APRIL READING

APRIL BOOKS

Haunted Ground – Erin Hart – Finished 04/09/2011 – Pages 326 – The second book of Hart’s I’ve read, and the first in her series. This also tells of the finding of a bog person in Ireland and the archeology involved in discovering why the body was buried and who she was. There is the other story of a missing wife and child and the suspicion falling on her husband. Nora Gavin and Cormac Maguire are the investigators as they were in the Lake of Sorrows. These are interesting stories in that they give a lot of information about delving into the past of Ireland.

The Draining Lake – Arnaldur Indridason – Finished 04/12/2011 – Pages 312 – Another winner from Indridason. I really like his main character, Erlendur, who is such a laid back detective. He has an agenda – missing persons – as a result of losing his brother in a blizzard. A skeleton has been found in a lake bed, and the book sets about discovering the identity of the body. The Cold War and spies are a part of the story. I hope to read more of these Icelandic tales.

The Pillars of the Earth – Ken Follett – Finished 04/22/2011 – Pages 974 – Hefty good book about the building/erecting of a cathedral in Kingsbridge in the 12^th Century. The major players: Tom Builder, who designed the cathedral and built most of it; Ellen, his fey wife; Aliena, the daughter of an earl; Jack, Ellen’s son – also  a builder of the cathedral; Tom, Tom Builder’s son; Martha, Tom Builder’s daughter; Prior Philip who saved the cathedral, Ellen, Aliena and many others. The bad guys – mainly William, pretender to the earldom, and various prelates. Even Thomas Beckett appears late in the story. A “sweeping” tale of the people of different classes at different stages in their lives. Something of a bodice-ripper, but very enjoyable!

Hanna’s Daughters – Marianne Fredriksson – Finished 04/27/2011 – Pages 345 – Quite good story about three women – grandmother, mother and daughter – as they tell of their lives in Sweden. They all bear sadness, and are striving for love.  The stories unfold through a hundred years of living – from very humble and harsh beginnings up to the present with a much easier life led by the granddaughter and her daughters. 

I've started another book, but doubt I'll finish it before the end of the month. "The Pillars" was really several books, so I read more than the four titles would tell you! 

March Books

Again this month I didn't read as many books as usual. Maybe the lack of sunshine is getting to me! Here are the books I did read with a very brief review:

Live Bait - P.J. Tracy- This was a re-read for me, but as I didn't remember most of the story it was still fun. This is the third Tracy book I've read, and they are all good, amusing? mysteries. This one has elderly victims being killed for what seems to be no reason. Gino and Magozzi banter their way to solving the puzzle. The Monkeywrench group don't figure as prominently as they have in the other books.


A Dubious Legacy - Mary Wesley - An odd story about two couples who take over a country estate during the days after WWII. The characters are interesting, the humor strange and the outcome somewhat surprising. This is not your usual "weekend in the country" British novel. The women in the story are all very different, and don't always behave themselves.

Astrid and Veronika - Linda Olsson - A lovely little book about friendship. Two women - one old and one young - share their stories with each other over the period of some months, becoming very close in the process. The story is set in Sweden in a small village, and Olsson has described the country-side in beautiful detail. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

Heaven is High - Kate Wilhelm - Another of Wilhelm's good tales with Barbara Holloway uncovering a plot to deport an illegal alien. Binnie is married to an American, but she escaped from a pimp in Haiti and is now living in the US. By heritage Binnie is Belizian, and Barbara spend a good bit of the book in Belize trying to uncover the reason Binnie may be deported. The parts about Belize were of interest to me because of my sister and brother-in-law's times spent in Belize helping the people of a village there.

Arms and the Women - Reginald Hill - Ellie Pascoe has two stories going. One she is writing, and one she inhabits. Both are fun. Is Ellie a target, or just in the way? Will her first novel get published and her Comfort Blanket be just that, or will it too find its way to the publishers? Lots of action.

An Incomplete Revenge -  Jacqueline Winspear - Maisie Dobbs rides again! (And wouldn't I just love to have her little car!) Gypsies, fires and mischievous actions all occurring during hop-picking season in 1931. The writing seemed a bit stilted at first, but as I read on it became more natural. Maisie uses skills that are  unusual, but she solves the mystery in the end.

Raven Black - Ann Cleeves - New-to-me author. A good mystery set in the Shetland Islands. Two deaths eight years apart seem linked to an old man. Jimmy Perez is the detective who finally solves the case. The setting is mid-winter, and I felt cold the whole time I read it! There is a twist at the end that caught me by surprise. I'll be looking for more of her books.

The Girl Who Fell from the Sky - Heidi W. Durrow - The book won the Bellwether Prize for Fiction, and is a pretty good first novel. It draws heavily on Durorow's own life, and tells the story of the daughter of an American soldier stationed in Germany who marries a Danish girl. The daughter struggles with the discovery that she is neither 'black' nor 'white', and also with the aftermath of a terrible tragedy. I found the writing a bit disjointed, but the plot was interesting.

And that was it. I have also been editing my husband's memoirs, and finished re-writing them today, so that did take up a bit of my reading time!