What Fiction are you reading this week, February 6, 2022?

[hermetic]

I'm reading Silent Voices by Ann Cleeves, the 4th Vera Stanhope Mystery. Pitch-perfect writing and a finely tuned mystery; a stand out penned by one of Britain's most successful mystery writers. I adore Vera. Oddly my library doesn't have any of the earlier stories, just a few recent ones. They do have all of the TV series, though. Silent Voices is the oldest one (2013) I could find in my used book stores last year. I really would like to someday find the first one. Happy to see there is another one due out this fall.

Listening to Theodore Boone:The Accused by John Grisham, read by Richard Thomas. This is a "kid's " book but filled with gripping suspense so I'm quite engrossed.

What fiction are you engrossed in this week?

[Layzeebeaver]

1. War with Russia c2016

Seems topical at the moment.

[hermetic]

9. Very

Fascinating, and scary.

This critical, chilling fictional look at our current (2016) geopolitical landscape, written by a top NATO commander, (Richard Shirreff), is both timely and necessary-a must-read for any fan of realistic military thrillers as well as all concerned citizens.

Thanks.

[hippywife]

2. The third and final installment of

Jane Smiley's The Last Hundred Years Trilogy: A Family Saga, Golden Age.

Up next will be the authorized biography of Buffy Sainte-Marie. I thought I had lost track of her over the years due to my love of so much music and my tendency to be all over the place where it's concerned. But a couple of days ago patphil posted the most amazing video and down the rabbit hole I went.

I'd no idea why her music hadn't been played just as often as Joan Baez or Bob Dylan, but just as I suspected, she and other indigenous artist in the Red Power movements were blacklisted by American radio stations. Looking forward to reading her story.

Do yourself a major favor and check out the video here. It's simply incredible!

I've listened to it more than a half dozen times and it still takes my breath away!

https://www.democraticunderground.com/103468546

[hermetic]

4. Wow! I love that

And I totally agree. But, we're just here to talk about fiction.................

[hippywife]

7. Sorry, I got too excited. LOL

[HighFired49]

6. Amazing video!

Thanks for the rec. Now I'll have to listen again. Powerful!

[hippywife]

8. Isn't it, tho!! n/t

[japple]

18. Thanks so much for this video, hippywife. I have been a fan of Buffy Sainte-Marie

from my teen years. I checked out one of her albums from the library so many times that I wore it out.

[hippywife]

20. You're welcome, japple!

Thanks really go to patphil for posting it in the Music Appreciation group.

I'm just so wowed by the whole thing, the song, the vocals, the arrangement and video production, I can't stop watching and sharing it.

[llashram]

3. Catherine Coulter

Labyrinth

[hermetic]

10. That sounds really good

“If there's one thing that readers can count on in a Coulter novel it is that she always delivers amazingly eerie and complex thrillers” (RT Book Reviews), and Labyrinth is no different. With white-knuckled pacing and shocking twists and turns, this is another electrifying novel that will sink its teeth in you.

[SheltieLover]

14. She is a great author!

And not related to the other woman with the same last name, at least not that I could find.

She'd won some award by the FBI for accuracy in her writing.

Enjoy!

[pscot]

11. Just finished Miss Buncle's Book

by D.E. Stevenson. It's the only fiction my library hold list has produced since the 1st of the year. I finished Billy Summers over Xmas. The ending rather jarred, reminding me of the scenes in Catch-22 in which Nately's whore keeps appearing out of nowhere and trying to murder Yossarian.

I just started Jenny Uglow's biography of William Hogarth. It looks promising and I know too little of 18th century England.

Cheers, Hermetic

[hermetic]

12. Oh wow

From 1934. "A beloved author who has sold more than seven million books, D. E. Stevenson is at her best with Miss Buncle's Book, crafting a highly original and charming tale about what happens when people see themselves through someone else's eyes." That really sounds like fun.

Too many years since I read CATCH-22. Sure memorable, though.

[pscot]

17. Miss Buncle was a fun read

The author and her story fade into one another and create an interesting effect. Like Shrek, Miss Buncle has layers.

[SheltieLover]

13. Blaize Clement cozies

Suburban Dicks next.

Clement's cozies are fun. Prptagonist is a former deputy who is now a pet sitter. Nice community feeling & quite interesting characters.

Series is now being written by her son, but the characters, dialogue, etc. remain consistent. Hr is said to have collaborated with his mom in her writing, so this isn't too surprising.

Enjoy!

[hermetic]

15. That's great

I look forward to finding those.

[SheltieLover]

16. 👍

Enjoy!

[japple]

19. This is not a fun read. I bought it at a Friends of the Library used book sale

several years ago and decided to just go ahead and read it since the writer is from Georgia and that is the setting of the story. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1934 Lamb in his Bosom by Caroline Miller.

https://pulitzernovels.wordpress.com/2014/11/08/1934-lamb-in-his-bosom/

Edit to add: I might or might not make it to the end.

[hermetic]

21. Well, as you know

there's a lot of great books to be read out there. 1934 was a loooong time ago; life was different then. What may have been considered great reading back then, sometimes just doesn't hold up any more in light of what we now know. So, what I'm trying to say here is, don't feel bad about giving up on a book. Just put it on your shelf and maybe pick it up again 10 years from now. Or not. It's all good.

[The King of Prussia]

22. "The Murder at Redmire Hall" by J.R. Ellis

I went to the barber's for the first time in 23 months - only to find that, because of Covid cases, they're shut till next week. So I bought this book instead. This is an author I've wanted to read for a while - they are murder mysteries set in the area where I live - so I'm quite excited about this one.

Earlier in the week I read "The Ferguson Affair" by Ross MacDonald - first class of course. I've just finished "Murder by the Minster" by Helen Cox. Very light - imagine a Hallmark mystery transported to Yorkshire.

I think I said that we're going to an event with Ann Cleeves at the end of the week, so my read after the J.R. Ellis will be "Harbour Street" - the only Vera I haven't read.

Happy reading! Do you have snow?

[hermetic]

23. I do, indeed

It snowed back at Christmas, a record amount, and it's still here. It has been very cold, more so than usual. But it is supposed to warm up this week and the snow and ice will go away. Yay! In other parts of the country, though, it is very cold and wet.

So, have some long hair, do you? My covid hair was almost down to my waist a couple of months ago and I decided to just chop it off myself. It is so much better now.

I'm off to enjoy my Cleeves now. Good evening.

[The King of Prussia]

28. I call my current hairstyle

"Boris". Which'll give you some idea of the mess it's in.

[hermetic]

29. lol

[Jeebo]

24. "We Must Be Brave" -- by Frances Liardet

A historical novel set in World War II England that starts during the Blitz in 1940. A group of English people are fleeing Nazi bombs by escaping into small villages in the English countryside. A little girl, not quite six years old, is found sleeping on the back bench of a bus without anybody on the bus who claims her. A young married woman takes her home, and after it is discovered that her mother was killed in the bombing of the hotel the mother and the child had been staying in, the young married woman and her husband take the child in and start caring for her. They end up raising the child for the next several years ... until, unexpectedly, the girl's father, who had been thought to be completely out of the picture, shows up and claims her. That's where I am now, 248 pages in, with a little more than 200 pages left. The little girl and the young married woman have pretty thoroughly bonded at this point, but the just-surfaced father seems to expect to be able to send the little girl away to live with his sister and her family. It's an emotionally devastating situation that is sure to break somebody's heart -- including the reader's. I'm looking forward to being able to sit down with it and read some more.

Added: I posted this a few days ago, but too late to get any response, which I guess is why I didn't get any response. I'm almost through with it now, and it is a really good read, although it is not the kind of fiction I usually read.

-- Ron

[hermetic]

26. Hi Ron

I'm glad you posted this again so that more people are likely to see it. It sounds like a really great story. Just out in 2019. Mostly 5-star reviews. Happy to see it's available in my library.

[yellowdogintexas]

25. I finished "Cut and Run" which was a great read

It involved all of the members of the Sisterhood along with the men in their lives who head to Spain to rescue one of the matriarchs of the group. One of the most fun things about these books is the set up of the bad guys so they can be caught and brought to justice. This one was fun because all the characters were involved.

I also finished "Bitter Pill" which was very timely, and the trapping of the bad guys was jolly fun.

For the Sisterhood, there’s a special satisfaction that comes with helping a friend in need, especially when it’s someone as dear as Charlotte Hansen. Myra Rutledge’s childhood friend has spent tens of thousands of dollars on remedies to boost longevity. But far from improving her health, the medications seem to be destroying it.

Myra becomes suspicious of the trio of doctors in charge of the program, especially once the Sisterhood’s investigations reveal that one patient has died, and another lapsed into a coma. While those in their care suffer, the three doctors—located in London, Aspen, and New York—all enjoy indulgent lifestyles and extravagant toys. But justice is always the best medicine—and no one dispenses it better than the Sisterhood . . .

[hermetic]

27. Oh yeah

I look forward to finding out what sort of bitter pill the Sisterhood dispenses in this one. I am so tired of disreputable doctors, and judges, and politicians....

To the Sisterhood: