Nov 16-22, 2014

A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey - published in 1936. I enjoyed the first Inspector Grant so much I wanted to read another. An actress is found drowned on the seacoast and soon murder is suspected. Lots of twists and turns. And the cult of celebrity seems very familiar to our times.

4 stars
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Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle by Dervla Murphy - in 1963, the author bicycled alone with very few belongings to India. She stayed and ate with the locals, most of whom she found very welcoming. I found her observations on Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan interesting, especially from 50 years later. Told in diary form. And it's with a bicycle instead of on because many times she was pushing it up steep trails or even carrying it.

4 stars
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The Last Girl by Jane Casey - a wealthy attorney and one of his twin daughters survive an attack that has left their wife and sister dead. Maeve Kerrigan and her partner are given the case while the rest of their team deals with a gang war. A couple of odd tangents and they're the ones that aren't cleared up, I guess they'll be in the next book, too.

3 stars
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The Girl Next Door by Ruth Rendell - the book opens almost right away with the murder, how it was done and why. Sixty years later evidence turns up and childhood friendships are renewed. This isn't as much about the murder as it is about the stories of the elderly people it impacts.

4 stars
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Proof Positive by Archer Mayor - the 25th Joe Gunther novel. A Vietnam vet turned hoarder's death becomes connected to a powerful Senator. The sidekicks are under control and Joe isn't mooning about love and death. A nice solid mystery.

3 stars