Agatha Christie : a very elusive woman / Lucy Worsley

 

4 out of 5 stars

So many things made this biography fascinating to me. I'm currently engaged in a project to read Christie's novels in publication order, one per month. I look forward to each one and enjoy watching the changes in English society as time rolls on. I have also read Christie's autobiography and wondered what she omitted and what she massaged to make it look better.

I think many women can relate to the desire to be seen as attractive and/or feminine. This desire seems to me to be manifested in Ms. Christie as disavowing her ambition and claiming not to be too serious about being an author. Her behaviour tells a different story, as she had very definite ideas about her novels, even down to the blurbs on the covers. Her publishers found her a formidable client, so there was definitely ambition there even if she wouldn't admit to it. I wonder if she was conscious of the dichotomy between words and actions?

I think her reluctance to claim her rightful recognition has contributed to her relegation by the literature snobs to ‘merely' genre fiction. I am constantly amazed by how deftly she introduces her characters, how amusing her dialogue is, and how well structured her plots are. She accomplished so much in so few pages. Considering her haphazard education, her work is even more amazing. She had a huge role in shaping the mystery genre, pioneering devices like the unreliable narrator and psychological profiling.

Like so many writers, Christie was an introvert. She didn't seek publicity and in fact often fled from it. Many members of the public seemed to resent her unwillingness to open herself to them, thereby proving her point, that her audience expected too much. She was willing to pretend that she was a regular citizen, not a celebrated author, a ridiculous proposition. It seems that male critics, directors, and reviewers were particularly hostile—how dare a mere woman be so successful and yet demand a private life?

I had read that her final novels revealed the possibility of dementia and this author repeats the reasons for this speculation. It seems reasonable, if sad. However I cannot feel sorry for her. She had a long and eventful life, filled with more happiness than tribulation, and died quickly and quietly. A life well lived and a wonderful literary legacy.

Shadow in the Glass / M.E. Hilliard

 

4 out of 5 stars

Reminder from this novel: don't try to hide information from a reference librarian! I really like Greer Hogan as a main character, with her research skills and sensible approach.

Greer goes to a close friend's wedding in Lake Placid, hoping to revisit the details of her husband's murder. Someone may have seen something to help her reopen the investigation. The event is far enough in the past that she has had time to process and she is increasingly convinced that the wrong person was convicted. However the best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray and no sooner has Greer arrived in Lake Placid than weird things start to build up. There are dark undercurrents flowing and Greer can't piece everything together.

Unlike many amateur detectives, Greer doesn't go it alone. She assembles a team, divvies out the research, and writes out a time line. Meanwhile, there are spooky things happening in one of the guest houses—doors closing on their own, footsteps heard in the middle of the night, the piano being played for a few bars. I found this mystifying as I could see no reason to introduce potentially paranormal issues into a straight mystery story.

Needless to say, everything connects to everything else. Some of the strands stretch back into past of the older members of the family. Greer's puzzle solving mind and nosy nature are the perfect combination to expose the hows and whys of the crime.

I went immediately to the library catalogue and placed a hold on book 3, Three Can Keep a Secret. It's still on order, but I am excited for the next Greer Hogan installment.

The Scarlet Pimpernel / Baronness Orczy

 

4 out of 5 stars

I don't know how I missed reading this classic when I was in school, but I wish I had discovered it sooner. Mind you, I'm not sure how much I knew about the French Revolution back then, so I wouldn't have appreciated it.

How times have changed! I'm willing to bet that the English don't adhere to monarchist values quite so tightly any more, King Charles being much less popular than his mother, Elizabeth II. However I would hope that people would still rescue those condemned to death by kangaroo courts.

Marguerite was annoying, being thick as a brick, not the most intelligent woman in Europe as the author assured us repeatedly. But that is less important than the romance of the tale. It's not often that we read of a romance between husband and wife, but all of this plot was geared towards getting Sir Percy and Marguerite to be truthful with each other and to trust. To regain the love that precipitated their marriage.

Percy's act of being a good natured fop fools everyone quite successfully. He sets the standard for many of the current pop culture heroes. Superman fools people simply by wearing glasses and Batman’s alter ego is the unremarkable Bruce Wayne. Sir Percy is far more dramatic.

This also brought to mind a cartoon I watched as a child—Klondike Kat, who pursued a French Canadian mouse known as Savoir Faire. The rodent's tag line was “Savoir Faire eez everywhere," as he pulled off yet another escape from the cat's clutches. My closest brush with the Scarlet Pimpernel until now!

April Fools / Jess Lourey

 

4 out of 5 stars

That did not end the way I thought it would. Mira and Mrs. Berns are undoubtedly a team, so that part is no surprise, but I was rooting for Gary Wohnt to replace Johnny in Mira's affections. I guess I should have guessed from his surname, which to me is pronounced “won't.“

Lourey wraps things up neatly, managing to restore Jed to his place in the community (and debunk the story of a Bigfoot in the area). Mira manages to hook up Karen Kramer with the inspector who is responsible for rating Battle Lake as a tourist destination, assuring that he feels very welcome in town. Kennie Rogers uses her mayoral powers for good instead of entirely for mischief (although there are enough pot infused foods to get Mira and Mrs. Berns into trouble a couple of times). All of this while dealing with a sex trafficking ring that is abducting teen girls. The situation is well described and reflects Lourey's concern with the people who prey on women and girls.

Just like Thomas King's DreadfulWater series, I will miss all these townsfolk and sidekicks every bit as much as the main character. So I was glad to read the note at the end that Lourey has written another novel featuring the same crew.

I have really enjoyed this series which seems to be Lourey in her fun setting. The only other book of hers that I've read (The Quarry Girls) just about did me in with tension and angst! Unfortunately I didn't get started until the November volume, so I may backtrack and read the earlier books that I skipped. More Mrs. Berns is always a good thing!

Valor's Choice / Tanya Huff

 

4 out of 5 stars

Although this book is getting the same star rating as Tanya Huff's Vicki Nelson series, I’m not quite so enamoured with it. It's good, and if I hadn't become acquainted with Vicki first, I'm sure I would love Torin Kerr. She's definitely a kickass female character right to the very end of the novel. I respect her, but my heart belongs to Vicki.

Huff writes aliens well. The Confederation troops have members from at least four species from the alliance. Kerr has thoughts about why her combat unit has been assigned to a diplomatic mission, but she has been instructed to treat it as “light duty." Her suspicions are confirmed when the Confederation spacecraft is shot down over a wilderness area. Kerr must deal with an inexperienced commanding officer, people wounded in the crash, swampy surroundings, several species of ambassadors, and incoming hostile adolescent Silsviss (the lizard-like race that the Confederation is courting). (And I know it's not fair, but I envisioned the Silsviss like the Gorn from the original Star Trek.)

In the afterword, Huff explains that the battle of Rorke's Drift was the template for the action. And there is a lot of action. Huff tries to keep Torin Kerr realistic, in that she makes some poor decisions and loses beings under her command. She feels responsible, but isn't paralyzed by guilt.

Although I won't be in a huge hurry to read the next book, I have no doubt that I will continue on with the series. Kerr may have turned down officer training, but I have a hunch that she will continue to be interesting.

Blood Trail / Tanya Huff

 

4 out of 5 stars

These books are like potato chips—I can't resist them. I love Vicky Nelson, tough and caring as she is. Once she knows someone, she likes them. Once she likes them, she gets protective. Her physical limitations frustrate her and both of the men in her life know to tread carefully when assisting her.

Henry Fitzroy and Mike Celluci are well matched to compete for Vicky's affections. Fitzroy may have the exotic factor, but Mike has familiarity on his side. As love triangles go, this one is fairly painless. Vicky is never going to be subsumed in any mere man (or vampire). At no point has she mentioned having a need to choose between them, and why should she have to?

So, the first book gave us a vampire (and a demon). This one offered werewolves. I will have to exhibit extreme will power not to request book 3 right away to see what else is in store. I can hardly wait to see Tanya Huff at this summer's conference. I will be attending any session that she's participating in.

A Sinister Revenge / Deanna Raybourn

 

4 out of 5 stars

Veronica Speedwell never fails to charm me. Eight books in and I hoped that the magic would still be there. I was relieved to find her just as appealing as usual. Veronica has a problem: oh, Tiberius Templeton-Vane has recruited her and his brother to help him respond to a threatening letter he has received, but that's not the most drastic issue on her mind. It's Stoker, who is feeling offended that she has not confided in him and did not seek him out on his “I need space to think about things" trip to Europe. He wants to feel needed and appreciated. Veronica is loathe to give him so much leverage in their relationship.

It is difficult for Veronica to trust. After all, her birth family want to keep her at arms length, with plausible deniability. And in the last book, we learned of the man that she believed to be her first husband. (See An Impossible Imposter). It turns out that shoddy paperwork annulled their union, but Stoker had stomped off to Europe before that became clear. Will Veronica be able to win him back? Will she win her bet with Stoker and Tiberius? Will she mend her friendship with J.J. Butterworth? Will they discover the murderer?

Raybourn's humour is perennially appealing to me. I love her portrayal of our daring lepidopterist, who is always aware of butterflies, but often oblivious to the finer human feelings around her. I wouldn't have her any other way!

The Paris Apartment / Lucy Foley

 

2.5 out of 5 stars

I finished this just under the wire—my RL book club meets this evening to discuss it. And that discussion may help me figure out exactly how I feel about it.

We meet Jess at the beginning of the book, when she is the poor little sister. She’s been working crappy jobs at bars in London, being sexually harassed by her boss. She empties the till, barricades her boss in the men's room, and gets out of Dodge. Her brother Ben has reluctantly said she can stay with him in his Paris apartment (hence the title of this novel), but he's not there when she arrives. She picks the lock and examines his living space, trying to figure out where he's gone. Foley reveals details on a slow release schedule, giving us the view of just about everyone in the apartment building. The reader learns things right along with Jess, as she searches for her missing brother.

Although it seems at first that Jess is semi-feral, borderline criminal, from growing up in the foster system, she turns out to be one of the straighter arrows among the collection of characters. We begin with the belief that Ben is the lucky one, the one who was adopted by the wealthy family. Then Foley begins to dish the dirt on everyone, a shovel full at a time, until nobody is squeaky clean. It becomes obvious that Ben had planned a campaign when he asked his friend Nick for a place to live.

I'm not sure why, but I got some of the same vibe as The Glass Hotel. Probably because of the aura of high living from sketchy sources. With so many despicable people and their masquerade as decent folk, I couldn't help but think of books like Gone Girl. What used to be novel and exciting has become rather shop worn and tired.

I got the impression that Ben was at best a narcissist, at worst a sociopath. Willing to do almost anything to get what he wants, willing to take ridiculous risks, and not at all concerned about his sister or his friends. When he helps them, it's to keep them in the dark about his real plan or his true self. Cold, calculating, wanting to have the people around him dance to his tune. Charming his way as he goes.

The twist at the end was less shocking than it was meant to be. Disappointing, really. Then Foley very neatly squares away all the odds and ends, leaving everything tied up in a bow. Very unrealistic to have something so messy disposed of so easily.

A Solitude of Wolverines / Alice Healy

 

2.5 stars? It could have been four, but things got pretty ridiculous by the end. Alex Carter has managed to get some wetlands protected from development and is pretty pleased about it until the dedication ceremony, where a disgruntled developer shows up, determined to kill her. Instead, a lone gunman materializes, shoots the would-be killer, and melts back into the landscape.

Alex is understandably shaken by this event. She is tired of Boston and it seems that her relationship with her boyfriend is kaput. When she calls an academic colleague and is offered a position conducting wolverine research in Montana, she jumps at the opportunity. Once on site, she realizes that the land trust that she is working for is a polarizing issue for the small community of Bitterroot.

This is where things start to go wrong for me as a reader. The hunters, the ranchers, the sheriff, all seem to be actively hostile to Alex. Small communities can be like that, but these people aren't mustache-twirling bad guys, as they all seem to be depicted here. Plenty of them love wildlife, just not the same way that vegetarian city conservationists do. So that frustrated me. One or two truly hostile people is believable, but every man in town? I just don't think so.

Then, the author made Alex into someone who'd been trained in survivalist skills by her mother. A wildlife researcher needs outdoor skills for sure, but to also be very proficient with firearms and know her way around dynamite? That stretched my credulity even further. But wait, there's more! An absolutely bananapants wildlife smuggling ring, hiding in the mountains of Montana? Possible, but not probable, especially when some of the animals they are holding is revealed. From there on, this just spirals into Jack Reacher levels of unreality. Nevertheless, I kept my nose in the book right to the end to figure out who all the villains were. Alex is a one-woman wrecking crew, who later gets an admiring note from the pyscho (remember him, back at the beginning?) who has been watching over her since she prevented one of his burial sites from being developed.

As I said, bananapants. I don't think I'll be reading further in the series. By the way, if actual wolverine research interests you, pick up The Wolverine Way. It's all the factual goodness without the nuttiness.

The Gorgon Agenda / Lisa Shearin

 

4 out of 5 stars

I love Lisa Shearin's imaginative worlds and I am particularly fond of Makenna Fraser as a main character. So I admit to some concern when Shearin moved to self-publishing. I was even more worried when she let Makenna and her favourite goblin, Rake, hook up as a couple. I was afraid that it would suck all the tension out of the novels. I am relieved to report that Shearin can find other methods to keep the plot moving briskly, as this book proves.

Having said that, this book includes the end of the enemy that SPI has been fighting since book one. Shearin reminded me, right at the end, that the evil henchman is still out there and remains a threat. So there are still potential books to be written. Having checked Shearin's website, her next book will be book two of her Aurora Donati series (yay!). I assume she will alternate between the series to keep things fresh. She stated that she hopes to finish the first draft of The Embassy Reprisal by June, so that's fabulous news.

In the next installment of SPI, there will be a wedding (and one gets the impression that it will run along the lines of a Meg Langslow mystery, with plenty of nutty complications and twists and turns). There will undoubtedly be plenty of Southernisms from Mak's family and complications from Rake's. It will be fun, of that I have no doubt.

I am sorely tempted to go back to The Grendel Affair and re-read the whole series.

Blood Price / Tanya Huff

 

4.35 out of 5 stars

I am a dyed in the wool fan of urban fantasy and especially novels featuring vampire characters. This book was perfectly designed to grab my attention and hold it in a tight grasp. I stayed up far too late one night and experienced great difficulty finally setting it down. Only when my eyes started watering was I persuaded to go to bed.

I enjoy the main character, Vicki Nelson, a former detective, with a high solution rate, now a private investigator with serious vision issues. She has a complicated relationship with her former employers and especially with her former partner (professional and personal). Vicki may be working on cases more suited to a visually impaired person, but she is unable to ignore current events/murders, the first of which she is first on scene. This death results in the victim's girlfriend hiring Vicki to solve his murder since the woman is convinced the perpetrator is a vampire and that the police won't consider that angle.

Of course Vicki takes the case. It gives her an excuse to dabble in the official investigation and to maintain her connection to her former partner, Mike Celluci. But while on stakeout one night, Vicki is abducted by a vampire who is also pursuing the murderer. Henry Fitzroy is the illegitimate son of Henry VIII, the only really cheesy detail in this fantasy. He knows that there is someone summoning demons, which he explains to Vicki when she regains consciousness. They strike a bargain—he investigates at night, Vicki in the daylight. Needless to say, as they get to know one another, an attraction develops.

I can hardly wait to hear this author speak at a conference this summer! Her storytelling really appeals to me and I will absolutely be continuing to read this series.

Feral / Nicole Luiken

 

4 out of 5 stars

The author of this book will be at a conference that I plan to attend this summer. I like to read something by each special guest to get to know them a bit before hand. This was the only title of hers that my library had, so I requested it.

I'm a fan of werewolf stories and Luiken gives the lore its own twists in this young adult tale. It seems to be aimed at the high school crowd, so it's a bit less complex than adult oriented urban fantasy. Still, the plot was quite compelling, despite Luiken's use of well worn tropes. Chloe is slow in gaining the skill to change and faces issues with the Pack members her own age as a result. However, everyone seems to recognize her as a Dominant, excepting Chloe herself.

Luiken throws problem after problem at her young character. Her best friend has been killed in a plane crash. Chloe discovers a feral werewolf who may be her friend's brother, but he seems to be stuck in wolf form and seems close to losing his humanity. She should be able to trust in the Alphas to protect him, but things are not feeling right in the Pack.

The plotting is good, although the solution to most of the problems seems a little simplistic to my eye. However, I think I would have loved it as a teen. I look forward to hearing this author at the conference.

The Body in the Library / Agatha Christie

 

5 out of 5 stars

2023 Re-Read

This is my favourite Agatha Christie novel, pure and simple. Why, you ask? Well, first and foremost, Jane Marple. Miss Marple, who has plumbed the depths of human wickedness by paying attention to events in her small village. Who dithers and fusses to conceal the sharp intellect that lurks within her. I'd love to know her backstory—why she never married, what was her family background, what kept her in her tiny community. She is enigmatic and rather fascinating.

My second reason to love this novel is Dolly Bantry. I have to love a woman who says, if there's going to be a murder in my house, I'm going to enjoy it. I can see myself doing the exact same thing, although maybe slightly more quietly. She's good hearted, determined to solve the murder, especially so when she realizes that her husband will be gossiped about and snubbed despite his innocence.

I was also pleased to get a peek at Griselda, the pastor's wife, another of my favourite female characters in Christie's work. She knows she's not an appropriate wife, but she loves her husband and her child, so she doesn't let the parish opinions and politics worry her overmuch.

As per usual, I didn't remember the details of the crime. It was fun to see it play out all over again. I'm bumping up my rating to five stars as a result.

The Ghost Brigades / John Scalzi

 

4 out of 5 stars

Obviously, since this is the second book in a series, there is some continuity. But Scalzi doesn't limit himself to the cast of characters he introduced us to in Old Man's War. Instead, we get a close-up look at the Special Forces known to outsiders as the Ghost Brigades. Just as we followed the training of the Colonial Defence Forces, we do the same with Special Forces.

We also eventually get better information on the mysterious Obin, the aliens who are completely ruthless and who cannot be negotiated with. The main character, Jared, is a clone of a treacherous scientist, Charles Boutin, who has defected to the Obin. Jared eventually learns that he owes his whole existence to someone for whom he has almost no respect. Boutin loves his daughter, Zoe, probably the only thing that Jared understands.

This book is a study in the best and the worst of humanity. We love our families and can display phenomenal loyalty. And we can be xenophobic and violent. If we believe something strongly enough, we can talk ourselves into perpetrating horrific things in pursuit of those goals.

I don't know if I have read any other military science fiction that uses as much humour as Scalzi does. He deals with serious subjects, about which he has very definite opinions, but maintains a light touch. I could also see the influence that Robert A. Heinlein had on him, but he is very much his own man at the same time. I must say that although I appreciate RAH as one of the original sci fi writers, I far prefer Scalzi's spin on the military branch of this genre.

Book 480 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

The Road / Cormac McCarthy

 

4 out of 5 stars

Mesmerisingly bleak

I had heard how utterly dark this novel was, but honestly I had no idea. It's like Cormac McCarthy read Stephen King's The Stand, then turned to his page and said, “Oh yeah? Hold my beer.”

There are so many unknowns. What happened to reduce the world to this ashy blackness? We are never given even a hint of the disaster. The man and the boy are never given names. Their histories are meager. The man recalls the boy's mother on a couple of occasions, they reminisce about events that we as readers have witnessed, but dwelling on a long-gone past would only be masochistic. Where are these two trying to get to? South is the only goal that we hear from them. How long have they been on the move? Why is it so cold? Has the weather been altered too? As the father and son discuss, there must be good people somewhere but how do you find them? How are they surviving?

And yet, it is compelling. I kept reading, always hoping for more clues. Will they find a safe place to sleep? Will they be warm enough? Can they find more food? Just as the two of them put one foot in front of the other, I felt that I must pay attention to each small progress. All the while, sitting in my warm home, drinking my coffee, preparing meals whenever I felt the need. I felt almost guilty about the comfort of my life.

Book 479 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

Guards! Guards! / Terry Pratchett

 

4 out of 5 stars

Thank you, Sir Terry Pratchett, for your amusing books which manage to point out our human foibles so clearly. As the Patrician, Lord Vetinari, points out, the power hungry rarely have a well thought out plan. As he lets himself out of his own dungeon with a key from his concealed storage area, he gets right back to organizing Ankh-Morpork for the better.

Samuel Vimes, the Captain of the Night Watch, is the central character of this volume, but Pratchett gives him plenty of good company: Carrot, the 6 foot 6 inch adoptive son of dwarves; the University Librarian, a powerful Orangutan; Sergeant Colon and guardsman Nobby; and last, but certainly not least, Lady Sybil Ramkin, dragon breeder extraordinaire.

I'm glad to see there are more City Watch books in the offing. I'm taking a pause with Discworld for a while because I want these books to be a pleasure and not a chore. The next volume will be waiting when I feel the need.