Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Short Story Wednesday: "The Return" by Ann Cleeves


Today I am featuring a story from an anthology titled Bloody Scotland, edited by James Crawford, published in 2017.

From the book's dust jacket:

"Stellar contributors to Bloody Scotland include Val McDermid, Christopher Brookmyre, Denise Mina, Peter May, Ann Cleeves, Louise Welsh, Lin Anderson, Doug Johnstone, Craig Robertson, E. S. Thomson, Sara Sheridan and Stuart MacBride explore the thrilling potential of Scotland’s iconic sites and structures. From murder in a Hebridean blackhouse and a macabre tale of revenge among the furious clamour of an eighteenth century mill, to a dark psychological thriller set within the tourist throng of Edinburgh Castle and an ‘urbex’ rivalry turning fatal in the concrete galleries of an abandoned modernist ruin, this collection uncovers the intimate—and deadly—connections between people and places."


The short story I am covering is "The Return" by Ann Cleeves, set in Shetland, and the architectural site that is visited is Mousa Broch. Per the book, "broch's are Iron Age roundhouses that exist only in Scotland and Mousa is the best-preserved of them all."

In "The Return," Eleanor is given a book of poetry by her niece, Harriet, who has attended lectures by the author of the book, Elizabeth Blunt. The woman reads more of the author's work, and becomes very interested in her and her writing. Later, Harriet and Eleanor decide to visit the Shetlands and go to the island of Mousa where one of the author's short stories was set. Coincidentally Harriet and Eleanor run into Elizabeth on that trip and Harriet introduces her to Harriet. The three end up spending a lot of time together on the trip. Suddenly, the trip goes badly and Eleanor is left alone at the cottage where she had been staying with her niece. 

That is as far as I want to go in describing the story, so as not to spoil it. The story is suspenseful, atmospheric, and has a very satisfying ending.


This is the only story I have read in the book. I will come back and read more stories in the book later.


Sunday, May 18, 2025

A Summer Challenge: 20 Books of Summer 2025


It's almost time for 20 Books of Summer. This is my tenth year of participating in this reading challenge. The event was previously hosted by Cathy at 746 Books. When she decided to stop hosting last year, Annabel from AnnaBookbel and Emma from Words and Peace took up the mantle.


The challenge is very flexible. You don't have to aim for 20 book but can also opt for 15 or 10. Here are some of the rules...

  • The #20BooksofSummer2025 challenge runs from Sunday June 1st to Sunday August 31st
  • The first rule of 20 Books is that there are no real rules, other than signing up for 10, 15 or 20 books and trying to read from your TBR.
  • Pick your list in advance, or nominate a bookcase to read from, or pick at whim from your TBR.


For more information and the place to sign up, check out this post at AnnaBookBel. There is also a book bingo card, which is new.

I love to make lists of books to read, so I would start with a list whether I plan to stick with it or not. However, I do plan to stick with my list, and here it is...


At Bertram's Hotel | Agatha Christie   (mystery)

The '44 Vintage | Anthony Price   (spy fiction)

State of Wonder | Ann Patchett    (fiction)

Before Your Memory Fades | Toshikazu Kawaguchi   (fantasy / time travel)

The Burgess Boys | Elizabeth Strout   (fiction)

Olive Again | Elizabeth Strout   (fiction)

Table for Two | Amor Towles    (short stories)

The Murder of Mr. Ma | John Shen Yen Nee and S.J. Rozan   (mystery)

A Death in Tokyo | Keigo Higashino   (mystery)

A Death in Summer | Benjamin Black   (mystery)


Death by Accident | Bill Crider   (mystery) 

The Amateur | Robert Littell   (spy fiction)

The Killing of the Tinkers | Ken Bruen    (mystery)

Mrs. Dalloway | Virginia Woolf    (classic, fiction)

Oona Out of Order | Margarita Montimore   (time-loop fiction)

Pesticide | Kim Hayes   (mystery)

The Day the World Came to Town | Jim DeFede (nonfiction)

Perplexing Plots | David Bordwell   (nonfiction)

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone | Benjamin Stevenson   (mystery)

Ninefox Gambit | Yoon Ha Lee   (science fiction)





Friday, May 16, 2025

Books Read in April 2025



In April I read eight books: one nonfiction, one graphic novel, one time-loop novel, one very long fantasy novel, three crime fiction novels, and one book of mystery short stories. 


Nonfiction, Books about Books

Book Lust to Go (2010) by Nancy Pearl

I have read all of the Book Lust books by Nancy Pearl several times, and I enjoy them each time. I find something new every time, possibly because my tastes change over time. The subtitle for Book Lust to Go is "Recommended Reading for Travelers, Vagabonds, and Dreamers." Because the book was published in 2010, it could be considered out of date, but for me that is one of its charms.


Graphic novel

Here (2014) by Richard McGuire 

This is a graphic novel that shows the reader the history of one room over the life of the house. It actually does more than that, because there are scenes showing the location /setting of the house going back before the house was built, back into prehistoric times. There is not much text to this book at all; the story is told more in pictures. It is 304 pages long. I think the book definitely bears rereading, probably multiple times. 


Speculative Fiction / Time-loop

On the Calculation of Volume I (2020) by Solvej Balle, translated by Barbara J. Haveland

I first heard of this book late last year when my husband sent me an article from the Atlantic about it. The author is Danish; the book is very short, about 160 pages. In the article the novel was described as a time-loop story; I had never heard of that terminology for that type of time travel. One comparison is to the film, Groundhog Day, but this story is much more introspective and the story is handled very differently. The book is part of a seven volume work and only the first five have been translated to English at this time.

I liked the book but I was underwhelmed by the lack of resolution at the end. Obviously as part of a series of seven novels, I should not have expected anything else, but I was also disappointed in the repetitiveness of the story. Those who liked the story more than I did praised the meditative and philosophical aspects. I normally love things like that, so maybe I need to read it again more slowly. I plan to do that before moving on to book 2.


Fantasy

Royal Assassin (1996) by Robin Hobb

This is the second book in the Farseer Trilogy, following Assassin's Apprentice. The main character in this trilogy is FitzChivalry, a royal bastard who becomes the king's assassin in the first book, a fact that he and only a few others know. The story is very dark, with little relief. Fitz is shunned by most people in the court and leads a difficult life. Yet, I care about many of the characters, and loathe all the bad ones.

At this point I plan to continue reading the whole series, which includes a total of 16 books. Only problem is that each book is longer than the last. This book was 650 pages approximately. The third book in the series is closer to 750 pages. But I will persevere. I gave this book 5 stars and it is a page turner. I was introduced to this author and this series by Cath at Read-Warbler.


Crime Fiction

My Name is Michael Sibley (1952) by John Bingham

This was John Bingham's first novel. It is a very compelling and well written mystery; his writing is quiet and restrained. The narrator of the story is Michael Sibley, who tells  the story of his school days with John Prosset and how he grew to hate him. See my review.


Come Death and High Water (1988) by Ann Cleeves

Ann Cleeves' first series featured George and Molly Palmer-Jones. George is a serious birder and worked for the Home Office before he retired; Molly is not a birder but often accompanies him on such activities. Cleeves wrote the first two books when she was living on an island with her husband, who ran a bird sanctuary there. The books in that series are set in locations related to birding. Come Death and High Water is set on an island with a bird observatory. I enjoyed the first book in the series because of the birds and the setting, but this book was even better, with an interesting group of characters and a more focused plot. There are eight books in the series and Cleeves wrote them between 1986 and 1996.


Reader, I Buried Them and Other Stories (2022) by Peter Lovesey

On the occasion of his hundredth short story, Peter Lovesey assembled this collection of his short stories. It includes sixteen stories, one piece of nonfiction about George Joseph Smith and the brides in the bath, and a poem. I started reading this book in 2022, and I reviewed ten of the stories at that time. It took me until this year to read the rest of the book, and my thoughts are here.


The Spellman Files (2007) by Lisa Lutz

I loved this book. I like books about families, and I like private detectives as the focus. In this case, the private detective agency is run and operated by the family. Izzy Spellman, the middle daughter, tells her story. As far as the crime goes, this book is lighter than most mysteries, but there is plenty of depth in the family relationships and issues. This is the first in a series and I will be reading more of the books. See my review.



The photos at the top and bottom of this post were taken at the end of April in our back area. The rest of the yard is a mess, but these two plants are making me happy. Click on the images for the best viewing quality.




Saturday, May 10, 2025

Rosie the Cat

 


Our cat Rosie passed away on March 23. She had thyroid disease, had lost a lot of weight, and eventually died of renal failure. 

Rosie was with us for 12 years and we think she was about 3 years old when we adopted her. She was a very sweet cat and a good companion and we miss her very much.


Rosie in my lap

Rosie helping me read

Rosie overseeing the garden work



Thursday, May 8, 2025

The Spellman Files: Lisa Lutz

This book has been on my shelves for 13 years. Initially I avoided it because I thought it might be too humorous, but my tastes must have changed over time, because I was very happy with it.

It did not really feel like crime fiction though. It seemed like the first 2/3 of the book was about the background of the family. Isabel (also known as Izzy) Spellman tells the story, and she starts at the point when she was 12 years old. Her parents run a private investigation company out of their home, and the two kids began helping out with surveillance when David was 14 and Isabel was 12. Then when Isabel was 14, her mother has another child, a daughter named Rae, who also ends up working for the family business. Eventually the story catches up to the cases that they are working on currently, although there is a good bit of jumping back and forth in the timeline. It was a very strange mystery novel, but I enjoyed it very much.



Comparisons have been made to other series: the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich and the Claire DeWitt series by Sarah Gran. I read 9 or 10 of the Stephanie Plum series before I gave up on it. My husband has read 3 books in the Claire DeWitt series and I want to read those books too.


My thoughts:

  • I like books about families, and the Spellman family is the ultimate dysfunctional family. As far as the crime goes, this book is lighter than most mysteries, but there is plenty of depth in the family relationships and issues.
  • The characters were the best part of this book. But they also were infuriating, particularly Isobel.
  • I liked the writing style and I found the book hard to put down. Later in the book, things get very suspenseful. Throughout, a lot of information is held back from the reader.
  • I am committed to reading more in this series.



---------------------------------------------

Publisher:   Simon & Schuster, 2007
Length:       353 pages
Format:       Hardcover
Series:        Spellman Files, #1
Setting:       San Francisco, California
Genre:        Mystery
Source:       I purchased this book in 2012.


Friday, May 2, 2025

Six Degrees of Separation: From Rapture to State of Wonder



The Six Degrees of Separation meme is hosted by Kate at booksaremyfavoriteandbest. The idea behind the meme is to start with a book and use common points between two books to end up with links to six books, forming a chain. The common points may be obvious, like a word in the title or a shared theme, or more personal. Every month Kate provides the title of a book as the starting point.

The starting book this month is Rapture by Emily Maguire. This is a historical fiction novel, set in the 800s, about a young girl who becomes a monk by disguising herself as a male. I may read this book because it sounds interesting and is not overly long. The book was longlisted for the 2025 Stella Prize, which celebrates the best writing by women and non-binary authors in Australia. 


1st degree:

My first link is to another Australian novel, Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay, published in 1967. The story is about a group of young female college students that go on a picnic. Some of the girls don't return. 

2nd degree:

Using "Rock" in the title of the previous book takes me to my next book, Brighton Rock by Graham Greene, published in 1938. I haven't read much by Greene so I was happy to find this old hardback edition of Brighton Rock with the dust jacket mostly intact at the 2023 Planned Parenthood book sale. The protagonist is Pinkie, a teenage gang leader who has murdered a journalist and thinks he can get away with it. The book goes beyond a thriller to explore moral issues.

3rd degree:

The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffith's is my next link because of its setting – Brighton, in the 1950s. This is from the description at the author's website: "When the body of a girl is found, cut into three, Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens is reminded of a magic trick, the Zig Zag Girl. The inventor of the trick, Max Mephisto, is an old friend of Edgar’s. They served together in the war as part of a shadowy unit called the Magic Men." This is the first book in the Brighton Mysteries series, and I have not yet read it.


4th degree:

Another book with "Girl" in the title is Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart. This book is also the start of a historical mystery series, set in the early 1900s in New Jersey. It is based on a real woman who was one of the first female deputy sheriffs in the US. 


5th degree:

Again using a word from the title, I link to Gunshine State by Andrew Nette. This is a gritty heist novel set in Australia. Description at Goodreads: "Gary Chance is a former Australian army driver, ex-bouncer and thief. His latest job takes him to Surfers Paradise, Queensland, working for aging standover man, Dennis Curry. Curry runs off-site, non-casino poker games, and wants to rob one of his best customers, a high roller called Freddie Gao. ... Chance knows he can’t trust anyone, but nothing prepares him for what unfolds when Curry’s plan goes wrong." 


6th degree:

Gunshine State takes me to State of Wonder by Ann Patchett, a novel that is set in the jungles of Brazil. From the description at the author's website: "Dr. Marina Singh, a research scientist with a pharmaceutical company, is sent to track down her former mentor, Dr. Annick Swenson, who seems to have all but disappeared in the Amazon while working on what is destined to be an extremely valuable new drug. Nothing about the assignment is easy: not only does no one know where Dr. Swenson is, but the last person who was sent to find her, Marina's research partner Anders Eckman, died before he could complete his mission." 



My Six Degrees took me from Australia to the UK, then to the US and back to Australia, but ended in Brazil. I have not read any of the books in this post, but I have five of them on my TBR shelves. Have you read any of these books? 

If you did this month's Six Degrees, where did your list take you?


The next Six Degrees will be on June 7, 2025 and the starting book will be All Fours by Miranda July.