Penny Reads in 2020

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Penny Reads in 2020

1pmarshall
Bewerkt: feb 8, 2020, 11:21 pm

I started l2019 by writing a literary travel book on my travels in Africa in 1974 -75. In January and onward I will focus on sending it out to publishers. My interest in Africa continues and the first book I finished reading this year is about the year zoologist Anne Innis spent in Africa.

I think it will be a theme that runs through my reading this year. Mysteries, biographies, and fiction and nonfiction about the role of women in WW I and II will continue to be on my reading list.

I will continue my habit of rereading the last title in a series before the newest release. In the case of Julia Spencer-Fleming I will reread the entire series due to the time lapse, 8 years, since the last book.

2NanaCC
jan 1, 2020, 3:58 pm

Happy New Year, Penny!

3pmarshall
jan 1, 2020, 5:46 pm

>2 NanaCC::
Thank you. Happy New Year to you and your family!

4pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 18, 2020, 7:42 am

#1.Pursuing Giraffe: A 1950s Adventure, Anne Innis Dagg

As a toddler Anne Innis sees her first giraffe in the Brookline Zoo in Chicago and she falls in love with them. At age 24, with a degree in zoology from the University of Toronto she sails to England and on to South Africa to study giraffe. It is 1956, she is the first person to actually study live animals in their habitat. She had great difficulty in being accepted in places in southern or east Africa where she could carry out her research because she was a woman. She finally settled on a farm in the Transvaal run by Owen Matthews who hopes to turn it into a reserve to protect animals from poachers.

Anne has purchased a car, both for transportation and for viewing giraffe, she had been told they wouldn’t notice it, but would scatter if she moved about, which proved to be true. For nine months she tracks the animals noting what and when they eat, interaction with each other and their gait among other things. Having nothing to follow she establishes her own methods of keeping research notes on a five minute cycle and on what areas. One interesting fact she recorded was homosexual behaviour among the male giraffe, she later learns it occurs among rhino and about 100 mammals.

After nine months she travels to Tanganyika and to Kenya to meet with people she had corresponded with but was unsuccessful in finding a place to carry on her research. There are nine races of giraffe scattered across southern and east Africa. She does climb Mount Kilimanjaro and observes giraffe as a tourist. She continues her research for a number of months on the farm before returning to Canada.

There are interesting sections on apartheid and politics in South Africa and Tanganyika. She is bothered and appalled by it but also realizes how easy it is to accept the life style. She fights for women’s rights in academic institutions where in the 1960 - 1970’s women are denied tenure, a situation she personally experienced.

A documentary was done based on this book in 2018, “The Woman Who Loves Giraffe” finally making her work know to the general public. She will receive the Order of Canada in 2020, at age 86.

I saw the film and immediately ordered this book. She was and still is an amazing woman!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5pmarshall
Bewerkt: jan 4, 2020, 11:43 pm

#2. Island of the Mad, Laurie R. King

Russell and Holmes are in Venice looking for Lady Vivian Beaconsfield who has fled from the lunatic asylum and her brother’s home in England with the assistance of a nurse. The government control by Mussolini and the Blackshirts was of interest to Mycroft Holmes’ brother and he wants Sherlock to look into them. The history of Venice, asylums, Cole Porter and Elsa Maxwell all play a part in the book.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

6shadrach_anki
jan 2, 2020, 11:45 am

Pursuing Giraffe sounds absolutely fascinating! I am adding it to my TBR.

7pmarshall
Bewerkt: jan 5, 2020, 3:47 pm

#3. Coral Reef Views, Vicki Delany

Ashley Grant, a para-medic on the Victoria and Albert Islands, a British colony in the Caribbean has her parents visiting from Toronto, Canada. Her mother loves island life, but her father is bored so when a fellow Canadian he just befriended goes missing and is then found drowned he is sure he was murdered, and he is going to solve the case. With Ashley’s help even if she is hesitant to believe him or to help him.

This is part of Orca Book’s Rapid Read Series written for people learning English as a second language or with other literacy problems. In a short novel the plot moves along at a good pace and enough background information is provided to make the characters believable. This is the third title in the Ashley Grant series and Vicki Delany has written a total of seven Rapid Read titles.

I received this book through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers Program.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Reviewed 2020-1-5

8pmarshall
jan 2, 2020, 2:16 pm

>6 shadrach_anki::
It is, both the book and documentary/movie. Put it near the top of your list 🤗

9AlisonY
jan 4, 2020, 2:45 pm

Following your reading again this year. Happy new year!

10dchaikin
jan 5, 2020, 1:40 am

>4 pmarshall: what a great story.

Wish you happy new year and luck with your book. Congrats on completing it!

11pmarshall
Bewerkt: jan 12, 2020, 7:22 pm

#4. Somebody's Heart Is Burning: A Woman Wanderer in Africa, Tanya Shaffer

Tanya Shaffer, an American, travelled in Africa, mainly West Africa for a year in the 1990’s. She went as a volunteer and worked in various villages in Ghana clearing brush, doing construction and other low level labor. The organization of the work was poorly done and overall not a lot accomplished. Her book is a series of stories about her encounters with the local people. She captures the individuals and the local society very well.

I have mixed views of the book, perhaps because I didn’t like all the situations and people she portrayed. But it is her experience.

I learned of this author from Pursuing Giraffe.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

12pmarshall
jan 15, 2020, 11:56 am

I have read The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family the lengthy biography of the Mitford Sisters by Mary S. Lovell, and enjoyed it. My querie is about the Mitford Mystery series. Has anyone read it? Do they stick to the truth as much as a mystery can? Are they worth buying and reading? The sisters intrigue me.

13pmarshall
Bewerkt: jan 26, 2020, 10:00 pm

#5. Speaking in Bones, Kathy Reichs
I did a reread of this in preparation for her new release in March, A Conspiracy of Bones.
I don’t like books about demons, religion gone to far out of control and exorcism and that is what this book is about, plus dismembered bodies.I should rate it a 4 because it is up to Reich’s usual standards, but it would be a 2 based on my comfort level so I settled for 31/2, the 1/2 is because of my respect for her as an author.
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

14pmarshall
feb 3, 2020, 7:13 am

January 2020

Read - 5
Reviewed - 2

Total 5

I spent time in January rereading and revising my manuscript, “Africa Encouraged” and I am now preparing submissions for publishers. Each one wants something different.

15pmarshall
feb 3, 2020, 7:15 am

#6. Dear Evelyn. Kathy Page

The story of a relationship, from meeting as teenagers on the library steps in the 1930’s, Harry’s desert war, babies; three daughters spread across 13 years; the midlife years of Evelyn and Harry’s lives and the realization that it is not all as expected even when the houses get bigger and more money is available. Harry’s ability to look back and remember the beginning and his wish to be a poet and Evelyn’s focus forward and on herself. Finally the nursing home ...
A well written novel, good characterization but I didn’t like Evelyn. I could see where she was coming from but I hate that rigidity in people - it hurts others.
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

16pmarshall
Bewerkt: feb 10, 2020, 7:18 pm

#7. In The Bleak Midwinter, Julia Spencer-Fleming
Spencer-Fleming wrote the first 7 books of the Claire Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne between 2002 and 2012. The eighth title will be released in May, 2020. Due to the time lapse I have decided to reread the entire series before May. I was attracted to the series because Claire is a priest in the Episcopal Church and I really like ecclesiastical mysteries. When it turned out to be that and a police procedural as Russ is the Chief of Police in Miller’s Kill, New York, that was fine because I like them as well.

The first is the Claire Fugersson Russ Van Alstyne series introduces the two main characters when a newborn is found on the steps of Claire’s church by Claire. This is quickly followed by Russ and Claire’s discovery of the baby’s mother and then his maternal grandfather’s bodies. Claire tends to act and then think while Russ does the opposite and tries, usually unsuccessfully, to hold her back.

Both have a military background as well as an attraction to each other, although he has been married for 15 or so years. Russ is not a church goer and doesn’t understand Claire’s calling. Claire is facing problems with her elderly, conservative congregation who have difficulty with her views on the church’s role in the community. Finding the baby alerts her to the issues faced by single, teen moms and she wants to open a center to meet the needs of both babies and mums. It is clear that Claire’s views on social issues and the attraction between them are going to be on-going issues in future books as will be the clash that occurs over their approach to the case.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

17pmarshall
Bewerkt: feb 12, 2020, 10:11 pm

#8. A Fountain Filled With Blood, Julia Spencer-Fleming

Miller’s Kill is faced with violent attacks on gays of different ages and backgrounds by a gang of young men. One attacks leads to murder. A major mountain development leads to PCB’s showing up in the town’s water system.and this develops into protests against the developers. The two problems come together as the sheriff and the reverend investigate although not always together.
I like the way Spencer-Fleming brings current issues, this book was published in 2003, into the creation of her mystery. She represents current thinking and reaction to the environmental through the ‘tree hugger’ demonstrations being discussed at a society wedding cocktail party and the reaction to a nighttime candle vigil organization by Claire by some of her vestry members out sailing on a yacht. They are still getting use to running programs for teen moms and their children.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

18pmarshall
Bewerkt: feb 14, 2020, 4:04 pm

#9. Out of the Deep I Cry, Julia Spencer-Fleming

The public issue is twofold, the ongoing existence of a trust that created and partially funds a free healthcare clinic or the breaking of the trust and giving all of it to St. Alban’s, Claire Fugersson’s Church to do much needed repairs to the church. The vaccine of children is an important program of the clinic and plays a strong place in its creation. This issue raises deep feelings and results in the disappearance of the head of the clinic following public threats.

The second level of the mystery is why the clinic was created and where did the money come from to establish such a large trust in 1930.

The private issue is the continuing development of feelings between Russ and Claire and how they handle this. At the same time they are working on the disappearance case which threatens their lives.

Spencer-Fleming handles the interwoven levels well.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

19pmarshall
Bewerkt: feb 15, 2020, 10:26 pm

#10. To Darkness and To Death, Julia Spencer-Fleming

Saturday starts with a call out to search for a missing girl for Claire. Russ goes deer hunting and his friend gets a six-point buck. The day ends about 21 hours later with the two of them dancing on the frost covered lawn of the rectory. In the interim hours assault, blackmail, questionable business deals, and lies and recriminations end in a dinner dance for the political, business and social leaders of Miller’s Kill and that ends in multiple bombings and fires. Family jealous and human greed lay at the roots of the terrible day.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

20pmarshall
Bewerkt: feb 17, 2020, 7:50 am

#11.All Mortal Flesh, Julia Spencer-Fleming

Russ tells his wife about Clare and all three are suffering. Clare decides it is up to her to break it off. Then Linda’s body is found, murdered and the face completely disfigured, on her kitchen floor. Both Clare and Russ come under suspicion and when the State Police take over the investigation he is removed from duty. Meanwhile animals in the community are disappearing and the remains found butchered. There are numerous twists and turns in the plot, set against a stormy Millers Kill winter. The ending takes you back to the beginning and I can’t wait to read what happens next.

All the book titles come from hymns.

21pmarshall
Bewerkt: feb 18, 2020, 6:46 pm

#12. I Shall Not Want, Julia Spencer-Fleming

Russ and Clare are, seperately and together dealing with Wendy’s death, Russ’s late wife. They need to forgive themselves and each other.
Mexican agricultural workers are started to appear in numbers in the surrounding areas. Some are legal but many know and the immigrants are not well received by the locals. When people are threatened and dead bodies start to appear the situation gets worse. Clare has involved her church’s outreach in helping the newcomers.
At the suggestion of her bishop Clare joined the National Guard to, his mind, help her decide if she was a helicopter pilot or a priest. Her unit is called up, for Iraq.
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

22pmarshall
Bewerkt: feb 20, 2020, 2:37 pm

#13. One Was a Soldier, Julia Spencer-Fleming

Claire returns from 18 months, body intact but her mind and soul shattered. She manages her life like many in her situation, drugsaq1qq and drink. She does join a Veterans Support Group, a small group including one other woman, a civilian, an MP who also worked for Russ, the young son of a good friend and parishioner and a Doctor. Did the civilian steal money and transfer it back to Miller’s Kill? Is that why she killed herself?
Claire can’t accept the suicide decision and starts investigating on her own. In the process uncovers a much larger crime.
The various ways the members of the support group deal with ‘that which they can not voice’ runs through the book and plays an important part in the plot.
The book ends with accepting sentence pleas so the man who pulled the strings gets away with murder and the FBI trumps the police. On a happier note it also ends with Clare and Russ’ wedding.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

23pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 18, 2020, 7:45 am

#14. Through the Evil Days, Julia Spencer-Fleming

Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne are spending their honeymoon at a lake-side cottage north of Miller Kill. The weather for the January days they chose for this event start with rain, ice, hail followed by more rain and then snow. The region is declared a disaster zone, no electricity, phone communications and a multitude of car accidents. Mix this with a missing, ill child, drug dealers and producers and it makes for a honeymoon no one will forget. The ending has the town council decide to close their police department and have the State Police patrol the town as it is less expensive.
Now I have to wait until May 20 to see what happens.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

24sallypursell
feb 20, 2020, 10:51 pm

Pmarshall, those books sound fascinating. I put the first one on my TBR list.

25pmarshall
feb 25, 2020, 10:25 pm

#15. Family Inheritance, Terri Ann Leidich

Three sisters brought up poor in rural Minnesota, verbally, physically and for one, sexually abused, without the support of their mother who was worn gown by her husband. They lost touch with each other until called back home because their mother is dying.

The focus of the book is how the sisters overcome their anger at each other and at their mother for lack of support. Each one learns to face what she has buried for years and how it impacted her life. It is done in a straightforward manner and is not sappy but doesn’t leave out the emotions they experience in the process.

It was not at all what I expected. I was thinking of inheritance of things/stuff not behaviour that led to alcoholism, a repeat of the situation the inability to speak out on their own behalf. I think it could be useful to some.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

26pmarshall
Bewerkt: feb 27, 2020, 3:28 pm

#16, False Impression, Jeffrey Archer

In true Archer fashion this mystery twists and turns from London to Boston to Romania to Moscow and Japan and around the circle again. Blackmail, murders, forgery of great European artists bring togeather the FBI, a sleazy lawyer, a Japanese art collector and British nobles. He starts it in the New York Twin Towers on 9/11 and ties up the ends on 9/26 in a heritage home in England.
His chapters are crisp, his movement paced and I just kept turning the pages. One fault is the way he creates a romantic relationship between two characters without a bases for it, but it is believable. Just to fast at the end of the book for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

27pmarshall
mrt 1, 2020, 9:21 pm

February Summary

Read = 11

Total = 16

28pmarshall
Bewerkt: mrt 2, 2020, 3:11 pm

#17. Taxi Tales from Paris, Nicky Gentil

Taxi drivers in Paris must be unique, or else the author has the look of a person one should talk with. She recounts fun, amusing, sad, philosophical and homey conversations she has had over the 30 plus years she has lived in Paris recounting her life as a translator, jazz musician, writer, and mother. It has delightful moments but at the same time seems so unreal based on my own experience with taxi drivers across Canada and in in some American, European and African cities where silence is the norm. An enjoyable, light read.
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

29pmarshall
Bewerkt: mrt 13, 2020, 11:25 pm

#18. High Stakes, Dick Francis

A crooked trainer in cahoots with a bookie are out to take a toy inventor, Steven Scott, for all he is worth. When a cheater is caught out his refusal to accept that his behaviour has brought out actions against him by the innocent victim. Haters blinds people.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

30pmarshall
Bewerkt: mrt 10, 2020, 5:20 pm

#19. A Prisoner of Birth, Jeffrey Archer
Beth and Danny go out for a drink to celebrate their engagement and are joined by her brother Bernie. Also in the bar are four university friends celebrating. The evening ends with Bernie dead and Danny arrested and charged with murder.

The second section is the trial where Danny is found guilty based on the evidence of one of the four men. Prison , Freedom, Revenge, Redemption and Judgement follow. As with all Archer books there are interesting twists and turns as well as the unexpected. As always worth reading.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

31pmarshall
Bewerkt: mrt 15, 2020, 10:41 pm

#20. Crisis, Felix Francis

Harrison Foster, Legal Consultant is better known as Harry, a crisis management specialist. He knows nothing about horses or racing but is sent to Newmarket to find out why his client’s horse died in a stable fire. His Highness Sheikh Karim’s horse Prince of Troy was touted to win The Derby in two weeks. Solving the crisis is complicated by the behaviour of the family owning the stables and the finding of human remains. Francis deals with an unacceptable family behaviour and how it impacts different members. To say more would spoil the plot ending.
Felix has to believe his reader pick up on a fact the first time it is presented and not keep repeating it. It is something that can be caught and decided on in the editing process.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I am having trouble settling on books to read so I have returned to Dick and Felix Francis.

32pmarshall
Bewerkt: mrt 18, 2020, 2:53 pm

#21. Pulse, Felix Francis

Pulse is a different Francis Book, quite removed from those written by Dick and going farther into another subject than the previous Felix Francis titles. Both authors did plot their horse related mysteries around other occupations, bankers, pilots, and toy designers are some examples.

First I will outline the plot. Dr. Chris Rankin is a doctor in the emergency department of the Cheltenham Hospital. An unconscious man arrives from the racetrack without identification and he dies. She decides it is her fault and sets out to find out who he was and what happened to him. In the process she uncovers a racing/betting fix andshe endangers herself and her family. Typical Francis.

Dr. Rankin is suffering from depression and an eating disorder to the point she is suspended from her hospital duties and placed in a mental institution. She does return to work but recovery is a slow personal battle.

What makes this, in my mind, different from other Francis books is the detailed scientific and medical information provided, the details of the man’s symptoms, heart rate and blood pressure, the impact of orally ingested cocaine. In addition there is in-depth information on depression and anoxia and the mental and physical impact on the person, in this case Dr. Rankin, and her family. This is not in-passing information but as I said detailed information throughout the book that is presented in both a scientific and layman’s language. I found it repetitious, a fault I have found in other Felix Francis books.

When I don’t know what to read I look to Dick/Felix Francis as comfort books. This won’t be on my comfort list, but I will probably reread it because some of the plot details are hidden by the medical info. If you read Francis don’t skip Pulse.
Reviewed 2018/1/1
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

I did reread Pulse in March, 2020, and while I stand by what I said about the excessive detail, I think I enjoyed the book more the second time round. I knew where the medical information was leading.

33pmarshall
Bewerkt: mrt 16, 2020, 3:14 pm

#22. Fairy Mom and Me #3: Fairy Unicorn Wishes, Sophie Kinsella

Many young girls wish they could be a fairy, have a pet unicorn and magical powers. Ella Brook is no different, except when she grows up she will be a fairy like her mother, her Aunty Jo and her Granny and all the women in her family. She is a fairy-in-waiting. They can fly, become invisible and perform magic. To assist them they have a Computawand V5 which has magical powers, a computer screen, Fairy Apps, Mail and Games.Ella can hardly wait until she can have one of her own.

Ella’s mother doesn’t read instructions and isn’t very good at doing magic spells which she learns from Fairy Tube. The focus of the book is what happens when spells go wrong and the amusing outcomes - the raining of handbags in the kitchen, the dancing cows, sheep’s and pigs in the meadows where they were having a picnic, the accidental transfer of control of a food spell to Ella and then her baby brother which resulted in some interesting breakfast food.

This is a chapter book with delightful sketched illustrations throughout the book which adds to the humour and entertainment. At the end of the book is a Family Activity Guide which includes crafts and games. It is aimed at readers age 8 - 12. I am frequently critical of font size so I am pleased to comment positively on the design and layout of this book, it makes it easy and pleasurable to read.

I received this book through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

34pmarshall
Bewerkt: mrt 27, 2020, 8:00 pm

Dit bericht is door zijn auteur gewist.

35pmarshall
Bewerkt: mrt 22, 2020, 1:41 pm

#23. Edwin of the Iron Shoes, Marcia Muller.

I started and stopped a number of titles in the past week and finally resorted to my old friend Sharon McCone. She investigates a land deal in a good location in San Francisco, a murdered antiques/second hand dealer and the selling of stolen Italian paintings. It's Sharon McCone's first case as staff investigator for All Souls Legal Cooperative.
I first read this in 2004, it was originally published in 1977 so I had a number of titles ahead, unfortunately not all of them are available on Kindle so my reread will be piecemeal for a while.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

36pmarshall
Bewerkt: mrt 23, 2020, 12:31 am

Dit bericht is door zijn auteur gewist.

37pmarshall
mrt 23, 2020, 12:28 am

#24. Ask the Cards a Question, Marcia Muller

Sharon investigates a murder in her own apartment building. Sleuthing out the small-time secrets of her quirky neighbors leads Sharon in and around the neighborhood, and to a shocking string of big-time deals and blackmail.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

38pmarshall
Bewerkt: mrt 24, 2020, 8:10 am

#25. The Cheshire cat's Eye, Marcia Muller

Ambitious developers are pushing for restoration of old Victorian mansions and residents are fighting for their homes...until a controversial restorationist is found dead on the job, awash in garish house paint.

Sharon embarks on her third murder investigation for All Souls Legal Cooperative and it shows the beginning of her network of people to turn to for information. In this case characters from Edwin of the Iron Shoes reappeared, in particular Lt. Greg Marcus who, I suspect, will reappear in the future.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

39pmarshall
Bewerkt: mrt 27, 2020, 8:01 pm

#26. The Dreamer (Mike Daley/Rosie Fernandez), Sheldon Siegel

If I understand it correctly the Dreamer was a category President Obama created for people in the United States in 2012, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. The young woman accused of murder is registered as a Dreamer, but that disegnation will expire in a few weeks. She is accused of killing her boss, a well known chef and restaurant owner, as well as being a nasty person.

I like Siegel because he clearly lays out the building of the case and it’s pros and cons and then it’s presentation in court.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

40pmarshall
Bewerkt: mrt 27, 2020, 8:17 pm

#27. Eye of the Storm, Marcia Muller

Sharon McCone helps her younger sister Patsy by investigates mysterious acts of vandalism at an old mansion but when they escalates to savage murder, she finds herself trapped on the island in the delta of the Sacramento River with a desperate killer during the storm of the decade.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

41pmarshall
Bewerkt: mrt 27, 2020, 11:04 pm

#28. First Trial, Sheldon Siegel

Mike Daley, just out of law school, has joined the office of the. Public Defender in San Francisco and has just met Rosie Fernandez. It is a Friday and he will be defending his first client on Monday. Rosie takes him through the Fernandez method of preparing for and presenting a case at trial, it is a narrative you put on for the jury. He wins his first case and starts a new friendship.A short story written in 2019 that is a prequel to the series that started in 2000.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

42pmarshall
Bewerkt: mrt 29, 2020, 9:00 am

#29. Wolf in the shadows, Marcia Muller

Hy Ripinsky, Sharon's lover and an environmental activist, suddenly vanishes. Determined to find him, Sharon discovers Hy's abandoned plane, wrecked rental car, and the intrigues of a shady international security firm. Is he involved with recovering a kidnapped biotech executive, the movement of illegals across the Mexico - U. S. border. Sharon is stretched trying to find him, avoid those so-called good guys trailing her and the changes at All Souls which could mean the end of her job there.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It is frustrating rereading this series as not all the early books are available on Kindle, my memory patches in some pieces of titles I read 10 - 15 years ago. I have reread 5 and this is # 15,

43pmarshall
Bewerkt: mrt 30, 2020, 10:56 pm

#30. A wild and lonely place, Marcia Muller

It's worth a $1 Million reward to Sharon McCone if she catches the man called the Diplo-bomber, who has set off bombs at consulates all over the U.S. Diplomatic Immunity plays a major role in the book. There are many editing problems in the text hence my lower ranking.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

44pmarshall
Bewerkt: mrt 30, 2020, 11:12 pm

March SummaryRead - 14
Reviewed - 1

Total - 30

45pmarshall
Bewerkt: apr 1, 2020, 1:28 pm

#31 The broken promise land, Marcia Muller

Ricky Savage, McCone's brother-in-law, is the hottest country singer in the business. He's on top professionally, but hitting rock bottom in his personal life. Ricky has been getting anonymous letters threatening not only himself, but also his family, so he turns to his sister-in-law Sharon McCone for her investigative skills. Interesting insight on the behind the scenes operations of a country music star, the business and how concerts are run.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

46pmarshall
apr 2, 2020, 5:35 pm

#32. Both Ends of the Night, Marcia Muller

A missing person's case becomes a personal vendetta. Together with Hy Ripinsky, McCone bypasses the authorities to hunt down the man responsible for her flight instructor's death. It involves ten plus year old crimes in Arkansan, the witness protection program and political ambitions.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

47pmarshall
apr 3, 2020, 9:10 am

#33. While Other People Sleep, Marcia Muller

A mysterious woman is handing out McCone's business cards, advising clients, and picking up men for intimate encounters. The woman's physical resemblance to McCone is uncanny. Her knowledge of McCone's life is chilling. Who is she? Why is she doing it? Where will it lead? Good insight on the impact identity theft has on the victim. A subplot of gays being harassed provides the same kind of victim insight.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

48pmarshall
Bewerkt: apr 4, 2020, 8:53 pm

#34. A walk through the fire, Marcia Muller

Accidents are plaguing a documentary film crew on beautiful Kauai. Sharon and Hy are asked to provide security and they have their own personal fire to walk through. Provides an interesting history of Hawaii and the different races that settled it as well as their sagas.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

49pmarshall
Bewerkt: apr 5, 2020, 8:04 pm

#35. Listen to the silence, Marcia Muller

While going through her father's personal effects following his death, McCone comes upon a shocking document, one that raises questions about her birth.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

50pmarshall
Bewerkt: apr 6, 2020, 10:05 pm

Dit bericht is door zijn auteur gewist.

51pmarshall
Bewerkt: apr 6, 2020, 10:10 pm

#36. Dead Midnight, Marcia Muller

Following the suicide of her brother Joey Sharon becomes involved in another case involving a suicide, set against a background of Ventura capital and an on line magazine. Rack of Miller’s mysteries have become more involved and twisted. This one involves not only nasty people but computers and what they can do and hide.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

52pmarshall
Bewerkt: apr 7, 2020, 8:17 pm

#37. The Dangerous Hour, Marcia Muller

The future’s looking bright for Sharon McCone and her staff until one of the firm’s operatives, Julia Rafael, is arrested for major credit card fraud. From somewhere in her past a person is determined to bring Sharon down, publicly humiliate her and ruin her business. The first step was through Julia. In the process of defending herself she uncovers a drug smuggling ring. The entire affair makes her question hersel, past decisions and her relationships.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

53avaland
apr 7, 2020, 8:58 am

>15 pmarshall: I'm glad someone else read this book. I think I was more forgiving of Evelyn than you.

54NanaCC
apr 7, 2020, 11:46 am

You are certainly reading a lot, Penny. I’m always amazed at the number of books you read.

55pmarshall
apr 7, 2020, 8:15 pm

>54 NanaCC::
Remember I live in a nursing home and there is not a lot to do, particularly now as no one else is allowed in. Take care.

56pmarshall
Bewerkt: apr 8, 2020, 9:26 pm

#38. Vanishing Point, Marcia Muller

McCone investigates the disappearance, 22 years before, of Laurel Greenwood, an artist, housewife and mother. This leads to the disappearance of Laurel’s daughter. The book starts with the celebration of Sharon and Hy’s wedding and what follows is a close-up of two dysfunctional marriages.

⭐️⭐️⭐️👍

57pmarshall
Bewerkt: apr 9, 2020, 9:42 pm

#39. The Ever-Running Man, Marcia Muller

Hy's company, Renshaw and Kessell International, is under attack and Sharon is called in to investigate. It requires an examination of the pasts of the three partners in the firm to come to a solution. It places a big strain on Sharon and Hy’s marriage.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

58pmarshall
Bewerkt: apr 10, 2020, 6:15 pm

#40. Burn Out, Marcia Muller

McCone has reached a point where she is questioning what to do with her professional life. She goes to their ranch to try and work things out and becomes involved in the murder investigation of the ranch manager's niece and all that follows. Working through the investigation leads her to a solution for her business. A study on the impact of depression and PTSD on people who have beeen raped, had their life threatened and are just worn down and afraid.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

59pmarshall
apr 10, 2020, 6:26 pm

#41. Locked In, Marcia Muller

Sharon McCone comes across a burglar in her office and is shot in the head which causes a locked in condition. She can not move, or speak but can hear all that is said around her and can respond by blinking her eyelids. All of her operatives look at their current and recent cases to determine who the assailant could be. As Sharon listens she helps direct them as they question themselves. She faces a long recovery after the bullet moves and brain surgery is requires.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

60pmarshall
Bewerkt: apr 12, 2020, 3:47 pm

#42. Coming Back, Marcia Muller

McCone is back at work following rehab for a bullet wound to the head. She is received with mixed feelings from her staff, ranging from she should still be off and in rehab, to let's give her a chance and see how she handles it (we will, of course, follow her to make sure she doesn't blow it). And she has her own self doubts as she becomes involved in a case of a missing friend with a link to rogue intelligence agencies. Can I handle this case or will I need to turn it over to others to complete? It is told by different employees of McCone’s as well as Hy and herself.

An interesting statement on former military and agents who return to the United States after serving abroad with more freedom to enforce their own view of patriotism than was approved or just overlooked. In the U. S. they carried on with the same beliefs. One real example is the Assignation Club whose’s members attempted to kill different world leaders. Castro was sent an exploding cigar! That failed. I remember reading about the incident.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

61pmarshall
Bewerkt: apr 13, 2020, 2:26 pm

#43. City of Whispers, Marcia Muller
McCone's half brother Darcy Blackhawk is missing in the dark side of San Francisco. Told by Sharon, Mick Savage and Darcy Blackstone the plot covers a two year old murder and current day attempts to find ways to export money from the murder by unscrupulous people with a link to the victim. Darcy is involved because they think he has information they can use. Unfortunately their treatment of him pushes his fragile mental state too far. I don’t think this as good as Miller’s previous works.

62pmarshall
Bewerkt: apr 14, 2020, 7:46 pm

#44. Looking for Yesterday, Marcia Muller

The thirty Sharon McCone and it still has that special Muller touch. It draws me in and I can’t put it down once I am part of it and I hate it when it ends. The extra bit in this book is how you can lose so much and not let it drag you down following the first terrible shock, and still hold on to what is important.

A woman acquitted of murdering her friend three years ago asks McCone to investigate her case and find out who did it because in the media she is still held guilty.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

63pmarshall
apr 13, 2020, 7:41 pm

#45. Kindling Point, Marcia Muller

An old San Francisco victorian house is under renovations, the wife has uneasy feeling about her husband, his lack of attention to the renovations and increased drinking, her young daughter and her friend are playing with a ouija board and talking about unhappy ghosts and the past starts to repeat its self.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

64pmarshall
Bewerkt: apr 15, 2020, 6:08 pm

#46. The Night Searchers, Marcia Muller

In San Francisco Night Searchers are a group of people who follow clues to discover a treasure, in the dark of night regardless of the weather. Is one of McCone's clients using this group to terrify his wife so he can have her committed? If so why? Sharon and her husband, Hy Ripinsky, find their separate cases merging over the Night Searchers.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

65pmarshall
Bewerkt: apr 16, 2020, 4:24 pm

#47. Someone Always Knows, Marcia Muller

McCone and Ripinsky International is the result of Sharon and Hy finally uniting their companies into one and it is immediately threatened. Gage Renshaw, a past partner of Hy’s who went missing some years earlier appears with a threat ... but he won’t articulate it. Hy is called away leaving Sharon to deal with Renshaw as well as a new case that ends up becoming involved with Renshaw.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

66pmarshall
apr 16, 2020, 4:32 pm

#48. The Color of Fear, Marcia Muller

Sharon McCone’s father, Elwood, is attacked in San Francisco and left for dead in what appears to be a racially motivated attack. Subsequent events against her agency and staff support this theory. It happens just prior to Christmas and is solved by New Year’s. It highlights an increasingly nasty side of our society as well as the ‘don’t get involved’ sector, but not in a preachy way by any means.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

67pmarshall
apr 17, 2020, 11:05 am

#49.The Breakers, Marcia Muller

The Breakers was low-key for a Muller mystery. In this book a young friend and former cat and house sitter of Sharon's disappears from an old building she is rehabbing and her parents reach out to Sharon. She does the majority of the leg work herself and, in fact it is a fairly straightforward case, but it does have a couple of strange side plots. The ending makes me think the end of the series is near. I wonder who will replace Sharon McCone and Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone for me? I hope I am wrong.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

68pmarshall
Bewerkt: apr 18, 2020, 3:41 pm

Marcia Muller

I started reading Marcia Muller and her Sharon McCone mysteries in the 1980’s, waiting impatiently for each new one. Her first books were straight forward sleuthing and through them I got introduced to the various parts of San Francisco. A city I never got to visit.

She left All Souls Legal Co-op and went out on her own and gradually build up her agency, particularly the technology aspect. She and Sue Grafton started their series about the same time but took a different approach to time so McCone could use cell phones and computers and Kinsey Milhone couldn’t.

Muller incorporated different social problems into her books, racism, the problems of being a single parent, Mom or Dad, attacks on gays, international issues, environmentalism and medical problems. She did so in a way that enabled the books to stay grounded, the reader to learn something or at least think about a current social issue. Muller writes to entertain and to inform and she does so in a manner that is not preachy or off-putting. She has a sense of humour and knows how to use it.

I hope I am wrong about The Breakers, #34, being the end of the series. Since publishing it she has edited a couple of short story anthologies and is co-writing a historical mystery series, Carpenter and Quincannon with her husband Bill Pronzini, the author of another mystery series I enjoyed, The Nameless Detective.

Besides McCone, Muller has written three other series, most less than four titles. She has won Shamus, Anthony and Edgar awards as well as the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. I highly recommend her McCone books and suggest that you read them in order if possible. Unfortunately not all her early titles are available on Kindle.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

69pmarshall
Bewerkt: apr 20, 2020, 7:01 am

#50. Hid from Our Eyes, Julia Spencer Fleming

After a six year absence Spencer Fleming returns with her Claire Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne series. Russ and Clare are married with a four month old son, Ethan. Clare is trying to assume her church duties and balance home and childcare problems. Russ is faced with the possible demise of the Miller Kill Police Department depending on a vote in the upcoming November election. To save money the city council proposes that the State Police take over the town policing. He is very much against this because they don’t know the communities or do crime prevention.

For the third time the body of a young woman in fancy dress but no shoes is found face down on the same country road with no visible explanations for the cause of death. In 1952 the State Police dismissed it as a hit and run. In 1972 the man who reported the body, a returning veteran is thought to be guilty. He was Russ who is now is faced with the third body. He is determined to solve the case and in doing so involves the police chief from 1972.

In an attempt to win the vote Clare and some church elders become involved in the Save Our Police campaign which leads to involvement with a wealthy summer family from New York.

Against the backdrop of flashbacks to the first two cases, town politics, the ongoing involvement of Police Officers Haley Knox and Kevin Flynn and the summer family’s bank succession issues Spenser Fleming weaves the solution to the crimes. It may seem a stretch but it all hangs together.

At the time of writing she dealt with the death of her husband, mother and close friend. Regardless she wrote a fine mystery and ended it with a cliffhanger that sets up the next book. I hope it comes soon.

Reviewed April 20, 2020

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

70pmarshall
Bewerkt: apr 20, 2020, 2:10 pm

#51. Merrill-Go-Round, Marcia Muller

A mother whose young daughter is missing asks Sharon McCone to look into it. She was last seen on a merry-go-round riding a pig but didn't get off.A short story from McCone’s time at the All Souls Legal Co-op.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

71pmarshall
apr 20, 2020, 2:25 pm

#52. Tell Me Who I Am, Marcia Muller

In this short story a young woman approaches McCone with a case she immediately identifies with. When her mother died, leaving her alone, she finds clippings about a missing two year old, missing from a small town in California. She lives in Michigan. When the case is successfully closed McCone has the need to reach out to a family member and her birth father is the only one available. She tells him how proud she is to have created a family and he points out it is not the first time and lays out for her all the family members she brought together around and relating to herself.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

72pmarshall
Bewerkt: apr 22, 2020, 6:14 am

#53. Skelton in the Closet, Marcia Muller

Sharon McCone has finally accepted new office space is needed by her agency. She signs a contract for an old house on Sly Lane and then goes back to take another look. This look leads to the opening of an old box with, you guessed it, a skeleton inside. The search for the identity leads her to the ‘fourth dimension,’ both the belief in the place and a fraud group who had hoped to inherit the house. A short story.

73pmarshall
Bewerkt: apr 22, 2020, 6:26 am

#54. Deceptions: A Short Story Collection, Marcia Muller

A collection of short stories featuring Sharon McCone, Elena Oliverez and a spooky western. Good read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

74pmarshall
Bewerkt: apr 28, 2020, 5:44 pm

#55. Mary Russell's War (Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes)by Laurie R King

Ten short stories relate Mary Russell’s history from her childhood in San Francisco with her American father from Boston, her mother, a Jew from London and her younger brother all of whom die in a car crash when she is 14. She sails across the Atlantic during WW I and meets Holmes while living on her Sussex Farm. Her marriage to Holmes, the background of Mrs. Hudson it all leads to her preparing her memoirs and a Christmas at Justice Hall with a great granddaughter who at age 5 demonstrates skills which helps 92 year Mary Russell and Holmes, 146, get a big step toward solving another case. Yes 146, a fact that computes for me but is totally unrealistic. However aside from that Russell has woven an amazing tale.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

75pmarshall
mei 1, 2020, 8:25 pm

April Review

76pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 18, 2020, 7:49 am

#56. First Bones A Temperance Brennan Novella, Kathy Reichs

Kathy Reichs relates the event that moved her from being an academic anthropology archeologist to being a forensic archeologist as she sits by the bedside of a dying colleague. She is frustrated with having to rewrite her dissertation when Slidell bursts into her office demanding her presence at a crime site because his usual expert is unavailable. It takes Tempe a long time to adjust to his manner but as she works through her first investigation she slowly loses her interest in thousands of years old bones and the lives they lives and switches to who held the gun and put a bullet in this man’s head and why. This is the beginning of the series.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

77pmarshall
Bewerkt: mei 6, 2020, 12:19 am

#57. Front Runner, Felix Francis

Jeff Hinkley is told by the top jockey that he is being blackmailed to stop races. Before they can meet again the jockey is murderd. Hinkley encountes an angry situation where he over hears a man being told "You shouldn't even be in the country!" and he wants to know why.

Interesting information on how long you can live in Great Britain and a tax haven,like the Cayman Islands, and avoid paying taxes.

⭐️⭐️👍1/2

78pmarshall
jun 1, 2020, 12:40 pm

May 2020 Summary:

2 Read

57 total

I was in the hospital and then unable to concentrate to read.

79pmarshall
jun 1, 2020, 12:42 pm

#58 Guilty Not Guilty, Felix Francis

His wife is murdered and for a period of a week or so the police suspect him, he is arrested and then released. He is convinced his brother-in-law is responsible. When he nearly dies in a car accident his conviction, and fear, grows. The second part of the book deals with the trial. Will the jury convict? Is he guilty, was it murder? The cover poses the question “Who do you believe?”Does it ultimately come down to that or the actions of someone else?

The preface presents a clear explanation of the British law system and how lawyers, barristers and solicitors differ.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

80pmarshall
Bewerkt: jun 11, 2020, 6:20 am

#59. Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II, Robert Matzen

Hepburn’s father was a British fascist who spent the war years in jail in England.. Her mother, a Dutch baroness, met Hitler in 1935 and was a follower of the Nazis’ until she realized it was not in her best interests. Audrey knew of her parents leanings but never spoke of them.

Hepburn was age 10 to 15 in 1940-45 and her experience of living in the small Dutch village of Velp on the edge of the city of Anthan, both of which were destroyed in the final year of the war are the major focus of the book. There are indications she was involved in running errands for the resistance but no details are provided.

Her dream was to be a ballet dancer and despite the war she continued her lessons in the early years. Her height of 5’ 7” was against her as was the rationing which gradually drained her of energy. The winter of 1945 was known as the Winter of Hunger and thousands died.

Following the end of the war there is a synopsis of Hepburn’s career.

I found the writing of this book confusing, particularly at the beginning and that is why I am rating it ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2.

81pmarshall
Bewerkt: jun 11, 2020, 6:20 am

#60. Riviera gold, Laurie R. King

Following Island of Mad Sherlock goes to Romania and Mary works as crew aboard a sail boat from Venice to Monte Carlo where she takes on a search for Mrs. Hudson.

The plot is twisted around various past and present smuggling activities, one involving Jack Hudson (Clara’s father), another the Czar’s gold both pre-revolution and 1925. King also mixes in some Americans, Gerald and
Sara Murphy, author Fitzgerald and Spanish artist Picasso for colour as well as Lillie Langtry, a long time friend of Clara Hudso and some Russian nobility/thugs.

Even with the multiple characters and strings of plot King does keep it moving and fairly straightforward however she loses a half ⭐️ because of it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

82777qiuqiu
jun 11, 2020, 6:03 am

Deze gebruiker is verwijderd als spam.

83pmarshall
Bewerkt: jun 13, 2020, 3:49 pm

#61. In the Name of Truth,Viveca Sten

Two quite diverse stories, young teens at a sailing camp and a legal case involving the bankruptcy of a company and the disappearance of millions of Kroger’s. The common thread is bullying. A young man who didn’t want to go to the camp is picked on by two experienced sailors who have a history of bullying once the camp leaders start to examine their behaviour. In the legal case the behaviour of the two friends and company owners can be interrupted as a form of bullying. The two situations cross when the reluctant camper, a son of one of the men involved in the legal case, goes missing and is believed to be kidnapped. Floating through the background are the problems of working couples and balancing work and relationship time.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

84pmarshall
Bewerkt: jun 25, 2020, 12:27 am

#62. A Conspiracy of Bones, Kathy Reichs

Kathy Reichs says “A Conspiracy of Bones” is a book about what is real and what is not real. Did Tempe really see a man in a trench coat spying on her in the middle of the night? Is what Body writes in his blogs about vaccinations causing autism, and the Russians causing the sinking and death of over 900 people on the ferryboat “Estonia” a real event or were they actors paid for their performance? Are the events vaguely remembered from the blackouts cased by the migraines caused by the unruptered cerebral aneurysm in Tempe’s brain real or nightmares? There is also the ashram, a touch of the ‘60’s, and the renovated bomb shelters, the U. S. Army nuclear bases billed as ‘safe dwellings.’

To say Brennan and her new boss, Dr. Heavner don’t get along is an understatement and the former is wondering how much longer she will actually have a job. She has been told to leave the current case alone but is not able to when she sees the way it is handled, or rather not handled. She involves former policeman Skinny Slidell now working as a P. I. with Andrew Ryan, her lover, from Montreal. In addition to the unidentified body there are missing children, cases which are difficult for both Slidell and Brennan. The Internet and in particular the deep Internal plays an important role. It is Tempe’s 77 year old Southern mother who leads her into the latter’s depths.
and although she needs her mother’s internet expertise at the end to show her the right direction Brennan comes to the correct solution.

All of this sounds like far too much for one book but Reichs keeps it under control. Incidentally the book was delayed a year because Reichs had the same brain condition as Brennan. If it had been delayed another year she would have had to write in COVID-19 to match her references to SARS, AIDS and other world wide illnesses. It will be interesting to see what authors do with 2020 in their writing.

I always enjoy Reichs’ books but this one touched on subjects and experiences I don’t like to read about; crime involving children is high on my avoidance list as is horror/terror as presented in Tempe’s nightmares. So I give it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 for enjoyment and ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for writing.

Reviewed 2020-6-20

85pmarshall
Bewerkt: jun 20, 2020, 6:34 am

Dit bericht is door zijn auteur gewist.

86pmarshall
Bewerkt: jul 4, 2020, 7:12 pm

#63. The Sentence Is Death, Anthony Horowitz

Anthony Horowitz is once again following Detective Daniel Hawthorne around as he works to solve two murders. Horowitz is suppose to turn the case into a book. He feels that as he is exposed to all the same information as Hawthorne he should be able to solve the case - but he is wrong at every turn.

This is the second in this series and for me the last. I don’t like Hawthorne’s attitude toward people, in particular Horowitz. He is arrogant and rude and doesn’t share yet expects cooperation from all. Yet he needs their help to be the top guy at the end.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

87pmarshall
jul 4, 2020, 7:15 pm

June Summary
6 - Read
1 - Reviewed

63 - Total Read

88pmarshall
jul 6, 2020, 5:00 pm

#64. A Vigil of Spies, Candace Robb

The Archbishop of York, John Thoresby, is dying and Owen Archer,Thoresby's master of the guard wants to make his master's last days as peaceful as possible. But people have come to watch and wait, hatch plots to gain ground for his successor, uncover old secrets and murder when necessary.
In an afterword Robb compares it to an Agatha Christie country mansion mystery. She says she has an affinity to Christie as they share a birthday.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

89pmarshall
Bewerkt: jul 10, 2020, 10:19 am

#65. The Bone Jar, Candace Robb

Magda asks Archer to stay overnight in her boathouse to protect her bone jar, a jar full of human bones which she is waiting to be picked up and given a proper burial. She things someone is watching her home with the intention of stealing the bones for other, perhaps pagan, uses.
⭐️⭐️⭐️

90pmarshall
jul 9, 2020, 1:23 pm

#66. A Conspiracy of Wolves, Candace Robb

It has been some months since the death of the Archbishop of York and Richard Neville has been named to the position. It is time for Owen Archer to make a decision about his future. He has two choices, both wanting immediate answers, Chief Baliff of the City of York or as spy for the Prince of Wales. Geoffrey Chaucer, who appeared in A Vigil of Spies is representing the Prince.

Two prominent citizens and members of the same family are murdered and rumours are that wolves were involved. The City asks Archer to assist in the investigation. It turns out to be a complicated case going back twenty years involving both prominent families and river people.

The conclusion of the case aids Archer in the decision he has to make. We can look forward to more books in this series, to my pleasure.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

91pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 18, 2020, 7:54 am

#67. Unnatural Causes, Richard Shepherd

“Unnatural Causes” is an amazing biography by Dr. Richard Shepherd a forensic pathologist in England., practicing from the mid-1980’s until the late 20 teens.. His career covered a period of great advancements in his field, the availability of DNA for the identification of bodies being just one example. It also saw a negative setback when Schools of Medecine in British universities closed their forensic pathology departments because the pathologists weren’t producing enough academic papers.

He developed a respect for the dead and learned how to provide solace to families by telling them what he had learned from their relative rather than just saying he was “sorry for their loss.” He educated scores of police officers by explaining what he was doing and why, a practice that he started to help them to get past feeling sick.

He worked with individual bodies, from 6 month old infants to seniors, murders, those who had committed suicide, victims of mass shootings and boating accidents involving over 100. Later in his career he was called to international disasters, he reviewed the files of Princess Diana’s death for the investigation carried out by the British government. He agreed with the original findings, a car accident cause by speed and drunk driving and lack of seat belt use by the victims.

Through out the book he relates his life history, his bleak childhood because of his mother’s heart condition and her death when he was 8. The positive exampale of his father as a single parent on one hand but his negative example of how to deal with emotions other than by burying them.

This plus the events of his work which he also buried came to haunt him and eventually forced him to seek help. A diagnosis of PTSD followed. With an acceptance of it, a return to flying which gave him a sense of freedom and a happy second marriage (not necessarily in that order) gave him back the joy he once felt in his accomplishments. This book was part of his recovery plan although he didn’t initially write it for publication it became a best seller and was on the New York Times 2018 Best Seller List. It will be on my 2020 list.

I am a reader of mysteries and biographies, and a follower of Kathy Reichs’ Tempe Brennan’s forensic anthropologist series. This is what drew me to this book as well as a fellow member of LibraryThing’s recommendation. I pass on that recommendation along with my own.

Reviewed

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

92pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 18, 2020, 8:27 am

#68. Queen of the World: Elizabeth II: Sovereign and Stateswoman, Robert Hardman

I saw the Queen on tv today (Sunday, April 5, 2020) addressing the People of Great Britain and the Commonwealth on Covid19 and its impact. I was so impressed by her 4 1/2 minute address and all that she covered. She emphasized the need for resolve and calm and ended with “We will meet again.” This is only the third time she has addressed the nation in such a way. She will be 94 in a couple of weeks and as one broadcaster commented when she finished “She still has it!” CBC interviewed a number of people before and after she spoke and Robert Hardman was one of them. I haven’t read a book on the Queen for sometime and his approach in “Queen of the World” appealed to me. It was published in 2018.

Robert Hardman, author of “Queen of the World” has been a newspaper and television reporter and columnist for over 25 years. He has also produced tv specials for the BBC and ITV, a number of them on the Queen and members of the Royal Family. He is a respected writer in his field.

I have read numerous books on Queen Elizabeth II over the years but this is the first that gave me a clear view of what she actually did and what she has accomplished in her reign and her life. She has been one very busy person and much of it behind the scenes because of the limitations of her position. The major one being she holds a constitutional position and as such can’t speak on politics. She represents Great Britain to the world but she can not speak or act on behalf of the government. That is the role of the Prime Minister and Parliament. She could do nothing but the few things that go with her position, like opening parliament and doing good works for charities, but that is not her way. Instead she created a job for herself and it has been passed on to members. She has an amazing work ethic and very importantly she cares about individuals as well as countries and how their actions have an impact on their citizens.

Just for a moment look back at the two previous kings. Edward VIII didn’t want the job except on his terms and he gave it up “for the woman I love.” It is interesting to note that 80 years later his great great grandson married a divorced woman and it was not an issue at all. George VI’s reign was defined by World War II and its aftermath. Elizabeth was the first monarch able to define her own position. This she did in a broadcast from Cape Town, South Africa in 1947 on her 21 birthday when she pledged her life “be it long or short” to serving her country and its people. Now, 73 years later, 68 of them as Queen, she is still living up to that pledge.

“Queen of the World” starts with explaining all of the behind the scenes work that goes into a royal tour and how their role has developed. When the cost of these tours became a focus the planners developed a trade and commerce aspect which focused on investment in Britain. It became very successful, a fact of which many of the detractors of the tours were not even aware. She has made over 260 visits to over 125 nations, some that no longer exist, (Northern Rhodesia) and others that are new (Czech Republic).

A major theme that runs through the book is the Commonwealth and how it works. It developed out of the British Empire as countries gained their independence. Today there are 53 countries in the Commonwealth but only 14 were part of the British Empire. The other 39 joined because of the Queen, not just to have a Queen but to have a relationship with Queen Elizabeth.

Her relationship with countries outside the Commonwealth is also cover, the America’s, Europe, Asia, the Caribbean and Africa which has a special place in her heart. It was there that she became Queen. At age 72 I have lived through much of the history related and was fascinated to learn of her role.

The books ends with chapters on The Family and their individual interests, the support they provide the Queen and how the responsibles are moving out to younger members of the Windsor Team. One fact that will surprise many is to learn that one of the hardest working royals is The Princess Royal, Princess Anne. The book was published in 2018 so Prince Harry is playing a major role, particularly in Commonwealth activities. It would be interesting to hear what Hardman has to say in 2020. Without ever saying I could see that the future without the Queen was being planned. After reading “Queen of the World” I realize she will leave a much larger vacancy than I expected.

In Canada the law was changed in 1947 so I was born a Canadian citizen, not a British subject, and I am proud of this. Regardless, she has always been my Queen. As a child I read books written by her governess about her and her sister Margaret and I have continued to follow her. I have a memory of sitting on my father’s shoulders and seeing Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh in 1951, when I was 4 years old.

If you are all curious about what the Queen does; what she has accomplished in her long reign, the positive impact she has made with her quiet diplomacy read this book. I think you too will be amazed. She truly is Queen of the World!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Reviewed

93pmarshall
Bewerkt: jul 18, 2020, 1:24 pm

#69. Find Them Dead, Peter James
A major drug bust leads to the arrest of a respected legal aid lawyer accused of maintaining an international drug ring. The major focus of the book is his trial, which includes his attempt to hobble the jury to ensure a not guilty verdict. Roy Grace, recently returned from 6 months with the Met. Force in London is once again faces with the back stabbing behaviour of his boss, Pewes. As always James leaves me waiting for the next book with the hint that he may finally get back at his boss. Time will tell.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

94pmarshall
jul 20, 2020, 8:43 pm

#70. The Apothecary Rose, Candace Robb

The first book in the Owen Archer series set in 14 century York, England, it introduces the main characters who will remain in the series as well as introduces the city of York and its Minister, which is under construction. Set against this is the murder of two pilgrims who were in the Minister’s infirmary. Who were they? Who prepared the poison medication? What tied their deaths to Lucie Wilton? An interesting start to the series.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

95pmarshall
Bewerkt: jul 22, 2020, 8:38 am

#71. The Lady Chapel, Candace Robb

Edward III is manipulating the wool trade between England and Flanders to raise money to support his war with France and his attempt to gain the French crown. In York two wool merchants are murdered and John Thoresby, Archbishop of York and the Chancellor of England calls in Owen Archer to find the murderer. His concern is not having this interfere with donations to the York Minister and in particular The Lady Chapel where he plans to eventually be buried. Construction of the Minister started in the 7th. century and it was completed in 1472. More characters are introduced to the series.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

96pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 18, 2020, 8:21 am

#72. The Answer is ...: Reflections on My Life, Alex Trebek

Alex Trebek started hosting quiz and game shows for the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) in Toronto in 1963. In 1973 he moved to Los Angeles, where he hosted a number of game and quiz shows, lasting a few months to a few years. In 1984 he became the host of Jeopardy! And has done so for 37 years, seeing himself not as a star but a person who makes the contestants comfortable and them to perform at their best.

In “ The Answer Is...” Trebek reflects on his youth in Sudbury, Ontario, and his relationships with his parents, his ongoing relationship with his alma mater the University of Ottawa, his Canadian and American television careers, his involvement with World Vision and other charities and the impact they have had on his life. Throughout the retelling of his life story he presents his personal philosophy, his dismay with today’s politicians, the importance of education, the impact of COVID-19 on his family life and the United States.

On March 6, 2019 he announced on Jeopardy! his cancer diagnosis and gradually we learn of the degree of pin he suffers. He hasn’t let it stop him from hosting but that is all he is able to do. This effort matches his views on the role of a host and his interactions with the contestants. He recently told his family that he was going to finish his current round of treatment and then look to a hospice for his final care.

Trebek is not upfront and open as many personalities are in their autobiographies, he selects what he wants the reader to know and how it helped shape his personal philosophy. It is a gentle read, to be read thoughtfully. This allows you to appreciate his philosophical gems.

Reviewed July 23, 2020

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

97pmarshall
Bewerkt: jul 26, 2020, 12:50 pm

#73. The Nun’s Tale, Candace Robb
Dame Joanna Calverley of Leeds a professed nun, has fled her convent and become involved, through her brother, with some soldiers who end up dead, with no clear explanation of how or why. She claims an identity with the Blessed Virgin and, sometimes, with Mary Magdalene . Is she of sound mind and acting her chosen role? Lucie Wilton seems to be able to get the most information from her, but what is she withholding? She wears a blue shawl she claims the Blessed Virgin gave her and refuses to be parted from it. It was woven in Yorkshire which makes her story suspect.

The historical facts of this novel, the fight between two brothers over the throne of Castile, the freelance soldiers who roamed Europe, many English left in France after the latest phase of the 100 Years War and the events at King Edward III’s court are true. As is the bases for the tale of Johanna of Kent. The author just used a little leeway in timing to bring the events together.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

98pmarshall
jul 28, 2020, 6:47 am

#74. The King’s Bishop, Candace Robb
This, the fourth in the Owen Archer series, focuses on the politics of the court and church. The Pope’s power is even brought in to cross that of the king as the latter determines the appointment of an archbishop.

The death - murder?, of a page and lady’s maid seem inconsequential to such weighty decisions but become central when solving them pits one powerful group of courtiers and churchmen against another and gets tangled in the above mentioned appointment. Archer spends much of his time galloping across the North and back and forth to London in his attempt to protect his friend accused of murders that occur in the attempts to influence churchmen to support the king’s choice for archbishop. An interesting read.

Based on actual historical events which Robb explains in notes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

99pmarshall
Bewerkt: jul 30, 2020, 5:41 pm

#75, The riddle of St. Leonard's, Candace Robb

The plaque has come back to England, but suffering and death does not put a stop to theft and murder, either from those or by those suffering. Owen is requested/ ordered by the Archbishop of York’s nephew to investigate the death of two men with attachments to St. Leonard’s Hospital, the cause of death as well as missing items.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

100pmarshall
jul 30, 2020, 5:47 pm

July Summary

13 Read

75 Total

3 Reviewed

101pmarshall
Bewerkt: aug 1, 2020, 11:36 pm

#76. A gift of sanctuary, Candace Robb
Owen Archer, his father-in-law, Sir Robert.D’Arby, and Brother Michaelo travel with a group of pilgrims from York to the City of St. David in Wales. Owen is looking for boys who can be recruited as archers for King Edward in case the French invade Wales as a gateway to England. He meets up eith Geoffrey Chaucer who is inspecting battlements. Sir Robert is the true pilgrim.

They become involved in murders and the Welsh - English conflict. Although born and raised in Wales and a speaker of Welsh Owen feels he doesn’t belong to either side. He is, however, drawn to the Welsh history and folklore.

I found this book hard to track and therefore gave it

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

102pmarshall
Bewerkt: aug 3, 2020, 12:56 pm

#77. A Spy For The Redeemer, Candace Robb

Owen Archer is still in Wales caught up in solving the murder of the mason carving his father-in-law’s tomb. This becomes complicated with Welsh freedom fighters, with whom Owen has some sympathy, and good and bad clerics.

In York Owen’s wife, Lucie Wilton, faces her own problems related to his 4 month absence. Rumours abound in York about Owen’s doings and whether he will return, a town gossip spreading stories of the harm Lucie’s ‘curies’ have done to her, her aunt’s manor is violently attacked and there appear to be connections to York and her aunt is also showing early signs of dementia. Not quite like the Lone Ranger Owen arrives home a day late to be the hero. Instead this lies with the Archbishop of York’s men.

The movement of the tale between Owen and Lucie is well done.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

103pmarshall
Bewerkt: aug 6, 2020, 11:09 am

#78. The Cross-Legged Knight, Candace Robb

An elderly knight from York dies, in France, in the service of King Edward III. His family blames the king for botching the ransom negotiations. A house fire covers the murder of a woman and severely injures a man. What ties these events? Owen Archer is ordered by the Archbishop of York to investigate. It is a tangled web of deceit.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

104AlisonY
aug 4, 2020, 3:53 am

>91 pmarshall: I loved Unnatural Causes. Such an interesting read, and somehow he managed to make it never feel gruesome.

105pmarshall
aug 6, 2020, 10:04 am

>104 AlisonY::

I agree, instead he focuses on how important it is in providing information that assists doctors and the police.

106pmarshall
Bewerkt: aug 8, 2020, 6:46 pm

#79. The Guilt of Innocents, Candace Robb

The school boys and the barge men tease each other but it becomes serious when one is accused of being a thief and then a barge man is murdered and a school boy disappeared. Because of York politics Owen Archer becomes involved in finding the missing boy. His son, Jasper, becomes involved and is kidnapped by the suspect before Owen and the Bailiff bring it to a conclusion.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

107pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 18, 2020, 7:57 am

#80. Welcome to Your Period, Yumi Stynes, Dr. Melissa Kang

I am 72 years old and left periods behind in my early forties following a hysterectomy. For me they were extremely painful and managed by medications. Thank goodness for the pill!’ I learned things from this book and I hope it will help my great niece and her dad as they go through this phase of her growing-up.

It can be read from beginning to end or by topics that cover different aspects of the arrival of one’s period. It starts by telling you how to prepare and learning why it happens then to a variety of topics: packing a period pack, to the products available, the challenges like gym class, swimming, clots and camping. It answers question on having sex during your period, pain during periods and when to see a doctor among other things.

There are page references from one topic to another, for example if your tampon is stuck it refers you to “Is Something Wrong” Page 126). However, one topic I am familiar with “How To Handle Period Pain” is six pages long and makes no reference to serious regular pain and seeing a doctor, more information would be helpful. A see reference here would also be useful as I did find it dealt with later in the book.

Throughout the text are quotes from girls and women, giving a first name and age, and their personal experiences on sleepovers and getting their first period, swimming, getting a blood clot and on most topics covered. One topic I found strange was having a Period Party, but I think it is an age thing!

The size of the book, 4 3/4” h. X 3 3/4” w (12 1/2 cm X 9 1/2 cm) is easy to handle and will fit in a purse or backpack. The layout changes using straight text, rectangles and balloons with lots of illustrations. My par-publication copy is black, white and gray, however it will be published in full colour. It is easy to use and attractive. It will be interesting to hear what my nephew and his daughter think of it.

I shared this book with a friend of mine and her 13 year old daughter. This is what they had to say:

As a mother, I have to start off with, what a great book it is. It has humour, and an incredible amount of useful information. I am particularly fond of the chapter about hygiene. As a parent, I'm finding it difficult at times to get my daughter to shower, and make sure the blood is washed away completely before drying off. I especially appreciate the chapter that is geared towards other people who can read the book as well..(the book refers to them as allies). This chapter helps others to understand what us females go through, and asks for their understanding and support.

I appreciate how this book offers the chance for our youngsters to really step up, and grow up, form some leadership, and take on a teaching role to others, like their Dads, and male friends. My daughter loves to teach people things, so this book has inspired her to realize that she can take on that role. I appreciate how this book explains every aspect of a youngsters life, that would have been taboo when I was growing up, such as the chapters about talking to your parents, to understanding your own body, to sex, and to the period vocabulary. None of these chapters would have ever been discussed when I was a kid...they were too uncomfortable. But to be able to read about it in this book, allows one to absorb this info privately, until they are familiar enough with it to talk about it. I love the pictures, and the conversation bubbles that goes with them. They are positive, and provide a better visual understanding to that particular picture.

As a parent to a 13 year old, I felt that the area about contraceptives was a little too advanced for her right now to read. That is definitely a chapter that is beneficial to an older person. My daughter didn't understand it at all....but its still good to provide that info.

Lastly I love the "Period Boss Pledge"! My daughter and I have taken it.. As women, we are empowered by this pledge, and I think every woman should know about it and take it. Lol.

Thanks for this wonderful book. It was a great read. I read it in a day and a half. It was difficult to put down.

Following is her 13 year old daughter’s review.

First of all, thank you for your offer, for me to read the book....since I'm a teenager. The book was good. I liked it. I thought the pictures were kind of funny. I've had my period since before i was 11 years old, therefore, all the information about worrying about when it will start, was not a concern for me. My mother teaches me about hygiene, and this book explains it more to me. The period party idea is funny, but I don't know if I'd want one. I found it useful that the book has suggestions on what to do to be prepared for starting my period, or if I have an accident. My parents always tell me too, that I can call them if I needed clean clothes, or more pads. Me and my Mother have both taken the period boss pledge. My mother wants to get me my own copy of this book too. I would like to see the book in colour, and to just be able to read it over again. Thanks again.

I received this through LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program. Thanks to them and the many publishers who donate prepublication books in exchange for a review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

2020-11-1

108pmarshall
Bewerkt: aug 11, 2020, 9:47 pm

#81. A Choir of Crows, Candace Robb

York is preparing for the arrival of the new archbishop, Alexander Neville. The murder count is at three before His Grace and party arrive and will continue to rise. Owen Archer is now chief of the bailiffs and spy for Prince Edward, son of King Edward III. It is an involved affair, a group of musicians and actors from Europe, a vicar who is shaking down the city merchants for the benefit of the archbishop, the Prince and himself, a nun on the run, travelling as a man with the musicians and has ties to both strong families of the north, the Neville’s and the Percy‘s, and assorted blackards in the city who will work for whom ever pays. More of the Archer family and staff appear in this book than others which adds to its interest.

I have reread the series from the beginning and now have to wait for Robb to publish a new title. I will miss my sojourn in the 14th. century. It brought back my university history class.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

109pmarshall
Bewerkt: aug 13, 2020, 11:00 pm

#82. The Paris Secret: An epic and heartbreaking love story set in World War Two, Lily Graham

A giant leap in time from the 1370’s in York, England to Paris durning WW II, the early 1960’s and later. I think I have come to an end in reading WW II stories and the impact on the characters in different time periods.

This book is about women who see a different side to German soldiers, recognizing that they got caught up in something they didn’t believe but had no choice. Men and women who love each other beyond who they are, and how they are treated by the French and Germans. It is worse when children are born and looked upon with scorn and worse, particularly by the French after the war.

Early in the book it is said that victims of the war go far beyond the fallen soldiers and on in time. It is true.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

110pmarshall
aug 17, 2020, 2:24 pm

#83. 10-lb Penalty, Dick Francis

Yes, a return to Dick Francis. I have found a number of friends who read Dick Francis when they are looking for a comfortable read - I am not alone!

111AlisonY
aug 17, 2020, 6:55 pm

>107 pmarshall: I'm going to note this one for my daughter - it doesn't look like it's released in the UK just yet. She's almost 11, and probably getting close to the age when she needs to understand about the joys of periods (although I'm tempted to let her stay in a 'this will be fun' bubble of illusion for as long as possible). Some of these 'what's happening to my body' puberty books seem to feel that in preparing girls for periods they need to know about orgasms and condoms which is utterly ridiculous at such a young age, so glad to read your positive review on this one.

112pmarshall
Bewerkt: aug 19, 2020, 11:39 am

>111 AlisonY::
Alison, I reviewed a prepublication copy, it won’t be released in Canada until late January, 2021. Check Amazon, if it is listed you can put it on your wish list. I have a 13 year old looking at it and she likes it. So much more information than I ever had.

113pmarshall
Bewerkt: aug 19, 2020, 11:50 am

#84. The Danger, Dick Francis

An interesting look at kidnapping from the point of view of a professional hunter of the kidnapper with the goal of finding the victim alive; the person kidnapped and how she feels after being released, the guilt, the fear, the shame. The kidnapper’s point of view, the negotiations, start high so you can settle low, the need to scare the family with threats but keep the victim alive. Finally the police who overlook the victim in favour of catching the criminal.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

114pmarshall
Bewerkt: aug 21, 2020, 2:48 pm

#85. Twice Shy, Dick Francis

A computer program containing a bookie-breaking wagering system is unintentionally given to a sharp-shooting physics teacher. He avoids giving it to the gangsters who wants it but 14 years later his actions cause problems for his brother.

The love of money and not getting it easily leads to anger which leads to rage to complete loss of judgement except ‘it is your fault’ which leads to violence.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 not 4 because there is too much explanation of computers, math, physic and medical issues. Felix, a physics teacher was involved with this book and I recognize his writing style and the things I criticize in it.

115pmarshall
Bewerkt: aug 23, 2020, 3:11 pm

#86. Crossfire, Dick Francis

Tom Forsyth returns to his mother's training stable following an injury sustained while serving in Afghanistan to discovery she is being blackmailed, forced to prevent her horses from winning and owing over one million pounds in back taxes.

As in most Francis books there is information that runs through the book supporting and expanding the plat. In this case it is military tactics in dealing wIth the enemy. Referring to Thomas’s military studies and recent experience in Afghanistan as well as references to British military guidelines and “The Art of War” written in the 5th century B.C. by Sun Tzu. The latter is considered a classic in the field and is still studied today.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

116pmarshall
Bewerkt: aug 25, 2020, 8:45 am

#87. Knock Down, Dick Francis

Some bloodstock agents are using their power to inflate sale prices, forcng other agents to join in defrauding clients and owners or get put out of business. Jonah Dereham takes a stand against them and violence, fire and murder follow.

As always there is an underlying story or theme. In this case it is you can’t control other people’s actions if they have a firm belief in what they are doing, be it good or bad. Push people to far and they will push back, violence begets violence and goes beyond the control of both parties. Finally innocent bystanders caught up in the actions of others will be disregarded, they don’t count and are in the way. Finally Caveat Emptor, Buyer Beware!

117pmarshall
Bewerkt: aug 27, 2020, 1:15 pm

#88 Grey Mask, Patricia Wentworth

I read some of the Miss Silver mysteries decades ago and recently found the first three (unread) available on KindleUnlimited.

Grey Mask is the first but it doesn’t provide much background on Miss Silver except her name is passed around by word of mouth by happy clients. A gang that intimidates people into assisting them and controls them by fear wants to gain control of millions of pounds by making the heir disappear, permanently. Word leaks out and Miss Silver is engaged. “All’s well that ends well.”

The plot is somewhat contrived as the activities of Grey Mask are not clear beyond it fear tactics. Miss Silver is more active in investigating cases than Miss Marple. She works in London, and maintains an office and, I think, handles more than one case at a time. She is a professional not an amateur investigator. The time period is vague, but I think between the world wars. I will try #2.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

118pmarshall
aug 29, 2020, 9:56 pm

#89. The Case is Closed, Patricia Wentworth

The case may be over but some of the convicted man belief he was framed and their investigation takes them to Miss Silver. Relatives for and against each other.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I will think about reading the third one right now.

119pmarshall
Bewerkt: sep 1, 2020, 10:24 pm

August 2020 Summary

14 Read
1 Reviewed

89 Total Read

120pmarshall
Bewerkt: sep 1, 2020, 10:21 pm

#90. Shell Game, Sara Paretsky

Dr. Lottie’s great nephew, a Canadian studying engineering in Chicago is being interrogated for the murder of a Syrian student. V.I. Is asked to investigate and finds that it involves the sale of items stolen from from museums and archeological digs in Syria.

At the same time V.I.’s niece from her first (and only) marriage comes back into her life looking for her sister. This case involves the use of women by family members (Uncle Dick), employers and wealthy men.

In a bizarre way the two cases turn Into near the end of the book, following a number of Violent attacks On V.I., the involvement of I.C.E., and members of the Russian mob.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

121pmarshall
Bewerkt: sep 6, 2020, 1:15 pm

#91. Lonesome Road, Patricia Wentworth

A young woman promises her father, on his death bed, to manage his fortune. Gradually the extended family and hangers-on are almost constant residents and making pleas for “their” share. It comes to the point that she consults Miss Silver because of ‘accidents’ and then a major attempt on her life.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

122avaland
sep 7, 2020, 6:44 am

>107 pmarshall: How did you happen to get the period book from the early reviewers? Seems you (and I) are not the targeted audience. Although, I'm sure it beats the infantile little movie and booklet I was subjected to back in the mid-60s. I waited until one day when my parents went grocery shopping and found the booklet they gave my mother squirreled away on her bureau top and read that (in keeping with the laugh track that follows much of my life, my period started during an episode of Laugh-In in '67).

123pmarshall
Bewerkt: sep 8, 2020, 7:58 pm

>122 avaland::

I got it through LibraryThing Early Reviewers, I just checked Requested. I have received other children’s books. I don’t think they consider age of the requester. I got it for my great niece and her father. It was available in July this year. It certainly is far from what I received. I lent it to a 13 year old and she quite liked it. It will be available in mid-January, 2021.

124pmarshall
Bewerkt: sep 8, 2020, 8:16 pm

#92. The Silent Pool, Patricia Wentworth

Much further along in the series than Lonesome Road but it is another extended family/friends saga. In this case a famous actress retired to the country with nephews and a wife, niece and great niece, an adopted daughter friends and staff. Most of them hate living in the country and want money from her to change their situation. Miss Silver arrives after the death of a women who was dressed in the actress‘s distinctive coat. A second murder follows before Miss Silver is able to talk to the right people and solve the case.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

125pmarshall
Bewerkt: sep 11, 2020, 8:31 am

#93. The Key, Patricia Wentworth

A scientist has finally completed his work on what will be the bases for a new war weapon for England against Germany, but he dies before he can turn over his research. Miss Silver is called in by neighbours of the accused murderer. With assistance from them and Scotland Yard she closes the case.

A theme that runs through this book is a common and upsetting one, the sympathy some English people had for Germany, to the point that they worked to advance their cause. In this case it is not among the upper classes but the middle class.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

126FinleyGraham
sep 11, 2020, 8:33 am

Deze gebruiker is verwijderd als spam.

127pmarshall
Bewerkt: sep 12, 2020, 11:07 pm

#94. The Clock Strikes Twelve, Patricia Wentworth

New Year’s Eve, 1941, and Uncle James says to the 10 family members just finishing dinner that there was a criminal among them, he had been crossed and he was giving the person the opportunity to talk to him befor midnight. A number of people spoke with him and the final one pushed him to his death. A family member brings in Miss Silver who worbs with the police to solve the case.

As usual Wentwort has an abundance of haracters and I can’t keep them all straight. There is also the love store that has an impact on the plot because it causes the characters to behave in certain ways.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

128pmarshall
Bewerkt: sep 15, 2020, 5:37 pm

#95. The Brading Collection, Patricia Wentworth

Lewis Brading collects jewels for the violent history attached to them, murders, wars, broken hearts. He changes his will and leaves it all to a woman he plans to marry and is found murdered in his supposedly secure office/home.

Two weeks prior to this he had approached Miss Silver for assistance but was give advice only. When she read of his death she contacted the police and proceeded to investigate.

As usual there are numerous characters and thus suspects, a couple of love interests. Went worth’s descriptions of people - their looks, dlress and behaviour, rooms and furniture are lengthy and detailed. She has a formula that she follows in her writing.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

129pmarshall
Bewerkt: sep 18, 2020, 1:52 pm

#96. The Catherine Wheel, Patricia Wentworth

An advertisement seeks the relations (great great grandchildren) of Jeremiah Taverner, innkeeper of The Catherine Wheel. Billed as an opportunity for the relatives to become reacquainted eight young men and women go to the inn for a weekend and £100. The inn has a reputation for being involved with smuggling both in the past and present. Scotland Yard is interested in this and ask Miss Silver to go to the inn to see what she can learn, on the same weekend. Two murders later the case is closed and two proposals accepted.

Wentworth wrote the 28 titles in the Miss Silver series from 1928 through 1961. Her English is more Victorian, particularly in her descriptions, than modern, and uses words with which I am not familiar. Perhaps this changes in the later titles. It is one of the reasons for the 3 ⭐️‘S, it interrupts the flow.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

130pmarshall
Bewerkt: sep 19, 2020, 9:53 pm

#97. The Alington Inheritance, Patricia Wentworth

The heir and his wife die during WW II, leaving a little known newborn to inherit the land and money. However a cousin moves in and lays claim, quietly questioning if they had been married at all. Seventeen years later it is proven that they had been and the heir knows. She flees the house when she overhears her cousins plotting her future. The wrong young woman is murdered, the wrong man is arrested and his father brings in Miss Silver. Two suicides later the case is solved.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

131pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 18, 2020, 8:00 am

#98. The Daughter of Time, Josephine Tey

Alan Grant, a Scotland Yard inspector is in the hospital and bored until a friend brings him a handful of portraits to speculate on, as he fancies that he can tell a lot about a person from their face. The only one to interest him is Richard III, know for being a hunchback, murdering the two princes in the Tower of London and, according to Shakespeare saying “My kingdom for a horse” when he is losing the Battle of Bosworth Field. His death during this last significant battle of the War of the Roses opened the way for the House of Tutor and Henry VII.

Grant doesn’t know who the portrait is of, but he likes the face and finally decides he was a judge. He finds it difficult to accept the face as Richard with his personal history. With the assistance of a young American researcher he sets out to explore this history. He can’t find a contemporary account that links Richard and the deaths, in fact it takes a few years for them to be reported dead and the how is different in various accounts and Richard is not mentioned in their missing. In the end after thorough research of all the people who could possibly be involved he determines that the princes were murdered upon the order of Henry VII.

As a student of history and mysteries I thought he made a good case, using reliable methods. He does have some interesting views on the writers of history and their limited vision. What is lacking in the book is an author’s statement on her research. The 13th. century people are real, as are the historians whose books are referred to in the mystery but there is lacking the connection between Tey and this information. That, in my mind, weakens the whole book. So I only give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️3/4 stars, which will appear as 3.5. You may think that not fair, that I should judge the book as written, in that case it would be ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, but the absence of the author’s statement bothers me. She wrote this in 1951 when, I don’t think, these all that common, but so much of the book depends on the research I don’t think it is to much to ask for a reference. My final question is about the title, who is the daughter, this is a book about men?

Overall an intriguing read and certainly a different approach to history.

Reviewed 2020-9-27

132pmarshall
Bewerkt: okt 21, 2020, 7:30 pm

#99. Fatal Decision, Ted Tayler

A Crime Review Unit is set up to review cold cases. The first case is the murder of a woman out walking her dog. The four person team headed by retired Detective Inspector Gus Freeman solve the case in a week. An English police procedural.

A slow read as at least the first half is devoted to the setting up of the team, Alex, Lydia and Niall, its facilities and how it will work. However once they get at the case Gus shows why he was asked back from retirement. He has a cann ability at seeing things and putting facts together.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

September Summary

12 Read
1 Reviewed

99 Total Read

133pmarshall
Bewerkt: okt 2, 2020, 10:51 pm

#100 The Marriage Murder, Roy Lewis

Eric Ward, solicitor for the downtrodden and unlawful citizens of Newcastle Upon Tyne finds himself on the other side when he comes to the assistance of a young woman and drives her to her home. A short time latter she is dead of a broken neck and he knows the police will be able to place him inside her apartment. This crosses over into a case he is handling as well as his wife’s Asian business. A very differ Eric Ward book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

134pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 18, 2020, 8:15 am

#101 The Secluded Village Murders, Shelly Frome

A transatlantic mystery bases in New England and shady land developers who want to turn a high meadow into condo sites. The characters are confusing, the plot is slow and twisted. I persevered rather than enjoyed my read.

⭐️⭐️1/2

135pmarshall
Bewerkt: okt 10, 2020, 6:38 pm

#102. Orchids and Lies, Fiona Gartland

The catalog entry for Fiona Gartland’s “Orchids and Lies” includes the statement “An intriguing Irish thriller with a beautiful backdrop that will keep you guessing to the end. (A Beatrice Barrington Thriller Book 3).” Perhaps I misunderstood this but the words intriguing and thriller, particularly the latter word, made me expect a fast paced book and that it is not. The romances of minor (and major) characters take up a large part of the book as do the descriptions of Dublin, the Irish countryside and the National Botanical Gardens in Dublin. However the plot, based on orchids, is intriguing. Slow paced but interesting.

A quick summary, a gardener dies at the Botanical Gardens and most people assume it is a suicide, but not Beatrice Barrington who was one of the people who found him. Beatrice and a retired Gardai start looking into the first death and the long list of possible suspects. It takes the murder of another gardener before the Gardai (police) take a more serious look at the first death. It all comes together when she nearly dies.

It is worth reading as long as you aren’t put off by lengthy descriptions that don’t move the plot forward. This is the third, and most recent, in the series. I will read the first to give it another chance, and I need something to read and it is on my Kindle.

I received this e-book book through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers Program.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

136pmarshall
Bewerkt: okt 10, 2020, 6:36 pm

#103. Last Orders, Ted Tayler

Gus Freeman’s second cold case goes back 15 years to the murder of a bar maid walking home at the end of her evening shift. It was poorly investigated and pinned on a man guilty of rape and murders in nearby counties. He was later exonerated. At the same time as Gus’s investigation a man with a garden plot near Gus’ is murdered. What else is going on in the community?
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

137pmarshall
Bewerkt: okt 11, 2020, 7:15 pm

#104. Pressure Point: The Freeman Files Series, Ted Tayler

Gus Freeman’s third cold case is the murder of a woman working in a Massage Parlour. Everyone liked her and couldn’t imagine why she would be stabbed to death. But interviews turned over information the first cursory handling of the case, seven years earlier, didn’t uncover. However even Gus is startled by the way it comes to a close.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

138pmarshall
Bewerkt: okt 12, 2020, 9:10 pm

#105. Deadly Formula, Ted Tayler

The next cold case is the murder of a scientist. The first investigation was thought but unsuccessful. Gus’s team starts where they always do, making lists of people they should interview and this proved successful.

One of the interviewees is Terry Davis, retired policeman, who has been living in Spain but has returned to England for a quick family visit. His name has come up in previous cases and he has a pipeline to current information which puts Gus off. After a pub crawl meeting with old friends he is murdered. But it was setup to look like an accident.

The new Chief Constable is not in favour of Gus’s group and may have things to hide. It is necessary to read the next book to get an answer.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

139pmarshall
Bewerkt: nov 1, 2020, 9:38 am

#106. Final Deal, The Freeman Files series, Ted Tayler

The cold case deals with the murder of the owner of a car dealership and popular citizen. Using their usual methods of identifying and interviewing people that had not been interviewed during the first investigation they uncover new information which leads to the solution. Sounds easy but is a lot of hard sloggind.

In this case related to crooked upper level cops a policewoman is kidnapped to put pressure on Gus to stop his investigation. It doesn’t and she is rescued but the man has disappeared. This case will continue into the next book, but the end is insights.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

140pmarshall
Bewerkt: okt 14, 2020, 10:27 pm

#107. Barking Mad: The Freeman Files, Ted Tayler

A pet store manager is driving home from a party when he is shot to death by a man in a car that had been following him. This is Gus Freeman’s group new cold case. Add the smuggling of drugs in puppies from Eastern Europe to the mix and it gets more difficult to solve.

On the other hand the case involving the murder of a retired police officer and the kidnapping of another officer, a case that has run through a number of books in the background is settled.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

141pmarshall
Bewerkt: okt 16, 2020, 1:51 pm

#108 Creature Discomforts: The Freeman Files - Book 7, Ted Tayler

For 3 generations the Burnside family has controlled crime and now drugs in Swindon, this included violently removing people who stood in their way. Grant, head of the second generation was murdered and his is the cold case Gus Freeman and his team are investigating. It would appear that the close-mouthed family holds the answer, but another death will follow that shakes things up.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

142pmarshall
Bewerkt: okt 17, 2020, 11:13 am

#109 Silent Terror: The Freeman Files, Ted Tayler

A 78 year old spinster is murdered, then her body mutilated and some jewelry stolen from her isolated cottage. She was know for correction behaviour she didn’t approve of, from talking too loud in the library to kissing on the street and quoting the Bible at the offenders. Gus and his team open up more than the cold case in their research. But once again turn over a file that leads to arrests.

This is the eighth in what will be a sixteen book series, now I have to wait for “Night Train.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

143pmarshall
Bewerkt: okt 19, 2020, 10:58 am

#110 In The Court's Hands, Fiona Gartland

There are three levels going on in this mystery, all narrated by Beatrice Barrington. Her first romance with an older man, a property developer. He received investment funds from her brother and father and then disappeared from her life.

Barrington is a court stenographer and her current case is fraud. To insure the results there is some jury tampering going on witnessed by Barrington which puts her in danger. This leads to murder of the jury foreperson, although it was done to look like suicide.

The testing and approval of a new drug is underway and involved the jury foreperson as well as the accused in the fraud case and the on-agin off-again lover of another court stenographer.

The three levels twist about each other in a well managed fashion. There is just the middle book in the series left to read until the author writes another.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

144pmarshall
Bewerkt: okt 21, 2020, 7:24 pm

#111 Now That You've Gone, Fiona Gartland

A businessman with good standing in Dublin is found murdered in a city park. There are no clues as to why, initially. A young woman is murdered in a very similar fashion in the basement of a pub. Again there are no clues and nothing that connects her to the first victim, initially. Beatrice’s good friend is the widow of the first victim. Gabriel is a friend of the barmaid. Slowly Beatrice follows strands that connect people to one or other of the victims and thus brings the case to a dangerous, for her, conclusion.

The action takes place between October 19 and November 21, 2016, but the author’s descriptive writing style makes it seem like a much longer time. I prefer a faster pace but I do enjoy the interaction between Beatrice and Gabriel as they work together and separately to solve the case.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

145pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 18, 2020, 8:13 am

#112. Into The Fire, Adrienne Giordano

RaeLynn Demming, a young reporter from North Dakota, is fascinated by a photo of Rose Trudeau published on the cover of “Time Magazine.” It is of a distraught woman covered in ash and black from the burning La Grande Hotel and Casino, a fire that killed over one people and injured as many more. Her best friend was inside and didn’t escape as Rose did. The fire was thirty years ago and Demming wants to do an interview with Trudeau, who has never spoken of it. Through her wits and stubbornness she gains access to Trudeau and what starts as an interview turns into an investigation, including a visit to the hotel ruins on the Caribbean island of La Paradisio. They uncover links among Hollywood’s elite, stars, producers, lawyers and a politician with a focus on sex, money and cover-ups. In the end they unmask the arsonist.

Trudeau and Demming take turns relating the mystery so the readers get two different perspectives. They advance the action, providing both historical and personal contexts. There are many characters but I found them easy to keep straight. The plot was interesting and kept me hanging as to who was the main bad guy until the end.

I received this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program. Thanks to the publishers who donate the books.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Reviewed

146pmarshall
okt 26, 2020, 10:11 am

#113. A Lover Too Many, Roy Lewis

Murder, blackmail, affairs and mismanagement of legal matters are all packed into this legal procedural. Solicitor Peter Marlin’s wife disappears for seven months, returns with no explanation and is shortly after murdered. The coroner clears him but ruins his reputation by going on at some length about the affair he had in his wife’s absence. Scotland Yard’s Inspector Crow steps in to further the investigation. A second murder occurs. Meanwhile Marlin’s reputation is taking another beating in the way he is handling a trust fund.

Another slow paced British mystery but one that kept me guessing until close to the end.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

147pmarshall
Bewerkt: okt 29, 2020, 7:29 pm

#114. I Didn't Come to Africa For a Normal Life: 25 years of Overlanding in Africa, Helen Patchett

Overlanding is a form of travel and rough camping that was particularly popular in the last 30 years of the 20th. century. Initially organized by British companies it involved traveling in converted British or German army trucks to carry all that was needed for 15 - 18 people, their belongings, canned and dehydrated food, cooking utensils, dishes, two person tents, sleeping bags, sand mats - everything needed for a trip lasting, on average, 16 - 20 weeks. Cooking, cleaning and all necessary tasks were done by the passengers. The company provided a diver and tour guide. These trips went across Africa, South America and Asia.

Patchett’s first trip, circa 1990, was across Africa and she feel in love, with the continent and the driver, and for the next six years traveled almost continuously. Her descriptions of the travellers, mainly from New Zealand, Australia and England with the occasional Canadian, American and European, their adventures, the state of the roads, local politics, scenery and sights are interesting and amusing. She eventually settled in Zimbabwe and ran her own company.

From February to June, 1976 I travelled from Johannesburg, South Africa to London with Encounter Overland. It was the adventure of my life. Also different from the author’s. In 1976 food was not available in shops or restaurants, nor was it prepackaged, booze was not readily available, tours of historical and cultural sites weren’t available. We learned of places to go from our driver and other travellers. This was before mobile phones, personal computers, WiFi, bank cards and ready made and fully functional campgrounds. Not all of the latter were available when Patchett took her first trip but they eventually changed the nature and experience of overlanding.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

148pmarshall
Bewerkt: nov 1, 2020, 9:35 am

#115. ERROR OF JUDGMENT, Roy Lewis

The body of the secretary to the Rector of Burton Polytechnic is found hidden in a lift, murdered. The police arrive to investigate just as a student demonstration is about to begin. It has lost its focus as the charismatic student leader hasn’t shown up. He is questioned and released but the student unrest, his role and the murder become more entangled before the case is closed for Crow.

The Crow series was started in the 1960’s and the mores of that time period need to be remembered, or the plot accepted for that time - the attitudes towards women, students and student unrest in this case. But some things never change like attitudes towards women and foreigners.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

149pmarshall
Bewerkt: nov 1, 2020, 9:19 am

October 2020 Summary

15 Read
2 Reviewed

115 Total

150pmarshall
Bewerkt: nov 9, 2020, 12:14 am

#116. THE WOODS MURDER, Roy Lewis

Two separate cases, a young girl raped and murdered on her way to school being investigated by the local police; a middle aged lawyer killed in the ruins of an old mill. A man disliked by many for the way he practiced law and his womanizing ways. He denied people the use of his lane which placed the schoolgirl integrity woods. The letter case is being investigated by Scotland Yaed’s Inspector Crow.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

151pmarshall
Bewerkt: nov 9, 2020, 12:13 am

#117. Forfeit, Dick Francis

A racing correspondent is beaten, threatened with blackmail and watching his wife, who has polio, have her respiratory unplugged, all because the newspaper he writes for specializes in sensationalism. In this case a story about off-course betting and horses that end up being pulled at the last minute so that bookmakers make a lot of money. The power of one man’s beliefs in right and wrong combined with that of the press win out over unlawful acts by thugs.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

152pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 18, 2020, 8:06 am

#118. A Hanging at Dawn, Charles Todd

A prequel to the Bess Crawford series introduces Simon Brandon. He lied about his age when he ran away from his life with his unloving grandfather to enlist in his father’s regiment. The short story is told by Bess’s aunt, her mother when Simon is involved in the care of Bess in India, her father who is colonel and finally Bess. In a line, Simon is accused with theft and murder when he is part of the bodyguard on an Indian Princess he met through the Crawford family, he is found guilty and sentenced to hang at dawn.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

153pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 18, 2020, 8:07 am

#119. A Darkness of the Heart, Gail Bowen

Joanne learns that the man she knew as her father until his death in her late teens was not her biological father. Artist Desmond Love, her adopted daughter's grandfather and father of her close friend artist Sally love was. She is approached by a playwright to allow him to develop a television production on the history of her family. He has currently on Broadway a production based on a series of Desmond Love's paintings and is in Regina to turn it into a movie. Add in show business jealousies, recreated lives, sexual deviant behaviour and a dead man and you get the 18th Joanne Kilbourn mystery. A different background but another must read from Canadian author Gail Bowen.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

154pmarshall
Bewerkt: nov 14, 2020, 9:51 am

#120. The Unlocking Season: A Joanne Kilbourn Mystery, Gail Bowen

This book picks up from the A Darkness of the Heart and is based on the writing of the script and preproduction work to turn Sally and Joanne’s lives, from age 14 until Sally dies, into a six part television series. The playwright is murdered but it is made to look like suicide, a fire on the set and conflict over control of the project confuse the situation. More than normal all of Joanne’s children are either involved or have their own difficulties. A good read but not her best.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

155pmarshall
Bewerkt: nov 17, 2020, 11:42 pm

#121. The Roots of Evil, Quentin Jardine

Final count is five murders including a serving police officer and each looks like an execution. What is the connection among the dead? How does a 9 year old robbery of Krugerrand in South Africa fit in, what is the role of the Russians? Bob Skinner may be retired but he is quickly drawn into the complexities of this case. He hired and knew the policeman who had been a close friend of Alexis, he had heard a tale of smuggled Krugerrand and the teller is one of the dead. It is a complicated plot, with many characters and tellers. A good read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

156pmarshall
nov 17, 2020, 11:40 pm

#122. The Bad Fire, Quintin Jardine

Alexis Skinner becomes involved in investigating a nine year old shoplifting case which ultimately led to the accused, Marcia Brown, a local politician, to commit suicide. Or that was the ruling. The investigation turns nasty when Alexis experiences a home invasion and her colleague goes missing. The police become involved in three different areas, the shoplifting, Brown’s death and the attacks on Skinner. The ending is a complete switch up, quite unexpected. One pleasure is the growth of Dr. Dominic Jackson’s role.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

157pmarshall
Bewerkt: nov 19, 2020, 1:29 pm

#123. Night Train: The Freeman Files Series: Book 9, Ted Tayler

This book carries on from Silent Terror, the previous book in the series and I didn’t reread it so for the first 2/3 chapters of NightTrain I was lost, hence just three stars. Once I was dealing with just the one new cold case it made sense.

Ivan Kendall leaves his Welsh village and is found 80 miles away in England, murdered. A quick and sloppy investigation follows with no clue as to why he took the train and why he was murdered. Gus Freeman and his team develop questions and lists of people to ask them of and set out to solve the case. Which they do. A mix of police work, country life and a touch of romance make up Tayler’s books.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

158pmarshall
Bewerkt: nov 22, 2020, 4:07 pm

#124. When the Music's Over, Peter Robinson

Two cases, one current and one 50 years ago addresses the issue of sexual abuse of underage girls. Not a topic I like so I have been avoiding this Robinson book in the Alan Banks series. However he dealt with it well although parts are graphic.

The current case is the investigation of a murder, the body of a young woman is found on an isolated rural lane. She was sexually and physically assaulted. This case turns into one that involves 30 - 40 aged Pakistani men grooming young white women to be prostutues. Most of they are 2 or more generations British but “play the race card” when it is convenient which keeps the community on edge.

The historical case involves a then 14 year old being raped by a well known actor. The investigation shows this was not a single occurrence for the actor as other women come forward. Missing police records add to the difficult of investigating this case.

An interesting read inspite of the subject matter.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

159pmarshall
Bewerkt: nov 24, 2020, 3:37 pm

#125. Sleeping in the Ground, Peter Robinson

A sniper on a hill across the valley from a wedding party ... and he strikes, bride, groom, 2 bridesmaids, a photographer, the father of the groom, a guest, it is over in less than a minute. It takes Banks and his team longer and it is necessary to go back to a 50 year old murder before this case is solved.

An sideline to Banks is his interest in poetry and music. The reader receives a tutorial in music ranging from the classics to ‘the 60’s music of his youth to ‘90’s rock, particular artists and songs and the memories and feelings that come with the music.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

160sallypursell
nov 22, 2020, 8:53 pm

>131 pmarshall: How sure are we that the portrait was an accurate depiction? A lot of them were not, of course.

161pmarshall
Bewerkt: nov 24, 2020, 3:35 pm

>160 sallypursell::
Unfortunately the author does not provide any notes or references so there is no way we can identify the portrait.* From my reading I took it as one that did not portray a hunchback but a person with a withered arm. But your guess is as good as mine.

* The book was written in 1950 and it was not the norm then to include notes on particular aspects of the contents of fiction.

162pmarshall
Bewerkt: nov 26, 2020, 6:42 pm

#126. Careless Love, Peter Robinson

Beautiful, intelligent women students in need of money to cover the costs of their education are recruited to be the mistress of older, wealthy men. Something goes wrong and the first body is found in a car the police had pulled off the road until it could be towed to the garage. The question is suicide or murder. The second body, a man in evening dress is found in a crevice on the moor. It appeared that he fell and broke his neck. The third body, the second woman in fancy dress was found in a fallen down shed and it is murdered. It is a complicated case that takes imagination as well as hard slogging by the police.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

163pmarshall
Bewerkt: nov 28, 2020, 8:55 pm

#127. MURDER IN THE MINE, Roy Lewis

A woman who wants more than her husband offers actions lead to incest, bigamy and finally murder. Crow is called in to advise the Welsh police on the death of a woman found in a mine shaft after a dog falls through. He is not happy with the situation, he should be investigating not advising the local police who ignore him and make snap decisions.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

164pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 18, 2020, 8:09 am

#128. Red: A Crayon’s Story, Michael Hall

My favourite picture book is “Red is Best” but now a close second is “ Red: A Crayon's Story” written and illustrated by Michael Hall. A blue crayon was given a red wrapper in the factory but when asked to make red strawberries they come out blue. The other crayons say he isn’t trying hard enough, not applying himself. It isn’t until the purple ship asks him to draw a blue sea to support him does he realize he is really blue, not red. Now he can reach for the sky and he does!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

November Summary

13 Read

128 Total Read

165pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 3, 2020, 3:21 pm

#129. Vials, Alec Peche

Dr. Jill Quint, M. D., a forensic pathologist and wine grower, accepts cases from family members who believe the decision regarding the cause of death is wrong. In this case it was not blood poisoning but murder by infecting the person with a bacteria that cased the death. But when Jill starts to look into the why of the case it turns on her and her life is in jeopardy. The three women who research the case for her are amazing and show what you can learn through a computer, it is scary.

The editor should have done a better job.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

166pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 3, 2020, 3:19 pm

#130. Chocolate Diamonds (Jill Quint, MD Forensic Pathologist, Alec Peche

Dr. Jill Quint and her three partners, Angela, Jo and Marie, are on vacation in Belgium. On their first day they witness a woman suffer a severe nut allergy reaction and Jill accompanies her to the hospital. Her life is saved but she is murdered in the hospital. This involves the women in a wide ranging case centred on the theft of diamonds and diamond cartels in 5 countries. Before it comes to a conclusion the Belgian and Dutch police as well as Interpol are involved and the women are threatened, a smoke bomb set off in their hotel suite in the night, kidnapped and more. It is a good read but by the end I thought it was a little overwhelming. Again, it needed better editing.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

167pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 5, 2020, 5:29 pm

#131. A Breck Death (Jill Quint, MD, Forensic Pathologist Series Book 3), Alec Peche

Dr. Jill Quint is asked to investigate the death of a skier that has been attributed to a heart attack. Jill proves he died by poison delivered by a dart to his back. Jill quickly assembles her team, Marie, Jo and Angela from Wisconsin. Nick from Holland was on his way to Texas so he takes a side trip to Colarado and Nathan arrives from California. The FBI gets involved as the group’s work identifies a ‘person of interest’ to them.

It is a fast paced read but I found the actions of the bad guys quite far fetched. But I will admit I don’t read action fiction and I have trouble operating my IPad. There is no way I could make it drive remote controlled snow plows. Things happened that were beyond my imagination, or at least outside of it. I will keep reading to see what Jill and her group get into next!

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 - because I couldn’t believe what I think is possible!

168pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 9, 2020, 11:59 am

#132. Death On A Green (Jill Quint, MD, Forensic Pathologist Series Book 4) Alec Peche

Jill Quint is on vacation in Green Bay, Wisconsin visiting her friends and fellow investigators, Jo, Angela and Marie. They witness the murder of a popular doctor on the golf course and, of course (no pun intended) have to investigate. They identified the person they think is responsible and Jill goes home. But the case follows her.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

169pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 13, 2020, 7:07 pm

#133. A Taxing Death (Jill Quint, MD, Forensic Pathologist Series Book 5), Alec Peche

Dr. Jill Quint is called in by a family who do not believe their husband/father died of a heart attack. It was easy to prove it was murder and suddenly Jill and the police have four murders, all employees of the department that audited tax returns. The Task Force discovers a connection with the Sovereign Citizen Movement who believe only the constitution is the law of the country which consists only of the original 13 states, the rests are territories with no rights, in this case no right to collect taxes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

170pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 9, 2020, 11:58 am

#134. Murder At The Podium (Jill Quint, MD, Forensic Pathologist Series Book 6), Alec Peche

A conference speaker takes a sip of water, collapses and dies. Her husband hires Jill Quint to look into her death. He says she has been estranged from her family since age 18 and they are part of a Mexican drug cartel. Once the cause of death is determined he thanks Quint for her service and fires her. The Dallas Police Department offer Jill a contract because, they say, with her track record the murder will be found because he will attack her as her case progresses. They are proven right. The case expands from the single murder to include the husband’s possible connection to drug trafficking. Numerous police forces come together, following Jill’s suggestions, solve the case.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

171pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 14, 2020, 6:00 pm

#135. Castle Killing, Alec Peche

Jill Quint and her friends are in Cardiff, Wales waiting for their Dutch friend Nick to join them before moving on to Scotland. The police inform them that Nick was pushed out of a tower window and fell to his death at Cardiff Castle. The group’s investigation indicates Nick was a member of a secret organization that dates back to WW II. Once in Scotland they continue their computer based investigation amidst visits to distilleries tasting whiskey. The case expands to searching for art work stolen by the Nazis.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

172pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 11, 2020, 2:47 pm

#136. Crescent City Murder (Jill Quint, MD, Forensic Pathologist Series Book 8), Alec Peche

A Louisiana State agricultural worker is murdered by drinking water laced with poisonous nutmeg. The New Orleans corner is perplexed by the cause and turns to a former classmate, Jill Quint. Jill doesn’t expect it to be a dangerous case until she discovers marijuana growing among the corn. In the end she uncovers enough information to bring down a major drug trafficking ring. As always with the help of her friends in Green Bay.

I had hoped as the series progressed the writing, I.e. grammar and editing might have improved but instead it is getting worse. It definitely lacks a good proofreader.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

173pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 14, 2020, 5:59 pm

#137. Sicilian Murder, Alec Peche

A businessman from Green Bay, Wisconsin is found dead in Sicily and his daughter reaches out to Jill Quint because she believes he was murdered. All of the team, plus Nathan, are free to go to Italy where they discover the police call the death an accident and haven’t bother to look any further. The local police are overwhelmed by Jill and her team but do settle into a cooperative relationship. Off course because of where they are the Mafia have to play a role. Case closed.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

174pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 14, 2020, 5:56 pm

#138. Opus Murder, Alec Peche

Many of Jill Quint’s cases occur when she and her friends are on vacation. This time they are touring Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City in Canada. Their first activity in Toronto is a concert in an old historic church by a Russian pianist. Part way through he is shot with an ice arrow through one of the organ pipes. Jill rushes to his side and ends up viewing the autopsy. Her discoveries draw her to the attention of a group of Russians whose view to the solution is to dispense with Jill and her group. The Toronto City Police, the RCMP, FBI and CIA are involved at various stages but are unable to protect the group from attack until the very end when they pull off a sting operation.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

175pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 17, 2020, 11:40 pm

#139. Forensic Murder: A Jill Quint, MD Series Mystery (Jill Quint, MD, Forensic Pathologist Series), Alec Peche

Dr. Jill Quint replaces the keynote speaker at a forensic conference in New Zealand and thus begins a series of accidents/murders that occur near her in New Zealand and Australia. A zip line gives way, a spider bites a woman in a winery, a hiker is poisoned to name just a few. It takes both Jill and the police time to realize and accept her connection. A large sting operation in Cairns, Australia brings it all to a head but not before he drugs nearly 70 police undercover through the tea and coffee.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

I didn’t plan on reading 11 titles in a row, but the stories, although sometimes far fetched were compelling and I wanted to see what happened next. Now I will wait for the release of the next title.

My frustration with the editing continued throughout, the use of I instead of me, between instead of among and places where you had to guess what the word was suppose to be, using and instead of a verb.

For ten years I ran a publishing company and read every manuscript we published. Editing is tedious and can be difficult but it needs to be done with attention and care so the reader has the cleanest text possible to read. It is difficult to find every error but it is the editor and proofreader’s responsibility to try. In the Peche books I don’t think they tried to do their best.

176pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 17, 2020, 11:54 pm

#140. A COTSWOLDS MURDER a gripping crime mystery full of twists (Inspector John Crow Book 6), Roy Lewis

The intrigue of life in a small trailer compound leads to the murder of the site manager, a nasty, manipulative man, disliked by many. John Crow arrives from London to assist the local force. Tie in a number of attempted and planned robberies and the man’s womanizing and the case gets more complicated. Crow works out the ending which is one I never imagined and his treatment of it is amazing.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

177pmarshall
dec 19, 2020, 7:49 pm

#141. The Maltese Pigeon, Sheldon Siegel

A novella introducing Nick Hanson, who eventually opens his private investigation business and becomes know as ‘Nick the Dick’ in Sheldon Siegel’s Mike Daley series. In this, his first case, he is recovering a belonging of his father’s from the local hit man.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

178pmarshall
dec 22, 2020, 8:50 pm

#142. Many Rivers to Cross, Peter Robinson

There are three lines to the plot of this book which are intertwined. The death of a 13 year old Syrian who was smuggled into England and as a result got caught up in drug trafficking. The smuggling involved underage males and females as well as drugs and was controlled by Albanians. One woman, Zelda, a friend of Bank’s, had been caught up in it and the aftermath for a number of years escaped and put it behind her, although it still lived in her mind. She comes across one of the top Albanians and determines to do away with him. The third strand is the division between the section of the city waiting to be redeveloped and its relationship with with the wealthy neighbourhood it abuts. Cases are solved but I suspect parts of this book will continue in the next.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

179pmarshall
dec 25, 2020, 11:03 am

#143. DARK CRIMES, Michael Hambling

The first in the Sophie Allen series set in the south of England. Allen heads up the Violent Crime Unit and what starts as a single murder leads to six charges being laid. It involves a psychopath who preys on young women and abuse leads to murder. But it is not that straight forward and Allen keeps her information close. I am going to enjoy this series.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

180pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 28, 2020, 6:40 pm

#144. DEADLY CRIMES, Michael Hambling

A complicated mystery, the murder of a man in 1969 who accidentally walked into a robbery in progress and the impact it has on his daughter nearly fifty years later. The trafficking of young women from Romania to southern England runs into problems when the mutilated body of a man in left in the centre of town and one of the women escapes and is picked up by the police. Cases continue to get intertwined but Sophie Allan, who is both personally and professional involved closes it all with the assistance of her officers.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

181pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 27, 2020, 6:31 pm

#145. SECRET CRIMES, Michael Hambling

Sophie Allen returns to work after taking leave to recover from the previous case which touched her and her family. Her new case starts with two bodies being found within two days of each other but with nothing that links them. Gradually the team uncover the first link is group sex which in some cases leads to abuse. The second link is much harder to uncover correctly and is almost a last minute eureka moment. The final capture almost fails but doesn’t. A transgender staff member joins the team and it is interesting to see the different ways the others react and accept.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

182pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 28, 2020, 6:32 pm

#146. Buried Crimes, Michael Hambling

The skeletal remains of two young children are found when a man and his daughter decide to move a butterfly bush. This leads to the exposure of two more deaths and a current day murder. It is a difficult case as the age of the original corpses don’t provide any clues as to cause of death or identity.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

183pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 29, 2020, 8:20 pm

#147. TWISTED CRIMES, Michael Hambling

An elderly couple attend the wrong funeral by accident and within a month are dead. It was made to look like suicide but it was murder. It took some work to attach this murder to the owners of a number of cafes and clubs that were decidedly on the criminal side. A bent cop, another death and the realignment of ownership of the cafes all contribute to the solution.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

184pmarshall
Bewerkt: dec 31, 2020, 12:47 am

#148. EVIL CRIMES, Michael Hambling

A series of suicides that when looked at closely could be murder with the whispy image of a young women with long red hair in the background set out by witnesses. Sophie Allen and her team faces a number of obstacles, they are working in another police forces’ territory, the sole connection is the red headed woman, a practiced liar and sexual predator, and finally the case for suicide. They battle through and prove the case to their satisfaction.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️