The Iggy Chronicles, Volume One by Spencer Quinn - a short e-book in the Chet and Bernie mysteries. Chet's best friend Iggy, who I always pictured as a pug but I guess is a poodle, disappears at the same time one of his owners returns to the hospital.
3 stars
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Claws of the Cat: A Shinobi Mystery by Susan Spann - this is set in Japan in 1564. A samurai and the priest he protects help a hostess in a tea house who has been accused of murder. Not quite enough clarity as to why the samurai and priest are together.
3 stars
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Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World by Matthew Goodman - I was really looking forward to this book and was quite disappointed. The author told so much more than I wanted to know about.every.single.thing. Everything from who built Grand Central Station and how they made their fortune to the state of Jules Verne's marriage. I only wanted to know about the trips. Almost gave it one star but the minutiae settled down some in the second half of the book.
2 stars
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Bad Blood by Arne Dahl - first published in 1998, just translated this year. The second in the series called the A-Unit. A serial killer has made his way to Sweden and the team tries to find him. A police procedural type of mystery, I found it very interesting all the avenues they take to get just one clue.Although the subject matter was dark I didn't find this book to be a much of a downer as the previous in the series. Totally unexpected ending. There are 11 books so far in this series - I wish they would be translated faster. A couple of gratuitous sex paragraphs.
4.5 stars
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Friday, August 23, 2013
August 18-24, 2013
The English Girl by Daniel Silva - another in the Gabriel Allon series. Gabriel is an art restorer/Israeli ex-spy (or is he?). He's asked to find the kidnapped mistress of the English Prime Minister. These books usually spend quite a bit of time with the planning stages of things. I find that interesting but some might not.
4 stars
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Restoration by Olaf Olafsson - I read this because it was mentioned by the author of The Light in the Ruins. A villa in the middle of the German retreat from Rome during WWII, a forged painting and two women with secrets. Told from many viewpoints and different times. The war is not the focal point but rather the people caught in the middle.
4 stars
4 stars
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Restoration by Olaf Olafsson - I read this because it was mentioned by the author of The Light in the Ruins. A villa in the middle of the German retreat from Rome during WWII, a forged painting and two women with secrets. Told from many viewpoints and different times. The war is not the focal point but rather the people caught in the middle.
4 stars
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Aug 11 - 17, 2013
Who Could That Be At This Hour? by Lemony Snicket - this is the beginning of a new series of children's books. I really enjoyed A Series of Unfortunate Events and this time instead of being the narrator, Lemony is the main character. This series is subtitled All the Wrong Questions and ends with a question cliffhanger. I'm looking forward to reading the next one.
3 stars
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The Beast by Faye Kellerman - this book annoyed me right away by throwing me in a scene that really had no bearing on the book. And you had to have read her previous book to know what was going on. So that causes it to lose one star. Anyway, an elderly, very wealthy recluse is found dead in his apartment along with his very much alive tiger. The mystery part of the story really kept me going and I was surprised at the end. But there was too much side story that had nothing to do with the mystery.
3 stars
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Chanel Bonfire by Wendy Lawless - a memoir of the authors childhood with a mother who was probably narcissistic and definitely an alcoholic. And suicidal. I don't know why books like this fascinate me so much, I always read them with a sense of horror. Maybe because they're the polar opposite of my childhood. I really liked the author's style, it keeps you reading. Some language.
4 stars
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The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian - I loved the way this book flowed. It alternates between 1943 and 1955 in Italy. During the war an Italian family loses their villa and several members of their family. And in 1955 someone starts killing the remaining members. It's not really a mystery in the typical sense, but the story of the family and then one of the police officers in particular. Really had me going and I had no idea who the killer was. Totally surprised.
5 stars
3 stars
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The Beast by Faye Kellerman - this book annoyed me right away by throwing me in a scene that really had no bearing on the book. And you had to have read her previous book to know what was going on. So that causes it to lose one star. Anyway, an elderly, very wealthy recluse is found dead in his apartment along with his very much alive tiger. The mystery part of the story really kept me going and I was surprised at the end. But there was too much side story that had nothing to do with the mystery.
3 stars
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Chanel Bonfire by Wendy Lawless - a memoir of the authors childhood with a mother who was probably narcissistic and definitely an alcoholic. And suicidal. I don't know why books like this fascinate me so much, I always read them with a sense of horror. Maybe because they're the polar opposite of my childhood. I really liked the author's style, it keeps you reading. Some language.
4 stars
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The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian - I loved the way this book flowed. It alternates between 1943 and 1955 in Italy. During the war an Italian family loses their villa and several members of their family. And in 1955 someone starts killing the remaining members. It's not really a mystery in the typical sense, but the story of the family and then one of the police officers in particular. Really had me going and I had no idea who the killer was. Totally surprised.
5 stars
Sunday, August 11, 2013
August 4-10, 2013
Room No. 10 by Ake Edwardson - I was irritated to find that this is the latest book in a series that I've missed. I feel I missed some back story because of that. I didn't find the characters sympathetic, but the mystery really kept me going. Crimes committed almost 20 years apart have the common point of a room in a run down hotel. Rather dark as seems to be the case in most Swedish books.
4 stars
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Death Angel by Linda Fairstein - another author that seems to be phoning it in, this is the 15th in the series. I don't know why I keep reading them other than my ocd need to read everything in a series. I don't really like the main character, I think she thinks too highly of herself. What was interesting about this book was the history of Central Park and because of that it got
3 stars
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Misterioso by Arne Dahl - another dark Swedish mystery. If I were to go strictly by the mystery books I've read set in Sweden I would think them not a very happy people. A serial killer is killing the rich and powerful and a new agency is set up to investigate. A pretty good police procedural. This was written in 1999, but not translated until 2011. The first in a series. Sex but seems to be thrown in because it's expected. Rather clinical.
4 stars
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The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence - A 10 yo boy is hit in the head by a meteorite. He's already "different" and this makes him more so. He meets an elderly man and life takes an even more interesting turn. I love the way this author writes. I found it funny, sad and interesting even though I don't agree with his thoughts on God and life after death. And now I might read some Kurt Vonnegut. Language and marijuana use, also another issue that could be a deal-breaker for some. Pm me if you want to know a spoiler before reading. I read this in one sitting.
5 stars
4 stars
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Death Angel by Linda Fairstein - another author that seems to be phoning it in, this is the 15th in the series. I don't know why I keep reading them other than my ocd need to read everything in a series. I don't really like the main character, I think she thinks too highly of herself. What was interesting about this book was the history of Central Park and because of that it got
3 stars
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Misterioso by Arne Dahl - another dark Swedish mystery. If I were to go strictly by the mystery books I've read set in Sweden I would think them not a very happy people. A serial killer is killing the rich and powerful and a new agency is set up to investigate. A pretty good police procedural. This was written in 1999, but not translated until 2011. The first in a series. Sex but seems to be thrown in because it's expected. Rather clinical.
4 stars
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The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence - A 10 yo boy is hit in the head by a meteorite. He's already "different" and this makes him more so. He meets an elderly man and life takes an even more interesting turn. I love the way this author writes. I found it funny, sad and interesting even though I don't agree with his thoughts on God and life after death. And now I might read some Kurt Vonnegut. Language and marijuana use, also another issue that could be a deal-breaker for some. Pm me if you want to know a spoiler before reading. I read this in one sitting.
5 stars
Saturday, August 3, 2013
July 28-Aug 3, 2013
The Missing File by D.A. Mishani - I really thought I was going to like this book set in Israel by a first-time Israeli author. The story of a missing boy is told from two viewpoints, one the dispirited police detective investigating the case. And I did like it, right up until the end where it is not resolved and says to be continued. And I never did understand the title - I don't know if that was a translation issue or not. So it was 4 stars until the end.
2 stars
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Winger by Andrew Smith - a young adult book that is funny, touching and disturbing. Winger is the nickname of a 14 yo boy in boarding school who is very smart so he's two grades ahead of his peers. I guess it's a typical coming of age story but I loved the writing. Language, thoughts of sex, innuendo and sex jokes. Probably fairly true to life, especially considering the setting. Loved it but couldn't quite give it 5 stars.
4.5 stars
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Call the Midwife:Farewell to the East End by Jennifer Worth - the last of the books the tv series Call the Midwife is based on. This was the most graphic of the books but it's all told in a very matter of fact way. I thought this was better than the second book, not as many history lessons and more stories of the people she lived and worked with. There is also a nice wrap up of what happened to her colleagues.
3 stars
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Slouching Toward Adulthood: Observations From the Not-So-Empty Nest by Sally Koslow - I read a fiction book by this author and thought I would enjoy her observations on the adult child at home. She calls them adultescents and has lots of statistics to back up her thoughts.
3 stars
2 stars
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Winger by Andrew Smith - a young adult book that is funny, touching and disturbing. Winger is the nickname of a 14 yo boy in boarding school who is very smart so he's two grades ahead of his peers. I guess it's a typical coming of age story but I loved the writing. Language, thoughts of sex, innuendo and sex jokes. Probably fairly true to life, especially considering the setting. Loved it but couldn't quite give it 5 stars.
4.5 stars
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Call the Midwife:Farewell to the East End by Jennifer Worth - the last of the books the tv series Call the Midwife is based on. This was the most graphic of the books but it's all told in a very matter of fact way. I thought this was better than the second book, not as many history lessons and more stories of the people she lived and worked with. There is also a nice wrap up of what happened to her colleagues.
3 stars
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Slouching Toward Adulthood: Observations From the Not-So-Empty Nest by Sally Koslow - I read a fiction book by this author and thought I would enjoy her observations on the adult child at home. She calls them adultescents and has lots of statistics to back up her thoughts.
3 stars
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