Books for June 5th are: A BAD DAY FOR SORRY (Ama Sleuth-Stella Hardesty-Missouri-Contemp) - 1st of series – Sophie Littlefield Stella Hardesty, is a widow and survivor of domestic violence, who owns a sewing shop in a sleepy Missouri town. On the side, Stella solves problems and metes out justice on behalf of battered women, like Chrissy Shaw, whose abusive bully of an ex-husband, Roy Dean Shaw, Stella keeps tabs on. After Roy Dean absconds with Chrissy's baby, Stella learns he's involved with local mobsters in a stolen auto parts ring. Chrissy sheds her victimhood to team up with Stella and do battle. After girding up their weaponry, the unlikely crime-fighting duo trick their way into the home of Roy Dean's mob boss, who they suspect has Chrissy's son. Stella discovers that no amount of preparation and righteous anger can prevail over pure evil, at least not without loads of trouble.
Kasa – Good - Liked it better than she expected she would. She did think the romance was completely unnecessary to the story. Linda S – Good – It was a fun read. She really liked the characters although she felt more character development was given for Chrissy than for Stella. It wasn’t as well written as it could have been but she really liked the relationship between the characters and the humor. She did think the romance was silly and unnecessary. LJ – VG – I was afraid the book would be cute and folksy and was pleasantly surprised. Stella is a wonderful character and a survivor in the best sense of the work. Chrissy is introduced as young, cute, big-busted with blond curls but Littlefield is smart and doesn’t play her to type. The dialogue is wonderful and profane-laced but anything else would have been unrealistic and out of character. The book surprised and delighted me. I would definitely read others in the series.
Group Rating Average: Good+
THE FOURTH ASSASSIN (Pol Proc-Omar Yussef-NYC-Contemporary) - 4th in series - Matt Beynon Rees Palestinian detective Omar Yussef to New York City, where he must deliver a speech at the U.N. on schooling in the Palestinian refugee camps. When Yussef's son, Ala, is arrested after a decapitated body is found in Ala's Brooklyn apartment, Yussef's search for the real killer leads him from Atlantic Avenue to Coney Island and back to the U.N. Secretariat. In the process, he discovers that he's not quite the cosmopolitan man he thought himself to be.
Kasa – G+ - Liked it better than expected. Liked the way the author used New York City. As she was listening to the audio version, she did get a bit lost along the way and had to refer to the print version occasionally. Still, she liked that the plot was complex and compelling. Linda F – Ex – Really liked it. She wasn’t certain she’d like the perspective of the characters but she did and thought it was well written. The characters were great and she wants to read other books in the series. Linda S – VG – Loved the protagonist. He’s subtle, interesting and complicated; a rich character. The one thing that didn’t quite ring true for her was the end.. The reaction seemed to understated for the events. Still the writing was very good and nuanced. LJ – G+ - What a fascinating book. It’s always interesting to see our country through the eyes of someone from a different country and completely different culture. The character of Omar is complex and realistic. There is a scene of emotional devastation which is very strong yet, even as do Catholics, he instinctively responds to the scene with the conventions of his faith. I particularly appreciate the author providing us with Youseff’s inner dialogue; his thoughts, fears and observations. He does occasionally do things which, in a female, might be considered too-stupid-to-live, but can be excused by the stranger-in-a-strange-land mentality of not knowing who to trust. The story has a very good, if slightly and increasingly complicated, plot. The author handles plot twists and surprises very effectively. There is tension but it is someone lost in the complexity. “The Fourth Assassin” is definitely a compelling read.
Group Rating Average: VG
SNOW ANGLES (Pol Proc-Insp. Vaara-Finland-Contemp) - 1st in series - James Thompson It is called kaamos-two weeks of unrelenting darkness and soul-numbing cold that falls upon Finnish Lapland, a hundred miles into the Arctic Circle, just before Christmas. Some get through it with the help of cheap Russian alcohol; some sink into depression. This year, it may have driven someone mad enough to commit murder. The brutalized body of a beautiful Somali woman has been found in the snow, and Inspector Kari Vaara must find her killer. It will be a challenge in a place where ugly things lurk under frozen surfaces, and silence is a way of life.
SNOW ANGLES (Pol Proc-Insp. Vaara-Finland-Contemp) - 1st in series - James Thompson It is called kaamos-two weeks of unrelenting darkness and soul-numbing cold that falls upon Finnish Lapland, a hundred miles into the Arctic Circle, just before Christmas. Some get through it with the help of cheap Russian alcohol; some sink into depression. This year, it may have driven someone mad enough to commit murder. The brutalized body of a beautiful Somali woman has been found in the snow, and Inspector Kari Vaara must find her killer. It will be a challenge in a place where ugly things lurk under frozen surfaces, and silence is a way of life.
Evanda – VG – She has spent time in this area so was delighted by the setting and the accurate depiction of the Finns. She liked everything about the book. Kasa – VG – It seems the colder the location, the more violent the books seem to become and this was violent. She did like it, though. Kasa really enjoyed learning about the culture and liked the protagonist and his wife. By making the protagonist so sympathetic, it added a poignancy you don’t often see. LJ – Okay – I did like the protagonist and his wife but, unfortunately, there are the only characters about whom we care. There is a very strong sense of place and fascinating information on Finnish life and culture. The book is interesting but very violent, quite depressing and frustrating for the poor investigative methods of the protagonist. As an insight into the region and culture, it was very good; as a police procedural, I can’t particularly recommend it.
A BAD DAY FOR SORRY (Ama Sleuth-Stella Hardesty-Missouri-Contemp) - 1st of series – Sophie Littlefield
Stella Hardesty, is a widow and survivor of domestic violence, who owns a sewing shop in a sleepy Missouri town. On the side, Stella solves problems and metes out justice on behalf of battered women, like Chrissy Shaw, whose abusive bully of an ex-husband, Roy Dean Shaw, Stella keeps tabs on. After Roy Dean absconds with Chrissy's baby, Stella learns he's involved with local mobsters in a stolen auto parts ring. Chrissy sheds her victimhood to team up with Stella and do battle. After girding up their weaponry, the unlikely crime-fighting duo trick their way into the home of Roy Dean's mob boss, who they suspect has Chrissy's son. Stella discovers that no amount of preparation and righteous anger can prevail over pure evil, at least not without loads of trouble.
Kasa – Good - Liked it better than she expected she would. She did think the romance was completely unnecessary to the story.
Linda S – Good – It was a fun read. She really liked the characters although she felt more character development was given for Chrissy than for Stella. It wasn’t as well written as it could have been but she really liked the relationship between the characters and the humor. She did think the romance was silly and unnecessary.
LJ – VG – I was afraid the book would be cute and folksy and was pleasantly surprised. Stella is a wonderful character and a survivor in the best sense of the work. Chrissy is introduced as young, cute, big-busted with blond curls but Littlefield is smart and doesn’t play her to type. The dialogue is wonderful and profane-laced but anything else would have been unrealistic and out of character. The book surprised and delighted me. I would definitely read others in the series.
Group Rating Average: Good+
THE FOURTH ASSASSIN (Pol Proc-Omar Yussef-NYC-Contemporary) - 4th in series - Matt Beynon Rees
Palestinian detective Omar Yussef to New York City, where he must deliver a speech at the U.N. on schooling in the Palestinian refugee camps. When Yussef's son, Ala, is arrested after a decapitated body is found in Ala's Brooklyn apartment, Yussef's search for the real killer leads him from Atlantic Avenue to Coney Island and back to the U.N. Secretariat. In the process, he discovers that he's not quite the cosmopolitan man he thought himself to be.
Kasa – G+ - Liked it better than expected. Liked the way the author used New York City. As she was listening to the audio version, she did get a bit lost along the way and had to refer to the print version occasionally. Still, she liked that the plot was complex and compelling.
Linda F – Ex – Really liked it. She wasn’t certain she’d like the perspective of the characters but she did and thought it was well written. The characters were great and she wants to read other books in the series.
Linda S – VG – Loved the protagonist. He’s subtle, interesting and complicated; a rich character. The one thing that didn’t quite ring true for her was the end.. The reaction seemed to understated for the events. Still the writing was very good and nuanced.
LJ – G+ - What a fascinating book. It’s always interesting to see our country through the eyes of someone from a different country and completely different culture. The character of Omar is complex and realistic. There is a scene of emotional devastation which is very strong yet, even as do Catholics, he instinctively responds to the scene with the conventions of his faith. I particularly appreciate the author providing us with Youseff’s inner dialogue; his thoughts, fears and observations. He does occasionally do things which, in a female, might be considered too-stupid-to-live, but can be excused by the stranger-in-a-strange-land mentality of not knowing who to trust. The story has a very good, if slightly and increasingly complicated, plot. The author handles plot twists and surprises very effectively. There is tension but it is someone lost in the complexity. “The Fourth Assassin” is definitely a compelling read.
Group Rating Average: VG
SNOW ANGLES (Pol Proc-Insp. Vaara-Finland-Contemp) - 1st in series - James Thompson
It is called kaamos-two weeks of unrelenting darkness and soul-numbing cold that falls upon Finnish Lapland, a hundred miles into the Arctic Circle, just before Christmas. Some get through it with the help of cheap Russian alcohol; some sink into depression. This year, it may have driven someone mad enough to commit murder. The brutalized body of a beautiful Somali woman has been found in the snow, and Inspector Kari Vaara must find her killer. It will be a challenge in a place where ugly things lurk under frozen surfaces, and silence is a way of life.
SNOW ANGLES (Pol Proc-Insp. Vaara-Finland-Contemp) - 1st in series - James Thompson
It is called kaamos-two weeks of unrelenting darkness and soul-numbing cold that falls upon Finnish Lapland, a hundred miles into the Arctic Circle, just before Christmas. Some get through it with the help of cheap Russian alcohol; some sink into depression. This year, it may have driven someone mad enough to commit murder. The brutalized body of a beautiful Somali woman has been found in the snow, and Inspector Kari Vaara must find her killer. It will be a challenge in a place where ugly things lurk under frozen surfaces, and silence is a way of life.
Evanda – VG – She has spent time in this area so was delighted by the setting and the accurate depiction of the Finns. She liked everything about the book.
Kasa – VG – It seems the colder the location, the more violent the books seem to become and this was violent. She did like it, though. Kasa really enjoyed learning about the culture and liked the protagonist and his wife. By making the protagonist so sympathetic, it added a poignancy you don’t often see.
LJ – Okay – I did like the protagonist and his wife but, unfortunately, there are the only characters about whom we care. There is a very strong sense of place and fascinating information on Finnish life and culture. The book is interesting but very violent, quite depressing and frustrating for the poor investigative methods of the protagonist. As an insight into the region and culture, it was very good; as a police procedural, I can’t particularly recommend it.
Group Rating Average: G+