I finished one more book this morning, quite a good one too. I'll update that and also the book I'm going to start, maybe my last book of 2019. I'll also continue with my look at the Mystery genre, my last sub-genre of just 3 authors; American legal mysteries.
Just Finished
"Ethel Lina White is an English crime writer who was prolific in the late 1920's thru the early 1940's. In her time she was as well-known as Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. Of course, I only discovered her in recent years, mainly due to my enjoyment of the Alfred Hitchcock thriller, The Lady Vanishes, which was based on White's book, The Lady Vanishes or The Wheel Spins. Another of her books, which resides on my TBR bookshelf, Some Must Watch, which was turned into another mystery movie, The Circular Staircase.
I have to say that I'm glad that I finally read one of White's books. This was a gem of a story. It focuses on a young English woman, Iris Carr, who was on vacation with a group of friends at a small resort somewhere in Eastern Europe. The story starts at the end of this vacation. Iris and her friends have been a rowdy, undisciplined group, causing some consternation amongst the more staid older English visitors also staying at the resort. Iris is getting a bit bored of her friends so decides to stay another day when the rest depart.
She has no real friends left there now as the remaining guests, all scheduled to leave in two days time, lump her in with her friends. Iris spends her last day in the sun and gets a bad sunburn. At the train station the next day, while waiting for her train, she collapses and only just makes it on to the train before it leaves the station. It also turns out that the rest of the guests, for various reasons, have decided to move up their departures so are on the train too. As well, there are two other Englishmen, one a professor and the other, an engineer, also catch the train.
In Iris's compartment, are a countess who is very off-putting, a family, and a young lady, none of whom are English. Across from Iris, is an elderly lady, who Iris discovers is English and they go to dinner together. The other English companions on the train, basically ignore Iris. Iris, still feeling poorly, falls asleep in her compartment after dinner and when she wakes up, her companion, one Winnifred Froy, is no where to be seen. This begins an intense search by Iris to find her.
What seems a simple story becomes quite complex. Her English compatriots, for reasons that will come out as the story progresses, don't remember Miss Froy. The other passengers in Iris's car will deny that there ever was a Miss Froy. In the compartment next to Iris's, a doctor and nurse(s) accompany a patient bound with bandages. He also denies ever seeing Miss Froy and also insinuates that Iris might be having mental difficulties due to her sunstroke.
The story follows Iris and the English professor and the engineer as they search for Miss Froy. Neither really believes Iris but they feel some obligation in helping Iris. The story develops at a nice pace, the tension increases as Iris becomes more and more frustrated. We do know that there is a Miss Froy as the story even goes back to England to meet her parents. It's a fascinating story as we get to get into the minds and lives of the other English passengers, as well. You may think you know where the story is going and you may be right, but it will take many obscure paths to get there. I'm so glad I read this and now I have another mystery writer of the that generation to search out. (4.5 stars)"
Currently Reading
"Benny Cooperman's favourite lunch counter and diner have closed down and the fittings have been sold to Americans. The nation mourns the accidental death of its greatest artist, cellist Dermot Keogh. It's April and there's already a heat wave. Things are just not the way they used to be."
My Ongoing Look at the Mystery Genre - American Legal Mysteries.
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| James Lee Burke |
Burke is a new author for me. I often saw his books when I was trying to find another Irene Kelly mystery by Jan Burke, because, well, they were usually side by side. :0). I avoided trying his books because there seemed so many of them. But I've finally succumbed and am going to try his Billy Bob Holland series of four books to see how they are. Burke is a prolific writer it would seem, with 4 series and a number of standalone novels. He was born in Houston in 1936 and is best known for his Dave Robicheaux series, which I may try if I like this one. Billy Bob Holland is a Texas attorney. I have the first two books on my bookshelves to try.
"Texas attorney Billy Bob Holland has many secrets in his dark past. Among them is his illegitimate son, Lucas Smothers. When Lucas is arrested for murdering his girlfriend, Holland knows that he has no choice but to try to save the boy, regardless of what it may mean to his own--or the boy's--reputation.
The boy is a country musician, abused by his stepfather and haunted by the possibility that he did, indeed, commit the murder in a drunken black-out. But Billy Bob knows the propensity of the small Texas town to make scapegoats of the innocent, and to exploit and sexually abuse those who are without power.
The dead woman was with Lucas the night she died. Everyone knows that. But they were also with the East Enders--the kids from the good homes with the rich daddies, whose morals are as loose as their pocket-books. Lucas doesn't want Billy Bob to drag the dead girl's name through the mud, but Billy Bob knows that he'll need to do much worse if he is to save his son's life."
"Billy Bob has a problem with local kingpin, Earl Deitrich, but also has a passion for Deitrich's wife. So he has to be very careful when he takes on the defense of Wilbur Pickett, a man accused of stealing from Deitrich."
The remaining two books in the series are -
- Bitterroot (2001)
- In the Moon of Red Ponies (2004)
So there you go, the countdown to Christmas continues. Good luck with your last minute shopping.
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