A Saturday Update

Marco Arop with one of Canada's medals today

Good and bad today in the sports world. (From my perspective at any rate). I picked to Brighton Seagulls for my Fantasy Footie league and of course I jinxed them and they lost today. Isn't that always the way? But the Blue Jays won a game, although I'm thinking they may have wasted their opportunity to take part in play-off baseball. I'm hoping I'm wrong. Oh and Canada had 4 medals at today's World Track and Field Championships; a gold in the 800 meter finals, a gold and silver in the Decathlon and a silver in the shot putt. That goes with gold's in both the men's and women's hammer throw earlier in the week. So congrats to the Canadians!!! 

Jo and I went for lunch to Benino's today and I finally won a couple of games of Sequence. Now we're relaxing with the puppies, watching highlights of the Blue Jays.

So a quick reading update. I've finished one book since my last update. I'll update that and also the next book in line. Oh, I bought a book on Wednesday when I went out to pick Jo up from work. So I'll also provide the synopsis of that.

Just Finished

1. The Curse of the Gloamglozer by Paul Stewart (The Edge Chronicles / Quint Trilogy #1 / 2001).

"The Curse of the Gloamglozer  is the first book in the Edge Chronicles and also the first book in the Quint trilogy by Paul Stewart. I have to admit that it's somewhat confusing when you look up the series to ascertain which one to start with. As I understand it, it's not critical which one you read as they all work as standalones. Anyway.....

In this introduction we meet Quint, son of a sky pirate, who is placed with the High Academe of Sanctaphrax, a great rock (planet) that floats in space. Quint will go to school with Linius Pallitax's daughter, Maris. As Quint goes to school and adjusts to the intrigues and classes in Sanctaphrax, he will also help Linius in a special secret project in the center of the big rock. This project will also almost kill Linius and will result in Quint and Maris risking their own lives to discover what it is in the center that Linius was doing.

It's a wonderful, rich fantasy, with great characters, great adventure and mystery and an entertaining story. As well you've got the excellent drawings of Chris Riddell (Goth Girl and Ottoline) to make it even richer. I've got the next two books in the Quint trilogy on my bookshelf and look forward to reading the complete Edge Chronicles. (4.5 points)"

Currently Reading

1. Something  Borrowed, Something Black by Loren D. Estleman (Peter Macklin #4 / 2002).

"Peter Macklin, contract killer--retired--has found himself the perfect woman. He's convinced young, beautiful, innocent Laurie that he is simply a salesman from Detroit, and they're passionately honeymooning in Los Angeles. . . . until the phone call. Peter tells Laurie he has to go to Sacramento to take care of business, and he'll be back in a day. After a day passes, though, a man called Abilene shows up with a note from Peter saying Abilene will take care of her until his return.

Macklin's retirement seems to have been premature, and Laurie's innocence is about to end . . ."

New Books

1. Prophet by Helen MacDonald / Sin Blache (2023). A brand new book, just released that sounded interesting.

"Adam Rubinstein and Sunil Rao have been nemeses and reluctant partners since their Uzbekistan days. Adam is a seemingly unflappable American Intelligence officer; Rao is ex-MI6, an addict and rudderless pleasure-hound with an uncanny ability to discern the truth about anything and anyone--except Adam.

Adam and Rao have gone their separate ways until they are called back together when a full-sized, 1950s American diner shows up in an English farmer's field and a mysterious death ensues. What follows is a reality-twisting, action-filled quest as the unlikely duo begin to uncover how and why people's fondest memories are being manifested and weaponized against them, in increasingly bizarre and tangible forms, by a spooky, ever-shifting substance called Prophet. Adam and Rao must find a way to stop these malevolent entities from taking over a world that is just one perilous step from our own."

Women Authors Whose Work I've Been Enjoying - Maj Sjowall

Maj Sjowall

Maj Sjowall is a Swedish crime writer who collaborated with her partner Per Wahloo in the writing of the Martin Beck mystery series. She was born in Stockholm in 1938 and died in Landskrona in 2020, Over the course of her life, she and Per wrote 10 books in the Beck series. Thus far I've enjoyed 2 of them and have another on my bookshelf.

1. The Man Who Went up in Smoke (Martin Beck #2 / 1966).

"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 Killberg. 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)"

2. Roseanna (Martin Beck #1 / 1965).

"This is the first Martin Beck police procedural and I found it very interesting. I've found in some cases that the translation of Scandinavian mysteries can be hit or miss. This translation was excellent and helped portray Sjowall's style and story-telling very well. I liked the methodical way the story is approached, the hit and miss of the investigation, the boring aspects of waiting for a break when there are no clues. Martin Beck is a tired police investigator, not happy with his family life and gets deeply involved in trying to solve this case. The mystery is interesting, a dead girl's body dredged up by a boat cleaning up a canal. The case involves the investigation, first trying to identify the young woman and then, trying to solve her murder. Excellent story and nicely tense ending. (4.0 stars)"

3. The Abominable Man (Martin Beck #7 / 1971).

"The gruesome murder of a police captain in his hospital room reveals the unsavory history of a man who spent forty years practicing a horrible blend of strong-arm police work and shear brutality. Martin Beck and his colleagues feverishly comb Stockholm for the murderer, a demented and deadly rifleman, who has plans for even more chaos. As the tension builds and a feeling of imminent danger grips Beck, his investigation unearths evidence of police corruption. That’s when an even stronger sense of responsibility and something like shame urge him into taking a series of drastic steps, which lead to a shocking disaster."

The complete listing of Sjowall's work can be found at this link. Check her out.