Recovering from Christmas... :0)

Christmas gets harder every year, doesn't it Clyde?

I'm sitting at my desk, with a nice cup of coffee and enjoying the last apple strudel that we got from a local restaurant just before Christmas. It was a lovely day, even if we did eat too much. The missus' turkey was outstanding and the fixings very yummy.

This year's tree

We just had a nice, relaxing day. I headed back to bed after taking the dogs out at 0530. We slept in until mid-morning. Then I made a pot of coffee and a cuppa for Jo and we enjoyed that and some croissants while we Skyped with our daughter, Jennifer.

 

 

Finally around 1030, we got in touch with Jo's sister, Susan, in England and Skyped with her and her hubby, Robbo, while we opened our gifts. (As you can see from the above video, the puppies had lots of fun unwrapping their gift. Clyde likes to tear apart the wrapping and Bonnie likes the toy) I do have to say that it's been a wonderful way of keeping in touch with family far and distant. I also called my Dad and had a nice talk with him.

Everything is unwrapped, now we relax.

After that we relaxed for awhile, watched the annual Christmas The Good Life. Jo started putting together the fixings for our Christmas dinner, with a bit of help from me. As I mentioned earlier, dinner was super, one of Jo's best.



Tell me if you see a theme with some of my gifts.

We spent the rest of the evening on the couch, stuffed and satisfied, nibbling on our Xmas sweets. PBS had the Xmas Call the Midwife special, in which the Midwife went to South Africa to help out a medical clinic. As always, we laughed and cried with the show, one of the best on TV.

Do you see the theme now? Are they trying to tell me something?

We had planned to go out about town a bit on Boxing Day, but it was a rainy, damp day and we decided instead to settle on the sofa and just relax and spend the day with each other. It was a great idea. We watched a couple of Only Connects (best game show we've ever enjoyed). It was nice too as we didn't really have any formal meals; well, except for lunch, which was our traditional left-overs from the past couple of days. Then we basically grazed when we felt like it, had a drink, read, checked the computer a bit. The missus was a bit saddened by the death of George Michael. So many musicians have passed away this past year. *sigh*

Our carpenter, Vicky, made this, a neat wooden book. (see the theme now?)

We did enjoy a couple of shows in the evening; Travelers, starring Eric McCormack, a Science Fiction show that has grabbed our interest; the Royal Variety Show for 2016 and a funny little throw-in documentary with Alexander Armstrong and his brother-in-law, Giles Coren, who spent the hour searching for the 12 drinks of Christmas. Lots of good fun.

Merry Christmas!

For all the bad news that's occurred over the past 12 months, it was nice to bring 2016 to an end, just sharing the holidays with my wife, Jo, and our puppies. We enjoyed each others' company and just being together. Perfect Christmas for me.

So there you go, my final thoughts on Christmas. Back to talking about books next time; my end year summary, my look at the first books I plan to read in 2017, my December purchases, all those good things.

Enjoy the rest of your holidays, wherever you might be. Best wishes for 2017.

It's Almost Christmas.... Yay?

The missus does do up a lovely tree.

For some reason, getting hepped up for Christmas this year has been a bit of a struggle. I'm not sure why exactly. It's been a rough old year for the world, but that's part of life, I think. Is it worse than any other year? It's definitely scary and quite often depressing. Heck, the Blue Jays didn't make it to the World Series again!! Mind you, on the positive side, they made the playoffs again. So ups and downs.

I think part of my gloomier than normal outlook is because I spent so much more time than I normally do watching the News, especially that US election that just took place. I think the results, yes, the election of @%*#! Trump, has taken the wind out of my sails a bit. I mean, I don't normally want to go and punch somebody in the face. It's not my nature. But I sure wouldn't mind taking a shot at his smug, fat, arrogant, lying, cheating face!! Well, I think I've figured it out a bit, eh? Maybe that's what's getting me down a bit. OK, OK, deep healing breaths...

Family times

Christmas has always meant a lot to me. As a very small boy, it meant heaps of presents! My parents always made sure we had a lovely tree and lots and lots of presents under it. My first memories of Christmas (and they may be coloured by the fact that I was very young) are two things.

Me with my drum playing elephant

I was only 5 years old when we left Bagotville, Quebec, and the fact that I remember these things from there might be somewhat distorted by age. Anyway, with that qualification behind me, my first memory is from Bagotville. My older brother, Rick, and I shared a bedroom. He had the double bed in the middle and I had the single against the wall. At the head of my bed one Christmas was a small chair with my stocking hanging from it. I remember my Mom coming to tuck me in and singing You Are My Sunshine (I was a cute kid) and then leaving. The next time I rolled over and looked at my stocking, it was full!!! I knew it! Santa had been there while she distracted me! Yes, yes, yes! Of course, I didn't check it out until I woke up in the morning.. Well, maybe I did.

The second memory is very vague. I'm sure we went to midnight mass in Bagotville. I can remember the smell of incense in the church. When we got home, we were all hungry all of a sudden. (I link that with the smell of incense). My Mom and Dad made us toast and melted butter and hot chocolate before we went to bed. Yummy. I don't remember much else about Christmas time there but those do stand out.

The latest addition to the family enjoying Christmas cheer

By the time we moved down East to Chatham, New Brunswick, my thoughts of Christmas are more complete. We now lived in a bigger house, although Rick and I still shared a room for the longest time. We had bunk beds. When John came along, Rick was gone to university, so I had the bunk bed to myself and John still slept in the crib.

Back to Bagotville (I don't have as many pictures as I thought. lol)

I tended to be the first person awake Christmas morning. (I did say I liked getting presents!). To bide the time until everybody woke up and we could go downstairs to see what was under the tree, I would go through my stocking. There were always comic books inside, sometimes just one, sometimes too. There was usually a mandarin orange, candy canes, a small toy and other sundry gifts and chocolates that would fit inside. I'd read my comic(s) then lie their impatiently waiting for everyone to get up.

With the arrival of John, I hoped that he, being just a baby, would wake up early and get everybody else up. But, nope, John was a bit of a slug and liked to sleep in. *sigh* So there you go, I would have to lie their waiting for somebody else to get up and then we'd troop downstairs to see what great gifts we got! Anticipation!!!

Our current Christmas wreath on the front door.

Well, I have to admit now, after all these years, that I did snoop to see what my parents got us for Xmas. They tended to hide lots of the prezzies under their bed. So any time I got to myself, I'd sneak into their room and check under the bed. You might think that would ruin any anticipation. But, not really, because they were just teasers and there were always surprises under the tree come Christmas day. When it comes to presents, I do fondly remember John and I getting GI Joes (yes we played with dolls) and there were always new games to play and especially there were books. That's partly where my love of reading comes from. We were always encouraged to read. I got Tom Sawyer and Black Beauty for Christmas plus so many other books.

Christmas visitors - Jim Nabeta in Germany

It seems we often had company over for Christmas. In Chatham, Mr. MacMillan, a single guy and a friend of my Dad's, used to come over in the afternoon and spend Christmas day with us. He and Dad would have a couple of whiskeys, Tom would stay and share dinner and we'd play games and watch the TV. In Germany, their friend and our alternate Dad (sort of, in a jokey way), Jim Nabeta would always come over for the day and maybe even the night before and share our Christmas with us. It made the day a bit more special.

Once everything was opened and we'd played with our toys for awhile, the day was a restful one. I don't remember going to my friends' houses to play as they were all sharing their day with their families. That was more of a Boxing Day and Christmas holiday thing. We also lived quite far from any relatives; they were in Ontario and we were either in Quebec, New Brunswick and Germany so we weren't going to spend the day with them. Once I was married, then we'd gather the kids up and either spend Christmas with my folks or my ex-wife's folks and then trek to the other family for New Years.

After dinner, it was a lazy relaxing time. I have a memory of me and Christine (my older sister) in the kitchen tearing apart the turkey and eating a bit more as part of our post-dinner clean up. TV wasn't really great down in the Maritimes and, unlike now, when Jo and I like to relax and find the Christmas Day specials on BBC TV while we laze around in our pyjamas, I don't have any special memories as a kid of spending the day watching TV. It was more about playing games and with our toys and reading. Still lots of fun, mind you.

As I got older, while I still enjoyed receiving gifts, I started to enjoy buying gifts for my family even more. I'm a bit of a boring gift giver, especially now. I do like to force people to enjoy the books I like and if I'm at all unsure what to get someone, chances are it'll be a book. Jo is always thrilled (I say that sarcastically) to see that most of her gifts are books; design books, biographies, colouring books, classics. Yup, she loves it. :0)

At university, when I lived in residence, one of the fun parts of the holiday was our Christmas party. The Don would dress up as Santa, everybody would get together in our big family room. We'd have music, get to sit on Santa's lap, and there was always so much food that the Entertainment committee would put together for our brunch. Then we'd gather around the piano and sing Christmas songs.

Ah, Christmas songs. I don't have particularly strong memories of many Christmas songs. When we opened our presents, there was usually Christmas music playing. I think the first or my favourite Christmas song as a child was The Royal Guardsman's Snoopy's Christmas. It was such a good song. Always gives me chills. When I was a cynical university student and DJ, I played songs like Jethro Tull's A Christmas Song.

I don't have a lot of favourite Christmas songs but I do enjoy Greg Lake's I Believe in Father Christmas, which is a lovely simple song. (Thanks Jo for introducing me to it). For a nice upbeat song, you've got The Waitresses and Christmas Wrapping.

I think my favourite Christmas show as a child was Charlie Brown's Christmas. *sigh* The poor little Christmas tree that turned into a beautiful tree with the help of Linus' blanket and love... For all my griping, Jo and I have our favourite shows to get into the Christmas mood; The Family Stone, It's a Wonderful Life, Holiday Inn and White Christmas, amongst others.

I always wanted to make sure my children had as good Christmases as I did growing up, especially after my divorce. I didn't want them to suffer because of a marriage break-up. They spent Christmas at both places until I moved out West. But even then, Jennifer has made it out here with one of her boyfriends. Oh, funny Christmas story. If I don't tell, Jennifer will. I told both her and Caitlin to list any CD's they might want for Christmas so that I wouldn't buy ones that they didn't want, of course. Caitlin was usually much more conservative, you know, just listing two or three. Jennifer liked to hedge her bets, I think, so she gave me a list with 10 or 12 CD's on it. So I bought number 10, just to surprise her. Of course, it only had one song on it that she liked; The Way by Fastball. Ah well, don't put it on a list if you really don't want it. ;0). I'll let her tell you about the 'poop' jacket if you ever see her.

Jo and Susan making Christmas dinner

Since I met and married Jo, we've had lovely Christmases. Jo's sister Susan came out for our first few Christmases in Comox and it was always a lovely, relaxing time. It was also especially nice in 2005 when I was away on a deployment to the Middle East over Christmas as that meant Jo had company at least for the Christmas holidays. It was a strange sort of Christmas for me, waking up in a barracks Christmas morning, listening to the mullah's calling the people for morning prayers. But, our unit tried to make it feel like Christmas. We had gift bags hanging from our doors to our rooms, there was a nice morning church service (it had been a very long time since I'd attended one of those and it was very nice) and then a fantastic Christmas dinner. I also managed to call home to Jo and got to hear her voice so that was especially nice.

Nikki took up present snooping from me

Our puppies have also always liked to share our Christmases with us. Nikki always like to sniff the presents to see if there might be something for her. Clyde likes nothing more than to tear up a bit of Christmas wrapping paper. And they do like a bit of turkey.

Ely, UK and the tree in the Cathedral. Just lovely

Jo and I have travelled a bit for Christmas in the past few years. We spent one lovely Christmas with Rob and Sue, Jo's sister and her husband, and visited the Cathedral in Ely while were there. It was lovely. (We also went to a very nice bookstore in Ely. Jo had tea and biscuits while I wandered around looking at books. What a perfect way to spend Christmas.) And we also went to Calgary to spend Christmas with Jenn, her then-boyfriend, Eric and his parent's) It was definitely a white Christmas there.

But, generally, we just like to spend Christmas with each other and our dogs, relax in our pyjamas and share our company. We usually start the morning opening our presents and having croissants as a morning snack. Then later on, Jo cooks us a fantastic turkey for our Christmas feast and, if we are at all peckish in the evening, we'll have toast and homemade pate. A perfect day. We manage to have a chat with my Dad, Jo's sister and Jennifer during the day. We also find the BBC on our laptop and enjoy the Christmas specials from England.

As I said at the start, Jo can decorate a tree.

So anyway, I started  this post with a bit of a rant and wondering if I have the Christmas spirit this year. Well, considering how poorly many people in the world are, I'm pretty lucky. I have a lovely wife and loving family. Jo and I are very happy together and we live nicely on my pension. Our puppies keep us busy and happy. All in all, I've got so much to be thankful for. I really don't have any right or reason to complain.

I wish you all the happiest holidays and a very Merry Christmas. Let's hope 2017 is a good year.

Bookshelves (My TBR Shelves)..... oh, and puppies.. :)

Well, here it is, New Year's Eve 2014. Jo has been getting posts on her Facebook page from friends as far away as Australia with photos of their various fireworks. One of the things the Internet is good for is that instant contact from distant realms. So neat! We plan a quiet evening ourselves, chatting with friends online, reading, maybe watching some of the New Year's Specials on TV. Every year, the CBC (that being Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) has their New Year's Eve comedy specials; the Royal Canadian Air Farce, This Hour has 22 Minutes and a special show from the Montreal Just For Laughs Comedy Festival. We may watch some of that, although we do need to catch up with Major Crimes.

Lucky me, I got my last Christmas prezzies from Jo today. She had ordered me some books but they didn't arrive on time. Who cares! Not me. I love books, as you well know. I got two of the Shetland series by Ann Cleeves; Red Bones and White Nights. I will be starting that series in 2015, at the very least. She also got me the second and third books in The Hunger Games series. I do hope to read them all this upcoming year. As well, I got a couple of new wallets. Mine has definitely seen better days.

I decided to take some pictures of the bookshelves where I keep the majority of my 'to be read' books, aka my TBR shelves. For the past couple of years or longer, I've kept them all in the den, stacked on a couple of shelves, with the overflow on the floor in front. Jo suggested that maybe I could move them off the floor and offered a shelf in the Lounge. I also thought maybe I could pull my Reading Group challenge books and some of my Individual challenge books and locate them in my bedside table, well, after I removed 3 or 4 years of envelopes and bags that I hid there. I used to wrap Jo's prezzies up there and all the bags and envelopes were hid in those drawers. Silly, huh? Well, anyway, that's what I did and lo and behold there are no books sitting on the floor in the den. I've taken a few photos to show you.

But, first, while I was taking pictures of the shelves, the dogs were outside, so I took a couple of pictures them as well. They had their winter haircuts just before Xmas and they both look adorable. Too bad they don't act that way.. just kidding...

Bonnie making sure no birds invade her yard

Clyde thinking of pouncing on Bonnie

And so it begins!! woof!!

By the way, that picture was taken 31 December 2014. Yup, no snow.. and I don't want any!!

So now, onto bookshelves and TBR books. According to Goodreads, one of the places I track my lists, I have 591 books that I need to read. Adding in the 4 new ones, well, that means 595. So at about 100 a year, I've got a good 6 years worth of books. The list might not be totally accurate, as I do vet periodically and while I remove from my spreadsheet list (yes, I love to make lists), I don't necessarily do so with my Goodreads list.. Speaking of lists, Jo bought me a replacement Books I've Read book for Xmas this year. I'm still figuring out how I want to lay it out, but I'm so happy... One of the best prezzies she ever bought me, one I take book shopping and it was getting kind of full in some of the letters.

Anyway, got sidetracked there a bit. Just because I have that many TBR books, I probably won't stop buying, but I will try and behave a bit better this year. I do feel a responsibility to help our local bookstores mind you and I will be finally retiring in Nov 2015, so I do need to have a good stock to read. Don't you think?

TBR shelf Number 1 - H's to Z plus extra oversize books

So the first shelf. Right in front of it is our computer desk and when I had all of my over-size books laid out in front of it, two deep, it made it difficult to get a book if it was on the bottom row, behind the front row. So now that those books have been moved, there is a bit more room there. What you see is basically the letter H authors - bottom shelf in behind front row, working up to the top outside row, the end of the alphabet. Also there are a few of the oversize books that didn't get moved to the lounge. So basically they are stacked three high and two deep.

Just to the right of the first photo, what's behind the doors?

A - H books

What I used to keep in here at one time were all my oversize books, lying down and squeezed in. But last year in one of my re-orgs, I thought I'd move the oversize to the floor and start in here with my letter A authors and just work up to the top, then carry over to the shelves to the left. Once again, you've got them two deep and each shelf organised alphabetically. So where did my oversize books go you ask? Next picture. We move to the Lounge and the built-ins. (Check out the link to the left for my original post on my book storage.

The bottom left shelf (next photo a bit bigger)

The oversize books

What used to be on this shelf was a small book stand containing 10 or 12 books, including the Moomin books that I'd purchased for Jo a couple of Xmas' ago. She was of the opinion, a darn good one too, that that stand could be moved upstairs to the extra bedroom and this shelf could more efficiently store my oversize books. So there you go, they do look better there than on the floor, eh? No finally, I went through my TBR shelf a couple of days ago and pulled out the 12 + 4 challenge and another 20 or so that I hope to read in 2015 and moved to my night stand. See below for photo.

My bedside table

Jo and I saw this table at the Dogwood Antique festival in Chemainus BC 10 years ago or so and thought it would make a nice addition to the house. I haven't used it very efficiently, as I mentioned, using the two bottom spaces for bags, receipts and envelopes and sundry other items. Check it out now.

Some 2015 planned reads

On the right side, as you're looking at it are the 16 books I chose for my 12 + 4 challenge, the first books in 16 series that I haven't had a chance to start yet. On the left are two rows of books, a mixture, for my Individual challenges; classics, SciFi, standalone mysteries, fiction, non-fiction, etc. I'll move others into that space as 2015 progresses.

So there you have it, my TBR bookshelves and my last post of 2014. I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everybody a Happy New Year and the very best in 2015. And keep on reading!

New Books - Gifts and Purchases

I'd like to say I've been good about buying books so far in 2014, but I'd probably be lying. I did manage to trade in about 20 books to my local used book store so I'm feeling somewhat ahead in the book trading vs book buying column so far in 2014. Having said this, I haven't necessarily bought many books, probably only about 6 or 7; the others were the final Xmas presents that my lovely missus and my daughter sent to me. They just arrived a bit late, not that I'm complaining, I was so happy to get them. So let's see, starting with gifts, these are the books I've received/ purchased this year.

 

1. Justin Cronin - The Passage:  A Xmas gift from my daughter, Jennifer. This is the synopsis; "An epic and gripping tale of catastrophe and survival, The Passage is the story of Amy - abandoned by her mother at the age of six, pursued and then imprisoned by the shadowy figures behind a government experiment of apocalyptic proportions. But Special Agent Brad Wolgast, the lawman sent to track her down, is disarmed by the curiously quiet girl and risks everything to save her. As the experiment goes nightmarishly wrong, Wolgast secures her escape - but he can't stop society's collapse. And as Amy walks alone, across miles and decades, into a future dark with violence and despair, she is filled with the mysterious and terrifying knowledge that only she has the power to save the ruined world.

 





2. Stephen King - Under the Dome: Jennifer's other gift. I've seen most of the TV series and for the most part, enjoyed very much. It'll be interesting to read the book. It's been awhile since I've tried a Stephen King. "On a beautiful fall day, a small New England town is suddenly and inexplicably sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and rain down flaming wreckage. A gardener's hand is severed as the dome descends. Cars explode on impact. Families are separated and panic mounts. No one can fathom what the barrier is, where it came from, and when, or if, it will go away. Now, a few intrepid citizens, led by an Iraq vet turned short-order cook, face down a ruthless politician dead set on seizing the reins of power under the dome. But their main adversary is the dome itself. Because time isn't just running short, it's running out.

3. Lynne Olson - Citizens of London: I've mentioned the first book I received from Jo in a previous BLog. The next two came in a couple of weeks ago. I've read Troublesome Young Men previously, also written by Lynne Olson and enjoyed very much. "The acclaimed author of Troublesome Young Men reveals the behind-the-scenes story of how the US forged its wartime alliance with Britain, told from the perspective of 3 key American players in London; Edward R. Murrow, the handsome, chain-smoking head of CBS News in Europe, Averell Harriman, the hard-driving millionaire who ran FDR's Lend-Lease program in London, and John Gilbert Winant, the shy, idealistic US ambassador to Britain. Each man formed close ties with Churchill, so much so that all became romantically involved with members of the prime minister's family. Drawing from a variety of primary sources, Olson skillfully depicts the dramatic personal journeys of these men who, determined to save Britain from Hitler, helped convince a cautious FDR and reluctant American public to back the British at a critical time."

4. Charles Finch - A Beautiful Blue Death: Another book that Jo pulled out of my Books I'd Like To Read book, this is the first Charles Lenox mystery - "Charles Lenox, a Victorian gentleman and armchair explorer, likes nothing more than to relax in his private study with a cup of tea, a roaring fire and a good book. But when his lifelong friend Lady Jane asks for his help, Leonx cannot resist the chance to unravel a mystery. Prudence Smith, one of Jane's former servants, is dead of an apparent suicide. But Lenox suspects something far more sinister: murder, by a rare and deadly poison. The grand house where the girl worked is full of suspects, and thought Prue had dabbled with the hearts of more than a few, Lenox is baffled by the motive for the girl's death. When another body turns up during the London season's most fashionable ball, Lenox must entangle a web of loyalties and animosities. Was it jealously that killed Prudence Smiths? Or was it something else entirely?"

Recent Purchases - When I turned in a few books this past weekend, I thought I'd look for a few replacements. :0)

1. John Sandford - Shadow Prey: One of Jo's friends, who knows that I like mysteries, recommended the Prey series. I was able to find one at my local. This is the second book in the series. "A slumlord is butchered in Minneapolis. A politician executed in Manhattan. A judge slain in Oklahoma City. All killed by a relentless assassin, a ritualistic, far from ordinary, serial killer."

2. Ruth Rendell - Murder Being Once Done: I've been slowly collecting the Inspector Wexford mystery series. This is the seventh book in the series, published in 1972. "In a vast, gloomy, overgrown London cemetery, a girl is found murdered. A girl with a name that isn't hers, and little else that is. A girl with no friends, no possessions and no past. Chief Inspector Wexford has been sent to London by his doctor for a rest, no late nights, no rich food, no alcohol and, above all, no criminal investigation. To add insult to injury, it is Wexford's own nephew, Howard, who is leading the massive investigation into the macabre mystery. Even though Howard and his subordinates think he's out of his league, and even though his doctor wouldn't approve, Wexford can't resist just taking a look at things for himself."

3. Tana French - faithful place: I started off 2014 reading In the Woods by Tana French and enjoyed it very much; one of my highlights of this early 2014. This is the third book in her Irish Murder Squad series. "In all your life, only a few moments matter. I was lucky. I got to see one of mine fact to face, and recognise it for what it was. The course of Frank Mackey's life is set by one defining moment when he was nineteen. The moment his girlfriend, Rosie Daly, failed to turn up for their rendezvous in Faithful Place, failed to run away with him to London as they had planned. Frank never heard from, or of, her again. Twenty years later, Frank is still in Dublin, working as an undercover cop. He's cut all ties with his dysfunctional family. Until his sister calls to say that Rosie's suitcase has been found."

4. Agatha Christie - The Clocks: I readily admit it, I'm getting hooked on Agatha Christie. I read a few of her books back when I was much younger and over the past year and a bit, I've started reading her stories again, enjoying them very much and wondering why I never read more when I was that much younger person. Ah well, better late than never, eh? The Clocks is about the 29th Hercule Poirot mystery and was originally published in 1963. I've seen the TV version of this story and enjoyed very much. "Master sleuth Hercule Poirot has time on his hands: four clocks, all set at 4:13 and all left at the scene of a murder. In the tidy sitting room, Detective Inspector Hardcastle examines the assembled witnesses for clues; a blind lady, a young secretary and an innocent passer-by. Poirot must find them first, but will he have time?"

5. Lee Child - Tripwire: I've only read one of the Jack Reacher books so far, but after being pleasantly surprised by the Tom Cruise movie, starring Cruise as Jack Reacher, I've managed to get the first two in the series. Tripwire is book number two, "Jack Reacher's anonymity in Key West is shattered by the appearance of a private investigator who's come to town looking for him. But only hours after his arrival, the stranger is murdered. Retracing the PI's cold trail back to New York City, Reacher is compelled to find out who was looking for him and why. He never expected the reasons to be so personal, so dangerous and so very twisted."

6. Mark Billingham - Bloodline - I've enjoyed the DI Tom Thorne books I've read so far, gritty, interesting, well-paced thriller mysteries. Bloodline is the eighth in the series and was published in 2009. "It seems like a straightforward domestic murder until a bloodstained sliver of x-ray is found clutched in the dead woman's fist; and it quickly becomes clear that this case is anything but ordinary. Throne discovers that the victim's mother had herself been murdered 15 years before by infamous serial-killer Raymond Garvey. The hunt to catch Garvey was one of the biggest in the history of the Met, and ended with seven women dead. When more bodies and more fragments of x-ray are discovered, Thorne has a macabre jigsaw to piece together until the horrifying picture finally emerges. A killer is targeting the children of Raymond Garvey's victims. Thorne must move quickly to protect those still on the murderer's list, but nothing and nobody are what they seem. Not when Thorne is dealing with one of the most twisted killers he has ever hunter."