book ends

a whole lotta books because I'm a couple months behind

Wow guys, May and June were sure a trip! I’m whiplashing my way through July and really wanted to catch up on some quick book reviews. I hope I remember them! Lets get to it.

Oh no. I just discovered I didn’t even write about books I read in April. This will be multiple posts!

Bats in the Belfry by E.C.R. Lorac

My newest obsession is the detective fiction of E.C.R. Lorac and I am even reading another one right now! Lorac wrote during the Classic Crime era of the first half of the twentieth century and her writing is lovely while her puzzles extremely satisfying. Bats in the Belfry is one I picked up specifically because I was in London in April and wanted an atmospheric read for the flight. Spoiler alert: didn’t finish the book until I returned. But this mystery revolves around the murder of a very unlikeable character, and while there are no shortages of suspects or motives figuring out if he really is dead proves difficult. Lorac’s Inspector Macdonald provides his trademark common sense and dogged police work in this entertaining case set in Notting Hill.

The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey

Bought this book at a London bookshop, read it for the mystery bonus episode of the

Close Reads HQ

podcast. While I’ve read some Tey before, this one was a completely unique setup because the “detective” of the book isn’t her series regular Inspector Grant, but a country lawyer determined not to let the reputations of women from the neighbourhood be ruined by scandal. The mystery itself doesn’t involve murder but accusations of abuse, and while that doesn’t sound dramatic, Tey weaves an incredibly well structured and surprising mystery from it. I’m honestly surprised I haven’t read this title before because it really is a fantastically crafted mystery that deserves more credit in the canon. Highly recommend if you’re into a cozy mystery, or true crime!

This Rough Magic by Mary Stewart

I always buy Mary Stewart’s books when I see them in used book shops. It’s just a rule I follow. This novel is a romantic sorta thriller (adventure??) that takes place in 1960s Corfu. So if you’re looking for a perfect getaway beach read this one completely fits the bill. The setting and tone are also so perfectly 60s in the best possible way you can practically see Haley Mills playing the main character as you read. The plot isn’t great, but the danger of dealing with drug smugglers, falling for the son of a famous theatre actor, all while living in a Corfu villa for the summer covers a lot of holes! Delightful and fun in a world where we need more delight and fun.

I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger

I think Leif Enger is a fantastic writer and anything he writes deserves to be read if only because he wrote truly one of the best books of the last 20 years, Peace Like a River. This novel is darker and sadder as Enger gives us a semi-pandemic/dystopian world that reads eerily similar to 2024 on many levels. The story centres around one man and his attempts at survival in such a world and living for love, art, and passing that hope on. Enger vacillates in his tone throughout the book, I’m not sure if he was writing through the heart of the pandemic, but there were definitely moments when I thought the story would not end happily, and possibly in despair. I think he pulls off a hopeful note in the end and while this isn’t his best work, I think this story will stay with a lot of readers.

The Ghost Keeper by Natalie Morrill

The story of an Austrian Jewish man during World War II and the complicated story of his friend who provides him with escape. This book has a lot of flaws, especially when it comes to pacing and structure, but I think at it’s heart it is an interesting story that brings up a lot of interesting ideas about forgiveness, the consequences of our sin, but also the consequences of our own reactions, or lack there of, to the choices of others. I expected a typical Holocaust story (how awful that this is a genre!), but this particular story is quite unique and it provided a lot of good conversation at our book club.

The Hunter by Tana French

You probably know I’ve read every book Tana French has written because of her excellent detective series, The Dublin Murder Squad. Her last several books have been marketed as mystery fiction, but in reality are not. I don’t even know how I would describe them other than overly verbose, barely held together, semi-dysfunctional family novels. The Hunter was a “mystery” where no one was murdered until 200 pages in, and it became very clear that French wasn’t even vaguely interested in whodunnit. Add in complete chapters of unnecessary Irish pub talk and I just don’t understand why French no longer has any editors. The characters are also really boring and purposefully unlikable all living in a town of borderline evil characters. The more I think and talk about this book the more I have to criticize, and unfortunately it is going to be the last Tana French book I read for a long while.

on audiobook:

The Women by Kristin Hannah

A novel centred around one woman’s experience as a nurse in the Vietnam War and her life afterwards, you have probably seen people raving about it everywhere. Firstly, Hannah isn’t the world’s best writer, her prose is serviceable at best and if you start looking closely it goes downhill from there, but I knew this because I’ve read several of her books before. But even though I expected an averagely written, page turner I was shocked by the amount of completely unbelievable plot elements that were also completely predictable. And not only did they appear once, she exhibited a blatant disregard for the readers credulity and kept piling them on up until the last page! I also found her depiction of the Vietnam War and the surrounding circumstances to be fairly average when it comes to basic understanding of the time period, but apparently everyone else who read it had never before heard of any of these fairly stereotypical experiences! It was a fine page turner and summer read, but I don’t understand the undeserved fawning this book has elicited.

Double Indemnity by James M Cain

An American noir taking place in the 1930s tells the tale of a woman and her insurance salesman planning the murder of her husband to claim the insurance money. Tightly crafted with a few good twists, this is a classic for a reason and a quick read if you’re looking for something deliciously moody to read on the beach or on a quick trip this summer. The audiobook itself was pretty good.

And that was just April and May, I’ll be back hopefully soon with some June reads.

Before I go, WE’RE GOING TO IRELAND AND WANT YOU TO COME TOO!

Katie Marquette

of

Born of Wonder

and I are excited to be able to lead a pilgrimage to Ireland this October 2-11 and we would love for you to consider coming. A wonderful, completely planned trip that takes you across a great swath of Ireland including Our Lady of Knock, Croagh Patrick, the Rock of Cashel, Cliffs of Moher, and great days in Dublin all with wonderful people who share your love of the faith and beauty of Ireland!

If you’re interested in finding out more we are going to have a quick zoom call tomorrow, Wednesday, July 10 at 7:30 EST. Here are the zoom details and Katie’s great post is worth a read too. See you tomorrow!

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/73740705753?pwd=y65bbbbGWJwf9ggIS9yrB1ajlSXlYq.1

Meeting ID: 737 4070 5753
Passcode: Yn7Y3d