October was a good month for reading, with longer and cooler nights finally arriving in the desert. I tried to get a third "death at..." book finished, but missed the deadline. But first, some audiobooks.
The Jesuit and the Skull by Amir D. Aczel Teilhard de Chardin has always been an anthropological and professional hero of mine, and his involvement with the discovery of Peking Man ignited my interest in paleoanthropology. A devout Jesuit and an exacting scientist, Teilhard de Chardin's life blended science and spirituality in a way I have always found fascinating and inspiring, and even more so now that I know the roadblocks he faced from the Jesuits. His model of Jesuit obedience in the face of disapproval and actions to discredit him by his order, and his commitment to scientific discipline, however, were overshadowed by hearing the comments his friends made of him--a man thoroughly good, kind, and honest. What an epithet.
The mysterious disappearance of the Peking Man remains is still unsolved, eighty years later, although I, like many others, have my own suspicions about what happened. The book was very well researched and written, and I rued I wasn't reading a hard copy which might have had photos. The book is well read, although the reader's voice is a little flat. The reader unfortunately adapted a slightly higher voice when reading Tielhard's letters, which seemed odd and jarring. Despite that, highly recommended.
Murder by the Book by Rex Stout Last year I though about reading all the Nero Wolfe books in order, and while I abandoned that idea, I have been working my way through them at a steady pace.
Naturally I was interested in one that dealt with the murder of the author of a dangerous book--dangerous to many, but who killed the author? While I liked this one, there was one cringing moment--when Archie imitates--to bully--a policeman with a stutter, and then does it more than once. I know it's very un-politically correct, but was this kind of behavior ever really acceptable? Yea, I get that people did, and do, make fun of others, but usually I really like Archie and this was very distasteful and soured my opinion of him. Despite that, the Nero Wolfe stories don't really suffer from their age, and this, like the other, is recommended for a tight plot line and an interesting depiction of New York City of 60 years ago.
Death at the Emerald by R. J. Koreto This book, set in theater scene of Edwardian London, promised to be a light read, and despite some minor wrinkles, did not disappoint. The author makes a better attempt than most to try to recreate the social strictures that limited a woman in Edwardian society (Lady Frances brings her maid with her because it would be unseemly for her to travel alone), but then throws in some modern behaviors that seem in glaring opposition (every single musing Lady Frances indulges in over her engagement). And might I say hate it when the amateur detective breaks the law and gets away with it (here, stealing evidence from the crime scene)? This happens early in the book and, I confess, colored my impression of it as a lazy way for the author to extend Frances' involvement without having to come up with a more clever way. The solution to all the mysteries was very blatant, and as you know, gentle reader, I never try to solve the mystery in my head,s o when I can without even thinking, it's pretty obvious. But for historical mystery lovers, this is not the worst reconstruction of a bygone era currently circulating in the post-Downton Abbey fictional landscape.
Death at the Seaside by Frances Brody Another historical mystery set in England, this time after WWI in the 1920s. Kate Shackleton, female detective, is on holiday visiting a school chum when she stumbles across a dead body while confronting some ghosts from her own past. I had not read any other books in the series, but this was not a deterrent to understanding the relationships between Kate and her team. The plot line was again, pretty obvious, and the potential murderers so few it was easy to guess who had done it and why early on. But the more modern setting of the 1920s and all the attendant post-war social upheaval made this a more successful reconstruction of an historical time period than the previous book. The setting was depicted very well, with a treacherous storm that made me feel I was on the boast with Felicity and Brendan.
Coming up in November and December: holiday books!!
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