Review: The Marlowe Murder Club

 by Robert Thorogood

Three, or really four, very interesting, different and well-drawn women characters collude to solve a very complex series of murders. I kept reading because I really wanted to see how it ended and how the characters developed and whether or not their budding friendship would survive the stresses of trying to work together despite their differences. And their oddities, too. One has a secret past; one a severe case in inadequacy and OCD; the third is scarily strong-willed and outspoken.

So as I say, I kept reading and enjoyed the way they all came out. But the murder mystery itself was just kind of stupid, IMHO. Complicated (overly so), and stupid.

I don't think I'll read another but that doesn't mean I don't recommend this book if it seems to be your cup-of-tea. It's fast-moving and has a pretty intense ending.

 

Review: A Walk in the Park

The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon

by Kevin Fedarko

I was expecting a fun hiking adventure and I got it--and a lot more. Although I confess to a near-fatal disbelief in the beginning--how could two guys be so naive and clueless as to set out on a trip so stunningly unprepared?  I wanted to quit reading but only slightly less than I wanted to see how he could have gotten such a long book out of such a fatal disaster.

I was glad that I persisted, and them too. Because the adventure turned out better than it started--with a lot of near-disaster along the way--and the book ended up being about much ore than just a hiking adventure. It was the story of the canyon from many perspectives--the hikers and boaters who explored it early on; the native tribes that lost it and recovered it and are in the process (possibly) of losing it again; and the companions and helpers of the author and his colleague who live to explore it nowadays.

There's a lot in this book and it's still a greatly enjoyable adventure. Highly recommended.

 

Review: Iron Lake

Cork O'Connor, #1

by William Kent Krueger

I listened to this audiobook because I'd just finished This Tender Land and I didn't want to let the author (and the time and the place) go so soon. But my reaction is very, very mixed.  This book exhibits the same complex character development and the same sense of place, mysterious and awesome, as the other book. But this was clearly written by a much younger man.

Why do I think that? Because...it seems immature, somehow. More violent (is that possible?) A frequent reliance on coincidences in the plot--not once but twice does a photo negative manage to fall out of the bag and stick in a dark corner to provide a clue to continue the action. And so many people are so obsessed with sex and call it love. I was especially irritated at the woman "Jo", his ex-wife, who is made out to be so stinking irritating and immature that I don't see how she was ever expected to get a law degree. She's alternately sharp, spineless, whiny, and stupid.

But I see this book was written in 1998 and he's written quite a few others since then, possibly as many as 19. So I will try another one soon and see if I like it better.

Review: Holiday SOS

Holiday SOS: The life-saving adventures of a travelling doctor

Ben MacFarlane

 All the wild and crazy stuff that can happen, does. To a doctor traveling to repatriate citizens of Great Britain when their vacations have gone horribly wrong. From the folks who stressed too much and suffered heart attacks--mundane in this context--to the people involved in horrid accidents with their body parts sewed up and oozing goo. And that's just the beginning.

He knows how to tell a great story, too, with enough personal info, travel adventures, medical gruesomeness, and friends back home to keep us entertained. I was hooked from page one to the end...and now I've found out that there's a sequel. Here I go again!

Gardening, yeah. End of February and not spring yet.

 Here's what an asparagus patch looks like in February

  

And here's the sad state of overwintering sage. I probably should have trimmed it back some last fall, but not I'm scared to hurt it.

 

 

 

 

At least the garlic looks great!

Review: The Little Book of Aliens

The Little Book of Aliens

by Adam Frank

I've just had my mind blown away in many different dimensions. Let me take a few questions: Why does the search for alien life make sense? Have we ever found any? Are UFO real at all? If we find "life", what will it look like?  Is evolution likely to produce the same results over and over? We have a partial answer to that, based on E.coli studies--No.

 And what about the formula

   N = R* x fp x ne x fl x fi x fc x L 

also known as the Frank Drake equation? How far are we in making good estimates for the values needed to use it?  Answer: closer than we used to be.

So much to think about here, you could read this small book ten times and come up with a hundred different insights. And mind-boggling questions.

 Wow. Oh, wow.

By the way, Mr. Frank and his editor and publisher are a fantastic writing team. The book flows like a bottle of rich soy sauce, creamy and savory and delicious.  Almost like a novel, but real!

Review: Gathering Mist

Timber Creek K-9 Mystery #9

by Margaret Mizushima

If you can suspend disbelief long enough, you can enjoy this book as much as I did. My disbelief has to do with a dog who can do everything--air scent, ground scent, backtrack a scent trail, locate humans simply by the fear and anger in their aroma; and of course, do attack, take-down, and guard.  And of course sense when humans need comforting and provide said comfort, but I suspect most dogs can do that.

So yeah, well, she'll really in love with her dog. But she writes some awfully good action scenes.  So I enjoyed that.  But as to mystery/suspense, I was very disappointed in the 'reveal' and what did, or didn't, lead up to it. But I can't explain that without spoilers.

I've enjoyed all of the series so far and will carry on if there are more. But expect a solid 4-star or possibly a 4.5-star if you're not too picky about the mystery in your thriller.

Review: This Tender Land

 by William Kent Krueger

According to the afterword, he started off thinking of writing a sequel to Huckleberry Finn. I'm glad he didn't. It reminded me of that book, just a little, but it reminded me more of A Series of Unfortunate Events.  He took four young people on a journey and proceeded to throw everything scary and unpleasant at them at every turn of the page. Whenever things started to look hopeful, something horrible jumped out of the woods to send them running away screaming.

And some of the bad comes from within themselves, too. It's all part of growing up, I guess--grappling with your inner demons. Not mention jealousy, anger, selfishness and just plain old grumpy ill will.

In any event, I'm so glad Mr. Krueger wrote this book. I listened to every minute of it, good and evil and happy and sad, and I hated to have it end.

 It's also one of those sort of fictional books that tells history better than you could get it from any of the factual sources. It's a living, breathing history, set during the great depression.  There are Indian "Schools", hoboes, faith healers, Hooverville camps, and a whole lot of miserable people moving around trying to find work. The research he did was amazing, and he brought it all to life in the best way possible.

Review: A Dog Called Hope

 A Dog Called Hope: The wounded warrior and the dog who dared to love him

 Since you're read the cover, you know it's a story of a paraplegic soldier who takes on an assistance dog. And the amazing things that ensue.  But the first few chapters alternate between the story of the puppy raiser, who lived with the special dog (Napal) for his early days, and the story of the soldier after his car crash and during hospitalization. There's a lot of pain and suffering going on for a very long time before man-meets-dog and things start to get magical.

 I almost wish there had been more of Jim Siegfreid, the puppy raiser. He was such a cool guy!  And I certainly wish there had been more of the training of Napal after Jim had to turn him over. All of that part was skipped. And while I grew a little weary of the endless suffering Jason (the soldier) had to endure, it was well-written and never made me want to skip ahead.

All together, one very great book. If you are worried about whether or not tears will flow, I pretty much guarantee they will. But it's worth it.

Neither books nor gardens

 A brief segue into the world of cooking.

 How lazy can one be to just haphazardly chop up a bunch of vegetables, toss with a little olive oil and salt, and roast them in the oven?  Lazy but happy.

 

Review: The Mysterious Lands

An Award-Winning Naturalist Explores the Four Great Deserts of the Southwest

by Ann Haymond Zwinger

Naturalist writing at the best--slow and deep, patient and prickly. She wanders about in what seems like an aimless, endless digression on the plants and things she encounters, but always managing to tell something worth knowing about the objects encountered. Not everything--where's the mystery in that?--but always something. And something interesting.

I think the book would be best enjoyed if you were yourself exploring the deserts she walks.  And in small chunks. The chapters are short, so one of them or a half of one would be ideal. I tried to read it offline, in the silence of my home far away, and I often found myself losing track of what I was reading; getting distracted, setting it down and not wanting to pick it back up.

But this is a fault of my concentration, not the writing--which is pure poetry--or the adventures she explores. Most are very, very small, almost at a microscopic level. but still so very intriguing.

 

Review: Comanche Marker Trees of Texas

by Steve Houser

Cool little book of the research and investigation that goes into evaluating trees as potential historic 'marker' trees in the former Comanche territory of Texas.  They need to be of the correct age and species and with an estimated growth rate that put them in the correct date range. I'm not sure exactly when that is, the book never seemed to tell, but I guess it's around 1825-1875.  And an examination of the scarring and/or wounds on the tree can indicate if it was likely to have been tied down during a formative period.

Very interesting stuff, I must say.