Category: mystery

book-review, books, mystery, reading

Old Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Kate Galley

k4books

When I saw the title “Old Girls Behaving Badly”, I just had to read this. I know I am getting older every day, but this looked right up my alley.

This book is the first in a delightful new series (the second is “Old Girls on a Chateau Escape” and I am eagerly awaiting the third installment).

The stories follow Georgina (Gina) Knight, a 73 year old woman who’s husband left her after 43 years to go find himself. He, of course took all the money with him, leaving Gina with nowhere to go after the house is sold and no income. Gina decides to try her hand at “being a carer” and answers an ad in the paper. Dorothy (Dot) Reed, and 89 year old woman, has a family that is sure she needs to be taken care of, starting at a family wedding. Her niece hires Gina in exchange for room and board. Little did the family realize that Dot had her own reasons for wanting a helper – to catch a thief. Through heavier topics, such as Gray Divorce, Aging and Mourning there is plenty of fun to be had as the ladies that have been counted out become those to be counted on.   

At the end of the story Gina is asked to remain near Dot for as long as she wishes. The mutual concern becoming the basis of friendship between the women. The second book picks up after the first, and there is another thing that Dot needs Gina to help her with. An old friend was writing a memoir and Dot didn’t want any mention of something that happened over 50 years ago to be broadcast to the world. Dot sends Gina to help as a personal secretary while spying. More hilarity ensues as this too unravels.

Each book is fun, if a bit unbelievable. There is plenty of laughter throughout both books, although I liked the first one more than the second. I am looking forward to book #3.

book-review, books, mystery, reading

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

k4books

A murder mystery told by Ernest Cunningham, the writer of “how to” books on how to write murder mysteries, is a fun and interesting way to set up this book. You are given clues along the way, but never enough to fully put the pieces together – and sometimes things are thrown in that are a bit interesting, but the writer uses them to throw you off.

The story starts with Ernest being awakened late one night by brother Michael for help – he hit someone with his car and thinks he’s dead. Turns out the person is alive, but Michael ends up actually killing him. After turning his brother in for killing this man, three years have passed and Michael is leaving prison. Aunt Katherine arranges a reunion for the family at a ski resort for his return. We begin to hear sordid stories of a family plagued by bad luck, some brought by themselves and some brought by others. As these stories play out, we see that everyone has secrets and motives for not telling the truth.

As the layers of the onion are peeled, we get closer to learning the full truth. Remember to read through to the end, because all it not reveled when you think it is.

This was a fun telling, with good twists and turns.

book-review, books, mystery, reading

Thursday Murder Club #1-4 by Richard Osman

k4books

Thursday Murder Club; The man that died twice; The bullet that missed; The last devil to die

Please read this series in order. You lose too much if you don’t. 

At a peaceful retirement village in Kent, England, four friends meet Thursdays to solve cold case murders in the puzzle room. As these four friends work to solve these murders they make friends with two police officers, and many other friends, new and old, that help them solve the murders.  Through the course of these books, you learn of each of these senior’s strengths, and how each fill needs in the overall group. It is through the lived experiences that they are able to accept themselves for what and when they can help the others achieve the group’s goals. They learn to rely upon each other to help open themselves up to the world they are facing, including challenges of aging and identity.

Joyce, narrator to her diary in between the chapters that helps the story move forward, or stay confused, is a former nurse who is the glue that keeps everyone together with her chattering, baking and sunny disposition, but she is struggling to maintain a connection with her adult daughter.  Elizabeth, a former spy, takes control of each situation due to her experience in the thick of surviving life, but when it comes to saving her husband from dementia, she is out of her element. Ibrahim is a retired psychiatrist, with an analytical mind and a protective demeanor, who the group relies upon for a cool head and clear insights.  Ron, a former union leader, is a staunch Ham football supporter and a bit rough around the edges. His heart is shown when Ibrahim is hurt when he refuses to allow Ibrahim to be alone in the hospital.  Add in two Kent detectives, a news caster, a makeup artist, a Polish handyman, a teacher, a KGB operative, a drug dealer, an art forger and a diamond thief and a couple of dead bodies and you have a series of mix ups and intrigue that will keep you and the pensioners on their toes.

The story keeps building upon itself, so the characters are revealed over the arc of the stories, thus the need to read them in order. I am looking forward to seeing where else the group can go, but I am satisfied with the current ending. The last installment showed how the core four friends are understanding of each other and have helped each person be where they needed to be to survive. The gentleness of which they care for each other was so real that I wept.  If the story follows only a few, I would be afraid the charm of the group would be sacrificed.

Spend the time getting to know these pensioners – you will not regret it.

book-review, books, mystery, reading, romance

Two books at once: Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder and Red, White and Royal Blue

k4books

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanna Fluke

A baker, Hannah Swensen, in a small town where everyone knows you, finds her dairy delivery man dead behind her store “The Cookie Jar” one morning before she even opens. We meet Hannah’s mother, who is intent on getting her oldest daughter married to any eligible bachelor she can find; Lisa, who works at the Cookie Jar with Hannah; Andrea – Hannah’s sister – and Bill, her husband, as well as their daughter Tracey. As Hannah helps Bill find clues to solve the murder, Hannah gets to know Norman – the newly arrived dentist in town that their mothers have fixed up. We meet other colorful characters of the town, all on the way to finding a second murder and ultimately find out “who done it.” Fun, not difficult to figure out, but enjoyable to read.

Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

A standard love story, but with the two fair haired boys of UK and US as the romantic pair. Focus on what you need to do to maintain the status quo, and the cost of familial expectations, versus being true to yourself. A fun read.

book-review, books, mystery, read around the world, reading

Smaller and Smaller Circles by F.H. Batacan

k4books

This is a murder mystery in the poorest of neighborhoods of Quezon City. With officials stretched with limited resources and hamstrung by apathy and politics that surround a post-Marcos regime in the Philippines, there appears to be a serial killer preying on young boys. Two Jesuit priests, Father Gus Saenz, a forensic anthropologist and his colleague/friend Father Jerome Lucero, a psychologist, are brought in by the Director of the National Bureau of Investigations (NBI) to help solve the case.

Throughout the story the prominence of both the Catholic Church and the government are highlighted – in both positive and negative light. The Priests have been fighting the church to bring to light allegations of abuse for a Cardinal, who simply gets re-assigned, exposing others to his power. Additionally, they are working with people in the NBI that are more concerned with getting credit for solving a crime than for actually finding the real killer. In both ways, Fathers Gus and Jerome are working to protect the young and vulnerable that have no power or voice.

This theme – the need to protect those that are the most vulnerable – is evident in all they do. As the mystery of the murders becomes clearer, the pain of the truth they uncover is heartbreaking.

This is truly a study of the need to have transparency for those in power, and an indictment of what “society” deems as truly important. I want to read more of this crime solving duo.

book-review, books, literature, mystery, reading

Mystery, the old fashion way, with a twist

k4books

I just finished reading The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton.  The writing reminded me of Agatha Christie.  To start the book, the central character awakes yelling “Anna” as he hears someone running in the forest and a shot, not knowing who or where he is.  Thus starts the mystery of finding out the answer of who kills Evelyn at 11:00pm that day.  Each day, however, the main character awakes in a different body of a guest at the house.  He has eight days to solve the mystery, or the loop starts again.

Throughout the story’s twists and turns, you learn about the people in the body as well as the person that is jumping between them. In the end, the choices you make based upon who you are, and what you become, are all that is left you.  Memories of what made you can take you in different directions, and you can learn from being forced to make other choices.  We are all a collection of the choices we make.  Once we remain true to our most real self making those choices, we will find out way in life.

 

Asian Culture, book-review, books, Family Drama, Historical Fiction, humor, literature, mystery, reading, romance

Catching my writing up with my reading

k4books

The last month has been a flurry of activity for me.  The end of school / start of summer; building a new infrastructure at work / ensuring the work doesn’t get missed; packing, cleaning, sorting, training, and all the jumble that goes with this all.

Throughout, however, I have been reading.  I haven’t made the time to write, but I have been reading.  Seven books since my last post.  Here they are, with some context and reactions, in order of my favorites (please note, however, I would recommend any of these):

The Golden Son by Shilpi Somaya Gowda.  The story follows the eldest son of a farmer who becomes the first in his family to attend college.   Anil understands he is to become a doctor, and spends his youth working toward this.  As he begins his residency in Dallas, Texas, he is torn between the old world and the new. Anil needs to find his way in both medicine and in his family as his worldview has changed.  Alongside this is the story of his childhood pal Leena, travelling the road to marriage as was expected.  Again, expectations are not reality.  At times a bit slow, but fascinating at the same time.

The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict: Starting with the stage debut of Hedy Kiesler, a Jewish girl in Austria is courted and won over by a powerful arms dealer that will protect her and her family from Nazi persecution. As Hedy learns of her husband’s true nature, she flees to England, and then Hollywood.  There she becomes Hedy Lamarr, screen star.  Tormented by what she had witnessed in her husband’s home, she develops and patents new technology to help the war effort. This technology, was rejected by the Navy, but the patent was classified as top secret. The technology, no longer classified, is the basis of how all cell phone technology we use currently is based.  To think what we owe this woman, yet she was never able to see what her work has led to. She just believed she was not able to help anyone with her knowledge.

Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin: A college co-ed has an affair with the Florida congressman she has an internship with, and ends up in all the papers as “the other woman.” Her mother has not had contact with her in years. Over ten years later, Jane Young, an event planner in Maine, decides to run for mayor. This single mom has secrets that her daughter discovers, as she flees to Florida to find the answers.

The Turner House by Angela Flournoy:  A black family watches as Detroit disintegrates, just as the family does. Being from Detroit, I knew of all the places that were referenced, and the history of what helped the city’s fall.  The roles of the family members, the real focus of the book, are shown by different parts and times in the city’s history.

Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny.  I admit I selected this one because of the title – I am a nerd at heart.  The deviation tracked within the book, however, is not what you would expect.  The protagonist, Graham, is examining the differences between his first and second wives – two polar opposite personalities that he loved dearly at some point in his life.  Interesting view of what we need and what we want at different points in our lives.

Call me by your name by Andre Aciman: A seventeen year old boy’s journey on discovery of himself and his sexuality. The openness of the language and passion can be overwhelming at times in its intensity. The typical first love flaws, but more connectedness than expected.

The Storm Sister by Lucinda Riley: The second in the series, this follows Ali to discover her love and her birth family in Greece and Norway.

book-review, books, literature, mystery, reading

What a Klutz!!

k4books

person seating on bench while holding knees
Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

This has been a week unlike any other. Let’s just say when you are in the ER thinking you broke your knee and get a call that your father is in the hospital with a broken knee, things seem a bit weird in the world.

I am comforted to know that my life is not stranger than fiction. Especially since I fell soon after I finished a dark and disturbing book, Behind Closed Doors. I don’t even have it a fraction of what Grace has going in this book. While not necessarily to best writing ever, it keeps coming back to me at different times as I sort through the emotions it evokes. In the same vein as Gone Girl and Girl on a Train, the story examines the evil that exists in world, just behind the curtains. If I say anymore, I am afraid I will give the whole thing away.

As a counterpoint to this, being the person who has spent way too much time in ERs waiting for xrays, I took a book with me. First one I grabbed, thank goodness, was a light read that I was able to put down and pick up often without getting too lost. The Forever Summer fit that bill perfectly. While slightly far flung, this is a Hallmark movie waiting to be made. And sometimes, you just need that.

I followed this up with The Most Beautiful Book in the World: Eight Novellas. Each story is beautifully written, and points to the most beautiful thing in the world – love in all its various forms. The best way to enjoy this is to read each story on its own, and savouir the emotions it invokes before moving to the next.

And now I feel restored in mind, if not body. While my knee is no longer the size of a watermelon, it is the color of eggplant. As I work through this, I will keep reminding myself of the lessons in the last 2 books I mentioned – there is good when you look for it.