Better Off Dead

Finished November 2

Better Off Dead by Lee Child and Andrew Child

The book opens with a man that seems to be Reacher waiting for a rendezvous near the Mexican border. When the car that approaches him has more people than he expects, and he finds himself up against four men, some of them with weapons, we know that things might go badly. As this prelude ends, the man is in a morgue and we are left hanging.

We go back to two days earlier, where Reacher is approaching a town near the Texas border when he comes across a Jeep that appears to have been in an accident. When he approaches the vehicle, he is surprised to have a weapon aimed at him. As he backs off when they hear another vehicle approach, and witnesses a deadly encounter, he finds himself wondering just what is going on. 

He finds himself drawn into a woman's search for her missing twin brother, both of them military veterans. She gets him up to speed quickly on the situation, but she might not be telling him everything, and he keeps pushing as things move along to ensure he's not missing anything important. 

He comes up with a plan to get the man behind it all, but unexpected people, events, and devices come along to alter what Reacher has to deal with.

As always, a fast-moving plot, with lots of action, suspense and interesting characters. 

A Grave Disturbance

Finished October 31

A Grave Disturbance by D.M. Greenwood

This is the 8th book in the series featuring Theodora Braithwaite, an Anglican deacon. A school friend, Susan Tye, who is the wife of the Provost of Giltchrist Cathedral, calls her for assistance. Susan has noticed her husband behaving suspiciously and want Theodora's assistance in the issue. The same day that she is due to arrive, a workman on the roof of the cathedral falls to his death. 

Lionel Comfret, the Assistant (Lay) Diocesan Secretary, who works for the Archbishop, is thinking about his upcoming retirement. He quite looks forward to it. He has been with the church for ten years, and had been both a soldier and a teacher before this position. Early in the book there is a meeting that includes Lionel, Archdeacon Marcus More, Provost Reggie Tye, and Canon Kate Wale and this gives a good sense of the abilities and limitations of these senior clergy who figure in the plot. We also see the secretary for the senior clergy Mrs. Lure and see her lack of effort in her job. Overall, these early scenes give us a very good idea of why Lionel is looking forward to his retirement. It is during the meeting that the accident occurs, and Lionel is a witness to it, as he watches from the window. 

On the drive back with Theodora, Lionel talks about the accident and about the town, which has three distinct areas. Cray Martyr is the poorer part of town, the part where the victim came from. The parish priest there, Tobias Angel is a strong advocate for his parishioners and a personality in his own right, as we see later. Giltchrist is where the cathedral close is, and between them is Gainshurst a more posh part of town, where both the Archdeacon and the Canon live. 

Kate Wale is married to a developer, Leslie Wale, who has done very well for himself and both of them left behind their Cray Martyr childhoods. The were both acquainted with the Lee family, of whom Mick Lee, the victim, was the middle child. As we discover, there is history between the families, but also a history of distrust between the family and the church to some extent. 

We soon hear about the reason for Susan's request for Theodora's visit and Susan's plans for her during that time. 

I enjoyed the depth of the characters here, especially Lionel, but also Kate to an extent. We see how Lionel finds a possible new future role in an environment that he has more respect for the leadership in, and we see how he spends his leisure time. Theodora is somewhat frustrated by Susan's demands, but falls in to assist Lionel in finding answers. 

A very interesting read, which I got caught up in quite quickly. 

Two previous series reads that somehow got missed: Blue Moon by Lee Child and The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley

While following up on some of the series I read, I noticed gaps for two them where I seemed to have missed a book. I've taken them out of the library, but as soon as I started reading them I remembered them. I've searched all my notes and don't seem to have written reviews, which is very odd for me. They both date from the same time period, published in late 2019 read either in late 2019 or early 2020 and I guess that I missed them in the busyness of other things at the time. So here they are, now.

Blue Moon by Lee Child, read by Scott Brick

This is the 24th book in the series and once it again it begins with Reacher on a Greyhound bus in the middle of America. He assists an older man after the man is attacked in the street after exiting the bus, and one thing leads to another as he first helps him to the place where the payment the older man needs to do is to take place, and later to his home. The man and his wife are worried about their daughter whose story unfolds for him. He soon finds himself impersonating the old man, and getting between the Ukrainian and Albanian gangs who run the town and are vying for expansion under the new police commissioner in the small city. 

As each gang makes moves and Reacher makes some to protect himself and the older couple, there is luck that happens, as they say, once in a blue moon. Reacher's investigations lead him into the world of paid healthcare in the U.S., IT startups successes and failures, money trails and extortion rings. 

This is classic Jack Reacher, satisfying for the little guy, with the bad guys in deep trouble. 

The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley

This is the 10th book in the Flavia de Luce series. Her oldest sister Ophelia is getting married as the book opens, but there's a shocking item in the wedding cake when she slices it. Flavia is quick on her feet and manages to take the item while the focus is on Ophelia's hysterics. 

Flavia has also teamed up with her father's valet, Dogger, as a private investigation firm. The wedding discovery turns out to be the start of their first case, leading them to a special railway for the dead, a visit from missionaries, and a client who dies before the case is resolved. 

Dogger serves as a guide for Flavia's enthusiasm, putting her on the right track, and encouraging her good ideas. To their clients and the police they present a team that can put things together faster than the officials can. 

This isn't my favourite of the series, but it does offer some interesting scenes, and cousin Undine plays a larger role than in earlier books. 

The Nodding Canaries

Finished October 28

The Nodding Canaries by Gladys Mitchell

This book is part of a long series that I've not read before. The Nodding Canaries is the 34th book in the series, but it seems like you don't need to read them in order to enjoy them. This book was originally published in 1961, shortly after it was allowed that female teachers could be married. The banter and slang used is dated, and in one or two cases offensive as current terminology. The sleuth here is Dame Beatrice Lestrange Bradley, who is a psychiatrist who works for the Home Office in England. 

Here she is called to Nodding by Alice Boorman, a schoolteacher that is a longtime friend. Laura Gavin, Bradley's secretary, is a childhood friend of Alice's. Alice has recently applied to run for Organizer of the area, a much-sought after position by teachers. She has been shortlisted along with two other teachers, and she offered to host them around the interview time as they lived further away, one from Devonshire, and one from Scotland. 

Before the late afternoon interviews, the women toured the town, seeing the cathedral, the market, and some historical sites. One suggested the historical site of Pigmy's Ladder, a prehistoric flint mine. Alice did not accompany the other women into the mine as she had already been and felt claustrophobic, but when they didn't reemerge at the appointed time the site manager called for help and the women were found and taken to the hospital for their condition. Alice feels that a past past-time of hers makes her a possible suspect to them and has asked Dame Bradley to find out the truth behind the incident. 

This incident leads to a missing male teacher, his questionable past, historical artifacts, and the local archaeological society. 

This is a mystery with much twists and turns. Dame Bradley is a force to be reckoned with, and the men here defer to her with little hesitation. The mystery itself is complex and dates back some time, with a variety of suspects and motives to keep the reader guessing. 

November Reviews for the 17th Annual Canadian Reading Challenge

 This is where you link the reviews for Canadian books that you've read in November. The books to fit this challenge should be either written by a Canadian author or have a Canadian setting. If there is some other reason that they fit the challenge, note it in the comments. Thanks, and enjoy your reading. 

Soulless

Finished October 28

Soulless by Gail Carriger, illustrated by Jensine Eckwall

This lighthearted crime novel takes place in the early part of the Victorian era, in an alternate paranormal version of our world. It is the first in a series. England has recognized that vampires, ghosts, and werewolves exist, and thus they no longer have to hide anymore. Most of these paranormal beings live in hives (vampires) or dens (werewolves), but the occasional loner lives as a rove. There is a government organization, the Bureau of Unnatural Registry (BUR) that keeps watch on them and ensures that they abide by the laws and that they have registered with the government. In this world, these beings owe their supernatural abilities to an abundance of soul., an excess that refused to die. 

The main character of this series, Miss Alexia Tarabotti, is otherwise gifted. She has no soul at all, thus the title of this first book. When she comes into contact with a person with supernatural abilities, those abilities disappear, and the are entirely normal human beings. Some feel threatened by creatures such as her, some enjoy the occasional touch. Persons without a soul, called preternatural, are rare, and females even more so. 

Alexia is a member of the upper classes, and lives with her mother, her stepfather, and two stepsisters. Alexia's father was Italian, which is not that welcomed in society, and neither are the olive skin and dark hair she also inherited from him. Her family and most of society are not aware of her soullessness, but those with supernatural abilities are. So when, at a party at someone's home, Alexia is alone and is attacked by a vampire, she is surprised, but so is he. This is definitely not acceptable behaviour, as any such interaction must be consensual by law. He doesn't know what to make of her, when his supernatural features disappear when they come into contact. In the course of the struggle, Alexia inadvertently kills him, and finds herself under scrutiny by the head of BUR, Lord Conall Maccon, previously of Scotland, and a werewolf. 

As BUR begins to investigate the sudden appearance of new vampires and werewolves, and the sudden disappearance of roving ones, Alexia finds a suitor from America who shows some interest in her and is delighted with her intelligence and ability to speak comfortably on scientific topics. He has come to speak at a new scientific institute which has gone up in the heart of London. 

Alexia also finds herself in an uncertain courting dance with Lord Maccon, which is confusing to both of them. She confides in both her closest female friend, Miss Ivy Hisselpenny, and her closest male friend, the flamboyant rove vampire, Lord Akeldama. Both of them are helpful in their own ways. 

The drawings interspersed throughout the book are delightful and detailed. The story has humour, a deeper layer of social commentary, as well as good characters and dialogue. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. 

The Dream Thief

Finished October 25

The Dream Thief by Shana Abe

This is the second book in the Drakon series. They are set in the late 18th century. I've read the third book in the series Queen of Dragons, so I had some sense of where this book would end up. The Drakon are people who can transform from human to smoke and to dragons. Most gain this ability during their late teens, but not all. 

Amalia (Lia) is the daughter of the leader of the clan and she doesn't have the ability to turn, but she does have other abilities that she keeps to herself. One is to recognize real gems, like diamonds, sapphires, etc. including being aware of them from a distance. One that she has sensed for a long time is Draumr, an infamous diamond buried in the mountains of Carpathia, that has the power to enslave the drakons. It was buried by a princess of the clan who died doing it after being enslaved for years to an ordinary man. Her other gift is that she dreams the future, and she knows that it is a man with special skills who will go after Draumr. 

Lia is sent to boarding school in Scotland, but her knowledge of the future enables her to prepare in some ways for that, things like learning the languages of Hungarian and Romanian. She is also aware that Zane, a man rescued as a child by her mother, and who thus knows about the drakon, is a skilled thief who will be the one to go after the diamond. She approaches him when she is very young, but he rebuffs her. 

So when he is hired to go after the diamond, she must use her skills to follow him, and then travel with him on this journey. Along the way, she learns more about her own skills and abilities and finds herself capable of even more than she realized. 

We also see how capable Zane is, with his weapons knowledge and preparedness, and his ability to move quickly and surreptitiously when needed. 

In Romania, we also see the current Prince Imre of the castle where the diamond is, a man of drakon heritage, who lacks the ability to turn, and his bride Maricara, a child taken against her will from her peasant family because of her turning ability.

This is a story with strong protagonists, Zane and Lia, as well as other strong female characters, which I liked to see. It is also a story of control and power, and how that can corrupt and taint relationships. This story has a journey that is difficult and fraught with setbacks and hurdles from arson to snowstorms. 

A very enjoyable read. 

The Probability of Murder

Finished October 24

The Probability of Murder by Ada Madison

This novel is the second in a series of cosy mysteries featuring mathematics professor Sophie Knowles. Sophie holds weekly parties on campus that have a scientific theme with a short presentation. One of these, on Mobius strips, is just winding up when news of a death on campus begins to filter in. Charlotte Crocker, the librarian, has been found dead in the stacks. Sophie was a friend of hers, and is shocked at the news. Sophie's boyfriend, medevac pilot Bruce Granville, is leaving for a climbing adventure up in Vermont the next morning, and so the two forego plans for the rest of the day in light of the incident. 

When Sophie makes an unexpected discovery around something Charlotte left with her, she seeks counsel first from a friend before going to the police, and then decides that she needs to follow up on the clues she has to figure out if her friend was really a friend, or a criminal. When Sophie becomes a target herself, she is even more determined to find the truth.

With interesting mathematical problems scattered throughout, this is a series with its own particular draw, and Sophie's use of deductive reasoning drawing from her mathematical background gives great reasons for her own investigation. 

I liked the main characters and found the mystery very engaging. 

The Haunted Season

Finished October 18

The Haunted Season by G.M. Malliet

This cosy murder is set in the English village of Nether Monkslip, where Father Max Tudor is still adjusting to his role in the community and his new role as the father of a young child. Max has a previous life as a spy, and he worries that that life may have followed him to his new one. 

The village is looking forward to the annual duck races, which raises money for worthy causes, including the church, and has asked the local gentry, Lord Baaden-Boomethistle for the use of their grounds for the event, which is reluctantly given.

When the Lord is found dead in a grisly and obviously planned murder, the search begins for the killer, with Max both the man who makes the discovery of the body, and a consultant to the police. 

Max's new curate, Destiny Chatsworth, plays an important role as well, overhearing a conversation in London that references the village, and remembering a personality from her university days. 

The characters and setting are very twee here, with the character names almost overdone. There are also several characters that are stereotypical on the surface, but surprising as one gets to know more about them, such as the avid volunteer Eugenia Smith-Ganderfort, the housekeeper Mrs. Hooser, the retired schoolteacher Miss Agnes Pitchford, and the Lord and Lady of the Manor, along with their adult children. 

This is the fifth book in the series, but the first that I've read and I found the character list at the beginning helpful to place the numerous people. 

There is definitely a touch of wit in this mystery, along with the cosy atmosphere of village life. 

Cape Diamond

Finished October 13

Cape Diamond by Ron Corbett

This is another mystery centering on police officer Frank Yakabuski, taking place in a small city in northern Canada. As the book opens, the body of a retired leader of one of the main criminal organizations operating in the town is found hung on a fence on the side of town he wouldn't normally be in. The body has been beaten and stabbed and mutilated and a strange object is found in the victim's mouth. This act gives rise to acts of violence between the Shiners and the Travellers, two criminal gangs with a long history in the area and beyond. The escalation of this rivalry with the death of a man in the rival organization and the kidnapping of a young girl has Frank looking back into the history of the groups, and people who have disappeared or kept themselves out of the limelight. 

Frank's father, a retired disabled police officer, has some knowledge of both groups, and he is convinced to share this with Frank given the serious nature of the acts taking place. A young man connected to one gang also offers a bit of useful information. 

There is also another voice in this story, a man travelling from the southern United States toward this northern town, leaving death in his wake. We see him thinking about what he will do when he gets to his destination and killing when the opportunity or a perceived threat comes into play. 

There are themes of disappearing, land claims, family dynamics, and the realities of life in a remote area. A very engrossing read.