What I read in August 2019

I had a good reading month in August. I read mostly mysteries, although I read one excellent classic novel. I completed my 20 Books of Summer reading list. I read books from three more countries for the European Reading Challenge.

Classic Fiction

Cold Comfort Farm (1932) by Stella Gibbons

This book is a parody of rural novels written in the early 1900s. I had heard so much about it I had to try it, but I was hesitant. Flora Poste moves in with her country relatives, the Starkadders of Cold Comfort Farm. I loved it, from the first page. Introduction by Lynne Truss.

Crime Fiction

If The Dead Rise Not (2009) by Philip Kerr

The 6th book in the Bernard Gunther series. The series jumps all over the place in time. The first four novels are set  between 1936 and 1949, then the fifth book is set in Argentina in 1950. This book takes the reader back to 1934 Berlin. At the beginning of the story, Bernie has resigned from his job as a policeman, and is working as house detective at the Adlon. Berlin has been chosen as the site for the 1936 Olympics and there are illegal maneuverings by powerful men to make money out of that situation. Later, the novel hops to Cuba in 1954. Coincidence brings the same players from the first part of the book together but the story has an interesting ending.

Death Knocks Three Times (1949) by Anthony Gilbert

This is the second book I have read featuring Arthur Crook, criminal lawyer. I liked this one a lot, even with its complicated plot and plethora of characters. See my thoughts here.

Champagne for One (1958) by Rex Stout

I enjoy rereading the Nero Wolfe mysteries. Here Archie is invited to attend an annual dinner party and dance for unwed mothers, and one of the mothers ends up dead. This is one of my favorite books in the series.

City of Shadows (2006) by Ariana Franklin

A rich Russian emigré in 1922 Berlin believes he has discovered Anastasia, the last surviving heir to the murdered czar of Russia. (Or at least sometimes he does.) His secretary, a poor Russian emigré, helps him, unwillingly, as they prepare to announce her identity. Very complicated and interesting story. See my thoughts here.

Innocence; or, Murder on Steep Street (1985) by Heda Margolius Kovály

Set in the 1950s in the early days of Communist Czechoslovakia, this novel portrays the paranoia and pain of that time when no one knew who to trust, and policemen and State Security agents were looking for traitors at the slightest excuse. See my thoughts here.

Death in Amsterdam (1962) Nicolas Freeling

This a police procedural where we see less of the detective than we do of the suspected murderer, who is being held in jail. The novel was originally published in 1962 in the UK with the title Love in Amsterdam. See my thoughts here.

The Axeman's Jazz (1991) by Julie Smith

Skip Langdon, a police detective in New Orleans, is new to her job, uncertain of her skills, and eager to prove herself, and she gets her opportunity when a serial killer names himself after the historical serial killer, the Axeman. The New Orleans setting is very well done. This is the second in the series, following New Orleans Mourning.

2019 TBR Pile Challenge!

Roof Beam Reader’s Official TBR Pile Challenge is back for its EIGHTH YEAR! And this will be my 5th year participating.

The idea is:
1) Read 12 books that have been sitting on your TBR shelf for at least a year.
2) The books must be listed in advance and the post up by January 15, 2019. Two extra alternate titles are allowed in case you run into a title that you cannot read or finish for any reason.
3) Books must be read and must be reviewed (doesn’t have to be too fancy) in order to count as completed.

Last year I did not do so well with the challenge. Of the total of fourteen books, I read 11 of them, which is not bad. But of those 11, I only reviewed 4 of them.

So here is my list and we will see how well I do with it this year.

• Deadly Nightshade (1940) by Elizabeth Daly
• The Iron Gates (1945) by Margaret Millar
• The Long November (1946) by James Benson Nablo
• Perfect Gallows (1988) by Peter Dickinson 
• A Chill Rain In January (1990) by L.R. Wright
• The Axeman's Jazz (1991) by Julie Smith
• The Summons (1995) by Peter Lovesey
• Tarnished Icons (1997) by Stuart Kaminsky
• What Never Happens (2004) by Anne Holt
• The Secret in Their Eyes (2005) by Eduardo Sacheri
• City of Shadows (2006) by Ariana Franklin
• The Shanghai Factor (2013) by Charles McCarry

Alternates:

• Death in Amsterdam (1962) by Nicolas Freeling
• Murder in Mykonos (2009) by Jeffrey Siger

New Orleans Mourning: Julie Smith

This is the first novel in the Skip Langdon series by Julie Smith; it won the 1991 Edgar Award for best mystery novel.

During Mardi Gras the King of the Carnival, Chauncey St. Amant, is shot on his float during the parade. A character dressed as Dolly Parton shoots him from a balcony as the float goes by. Skip Langdon is one of the cops working on crowd control for the event, and she is near to the float when it  happens.

As the Publisher's Weekly review describes it, she "uncovers a cast of intriguing characters, all as much Chauncey's victims as they are suspects in his murder, most of them inhabiting a 'poison garden of corruption' and substance abuse where it's not just on Mardi Gras that everyone wears a mask." I could not put it any better.

Skip also happens to be a friend of the victim and his family, and it is that and her family's status in the community that allows her to be a part of the investigation, although she is only a rookie cop.

The setting of New Orleans during Mardi Gras was very interesting. New Orleans is a beautiful city but this book focused on eccentric and rich people and corruption in the government and the police. I always find evil in high places depressing, if realistic.

When I read this book, I found the story, centered on an extremely rich and powerful and dysfunctional family, to be unrealistic and over the top. But just recently I read The Drowning Pool by Ross Macdonald, published in 1950 and set in coastal southern California. It features another rich family with absolutely no well-adjusted, happy people so maybe those types of families are more common than I think. Or they make better subjects for crime fiction.

Although Skip Langdon is a policewoman, this is not a straightforward police procedural, because she is assigned to work with two detectives who don't really include her in the investigation. She is supposed to be gathering information from the family because she has connections, and reporting back to them. One of the pair totally despises her,  the other is sympathetic but still not very supportive. So she basically goes off alone looking for clues and the sleuthing is somewhat haphazard.

Skip is the center of the story, but it is told from the perspective of several characters. I like that method of storytelling although it is not universally popular. Skip has lots of insecurities; she is six feet tall and somewhat overweight and has never fit in with her family. Most of the other characters are extremely eccentric or self-centered.

The ending is unsatisfactory but realistic. I liked this well enough to continue and see what happens to Skip in the next one.


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Publisher:   Ivy Books, 1991 (orig. publ. 1990) 
Length:       339 pages
Format:      Paperback 
Series:       Skip Langdon, #1
Setting:      New Orleans, Louisiana
Genre:       Mystery
Source:      I purchased this book.

Reading Summary for July 2017

July has been another good reading month. I read nine books, which is a lot for me.  I am making progress on my Twenty Books of Summer. Of the nine books I read this month, seven were from that list. The other two were read this month because I wanted to read the book before I watched the movie.

One of the books was not crime fiction: Their Finest by Lissa Evans, set in the the UK in 1940 and 1941. The story is about a young female copywriter who gets an assignment to the Ministry of Information, writing parts of scripts for a WWII propaganda film. That alone would be an interesting subject, but the story follows several other people associated with the filming. Each one provides a different view of the UK during the war. It is a lovely story, very humorous, and one of my favorite reads of the month. I much prefer the UK title: Their Finest Hour and a Half.

Now for my list of crime fiction books...

City of Dragons by Kelli Stanley (2010)

A story about a female private eye set in 1940 in San Francisco's Chinatown. I have posted my thoughts on this book HERE.

Red Bones by Ann Cleeves (2009)

Red Bones is the third book in the Shetland series by Ann Cleeves; the books are all set on the Shetland Islands, which are part of Scotland. They feature Inspector Jimmy Perez. I read the first two books a few years ago; although I liked them a lot, I don't remember much beyond the basic plot. I read this book (at this time) because we wanted to start the Shetland TV series and Red Bones is the first book which was adapted. I liked the book just as well as the first two. (I just finished Blue Lightning on Thursday, and it is my favorite of the four.)

New Orleans Mourning by Julie Smith (1991)

During the Mardi Gras parade, the King of the Carnival is shot and killed by someone dressed as Dolly Parton. Skip Langdon is one of the cops working on crowd control for the event. She is a friend of the family,  and thus gets involved with the investigation. This book won the Edgar Award for Best Novel. The setting was done well and it was interesting to see this view of New Orleans.

The Distant Echo by Val McDermid (2003)

This is the first book in the Karen Pirie series, but she only shows up after 200 pages into the story and even after that only plays a small role in the story. Regardless, this was a very good tale of the investigation of a cold case, with close to half of the book taking place at the time that the crime is committed. I have posted my thoughts on this book HERE.

Bodies are Where you Find Them by Brett Halliday (1941)

I have a good number of the Mike Shayne novels by Brett Halliday, but I started with this one because the film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was loosely based on this novel. I did not really expect there to be much similarity between the two, but the basic premise is the same in both. In the book,  a woman’s body shows up in Mike's bed but disappears; Mike and his friend, reporter Timothy Rourke, are searching for it. I enjoyed this book, but I am pretty sure I am going to enjoy my next Mike Shayne story even more now that I have a taste of the series.

Brothers Keepers by Donald Westlake (1975)

This is about a small, obscure Catholic order of monks who are in danger of being tossed out of their home. This summary from Goodreads is just perfect so I am going to use it.  

"When the order's lease on the Park Avenue monastery expires, sixteen monks face a greedy real-estate mogul, and Brother Benedict falls in love with the mogul's daughter."

I loved this book. Another of my favorite books of the month.

A Shock to the System by Simon Brett (1984)

This is a very different book by Simon Brett. Most of his books that I have read are humorous mysteries about Charles Paris, the actor. A Shock to the System is part dark comedy, and part thriller. Graham Marshall is an HR professional, a seemingly ordinary man, who kills a man in a fit of pique. Initially he is remorseful and fears retribution; when it does not come, he begins to see murder as a solution to his problems. (This was the 2nd book I read because we want to watch the movie again. It just came out in a new Blu-ray edition.)

The Fashion in Shrouds by Margery Allingham (1938)

The simplest description of this book is that Albert Campion’s sister, a fashion designer, is implicated in a murder, and Albert wants very much to find the culprit. The story is, of course, much more complicated than that. Amanda Fitton, from the earlier book Sweet Danger, shows up again and she and Albert stage a fake engagement. My thoughts on the book are HERE.

Skulls and Skeletons (Book Sale Part 4)

In the spirit of Halloween, which is fast approaching, here are the skull and skeleton covers I acquired at the book sale.

The Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries in the Pocket Books editions often have nice skeletons adorning the covers.

Having very little experience with the mysteries of Arthur Conan Doyle (at least in written form), I was not even aware of the existence of this volume of non-Sherlock Holmes stories, Tales of Terror and Mystery. Lovely cover, and I will certainly give them a try.






















The skull cover for The Hound of the Baskervilles is a little less impressive (as skull covers go), but very atmospheric. And I have added to my available Sherlock mysteries to try.




In 1991, Julie Smith was the first American woman to be awarded the Edgar for Best Mystery Novel since 1956. The winning book was New Orleans Mourning, and was the first in a series starring Skip Langdon, a female police officer.

The Axeman's Jazz is the 2nd book in the Skip Langdon series. I have a copy of the hardcover edition which is much better because the skeleton is not obscured as much.

















And now we get to my favorite cover of the lot... at least as far as cover art goes. The Straight Man by Roger L. Simon. I don't know how well the cover fits the story. Moses Wine takes on a case for his psychiatrist, in the fifth book in the series. Set in West L.A.