Books and other stuff I feel like discussing
By education and experience - Accountant with a specialty in taxation. Formerly a CPA (license has lapsed). Masters degree in law of taxation from University of Denver. Now retired. Part time work during baseball season as receptionist & switchboard operator for the Colorado Rockies. This gig feeds my soul in ways I have trouble articulating. One daughter, and four grandchildren. I share the house with two cats; a big goof of a cat called Grinch (named as a joke for his easy going "whatever" disposition); and Lady, a shelter adoptee with a regal bearing and sweet little soprano voice. I would be very bereft if it ever becomes necessary to keep house without a cat.
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Books Update - Suspense One
It's been too long since I summarized my reading history - so here goes!
BLOOD TRAIL C J Box
Game warden Joe Pickett is learning to cope with town life and missing his previous assignment in the open spaces of Wyoming, when he receives a call from the governor and is sent to investigate a series of murders. The bodies have been treated as if they were hunting prey. The secret to the crimes lies in revenge for a long ago humiliation. Box writes one of the best regional series going.
PHANTOM PREY John Sandford
I really enjoy Sandford’s Lucas Davenport series. In this entry, Lucas responds to a request from a friend of his wife to investigate her daughter’s murder. At the same time, twin cities cops are on surveillance, watching the girl friend of a mobster. A criminal’s bizarre mental aberration provides a chilling climax. Lucas has mellowed over the years, but long time readers will still recognize the main character. Time doesn’t change everything.
ANOTHER MAN’S MOCCASINS Craig Johnson
Sheriff Walt Longmire works in a sparsely populated area of Wyoming. He has good friends among the Cheyenne in the area, and a dearly loved daughter who is recovering from a traumatic brain injury. The routine of his days is disrupted when the body of a young woman is found near the side of a road, and photographs in her possession bring Walt disturbing flashbacks to his military service in Viet Nam. Johnson’s books are more than worth the time to seek out.
THE SERPENT’S TALE Ariana Franklin
In the England of Henry II, women were regarded as fit for keeping house and making babies. In an earlier volume, Henry appealed to the educated men of Southern Europe to send him a physician and forensic investigator. The doctor who arrived was a woman – and she has proved to be adept in her skills, and invaluable to Henry. He has resisted giving her leave to return to her homeland. In this latest entry – Henry’s mistress Rosamund has been found murdered and her death holds the potential for Henry’s enemies to gain power. Henry appeals to Adelia for help and her ensuing investigation continues the power struggle between the monarch and his unwilling investigator. This is a very enjoyable series.
I SHALL NOT WANT Julia Spencer-Fleming
A mysterious series of dead bodies have turned up in rural upstate New York, and an increasing influx of Spanish speaking agricultural workers is straining the resources of the small community. Rev Claire Fergusson, never one to back away from a difficult situation, is encouraging her congregation to help. Russ Van Alstyne, the local sheriff, is striving to make sense of the crimes. These two are each struggling to come to terms with their mutually loving, but topsy turvy relationship, and I think the author is doing a good job of making things believable.
VITA NUOVA Magdalen Nabb
Sadly, the last treat we shall have in this charming series set in Florence, Italy, since the author died last year. Marshall Guarniccia investigates the death of a lovely young single mother, the daughter of a local pimp and head of a prostitution ring.
CHASING DARKNESS Robert Crais
Private investigator Elvis Cole and his formidable sidekick Joe Pike are puzzled when investigation into a suicide indicate that a murder investigation they previously thought was solved is now in question again. Confident that they were correct in the earlier case, they start out to find the holes in the new inquiries. They uncover a smugly confident killer, hiding in plain sight. Cole and Pike are two of the most enjoyable literary characters around, and it’s a pleasure to read about them again.
BLOOD TRAIL C J Box
Game warden Joe Pickett is learning to cope with town life and missing his previous assignment in the open spaces of Wyoming, when he receives a call from the governor and is sent to investigate a series of murders. The bodies have been treated as if they were hunting prey. The secret to the crimes lies in revenge for a long ago humiliation. Box writes one of the best regional series going.
PHANTOM PREY John Sandford
I really enjoy Sandford’s Lucas Davenport series. In this entry, Lucas responds to a request from a friend of his wife to investigate her daughter’s murder. At the same time, twin cities cops are on surveillance, watching the girl friend of a mobster. A criminal’s bizarre mental aberration provides a chilling climax. Lucas has mellowed over the years, but long time readers will still recognize the main character. Time doesn’t change everything.
ANOTHER MAN’S MOCCASINS Craig Johnson
Sheriff Walt Longmire works in a sparsely populated area of Wyoming. He has good friends among the Cheyenne in the area, and a dearly loved daughter who is recovering from a traumatic brain injury. The routine of his days is disrupted when the body of a young woman is found near the side of a road, and photographs in her possession bring Walt disturbing flashbacks to his military service in Viet Nam. Johnson’s books are more than worth the time to seek out.
THE SERPENT’S TALE Ariana Franklin
In the England of Henry II, women were regarded as fit for keeping house and making babies. In an earlier volume, Henry appealed to the educated men of Southern Europe to send him a physician and forensic investigator. The doctor who arrived was a woman – and she has proved to be adept in her skills, and invaluable to Henry. He has resisted giving her leave to return to her homeland. In this latest entry – Henry’s mistress Rosamund has been found murdered and her death holds the potential for Henry’s enemies to gain power. Henry appeals to Adelia for help and her ensuing investigation continues the power struggle between the monarch and his unwilling investigator. This is a very enjoyable series.
I SHALL NOT WANT Julia Spencer-Fleming
A mysterious series of dead bodies have turned up in rural upstate New York, and an increasing influx of Spanish speaking agricultural workers is straining the resources of the small community. Rev Claire Fergusson, never one to back away from a difficult situation, is encouraging her congregation to help. Russ Van Alstyne, the local sheriff, is striving to make sense of the crimes. These two are each struggling to come to terms with their mutually loving, but topsy turvy relationship, and I think the author is doing a good job of making things believable.
VITA NUOVA Magdalen Nabb
Sadly, the last treat we shall have in this charming series set in Florence, Italy, since the author died last year. Marshall Guarniccia investigates the death of a lovely young single mother, the daughter of a local pimp and head of a prostitution ring.
CHASING DARKNESS Robert Crais
Private investigator Elvis Cole and his formidable sidekick Joe Pike are puzzled when investigation into a suicide indicate that a murder investigation they previously thought was solved is now in question again. Confident that they were correct in the earlier case, they start out to find the holes in the new inquiries. They uncover a smugly confident killer, hiding in plain sight. Cole and Pike are two of the most enjoyable literary characters around, and it’s a pleasure to read about them again.
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