The morning started off kind of windy and rainy but by the time I went out to do some Xmas shopping it had calmed down considerably. I have to say I found the whole Xmas shopping thing quite depressing. For the past 10 months or so I've basically limited my shopping to groceries and the odd look at my used book store. Today I tried to go through some other shops and it felt very strange. Do I take my mask off to smell soaps? The chocolate shop seemed limited in stock; no bulk stuff like Jelly Bellies. Standing on the street waiting for space to open up in the shop, then avoiding people. Find a clear dot to stand on... Oh well, it's all for good reasons.
So, since my last update I've completed two books, received one book. It was dropped off at my Little Free Library. I wouldn't have bought it myself but since it's free.. 😏 (Ed. Note: I took a break to walk the dogs to our super mailbox and lo and behold, there was a book in the mail box. I'll provide the synopsis for this one as well.)
I'll provide my reviews for the two books I've completed, add the resumes for the book I'm currently reading and also that of the new book. Then I'll continue with my look at my favorite authors.
Just Finished
"The Legion of Space was the 1st book in American sci-fi author Jack Williamson's Legion of Space series of 4 books. It was published in book form in 1947, originally a 6-part series published in Astounding magazine in 1934.
The dedication to the books states -"To all the readers and the writers of that new literature called science-fiction, who find mystery, wonder and high adventure in the expanding universe of knowledge, and who sometime seek to observe and to forecast the vast impact of science upon the lives and minds of men."
Sci-Fi was in its early stages at this time and Williamson was one of the earliest experimenters. This novel is definitely in the space opera genre; great adventures in the vastness of space. I've previously read one others of Williamson's books and recall finding it enjoyable. I wanted to enjoy The Legion more but it was a bit silly. I can appreciate the historical perspective of the beginnings of Sci-Fi and this story covered the vastness of space, strange, evil aliens, heroic spacemen saving humankind, but it was better suited to youngsters I think.
The beginning of the story explains the history or space flight, the origins of the Legion of Space, the war with the Ulner family who wanted to re-institute their Empire (the Purples of the Empire vs the Greens of the democratic governments of Earth). In this story, John Star, related to the Ulner's is sent to a distant planet to guard Alladore, a young woman, guardian of a secretive power, the AKKA. John and the other guards, Hal Samdu, Jay Kalam and Giles Habibula are betrayed by one Eric Ulnar, who kidnaps Alladore and takes her across the galaxy to the planet of the terrifying alien race the Medusae, whose aim is to destroy all humankind and take over Earth and all the other planets. The rest of the story is the 4 heroes voyage to save Alladore and humankind.
There is no shortage of action; a space race to the evil planet, madness as they have to traverse the Belt of Peril, months of slogging, battling and trying to survive their voyage across the planet (filled with dangerous plants, creatures and vile weather conditions) to the 'evil' city as they try to save Alladore. Each member has his own unique talents; Kalam is the leader, Samdu is the brawn, John the all around guy who will do anything to save the woman he's fallen in love with, and Giles Habibula, the constant complainer, whose big claim to fame is hes determination to keep a bottle of wine for a critical moment.. oh he's also a great lock picker)
It's all very convoluted, with countless impossible situations for the brave group. The story is like those Serials that I used to watch when I went to the Saturday matinee; each episode the heroes would find themselves in an impossible situations that you'd have to wait until the next week to find out how it was resolved. It was an entertaining, action packed story but just a bit too wild to really satisfy me. I think I'll continue to try the series as the books are short and easyish to read. (2.5 stars)"
"What an enjoyable gem All Systems Red, the 1st Murderbot book, by Martha Wells was. It's a short space adventure but it packs a punch. It reminds me of the Culture books by Iain Banks, with it's talking ships, augmented humans, robots, etc. A story with wonderful characters, the right amount of technical detail (enough to pique your interest, but not so much that you get lost and sidetracked by it) and a fascinating premise.
On an unidentified planet, an unnamed SecUnit, part genetic material, part robot, has been contracted to provide security for a group of scientists exploring the planet. Things go awry from the get go when one of the scientists is attacked by a creature. The SecUnit is damaged while rescuing her. As the others treat them, all become aware of gaps in the security network. A visit to another exploration outfit leads them to the discovery that someone is out to get rid of them. Now they have to try and survive.
Simple premise maybe but there is so much more. We slowly discover more about the SecUnit and the feelings of ambivalence that humans might have towards them. They are objects... consider robots in Isaac Asimov's robot books; tools to help get a job done. However the people with whom this particular SecUnit is assigned are quite different. The interactions between the humans (all quite wonderful by the way) and the SecUnit explores this dichotomy quite nicely. The SecUnit's uncomfortableness with being treated as one of the group is nicely demonstrated. For a relatively short story, these interactions are nicely explored.
It's hard to describe but let's just say that the story was so enjoyable to read. I liked the tech aspects. I liked the development of the SecUnit's character. I liked his compatriots especially Doctor Mensah, Pin-Lee, Baradwaj.. well all of them to generalize. There was enough action to keep the story moving in that way. It was exciting, thoughtful, imaginative, just excellent. And it left me wanting more, wanting to see more about SecUnit and his life in the future. Excellent! (4.5 stars)"
Currently Reading
"Max—an elderly Paris
bookstall owner—is abducted at gunpoint. His friend, Hugo Marston, head
of security at the US embassy, looks on helplessly, powerless to do
anything to stop the kidnapper. Marston launches a search, enlisting the
help of semiretired CIA agent Tom Green. Their investigation reveals
that Max was a Holocaust survivor and later became a Nazi hunter. Is his
disappearance somehow tied to his grim history, or even to the
mysterious old books he sold?
On the streets of Paris, tensions
are rising as rival drug gangs engage in violent turf wars. Before long,
other booksellers start to disappear, their bodies found floating in
the Seine. Though the police are not interested in his opinion, Marston
is convinced the hostilities have something to do with the murders of
these bouquinistes.
Then he himself becomes a target of the unknown assassins.
With
Tom by his side, Marston finally puts the pieces of the puzzle
together, connecting the past with the present and leading the two men,
quite literally, to the enemy's lair.
Just as the killer intended."
New Books
"Former FBI Director
James Comey shares his never-before-told experiences from some of the
highest-stakes situations of his career in the past two decades of
American government, exploring what good, ethical leadership looks like,
and how it drives sound decisions. His journey provides an
unprecedented entry into the corridors of power, and a remarkable lesson
in what makes an effective leader.
Mr. Comey served as Director
of the FBI from 2013 to 2017, appointed to the post by President Barack
Obama. He previously served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District
of New York, and the U.S. deputy attorney general in the administration
of President George W. Bush. From prosecuting the Mafia and Martha
Stewart to helping change the Bush administration's policies on torture
and electronic surveillance, overseeing the Hillary Clinton e-mail
investigation as well as ties between the Trump campaign and Russia,
Comey has been involved in some of the most consequential cases and
policies of recent history."
"Young Tom French was found dead, lying in a marsh on the Norfolk coast, with his head bashed in and his binoculars still around his neck. One of the best birders in England, Tom had put the village of Rushy on the bird-watching map. Everyone liked him. Or did they? George Palmer-Jones, an elderly birdwatcher who decided quietly to look into the brutal crime, discovered mixed feelings aplenty. Still, he remained baffled by a deed that could have been motivated by thwarted love, pure envy, or something else altogether. But as he and his fellow "twitchers" flocked from Norfolk to Scotland to the Scilly Isles, in response to rumors of rare sightings, George—with help from his lovely wife, Molly—gradually discerned the true markings of a killer. All he had to do was prove it . . . before the murderer strikes again."
My Favorite Authors - Val McDermid
Val McDermid is a Scottish crime writer, born in Kircaldy in 1955. She has written some excellent series and also standalones. My favorite is her Tony Hill / Carol Jordan psychological mystery series. The TV series Wire in the Blood was based on the books. I've read six of her books since I discovered her in early 2000.
Val McDermid
"The Last Temptation is the 3rd book in Val McDermid's Tony Hill / Carol Jordan thriller series. I will say that this was one heck of a long story but once I got into it, it kept me interested.
So the plot? Tony has retired from criminal profiling and has sort of hidden himself off in Scotland as a psychology professor and is dating another woman. Carol has moved up in the police force and is hoping for an assignment with Europol (a Europe version of Interpol). She is offered a special assignment. She looks like the girlfriend of a German drug dealer / human smuggler. She is to portray an English criminal who wants to do a deal with Radecki so that the German police and English police can end his operation.
Another story line involves a German police officer, Petra and a Dutch police officer, Marijke. They are friends who met online in a chat group for lesbian police officers. Marijke is involved in a murder case of a psychologist and Petra feels there has been a similar case in Germany. By somewhat convoluted machinations, Carol is involved with Petra in the Radecki case and introduces the two cops to Tony Hill who wants to get back into the profiling fame.
Make sense? Well, it actually does. The story moves to Berlin, where Carol is working undercover. Oddly enough, Tony goes to Berlin as well, both to help Petra with her case and to be a sounding board for Carol. Petra gets him accommodation in the same building as Carol. Do you see a potential problem there? Well, I can't say... you'll have to read it.
So the story moves along, with Carol inculcating (this is my new favorite word) herself into Radeckis operation and Tony investigating the murders. Both are interesting cases and it's also interesting how the stories come together at times.
It takes awhile to get there but the tension builds quite dramatically. I think I could foresee some of the problems.. it turns out I was right in some ways. I've always liked Carol and Tony and their friendship / relationship, but I have to say I really liked the two European cops. Marijke and Petra were excellent.
All in all a very entertaining, tense story. I look forward to finding the next book in the series. I hope it'll be a bit shorter. :0) (3.5 stars)"
"Winter 1963: two children have disappeared in Manchester; the murderous careers of Myra Hindley and Ian Brady have begun. On a freezing day in December, another child goes missing: 13-year-old Alison Carter vanishes from the isolated Derbyshire hamlet of Scardale. For the young George Bennett it is the beginning of his most difficult and harrowing case: a murder with no body, an investigation with more dead ends and closed faces than he'd have found in the inner city; an outcome that reverberates down the years. Decades later he tells his story to journalist Catherine Heathcote, but just when her book is poised for publication, Bennett tries to pull the plug. He has new information that he will not divulge, and that threatens the very foundation of his existence. Catherine is forced to re-investigate the past, with results that turn the world upside down." (3 stars)
"Across the country,
dozens of teenage girls have vanished. Authorities are convinced they're
runaways with just the bad luck of the draw to connect them. It's the
job of criminal profilers Dr. Tony Hill and Carol Jordan to look for a
pattern. They've spent years exploring the psyches of madmen. But sane
men kill, too. And when they hide in plain sight, they can be difficult
to find...
He's handsome and talented, rich and famous--a
notorious charmer with the power to seduce...and the will to destroy. No
one can believe what he's capable of. No one can imagine what he's
already done. And no one can fathom what he's about to do next. Until
one of Hill's students is murdered--the first move in a sick and violent
game for three players. Now, of all the killers Hill and Jordan have
hunted, none has been so ruthless, so terrifyingly clever, and so
brilliantly elusive as the killer who's hunting them..." (5 stars)
"Val McDermid is one prolific crime writer. Probably best noted for her Wire in the Blood mystery series, she's also written the Lindsay Gordon and Kate Brannigan series. The Distant Echo is the first book in another of her series, this one featuring Scottish police inspector Karen Pirie.
I will qualify this by saying that Karen Pirie does not play a major role in this particular story, but I presume it is more of a way of introducing her to the other books in the series. Having said that, as with other McDermid books I've read, this was an excellent thriller / murder story. The book is set during two particular time periods. We begin in the past in 1978, in St Andrew's Scotland. This is where we are introduced to the case that will take up both time frames of the story, that being the murder of Rosie Duff. Near Xmas of 1978, four college students, all childhood friends, are out on a jaunt through the pubs prior to heading off to a drunken revelry at another student's accommodation. On their way back to their own residence early in the morning, they take a short cut and discover the body of Rosie. Before they can summon the police, she dies and even though they are at treated as witnesses, there are suspicions from both the police and Rosie's family that they are the one(s) who have raped and murdered the girl.
The first half of the story follows this initial investigation, lead by ACC MacLennan, who is basically unsuccessful in proving they are innocent or guilty, or in discovering the perpetrator. The four boys lives are turned on end. They are assaulted by the press, by the Rosie's brothers who want to take the law into their own hands, and under suspicion by the police. The first part ends in tragedy, with another death (you can find whose for yourselves).
The second half of the story i in the present where the new ACC, James Lawson, has taken over the cold case squad of the Fife police department. Lawson was a uniform constable who was first on the scene after discovery of her body. Karen Pirie is one of the inspectors on his team who is responsible for investigating Rosie's cold case. The four friends have grown apart and are now being stalked by someone (or so it seems). New information turns up, especially the fact that Rosie had a child when she was very young and he wants more information about the investigation and wants justice for her.
The story, for all of its length, moves along very nicely both in the past and present and is a tense thriller. I have to say that once we got into the second half I was pretty sure I knew who the killer was but it didn't take away from the enjoyment of the story. There were a few times where I shook my head at what seemed incongruous actions but they regularly happen in mysteries but sometimes you just have to shrug them off. They weren't wildly out of place anyway. All in all, it's an interesting story, well-written and tensely presented, with an overall satisfying ending. (4 stars)"
"YOU ALWAYS REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME...
This
was the summer he discovered what he wanted—at a gruesome museum of
criminology far off the beaten track of more timid tourists. Visions of
torture inspired his fantasies like a muse. It would prove so terribly
fulfilling.
BUT THE NEXT TIME WOULD BE BETTER...
The
bodies of four men have been discovered in the town of Bradfield.
Enlisted to investigate is criminal psychologist Tony Hill. Even for a
seasoned professional, the series of mutilation sex murders is unlike
anything he's encountered before. But profiling the psychopath is not
beyond him. Hill's own past has made him the perfect man to comprehend
the killer's motives. It's also made him the perfect victim.
AND PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.
A
game has begun for the hunter and the hunted. But as Hill confronts his
own hidden demons, he must also come face-to-face with an evil so
profound he may not have the courage—or the power—to stop it..." (5 stars)
"I've read a few of Val McDermid's
mysteries and for the most part have enjoyed them. She is responsible
for the Wire in the Blood thriller series which is excellent. McDermid
also has written a number of standalone thrillers, Killing The Shadows is one of them. And yes, it's quite a thriller
Fiona
Cameron is an academic psychologist who uses a computer program to
geologically track murders and help the police find serial killers. In
this story, there are three different cases on the go. In the first, we
come in at the middle of the case, the rape and murder of Susan
Blanchard. The police have rejected Fiona's advice and followed the
advice of another analyst, coming up with egg on their face, when the
purported killer is released. Fiona refuses to help the Met anymore
because of the case.
She is asked to assist the Spanish police
with another possible serial murderer and agrees to assist. Finally
someone is murdering thriller authors. Fiona isn't directly involved in
the case, but because she is in a relationship with another thriller
writer, Kit, she has a peripheral interest and is concerned for Kit's
safety.
The story progresses nicely, jumping from one case to
another, from different characters to others, including the main
murderer. It's a long story but it doesn't really matter as everything
is interesting and grabs your attention. Fiona is a fascinating
character, not perfect by any means, but that just fleshes her out.
There are many other interesting people as well, including her
boyfriend, Kit. But also there is Police Chief Inspector Steve Preston,
an old friend of Fiona's, still investigating the murder of Susan
Blanchard, trying to develop a life and maintain his at times
frustrating friendship. Also later in the story, DCI Karen Duvall is
introduced, as the third investigation begins to gather steam, that
being the murders of the thriller writers. She is a competent,
hard-nosed cop and investigator.
So with these varied characters,
different murders, neat forensic techniques and continuing and rising
tension, the story is fascinating and relatively fast-paced. The last
third builds and builds with Fiona and Kit in increasing danger. Great
story and thriller. (4 stars)"
So there you go. I do recommend Val McDermid. Her complete book listing can be found at this link.
Take care. Enjoy a good book. 😷
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