April 2018
General Info Apr Total
Books Read - 10 39
Pages Read - 3,400 12575
Pages Breakdown
< 250 2 12
250 - 350 4 12
351 - 450 2 9
> 450 2 6
Ratings
5 - star 2
4 - star 5 24
3 - star 5 12
2 - star 1
Gender
Female 3 12
Male 7 27
Genres
Fiction 1 9
Mystery 6 20
SciFi 3 7
Non-Fic
Classics 1
Poetry 2
1. The Ash Garden by Dennis Bock (4 stars)
"I didn't think I'd enjoy The Ash Garden by Canadian author, Dennis Bock. The subject was definitely depressing and it took me a bit to get into the flow of the story, which jumped from the past to the present and back again. But as I settled to it, it quickly drew me in.
The main theme of the story is the bombing of Hiroshima during WWII with the first atom bomb. The story revolves around 3 people; Emiko, a Japanese girl who was a child in Hiroshima when the bomb explodes and has her life turned on its end; Anton Boll, a German scientist who had escaped from Germany and was involved in the bomb construction; Sophie, Anton's wife, an Austrian woman, half - Jewish, whose parents sent her from her home to America to escape the terrors of the Nazi regime towards their community.
Emiko is disfigured by the bomb and her family destroyed and she is part of a group of girls who are sent to America for plastic surgery. Anton goes to Hiroshima immediately after the bomb to work for the Manhattan project in seeing the effects of the bombing and radiation. Sophie, who has her own physical limitations, tries to resolve her life with Anton and her desire to find out what happened to her parents.
It's a much deeper story than this premise and the journeys each person travels during the course of the story is fascinating. Their links to each other become apparent as the story progresses and there are a few surprises as well. It is a depressing story but still excellent and worth reading. (4 stars)"
2. Heartstone by C.J. Sansom (4 stars)
"Heartstone is the 5th book in C.J. Sansom historical mystery series featuring lawyer, Matthew Shardlake. There are many branches to this story and it keeps Matthew and his capable assistant Jack Barak very busy. It makes for a long, wandering story but there was no time when it didn't hold my interest and wondering what would happen next.
Matthew is recovering from his depression of the death of his long-time house keeper, Joan. He is dealing with a number of cases and also with a young woman he'd met in a previous story, Ellen, who resides in Bedlam, an insane institution. He is struggling to help her and at the same time to find a way of dissuading her from her love for him.
Matthew is asked by King Henry VIII's wife, Lady Catherine Parr to help her with a situation. This means Matthew will have to go to Portsmouth to check on a young man, Hugh Curteys, who may be being misused by his Ward, Mr. Hobbey. Matthew feels this might help him find out more about Ellen's past as she lived in a nearby town.
What else?? Well, Matthew is suspicious of his new steward, an old soldier Mr Coldiron, and the young lady he calls his daughter, Josephine. And, of course, there is the threat of an invasion from France while Matthew is in Portsmouth. Troops are being drafted and sent to Portsmouth. Jack Barak is threatened with being drafted as well while his wife, Tamasin, is near giving birth. There are many old and new enemies for Matthew to deal with, Sir Richard Rich and Lawyer Dyrick. Whew! Is that enough for you?
Well, the story is involved, with many, many twists and turns and threats to both Matthew and Jack. It's a fascinating and interesting follow-on to the other books in the series. Don't be intimidated by the size, there are no wasted pages and the story is rich, historical and detailed. It's one of the more entertaining series I've read and enjoyed. (4 stars)"
3. The Murder Stone by Louise Penny (4 stars)
"I continue to enjoy the Inspector Gamache mystery series by Canadian author Louise Penny. The Murder Stone is the 4th book in the series. For a change it is not set in the small town of Three Pines, but instead at a resort, Manoir Bellechasse. However, this is still relatively nearby and we do get a brief visit to Three Pines and Peter and Clara Morrow, regulars in the first three books, play a key role in the mystery.
The Gamache's, Armand and Reine Marie, are at the Manoir to celebrate their 35th anniversary. The wealthy Morrow family, mother, step father and four children with their accompaniments, either husband / wife or child, are also there for the annual family reunion. The main purpose of this reunion is to unveil a statue honoring the original patriarch, Charles Morrow. It's quickly apparent that there are many secrets and long held resentments in this family.
Added to this is the 'murder' of one of the children, Julia, whose body is discovered crushed under the statue. This brings in Gamache's intrepid team of Inspector Belvoir and Agent Lacoste. There are also mysteries and secrets within the fabric of the Manoir as well, from the maitre d', Pierre, to the chef, Veronique, etc.
It's a nicely paced story, developing slowly and steadily as Gamache and his team search the facts, search their own histories and interact with this strange and for the most part, unlikable family. However, even there you find complexities and twists. Things aren't always as it seems. The mystery is intriguing, especially the question of how them murder could take place?
I have to say that I continue to dislike Peter, his bitterness and his jealousies. I honestly don't understand why Clara stays with him but that is a small side-note. :0) We learn more about Gamache's past, his history with his father and also how it affects his relationship with his son. As always, the food looks fantastic and we get a brief visit to Three Pines to refresh our memories of that wonderful town and its inhabitants. All in all another excellent mystery from Penny. (4 stars)"
12 + 4 Challenge (completed 7)
1. Heartstone by C.J. Sansom (4 stars)
2. Footsteps in the Dark by Georgette Heyer (4 stars)
New Series (completed 8)
3. Magician: Apprentice by Raymond E. Feist (3.5 stars)
4. Hammerhead by James Mayo (3 stars)
Ongoing Series (completed 8)
5. The Murder Stone by Louise Penny (4 stars)
6. Collusion by Stuart Neville (4 stars)
Decades Challenge (completed 8)
7. The Maracot Deep by Arthur Conan Doyle (1920 - 29) (3 stars)
8. Watchman by Ian Rankin (1980 - 89) (3.5 stars)
Canadian Content (completed 8)
9. The Ash Garden by Dennis Bock (4 stars)
10. Kingdom of the Cats by Phyllis Gotlieb (3.5 stars)
May Books
Currently Reading
2. Faithful Place by Tana French (12 + 4 Challenge)
3. The Accident by Linwood Barclay (Canadian Content)
4. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Rigg (12 + 4 Challenge)
1. Peace and War by Joe Haldeman (New Series)
"WAR
William Mandella is a reluctant hero, drafted to fight in a distant interstellar war against unknowable and unconquerable aliens. But his greatest test will come when he returns to Earth. Relativity means that every time he returns home after a few months' tour of duty, centuries have passed on Earth, making him and his fellows ever more isolated from the world for whose future they are fighting.
FREE
When Mandella returns for the last time he finds humanity has evolved into a group mind called Man. Living a dull life in an autocratic and intrusive society, missing the certainties of combat and feeling increasingly alienated, the veterans plan an escape. But when their ship starts to fail, their journey becomes a search for the unknown.
PEACE
2043. The Ngumi War rages, fought by 'soldier-boys', indestructible machines operated remotely by soldiers hundreds of miles away. Julian Class is one of those soldiers, and for him war is truly hell. But he and his companion, Dr Amelia Harding, have discovered something that could literally take the universe back to square one. For Julian, the discovery isn't so much terrifying as tempting..."
"When a young man accidentally drives off a bridge and into the Malminster river, and a prominent town official's mistress is murdered, Chief Inspector Morrisey delves deeply into a burgeoning town scandal"
"At the Universal Advertising Agency on the Strand, London, a murder is being planned. Three men have been discovered taking bribes and face the grim prospect of the dole queue, unless they can get rid of the person who caught them. Their ringleader, thick-set and vicious Mr Morris, soon discovers that killing is far easier than he thought - and that he even has a talent for it. He might, he feels, be superhuman. But as he will discover, there is no such thing as the perfect crime, and no deed goes unpunished."
I'm hoping I enjoy May as much as April. I'll keep you posted.
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