Monday, November 1, 2010

Ah, a bit of culture....


October Reads Roundup (cross post with 4MA):


- THE MISCHIEF OF THE MISTLETOE by Lauren Willig. This is 7th of 7 in series featuring the Pink Carnation romantic thriller series. Here is a description:
Miss Climpson's Select Seminary for Young Ladies seems the perfect place for Arabella to claim her independence while keeping an eye on her younger sisters nearby. Just before Christmas, she accepts a position at the quiet girls' school in Bath, expecting to face nothing more exciting than conducting the annual Christmas recital. She hardly imagines coming face to face with French aristocrats and international spies... Reginald "Turnip"Fitzhugh-often mistaken for the elusive spy known as the Pink Carnation- has blundered into danger before. But when he blunders into Miss Arabella Dempsey, it never occurs to him that she might be trouble. When Turnip and Arabella stumble upon a beautifully wrapped Christmas pudding with a cryptic message written in French, "Meet me at Farley Castle," the unlikely vehicle for intrigue launches the pair on a Yuletide adventure at the awe-inspiring estate of the Dukes of Dovedale, where the Dowager Duchess is hosting the most anticipated event of the year: an elaborate twelve-day Christmas celebration.
Published in October 2010, it has 352 pages.

- THE SEPTEMBER SOCIETY by Charles Finch. This is 2nd of 4 in series featuring Charles Lenox, a gentleman sleuth, in 1860s London. Here is a description:

In the small hours of the morning one fall day in 1866, a frantic widow visits gentleman detective Charles Lenox. Lady Annabelle’s problem is simple: her beloved son, George, has vanished from his room at Oxford. When Lenox visits his alma mater to investigate, he discovers a series of bizarre clues, including a murdered cat and a card cryptically referring to the September Society.Then, just as Lenox realizes that the case may be deeper than it appears, a student dies, the victim of foul play.What could the September Society have to do with it? What specter, returned from the past, is haunting gentle Oxford? Lenox, with the support of his devoted friends in London’s upper crust, must race to discover the truth before it comes searching for him, and dangerously close to home.
It was published in 2008 and has 320 pages.

- THE SHIMMERING BLOND SISTER by David Handler. This is 7th of 7 in series featuring Mitch Berger, a New York film critic, and Desiree “Des” Mitry, a black police detective, in Dorset, Connecticut. Here's a description:Back when Mitch was a chubby thirteen-year-old living in Stuyvesant Town, Beth Breslauer, a lovely blond single mother, lived across the hall with her son, Kenny. These days, she’s a wealthy widow who owns a condominium in the Captain Chadwick House, the Dorset Historic District’s most exclusive condo complex. Kenny is engaged to marry Mitch’s yoga teacher, Kimberly Farrell. Kimberly’s parents are Beth’s neighbors. They are also social pariahs. Her father was one of the Wall Street power brokers responsible for the sub-prime home loan meltdown and her mother is praying that Kimberly’s elaborate engagement party will endear them to their lost friends. Meanwhile, Augie Donatelli, a retired police detective who manages the Captain Chadwick House, is positive he’s figured out the identity of the infamous Dorset Flasher, an elusive, ski-masked figure who has been terrorizing wealthy widows after dark. Then Augie turns up dead.
It was published October 2010 and has 256 pages.

- THE REVERSAL by Michael Connelly. 15th of 15 in series featuring Harry Bosch, a homicide detective in Los Angeles and 3rd of 3 in series featuring Mickey Haller, a lawyer in Los Angeles. Here is a description:
Longtime defense attorney Mickey Haller is recruited to change stripes and prosecute the high-profile retrial of a brutal child murder. After 24 years in prison, convicted killer Jason Jessup has been exonerated by new DNA evidence. Haller is convinced Jessup is guilty, and he takes the case on the condition that he gets to choose his investigator, LAPD Detective Harry Bosch. Together, Bosch and Haller set off on a case fraught with political and personal danger. Opposing them is Jessup, now out on bail, a defense attorney who excels at manipulating the media, and a runaway eyewitness reluctant to testify after so many years. With the odds and the evidence against them, Bosch and Haller must nail a sadistic killer once and for all. If Bosch is sure of anything, it is that Jason Jessup plans to kill again.
It was published in October 2010 and has 400 pages.

- A WOMAN OF CONSEQUENCE by Anna Dean 3rd of 3 in series featuring Miss Dido Kent, a 35-year-old amateur sleuth, starting in 1805 Regency England. Here is a description:
On a visit to the ruins of Madderstone Abbey, Penelope Lambe suffers a bad fall from the ancient stone steps. Before she slips into unconsciousness, Penelope manages to say, 'I saw her - It was her.' The Crockford sisters are sure that what made Penelope fall was that she saw the Grey Nun, the ghost that is reputed to walk the abbey's ruins. But Miss Dido Kent is less convinced that this was the reason for the accident and is determined to find the real cause. But events start to seem more sinister when a human skeleton is found at the abbey. The remains are identified as those of a Miss Elinor Fenn, and letters come to light which hint at the reason for her death. But how is Miss Lambe's accident connected to this discovery? Did she see a ghostly warning? Or is there a rational explanation? Everyone is relying on Dido to find out.
Published in the UK September 2010 and has 384 pages.


I enjoyed the reads, and there were more historical mysteries than I thought. I squeaked by on the five reads for the month, though. Ah well.


Hmmm, looks like I may be able to catch a rerun of Rubicon's finale that I missed intially -- at 8:30 but I can sleep in a bit tomorrow. Yay federal holiday!


So tomorrow, I'll work on the newsletter, walk Tug, have lunch with mom and do some book shopping (Roberts and Robb!), work some more on the newsletter, and watch the election results the rest of the day.


Much love,

PK the Bookeemonster


No comments: