Just Finished, Currently Reading and the History / Science Excerpts

It's another lovely, fresh, sunny day in the Valley. They are calling for maybe a bit of snow on Thursday.. *shudder* I hope it waits a bit longer! I'll have to get the front yard mowed today. I spent the weekend trimming the hedge outside the front door. I hope I wasn't too rough with it. I guess we'll know in the Spring.... Anyway, on to books. I finished two books on the weekend. I would like to finish one more before the end of the month but I'm doubtful if I'll manage that.

Just Finished

1. The Blue Edge of Midnight by Jonathon King. This is the first book in the Max Freeman mystery / thriller series. My review is below.











"The Blue Edge of Midnight by Jonathon King is the first book in his Max Freeman mystery / thriller series. Freeman is an ex-Philadelphia cop who has moved to Florida to escape from an incident that happened while he was responding to an incident in Philadelphia. It resulted in the shooting of a teenager and also in Freeman being shot.
Freeman now lives in a cabin in the Everglades as far from life as he can. Unfortunately, a series of child abductions and murders forces Freeman to confront the real world as he becomes heavily involved in the murders. Someone is playing with Freeman, maybe trying to set him up. The cops are suspicious and the denizens of the byways in the Everglades are also suspicious of this stranger to their home.
Freeman, with the help of friend, lawyer Billy Manchester, Freeman digs into the murders, meets with people who live deep in the Everglades, trying to keep their lives private and to stop the interlopers who want to disrupt life in this area.
The story develops quickly, we get glimpses of Freeman's past in Philadelphia and begin to find out more about Freeman as a person. There were some moments which I found frustrating, things that Freeman did / kept secret from the police investigators, but all in all it was a tense, well-crafted story and provided an interesting view of an area of Florida that I really knew nothing about. Looking forward to finding out more about Freeman and reading other stories. (4 stars)"

The other books in the Max Freeman series are -
1. A Visible Darkness (2003)
2. Shadow Men (2004)
3. A Killing Night (2005)
4. Acts of Nature (2007)
5. Midnight Guardians (2010)
6. Don't Lose Her (2015)

2. The Wrecker by Clive Cussler. This is the 2nd book in Cussler's Isaac Bell series. Cussler has written and co-written a variety of adventure series. I've only read the 1st of this series so far. My review is below.









"Wow! I wonder if Clive Cussler gets paid by the word; or maybe because he has a co-writer for many of his books, they both feel that they need to contribute 200+ pages for each book. OK, enough kidding. Considering it's size, The Wrecker, the 2nd book in the Isaac Bell thriller / mystery series, is a page-turning thrill-ride.
Isaac Bell is the top detective in the Joseph Van Dorn Detective Agency. Van Dorn assigns Bell to catch and stop The Wrecker, an unknown enemy who seems bent on destroying the Southern Pacific Railway company owned by millionaire, Oswald Hennessy. Trains are derailed, people killed, damage to the major railway tunnel that Hennessy is trying to build through the Cascade Mountains. Bell and his team of Van Dorn agents must race against time to find out who this mysterious Wrecker is and also to save Hennessy's railway.
It's a fast-paced story, full of action (some which you just have to suspend disbelief with) that leaves you breathless and tension and thrills. Bell races from one end of the country to try to find out who the Wrecker is and to try and stop his plans. We meet his lover Marion Morgan, an intelligent, beautiful, independent woman, again as Isaac and Marion build on their relationship. We meet The Wrecker and get a peak at his plans as they develop throughout the story.
All in all, it's a fun ride, rocketing throughout the United States in the early 1900's, as the railways were trying to unite the country and the world was filled with adventure. Great stuff! (3.5 stars)"

The other books in the Isaac Bell series are -
1. The Spy (2010)
2. The Race (2011)
3. The Thief (2012)
4. The Striker (2013)
5. The Bootlegger (2014)
6. The Assassin (2015)
7. The Gangster (2016)
8. The Cutthroat (2017)

Currently Reading

I've started the following two books as my next books.

1. A Dedicated Man by Peter Robinson. This is the 2nd book in the Inspector Banks series. It's been awhile since I read the first one; unfortunately, as I enjoyed it very much. The synopsis is below.









"Near the village of Helmthorpe, Swainsdale, the body of a well-liked local historian is found half-buried under a dry-stone wall. Harry Steadman has been brutally murdered. But who would want to kill such a thoughtful, dedicated man?
Chief Inspector Alan Banks is called in to investigate and soon discovers that disturbing secrets lie behind the apparently bucolic facade. It is clear that young Sally Lamb, locked in her lover's arms on the night of the murder, knows more than she is letting on. And her knowledge could lead to danger..."

2. Royal Flash by George MacDonald Fraser. This is the 2nd book in the Flashman adventure series.











"In this second volume of The Flashman Papers, Flashman, the arch-cad and toady, matches his wits, his talents for deceit and malice, and above all his speed in evasion against the most beautiful and unscrupulous adventuress of the era. From London gaming-halls and English hunting-fields to European dungeons and throne-rooms, he is involved in a desperate succession of escapes, disguises, amours, and (when he cannot avoid them) hand-to-hand combats while the destiny of a continent rests on his broad and failing shoulders. Courtesans and prize-fighters, assassins and duellists, crowned heads and chambermaids crowd the pages of his memoirs, while old Flashy scuttles nimbly from cover to cover."

I'm still working on Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf and I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. Doubtful I'll complete either by tomorrow, but who knows. :0) If not, well they'll be my first books of November. Look forward to my end October reading update... If you want that is..

Great Historical Events

 Today's excerpt covers the year 1797.

"1797. March 4. Inauguration of John Adams as President.
No peaceful nations were to be interrupted by privateering, under penalty of $10,000 fine and 10 years imprisonment.
France, incensed at the neutrality of the United States, in their war with England, banished the U.S. minister (Mr. Pinckney) from Paris.
The treaty of alliance with France revoked by Congress, and authority given for capturing armed French vessels.
Provisions made for raising a small regular army.
First Cast Iron Plow
First cast-iron plow patented by Newbold of New Jersey. The patentee expended $30,000 in perfecting and introducing the plow, and the farmers refused to use it, alleging that it poisoned the land and promoted the growth of rocks!
Commercial Advertiser established in New York."

Science of Common Things

Today's excerpt of the wisdom of Prof. L.G. Gorton covers a variety of items including the speed of electricity.

What is the velocity of electricity? Two hundred and eighty-eight miles thousand miles per second. How can the distance a thunder storm is away be ascertained from seeing the flash? (Ed. Note. Hey! I explained my way of ascertaining this in my previous excerpt.) By counting the number of beats of the pulse from the time the flash is seen to the time the thunder is heard, and dividing by five. The answer will be in miles. (Ed. Follow-up. I think my explanation was simpler. So say I!)

My next excerpt from Prof. Gorton will talk about the atmosphere.

Have a great week!