ago.  

Read in June; blog post scheduled for July 10, 2015.

NetGalley/Thomas & Mercer

Mystery/Legal Thriller.  July 21, 2015.  Print length:  271 pages.