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| That feels better |
We've finally had some rain. It's been raining all day. Funny how Fall has come up on us so quickly. It's getting dark earlier, staying dark longer.
Well, how about some book discussion. Since my last entry, two books have arrived in the mail. I've finished two books and one graphic novel and have started 2 more. I'll update that and if I have the energy, I'll continue with my look at the Mystery Genre - American Cops. (I'm supposed to be weak from giving blood.. lol). So without further ado, here we go.
New Books
"'I DID NOT KNOW THAT YOU CHILDREN WOULD BE THE ONES TO FIND IT. OR WHAT DANGER YOU WOULD BE PUTTING YOURSELVES IN.'
Throughout time, the forces of good and evil have battled continuously, maintaining the balance. Whenever evil forces grow too powerful, a champion of good is called to drive them back. Now, with evil's power rising and a champion yet to be found, three siblings find themselves at the center of a mystical war.
Jane, Simon, and Barney Drew have discovered an ancient text that reads of a legendary grail lost centuries ago. The grail is an object of great power, buried with a vital secret. As the Drews race against the forces of evil, they must piece together the text's clues to find the grail -- and keep its secret safe until a new champion rises."
"The Cool Cottontail is the second Virgil Tibbs mystery series (the first being In the Heat of the Night). In this mystery, Tibbs finds himself at a nudist colony in Los Angeles where the victim (who was not one of the guests) is found floating dead in the pool. Set against this unusual backdrop, the guests of the resort prefer guarding their secrets to solving the murder mystery, particularly when the investigating detective is black. Author John Ball often used social issues of the day to feature as issues in his work, making his work controversial but at the same time, some of the best and most relevant fiction of his time. Along with racism other social taboos, Ball had no problem with nudism; naked people are the least of the problems these characters face."
Just Finished
"I always enjoy reading an Inspector Brunetti mystery. Friends in High Places is the 9th book in the series created by Donna Leon and it contains the regular cast of excellent characters.
Brunetti is relaxing alone at home one Saturday; his wife Paola and two children are all out. Brunetti is reading the Anabasis, a story written by Greek philosopher and warrior, Xenophon, when he is interrupted by one Franco Rossi who works for the Ufficio Catasto. (I understood it to be the Venician government department dealing with housing licenses, etc.) Signore Rossi wants to ensure that Brunetti's top floor apartment is official. Due to a reorganization within the various organizations, it appears that no official paperwork has ever been filed authorizing this apartment. Brunetti risks both fines and possibly having the apartment dismantled.
Thrown into this mix are the crimes; one being Rossi's eventual death (murder?) at the site of another apartment. His body is discovered after Rossi tries to make an appointment with Brunetti for some secretive meeting. As well, Vice Questore Patta (Brunetti's boss and pain in the ass) needs Brunetti's help because his son was arrested on suspicion of dealing drugs. Finally, a young man is found dead in another building of an apparent overdose.
So these are the cases that will occupy Brunetti's time in this entertaining mystery set in Venice. As always we get to meet the wonderful, capable, intelligent, beautiful Signora Ellettra (Patto's secretary and Brunetti's source of information), his Sergeant Vianello, straight forward and competent, and Brunetti's family, his wonderful wife Paola, his son Raffi and daughter Chiara. Such a wonderful cast of regular characters, who all play important roles in assisting Brunetti or living with him.
The cases are all very intriguing and possibly intertwined. Other bodies crop up and besides the drug trade we discover the evil world of loan-sharking which may play an even more important role in Brunetti's case. I do enjoy how Brunetti gathers information; using the skills of Signora Elletra, and also of Brunetti's friends who he meets throughout the city.
I enjoyed this story. The ending wasn't necessarily a pat one but it was also a satisfying one. I loved the atmosphere that Donna Leon creates and the characters and dialogue and the food and the city. There isn't much not to enjoy in her Brunetti series and this story did not let me down. I look forward to visiting with this wonderful cast of characters again in the near future. (4 stars)"
"As a kid I always liked strong female characters. I preferred reading Nancy Drew and the Dana Twins to the Hardy Boys. When I started reading comic books, I liked Super-girl and Bat-girl, amongst other super heros. Leap forward many years, I liked Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Xena and when the TV series came out, Birds of Prey. Strong, intelligent, beautiful women.. what's not to like.
So after enjoying the TV series, I did try some of the comics (graphic novels) featuring them as well. Birds of Prey, Vol. 3: Of Like Minds is the third volume of the series by Gail Simone and it didn't disappoint. Excellent drawing (yup, probably not the technical terminology), great colours and an entertaining, action filled story with sufficiently satisfactory dialogue and emotional content.
The Birds of Prey are Oracle, Commissioner Gordon's daughter, ex Bat-girl who is paralyzed from the waist down from being shot years ago. She has assumed the role of Oracle, the computer genius who is the lead of the Birds of Prey. Black Canary is her eyes on the ground, ex of the Justice League. She can fight, shoot and has the sonic cry. Also assisting at times but not trusted by Oracle is The Huntress, trained by the Mafia, expert with bow, guns, etc. They are the main characters in this novel, with a brief appearance by the new Bat-girl.
Black Canary is on the job trying to exact justice on Mr. Fisher who has been robbing clients of their money and is planning to escape the country. They let him go when he tells them he is being blackmailed. Tricked into going back to Fisher's house (he is threatening to kill his family and himself), Canary is trapped by Savant, the mastermind who is blackmailing Fisher and many other wealthy crooked people. Savant and his assistant want Oracle to work for him or he will kill Canary. He wants to know Batman's real identity and and also Oracle's. Oracle must get Huntresses assistance to save Canary's life.
That's the gist of the story. As I said, lots of excellent action; strong women; great drawings and a fun, entertaining read. Loved it (3.5 stars)"
"Death at the Bar is the 9th book in the Inspector Roderick Alleyn mystery series by Ngaio Marsh and the 14th that I've read; obviously not all sequence. I don't think it's critical to read them in order but there are changes in Alleyn's life that do make it worth while to do so.
The story start at an isolated village and pub in south Devon. We meet the main characters; one Luke Watchman, distinguished barrister, gets into a fender bender with another man, while on his way to the Plume of Feathers. He plans to spend his annual holiday with his cousin; an actor and his best friend, a painter. The rest of the cast is a small group; a young woman graduate, a lady (another painter) from Ireland, a drunk farmer and the inn owner and his son. Someone will die and although the inquest seems to indicate it may have been an accident, the inn owner, not satisfied and also fearing for his inn's reputation, goes to Scotland Yard and presents himself to Inspector Alleyn and his intrepid Sgt Fox. Alleyn can't just go lollygagging down to Devon without a request from the local authorities but this also comes.
So our two intrepid investigators head off to see what's what and that's the gist of the story. It appears that the victim has been poisoned with arsenic. How this happened is one of the subjects of the inquiry. Was it when he was pricked by a dart? Was it when he drank the glass of brandy? Or something else? And who might have done it? The woman he harassed? The cousin who would inherit his estate? The man who collided with him? Or one of the others?
It's an interesting, nicely paced mystery, as are all of the Alleyn mysteries. The witnesses / suspects aren't very forthcoming, quite often due to their distrust of the police; the big machine! Alleyn and Fox make a great team, one playing off the other and the local police are also interesting enough. The story builds very nicely and gets quite exciting as we near the end, no big bombs going off or anything like that, but very tense. All in all, a satisfying, excellent, entertaining story. (4 stars)"
Currently Reading
"When Judith Perle's husband dies, the young widow bestows one of her properties - a house in the Monk's Foregate - on the Abbey of Shrewsbury. The only rent: a single white rose, to be delivered, annually upon the day of translation of St. Winifred.
But a beautiful woman with a substantial dowry must represent a target for would-be suitors. How much greater the dowry if the house should revert to her! Someone, it seems, will stop at nothing to prevent payment of the rose. In the summer of 1142, te rose is violently hacked down and lying beside it, equally brutally hacked, a murdered man is discovered.
To Brother Cadfael, as ever, falls the enquiry into this sensational crime of passion."
"Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse has her hands full dealing with every sort of undead and paranormal creature imaginable. And after being betrayed by her longtime vampire love, Sookie must not only deal with a new man in her life—the shapeshifter Quinn—but also contend with the long-planned vampire summit.
The summit is a tense situation. The vampire queen of Louisiana is in a precarious position, her power base weakened by hurricane damage to New Orleans. And there are some vamps who would like to finish what nature started. Soon, Sookie must decide what side she'll stand with. And her choice may mean the difference between survival and all-out catastrophe."
My Ongoing Look at the Mystery Genre - American Cops
In my last entry on this topic, I highlighted Lisa Gardner's Quincy & Rainey mystery series. In this one, I'll look at another of her series, that featuring Boston Police Detective D.D. Warren .
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| Lisa Gardner |
"On a warm summer night, in a working-class Boston neighborhood, four family members are brutally murdered. The father—and possible suspect—clings to life in the ICU. Murder-suicide? Or something even worse? Veteran police detective D. D. Warren is certain of only one thing: There’s more to this case than meets the eye.
Danielle Burton is not only a dedicated nurse at a locked-down pediatric psych ward but the haunted survivor of a shattered life. Meanwhile, devoted mother Victoria Oliver will do anything to ensure that her troubled son has some semblance of a childhood.
The lives of these three women unfold and connect in unexpected ways, as sins from the past emerge—and stunning secrets reveal just how tightly blood ties can bind. Sometimes the most devastating crimes are the ones closest to home."
"Charlene Grant believes she is going to die. For the past few years, her childhood friends have been murdered one by one. Same day. Same time. Now she’s the last of her friends alive, and she’s counting down the final four days of her life until January 21.
Charlene doesn’t plan on going down without a fight. She has taken up boxing, shooting, and running. She also wants Boston’s top homicide detective, D. D. Warren, to handle the investigation.
But as D.D. delves deeper into the case, she starts to question the woman’s story. Instinct tells her that Charlene may not be in any danger at all. If that’s true, the woman must have a secret—one so terrifying that it alone could be the greatest threat of all."
The remaining books in the D.D. Warren series can be found at this link.
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