Just Finished
1. Banquets of the Black Widowers by Isaac Asimov. This book came from my new series challenge. It's one of a series of mysteries, collections of short stories about a group of men who meet monthly to solve mysteries.
"I've read many of Isaac Asimov's science fiction books; the Foundation and Empire trilogy, the robot books, Fantastic Voyage, etc. He was such a good story teller. It's been many years since I last read one of his books and recently I discovered this mystery series; the Black Widowers and I bought one of them; Banquets of the Black Widowers.
The Black Widowers are a group of six gentlemen who meet on a monthly basis for a dinner and drinks and then to interrogate a visitor about a mystery in their life. They are ably assisted by their waiter, Henry, maybe the smartest member of the group.
The collection of short stories are gentle and cozy. They follow the same formula for the most part. In each one, one of the members is the host of a visitor; they chat and have dinner and then while they relax over drinks afterward, they interrogate the visitor. Even their interrogation starts off in a similar fashion; first the member must justify their lives and then they tell a story that has troubled them while the members try to offer a solution that might help the person.
There is no violent crime just incidents in their lives that they need help either remembering or rationalizing. The six widowers are middle-aged or older, curmudgeonly and interesting. Their waiter Henry serves and observes and is the voice of final solution, deferred to by the others. I enjoyed this collection very much and will search for the others. Excellent concept. (3 stars)"
"When I saw this book, The Pyx by John Buell I was interested to read it because I had enjoyed the movie based on it very much. It was an easy read but unfortunately didn't live up to the enjoyment I'd felt from the movie.
The story is presented in an interesting fashion. It starts with a possible suicide of a prostitute (falling from a high-rise building to her death) and the investigation by a Montreal police detective. The story wanders from the past, Elizabeth Lucy's weeks leading up to her death, and the present, Ferguson's investigation into the death.
The portion with Elizabeth is often rambling, with Elizabeth's thoughts. She is an addict and this impacts how she thinks. This all builds up to her final climactic scene in the apartment. The detective travels through her life in a much more rational way and has his own climactic scene.
The movie had more detail and implied devil worship. (The Pyx is the holder of the holy host and is used in black masses). The book intimates this but in a much less clear fashion and I'm not sure I would have known if I hadn't seen the movie. All in all, still an interesting book with a moody atmosphere. Glad I read. (3 stars)"
"The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon was a total surprise; a nice surprise I must say. I went in to it with no expectations. I thought it was a basic mystery but was I in for a surprise!
Ruthie comes home one night from a date and discovers that her mother Alice is not home and that her sister Fawn has been left alone. This begins a search through their farmhouse in Vermont to discover clues to what might have happened. As well, we meet Katherine, a woman newly moved to West Hall, Vermont, searching for clues as to why her dead husband, killed in a car crash, lied to her in his last days and went to this town.
We also journey to the past, through journals discovered by both Ruthie and Katherine and also to the thoughts of Sara Harrison, who also lived in this farm house in the early 1900's. Sara has lost two children and reels with despair and loss. She blames her husband, Martin. She looks for mystical ways to get her daughter, Gertie, back and also to find out how she died.
At this point, the story veers from mystery to 'horror' and creepy. Who is this Auntie who has inserted herself into Sara's life upon the death of her mother? What are all of the things that Ruthie finds throughout the house as she searches for clues to her mother's disappearance; wallets, a hand gun, a backpack, etc? How about the tales of The Winter People dead spirits that have been seen wandering the woods and through the town streets? What about the disappearances that have taken place over the decades?
It's a fascinating story, with reminders of HP Lovecraft and Stephen King, esp It and Pet Sematary. I was drawn to the story. It was so well written and moved along between Ruthie, Katherine and Sara very nicely, in such a way to make the story so very interesting. And the ending was a nice surprise and satisfying. Loved it. Always so nice to read a book that just takes you by surprise. (4 stars)"
Currently Reading
My current reading list includes two books I've previously mentioned; Adam Bede by George Eliot and Order in Chaos by Jack Whyte. My synopses of them both can be found here. I have just started the below two books.
"Of all Somerset Maugham's novels, Cakes and Ale is the gayest. The entrancing character of Rosie, a barmaid with a history and a heart of gold, places the book, as creative literature, on a level with Of Human Bondage.
Rosie, in less decorous days, had been married to a famous author whose second wife later nursed him into the position of Grand Old Man of English Letters. Some have professed to see a likeness to Thomas Hardy in Edward Driffield, and to Hugh Walpole in Alroy Kear, the ambitious but untalented biographer. Maugham, however, denied any such connection."
"Mrs. Pargeter had not reached the indomitable age of sixty-something by neglecting her friends. Even if two weeks in Corfu was probably just about as far as she was prepared to go.
Joyce Dover had recently lost her husband. She needed the company. Yet the hot sunshine soon revealed an unsuspected dark side to the widow.
For Joyce Dover came to Agios Nikitas to die. Bu, wondered Mrs. Pargeter, was it really suicide? Or murder?"
New Books
I bought two books at Nearly New Books on the weekend when I dropped off a couple for trade-in and then today, I received two books in the mail, one from the Victoria Bookshop and one from Awesome Books, both in the UK. These are the new books.
Nearly New Books
"Mrs. Nicoletis runs a students' hostel. Grasping and sly, she is about to become a very frightened woman.
Celia Austin is a nice enough girl - if mildly kleptomaniac. Love is doing wonders for her.
Miss Lemon is a secretary. She functions like a formidable machine - never ill, never tired, never inaccurate.
So when Hercule Poirot finds three mistakes in one of her letters, he knows something is amiss. Then comes murder number one..."
"Inspector Domenic Jejeune's success has made him a poster boy for the U.K. police service. The problem is Jejeune doesn't really want to be a detective at all; he much prefers watching birds.
Newly posted to the small Norfolk town of Saltmarsh, in the heart of Britain's premier birding country, Jejeune's two two worlds collide as he investigates the grisly murder of a prominent ecological activist. His ambitious superintendent foresees a blaze of welcome publicity, but she and others begin to have their doubt when Jejeune's most promising theory involves a feud over bird-watching lists. A second murder only complicates matters.
Everyone in town seems to have something to hide. But to expose the secrets of others, Jejeune will first have to face his own inner demons. In the case of the Saltmarsh murders, the victims may not be the only casualties."
Awesome Books
"The devastation of the Second World War continues. In a castle in Wales a crippled pilot fighter pilot struggles to regain his strength. And to preserve his sanity.
Toby Jugg's courage in the air ha won him a D.F.C. But now he faces the most terrifying challenge of his life.
For in the quiet corridors of Llanferdrack House a ghastly conspiracy is moving towards its climax. A conspiracy planned and executed by an enemy as old as Chaos itself..."
"Anna Peters and a company scientist fly to Germany to buy an oil formula that spells big profits for New World Oil. Anna must determine if the scientist, his go-between and a purported genius in oil chemistry are on the level. She suspects fraud, at the very least.
The beauty of Germany's magnificent cities and countryside takes on an ominous cast as Anna unravels a tangle of personal and financial obsessions. She's on her own in trying to outmaneuver a tough adversary and to protect a foolish but gifted scientist. The bottom line of New World's latest venture is murder."
Well, there you go. Major Crimes is about to start and supper is almost ready. I hope some of the above books are interesting to some of you. Enjoy the rest of your week.
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