More Library Temptations

I've succumbed to yet more bookish temptation.  I didn't even try to resist actually.  I knew I would be interested in S.J. Bolton's Sacrifice and I started reading the moment I brought the book home from the library.  How could I resist the description, "a bone-chilling and spell-binding debut that will grip readers from the beginning to the startling end"?  I just couldn't.  The story is set on the "rocky, windswept Shetland Islands, a hundred miles from the northeastern tip of Scotland".  I don't know about anyone else but I tend to search out books with a setting in mind and this one is a perfect sort of setting for me.  Of course when I finish it may not be so appealing if the story does indeed have a startling ending. 

The book begins with Tora Hamilton burying her beloved and very dead horse Jamie.  As she digs into the peaty ground her mini-excavator catches on something and she stops to investigate.  Whatever it is, it's wrapped in linen, and though she knows she should call the police ('crime scene' flashes across her mind) she cuts away linen to reveal a human foot.  A woman's foot.  Initially she and everyone else thinks the remains are those of a bog body centuries old, but it's not long before its decided the remains were buried far more recently.  Tora is an obstetrician and she'll get pulled into the mystery when her expertise is required during the post-mortem.  The story reminds me a bit of Erin Hart's mysteries, which are set in Ireland and feature a forensic pathologist.  Bolton doesn't hold anything back, right from the start she grabs you, and even her (or Tora's really) description of the process of a decaying body is scarily fascinating (I wouldn't have thought so when I was younger).  The story is also based on local folklore and I'm looking forward to reading this one!

I brought home a couple of other books as well. 

Alexia's Secrets by Una-Mary Parker.  This is published by Severn House Publishers, which seems to put out a lot of historical fiction.  I'm wondering if they deal primarily with libraries, as my library has a fair amount of their backlist, and I've never seen these titles in my local bookstore.  I've got a couple of their titles at home now, both appear to be historical romances set in the interwar period in England.  They sound good, though I'm not familiar with the authors, so I don't know what the writing will be like.  Has anyone read anything by this publisher?   

An Expert in Murder: A Josephine Tey Mystery by Nicola Upson.  I've heard good things about this mystery.  It's set in 1930s London featuring a real-life Josephine Tey solving a fictional murder.

Well, I did say I wanted to read more mysteries this year, though a lot of what I'm reading seems to be of the thriller-ish type.  I seem to getting in my quota of this type of book lately.

I also grabbed the August issue of BookPage.  I'll be getting in line for these:

A Manuscript of Ashes by Antonio Munoz Molina.  This has been translated by Edith Grossman.  I've noticed lately there seem to be more translated works from Spanish popping up, which is a good thing.  BookPages says, "Munoz Molina's novel is a dense, at times devilishly complex tale that yields its secrets slowly, all the way up to the astonishing final pages.  It's a challenging metafictional work that demands close reading, but one that in the end will gratify those willing to make the commitment".

The Seamstress of Hollywood by Erin McGraw.  "McGraw has taken the skeleton of her own grandmother's story and turned it into a frant and engaging depiction of one young woman's attempt to reinvent herself".

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry.  "Part historical novel, part romance, part mystery".  The reviewer said if you're going to read just one book this summer, this should be it. 

The Glimmer Palace by Beatrice Colin.  This is set during the heyday of the Weimar Republic.

White Heat: The Friendship of Emily Dickinson and Thomas Wentworth Higginson by Brenda Wineapple.  "The first book to portray one of the most remarkable friendships in American letters, that of Emily Dickinson—recluse, poet—and Thomas Wentworth Higginson, minister, literary figure, active abolitionist."

Comments

[Katherine]

The mystery featuring Josephine Tey looks interesting. And I'm very curious about the Brunonia Barry. I look forward to reading your review on it!

[Kay]

I have SACRIFICE here and will try to pick it up soon. It sounds really interesting. My library also has the Josephine Tey mystery (and I'll put it on hold) and I also have THE LACE READER here. Lots of choices! Thanks for sharing!

[Jordan]

Sounds good! I don't necessarily pick up a book looking for a particular setting, but I think I get what you mean. I tend to pick up a book looking for a particular "atmosphere". For an obvious example, I definitely know when I want a "Gothicky" read!

[Marg]

The one about Josephine Tey caught my eye as well! Definitely adding it to the list.

[sherry]

Severn House also published a lot of murder mysteries.

[sherry]

I meant, Severn House PUBLISHES a lot of murder mysteries. I often find them at my library.

[Lisa]

The setting is always very important to me -- it can sometimes make or break a book. I've orderd The Lace Reader and can't wait to start it. Happy reading!

[Kitty]

I just finished the Tey book and really enjoyed it; it really felt like a good old-fashioned British mystery. As I said earlier, I also enjoyed "Sacrifice", and I kind of enjoyed "The Lace Reader" although I seem to remember it kind of falling apart towards the end. I really have very little memory of it, so that's probably not a good sign.

Anyway... enjoy!!!

[Dorothy W.]

Hmmm ... the Molina book sounds very interesting. I'm glad you mentioned him, because I've been interested in him for a while and may have to seek out his work soon. It sounds like it might be a challenging read, with its "metafictionality" and all. Challenging but good :)

[iliana]

Sacrifice sounds fantastic! I really enjoyed those Erin Hart books - I wonder if she'll have a new book out any time soon. Thanks for the link to Severn House. Haven't seen any of their books but I'll be checking them out!

[Danielle]

Katherine--I'm looking forward to reading both books! I'm in line for the Barry but the Tey mystery is here at home waiting for me.
Kay--I'm rationing Sacrifice--it's a page-turner for me, but I am close to finishing several other books so I need to work on those as well. There are lots of good books out right now, aren't there? (Of course there always seem to be!)
Jordan--I do know what you mean. I'm almost always up for an atmospheric sort of book! Sometimes I feel like reading about a specific time or place, too.
Marg--I've only read one of Tey's myseries, but I'm sure that doesn't matter. I love that time period.
Sherry--I looked through their online catalog and noticed that. Have you read them? Are they pretty good? I'll have to look for them as well.
Lisa--I'm looking forward to the Lace Reader as well. I'm farther down the library list, so I'll have to be patient. I did get a postcard from the publisher today in the mail advertising it.
Kitty--I'm really enjoying Sacrifice, too. It's a good page turner! I hope to read the Tey after I finish. And it will be interesting to read the Barry book as well, though I don't have that one yet.
Dorothy--I was excited to read the description, but when I went to the library's catalog they don't have it, and it isn't listed as being on order. They have an earlier book as well as something in Spanish. I've requested they order it, but I'm not sure they will. I thought it sounded good as well, but I would prefer to borrow it than buy just in case it's too over my head! Still, I'm willing to give it a try--I thought it sounded interesting.
Iliana--You might like Sacrifice--it's mystery/thriller-ish. And I'm not sure what happened to Erin Hart--there is nothing new on her website. I really enjoyed her first two mysteries!

[Tara]

The Lace Reader is getting some great press, isn't it? It's definitely on my wish list.

[Danielle]

Tara--Yes, it is. I was hoping to get an ARE for it--I asked for one, but I never got a reply. Oh well, will get it from the library and read it at my leisure!

[Euro Crime (Karen M)]

If you like the Shetland setting, do try Raven Black (and also now out White Nights) by Ann Cleeves. Raven Black won last year's main Dagger award and I loved it. The plan is for a quartet, one per season.

[Euro Crime (Karen M)]

ps. Severn House in the UK is pretty much for libraries though they have been bringing more out in trade paperback - perhaps aimed at non-library purchasers.

[Danielle]

Karen--Thanks! I had to go and look it up and it sounds great. Luckily it is in paper, so I'll have to order a copy. I am very drawn to certain settings and anything on an island is of particular interest to me. And I was wondering about Severn House. They have a very "library book" quality about them. I also have never seen them in bookstores. Some of them sound very appealing, though I still haven't started one yet.

[Jean]

Brenda Wineapple is not the "first" -- as she and her publisher claim -- to write in depth about the friendship between Emily Dickenson and Thomas Wentworth Higginson. Anna Mary Wells did that in her book "Dear Preceptor" (Houghton Mifflin, 1963). Wells came to the same conclusions which Wineapple is offering now as "new".

[Danielle]

Jean--I'm not familiar with the Wells book. Thanks for the heads up. It just goes to show you that you can't believe everything you read!

[Lelia]

I think The Lace Reader was very very good. If you get the chance, read it. I thought the story took off around chapter 9 & I didn't want to put it down.