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Thursday, June 27, 2019

What I've been reading...

I thought I would just do a short update about what I've been reading and listening to in the last few days.  Some really good books in my opinion.

First of all, I've gone down the rabbit hole with Betty Webb's Lena Jones series.  I mentioned the first book, Desert Noir, a couple of weeks ago and said that I was thinking of reading all 10 books in the series soon.  I've definitely made a start in that direction.



Desert Wives is the second book in the series.  In this tale, Lena goes undercover at a community in northern Arizona that practices polygamy.  Lena had been hired to help a young teen escape from the community by the mother of the girl.  However, the leader has been murdered and the mother has been arrested.  Lena and Jimmy, her partner, step in to help.



The third book in the series, Desert Shadows, was quickly in my hand and I became absorbed in learning about the independent publishing industry and helping Lena solve the murder of a very unpleasant woman who headed up Patriot's Blood Press.  Jimmy's cousin, Owen Sisiwan, has been accused of murdering the woman, who was his employer.  The author said that her own publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, was helpful in letting her see behind the scenes of a small independent.
 


Did I go right on to #4?  Yes I did and enjoyed it thoroughly.  Desert Run concerns an independent movie being made about a German POW camp in the area and an escape of prisoners on Christmas Eve, 1944.  This is based on a true story, which Betty Webb relates in the author's notes.  One of the escapees, a German U-boat captain who settled in the US after the war, is the victim this time.  Not that anyone is mourning him.  He was assisting in the documentary production and is, of course, quite old.  His Ethiopian caretaker is the person accused of the crime.  Lena, always ready to help right what she perceives as a wrong, investigates.  She's in a tough place in her life because it seems that everyone is leaving her - her old boss in the police is moving back to Brooklyn and Jimmy, her partner, has taken a job with a tech firm (maybe).  We also continue to learn a bit about Lena's history.



Now to the books that I listened to on audio.  I've been very pleased to find that Mary Stewart's books (she's one of my favorite authors from the past) have recently been recorded with new narrators.  Some are already available now and some will be coming.  Not sure if they were previously recorded as books on tape long ago, but I know I never listened to any of them.  I picked up a couple of my favorites and began a delightful reread of Touch Not the Cat.  It was narrated by Zoe Mills and I loved everything about it.  It had been a long time since I visited this book, originally published in 1976.  That was probably the year that I originally read it - I would have been in early college days.  Gothic-type romantic suspense.  Lovely!



The last book I'll talk about is another that I loved (and have quickly moved on to the second in the series).  It's The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan.  Narrated by Aoife McMahon (pronounced 'eef-a'), I was thinking up reasons to keep listening.  This is the first book in a crime series set in Ireland featuring DS Cormac Reilly.  It concerns a crime that is connected to a case Cormac had very early in his career - his first week in fact.  Cormac has returned to Galway from being with a special squad in Dublin and has not found his welcome warm at all.  If you like the books that Tana French writes, the ones about the Dublin Murder Squad, you might like this one.  The second book has recently been published, The Scholar.  I'm listening to that one now.

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That's it for now.  Hope everyone has a nice weekend!   

26 comments:

  1. Totally agree with the Dervla McTiernan books. I've enjoyed them. I hadn't heard of Betty Webb before you started talking about her, but her books sound like ones I would enjoy and they're set in Arizona! I'm definitely going to check them out.

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    1. Yes, Lena is based in Scottsdale and that's your part of the world. You should think about trying them. You'd at least recognize a lot of the setting I suspect.

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  2. That Lena Jones really gets around in that series! They all sound like fun. :)

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    1. I'm enjoying them very much. Several are very issue-oriented.

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  3. I've just Desert Noir on reserve at the library, in all honesty I was surprised to fine they had it but thrilled to find they did.

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    1. Hope you like it, Cath. They definitely give you sense of what Arizona and the Phoenix area is like. You can also get a lot of that from Cathy's blog, but she's a fan of the series too.

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  4. It's always lovely to take a peek at your reading - I have a copy of The Ruin to read having bought it this year after some fab reviews...

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    1. Oh, you should try The Ruin, Cleo. I really liked it.

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  5. I'm tempted by The Ruin, and also by the Mary Stewart - another blogger I follow regularly praises her too. I think there may even be one on my TBR somewhere...

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    1. Mary Stewart's books have been around for a long, long time. Bet you've come across one or two of them. And I can recommend The Ruin.

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  6. You've had a good run with the Desert books! Sadly my library, unlike Cath's, doesn't hold any of Betty Webb's books. I'm so glad you loved The Ruin - I did too.

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    1. Sorry your library doesn't have any Betty Webb books, Margaret. Glad to hear you liked The Ruin as well.

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  7. I love when I get sucked right into a new series! I'll have to see if my library has those books ... and I see that many are available at Audible!

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    1. Yes, I'm reading the Webb books in print, but I see that part of the series is on audio. And her other series is available on audio as well - it's set in a zoo and more cozy.

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  8. I don't "do audio" but I did read the first Dervla McTiernan, The Ruin (which didn't have the meaning I thought it meant) and now want to get The Scholar. Good writing!
    You have me intrigued about these Betty Webb books. I have to admit I've never heard of her but each installment has an interesting premise, each a different subject. I just may pick up the first one and see what they're about, so thanks!

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    1. Ooh, just checked my county library system and they have most or all of the desert series, plus some about a zoo. I'm excited now to start!

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    2. Yes, I remember that audio is not your thing, but all of these are print as well. How nice that your library has some of the Betty Webb books. You could try the Lena series and see what you think and though I haven't read any of the zoo series, many love it. You might too. I'm almost finished with The Scholar - liking it very much too.

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  9. I have to admit all of these sound good to me. And I don't need to add any more books to my TBR so that is not a good thing. I have been interested in trying the books by Betty Webb in the past. The Ruin sounds good. I will put them on my list to look for at the book sale in September.

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    1. Sounds like a good plan, Tracy. Maybe you'll find some of them at your book sale in the fall.

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  10. I'm down that rabbit hole, too, only with the ultimate cozy mystery series. Oxford setting which is wonderful. A sweet amateur sleuth and tearoom owner, a good detective, and good mysteries. I couldn't be more pleased. https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/h-y-hanna/oxford-tearoom-mysteries/

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    1. Nan, glad to hear that you've found a series that you like. I'll take a look at the link you shared. Isn't it nice when we get absorbed in a new series? Oxford setting? Definitely should take a look...

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  11. Mary Stewart on audio? I will check that out. She was one of my favorites also

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    1. Yes, they seem to be recording her whole backlist. :-)

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  12. You've been busy! I am reading like a slug these days. I tend to read a lot before work but that time has been spent doing work related projects so my whole routine is off and of course,summer is flying by.

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    1. Yes, sometimes the reading time is scarce, right?

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Thanks for stopping by! I am so happy to hear your thoughts and will respond as soon as I can. Happy Reading!