So Many GOOD Books . . .

  

Comment:  Sooooo I understand authors come up with titles that will catch the eye of the greatest number of readers – like the next one.  I wonder that myself – when will there be good news.  Or, one I reviewed some time back,  If I’d Killed Him When I Met Him – I thought that many times during the married years.  Of course some titles make my eyes roll so far back I can nearly see behind me.  Those usually are the heavy duty romance types and I pass on those.  Sometimes I chose a book because I like the author but without a list (that I carry with me) I can’t be certain if I’ve read a certain book only looking at the title.  Onward.

When Will There Be Good News
by Kate Atkinson

The story opens thirty years in the past. Six-year-old Joanna Mason lives in a remote house with her mother and two siblings after her father has abandoned them. Her mother is determined to survive and to do well by her kids. A man arrives and . . .
In the present day, Jackson Brodie is following a young boy at a playground in order to collect a strand of his hair.
Regina Chase is a teen girl babysitting for Joanna Hunter (nee Mason).  Joanna is now thirty-six, married, and with a young baby. Reggie is a smart but troubled girl.
Detective Chief Inspector Louise Monroe has a history with Jackson Brodie and now a crime has occurred that involves both Joanna and Reggie.

So, this was a difficult book to describe without telling too much or too little.  Honestly, I chose it because I liked the title – When Will There Be Good News.  That said – it’s a great book, great story.  The writer connects all the characters so smoothly you don’t have to check back several chapters to see who exactly someone is.  I like Kate Atkinson and am reading another of her Jackson Brodie series. 

Bones to Ashes
Kathy Reichs

The discovery of a skeleton in Acadia, Canada, reawakens a traumatic episode for forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan: Could the young girl’s remains be those of Évangéline Landry, Tempe’s friend who disappeared when Tempe was twelve? Exotic, free-spirited, and slightly older, Évangéline enlivened Tempe’s summer beach visits…then vanished amid whispers that she was “dangerous.” Now, faced with bones scarred with inexplicable lesions, Tempe is consumed with solving a decades-old mystery — while her lover, detective Andrew Ryan, urgently needs her attention on a wave of teenage abductions and murders. With both Ryan and her ex-husband making surprising future plans, Tempe may soon find that her world has painfully and irrevocably changed once again.

This book fits into the “sometimes I chose a book because I like the author but ….” category.  When I found this book at the resale shop, I did pull out my list and – nope somehow hadn’t read this one.  This is an older book in the Temperance Brennan series - #10 of 21.  So, I did know what to expect about a few things (ie: her relationship with ex-husband Pete and with her lover Ryan).  As for the story – excellent and highly recommended.  Just a note - if you haven't read any of the Brennan books, it's best to start with #1 as Tempe's life changes as time goes by.

All This and Heaven Too
Rachel Field

This number-one bestselling novel (of 1938) is based on the true story of one of the most notorious murder cases in French history. The heroine, Henriette Deluzy-Desportes, governess to the children of the Duc de Praslin, found herself strangely drawn to her employer; when the Duc murdered his wife in the most savage fashion, she had to plead her own case before the Chancellor of France in a sensational murder trial that helped bring down the French king. After winning her freedom, Henriette took refuge in America, where she hosted a salon visited by all the socialites of New York and New England. This thrilling historical book, of romance, passion, mystery, and intrigue, has laid claim to the hearts and minds of readers for generations.

Honesty here . . . I decided to add this one in today’s list because of a Boud blog where in she talks about watching an old b&w movie.  I first read this book as an older teenager.  I found it in Mother’s bookcase . . . and never gave it back to her.  As it happened, not long after reading it, the movie based on the book showed on the late show.  The movie starred Charles Boyer and Betty Davis and is also very good.  I have reread this book several times and each time it has evoked a different response.  However over all "All This and Heaven Too" gets an excellent - highly recommended.

One more and I’m done.

Marauder, a Novel of The Oregon Files
Clive Cussler, Boyd Morrison

While interrupting an attack on a Kuwaiti oil tanker, Juan Cabrillo and his team discover something even more dangerous: a ruthless billionaire's dying wish has allowed a paralyzing chemical to end up in the hands of a terrorist group. When an Oregon crew member falls victim to the poison, Juan Cabrillo will stop at nothing to find an antidote before it is too late. He and his team must connect an ancient mystery with a cunning modern enemy in order to save millions of innocent lives, including their own.

Of all the books under the Clive Cussler name, I like the Oregon Files series the best.  Typical in a Cussler style, the women are smart and beautiful (even the bad ones), the men are smart and beautiful (not the bad ones so much), the hero(es) are all deadly, smart and mostly beautiful.  It’s full of action and fanciful gadgets.  The ship, The Oregon, is (on the outside) a dilapidated freight steamer.  However on the inside, it is a beautiful, technical marvel, highly modern spy ship.  It’s a good series – a bit of brain candy.

And, my work is done here.  

I have to get ready for the Wharton Garden Club's Tomato Fest, which I am hosting tomorrow (yes, possibly - probably lost my mind when I said I'd do it).  More about tomatoes coming soon.

 

8 Jun 2022