Thursday, October 18, 2012
John Mayer = Raymond Chandler???
How does John Mayer connect to mystery books. Does a song ever put you in mind of a book or a favorite character? Free Falling and In Your Atmosphere have this effect with Raymond Chandler's - Philip Marlowe books. (And the vampires move west down Ventura Blvd... Ok, that's Anne Rice ;-)
Farewell My Lovely
The Lady In the Lake
The Big Sleep (Good move too!)
The Long Goodbye
The High Window
The Little Sister
Trouble is My Business
The Simple Art of Murder
Playback
Poodle Springs (w/Robert Parker)
Farewell My Lovely
The Lady In the Lake
The Big Sleep (Good move too!)
The Long Goodbye
The High Window
The Little Sister
Trouble is My Business
The Simple Art of Murder
Playback
Poodle Springs (w/Robert Parker)
Monday, October 15, 2012
Mission to Paris by Alan Furst
This book starts out well, but then turns into a common work of fiction. The story line is Paris pre-WW2. There's a movie actor making a picture, Apres la Guerre, there are girls, and there is war. Predictable if nothing else; but the book is readable. You could set this book to a Kat Edmonson CD; only I liked the CD better. Sorry Mr. Furst.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Bernini - His Life and His Rome - Amazing!
Bernini - His Life and His Rome by Franco Mormando is an absolutely amazing read! I was set on this path by reading Four Seasons in Rome and viewing the transforming Apollo and Daphne in the Galleria Borghese in Rome, Italy. The book goes into both Bernini's life and that of Baroque Rome of the 1600s. Not only was Bernini a sculpture, he was an artist and architect too. He lived to be very old and worked for many popes. The book brings alive the Rome of the day. Absolutely amazing!
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Four Seasons in Rome - I Wanna Go Back!!!
Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World by
Anthony Doerr was an outstanding travel diary of a family in Rome for 1 year in 1999. The book was descriptive and funny and about living in Rome. Highly recommended if you like Rome, Italy or travel diaries.
White Heat Not White Hot!
White Heat by MJ McGrath was not the book I thought it would be. Set in the artic, Ellesmere Island, the lead character, Edie Keglatuk has to solve a mystery of two explorers killed while she was guiding them on Craig Island. Then the mysterious suicide of her step-son. The deaths keep piling up as does the passage of time. The story was plausible, but the passage of time in the novel was not. (Partly to do with alcohol abuse by the lead character.)
I don't know, but somehow the book was just too long for the story the author wove. It was not my favorite, though the pace did pick up at the end. I wasn't crazy about this book.
I don't know, but somehow the book was just too long for the story the author wove. It was not my favorite, though the pace did pick up at the end. I wasn't crazy about this book.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
The Stonecutter by Camilla Lackberg - Interesting!
Camilla Lackberg out did herself in her first book Ice Princess. I didn't think she could write more books that were that interesting, but she has. I didn't want to like The Stonecutter after reading The Keeper of Lost Causes, but I do. Cannot put it down. Let me warn you, it is translated by an Englishman and you can tell. That's ok as it adds to the intelligent story line the author creates. Unlike The Keeper of Lost Causes, this is a mystery; a closed room mystery set in Fjallbacka, Sweden, like the rest of her translated novels.
Erica has just had baby Maja 2 months ago and is suffering from post-pardum depression. She's is not as big a character in this book as in the others. (Too bad...) So, the book centers around Patrik, Erica's husband, the police detective. Again, like The Boy In the Suitcase, this book centers around a child. That makes it alittle harder to read at first. That is why I didn't want to like it, but as usual, Ms. Lackberg puts another curve into the story to hook you in.
There is a tie in from book 1 and 2 with Erica's sister. In The Stonecutter, the interaction seems forced. So far, she has had 2 entries in the book and no real interaction with the plot. It is like Lackberg is wedging the information into the novel for the benefit of those who read the previous novels. It just doesn't fit right. Book 2 had the best character development, whereas the story/plot takes the higher priority in this novel.
There is a historical thread to the story, in Fjallbacka, in the early 1920s. At the beginning of every chapter, you are treated to alittle more information. I'm sure it ties into the story somehow. Also, the author picks a character, Morgan, who has Ausperger's syndrome to put in the novel. How the police detectives and his family deal with him is interesting. She also gives a good definition of what specifically the syndrome is. I have not encountered a character like this in many years, if every. Again, very intelligently done.
Well, the book is set in fall and the one of the police detectives, Goste, is lamentling not being able to play golf. He calls fall the worst season in Sweden as a result. He can remember the glory of the summer, but it's too rainy to be out on the course. It's not yet winter when he is dulled by the cold weather.
As the story progresses the past story line and the present story line begin to merge. The incidents with the ashes and the babies bridge the time gap and give the reader the continuity to make the connections. The last 100 pages of this novel are a roller coaster. The story has a surprise ending. You just have to figure out who done it!
The next book will be about Erica's sister, Anna. Hmm... I was right!
Main Characters - partial list
Present Day-
Kaj, Monica (wife) and Morgan live next to Lilian, Stig, Niclas Florin, Charlotte (wife), Albin and Sara (dec.)
Arne and Asta (wife) Antonsson Niclas's estranged parents also living in Fjallbacka
Patrik Hedstrom and Martin investigators; Ernst and Gosta investigators, Annika receptionist; Mellberg police chief
1924-
Agnes, Anders
Erica has just had baby Maja 2 months ago and is suffering from post-pardum depression. She's is not as big a character in this book as in the others. (Too bad...) So, the book centers around Patrik, Erica's husband, the police detective. Again, like The Boy In the Suitcase, this book centers around a child. That makes it alittle harder to read at first. That is why I didn't want to like it, but as usual, Ms. Lackberg puts another curve into the story to hook you in.
There is a tie in from book 1 and 2 with Erica's sister. In The Stonecutter, the interaction seems forced. So far, she has had 2 entries in the book and no real interaction with the plot. It is like Lackberg is wedging the information into the novel for the benefit of those who read the previous novels. It just doesn't fit right. Book 2 had the best character development, whereas the story/plot takes the higher priority in this novel.
There is a historical thread to the story, in Fjallbacka, in the early 1920s. At the beginning of every chapter, you are treated to alittle more information. I'm sure it ties into the story somehow. Also, the author picks a character, Morgan, who has Ausperger's syndrome to put in the novel. How the police detectives and his family deal with him is interesting. She also gives a good definition of what specifically the syndrome is. I have not encountered a character like this in many years, if every. Again, very intelligently done.
Well, the book is set in fall and the one of the police detectives, Goste, is lamentling not being able to play golf. He calls fall the worst season in Sweden as a result. He can remember the glory of the summer, but it's too rainy to be out on the course. It's not yet winter when he is dulled by the cold weather.
As the story progresses the past story line and the present story line begin to merge. The incidents with the ashes and the babies bridge the time gap and give the reader the continuity to make the connections. The last 100 pages of this novel are a roller coaster. The story has a surprise ending. You just have to figure out who done it!
The next book will be about Erica's sister, Anna. Hmm... I was right!
Main Characters - partial list
Present Day-
Kaj, Monica (wife) and Morgan live next to Lilian, Stig, Niclas Florin, Charlotte (wife), Albin and Sara (dec.)
Arne and Asta (wife) Antonsson Niclas's estranged parents also living in Fjallbacka
Patrik Hedstrom and Martin investigators; Ernst and Gosta investigators, Annika receptionist; Mellberg police chief
1924-
Agnes, Anders