museum of desire

A quick search of the books tab here at the blog confirms that I haven't read anything from Jonathan Kellerman in the recent past, and I don't recall ever reading anything by this guy, which may be a little odd given how prolific he has been. This book, The Museum of Desire, is the latest* in a long series of books about psychologist Alex Delaware. The Delaware series start in 1985, and the front matter lists 34 of them prior to this one. Kellerman also writes some nonfiction, children's books (which he has also illustrated) graphic novels, other novels outside the Alex Delaware universe, and has co-authored some books with his wife, Faye Kellerman, and his son, Jesse Kellerman. take a breath, bro

Not having read one of these before, I can't tell you if Dr. Delaware is normally involved in helping the police to solve murder cases, but that's the impression I have. And while I can imagine a series of crime procedural novels with the staying power to endure four decades, I can't really imagine Kellerman's success with this series is typically driven by how Dr. Delaware helps his patients come to grips with how they relate to their peers and the world around them, but who knows. 

Milo Sturgis is the hard working, pastry eating LA Detective that Delaware has hitched his wagon to for this ride into the realm of the bizarre. The crime they are investigating is a strange and twisted multiple murder. You can see right away why Sturgis would want to bring in his old friend the doctor to help him figure this one out. The story arc follows a series of starts and stops in the investigation, including some interesting false trails that seemed as tho they may have worked out. think I just described writing

There isn't a lot of glamour, and it seems clear that Kellerman is trying hard not to fall into the trap that television and movies have done with crime procedurals, by making up something flashy that real police work doesn't include, but again, who knows, I'm not a police detective. But there is lots of pounding the bricks, knocking on doors, and chipping away at the case to try and find leads. Kellerman keeps enough balls in the air to ensure the story doesn't suffer because of this. 

All-in-all, pretty solid, with a dash of outrageous.

* 'Latest' is probably wrong, as this was published in 2020. Kellerman pro'ly cracked out one or two more since then; lets see... Yep. Serpentine in '21, and City of the Dead, this year. really ought to do research ahead of time #editonthefly

march 2022

 

It's that time of year!!!!! It's March, baby! Let's DO THIS!

As all four of you know, I like to celebrate the end of winter each year with the incunabular illumination March calendar. We've all heard that March comes in like a LION and out like a LAMB, but there's a whole month in between there, that starts our very lion-like and slowly shifts toward lamb-like, and folks want to know what those incremental shifts are, so they can plan their day. They don't want to guess. Should I wear my duck boots? My down coat? My umbrella? My chair and whip?

Welp, wonder no longer. Or indeed, WONDER at its greatness. Gaze in awe at it's completeness. Revel in its splendor.

March 2022

March 1 - Lion: Of course. Its in like a lion, right?
March 2 - Tiger: Even bigger than lions,. Year of the Tiger this year.
March 3 - Bear: As Dorothy said/sang. 'Oh my!'
March 4 - Shark: the 'great white' is still with us. Hopefully, not as toothsome
March 5 - Wolf: Not Wolverine, just the basic red riding hood eating kind.
March 6 - Bull: No kidding. Watch the horns.
March 7 - Moose: Wet, swampy, big, and heavy.
March 8 - Eagle: I saw a bald eagle flying over the Mystic River in Medford last week!
March 9 - Scorpion: Doesn't look dangerous. May be hiding in your boot.
March 10 - Dingo: Looks like a dog... with friends... but not so friendly.
March 11 - Hawk: Swoops down on you.
March 12 - Lynx: Scrappy, wary, may sneak up on you.
March 13 - Bat: Watch the skies at night.
March 14 - Monkey: It'll cling onto you; watch the tail. HBD Coleen!
March 15 - Snake: The Ides of March. Eve was like: 'Seems like a good idea!'
March 16 - Ox: Its not all kisses and hugs, but it is reliable.
March 17 - Elephant: Huge, gray, goes on forever. Trunk at the front tho.
March 18 - Raven: Like Poe said.
March 19 - Stag: Also called a Hart, altho that typically refers to red deer.
March 20 - Crab: Hard, wet, pinching. First day of spring!
March 21 - Goat: Will eat anything. This one is tough, but on the small side.
March 22 - Horse: Hard working, handsome to look at.
March 23 - Pig: Its a sty out there.
March 24 - Dog: Lets play outside!
March 25 - Dolphin: Wet but Bright.
March 26 - Rooster: Up early, and some of the color is coming back.
March 27 - Turtle: There are water types and dirt types.
March 28 - Toad: They love the mud, but the grass is popping where the sun shines.
March 29 - Robin: They're out there, and so are the worms.
March 30 - Rabbit: Shrublands will be covered with winter fluff. HBD Kelton!
March 31 - Lamb: Warm, woolly, and delicious grilled.

liar's dictionary

This book was weeded from my local library, I assume because they had multiple copies when it first came out. This is the second book/first novel from British author Eley Williams, if I'm understanding the book jacket information correctly. 

'Dictionary' in the title gave me my first clue that this was going to be a book by a word nerd author, and I was right; Williams is definitely a word hound and this book is just busting with them. Obscure, archaic, quirky, and just plain made up words.

The Liar's Dictionary is a story told in parallel, both now and in the past, * and centers on the little known Swansby's New Encyclopaedic Dictionary; which has lexicographers chipping away at words and their varied meanings, and somewhat more importantly, what the words mean to them. But that's not all, there is a little of everything here: love, romance, obsession, intrigue, terrorism, tragedy, mystery, censorship... yeah, everything.

Williams even lets her characters run off with the narrative, spinning away into streams of consciousness, and free associative thought processes, laid bare. That tactic is (thankfully) rare, but it lends a sense of realism that almost echos one's own thoughts while reading. And its funny! In many places, I got a kick out how these characters dealt with the stresses of their complicated, and interwoven lives. This book isn't very big, but there is lot in here. I'll be looking for Eley Williams' next venture.

Read this book.

 

On an unrelated note, invasion of your neighbor, Ukraine, seems like a crummy way to celebrate Defender of the Fatherland Day, or Red Army Day, this February 23rd, Vlad.

* the parallel stories, told now and in the past, and tied together with mystery and modern sleuthing reminded me of my recent reading of The Lost Apothecary, and reading them so close was an interesting contrast. It makes me think that some kind kind of thematic reading series might be fun to work on at some point. Ideas? Leave a comment!

black swan green

Being a 13-year-old boy, isn't the greatest thing to be, but it isn't the worse either. I've had this book on my reading list for a while because Dave Mitchell wrote it, and I've liked everything that I've read written by him this far. I couldn't help thinking that this novel had to have some autobiographical information. I mean, how is it possible for a guy to write about the day-to-day of a 13-year-old boy in the first person without including some of his own inner dialog from that stage of his life. The book takes place mainly in 1982, and I bet Mitchell was about that age in '82.

I wondered if some of the fantastical that has appeared in many of Mitchell's other books would show up here, but after a while it became clear that this was a story about a boy.* Jason Taylor's life in a small town in the English countryside seems boring an uneventful to him, and most of his peers, but that is only the story on the surface. Mitchell takes us into the inner dialogs, hopes, and fears of a teen boy, and while we all know that the world will eventually become wider for him, what he knows now is the world he lives in, and Mitchell helps us to reconnect with those feelings we all had as kids.

Black Swan Green is sweet, tragic, exciting, violent and in some cases heartbreaking, but all from the point of view of Jason. Is this the best of David Mitchell's books? No. But was it entertaining, fun, and in in some places really funny? Yes. Teens can say anything, and they often do. Mitchell takes advantage of the recklessness of his teen characters to say things adults may filter out, and even when he doesn't say it out loud, Jason's inner dialog often fills in the blanks.

 

* The fantastic is not completely absent, but in the context of this book, it could be seen as the imaginings of an adolescence boy. Trust the internet and the nerds who live there to inform me that, like a lot of Mitchell's books, characters sometimes appear in the periphery of other books. That is apparently the case here as well, but I missed.

lost apothecary

I started reading a book by Nick Tosches called In the Hand of Dante, but I put it down when I was given a recommendation to read this book; The Lost Apothecary . I'll get back to Tosches at some point,* but when I put the current book on hold at the library, I also asked for another one and its just come up so I'll read that first.

The Apothecary is the debut novel by Susan Penner. Its labeled as mystery at my library, but I'd say intrigue-historical may be a better classification, and its almost light enough to be teen, as it also has some of those elements often seen in teen fiction, altho it does have some more adult themes that teens may be bored by. The story is two fold, or maybe threefold, part taking place in late 1700s London, while some of it takes place in modern day London. The stories are woven together in that the modern day protagonist is trying to understand the story of which she has discovered some clues.

There is a great little 1700s map of the section of London where the action takes place, and it appears that some things have stayed the same, but others have changed drastically. I have no doubt that the mysterious places mentioned in the book no longer exist, if they ever did, in London, but who knows. Its fun to check back on the map and see where these things are relative to one another, and some other larger elements such as the river, and some of the major streets that still are there.

At the root of it, this book is a celebration of the solidarity of women, and how they have to look after and support one another or they'll be forgotten. some of that 'support' is a little grim tho Penner does her part to point out forgotten women in history, who are forgotten simply because the history was written by men. She also reminds us that women long preserved the old ways and old medicines long after the medicine of men became the norm. This was a fun one, and a welcome break from the hard, strange writing of Nick Tosches.

 

* I'll try and remember to come back here and put a link when i write a review, you for those of you using this blog to do research or whatever.

prince without a kingdom

First off, A Prince Without a Kingdom, is apparently book two (2!) sometimes called a sequel, as in intended to be read after the first book, which is called (in the English translation) Vango: Between Earth and Sky. I will be recommending that you read this book, go ahead, skip right to the bottom and check. see? but I assume I won't have to suggest that you do that after reading the first volume. we'll just assume that one is good too

Versions of this book in English apparently also include the word Vango first in the title, moving the Prince and Kingdom bits into the rank of subtitle. It also includes a big note that reads "Book 2" which would have helped in my case.

Vango is the protagonist in this story, and I have to say the narrative jumped right in to what felt like the middle of the story when I started, but we know why, so lets not belabor the point. too late bro! This is an action adventure from the get-go. Reminded me a little of Emil and the Detectives, a 1929 children's adventure written Erich Kästner and illustrated by Walter Trier. you can see it listed in my all time favorites in the right hand column Vango is a little like Emil in that he's dropped into this adventure/mystery as a reluctant hero that must try and resolve it. But Vango is more grown than Emil in this book, and so his problems are more dangerous than little Emil had to deal with. His adventures also take him further afield.

This is a swashbuckling story of old. Simple in form, but infectiously rich in daring, adventure, romance and intrigue. In that way it reminds me of "The Crimson Pirate." Burt Lancaster and his first mate Ojo, played by Nick Cravat, rollick through their adventures with abandon, going out of their way to live their lives on their own terms, but always on the look out for injustice and tyranny along the way. Lancaster's character is Capt. Vallo, by the way. Inspiration for Vango, perhaps?

The cast of characters is as wide as the 1930s and 1940s world Vango and his friend float through. Timothée de Fombelle is a treat to read, at least that's my impression based on the translation by Sarah Ardizzone. There were phrases here and there that caught me, and then I remembered that this is a translation, and thought 'Nicely done Sarah Ardizzone.' Fombelle also takes full advantage of his position as author and leader of the conversation between himself and the reader, and I was delighted to be included in a few witticisms he shared, but was kind enough not to point out.

Read this book.

 

assassination of margaret thatcher

I assume that because Margaret Thatcher has been dead for some time, the title of this post, and the title of the book--The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher--won't get me put on an FBI (or MI6) watchlist. Here's hoping! I picked this book up at the library book sale. I'm pretty sure it was in Littleton, because I purchased some books at the book sale at my local library as well, and they label their books with a rubber stamp; this one doesn't have that, and its definitely a library book that has been withdrawn, or weeded, from the library's collection. yep, just did a search for the on the interwebs, definitely on a watchlist

This collection of short stories is from the author of Wolf Hall, and its follow-up; Bring Up the Bodies. I haven't read either of them, but it says so right on the cover. Wolf Hall won the Man Booker Prize in 2009, and is apparently based on Thomas Cromwell, as is the follow-up,* and I understand that the third in a trilogy is forthcoming. The reason I mention this is that I presume that is why this collection was published: to take advantage of the acclaim Hilary Mantel has garnered with her two popular historical novels. That isn't to say these short stories aren't any good, on the contrary they were very good.

If this collection had a theme I'd say that they reflect the darker side of human feelings. These stories are filled with anguish, fear, anxiety, hatred, loss, sadness, sickness, politics and racism. There are also comedic breaks, that are both funny and in some cases awkward, or a bit sad, such as in the first story: "Sorry to Disturb," a young British woman living in Saudi who spends her time at home while her husband works, allows a Pakistani man into her apartment to use the telephone in an emergency, who then returns to thank her and strikes up a friendship she doesn't want but is somehow unable to extract herself from. According to one review I read, this story was originally part of a memoir, and is based on the author's own time in Saudi Arabia.

Mantel's writing is beautiful, almost to a fault. Take a look at this example from the last story, from which the book takes its title: 

"Once more I am reminded of something priestly. A wasp dawdles over the sill. The scent of the garden is watery, green. The tepid sunshine wobbles in, polishes his shabby brogues, moves shyly across the surface of the dressing table."

Things are dawdling and wobbling all over. And I'm hoping the brogues metaphor is intentional and isn't something that just popped into her head while writing about an IRA assassination plot. 

The Wikipedia article about Mantel indicates that this short story title also got her into a bit of trouble, when she said in an 2014 interview with The Guardian that she fantasized about the assassination of Thatcher, which Thatcher supporters responded to by calling for a police investigation. Guess we're both on the watchlist. and so are the 6 people who will ever read this I enjoyed this collection, even if some of it was horrifying. 

That's the last book for 2021 folks! Lets hope 2022 is better than this year. Happy New Year!

* The follow-up: Bring Up the Bodies won the Man Booker prize as well, in 2012.

 

 

 

near dark

If you're looking for the guy that's read all 42 Scott Harvath books in order, and is blogging about the latest installment, you've got the wrong place; that's three doors down, on the right. 

I did, however, go look this up and its apparently number 19 in the Harvath series, and Scot is spelled with one T. I've also read at least one of the other 18 books in this series,* and according to my review I thought that one was pretty good too. Brad Thor is doing a pretty good job here.

Harvath is your standard super secret agent man, who doesn't work for the CIA, or the NSA, or NPR, or STP, or anyone else who's going gonna' try and hold a good man down. Harvath works for a private company that Uncle Sam calls upon when they need to get crap done, and maybe eliminate some baddies with extreme prejudice and still have some plausible deniability. Licensed-to-kill paired with license for some politician to say 'who me?'

In this venture, its a little more personal, and Harvath's taking out the trash trip isn't exactly sanctioned. I'm not even sure anyone even knows about it, but I guess they hold him in pretty high regard because if he determines that you need some killin', thar's gonna' be some killin'! So for those of you who wish we had someone who could just get rid of these bad guys around the world, this fella seems like he's going to push all the right buttons for you. We don't read these things without being ready to suspend our disbelief. Thankfully, Thor doesn't take advantage of that tolerance, as some others in this genre often do. This one tide me over until Christmas came along and filled my figurative stocking with literal books. see what I did there

Happy New Year!

* Its apparently 19 others, for a total of 20 as of this writing Black Ice is currently for sale. Number 21, Rising Tiger is due next Summer.**

** For you nerds out there, Thor has also released some bonus material for a few of these. At least three novellas, or additional chapters, that fill in some of the time between, or expand upon, some of the novels.

night fire

The Night Fire is a recent Michael Connelly novel in the Harry Bosch series that has more recently evolved to include another LAPD detective named Renée Ballard. I get the feeling we’ll be seeing the two of these characters for a while and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more of Ballard, perhaps in a novel of her own. 

Bosch and Ballard make a pretty good team but it's clear that they aren’t partners in the traditional police detective mold and that gives them more flexibility to pursue things on their own when they need to. That aspect of their relationship, along with the fact that they are often working on different cases, is what makes me think we may see Ballard on her own at some point, much the way we saw the Lincoln Lawyer step out. Do I have that right? Was the Lincoln Lawyer a spin off of Bosch, or vice versa? so i checked According to this site, the Bosch books began in 1992, and Mickey Haller, the aforementioned enLincolned lawyer, showed up in 2005.*

This was the last book I had around so I’ll have to venture back out to the library to find some other things to read.** This was a good installment in the series but by no means the best. There were a couple of plot points that made me say really? I not sure they could pull that off. But Connelly had the answers for the most egregious of those things and only the fiddly stuff got by, so good on you Mike. Can I call you Mike? Seems like I’ve known you for years. 

I assume Bosch fans are all aware of the Amazon TV series about Bosch. While I was rabbit-holeing why does that sound off-color? around on the internets, I learned that a new Bosch series, as well as a Lincoln Lawyer series are both in the works, and Michael Connelly is reportedly involved in both. And on a related note, I'll leave you with this tidbit, which I thought was charming. Michael Connelly dedicated The Night Fire to Titus Welliver, and thanked him for bringing Bosch to live.

* I read The Lincoln Laywer, but it doesn't show up on this blog, which only dates back to 2009. For the record, it was pretty good. I enjoyed it enough that I also watched the movie, which was also pretty good.

** UPDATE: I found a Brad Thor book called Near Dark in the house that I'm going to read.