Well, it's technically not mid-month, but we're not going to split hairs here.
Sweet Tea and Secrets by Joy Avon Regular Gentle Readers of this blog know that I like to do theme reads and holiday reads periodically. I couldn't find a Memorial Day mystery, but I did find a new July 4th-centered mystery. It had a dog on the cover, and it was located in a book-themed tea room in Maine. I love dogs (see blog title)! I love tea (see blog title)! I've been wanting to visit Maine for years!
Well, it was a light read, and that's probably the best thing I can say about it. This is the second Callie Aspen mystery, and while there were references to her first visit to Heart's Harbor (could there be a worse town name than Heart's Harbor? The saccharine level is sky high.), I don't think it's necessary to have read the first to begin the series with this entry. So I give the author props for that; it's very annoying when there are so many references to the first in a series that the second makes no sense.
I found the book disappointing on several levels. The immediacy of some of the relationships (the handyman works on your house for an afternoon and is able to establish a rapport with your kids after 20 minutes of soccer such that you'll let him toss them in the air while playing alone with them? And then you say your kids "love him?"), the basic plot device that people would remember such minute details from a local event 30 years ago in which most of them had little involvement (and that a hotel would have registration information from 30 years ago readily available), and the unprofessionalism of the policeman/hero (he tells Callie to go ask the chief suspect to provide DNA because he can't leave the scene of a boat wreck--despite other officers being there; and then asks her to tell said suspect the DNA results because "I don't want to tell him myself as our relationship hasn't exactly been...friendly." Are you kidding me? That's your job, you idiot!) made the mystery of what happened to Monica Walker (which I figured out by Chapter 4) annoying as well as dull. And by the way, Ace, that final gesture to Callie? Much more suited to a housewarming party and not a fireworks display.
No great thought has to go into reading this book which, I guess, makes it perfect summer fare. The answer to the mystery is easily deduced by even a casual mystery reader, so aficionados who like complicated puzzles should steer clear. An uninspired mystery, juvenile relationships, and clear disregard for the intelligence of any reader who has ever read a mystery or watched a police drama means I can't really recommend this book unless the reader deliberately wants something they do not have to focus on, or lives in Maine and must read every book ever written that takes place there. As much as I dislike giving poor grades, I'd rate it a D. (NetGalley)
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Thursday, May 2, 2019
Middle Sister's March and April Reads
Winter and spring are always very busy here in the desert, as we try to enjoy as many outdoor activities as we can before the nearly intolerable summer heat returns. I had borrowed a book from my boss in January, which I've been trying to read so I can return it to her, and that interrupted my planned reading schedule (and it's still not finished yet, much to my dismay). The two books I read for fun had an unsuspected link which gave a theme to the month: war and its affects on the families left behind.
The Belting Inheritance by Julian Symons Originally published in 1965, and recently reissued with a gorgeous new cover from Poisoned Pen Press. The story is told in the first person by Christopher, an eighteen-year-old at the time the events transpire but who is writing at some undisclosed time in his later adulthood and reflecting on how they affected him and his family and reflected societal changes in England brought about by the war. Christopher was orphaned as a child and raised by an eccentric family dominated by a strong-willed matriarch. Everything is placid and boring until someone claiming to be one of Lady Wainwright's sons, missing and presumed killed in World War II, returns to the family fold. Part coming of age story, part mystery, the book is well written and deals with one overlooked part of history--the many thousands of mostly European soldiers who were transferred from German prisons to Russian prisons at the end of WWII, many of whom disappeared into the gulag system for years after the war end, and some of whom never made it out alive. Generally very enjoyable, with a strange and somewhat unsatisfying resolution in Paris (the resolution of the mystery was fine, but why did a significant number of the main characters wind up in Paris on what read as flimsy excuses? That was pushing credulity a little.) Recommedned for mystery fans and cosy mystery lovers in particular. NetGalley
Hitler and the Habsburgs by James M. Longo Extremely well written and researched discussion of Adolf Hitler's personal hatred of the ruling family of the Austrian empire. My own interest in history and my family's personal history of WWII mean this has always been a time period of great interest to me, although really well done treatises leave me emotionally spent and angry. Professor Longo's book left me spent and angry, and frightened. His research into both the background of Hitler and the Austrian emperors is exhaustive, but has been condensed into very readable chapters that illuminate the early twentieth century in middle Europe with ease and much detail that reads very engagingly. The author spent years interviewing many of the historical people who were children and adults in the Austrian royal family, and the intimacy established between them truly enlivens what could have been a dry recitation of historical fact with eyewitness recollections and loving family memories. The first few chapters detailing the rise of Hitler were especially chilling and frightening given the current resurgence of his nationalist agenda in the US and Europe. Hitler and the Habsburgs is both an excellent history and a bellweather warning of how insidious hatred can poison a thriving, multicultural society. Excellent and highly recommended reading for history buffs and political science readers. NetGalley
Beyond the Pale by Clare O'Donohue First book in a new series. Hollis was trained to be a spy, but left that life before it even began to marry Finn and settle into what has now, in her middle age, become a boring and mundane life with her professor husband. The first few chapters detail how unsatisfied with her life Hollis is, setting the stage for her to be easily swayed to help an old friend and current agent help Interpol track down a missing spy to save his life. I wanted to like Hollis more than I did, but found the discrepancies between her overcommunicated supposed expertise as a trainee spy ("you were the tops in our class." "You were the best one in our group.") wth her naive behavior once she gets to Ireland. This non-spy, never-wanted-to-be-a-spy reader knows that sitting in apub and discussing your mission aloud is a guaranteed way to bring danger to you and the spy you're trying to rescue and a really dumb move for the best spy trainee in class. I appreciated the allusions to and quotes from famous Irish writers (Finn and Hollis are professors, and its Finn's expertise that led David, Hollis' agent friend, to appeal for their help), and the description of Ireland, Dublin and other settings was well done. But the story itself, Hollis' alleged great aptitude for spying (although 20 years in the past and clearly her bungling efforts did not match her supposed reputation), and the relationship with Finn didn't convince me. But it's a pretty fast read, so suitable for upcoming summer vacation travel reading. NetGalley
The Belting Inheritance by Julian Symons Originally published in 1965, and recently reissued with a gorgeous new cover from Poisoned Pen Press. The story is told in the first person by Christopher, an eighteen-year-old at the time the events transpire but who is writing at some undisclosed time in his later adulthood and reflecting on how they affected him and his family and reflected societal changes in England brought about by the war. Christopher was orphaned as a child and raised by an eccentric family dominated by a strong-willed matriarch. Everything is placid and boring until someone claiming to be one of Lady Wainwright's sons, missing and presumed killed in World War II, returns to the family fold. Part coming of age story, part mystery, the book is well written and deals with one overlooked part of history--the many thousands of mostly European soldiers who were transferred from German prisons to Russian prisons at the end of WWII, many of whom disappeared into the gulag system for years after the war end, and some of whom never made it out alive. Generally very enjoyable, with a strange and somewhat unsatisfying resolution in Paris (the resolution of the mystery was fine, but why did a significant number of the main characters wind up in Paris on what read as flimsy excuses? That was pushing credulity a little.) Recommedned for mystery fans and cosy mystery lovers in particular. NetGalley
Hitler and the Habsburgs by James M. Longo Extremely well written and researched discussion of Adolf Hitler's personal hatred of the ruling family of the Austrian empire. My own interest in history and my family's personal history of WWII mean this has always been a time period of great interest to me, although really well done treatises leave me emotionally spent and angry. Professor Longo's book left me spent and angry, and frightened. His research into both the background of Hitler and the Austrian emperors is exhaustive, but has been condensed into very readable chapters that illuminate the early twentieth century in middle Europe with ease and much detail that reads very engagingly. The author spent years interviewing many of the historical people who were children and adults in the Austrian royal family, and the intimacy established between them truly enlivens what could have been a dry recitation of historical fact with eyewitness recollections and loving family memories. The first few chapters detailing the rise of Hitler were especially chilling and frightening given the current resurgence of his nationalist agenda in the US and Europe. Hitler and the Habsburgs is both an excellent history and a bellweather warning of how insidious hatred can poison a thriving, multicultural society. Excellent and highly recommended reading for history buffs and political science readers. NetGalley
Beyond the Pale by Clare O'Donohue First book in a new series. Hollis was trained to be a spy, but left that life before it even began to marry Finn and settle into what has now, in her middle age, become a boring and mundane life with her professor husband. The first few chapters detail how unsatisfied with her life Hollis is, setting the stage for her to be easily swayed to help an old friend and current agent help Interpol track down a missing spy to save his life. I wanted to like Hollis more than I did, but found the discrepancies between her overcommunicated supposed expertise as a trainee spy ("you were the tops in our class." "You were the best one in our group.") wth her naive behavior once she gets to Ireland. This non-spy, never-wanted-to-be-a-spy reader knows that sitting in apub and discussing your mission aloud is a guaranteed way to bring danger to you and the spy you're trying to rescue and a really dumb move for the best spy trainee in class. I appreciated the allusions to and quotes from famous Irish writers (Finn and Hollis are professors, and its Finn's expertise that led David, Hollis' agent friend, to appeal for their help), and the description of Ireland, Dublin and other settings was well done. But the story itself, Hollis' alleged great aptitude for spying (although 20 years in the past and clearly her bungling efforts did not match her supposed reputation), and the relationship with Finn didn't convince me. But it's a pretty fast read, so suitable for upcoming summer vacation travel reading. NetGalley
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