It was actually a review in the paper of the latest addition to Julia Spencer-Fleming's Clare Fergusson Mysteries which led me to In The Bleak Midwinter (#909), the first of this awarding-winning series. I'm looking forward to reading my way through this latest find!
Clare Fergusson is the newly-appointed priest in Millers Kill, New York. Her background as an Army helicopter pilot hasn't prepared her for the freezing Adirondack winter, but she's determined not to have to give up her beloved red MG sports car, so unsuitable for driving in the snow!
On the night of the church's reception welcoming her as their new priest, Clare stumbles upon a newborn baby left on the church steps with a note asking that Cody be adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Burns, parishioners of St. Albans. She meets Russ Van Alstyne, the chief of police, at the hospital where she has taken the infant to be checked out. Sparks fly between the two as they work towards finding out who Cody's parents are, but it isn't long before a body shows up in a remote park connected to the mystery.
When the victim is identified, someone is determined to conceal Cody's true parentage at any cost, including anyone who gets too close to the truth. You won't necessarily see the end of this one coming, but the Christmas carol quoted in the title is an apt choice!
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Thursday, June 25, 2020
The King at the End of the World
Elizabeth I is dying. Her most likely heir is James VI of Scotland, but is he at heart a Protestant or a Catholic? Either answer has huge implications for England. How to determine the answer is at the heart if Arthur Phillips' new novel, The King at the End of the World (#908).
Some of Elizabeth's extensive spy network hit upon what seems to be the perfect solution: send a Turkish physician stranded in England after a deputation from the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire returns to Constantinople without him to Scotland to determine the king's mind. It's an intriguing premise.
Although I greatly enjoyed the sections dealing with Dr. Mahmoud Ezzedine, in truth the novel is much more about the political maneuverings of one of spymaster Walsingham's retired operatives, Geoffrey Belloc. He is the one who sets things in motion and becomes Ezzedine's handler under a different guise. The question at the end becomes Who is playing whom? Phillips leaves the conclusion in the readers' hands.
I did find the end of the book rather unsatisfying, but others may really like this open-endedness. You will have to determine that for yourself.
I will tell you one thing I did not like about this book, and that is the cover art. The pastiche of monkey, crown and rosary beads was almost enough to put me off reading it. It smacked too much of fantasy. Every book of fiction qualifies as fantasy at some level, but this image seemed to have little to do with the contents. Just my opinion...
Some of Elizabeth's extensive spy network hit upon what seems to be the perfect solution: send a Turkish physician stranded in England after a deputation from the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire returns to Constantinople without him to Scotland to determine the king's mind. It's an intriguing premise.
Although I greatly enjoyed the sections dealing with Dr. Mahmoud Ezzedine, in truth the novel is much more about the political maneuverings of one of spymaster Walsingham's retired operatives, Geoffrey Belloc. He is the one who sets things in motion and becomes Ezzedine's handler under a different guise. The question at the end becomes Who is playing whom? Phillips leaves the conclusion in the readers' hands.
I did find the end of the book rather unsatisfying, but others may really like this open-endedness. You will have to determine that for yourself.
I will tell you one thing I did not like about this book, and that is the cover art. The pastiche of monkey, crown and rosary beads was almost enough to put me off reading it. It smacked too much of fantasy. Every book of fiction qualifies as fantasy at some level, but this image seemed to have little to do with the contents. Just my opinion...
Monday, June 22, 2020
The Warsaw Protocol
After reading Steve Berry's latest thriller, The Warsaw Protocol (#907), I've added several new places to my Travel Wishlist - Bruges, Belgium, Krakow, Poland and especially the nearby Wieliczka Salt Mine. They all play an important role in the latest world crisis averted by retired (He wishes!) Magellan Billet agent Cotton Malone.
The subject of the attack here is Polish politics, about which I knew practically nothing, but Berry is able to compress an awful lot of useful and relevant information into the plot line without dragging down the action. There are plenty of spies, secret documents and World Heritage sites ready for Cotton Malone to wreak havoc on. (Without doing any lasting damage, of course!)
What do stolen Catholic relics have to do with an ultra secret and exclusive auction? You'll just have to read The Warsaw Protocol to find out. The most trouble you'll have with this novel is figuring out how to pronounce most of the Polish names - but there again, Steve Berry helps the reader over the relevant names.
And just when you think Cotton Malone is really going to retire this time, a teaser is dropped on the last page. He'll be back. Count on it.
The subject of the attack here is Polish politics, about which I knew practically nothing, but Berry is able to compress an awful lot of useful and relevant information into the plot line without dragging down the action. There are plenty of spies, secret documents and World Heritage sites ready for Cotton Malone to wreak havoc on. (Without doing any lasting damage, of course!)
What do stolen Catholic relics have to do with an ultra secret and exclusive auction? You'll just have to read The Warsaw Protocol to find out. The most trouble you'll have with this novel is figuring out how to pronounce most of the Polish names - but there again, Steve Berry helps the reader over the relevant names.
And just when you think Cotton Malone is really going to retire this time, a teaser is dropped on the last page. He'll be back. Count on it.
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
The Mirror and the Light
I knew how Hilary Mantel's novel The Mirror and the Light (#906) had to end, with Thomas Cromwell's head on the block, but still, I hated to come to the end of this trilogy. She has managed in Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies and The Mirror and the Light to make a reviled Tudor figure sympathetic right up to the last moments of his life. Not that Thomas Cromwell was a saint, by any means, but rather, she gives us insight into what could have plausibly motivated Cromwell to do what he did, keeping in mind that history is written by the victors and shaped to their ends.
The narrative here begins with the Anne Boleyn's execution and ends with Cromwell's own. What comes between is a fascinating tale of shifting political alliances, religious strife and of course, Henry the Eighth's ego and libido. Perilous sands to negotiate indeed. Yet Thomas managed the court in Henry's favor skillfully for ten years before he was brought down by jealous nobles and enemies both in England and in Europe. Watching him walk that tightrope you are always expecting him to fall, and yet somehow he finds a way out. Until he doesn't.
I couldn't help but think as I was reading that the Tudor Court was not very different from today's political scene in America. I leave the casting of our own drama to you.
I know from hearing her interviewed on NPR that Hilary Mantel is done with Cromwell, but permit me to say that the Cromwell who emerges from her pages will be missed. Rest in peace, Thomas.
Monday, June 8, 2020
The Splendid and the Vile
Erik Larson presents history in the most interesting ways. The Splendid and the Vile - A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz (#905) is no exception. He examines one year of Churchill's life: from the moment he becomes Prime Minister in May of 1940 through May of 1941, a time period coinciding with the Blitz in London.
So much happened in that one year it's hard to keep track of everything going on - from the Germans stepping up their campaign to annihilate Britain after the French were conquered so quickly, to Mr. Churchill's appeals to Franklin Delano Roosevelt to intervene in the war on the side of the Allies, to family dramas and heartbreaks - but not only does Larson manage it, he makes it easy for the reader to follow the separate threads.
History is more than dry facts and figures; it's the human beings behind the events that make history come alive. Why do they make the choices they do? What else was going on in their lives at the moment? The Splendid and the Vile does an excellent job at holding up the curtain of history so we can peek behind it to see what really went on with Churchill. If your interest is piqued here, there are plenty of sources cited to follow up on what intrigues you the most. And don't forget to read his footnotes, where he tucks stories he wanted to tell, but didn't have room for in the text!
So much happened in that one year it's hard to keep track of everything going on - from the Germans stepping up their campaign to annihilate Britain after the French were conquered so quickly, to Mr. Churchill's appeals to Franklin Delano Roosevelt to intervene in the war on the side of the Allies, to family dramas and heartbreaks - but not only does Larson manage it, he makes it easy for the reader to follow the separate threads.
History is more than dry facts and figures; it's the human beings behind the events that make history come alive. Why do they make the choices they do? What else was going on in their lives at the moment? The Splendid and the Vile does an excellent job at holding up the curtain of history so we can peek behind it to see what really went on with Churchill. If your interest is piqued here, there are plenty of sources cited to follow up on what intrigues you the most. And don't forget to read his footnotes, where he tucks stories he wanted to tell, but didn't have room for in the text!
Monday, June 1, 2020
The Overstory
Well. I finished reading Richard Powers' novel The Overstory (#904). I can't say I've ever read anything quite like it before. Much of his imagery is stunning to the inner eye, much of the authoritarian violence repulsive. Despite the natural beauty and the marvels described here, though, I couldn't help but feel that the message Powers conveys is essentially bleak: there's nothing useful to be done.
Powers intertwines the stories of a number of characters, all of whom eventually link to each other through their activism about trees, or their connections to it. I did learn a lot about trees in the course of reading this novel. But better look fast at the world around you before more species in your vicinity become extinct!
I'm still undecided about whether or not I liked this book. The writing is powerful, as is defense of the natural world, but the message that we humans are rapidly destroying everything around us through corporate greed is depressing to say the least. Not sure in today's pandemic and racially-charged world I needed to read yet another pessimistic book if I can't do anything about it...
Powers intertwines the stories of a number of characters, all of whom eventually link to each other through their activism about trees, or their connections to it. I did learn a lot about trees in the course of reading this novel. But better look fast at the world around you before more species in your vicinity become extinct!
I'm still undecided about whether or not I liked this book. The writing is powerful, as is defense of the natural world, but the message that we humans are rapidly destroying everything around us through corporate greed is depressing to say the least. Not sure in today's pandemic and racially-charged world I needed to read yet another pessimistic book if I can't do anything about it...
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