Elizabeth Acevedo today

I have highlighted some of Elizabeth Acevedo's work previously but today plan to include her in my Women Whose Works I've Been Enjoying thread. Wow, eh! But first, some new books that arrived on my doorstep yesterday.

New Books

1. The Queen by Nick Cutter (2024). I have read two other Cutter horror stories, The Troop (really enjoyed) and The Deep, which was ok. I'm looking forward to this one. It sounds very interesting.

"On a sunny morning in June, Margaret Carpenter wakes up to find a new iPhone on her doorstep. She switches it on to find a text from her best friend, Charity Atwater. The problem is, Charity’s been missing for over a month. Most people in town—even the police—think she’s dead.

Margaret and Charity have been lifelong friends. They share everything, know the most intimate details about one another…but Charity carries a secret that even she is unaware of. A secret engraved into her DNA helix. For Charity is also known Subject Six, the crown jewel of Project Athena—a clandestine and unorthodox gene manipulation experiment, the brainchild of tech titan Rudyard Crate. And when Charity’s gene sequencing actualizes during a traumatic event at a high school party, it sets in motion a chain of events that will end in tragedy, bloodshed, and death.

And now Charity wants Margaret to know her story—the real story. In a narrative that takes place over one feverish day, Margaret follows a series of increasingly dreadful breadcrumbs as she forges deeper into the mystery of her best friend—a person she never truly knew at all…"

2. The Ironwood Tree by Tony DiTerlizzi & Holly Black (Spiderwick Chronicles #4 / 2004). I've read the first two books in this YA fantasy series and have enjoyed very much. I've also seen the 1st episode of the TV series and it left me underwhelmed, unfortunately. We'll see if it gets better.

"First a pack of vile, smelly goblins snatch Simon. Then a band of elves try to entrap Jared. Why is the entire faerie world so eager to get their hands on Spiderwick's Guide? And will the Grace kids be left alone, now that the Guide has mysteriously disappeared? Don't count on it.

At school, someone is running around pretending to be Jared, and it's not Simon. To make matters even worse, now Mallory has disappeared and something foul in the water is killing off all the plants and animals for miles around. Clues point to the old abandoned quarry, just outside of town. Dwarves have taken over an abandoned mine there. And the faerie world's abuzz with the news that a creature with plans to rule the world has offered them a gift to join with him -- he's given them a queen..."

3. The Wrath of Mulgarath by Tony DiTerlizzi & Holly Black (Spiderwick #5 / 2004).

"Three ordinary kids, Jared, Simon, and Mallory Grace, have entered another world -- without leaving this one! Two remarkable talents, New York Times best-sellers Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, have risked everything to bring this remarkable account to light. Five books -- one thrilling adventure -- the Spiderwick Chronicles!

Their world is closer than you think."

Now....

Women Whose Works I've Enjoyed - Elizabeth Acevedo

(I got to the end of my original list but since it took me so long to get through it, I've added a few new authors. 😎)

Elizabeth Acevedo

Elizabeth Acevedo was raised in New York City by immigrant parents from the Dominican Republic. She wanted to be a rapper but then decided to perform poetry. All of these aspects of her life have featured in the books I've enjoyed so far. Since 2016 she has written 4 Young Adult novels and in 2023 released her first adult novel. She has a unique style, regularly featuring poetry as a writing style. I've enjoyed three of her books so far and have her latest waiting my attention. Let's look at the 4 to give you a feel for her style.

1. Family Lore (2023).

"Flor has a gift: she can predict, to the day, when someone will die. So when she decides she wants a living wake—a party to bring her family and community together to celebrate the long life she’s led—her sisters are surprised. Has Flor foreseen her own death, or someone else’s? Does she have other motives? She refuses to tell her sisters, Matilde, Pastora, and Camila.

But Flor isn’t the only person with secrets. Matilde has tried for decades to cover the extent of her husband’s infidelity, but she must now confront the true state of her marriage. Pastora is typically the most reserved sister, but Flor’s wake motivates this driven woman to solve her sibling’s problems. Camila is the youngest sibling, and often the forgotten one, but she’s decided she no longer wants to be taken for granted.

And the next generation, cousins Ona and Yadi, face tumult of their own: Yadi is reuniting with her first love, who was imprisoned when they were both still kids; Ona is married for years and attempting to conceive. Ona must decide whether it’s worth it to keep trying—to have a child, and the anthropology research that’s begun to feel lackluster.

Spanning the three days prior to the wake, Family Lore traces the lives of each of the Marte women, weaving together past and present, Santo Domingo and New York City. Told with Elizabeth Acevedo’s inimitable and incandescent voice, this is an indelible portrait of sisters and cousins, aunts and nieces—one family’s journey through their history, helping them better navigate all that is to come."

2. The Poet X (2018). This was the 1st book that I read.

"Young adult story

Not my normal reading style

Took my breath away.

When I look at myself in the mirror and then at my bookshelves, The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo probably had everything going against it.

Mystery? Nope

Sci-Fi? Nope

It's poetry! I've said many times that my relationship with poetry is a troubled one, albeit, in the past few years, it has improved somewhat.

So let's continue.

Is the story about a senior citizen? Nope

A grey haired, bearded older gentleman (using that term loosely)? Nope

A white, sort of Anglo / Franco mixture of a guy? Nope.

Someone who lived a fairly normal life with a reasonably mild family life? Well....

It's a story told by a young high school girl of Dominican / American descent who can't deal with her overly religious mother and hides behind her poetry. Yup, that's definitely me. Not!

Ok, with all of those caveats, I have one thing to say. Wow! This book just took my breath away. Beautiful writing, easy to grasp poetry, powerful, breath-taking story. By the end, my heart was beating quite loudly, as I turned page after page, hoping that things would turn out better for Xiomara and her twin brother both dealing with an overbearing, strict mother. I'll let you read it to find out.

Read it! Read it! Open your minds and hearts. Such a rare talent. (5.0 stars)"

3. With the Fire on High (2019)

"With the Fire on High is the 3rd book I've enjoyed by Elizabeth Acevedo the last few years. Clap When You Land and The Poet X were both unique in that they were written as stories told with poetry. With the Fire on High is a more traditional story but is still very powerful.

Emoni is a high school student in Philadelphia trying to finish her last year and graduate. Emoni is also a bit different from most of the other kids in the school as she is also a teen mother. She gets assistance from her grand mother, Buela, as they try to make ends meet. Emoni is also a budding chef and in her last year her helpful home room teacher / guidance counsellor encourages her to take a culinary course as her option. Oh yes, Emoni has a troublesome relationship with her father. When Emoni's mother died when Emoni was very young, her father couldn't bear to stay in Philadelphia so he resides more or less permanently in Puerto Rico, making yearly visits to check up on Emoni, Baby girl and Buela.

Making her final year interesting is the arrival in her home room class and also the culinary class is a new student, Malachi. The development of their relationship becomes a major part of the story. As well, Chef (the culinary arts teacher) has planned a weeklong trip to Spain for the culinary class to learn more about cooking. This puts added pressure on Emoni as she must now try to find the funds to be able to go with the class.

I make the story sound straight-forward maybe but it's a rich, well - crafted, thoughtful story about growing up and the twists and turns of a young girl's life, with the added complication of also trying to be a mother to her young child. Acevedo knows how to draw you into her world, to feel empathy for the characters in her stories. This was touching, sad at times, but a story filled with love and caring and great characters and also yummy sounding food. Most enjoyable. (4.5 stars)"

4. Clap When You Land (2020)

"My first exposure to the poetry / story - telling of Dominican / American poetess Elizabeth Acevedo was her 2018 novel The Poet X, a gem of a story written in 'free verse'. My apologies if I have the terminology wrong. I've just completed her latest novel, Clap When You Land, written in 2020, another wonderful, touching YA story.

It tells the story of two young high school students, Yahaira Rios, who lives in New York City and Camino Rios, who lives in the Dominican Republic. Both experience a tragedy at the same time, as their father is killed in a plane crash, on a plane taking him to the DR. Unknown to them, they have the same father, as he has lived a secret life, traveling back and forth to spend time with his two daughters.

The story is told from both girls' points of view and Acevedo presents each girl's character in a unique style; Camino's in three lines per verse, Yahaira's in two. This is especially useful once the girls meet, when there is some overlap.

Basically the book tells the story of both girls, their lives and struggles in their communities and homes. It tells of the conflicted feelings towards their father, especially poignant as they begin to discover the secret he kept from them. And finally it tells of their interactions as they finally meet. It's a wonderful, powerful story, beautifully presented and described. You learn to love these characters, feel their pain, admire their strength. I highly recommend it and think that teenagers would enjoy and even enjoy the exposure to Acevedo's unique writing style. (5.0 stars)"

So there you go. Elizabeth Acevedo is a wonderful talent and worth checking out. More info on her can be found at this Wikipedia page or you can check out her home page at this link. Enjoy!

Virginia Woolf and Other Notes

Just a short post today. It'll be a day for running errands that I've put off; taking my new laptop to Staples to see if they'll download the Microsoft 2024 and a few other things. 😁 Nothing new to report on either the reading front or new books. 

The Woman in the Wall

The Woman in the Wall

A quick comment on an excellent, powerful TV mini-series that Jo and I watched the other day, The Woman in the Wall. It's set in Ireland and stars Ruth Wilson and Daryl McCormack. It's a mystery but also so much more than that. I won't ruin it for you but this is the synopsis of the story, taken from Wikipedia.

"Lorna (Wilson) wakes up to find the apparently dead body of a woman in her house. Lorna has a long history of trauma-based sleepwalking that stretches back to her time spent in Ireland’s controversial Magdalene Laundries."

Ruth Wilson is fantastic. Check it out.

Women Whose Work I've Enjoyed - Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf was born in London in 1882 and died in East Sussex in 1941 at the young age of 59. She was one of the founding members of the Bloomsbury Group along with her brothers' intellectual friends. She married Leonard Woolf in 1912 and the two of them founded Hogarth Press which published most of her work. 

Over her life, Virginia wrote 9 novels, numerous short stories and also works of non-fiction. I haven't explored her work as much as I should, having only completed two of her novels thus far. Both display her unique writing style. I'll provide my reviews of both to give you a feel for her stories.

1. Mrs. Dalloway (1925). This was Woolf's 4th novel. 

"Mrs Dalloway is my first exposure to the writings of Virginia Woolf. It wasn't an easy book to read but once I got into the flow, I enjoyed it very much. It's a unique style, one long chapter that flows from one character to another over the course of a single day. It's like a wandering vine; one story branches off and then by a circuitous route through other vines, it once again joins the main story.

That main story focuses on Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway, wife of Richard Dalloway, a British Member of Parliament, as she prepares for a party at their home. Over the course of the day, the tale branches off to that of Peter Walsh, an old boyfriend who returns to London from India to arrange for his marriage with a married woman and drops in to see Clarisse; there is Rezia Warren Smith, Italian wife of shell-shocked Septimus Warren, trying to get him help for his condition, plus all of the sundry characters that people this story.

The switch from one character to another is often swift and if you're not paying attention you might not realize it. It happens when a chance crossing of paths occurs and the story switches to that particular character. Even if they don't meet, there are links with characters that interact with both; Dr Bradshaw attends Clarissa's party and also treats Septimus.

It's a fascinating story, somewhat limp ending maybe but all in all quite an introduction to Virginia Woolf. (4 stars)"

2. Between the Acts (1941). Her last fiction novel.

"Between the Acts is the 2nd book by Virginia Woolf that I've read. It was her last novel, published in 1941. the year she ended her life. I can't say that I necessarily understand the ultimate point of this novel, but it is a fascinating journey.

The basic story is the annual pageant hosted by Pointz Hall, the estate of the Olivers; Giles and Isa and their young children, and father Bartholomew and aunt Lucy. The pageant is a play put on in the grounds of Pointz Hall, the purpose to raise money for the local Church. The play was organized by Miss La Trobe (some reviewers seem to think she is Virginia Woolf).

So that is the foundation. The story takes place over one day, the morning of the play, the play itself and the final hours of the day. We meet so many people, delving into their thoughts and emotions; especially the 4 main ones, but also Miss La Trobe, wealthy Mrs. Manresa, and others.

The story is like climbing a sand dune trying to grasp individual pieces of sand as you struggle to the top. Each provides a picture, an insight, a bit of color description. When you reach the top finally, you might still not see the complete picture but the portrait painted is still pretty darn amazing. Woolf has a way with words, with description, using dialogue to provide a picture. I struggled at times with the pacing of the story but then other times it just moved along breathlessly.  I think I'll read more of Woolf's work. (4 stars)"

Actually, I haven't read more of Woolf's works yet but I do hope to. An excellent portrait of her life and works can be found at this link. Enjoy searching out more about her.

Nothing of Import today...

Nothing really new to report this morning. Had a reasonable run as it wasn't raining. Read a bit of A Darker Domain by Val McDermid as well, making good progress on it. I do have one new book, a middle grade graphic, novel to report on. And then I'll continue with a theme I've been working on for a couple of years, off and on, that being my look at women authors whose work I've been enjoying. I'm getting to the end of that so will have to explore another one, eh?

New Book(s)

1. All's Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson (2017). I've enjoyed a couple of other Victoria Jamieson graphics; Roller Girl and When Stars are Scattered so thought I would give this story a chance.

"Eleven-year-old Imogene (Impy) has grown up with two parents working at the Renaissance Faire, and she's eager to begin her own training as a squire. First, though, she'll need to prove her bravery. Luckily Impy has just the quest in mind--she'll go to public school after a life of being homeschooled! But it's not easy to act like a noble knight-in-training in middle school. Impy falls in with a group of girls who seem really nice (until they don't) and starts to be embarrassed of her thrift shop apparel, her family's unusual lifestyle, and their small, messy apartment. Impy has always thought of herself as a heroic knight, but when she does something really mean in order to fit in, she begins to wonder whether she might be more of a dragon after all." You can check out her website at this link.

Now, on to my other topic.

Women Authors Whose Work I've Been Enjoying - Jacqueline Winspear

Jacqueline Winspear

To be fair, I've only read the first two books in Winspear's Maisie Dobbs historical mystery series but I enjoyed them both very much and have the next few awaiting my attention. Winspear was born in 1955, as was I, so maybe we're kindred spirits??? Who knows. Her first Maisie Dobbs book came out in 2003 and since then, she's written 18 in that series plus two standalones. As I mentioned, I've read the first two books and have another 4 in the series plus one of her standalones. Let's look at the five I've got to read to give you a feel for her stories.

1. Pardonable Lies (Maisie Dobbs #3 / 2005).

"In the third novel of this bestselling series, London investigator Maisie Dobbs faces grave danger as she returns to the site of her most painful WWI memories to resolve the mystery of a pilot's death.

A deathbed plea from his wife leads Sir Cecil Lawton to seek the aid of Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator. As Maisie soon learns, Agnes Lawton never accepted that her aviator son was killed in the Great War, a torment that led her not only to the edge of madness but to the doors of those who practice the dark arts and commune with the spirit world.

In accepting the assignment, Maisie finds her spiritual strength tested, as well as her regard for her mentor, Maurice Blanche. The mission also brings her together once again with her college friend Priscilla Evernden, who served in France and who lost three brothers to the war — one of whom, it turns out, had an intriguing connection to the missing Ralph Lawton."

2. Leaving Everything Most Loved (#10 / 2013).

"The year is 1933. Maisie Dobbs is contacted by an Indian gentleman who has come to England in the hopes of finding out who killed his sister two months ago. Scotland Yard failed to make any arrest in the case, and there is reason to believe they failed to conduct a thorough investigation. The case becomes even more challenging when another Indian woman is murdered just hours before a scheduled interview. Meanwhile, unfinished business from a previous case becomes a distraction, as does a new development in Maisie's personal life."

3. A Dangerous Place (#11 / 2015).

"Spring 1937. In the four years since she left England, Maisie Dobbs has experienced love, contentment, stability—and the deepest tragedy a woman can endure. Now, all she wants is the peace she believes she might find by returning to India. But her sojourn in the hills of Darjeeling is cut short when her stepmother summons her home to England; her aging father Frankie Dobbs is not getting any younger.

But on a ship bound for England, Maisie realizes she isn’t ready to return. Against the wishes of the captain who warns her, “You will be alone in a most dangerous place,” she disembarks in Gibraltar. Though she is on her own, Maisie is far from alone: the British garrison town is teeming with refugees fleeing a brutal civil war across the border in Spain.

Yet the danger is very real. Days after Maisie’s arrival, a photographer and member of Gibraltar’s Sephardic Jewish community, Sebastian Babayoff, is murdered, and Maisie becomes entangled in the case, drawing the attention of the British Secret Service. Under the suspicious eye of a British agent, Maisie is pulled deeper into political intrigue on “the Rock”—arguably Britain’s most important strategic territory—and renews an uneasy acquaintance in the process. At a crossroads between her past and her future, Maisie must choose a direction, knowing that England is, for her, an equally dangerous place, but in quite a different way."

4. The American Agent (#15 / 2019).

"When Catherine Saxon, an American correspondent reporting on the war in Europe, is found murdered in her London digs, news of her death is concealed by British authorities. Serving as a linchpin between Scotland Yard and the Secret Service, Robert MacFarlane pays a visit to Maisie Dobbs, seeking her help. He is accompanied by an agent from the US Department of Justice—Mark Scott, the American who helped Maisie get out of Hitler’s Munich in 1938. MacFarlane asks Maisie to work with Scott to uncover the truth about Saxon’s death.

As the Germans unleash the full terror of their blitzkrieg upon the British Isles, raining death and destruction from the skies, Maisie must balance the demands of solving this dangerous case with her need to protect Anna, the young evacuee she has grown to love and wants to adopt. Entangled in an investigation linked to the power of wartime propaganda and American political intrigue being played out in Britain, Maisie will face losing her dearest friend—and the possibility that she might be falling in love again."

5. The White Lady (2023).

"This heart-stopping novel, set in Post WWII Britain in 1947, follows the coming of age and maturity of former wartime operative Elinor White—veteran of two wars, trained killer, protective of her anonymity—when she is drawn back into the world of menace she has been desperate to leave behind. A reluctant ex-spy with demons of her own, Elinor finds herself facing down one of the most dangerous organized crime gangs in London, ultimately exposing corruption from Scotland Yard to the highest levels of government. The private, quiet “Miss White" as Elinor is known, lives in a village in rural Kent, England, and to her fellow villagers seems something of an enigma. Well she might, as Elinor occupies a "grace and favor" property, a rare privilege offered to faithful servants of the Crown for services to the nation. But the residents of Shacklehurst have no way of knowing how dangerous Elinor's war work had been, or that their mysterious neighbor is haunted by her past. It will take Susie, the child of a young farmworker, Jim Mackie and his wife, Rose, to break through Miss White's icy demeanor—but Jim has something in common with Elinor. He, too, is desperate to escape his past. When the powerful Mackie crime family demands a return of their prodigal son for an important job, Elinor assumes the task of protecting her neighbors, especially the bright-eyed Susie. Yet in her quest to uncover the truth behind the family’s pursuit of Jim, Elinor unwittingly sets out on a treacherous path — yet it is one that leads to her freedom."

There you go. Sound interesting to you? I rated both of the 1st two novels as 4-star reads, with the 2nd even better than the first. Maisie is a unique character. All of Winspear's books are listed here. If you want to check out her own website go to this link.

So there you go. I hope your 2025 is off to a great start.

And with great fanfare, 2025 is now here.

 So here we go, 2025 is underway. I hope it's started off well for you. Today it's not raining here in the Valley.. Not yet anyway. So let's start off 2025 with a look at the books I'm reading, what I've completed so far (1 book) and any new books....

I hope to read 120 books in 2025. I also hope to be a bit more focused and stick to one book per challenge. We'll see how that works out as the year progresses. So Happy 2025 and we're off.

Completed

1. Gideon's March by J.J. Marric (Gideon #8 / 1962). One of my favorite police procedural series.

"J.J. Marric was one of the most prolific writers I've tried; Commander Gideon, Inspector West, Dept Z, Doctor Palfrey, etc. The Commander Gideon series consists of 20+ books. It's basically a police procedural, featuring Commander Gideon as head of London's Criminal Investigation Division. Every book I've read thus far has been excellent.

In Gideon's March, the 8th book, Gideon has to prepare the London police for a major visit; the US president, the French president and the German president. Adding to his responsibilities, he must also take over the uniformed division as that head is on sick leave. Gideon must now deal with the hurt feelings of the Assistant of that Division, who feels slighted.

It's a fascinating story that wanders from Gideon to other police officers assisting him, including those from the countries that are visiting. As well, Gideon is dealing with specific crimes and criminals so we get to be involved with their lives and plans. You've got Matthew Smith, who wants to assassinate the French president who he blames for the death of his son. You've got various other criminals, Sonnly who runs pick pocket teams and other petty criminals. You've got his partner, Klein, plotting with the Glasgow gangs to take over the activities during the visit. His plan is kind of neat (I won't ruin it)

For a relatively short story, it's rich and deeply developed. The planning process is intricate but very accessible and interesting and as we get closer to the final procession of the leaders, the pace picks up and the activities of the police forces are more intense and detailed. It's amazing how much Marric can pack into one little story and how exciting it ends up being. I've enjoyed the TV episode that pulls this portion of the story out and I do like how the book is different enough that the ending was surprising and both satisfying and depressing at the same time. If you like police procedurals, this is a mystery series worth checking out. (4.0 stars)"

Currently Reading

I have 5 challenges this year; a Dusty Book Challenge (16 books that have been on my Goodreads' shelf the longest), a Finish Series Challenge (once again, 16 books), a Start a Series Challenge (as many as possible), a Continue Series Challenge (as many as possible) and a Non-Series Challenge (as many as possible)

1. Deadly Beloved by Jane Haddam (Gregor Demarkian #15). For my Dusty Book Challenge.

"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."

2. Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice (Moon #2) This will finish this series unless Mr. Rice decides to continue it.

"Twelve years after the lights go out . . .

An epic journey to a forgotten homeland

The hotly anticipated sequel to the bestselling novel Moon of the Crusted Snow

It's been over a decade since a mysterious cataclysm caused a permanent blackout that toppled infrastructure and thrust the world into anarchy. Evan Whitesky led his community in remote northern Ontario off the rez and into the bush, where they've been living off the land, rekindling their Anishinaabe traditions in total isolation from the outside world. As new generations are born, and others come of age in the world after everything, Evan's people are in some ways stronger than ever. But resources in and around their new settlement are beginning to dry up, and the elders warn that they cannot afford to stay indefinitely.

Evan and his fifteen-year-old daughter, Nangohns, are elected to lead a small scouting party on a months-long trip to their traditional home on the north shore of Lake Huron--to seek new beginnings, and discover what kind of life--and what dangers--still exist in the lands to the south."

3. The Blackhouse by Peter May (Fin McLeod) and yes, this is for my Start a Series Challenge.

"The Isle of Lewis is the most remote, harshly beautiful place in Scotland, where the difficulty of existence seems outweighed only by people's fear of God. But older, pagan values lurk beneath the veneer of faith, the primal yearning for blood and revenge.

When a brutal murder on the island bears the hallmarks of a similar slaying in Edinburgh, police detective Fin Macleod is dispatched north to investigate. But since he himself was raised on Lewis, the investigation also represents a journey home and into his past.

Each year the island's men perform the hunting of the gugas, a savage custom no longer necessary for survival, but which they cling to even more fiercely in the face of the demands of modern morality. For Fin the hunt recalls a horrific tragedy, which after all this time may have begun to demand another sacrifice."

4. A Darker Domain by Val McDermid (Karen Pirie #2).

"In Britain circa 1984, the news is dominated by the national miners’ strike. The region of Fife in Scotland is hard hit by the strike, devastated economically and shaken by clashes between miners and police. Against this violent and bitter backdrop, heiress Catriona Maclennan Grant and her baby son are kidnapped. The ransom should have gone smoothly, but instead, the payoff goes horribly wrong, and Catriona and her son disappear without a trace.

Twenty-four years later, dramatic new evidence discovered by a jogger in Tuscany prompts police to reopen the cold case. Detective Sergeant Karen Pirie leads the investigation. It won’t be the only cold case to end up on her desk. A young woman soon walks into the station reporting a missing person, Mick Prentice, who abandoned his family in Fife in 1984 to join the strike-breakers down south. Labelled a blackleg scab, he might as well be dead as far as his friends and relatives are concerned."

5. Burn Book: A Tech Love Story by Kara Swisher (2024). Jo got me this for Xmas this past year.

"From award-winning journalist Kara Swisher comes a witty, scathing, but fair accounting of the tech industry and its founders who wanted to change the world but broke it instead.

Part memoir, part history, Burn Book is a necessary chronicle of tech’s most powerful players. This is the inside story we’ve all been waiting for about modern Silicon Valley and the biggest boom in wealth creation in the history of the world.

When tech titans crowed that they would “move fast and break things,” Kara Swisher was moving faster and breaking news. While covering the explosion of the digital sector in the early 1990s, she developed a long track record of digging up and reporting the facts about this new world order. Her consistent scoops drove one CEO to accuse her of “listening in the heating ducts” and prompted Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg to once observe: “It is a constant joke in the Valley when people write memos for them to say, ‘I hope Kara never sees this.’”

While still in college, Swisher got her start at The Washington Post, where she became one of the few people in journalism interested in covering the nascent Internet. She went on to work for The Wall Street Journal, joining with Walt Mossberg to start the groundbreaking D: All Things Digital conference, as well as pioneering tech news sites.

Swisher has interviewed everyone who matters in tech over three decades, right when they presided over an explosion of world-changing innovation that has both helped and hurt our world. Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Sheryl Sandberg, Bob Iger, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Meg Whitman, Peter Thiel, Sam Altman, and Mark Zuckerberg are just a few whom Swisher made sweat—figuratively and, in Zuckerberg’s case, literally.

Despite the damage she chronicles, Swisher remains optimistic about tech’s potential to help solve problems and not just create them. She calls upon the industry to make better, more thoughtful choices, even as a new set of powerful AI tools are poised to change the world yet again. At its heart, this book is a love story to, for, and about tech from someone who knows it better than anyone."

New Books

(These arrived once our postal strike ended).

1. The Dream Master by Roger Zelazny (1968) Ursula K. Le Guin referred to this story in the preamble to one of the short stories I read by her.

"The last really unexplored frontier of knowledge may well prove to be the human mind. The Dream Master is the novel of that farther frontier, of a Twenty-first Century invention which enabled a psychology engineer to actually enter a man's mind, to experience his thoughts, to live with him his dreams—and to redirect and control those soaring universe-creating visions which are the essence of all thinking.

This novel of Render the Shaper, in its magazine serial version—originally published in 1965 as the Nebula winning novella 'He Who Shapes'—has already won Roger Zelazny the Nebula Award of the Science Fiction Writers of America for the finest short novel of the year. Ace Books now proudly presents its final and complete full-length version."

2. The Teahouse Detective: Unravelled Knots by Baroness Orczy (Teahouse Detective #3).

"It has been twenty years since Polly Burton last saw the Teahouse Detective, but one foggy afternoon she stumbles into a Fleet Street café and chances upon the cantankerous sleuth again. The years have not softened his manner, nor dulled his appetite for unravelling the most tortuous of conspiracies, shedding light on mysteries that have confounded the finest minds of the police.

How did Prince Orsoff disappear from his railway carriage in-between stations? How could the Ingres masterpiece be seen in two places at once? And what is the truth behind the story of the blood-stained tunic that exonerated its owner?

From the comfort of his seat by the fire, the Teahouse Detective sets his brilliant mind to work once more."

3. Cue the Easter Bunny by Liz Evans (Grace Smith #6). A favorite mystery series, unfortunately, only six books long.

"Spring has come to the faded seaside town of Seatoun. Vetch’s Investigations is buzzing with clients, but Grace Smith is the only one without a client. The situation has become so desperate that Grace has taken a job with the local Tourist Board. Dressed as the Easter Bunny, she's supposed to be promoting the town’s “child friendly” image. Unfortunately, a series of encounters with kids who can't resist tormenting dumb creatures results in Grace being the first bunny to be nicked in Seatoun for Grievous Bodily Harm. So when a woman named Della comes calling, and informs Grace that her son is receiving threatening letters and that she wants someone to trace the sender, Grace eagerly accepts. She lives to regret it most bitterly."

4. Cormac McCarthy's The Road: a Graphic Novel Adaptation by Manu Larcenet (2024). I've read the original book and also seen the movie, so now to see how it looks as a graphic novel.

"The first-ever graphic novel adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer Prize–winning postapocalyptic classic, The Road, approved and authorized by McCarthy and illustrated by acclaimed cartoonist Manu Larcenet "Superb. A suitably dark graphic treatment of McCarthy’s postapocalyptic masterpiece."

(Kirkus) 

The story of a nameless father and son trying to survive with their humanity intact in a postapocalyptic wasteland where Earth’s natural resources have been diminished, and some survivors are left to raise others for meat, The Road is one of Cormac McCarthy’s bleakest and most prescient novels. 

Dedicated to his son, John Francis McCarthy, McCarthy’s The Road is one of his most personal novels. Ranked 17th on The Guardian’s 100 Best Novels of the 21st century, it was the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for literature, and the James Tait Black Memorial Award, the Believer Award, and it was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award. This first official graphic novel adaptation of McCarthy’s work is illustrated by acclaimed French cartoonist Manu Larcenet, who ably transforms the world depicted by McCarthy’s spare and brutal prose into stark ink drawings that add an additional layer to this haunting tale of family love and human perseverance. Cormac McCarthy personally approved the making of this book before his death, and the adaptation bears the approval of the McCarthy estate."

So there you go. Enjoy 2025. Let's hope it's more fun than The Road, eh?