Reading from Christmas until now
S is for Silence, is the 19th book by Sue Grafton featuring Kinsey Milhone. I haven’t read many in this series so didn’t know this one is unusual until I read some reviews. Unlike the others there are sections, flashbacks to the past, which are written in the third-person. Kinsey takes on a case that her friend, Tannie, brings to her. Tannie’s friend Daisy wants an explanation for the disappearance of her mother, Violet Sullivan, 35 years ago, so she can put a close to the uncertainty she’s felt for most of her life. Kinsey manages to dig up enough information about the events surrounding the night Violet was last seen to figure out how she vanished and who was responsible. I was left feeling confused because even after spending a lot of time re-reading parts of the book, it was no clearer what the motive was or how the disappearance was managed. That was disappointing.
Murder and Mendelssohn: A Phryne Fisher Mystery is Sue Grafton’s 20th book in the Phryne Fisher series. One of Phryne’s many, convenient, talents is as a singer. Her (of course) lovely voice gives her legitimacy as a member of a choir whose conductor has been found dead, with pages of music stuffed down his throat. Phryne gets to know all the choristers and gradually eliminates them all from the list of suspects. There is also a sub-plot involving the visit of an old friend from war times, when they both worked on a medical team on the battle fields. John Wilson has accompanied a brilliant mathematician, Rupert Sheffield, on his speaking tour and there are rather a lot of distracting passages about John’s unrequited love for Rupert. I felt this book was rushed out on the back of the success of the television series “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries” - while it was quite enjoyable I found it dragged in a lot of places.
The Raven's Eye, by Barry Maitland, is the 12th Brock and Kolla mystery. Kathy Kolla is assigned to what looks like a simple death-by-misadventure -Vicky Hawks has been found by one of her neighbours having apparently died from carbon monoxide poisoning due to inadequate ventilation of her narrowboat’s heater. Kathy isn’t comfortable with the verdict and against the orders of Brock’s new boss, who is determined to cut costs and stick to a tight budget, continues to investigate. Kathy discovers that Vicky Hawks was her assumed name and that her sister died in an accident few years earlier. Kathy begins to suspect that the first death was not accidental either.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. My niece has a copy of this book and when I saw her with it a few years ago I was intrigued - so much detail in all the drawings! We watched the movie on DVD a few months ago so when my daughter borrowed it from the library I finally read it myself. It’s a lovely story about a young orphan, Hugo Cabret, who maintains all the clocks in a Paris railway station. He is always in fear of being caught by the station Inspector and sent to an orphanage. Hugo has an old automaton which he is trying to repair. The parts he needs he steals from the man who runs the toy shop in the station. One day the old shopkeeper catches him and in turn Hugo meets the man’s goddaughter, Isabelle. She and Hugo learn about her Papa Georges’ past and in the end help him to overcome his bitter outlook on life.
The Preacher is Camilla Läckberg's second book about policeman Patrick Hedström and his writer wife Erica Falck. Erica is on maternity leave, awaiting the birth of the couple’s first child. Patrick is also on leave but is recalled to work to tackle his first murder case. A woman’s body has been found, lying on top of the skeletons of 2 other women. It becomes apparent that though the recent death occurred over 20 years after the first two, the three are linked by the similarity in the wounds on the bodies. Patrick and his team start their investigations with the family of the man, Johannes Hult, who was the main suspect in the disappearance of the first 2 women. He was the son of a famous Free Church minister. Johannes died several months after the disappearances but his two sons have grown into men who are constantly in trouble with the police. Their uncle and older cousin appear to live exemplary lives but as the investigations continue into the Hult family, secrets are revealed and the horrifying truth is revealed. Apart from being a gripping read, I was amused that both my daughter’s names were used for characters in this book, one being the mother of one of the original missing girls and the other the most unattractive mother of the two criminal Hult boys.
C.S. Lewis and the Body in the Basement, by Australian Kel Richards, is a fictional account of the events that occur while C.S. Lewis (known as Jack) is on a walking holiday with 2 friends - Warnie and a former student, Tom Morris. They visit a bank branch in Market Plumpton to withdraw money and while they are there a murder is committed. The three friends are required to stay in the village to 'help with investigations" and spend their time conducting their own enquiries in order to clear themselves of all suspicion. The mystery story is interspersed with a running conversation between Jack and Tom, in which Christianity and faith in God is debated rigorously.
Right now, I'm reading The Jewels of Paradise, a Donna Leon book which isn't about Commissario Brunetti. Caterina Pellegrini is a native Venetian, with a doctorate in baroque opera. She's worked for many years overseas but misses Venice, so when she hears about a job back home, she applies and wins the position.
The job is an unusual one. After nearly three centuries, two locked trunks have been discovered. They belonged to a once-famous baroque composer and are believed to contain his papers. He died childless and apparently in poverty. Now two Venetians, descendants of his cousins, each claim inheritance. Caterina’s job is to examine any enclosed papers to discover the “testamentary disposition” of the composer.
The book starts slowly (I'm at about page 100 and the trunks have just been opened!) so I'm yet to decide if I'll end up liking this or not. It has got my attention but I'm not sure if it'll live up to expectations.
Murder and Mendelssohn: A Phryne Fisher Mystery is Sue Grafton’s 20th book in the Phryne Fisher series. One of Phryne’s many, convenient, talents is as a singer. Her (of course) lovely voice gives her legitimacy as a member of a choir whose conductor has been found dead, with pages of music stuffed down his throat. Phryne gets to know all the choristers and gradually eliminates them all from the list of suspects. There is also a sub-plot involving the visit of an old friend from war times, when they both worked on a medical team on the battle fields. John Wilson has accompanied a brilliant mathematician, Rupert Sheffield, on his speaking tour and there are rather a lot of distracting passages about John’s unrequited love for Rupert. I felt this book was rushed out on the back of the success of the television series “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries” - while it was quite enjoyable I found it dragged in a lot of places.
The Raven's Eye, by Barry Maitland, is the 12th Brock and Kolla mystery. Kathy Kolla is assigned to what looks like a simple death-by-misadventure -Vicky Hawks has been found by one of her neighbours having apparently died from carbon monoxide poisoning due to inadequate ventilation of her narrowboat’s heater. Kathy isn’t comfortable with the verdict and against the orders of Brock’s new boss, who is determined to cut costs and stick to a tight budget, continues to investigate. Kathy discovers that Vicky Hawks was her assumed name and that her sister died in an accident few years earlier. Kathy begins to suspect that the first death was not accidental either.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. My niece has a copy of this book and when I saw her with it a few years ago I was intrigued - so much detail in all the drawings! We watched the movie on DVD a few months ago so when my daughter borrowed it from the library I finally read it myself. It’s a lovely story about a young orphan, Hugo Cabret, who maintains all the clocks in a Paris railway station. He is always in fear of being caught by the station Inspector and sent to an orphanage. Hugo has an old automaton which he is trying to repair. The parts he needs he steals from the man who runs the toy shop in the station. One day the old shopkeeper catches him and in turn Hugo meets the man’s goddaughter, Isabelle. She and Hugo learn about her Papa Georges’ past and in the end help him to overcome his bitter outlook on life.
The Preacher is Camilla Läckberg's second book about policeman Patrick Hedström and his writer wife Erica Falck. Erica is on maternity leave, awaiting the birth of the couple’s first child. Patrick is also on leave but is recalled to work to tackle his first murder case. A woman’s body has been found, lying on top of the skeletons of 2 other women. It becomes apparent that though the recent death occurred over 20 years after the first two, the three are linked by the similarity in the wounds on the bodies. Patrick and his team start their investigations with the family of the man, Johannes Hult, who was the main suspect in the disappearance of the first 2 women. He was the son of a famous Free Church minister. Johannes died several months after the disappearances but his two sons have grown into men who are constantly in trouble with the police. Their uncle and older cousin appear to live exemplary lives but as the investigations continue into the Hult family, secrets are revealed and the horrifying truth is revealed. Apart from being a gripping read, I was amused that both my daughter’s names were used for characters in this book, one being the mother of one of the original missing girls and the other the most unattractive mother of the two criminal Hult boys.
C.S. Lewis and the Body in the Basement, by Australian Kel Richards, is a fictional account of the events that occur while C.S. Lewis (known as Jack) is on a walking holiday with 2 friends - Warnie and a former student, Tom Morris. They visit a bank branch in Market Plumpton to withdraw money and while they are there a murder is committed. The three friends are required to stay in the village to 'help with investigations" and spend their time conducting their own enquiries in order to clear themselves of all suspicion. The mystery story is interspersed with a running conversation between Jack and Tom, in which Christianity and faith in God is debated rigorously.
Right now, I'm reading The Jewels of Paradise, a Donna Leon book which isn't about Commissario Brunetti. Caterina Pellegrini is a native Venetian, with a doctorate in baroque opera. She's worked for many years overseas but misses Venice, so when she hears about a job back home, she applies and wins the position.
The job is an unusual one. After nearly three centuries, two locked trunks have been discovered. They belonged to a once-famous baroque composer and are believed to contain his papers. He died childless and apparently in poverty. Now two Venetians, descendants of his cousins, each claim inheritance. Caterina’s job is to examine any enclosed papers to discover the “testamentary disposition” of the composer.
The book starts slowly (I'm at about page 100 and the trunks have just been opened!) so I'm yet to decide if I'll end up liking this or not. It has got my attention but I'm not sure if it'll live up to expectations.