Review 2522: Broken

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A women is walking around a lake on a freezing day. Suddenly, she is knocked down, her head forced into the mud.

Officer Lena Adams is investigating a report of a suicide at the lake. The police have found a pair of shoes on the shore and a note that says, “I want it over.” Eventually, they pull up the body of a woman who has been weighed down with cement bricks and chains.

Her ID says she is Allison Spooner, a student at the nearby campus. The death is possibly a suicide, but she was stabbed in the back of the neck, which would almost be impossible to do to yourself.

With an officer dispatched to the girl’s home, Lena and her boss, Frank Wallace, go there to continue the investigation. Lena can tell that Frank has been drinking, and when the police find a young man in the garage listed as Allison’s address, the situation is bungled, resulting in the stabbing of Brad, a young officer, and injuries to both Lena and Frank.

Dr. Sara Linton now enters the story. She has returned home for Thanksgiving for the first time since her husband Jeffrey’s death. She blames Lena, who was Jeffrey’s partner, for the death. The first evening, Frank calls to ask her to come to the jail because Tommy Braham has been arrested for murder and he is hysterical. Sara vaguely remembers Tommy as a cheerful boy of limited intelligence, but this is oddly the second call she has received about Tommy. When she gets to the jail, she finds Tommy is dead, having cut his wrists using a pen refill cartridge.

Will Trent has had his holiday leave canceled so that he can investigate the custody death. He finds a sullen crew of small-town police who are not at all cooperative. Lena has wanted to admit to the mistakes she made at both the arrest and custody sites, but she has been threatened by Frank to follow the story he’s made up.

Very quickly Will finds problems with the small-town team’s theory of the crime. They think Tommy killed Allison in her garage apartment and took her to the lake, but Will quickly finds the crime scene at the lake and also discovers that Tommy was in his own home when they arrested him.

I can see where the relationship is going between Will and Sara, and I’m not that happy about it. Sara was apparently a major figure in a previous series by Slaughter, and Slaughter has brought her into this series. Perhaps it’s because I like Angie, Will’s long-time love, from the TV series. I don’t see her as the negative figure Slaughter seems to be making her. Same with Lena, since I don’t know what she did in the previous series.

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Review 2521: The Winter Spirits

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I had hoped this book would arrive early enough before Christmas to fit it into my December schedule. It did not. However, early January is almost as good. For this book, because it includes stories from so many well-known current authors, I thought I’d give a little synopsis of each story.

“Host” by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Young Mary and her brother Abel have been moved out of the workhouse to Jacob’s Island to fend for themselves in Victorian London. Mr. and Mrs. Griffith have lost their daughter and have spent all their money on a spiritualist to contact her. Now she says there’s a way to bring their daughter back, but they need a host her same age.

“Inferno” by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

In 18th century Italy Jasper travels to a villa in the middle of a lake to flee his deceased wife’s brothers—out to punish him for how he treated her. He’s planning to meet friends there, but they are nowhere to be seen. Soon, he finds out why.

“The Old Play” by Andrew Michael Hurley

Morgan returns to an old theater every year to play the Beggar in the Old Play. It is a family tradition, but since WW II the Committee has changed the play to make it more “authentic.” This year, last-minute changes affect Morgan.

“A Double Thread” by Imogen Hermes Gowar

When a 19th century society woman takes refuge with her aunt in Penzance while her husband is on trial for burning one of his factories, her maid leaves. Her aunt recommends Nora Landry, a shy woman with no experience but a notable needlewoman. Although Nora is making her a beautiful dress, the woman treats her shamefully over a small incident and there is a death. But that’s not the end of it.

“The Salt Miracles” by Natasha Pulley

Flint goes to the island of St. Hilda because he’s heard that some pilgrims have disappeared. When he gets there, he learns of miracles among the pilgrims followed by disappearances, and he actually witnesses some. Could he really be glimpsing a man with antlers?

“Banished” by Elizabeth Macneal

An 18th century ghost whisperer arrives at the home of Lord Grange to help get rid of the ghost of his wife. Lord Grange says she is maniacal and vengeful, and she certainly seems to be so. But is there a reason for that? This story is the author’s fancy based on actual events.

“The Gargoyle” by Bridget Collins

At her publisher’s demand, a writer goes to a small town to work on her novels. Although her cottage is comfortable, she hears weird scrabbling noises at night. Soon, she gets unanticipated help with her draft.

“The Master of the House” by Stuart Turton

At the turn of the century, Henry Carrow is a widower left with his young son, Thomas, in whom he is not much interested. Thomas seems to be becoming rebellious, and he tells his father that the Master of the House is going to take him at midnight on Christmas Eve unless he intervenes. But of course Henry thinks he is fantasizing.

“Ada Lark” by Jess Kidd

Ada Lark is a small girl who works for the medium Madam Bellerose. To do her work, she must be shut into the base of the medium’s table, her arms raised above her head to operate the various mechanisms. Madam Bellerose can punish her by closing the lattice, thus cutting off her air. One day an old pal approaches Madam Bellerose with a scheme. If she can convince the bereaved Lady Bentham that her dead child wants her to marry him, he’ll give her enough money to live in comfort. But what will it mean for Ada if Madam Bellerose retires?

“Jenkin” by Catriona Ward

Maggie and Vera are orphaned young women circa 1950. Maggie wants the two of them to move to New York and learn to be secretaries, but Vera doesn’t want to go. Maggie hides the secret of Jenkin, a creature that appears to her whenever she lies, and she has several secrets, some of which come out when Vera is invited to stay with their aunt in Maine.

“Widow’s Walk” by Susan Stokes-Chapman

In the 18th century, Honoria is a renowned fan maker. Her husband has disappeared and the rumor is that he ran off with another woman. The Christmas ball is approaching, and Honoria is personally making a special fan for Amelia Whiting, a young woman she knew to be her husband’s lover. It is supposed to be made of ivory, but Honoria has found a good substitute.

“Carol of the Bells and Chains” by Laura Purcell

Abigail is the governess of three bratty and spoiled and one good child, who is unnoticed by her parents. After one especially frustrating afternoon, she tells the children the old folktale of Krampus.

_________________________

This is a rather mediocre collection of stories, most of which seem to be trying too hard to be Gothic. I only really liked Jess Kidd’s and Elizabeth Macneal’s stories. Many of the stories were predictable while others were too unlikely. None of them sent a chill down my spine.

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My End-of-Year Report

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I saw a post from Helen of She Reads Novels about her historical fiction reading goals, and that made me decide to write an end-of-year report about my reading, starting this year. I am pulling most of the data from StoryGraph, which I switched over to from Goodreads this last year.

First, I set a goal of reading 160 books this year, and I read 156. I felt especially slowed down over Christmas time because of everything going on. Some of my comparative stats this year were interesting, especially this one:

You can see that in general I read shorter books this year than I usually do, 50% being less than 300 pages and only 5% being more than 500 pages. I think that was because I was trying to achieve some goals under tight deadlines, but I also read quite a few novellas for Novellas in November this year. And toward the end of the year, I put my books for A Century of Books project in order by the shortest first, so that I could finish as many as possible (although not very many were short)! Sneaky, huh?

For fiction vs. nonfiction, I am still doing lamentably little in the nonfiction area. However, I read 1% more nonfiction this year than in previous years, so I guess Nonfiction November is having an impact. Let’s see if I do better this coming year.

Here are the genres I’ve read this year with the number of books for each:

  • Historical fiction: 47
  • Literary fiction: 43
  • Mysteries: 39
  • Classics: 37
  • Crime: 26
  • History: 10
  • Thriller: 10
  • LBGTQIA+: 8
  • Biography: 7
  • Contemporary: 7

These are Storygraph’s categories. I’m not sure, for example, how Crime and Mystery are differentiated or whether they overlap. Obviously, some categories must overlap, because these numbers add up to more books than I read. Also, I’m fairly sure I read one or two nonfiction books that don’t fit easily into either biography or history, so I’m not sure how they have categorized them.

StoryGraph also provided me with a list of writers I read most this year vs. for all time. I’m not showing this list because the most books I read this year of any one writer is four. However, I will say that the only writer who appears on both lists (this year vs. all time) is Georgette Heyer, and that the only man who appears on either list is, of all people, Fyodor Dostoevsky. (But that’s only two books.) However, if I switch this graph to show the repeat authors for last year, I get two more male writers for 2023, John Dickson Carr and Martin Edwards (four books by each!).

As usual, my top ten list for the year will appear on my blogging day closest to my blog anniversary. This year, it will be Friday, January 24. For a few months, at any rate, I am going to be blogging on Fridays again until I catch up a little closer with my reading.

Review 2520: Hunting the Falcon

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I have read quite a bit about the Tudors, fiction and nonfiction. This book deals especially with the relationship between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, although it starts earlier in their lives.

A strong theme in the book is Anne’s formative time spent at the court of France. There she witnessed a different kind of court than that in England, one in which powerful women discussed politics and were forces behind the throne and in which court was gay and flirtatious. As queen and as a woman who had worked in tandem with Henry on their cause for six years before marriage, she tried to create that sort of court.

In addition, her leanings toward France helped incline Henry toward an alliance with Francis of France, despite a long history of enmity between the two countries, rather than one with Charles, the Holy Roman Emperor and his first wife Katherine’s nephew. Francis had his own agenda, though, that did not always match Henry’s.

All-in-all, the book paints Anne in a more positive light than I’ve seen, emphasizing her true piety and her generosity to the poor. However, she also clearly got caught up in her own power and was sometimes rapacious and unforgiving.

Recent programs about the Tudors are notoriously inaccurate, but we are sometimes affected nonetheless. Used to thinking of Jane Parker, wife of Anne’s brother George, as someone who betrayed her, I now find she was one of the people who had the nerve to speak up for her.

Biographers and historians can err by including too much information on a subject. Although this book was written for a general audience in an entertaining style, it occasionally has that fault, for example, describing every detail of Anne’s coronation, including her outfits and the themes of the spectacles presented. However, in general, I found it interesting and illuminating.

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WWW Wednesday!

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Happy New Year!

It’s the first Wednesday of the month, so it’s time for WWW Wednesday, an idea I borrowed from David Chazan, The Chocolate Lady, who borrowed it from someone else. For this feature, I report

  • What I am reading now
  • What I just finished reading
  • What I intend to read next

This is something you can participate in, too, if you want, by leaving comments about what you’ve been reading.

What I Am Reading Now

I actually haven’t started this book as of this writing, but I’m drafting this a day ahead of time, so by the time you read this, it will be what I am reading now. The book is The Temptations of Big Bear by Rudy Wiebe. I believe that someone recommended it this year, so I put it in my pile and then found it would fill a hole in my A Century of Books project. It’s called “an epic of the Canadian West.” Should be interesting.

What I Just Finished Reading

As of this writing, I’m cheating, because I have a page and a half of this book to go, but I will have finished it within a few minutes. It is Island by Alastair MacLeod. I guess I’m on a Canadian kick.

I think I keep reading about Alistair MacLeod on Naomi’s site, Consumed by Ink. MacLeod is considered a master of the short story. This book is collection of all his stories, 14 of them, most of them set on Cape Breton in Nova Scotia. He also wrote one novel, which I will be looking for. It also qualifies for A Century of Books.

What I Will Read Next

Next, I am reading another book that qualifies for my A Century of Books project. It is a book I loved when I was younger, so I’m curious if I will love it now. It’s How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn.

Review 2519: Murder after Christmas

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There’s nothing like a nice, cozy mystery to read at Christmas time. This one is so cozy, in fact, that you don’t want any of the characters to be murderers. And what better day to post the review of a book called Murder after Christmas than New Year’s Eve?

When Rhoda Redpath invites her eccentric, elderly, very wealthy stepfather to spend Christmas, none of the Redpaths expect him to come. After all, he has never come before. Uncle Willie is nearly 90 and has lived a rambunctious life, so there are lots of people who want to meet him. Thus, when he agrees to come, the Redpaths decide to throw a real blowout, a Christmas Tree on Boxing Day, and invite everyone.

Once he arrives, his behavior is a bit odd. He eats a lot, stuffing down loads of mince pies and chocolates even though it is wartime. He gets the order of his wives mixed up, and all the Christmas packages disappear. He also starts writing his memoirs, so they have to hire a secretary.

During the party, he is hardly to be seen except when he appears dressed as Santa to pass out the packages. Frank Redpath, the host, also appears as Santa, but having been upstaged by Uncle Willie, his appearance is a bust. Then the next morning, Uncle Willie is found frozen stiff out by the snowman, still in his Santa suit. Was it a natural death or did someone murder him? When everyone learns that his wife died on Christmas day, the timing becomes very important.

Uncle Willie is found to have laudanum in his system. Nevertheless, the coroner’s hearing finds the cause of death accidental, assuming the batty old man took an overdose. Inspector Culley isn’t quite sure, so when Frank and Rhoda Redpath ask him to stay and figure out what really happened, he agrees.

Inspector Culley’s clue collection involves lots of mince pies—sewn into a chair cushion, eaten before Christmas, eaten after Christmas, packages hung from the ceiling, chocolates hidden in the snowman, and a turkey in the wardrobe—among other things. The whole thing is ridiculous and hard to keep track of, so I just went along for the ride.

Lots of fun, this one. I’ll never look at mince pies the same again.

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Review 2518: Dean Street December! The Fledgling

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Here’s another book for Dean Street December!

I have read two memoirs by Frances Faviell, but The Fledgling is the third of her three novels and the first of her novels I’ve read. For me, It wasn’t as successful as her memoirs.

One reason is the main character. He is not very appealing. I’ll explain why later.

Neil Collins is serving his compulsory military service in 1950s England. This service was apparently controversial because the country was not at war.

Neil is a fragile, small young man who gets so nervous when ordered around or bullied—which he frequently is—that he gets stupid and can’t remember how to do things. He has already gone AWOL twice and has promised his grandmother he won’t do it again.

Everyone in his unit picks on him. He thinks he has one friend, Mike, but when Mike bullies him to desert, planning to follow him and use Neil’s contacts to get to Ireland, he realizes Mike has just been using him. So Mike bullies him more until he goes. Sexual abuse is implied.

Neil shows up in his grandmother’s rooms hoping to get his twin Nonnie’s husband, Charlie, to take him to Southampton before the arrival of Mike, who was supposed to leave the next day. However, his grandmother wants to turn him in, like she did last time, and Charlie doesn’t want to help him. To make matters worse, the walls of the rooms are very thin and people keep dropping by and trying to come in. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the family, Mike is across the street all day watching the house.

I found Neil unlikable not so much because of what he is doing but how he acts. He is like the most timid heroine in a Gothic novel. He gasps loudly when he’s hiding, he keeps raising his voice despite many warnings about the nosy neighbors. He actually falls through the door when he is eavesdropping on his grandmother and her social worker. Basically, he’s an idiot with no control over himself. He acts more like a five-year-old than a twenty-year-old.

Of course, the book is about how he gets some stuffing to brace him up, but some of the book’s values are very dated. For example, Nonnie is supposed to tolerate Charlie’s infidelity because he’s jealous of her connection with her twin. And Neil has to get in a physical fight to gain some confidence. I also didn’t really find any of the characters to be that likable.

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Review 2517: Dead Ernest

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I very much enjoyed the Tilton books I have read so far, especially for a certain wacky energy, so when I saw that Dead Ernest filled a hole in my Century of Books project, I looked for a copy. At first, this novel was almost too frenetic for me, but either it calmed down a bit or I got used to it.

Leonidas Witherall, Tilton’s amateur sleuth, is trying to finish one of his Lieutenant Haseltine adventure novels before his publisher goes crazy, so he has asked not to be disturbed. However, telegrams keep arriving that he doesn’t look at, people keep coming to the door, and his housekeeper, Mrs. Mullet, keeps trying to tell him things he refuses to listen to. Of course, we know he should at least be opening the telegrams and listening to Mrs. Mullet.

After Leonidas sends her home, two young men show up with a truck and try to deliver a freezer. Leonidas thinks they have the wrong address and sends them next door where new neighbors are moving in. The two men come back and say the neighbors don’t want it either, but Leonidas sends them away again after they tell him that a man fixing a tire beside the road paid them to deliver it. Later, he finds the freezer shoved into his kitchen. Inside is a leg of lamb, some haddock, and a body. Leonidas is horrified to recognize it.

Leonidas recently picked up some new offices and duties. One of them involves Meredith Academy, which was taken over by the Navy during the war. Now that the war is over, the Navy has handed it back without warning. This would normally not affect Leonidas, but he was willed the school by a friend and has decided to act as head at least for the meantime. He recognizes the body as that of Ernest Finger, whom he hired as French instructor the day before.

As soon as he discovers the body, the doorbell rings. It’s a girl dressed in violet who says she was sent for his birthday. And she is determined to stay for the time she was hired even when he tells her it is not his birthday. People keep coming over, and it’s all he can do to keep his nosy neighbor, Mrs. Havershaw, from opening the freezer. Once he gets rid of all of them except Terry, the girl, he tells her what’s going on and they decide to join forces.

As Leonidas keeps getting pulled into social engagements he’s forgotten about, he continues to investigate, ruling suspects out and gaining and losing partners as he goes. This novel is funny and entertaining, and the case is ridiculous. The perfect light reading.

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A Century of Books! How Am I Doing? December Report

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In January, I foolishly decided to join Simon Thomas’s Century of Book Challenge, even though I knew that reading 100 books, one for each year in a century, from 1925-2024, would be tough because last year I only read 169. So, how am I doing?

Here are the holes in my project with the books listed for this month below. If you want to see the details, see my Century of Books page.

  • 1925-1934: complete!
  • 1935-1944: entry needed for 1939
  • 1945-1954: entries needed for 1948 and 1950
  • 1955-1964: entries needed for 1955 and 1960
  • 1965-1974: entry needed for 1973
  • 1975-1984: entries needed for 1979, 1981, 1982, and 1983
  • 1985-1994: entries needed for 1986, 1990, 1991, 1993, and 1994
  • 1995–2004: entries needed for all years except 1998, 1999, and 2004
  • 2005-2014: entries needed for 2005, 2006, and 2007
  • 2015-2024: complete!

Since November 27, I read the following books. As we’re closing in on the end of the year, I decided to mark the ones that fill one of my holes in bold from now on. I was trying to fit in novellas for Novellas in November and some nonfiction in November, so I did poorly on this project in November. This month I tried to read mostly books for this project, but I read fewer books because of the holidays.

  • Elizabeth and Essex by Lytton Strachey from 1928
  • The Scapegoat by Daphne Du Maurier from 1957
  • Levels of the Game by John McPhee from 1969
  • A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters from 1977
  • Cousin Rosamund by Rebecca West from 1985
  • A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride from 2013
  • The New Life by Tom Crewe from 2023
  • The Winter Spirits by various authors from 2023