June 2010 reads. I read more than the average so far this year. I think being sick ultimately helped although reading was actually not a pass time I could really engage in much in the thick of it. It was a lot of monthly next-in-series reads but also the introduction of a new series to me, and two new releases. In reverse order:
DANGEROUS SEA by David Roberts next. This is 4th of 10 in series featuring Lord Edward Corinth, a jaded English aristocrat, and Verity Browne, a leftist journalist, between the wars in 1930s London. Here is a description:
It is the spring of 1937 and distinguished economist Lord Benyon is on the Queen Mary, bound for New York. His mission is to persuade President Roosevelt to provide Britain with arms and money if it nters the war with Germany - as seems very likely. Many want the mission to fail and will not stop at murder to achieve their aim. Major Ferguson of Special Branch, a friend of Lord Edward Corinth, asks Edward to keep an unofficial eye on Benyon who refuses to be surrounded by policemen on the Queen Mary, but is prepared to have Edward at his side. Also on board is Verity Browne, travelling to America at the Communist Party's behest to liaise with sympathizers there. But it is not Lord Benyon who is murdered but the rascist senator from South Carolina who has managed to enrage a number of his fellow passengers - not least Warren Fairley, the black singer, actor and communist. But surely Fairley is too obvious a suspect? Might not the murderer be the German aeronautical engineer, or Marcus Fern, the city banker who is acting as Benyon's secretary? And what about Bernard Hunt, the art dealer, or even the young American union organiser Sam Forrest, with whom Verity is so taken?
It was published in 2003 and has 288 pages. I like the time period but the crime solving is hit and miss.
BROKEN by Karin Slaughter. The number of this book in series is difficult because the author combined two series into one now. This features Will Trent, an agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, in Atlanta AND Dr. Sara Linton, a pediatrician and coroner in formerly in Grant County but now in Atlanta. Here is a description:
When the body of a young woman is discovered deep beneath the icy waters of Lake Grant, a note left under a rock by the shore points to suicide. But within minutes, it becomes clear that this is no suicide. It's a brutal, cold-blooded murder. All too soon former Grant County medical examiner Sara Linton - home for Thanksgiving after a long absence -- finds herself unwittingly drawn into the case. The chief suspect is desperate to see her but when she arrives at the local police station she is met with a horrifying sight - he lies dead in his cell, the words 'Not me' scrawled across the walls. Something about his confession doesn't add up and deeply suspicious of the detective in charge, Lena Adams, Sara immediately calls the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Shortly afterwards, Special Agent Will Trent is brought in from his vacation to investigate. But he is immediately confronted with a wall of silence. Grant County is a close-knit community with loyalties and ties that run deep. And the only person who can tell the truth about what really happened is dead.
It was pubished in 2020 and 416 pages. Slaughter's books are gritty and graphic overall, this one maybe not as much -- maybe more forgiveness or humanity? I don't know. The character of Will Trent, as I've mentioned before, is good: a dedicated cop with dyslexia.
SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN by Peter Tremayne. It is 3rd of 18 in series (not counting short story collections) featuring Sister Fidelma, a 7th century Celtic sister and legal advocate in Kildare, Ireland. Here is a description:
In A.D. 644, a respected scholar of the Celtic Church is murdered during a visit to the Irish Kingdom of Muman. The kingdom's ruler summons Sister Fidelma to solve the brutal murder, but her time is limited. The victim, as it turns out, was a comrade of the arrogant King of Fearna, who threatens war over the suspicious death of his friend. But during her inquiries, Sister Fidelma comes to realize that there is more at hand than what appears, and finds her own life caught in the balance.
It was published in 1996 and has 320 pages. Fidelma is a tough cookie and I don't know why I've not added the books to my rotation more quickly but I hope to make up for it. Love the Irish background/setting; love early church history, love early legal system ...
FALCONER'S CRUSADE by Ian Morson. This is 1st of 8 in series featuring William Falconer, a 13th century university regent master in Oxford. Here is a description:
Oxford University, in 1624, the savage murder of a young girl kindles a frenzy of suspicion between privileged students and impoverished townspeople. And when one of Falconer's students who may have witnessed the crime narrowly escapes being beaten to death by a lynch mob, the Regent Master rushes to his defense. The stabbing murder of Margaret Gebetz, Master John Fyssh's French servant girl, is followed by the murders of three students. What connection, if any, do the slayings have to the visit to Oxford of Prince Edward, weak King Henry III's son, who is being wooed by rebellious barons? What is the nature of the small book that illiterate Margaret possessed and which she believed would protect her?
It was published in 1996 and has 200 pages. I don't always picture actors as the characters I'm reading but Falconer is so Stephen Fry it just can't be avoided. Gentle, intelligent giant.
THE KILLER OF PILGRIMS by Susanna Gregory. This is 16th of 16 in series featuring Matthew Bartholomew, physician, and his colleague Brother Michael, in 14th century Cambridge. Here is a description:
When a wealthy benefactor is found dead in Michaelhouse, Brother Michael and Matthew Bartholomew must find the culprit before the College is accused of foul play. At the same time, Cambridge is plagued by a mystery thief, who is targetting rich pilgrims. Moreover, pranksters are at large in the University, staging a series of practical jokes that are growing increasingly dangerous, and that are dividing scholars into bitterly opposed factions. Bartholomew and Michael soon learn that their various mysteries are connected, and it becomes a race against time to catch the killer-thief before the University explodes into a violent conflict that could destroy it forever.
It was published in 2010 and has 416 pages. I'm caught up now on this series. How sad.
THE CHATTER OF THE MAIDENS by Alys Claire. This is 4th of 12 in series featuring Abbess Helewise and Sir Josse d’Acquin, a French knight, at the Hawkenly Abbey in England during the 12th century. Here is a description:
The serenity of Hawkenlye Abbey has been disturbed by the arrival of a new nun and her two young sisters. Recently orphaned, Alba has left her convent in Ely to take her grieving sisters from the scene of their sorrow. Abbess Helewise is not convinced of her selflessness; Sister Alba is a mean-spirited and turbulent presence. Her anxieties grow when her friend Josse d’Acquin is brought to Hawkenlye, half dead from blood poisoning. Then a body is discovered. And one of the sisters goes missing. In order to discover the truth behind Alba’s flight to Hawkenlye, Helewise sets off for Ely. She uncovers not only a clever network of lies, but also, hidden in a burnt-out cottage, the horrific remains of a dead man...
It was published in 2001 and has 256 pages. I like this series but I wish for more depth or more salt or something.
FIGURE OF HATE by Bernard Knight. This is 9th of 13 in series featuring Sir John de Wolfe, the crowner (coroner), in 12th century Devon, England. Here is a description:
October, 1195. High-spirited young knights, drunken squires, pickpockets, and horse thieves are pouring into Exeter for a one-day jousting tournament. Not even the discovery of a naked corpse in the River Exe can spoil the excitement. During the tournament, there is a serious altercation between Hugo Peverel, a manor lord from Tiverton, and a Frenchman by the name of Reginald de Charterai. When, two days later, Sir Hugo’s blood-soaked body is found in a barn on his estate, de Charterai would seem the obvious culprit. But there’s no shortage of people who wished the despised Hugo dead. All three of his brothers have a motive, as do his stepmother and his attractive young widow. And just what is the connection between Sir Hugo’s murder and the battered body in the River Exe? With so many suspects from which to choose, Sir John is confronted with one of the most difficult cases of his distinguished career.
It was published in 2005 and has 374 pages. I like this series a lot with the setting of the introduction of the Crowner system to England. I picture John as Alan Rickman from Robin Hood only this time he's on the side of law and order.
THE CRUELEST MONTH by Louise Penny. This is 3rd of 5 (soon to be 6) in series featuring Armand Gamache, Chief Inspector of the Sûreté du Québec, in the village of Three Pines, in southern Quebec. Here is a description:
It was published in 2007 and has 416 pages. Great series.Chief Insp. Armand Gamache and his team investigate another bizarre crime in the tiny Québec village of Three Pines. As the townspeople gather in the abandoned and perhaps haunted Hadley house for a séance with a visiting psychic, Madeleine Favreau collapses, apparently dead of fright. No one has a harsh word to say about Madeleine, but Gamache knows there's more to the case than meets the eye. Complicating his inquiry are the repercussions of Gamache having accused his popular superior at the Sûreté du Québec of heinous crimes in a previous case. Fearing there might be a mole on his team, Gamache works not only to solve the murder but to clear his name.
Hunh, looking over the list, it looks like I need to read a Deryn Lake next. I had to double check it. I didn't read one last month. How did that happen? So many books to get to, so little time.
Today I'll be doing household chores but I also need to get to work on August Premeditated. Steve actually doesn't have any classes this weekend, amazing, no? I think we both would like to just relax. No other plans and not even going to see any fireworks displays. We live outside city limits so our subdivision is ground zero anyway and we're talking the big mortars and stuff -- so much you don't know where to look because it's in every direction.
I'll be walking Tug later. I seems it may be cooler today ... only in the 70s maybe.
Enjoy the first day of a long weekend!
Much love,
PK the Bookeemonster
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