A Linkless Weekly Link Round-Up

 

One of the reasons I've cut back my blogging time is because I am having more trouble with my leg. New wounds opening. Lots of pain. Doctors rescheduling and relocating procedures to ensure that I spend most of my day getting shaken to bits on the Dial-a-Ride bus. If it sounds like I'm a bit down, I am. But I won't stay that way. (Too boring!)

 

I'm not about to give anyone a complete list of things I'm grumpy about, but the icing on the cake came a few minutes ago when I tried to respond to comments here on the blog. Every once in awhile, Blogger seems to delight in making its users rip out their hair. At least I seem to have found a way past its shenanigans. When it wouldn't let me reply to comments on the browser I prefer (Firefox), I simply switched to Chrome and didn't have a single problem. (Probably because Chrome and Blogger are both Google products.) I learned the wisdom of having more than one browser available on my computer from working on The Poisoned Pen Bookstore's Pinterest boards.

Anyway, I am in no mood to sit here for a couple of hours putting together a link round-up, so I'll catch you up on what I've been reading instead. Short reviews, with links to the books' synopses on Amazon US if you want to read them.

 

 

What I've Been Reading

 

 

 

Holly by Stephen King

464 pages

Rating: A+

 

My Thoughts: Holly Gibney is one of my favorite characters, and it's been a joy to watch her grow and develop. This is the story of an investigation carried out by a hypochrondriac in the time of Covid (Holly). King knows how to create villains that you love to hate, and it was easy for me to root for Holly as she slowly pieced together the clues it took to bring those killers down.

 

Moreover, I loved the last line; it gave me Holly Hope that there will be more from her. 

Death of a Dormouse by Reginald Hill

363 pages

Rating: B 

 

My Thoughts: When Trudi Adamson's husband is killed in a car accident, she soon learns that she's basically been sleepwalking through her life for years. It was mind-boggling to me how clueless she was to everything going on around her. Trudi has a steep learning curve, and as she learns who she can trust, I wondered just how much I could trust her. 

 

This was a good story, well told. I would've liked it better if I hadn't had such a strong reaction to Trudi and her blissful oblivion to the world around her. 

A Grave in the Woods by Martin Walker

289 pages

Rating: C+ 

My Thoughts: A visit with Bruno is always a pleasure, but this entry in a favorite series of mine felt decidedly lackluster. Moving on from the atrocities of World War II, cryptocurrency, climate change, disaster preparedness? Check, check, check, and check. There's a question mark about Bruno's future as well, but the most telling factor in the book was the one dinner scene-- someone else did almost all the cooking!

This may be lackluster, but I'll be eager to read the next installment in Bruno's story.

A Talent for Murder by Peter Swanson

272 pages

Rating: A+

 

My Thoughts: I was in the perfect mood for this book. It was filled with twists that I didn't see coming and characters that came to life with each turn of the page. A woman afraid of heights who commits suicide by jumping off a balcony... A wife who begins to think her husband is a serial killer... The only person that wife can turn to for help... I lapped it all up. The only thing that didn't quite set well with me was the appearance of P.I. Henry Kimball as a sort of deus ex machina at the end. But I certainly do enjoy the way Peter Swanson's mind works!

Paper Cage by Tom Baragwanath

320 pages

Rating: A

 

My Thoughts: I rapidly fell under Lorraine Henry's (Aunty Lo's) spell. Records clerk in the basement of the local police station, everyone who works with her goes out of their way to remind her she's an outsider. 

 

Aunty Lo identifies strongly with the Maori and any other marginalized person, and when the police don't seem overly concerned about the disappearances of two Maori children, Aunty Lo finds herself teaming up with Justin Hayes, a police officer from the city to find them.

 

Even though one of the bad guys wasn't a surprise, I loved the setting, I loved Aunty Lo, and I'm definitely looking for more from Tom Baragwanath.

 

 

Amberwell by D. E. Stevenson
222 pages

Rating: A+

My Thoughts: Written in 1955, I found Amberwell suited my mood perfectly for a charming and delightful (I know-- I don't use those words often) tale of a wealthy, eccentric family in their Scottish country house from the 1920s to the end of World War II. 

There's another book continuing with the characters, but I'm not sure I'll follow up with it. Sometimes the glow of the original is enough for me. Make sense?

 

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

400 pages

Rating: B+

 

My Thoughts: "The Cartographers is a work of fiction, but its inspiration is rooted in truth. This story is for anyone who's ever opened a map and gotten lost in it." Well, I've loved maps since I was a small child, and I can still get lost in one. As a child, I always wanted at least one road map every time my accompanying grownups would stop at a gas station. (The pleasure of sitting in the backseat and being the first one to unfold it!)

 

I loved all the information about cartography, but... as the real identity of each character was revealed, I wasn't surprised, and I really didn't buy into the "reality" of a little town called Agloe.

I feel a bit guilty about these short reviews, but I hope you enjoy them anyway. Have you read any of these books? Which ones? Did you have the same reactions to them as I did? Inquiring minds would love to know!

It's time to get this leg up. Enjoy your weekend!