I finished two books since my last entry.
Just Finished
"I've enjoyed the Mr. Moto spy series by John P. Marquand very much. There are 6 books in the series, although some have been published under more than one title. Think Fast, Mr. Moto is the 3rd book in the series and was originally published in 1937. Young Wilson Hitchings has recently moved to Shanghai to learn the running and management of Hitchings Bank, from his uncle. While there his Uncle Will sends him on a mission to Hawaii. It seems that the daughter of the black sheep of the family is running a casino in Hawaii using the Hitchings Brothers name and Will wants Wilson to buy her out.
Before he departs, Wilson briefly meets the enigmatic Japanese spy, Mr. Moto, who is trying to discover more about Chinese dealings in Manchuko, the new state in northern China and if Hitchings Brothers are involved in financing Chinese rebels there.
This will all come to a head in Hawaii. Something is a bit off with the casino in Hawaii. Things don't seem quite legal. Eva Hitchings hates Hitchings Brothers as they treated her father quite poorly. She doesn't trust Wilson. He's not sure if he should trust her. Should they trust Mr. Moto? An attempt is made to assassinate the Japanese spy. Does he trust them?
It's an all around fast-paced story and very entertaining. Mr. Moto is a great character, smart and interesting. The series is worth trying. I have one left to read and it's on my book shelf. (3.5 stars)"
"Over the course of John le Carré's 86 years he's written 24 novels. He's maybe most well-known for his aging spy, George Smiley, who appeared in many of his early novels. I've read nine of ten of his books and have in the past few years, started to read his earlier works, as I missed them when I started to explore his writing.
This biography, John Le Carré: the Biography by Adam Sisman piqued my interest when I first saw it on the bookshelves in one of my local book shops (It was originally published in 2015). I finally purchased a copy and was glad to settle down to it this past month. The book was well-organized and flowed nicely. Sisman has an excellent way in presenting his story. It progresses logically, from le Carré's early childhood until his 80th birthday, finishing with his 2nd most recent novel, A Delicate Truth (2013).
I found le Carré's early life very interesting. Much detail is provided about his father and how poorly he treated his wives and children. Ronnie Cornwell (le Carré's real name is David Cornwell) was a ducker and diver, a grifter and philanderer and never changed over the course of his life. He used his children to achieve his own ends, got involved in many financial schemes, spent time in prison for his shady dealings and many times left his boys on the spot.
Much of what David accomplished was almost almost in contrast to his father. Not too say his father wasn't loved, as he had loyal friends, but he just wasn't a very good man / father. Cornwell's story moves through his childhood, time spent at boarding schools and gradually to university and a career with MI5 and MI6. Cornwell had marriage difficulties, was somewhat of a philanderer as well but ultimately found the wife who supported and for whom he cared dearly. As we get to David's writing career, we move chronologically through all of his novels, what influenced him in writing them, reviews of the books, problems with publishers, movie and TV tie-ins, etc. It's a very interesting story and we do find inklings of Cornwell's attitudes and how they develop and change over the course of his long life. Work was an addiction to him and his methods of formulating and developing his stories make for some interesting reading for budding authors.
If you've enjoyed le Carré's books you might find this biography interesting. It was nice reliving the stories and also remembering the history of the time in which Cornwell grew up and also meeting the people who became his friends. (3.5 stars)"
Currently Reading
I'm enjoying the 4 books I've got on the go at this time. All are mysteries but they are a nice variety.
"Fifteen years ago Susan Blacklock disappeared. Although Detective Inspector Frank Elder has taken early retirement, the case still plagues his mind.Prime suspects, Shane Donald and Alan McKeirnan, were convicted a year later of the brutal rape and murder of a young girl, and now that Shane has been granted parole, Elder feels compelled to revisit the past.
Then Shane disappears and another young girl is murdered. Elder's involvement is now crucial. Taunted by postcards from the killer, an increasingly desperate Elder battles to keep his estranged family from being drawn into the very heart of the crime."
"The body was positioned so that the train neatly obliterated its head and hands. Dressed in a homeless man's clothes with empty pockets, it might easily be passed-off as an unfortunate John Doe. And yet… Joe Gunther has a knack for knowing when things don't quite add up, and the math in this case is all kinds of wrong. Add a toxic waste dumping scheme, a stabbing, and a whole lot of state politics… if Occam's razor were applied to Gunther's caseload, how many incisions would it make?"
Bill's Author's A - Z
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| Agatha Christie |
"A most enjoyable introduction to the Miss Marple series of mysteries. I particularly enjoyed how the story was presented, with the Vicar being the story teller. Miss Marple is almost in the shadows, as the Vicar wanders around town on his own or with the police inspector, chatting with people, hearing the ideas and thoughts. Miss Marple is a watcher, a wise lady, who observes and figures things out. The Vicar meets with her regularly, discussing ideas, clues and gaining her insight. I loved the story, loved trying to figure things out (for the most part, unsuccessfully) and I loved the main characters, the Vicar and his lovely young wife, Griselda and Miss Marple especially. The story was fun and a pleasure to read. I was even happy with the ending, more than satisfied as Miss Marple presented her findings and solution. Loved it!"
"Finishing off 2014 with a couple of Agatha Christie mysteries. Peril at End House was originally published in 1931 and features super sleuth Hercule Poirot. In this story, Poirot is living a retired life, spending some time on the coast with his friend Hastings who has returned from Argentina. He becomes involved in a case of attempted murder of a young woman, Miss Nick Buckley and is frustrated trying to solve the case and keep her alive. All of the suspects seem innocent and Poirot even begins to doubt his own abilities. Has retirement made him rusty? Is he getting too old? An interesting story and an interesting case. I've enjoyed getting back into Agatha Christie's writing in 2014."
"The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie is one of those without either of Christie's famous sleuths, Marple or Poirot. Instead the hero is one Anne Bedingfield. She spent her early life with her father, basically a secretary helping him with his anthropological work.
Anne, during a visit to London after the death of her father, is on hand to observe the death of a man in the subway. Was it murder, suicide, an accident? She discovers a piece of paper in his pocket, which leads her to what she thinks might be a related death at a house near London.
These events begin to involve Anne in a series of events, attempts on her life, etc and a journey to South Africa. Intrepid and seeking adventure, she searches for the mysterious Colonel, finds herself in the company of Colonel Race (Is he Secret Service?) Suzanne, wife of a British civil servant, Sir Eustace, a somewhat lazy rich Englishman on his way to deliver secret documents to the South African government, and the Man in the Brown Suit (is he a murderer or a spy or can she trust him?)
There is romance, adventure, fun and games, stolen diamonds, intrigue and a darn good mystery with, for me at least, a nicely satisfying and surprising ending. I really liked Anne Bedingfield and Suzanne, strong, spunky, independent women and I liked the story a lot. I keep discovering that Agatha Christie does not disappoint. (4 stars)"
I've got another 7 or 8 (if not more) Christie books awaiting my attention. I like to read one or two a year so they'll keep me going for awhile. I hope to eventually read all of her books.
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| John Christopher |
"I imagine The Lotus Caves by John Christopher would be classified as Young Adult now, but either way it's an interesting little SciFi story. It features Marty and Steve, two teenagers who have grown up on the Moon in the Earth settlement there. Marty's best friend has been recently sent back to Earth for school, so Marty begins to hang out with Steve, an orphan.
They get in trouble for a prank they perform in the Bubble, where the colony resides and then decide to take a Crawler out to explore one of the early settlements. This leads them to explore further and they crash their vehicle and find themselves in contact with an alien mind in an underground cave system.
Is the mind benign or threatening? What will happen to Marty and Steve? That you have to find out. All in all it was a readable, interesting Science fiction novel, nothing outstanding but an easy, entertaining read. I enjoyed. (3 stars).
Christopher was a prolific writer and I'll keep looking for his books. The Death of Grass looks especially interesting."
"As the story opens, the initial viral strain has already attacked rice crops in East Asia causing massive famine and a mutation has appeared which infects the staple crops of West Asia and Europe such as wheat and barley, threatening a famine engulfing the whole of the Old World, while Australasia and the Americas attempt to impose rigorous quarantine to exclude the virus.
The novel follows the trials and struggles of the narrator's family as they attempt to make their way across England, which is already descending into anarchy, to the safety of his brother's potato farm in an isolated Westmorland valley.
The main characters sacrifice many of their morals in order to stay alive. At one point, when their food supply runs out, they kill an innocent family simply to take their bread. The protagonist justifies this with the belief that "it was them or us."
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| Susanna Clarke |
"I was unsure whether to give this three or four stars. The story was very interesting and flowed nicely. I felt at times that it didn't have to be so long. The plot was interesting, but the ending somewhat of a let down; only somewhat, as the story was resolved satisfactorily. It was interesting and different and worth reading. The characters were well crafted and in some cases quite menacing. The magic was quite intriguing and I liked both Strange and Norrell, for different reasons as they are quite different characters. I think my favourite characters were Childermass, Arabella Strange and Flora Greysteels.. as well as Mr Segundus.. Worth reading and making the effort."
So there you go, a few authors and reading ideas you might like to check out. Enjoy the rest of your week.
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