Just Finished and Starting a New Book Plus My Continuing Author's A - Z

Here we go, the start of another week. Like 20 million+ Americans, Jo and I watched the Stormy Daniels interview on CBS' 60 Minutes last night. She's very credible but as is the case with most of these types of interviews (are there really that many of 'these types' of interviews?), it was a bit anti - climactic. Still interesting though. Today before we head out to do a little bit of shopping, we're watching Deadline: White House.... Nicolle Wallace is back from vacation!!! Yay!!

So now on to the book stuff...

Just Finished

The Maze Runner by James Dashner (YA / Adventure). This is the first book in the Maze Runner series. I've got the second book on my shelf so will read at least that one.









"The Maze Runner is the first book in the Maze Runner YA/ Fantasy / Dystopian series by James Dashner. Thomas wakes up with no memories on an elevator which empties out on to the Glade. It's peopled by a bunch of teenage boys who live and work there and are trying to find the way to escape by searching for a way through the Maze. The boys who take on this task are, of course, the Maze Runners.
Normally, it seems that the new boy or the Greenie works his way through various tasks in the Glade until he finds his official duty. Thomas, for some reason, is drawn to being a Maze Runner.
Events speed up rapidly with his arrival. Normally a new boy arrives once a month. Each night the entrances to the Maze close, which is a good thing, as the Maze is peopled by creatures known as the Grievers. If the gate were left open, they would kill every body. The Maze Runners must get back to the Glade before the gates close or they will have to stay overnight in the Maze, a fatal situation. The sting of the Griever causes hallucinations and a Changing (you have to read about it, I'm not telling you everything.)
There is normally a new arrival once a month but the day after Thomas arrives, a new person arrives... A GIRL!!! And then things start happening more and more rapidly. The idea is that the boys have to find a way to escape the Glade or who knows what might happen.
It's an interesting story, with a few neat twists and an interesting ending.. well, not really an ending but rather a cliff hanger. I have the second book on my shelf so I'm sure I'll see how the story moves along and see if any other answers are provided. (3.5 stars)"

Now Starting

The Ash Garden by Dennis Bock (Can Lit). I've moved over to my Canadian Content challenge with this book.







"A scientist stealing across the Pyrenees into Spain, then smuggled into America... A young woman quarantined on a ship wandering the Atlantic, her family left behind in Austria... A girl playing on a riverbank as a solitary airplane appears on the horizon... Lives already in motion, unsettled by war, and about to change beyond reckoning -- their pasts blurred and their destinies at once bound for the desert of Los Alamos, the woman unexpectedly en route to a refugee camp, the girl at Ground Zero and that plane the Enola Gay. In August 1945, in a blinding flash, Hiroshima sees the dawning of the modern age.

With these three characters, Dennis Bock transforms a familiar story -- the atom bomb as a means to end worldwide slaughter -- into something witnessed, as if for the first time, in all its beautiful and terrible power. Destroyer of Worlds. With Anton and Sophie and Emiko, with the complete arc of their histories and hopes, convictions and requests, The Ash Garden is intricate yet far-reaching, from market streets in Japan to German universities, from New York tenements to, ultimately, a peaceful village in Ontario. Revealed here, as their fates triangulate, are the true costs and implications of a nightmare that has persisted for over half a century. In its reserves of passion and wisdom, in its grasp of pain and memory, in its balance of ambition and humanity, this first novel is an astonishing triumph."

 Bill's Author A - Z

Nevada Barr

1. Nevada Barr (Mystery). Barr is an American mystery novelist who writes about a subject with which she is very familiar; the US Parks' System. Her novels center around a Park Ranger, Anna Pigeon, who travels around the National Parks in the US and finds herself involved in mysteries / murders in each location. It's an excellent series, one that I discovered at ABC Books when I first moved to the Comox Valley. Her first book came out in 1993, Track of the Cat, to 2016, Boar Island, a collection of 19 books. I've read 11 so far and enjoyed all of them but one. I'll highlight some of my favorites below.

a. A Superior Death (#2, situated Isle Royale National Park).











"Park ranger Anna Pigeon returns, in a mystery that unfolds in and around Lake Superior, in whose chilling depths sunken treasure comes with a deadly price. In her latest mystery, Nevada Barr sends Ranger Pigeon to a new post amid the cold, deserted, and isolated beauty of Isle Royale National Park, a remote island off the coast of Michigan known for fantastic deep-water dives of wrecked sailing vessels. Leaving behind memories of the Texas high desert and the environmental scam she helped uncover, Anna is adjusting to the cool damp of Lake Superior and the spirits and lore of the northern Midwest. But when a routine application for a diving permit reveals a grisly underwater murder, Anna finds herself 260 feet below the forbidding surface of the lake, searching for the connection between a drowned man and an age-old cargo ship. Written with a naturalist's feel for the wilderness and a keen understanding of characters who thrive in extreme conditions, A Superior Death is a passionate, atmospheric page-turner. (not my review, this is the synopses)

b. Ill Wind (#3, Mesa Verde National Park).











"In Ill Wind, Barr's powerful new novel, Park Ranger Anna Pigeon confronts death among the ruins. Colorado's Mesa Verde National Park is noted for its well-preserved cliff dwellings, the sole legacy of the Anasazi civilization, which vanished without any other trace in the twelfth century. Separated from friends and family and haunted by personal demons, Anna finds solace in these quiet ruins, their pinon-scented turrets and towers backlit by the fading blue of distant mountain ranges. But the rugged beauty of the park and the mystery of the Anasazi are cruelly overshadowed by danger and death. An unusually high number of medical rescues and the unexpected death of an asthmatic child are followed by the sudden demise of a fellow ranger who is found neatly curled up in one of the ancient kivas, his hat and shoes at his side. Anna had thought she'd found a friend in this man, had seen him as a kindred spirit, but his death transforms him into an enigma. Puzzled and more deeply wounded than she'd ever dare admit, Anna immerses herself in the ensuing investigation. As she sifts through shifting loyalties and struggles to honor the past, she must face forces both seen and unseen which threaten her career - and her very life."

c. Firestorm (#4, Lassen Volcanic National Park).











"As part of the army battling the Jackknife fire in northern California's Lassen Volcanic National Park, Anna, in her capacity as spike camp medic and security officer, tends the injuries and the frayed nerves of the firefighters. When the National Weather Service predicts a cold front followed by snow, promising to all but extinguish the fire, the camp is demobilized, but a last-minute rescue of a firefighter with a broken leg detains Anna and the San Juan crew. Driven on by the erratic thunderstorm of the front, wind shears in the steep canyon, creating the deadly weather conditions for a firestorm. As the ravine explodes in flames propelled by the racing winds, the crew tries desperately to outrun the blaze, ultimately seeking refuge in their individual silver fire shelters wryly referred to as shake 'n' bakes. When the fire finally passes, Anna emerges from her shelter to check on the fate of her companions. The sound of each exhausted voice, the sight of each bruised and blackened figure, is cause for celebration - until one member of the crew is found inside his shelter with a knife in his back. With darkness comes snow, making immediate rescue impossible, and Anna must tend to the physical and emotional wounds of the crew while seeking the identity of the murderer in their midst."
  
The only one I didn't enjoy that much was Flashback set in Dry Tortugas National Park. I think it was the 'ghost story' aspect that I didn't care that much about. The historical aspect of the park, which was a prison for Lincoln conspirators. But even that was still interesting. I have 4 more of the books sitting on my book shelves waiting my attention. It's a great series to enjoy once or twice a year. You even get to visit another area of the US if you're so inclined.

Jefferson Bass

2.  Jefferson Bass (Forensic Crime). Jefferson Bass is the pen name of contemporary American novelist, Jon Jefferson and forensic anthropologist William M. Bass. They have penned so far 10 books in the Body Farm series, from 2006 - 2016. I've read the first 4 books in the series. It's set in Tennessee and revolves around University of Tennessee anthropologist, Bill Brockton, who founded the universities Body Farm. Interesting series, especially if you like forensic mysteries.


Below are synopses of the first book and my favorite so far, the 4th.

a. Carved in Bone.











"In a forest in Tennessee, rotting bodies litter the ground.
This is not a mass murder scene; it's the Body Farm, where human remains lie exposed to be studied for their secrets. Its real-life founder has broken cold cases and revolutionized forensics...and now he spins an astonishing tale, inspired by his own experiences.
A woman's corpse lies hidden in a cave in the mountains of East Tennessee. Undiscovered for thirty years, her body has been transformed into a near-perfect mummy. Clueless, the local police enlist the help of Dr Bill Brockton, renowned anthropologist and founder of the Body Farm.
The body has been found in Cooke County, a remote community that's insular and distrustful. When Brockton's autopsy discloses an explosive secret, old wounds are reopened and feuds rekindled. As the powerful and uncooperative sheriff and his inept deputy threaten to derail Brockton's investigation, even Brockton, after years surrounded by death and decay, is baffled by this case as it unfolds in a unique environment, where nothing is quite what it seems."

b. Bones of Betrayal.











"Each book in this series gets better and better. Bones of Betrayal by Jefferson Bass, the 4th book in the Body Farm, forensic series, was no exception. This book finds the head of University of Tennessee's Body Farm, Bill Brockton, and his assistant, Miranda Lovelady, heading off to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the site of the nuclear laboratories of WWII fame, to work on a body frozen into an abandoned hotel's swimming pool. They are in for a shock as it turns out the body died of radiation poisoning and others will be infected. The story involves a search into the history of the Oak Ridge facility as the body belongs to one of the scientists who worked their during WWII. I enjoyed the historical aspects of the story and, as always, I liked the main characters, Brockton and Miranda. For all its tension, the story has a nice folksy quality to it, that brought about by these characters. The mystery itself was interesting and well-developed. I had an idea of those who would be involved in the murder(s) but the reasons were still a surprise. The books have all been enjoyable and very readable. The Bone Thief is next and is sitting on my bookshelf awaiting my attention. Excellent series. (4 stars)"

H. E. Bates

3. H.E. Bates. English writer Bates lived from 1905 - 1974. He was a prolific writer of novels, short stories and non-fiction. He is probably best known for the Pop Larkin series, which included The Darling Buds of May. I've not read this series. I've quite enjoyed his books set in the Far East. I first read The Purple Plain back in my high school days but have read it a couple of more times since then. I've read 4 of his books and of them only Dulcima wasn't worth the effort. It was a romance that really did nothing for me. Anyway, below I'll highlight the three books that I enjoyed.

a. The Purple Plain (1947).

"During 1945 H. E. Bates spent some time in Burma and India with the aim of writing about the Burmese war for American readers. The experience inspired three ‘Asian novels’, one of which was “The Purple Plain”. After returning to England he heard a story about a pilot who, having lost his wife to a German bomb while on honeymoon, as a consequence had become "a much-decorated hero by the dubious method of trying to get himself killed". It provided the spark that prompted Bates to start working on the novel (in any event, because of his experiences while over there, he was already keen to write about his time in Burma). In the novel, Forrester, commander at an air station on the "purple plain" of Burma, loses the will to live, but regains it upon meeting a young Burmese woman, Anna, who has passed through her own wartime trauma. He survives a plane crash, rescues a fellow pilot, and is finally reunited with Anna. It is a tale of human courage and endurance in the face of tremendous odds, and it was certainly “something different” for Bates. The book was published in late November 1947, and in 1954 the story was filmed starring Gregory Peck and Win Min Than."

b. The Jacaranda Tree (1949).

"During World War II, a small English community are forced to flee when Japanese forces invade Burma. Paterson, the manager of a rice-mill, organises the evacuation and takes with him his Burmese mistress and her young brother. The rest of the party take along their prejudices, their pettiness and their squabbles, and a small enclave of English insularity moves north through Burma. Inevitably, as the journey continues, bitterness, tension and insoluble conflict unfold...Inspired by Bates' period of service in the Eastern theatre of war, "The Jacaranda Tree" skillfully evokes the atmosphere of Burma during the chaos of invasion."

c. The Scarlet Sword (1950).

"The entire action of The Scarlet Sword takes place in rather less than ten days at a Catholic mission in Kashmir . There, at the moment when Kashmir breaks under the ferocious tribal rush of Pathans and Afridis. About sixty people of many nationalities are trapped. They include not only nuns, two priests, and many Sikh and Hindu women and children, but a war correspondent named Crane, a young English Colonel and his wife, a nurse from Glasgow, an English girl and her mother, and a dancer from the brothels of Bombay. In the first murderous descent of Pathans several of these are killed. The rest, fortified and led by the two priests, succored and nursed by the nuns, remain to resist by immense courage, fortitude and humour tens days of nightmare."

So there you go. I plan to finish Murder at Madingley Grange tonight as I enjoy an evening's television. Enjoy your week!