A Work in Progress

A Demon in My View by Ruth Rendell

I don't think Ruth Rendell can write a bad book.  I've probably read more books by Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine than I have by any other author and while I favor some stories over others I can't think of a single book by her (and I have been reading her for a long time) that I would call a bad reading experience.  So it is always with much happy anticipation that I crack open one of her books.  A Demon in My View, published in 1976, is yet again another example why she is called, and I can only concur, the queen of the psychological suspense novel. 

She does it all well--a story that is tightly controlled and well plotted, interesting and well developed characters, acute psychological insight and of course always elegantly written books.  Her stories often reflect contemporary society's ills which have changed with the times, so prolific is she with a writing career that spans more than forty years.  And there is always something extra--she pulls it all together in a really clever and often surprising ways like a magic trick.  Like pulling a rabbit out of a hat.  And how she does it over and over again, and so apparently effortlessly, never ceases to amaze me.  But I'm glad she can.

A Demon on My View takes place in a London apartment building, 142 Trinity Road.  The top flat is occupied by a tenant of long standing, one Arthur Johnson.  Arthur is a solitary fellow, fastidious in his ways, ultra conscientious but perhaps a little too fussy.  In addition to his work in a construction office he acts as a sort of dogsbody for the building's owner, a schoolhood chum, by collecting the rents from the other lodgers, sorting the mail, and keeping an eye on things in general.  His manners are almost flawless, so well trained was he by his Aunt Gracie who raised him.  He rarely strays from his daily routine.  But there is something not quite right about Arthur.

The building on Trinity Road was once a single family home, which after the war was broken into a series of flats.  There's a diverse group of tenants at 142; an Asian woman with an endless string of boyfriends, all of whom she loves but none of whom she promises anything.  Then there is a married couple who seem to be constantly bickering, pay their bills separately and each go their opposite way in the evening.  The last tenant may either be the cause or the effect of the married couple's discontent since he spends so much time with the husband in the local pub.  And one flat sits empty.

Arthur Johnson is relatively happy in his life, but when Anthony Johnson moves into the empty flat it will cause an upheaval in Arthur's life that is almost unbearable and of course will cause the most awful repercussions.  Anthony is a student working on his thesis about psychopathic personalities.  He's come up to London from Bristol to put space between himself and his married lover.  It's a wonderful and ironic juxtaposition of characterizations on Rendell's part.  The men share similar names but their mindsets couldn't be farther apart.  Anthony's arrival and subsequent actions, unknowingly instigated, will set into motion terrible events.

To tell you any more would ruin the story.  I'll only say that Rendell masterfully intertwines the lives of the tenants--like dominoes in a curvy line when the first is pushed the rest of the dominoes collapse one on top of the other.  There was a time when I gorged myself on Ruth Rendell's books (particularly those written under her pseudonym), but these days I tend to space her books out.  I think I won't let so much time pass until I read another, however.  My last Rendell novel was A Judgement in Stone, another slick story that is sparely written but tells a great story.  I think it may finally be time to embark on her Inspector Wexford novels, so I'm off to dig out my copy of From Doon with Death.

The Lantern Group Read: Part 2

As the questions for this post cover the middle section of Deborah Lawrenson's The Lantern, there are some spoilers in the discussion, so please be warned in case you plan on reading it later. 

1. The title of this book is The Lantern, and a lantern makes an appearance in both of the stories. In Benedicte’s past, it had a meaning, but what do you think the lantern signifies in her future and in Eve’s story? 

Since this is a ghost story, I think that there is some unfinished business from the past, or at least unsettled spirits from the past.  Perhaps she (am thinking it must be a she) is trying to make herself known.  I'm not sure if the lantern would appear in any case, or whether Eve is simply more open to seeing it since she is also unhappy.  That may be a stretch, but I'm not sure there is any other more concrete explanation for it showing up.  Who would ever have known it's significance otherwise?

2. Carl mentioned scents in last weeks questions, but they have been addressed even more in these sections. What significance do you think scents have in this story overall?

Since Marthe is blind and Bénédicte becomes her eyes in a sense, I think her own sense of smell becomes even more acute so is able to pull apart the different ingredients in a scent.  I'm not sure why the author chose to make Marthe blind or to make her a perfume maker, though with Provence as a setting it certainly seems a perfect way to bring the setting into the story creatively and not just simply as a backdrop.  Perhaps things will become more clear in the last two sections.

3. What do you think of the combining storyline of Marthe? She connects Bénédicte, Eve, and Rachel. What do you think will be revealed about this connection in the next sections? 

Marthe was famous; a woman about whom Rachel obviously took an interest in and wrote about.  There had to be some way to connect the stories and probably nothing much would have been known about Bénédicte later despite her being the owner of Les Genévriers.  I'm wondering if the bones beneath the pool are Marthe's?  And those next to the pool are Rachel's?  I know the obvious reason for the connection--all the women have have made Les Genévriers their home--but I think there must be something more, some reason they were all pulled together in one place?

4. Now that things are beginning to move along, what do you think of the characters? Are any standing out for you? Do you particularly like any? Dislike any?

I think I like Bénédicte the most now that I am well into the story.  She seems not only the most sympathetic but also the most interesting and the one character I feel I have a solid feel for.  I like Eve, and I have an idea why she is drawn to this life with Dom, but I still wonder at her motivations.  She questions why she remains with Dom, yet still she stays with him despite his lies and evasions.  And Dom remains a total mystery to me.  Perhaps he is meant to be an enigma, but there is so little revealed about him I don't know what to make of his actions.

5. What do you think really happened to Marthe and Annette? What do you think the significance of the bones in the pool are to the story? Especially now that it has been revealed that Rachel is also dead.

I think Pierre must be lying, though I am just the tiniest bit uncertain.  It's not the first time Marthe would have rejected her sister.  Marthe blamed not only Bénédicte but also the rest of the family for her blindness.  Perhaps she would have simply left after that awful scene, but Pierre's story is just too pat.  He's a violent, angry man who takes what he wants.  Would he have let the women go after what he had just done to that girl?  But why only one set of bones under the pool?  Surely both women would have been buried together had he murdered them.  Maybe they're Pierre's bones?!  There has to be a connection between Les Genévriers and Rachel--more than she simply lived there and left.  Why would Dom act so guilty and refuse to speak about her if she did indeed just die of cancer?  Very strange.

6. Do you have any other things you think are significant to talk about? Are there any other predictions to be made for the last two sections of the book?

Since the author has taken for the framework of her story a retelling of Rebecca, do you think Les Genévriers will burn like Manderley did?  I only wonder how Eve and Dom can have a happily ever after, though perhaps that is my own prejudices against Dom speaking?  I have a feeling I am missing something--some little twist that is going to take me by surprise.

7. Lastly, what do you think of this book overall? Other than for the read-along, why are you reading it? Is it meeting your expectations?

After a few rocky patches I am enjoying it.  I love suspenseful stories--all the more so if they have a nice Gothic spin to them.  This is definitely of the comfort read variety.  As I had this book on my pile to read in any case, I'm glad Carl urged me to pick it up sooner than later.  Besides, it's always fun to read in a group and see different perspectives on the story.  I have a feeling the last eighty or so pages will just zip by.

You can check out Carl's post here, which has links to the thoughts of the rest of the group who are reading along.

Dark Matter by Michelle Paver

For maximum chills, of the figurative sort, I recommend reading Michelle Paver's Dark Matter over a weekend (it's a slip of a book and easily consumable in just a few sittings) when you can turn the lights down low, snuggle down into your comfiest chair and then lose yourself in the story.  For literal (as well as figurative) chills, you might even save this one for the dead of winter when it is storming outside and you can hear the ice pellets hitting your window.  Trust me, this is a ghost story worth savoring in the right reading conditions. 

I read it in a gym filled with people and sunshine streaming through the windows, so I didn't get the full effect of the story.  I wanted to save the last fifty or so pages for the weekend, but I just couldn't put the book down and had to rush to the ending.  Whatever it might have lacked (for me anyway) in real spine-tingling chills (and trust me there was lots there to spook a reader), it more than made up for in being a really good story. 

Paver brings all the right elements together to create a real page turner.  Although very prickly, Jack is a likable character and the chronicler of this dark tale of an Arctic expedition gone horribly awry.  For Jack Miller an opportunity like this rarely comes along.  As a matter of fact almost every door of opportunity has shut on Jack.  Poor and alone in the world he works as a shipping clerk, but he had bigger dreams once.  When he's asked to join a group traveling to the Arctic to study the natural environment he almost declines feeling too much the odd man out.  Jack is college educated but isn't in the same league as the other four fellows who are wealthy and uppercrust and most likely insufferable snobs.

Perhaps if Jack hadn't been so unhappy in his life he never would have went to Gruhuken, but it seemed worth a chance and maybe the only chance he would get.  A journey that begins in hopeful optimism is from the start riddled with bad luck and bad choices and will spiral into something horrifying.  It's obvious that there is something not right about Gruhuken, but the ship's captain is tight lipped about the former mining community.  It's now an empty and desolate stretch of coast, but the men have set their sights on setting up camp there.  And while things start out well enough Jack senses a malevolent presence that he's hesitant about mentioning to the other men, particularly since no one else seems to feel it.

One by one the numbers dwindle until it's just Jack alone on this lonely stretch of coast.  It's only meant to be temporary and surely he can handle taking down the meteorological readings and transmitting his findings daily until his companions return.  If he doesn't stay and continue the work the whole expedition will have to be scuppered.  But days turn into weeks, the sun sets to an endless night and Jack must admit to himself that there is something out there.

What better place to set a ghost story than an island in the Arctic?  The year is 1937, so communication is limited to morse transmissions.  Surely there can be no lonelier place in the world.  When endless day turns into endless night, there is only a brief twilight and then darkness.  A darkness so complete that it's hard to tell up from down out on the snow.  The winds howl, storms come up out of nowhere and last for days on end, and as winter approaches the sea becomes an impassable sheet of ice.  Jack tells his story through a series of journal entries that become increasingly spooked as he realizes he's not really alone.  This is an unnerving story filled with Jack's fear and paranoia.  Paver tells it all so well that the iciness from the fear and the cold is almost tangible.

I may have read this on bright sunny days, but I think the horror of the story is a little more subtle than it appears.  A really good ghost story plays upon the imagination.  So some night when I need to go down to my creaky, old-house basement and it's dark outside, I have a feeling I'll be racing up the stairs two at a time and quickly walk past windows for fear of what's looking in out of the darkness. 

If you like a good ghost story, this one is well worth searching for.

Lost in the Stacks: Concluding

Henry Green is one of my "mean to read soon" authors who I just haven't quite gotten around to yet.  He wrote nine novels and a memoir while also working in his family's engineering firm.  Interestingly he went to school at Eton where he became friends with Anthony Powell (whose quartet of books I had set out to read this year...and didn't accomplish--still would like to get back to them), and was a friend and literary rival of Evelyn Waugh who he met at Oxford.  He seems to be part of that literary milieu that I am so interested in--writing between the wars and into the 1940s. 

John Updike wrote the introduction to my copy of Living Loving and Party Going and Green seems to be an author he greatly admires--not only was he a great writer but a "revealer of what English prose fiction can do in this century".  His novels are chronicles of the mundane yet Updike says they are unlike any others.

"And they have become, with time, photographs of a vanished England.  Their substantive content, in human psychology, in social mores, in what can be seen and heard by a man alive in a place and time, is as rich as their formal design is intricate, rounded and pleasing.  They are among the most contemplated novels of an age, not long ago, when novel-writing came easy, because 'simply everything has importance, if it happens'."

I like the sound of an author who not only gives pleasure but can instruct.  And I love that he can give a window onto the world of a long gone England.  Why have I not yet read him?  My library has all of his novels, and I own an omnibus edition of three of them, which I am assuming are either considered his best or are his most popular?  I shouldn't probably count him as a lost in the stacks author as his works are in print still (most are published by Dalkey Archive Press who I consider to be a publisher of high quality literature), but when I was scanning the library shelves for an interesting book and I saw those lovely little Hogarth Press editions, I had to slide one of them off the shelf. 

I opted for Concluding, which was published in 1948.  Henry Green considered it one of his best novels.  It's set in a girls' school where two students have gone missing.  The story takes place over the course of a day as the administrators try and hush up the disappearance while they look for the students.  It sounds like the sort of story where not a lot happens, yet so much is revealed by the smallest actions.

Maybe Henry Green should be my next classic choice!

A Little New Book Browsing

The last thing I need to do is book browse, and it's not really all that easy to do online, but I found myself earlier with a little time to kill, so guess what I have here.  Yes, a list of new books that are coming out in the next few months.  A few things to go on my wishlist:

Elegy for Eddie: A Maisie Dobbs Mystery, Jacqueline Winspear (due March 2012) -- haven't a clue what this one is about, but I love Maisie, so I'm sure I'll be reading it

Believing the Lie, Elizabeth George (due January 2012) -- despite a few rocky novels previously I am still a great fan of Inspector Lynley and especially DS Havers, and like Maisie Dobbs's mysteries, I've read them all

Hit Lit: Cracking the Code of the Twentieth Century's Biggest Bestsellers, James Hall (due April 2012) -- love books about books and/or reading

Uninvited Guests, Sadie Jones (due April 2012) -- I seem to collect books by Sadie Jones but haven't yet read any of them...and another to look forward to (maybe I'll go pick one up off my pile this weekend)

Death Comes to Pemberly, P.D. James (due November 2011) -- a recreation of the world of Pride and Prejudice?  If anyone can do it, I bet PD James can

The Faces of Angels, Lucretia Grindle (due December 2011) -- mystery set in Florence

Clair de Lune, Jetta Carleton (due March 2012) -- 1941 Missouri

The Heroine's Bookshelf: Life Lessons from Jane Austen to Laura Ingalls Wilder, Erin Blakemore (due November 2011)

Dark and Lonely Place, Edna Buchanan (due November 2011) -- "saga of star-crossed lovers across generations"

Underground Time, Daphne de Vigan (due November 2011) -- set in Paris this is a tale of "urban isolation"

Nights of Awe, Harri Nykanen (due April 2012) -- crime thriller set in Helsinki, Finland (haven't yet read any Finnish crime)

No Sale, Patrick Conrad (due June 2012) -- long wait for this one!  This one won Belgium's highest mystery award

The Nun, Simonetta Agnello Hornby (due January 2012) -- story of an illicit affair set in 19th c. Italy 

The Time in Between, Maria Duenas (due November 2011) -- set in Spain during WWII a promising couturier gets caught up in the world of espionage

Reading the Classics

I know I've said this before, but I still think this has been a really weird reading year for me.  Not bad necessarily, just weird.  It can't be helped--life happens and it intrudes on your reading and you just have to go with the flow.  Even if the flow has been lots of cheery, frothy, easy sorts of reads (not that there is anything wrong with those--and I've read some very good ones this year!).  But I've been thinking lately how much I miss reading classic fiction.  Out of curiosity I checked my reading list from this year and discovered that I've read a paltry number of classics (and I use the term in the broadest sense)--six if I can count one nonfiction amongst all the novels.  Not even one a month.

Part of my problem is that much like nonfiction I will generally only allow myself one classic at a time.  And if the book is really long, well then, all the other books just stack up and must wait their turn.  But that makes me a little fidgety all of a sudden.  I've been reading Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy, and it has been going well, only really slow.  And you can see how chunky the book is.  Throwing all caution to the wind and thanks to recent bookish conversation I decided that Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South is just what I need.  And, you know, it really is just what I need.  I love it.  I'm reading at a nice clip and it's the book I most want to pick up nearly every time I reach for a book. 

I'm hoping to finish North and South by the end of the October (or thereabout) as next month I've already set my mind to reading Theodor Fontane's Effi Briest.  Effi is a much more slender novel and I think I can easily squeeze her in.  Then there is Wilkie Collins's No Name.  No Name is from last year and has been sitting on a special shelf under my night table where I look at it all the time.  I'm afraid it fell victim to the distractions of everyday life and being another really long book.  I'm a third of the way in and it seems a pity to give up on it, so I'm contemplating diving back in and seeing if I can pick up the thread.  Victorian novels appeal to me at the moment and Wilkie is a favorite.

I have a massive TBR stack made up purely of classic novels and I look at it longingly quite often.  Edith Wharton, E.M. Forster, Willa Cather, John Steinbeck, Thomas Hardy, Alexandre Dumas, Emile Zola, D.H. Lawrence, Jane Austen, Fanny Burney and on and on and on...  I'm not setting myself any special task, but I hope to pick up more of my classics to read alongside my other lighter books.  Just curious--do you read many classics?  Mostly classics?  No classics?  Who is your favored author, or are you like me with a stack of books to choose from?  I like variety in my reading so I guess it is time for the classics to take their turn.  I know it is a cliché, but oh so many books, and so very little time.   And boy do I wish I could read just a little bit faster.

Teaser Tuesday: Dark Matter

Yesterday I started reading Michelle Paver's Dark Matter, which I think is going to be a quick, entertaining and atmospheric read.  I've read a number of very positive reviews of the book, many of them calling this a chilling story--no pun intended as it is set in the Arctic Circle!  I think in this modern day it is hard to write a convincingly scary book/ghost story, though maybe reading it in the right circumstances (alone in a dark room, save for one lamp, and rain pelting against the windows would be good) would help.  Strangely I get in my most uninterrupted reading time each day at the gym, so that's where I'm working on it.  I'm not sure how scary it will feel in a well-lit room filled with people exercising, but you never know.  Maybe I'll save the last bit to read at home just before bedtime.  But then do I really want to scare myself?

The story is set in 1937 when a group of five men set out on a scientific expedition to the Arctic.  They've specifically chosen an island called Gruhuken, where they will spend the next year tracking various natural phenomenon.  Right from the start, however, things go wrong, and the reader knows from the first page that at least one man will die and one will be crippled.  One man ends up overwintering there alone.  Bad things have happened at Gruhuken, though the reader is only teased and not told what--that's what I'll soon find out. 

The story is written in diary format, and my teaser is from an entry made from the first impression of the Arctic when the men have just arrived.

"Hugo, the keen glaciologist, asked Mr Eriksson to head into the fjord to get nearer the glacier, and we craned our necks at fissured walls of ice and caverns of mysterious blue.  From deep within came weird creaks and groans, as if a giant were hammering to get out.  Then a noise like a rifle shot, and a huge segment of ice crashed into the sea, sending up spouts of water, and a wave that rocked the ship.  Shattered ice turned the sea a milky pale-green.  The hammering went on.  Now I know why people used to believe Spitsbergen was haunted."

"But as we headed north up the coast, I realised that despite my reading, I'd made the classic mistake of imagining the Arctic as an empty waste.  I'd thought that since it's too far north for trees, there wouldn't be much else except rocks.  Maybe a few seals and seabirds, but nothing like this.  I never expected so much life."

"Great flocks of gulls perching on icebergs, rising in flurries, diving after fish.  An Arctic fox trotting over a green plain with a puffin flapping its jaws.  Reindeer raising antlered heads to watch us pass.  Walruses rocking on the waves; one surfaced right beneath me with an explosive, spraying huff! and regarded me with a phlegmatic brown eye.  The sleek heads of seals bobbed on the surface, observing us with the same curiosity with which we observed them."

I love the descriptions, though I like less the descriptions of the killing of animals.  This isn't the first book I've read with an Arctic setting, so I know it is par for the course--particularly considering the time period it is set but those parts make for uncomfortable reading.  More on this one later.

The Lantern Group Read: Part 1

It was Litlove's post that made me buy Deborah Lawrenson's atmospheric The Lantern, a novel set in France with a nod in the direction of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca.  And she is right, only a third of the way into the novel and I am already contemplating making Provence a travel destination (if only).  This is a story that you can not only see but smell, so hugely evocative is it.  And it's thanks to Carl that I've picked it up sooner rather than later in order to join in on a group read.  So, without further ado, here are a few questions he's set for us to answer for the first third of the novel.

1.  This may seem like an obvious opening question, but what do you think of The Lantern thus far?  I'm very much enjoying it. 

It's a perfect fall read and nicely escapist yet not at all fluffy.  Lawrenson is a good writer and almost from the first page I've fallen into the story.  She knows how to pull the reader along and curiosity makes the pages turn quickly.

2.  The book appears to be following the experiences of two different women, alternating back and forth between their stories.  Are you more fond of our main protagonist's story or of Benedicte's or are you enjoying them both equally? 

At first I was more interested in Eve's story as not  much is revealed about Benedicte initially.  She hints at things but as she tells more and more of her story it is becoming more interesting.  It's obvious something awful happened, but I can only imagine what.  With an awful brother like Pierre and his violent proclivities I'm starting to worry a little.

3.  The Lantern is a book filled with descriptions of scents.  How are you liking (or disliking) that aspect of the book?  How do you feel about the lavish description of scents? How are the short chapters working for you? 

The short chapters are actually pretty nice since my reading tends to come in fits and starts.  I've been reading this on my bus commute to and from work, so I can easily set the book aside and pick it up later without losing the thread of the story.  I love the descriptions.  I think that is actually the best aspect of the story for me with the suspense coming in closely second.  I really like being able to visualize a story and there is plenty in this one to create a vivid mental image.  There is so much lushness to this story I may well have to share a few teasers at some point. 

4.  How would you describe the atmosphere of Parts 1 and 2 of The Lantern? 

Pretty much from the first page there is a dark broody feel to the story, though you don't quite know what to expect at first.  Lawrenson's dropping in all sorts of hints, though, in both stories, that something bad has happened, which I am guessing will twine together at the end.  It's fall, the summer visitors have all gone, and Les Genévriers is a small hamlet tucked away in the south of France.  The mistral blows in and the days become darker sooner.  And now there is word of a young woman's body having been found along with the uncertainties that Eve maybe doesn't know Dom as well as she thought she did.  Just what is buried beneath the swimming pool is making me wonder.  It's becoming just the tiniest bit menacing.    

5.  Has anything surprised you to this point?  Anything stand out? 

The murder surprised me a little--did I miss a reference to a missing woman earlier in the story?  So far nothing has been shocking or too surprising.  I wasn't expecting Pierre to be quite as nasty as he is turning out to be.  Whenever a character mistreats small animals you know you're in for a rocky ride. 

6.  What are your feelings about Dom in these first two sections of the story? 

He's very vague and mysterious, isn't he?  I'm not exactly sure what Eve sees in him, but I don't feel like I have a very full picture of him really.

Bonus question:  Did anyone else hear "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again" ringing in their ears through the first sections of the book? 

This story just oozes references to Rebecca, doesn't it?  Lawrenson does give it her own slant but so many small details remind me du Maurier's classic it's hard not to have it in mind.  Rebecca is a great story (one of my favorites), so I can see how it would provide inspiration to other authors, but I'll be curious to see how Lawrenson makes this one her own.  I'm fully expecting it to have a twist that sets it apart, so we'll see if that happens.

This week I'll be reading parts three and four and will be back next Monday with more questions.

A Sunday Mishmash (RIP Challenge edition)

After messing with my computer for several nights trying to get rid of a redirect virus and finally calling Dell to work on my computer remotely I thought the problem had been fixed.  I see, however, that my web searches are still being hijacked.  I knew the solution seemed too easy.  You know how you complain about a problem...you know it exists but when the repairman comes in to take a look, the problem mysteriously disappears?  Well, that seems to have happened to me.  Obviously a follow up call will be needed.  Since I've frittered away my weekend and have very little to show for it, my post today is going to meander.

I had planned to write about a short story I read this week for the RIP Challenge, but now I find I don't really have all that  much to say about it.  I discovered that Ethel Lina White, of The Lady Vanishes fame, also wrote a number of other novels and some short stories.  One of the stories is collected in a great little anthology I found at a past library sale.  English Country House Murders: Classic Crime Fiction of Britain's Upper Crust edited by Thomas Godfrey is a collection of twenty-two stories by famous practitioners of the genre: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Wilkie Collins, G.K. Chesterton, Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh,  Margery Allingham, John Dickson Carr, Michael Innes, Christianna Brand, Cyril Hare, Ruth Rendell, and P.D. James among others. 

Ethel Lina White's contribution is a story called "An Unlocked Window".  I had high hopes for the story, as I really enjoyed The Lady Vanishes, but it was a little disappointing.  Although it had all the right elements for a good mystery story, it lacked any real tension and was sadly predictable.  Still, there was a certain quaintness to the story (probably not what she was going for however) as it reminded me of a type of cozy mystery prevalent during the Golden Era of Detective Fiction.  It was similar to Mignon Eberhart's stories, a number of which feature a nurse who gets involved in detection (I read one last year). 

In this case, nurse Stella Cherry (what a name!) is working with another nurse taking care of an ailing professor in a country manor house miles from anyone.  Nurse Cherry is young and attractive, whereas her colleague is older and ungainly.  There's an unspoken jealously between the two as nurse Cherry has caught the eye of not only the patient but also the attending doctor.  The caretaker of the manor has been called away, the cook has been caught tippling and so is sent off to bed leaving the two women alone with their sick patient.  No worries, though, right?  Except there happens to be a mad medical student on the loose who has been murdering nurses!  It is a little bit outrageous as you can see, but I could still visualize it as an entertaining movie--a country house set on sprawling grounds, a certain tension between the nurses who are all alone with a crazed murderer trying to get in.  And then one of the nurses realizes she forgot to lock a downstairs window....cue scary music.  Or, maybe I just have a good imagination.

I have not given up on Ethel Lina White, however.  I brought home with me from work two of her books that I requested via ILL.  The Man Who Was There is a "fantastic tale of murder and revenge; a plot laid against a background of horror and suspense."  After seven years seven friends meet to "take inventory of their lives" and at least one of them will end up dead!  The Third Eye is set at an exclusive school for girls.  A new games mistress discovers there is something not quite right with the head mistress who perhaps dabbles in the occult?  I'm hoping they will be as good as The Lady Vanishes (and not quite so clichéd and predictable as the story I just read).

Since October is speeding along I've decided to set aside Nicci French and concentrate instead on Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None and Michelle Paver's Dark Matter as both seem to fit my mood a little better (nothing wrong with the French--only it hadn't quite grabbed me and I know time is runing out and can't read all the books on my list...).  They'll be my gym books for the next couple of weeks--perfect distractions I think.  Last week I read Ruth Rendell's most excellent Demon in My View, which I will be writing about soon. 

And now I am off to finish the first section of The Lantern for Carl's readalong, so I can write about it tomorrow. 

The Reading Woman (& a Virus!)

"La Liseuse" by Georges Croegaert (Belgian, 1848-1923), Roy Miles, Esq.

I may be offline for a few days.  My computer has a virus and so far nothing I have tried is making it go away.  It may call for drastic measures.  I have a 'redirect virus'--when I type in a search in my browser and click on a link I go somewhere I don't want to.  It's not only hugely annoying but also worrisome.  I have tried a number of different malware removers and even followed a tutorial thinking I had cleaned out everything, but no luck.  None of the obvious fixes have worked.  If anyone has any suggestions on how to get rid of this I'd be happy to hear possible solutions.  I may just have to break down and pay an expert to help me get rid of it.  It seems quite tenacious so I am afraid to pay out cash and then not have the problem fixed, but I think I can't take care of this one on my own sadly. 

I'd much rather recline on the sofa and read--much like this reading woman in doing.  (Of course if my computer goes away to get worked on, maybe this woman will be me while it's being repaired...).