Spent an hour at physio today, the physio used his acupuncture needles. There were definitely a few spots that were quite tender.. lol... Ah the aches and pains of older age...
The puppies look great with their summer hair-dos. The change is quite drastic. You can actually see their eyes. :0)
So, now onto my Reading update. I picked up a couple of books this week, one from Nearly New Books and one out of my Little Free Library out front. I also finished two books this week and have started two new ones. It's possible I might finish one more book by tomorrow.. We'll see. I'll continue with my Author's A - Z at the end.
New Books
"Fans of Ace Atkins, Nevada Barr and Robert B. Parker will love Craig Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of Hell Is Empty and As the Crow Flies, who garnered both praise and an enthusiastic readership with his acclaimed debut novel featuring Sheriff Walt Longmire, The Cold Dish, the first in the Walt Longmire mystery series, the basis for LONGMIRE, the hit A&E original drama series. Now Johnson takes us back to the rugged landscape of Absaroka County, Wyoming, for Death Without Company. When Mari Baroja is found poisoned at the Durant Home for Assisted Living, Sheriff Longmire is drawn into an investigation that reaches fifty years into the mysterious woman’s dramatic Basque past. Aided by his friend Henry Standing Bear, Deputy Victoria Moretti, and newcomer Santiago Saizarbitoria, Sheriff Longmire must connect the specter of the past to the present to find the killer among them."
"As a storm rages across the Mediterranean Sea, a terrifying distress call is made to the Italian Coast Guard. Days later, a body washes ashore.
Identified as a high value terrorism suspect (who had disappeared three years prior), his name sends panic through the Central Intelligence Agency.
Where was he headed? What was he planning? And could he be connected to the “spectacular attack” they have been fearing all summer?
In a race against time, the CIA taps an unorthodox source to get answers: Navy SEAL turned covert counter-terrorism operative, Scot Harvath.
Hired on a black contract, Harvath will provide the deniability the United States needs, while he breaks every rule along the way."
Just Finished
"Blood of the Wicked by Leighton Gage is the first book in the Chief Inspector Mario Silva mystery series set in Brazil. Silva is the Chief Inspector for Criminal Affairs for the Brazilian Federal Police. He is sent to a northern state to investigate the murder of a Bishop. He brings along his nephew, Hector Costa, a federal investigator and Investigator Arnaldo.
The trio must deal with a corrupt, vicious state police commander and lawless land owners as they investigates the murder.
This is a gritty, violent story and the bodies pile up very quickly as whoever is doing the crime starts getting rid of witnesses. Silva and his team seem to be one step behind what's going on but at the same time, you can see that he has an idea about what is going on. His assistants are both interesting, competent police officers. There are many interesting story lines; the battle between the land owners and the peasants who fight for their own piece of land; the battle between the federal police and the state police, etc. It's an interesting view of a culture that is totally unfamiliar to me and I do look forward to finding out more about Silva and his friends and the country.
There are many frustrations in the story as people you like die off but at the same time there is an ultimate satisfaction to the ending. An excellent start to a series (4 stars)"
"The Anatomist's Apprentice is author Tessa Harris's first book in her historical mystery series featuring anatomist, Dr. Thomas Silkstone. Silkstone is a doctor from Philadelphia who moves to England to study under famed anatomist, Dr. Carruthers. Since Dr. Carruthers is now blind, Silkstone continues to teach at college and support Dr. Carruthers.
Silkstone becomes involved in investigating the death of Sir Edward Crick of Oxfordshire. His sister, Lydia comes to London to gain Silkstone's assistance in determining whether the death might have been murder.
This begins a sometimes convoluted investigation and tentative romance with Silkstone searching for clues to Edward's death and also to determine, if it was a murder, who might have perpetuated it. There are no shortage of subjects, Lydia's husband, possibly abusive and a womanizer; his friend, Lavington, who sticks his nose into so many parts of the investigation; maybe Hannah Lovelock, the maid whose daughter died recently?
It's not a perfect story; at times Silkstone seems helpless to do anything with actions taking part at will about him. His developing feelings for Lydia seem kind of incongruous. But those are minor things. All in all, it's entertaining and a fine start to a four books series (so far anyway). I won't hesitate to check out the other books. (3 stars)"
Currently Reading
"You are a secret agent working for the British in Berlin. You are due to go home on leave, but you are being followed-by your own people, or by the enemy. A man meets you in the theater and briefs you on a plot to revive the power of Nazi Germany. You do not believe him, but you remember that one of the suspects mentioned was a senior SS officer you met with in the days when you were working as a spy in Nazi Germany. The next day you make contact with a beautiful girl who may know something. Someone tries to kill both of you.
Your name is Quiller. You are the hero of an extraordinary novel which shows how a spy works, how messages are coded and decoded, how contacts are made, how a man reacts under the influence of truth drugs-and which traces the story of a vastly complex, entertaining, convincing, and sinister plot."
"Peter Macklin, a consummate hit-man working for the Boniface crime family of Detroit, finds himself working for the FBI and the Secret Service to secure the release of several hundred hostages aboard a tour boat on Lake Erie."
Bill's Author's A - Z
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| Edgar Rice Burroughs |
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| Steve Burrows |
"Inspector Domenic Jejeune’s success has made him a poster boy for the U.K. police service. The problem is Jejeune doesn’t really want to be a detective at all; he much prefers watching birds.
Recently reassigned to the small Norfolk town of Saltmarsh, located in the heart of Britain’s premier birding country, Jejeune’s two worlds collide when he investigates the grisly murder of a prominent ecological activist. His ambitious police superintendent foresees a blaze of welcome publicity, but she begins to have her doubts when Jejeune’s most promising theory involves a feud over bird-watching lists. A second murder only complicates matters.
To unravel this mystery, Jejeune must deal with unwelcome public acclaim, the mistrust of colleagues, and his own insecurities. In the case of the Saltmarsh birder murders, the victims may not be the only casualties."
The other books in this series are -
-- A Pitying of Doves (2015)
-- A Cast of Falcons (2016)
-- A Shimmer of Hummingbirds (2017)
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| Catherine Bush |
"Minus Time: A Novel is the second book I've read by Canadian author Catherine Bush. I enjoyed this as much as Rules of Engagement. Minus Time is an interesting portrait of a nuclear family (to the extreme somewhat).
The story centers around Helen, daughter of Barbara, a Canadian astronaut currently circling the Earth in the space station trying to break the time away record. Her father David, travels the world trying to help people escape and cope with the destruction caused by earthquakes and other disasters. Completing the family is Paul, her brother, who is working on an architecture degree in Montreal.
Helen and Paul travel to Florida to view her mother's launch into space. Interestingly, they don't go to Cape Canaveral but watch it from a distance. They see on the news that a replacement family has been installed in the bleachers to observe the launch.
Helen returns to Toronto, decides to stop attending her university course and takes a job at a health food restaurant and becomes involved with a group of activists who are trying to make the world aware of the sufferings of animals (testing by cosmetic companies, cruel treatment by fast food companies, etc). She keeps her family secret from the friends she makes in the activist group, United Species - kind of a neat name, I think)
The story follows Helen as she tries to cope with her family life; it wanders from the past with Helen and Paul as youngsters and Barbara just starting her training as an astronaut and the stresses it places on the family; and moves back to the present.
All in all it's a very interesting story, well-written and if you're part of the nuclear family generation, there are things that are relatable. It made me look again at my family, with me on the West Coast, one brother on the East Coast, another in the center, and my sister with my father. It makes for a different family dynamic, neither good nor bad, just one that requires differing perspectives. All in all, a very interesting, entertaining, thoughtful story. (4 stars)"
"In its simplest form, Arcadia Hearne has run away from home and past events and relationships and settled in London where she works for the Center for the Contemporary War Studies, studying war and intervention. Catherine Bush spins this story in such a manner that it's very difficult to put the book down. She interweaves present events with Arcadia's past in Toronto, slowly winding these two stories together to provide a clear picture of Arcadia and the reasons for her running off to London. While Arcadia studies war, she does so only theoretically, never actually visiting the places where these wars are taking place. She has relationships, most recently with an Iranian immigrant who also has a secret life trying to help refugees. Arcadia, while she likes the relationship, avoids the messier side of life. Discovering more about Amir, she runs away again, back to Toronto, where she tries to confront her past events and also deal with her parents. Catherine Bush is a wonderful writer, her prose is intelligent and thoughtful and her story telling skills superb. I enjoyed reading this book so very much and loved how Bush tried to resolve the various story lines, but also leaving enough unsaid that you can come to your own conclusions. Excellent!"
Bush's other books are -
-- Claire's Head (2004)
-- Accusation (2013)
There you go, folks. Hope you're having a great week!!!
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