Reading in February 2018

So far I have read nine books in January and nine books in February; a lot of reading for me. Two of the nine books read in February were not crime fiction, although there is a bit of mystery in one of them.

In the non-crime related group, we have:

Love & Treasure by Ayelet Waldman (2014)

This is a story about World War II, its aftermath, the Holocaust, displaced persons in camps, and the looting of the belongings of Jewish families.The story begins with a Prologue set in 2013 when Jack Wiseman is dying. He passes a pendant that he took from the Gold Train collection on to his granddaughter, with a request to return it to its rightful owner. What follows is essentially three linked novellas, each a self-contained story, depicting some events related to the pendant. See my review here.

The Blitz:  The British Under Attack by Juliet Gardiner (2010)

It took me over a year to read this. It is a very good book, and a topic I am extremely interested in, but it was harrowing to read about the Blitz, and non-fiction isn't my favorite reading. So I took lots of breaks. A lot of it was first hand accounts of life in Britain during the Blitz, what people had to endure, the difficulty of providing support for those who had lost homes or families, and the devastation to the cities.

This is a very readable book and I would not discourage anyone from reading it, but I see it more as a historical reference in which the author has pulled together a tremendous amount of information about this event in history.

Moving on to my crime fiction reads, this month I read three books in the espionage fiction sub-genre, three vintage mysteries, and a historical mystery. And all of these were from my TBR piles, books that I have owned for at least a year, and in most cases it has been several years.

Death in the Stocks by Georgette Heyer (1935)

Georgette Heyer (1902-1972) is primarily known for her regency romances, but she also wrote 12 mystery novels. Four of them featured Inspector Hemingway, and this is the 2nd novel in that series. I have just recently started reading Heyer's mysteries again, and I am enjoying them quite a bit. See my review here.

The Polish Officer by Alan Furst (1995)

The Polish officer of the title is recruited into the Polish underground after Poland is invaded by Germany in 1939. I was surprised by this book. It was drier than the first two books in the Night Soldiers series, and it felt more like a history than fiction. Many fans of Alan Furst's book consider this their favorite, so I think I am in a minority in my opinion. It doesn't deter me from moving on to the next one in the series, though.

Lumen by Ben Pastor (1999)

Immediately after reading The Polish Officer I started reading Lumen, which is set at the same time in Poland (1939 - 41). The protagonist is a Wehrmacht captain in Intelligence, Martin Bora, stationed in Cracow during the Nazi occupation of Poland. He is tasked with investigating the death of a nun, well known for her prophetic powers. The books were a perfect pair. I learned a lot about Poland during the time period from Alan Furst's book, and it made this one an easier and more interesting read.

The Quiller Memorandum by Adam Hall (1965)

Quiller is a British secret agent for a covert organization of spies, unacknowledged by the government. This book, originally titled The Berlin Memorandum, was the first in a series of 19 books about Quiller. There is a film adaptation starring George Segal, Alec Guinness, and Max Von Sydow. See my review here.

Murder Begins at Home by Delano Ames (1949)

Another pleasant and intriguing mystery featuring Jane and Dagobert Brown, a crime solving couple. Most of the books in the series are set in the UK, but this one, the second, is set in New Mexico, USA. One of the things I like about this series is that Jane and Dagobert are intellectual equals; Jane's part is not secondary to Dagobert's. See my review here.

Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews (2013)

A Russian mole, spies working to turn enemy agents into double agents, a school for using sex in espionage, and lots and lots of violence. Some of my favorite spy fiction is low key and more about the tradecraft and gathering secrets from documents. This one is definitely on the gritty side but also puts the emphasis on tradecraft . Another one that has been adapted to film, now in theaters. A very good book, some very interesting characters, all very well developed. 

Gold Comes in Bricks by A.A. Fair (1940)

A.A. Fair is a pseudonym used by Erle Stanley Gardner for the Bertha Cool and Donald Lam stories. Flamboyant, fast-talking Bertha Cool is the boss; Donald Lam works for her. She spends most of her time telling Donald to change his ways, until he ends up making lots of money for her. This plot involves a very rich man who wants to find out why his daughter is spending too much money. It could be gambling or blackmail.

Murder Begins at Home: Delano Ames

Another satisfying, humorous, and intriguing mystery featuring Jane and Dagobert Brown, a crime-solving couple. In this 2nd book in the series, the couple is in the US, going to visit Dagobert's aunt who lives in Detroit, but they end up traveling through New Mexico instead. During his time in the military in World War II, Dagobert met Miranda Ross, and Jane and Dagobert drop by to visit at the luxurious ranch house owned by Miranda and her husband. There are several house guests, the situation is very strange and not entirely welcoming, and soon someone at the house has been killed. The couple have to halt their travels until the mystery is solved.

Before the Browns get to Miranda's ranch they stop at Pa Fergusson's combo filling station, eatery, and store. This a a description of Pa's daughter-in-law, Yolanda. Jane, the narrator, is writing a book about the mystery.

While I was noting these details, Dagobert was addressing the girl who stood with hands on hips behind the Coca-Cola cooler. She was appraising us coolly — or rather she was appraising Dagobert coolly — with wide dark eyes. She wore cheap earrings, which dangled as she put her head on one side, a vivid scarlet blouse, and a tight-fitting black-silk skirt. She wore no stockings, and her shoes, a size too big for her, were run over at the heels.

Dagobert, glancing through this description, says that I have somehow missed the essential Yolanda. He says I've forgotten her voluptuous yet satirical mouth, her white teeth, the sheen of her black hair which fell in waves down to straight slim shoulders, the clear olive complexion, the proud swell of her bosom. These are his phrases, and I record them just to give the masculine viewpoint. There was, I admit, something about Yolanda.

We get to see Pa Fergusson quite a bit more in this story, because he is also a deputy sheriff and in charge of investigating the murder at the ranch.

Jane and Dagobert are both such good characters, strange, weird, and adventurous. One of the things I like about this series is that they are intellectual equals; Jane's part is not secondary to Dagobert's. Some reviewers have compared this couple to Nick and Nora Charles. Jane and Dagobert do tend to talk about drinking a lot, although I don't remember them doing so much of it. And their repartee is clever and risqué at times.

The secondary characters at the ranch are a different matter; they all seem to be strange and not so wonderful characters, in different ways, and they all seem to be focused on Miranda. At first most of them are unappealing but throughout the book the reader can see that first impressions may be deceiving.

These books are humorous and not quite realistic but in the midst of all the shenanigans there is a serious mystery. I have to admit it, this book is not nearly as much fun as She Shall Have Murder, the first book in the series. I don't know if it is the setting (London law office vs. New Mexico ranch), or the characters. But still, I enjoyed the story. I have read reviews of some of the other books in this series and it seems the couple travel a lot. I look forward to more adventures in exotic places.

My copy was generously sent to me by Moira at Clothes in Books since she knows I love book covers with skulls; note the tiny skulls in the flowers on the book cover. Also see Moira's review of this book.


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Publisher:   Rue Morgue Press, 2009 (orig. pub. 1949)
Length:      191 pages
Format:      Trade Paperback
Series:       Jane and Dagobert Brown series  #2
Setting:      New Mexico
Genre:        Mystery
Source:      A gift.

20 Books of Summer 2017

This year I was reminded of 20 Books of Summer by Nancy at NancyElin, whose list is here. The originator of the challenge is Cathy at 746 Books. Check out Cathy's list for more information.

For the 20 Books of Summer challenge I am choosing twenty books to read between June 1st and September 3rd, 2017. There are options for 15 books or 10 books for those who don't want to commit to 20.

And this is my list:

• The Fashion in Shrouds by Margery Allingham (1938)
• Murder Begins at Home by Delano Ames (1949)
• Track of the Cat by Nevada Barr (1993)
• The Emperor's Snuff-Box by John Dickson Carr  (1942)
• Red Bones by Ann Cleeves (2009)
• The Black Ice by Michael Connelly (1993)
• Evil at the Root by Bill Crider (1990)

• Crooked Heart by Lissa Evans (2009)
• City of Dragons by Kelli Stanley (2010)
• Dr. No by Ian Fleming (1958)
• Malicious Intent by Kathryn Fox (2004)
• Dead Skip by Joe Gores (1972)
• Bodies Are Where You Find Them by Brett Halliday (1941)
• The Distant Echo by Val McDermid (2003)
• Vanishing Act by Thomas Perry (1994)

• Deep Water by Christine Poulson (2016)
• Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy Sayers (1937) 
• New Orleans Mourning by Julie Smith (1990)
• The Man with the Getaway Face by Richard Stark (1963)
• Brothers, Keepers by Donald E. Westlake (1975)

Favorite Reads of 2016

Goodreads says that I have read 83 books in 2016, which means I will probably end with a total of 85 books read. I tried to cut my list of favorite books for 2016 down to less than ten, but that did not work, and for the third year I ended up with 11 books on the list.

Four of the books fall in the spy fiction sub-genre. Five of the books were published between 1939 and 1986. Six of the books were published between 2001 and 2016 and three of those were published in 2016.

The links go to my reviews / overviews.

Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout (1939)
As usual, the Nero Wolfe mysteries I read this year were among my top reads (and all were rereads). I chose just one book to represent this author.

Nero Wolfe is well known for his extreme distaste for leaving his home. Some Buried Caesar is one of two novels that I can remember where Wolfe and Archie are away from the brownstone from the beginning to the end of the book. Archie drives Wolfe to an exposition where he will display some of his prize orchids, so the story places Archie and Nero into an environment that they know little about. But my favorite thing about this book is that it introduces Lily Rowan.



She Shall Have Murder by Delano Ames (1948)
A Golden Age mystery, set in post-war London, with rationing, feeding the gasmeters, etc. At the beginning of this book, Jane Hamish is writing a mystery story and Dagobert, her lover, is giving her ideas for the plot. Dagobert is unemployed; Jane works in a lawyer's office. Although at first I found Dagobert very annoying, he grew on me as the book moved along and Jane Hamish and Dagobert Brown quickly became my favorite detecting couple in Golden Age fiction.

From Russia with Love by Ian Fleming (1957)

This is the fifth novel in the James Bond series, the fourth that I read this year, and it is by far my favorite so far. I have always loved the movie, and luckily in this case the movie and the book are very close.

The three previous Bond books I read were more like adventure stories. From Russia with Love sticks closer to the conventional type of spy story I prefer. Early chapters focus on SMERSH agents setting up a plot to assassinate James Bond and our hero doesn't show up until later in the story. The plot is complicated, there is a train trip on the Orient Express with a beautiful enemy agent, and plenty of exotic settings.

The Labyrinth Makers by Anthony Price (1970)
David Audley works for England's Ministry of Defence, but as a researcher, doing behind the scenes work. For his latest assignment he goes out in the field and he is not thrilled with this change. A WWII-era British cargo plane has been discovered at the bottom of a drained lake, complete with the dead pilot and not much else. His job is to figure out why the Soviets are so interested in the empty plane. The beginning of a spy series with eighteen more books, this is just the type of spy fiction I like: a quiet book, a lot of talking and thinking and not a lot of action.

A Perfect Spy by John le Carré (1986)
This is one of seven books I read this year by John le Carré and they were all excellent books. I picked just one of them to represent this author.

Magnus Pym, a British spy assigned to an important post in Vienna, has disappeared. After he gets a call that his father has died, he leaves for the funeral in London, but he doesn't return when expected. British intelligence agents mount a search for him. Being the gifted spy that he is, Pym easily eludes them for the majority of the book. A Perfect Spy revolves around Magnus Pym's relationship with his father, Rick, a con man who uses everyone in his life to achieve his own goals. The story is mostly autobiographical.

Pashazade by John Courtenay Grimwood (2001)
The first book in the Arabesk Trilogy. The story starts with the investigation of a murder, but the chapters skip back and forth in time, sometimes a few days, sometimes going back years in flashbacks. The setting in the present time is El Iskandryia, a North African metropolis in a world where "the United States brokered a deal that ended World War I and the Ottoman Empire never collapsed," as described on the back of the book. So this is an alternate history, sci-fi, coming of age thriller, and just my cup of tea. Pashazade has elements of a police procedural; the crime is investigated by Chief of Detectives Felix Abrinsky, formerly a policeman in Los Angeles, California, and high tech forensics are used .

Sleeping Dogs by Ed Gorman (2008)
The first in a series of five novels about Dev Conrad, a political consultant. In this novel he is working for an Illinois Senator who is running for reelection. The attitude towards politics in this novel is very cynical. Conrad truly wants his candidate to win because he believes he is the better choice of those available, but he does not see one side as bad and the other as good. No political party or ideology is demonized.

Dev Conrad is a great character. Human, not perfect, he cares about people and about his work. The people working on the campaign appear to be a close-knit group but not everyone is what they seem. The story's ending worked very well. It was logical and made sense but was a surprise to me.

An American Spy by Olen Steinhauer (2012)
Steinhauer is close to the top of my list of favorite spy fiction authors. An American Spy was the third book in his Tourist trilogy,  featuring Milo Weaver, CIA agent in the Department of Tourism. "Tourists" are undercover agents with no identity and no home. Milo is not the James Bond type, although there are plenty of thrilling escapades and violence. But we see the other side of this spy's life, the family he wishes he could spend more time with. I enjoyed picking up on Milo Weaver's adventures again. I like the depth of the characters and the exploration of the conflicts in their lives within this framework. The first book in the trilogy is The Tourist, the second is The Nearest Exit.

A Deadly Thaw by Sarah Ward (2016)
This is Sarah Ward's second novel featuring Detective Inspector Francis Sadler and his team. It is a good police procedural, focusing as much on some of the people related to the crime as on the investigative team.

The dead body of a man is found in an abandoned mortuary, located in an overgrown area outside of Bampton, Derbyshire. The deceased was supposedly murdered twelve years before. His wife, Lena, confessed to the crime and served a ten year prison sentence. Thus begins an unusual case which combines an investigation into who was killed years ago with an inquiry into whether the proper procedures were followed at that time. The plot is very complex but not at the expense of the reader's enjoyment.

See Also Deception by Larry D. Sweazy (2016)
This is the second book in a series featuring Marjorie Trumaine, set on a farm in rural North Dakota in 1964. Marjorie is an indexer, creating indexes for non-fiction books. She does this work freelance to make money that she and her husband, Hank, badly need. The area is affected by a drought, with a severe impact on the crops and livestock on the farm. Hank is an invalid due to an accident on the farm and Marjorie shoulders the responsibility for running the farm.

In this book, Marjorie's best friend in the area, a librarian, commits suicide. She begins to suspect that the suicide was faked but the police will not discuss the case with her. In addition to providing an intriguing mystery, the story gives us a vivid picture of what it was like to be a woman at this time, and how difficult it was to be heard in a man's world.

Shot in Detroit by Patricia Abbott (2016)
A novel of psychological suspense, set in 2007 Detroit. It does not paint a pretty picture of that area or the struggle to survive financially in that environment. The story centers on a female photographer who is working on a project to photograph black men who have died much too young. The subject matter is sometimes unsettling and the story is dark.

Violet Hart is the center of this story. She has family issues; her father deserted her family and her sister died when she was young. She has trouble making ends meet and wants very much to succeed in artistic photography. She is not a very likable person, willing to use people to get what she wants, always pushing her agenda first.

She Shall Have Murder: Delano Ames

This light mystery was fun and another look at a sleuthing couple. (Last week's post was on Fast Company with a husband and wife sleuthing team who are rare book dealers.) In this book, Dagobert Brown is encouraging his fiancé, Jane Hamish, to write a mystery novel using the lawyer's office she works in as background. This is his new passion. As Jane says,

It has not occurred to Dagobert to write this himself--his style is to conceive great works rather than execute them. He will inspire me, and correct my spelling. In any case his latest hobby is my writing a thriller. 

Unfortunately, after they have spent some time in research for the book, someone connected to the office actually dies. Only Dagobert suspects that it is murder, not an accident.

At first I found Dagobert very annoying, too eccentric, too flip,  a man who was always looking for a job but never finding one. Yet he grew on me as the book moved along and Jane and Dagobert quickly became candidates for my favorite detecting couple in Golden Age fiction. This is the first in a series of 12 books about the pair, and it will be interesting to see how they continue falling into situations with murders to solve. I should note that I read several of the series when I was much younger, and I remember enjoying them. But tastes change, so we shall see.

She Shall Have Murder also provides a very interesting look at post-war life in London with its privations, for example rationing and feeding gas meters with shillings. The characters in the law office are interesting and the plot has enough complexity to keep it interesting. Romances abound in this story but they contribute to the plot and do not take it over.

My husband is from Ohio so I was interested to see that the author, Delano Ames, was born in Mount Vernon, Ohio in 1906. Per the Knox County Historical Society site, Ames "left the United States about 1935 and spent most of the rest of his life in Europe."

There are several other good reviews and overviews of this book:

• Yvette's review at In So Many Words
• B.V. Lawson's review at In Reference to Murder
• Annie's review at A Bookish Type

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Publisher:   Dell, 1949. Orig. pub. 1948.
Length:      224 pages
Format:      Paperback
Series:       Jane and Dagobert Brown
Setting:      London
Genre:       Mystery
Source:      I purchased my copies.

Reading in July 2016

In July, I read seven books... all of them crime fiction. Four of them were published before 1960, and three of them were published after 1999. That includes more current crime fiction than usual for me, but the majority of my reading this month was still early crime fiction.

This is the list of books I read in July:

Fire Will Freeze by Margaret Millar
Vertigo by Boileau-Narcejac (originally published as D'entre les Morts in 1954)
Shot in Detroit by Patricia Abbott
She Shall Have Murder by Delano Ames
The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon
Dead Lions by Mick Herron
Jar City by Arnaldur Indriðason

The two books that I read this month that had the most impact on me were Patricia Abbott's Shot in Detroit and Delano Ames' She Shall Have Murder. The subject matter and style of the books were poles apart but they both engaged me 100% while I was reading them.  And the fact that both of them were favorites illustrates one of things I love about crime fiction: it has so much variety to offer.

She Shall Have Murder is a Golden Age mystery, published in 1948, set in London. Post-war London, with rationing, feeding the gasmeters, etc. is one of my favorite settings. At the beginning of this book, Jane Hamish is writing a mystery story and Dagobert, her lover, is giving her ideas for the plot. Dagobert is unemployed; Jane works in a lawyer's office. Although at first I found Dagobert very annoying, he grew on me as the book moved along and Jane Hamish and Dagobert Brown quickly became my favorite detecting couple in Golden Age fiction. I read some of this series in my youth and I was glad that this one did not disappoint.

Shot in Detroit is a novel of psychological suspense, set in 2007 Detroit. It does not paint a pretty picture of that area or the struggle to survive financially in that environment. The story centers on a female photographer who is working on a project to photograph black men who have died much too young. The subject matter is sometimes unsettling and the story is dark. My full review is here.

The rest of the books I read in July were also very high quality and great reads. I had a wonderful reading month.

I am reading from a list of books for the 20 Books of Summer challenge (which covers the dates June 1 - September 5th). I took this on because I had a list of books I wanted to read and I thought the challenge would keep on that path. So far my only deviation has been a book for the Crimes of the Century meme at Past Offences.


Still, at the end of July I have only 36 days to read another nine books and I probably won't accomplish that. An average month for me is 6 books. I have been happy with all the books with my list of books so far. Only one of the remaining books (a Smiley book by John le Carré) is exceptionally long, so wish me luck.

20 Books of Summer 2016

I first learned of this challenge at A Crime is Afoot, then saw lists at Cleopatra Loves Books and findingtimetowrite. Then I was reminded today by Keishon's post at Yet Another Crime Fiction Blog. She hasn't put up a list yet, and I look forward to seeing it.

The challenge is to read 20 Books in Summer; it begins on June 1 and goes through September 5th. The originator is Cathy at 746 Books. Visit there for more information. She does also suggest 15 book or 10 book versions for those who don't want to commit to 20.

I resisted at first because it is a challenge and I haven't done so well at those lately, but I do like the ones with a shorter span of time. I already knew of seven books that I planned to read ASAP and thought, why not add others I have been wanting to read soon, and see what happens?




So, here is my list:

• The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie (1929)
• Passing by Nella Larsen (1929)
• Some Buried Caesar by Rex Stout (1939)
• Murder Among Friends by Elizabeth Ferrars (1946)
• She Shall Have Murder by Delano Ames (1948)
• Murder Begins at Home by Delano Ames (1949)
• Vertigo by Boileau-Narcejac (orig. publ. as D'entre les morts in 1954)
• From Russia with Love by Ian Fleming (1957)
• The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon (1959)
• Smiley's People by John le Carré  (1979)
• The Black Company by Glen Cook (1984)
• A Perfect Spy by John le Carré  (1986)
• Mort by Terry Pratchett (1987)
• Grifters & Swindlers ed. by Cynthia Mason (short story anthology, 1993)
• Jar City by Arnaldur Indriðason (2000)
• An American Spy by Olen Steinhauer (2012)
• Dead Lions by Mick Herron (2013)
• Murder and Other Unnatural Disasters by Lida Sideris (2015)
• See Also Deception by Larry D. Sweazy (2016)
• Shot in Detroit by Patricia Abbott (2016)

I know that I will want to add a book in July and August for Crimes of the Century at Past Offences, but otherwise I hope to stay on track.

At this point, if I succeed, this will remove 15 books from my TBR shelves, boxes, and stacks. That will be good as I move toward the big book sale in September that always adds many more books to the shelves.

Note that on the cover of Murder Begins at Home above, many of the tiny white flowers have skulls in them. Moira at Clothes in Books graciously sent me this edition to add to my collection of book covers adorned with skulls.