R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril IX

(Art used for banners is the property of the wonderful Abigail Larson)

Wow...September just crept right up on me. Creeping is pretty appropriate...considering September begins Carl's ninth annual R.I.P. (Readers Imbibing Peril) reading event (he doesn't like to call it a challenge) over at Stainless Steel Droppings. It's the time of year to pull out those creepy, mysterious, suspenseful books and movies and enjoy giving ourselves a scare on our way to Halloween. 

As Carl says: 

Nine years ago [NINE?!?! Inconceivable!!!] I became aware of reading challenges and wanted to start one of my own, hoping to find others who shared my Autumnal predilection for the works of Edgar Allen Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Bram Stoker and other authors contemporary and classic who captured the spirit of gothic literature. All these years later we are still going strong, welcoming September with a time of coming together to share our favorite mysteries, detective stories, horror stories, dark fantasies, and everything in between.

I welcome you to join us.

September 1st is right around the corner. [It's here! It's here!] It is time to begin.

Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.

Or anything sufficiently moody that shares a kinship with the above.
That is what embodies the stories, written and visual, that we celebrate with the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril event.

As time has wound on I’ve honed this event down to two simple rules:
1. Have fun reading (and watching).
2. Share that fun with others.

As I do each and every year, there are multiple levels of participation (Perils) that allow you to be a part of R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril without adding the burden of another commitment to your already busy lives. There is even a one book only option for those who feel that this sort of reading is not their cup of tea (or who have too many other commitments) but want to participate all the same.
R.I.P. IX officially runs from September 1st through October 31st. 


Multiple perils await you. You can participate in just one, or participate in them all.

Visit the R.I.P. Sign Up site and check out all the options.

Review Site for books read and films watched.



I plan to participate at two levels.


Peril the First:
Read four books, any length, that you feel fit (the very broad definitions) of R.I.P. literature. It could be King or Conan Doyle, Penny or Poe, Chandler or Collins, Lovecraft or Leroux…or anyone in between.

1. Vertigo 42 by Martha Grimes (9/5/14)
2. Death in a White Tie by Ngaio Marsh (9/6/14)
3. The Unfinished Crime by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding (9/8/14)
4. Wednesday the Rabbi Got Wet by Harry Kemmelman (9/8/14)
5. Red Cent by Robert Campbell (9/10/14)
6. Ten Little Indians by Agatha Christie (9/11/14)
7. The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie (9/12/14)
8. The Herb of Death & Other Stories by Agatha Christe (9/14/14)
9. Death Takes a Sabbatical by Robert Bernard (9/16/14)
10. The Edison Effect by Bernadette Pajer (9/20/14) 
11. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy [the threat of the guillotine is enough to scare anyone...] (9/21/14)
12. The Footprints on the Ceiling by Clayton Rawson (9/25/14)
13. Two for Sorrow by Nicola Upson (9/27/14)
14. A Death for a Dancer by E. X. Giroux (9/28/14)
15. Bleeding Maize & Blue by Susan Holtzer (9/30/14)
16. Blood on the Stars by Brett Halliday (10/4/14)
17. The Witch's Grave by Philip DePoy (10/5/14)
18. Death by Hitchcock by Elissa D. Grodin (10/6/14)
19. Lament for a Maker by Michael Innes (10/8/14)
20. The Labors of Hercules by Agatha Christie (10/11/14)
21. Death on Allhallowe'en by Leo Bruce (10/11/14)
22. Only a Matter of Time by V. C. Clinton-Baddeley (10/13/14)
23. Murder on Mike by H. Paul Jeffers (10/15/14)
24. Appleby's Answer by Michael Innes (10/17/14)
25. The Haunted Lady by Mary Roberts Rinehart (10/18/14)
26. Too Many Doctors by Holly Roth (10/22/14)
27. Madman's Bend by Arthur W. Upfield (10/24/14)
28. Roast Eggs by Douglas Clark (10/25/14)
29. Nor Live So Long by Sara Woods (10/26/14)
30. Head of a Traveller by Nicholas Blake (10/29/14)
31. The Mind-Murders by Janwillem van de Wetering (10/30/14)
32.



Peril on the Screen:
This is for those of us that like to watch suitably scary, eerie, mysterious Gothic fare during this time of year. It may be something on the small screen or large. It might be a television show, like Dark Shadows or Midsomer Murders, or your favorite film.

I recently got hooked on the full-length youtube versions of some of those delightful murderous movies from the 30s and 40s. I'll post reviews of a marathon of such treats.

1. The Thirteenth Guest (1932) [9/3/14]
2. Death in a White Tie (BBC TV episode, 1993) [9/6/14]
3. Hardy Boys Mysteries "The Mystery of the Haunted House" (1977) [9/22/14]
4.

September Read It Again Sam Reviews

 

Please post your reviews below.

September Vintage Mystery Reviews

Please post your reviews below.

September Mount TBR Reviews

Please post your reviews below.

The Shakespeare Mask: Review

Cover Copy:

“Truth is subject to no prescription, for truth is truth though never so old, and time cannot make that false which was truth.” – Edward de Vere, 17^th Earl of Oxford

In the sixteenth century, a precocious young nobleman draws the attention of the Elizabethan court- and of The Virgin Queen herself. A writer and patron of the arts, Edward de Vere is volatile, controversial- and brilliant. He leaves a trail of women and scandal in his wake. But his plays, when he’s in the queen’s good graces, charm the court.

Yet the rules of the court say a nobleman may not publish. An earl’s name is too sacred for the theater. If De Vere must write, he must do so anonymously, and employ a runner, an almost illiterate cobbler’s son from Stratford, to claim his words.

Newton Frohlich, an attorney and the author of the celebrated historical novel 1492, spent fifteen years researching unexplored questions about the poet and playwright we today know as Shakespeare. His is an intimate tour of English castles, Venetian canals, and a complex man who penned the most beloved works of the English language.

Author Bio:

Newton Frohlich is a former attorney and the author of the novel 1492: The World of Christopher Columbus, published by St. Martin's Press, and the nonfiction guide Making the Best of It: A Common Sense Guide to Negotiating a Divorce, published by Harper & Row. He spent fifteen years traveling and researching for The Shakespeare Mask, and is a member of the Shakespeare Oxford Society and the DeVere Society. He has lived in Washington, DC, the south of France, and Israel. He now makes his home on Cape Cod with his wife, Martha, a musicologist.

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

My Take: 

An interesting historical novel which  gives great details on the life of Edward De Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford. We follow Edward from his earliest years under tutelage through his education at Cambridge. He learns the ways of the court under Sir William Cecil, appointed his guardian by the Queen after the death of his father. His destiny is to be an adviser to the Queen, but his passion is to write--poetry and plays. Frohlich makes the history of the period come alive and makes a convincing case for De Vere identity as the true author of Shakepeare's work. But more importantly, he makes it a good tale--worthy of one of the finest writers in history whether De Vere is truly the man or not.
★★★★

[Disclaimer: My review policy is posted on my blog, but just to reiterate....The book was offered to me for impartial review  and I have received no payment of any kind. All comments are entirely my own honest opinion.]

August Wrap-Up & Pick of the Month

Once again in 2014 I will be combining my monthly wrap-up post with Kerrie's Crime Fiction Pick of the Month over at Mysteries in Paradise.  As predicted last month, I am now behind on my Goodreads goal--two books behind to be precise. I need to pick up the pace! Of course, one of the books was a monster--nearly 600 pages long and almost half were over 300 pages. So, not too bad. Here are the stats:

Total Books Read: 13
Total Pages: 3798
Average Rating: 2.8 stars  
Top Rating: 4 stars 
Percentage by Female Authors: 50%
Percentage by US Authors: 62%
Percentage by non-US/non-British Authors: 0%
Percentage Mystery: 85% 
Percentage Fiction: 92%
Percentage written 2000+: 38%
Percentage of Rereads: 0%
Percentage Read for Challenges: 100% {It's easy to have every book count for a challenge when you sign up for as many as I do.}    
Number of Challenges fulfilled so far: 23 (53%)


AND, as mentioned above, Kerrie has started us up for another year of Crime Fiction Favorites. What she's looking for is our Top Mystery Read for each month. In August, eleven of the books I read count as mysteries:


The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Angel of the Opera by Sam Siciliano (2.5stars) 
The Mangle Street Murders by M. R. C. Kasasian (3 stars) 
Introducing C. B. Greenfield by Lucille Kallen (2 stars) 
Date With Danger by Roy Vickers (3 stars) 
Button, Button by Marion Bramhall (3 stars) 
Book of the Dead by Elizabeth Daly (3 stars) 
Book Clubbed by Lorna Barrett (2 stars)
New Orleans Requiem by D. J. Donaldson (4 stars) 
The Bigger They Come by A. A. Fair (2.5 stars) 
The Attenbury Emeralds by Jill Paton Walsh (2 stars) 
The Late Scholar by Jill Paton Walsh (3 stars)

As we can see the only four-star winner is New Orleans Requiem by D. J. Donaldson--one of several recent review requests I've received. This one is, indeed, a real winner and absolutely deserving of this month's P.O.M. Award. It is a fast-paced thriller with much of the classic whodunnit. There is a really nice twist at the end and the final reveal came as a big surprise. Enjoyable read for thriller, police procedural, and whodunnit fans alike.

Ten Crime/Mystery Novels That Have Affected Me Most

The "Name 10 Books That Have Influenced You" (and don't think too long about it) meme is going 'round Facebook again. And, of course, I did it--it's about books and I can't resist lists. But then I thought why not do ten crime/mystery novels that have influenced my reading in some way? So I did. And here they are:

1. The Celebrated Cases of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: The first serious mysteries I ever read. Nancy Drew may have been my gateway to reading, but Holmes was my introduction to master detectives. This volume was a Christmas present from my parents.

2. Murder on the Calais Coach (aka Murder on the Orient Express) by Agatha Christie: The first Christie I ever read. I got it at the annual book fair at our elementary school (along with At Bertram's Hotel--which I thought little of at the time and have yet to reread). My mom was a bit worried about me and my fascination with murder.... [I tried to find the exact cover--the book is packed away--but I could not find the little hardback that I loved.]

3. Cat of Many Tails by Ellery Queen: The first Queen novel I sampled. And quite a good one.

4. Bodies in a Bookshop by R. T. Campbell: One of my very first academic mysteries--and you all know how I adore those.

5.  If Death Ever Slept by Rex Stout:Not my all-time favorite Nero Wolfe, but the first one I ever read. My introduction to that orchid-loving detective and his right-hand man, Archie Goodwin.

6.  Smallbone Deceased by Michael Gilbert

7. Death & Letters by Elizabeth Daly: For about ten years I abandoned mysteries--my first love--for the siren call of science fiction. I discovered Elizabeth Daly and her character Henry Gamadge in a tiny little public library in rural Indiana...and fell in love with mysteries all over again.

8. The Three Coffins by John Dickson Carr: My first, I believe, Carr novel. But certainly not my last--I'm still working my way through them all.

9. Anatomy of a Murder by Robert Traver: One of the first novels I read that was based on a real case.

10. The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers: My very first WWII Pocket Size Edition. Found at my very first Red Cross Book Sale here in Bloomington. I now have an obsession with these tiny-sized books and I must grab them up whenever I see them. We will also allow this Sayers book to stand in for all books in the series.

The Late Scholar: Review

At the end of The Attenbury Emeralds, Peter Wimsey finds himself in a new role as the Duke of Denver. The Late Scholar opens three years later with Peter discovering that his latest title also carries the responsibility of Visitor for St. Severin's College, Oxford. As Visitor, he is charged with such duties as overseeing the installment of new Wardens and fellows to the college as well as acting as a sort of referee of last resort in times of irreconcilable conflict. It is in this last capacity that members of St. Severin's write to Peter and request his presence at Oxford.

It seems that the college is in rather desperate straits financially and one solution would be to sell a valuable manuscript to buy some land for development. The fellows are divided evenly on the issue and the Warden has previously cast the deciding vote--but the Warden has disappeared. Peter, Harriet, and Bunter arrive at Oxford to find that not only has the Warden vanished, but there have also been attacks and "accidents"--some of them fatal--on various fellows of the college. Peter finds himself acting not only as Visitor, but as detective as well as he attempts to discover who is behind the attacks and why.

Four books into the revived Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane stories and Jill Paton Walsh is finally getting things more right than not. Given her own series featuring Imogen Quy, a nurse at St. Agatha's College, Cambridge, it may well be that she is far more comfortable with the academic setting and this story which takes place at Oxford has made her feel at home. Or perhaps she is just acclimating to her task of writing in Sayers's shadow--regardless, this story was much more enjoyable for this Sayers fan.

The banter between the Peter and Harriet sounds (for the most part) affectionate and smart and literary as Sayers intended. The relationship is easy and comfortable as it should be between two people who have loved each other this long. The quotations fit more comfortably into the conversations instead of sounding as if Paton Walsh had just opened a book of literary quotes, picked one at random that might fit the topic at hand, and dropped it in the mouth of Peter or Harriet. In fact, congratulations on the characters all round--from the Dowager Duchess to the Wimsey sons to the dons of Oxford. The mistakes in well-known (to LPW fans) characters are few and far between--the most glaring is having Miss de Vine commit such a blunder in reference to Harriet's past experience as a murder suspect. The Helen de Vine we all know and love from Gaudy Night would never drop such a social brick. Another problem that struck me quite forcibly was having Peter pull a revolver out of his pocket to shoot the lock off a stubborn locked door--Peter Wimsey is no hard boiled private eye; he doesn't go round with firearms in his pocket, shooting his way into places. 

So...high marks--with a few reservations--for characterization. The plot, however, is a bit disappointing. While the basic problem of motive is new to the Wimseys, the methods of murder and attempted murder are not. Each incident is stolen from Harriet's mysteries (read Sayers here, since most of the murders referenced have been based on Peter's cases). Paton Walsh has no need to devise murder methods of her own...she just grabs them from Harriet's books. The motive is also a bit murky--I think I understand it (although I don't entirely buy it), but with Sayers I would have been sure. All-in-all, a much better outing and if Paton Walsh gives us another Peter and Harriet story, I have hopes that it may be even better still. ★★★

The Attenbury Emeralds: Review

Currently (at least on Facebook) there is a major debate raging over Sophie Hannah's forthcoming Hercule Poirot novel. A large number of diehard Christie fans are up in arms and who can blame them? All of the promotional material I've seen shows the cover with "Agatha Christie" emblazoned in huge letters at the top of the book.* Many commenters have initially been confused--asking if this has recently been found among Christie's papers. I have to say that it gives every appearance of the Christie estate trying to hoodwink readers into thinking that this is an Agatha Christie story. It's not. And this sense of being tricked is what really puts me off. Of course, I also am not terribly keen on authors trying to take up the mantle of a much beloved novelist. It rarely goes well. (The sequel to Gone With the Wind, anyone?) There are a fair number of good Sherlock Holmes pastiches--but there are also a multitude of poor ones. But to my knowledge none of them try to pass themselves off as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. [*Please note how tiny the "Based on the characters of Dorothy L. Sayers" is on the cover to the right.]

Which brings me to The Attenbury Emeralds by Jill Paton Walsh. The Lord Peter Wimsey novels which have sprung forth from Paton Walsh's hand would be a prime reason why I am very reluctant to pick up The Monogram Murders by Hannah. I dearly love Dorothy L. Sayers's novels and was, quite honestly, thrilled to hear that she was going to use DLS's notes and partially finished work to give us Thrones, Dominations. What LPW fan wouldn't want more adventures with our lordly sleuth? That book was okay--not even close to the brilliant gem it could have been if Sayers had completed it, but okay. And when the next one came out I read that too in the hopes that Paton Walsh would be more comfortable with the characters and begin to come into her own with them. It didn't happen and, in fact, the second novel was much weaker than the first--probably because there was even less Sayers material to work with. So, why, you may ask, have I continued with the series when I have been disappointed with the results so far? Because I cannot resist the Wimsey charm even when it hasn't been properly represented. The same reason that I've already started the most recent LPW/Harriet Vane adventure, The Late Scholar. Resistance is futile...I don't want that to happen with Poirot. So....unless an overwhelming majority of reviewers I know and trust give rave reviews to The Monogram Murders, I won't be touching it.

And now....on with the review.

The titular Attenbury Emeralds have been the focus of mystery for quite some time. In 1921 Wimsey, just making his entrance back into society in his recovery effort after the war, is involved with the hue and cry that goes up when the famous large stone of the set goes missing. It is his maiden venture into the realm of amateur detecting and his handling of it and the publicity around the recovery of the gem launches him into the career that serves as the most efficacious cure for his shell-shocked nerves. Years later, after the Second World War, another crisis arises with emerald and the newest Lord Attenbury asks Wimsey to investigate. With all the changes after the war, most immediately the heavy death duties he faces on the passing of his father, the new lord would like to sell the emerald and save his estate. But a claimant has popped up--asserting that the emerald held in the bank vault is not Attenbury's at all, that somehow it has been switched. The bank will not allow Attenbury to remove the stone for sale until proof can be supplied that it is, indeed, the family's property. Wimsey with the assistance of Harriet and Bunter must track down the crucial moment when the stones may have been switched....but the case takes a more diabolical turn when they discover that each time the emerald was removed from the vault a death followed.

****************
This novel, as with the first two, contains flashes of Wimsey and his lady that are true to form but they are too few and far between. The entire first quarter of the book reads like a bad drawing room comedy between two people who are doing their best to appear that they know and love each other but don't really. Peter and Harriet's literary quote filled banter always had a thread of joy and sexiness running through it that is sadly lacking. Bunter's relationship to the two is also slightly askew. Granted, the times they are a-changing and the relationships between the gentry and servants may not be the same--but Bunter is too old-school to ever change and Paton Walsh's efforts to indicate this make Bunter into a wooden version of himself throughout a large portion of the book. The person who comes off best is the Dowager Duchess--she still isn't quite as Sayers wrote her, but she is the closest rendition we have.

The story has a very self-aware feel especially in the first third with coy references to "if this were one of my detective novels" and "not nearly as good as Christie or Sayers." Let's just announce in a loud voice that "Hey look, we're amateur detectives in a mystery novel" shall we?  I should also make reference to the quite awful method of delivery for the previous emerald incident. Sitting round the fire for "story hour" was bad enough, but then we follow Peter and Harriet around from tea shop to kitchen table and back to the fireside for installments (like this is a radio serial story or something). There must have been a better way to tell the back history. Peter could have started out in story-teller mode...fade to black and whoosh we're in 1921 and following events...fade back to present with wrap-up comments/questions and Bob's your uncle. Tally-ho and let's play hunt the emerald in modern times. I don't know. All I do know is the first half of the book does not work well for the reader or the characters involved. [Speaking of Bob and his uncle, since when does Peter say "old chap" except perhaps in deliberate and obvious irony?]

The mystery itself is convoluted and full of coincidence. The investigation itself is fairly well done but the plot leaves a lot to be desired. Paton Walsh does a much better job with her own Imogen Quy series--most likely because the characters are hers and she doesn't have to worry about writing in the shadow of such a fabulous author. She can just tell her story and concentrate on the plot construction.

★★ purely for my beloved characters and the chance to visit with them despite their imperfect renderings. 

The Bigger They Come: Review

 The Bigger They Come by A. A. Fair (aka Erle Stanley Gardner of Perry Mason fame) is the first book of the Bertha Cool and Donald Lam series and it is their first case working together as well.  Lam is a down-on-his luck former lawyer who lost his license to practice for a year because he unwisely bragged to a client that he knew a foolproof way to commit murder. No locked doors; no mysterious poisons; just a little loophole in the law that would allow a guilty man to walk free. Cool is a woman who set up her own detective agency as a means of support after her philandering husband passed away. She's greedy, vulgar, and not opposed to dealing with both sides of the law if it means she'll make a fast (untraceable) buck.

We meet them as Lam arrives at the office in answer to a personal ad. He and every out-of-work Johnny in California have lined up to try and convince B. Cool of "B. Cool Confidential Investigations" that he is the man for the job. None of the applicants who go into B. Cool's private office last longer than 15 minutes and they all come out looking dazed, confused, or like they're running from a fire. Lam goes in and despite no experience whatsoever as a detective and his scrawny appearance manages to land the job. His ability to string a story and his former life as a lawyer will serve him well. Here is his take on his employer:

I sized up my new boss as she walked across the office and revised my first estimate of her weight by adding twenty pounds. She evidently didn't believe in confining herself to tight clothes. She wiggled and jiggled around inside her loose apparel like a cylinder of currant jelly on a plate. She walked with a smooth, easy rhythm. It wasn't a stride. You weren't conscious of her legs at all. She flowed past like a river. (p. 9)

Lam's first assignment is to serve divorce papers on Morgan Birks a man rumored to have wealth from a slot-machine scandal. There's just one problem. Birks has apparently disappeared. So, Lam has to learn the ropes quickly and find ways to hunt down a man who has managed to elude both the police and the mob. He's also caught up in a web that involves a lot of moolah, mysterious safety deposit boxes, and a gang of toughs who kidnap him and beat him up in an effort to get him to reveal Birks's hiding place. When Birks winds up dead and the cops try to pin the murder on Lam's love interest (oh, yeah, we've got one of those too), he gets to try out his theory on committing a murder, confessing to it, and walking away scot-free.

This is a fairly amusing introduction to the Cool and Lam combo. The characters aren't quite settled, so the entertainment value wasn't quite up to the standard of You Can Die Laughing (my own introduction to this series). The private eye/hard boiled genre isn't my usual fare, but Cool and Lam are a combination that I can enjoy. Because of his size Lam has had to depend on his wits rather than his brawn and I really appreciate his interactions with Bertha Cool. I have a few more of these sitting on my shelves and look forward to reading them. ★★  and 1/2.

Quote:
Men like women to be modern with them. It's when they're modern with other men that the trouble starts, (p. 23)

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

Challenge Complete: Scrabble

When you sign up for the Scrabble, Anyone? Challenge at GoodReads (click link), Barb (our gracious hostess) will assign you one set of randomly generated letters. Your challenge is to read one book for each of those letters. You may use the first letter of the first word of the book's title (do NOT count A, An or The), or the first or last initial of the author to complete each letter.
NOTE: Everyone's letter sets will be different, and assignments will be based on the order in which you sign up. The first person to sign up will get set #1, the second person will get set #2, and so on. Therefore, it will be up to you to keep track of the letters that have been assigned to you :)
***********************
My personal goal was two sets of letters per year each year I play. I just completed my second set--which included the difficult letter "Z" and have fulfilled my stated goal for the year. But I'm not done. Oh, no. I've asked Barb to dish me out another set of seven.

Letter Set #1: E, E, E, A, N, S, H

E: Exit Actors, Dying by Margot Arnold (2/4/14)
E: Endless Night by Agatha Christie (3/13/14)
E: Ellery Queen's 20th Anniversary Annual by Ellery Queen, ed (2/22/14)
A: After I'm Gone by Laura Lippman (4/6/14)
N: Naked Is the Best Disguise by Samuel Rosenberg (4/8/14)
S: Shelf Life by Douglas Clark (2/5/14)
H: A Hangman's Dozen by Alfred Hitchcock, ed (4/7/14) 

First set complete! Just waiting for my new letters....

Letter Set #2: I, I, N, R, T, L, Z

I: Invisible Green by John Sladek (6/2/14)
I: Introducing C. B. Greenfield by Lucille Kallen (8/6/14)
N: No. 9 Belmont Square by Margaret Erskine (6/21/14)
R: Red Herring by Edward Acheson (5/25/14)
T: Thus Was Adonis Murdered by Sarah Caudwell (6/5/14)
L: The Lady of Sorrows by Anne Zouroudi (4/26/14)
Z: Zingers, Quips, & One-Liners by Geoff Tibballs (8/25/14)

Second set complete! And 2014 goal fulfilled.

Zingers, Quips, & One Liners: Mini-Review

(*The Mammoth Book of) Zingers, Quips, and One-Liners has--according to my edition--over 8,000 gems of wit wisdom. It comes complete with quotes from everyone from Oscar Wilde to Lenny Bruce from Mae West to Margaret Cho and Roseanne Barr. The key word from the title, I believe, is zingers. If you're not expecting the outrageous and pointed comment, then this collection is not for you. There is a quote that says, "A truly great library contains something in it to offend everyone." (Jo Godwin) I would say that this is true of this book of quotes as well. 

For the most part, I enjoyed this collection. Overall, very amusing--one quibble: there is a fair smattering of more modern celebrities. In general, I have no problem with this (despite my love for more vintage things-books, movies, TV shows, etc), but I do have a problem with quotations being ascribed to more recent celebrities when I know full well that the comments were around well before the advent of Madonna or Jerry Seinfeld. It would be nice if the editor Geoff Tibballs had credited the earliest reference rather than his favorite actor/comedian/what-have-you. ★★★


*There are so many "Mammoth Book of" books out there that I am not counting that as part of the title for any of my challenges.


Favorites:
[on murder] Very stupid to kill the servants: now we don't even know where to find the marmalade. {Emily Brent (Dame Judith Anderson) in And Then There Were None}

Murder is always a mistake. One should never do anything that one cannot talk about after dinner. {Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray}

Experts agree that the best type of computer for your individual needs is one that comes on the market about two days after  you actually purchase some other computer. {Dave Barry}

All the good music has already been written by people with wigs and stuff. {Frank Zappa}

If an article is attractive, or useful, or inexpensive, they'll stop making it tomorrow; if it's all three, they stopped making it yesterday. {Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook}

Sometimes opportunity knocks, but most of the time it sneaks up and then quietly steals away. {Doug Larson}

Puritanism is the haunting fear that someone, somewhere may be happy. {H. L. Mencken, Chrestomathy}

A man generally has two reasons for doing a thing. One that sounds good, and a real one. {J. Pierpont Morgan}

Seventh Son: Review

I'm sadly behind on this review...I actually finished the book on August 19 but between being generally brain-dead after a week of orientating graduate students and spending all evening for the last three nights watching "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" episodes/clips on Youtube, I just haven't gotten my act together on Seventh Son. But we'll give this a whirl so I can move on to other books....

 Seventh Son is the first novel in Orson Scott Card's alternate American history series. It's set in the early 19th Century in an America where folk magic holds sway and the fate of the New World has taken a slightly different path. Yes, there are United States, but not quite the same ones as here in our timeline. Yes, there was a first president, but it wasn't George Washington. And there is an Indian Nation state that has representatives to vote.

In this world, seventh sons are magical and seventh sons of seventh sons are even more magical than their fathers--and quite rare. Alvin Miller, Jr. is such a one. In fact, Alvin is a Maker, a seventh son with the power to not only create new things out of old, but also to make things whole and to heal. He has a destiny that can help create a good positive future for America. But from the moment of his birth an ancient, dark force, the Unmaker, who will stop at nothing to destroy Alvin and prevent him from fulfilling his destiny.

I am just a bit torn on rating this one. I'm pulled towards a four-star rating by the world-building and the fresh, original feel to this American fantasy/alternate reality. The characters are delightful--particularly Peggy (Alvin's far-off "guardian angel") and Alvin and the writing is particularly strong. There is a character called Taleswapper who goes from place to place telling stories and collecting new ones and the entire book reads like a tale told by a grand old storyteller around the fire. But I'm also pulled toward a lower three-star rating by the infusion of religion. You want to create an America that's based on folk magic and secret powers? Cool.  You want to set up dark forces to destroy the ones who hold that power for good? Hey, absolutely.  I'm all for that Good vs. Evil thing.  But...can't we just do that within the folk magic scenario? That's why we created a whole different timeline America, right? I do get the whole Pilgrim/Puritan vs. "witchcraft" background. Salem and witch burning. I know it was part of the early days of America. But was it necessary to bring in religion and make those who represent it the bad guys?  Maybe it was--but when I was reading it just didn't settle right.

My other small quibble is that the blurb on my edition made much of the positive role of Native Americans in this version of America and, perhaps, since this is a series there will be more of a Native American presence in the following books.  But there is little here. The mention of those who have voting rights. And a man who is healed by Alvin (in an unexpected way) and who goes off to be a prophet to his people. But no real direct contact with Native Americans beyond that. When I specifically polled some of my friends for alternate history books that involved Native Americans, this series was one that was mentioned. I had hoped for more Native American influence in the opening novel.

Quibbles aside, Card is quite the storyteller in Seventh Son and the story was compelling and interesting. I will definitely be looking to read the next book in the series (Red Prophet--perhaps the title is an indication that there will be more Native Americans....).  ★★★ and a half.

New Orleans Requiem: Review

Astor + Blue Editions is proud to release New Orleans Requiem (ISBN: 978-1-938231-36-0; Fiction / Mystery & Suspense; $5.99 E-Book) the latest Broussard mystery by DJ Donaldson.

Synopsis (provided in review request):

Andy Broussard, the “Plump and Proud” New Orleans medical examiner, obviously loves food.  Less apparent to the casual observer is his hatred of murderers. Together with his gorgeous sidekick, psychologist Kit Franklyn, Broussard forms a powerful, although improbable, mystery solving duo.

 It’s a bizarre case for Andy and Kit.  A man is found in Jackson Square, stabbed, one eyelid removed and four Scrabble tiles with the letters KOJE on his chest. Soon, there’s a second victim, also stabbed and missing one eyelid, but this time with only three letters on his chest, KOJ.  The pattern is unmistakable, but does it mean there will be two more victims and then the killer will go away, or is he leading up to something bigger and deadlier?

Broussard and Kit use their disciplines to profile the killer, but it soon becomes clear that the clues and objects they’ve found are part of a sick game that the killer is playing with Broussard; a game most likely engineered by one of the hundreds of attendees at the annual forensics meeting being held in New Orleans.  Has Broussard finally met his match?
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My Take:  New Orleans Requiem is one of several re-releases of Donaldson's books by Astor + Blue Editions. Originally published in the late 80s and early 90s, the heroes of Donaldson's stories have no cell phones, only beepers, and the presenters at the forensics meeting use actual slide shows instead of Power Point presentations. So, we all get to go for a short time travel trip to a time when one cut phone line can mean life or death for one of the characters. The story itself, however, doesn't feel dated at all.

Serial killers and high-suspense thrillers are, generally speaking, not my cup of tea. But the description of Broussard and Kit put me in mind of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin and the scrabble tile clues made for a nice hook to draw me in. It also helps that this is more a blend of police procedural/forensic investigation than a straight-up serial killer fest. I thoroughly enjoyed Broussard and Kit and the way their skills complement each other. Kit regards Broussard as a mentor as well as a colleague and so often feels like she isn't quite measuring up, but without her skills and input there is little chance that he would arrive at the correct solution. 

A fast-paced thriller with much of the classic whodunnit. There is a really nice twist at the end and the final reveal came as a big surprise. Enjoyable read for thriller, police procedural, and whodunnit fans alike.  ★★★★


[Disclaimer: My review policy is posted on my blog, but just to reiterate....The book was offered to me for impartial review and I have received no payment of any kind. All comments are entirely my own honest opinion.]

Book Clubbed: Review

Synopsis (from book flap): Cranky Chamber of Commerce receptionist Betsy Dittmeyer is done reading people the riot act. After she’s crushed by a fallen bookcase, the next item to be read is her last will and testament—which is packed with surprises. It soon comes to light that Betsy was hiding volumes of dark secrets behind that perpetual frown of hers—and one of them just might have been a motive for murder.

While Tricia tries to help Angelica—the newly elected Chamber of Commerce president and Betsy’s boss—solve the mystery, she discovers a hidden chapter in her own family history that rocks her to her very core. And with her ex-husband and the chief of police vying for her affections, it’s doubly hard to focus on who might have buried Betsy in a tomb of tomes.

But as Tricia and Angelica try to read between the lines, they need to watch their step…and make sure the killer doesn’t catch them between the stacks.

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My Take: This is going to be fairly short. Book Clubbed caught my eye on the New Arrivals shelf at the library. I mean, what's not to love? A mystery bookstore owner as amateur sleuth. With a cat named Miss Marple. A corpse killed by a fallen bookcase.  A clue in a family Bible. Books everywhere you look. I was in need of just six more library books to fulfill the I Love Library Books reading challenge and this seemed like a perfect entry--a quick, cozy read.

Yeah...no. At first I thought that maybe the reason I wasn't connecting with Tricia Miles and her sister Angelica (and about 95% of the rest of the characters) was because I hopped on the Booktown Mystery Train at stop number 8, but a glance through other less favorable reviews by readers who have been on board from the beginning lead me to surmise that it wouldn't have mattered much. Tricia apparently has been in a weird funk from her divorce (and other man troubles) all along. She's being stalked by her ex--I don't care what anyone says. The fact that he watches her every move from a window that looks down on her store and straight across from her apartment is very creepy. And, it's not enough that she's got hang-ups over men. She's also got her troubled relationship with her mother. 

Quite honestly, living inside her head and seeing the other characters from her point of view is no treat. She's labeled a goody two-shoes, but she's not particularly charitable in her thoughts about most of the others. When tragedy strikes at the end, I'm not even invested enough in her character to feel terribly sorry for her. The most sympathetic characters--in my opinion--are her employees.  Unfortunately, we don't see nearly enough of them. And let's not even talk about the dialogue...mostly flat, almost always at cross-purposes, and sometimes I'm left thinking "what-the-heck?" because the subject has just been changed abruptly for no discernible reason.

The good points? Decent mystery and plotting, although not enough clues displayed so the reader could possibly arrive at the solution on their own.  Booktown atmosphere is also a plus. But not enough good points to entice me into reading any more of the series.  ★★