Just Finished, Next in Line, New Books

Amazing weather the past few days. It's been just cold enough that we've had 3 or 4 days of fog. It's not unusual (as Tom Jones might sing) as we do get periods like this almost every winter. I wonder if it's thick enough to affect the flights into and out of our local airport. I haven't heard any but that doesn't mean anything. Lol.

As I sit down working on my BLog, I've got my favourite news show on as background noise; Deadline - White House on MSNBC with host Nicolle Wallace. I do overdose on US news these days and it usually just makes me mad as I can't believe how low their politicians will stoop to get some policy out. But her show is just an hour and always entertaining. Anyway, on to the subject of books.

Just Finished

The Man with the Cane by Jean Potts (1957). I've been looking for something by Jean Potts for awhile now. I think she is one of those authors that was listed in the back of another mystery that I'd read a few years ago; authors such as Dorothy Salisbury Davis, Hammond Innes, Helen MacInnis, etc. I think the mystery is definitely of its time. It was an interesting, enjoyable read. My review is below.



"The Man With the Cane, published originally in 1957, was the first book I've read by Jean Potts. It was a different story. For the most part I had no idea where it was going. The ending was also reasonably satisfying.
Val the father of Annabelle, and ex-husband of Doris, is finally getting a chance to spend time with his daughter after Doris and Monroe's (her current husband) move back from California. Annabelle tells him about the man with the cane, who had bushy eyebrows and a cane and played with her. When he brings it up with Doris and Monroe it starts a strange chain of events. Also part of the story are Doris' mother, Maudie and Barbara, ex-sister-in -law of Doris. Add Hen, who moves into Val's apartment building and Clyde, Doris's brother, and you've got an interesting, suspicious cast of characters.
Val and Hen find the body of a man after going out for dinner; a man with bushy eyebrows and a cane. The coincidence with Annabelle's story, starts Val and Hen investigating who he might be and also if the others have any connection with the 'man with the cane.'
There is a side story involving poisoned pen letters and it's possible that some of the characters might be involved in some way. The story moves along very nicely and is fun to read. In some ways, it reminds me of the one mystery I've read by Dorothy Salisbury Davis, who wrote during the same time period. I don't think it's a classic mystery but it's still enjoyable and I'm glad to have been exposed to Potts's writing. I'll check out others of her books. (3 stars)"

Currently Reading

Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde (Thursday Next #2). It's been a few years since I read the first book in this series, The Eyre Affair and I enjoyed it very much. It was a 5-star read. I'm enjoying this one already. The synopsis is below.






"Thursday Next is back. This time, it's personal.
For Thursday Next, literary detective without equal, life should be good. Riding high on a wave of celebrity following the safe return of kidnapped Jane Eyre, Thursday ties the knot with the man she loves.
But marital bliss isn't quite as it should be. It turns out her husband of one month actually drowned thirty-eight years age, and no one but Thursday has any memory of him at all.
Someone, somewhere is responsible.
Having barely caught her breath after The Eyre Affair, Thursday heads back into fiction in search of the truth, discovering that paper politicians, lost Shakespearean manuscripts, a flurry of near-fatal coincidences and impending Armageddon are all part of a greater plan.
But whose? And why?"

New Books

I'm not sure where I heard of Dennis Wheatley, probably in the back of one of my James Herbert horror stories. Wheatley lived from 1897 - 1977 and had a prolific output of horror and adventure stories. He was one of the best-selling authors from the '30's through the '60s. I ordered three books from Russell Books in Victoria and they arrived this past week. The synopsis for the books are below.

1. The Ka of Gifford Hillary (1956). "Britain is bitterly divided, torn internally by a crisis of national security. At the Government's request, Sir Gifford Hillary throws himself into the secret struggle against the might of Soviet Russia.
But danger is closer than even he suspects. Unknown to him, a tangled web of hatred and betrayal is already reaching out from Longshot Hall itself.
Then, on the night of 9th September, an event occurs which shatters the bounds of human experience. Gifford Hillary witnesses his own death..."

2. The Quest of Julian Day (1939). It was for the lovely Sylvia Shane that Julian decided to set out upon his quest, but it was the dangerous, fascinating Princess Oonas Shahamalek who delayed his going.
The quest was for the treasure of Cambyses, buried for more than two thousand years. It led Julian to a night in the Tomb of the Sacred Bulls in Alexandria; to an encounter with white slavers and dope runners outside of Cairo; to a voyage up the Nile where death was waiting for them. It ended in the waterless Libyan desert, five hundred miles from civilization."

3. The Satanist (1960). "An ex-Nazi prepares a Fourth Reich, hailing Lucifer as the new Fuhrer... A man becomes the victim of a ceremonial murder in the Devil's Temple... A cabaret girl sacrifices her soul in a debauching Black Mass... A gripping novel of black magic in the modern world - by the internationally acclaimed master of terror..."

So there you go. Anything of interest? Have a great weekend!