Not sure what our plans are for today, maybe go into Courtenay and order me a pair of reading glasses. I had an eye appointment yesterday and while my overall prescription didn't change drastically, the doc thought maybe a pair of reading glasses might help when I'm just reading and not combining it with watching the TV. We'll see. Otherwise maybe some replanting of flowers on the deck, watch the Blue Jays later on.. The options are almost limitless.
On to my Reading update. I picked up a couple of books when I drove around to the local Little Free Libraries and donated some of the books that I'm finished with. I'll probably drop off a few at my local used book store on Monday when I take the dogs to the cleaners. I also finished another book (review to follow) and of course, started another. I'll also continue with my Author's A - Z listing. Maybe we'll start the C's today.
New Books
As I mentioned, I picked up two during my drive around this week and one also arrived in the mail.
"An art history professor and writer and cheerful pervert, James Qatar had a hobby: he took secret photographs of women and turned them into highly sexual drawings. One day, he took the hobby a step further and... well, one thing led to another, and he had to kill her. A man in his position couldn't be too careful, after all. And you know something? He liked it.
Already faced with a welter of confusion in his personal life, Deputy Chief Lucas Davenport decides to take this case himself, hoping that some straightforward police work will clear his head, but as the trail begins to take some unexpected turns, it soon becomes clear that nothing is straightforward about this killer. The man is learning as he goes, Lucas realizes, taking great strides forward with each murder. He is becoming a monster — and Lucas may have no choice but to walk right into his lair..."
"Marshal Salvatore Guarnaccia of the Florentine Carabinieri wants to go south for Christmas to spend the holiday with his family in Sicily, but a retired Englishman living in Florence has been murdered. Who has shot Mr. Langley-Smythe in the back? The marshal must discover the identity of the criminal and the motive for the crime before he can take the train home for the holidays."
"When penniless Michael Rogers discovers the beautiful house at Gypsy’s Acre and then meets the heiress Ellie, it seems that all his dreams have come true at once. But he ignores an old woman’s warning of an ancient curse, and evil begins to stir in paradise. As Michael soon learns: Gypsy’s Acre is the place where fatal “accidents” happen."
Just Finished
"I've seen the movie a few times, always an entertaining, tense story. I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that Bunny Lake is Missing was originally a book, written by Evelyn Piper (pseudonym for Merriam Modell) and published in 1957. The edition that I found was from publisher The Feminist Press for its second installment of the Women Write Pulp series; also included books by Dorothy Hughes, Faith Baldwin, etc.
As mentioned above, I have always enjoyed the movie; its darkness, manic quality, etc. The book starts off right with the same tone and never lets up throughout the course of the story. Blanche Lake, a single mom, is picking up her daughter, Bunny, from her first day at a pre-school in New York. She waits with the other mothers and with a sickening feeling discovers that Bunny isn't with the other young children, the 3-year old class. This begins a whirlwind search for her young daughter. She struggles to find any clue that Bunny was ever there, do the police believer her? Did she even have a daughter? Where is the evidence that Bunny was registered at the school? Where is the evidence in Blanche's apartment that she has a daughter?
As well, who is Eddie and why is his mother so worried that maybe he might have something to do with the 'disappearance'? And to where has he disappeared?
Blanche's search becomes more and more desperate as she struggles to find clues and to persuade anyone that Bunny exists.
I'll leave it there. It's a frenetic, fascinating story and different enough from the movie to provide quite a different perspective from the one that Otto Preminger brought to bear in the movie. I'll have to check out more pulp fiction from women writers and try to find a copy of Piper's The Nanny. (4 stars)"
Just Started
"In the first in a stunning new mystery series set in eighteenth-century England, Tessa Harris introduces Dr. Thomas Silkstone, anatomist and pioneering forensic detective. . .
The death of Sir Edward Crick has unleashed a torrent of gossip through the seedy taverns and elegant ballrooms of Oxfordshire. Few mourn the dissolute young man--except his sister, the beautiful Lady Lydia Farrell. When her husband comes under suspicion of murder, she seeks expert help from Dr. Thomas Silkstone, a young anatomist from Philadelphia.
Thomas arrived in England to study under its foremost surgeon, where his unconventional methods only add to his outsider status. Against his better judgment he agrees to examine Sir Edward's corpse. But it is not only the dead, but also the living, to whom he must apply the keen blade of his intellect. And the deeper the doctor's investigations go, the greater the risk that he will be consigned to the ranks of the corpses he studies. . ."
Bill's Author's A - Z
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| Jan Burke |
"Killer Nick Parrish says he'll lead authorities to the body of Judith Sayre--they will not demand the death sentence for his heinous crimes. But the criminal has no intention of spending his life behind bars--and he plans some deadly surprises."
"Hot off the publication of "Bones," the winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel, Jan Burke explodes onto the suspense scene with "Flight," featuring the hard-edged Detective Frank Harriman, husband of Jan's beloved series heroine Irene Kelly. A family is found murdered. In a cruel twist, one of the Las Piernas Police Department's own, Philip Lefebvre, is suspected of killing the only witness. When that detective disappears, a crime boss goes free. And the LPPD is forever changed.
Called in to investigate the wreckage of the missing detective's plane, Frank Harriman is given a set of cold cases that have suddenly become white hot. Detective Harriman's conviction that the LPPD tagged the wrong murder suspect is wildly unpopular. Alone, his instincts and integrity questioned at every turn, Harriman must stop the killer before hundreds of lives, including Harriman's own, are lost."
The other Irene Kelly books are -
- Goodnight Irene (93)
- Sweet Dreams Irene (94)
- Dear Irene (95)
- Remember Me Irene (96)
- Hocus (97)
- Liar (98)
- Bloodlines (05)
- Kidnapped (06)
- Disturbance (11)
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| W.J. Burley |
"I've read a few of the Superintendent Wycliffe mysteries and enjoyed. This is the second in the series and finds Wycliffe on vacation with his wife, Helen at the coast. While there he gets involved in investigating a murder in a hotel by the waterfront. He's an interesting character, is Superintendent Wycliffe, likes to use his instincts more than criminal analyses of the CSI vein. As we delve into the story and find out more about the woman who was murdered and what she's been involved in and the people around her, the story becomes a nicely complex puzzle. I enjoyed it very much and am glad that I refreshed my acquaintance with Wycliffe. Nice ending too. (4 stars)."
"This is the second Wycliffe mystery I've read in Oct/ Nov and once again I've enjoyed very much. I like Burley's writing style. Wycliffe is a diffident copper, one who isn't easy to really like or put a finger on. He has a casual style of investigating, preferring to wander about on his own and let the information he accumulates formulate a conclusion. He is distant from the people he works with, often sharp with them but at the same time his number two, Inspector Gill seems to like him and respect him. The story was very interesting, the people interesting as well and I was ultimately satisfied with the result. I'm looking forward to reading more of the Wycliffe mysteries. (4 stars).
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| Frances Hodgson Burnett |
"What a wonderful story The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett is. I've had it on my book shelf for a year or so and added it to my 12+ 4 reading challenge on the recommendation of a Goodread's friend.
It was so nice to read an uplifting, joyous story such as this. It's a story of growing up, discovering friendship and love and it leaves you feeling very positive and happy. (well, there were a few tears shed at the end but only because it was a positive ending.)
Young Mary Lennox is growing up in India. Her mother abandons her to the care of an Indian governess; she never really wanted a child. Mary becomes a loner, a temperamental, selfish young girl. When her parents die due to a cholera epidemic, she is sent to England to live with an uncle who resides at his estate in Misselthwaite Manor. Her uncle is basically a hermit who has never recovered from the death of his wife. He wants nothing to do with Mary, heading off to Europe and other places as soon as she arrives. Mary is once again alone but she slowly begins to make 'actual' friends, firstly her maid, Martha, a young Yorkshire lass, then a robin, etc. She then discovers the entrance to a locked garden; her uncle had closed it down when his wife died. It was her favorite and she died when a branch fell on her. Mary also discovers another resident in the manor, who turns out to be her cousin, Colin.
Without ruining the story by telling you anymore, suffice it to say that the two develop a close relationship and learn about friendship and love as they grow. The link with the garden, their development as the garden grows and multiplies, is most interesting. The story is full of wonderful characters; not the least Mary and Colin but also Martha, Martha's brother Dickon, their mother and even the old gardener, Ben.
I was so pleased to read this story, to read a perfect little story that left me feeling positive and happy at the end. Everyone should read! Thanks for adding to my challenge list, Alissa. (5 stars)"
So there you go. Hope you enjoy your weekend! Oh, and congrats to Fulham FC for winning their playoff gain to move up to the Premiership. See you next year. :0)
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