Book a Week 2022 - BW23: Crime Spree - Religious Characters

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday! June is upon us and our newest Crime Spree category brought to us by Sandy and Amy is one of my favorite to read.

There’s something so appealing about a man (or woman) of the cloth who isn’t just trying to save our soul, but also our life. Religious Characters feature in cozy mysteries, usually as a reluctant amateur sleuth but sometimes as the unexpected villain. 

Authors to explore:

 

• GK Chesterton – Father Brown
• Ellis Peters – Brother Cadfael
• Cassandra Clark – Abbess of Meaux
• Julia Spencer Fleming - Clare Ferguson
• James Runcie - Sidney Chambers
• GM Malliet - Max Tudor
• Harry Kemelman – Rabbi Small

 

Challenge: See how the other half lives by reading a mystery with a man or woman of the cloth as a sleuth.

Our letter and word of the week are W and Wisdom

 

Link to Book Week 22

Visit  52 Books in 52 Weeks where you can find all the information on the annual, mini and perpetual challenges.

[Robin M]

I’m still in between with Brandon Sanderson’s Words of Radiance in his Stormlight archive series, and George Eliot’s Middlemarch.

My buying ban is officially over since I added Ellis Peter’s Cadfael #2 One Corpse Too Many, Peter Tremayne’s Absolution by Murder, and Julia Spencer Flemings In The Bleak Midwinter to my ebook stacks for our June crime spree read.  

[Negin]

Thank you for the thread, Robin. 

I read When Reason Sleeps: The Story of a Baha'i arrested, imprisoned and executed and his wife's escape - 3 Stars

[Negin]

“A library is a place where you can learn what teachers were afraid to teach you.” – Alan Dershowitz

 

[mumto2]

Thank you, Robin.  I love religious characters in mysteries!  You picked some good ones to break your buying ban with.  Personally I feel a bit of guilt for assisting in the breaking of that ban but making it to June is impressive.  I didn’t even try this year because of the Crime Spree.

My stack for religious characters consists of my second Rabbi Small,  Saturday the Rabbi Went Hungry https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16078785-saturday-the-rabbi-went-hungry and a couple of firsts in new to me cozy series.  I do not believe I have ever read and of Katherine Hall Page’s Body series which feature a minister’s wife so The Body in the Belfry https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24742107-the-body-in-the-belfryis on my audio list.  Christina Summers writes a series that sounds a lot like Julia Spenser Fleming’s beloved series, a woman priest and her cop friend solve mysteries. I will give it a try……. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1469177.Crooked_Heart

Nora Robert’s Nightwork has been consumed.  I hadn’t expected to enjoy this one but was wrong!  I also finished Lisa Gardner’s One Step Too Far and found it to be a page turner.  Very like Joe Pickett in terms of the mountain setting.  Frankie travels the country solving cold cases as a woman who gives her life to answering family’s questions.  In this one she joins a search party who is hoping to recover the body of a hiker gone missing five years before. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58082194-one-step-too-far

[Kareni]

For my distant book group, last night I finished Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. As it happens, @Robin M, one of the characters is a vicar though that fact plays only the most minor role in the book. This was not a difficult book, but nor is it a book I'd recommend. The heroine seemed so young and clueless; given that she was seventeen, perhaps I shouldn't be surprised.

"Northanger Abbey is a coming-of-age novel and a Pastiche of Gothic novels written by Jane Austen. It was completed in 1803, the first of Austen's novels completed in full, but was published posthumously in 1817 with Persuasion. The story concerns Catherine Morland, the young protagonist, and her journey to a better understanding of herself and of the world around her."

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

And I just finished South Coast (Shaman's Tales From The Golden Age Of The Solar Clipper Book 1) by Nathan Lowell which I enjoyed. All of Nathan Lowell's books (save for the Wizard's Butler) are set in the same large universe; I enjoyed reading this land (rather than space) centered book.

"Otto is Richard Krugg's only son and heir to the Shaman's gift. Otto doesn't want it. He wants to be a fisherman. When company policies force unwelcome changes onto his life and threaten even the security of the village, Otto discovers that being a shaman isn't optional.

Jimmy Pirano is caught between the devil and the deep green sea when new production quotas are handed down from corporate headquarters. Locked into a century of existing practice, Jimmy is forced to find new ways to fish and new places to do it in or face the very real possibility that Pirano Fisheries will lose the St. Cloud franchise.

Join Otto, Richard, and Rachel Krugg as they struggle with what it means to be the son of a shaman. Cast off with Jimmy, Tony, and Casey as they navigate the shoals and shallows of corporate fishery along the South Coast."

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Some bookish posts ~

18 of Our Favorite Books About the Craft of Writing

https://www.tor.com/2022/06/03/18-of-our-favorite-books-about-the-craft-of-writing/

From the Word Wenches: What We Read in May

https://wordwenches.typepad.com/word_wenches/2022/05/what-we-read-in-may.html#tpe-action-posted-6a00d8341c84c753ef0282e1582504200b

Five Books With Great Opening Lines

https://www.tor.com/2022/01/28/five-books-with-great-opening-lines/

Regards,

Kareni

[bookbard]

@KareniI took your advice and began the Linesman series. I really like the main character, although the politics were a bit hard to follow. Onto the second book. Hurrah for series!

I read a book that I bought for my kids, If I ran the Country by Rich Knight. It's a good book if you want to do civics with 8-10yr olds - an overview of the basics from rulers, flags, types of government, national anthem, joining the UN etc. And activity pages where your child can put in their own invented country. I had a few quibbles with their politics section - the Usborne book of Politics is far better for that - but overall a nice book. I think it may be British but there was a fair bit about the USA and it was quite positive. One or two mentions of other places but mostly referred to UK and USA. 

[Kareni]

Quoting from last week's thread ~

On 5/30/2022 at 4:29 AM, bookbard said:

 If anyone has any good suggestions for fantasy/sci fi which fits into the 'up-lift' category, let me know. 

I just saw this thread on Reddit, @bookbard,  that you might find of interest ~

What fantasy reads just made you feel... better? Wholesome, fun stuff that had you smiling to the end and putting the book/series down with regret that you didn't have that happiness in your life anymore?

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

2 minutes ago, bookbard said:

KareniI took your advice and began the Linesman series. I really like the main character, although the politics were a bit hard to follow. Onto the second book. Hurrah for series!

Hurrah, indeed! I really like Ean, too.

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

10 hours ago, mumto2 said:

Thank you, Robin.  I love religious characters in mysteries!  You picked some good ones to break your buying ban with.  Personally I feel a bit of guilt for assisting in the breaking of that ban but making it to June is impressive.  I didn’t even try this year because of the Crime Spree.

Please don't feel guilty. I had planned to end ban this month. Y'all just helped to jump start it. 😘

 

4 hours ago, Kareni said:

18 of Our Favorite Books About the Craft of Writing

https://www.tor.com/2022/06/03/18-of-our-favorite-books-about-the-craft-of-writing/

Thank you!  Added a couple to my want list, plus picked up one not on the list from Writer's Digest:  Fight Write: How to Write Believable Fight Scenes.

44 minutes ago, Kareni said:

What fantasy reads just made you feel... better? Wholesome, fun stuff that had you smiling to the end and putting the book/series down with regret that you didn't have that happiness in your life anymore?

Several people over the past week on different forums have mentioned Bobiverse. Added it to my wishlist.

[Laurel-in-CA]

May was covid month at our house -- thankful we all were vaccinated and boosted before it hit us, but we were still out for a couple of weeks! Now that I'm feeling better I'm ready to unpack the books I had to box up when we were moving furniture to get the flooring replaced. It will be like greeting old friends again. 8-)

I've finished A Taste for Vengeance, the last of the Bruno Chief of Police novels set in southern France. I greatly enjoyed these, but despite all the talk of foie gras, I am not persuaded to try it. I really liked the prehistory and medieval history that helped so much to establish place as well as food and culture. I will be waiting eagerly for the next ones.

Right now I'm working on Murder in Retribution by Anne Cleeland. I do like quirky characters!

[Kareni]

42 minutes ago, Laurel-in-CA said:

Right now I'm working on Murder in Retribution by Anne Cleeland. I do like quirky characters!

Enjoy!

I own most of the series which I believe is lendable.

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Today I finished a very enjoyable historical romance with a unique premise ~ A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall

"When Viola Carroll was presumed dead at Waterloo she took the opportunity to live, at last, as herself. But freedom does not come without a price, and Viola paid for hers with the loss of her wealth, her title, and her closest companion, Justin de Vere, the Duke of Gracewood.

Only when their families reconnect, years after the war, does Viola learn how deep that loss truly was. Shattered without her, Gracewood has retreated so far into grief that Viola barely recognises her old friend in the lonely, brooding man he has become.

As Viola strives to bring Gracewood back to himself, fresh desires give new names to old feelings. Feelings that would have been impossible once and may be impossible still, but which Viola cannot deny. Even if they cost her everything, all over again."

Regards,

Kareni

[Negin]

Kindle sale today. 

[Vintage81]

👋 Hi everyone! I hope you all are doing well. It's been a bit since I last posted. I've been in a reading slump so I haven't been reading as much lately. (I will confess to getting caught up in the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard trial, but that's over with now, so I have no excuses! 🤣)

I've read 8 books since my last update...

• World After and End of Days by Susan Ee - these are books 2 and 3 in the Penryn and the End of Days trilogy. I won't go too much into the plot since these are sequels. I enjoyed them, but there were still sooooooooo many questions left at the end. For enjoyment factor, I gave the books 4 stars, but if I was rating on plot, it would be less.
• The Maid by Nita Prose - This was a whodunit about a maid (duh) working in a hotel who one day finds a dead man in a room she goes to clean. She's a little quirky and most of the staff doesn't like her, so people start to suspect if it could be her. I liked it and the ending had a little twist. 4 stars 
• Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez - I've read several books by this author before. This one is about a doctor named Alexis who's struggling with what to do in her life. Her parents are wealthy, accomplished doctors who want her to carry on the family tradition. Alexis isn't sure that's what she wants and in the meantime meets Daniel, a carpenter who is the exact opposite of her. He lives in the country, is much younger than her, and is not at all familiar with her world. A bit predictable, but still an enjoyable read. 4 stars

The rest are books we read for school...

• Gods and Heroes by Korwin Briggs - an illustrated encyclopedia of mythical gods, creatures, and heroes from all different cultures. This book was really entertaining and provided a nice little extra to our ancient civilizations study. 5 stars
• A Little History of Archaeology by Brian Fagan - Lots of interesting stories about archaeological digs around the world and during different time periods. 4 stars
• The Samurai's Tale by Erik Christian Haugaard- This was a story about a young boy in Japan who's parents were murdered. He was taken in by a lord and eventually became a samurai. This was a slow burn kind of a story, but still interesting. 4 stars
• The Elephant in the Room  by Holly Goldberg Sloan - Sila's mother is sent away because of a problem with her immigration papers. Her and her father then meet a man who then buys an elephant, which happens to be Sila's favorite animal. Sila and her friend Mateo, who is autistic, work with the elephant over the summer. The story was a bit far-fetched and the author tried to put too many things into the story that needed much more explanation than just a line here and there (immigration issues, labor laws, discrimination between male and females in the workplace, autism, grief, bullying, animal cruelty). I think these things are important to talk about, but not with one-liners and in a much more thoughtful way. 3 stars (and I feel like I'm being generous)

[mumto2]

I am reading Patricia Highsmith’s Deep Water.  It’s so odd, highly unreliable narrator I suspect.  A strange man who raises bed bugs is highly invested in his marriage.  His wife cheats literally in front of him.  He decides to tell her current lover that he killed one of her former lovers, who really was murdered.  This led me to this summery of Patricia Highsmith’s books that I enjoyed so will share here……..https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/tip-sheet/article/63724-10-best-patricia-highsmith-books.html

[Negin]

10 hours ago, mumto2 said:

I am reading Patricia Highsmith’s Deep Water.  It’s so odd, highly unreliable narrator I suspect.  A strange man who raises bed bugs is highly invested in his marriage.  His wife cheats literally in front of him.  He decides to tell her current lover that he killed one of her former lovers, who really was murdered.  This led me to this summery of Patricia Highsmith’s books that I enjoyed so will share here……..https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/tip-sheet/article/63724-10-best-patricia-highsmith-books.html

I remember reading a review on Good Reads. She was a complete whack, a real weirdo. 

[Ottakee]

I just finished this book.  It was suggested here in a different thread.    Enjoyed it so much I bought my own copy to reread and share with others.

she has a great way of helping you figure out what matters and then getting stuff done.  No right or wrong way, just what is important to you and what works for you 

[Storygirl]

Last week, we were away on our first vacation since 2019, which was great! But now half of us have Covid. Sigh. We knew it was a risk, but we were hoping we would beat the odds. For the three of us who tested positive, it is the first time we've had Covid (that we know). Anyway, I read a lot last week, and I will hopefully get through a few more in my stack of books while we are sick. We are all having mild symptoms so far. The other half of the family went to a hotel and are leaving the house to us.

Let's see if I can recall all of the things I finished. I do have some notes.

The Maid by Nita Prose. Already mentioned by Vintage81. Loved it. A really fun read with some interesting twists.

Man Overboard by J.A. Jance -- #12 in the Ali Reynolds series. I think I skipped over #11, but I can circle back and read it later. I picked this up in a used bookstore to take on our cruise and didn't realize until later that the victim was on a cruise. I was not really thinking about the title when I bought it! I actually thought it was less interesting than the other Ali Reynolds books so far, and the cruise setting played a very minor role. It was entertaining, though.

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel -- I hadn't read this before and snatched it up when I saw it in the used book sale. I loved it and passed it on to DH.

The Nothing Man by Catherine Ryan Howard, on audio. What happens when an unapprehended serial killer reads the true crime book written by one of his victims? Read this book to find out. Because one of the perspectives in the story is the killer's, it was a little creepier than my usual fare, but not overly icky.

The Fellowship of the Rings by Tolkien, on audio. DH and I listened to this on our drive. It's probably been two decades since I've read this tale, and I've seen the movies a few times since then, so it was fun to revisit. We got a few hours into The Two Towers before we arrived home, and I will be finishing the rest of the series. But it may take awhile; I decided to switch to the Andy Serkis narration, and there is a waiting list.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. I used to live near the place where this book is set, and the writing is well done, so overall I enjoyed reading this one, though as an adoptive parent, I had some feelings about some of it, and I didn't like one particular plot point. But I will give Ng another try.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. on audio. I tackled this behemoth for the first time, and I'm sure it will be the only time, as it is 50 hours long. I cannot remember if I've ever seen the movie, and I think I have not. I generally do not like books with a dislikeable main character, but surprisingly this book kept me entertained throughout, despite Scarlett being who she is. The depiction of the enslaved/freed people is problematic, in that they are all well treated and are loyal to their white owners even after emancipation, and I gritted my teeth at some inappropriate comments that would not be written today. But I see why this story has endured over time. Scarlett and Rhett are both extremely memorable.

Now I need to tackle a few of my nonrenewable library books before their looming due dates.

Edited June 9, 2022 by Storygirl

[Vintage81]

1 hour ago, Storygirl said:

Last week, we were away on our first vacation since 2019, which was great! But now half of us have Covid. Sigh. We knew it was a risk, but we were hoping we would beat the odds. For the three of us who tested positive, it is the first time we've had Covid (that we know). Anyway, I read a lot last week, and I will hopefully get through a few more in my stack of books while we are sick. We are all having mild symptoms so far. The other half of the family went to a hotel and are leaving the house to us.

Let's see if I can recall all of the things I finished. I do have some notes.

Hope you feel better soon! 

[Kareni]

I recently finished a contemporary paranormal romance, The Heir Apparent's Rejected Mate (The Five Packs Book 2) by Cate C. Wells. I enjoyed it, but I liked the first in the series more. (Adult content)

"He rejected me for “reasons.” Too bad for him. No take backs.

Rosie
Fate made a huge mistake when she mated me to Cadoc Collins. He’s the heir apparent. I’m a scavenger. My people are so low in this pack, we don’t even rank.
I should have known better, but for one night, I let myself forget the facts of life in Moon Lake. Cadoc Collins might be powerless to resist me, but he’s not going to claim me, either.
A pink line on a stick makes it a much bigger problem than my bruised heart.
I’m eighteen, knocked up, and publicly rejected by the future alpha. And this baby in my belly? It might as well be a target on my back.
Lucky for me I’m a scavenger. My kind are good at finding things, but we’re great at getting lost.

Cadoc
The fate of Moon Lake rests on my shoulders. I can’t claim the scavenger female.
The pack is on the verge of a revolt, and a mating so controversial could push our warring factions into open conflict.
All I need is time. I’ll do what’s expected of me as our future leader, and when the politics are sorted, I’ll do right by the odd little scavenger.
I’m the heir apparent. She’ll be there when I’m ready.
Right?"

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

Link to week 24