The Good Liar - Catherine McKenzie

The Good Liar by Catherine McKenzie

First Paragraph(s):

I was late.  That's why I wasn't there when it happened.
     Not in the building, not even that close.
     I lost track of time that morning trying to get the kids organized and out the door.  It happens sometimes.  I'll have everything under control and then--poof!--an hour will have gone by and we've missed whatever deadline we were supposed to hit.  School drop-off, a kid's birthday party, even an airplane once, despite the fact that we were in the terminal with plenty of time to get to our gate before pushback.

My Thoughts:

Catherine McKenzie is an author that I've enjoyed in the past.  Her books Smoke and also Fractured were suspenseful reads for me.  The Good Liar is her latest book and I liked it as well.  Three women are connected by an event that happened a year ago - a tragic explosion in downtown Chicago.  Each of them reveals their story a bit at a time.  A documentary is being made about some the families affected and so part of the tale is told in interviews with the filmmaker.  As the title indicates, there are lies and secrets.  All the women are hiding something and, eventually, all is known.

As I said, I've liked Catherine McKenzie's books and struggle a bit with how to relate my thoughts.  This book has great reviews and they are deserved, to a certain extent, in my opinion.  I do think that I am maybe a bit too savvy about 'twists' in the story.  I normally don't mind when I guess all secrets, but I found this one a bit too predicable for me.  It may have just been my mood or, as I've shared lately, I'm needing to slightly limit my 'domestic thriller' books.  I've gotten a little burned out.  So, all this means - please don't let me discourage you from trying this one.  However, I'm off to find a something different - at least for now. 

Blurb:

When an explosion rips apart a Chicago building, the lives of three women are forever altered.

A year later, Cecily is in mourning. She was supposed to be in the building that day. Instead, she stood on the street and witnessed it going down, with her husband and best friend inside. Kate, now living thousands of miles away, fled the disaster and is hoping that her past won’t catch up with her. And Franny, a young woman in search of her birth mother, watched the horror unfold on the morning news, knowing that the woman she was so desperate to reconnect with was in the building.

Now, despite the marks left by the tragedy, they all seem safe. But as its anniversary dominates the media, the memories of that terrifying morning become dangerous triggers. All these women are guarding important secrets. Just how far will they go to keep them?

The Lewis Man - Peter May

The Lewis Man by Peter May

First Paragraph(s):

On this storm-lashed island three hours off the north-west coast of Scotland, what little soil exists gives the people their food and their heat.  It also takes their dead.  And very occasionally, as today, gives one up.
     It is a social thing, the peat-cutting.  Family, neighbours, children, all gathered on the moor with a mild wind blowing out of the south-west to dry the grasses and keep the midges at bay.  Annag is just five years old.  It is her first peat-cutting, and the one she will remember for the rest of her life.

My Thoughts:

I have been enjoying my time visiting Peter May's trilogy set in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.  The Lewis Man is narrated by Peter Forbes (who narrates this whole trilogy plus Entry Island).  His voice is great and his pronunciation of the difficult Gaelic words is spot on.  I also want to say that I'll be moving on to the third book, The Chessmen, next.  I've already written about that one here and won't be including another review.  If you'd like to see my thoughts, click on the link above.

After the events related in The Blackhouse, Fin Macleod has resigned his job, agreed to a divorce from his wife, and moved to Lewis planning to renovate his parents' old croft.  Not long after he arrives, DS George Gunn crosses his path and tells him of a body that's been found in the peat.  It appears to have been there for 50 years or so and, more importantly, DNA has shown that the dead man is related to Tormod Macdonald, Marsaili's father.  Tormod is suffering from advanced dementia and Marsaili's mother has passed responsibility for him on to her daughter.  Since a police investigation into the circumstances of the death is imminent, Fin must step in to assist.

This book is probably my favorite of the trilogy.  The story is related in pieces as Fin tries to determine what exactly happened years ago and how Tormod is connected.  Tormod himself relates part of the story through memories (his past thoughts are much more coherent than his present day).  Dealing with and relating to a person with advanced dementia is tough and very, very poignant.  Fin is better able to handle the queries, but it's not easy peeling back the layers of time.  And then things get much more dire as a present day threat presents itself.  The book comes to a most dramatic and shocking ending.  As with the previous book, the setting is vividly described and traditions and customs revealed in interesting ways.  Highly recommended.

Blurb:

In The Lewis Man, the second book of the trilogy, Fin Macleod has returned to the Isle of Lewis, the storm-tossed, wind-scoured outer Hebridean island where he was born and raised. Having left behind his adult life in Edinburgh--including his wife and his career in the police force--the former Detective Inspector is intent on repairing past relationships and restoring his parents' derelict cottage. His plans are interrupted when an unidentified corpse is recovered from a Lewis peat bog. The only clue to its identity is a DNA match to a local farmer, the now-senile Tormod Macdonald--the father of Fin's childhood sweetheart, Marsaili--a man who has claimed throughout his life to be an only child, practically an orphan. Reluctantly drawn into the investigation, Fin uncovers deep family secrets even as he draws closer to the killer who wishes to keep them hidden.

Waiting on Wednesday - The Last Thing I Told You

I'm posting a 'soon to be released' book on Wednesdays.  These will always be books that I am particularly looking forward to.  I'll be linking up to 'Can't-Wait Wednesday' hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings and plan to take part in this each week.

I've read one other book by Emily Arsenault, In Search of the Rose Notes, but have meant to read more.  This week I'm waiting on:

The Last Thing I Told You

by Emily Arsenault

Publication Date:  July 24th

I hear myself whispering. Not again. Not again.

Why did I ever come back here? Surely because of you. Because I thought of something I’d always meant to tell you. Because you were the only one I ever really wanted to tell it to…

Therapist Dr. Mark Fabian is dead—bludgeoned in his office.

But that doesn’t stop former patient Nadine Raines from talking to him—in her head. Why did she come back to her hometown after so many years away? Everyone here thinks she’s crazy. And she has to admit—they might have good reason to think so. She committed a shockingly violent act when she was sixteen, and has never really been able to explain that dark impulse—even to Fabian. Now that Fabian’s dead, why is she still trying?

Meanwhile, as Detective Henry Peacher investigates Fabian’s death, he discovers that shortly before he died, Fabian pulled the files of two former patients. One was of Nadine Raines, one of Henry’s former high school classmates. Henry still remembers the disturbing attack on a teacher that marked Nadine as a deeply troubled teen.

More shockingly, the other file was of Johnny Streeter, who is now serving a life sentence for a mass shooting five years ago. The shooting devastated the town and everyone—including Henry, who is uncomfortable with the “hero” status the tragedy afforded him—is ready to move on. But the appearance of his file brings up new questions. Maybe there is a decades-old connection between Nadine and Streeter. And maybe that somehow explains what Nadine is doing in Fabian’s office nearly twenty years after being his patient. Or how Fabian ended up dead two days after her return. Or why Nadine has fled town once again.

But as Nadine and Henry head toward a confrontation, both will discover that the secrets of people’s hearts are rarely simple, and—even in the hidden depths of a psychologist’s files—rarely as they appear.

A Conspiracy in Belgravia - Sherry Thomas

A Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas

First Paragraph(s):

Thank goodness for a blatantly obvious murder.  
     Inspector Treadles did not say those words aloud--that would be disrespectful to the deceased.  But he most certainly entertained the thought as he made his way, Sergeant MacDonald in tow, to the house where the body had been found.
     After the taxing irregularities of the Sackville case, a run-of-the-mill murder would be calming and restorative.  He looked forward to gathering clues.  He looked forward to questioning witnesses.  He looked forward to assembling an account that would serve as the crown's evidence.
     He looked forward to handling every aspect of the work on his own, without needing to turn to anyone else for help.

My Thoughts:

I am really liking Sherry Thomas' series featuring Charlotte Holmes (aka Sherlock) and Mrs. Watson.  A Conspiracy in Belgravia is the second book and it added new and intriguing characters and problems to this 'twist' on the Sherlock theme.  We now are introduced to Lord Ingram's brother, who solves 'interesting' problems for the crown (Mycroft Holmes).  And Moriarty has entered the story and shadows are everywhere with his influence.  There are ciphers to interpret, dead bodies, secrets galore, Charlotte's sister Livia's mystery man, Mrs. Watson's niece, and a Holmes half-brother.  Also, Mrs. Watson begins training Charlotte in self-defense, which is a bit of a tough proposition because our 'Lady Sherlock' likes her tea cakes a lot more than exercise.  In the end, most of the answers to the problems presented are revealed...or are they?  Guess we'll have to find out in the 3rd book, The Hollow of Fear, which will be published in early October.  I can't wait!

Blurb:

Being shunned by Society gives Charlotte Holmes the time and freedom to put her extraordinary powers of deduction to good use. As “Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective,” aided by the capable Mrs. Watson, she’s had great success helping with all manner of inquiries, but she’s not prepared for the new client who arrives at her Upper Baker Street office.

Lady Ingram, wife of Charlotte’s dear friend and benefactor, wants Sherlock Holmes to find her first love, who failed to show up at their annual rendezvous. Matters of loyalty and discretion aside, the case becomes even more personal for Charlotte as the missing man is none other than Myron Finch, her illegitimate half brother.

In the meanwhile, Charlotte wrestles with a surprising proposal of marriage, a mysterious stranger woos her sister Livia, and an unidentified body surfaces where least expected. Charlotte’s investigative prowess is challenged as never before: Can she find her brother in time—or will he, too, end up as a nameless corpse somewhere in the belly of London?

Can you solve the puzzles, unlock the many locks and 'Escape'?

Today, I want to brag a little bit on my daughter and son-in-law.  They are incredibly creative people.  In real life, she's a labor-and-delivery nurse and he's a project manager.  However, they are also great cooks (him-BBQ, her-cupcakes to die for) and amazing party planners.

Have you heard about the 'Escape' events or rooms that have become popular?  Our area has a number of them and our kids have visited many, along with some of their good friends.  Usually, these involve some sort of theme and then clues to unlock the room and 'Escape'.  Recently, they decided to turn their whole house into a series of 'Escape' rooms and throw a Mystery Party for their friends to try it out.  My husband and I got a preview, along with our son-in-law's mother.  We decided that it was quite ingenious in many areas and we would have struggled for a long time to figure most parts out.

There was a theme and a video setting the stage - a murder had occurred.  Ten friends were invited and were emailed their 'character' details.  There were 6 suspects and 4 detectives.  The goal was to discover the Murderer and arrest that person.  Like a life-sized Clue Game, only with ciphers and locks and secrets.  See what you think:

      

Everyone is locked in!

After watching the video and setting the stage, clues will be found in the jigsaw puzzle.  Or maybe not!

Some hints were on the back of the wall decorations.

A map of select locations in Austin - pictures corresponding on the walls - make sure to follow in the right order...

The 'master' map showing all the rooms and the clues and locks.  Complicated, right?

The Library - clues maybe hanging from the ceiling or in the bookshelves - wait, some were on the dolls' feet!

Another view of the Library - a desk calendar was not to be overlooked...

A maze with a magnet and a key - my husband had no trouble deciphering how to retrieve the key.

The Theater had the maze, a recording to listen to for hints, and the chain on the floor.  That chain had to go out the window, drop down below to another window, and then the back door could be unlocked.

The Poker Room - all 4 walls were a 'word search' puzzle, plus the number of poker chips and the playing cards were also clues.

A rope puzzle box - I would never have untangled it.  Our son-in-law built all the wooden puzzles and mazes.

Giant decoder ring - can you figure out the cipher?

Solution was in this trunk - so, who was the murderer?  Only the detectives know!

----------------------------------------

The party went very well, I'm told.  Everyone had a great time!  It took about 4-1/2 hours and the participants arrested the wrong person - Ha! - however, gift cards were handed out as prizes.  Pictures were taken of each person in 'character' and the group is off to find their next 'Escape' adventure.

Six Degrees of Separation - From Memoirs of a Geisha to Different Seasons

I'm here with Six Degrees of Separation, a monthly link-up hosted by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. She chooses a book as a starting point and then links to six other books to form a chain. A book doesn’t need to be connected to all the other books on the list, only to the one next to it in the chain.

The starting book in this month's chain is one that I read many years ago with an online book group.  Seems like it was quite popular at the time - Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden.

I remember really liking this book and also learning a lot about a way of life that I knew nothing about.  A life in which women had few choices and many 'societal rules'.  

Connecting to women,  societal rules, few choices, I'm moving on to Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.  Another book I discussed with a book group.  Setting her book in China, Lisa See tells a historical story of friendship and sorrow.  The foot binding descriptions were heartbreaking.

Also set in China is Qiu Xiaolong's Death of a Red Heroine.  This book is the first in an award-winning mystery series featuring Inspector Chen of the Shanghai Police.  I read and discussed this one with our mystery book group a few years ago.  A lot of politics crowds the Inspector's investigation and it was quite an interesting story.

Another mystery set in China and a mystery book club selection was Eliot Pattison's The Skull Mantra.  Inspector Shan Tao Yun has been imprisoned in Tibet for having offended some high ranking officials in Beijing.  While there, he is called upon to investigate a murder.  This book won the 2000 Edgar Award for 'Best First Novel'.  It was well deserved.

Tana French won the 2008 Edgar Award for 'Best First Novel'.  Her debut book was In the Woods and it's the lead-off book for her Dublin Murder Squad series.  This is such a good book.  I've read it more than once and enjoyed it each and every time.  Telling the story of three children who get lost in the woods and then only one is found, it definitely deserved a 'Best First' award. 

Another debut thriller, The Chalk Man also tells of a group of kids who live in a small English village.  It's 1986 and all is well - and then it's not when they discover a body.  This book by C. J. Tudor is told in two time periods - 1986 and 2016.  The kids are grown, but the little chalk figures they used for secret messages have reappeared in their lives.  A very bad thing.

Our last link is to a novella in Stephen King's book, Different Seasons.  The Body is the story that the movie Stand By Me was based upon.  Again, we have a group of young friends and the search for a body.  This tale is being published for the first time as a stand-alone book this summer.  

I again had a great time creating a chain of books.  I never know where I might end up.  We've started with a book about Geishas and ended with a coming-of-age novella about 12-year-old boys looking for a body.  The connectors were 'Women, Societal Rules, Few Choices'; 'China'; 'Mystery Book Club Selections'; 'Edgar Award for Best First Novel'; 'Debut Thriller'; 'Group of Kids'; 'Search For a Body'.  And I've actually read most of these books.  Next month, May 5th, I'll be on a blog break, but I'll hope to be back for this event in June.   

The Blackhouse - Peter May

The Blackhouse by Peter May

First Paragraph(s):

They are just kids.  Sixteen years old.  Emboldened by alcohol, and hastened by the approaching Sabbath, they embrace the dark in search of love, and find only death.
     Unusually, there is just a light wind.  And for once it is warm, like breath on the skin, caressing and seductive.  A slight haze in the August sky hides the stars, but a three-quarter moon casts its pale, bloodless light across the compacted sand left by the outgoing tide.  The sea breathes gently upon the shore, phosphorescent foam bursting silver bubbles over gold.  The young couple hurries down the tarmac from the village above, blood pulsing in their heads like the beat of the waves.

My Thoughts:

This is not the first time I've read Peter May's The Blackhouse.  In fact, I think this might be the third or fourth time I've read it.  A couple of times in print and a couple on audio, narrated by Peter Forbes.  He does a great job.  I've mentioned more than once that I love this author's trilogy set on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.  May will be 'Peter May' month for our mystery group.  Each of us will read a book or several books by the author and then, well, we'll talk about them.  I decided to fulfill part of my job as 'moderator' by immersing myself in the Isle of Lewis - audio style.  I've completed The Blackhouse and am on to The Lewis Man and then The Chessmen.

The Blackhouse tells of Detective Inspector Fin Macleod who returns to his home village in order to consult about a recent murder on the island.  Fin hasn't been back for 18 years.  Lewis contains a lot of memories, old friends and a special woman, and some deep, dark secrets from his youth.  As he investigates and questions the locals, along with DS George Gunn (great character, by the way), Fin is reminded of many things that he has tried to forget.  His marriage is definitely on the rocks and he and his wife in Edinburgh are dealing with the accidental death of their young son.  Fin is in a dark place in his head, but there are darker places still to discover.

Word of warning - this book contains a local custom or tradition of hunting a certain type of bird and killing large numbers of them.  Just so you know.  There are some fairly graphic descriptions of this, plus a number of violent crimes mentioned.  These islands are quite interesting to me and starkly beautiful.  I've included a video below that comes from Peter May's research on the Isle of Lewis.  A lovely musical accompaniment is Capercaillie's 'An Gille Ban'.  More info here on the author's website.  The music is haunting and perfect for this book.  Let me know what you think if you decide to read the book or just watch the video.  Peter May has also written a 'coffee table' type book entitled Hebrides.   It has the most gorgeous photographs and history.  These books are highly recommended.

Blurb:

When a grisly murder occurs on the Isle of Lewis that bears similarities to a brutal killing on the mainland, Edinburgh detective and native islander Fin Macleod is dispatched to the Outer Hebrides to investigate, embarking at the same time on a voyage into his own troubled past.

As Fin reconnects with the people and places of his tortured childhood, the desolate but beautiful island and its ancient customs once again begin to assert their grip on his psyche. Every step toward solving the case brings Fin closer to a dangerous confrontation with the dark events of the past that shaped--and nearly destroyed--his life.

Waiting on Wednesday - The Comforts of Home

I'm posting a 'soon to be released' book on Wednesdays.  These will always be books that I am particularly looking forward to.  I'll be linking up to 'Can't-Wait Wednesday' hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings and plan to take part in this each week.

A while back I read (or rather read/listened to) the 8 books that made up the Simon Serrailler mystery series.  I really liked most of the stories and thought that there might not be any more.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered that there will indeed be a 9th book.  It won't be published until the fall, but still...I'm so excited.  This week I'm waiting on:

The Comforts of Home

by Susan Hill

Publication Date:  November 20th

His last case put Simon Serrailler in mortal danger and left him confronting a new reality. Recovering on the remote Scottish island of Taransay, his peace doesn't last long. He must take on a murder inquiry for the local police who are struggling to deal with a massive terrorist incident. 

It's good to be back on the job. When Simon returns to Lafferton, an arsonist is on the rampage and a woman whose daughter disappeared some years before is haunting the police station seeking closure. She will not let it rest, and Simon is called in to do a cold-case review. 

At home, Simon is starting to get used to having a new brother-in-law - in the form of his Chief Constable Kieron Bright. His sister Cat has embarked on a new way of practicing medicine, and his nephew Sam is trying to work out what to do with his life. Their tricky father, Richard, is living in France with a new companion. But things change, as always, and in a way which does not make Cat's chief constable husband very happy.

The Sherlockian - Graham Moore

The Sherlockian by Graham Moore

First Paragraph(s):

August 9, 1893

Arthur Conan Doyle curled his brow tightly and thought only of murder.
     'I'm going to kill him,' Conan Doyle said as he folded his arms across his broad frame.  High in the Swiss Alps, the air tickled Arthur's inch-thick mustache and seemed to blow straight through his ears.  Set far back on his head, Arthur's ears always appeared to be perking up, listening to something else, something distant and behind him.  For such a stocky man, he had a nose that was remarkably sharp.  His hair had only recently begun to gray, a process that Arthur couldn't help but wish along.  Though he was but thirty-three years of age, he was already a celebrated author.  An internationally acclaimed man of letters with light ocher hair would not do so well as a wizened one, now, would he?

My Thoughts:

The Sherlockian was the 3rd book I've read to fulfill my mystery group's April theme of Sherlock Holmes.  I listened to this book narrated by James Langton.  The Sherlockian was a different sort of tale.  Told in multiple time periods and taking the reader back and forth between scenes of Arthur Conan Doyle himself and a present day Sherlock enthusiast, it was interesting enough, but this book is probably my least favorite of the three I read for the theme.  Harold White has just been inducted into The Baker Street Irregulars, a society only open by invitation for serious Sherlock scholars.  He has heard about the 'missing diary' of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but never thought he would actually be hunting for it.  Doyle had 'killed' Holmes in print and then brought him back to life a few years later.  This missing diary supposedly reveals the 'why' that so many Sherlock scholars had puzzled over - plus, it would be worth millions in the present day.

I did enjoy the various cameos and mentions of other authors in the late 19th century time period.  Conan Doyle is investigating some crimes himself, along with his friend, Bram Stoker (yes, the creator of Dracula), searching for the murderer of several young women.  Stoker serves as 'Watson' to Doyle's 'Sherlock'.  Each chapter had a quote from a Sherlock story that was a clue for what would transpire within.  And there was a pretty extensive 'Author's Note' explaining more about where Graham Moore got his ideas, what was 'real' and what was not, along with several suggestions for further research.  This was the author's debut book.  He has since written a second book, The Last Days of Night, and he was also the screenwriter for The Imitation Game, about Alan Turing.  I did like that movie and may at some point try Moore's second book.  As for Sherlock, well, I think I've got some great books to share with the group.

Blurb:

In December 1893, Sherlock Holmes-adoring Londoners eagerly opened their Strand magazines, anticipating the detective's next adventure, only to find the unthinkable: his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, had killed their hero off. London spiraled into mourning-crowds sported black armbands in grief-and railed against Conan Doyle as his assassin.

Then in 1901, just as abruptly as Conan Doyle had "murdered" Holmes in "The Final Problem," he resurrected him. Though the writer kept detailed diaries of his days and work, Conan Doyle never explained this sudden change of heart. After his death, one of his journals from the interim period was discovered to be missing, and in the decades since, has never been found.... Or has it?

When literary researcher Harold White is inducted into the preeminent Sherlock Holmes enthusiast society, The Baker Street Irregulars, he never imagines he's about to be thrust onto the hunt for the holy grail of Holmes-ophiles: the missing diary. But when the world's leading Doylean scholar is found murdered in his hotel room, it is Harold-using wisdom and methods gleaned from countless detective stories-who takes up the search, both for the diary and for the killer.

The Dark Angel - Elly Griffiths

The Dark Angel by Elly Griffiths

First Paragraph(s): 

'This grave has lain undisturbed for over two thousand years.'  Professor Angelo Morelli speaks directly to the camera.  'This countryside has been the scene of invasion and battle from the Neolithic times until the Second World War, when the German troops fought Italian partisans in the Liri Valley.  In all that time, this body has lain under the earth.  Now, we are going to exhume it.'

My Thoughts:

Elly Griffiths writes the Ruth Galloway mystery series and it is definitely one of my favorites right now.  The Dark Angel is the 10th book and, though I know it's not yet published here in the US (coming in May), it's been out in the UK since early February.  Which in my mind makes it fair game for reading and sharing.  Ruth has been asked to consult in Italy by a colleague she met quite a while back, Angelo Morelli.  Since she's been a little down emotionally because of various events, a trip is quickly planned that will include Ruth, her daughter, Kate; Ruth's friend, Shona, and her young son.  Parts of the trip go well.  And parts definitely do not.  There is an earthquake, someone is killed, and secrets that go back to World War II are revealed.

Meanwhile, we are also keeping up with what's going on in Norfolk and DCI Nelson's life.  A man that Nelson helped put in prison over a decade ago for murder has been released.  Nelson is warned about it because that individual threatened to get even with Nelson and others on the arresting team.  As the story shifts back and forth between settings, this reader was glued to the pages.  I know that some feel like there is a little too much personal life in many of these books, but I like revisiting all the characters we've come to know.  And this book contains a lot of that side of things.  I also enjoyed the World War II info and trivia and the bright, sunny Italian location.  I often feel that taking the characters out of their 'hometown' gives a series a boost and allows an author to bring in new challenges.  I was very pleased with The Dark Angel and will once again be eagerly anticipating the next Ruth Galloway mystery.   

Blurb:

It’s not every day that you’re summoned to the Italian countryside on business, so when archaeologist Angelo Morelli asks for Ruth Galloway’s help identifying bones found in the tiny hilltop town of Fontana Liri, she jumps at the chance to go, bringing her daughter along with her for a working vacation. Upon arriving, she begins to hear murmurs of Fontana Liri’s strong resistance movement during World War II and senses the townspeople are dancing around a deeply buried secret. But how could that be connected to the ancient remains she’s been studying?

Ruth is just beginning to get her footing in the dig when she’s thrown off-guard by the appearance of DCI Nelson. And when Ruth’s findings lead them to a modern-day murder, their holidays are both turned upside down, and they race to find out what darkness is lurking in this seemingly picturesque town.