Excellent Women / Barbara Pym

 

5 out of 5 stars 

2026 Re-Read

This was the very first Barbara Pym novel that I ever read and it completely sold me on her. I ordered as many of her books as my local bookshop had available. What a treat to revisit this delightful novel.

There were so many details that I missed on my first pass. Of course, I had no idea who Archdeacon Hoccleve was, when he appeared in Mildred's local church to give a Lenten sermon. Now I can appreciate this character from Some Tame Gazelle showing up again here.

I had also forgotten Everard Bone's mother's hatred of birds:
"I eat as many birds as possible," said Mrs. Bone when we were sitting down to roast chicken. "I have them sent from Harrod's or Fortnum's, and sometimes I go and look at them in the cold meats department. They do them up very prettily with aspic jelly and decorations. At least we can eat our enemies."
My youngest sister would thoroughly approve, having had a bird phobia all of her life and delighting in eating them!

This time, I took more notice of the number of men buzzing around Mildred, our excellent woman. First there is her clergyman friend, Julian, who takes her absolutely for granted. Then there is Rocky Napier, the downstairs neighbour, who is fighting with and separating from his wife. He is willing to be charming to get Mildred's household assistance. There is William, the civil servant and brother of Mildred's former roommate. They lunch occasionally and platonically. Plus, there is Everard Bone, the anthropologist that Mildred meets via the Napiers.

Julian's engagement to Allegra Grey startles everyone—apparently everybody in the church assumed that he would eventually marry Mildred. So the evening when Mildred finds both Julian and Rocky in her livingroom for tea, and the two men start to resent each other's claim on her attention, is hilarious. She retreats to the kitchen sink to get away from them, and when that isn't enough, she goes downstairs and washes the Napiers' dishes.

Pym was such a sharp observer of people, just as Mildred is. I love her spinster characters and feel like I am one of them.

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me / Ilona Andrews

 

4.5 out of 5 stars 

I follow the Ilona Andrews blog and I have watched this novel progress from a wishlist item to a freshly published work. If you have read the Andrews’ Hidden Legacy series, you will be aware of the Baylor family's fondness for Asian media. It reflects the interests of these authors. When they began working on Maggie, they were guided by isekai, a sub-genre of Japanese high fantasy fiction. According to Wikipedia, in isekai the main character is a person transported to another world, gaining powers or importance that they did not have in the previous world.

Maggie wakes up, cold, wet, and naked, in the world of her favourite fantasy novel. She has read it so many times that she feels somewhat at home in Kair Toren. It quickly becomes evident that she can be killed but is rapidly resurrected and soon is fine again, her new special power. Plus, she realizes that her encyclopedic knowledge of this fictional world can give her a big advantage. She plunges into action, starting to assemble the found family that Ilona Andrews heroines typically acquire.

Shame on me, to doubt the magic of the Andrews team, but when I first perused the ideas and snippets about TKWNKM on the blog, I doubted. I thought this might be a vanity project that misjudged the loyalty of the Book Devouring Horde. Boy, was I wrong! I picked the book up late in the evening, thinking I'd get a few pages in, just to see what it tasted like. At midnight I had to fight myself to put the book down and go to bed, dammit. I was well and truly hooked.

Never have I been so happy to be wrong! I adore Maggie and which woman wouldn't be delighted to have either Everard the Sleepless Duke or Lord Doran Arvel dancing attendance on her? (Honestly, I feel like Doran is an upgraded version of Arland Krahr from the Andrews' Innkeeper Chronicles.) Because I follow the authors on social media, I was prepared for a cliffhanger ending, but the nature of it was mindblowing! Book two is underway, thank the Aspects!

My first reading was a library book, but I now know that I must own a copy. This will require numerous rereadings. How wonderful.

A Ghastly Catastrophe / Deanna Raybourn

 

4 out of 5 stars 

This installment of Veronica Speedwell pleased me very much. Deanna Raybourn’s cheeky tone is perfect. Fans of her Lady Julia series will be delighted to have that woman and her Nicholas Brisbane make an appearance to help with the investigation. Veronica appears to be taken with the couple, so it seems that the two storylines may be merging.

Raybourn has previously written a gothic novel with hints of vampirism (The Dead Travel Fast). Her research from that novel serves her well as Veronica and Stoker debate whether revenants are a thing and if their current case involves one. Stoker is an emphatic NO to both questions but Veronica is more willing to entertain the possibility.

There are some grand lines. The reporter J.J. loses her job and declares, “I shall have to live on stale crusts and cheese stolen from mousetraps. I will be forced into degrading work like prostitution or standing for Parliament." (Many Canadians feel similarly about our House of Commons.)

Later, Veronica and Stoker find the body of a wealthy American after breaking into his home. Veronica explains why they must not report the murder. “Once news of Von Hilsing's death is known, the press will descend like vultures. Our British newspapers are bad enough, but just consider, dearest--"
"The Americans," he said hoarsely. His face had gone very white, and he slumped into a chair. "It will be awful. They will accuse us of terrible things and they shall do so ungrammatically."

Raybourn, as a Texan, can get away with twitting her countrymen in this fashion. The names she uses have purposeful similarities to characters in Bram Stoker's Dracula, providing another layer of amusement for fans of that novel. Thoroughly entertaining and worth the wait.

The Keeper / Tana French

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Just when Cal Hooper thinks that the village of Ardnakelty has become home, the death of a young woman changes everything. It turns out that Rachel Holohan is well liked, despite her relationship with Eugene Moynihan, the son of the local big man. Tommy Moynihan is used to running things the way he wants them and is willing to use his connections to make life miserable for those who don't cooperate.

The village is divided on many issues, but prominent is this book are those pro and con the Moynihans and on whether Rachel was a murder or a suicide. Cal is part of this community now and his background as a detective (and his role in the two previous books) means that his friends are expecting his involvement. The teenager, Trey, that he has been mentoring, is ready to poke her nose into it, determined to make Tommy pay for his role in Rachel's death.

Cal finds himself explaining to Trey and to his farmer drinking buddies that killing Tommy won't likely prevent the developers from pursuing their plans to scoop up farm land and build some enormous complex of some kind. They've got to be strategic—Tommy has to be alive and capable of scuppering these plans.

French writes a very atmospheric and tense story here. The mystery is less “who done it" and more the mystery of the human condition. Cal and Lena have different ideas of what to do and who to involve. It unexpectedly causes some emotional distance between them. Cal's immediate neighbour and frenemy, Mart, is used to being the leader of whatever is going on. Lena intensely dislikes Mart and wants nothing she knows to help him. If you've ever lived in a small community, you will recognize the undercurrents in Ardnakelty. Long standing grudges and prejudices still shape the present debates. Habitual patterns are hard to disrupt. Politicians are used to being obeyed promptly.

The ending here, while not completely happy, is at least comfortable for Cal, Lena, and Trey. French has wrapped things up to the place where I believe that she is done with Cal. It remains to be seen what she chooses to write next. Sign me up, Ms. French. I'll be waiting.

Crowbones / Anne Bishop

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Anne Bishop is a mysterious woman. There is next to no information about her online, something that is difficult to achieve these days. Why was I being nosy, you ask? I wanted to know what kind of person is writing the fiction that I am enjoying. The two series in the World of the Others feature women who are very naïve and, through their rather innocent way of looking at the world, attract the favourable attention of the fearsome Others.

The relationship between humanity and the Others ranges from uneasy to hostile. Neither side knows enough about the other and shitty humans keep messing up the lines of communication and cooperation. Some of the terra indigine have short tempers (and long memories), but it is undoubtedly the humans who get too uppity for their own good, rather like a stone age tribe taking on a nuclear power. Human hubris is the bane of their existence.

Vicki has survived a horrible marriage to a brutal man who convinced her that she was completely unattractive, unintelligent, and incapable of doing anything worthwhile. Of course we, the readers, and the Others and Vicki's friends don't see her that way, but programming like that is difficult to overcome. Vicki is easily panicked by critical or loud men, retreating into anxiety attacks at moments when she would be much better off keeping her wits about her. However, she is kind and supportive to her staff of Others. They recognize her worth and her human friends soon realize they can recruit these powerful entities to help to keep her safe.

If I have any frustration with this book, it is that Vicki hasn't made more progress towards better self-esteem by the book's end and this appears to be the last volume of the series. The illogical human assumption that they can ignore the Others is also annoying. It makes for an interesting study of prejudice (by both populations) but is a rather simple equation, what with belligerent humans always being the cause of conflict. I came out of it frustrated by the tribalism that I see all around the real world.

MaddAddam / Margaret Atwood

 

3.75 out of 5 stars 

Book number 541 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

Oh Margaret, tell us the story of Zeb and his brother Adam. Tell us how Zeb came to be with God's Gardeners. Give us hope, oh Margaret, that we may survive in some shape or form!

Ten years after publishing Oryx and Crake, Ms. Atwood produced the last volume of this dystopian world. The Crakers, who we met in that first volume, become an integral part of the community, along with MaddAddamites and former members of God’s Gardeners. Most humans have been swept away, leaving this little group isolated and vulnerable to attack by a pair of Painballers (convicted killers).

A young Craker named Blackbeard becomes intrigued by the humans, especially Toby. Jimmy the Snowman is very ill and unconscious, so Toby has been recruited by the Crakers to tell them the tales of Oryx and Crake. And the tale of Zeb, who interests them very much. Toby is fond of Zeb and this is her excuse to learn about his life.

Atwood gives us a backstory to the previous volumes. We learn about the relationship between Zeb and AdamOne and Zeb's adventures before joining God's Gardeners (in book two). Is this important in a world where humanity is phasing out? It is significant to Toby, so it was interesting to me too.

I continue to appreciate all the detail in this world. As Atwood has said, all of it has a basis in fact. Amazing and disturbing, but put together logically and believably. One reviewer of her autobiography said that Atwood’s father was an entomologist and she learned from him to observe humans as if they were interesting insects. I get that vibe strongly from this book.

Whose Body? / Dorothy L. Sayers

 

4 out of 5 stars 

2026 Re-Read

It has been nine years since I first met Lord Peter Wimsey and it has been an entertaining acquaintanceship. Knowing him better, as I do now, I am impressed by how much of his character is shown in this very first adventure. We quickly become familiar with Mervyn Bunter, who is a friend as well as the valet to Peter. In the beginning, Sayers gives their relationship a rather Jeeves and Wooster flavour, but this doesn't last long. Wimsey is not the happy fool that Bertie Wooster is and Bunter is not the all-solving Jeeves either. Instead, they are quite the team.

We also meet Charles Parker of Scotland Yard, Peter's friend and accomplice in investigation. Another educated man and of a steady disposition, he is the ideal partner in crime fighting. However, it is Bunter who cares for Wimsey when he has a session of PTSD, having served in the war with Peter. It is he who calls the Dowager Duchess, Wimsey's mother, when such an occurrence indisposes him. She is a delightful character, calm, quick witted (when dealing with unexpected church donations and proposed speakers for a nonexistent bazaar), kind (when dealing with a deaf old woman in need of care), and she does it all with a twinkle of humour in her eye.

In all, this is a good introduction to Lord Peter Wimsey and I am glad to have revisited it. I am bumping my rating up to 4 stars, knowing as I do how much enjoyment I have derived from Ms. Sayers' creation.