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| Miss Scarlet and the Duke |
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| Jayne Barnard |
"Miss Maddie Hatter, renegade daughter of a powerful Steamlord, is scraping a precarious living as a fashion reporter when the story of a lifetime falls into her lace-gloved hands.
Baron Bodmin, an adventurer with more failed quests than fingernails, has vanished in circumstances that are odd even for him. While he is supposedly hunting the fabled Eye of Africa diamond in the Nubian desert, his expeditionary airship is found adrift off the coast of England.Maddie was the last reporter to see the potty peer alive. If she can locate the missing baron or the Eye of Africa, her career will be made.
Outraged investors and false friends complicate her quest, and a fiendish figure lurks in the shadows, ready to snatch the prize... at any price."
"A mysterious message from a midnight duelist sends fashion reporter Maddie Hatter to New York's finest parasol dueling academy, where she foils a daring daylight kidnapping.
The grateful rescuee, only daughter of an American Steamlord, offers Maddie a job as her bodyguard. Soon both young ladies are up to their lace gloves in industrial intrigue and irrepressible street urchins.
Maddie's clockwork bird faces danger too: hungry owls, curious inventors, even a clockwork foe that hides sneaky tricks behind its jewel-green eyes.
From the mansions of Park Avenue to the Statue of Liberty, Maddie hunts a fearless spy and confronts an unexpected power from her past."
"Maddie Hatter’s third Adventure finds her in Venice on an all-expenses-paid assignment: report on the season’s most extravagant Carnevale costumes. Determined to land an inside scoop, she enlists the help of her half-Venetian friend, Lady Serephene, to penetrate Madame Frangetti’s Costume Atelier in disguise.
Serephene is pursuing plots of her own: training in secret for a career that’s forbidden by her family and flirting madly with a low-born Scottish inventor in his airship laboratory. When the inventor’s fabulous new fabric is targeted by industrial spies, Serephene risks not only her family’s displeasure but her own safety to protect him and his work.
Pursued through the floating city’s legendary canals and squares, Maddie must draw on all her hard-won survival skills to keep herself and Serephene out of the spies’ clutches. With the help of unexpected allies among Venice’s underdogs, the daring young ladies just might reach Carnevale’s grand finale alive."
I'm looking forward to giving the series a try. It looks like lots of fun.
(Continued Mon morning due to computer issues)
So, Clyde and I are back and as Peter Kay would say, 'It's spitting!' (Update, it's not spitting this morning).
I've finished 4 books since my last update (one classed as a DNF). I'll provide the reviews of those books; plus, the synopses of the books I've started. I'll also provide synopses of the other new books I've added to my bookshelves.
Just Finished
"The Mask of Fu Manchu is the 5th book in the Dr. Fu-Manchu fantasy / horror series by Sax Rohmer. This story is told by Shan Greville, assistant to archaeologist Lionel Barton and fiancé to Barton's daughter Rima. In Persia they find a treasure belonging to the prophet Mokanna. Fu Manchu finds out and wants the treasure to begin a Muslim uprising in the Mid-East.
Thus begins a battle between Fu-Manchu and his beautiful daughter Fa Lo Suee, and their minions, and Nayland Smith, his friend Dr Petrie and Barton's people as Fu tries to get the treasure. The story moves to Egypt and beyond. It's an entertaining story, an adventure with horrific / fantastical elements as Dr Fu Manchu knows and uses many secretive, mysterious tricks to get his way.
As always, you are left with an impression of the skill and wisdom / craftiness of Fu Manchu and the intrepid spirit and determination of Nayland Smith to battle him. I've enjoyed this series. It's not perfect but it's an interesting look at this fantastical genre. (3.0 stars)"
"Long Way Down is the graphic novel version of a novel written by Jason Reynolds in 2017. The graphic novel was drawn by artist Danica Novgorodoff. Such a unique work; excellent drawings, the story written in verse and a powerful, touching story.
William Holloman sees his older brother Shawn shot to death in the park. He decides he has to follow 'The Rules' to avenge his brother's murder. These rules were passed down from grandfather, to father, to uncle, etc. The Rules are simple.
No. 1 - Crying; Don't, No matter what, Don't.
No. 2 - Snitching; Don't, No matter what, Don't.
No. 3 - Revenge If someone you love gets killed, find the person who killed them and... kill them.
William finds the handgun that Shawn had hidden away and, knowing who killed Shawn (or believing he does) gets in the elevator on the 7th floor of his mother's apartment building, heads down to enact his revenge.
On the way down, the Long Way Down, the elevator will stop on each floor and a passenger will get on, the ghosts of family and friends who have all died of gun violence. Are they there to talk him out of his plan or to encourage him?
It's a powerful, thought - provoking story, wonderful touching writing, strong artwork with a deadly theme. Must read. (4.0 stars)"
"White Bird by R.J. Palacio is a graphic novel telling a story with similarities to The Diary of Anne Frank. Set in France during WWII it tells the story of Sara Blum, a Jewish girl who ultimately spend the war hiding out in a friend's barn, to avoid the Nazis and French sympathizers. In the present, Sara is young Julian's grandmother, and she is telling this story to Julian to help him with a school project.
It's not a new story, one that has been told by many people since the war, i.e. The Diary of Anne Frank, Maus by Art Spiegelman, Night by Elie Wiesel, but it's one that needs to be told over and over because as Anne Frank says, 'What is done cannot be undone, but one can prevent it from happening again.". Or more appropriately maybe, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana.
In many ways it's a simply told story but horrific in its very simplicity. We see how France is split in two, the Nazi occupied north and the 'Free France' or Vichy France. Sara and her parents live in southern France and feel they are safe there, but Vichy begins to enact Anti-Semitic Statute on Jews. They continue to live relatively freely but relatives in the North are being rounded up by the Nazis. Sara's father wants to leave France but is talked out of it by their mother. The French collaborators begin round ups in Vichy. Sara's mother is taken, she can't find her father. A French classmate of Sara's, Julian (who is reviled because he struggles with the aftereffects of polio) saves Sara and takes her to his home, where she spends the war in the family barn.
The rest of the story is Sara's hiding in the barn, protected by Julian and his parents as they try to avoid the Nazis (who now occupy all of France) and the milice (who are Frenchmen who support the Nazis). It's a fascinating tale, with heroics, excellent artwork. A story that has to keep being told, especially when you see what is happening in America, here in Canada and around the world. As Elie Wiesel says, "Never Again", #WeRemember. The war started because Hitler persuaded Germany that the white Aryan race was superior to all other races and needed to cleanse the world of Others. Do you see any similarities today?
Final thought is a quote from the book, "Evil will only be stopped when good people decide to put an end to it" (Vivienne, Julian's mother) OK one last quote used by Elie Wiesel from Leviticus, "Do not stand idly by while your neighbour's blood is shed". Excellent book. Oh, it was banned in Texas because "it's biased and could lead to the skewing of a young child's mind". More reason to read it, then. (5.0 stars)"
"I have generally enjoyed the books of Charlaine Harris that I've tried. I liked the Lily Bard mystery series, the Harper Connelly mystery / fantasy series and I've enjoyed the Sookie Stackhouse books, even though I preferred the TV series based on them. The Aurora Teagarden series did nothing for me, and I did try two of them. I enjoyed the first book in the Midnight Texas series very much and really liked the TV series. So it was with anticipation that I finally got around to Day Shift, the second book. *sigh*
I am 240ish pages in, and it would be easy enough to finish it but as I lied in bed last night thinking about it (Yes, I do often think about what I'm reading. LOL), I didn't see any point in doing so. Why?
OK. Well, there is lots going on in this story. Manfred, who has a job conducting seances and talking with the dead, goes to Dallas for a work weekend. While there, a client dies in his hotel room, her spirit taken by her dead husband. The client's son accuses Manfred of stealing her family jewels. Olivia, the hired hit man, is in the same hotel on a job. Bodies turn up. Lemuel, her vampire boyfriend, is on the road trying to get help deciphering an ancient book. Bo, who runs the pawn shop, is tired and moping. The Rev has assumed responsibility for a young boy, who grows daily and wanders around Midnight getting new clothes and eating a lot. The other characters also kind of wander around. They are all suspicious of the people who bought the abandoned hotel in town and seem to be filling it with old people.
So, as I say a lot going on, but at the same time, nothing is going on. The story is filled with little incidents, people talking and eating and wandering about. There is some sort of tension in the air, maybe caused by the Hotel owners??? How to solve Manfred's problem and who is the kid are the main stories, I guess. Ultimately, I gave up trying to care. And that's unfortunate because I enjoyed the first book and the characters... Oh well, another series abandoned. I won't bother with the 3rd and final book now. But try it for yourself. You may disagree with me. (No Rating) (NR)"
Currently Reading
(I'm trying to not start new books so I can get back down to my normal 4 or 5 to make sure I finish every book I start before 31 Dec.)
"Horror writer Travis Glasgow and his wife, Jodie, have bought their first house in Westlake, Maryland, just steps from Travis's older brother's home. Travis is buoyed by the thought of renewing his relationship with his estranged sibling and overcoming the darkness from his past. But the house has other plans for him. Travis is soon awakened by noises in the night and finds watery footprints in the basement that lead him to the nearby lake, which has a strange staircase emerging from its depths.
When Travis discovers that a former occupant of his house--a ten-year-old boy--drowned in the lake, he draws connections to his own childhood tragedy. As his brother and wife warn him to leave well enough alone, Travis is pulled into a dark obsession, following the house's secrets to the floating staircase--and into the depths of madness . . ."
New Books
(I already listed the 3 books I received from Jayne Barnard. These are the other new books)
"'Mr Sherlock Holmes, the well-known private detective, was the victim of a murderous assault this morning which has left him in a precarious position'.
Dr Watson stops dead in his tracks when he reads of the attempt on his friend's life. The forces of nature turn against man, love breeds hatred and cowardice, mothers appear to attack their own children, and Sherlock Holmes, the one man who can redress the balance, seemingly lies at death's door ...
When an assassination attempt is made on the great detective's life it seems that no one can escape the death and dread which blights Britain..."
"North Devon is enjoying a rare hot summer with tourists flocking to its coastline. Detective Matthew Venn is called out to a rural crime scene at the home of a group of artists. What he finds is an elaborately staged murder--Dr Nigel Yeo has been fatally stabbed with a shard of one of his glassblower daughter's broken vases.
Dr Yeo seems an unlikely murder victim. He's a good man, a public servant, beloved by his daughter. Matthew is unnerved, though, to find that she is a close friend of Jonathan, his husband.
Then another body is found--killed in a similar way. Matthew soon finds himself treading carefully through the lies that fester at the heart of his community and a case that is dangerously close to home.
DI Matthew Venn returns in The Heron's Cry, in Ann Cleeves powerful next novel, proving once again that she is a master of her craft."
Women Authors Whose Works I've Been Enjoying - Karen Kijewski
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| Karen Kijewski |
"It was a matter of principle that prompted Amanda Hudson to blow the whistle on the company that employed her - and manufactured a defective, potentially lethal product. It was a matter of pride that made Amanda hang on to her job with stubborn determination, despite the harassment, anonymous threats, and attacks that terrified her. And, by the time her hot-headed husband hired P.I. Kat Colorado, it was matter of life and death. For Amanda and Jude Hudson. For Kat, who would learn some hard - and deadly - lessons about vengeance, justice, and love."
"Kat's Cradle by Karen Kijewski is the third book in her Kat Colorado mystery series. If you haven't yet tried the series, 9 books in total, Kat is basically Kinsey Milhone, a private eye working out of California. Kijewski wrote the nine books between 1989 and 1998 and then seemed to disappear. I've read the first 3 books so far and enjoyed them all.
Kat is hired by Paige Morrell to find out about her family, especially her mother and father. She grew up with her grandmother, since deceased, an evil woman, who told Paige nothing about her past. Paige stands to inherit the estate but only if no other relative (her mother specifically) turns up to claim the estate. There is much anger and frustration in Paige's soul and Kat is hesitant to take the case. Can Paige actually handle the truth?
So, Kat begins the investigation and there will be more deaths and threats to Kat. As well, Kat is dealing with her own life, her strange family and group of friends and whether she wants to move her relationship along with Las Vegas cop, Hank. It's a well-paced and at times exciting story, the best of the ones I've read so far. There is love, romance, tension, danger, all of the good things. Kat is not perfect by any means but still a character with whom you can empathize. Now to find the fourth book (4 stars)"
3. Stray Kat Waltz (Kat Colorado #9 / 1998).
"OK, I've kind of jumped around with this series; Stray Kat Waltz by Karen Kijewski is the last book in the Kat Colorado mystery series. I've not been following in any particular order and there is an ongoing story line that probably should have been followed in order. Having provided that qualifier, it didn't take too much to know what that story line was and how it affected Kat's present life.
Without getting into specifics, Kat is dealing with a personal tragedy and has basically withdrawn from life and her PI business. A lawyer friend, Jenny, tries to get her involved in a stalking case but Kat has no motivation to do so. The woman, Sara shows up at Kat's office, and begs her to help her. Her estranged husband, Jed, a police officer, is harassing and threatening her. Kat doesn't want to get involved, feeling it's a job for the police (Sara doesn't trust them) and basically, she doesn't really like Sara.
Kat is attacked in her back lane and Sara is almost drowned (blaming Jed) and a friend is killed in the same incident. Kat is dragged into the situation. She begins following Jed, tracking his movements, stopping him from following Sara, etc. There is a lot of friction between Sara and Kat; Sara won't listen to Kat, refuses to take her advice / suggestions. None of Jed's friends believe he is capable of being a stalker or of hurting a woman; he's involved in charities, is a church goer, is a WONDERFUL guy and he's great in bed (well, that's Sara's thoughts)
It's a fascinating story, probably the best in the series so far for me. It's told from a first-person perspective, but not just from Kat's, also from Sara's and Jed's. This can be somewhat confusing at times, but it does really help you to get to know the characters. It's also great, during the course of the story, seeing Kat reclaiming her life, her emotional stability, her ability to act promptly and decisively. Her pal, Charity, plays a nice little role, a shoulder to cry on, a source of strength and companionship. The story takes a neat little jump to the left as you get into it and takes an unexpected path to resolution. Kijewski writes easily and the story moves along very nicely and comes to a very satisfying resolution. This is the last book in the series it seems. That's too bad, but at least I have some of the earlier ones still to enjoy. (4 stars)"
The complete list of Kijewski's work can be found at this link. (Finally finished this post. Took a brief break to meet Jo downtown after she went to the clinic to do some blood work. Played five games of Sequence at Beninos. Jo won 3. Then we went for a nice walk around the area, finishing off by walking through the Filberg. Now it's time to relax a bit and watch some TV). Have a great week!
