Reading Summary for May 2018

May was another good reading month, all of the books were winners. Most of them came from my TBR piles, although two were borrowed from my husband. Mostly crime fiction, as usual.

This time I only read one book outside of the crime fiction genre. It was nonfiction, and it was a great choice.

A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal (2014) by Ben Macintyre

I was about to read Young Philby by Robert Littell but decided that I wanted to know more about the Cambridge Five before I read any more fiction related to that group. My husband had this book in his stacks and very kindly let me read it. It was perfect. The focus is on the longtime friendship of Nicholas Elliott and Kim Philby. They were both officers in MI6 for many years. The story is very interesting, the writing is fantastic, and there is an afterword by John le Carré. I still want to read more in-depth about other spies in that group but this was a great introduction.

And the list of crime fiction read:

Downfall (2018) by Margot Kinberg

This is the fourth book in the Joel Williams series. Joel is a former policeman who has left that job to teach criminal justice at Tilton University. I enjoyed visiting with Joel again, and this time he moves outside of his university environment. See my full review.

The Victoria Vanishes (2008) by Christopher Fowler

The Bryant and May mysteries star two elderly detectives, Arthur Bryant and John May, members of the fictional Peculiar Crimes Unit. The series is set primarily in London. Bryant witnesses a drunk woman coming out of a pub in a London backstreet and the next he learns she is dead. But when he goes back to the scene, the pub has vanished and the street is different. Thus this is obviously an homage to Edmund Crispin’s The Moving Toyshop. 

Portrait of a Murderer (1933) by Anne Meredith

First sentence: "Adrian Gray was born in May 1862 and met his death through violence, at the hands of one of his own children, at Christmas, 1931." So we know at the beginning who will die, and not too long after that we learn who did it. An inverted mystery, a format I generally enjoy. My husband read this in April and encouraged me to read it. I enjoyed it immensely.

The House at Sea's End (2011) by Elly Griffiths

This is the third book in the series featuring forensics archaeologist Ruth Galloway. Ruth lives in Norfolk in an isolated cottage on the saltmarsh. She is often used by the police as an expert when unidentified bones are discovered. This time the bones date from World War II, and this leads to very interesting story from that time that ties in with the present.

Cutter and Bone (1976) by Newton Thornburg

Why did I wait this long to read this book? It is a very well-written thriller, although extremely bleak. But best of all for me, it is like a tour through Santa Barbara and surrounding areas in the mid-70's and the author obviously knew the area. The book was adapted to film with the title Cutter's Way.

Unorthodox Practices (1989) by Marissa Piesman

And here is another novel that I should have read long ago. It has been on the TBR piles for nearly 12 years. Nina Fischman is a Housing Court attorney, Jewish, single, and a little bit worried about that. It was a lot of fun, humorous, I found myself laughing out loud (very unusual when I read a book). The first half was better than the second half and the mystery was slight, although interesting. 

Traitor's Purse (1940) by Margery Allingham

This 11th in the Albert Campion series, published in 1940, is entirely different from the preceding books. Albert Campion awakens in a hospital bed with amnesia; he doesn't know who he is but he knows he was on a very important assignment. He leaves the hospital with the help of Amanda Fitton, who is his fiancée but it takes him a while to realize that. I loved it. See my full review.

The List (2015) by Mick Herron

A novella in the Slough House series, set between Dead Lions and Real Tigers. I haven't Real Tigers yet, so thought I would read this one first. Very good, mostly about a spy who handles older, retired spies, but featuring some of the characters in the books.

Six Degrees of Separation from The Poisonwood Bible to Wartime

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 other books, forming a chain. Every month she provides the title of a book as the starting point.

The starting point this month is The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I have not read the book, and knew nothing about it until now. Per the author's website:

The Poisonwood Bible is a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959.

The fact that the story included narration from each of the daughters, from a five-year-old to a teenager, sounds very interesting, but the length of the book (over 500 pages) might put me off.

Moving on to my first link, I chose to go with another book set in Africa, Tefuga by Peter Dickinson. I read that book in 2004 and I remember being very impressed by the book and especially the ending. The book is set in Nigeria and tells the story of a man in the 1980's filming the story of his mother's experiences in that country in the 1920's. Alternating chapters are from her diary. Now I want to reread that book.

My next book is another book by the same author, King and Joker. This one is an alternative history and a mystery, and one of my favorite books ever. The premise is described at Peter Dickinson's website:

If Prince Edward hadn't died in 1892 he would have succeeded to the throne of England, instead of his brother George, and reigned as King Victor I, to be succeeded in his turn by his grandson King Victor II, the present monarch. Much would have remained the same, but much would have been very, very different. 

The story is told from the point of view of the teen-age Princess Louise.

Another alternative history / mystery is Farthing by Jo Walton. It is part of a trilogy set in the 1940's after Britain has made peace with Hitler. A murder occurs at a house party in the country, during a retreat of members of the Farthing Set, the group that supported appeasement rather than war. Part of the narrative focuses on Lucy Kahn, daughter of the proprietors of the Farthing estate, and her husband, the only Jewish person attending the house party.

The policeman investigating the death at the country house in Farthing is a Scotland Yard detective sent from London. In my next book, the detectives are also London police detectives but they work for the Metropolitan Police force in the Peculiar Crimes Unit. The book is Ten Second Staircase by Christopher Fowler and the detectives are Arthur Bryant and John May. They are elderly and eccentric and very effective in the long run.

Now I move on to another elderly sleuth, Miss Maud Silver, featured in over thirty novels written by Patricia Wentworth between 1928 and 1961. The Clock Strikes Twelve, published in 1945, begins on the last day in 1941. Thus this is set during World War II and shows the effects of the war on the various characters.

I enjoy reading mystery novels set during World War II, both those written at the time, and historical mysteries. But my last book is a nonfiction book, a very in-depth coverage of Britain during the war: Wartime: Britain 1939-1945 by Juliet Gardiner. It focuses on how World War II affected the populace of Great Britain, using in many cases quotes from letters and diaries written during that time. The emphasis is on what happened in the country itself, not on the war waged in other countries.

These chains are a lot of fun. I learn about books I haven't read (and might want to read) and remember series I want to continue reading. Now I am reading the 6th book in Christopher Fowler's Bryant and May series, The Victoria Vanishes.

Ten Second Staircase by Christopher Fowler

The Bryant & May series, written by Christopher Fowler, is about two elderly detectives who, even though they are well past retirement age, are the leading detectives in the Peculiar Crimes Unit in London. Ten Second Staircase is the fourth book in this series.

You ask what the Peculiar Crimes Unit is? From a memorandum in the first chapter of Ten Second Staircase:

The Peculiar Crimes Unit was founded, along with a handful of other specialist departments, soon after the outbreak of World War II, as part of a government initiative to ease the burden on London's overstretched Metropolitan Police Force, by tackling high-profile cases which had the capacity to compound social problems in urban areas. The crimes falling within its remit were often of a politically sensitive nature, or could potentially cause social panics and general public malaise.

If you want to know more about the detectives and their setting, there is a great description at the the author's website.

The first Bryant & May Mystery was Full Dark House. In that book, the setting alternates between London in the early 21st century and 1940's London, during the Blitz. There are two plot lines: the very first case that the two policemen worked together and the current case, obviously very late in their careers. The two cases seem to be connected.

I read Full Dark House in 2006 and it is one of the few mysteries I took the time to record my feelings about. This is what I said:

The two main characters are opposites and the joining of their contrary skills has resulted in the successful resolution of many cases over the years. This story emphasizes the growing pains associated with adjusting to the new relationship. At least at the beginning of the relationship, Bryant is the senior policeman and May is the new man in the department, although both of them are about the same age and very young. Both major and minor characters (of which there are many) have depth. A good read, one that has me looking forward to following future Bryant and May mysteries.

The second book in the series, The Water Room, involves an impossible murder by drowning and London’s system of underground rivers. In the third book, Seventy-Seven Clocks, several members of a family are murdered by various bizarre means in a case from 1973. It includes a crafts guild, Gilbert and Sullivan references, and I remember being thoroughly confused. I read those books in 2009.

And now we have arrived at of Ten Second Staircase. Here is a brief introduction from Goodreads:

It’s a crime tailor-made for the Peculiar Crimes Unit: a controversial artist is murdered and displayed as part of her own outrageous installation. No suspects, no motive, no evidence—but this time they do have an eyewitness. A twelve-year-old claims the killer was a cape-clad highwayman atop a black stallion. Whoever the killer really is, he seems intent on killing off enough minor celebrities to become one himself.

I enjoyed the beginning of the book because there were several elements that introduced the Peculiar Crimes Unit and the team and gave some background. Since I had not read the series for a while, this was welcome. The first chapter is a memorandum from the Acting Head of the unit (who has been acting head since 1973) to the Home Office Liaison Officer explaining his concerns about Bryant and May and the unit. John May's granddaughter joins the unit and gets an introduction to the varied staff. Then Bryant gives a speech to a group of teenaged students, which provides even more background. And sets up one of the premises of the novel, the divide between youth and adults.

The Bryant & May series has many good points. The author uses historical facts and actual locations in London in his stories. He highlights social issues. In my opinion, though, the characterizations and the relationships in the novel are the best feature; the people are complex and don't always act as you expect them to.

I like the police procedural aspects also. Although Bryant is known for his desire to look for supernatural elements and use witches and mysticism in his quest for the truth, the unit has and uses forensics and computer expertise.

I found myself bogged down in the middle of the story and getting quite frustrated. I have read books that kept me interested all the way through then fell flat at the end. This one was the opposite. It had a "wow" finish. May's granddaughter, April, who seemed like a throwaway character, becomes real and interesting. All the seemingly disparate threads pulled together to give me a sense of closure.

This book explores the tension between youth (teens, in this case) and older adults, and the difficulties of a changing society. That is putting it very simply, and of course the book does a much better job of getting this across. Such divides have always existed, but with two elderly detectives, the author can use his characters and setting to reveal what we may not see in our everyday lives.

I recommend the series if you have not given it a try. Some readers find them very funny. I find them darker, although I applaud Christopher Fowler for focusing on the ills of society. I introduced these books to my son, and he has read the first eight books. He keeps pushing me to read more of them. I have recommended this series to my husband, because of the emphasis on buildings in London. He has read Rune, by the same author, which features Bryant and May (as secondary characters?) and could be considered the first book in the series.  He enjoyed it very much.

Note the differences in the two covers I feature. These are scans of the covers of my copies of the books.  I paid a pretty penny years ago to get a UK cover of the first book ... because I loved the cover so much. My copy of Ten Second Staircase is a trade paperback edition published in the US. I find the UK covers much superior.

Here are some other good posts on Bryant and May mysteries:
In the Spotlight at Confessions of a Mystery Novelist...
A review of the 10th book in the series at Pretty Sinister Books.

Mysteries My Son Reads Part 1

A few years ago my son and I decided to sample books from each other's favorite genres. He would suggest books in the fantasy and science fiction genres for me to try. I would suggest mystery series I thought he might like.

Unfortunately, the experiment was more successful at his end. I guess he is the more flexible, open-minded reader of the two of us. (Of course, there is the fact that he reads much faster than I do.)

Regardless, he has since sampled several mystery series that I suggested. A few of the authors he has read and liked are:

Jane Haddam (Gregor Demarkian series)

The Gregor Demarkian series is about an ex-FBI profiler (retired) who is often pulled back into detection (as a consultant). Set in an Armenian-American neighborhood in Philadelphia. The first books in the series all were set around holidays; by about book 11 that theme was left behind. Some of the later novels center around social issues, sometimes overshadowing the actual mystery.

There are currently 27 books in the series; I have read the first 24 books. I read the first 20 books in three months in 2005. I liked the novels because they have interesting continuing characters and are centered around interesting issues. I usually find that she presents the issues from both sides, although it may be clear which side she favors.

Christopher Fowler (Bryant and May series)

The Bryant and May mysteries star two elderly detectives, Arthur Bryant and John May, members of the fictional Peculiar Crimes Unit. The series is set primarily in London, and the novels often feature flashbacks to cases from the two detective's past. Before the Bryant & May mystery series began, the detectives were featured in three of Fowler's books in the horror genre: Rune, Darkest Day, and Soho Black. I have not had the nerve to try those yet.

This series is more popular with my son than with me. He has read the first eight books; there are now ten books in the series, although the last has not been published in the US yet. I have only read the first three. I have not found them as compelling as other mysteries I have read.

Donna Andrews (Meg Langslow series)

Per the Donna Andrews page on Wikipedia: "Her first book, Murder with Peacocks (1999), introduced Meg Langslow, a blacksmith from Yorktown, Virginia. It won the St. Martin's Minotaur Best First Traditional Mystery contest, the Agatha, Anthony, Barry, and Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice awards for best first novel, and the Lefty award for funniest mystery of 1999." The series has continued for fourteen more books (one yet to be published).

This is a series that only my son has read. I initially bought a few of the books, never got around to reading them, and suggested he try them. I thought that they would be too, too cozy. He has enjoyed them and he says I should give them a try.

Aaron Elkins (Gideon Oliver series)

Aaron Elkins (born 1935) is best known for his series of novels featuring forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver—the 'skeleton detective'. The fourth Oliver book, Old Bones, received the 1988 Edgar Award for Best Novel. My son and I have each read only a few novels in this series. Each book is set in a different and often exotic locale (Les Eyzies-de-Tayac, France; Egypt; Tahiti). I have many books in this series because I collect books with skeletons or skulls on the cover. So I will continue with the series, sooner or later.

Elkins also has written a series about a museum curator Chris Norgren, an expert in Northern Renaissance art. A stand alone novel, Loot, is about art stolen by the Nazis. With his wife, Charlotte Elkins, he has also co-written a series of golf mysteries.

My son has read (parts of) several other mystery series. He has sampled a few authors of vintage mysteries but so far read only one from each author. I plan to follow up with more on those authors in another post. And also post about the science fiction and fantasy books that I tried.

As far as my plans for 2013:

1. I am committed to reading at least 3 science fiction books and 3 fantasy novels. Quite possibly more.
2. Now that I have profiled these authors (although briefly), I hope to read at least one book by each of these authors in the next year.