Nyssa
2018-06-03 23:19:09 UTC
Okay, I'll admit it. I've been reading and doing other stuff
instead of keeping up with reporting my finishes to ram.
Baaaad Nyssa! To those who look forward to my reports and
recommendations (or non-recommendations) for possible additions
to your TBR piles, I can only say that I'll try not to let it
slide so long again.
So I'll try to make up for the time gap by doing a series of posts
to cover a few titles at a time to both avoid the super loooong
posts (that are sometimes sleep-inducing) and to avoid my
burning out trying to write up a so many at a time or that might
short change a title or series.
Several of my recent finishes are shorter works such as novellas
or short stories, so the list is a bit longer than usual even
though the amount of actual pages read is about the same as usual
given the amount of time since I last posted an update.
The books I'll be covering won't necessarily be in the order
read.
I mentioned "The 13th Codex" by Liam North while I was still
reading it in a few of my interim posts, so let's get that
one out of the way first.
It's billed as an "action thriller" which is fairly accurate, but
I would add "conspiracy thriller" to that description.
A man washes up on the Mexican coast in rough shape and close
to death. He's saved by what passes for a doctor in the isolated
village, and before the authorities can come and collect him
with thoughts of tossing him in the local jail for safekeeping, the
man runs off and sends the reader into a maze of spies, Russians,
Germans, Greeks, couriers, and a hot potato in the form of a
diplomatic pouch that is important enough to important people to
kill for. Toss in a mysterious female voice on the phone referred
to as "Mother" who gives orders to a cadre of bad guys and assassins,
and you've got a network of conspirators who think what's in that
pouch will unlock the secrets of the ages: the missing piece needed
to decode a series of other documents with A Secret.
Add in exotic locales, evil puppet masters, and extended fire
fights where lots of people get killed while the main character,
Nicolai, fights through it all as his friends and enemies drop
dead around him, often with his help.
I'd call it a run-of-the-mill conspiracy thriller that leaves
the reader hanging at the end and never really comes up with
any satisfactory answers. There's a sequel called "Timefall,"
but I'm not feeling any urge to go find it much less read it.
On to some cozies to recover from all that craziness.
I had been reading (and reporting to ram) several of Nancy
McGovern's Murder in Milburn series, and finished the series in
between other books. The later titles in the series were not
full-length books as were the earlier titles, but shorter
novellas or long short stories. These are available individually
or in several collections of the series.
The titles I read over the past few weeks include "Death of a
Psychic," "Death at a B&B," "Death on Social Media," "Death of a
Rock Star," and "Death on Bingo Night."
Rather than give a summary of each of these, I'll just give
a few general comments about the shorter works. They all have
Nora as the main character who does the detecting, but not all
are set in her diner in Milburn.
While each of these novellas has a nice mystery, the shorter
format doesn't allow either the development of characters or
building up of clues and motive that the longer works had.
I also found that the author became sloppy in her attention to
plot details which was unlike the earlier books. I remain
unconvinced of the motives in a couple of them being strong
enough to provoke murder.
Each one as a quick mystery "fix" but not very satisfying for
those of us who prefer more complex solve-along puzzles.
As a bonus story including in this collection was "The Locked Room
Murder" which is the first in another of Ms. McGovern's series.
This was from the Bluebell Knopps Witch Cozy Mystery. I have no
interest in fantasy modern day witches and witchcraft as a topic
for cozy mysteries, but thankfully this was a short one, and I
survived the experience. Witches with blue hair? It would seem to
be a dead (pardon the pun) giveaway if they can recognize each
other by having blue hair yet no one else ever makes the connection.
Duh. For those who like this kind of thing...be my guest.
"Maple Syrup Murder" by Grace Lemon is the first in the Oh Fudge
cozy mystery series is another short one. I don't know if it's
lazy authors or that they think everyone has shorter attention
spans these days, but I'm running into a lot of these short story
or novella length mysteries, especially cozies.
No surprise that this story is set in a maple-producing area of
New England, and the main character is Ida Noe, a crusty woman who
makes maple fudge to sell in the local gift shops. The mystery begins
when one maple syrup critic, James Snellbottom, is found dead in
one of the sugar houses where the maple sap is boiled down into
syrup. Was it an accident or murder? Meanwhile the sugar house is
closed until the matter is settled putting Ida's and others'
livelihoods in jeopardy.
The mystery was okay, but Ida's crustiness and plain speaking got
old quickly. A quick read to fill some time. The included recipe
for maple bacon fudge sounds interesting, but it would probably be
addictive, so I'll give it a pass.
"The Senator" by Ken Fite is the first in the Blake Jordan Thriller
series. I had already read a later book in the series, and enjoyed it,
so I backtracked to this one to get the background I had missed in
reading the second book first.
It's a tasty political thriller that includes terrorist plots and
has a strong theme of duty and friendship woven through the
story. Senator James Keller of Illinois is about to announce his
candidacy for president. Part of his security staff includes Blake
Jordan, an agent for the new Department of Domestic Counterterrorism.
Keller was Jordan's mentor from the time he was a young boy and is
close friends with Jordan's father, so there's a personal connection
to the assignment.
There's an intricate plot that is launched and results in Keller
being kidnapped before his big speech. Jordan takes it personally
and vows to find the man and save him.
This is a well plotted book with all the bells and whistles of good
detective work and pacing of the story. A real page-turner with
characters to care about. Recommended.
I'm approaching burn-out, so stay tuned for the next installment of
(Not So) Recent Finishes as I try to catch up to my current read,
which is a moving target considering how fast I read and how lazy
I am about writing these updates. Only 17 more books to go. <sigh>
Nyssa, who hopes it won't be months until she finally catches up
instead of keeping up with reporting my finishes to ram.
Baaaad Nyssa! To those who look forward to my reports and
recommendations (or non-recommendations) for possible additions
to your TBR piles, I can only say that I'll try not to let it
slide so long again.
So I'll try to make up for the time gap by doing a series of posts
to cover a few titles at a time to both avoid the super loooong
posts (that are sometimes sleep-inducing) and to avoid my
burning out trying to write up a so many at a time or that might
short change a title or series.
Several of my recent finishes are shorter works such as novellas
or short stories, so the list is a bit longer than usual even
though the amount of actual pages read is about the same as usual
given the amount of time since I last posted an update.
The books I'll be covering won't necessarily be in the order
read.
I mentioned "The 13th Codex" by Liam North while I was still
reading it in a few of my interim posts, so let's get that
one out of the way first.
It's billed as an "action thriller" which is fairly accurate, but
I would add "conspiracy thriller" to that description.
A man washes up on the Mexican coast in rough shape and close
to death. He's saved by what passes for a doctor in the isolated
village, and before the authorities can come and collect him
with thoughts of tossing him in the local jail for safekeeping, the
man runs off and sends the reader into a maze of spies, Russians,
Germans, Greeks, couriers, and a hot potato in the form of a
diplomatic pouch that is important enough to important people to
kill for. Toss in a mysterious female voice on the phone referred
to as "Mother" who gives orders to a cadre of bad guys and assassins,
and you've got a network of conspirators who think what's in that
pouch will unlock the secrets of the ages: the missing piece needed
to decode a series of other documents with A Secret.
Add in exotic locales, evil puppet masters, and extended fire
fights where lots of people get killed while the main character,
Nicolai, fights through it all as his friends and enemies drop
dead around him, often with his help.
I'd call it a run-of-the-mill conspiracy thriller that leaves
the reader hanging at the end and never really comes up with
any satisfactory answers. There's a sequel called "Timefall,"
but I'm not feeling any urge to go find it much less read it.
On to some cozies to recover from all that craziness.
I had been reading (and reporting to ram) several of Nancy
McGovern's Murder in Milburn series, and finished the series in
between other books. The later titles in the series were not
full-length books as were the earlier titles, but shorter
novellas or long short stories. These are available individually
or in several collections of the series.
The titles I read over the past few weeks include "Death of a
Psychic," "Death at a B&B," "Death on Social Media," "Death of a
Rock Star," and "Death on Bingo Night."
Rather than give a summary of each of these, I'll just give
a few general comments about the shorter works. They all have
Nora as the main character who does the detecting, but not all
are set in her diner in Milburn.
While each of these novellas has a nice mystery, the shorter
format doesn't allow either the development of characters or
building up of clues and motive that the longer works had.
I also found that the author became sloppy in her attention to
plot details which was unlike the earlier books. I remain
unconvinced of the motives in a couple of them being strong
enough to provoke murder.
Each one as a quick mystery "fix" but not very satisfying for
those of us who prefer more complex solve-along puzzles.
As a bonus story including in this collection was "The Locked Room
Murder" which is the first in another of Ms. McGovern's series.
This was from the Bluebell Knopps Witch Cozy Mystery. I have no
interest in fantasy modern day witches and witchcraft as a topic
for cozy mysteries, but thankfully this was a short one, and I
survived the experience. Witches with blue hair? It would seem to
be a dead (pardon the pun) giveaway if they can recognize each
other by having blue hair yet no one else ever makes the connection.
Duh. For those who like this kind of thing...be my guest.
"Maple Syrup Murder" by Grace Lemon is the first in the Oh Fudge
cozy mystery series is another short one. I don't know if it's
lazy authors or that they think everyone has shorter attention
spans these days, but I'm running into a lot of these short story
or novella length mysteries, especially cozies.
No surprise that this story is set in a maple-producing area of
New England, and the main character is Ida Noe, a crusty woman who
makes maple fudge to sell in the local gift shops. The mystery begins
when one maple syrup critic, James Snellbottom, is found dead in
one of the sugar houses where the maple sap is boiled down into
syrup. Was it an accident or murder? Meanwhile the sugar house is
closed until the matter is settled putting Ida's and others'
livelihoods in jeopardy.
The mystery was okay, but Ida's crustiness and plain speaking got
old quickly. A quick read to fill some time. The included recipe
for maple bacon fudge sounds interesting, but it would probably be
addictive, so I'll give it a pass.
"The Senator" by Ken Fite is the first in the Blake Jordan Thriller
series. I had already read a later book in the series, and enjoyed it,
so I backtracked to this one to get the background I had missed in
reading the second book first.
It's a tasty political thriller that includes terrorist plots and
has a strong theme of duty and friendship woven through the
story. Senator James Keller of Illinois is about to announce his
candidacy for president. Part of his security staff includes Blake
Jordan, an agent for the new Department of Domestic Counterterrorism.
Keller was Jordan's mentor from the time he was a young boy and is
close friends with Jordan's father, so there's a personal connection
to the assignment.
There's an intricate plot that is launched and results in Keller
being kidnapped before his big speech. Jordan takes it personally
and vows to find the man and save him.
This is a well plotted book with all the bells and whistles of good
detective work and pacing of the story. A real page-turner with
characters to care about. Recommended.
I'm approaching burn-out, so stay tuned for the next installment of
(Not So) Recent Finishes as I try to catch up to my current read,
which is a moving target considering how fast I read and how lazy
I am about writing these updates. Only 17 more books to go. <sigh>
Nyssa, who hopes it won't be months until she finally catches up