A Monday Night (and Tuesday morning) Update

Jo and I have had a nice Monday. We had lunch at Benino's and she won 2 out of 3 games of Sequence. I guess she had a slightly better lunch. 😊 Had an excellent supper and watched the Blue Jays move one game closer to the 1 Wild Card spot. Now if Seattle loses tonight (currently 3-1 for Detroit), we've made it!

A quick update as we watch Top Chef Canada. I bought a few books while we were in Victoria and went out to pick up a book I'd ordered a few weeks ago. I'll update those plus the couple of books I've completed since my last reading update.

Just Finished

I've finished with 3 books, 2 completed and one that I finally gave up on.

1. The Peripheral by William Gibson (2014). I finally gave up on this story. I liked the concept but just found the book too easy to set aside. (No Rating). My thoughts on the book for what it's worth.

"The Peripheral is the first book in what is to be a new trilogy (Jackpot) for Sci-Fi author William Gibson. Unfortunately for me this was a DNF. 

I can't say I wasn't enjoying reading this but I will say that it was easy to set aside and read other books that held my attention more.

This had an interesting set-up. You have Flynne Fisher who finds herself in a different dimension, a different America in the future. She is playing what she thinks is a video game and sees someone murdered. This begins an ongoing interaction between people from both universes, with Flynne's spirit inhabiting a physical form in the other world. Flynne and one of her mates from Flynne's world are needed for some sort of mission in the other world. 

There are many fascinating concepts being explored and I probably should have stuck this story out. But I just kept letting this book go. Sorry about that. I'm sure many more people will enjoy this story than I did. Judge for yourself. (No Rating)"

2. Through a Glass, Darkly by Donna Leon (Commissario Brunetti #15). One of my favorite mystery series.

"It's always comforting to enjoy a Commissario Brunetti mystery by Donna Leon. Through a Glass, Darkly is the 15th book in this excellent, entertaining series set in Venice, Italy.

Brunetti and his right-hand man, Vianello, are asked to go help a friend of Vianello's, Marco Ribetti, who was arrested in an environmental protest. Ribetti is released without charges but his wife tells Brunetti that she fears her father wants to kill Ribetti. Her father owns a glass factory and is an angry, unsettling man. He fears that when he dies Ribetti will change the factory.

This is an entertaining story that moves along from a potential murder to an investigation of potential environmental crimes (poisoning the lagoon with chemicals) and the possible effects on the people who work at the factory (ies) and also their families. There is a death which will disturb both Brunetti and Vianello. The regular cast makes appearances; lovely wife, Paola, son and daughter, Raffi and Chiarra, Brunetti's boss, Questore Patta (hoping for a job in England) and his excellent secretary, Signora Elettra. These people don't play major roles in this story as Brunetti basically works on his own. There is unusual friction between him and Vianello and even the Signora and it's not explained too much. 

All in all it's a fascinating, entertaining story and it flows along very nicely. The environmental issues are very topical and the characters are all excellent. Most enjoyable story like every Brunetti I've read so far. (4 stars)"

3. The Nightmare by Lars Kepler (Joona Linda #2). An interesting Scandy mystery series.

"The Nightmare is the 2nd book in the Joona Linda crime series set in Stockholm by author, Lars Kepler. A detailed complex plot with intricate action sequences, it was an involved, entertaining read.

It starts simply with a young couple heading off on a cruise of Stockholm's waterways. Penelope Fernandez happened to have a photo of 4 people, that was sent to her anonymously. Her boyfriend decides to blackmail one of the people in the photo and this sets off murder(s) and an investigation by Joona Linda and the other members of Stockholm's various police forces, especially one Saga Bauer, a member of the SWAT type police organization.

The investigation will get into arms smuggling, in the most convoluted way. You have to read the story to understand. I think it would take me too much time to try and do it justice. Suffice it to say that the story goes down many, many paths that ultimately get tied into one knot, a somewhat far-fetched knot, but also an entertaining knot.

The story is very matter-of-fact in the investigation aspect of the story but it moves along precipitously when the action takes over; whether a car chase, the police trying to stop an assassin, etc. Kepler has a knack for detailing the action, making it seem like a movie script at times. Not a bad thing, in case you're wondering. The story took me awhile to get through but it was not a fault of the writing, more that I try to read too many books at once. Intense, interesting and fun to read. Most enjoyable. (4.0 stars)"

Currently Reading

1. The Mask of Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer (Fu-Manchu #5). 

"Out of the East the cry rose like a curse. In the dark lairs where the faithful waited, the whisper went round: "The Golden Prophet has returned to rule the world!"

A fearful memory of an ancient past burst like flames in the minds of the Faithful. They watched day and night for a man behind a mask of gold who'd wield the Sword of God!

Who is this masked prophet returned from the dead, who face is gilded with mystery, whose green eyes pierce the darkness behind the golden shroud? The stealthy fingers of death brandish the Sword of God; and the Faithful fall prey to a man named--Fu Manchu"

2. Day Shift by Charlaine Harris (Midnight, Texas #2).

"There is no such thing as bad publicity, except in Midnight, where the residents like to keep to themselves. When psychic Manfred Bernardo finds himself embroiled in a scandal and hounded by the press after one of his regular clients dies during a reading, he turns to enigmatic, beautiful, and dangerous Olivia Charity for help. Somehow, he knows that the mysterious Olivia can get things back to normal. As normal as things get in Midnight..."

3. Boy's Life by Robert McCammon (1991).

"Zephyr, Alabama, is an idyllic hometown for eleven-year-old Cory Mackenson -- a place where monsters swim the river deep and friends are forever. Then, one cold spring morning, Cory and his father witness a car plunge into a lake -- and a desperate rescue attempt brings his father face-to-face with a terrible, haunting vision of death. As Cory struggles to understand his father's pain, his eyes are slowly opened to the forces of good and evil that surround him. From an ancient mystic who can hear the dead and bewitch the living, to a violent clan of moonshiners, Cory must confront the secrets that hide in the shadows of his hometown -- for his father's sanity and his own life hang in the balance...."

New Books

1. Emily Goes to Exeter by M.C. Beaton (The Traveling Matchmaker #1). I've enjoyed Beaton's Agatha Raisin and Hamish MacBeth mystery series. I thought this might be another mystery series. I might have made a mistake but we'll see.

"Miss Hannah Pym 45 retires from housekeeping to ride the 1800 stagecoach, first to Exeter. Spoiled beauty Emily flees marriage to older Lord Ranger Harley 33. Widow Lizzie Bisley regrets engagement to bully Captain Seaton, when others are more respectful, especially shy lawyer Fletcher. When snow strands them in an inn, Hannah organizes chores and romances."

2. The Wintringham Mystery by Anthony Berkeley (1927). I read Berkeley's Poisoned Chocolate Mystery many years ago. It's time to try another.

"Stephen Munro, a demobbed army officer, reconciles himself to taking a job as a footman to make ends meet. Employed at Wintringham Hall, the delightful but decaying Sussex country residence of the elderly Lady Susan Carey, his first task entails welcoming her eccentric guests to a weekend house-party, at which her bombastic nephew - who recognizes Stephen from his former life - decides that an after-dinner séance would be more entertaining than bridge. Then Cicely disappears!

With Lady Susan reluctant to call the police about what is presumably a childish prank, Stephen and the plucky Pauline Mainwaring take it upon themselves to investigate. But then a suspicious death turns the game into an altogether more serious affair..."

3. Adulthood Rites by Octavia E. Butler (Xenogenesis #2). I read the first book in this series. A unique take on Sci-Fi.

"In the future, nuclear war has destroyed nearly all humankind. An alien race intervenes, saving the small group of survivors from certain death. But their salvation comes at a cost.

The Oankali are able to read and mutate genetic code, and they use these skills for their own survival, interbreeding with new species to constantly adapt and evolve. They value the intelligence they see in humankind but also know that the species—rigidly bound to destructive social hierarchies—is destined for failure. They are determined that the only way forward is for the two races to produce a new hybrid species—and they will not tolerate rebellion.

Akin looks like an ordinary human child. But as the first true human-alien hybrid, he is born understanding language, then starts to form sentences at two months old. He can see at a molecular level and kill with a touch. More powerful than any human or Oankali, he will be the architect of both races' future. But before he can carry this new species into the stars, Akin must reconcile with his own heritage in a world already torn in two."

4. The Witch of the Low Tide by John Dickson Carr (1961). I read one of Carr's Gideon Fell mysteries and enjoyed.

"This murder admits of no solution said Doctor David Garth. "But she was strangled to death. And the murderer had to leave after he had killed. He's not here now. But in some fashion, explain it how you like, he or she or some damnable witch of the low tide managed to leave without a footprint in all that wet sand!""

5. Seduction of the Innocent by Max Allan Collins (Jack & Maggie Starr #3). I enjoyed the first book in this series, a mix of pulp mystery and comic books.

"It's 1954, and a rabble-rousing social critic has declared war on comic books - especially the scary, gory, bloody sort published by the bad boys of the industry, EF Comics. But on the way to a Senate hearing on whether these depraved publications should be banned, the would-be censor meets a violent end of his own - leaving his opponents in hot water.  

Can Jack Starr, private eye to the funny-book industry, and his beautiful boss Maggie unravel the secret of Dr. Frederick's gruesome demise?  Or will the crackdown come, falling like an executioner's axe...?"

6. The Baron Goes Fast by Anthony Morton (aka John Creasey, aka JJ Marric. The Baron #25). Creasey is one of the most prolific writers I've tried; Commander Gideon, The Toff, The Baron, etc.)

"They were tough boys. Thugs who wanted 'the ice'. Prepared to go to any length in their efforts to achieve their aim: prepared to maim, to mutilate, even to kill. Even the Baron had his work cut out to keep them in his sights..."

7. The Sandman, Vol. 3: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman (Sandman #3). I liked the first collection of this series very much.

"The third book of the Sandman collection is a series of four short comic book stories. In each of these otherwise unrelated stories, Morpheus serves only as a minor character. Here we meet the mother of Morpheus's son, find out what cats dream about, and discover the true origin behind Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night Dream. The latter won a World Fantasy Award for best short story, the first time a comic book was given that honor."

8. The Stepdaughter by Debbie Howells (2020). Jo's friend let us have this book. She had just read it. It turns out that Debbie Howells went to school with Jo. Isn't that neat?

"When Elise Buckley moved with her family to Abingworth, it was supposed to be a new start. She hoped the little English village, with its scattering of houses, pub, and village church, wouldn't offer enough opportunity for her doctor husband, Andrew, to continue having affairs. Apparently, she was wrong. Now Elise's only goal is to maintain the facade of a happy homelife for their teenage daughter, Niamh.

When the body of Niamh's best friend, Hollie, is found, the entire village is rocked. Elise, though generally distrustful since Andrew's infidelity, believed that Hollie was loved by her father and stepmother. Yet there was something unsettling beneath the girl's smile. As the police investigation stalls amid disjointed evidence, it's Niamh who unknowingly holds the key . . .

Flitting between the villagers' lives, silent and unseen, Elise is learning about the relationships and secrets that surround her--including those close to home. And as her daughter edges closer to a killer, Elise realizes that the truth may eclipse even her worst suspicions . . ."

9. Murder in the Mill-Race by E.C.R. Lorac (1952 / Robert MacDonald #37). Lorac is a new author for me.

"Never make trouble in the village” is an unspoken law, but it’s a binding law. You may know about your neighbours’ sins and shortcomings, but you must never name them aloud. It’d make trouble, and small societies want to avoid trouble.’

When Dr Raymond Ferens moves to a practice at Milham in the Moor in North Devon, he and his wife are enchanted with the beautiful hilltop village lying so close to moor and sky. At first they see only its charm, but soon they begin to uncover its secrets – envy, hatred and malice. A few months after the Ferens’ arrival, the body of Sister Monica, warden of the local children’s home, is found floating in the mill-race. Chief Inspector Macdonald faces one of his most difficult cases in a village determined not to betray its dark secrets to a stranger."

10. Lockout by Lillian O'Donnell (1994 / Norah Mulcahaney #16).

"After rock star Bo Russell discovers his brother's body in the isolation booth of a top recording studio, Norah finds herself investigating a crime in unfamiliar territory. Bo's group, The Earth Shakers, are a staunchly loyal bunch, and Norah's police skills are put to the test as the musicians close ranks to protect one another. To make matters worse, Norah must defend herself in her own right: she is under investigation for shooting an unarmed would-be mugger. With bad feeling in the station house and harassing phone calls at home, Norah must face these challenges alone. Knowing that she needs to earn back the trust and support of her peers, Norah sets out to solve the puzzling mysteries of the Rocker case while defending her own behavior in a curious reversal of roles. Full of surprises, Lockout is Lillian O'Donnell at her all-time best."

11. Blackout by Connie Willis (All Clear #1).

"Oxford in 2060 is a chaotic place, with scores of time-traveling historians being sent into the past. Michael Davies is prepping to go to Pearl Harbor. Merope Ward is coping with a bunch of bratty 1940 evacuees and trying to talk her thesis adviser into letting her go to VE-Day. Polly Churchill’s next assignment will be as a shopgirl in the middle of London’s Blitz. But now the time-travel lab is suddenly canceling assignments and switching around everyone’s schedules. And when Michael, Merope, and Polly finally get to World War II, things just get worse. For there they face air raids, blackouts, and dive-bombing Stukas--to say nothing of a growing feeling that not only their assignments but the war and history itself are spiraling out of control. Because suddenly the once-reliable mechanisms of time travel are showing significant glitches, and our heroes are beginning to question their most firmly held belief: that no historian can possibly change the past."

12. Monsters by David A. Robertson (The Reckoner #2).

"Cole Harper is struggling to settle into life in Wounded Sky First Nation. He may have stopped a serial killer but the trouble is far from over. A creature lurks in the shadows of Blackwood Forest, the health clinic is on lockdown by a mysterious organization, and long-held secrets threaten to bubble to the surface. Can Cole learn the truth about his father's death? Why won't Choch give him a straight answer? Where the heck is Jayne? Oh, and high school sucks."

13. Battle of the Atlantic: Gauntlet to Victory by Ted Barris (2022). My dad fought in the Battle of the Atlantic in WWII. This history is of particular interest to me.

"The Battle of the Atlantic, Canada’s longest continuous military engagement of the Second World War, lasted 2,074 days, claiming the lives of more than 4,000 men and women in the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Canadian merchant navy

The years 2019 to 2025 mark the eightieth anniversary of the longest battle of the Second World War, the Battle of the Atlantic. It also proved to be the war’s most critical and dramatic battle of attrition. For five and a half years, German surface warships and submarines attempted to destroy Allied trans-Atlantic convoys, most of which were escorted by Royal Canadian destroyers and corvettes, as well as aircraft of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Throwing deadly U-boat “wolf packs” in the paths of the convoys, the German Kriegsmarine almost succeeded in cutting off this vital lifeline to a beleaguered Great Britain.

In 1939, the Royal Canadian Navy went to war with exactly thirteen warships and about 3,500 regular servicemen and reservists. During the desperate days and nights of the Battle of the Atlantic, the RCN grew to 400 fighting ships and over 100,000 men and women in uniform. By V-E Day in 1945, it had become the fourth largest navy in the world.

The story of Canada’s naval awakening from the dark, bloody winters of 1939–1942, to be “ready, aye, ready” to challenge the U-boats and drive them to defeat, is a Canadian wartime saga for the ages. While Canadians think of the Great War battle of Vimy Ridge as the country’s coming of age, it was the Battle of the Atlantic that proved Canada’s gauntlet to victory and a nation-building milestone."

14. Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson (2021).

"Neal Stephenson's sweeping, prescient new novel transports readers to a near-future world where the greenhouse effect has inexorably resulted in a whirling-dervish troposphere of superstorms, rising sea levels, global flooding, merciless heat waves, and virulent, deadly pandemics.

One man has a Big Idea for reversing global warming, a master plan perhaps best described as "elemental." But will it work? And just as important, what are the consequences for the planet and all of humanity should it be applied?

Ranging from the Texas heartland to the Dutch royal palace in the Hague, from the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas to the sunbaked Chihuahuan Desert, Termination Shock brings together a disparate group of characters from different cultures and continents who grapple with the real-life repercussions of global warming. Ultimately, it asks the question: Might the cure be worse than the disease?"

15. Run Towards the Danger by Sarah Polley (2022). I like Sarah Polley's work both as an actress and director. This book sounded very interesting.

"Oscar-nominated screenwriter, director, and actor Sarah Polley's Run Towards the Danger explores memory and the dialogue between her past and her present

These are the most dangerous stories of my life. The ones I have avoided, the ones I haven't told, the ones that have kept me awake on countless nights. As these stories found echoes in my adult life, and then went another, better way than they did in childhood, they became lighter and easier to carry.

Sarah Polley's work as an actor, screenwriter, and director is celebrated for its honesty, complexity, and deep humanity. She brings all those qualities, along with her exquisite storytelling chops, to these six essays. Each one captures a piece of Polley's life as she remembers it, while at the same time examining the fallibility of memory, the mutability of reality in the mind, and the possibility of experiencing the past anew, as the person she is now but was not then. As Polley writes, the past and present are in a "reciprocal pressure dance."

Polley contemplates stories from her own life ranging from stage fright to high-risk childbirth to endangerment and more. After struggling with the aftermath of a concussion, Polley met a specialist who gave her wholly new advice: to recover from a traumatic injury, she had to retrain her mind to strength by charging towards the very activities that triggered her symptoms. With riveting clarity, she shows the power of applying that same advice to other areas of her life in order to find a path forward, a way through. Rather than live in a protective crouch, she had to run towards the danger.

In this extraordinary book, Polley explores what it is to live in one's body, in a constant state of becoming, learning, and changing."

There you go. It's time to take the doggies out. Enjoy your week.