Books Read in February

This was not such a good month for reading as I was away part of the time and not well again. I did manage to finish six, however, but spent almost a week trying to find the seventh to read. Just couldn't get into any of five books I started.

So here are the six I did read:
The Black Cat - Martha Grimes - G - A good Inspector Jury tale about the murders of three women who were escorts, three black cats and Mungo and Joey - two dogs. As usual in the Jury stories there are some humorous parts of the story, and the dogs and cats add to the humor.

 Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English - Natasha Solomons - G - A first novel by Solomons that Lesley gave me. She has given a much better review of it than I can, but I'll give my impressions. The story concerns a Jewish refugee and his wife who have escaped from Hitler's Germany to England. He very much wants to become a real Englishman, and tries to be as British as possible. This includes the building of a golf course on a hill in Dorset because he isn't allowed into any other course. There is some humor in the story, but it has an underlying sadness too.

The Red Door - Charles Todd - G - Rutledge and Hamish set out to solve a mystery about the disappearance of a soldier after WWI. A case of double identity? Hamish is still there in Rutledge's mind, but not as obnoxious as he usually is. I like reading the books of the Todds - but wish Hamish would go away!

 Before the Frost - Henning Mankel - G - I have avoided this book for the better part of a year. Had found the Mankel books rather depressing and quite dark, but finally picked this one up. It is good - as the others have been. Kurt Wallander's daughter is following her father and becoming a police constable. She gets caught up in the disappearance of her friend Anna, and tries a bit of sleuthing before she actually begins work at the same station where her father works.

The Water's Lovely - Ruth Rendell - G - Another of Rendell's psychological mysteries. Not a thriller, but a good study of some strange characters. Unfortunately, there were few of the characters I could sympathize or empathize with - or even begin to like. Human beings are flawed and Ruth Rendell shows all their flaws and then some!

The Postmistress - Sarah Blake - VG - Such a good book, and probably why I found it hard to get into another. The story of Frankie Bard, a woman reporter in England during WWII, and the story of  the people of Franklin - on the tip of Cape Cod - who wait for their war to begin. So nice to have characters you can relate to, or at least understand and like! Not an easy book to read because of the subject matter, but one that will stay with me for a long while.

So - that was it for the month. For the most part it was easy reading, and mostly mysteries. Pure entertainment. I've finished the first book for March, and started on another. I'm also reading the letters written by Julia Child and her friend Avis DeVoto - but I'm reading the book as if the letters are arriving in the mail and the letters are long, so I only read three or four at a time. It's not my bed-reading book.