Thanksgiving Weekend Reading

For those who are spending a quiet Thanksgiving weekend catching up on books,Thankfully Reading Weekend might be just up your alley. It runs from Friday, November 27 through Sunday, November 29.

"There are no rules to the weekend and no prizes; we're simply hoping to devote a good amount of time to reading, and perhaps meeting some of our reading challenges and goals for 2009. We thought it'd be fun if we cheered each other on a bit. If you think you can join in, grab the button and sign on to Mr. Linky at Thankfully Reading Weekend, and see more details about this reading weekend. If you don't have a blog, use the comments!

The idea was started by Jen of Jenn's Bookshelves, Jen of Devourer of Books, and Beth of Beth Fish Reads. Join in!

Here's what I'm reading right now: Killer Keepsakes

Snow Angels by James Thompson, a review

Snow Angels by James Thompson, an Inspector Kari Vaara thriller #1, set in Finland.

Snow Angels

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very, very noir.

Definition of noir from the Free Dictionary online:
 1. Of or relating to the film noir genre.
 2. Of or relating to a genre of crime literature featuring tough, cynical characters and bleak settings.
3. Suggestive of danger or violence.

I gave it 4 stars for plot and characterization, plus setting. Read this thriller if you can keep in mind that it's fiction.

Thanks to the publisher for an ARC of this novel.
View all my reviews >>

Sunday Salon: Back to the Library/New Challenge

This past week I've borrowed about seven books from the library, my first big library haul in a long while.

I finished reading Madam, Will You Talk by an old favorite, Mary Stewart. Most memorable moments in the book: high speed car chases through Southern France - from Avignon to Nimes to Marseilles!

Started two books to read for the Japanese Literature Challenge before it ends in January:
Beauty and Sadness, a classic by Nobel Prize winner Kawabata, and also Murakami's third novel, A Wild Sheep Chase.

Borrowed three of the funny mystery novels I included in my post on Most Humorous Mysteries. Started Dim Sum Dead then found I had read it years ago. Set in Santa Monica, a guy finds an antique silver sword, only to have it stolen at the Farmers Market downtown. There's more to this than just the theft!

Since I'm always reading mysteries, suspense, and thrillers anyway, I just joined a reading challenge that fits the bill- Thriller & Suspense Reading Challenge 2010.

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U Is For Undertow by Sue Grafton, review

U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton

A good plot and an engaging detective in the person of Kinsey Millhone means another winner for mystery writer Sue Grafton in her 2009 thriller, U is for Undertow.

Grafton's mystery series features the personable PI and follows her life; each new book in the series advances the story of Kinsey, her deceased parents, and the ongoing relationship with her mother's wealthy family who had disowned Kinsey and her parents many years ago.

In this latest book, P.I. Kinsey Millhone is 38. She is asked to investigate a murder that took place in the 1960s, when a four year old girl was kidnapped and never returned, though ransom was paid.

Kinsey takes the case after she is approached by 27 year old Michael Sutton, who had a sudden flash back to 1967 when he saw two men in the woods behind a house, burying a bundle wrapped in a blanket. Michael is sure the bundle was the body of the kidnapped girl and wants Kinsey to help him locate the house and the burial place behind it.

However, Michael's estranged family thinks he is making up stories and fantasizing. Kinsey doesn't know what to think, but promises to take the case for one day. When Michael swears he has recently seen one of the men from the 1960s burial, Kinsey stays on the case.

Having to deal with her own family crisis as well, Kinsey is pulled in multiple directions. Her mother's family and her aged grandmother now want Kinsey back in their lives after years of estrangement. They have invited her to a family gathering, but she is reluctant to attend because of past slights.

I haven't read all the books in the series, but Sue Grafton readers have known Kinsey and have been following her story since the letter A, when she was much younger and just starting out as a private detective in A Is For Alibi. I gave the book four out of five stars.

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy of this book.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami, review

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

Totally engrossing. Transported by what I've read so far though all that has happened is a man looking for a cat and being approached by strange women. Read the first three chapters sitting in the bookstore. Must go back and buy the book.

I know that the novel's about the breakup of a marriage and about what happened in WWII, and am looking forward to reading more! Murakami knows how to get you involved in his character's thoughts. Masterful prose, even in translation.

Best Mystery and Humor books

Need a good laugh combined with a good mystery read? Try one of the books below.

Left Coast Crime will have its 20th Mystery Convention March 11-14 in Los Angeles.

One of its awards is THE LEFTY - for the most humorous mystery published in a particular year. Lefty winners:

2009: Greasing the Pinata by Tim Maleeny
2008: Murder With Reservations by Elaine Viets
2007: Go to Helena Handbasket by Donna Moore
2006: Cast Adrift by Peter Guttridge

2005: We'll Always Have Parrots by Donna Andrews and Blue Blood by Susan McBride
2004: Mumbo Gumbo by Jerrilyn Farmer
2003: The Hearse Case Scenario by Tim Cockey and Pipsqueak by Brian M. Wiprud
2002: Dim Sum Dead by Jerrilyn Farmer and Fender Benders by Bill Fitzhugh
2000: Murder With Peacocks by Donna Andrews
1999: Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
1998: Three To Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
1996: The Fat Innkeeper by Alan Russell

I read the 2000 winner, Murder With Peacocks by Donna Andrews, some years back, and it is truly hilarious. I recommend it if you need a good laugh while you wonder who dunnit.

Foreigner by Nahid Rachlin: review

I ached with memories of my mother as I walked along the narrow, dusty street to the wider one. She sits under a tree in the late afternoon, with a glow of twilight all around. (ch. 5, Foreigner by Nahid Rachlin)

Well written, interesting, and easy to read, Foreigner  by Nahid Rachlin (1999) tells us about the traditional society of Iran and how a young woman begins to adjust after many years living abroad and apart from her biological mother.

From the publisher's description:

In this novel about the experiences of estrangement, Feri, a woman in her thirties, returns for a visit to the house of her father in Iran. Almost immediately, she is stunned by her sense of alienation from her background....

In the ancient town where her mother lives, time is even more frozen. But gradually, what had appeared purposeless now seems comforting. Mother and daughter reach out to one another and shape the fragments of past years.