Pick of the Month -- Gentlemen and Players

Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris (on audiobook)
Setting: St. Oswald's Grammar School for Boys, England
Rating: 5.0
"It is the game, not he who plays it," Roy Straitley, Latin master at St. Oswald's, tells his nemesis at one point. But oh, this book is about the players as much as the game. The narration alternates between Straitley and Snyde, whose father once was the school's porter. It also flashes back to Snyde's childhood, one spent yearning to be part of St. Oswald's. Eventually, Snyde steals a school uniform and sneaks into St. Oswald's, becoming fast friends with student Leon. But all this pretense leads to drastic consequences, and 15 years later, Snyde is back, masquerading as a teacher and seeking revenge, maybe even murder. Can Straitley, now near retirement, stop Snyde? This book was riveting, and made all the better by narrator Steven Pacey, who with just slight changes of voice, brings us the two narrators. The book will definitely be on my top 10 this year, and I give it a perfect rating, not finding one thing wrong with it!

Kindle That!

In Sunday's review of books, New York Times reviewer Marilyn Stasio has this to say about books vs. the Kindle:

"Honestly, the ideas some people try to put in our heads. Like the absurd notion that you shouldn’t choose a book by its cover. What better reason to reach for one of the compact, beautifully designed, irresistibly tactile Penguin paperback editions of Georges Simenon’s great Inspector Maigret mysteries than the pure desire to hold such a pretty thing in your hand? And then, maybe open it. Read a page or two. Get lost. I confess I made my first two selections (“The Hotel Majestic” and “The Bar on the Seine,” $12 each) on the sheer basis of looks because, regardless of the fact that classic Maigret is an incomparable pleasure even in a ratty edition, this particular series is a work of art. As executed by Jesse Marinoff Reyes, each cover is black, with the silvered lines and squared-off typography of Art Deco, and edged in color with a different geometric design. Many also have period cover photographs by Brassaï that are their own invitation to step inside a long-lost Parisian world. To look is to lust; to touch is to swoon. So — Kindle that, people!"

I, personally, have nothing against the Kindle. I listen to audiobooks, after all. Still, I do love the tactile feel of turning the page, and seeing the words on the page. And while I don't usually buy books based on the covers, I do admire a well-crafted book. I've bought some vintage books based just on the "look" of them -- after all, I had no real need for that little yellow edition of "The Observer's Book of Common Fungi."

New author websites

It's always hard to know if a new author will hit home with you. That's why it's so important that they have websites or blogs where you can, well, sort of test-drive them. One good example is over at the Detective Kubu site. Detective Kubu is a new series (one book published, one in the works) by Michael Stanley (the writing team of Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip. It's set in Botswana, but don't confuse it with Alexander McCall-Smith's Precious Ramotswe. This series seems quite different. For a preview, check out the short story on their site.

Over at Mystery Turtles, nine authors blog about their lives and about getting published. In the latest post, author Morgan Mandel wonders if the price of gas will affect the number of books being published since, for some people, buying books is a luxury.

For those with thoughts of becoming a writer, Radine Trees Nehring has written a multi-part blog entry on what it takes to get published. It's very comprehensive.

Murderous Musings is another website I'll have to bookmark. Here six authors talk about everything -- from the Dexter novels to their murder weapon of choice (for their characters, of course!).

July reads

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan (audio)
Protagonists: Edward and Florence
Setting: Chesil Beach, England
Rating: 4.5
As always, McEwan is a masterful manipulator of words -- and the reader's emotions. There's not much I can say about the book without giving away what happens. It does mostly center on one night -- the wedding night of a young, inexperienced couple. Edward is looking forward to it; Florence is terrified. It's a story of love, chances not taken, and regret. I especially recommend the audiobook, which has an interview with McEwan, explaining the choices he made in the book.

We Shall Not Sleep by Anne Perry
Protagonists: Reavley family
Setting: Western Front, 1918
Rating: 4.6
In this, the last of the five-book arc that spans World War I, the war is almost over, anticipated to end in a few weeks. But the Reavley siblings are rushing to uncover the man they call "the Peacemaker," who was behind their parents' murder and who seeks to break any stability that peace may bring. They get their break when his German counterpart crosses the line to meet with intelligence services officer Matthew Reavley. But before they can get him to London, a nurse is viciously murdered on the front, and the Reavleys have to find her killer before they can move the German officer. Although this book was not as strong as others in the series, it wraps up all the loose ends nicely -- and finishes on a perfect note. I highly recommend this series.


I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming
Protagonists: Rev. Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne
Setting: Millers Kill
Rating: 4.8
It's been two months since the accident that killed Russ' wife, and he and Clare haven't spoken in all that time. But then an accident involving undocumented Mexican migrants brings them together, and soon they are solving a string of deaths. Meanwhile, a new character, Hadley Knox, is introduced -- one that Spencer-Fleming has said may spin off into another series. Spencer-Fleming manages to pair a controversial topic -- illegal immigrants -- with a trio of love stories, the main one, of course, being the relationship between Clare and Russ. The author, however, isn't done with the Clare and Russ story -- this book ends on another cliffhanger.

Rating system:
5.0: Wow -- must read!
4.0: A book I'd recommend
3.0: Mediocre to good
2.0: Pretty Bad

Favorite authors and more

Oh, happy day! My library system has a new program in which you can sponsor books. Each time your author writes a new book, you can pay for the book (at the library's lower cost) and be the first patron to read the book (with an expanded due date, too!). Thanks to the program, this weekend I walked away with I Shall Not Want, the sixth in Julia Spencer-Fleming's series. I discovered JSP last year and devoured all five books. As JSP says in this interview at Bookreporter, there will be a seventh novel, but the series will be limited. I'm not averse to that -- I think series should have a limit. But I will be digging into I Shall Not Want very soon!

One favorite author, Martin Edwards, writes about another favorite author, Peter Lovesey, and his most recent book, The Headhunters. Hmmm, another to add to my TBR list.

Susan Hill (yes, another favorite author. I have a long list, OK?) writes that she was puzzled about a recent review of the Serrailler series (the third of which is on my nightstand).

And over at The Washington Post, publisher Jonathan Karp has a must-read piece on the state of publishing. And what happens to books that don't sell ...

Around the blogs

Robert Fate, who has written a great series about a tough, young woman, is interviewed at Poe's Deadly Daughters. He shares with us good news: Baby Shark, the first in the series, might well become a movie. We hope so -- it would make a terrific movie.

Fate has written his books in the voice of a young woman. One of my favorite authors, Andrew Taylor, has written about why this is so hard for men to do sometimes. His advice to male writers: "Just shut up and listen."

At In For Questioning, another great interview, this time with Scottish writer Donna Moore (Go to Helena Handbasket). Moore's a hoot, and so is this interview.

June reads

The Darkness and the Deep by Aline Templeton (2nd in a series)
Protagonist: Det. Insp. Marjory Fleming
Setting: Kirkluce, Scotland
Rating: 4.7
When a lifeboat rescue crew of three hits a rocky shore and dies, it turns out to be murder -- lights were set out that diverted them from their landing site. Then a fourth member of the rescue crew is killed in a hit-and-run. Templeton writes in the classic, cozy tradition, but brings real-life situations to her mysteries: drugs, underage pregnancy and anorexia (Fleming's daughter, in this case). In this second book, we also delve more into Fleming's team: Tam McNee, who loves to quote Scottish poet Robert Burns, the young Tansy Kerr and a newcomer out to prove himself, Jonathan Kingsley. Can they overcome their jockeying for Fleming's favor to solve the murders? Wonderfully written mystery -- fast becoming one of my favorite series.

Lying Dead by Aline Templeton (3rd in series)
Protagonist: Det. Insp. Marjory Fleming
Setting: Drunmbreck, Scotland
Rating: 4.9
When a young woman is found dead in the woods, Fleming and her team first have to find out who she is. With Fleming out of town for a day, two of her officers seem to have wrapped up the case -- or have they? Another murder is committed, one that can't be pinned on the first suspect. In the meantime, the divisions in Fleming's department widen to an unbearable point. With tensions high, Templeton delivers a whopper of an ending. With the year half-over, I think Templeton will be my find of the year -- a writer using the classic traditions of mystery in a fresh, powerful way.

Ammunition by Ken Bruen
Protagonist: Det. Sgt. Brant
Setting: Southeast London
Rating: 3.0
Four pages into the book, the amoral, unlikable Brant is shot and taken to the hospital. As he tries to solve who shot him, the rest of the cops in his precinct are getting into all sorts of trouble -- drugs, setting up innocent bystanders in order to get off an unpleasant assignment, organizing a vigilante's group (of senior citizens). This is very dark humor. Bruen fans will probably love this. Just not my cuppa tea.

T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton (audio)
Protagonist: Kinsey Millhone
Setting: Santa Teresa, Calif.
Rating: 4.0
Kinsey suspects that an elderly neighbor is being abused and robbed by his caregiver. We know it to be so, because the book alternates between Kinsey and Solana Rojas, the nurse. But, for Kinsey, proving it becomes more difficult. In T, Grafton has written one of her most chilling characters, and written a truly scary story about elder abuse. In my opinion, the best book in the series.

An Advancement of Learning by Reginald Hill (2nd in a series) (audio)
Protagonists: Andy Dalziel and Peter Pascoe
Setting: Holm Coultram College, England
Rating: 3.4
Dalziel and Pascoe are called to the college when, while a statue is being moved, a skeleton is found underneath. This is followed shortly by the fresh murder of a student. While this 1971 book is a bit dated (student protests and student orgies) and the narrator of the audiobook was terrible, any Hill book can still make me smile. Just plop Dalziel into an academic setting, and that in itself is worthwhile. Dalziel hates academicians -- but he hates the students, too. Pascoe, meanwhile, is trying to reignite an old flame -- despite Dalziel's interruptions. Characters in this book figure on later in the series, so that's another good reason to read this early novel.

Around the blogs

At Eurocrime, there's an interview with Turkish author Mehmet Murat Somer about his Hop-Ciki-Yaya series, which stars what might be the world's first
transvestite detective. His first book has recently been released in the UK, The Prophet Murders.

Carnival of the Criminal Minds jumps to author Sandra Ruttan's blog this week, where she continues a discussion on a mystery/crime fiction primer. Ruttan also directs us to other good crime fiction blogs. Expect to spend some time clicking around!

Another blog chock-full of information is Mysteries in Paradise, with its Sunday salon on what slows down your reading. I know I'll always find something worthwhile on this blog.

And at the incomparable Sarah Weinman's blog, she tells us about the book you HAVE to read.

May reads

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson (audio)
Rating: 4.0.
This was a book given to me, and I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. After all, I'm not a hiker and my one camping trip was, well, short of spectacular (lots of humidity and bugs). But I thoroughly enjoyed Bryson's wry sense of humor (and his laconic voice) in describing his hikes on the Appalachian Trail, accompanied by friend Stephen Katz. The book drags a little at some points, but it does gives one an appreciation for the trail and the hardships of hiking -- and Bryson and Katz don't even encounter any bears or rattlesnakes. At some point, the duo decide they aren't going to hike the entire trail -- it is, after all, more than 2,100 miles long. But they do hike a pretty big chunk of it in several segments. And while the book did scare me off from doing any long hikes, I'm thinking I can maybe handle a small hike here or there.

Cold in the Earth by Aline Templeton
Protagonist: Det. Insp. Marjory Fleming
Setting: Galloway, Scotland
Rating: 4.7
Before I was even done with this book, I was ordering the next two in the series. Templeton gives us a very realistic, likable protagonist in Marjory Fleming, who is torn between her job and her family during a time of crisis. In the midst of a foot-and-mouth epidemic in Scotland, which decimates most of the animals in this farming community, Fleming is confronted with the discovery of a skeleton -- that of a young woman that disappeared 20 years ago. The woman's sister also happens to have arrived, searching for clues, and suddenly is in danger herself. Templeton weaves a strong plot, but her strength is in the beautifully crafted characters. Every character in the book, even the most minor of them, is well sketched and brought to life. Templeton is not as well known as other Scottish writers, such as Ian Rankin or Denise Mina, but I'm hoping she will be someday.

Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine
Protagonist: Ben Tanaka
Setting: Berkeley, Calif., and Manhattan
Rating: 4.0
I need to listen to recommendations more often. For the second time this month, someone has handed me something I didn't think would bowl me over, but it did. In this case, a graphic novel. A cartoon, I thought. Sure, it's not serious literature, but Tomine still manages to address issues such as racism, stereotypes and relationships in this 103-page novel centering around sarcastic, insecure Ben Tanaka and long-suffering girlfriend Miko. The novel is at times hilarious, and at others heart-breaking. It only takes an hour or so to read, but it'll stay with you for awhile.

At Some Disputed Barricade by Anne Perry (fourth in series)
Protagonists: Reavley children
Setting: Western Front, 1917
Rating: 4.0
For anyone following my posts, you'll know I've been captivated by this World War I series. Each book contains a mystery, but there's a bigger mystery thread in this series: who is the Peacemaker, the man who is trying to achieve peace at any cost to England, and who is behind the murder of the Reavleys' parents? In the last book, we thought the Peacemaker had died. Not so. With this book, Matthew is back to following the Peacemaker. Joseph has returned to the front as a chaplain, where his sister Judith is an ambulance driver. When an unpopular colonel is killed, possibly by one of his own men, Joseph has to unravel the mystery, which may also involve his sister. A powerful look at the front -- and at war.


The Woods by Harlan Coben
Protagonist: Paul Copeland, county prosecutor
Setting: New Jersey
Rating: 3.4
Twenty years ago, there was a tragedy in the woods: two teenagers were killed and two others disappeared at a summer camp, including Copeland's sister. The guilt weighs on Copeland, who was supposed to be guarding the camps, but snuck into the woods with his girlfriend. But then one of the disappeared campers turns up -- he's been recently murdered -- giving Copeland hope that his sister may still be alive somewhere. Lots of twists and turns in this book, and a lot of good, witty dialogue. However, one of the plot lines will seem very similar to people who follow current events, and some of the resolution will seem implausible. Overall, though, a good summer thriller.

The Chameleon's Shadow by Minette Walters
Protagonist: Lt. Charles Acland
Setting: London
Rating: 3.0
Lt. Charles Acland returns from fighting in Iraq with half his face disfigured, and the loss of an eye. Not only that, he's a very bitter man and prone to violence just before he's afflicted with crippling migraines. Can Acland be behind the murders of three men? There seem to be a lot of connections pointing to him. With police investigating, and psychologists trying to help Acland, Walters unravels the plot. I thought Walters and her brand of psychological thriller would be a slam-dunk for me; The Devil's Feather was on my "tops" list last year. But there was only one character I liked in this book -- and it wasn't the protagonist. I also saw early on what would happen, which made the book drag for me.

Rating system:
5.0: Wow -- must read!
4.0: A book I'd recommend
3.0: Mediocre to good
2.0: Pretty Bad