It's the 6th of October and this is my first reading update of the month. I've finished two books so far and will provide my reviews of both, as well as the synopses of the next books in line. I'll also provide the synopses of two new books that arrived this week. I'll also continue with my ongoing look at Women Authors whose work I enjoy.
New Books
"A new novelist for me, Saratoga Longshot is the first Charlie Bradshaw mystery by American mystery writer Stephen Dobyns. Charlie is a middle-aged cop from Saratoga NY. He is taking time off to go to NY city to try and find the son of a childhood flame, Sam Chaney. At one point in his teens, Gladys intimated that Sam was Charlie's son.
Sam has disappeared, may be involved selling drugs. Charlie moves into a YMCA in NY and begins to look for Sam. He has a very negative relationship with the young man. Charlie is warned off by the local NY cops in the name of Capt Zack and told to go back to Saratoga as he might screw up a drug op.
So Charlie sticks around, hangs out at the local bar, the Lamplighter, meets Sam's girlfriend, develops a crush on her, is beaten up by 'muggers', continues to be threatened by Zack and also by his boss back in Saratoga.
Charlie is an interesting character, not your normal hard as nails copper. I kind of think of him as Walter Matthau (too old for you to remember him?) or maybe William H. Macy. He's an average guy, likes the history of crime, loves to quote the last statements of criminals before they are captured - John Wesley Hardin's supposed last words to Texas Ranger Lt Armstrong, when the Lt put a gun to Hardin's head, were 'Blow away! You will never bow a more innocent man's brains out, or one that will care less!'
I like how the story moved along. I liked many of the peripheral characters; Driscoll, the man in the green blazer at the Lamplighter, Zack, the crusty, hard nosed Police Lt, Stacy, Sam's girlfriend, who may or may not be playing Charlie, and Victor Plotz, the landlord of Sam's building, who Charlie develops a neat little friendship....
The mystery is interesting but minor to Charlie's musings, I think, but the story does move along nicely and it does end with a good piece of action. There is a lot to enjoy in this entertaining story and I will continue the series. Always nice to find a newish author. (4 stars)"
"I bought Women Talking by Miriam Toews after checking out a list of one author's Top Ten most horrifying novels ever. While I don't think the body of the novel is horrifying, the events that lead up to this novel are.
The novel is based on a true story of a remote Mennonite community where the men, over a period of time, drug the women and abuse them over night. This took place over a long time and the women believed they were being attacked by demons. The truth was ultimately discovered and eight men were sent to jail.
The story takes place after these events and follows eight of the women, from two different families as they meet in the loft of a barn to decide what they must do. Their options; to stay in the community a continue to live with the men who've abused them or to leave the community forever. The women have been subjugated all of their lives; they are not taught to read, so this decision is momentous.
Also part of the story is August Epp. He and his parents had been banned from the community year before but he had returned as an adult and now teaches the boys. He has been asked to take minutes of the meeting. (The women have limited time to make their decision as the remaining men have gone to the city to try and bail out the eight. So they will all be returning.
So this is the basic story, a discussion by these women of what they will do. They were all abused, Ona is pregnant, even though unmarried. Even the age of the women does not matter as it seems even the very young have been mistreated. What can these women do? They've lived their lives here and now must decide whether they have the capabilities of even surviving on their own. So if you want a story with relatively no action, but with immense implications and a terrifying premise, you might want to try this one. (3.5 stars)"
Currently Reading
"Jack Fleming, ace reporter, always had a weak spot for strange ladies. And he certainly should have listened to the one who said she was a vampire! Because when a thug blasts several bullets through Jack's back, he does not die--and discovers that he is a vampire as well! First in an exciting new vampire adventure series"
"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."
New Books - (Books by two new authors for me)
"When global climate
change and economic crises lead to social chaos in the early 2020s,
California becomes full of dangers, from pervasive water shortage to
masses of vagabonds who will do anything to live to see another day.
Fifteen-year-old
Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community with her preacher father,
family, and neighbors, sheltered from the surrounding anarchy. In a
society where any vulnerability is a risk, she suffers from hyper-empathy, a debilitating sensitivity to others' pain.
Precocious
and clear-eyed, Lauren must make her voice heard in order to protect
her loved ones from the imminent disasters her small community
stubbornly ignores. But what begins as a fight for survival soon leads
to something much more: the birth of a new faith...and a startling
vision of human destiny."
"In the winter of 1937,
the village of Okamura is abuzz with excitement over the forthcoming
wedding of a son of the grand Ichiyanagi family. But amid the gossip
over the approaching festivities, there is also a worrying rumor - it
seems a sinister masked man has been asking questions around the
village.
Then, on the night of the wedding, the Ichiyanagi
household are woken by a terrible scream, followed by the sound of eerie
music. Death has come to Okamura, leaving no trace but a bloody samurai
sword, thrust into the pristine snow outside the house. Soon, amateur
detective Kosuke Kindaichi is on the scene to investigate what will
become a legendary murder case, but can this scruffy sleuth solve a
seemingly impossible crime?"
Women Authors I've Been Enjoying - Lisa Gardner
Lisa Gardner is an American crime writer, born and raised in Oregon. She is author of 15+ novels, of various series and standalone books. I've enjoyed two of her books thus far and have 5 books sitting on my bookshelf awaiting my attention.Lisa Gardner
"Ex-FBI profiler Pierce Quincy has been thrown into his worst nightmare. A car has been found abandoned, engine running, purse on the driver's seat - and his estranged wife, Rainie Conner has disappeared. Did one of the ghosts from her troubled past finally catch up with her?"
"Each time he struck, he
took two victims. Day after day, he waited for the first body to be
discovered--a body containing all the clues the investigators needed to
find the second victim, who waited...prey to a slow but certain death.
The clock ticked--salvation was possible.
The police were never in time.
Years
have passed; but for this killer, time has stood still. As a heat wave
of epic proportions descends, the game begins again. Two girls have
disappeared...and the clock is ticking.
Rookie FBI agent Kimberly
Quincy knows the killer’s deadline can be met. But she’ll have to break
some rules to beat an exactingly vicious criminal at a game he’s had
time to perfect.
For the Killing Hour has arrived...."
"FBI Agent Pierce Quincy is haunted by his daughter's death in a drunk-driving accident. Pierce knew about his daughter's problem with alcohol, and about her loneliness. And so, he is sure, did the man who killed her. Rainie Conner is an ex-cop with a past overshadowed by violence. She was once involved with Pierce in a harrowing case that brought them together personally and professionally. Then, he came to her rescue. Now it is time for her to help him. This killer is different. He has an insatiable hunger for revenge - and for fear. He isn't satisfied with taking his victims' lives - he wants to get inside their minds and strip them of every defence. And his target is Quincy's surviving daughter. Rainie believes that the only way to stop him is to put herself directly into the killer's murderous path and herself become - the next accident."
"On a warm summer night,
in a working-class Boston neighborhood, four family members are brutally
murdered. The father—and possible suspect—clings to life in the ICU.
Murder-suicide? Or something even worse? Veteran police detective D. D.
Warren is certain of only one thing: There’s more to this case than
meets the eye.
Danielle Burton is not only a dedicated nurse at a
locked-down pediatric psych ward but the haunted survivor of a
shattered life. Meanwhile, devoted mother Victoria Oliver will do
anything to ensure that her troubled son has some semblance of a
childhood.
The lives of these three women unfold and connect in
unexpected ways, as sins from the past emerge—and stunning secrets
reveal just how tightly blood ties can bind. Sometimes the most
devastating crimes are the ones closest to home."
"Charlene Grant believes
she is going to die. For the past few years, her childhood friends have
been murdered one by one. Same day. Same time. Now she’s the last of
her friends alive, and she’s counting down the final four days of her
life until January 21.
Charlene doesn’t plan on going down
without a fight. She has taken up boxing, shooting, and running. She
also wants Boston’s top homicide detective, D. D. Warren, to handle the
investigation.
But as D.D. delves deeper into the case, she
starts to question the woman’s story. Instinct tells her that Charlene
may not be in any danger at all. If that’s true, the woman must have a
secret—one so terrifying that it alone could be the greatest threat of
all."
The complete list of Lisa Gardner's books can be found a this link. Check her out.
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