I have done a couple of things this week. I took Jo to two appointments and traded in some books at my local book store.. And didn't buy any. Of course, I did have two books arrive in the mail, but I bought those more than a month ago. I also finished a book this week and have made some progress on a few others.
So let's get down to book business. I'll update the two new books, provide my one review and also let you know what I've started to replace that. Oh! One other thing. I am about to finish my 12 + 4 challenge shortly, so what I'm thinking of doing for September thru December, besides also work on my Individual challenges, is just pick six books from a specific category as well each month. September will be women authors. I've worked through my Goodreads book list of To Be Read books and picked the first six women authors who show up and since they were all series authors, the next books in the specific series. I may change my mind somewhat but I'll list the six books I'm thinking of for your interest. I'll continue with my look at the Mystery Genre - American Cops next post.
New Books
"Commissioned Colonel-at-Sea, Nicholas Pym is sent to the pirate-infested waters of the Caribbean to capture a hoard of Spanish treasure - before it is seized and used against Cromwell's England."
"In Changeling, the people had long suffered under Det Morson's power. When at last, the wizard Mor joined the fight, Det and his infamous Rondoval castle were destroyed. But the victory was not complete, for the conquerors found a baby amidst the rubble: Det's son, Pol. Unwilling to kill the child, Mor took him to a world where the ways of magic were considered mere legends--a world called Earth."
Completed
"The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey is listed as the 3rd book in her Inspector Grant mystery series, but in fact, he plays only a very minor inconsequential role in this story. Josephine Tey wrote six books in this series over the course of her life. I've now read four of them. I think, though, that my favorite book of hers so far was her standalone mystery, Brat Farrar, which was an excellent story.
As I mentioned Inspector Grant makes only a couple of brief appearances in this story and is mentioned once or twice besides. The story belongs to small-town English lawyer, Robert Blair, who may be considered somewhat staid and comfortable with his life. However this will be turned upside down when he receives a call from one Marion Sharpe who lives at an estate called The Franchise (understand the title now?) with her mother. They have been accused of kidnapping a fifteen year old girl and keeping her locked up in the attic for a month, basically as a free labor force, until the girl escapes and eventually reports the two to the police.
Inspector Grant (in his main appearance) brings the girl to the estate, accompanied by the local police inspector and also Robert Blair, where the girl describes the house and shows where she was held. The rest of the story involves Robert and some friends investigating the claims and trying to prove the girl is a liar. This is something very new for Roger and he finds himself drawn to Marion and frustrated with his perceived limitations.
It's a very interesting, different mystery. It moves along slowly as Roger tries to determine his courses of action, how to investigate, how to protect the two women from curious onlookers and more dangerous intruders. The whole process is fascinating and while resolution might seem somewhat pat, ultimately, it doesn't really matter as the journey to this solution is readable and enjoyable. The story is peopled with wonderful characters, from Roger's Aunt Lim and his cousin Nevil and the two garage men, Stanley and Bill, who help Roger and the ladies; and of course, Marion and her mother as well, both down to earth and matter of fact in the middle of this awful situation.
Entertaining mystery, great characters and story telling and satisfying resolution. (4 stars)"
Just Started
"The James Bond adventure novel that takes 007 to the exotic Orient - to the suicide gardens of the maniacal Dr. Shatterhand - and the arms of the most enticing heroine Fleming ever created, the delightful Kissy Suzuki."
Next are the six books I'm thinking of for my September 'Women Authors' selections.
"Donna Leon's sophisticated Commissario Brunetti series has won her legions of fans over the years. In Friends in High Places, Brunetti is visited by a young bureaucrat investigating the lack of official approval for the building of Brunetti's apartment years before.
What began as a red tape headache ends in murder when the bureaucrat is found dead after a mysterious fall from a scaffold. Brunetti starts an investigation that will take him into unfamiliar and dangerous areas of Venetian life, and will reveal, once again, what a difference it makes to have friends in high places."
"Investigating a plane crash in the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina, forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan discovers in a most disturbing way that the evidence doesn't add up. Tripping over a coyote-chewed leg at the crash scene, she performs a little mental arithmetic and realizes that this victim wasn't on the plane. Once again, Brennan's high-tech DMORT snaps into action faster than you can say "Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team." The author of Death du Jour serves up another exquisite meal."
"A cosy game of darts in a cosy English pub is going well until one of the players dies on the spot. Chief Inspector Alleyn knows it wasn't the dart that killed him, but the prussic acid someone added to the cut."
"In Jazz Funeral, Julie Smith once again takes us behind the scenes in New Orleans, with a multi-faceted story of murder, music, and family sorrow. This time, homicide detective Skip Langdon finds herself trying to solve the stabbing death of the universally beloved producer of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. To confuse the case further, the victim's sixteen-year-old sister has disappeared, and Skip suspects that if the young woman isn't herself the murderer, she's in mortal danger from the person who is. With her long-distance love, Steve Steinman, and her landlord, Jimmy Dee, to assist her, Skip trails an elusive killer through the steamy city that Julie Smith has claimed as her own fictional territory."
"A late spring in 1142 brings dismay to the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, for there may be no roses by June 22nd. On that day the young widow Perle must receive one white rose as rent for the house she has given to benefit the abbey or the contract is void. When nature finally complies, a pious monk is sent to pay the rent - and is found murdered beside the hacked rose-bush.
The abbey's wise herbalist, Brother Cadfael, follows the trail of bloodied petals. He knows the lovely widow's dowry is far greater with her house included, and she will likely wed again. But before Cadfael can ponder if a greedy suitor has done this dreadful deed, another crime is committed. Now the good monk must thread his way through a tangle more tortuous than the widow's thorny bushes -- or there will be more tears..."
"Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse has her hands full dealing with every sort of undead and paranormal creature imaginable. And after being betrayed by her longtime vampire love, Sookie must not only deal with a new man in her life—the shapeshifter Quinn—but also contend with the long-planned vampire summit.
The summit is a tense situation. The vampire queen of Louisiana is in a precarious position, her power base weakened by hurricane damage to New Orleans. And there are some vamps who would like to finish what nature started. Soon, Sookie must decide what side she'll stand with. And her choice may mean the difference between survival and all-out catastrophe."
These are the books I'm planning to read (along with other challenge books). If all goes well, maybe I'll get in a couple of more.
