Archive Entries for February 2023
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Tuesday February 28, 2023
Books in February
- I Will Find You by Harlan Coben
Harlan Coben has an excellent track record writing best sellers, so really it is almost superfluous to say how thrilling his books are, with dramatic twists and turns throughout. I've read several of his stand-alone novels and this is another star performance. I should say I have liked some of his books more than others - specifically: I'm personally less keen on his basketball themed series since I find that subject a bit esoteric (much I suspect as the Americans in general regard cricket). However, I really enjoyed this book; I found it pacy an hard to put down (no basketball in sight).
It's worth warning that the plot is written from the point of view a man jailed for the violent murder of his own child some years before. He is mentally too numb to protest his innocence, and so traumatised by the situation that he has accepted his prison sentence with a burden of guilt for not being able to protect his son. But then he is shown a photograph... which changes everything...
The mystery part of the plot is skillfully executed, allowing the reader to piece together the solution -possibly slightly ahead of the protagonist - at the pace the author intends. And finally, if, like me, you enjoy a well-rounded ending - I would say happy ending but that's always less easy with this underlying subject matter - then you will be well-satisfied here.
If this is your first Coben thriller, then it's a great place to start - and if not, you'll find it well up to his excellent standard.
- Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi [read by Emilia Fox]
I was absolutely delighted by the basic premise of this book.
Grant McAllister, was a renowned professor of mathematics and writer 30 years ago, but is now living in seclusion on a remote Mediterranean island. He developed a theory that all detective fiction could be expressed as a mathematical formula based on "n" detectives, and "n" suspects, which can be applied to all stories, barring those where "n" tends towards 1 - which are special cases. He wrote a series of seven stories illustrating the various combinations of "n" - and these short stories form the basis of this book.
Our story is taken up when Grant is approached by Julia, a young editor, who apparently wants to republish his book. She works through each story with the author (and with us), pointing out apparently intentional anomalies and discussing their relevance, each in some detail... but Julia has her own agenda for this project, and nothing is as it seems.
The stories are presented with multiple alternative endings, which some readers said they found confusing. However, as I said, I loved all this, and I found the overarching mystery quite compelling.
[Note that this book is also published under the title The Eighth Detective.] -
The Shadows of London by Andrew Taylor
The is the latest in the Ashes of London series, and if you have not encountered it before, you are in for a treat.
I came upon this author and the Marwood-Lovett novels by a chance reading of a review in the Guardian - and what a terrific find they are. Taylor's ideas for the mysteries are excellent, always including fascinating historical insights, and all executed with the aplomb of a brilliant historian and writer. They are set in the era of Charles II after the Restoration, which provides an interesting political landscape. I know a little of this period, having studied it at school, and it is tempting to imagine that life in the 17th century is in some way modern though only a mere century or so after the Tudors - an age of enlightenment, scientific discovery, and elegance in both dress and manners. However Taylor really highlights many other less appealing aspects life with a need for constant wariness against casual assault and robbery, or offending the wrong person in a time of heavy dependence on patronage; add to that: primitive medical treatments, and a general level of poor hygiene, which, despite the huge rebuilding programme in London after the Great Fire, was not really addressed until two centuries later with the creation of the London sewer network.
This story involves a "simple" murder of "no-one in particular", but it affects Cat's business enterprises so negatively, and she is forced unwillingly to involve James to represent her interests in an attempt to resolve the matter. The many threads that his enquiry throws up lead to a political conspiracy involving the King himself - and needless to say, with Taylor, it has some basis in historical fact.
In addition to the story-lines, I am strong drawn to the depiction of protagonists with their, in one way loose, bonds of friendship and yet deep underlying connection and mutual dependence. So far, Taylor has managed to walk a difficult tightrope of maintaining that unspoken relationship without turning them into Tommy and Tuppence - but their relationship is shifting and developing with every book, so who knows what the next book will bring. (I, for one, can't wait!).
If you enjoy skillfully written historical mysteries you will love this series.
Posted on February 28, 2023 at 9:32 AM. Category: Books of the Month.
Sunday February 26, 2023
Unravel 2023
A pleasing day in Farnham, where I met up with a few Guild friends, and we did show and tell on our purchases.
I was also delighted to find Black Isle Yarns who - seriously - could not have been more helpful in aiding me in my search for a white (ish) tweed to use for a long-planned pom-pom sweater (planned since about 1968...!). I wish they were located more handily, but seeing the photos on their website, maybe I wish it were I that were located more handily ...
Of course, I'd planned to buy nothing, but was seduced by some delicious yarn from Zakami. No idea how I shall use it - so far squishing and stroking it seem ideal.
Posted on February 26, 2023 at 7:46 PM. Category: Knitting and Crochet.
Thursday February 23, 2023
The Mirror Cracked
This is an adaptation by Rachel Wagstaff performed by the Original Theatre Company at the Rose theatre - its penultimate venue after a six-month tour.
Stars Susie Blake, and Sophie Ward
Slightly damning with faint praise - this was an "adequate" production - nothing wrong with it - told the story - well acted - but failed to stir my emotions (and it is a very emotional story). To be fair, I have seen a lot of dramatisations of this in my time, and maybe there is only so much you can do with a plot.
Afterwards, I did feel bound to go home and watch once more the Joan Hickson version from the 1990s - which I consider to be yardstick - followed by the more modern "Marple" with Geraldine McEwan and Julia McKenzie. I have younger friends who prefer the latter; they are indeed lighter (both literally in the filming as well as in the tone) portraying everything in a kind of colour supplement version of the 1950s, and they certainly have their own unique appeal. Give that this type of murder mystery is truly a weird kind of fantasy in the first place, I have no valid objections - nor indeed to any of the modern interpretation of Christie's stories - she herself tinkered with many versions of her own stories for stage and screen.
However, those Miss Marples from the 90s featured actresses just old enough to really live inside the characters they were playing - a generation seen in my aunts and uncles that I can say with a tear in my eye which is now lost to us. Not only did Joan excel in what must have been the starring role she was born for (having been a stalwart of almost every British black and white movie throughout the era), but who could suggest a better Dolly than Gwen Watford? And what can I say about the truly moving relationship seen in "A Murder is Announced" with Joan Sims and Paola Dionisotti?
So maybe that was it - I did not warm to the portrayals of Miss Marple and Dolly in this production. Simple as that.
Posted on February 23, 2023 at 11:48 PM. Category: Art and Culture.
Wednesday February 15, 2023
Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of)
They promised delightfully irreverent - and fully delivered.
A cast of five women play all the parts - including their long-suffering servants - and yet remain weirdly faithful to the book whilst weaving in topically hilarious references.
Hopefully you can still catch it at one of the venues on tour.
Posted on February 15, 2023 at 7:59 PM. Category: Art and Culture.
