Ordeal by Innocence / Agatha Christie

 

E

4 out of 5 stars 

Much more directly psychological than most of Christie's output, this novel explores the nature/nurture debate, human dynamics in the family, and the role of the mother of adoptive children. Mrs. Argyle, the victim of murder (presumably by her adoptive son, Jacko), was a force to be reckoned with. She supported the family, ran the house, mothered her children far too much, and sent her husband retreating into historical studies, where he could feel like he had some autonomy.

When Dr. Calgary appears on the scene, returned from the Antarctic and having newly heard about the case, he reveals that Jacko had an alibi for the night of the murder and has died in prison for a crime he could not have committed. Those remaining in the household quickly realize that there must be a murderer in their midst. Calgary and the police are both asking uncomfortable questions—even Philip Durrant, the wheelchair bound son in law, is amusing himself by investigating on his own.

At one point, someone describes Mrs. Argyle's parenting style as “smothering,” something which all of her many adoptive children would agree with, though some of them coped with it better than others. Mary, wife of Philip, seems to have chosen a similar possessive style to care for her disabled husband. He resents it as sharply, understandably saying his brain is just fine. Christie can lay all kinds of red herrings within this situation, where resentments seethe just beneath the surface.

I knew a man, adopted into a good family and raised with every advantage, who nevertheless felt hard done by. He couldn't have been more different from his adoptive brother if he'd tried. He eventually met his natural brothers and his behaviour was just like them—tetchy, quick to anger, grudge holding, and believing that everything was stacked against him. That's how powerful genetics can be. I was a friend of his mother and was dismayed by the way he treated her. She was kind without smothering (although perhaps with a tendency to “be right" too often, like Mrs. Argyle). I couldn't help but think about them while reading this.

I think that I'll be rereading this novel in the future, just to examine how Christie shaped it so deftly and to try to parse what she felt about being a child and being a mother.

Making It So / Patrick Stewart

 

3.5 out of 5 stars 

My first attempt at reading this book was with the paper copy. Stewart truly began at his very beginning with his birth in Yorkshire and I kept zoning out. Then I realized that I could borrow the audiobook (read by the author!) from my library and I changed plans. I had a very long wait, but it was a good decision. Stewart's voice made the book for me.

I'm not much of a television watcher any more and I rarely attend a movie, but I was devoted fan of Star Trek TOS as a child and then TNG as a young adult. I saw all the movies based on these franchises. Jean Luc Picard was most definitely my captain. Incidentally, I am also a fan of Shakespeare and currently have a project going to see all of his plays performed. So I had double the reason to be a Patrick Stewart enthusiast. However, my obliviousness to acting meant that much of Stewart's name-dropping meant very little to me, despite his reveling in it.

I thought that Stewart was disarmingly honest about his insecurities and foibles. As an actor, I can understand his angst about losing his hair, feeling it would thwart his aspirations to be a leading man. Likewise, his Yorkshire upbringing meant that he wasn't necessarily conversant with things that other Brits might take for granted. (His childhood tales made me think of A Kestrel for a Knave). It's challenging to learn the rules of new social situations, even more so in class conscious Britain. For me, it was somewhat disconcerting to realize that the man who plays the calm, cool, competent captain of a starship has so much anxiety! An actor's life can be precarious, especially theatre actors. Insecurity about his appearance, his social standing, and reputation would only exacerbate that anxiousness.

For someone with a working class upbringing, Stewart quickly acquired some very elite preferences: Shakespeare, theatre, and classical music. A very unusual teenager! I completely understood his compulsion to read, driving him into the family loo with a book and a candle to get some uninterrupted time.

When the book first came out, I heard Stewart interviewed about it. He was able to laugh about being described by the Hollywood press as an “unknown Shakespearean actor.” He has certainly become a famous and well loved figure. I was pleased that he seems to be able to enjoy this status now, not to mention the financial rewards of his work.

A Study in Scarlet / Arthur Conan Doyle

 

4 out of 5 stars 

2024 Re-Read

It's been a long time since I first became acquainted with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. I have a much greater appreciation for this tale, now that I have read the full Holmes canon and also have a better sense of the historical setting. Honestly, I have to recommend The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold for a better understanding of the London of the time and the situation of regular people in that time and city. It gave me an understanding of Watson's need for economical housing during his convalescence from his war injuries and his anxiety on that matter. You can enjoy the story without that background, but how much more fun to comprehend the milieu.

So this is the origin story, the meeting of the partners. It sets up their relationship, the astute Holmes and the rather plodding but admiring Doctor. We meet Lestrade and the Baker Street Irregulars (although not yet known by that epithet). Conan Doyle refers to other fictional detectives who came before, his inspirational building materials.

Conan Doyle was a Victorian man and his writing reveals the mindset of the time. The long interlude set in Utah reminded me strongly of the romantic western novels of Zane Grey, who also used the Mormons as the bad guys in some of his plots (Riders of the Purple Sage, for instance). There were suspicions about this new religion and their polygamous leanings, some of which may be based on fact, but fact and fiction get muddled when prejudice is involved. I have to ask how much say the women in this very patriarchal religion had in the matter of plural marriage, but I also wonder how many non-Mormon women got strong armed into these marriages in reality. I wouldn't put it past entitled old white men to think it was a-okay, but this plot device may reveal the fears of non-Mormon men that they would never find wives of their own (like the incels of today believe, the Mormons were the “Chads" who were getting all the girls).

At any rate, the story returns to London and Holmes eventually. The reader gets to hear the detective's explanation of his insights, setting him up as the Great Detective figure with whom we are familiar.

Suddenly Psychic / Elizabeth Hunter

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Book 27 of the 2024 Read Your Hoard Challenge

I bought this book back in the summer, shortly after discovering the Paranormal Women's Fiction website. They are a group of women who are supporting each other in their quest to publish urban fantasy fiction featuring mature female main characters. I picked up 3 books by 3 authors. I'm not sure exactly what inspired me to choose this one right now, but I am so glad that I bought it!

Why do women so often have two really tight friends? We seem to bond in trios, at least that's been my experience. They don't last forever (what does?), but we usually get a good run. Robin, Val, and Monica are just such a friendship--they've been through childbirth, empty nests, divorce, and widowhood, always supporting each other. The book opens with the three women involved in a car accident that requires them to escape the car submerged in Glimmer Lake. It's cold, dark, and deep and the doors and windows won't open. Suddenly, Robin sees a striking man outside the vehicle, preparing to smash her window with a rock. Miraculously, all 3 women make it successfully to the surface but their rescuer has disappeared.

Robin realizes in hospital that she can now see ghosts. Once the pals reconvene, Monica admits that she get premonitions and vivid dreams. Val is completely freaked out by her new psychometric ability. They’d like to blame this on menopause, but if so, it's not a common symptom. It seems their savior may have been a ghost and they start to investigate who he might have been. Things get complicated quickly. How are Robin and this ghost connected?

Three women means three books, right? I've peeked ahead and the next one features Val as narrator. I must order volumes 2 and 3 soon, to make sure I get them. I was being careful when I only bought one, but I now wish I'd thrown caution to the winds. Elizabeth Hunter has potential to be a new favourite author for me. I'll be checking out more authors from this collective for certain!

Fool's Errand / Robin Hobb

 

R

4 out of 5 stars 

Free Range Reading 2024

Robin Hobb has done it to me again. Using her writing, she has squeezed my heart until tears leaked out of my eyes. Hobb is unsparing of her characters. They face big challenges and they don't emerge unscathed. Fitz really takes the brunt of it in this outing.

Every pet owner can sympathize with the losses experienced. Animals, however beloved, have shorter life spans than we do, and their care for us influences their behaviour. I had a little old bunny who waited for me to return from a trip and get to cuddle her one more time before she gave up her struggle. It was heart breaking and I'm just lucky that I got to and from the vet's office, crying as hard as I was.

Fitz is Witted, capable of bonding with animals (or should I say an animal) in a way that makes the non-Witted wary and hostile. Unfortunately for all of them, Prince Dutiful is also Witted, as well as desperately lonely and easily influenced. Has he been kidnapped or lured away by those who would use him? Either way, Fitz and the Fool are sent to retrieve the wayward Prince, disguised as servant Tom Badgerlock and Lord Golden.

I can only say that Hobb makes the emotional distress worthwhile. I was able to pick up where I left off in 2020 when I read Assassin's Quest, and sink right back into the Realm of the Elderlings easily. There is no question that I'll be completing this Tawny Man trilogy.

Second Rite / Geneva Lee

 

3 out of 5 stars 

Oh, the mysteries of the reading life! I borrowed the first book in this series from the public library and enjoyed it, but they didn't have subsequent volumes. They also turned down my request that they purchase this book. So I ordered this one from a bookstore in town back in the summer and was a bit whiney about it. What should happen next, but I get a notification via Libby that it's available through that platform as an audiobook. I should have been more patient. (Unusually, I can access it on Libby, but not through my library catalogue.)

This isn’t a bad book--it's very much a continuation from book one. Julian is still trying to run Thea's life and she's still trying to pry all the secrets out of him. But they have determined that they are Mates and that they will stand up to the Vampire Council together. Cue Olivia Newton-John singing Hopelessly Devoted. Julian has never been able to compel Thea and now we learn the possible reason for that. The couple unknowingly undergo the Second Rite necessary before they can wed with the Council's approval (if not Julian's mother's). The remaining number of Rites are unclear, but there are two more books, so I'm guessing two.

Here's my thing: book one was very much a screwball comedy. This one, not so much. Julian's jackassery is more pronounced and Thea's predictable problems with her mother and university friends are tiresome. Julian's family issues are suitably threatening. It was nice to figure out that Thea does have some magic of her own to help her cope with all the cranky vampires and witches.

Libby has volume 3 as an audiobook and I have no doubt that I will borrow it soon. I'm halfway through this soap opera and I might as well keep going. But I will wait MUCH longer before buying the final volume.

Homicide in Hardcover / Kate Carlisle

 

E

4 out of 5 stars 

I am always on the lookout for a good cozy mystery series. Being a recent convert to this sub-genre, I am still figuring out what makes a book good for me. For me, this first volume has all the hallmarks for a good series.

Brooklyn Wainwright is a professional bookbinder and restoration specialist. Having worked in a library with special collections, I was immediately interested in her work. She has just been reunited with her mentor, Abraham, after an estrangement when he is murdered at a big social event. As per usual in this genre, Brooklyn finds him and immediately becomes a suspect. She wants to get justice for Abraham, but her investigation of the matter is pretty minimal. Often authors will depict their main character distrustful of the police, but Brooklyn finds herself in the murderer’s sights, so she is reliant on police for their expertise. So she is not trying to usurp the investigation, but she finds herself more involved by default. I appreciate this approach as I don't find it realistic to think that an amateur is going to have more success than the professionals.

I also enjoyed Brooklyn's family—her hippie parents, the commune where they live, and her geographically named siblings. Her BFF Robin provides more comic relief as she tries to get Brooklyn to care about stylish clothing and her image. I could also appreciate Brooklyn's love of eating. Too often female characters are depicted as worried about their weight and/or restricting their food intake. To hell with that! Let women eat like normal people!

Of course a cozy mystery rarely lacks a love interest, but that aspect doesn't dominate this book. The issue of why a British operative is involved in the situation is never addressed, but I knew from the first moment, when Brooklyn locked eyes with Derek Stone at the original gala event, that he would be filling that role. As love interests go, he is better than many.

The second book in the series is available through my public library and I will be reading it.

This is book number 26 in my 2024 Read Your Hoard Challenge.

Busman's Honeymoon / Dorothy L. Sayers

 

5 out of 5 stars 

My favourite Sayers so far. Unlike so many mysteries, it takes quite a long time before the author produces a corpse. The first 100+ pages give us the hot goss about the wedding, namely that of Lord Peter and Harriet Vane. They are not youngsters and they are used to being on their own, so we get to witness them finding their way towards a comfortable life together. We become acquainted with more of the Wimsey family and their quirks. Harriet learns that she has an accomplice in Peter's mother, the Dowager Duchess.

Harriet realizes that she is marrying a rich man who desperately wants to give her a substantial gift, so she suggests a house in her old environs which she has always fancied. The best laid plans o' mice and men oft go astray. On the first night of the honeymoon, the newlyweds find themselves locked out of their new home. There is much ado until keys are located, the house opened, and everything is prepared for the wedding night. Not until the next day is the former owner's body discovered in a storage room.

Of course Peter has been detecting for years and Harriet writes mysteries, so you know they will get involved. Hence the title—as when a bus driver uses their holiday to take a coach tour, this couple uses their honeymoon to figure out who dunnit. Sayers has created a fabulous cast of characters as neighbours to the new residence, entertaining this reader immensely while the investigation progresses. Sayers gives Harriet very good sense and intelligence—she is quite the equal partner and acknowledged as such. Thank you, Ms. Sayers. (Incidentally, Sayers fine education and high intelligence are also on full display. Brava!)

Fun and funny, this novel is a perfect balance between mystery and romance. I will be definitely be enjoying it again in the future.

This is book number 25 of my Read Your Hoard Challenge.

Intruder / C.J. Cherryh

 

4 out of 5 stars

Book number 531 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

What a change of pace in this volume of the Foreigner series! Was Bren shot at even once? Despite heading into a potentially volatile negotiation in pursuit of a peaceful solution, there seems to be a meeting of minds regarding politics and economics. It's not over until everyone signs on the dotted line, but the dowager trusts Bren to get everyone to the table.

Meanwhile, young Cajeiri must parse his man'chi and figure out just where his loyalties lie. He is going to have a sibling and is feeling threatened. Having grown a lot while in space with his great-grandmother, he feels somewhat detached from his parents, especially his mother. For an eight year old (almost nine, as he reminds everyone frequently) he is a very political animal, calculating what ties he has to whom.

Tabini speaks far more frankly than ever before to Bren regarding the boy and the state of the leader's household. It is rather terrifying to be so trusted, especially when Bren's body guards, members of the Assassin's Guild, also reveal startling secrets.

So, no shooting, no cross country chases, but plenty of political intrigue and complicated relationships.

Love and Other Conspiracies

 

4 out of 5 stars 

OMG, so cute! Hallie needs a great idea for a web series to keep her production career headed the right direction. As she frantically searches for the perfect subject, she runs across a handsome podcaster, Hayden. The subject he's obsessed with? Conspiracy theories of all kinds—Bigfoot, ghosts, Area 51, Mothman, you name it. His appearances on another program show him to be a charming if dorky show host. So why does he freeze up in front of Hallie's camera? As a committed nonbeliever, Hallie questions Hayden, firing him up in order to explain his position. Hallie's manager likes their chemistry and decrees that Hallie will join Hayden in front of the camera.

Can two people with such different worldviews travel and work together successfully? They give it their best shot and their series becomes wildly popular. After all, whether you believe or not, you'll have one of the hosts who represents you. The whole romance would be far too easy if it weren't for Hallie's vindictive ex, Cade. He's the classic controlling, selfish asshole, who's willing to gaslight Hallie and suck up to management. It's not enough that he has a popular series, he's determined to sabotage Hallie's success.

I knew how things would have to turn out. This is a romance, after all, and the HEA or HFN endings are pretty much a requirement. May I add that I sincerely hope there are guys like Hayden out there somewhere. However, I find them to be as elusive as any Bigfoot.

The Beekeeper's Apprentice / Laurie R. King

 

4 out of 5 stars 

2024 Re-Read

I am revisiting this novel because it is the November choice of my mystery book club. It's been about 6 years since I read it the first time and I have continued with several more volumes of the series since then. In fact, while renewing my acquaintance with Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes, I realized that volume 5, O Jerusalem, backtracks to cover their trip to Palestine which occurs in the last half of this book. It is the next step on my journey.

In short, I have more experience with Ms. King's work now and I am willing to bump up my rating from 3 to 4 stars. I like King's writing and I am willing to let her have her way with Holmes. The purists will eschew this series, but I have been reluctantly charmed. I can appreciate the insertion of an intelligent woman into the Holmes story, a story about a comfortably well off white guy by another one. It's a tradition ripe for feminizing. Holmes is a prominent character for sure, but the spotlight is focused squarely on Mary Russell.

I will be very interested to hear what my book club folks have to say about this title. I guess because I had read Conan Doyle’s version, I had definite ideas about what I was expecting. Do others have the same expectations? Some of the younger members seem unfamiliar with authors like Conan Doyle, Christie, or Sayers. Will that lack of familiarity leave them confused or bored? Or will it make them more open to King’s Holmes?

I have one reading friend who considers this series to be comfort reading and another who rejected it, complaining of Watson-bashing. This discussion should be fascinating.

Vision in Silver / Anne Bishop

 

4 out of 5 stars 

These books are like popcorn—irresistible and consumed far too quickly. It's the building of relationships between individuals and between species that captivates me. Especially when set against a high stakes confrontation between humans and the Others.

In our current political climate, when so many countries (including my own) are skewing towards the right and authoritarianism, the problems that Bishop explores here feel extra urgent. She portrays us humans as we often are: selfish, greedy, and xenophobic. There seem to always be manipulative leaders who choose to exploit these tendencies. But the Others are discovering that there are exceptions to that rule. Friendships and trust have snuck up on everyone in the Lakeside courtyard.

How is this series written by the same author as the Black Jewels? I like the Others so much more than all that supposedly dark witchy stuff.

Only Cold Depths / Jennifer Estep

 

3.75 out of 5 stars 

Vesper Quill and Kyrion Calderon are still on the run with a bounty on their heads. Their true-bond has made them the object of Callus Holloway's greed, wanting to capture their psion power. Vesper's friend Asterin has encouraged the couple to come to her home world, where the true-bonded are protected.

However, when they arrive, Vesper and Kyrion quickly learn that Asterin's family is not too thrilled to meet them. Asterin's sister is downright antagonistic. If that wasn't bad enough, a pair of mercenaries with powerful psionic powers are hot on their heels. And then the Zimmer family shows up—do they truly want a family connection with Vesper or do they have an ulterior motive?

As usual, Vesper and Kyrion have multiple problems to solve. They've been warned that their true-bond hasn't yet stabilized and they have no idea how to deal with that either. Can they figure things out? Can they overcome the past and forge a real future for themselves?

Estep continues to write fabulous food scenes. I wonder if those happen when she gets hungry? And why do I suspect that she may have a cocky and annoying brother rather like Zane Zimmer?

Written in Red / Anne Bishop

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Well, that was fun and a great way to spend a cold afternoon. It was too icy for the errands I wanted to do (that's my story and I'm sticking to it). I was so pleasantly surprised by this book! I've read most of Bishop's Dark Jewels series, which I find to be silly instead of dark. I was impressed by how different this series feels, at least in this first book.

Bishop has taken the usual urban fantasy creatures (shifters, vampires) and given them her own spin. These people are not just humans with different abilities. They are far more hostile to humans, not wanting much to do with them (beyond snacking, of course). Their derisive term for their neighbours is monkeys and the bad behaviour of humans seems to justify that attitude.

So when a half frozen Meg Corbyn shows up in the alpha-wolf's bookstore late one night asking permission to apply for the post of liaison between the humans and the Others, Simon Wolfgard wonders why he hired her on the spot. Especially since she seems far less experienced for her age than the usual young woman. Meg has led a protected life as the possession of an organization that sells her visions of the future to the highest bidder. In order to have the visions, her skin must be cut, throwing her into a trance of pain and ecstasy.

Meg needs shelter from her Controller, who wants her back asap. Because she knows so little of the outside world, she treats everyone she meets with politeness and kindness. She has no prejudices. As a result, she makes friends wherever she goes. And she doesn't cower in her Liaison office—she gets out to deliver parcels that can't be carried by the mail carriers, the ponies (who were won over with treats). Her willingness to work and to talk to anyone who engages her gains her status among the Others. She is The Meg and anyone who disturbs her will be dealt with, including Simon Wolfgard.

Needless to say, many humans seem to want to harm Meg which may start a war. Can it be avoided? Will she change the society of the Others? When will Simon realize that he's attached to this determined little woman? I can hardly wait to dig into the next volume!

The Quiet Tenant / Clemence Michallon

 

3 out of 5 stars 

How the hell do I rate a book like this? I swear that I'm not going to read any more serial killer books and then a new one gets published and my brain says, “Oh, shiny!” This novel was gripping. It was tense, especially toward the end. It was grimly, awfully believable.

Pluses: it was all related from the women's points of view. His daughter, his captive, and his girlfriend/soon to be next victim. It fairly portrayed what we are willing to do in order to stay alive. It fairly depicts how we women with psychological damage can be manipulated by a practiced offender. Speaking from personal experience, if you have a controlling man in your family, it feels like something you know how to deal with. It feels familiar. You think you know what you're getting into. You don't. And these offenders have radar for the women with this kind of background.

Minuses: these books always make me debate their merit. Do we need more books featuring criminals like Aidan Thomas? Do they do anyone any good? Or do they just turn us into voyeurs? Is this a tribute to the bravery and resilience of Rachel? Or I am I just thankful that it's her and not me?

In the end, I don't know the answers to any of these questions. I don't know what star rating to assign. My thought is to go middle of the road. Three stars.

Childhood's End / Arthur C. Clarke

 

4 out of 5 stars 

It's been over a decade since I last read Childhood's End and it was worth revisiting. Clarke was one of the celebrated authors of the sci-fi genre during the so-called Golden Age. And I was just as absorbed by this novel this time around as the previous outings. This despite Clarke's writing style, which I can only describe as chilly and overly logical. If aliens like the Overlords were to read this book, they would believe humans to be little swayed by emotion, basing their behaviour on rational thought, rather unlike the excitable, irrational people that I see regularly on the news.

Clarke also breaks one of those oft quoted rules of writers, to show rather than telling. He tells us an awful lot and his characters obey his decrees without protest. Women are few and far between, with Jean being the most prominent, both for proving humankind's suitability for future development and for producing the children who will lead the way. Beyond that, she gets relegated to the roles of housewife and mother, a great waste. I never felt like I knew any of the characters intimately and didn't feel much connection to them. I wasn't the slightest bit concerned as they were eliminated one by one.

What to make of humankind's ultimate end? Is it a good or a bad thing? Clarke portrays it as a desirable outcome, but I guess I'm too much of an individualist for it to sit comfortably. The universe is undoubtedly a huge and terrifying thing, but I love this blue and green planet where we live and I have no desire to abandon it. Are the misnamed Overlords to be pitied because they retain their uniqueness and some agency? Frankly I feel like they are getting the better deal.

Nevertheless, I still think this is an important book in the canon of science fiction and that it deserves its place there. I find it somewhat encouraging that even a man as devoted to science as Clarke would write a story with such definite paranormal elements.

4:50 From Paddington / Agatha Christie

 

5 out of 5 stars 

I am a day late and a dollar short, as the saying goes. This was the October book for my Agatha Christie reading group and I did start on Halloween but flaked out before I could finish it. Besides which I was enjoying it too much to hurry and I was under the erroneous impression that I might actually be able to finger the murderer this time. Foolish person that I am! I have the niggling feeling that I have seen the initial scene in some other venue: Elspeth McGillicuddy is on the 4:50 train, which is passed by another train in which she witnesses a man strangling a woman to death. Elspeth arrives on Miss Marple's doorstep convinced that she has been written off by the authorities as a tiresome old lady.

I always enjoy a Marple mystery and this outing adds the remarkable Lucy Eyelesbarrow to Christie's stable of wonderful characters. Of course Miss Marple recruits the younger woman to do her foot work. Searching for corpses is a young woman's game. Lucy can run a stately home like nobody's business and poke through the grounds in her spare time. Miss Marple has used her own resources to procure a map, to ride the same route, and deduce where the dead woman has likely been disposed of. Lucy will be responsible for ground-truthing her theory.

Lucy finagles a job in Rutherford Hall and soon has the whole family (and especially the men folk) eating out of her hand. Once the body is revealed, more mischief happens. Every time I had a suspect in my sights, Christie bumped them off! Also entertaining were the many proposals that Lucy receives along the way. Christie quite cruelly refused to finger the lucky man who wins Lucy (or if one of them manages that task), but she revealed the murderer clearly.

I do wish Lucy had more time to spend with Inspector Craddock, if she had to choose any of these louts!

This is book number 24 of my Read Your Hoard Challenge.