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.

2014 Book Bingo Reading Challenge: Card Covered

Back in February, I completed my first two Bingos for the 2014 Book Bingo Challenge, hosted by Kristilyn from Reading in Winter and Anne from Creativity’s Corner and met my challenge commitment goal. But, as we all know, I'm a glutton for challenges and I knew I'd be making the effort to cover the whole card. With my most recent book review, I filled in the last square on this year's card. If Kristilyn and Anne offer another round in 2015, I'm sure I'll be back for more. Thanks for hosting, ladies!

Here's the full run-down of Squares Completed:

TBR Pile
One Book:
The Poison Belt by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1/2/14)

Two Books:
1. The Skeleton in the Clock by Carter Dickson (1/8/14)
2. Dangerous Visions #3 by Harlan Ellison, ed (1/11/14)

Three Books
1. Angels & Spaceships by Fredric Brown (1/12/14)
2. Triumph by Philip Wylie (1/18/14)
3. Seven Footprints to Satan by A. Merritt (1/22/14)

Four Books
1. Death on the Aisle by Frances & Richard Lockridge (1/24/14)
2. The Adventure of the Eleven Cuff-Buttons by James Francis Thierry (1/26/14)
3. Other Times, Other Worlds by John D. MacDonald (1/26/14)
4. Too Much of Water by Bruce Hamilton (1/27/14)

Five Books
1. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (1/29/14)
2. Darkness at Pemberley by T. H. White (1/30/14)
3. Gambit by Rex Stout (2/8/14)
4. Death Walks on Cat Feet by D. B. Olsen (2/13/14)
5. Made Up to Kill by Kelley Roos (2/18/14)

Mix It Up
Non-Fiction: The Kingdom by the Sea by Paul Theroux (1/20/14)
Classic: The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick [classic Science Fiction; 1962 Hugo Winner] (2/27/14)
Reread: Shake Hands Forever by Ruth Rendell (1/13/14)
Free Square: The Xibalba Murders by Lyn Hamilton (1/18/14)
Contemporary: Death by Chick Lit by Lynn Harris (2/1/14)

Series:
One Book: The Winter Murder Case by S. S. Van Dine [#12 of Philo Vance series] (1/23/14)

Two Books
1. Exit Actors, Dying by Margot Arnold [#1 of Penny Spring & Sir Toby Glendower series] (2/4/14)
2. Shelf Life by Douglas Clark [Masters & Green series] (2/6/14)

Three Books
1. The Sound of Broken Glass by Deborah Crombie [Kincaid & James #15] (2/25/14)
2. The Purple Parrot by Clyde B. Clason [Theocritus Lucius Westoborough #4] (2/25/14)
3. To Kingdom Come by Will Thomas [Barker & Llewellyn #2] (2/26/14)

Four Books
1. Vicious Circle by Douglas Clark [Masters & Green series] (3/11/14)
2. The Darker the Night by Herbert Brean [Reynold Frame #2] (3/3/14)
3. The League of Frightened Men by Rex Stout [Nero Wolfe #2] (3/23/14)
4. The Coral Princess Murders by Frances Crane [Pat & Jean Abbott #18] (4/5/14)

Five Books
1. Murder at the Museum of Natural History by Michael Jahn [Bill Donovan #4] (4/18/14)
2. Dorothy Dixon & the Double Cousin by Dorothy Wayne [Dorothy Dixon #4] (4/26/14)
3. For Old Crime's Sake by Delano Ames [Jane & Dagobert Brown #12] (4/29/14)
4. The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse by Robert Rankin [Eddie Bear #1] (5/6/14)
5. Death at the Medical Board by Josephine Bell [Dr. David Wintringham #7] (5/16/14)

Genres:
Fantasy: Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm (3/28/14)
Free Square (Science Fiction): Shakespeare's Planet by Clifford D. Simak (1/6/14)
Historical Fiction: Dandy Gilver & the Proper Treatment of Bloodstains by Catriona McPherson [set in the 1920s] (2/12/14)
Mystery: Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell (1/5/13)
Romance: Faro's Daughter by Georgette Heyer (5/1/14)

New Releases:
One Book: The Poisoned Island by Lloyd Shepherd [1st US Release: Jan 2014] (3/8/14)

Two Books
1. The Wonder Chamber by Mary Mallory [pub. Jan 2014] (1/15/14)
2. Cursed in the Act by Raymond Buckland [pub. Jan 2014] (2/16/14)

Three Books
1. A Girl Walks into a Bar by Helena S. Paige [pub 2014--first hard copy] (3/12/14)
2. India Black & the Gentleman Thief by Carol K Carr [pub Feb 2014] (3/19/14)
3. A Tale of Two Biddies by Kylie Logan [pub Feb 2014] (3/21/14)

Four Books
1. The Lady of Sorrows by Anne Zouroudi [1st US edition March 2014] (4/26/14)
2. Whispers of Vivaldi by Beverle Graves Myers [1st release January 2014] (5/21/14)
3. The Corsican Caper by Peter Mayle [May 2014] (6/11/14)
4. This Private Plot by Alan Beechey [May 2014] (6/26/14)

Five Books
1. Decoded by Mai Jia [1st US Jan 2014] (4/5/14)
2. After I'm Gone by Laura Lippman [Feb 2014] (4/5/14)
3. The Mammoth Book of the Lost Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes by Dennis O. Smith [Jan 2014] (4/13/14)
4. Death by the Book by Julianna Deering (4/21/14)
5. Death in an Ivory Tower by Maria Hudgins [June 2014] (7/16/14)

Death in an Ivory Tower: Review

Death in an Ivory Tower is the fifth installment in Maria Hudgins' Dotsy Lamb cozy mystery series.Dotsy is a 6o-something grandmother and teacher of ancient and medieval history who is determined to finally complete her PhD. She and her doctoral adviser, Professor Larry Roberts, are off to Oxford for an academic conference revolving around the myths of King Arthur and their influence on Elizabethan England. Larry is currently a bit miffed at his student--Dotsy somehow managed to influence a couple of New Age Arthurian zealots with an agenda to apply for the conference. Bram Fitzwaring and his on-again, off-again lover Mignon Beaulieu plan to rock the conference with their "proof" that Arthur was a real king and not just the stuff of legends.

Fitzwaring rocks the conference all right....but not with a major Arthurian bombshell. He's found dead in his room just hours before his scheduled presentation. It's first thought that the diabetic conferee died from a case of hypoglycemia. But Dotsy is a diabetic as well and certain facts surrounding the death just don't add up. Then a family friend who is a visiting doctor at a local Oxford hospital is shot and Dotsy wonders if there is a connection.  But what could the connection be...and will she be able to make the British police listen to her suspicions?

This is a well-paced cozy mystery with an academic setting--a winner for me, as you all know! Dotsy is a likeable character and interesting as an amateur detective. She works with the police and doesn't assume that she can take on villains all on her own. I'm not sure how the rest of the series works (this is my first foray into the Dotsy Lamb Travel Mysteries)--but this one in particular works with Dotsy as sleuth because of her personal knowledge of diabetes.  We also learn a bit about Arthurian legend versus history along the way, but Hudgins doesn't load the story down with details. There's just enough for interest and background. A solid cozy mystery that, while part of a series, can certainly be read as a stand-alone with no need to have read previous books first. I will certainly look forward to catching up on others in the series--particularly if they include academic settings as well. ★★★

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.

Another Challenge: Duos Or Trios

JoAnne at Littlequeen Rules has written another challenge. It is on All Challenges All The Time, under yearly challenges, on goodreads.

Duos OR Trios
Duration: One year from your starting date.

For full details on the challenge rules see the link above.  In short--there are 30 categories. For each categor y you decide if you want to read 2 or 3 books that are linked by the category. 

Then pick an option. You may be reading as few as 20 books or as many as 90.

Option 1: Choose 10 categories. 
Option 2: Choose 20 categories.
Option 3: Choose 30 categories.

JoAnne has roped me in and I've already picked out most of the books. I'll add others as I go. I'm going to go for

Duos: Option 1 (10 categories)
Duration: July 13, 2014 - July 12, 2015
2014 Commitment: Read at least 10 books (half)

#2 Same Author
Appleby's Answer by Michael Innes (10/17/14)
Lament for a Maker by Michael Innes (10/8/14)
#3 Same First Word
Murder at the Villa Rose by A. E. W. Mason (7/14/14)
Murder on Mike by H. Paul Jeffers (10/15/14)
#10 Books from my Decade (1960s)
Only a Matter of Time by V. C. Clinton-Baddeley (1969--my year!) [10/13/14]
Madman's Bend by Arthur W. Upfield (1963) [10/24/14]
#11 Same First Name
Death Takes a Sabbatical by Robert Bernard (9/16/14)
Red Cent by Robert Campbell (9/10/18)
#12 Genre (Mystery)
Death in an Ivory Tower by Maria Hudgins (7/16/14)
Who Guards a Prince? by Reginald Hill (7/23/14)
#14 Animal on Cover
The Footprints on the Ceiling by Clayton Rawson [Bunny on cover] (9/25/14)
The Curious Affair of the Third Dog by Patricia Moyes [Greyhound] (11/24/14)
#17 Holiday Word
Death on All Hallowe'en by Leo Bruce (10/11/14)
Trick or Treat Murder by Leslie Meier (11/12/14)
#18 MAN/MEN
The Tattooed Man by Howard Pease (7/17/14)
Two Men in Twenty by Maurice Procter (11/14/14)
#23 TBR Pile
Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis (7/20/14)
Relic by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child (7/22/14)
#30 Musician/Musical Instrument
Mayhem in B-Flat by Elliott Paul [violinist; missing violin; violin concert] (12/4/14)
The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Angel of the Opera by Sam Siciliano [opera singers] (8/4/14)

Mysterious Time Quotes

Image Credit

This past week I read an article on The Guardian that told of their mission which began in 2011 to find a literary quote for every minute of the day. They are getting very close to filling in their last remaining times and have called on readers to help them with the empty minutes. 

Well...you know how I love a good challenge. And I love a good mystery. I also have a great fondness for quotes. So...I decided to set myself a challenge: to find a mystery book quote for every minute of the day. I just started today and I wonder if it will take me three years (or more) to fill in my time slots? 

Too Many Cooks by Rex Stout offered up a hefty batch of times in its 190 pages.  I'm off to a pretty good start....

Too Many Cooks: Review

Of course, a hole in the ice offers peril only to those who go skating. (Nero Wolfe; p. 137)

The tag line on my edition of Rex Stout's Too Many Cooks (1938) says: Nero Wolfe steps out to dine with a dozen cooks and a killer. And "steps out" he does--out of the brownstone (which is a miracle in and of itself), into a train (a moving vehicle!), and out of New York State. He has been invited as an honored guest to attend the scheduled meeting of Les Quinze Maitres, the Fifteen Masters, a group of recognized, world-renowned chefs. When one of their number is killed by a fatal knife-thrust, Wolfe isn't interested. He's on holiday and the whole point of his holiday is to eat meals prepared by the world's greatest chefs, to deliver a speech, and, if possible, to persuade one of the masters to divulge his recipe for saucisse minuit (a fancy sausage dish). As Archie Goodwin says about Jerome Berin (the sausage man) and his colleagues, "These babies are famous. One of them cooks sausages that people fight duels over. You ought to see him and tell him you're a detective and ask him to give you the recipe. He'd be glad to." 

It begins to look like Berin may not be in a position to ever make his sausages again or give out his recipe. When fellow chef, Phillip Laszio is killed, Berin--having been the last one to see Laszio in the dining room--is immediately arrested by the local authorities for the deed. Wolfe works, out of friendship and obligation as a guest, to free the famous chef from an unjust imprisonment, but refuses to pursue the matter any further....Until the unwise villain decides to take a potshot at the detective, drawing blood from a head wound. From that moment on, all bets are off and Wolfe won't rest until he can expose the devil behind the disrupted dinner.

I have rarely enjoyed the Stout novels that have taken Wolfe and Goodwin out of their familiar brownstone background. The whole "fish out of water" scenario just generally doesn't work for me. But Too Many Cooks is a very nice exception. It makes a great deal out of the fact that Nero Wolfe is not where he ought to be and that he had to take a most uncomfortable mode of transportation to get there. It speaks to his love of good food that he would venture to take such a journey--just for the sake of dining with the great masters and the chance to wangle a much desired recipe out of its creator. It would seem that by making much of the situation, Stout has rendered it less of a problem for me.

The set up is superb and the clues are displayed ever-so-subtly so as to slip right by (at least they slipped right by me...). It was a joy to watch to solidification of the Wolfe/Goodwin relationship that is taken for granted in later novels. Archie is moving more evidently from "hired help" to trusted right-hand man. The wrap-up scene moves swiftly--it has to, Wolfe doesn't want to miss the train that will take him back to his familiar surroundings.

The iffy part of the book is a delicate subject--the racial slurs that are sprinkled far more liberally here than in any other Stout book I've read. Most of the wait staff and hotel underlings are African American. The book is set just barely in the South of the 1930s--so racial prejudice is certainly going to be evident and a product of the time and place. That doesn't make the use of the N-word any less jarring. To his credit, Stout has Nero Wolfe deal with the black employees in a quite even-handed manner. He insists--even when faced with the prejudice of a Southern sheriff--on addressing the men as equals (using "Mister" just as he would for any man) and giving them the respect and courtesy he would anyone else. Wolfe's treatment of these men underlines the unfair responses they generally receive. 

Overall, a highly satisfactory (a most Wolfe-like compliment) detective novel. Quite enjoyable--if one is prepared to take the time period on its own terms. ★★★★

This fulfills the "Features Food/Cooks" square on the Golden Vintage Bingo card.

Today's Post Is Brought to You by the Letter....

Simon over at Stuck in a Book has thrown out a small challenge to fellow bloggers.  A chain-meme revolving around the letters of the alphabet.  Here's what Simon has to say:

Here's something that should be fun - and do get involved in the comment section! - I'm going to kick off a meme where we say our favourite book, author, song, film, and object beginning with a particular letter. And that letter will be randomly assigned to you by me, via random.org. If you'd like to join in, comment in the comment section and I'll tell you your letter! (And then, of course, the chain can keep going on your blog.)  

He kicked things off with his post on the letter M.  And has now given me my letter

And here are my choices.


Favorite Book:
Bodies in a Bookshop by R. T. Campbell. At the time I first discovered this book, I'd never heard of R. T. Campbell and the Dover edition that the public library carried was new to me too. I'd never seen these slim reprints anywhere else. But how could I resist a mystery with a title like that? A mystery and a bookshop? I was sold even before I read the synopsis.

Favorite Author:

Oooh. This is difficult.  With "B" we've got Ray Bradbury, Julian Barnes, Josephine Bell, Nicholas Blake, Christianna Brand, Leo Bruce, and Octavia Butler...good writers all. But...if I must choose one, then I'm going to go with Ray Bradbury. Bradbury was one of my earliest loves in science fiction. I love Bradbury's use of language and his way of using SF situations to describe the emotions of now. Whether that "now" be when the stories were actually written or the now of 2014. He absolutely captures the human condition whether he's showing the future humans on Earth or humans on Mars or humans in space.

image credit

 Favorite Song:

"Best of My Love" by the Eagles (love me some Eagles music)

Favorite Film:

 Another difficult one...hmmm.  Do I want to go comedy (Bringing Up Baby) or more serious (The Bridge on the River Kwai) or maybe a little Hitchcock (The Birds).  I'm feeling like a comedy today...so, let's say Bringing Up Baby. I love the mad, comic combination of Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant.

Favorite Object:

This one is so easy....I have to wonder whether this is a trick question.  My favorite object that starts with a B?  I wonder....

Books!  Books! Glorious books!  I know--way too easy.  And we've already done favorite book.  But I don't care.  Books are still my favorite.

But if I have to choose just one book to represent them all....then I'll go with this one,  Thomas Moore's Complete Poetical Works:

It was published in 1895, so it's really old, and it's got this interesting, puffy, off-white cover that just called my name every time I stepped into the used bookstore. When I finally got my hands on it, I didn't really go through it page-by-page but I I did try to read it. Well, let's just say it's flowery, 19th-C poetry at its best (or worst, depending on your point of view) and I never made it past about 20 pages or so. Not the all-time best book as far as content. But one of my closest friends gave it to me and....it led to my very own Believe It or Not Moment two years ago (click for my post on the subject).

Now...if you'd like to play along, just comment below and I'll give you a letter through a random letter generator....Or feel free to go visit Simon and have him give you a letter (visit him anyway!). 

Challenge Goal Complete: A Century of Books

Last fall I signed up for the Century of Books Challenge.  The Goal? To read one book for every year of the 20th Century. My original commitment was to read at least 50 this year and the remainder in 2015.  I have just completed my 50th book, so my challenge goal for 2014 is complete. Almost half a year to go...maybe I'll make the century before 2015 rolls around. If you'd like to see the book I've read so far, please go to my Sign Up Post.

Challenge Complete: 100+ Book Challenge

I just finished my 101st book for the year, so I have officially made it to 100+ range for  Freda's 100+ Book Challenge.  Thanks for hosting, Freda.  You know I can't resist a good challenge. You also know that I'll still be reading--so more coming.  But the challenge goal has been met.

Books Read:
1. The Poison Belt by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1/2/14)
2. Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell (1/5/14)
3. Shakespeare's Planet by Clifford D. Simak(1/6/14)
4. The Skeleton in the Clock by Carter Dickson (1/8/14)
5. Dangerous Visions #3 by Harlan Ellison, ed (1/11/14)
6. Angels & Spaceships by Fredric Brown (1/12/14) 
7. Shake Hands Forever by Ruth Rendell (1/13/14)
8. The Wonder Chamber by Mary Malloy (1/15/14)
9. Triumph by Philip Wylie (1/18/14)
10. The Xibalba Murders by Lyn Hamilton (1/18/14)
11. The Kingdom by the Sea by Paul Theroux (1/20/14)
12. Seven Footprints to Satan by A. Merritt (1/22/14)
13. The Winter Murder Case by S. S. Van Dine (1/23/14) 
14. Death on the Aisle by Frances & Richard Lockridge (1/24/14)
15. The Adventure of the Eleven Cuff-Buttons by James Francis Thierry (1/26/14)
16. Other Times, Other Worlds by John D. MacDonald (1/26/14)
17. Too Much of Water by Bruce Hamilton (1/27/14)
18. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (1/29/14) 
19. Darkness at Pemberley by T. H. White (1/30/14) 
20. Death by Chick Lit by Lynn Harris (2/1/14) 
21. Exit Actors, Dying by Margot Arnold (2/4/14)
22. Where There's Love, There's Hate by Adolfo Bioy Casares & Silvina Ocampo (2/5/14)
23. Shelf Life by Douglas Clark (2/6/14) 
24. Gambit by Rex Stout (2/8/14) 
25. You Can Write a Mystery by Gillian Roberts (2/9/14) 
26. Dandy Gilver & the Proper Treatment of Bloodstains by Catriona McPherson (2/12/14) 
27. Death Walks on Cat Feet by D. B. Olsen (2/13/14) 
28. Cursed in the Act by Raymond Buckland (2/16/14) 
29. Made Up to Kill by Kelley Roos (2/18/14) 
30. XCIA's Street Art Project by Hank O'Neal (2/20/14) 
31. Ellery Queen's 20th Anniversary Annual by Ellery Queen, ed (2/22/14) 
32. The Sound of Broken Glass by Deborah Crombie (2/25/14) 
33. The Purple Parrot by Clyde Clason (2/25/14) 
34. To Kingdom Come by Will Thomas (2/26/14) 
35. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick (2/27/14) 
36. The Darker the Night by Herbert Brean (3/3/14) 
37. India's Love Lyrics by Laurence Hope (3/4/14)
38. Murder in the Vatican by Ann Margaret Lewis (3/5/14)
39. The Poisoned Island by Lloyd Shepherd (3/8/14) 
40. It's Not All Flowers & Sausages by Jennifer Scoggin (3/10/14) 
41. Vicious Circle by Douglas Clark (3/11/14)
42. A Girl Walks Into a Bar by Helena S. Paige (3/12/14) 
43. Endless Night by Agatha Christie (3/13/14) 
44. John Smith: Last Known Survivor of the Microsoft Wars by Roland Hughes (3/17/14) 
45. Harlan Ellison's 7 Against Chaos by Harlan Ellison (3/17/14)
46. India Black & the Gentleman Thief by Carol K. Carr (3/19/14) 
47. A Tale of Two Biddies by Kylie Logan (3/21/14) 
48. The League of Frightened Men by Rex Stout (3/23/14) 
49. Tut, Tut! Mr. Tutt by Arthur Train (3/25/14) 
50. Grimms' Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm (3/28/14) 
51. The Clue of the Leather Noose by Donald Bayne Hobart (3/31/14) 
52. The Coral Princess Murders by Frances Crane (4/5/14)
53. Decoded by Mai Jia (4/5/14)
54. After I'm Gone by Laura Lippman (4/6/14) 
55. A Hangman's Dozen by Alfred Hitchcock, ed (4/7/14) 
56. Naked Is the Best Disguise by Samuel Rosenberg (4/8/14) 
57. The Mammoth Book of the Lost Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes by Denis O. Smith (4/13/14) 
58. Gale Warning by Hammond Innes (4/15/14)
59. Murder at the Museum of Natural History by Michael Jahn (4/18/14) 
60. My Antonia by Willa Cather (4/20/14) 
61. Death by the Book by Julianna Deering (4/21/14) 
62. The Lady of Sorrows by Anne Zouroudi (4/26/14)
63. Dorothy Dixon & the Double Cousin by Dorothy Wayne (4/26/14) 
64. For Old Crime's Sake (aka Lucky Jane) by Delano Ames (4/29/14)
65. The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain (4/29/14)
66. Faro's Daughter by Georgette Heyer (5/1/14)
67. Ships of the Line by Doug Drexler & Margaret Clark (eds) [5/1/14]
68. The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse by Robert Rankin (5/6/14) 
69. The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw (5/9/14)
70. Death at the Medical Board by Josephine Bell (5/16/14)
71. Bed-Knob and Broomstick by Mary Norton (5/16/14) 
72. Sinners & the Sea by Rebecca Kanner (5/21/14)
73. Whispers of Vivaldi by Beverle Graves Myers (5/21/14) 
74. Mind Fields: The Art of Jacek Yerka/The Fiction of Harlan Ellison by Yerka & Ellison (5/22/14) 
75. By the Watchman's Clock by Leslie Ford (5/23/14) 
76. Red Herring by Edward Acheson (5/25/14) 
77. Beyond Uhura: Star Trek & Other Memories by Nichelle Nichols (5/29/14)
78. Steampunk Poe by Edgar Allan Poe; illustrated by Zdenko Basic & Manuel Numberac (5/30/14) 
79. Invisible Green by John Sladek (6/2/14)
80. Thus Was Adonis Murdered by Sarah Caudwell (6/5/14)
81. 12.21 by Dustin Thomason (6/6/14)
82. The Laughing Policeman by Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo (6/8/14)
83. Plain Sailing by Douglas Clark (6/11/14)
84. The Corsican Caper by Peter Mayle (6/11/14)
85. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkein (6/12/14)
86. Total Harmonic Distortion by Charles Rodrigues (6/12/14)
87. A Hearse on May-Day by Gladys Mitchell (6/15/14) 
88. Undead & Unpopular by MaryJanice Davidson (6/17/14)
89. The Godwulf Manuscript by Robert B. Parker (6/19/14)
90. No. 9 Belmont Square by Margaret Erskine (6/21/14) 
91. The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie (6/23/14)
92. This Private Plot by Alan Beechey (6/26/14)
93. DeKok & Murder in Ecstasy by A. C. Baantjer (6/27/14)
94. The 7 Professors of the Far North by John Fardell (6/29/14)
95. The Day They Kidnapped Queen Victoria by H. K. Fleming (7/2/14)
96. A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott (7/3/14)
97. The Chief Inspector's Daughter by Sheila Radley (7/5/14)
98. On the Beach by Nevil Shute (7/7/14)
99. Selections from the Essays of Montaigne by Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (trans & ed by Donald M. Frame) [7/7/14]
100. A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby (7/8/14)
101. The Forgotten War by William R. Forstchen (7/9/14)

The Forgotten War: Review

Over 200 years before Captain Picard's time, Starfleet Captain Lucien Murat, legendary Starfleet officer and contemporary of Christopher Pike, disappeared during the war with reptilian alien species, the Tarn. A cease-fire was called long since, but it is an uneasy peace that exists between the Tarn and the Federation. In the effort to speed diplomatic negotiations, Picard takes on Commander Karish of the Tarn as an exchange officer. While Karish is aboard, the Enterprise discovers descendants of both Murat and his crew as well as survivors from a Tarn ship on a planet in the No-Entry Zone between Federation and Tarn space. These castaways are still fighting the battle begun two centuries ago...and the Tarn have just perfected fission bombs. Unless Picard can convince both sides that the war is over, the humans will face certain destruction. Officials from both sides have forbidden Picard and his Tarn counterpart Admiral Jord from assisting their own people. Picard must devise a clever plan that will both conform to his orders and yet save the survivors from both sides. If he can't, the war with the Tarn may spread once again into space.

It's been a long time since I read a Star Trek novel. Back in the day--before the Classic Trek films and The Next Generation kicked off a series of spin-offs--all we had was Classic Trek in syndication. I, and most Trek fans, were always hungry for more stories about our favorite starship crew, so when the novels started coming out I grabbed them up as fast as Pocket Books could produce them. And managed to keep up with production. But once the Next Gen went on the air and there were now two series novels to keep up with I managed to fall behind.  That didn't keep me from buying every one that I could get my hands on--I just didn't get them all read. Then my attention wandered back to mysteries and I stopped reading Trek altogether. I thought it about time that I move some of these Star Trek novels off the TBR mountain....

The Forgotten War (STNG #57) by William R. Forstchen is a decent Trek novel.  It offers commentary on  the reasons for war and the results of an ongoing battle between two enemies who are equally matched and are neither prepared to look for an alternate solution to the generations of bloodshed. Trek has always examined huge social and historical issues of just this nature, so Forstchen sticks to canon in that way. There are small indicators that he doesn't quite have his characters down, however. Phrasing that just doesn't ring true for Picard. Referring to Riker as "Will" in about 90% of the situations--it should generally be Riker when narrating and unless in relaxed circumstances his colleagues should call him "Number One" (the captain) or "Commander." Small quibbles--but details do matter. And...as another Goodreads reviewer (Jimyanni) noted--this race is awful reminiscent of the Gorn.  If there had been such a big conflict with the Tarn (another lizard-like race) during the time of Pike (not so very long before Kirk), then you would, indeed, expect that it might have been mentioned. Again--small quibble.  Overall--a good read. Quick-paced and full of action.  I do like how Picard and Admiral Jord work together to get their respective peoples to stand down from a final battle that will surely destroy all those on the planet.  ★★★

A Long Way Down: Review

Synopsis (from the book flap): Meet Martin, JJ, Jess, and Maureen. Four people who come together on New Year's Eve: a former TV talk-show host, a musician, a teenage girl, and a mother. Three are British, one is American. They encounter one another on the roof of Toppers' House, a London destination famous as the last stop for those ready to end their lives.

In four distinct and riveting first-person voices, Nick Hornby tells the story of four individuals confronting the limits of choice, circumstance and their own mortality. Intense, hilarious, provocative, emotional, A Long Way Down is a novel that asks big questions: about life and death, strangers and friendship, love and pain, and what it takes to make through a long, dark night of the soul.

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My Take: So....I'm guessing that somewhere in the 333 pages I read that there's a story full of deep meaning.  I mean it says so in the synopsis, right? And a whole bunch of people on Goodreads gave it good ratings and talk about how wonderful it is...and by the way it's funny. Hilarious even. Um. Right. I suppose if you find pages and pages sprinkled with the f-bomb all over the place while four people are dealing with suicidal thoughts funny, then, yeah, it's a riot. You see....I couldn't manage to pay attention to the story much because I was studiously trying to avoid all the swearing. It was like maneuvering through a mine field and there was no possible way I was going to pick up on any deep meaning when I was too busy being annoyed by all the four-letter words. Seriously--a couple of these folks are supposed to be fairly well educated and they couldn't possibly come up with any other way to express themselves anywhere in the entire book? Not a single conversation without f--- or various spicy little British swears? And don't tell me that everybody talks that way. No. Not everybody. There are plenty of people that I know who don't. And people who may use that sort of language--but not all the live-long day every day.

If Hornby has such an awesome story to tell, then it would be nice to be able to enjoy it.  I couldn't. And, I have to say that much as I adore Pierce Brosnan--if his character (and the others) speak that way throughout the movie that's being released on July 11 (so sayeth Google), then I'll be giving it a miss.  

Oh...and you might be wondering why I bothered to slog my way through this. That heroic effort was all for the Semi-Charmed Summer Reading Challenge which requires us to read a book that has been or is being made into a movie in 2014--and the synopsis struck me as interesting when I was hunting for a suitable entry. A good read? No. Challenges met? Yes! So a win for me even if I can't recommend the book.  Your mileage may vary.

No rating because I don't want to be mean.