TITLE: ;MY LADY JUDGE
AUTHOR: CORA HARRISON
Pages: 385
Date: 14/12/2008
Grade: 5
Details: no. 1 Burren Mystery
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The year is 1509. In England young Henry VIII has just become king, but the Burren on the west coast of Ireland is not yet under English law. Here the old laws still govern, and justice is maintained and enforced by Brehons, local judges.
Mara is such a Brehon and has to investigate the murder of her assistant. On May day he joined other locals on top of Mullaghmore Mountain for the lighting of the traditional bonfire, but he was the only one not coming back from the mountain. And, although lots of people must have passed his slain body on the way down, nobody said a thing.
It soon appears that the young man was a scrupulous blackmailer and that lots of people had reasons for wanting him dead. It's down to Mara to find the murderer and restore justice to her community. However, this murder is not the only crime in need of solving, and king Turlough Don O'Brien provides Mara with another dilemma to ponder.
This was a wonderful book; very well written by a very knowledgeable author, with characters that really come alive. The setting, time and customs are described in such a way that they feel real and natural. I love the idea of Brehon law, as it is based on the principles of confession, forgiveness and compensation.
Even if the mystery itself had been disappointing I would have loved this book, but fortunately the mystery was as good as the rest of the book.
TITLE: THE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR
AUTHOR: ROISIN MEANEY
Pages: 439
Date: 12/12/2008
Grade: 4
Library
On Millar's Avenue are only three houses numbered 7, 8 and 9.
In number 7 lives Yvonne O'Mahony with her daughter Clara. After nearly twenty years of widowhood, Yvonne is turning to Internet dating with less than great results. Her daughter Clara appears to be a normal and happy twenty three year old woman but she's been holding a dreadful secret for over 10 years.
Number 8 used to be home to Dan and his wife Ali, until Ali left him after two years of marriage for Dan's much older uncle, Declan. This leaves Dan angry, confused and hurt. A surprising bit of news will further complicate his life, but his new tenant, Kieran, a man with a secret of his own, provides him with a new found interest in cooking.
Number 9 is occupied by Kathryn, her husband Justin and her mother in law Grainne. Kathryn is struggling to keep her marriage together despite Grainne's constant efforts to cause it to break down.
Over the next 13 months all these people will go through ups and downs and life changing events, discovering that what they need can be found closer to home than they ever thought possible.
This is another author clearly writing in the vein of Meave Binchy, yet with her own voice. It must be the legendary Irish talent for story telling that makes these authors so good at describing ordinary people with fairly uneventful lives in such a compelling way.
TITLE: THE DAY OF THE DEAD
AUTHOR: JOHN CREED
Pages: 246
Date: 11/12/2008
Grade: 4.5
Details: no. 2 Jack Valentine Mystery
Library
After the events in book one, Jack Valentine is no longer working covert operations. And when an old friend asks him for help because his daughter has fallen in with a powerful heroin dealer in New York, it seems a straight forward enough request.
However, before they can even leave for New York Jack's friend, Paulo, is nearly killed in an attack, and Jack has some idea of what he's up against.
In New York Jack is reunited with Deirdre and Liam, and recruits some more help for his rescue mission. However, almost from the start it's clear that they are fighting someone far more powerful then they were lead to believe.
As the operation moves from New York to Mexico, Jack slowly realizes that once again he's been given at best half truths and incomplete information. And with the body count rising a happy ending seems unlikely.
These books keep on reminding me of the Jack Reacher stories, not least because of all the violence, but like Reacher, Valentine too has redeeming qualities. Right now I've only got one more title to look forward to in this series, but I can always hope for more.
TITLE: SKIPPING CHRISTMAS
AUTHOR: JOHN GRISHAM
Pages: 177
Date: 09/12/2008
Grade: 4-
Library
The best way to describe this book is probably "A Christmas Carol" for modern times.
Luther and Nora Krank (no, I don't think their surname is a coincidence) have seen their daughter off to Peru, not expecting her back for at least a year. Now that it's just the two of them they are not looking forward to Christmas. And when Luther has a close look at the costs connected to the festive season, he decides that it is just not worth it. He comes up with a plan that involves skipping Christmas and instead taking his wife on a cruise.
As Christmas day approaches. the couple is faced with colleagues, friends and neighbours among others who just can't understand or accept their decision, going to all sorts of lengths to make them change their minds.
But when an unexpected event throws a spanner in their cruise plans, it's those same neighbours who safe the (Christmas) day.
My main complaint with the book is that if I was put under that amount of pressure to celebrate Christmas in a certain way, I'd probably not only cancel Christmas but move house as well. Other then that it was an easy and seasonal read.
TITLE: DEAD COLD
AUTHOR: LOUISE PENNY
Pages: 444
Date: 08/12/2008
Grade: 5+
Details: no. 2 Armand Gamache mystery
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This is an amazing series of books. Louise Penny is an astonishing author. Not only does she deliver a well plotted, well worked out and thrilling mystery, she is also a master at describing people, places, moods and atmosphere. The way in which she describes the village of Three Pines and the people living there makes me want to go there, visit there or even move there.
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is sent to Three Pines to investigate a murder. A woman has been electrocuted while watching a curling match. Despite the fact that a lot of people were watching the match, nobody, apparently, saw anything or knows anything. And although the murdered woman was universally disliked, no clear motive stands out.
Gamache and his team have a difficult investigation ahead of them. And things are further complicated by the fact that past actions have made Gamache an unofficial outsider in the Surete Du Quebec, while forces are plotting to cause his downfall. Is there anyone he can trust?
Very, very good. And this was a well timed read with the story taking place over the Christmas period.
TITLE: FOOTPRINTS IN THE BUTTER
AUTHOR: DENISE DIETZ
Pages: 407
Date: 06/12/2008
Grade: 4
Details: Large Print edition/ Stand-alone
Library
This was a bit of a strange reading experience. On the one hand it was a fun mystery with moments that made me smile. On the other hand, there were a few occasions where I thought things weren't explained enough or the story and/or main character made jumps that just weren't explained enough.
Ingrid Beaumont is a songwriter who shares her house with Hitchcock, her big dog.
The day after a high school reunion, Wylie Jamestone is found murdered. He had angered many people during his life and during the reunion, so there's no shortage of suspects. He leaves Ingrid both a painting and a challenge to find his murderer. A challenge Ingrid accepts although she doesn't actually like mysteries.
TITLE: REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
AUTHOR: RICHARD YATES
Pages: 337
Date: 02/12/2008
Grade: 5
Library
This book tells the story of a suburban tragedy. First published in 1961 and set in 1955, it's very much a portrait of that time. Yet, I can't help feeling it's also a timeless tale of loneliness within a marriage, alienation within the suburbs.
Frank and April Wheeler are a married couple with two children, living in the suburbs from where Frank commutes into New York City to an unsatisfactory job while April stays at home for an unfulfilling existence of her own.
Hope alights into their dreary life and relationship when April comes up with a plan for them to leave all behind for a fresh start in Paris.
However, the combination of Frank cowardly back tracking from this plan and an unplanned pregnancy mean that instead of a positive new beginning, the story ends in tragedy.
This is not a happy or optimistic story. Although there are no out and out bad characters, none of them have any redeeming qualities either. It describes small and uneventful lives in a small and uninteresting environment.
However, somehow the book avoids being depressing, even while the story is sad and thought provoking.
