We had another snowfall yesterday but it's pretty well gone now. It's been a nice day today, even a bit sunny. 😏
I received a book in the mail yesterday and the day before I dropped off a few books in some local Free Libraries and found one book on my travels. I also finished a book this morning, my 4th Simon Brett book this month. I'll provide a review of that book and synopses of the new books and the next book in line to be read. I'll also continue with my ongoing look at favorite authors.
Just Finished
"I think Star Trap (Charles Paris #3) by Simon Brett is my favorite book in this mystery series so far. It's an excellent mix of mystery and stage craft that keeps you interested from beginning to end.
Aging, struggling actor Charles Paris is asked by his friend, lawyer Gerald Venables, to take a job with an upcoming play. Venables is working for investors in the play / musical and has been guaranteed a job in the play. Venables is worried that someone might be trying to ruin the play due to a couple of recent accidents to cast members; one having been fired at by a BB gun, the other having fallen down a flight of stairs. Paris accepts, partly because he likes the idea of a regular salary, partly because previous investigations has piqued his interest.
The play stars a comic TV actor, one Christopher Milton, trying to become an even bigger success on the stage. The play is a reworking of an Oliver Goldsmith work from 1771, She Stoops to Conquer. It has been rewritten as Liberty Bell. Paris joins the cast in London where they are beginning rehearsals and will follow the show on the road to Leeds, Bristol and Brighton where the plan is to finalize the play for its ultimate premiere back in London.
It's a fascinating story, especially the process of working through rehearsals and play development, but the mystery is also quite well presented. Further accidents occur and Paris hesitantly begins investigating and trying to see who might be a suspect. The main characters are Paris, himself and Milton, an overpowering, domineering personality but also a talented, comic genius. The story moves along nicely and keeps your interest. Paris is a fascinating character, intelligent, well-read, frustrated with his life, both romantic and professional.
All in all an excellent mystery and overall story. The more I read this series, the more I enjoy it. (4.5 stars)"
Currently Reading
"Agatha Raisin's neighboring village of Ancombe is usually the epitome of quiet rural
charm, but the arrival of a new mineral-water company - which intends to
tap into the village spring - sends tempers flaring and divides the
parish council into two stubborn camps.
When Agatha, who just
happens to be handling the PR for the water company, finds the council
chairman murdered at the basin of the spring, tongues start wagging.
Could one of the council members have polished off the chairman before
he could cast the deciding vote?
Poor Agatha, still nursing a
bruised heart from one of her unsuccessful romantic encounters, must get
cracking, investigate the councilors and solve the crime."
New Books
"Ekaterinburg, Russia:
July 16, 1918. Ten months have passed since Nicholas II’s reign was cut
short by revolutionaries. Tonight, the White Army advances on the town
where the Tsar and his family are being held captive by the Bolsheviks.
Nicholas dares to hope for salvation. Instead, the Romanovs are coldly
and methodically executed.
Moscow: Present Day. Atlanta lawyer
Miles Lord, fluent in Russian and well versed in the country’s history,
is thrilled to be in Moscow on the eve of such a momentous event. After
the fall of Communism and a succession of weak governments, the Russian
people have voted to bring back the monarchy. The new Tsar will be
chosen from the distant relatives of Nicholas II by a specially
appointed commission, and Miles’ job is to perform a background check on
the Tsarist candidate favored by a powerful group of Western
businessmen. But research quickly becomes the least of Miles’ concerns
when he is nearly killed by gunmen on a city plaza.
Suddenly
Miles is racing across continents, shadowed by nefarious henchmen. At
first, his only question is why people are pursuing him. But after a
strange conversation with a mysterious Russian, who steers Miles toward
the writings of Rasputin, he becomes desperate to know more–most
important, what really happened to the family of Russia’s last Tsar?
His
only companion is Akilina Petrov, a Russian circus performer
sympathetic to his struggle, and his only guide is a cryptic message
from Rasputin that implies that the bloody night of so long ago is not
the last chapter in the Romanovs’ story . . . and that someone might
even have survived the massacre. The prophecy’s implications are
earth-shattering–not only for the future of the Tsar and mother Russia,
but also for Miles himself."
"Almost from his first hour in the big city hospital malicious bad luck stalks the brilliant young intern, Doctor Jimmy Kildare."
My Favorite Authors - David Rotenberg
Canadian author David Charles Rotenberg was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. He studied at York University and directed the first Canadian play staged in the People's Republic of China. This history is somewhat reflected in one of my favorite mystery series, that featuring Chinese police inspector Zhong Fong. There were five books in the series, each excellent. Rotenberg has written a new series, the Junction Chronicles that I'm going to explore. Let's look at the Fong series.
David Rotenberg
"This is the first book in the Inspector Zhong Fong series. I've read out of order, this being the first book and I've now finished the series. Excellent and probably better to have read in sequence as it would have been fuller and more complete. But having said that, each story on its own is a fascinating read. You get a perspective of the Chinese culture as China moves from a closed Communist society to one trying to open its doors to trade and foreign money. Shanghai is a very interesting city. Do I want to visit? I'm not sure, but it's fun reading about it.
In this mix, Inspector Fong, lead of Special Investigations in Shanghai must try to work within severe constraints to try and solve two gruesome murders. He faces severe constrictions from his superiors, who plot to oust him, work with the American wife of the first victim and also fight the ghosts of his wife and the tragedy that befell her. It's a page turner and a fast - paced story. Fong is an very sympathetic character and a superb detective.
I also enjoyed his cast of supporters, especially his forensic specialist, Lily. Amanda Pitman, the American, is also an interesting character and I enjoyed the developing relationship between her and Fong. The Canadian in the mix, Geoffrey Hyland, the lover of Fong's dead wife, is brought in to provide ammunition for Fong's arrest for the possible murder of his wife. And let's not forget the killer himself, trained in Taipei to be a killing machine.
There are plots and sub-plots and all the while Fong works to solve these murders and find out who is pulling the strings and why? It's unfortunate that Rotenberg only wrote five books in this series. All are excellent and entertaining. One of my favourite series. (4 stars)"
"Detective Fong, former head of Special Investigations, has been exiled to Northwestern China. Two men come and whisk him away in the middle of the night to investigate the brutal murder of seventeen men." (4 stars)
"Detective Fong has regained his position as head of Special Investigations in Shanghai. All seems under control until one of Shanghai's state run abortion clinics explodes in a ball of fire. A note is left in English, then a second clinic is attacked." (4 stars)
"In the latest installment in the Zhong Fong series. The city's 18 million residents are hurtling toward modernization, and hits home when Fong rooms at the Shanghai Theatre are being condo-ized and he can buy them at a special price four years worth of his salary. The night watchman summons Fong to the theatre where finds his old rival Geoffrey Highland swinging from a rope at centre stage." (4 stars)
"As Shanghai surpasses
Hong Kong as Asia’s most important city, Zhong Fong’s Office of Special
Investigations faces an increasingly sophisticated, and increasingly
global, breed of criminal.
When Fong follows a disturbing lead,
he finds himself in the rural backwater of Anhui Province. Here, he is
shocked to discover a blood-trafficking racket and a massive outbreak of
AIDS. In pursuit of the blood traffickers, Fong embarks on what proves
to be the longest journey of his life. It will eventually take him to
the streets of Vancouver – and a meeting with a man who holds an old,
and potentially lethal, grudge." (4 stars)
It's a fascinating series. I can't recommend it more. The complete list of Rotenberg's books can be found at this link.
Take care. I hope you enjoy your upcoming weekend. Stay safe 😷
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