Just a Quick Post while the Missus is Snoozing

Just writing a quickie here while Jo is having a noon nap. I'll update the latest books I've finished, those started since my last update and any new books purchased as well. No politics, no sports, just good old books. Someone is going mad sawing down trees and grinding branches today... So noisy! (OK, one non-book related comment)

Books Completed

(Two books completed since my last update)

1. Cargo of Eagles by Margery Allingham (Albert Campion #19). I've not been reading this series in order. It doesn't seem to matter.

"Cargo of Eagles is the 19th book in the Albert Campion mystery series by Margery Allingham. In fact, it's more than just a mystery series as Albert Campion is a mysterious individual, with a mysterious past who seems to have worked for the British spy service during WWII and maintains connections with them.

In this story, the focus is on other people, an American historian, Morty Kelsey, who has been in Saltey, on the outskirts of London, located by a salt marsh. He comes to London to meet Campion to maybe get his assistance with a matter. A woman doctor, Dido, who he has taken a fancy to, has just surprisingly inherited a house in Saltey, the other residents object to. Dido has been receiving mysterious (yes, that word 'mysterious' again) threatening letter telling her not to move there. But this just makes her want to more. She won't back down.

'Mysterious' things are happening in Saltey. Campion has sent his butler / assistant Lugg there to keep an eye on things as well. Campion is investigating something but isn't providing much info. He's working with an old friend from the intelligence services and also a retired police superintendent and friend, Stanislaws Oates, because there was a history of smuggling in that area and it may have something to do with what's going on.

The solicitor who managed the will of the decedent is murdered and this brings in London cops who leave behind Sgt Throstle to investigate that aspect. Suffice it to say that there is a lot going on and I'm not doing it justice. The locals are very secretive. There are gangs of Mods and Rockers invading periodically and causing problems. And two old dangerous criminals who seem to be leaving calling cards.

It's an intriguing story and at times the tension is palpable and the action is quite exciting, especially the fights between locals and the 'tearaways', the motorcyclists. Through all of this Campion is a bit ghostlike. He wanders in, gathers info from Morty and Lugg and heads back to London. But he doesn't provide much info until everything is resolved. But at the same time, there are moments when he is surprisingly firm and intransigent, not at all like him. 

Neat people, fascinating action-filled story that draws you in completely. The series is definitely worth reading. 3.5 stars"

2. The Hyde Park Murder by Elliot Roosevelt (Eleanor Roosevelt #2). I've enjoyed the 1st 2 books in this mystery series featuring Eleanor Roosevelt solving crimes.

"The Hyde Park Murder by Elliott Roosevelt is the 2nd book in the mystery series featuring his mother, Eleanor Roosevelt and his father, FDR. It's a unique and entertaining mystery series. Eliot makes a brief appearance in this story as well.

The Roosevelt's Hyde Park neighbour, Alfred Hannah is accused of being involved in a multi-million dollar stock swindle. Hannah's son, Bob, is engaged to close family friend, Adriana van der Meer, who also has a residence at Hyde Park. Because of the scandal, Adriana's father has rejected the engagement. Adriana goes to the Roosevelts who she considers as her aunt and uncle to ask for help. She supports Bob who believes his father is innocent. She wants to rush off and marry Bob against her father's wishes but Eleanor persuades her to wait and instead gets Adriana to agree to stay with the Roosevelts in DC while the investigation is sorted out.

Bob, on his own, begins an investigation, breaking into the firm in which his father is a partner to try and gather evidence. He finds clues that might indicate his father is innocent. Along with Eleanor, they continue to investigate. Eleanor enlists the help of the Head of the SEC, Joseph Kennedy. When Bob's father is found dead, the police in New York say it is a suicide but the facts don't add up for Bob and he thinks his father was murdered. Eleanor approaches New York's Mayor, La Guardia, and asks for him to investigate. La Guardia has a newly formed special police unit which he promises to use.

It's a rich, complex story which even involves German business men linked to Hitler. There is action, intrigue and just an entertaining story. I don't know if it was a unique concept back in the 80s to have real life figures portrayed as such in fictional series but it seems much more common now; Churchill's private secretary, Josephine Tey involved in solving crimes, etc. Anyway, it has been an enjoyable series so far. Now to try and find others. (3.0 stars)"

Currently Reading

1. High Country by Nevada Barr (Anna Pigeon #12 / 2004). I'm getting near the end of this mystery series. It's been so enjoyable.

"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..."

2. Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Literature edited by Becky Siegel Spratford (2025). I've already ordered a couple of books to check out some of the contributors to this novel.

"A love letter to the horror genre from many of the most influential and bestselling authors in the industry.

For twenty-five years, Becky Siegel Spratford has worked as a librarian in Reader Advisory, training library workers all over the world on how to engage their patrons and readers, and to use her place as a horror expert and critic to get the word out to others; to bring even more readers into the horror fold.

Why I Love Horror is a captivating anthology and heartfelt tribute to the horror genre featuring essays from several of the most celebrated contemporary horror writers including, Grady Hendrix, Paul Tremblay."

3. Chris Mould's War of the Worlds by Chris Mould (Graphic Novel / Sci Fi / 2024) This is a re-imagining of the H.G. Wells story.

"In 1894, across space, this earth was being watched by envious eyes, and plans were being drawn up for an attack.

What seems to be a meteorite falls to earth, but from the debris, unfolds terrifying alien life...

A young man called Leon records his observations and sketches. 'Those who have never seen Martian life can scarcely imagine the horror' - he tells us. 'Even at this first glimpse, I was overcome with fear and dread. The earth stood still as we watched, almost unable to move ...'

In a full colour, graphic novel retelling of the classic, Chris Mould depicts the arrival of these giant Martians that tower over woods and cities, seemingly ungainly at first, but then horrifyingly efficient when they begin to attack...

As war descends, Leon and his scientist wife race against the clock to discover the science behind these Martians in the hopes of ending this war of all worlds."

New Purchases

1. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis (1942).

"A masterpiece of satire, this classic has entertained and enlightened readers the world over with its sly and ironic portrayal of human life from the vantage point of Screwtape, a senior tempter in the service of "Our Father Below." At once wildly comic, deadly serious, and strikingly original, C. S. Lewis gives us the correspondence of the worldly-wise old devil to his nephew Wormwood, a novice demon in charge of securing the damnation of an ordinary young man. The Screwtape Letters is the most engaging and humorous account of temptation—and triumph over it—ever written.

Now, for the first time, The Screwtape Letters is presented with its full text alongside helpful annotations provided by Lewis enthusiast and dramatist Paul McCusker. The notes include literary, theological, and biographical information to enhance Lewis's core themes and demystify complex ideas. McCusker also guides readers to concepts and references from the beloved author's other treasured volumes to deepen and enrich this timeless classic. The annotated edition is the ultimate guide for understanding the heavenly truths buried in these epistles from below."

2. North is the Night by Emily Rath (Tuonela Duology #1 / 2025)

"Two bold young women defy the gods and mortals, living and dead, in this darkly mythical, Finnish folklore-inspired fantasy duology for readers of T. Kingfisher's Nettle & Bone, Danielle L. Jensen, Thea Guanzon, Jennifer L. Armentrout, and The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec.

In the Finnish wilderness, more than wolves roam the dark forests. For Siiri and Aina, summer’s fading light is a harbinger of unwelcome change. Land-hungry Swedes venture north, threatening the peace; a zealous Christian priest denounces the old ways; and young women have begun to disappear.

Siiri vows to protect Aina from danger. But even Siiri cannot stop a death goddess from dragging her friend to Tuonela, the mythical underworld. Determined to save Aina, Siiri braves a dangerous journey north to seek the greatest shaman of legend, the only person to venture to the realm of death and return alive.

In Tuonela, the cruel Witch Queen turns Aina’s every waking moment into a living nightmare. But armed with compassion and cleverness, Aina learns the truth of her capture: the king of the underworld himself has plans for her. To return home, Aina must bargain her heart—as Siiri plots a daring rescue of the woman she loves the most."

3. The Macabre by Kosoko Jackson (2025).

"A struggling painter, Lewis Dixon is shocked when the British Museum shows an unusual interest in his art. While he’s always felt there’s something powerful about what he puts on canvas, he also felt there was something disturbing just under the surface—especially as he was compelled to make a painting of a painting—one that he has a connection the object of his art is one of the ten paintings his great-grandfather created over a hundred years ago. Only Lewis’s version is surreal…and maybe just a touch horrific.

Still, he accepts the invitation, only to find not a curated show, but a to see if he not only has the magic necessary to enter the paintings, but also the strength to escape them. Because unbeknownst to Lewis, there is power in his art, just as the ten paintings carry with them both immense eldritch abilities and a terrible curse—making them, perhaps, the most valuable works of art in the world.

And Lewis has been asked to destroy them all.

With orders from a mysterious museum official, Evangeline, and partnered with an alluring agent in her employ, Noah Rao, Lewis must plunge into a world of black markets, gothic magic, ancient history, and unspeakable terror to save those unlucky enough to call any of the paintings their own, and to hopefully locate the tenth painting in the series, long missing, the powers of which are suspected to be most devastating of all…"

4. A Truce That Is Not Peace by Miriam Toews (2025).

"In this breathtaking memoir of stunning emotional force and electrifying honesty, one of Canada's most iconic writers tells her own story for the first time.

“Why do you write?” the organizer of a literary event in Mexico City asks Miriam Toews. Each attempt at an answer from Toews—all unsatisfactory to the organizer—surfaces new layers of grief, guilt, and futility connected to her sister’s suicide more than fifteen years ago. She has been keeping up, she realizes, an internal correspondence with her beloved sibling, attempting to fill a silence she can barely comprehend. As Toews turns to face that silence, we come to see that the question “why I write” is as impossible to answer as deciding whether to live life as a comedy or a tragedy.

A masterwork of non-fiction, A Truce That Is Not Peace explores the uneasy pact every creative person makes with memory. Wildly original yet intimately, powerfully precise; momentous, hilarious, wrenching, and joyful—this is Miriam Toews at her dazzling best, remaking her personal world and inventing a brilliant literary form to hold it."

I hope I've given you a few reading ideas. Enjoy the rest of your week and of September.

It's Mid-September... That's about it.

Kind of a wasted day for Jo. We went to the hospital for her weekly chemo and tomorrow was supposed to be the 2nd part but the doc cancelled it until next week. Poor darling. Her port wasn't working either but by the end they managed to get it open again. But another delay for her. She's sleeping right now. These days do exhaust her.

I don't want to talk about the Blue Jays because I have a feeling I will jinx them if I do. But a very quiet woo hoo! We're cheering for you!

And now, on to my mid-month reading update. 

Books completed

I've completed 4 books in September, 3 since my last update.

1. The Siege Winter by Ariana Franklin & Samantha Norman (His Fic / 2014). Franklin is the author of the Mistress of the Art of Death historical mystery series. Samantha Norman is her daughter and helped complete this book on her mother's death.

"I was first introduced to Ariana Franklin when I started her Mistress of Art of Death historical mystery series. They were such great stories. I was interested to try one of her standalone books, hence The Siege Winter, originally published in 2014 and completed with the assistance of her daughter, Samantha Norman.

Set in England in 1141 during the wars between Empress Matilda and her cousin Stephen, both wanting the English throne, the story follows a young girl, Emma and a mercenary crossbowman, Gwyl, as they trek across southern England trying find a place of safety. Gwyl had saved Emma, who had been raped by a vicious, insane monk and his gang of mercenary murderers. Emma has basically blacked out what happened to her but she possesses a piece of evidence of the atrocities committed by the monk. 

Gwyl disguises Emma as a young boy to keep her safe, renaming her Penda, and he teaches her how to use a bow. They eventually arrive at the castle of Maud, chatelaine of the keep at Kenilworth, and end up becoming part of the force trying to keep the castle from being taken over the troops of Stephen. Empress Matilda has been brought there for safety by her small force, led by Alan of Ghent. They must both protect her and also try to help her escape to the West.

In the mix, is the mad monk who thirsts after more atrocities and wants to find Emma / Penda. So basically there is a whole heck of a lot going on. Like her other books, Ariana Franklin tells a mean story with well-crafted and written characters. She draws you into their lives, their problems, their personalities. She has written an excellent historical adventure that is a page turner. (4.0 stars)"

2. Imago by Octavia E. Butler (Xenogenesis #3 / 1989) This is the final book in the Xenogenesis trilogy.

"Imago by Octavia E. Butler is the 3rd and final book in her fascinating Xenogenesis trilogy. In her imagined future, Earth was basically destroyed by man's warring and violence but saved by an alien race, the Oankali. They rescued a handful of humans, cured the & mated with them, raising off spring as a result. This in the hope of removing their parents' flaws. 

At some point, the Oankali will leave Earth and it will become a barren planet. The remaining humans have a choice, leave with the Oankali or emigrate to Mars, where they will be able to propagate that planet. But before that, we have Jodahs, one of the children of a human mother and Oankali parents. Jodahs isn't male or female, it's a hybrid, what's called an ooloi. Once it completes its metamorphosis, it will be able to mutate DNA, cause and cure disease and draw humans to it. The Oankali don't know how to deal with Jodahs. Do they isolate it on Earth? Sent it to the living ship that orbits Earth? Questions, questions, questions.

In the meantime, Jodahs leaves it family and discovers a human grouping of humans who are fertile and can propagate. Unfortunately, they suffer from severe mutations and most of their children die. Along with his strong desire (need) to mate with humans, he also wants to protect this group. Once discovered by the Oankali, they will either be sent to Mars or to their ships.

It's another fascinating story in this trilogy, which my comments can't do justice to  the intricacy and richness of the story and characters. Jodahs must adjust to his changes, to his family's wishes, to its desire to mate with and save the humans, to his desire to help his 'sister' Aaor, who is also metamorphosizing and becoming one of the hybrid ooloi. Butler writes beautifully, creates interesting people and situations. I need to explore her work more. (4.0 stars)"

3. Redhead by John Creasey (Department Z #2 / 1933). I have so many books by Creasey and others under his pseudonyms sitting on my shelves. He's on my bucket list to read as many as possible until I no longer am able. They're not always great, but they are always entertaining.

"John Creasey], aka JJ Marric, Gordon Ashe, Anthony Morton, etc. was one of the most prolific writers of all time. Over his life, he specialized in crime thrillers and published in excess of 600 books. I've only begun to explore his work, some series I prefer to others. So far, the Commander Gideon books are my favorite, but I've also enjoyed the Baron, the Toff and a few others. The Department Z series, so far while not a favorite, still is an action packed thriller series. Creasey wrote 28 books in this series and thus far, I've enjoyed the 1st 2. 

So far the series reminds me of those movies serials that you used to see at the beginning of a movie, especially if you're as old as I am and spent your Saturdays at the matinees. The serial was a ten or 15 minute show that preceded the main feature and always ended on a cliff hanger which was resolved in the following week. 

Department Z is like that. In Redhead, which oddly enough doesn't really feature Dept Z until the end, two young British boxers, best friends, get into a scrape with gangsters while touring the US. A reporter goads them into bad-mouthing local gangsters who are terrorizing the New York area. Barely surviving a gun attack, the local police advise them to leave the US for their own good.

While on their cruise back to England, Storm and Grimm (that's their names, I didn't invent them.) make acquaintance with a brother and sister, Frank & Letty Granville, who are also on their ship and they seem to be being intimidated by an American gangster.... Is he Redhead? (Btw, the US police had indicated that a gangster known only as Redhead has been terrorizing the US) Wenlock keeps showing off how strong he is but is soundly trashed by Storm, arousing his ire... 

Upon arrival in England, someone tries to shoot both Storm and Grimm. Is it Wenlock or one of his gang? This starts a chain of events that will lead to a full scale battle at the country estate of the Granvilles, between Storm, Grimm & a group of their friends & Wenlock's gang and also a British gang led by Noeman... 

It's a convoluted story with which you definitely have to suspend disbelief, but it's full of neat characters, lots of action and suspense that ramps up throughout... And what about Dept Z, you ask? Ah, well, you'll have to read the story to find out, eh? It's not great literature but if you want good fun, it's worth reading. (2.5 stars)"

Currently Reading

1. Cargo of Eagles by Margery Allingham (Albert Campion #19 / 1968). Part of my dusty book challenge. I've had this one for awhile.

"In this, Ms. Allingham's last novel, the action revolves around Saltey, for centuries a hidey-hole for all manner of villains. Astonishingly, it is the early 1960s, and Saltey, like many English coastal towns, is being over-run by teenage gangs. But that's not why Albert Campion — now, astonishingly, in late middle-age — has persuaded Lugg to take up residence. His interest lies in part with the just-out-of-prison thief who has (in time-honored tradition) gone to ground in Saltey. But his most passionate interest is reserved for the curious, newly revived story of the Saltey Demon."

2. The Testaments by Margaret Atwood (Handmaid's Tale #2 / 2019). This is part of my complete a series challenge.

"When the van door slammed on Offred's future at the end of The Handmaid's Tale, readers had no way of telling what lay ahead for her--freedom, prison or death.

With The Testaments, the wait is over.

Margaret Atwood's sequel picks up the story more than fifteen years after Offred stepped into the unknown, with the explosive testaments of three female narrators from Gilead.

In this brilliant sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, acclaimed author Margaret Atwood answers the questions that have tantalized readers for decades."

3. Cracking the Nazi Code; The Untold Story of Canada's Greatest Spy by Jason Bell (Non-Fic / 2023).

"The thrilling true story of Agent A12, the earliest enemy of the Nazis

In public life, Dr. Winthrop Bell of Halifax was a Harvard philosophy professor and wealthy businessman. As MI6 secret agent A12, he evaded gunfire and shook off pursuers to break open the emerging Nazi conspiracy in 1919 Berlin. His reports, the first warning of the Nazi plot for WWII, went directly to the man known as C, the mysterious founder of MI6, and to prime ministers. But a powerful fascist politician quietly worked to suppress his alerts. Nevertheless, his intelligence sabotaged the Nazis in ways only now revealed. Bell became a spy once again in the face of WWII. In 1939, he was the first to crack Hitler’s deadliest secret code: the Holocaust. At that time, the führer was a popular politician who said he wanted peace. Could anyone believe Bell’s shocking warning? Fighting an epic intelligence war from Ukraine, Russia and Poland to France, Germany, Canada and Washington, DC, A12 was the real-life 007, waging a single-handed fight against madmen bent on destroying the world. Without Bell’s astounding courage, the Nazis might just have won the war.

Informed by recently declassified documents, Cracking the Nazi Code is the first book to illuminate the astounding exploits of Winthrop Bell, Agent A12."

Newest Purchases

1. The Innkeeper's Song by Peter S. Beagle (Fan / 1993).

"This New York Times Notable Book is the captivating tale of one man's quest to capture the ghost of his dead lover. His odyssey draws him into the lives of three magical women on horseback with a dangerous quest of their own. A dazzling fantasy of love and death, lust and betrayal, from the beloved author of The Last Unicorn."

2. The Knives by Ed Brubaker (2025 / Graphic). I just read Fatale by the same author.

"THE FIRST NEW CRIMINAL BOOK IN FIVE YEARS!

With the Prime Video adaptation premiering soon, crime comic grandmasters ED BRUBAKER and SEAN PHILLIPS return to their most acclaimed series with a new standalone graphic novel: THE KNIVES.

A sprawling CRIMINAL epic, THE KNIVES is the most ambitious tale BRUBAKER and PHILLIPS have ever tackled. Three dark journeys wind around each other over a decade, like sharks hunting for a kill.

Cartoonist Jacob Kurtz goes to Hollywood in the era of peak TV to work on an adaptation of his comic strip, only to find himself caught up in the life of his aging aunt and the vultures circling her estate. Angie was raised at the Undertow, but now everything she loves has been taken from her. She's on the streets with vengeance on her mind, her eyes set on the city's kingpin. And finally, Tracy Lawless is home from the special forces, finally a civilian again, but he's in bad shape and this city has always brought out the worst in him.

These three tales collide in THE KNIVES, a breathtaking noir story about greed, ambition, heartbreak, and blood ties. A must-have for all BRUBAKER and PHILLIPS fans!"

3. The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi (Dystopia / 2015).

"In a future hammered by climate change and drought, mountain snows have turned to rain, and rain evaporates before it hits the ground. In a fragmenting United States, the cities of Phoenix and Las Vegas skirmish for a dwindling share of the Colorado River. But it is the Las Vegas water knives - assassins, terrorists and spies - who are legendary for protecting Las Vegas' water supplies, and for ensuring Phoenix's ruin.

When rumours of a game-changing water source surface, Las Vegas dispatches elite water knife Angel Velasquez to Phoenix to investigate. There, he discovers hardened journalist Lucy Monroe, who holds the secret to the water source Angel seeks. But Angel isn't the only one hunting for water, Lucy is no pushover, and the death of a despised water knife is a small price to pay in return for the life-giving flow of a river."

4. The Last Resort by Erin Entrada Kelly (YA / 2025). One of my shiny new books. I also have Hello Universe by her.

"Twelve-year-old Lila has two goals:

1. Win back the friends who ditched her for being "too dramatic"
2. Stop being so dramatic

But then Lila's estranged Grandpa Clem dies, throwing a wrench in her plans. Now she'll have to spend the summer in Ohio while her parents decide what to do with Grandpa Clem's creepy Victorian Inn. It's supremely unfair. How can she show off the "new and improved" Lila from so far away?

Even worse, strange things keep happening. En route to Ohio, the family gets into a scary car accident. No one's hurt, but the remainder of the trip is... odd. At every rest stop, Lila sees people in weird old-fashioned clothes. People no one else can see or hear...

Lila convinces herself it's just her overactive imagination until the day of the funeral when she spots an old man sitting in her grandfather's favorite chair. She does a double take -- it's him, Grandpa Clem. He tells Lila that he didn't die of a heart attack, he was murdered. Possibly by someone who wants to control the inn. Because it's not a normal bed & breakfast; it's a portal between the land of the living and the realm of the dead. A hotel for ghosts passing onto the afterlife.

With the help of her skeptical brother, Caleb, and their new ghost-obsessed neighbor, Teddy, Lila -- the girl who's vowed to be less dramatic -- must uncover her grandfather's killer AND stop the evil spirits desperate to make their way back into the human world."

5. Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher (Fan / 2025). Also a shiny new book. I keep hearing about Kingfisher so thought I should try her out.

"From New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes Hemlock & Silver, a dark reimagining of “Snow White” steeped in poison, intrigue, and treason of the most magical kind

Healer Anja regularly drinks poison.

Not to die, but to save—seeking cures for those everyone else has given up on.

But a summons from the King interrupts her quiet, herb-obsessed life. His daughter, Snow, is dying, and he hopes Anja’s unorthodox methods can save her.

Aided by a taciturn guard, a narcissistic cat, and a passion for the scientific method, Anja rushes to treat Snow, but nothing seems to work. That is, until she finds a secret world, hidden inside a magic mirror. This dark realm may hold the key to what is making Snow sick.

Or it might be the thing that kills them all."

And there you go folks. All updated. Enjoy the rest of the month!

A September Start-up (books, not business)

Epstein survivors press conference

So here we are, the last 1/3rd of the year is just starting. The month has started off nice and sunny. I had a good run this morning. Jo's chemo seemed to go well yesterday. She's currently having a morning nap while I write this. All of the American talk shows started up last night and they were all hot to trot. Very funny stuff. Today, I watched some of the Epstein survivors press conference in front of the House of Congress. Very powerful. The current US president called it all a Democrat hoax, even though there were a number of GOP congresspersons with the survivors. If you're interested in what they have to say, and you should be, I've provided a link to the press conference. Not sure how long You Tube will keep it up, but check it out. Oh yes, all throughout the press conference, the White House was having an Air Force fly past to honor Polish fight pilot. Was he trying to drown out the survivors?

Let's get back to books now. First some stats. I had planned to try and read 120 books in 2025 as part of my Goodreads challenge. So far, I've read 92 books, roughly 22,000 pages. So all in all, I'm very happy with my reading. Since my last update, I've completed 6 books so I'll start there.

Completed Books

1. Murder is for Keeps by Peter Chambers (Mark Preston #1 / 1961).

"In the grand old tradition of Raymond Chandler and Ross Macdonald and other hard-boiled detectives, I can now add Mark Preston, the creation of Peter Chambers. The first book in his series is Murder is for keeps,, originally published in 1961.

Mark Preston has an office in Monkton, near Los Angeles. One afternoon, he's visited by a new client, Moira Chase, a beautiful rich widow (Is there any other kind?). She's concerned about her stepdaughter's, Ellen, taste in men. Ellen is but 17 and stands to inherit a tidy sum of money when she reaches maturity. She's been hanging around with a jazz pianist, Kent Shubert, who works in town and Moira wants Preston to find out about him and help get rid of him.

What seems a simple case turns into something a mite more... a big mite (is there such a thing? Preston goes to the jazz bar with Shubert plays, gets the lady photographer, who wanders around taking pictures of customers for cash, to get one of Shubert. Preston wants to send it to a fellow private eye in San Francisco, to see if they can dig up anything else on Shubert. 

Preston mails the package to San Francisco, heads home and is mugged by 3 men before he can enter his apartment. His apartment is turned over. Preston feels that maybe they wanted the picture. But, why?

Preston discovers who was behind the mugging, a tough who works for a local night club owner. When he goes to teach 'Little Boy' Wiener a bit of a lesson, he is clubbed again and then finds Little Boy shot to death with his gun. 

Things continue to get interesting as Preston finds himself looking into murders that took place in New York years back that might be related to things going on in Monkton. He's now mixing with the upper crust of the community and slowly finding out more and more. 

It's an entertaining, pulp mystery and Mark Preston is an excellent protagonist. Enough action to keep you happy and enough crime solving and beautiful, intelligent women too. Most enjoyable. Number 2 has been ordered. (3.0 stars)"

2. Fatale Compendium by Ed Brubaker (Graphic novel / 2024). This combined special edition was put together by Indigo books.

"I found Fatale Compendium by Ed Brubaker while browsing the graphic novel shelves in one of my local book stores. I've been buying quite a few graphic novels of late, a mix of novel adaptations and new series / authors. I'm finding them an exciting, alternative genre to explore.

This is my first exposure to Ed Brubaker (as far as I know anyway. I have read some of the Marvel Civil War books, so I may have read his work there) At any rate, let's talk about this compendium which includes the complete Fatale series under one book.

The story is a noir detective novel of sorts but also a Lovecraftian view of the world, a supernatural mystery of sorts. It's dark and gritty filled with action. It follows Josephine, a mysterious woman whose life seems to traverse many eras. She has a power to control men, one she doesn't realize she possesses at times and hates herself for, and then at times she glories in the power and uses it against a secretive organization led by Bishop, a supernatural being whose can be reborn. He wants Josephine for the next Convergence.. What that is isn't really explained, but the world is bound by an owl who ties it up in ribbons... to keep the evil beings underground??? 

Josephine, over the course of her life, has a group of 'assistants' who are immune to her powers.. mystical tattoos seem to have something to do with it. They help teach Josephine about her powers and about those evil ones who need her for the Convergence. 

We meet a number of men affected by Josephine's power. They lover her... does she love them?? and will do anything to help her against the evil that's out there. One gets Bishop's eyes so even though he can still be reborn, he is reborn blind. But he can still sense Josephine when she uses her powers... Are you confused? Well, to be fair, it is a confusing story all around but also a fascinating story. There are back stories. We follow those men who have been impacted by Josephine and still want to help. We travel to Europe during WWII when Bishop and his followers revel in the violence and evil that roamed the continent. We travel across the US from the early 20's to the present.

It's a wide-ranging, fascinating story and well-drawn and inked, peopled with interesting characters. And yes, it's spooky and confusing. I'm glad I took a chance on it. (3.5 stars)"

3. The Big Payoff by Janice Law (Anna Peters #1 / 1975). I have read a couple of other books by Law. This was ok.

"*Sigh* I have to say that I was disappointed with The Big Payoff, the 1st Anna Peters book, by Janice Law. A couple of years back I'd read Under Orion, the 3rd book in the series and while it wasn't perfect, I enjoyed it. The Payoff introduces Anna Peters.

Anna, it seems had previously made considerable cash blackmailing people. But she had given up that life, found a man she loved and begun a career as an executive assistant for T William Harrison (AKA T. Bill) at New World Oil. Anna begins to suspect some of T. Bill's dealings. The company is involved in bidding for oil drilling rights in the North Sea, with other companies. She discovers that scientists working for the British competitor have been killed in mysterious circumstances. 

Anna believes that T Bill is working with folks (maybe the Saudis) to remove the competition. She reports her concerns to the British embassy and then finds herself involved in industrial espionage on their behalf. She's not happy with their dealings with her as they are quite threatening, holding her past life over her head to force her spy on T. Bill.

Everything blows up all at once. Her handler is killed, her boss now threatens to either kill Anna or have her arrested. Fast thinking she ends up sort of working for T. Bill and heads off to deliver stolen documents on his behalf to deadly mysterious folks in Scotland... How will it all end up for Anna?

I like Anna and I do like a good spy story and I liked the industrial espionage aspect. That's a nice different touch. It just seemed that at times there were great leaps of logic and jumping from one fire into the next. But then again, I think most spy stories have that premise. As I mentioned when I discussed the 3rd book, it wasn't perfect but it was entertaining. I like Janice Law's historical mystery series featuring Francis Bacon (the English painter) and I think I'll continue with the Anna Peters' series. I do want to see what predicament she'll get involved with next. (2.5 stars)"

4. The Red Mass by Rosemary Aubert (Ellis Portal #5 / 2005). An interesting Canadian legal crime series.

"The Red Mass is the 5th of 6 books in the Ellis Portal legal mystery series by Rosemary Aubert. It's been a couple of years since I last visited Ellis Portal in Toronto and it was nice to get back into this series.

Quickly, Ellis Portal was an up and coming lawyer who became an Ontario judge but had a breakdown and lost everything and ended up surviving on the streets of Toronto. The series follows him as he gets his life back on track, reconnects with family, and solves mysteries. At the start of the Red Mass, Ellis takes part in the annual Red Mass ceremony at the Law Courts. While there he meets his earliest friend Stow, a Superior Court judge who calls in a favor, asking Ellis to represent him.

Ellis doesn't want to as their lives had drifted apart with much enmity. But Stow is arrested for the death of his wife, who died in hospital five years earlier. New evidence has caused him to be charged with administering an overdose of a drug that was being trialed. Ellis agrees to represent him and discovers he will be working against his daughter, Ellen, newly appointed to the Crown Prosecutors office.

That is the crux of the story. Ellis has so many competing issues; his family, his friendship with a woman he'd lived on the streets with, who now helps the homeless, a reporter who wants to write about Ellis, and of course the case, which intrudes on his past relationships. It's a rich, fascinating story and it's nice to be involved in a criminal trial with all of its processes. The mystery is interesting, as is the investigation and Ellis is a fascinating character; with many issues with which he still deals. I also like the setting as I spent my university years in Toronto, so it's nice to reflect on that aspect. All in all an entertaining mystery. Now to try and find the final story in the series. (3.5 stars)"

5. Dorothy Parker: Complete Broadway, 1918 - 1923 by Dorothy Parker (2014). This took awhile to get through, but was worth it.

"Dorothy Parker: Complete Broadway, 1918–1923 by Dorothy Parker is the 4th look I've had at the work of Dorothy Parker and the first that wasn't one of her books of poetry. Parker was one of the founding members of the Algonquin Round Table. She was a poet, literary critic, and author of fiction, plays and screenplays. I have enjoyed her poetry very much, which is a lot from me because as I've mentioned ad nauseum in previous reviews of poetry, I generally don't get along with the genre.

This book features Parker's monthly reviews of the Broadway scene from 1918 - 1923. She started providing them for Vanity Fair but was fired from that position because her comments on one of Florence Ziegfeld's girlfriends. She was immediately hired by Ainslee's to continue providing her monthly look at the plays on Broadway. While I wasn't around at the time (I'm not quite that old. 😎😁😉), it's interesting to get a perspective on what plays and actors were around during this period.

The reviews start just at the end of WWI and there were many actors and producers that I never heard of before, but names crop up that pique your interest. People like PG Wodehouse and Somerset Maugham wrote plays there. American Booth Tarkington and Ring Lardner show up as playwrights and lyricists, along with the great George Cohan. Actors such as the Barrymores (royalty in a way on Broadway), Tallulah Bankhead, Helen Hayes, Billie Burke, Eddie Cantor etc. It all sounds so interesting.

And of course there is Parker, providing her thoughts on the plays and musicals, a monthly summary of what took place the previous month. She writes with humor and intelligence. It's a pleasure to read her words, the hear her thoughts. All in all, I enjoyed the book very much, it provides a historical look at the time; the end of WWI, the Spanish Flu, the actor's equity walk out, so many things. It's worth checking out if you have an interest in the early days of Broadway at the turn of the last century. Check it out. (4.0 stars)"

... and my 1st book of September

6. Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells (Murderbot Diaries #3 / 2018). Excellent series.

"The Murderbot Diaries is such an excellent Sci Fi series and also a great TV series. Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells is the 3rd book in the series and keeps the action rolling and the stories getting better and better.

Murderbot is on a mission to get the information necessary to destroy the GrayCris Corp and to help Murderbot's 'friend' Dr. Mensah. M. heads off to a remote location, Milu to gather info about GrayCris illegally exporting alien artifacts. Trying to stay hidden from the humans and one robot who are leaving an orbiting space station to explore a terraforming site closer to the surface, M. gets more than he bargained. 

Two augmented humans assigned to the group as a protective escort are not who they seem to be. The terraforming station isn't as empty anyone thought. What will result is a fast-paced, action-packed effort to not only save these humans but also to gather the info as well, all the while fighting off a pack of combat bots and drones.

All in all, it's an excellent, entertaining story. Murderbot continues to grow as a character, possessing an excellent wit and nice level of sarcasm. The supporting cast is all excellent, from Don Abene, the team leader to Miko, the robot that Murderbot 'befriends' and uses as a source of info. It's an interesting relationship between Miko and his humans, a friendship that confuses Murderbot. M is still trying to rap his head around the whole concept and compare it to his relationship to Dr. Mensah. I have to say that the action sequences are some of the best I've ever read, really full on. I have the next couple of books sitting on my shelf awaiting my attention.. Woo hoo! (4.5 stars)"

Currently Reading (following my previous posts, I'll just list any books I've started since my last update)

1. The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge (Snow Queen Cycle #1 / 1980) I've had this on my book shelf for a couple of years

"The Winter colonists have ruled Tiamat for 150 years, slaughtering the gentle sea mers in trade for off-world wealth. But soon the gate to the galactic Hegemony will close, Tiamat will be isolated, and the 150-year reign of the Summer primitives will begin. Unless... Arienrhod, the ageless, corrupt Snow Queen, can commit a genocidal crime - and destroy destiny... unless Sparks Dawntreader, the Snow Queen's companion, can survive sea and city, palace and slums - and find destiny... unless Hegemony Commander Jerusha Palathion, the Snow Queen's victim, can find one ally on Tiamat - and change destiny... And unless Moon Summer, a young mystic, can break a conspiracy that spans space - and control destiny. Because Moon is the Snow Queen's lost weapon. The Snow Queen's lost rival. The Snow Queen's lost nemesis. The Snow Queen's lost soul. Moon is the Snow Queen's clone..."

2. Bring the Jubilee by Ward Moore (1953).

"Hodge Backmaker lives in twentieth century New York, a city of cobblestones, gas lamps, and ten-storey skyscrapers. In his world, the Confederate South won its independence in the Civil War and North America is divided, with slavery and serfdom still facts of life in the Confederacy and New York a provincial backwater. Bring the Jubilee stands alongside Pavane as science fiction's finest explorations of alternative history."

3. The Hyde Park Murder by Eliot Roosevelt (Eleanor Roosevelt #2 / 1985).

"After being accused of a multi-million-dollar stock swindle, Alfred Doolittle Hannah dies in an apparent suicide, but First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt suspects murder."

4. The Girl with all the Gifts by M.R. Carey (Girl with Gifts #1 / 2014).

"Melanie is a very special girl. Dr. Caldwell calls her "our little genius."

Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite, but they don't laugh.

Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children's cells. She tells her favorite teacher all the things she'll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn't know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad."

5. Redhead by John Creasey (Department Z #2 / 1933).

"Martin Storm’s visit to New York seemed like it was a success. But that was until his car was machine gunned and the police had to smuggle him out of the country…

But Martin finds no safety at home, either, and the search begins to find the man who is hunting him down.

He soon discovers that he has become involved with an American underworld boss who is planning to expand his business to Britain. Will he be able to escape the gangster’s clutches, or will he become a victim in his complex game?"

New Books

1. A History of Canada in Ten Maps; Epic Stories of Charting a Mysterious Land by Adam Shoalts (2017).

"Envisioning the mysterious land that would eventually be called "Canada" through the eyes of the explorers who first set foot on these shores,  A History of Canada in Ten Maps  brings our stories to life.

    Every map tells a story, and every map has a inviting us to go somewhere we've never been. It is an account of what we know, but also a trace of what we long for. Like a story, a map is never completely objective. It records special interests and agendas. It leaves important things unsaid even as it purports to lay things out clearly and indisputably. We can know our history by our maps.

That is what  A History of Canada in Ten Maps  will do. This book chronicles not just the centuries of Canada's existence; it conjures the world as it appeared to those who were called upon to map it. What would the new world look like to Jacques Cartier, who could see no farther than the treeline? What would the north have looked like to Martin Frobisher, confronting a sea of ice but imagining that Cathay lay just beyond? What would the vastness of the country look like to a surveyor or railroad engineer (or an investor in Great Britain)? And what rival claims to the land were left off all these maps?

Historical maps may tell only part of the story, but they also tell us volumes about what we didn't know, and hint at what we may have preferred go unrecorded.  A History of Canada in Ten Maps  will tell the story of the creators of these maps, and also recount how they used the maps for their own ends. It is a book that will surprise readers, and reveal the Canada we never knew was hidden. It will bring to life the characters and the disputes that forged our history, by showing us what the world looked like before it entered the history books. 

Combining storytelling, cartography, geography, and of course history, this book will show us Canada in a way we've never seen it before."

2. Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo (Singing Hills Cycle #3 / 2022).

"Wandering cleric Chih of the Singing Hills travels to the Riverlands to record tales of the notorious near-immortal martial artists who haunt the region. On the road to Betony Docks, they fall in with a pair of young women far from home, and an older couple who are more than they seem. As Chih runs headlong into an ancient feud, they find themselves far more entangled in the history of the Riverlands than they ever expected to be.

Accompanied by Almost Brilliant, a talking bird with an indelible memory, Chih confronts old legends and new dangers alike as they learn that every story—beautiful, ugly, kind, or cruel—bears more than one face."

3. Orlando by Virginia Woolf (1928).

"First masculine, then feminine, Orlando begins life as a young sixteenth-century nobleman, then gallops through the centuries to end up as a woman writer in Virginia Woolf's own time. Written for the charismatic, bisexual writer Vita Sackville-West, this playful mock biography of a chameleon-like historical figure is both a wry commentary on gender and, in Woolf's own words, a 'writer's holiday' which delights in its ambiguity and capriciousness."

4. Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R.F. Kuang (2022).

"A novel that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British empire.

Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.

1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel.

Babel is the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as its knowledge serves the Empire’s quest for colonization.

For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide…

Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?"

There you go, the 9th month is now started.. 😃 Have a great month.