Jo and I have had a great weekend. We didn't go anywhere, just relaxed with the puppies and enjoyed the sunny weather. Starting tomorrow I'll have to start on the yard, clean up branches and such. We caught up on some movies, Doctor Strange and Thor:Ragnarok, both excellent. Thor was hilarious, directed by one of the guys involved with What We Do in the Shadows.
I've finished two books this weekend. I'll provide my reviews of both. I'll also provide the synopses of the books I've started since. I'll also provide the synopsis of the book I received in the mail on Friday. Then I'll continue with my most recent theme, Women Authors. Starting with the letter 'B's now.
Just Finished
"The Man Who Went Up in Smoke is the 2nd book in the Martin Beck mystery series, set in Sweden, by author Maj Sjöwall. Beck is a police inspector working out of the Stockholm Homicide Squad.
In this story, Beck is finally, after a long while, going on vacation with his family. His boss tells him to lock up his desk and Beck makes sure his apartment is cleaned up and then he catches the boat to the island where his family awaits. (This is very nicely described, almost boringly, but you can picture Beck's actions, hear his thoughts). Not even being able to enjoy one day of vacation, Beck is called back to Stockholm.
A reporter, Alf Mattison, is reported missing in Hungary. The Foreign office wants Beck to go to Budapest and conduct an informal investigation. Reluctantly, Beck agrees, risking the anger of his wife due to putting police work over his family.
Beck heads off to Budapest and on arrival, begins an investigation. He is quite frustrated because he really doesn't have any info to work with. This investigation will involve the Swedish embassy, the Budapest police (Inspector Szulaka is a great character.) Is he helping Beck or tailing him? Also involved is a sexy, female predator. Is she trying to get Beck into a compromising situation?
In some ways the story reminds me of the Inspector Gideon mystery series or Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series. It's a police procedural, with the difference in this case being that Beck, instead of using his normal team, works with another police department. But, even having said that, he still communicates with those personnel and the final resolution comes about back in Stockholm.
Don't look for tons of action, even though there will be some. It's methodical, thoughtful, clearly described and flows along so well. Beck is a great character (why did it take so long to get to this 2nd book, I ask myself??). I like how he interacted with Inspector Szulaka and also with his people back in Stockholm especially with his partner Kollberg. There was a crustiness, that curt style that people who know and trust each other sometimes use. I enjoyed it very much and the resolution was maybe somewhat pat but still interesting and satisfying. Now to get the 3rd book. (4 stars)"
"I've enjoyed the Roderic Alleyn mystery series by Ngaio Marsh very much. The last two have had interesting twist to them. In Clutch of Constables, it was a Troy-centric (that being Alleyn's wonderful wife) mystery. In Last Ditch, the book focuses on the Alleyns' young son, Ricky.
Ricky is away on his own on an island off the coast of France, working on his 'novel'. His accommodations have been arranged by the Pharamond family, a wealthy family who Ricky's parents had met on a cruise during a previous case. (I think I may have read that one). Ricky is quite taken with Julia Pharamond, the wife of Jasper. The family is full of life, and Ricky enjoys their company, while at the same time, feels uncomfortable around them. He finds it distracting being with them, taking away from his book writing.
The small community is filled with strange characters. Everyone seems to be off somewhat; the Pharamonds, Dulce Harkness (the 'loose' woman, who may or may not be pregnant), her uncle 'Cuth' (a religious fanatic), Sydney Jones (the local artist, who really seems to dislike Ricky and may have had relations with Dulce), Gilbert Ferrant (owner of the place where Ricky is staying, a lady's man, and also mystery man), etc.
While the Pharamonds and Ricky take a horse-riding jaunt up island, Dulce is killed in another horse jumping accident. Is it murder or an accident? The local cops hold off making a decision and gradually, Chief Inspector Alleyn and his faithful Inspector Fox, become involved. Ricky takes a trip to the French town of St Pierre and discovers both Ferrant and Jones there. An attempt is made on Ricky's life.
It's a fascinating story. Ricky is an excellent character, creative, intelligent, and handles himself well when put under stress. (well, he is a bit overwhelmed by the lovely Julia.). The story involves potential murder, a religious fanatic, maybe even international drug smuggling. When Alleyn arrives, the investigation takes a new pace. With the help of straight-forward local cop, Sgt Plank, they check out the death of Dulce, investigate the locals. The whole story is well developed, filled with interesting characters and comes to a satisfying conclusion.
I like Alleyn so very much, he's a presence, one who impresses hits son and co-workers and intimidates those who deserve to be intimidated. Marsh is one of the great classic mystery writers and this story is as good as all the others I've enjoyed. There could have been a bit more of his lovely wife, Troy, but there was still enough to make it worthwhile. :0). (4.5 stars)"
Currently Reading
"Contains:
Prolog
Exile of Atlantis
The Shadow Kingdom
The Altar and the Scorpion
Black Abyss
Delcardes' Cat
The Skull of Silence
Riders Beyond the Sunrise
By This Axe I Rule!
The Striking of the Gong
Swords of the Purple Kingdom
Wizard and Warrior
The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune
The King and the Oak
Epilog"
"Parisian
P.I. Aimée Leduc finds herself involved with a secretive North African
radical group the French government would rather she didn’t investigate
When
Anaїs de Froissart calls private investigator Aimée begging for help,
Aimée assumes her best friend's sister wants to hire her to do
surveillance on her philandering husband again. Aimée's too busy right
now to indulge her. But Anaїs, a politician's wife with an unhappy
marriage and a young daughter, insists Aimée must come, that she is in
trouble and scared. Aimée tracks Anaїs down just in time to see a car
bomb explode, injuring Anaїs and killing the woman she was with.
Aimée,
who saw her father die in a car bomb five years earlier, is shaken by
the attack, but manages to escort Anaїs to safety. But Anaїs can't
explain what Aimée just witnessed. The dead woman, Anaїs says, is Sylvie
Coudray, her cheating husband's long-time mistress, but she has no idea
who wanted her dead, and Anaїs officially hires Aimée to investigate.
As
she digs into Sylvie Coudray's murky past, Aimée finds that the dead
woman may not be who Anaїs thought she was. Her Belleville neighborhood,
full of North African immigrants, may be hiding clues to who Sylvie
really was. As a prominent Algerian rights activist stages a hunger
protest against new immigration laws, Aimée begins to wonder whether
Sylvie's death was an act of terrorism, and who else may be at risk. To
make matters worse, Yves, Aimée's ex-boyfriend, a journalist who seems
to appear in and disappear from Aimée's life without any regard for her
feelings, is back in town. Just the kind of distraction she doesn't need
right now"
"The title story of this collection follows a simple triangle of unrequited love. Miss Amelia, gaunt and lonely owner of a small town store, squanders her love on cousin Lymon, the little strutting hunchback who turned the store into a cafe."
New Books
"A millionaire English lord dreams of founding a Utopian community on a remote Pacific island. Among the forty-odd men and women selected for the project are a pestologist named Camilla and the narrator. Within hours of the group's arrival on the sunny isle their radio has been destroyed. Within days several members of the group are dead. Dream turns to nightmare as they discover the island is overrun by a species programmed to resist and dominate any invader."
Women Authors I Enjoy - Nevada Barr
American author, Nevada Barr, worked as a seasonal Park Ranger and used these experiences to create one of my favorite mystery series. It features US Park Ranger Anna Pigeon and the mysteries she gets involved with. Each story is set in a different US National Park, which adds to the interest of the stories. Barr was born in Nevada in 1952 and since 1993 she has written 19 books in the series. I've enjoyed 13 so far and have 4 more waiting on my book shelf. I'll highlight the 4 books I haven't read yet.
Nevada Barr
"To list their spirits, Anna Pigeon and her husband head to Texas for a rafting trip on the Rio Grande. The power of the river works its magic- until the raft is lost in the rapids and someone makes the grisly discovery of a pregnant woman caught between two boulders. Soon Anna will learn that nature isn't the only one who wanted to see the woman and her baby dead."
"National park ranger Anna Pigeon goes undercover as a waitress at Yosemite National Park to investigate the disappearance of four young employees. What waits for Anna in the snowy wilderness of the Sierra Nevadas is a nightmare of death and greed - and perhaps her final adventure..."
"It's 1995. Fresh off the bus from New York City, a broken-hearted 35-year-old named Anna Pigeon takes her first job as a park employee: a decidedly unglamorous, seasonal stint at the Glen Canyon National Recreational Area. On her day off, she goes hiking alone in the park—never to return. Her co-workers assume she's moved on since her cabin is cleaned out. But when Anna wakes up—trapped at the bottom of a well, naked, with no supplies and no memory of how she got there—she must draw upon all of her strength, courage, and skill to survive. Because whoever set Anna's trap isn't through with her yet…"
"Anna Pigeon, a ranger
for the U.S. Park Services, sets off on vacation—an autumn canoe trip in
the to the Iron Range in upstate Minnesota. With Anna is her friend
Heath, a paraplegic; Heath’s fifteen-year-old daughter, Elizabeth; Leah,
a wealthy designer of outdoor equipment; and her daughter, Katie, who
is thirteen. For Heath and Leah, this is a shakedown cruise to test a
new cutting edge line of camping equipment. The equipment, designed by
Leah, will make camping and canoeing more accessible to disabled
outdoorsmen.
On their second night out, Anna goes off on her own
for a solo evening float on the Fox River. When she comes back, she
finds that four thugs, armed with rifles, pistols, and knives, have
taken the two women and their teen-aged daughters captive. With limited
resources and no access to the outside world, Anna has only two days to
rescue them before her friends are either killed or flown out of the
country."
It's an excellent series. A complete list of Barr's books can be found at this link. Hope your upcoming week is excellent. Stay safe. 😷
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