Book of the Month: August

This second book in the Jaipur Trilogy is my best read for August. Indian fiction is one of my favorite kinds of books to read and when I see this kind of book I grab it. This second book concentrates more on the Malik character than the Lakshmi character. Lakshmi is the main character of the trilogy but she did not have much part in the murder investigation. Her protege handled most of it. However, it felt good to see how these two characters are evolving. I will be sorry when the trilogy ends but hopefully, the author will continue to write Indian fiction. She is great at this genre.

Every review of the book that I have seen has been positive and I think historical fiction fans are going to love it. I cannot recommend it more highly.

Apricots

I reviewed Sally Christie's fantastic Versailles trilogy 2 years ago. I was not aware that she wrote any other books so when this mystery appeared in my Amazon feed, I grabbed it. 

Apricots takes place in a town called Apricots in 1792 St. Domingue (present day Haiti). During the largest slave rebellion that the world has ever seen, 1,000 plantations were burned on the northern plains and 2,000 whites were killed. The rebellion was put down but slaves still controlled the northern plains. A young widow, Rose Fongravier, is struggling to manage her crumbling coffee plantation when she discovers a dead body at the bottom of her garden. The island residents wonder if there was an accident or a murder and whether it will begin another slave revolt. With 400,000 slaves and 30,000 whites, a rebellion could be started at any time. The story covers the span of merely one day within its 392 pages, with a cross section of the plantation's inhabitants offering their understanding of who is responsible for the dead body in the garden. 

I had a hard time keeping track of all the characters in the beginning of the story. After a few chapters, though, it was easy to keep up with them. The story is tightly packed with action and the reader gets to see the awful conditions that the slaves had to live with on the coffee and sugar plantations. Their stories were heartbreaking. Can you imagine being free for 60 years and then enslaved again on the whim of another person? Promises made to slaves by their owners in wills were simply discarded by their heirs; the law be damned.

The characters were fully developed and reflected the era in which they lived. I think the author's choice to have the events occur within one day made the pace of the story uber fast. I found it to be unputdownable.

The book is based on a true story and I feel it should be recommended reading. 5 out of 5 stars.

Factory Summers

Factory Summers is another great autobiography from cartoonist Guy Delisle. He has written several travelogues from following his wife to Jerusalem, Pyongyang, Shenzen and Burma while she worked with Medecins Sans Frontieres. Here, we have the story of Delisle's four summers as a teenager working for a pulp and paper factory in Quebec City where he grew up.

Factory Summers has alot of dry humor within its pages. Delisle describes his co-workers as sexist, telling dirty jokes on a daily basis. As a union employee myself, I can say they are typical union workers. LOL. If they can find a way to relax on the job, they do it. It's not that they are forgoing the hard work their jobs demand. These fellows work with huge machines that require constant cleaning up and fixing and the areas they are located in have no air conditioning. There is danger of getting hurt every day. The factory was built in 1927 and there had not been any changes to the building or the machinery over the years. This was an antiquated system that Delisle was dealing with. With 12 hours shifts required 6 days a week, I doubt that he would be allowed to work here as a youth if the factory was in the U.S. I thought it was a cruel job for a sixteen-year-old kid and cannot believe he did the work without questioning the rules. If it was me working there, I would have filed a complaint with OSHA for unsafe working conditions.

The story itself was well told. The monotony of the work days are shown by both dialogue and drawings. The only reprieve the author had was by drawing comics and making plans to attend animation school in Toronto. His relationship with his father, who got him the job, is also a part of the story. The book opens with Delisle having his annual visit with his father, divorced from his mother, and ends with his death. The relationship frames these summers working at the same plant his father worked at. 

I highly recommend this one. 5 out of 5 stars.

Can't Wait Wednesday #8

Susan Wittig Albert is one of my favorite cozy mystery authors.  Her newest novel, Hemlock, is due for release on September 7, 2021. Albert writes the China Bayles Mystery Series that take place in Pecan Springs, Texas. With a cast of colorful characters, it always delivers a relaxing read. 

With this installment of the series, China Bayles travels to the North Carolina mountains to visit her friend Dorothea Harper. Harper is the director of the Hemlock House Library which houses a collection of rare gardening books. When the most valuable books disappears, Harper becomes the prime suspect. China steps in to search for the thief.

The author has only changed the location of her books once before. It was not pleasant reading so I am a little apprehensive about Hemlock. I can only hope that it turns out to be a good read.

Loch Down Abbey

Loch Down Abbey is a Downton Abbey wannabe. Fortunately for the author, it will be made in to a TV series. As a book, there wasn't much of a plot. 2 characters died but the resolution of their deaths was not prominent. The story was basically about how the aristocratic characters spend their days. The story takes place in the Scottish Highlands during the 1930s.

The publisher's summary:

"It's the 1930s and a mysterious illness is spreading over Scotland. But the noble and ancient family of Inverkillen, residents of Loch Down Abbey, are much more concerned with dwindling toilet roll supplies and who will look after the children now that Nanny has regretfully (and most inconveniently) departed this life.

Then Lord Inverkillen, Earl and head of the family, is found dead in mysterious circumstances. The inspector declares it an accident but Mrs MacBain, the head housekeeper, isn't so convinced. As no one is allowed in or out because of the illness, the residents of the house - both upstairs and downstairs - are the only suspects. With the Earl's own family too busy doing what can only be described as nothing, she decides to do some digging - in between chores, of course - and in doing so uncovers a whole host of long-hidden secrets, lies and betrayals that will alter the dynamics of the household for ever." 

Loch Down Abbey is advertised as a locked room mystery. Who or what was in the locked room? I don't know. The book primarily revolves around an artistocratic family, the Ogilvy-Sinclairs, who have lived in Loch Down Abbey for over 600 years. They are dysfunctional, with every family member at war with each other over mostly small things. They love to make life hard for their servants and treat them abysmally. After Lord Inverkillen and the nanny are found dead, a sickness takes over Scotland and Britain. The government has asked people to wear masks and stay inside while the sickness rages. In the Abbey, half of the servants are ill and cannot wait on the  family hand and foot. The family is outraged that servants have taken over part of the family and guest quarters and that they will have to dress themselves, forego their breakfast trays and downsize the number of cakes served at tea. Flour, sugar and toilet paper have been hoarded from the stores. Sound familiar? I think the author wrote her story based on the COVID-19 pandemic that we all are dealing with at the present time. 

The depiction of the lives of the rich are what make this a good read. I am sure that we all have watched Downton Abbey over the years. Loch Down Abbey is a castle that is slightly smaller in size than Downton but the characters all behave the same. Loch Down has more servants though, thirty, so there are alot of characters to keep track of. There isn't much mystery here but it did not affect my enjoyment of the book. It is a relaxing read.

4 out of 5 stars.

Stacking the Shelves #7

Stacking the Shelves meme is hosted by the Reading Reality blog. It was originally hosted by the Team Tynga's Reviews blog and now is solely hosted by Reading Reality. I have been anticipating the arrival of a few new graphic novels from Amazon this month to add to my comic collection.

Factory Summers was written by one of my favorite comic book authors: Guy Delisle. DeLisle is best known for his travelogues to Pyongyang, Shenzhen, Burma and Jerusalem, where he followed his wife who worked for Medecins Sans Frontieres, the French branch of Doctors Without Borders. In Factory Summers DeLisle returns to writing autobiographies. While he was a teenager, he worked in a pulp and paper factory for three summers beginning when he was 16. DeLisle worked twelve hour shifts performing physically strenuous tasks. He was the only minor working there. His father, who worked an 8 hour white collar job upstairs in the company's office, helped DeLisle get this job. The book recounts his experiences there. 

I am also awaiting delivery of Let's Not Talk Anymore. This is a serious story about  five generations of women from author Weng Pixin’s family, each at age 15. The lineage is full of breakages – her great grandmother Kuān is sent away from her family in South China, her grandmother Mèi is adopted by a neighbor to help with housework, and her mother Bīng is heartbroken by her father’s estrangement. Pixin’s own story centers on her feelings of isolation and her rebellion from her mother. She extends the line by envisioning a fictional future daughter, Rita, who questions her family’s legacy. This family saga spans 100 years.

Com'on post office.  Where are my books?

The Amish Quilter's Unexpected Baby

This is the first book in a series about fictional character Esther Zook, an Amish quiltmaker who moves from Pennsylvania to a new settlement in Colorado. Esther is starting over after her father’s death, piecing together a new life with as much care as she puts into her intricate quilts. When her wayward sister abandons her five month old baby on Esther's doorstep, it throws all those plans for a fresh start asunder. Esther had accepted her status as an old maid. She is thirty and has no plans to be a mother, or a single mother at that. Levi Kiem, the eligible young man who’s making repairs in her house, has attracted her attention. Esther believes that he cannot have any interest in her other than as friends because of their age difference.  Levi is 24. Levi has plenty of marriage prospects. His dat has even offered to send him to Ohio to find a wife. Yet the more time he spends with Esther, the more intrigued he becomes. Feisty and independent, she’s nothing like the wife he once imagined for himself. Yet just as a quilt is crafted from contrasting cloth, they might find that together, they can create a family.

The book was an enjoyable read, although all the writing about the baby screaming started to get on my nerves. I could literally hear that kid through the pages and started thinking about all the screaming babies I have listened to while riding on a bus. Esther and Levi are both compelling characters. Their so-called romance was one of those he thinks, she thinks stories. Neither of them are able to express their true feelings to each other until the very end of the story. I must admit that all of the missed connections between them also got on my nerves. I think there were too many of them. It would have been nice if they became romantic with each other sooner in the plot so that we could see more of how the romance developed.  

 

Amish Quilter was an OK book.  3 out of 5 stars.

The Father of All Things

The Father of All Things is another TKO Shorts horror comic. This one was written by Sebastian Girner, editor-in-chief of TKO Studios. Here we have a war story taking place in 1914. WWI is raging when Georg, an idealistic fourteen year old German boy, is caught up with patriotic fervor and lies about his age to get in the army. Georg wants to defend his country but is unprepared for the horrors of war.  He quickly becomes sorry that he enlisted when he sees fellow soldiers shot and killed. While sitting in the trenches Georg finds an unexplored tunnel and crawls his way through it. When he gets to the end of the tunnel he crawls out and meets a monster. Who is the monster? God? The devil? Someone else? Read the comic to find out. It's a thought provoking story.

   

Hand Me Down

Hand Me Down is a TKO Short comic by Alex Paknadel. It follows the lives of Reuben and Lyra who are on the brink of divorce when Reuben gets promoted at work. In keeping with Reuben's desire for a different lifestyle they move to a glitzy new neighborhood in order to keep up with the Joneses. The couple are invited to a risqué soiree hosted by Reuben's boss Magnus who wants his guests to enjoy the darker side of life. When Lyra realizes that the attendees are part of a secretive society that swaps partners she quickly leaves the party and goes home. When Reuben comes home Lyra sees that he is a changed person and not for the good.

Hand Me Down is part of TKO Presents second wave of shorts published earlier this year. While only 19 pages, it is still a compelling horror story with an unexpected twist at the end. Check it out. After all, it's only $2.99.

5 out of 5 stars.

Night Train

Night Train is a TKO Short comic by Steve Foxe. It is the story of a ten year old youngster named Neal whose family moves to a new home to add space for a new baby to be born into the family. The home is noisy because it is located under a train track. Neal's baby brother drives him insane by screaming all night and cannot sleep. His parents are not handling the new addition well either. Neal begins to see a spectral train with a ghost for a conductor. When the ghost offers to take Neal's baby brother away, Neal cannot resist the offer. However, when Neal wakes up he is not sure if he really gave his brother away, if he dreamed it all up or whether he is just daydreaming.

Night Train is part of a three short comic release by TKO Presents that they published in November 2020. The illustrations by Lisandro Estherren and coloring by Patricio Delpeche add to the supernatural feeling of the story. They visually appear dreamlike.  The comic is only 10 pages long but contains a well plotted horror story that I thoroughly enjoyed.

5 out of 5 stars.

China

China is the latest historical fiction novel by Edward Rutherford. He has written several prior novels on Paris, London, Manhattan, Russia, Ireland, New York and Dublin. His books remind me of another chunkster author James Michener. This particular novel begins in 1839, at the dawn of the First Opium War, and follows China's history through the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. We see the rising and falling of the fortunes of Chinese, British and American families as they navigate the tides of history. Along the way, the readers sees a deeply researched portrait of Chinese history and society, its ancient traditions and upheavals to its emergence as a global power. Rutherford has also given us some romance and some adventure too.  

I knew this would be a good book so I read slowly to savor each page. I was not disappointed. There are seven alternating storylines which were hard to follow in the beginning. However, as each storyline got fleshed out it was easy to make the transition. We read about a mandarin Lord Lin and his protégé Jiang Shi-Rong, Chinese pirate Nio, British missionary Cecil Whiteparish, peasant Mei- Ling, a Manchu soldier, British opium trader John Trader and a eunuch who works in the palace. Eventually all of the the characters' lives intersect and we meet their descendants too. Three particular events in Chinese history are told in detail:  The Opium War, Taiping Rebellion and Boxer Rebellion. While I was familiar with these events, it was good to read how they affected people from various walks of life. 

China is a long saga to relish. 5 out of 5 stars. 

Ice Blue

Ice Blue is the first book in Emma Jameson's Lord & Lady Hetheridge Mystery Series. The series takes place in Britain during the present era. I loved the book as it follows the police procedural formula perfectly, making it an easy read.

The publisher's summary:

"Anthony Hetheridge, ninth Baron of Wellegrave, Chief Superintendent for New Scotland Yard, never married, no children, no pets, no hobbies and not even an interesting vice, will turn sixty in three weeks. With the exception of his chosen career, too sordid for his blue-blooded family to condone, his life has been safe and predictable. But then he mets Detective Sergeant Kate Wakefield-beautiful, willful, and nearly half his age. When Hetheridge saves the outspoken, impetuous young detective from getting the sack, siding with her against Scotland Yard's powerful male hierarchy, his cold, elegant balanced world spins out of control. Summoned to London's fashionable Belgravia to investigate the brutal murder of a financier, Hetheridge must catch the killer while coping with his growing attraction to Kate, the reappearance of an old flame, and the secret that emerges from his own past."

In the past I have said that I liked many of the books that I have reviewed on this blog. For most of them, I do not read anything else by the author due to time constraints. However, I loved Ice Blue so much that I have already ordered the rest of the books in the series. This book was so well written that it was a joy to read. 

When I began the book I thought that it was a cozy mystery. It is. What confused me was the rough British slang that the Scotland Yard investigators used when referring to sex or sexual orientation. You don't usually see that in a cozy but since the book is advertised as a cozy mystery, I accept that categorization. The dialogue seemed natural, given that Kate was the only female detective in a male dominated office. In addition, the novel was so British-centric that I thought that author Emma Jameson was British. She isn't. Ms. Jameson is American but loves all things English. 

Ice Blue is a winner! I recommend it to mystery fans. 4 out of 5 stars.

Fire

Fire is a graphic biography of Zora Neale Hurston, an African American writer in the early twentieth century best known for her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston challenged the norms of what was expected of an African American woman. She was the fifth of eight children from a Baptist family in Alabama. Her writing ability blossomed while she was a student at Howard University in Washington DC and then at Barnard College where she was the only black student. When she arrived in New York City during the Harlem Renaissance she found herself surrounded by peers such as poet Langston Hughes. Hurston later became a noted folklorist and critically acclaimed novelist. Despite her achievements, in order to make money she frequently had to resort to becoming a maid. Hurston was largely forgotten by the end of her life in 1960.

Let me say right off the bat that many people will not like, or even approve of this comic because the author has used dialogue that was the black slang common in the American South at the time of Hurston's life. Peter Bagge may have decided to use this type of language because Hurston was a folklorist whose books used this type of slang in her writing. I don't know specifically why he chose this route. Hurston made several anthropological trips throughout the South gathering information for her book and used this language in her book on folklore. I found it difficult to accept the dialogue and some of the illustrations, given the political correctness of our day.

That said, the book gave an in depth perspective of Hurston's life. She had plenty of ups and downs, many of which were due to Jim Crow laws. However, she had an indelible spirit. Nothing kept her down for long. She had a stick-to-it-iveness that helped her persevere over several years to get an education. I think many people would have given up but Zora relentlessly pursued her goals regardless of societal rules. 

Peter Bagge included forty pages of notes concerning his sources at the end of the book detailing every fact he presented in the comic. It is interesting reading and helps the reader to obtain context of the era in which Hurston lived. 

Yellow

Yellow is the latest installment in a series by Michel Pastoureau on the history of colors. Previously he has written about red, blue, black and green. The book was a bear to get through. It has been written like a textbook, quite scholarly. My interest in the book was peaked because I am an artist. However, when I bought it it was wrapped in plastic so I was unable to preview its pages. Had I seen how difficult it is to read I would have passed it up. That said, reading each section several times was helpful. I was able to remember many facts about my favorite color.

The book is divided into three sections. We initially have a section devoted to yellow's usage as a beneficial color, i.e., from ancient times to the fifth century. Next we see it as an ambiguous color, or it's usage between the sixth and fifteenth century. Finally, the color is seen as an unpopular one which is how it has been viewed from the fourteenth to the twenty first century.

As a beneficial color we read which plants or metals were used to create the color as well as how it was used in early cave drawings and clothing. Yellow was seen in nature in fields of grain and from the sun. Dressing in yellow was seen as feminine as it still is today. As an ambiguous color, yellow was seen as an important color when it was seen as gold. When yellow was shown as an ordinary yellow, its importance in heraldry and religious texts was much lower than red, blue or green. However, blond hair was always viewed as more favorable than other hair colors, especially on women. The section on yellow as an unpopular color states that the color was never used on clothing by the nobility because it was viewed as not being very modest. Artists viewed it negatively too. While in a bright light yellow is a happy color. When the light becomes dark, it no longer looks pleasant but rather dirty and ugly. Thus, the color ceased to be used in daily life. 

The book is a fine treatise but it is not for the light hearted reader. Obviously, someone interested in art history should read this book. It would be helpful for artists too but I believe there are other books on color that would be more helpful for the studio artist. 

3 out of 5 stars.

The Fire Thief

The Fire Thief is set on the Hawaiian island of Maui. It begins with the discovery of the dead body of a surfer who had washed up on shore.  The first few pages are about the murder. However, the story quickly switches to a ghost story and then a theft story. Hawaiian lore is used to tie them all together.

The publisher's summary:

"Under a promising morning sky, police captain Walter Alaka’i makes a tragic discovery: the body of a teenage surfer bobbing among the lava rocks of Maui’s southeastern shore. It appears to be an ill-fated accident, but closer inspection reveals something far more sinister than the results of a savage wave gone wrong. Now that Alaka’i is looking at a homicide, he solicits the help of his niece, Detective Kali Māhoe.

 

The granddaughter of one of Hawaii’s most respected spiritual leaders, and on the transcendent path to becoming a kahu herself, Kali sees evidence of a strange ritual murder. The suspicion is reinforced by a rash of sightings of a noppera-bō—a faceless and malicious spirit many believe to be more than superstition. When a grisly sacrifice is left on the doorstep of a local, and another body washes ashore, Kali fears that the deadly secret ceremonies on Maui are just beginning. 

 

To uncover a motive and find the killer, Kali leans on her skills at logic and detection. But she must also draw on her own personal history with the uncanny legends of the islands. Now, as the skies above Maui grow darker, and as she balances reason and superstition, Kali can only wonder: Who’ll be the next to die? And who—or what—is she even on the trail of?"

While I enjoy reading about my favorite state, the book did not have a cohesive plot. The author should have decided what type of story she wanted to tell. I thought the murder would have been the best storyline to go with as the body was found with a shark's tooth imbedded in the head but no signs of a shark attack. The howdunnit and whodunnit would have been an interesting read. We don't really learn how the murder was done. The identity of the killer is revealed at the end but with no twists, turns, or red herrings. Nothing. The ghost storyline carried most of the pages and was minimally related to the murder. The theft of solar panels was not connected to the murder other than the thief being related to the killer. 

The Walter and Kali detective team are a great pair. They both have distinctive personalities that the author fleshed out well and I can see them investigating crimes together in the future. However, the author needs to come up with a better plotline if she wants to have a series to write. This is her first book so perhaps she will surprise us in years to come.

2 out of 5 stars.

Peaches and Schemes

Peaches and Schemes is the third book in the Georgia Bed and Breakfast Mysteries by Anna Gerard. This is a cozy mystery series featuring amateur sleuth Nina Fleet. The story takes place in Cymbeline, Georgia and opens with Nina taking a booth at the Veils and Vanities Bridal Expo in order to tap into the destination wedding market. This twice-yearly event is sponsored by the town's two wedding pros: Virgie Hamilton, the sixtysomething owner of Virgie's Formals, and Roxana Quarry, a Generation X event planner and Nina's new friend. Of course, everything goes wrong during the expo's fashion show when Roxana comes tumbling out of an oversized wedding cake apparently strangled to death by a scarf. Virgie is arrested for the crime after Nina gives a statement to the police about having overheard the woman accusing her partner of embezzlement. The situation becomes more tense when Nina's nemesis and tenant Harry Westcott tells Nina that her ex-husband is engaged to be married again. Believing that Virgie's only offense is her bad temper, Nina decides to begin an investigation into Roxana's murder. 

Peaches and Schemes is your traditional southern cozy and it provided a great escape for me on a lazy Saturday afternoon. While it is the third novel in the series, it is a standalone novel for those who are new to the series, such as myself. Some southern stories can be saccharine sweet but this one had so many twists and turns to taper the sweetness down a little bit. The plot was advanced on just about every page so there was some suspense too. The author wrote a little humor into her dialogue too which added to my enjoyment of the book.  The one thing that I didn't like was Nina telling others to pronounce her name as Nine-ah. I thought this was annoying and not something a southern belle should or would do. Other than that, Peaches and Schemes is the perfect cozy mystery. 

5 out of 5 stars.

The Secret Keeper of Jaipur

The Secret Keeper of Jaipur is book two in the Jaipur trilogy by Alka Joshi. The trilogy began with The Henna Artist. The action in this story begins in Spring 1969 with heroine Lakshmi, now married to Dr.Jay Kumar, directing the Healing Garden of Shimla. Her protege Malik has just finished his private school education and at age 20 he has also just met a young mother named Nimmi and has fallen in love with her. When Malik travels to Jaipur to be an apprentice at the Facilities Office of the Jaipur Royal Palace in order to work on a state of the art cinema, he must separate from Nimmi. Malik soon finds that not much has changed in Jaipur since his last visit during his childhood. Power and money still hold sway and favors flow from the Palace, but only if certain secrets remain buried. When the cinema's balcony collapses on opening night, blame is placed where it is convenient. Malik, however, suspects something far darker is hovering over the city and sets out to uncover the truth. 

I LOVED this book!  In my mind, you can't get a better book than an Indian fiction novel. Malik is featured more prominently than Lakshmi in this installment of the trilogy. It's not that Lakshmi doesn't get a good amount of pages, it's just that Malik is the person solving the crime in the story. Of course, I loved everything about the Shimla and Jaipur settings. These two cities are complete opposites. Shimla is in the mountains and the weather is cool most of the time. Jaipur instead is excruciatingly hot. Wherever the characters are located, the reader is treated to the Indian culture. While I am sure that poor Indians who had labor intensive jobs were not as thrilled with their lot as the wealthy folks, I have romanticized this servant/master relationship. It seems dreamy to have someone always available to get you a cool drink or cook a meal when you come home. Most writers of Indian fiction show the servants as happy and agreeable but I know this must be a fallacy. 

We learn alot about the Nimma character. When she is introduced to Lakshmi she is described as having dark skin with rough hands and wearing cheap clothing. Nimma hails from a tribe that roams the mountains shepherding sheep. The women in the tribe had other duties and Nimma's was to gather flowers and herbs for healing. While her personality is quite different from Lakshmi, both women look for flowers and shrubs that can be used in healing. Lakshmi knows more about the flowers that she can find in the Jaipur area and Nimma knows more about those that can be found in the mountains. They make an ideal pair for Lakshmi's healing garden. 

Much is written about family here. Malik has no idea who his parents are or even when he was born. He was a street child who did odd jobs for Lakshmi before she brought him in to her home and raised him. He has no biological family to speak of. Lakshmi only has one sister whom she also raised but Radha has moved to Paris. Nimma is a widow with two kids. Emphasis is placed in the story on finding friends who become a substitute for family. These ties are bound just as tight as to those whom you are biologically related.

The Secret Keeper of Jaipur is a fantastic read. Historical fiction fans are going to want to read it. 5 out of 5 stars.