What I've Been Reading - March 2019

You may have noticed that I don’t do standard book reviews. That’s too much like a school assignment, I guess. If you want to know more about the books I recommend here, read the blurbs online.

Anyway, here are my brief comments on a few books I enjoyed recently.

Murder in Just Cause by Anne Cleeland. 

This is the 9^th installment in one of my favorite mystery series, and it’s also one of the best (although nothing can beat book one, Murder in Thrall, which I read 4.5 times before I could move on to something else). 

Usually I get tired of a series by about the 5^th or 6^thbook, but Doyle and Acton are such a great duo, so unusual, so complex, and so perfect for one another, that I dive into these present-day London police procedurals again and again.

(BTW, Ms. Cleeland also writes some fab historical suspense.)

 A Gentlewoman’s Guide to Murder by Victoria Hamilton

 

This mystery takes place in 1810 and centers around the sexual abuse of young girls. It also deals with the subjugation of women (which I suspect will continue to be a central topic if the heroine, Emmeline St. Germaine, blazes her way through more stories in the series). 

She’s incredibly fiery and brave and determined, and she keeps on fighting abuse and injustice through the many twists and turns of the story, as more and more ghastly stuff is revealed. Not an easy read but definitely a worthwhile one. 

 The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

I heard about these books (I guess I would call them long novellas) on Argh Ink, Jennifer Crusie’s blog, where every Thursday we get to talk about our current reads. After seeing them recommended over and over, I caved and read the first two (All Systems Red and Artificial Condition), and I’m so glad I did. 

The narrator is a construct, part organic and part inorganic, a robot but not really. He can hack into almost anything and has control of his own governor module. He’s an entertaining combination of human and non-human characteristics, and the books are written in first person, so we get everything from his unique point of view. They’re a bit pricey for the length but such enthralling reads that I’ll gladly shell out for the others in the series. Highly recommended.

That's it for now,

Barbara

What I've been reading -- September

September was a good month for reading. I read two books I loved, one by an author new to me, and tried out a well-known author, too, which was fun. I am not usually into reading bestsellers, but a friend gave me a spare copy, so why not?

The best-selling author in question is Lee Child, and the book is The Midnight Line. I can see why he is so popular. His character, Jack Reacher, is a drifting, super-macho ex-military dude with a dry sense of humor and (in this book, at least) a “just because” motivation that I loved. Sure, he has angst, but we don’t get bombarded with it. We don't need to, because it's obvious in the way he lives. The story is compelling, and the writing is engaging and easy to read… Will I read any more by Mr. Child? Probably not, because I’m not usually drawn to macho ex-military stuff, but I’m glad I read The Midnight Line.  

On to other books. Murder in Spite is the eighth book in the Doyle and Acton series by Anne Cleeland. It’s another solid addition to the series. Doyle and Acton are wonderful characters. Each new story is like a visit to delightful old friends. (The books have to be read in order; the first, Murder in Thrall, is the best.) Ms. Cleeland writes great historical mystery/thrillers, too. I like her writing style. She’s not afraid to use semi-colons! I’m a big fan of both semi-colons and dashes (in fact, I tend to overdo the dashes) and don’t believe they are distracting to readers. Or maybe I just don’t want to believe it. I like parentheses, too. Hurrah for varied punctuation. ;)

Lastly, a friend recommended The Dark Before Dawn by Jaima Fixsen. OMG, I loved it! It’s historical suspense, taking place during the Congress of Vienna in 1814. Great pacing, well-researched setting, espionage, betrayal, murder, you name it. The central character is brilliant, but I can’t say anymore without giving too much away. Highly recommended!!

That’s it for now! Stay tuned for a Christmas anthology coming out next week.

Barbara