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.
Mood:
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Books Update
STAY CLOSE by Harlan Coben
Coben's stand alone books often portray suburbanites living uneventful lives caught up in situations they did not anticipate and were not prepared for. He also pays attention to those odd articles which often appear in the news, with a story about a former life suddenly exposed to public notice.
In this one, his main character is a former strip club dancer, who found herself in the midst of a horrific situation and decided in the blink of an eye she couldn't live that life any longer. In a parallel story, a cop can't quite let go of unanswered questions about a long ago unsolved murder.
Someone recognizes the former stripper and her secret may soon be exposed, threatening the stability of her children. The cop begins to uncover a series of oddly connected events.
Coben's books are almost always quick, engaging reads. An admirable moral sense of "everyday, ordinary things are almost always best" seems to lie behind all of his output.
LINE OF FIRE by Stephen White
White sets his books along Colorado's Front Range, and gets the "feel" of the area very well. In an earlier book in this series, the two main characters were involved in what I saw as a truly egregious breach of ethics, and I remained troubled by that development. White has announced that he is almost finished with this series and that this is the penultimate entry. I'm relieved that before he ends the tale of these characters that he is returning to the ethical issue of the previous book, and seeking to resolve it all.
This book ends on an enigmatic note, after Alan Gregory and his friend Sam Purdy are threatened by several baddies, against the backdrop of wildfires threatening the communities in the area. Can't wait for the next one, and will be sorry to have the series end.
MAD RIVER by John Sandford
Minnesota state cop Virgil Flowers investigates an odd collection of petty and serious crimes, a jewel theft, a car heist, and two murders which may or may not be related. Events finally expand to include a real crime spree across the plains of rural Minnesota, with a trio of killers always one step ahead of law enforcement pursuing them. The eventual climax to the story has a very disturbing edge - the young fugitives are not the only bad guys in this story.
A WANTED MAN by Lee Child
Child's lone protagonist Jack Reacher is hitchhiking, gets a ride, and finds himself heavily involved in an undercover FBI operation tracking a group of terrorists.
FRANKLIN AND ELEANOR by Hazel Rowley
Momentarily back to history and biography. Rowley traces the marriage of one of the twentieth century's most interesting couples - Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. She comes to several conclusions about them which contradict the commonly held wisdom that theirs was only a political partnership. Each of the famous pair became more interesting in my eyes as I read.
IN THE LAKE OF THE WOODS by Tim O'Brien
Probably the best book of this bunch and the second time I have read it. I returned to it for a book discussion evening. A Minnesota state politician who has had a meteoric career is tripped up by unpleasant revelations about his military experience in Viet Nam. He and his wife have escaped to a small cabin near the Canadian border. When she disappears, questions multiply. The reader is never sure exactly what happened, the author writes in extremely enigmatic. almost eerie fashion. The book discussion group could have gone on all night, pondering the ins and outs of the story.
MRS ROBINSON'S DISGRACE by Kate Summersdale
Not sure why I picked this one up, but I was hooked almost right away. In the early days of Victorian England, the British court system began to use a new type of court, which gave BOTH husbands and wives access to a legal divorce. One of the first cases brought to the court was that of Henry Robinson, who sought to divorce his wife based on entries he discovered when he found her diary. Was the diary fantasy only? Was he within his rights to read her personal diary while she was ill with diphtheria? Could her alleged paramour be a party to the case? If so, could he give evidence in his own behalf? What of the Robinson's two young sons? Could they be required to cease interaction with their mother?
In addition to the sad tale of the Robinsons' household, the author has a lot of fascinating detail about medical knowledge of the time, as well as the societal norms of the day.
WHEN SHE WAS GOOD by Laura Lippmann
Similar to Coben's book mentioned above, what would happen if a suburban mother living an outwardly placid life was faced with the prospect of the exposure of her true employment as a madam running a high class call girl operation?
Lippmann's protagonist is a smart woman, very aware of everything she needs to do to keep her secret; and when she no longer can keep it; everything she must do to get out from under its weight.
THE DROP by Michael Connelly
Cop Harry Bosch is in the midst of a puzzling cold case with an odd DNA report, when he is assigned to a current case - what looks to be a suicide plunge by the son of a controversial city councilman. Bosch manages to unravel both situations; as well as come to terms with his own plans for his own career.
Connelly is one of the best of our current writers of police procedurals.
FALLEN ANGEL by Daniel Silva
Silva writes about an Israeli spy - Gabriel Allon. He owes a huge debt to various superhero legends. Allon never makes a misstep, and gets the world of the not so distant future out of one tragic scrape after another.
That's it for this bunch!
Coben's stand alone books often portray suburbanites living uneventful lives caught up in situations they did not anticipate and were not prepared for. He also pays attention to those odd articles which often appear in the news, with a story about a former life suddenly exposed to public notice.
In this one, his main character is a former strip club dancer, who found herself in the midst of a horrific situation and decided in the blink of an eye she couldn't live that life any longer. In a parallel story, a cop can't quite let go of unanswered questions about a long ago unsolved murder.
Someone recognizes the former stripper and her secret may soon be exposed, threatening the stability of her children. The cop begins to uncover a series of oddly connected events.
Coben's books are almost always quick, engaging reads. An admirable moral sense of "everyday, ordinary things are almost always best" seems to lie behind all of his output.
LINE OF FIRE by Stephen White
White sets his books along Colorado's Front Range, and gets the "feel" of the area very well. In an earlier book in this series, the two main characters were involved in what I saw as a truly egregious breach of ethics, and I remained troubled by that development. White has announced that he is almost finished with this series and that this is the penultimate entry. I'm relieved that before he ends the tale of these characters that he is returning to the ethical issue of the previous book, and seeking to resolve it all.
This book ends on an enigmatic note, after Alan Gregory and his friend Sam Purdy are threatened by several baddies, against the backdrop of wildfires threatening the communities in the area. Can't wait for the next one, and will be sorry to have the series end.
MAD RIVER by John Sandford
Minnesota state cop Virgil Flowers investigates an odd collection of petty and serious crimes, a jewel theft, a car heist, and two murders which may or may not be related. Events finally expand to include a real crime spree across the plains of rural Minnesota, with a trio of killers always one step ahead of law enforcement pursuing them. The eventual climax to the story has a very disturbing edge - the young fugitives are not the only bad guys in this story.
A WANTED MAN by Lee Child
Child's lone protagonist Jack Reacher is hitchhiking, gets a ride, and finds himself heavily involved in an undercover FBI operation tracking a group of terrorists.
FRANKLIN AND ELEANOR by Hazel Rowley
Momentarily back to history and biography. Rowley traces the marriage of one of the twentieth century's most interesting couples - Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. She comes to several conclusions about them which contradict the commonly held wisdom that theirs was only a political partnership. Each of the famous pair became more interesting in my eyes as I read.
IN THE LAKE OF THE WOODS by Tim O'Brien
Probably the best book of this bunch and the second time I have read it. I returned to it for a book discussion evening. A Minnesota state politician who has had a meteoric career is tripped up by unpleasant revelations about his military experience in Viet Nam. He and his wife have escaped to a small cabin near the Canadian border. When she disappears, questions multiply. The reader is never sure exactly what happened, the author writes in extremely enigmatic. almost eerie fashion. The book discussion group could have gone on all night, pondering the ins and outs of the story.
MRS ROBINSON'S DISGRACE by Kate Summersdale
Not sure why I picked this one up, but I was hooked almost right away. In the early days of Victorian England, the British court system began to use a new type of court, which gave BOTH husbands and wives access to a legal divorce. One of the first cases brought to the court was that of Henry Robinson, who sought to divorce his wife based on entries he discovered when he found her diary. Was the diary fantasy only? Was he within his rights to read her personal diary while she was ill with diphtheria? Could her alleged paramour be a party to the case? If so, could he give evidence in his own behalf? What of the Robinson's two young sons? Could they be required to cease interaction with their mother?
In addition to the sad tale of the Robinsons' household, the author has a lot of fascinating detail about medical knowledge of the time, as well as the societal norms of the day.
WHEN SHE WAS GOOD by Laura Lippmann
Similar to Coben's book mentioned above, what would happen if a suburban mother living an outwardly placid life was faced with the prospect of the exposure of her true employment as a madam running a high class call girl operation?
Lippmann's protagonist is a smart woman, very aware of everything she needs to do to keep her secret; and when she no longer can keep it; everything she must do to get out from under its weight.
THE DROP by Michael Connelly
Cop Harry Bosch is in the midst of a puzzling cold case with an odd DNA report, when he is assigned to a current case - what looks to be a suicide plunge by the son of a controversial city councilman. Bosch manages to unravel both situations; as well as come to terms with his own plans for his own career.
Connelly is one of the best of our current writers of police procedurals.
FALLEN ANGEL by Daniel Silva
Silva writes about an Israeli spy - Gabriel Allon. He owes a huge debt to various superhero legends. Allon never makes a misstep, and gets the world of the not so distant future out of one tragic scrape after another.
That's it for this bunch!
Read/Post Comments (4)
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