Oath and Honor

I don't typically read political books. Liz Cheney's memoir Oath and Honor is an exception. It is a gripping first-hand account of the January 6th, 2021 insurrection from inside the halls of Congress. While I am familiar with her efforts on behalf of the January 6 Congressional Committee, I wondered whether there would be any new information in the book.

The publisher's summary:

In the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump and many around him, including certain other elected Republican officials, intentionally breached their oath to the Constitution: they ignored the rulings of dozens of courts, plotted to overturn a lawful election, and provoked a violent attack on our Capitol.   Liz Cheney, one of the few Republican officials to take a stand against these efforts, witnessed the attack first-hand, and then helped lead the Congressional Select Committee investigation into how it happened. In Oath and Honor, she tells the story of this perilous moment in our history, those who helped Trump spread the stolen election lie, those whose actions preserved our constitutional framework, and the risks we still face.

 

I should say up front for transparency's sake that I do not like Donald Trump. Never have, never will. This book is quite insightful on what happened in Washington DC both before, during and after January 6. While I kept myself up to date on news stories during this time period, the author has given new information about what happened on that day inside the congressional chambers. I will not be a spoiler here. Aside from these tidbits most of the information was not new to me. I followed the House January 6 Committee work diligently. However, the book will be a great reference for future generations of Americans who will not have lived through this part of our history.

3 out of 5 stars.

The Blue Monsoon

The Blue Monsoon is the second book in the Mumbai Blue crime thriller series. In this installment of the series Senior Inspector Arnav Singh Rajput has to find a serial killer who leaves his victims spreadeagle and castrated at the entrance to Hindu temples with their faces cut beyond recognition. Drawn into their flesh are symbols of a tantra cult. He also must deal with friction within the caste system. His own associate will not investigate premises that are owned by lower castes. While the victims are from different castes so are the suspects and none of them want to be associated with each other. A video of the first murder is uploaded onto the account of a Bollywood social media influencer and millions of people had viewed it before her social media accounts were suspended. The desecration of this body at a Hindu place of worship puts the city on edge and divides Arnav’s priorities: stopping a fanatic from killing again and caring for his wife who’s struggling through a challenging pregnancy. If you’ve read the first book in the series, The Blue Bar, you will remember that Arnav Singh Rajput married his wife Tara, after she became paralyzed.

The setting was the weather. The story takes place during the monsoon season and the rain is mentioned on almost every page. I never knew much about monsoons but have learned that they are rain showers where the flood waters can reach up to a person's knees. It is impossible to remain dry when you walk from a car to inside a building and the characters' clothes stayed damp all day with mud splattered all over them. Of course, this makes keeping a crime scene dry near impossible. However, Arnav and his fellow inspectors had no problems reading the crime scenes. The monsoon atmosphere takes the reader to Mumbai in July and I could almost feel my arthritis kicking in when I read about the characters always being damp from coming inside from the rain.

I love the main character Arnav. He seems to be a realistic guy. Arnav's relationship with his wife and daughter resemble families we all know. While he has a good relationship with both, he feels the usual aggravation from them that all couples must deal with. Arnav makes mistakes but doesn't become angry when they happen and he always admits making mistakes when he is called on the carpet. When he gets caught speaking white lies, he always admits doing so and you think that these admissions will result in a change in the plot. Instead, after the admission of guilt, Arnav takes the plot somewhere else.  I also love that he chose an outspoken woman as his wife. Tara continues to push all his buttons even though she is totally dependent on him for care and support.

Mystery lovers who have not read the series yet should begin with the first book, The Blue Bar.  I was just as good as this one and I highly recommend it.  5 out of 5 stars. 

2024 What’s In A Name Challenge

I am excited that the What’s in a Name Reading Challenge is on again for 2024. In years past, this challenge was hosted by Charlie at The Worm Hole. Andrea at the Carolina Book Nook blog took over in 2019 and will host the challenge again.

Challenge Rules:

1)     The challenge runs from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024. You can sign up any time, but only count books that you read between those dates.

2)     Read a book in any format (hard copy, ebook, audio) with a title that fits into each category.

3)     Don’t use the same book for more than one category.

4)     Creativity for matching the categories is not only allowed, it’s encouraged!

5)     You can choose your books as you go or make a list ahead of time.

6)     Sign up using the Mr Linky on the challenge post.

7)     In 2024, choose 6 books that have titles that contain:

Double letters

An NFL team

A natural disaster

A virtue

A shape

Footwear

This challenge has been going on 17 years already! It's exciting to participate again.