Heartstone by CJ Sansom - It's a few years now since I started reading these books. I remember buying the first two books from Amazon and not very far into the first book I was well and truly hooked. I love 'detective' stories and when they're set in the past they're twice as appealing to me. The historical detail in these books is superb - CJ Sansom has a PhD in History and it shows! Matthew Shardlake is such an unlikely hero - a bent, hunchback lawyer whose faith has been eroded away by the excesses and injustices of the court of Henry VIII. There was a point in this book when I feared that Mr. Sansom had decided that Matthew has pursued his final investigation but thank goodness that wasn't the case. This story is set around the time of the 1544-6 war with France and Matthew's investigations while not related to the war, do result in his 'involvement' in the war. I can't recommend these books enough and wish I had the time to go back and re-read the first 4 books. (library)
Our Tragic Universe by Scarlett Thomas - Having read The End of Mr Y and PopCo I was anticipating a good read when I picked up this book. Unfortunately I can find little that is good to say about it. As always, the cover was fabulous and inviting and the blurb on the back describes it as 'smart, entrancing and buzzing with big ideas.' I'm sorry to say that I was so entranced that on more than one occasion I fell asleep while reading it. I only persisted because I wanted Meg to ditch the terrible boyfriend and get on with her life - thank goodness she did do that or I would consider the hours that it took me to read this book completely and utterly wasted. (library)
The Infernal Game : Ghost Dance by Rebecca Levine - this was the second in a series of books and although not quite as 'different' as the first book it was an enjoyable read. (library)
A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris - there's nothing quite like a Sookie and this book had quite a few. I'm not a keen short story reader to be honest and I had already read two of these before in other compilations but...I did enjoy this little treat even though it didn't last very long. I think my favourite is the Christmas story. (library)
Fool's Puzzle by Earlene Fowler - an new series of cozy mysteries with a quilting twist added to them, what a treat! Benni Harper is the (very unofficial) investigator in these books, her full time job being curator of a small town museum. I really enjoyed this and no need to be put off by the quiltyness of it if you're not a fan of quilting as the actual murder doesn't revolve around quilting really. (TBR)
Uncle Petros and Goldbach's Conjecture by Apostolos Doxiadis - I spotted this on Carol's list and ordered it from the library and I was not disappointed in the slightest. If I hadn't had a need to sleep I would have read it from cover to cover without pause. An unusual story but most enjoyable...not very long either really. (library)
Something Borrowed by Paul Magrs - the second in the series of Brenda and Effie adventures and several threads came together in this one and there was a glimpse of some of Brenda's past life. Good fun! (library)
Jump by Jilly Cooper - in the past I have enjoyed Jilly Cooper's stories until the book previous to this one which I thought was much too long. I decided to give this one a go to see if matters had improved but they had not. So many characters introduced into the story at the beginning that I felt quite dizzy trying to work out who they all were and to top that most of them were given ridiculous nicknames which made it even more confusing and irritating. Topped off by a few extremely unpleasant 'adult' scenes the 800 pages of this book have put me off bothering with anymore of this lady's writing. (library)
Irish Chain by Earlene Fowler - murder in the old folks home this time and Benni is on the case...much to the annoyance of the angst ridden Chief of Police! (TBR)
Having bought some new bookshelves this month in which to house my ever expanding book collection I've realised that I really need to address the size of my Mt TBR and stop ordering books up from the library for a while. Not sure how that idea is going to go but I'll give it a go!
That's a familiar looking list :-D
I must get the second Rebecca Levine book ordered up from the library now you've reminded me. I quite liked the first one.
Glad you liked Uncle Petros.
I like the sound of your quilting mysteries. I've got a new cozy series to start myself. I'll let you know what they're like.
Good luck with not using the library. I'll try not to tempt you with any new books then shall I?
Posted by: Carole | 04 November 2010 at 02:33 PM