Bokelskere.no

Dette er femte boken i serien om De syv søstre og den jeg har likt minst til nå. Verken nåtidens fortelling om Tiggy eller historien om danserinnen Lucia klarer å engasjere meg noe særlig selv om noen sekvenser er interessante og noen opplevdes hjerteskjærende.

Har lyttet til de fem bøkene på rappen men jeg tror ikke at det er grunnen for at det ble litt stang ut denne gangen. Denne er langdryg i forhold til de andre bøkene i serien. Likevel ser jeg frem til den nyeste boken som ligger klar.

Flott omtale og mange gode sitater du har kommet med. Er godt i gang med Radetzkymarsjen nå, etter å ha lest flere bøker av Roth i det siste. Har akkurat fått Den stumme profet i hus, så den blir lest etter hvert.

Dealing with tough and sad issues involving children, I was not expecting to enjoy this book as much as I ended up doing. To be fair there were parts of the plot describing appalling conditions for the children working on Canadian farms, which I found thoroughly disturbing, but other parts were about how a close relationship between Julia and Quinn got room to develop in the middle of all the drama as well as descriptions of their life in Canada. We also got to follow Julia when she dealt with her very own problems. Secrecy, pride and stubbornness seemed to be at the core of the entire plot. I found descriptions of all the restraints society put on women of the time interesting.

War veteran, family man and Earl’s of Brentwood’s personal valet Quinten Aspinall – Quinn, has made a very big promise to his father before his death to keep the family together. He has made it through the war with minor injuries and seems a level headed and well put together man who believes in the guidance of God and generally trying to do the right thing.
He is asking for leave of absence to travel to Canada in order to bring siblings Becky, Cecil and Harry, 18, 16 and 12, home. The earl hires him to find his niece and bring her home with them.
I enjoy following his though process as he is dealing with the tough experiences of this story. He gets very concerned along the way when he is told appalling stories of children having been gravely mistreated as free labor on farms. Quinn has to get creative to get information about his siblings whereabouts. He trusts God to guide him and keep him safe on his quest. His faith helps him through his hardships and descriptions of this runs strong through the story. Throughout the story he is met with experiences that challenge his view of life as well as his values, and he needs all his strength and down-to-earth personality traits to carry him through the events he encounters. I found him a thoroughly nice guy. He impressed me. Well done for creating such a likable and well rounded up character.

Julia Holloway, earl’s niece, went off to Canada as personal caregiver to Private McIntyre. Following his suicide, she lives in dire straits in Toronto. When Quinn inquires after his “fellow soldier”, he finds Julia scrubbing floors at the military hospital for a pittance.
She harbors secrets she feels vital to keep from Quinn and the earl. She expects to feel even further disgraced, so she refuses to speak to him. The earl has dangled a very tempting «carrot» in front of Quinn, making it essential for him to keep Julia safe and bring her back to England. I was relieved to see the relationship between Julia and Quinn develop in spite of all the constraints within themselves and in society.

I enjoyed the writing a lot as it managed to draw me into the plot and make the reading quite captivating. It was probably not the best idea to jump right into installment #3 of Canadian Crossings. I anticipated encountering some short comings in my knowledge about a storyline running through all the books, but felt there were no issues at all reading this as a standalone. It was a quick and easy read I was sad to see end, but still there is the option of reading books #1 and 2, which I look forward to.

I recommend The Brightest of Dreams in the Canadian Crossings Series for fans of Susan Anne Mason and for readers of historical romance fiction. Thank you to publisher Bethany House and NetGalley for this eARC, which gives me the chance to share my honest review. All opinions are completely my own.

Slapt, for omstendelig og pratete. Historien hadde fortjent strammere redigering. Les mer her

Litt langsom krim, men interessant, stigende spenning og lærerikt om et område i Tjekkia som har skjult historie fra etterkrigstiden. Mer i bloggen her

Recently widowed Lily Adler is at a party at her friend’s house when she overhears a quarrel between two men and a gunshot is fired. In this exciting story of murder, blackmail and bribery, Lily is shocked to find who is involved.

The police get bribed and the case is put off because of «insufficient evidence». Large sums of money change hands and suddenly they are unable to identify the victim because they don’t want to try. The magistrate, himself is in receipt of 300 £ from the host of the party where the murder took place. Lily secretly witnessed this. As the police are instructed not to investigate, Lily takes it upon herself to do it, with the help of Capt. Hartley and Miss Oswald. She hasn’t the first idea how to investigate a murder case, but sees no way around it if she is to bring about justice for the victim.

The scene of the crime is in a large mansion, so the party goes on unawares while the investigation is kept secret. Pretty difficult to do, I’m sure, but the hosts of the evening seemed to go to extremes to avoid scandal, which seemed the crucial concern for people of “Quality” at the time.

In this plot the victim discovered something worth killing to keep secret. I found the circumstances around the murder interesting as well as exiting. Difficult to find out who the culprit might be as the murder victims kept piling up. I felt the West Indies connection added extra interest to the plot. I have read some books set in the West Indies before, but not murder mysteries, so this was a new angle for me which I enjoyed a lot. As I like stories with multi cultural dimensions, this felt like a win. There seemed a bit of a Sanditon feel about the part of the plot which contains the West Indian heiress, Miss Ofelia Oswald, who is launched into London Society to find a wealthy husband. Miss Oswald is, however, slightly less rich and therefore slightly less aggressively chaperoned compared to Miss Lamb in Sanditon.

I found the progress and exiting intensity of the plot more than made up for a slightly wordy start. I enjoyed the writing a lot. Added bonus, I think, were the funny parts of the story, particularly relating to the budding friendship between Lily and Capt. Hartley as they were knees deep in trying to solve the murder. With a mix between light hearted banter and the serious issue of murder, this was a story I was unable to put down even well past midnight. I found it highly entertaining as well as a quick and easy read. No shortage of suspects here, I can assure you. Well done to the author for creating such a wide variety of realistic “good guy” characters as well as the unsavory ones that both angered and unsettled me.

The Body in the Garden is recommended for readers of historical fiction as well as readers of crime fiction. Thank you to publisher Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for this eARC in return for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

My rating: 5 stars / 5

Søstrene Merricat og Charlotte bor sammen med sin onkel Julian i et stort hus. Huset ligger utenfor byen og blir skydd av byens beboere. Der har de holdt fort etter at foreldrene og flere andre familiemedlemmer døde 6 år tidligere. De har vent seg til et enkelt og tilnærmet idyllisk liv. Isolert fra omverdnen. Helt til fetter Charles dukker opp og forstyrrer roen. Merricat tar opp kampen med alle tilgjengelige midler.

Jackson beskriver personene så leseren kan se dem tydelig. Merricat og Charlotte. Onkel Julian. Og fetter Charles. Alle har de sin distinkte personlighet og er treffende beskrevet med mørk humor og varme.

Språket er fabelaktig. Lekent, men samtidig presist. Som Merricats monologer som er iblandet barnerim og regler. Det er noe med fortellere som sjarmerer meg i senk samtidig som jeg ikke helt tror på det de forteller. Merricat er 18 men det virker som hun har stivnet i den alderen hun var da foreldrene døde.

Boken er ikke direkte skummel. Gotisk stemning, men ikke horror. Som et eventyr med en klaustrofobisk og uhyggelig atmosfære. Spenningen ligger i de små detaljene. Nyansene og den langsomme forståelsen av at alt ikke er som det skal med idyllen og bokens forteller Merricat.

Historien handler om alt det som ikke blir sagt og reglene vi lager for å overleve. Også om søskenkjærlighet som et ubrytelig bånd. Om å være utenfor, om våre ødeleggende fordommer og frykten for mennesker vi ikke forstår.

On Earth We´re Briefly Gorgeous er en oppveksroman om å være innvandrer og homofil fortalt med smerte og kjærlighet. Little Dog flyttet fra Vietnam til Amerika da han var 2. Boken er et brev fra Little Dog til hans mor, en mor som ikke kan lese. Han beretter sin mor alt, men istedenfor å kommunisere direkte med henne grubler han over detaljer i minnene og gjenforteller deres felles historie i et forsøk på å forstå.

Vuong har tidligere gitt ut 2 bøker med poesi, men On Earth We´re Briefly Gorgeous er hans debutroman. Historien er fortalt fragmentert og hopper i tid. En "stream of consiousess" måte å skrive på med overraskende metaforer og sidespor.

Jeg vet ikke hvor mye av fortellingen som er autofiksjon, men historien kjennes personlig og ekte. Jeg føler en nærhet til bokens personer. Forfatteren skriver slik at sidene pulserer og setningene sitrer av liv. Språket er lyrisk og vakkert.

Vuong skriver om lengsel, om kropp, om følelsen av å ikke høre til noe sted og om frihet og overlevelse. Og om hvordan språket kan samle og splitte.

Det er vondt å lese Little Dogs historie. En hudløshet som smitter og åpner opp leseren også. Vuong viser oss smerten. Det er modig. Det er rått. Delene fra Vietnam med moren og mormorens historier er smertelige. Little Dogs som lever med frykt og vold som en integrert del av barndommen. Opplevelsene med forelskelsen i Trevor og Trevors vei inn i rusen sved i meg i dager etter endt lesing.

Til tross for alt det triste er det en bok med mye glede og livslyst. Personene er beskrevet varsomt og med affeksjon og forståelse.

Boken er ikke perfekt. Plottet kunne vært tydeligere. Hovedpersonene har ingen utvikling. Noen av repeteringene er enerverende. Noen setninger er vel naivblomstrete og noen metaforer er forvirrende, men for en leseopplevelse. To ganger har jeg lest denne boka og jeg kommer til å lese den igjen.

Kreativ og overraskende psykologisk thriller. Ja, hypen er fortjent. Mer her

WoW! Utrolig god krim, med kvinnehistorisk perspektiv. Godt skrudd sammen. Les mer her

Spennende, velskrevet og annerledes spenningsroman, les gjerne mer her

Lett om det som er tungt

When well known feminist, author and lecturer Clare Abbott gets poisoned, Lynley and Havers have to investigate both in London and Dorset. There seems to be connections to the suicide of William Goldacre. Dark and disturbing secrets within his family come to light.

Following William Goldacre suicide, there is a series of consequences. Dysfunctions in his family come into a glaring focus impossible to ignore. They all seem to suffer. The mother Caroline Goldacre works as PA to the murder victim. Controlling behavior and paranoid thinking is severely interfering with her work. She acts more like a gate keeper than assistant. Clare acts very forgiving about this. People wonder why she doesn’t simply fire Caroline but she keeps her on, even gives her more responsibilities.

Through a combination of coloring outside the lines and taking advantage of connections, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers lands herself in the murder investigation. But she is not too chuffed with having Detective Sergeant Winston Nkata watching her every move and reporting to Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley the very moment she gets creative.

Reads like a combination of several timelines related to the plot, which my methodical self really appreciates a lot. There is a really thorough introduction leading up to the actual crime taking place. The sheer size of this work allows for detailed descriptions which I enjoy a lot.

The hilarious interaction between police secretary Dorothea Harriman and Barbara Havers I find beyond entertaining. Dorothea wants to contribute to Barbara meeting men, which in turn is supposed to help make her relax more and be a better police sergeant.

It’s funny and entertaining in the middle of this serious plot the way she is portrayed as loose cannon who has a history of interpreting her orders, bending the rules and sidestepping police regulations. She achieves good results, but in the end there have been so many problems that she ends up on superior’s transfer list.

Di Lynley: seems to be all business for most of this story, having been instructed by his superior to keep DS Havers on the straight and narrow at all times. He is occupied with the London end of the investigation as well as closely and carefully managing DS Havers to make sure she goes by the book. But I enjoyed the parts where there are descriptions of his feelings and thoughts about his personal life, having been a widower for 18 months.

The writing itself I find a wonderful use of the English language. Very few comes to mind that manage to express themselves in super enjoyable writing like this. The development of the plot is balanced out with funny dialog and interactions between characters.
I really enjoy when DS Haves jokes about Inspector Lynley having such a posh car. She thinks it’s so expensive; he keeps a teenager to polish the dust from the bonnet.
I also really enjoy that the plot is set in London and British countryside, with environmental descriptions to match.

The clues were so carefully laid out that I felt completely in the dark as to who the culprit might be. Expertly done I think. This work contained a large number of elements. So many, in fact, it muddied the waters for me. I was unable to distinguish the important clues from the less important ones. When the culprit was found and I thought the case was solved, yet another surprising twist was sprung on me. That made for an unusual end to the story.

There is an interesting story line about DS Havers continuing to book #20, which I think readers will enjoy. I have read it, and I certainly did. It feels like reading a teaser for the next book. It’s on my radar partly because I’m curious how DS Havers will get on in future.

This book is highly recommended for fans of Elizabeth George’s other work and readers of historical fiction.
All opinions in this review are my own.
My rating: 5 stars / 5

Historisk roman fra middelalderen. Anbefales. Se for øvrig forlagets omtale ifht handling

When a brutal murder takes place close to family restaurant Pie Town, restaurant owner Val Harris sets out to solve the case in her amateur-sleuthing way, which gets her in serious danger.

English professor Michael Stark is invited to Pie Town for a poetry reading event. He chooses to read a rather strange poem, which gets him into a heated argument with another member of the local college English department. He is accused of plagiarism. Soon after he is found dead, stabbed with a saber.

Worried about the reputation of the restaurant, Val finds it crucial to solve the case. Her boyfriend, Detective Gordon Carmichael, risks being kicked off the murder investigation for the third time because of Val’s interfering. He makes her promise to keep all talk about the case to Pie Town. Charlene and Val invent new and creative ways around that promise. She tries to make sure her business isn’t in jeopardy being connected to a murder case again.

I like Val Harris. She seems a sweet, sensible girl who is building a successful pie business. She may come across as somewhat of a pushover at times, but for the most part she seems to find it important to keep her promises and be reliable. But being close friends with Charlene, she is sometimes “forced” to color outside the lines a bit, which gets her into trouble with her local police detective boyfriend.

Charlene McCree is the second main character who adds a funny and interesting spin to the story. She is a creative and industrious busy-body with a vivid imagination that enjoy coming up with antics supposed to have favorable outcomes. She stops at nothing to make her ideas happen, but has a good heart. She is a firm believer in UFOs and the use of social media, which creates vital and enjoyable additions to the plot.

Charlene’s social media activity plays a crucial role in the development of the plot as she tries to draw crowds to Pie Town. While I found it entertaining and interesting, I felt it took up a lot of space in the plot and might have been shortened a bit.

I really enjoyed the vibe of small-town living where everybody knows everybody else.
In spite of all the craziness, the plot seems to progress steadily, which I am pleased to see. There seem to emerge useful clues for the investigation, which became interesting elements to the story.

Pies Before Guys is recommended for fans of Kirsten Weiss and for readers of cozy mystery. Thank you to Kensington Books via Netgalley for this eARC in return for my honest review.
All opinions are completely my own.

My rating:
4 stars / 5

Famed opera singer Margaret Lee is hiding out at Morden Hall at the end of Dartmoor, when she finds escapee prisoner Oliver Ward lifeless at the side of the road. The plot centers around a jewel theft they both are connected to. On an intense and dangerous mission to bring down the real jewel thief they have to deal with people as dangerous as they are powerful.

Having fled from her contract obligations to sing in Bath, famed opera singer Margaret Lee is in hiding at the end of Dartmoor. She feels she has to escape to protect herself and her father from threats and violence. After 9 months at the end of the moor she is still scared her manager, Mr. Grout, will find her.

Oliver was wrongly convicted for theft of a jewelry necklace and has fought to stay alive in Dartmoor prison. He makes a narrow escape with dangerous and violent Prison Warden, Mr. Barrow, on his tale. This is why he ends up near Margaret’s house, wounded and unconscious. When he gets better, he recognizes Margaret as the one who wore the necklace just before it was stolen. He suspects her to be the thief. She thinks she is in possession of a theatre prop, and is shocked to find out it is real.

Margaret and Oliver realize they have to work together, so they decide to set out on a journey to Bath to solve the jewel mystery as well as trying to stay safe from Mr. Barrow and Mr. Gout who are chasing them. Throughout this ordeal, they get to see each other bring out their best under pressure.

I really liked the character of Margaret as she tries to fend for herself in a world of powerful men. I found her reactions believable for a woman of that time lacking the security of family or powerful connections to shield her. All her life she has been told what’s acceptable and what’s not by men, but now she is done with it. She has a good heart taking mute girl Nora into her employ, when she is harassed in the local community.

Oliver seems a real charmer with the ladies, and well connected among various groups of potential voters come election day to parliament. He uses his silver-tongued skills for all they are worth to get out of sticky situations. His work in favor of the less fortunate has led to powerful people wanting to get rid of him, hence the wrongful conviction. His political views seem something like Ross Poldark’s, as he fights for the poor and against people whose goal in life is lining their own pockets whatever it takes.

This story contains some seriously unsavory characters. Well done! Prison Warden and law enforcement officer Sebastian Barrow in particular, who has his very own interpretation of what trust in God entails. I find him to be a violent, dangerous and appalling man. When dealing with prisoners, knocking them senseless seems to be his go-to approach. Whether they survive or not doesn’t seem to concern him. He is an excellently crafted villain character with a questionable stability of mental health. He really pushes my buttons. I am pleased to see there is a bit of a positive development towards the end of the story, so stay tuned.

The story is told from Oliver’s and Margaret’s points of view as well as Mr. Barrow’s, who keeps hunting them down to achieve his version of justice and God’s will. The plot contains some intense and dramatic parts, mixed with calm in which the relationship between Margaret and Oliver gets room to develop and, I’m pleased to say, my shoulders get to relax a bit. I really enjoyed the funny streaks mixed into this story, which lightens the mood in spite of the sometimes intense drama.
As the danger temporarily subsides Margaret gets conscious of some of Oliver’s positive traits. There are contrasts in this plot which I love. We move from sequences of Dickensian proportions to opulence in homes of the super rich in Bath. There is a clear element of faith running through the plot which I also truly appreciate.

Fans of Michelle Gripe will enjoy The House at The end of The Moor. It is recommended for readers of historical fiction too.

Thank you to Barbour Publishing and NetGalley for this eARC in return for my honest review. All opinions in this review are completely my own.
My rating: 5 stars / 5

Poirot receives a letter from Monsieur Paul Renauld with a plea for help as he feels his life is in danger. Poirot and Captain Hastings rush off to France only to find it too late to prevent the murder. The victim is found in an open grave stabbed in the back with his own dagger. The case includes a mess of cover-ups, lies and deceits to divert the investigation, thoroughly testing Poirot’s skills.

Frensh Detective Investigator Girault tries to undermine Poirot. He tries to consider him a silly little man. Using an arrogant, condescending and patronizing manner, it doesn’t seem to get Poirot off his game. He focuses on his task, ignoring Girault’s attitude. He even mocks and teases Giroult by pointing out weaknesses in his investigation.

This is Story #2 of the Hercule Poirot Mysteries, when Poirot has no become famous. It is told from Captain Hastings’ perspective from a time when he doesn’t quite believe Poirot will be able to bring about a successful outcome. Poirot gets on Hastings’ nerves with his neat, methodical methods. But as the story progresses, he becomes impressed by Poirot and develops more trust in his skills.

We get to follow Poirot and Hastings’ relationship in the earliest stages when Hastings gets irritated with Poirot’s talks about “the little great cells” and analyzing methods. That doesn’t happen in the later stories. With his army background, Hastings seems to prefer to act instead of analyze too much. He comes across as a rather impulsive character who gets side-tracked by feelings, particularly regarding women, which put spanners in the works of Poirot’s investigation.

There is an interesting mix of characters who don’t exactly make it easy for Poirot to dig out the real truth. A veil of mystery surrounds some of the characters. Some consistently lie and cover up to divert the investigation, while others openly resist and do some great acting to deceive the detectives, but Poirot doesn’t buy it. He walks to the beat of his own drum, and methodically follows the evidence which ends up solving the murder. Must say I was quite surprised by the result as I felt the culprit was sprung on me. I normally pick up on clues along the way, but not this time.

All in all I enjoyed this story by Agatha Christie a lot like I always do. In The Murder in The Links I particularly liked the parts about the relationship between Poirot and Hastings. These descriptions set it apart from later works where it seems their relationship has developed into more fixed detective vs assistant roles where they have learned how to go about solving cases most effectively way.

Fans of Agatha Christie will enjoy The Murder in The Links. It is also recommended for readers of crime fiction.

All opinions in this review are my own.
My rating: 4 starts / 5