Tombland by C. J. Sansom

November 14, 2021

Tombland by C. J. Sansom

Spring 1549 - With a child king on the throne, England is heading into chaos. Radical Protestants are waging war on Catholics, the Protector's war in Scotland is a disaster, and the economy is collapsing. Lawyer Matthew Shardlake is working for the Lady Elizabeth, Henry VIII's younger daughter. The murder of Edith Boleyn, a distant relative of her mother, could have political consequences for Elizabeth.

I love this series, but this is my least favorite book thus far. It is well-researched like all of the books in this series since the author is an historian. But it's way too long, and the author focuses too much on Kett's rebellion in Norfolk - the book would have been 400 pages shorter (basically the last half of the book could have been edited out - it's mostly history, not mystery). Sansom should have stuck with Edith's murder. If he wanted to write a book about Kett's rebellion, it should have been a separate nonfiction book.

The next book, #8 in the series, is coming out toward the end of 2022.

Map of Kett's rebellion in Norfolk

One by One by Ruth Ware

November 9, 2021

One by One by Ruth Ware

A corporate retreat goes horribly wrong when a mixed group of co-workers and stockholders find themselves stranded at a luxurious mountain chalet after an avalanche. Normally, it wouldn't be too awful to be stuck at a luxury resort, but the power goes out, the heat goes off, and the food supply is dwindling. Most of the participants already hate each other, and the news that a corporate takeover is in the works doesn't help their feelings for each other. One by one, the group members are being killed off.

I find Ruth Ware's books to be hit or miss - sometimes they're great, and other times they suck. This is not her best. It's yet another riff on Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None," except the characters are stuck on a mountain rather than an island. It's also too long - don't publishing houses have editors any more? I know she's a high grossing author but someone should have helped her whack out 50-100 pages of drivel. I also didn't care about any of the characters - most of them are whiny and entitled, and the others are totally weak.

Ruth Ware has a new book that just came out. I'm going to give her one more try. If the next book sucks as bad as this one, I'm done with her and we'll be breaking up.

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

November 6, 2021

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

Philip Ashley was orphaned as a child and was raised by his cousin Ambrose. They share a quiet life at Ambrose's Cornwall estate. Ambrose suffers from a weak chest and routinely spends the winter in Italy, away from the damp English winters, and they write to each other regularly. Shortly before Philip's 25th birthday, Ambrose writes to Philip to tell him that he has met a widowed cousin of theirs named Rachel, that they have fallen in love and married. The newlyweds have no plans to return to England.

Ambrose's letters to Philip become increasingly erratic and Philip decides to journey to Italy to check on Ambrose himself. He arrives in Florence only to find that Ambrose is dead and his new bride has left their villa. Unable to locate her, Philip returns to England, where his guardian Nick informs him that he received a letter from Rachel's man of business, stating two things: Ambrose did not have time to change his will, and Philip is still heir to his estate; and Rachel is on her way to England. She arrives at the estate and Philip falls increasingly under her spell. As his cousin's widow, he transfers the estate over to her. Philip falls ill almost immediately and it takes several weeks for him to recover. He suspects that Rachel poisoned him, but he has no proof. But he is certain that she is trying to kill him and sets a trap for her.

My Cousin Rachel is du Maurier's third most popular book. Like her other books, it has a mystery/romance theme with gothic overtones. A good choice for a gloomy fall evening.

Cornwall estate

The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg

November 2, 2021

The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg

Ceony Twill graduated at the top of her class at magic college, yet the only apprenticeship that she is offered is working with a paper magician, considered to be the simplest type of magic. Once she is bound to paper, that is the only magic that she will be allowed to perform, although she longs to work with metal spells. The paper magician turns out to be kindly and the spells he shows her are more wonderful than she ever expected. Because Ceony was unable to bring her dog with her, the magician even makes her a paper dog who acts much like a real dog. But when a dark magician invades the house and rips the paper magician's heart from his chest, Ceony must face the evil to save her mentor's life.

After reading the author's Spellbreaker/Spellmaker duology, I was really disappointed in this book. It was just way too strange.

Origami/paper art

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik

October 27, 2021

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik

El, the potential dark sorceress from Novik's previous book A Deadly Education, is now in her last year at the Scholomance, the school for magically gifted children. She and her friends have managed to stay alive for all four years, despite a variety of monsters and what appears to be the school's determination to kill them. But graduation is the most dangerous time, with only 10% of the students making it out alive, and those students are usually from the large wealthy enclaves who have the resources to assist them. El and Orion Lake (her sort-of boyfriend) are determined to improve the odds for their classmates, while also protecting the under-classmen at the same time.

This is the second book in the Scholomance series. At times, it's difficult to figure out exactly what is happening and what kind of monsters are attacking them. But it's still a fun and creative read and I'm looking forward to the next book.

In the Houses of Their Dead: the Lincolns, the Booths and the Spirits by Terry Alford

September 12, 2022

In the Houses of Their Dead: the Lincolns, the Booths, and the Spirits by Terry Alford

Two of the most famous families in the 19th century, the Lincolns and the Booths, were both fascinated by spiritualism. Although Abraham Lincoln saw John Wilkes Booth act on a number of occasions, the two men never met personally, although John Wilkes and his brother Edwin both came in contact with Lincoln's sons. Ironically, the two men had much in common: both adored their mothers but had difficult relationships with their fathers; they loved children; they got along well with other men but were uncomfortable with women; they enjoyed poetry and theater, particularly Shakespeare; neither had much formal education and were largely self-educated; and both were ambitious in their chosen professions. For a time, their families even consulted the same medium.

Mary Todd Lincoln had always been drawn to the spirit world and tended to surround herself with like-minded individuals. After the death of her son Willie, she spent most of her time with mediums, spirit photographers, and clairvoyants. Abraham was more skeptical but went along with Mary's visitors, since she could be very difficult to live with. Many who held government posts were firm believers, and Lincoln even helped several spiritualists obtain government jobs. John Wilkes' brother Edwin frequently consulted mediums to contact the spirit of his beloved first wife, Mary Devlin.

Lately I've had a lot of fantasy, sci fi, and dystopian books come in, so I needed something different as a kind of mental sorbet. I decided to try Terry Alford's study of the Lincoln and Booth families' fascination with spiritualism. This was exactly what I needed. I knew something about the practice of spiritualism (mostly that they were all charlatans) but I had no idea that the practice was so widespread. The author discusses how the practitioners carried out their effects and fooled so many people. Very readable and entertaining.

Seances in the 19th century were often a family affair

Sleepwalk by Dan Chaon

September 12, 2022

Sleepwalk by Dan Chaon

Will Bear (one of his many aliases) has lived off the grid for most of his adult life. He is a 50 year old man who basically does not exist: he doesn't have a regular job, home address, telephone, credit card, bank account, or even a Social Security number. All transactions are cash. He does jobs for a shady organization, mostly delivery cargoes, both human and inanimate, and he regularly doses himself with a variety of legal and illegal drugs. His closest relationship is with his rescue dog, Flip, who suffers from PTSD (so does Will). He is on a job to drop off a prisoner in Utah when he starts receiving calls on his many burner phones from a woman who claims to be his biological daughter. He tries to get rid of her but she persists, although he can't figure out how she found him or continues to trace him. But the more she talks to him, the more he believes that they are caught up in a much larger conspiracy.

Futuristic, dystopian, wonderfully paranoid, full of dark humor, and noir-ish. Will isn't a traditional noir hero, more of an antihero: he does questionable work, he gets involved with women he should avoid, he lives by his own code of ethics, he is loyal to his friends, he lives in a dark world. I enjoyed this offbeat novel very much (and yes, the dog is okay at the end of the book). I listened to the audiobook and the narrator had the perfect stoned-out hippie intonation.

Dystopia artwork (hero frequently has a dog in dystopian fiction)