Thursday, December 13, 2012

Books I read in December 2012

Well with our new move to Seattle, I almost forgot the pleasures of reading
But as I am starting to find my new routines I am discovering the joy of audiobooks once again
Here is what I read in December

Hiss and Hers by M.C. Beaton
Always a joy to discover a new Agatha Raisin mystery - really enjoyed this one as well
The stories are so formulaic
But what is wrong with that

The Under Dog and other stories by Agatha Christie

Thirteen at Dinner by Agatha Christie

Heartstones by Ruth Rendell

I don't think I like when the central character is disturbed abnormal and morbid
When the character speaks in first person I start to identify with them and its disorienting
A girl with a mad love for her self centered father

Gallows Views by Peter Robinson
Inspector Alan Banks - love this new series
Very 80's in the way women are potrayed - The auithor seems careful to be not seen as chauvinistic so goes out of his way to be admiring of the two strong female characters - Inspector Banks' wife and the psychologist

The Troubled Man - Kurt Wallander
Have not finished this one yet - its masterfully written but slightly heavy

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Angel with two faces by Nichola Upson

Enjoyed this book very much like I enjoy all of her novels 
Her plots are intricate and usually center around an atypical sexual relationship - in this case incest !
I am also surprised by the number of characters in her books who are gay 
Her characters are so well drawn out, so very English

Thursday, May 17, 2012

The Sunday Philosophy Club


I have tried several times to read this book
And finally succeeded in reading it in the car
The thing is this book is tolerable but only barely
And it is a little  surprising that Alexander McCall Smith wrote it
Isabel is nice
Can one say something more bland and dull about a person ?

Monday, April 30, 2012

The Confession By Charles Todd


 






Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
What does a Scotland Yard Inspector do when he is presented with a confession to a murder yet has no other concrete details? Well, if he is Inspector Ian Rutledge he worries over it like a bone until slowly the pieces begin to come together to present a picture of murder. But who was murdered? Who confessed? What happens once the body of the supposed murderer turns up himself a murder victim?

This latest in the Ian Rutledge series of mysteries set in Britain after the close of World War I is slow to start simply because there is nothing for Rutledge to use as evidence to get an investigation going. Evidently Scotland Yard could not launch an investigation simply because someone confessed to a crime. Rutledge, however, is nothing if not determined and he knows there is a crime from the past which needs to be resolved. While doing that, he finds the hand of the murderer extending into the present. This tiny fishing village in Essex had secrets stretching back through the years which the inhabitants willingly kept covered. Now Rutledge finds himself targeted because his investigation might reveal the very past and present the villagers are all in collusion to hide.

As I have found with each Charles Todd mystery I have read, this one is a definite step above most period mysteries written today. The plot for this one continued to change and grow with almost every passing chapter so that I could never get completely comfortable thinking all the links between characters and situations had been totally established. I enjoyed that aspect of the story even though it made for a very evolving story. Don't think you will be able to settle in with this one after reading the first several chapters because it keeps adding information to make significant plot leaps throughout the book. I had to read one chapter twice to make sure I knew exactly who that character was. Part of that is because these authors succumbed to one of my pet peeves and named too many of their principal characters with names beginning with the same letter of the alphabet. Why do authors do that? They have twenty-six letters to chose from and yet two principals here have similar names and it turns out to be extremely important. This story might present some small problems for readers new to the series. There have been two women in Rutledge's life, both are mentioned in the novel, but neither is explained in any detail. Having read all the books I understand the references, new readers will not have a clue! Hamish MacLeod, the voice of a soldier killed in the war who speaks in Rutledge's mind, is not nearly as much of a factor in this novel as in most others. If it sounds like that might add a paranormal element to the story, don't worry, it does not. Rutledge suffered from a severe case of shell-shock and Hamish is the residue of the battle Rutledge fights every moment with his mental disorder. I will say though, to new readers, Hamish and that entire situation can take a while for you to become comfortable with. Readers either accept him as the authors write him or he ruins the series for them.

I have always been more than willing to recommend the Charles Todd novels to other mystery readers. For me this was another very good, satisfying entry in this series.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

An Expert in Murder by Josephine Tey

Ahhh the joy of discovering a new mystery author

Reading this ,  I felt like a discovered a more complex agatha christie !!!





Here is a great review by Bobby Underwood 
I must read the other books she has reviewed as her expereince of the book was exactly the same as mine

In both crimes there was a terrifying lack of humanity, a mockery of the dead which chilled him (Penrose) even more than the loss of life itself."

There is an old-style elegance to this richly atmospheric mystery set in the world of the theatre during the early 1930's. Mystery writer and playwright Josephine Tey is the central character in this story of a shocking murder onboard a train. The investigation slowly reveals a tangled web of events harking back to the Great War, the complexity of which is only illuminated at the end, showing just about everyone remaining to be a victim in the tragedy.

Nicola Upson has written a beautiful and involving mystery which transcends the genre. By framing her novel around Josephine Tey, it allows her to paint a vivid picture of the period and the emotions still lingering after the Great War. You really feel like you are in Tey's era while reading this. While Tey could have become just a plot device in another author's hand, she becomes a real person, as do many of the other characters, including her romantic interest, Inspector Archie Penrose.

Tey's most successful play, which made Sir John Gieguld a star, is where danger lies. But it is on a train from Scotland to London where Josephine meets a special young woman full of life and simple charm. On her way to meet her boyfriend, Elspeth will meet evil and not live to know the reasons why. Upson paints a sweet and romantic picture of the times themselves, and Elspeth, giving her murder a poignancy which tells the reader right away that this mystery is going to be something special.

As Archie investigates and Josephine mingles, every character is fleshed out in a way we used to see during Tey's era of great mystery writers. Josephine takes a back seat during the middle portion of the book as we are treated to lovers and sickness and old wounds and bitterness, all creating an intricate mystery which has the reader wondering how any of this touched the far removed adopted girl who closed her eyes for the last time onboard a train to London. But then a second particularly vile murder much closer to Josephine's play takes place.

Archie and Josephine begin to untangle the ties which led to the murders from different angles in the last portion of the mystery. There is an exciting rush to reach the end for the reader, by now aching to discover the entire twisting series of events that began in a tunnel during the war and ended tragically on a train bound for London. There is a tenderness to the conclusion, showing the anguish and aftermath of the Great War and the many lives it took, some in ways unexpected and far reaching. Archie and Josephine's relationship does not go untouched by events either, giving the reader a thirst for more.

This is a fine, atmospheric mystery with much to offer those who enjoy a good novel which just happens to be a great mystery as well. Highly recommended!

Friday, April 20, 2012

Rex: A Mother, Her Autistic Child, and the Music that Transformed Their Lives

Another book I really enjoyed
Its by Cathleen Lewis



From Amazon


5.0 out of 5 stars Rex: A mother, her autistic child and the music that transformed their lives, October 24, 2008
By
J Roberts (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rex: A Mother, Her Autistic Child, and the Music that Transformed Their Lives (Hardcover)I just finished "Rex" by Cathleen Lewis, about a mothers complete devotion to her child who was diagnosed with a large brain cyst at birth then 6 months later with blindness due to an underdeveloped optic nerve. It is so completely moving and keeps you right in the moment with both of them. The transformations that occur in their lives are charged with so many emotions, which are expertly conveyed by the writer. With every small success Rex has, a new roadblock seems to be thrown down. To say it is inspirational is a tremendous understatement. This is a fantastic book for anyone to read. Enjoy!

Seeing Ezra Kerry Cohen

I enjoyed this book very much !
There are a few things I disagree with
I wish Kerry would self-flagellate a little less ( though I identify with it for sure ) 

The Smell of the night by Andrea Camilleri


Another book I thoroughly enjoyed




Italian mystery with mysterious protagonist, April 30, 2006
By A. Anderson "Book Person" (Chico, Califiornia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Smell of the Night (An Inspector Montalbano Mystery) (Paperback)
I love mysteries. While I can be charmed by a cozy, the books that I want to own are the true mysteries that allow the reader to solve honestly presented clues, much preferably with a psychological insight that enhances the understanding of the crime. With the Montalbano series, it is the inspector's psyche that fascinates..he is cranky, moody, sometimes unfair but ruefully honest. His author swings from sentiment to cynacism (proving the cliche that to scratch a cynic is to find a romantic). What makes these books so savory is the quallity of writing. No extra words, no navel gazing, but with spare and sometimes painful accuracy, Camilleri captures a view of life that I think can only be modern Italian. You can see the (fictional) town, the light over the sea and the struggle for Montalbano to manage a romance (badly), a series of clues (very well) and the cultural assumptions that many of his insights rest upon. The whole series is worth collecting. Donna Leon has the detective we want to know (Inspector Brunetti) and I love to read. Camilleri has the detective who is entirely believable, even by a cynic. Less comfortable than Leon / Brunetti, but more realistic.

The Shape of Water By Andrea Camilleri

A phenomenal and charming series

Do you love a mystery where all the clues are right in front of you and you do not know what the answer is ?

The audi books are beautifully done . So unique and fresh and intelligent

From Amazon.com Book Description
Publication Date: November 5, 2002
Andrea Camilleri's novels starring Inspector Montalbano have become an international sensation and have been translated from Italian into eight languages, ranging from Dutch to Japanese. The Shape of Water is the first book in this sly, witty, and engaging series with its sardonic take on Sicilian life.

Early one morning, Silvio Lupanello, a big shot in the village of Vigàta, is found dead in his car with his pants around his knees. The car happens to be parked in a rough part of town frequented by prostitutes and drug dealers, and as the news of his death spreads, the rumors begin. Enter Inspector Salvo Montalbano, Vigàta's most respected detective. With his characteristic mix of humor, cynicism, compassion, and love of good food, Montalbano goes into battle against the powerful and the corrupt who are determined to block his path to the real killer. This funny and fast-paced Sicilian page-turner will be a delicious discovery for mystery afficionados and fiction lovers alike.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer

I recently re-read Kane and Abel and was so excited to see this new book

But I could not be bothered to finish it

I did not like most of the characters

Everything was so forced to look like Kane and Abel and failing miserably - I wondered if it had been ghostwritten

The story starts with Harry Clifton's mother in the early 1900's having a one night stand with a man right before her wedidng

This is so uncharacteristic of those times and the rest of her character and clearly has been done so that they can set up Harry Clifton as the illegitimate son and heir !

I stopped listening this tiresome book ( on CD )

Life is too short

From Amazon



"The epic tale of Harry Clifton’s life begins in 1920, with the words “I was told that my father was killed in the war.” A dock worker in Bristol, Harry never knew his father, but he learns about life on the docks from his uncle, who expects Harry to join him at the shipyard once he’s left school. But then an unexpected gift wins him a scholarship to an exclusive boys’ school, and his life will never be the same again.
As he enters into adulthood, Harry finally learns how his father really died, but the awful truth only leads him to question, was he even his father? Is he the son of Arthur Clifton, a stevedore who spent his whole life on the docks, or the firstborn son of a scion of West Country society, whose family owns a shipping line?

This introductory novel in Archer’s ambitious series The Clifton Chronicles includes a cast of colorful characters and takes us from the ravages of the Great War to the outbreak of the Second World War, when Harry must decide whether to take up a place at Oxford or join the navy and go to war with Hitler’s Germany. From the docks of working-class England to the bustling streets of 1940 New York City, Only Time Will Tell takes readers on a journey through to future volumes, which will bring to life one hundred years of recent history to reveal a family story that neither the reader nor Harry Clifton himself could ever have imagined."

Past Tense by Catherine Aird , A Sloan and Crosby Myster

I enjoyed listening to this book

Amazon review by Mark P Sadler 
All his reviews are here 
In the quiet, English countryside an old lady dies in her bed at the local nursing home. Janet Wakefield receives notification--her husband Bill, who is stationed in South America by his company, is the next of kin--which is a surprise because neither of them even knew Josephine Short existed.
Sent to make the funeral arrangements, Janet discovers that all the particulars have been laid out by the decedent. The church, the hotel and "bun wrestle", as the reception is described, and the `no flowers' request are already in place. She shows up for the funeral service to find several of the local villagers: a friendly, old man who claims to have known Ms. Short, a beautiful, young lady with auburn hair and in the pew behind her, the nursing home matron as well as the attorney handling the estate. As the service starts, a tall, dark-haired, young man sits next to her on the pew reserved for family. Joe Short, the grandson.
Making the acquaintance of another family member previously unknown to them helps the Wakefields discover who Josephine Short is and where she fits into all their lives. The discovery that she is well off and has a large estate is even more confusing. When the auburn beauty's body is found in the river under suspicious circumstances, the heirs are forced to reveal their alibis, which brings down suspicion on both of them, as well as a local thug whose mother was working at the nursing home.
When using material that Aird senses her reader may not have a complete understanding about, such as subject matter, she will have her characters ask questions to show their ignorance of the subject, which in turn edifies both the character and reader at the same time.
Aird weaves the red herrings and suspicions throughout the story, making you look back into the past pages for clues missed, words uttered that might have been a clue, a hint of foreshadowing glossed over until the pieces all fall together, making perfect sense of the tale.

Blind Fury by Lynda La Plante


I am so excited to start a new series that I enjoy listening to

The Hannibal Lecter- Clarice schema is getting tiresome though ( see it here just like it was in the Rizzoli and Aisles series )
Still it is very listenable
I like Anna
According to the reviewers on Amazon this is a good to middling book by this author so I look forward to reading more

From Amazon

When the body of a young woman is discovered close to a highway service station, Detective Inspector Anna Travis is brought on to the team of investigators by her former lover and boss, Detective Chief Superintendent Langton. As more evidence is uncovered, the team realizes that they are contending with a triple murder investigation—and no suspect.

But then a murderer Anna helped arrest years ago makes contact from prison. Cameron Welsh insists that he can help track down the killer, but he will divulge his secrets only to Anna herself. Does he really have an insight into another criminal’s mind, or is he merely intent on getting into hers?

The team soon realizes that they are dealing with a killer whose deviousness has enabled him to commit horrific crimes, yet remain undetected for years. As the case draws to a close, Welsh’s obsession for Anna fuels a terrifying rage that will have disastrous consequences for Anna, who finds herself staring into the face of a desperate personal tragedy.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

A Bitter Truth A Bess Crawford Mystery

Another book I sort enjoyed despite Bess Crawford dim wits and her propensity to be emotionally blackmailed 
Review at Amazon by Sharon Isch 
Christmas approaches and WWI battlefield nurse Bess Crawford arrives back at her London digs on leave from France only to discover a battered wife on her doorstep. She takes her in and, at the woman--Lydia's--request, accompanies her home to the dreariest corner of Sussex just as the extended family is about to gather together for a memorial event for Lydia's deceased brother-in-law.

Murder ensues. As do rumors of an illegitimate child. Then comes another death--is this one a suicide or is it also murder? Are all these things connected? And if so, how?

I think this third entry in the newest British WWI era mystery series by the American mother and son team that writes under the name of Charles Todd works a bit better than the first two because it puts Bess smack dab in the middle of the muddle from the get-go and thus her collecting of clues and conjectures requires fewer far-out coincidences and less Miss Marple-ish busybodiness to propel the plot.

I didn't love this book--I thought the "who" in the whodunit should have been a more prominent and better developed character--but I liked it, especially the scenes that involved Bess's being back in battle-torn France where her investigations were more in character and thus more believable than in the first two books of this series. And I look forward to the next one. But I remain a bigger fan of Scotland Yard Inspector Rutledge, star of the Todds' longer running series. At least so far.

I married you for happiness

I actually abandoned this book as it made me sad

Its beautifully written but its about a husband dying so I could not bear reading it :-(
Review by Susan Anderson at Amazon

The story follows Nina as she has just discovered her husband has passed away in bed. Instead of immediately calling an ambulance (or whatever you would call when you know your significant other has passed away), Nina sits by her husband and reminisces about their entire love (and not so love) story. I think part of the reason I loved this book so much is because I kept imagining myself in Nina's position. What would I do if my husband passed away and I KNEW I was spending my very last moments by his side? I imagined myself just wanting to crawl in bed and cuddle with him, despite how morbid that sounds. I imagine that our whole relationship, the good and the bad, would pass before my eyes.

No, this isn't a happy little story you're going to get totally immersed in and follow along with from beginning to end. It's more a series of statements about marriage and love. It's paragraphs that make you think, sentences that bring tears to your eyes, and emotions that you've never felt before. At least that's what it was for me.

A duty to the dead A Bess Crawford Mystery


I was sooo delighted to lay my hands on the another series by Charles Todd - also set in England and the early 1900's

The only thing about Charles Todd is that he has made his detective hero Ian Rutledge a brilliant man and Bess Crawford really not brilliant

I suppose Inspector Rutledge is a professional and Bess is a nurse so its possible that that is the reason for their difference in ability - but the difference is too stark 

Its so obvious right from the start that obviously the heir would have been put in the mental asylum becasue he was the heir and because of the "wicked stepmother"

But Bess continues idiotically to wait till the very end to accept it

She also says idiotic things like"Its too horrible to believe" -

Get a brain Bess !!

Despite this I enjoyed the book for its setting and the story

Review by LM Young at Amazon 
Bess Crawford, daughter of a British Army officer and a nurse serving aboard the hospital ship Britannic, is invalided home after the ship is torpedoed and her arm is broken. This gives her the chance to fulfill a soldier's dying wish; Arthur Graham's cryptic deathbed message is to be delivered directly--no letters will do--to his brother Jonathan: "Tell Jonathan I lied. I did it for Mother's sake. But it has to be set right." Bess' letter to the family results in an invitation to the Graham home, but to her surprise, there is no reaction when she delivers the message. Jonathan and Mrs. Graham even question if Arthur was in pain or drugged when he said it. But the longer Bess remains in the Graham home, the more questions begin to arise: what did the message mean and why was it so important to Arthur but not to his family? How did Arthur's oldest brother Peregrine become confined to an insane asylum when he was only fourteen? And when Bess is called on to nurse Peregrine through a bout of pneumonia, why isn't he the dimwitted man he has been described to be?

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Eye contact by Cammie McGovern

Oh how I loved this book

I read it in one big gulp

Cammie McGovern is just amazing - I read several of her articles on autism parenting

I started with one called "Accepting Ethan"


Here is Suzanne Amara's review from Amazon
"
This review is from: Eye Contact (Hardcover)
I found the portrayals of children with autism, PDD, Aspergers (although it's not named as such here), ODD and so on to be dead on in this novel---they were shown in a very realistic way, not as savants or fascinating puzzles or any of the ways they are often shown in books and the media. It was so nice to be able to read a book and see kids like the ones I know so well, in my family and at their school!


The plot, however, was a lot weaker. I think it would have been better had a lot less elements found their way into it! The side stories about Keven and Suzette just were a little much to take in, and there were even more minor plot events than those thrown in---side romances, family tensions from the past and so on. The central story of a girl's murder would have been enough to keep this compelling. There were more fake endings than a bad TV mystery---you could also tell it wasn't over after a while because there was so much more book to read! Also, the woods where the murder took place had an amazing amount of action on the day of the murder---they sound more like a busy street than a wooded area.


These are all fairly minor quibbles, however. I read the book eagerly through to the end, and would recommend it to both those with an interest in autism and those who like to read a puzzling mystery.
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Wednesday, March 14, 2012

The Red Door Inspector Ian Rutledge


Another Story I enjoyed immensely
One interesting Iam discovering is how thw author Charles Todd - uses the voice of Hamish (the soldier that the Ispector had to kill in the great war )as the voice of his subconscious


Our subconscious instincts are faster than the conscious thoughts and so Hamish is able to warn the Inspector about dangers before they happen
The Amazon Review complain that this story is overflowing with too many plots but I did not experience it in this way
I simply loved it
Review By Caroline Lim at Amazon
"A man suffering what seems to be a nervous breakdown resulting in his paralysis, disappears from the medical facility he was in. Apparently he managed to dress himself and walk out of the place without anyone noticing. Inspector Rutledge, still fighting his own demons from the war, is called in to investigate. After interviewing the family members, he gets the sense that they are keeping something from him, but every avenue he goes down seems to be a dead end. Walking along a bridge, deep in thought, he is accosted by a youth who attempts to rob him at knife point.
As oddly as he disappeared, the man reappears at the institution from which he walked away a week ago. But is everything as they seem? In the meantime, there seems to be someone on a robbing spree on the very bridge that Inspector Rutledge was on, and this time, a victim, a Member of Parliament was stabbed to death.
As if that wasn't enough for Inspector Rutledge to deal with, a woman is found bludgeoned to death behind her front door. Who could have wanted to kill a woman, who, by all accounts, had no enemies and was much liked in her village? Was there a relationship between her and the family of the man who had disappeared?
Before long, pieces of the puzzle start to fit, and certain secrets that were being kept start to emerge. But who would do anything to keep these secrets buried?
A wonderful page turner and keeps the mystery all the way to the end."

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Sense & Sensibility

Thoroughly enjoying this book

I think this is Jane Austen's funniest book - her descriptions are so tongue in cheek- - Northanger Abbey is her other book that I found to be this witty

To me it seemed as though since the characters are not as extreme as they were in "Pride & Prejudice"

I think therefore that its a harder story to tell

Mrs Dashwood  is not as foolish as Mrs Bennett
Marianne is not as silly as Lydia
and
Willoughby is not as villianous as Wickham

I was constantly reminded of Pride and Prejudice

It starts with a similar them of a dull relative inheriting the home of the ladies and in one way or another turning them out of their home

From wikipedia
"Sense and Sensibility, published in 1811, is a British romance novel by Jane Austen, her first published work under the pseudonym, "A Lady." Jane Austen is considered a pioneer of the romance genre of novels, and for the realism portrayed in her novels, is one the most widely read writers in English literature. A work of romantic fiction, Sense and Sensibility is set in southwest England in 1792 through 1797,[1] and portrays the life and loves of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor andMarianne, daughters of their father Henry's second wife, Mrs. Dashwood. The sisters are starkly different from each other; Elinor is the epitome of prudence and self-control while Marianne embodies emotion and enthusiasm. Elinor, Marianne, and their younger sister, Margaret, are left in reduced circumstances when their father dies and his estate is passed onto their half-brother, John. The novel follows the young ladies to their new home, a meager cottage on a distant relative's property, where they experience love, romance and heartbreak. The philosophical resolution of the novel is ambiguous: the reader must decide whether sense and sensibility have truly merge"

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Voice of the Violin

Another new Series I discovered purely by chance
I was reading the reviews on Amazon and I discovered that Linda Oskam had already written the review I was hoping to write
From an Amazon Review by Linda Oskam

When the police car of Inspector Montalbano hits a small car parked at an apparently deserted country home, the inspector has a gut feeling that something is wrong. He finds the body of a beautiful woman, strangled in her bedroom. After a short while it turns out that the woman has numerous acquaintances in the area and that there are a fair number of suspects. The investigation is not made any easier by the fact that Montalbano's superiors are not exactly supporting him, even though his own team is squarely behind him. A combination of good policework and flashes of brilliance in the end solves the crime. In the meantime Montalbano also has to sort out the mess that he is making of his private life. And that is the nice thing about this series: it is the combination of police work and private hassles, that make Montalbano into more than your average, typical policeman-from-a-novel, but rather a real character with his good and his bad sides.

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The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge

A simply brilliant book that I intend to write a long review on with excerpts
This book is especially fascinating to me as the mother of an autistic child
He talks about the great plasticity of the brain and frequently alludes to the new adage "Neurons that fire together... wire together "
An altogether brilliant book and everyone who has puzzled about the mysterious brain must read it



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A Lonely Death by Charles Todd

This was my first Inspector Rutledge!

Ian Rutledge is called to investigate a bizarre set of murders in a village in Sussex
Three survivors of the Great War have been garroted
They are linked not just by their manner of dying but also by a soldier's tag left in their mouth
Did something happen in the war which links them together
Or is it something else even deeper into the past
I cannot give this lovely plot awash by telling you any more
But this was another great read ( or perhaps I should say Great Listen as I heard this as an audio book )



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Location:Nance Ln NW,Knoxville,United States

A Matter of Justice by Charles Todd

How much I have enjoyed discovering this new series

Inspector Ian Rutledge of the Scotland Yard is a 1st World War Survivor
He has shell shock and while today's soldiers can admit to PTSD - at that time it appears to have been a cause of great shame
He has had to execute a Scotsman called Hamish because he refused to follow orders that would take his troop to a certain Death
Hamish is an inexorable part of his subconscious now and Inspector Ian Rutledge chats and discusses his cases with him ( how fascinating this is )
This mystery starts with the Boer War and a crime is committed by Harold Quarles
The Boers attack an English train -
They leave a number of English soldiers alive
Harold Quarles discovers that his train is actually carrying a large amount of currency
His greed is aroused - he decides to steal the money
But to do so he needs to kill the rest of his fellow men .. one of whom he literally leaves to burn alive in the train ( the train has to be burned so the army will not look for the money )
Harold Quarles returns to England and is canny enough to not spend his money in a showy fashion
But his old crime has a long shadow and he is found murdered in a bizarre fashion - suspended as an angel from the ceiling
Harold Quarles in universally despised and so this is a case with multiple suspects and many twists
Truly enjoyed this story !

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Friday, March 2, 2012

Death of a Kingfisher

i eagerly await MC Beaton's books
this is a nice fast paced mystery but I wish MC beaton would spend more time with the characters of Lochduh
I never tire of reading about the tweedy Mrs Wellington and the insufferable Jessie and nessie
these characters are barely there
I missed priscilla as well


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