Friday 28 April 2017

Renos Update and Book Buying

Today I'm going to take a break from my normal posts about the History and the Birth Day thing. Yesterday, when I went to pick up the pooches from Day-care, I stopped off at the semi-annual Rotary Club Book Sale and found a few books. It's the first time I've gone in a couple of years, since they moved to their new location. So that's going to be my post for today, a look at the books I've found recently.

The new floor is coming along!
Before that though, here is the latest on the new floor for the front hall, living room and dining room. Dean removed the old flooring from the hallway, cleaned up the under layer, removing any ridges and smoothing it out and then got started laying the new floor. It looks really good so far. He should be here shortly to start today's work.

It's another beautiful sunny day in the Valley. The tide was in in the inlet when I dropped the dogs off for their day care today and so smooth and calm. It was such a great view, the inlet, the mountains on the other side and the glacier still deep with snow. I never have any problems reminding myself why Jo and I love living here so very much..

Book Buying April 2017

I mentioned the other day that I've been checking out the various Little Free Libraries that people install outside their houses. The deal is that you are supposed to give a book for everyone that you take. These are the three books I found the other day.

2312 - Kim Stanley Robinson.

 The book was nominated for the Hugo, Nebula and Arthur C. Clarke Awards. As you can guess it's a SciFi book.

"The year is 2312. Scientific and technological advances have opened gateways to an extraordinary future. Earth is no longer humanity's only home; new habitats have been created throughout the Solar System on moons, planets and in between. But in this year, 2312, a sequence of events will force humanity to confront its past, its present and its future."


The Kill Room - Jeffery Deaver.

This is the 10th book in Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme forensic mystery series. I've always been disappointed that they never did a second movie in the series.

"It was a 'million-dollar bullet', a sniper shot delivered from over a mile away. Its victim was no ordinary mark: He was a US citizen, targeted by the US government, and assassinated in the Bahamas.
The nation's most renowned investigator and forensics expert, Lincoln Rhyme, is drafted to investigate. While his partner, Amelia Sachs, traces the victim's steps in Manhattan, Rhyme leaves the city to pursue the sniper himself. As details of the case start to emerge, the pair discovers that not all is what it seems.
When a deadly, knife-wielding assassin begins systematically eliminating all evidence - including the witnesses - Lincoln's investigation turns into a chilling battle of wits against a cold-blooded killer."

Broken Prey - John Sandford.

This is the 16th book in the Prey (Lucas Davenport) thriller series. I have a bit to go before I get to this story, as I've only read the first two.

"The first body is of a young woman, found on a Minneapolis riverbank, her throat cut, her body scourged and put on display. Whoever did this, Lucas Davenport knows, is pushed by brain chemistry. There is something wrong with him. This isn't a bad love affair.
The second body is found three weeks later, in a farmhouse six miles south. Same condition, same display - except this time it is a man. Nothing to link the two victims, nothing to indicate that the killings end here.
'This guy...' Lucas said. He took a deep breath, let it out as a sigh. 'This guy is going to bust our chops.'
And soon he is going to do far, far worse than that.'

Rotary Club Book Sale - I didn't go too wild this time but I found 9 books. You can't knock the price, $12.00 for 9 books. I liked it anyway.

A Murder is Announced - Agatha Christie.

This is the fourth novel by Agatha Christie in the Miss Marple series and her 40th published novel. I've been happy to get back into her writing. I've enjoyed every book I've read the past few years.

"A murder is announced, and will take place on Friday, October 29th, at Little Paddocks, at 6:30 p.m.
The ad in the local paper is a joke, of course. In bad taste, of course.
But none of Miss Blacklock's friends can resist calling on her at the appointed hour. Certainly not Miss Marple.
At 6:30 precisely, the lights go out..."

The Last Coyote - Michael Connelly.

I've finally started the Harry Bosch series and am enjoying. This is the 4th book in the series. The missus and I are also looking forward to finding Season 2 of the TV series.

"The binder contained the case file on the October 28, 1961, homicide of Marjorie Phillips Lowe. His Mother.
Suspended from the LAPD pending psychiatric treatment, his house condemned and his girlfriend long gone, Harry Bosch has time on his hands...
With nothing better to do, Harry opens the ancient file on his prostitute mother's murder and is irresistibly drawn into the shadowy past. Confronting his personal shame at his mother's profession, he discovers a trail leading to the high-ups in the Hollywood Hills - and finds that the flames of ancient passion don't die, they kindle fresh fires."

The Vatican Rip - Jonathan Gash.


This is the 5th book in Gash's Lovejoy antique dealer / detective series. I've read the first book so far and enjoyed very much.

"Lovejoy, that witty rogue with a genius for antiques, is asked to recover a family heirloom. Unfortunately, the Chippendale table in question now sits in the Vatican. Though matters of protocol, a brutal murder, and several romantic entanglements slow his progress, Lovejoy once again triumphs, finding his way to a most ingenious solution."


The Man with a Load of Mischief - Martha Grimes.

I've read a few of Martha Grimes' Chief Inspector Jury mystery series, but it's been a few years since I've visited the stories. I figured if I was going to I should now start at the beginning with the 1st book.

"Long Piddleton had always been wary of newcomers, but the quiet town was stunned when the first stranger was found dead, upended in a butt of ale in the cellar of the Man with a Load of Mischief. Then the second body appeared, swinging in place of the mechanical man above the door of the Jack and Hammer.
Suddenly Long Piddleton had good reason to be wary of everyone! Its cozy pubs and inns with their polished pewter and blazing hearths had become scenes of the most bizarre crimes. Who were the victims? And who is the murderer? A stranger? A maniac? or the disarmingly friendly man next door?"

The African Quest - Lyn Hamilton.

I have enjoyed Canadian Lyn Hamilton's archaeological mysteries, featuring main character, antique dealer, Lara McClintoch. This is the 5th book in the series. One thing I don't think I realised is that she died of cancer in 2009. At least I will still get to enjoy the 11 McClintoch books she had published.

"Leading the first-ever McClintoch & Swain antiques and archaeology tour to Tunisia, Lara begins bumping up against dead bodies - from her own group. The story of a Carthaginian merchant ship that sank over two thousand years ago has stirred everyone's imaginations - and one person's murderous interest in finding the priceless artifacts that went down with it..."

The Dark Wind - Tony Hillerman.


I do like the Joe Leaphorn, Navajo police, mystery series. So far I've read the first three books. This fifth book features Sgt. Jim Chee.

"A corpse whose palms and soles have been 'scalped' is only the first in a series of disturbing clues: an airplane's mysterious crash in the nighttime desert, a bizarre attack on a windmill, a vanishing shipment of cocaine. Sgt. Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police is trapped in the deadly web of a cunningly spun plot driven by Navajo sorcery and white man's greed."


Kat's Cradle - Karen Kijewski.

I've read the first book in this detective series, featuring California PI Kat Colorado. This is the 3rd book.

"She said her name was Paige Morrell and she came to Kat Colorado hoping to untangle the twisted mystery of her past. She was a twenty-one year old 'orphan,' a poor little rich girl on the verge of inheriting a wealthy old river estate - and some nasty surprises. But when Kat set out to solve the case, she found herself following a thread of lies, greed, and deceit that led straight to the corpse of a key source to Paige's past. Now the Sacramento private eye was about to learn that in the California Delta some family secrets were better left buried ... because uncovering them could be murder."

Dead Water - Ngaio Marsh.

Along with Agatha Christie and Minette Walters, Ngaio Marsh has written some of my favourite mystery stories. (not to sell short the many other authors I've enjoyed, mind you). Marsh wrote 32 books featuring her famous Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn. Dead Water is the 23rd in the series.

"Times are good in the Cornish village of Portcarrow, as hundreds of unfortunates flock to taste the miraculous waters of Pixie Falls.
Then Miss Emily Pride inherits Portcarrow and wants to put an end to the villagers' thriving trade in miracle cures especially Miss Elspeth Cost's gift shop.
But some puts an end to Miss Cost herself..."


Bogue's Fortune - Julian Symons.

Julian Symons is a relatively new mystery writer for me. I enjoyed the first of his standalone mysteries, The Blackheath Poisonings very much. This is the third of his books I've found.

"To research a new detective story, Charles Applegate takes a post in a progressive school for misfits, set deep in the British countryside. While the adults seem as strange as the students, he soon finds solace in a beautiful blonde matron. But the game turns deadly when a fellow teacher is murdered and a nasty - if comic - collection of villains seems convinced Charles has something they want."

So there you go, my latest acquisitions. They'll keep me going for a couple of months.

Next post I should get back to my regular subjects, although I will also shortly update my month's reading stats.

One last thing. I heard this song on my usb this morning as I was travelling with the dogs to their day care. It's the first time I've actually listened to the whole song since I added it to my usb. Quite excellent actually. Fickle Friends is a new group for me. They are an English indie band from Brighton that formed in 2013. The single, Brooklyn, was released in 2013. Check it out by clicking on the song title.

Have a great weekend!!

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