*Site Unseen: An Emma Fielding Mystery, by Dana Cameron

...another November has come and gone...sigh...

Finishing out the topic for November's reading, we have Site Unseen, by Dana Cameron. It's the first in a series featuring Emma Fielding, an archaeologist, and probably the last one I'll read, at least for a while. I have bigger fish to fry, as they say.

Emma Fielding is an archaeologist, as was her grandfather before her. She teaches at a small university, where she still has three years to go before she makes tenure. She is currently heading up work at a site where she believes she will find an old, pre-Jamestown fort, and the results will hopefully make getting her tenure that much easier and act as her ticket to fame in the archaeology world. But with not too much time left for the season, Emma finds a body near the beach, then is hassled and threatened by a pothunter. Just when you think that nothing else can go wrong, the murder of someone close to her just about sends Emma off the deep end. Teaming up with the local sheriff, Emma decides to do some investigating on her own.

I have to admit that I was totally off the mark in trying to guess the "whodunit," so in that sense, the mystery was a decent one. The author writes well and manages to keep your interest up throughout the story. It's still a bit cutesy for my taste, but I'm a tough audience. People who like a smattering of romance and love in their mysteries probably will enjoy it much more than I. It's a cute series, and I may go back to it someday, but not now.

totally OT, but what the hell

I just finished reading my morning newspaper and was beyond disgusted upon reading about the poor man who opened the door to a New York Wal-Mart and was trampled to death. To add to that, the people coming in continued to enter, stepping over the guy so they could save a few $. To be callous and indifferent are not qualities I personally associate with the holidays. I'm really mad about this, and actually, this does very little to restore my faith in human nature. There is absolutely, ABSOLUTELY no excuse for this behavior. What a shitty way to wake up.

Cruise of a Deathtime, by Marion Babson

from the tbr pile: This is (until further notice) the last book by this author in my library, and I don't think I'll be adding any more. I've decided that they're not that mysterious, not that intriguing, and that although they're incredibly short, it takes me a long time to get through them because I'm just not interested. So why read them? Because I have to make a serious effort to read books I've been carrying with me for years because I feel guilty that they're just sitting there on my shelves untouched.

The Empress Josephine, flying under the flag of Nhumbala (its registered home port), sets sail on a 10-day journey with various passengers for what's supposed to be the cruise of a lifetime. However, from the start, odd things start happening, culminating in the deaths of several crew and passengers. An anonymous note is left promising more deaths if the captain does not comply with demands. The captain and staff desperately try to keep the news from the passengers, but as the cruise continues, events escalate that soon put the entire ship in peril.

The book is just okay -- nothing spectacular here. There is a bit of suspense as the story goes on, because you really want to know who is the mastermind, and the ending I didn't see coming...to a point. I had guessed half of it before the middle of the book. However, to be fair, I was fairly surprised and I did stay with it until the end.

Not her usual fare; Babson normally writes novels which more or less are of the "cozy" genre. I think readers of this author would likely enjoy it, or people who like mysteries set on cruise ships.

As I said, it was okay; not great.

The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon, by David Grann

from the tbr pile: Sometimes a book comes along where you absolutely have to stop what you're doing and just read it. In my case, never mind that the Thanksgiving 3-day cook-a-thon was a wee bit interrupted, or never mind that I have an incredible amount of stuff to do right now, this book simply required my full attention. It was that good.

I picked up this book and was immediately lost between the covers and could not stop reading until I had finished the entire thing.

The author sets forth the story of Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett, a British explorer who in 1925 set out on an expedition to the Amazon to find what he had named the "lost city of Z." He was convinced that an ancient and "highly cultured" people lived in the Amazon of Brazil, untouched by modern civilization, and that they lived in a great city in a valley somewhere. He spent years doing research and gathering evidence for the existence of this place in order to get funding for expeditions into Brazil's interior. On the 1925 expedition, he took his son, Jack, and Jack's best friend, both eager to be part of a mission that would make history. But shortly after they had arrived into the Amazon area, all communications ceased, and while their movements were traced to a point, nothing concrete was ever heard regarding the three explorers. Their disappearance, and the publicity following the mission from which they never returned, prompted years worth of explorers trying to locate any trace of Fawcett, his son, and his son's friend, even as late as 1996. Too bad for those left behind, Fawcett, who was facing a lot of competition from others exploring the Amazon at the time, and worried that these other explorers might find the lost city of Z before he would, kept his route a very closely guarded secret, so it was pretty much impossible for anyone to go in to either locate bodies, effect a rescue or even trace with any accuracy the steps taken by Fawcett and his group. Although Fawcett's wife refused to believe that her husband and son were gone, they had pretty much just vanished off the face of the earth. Grann, who writes for the New Yorker, decided to try to find Fawcett's route and discover what had happened to him once and for all. This book not only traces Grann's efforts, but takes the reader back into the Victorian period, at the peak of the British Empire, to look at exactly who Percy Fawcett was. It also examines old and modern views of the indigenous peoples of the Amazon as well as offers a glimpse of the fate of the rain forest in modern times.

Simply stunning and superb, I loved this book so much that I pre-ordered a copy for when it is released for the general reading public. The writing is excellent, the mystery surrounding Fawcett's disappearance is well portrayed, and the amount of effort that Grann went to in his research is very much apparent here. If you are looking for something entirely different that will mesmerize you instantly, you cannot miss this book. I had never heard about any of this up until now, & my curiosity has been sparked enough that I made notes and took down book titles to fill in some holes in my knowledge.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough, and I would like to thank Doubleday for sending me this book and also those on Shelf Awareness for offering it as an ARC. It is an excellent piece of writing.

*Where Old Bones Lie, by Ann Granger

I did something here I don't normally do, and that is to start a British mystery series out of order. Not only is it out of order, it's #5 and I haven't even read #1. But I figure that's okay since I really don't care about the whole love/romance aspect between the two main characters, so if you think of it that way, you really haven't missed anything. You can read this as a stand alone if you take that tack. I'm not anti-romantic in real life; far from it. I just don't like it in mystery novels. Call me weird if you must -- I just like getting down to the mystery.

Anyway, having said this, Where Old Bones Lie is set at an archaeological dig sponsored by a local trust that supports a small museum in Bamford. The dig leader is positive he's close to finding a Saxon warrior chief named Wulfric. One of the members of the excavation is one Ursula Gretton, a friend of Meredith Mitchell, who is one of the two key crime solvers in this novel. Ursula, it seems, calls Meredith because she has been trying to end an affair with a married man (Dan) who will not take no for an answer. On going to visit with him, Ursula notices Dan's wife purse on his sofa, although Dan has told her that his wife Natalie has disappeared. Ursula calls Meredith with fears that Dan may have offed his wife. This sets into motion a series of events that lead Meredith and Inspector Alan Markby down a path of lies, danger and murder, in a story that has a nice twist at the end.

I liked it; the characters are a bit plastic but the basic story was okay. There are enough suspects to keep you guessing until the end. A fine little British murder mystery; I'd recommend to those who like that genre, and those who are interested in mysteries in an archaeological setting.

Overall, not bad; I will definitely get back to the other novels in the series.

just a thought

Has this ever happened to anyone? Yesterday I picked up Beverly Connor's book "A Rumor of Bones" that fits in with this month's choice of reading selections (an archaeological whodunit). I started reading it, and realized I just was simply not interested. Everything seemed so tame that I just couldn't do it. Normally I get to the end of the book before deciding something like this, but it came to me that I just didn't want to devote the time to something I knew I wasn't really going to enjoy. I wasn't sure why, but then I started thinking about all of those Scandinavian mysteries I've been reading (and to be fair, Forty Words of Sorrow by Giles Blunt) and realized how incredibly good they are -- very well written, gritty, realistic, and flawed characters (even the good guys) -- and I decided I've been ruined for mystery reading now. I think it's that I want more out of a book. So now I'm going to weed through that mountain of tbr pile of mysteries and pull out a bunch I seriously don't think I'm going to read. I know it sounds a bit snobby (and not meant that way at all), but I've hit some kind of plateau here and I can only go up from there. Book snobbery? I don't personally think so but who knows?

*Dragon Bones, by Lisa See

This is third in a series featuring Liu Hulan, of which I read the first one (Flower Net) and skipped the second (The Interior). You really don't need to have read either of the first two to be able to follow this one.

As the story opens, Hulan is quasi-estranged from her husband after the death of their little daughter from bacterial meningitis. As a police detective, Hulan has been working on a case involving a group called the All-Patriotic Society, and at the beginning of this book, she attends a rally being held by this illegal group. One of the members is a bit overzealous and decides to kill her daughter, but Hulan shoots her. She finds herself the target of threats, so her superiors send her off to investigate the death of an archaeologist working an excavation near where the Three Gorges Dam is built. David, her American husband, is also sent there to investigate the removal of cultural relics from the country. But a bizarre murder later, both David and Hulan find themselves in a great deal of danger.

The core story is very good, a fine mystery and a good look at the pros and cons of the building of the Three Gorges Dam. I understand that this is a part of a series and that it focuses on the character of Liu Hulan, but it was a bit too romantic for my tastes. The end was a bit over the top as well, a bit too melodramatic for me. However, I'd definitely recommend the book to others, including those who are following the series, to readers interested in China, and to readers who like mysteries in an archaeological setting.

*Silence of the Grave, by Arnaldur Indridason

Don't pick this one up if you want something warm and fuzzy -- it's definitely the opposite. But then again, it's gloominess somehow seems a propos, considering not only the main story here, but the ongoing story of Erlandur Sveinsson, the main character here. He's not a happy man, nor does he have any reason to be -- his children hate him, his ex-wife lies about him and he's got ghosts from his past that continually haunt him. But as a detective, he's got to let all of that go so that he can do his job.

As the story opens, a baby is discovered playing with a piece of a human rib bone. The baby's mother makes her other child take her to where he found the bone, and an entire skeleton is discovered. It seems that the bones are laying in an area that will soon become a housing development, and archaeologists are excavating in the area prior to this happening. The police are called in, and they have no choice but to wait until the archaeologists slowly and carefully work through the excavation to be able to even determine the sex of the bones. All that's known is that the skeleton is probably quite old, rather than recent, anywhere from 50 to 70 years old. While they wait for the archaeologists, Erelendur and his team begin trying to figure out just who may have lived around the area in the past, and to see if anyone may have gone missing around the time whoever it is laying in the ground was put in there. As the police begin their investigations, they become aware that a young woman went missing, presumed a suicide, and that the man to whom she was engaged was the owner of the property years ago, when the area was shared with a military base during WWII. Interwoven with this story is another
about a family of former residents of the area, a woman and her children who find themselves victims of the husband/father, a wife beater who not only uses physical violence, but "kills the soul" as he metes out his abuse. Between the two storylines, you'll find yourself literally unable to put the book down. That, along with Erlendur's personal problems and the ghosts of his past coming back to haunt him, make for one incredible read.


If you've read Jar City, you've got to read this one. The author's characterization is realistic, the story is moving and the writing is excellent. Highly recommended to those who enjoy good mysteries in general, or to those who are looking for at good Scandinavian mystery writer.

Echoes From the Dead, by Johan Theorin

from the tbr pile:

A very haunting story, Echoes From the Dead begins in 1972, when Jens, a 6-year old boy, decides that he'll scale the garden wall while his grandmother's taking a nap and everyone else is away from the home. We are told right away that in the fog,Jens encounters someone identifying himself as Nils Kant, and after that, he's just gone. Flash forward 20 years, and his mother, Julia, has still not gotten over his disappearance. Most everyone has assumed he'd drowned; she's not willing to believe he's gone. She's a psychological wreck, unable to work, drinking, sitting all day watching a home shopping network type show on tv. But all of that changes one day when her father, Gerlof, phones her to say that he's just received a child's sandal in the mail, and that it is likely one belonging to Jens. Off goes Julia back to where it all happened and where Gerlof now lives in a residential nursing home. It seems that Gerlof has never stopped trying to figure out what happened to Jens, and has come up with a few theories of his own, along with a few of his friends. Gerlof, his friends, and Julia all try to figure out what happened to little Jens 20 years earlier. It all points to Nils Kant, but the problem is, Nils was dead and buried prior to Jens' disappearance.

What's really great about this novel is that the author sets up such an incredible atmosphere of suspense and gloom that you can't put the book down. Carefully interweaving the story of Nils Kant from his childhood onward, Theorin captures his reader's attention from the outset. All of the characters are very well defined and very believable and the writing is very good. I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone, especially readers who enjoy Scandinavian mysteries.

Hard to believe, but this is the author's first novel. I'll be on the lookout for the next one. Very good book.

thanks to Librarything and Random House for allowing me to read this book prior to its US release!

*Patterns in the Dust, by Lesley Grant-Adamson

It's time for reporter Rain Morgan's holiday, and she has been offered the use of her friend & co-worker's cousin's cottage in Somerset. Right off the bat, she is present when an archaeologist uncovers the body of a woman. This gets her curiosity up, but when there's a murder in the little village of Nether Hampton, Rain senses there's more than just a newspaper story here. It seems that Nether Hampton has its secrets, and some people will do anything to keep them quiet.

Good intro to this series; but having read a later Rain Morgan novel, I know they get better. I would recommend it to people who like British mysteries and people who like stories set in small British villages.

Faber and Faber (1986), Paperback, 191 pages, 1986 0571145221

*The Mask of Atreus, by AJ Hartley

I'll just say it straight out. I didn't like this book very much. I did finish it, which is more than I can say for some others I've read that I didn't like. I didn't set out to not like it, but there it is. Now, I happen to have read many reviews in which readers say it's a great book, and if they say so, then that's okay. However, I'm often at odds with many regular book readers as far as liking/not liking a book, and it doesn't bother me at all. I'll tell you why this one didn't particularly strike my fancy after my brief summary of this book.

Deborah Miller is a curator of the Druid Hill Museum in Atlanta, started by her mentor, Richard Dixon. One night, after a fundraiser, Deborah goes home but receives a strange, anonymous phone call that sends her back to the museum, only to find Richard dead. Deborah, of course, calls the police, but does some sleuthing of her own, and finds only a brief clue: Richard has written down the word "Atreus," probably his last act. From there, we have the following: a cop that may not actually be a cop, Richard's visit to a website that reveals he was interested in a golden death mask (possibly of a king of Mycenaea, maybe even Agamemnon), an attack on a dark highway, all of which send Deborah running to Greece to try to find answers. But it gets sort of murky and muddled from there, as the plot takes an abrupt turn, and Deborah finds herself in even more danger than before.

My whole problem is that there's so little substance to this book that it was hard to find any of it the least bit believable and thus the least bit engaging. Then there's the villain, whose dialogue was so campy that I could only laugh rather than be terrified at the "horrific" plot at the root of it all. Don't get me wrong...I do a lot of escape reading where there's way too many coincidences, too many timely deus ex machinas and pretty bad dialogue, but in this one, the evil and nefarious deed was just was a wee bit silly. I don't think I'd recommend this one to a friend; let's put it that way.

*The Dancing Man, by P.M. Hubbard

....and now, a bit o' the creepy Welsh woods....

Mark Hawkins' brother Dick, an archaeogist with a specialty in neolithic/prehistoric sites, had set out for a climbing vacation in Wales and never returned. After some time, Mark goes to the home in which Dick was staying to retrieve his belongings. It turns out to be the home of another archaeologist, Dr. Merrion, who is a specialist in medieval archaeology, and who has been working on the site of an old, nearby Cistercian abbey. As Mark pokes around the woods surrounding Merrion's home, he begins to feel that something sinister has happened to his brother here, and is determined to get to the truth.

The sense of foreboding, the sense of place and the creepy atmosphere that the author manages to convey here are important to the central story. You won't find a lot of dialogue here, nor a huge cast of characters. It is a good read, and it is worth the amount of time you'll put into it. It's just very slow at times, and not very exciting (relative to most mysteries in which it's action, action, action), so you have to stay with it.

I'd recommend this to people who are interested in earlier writers of British suspense, to people who are interested in archaeological mysteries, and to those who like the old country house in the deep woods type settings in their mysteries.

*Murder in Mesopotamia, by Agatha Christie

Back in the good old days of mystery, there was the great Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, but this book is not really one of my personal favorites among his cases. Having said that, I will say that it Murder in Mesopotamia is still quite an engaging little book from more of a psychological slant.

The story is actually told from the perspective of Amy Leatheran, a nurse hired by a Dr. Eric Leidner to take care of his wife Louise at an archaeolgical excavation out in the deserts of Iraq. The nurse arrives to find that there is a somewhat strained attitude among the members of the expedition, and most of that has to do with Mrs. Leidner. However, Mrs. Leidner is murdered, and it is established that the murderer could only have come from among the group. Enter Mr. Poirot, whose work is cut out for him when it seems that each and every member of the expedition has a motive for Mrs. Leidner's death.

As I said, not one of my particular favorites, but it was still fun to see Poirot unraveling a rather twisted plot. The ending is a bit of a surprise, so it's well worth the ride.

Recommended for those who are fans of Hercule Poirot, or of Agatha Christie, or for readers of British mysteries in general.

I just bought the dvd starring David Suchet so we'll see how it translates to film. I don't know how I missed it when the Poirot series was on Mystery or later on A&E, but I did.

....and now, for November, Archaeological Whodunits

This month's reading (still in an effort to read through all the books I've been collecting over the years) features mysteries that take place in an archaeological setting. I really have to weed through these books and recycle some of them (I don't mean in the bin, but to other readers). So off I go, into the desert of Mesopotamia, with Agatha Christie, into the jungles of Latin America, the old abbeys of England, etc. This may not be the most highbrow of reading, but at least it will hopefully a lot of fun.

Rosa, by Jonathan Rabb

actually, I read this one on my Amazon Kindle -- if you don't have one of these, you may wish to invest in one. It's awesome and great for airplanes.

The title here refers to the socialist revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg; indeed, the action in this book takes place just after her death in 1919.Obviously, she is not the main character, but her death is a central element in this most ingenious novel.

Nikolai Hoffner is an inspector in post-war Germany's Kriminalpolizei(Kripo), and he leads the investigation of a series of bizarrre murders in which the killer engraves patterns in his victims' backs with a knife after he kills them. One of the bodies that he is called out to see turns out to be that of Luxemburg, and it too has the strange markings. Because it is Rosa's body, however, Hoffner finds himself and his investigation being thwarted, as the case now finds its way into more political channels. But Hoffner can't give up the case no matter what.

Hoffner is a very flawed individual, making his character just that much more believable. In fact, all of the characters are portrayed rather well. The author takes on a noirish tone in this book, which was engrossing from beginning to end. I would definitely recommend it to people interested in historical fiction, or who want something decidedly different on their to be read stack of mystery novels. Be warned...this is not a touchy-feely, feel good kind of novel -- it's gritty and realistic. Simply excellent reading -- and there's another Nikolai Hoffner novel coming out in 2009. I'll be there.

The Princess of Burundi, by Kjell Eriksson

Set in Uppsala, Sweden, as the story opens, the winter weather is terrible, and a son awaits the return of his father, John Harald Jonsson. However, John Jonsson isn't coming home that night, or any other night because he's been murdered. Not only that, but there is evidence that John has been tortured. His wife, Berit, can't think of anyone that would want to hurt him let alone want him dead. Enter the police department, with the investigation being led by Ola Haver, who has some personal issues of his own, and investigated on the sidelines by Ann Liddell, who's still on maternity leave and really wants to get back to her work on the force.

The book is not only a story of the investigation of John's murder, but focuses on the effects of this crime on not only those left behind, but on the police as individuals. Eriksson's skill here is in her ability to create characters who come off as being real, as well as her ability to create and sustain an incredibly somber atmosphere throughout the novel. The mystery is okay, but there's just something about this woman's writing and her ability to create that transcends the plot. Eriksson's skill here is in her ability to create characters who come off as being real, as well as her ability to create and sustain an incredibly somber atmosphere throughout the novel. The mystery is okay, but there's just something about this woman's writing and her ability to create that transcends the plot.

I would definitely recommend this novel to readers who want something different than what's currently out there. Readers of more mainstream-type mystery novels may be less likely to enjoy this one, but I find European mystery novels, for the most part, to be more to the point, less cutesy and more intense than what's available on most bookstore shelves.

The Excursion Train, by Edward Marston

Second in the "Railway Detective" series, Robert Colbeck and his partner Sergeant Leeming are back at it again, this time to investigate a strange murder which occurred on an excursion train. It seems that hundreds of people took a special train to reach a prize fight (illegal in the Victorian era) between two favorites; all reached their destination except the murdered man. It takes Colbeck and Leeming some time, but they eventually trace the identity of the dead man as being that of a former hangman, so there could be any number of people willing to do him in. It's up to Colbeck and Leeming to sort through a number of suspects to find out whodunit.

This series is very light in tone, but is still an interesting and fast read. I especially enjoy the period details. I'd recommend it to people who enjoy historical mysteries, light British series mysteries and an easy read.

The Railway Detective, by Edward Marston

The Railway Detective is the first in a series of light mystery novels featuring Inspector Robert Colbeck of Scotland Yard of mid-19th century England. In this first installment, a train carrying gold from the mint and mail is highjacked and the fireman of the train is forced to derail the engine after the driver refuses and is forcibly kicked off the train. After looking around for clues, Colbeck realizes that the robbery is probably an inside job, but just as he and his partner, Sgt. Leeming, start getting a break, there are a series of murders that occur that starts them on their search yet again. Add to this Marston's stuffy boss, who thinks Marston's techniques are unsporting and ungentlemanly and a damsel in distress, and you've got the story.


It's fun, a bit of a fluff piece but still very interesting due to the period details. I'd recommend it to people who like British series mysteries, anyone interested in that time period, and people maybe looking for something new in their mystery reading.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson

I'm just getting into Scandinavian mystery novels, so I picked this up prior to my 3-week vacation. Couldn't put it down once I started it. I highly recommend this one; my understanding is that the author wrote two more prior to his untimely death. Hopefully they'll be available in the US soon; if not, well, I'll have to buy one from the UK.

very brief plot summary:
Mikael Blomkvist is a journalist in Sweden, and also publishes a magazine called Millenium, a very independent and pull-no-punches magazine that delves into the seamy side of high finance and corporate Sweden. As the story opens, Mikael has just been found guilty in a libel suit brought against him by shady financier Hans-Erik Wennerstrom. Mikael must pay a fine and spend time in jail, but that's not the worst of his problems. He has to try to save the reputation of the magazine. So when an opportunity arises for him to distance himself he takes it. It comes in the form of a strange offer from an attorney, Mr. Frode, on behalf of another wealthy man, Henrik Vanger. It seems that some 30 years ago, Vanger's niece Harriet (16 at the time) disappeared from sight on the family's island. No one saw her leave, no body was ever found, the way out was blocked due to an accident which virtually cut the island off from the rest of the world. Investigations into the disappearance met with no success, but the kicker is that Vanger has continued to receive a flower each year for his birthday, a tradition started by Harriet when she was a child. So Vanger wants Mikael to investigate the disappearance while ostensibly writing the family history. Yet, that is not the whole story; enter the girl with the dragon tattoo, an investigator with a private investigations firm owned by one Dragan Armansky. This is Lisbeth Salander, whose life is not in her own hands, but in the hands of the state until she decides to take some control. Her life seems to be about taking control of her own situation, and she has her own (and very different) way of doing so. She has a unique talent for investigating, and she and Mikael inevitably cross paths in his investigation. She is totally unique; I don't believe I've ever come across another character like her anywhere. As they come ever closer to solving the mystery of Harriet's disappearance, there are some who are not prepared to have answers revealed.

The book is not limited to just the mystery of Harriet's disappearance; there is a definite moral lesson here along with a look at the many imbalances inherent in society. Family dynamics are explored along with the theme of abuses of power. It may, as someone noted, seem somewhat anti-climatic at the end (I thought so too -- but it is an appropriate ending), but it is worth every minute of time you put into reading. I absolutely cannot wait for the next two in this trilogy.

Roseanna, by Per Wahloo

very briefly:
First in a series featuring Martin beck, set in Sweden. As the story opens, the body of a young girl is found in a canal. Martin Beck is in charge of the investigation into her death, but to get anywhere they first have to figure out who she was. It takes awhile, but once they've identified her, the real fun begins: finding out who might have wanted her dead and why.

What a great series opener! The characters are very human and realistic, the prose is not overdone. There were a couple of places of laugh-out-loud humor, and this was another one I couldn't stop once I'd picked it up. Very highly recommended; now I'm off to pick up more in the series. People who enjoy Scandinavian mysteries cannot miss this one.

Dead Sea, by Tim Curran

Whatever you do, do not read this book while you're on a cruise, especially when you're caught out in the fog. I did, and at the sound of the first foghorn, I jumped a mile. I was so into this story that when I peeked out my balcony and saw thick fog, I think my heart sped up a bit!

The story opens with a group of men who have signed on as a construction crew to work in the jungles of French Guiana. They are sailing on the cargo ship Mara Corday, and the journey is going fine until they enter a part of the ocean known as "the graveyard of the Atlantic," and encounter a strange fog that plays havoc with their instruments and communications. In the midst of this incredible fog, bizarre creatures find their way onto the ship. The ship is disabled, and collides with something, sending everyone who survived the crash into the water, either in lifeboats, rafts or whatever they can find to keep afloat. It's at this point that bizarre things start to happen, none the least of which are strange creatures that none of the men have ever encountered. At first, the survivors are split up, one group headed by George Ryan, who's never been at sea and took the job for badly-needed money; the second group headed by a small but powerful (and somewhat psychotic) crew boss named Saks. Their journey as they navigate the constant darkness and fog, trying to make some sense of where they are and basically trying to survive constitutes the rest of the story, which is very Lovecraftian in tone and darkness. I was scared out of my wits, and when that happens, I say the author's done a great job. I was still shaking after I finished it!

Very well written, the atmosphere evoked by this author is one of the eeriest I've ever encountered. I loved this book, and most highly recommend it. But do yourself a favor...read it on land.

The Shadow Coast, by Philip Haldeman

This kind of horror is what I hope for when I buy horror novels. Shadow Coast gave me the willies, and when I get a reaction like that, then I've found a good author. It starts off innocuously enough, but in short order the hackles started raising on the back of my neck. Also, I've been to Neah Bay WA where the book is set, so I really had a great vision of where all of this action was taking place. If you want to try something different, then do what you can to find this book and read it. I do believe it's out of print; I know I had to buy mine used (and at a like-new price).

a little plot summary:

Mark Sayres, an architect in California, is alone at home with his daughter, while his wife Maggie is spending time in the Pacific Northwest on an archaeological dig. Maggie calls him, but the call sounded like Maggie was in some sort of distress, so he takes a job as part of the crew on a sailboat (for which in return he gets a free ride to the Northwest). However, the captain of the boat is a drunk and the inevitable shipwreck occurs just in sight of their destination. He is able to make it to shore and wakes up to find that his wife has gone missing, totally without a trace. The woman in whose home Mark is recovering also has a missing husband, along with others who vanished without a trace. Many of the natives believe that the disappearances are linked to what the archaeologists encountered in their dig. This isn't just another cheap and cheesy horror novel (I realize that many have similar premises), but rather, a book of quality.

The Various Haunts of Men, by Susan Hill

In this series opener set in England, Simon Serrailler is a DCI in Lafferton, a small cathedral town which is now home to a series of strange disappearances, which may or may not have been criminal, but in any case, disappearances which leave behind no clues. However, as the number of people who go missing quickly increases, an enterprising new detective sergeant, Freya Graffham, just knows in her bones that they are all related somehow. Her boss, Simon, gives her the go-ahead to investigate.

The mystery is decent, with the author giving you insights into the killer's mind via a recorded tape interspersed throughout the story. Her characters are okay; some of them (especially Simon) could have been a lot more fleshed out. Freya, imho, was kind of overdone, kind of school-girlish and silly in the scope of her personal life, considering her past experiences and her level of responsibility at the police department. Also, I felt that a lot of the dialogue going on between Simon's sister the doctor and her friend that had very little bearing on the core mystery could have been eliminated to make the book much more streamlined. In other words, sometimes Hill is a bit wordy. These kinds of things are generally what I expect in a series opener, but most of the time, problems tend to get ironed out by the second book.


Overall, not a bad read, and I will definitely be buying more of the series. Recommended for fans of British mystery series and British crime fiction in general. However, I do think I like Susan Hill much better as a ghost-story writer.

Forty Words for Sorrow, by Giles Blunt

One of the better books I've read this year. I've had this sitting around and just hadn't got to it...now I've got a lot of time to make up for with this author. If you're a mystery aficionado, such as myself, you absolutely cannot miss this one.

As the story opens, Detective John Cardinal, who was earlier taken off Homicide largely because he disagreed with the way the cops were handling a couple of missing persons cases, is called back to lead an investigation into a murder. One of the earlier-mentioned missing persons cases was that of 13 year old Katie Pine, who at the outset of the novel is discovered down an abandoned mine shaft, encased in a block of ice.As the investigation proceeds, Cardinal cannot help but feel that this death is somehow related to other unsolved missing persons cases, and eventually he is able to make the case for a serial killer. While all of this is going on, however, Cardinal has to face some serious issues in his own life.
raid.

By far, one of THE best police mystery novels I've ever read. Actually, I'm not sure how I should label this book (suspense, police procedural, mystery) but whatever it is, it is most excellent. I literally did not put it down the entire time it took me to read it. This one I can definitely very highly recommend as being a very well written, engrossing novel.

The novel is set in Algonquin Bay, a very cold town in Canada close to Toronto. I've never been there before, but I felt like I was in the freezing temperatures as the author described it so well. In fact, the author's depiction of place and setting was impeccable...I mean, physically I was in the middle of the Caribbean sun and humidity while reading this, but in my mind, I felt like I wanted to go grab a parka. Not only does the author have the ability to deliver place & setting, but the characters are all quite realistic, which always makes for a great reading experience.

Jar City, by Arnaldur Indridason

Set in Reykjavik, Iceland, an elderly man is discovered to have been murdered in his apartment. Inspector Erlendur Sveinsson of the police and his crew find only a picture of a grave hidden behind a drawer in a desk and a note that says "I am him" on the victim as evidence, and as they continue to dig, they discover that their victim had been accused years earlier of sexual assault, although never convicted. Erlendur must now reopen the original case, which leads to the uncovering of secrets that some felt were better left buried forever.

I love Scandinavian mystery novels, and this one is no exception. I can definitely recommend this one. Indridason is a fine author who sets a serious tone immediately which never lets up. The characters are lifelike and believable, and the mystery continues to build until the very end. I'll definitely be reading more of this author's work.

Death in the Garden, by Elizabeth Ironside

At the onset of the novel, it is 1925 and Diana Pollefexen is awaiting the verdict at her trial for the murder of her husband George. The story of George's death is divulged little by little both contemporarily (to 1925) and later, after her grand-niece Helena receives word that her great aunt has died. Helena is going through her great-aunt's property and finds a journal entry telling about that day in court in 1925. Helena, through the help of other family members, friends, and further journal articles, begins to piece together her great-aunt's life, and realizes that her great aunt had a life of which Helena knew nothing. Helena is a major beneficiary in her great-aunt's will, but In order to accept Diana's legacy, she feels that she must decide for herself whether or not her aunt was a murderess.

Very well written, it will keep your attention through the end.

The characters are well drawn, the story is a good one, and I can definitely recommend this book.

Love in the time of Norovirus (or, how I spent my Panama Canal cruise vacation)

If you have to be diagnosed with Norovirus while you're on a cruise ship, then for god's sake make sure you have the following:

a) a VERY supportive spouse (because while he didn't have it, he still had to be quarantined 24 hours -- as opposed to my 48)
b) a very large suite with a big bed and a very nice balcony -- I swear, if I was down in an inside room with no air from the outside coming in or unable to see the sun and had to be confined in my cabin, Larry would have probably been dead or our relationship destroyed by my utter bitchiness
-and-
c) lots and lots of decent books to read while you're out laying in the sunshine on your lounger chair on aforementioned balcony.

Now, personally, I don't think I had norovirus; I think I was suffering from my own stupidity. Ice in Acapulco. As I lifted my glass to drink my diet coke, I'm thinking about the last time I was in Mexico and had a drink with ice and got really sick, but I also figured I was at a hotel restaurant so it had to be safe, right? But 13 hours later, after spending an entire night with Montezuma's revenge and cramping, I figured I should probably go to the ship's doctor and get this done with. Oops. So off we go, my dh and I, down to deck 1. A few minutes later I'm getting back on the elevator with immodium in hand and tears on my face -- I've been confined to my room for 48 hours, Larry for 24. I didn't have any other symptoms -- I should have had a fever, been vomiting, and had aches and pains -- but rules are rules. I wouldn't have minded or cried if we were going to be at sea for the next 2 days, but oh no. I have to go to the doctor the day before we're stopping in Costa Rica, where we were going to do an eco tour in the rain forest. It was the only port (out of 6) that I really wanted to go do something, and I'm stuck in my room. The day we got there, I was so pitiable that our room steward came in the evening with a t-shirt for me because he felt so sorry that I couldn't leave the ship. I mean, I totally understand, because if it was norovirus, then the doctors couldn't take the risk of me passing it along to someone since it's extremely contagious. So I made a lot of jokes about being confined to quarters, ate a lot of room service soup (at least it was quite tasty), played a lot of extreme sudoku, laid out in the lounger chair in the hot sun and read a LOT of books. My husband deserves a medal, I must say. So what follows are the books I read (not all of them under the norovirus containment, but all on my 3-week vacation).