HorusE 75 Book Challenge for 2009

Looking forward to reading the 75 plus, mostly in the mystery genre, but with more attention to non-fiction.

1. The Yellow Dog ... by Georges Simenon

A man is shot in the stomach after leaving a hotel in the coastal town of Concarneau. Inspector Maigret is called in to investigate to solve the crime. Others in the town are attacked and an anonymous inflammatory letter is sent to the local newspaper and the town responds with panic. Friends of the man shot in the stomach are reacting very oddly. Inspector Leroy is dispatched to assist Maigret and marvels at Maigret's "method", but Maigret insists there is no method--he just observes people. Soon after the first victim was shot a mysterious yellow dog appears. Great characterization -- which carries the story very well.

I'm always looking for a new mystery series - are the others as good as this one is?

Welcome to the group! We have both mystery and nonfiction threads going, so you may want to check their for ideas.

To quote from People "Maigret ranks with Holmes and Poirot in the pantheon of fictional detective immortals." Georges Simenon was a very prolific writer and Maigret appears in 75 of his novels. I have read only a few, but they have been good.

I was in the 50 book challenge last year and made it to 99 but could not quite finish the Maigret before end of the year. A75 book challenge seems to be realistic. I have been spreading my reading from authors around the world, but most of the mysteries have been British in origin.

Thanks for the welcome, alcottacre. I love the ideas I have received from Librarything, between the groups, friends and interesting libraries. So many new authors to explore--the mountain is getting ever higher and steeper--it is hard to keep up with all the threads.

I was interested to hear that John Banville credits Georges Simenon's 'romans durs' (not Maigret admittedly) with a major part of the genesis of Benjamin Black - I haven't yet read any Simenon but I loved Christine Falls.

I enjoyed Christine Falls as well and went on to read The Silver Swan which I note had an interesting ending.

2. Brass Verdict ... by Michael Connelly

Mickey Haller (from The Lincoln Lawyer) takes over the practice of a murdered colleague. The major case he inherits involves a Hollywood mogul who is accused of murdering his wife and lover. Harry Bosch (a police detective prominent in a Michael Connelly mysteries) is introduced to the story while trying to understand the FBI involvement with the murdered lawyer. The term "Brass Verdict" is explained at the end. A good fast moving thriller with some interesting details on police procedure.

I enjoy Connelly's Harry Bosch books, but did not care for The Lincoln Lawyer. Maybe I should give it another shot and then follow up with Brass Verdict.

I had picked up The Lincoln Lawyer but have not read it yet. Meanwhile I have read one non-fiction:

2. The Dark Side ... by Jane Mayer
The story of how Dick Cheney and his adviser, David Addington, controlled the interrogation policies of the country, that resulted in murder and such horrors as occurred at Abu Ghraib.

HorusE

Welcome to the 75 book challenge group. I hope you like it here. We are well-read, friendly and you will find lively, intelligent conversations.

If you have a minute, please tell me your thoughts on The Dark Side.

ooh -- love those mysteries! I enjoyed what you wrote so far and will be back for more -- Susan

#12 Whisper1

Thanks for the welcome. It has been a great group. I will have difficulty keeping up.

My thoughts:
I think the author of The Dark Side, by Jane Mayer, did an excellent bit of research. The subject, of interrogation, is certainly a current one. I see in a recent newspaper article that Cheney and Hayden are still implying that the only way we can be safe from being blown up by the terrorists is by torture. Only if you are willing to believe anything the CIA claims can you accept their statement that lives were saved because of torture. There seems little doubt that torture, such as the CIA has actually indulged in, caused deaths. To permit torture, which is what CIA has practiced, is forgo any rights. Perfectly innocent people have been tortured without any real recourse in the American justice system. Mayer described the efforts of many lawyers to modify a justifying torture that was encouraged by Cheney’s office. The author describes how the “controlled” torture techniques under the CIA migrated to places like Abu Graib, A friend, who is a political scientist, recommended the book and I liked it very much. On the other hand, a neighbor who loves George W. Bush “because he kept us safe” would not like it.

3. Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation ... by Lynn Truss

A fun approach to the rules of punctuation with some interesting history. It is very thorough and has some comment on email and text messaging. There are some differences in English and American usage particularly with respect to punctuation within and without closed quotations.

I have gotten carried away with non-fiction and then will continue with my next book: Dewey by Vicki Myron. I have a large TBR in mysteries waiting.

> 15 I think I'd enjoy Truss' book. When I did editing we'd call our local resource librarian for the toughies (it was in the 80s). Here, if there is a local resource librarian, we don't speak the same language! :)

4. Dewey ... by Vicki Myron

This was a Christmas present and a pleasure to read. Quite a human interest tale and quite a cat. We have two cats, Horus and Oscar, which we got after we retired and so have had a chance to spend much more time with them.

5. Jar City: A Thriller (Reykjavik Thriller) ... by Arnaldur Indridason

A very dark mystery involving the murder of a rapist and the note left behind: "I am him." What terrible things that can happen to a family. A picture is found under a draw that leads to strange ends.

ed. to get touchstone but failed

6. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle ... by David Wroblewski

A story of a boy, his dogs and an uncle beyond redemption. The boy is mute with good hearing and the dogs are trained with his signings. It has elements of a mystery.

What did you think of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle? It was one of my favorite reads for 2008 and I loved it.

7. Brown on Resolution ... C. S. Forester

A daughter of a successful businessman set out in a train to visit a friend, and develops a rather intense relationship with a naval officer she meets in the train. In 9 months there is a son. The daughter, having independent means, abandons her family and raises the son by herself, the father is in total ignorance of the son's existence. The son eventually joins the British navy at the beginning of WW I and his ship is sunk in the Pacific with only three survivors, including himself. The action after this is wonderfully described as the lives of father and son are intertwined, although they never meet.

#21: I have been reading Forester's Horatio Hornblower series over the past year or so and enjoy his writing. I will have to look out for this one as well. Thanks for the review!

#22. I have yet to read any of Forester's Hornblower series, although I have read some of Patrick O'Brien. A Librarything friend also suggested Forester's The Nightmare, which is set in WW II. I will need to read that soon.

>21 HorusE: & ff: I've read all the Hornblower books and enjoyed them. They were probably my favorite of their type until I got into the O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin stories. However, my two favorite Foresters were actually outside the series: The African Queen and The Good Shepherd. So, I'm glad to hear of another one that is good. I'll give it a try. Thanks.

8. Interred with Their Bones ... by Jennifer Lee Carrell

There is a fire at the new Globe Theater in London and a friend of the protagonist is found dead. The dead friend has set a goal to find a missing manuscript of Shakespeare. What follows is a series of mad dashes back and the Atlantic, leaving death in their wake. My view of the book is somewhat negative although some reviewers are very positive. Some interesting history.

#25 HorusE: I read it last year and did not understand what the great shakes were about it either. It was OK, but not anything great, IMHO.

9. The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday ... by Alexander McCall Smith
This is part of the Isabel Dalhousie Series. Includes some minor mysteries and gives interesting characterizations of the inhabitants of Edinburgh. There is an interesting case of a medical doctor involved in a scandal concerned with drug testing.

10. Silence of the Grave ... by Arnuldur Indriðason

A sequel to Jar City and a great mystery. The Inspector seems to deal in old murders and this story even brought in a forensic archeologist who took days to unearth what was the rest of a skeleton--keeping some critical details in suspense. New word for me: hebephrenia.

Hebephrenia - let me guess: fear of the heebee jeebees! No, that would be hebephobia . . . OK, I give up.

The below should be in quotes, LT seems to mess up that character

Hebephrenia ..

Somehow he just stopped growing up. He was the same good, kind boy, but his emotions did't mature with his body. Hebephrenia is a variant of schizophrenia, Simon's like Peter Pan. Sometimes it's connected with puberty.

My humble $0.02/tidbit:

Hebe is the ancient Greek goddess of youth, and also Heracles' wife in Olympus.

I like my definition better . . .

Speaking of definitions, I kept running across the word 'hecatomb' while reading The Iliad and finally gave in and looked it up: an ancient Greek and Roman sacrifice of 100 oxen or cattle.

Learn something new here every day!

11. The Nightmare ... by C. S. Forester

This is a collection of short stories by the creator of Captain Hornblower dealing primarily with the Nazi horrors. Stories based on characters following the letter of the Nazi "law". One deals with the efficiency of calculating more economic and efficient means of killing more inmates of a concentration camp. In another case, "The Physiology of Fear", a researcher is assigned to determine a comparison of how members of various races submit to fear. It is not wise to find the wrong conclusions.

In one story in The Nightmare, the commandant of a concentration camp is ready to be sentenced for his crimes in a trial of war criminals and he comes across an archaic English legal term, "deodand", which meant "to be given unto God". This had referred to a murder weapon. If the weapon had been a sword, then it was to be given to the Church (or perhaps to the King). In the case of the Nazi, whether the means of death involved guilt or not, that "means" (himself) must be given unto God--hence the Nazi "understands" why he must be hanged--although he know he is innocent.

HorusE
The Nightmare sounds like quite a heavy read!

#35 Into something a little lighter:

12. The Whiskey Rebels ... by David Liss
Quite enjoyable historical fiction, even if the author played with a few dates. It relates to the financial panic of 1792 and to the origins of the Whiskey Rebellion. Somewhat apropos to our current economic crisis.

13. The Last Detective ... by Peter Lovesey

Not long ago "The Washington Post" had an article about shoplifting and mentioned one of the more interesting shoplifting cases involving Jane Austin's Aunt Jane caught lifting some lace. This case is mentioned in the mystery and is the second mystery I have read by Lovesey that involved some famous writer that lived at some time in Bath, England. In both cases the iniital prime suspect is an English professor.

14. Seeking Whom He May Devour ... by Fred Vargas

Commissaire Adamsberg shot and, by accident, killed a member of the criminal class and the fellows lover is preparing to shot Adamsberg. The commissaire decides this is a good time to do some investigation outside of Paris. He gets interested in a current story of some monstrous wolf (werewolf?) that seems to be racing from southeast France towards Paris slaughtering ewes and a few peasants along the way. In one TV scene Adamsberg spots his great love, Camille.

Meanwhile Camille has a new lover, a Canadian who is studying the wolves in Mercentour National Park. There is a very nice description of the landscape as Camille and two friends set out to find this wolf who murdered a women nearby.

15. Bright Hair About the Bone ... by Barbara Cleverly

A Latitia Talbot mystery where Latitia and her "guardian" head for Burgundy to under some archeological work and to find her god father's murderer. The local aristocrat is up to no good and among his projects is to poison all of Hitler's pals at a gathering in Bavaria.

16. Nine Ghosts ... by R. H. Malden

Nine great ghost stories in the mold of M. R. James. Picked up a couple of new words:
Invultation: making dolls and sticking pins in them
Chalcotriby: making brass rubbings

17. The Return of the Gods ... By Ulli Beier

Ulli Beier is an author on Yuraba art and literaure. The book is concerned with the work of Susanne Wenger, originally and Austrian artist who moved to the western region of Nigeria and became absorbed in the Yoruba culture and recreated the shrines in the Oshun grove. The book describes the Yourba culture and how it relates to Islam and Christianity. It continues with a history of the town of Oshogbo and its important shrines to the Yoruba deities such as Shango (thunder god). There are many photographs of Wenger's work and those photographs of the resulting architectural works and sculpture are particularly interesting. Some of the sculpulture is reminiscent of Gaudi (although the resemblance is coincidental). Included at the end of the book is a brief discussion of artists who worked with Susanne Wenger as well as a glossary of Yoruba terms.

I've just discovered your thread. You're reading some interesting books. I'm adding The Nightmare and The Return of the Gods to my TBR pile. Thanks for the recommendations.

The Return of the Gods sounds very interesting. Definitely going to have to check into that one. Thanks for the recommendation!

18. Thumbprint ... by Friedrich Glauser

Thumbprint is the first of five mysteries by Glauser, written while he was in a Swiss lunatic asylum. His writing has been compared to that of Simenon.

As the story begins, Sergeant Struder (the main character) has just arrested a man accused of murder. After the delivery of the prisoner, Struder returns to find that the accused has just hung himself. Struder is in time to rescue the fellow, who claims he is innocent. The Sergeant soon find himself investigating a whole vilage in a very messy affair.

The Glauser prize is one of the best known awards for crime writing in German.

#42 & #43

I had a teaching job in Nigeria in the early 60's and had an opportunity to meet Susanne Wenger in Oshogbo. I picked up a couple of prints she had for sale. A librarian friend happened upon a reference to The Return of the Gods in a publisher's catalog and gave me a copy.

19. The Killing Kind ... by John Connolly

The mode of primary killing is rather gruesome--involves the use of black widows, brown recluses, and the like--apocalyptic in character. The reference to Maine are interesting, particularly to someone who grew up there.

20. Nemesis ... by Jo Nesbo
A bank is robbed by someone very knowledgeable, knowing how to avoid leaving any clues. He kills a teller, ostensibly because the bank manager was too slow opening the vault. However, the protagonist, Harry Hole, has suspicions that there is another motive for the murder. There are number of villains, but will Harry find the one most vile?

21. Six Mornings on Sanibel … by Charles Sobczak

Carl Johnson had moved to Sanibel Island in southwest Florida, from the Midwest many years ago with his wife Marie and family to escape a rather sterile life as a loan officer. He slowly developed a living as a fishing guide. About a year before the story starts, Marie dies a rather painful death from cancer and the related chemotherapy.

Richard Evans, a very overweight and very rich divorce attorney, also from the Midwest, decides to take his rather dysfunctional family to Sanibel Island for a one week vacation. Richard purchases a fortune in fishing gear and ends up befriended by Carl.

There are lots of good fishing stories but the story of the two friends and their experiences with live were particularly moving.

22. The Fall of Troy …By Peter Ackroyd

Peter Ackroyd satirizes Heinrich Schliemann as Heinrich Obermann. Heinrich Schliemann is the archeologist who excavated the ruins of the ancient city of Troy.
Obermann systematically destroys any evidence in the ruins that could caste doubt on his ideas concerning Troy.

23. Detective Story … by Imre Kertesz

The story takes place in some South American country that had suffered a military coup and the new military rulers, in turn, have been overthrown. The protagonist is in a jail awaiting sentencing. He was a relatively lightweight member of the CID or secret police that rounded up suspects and tortured them routinely. The only goal of the amoral band was to protect themselves—but the protagonist gets caught.

24. Prof ... by George E. Hill

A somewhat dated but humorous book by by a retired professor of education with advice for new faculty ranging from getting that first job to who to marry. Includes comments on chapel, faculty meetings, kids, academic bigots, and how terrible the business office is. Seems to predict an end to tenure in ten years--didn't happen.

25. The Franchise Affair … by Josephine Tey

Two ladies, mother and daughter, have inherited an old, rather ugly, house, out in the English countryside. They manage quite well until a 16-year-old girl accuses them of abducting and beating her up. They ask a local lawyer, who is rather unversed in criminal law, to advise them on the best course of action. Very shortly the lawyer finds that Inspector Grant is about to arrest them on some charge. One area tabloid pillories the couple, and some local thugs attack their house. The lawyer’s “Aunt” promises to pray for some miracles and she comes through with the help from and old friend from law school.

HorusE
What an incredible list of books! I didn't check your thread in a few days and now find all these incredible reads.

I'm adding The Killing Kind to my list of tbr. I'm intrigued by the mention of Maine (one of my favorite states.)

#50 Whisper 1

Suggest starting with the first two in the Charlie Parker series Every Dead Thing and Dark Hollow. It is interesting to me to find the action taking place in locations where my grandparents living (further in the recess of the woods of Maine) as well as where my parents lived, closer to the coast, as well as the coast where relatives in my generation live. Some action takes place in Brooklyn where one son lives.

I enjoy following your threads with so many references to children's literature. We still have hundreds of children's books left behind by our two boys--spent many hours reading to them.

edit to finish message--this editor is awful sensitive.

HorusE
Thanks for the suggestions.
My husband and I vacation in Maine each summer. We love the Princeton area, near Canada, Calis, East Port and Machiaus.

26. The Art Thief ... by Noah Charney

Rather disappointing, since it was hard liking any of the characters; most are either criminal or made to seem ridiculous. There are some interesting bits about art history and art fraud.

#53: I think I will pass on that one, Horus, and stick with Iain Pears Art History mysteries instead.

#54 alcottacre: Your time was better spent reading Child 44. It had quite an ending. Happy Birthday from yet another March birthday person.

27. The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs ... by Alexander McCall

A sequel to Portuguese Irregular Verbs starring Dr. von Igelfeld, a philologist at the University of Munster. This is a comical set of misadventures where Dr. Igelfeld takes on rolls for which he is not qualified, including that of a veterinarian operation on an unfortunate "saugage dog" that just happened to belong to a fellow philologist.

#55: I hope your birthday is a great one, too, Horus!

There is a sequel for Child 44 coming out this year and I cannot wait.

#56. alcottacre
Thanks for the heads up!

28. The Miracle at Speedy Motors ... by Alexander McCall Smith

Mma Ramotswe is to help a woman find her family. Mr Makekoni heads to Johannesburg to seek a miracle cure for his daughter. A pleasure to read as always with the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Series.

29. Revelation … by C. J. Sansom

The author has a Ph.D. in history and experience in the legal profession and so has a great background for this historical fiction. This book is the fourth in the Matthew Shardlake Series. Shardlake is a lawyer in the time of King Henry VIII.

The villain in the piece is a serial killer inspired by the Book of Revelation. Each murder is patterned after some reference to that book. There is great characterization involving interactions between various individuals and groups. In particular there are the political battles between the religious reformers and those of a more conservative bent. There is the tricky relationship between Shardlake’s physician friend, Guy, and the physician’s assistant and well as the marital difficulties of Shardlake’s assistant. This is also the period of time during which Vesalius’ work on human anatomy is published, which Guy is studying avidly. Even the inhabitants of Bedlam are involved. Increase tension is produced by the necessity of keeping King Henry VIII in ignorance of the investigation into the serial killings.

Excellent historical Fiction.

Revelation sounds like a book I would really enjoy. Before joining LT, the majority of my reading was historical fiction. I'm adding this book to my tbr pile.

#59: Linda, since it is book number 4 in the series, you might want to give the others a try first. I think you would enjoy the series considering your likes and the time period it is set in.

#58 I loved the other three in the series and am waiting impatiently for this one to come out in paperback - I'm glad to hear it's good.

Can you please tell me which book is the first, second and third?

Thanks.

#62: Linda, I sent you the order on your profile page.

Thanks, as always, Stasia.

30. Sand: The Never-Ending Story … by Michael Welland

(missing in Touchstone)

I promised more non-fiction and this is such a case. The author examine the subject of sand from many perspectives: the physics of sand and the behavior of sand dunes in particular, sand in art, the complexities of river sediment transport, geology in general and plate tectonics in particular, first-class Zinfandels in the sandy vineyards of Australia, sand in poetry, what may lead to the end of civilization, and the vast variety of sands.

The author referred to an interesting site showing collections of sand, sand art, and sand patterns :
Microscopic ScienceArt

as well as
The art of motion control in sand

edited to fix site references

31. An Irish Country Doctor ... by Patrick Taylor

As noted by one reviewer, this book is very similar to those by James Herriott except that humans are involved. It was fun reading, although actually a Reader's Digest large print condensed version, but I might be tempted to read the full version of the sequel.

I enjoy Herriott's books, so I will look for that one too. Thanks for the mention!

32. The Last Lecture ... by Randy Pausch

An interesting memoir from a professor of computer science who died of pancreatic cancer. He had some very sensible ideas about living, and his students were lucky to have had him.

I finished reading Brown on Resolution this morning. Thanks again for the recommendation!

#69 Glad you enjoyed it.

33. The Lost City of Z ... by David Grann

This is a great adventure story of a search for evidence of an ancient civilization in the Amazon. It is also a horror story describing all the torments the parties of the explorer Percy Fawcett had to contend with, the tropical diseases in particular.

Gramm refers to a couple of interesting matters that were referred to in recent books that I have read at least part of. In one instance he mentions a tribe that only counts to three, an article on linguistics in The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2008 (The Best American Series) by Jerome Groopman, discusses the baffling language (and culture) of the Pirahã tribe in the Amazon. In the second case, Gramm mentions the high sandstone plateaus that inspired Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World. These plateaus had also been discussed in Sand: The Never Ending Story, by Michael Welland.

34. 1066 and All That ... by W. C. Sellar

A wild and funny poke at the history of England. It reminded me of Non Campus Mentis by Anders Henriksson, a history professor at the university where I taught. The author had collected some choice free associations that had appeared in the various papers his (and other history faculty) have encountered in teaching history.

#71: Glad to see you enjoyed that one! I thought it was a hoot.

35. Hard Rain ... by Janwillen van de Wettering

Janwillen van de Wetering was a Dutch crime novelist and had a varied background as a businessman, Amsterdam constable, a Brisbane real estate agent, and a Japanese monastery resident. His thrillers were inspired by the Dutch-born Robert van Gulik (Judge Dee mysteries). He also lived in the U.S. state of Maine where two of his stories are placed.

Hard Rain involves a doppelganger, an evil twin (actually distant cousin) of the commissaris, Willem Fernandus. They have had a rather disagreeable relationship since children. The setting is Amsterdam (maybe in the 80’s). Crime seems to be doing well and the police not so well. The commissaris has been suspended thanks to the machinations of Willem who seems to control everybody of importance in Amsterdam, including the chief constable.

A banker is killed as the story opens (it turns out that maybe the banks weren’t so good back then either) and most anybody else offensive to Willem follows suit. There is no mystery, as the reader knows who the bad guy is and more or less how it will end—but it still is a good thriller.

#73: I like thrillers, so I will be on the look out for this one. Thanks for the recommendation!

It is interesting to note that de Wetering wrote not only the Dutch version but the English version of his books as well (although apparently the substance might be different).

I liked Janwillen van de Wetering, I read them from the library in my youth (before 1981).

#76 FAMeulstee

I partculaly liked de Wetering's last two as they were set in the state of Maine, where I grew up.

36. The Four Last Things ... by Andrew Taylor

A thriller, but that particular chilly thriller involving child abduction and murder. As the story starts you realize that the daughter of a recently ordained woman deacon and policeman is about to be abducted. This book is part of the Roth trilogy. I have started another in the series, The Judgement of Strangers. Just happened to see a recent (Clint Eastwood) movie in this genre, "Changeling", with the additional horror of treacherous police conduct.

I think I'll skip the thriller re. child abduction and murder. But, I do like many of the other books you have read. I believe Stasia (alcottacre) recommended 1066 and All That and now, with your added comments, I hope to read this book soon.

#78 Whisper1

Stasia was the inspiration for reading 1066 and All That.

#79: We have to give credit where credit is due - I pulled the book from Terri's thread (tloeffler).

37. The Judgement of Strangers ... by Andrew Taylor

An continuation of the Roth Trilogy.

review

37. The Judgement of Strangers ... by Andrew Taylor

An continuation of the Roth Trilogy.

Review

38. Office of the Dead ... by Andrew Taylor

The trilogy involves the interaction between two families and describes the development of a child who creates mayhem, and worse, throughout. Added to the story is the mystery of a dead poet-clergy who was apparently drummed out of town as a heretic for proposing ordaining women, but he seemed to have a dark side--and wrote terrible poetry. A bit of a horror, but well written. It was interesting how everything tied together.

39. The Last Dickens ... by Matthew Pearl

A good thriller which draws its plot from The Mystery of Edward Drood, by Charles Dickens with the idea of finishing the tale. Some interesting background on some rather nasty competition between publishers in the 1800's. Also brings in some background on the opium trade at the time.

#84: The Last Dickens looks like something I would enjoy. Thanks for the recommendation!

40. The Girl in Blue ... by P. G. Wodehouse

A comic novel, but perhaps not one of Wodehouse's best. It has its collection of men incompetent in matters of the heart and some just generally incompetent. One characters, who has just been dropped by a feminine fatale, has fallen in love with the girl in blue. However, he is devastated when he learns she has just inherited an estate. There is a "butler" who is really a broker's man (someone who is hired to look after a creditor's interests). A pleasant story.

I have started The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron recommended by alcottacre. Like girlunderglass, I was attracted by the site of Barcelona.

#86: I hope you enjoy The Shadow of the Wind. I received Zafon's newest book, The Angel's Game as an ARC this week. I think it comes out in the States over the summer.

41. Company of Liars ... by Karen Maitland

Camelot sets out toward the north of England selling relics, seeking to escape the plague of 1348 and collects a disparate group of travelers with various secrets. Some die along the way in somewhat mysterious ways. The story is told in the first person, Camelot. I found it a fascinating tale--it includes a bit of fantasy which fits in with a medieval beliefs in witches and the like

42 Darkly Dreaming Dexter ... by Jeff Lindsay

A serial-killer novel with a "lovable" monster who directs his efforts on other serial killers. His adopted father dies knowing Dexter has dark tendencies and suggests how they should be channeled--starting with the murderous hospice nurse.

#88: Looks good! I will have to give it a try. Thanks for the recommendation.

>88 HorusE:: It's a retelling of The Canterbury Tales. I read it in January and wasn't wild about it, but a couple folks suggested I might like The Decameron instead. I haven't tried the latter to find out, yet. However, since you liked Company of Liars, I'll pass along the recommendation.

#91 TadAD

"Devenish" noted that the description of Northampton was rather poor. Although it no longer exists, that town, in 1348, did have a very distinguishing characteristic, a castle.

43. Voices: A Thriller (Reykjavik Thriller) … by Arnaldur Indridason

This is the third in the Inspector Erlendur mystery series. There are a number of illusions to “voices” such as the murder victim who had an unusually beautiful voice as a choir boy and the “voices” of a boy’s mentally ill mother who heard voices when she failed to take her medication.

The murder victim had currently been a doorkeeper at a hotel in Reykjavic. There are several possible murder suspects, including an Englishman visiting at the hotel who collected records of choirboys. The murder victim had records worth a fortune. The guilty party is well hidden until the end.

The atmosphere is quite grey; Christmas is a time of gloom.

The story also deals with mistreatment of children. Inspector Erlendur himself had a traumatic experience in childhood, whereby his younger brother ends up missing in a sudden blizzard, and the rest of the family becomes buried in guilt. Currently Erlendur has been investigating the physical harm done to a young boy, by bullies, father, or by whom? The former choir boy is rejected by his father after his voice changes after puberty.

44. Finished Full Dark House by Chrisopher Fowler

This involves the very peculiar PCU or Peculiar Crimes Unit. The dark house involves a very dark theater with very dark matters, involving several very strange murders. The theater is in London in the middle of the blitz. The detective in charge appears to be very familiar with spiritualists and the story gets very involved in Greek mythology. This is the first in the series. The source of the murders is rather interesting.

This sounds like an interesting book! Did you like it?

As usual it took a few pages to get into into it. I did like it. The characters are like able and interesting as well as the plot and atmosphere. I plan to read more in the series.

45. Lush Life ... by Richard Price

The characters are not likable, but the dialogue is apparently a good mixture of the neighborhood and the local police and is what sets it apart. It took w while getting used to the acronyms and some expressions (like "hamster") and ROR. Amazing how versatile ROR is, although only one usage fits the story. The neighborhood is interesting as I have a son (who gave me the book) that lives in Brooklyn, and we often take the Williamsburg Bridge into Manhattan and pass by Eldridge street where the main action occurs. "Not tonight, my man" is not the proper reply to a mugging.

46. A Quiet Flame ... by Philip Kerr

Bernie Gunther had been inducted into the SS and sent off to the Eastern Front toward the end of World War II. A Nazi had taken on Gunther’s identity and an Israeli death squad has been after Bernie who manages to board a boat for Argentina along with some other SS officers, like Adolph Eichmann. Bernie had been trying to solve a case of “lush murders” before the Berlin police department was taken over by the Nazis and he was removed from the force.

On arrival in Buenos Aries, Bernie is recruited by the secret service to solve some murders similar to the “lush murders” he left behind in Germany. The theory of the Argentine secret service was that the German responsible the crimes in Berlin had immigrated to Argentina and was continuing his crimes there. There is also an investigation by Bernie into a Jewish extermination camp in Argetina.

Although it is fiction, there is interesting material regarding Juan and Eva Peron as will as the numerous Nazis that immigrated to Argentina such as Eichmann and Mengele. Philip Kerr refers to The Real Odessa by Uki Goni.

A very interesting thriller.

I like your description of this book. I've added it to my tbr pile.

47. Dekok and the Dead Lovers ... by A.C. Baantjer

A cozy dutch mystery. The translator must have had fun converting Dutch slang to English.

Inspector Dekok has been forced to give up his typewriter for a computer, which he refuses to use. As a consequence his associate Vledder produces all the reports. Dekok has a close friend in a neighborhood bartender who acts as an informer; "it takes a thief to catch a thief".

Dekok is investigation the case of a corpse handcuffed (with a police handcuff) to a radiator with a bullet hole between his eyes, in the residence of a girl who cuffed him for his own protection. Soon the inspector finds that there is another girl of "unblemished beauty" involved that had been sold to a very rich, unpleasant "friend" of the Commissaris.

48. Beowulf.. translated and read by Seamus Heaney

Was glad I had the audio version and that it was read by the translator. It was an interesting epic.

49. The Draining Lake ... by Arnaldur Indriðason

This is the fourth thriller in the Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson series. The title comes from the lake that has been falling ever since a recent earthquake. A skeleton is revealed tied to a broken wireless. The case is traced back to the cold war era when a group of Icelanders were offered an education in Communist East Germany. Several such students disappeared including a Hungarian girl and two Icelanders.

50. American Journeys ... by Don Watson

Interesting but seems like it was "looking through a glass, darkly". The author seemed to listen to Sean Hannity and Rush Lumbaugh excessively. I started it while riding on Amtrak, but from Washington DC to New York City; so my experience, unlike the author's, was rather pleasant. Judylou had referred to this work.

51. An Advancement of Learning .. by Reginald Hill

On the ground of Holm Coultram College there is an undertaking to prepare the ground for a new building. To bring this about a statue of the first principal of this institution, originally a teacher training college.
As the base of the statue is removed, a skeleton is discovered--of the individual to whom the status is dedicated. Meanwhile the senior lecturer in biology has been suspended and accused of scandalous behavior.
This is the second in the Dalziel and Pascoe series.

Catching up on threads -

On Arnaldur Indriðason: I have the following books in the "Detective Erlendur series" (also marketed as the "Reykjavik thrillers"), Jar City (also known as Tainted Blood), Silence of the Grave, Voices, and The Draining Lake. It's interesting to note that these are marketed as the first to the fourth in the series, yet two earlier novels preceded them - Sons of Dust and Silent Kill, which are yet to appear in English.

On Philip Kerr: I have Kerr's "Berlin Noir trilogy", and of course The One From the Other and A Quiet Flame, the fourth and fifth books in the "Bernie Gunther series". Fifteen years separated the continuation of this series - the third book in the trilogy, A German Requiem, was published in 1991; and The One From the Other was published in 2006. Apparently the 15 year wait was well worth it, but I'm thankful I found out about the series so late ;)

I really must elevate these books on my reading list.

P.S. Thanks for the review of Lush Life - I picked this up just the other day.

petermc

Thanks for the information on the Detective Erlendur series. I had read the other three in Engliish and am looking forward to Artic Chill. I suppose the others may come along.

I had read the "Berlin Noir trilogy", borrowed from a friend. Have The One from the Other, but have not read it. Dark Matter, by Philip Kerr was a fun fiction starring Isaac Newton.

I enjoyed your review of The Great War by Les Carlyon. I have noticed the book while going through a bookstore in a war memorial in Australia and ordered it later. That is one I must elevate!

#101 Seamus Heaney's Beowulf I also listened to the audio version of this earlier in the year - really brought the epic to life for me.

#105 - The Great War is a great book! I'm currently reading (very slowly mind you), his earlier work, Gallipoli, which is also superb. If you like his style (and it is distinctive - poetical and wonderfully opinionated), I definitely recommend you pick up that one. One caveat with The Great War however, you do come away from the book believing that Australia did win the First World War single handedly :)

52. Stone's Fall ... by Iain Pears

An excellent historical fiction. It is divided into three locations (London, Paris, Venice) and periods of time (between 1865 and 1909). A lot of financial maneuverings, including efforts to bring England's banks to their knees. Some espionage and many interesting characters whose lives are intertwined in a complex and intriguing way.

53. Man and His Dog ... Thomas Mann
(no touchstone)

#108: I have the ARC for that somewhere in my house . . . Maybe I will get to it by 2010.

#108 ARC ?? Any connection to your continent of books? Pears wrote a few neat art mysteries you may have read.

54. Die Laughing ... Carola Dunn

A neatly done cozy mystery with an interesting method of murder ... nitrous oxide ... for a dentist no less. Daisy Dalrymple, the wife of Detective Chief Inspector Fletcher, is due meet with her dentist when she encounters his corpse. I do not usually guess the murderer early, although in this case, it came out because the others were too obvious.

#111: Sorry, I forget that some people do not know what the abbreviations stand for. When I first joined LT, I saw a lot of people using PBS and could not figure out what the Public Broadcast System had to do with books! Anyway, ARC = Advanced Reader's Copy

Yes, I was first introduced to Pears' works through his Art Mystery series. I also have his An Instance of the Fingerpost.

55. Silesian Station … by David Downing

This is the second (out of 3) in the John Russell series by David Downing. The story starts in July 1939, after John Russell, now a journalist for a San Francisco paper, has just returned with his son from a visit in the USA, where he has obtained an American passport in return for some espionage activities on behalf of the USA. He finds that his girl friend Effie has just been arrested by the Gestapo. There will be no problem getting her released as long as he is willing to provided some intelligence work for Germany to the disadvantage of the Soviet Union.

Russell subsequently works out a deal with the Soviet embassy whereby he will work for them to the disadvantage of Germany whereby the Soviets will provide an emergency escape route for himself and Effie—should the need arise. This arrangement, despite the fact that in the previous adventure Russell was betrayed by another Soviet agent--now presumably disposed of.

While engaged as a journalist and spy, Russell endeavors to locate a young Jewish girl who was sent by her parents in Silesia to Berlin to work for a friend of Russell. She had been seen by a friend changing trains in Breslau, but fails to meet an uncle in Berlin (he had been murdered on the way to Silesian Station). She has disappeared. Russell, at the instigation of his friend, hires a private investigator to find her. The investigator is strong-armed into dropping the case. Russell of course finally locates her and comes up with an ingenious plan to rescue her. There are frequent references to the persecution of the Jews in Germany in 1939 and references to the events leading up to the invasion of Poland.

#113: The Downing series looks like one I would enjoy. Thanks for the recommendation.

56. My Lady Judge .... by Cora Harrison

Mara is the judge or brehon for an area not too far from Galway, but still under Brehon law and not English law as was the case for Galway in the early reign of King Henry VIII. Mara has the care of a number of young boys as students in her law school. During a summer celebration one of the students has been murdered. In the process of solving the crime, the reader is introduced to some of the aspects of Brehon law. As a result of the character of the murdered boy, there are many possible suspects. There are three books in this series and this one was reminiscent of the Sister Fidelma series--but centuries different in time.

Messages 108 and 109
I'm adding this book to my list. It sounds fascinating.

I read Thomas Mann book and thought it was great. Mann seemed liked such a stuffed shirt and this wonderful dog appeared to soften him a bit.

#116 Whisper1

I enjoyed "Man and His Dog"--very descriptive. I had added it to my list from your recommendation. I read his Doctor Faustus a very long time ago.

This is the second dog book I have read this year. I have never had a dog, but one son has more than made up for it--his wife is a vet and as a consequence they currently have 7 or 8 (including 3 puppies his wife could not "put away" at the request of a client).

#115: Adding that one to Planet TBR. It looks like something I will like.

Whisper--Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann is the lovely and tender story of a familyover a couple of generations. It is the first book by Mann that I read, and I was surprised by how readable it is, and by his compassion for his characters. I chose it for my Book Club to read (none of whom are particularly readers of either classics or long books) and they all loved it.

HorusE--I don't usually like dog (or other animal) books even though I love the animals themselves. However, I read Timbuktu by Paul Auster earlier this year, and its main character is Mr. Bones the dog. I highly recommend it. I also am going to give Mann's dog book a try.

abw
I've added Timuktu to the ever growing tbr pile. It sounds like a wonderful book.

#119 arubabookwoman

I added Buddenbrooks to my pile a year ago. Thanks for mentioning it--I will have to push it up further!

57. The Devil’s Company … by David Liss

In this book David Liss returns to the Benjamin Weaver (pugilist) series of historical fiction that started with A Conspiracy of Paper. Weaver is suddenly trapped into a very heavy debt and must work for a Mr. Cobb to uncover secrets hidden in the British East India Company to avoid Newgate. Some of his friends have been similarly trapped as an extra twist to get Weaver’s cooperation.

There are a number of well-drawn characters that are woven into the plot including a weaver. Naturally there is a beautiful woman, an Indian of herculean strength, an inventor who raises money by marrying multiple times for the dowry, a director of the company who hires Liss who his own ends, and a mysterious abandoned warehouse. In the background there is that familiar battle of the government wanting to control business and business wanting to have freedom to pursue unmitigated greed. A pleasure to read.

#119 arubabookwoman

Thanks also for the reference to Timbuktu. I will have to pursue it.

#122: Both A Conspiracy of Paper and The Devil's Company look like books I would enjoy. Thanks for the recommendation, Horus.

58. The White Road … by John Connolly

This is the fourth in the Charlie Parker series. Charlie is a former policeman from Brooklyn, NY, who has left that post after the murder of his first wife and daughter. He is now a private detective in and around Portland, Maine. His current life is threatened, along with that of his new wife and friends, by the threatened release (for lack of evidence) of a vicious killer currently held in a prison up the coast.

Meanwhile a lawyer friend from the past has asked his assistance with a case in Charleston, SC., where an innocent black man is accused of a brutal murder. Soon Charlie is introduced to a whole new group of nasty (KKK, skinheads) who do not greet him with the proper southern hospitality. There is of course some old history going back to post-civil-war times when the KKK was more active. Add the Congaree swamp with its treacherous sinkholes, and you have a scary thriller.

I like the Charlie Parker series, too!

59. Innocence and Arsenic … by Albert Borowitz

This is a series of essays regarding criminal literature and actual criminal cases, written by a lawyer. They cover a wide variety of interesting and thoughtful studies, including “Mr. Jekyll and Mr. Stevenson”, “Salieri and the ‘Murder’ of Mozart”, “Psychological Kidnapping in Italy: The Case of Aldo Braibanti”, and “M. Tullius Cicero for the Defense”. Another case deals with an example of a “nonfiction novel” that considerably predates In Cold Blood. The final essay is a funny comment on the author’s attempt to do some research in London. “If you wish to do research in London, you should have one of two assets going for you. You should be either a saint or extremely long-lived.”

#128: I will have to check that one out!

alcottacre

Albert Borowitz has a son, Andy, with a humorous online political satire website at:
http://www.borowitzreport.com/

I will check into that too~

BTW - Call me Stasia - everyone does.

60. Death Among friends and other detective stories ... by Cyril Hare

A collection of short detective stories by a former "barrister of the Inner Temple, Judge of County Courts, and Deputy of Quarter Sessions."

To quote from A Catalogue of Crime: "The telling is always adept and urbane, and the collection is a fit memorial to a master prematurely lost to the high genre."

Being very familiar with the British law, Cyril Hare can bring up some interesting points such as "marriage invalidates a will." On the other hand--what if there was no marriage?

61. Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay ... by Michael Chabon

Excellent adventure, a pleasure reading with some interesting history--at least involving comics.

62. The Hidden Assassins by Robert Wilson

This is the third in the Javier Falcon series, the first was The Blind Man of Seville.

It is a terrorist-type thriller. The immediate reaction of the public to a terrible bomb blast in an apartment building in Seville is that the Muslims are behind it. However there was a mosque in the basement and many Muslims were killed in the blast. Falcon suspects there may be something else involved. The blast was caused by far more explosive than necessary to accomplish the destruction of the building. There had been a suspicious visit by an electrician prior to the explosion. Added to the mix is some strange political activity and complications in Falcon's women past and present. Most everything is tidied up by the end, although Wilson leaves a few unanswered questions--intentionally.

#134: Another series I need to try. Thanks for the recommendation!

I started to red The Stand by Stephen King but found it too dark for the time being. So I decided on a nice cozy murder that was recommended in this group:

63. The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri

The story starts with the discovery of the body of a prominent Sicilian politician in a car with a broken suspension in an open-air brothel. No murder here but never fear, a murder will be, and although the Mafia gets the blame it is unearned. Nicely convoluted.

Stasia, Hope you like Robert Wilson--if you get the chance.

Thanks Horus!

64. Do No Harm ... by Gregg Hurwitz

This is a medical thriller set at the UCLA Medical Center Emergency Room. The ER Chief David Spier is the protagonist. A psychopath attacked a nurse with an alkali, a drain cleaner, and blinds and disfigures her.
The assailant is later captured and ends up in ER himself. He escapes and the police hold Spier responsible. Spier finally identifies the man and attempts to learn his background. The story goes deep into medical ethics as Spier finds that his mother had supported a research student where a psychiatrist had studied the reaction of a group of children in a special home to fear. Many of these children ended up as suicides and this assailant ended up in a psychotic and violent state plotting revenge.

Hurwitz has also has some other writings. Check out:
http://harvardmagazine.com/2009/07/slaying-dragons

65. The Mystery of the Yellow Room ... by Gaston Leroux

John Dickson Carr refers to this as "The finest locked room tale ever written." Leroux was the author of The Phantom of the Opera.

66. Who Moved My Soap? ... by Andy Borowitz.

67. Death on a Quiet Day ... by Michael Innes

The protagonist, a student David Henchman, decides to climb Knack Torr and finds someone has been there before him as he discovers a corpse with a hole in his head. There is someone else nearby and David has a challenge escaping with his life. He later returns to the Torr with John Appleby and they find another corpse (with a similar hole) instead.

68. Rounding the Mark ... by Andrea Camillieri

Inspector Montalbano goes for swim land finds himself joined by a well-worn corpse. The body is tentatively identified, but then Montalbano is informed that that individual died and was buried some time ago. The story involves illegal immigrants and human smuggling.

I need to track down both the Leroux and Innes books. Thanks for the recommendations, HorusE.

69. The Steel Wave ... by Jeff Shaara

This was loaned to me by a friend. A good novel for those interested in a heavy military theme. It recounts D-Day, the preparation and its immediate aftermath. Gives an interesting look into the conflicts between the allied leaders including Ike, Patton, Bradley, Montgomery, and Churchill as well as the conflicts within the German leadership. There is some good insights into to the battles and interactions among the lower ranks.

Stasi,

Michael Innes was a professor of English, which gives an interesting flavor to his mysteries. However, an article on the internet assures us that "Stewart's prose is refreshingly free of all influence by Strunk & White. "

141: The Steel Wave sounds right up my alley. I will have to look for it.

Thanks for the additional info on Innes. My local library has some, but not all, of his books, so I am going to start with those.

70. Einstein: A Biography ... by Jurgen Neffe

Originally written in German. Neffe has a Ph.D. in biochemistry and is affiliated with the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science. A very well written biography that covers a broad spectrum of Einstein's life. Includes a good discussion of the relevant theories and interesting notes regarding their reception in the scientific community. Some reflections on his personal life and his battles in politics--including notes on how close the FBI monitored his activities.

I read Walter Isaacson's biography of Einstein last year. Have you read that one? I wonder how the two compare.

Stasi,

I have not read that one yet, both had been reviewed at the same time, and I thought I would get a German perspective.

71. A Fatal Grace ... by Louise Penny

Louise Penny was recommended by Stasi among others. I started the cozy series with this book and am currently reading Still Life. I greatly enjoy the way the author develops so many characters in this fictional village a few kilometers from the Canadian-American border. There is considerable overlap in the characters in these two books and I look forward to the others in the series.

72. Still Life ... by Louise Penny

The first in the Three Pines series. Get a group of artists together and watch out! As with A Fatal Grace there is considerable development of character and sense of place. The protagonist is in trouble with his superiors and gets a week of suspension for insubordination. Then there is one of his "agents' who is in trouble with him. These tensions continued in A Fatal Grace.

Glad to see you are enjoying the series!

73. Island of the Sequined Love Nun ... by Christopher Moore

It was funny but did not hit me as much as A Dirty Job: A Novel which I found hilarious.

74. A Rule Against Murder ... by Louise Penny

Another good Three Pines mystery. Takes place a short distance from the Three Pines Village in an Inn where Chief Inspector Gamache takes his wife for a vacation. It takes many years for a black walnut tree to kill plants around it; it took a long time for a certain murder to come about. Among the interesting mysteries is where did all the sugar go?

I have not read that one yet, Horus, but hope to get to it in the near future. Looks like another good one!

75. The Emperor's Children ... by Claire Messud

This was absorbed from a 16-CD set. It took a while, but was a very well narrated audio book. The characters are very well developed and center around a well-to-do writer (the emperor) and his family in an apartment overlooking Central Park. The story ends with the September 11th attack on the Twin Towers with an upheaval in all their lives.

76. Napoleon's Pyramids ... by William Dietrich

A good historical novel involving Napoleon's invasion of Egypt (and Nelson's destruction of Napoleon's navy). The protagonist, an American who can play with the British and the French), is seeking a kind of grail--in this case a book with impressive power hidden in the Great Pyramid. Naturally the protagonist survives great perils and apparently so does the major villain, so they can go on to enjoy more adventures. Along the lines of Indiana Jones.

77. Grave Goods ... by Ariana Franklin

A good piece of historical fiction set in Glastonbury (and Wells) during the reign of Henry II. Interesting bits about Henry's improvements to the legal system. The third novel in the Adelia Aguilar series.

78. The Library at Night ... by Alberto Manguel

A book recommended for bibliophiles, that wanders through many libraries past and present, including the author's 30,000 or so collection in the French countryside. It is divided into my sections dealing with such topics as cataloging.

>153 HorusE: spent long weekend about 5 miles from Glastonbury at the end of August... DEFINITELY got to find this. Mistress of the Art of Death was great fun, (although the 'pit of death' in that book happens to be located in a country park where my sons love to go and play running-and-hiding quest games. So that was slightly, um, weird.)

...and have you seen the photos of Manguel's library?? Can't find the link in my labyrinth of bookmarks/favourites, but it's awe-inspiring. Probably on Delicio.us or similar somewhere.

I've got both Grave Goods and The Library at Night on the TBR pile. It's nice to know I've got a couple of good reads waiting.

#155 I have not seen photos of Manguel's library but will have the search it out! Thanks for the mention of it.

79/ The Gun in Daniel Webster's Bust ... by Margaret Scherf. Recommended by devenish. The 1949 mystery which is the first in the Emily and Henry Boyce series. A funny affair starring two interior decorators in Manhattan who get stiffed by a client who soon ends up as a stiff. Was amused by a reference to the old Chemex coffee maker. I had one of these things which involved a giant Erlenmeyer flask and a copper water bath. Then there was Emily apparently always asking Henry to find her glasses--until the one time he refused.

#157: That one looks fun! I will see if I can track down a copy. Thanks, Horus.

80. The Dragon Scroll ... by Ingrid J. Parker

Historical fiction set in Japan in the 11th century. This is the third in the series, although the first chronologically.

81. The Cruelest Month ... by Louise Penny

Recommended by Stasi and certainly had a lot of action on many fronts. The Surete (in the book) is a very dark place. I was put off at the beginning with the seance track, but it was a useful lterary means to the end.

#160: I am currently reading book 4 in the series, Horus, and can certainly recommend the others. I hope you get a chance to read them all.

Stasi, I liked book4 as well. I decided to read the entire series when I received an early reviewer copy of The Brutal Telling so I could get a better grasp of that village Three Pines.

82. Osiris Ritual ... by George Mann
The second in the Newbury & Hobbes steampunk series. Being steampunk it takes place in Victorian England and is well-populated with steam engines. Queen Victoria has a collection of special agents including Sir Maurice Newbury and Miss Veronica Hobbes and two other rogue agents who may be primary villains. Some Egyptian artifacts lead to two brutal murders and there is the mystery of girls going missing.

Well plotted with interesting characters.

#162: I will have to check into Osiris Ritual. I have developed an interest in steampunk since joining LT.

83. The Brutal Telling ... by Louise Penny

The fifth book in the Three Pines Series and I enjoyed it the most.

84. Slight Mourning ... by Catherine Aird

The host for a dinner for 12 ends up poisened. The Chief Inspector C. D. Sloan finds the seating arrangement of some importance, but I found the motive for the murder quite surprising. Some interesting legal stuff about entails and inheritance in rather tricky situations.

85. A Shilling for Candles ... by Jesephine Tey

A murdered actress leaves her brother one shillings for candles; he certainly did not killer her for the shilling--but where is he? There is a fellow she just left some money too or there is her husband, or the astrologer who predicted her demise, or her former lover.

86. The Blind Barber ... by John Dickson Carr

As noted in the Introduction: "This book is a farce about murder." This is a Dr. Gideon Fell mystery involving a murder with a missing corpse, threats of blackmail, and some strange thefts aboard the Queen Victoria.

I am currently reading one you recommended last December, HorusE: A Comedy of Terrors, and am enjoying it very much!

Stasi,

Glad you liked it. The Blind Barber was kind of comedy of terrors, but more of a farce so I would not recommend it. I was amused that the action took place on a ship called "Queen Victoria", since my wife and I had just had a cruise on the Queen Victoria in the western Mediterranean this summer.

87. Passing Strange ... by Catherine Aird

Another C. D. Sloan mystery, where the district nurse, posing as a fortune teller at the annual Horticultural Society Flower Show, is found murdered. It happens that she might have been the only witness that could verify the identity of the heiress to the local manor.

#169: The Sloan mystery series looks like one I would enjoy. I think I will give it a try!

Stasi, Hope you like the series.

88. The Thirteen and a Half Lives of Captain Bluebear ... by Walter Moers

Could be classified as children's literature. It is shear madness with adventure, fantasy, horror, and romance, with all kinds of challenges such as miniature pirates and eternal tornadoes. There are an almost endless variety of creatures from the relatively familiar hobgoblins and ghouls to the less familiar Zamonian Wolpertingers and the kackertratts. THe protagonist is of course Captain Bluebear who uses up thirteen and a half of his 27 lives in the course of the story. The translator must have found this a rather interesting challenge.

89. Black Dog ... by Stephen Booth

The first in the Cooper and Fry mystery series that takes place in the Peak District. A young girl is found murdered and Ben Cooper and Diane Fry are detective constables involved in the search for the killer. Very good characterization of the villagers, and the killer is not in the list of primary suspects.

#172: I have never read anything by Stephen Booth. I will have to give that one a try. Thanks for the recommendation!

90. A Quiet Belief in Angels ... by R. J. Ellory

Joseph, the protagonist, grew up in a small Georgia town in a region where over a period of time 10 young girls were murdered and their bodies mutilated. He discovered one of the bodies. Joseph eventually moves to Brooklyn and becomes a writer--a writer of a very successful book,after another series of horrible experiences. After the book is published he devotes himself to find the serial killer.

It is interesting that Ellory, although British, writes novels with an American setting. This created difficulty in getting either an American or a British publisher--although there seem to be a number of American writers with British settings. I had obtained my copy from England, although I see it has just appeared in the Costco warehouses.

#174: Another author new to me. I will look for his books as well as Booth's.

91. Swimming Across ... by Andrew Grove

A friend of mine who escaped from Hungary with his mother in the 50's recommended this book. It is the story of growing up in Hungary during World War II and its aftermath and the eventual escape to the U.S. right after the Hungarian Revolution. The author eventually became chairman of Intel.

#176: That one looks right up my alley. I will look for it. Thanks for yet another recommendation, Horus.

Stasi, I hope you like it. I am looking forward to reading another similar tale by Kati Marton.

92. The Monster of Florence ... by Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi

The story of the investigations into the serial killer referred to as "The Monster of Florence". Douglas Preston, who has authored and co-authored a number of thrillers, teamed up with an Italian journalist, Mario Spezi to attempt to identify the serial killer but ended up exposing the terrible state of the Italian justice system. Spezi ended up spending some time in prison and Preston unwelcome in Italy.

93. A Place of Execution by Val McDermid

Recommended highly by others in this group. An excellent mystery with a great ending, atmosphere, and characterizations. The story is set in very small and inner directed community where a girl disappears.

#179: That one looks very good. I am going to hunt for it. Thanks for the recommendation, Horus.

Stasi,

I was motivated to read A Place of Execution since PBS has scheduled it under Contemporary Mysteries, Part 1, last night. Naturally there were modifications. I was disappointed in the way the "village" was presented--but it would have been a considerable challenge to match how I imagined it.

94. A Rich Full Death ... by Michael Dibdin

There are a series of murders (or were they accidents?) of English and Americans in Florence, set in the 1850's. Robert Browning takes on the role of detective. Another expatriate takes on the role of narrator. There is a wild twist at the end.

>181 HorusE: that is one of my all-time favourite books!! Have re-read several times - love the Dante and the Browning all interwoven, and the narration is just perfect. As I think I said when I was writing about The Dante Club recently, this is the novel that got me into reading Dante "proper".

Reminds me also that I don't have a copy on my shelves... my original went missing, and the replacement I bought has been on loan to a friend of my mum's for over a year. Could be time to buy another one...

#182
Rachael, by the way I forgot to mention that it was your recommendation that put me on to A Rich Full Death. Thanks! I will have to take out my Dante (Dorothy Sayers translation) that I picked up in college. I currently have a friend in Florence who has had the opportunity to study Dante there.

95. Death's Bright Dart ... by V. C. Clinton-Baddeley

This is set at a college in Cambridge and starts with the preparation for an academic conference. One of the speakers reports a threat to his life, and as soon as he starts his presentation he is apparently felled by a poisoned dart. Some of those in attendance have studied poisons used in darts and a blow gun has been stolen from a nearby museum. Of that group, several are Hungarians who had relatives that perished in the Holocaust. Dr. Davie sets himself the task of determining where all the suspects were at the time of that first death.

Recommended by devenish

>183 HorusE: oh, lucky friend!! That must be amazing. I think the Sayers translation is pretty well-respected - I've got a parallel text (Norton, possibly??) but also have the new Penguin Classics editions by Robin Kirkpatrick, which are meant to be excellent (he took my Dante class so I'm probably biased, but the reviews were all very good).

Book #95 sounds like it's right up my street too - was it any good?

>>>176 HorusE:. I own Swimming Across and have just moved it a few notches up the TBR Ladder.

#185

The author was quoted from this book recently in The Wall Street Journal: "Only the paranoid survive".

#186

I liked the book very much. It was interesting how he weaved all these Hungarians, with relatives who met their end in the Holocaust, into the story as suspects. Some were experts in the highly specialized poisons involved with blow darts. Two children are involved in somewhat mischievous ways. Blackmail is afoot. I always enjoy an academic setting, this allows an alternative motivation for murder—competition for advancement. However a stronger motivation for murder rests with the happenings in a concentration camp.

I am a child of the 50's. I remember that my Sunday school teacher helped to sponsor a hungarian family who moved to the US. I visited them with her. I remember wondering what it was like moving to a new country, relying on others and trying to acclimate to a totally different environment. I'm anxious to reading Swimming Across.

96. The Gates ... by John Connolly

Apparently it is aimed at children but adults enjoy it too. It is funny--with an Aston Martin driven by/like a demon through a wormhole past the Gates of Hell.

Samuel the protagonist engages his elders in discussions about the number of angels that can dance on the head of a pin. He decides to get a head start on Halloween and encounters a group playing around with a pentagram.

Meanwhile at CERN something goes pop out of the machinery while the physicists are busy playing Battleship.

97. The Story of the Bible ... by Hendrik Willem Van Loon

"The Old and New Testament Told in Narrative Form"
I found it a very gook overview of the Bible with an attempt to view the Jewish tribes in the context of the surrounding tribes/countries.

98. On Kindness ... by Adam Phillips and Barbara Taylor

The title described the book well. Cover the subject from "Against Kindness" and "A Short History of Kindness" through "The Kindness Instinct" (psychoanalysis) to "Modern Kindness. A thoughtful presentation with and interesting review of the philosophical development of the subject including Hobbes and David Hume.

99. The Pure Lover: A Memoir of Grief .. by David Plante

To quote Phiip Roth: "A wrenching and boldly intimate Lament."

The two above had very postive reviews by Michael Dirda in "The Washington Post".

100. The Lost Art of Gratitude ... by Alexander McCall Smith

There is a also a reference in this pleasurable read to the differing points of view of Hume and Hobbes; but then remember the protagonist, Isabel Dalhousie, is a philosopher. I have enjoyed the entire Isabel Dalhousie series--this is the latest.

Congratulations on hitting 100! A great reading year.

Rachael,

Thanks! Congratulations to you as well.

David

My congratulations too!

Thanks Stasia,

I only got to 99 last year.

101. Howards End is on the Landing by Susan Hill

A story of a year of reading by an author whose writings I have heard of on this group, like The Woman in Black. but whose works I have not yet read. I have yet to read Howards End, although I enjoyed the movie. This book was recommend by devenish.

Susan Hill decided to avoid acquiring any new books for a year and instead review what she had at home and sample them. It is also a book about books and she discourses on a variety of book-related issues.

"I know people whose books rehoused in something resembling public libraries, one or two whose books are even catalogued ... even on infernal system of websites where it is possible to log your own library..."

The author recalls a good friend who had a wonderful collection of first editions but could not abide the jackets and threw them all away...to his great loss when he needed to sell them.

Her discussions of various authors is quite illuminating. I had great fun reading this memoir.

I'm dipping into Howards End is on the landing at the moment and really enjoying it. I've only read The woman in black but will probably read another of hers after this.
I love her reminiscing on all the authors she's had contact with, especially from when she was a student.

#194

It was amazing the authors she's had contact with--made quite a start for a writer.

101. The Judge and His Hangman ... by Friedrich Dürrenmatt

Commissioner Barlach finds that the a police lieutenant of the city of Bern has been murdered and the lieutenant had been dressed in a formal outfit--in a rural area at that. Where could the murdered policeman have been heading. The search for the killer has Barlach offending some political figures and he finds that a past encounter has be resurrected.

102. The Quarry ... by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Commissioner Barlach seeks a doctor active in the Nazi prison camps who had a habit of performing surgery without anesthesia. A horror story in parts. This is the second mystery I have read recently involving a Nazi concentration camp doctor.

#196: My local college library has those books, but unfortunately they are in German, and it has been 30 years or so since I have either read or spoken the language. I will keep an eye out for the English translations.

>193 HorusE: I really want to read Howards End is on the Landing - though the idea of managing not to buy new books for a year is daunting... Susan Hill must be superhuman!

#193

I should stop buying books for a year--I have not quite managed the discipline.

103. Acqua Alta ... by Donna Leon
Another fun read about Venice, and a story about a Sicilian who should not have moved to Venice.

104. The Joy of Insight … by Victor Weisskopf

Oliver Sacks in a recent weekly news magazine listed five favorite books, and this was one of them. It is, in large part, the story of the professional life of a physicist who, being Jewish, was forced to emigrate from Vienna in the 30’s. He was part of that amazing group of physicist that developed the theory of nuclear physics and became part of the Manhattan Project. He studied with Bohr, Heisenberg, and Pauli, to list a few. He served as director-general of CERN, president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Physical Society and served as chairman of the Department of Physics at MIT.

Although he had made many trips to the Soviet Union to visit physicists such as Lev Landau and Peter Kapitza, he was fortunate not to suffer from McCarthyism. Perhaps this was because he very quickly found that the Soviet Union was no utopia and let that fact be known. He worked hard for arms control, worked against “Star Wars”, and helped found the Union of Concerned Scientists.

The book is full of interesting anecdotes regarding his professional acquaintances and his personal life. Of interest is a chapter describing his time at CERN. It was a timely read as the Large Hadron Collider at CERN just started working again. On the funny side I had just read The Gates by John Connolly, which includes the Collider playing a critical role.

The book ends with a great chapter regarding his love of music and includes some philosophical thoughts.

#200: That one looks interesting. I will see if I can locate a copy. Thanks for the recommendation!

The Water Room ... by Christopher Fowler

The second in the Bryant and May (Peculiar Crimes Unit). A wild hike through the London Sewer System. In a section of London, above the Fleet River, the denizens are passing away or being murdered in a rather persistent fashion but with no obvious clues.

The Bryant and May series is in the BlackHole. One of these centuries I will get to it!