Mostly Mysteries

[vamysteryfan]

Strangers by Bill Pronzini. I haven’t read Bill Pronzini in several years. I thought as long as I was revisiting Sharon McCone, I’d take another look at Nameless. Strangers is Bill Pronzini’s latest and it’s good. Nameless now has a first name – Bill – but he’s still the weary veteran. He’s better-connected to people he loves and thinking about retirement. He accepts a case from an old flame to investigate crimes her son is accused of committing. Pronzini gets the suspicious small town attitude just right. All the details he puts in bolster the atmosphere he creates. The mystery is good – I didn’t guess the perpetrator. Good characters and tight writing add up to a good book. Pronzini develops his characters in believable ways. Nameless is familiar but not stale. Guess I’ll be catching up with the ones I skipped.

The Good, the Bad, and the Emus by Donna Andrews. Who would have thought Meg would be here for 17 books? This is a nice next chapter in Meg Langslow’s life. The twins are growing, Michael’s still teaching and (thanks to yet another injury to her hand), Meg’s investigating another suspicious death. I would wish for more time spent with Michael and less time with some of the subsidiary characters. And I want Meg to have some time blacksmithing, darn it, because I loved those parts. (But it is authentic that with twins she doesn’t have time.) There’s one main plot point that you’ll guess pretty easily but the book is an enjoyable read. The animals are funny as always.

Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas by Stephanie Barron. I was pleasantly surprised to receive an ARC of this book. I was half-afraid she had abandoned the series. This is an excellent continuation. Ms. Barron captures Jane Austen’s voice perfectly. References to events in Jane’s life and concurrent events, such as Napoleon and the War of 1812, are sprinkled throughout. The mystery is excellent – a nice variation on limited suspects and a missing document. I liked the descriptions of the Twelfth Night party and also the difficulties of traveling at the time. Very well written.

Wait for Signs: Twelve Longmire Stories by Craig Johnson. I was given an ARC of this book. It’s terrific. It’s a collection of his Christmas stories over the years, plus a bonus story. Each story is a lovely little gem. The collection showcases the development of his characters from year to year.

This week’s nonfiction book is Antarctica by Gabrielle Walker. I enjoyed this book quite a lot. It’s the culmination of several years in which she visited numerous bases at varying times of the year. I knew a fair amount about the South Pole, Scott, Amundsen and Shackleton, but this book filled in the gaps. I liked how she wrote about all the different bases and different nationalities working on Antarctica. The science projects were fascinating. The challenges faced by the scientists are tough and it’s impressive that they meet them. The details of the working conditions can only be described by someone who’s lived them. I can’t imagine spending seven months on end with only ten people for company. One disappointment: the text cried out for photographs, especially when she wrote that she took her camera everywhere. I was lucky enough to have antarctic_sue's LJ for reference.