Sunday 3 November 2024

2025 Anyone? Part Deux

I've previously looked at a potential 2025 Reading challenge, a 12 + 4 challenge to read the 16 books I've had the longest on my Goodreads page. If you haven't seen it already, you can go to the link by clicking on 12 + 4 above. The other 12 + 4 challenge I plan to have is to finish 16 series in 2025. (this is a specific challenge. It's possible I might finish more.) The series will follow below.

2025 12 + 4 Reading Challenge - Finish a Series or Two or 16

1. Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid's Tale) - The Testaments.

"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."

2. Leigh Bardugo (Six of Crows) - The Crooked Kingdom. As I understand it, this finished the Six of Crows but not the whole Grishaverse universe series.

"When you can’t beat the odds, change the game.

Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn't think they'd survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they're right back to fighting for their lives. Double-crossed and badly weakened, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz's cunning and test the team's fragile loyalties. A war will be waged on the city's dark and twisting streets—a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of the Grisha world."

3. Jayne Barnard (Maddie Hatter) - Maddie Hatter and the Timely Taffeta.

"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."

4. Giles Blunt (John Cardinal) - Crime Machine.

"A year after the death of his beloved and troubled wife, Catherine, John Cardinal has moved into a new, but very humid, condo. He has fallen into an easy routine of work on cold case files and platonic movie nights with friend and colleague Lise Delorme. The quiet of a snow-covered Algonquin Bay is shattered when the decapitated bodies of two people are found in a summer home on Trout Lake. The victims, visitors from Russia, are in Algonquin Bay attending the annual fur auction. This is by no means a routine murder investigation as Cardinal soon discovers, but a horrific piece of a very twisted puzzle. Blunt has, once again, given us a page-turning plot, a remarkable cast of characters and the comfort of John Cardinal at the helm."

5. Edgar Rice Burroughs (Land that Time Forgot) - Out of Time's Abyss.

"This is the tale of Bradley after he left Fort Dinosaur upon the west coast of the great lake that is in the center of the island. About them upon the ground, among the trees and in the air over them moved and swung and soared the countless forms of Caspak's teeming life. Always were they menaced by some frightful thing and seldom were their rifles cool, yet even in the brief time they had dwelt upon Caprona they had become callous to danger, so that they swung along laughing and chatting like soldiers on a summer hike."

6. Olivia E. Butler (Exogenesis) - Imago.

"From the award-winning author of Parable of the Sower : After the near-extinction of humanity, a new kind of alien-human hybrid must come to terms with their identity -- before their powers destroy what is left of humankind.

Since a nuclear war decimated the human population, the remaining humans began to rebuild their future by interbreeding with an alien race -- the Oankali -- who saved them from near-certain extinction. The Oankalis' greatest skill lies in the species' ability to constantly adapt and evolve, a process that is guided by their third sex, the ooloi , who are able to read and mutate genetic code.

Now, for the first time in the humans' relationship with the Oankali, a human mother has given birth to an ooloi Jodahs. Throughout his childhood, Jodahs seemed to be a male human-alien hybrid. But when he reaches adolescence, Jodahs develops the ooloi abilities to shapeshift, manipulate DNA, cure and create disease, and more. Frightened and isolated, Jodahs must either come to terms with this new identity, learn to control new powers, and unite what's left of humankind -- or become the biggest threat to their survival."

7. Agatha Christie (Tommy & Tuppence) - Postern of Fate.

"Tommy and Tuppence Beresford have just become the proud owners of an old house in an English village. Along with the property, they have inherited some worthless bric-a-brac, including a collection of antique books. While rustling through a copy of The Black Arrow, Tuppence comes upon a series of apparently random underlinings.

However, when she writes down the letters, they spell out a very disturbing message: "Mary Jordan did not die naturally." And sixty years after their first murder, Mary Jordan's enemies are still ready to kill. . . ."

8. John Christopher (The Tripods) - When the Tripods Came.

"When it comes to alien invasions, bad things come in threes. Three landings. One in England, one in Russia, and one in the United States. Three long legs, crushing everything in their paths, with three metallic arms, snaking out to embrace -- and then discard -- their helpless victims. Three evil beings, called Tripods, which will change life on this planet forever."




9. Justin Cronin (The Passage) - The City of Mirrors.

"The world we knew is gone. What world will rise in its place?

The Twelve have been destroyed and the terrifying hundred-year reign of darkness that descended upon the world has ended. The survivors are stepping outside their walls, determined to build society anew—and daring to dream of a hopeful future.

But far from them, in a dead metropolis, he waits: Zero. The First. Father of the Twelve. The anguish that shattered his human life haunts him, and the hatred spawned by his transformation burns bright. His fury will be quenched only when he destroys Amy—humanity’s only hope, the Girl from Nowhere who grew up to rise against him.

One last time light and dark will clash, and at last Amy and her friends will know their fate."

10. William Gibson (Sprawl) - Mona Lisa Overdrive.

"Mona is a young girl with a murky past and an uncertain future whose life is turned upside down when her pimp sells her to a plastic surgeon in New York and overnight she’s turned into someone else.

Angie Mitchell is a famous Hollywood Sense/Net star with a special talent. And despite the efforts of studio bosses to keep her in ignorance, Angie’s started remembering things. Soon she’ll discover who she really is . . . and why she doesn’t need a deck in order to enter cyberspace.

From inside the matrix, plots are set in motion and human beings are being played like pieces on a board. And behind the intrigue lurks the shadowy Yakuza, the powerful Japanese underworld, whose leaders ruthlessly manipulate people and events to suit their own purposes.

Or so they think . . ."

11. James Herbert (Rats) - Domain.

"The long-dreaded nuclear conflict. The city torn apart, shattered, its people destroyed or mutilated beyond hope. For just a few, survival is possible only beneath the wrecked streets - if there is time to avoid the slow-descending poisonous ashes. But below, the rats are waiting."






12. P.D. James (Cordelia Gray) - The Skull Beneath the Skin.

"Private detective Cordelia Gray is invited to the sunlit island of Courcy to protect the vainly beautiful actress Clarissa Lisle from veiled threats on her life. Within the rose red walls of a fairy-tale castle, she finds the stage is set for death."






Alt. 1. China Mieville (New Crobuzon) - Iron Council

"Following Perdido Street Station and The Scar , acclaimed author China MiĆ©ville returns with his hugely anticipated Del Rey hardcover debut. With a fresh and fantastical band of characters, he carries us back to the decadent squalor of New Crobuzon—this time, decades later.

It is a time of wars and revolutions, conflict and intrigue. New Crobuzon is being ripped apart from without and within. War with the shadowy city-state of Tesh and rioting on the streets at home are pushing the teeming city to the brink. A mysterious masked figure spurs strange rebellion, while treachery and violence incubate in unexpected places.

In desperation, a small group of renegades escapes from the city and crosses strange and alien continents in the search for a lost hope.

In the blood and violence of New Crobuzon’s most dangerous hour, there are whispers. It is the time of the iron council. . . ."


Alt. 2. Leo Rosten (Hyman Kaplan) - The Education of Hyman Kaplan.

"The humorous adventures of Hyman Kaplan, the irrepressible student at the American Night Preparatory School for Adults, and his personal war with the English language. A classic work of American humor."







Alt. 3. Philipp Schott (Dr. Bannerman) - Eleven Huskies (It's possible that there may be more books in this series, but as of now, this is the last.)

"Peter Bannerman, veterinarian and amateur detective, deserves a summer vacation. Peter and his family head to a remote fishing lodge in northern Manitoba for a canoeing trip with his champion sniffer dog, Pippin. But a series of incidents color their plans. The lodge’s sled team of huskies has been poisoned and, at the same time, a floatplane crashes into the lake, killing the pilot and both passengers. While Peter works to save the huskies, it is discovered that the plane crash wasn’t an accident. It was murder. It’s been a hot and dry summer, and one morning the Bannerman family wakes up to find a forest fire spreading quickly. They manage to dodge the conflagration, making it back to the lodge before it becomes cut off from the outside world. Peter soon figures out that the murderer, who probably also poisoned the huskies, must be among the other guests or staff trapped with them at the lodge. The power fails. The now-enormous fire draws nearer. Can Peter discover the culprit in time?"

Alt. 4. Bart Somers (Commander Craig) - Abandon Galaxy!

"Commander Craig Battles for Survival on the Planet Thand.

If Craig makes one false move in this grotesque tournament of cunning and savage skill, he sacrifices his life and the lives of everyone in the galaxy.

If he wins, the deadly League of Outer Space Thieves will be prevented from blowing up the universe. As part of his reward, Craig will receive the exciting beauty Mylitta.

John Craig races against time as he struggles to save the world in the most dangerous adventure of his incredible career."

It's not set in stone yet, but this is one of my 2025 plans. Books may be adjusted. See any that interest you? 

Friday 25 October 2024

A Friday before Hallowe'en Reading Update.

 

This post has nothing to do with Hallowe'en but it is the Friday before scary day so there you go. The last time I did a reading update was 16 Oct. Since then I've completed 3 more books. I'll update those plus the normal stuff; currently reading, new books, etc.

Just Finished

1. Tales of Gooseflesh and Laughter by John Wyndham. One of the first Sci Fi authors I remember enjoying.

"I can't exactly remember when I read my first book by English author, John Wyndham] but I think it might have been in high school and I'm pretty sure it was The Day of the Triffids. As a much younger boy, I used to walk by the movie posters at our base cinema, on my way to school. One of them that I remember was the poster for The Day of the Triffids. I think it showed a man with his arm around a woman, surrounded by Triffids. My sister told me about the movie at breakfast.

So I digress, as usual, but Wyndham remains one of my favorite Sci Fi authors. The Day of the Triffids is such a great book and their have been some excellent and some not so excellent movie / TV adaptations of it. The Chrysalids (which should have been adapted to a TV mini-series, in my humble opinion), The Midwich Cuckoos (also Village of the Damned) and The Kraken Wakes are all excellent Sci Fi / Horror stories. Over the past few years, I've discovered others of his books, some written under the name of John Beynon (much earlier works) and a few other stories.

So with that preamble, what about Tales of Gooseflesh and Laughter. Firstly, it's a collection of short stories. It was originally published in 1956 and it contains stories that, while not outright horror, are unsettling at times, humorous at times and all are entertaining reads. Wyndham has a dry, unprepossessing style, even when the subject matter is uncomfortable and dare I say, terrifying? I refer more to Day of the Triffids in this case. The short stories are uncomfortable in the same way that the short stories of Saki (H.H. Munro) are. They lead you down a path and leave you wondering if you should chuckle or maybe shiver a bit.

The collection has 11 stories and they are a nice mix. Let's look at a couple -

-  Jizzle - A monkey with amazing talents that makes its owner lots of money. But what happens when said monkey gets jealous of having to share its owner? 

- The Wheel - for some reason it reminded me of The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. Technology vs religion

- Compassion Circuit - a poorly wife, struggling with her health finally allows her husband to acquire a robot servant to help around the house. Surprising ending......

- Confidence Trick - a subway full of passengers is suddenly emptied. The remaining five discover they are on a train to Hell. Unbelief vs established norms

- A Present from Brunswick - a Pied Piper type story but with an interesting twist.

- More Spinned Against - this is from the story of Arachne in Greek mythology. Arachne was the best spinner in Greece and angered Athena who turned her into a spider. Arachne can switch back to human for one day a year and comes to an agreement with the lady of the house. The lady wants to go and get some pretty stones. Surprise when she returns to human form

and...

- Opposite Number - kind of a combination Dark Matter and Dr. Who with alternate dimensions...

I believe it takes a special skill for a writer to write short stories, to make your point quickly but still be able to provide a rich plot and then make your conclusion effective and interesting. John Wyndham has done that very successfully with this collection. Most enjoyable. (3.5 stars)"

2. Old Man's War by John Scalzi (Old Man's War #1 / 2005). I'd had this book on my shelf for a number of years. I'm glad I finally tried it as it was excellent and will hopefully get me going on reading the next books in the series.

"I've had Old Man's War by John Scalzi, the 1st book in his Old Man's War Sci Fi series, on my book shelf since 2017. And like many books that I've not got around to reading, I'm an idiot for waiting this long to finally get to it. As per my normal refrain, too many books, not enough time. At any rate, what a great story and intro to this series; a reminder of other books like it that I've enjoyed - Battle Cry by Leon Uris and Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein. With a neat twist, of course.

The story follows John Perry, a man on Earth who has just 'celebrated' his 75th birthday. He visits his wife's grave and then joins the army. But not just any army, the Colonial Defense Force. The CDF protects Earth and its outer space colonies. It's source of troops are residents of Earth celebrating their 75th birthdays, hence the Old Man's War. Like Battle Cry, the story follows Perry and a gang of friends as they go through basic training and then follows them out as they do battle with alien races.

Of course, you would be correct in asking, but how do a bunch of septuagenarians compete with alien races with all of their technology and superior powers and physical abilities? Ah, good question. And that's the neat twist and I won't ruin it telling you how because it's really quite awesome. And there is another even neater twist when you meet the Ghost Brigades. Wow!

The story follows the Old folks' adventures, their interactions, their battles with the aforementioned aliens and it just draws you in and lets you soak up their stories and lives. Scalzi lets the action move along at just the correct pace. He gets you under the skins and into the minds and souls of these interesting folks. 

Besides being an entertaining outer space action adventure, it's just an excellent story about people and their lives and emotions and thoughts. Don't wait as long as I did to finally try it. Even if you're not a Sci Fi junkie, I think you'd enjoy it. (4.5 stars)"

3. The House at the End of Lacelean Street by Catherine McCarthy (2024). A new author for me.

"The House at the End of Lacelean Street by Catherine  McCarthy is an interesting 'horror' story. It's horror in the vein of The Haunting of Hill House, not really scary but a mental exercise in uncomfortableness. Yeah, that doesn't do it. This is the story..

Three people, Claudia, a middle-aged woman, Stacey, a young drug addict and Howard, an elderly gentleman, find themselves on a bus. It seems to make only one stop, at the corner of Lacelean Street; this being in the middle of the night. Claudia notes a mansion up Lacelean Street and heads to it. The other two eventually make their way there as well. (None of them have any recollection of how they got on the bus or really anything of their past)

Once inside, they notice name cards for each of them on a table in the hallway. They are informed that where their rooms are, when meals are and that they all need to show up at the library at 9:00 a.m. In their rooms, they are given clean clothes (these appear when they don't notice, their own clothes disappear).

So gradually, they all make it to the classroom. Claudia is the leader. She wants to know what is going on. She cajoles Howard to the classroom but the door is locked. It won't open until all three show up. She forces Howard to help her get Stacey downstairs the next day. Stacey is drug addled and they must help her.

Finally after a couple of days, they all make it to the library. There are jars of chalk for each. Almost uncontrollably, one after another, they write messages about one of the others that will start them on a pathway. (I'm hesitant to get into much more detail as it might ruin the story) Where will the pathway lead?

The story is told from the 3 individuals' perspectives. Each chapter focuses on one of them. They each have a troubled past, that might come out throughout their stay. As I say, it's not scary, but uncomfortable, troubling. The story is told beautifully, the three characters are all well presented, with all their scratchy under-surfaces. It's definitely interesting and flows very nicely from person to person. It has made me want to check out some of her other work, especially Mosaic. (4 stars)"

Currently Reading

1. The Scourge between the Stars by Ness Brown (2023).

"Ness Brown's The Scourge Between Stars is a tense, claustrophobic sci-fi/horror blend set aboard a doomed generation ship harboring something terrible within its walls.

As acting captain of the starship Calypso, Jacklyn Albright is responsible for keeping the last of humanity alive as they limp back to Earth from their forebears’ failed colony on a distant planet.

Faced with constant threats of starvation and destruction in the treacherous minefield of interstellar space, Jacklyn's crew has reached their breaking point. As unrest begins to spread throughout the ship’s Wards, a new threat emerges, picking off crew members in grim, bloody fashion.

Jacklyn and her team must hunt down the ship’s unknown intruder if they have any hope of making it back to their solar system alive."

2. Through the Woods by Emily Carroll (2014). I've enjoyed two previous graphic horror stories from Carroll. I've been looking forward to the collection.

"A fantastically dark and timeless graphic debut, for fans of Grimm Tales, The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and the works of Neil Gaiman

'It came from the woods. Most strange things do.'

Five mysterious, spine-tingling stories follow journeys into (and out of?) the eerie abyss.

These chilling tales spring from the macabre imagination of acclaimed and award-winning comic creator Emily Carroll.

Come take a walk in the woods and see what awaits you there..."

New Books

1. Nothing Special, Vol 2 - Concerning Wings by Katie Cook (2024). I enjoyed the first book very much.

"Callie thinks that in the grand scheme of the worlds at large, she's nothing special. With the unexpected addition of friendship and adventure into her life, she's about to find out that she was very, very wrong.

Callie, Declan, Radish, and Lasser return for season two!"

2. The Infinity Particle by Wendy Xu (2023).

"In this gorgeous graphic novel by Wendy Xu, co-creator of the award-winning Mooncakes, a young inventor falls for a lifelike AI and confronts questions of freedom and autonomy. Clementine Chang moves from Earth to Mars for a new start and is lucky enough to land her dream job with Dr. Marcella Lin, an Artificial Intelligence pioneer. On her first day of work, Clem meets Dr. Lin’s assistant, a humanoid AI named Kye. Clem is no stranger to robots—she built herself a cute moth-shaped companion named SENA. Still, there’s something about Kye that feels almost too human. When Clem and Kye begin to collaborate, their chemistry sets off sparks. The only downside? Dr. Lin is enraged by Kye’s growing independence and won’t allow him more freedom. Plus, their relationship throws into question everything Clem thought she knew about AI. After all, if Kye is sentient enough to have feelings, shouldn’t he be able to control his own actions? Where is the line between AI and human? As her past and Kye’s future weigh down on her, Clem becomes determined to help him break free—even if it means risking everything she came to Mars for."

3. Northern Nights by Michael Kelly (2024).

"Something stirs in the boundless dark of the Canadian north. Listen. Can you hear it?

Northern Nights is an anthology of strange stories, featuring the dark dreams and feverish imaginations of Canada's finest speculative authors. Steel yourself for a journey through these northern nights.

Featuring all new original stories from Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Camilla Grudova, Premee Mohamed, David Demchuk, Senaa Ahmad, A.C. Wise, Naben Ruthnum, Simon Strantzas, Richard Gavin, Rich Larson, Hiron Ennes, Siobhan Carroll, Lynn Hutchinson Lee, Rory Say, David Nickle, Marc A. Godin, EC Dorgan, K.L. Schroeder, Nayani Jensen, and David Neil Lee."

4. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson #1 / 2006). I read a graphic novel based on this series.

"Mercedes Thompson, aka Mercy, is a talented Volkswagen mechanic living in the Tri-Cities area of Washington. She also happens to be a walker, a magical being with the power to shift into a coyote at will. Mercy's next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she's fixing a bus for a vampire. This is the world of Mercy Thompson, one that looks a lot like ours but is populated by those things that go bump in the night. And Mercy's connection to those things is about to get her into some serious hot water..."


5. Empire by Clifford D. Simak (1951). I've been working my way through Simak's books.

"Four men were in the room -- Chambers himself; Craven, the scientist; Arnold Grant, head of Interplanetary's publicity department, and Harry Wilson! Wilson's voice came out of the screen, a frantic, almost terrified voice. "I've told you all I know. I'm not a scientist. I'm a mechanic. I've told you what they're doing. I can't tell you how they do it." Arnold Grant leaned forward in his chair. His face was twisted in fury. "There were plans, weren't there?" he demanded. "There were equations and formulas. Why didn't you bring us some of them?" "I tried," pleaded Wilson. Perspiration stood out on his forehead. The cigarette in his mouth was limp and dead. "One of them was always there. I never could get hold of any papers. I asked questions, but they were too busy to answer. And I couldn't ask too much, because then they would have suspected me." Half a continent away, the men they were speaking of -- the very men that Wilson had been hired to spy upon -- were watching everything that was said. They were not pleased."

6. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy (2019). A lady at my local book store recommended this. The artwork looks beautiful.

"Enter the world of Charlie's four unlikely friends, discover their story and their most important life lessons. The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse have been shared millions of times online - perhaps you've seen them? They've also been recreated by children in schools and hung on hospital walls. They sometimes even appear on lamp posts and on cafe and bookshop windows. Perhaps you saw the boy and mole on the Comic Relief T-shirt, Love Wins?

Here, you will find them together in this book of Charlie's most-loved drawings, adventuring into the Wild and exploring the thoughts and feelings that unite us all."

Female Authors Whose Work I've Enjoyed - Minette Walters

Minette Walters
Minette Walters has long been one of my favorite mystery writers. Unlike many of my others, she writes standalone mysteries. I can't say I haven't enjoyed one of them so far. They've all been excellent. Walters was born in Bishop Stortford, England in 1949. Since then she has written about 20 novels / novellas. Quite a few of her books have been turned into movies as well. So far I've enjoyed 9 of her novels. I've yet to explore her more recent works. I do have another 4 sitting on my bookshelf awaiting my attention. (Jo bought me a few for Xmas one year that I recall) Let's look at them to give you an idea of her work.

1. The Devil's Feather (2005).

"With private security firms supplying bodyguards in every theatre of war, who will notice the emergence of a sexual psychopath from the ranks of the mercenaries?

Reuters correspondent Connie Burns is no stranger to the world’s trouble spots, including the vicious civil unrest in Sierra Leone and the war in Iraq. But as she begins to suspect that a foreigner is using the chaos of war to act out sadistic fantasies against women, her efforts to bring him to justice leave her devastated.

Degraded and terrified, she goes into hiding in England and strikes up a friendship with Jess Derbyshire, a loner whose reclusive nature may well be masking secrets of her own. Connie draws from the other woman's strength and makes the hazardous decision to attempt a third unmasking of a serial killer . . .

Knowing he will come looking for her . . ."

2. The Chameleon's Shadow (2007).

"A compelling look into damaged minds, The Chameleon's Shadow is a psychological thriller from crime queen Minette Walters. When Lieutenant Charles Acland is flown home from Iraq with serious head injuries, he faces not only permanent disfigurement but also an apparent change to his previously outgoing personality. Crippled by migraines, and suspicious of his psychiatrist, he begins to display sporadic bouts of aggression, particularly against women, especially his ex-fiancƩe who seems unable to accept that the relationship is over. After his injuries prevent his return to the army, he cuts all ties with his former life and moves to London. Alone and unmonitored, he sinks into a private world of guilt and paranoid distrust . . . until a customer annoys him in a Bermondsey pub and he attracts the attention of local police investigating three murders which appear to have been motivated by extreme rage . . . Under suspicion, Acland is forced to confront the real issues behind his isolation. How much control does he have over the dark side of his personality Do his migraines contribute to his rages Has he always been the duplicitous chameleon that his ex-fiancƩe claims And why if he hates women does he look to a woman for help."

3. Shape of Snakes (2000).

"November 1978. Britain is on strike. The dead lie unburied, rubbish piles in the streets - and somewhere in West London a black woman dies in a rain-soaked gutter. Her passing would have gone unmourned but for the young woman who finds her and who believes - apparently against reason - that Annie was murdered. But whatever the truth about Annie - whether she was as mad as her neighbours claimed, whether she lived in squalor as the police said - something passed between her and Mrs. Ranelagh in the moment of death which binds this one woman to her cause for the next twenty years. But why is Mrs Ranelagh so convinced it was murder when by her own account Annie died without speaking. And why would any woman spend twenty painstaking years uncovering the truth - unless her reasons are personal . . ."

4. Fox Evil (2002).

"When elderly Alisa Lockyer-Fox is found dead in her garden, dressed in her nightclothes and with bloodstains on the ground around her, the finger of suspicion points at her wealthy husband, Colonel James Lockyer-Fox. A coroner's investigation deems it death by natural causes, but the gossip surrounding James refuses to go away." With James friendless and alone, his reclusive behavior begins to alarm his attorney, whose concern deepens when he discovers that his client has become the victim of a relentless campaign accusing him of far worse than the murder of his wife. James is unwilling to fight the allegations, choosing instead to devote his energies to a desperate search for the illegitimate granddaughter who may prove his savior as he battles for his name - and his life."

Pique your interest at all? The complete listing of Walters' books can be found at this link.



Friday 18 October 2024

2025 Anyone?

The result of 2024 US elections?
I know it's kind of early but as I've been continuing with my 2024 reading, I've also been madly vetting my bookshelves and making lists for 2025. Being a relatively positive person, I'm assuming the world will survive the 2024 US Presidential elections (Go Harris / Walz!). So being said positive person, I've begun looking at possible 2025 Reading challenges. Over the next months as we begin to wind down 2024, I'll try to be more specific with my challenges. I'm kind of at a loss, but I did come up with one possibility, that being a Dusty Bookshelf Challenge. 

One of my 12 + 4 (I think I might have a couple or three this year) will be to read the 16 books that have resided the longest on our bookshelves. Here they are.

2025 12 + 4 Reading Challenge - Dusty Books

1. Gideon's Power by J.J. Marric (Gideon #15 / 1969) (added to my bookshelf Oct 14, 2010). I do enjoy J.J. Marric's mysteries and I've been trying to get into so many of them. Commander Gideon is a favorite.

"It's lights out for London's power stations — and Scotland Yard commander George Gideon is about to blow a fuse! "Superb storytelling!" — The New York Times Book Review. Their majestic smoke stacks have withstood the bombs of the Nazis; their whirring turbines are the city's pulse. The power stations symbolize the power of London. So then, it is not surprising that a single power outage could bring entire districts to their knees. But when they become frequent, almost regular happenings, Scotland Yard Commander George Gideon gives his men the nod to go have a look-see. And when reports come in about the presence of a mysterious green bicycle outside of each of the failing plants, Gideon puts himself on the case. If that weren't enough, Gideon also has a kidnapping caper that looks to become a murder case. Then there's a shocking development in a two-year-old murder, a clue that just might prove the condemned man innocent. As London's lights flicker the hooligans have a field day; it's up to Gideon to pull the plug on crime!"

2. Gideon's March by J.J. Marric (Gideon #8 / 1962) (added to my bookshelf Oct 14, 2010).

"Gideon knew he was in for a difficult time. There was to be a summit conference in London and the protection of the statesmen from France, Germany and the United States was a prime importance. But Gideon also had to cope with murder - first one, then another, both of them seemingly connected in some strange way ..."



3. Gideon's Press by J.J. Marric (Gideon #19 / 1973) (added to my shelf Oct 10, 2010).

"Commander George Gideon of Scotland yard keeps the peace in London when strikes are imminent , of the Press and at the docks and extreme right-wingers are gathering to break up the dockgate meetings."

4. The Chinese Alchemist by Lyn Hamilton (Lara McClintoch #11 / 2007) (added to my shelf Oct 15, 2010).

"Antiques dealer Lara McClintoch is targeted by ruthless criminals while tying to recover an eighth-century Tang Dynasty silver box-with an alchemical formula for the elixir of immortality etched on the inside of the lid. The rare item holds the key not only to the mysterious death of a museum curator, but to Lara's own survival."



5. Glass Houses by Jane Haddam (Gregor Demarkian #22 / 2007) (added Oct 15, 2010).

"For over a year, Philadelphia has been plagued by a serial killer dubbed the Plate Glass Killer by the media. But finally, the police think they've caught a break - a man has been arrested at the site of the most recent murder, covered in the victim's blood. The man taken into custody is Henry Tyder, the scion of one of the most socially prominent families on Philadelphia's Main Line, a family that possesses the largest tracts of real estate in the city. He's also a hopeless alcoholic, frequently homeless and often estranged from his family.

Although Tyder has apparently confessed to the crime, his attorney believes him to be too disordered to be capable of actually committing the crimes and asks Gregor Demarkian, retired head of the FBI's Behavioral Sciences Unit, to look into the case. Gregor, however, has other things on his mind - after having been away for nearly a year without a word to him, his live-in girlfriend, Bennis Hannaford, has returned to Cavanaugh Street. And everyone seems to have seen her but Gregor. While he waits for Bennis to finally appear, Gregor finds himself enmeshed in complex case of the Plate Glass Killer. Specifically, what would have drive Tyder to confess to crimes he was seemingly incapable of committing and, more importantly, if Tyder isn't the killer, then who really is behind the murders of the Plate Glass Killer."

6. Skeleton Key by Jane Haddam (Gregor Demarkian #16 / 2000) (added Oct 15, 2010).

"When writer and ex-deb Bennis Hannaford discovers the body of super-heiress Kayla Anson in the family garage, her visit to Litchfield County, Connecticut, is reluctantly extended. Bennis's hostess, Margaret Anson, presents an icy version of the grieving mother, cut out her late husband's will--until now. And when Gregor Demarkian, ex-FBI man and Bennis's lover, arrives from Philadelphia to consult with local police, a media blitz storms in as more suspects crawl out of the woods.

Kayla may have been too blindingly rich for her wild, private school chum; her older, socially ambitious entrepreneur boyfriend; and a divorced, downsized bookkeeper selling her furniture to survive. As Gregor maps out distances, location, and motives, Halloween descends on the dark, silent hills. From a skeleton sprawled on the cemetery caretakers' porch to more deadly mischief and mayhem, the countryside is brimming with secrets. And a killer is about to strike again..."

7. Deadly Beloved by Jane Haddam (Gregor Demarkian #15 / 1997) (shelved since Oct 15, 2010).

"Down the aisle--to death

Armies on the eve of invasion could learn a thing or two about preparation from the denizens of Cavanaugh Street, who never do anything halfway. This time it's a wedding that's taking over the collective consciousness of the street...and bringing up painful memories for Gregor Demarkian. So when he's consulted on a murder in exclusive Fox Run Hill, the ex-FBI special agent is grateful for the diversion.

Why did country-club matron Patsy MacLaren Willis coldly shoot her husband in his sleep? Why did she remove every trace of her existence from the home they'd shared, pipe bomb her own car--and then disappear? The police think it's another marriage gone bad, but Demarkian thinks there's more to the case. And it soon looks like he's a second pipe bomb explodes, with devastating results, and Gregor knows that he must find a killer wedded to an explosive secret--before more victims take that final walk down the aisle."

8. The Naming of the Dead by Ian Rankin (Rebus #16 / 2006) (shelved since Nov 12, 2010). Finally winding down this series. Jo bought me the complete series as a present back then.

"A murder has been committed - but as the victim was a rapist, recently released from prison, no one is too concerned about the crime. That is, until Detective Inspector John Rebus and DS Siobhan Clarke uncover evidence that a serial killer is on the loose ...

When Rebus also starts looking into the apparent suicide of an MP, he is abruptly warned off the case, not least because the G8 leaders have gathered in Scotland, and Rebus's bosses want him well out of the way. But Rebus has never been one to stick to the rules, and when Siobhan has a very personal reason for hunting down a riot cop, it looks as though both Rebus and Clarke may be up against their own side ..."

9. Exit Music by Ian Rankin (Rebus #17 / 2007) (shelved since Nov 12, 2010). Rebus does make appearances in Rankin's Malcolm Fox follow-on series.

"It's late autumn in Edinburgh and late autumn in the career of Detective Inspector John Rebus. As he tries to tie up some loose ends before retirement, a murder case intrudes. A dissident Russian poet has been found dead in what looks like a mugging gone wrong. By apparent coincidence, a high-level delegation of Russian businessmen is in town - and everyone is determined that the case should be closed quickly and clinically. But the further they dig, the more Rebus and DS Siobhan Clarke become convinced that they are dealing with something more than a random attack - especially after a particularly nasty second killing. Meanwhile, a brutal and premeditated assault on a local gangster sees Rebus in the frame. Has the Inspector taken a step too far in tying up those loose ends? Only a few days shy of the end to his long, inglorious career, will Rebus even make it that far? "

10. Wycliffe and the Winsor Blue by W.J. Burley (Wycliffe # 14 / 1987) (shelved since Nov 12, 2010).

"When Edwin Garland died of a heart attack, no one outside the expectant circle of his relatives was concerned. But when, on the evening of his funeral, his son was shot dead, the situation changed dramatically and Superintendent Wycliffe was called in to investigate the seemingly motiveless murder. The disappearance of another relative and a further death occur before Wycliffe manages to unravel a story that had begun several years before, with the death of a famous Cornish artist. Only then is he able to identify the killer."


11. Photo Finish by Ngaio Marsh (Chief Inspector Alleyn #31  / 1980) (shelved since Nov 12, 2010).

"Murder and mayhem strike when a small group of people are confined to an island in the middle of a New Zealand lake in one of Ngaio Marsh’s last – and best – novels.

The luxury mansion on New Zealand's Lake Waihoe is the ideal place for a world-famous soprano to rest after her triumphant tour. Among the other guests are Chief Superintendent Alleyn and his wife - but theirs is not a social visit. When tragedy strikes, and isolated by one of the lake's sudden storms, Alleyn faces one of his trickiest cases…"

12. Maigret and the Wine Merchant by Georges Simenon (Inspector Maigret #71 / 1970) (shelved Nov 12, 2010).

"The richest wine merchant in Paris is found dead—killed by a bullet in front of an elegant house where discreet clients are in the habit of renting rooms for discreet purposes. Everything seems to point to a crime sparked by jealousy.

But Maigret is surprised to find a curious absence of shock or grief in the victim's family and colleagues, and further investigation into the life and habits of the murdered man reveals some singularly unlovable traits.

Simenon has created another superb and subtle exposition of one of Maigret's chief preoccupations: the idea of guilt."

13. Wycliffe and the Redhead by W.J. Burley (Wycliffe #21 / 1997) (shelved Nov 13, 2010).

"The discovery of a body in a quarry creates a baffling case for Detective Superintendent Wycliffe

Simon Meagor was a lonely middle-aged man. With a broken marriage behind him, his life was centered on his antiquarian bookshop. In his past was the memory of a murder trial where his evidence had resulted in the conviction of a man who had subsequently killed himself. Now, to his horror, the daughter of that man was applying for a job in his shop and, almost mesmerized by her, Simon found he was agreeing to her employment. Cleverly, over a period of time, Morwenna manipulated herself into his work, his life, and finally into his flat above the shop. And then she disappeared.

When her body was discovered in a flooded quarry, at first suicide was considered. Morwenna was suffering from a fatal disease. But everything pointed to murder and, inevitably, suspicion fell on Simon Meagor.
Wycliffe became increasingly disturbed by a case which grew more and more complicated as he explored many dark and murky secrets from the past."

14. 206 Bones by Kathy Reichs (Temperance Brennan #12 / 2009) (shelved Jan 08, 2011).

"There are 206 bones in the human body. Forensic anthropologists know them intimately, can use them to reconstruct every kind of violent end. When Tempe finds herself regaining consciousness in some kind of very small, very dark, very cold enclosed space—bound, hands to feet—Tempe begins slowly to reconstruct...

Tempe and Lieutenant Ryan had accompanied the recently discovered remains of a missing heiress from Montreal to the Chicago morgue. Suddenly, Tempe was accused of mishandling the autopsy—and the case. Back in Montreal, the corpse of a second elderly woman was found in the woods, and then a third. Seamlessly weaving between Tempe’s present-tense terror as she’s held captive and her memory of the cases of these murdered women, Reichs reveals the incredible devastation that would occur if a forensic colleague sabotaged work in the lab. The chemistry between Tempe and Ryan intensifies as this complex, riveting tale unfolds, proving once again, that Reichs is the dominant talent in forensic mystery writing."

15. Suffer the Little Children by Donna Leon (Inspector Brunetti #16 / 2007) (shelved Jul 16, 2011).

"Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti series has made Venice a city that's beautiful and sophisticated, but also secretive and corrupt, one of mystery fans most beloved locales. In this brilliant new book, Brunetti is summoned to the hospital bed of a respected pediatrician, where he is confronted with more questions than answers. Three men had burst into the doctor's apartment, attacked him, and kidnapped his eighteen-month-old son. What could have motivated an assault so violent that it has left the doctor mute? And could this crime be related to the moneymaking scam run by pharmacists that Brunetti's colleague has recently uncovered? As Brunetti delves deeper into the case, a story of infertility, desperation, and illegal dealings begins to unfold."

16. Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories by Agatha Christie (1985) (shelved since Jul 23, 2011).

"Jane Marple is from the village of St Mary Mead and applies her skills of observation and deduction to a wide variety of mysteries. Several of the supporting characters appear in many of these stories, including her nephew Raymond West, Dolly and Arthur Bantry of Gossington Hall, and Sir Henry Clithering formerly of Scotland Yard.

Miss Marple made her first appearance in a book in 1930, and her twelfth and final novel was published shortly after Agatha Christie's death almost 50 years later. In the intervening years Miss Marple also featured in 20 short stories, published in a number of different collections. But never before have they been available together.

In this complete volume, Miss Marple uses her unique insight to deduce the truth about a series of unsolved crimes - cases of a girl framed for theft, some disappearing bloodstains, the cryptic last message of a poisoned man, a woman killed within days of writing her will, a spiritualist who predicts death, a mortally wounded stranger in a church, a Christmas tragedy...

In all 20 ingenious crimes, every one guaranteed to keep you guessing until the turn of the final page.
"

As you can see I was going through a mystery phase back then. To be fair, mysteries have become my favorite genre. I hope you get some reading ideas from the selection. 


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