A Friday Reading Update

Well, the dogs are currently at the cleaners. It's always fun when we arrive at the front door. As we drive up the road, Clyde starts whining and whining. They both are very excited as we exit the car and when we go into the groomers, they whine and bark and then indicate they are now ready to return to the car...  Oh yes, lots of fun.

So while the dogs are being groomed, I'll update the latest book I finished reading. I received one book in the mail the day before so I'll also update that. Then I'll continue with my ongoing look at the Mystery genre - American cops.

Just Finished

1. The Passage by Justin Cronin (Passage #1). I got this book as a Christmas gift from my daughter back in 2013. I'm glad I finally read it. Now do I dare buy #2 and see what happens next?

"The Passage by Justin Cronin is the first book in his 'Passage' fantasy / horror series. It came out in 2012 and I've had it on my bookshelf for 5+ years. I readily admit to being intimidated by its size, almost 900 pages. But I'm glad to have finally taken it off of my shelf and dusted it off. It's not a perfect story but in its scope and content, it is still an excellent story. In many ways it reminded me of Stephen King's The Stand.

So how to provide a 'brief' outline of the story, which encompasses 100 years or so... OK, here goes.

Current day - Two ex FBI agents travel to various maximum control penitentiaries throughout the US picking up prisoners on death row and having them sent to a secretive military compound in the mountains of Colorado. Some types of experiments are being conducted. There is a maximum number of these prisoners. The same to agents are also sent to a nunnery in the Eastern US to pick up a young girl, Amy (6 years old). It seems this girl has some 'powers'. A nun from Africa recognizes something in the girl but the two still catch her. One of the agents, Wolgast, comes to some sort of revelation and tries to save the girl, but she is still brought to Colorado. Something happens and the prisoners escape, a virus is let loose and America is on the road to destruction. Wolgast escapes and takes Amy to the mountains of Oregon to hide out from what is happening.

The Future (100ish years later) - The US is basically destroyed, overrun by Smokes (AKA vampires). A community survives in California, behind a walled fortress. They live under strict rules. Their power is supplied by an old power station miles away. The walls are guarded constantly, at night, powerful lights shine out keeping the Smokes away. Events begin to happen that will disrupt their lives. There is a critical evening when a young girl, a Walker (someone who hasn't succumbed to the virus) shows up at the gate to the town and at the same time it is attacked by vampires. Can you guess who this young girl might be?

These events will disrupt everything that has been built in the community, resulting in a journey by a small group of the community and the young girl, trying to get to the source of everything that has occurred. It's a journey of often terrifying events that will try all of them.

So there you go, The Passage. It's a fascinating story. It takes a long while to develop but in the long run, your efforts to work through it will be worth it. I will warn you, however, that this is the first book of a trilogy, so everything might not be resolved quite to your satisfaction. And in the same vein of George RR Martin's Game of Thrones series, you might be careful about getting to invested in some characters. Because there are some really well - developed personalities in this story and because the story is so long you will get to know and like them. I 'enjoyed' The Passage very much. Now to find the next book.. Dare I? (4 stars)"

I haven't started any new books. I currently am finishing (almost 1/3 of the way through), Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery and A Firework for Oliver by John Sanders. I will probably finish them over this weekend. I have one more sitting waiting to start but I'll update that when I finish the two others. I'll limit myself to one at a time until we get to 2020.

New Book

1. The Tomb of Zeus by Barbara Cleverly (Laetitia Talbot #1). I've enjoyed Cleverly's Inspector Joe Sandiland mystery series very much. This is a new start for Cleverly, a historical, archeological mystery series. It sounds interesting.









"Born into a background of British privilege, Laetitia Talbot has been raised to believe there is no field in which she may not excel. She has chosen a career in the male-dominated world of archaeology, but she approaches her first assignment in Crete the only way she knows how–with dash and enthusiasm. Until she enters the Villa Europa, where something is clearly utterly amiss…

Her host, a charismatic archaeologist, is racing to dig up the fabled island’s next great treasure–even, perhaps, the tomb of the King of the Gods, himself. But then a beautiful young woman is found hanged and a golden youth drives his Bugatti over a cliff. From out of the shadows come whispers of past loves, past jealousies, and ancient myths that sound an eerie discord with present events. Letty will need all her determination and knowledge to unravel the secrets beneath the Villa Europa’s roof–and they will lead her into the darkest, most terrifying place of all…."

That should pretty well wrap my book purchases for 2019, except for gifts, unless I see something interesting at one of my locals. I've purchased more than enough this past year.

My Ongoing Look at the Mystery Genre - American Cops
In my last entry, I looked at John Sandford's Lucas Davenport 'Prey' series. As a note, Sandford also has written a series featuring Virgil Flowers, but I have yet to look into that series. 

Karin Slaughter

Karin Slaughter - Grant County (forensic mysteries). Karin Slaughter is an American crime writer. She was born in Georgia and continues to live there. She has written two major crime series, the Grant County forensic mysteries and the Will Trent (Georgia Bureau of Investigation) series. I'll feature the 2nd series in my next reading update. I discovered the Grant County series, which features Grant County coroner Sara Linton, back in early 2000, when I was also just starting Patricia Cornwell's forensic mystery series, featuring Kay Scarpetta. I also discovered Kathy Reichs' Temperance Brennan forensic series as well. Each was excellent in its own right. Between 2001 and 2007, Slaughter wrote 6 books in this series. They are gritty, tension-filled stories. I think I prefer them to the Will Trent series but it's pretty good as well. I read all of the books in the Grant County series; kind of disappointed that there will be no more. Sara does move to Atlanta and has featured in one of the Will Trent books so that was also OK.

a. Blindsighted (2001).












"The sleepy town of Heartsdale, Georgia, is jolted into panic when Sara Linton, pediatrician and medical examiner, finds Sibyl Adams dead in the local diner. As well as being viciously raped, Sibyl has been cut: two deep knife wounds form a lethal cross over her stomach.

When a second victim is found, crucified, only a few days later, it becomes clear that Sibyl's brutal murder wasn't a one-off attack. What Sara and police chief Jeffrey Tolliver are dealing with is a seasonal sexual predator. A violent serial killer..." (4 stars)

b. Kisscut (2002).

"Saturday night dates at the skating rink have been a tradition in the small southern town of Heartsdale for as long as anyone can remember, but when a teenage quarrel explodes into a deadly shoot-out, Sara Linton--the town's pediatrician and medical examiner--finds herself entangled in a terrible tragedy.

What seemed at first to be a horrific but individual catastrophe proves to have wider implications. The autopsy reveals evidence of long-term abuse, of ritualistic self -mutilation, but when Sara and police chief Jeffrey Tolliver start to investigate, they are frustrated at every turn.

The children surrounding the victim close ranks. The families turn their backs. Then a young girl is abducted, and it becomes clear that the first death is linked to an even more brutal crime, one far more shocking than anyone could have imagined. Meanwhile, detective Lena Adams, still recovering from her sister's death and her own brutal attack, finds herself drawn to a young man who might hold the answers. But unless Lena, Sara, and Jeffrey can uncover the deadly secrets the children hide, it's going to happen again . . ." (5 stars)

c. A Faint Cold Fear (2003).













"Sara Linton, medical examiner in the small town of Heartsdale, Georgia, is called out to an apparent suicide on the local college campus. The mutilated body provides little in the way of clues -- and the college authorities are eager to avoid a scandal -- but for Sara and police chief Jeffrey Tolliver, things don't add up.

Two more suspicious suicides follow, and a young woman is brutally attacked. For Sara, the violence strikes far too close to home. And as Jeffrey pursues the sadistic killer, he discovers that ex-police detective Lena Adams, now a security guard on campus, may be in possession of crucial information. But, bruised and angered by her expulsion from the force, Lena seems to be barely capable of protecting herself, let alone saving the next victim..." (4 stars)

d. Indelible (2004).












"An officer is shot point-blank in the Grant County police station and police chief Jeffrey Tolliver is wounded, setting off a terrifying hostage situation with medical examiner Sara Linton at the center. Working outside the station, Lena Adams, newly reinstated to the force, and Frank Wallace, Jeffrey's second in command, must try to piece together who the shooter is and how to rescue their friends before Jeffrey dies. For the sins of the past have caught up with Sara and Jeffrey -- with a vengeance ..." (4 stars)

e. Faithless (2005).

"The victim was buried alive in the Georgia woods–then killed in a horrifying fashion. When Sara Linton and Jeffrey Tolliver stumble upon the body, both become consumed with finding out who killed the pretty young woman. For them, a harrowing journey begins, one that will test their own turbulent relationship and draw dozens of life into the case.

For as Jeffrey and Sara move further down a trail of shocking surprises and hidden passions, neither is prepared for the most stunning discovery of all: the identity of a killer who is more evil and dangerous than anyone could have guessed." (4 stars)

f. Beyond Reach (2007).












"Sara Linton--resident medical examiner/pediatrician in Grant County, Georgia, --has plenty of hardship to deal with, including defending herself in a heartbreaking malpractice suit. So when her husband, Police chief Jeffery Tolliver, learns that his friend and coworker detective Lena Adams has been arrested for murder and needs Sara's help, she is not sure she can handle the pressure of it all.

But soon Sara and Jeffery are sitting through evidence, peeling back the layers of a mystery that grows darker by the day--until an intricate web of betrayal and vengeance begins to unravel. And suddenly the lives of Sara, Lena, and Jeffery are hanging by the slenderest of threads." (4 stars)

So there you go. I highly recommend this series. Give it a try.