It's Friday, Let's Have a Reading Update.

We've had a bit of a hot spell these past few days. Mind you. From about Wednesday, a bit of a breeze picked up so it cooled off just enough. Beautiful with the patio doors open. We're all relaxing this morning. Clyde and I just returned from our noon walk and Jo is currently watching Escape to the Country.

I've basically stopped watching the news. Everything is all screwed up. The US seems determined to destroy itself from the inside. Israel is running amok and the government doesn't seem to care. It's just so frustrating and depressing. I guess the only good thing is that in some countries, the right wing is being defeated. Anyway, enough of that, let's talk about books, eh?

Just Completed

Since my last update, I've completed 3 books.

1. Wycliffe and the Pea-Green Boat by W.J. Burley (Wycliffe #6 / 1975). W.J. Burley is my focus author for July. I need to catch up a bit on this series. (Well, that was different. It seems that Blogger has updated its download features. Woo hoo!)

"I discovered the Wycliffe mystery series early in the 2000's and every year or two I try to read at least one book in the series. I haven't previously been reading them in order and it hasn't really mattered but of late I've been trying to read every series that I'm working through in order. Wycliffe and the Pea-Green Boat is the sixth book in the series and it was one of the best so far, I think. At least I really enjoyed this one, even if I did seem to have it sort of figured out.

The story is in two parts and both parts will ultimately be linked together. It starts in 1953 in an unnamed Cornish seaport. The story follows the Tremains, one of the more successful families in town. Morley, an accountant at the local mine, lives with his mother, who had been married to a Tremain brother who had committed suicide a few years previously. She runs the local shop. Morley is quiet, shy and in love with Alice Weekes who works in the store. She is relatively new to the town. The other Tremains live in Quay House and is ruled by Harry Tremain, the patriarch of the family. He has two children, Cedric, a trouble maker and Eunice, who had previously gone out with her cousin, Morley.

As the story progresses, Morley discovers things about Alice and breaks up with her. Alice is found raped and murdered and Morley is arrested and convicted of her murder and sent to prison for execution. The other Remains are key witnesses to his conviction. Morley's sentence is commuted to life imprisonment and he is released after serving 14 years. 

Moving to the present, Harry Tremain is killed when his boat, a pea-green boat to be exact, explodes. The police, investigated by one of Chief Inspector Wycliffe's under-studies, Inspector Gill, ascertains that Tremain was murdered by a bomb in his boat and he arrests Cedric Tremain. 

As it happens, Wycliffe, finally making an appearance in this story, is in the town on vaction with his wife Ruth. It seems that Wycliffe is recovering from a bad case of pneumonia and he is in town to meet his daughter, Ruth's, potential in-laws. However, Gill asks Wycliffe to look into the case as he thinks something isn't quite right. So halfway through this story, Wycliffe begins a very interesting investigation. I won't elaborate any more on the case, but it's fascinating and Wycliffe is also at his very best. The cast of 'suspects' are all very interesting. The case is also interesting, especially as you begin to intertwine the two separate cases. 

I liked the town, filled with vacationers. I just totally enjoyed the mystery, which to my mind wasn't overly complicated. But the joy of the story is that it didn't matter. Excellent mystery. (4.0 stars)"

2. The Great British Bump-off by John Allison (2023).

"The Great British Bump-Off by John Allison is a graphic novel featuring two favorites of British culture, the Great British Bake Off (or in this case UK Bakery Tent) and an Agatha Christiesque mystery. Basically lots of fun and games and some baking.

The group has arrived for a new season of the Bakery Tent, including one Shauna, a student and this season's Quirky one. Things go off the rails quite quickly when Neal, the Meteorologist is poisoned for being kind of obstreperous. Shauna takes it upon herself to investigate, while still trying to stay in the competition.

She makes friends with Jill, the 'elderly' one and Sunil, the 'Cool' one and begins making notes on the other contestants to see who might be the attempted killer. She makes enemies as well, especially Maisie, who finds her notes and thinks she's trying to ruin the competition. 

As I mentioned, it's got lots of fun and games. It's beautifully drawn and the character's are most expressive. Just enjoyable to read and to see who might be the killer and whether Shauna will survive to bake another day. Most enjoyable. (3.0 stars)"

3. Kronk by Edmund Cooper (1970).

"I'm not really sure how to rate Kronk by Edmund Cooper. I've read three other books by Cooper, one of them a collection of short stories, the other two interesting Sci - Fi novels. So I kind of knew what to expect when I started this... So I thought.

I'm probably being unfair with my rating as the story was interesting and readable, but it's a bit out there.. Like OUT THERE!

Let's see. A scientist invents a form of venereal disease that turns people peaceful, after they go through various stages; one that involves highly sexual desires and activity, then eating and then sort of a tranquil peaceful attitude. Gabriel Crome and the scientist's wife, Camilla; they were on a one year contract, decide to infect the world to cause world peace. Oh yes, the scientist had previously injected Camilla with the virus so she's already infected. She passes it on to Gabriel by, yes, having SEX with him... lots of it.

Simple right? Well, there are other story lines. There are the two twin brother spies, Peter and Ilyich Karamazov, one working for the Russians, one working for the US but actually working together. They hear about the scientist's experiments on wild animals and decide to kidnap some peaceful tigers and lions, etc. Of course, they realize they no longer trust each other.

There is also the goings on at the British Ministry of International Security and Peregrine Perrywit and Dr. Slink. Both were sort of aware of the experiments but now realize the possible impact on the world and ..... 

So all of these people are in the scene, plus a documentary group working for NaTel that set up situations to make documentaries of. Like hiring young thugs to attack and rape Gabriel and Camilla... This world which Cooper has created is dystopic to say the least. But interesting.

I don't think I got the story, but it was engrossing. The ending was kind of neat. Like I say, I may be unfair with my rating but I give it a 2.5 stars. Check it out, though as Cooper is a strange but engrossing Sci Fi author."

Currently Reading

1. Wycliffe and the School-Girls by W.J. Burley (Wycliffe #7 / 1976). It's started off very interesting.

"Bullying and persecution among a group of schoolgirls leads to violent retribution and a race against time for Wycliffe.

Two very different young women have been murdered within the same week. One was a singer in a nightclub, the other a nurse - but both were strangled in their own homes in very similar attacks. The press are quick to assume there is a psychopath on the loose, but Wycliffe suspects the truth may be somewhat more complex than that . . .

As Wycliffe searches for a link between the victims his investigations take him back in time; to a school trip, an isolated hostel and a cruel joke on a lonely student. Wycliffe is forced into a race against time to track down the murderer before they strike again."

2. Time Gladiator by Mack Reynolds (Joe Mauser / 1964). I've not read any other books by Reynolds.

"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 organized 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!"

3. In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune (2023)

"In a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees, live three robots—fatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They’re a family, hidden and safe.

The day Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android labelled “HAP,” he learns of a shared dark past between Hap and Gio–a past spent hunting humans.

When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio’s former life to their whereabouts, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Gio is captured and taken back to his old laboratory in the City of Electric Dreams. So together, the rest of Vic’s assembled family must journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country to rescue Gio from decommission, or worse, reprogramming.

Along the way to save Gio, amid conflicted feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: Can he accept love with strings attached?"

New Books

1. The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag (2024) I previously enjoyed the Witch Boy trilogy by Ostertag. I think this is more adult than that series.

"Everyone has secrets. Mags’s has teeth.

Magdalena Herrera is about to graduate high school, but she already feels like an adult with serious responsibilities: caring for her ailing grandmother; working a part-time job; clandestine makeouts with a girl who has a boyfriend. And then there’s her secret, which pulls her into the basement each night, drains her of energy, and leaves her bleeding. A secret that could hurt and even kill if it ever got out -- like it did once before.

So Mags keeps her head down, isolated in her small desert community. That is, until her childhood friend Nessa comes back to town, bringing vivid memories of the past, an intoxicating glimpse of the future, and a secret of her own. Mags won’t get attached, of course. She’s always been strong enough to survive without anyone’s help.

But when the darkness starts to close in on them both, Mags will have to drag her secret into the daylight, and choose between risking everything... or having nothing left to lose."

2. The Motion Picture Teller by Colin Cotterill (2023) I've been working through Cotterill's Dr Siri Paiboun and Jimm Juree mystery series. This sounded interesting.

"Thailand, 1996: Supot, a postman with the Royal Thai Mail service, hates his job. The only bright spot in his life is watching classic movies with his best friend, Ali, the owner of a video store. These cinephiles adore the charisma of the old Western stars, particularly the actresses, and bemoan the state of modern Thai cinema—until a mysterious cassette, entitled Bangkok 2010, arrives at Ali’s store.

Bangkok 2010 is a dystopian film set in a near-future Thailand—and Supot and Ali, immediately obsessed, agree it’s the most brilliant Thai movie they’ve ever seen. But nobody else has ever heard of the movie, the director, the actors, or any of the crew. Who would make a movie like this and not release it, and why?

Feeling a powerful calling to solve the mystery of Bangkok 2010 , Supot journeys deep into the Thai countryside and discovers that powerful people are dead set on keeping the film buried."

3. Whispering Wall by Patricia Carlon (1969). Carlon is a new mystery author for me. Her books are regularly highlighted in the Soho Crime books. I have two now. Must read the first!

"Sarah Oatland, confined to her bed by a stroke, is surrounded by menacing plotters; the willfully unsympathetic nurse, the has-been heart throb, the arrogant doctor, the greedy relative. They assume, because she cannot communicate, that she does not understand. Bu she has overheard the schemers and, despite her paralysis, must foil them to save her life."

4. Seaweed Under Fire by Stanley Evans (Seaweed #7 / 2017). I've read two books in this crime series set in Victoria. Most enjoyable.

"If you want someone's legs broken, even if you want somebody killed it can be arranged.... for a price.

The murder of a confidence trickster, followed shortly afterwards by a ruthless second murder, suggests that hired killers are at work. Murders pile up. Pursuing the killers takes Coast Salish cop Silas Seaweed on a search through the city's seedy night clubs and bars. Add a Coast Salish mystic who takes Silas on a Return trip to the land of the dead, and a strange black wolf that leads Silas to a mysterious cave and you have another suspenseful thriller."

5. Battle Ground by Jim Butcher (Dresden Files #17 / 2020). This is a great fantasy series.

"Harry has faced terrible odds before. He has a long history of fighting enemies above his weight class. The Red Court of vampires. The fallen angels of the Order of the Blackened Denarius. The Outsiders.

But this time it's different. A being more powerful and dangerous on an order of magnitude beyond what the world has seen in a millennium is coming. And she's bringing an army. The Last Titan has declared war on the city of Chicago, and has come to subjugate humanity, obliterating any who stand in her way.

Harry's mission is simple but impossible: Save the city by killing a Titan. And the attempt will change Harry's life, Chicago, and the mortal world forever."

Tereska Torres

Women Authors Whose Work I've Enjoyed - Tereska Torres

Tereska Torres was born in Paris in 1920 and died there in 2012. Her 1950 book, Women's Barracks is listed as the 'first paperback bestseller'. Critics said that it was the first book to candidly address lesbian issues. Over the course of her life, she wrote about 10 books, half of which seem to have been translated. I've so far read two of her books and I'll provide my reviews of them. 

1. Women's Barracks (1950)

"Women's Barracks was written in 1950 and is a diary of sorts by French author, Tereska Torrès, describing the lives of French women who escaped to England on the German invasion of France and who joined the Free French forces. The group lived in a barracks in London. The story describes their lives and relationships of the women, including love affairs, lesbian relationships, etc. Now having provided this brief synopsis, I have to say that the stories are gently told and not at all graphic or titillating.

Torres was one of the girls who formed part of the group and she talks about the others' lives. It covers the period from the invasion of France until the D-Day invasion when the group was basically disbanded and many returned to France to continue to help the war effort.

It's an interesting story. The women cover the gamut, from young inexperienced girls to older, more experienced (both in life and sexually) women. We follow a number of them as they experience the war; young, inexperienced Ursula who falls under the influence of more experienced, worldly Claude, a woman who moves from man to woman all the while still in love with her husband. There is Ann, a tough, independent individual, who quickly advances up the rank. There is glamorous Jacqueline who suffers from a back injury and falls for a French Captain who loves her but wants to remain faithful to his wife back in France. It's a varied, interesting group of women that Torres grows close to during the war.

War is always in the background; the bombing of London, the troops waiting for an invasion and biding their time in London and around England. It's a rich, interesting story. Torres is credited with writing the first pulp dealing with lesbian issues. The House Select Committee on Current Pornographic Materials identified it as an example of books promoting moral degeneracy but I didn't find that at all. It's a book about relationships and worth checking out. (4 stars)"

2. By Cecile (1963)

"By Cecile is my second effort by Tereska Torrès, the first being Women's Barracks, often described as the first lesbian pulp novel. By Cecile was originally published in 1963. It tells the story of a young French woman, Cecile, and is set at the end of WWII and the years afterward. 

Cecile was moved by her parents from Paris to live with an aunt in a small country town to keep her away from the war. Her parents are sent to a 'prison' and she awaits the end of the war, hoping they will return. A family friend, Maurice, a man who is basically a literary agent, comes and gets Cecile and brings her to Paris, to live in her parents' apartment. He eventually marries her and the majority of the story is their life together.

Cecile is a free-spirited child, imaginative, full of life. Maurice introduces her to sex and to the artistic life in Paris. (The sex is more hinted at than graphic). Cecile isn't happy with Maurice and begins to fall in love with Henriette. Maurice discovers a story that Cecile is writing and decides it needs to be touched up (that is his specialty; he's not a writer, rather an editor) and by touched up, he means more detailed exploration of sexuality.

Everything sexual is described very mildly, more by intimation than actual action. It's a very French story. I can see it as a movie by Jean Luc Godard or Francois Truffaut. The story is very well-written, provides an excellent picture, and is very thoughtful. It's a slow-paced story, but that is necessary and it helps present Cecile's character and describe her growth. Thoughtful and interesting. (3.5 stars)"

More information about Tereska Torres and her written works can be found at this link.

Have a great weekend!