I'm waaaay behind with my reviews - nothing new there - so I'll do one of my 'quick catch-up' posts because otherwise I'm never going to be up to date, and books that deserve talking about will not get any mention at all. Which would be a shame.
First up, Murder on Liberty Bay by Dennis Shock, which is a cosy mystery book that Margot spoke about in this video.
Next, Breaking Creed by Alex Kava. I'm not sure where I heard about this series but feel it has to be on Lark's blog. Anyway, this is book 1 in an 8 book series and there's also a previous series about Maggie O'Dell, an FBI agent who also features heavily in Breaking Creed.
Ryder Creed is a US army veteran who owns working dogs. He and his business partner hire them out for various jobs such as searching for drugs at airports and ports or at sea. On one such trip he takes Gracie, his Jack Russell terrier, and discovers a boat with hold full of trafficked children. Not long after, he rescues a panicked 14 year old girl at an airport and gives her shelter. What's the connection? It's not long before Maggie O'Dell, a previous associate who works with the FBI, becomes involved and Ryder and his dogs are called upon to do more than search for drugs and then walk away. I 'really' liked this first book in a new to me K9 series. It's quite hard hitting. Be warned, there's quite a bit about drug mules and it's not pleasant. A cosy this is 'not'. I liked Ryder a lot, Maggie too and the dogs were great, especially Gracie. I feel this could become a very good series and felt very lucky when I popped to the library last weekend and was able to grab the next few books. Happy Camper!
Lastly, not a crime book but historical fiction this time. The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin was amongst several left for me by Constance from Staircase Wit when she visited us a couple of years ago.
Grace Bennett has moved to London from Norfolk with her friend, Viv. It's August 1939 and everyone knows another terrible war is imminent. They move in with a friend of Grace's late mother, Mrs. Weatherford, and her son, Colin who is in his early twenties and of fighting age. Viv gets her dream job working in Harrods because she fakes a letter of recommendation. Grace's mean-spirited uncle would not give her one so Mrs. Weatherford arranges a job in a bookshop her. The owner of the bookshop, Mr. Evans, doesn't really want her there but she makes the best of it and starts to bring in changes which bring new customers. And then war with Germany is declared. I wasn't sure about this one at first. It seemed rather pedestrian. But then I got sucked into Grace's life at the bookshop, her relationships, the people who find the shop, how she 'does her bit' for the war effort and so on. The book is quite strong on the devastation of the The Blitz (if you want really strong I would recommend Life After Life by Kate Atkinson or Dear Mrs. Bird by A.J. Pearce) and what it did to people. Unimaginable for those of us lucky enough not to have lived through it. It's very much a 'found family' story, which is one of my favourite 'tropes'. To be honest, this is a 3.5 book which I upgraded to 4 because it brought me to tears a couple of times, despite the writing being a tiny bit average. One for my personal challenge of reading half a dozen 'world war' books this year.
So that's it, up to date, except that I've nearly finished another book which is A Death in the Parish, book 2 in the Reverand Richard Coles' 'Cannon Clement' series. Enjoying this a lot. Hope you're well and enjoying some good books this month.
18 comments:
Thank you, Cath, for the kind mention. I'm very glad you liked Murder on Liberty Bay. The Last Bookshop in London appeals to me! I do love a book-ish context in a novel, and it does sound as though one could learn from that one!
Nice to hear about what you've been reading. I haven't tried any of those, but maybe one day. Have a good weekend, Cath!
Hi Cath, very glad you liked Liberty Bay. I will be reading it in March. I have never been to the Pacific North West so this is the next best thing. Agree with you about cozy mysteries. They can be a hit or a miss. I read an article sometime back that Louise Penny's mysteries are cozy but also hard edged and of course there is Penny's wonderful characters and the town of Three Pines.
I know we have spoken about the first couple of your books previously and whilst I have obviously misjudged the genre of Alex Kava's storylines and they do sound right up my street, gory details and all, the series is so far entrenched that I just know I shall never be able to catch up, so I am going to give it a miss!
However, the Madeline Martin book is heading right for my wish list, together with the other three of her stand alone novels, as they all have reference to books in their titles and all sound really good! I shall bear in mind your thoughts that this was only a 3.5 star read for you, but I think I still need to check at least one of the books out for myself. I don't think that any more of the many series the author has written really appeal to me though.
You really are powering ahead with your reading, whilst I am stagnating, as we are having to concentrate on the garden as much as possible, as we are now four years into a subsidence claim and none of the mitigation instigated by the loss adjusters is having a positive effect - Stressful or what!!
have a good weekend :)
Margot: You're most welcome. And thanks again for recommending Murder on Liberty Bay. I certainly did learn a bit from The Last Bookshop in London. Every book I read about The Blitz underlines what a horrific time it was for Londoners. It's quite hard to take it all in to be honest.
Kay: You might like the Kava books, to be honest I thought it was series you already read. LOL
You have a good weekend too.
Kathy: I hope you enjoy Liberty Bay when you get to it. Cosy mysteries are definitely a bit hit and miss but I liked this one. Hmmm, I don't think I agree with the article you read calling Louise Penny's Gamache series 'cosy'. I think she's somewhere in the middle of the crime writing spectrum, very good writing and quite an edge to them in places, despite the lovely village of Three Pines.
Yvonne: Oh goodness, I didn't realise you were still up to your neck in all that subsidence and mitgation stuff. How awful for you. I do hope you get some progress soon, it must horribly stressful.
The series that Madeline Martin has written don't really appeal to me either but, like you, her standalones that seem to be all about books do appeal, so I'll be looking for those too.
Have a good weekend!
I am glad you enjoyed The Last Bookshop in London. I liked it despite two objections: 1) I found Grace a boring character, and 2) I felt the author tried to cram in too much history; it seemed like she was showing off. An appealing cover!
Breaking Creed sounds good and my library has it - there are several books waiting for me, however, so I don't think I will get to it right away. I also have the first Coles book on hold so it should turn up sooner or later.
I thought about reading a book by Alex Kava years ago but I always thought the author was male. I will see what I can find at the book sale, and try out something by her.
The Last Bookshop in London sounds like it would be good but your relatively low rating makes me think twice. I think it is the kind of book I would try if I find it at a low price, just because of the setting during World War II.
You know I love the Ryder Creed series, but I also really enjoyed The Last Bookshop in London, especially the ending. She's got another book out that's high on my TBR list. :D
Like Lark, I love the Ryder Creed series. I had the pleasure of meeting Alex Kava several years ago when she appeared with several other authors at a conference held by The Poisoned Pen.
I have The Last Bookshop in London on my Kindle, but it keeps getting shoved deeper into the "pile". Now... if only I weren't such a magpie!
Constance: Yes, I do agree that Grace was a tiny bit boring but I didn't find the history too overdone, if I'm honest. I've read worse. LOL!
I hope you like the first Coles book. Like a lot of first books in a series, it's a work in progress. I found book 2 better but with 'possibly' a bit too much religious history. I think it must be his 'thing'.
Tracy: I too thought Alex Kava was male... until I decided to look at the writer's page on Fantastic Fiction. Oh.
A 3.5 star rating would be slightly above average for me but I do think it best to get this one cheaply if you can. I would not have bought it, if I'd decided to read it and didn't already have it, I would've reserved it from the library. The WW2 London setting is done quite well, and the overall theme is very 'bookshop-ish' with other shops featured, not just the one Grace is involved with.
Lark: So pleased to have discovered the Ryder Creed series via you. I think she has several standalones that are bookish so I must investigate those too.
Cathy: So wonderful that you met Alex Kave at one of the Poisoned Pen meetings.
I actually went through some my Kindle books last night and deleted a load of free dross that I'd downloaded as free when I first got a Kindle about 15 years ago. Felt very good to do that. But I can still describe myself as a magpie, just like you. Oh well, there are worse vices.
Cath, interesting group of books, all very different from each other, I see. Thanks for the link to Margot's review, I enjoyed that even though I so seldom read cosy mysteries anymore unless they are classics of the genre. I swear I've read that "last bookstore" novel but can't find a trace of it anywhere. Makes me wonder if I'm getting it mixed up with a similar novel about a WWII bookstore novel set in Paris. Too many "bookstore novels" jumbled up in my head to keep track of them anymore. Happy Reading!
Sam: I think of myself as 'not a cosy reader' too, but just recently I do seem to have read more of them than usual. And I've been lucky as all have been quite good.
'Too many bookstore novels' hits the nail on the head and they all meld into one. It must be the latest thing publishers are telling their authors to write. I don't mind them but eventually I think I'm not going to want any more for a while!
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