I finished one book the last day of July. I'll update that and the book that replaced it. I'll also get back to my look at my favorite authors. My explanation of my new theme can be found here if you've forgotten or are new to my BLog.
Just Finished
My July focus author/ genre was Graham Greene. My second Greene book of the month was the last book of July.
"England Made Me was the 5th novel by Graham Greene, originally published in 1935. Anthony Farrant comes back from lying and cheating his way through the Far East and Middle East, returning to meet his twin sister, Kate, who works for a Swedish businessman, Eric Krogh.
Anthony has grifted through his life, living from hand to mouth. His sister wants him to settle in Sweden, promising him a job with Krogh. Krogh is a crook himself, wheeling and dealing in stocks as he tries to advance his empire in the US. Anthony takes a job as a sort of body guard, but doesn't really want it.
He meets an English girl on holiday with her parents and is torn between staying with his sister and going back to England to be closer to Lou.. Also in the mix is an English reporter, an expat living in Sweden, trying to make a living getting stories about Krogh.
It's an interesting wandering type story, moving from one character to another. As Anthony begins to discover more and more the type of person Krogh is, he has to decide on a course of action. This will lead to the climatic ending. Greene isn't necessarily an easy author to read but his stories are always unique and different. I've been enjoying my exploration of his works (4 stars)"
Anthony has grifted through his life, living from hand to mouth. His sister wants him to settle in Sweden, promising him a job with Krogh. Krogh is a crook himself, wheeling and dealing in stocks as he tries to advance his empire in the US. Anthony takes a job as a sort of body guard, but doesn't really want it.
He meets an English girl on holiday with her parents and is torn between staying with his sister and going back to England to be closer to Lou.. Also in the mix is an English reporter, an expat living in Sweden, trying to make a living getting stories about Krogh.
It's an interesting wandering type story, moving from one character to another. As Anthony begins to discover more and more the type of person Krogh is, he has to decide on a course of action. This will lead to the climatic ending. Greene isn't necessarily an easy author to read but his stories are always unique and different. I've been enjoying my exploration of his works (4 stars)"
Currently Reading
My August theme is SciFi / Fantasy.
"The novel that spawned the video-game: It's post-apocalypse Moscow. After the nuclear holocaust, a new fear is born, underground
The year is 2033, the world has been reduced to rubble, and humanity is nearly extinct, half-destroyed cities having become uninhabitable through radiation. Beyond their boundaries, they say, lie endless burned-out deserts and the remains of splintered forests. Man has handed over stewardship of the earth to new life-forms—mutated by radiation, they are better adapted to the new world. A few score thousand human survivors live on in the Moscow Metro—the biggest air-raid shelter ever built. Stations have become mini-statelets, their people uniting around ideas, religions, water-filters—or the simple need to repulse an enemy incursion. It is a world without a tomorrow, and feelings have given way to instinct—the most important of which is survival, at any price.
VDNKh, the northernmost inhabited station on its line, remains secure—but now a new and terrible threat has appeared. Artyom, a young man living in VDNKh, is given the task of penetrating to the heart of the Metro, to the legendary Polis, to alert everyone to the awful danger and to get help. In his hands he holds the future of his native station, the Metro, and perhaps the whole of humanity."
The year is 2033, the world has been reduced to rubble, and humanity is nearly extinct, half-destroyed cities having become uninhabitable through radiation. Beyond their boundaries, they say, lie endless burned-out deserts and the remains of splintered forests. Man has handed over stewardship of the earth to new life-forms—mutated by radiation, they are better adapted to the new world. A few score thousand human survivors live on in the Moscow Metro—the biggest air-raid shelter ever built. Stations have become mini-statelets, their people uniting around ideas, religions, water-filters—or the simple need to repulse an enemy incursion. It is a world without a tomorrow, and feelings have given way to instinct—the most important of which is survival, at any price.
VDNKh, the northernmost inhabited station on its line, remains secure—but now a new and terrible threat has appeared. Artyom, a young man living in VDNKh, is given the task of penetrating to the heart of the Metro, to the legendary Polis, to alert everyone to the awful danger and to get help. In his hands he holds the future of his native station, the Metro, and perhaps the whole of humanity."
My Favorite Authors - M.C. Beaton
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| M.C. Beaton |
"A quick, entertaining intro to Constable Hamish MacBeth. A group of people come to his small town to be members of a fishing class. One of them, Lady Jane, is troublesome, causing problems with all of the others, seems to have bits of info/ gossip on each. She is found murdered. Constable MacBeth is pushed aside by the outside police who think he is a hick and just in the way. Casually, MacBeth does his own investigation and well, you can find out how it all ends. Likable and pragmatic, I liked the good Constable and enjoyed the story. I have other Hamish MacBeth mysteries on my shelf, looking forward to reading more. (3 stars)"
"Death of a Cad by M.C. Beaton is the second book in her Hamish Macbeth mystery series. I've read more of Beaton's Agatha Raisin books, but actually I think I might prefer the Macbeth series (don't get me wrong, both are entertaining reads.)
In Death of a Cad, the Halburton-Smythes invite a group of 'friends' to their estate in Scotland to celebrate the engagement of their daughter, Priscilla, to playwright Henry Withering. At the party, boorish cad, Captain Bartlett insults most of the people there and the next morning is found dead of an apparent hunting accident.
This brings in Hamish Macbeth, the local constable, and a man who is in love with Priscilla (but not deemed acceptable to Priscilla's snobbish parents) to try and solve what he thinks is a murder. Detectives are brought in from the bigger next town and they disagree with Macbeth and indicate that it was just an accident. Even though he's been shoved aside, Macbeth continues to investigate.
All in all it's an entertaining story, lots of interesting characters, a nicely woven mystery and a satisfying ending. I enjoyed this very much and the more I got into it, the more I wanted to see how it was resolved, ultimately very satisfactorily. I look forward to the next book in line. (4 stars)"
"Death of an Outsider is the 3rd book in M.C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth cozy mystery series set in Scotland. Constable Macbeth has been ordered to replace Sgt MacGregor of Cnothan for three months while the Sgt is taking his vacation. That means taking his dog Towzer out of his comfortable residence at Lochdubh and bus down to this dour town. Strangers aren't popular there and the place reminds me of the town the League of Gentleman. Well, maybe not quite so strange. But Hamish is very unhappy. What if the love of his life, Priscilla Halburton-Smythe returns and he's not there?
Hamish is not made too welcome when he arrives but he is a voluble, competent individual and gradually makes inroads to the community. Luckily for him, living next door to the police station is a lovely Canadian Jenny Lovelace makes his situation somewhat more bearable. Things happen fairly quickly. He is asked to investigate the attack on Mrs. Mainwaring, the wife of an Englishman who has made himself very unpopular in the community. Supposedly she was scared by three women dressed as witches. Local scoundrels send him on wild goose chases but Hamish does make his presence known and deals quite satisfactorily with them.
At some point, a skeleton is discovered on the moors. There is more to this discovery, incidents that lead up to it, but I won't ruin that portion of the story for you. Suffice it to say that it's quite an interesting story. The discovery of the skeleton means that Hamish's arch enemy, Inspector Blair is sent to Cnothan to head the investigation. Blair doesn't like MacBeth because he solved previous cases which Blair had been investigating. Blair doesn't really want to investigate and he sends Hamish hither and yon to keep him out of the way. The problem is that Hamish is a good, sound copper and we know he'll come up smelling of roses anyway.
All in all, it's an entertaining, cozy, quick read and quite enjoyable. The people are all interesting and the crime is also unique. Most enjoyable, fun mystery. I'll continue enjoying this series. (4 stars)"
Hamish is not made too welcome when he arrives but he is a voluble, competent individual and gradually makes inroads to the community. Luckily for him, living next door to the police station is a lovely Canadian Jenny Lovelace makes his situation somewhat more bearable. Things happen fairly quickly. He is asked to investigate the attack on Mrs. Mainwaring, the wife of an Englishman who has made himself very unpopular in the community. Supposedly she was scared by three women dressed as witches. Local scoundrels send him on wild goose chases but Hamish does make his presence known and deals quite satisfactorily with them.
At some point, a skeleton is discovered on the moors. There is more to this discovery, incidents that lead up to it, but I won't ruin that portion of the story for you. Suffice it to say that it's quite an interesting story. The discovery of the skeleton means that Hamish's arch enemy, Inspector Blair is sent to Cnothan to head the investigation. Blair doesn't like MacBeth because he solved previous cases which Blair had been investigating. Blair doesn't really want to investigate and he sends Hamish hither and yon to keep him out of the way. The problem is that Hamish is a good, sound copper and we know he'll come up smelling of roses anyway.
All in all, it's an entertaining, cozy, quick read and quite enjoyable. The people are all interesting and the crime is also unique. Most enjoyable, fun mystery. I'll continue enjoying this series. (4 stars)"
"A fun, cozy, entertaining mystery. First in the Agatha Raisin series, Agatha has retired from a life in London, sold her advertising business and moved to the Cotwswold, an area she had always dreamed of living in. Trying to fit in to the community, she decides to enter a baking contest and wanting to get off to a fast start, she buys a quiche in London instead of making her own. Of course, a death results, is the quiche to blame? Agatha finds herself embroiled in a mystery, still trying to fit in, wanting to throw in the towel and move back to London. A nicely paced story, with a crusty main character, Agatha Raisin, and fun supporting cast of Bill Wong, the policeman and her ex-employee, Roy, plus others, you will be entertained and will want to read more of the series. 3.5 stars.."
"A nice cozy mystery, featuring Agatha Raisin, retired advertising executive, who has settled in the Cotswolds. Agatha still lusts after her neighbour, ex military man, confirmed bachelor, James Lacey, but he continues to run away from any advances. A new veterinarian moves into town and has all the eligible women chasing after him. But there is something off about the fellow and soon he is found dead (or maybe murdered?). Agatha and James get involved in the investigation, hijinks ensue. Don't expect anything deep or thoughtful, just a fun light read. Looking forward to my next break with Agatha.. :) (3 stars)"
"When Agatha Raisin
comes home to cozy Carsely and finds that a new woman has piqued the
interest of her handsome bachelor neighbor, James Lacey, she’s less than
thrilled. The beautiful newcomer to the Cotswolds, Mary Fortune, is
superior in every way—especially when it comes to gardening—and Agatha
is suddenly seeing nothing but green. If only a nice juicy murder would
come along to remind James of Agatha’s genius for investigation. When a
series of mysterious assaults on the town’s finest gardens is followed
by a shocking murder, Agatha gets her wish. Seizing the moment, she
immediately starts yanking up village secrets by their roots and digging
up details about the victim—who, as it turns out, may just have some
hidden dirt of her own…" (3 stars)
"This is the fourth Agatha Raisin mystery and it was a nice, light, fun read, as were the others. Agatha returns to her cottage in the Cotswolds after spending a joyless time back in the city working as a PR agent. Even though successful, she realizes that being in London brings out the worst in her and she is happy to return to Carsley. Immediately she is caught up in trying to help solve a murder of an obnoxious Rambler from a nearby town, Dembley. Her neighbour, James, agrees to help her and they head off to Dembley, pretending to be a married couple who want to join the Walkers of Dembley. Poor Agatha is a bundle of mixed emotions; does she love James, does he love her, all the time trying to figure out who the murderer is. A comfort, easy read, but as always very entertaining. 3 stars."
"Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage is the 5th book in M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin, cozy... ish mystery series set in the Cotswolds of England.
In episode 5, Agatha is finally about to marry the man she's fallen in love with since she retired from the advertising business and moved to her small town in the Cotswolds, her neighbour James Lacey. Unfortunately her life will take a harsh step backwards when her ex-advertising friend, Roy Silver, in a spiteful move hires a detective to find her ex-husband Jimmy Raisin. Agatha left Jimmy many years ago when she discovered him to be an alcoholic, violent husband. She has assumed that he is probably dead, but Roy's detective finds Jimmy and Roy tells him that Agatha is about to marry. Roy immediately feels bad about this, but Jimmy still turns up at the wedding to ruin Agatha's life.
Thing begin to fall to pieces very quickly. James Lacey in a fit of depression heads off to northern Cyprus to hide out from the fiasco and Jimmy is found dead in a ditch. The police, including Agatha's friend, Bill Wong, bring James back and both he and Agatha are immediately suspected of the murder. When they are determined to be innocent, the duo decide that they have to find the killer so their lives can return to some sort of normalcy. Agatha is forced to room with James as she had sold her house due to the impending nuptials. The new owner gives off a bad first impression, being irascible and off-putting.
As Agatha and James begin their investigation, they also re-examine their lives together as either a couple or just friends, or... what? Bill Wong is in lust with a new female police officer but she tests his friendship with Agatha. As bodies begin to crop up the tension mounts and while the police tell the duo to stop interfering, Agatha and James expand their investigation.
All in all, it's an entertaining story. Agatha is a neat character, strong at times but also nicely emotional. She must examine her feelings deeply in this story, feelings for James, feelings for her decision to retire and move to the Cotswolds. It's a nice, quick moving story and well-written with a satisfying ending. I'm glad there a still a few more books to read in this series as it's always a joy to delve into Agatha's life and those of her friends. (4 stars)"
In episode 5, Agatha is finally about to marry the man she's fallen in love with since she retired from the advertising business and moved to her small town in the Cotswolds, her neighbour James Lacey. Unfortunately her life will take a harsh step backwards when her ex-advertising friend, Roy Silver, in a spiteful move hires a detective to find her ex-husband Jimmy Raisin. Agatha left Jimmy many years ago when she discovered him to be an alcoholic, violent husband. She has assumed that he is probably dead, but Roy's detective finds Jimmy and Roy tells him that Agatha is about to marry. Roy immediately feels bad about this, but Jimmy still turns up at the wedding to ruin Agatha's life.
Thing begin to fall to pieces very quickly. James Lacey in a fit of depression heads off to northern Cyprus to hide out from the fiasco and Jimmy is found dead in a ditch. The police, including Agatha's friend, Bill Wong, bring James back and both he and Agatha are immediately suspected of the murder. When they are determined to be innocent, the duo decide that they have to find the killer so their lives can return to some sort of normalcy. Agatha is forced to room with James as she had sold her house due to the impending nuptials. The new owner gives off a bad first impression, being irascible and off-putting.
As Agatha and James begin their investigation, they also re-examine their lives together as either a couple or just friends, or... what? Bill Wong is in lust with a new female police officer but she tests his friendship with Agatha. As bodies begin to crop up the tension mounts and while the police tell the duo to stop interfering, Agatha and James expand their investigation.
All in all, it's an entertaining story. Agatha is a neat character, strong at times but also nicely emotional. She must examine her feelings deeply in this story, feelings for James, feelings for her decision to retire and move to the Cotswolds. It's a nice, quick moving story and well-written with a satisfying ending. I'm glad there a still a few more books to read in this series as it's always a joy to delve into Agatha's life and those of her friends. (4 stars)"
So there you go. If you like cozy mysteries, Beaton is a past expert. Her complete catalogue can be found at this link.
Enjoy your upcoming week.
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