Death du Jour

My first book for the R.I.P. X challenge is Death du Jour by Kathy Reichs.

The story begins with forensic anthropologist, Dr. Temperance Brennan, exhuming the remains of a nun buried at the end of the 19th. century, in the remains of an old church in Montreal. She returns home exhausted but there's no rest for the wicked as not many hours later she's called out to help investigate an arson attack. A family, parents and two babies, have been murdered and Tempe also discovers the charred remains of an elderly woman in the basement. It proves impossible to discover who they all are as the neighbours don't know them and clues in the remains of the house are non-existant.

Tempe returns to her other job in the university in Charlotte, North Carolina, but it's not long before a colleague from Montreal, Andrew Ryan, calls about the arson case. He's travelling south to pick up the trail of the dead family. Phone calls have been traced to a town on the South Carolina coast where a cult has taken up residence and Ryan wants Tempe to go with him to investigate. Tempe has a lot going on, plus is fighting an attraction to Ryan, so is reluctant to go. She's eventually persuaded though and travels south for a few days with her daughter. They eventually track the cult's remote residence to an island off the coast. Oddly it seems orderly and well-run but Tempe feels they're hiding something. It takes more deaths and all her ingenuity and bravery to discover what that thing is.

I thought this second book in the series was even better than the first. I liked the Montreal setting of the first book and this one is partly set there too... but when it moves south to The Carolinas it becomes rivetting and more psychologically frightening in my opinion. It's the cult thing that creates that fear and there's a lot about the issue in the story. How do they recruit people? Why do people believe their nonsense and get sucked in? How do they hang on to their recruits and what can sometimes be the tragic outcome? (Think Waco.) I found it fascinating and not a little scary.

It wouldn't be any exaggeration to call the pace of the plot 'relentless'. It's one thing after another with dead bodies all over the place and poor Tempe being required to be in a dozen places at once, permanently exhausted and drained from the horror of what's going on and what she has to do. I felt for her and wished she would occasionally say, 'No' to people.

Towards the end the action moves back to Montreal and final scenes take place during the famous ice-storm of 1998. This was brilliantly done and is one of the best parts of the book. Edge of the seat stuff really. Kathy Reichs really does do 'place' very well indeed and this book illustrates that well whether she's describing the heat and humidity of South Carolina or the frigidity of winter-time Quebec.

This is not your normal ghostly R.I.P. read. But for me the very real background to this crime story made it just as frightening as any supernatural yarn and a good book for the challenge.

~~~oOo~~~

Little Beach Street Bakery

My first book for September is a romance set in my home county of Cornwall. I don't read this sort of thing very often but I spotted it in the library, saw the magic word 'Cornwall' on the cover and that was it... home it came. The book is Little Beach Street Bakery and it's by Jenny Colgan.

Polly's life disintegrates around her when the business she's running with her boyfriend, Chris, collapses and they're declared bankrupt. Chris takes it very badly and the couple split up leaving Polly with no job and nowhere to go. She sees a flat for rent in Cornwall and on a whim decides to move to Mount Polbeare which, like St. Michael's Mount, becomes an island twice a day with the movement of the tides. Her best friend thinks she's mad but Polly needs to get away and re-evaluate her life.

The flat is terribly shabby but the view out to sea is amazing and it's a place where Polly can regroup and find her feet again. The island itself is a quiet haven although the tourist season is fast approaching when things will get much busier. Polly makes friends with some local fishermen and one day happens to bake some bread for them. Word gets out that she's a good baker but it brings her into conflict with her landlady who also owns the local bakery. The problem is that the bread for sale there is bought in and not that great whereas Polly's bread is home-made and delicious.

One of the fishermen, Tarnie, is clearly interested in Polly, but so is an American, Huckle, living in a remote cottage on the mainland and trying to get by by keeping bees and selling the honey. Having just split with Chris, she feels this a complication she doesn't need. What she does know is that her very limited finances will not last and that she needs to find a job. But what can she do?

Well then... as I said I don't read much of this kind of book, commonly known, I suppose, as 'chick-lit'. Not a term I like much to be honest as it feels a bit derogatory, though I'm not certain why I feel that way. Perhaps because I don't feel like a 'chick'. LOL! And anyway, in Cornwall if someone uses the word 'chick' they're more likely to be referring to a child. I digress.

The book is quite a cosy read I suppose, but it depends on how you read it. Polly loses her business and her relationship at the same time. Not at all cosy. Her former boyfriend and business partner would not communicate with her when it became clear the business was going belly up. He's a pain in arse in fact. He took his misery out on her and she struggled with it for a couple of years. Also not cosy. Information is fed to you about this throughout the book and you can't help but feel she was well rid of him.

The place she moves to is a bit like St. Michael's Mount in that it's cut off twice a day by the tide. It's not identical though as the village on the fictional island is much bigger, and reminded me more of Sennen Cove, being built on a steep hill. Whatever, it really took me back to Cornwall and that aspect was beautifully done. I could smell the sea, feel the breeze on my face, see and hear the fishing boats in the harbour and so on. The author doesn't prettify life for local people in Cornwall though. Yes, the surroundings are gorgeous but making a living is hard. People often work two or three jobs, property is expensive and tragedies happen amongst the fishing community. The elderly find it particularly hard to survive too.

Polly's bread baking habit is a delghtful and fascinating part of the book. I don't bake bread myself but know someone who does and it was really interesting to read about and follow her baking exploits. And at the back of the book are a selction of recipes for anyone who wants to give it a try.

Any negative points? Not really. The book was pretty much as I expected. I wasn't crazy about the two new men in Polly's life and I also wondered how many parents in the 1980s called their daughters 'Polly'. Surely it went out of fashion in the 1950s and has not returned... But that's just me nit-picking. The book was enjoyable, had good sense of place, and was not at all as cosy as one might think given the genre. It also turns out it's book one of a new series and book 2, Summer at the Little Beach Street Bakery is just out. I shall grab it at the library if I see it and might investigate other books by Jenny Colgan.

~~~oOo~~~

Books read in August

Happy September to everyone reading this! My favourite time of year, autumn, is almost here and I couldn't be more delighted. The evenings are drawing in and the last few weeks have been cool and comfortable. I've been busy a lot of the summer with family and the garden so book reviews have been few and far between. It's been nice as I do enjoy my grandchilden immensely and we've had a lot of fun spending time with them this summer. But soon they'll be back to school and normality will return and I'll get back to doing a few book reviews... especially now that R.I.P. has begun.

Anyway, this past month I've read four books again and these are they.

38. The Wrath of Angels - John Connolly

39. August Folly - Angela Thirkell


40. Summer Half - Angela Thirkell

41. Arms of Nemesis - Steven Saylor

The hideously disfigured body was found in the atrium. The only clues are a blood-soaked cloak, and, carved into the stone at the corpse's feet, the word Sparta . . . The Overseer of Marcus Crassus's estate has been murdered, apparently by two slaves bent on joining Spartacus's revolt. The wealthy, powerful Crassus vows to honor an ancient law and have his ninety-nine remaining slaves slaughtered in three days. Gordianus the Finder is summoned from Rome by a mysterious client to find out the truth about the murder before the three days are up. (Blurb from Goodreads.)

Well, gosh, this was a bit of a cracking read. I enjoyed the first book in the series, Roman Blood, very much indeed. I didn't imagine that book 2 would surpass it in excellence... but it did. Shifting the action from the city of Rome to the Gulf of Puteoli worked a treat and what you get from that is gorgeous descriptions of the coast of Italy and frequent mentions of Vesuvius brooding over the scene. Wonderful. Once again, as with the first book, the plight of Roman slaves comes right to the fore. More so in this book as the author portrays what it's like to be a house-slave and, in one very memorable scene at the beginning, the daily horror of being a galley-slave on a ship. Apparently, just about the worst job any slave could find himself doing. The mystery was excellent... I decided who the culprit was fairly early on and was completely wrong. Naturally. All good fun. I'm really looking forward to reading more of these now - I'm finding it rather interesting discovering more about Ancient Rome and the Romans... both in Rome and here in Britain.

So, four very enjoyable books read in August. I loved all four to be honest so I'm not picking a favourite for once. Very nice to have a reading month where all of my books are very good. Hope September is equally as satisfying.

~~~oOo~~~

R.I.P. X

Autumn is almost here (our weather for the past few weeks in the UK has felt like it's already here) and with it comes the annual Readers Imbibing Peril challenge, or RIP for short. This year is its 10th. anniversary and to mark that Carl, who usually hosts it, is handing the reins to the ladies at The Estella Society. Nothing else has changed though, the Perils are still the same and so are the rules etc. So without further ado, R.I.P. X:

This lovely artwork is used with the kind permission of Abigail Larson.

As always there are various different ways to participate, you can just read a number of novels of your choice, you can read short stories, watch films, take part in the group read and so on.

As usual, I shall be doing:

Peril the First: Read four books, any length, that you feel fit (the very broad definitions) of R.I.P. literature. It could be King or Conan Doyle, Penny or Poe, Chandler or Collins, Lovecraft or Leroux…or anyone in between.

I may also do:

Peril the short story. Which is to read short stories over the weekends or at other times if you prefer.

The rules:

1. Have fun reading (and watching).
2. Share that fun with others.

The kind of books to read:

Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.

Anyway, I have selected a few books I'd like to get to and these are they (click for a clearer view):

Which of these I'll get to I'm not sure, hopefully all of the novels, plus one or two that I have on my ereaders, and a reread of some of the short story volumes. We shall see.

Hope everyone has a lot of fun with RIP this year and many thanks to Andi and Heather at The Estella Society for hosting.

~~~oOo~~~

Two Angela Thirkells

Sometimes you're just in the mood for 'gentle'... as in books that are undemanding, charming, humorous... gentle. Which is how I ended up reading a couple of Angela Thirkell books in a row. First up, August Folly.

The Dean family, mother and father Rachel and Frank, and six of their nine children are coming to the Dower house for the summer. The oldest son, Laurence, 27, is to inherit the Palmer estate, the Palmers being childless. 'Organising' Mrs. Palmer is putting on a play for the village and has decided that it will be the Greek play, Hippolytus. The plan is to rope in the Dean family to act in the play and also the Tebbens, whose son and daughter, Richard and Margaret are also home for the summer. Richard is rather self-centred, his parents' golden boy, didn't work hard at university and thus got a third for his degree. Margaret has been working abroad, where she knew Laurence Dean quite well. Richard is dreading the summer with parents who annoy and embarrass him, but has reckoned without the irrepressible Deans.

These Angela Thirkell novels are sheer delight from start to finish. This one had a lot of characters so it was necessary to concentrate a bit to remember who was who but even I managed to get there in the end. The story is basically a romance but Thirkell did not write in a sentimental manner about people so these stories are not soppy in any way. They're full of humour and very accurate as regards human failings. I love how Richard, in his early twenties, falls for the middle-aged mother of nine children. The eldest Dean girl, Helen, is so possessive of her brother, Laurence, that she's made miserable when he seems to be falling for Margaret. And the children in Thirkell's books are always so real... there's even a couple of mentions of Tony Morland from previous books. All in all... delightful. I have a feeling I'm going to end up with a massive collection of Angela Thirkell's books.

Next, Summer Half.

Colin Keith is studying for the Bar but decides that he shouldn't be so dependant on his parents and takes a post as a teacher at Southbridge School for boys. The head master and his wife have two daughters, one of whom, Rose, is engaged to Philip Winter a teacher in the same house as Colin. Rose is beautiful, but far from clever. She's also flighty and likes to have the attention of every man in the room. It makes Philip edgy and unpredictable. Colin has two sisters, Lydia, still at school, and the beautiful Kate. Colin's house master, Everard Carter, falls for Kate but Kate seems to be interested in someone else. Add in two schoolboys, Eric Swan and Tony Morland from Demon in the House, now older but still irrepressible, and you have a recipe for much drama and highjinks both at school and during the holidays.

This Angela Thirkell again has a 'huge' cast of characters, all of them very individual with quirks and flaws that make them very real. I always like a book set in a school so that was delightful too and it was very nice to see Tony Morland again, who hadn't changed much in the intervening five or so years. The romantic tangles and misunderstandings were of a similar nature to August Folly, at least in one instance, but as I enjoyed that aspect that was fine. Again there was a lot of humour to the fore mainly as regards the quirks in human nature. One thing strikes as you read these books, set in the 1930s, and that's how much fun the children had outdoors. Even the older ones at 16 or 17 were happy getting messy clearing out a pond or swimming in the river. And reading! Goodness they were well read. They seemed so much younger than modern kids of that age which was rather refreshing. Another super read from Angela Thirkell... I gave both books a five on Goodreads.

August Folly and Summer Half are my books 18 and 19 for Bev's Mount TBR 2015 challenge.

~~~oOo~~~

The Wrath of Angels

My first book for August is The Wrath of Angels by John Connolly. It's book eleven in his well known 'Charlie Parker' series, about a private detective based in the state of Maine in the USA.

Some years ago hunting friends Harlan Vetters and Paul Scollay came across the wreckage of a plane somewhere deep in the Great North Woods of Maine. They found inside evidence that it had been carrying a prisoner and that that prisoner might have survived. No other bodies were evident. They also found money - lots of it - and a long list of names. They took the money and Harlan also took one sheet from the list of names, leaving the rest behind. Both men have now died of old age. Harlan's daughter, Marielle, comes to see private detective, Charlie Parker, along with Paul Scollay's brother, because she knows he investigates this sort of thing. Her father had told her the whole story on his death-bed. She gives him the list her father had, clearly glad to get rid of it and the knowledge she never wanted.

Charlie begins to investigate and discovers that some very odd people have also been searching for the wreckage of a plane that was never reported missing. People begin to die, among them a prominent female lawyer known to be working with Parker's enemies. He begins to wonder if his name is also on the missing list when the fact is confirmed by Epstein, a man that Charlie has worked with in his fight against the enemy they all face. Who is the beautiful woman and frightening young child who're connected to the quest for the plane and the murders? What secrets is the plane wreck hiding? And what else is loose in the Great North Woods that's scaring the locals to the point where no one will go near that area? Naturally, it's Parker's task to find some answers.

Oh, Charlie Parker, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways... LOL! Seriously though this is my absolute favourite series of all time. Such a flawed man is Parker, he's firmly on the side of right but sometimes the things he has to do make you - and people in the stories - wonder. His sidekicks, gay couple Louis and Angel, are another reason I love this series so much. Like Parker they're also ambivilent personalities, very violent, assassins if the truth be known... but they too do what they do for the right reasons. Plus they inject humour - the dialogue is sometimes laugh out loud funny - into what are often very dark doings as these books come firmly into the 'horror' genre, even though they're also very much crime yarns. Make no mistake, these books are not for the faint hearted... not fun books to read at bedtime. They're seriously scary. People die horribly!

The other thing author, John Connolly, is seriously brilliant at is creating a sense of place. He's Irish so how he ever manages to transport the reader so firmly to Maine I have no idea. In this book the sense and atmosphere of The Great North Woods is palpable. I've had a fascination for it since watching The Last of the Mohicans on TV as a teen... even though I realise they never left British soil to film the thing... the 'idea' was there and that was enough. So a book set there is right up my alley and with additional extreme creepiness thrown in, well it was nigh on perfect.

I won't go into the background to the series too much. You really need to start at the beginning as it's very much an ongoing plot that progresses with each book as you find out more about Parker and the people opposing him. It's compulsive stuff to be honest. For those who enjoy horror mixed with crime and a damn good background story I can't recommend these books highly enough. But don't read them alone on a dark and stormy night...

~~~oOo~~~

Books read in July

July was yet another rather slow reading month for me, although slightly better with four books read rather than last month's three. Anyway, without further ado, these are the books:

34. Medicus and the Disappearing Dancing Girls by R.S. Downie

35. The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Picard

36. Déjá Dead by Kathy Reichs

Goodreads blurb:

The meticulously dismembered body of a woman is discovered in the grounds of an abandoned monastery.

Enter Dr Temperance Brennan, Director of Forensic Anthropology for the province of Quebec, who has been researching recent disappearances in the city.

Despite the cynicism of Detective Claudel who heads the investigation, Brennan is convinced that a serial killer is at work. Her forensic expertise finally convinces Claudel, but only after the body count has risen...

Tempe takes matters into her own hands, but her determined probing places those closest to her in mortal danger. Can Tempe make her crucial breakthrough before the killer strikes again?

This is my first book by Kathy Reichs. She's one of those authors that I've always seen all over the place... bookshops, supermarkets, the library... and never really been tempted to try. I've no idea why. Then my daughter recommended them and offered to lend me the first book and I thought, 'Well, why not?' I gather the series 'Bones' is based on these books, but as I know nothing about that series I can't comment further on that. I can just say that I thought this was a jolly good crime read. I like crime series set in countries other than the UK so this one being set in Montreal in Canada suited me very nicely. There's a nice sense of that city, its people and its problems etc. I liked Tempe herself, a woman in her forties with a teenage daughter and all the problems that having a real life and a demanding career brings. There's quite a lot of detail of the examining of dead bodies so if that's not your bag avoid this or, do as I did, skim read. I think I may also be becoming allergic to metaphors as they're sprinkled like confetti all through the story, and it's intrusive. Regardless... this is a good intro to a 'new to me series' and I will definitely grab more of my daughter's books at some stage.

37. Point of Dreams by Melissa Scott and Lisa A. Barnett.

The Alphabet of Desire is the new play that's been chosen as the midwinter masque in the city of Astrient. Philip Eslingen, newly dismissed from his job, gets a new position at the theatre teaching military drill to the chorus of the play. When the dead body of one of the chorus is found on the stage, Philip's lover, Nico Rathe, Adjunct Point at nearby Point of Dreams is called in to investigate. Several more deaths follow with no clues as to who the perpetrator is or motives for the murders. Is it political intrigue or something far more basic? One thing's for certain, neither man has any idea of the personal danger they're putting themselves into to investigate these crimes.

So far in this series I've read one book, Point of Hopes, one novella, Point of Knives, and now Point of Dreams which is officially book 2 I believe. The books are basically a crime series based in a fantasy world where astrology is real. My link to Point of Hopes reveals more about the setting of Astrient so I won't repeat myself here, suffice to say the world-building in the series is very good indeed. I'm not mad about theatre settings in stories I have to admit, I find some of the detail of the plays a bit tedious, rehersals and so on. That's why I gave it a four on Goodreads rather than a five. I do enjoy the relationship between Philip and Nico and I also like the fact that this is a world where the sexes are equal and all kinds of sexuality are the norm. Also an interesting aspect of this particular story was the use of flowers as magical instruments... very interesting and original. All in all a very good read. Good series.

Point of Dream is my book 17 for Bev's Mount TBR 2015 challenge.

I seem to have specialised in crime books this month, although admittedly one was a fantasy/crime story... it was still basically a crime yarn. It's been an odd month with mild illness, family things going on etc. so it's been nice to relax in quiet moments with a bit of murder and mayhem. I don't have a favourite book this month. All four books were equally good and fun and if August is similar then I shan't complain.

~~~oOo~~~