A Reading Update from the Fog

Actually, for the first time in a few days, the sun is shining! Woo hoo! I took the puppies out for a drive before lunch and visited local Little Free Libraries. I didn't pick up any books, but I dropped off a few. While we were out, Shaw TV was here to provide a new-fangled Wi-Fi router. Our computers are now operating so much better. *Sarcasm font* We'll get new Digi-boxes in the next couple of weeks too. Supposedly we'll be able to talk to these boxes to get then to change channels. That should be interesting considering how successful we are with telling out car to play music. 😀

I've finished one book since my last update. I'll update that as well as provide the synopsis of the next book I'm starting. I'll also continue with my ongoing look at Women Authors whose work I'm enjoying. 

I've been slowly looking at my unread books and yes, I do have too many. I'm looking at my 2023 Reading Challenges. One I'll be doing for sure is a 'Finish - a - Series' Challenge. That'll be my 12 + 4 challenge and I've probably got enough to do it twice, if I read them fast enough. Below are a few series I will probably finish off.

2023 12 + 4 Challenge - Finish a Series

1. Rennie Airth, the John Madden mystery series. I've enjoyed this series. They have gotten better as the series moves along. I have one book to read in this series. Last time I thought I'd completed the series, Airth put out a new book. As of my last check, there haven't been any more written. 🤞

2. Becky Chambers is a new author for me. She writes Sci-Fi. She is known for her Wayfarer series, which I have yet to try. But I read the first book of her Monk & Robot series, which was a wonderful surprise. So far there are only two books, so I'll read the 2nd book, probably. I do have the first book of the Wayfarer series so that might suit another challenge next year.

3. Adam Diment is a sort of cult author, of the Philip McAlpine spy series from the 60's. I came late to his work, and it is sort of a drug - fueled, sexy spy romp. I've read the first 3 books in the series but had considerable difficulty finding the last book until late last year. That'll be another of my series finishes.

So, there you go. As we get closer to the end of the year, I'll put up the books for all of my 2023 challenges: some of them anyway.

Just Finished

1. Mama by Ruby Jean Jensen (1983). This was my first exposure to American horror writer Jensen. Very creepy.

Ruby Jean Jensen

"MaMa by American horror author, Ruby Jean Jensen was my first exposure to her work. Over her life, she wrote 20+ novels. Now when you look at her picture, you don't necessarily see a horror author, maybe the neighbor lady who works in her garden cutting her roses? Well, I'll tell you... 

Mama was originally published in 1989. The story follows Elsea, newly widowed with three children: Stephanie, the oldest, Tommy, the middle child and Dorrie, the youngest. The family, due to financial difficulties, is forced to move back home, to live rent-free in Elsea's grandmother's old house. It is already furnished and is a grand old house, with an attic filled with all sorts of wonders, even including old dolls and toys.

All is going well. They meet author Corrie who lives just up the road and helps them adjust to their new surroundings. The older children begin school. Elsea, trying to find a way to earn money, begins to write a romance novel. And Dorrie spends her time in the attic, quietly playing with these dollies and other toys, especially one decrepit, one-eyed celluloid doll. It seems that Dorrie has a certain power. Her breath is bringing the toys back to life. (And they aren't necessarily very nice toys).

Tommy becomes aware of what is happening and begins to panic about the safety of the family and what he can possibly do to protect them. That is the premise of this creepy story. It's a slow burn, but gradually the tension mounts as Tommy becomes more terrified and embroiled in his battle to protect Dorrie from these 'soul-sucking'? toys. Emma Jean Jensen presents a well-written family, trying to adjust to a new life and adjust to new circumstances. The horror building in their home adds to the pressures on all of them. It's a neat story, lots of tension, breath holding moments (especially as we get to the climax) and a suitably satisfying ending. (4.0 stars)"

Currently Reading

1. Maigret at the Crossroads by Georges Simenon (Inspector Maigret #7 / 1931). I've enjoyed the Inspector Maigret series very much. Every book I've read so far has been excellent.

"This is the story of Maigret's night vigil at the Three Widows' Crossroads, where the body of a Jewish diamond-merchant had been found. Pompous M. Michonnet, at one house, owned the car containing the corpse; aristocratic Carl Andersen, the Dane, owned the garage containing the car, and vulgar M. Oscar, at the service-station, simply sold petrol to all-comers. They none of them knew a thing. Then the victim's widow is shot dead at Maigret's feet, and he plunges into action to uncover a tight little criminal web with a woman at the center of it."

Women Authors Whose Work I'm Enjoying - Camilla Lackberg

Camilla Lackberg

Swedish mystery writer Camilla Lackberg was born in 1974 and is known for her Patrick Hedstrom mystery series. Currently there are 10 books in this series. I've only read the first book so far, but it was interesting. I'll highlight the 3 books I've currently got on my bookshelves.

1. The Preacher (Hedstrom #2 / 2004).

"During an unusually hot July, detective Patrik Hedstrom and Erica Falck are enjoying a rare week at home together, nervous and excited about the imminent birth of their first baby. Across town, however, a six-year-old boy makes a gruesome discovery that will ravage their little tourist community and catapult Patrik into the center of a terrifying murder case.

The boy has stumbled upon the brutally murdered body of a young woman, and Patrik is immediately called to lead the investigation. Things get even worse when his team uncovers, buried beneath the victim, the skeletons of two campers whose disappearance had baffled police for decades. The three victims’ injuries seem to be the work of the same killer, but that is impossible: the main suspect in the original kidnappings committed suicide twenty-four years ago. 

When yet another young girl disappears and panic begins to spread, Patrik leads a desperate manhunt to track down a ruthless serial killer before he strikes again."

2. The Stonecutter (Hedstrom #3 / 2005).

"The remote resort of Fjällbacka has seen its share of tragedy, though perhaps none worse than that of the little girl found in a fisherman's net. But this was no accidental drowning ...

Local detective Patrik Hedström has just become a father. It is his grim task to discover who could be behind the murder of a child both he and his partner Erica knew well.

What he does not know is how the case will reach into the dark heart of Fjällbacka and tear aside its idyllic façade, perhaps forever."

3. The Stranger (Hedstrom #4 / 2006).

"In the new thriller by Camilla Läckberg, a string of suspicious deaths points to a potential serial killer who has turned his eye toward Fjallbacka and her dark forests, where two children vanished decades before.

A local woman is killed in a tragic car crash, but it isn’t a clear-cut drunk driving case. The victim’s blood contains high alcohol levels, but she rarely drank a drop. Meanwhile, a reality TV show begins shooting in the town, and as cameras shadow the stars’ every move, tempers start to flare. When a drunken party ends with an unpopular contestant’s murder, all eyes turn to the cast and crew could there be a murderer among them? The ratings spike as the country tunes in to a real-life murder mystery. Detective Patrik Hedstrom finds himself increasingly unable to focus on the strange circumstances of the first case, but what if that holds the key to a series of other unsolved cases across Sweden? Under the unforgiving media spotlight, Patrik tackles his toughest investigation yet."

So, there you go. Sound interesting to you? The complete listing of Lackberg's work can be found at this link.

Enjoy the rest of your week and your upcoming weekend.