Thursday 29 April 2021

My April 2021 Reading Summary

April was a good reading month. I'm satisfied with the number of books I read and enjoyed, although they tended to be relatively short. Below is my monthly reading summary, starting with stats as per usual, then a look at my ongoing challenges.

Next Friday I've got my appointment for my first jab. I hope Jo gets her appointment soon. She has a registration number, but it's so slow here.

April
General Info               Apr                Total (Including my current read)
Books Read -                13                    47
Pages Read -               3000               12000 (Avg per book - 255)

Pages Breakdown
    < 250                        10                    30       
250 - 350                        1                    10
351 - 450                        1                      1
   > 450                           1                      6

Ratings
5 - star                            1                      3           
4 - star                            7                    28
3 - star                            5                    15
2 - star                              
No Rating (NR)                                     1                                   

Gender
Female                           4                    26
Male                               9                    21
Not Stated                           

Genres
Horror                           
Fiction                           3                      6
Mystery                         7                    31
SciFi                              2                      4
Non-Fic                                                 1   
Classics                                                 1                   
Young Adult                                          3           
Poetry
Short Stories                  1                      1    

Top 3 Books

1. Virtual Light by William Gibson (5 stars)
2. The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien by Georges Simenon (4.5 stars)
3. Last Ditch by Ngaio Marsh (4.5 stars)

Challenges

12 + 4 (Finish off Some Series) (completed 9)
1. Last Ditch by Ngaio Marsh (4.5 stars)
2. King Kull by Robert E. Howard (3.5 stars)

Individual Challenge - First Book in Series (completed 6)
1. Virtual Light by William Gibson (The Bridge #1) (5 stars)
2. The Suicide Murders by Howard Engel (Benny Cooperman #1) (4 stars)

Individual Challenge - Next Book in Series (completed 5)
1. The Man Who Went Up in Smoke by Maj Sjowall (Martin Beck #2) (4 stars)
2. Murder in Belleville by Cara Black (Aimee Leduc #2) (4 stars)

Individual Challenge - Non Series (completed 7)
1. The Miracle Strain by Michael Cordy (3 stars)
2. The Ballad of the Sad Cafe by Carson McCullers (3 stars)

Monthly Challenge - January Focus Author - Simon Brett (completed 4)
Monthly Challenge - February Focus Author - M.C. Beaton (completed 5)
Monthly Challenge - March Focus Author - Agatha Christie (completed 5)
Monthly Challenge - April Focus Author - George Simenon (completed 5)
1. The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien (Maigret #4) (4.5 stars)
2. The Blue Room (1963) (3 stars)
3. Act of Passion (1947) (3 stars)
4. Maigret's War of Nerves (Maigret #5) (4 stars)
5. The Yellow Dog (Maigret #6) (4.5 stars)

Currently Reading

1. 12 + 4 Challenge - Rumpole and the Primrose Path by John Mortimer
2. Individual Challenge (1st Book in Series) - All the Dead Things by John Connolly (Charlie Parker #1)
    - Black Out by John Lawton (Sgt Troy #1)
3. Individual Challenge (Next Book in Series) - Madam President by Nicolle Wallace (Eighteen Acres #3)
4. Individual Challenge (Non- Series) - Shadow's End by Sherri S. Tepper
5. Monthly Challenge - May Focus Author (John D. MacDonald) - One Fearful Yellow Eye (Travis McGee #8)  

Next Challenge Books in Line

1. 12 + 4 Challenge - The Kindness of Strangers by Julie Smith (Skip Langdon #6)
2. Individual Challenge (1st Book in Series) - The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths (Ruth Galloway #1)
3. Individual Challenge (Next Book in Series) - The Scar by China Mieville (Bas-Lag #2)
4. Individual Challenge (Non-Series) - Three Days of the Condor by James Grady
5. Monthly Challenge - May Focus Author (John D. MacDonald) - Pale Gray for Guilt (Travis McGee #9)

There you go folks. Back to regular programming in my next post. Take care. Stay safe. 😷

Wednesday 28 April 2021

Your Midweek Music Medley - 28 April 2021

Slowly getting the deck and yard in order. A new fridge / freezer arriving tomorrow. Very exciting!!

Here is your midweek music medley for Wednesday Apr 28.

Midweek Music Medley - 28 April 2021

1. American blues / rock musician Gary Clark Jr - When I'm Gone (2019).

2. American singer / songwriter Stan Ridgway - Camouflage (1986).

3. Spanish songwriter / musician Gizmo Varillas - Burning Bridges (2020).

Enjoy the rest of your week. Stay safe 😷

Monday 26 April 2021

A Reading Update, New Book and Women Authors

The last week of April is now upon us; we've completed 1/4 of 2021. It's a cloudy, humid day. We're about to head out and do some shopping so I want to get this post done before we do. Over the past weekend, I finished two more books. I hope to finish one or two more before the end of the month. I'll provide my reviews for both books and the synopsis of the next two books. I received a new book today that Jo ordered for me. I'll also provide the synopsis of that book. And then I'll finish by going back to my ongoing look at my latest theme, women authors I'm enjoying.

Just Finished

1. Murder in Belleville by Cara Black (Aimée Leduc #2).

"Murder in Belleville is the 2nd Aimee Leduc mystery / thriller by Cara Black. It had been 5ish years since I read the 1st book in the series. Looking at my review of the 1st book, even though I enjoyed it, I felt that Black was trying a bit too hard; too much action, too much tension and a bit all over the place. That may be why it took me this long to try the series again.

Well, I'm glad that I did. While still not perfect, Murder in Belleville was a most enjoyable thriller. Aimee and her partner Rene are trying to get a security consulting job with a large corporation. A friend of Aimee, Martine, asks her to check on Martine's sister, Anais. A subplot wending its way through the story is the a group of immigrants hiding out in a church, negotiating with the French government to be allowed to stay in the country.

The story does start with a bang. When Aimee goes to meet Anais in the Belleville district, one populated with immigrants from all countries, they are both injured in a car bomb, that appears to have been aimed at Anais and another woman. A group of armed men (thugs?) approach and Aimee and Anais must hightail it and try to escape. Anais' husband is a government minister and he tries to brush Aimee off, telling her he will handle everything himself.

Aimee, suspicious as to what is going on, decides, with the help of her capable partner, Rene, to continue investigation. It is an exciting entertaining story, enough action to satisfy you, tenuous threads that will come together and lead to a fascinating, satisfying conclusion. There are Algerian fundamentalists, government intrigue, money laundering, all sorts of neat conspiracies, but not so overloaded as in the first book. I like Aimee and her dog, Miles Davis. I also like her technical expert partner, Rene, a dwarf who can hold his own in a confrontation and can find access to any government information repository.

The whole story held my interest, flowed along at a nice clip, and highlighted the intriguing city of Paris, filled with so many varied cultures. I enjoyed this second story very much and look forward to reading the 3rd book in the near future. (4 stars)"

2. The Yellow Dog by Georges Simenon (Maigret #6).







"The Yellow Dog is the 6th Inspector Maigret book by French writer Georges Simenon. It was a most enjoyable mystery.

A man is shot in the town of Concarneau. Maigret happens to be working in a nearby town, helping to reorganize the local force. He brings along a local detective, Leroy, to assist him in the investigation. It's a funny old story. No sooner does Maigret arrive and book himself in the Admiral Hotel and set himself down with the local hoi-polloi than the doctor announces that he thinks the brandy is poisoned.

Maigret seems to be very unenthusiastic about investigating. The Mayor pressures him steadily to arrest someone. Each day something new seems to happen until finally one of the group of rich friends is found poisoned. In the midst of the situation is a yellow dog. Nobody knows who it belongs to, although it does seem to settle itself at the feet of the maid at the Admiral, Emma. Maigret takes an instant liking to the lady.

It's an interesting story. Maigret is as stuffy and curmudgeonly as ever. He seems to be doing nothing to move the case along but you know that things are percolating in his incisive mind. There are many suspects and, at the same time, they all seem to have alibis. Leroy follows Maigret around, some times admiring him, other times being confused about what Maigret is doing. I enjoyed the story very much, liked the pace of it and ultimately enjoyed the ending very much. One of the more enjoyable Maigret stories I've read this past month. (4.5 stars)"

Currently Reading

1. Madam President by Nicolle Wallace (Eighteen Acres #3). This is the final book in this trilogy.






"With Madam President, current co-host of The View and former White House Communications Director Nicolle Wallace returns with an electrifying portrait of three powerful women on a day that will change the country forever.

Charlotte Kramer, the forty-fifth President of the United States, has done the unprecedented in allowing a network news team to document a day in her life—and that of her most senior staff. But while twenty news cameras are embedded with the president, the unthinkable happens: five major attacks are leveled on US soil. Her secretary of defense, Melanie, and her press secretary, Dale, must instantly jump to action in supporting the president and reassuring the country that the safety they treasure is in capable hands.

But secrets have always thrived in President Kramer’s White House. With all eyes on them and America’s stability on the line, all three women are hiding personal and professional secrets that could rock the West Wing to its very foundations…and change the lives of the people they love most.

With an insider’s sharp eye and her trademark winning prose, Nicolle Wallace delivers a timely novel of domestic and political intrigue that is impossible to put down."

2. One Fearful Yellow Eye by John D. MacDonald (Travis McGee #8). I'll be focusing on the Travis McGee series in May

"How do you extort $600,000 from a dying man? Someone had done it very quietly and skillfully to the husband of Travis McGee's ex-girlfriend. McGee flies to Chicago to help untangle the mess and discovers that although Dr. Fortner Geis had led an exemplary life, there were those who'd take advantage of one "indiscretion" and bring down the whole family. McGee also discovers he likes a few members of the family far too much to let that happen...."

New Books

1. Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power by Susan Page. I've been looking forward to reading this. 






"Featuring more than 150 exclusive interviews with those who know her best—and a series of in-depth, news-making interviews with Pelosi herself—MADAM SPEAKER is unprecedented in the scope of its exploration of Nancy Pelosi’s remarkable life and of her indelible impact on American politics.
 
Before she was Nancy Pelosi, she was Nancy D’Alesandro. Her father was a big-city mayor and her mother his political organizer; when she encour­aged her young daughter to become a nun, Nancy told her mother that being a priest sounded more appealing. She didn’t begin running for office until she was forty-six years old, her five children mostly out of the nest. With that, she found her calling.
 
Nancy Pelosi has lived on the cutting edge of the revolution in both women’s roles and in the nation’s movement to a fiercer and more polarized politics. She has established herself as a crucial friend or for­midable foe to U.S. presidents, a master legislator, and an indefatigable political warrior. She took on the Democratic establishment to become the first female Speaker of the House, then battled rivals on the left and right to consolidate her power. She has soared in the sharp-edged inside game of politics, though she has struggled in the outside game—demonized by conservatives, second-guessed by progressives, and routinely underestimated by nearly everyone.
 
All of this was preparation for the most historic challenge she would ever face, at a time she had been privately planning her retirement. When Donald Trump was elected to the White House, Nancy Pelosi became the Democratic counterpart best able to stand up to the disruptive president and to get under his skin. The battle between Trump and Pelosi, chronicled in this book with behind-the-scenes details and revelations, stands to be the titanic political struggle of our time."

Women Authors I Enjoy - Lilian Jackson Braun

Lilian Jackson Braun
Lilian Jackson was an American crime writer who is best known for her The Cat Who.... cozy mystery series. She was born in Massachusetts in 1913 and died in South Carolina in 2011. Over the course of her life, she wrote 29 books in the series and also 3 collections of short stories. Like many of the series I highlight in my look at books and authors, I came late to this series. Since 2000, I've enjoyed the first 3 books in the series. I have another 4 books on my bookshelf and those are the ones I'll highlight in this look at her work.

a. The Cat Who Played Post Office (#6 / 1987).







"Inheriting unexpected millions has left reporter Jim Qwilleran looking like the cat who swallowed the canary. While his two Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum, adjust to being fat cats in an enormous mansion, Qwilleran samples the lifestyles of the rich and famous by hiring a staff of eccentric servants. A missing housemaid and a shocking murder show Qwilleran the unsavory side of the upper crust. But soon it's Koko's purr-fect propensity for clues amid the caviar and champagne that gives Qwilleran pause to evaluate the most unlikely suspects...before his taste for the good life turns into his last meal. "


b. The Cat Who Turned On and Off (#3 / 1968).






 "The team of Koko, the brilliant Siamese cat, and Qwilleran, the reporter with the perceptive moustache, is back in action -- with an adorable female Siamese, Yum Yum, added to the household.When Qwilleran decides to do a feature series on Junktown, he gets more than he bargained for. Not the dope den he anticipated, Junktown is a haven for antique dealers and collectors -- as strange a lot as the crafty reporter has ever encountered. When a mysterious fall ends the career -- and the life -- of one of Junktown's leading citizens, Qwilleran is convinced it was no accident. But, as usual, it takes Koko to prove he's right."

c. The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare (#7 / 1988).

"There's something rotten in the small town of Pickax--at least to the sensitive noses of newspaperman Jim Qwilleran and his Siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum. An accident has claimed the life of the local paper's eccentric publisher, but to Qwilleran and his feline friends it smells like murder. They soon sniff out a shocking secret, but Koko's snooping into an unusual edition of Shakespeare may prove CATastrophic...because somewhere in Pickax a lady loves not wisely but too well, a widow is scandalously merry, and a stranger has a lean and hungry look. The stage is set for Qwilleran, Koko, Yum Yum, and the second act of murder most meow..."

d.  The Cat Who Played Brahms (#5 / 1987).





"Is it summertime blues or a career crisis? Newspaper reporter Jim Qwilleran is unsure but hoping a few days in the country will help him sort out life. With cats Koko and Yum Yum, he heads for a cabin owned by a longtime family friend, Aunt Fanny. From the moment he arrives, things turn strange. Eerie footsteps cross the roof at midnight, local townsfolk become oddly secretive. While fishing, Jim hooks on to a murder mystery. He enters into a game of cat and mouse with a killer, while Koko develops an uncanny fondness for classical music."

Well, there you go. Some books / authors for you to consider. Enjoy your week. Stay safe. 😷

Thursday 22 April 2021

More New Books, a Just Finished and Currently Reading

An interesting day today. I went to the doctor this morning and the doc said I do indeed have a hernia. 🤯 So now to decide whether to just cope with it or have an operation. Jo and I talked about it and I'm going to at least have a consult with the surgeon. I also asked about the new Shingles vaccine. I used to get Shingles as a kid, it wasn't actually diagnosed until I joined the military and one of the military docs said that's what it was. My doc said he'd send a scrip to the local pharmacist for a shot. As I said, an interesting morning.

While I was out, I dropped into my local used book store and left some books and picked up a few more. The other day I also took the puppies for a drive around the local Little Free Libraries and dropped off a few and picked up a few more books. And Jo ordered a new author for me and it arrived the other day. I'll provide the synopses of the newest arrivals. I finished an Inspector Maigret this morning so I'll also provide my review and the synopsis of the next Maigret I'm starting, the last one of April. That will be a fair few books so I'll not continue with my look at Women authors I'm enjoying, until my next post.

Just Finished

1. Maigret's War of Nerves by Georges Simenon (1931). 

"Maigret's War Of Nerves by Georges Simenon was published in the original French in 1931. My English edition was published 1989. According to Fantastic Fiction, it was one of 11 he had published in that year.

The story starts off with a bang. Maigret, along with a prison warden and a magistrate, are party to a prison escape. Joseph Heurtin is to be executed for the murder of two women. Maigret, even though his investigation was crucial to having Heurtin convicted, now believes he is innocent. He has a note passed to Heurtin (with agreement from the Justice Dept) telling him how to escape on a certain night. Maigret hopes that if he succeeds, Heurtin will lead him to the real killer, a plan that if it fails could result in Maigret's forced retirement.

The plan isn't totally successful. Heurtin manages to evade Maigret's investigators. Maigret stews, avoids the Magistrate, who is fuming. Maigret seeks clues to discover the real killer, while his team and the complete police force search for Heurtin.

The story is an interesting concept. I think it breaks down somewhat as we get to the end. Maigret has his suspect as the story progresses but the ultimate resolution all seems to come about in the back ground, not totally satisfying. But ultimately, it's still entertaining. Maigret is a unique character and this particular story revolves mainly around him, with lesser roles played by his excellent officers; Janvier, Lucas, Dufour. The books are usually short enough and quick enough to grab your attention and hold it until the end. I do recommend trying Simenon very much. (4 stars)"

Currently Reading

1. The Yellow Dog by Georges Simenon (1931).







"There was an exaggerated humility about her. Her cowed eyes, her way of gliding noiselessly about without bumping into things, of quivering nervously at the slight­est word, were the very image of a scullery maid accustomed to hardship. And yet he sensed, beneath that image, glints of pride held firmly in check. She was anemic. Her flat chest was not formed to rouse desire. Nevertheless, she was strangely appealing, perhaps because she seemed troubled, despondent, sickly.

In the windswept seaside town of Concarneau, a local wine merchant is shot. In fact, someone is out to kill all the influential men and the entire town is soon sent into a state of panic. For Maigret, the answers lie with the pale, downtrodden waitress Emma, and a strange yellow dog lurking in the shadows..."

(Ed Note. My April Focus author has been Simenon. The Yellow Dog will be my 5th and last of his books. In May I'll focus on John D. MacDonald, author of the Travis McGee series.)

New Books

1. The Pianoplayers by Anthony Burgess (1986).







"Ellen Henshaw finds herself left in the care of father Billy,a talented pianist who has hit the bottle and is reduced to accompanying silent films in flea pit cinemas.When he dies she discovers that her body is her musical instrument and she sets about a way to teach men how to create the harmonies of love."

2. Turbo Twenty-Three by Janet Evanovich (Stephanie Plum #23). 

"Larry Virgil skipped out on his latest court date after he was arrested for hijacking an eighteen-wheeler full of premium bourbon. Fortunately for bounty hunter Stephanie Plum, Larry is just stupid enough to attempt almost the exact same crime again. Only this time he flees the scene, leaving behind a freezer truck loaded with Bogart ice cream and a dead body--frozen solid and covered in chocolate and chopped pecans.

As fate would have it, Stephanie's mentor and occasional employer, Ranger, needs her to go undercover at the Bogart factory to find out who's putting their employees on ice and sabotaging the business. It's going to be hard for Stephanie to keep her hands off all that ice cream, and even harder for her to keep her hands off Ranger. It's also going to be hard to explain to Trenton's hottest cop, Joe Morelli, why she is spending late nights with Ranger, late nights with Lula and Randy Briggs--who are naked and afraid--and late nights keeping tabs on Grandma Mazur and her new fella. Stephanie Plum has a lot on her plate, but for a girl who claims to have "virtually no marketable skills," these are the kinds of sweet assignments she does best."

3. Rainbow's End by Martha Grimes (Richard Jury #13).

 

 

 

 

 

 

"A woman's body is discovered amidst the ancient Roman ruins of Old Sarum -- the apparent victim of an accidental fall. In the Tate Gallery in London, an elderly woman keels over -- from a supposed heart attack -- while studying a painting. At Exeter Cathedral, a third woman is found dead from "natural causes." But in Martha Grimes' bestselling novels -- and in the world inhabited by Scotland Yard Superintendent Richard Jury -- there are no natural causes.

 Is there a link between these three women? Of course. And Jury is the one who sorts it out. The link is Santa Fe, New Mexico, which all three women had visited before their untimely deaths. So Jury is off to the States where, amidst the turquoise jewelry and cappuccinos, he searches for and finds an astonishing web of jealousy and murder

4.  Now & Then by Robert B. Parker (Spenser #35).

 

 

 

 

 

 

" Investigating a case of infidelity sounds simple—until it plunges Spenser and his beloved Susan into a politically charged murder plot that’s already left three people dead."

5. Flight into Fear by Kenneth Robeson (Doc Savage # 188). I used to read this series in high school. It'll be interesting to see if I still enjoy.

"An ultra-secret State Department mission sends Doc Savage from the streets of Manhattan to the Arctic Sea, where he is targeted by the Kremlin and headed for a confrontation with a vile nemesis."

6. The Testaments by Margaret Atwood (Handmaid's Tale #2). The Handmaid's Tale always needed a follow-on book.






"When the van door slammed on Offred's future at the end of The Handmaid's Tale, readers had no way of telling what lay ahead for her--freedom, prison or death.

With The Testaments, the wait is over.

Margaret Atwood's sequel picks up the story more than fifteen years after Offred stepped into the unknown, with the explosive testaments of three female narrators from Gilead."

7. Birds of Prey by Wilbur Smith (Courteney #9).






 

"The year is 1667; Sir Francis Courteney and his son Hal are on patrol in their fighting caravel off the Agulhas Cape of South Africa. They are lying in wait for one of the treasure-laden galleons of the Dutch East India Company returning from the Orient. So begins a quest for adventure and the spoils of war that sweeps them from the settlement of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa to the Great Horn of Ethiopia far to the north - at a time when international maritime law permitted acts of piracy, rape, and murder otherwise punishable by death. Wilbur Smith introduces a generation of the indomitable Courteneys and thrillingly re-creates their part in the struggle for supremacy and riches on the high seas."

 

8. Black August by Timothy Williams (Commissario Trotti #4).

"Commissario Trotti of Italy's Polizia di Stato is called to the scene of a brutal murder. Despite the badly disfigured face on the corpse, Trotti recognizes it as schoolteacher Rosanna Belloni, an old friend. His superiors warn him off the case, but Trotti is determined to hunt down the killer.

First he must find Rosanna's missing sister, a known drug addict. But the deeper he digs, the more questions he is forced to ask himself. Is a recent, unexplained suicide in the River Po connected with the murder? Where does the discovery of a car dredged up from the Delta fit in? Faced with a seemingly unsolvable mystery, Trotti must also grapple with obstructive colleagues and the problems arising in his private life."

9. State of the Union by Brad Thor (Scott Harvath #3).







"America’s worst nightmare has just become a brutal reality. The most unlikely terrorist enemy of all now holds a knife against the country’s throat. With both diplomatic and conventional military options swept from the table, the president calls upon Navy SEAL turned Secret Service agent, Scot Harvath, to disable a brilliantly orchestrated conspiracy intended to bring the United States to its knees. Teamed with beautiful Russian Intelligence agent Alexandra Ivanova and a highly trained CIA paramilitary detachment, Harvath embarks on an adrenaline-fueled search that spans the world—and leads to a final, deadly showdown on American soil, with a lethal and sinister enemy from the past."

10. Angel with Two Faces by Nicola Upson (Josephine Tey #2)







"Inspector Archie Penrose invites Josephine Tey down to his home in Cornwall so she can recover from the traumatic events depicted in 'An Expert in Murder'. However, Josephine's hopes of rest are dashed when her arrival coincides with the funeral of a young man from the village who had drowned when his horse leapt into the nearby lake."

11. The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva (Gabriel Allon #1).

"Once an operative in secret Israeli-intelligence missions, Gabriel Allon is on the run from his past and has assumed a quiet life as an art restorer. He's called back into the game and teamed with an agent who poses as a French fashion model. Their target: a cunning Palestinian terrorist named Tariq who played a dark part in Gabriel's past--and who is on one last killing spree."

There you go. Some reading ideas for the next while. Now it's almost dinner. Jo has been cooking up left over pork and other things. Smells terrific.. Enjoy your weekend. 

Wednesday 21 April 2021

Your Midweek Music Medley - 21 April 2021

I know you've been waiting for this. Haven't you? Oh well, life goes on. 😋

Midweek Music Medley - 21 April 2021

1. English pop band Dead or Alive - Something in My House (1987).

2. Danish pop band Infernal - From Paris to Berlin (2005).

3. English pop band Modern Romance - Ay Ay Ay Ay Moosey (1981).

Enjoy the rest of your week. Stay safe. 😷

Tuesday 20 April 2021

New Books and Women Authors

Happy Birthday, Jo!
It's been a lovely fresh day today. We celebrated Jo's birthday and she received a number of parcels in the mail. It was a bit like Christmas. I even received some books and new clothes. Woo Hoo! I'll provide the synopses of the new books and also continue with my look at Women Authors I'm enjoying.

New Books

1. Deadly Cross by James Patterson (Alex Cross #28).

"A scandalous double homicide in the nation's capital opens the psychological case files on . . . Detective Alex Cross.

 Until Kay Willingham's shocking murder inside a luxury limousine, the Georgetown socialite, philanthropist, and ex-wife of the sitting vice-president led a public life. Yet few -- including her onetime psychologist -- had any inkling of Kay's troubled past in the Deep South.

Murdered alongside her is Randall Christopher, a respected educator whose political ambitions may have endangered both their lives. While John Sampson of DC Metro Police tracks Randall's final movements, Alex Cross and FBI Special Agent Ned Mahoney travel to Alabama to investigate Kay's early years. 

They discover that although Kay had many enemies, all of them needed her alive. Alex is left without a viable suspect, and facing a desperate choice between breaking a trust and losing his way -- as a detective, and as the protector of his family."

2. The Suspect by Michael Robotham (Joseph O'Loughlin #1).

 

 

 

 

 

 

"At forty-two, psychiatrist Joe O'Loughlin seems to have it all: a thriving practice, a beautiful wife, an adoring daughter. But Joe's snug, happy world is crumbling. Recently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, he's dreading the inevitable and all too palpable deterioration of his body and mind. Then, when the police ask for his help in solving the brutal murder of a woman they assume is a prostitute, he's horrified to recognize the victim as a nurse he once worked with, and with whom he had a bit of a past. As Joe begins to suspect that one of his patients may be responsible, the police zero in on him."

3. Time Gladiator by Mack Reynolds (1964).

 

 

 

 

 

 

"IT SEEMED AS IF EVERYONE WAS A SPY! The political situation in the 21st century was coming to the boil: one man, a scientist, held what might be the important key to ultimate power in the struggle between the three blocs: West-world, Sov-world, and Common Europe. The scientist, Auguste Bazaine, disappears, and each bloc accuses the other of kidnapping. There was only one way to settle the difference! So nine men were chosen to fight to the death in a trial by combat organised by the World Court. The winner will put his country on top. But when an American and a Russian meet face to face - the result is not what was expected!

4. The Time Shifters by Sam Merwin Jr (1971). 

"They called it TTT-short for Time Teleportation Technique. Like all really great ideas, it was simple, and easy to operate-too easy, for Chuck Percival, who suddenly found himself drafted into an army dedicated to defending yesterday against today... and captained by strange men from tomorrow! Chuck found the idea of time travel intriguing, but he was by nature suspicious of people wanting to do him favors-and vice-versa. And time travel turned out to have a couple of nasty side effects that made the price of time jumping almost too high to pay. But like it or not, Chuck found himself in this particular army for the duration--a duration that might last several hundred years! What happened to him shouldn't happen to any devout twentieth century coward... including meeting and falling in love with his own great grandmother!"

5. Transit by Edmund Cooper (1964).

 

 

 

 

 

 

"He was the subject of an experiment seventy light years away from Earth.

It lay in the grass, tiny and white and burning. He stooped, put out his fingers. And then, in an instant, there was nothing. Nothing but darkness and oblivion. A split second demolition of the world of Richard Avery.

From a damp February afternoon in Kensington Gardens, Avery is precipitated into a world of apparent unreason. A world in which his intelligence is tested by computer, and in which he is finally left on a strange tropical island with three companions, and a strong human desire to survive.

But then the mystery deepens; for there are two moons in the sky, and the rabbits have six legs, and there is a physically satisfying reason for the entire situations."

Women Authors I Enjoy - Gail Bowen

Gail Bowen
Gail Dianne Bowen is a Canadian playwright and author. She was born in Toronto in 1942 and educated at my alma mater, University of Toronto. She wrote a series featuring widowed mother, university professor and political analyst Joanne Kilbourn who solves crimes in Saskatchewan. I first became aware of the series via TV. 

Canadian actress Wendy Crewson did six TV movies based on the books, portraying Joanne Kilbourn. Jo and I both enjoyed the series very much. It didn't hurt that Wendy Crewson is such an excellent actress and a favorite of ours. 

Since 1986, Bowen has written 25 novels. I hate to admit I've only read two of the Kilbourn series. I enjoyed them very much and must get back to trying more of her books.

1. A Colder Kind of Death (Joanne Kilbourn #4/ 1994)







"When a prisoner is shot to death in the exercise yard of a Saskatchewan penitentiary, Joanne Kilbourn finds herself haunted by a part of her past she wished had never happened. The dead prisoner is Kevin Tarpley, the man who six years earlier had brutally killed her politician husband, Ian, in a seemingly senseless act alongside the Trans-Canada Highway.

The haunting takes on a more menacing cast several days later when Tarpley’s sinister wife, Maureen, is discovered dead in a snow-swept Regina parking lot. A brightly coloured scarf is found wound tightly around her neck, a scarf that belongs to none other than Joanne Kilbourn. Soon this single mother, author, university professor, and TV-show panelist is deemed the “number one” suspect in Maureen Tarpley’s demise.

Joanne knows there has to be a connection between these two murders. But what is it? A cryptic letter sent to Joanne by Kevin Tarpley just days before his death intimates that Ian Kilbourn’s killing may not have been as senseless as first assumed. In fact, there are hints that some of Ian’s political colleagues may have been involved. But how deeply and in what way?

Then there’s the faded photograph of a pretty young woman and her baby that Joanne finds tucked in the wallet of her dead husband. Does it offer any clue to Ian’s murder, or to the deaths of the Tarpleys? Warily, Joanne Kilbourn is forced to follow a tangled trail deep into a heartbreaking past she never knew existed" (3 stars)

 b. The Wandering Soul Murders (Joanne Kilbourn #3 / 1992).







"Murder is the last thing on Joanne Kilbourn’s mind on a perfect morning in May. Then the phone rings, and she learns that her daughter Mieka has found the corpse of a young woman in an alley near her store. So begins Joanne’s chilling collision with evil in Gail Bowen’s riveting third mystery, The Wandering Soul Murders.

Joanne is stunned and saddened by the news that the dead woman, at seventeen, was already a veteran of the streets. When, just twenty-four hours later, her son’s girlfriend is found dead, drowned in a lake in Saskatchewan’s Qu’Appelle Valley, Joanne’s sunny world is shattered. Her excitement about Mieka’s upcoming marriage, her involvement in the biography she is writing, even her pleasure at her return to Regina all fade as she finds herself drawn into a twilight world where money can buy anything and there are always people willing to pay." (4 stars)

The complete list of Gail Bowen's books can be found at this link. Enjoy the rest of your week.

Related Posts with Thumbnails