Quick Review: The Angel Court Affair, by Anne Perry

Ballantine Books
March 2015, 288 pages

Commander Thomas Pitt receives his orders from Special Branch: he's to protect a controversial young visitor from Spain -- Sofia Delacruz. The young woman has come to England to preach a revolutionary gospel of love and forgiveness that some find blasphemous, even though her followers think of her as a candidate for sainthood.

Sofia has had threats against her life, and Special Branch is anxious to keep her and her entourage safe from harm while they're in England. When she disappears in the dead of night from Angel Court (her "safe house" in the city), and two of her female companions are murdered, Pitt is faced with a dangerous mystery and senses that the supposed kidnapping may be more complicated than it seems. Everyone close to the young woman seems to be hiding something, and Commander Pitt wonders if any of them are to be trusted. Can he find out what has happened to Sofia, and solve the mystery of who's trying to silence her without setting off an international incident? And what influence will this assignment have on his relationship with his wife and children?

I ended up enjoying this book quite a lot, but had some trouble getting into it at the beginning. This was the first "Thomas Pitt" novel I've read, so I'm assuming that at least part of the problem was just that I was (once again) diving into a long-running series without having read any of the earlier entries.  But even if I'd been more familiar with the books, I believe the first half of this one would still seem to drag by much too slowly, with a lot of talking about what MIGHT happen and what HAD happened before the story started. Certainly a lot of discussion going on. But the second half turned out to be wonderfully plotted, fast-moving, and kept me glued to my seat! (So to speak.) Overall, I'd say it was mostly very successful.

This is the 30th novel in this terrifically popular series, and I'm definitely going to try reading some of the earlier books. I have a feeling Anne Perry is likely to become one of my favorite writers.

Note: I received my copy of this book from the publisher, free of charge, through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program. No other compensation was received.

Quick Review: Beethoven's Tenth, by Brian Harvey

Orca Books / Rapid Reads
April 2015, 160 pages

Publisher's description:

Piano tuner Frank Ryan is paid in kind by an aging music teacher with an old manuscript that turns out to be Beethoven's Tenth Symphony. Launched into a world of intrigue and violence, Ryan, an unlikely sleuth, realizes he must use his wits to conquer his enemies and solve the mystery of the manuscript. In the process Ryan discovers who he can trust and what he is made of.

Beethoven's Tenth is the first novel in the intended Frank Ryan Mystery series, by Brian Harvey, and part of Orca Book's Rapid Reads program. I received my copy free of charge, from the publisher, through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program (no other compensation was received).

This was the second Rapid Reads novel I've read -- actually, I didn't realize this was one of the series until I received the book. Both the books I've read are short enough to read in one sitting, include a lot of action and dialogue, and are fun to read. I think they'd definitely hold the interest of the audience they're aimed at: ESL students, readers enrolled in literacy programs, young adults, and (as their blog says) "reluctant readers of all ages."

I mostly enjoyed this one. The narrator/protagonist was flawed but attractive and easy to empathize with. The story had just enough twists and turns to keep me turning pages, and the plot was clever but not terribly complicated. Aside from one long and rather unfortunate episode featuring a septic system caper, the book was a fast, fun read. Recommended, with reservations (yeah, that septic system yarn was a turn-off).

Quick Review : Newport, by Jill Morrow

William Morrow Paperbacks
July 2015, 384 pages

Publisher's description:

Spring 1921. The Great War is over, Prohibition is in full swing, the Great Depression is still years away. Wealthy families flock to the glittering "summer cottages" they built in Newport, Rhode Island.
Having sheltered in Newport during his misspent youth, attorney Adrian de la Noye is no stranger to the city. Though he'd prefer to forget the place, he returns to revise the will of a well-heeled client. Bennett Chapman's offspring have the usual concerns about their father's much-younger fiancée. But when they learn of the old widower's firm belief that his late first wife, who "communicates" via séance, has chosen the stunning Catharine Walsh for him, they're shocked. And for Adrian, encountering Catharine in the last place he saw her decades ago proves to be a far greater surprise.
Adrian is here to handle a will, and he intends to do so—just as soon as he unearths every last secret about the Chapmans, Catharine Walsh . . . and his own very fraught history.

I know "page-turner" is an overused phrase, but Newport kept me turning pages fast enough to finish it in less than twenty-four hours -- so it definitely deserves that epithet. I really didn't expect to enjoy this one so much. Love it when a book surprises me like that.

I will admit that in the beginning I was a little disturbed that the story kept reminding me of Woody Allen's film "Magic in the Moonlight": lovely young medium and the older woman working with her manage to attach themselves to a wealthy family astounded by their seances. Non-believers try to prove the psychic a fraud, but soon fall under the young woman's spell. And, well -- the similarities pretty much end there. Newport is much more entertaining.

Note: I received my copy of this novel, free of charge, from the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program. No other compensation was received.

Book Beginnings: The Quick

The Quick, by Lauren Owen (Random House, 2014; 523 pages). These are the book's opening lines:

From Clubs of London, by Major Samuel Hobbs (London, 1890) 

A brief word here on the Aegolius, which bears the dubious distinction of being the most mysterious club in London. The Aegolius's character and affairs are kept a profound secret, known only to its initiates.

Initial Thoughts:

Well, my first thought was that I like that "most mysterious club" bit. But at 523 pages (544 in the Kindle edition), it's going to take me a long, loooong time to finish this one. Probably really shouldn't even have thought of starting it right now.

The Quick is the book chosen for this year's Peril of the Group Read in the RIP/X Reading Challenge. And even though I probably won't be reading along with the group, I've been interested in this one since I first heard about it last year, so decided to just read it at my own pace.

And I must say, it's turning out to be very different from what I expected. More on that, later.

Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays. As she says, the idea is to post the first sentence (or so) of the book you're currently reading, along with any first impressions or thoughts you have about the book, the author, etc.  It's a wonderful way of adding new books to your must-read list, and a chance to connect with other readers and bloggers.

Teaser Tuesdays: Abandon

This week my teaser lines come from Abandon, by Blake Crouch (Thomas & Mercer, September 2015). This snippet comes from page 6 (Loc. 195 of the Kindle edition):

She points the revolver at his face again, one eye closed, the barrel slightly quavering, a parody of aiming.
He stares up into the deluge of snowflakes, the sky already immersed in a bluish dusk that seems to deepen before his eyes, and he wonders, Is the day really fading that fast, or am I?

This is not the book I really should be reading this week, but I made the mistake of glancing at this opening section, and now it's got my attention. Earlier this year, I read Pines (the first book in Crouch's Wayward Pines series) and really enjoyed it. So now I'm thinking of maybe putting my other reads on hold and just plowing through this one.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Jenn at Daily Rhythm. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.

And please feel free to leave me a link to your Teaser Tuesday post in your comment here.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by the amazing Sheila at Book Journey. If you want to let the world know what you're going to be reading this week, head on over to her blog and leave your link. It's also a great way to discover new books and new blogs.

Well, I really didn't get any reading done last week. For some reason, there was a lot of stuff going on (including my birthday -- yep, another year older now) that kept me from settling down long enough to stick with anything for more than a few minutes. But I'm hoping this week will be a little more normal and CALM, and I'll be able to get some reading done.

And if that happens, here's what I'll be reading:

Slade House, by David Mitchell
(Random House, coming October 27th)

I have an ARC of this one (very exciting), and I've sort of put everything else on hold until I finish it.

And if I DO finish it, then I'll move on to the book I was hoping to start LAST week:

The Night Sister, by Jennifer McMahon
(Doubleday, August 2015)

I'm pretty sure that should keep me busy all week. I am, after all, the world's slowest reader.

Book Beginnings: The Last September

The Last September, by Nina De Gramont (Algonquin Books, September 2015). This is the opening paragraph:

Because I am a student of literature, I will start my story on the day Charlie died. In other words, I’m beginning in the middle. In medias res, that’s the Latin term, and though my specialty is American Renaissance poetry, I did have to study the classics. Homer, Dante, Milton. They knew about the middle, how all of life revolves around a single moment in time. Everything that comes before leads up to that moment. Everything that comes afterward springs from that moment.
In my case, that moment—that middle—is my husband’s murder.

Initial Thoughts:

Well, it's a little talky. But I think it's intriguing enough to keep me reading. What do you think? Does that opening passage draw you in, or turn you off?

Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays. As she says, the idea is to post the first sentence (or so) of the book you're currently reading, along with any first impressions or thoughts you have about the book, the author, etc.  It's a wonderful way of adding new books to your must-read list, and a chance to connect with other readers and bloggers.

Teaser Tuesdays: Vertigo

This week my teaser lines come from Vertigo (original title: D'entre les Morts), the classic French mystery novel by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac (Pushkin Press, September 2015; originally published 1954). I read this one on my Kindle, so I'm not exactly sure about page numbers -- this snippet is taken from later in the novel, around Location 1430-40:

What he loved in her -- and it had been so all along -- was... that she wasn't quite real.... Only the eyes were perfect, only they were the absolute proof. 

He would have liked to throw his arms round her, to embrace her; yes, perhaps to suffocate her.

Ah, yes. That is definitely real love, n'est-ce pas?

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.

And please feel free to leave me a link to your Teaser Tuesday post in your comment here.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by the amazing Sheila at Book Journey. If you want to let the world know what you're going to be reading this week, head on over to her blog and leave your link. It's also a great way to discover new books and new blogs.

Wow, here we are in the middle of September. (Can you believe it?) And since it's been quite a while since I did a reading update, I thought maybe this would be a good time to do some looking back/looking forward bookkeeping.

So far this year I've read 40 books (that includes some children's books that I'm combining to count as one book). Which means I'm on a pretty good track to reach my usual 50-book-per-year goal. Of course, it's the goal that's "usual," not the actual count; I rarely make it to 50, but this year is looking better than most. Unfortunately, I'm not doing quite that well when it comes to reviews, but I'll be trying to do something about that in the next few weeks. (You know how it is -- I've got the reviews started, now I need to go ahead and finish them. Simple, right?)

Here's what I've read since my last update at the end of May:

1. Vertigo. Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac (1954; fiction; 192 pages)
2. Pines (Wayward Pines Series, #1). Blake Crouch (2012; fiction; 315 pages)
3. The Tale of Despereaux. Kate DiCamillo; illus. by Timothy Basil Ering (2003; fiction; 273 pages)
4. A Head Full of Ghosts. Paul Tremblay (2015; fiction; 304 pages)
5. The Truth and Other Lies. Sascha Arango (2014; fiction; 256 pages)
6. Tail Gait (Mrs. Murphy #23). Rita Mae Brown (2015; fiction; 336 pages)
7. The Angel Court Affair (Charlotte & Thomas Pitt #30). Anne Perry (2014; fiction; 288 pages)
8. The Forgotten Room (Jeremy Logan #4). Lincoln Child (2015; fiction; 304 pages)
9. In the Dark Places (Inspector Banks #22). Peter Robinson (2015; fiction; 368 pages)
10. Goodbye Stranger. Rebecca Stead (2015; fiction; 304 pages)
11. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 (Ramona Quimby #6). Beverly Cleary (1981; fiction; 179 pages)
12. Newport. Jill Morrow (2015; fiction; 356 pages)
13. A Man of Some Repute. Elizabeth Edmondson (2015; fiction; 306 pages)

Plus five children's picture books (counting as one book):

• Anatole. Eve Titus; illus. by Paul Galdone (1956; 40 pages)
• Corduroy. Don Freeman (1948; 32 pages)
• Harry and the Lady Next Door. Gene Zion; illus. by Margaret Bloy Graham (1960; 64 pages)
• Harry the Dirty Dog. Gene Zion; illus. by Margaret Bloy Graham (1956; 32 pages)
• One Morning in Maine. Robert McCloskey (1952; 62 pages)

Aside from brief notes over at Library Thing, I haven't reviewed any of these. Yet.

This week, I'll be starting a couple of new reads:

• The Night Sister, by Jennifer McMahon (I did a Book Beginnings post about this one last week)
• The Anger Meridian, by Kaylie Jones (from the Library Thing Early Reviewers program -- I'm still playing catch-up over there)

So, yeah -- playing catch-up is a good description of my reading schedule right now. But now that summer's coming to its official close, I'm hoping I'll be able to get lots more reading done.

OK, that's it for now. Happy reading, everyone!

Book Beginnings: The Night Sister

The Night Sister, by Jennifer McMahon (Doubleday, August 2015). These are the book's opening lines:

Amy's heart hammers, and her skin is slick with sweat.
Focus, she tells herself.
Don't think about the thing in the tower.

Initial Thoughts:

But maybe Amy should be thinking about the thing in the tower!

So far, I love it. Any book that begins with THINGs in towers is a book I feel I should read. Hope the rest of the book can live up to that opening.

I've never read anything by Jennifer McMahon, but I've got several of her earlier books on my TBR list. Looking forward to getting started on this one.

Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays. As she says, the idea is to post the first sentence (or so) of the book you're currently reading, along with any first impressions or thoughts you have about the book, the author, etc.  It's a wonderful way of adding new books to your must-read list, and a chance to connect with other readers and bloggers.

Teaser Tuesdays: Ramona Quimby, Age 8

I've always loved children's books (even when I was a child -- how fortunate is that?), and this year I'm making an effort to read more of the Newbery Medal winners and honor books. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 is the 6th book in Beverly Cleary's Ramona series, and a 1982 Newbery Honor book. This snippet comes from page 106, about midway through:

Ramona was crying too hard to answer. Nobody, nobody in the whole world, was a bigger nuisance than someone who threw up in school. Until now she thought Mrs. Whaley had been unfair when she called her a nuisance, but now -- there was no escaping the truth -- she really was a nuisance, a horrible runny-nosed nuisance with nothing to blow her nose on.

I really enjoyed this one -- and I can easily identify with Ramona and her tribulations. I don't remember ever throwing up in school, but I survived many other fiascos. And I was definitely a nuisance.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm. If you'd like to read more teasers, or take part yourself, just head on over to her blog.

And please feel free to leave me a link to your Teaser Tuesday post in your comment here.