April 2019 Reading Summary

Before I get into my monthly reading review, I've finished 3 books since my last update. That brings my total for the month to 15 books, so a good month overall. The three books I finished were -

1. Leave Me By Dying by Rosemary Aubert (3 stars)
2. The Sergeant's Cat and Other Stories by Janwillem van de Wetering (4 stars)
3. Vendetta by Michael Dibdin (4 stars)

Now on to my stats for the  month.

April 2019

General Info                       Apr                        Total
Books Read -                        15                            47
Pages Read -                       4,500                      14,700

Pages Breakdown
    < 250                                 6                             20       
250 - 350                               5                             11
351 - 450                               2                             10
   > 450                                  2                               6

Ratings
5 - star                                   1                               3
4 - star                                   6                             22
3 - star                                   8                             22
2 - star                           

Gender
Female                                10                             22
Male                                     4                             25

Genres
Fiction                                                                   5
Mystery                              12                             32
SciFi                                     2                               5
Non-Fic                                1                               4
Classics                                                                 1           
Poetry                           

Top 3 Books

1. Inkspell by Cornelia Funke - 5 stars
2. The Circular Staircase - Mary Roberts Rinehart
3. A Wizard of Earthsea - Ursula K. LeGuin

12 + 4  Challenge (completed 9)
1. Leave Me By Dying by Rosemary Aubert - 3 stars
2. Bloodlines by Jan Burke - 3.5 stars

Papa Bear Challenge (Books I've had the longest on my Goodreads bookshelf) (completed 8)
3. Break No Bones by Kathy Reichs - 4 stars
4. Spinsters in Tragedy by Ngaio Marsh - 4 stars
5. Maigret has Scruples by Georges Simenon - 3.5 stars
6. The Etruscan Chimera by Lyn Hamilton - 3.5 stars

Mama Bear Challenge (Middle of my Goodreads bookshelf) (completed 9)
7. London Rain by Nicola Upson - 3.5 stars
8. Bony & the Kelly Gang by Arthur Upfield - 3 stars
9. Vendetta by Michael Dibdin - 4 stars

Baby Bear Challenge (Books most recently added to my Goodreads bookshelf) (completed 8)
10. The Dead Shall Not Rest by Tessa Harris - 3 stars
11. The Sergeant's Cat and Other Stories by Janwillem van de Wetering - 4 stars

Goldilocks Challenge (Random Number Generator (completed 7)
12. Inkspell by Cornelia Funke - 5 stars

Break from Challenge Challenge (Freebees every time I complete 10 books) (completed 4 books)
13. A Scar is Born by Eric Nicol - 3.5 stars

Freebies
14. The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart - 4 stars
15. The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin - 4 stars

May 2019 Books

Currently Reading

1. Lie In Wait by Eric Rickstad
2. Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich
3. Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs
4. Baptism in Blood by Jane Haddam
5. Savage Run by C.J. Box

Friday Reading Update and Some New Books

The weekend is here. The Toronto Blue Jays have called up their #1 prospect, Vladimir Guerrero Jr, whose father was a hero for the Montreal Expos. Hopefully he'll bring some excitement to what is a rebuilding year for the Blue Jays. Yesterday I had my bi-monthly physio / acupuncture treatment on my hip. I don't know how much it's helping but I'll keep it up for awhile longer. I'm a bit sore today.

I won't provide an entry on my ongoing look at the mystery genre this time but I will next time for sure. I finished one book since my last entry and also had a few book orders arrive via Canada Post. I also went to the Rotary Club's Annual Book Sale and purchased a few books. I'm happy that I tried to be a bit more picky than usual. I've been pretty good this year with my book purchases, probably 1/2 as many as the previous years.

So, let's get down to business.

Just Finished

1. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin (Earthsea Stories #1).












"Back in my university days, 74 - 78, I took a science fiction novel course and was introduced to Ursula K. Le Guin, specifically The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed. I enjoyed those books so much that I went looking for others of her books. I found A Wizard of Earthsea but over the years I never tried to read it.

I found another copy of the book recently and decided to try this series again and I'm glad that I did. Ged is a young man of Earthsea who lives on the island of Gont. When the island is invaded by pirates, we discover Ged's talents as a wizard. He saves his village. The wizard of the island takes him in after his naming ceremony to teach him how to be a wizard. After Ged brings a shadow from the underworld up in an effort to impress a young girl, Ogion sends him to the Wizard school on the Island of Roke.

Much time is spent with Ged's education as a Wizard but he is involved in a number of incidents, almost dying when he tries to impress another wizard - student by bringing up a spirit from the underworld. A Shadow remains on the earth and when Ged finally completes his wizard training he must go after the Shadow as it is a threat to his life.

It's a fascinating story, thoughtfully written and describing an interesting new world. In so many of these stories, I struggle to read the maps or many places are left out, but I was quite happy that these were clear and easy to read, even in a paperback edition. Ged is an interesting character and the others, while not as major, are still interesting, especially his friend Vetch. There were intimations of events that take place in Ged's future, presumably they'll be described in the continuing versions of the Earthsea saga. (4 stars)"

I haven't started any new books after finishing this one as it was a freebie, an extra thrown into the mix of my ongoing reads. I hope to finish one more, maybe two more before end April.

New Books
I received two books from Better World Books and one from a new online book company, CMB Books and Art in Toronto. Plus I purchased 7 at the Book Sale. (Ed. Note. Two books arrived from Reusebooks in the UK this afternoon)

1. I Hear the Sirens in the Street by Adrian McKinty (DI Sean Duffy #2).












"Sean Duffy knows there's no such thing as a perfect crime. But a torso in a suitcase is pretty close.

Still, one tiny clue is all it takes, and there it is. A tattoo. So Duffy, fully fit and back at work after the severe trauma of his last case, is ready to follow the trail of blood-however faint-that always, always connects a body to its killer.

A legendarily stubborn man, Duffy becomes obsessed with this mystery as a distraction from the ruins of his love life, and to push down the seed of self-doubt that he seems to have traded for his youthful arrogance.

So from country lanes to city streets, Duffy works every angle. And wherever he goes, he smells a rat..."

2. The Coroner by M.R. Hall (Jenny Cooper #1). 












"When those in power hide the truth, she risks everything to reveal it.

When lawyer, Jenny Cooper, is appointed Severn Vale District Coroner, she’s hoping for a quiet life and space to recover from a traumatic divorce, but the office she inherits from the recently deceased Harry Marshall contains neglected files hiding dark secrets and a trail of buried evidence.

Could the tragic death in custody of a young boy be linked to the apparent suicide of a teenage prostitute and the fate of Marshall himself? Jenny’s curiosity is aroused. Why was Marshall behaving so strangely before he died? What injustice was he planning to uncover? And what caused his abrupt change of heart?

In the face of powerful and sinister forces determined to keep both the truth hidden and the troublesome coroner in check, Jenny embarks on a lonely and dangerous one-woman crusade for justice which threatens not only her career but also her sanity."

3. Murder in the Title by Simon Brett (Charles Paris #9).

"Playing the corpse in a wooden murder mystery at the Regent Theatre, Rugland Spa, is not exactly a triumph for Charles Paris, actor. In fact his career could hardly sink any lower. But suddenly the mystery spills over into real life when a bizarre sequence of events culminates in the Artistic Director's apparent suicide. And the talents of Charles Paris, amateur sleuth, are called into action."

4. A Cold-Blooded Business by Dana Stabenow (Kate Shugak #4).











 "Work hard, play hard. That's the credo on the oilfields of Alaska's North Slope, where harsh conditions and long, isolated shifts make for some of the best-paid jobs in the state. Management typically turns a blind eye to off-hours drinking and gambling, but a spate of drug-related deaths means it's time for Royal Petroleum to get its house in order. Working on behalf of the Anchorage DA, Kate Shugak is brought in undercover to identify the dealer and shut down the flow of cocaine. Of course, the dealer might have some very different ideas"

5. Field Gray by Philip Kerr (Bernie Gunther #7).












"This The New York Times bestseller will make the Bernie Gunther series the new gold standard in thrillers.Bernie Gunther is one of the great protagonists in thriller literature. During his eleven years working homicide in Berlin's Kripo, Bernie learned a thing or two about evil. Then he set himself up as a private detective-until 1940 when Heydrich dragooned him into the SS's field gray uniform and the bloodbath that was the Eastern Front. Spanning twenty-five tumultuous years, Field Gray strides across the killing fields of Europe, landing Bernie in a divided Germany at the height of the Cold War. Bernie's latest outing will mesmerize both readers of the Berlin Noir trilogy and anyone who loves historical thrillers, catapulting this cult favorite to breakout stardom."

6. Meet Me At The Morgue by Ross Macdonald.











 "Somebody in Pacific Point is guilty of a kidnapping, but what probation officer Howard Cross wants to find most is innocence: in an ex-war hero who has taken a tough manslaughter rap, in a wealthy woman with a heart full of secrets, and in a blue-eyed beauty who has lost her way.  The trouble is that the abduction has already turned to murder, and the more Cross pries into the case the further he slips into a pool of violence and evil.  Somewhere in the California desert the whole scheme may come down on the wrong man.  Somewhere Cross is going to find the last piece of a bloody puzzle—a mystery of blackmail, passion, and hidden identities that might be better left unsolved."

7. Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith (Cormoran Strike #3).












"When a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman’s severed leg.

Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed. There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible – and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality.

With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands, and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men. But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them…"

8. Broken by Kelley Armstrong (Women of the Otherworld #6).












"In this thrilling new novel from the author of Industrial Magic, a pregnant werewolf may have unwittingly unleashed Jack the Ripper on the twenty-first century — and become his next target…

Ever since she discovered she’s pregnant, Elena Michaels has been on edge. After all, she’s never heard of another living female werewolf, let alone one who’s given birth. But thankfully, her expertise is needed to retrieve a stolen letter allegedly written by Jack the Ripper. As a distraction, the job seems simple enough — only the letter contains a portal to Victorian London’s underworld, which Elena inadvertently triggers — unleashing a vicious killer and a pair of zombie thugs.

Now Elena must find a way to seal the portal before the unwelcome visitors get what they’re looking for — which, for some unknown reason, is Elena…"

9. The Devil's Cocktail by Alexander Wilson (Wallace of the Secret Service #2). I thought I'd search for this series after watching an interesting biography on Alexander Wilson by his daughter, Ruth Wilson on PBS.


"An intrigue against Britain by Bolshevik agents is strongly suspected at MI6. Sir Leonard Wallace sends Captain Hugh Shannon, disguised as a professor of English Literature, to India to get to the bottom of it."

10. The Death of Kings by Rennie Airth (John Madden #5).












"On a hot summer day in 1938, a beautiful actress is murdered on the grand Kent estate of Sir Jack Jessup, close friend of the Prince of Wales. An instant headline in the papers, the confession of a local troublemaker swiftly brings the case to a close, but in 1949, the reappearance of a jade necklace raises questions about the murder. Was the man convicted and executed the decade before truly guilty, or had he wrongly been sent to the gallows?

Inspector Madden is summoned out of retirement at the request of former Chief Inspector Angus Sinclair to re-open the case at Scotland Yard. Set in the aftermath of World War II, The Death of Kings is an atmospheric and captivating police procedural, and is a story of honor and justice that takes Madden through the idyllic English countryside, post-war streets of London, and into the criminal underworld of the Chinese Triads."

11. Robot Adept by Piers Anthony (Apprentice Adept #5).












"Proton and Phaze, parallel worlds of science and magic, are ripe with the seeds of revolution. Mach, a brave and sensitive robot from Proton, and his alternate self, magical Bane from Phaze, hold the power to link the two warring systems – or destroy them entirely. Both are prepared to save their worlds. But neither Mach nor Bane had anticipated the dangers of forbidden love ... with members of the opposite realm!"

12. Sweet Danger by Margery Allingham (Albert Campion #5).











"Nestled along the Adriatic coastline, the kingdom of Averna has suddenly - and suspiciously - become the hottest property in Europe, and Albert Campion is given the task of recovering the long-missing proofs of ownership.

His mission takes him from the French Riviera to the sleepy village of Pontisbright, where he meets the flame-haired Amanda Fitton. Her family claim to be the rightful heirs to the principality, and insist on joining Campion's quest. Unfortunately for them, a criminal financier and his heavies are also on the trail - the clock is ticking for Campion and his cohorts to outwit the thugs and solve the mystery of Averna."

So there you go. Next time I'll get back to my look at the Mystery Genre I hope. Have a great weekend!

A Mid-Week Reading Update

As we near the end of April, I'm finishing off books I started earlier in the month. Since my last update on Sunday, I've finished 3 more books. I'll update those and also check out the books I've started since.

Just Finished

1. The Etruscan Chimera by Lyn Hamilton (Lara McClintoch #6).












"The Etruscan Chimera by Lyn Hamilton is the 6th book in Hamilton's Lara McClintoch Archeological mystery series and the 4th I've completed so far. I will never claim that they are the best mysteries I've ever read but at the same time I enjoy them whenever I pick one up. Lara McClintoch owns an antique store in Toronto Ontario and her mysteries find her in various parts of the world, searching for unique items to add to her store.

In The Etruscan Chimera, we find Lara in Italy, in Rome, having been hired to purchase an Etruscan artifact for a reclusive billionaire, Crawford Lake. Even the introduction to the recluse, requiring that Lara has to be blindfolded before she is taken to him puts her back up somewhat. Everything about the man and his requirements are mysterious. She only communicates with his assistant, Antonio. She is sent to France to try and purchase a statue of Bellerophon from another reclusive individual. On the way, Lara meets a number of mysterious people, other antique dealers and even an old friend.

Bodies start to fall and Lara finds that a stolen Etruscan artifact has been hidden in her luggage. The Italian police are after the theft of this artifact and arrest a woman who has met Lara. It's all very confusing at times and the story is somewhat convoluted. But at the same time, it moves along and holds your interest. There are many potential suspects and at times Lara seems to wander through things and manages to keep her head above water.

The story is entertaining. You do learn a bit about the mysterious Etruscan culture that was destroyed and assimilated by Rome, just enough to pique your interest. The story keeps your interest and ultimately is resolved satisfactorily. Always a fun series to dig into. (3.5 stars)"

2. The Dead Shall Not Rest by Tessa Harris (Dr. Thomas Silkstone #2).












"The Dead Shall Not Rest is the 2nd book in the Victorian mystery series featuring American anatomist / doctor, Thomas Silkstone by Tessa Harris. Silkstone practices in London and is engaged to Lady Lydia Farrell.

In this story we meet Irish giant, Charles Byrne, an actual figure in history. He is saved from the freak show by Lady Lydia and Count Boruwlaski, a dwarf friend of Lady Lydia. They want to help Charles gain a pardon from the Royal family for his father who was falsely convicted of murder. As well, Dr. Silkstone tries to improve the giant's health as he is very ill.  Introduced into this story is another historical person, Dr John Hunter who wants Byrne's body for anatomical research and frequents grave robbers to get the corpses he needs to further his scientific work.

Complicating this story is the murder of an Italian soprano and the arrest of his mentor, another soprano and friend of Count Boruwlaski. We also get another spanner thrown into the mix, Lady Lydia meets somebody who upsets her and her relationship with Silkstone. So there is lots going on and it makes for a complex story. Silkstone has many pots on the fire, trying to prove that Signor Moreno didn't murder Signor Cappelli, trying to help Lady Lydia and sort out her issues, trying keep Charles Byrne out of Hunter's clutches. It makes for a busy entertaining story, if somewhat far-fetched.

The story kept my interest. I liked the historical elements and I like Lady Lydia and Silkstone. The resolution wasn't totally satisfactory but there is always the next book to read. (3 stars)"

c. Inkspell by Cornelia Funke (Inkworld #2).












"Inkspell is the second book in the Inkworld series by Cornelia Funke. I enjoyed the first book very much and this second book was just as good. It's a very rich fantasy peopled with interesting characters and a wonderful story.

In the first story Mo and his daughter Meggie and aunt are harassed by characters from a story created by Fenoglio. At the end, Meg's mother Resa is returned from captivity in Lombrica, but is unable to speak any more. Some of the characters from the book remain, especially Mortola and Basta and the are a threat to Mo and his family. With the help of Orpheus, and later Meggie, Mortola, Basta, Mo, Resa, Meg and Farid all get sent to the fictional world. Mo is shot and lies critically injured.

The story moves from the various characters as they search for each other and interact with the other characters that reside in this rich, wonderfully described world. You have two competing Kings; the Laughing Prince and the Adderhead. Fenoglio the author of the story and creator of this world, has also been sent there and tries to influence events. There are almost too many events and characters to give you a complete impression of the story and people.

There are so many unique aspects; the fire creating abilities of Dustfinger and Farid, this ability to change lives with the written / spoken word. I loved the 'good' people; Roxane, the Barn Owl, Resa, Dustfinger, etc.. and the villains are very scary. Mortola and Basta especially. It's just a fascinating second book and I can't wait to see what happens in the final story. The story was resolved to an extent but there are still unresolved issues that I need to get satisfied.. Excellent!! (5 stars)"

Currently Reading
Besides Vendetta by Michael Dibdin and Leave Me By Dying by Rosemary Aubert, I've started the following 4 books

1. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin (Earthsea #1).












"Ged, the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea, was called Sparrowhawk in his reckless youth.

Hungry for power and knowledge, Sparrowhawk tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance."

2. The Sergeant's Cat and Other Stories by Janwillem van de Wetering (Amsterdam Cops Short Stories).











"A collection of 13 short stories spanning two decades in the lives of van de Wetering's Amsterdam Cops

Amsterdam isn’t exactly a hotbed of violent crime, but wrongdoing does occur, and the most bizarre cases tend to be passed to Grijpstra and de Gier. In one they investigate the death of a handsome oceanographer whose corpse is found amidst his tanks of shiny living mussels. In another they strong-arm a brutal crime lord whose henchman threatens the sergeant’s cat. Yet another leads them to uncover a most unusual murder weapon: a chocolate Easter bunny. With the curious blend of wit and the macabre readers have come to expect from the pen of Janwillem van de Wetering, the Amsterdam Cops have a way of seeing to it that justice, ultimately, is done."

3. Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs (Temperance Brennan #8).












"Examining a badly decomposed corpse is de rigueur for forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. But puzzling damage on the body of a shooting victim, an Orthodox Jewish man, suggests this is no ordinary Montreal murder. When a stranger slips Tempe a photograph of a skeleton unearthed at an archaeological site, Tempe uncovers chilling ties between the dead man and secrets long buried in the dust of Israel. Traveling there with Detective Andrew Ryan, Tempe plunges into an international mystery as old as Jesus, and centered on the controversial discovery of Christ's tomb. Has a mastermind lured her into an elaborate hoax? If not, Tempe may be on the brink of rewriting two thousand years of history -- if she can survive the foes dead set on burying her."

4. Baptism in Blood by Jane Haddam (Gregor Demarkian #14).












"Bellerton, North Carolina is reeling from a hurricane, but it's also devastated by another king of tempest that hits the town with equal force--a murder mystery with a macabre twist. An infant is found murdered on the grounds of Bonaventura, a controversial retreat for women, a place rumored to be a den of Satan worship--and worse. In pursuing the purse, former FBI agent Gregor Demarkian may learn that more than one person in Bellerton has an ungodly motive for murder." 

There you go, folks. See anything interesting? 

Well, it's the Easter Weekend...

Sunny and cool this morning. Planning to take Jo out for a Birthday lunch a bit later but we'll see how everything goes. Happy that Brighton managed to get a point in footie today. I'd have preferred the victory of course as they don't have an easy road ahead if they want to stay in the Premiership.

I've finished one book since my last update. I'll update that plus show you a couple of books I picked up this week on my rounds; one from my Little Free Library out front of the house. I'll also provide another entry in my look at the Mystery genre, American PI's.

Just Finished

1. Bony and the Kelly Gang by Arthur Upfield (Inspector Bonaparte #25).

"Bony and the Kelly Gang by Australian author Arthur W. Upfield is the 25th book in his Inspector Bonaparte mystery series. Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte is a half-aboriginal police inspector. In this story he is sent undercover to an isolated community to ascertain if they had anything to do with the murder of an Excise inspector.

Bony is picked up on the side of the road by Mike Conway, one of the leaders of the community, and Bony lets on that he is on the run from the Sidney police for horse stealing. Conway offers him a job picking potatoes on the hill overlooking Cork Valley. The community consists of Conways and Kellys and others of their community. They run a bit of a shady operation, have for 100+ years, smuggling booze, not paying their taxes, sending their kids to the local school, etc. But Bony is interested only in the murder of the Excise officer.

It's a very different story, I have to say and reasonably interesting. Bony is a fascinating character, thoughtful, intelligent and physically fit. He finds himself being drawn to the community, liking them for their personalities and closeness. But at the same time he has to investigate. They are a suspicious group, placing alarms all around the perimeter and keeping tabs on any strangers. Bony earns their trust after a variety of actions and is given more responsibility. But will he be successful in his investigation.

Enjoyed my first exposure to Bony. It offered me a different culture and was an entertaining story. I've a couple of more books in the series and I look forward to learning more about Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte (Bony) (3 stars)"

Currently Reading
I'm currently enjoying The Etruscan Chimera by Lyn Hamilton, Inkspell by Cornelia Funke, Leave Me By Dying by Rosemary Aubert and The Dead Shall Not Rise by Tessa Harris. I've added the following since I completed the Bony book.

1. Vendetta by Michael Dibdin (Inspector Zen #2). I'm enjoying so far and hoping it will be better than the first book in the series which I found somewhat underwhelming.

"In Italian police inspector Aurelio Zen, Michael Dibdin has given the mystery one of its most complex and compelling protagonists: a man wearily trying to enforce the law in a society where the law is constantly being bent. In this novel, Zen himself has been assigned to do some law bending. Officials in a high government ministry want him to finger someone--anyone--for the murder of an eccentric billionaire, whose corrupt dealings enriched some of the most exalted figures in Italian politics.


But Oscar Burolo's murder would seem to be not just unsolvable but impossible. The magnate was killed on a heavily fortified Sardinian estate, where every room was monitored by video cameras. Those cameras captured Burolo's grisly death, but not the face of his killer. And that same killer, elusive, implacable, and deranged, may now be stalking Zen. Inexorable in its suspense, superbly atmospheric, Vendetta is further proof of Dibdin's mastery of the crime novel."

New Books
I found one that interested me that had been placed in my little library box out front and also picked up two at 2nd Page Books in Courtenay.

1. The Fall by John Lescroart. Lescroart is a new author for me. I've seen his books but hadn't picked one up until I saw this in my library.











"Late one night, a seventeen-year-old African American foster child Tanya Morgan falls from the overpass above San Francisco’s Stockton tunnel, landing on the windshield of a car driving on the street below. She is killed instantly. But did she fall...or was she pushed?

Homicide has recently been accused of dragging its feet in identifying suspects in cases where the victims are African American so the case becomes front-page news by the end of the investigation’s first day. Rushing to produce a collectable suspect, inspectors focus their attention on a naive and idealistic young man named Greg Treadway. Greg is a middle school teacher with the Teach for America program and a volunteer as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for foster children, where his client is Tanya’s twin brother Shawn. At first, the only thing connecting him to Tanya’s death is the fact that they shared a meal earlier that night. But soon enough, elements of that story seem to fall apart...and lawyer Dismas Hardy’s daughter Rebecca finds herself drawn into the defense of young man who is perhaps not all that he had originally appeared to be."

2. Partners in Crime by Agatha Christie (Tommy and Tuppence). I've read most of the books in this series. Partners is a collection of short stories featuring the intrepid duo.










"Someone is passing around an alarming quantity of counterfeit bank notes. Scotland Yard has asked Blunt's brilliant detectives to ferret out the criminals. This, and other stories featuring the detective duo Tommy and Tuppence Beresford are contained in this volume."

3. The Crypt Thief by Mark Pryor (Hugo Marston #2). 












"It’s summer in Paris and two tourists have been murdered in Père Lachaise cemetery in front of Jim Morrison’s grave. The cemetery is locked down and put under surveillance, but the killer returns, flitting in and out like a ghost, and breaks into the crypt of a long-dead Moulin Rouge dancer. In a bizarre twist, he disappears under the cover of night with part of her skeleton.

One of the dead tourists is an American and the other is a woman linked to a suspected terrorist; so the US ambassador sends his best man and the embassy’s head of security—Hugo Marston—to help the French police with their investigation.

When the thief breaks into another crypt at a different cemetery, stealing bones from a second famed dancer, Hugo is stumped. How does this killer operate unseen? And why is he stealing the bones of once-famous can-can girls?

Hugo cracks the secrets of the graveyards but soon realizes that old bones aren’t all this killer wants."

My Ongoing Look at the Mystery Genre - American PI's #16
In my last entry I looked at Ross Macdonald - Lew Archer. Today, I'll take a look at another crusty PI.

Robert B. Parker

1. Robert B. Parker - Spenser. Parker lived in Massachusetts from 1932 - 2010. Over the course of his life he wrote 40 novels featuring his noted PI Spenser, or as the TV series based on the books called him, Spenser for Hire. He also wrote a number of books featuring police lieutenant Jesse Stone, plus others. I'll feature Jesse Stone in my American Cops section later on. I've read and enjoyed the first book and have two others on my bookshelves.

a. The Godwulf Manuscript.












"Robert B. Parker is one of those mystery writers that I had never thought I'd read. Not for any particular reason, I don't think. Then a few years back, my wife and I watched a few of the Jesse Stone movies starring Tom Selleck and I discovered that there were a series of books by Parker on which the movies were based. I started collecting the books but have yet tried the first. I also discovered that he wrote a series on which another successful TV series was based, that being the Spenser series. I bought the first book, The Godwulf Manuscript recently and for some reason it was the first Parker book I read.

Spenser is a private eye in Boston, Mass. He is hired by Boston University to find a stolen manuscript, the titled Godwulf Manuscript, which is being held for ransom. Based on some info provided by the university security officer, Spenser checks out a female student, Terry Orchard, who is a member of a political group on campus, SCACE, who he thinks might have something to do with the theft. This leads quickly to murder, Terry Orchard's boyfriend, for which Miss Orchard is suspected. The Orchard family, a rich Boston family, also hire Spenser to prove that Terry is innocent.

So now you've got the plot, which leads to the mob, drug dealing on campus, threats to Spenser, more murders. It's a full, entertaining story. Spenser is a great character, somewhat of a throwback to those great noir detectives like Sam Spade and Lew Archer, but with his own great qualities. He's big and strong, handsome (the ladies seem to like him), a wise-cracker, but also a guy who enjoys cooking and even knows who Marcuse is. This was a great introduction to what I hope will be a great series because I plan to keep reading it. (4 stars)"

b. God Save the Child (#2).











"Appie Knoll is the kind of suburb where kids grow up right. But something is wrong. Fourteen-year-old Kevin Bartlett disappears. Everyone thinks he's run away -- until the comic strip ransom note arrives.  It doesn't take Spenser long to get the picture -- an affluent family seething with rage, a desperate boy making strange friends...friends like Vic Harroway, body builder. Mr. Muscle is Spenser's only lead and he isn't talking...except with his fists. But when push comes to shove, when a boy's life is on the line, Spenser can speak that language too."

c. Double Deuce (#19).



"Hawk wants Spenser to wage war on a street gang. Susan wants Spenser to move in with her. Either way, Spenser's out of his element. So why not risk both?"






The remaining books in this series can be found at this link. 

So there you go.. Have a great Easter weekend!

Sunday, Reading Sunday...

I'm sitting her watching the Blue Jays struggle through another game. Starting pitching did a good job but gave up three runs all because of a couple of errors. We're into the 8th now and our only hitter has hit a home run to pull us within one run. Let's see how the other two innings go..

I've finished two books this weekend, one short one that I just started and one tome that I started back in March. I've started to mysteries from Canadian authors as my replacements. I'll update that and then also continue with my 15th entry in my look at the Mystery genre, American PI's.

Just Finished

1. Maigret Has Scruples by Georges Simenon.












"I enjoy reading the Maigret mystery series by Georges Simenon. Maigret Has Scruples is the 52nd book in the series. I haven't read the series in order, more as I've found books available for sale, but it doesn't seem to be necessary to read them in sequence.

Maigret has Scruples is a different sort of case for Inspector Maigret of the Paris police. Like most police officers, he's used to working on cases where the crime has already occurred. In this story, the possible suspects / victims come to visit him before anything has happened.

First is Xavier Marton, a married man who works in a Paris department store as the toy department manager and is a model train enthusiast. He indicates that he thinks his wife might be trying to murder him and that he has been to a psychiatrist to prove he isn't mad. Later the same day, Marton's wife, Gisele, visits Maigret as well, partly to ascertain what her husband went to see Maigret for and also to express her concerns about her husband.

Maigret is somewhat at a loss what to do. Is it a case he should investigate? He asks his boss and also the Public Prosecutor and that leaves him undecided. In the end he has some of his inspectors keep a tab on the two to try to provide more info on their lives and anything else that might be useful. The wife is a successful businesswoman who works in a lingerie shop. Living with the family is Gisele's sister. So there you have it, all the clues necessary for you to solve the case. Got it yet?

It's a short story, as are most of the Maigret mysteries. Maigret is a crusty, grumpy police inspector. We always have tidbits about his family life with Mme Maigret, always understanding and clearly the love of his life, even if he isn't the most expressive man. He uses his detectives well, in this story we have Janvier and Lapointe playing the main roles. It's an interesting story and moves along nicely to the climax. I think the ending was somewhat pat but still satisfying enough. It's always an enjoyable series. (3.5 stars)"

2. Bloodlines by Jan Burke.












"It's been a few years since I delved into Jan Burke Irene Kelly mysteries. Bloodlines, published in 2005 is the 9th book in the series and I think I can safely say it is Burke's Magnum Opus of the series.

The story covers decades, running from the 1950's to Irene Kelly's present life. It covers a variety of reporters at Las Piernas' Express newspaper, all reporting on an old story, a wealthy purportedly family lost at sea and a baby (same family) kidnapped and her nanny murdered. As well, local reporter, Jack Corrigan is brutally attacked and left for dead in a farmer's field, thinking that he has seen a car buried on the property.

We run through Jack Corrigan, his protege Conn O'Connor and then are introduced to new reporter, Irene Kelly. It's a long drawn out story with a cast of characters, all interesting and unique. I did find it difficult at times keeping track of the varied family and social relationships so it might be worthwhile, if you read this to maybe make a couple of family trees. :0)

Conn O'Connor is a paper boy as the story is introduced and idolizes reporter Jack Corrigan and his reporting friend / partner Helen Swan. Corrigan takes Conn under his wing and helps him become a reporter as well. Corrigan is a fighter and his often times opponent are the Yeager family, booze smugglers, criminals, violent when the need to be. They are the focus of the disappearances but nothing can be proven until many years later; no bodies, no witnesses, etc.

The story is tracked over the decades and the flame is passed from reporter to reporter. We meet Irene Kelly in the middle chapters as she has moved from Bakersfield back to Las Piernas for a variety of reasons; to care for her ailing father, to try her hand at working at the newspaper and to escape from a relationship.

It's a very complex story and too difficult to describe in a few words. Suffice it to say that the mystery is fascinating the research conducted by the various reporters is well-crafted. There is sufficient action and intrigue to keep you turning the pages and the development of the various characters is excellent. The ending is somewhat pat but still filled with tension and action. All in all an enjoyable history and mystery and introduction to Irene's past. Read the earlier stories first to prepare for this one but you will enjoy. (3.5 stars)"

Currently Reading

1. The Etruscan Chimera by Lyn Hamilton (Lara McClintoch #6).


"Now, in The Etruscan Chimera, antiques dealer Lara McClintoch is hired by a reclusive billionaire to purchase an obscure Etruscan sculpture. But the land of old Tuscany hides danger behind its charm, as Lara finds out when she discovers a prominent collector buried in his own Etruscan tomb."

2. Leave Me By Dying by Rosemary Aubert (Ellis Portal #4).


"In this prequel to the earlier books in the series, Ellis Portal, the disgraced former judge turned sleuth, is taken back to his law school days."




My Ongoing Look at the Mystery Genre, American PI's #15

In my last entry I highlighted Jonathon King - Max Freeman and John D. MacDonald - Travis McGee.

Ross Macdonald

1. Ross Macdonald - Lew Archer. Ross Macdonald was born in California in 1915. He was raised in Kitchener Ontario Canada and died in California in 1983. I first was introduced to his writing by my interest in the mysteries of his wife, Margaret Millar. I finally decided to give his Lew Archer series a try a few years back and enjoyed the stories immensely. I've since begun to look for more of this series. From 1949 - 1976 her wrote 18 Lew Archer mysteries. He also wrote short stories featuring his favorite PI. I've read 3 of his stories (one collection of short stories) and have two more on my bookshelves.

a. The Archer Files: The Complete Short Stories of Lew Archer.









"The Archer Files: The Complete Short Stories of Lew Archer, Private Investigator by Ross Macdonald is my first exposure to MacDonald's writing. I have enjoyed quite a few books by his wife, fellow mystery writer, Margaret Millar and have wanted to explore the world of Lew Archer, as created by MacDonald.

The book is a series of short stories featuring PI Archer and also a number of unfinished stories showing some of the other cases that Archer might have been involved in.

I enjoyed MacDonald's writing, in the style of Dashiell Hammett and John D. MacDonald and enjoyed PI Archer. Archer takes on cases where he feels a responsibility to the person hiring him or the person being investigated. In a number of cases, he just falls into by accident and wants to correct a wrong or just help a person in need. He never overcharges; $50 a day plus expenses and he doesn't like helping the Mob or being bought. He's an ex-boxer and officer from WWII and knows how to handle himself in a bad situation. He works in California with a small office on Sunset Boulevard. The book starts off with a nice biography of Lew Archer, his past and what makes him tick.

People get killed in his cases, sometimes by him, sometimes by someone else. There are nice little twists in each one, some not complex. You can figure out who is responsible, but the explanations are always interesting. MacDonald's description of the people and the surroundings are always on point and he has a nice, tidy way of getting out the facts and the stories. I enjoyed very much and now look forward to trying one of Lew Archer's cases in novel format. (4 stars)"

b. The Drowning Pool (Archer #2).












"Before I tried Ross Macdonald's writing I'd become a major fan of his wife, Canadian mystery writer Margaret Millar's books. At one point, I decided it was only fair to try MacDonald's books as well. The first Lew Archer book I read was The Archer Files, a collection of short stories featuring his noir PI, Lew Archer. That hooked me on his books as well.

The Drowning Pool, published originally in 1950, was the 2nd Lew Archer book. It was later turned into a movie starring Paul Newman. Archer is hired by Maude Slocum to investigate a threatening letter she had received. Archer is hesitant to take the case as Mrs. Slocum provides little to no information to help him in his investigation. Archer agrees to go to Nopal Valley to meet her family and to do at least a cursory investigation.

While there, Mrs. Slocum's mother-in-law is found dead in the pool and this accelerates Archer's investigation. There are many suspicious people (it is a mystery after all) and threats of violence and other deaths. One thing I've noticed about the few Archer stories I've read so far is that they don't mind being gritty.

MacDonald writes in a sparse, but at the same time, a rich style. His characters breathe life and you get an excellent picture of the setting and action. Archer is one of those great historical characters, in the same vein as Travis McGee and Philip Marlowe. He's tough, hard nosed but has strong moral values. I will continue to read this series now that I've tried it. Millar and MacDonald are a powerful writing duo. (4 stars)"

c. Sleeping Beauty (#17).












"I've probably said this before in reviews of other books by Ross Macdonald but I started reading his work after enjoying some of the mysteries by his wife, Margaret Millar. Sleeping Beauty is the 3rd book of his Lew Archer series I've read now and all I can say is that I'm so glad I finally took a chance on Macdonald.

Lew Archer is a private eye in Los Angeles. He's an ex-cop who decided to work on his own. In Sleeping Beauty, he has just returned from a trip and hears about an oil spill west LA as he's driving back from the airport and decides to check things out before he returns home. While there he meets a young woman, Laurel Russo, who is upset by the spill and also by the death of a seabird that she had pulled from the oil-soaked waters.

Archer offers to drive her home, takes her to his place to calm her down. She leaves and he discovers that she has taken a bottle of Nembutal (tranquilizers) from his medicine cabinet. Concerned, he drives off to try and find her. He checks with her husband, a pharmacist, from whom Laurel is currently estranged. Tom Russo hires Archer to find her.

It turns out that Laurel is from a rich family. In fact, they own the oil well that has sprung the leak. They don't like Tom Russo, feeling he is beneath their status. Laurel has an on and off again relationship with them and with her husband. Yes, she has issues.

This begins Archer's investigation into Laurel's disappearance. It appears that she has been kidnapped as her parents receive a ransom threat. Archer finds himself getting deeper into this family's history / skeletons in their closets as he continues to investigate. Is that enough to pique your interest?

This was a fantastic mystery. Ross Macdonald has such a clear and descriptive writing style. You can see the characters, the locale and even with the twists and turns, the story flows along so neatly and smoothly. Lew Archer is a fantastic character and the characters he meets over the course of his investigation are all interesting with flaws and personalities that make the whole story even more interesting and readable. I enjoyed this so very much and even the ending, which had a nice little twist, was eminently satisfying. (5 stars)"

The remaining books in this series can be checked out at this link.

Well, there you go. See anything interesting? Some books for you to check out. Oh, bottom of the ninth inning and the Blue Jays are now losing 8-2.. *sigh*.. Enjoy your week.