I'm enjoying my November books so far. I finished one last book on Oct 31st so I'll provide my review of that book and also the synopsis of the book I've started in its place. I'll also continue with my ongoing look at my favorite authors.
Just Finished
"A couple of years back, in my BLog, I was daily listing various songs and books that won awards each year from 1955 - the present. There were many new authors for me in those lists and I've purchased a few that sounded interesting. Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold won the Hugo Award for best Sci-Fi novel in 1992. The Vorkosigan saga, of which Barrayar was one the books, also won as beat Sci-Fi series in 2017. Shards of Honor is the 1st book in this series. And it was excellent.
Commander Cordelia Naismith, of the Beta world, leads a scientific exploration to a new world. Her expedition is attacked by soldiers from the Barrayar word, led by Lord Aral Vorkosigan. Due to intrigue within his crew, one of Cordelia's men is killed and another severely injured and Vorkosigan is abandoned, left for dead by his political officer, who takes over his crew.
The story now follows Cordelia and Aral as they struggle across the planet in an attempt to find safety, then to Vorkosigan's ship, where Cordelia is held prisoner and involved in both an escape and an attempt to prevent Aral's ship from being taken over by mutineers. There is more of course; a war between Barrayar and Escobar (assisted by Beta) and other activities. The story is about the relationship between Cordelia and Aral, their growing affection and love. It's about political intrigue, both on Beta and Barrayar. For a relatively short story, it's packed with action, great characters, intrigue, romance, everything you might like in a great story.
Bujold has an excellent way with developing characters (Cordelia and Aral are strong, intelligent and not without flaws) and the surrounding cast is also excellent. She presents the story concisely, neatly and draws you in to the events taking place. I especially enjoyed the to and fro of the main character's relationship. I also liked the intrigue and how it's resolved (or not). It was an excellent introduction to this series and I will read more. Loved it. (4.5 stars)"
Currently Reading
"When those in power hide the truth, she risks everything to reveal it.
When
lawyer, Jenny Cooper, is appointed Severn Vale District Coroner, she’s
hoping for a quiet life and space to recover from a traumatic divorce,
but the office she inherits from the recently deceased Harry Marshall
contains neglected files hiding dark secrets and a trail of buried
evidence.
Could the tragic death in custody of a young boy be
linked to the apparent suicide of a teenage prostitute and the fate of
Marshall himself? Jenny’s curiosity is aroused. Why was Marshall
behaving so strangely before he died? What injustice was he planning to
uncover? And what caused his abrupt change of heart?
In the face
of powerful and sinister forces determined to keep both the truth hidden
and the troublesome coroner in check, Jenny embarks on a lonely and
dangerous one-woman crusade for justice which threatens not only her
career but also her sanity."
My Favorite Authors - Charlaine Harris
Charlaine Harris Schulz was born in Mississippi in 1951. She has authored a number of excellent series and standalone books. I've enjoyed most of them. Her Sookie Stackhouse fantasy series became a successful HBO series, True Blood. NBC turned her Midnight, Texas trilogy into a 2 season series. Since I discovered her books, I've enjoyed 15 from various series. I'll highlight the last 6 books I've read.
Charlaine Harris
"Since Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse has so few living relatives, she hates to lose one - even her cousin Hadley, undead consort of the vampire Queen of Louisiana. Hadley's left everything she has to Sookie, but claiming that inheritance has a high risk factor. Some people don't want her looking too deeply into Hadley's past, or Hadley's possessions. And they're prepared to do anything in their power to stop her. Whoever it is, they're definitely dangerous - and Sookie's life is definitely on the line..." (3 stars)
"When I was fifteen, I was struck by a bolt of lightning through an open window of the trailer where we lived...I recovered, mostly. I have a strange spiderweb pattern of red on my torso and right leg, which has episodes of weakness. Sometimes my right hand shakes. I have headaches. I have many fears. And I can find dead people. That was the part that interested the professor...
At the request of anthropology professor Dr. Clyde Nunley, Harper Connelly and her stepbrother Tolliver come to Memphis to give a demonstration of Harper's unique talent. And what better place to have that demonstration than in a very old cemetery?
Dr. Nunley doesn't bother to hide his skepticism, especially when Harper stands atop a grave and senses two bodies beneath her - one of a centuries-dead man and the other of a young girl, recently deceased. When the grave is opened, Harper's claim is proven true. The dead girl is Tabitha Morgenstern, an eleven-year-old abducted from Nashville two years previously - a child whom Harper had tried, and failed, to find. The coincidence raises suspicions about her among the police - so she and Tolliver undertake their own hunt to find the killer. They make a nocturnal visit to the cemetery, hoping that Harper can sense something further about the murder.
And then, the next morning, a third dead body is found in the grave..." (4 stars)
"An excellent series; I've enjoyed every book in the Harper Connelly series thus far. I like the main characters, Harper and Tolliver very much, especially Harper, with her unique talent of being able to sense how people have died. This story has many twists in it, both crime-wise and relationship-wise and it kept the story interesting and moving along at an excellent pace. I'm very happy for some of the developments (will let you find out for yourself) and the mystery led me down paths I didn't expect. It was nice to see that sometimes Harper's talents (gift) are respected by law enforcement, rather than being treated as strictly ghoulish. I enjoyed this very much and will have to ensure I get the remaining books in the series. (4 stars)"
"Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris is the fourth and final book in Harris' Harper Connelly supernatural mystery series. While I'm sad that it's ended, just as I was sad when her Lily Bard mysteries ended, at least everything was wrapped up nicely.
Harper and her step brother, Tolliver, travel around the US, mainly the South, helping people discover how their kin died. When Harper was young, she was struck by lightning. One of the after-effects is that she can see how a person died or, as in most of her stories, was murdered. She and Tolliver get involved in the mysteries trying to solve the crimes.
In this final story, the two have returned to Dallas to see their younger sisters and Tolliver's brother to try and decide if they want to settle down in the area. Their childhoods were not the best and the area brings back many, many bad memories; their parents were drug addicts, their sister Cameron disappeared at a young age, etc.
One of the surprises for them during this visit, where they also conduct some business in Texarcana for a wealthy land owner, is the discovery the Tolliver's father, Harper's step father, has been released from prison and wants to regain contact with Tolliver. Another 'bad' surprise is an attempt on Harper's life; someone tries to shoot her but hits Tolliver instead.
So you have a few mysteries to solve as well as try to resolve the series. It's an interesting, well-paced story with nice twists and turns, just like the other books in this excellent series. The results, while a bit pat maybe, are very satisfying and succeed in the aim at wrapping up the stories and the outstanding issues. I like Harper and Tolliver and also some of the other characters, especially Manfred, their other supernatural friend. So now I have the Sookie books and the Midnight Crossing books to work through. (4 stars)"
"Midnight Crossroad by Charlaine Harris is the first book in a new trilogy. The other books are Day Shift and Night Shift. It will soon be a TV series. From what I read it will start Jul 24th.
I loved the story. There were so many neat things about it. What I especially liked was that it featured characters from other series by Harris. We are introduced to Manfred Bernardo, who has appeared in a couple of the Harper Connelly books. We meet Bobo Winthrop who appeared in one of the Lily Bard, Shakespeare series. In fact, he refers to his friend, Lily.
Besides that, the remaining characters are all interesting and all have their secrets. Will their characters become clearer in the next two books? I hope so. Fiji Cavanaugh is a witch with a crush on Bobo and her cat is interesting. Lemuel, who works evenings in Bobo's pawn shop, is a vampire. What is Olivia? How about Joe or the Rev? What about them? Yup still lots to find out.
The story itself was interesting too. We have white nationalists stirring up trouble because of Bobo's past, his grandfather is supposed to have had a secret cache of weapons that they think Bobo now possesses and they seem desperate to find them.
There is murder, a bit of mayhem and just downright neighbourliness between the folks of Midnight, Texas. They stand by each other help each other. The story moves along nicely, some mysteries are solved and we get to know the characters better. I enjoyed it very much and look forward to getting into the other two books. (4 stars)"
"I have not read the Sookie Stackhouse books (on with the TV series True Blood is based) in any particular order. [book:All Together Dead|140075] is the 7th book in the series and probably the 3rd or 4th book I've enjoyed so far. I'd suggest it's probably better to read in order as there are events mentioned in this particular story that refer to events in the past. However, having said that they are explained well enough that I had a good idea what had taken place.
On that note, we find Sookie, waitress with the ability to read minds, with a roommate in her home in Bon Temps Louisiana. Amelia is a witch from New Orleans whose home was destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. She also fears retribution from her fellow witches as she used her powers to turn her boyfriend Bob (I gather it was somewhat accidentally) into a cat and Bob also is living with Sookie. This is a minor story mind you. The main story involves the Queen of Louisiana. She is to go on trial for the murder of her husband, the King of Arkansas, an event which was witnessed by Sookie in a previous novel. All of the vampire Kings and Queens and their entourages are heading to a vampire conference at Rhodes, a town near Chicago. They will be staying at a vampire specializing hotel, the Pyramid of Gizeh. Besides a big party, a wedding (between two vampire kings), etc, there will also be the trial of the Queen of Louisiana. Sookie has been hired to attend, so she can monitor any humans attending for the benefit of her queen. Also attending will by Eric, a previous vampire lover, and the Sheriff of the Shreveport vamps and one of the Queen's men, Bob, Sookie's first vampire lover and now in her bad books for various reasons and Quint, her new boyfriend and a weretiger, hired to stage the various events.
Of course, there are many other characters, including Barry Bellhop another human telepath who Sookie previously met on a visit with the King of Texas (Barry works for him). Of course, there are many twists and turns in this interesting story. The conference is being picketed by the Fellowship, a quasi-religious group that detests vampires. The main witnesses against the Queen, vampires from Kansas, are found murdered. There are suspicious people all over the hotel. It's a fast-paced story and quite interesting. I always find the Sookie books, kind of Anita Blake light, which is fine. There is some sex, but it's not as graphic as that in the Blake books and there is violence, but even that isn't as graphic. But still, it's not necessary as the stories are quite excellent.
An excellent story, with many twists and turns. What are the suitcases? Who killed the Kansas vamps? Who is threatening the queen? And will Sookie sort out her love life? Good solid fun. (4 stars)"
The complete catalogue of Harris's books can be found at this link.
If you haven't already, vote tomorrow. Stay safe!
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