New Books, Just Finished and Started and Author A - Z

Spring must be on the way as the sprinkler guys were here yesterday to set up the automatic system. I even did a little bit of yard work. Must get going with that. Today it's kind of rainy and we've actually had a couple of hail storms this past few weeks. Very interesting. Not hail the size of golf balls or anything but it still stayed on the ground for a bit.

Jo has been cooking up a storm this past week, some very yummy meals and lots of stuff put in the freezer for heating up. Always enjoyable. Tonight is my turn; meat loaf this time; one of my couple of specialties.

After a couple of disappointing games against the Yankees, the Blue Jays have won their past four games, clobbering the White Sox yesterday. Hoping they can keep that up!

So on to books. Yesterday I had one book order of two books come in from Discover Books in Baltimore and another book I've considered before was put in my Little  Free Library. So I'll start with my new books, then move on to my latest review and what I've started since. Then my continued Author A - Z.

New Books

a. The Bang Bang Birds by Adam Diment (Philip McAlpine #3).

"Adam Diment's first book prompted The New York Times to call him 'Fleming's successor.' then The Times deemed The Great Spy Race 'The funniest of all anti-spy novels.' That was before The Bang Bang Birds - the sexiest double - cross ever perpetrated by an English agent on an unsuspecting American spy network."

b. The Thai Amulet by Lyn Hamilton (Lara McClintoch #7).

"Toronto shopkeeper Lara McClintoch solved her first archaeological mystery in The Xibalba Murders, nominated for the Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel. Since then, Lyn Hamilton's acclaimed and popular series has taken readers around the world to various exotic locales-where rare antiquities and base human nature add up to murder. Now, in The Thai Amulet, Lara must sift through the layers of Bangkok society to find a fellow antique dealer-alive or dead.." 

c. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. 

"In boyhood, Louis Zamperini was an incorrigible delinquent. As a teenager, he channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics. But when World War II began, the athlete became an airman, embarking on a journey that led to a doomed flight on a May afternoon in 1943.

When his Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean, against all odds, Zamperini survived, adrift on a foundering life raft. Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will."

Just Finished

 Footsteps in the Dark by Georgette Heyer.


"Footsteps in the Dark is a fun, entertaining mystery from 1932 by English author, Georgette Heyer. I've read a few other mysteries by Heyer and have enjoyed them all so far.
This story starts off as a ghost story but as the story moves along it becomes more and more an interesting mystery. The Fortescue children, Peter, Margaret and Celia have inherited the Priory at Framley. Along with Celia's husband, Charles Malcolm and their aunt Lilian Bosanquet, they move into the old place. It's without electricity and from all tales, is haunted by the ghost of a Monk. The stories about the Monk are enhanced by the various locals with whom they begin to associate; the Colonel (their neighbor), the strange French artist, Duval, the eccentric moth hunter, Mr Titmarsh and the owner of the nearby inn, Mr. Wilkes. As well, there are two mysterious people staying at the inn, Mr. Fripp and Mr. Strange.
As the story advances, ghostly sighting take place and people recommend that the Fortescues should leave the Priory. The bumbling local constable Flinders begins an investigation, getting into everybody's way.
The story is a slow burn but soon picks up speed and interest. I really enjoyed all of the characters peopling the story, especially the Fortescues, straight-forward and humorous. Margaret and Aunt Lilian especially are most enjoyable. All are sympathetic and I always find that makes for a more enjoyable story. The mystery itself is also interesting, with many suspects and a satisfying resolution. I continue to enjoy Heyer's mysteries and will continue to read them. (4 stars)"

Just Started

The Murder Stone by Louise Penny (Inspector Gamache #4).

"Beneath the scorched summer sky, the wealthy Finney family have gathered at a lakeside manor to honour their late father. But when the heat wave boils over into a mighty storm, a dead body is left in its wake - and Chief Inspector Armand Gamache finds himself with a building full of suspects."






Bill's Author A - Z

David Benioff

1. David Benioff. American author David Benioff hasn't been prolific as an author, in fact, I've read one of his three books. But he is well-known as a screenwriter and producer, especially noted for co-creating the popular Game of Thrones TV series. He's also known for marrying actress Amanda Peet. Below is the book I've read and enjoyed immensely.

City of Thieves.

"During the Nazis’ brutal siege of Leningrad, Lev Beniov is arrested for looting and thrown into the same cell as a handsome deserter named Kolya. Instead of being executed, Lev and Kolya are given a shot at saving their own lives by complying with an outrageous directive: secure a dozen eggs for a powerful Soviet colonel to use in his daughter’s wedding cake. In a city cut off from all supplies and suffering unbelievable deprivation, Lev and Kolya embark on a hunt through the dire lawlessness of Leningrad and behind enemy lines to find the impossible."

James R. Benn

2. James R. Benn.  American writer Benn is a new author for me. I saw his books listed in the back of another I was enjoying and decided to try the first one. It's on my bookshelf awaiting my attentions. Benn has written 12 books so far in his Billy Boyle wartime mystery series.

Billy Boyle: A World War II Mystery. 







"What’s a twenty-two-year-old Irish American cop who’s never been out of Massachusetts before doing at Beardsley Hall, an English country house, having lunch with King Haakon of Norway? Billy Boyle himself wonders. Back home in Southie, he’d barely made detective when war was declared.
Unwilling to fight - and perhaps die - for England, he was relieved when his mother wangled a job for him on the staff of a general married to her distant cousin. But the general turns out to be Dwight D. Eisenhower, whose headquarters are in London, which is undergoing the Blitz. And Uncle Ike wants Billy to be his personal investigator.
Billy is dispatched to the seat of the Norwegian government in exile. Operation Jupiter, the impending invasion of Norway, is being planned, but it is feared that there is a German spy amongst the Norwegians.
Billy doubts his own abilities, with good reason. A theft and two murders test his investigative powers, but Billy proves to be a better detective than he or anyone else.

E.C. Bentley

E.C. Bentley.  English novelist and humorist Edmund Clerihew Bentley lived from 1875 - 1956. What I enjoyed of his writing was his mystery series featuring Phillip Trent, of which he wrote three books from 1913 - 1936. I enjoyed each of the books.

a. Trent's Last Case. 











"Trent's Last Case was the first book by EC Bentley in the Trent series, which only consisted of 3 books, the other two being Trent's Own Case and a book of short stories. The book is dedicated to his friend, GK Chesterton, who wrote The Man Who Was Thursday. Trent is an artist and sometime contributor to The Record, when requested by the owner. In this instance he is asked to investigate an interesting murder/ suicide of a rich American living in England to see if he can ascertain the culprit. The books moves along at a somewhat sedate pace, taking the time to introduce characters and the outline of the case; the victim, his associates, including his wife and others and to allow Trent the opportunity to conduct his investigation. I liked the pace, the writing style and the investigation. There were nice little surprises, both in solving the case and the ultimate ending. Written in 1913, it still seems valid and not at all outdated. I enjoyed very much."

b. Trent's Own Case.








"Trent's Own Case is the second of 3 books written by E.C. Bentley featuring sleuth, Phillip Trent. Trent is an artist, sometime contributor to English newspapers and a successful sleuth. He is respected by Scotland Yard and has helped them solve many cases. Trent's Own Case finds Trent retired.
An acquaintance, a rich philanthropist, is murdered and a friend of Trent's confesses to the murder and tries to commit suicide. Trent comes out of retirement and offers to assist his friend, Inspector Bligh with the investigation. Thus begins a meandering investigation that finds Trent visiting France as part of his attempt to find clues to prove his friend innocent of the crime.
Trent is somewhat like Dorothy Sayers' Peter Wimsey, a similar personality and an interesting character. While the story starts off slowly, it is always interesting and gradually the various clues and information that Trent gathers begins to make sense and to maybe even provide other suspects.
Interesting characters, an interesting story and well-crafted. I'm looking forward to delving into the final book, a collection of short stories involving Phillip Trent. (4 stars)"

c. Trent Intervenes.

"Trent Intervenes by E.C. Bentley is the third and final book about painter, newspaper journalist and investigator Phillip Trent. This book is a collection of short stories featuring this interesting investigator.
Trent is a unique person, in some ways reminding me of Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey. He enjoys the investigation, has great intuition and can look at a few clues and come up with a correct and interesting solution. He has an excellent relationship with the police and is regularly asked for his assistance, or, at the very least, they are more than willing to show him their cases and listen to his interpretations.
The stories are for the most part, quite gentle. In many of them the story starts with Trent writing about cases for his newspaper then following up with the investigation. They involve murder, theft, hoodwinking, all the good things. I'm sorry that Bentley only wrote three Trent books as they were all most enjoyable, comfortable reads. While it's nice to finish a series, there is always some sadness knowing there won't be others. (4 stars)"

It's too bad he never wrote more Trent mysteries.

So just about time to start my meat loaf. But I think I'll watch a little of the Jay's game before I do. Take care!