Challenge Complete: Travel the World

I started this journey back in 2012 (for 2013).  It was originally sponsored by Stacey over at Have Books, Will Travel as the Around the World in 80 Books Reading Challenge.  But something happened and her blog seems to have gone away. Tanya over at Mom's Small Victories has adopted it in partnership with I’m Lost in Books and Savvy Working Gal and renamed it the Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge. They have graciously allowed those of us who had started the journey with Around the World to claim the countries already "booked" and continue our trip from there.

New Rules for this challenge: 

The Goal 
Travel the world in books, of course! Expand your horizons and read books set in or written by authors from countries other than the one you live in. Visit as many different countries in books as you wish.

My original commitment was five years to complete a voyage of 80 countries. I began on October 1, 2012 and my end date was September 30, 2017. I also set the following year-end goals in order to count the challenge:

Year one = 16 books read
Year two = 32 books read
Year three = 48 books read
Year four = 64 books read
Year five = 80 books read

Additionally, I pledged to donate 80 books to my local library--pledge completed July 14, 2014.

 List of books read and location:
1. The Penguin Book of Victorian Women in Crime by Michael Sims, ed (11/5/12) [England]
2. The Bone Is Pointed by Arthur W. Upfield [Australia] (11/16/12)
3. The Three Evangelists by Fred Vargas  [France] (12/15/12) 
4. Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke [US] (12/19/12) 
5. The Man Who Went up in Smoke by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö [Hungary] (1/8/13)
6. Whip Smart: Lola Montez Conquers the Spaniards by Kit Brennan [Spain] (2/9/13)
7. The Perfect Landscape by Ragna Sigurdardottir [Iceland] (3/12/13)
8. The Lady Vanishes (aka The Wheel Spins) by Ethel Lina White [takes place on train ride through the "Balkans" which could conceivable be part of several countries. I have arbitrarily decided that the bulk of the action takes place in Bulgaria] (3/17/13) 
9. The African Queen by C. S. Forester [Tanzania] (4/6/13) 
    Death in Zanzibar by M. M. Kaye [Tanzania] (6/25/13)
10. Blood Makes Noise by Gregory Widen [Argentina] (4/30/13) 
11. The Talking Sparrow Murders by Darwin L. Teilhet [Germany] (5/6/13) 
12. Finding Camlann by Sean Pidgeon [Wales] (5/18/13)
13. Death at Crane's Court by Eilis Dillon [Ireland] (5/23/13) 
14. The Curse of the Bronze Lamp by Carter Dickson [Egypt] (5/27/13) 
15. Murder on Safari by Elspeth Huxley [Kenya] (6/8/13)
16. Devoured by D. E. Meredith [Malaysia (& England)] (6/22/13)

Year One Challenge Goal met!
 
17. Heart of a Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov [Russia] (6/23/13)
18. The Scarlet Macaw by S. P. Hozy [Singapore] (8/10/13)
19. The Monster of Florence by Magdalen Nabb [Italy] (8/17/13)
20. Andersen's Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen [Denmark] (8/20/13)  
21. Cold Earth by Sarah Moss [Greenland] (10/18/13)
22. Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell [Sweden] (1/5/13)
23. The Xibalba Murders by Lyn Hamilton [Mexico](1/18/14)
24. Exit Actors, Dying by Margot Arnold [Turkey] (2/4/14)  
25. Murder in the Vatican by Ann Margaret Lewis [Vatican City] (3/5/14) 
26. The Poisoned Island by Lloyd Shepherd [Tahiti (French Polynesia)] (3/8/14) 
27. The Coral Princess Murders by Frances Crane [Tangier, Morocco] (4/5/14) 
28. Decoded by Mai Jia [China] (4/5/14) 
29. Gale Warning by Hammon Innes [Norway/Norwegian Sea] (4/15/14) 
30. The Lady of Sorrows by Anne Souroudi [Greece] (4/26/14) 
31. 20.12 by Dustin Thomason [Guatemala] (6/6/14) 
32. DeKok & Murder in Ecstasy [Netherlands] (6/27/14) 

Year Two Challenge Goal Met!

33. The 7 Professors of the Far North by John Fardell [Arctic Circle] (6/29/14)
34. Murder at the Villa Rose by A. E. W. Mason [Monaco] (7/14/14)
35. The Tattooed Man by Howard Pease [Panama--one of major stops/scenes of action in the sea-faring tale] (7/17/14) 
36. The Dark Ring of Murder by Misa Yamamura [Japan] (11/19/14) 
37. A Dead Man in Trieste by Michael Pearce [Austria] (1/27/15)
38. Death Over Deep Water by Simon Nash [Malta] (2/8/15)
39. Into the Valley by John Hersey [Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands] (2/28/15) 
40. The Wilberforce Legacy by Josephine Bell [Trinidad & Tobago] (4/19/15)
41. Safari by Parnell Hall [Zambia] (4/21/15) 
42. Double Cross Purposes by Ronald A. Knox [Scotland] (6/3/15)
43. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood [Canada] (8/16/15)
44. Death in Kashmir by M. M. Kaye [India] (8/25/15)
45. The Bat Flies Low by Sax Rohmer [Egypt] (9/10/15)
46. The Albert Gate Mystery by Louis Tracy [France & Italy] (9/14/15)
47. Briar Rose by Jane Yolen [Poland] (9/14/15)
48. Black Alibi by Cornell Woolrich [Brazil] (9/23/15)


Year Three Challenge Goal Met!

49. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie [then--Yugoslavia in what is now present-day Croatia] 9/23/15 
50. Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters [Egypt] (9/28/15)
51. Paris in the Twentieth Century by Jules Verne [France] (10/11/15)
52. The Ghost Writer by John Harwood [Australia & England] (10/16/15)
53. In Spite of Thunder by John Dickson Carr [Switzerland] (11/7/15)
54. The Red Redmaynes by Eden Philpotts [England & Italy] (11/14/15)
55. The Girl in the Cellar by Patricia Wentworth [England] (1/9/16)
56. The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham [Hong Kong] (2/5/16)
57. The Bridal Bed Murders by A. E. Martin [Australia] (2/13/16)
58. The Bachelors of Broken Hill by Arthur W. Upfield [Australia] (2/22/16)
59. The Calcutta Affair by George S. Elrick [India] (2/28/16)
60. House of Darkness by Allan MacKinnon [Scotland] (3/7/16)
61. The Philomel Foundation by James Gollin [Switzerland & Germany] (3/11/16)
62. The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas [France] (4/21/16)
63. Death in Cyprus by M. M. Kaye [Cyprus] (4/22/16)
64. The Family Tomb by Michael Gilbert [Italy] (5/10/16)

Year Four Goal Met!

65. Running Blind by Desmond Bagley [Iceland] (5/11/16)
66. Murder at the Savoy by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö [Sweden] (5/20/16)
67. Good Blood by Aaron Elkins [Italy] (5/23/16)
68. Murder in Amsterdam by A. J. Baantjer [Netherlands] (6/3/16)
69. The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji [Japan] (7/2/16)
70. The Warsaw Anagrams by Richard Zimler [Poland] (7/17/16)
71. The Mirabilis Diamond by Jerome Odlum [begins & ends in Mexico (Baja California)] (7/31/16)
72. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carre [East Germany/Germany] (8/24/16)
73. The Seventh Mourner by Dorothy Gardiner [Scotland] (9/21/16)
74. Death in the Andamans by M. M. Kaye [India] (9/25/16)
75. Beyond the Ice Limit by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child [waters off the coast of Chile] (10/28/16)
76. Black Widower by Paticia Moyes [Caribbean] (11/6/16)
77. Grendel by John Gardner [Denmark] (12/28/16)
78. Murder at the Masque by Amy Myers [French Riviera]  (1/16/17)
79. When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin [China] (1/24/17)
80. Spice Island Mystery by Betty Cavanna [Grenada] (2/10/17)

Year Five Goal Met! 


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List of books donated:
Had a clear-out of books today (11/11/12)
1. Some Men Are More Perfect Than Others by Merle Shain
2. The Four Million & Other Stories by O. Henry
3. All the President's Men by Carl Bernstein & Bob Woodward
4. The Armies of the Night by Norman Mailer
5. Weeping on Wednesday by Ann Purser
6. Theft on Thursday by Ann Purser
7. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
8. God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert
9. My Fair Lady by Monica Dickens
10. The Romance of Tristan & Iseult retold by Joseph Bedier
11. The Firebrand by Marion Zimmer Bradley
12. I Been There Before by David Carkeet
13. J.B. by Archibald MacLeish
14. The Island of the Day Before by Umberto Eco
15. Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
16. The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel
17. The Valley of Horses by Jean M. Auel
18. The Mammoth Hunters by Jean M. Auel
19. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee
20. Of Mice & Men by John Steinbeck
21. Time Flies by Bill Cosby 
22. The School of Night by Louis Bayard (donated 11/17/12)
23. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (donated 11/17/12)
24. Death in the Memorial Garden by Kathy Deviny (donated 12/8/12) 
25. Plum Pudding Murder by Joanne Fluke (donated 12/21/12) 
26. The Cat Who Came to Christmas by Cleveland Amory (donated 12/21/12) 
27. The White Dragon by Anne McCaffrey (donated 1/13/12)
28. Whip Smart by Kit Brennan (donated (2/9/13) 
29. Ten Little Indians by Agatha Christie (donated 2/16/13)
30. A Holiday for Murder by Agatha Christie (donated 2/16/13)
31. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (donated 2/16/13) 
32. The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith (donated 3/7/13) 
33. Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin (donated 3/9/13) 
34. Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers (donated 3/11/13)
35. A Perfect Red by Amy Butler Greenfield (donated 3/24/13) 
36. In the Shadow of Gotham by Stefanie Pintoff (donated 4/9/13) 
37. The Silence of Herondale by Joan Aiken (donated 4/21/13) 
38. Blood Makes Noise by Gregory Widen (donated 4/30/13) 
39. And Having Writ... by Donald R. Bensen (donated 5/11/13)
40. How Not to Murder Your Grumpy by Carol E. Wyer (6/21/13)
41. Mystery Train by David Wojahn (6/21/13) 
42. Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold (7/6/13)
43. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (8/6/13) 
44. A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon (8/10/13)
45. Age of Desire by Jennie Fields (8/13/13) 
46. The Temple of Death by A. C. & R. H. Benson (9/16/13) 
47. 11/22/63 by Stephen King (10/6/13) 
48. Unsinkable by Richard Cibrano (10/12/13) 
49. The Water Room by Christopher Fowler (10/25/13)
50. The Ten-Second Staircase by Christopher Fowler (10/25/13) 
51. Kemp's Last Case by M. R. D. Meek (11/4/13)
52. Commodore by Simon Sobo (12/21/13)
53. A Christmas Promise by Anne Perry (12/21/13)
54. A Habit for Death by Chuck Zito (12/21/13) 
55. Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins by Robert Hendrickson
56. Smart & Simple Financial Strategies for Busy People by Jane Bryant Quinn
57. Yes, You Can Become a Successful Income Investor! by Ben Stein & Phil DeMuth 
58. Braid by Roger Mitchell 
59. Shakespeare's Planet by Clifford D. Simak (1/11/14) 
60. Death by Chick Lit by Lynn Harris (3/5/14)
61. The Sound of Broken Glass by Deborah Crombie (3/5/14) 
62. Erasmus-Luther: Discourse on Free Will by Ernst F. Winter (trans & ed) [3/12/14]
63. Martin Luther: Selections from His Writings by John Dillenberger (ed) [3/12/14]
64. John Calvin & Jacopo Sadoleto: A Reformation Debate by John C. Olin (ed) [3/12/14] 
65. John Smith: Last Known Survivor of the Microsoft Wars by Roland Hughes (3/16/14)
66. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (3/18/14)
67. The Awakening & Selected Stories by Kate Chopin (3/18/14)
68. Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye by Kenneth P O'Donnell & David F. Powers w/Joe McCarthy (3/18/14)
69. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (3/18/14)
70. The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence (3/18/14)
71. Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence (3/18/14)
72. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (3/18/14) 
73. A Deadly Place to Stay by Josephine Bell (3/29/14) 
74. Naked Is the Best Disguise by Samuel Rosenberg (4/8/14) 
75. My Antonia by Willa Cather (4/20/14) 
76. Undead & Unpopular by MaryJanice Davidson (6/22/14) 
77. The Day They Kidnapped Queen Victoria by H. K. Fleming (7/3/14)
78. A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott (7/3/14) 
79. Selections from the Essays of Montaigne by Michel de Montaigne (7/14/14)
80. The 7 Professors of the Far North by John Fardell (7/14/14)

Spice Island Mystery: Review

Spice Island Mystery (1969) by Betty Cavanna takes place on the island of Grenada, known as "Spice Island" because of the numerous nutmeg plantations and scent of nutmeg which permeates the air. Marcy Baptiste, seventeen and a native of Grenada, has just returned home after living in the United States and attending high school there while serving as a companion for the daughter of one of the plantation families and caretaker for Claire's younger brothers. 

Marcy, who has a longing to attend college as her friend Claire will be doing in the fall, sets about finding herself a job while she figures out her future. She is hired by Harlan W. Fletcher of the Fletcher Development Corporation to be secretary, payroll clerk, and general gofer. On her first day at work, she meets Richard Strang, a handsome young architect who also works for the the Corporation. While Marcy tries to navigate her new feelings for Richard, she also is working through old relationships. Some of her former friends wonder if she's become too Americanized, but Coffee Parkinson, a young man she knew well before leaving for the States, seems determined to renew their friendship and possibly make it a little more.

But as Marcy settles in to work and her new lodgings, she notices some things that don't quite add up. Coffee seems to have more money to spend than he could possibly make as a construction worker. The same holds true for several young men she knows. Coffee presents her with an expensive bottle of perfume as a welcome home gift. Another young man buys his father a new motorcycle. There are gold watches and motorbikes among the others. Marcy sees Coffee set out at odd hours to visit a luxury boat in the harbor and later he calls in sick to work only to be spotted with a wealthy tourist by Marcy while she's at lunch. Marcy and Richard, who have begun to see one another away from the job, have several encounters with ruffians and bundles of dried plants...is someone smuggling nutmeg for a higher profit? Or are the stakes higher than that? Marcy's mother always told her that her curiosity would get her in trouble one day. She will have to be very careful in her amateur investigations not to make her mother's prophecy come true. 

Betty Cavanna provides an interesting teenage mystery with just enough romance to add a bit of spice, but not to overwhelm the amateur sleuthing. Marcy is a well-drawn, strong young character and the supporting cast are quite interesting as well. The main mystery (what kind of smuggling is going on) isn't to hard to figure out, but Cavanna does manage to keep the reader guessing on who is really involved and who isn't. A good solid read for young people (and us older folks as well). ★★★

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This counts for the "Boat" category on the Silver Vintage Scavenger Hunt card. I will also note that this book (like my last read) seems to have a bit of a discrepancy in the publishing date. My copy says it is a second printing in 1970 with an original date of 1969. There are several sites that are placing the original pub date as 1970. But...I am going with my copy and counting it for 1969 and an entry in the Birth Year Challenge.

When the Sea Turned to Silver

Amah (the Storyteller): Stories cannot tell all.
The Stonecutter: I disagree. I think stories tell everything.

When the Sea Turned to Silver (2016) by Grace Lin was nominated for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature and I can definitely see why. This is a gorgeous book from the story itself to the beautifully drawn illustrations. Grace Lin uses stories from Chinese folklore and mythology and weaves them into the current narrative about Pinmei, her grandmother Amah, and her friend Yishan. 

When a new Emperor known as the Tiger Emperor comes to power he is supposed to make a journey up the mountain where Pinmei and her grandmother live. There he will consult with the spirit of the mountain. But this emperor doesn't make it to the top--perhaps he is too full of pride. Perhaps he is too intent on his all-encompassing plan to surround himself with the largest wall ever. So, the only things he takes with him from the mountain are all of the able-bodied men for slaves to build his wall. 

But he also takes Amah, the renowned Storyteller. Now what could an Emperor obsessed with walls want with a Storyteller? When Yishan challenges him and demands that the Emperor leave Amah alone, the Tiger Emperor tells him that he will let Amah go if the boy brings him the Luminous Stone That Lights the Night. Yishan and Pinmei have many adventures in their quest to find the Stone, most of which mirror or incorporate the many stories that Amah has told them over the years. They also meet many new friends who help them along their journey. Pinmei, who has always been shy, find her own voice to tell the stories that will lead the way and the bravery within to defeat the Tiger Emperor and set her grandmother free.

This book is a beautiful story all on its own--the story of a young girl who finds her own voice and strength as she seeks to help her grandmother. It is also a beautiful blending of folklore and traditions to make a new and absorbing story. Written with great care for language and a luminous style well-suited to the myth and folklore used as a background for this lovely word tapestry.  ★★★★ and a half.

Grendel: Mini-Review

Grendel (1971) by John Gardner is a retelling of the classic epic poem Beowulf from the monster's point of view. Grendel is treated as an anti-hero and to some extent, I suppose that Gardner is trying to get the reader to sympathize with poor misunderstood creature. We learn how Grendel watched the Danes in their king Hrothgar's great hall for years--envying their joy, scoffing at their heroic ballads, and mocking their boasting. He is awed by the blind poet called the Shaper and even more affected by the beauty of Hrothgar's young wife. Oddly enough the creature can understand the words of men...perhaps because, as legend would have it, he is of the cursed race of Cain. Grendel waivers between wanting to be understood by men--trying to speak to them, though his cries and screams rarely are intelligible to the warriors--and being enraged by them. 

I'm quite sure that the purpose of Grendel (in Gardner's book) is to make me think about the outsider and the outcast. To consider all the philosophies that Grendel tosses about--in his own mind and in his rarefied conversation with the dragon. Apparently, according to notations on Wikipedia, Gardner based his monster on Jean-Paul Sartre and he said in an interview: "What happened in Grendel was that I got the idea of presenting the Beowulf monster as Jean-Paul Sartre, and everything that Grendel says Sartre in one mood or another has said."

I'm sorry, but I'm not quite buying that the rampaging monster who crushes men's skulls and rips them apart and carries their bodies home for his mother to munch on is also a highly philosophical dude. Not to mention that a lot of his philosophical musings just turn into a bunch of rambling mumbo-jumbo. I honestly think it would have made a better book if more had been made of of Grendel's descent from Cain and the dark side of man instead of filling his head with metaphysical ramblings that spurt out in thought and speeches to himself. ★★

Black Widower

Mavis Ironmonger, wife of Sir Edward Ironmonger, the newly appointed ambassador to the United States from the recently emancipated Caribbean island of Tampica, is making quite a name for herself amongst the Washing diplomatic corps. Not necessarily a nice name, mind you. She's rumored to be overly-friendly with male Senators and diplomats...and even, gasp, married embassy staff. It's also said that she goes back to her music hall roots when she had a few more drinks than she ought to. And when the Ironmongers host their first diplomatic reception at their brand-new home/embassy, she manages to insult the Israeli ambassador and must be hustled off to her room before she can make an even bigger spectacle of herself. Despite having promised to behave herself and drink only straight tomato juice, she seems to have gotten herself thoroughly sloshed--to the point of passing out on her bed when she's taken upstairs.

That's when Mavis Ironmonger becomes front page news. Sir Edward sends his right-hand man Michael Holder-Watts to bring his wife back downstairs to say farewell to their guests, but Mavis has already made her final farewell...she's dead. With a gunshot in her head and Sir Edward's gun lying close at hand, it gives the initial appearance of suicide. Not the most savory of deaths for a diplomat's wife, but certainly better than the alternative...murder. And murder is just what it is. The Ironmongers' physician, flown in from Tampica, proves that Mavis was drugged (giving her the appearance of intoxication) and would have been out cold when the shot was fired. In an effort to keep things as quiet as possible, Sir Edward refuses to allow American officials to investigate a murder on what is Tampican soil and seeks help from Scotland Yard. He asks specifically for Chief Superintendent Henry Tibbett, a modest, self-effacing man whose gentlemanly demeanor masks a shrewd mind. His investigation takes him to Tampica and after interviews and a collection of clues he meets with Miss Pontefract-Deacon, known as the Queen of Tampica and a woman who knows everything there is to know about Tampica and its inhabitants. Between the two of them, they spot a pattern in the evidence and Tibbett will have to rush back to Washington to prevent a final murder.

Black Widower (1975) is not the best example of Patricia Moyes's detective fiction. The plot is serviceable and Henry Tibbett and his wife Emmy are their usual congenial selves, but transplanting them to Washington and the Caribbean doesn't work as well as their British adventures or even those that take place in Switzerland. And this time around the reader is hit over the head (repeatedly) with the primary clue. I didn't stop to count how many times it's mentioned, but I would think even the dullest of readers would pick up on the fact that was a most important item indeed. You might miss the connection with the suspect (although I kind of doubt that too). 

There is a bit of interesting commentary built into the story on race relations. Modern readers will wince at the attitudes towards the islanders (or if they don't, they should), but having lived through the 70s, I definitely recognize the attitudes. It was very reassuring to see Emmy Tibbitt's reactions to the behavior, though. 

Emmy felt her stomach turning over, and instinctively drew away from Pauline. Is it possible, she thought, that the woman really imagines that Francis can only hear her when she's actually talking to him? Is it possible that she is so insensitive as not to realize what she's saying? Doesn't she think he's human? Oh God, let's get away from them....

A book that's definitely of its time and perhaps it doesn't wear so well because of it. It would fare better if the plot were a little stronger and the clues not so obvious. Also, there is a political and financial theme running throughout the story that could have had more made of it, but I don't think Moyes was comfortable enough with the subject to use it more strongly. A decent read at ★★ and 3/4 verging on a full three.

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11/9/16: For a different take on this one, please see Kate's review at Cross Examining Crime. And, contrary to my remarks about the clue and readers above, I can assure you she's one smart cookie. It just proves that two people can read the same book with very different results.

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This counts for the "Bottle/Glass" category on the Silver Vintage Scavenger Hunt card. It is also my first entry in the 1975edition of Rich's Crimes of Century over at Past Offenses. If you have any 1975 crime fiction hanging out on your shelves, then come join us!

Beyond the Ice Limit: Review

Beyond the Ice Limit (2016) by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child is the creepiest book that I have read for Carl's R.I.P. XI Event, so it's fitting that it will be the last book logged for that reading event. The book is the unexpected sequel to Preston & Child's Ice Limit and it takes place five years after the tragic ending of that adventure. In the first story, Eli Glinn, the head of Effective Engineering Solutions, took a team to a remote island off the coast of South America to recover a gigantic meteorite--the largest that had ever been. He was in the employ of New York billionaire Palmer Lloyd who wanted to add the space rock to his collection of unique items.The mission ended in disaster when their ship, the Rolvaag, was attached by a rogue Chilean ship and went down in a vicious storm in the freezing waters and taking its unique cargo to the ocean floor. One hundred and eight crew members perished, and Eli Glinn was left paralyzed.


Now, five years later, Glinn is heading up a mission back to the site of the disaster. Reports he has been given show that the meteorite was much more than just a rock from space--it was a seed. And the thing has sprouted and is growing, reaching up through the watery depths like a giant tree. This time, it's not just a billionaire's rock collection at stake--but the survival of Earth itself. Gideon Crew has been added to the team to give them the benefit of his nuclear expertise, because it looks like the only thing that will take out the newly dubbed Baobab is an atomic blast. It's not as easy as dropping a nuke on the thing though (of course!). The Baobab has extensive roots under the sea floor and they will have to make sure they get all of it the first time.

The creature isn't just a mindless organism out to reproduce itself. It becomes apparent that there is an intelligence driving its actions and the creature isn't going to go down without a fight.

I haven't read a lot of Preston and Child's work (I'm a weenie when it comes to suspense thrillers), but I have to say that every one I've read has been well done and dragged me right in--in spite of myself. Beyond the Ice Limit was no different. And it made no difference that I hadn't read the earlier book. It may have helped fill in some of the backstory, but the authors give enough background information and context clues that this novel can easily be read as a stand-alone. It is an action-packed thriller and it would make a spine-tingling SF/suspense movie. Lots of scientific exploration and speculation and plenty of gruesome alien critter  vs. humans action. I'm not going to spoil it--but let's just say I was extremely reluctant to go to sleep after listening to installments of the latter half of this audio novel. It was very interesting to see how the creature modified its attacks as it learned more about the humans--just as our heroes had to modify their reactions. My biggest quibble with the authors is that they killed off two of my favorite characters in the story--a strong female character (the only one we really get to know; and this is no spoiler because she's gone VERY quickly in the book) and a very sympathetic character who also happens to be a book-lover. Overall, another excellent action thriller by Preston and Child. ★★★★

Death in the Andamans: Review

Death in the Andamans (1960) by M. M. Kaye finds Caroline "Copper" Randal on one of the enchanting Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean in time for the Christmas holidays. She recently has come into a legacy which allows her to take advantage of the standing invitation from her friend Valerie Masson. Valerie is the stepdaughter of the Islands' Chief Commissioner and wants Copper to share the beautiful island locale. At first, the only thing marring this island paradise is presence of Ruby Stock--a married woman, but one who still fancies herself a femme fatale and who forces the attention of every available male to herself. Unfortunately for Copper, this includes Nick Tarrent, the dashing young officer from the Sapphire, docked in the harbor.

But soon there is a bigger problem. A hurricane blows in just as the house guests gathered at Government House are finishing a picnic up on Mount Harriet. The party consists of Copper, Valerie, Valerie's fiance, Charles, Nick and his fellow officer Dan Harcourt, Ruby and her husband Leonard Stock, Rosamund & Ronnie Purvis, John Shilto and his brother Ferrers, Miss Amabel Withers and her on-again/off-again boyfriend George Beamish, the Rector and Mrs. Dobbie, and Deputy Commissioner Albert Hurridge. There is tension in the air--and not all of it is because of the threatening weather. Half the party returns by car and the others are to return in boats. When the sea-faring half finally arrive--soaked and bedraggled because their boats were all swamped in the storm--they are missing Ferrers Shilto, presumed drowned. 

When Shilto's body washes up on shore, it is given a cursory going-over by the nurse and Dutt, the doctor's assistant (the doctor having been stranded off-island in the storm), and pronounced drowned. But Dan Harcourt has his doubts and vows to look at the body more closely himself. Then he turns up dead as well. There is a killer stalking the house party. Who is it? And what is the motive behind it all?

This is another solid mystery outing from M. M. Kaye using her own experiences to inform her novel. Kaye spent a bit of time on Ross, the island in question, just prior to the outbreak of World War II under circumstances very similar. When her party was caught on the island during a storm, it occurred to her what a nice place it would be for a murder--intensify the storm, knock out all communications, and strand a few important people (like doctors) off-island and you'd be all set. So, she did. The story is also up to her usual standard in terms of atmosphere and setting. The reader can definitely imagine the beauties of the island, settle back into the pre-war atmosphere, and then feel the building tensions as the storm approaches.

The mystery itself is presented with a light touch and the blend of romantic suspense is Kaye's forte. There are clues a-plenty and she does a fair job with a variation of the locked room/impossible crime motif. An enjoyable murder mystery with a good try at fair play plotting. There are a few details that are kept from the reader--but astute mystery fans should be able to piece it all together. ★★★ and a half.

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This counts for the "Country Scene" square on the Silver Vintage Scavenger Hunt card.

The Seventh Mourner: Review

Moss Magill, Sheriff of Notlaw, Colorado--population 415, if you count two unborn babies; elevation 8,997 feet), finds himself headed to Rowanmuir, Scotland (possibly the last place he ever expected to find his boots and ten gallon hat). His friend Hattie Orchard, a Scotswoman transplanted from the Highlands, has left him $100,000 in her will provided that he travels to her homeland to dispose of her ashes. He must meet up with her other heirs, caravan with them to tote her urn to Inverness, and then to bury her ashes on the top of Bein Biorach (a mountain). Magill is determined to refuse the responsibility and keep his boots safely in Colorado until he hears the rest of the terms of Hattie's will. Hattie left her money to charitable bequests and to several of her relatives and then to Moss and the grandson of the man who wanted to marry her. If the relatives, which includes her sister, her niece and nephew, and her husband's nephew refuse to accept the terms of the will or die, then their share of the inheritance primarily reverts to the charitable bequests...except for her sister Lizzie. Lizzie's $300,000 share would be split by the remaining relatives. It smells suspiciously like an invitation to murder by one or more of the legatees.

And then the Sheriff hears a story about Lizzie being tried for murder, found "Not Proven," and being sent monthly checks by Hattie--checks that have been cashed by a couple with whom Lizzie stays. Why did Hattie never mention her sister? Why doesn't Lizzie cash her own checks? Magill decides that there's too many questions that need answering to stay safely at home as he'd like. So, he packs his bags and takes Hattie on her final journey home to the highlands. Home to where murder and intrigue wait in the Scottish mountains. He may not be ready for what he finds there....and we're pretty sure the Scottish Highlands aren't ready for a western Sheriff. {"Were you in the fillums?"}

The Seventh Mourner (1958) by Dorothy Gardiner is an unusual mystery. The cover has a somewhat sombre, somewhat Gothic look--but the flavor is more comic than mysterious. Following Moss Magill through his adventures in Scotland and discovering the murderer in their midst is more fun than puzzling, more entertaining than mystifying. But it's good solid entertainment and if you are looking for light mystery fare, then this is just the thing. If you don't expect complex plotting and serious sleight-of-hand with clues, then you'll be ready to settle down for a pleasant afternoon's read. ★★★ and a half.

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This fulfills the "Tombstone" category on the Golden Vintage Scavenger Hunt card.

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold: Review

One of the game changing novels of the spy and thriller genre, John le Carré's The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963) portrays the espionage methods of both the East and the West as equally amoral--willing to sacrifice anyone in the name of national security and willing to use their own people as pawns on the chess board of spy and counterspy. His murky world with the worn-out and jaded Alec Leamas contrasts with the glossy, shaken martini world of James Bond.

The story begins in East Germany where the final link in Leamas's chain of informants is gunned down as he tries to escape to the West. Leamas is waiting for him on the other side and watches as his last man is taken. The intelligence agent is tired and ready to "come in from the cold"--give up the intelligence game altogether when he is made an offer that he can't refuse. To play the game one more time and take out a senior East German operative named Mundt. Leamas can't resist the chance to eliminate the man most likely responsible for the loss of his agents. In order to get Leamas where he can do the most damage, the Circus (British Intelligence Service) begin laying the groundwork for him to become a defector. Leamas is booted out, given a pension that is substantially less than a intelligence man of his experience might expect, and reduced to drifting from one odd job to another. He drinks heavily and grumbles often of his treatment by his former employers.

It isn't long before he's approached by the other side and after playing a bit hard to get, he gives in and goes East. But the game is more difficult than he expected and he didn't plan on falling for a girl along the way. He also finds that someone has rigged the dice...but is it the opposition or his own side? It's hard to tell when everyone seems to be playing two hands instead of one.

I'm known for saying that the spy/thriller book just isn't for me. But when someone like le Carré writes it, it winds up that it is for me. This is an absolute first-rate spy novel that keeps the reader on the edge of her seat waiting to see if Leamas is going to pull it off--and if what he pulls off is really what he thinks he's set out to do. This has everything--love and loyalty, betrayal, secrets, and a "trial" scene that reveals the chilling fiendishness of the plot within the plot within the plot. The finale is a wrenching and horrifying surprise. Well done. ★★★★★

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This fulfills the "One Person" category on the Silver Vintage Scavenger Hunt card.