Sunday Salon: No More Thrillers for a Month

 Maybe my last thriller for a month or so....I've decided to concentrate on nonfiction books and more literary novels, moving away from psych thrillers and mysteries for a time. It's Lent and I have to give us something I really, really like! But maybe I'll be surprised and enjoy other genres for a change. 

In the Name of Truth is the 8th in a series of 9 crime novels, so far, by Viveca Sten, set in the Swedish archipelago and the island of Sandhamn. I have one more to read, the 4th,  before the next book comes out later this year. She has signed a contract for three more Sandhamn books, till 2023! 

Books I intend to read during the next month:

Savage Feast, February 26th 2019, Harper

Genre: family memoir

The Invisible History of the Human Race by Christine Kenneally, October 9, 2014, Viking
How the history of the human race shapes us as individuals

Genre: nonfiction, history

Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver,  October 16, 2018, Harper
Genre: literary fiction

Bread and Salt: Stories by Valerie Miner, September 5, 2020, Whitepoint Press

Climb: Leaving Safe and Finding Strength on 100 Summits in Japan by 

Susan Spann, January 2020, Prometheus Books

Genre: travel memoir 

 

Alexander von Humboldt: How the Most Famous Scientist of the Romantic Age Found the Soul of Nature

by 

Maren Meinhardt

Genre: natural history, biography

The Lost Boys of Montauk by Amanda M. Fairbanks, May 2021, Gallery Books

Genre: memoirs and biography, non fiction

Copy courtesy of Netgalley

What are you reading this week? 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon

Friday Memes: The Moroccan Girl by Charles Cummings

 

The Moroccan Girl, February 12th, 2019, St. Martin's Press

A spy novelist is ordered to find a mysterious fugitive on the streets of Morocco.

Book beginning:

"Will you prefer to talk or to write everything down?"

"Talk," she said.

Somerville crossed the room and activated the voice recorder. The American had brought it from the Embassy. There was a small microphone attached to a stand, a glass of tap water and a plate of biscuits on the table.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready."

Page 56:

 The sealed package was somewhere beneath Carradine's feet in the chill of the baggage hold; he knew that it would contain the answers to his many questions and felt his professional obligation to Mantis dissipating with every passing mile. 

Book description: 

When he is approached by MI6 and asked to carry out a simple task on behalf of his country while attending a literary festival in Morocco, Carradine jumps at the chance.

He soon finds himself on the trail of Lara Bartok, a leading figure in Resurrection, a violent revolutionary movement targeting prominent right-wing political figures around the world. Caught between competing intelligence services who want Bartok dead, Carradine faces a choice: to abandon Bartok to her fate or to risk everything trying to save her.

The Friday 56. Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% of your eReader. Find any sentence that grabs you. Post it, and add your URL post in Linky at Freda's Voice.
Also visit Book Beginning at Rose City Reader.

Audio Book: In Bad Company by Viveca Sten

 I'm spending the snow-in this week listening to audio books now, and have started with this one, which has a narrator that is easy to listen to and also very expressive in reading the dialogues. 

In Bad Company by Viveca Sten is the 9th in the Sandhamn Murder mysteries set in the Swedish archipelago and the island of Sandhamn.

I'm in the middle of listening to this domestic violence drama and police procedural, in which a brutal husband is also under investigation for drug trading and financial crimes. Prosecutor Nora Linde has to build a case against him, trying to persuade the wife, Mina, who has been moved to a safe home, to testify, to strengthen the case against him. 

I think I have about two or three others in this series to go, and I'm going to try to listen to the books instead of read them. I haven't listened much to books before, only a few while walking in the gym, but I find I'm enjoying the audio while snowed in and social distancing during this pandemic! One positive thing to come out of this situation! 

What books are keeping you company these days? Do you listen to audio books?

First Chapter: Keep Sharp by Sanjay Gupta, MD

 

First Chapter/First paragraph/Tuesday Intros is hosted by Yvonne @ Socrates Book Reviews. Post the first paragraph (or 2) of a book you are reading or plan to read soon.

Keep Sharp by Sanjay Gupta, MD

Published January 5, 2021, Simon & Schuster

Genre: health, self-help

First paragraph, first chapter:

Are You At Risk for Brain Decline?

Over the past few years, I have spent a great deal of time distilling the best evidence-based brain research into guidance for you. It is based on formal and informal conversations with colleagues and other experts in the world of neuroscience and human performance. In order to make it more useful, I have created a list of questions that are highly relevant to your brain health and potential.... 

Would read on?  

Top Ten Tuesday: Mysteries set during Mardi Gras and in Louisiana

 

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday she assigns a topic and then posts a top ten list that fits that topic. Freebie days: you may choose your own topic.

February 15: MARDI GRAS COLORS

Murder mysteries set in Louisiana and during Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

 

Glitter Bomb by Laura Childs

Death Swatch by Laura Childs

Gossamer Ghost by Laura Childs

Arf by Spencer Quinn

The Sound and the Furry by Spencer Quinn

 Woof by Spencer Quinn

Parchment and Old Lace by Laura Childs

Gilt Trip by Laura Childs

Mardi Gras Murder by Ellen Byron

Hot Blooded by Lisa Jackson

What did you do with this week's topic, Mardi Gras, in your Top Ten Tuesday? 

Sunday Salon: Scandinavian Thrillers

 We're snowed in for the next few days. Good time to catch up on reading. 

What I've finished:

I am enjoying all of the books in this series by Viveca Sten. The setting, islands in the Swedish archipelago, is unique, as are the characters in this police procedural set of thrillers.

In this sixth book, In Harm's Way Detective Thomas Andreasson visits the island of Sandhamn to investigate why the body of a world renowned journalist has been found covered in snow at a resort hotel. He decides it might be murder and not an accident as it first seems.

I found this thriller easy to read, with relatable characters and interesting description of place and setting. Another 4-5 stars.

What I'm reading: 

The Corpse Flower by Anne Mette Hancock will be published in October 2021. I got it from Netgalley and am in the middle of reading it. 

The thriller involves another journalist, Heloise, the main character, who must discover why a suspected murderess, Anna, is trying to contact her, possibly to have her story written. Set in Copenhagen, with a realistic cast of characters, this murder mystery is enjoyable so far, especially with the literary clues involving Heloise's name. 

What are you reading this week? 

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon

Bread and Salt: Stories by Valerie Miner - Book Beginning

 

Bread and Salt: Stories by Valerie Miner, September 5, 2020, Whitepoint Press

The characters in these stories live and travel in Tunisia, India, Indonesia, Italy, Turkey, France, and the United States and consider their individual agency in both local and global contexts. (publisher)

Book beginning:

Il Piccolo Tesoro 

I'm stepping into an expresso bar, fragrant with strong coffee and sweet cornetti, when my attention is drawn uphill by a weathered pink and green sign offering a vacancy at Il Piccolo Tesoro. The small treasure. I'm not greedy. The adjective appeals as much as the noun promises. 

I chose this Ligurian village in the sensible way, by spreading a map of Italy across my kitchen table in Toronto, closing my eyes and pushing a pushpin into destiny.

Page 56:

But when he got transferred up the coast, she couldn't bear commuting 100 miles down to the city, cutting him out of her days like that. ("Quiet as the Moon")

Memes: The Friday 56. Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% of your eReader. Find any sentence that grabs you. Add your URL post in Linky at Freda's Voice. Also visit Book Beginning at Rose City Reader