September's Reading

   Hi  everyone   It’s time for my monthly reading post.  I knew  this past month wouldn’t be a book heavy one because we were away for 11 days.   Even though I do read while traveling, one of my prime reading times (right before bed) doesn’t always happen because I’m often exhausted from a busy sightseeing, walking and even car riding day.  🥱

 This past month there were a few mysteries and one  excellent biography  for a total of 6 books. That's still a lot, but compared to last month's reading (which was even a lot for me), I only read half of what I did in August.  I'm not complaining, only stating, when I write that though, and keep in mind most of these mysteries are fast and not overly long reads. 

   I started off September with this biography of  Christiane DesRoches-Nobelcourt  by Lynne Olson. I had never heard of this woman, but her story (in the book blurb) sounded fascinating. Plus this book had really good reviews.  It only took a little bit of pre-reading research to learn Desroches-Nobelcourt was born in 1913, and instead of following the path many woman of her generation took, she became an Egyptologist. She published many books and worked closely with the Egyptian government to save many ancient treasures when the Aswan Dam was built in the early 1960's. This dam would have flooded some ancient sites when it was completed.

   Christiane was born into a family who believed in women's education, and after she finished her  basic education, instead of them trying to marry her off, they sent her off for more education. They thought she might study something more traditional, but she wanted to become an Egyptologist. Since they were residents of Paris, she actually went to study at the Louvre as well as other places in the city.

    Her time at the Louvre was important because Christiane met her mentor, and eventually she even had a chance to go on an archaeological dig. It was a man's world, and sometimes she worked with men who thought she belonged at home with a husband and babies. However, she persevered and eventually was an important part of the Egyptian exhibit staff at the Louvre.

   This woman's life could be an entire post, so let me go back to the book. I loved how the author, Lynne Olson, wrote not only about the events in Christiane's life, but also about particular historic events that  formed the back drops. I learned a lot about archaeology and  the study of Ancient Egyptian sites. I also learned about what happened at the Louvre during the Second World War. Christiane was part of the museum's underground shuffling of precious artwork away from Paris as the Nazi's approached the city. She also worked for the Free French Underground.  And when Egypt became a free nation instead of a colony, (also described in the book), they took over running their own archaeological excavations. However, the Egyptian government wanted someone to help them set  up this governmental department so it would be successful, and Christiane's name was at the top of the list. One thing this woman was as good at was respecting all people and also helping as many as she could.  

   

   I very much enjoyed this book right from the start. I liked learning about someone new and how so many people all over the world were also drawn to saving the temples because of her work.  This was not a difficult or drawn out read as Olson is an excellent author, and she sets the stage for Christiane's life exceptionally well.  Since Christiane had a very long life, living  until she was 97, there were a lot of stages to set.  I only touched the surface in this review. This book covered them all and was an interesting and well done biography.

  My only  listen for September was this stand alone mystery, The Murder Stone, by Charles Todd. It wasn't a long book (about 12 hours), but with my trip and other things going on I didn't have  a lot of long periods of listening time.  It  took me  a while to get through it, but only because of the time issue. It was a good historical mystery, and I enjoyed it. 

  I've read some Charles Todd books  in the Ian Rutledge series. Those books are set in the aftermath of World War One, and this stand alone book, begins in 1916 during that war.  The other interesting thing I learned while double checking the name of the Ian Rutledge series (it's been a while since I read any) is that Charles Todd is actually 2 people and a pseudonym too. Charles Todd  was actually a mother and son writing team. They professionally went by Charles and Caroline Todd, although the books are only under Charles name. Their actual names were Carolyn and David Watjen.  Besides some stand-alone novels and the Ian Rutledge series, they also write/wrote a series about a British nurse in the same World War One and aftermath time period.

   This book takes place on an estate in the Exe Valley of England.  Francesca is a young woman whose grandfather has just died, leaving her the only one left in the family. Not only had her parents and her father's siblings already died, but so had Francesca's 5 male cousins who were all killed in the war. 

   At the reading of the will, Francesca finds that not only is the Exe Valley estate left to her, but so are 2 other properties elsewhere in England she knows nothing about. There's also a strange codicil to the will that asks her to move a stone that  is in the estate's  garden called the Murder Stone. Her grandfather wants her to dig it up and move it to Scotland.

    Besides these questions, some strangers begin show up at the house, including a man who claims that  Francesca's grandfather murdered his mother and a woman who claims she was Francesca's nanny. Things also start to happen like people found searching inside Francesca's home and a shed on the property being burned by an arson.  Plus there are lots of images reminding you that World War I is still going on like a dirigible bombing of London and the authorities believing there is a deserter in the area.

   As I mentioned earlier in this review, I enjoyed this book. The authors created a suspenseful atmosphere, interesting characters and definitely the feel of 1916. This book doesn't move slowly, and it doesn't move quickly. However, the pace seems perfect for the setting’s decade making me, as the reader, feel like I am back in that time period. However, it does take a while for the book to  turn from lots of suspense to where all the side events come together. There are a few twists too with one that was not only a bit predictable but expected (and a bit of a let down in some ways). I  liked that Francesca is not  a sissy, having grown up with 5 male cousins. Then this story starts to question who those cousins and even who Francesca  actually are.  I don't want to spoil it for you should you ever read this mystery, so I'm going to be a meany and stop  discussing this book now. 😈  I do recommend it if you like a historical mystery with lots of suspense, although the ending, which was not a let down, was also a bit of a predictable twist. 

    This next book,  the 1990 G is for Gumshoe by Sue Grafton, was a fast read.  This is book 7 in the 25 book series, and so far, is my favorite of the  series.

    Back in book E is for Evidence, Kinsey Millhone's garage apartment was blown up. This book starts on her birthday when her landlord Henry hands her a key to her new "redone" garage apartment. This time it has a ship's theme and is actually 2 stories with a bedroom loft. She doesn't get much time to enjoy it though, because she's hired by a woman to head out to the California desert. The woman hasn't been able to track down her mother, and she asks Kinsey to see if she can find her.  Kinsey heads out to the Salton Sea, finds the mother, but then is in a terrible car accident.

    The accident is even more dramatic because you learn earlier in the book that someone Kinsey helped put in jail has hired a hit man to kill her. It's this man who tries to kill Kinsey by ramming his truck into her VW bug several times. She ends up in a drainage ditch, and with that Kinsey finally takes the threat seriously. She calls the man recommended to be her body guard.  Of course then she does something dumb and heads over to help the woman whose mother she found find her a second time.  The hit man makes his presence known again. This book has lots of suspense because it left me wondering when,where, and how the hit man will make his next move on Kinsey.

   This story then takes a twist as the hit man and the missing mother stories intertwine. I loved how I didn't see even a glimpse of the ending. This book/series has some interesting characters too. Of course, there's another big dramatic conclusion to wrap up the story. This time it's at an airport, but that's all I'm saying. 

   I was excited to see this next book, The Last Tenant,  published because I really enjoy this Icelandic mystery series. It's been a couple of years since the last in this series was published. This is book 6 in the Forbidden Iceland mysteries. Plus this is the first Icelandic mystery I've read this year, and I do enjoy some of these Nordic Noirs.

  This series main character is police detective Elna in the town of Akranes which is north of Reykjavik. Earlier in this series Elna ends up together with one the investigators on her West Iceland CID  team named Saevar, and they now have a young child. In this mystery,  the bones of a woman and an infant are found at a farm that has been abandoned for around 50 years. The jewelry found on the bones of the woman matches that of a woman who went missing a few years earlier. Some of her clothing, like her shoes and jacket, had been found on a beach, and at that time, everyone assumed she committed suicide by drowning. 

  

  The second story that interconnects is that of a young woman named  Karitas who takes a furnished apartment in the basement of the home of an elderly man. She moves in with her young son  Bessi. She also becomes romantically involved with the man who lives next door. He is the same man who was involved with the woman whose body was found on the deserted farm. You later find out that the dead woman also spent some time in this same apartment. 

   I thought this book started off a bit uneventful. Then before I knew it the story had ramped up, and there were suspicions about the man who owned the home where Karitas' apartment was located and also about her boyfriend and his father. The author  added a few other shady characters too. Plus Elna was having suspicions about her husband, not anything to do with the dead girl but about their marriage.  There is then another attempted murder, which made me, as the reader even more suspicious about some of the secondary characters.

   This was an enjoyable read. Aegisdottir created an interesting backstory that linked so many of the characters together in unexpected ways. She ends this story with an unexpected  twist too. She has you,  as the reader, thinking along one line, and then she goes on to show you that you bought into her storyline "hook, line and sinker" as the cliche goes.  Plus I like Elna, the main investigator in this series. I would definitely read this series in order as characters develop and life moves on for each of the main and secondary characters, but it's a very good series if you like Icelandic mysteries.

   

  The Yellow Violet is a 1942 mystery, book 3 in the Pat and Jean Abbott mysteries. Pat and Jean met in book one when Pat went to New Mexico to take an art class. Jean lived there and ran a tourist shop. Pat is actually a detective by trade, and in this book, he is back in his home city of San Francisco. Jean is there also, as these 2  are going to get married. Of course when the event is about to happen, a woman comes into the office needing a detective. Pat (since he's about to be a groom) sends her to an investigator friend of his, and then it is discovered that this detective friend has been murdered. So much for the wedding opening the book. 

   I enjoy Crane’s writing style. Like the last one I read, this story also reads like a vintage movie. The story really focuses on Jean. She gets involved with the mystery of the murdered detective friend as well as with the woman who came to Pat saying the Italian Fascists are out to get her because  her brother signed his inheritance over to them.  This  inheritance is, at the moment, under the control of this woman.  

   If you’re curious about the  Italian fascists, remember this book was published in 1942 right in the depth of Mussolini’s control and the Second World War.  This book is not only a murder mystery, but also has some World War 2 intrigue going on. Plus there's a man in a brown hat following Jean and a Spanish entertainer who escaped from Franco's Spain and who thinks Jean is after the man she loves. (Even though Jean is just patiently waiting for the case to end so she can marry Pat.)

   This was a fun read. I tried to put myself back in the time frame of when this book was published because it was written for 1942 audience. However, in many ways it feels like it could be a more modern story just set in that time period. Even though I couldn't quite be a 1942 reader, I do like this series and the glimpses of life at that time. You don't have to read theses books in order, at least I can say that about these 3 books so far, but things do progress over time.

   I then managed to squeeze in one more book between coming home from my holiday away and the end of the month. I saw this on one of Shari's book lists as she (if I am remembering correctly) had a pre-published copy. This is a NEW Miss Marple book, approved by Christie's family, and written by Lucy Foley. I've read a couple of Foley's thriller books, and of course I read quite a bit of Christie, so I was looking forward to this new mystery.  I suspected it would be a good story since Foley wrote it, but would it measure up to Christie's Miss Marple?

  This story takes place in 1950 at a Swiss ski resort. The only way to get to the resort is to take a cog-railway up to it. In typical Foley style, there are several characters and the chapters jump around them. Some of these  characters are a woman who is a Hollywood starlet, a young woman married to a British MP, the MP's war friend, a  police inspector who happens to be at the resort, and Diana Glass who the assistant to Mrs. Bantry, a wealthy widow taking this trip. Mrs. Bantry is also with Miss Marple.  The interesting thing I learned while reading this book is that Mrs. Bantry mentions how Miss Marple figured out who killed the body that was found in her library. It's been years since I've read Murder in the Library by Christie, but it's now moved quite high on my list to reread.

   Once I got reading I found this book hard to put down, which is why you see it here in my September list and not next month's list. I even stayed up quite late to finish it one night. All of these characters (other than Miss Marple that is) leave you wondering what they had to do with the murder that happens right at the beginning of the story. Foley does a great job combining her thriller writing skills with the classic Christie mystery style. As a heads up, you don't see a lot of Miss Marple at first, but by the second half of the book she runs the show. I hope the author has more Miss Marple stories in the future, because I would love to read more of them. 

   I very much enjoyed this book with all its twists, turns and surprises. (And there were quite a few of them.) On top of that, it was good to see Miss Marple back again in some new fiction.

   Right now I'm busy reading my way into early October. Happy October reading  (even if you are just a blog reader) to you.