Challenge Complete: Travel the World

I started this journey back in 2012 (for 2013).  It was originally sponsored by Stacey over at Have Books, Will Travel as the Around the World in 80 Books Reading Challenge.  But something happened and her blog seems to have gone away. Tanya over at Mom's Small Victories has adopted it in partnership with I’m Lost in Books and Savvy Working Gal and renamed it the Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge. They have graciously allowed those of us who had started the journey with Around the World to claim the countries already "booked" and continue our trip from there.

New Rules for this challenge: 

The Goal 
Travel the world in books, of course! Expand your horizons and read books set in or written by authors from countries other than the one you live in. Visit as many different countries in books as you wish.

My original commitment was five years to complete a voyage of 80 countries. I began on October 1, 2012 and my end date was September 30, 2017. I also set the following year-end goals in order to count the challenge:

Year one = 16 books read
Year two = 32 books read
Year three = 48 books read
Year four = 64 books read
Year five = 80 books read

Additionally, I pledged to donate 80 books to my local library--pledge completed July 14, 2014.

 List of books read and location:
1. The Penguin Book of Victorian Women in Crime by Michael Sims, ed (11/5/12) [England]
2. The Bone Is Pointed by Arthur W. Upfield [Australia] (11/16/12)
3. The Three Evangelists by Fred Vargas  [France] (12/15/12) 
4. Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke [US] (12/19/12) 
5. The Man Who Went up in Smoke by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö [Hungary] (1/8/13)
6. Whip Smart: Lola Montez Conquers the Spaniards by Kit Brennan [Spain] (2/9/13)
7. The Perfect Landscape by Ragna Sigurdardottir [Iceland] (3/12/13)
8. The Lady Vanishes (aka The Wheel Spins) by Ethel Lina White [takes place on train ride through the "Balkans" which could conceivable be part of several countries. I have arbitrarily decided that the bulk of the action takes place in Bulgaria] (3/17/13) 
9. The African Queen by C. S. Forester [Tanzania] (4/6/13) 
    Death in Zanzibar by M. M. Kaye [Tanzania] (6/25/13)
10. Blood Makes Noise by Gregory Widen [Argentina] (4/30/13) 
11. The Talking Sparrow Murders by Darwin L. Teilhet [Germany] (5/6/13) 
12. Finding Camlann by Sean Pidgeon [Wales] (5/18/13)
13. Death at Crane's Court by Eilis Dillon [Ireland] (5/23/13) 
14. The Curse of the Bronze Lamp by Carter Dickson [Egypt] (5/27/13) 
15. Murder on Safari by Elspeth Huxley [Kenya] (6/8/13)
16. Devoured by D. E. Meredith [Malaysia (& England)] (6/22/13)

Year One Challenge Goal met!
 
17. Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov [Russia] (6/23/13)
18. The Scarlet Macaw by S. P. Hozy [Singapore] (8/10/13)
19. The Monster of Florence by Magdalen Nabb [Italy] (8/17/13)
20. Andersen's Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen [Denmark] (8/20/13)  
21. Cold Earth by Sarah Moss [Greenland] (10/18/13)
22. Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell [Sweden] (1/5/13)
23. The Xibalba Murders by Lyn Hamilton [Mexico](1/18/14)
24. Exit Actors, Dying by Margot Arnold [Turkey] (2/4/14)  
25. Murder in the Vatican by Ann Margaret Lewis [Vatican City] (3/5/14) 
26. The Poisoned Island by Lloyd Shepherd [Tahiti (French Polynesia)] (3/8/14) 
27. The Coral Princess Murders by Frances Crane [Tangier, Morocco] (4/5/14) 
28. Decoded by Mai Jia [China] (4/5/14) 
29. Gale Warning by Hammon Innes [Norway/Norwegian Sea] (4/15/14) 
30. The Lady of Sorrows by Anne Souroudi [Greece] (4/26/14) 
31. 20.12 by Dustin Thomason [Guatemala] (6/6/14) 
32. DeKok & Murder in Ecstasy [Netherlands] (6/27/14) 

Year Two Challenge Goal Met!

33. The 7 Professors of the Far North by John Fardell [Arctic Circle] (6/29/14)
34. Murder at the Villa Rose by A. E. W. Mason [Monaco] (7/14/14)
35. The Tattooed Man by Howard Pease [Panama--one of major stops/scenes of action in the sea-faring tale] (7/17/14) 
36. The Dark Ring of Murder by Misa Yamamura [Japan] (11/19/14) 
37. A Dead Man in Trieste by Michael Pearce [Austria] (1/27/15)
38. Death Over Deep Water by Simon Nash [Malta] (2/8/15)
39. Into the Valley by John Hersey [Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands] (2/28/15) 
40. The Wilberforce Legacy by Josephine Bell [Trinidad & Tobago] (4/19/15)
41. Safari by Parnell Hall [Zambia] (4/21/15) 
42. Double Cross Purposes by Ronald A. Knox [Scotland] (6/3/15)
43. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood [Canada] (8/16/15)
44. Death in Kashmir by M. M. Kaye [India] (8/25/15)
45. The Bat Flies Low by Sax Rohmer [Egypt] (9/10/15)
46. The Albert Gate Mystery by Louis Tracy [France & Italy] (9/14/15)
47. Briar Rose by Jane Yolen [Poland] (9/14/15)
48. Black Alibi by Cornell Woolrich [Brazil] (9/23/15)


Year Three Challenge Goal Met!

49. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie [then--Yugoslavia in what is now present-day Croatia] 9/23/15 
50. Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters [Egypt] (9/28/15)
51. Paris in the Twentieth Century by Jules Verne [France] (10/11/15)
52. The Ghost Writer by John Harwood [Australia & England] (10/16/15)
53. In Spite of Thunder by John Dickson Carr [Switzerland] (11/7/15)
54. The Red Redmaynes by Eden Philpotts [England & Italy] (11/14/15)
55. The Girl in the Cellar by Patricia Wentworth [England] (1/9/16)
56. The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham [Hong Kong] (2/5/16)
57. The Bridal Bed Murders by A. E. Martin [Australia] (2/13/16)
58. The Bachelors of Broken Hill by Arthur W. Upfield [Australia] (2/22/16)
59. The Calcutta Affair by George S. Elrick [India] (2/28/16)
60. House of Darkness by Allan MacKinnon [Scotland] (3/7/16)
61. The Philomel Foundation by James Gollin [Switzerland & Germany] (3/11/16)
62. The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas [France] (4/21/16)
63. Death in Cyprus by M. M. Kaye [Cyprus] (4/22/16)
64. The Family Tomb by Michael Gilbert [Italy] (5/10/16)

Year Four Goal Met!

65. Running Blind by Desmond Bagley [Iceland] (5/11/16)
66. Murder at the Savoy by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö [Sweden] (5/20/16)
67. Good Blood by Aaron Elkins [Italy] (5/23/16)
68. Murder in Amsterdam by A. J. Baantjer [Netherlands] (6/3/16)
69. The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji [Japan] (7/2/16)
70. The Warsaw Anagrams by Richard Zimler [Poland] (7/17/16)
71. The Mirabilis Diamond by Jerome Odlum [begins & ends in Mexico (Baja California)] (7/31/16)
72. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carre [East Germany/Germany] (8/24/16)
73. The Seventh Mourner by Dorothy Gardiner [Scotland] (9/21/16)
74. Death in the Andamans by M. M. Kaye [India] (9/25/16)
75. Beyond the Ice Limit by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child [waters off the coast of Chile] (10/28/16)
76. Black Widower by Paticia Moyes [Caribbean] (11/6/16)
77. Grendel by John Gardner [Denmark] (12/28/16)
78. Murder at the Masque by Amy Myers [French Riviera]  (1/16/17)
79. When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin [China] (1/24/17)
80. Spice Island Mystery by Betty Cavanna [Grenada] (2/10/17)

Year Five Goal Met! 


******************************

List of books donated:
Had a clear-out of books today (11/11/12)
1. Some Men Are More Perfect Than Others by Merle Shain
2. The Four Million & Other Stories by O. Henry
3. All the President's Men by Carl Bernstein & Bob Woodward
4. The Armies of the Night by Norman Mailer
5. Weeping on Wednesday by Ann Purser
6. Theft on Thursday by Ann Purser
7. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
8. God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert
9. My Fair Lady by Monica Dickens
10. The Romance of Tristan & Iseult retold by Joseph Bedier
11. The Firebrand by Marion Zimmer Bradley
12. I Been There Before by David Carkeet
13. J.B. by Archibald MacLeish
14. The Island of the Day Before by Umberto Eco
15. Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
16. The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel
17. The Valley of Horses by Jean M. Auel
18. The Mammoth Hunters by Jean M. Auel
19. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee
20. Of Mice & Men by John Steinbeck
21. Time Flies by Bill Cosby 
22. The School of Night by Louis Bayard (donated 11/17/12)
23. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (donated 11/17/12)
24. Death in the Memorial Garden by Kathy Deviny (donated 12/8/12) 
25. Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke (donated 12/21/12) 
26. The Cat Who Came to Christmas by Cleveland Amory (donated 12/21/12) 
27. The White Dragon by Anne McCaffrey (donated 1/13/12)
28. Whip Smart by Kit Brennan (donated (2/9/13) 
29. Ten Little Indians by Agatha Christie (donated 2/16/13)
30. A Holiday for Murder by Agatha Christie (donated 2/16/13)
31. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (donated 2/16/13) 
32. The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith (donated 3/7/13) 
33. Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin (donated 3/9/13) 
34. Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers (donated 3/11/13)
35. A Perfect Red by Amy Butler Greenfield (donated 3/24/13) 
36. In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff (donated 4/9/13) 
37. The Silence of Herondale by Joan Aiken (donated 4/21/13) 
38. Blood Makes Noise by Gregory Widen (donated 4/30/13) 
39. And Having Writ... by Donald R. Bensen (donated 5/11/13)
40. How Not to Murder Your Grumpy by Carol E. Wyer (6/21/13)
41. Mystery Train by David Wojahn (6/21/13) 
42. Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold (7/6/13)
43. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (8/6/13) 
44. A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon (8/10/13)
45. Age of Desire by Jennie Fields (8/13/13) 
46. The Temple of Death by A. C. & R. H. Benson (9/16/13) 
47. 11/22/63 by Stephen King (10/6/13) 
48. Unsinkable by Richard Cibrano (10/12/13) 
49. The Water Room by Christopher Fowler (10/25/13)
50. The Ten-Second Staircase by Christopher Fowler (10/25/13) 
51. Kemp's Last Case by M. R. D. Meek (11/4/13)
52. Commodore by Simon Sobo (12/21/13)
53. A Christmas Promise by Anne Perry (12/21/13)
54. A Habit for Death by Chuck Zito (12/21/13) 
55. Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins by Robert Hendrickson
56. Smart & Simple Financial Strategies for Busy People by Jane Bryant Quinn
57. Yes, You Can Become a Successful Income Investor! by Ben Stein & Phil DeMuth 
58. Braid by Roger Mitchell 
59. Shakespeare's Planet by Clifford D. Simak (1/11/14) 
60. Death by Chick Lit by Lynn Harris (3/5/14)
61. The Sound of Broken Glass by Deborah Crombie (3/5/14) 
62. Erasmus-Luther: Discourse on Free Will by Ernst F. Winter (trans & ed) [3/12/14]
63. Martin Luther: Selections from His Writings by John Dillenberger (ed) [3/12/14]
64. John Calvin & Jacopo Sadoleto: A Reformation Debate by John C. Olin (ed) [3/12/14] 
65. John Smith: Last Known Survivor of the Microsoft Wars by Roland Hughes (3/16/14)
66. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (3/18/14)
67. The Awakening & Selected Stories by Kate Chopin (3/18/14)
68. Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye by Kenneth P O'Donnell & David F. Powers w/Joe McCarthy (3/18/14)
69. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (3/18/14)
70. The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence (3/18/14)
71. Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence (3/18/14)
72. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (3/18/14) 
73. A Deadly Place to Stay by Josephine Bell (3/29/14) 
74. Naked Is the Best Disguise by Samuel Rosenberg (4/8/14) 
75. My Antonia by Willa Cather (4/20/14) 
76. Undead & Unpopular by MaryJanice Davidson (6/22/14) 
77. The Day They Kidnapped Queen Victoria by H. K. Fleming (7/3/14)
78. A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott (7/3/14) 
79. Selections from the Essays of Montaigne by Michel de Montaigne (7/14/14)
80. The 7 Professors of the Far North by John Fardell (7/14/14)

The Dark Ring of Murder: Mini-Review

The Japanese police are rather busy with a rash of seemingly motiveless murders--the stabbing of a political philosophy professor from Kyonan University, the poisoning of a popular Tokyo nightclub owner and songwriter, and the hit-and-run death of a recently elected member of the National Diet. In each case, the person who would benefit most from the death has a solid alibi and beyond that person, no one else seems to have reason them dead. 

Natsuhiko Hino is the political science tutor who moves into the vacant professorship at the university. His fiancée, Chisako Tanaka, is worried. Worried because Hino has been different ever since his two-year scholarly trip to America. Worried because of his apparent ties to Aki Kiriu, the beautiful singer/songwriter whose career has soared since the death of her rival. And worried because he seems to be marking time that has nothing to do with the number of days until their marriage. She can't resist doing a little investigation on her own with the help of a reporter who has been covering Kiriu's story. Then when a fourth murder--close to home--occurs, an intricate plot is uncovered.

Misa Yamamura tells an elegant, but very formal story. Whether she has her characters bowing ceremoniously or not, the very writing makes it seem as though they are--continuously--which gives the story an odd feel, but that also may be due in part to the translation. The story is very smooth and the characters are interesting. Yamamura uses a half-inverted method for the plot. She doesn't tell you upfront who did it--but the unfolding of the story makes it very obvious who and how. The real mystery to me was whether the police (who did not seem to handle the murder sites very professionally--but maybe that all happened "off-stage" as it were) would ever catch on to what was happening. The story is most interesting for its characters and for the peek at Japanese culture and relationships. ★★★ 

The Tattooed Man: Review

Who is the tattooed man? He is the cook on the tramp freighter Araby and the first man on the sailing vessel to take Tod Moran under his wing and help him find his place among his shipmates. Tod, 17 years old and not quite finished with high school, has joined the freighter as cabin boy and cook's assistant in the hopes that he can find clues that will explain the disappearance of his older brother from a freighter of the same line.

Rumor has it that Neil (his brother), who was ship's purser at the time, jumped ship in France--taking a good portion of the freighter's money with him. Tod knows his brother and knows that he would never do such a thing. He's convinced that there has been foul play somewhere and he is determined to prove his brother's innocence. But before he can do that, he must prove to his shipmates that he is no cowardly land-lubber and that he can hold his own in a fight with one of the burliest men aboard.

Tod also has to decide whom he can trust. A young woman who works in the freight company's office knew his brother and had told Tod to make friends with the first mate. That the first mate would be able to help him find out what happened to Neil. But Tod's instincts tell him that the first mate has no concern for anyone but himself.  The captain is in a constant fog from drink. The men with whom he shares his bunk space only want to tease him and make things difficult. And the tattooed cook? There appears to be more to him than meets the eye....but is that a good thing? Or will the cook ultimately turn him over to the officers who seem to be up to no good?

Tod's search for his brother and the means to prove his innocence makes for a good old-fashioned "Boys Own Adventure."  Lots of action, mysterious doings, nefarious bad guys, and good guys in hiding make for lots of fun in this early 20th Century book by Howard Pease. Pease, a teacher of 7th and 8th grade, was tired of, as he saw it, the predominance of female writers of adventure stories in the early 1900s. So, he began writing stories that he thought portrayed real boys and young men having exciting adventures. His aim was to create a hero who was just brave enough to see the adventures through--but no superman. Tod has to learn the trade of a seaman--he doesn't come equipped with the skills to sail a boat (and operate any other piece of machinery that might come his way). He even starts the voyage with an honest-to-goodness bout of seasickness. He shows the expected fear of men who could overpower him--but is willing to take them on if necessary. He's just an average guy hoping to find his brother--and along the way he begins to learn what it means to be a man.

Good solid adventure story. Take it as read that a book from 1926 is not politically correct by today's standards. But the story itself is entertaining and Tod is a very engaging character. ★★★

This fulfills the "Man in the Title" square on the Golden Vintage Bingo card.

Murder at the Villa Rose: Review

The Murder at the Villa Rose (1910) opens at the gaming tables of Monte Carlo with a young, handsome Englishman in the process of breaking the bank. Our focal point for the scene, Julius Ricardo, is an observer in Monte Carlo and sees a beautiful, young woman in distress in the gardens. It soon becomes apparent that she had been losing heavily. It is also apparent that she has connections with the Englishman, Harry Wethermill, as she throws her lot in with his at the table. Unfortunately, her bad luck seems to carry over to him and they leave losers, but also most evidently young people in love.

The next we hear of Miss Celia is in connection with her sponsor, Madame Dauvray. Madame Dauvray has been found strangled to death at the Villa Rose and her maid Hélène Vauquier left tied up and chloroformed in her bed. The safe which was said to be full of jewels has been looted and Madame Dauvray's bedroom ransacked. And Miss Celia has vanished. The story Hélène tells makes it very black indeed for the missing girl and the police are ready to believe that Celia was an accomplice to the robbery if not the murderer herself. But Wethermill refuses to accept the official version and begs Ricardo to help him convince Inspector Hanaud, "the cleverest of the French detectives," to take up the case. Hanaud agrees, but only after telling Wethermill, "I will take up this case. But I shall follow it to the end now, be the consequences bitter as death to you." The end will be bitter indeed...for someone.

Although Hanaud is a member of the official police force, he is very Holmes-like in his immense vanity and tendency to keep clues close to his chest--and one clue in particular that would make it much easier for the reader to begin unravel the true meaning of the events of Madame Dauvray's last night. Even when the narrative draws our attention to specific clues (the settee and its cushions, for example), Hanaud manages to play a bit of sleight-of-hand to distract us from the true meaning--all the better to display his brilliance in the explanation at the end. Ricardo plays Watson to Hanaud--slightly dim and making all the wrong inferences from the facts as presented.

One very distinctive element to this early detective novel is the inversion of the mystery--not at the beginning, but at the midpoint. The first half of the novel follows Hanaud as he tracks down clues and finally runs the criminals to earth. By the middle of the story, we all know who did it! The remainder of the novel gives us the details of the crime in the words of one of the primary participants and Hanaud's explanation of how he managed to discern the truth.

This is good look at a turn-of-the-century detective novel. There are surprises in store and a nifty bit of misdirection when it comes to the killer. I guessed half of the solution but not all, which made for a satisfying reveal. The wrap-up is rather long and drawn-out...rating this a  ★★★ and 1/2 rather than a four-star effort.

This fulfills the "Place" square on Golden Vintage Bingo card and gives me my third Golden Bingo.

The 7 Professors of the Far North: Review

Eleven-year-old Sam Carnabie is not looking forward to a family trip to visit his Great-Aunt Roberta. Great-Aunt Roberta likes cats and china ornaments; she doesn't much like children. And there isn't even a proper park near her oppressively tidy home in Reading. Why can't the Carnabies be headed out for an adventure somewhere exciting instead. You know what they say: Be careful what you wish for....Because when Professor Ampersand and his adopted children Zara and Ben zoom up on a yellow motorcycle and sidecar to whisk Sam away from the proposed dreadful visit in Reading, the adventure is well on its way. And it will be more adventure than Sam could possibly imagine. 

Sam barely has time for a quick investigation of Professor Ampersand's awesome inventor's digs when one of the professor's colleagues arrives with news that the evil Professor Murdo is out to kill the rest of the original "7 Professors of the Far North"--a group of brilliant scientists who were once going to teach at a university on Nordbergen, an island in the Arctic Circle--as well as making preparations to take over the world. The other professors are called for a meeting at Ampersand's home--but before Professor Gauntraker can fully explain the dangers, Murdo's henchmen arrive and kidnap the professors. Sam, Zara, and Ben manage to hide and Gauntraker leaves a clue behind that will allow the kids to follow to Nordbergen.  But how can three children take on an evil genius and his armed minions? The fate of their friends...and the world...is in their hands.

A wonderful adventure book for the nine and older crowd. The opening immediately grabs the reader and the story provides an exciting ride. This is definitely the type of book that I would have devoured in my younger days and I found it quite enjoyable now. It reminds me of the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure stories--written as a straight narrative. While the idea of three children defeating an evil genius may be a little hard to believe, the story as told sweeps you right along and the kids have enough doubts and get just enough help along the way to make it really easy to suspend your disbelief. Great fun and interesting story. There is also a parallel story about Marcia and her parents that works well as it dovetails with the adventures of Sam, Zara, and Ben--and it serves as a nicely done morality story about being happy with who you are and letting others be exactly who they are as well. Good, solid story-telling. ★★★

Challenge Complete: Around the World

Back in November 2012, I signed up for a 5-year journey 'round the world. The goal? To read 80 books set in 80 countries by the end of the five-year period. I started my journey on January 1, 2013, so I've got a deadline of December 31, 2018. I decided that to meet my goal I needed to average 16 books per year. My two-year mile marker is 32 books.  Mission accomplished and I still have time for more travels....  

List of books read so far and location:
1. The Penguin Book of Victorian Women in Crime by Michael Sims, ed (11/5/12) [England]
2. The Bone Is Pointed by Arthur W. Upfield [Australia] (11/16/12)
3. The Three Evangelists by Fred Vargas  [France] (12/15/12)
4. Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke [US] (12/19/12)
5. The Man Who Went up in Smoke by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö [Hungary] (1/8/13)
6. Whip Smart: Lola Montez Conquers the Spaniards by Kit Brennan [Spain] (2/9/13)
7. The Perfect Landscape by Ragna Sigurdardottir [Iceland] (3/12/13)
8. The Lady Vanishes (aka The Wheel Spins) by Ethel Lina White [takes place on train ride through the "Balkans" which could conceivable be part of several countries. I have arbitrarily decided that the bulk of the action takes place in Bulgaria] (3/17/13)
9. The African Queen by C. S. Forester [Tanzania] (4/6/13)
    Death in Zanzibar by M. M. Kaye [Tanzania] (6/25/13)
10. Blood Makes Noise by Gregory Widen [Argentina] (4/30/13)
11. The Talking Sparrow Murders by Darwin L. Teilhet [Germany] (5/6/13)
12. Finding Camlann by Sean Pidgeon [Wales] (5/18/13)
13. Death at Crane's Court by Eilis Dillon [Ireland] (5/23/13) 
14. The Curse of the Bronze Lamp by Carter Dickson [Egypt] (5/27/13)
15. Murder on Safari by Elspeth Huxley [Kenya] (6/8/13)
16. Devoured by D. E. Meredith [Malaysia (& England)] (6/22/13)

Year One Challenge Goal met!
 
17. Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov [Russia] (6/23/13)
18. The Scarlet Macaw by S. P. Hozy [Singapore] (8/10/13)
19. The Monster of Florence by Magdalen Nabb [Italy] (8/17/13)
20. Andersen's Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen [Denmark] (8/20/13) 
21. Cold Earth by Sarah Moss [Greenland] (10/18/13)
22. Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell [Sweden] (1/5/13)
23. The Xibalba Murders by Lyn Hamilton [Mexico](1/18/14)
24. Exit Actors, Dying by Margot Arnold [Turkey] (2/4/14) 
25. Murder in the Vatican by Ann Margaret Lewis [Vatican City] (3/5/14)
26. The Poisoned Island by Lloyd Shepherd [Tahiti (French Polynesia)] (3/8/14)
27. The Coral Princess Murders by Frances Crane [Tangier, Morocco] (4/5/14)
28. Decoded by Mai Jia [China] (4/5/14)
29. Gale Warning by Hammon Innes [Norway/Norwegian Sea] (4/15/14)
30. The Lady of Sorrows by Anne Souroudi [Greece] (4/26/14)
31. 20.12 by Dustin Thomason [Guatemala] (6/6/14)
32. DeKok & Murder in Ecstasy [Netherlands] (6/27/14)

Year Two Challenge Goal Met!

DeKok & Murder in Ecstasy: Review

DeKok and Murder in Ecstasy is the 18th installment of A. C. Baantjer's unflappable, sympathetic Inspector Jurriaan DeKok. DeKok is careful, painstaking detective who has often been compared to Simenon's Maigret. His partner, Vledder, is often exasperated with him and finds it difficult to follow DeKok's train of thought. Both his partner and his superior, Commissaris (Captain) Buitendam, cannot understand how he operates. But the patient Inspector always gets his man...or woman as the case may be.

Murder in Ecstasy is a tale of a fantastic heist and a trail of murder. Two men waylay an armored transport carrying more than $3 million. In the course of the robbery, one of the men shoots and kills the driver--bringing even more attention to their daring crime than anticipated. They take off in a red Alfa Romeo and head to an alternate vehicle, a blue Jaguar, parked conveniently on a deserted road. The shooter promptly eliminates his inconvenient partner and leaves him behind in a small town. Then the blue Jag and three million dollars just seem to disappear into thin air. As DeKok and Vledder investigate, their witnesses and suspects fall victim to the same gun and the policemen are left with more questions than answers. Why was the transport carrying an unusually large amount of money on this run? Why did the driver change his route? The robbery was so well planned--How did the criminals find out the details of the transport. Who is Peter Shot and why did he disappear three weeks before the crime? And why was an ornate doll stolen from the mother of the murdered thief? DeKok doesn't believe in coincidence and he doesn't trust the easy answers that his superior wants him to accept. He knows the crime is much more complicated than it appears and that finding the right murderer is the only way to find the missing money.

Baantjer's prose is very enjoyable to read in translation. Despite DeKok's patient, slow-paced methods, the book is a quick and delightful read. The mysteries tend to have a hint of the bizarre, but there is generally a straight-forward answer hiding behind the oddness. Overall, a good police procedural--well-plotted and interesting.  Good characterization. I can well understand why Baantjer is one of the most widely read authors in the Netherlands.  All for ★★★ and a half stars on the rating scale.

This fulfills the "Translation" square on the Silver Vintage Bingo card.

The Lady of Sorrows: Review

The Lady of Sorrows by Anne Zouroudi is a slightly off-beat mystery. Yes, you have your standard murder. Yes, you have your detective investigating the mystery surrounding the murder as well as discovering the identity of the murderer. But the detective is not so much interested in bringing evil-doers to official justice as he is in seeing true justice achieved.

Hermes Diakotoros, our intrepid investigator, stops by a remote Greek island while on a boat journey to take care of undisclosed business. He has always wanted to take a peek at the religious icon lodged on the island--a painting of the Virgin known as "The Lady of Sorrows." But once he views the famous icon, he becomes convinced that the lady is a fake and calls upon a friend in who serves as a governmental art adviser to come and confirm or allay his fears. When she seconds his opinion on the icon, he is all set to leave the situation in her capable hands and continue on his journey until the island's current icon painter is found dead in his fishing boat--poisoned.

Has someone taken revenge on the painter--knowing that if the lady is a fake and has been replaced with such a convincing replica that his must have been the hands to paint her? Or are there deeper secrets on the island? Kiakotoros finds himself searching not only for the murderer but for clues to what happened to the missing lady. And he will discover forgery, betrayal, superstition, and a long-burning rage that might consume them all.

With all the local color and detailed descriptions, Zouroudi's novel could be called a cozy. But the motives that lie beneath the surface of the crime are just a bit darker than those found in the average cozy. She weaves a good story and the justice that Diakotoros dispenses at the end of the novel is very satisfying indeed. Strong points also include characterization, descriptions of the island and Mediterranean summer, and the explanation of the motives behind the murder.  The weakest point for a classic mystery lover like myself is that the identity of the murderer is no secret.  From the moment the icon painter is found dead, there really isn't any reason for the reader to not know who did it. It will take Diakotoros a little bit to hear all the witnesses and gather up the clues...but it's all right there for the reader who has seen the entire story as it unfolds. A bit more suspense on that front would have increased the rating...as it is: ★★★

Gale Warning: Review

Gale Warning, originally published as Maddon's Rock in Britain, by Hammond Innes is a little outside my usual mystery fare. Primarily a high action thriller set on the high seas, this book--like much of Innes's work--would normally appeal to those who like their books full of adventure and masculine adventures. The story is told by Corporal Jim Vardy. Vardy and his mates, Gunner Bert Cook and Private Sills, are waiting repatriation to England at the end of World War II. Orders come for them to join Warrant Officer Rankin (as commanding officer) on special detail aboard the S. S. Trikkala, a freighter that will take them and a load of mysterious cargo back to England in a convoy of other boats.

The men are ordered to guard cases marked "Hurricane Engines for Replacement" round-the-clock during the journey. Also aboard the vessel is Captain Halsey, a Shakespeare-spouting captain rumored to be mixed up in piracy, several of his loyal crew (having followed him from a previous ship), and a young woman released from a prison camp, Jennifer Sorrell. Vardy, an army man who would have been better suited to the navy, overhears several conversations and observes some odd behavior that make him suspicious of Halsey and Rankin's true purpose.

When the Trikkala encounters a severe ocean storm (thus the title Gale Warning), Vardy and his mates are ordered into their designated life-boat. A boat that they had previously discovered to not be sea-worthy. Vardy refuses to board the boat--requesting to take one of the "less dependable" rafts instead. Halsey and Rankin deny his request and he defies orders, taking Bert Cook and Jenniferr Sorrell with him. They believe that the Trikkala has gone down and when they are picked up by one of the other ships, it seems that they are the only survivors from the doomed ship. But nearly a month later, Halsey, Rankin, the three crewmen loyal to Halsey are also found floating in the arctic waters.

Charges of mutiny are brought against Vary and Cook and despite their story of the unsafe boat, they are found guilty and sent to Dartmoor for three years. Word reaches them that the five other survivors are planning a trip to salvage the cargo of the Trikkala--which has been revealed to be a fortune in silver bouillon. Our heroes decide to escape from prison and try to beat Halsey and company to the ship with hopes of bringing back proof of their innocence. The real mystery of Gale Warning is whether Vardy will be successful and the revelation of the real story behind the sinking of the freighter.

There are no spoilers in my synopsis. My copy of the book has a brief blurb that pretty much covers everything I've told you--and the few bits I've been able to find on the interwebs tell just about as much. The kernel of mystery, as noted, surrounds Vardy's trip back to the Norwegian sea to find the silver. Bert Cook joins him--as does Jenny. Jenny is a sailor as well and it is her boat that is used to make the journey. The adventure and suspense of the final chapters more than make up for the lack of mystery through the first half of the book. These stories may have been primarily attractive to men during the war years and those immediately following, but I find Innes's prose compelling and interesting.  He's a good story-teller in an action-packed genre. Three and 1/2 stars.

★★★ 1/2

This fulfills the "More Than One Title" square on the Golden Vintage Bingo card.

Challenges Fulfilled: Vintage Mystery Challenge, Mount TBR Challenge, Bookish TBR, Around the World, Century of Books, Outdo Yourself, How Many Books, My Kind of Mystery, 100 Plus Challenge, What's in a Name, European Reading Challenge, Book Monopoly