Turn Right at Machu Picchu / Mark Adams

 

4 out of 5 stars 

***2026 Summer of Sightseeing from my Sofa***

I chose a theme of travel for my summer this year, but regular travel books weren't what I had in mind. Instead, I've chosen an eccentric selection of travel stories. Turn Right had a certain appeal. Let me state up front that I have visited Machu Picchu, but I took a bus; I did not hike. Nowadays, even that is beyond my capabilities as my knees have given up. I’m glad I enjoyed travel when I did. Machu Picchu is a magical place and the Peruvian people are kind and generous folk. I’m a person who finds nature and the outdoors more inspiring than any church, so Machu Picchu suited me perfectly.

I had mixed feelings as I started reading Mark Adams' account. Sitting at a desk working for a travel magazine doesn't qualify a person to undertake a mountainous adventure like this one. Take it from someone who worked a desk job in a library and undertook birding tours on vacation. I've been insect nibbled, camped in cold rain (once in a tent that collapsed), survived altitude sickness, and nursed horrible blisters on my poor feet. I could see the pitfalls ahead clearly. I think Adams could too, but he went anyway.

The history of Hiram Bingham III in Peru (bringing Machu Picchu to the Western world's attention) alternates with Inca history and accounts of Adams' attempt to follow in Bingham's footsteps. Any of these three threads alone could have been tedious, but the interplay between the three was entertaining. Adams' dry and self deprecating sense of humour saved his portion from being a recitation of discomforts.

This initial adventure seems to have primed the author's pump. Adams has written two more adventure books about Alaska and the search for Atlantis. Judging by Turn Right at Machu Picchu, they could also be entertaining reading. Machu Picchu continues to be beautiful and enigmatic. I hope it remains that way for ages to come.

A Cute Little Murder / Molly Harper

 

3.25 out of 5 stars 

I usually love Molly Harper novels. I was a little unsure when she pivoted from urban fantasy to mystery, but A Proposal to Die For was fun, so I approached this novel expecting a similar experience. I got off to a bad start with this one. I am used to Harper's sense of humour and I like it, but it seemed subdued in this book. I felt like she didn't hit her stride until page 130. That's a long time to wait.

I started to warm up to Lainey halfway through the book, but once again, that's a long time to wait. Add to that, when I noticed that I was 60% through, there was still no murder. It made me doubt the book's title. Shortly thereafter a death occurred and suddenly the pace increased exponentially. Harper is also known for including a romance angle to her books. Lainey's romance story line also took a long time to get moving. The final 40% of the novel had a lot of ground to cover.

It pains me to give a Molly Harper book less than four stars, but this one started off so sluggishly that I can't in good conscience give it full marks.

Butterfly Effects / Seanan McGuire

 

3.5 out of 5 stars 

Book 10 of the 2026 Read Your Hoard Challenge

This is another book starring Sarah Zellaby, possibly my least favourite character in the InCryptid series. This novel relates back to numbers 9 and 10 in the series, exploring the development and abilities of Sarah, the human-shaped giant wasp from Johrlac, and her cousin/love interest Artie. In an earlier book, Sarah accidentally wiped Artie's mind and tried to piece him back together with memories filched from their family. The resulting person becomes known as Arthur.

Now, members of the original Johrlac dimension come to apprehend Sarah—she has gone through the “forbidden instar" and become a queen. They also grab Arthur as evidence of her crimes. They fail to reckon with Sarah's Earth family. Her sorcerer grandfather, her dimension-jumping grandmother, her flame-throwing cousin Antimony, and Antimony's furi fiancé Sam ride to the rescue.

We learn more about the telepathic Johrlac species, which wasn't a priority for me, but it seems that this story arc is complete now. That would make me very happy. I would like to get back to Verity, Alex, and Antimony as the main focus. Antimony and Sam made this book palatable for me. Thomas and Alice are kind of in between—better than Sarah, not as much fun as their other grandchildren. I was dismayed to read in the acknowledgements how much McGuire loves writing Sarah. I personally want MORE MICE. The books where the Aeslin mice get left behind are inferior books IMO.

HAIL! CAKE AND CHEESE FOR ALL!

Kon-Tiki / Thor Heyerdahl

 

3 out of 5 stars 

***2026 Summer of Sightseeing from my Sofa***

I chose a theme of travel for my summer this year, but regular travel books weren't what I had in mind. Instead, I've chosen an eccentric selection of travel stories, the first of which is Kon-Tiki. I hadn't realized how long ago this voyage was (1947). It was kind of a kooky expedition that only the men on the raft expected to be successful.

This was very much a young man's project, requiring physical stamina and youthful determination. It made me realize how much the world has shrunk in the decades since. Despite their military service, Heyerdahl and his compatriots had only a very rough concept of mission planning or supply chain issues. Their tale of obtaining the large balsa trees to build the raft was an adventure in itself. Building the raft on the coast of Peru and setting out for Polynesia was either daft or brave, maybe both.

Looking at their anthropological theories, I couldn't help but cringe a bit. I would have thought that we were past the age of believing that innovators, inventors, and builders had to be Caucasian in origin. There was a lot of ignoring the generational knowledge of indigenous peoples. On the one hand, they had confidence in Inca balsa log rafts, but no willingness to acknowledge the navigation skills of people on the Western shore of the Pacific. They very much picked and chose the facts that they wanted. (It made me think of Chariots of the Gods published twenty years later, that also assumed that ancient people would require otherworldly assistance to build the structures that we admire today.) I think that modern DNA studies have debunked the idea of South Americans populating Oceania.

My major reason to read this was the zoology, the fish, crustaceans, and whales encountered out at sea. This aspect seems to have been merely an interesting side quest for the Kon-Tiki adventurers. They regularly ate the flying fish that collected on the raft overnight. They fished for dorado and tunny, but had an oddly aggressive attitude towards sharks. I was particularly amused by their collection of plankton, followed by their willingness to haul out spoons to taste it. Jellyfish were not to their taste.

I'm unsure if anything of academic value was accomplished on the Kon-Tiki expedition, but it was surely an amazing adventure. It was amazing that all 6 young men survived the journey, with no severe injuries. As a non-swimmer, I admire their confidence in their watercraft and their willingness to learn as they went. How the world has changed in the last almost 80 years!

Villain / Natalie Zina Walschots

 

4 out of 5 stars 

The weirdest office romance ever. I knew at the end of Hench that Anna/The Auditor was attracted to her boss Leviathan. She sees past the mandibles and carapace to the being underneath.

In the first chapters of this book, we learn that the loss of his nemesis, Supercollider, has plunged Leviathan into a dark depression. The Auditor is holding his organization together by her fingernails as she also mourns for the actively evil Leviathan of the past. In the meantime, the Draft (the training and support organization for superheroes) has been trying to restore Supercollider to normalcy. It does not go well. Leviathan is determined to attend the midnight funeral for Supercollider, so the Auditor leads the way.

The results for Leviathan are positive—he regains his equilibrium. And sweeps the Auditor off to his private quarters to nibble on her with those amazing mouthparts. Initially delighted, Anna comes to wonder about his motivations. What seemed protective and caring before suddenly feels manipulative and controlling. Leviathan seems strangely unfamiliar with human reactions and emotions. He is prepared to impose his will on Anna in a very paternalistic fashion. An employer may expect loyalty and obedience, but how much? How do you say no to someone who can easily rip you apart?

The Draft are not sitting on their hands either. Their Chief Marketing Officer is offering amnesty to any of Leviathan’s people willing to leave and is concentrating his attention on Anna. As they watch Leviathan’s workforce drain away, the Auditor struggles with her own desire for more autonomy versus her loyalty to her boss.

In the acknowledgements, Walschots writes about how difficult this book was to write. Despite that, I have a feeling that we have not seen the last of the Auditor and Leviathan. At least I certainly hope not.

The Blonde Who Came in From the Cold / Ally Carter

 

3.75 out of 5 stars 

Book two of The Blonde Identity. Not quite as appealing to me as the first volume, but still very enjoyable. Unfortunately, I didn't find Alex as much fun as Zoe in the first book. This was probably because Zoe's scars were on her body and Alex's are on her psyche. Zoe manages to have a great time cosplaying a spy while having amnesia. Alex really is a spy, and also a confused and guilty-feeling sister.

The first book used the identical twin situation to its fullest. Shakespeare would have approved and he certainly knew how to tell a twin tale. It's pretty late in this novel before Zoe shows up. Also, Zoe is a romance author and her banter with Sawyer was more amusing to me. Alex and King were so much more serious. They certainly had their moments, just not quite so many of them.

If you haven't yet read In From the Cold, I advise you to pay attention to the chapter headings. There are several timelines and multiple locations and Carter switches between them regularly. You must stay alert if you want to figure out what’s going on. Sometimes even then you'll have to pause and reorient yourself. It's worth it, but you can't get too lackadaisical.

Overall a fun book, mixing espionage and romance in equal quantities.

Crampton Hodnet / Barbara Pym

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Book 9 of the 2026 Read Your Hoard Challenge

As usual, Barbara Pym showed me what a keen observer of human nature she was. This novel focuses on two situations. The first is a young curate Mr. Latimer, housing with an older lady Miss Doggett and her companion Miss Morrow. The second is Oxford tutor Mr. Cleveland who is feeling rather neglected by his wife and develops romantic feelings for one of his students, Barbara Bird.

Mr. Latimer, after sharing the house for a while, comes to the conclusion that “he could do worse” than to marry Miss Morrow. He waits until Miss Doggett leaves the house and then proposes. Miss Morrow doesn't even drop a stitch in her knitting—she turns him down kindly and advises him to marry someone who he loves. Not her.

Meanwhile, Francis Cleveland has moved from mooning about Miss Bird, to taking her to tea, to romantic walks and whispered confessions of his feelings in the library. Barbara has a crush on her handsome instructor, but has the naïve notion of platonic love. She is somewhat taken aback when Francis wants to kiss her. I can't speak to young women today, but I know I had a huge crush on my first year chemistry prof. It's lucky for both of us that he was a honorable guy. (I found out later that there was a mutual attraction there.)

To my mind, the best part of the tale is the romance between Francis' daughter Anthea and Simon Beddoes. Simon has political aspirations and writes a letter to break up with Anthea, distressing her. Miss Doggett and Miss Morrow are on hand when the letter arrives and Miss Morrow has an opportunity to read it.

Miss Morrow could hardly help laughing when she had finished reading. The sprawling, childish writing and curious parliamentary phraseology seemed to her infinitely pathetic. “It has been evident for some time…it is not unlikely that…” Miss Morrow jumped forward thirty years and saw Simon as the Secretary of State for Something, answering questions in the House. But then, she thought, with cynicism unsuitable in one who was not a woman of the world, he would avoid the truth at all costs. And he would probably have a secretary who knew where to put the apostrophe in haven't.

According to Wikipedia, Simon is based on the politician Julian Amery, with whom Pym had a brief romance. I'd say she got her gentle revenge here, probably consulting her diaries for useful details. I truly wish I had discovered Barbara Pym before her death in 1980. I do wish I could let her know how much I appreciate her view of the world.