Category Archives: Currently Reading

Currently Reading

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Counterfeit Lady: City of Fortune by Victoria Thompson.

I read all of Thompson’s Gaslight series, featuring midwife Sarah, who delivered babies, and solved murders, throughout turn of the century New York City, and loved them.

The Counterfeit Lady series were a break from her former series, and I wasn’t sure about them. But I have read them all, and they are lots of fun. City of Fortune is my favorite so far.

For those of you who haven’t read this series, Elizabeth is a conman from a family of conmen (conpeople? conpersons?), who, in the first book, is swept up in the suffragette movement and jailed with a Mrs. Bates. Through her, Elizabeth marries Gideon Bates and turns over a new leaf. Her cons now aim to help people and right injustices.

In her current book, Thompson shines a light on the racing world. Elizabeth, Gideon and Mother Bates are invited to watch the races from the private box of a Mr. Nolan and his daughter Irene. Their horse’s loss results from skullduggery by a rival, Daniel Livingston. The jockey is thrown and badly injured. Enter a beautiful and mysterious Señora, who closely resembles Irene’s deceased mother.

The resulting cons aim to settle old scores with some despicable people as well as assist Irene in marrying the man she loves (the injured jockey). Some of the scenes are laugh out loud funny. I have already pre-ordered the next in the series.

Currently Reading

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The first book I read this past week was The Last Remains by Elly Griffiths. I have read everything she has written and really enjoy her work. I read something that indicates this is the final Ruth Galloway and I am sorry to hear it. What a great series.

The body of a young woman is found behind a wall in a cafe. Nelson is called in to investigate and is horrified to learn this case involves his old friend Cathbad.

Ruth, besides her connection to Cathbad, also knows another suspect, a fellow researcher/lecturer. At the same time, her beloved archaeology department is under threat of being dissolved.

Another winner from Griffiths. And the on again, off again relationship with Nelson is finally resolved satisfactorily.

Cold Reign is number 11 in 15 Jane Yellowrock books. The European vamps are still slated to come to New Orleans, threatening Jane’s boss Leo Pellissier’s governance. But Clan Yellowrock (which includes besides Eli and Alex Younger, Edmund the primo vamp, Brute the werewolf, Bruiser) has a new scary threat. Vampires who’ve already died and been beheaded and buried are returning to life as revenants. Besides being superfast and difficult to kill, they have bottom fangs as well as top.

At the same time, magical lightning storms are plaguing the city. And Ricky-Bo, the were leopard who broke Jane’s heart, is back on the scene.

Another winner in this great urban fantasy series.

Currently Reading – and More

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I read only one and a half books this week, but for a good reason. U received the edits for the second in the Bronze Age Crete Mysteries, On the Horns of Death. No cover or pub date yet.

The Lindbergh Nanny. by Mariah Fredericks, tells the story of the kidnapping, but from the perspective of the baby’s nanny. Although the first few chapters are a little slow moving, it picks up and by the time the kidnapping happens. the book is captivating. The characters, Ollie and Elsie Whately who also help in the Lindbergh household, and the various members of the people below stairs are well drawn and memorable. Although I knew who the kidnapper was, I followed along as Betty tried to determine the inside man.

I can only imagine how much research the author had to do. Fact and fiction are well woven together so it is impossible to tell the difference. (I appreciated the author’s note at the back.) Charles Lindbergh does not come off very well, among other things, he was a Nazi sympathizer. The depiction of celebrity was terrifying. This book deserved its nomination for the Agatha Award.

The second book is The Secrets of Harwood Hall.

The one is more suspense, at least so far. Mrs. Lennox, a young widow, takes a post as governess for a young boy, Louis. From the first, she has questions. Why such a small staff? Why does the family never go to the village? What business is the mistress of the house engaged in?

Then she is awakened late one night. Thinking Louis needs her, she goes out into the hall and follows someone or something creeping through the house. I am looking forward to finishing this captivating story.

Currently Reading

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This week I read two books.

One might be surprising: Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. I remember reading this many years ago, Now my fourth grade grandson had read it so I reread it so I could talk about it with him. What an amazing book! It rightfully deserved the Newbery Award it won.

In Denmark, 1943, there are German soldiers on the corners. Annemarie Johansen is ten, living with her parents and five year old sister in Copenhagen. Denmark, a small country and with a small army, surrendered to Germany. Annemarie does not consider the war very much until the parents of her best friend Ellen Rosen are told in the synagogue that the Germans are planning to round up all the Jews and ‘relocate’ them. While Ellen’s parents disappear, Ellen comes to stay with Annemarie. The first night, the soldiers come searching for them and threaten Annemarie’s parents too.

Annemarie’s mother, Inge, takes the girls to her brother’s farm on the coast where Henrik is one of the fishermen who smuggle the Jews to Sweden. This book brought me to tears more than once. I appreciated it even more as an adult than as a child.

The second book is The Way of the Bear by Anne Hillerman.

Bernie is hiking at Bears Ears National Park while Chee has some business nearby. While hiking, she spots some vandalism of some old petroglyphs and falls into a trench. As she climbs out, a pickup truck chases her and someone shoots at her from the cab.

Bernie is already blue. She lost a coveted promotion to detective and also miscarried. Chee finds he has to stay longer since the big donor he was supposed to meet with has disappeared. The body of an unknown man, murdered, is found shot to death on the driveway. And the body of another man, a paleontologist, is found shot in the wilds.

An intriguing mystery with an ending I did not see coming. Although I feel Tony Hillerman’s books were more interesting and unique, his daughter is just as respectful of this culture and her books are very good. Definitely worth reading!

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This past week I read Shadow Rites, Number ten in the Jane Yellowrock series and The Fourth Enemy by Anne Perry.

Shadow Rites opens with a bang. Jane wakes to a magical green fog sweeping through the house and her hand hurting. She awakens her partner Eli Younger and they go out. Jane senses two witches bespelling her house.

Not long after, she is summoned to Vamp HQ, where she is attacked by Gee, the Mercy Blade. Jane is almost killed. Seeing Gee’s eyes are green, and a similar green eye in the palm of her left hand, alerts her to a magic spell.

It is particularly important nothing interrupt the conference between the witches and the vampires in preparation for the arrival of the European vamps.

Another winner.

I also read The Fourth Enemy by Anne Perry.

Daniel Pitt’s friend Ian Frobisher confides in Daniel that the police are investigating Malcolm Vayne, a wealthy philanthropist who Frobisher believes is engaged in an elaborate pyramid scheme. They do not have enough evidence to arrest him – and they they do a few days later.

At the same time, Miriam becomes deeply involved in the suffrage movement and sees up close the efforts of those who would keep women in their place.

At its core, this book is about courage; the courage to confront the wealthy and powerful or the courage to fight the status quo.

Another enjoyable read. But a bittersweet one since Perry recently passed away (at the age of 84) and there will be no more mysteries from her.

Currently Reading

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I was on vacation the last two weeks, coming back to summer. Although we were at Disney World, with all the busyness that suggests, I did read a lot.

The Unsettling Crime . . . by Terry Shames was the first of her books I read. And it was very very good. So good I have already ordered the first one in the series.

In this one, Craddock, a very young lawman in Texas, gets pulled into the execution style murders of a black family squatting nearby. No one will talk to him, When a friend from ‘Darktown’ is arrested by another agency, Craddock jumps in with both feet to free the innocent man and see justice done. A+

Another excellent mystery is Deborah Crombie’s A Killing of Innocents.

A young woman, a doctor in training, hurries across London. A man bumps into her, and a few steps later Sasha collapses and dies on the sidewalk. Who could possibly want to kill her? The roots of the crime are hidden in the past. Another stellar mystery.

Julia Kydd leaves London for New York City and her half-brother. Phillip controls her inheritance but she is due to receive it in a few weeks when she turns twenty-five. But Phillip has begun a legal case designed to show their father did not intend to leave half his estate to her. The murder of a suffragette offers Julia the chance to prove the death was murder and thus win a wager, and her inheritance, with her brother. Only the case proves much more involved than Julia could have guessed. Another great mystery.

Saffron Everleigh wants to be a botanist like her father but in the 1920s it is a struggle. But when her mentor, Dr. Maxwell, is accused of poisoning the wife of another academic, Saffron jumps in to prove his innocence, She almost dies trying. Light, frothy and with a dash of romance.

In 1920s Bangalore, the British are still a formidable presence. Kaveri’s husband Ramu is a doctor; they are invited to the Century Club for a mixed gathering. A man is found stabbed to death outside. That sends Kaveri on a hunt for the murderer.

Charming, joyful, exotic. I loved this book.

Finally, I read number fourteen of the Hannah Ives series and it is another winner. Hannah and her husband Paul buy a small cottage on the shore, While the renovations are going on, the mummified corpse of a baby is found hidden in the chimney. Hannah begins investigating, trying to determine the identity of the baby and understand exactly what happened. One of Talley’s strengths is weaving in serious subjects (in this case, racism) and still keeping the book fun and not too dark.

On to fifteen.

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The first book I read was a novella by Gigi Pandien: The Lost Gargoyle of Paris. This is a spin off of the Accidental Alchemist, and I liked it so much I am now going to read the Accidental Alchemist series right from the beginning.

A sketch of a gargoyle, supposedly by Victor Hugo, and a journal by one of the stonemasons has been found at Notre Dame after the fire. Zoe Faust and her gargoyle sidekick journey to Paris to investigate the drawing. Then the sketch is stolen. How could that happen with such tight security?

Fun and charming.

I reread Styx and Stone by James Siskin, remembering how much I enjoyed this series.

Ellie Stone’s father is attacked. Ellie races to New York City and discovers a nest of secrets among the renowned scholars of Columbia University. The police at first think it is a random mugging but Ellie soon proves it was attempted murder.

Finally, I read A Mansion for Murder by Frances Brody. I’ve read quite a few of this author’s books and enjoyed them all. Lo

Ronnie Cresswell’s letter draws Kate Shackleton to Milner Field and the great house said to be cursed. But when Kate arrives, it is to hear the devastating news that Ronnie has been found drowned. Ronnie’s father is convinced it was murder and the postmortem proves him right. Then his younger sister Nancy goes missing.

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Last week I read Manners and Murder by Anastasia Hastings.

When Violet Manville’s Aunt Adelia leaves, she bequeaths her role as advice columnist Miss Hermione to Violet. One of the letters leads Violet into the death of one of the correspondents, Ivy Armstrong. At the same time, her sister Sephora is engaged in a very unsuitable relationship with Franklin.

Similar to some of the mysteries by Georgette Heyer.

Although I guessed the solution about halfway through, I didn’t mind. I thoroughly enjoyed this charming cozy mystery,

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This week I read Tomorrow’s Vengeance by Marcia Talley.

In the thirteenth Hannah Ives mysteries, Hannah volunteers at an assisted living home. (It is more like a resort than a residence, but I digress.) As she reads to the memory care residents and eats lunch in the dining room, she is embedded in the lives of the staff and people who live there, from the two lovebirds Nancy and Jerry to Christie with her thirty year old boyfriend, and Izzy, survivor of Nazi Italy.

Then one of the townhouse residents, Masud, is found dead in the Tranquility Garden. Hannah is well positioned to delve into the mystery. The murder, the theft of Jewish artworks , and the restrictions of the residents are stirred into a captivating whole.

Marcia Talley rarely disappoints, Even though the murder frequently does not occur until the halfway point or beyond, I almost don’t care. The characters and their situations are so interesting I am always fascinated. Her easy relaxed style also makes for a fast read. Another winner.

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Since I’ve begun working on the next in my Bronze Age Crete Mystery series (beginning with In the Shadow of the Bull)

I’ve been doing research. The first book is Arcadian Days, a retelling of several of the Greek myths.

I’ve read in the Edith Hamilton collection of myths – in eighth grade. The retelling by Spurling lays out those myths he chooses in a much clearer way. My goodness, the Greeks were a bloodthirsty lot. I don’t know how they slept at night. The story of Medea is the stuff of nightmares.

Jason, of Jason and the Argonauts, meets Medea when he goes for the Golden Fleece. She agrees to help him if he will marry her and he agrees. Big mistake! As they are fleeing with the fleece, she arrives on board with a bundle, which turns out to be her step-brother. As her father pursues them, she slits the toddler’s throat and dismembers him, throwing limbs in the water so her father will stop and pick them up.

It doesn’t get any more cheerful from here. Medea, it is apparent, is a psychopath.

Other myths are no so violent but all of the families, no matter how favored by the Gods they seem, have terrible lives.Greek Myths