Thursday, August 5, 2021

Postcards from the Lake: June's Books!

You can tell that any schedule I get falls to pieces in summer! But while there's still plenty of time to do some summer reading, I thought I'd share a few books I finished -- any of which I think you might enjoy!


I finished seven books this month, some pretty thick and all quite good. As always, my list leans heavily to mysteries, but there's one really rather lovely novel in this list as well. 

A Question of Identity by Susan Hill

 

 Dead Opposite the Church - Francis Vivian


This was written in the 1950s and is similar to many of the Golden Age of British Mystery books. Set in a newspaper office, it is a locked room mystery, in which the editor of a paper is killed. Was it the reporter who disagreed with his tactics, a local author, his sister and heir, or another of the potential suspects? It's short and good fun.

The Ghost Fields and The Woman in Blue - Elly Griffiths


Elly Griffiths writes the "Ruth Galloway" mysteries -- a series set in the UK region of Norfolk. Ruth is a forensic archaeologist, a single mother and police consultant when bones come into the picture. In "The Ghost Fields," Ruth and her fellow characters are drawn into a mystery regarding a prominent family living near the abandoned WWII air fields (or "ghost fields") where a body is found in an airplane during an archaeological evacuation. The plane is from WWII. The body is definitely far more contemporary.

In "The Woman in Blue," Ruth's druid friend Cathblad believes he's seen a vision of the Virgin Mary but he discovers it is the body of  a young woman in a blue dressing gown. Meanwhile, Ruth is reunited with a friend from her past who is now planning to be an Anglican priest, a move not without controversy and the recipient of threatening letters. The cases coincide as Ruth and DCI Nelson are drawn into the case once again.

 Fatal Remedies - Donna Leon


 Commissario Guido Brunetti is back in the eighth installment of Donna Leon's series, set in Venice. This time his personal and professional lives collide when his wife, Paola, is arrested for vandalism, having hurled a rock into the window of a travel agency with a reputation for shady tourism involving underage girls. A bank robbery, occurring around the same time, that ended with a suspicious death. As the two events intersect, the Mafia comes into play, leading Brunetti on another intriguing chase.

As always, Leon doesn't disappoint. Like the Serrailler and Galloway mysteries, it is the private lives of the Brunetti family that provides an emotional center for the series, while her descriptions of the Venice tourists don't see are fascinating.

The French Widow - Mark Pryor 


I wrote about "The French Widow" by Mark Pryor last month for Paris in July so I won't include it here but link to the earlier post. But as a quick summary, Hugo Marston, Chief of Security for the U.S. Embassy in Paris, is drawn into the case of a murder in a prominent Parisian family. Pryor has a wonderful sense of Paris and his writing easily takes viewers into the City of Light. (I have read two of these and while many of the characters recur, I haven't noticed that reading in order is essential.)

Love, Death and Rare Books - Robert Hellenga 


This is the only fiction book from June. It follows the life of Gabe Johnson, the third in a generation of antiquarian book sellers. We meet Gabe as a youth but the bulk of the story follows him as an adult, living in Chicago and working with his father and in love with the elusive Olivia. As Gabe's life evolves, we follow changes in the book selling world as well as in his personal life, with the deaths of his father and grandfather. Carrying on the family legacy, he leaves Chicago for the Southern Michigan town of St. Anne (a fictional name for the small towns near Benton Harbor, St. Joseph, New Buffalo, and others on the southern Lake Michigan coast.) There he establishes his new business and continues many of the relationships he has developed along the way, including the love of his life, Olivia.

The story here is fine. The characters are interesting, one cares about them. But what most fascinated me was the breadth of information about the antiquarian book world and the things I learned from Gabe's own reading of favorites and what he learned from those books. I will look at the rare book business now with new and far more appreciative eyes.

Stay tuned! I'm pulling together July's list and I'll post it soon!

Sharing with:       Pink Saturday    

45 comments:

ashok said...

Good collection of books

David M. Gascoigne, said...

If you haven't read "Miss Benson's Beetle" Miriam and I both highly recommend it.

William Kendall said...

Quite an eclectic mix.

Sandra Cox said...

I loved Cathblad in the Galloway series:)

Valerie-Jael said...

You've been reading some great books. I love Elly Griffiths and Donna Leon, and we get the TV films of Donna Leon here, they're always good. Yesterday a neighbour gave me a huge box of books, lots of new reading for me! Hugs, Valerie

Pamela said...

I love mysteries! Great descriptions of the books you’ve read this last month!

Susan Kane said...

Quite a good selection of books there. WE would read every single one.

Nancy said...

Great Reads my friend. Thank you for sharing them.
Enjoy!

Nancy said...

For some reason I could not post a comment on your last blog post about all the artists. I loved seeing all of them and their artwork. Thank you for sharing.
Enjoy your weekend my friend!

My name is Erika. said...

This looks like a great collection of books. I didn't read enough mysteries in July (my book post coming Saturday), and I hope to correct that this month. You have some nice recommendations. And you've done well getting through so many Donna Leon books. And hurrah for those 2 Elly Griffiths books. Are you excited the new Louise Penny comes out at the end of this month? Hope all else is well. Hugs-Erika

Prims By The Water said...

Gosh I use to read allof the time...no time for it now. Janice

Iris Flavia said...

You must be a very fast reader - or me a very slow one ;-)

Bohemian said...

The Book Collection Meme made me Smile... I have a vast Library and to the Family it makes little sense since I don't Read much, I'm mostly Visual when it comes to my Books so lean heavily upon those that have Fabulous Visuals. Plus, for some strange reason I Collect good Cookbooks even tho' I don't Cook, but again, the Visuals and the Inspired Diet are too Tempting for me to pass on when I see another one I like and add to the 'Collection'. If any Heir becomes a Culinary Jedi, they will have vast resources to Inherit at least! *winks* You are an avid Reader, I'm impressed with how much you've read this Summer already!

Daniela said...

Dearest Jeanie,
I so love reading your posts, thank to your creativity they're so various and all interesting and charming.
As for reading, I also love reading so much, you know, and my favourite topic is history, and after this mistery novels, just as those you talk about in this last post of yours, which all seem to be so captivating to me!
Thank you for being such a sweetie,
enjoy your weekend ahead
Xx Dany (Daniela at ~ My little old world ~)

eileeninmd said...

Hello Jeanie,
I do enjoy your reading your book lists. I prefer the mysteries too and I always find something to add to my reading list. I have been meaning to start on the Susan Hill series, hopefully my library has the series.

Sue in Suffolk said...

LOVE that book case illustration! All so true

The Robert Hellenga hasn't made it across the pond into the library here so I shall suggest it to them for buying as its over £20 on Amazon and sounds good.

DUTA said...

The 'best' mysteries appear in the daily news. However,it takes time (months and years) till they get solved, if they get solved.
In books the mystery is completely solved by the end of the book, so pleasure and satisfaction are immediate.

Carole @ From My Carolina Home said...

The last one looks interesting, will take a look for that one. I don't read murder mysteries anymore, as I've had too much of that genre for now.

Pam said...

Wow...you have been busy reading. I try to find a few here and there that keep my attention so I can read on it before bedtime but lately I have not found any that really hold my attention. Mom had tons of books here that she collected over the yrs. Mostly romance books that I really don't care for that much. I got rid of all those. I try to not keep a lot of books on hand that I know I will not read again. I would love to start a small library box outside my house but still trying to find out through codes if that is something I can do. Keep reading..

gigi-hawaii said...

You have read quite a few books this summer. Great!

Joanne Huffman said...

Always love your book lists and reviews.

Tristan Robin said...

Ooooh! New book recommendations! Both Fatal Remedies and The French Widow sound right up my alley!

And I'm crazy about that bookcase illustration 🤣 I totally relate.

I've been have some good luck with book choices recently as well - I'm posting my reviews tomorrow. The only good thing about this 🤬 pandemic is that I'm getting a LOT of reading and movie watching done!

Enjoy your weekend!

coffeeontheporchwithme said...

I've been reading Elly Griffiths this summer, too. I don't think I even knew about The Woman in Blue. I shall try to find it. Thanks for sharing those, Jeanie. It's always good to have ideas from other similar readers. -Jenn

Divers and Sundry said...

I love the book meme at the top of the post. I need to check out Francis Vivian. That book sounds like fun. I have a couple of Donna Leon books on my birthday list :) I'll eventually get them all. Love, Death & Rare Books sounds delightful. I look forward to when I feel safe going back to the library and book store.

Rain said...

I love the book collection image Jeanie! :) I have not read too many books lately, mostly reading my Brothers Grimm fairy tale book before bed to get some great dreams going!! ☺☺

Polly said...

I love your book case Jeanie :-) 7 books, well done, I can only manage 2 or 3 a month (I would read more if I wasn't addicted to my laptop!!

Polly said...

P.S. forgot to say thank you for the recommendations, now on my 'To read' list.

Rita said...

Absolutely love the book collection drawing--LOL!
Lots of good reads. :)

Mae Travels said...

Great summer reading choices! I’m just reading the fifth Ruth Galloway novel — but I can’t seem to remember all the details from the first 4. I think I’ve read that Inspector Brunetti one, but I didn’t stick to reading them in order. Good to see that your summer is swimming along.

best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com

Miss Val's Creations said...

Oh I love books with a plot set in another country! It is like going on a vacation. The one written in the 1950s would interest me know since it is also fun to go back in time authentically. What I am reading now is a comedy published in 1875 and set in Portugal.

Amy at Ms. Toody Goo Shoes said...

I just love that first picture! So true!

Ricki Treleaven said...

I’ve been in such an awful book rut that some I won’t even share, LOL. Do you have any cozy mystery series that you recommend? Lots of books read in June….go you!

Rajani Rehana said...

Mind blowing post

Lisa from Lisa's Yarns said...

Love the book collection print! So accurate! You read a lot in June! I should check out some of the mysteries you talked about. Those are always such page turners for me but I find myself more drawn to that genre in the colder months!

Marilyn Miller said...

I think I need to read the Emily Griffith mysteries. They sounds fascinating. I do enjoy a good mystery occasionally. Thanks for sharing.

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

I always love your posts about books...we share an interest in the same kind of books! Have you read the Widows of Malabar? I think you would like it. I'm reading the second in this series now and it just gets better! We read more in the summer months when it's too hot to get outside! Hugs!

Sandra at Maison De Jardin said...

Gosh, Jeanie, you have been busy. I love your first photo with the bookcase. I showed it to Mike and he got a good laugh. Anyway, your books look really interesting. I have listed them for the future.

Lynne said...

Thank you for the book suggestions and reviews.
I am going to have to save this post! For future reference.
I have stacks of books that people have loaned me!
and library books that I must get to
plus I am reading three books at one time now.
Not complaining . . . just letting you know your list is “on hold!”
Smiling and happy though, it has been a reading summer!

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

All very interesting sounding mysteries, Jeanie!
I'm reading 3 advanced reader copies of books right now plus a book club book. It is a good thing the wildfire smoke in our area is keeping me inside.
I loved your bookcase illustration and I can certainly relate!

The French Hutch said...

I really enjoyed how you labeled your bookshelf! I need to do this and organize my latest books on my shelves. Adding to the "to do list" for rainy days. Thanks for your list, I love a good mystery............

Sami said...

Wish I could read that many books. I'm finding less and less time to read sadly, as I have a shelf full of books awaiting to be read!

thepaintedapron.com said...

I love seeing what my friends are reading~ I love mysteries too, and love to ready cozy mystery series. Right now I'm reading a good series set in a bookshop by Tamura Baumann. Good luck with your gardening!
Jenna

Lowcarb team member said...

Many thanks for this post, it looks a good collection of reading.

All the best Jan

Victoria Zigler said...

Looks like June was a great reading month for you.

Becki said...

What a cute, funny and true picture! How did you manage to capture my book collection so perfectly?!? :)

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