July's Reading

   Hi everyone. Happy Wednesday. Today is my monthly book post for those of you who like to read about books.   Originally I thought I'd go for a July full of lighter summer books, but I can't say  that my  choices ended up being all that light.  😬  There were quite a few older mysteries (as always it seems of late), a reread, a newer book I wasn't crazy about, and one excellent book that was not light in any way, shape or form.

  I have read  a couple of James Patterson stand alone books in the past, but I had never read any of his Alex Cross mysteries/thrillers. However, I knew the name of this one from 1993. It's a great title, and it always seems to show up on best mystery/thriller lists. I figured it sounded like a good summer read, and since it's now over 30 years old and reaching  at least modern classic status, it was time to check it out.

   First of all I didn't expect this book to be so hard to put down. If you're like me and  have never read it, it's a fast paced police procedural with a detective who is also a PhD and psychologist. His name is Alex Cross, and he's from the Washington DC police department. There is a serial killer in town who is killing people and removing body parts. That seems to be a big enough case for Alex, at least until 2 elementary school kids are kidnapped by their own school teacher. The mayor insists Alex take  on this case. One of the children is the son of the Secretary of the Treasury and the other child is the daughter of a famous actress.

   You learn right away  about the kidnapper, Gary Soneji, but yet you don't really know him either. During this story you not only get to know Alex Cross, but you get to know the  kidnapper too. Soneji isn't quite who you suspect he is either. 

   Boy this book is creepy.  But it's actually quite a good story that doesn't dwell at any one point for very long.  I'm not sure James Patterson's writing style is all that detailed or depth oriented, but if you want a fast paced or day on the beach style read, then I do recommend this book. Patterson is one of the all time best selling authors, but when a friend and I were talking about this book we decided that even though this is a good story, it's not the kind of story that makes you think about how the characters relate to yourself or even wonder about how certain parts might connect to your own life. It's a story you read to just enjoy the story. That's not meant as a criticism because I did very much enjoy this book. You will probably see me mention  another Alex Cross book at some time in the future. 

   My first actual  book for July was a reread and also was the sequel to a book I reread in February called Time and Again by Jack Finney. (Here's that post if you want to read about Time and Again: February's Books.) That book was about a man named Simon Morley who became part of a time travel experiment and traveled back to the 1880's.

   This second book is from 1995 and was published 25 years after the first book. Simon, even though he came back to the 1970’s after his time travel adventure, decided to return to the 1880's where he ended up marrying a woman he met and fell in love with. But one day, while back in time, he switches up history, and that throws off a couple of people who were also part of the time travel experiment. 

 

  Now the time travel project is in trouble and has run out of funding. Simon is needed to show that time travel does work, but of course, everyone believes Simon disappeared back to the 1880's and can't be found. Then a 1916 newspaper shows up  that demonstrates that Simon's historical switch-up stopped World War One from happening.  

   The men need Simon to stop the that war in our known time loop. Conveniently, at the same time and out of curiosity, Simon decided to travel back to the 1970s, Of course, that’s when things start getting interesting.  Now when the last remaining people running the program want him to travel to 1912,  he does. 

   I really enjoyed the excitement of reading about and seeing the photos included from New York in 1912.  There's a lot about airplanes and dirigibles, as well as vaudeville acts. This makes an interesting story, but it goes on for quite a bit. I began to wonder about stopping the war. However, Finney has some surprises as you read, and I definitely felt like I was in a different time. The author included a lot of details that make this written view of 1912 really feel like it was 1912 and not someone in the 1990's writing about 1912. 

   I enjoyed this book.  I liked the first book (Time and Again) a bit better only because it had an underlying story that seemed more continuous and was  more cohesive. This book seemed to jump around a bit and at a couple of points I wondered about where this story was headed. However, it was still a worthwhile read, especially if you like the idea about being able to go back in time.

   D Is For Deadbeat is book 4 in the Kinsey Millhone mystery series, first published in 1987. This time a guy shows up at Kinsey's PI office. He wants Kinsey to deliver a big bank check to a teenager whose family he killed in a drunk driving accident. He also pays Kinsey a $400 retainer, which promptly bounces. Kinsey then tracks this man down, or tries to. The name he gave her is Alvin Lamardo, but his real name is John Daggett.

  All along Kinsey doesn't want to get involved with this case, but against her better sense, does. Daggett, fresh out jail, isn't a good character, and the people she has to deal with regarding him aren't all angels either.  However, shortly after meeting the man, he is found dead having drowned in the ocean. Other than him drowning, the question remains was he murdered? The police haven't yet taken on the case, calling it an accident, but Kinsey feels she owes it to look further into the case. Plus Kinsey still needs to find the teenager and deliver the cashier's check to him.

   At first I wasn't feeling this book, but then, at some point while I was reading it, I became totally engrossed in the story and wanted to know what happened.  Once again there was another can't-stop-reading ending, this time on the roof of an 8 story building. I don't like heights, and it was giving me the chills. However, Daggett was murdered, and who the killer was and how they did it was unexpected.

  This next book, Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, is one of those books I've wanted to read for a while now because I've enjoyed several of this author's novels. I loved The Bean Trees and its sequel as well as the Poisonwood Bible which I've read twice. At the same time I was kind of worried about reading this book. I  knew this book was a modern day David Copperfield (by Charles Dickens) story with a lot of parallels, but I had heard that there was a lot of violence.  Plus I've not loved all of Barbara Kingsolver's novels that I've read, and I hoped that I wouldn't get 10 hours into this novel and then not want to finish it. 

   At least in David Copperfield, although you know what's going on, Dickens doesn't write out all the violent details. I suppose because times have changed violence, drugs and other societal problems should be written about. No one ever said everything you read has to be peaches and cream sweet, and you would think with all the murder mysteries I read I wouldn't worry about a book like this. I think it was the 20 hours of listening to this book that made me  a little concerned because was it going to be 20 hours with a lot of violence? (Meaning, a 20 hour book of almost all violence is really not my thing.)

  Yes, there were some tough moments, especially early on, but I am glad I listened to this book because it is a very good novel. Although what poor Demon had to go through was too sad, this story isn't all terrible physical violence like I expected. However, there's no way you can read this and not think about what horrible things some people deal with and what horrible things people do to themselves too. 

  OK, I'm sure you don't want to read about me and  my worries. I'm sure you want to read about this book. 

   Demon Copperhead is set in rural Appalachia. Demon (his nickname since his name is Damien) is born to a teenager unwed mother, and so life starts off as struggle. If you've ever read David Copperfield, Demon's life follows many of the same general "events" like Mom marrying a man who wants Demon out, Mom dying, some not so great foster care, Demon out on his own and getting robbed, him trying to  and then finding his father's family, as well as many other events. 

  

   However, I definitely liked Demon and wanted everything to work out for him. If you've ever read David Copperfield you might remember Copperfield eventually marries the girl of his dreams and becomes a successful novelist. While reading this novel I hoped  at some point  things will look up for Demon.  (Not to give too much away, you'll have to read the book to see if it does. 😉 You can always ask too if you're really curious and don't want to read it also. 😉) This  certainly wasn't light summer reading, and my only "complaint" is that I wish this book was just a few hours shorter. I'm not sure if that was because I had had enough of the story by about 17 hours or if I just wasn't in the mood for a longish novel. However, even with my concerns I am very glad I read it. 

   This next book The Killer and Frank Lloyd Wright by Casey Sherman is a new release that sounded better than it actually was. I did read the whole book, and I did learn a lot about the famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The topic was interesting. Other than Wright being a trend setting and famous architect, I didn't really know much about him before this book. However, I  wasn't crazy about the author's writing style. To me it was a bit sensationalized  without a whole lot of depth.

   Sometimes when you read a biography, you don't end up loving the person it is about. I felt that way about Wright. I can also say that this biography did not put him in a very pleasant light either. I think the author couldn't hide  his own bias, unlike some biographies where you see the good and the bad and you can decide for yourself. But, I wonder if Wright hadn't been so self-involved, would he have been so successful? 

  Now the title sounds like you might get a bit of background and then get to the murders. By page 100, except for the prequel, there is nothing about the murders at all.  The story does improve once Wright takes up with Mamah Borthwick Cheney.  Both Wright and Cheney  leave their spouses to be together.   This is still the Edwardian period so what might have passed unnoticed today did not go unnoticed then. 

  And then, at about page 150, the gruesome murders happen. There's hardly any lead up to this. It is summer, 1914.  The location is Taliesin, Wright's personal home and studio where he lived with Mamah. He was away at the time. Mamah, her two children and a few other people who were in the house were axed to death by one of Wright's employees named Julian Carleton. Then the property, still being worked on by Wright, was burned. 

   Before I knew it, the story was now past the murders, back to Wright's post-Mamah life.  As I said, not knowing about Frank Lloyd Wright, this book made a good introduction his life. I actually would like to read more about him. I didn't mind that this was a biography, but at least make the title reflect what it actually is. This book also did not have a bibliography at the back. I don't think I'll be reading any more of Casey Sherman's books, but if you're interested in a quick read without a lot of depth, then don't let my review put you off.

  

  OK, then it was time to move onto some more satisfying mysteries. My next book was this 1942 mystery called The Golden Box by Francis Crane. It is book 2 in Pat and Jean Abbott mysteries. I read book 1 of this series in January (post with that book is here: The Turquoise Shop), and it was a well composed and enjoyable mystery.  At this point Pat and Jean are not yet married, although I read that that will be coming in future books. 

   This time Jean, who lives in a fictional New Mexico town and runs a souvenir shop, heads home to Illinois when her cousin sends her a telegram saying Jean's aunt is not doing well. After she arrives back at her hometown, the wealthy woman who lives next door suddenly dies. Then, right after that, a servant in the newly deceased woman's house  dies too. That death looks like suicide. But Pat, who Jean is dating and who has to drive to Washington DC, shows up just before this second death occurred. Pat is a detective by trade and an artist by avocation.  He believes that the servant was murdered.

   This book was quaint (in a good way) and was a very good read. It read like a 1940's movie. In fact, I kept picturing it that way in my mind as I was reading. Although the actual murderer was one of the people I suspected, the author did a good job of dropping lots of clues about lots of people.  It wasn't until the  very end that she made the reveal. One interesting thing about this book is that it is set in late 1941, just before Pearl Harbor when the Japanese dropped bombs in Hawaii. Besides the prejudices of the time, it's interesting to see how, besides the murder story, everyone is watching to see what happens with Japan. I enjoyed this book as much as I did book 1, although book 1 had a little more adventurous  theme than this one.

    After I finished The Golden Box, I then read the next Kinsey Millhone mystery in Sue Grafton’s alphabet series. You can see this one is called E is for Evidence.  This time Kinsey had a good sized  money deposit  mysteriously added to her bank account.  That made her curious and suspicious.  On top of that, the California Insurance Company she used to work for and  where she now still has an office,  sends her out on a fire investigation.  She is told the fire is not suspicious.

    Yet when she came back and turned in this paperwork, she found out that the insurance company believed all along that this fire was a case of arson.  Since none of her investigation correlates with  the information the insurance company already has, she is under suspicion of insurance fraud. Add that to the unexpected deposit in her bank account, Kinsey now feels she needs to clear her own name. Plus she needs to figure out what is actually going on. 

   The family who runs the business where the fire was is no stranger to Kinsey. One of the daughters was a close  childhood friend. You learn a lot about this family through Kinsey's investigation. On top of this, one of Kinsey's ex-husbands shows up at her door and wants her to hold onto his guitar for him. Just for a few days is what he says. You know there will be more  about this as the story progresses.

    Again, there is an exciting ending; this time it happens in Kinsey's tiny garage apartment. There's a man with a  gun and a bomb. This is another good read, and if you like mysteries and haven't read this series, I  recommend it.

    I ended the month  in shoulder resting mode which meant more reading time. (i.e., a four book reading week, a few rainy days during this week helped add to the reading volume too). For my next book I read this 1931 Agatha Christie mystery. Even better, I have never read this one before 👍💗😆, although I did have a vintage yellowed paged but otherwise brand-new-looking copy of it on my bookshelf. This mystery also goes by the name of Murder at Hazelmoor, which is the title that was on my copy. That's the title this book was originally released with in the US.

    The story starts off when several people in a remote little village on the moors get together for dinner and hold a seance. It's a   snowy night. During that event, it is announced that Captain Trevelyan has died. Captain Trevelyan owns the house where this event happens, but he had rented the house to a widow and her daughter and then moved into town for the winter. However, Major Barnaby, one of Trevelyan's good friends is at the party. After he hears this pronouncement,  he decides he needs to go check on his friend. Barnaby trudges through the snow into town and when he gets to his friends home, he finds that his friend has indeed been murdered. 

   In this story you don't have any of Christie's famous detectives. Instead you have the local Inspector  named Narracott . Along with him, you have  Emily Trefusis . She is the fiancee of one of Trevelyan's  nephews. The bulk of the dead man's estate will go to his family, including this nephew, who just happened to be in town not far from where the murder occurred  when the murder supposedly happened. He gets arrested under suspicion of murder, and  Emily is out to clear his name.

   Also there's the question of why Mrs. Willett and her daughter rented Trvelyan's house in the first place, seeing it's winter and the village is fairly remote. There's also a prison break, a newspaper reporter  named Charles Enderby, the mysterious Mr. Duke, a cranky old Colonel and his Indian servant, as well as Emily having to pick between 2 suitors.  There are actually quite a few characters to keep track of in this mystery. Because of this, I had no clue who killed Captain Trevelyan until the very end of the book. 

   I recently read in a Caroline Crampton  newsletter that she thinks this is one of the underrated Christie mysteries.  (Crampton reviews and writes about older mysteries as well as other books at her online website and podcasts.) It is one that you don't usually hear much about, with a clever twist about  how murder happened.  I enjoyed this book, was surprised who the murderer actually was, and was glad I found this book on my bookshelf. 

    My final novel for July (and the last of my 4 book week while resting my shoulder) was this shorter 1979 novel Treasures of Time by Penelope Lively. I read my first Lively book back in March (review is here: March books), however that book was not a novel but a book about gardens. I did like Lively's writing-style though, so back in March when I visited a used bookstore and saw this book, I picked it up.

   In this book you meet Kate Paxton and some people connected to her. First there is her fiance Tom . He is doing post-graduate work in history. He is also taken with the idea that Kate's father was Hugh Paxton, now deceased, but who was an archaeologist that found some amazing pieces of British history now in the British Museum.  Then you meet Kate's mother Laura. She and Kate don't really get on all that well, as their personalities are quite different. You also meet Kate's Aunt Nellie who is now living with her sister Laura because she suffered a stroke.

    This story follows those main characters. The story is written in little sections, so a chapter could have several. Through those sections you learn more about each person and how they interact with each other. You also get to see some memories each person has in specific interactions. It was an interesting way to add a lot of depth to the story without going on for pages and pages.

   The pivotal point of the story is that the BBC wants to do a program about Hugh Paxton. To use a quote off the back of the book that I thought stated the story well: "The trouble with digging around in the past, though, is that it disturbs the present as well. " You can only guess what gets disturbed.

   I very much enjoyed this novel. It is a story told through the people's thoughts more than their action. It was well written, had great character development, and had a nice literary feel to it.  Plus I was able to finish it in a couple of days because it wasn't a long book, nor a very hard to read one either.

    My final book of the month was this bird book I had pre-ordered on Amazon. You may remember I picked up the Birds of Maine earlier this year, and I liked how the book is set up. As with the Maine bird guide, this book is set up by color, so if you see a brown bird you don't know, you can look under the brown birds section. I also like how the author separates the sexes by color, if the male and female of a species come in different colors. If Mom is brown and white, she's under brown birds and if Dad is blue, he is under blue birds.

   This book also shows not only year round birds, but birds that migrate through and birds that come for a season. However, this is where I have one small complaint. Vireos. Unless they go by another name, this book doesn't include them. My Merlin app has informed me I have a red eyed vireo in my yard, singing to me each late afternoon. And there has been a blue headed vireo up at my mother-in-law's house on the lake. Well, it may be a small omission, seeing you don't really see these birds easily but hear them instead, but I would have liked to have a page about them. 

   Still, I highly recommend this volume, not necessarily the New Hampshire and Vermont version, but for whatever started you live in. And if you live somewhere other than the US or Canada, then I apologize for recommending a  book that wouldn't help you much at all.

   Maybe August will be more summer reading for me...grin. And if you're a reader, I hope your month is filled with some great stories and lots of reading time too.