Murder on the Salsette, by Conrad Allen

Here we are at number 6, and once again it's the same sort of crimes that have plagued Dillman and Masefield in the past. Nothing's changed but the name of the ship and the fact that they are not on the Cunard line any more. Arrgh! This time our somewhat less than dynamic detective duo are aboard the Salsette, making their way from Bombay to Aden. Once again, Genevieve makes friends with those in first class, while George does his thing with the second class passengers. As the ship sets sail, all is well until a woman reports some missing jewels and cash, which she had left in a hatbox in an unlocked cabin. Then a series of petty thefts begin; complicating the investigation (of course) is a murder. With a number of suspects to choose from, Dillman and Masefield have their jobs cut out for them. If you go look back at my reviews for each and every one of the books in this series, you'll pretty much see the same thing written for each one. This series defines the term "formulaic." If you're interested in historical mysteries, or if you're following the series you may like it; however, you really want to start with book one in the series so you're not confused about the relationship between Dillman and Masefield. 2 more to go and I'm done with the series. Personally, unless something changes, I can't wait until it's over!

*People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks

Okay, I sort of lied here, but unintentionally. I didn't realize that I had already read something Geraldine Brooks until I saw the list of books on the dust jacket cover. She had written Year of Wonders, which I read when it first came out. So my error. I remember after having read Year of Wonders that everyone was loving it immensely and I was kind of iffy on it because I just didn't feel like it had a whole lot of depth to it. I mean, it was good and I remember giving it a good review, but I don't always agree with everyone else's ideas on fiction. And I have to say that I found the same to be true with People of the Book; I REALLY enjoyed the story, especially the parts that occurred in the past, but I was sort of left with the feeling that there really could have been a whole lot more here. And you know, once again I find that more people loved it than I did. That's okay. I'm not a professional reader, just an average Joe who knows what she likes.

In 1996, Dr. Hanna Heath is called upon to restore a priceless Haggadah in Sarajevo. It is exceedingly rare, due to the fact that among the text there are beautiful illuminations, much like in a Christian book of hours. This aspect of the Haggadah is unique, since it was once against Jewish law to create religious images. Although in Bosnia, through careful conservation and custodianship, it survived the war there, and now Hanna is eager to get to work. Her trip is sanctioned by the UN, because there is to be a multicultural exhibit at the museum in which the book will be housed. As Hanna begins work, she finds little artifacts within the Haggadah, and Brooks has skillfully provided a fictional account of the provenance of each of the little things in the book. Going backwards in time, with brief interludes into the modern day (and Hanna's story), the books traces the ownership of the Haggadah along with the stories of the people with whom it came into contact. It is a fine story and I really enjoyed the chapters from the past. However, as much as I liked the book, throughout my reading I continually felt that there was some lack of depth here and that really detracted me from making this one a "wow! that was great" kind of story. I would definitely recommend it to others. I think that anyone would enjoy this book, especially people who are interested in history, or in the problems faced by the Jews in Europe from medieval times onward. Overall -- a fine read; just be aware that it's a bit superficial and would have been outstanding if the author had just added a little more depth.

Murder on the Marmora, by Conrad Allen

Continuing from the base of Mt. TBR, I've just finished Murder on the Marmora by Conrad Allen.

Dillman and Masefield, the seagoing detective team, are now about the Marmora, a ship owned and operated by the P&O line. They are traveling to Australia via the Mediterranean and Egypt. The purser, a charming Irishman, does not like either of them and does not really want them there meddling into what he considers to be his ship's business. On board is the Princess Royal Louise, her husband, the Duke of Fife, their two daughters and other various passengers, but there is a bit of a surprise for Genevieve. Her ex-fiance, Nigel Wilmshurst, is on board with his new bride for their honeymoon. As usual, the voyage begins and things start disappearing from cabins right away. While the two are puzzling over these crimes, there is a murder on board.

If the plot sounds the same as the other books in the series, it's because it is. However, I will say that while the basics are a bit repetitious, this one is just a wee bit better than its predecessors. Not only do we have a believable list of suspects, but he's toned down the minutiae (the fashions of the day down to the buttons) and given Genevieve time off from the usual coterie of men going gaga over her. Placing her ex-fiance on board was a good move...I enjoyed the little extra addition to the usual storyline.

If you're following the series, then you'll like this book; if you're at all interested in ocean liners from the past you'll also like it. I would definitely not use this book as your entry to the or you might be lost.

Overall, not too bad, considering how very repetitive these books tend to be. As far as the series goes, this one was a breath of fresh air. Now on to the next one!

*The Somnambulist, by Jonathan Barnes

First and foremost, my thanks to Librarything for selecting me to read this novel as part of the Early Reviewer's group at the site. Second: I think Jonathan Barnes definitely has a hit on his hand.

The last book I read even close along these lines was Gordon Dahlquist's "The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters," and as I began The Somnambulist, I immediately thought of Dahlquist's book and then my mind sort of wandered to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comics. Let me state right now that I am a MAJOR fan of pulp and The Somnambulist fed my craving well. I will also state that this book is not for everyone. At the outset the reader is warned that the narrator (whose identity remains unknown until nearly the end of the story) is unreliable, and that the "book has no literary value whatsoever. It is a lurid piece of nonsense, convoluted, implausible, peopled by unconvincing characters, written in drearily pedestrian prose, frequently ridiculous and willfully bizarre." If those two facts do not scare you off, then you're in for an incredibly wild ride.

Edward Moon is a stage magician and when he's not busy performing magic with trained apes he often moonlights as a detective who has helped Scotland Yard in more than one instance. His partner is known as "the Somnambulist," and stands about eight feet tall, can be pierced through with swords and shed no blood, and does not speak but makes himself heard through the medium of a chalkboard. He cannot spell, his grammar is quite bad, and the significance of why this book is named for him doesn't reveal itself until the end (which I will not divulge here). Anyway, Scotland Yard's Inspector Merryweather now turns to the pair because of a series of bizarre and inexplicable deaths. This sets the pair onto a path that seems to have been somewhat predestined, involving a rather strange plot that has its origins under the city of London. Moon is warned away several times by some rather odd characters, none the least of which is a man who claims to be able to travel through time, a psychic, and a human fly. Adding to Moon's problems, a rather strange albino who works for some government bureau called "The Directorate" enlists him as well when these mysterious deaths lead to the uncovering of the plot. Need I continue?

The writing is fantastic (if you enjoy this sort of thing), and the characters are quite well drawn. I would definitely recommend it to fans of pulp fiction (this is among the pulpiest!) and to those who enjoy a wee bit of steampunk in their reading. As noted earlier, this isn't for everyone, but if you're inclined toward this sort of craziness, you're going to love it. FYI: I enjoyed this so much I'm buying a copy for my home library collection of quirky pulp. My thanks to Librarything for the opportunity to preview this novel.

*Interred With Their Bones, by Jennifer Lee Carrell

Almost 400 years to the day that the original Globe Theater burned, The new Globe suffers a mysterious fire. A very good friend of the protagonist (Kate Stanley) in this story dies, just as she's begun to intrigue Kate regarding a mystery. When all is said and done, Kate's friend turns out to have been murdered. From that point on, Kate's life is a whirlwind tour of England, the United States, and Spain, all based on some hidden clues that she's found regarding Shakespeare, as well as the disappearance of a number of first folios. But wherever Kate goes, someone is following her, the pursuit always ending in death -- with each death mimicking a character in a Shakespeare play. Now besides her unknown pursuer, Scotland Yard is after her as well, as she seeks for something unknown, but obviously important enough to kill for. That's the basic underpinning of this story; you really must read it for yourself. It's a fun novel, filled with a LOT of conflicting theories about Shakespeare's true identity and the nature of the authorship of his works. This is one of those novels where no matter what situation our heroine finds herself in (pardon my very poor grammar), somehow the proverbial "deus ex machina" manifests itself so that the quest can continue. In this sense, it may seem a bit over the top and highly improbable, but let us not forget that this is a suspense/thriller kind of book. There are enough suspects to keep the reader happily occupied trying to figure out the whodunit part (although I must say that there are times when it's obvious) and enough twists and turns in the clues Kate finds to keep the story hopping and to keep the reader interested enough to turn the next page. At several stages in the action, there are "interludes" of action during Shakespeare's time which are relevant to Kate's modern-day quest. Personally I wouldn't consider it material that gives you that "edge-of-your-chair" type suspense, and some parts are just very highly improbable, but for the most part, it's a decent read and you will learn a lot about Shakespeare, the politics of British royalty and nobles during Shakespeare's time, and the crazy divisions among scholars who are trying to figure out exactly who Shakespeare really was. I would recommend it to people who are interested in Shakespeare, or to readers of mysteries in general. You don't really have to know anything about Shakespeare to understand this book, because the author does a pretty good job of explaining everything (sometimes the explanations are a bit tedious, but oh well). Or if you like stories that contain cyphers, hidden clues and a lot of action, then you'll enjoy this one.

*Borkmann's Point: An Inspector Van Veeteren Mystery

Borkmann's Point: "the point beyond which we really don't need any more information. When we reach that point, we already know enough to solve the case by means of nothing more than some decent thinking. " And it is precisely at this point that Inspector Van Veeteren begins to focus on the identity of the Axman, so called because of his propensity to commit murder with an axe. The inhabitants of the small Swedish town of Kaalbringen have become paralyzed with fear after the third murder, and it is up to Inspector Van Veeteren, along with the members of the local police force, to stop this man before he can strike again. There are a couple of fine red herrings put before the reader along the way, and the ending threw me for a loop.

I really enjoyed Nesser's style of writing here. Very unhurried, very understated, so that the reader just sort of falls into the story very easily. It's the same with his portrayal of Van Veeteren -- you just sense that the inspector is going to get his job done, but that he's biding his time. I enjoy this style and this sort of characterization.
General mystery readers will truly enjoy this one, as will those who already read such authors as Henning Mankell or Kerstin Ekman who also hail from Sweden. I am now off to by the next book featuring Van Veeteren.
Recommended.

*The Dead of Summer, by Camilla Way

13 year-old Anita Naidu, along with her family (except mom, who had recently died), move from Leeds to Greenwich. Anita is somewhat of a loner, and can clearly identify with a couple of misfits that she meets when she starts school. There's Denis, an overweight, food-loving boy with learning disabilities, and his friend Kyle. Kyle is somewhat of an enigma, with a personality that can turn on a dime. His sister disappeared years earlier, and Kyle lives with his somewhat fragile mother and his grandfather. The story is told by Anita, later in life, who is speaking to a psychiatrist, revealing bit by bit a chilling story about the first summer that she, Kyle and Denis all spent together. When the opening words of the story are "By the end of that summer three of us were dead," well, you know that something creepy is going to happen. To say any more about the plot would totally wreck the story, so I won't.The writing is quite good; the author's use of imagery is very well done. In just a small bit of page space I was sucked right into the story, and felt like I was there during one of Anita's talks with the shrink. I will also say that once you're in Anita's head, it's hard to extricate yourself.Good plot twist, although I must say I somewhat expected it. I would definitely recommend this one to people who enjoy a good suspense novel -- it's fresh, quite unlike anything I've read in a long while.

*Tree of Smoke, by Denis Johnson

As the book opens, it is 1963, the day after JFK has been assassinated. Tree of Smoke follows the Vietnam war years through 1970, and then there's an add-on that happens in 1983, long after the war is over. The major character focus is William "Skip" Sands, a CIA PsyOps agent recruited by his uncle Colonel Frances Xavier Sands. At the outset, Skip views himself as a patriot, working on behalf of his country, but as the war winds on, he becomes ultimately disillusioned, eventually admitting that he "alternatively thought of himself as the Quiet American and the Ugly American, and who wished to be neither, who wanted instead to be the Wise American or the Good American, but who eventually came to witness himself as the Real American and finally as simply the F*ing American" (603). Skip joined his uncle’s coterie of groupies who follow the Colonel blindly. On index cards, he documents and catalogs information given to him by his uncle, but while he was in Vietnam, desperately wanting to put his training to work, he was kept out of the way at a dead physician's villa, where he "felt himself captured in a rainbow bubble of irrelevance." Skip realizes that he'd "come to war to see abstractions become realities. Instead he'd seen the reverse. Everything was abstract now." Hence the title: "Tree of Smoke" --the sense of obtuseness surrounding the Vietnam War for the characters in this novel, who all seem to work within different and changing frameworks of reality and deception. As the war continues, Skip unravels, finally giving up "working for the giant-size criminals," and going to work for "the medium size. Lousy hours and no fringe benefits, but the ethics are clearer." And it's not just Skip who breaks...the subplots are based on other characters who have to deal with how the war has affected their psyches and continues to do so after the war is over. An amazing book...it's going to be tough for me to top this one this year in my reading travels. I very highly recommend it. After reading this, I got the sensation that Johnson's portrayal of his characters caught up in the Vietnam War had them all stuck in some sort of cosmic PsyOps operation - in which, as one character notes, "we're on the cutting edge of reality itself. Right where it turns into a dream "(255). Simply outstanding. I can't praise it enough!

Murder on the Caronia, by Conrad Allen

Another one from my massive tbr pile. I have the whole series so far, so expect to see more by this author before this month is out. Not my personal favorite among series, but you know, I didn't buy these books so they'd just sit and look pretty on my shelf. Here's the review:

This is the 4th installment of the series featuring the shipboard detective team of Dillman and Masefield. The year is 1908, and once again the crime-solving couple are back on the Cunard line, this time on the Caronia, which is sailing back to England. The last of the passengers to board are 2 men escorting a young man and young woman onto the ship, one of the men holding a shotgun. It turns out that they are both from Scotland Yard, and they are transporting the couple back to England to stand trial for the murder of the man's wife. He is a pharmacist by trade, his now deceased wife was somewhat of a shrew. However, both of these suspects insist that they are innocent of the crime. Meanwhile, Dillman and Masefield are alerted to the fact that the Caronia is being used to smuggle drugs into the UK by someone on this particular voyage, so they must keep eyes and ears open. Once again, as in each of these mysteries, there is a wealth of suspects. Things quickly turn for the worse as there is a murder on board. So far this mystery series tends to follow the same pattern; I was actually hoping for something a wee bit different this time, but alas. It was not to be so. I think if you enjoy formulaic mysteries throughout an entire series, then you should really like this book. Others, such as myself, who like variety within a series, may be a bit disappointed that aside from the ship name and the crimes, things tend to remain the same as they have in the prior three novels. I think I'd recommend this one more to people who enjoy the "cozy" genre of mystery rather than those who are looking for a mystery in which to sink their teeth. Ah well, onward in the series for me!

Murder on the Minnesota, by Conrad Allen

Although this is not a new author to me (in keeping with this month's reading theme), I somehow have collected all of Conrad Allen's books and so they are on the rooms full of tbr piles around my house and therefore must be read. I just finished this one, so here goes:

Ship detectives Genevieve Masefield and George Porter Dillman have left Cunard for a while, and embark on a new high seas adventure. This time they are sailing on the steamship Minnesota, built in 1904 for the Great Northern Steamship Company. The Minnesota was different than the Cunard line in that it was actually a freighter, all gussied up for taking paying customers. Anyway, Masefield and Dillman are off to China and Japan, and have been brought on board because of the possibility of smuggling. However, it's more than smuggling that causes them trouble -- a murder quickly sends them into action in their undercover capacity. The idea of detectives at sea on true-life, historical ships is a good one. However, in this particular installment of the series, there's a bit too much fluff (describing in detail the ladies' fashions, the interior of the ship, and as usual, listing every man who's infatuated with Genevieve Masefield) and not enough meat to the mystery. I'll put this one into the "it's fun to read" category, but it's not a truly serious mystery. If you like series mysteries or you enjoy something different in the historical mystery zone, then you'd probably be okay with it. If you want something more serious, then this one may not be the book you're looking for. Overall, it's fluffy but there's enough of a mystery to hold your interest.

*The Book of the Heathen, by Robert Edric

Just finished this one and wow. I know this is one I'll be thinking about for a long time. I have a real interest in this time period and in imperialism in general, and this is one of the better books I've read about the topic.

my review:

It's 1897, and the Europeans are in Africa exploiting the people and the country's resources. Most of the action takes place in the station of an unnamed British Company (simply known as "The Company), at a quarry. As the story opens, one of the Englishmen, a Nicholas Frere, has been seized and awaits the Company's official investigator who must look into Frere's alleged killing of a child. The circumstances surrounding the event are at best vague, but Frere will talk to no one, especially his friend James Frasier, about what really happened. Frere had been prone to going off on small excursions alone, to observe and detail life in Africa, and it was during one of these outings that the incident occurred. Frasier is convinced that Frere is innocent and that he is being used as a scapegoat so that the rest of the world can believe that there is actually some sort of justice on behalf of the native populations. This was the time of very vocal, anti-imperialist crusaders such as Roger Casement, who had worked in the Belgian Congo and had witnessed first hand the horrific abuse of the indigenous populations. (If you want a good look at this time period, do NOT miss King Leopold's Ghost, by Adam Hochshild, which goes into great detail. As the cover blurb states, this book "explores notions of honor, friendship, justice and reason in a world where men have been forced by circumstance to descend into an abyss of savagery and terror." I couldn't have said it any better...so far away from civilization, the book really looks at the darkness that creeps into men's souls...and perhaps the irony of the novel is that the one viewed to be the darkest may have been the best of them all in a situation where human life is dealt with as cheap and expendable all in the name of profit. I think if I had known about this book when I had my college students read Conrad's Heart of Darkness, I may have used this book instead. It is an amazing story, and one you won't soon forget after having read it. I am looking forward to now reading some of Edric's other works. Who would like this? Anyone who has an interested in this time period and in imperialism at its worst, or anyone who wants something different than the usual stuff in the bookstore shelves. I VERY highly recommend this book.