Library Loot: Mysteries and Women's Fiction

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Marg @ ReadingAdventures and Eva at A Striped Armchair.

I've done it again. I've gone to the library and borrowed too many books, all of them unusual in their genre, a few downright bizarre. I have an eye for mysteries and books set in exotic places - that's the armchair traveler in me.

Here's what I found in the mystery genre:

Snakes Can't Run: A Mystery by Ed Lin. (Hardcover - March 30, 2010).
"An epic of New York Chinatown noir in the vein of George Pelecanos and Richard Price. This is the riveting sequel to This Is a Bust." (Minotaur Books description, front flap). I was intrigued by the book cover, a photo of a woman's back tattoed with a phoenix and Chinese characters. The author's web address, edlinforpresident.com, shows his sense of humor.

Arabesk: Inspector Ikmen #3 by Barbara Nadel (Paperback - July 25, 2009). "Confined to his home on sick leave... Inspector Ikmen of the Istanbul police is forced to hand his latest case over to his protege, the newly promoted Suleyman....At the real heart of this operatic catastrophe, are the conflicts inherent to the city itself." (Publisher's description).

A Dead Hand: A Crime in Calcutta by Paul Theroux. (Hardcover - Feb. 11, 2010). Paul Theroux, well-known travel writer, tries his hand at crime fiction. I'm half-way into the novel and think I've already figured out the culprits and the motives. Can't wait to see if I'm correct.

To balance things out, I borrowed three contemporary works of fiction by women authors:

 Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal by Julie Metz. (Hardcover - June 9, 2009). "A breathtakingly honest, gloriously written memoir about the complexities of forgiveness - the story of a young widow who discovers her husband's secret life only after his sudden death." (Publisher's description, front flap).  I was attracted by the cover, the title, and the summary on the book jacket. Can't wait to read this one.

Pearl of China: A Novel by Anchee Min. (Hardcover - March 30, 2010). Set in the end of the 19th century in China, the book tells the story of the young Pearl S. Buck, later a Nobel Prize-winning author, and her new Chinese friend, Willow, whose friendship endures through adulthood and the tumultous years that follow. I assume the novel is based on historical fact and want to know more about Pearl Buck's life in China.

Noah's Compass
 by Anne Tyler ( Hardcover - Jan. 5, 2010). "From the
incomparable Anne Tyler, a wise, gently humorous, and deeply compassionate novel about a schoolteacher, who has been forced to retire at sixty-one, coming to terms with the final phase of his life." (Publisher's description, front flap). That first paragraph was all I needed to borrow the book!

I think I came away with a great set of library books. Now to read them all...among others, is the challenge.