Oct 25 - 31, 2015

In the Dark Places by Peter Robinson - the 22nd Inspector Banks novel starts with a stolen tractor. Then there's suspected murder, actual murder, and missing persons mixed up with lots of stolen property in the countryside of England. Banks is getting a little mopey as he gets older but one of my favorite detectives gets a romantic interest so that evened things out a little. Fairly exciting ending as things finally fall into place.

4 stars
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The Ice Twins by S.K. Tremayne - Angus and Sarah move to a small Scottish island after the death of one of their twin daughters. Things are already fragile and then their surviving daughter claims she's really Lydia, not Kirstie, the daughter who died. Told from both parents viewpoints, I didn't find either of them very likeable. Rather an eerie book.

3 stars
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Letters of Note: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience compiled by Shaun Usher - just what it says, letters from the famous and the unknown. Some funny, some sad. The letter from the woman who had a mastectomy without anesthesia is probably the one I will most remember.

3 stars
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Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt - 12 year old Jack gets a foster brother who is very much unlike him. Joseph is 14, tried to kill a teacher, and has a daughter. I liked Jack a lot, he's a great little boy. This is a short YA book that was very easy to read, I liked the writing very much.

4.5 stars
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The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey by Rinker Buck - the author becomes obsessed with the idea that portions of the Oregon Trail still exist and begins replicating the journey with his own wagon and mules. He's joined by his brother and they make the trip without any support vehicles. Lots of history about the trail and the people who traveled it. A few too many asides about his relationship with his father, religion, and politics. The history of mules was interesting to me. Quite a bit of language.

3 stars