Calendar of Crime Reading Challenge Sign-Up

The Calendar of Crime Challenge is new to me.  I plan on joining the challenge next year.  It is hosted by the My Reader's Block blog.  The rules are:

1.  The challenge runs the calendar year from January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021.

2.  12 books must be read.

3.  You don't have to do the months in their consecutive order. You can read December in July if you wish.

4.  Books from the mystery genre are only accepted.

2021 Color Coded Reading Challenge Sign-Up

I did this challenge a year or so ago but not in 2020.  I am going to rejoin the challenge which is hosted by the My Readers Block blog.  The rules are as follows:

1.  The challenge runs the calendar year from January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021.

2.  Crossovers from other challenges are accepted.

3.  9 books must be read where the book title or book cover is blue, red, yellow, green, brown, black, white, any other color  such as purple, pink, orange, etc..., and a book title or book cover where a word or image implies a color such as polka dot, shadow, plaid, paint, etc...

A Trip to the Bookstore

I traveled to downtown Chicago yesterday and found six books that I am interested in reading.  This was my second visit to Barnes and Noble since the pandemic shutdown began.  I may not get around to these historical fiction novels until next year though.  For the past month I have been concentrating on finishing a Coursera MOOC on illuminated manuscripts of western europe. It's a fascinating class but has alot of information to absorb as well as projects to complete. I will finish the class by next week. 

I haven't read much lately, other than Abir Mukherjee's A Rising Man.  A review will be coming soon. For some reason I am not interested in reading or writing.  Instead, I have been working on a needlepoint tapestry and the MOOC.  It is time to prepare my year end accomplishment posts and also selecting which reading challenges I will participate in next year.  These posts may be all that I will get done this month. 

Genealogical Mystery Authors

After reading Nathan Dylan Goodwin's Hiding the Past, a genealogical mystery novel, earlier this year I wondered whether there were other authors who were writing genealogical mysteries.  I thought that Goodwin may have created this mystery sub-genre. However, I have since located additional authors who write stories in this mystery sub-genre.

Dan Waddell's first novel, The Blood Detective, is one of them.  M. J. Lee writes the Jayne Sinclair Geneological Mystery Series.  The Irish Inheritance is the first of six book to be published so far in the series. Susan Finlay writes the Tangled Roots Historical Mystery Series.  There are three books in the series to day and they include Bloodlines, Barbed Wire and Breadcrumbs and Bombs. GG Vandergrift is writing the Alex and Bridge Geneological Mysteries. Cynthia Raleigh writes the Pirri Seamore Mystery Series which includes Drawing the Past, Poison Branches and Buried Roots.  Finally, Steve Robinson is writing the Jefferson Tayte geneologist series which currently has 6 books published to date.

I am exited to locate these new to me authors.  Forensic geneology is now one of my favorite mystery sub-genres and I am looking forward to reading these six authors. 

Green Lantern: Legacy

I did not read the original Green Lantern series as I was not yet interested in comics when it was published. Green Lantern Legacy is an off-shoot of the series and fuses the past storyline of the series with a brand new story.  The author, who is a Vietnamese American, has featured an Asian American hero in Tai Pham. Tai Pham is thirteen years old and lives in an apartment above his grandmother's store, the Jade Market. After she dies, Tai Pham learns about a big secret that his grandmother had and it changes his life. After he inherits her jade ring, Tai suddenly discovers that it inducts him into a group of space cops called Green Lanterns. As he learns how to use its power, Tai meets many new characters as his friends encourage him to use the ring wisely.  He also discovers that his neighborhood is overrun with racist bullies.  He is not sure if he can overcome them but begins to learn how to harness the ring's power to defeat them.

I really enjoyed this comic.  While it was written for young readers, this sixtysomething reader found it enheartening.  It's a story of overcoming disadvantages in life and how to deal with racism but told in a friendly, non-threatening way. The brightly colored illustrations also give this serious topic a light feel. The age old American idea that with power comes responsibility is also seen here. There are many lessons young readers can learn from this book. I highly recommend it.

5 out of 5 stars.

The Girl She Wanted

The Girl She Wanted is an engrossing psychological thriller that will satisfy all mystery lovers. The main characters are sisters Carrie Parsons and Alexa Ford. Alexa and her husband Perry have a one year old daughter named Florence.  Carrie adores Florence and spends a lot of time with her, especially since Carrie moved in with the Fords eight months ago after her marriage fell apart. Perry, however, wants Carrie to move out. Carrie is an ER nurse at a local Nottinghamshire hospital. After a junior doctor files a complaint with the hospital management over two mysterious deaths in the ER, Carrie is arrested as a suspect in the deaths and suspended from her job.  An eighty year old man and a one year old baby died in the ER. Soon thereafter Carrie disappears with baby Florence. The plot then thickens as many twists and turns uncover a myriad of of secrets and lies.

I loved the connection between the two sisters.  Alexa is a timid woman who relies on Carrie to help her raise her daughter.  Alexa is afraid to go outside on her own and only goes out with Florence if Carrie is with them.  Their abilities to handle stress become reverted as Alexa gains in confidence and Carrie seems to have internal problems. The tension between the two sisters ratcheted up throughout the book. Of course, there were other strong characters and all of them were women!  Carrie's two best friends are also nurses at the hospital and one of them has a secret too.  

I loved this thriller.  5 out of 5 stars.

The Cipher

 

FBI agent Nina Guerrera escaped a serial killer's trap when she was sixteen-years-old.  Eleven years later when she is jumped in a Virginia park, a video of the attack goes viral. Thousands of new Nina fans are not the only ones impressed with her fighting skills. The man who abducted her eleven years ago was watching also. Determined to reclaim his lost prize, he commits a grisly murder designed to pull her into the investigation. However, he also uses the Internet to invite the public to play along. The killer's coded riddles have made him a social media star dubbed "the cipher." In Nina's eyes he is a monster who preys on vulnerable women. Partnered with the FBI's most prominent mind hunter, Jeffrey Wade, Nina tracks the killer across the country. Nina follows each clue as she races to stop the killer while the world watches online.  

The Cipher is a by-the-seat-of-your-pants crime thriller. It's frequent plot twists keep you reading from the first to the final page. It is a great start for a new series featuring Nina Guerrera as the heroine. While being repeatedly assaulted throughout the book, she quickly bounces back and continues her fight to save other women from the killer. I particularly enjoyed reading about all the different forensic analyses done by the FBI as well as trying to figure out all of the killer's riddles.  

It's about time we had a serial killer mystery that involves social media. It makes the genre more contemporary and believable.  We all know that in today's society social media plays a role both in resolving crimes but also in committing them. Writing social media into novels is a must for the twenty first century author.

I loved this crime thriller. 5 out of 5 stars!

The Cold Millions

Jess Walter's newest novel follows the adventures of two brothers, Gig and Rye Dolan. Their story is set in Spokane, Washington during the free speech protests that occurred in 1909 and 1910.  The Dolans live by their wits, jumping freight trains to apply for day jobs at crooked employment agencies.  These agencies demand money from workers up front for the possibility of obtaining a job.  Rye wants a permanent job and a home but Gig is more interested in doing work for the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).  Gig's fight for better pay and working conditions gets him into a lot of trouble with the company owners and the politicians.  Dubious of Gig's idealism, Rye is drawn to19-year-old activist Elizabeth Gurley Flynn.  However, Gig has a relationship with a vaudeville actress Ursula the Great.  Ursula introduces both brothers to mining magnate Lem Brand who uses both Ursula and Rye in order to maintain control over the success of his company.  After Gig winds up in jail, facing a six month jail sentence for union activity, Rye becomes a willing spy for Brand.  He reports back to Brand on union activity in exchange for his brother's release from jail.  The story continues with the fight between the company owners and the IWW.  The book was published in October 2020.  

What struck me most about this book was that the dialogue sounded like a John Wayne movie.  It was a little off-putting to me in the beginning but I did begin to enjoy the book as the action increased.  However, this historical fiction novel read more to me like a western which is not a genre that I like.  When I selected this book to read, I thought that the author was female. I expected more of a traditional historical novel.  That said, I believe that reading the book would be beneficial to a younger audience who might not be familiar with stories of the Gilded Age or the founding of the unions in America.

3 out of 5 stars.

Book of the Month: October

The expectations that I had for my reading this month were not fulfilled.  I planned on reading specific books from international authors.  However, I did not read any of them.  There were several books by favorite authors that were published last month and they are what I read.  Three of them were spectacular and it was hard to choose a favorite from them.  Ken Follett's The Evening and the Morning, Laura Morelli's The Night Portrait and A. M. Stuart's Revenge in Rubies captivated me.  I would have to say, though, that my favorite book for October is Revenge in Rubies.  It is the second book in the Harriet Gordon Mystery series and was even better than the first, Singapore Sapphire.  It is a superbly plotted whodunit that takes place in Singapore during 1910.

I thought it was pretty cool that the author created a Pinterest page for this book.  On this page you will find photos of churches, grand mansions, maps, clubhouses and famous military men who were stationed in Singapore. This is an ingenious way to advertise the book.

The Perfect Life

 

Psychological thrillers are one of my favorite genres so I decided to purchase the Kindle version of The Perfect Life. It was a fun read but probably should be classified as a murder mystery, not a thriller. While there was enough suspense to keep me reading it did not have the intensity that a thriller should have.  That said, below is the publisher's summary of the plot:  

"Molly Chatwell has a beautiful house, a handsome husband, two children and a job she likes. It all seems so perfect but when her two children leave for university, she realizes her life has become dull and empty.  When her husband refuses to go away with her, Molly decides to go alone.  But what should have been a relaxing break turns into a nightmare.  Back at home in London, Molly tries to put it all behind her but when the police arrive at her door and tell her that a body has been found with connections to her, Molly realizes that her perfect life is under threat."

I had a hard time putting the book down. I read it in one day.  There were some unexpected twists in the plot and the ending was a surprise.  The characters, though, were not appealing, including the main character Molly Chatwell. She was dull.  However, most of what the reader knows about her comes from action in the plot line.  It is hard to like someone you don't know well before the action begins.  

All in all, I did enjoy this plot driven book. I rate it 3 out of 5 stars.

Little Girls Tell Tales

 

Wow!  Rachel Bennett's second novel is an engrossing murder mystery. I read this in one sitting. It strung me along from the first page until its satisfying conclusion. I loved it!

The story opens in 2004 with Rosalie walking with her brother Dallin in the isolated wetlands on the Isle of Man. After losing step with her brother she stumbles across the dead body of a girl who is lying partially in a pond.  Rosalie becomes scared and quickly walks away. She then gets lost in the wooded curraghs of the island and isn't found until her mother asks the other residents to help her find Rosalie.  When Rosalie tells the authorities what she saw, no one believes her. 

Fast forward to the present day with Rosalie still living in her mother's home following the death of her wife Beth. She is shocked into helping Dallin's girlfriend Cora, who is searching for her long lost sister Simone.  Simone disappeared around the same time that Rosalie saw a dead body and Cora wants Rosalie to return to the area with her to search. Rosalie is reluctant because she had been ridiculed all her life for telling the "story" about seeing a dead body. However, she likes Cora and agrees to help her look for her sister.

The book had a quick pace that was led by many twists and turns in the plot. The characters were OK but not memorable enough for a series.  While there were plenty of twists, I wouldn't call the book a thriller as it is advertised. A lack of tight suspense makes it a murder mystery, albeit a fine one. 

4 out of 5 stars.

My First Trip to a Bookstore in a Pandemic

I was excited to find out last week that a Barnes and Noble Bookstore in my neighborhood has reopened.  It's been closed since March 13.  I have missed having a physical book in my hands but was only able to find one book that I was interested in to buy. They are no longer selling magazines and the books on the shelves are old.  Most of the mystery and historical fiction on the shelves I had already read.  This location should do more advertising that it is open.  I was one of four customers in a store that is usually packed at all times.

I bought The Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee.  It takes place in Calcutta in 1919 and is advertised as a whodunit. The book won the CWA award for best historical fiction in 2017. It is Mukherjee's first novel and the first book in a series featuring Sam Wyndham, a former Scotland Yard detective, as the sleuth. He has already published three additional books in the series: Death in the East, A Necessary Evil, and Smoke and Ashes.

The Evening and the Morning

This is the fourth book in Ken Follett's Kingsbridge series.  It is a prequel to The Pillars of the Earth and concerns the founding of the town of Kingsbridge.  At 916 pages it is definitely a chunkster but I love chunky books.  It was a fast read though.  I read it in two days. The Evening and the Morning was published last month on September 15, 2020.  

The story begins in the year 997 CE with the family of Edgar, his brothers Erman and Eadbald, and his parents living in Combe, Shiring Parish, in the west of England. Edgar's father is a well respected boat builder and Edgar hopes to inherit the business one day.  However, after a Viking raid, fire destroyed the entire town of Combe, including the boatyard. Edgar's father is also killed in the raid, leaving the family destitute.  Relying on the good graces of the Dean of Shiring, the family is given swamp land to cultivate and they start over as farmers in Dreng's Ferry. The farm is a mess and they can barely grow crops but they are able to eke out an existence during the rest of the year. Edgar plans to get his family settled and then leave two or three years later to find a job as a boat builder. The book is Edgar's story.

Among the four Kingsbridge novels I like this one is the best.  The Pillars of the Earth is my second favorite. While I loved Pillars, there were lengthy passages on construction that did not interest me. Given how much I liked Pillars, it just goes to show how well The Evening and The Morning was written. Also, the plot moved more smoothly with this novel than with Pillars. The period of time covered is only ten years and the lives of the characters are more entangled together. 

There were two other characters who were prominent to the novel. Brother Aldred is an English monk at Shiring Abbey. He joins the story while on his way home to England, after purchasing books on the continent for the scriptorium at his abbey. Ragna comes from a noble family in Cherbourg. After accepting a marriage proposal from the Ealdorman Wilwulf she travels to England to marry and live with her soon-to-be husband. Aldred and Ragna's lives intersect frequently as they share a common enemy with Edgar:  Bishop Wynstan, the main but not only villain and Wilwulf's brother.

The Evening and the Morning is a must read. 5 out of 5 stars!