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In some ways I feel silly talking about books but books are my way of getting away from what is going on in the world sometimes. So I will continue with my look at books, while keeping a hopeful eye on the positive effect these demonstrations might have on the US and the rest of the world. Something needs to be done.
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OK, this will be a relatively short post I think. I haven't finished any books yet in June but I'm making progress. I'll provide synopses of the 5 books I'm currently reading and I'll continue with my ongoing look at the Spy / Thriller genre. Today I'll take a look at Janice Law.
Currently Reading
"Guy Crouchback has lost his Halberdier idealism. A desk job in London gives him the chance of reconciliation with his former wife. Then, in Yugoslavia, as a liaison officer with the Partisans, he finally becomes aware of the futility of a war he once saw in terms of honour."
"Odd, a charismatic young man with a sense for the otherworldly and the downright strange, is in self-imposed exile. Tragic events have led him from his sun-bleached desert home of Pico Mundo to a monastery in the High Sierra, searching for peace. It’s December and the remote abbey is besieged by icy winds and snow. But even in the silence of the mountains, danger and desperation haunt him still…
As ever, where Odd Thomas goes, strangeness goes too. A white dog named Boo befriends him – as does the ghost of Elvis. And a world-famous physicist is conducting experiments in the catacombs of the abbey. Could this be why Odd can once again see bodachs, shadowy harbingers of violence? They prowl the halls, suggesting horror to come.
But what form will it take? And how will Odd defeat an enemy that eclipses any he has met before?"
3. Stardust by Joseph Kanon. I've read one other of Kanon's historical spy novels. I'm enjoying this book very much. It's set in Hollywood after WWII; I like the references to historical characters and his story-telling. Oh and I like Liesl very much.. 😀
"Hollywood, 1945. Ben Collier has just arrived from war-torn Europe to find his brother has died in mysterious circumstances. Why would a man with a beautiful wife, a successful movie career, and a heroic past choose to kill himself?
Ben enters the uneasy world beneath the glossy shine of the movie business, where politics and the dream factories collide and Communist witch hunts are rendering the biggest star makers vulnerable. Even here, where the devastation of Europe seems no more real than a painted movie set, the war casts long and dangerous shadows. When Ben learns troubling facts about his own family’s past and embarks on a love affair that never should have happened, he is caught in a web of deception that shakes his moral foundation to its core.
Rich with atmosphere and period detail, Stardust flawlessly blends fact and fiction into a haunting thriller evoking both the glory days of the movies and the emergence of a dark strain of American political life."
Ben enters the uneasy world beneath the glossy shine of the movie business, where politics and the dream factories collide and Communist witch hunts are rendering the biggest star makers vulnerable. Even here, where the devastation of Europe seems no more real than a painted movie set, the war casts long and dangerous shadows. When Ben learns troubling facts about his own family’s past and embarks on a love affair that never should have happened, he is caught in a web of deception that shakes his moral foundation to its core.
Rich with atmosphere and period detail, Stardust flawlessly blends fact and fiction into a haunting thriller evoking both the glory days of the movies and the emergence of a dark strain of American political life."
4. A Clergyman's Daughter by George Orwell. Like many people I started with Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984. But in the past few years I've explored his other works; Burmese Days and Down and Out in Paris and London. I hope to try a couple of his other novels in June. I'm enjoying this one so far.
"Intimidated by her father, the rector of Knype Hill, Dorothy performs her submissive roles of dutiful daughter and bullied housekeeper. Her thoughts are taken up with the costumes she is making for the church school play, by the hopelessness of preaching to the poor and by debts she cannot pay in 1930s Depression England. Suddenly her routine shatters and Dorothy finds herself down and out in London. She is wearing silk stockings, has money in her pocket and cannot remember her name. Orwell leads us through a landscape of unemployment, poverty and hunger, where Dorothy's faith is challenged by a social reality that changes her life."
5. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness (All Soul's Trilogy #1). OK, this is a slow burn. I've been reading for a month or so and I'm about half way through it. I think part of the reason is that it's a 600 page book so I find it easy to put down. Also, she does like to describe what people are wearing, maybe not as much as I think, but it does seem that way at times. I enjoyed the TV series very much and I am enjoying the book too. It seems to be picking up more now, so we'll see how it goes.
"A world of witches, daemons and vampires. A manuscript which holds the secrets of their past and the key to their future. Diana and Matthew - the forbidden love at the heart of it.
When historian Diana Bishop opens an alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library, it's an unwelcome intrusion of magic into her carefully ordered life. Though Diana is a witch of impeccable lineage, the violent death of her parents while she was still a child convinced her that human fear is more potent than any witchcraft. Now Diana has unwittingly exposed herself to a world she's kept at bay for years; one of powerful witches, creative, destructive daemons and long-lived vampires. Sensing the significance of Diana's discovery, the creatures gather in Oxford, among them the enigmatic Matthew Clairmont, a vampire genticist. Diana is inexplicably drawn to Matthew and, in a shadowy world of half-truths and old enmities, ties herself to him without fully understanding the ancient line they are crossing. As they begin to unlock the secrets of the manuscript and their feelings for each other deepen, so the fragile balance of peace unravels..."
The Spy / Thriller Novel - Janice Law
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| Janice Law |
Janice Law Trecker is listed as an American mystery novelist and short story writer. I don't have a lot of information about her and I have to say that I've had difficulty finding her books. She is known for her Anna Peters series. I've read one so far and while it might be classified as a mystery, it also dealt with industrial espionage, hence my inclusion of Law in the Spy / Thriller genre. She is also known for her historical series featuring Francis Bacon. I have the first book in that series but will have to let you know what genre it falls under. So let's look at the books I've read and have.
1. Cross-Check (Anna Peters #8).
"Anna Peters, Washington, D.C.-based private investigator, knows little about hockey or Florida when she agrees to help Jurgen "T-Rex" Parkes, star center of the NHL-expansion Orlando Showmen, clear his name of his teammate Alf Rene's murder. She also isn't entirely sure her client is innocent. Anna faces an uphill battle: Parkes asked Rene to meet him the night of the murder, and he has no alibi. The Showmen management is more concerned about the team's tarnished image than seeking the truth, and the media are swarming around Parkes and his family. As Anna digs into the case, she finds Parkes uncooperative, the victim's family and friends secretive and suspicious, and her own safety in jeopardy."
2. Under Orion (Anna Peters #3).
"Under Orion is the first book I've read by author Janice Law. It is the 3rd book in her Anna Peters series. Anna Peters works for New World Oil as a sort of fixer. In this story she journeys to West Germany with one of New World's scientists to try and negotiate a deal with an East German scientist who claims to have developed a process for extracting oil from bilge water.
The mission becomes a dangerous adventure. Are the two East Germans playing the company? Is Martin, the scientist, working against the company? And what is the secret life he seems to be living? The story moves along at a steady pace and bodies start to crop up. Are the East German intelligence services trying to stop the deal? Is it the West Germans? Who are these two brothers?
It's definitely a different kind of thriller, a combination of spy thriller and industrial espionage. There are some scary people and a chase that leads across Germany.
It's not a perfect story but still entertaining. We learn a bit about Anna and her friends and what kind of work she does. Now I've got to find the first two books in the series to see how her character was introduced. Glad I finally had a chance to explore this series. (3 stars)"
3. The Fires of London (Francis Bacon #1).
"A killer takes refuge in the blacked-out streets of wartime London, upending the world of one of Britain’s greatest painters in this chilling and captivating reimagining of the life of Francis Bacon.
Francis Bacon walks the streets of World War II London, employed as a warden for the ARP to keep watch for activities that might tip off the Axis powers. Before the war, Bacon had travelled to Berlin and Paris picking up snatches of culture from a succession of middle-aged men charmed by his young face.Known for his flamboyant personal life and expensive taste, Bacon has returned home to live with his former nanny—who’s also his biggest collector—in a cramped bohemian apartment. But one night, death intrudes on his after-hours paradise. When a young man is found dead in the park, his head smashed in, Bacon and the rest of London’s demimonde realize that they have much more to fear than the faraway scream of war."
So there you go, a feel for the books of Janice Law. The complete listing of her books can be found at this link.
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