It was a pleasure to have Charlotte, Christine, Corona, Joy, Linda F., Linda S., and Marcy S. join me at Tuesday’s meeting.
THE AGE OF DOUBT by Andrea Camilleri Charlotte – - She read “Shape of Water” instead. It took a bit for her to get into it, but she found she really did like it. (G+) Christine – VG - Really liked the sense of humor and scenes as well as the plot line. She is now addicted to the series. Corona – VG - She liked where the story brought her and the plot. She did feel the author cares more about the characters and the setting than plot, but did like how introspective and protagonist was and his questions about himself. She didn’t care for his relationships, but likes the direction the author is taking the character.
THE WITCH’S GRAVE by Phillip DePoy Christine – Okay – She liked the character but felt some of the plot was over the top. Linda F – Good - She had read it previously but hadn’t remembered it. She did find one section particularly gruesome but liked the character of Truvine very much. Linda S – VG – This was a re-read for her. She really loves the series and the characters but didn’t feel this was the best of the series. However, the same hallmarks of DePoy’s writing were there—beautiful prose, wonderful characters, and a good mix of reality and paranormal always does work. She isn’t always certain he fully understands Sacred Harp or snake handling, but it still works. Although she did think the paranormal worked here, she felt it was better in “The Drifters Wheel.” LJ – Ex - From the first page, you know this is an author with a distinctive and delightful voice and his dialogue is some of the best there is. In fact, I so enjoy DePoy’s style, I find myself wanting to read large portions of the story aloud; not just for the lyricism of his words, but because the passages made me stop and consider the content of them. However, it’s the characters who make this book special. It's hard to resist a protagonist who is in his 30's, is almost 7 feet tall, has snow-white hair and sees ghosts. Or a story that's filled with music, folklore, literary quotes, southern food, humor, unique characters, an excellent sense of place, suspense and twists along the way. Once shouldn’t confuse this with being a ‘ghost’ story. It’s a story of people who treasure the old stories and for whom hosts are part of their culture and lives; they live with the blend of the real and the paranormal, the old ways and the new, for whom a belief in curses can make them be true and where sometimes spells have a natural explanation. Above all, the story is an untraditional, traditional mystery and a very good one. There is a scene that is somewhat grim and unpleasant to accept except that such stories have appeared in the national news. My recommendation is, don't try to resist. Sit back and enjoy the world of Fever Devlin. I certainly did.
DANDY GILVER AND THE PROPER TREATMENT OF BLOODSTAINS by Catriona McPherson Christine – DNF – She was glad it was a library loan and that she hadn’t bought it. She’s trying to move away from only reading contemporaries, but this didn’t help her. She found it boring. Linda F - VG- Read “The Burry Man’s Day” instead and found herself comparing the protagonist to Kerry Greenwood’s Phryne Fisher as they are set in approximately the same time period. Where Phryne is elegant and charming, Dandy is more of an average character. She did keep reading for the sheer “Scotishness” of the setting and was glad she did as she liked the plot more as it went on. Linda S - VG – Right after San Francisco Bouchercon in 2010, she tried McPherson’s second book and wasn’t that impressed. However, now she’s appreciates having read it. She liked the plot and the character pretty well. What she liked best was that Dandy is really not on the side of the strikers (as she would not have been considering her background). She displayed the attitudes she would have had as someone of her class. LJ – Okay - Ms. McPherson committed the criminal offense of series writers; she seemed to assume the reader had read all the previous books. Frankly, I found this incredibly annoying and frustrating as I had no knowledge as to the background of the apparently recurring characters, including the protagonist, nor did the author provide any. Dandy is supported by three characters with male-sounding names: Alec, Hugh and Bunty. Trying to understand who they are and their relationship to Dandy was confusing and impossible. At least I did figure out one is a dog! One can almost accept that a seemingly upper-class woman could convenience an established English staff she was a lady’s maid might be possible, particularly as it was explained away as her recently suffering a decline in social position. However, I found it nearly impossible to believe the police would be so accepting of Dandy’s interference. The dialogue is quite good. The plot does improve and become more intriguing as the story progresses. This isn’t a book set above stairs, but below stairs and amongst those who worked in the coal mines. There is interesting historical information regarding the worker strikes. “Dandy Gilver and the Proper Treatment of Bloodstains” creates a delightful sense of dread very early on in a story enhanced by an eye for detail and description. I question how plausible the investigative methods were, but the story was unique. I did enjoy it, in the end, but doubt I would read another in the series. I do believe that had I started with the series first book, my view might be quite different.
Linda S., and Marcy S. join me at Tuesday’s meeting.
THE AGE OF DOUBT by Andrea Camilleri
Charlotte – - She read “Shape of Water” instead. It took a bit for her to get into it, but she found she really did like it. (G+)
Christine – VG - Really liked the sense of humor and scenes as well as the plot line. She is now addicted to the series.
Corona – VG - She liked where
the story brought her and the plot. She did feel the author cares more about the characters and the setting than plot, but did like how introspective
and protagonist was and his questions about himself. She didn’t
care for his relationships, but likes the direction the author is taking the
character.
THE WITCH’S GRAVE by Phillip DePoy
Christine – Okay – She liked the character but felt some of the plot was over the top.
Linda F – Good - She had read it previously but hadn’t remembered it. She did find one section particularly gruesome but liked the character of Truvine very much.
Linda S – VG – This was a re-read for her. She really loves the series and the characters but didn’t feel this was the best of the series. However, the same hallmarks of DePoy’s writing were there—beautiful prose, wonderful characters, and a good mix of reality and paranormal always does work. She isn’t always certain he fully understands Sacred Harp or snake handling, but it still works. Although she did think the paranormal worked here, she felt it was better in “The Drifters Wheel.”
LJ – Ex - From the first page, you know this is an author with a distinctive and delightful voice and his dialogue is some of the best there is. In fact, I so enjoy DePoy’s style, I find myself wanting to read large portions of the story aloud; not just for the lyricism of his words, but because the passages made me stop and consider the content of them. However, it’s the characters who make this book special. It's hard to resist a protagonist who is in his 30's, is almost 7 feet tall, has snow-white hair and sees ghosts. Or a story that's filled with music, folklore, literary quotes, southern food, humor, unique characters, an excellent sense of place, suspense and twists along the way. Once shouldn’t confuse this with being a ‘ghost’ story. It’s a story of people who treasure the old stories and for whom hosts are part of their culture and lives; they live with the blend of the real and the paranormal, the old ways and the new, for whom a belief in curses can make them be true and where sometimes spells have a natural explanation. Above all, the story is an untraditional, traditional mystery and a very good one. There is a scene that is somewhat grim and unpleasant to accept except that such stories have appeared in the national news. My recommendation is, don't try to resist. Sit back and enjoy the world of Fever Devlin. I certainly did.
DANDY GILVER AND THE PROPER TREATMENT OF BLOODSTAINS by Catriona McPherson
Christine – DNF – She was glad it was a library loan and that she hadn’t bought it. She’s trying to move away from only reading contemporaries, but this didn’t help her. She found it boring.
Linda F - VG- Read “The Burry Man’s Day” instead and found herself comparing the protagonist to Kerry Greenwood’s Phryne Fisher as they are set in approximately the same time period. Where Phryne is elegant and charming, Dandy is more of an average character. She did keep reading for the sheer “Scotishness” of the setting and was glad she did as she liked the plot more as it went on.
Linda S - VG – Right after San Francisco Bouchercon in 2010, she tried McPherson’s second book and wasn’t that impressed. However, now she’s appreciates having read it. She liked the plot and the character pretty well. What she liked best was that Dandy is really not on the side of the strikers (as she would not have been considering her background). She displayed the attitudes she would have had as someone of her class.
LJ – Okay - Ms. McPherson committed the criminal offense of series writers; she seemed to assume the reader had read all the previous books. Frankly, I found this incredibly annoying and frustrating as I had no knowledge as to the background of the apparently recurring characters, including the protagonist, nor did the author provide any. Dandy is supported by three characters with male-sounding names: Alec, Hugh and Bunty. Trying to understand who they are and their relationship to Dandy was confusing and impossible. At least I did figure out one is a dog! One can almost accept that a seemingly upper-class woman could convenience an established English staff she was a lady’s maid might be possible, particularly as it was explained away as her recently suffering a decline in social position. However, I found it nearly impossible to believe the police would be so accepting of Dandy’s interference. The dialogue is quite good. The plot does improve and become more intriguing as the story progresses. This isn’t a book set above stairs, but below stairs and amongst those who worked in the coal mines. There is interesting historical information regarding the worker strikes.
“Dandy Gilver and the Proper Treatment of Bloodstains” creates a delightful sense of dread very early on in a story enhanced by an eye for detail and description. I question how plausible the investigative methods were, but the story was unique. I did enjoy it, in the end, but doubt I would read another in the series. I do believe that had I started with the series first book, my view might be quite different.