The Last Bookshop

Set in Perth, Western Australia, The Last Bookshop by Emma Young explores the difficulties faced by small independent stores trying to survive in large cities. Cait Cooper is the owner of The Book Fiend, a shop selling new and second-hand books in Hay Street, Perth. Recently other small businesses in the area have been forced to close or relocate as upmarket stores selling expensive goods move into the area.

The Book Fiend is about to celebrate five years in the area when the lease for the shop is increased by 30 per cent. The suggestion is made that Cait should relocate the shop to a shopping strip in the suburbs but Cait  has built up a group of loyal customers who rely on the shop for reading material and has also invested much money into fitting out her shop. As well as working in the shop, Cait runs a mobile service taking books to older readers unable to personally visit the bookshop. One of these readers is June who used to look after Cait when she was a child. Initially she endeavours to keep the shop operating in Hay Street until reality sets in and Cait realises that the store must close.

Cait's customers often tell her how they enjoyed a book. Not surprisingly titles of books, old and new, are mentioned throughout the novel as well as references to events in the life of C S Lewis. 

This is also a book about relationships as Cait copes with hard decisions and needs to decide what she really wants in her life. Through the bookshop Cait meets James but is this a relationship she really wants? On the other hand the relationship with June is important to Cait, not just as someone who has always looked out for her but who is a real friend. Then there is Seb who worked with her in the shop when she was able to employ staff but who still called in to ensure that she was OK when times were hard.

As news of the imminent closure of The Book Fiend becomes public the power of social media is invoked by Cait's friends, customers and potential customers to attempt to save the bookshop.

As someone who loves books and bookshops I really enjoyed reading this book.

March Violets

In March 1933 the Nazis became the power party in the German Parliament leaving the Social Democrats very much in the minority. After this there was an influx of applications to become members of the Nazi Party and the original members of the party referred to the newcomers as March Violets. In May 1933 the Nazi Party refused to accept new members. (The History Place)

March Violets by Philip Kerr is a gritty story about the criminal scene in Berlin in 1936. Bernie Gunther, a private investigator, is summoned by the insurance company of a rich industrialist to recover precious jewels stolen from a safe at the same time that the industrialist's daughter and son-in-law were murdered. Gunther knows that he has not been told the full story but the money offered for his services is good so he accepts.

By 1936 the Nazi Party is firmly in control in the country with the population now used to displays of propaganda in the streets and on buildings, parades of soldiers in the streets and the requirement to salute. The emphasis is on the importance of being German and minority groups, particularly Jews, face discrimination. People constantly disappear in Nazi Germany and Gunther regularly takes cases attempting to locate missing persons. Women, especially married women, are discouraged from working.

However Berlin is also holding the Olympic Games so some of the propaganda posters that might offend tourists have temporarily been removed and even some previously banned books have returned to bookstores for a short time.

As the story proceeds the reader is left in no doubt about the power of the variety of gangs operating in the city as well as the power of political groups each attempting to control what is happening in their jurisdictiction and outside it. Berlin is certainly a dangerous place, especially if you are a private investigator endevouring to discover the truth.

This book is first in a series of books about Bernie Gunther.

Welcome to Nowhere River

'We're all misfits, aren't we really,' said Josie. 'I mean, here we are, living so close together, in the same landscape, by the same river, seeing different things.' (page 314)

Nowhere River is a small fictional community in the central highlands north of Hobart. The community is situated within the bend of a river which heads back in the direction from which it has come. Like many rural communities the population of Nowhere River is shrinking and aging and risks disappearing from the map, helped considerably by a long drought.

Meg Bicknell in Welcome to Nowhere River has written a novel about the plan designed to encourage community members to develop projects to rejuvenate the town and encourage people to visit and even stay. However will the plan unite or further divide the community? In the book the reader meets a range of sometimes eccentric characters who all have their own ideas as to how they would like life in Nowhere River to evolve. 

The story also revolves around the lives of the Finlay and Bradshaw families. Carra Finlay has moved to Nowhere River after marrying Duncan, the local doctor. After their twins, Daisy and Ben, arrive on the scene Carra encounters difficulties establishing and recognising her own identity and deciding what she really wants from life. Thirty years earlier, Duncan's five year old sister disappeared and the family, especially Lucie, has never fully come to terms with the loss. Carra has also lost contact with her friend, Josie Bradshaw, who later in the story has her own challenges.

This is a story of friendship as well as about deciding what one really wants in life. It is also a humourous account of people with their own agendas attempting to revive a community.

Fortune or glory

Fortune or glory is another entertaining crime escapade from Janet Evanovich - number 27 in the Stephanie Plum series. Readers of the series know what to expect and will not be disappointed as bounty hunter, Stephanie, and her assistant, Lula, attempt to apprehend a range of unruly characters who have broken conditions of their bond by failing to appear in court. Along the way Stephanie does a favour for George Potts who then insists on returning her favour by following her around as a bodyguard.

A major part of the plot revolves around Stephanie assisting Grandma Mazur in retrieving a 'treasure' hidden by Grandma Mazur's gangster husband who died shortly after the wedding. Other members of the gang are also looking for the treasure as is the mysterious Gabriela Rose who suddenly appears on the scene.

Most of the characters seem to carry guns though the weapons may not always be loaded and the characters often do not know how to fire them. There is plenty of action with car chases, explosions, kidnapping and the occasional murder. Readers of the series will also be noting Stephanie's disastrous record for demolishing cars. The on again off again relationship with Joe Morelli continues while Ranger is always there to provide support of all kinds.

Humour, as well as lots of action, is a major feature of the books providing laugh aloud moments for the reader. Looking at the long library reserve list for the book many readers just want to escape for an hour or two into the crazy world of Stephanie Plum.

The Sign of the Four

The Sign of the Four, a Sherlock Homes book by Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of the books featured in the Future Learn Classic Detective Fiction course prepared by the University of Newcastle (NSW). I read this book as an ebook borrowed via my local library. The Sign of the Four is also available on Project Gutenberg.

The Sign of the Four (1890) is the second novel written by Arthur Conan Doyle featuring Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson. The author wrote four books and fifty-six short stories featuring these characters and the various crimes they investigated.

When we meet Sherlock Holmes he is bored and in the process of taking cocaine. Fortunately Mary Morstan unnexpectedy arrives with a mystery for him to solve. Ten years previously her father returned from India and disappeared. Once a year since 1892 she has received a pearl in the mail from an anonymous sender. Now she has received a letter asking her to meet an unknown person that evening and Mary requests Holmes and Dr Watson to accompany her.

Thus begins a tale of murder, rebellion and missing treasure as Watson tells the tale of how Holmes solves a case that baffles the police. Class differences and attitudes to race are portrayed in this tale set in India and 1880s London. There is also a chase in a police boat on the Thames as attempts are made to capture the murderer and retrieve the treasure box after Holmes and Watson use Toby, a dog, to track the suspected culprits. The background to the crime is finally revealed in the final chapter.

The Sign of the Four was made into a film in 1932 and a movie for television in 1983 and again in 1987 and 2001.

The Big Bow Mystery and The Murders in the Rue Morgue

The cover title for this book is The Perfect Crime, the name of a film based on The Big Bow Mystery by Israel Zangwill (1892). The Perfect Crime was released as a semi-silent film in 1928 and remade in 1934 as The Crime Doctor and in 1946 as The Verdict. There are two stories in this book as it also includes The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe(1841).

The Big Bow Mystery was originally written as a serial and published in the Star newspaper over two weeks in 1891. In the preface of the 1895 edition of the book the author wrote that many readers contributed ideas as to the possible solution of the case as the serial progressed. The Big Bow Mystery is considered to be the first 'locked door' crime novel published.

The crime occurs in a boarding house in Glover Street, Bow, where a lodger, Arthur Constant, is found murdered in his bed in his room. The door is bolted and locked. The landlady, Mrs Drabdump, and  retired inspector George Grodman, discover the body after Grodman breaks down the door. Inspector Edward Wimp arrives to solve the crime and arrests another tennant of the boarding house. Grodman and his supporters are convinced that Wimp has arrested the wrong man.

Much of the novel sets the scene with descriptions of the working class movement in London at the time with references to current events. The newspaper report of the murder and the detailed account of the trial take up much of the story. 

The Murders in the Rue Morgue is a short story that is the first 'locked door' crime mystery published. It is one of the crime stories featured in the Future Learn course Classic Detective Fiction prepared by the University of Newcastle (NSW).

When the bodies of a mother and daughter are discovered murdered in a locked room Monsieur C Auguste Dupin and an unnamed narrator set out to discover the perputrator of the crime and how it could possibly have been carried out. Dupin's investigation, based on observation of the facts, significant or irrelevant to produce a logical solution, amazes his narrator friend.  The police are baffled by the crime and arrest the wrong suspect until the unexpected solution is revealed.

As well as writing the first 'locked door' crime mystery,  Poe created the first crime investigator to appear in more than one story. Dupin also appears in The Mystery of Marie Roget (1842) and The Purloined Letter (1844). The three stories by Poe featuring Dupin are available online as part of The Works of Edgar Allan Poe volume 1 (Project Gutenberg). The Works of Edgar Allan Poe should be available in most public libraries and is also available as an ebook.

Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops

Shaun Bythell is the owner of The Bookshop in Wigtown, Scotland, one of many independent bookshops in the town which is known as Scotland's National Book Town. Seven Kinds of People You Find in Bookshops is the third book in a series describing the customers and recounting the events and challenges encountered when trying to run a second hand bookshop. The challenges were even greater during 2020 with the arrival of COVID-19 and susequent restrictions.

In this short book, Shaun lists some of the characteristics of people who visit the shop or bring books that he might want to purchase, providing examples of incidents that may occur. Types of people mentioned include experts, loiterers, occultists, people with young children, travellers, craft enthusiasts, whistlers, hummers, sniffers ...

The book did answer a question that had puzzled me.On my Facebook page I receive posts from The Bookshop and one had described a visit to the shop by Phillip Serrell filming a segment for The Antiques Road Trip. No more information was provided. A few weeks ago I saw the episode where Phil had purchased an Arts and Crafts chair from the shop for £20 and it sold at auction for £200 (profits from the show go to charity). 

Question: why did Phil purchase a chair from a bookshop? The answer is revealed on pages 56-58 of the book.The chair had been donated to Shaun by a craft enthusiast so he stored it in a corner of the shop which was where Phil found it. Apparently the original owner of the chair was not concerned when she saw her chair on TV. She later told Shaun that she hoped it had found a good home.

 Other books by Shaun Bythell include The Diary of a Bookseller and Confessions of a Bookseller.

The Crow Trap

The Crow Trap is the first book in the Vera Stanhope series by Ann Cleeves. When three women are employed to complete an environmental assessment of an area which may be affected if a new quarry development goes ahead, they do not expect to encounter a series of deaths.

The story is revealed in three sections - part one describes the initial experiences of Rachel, Anne and Grace as they start the project as well as revealing past events and personal experiences in their lives; part two introduces Inspector Vera Stanhope and Sergeant Joe Ashworth who arrive to investigate a murder as well as reasons for a suicide that occurred at a nearby farm, while part three  continues the story from Vera's viewpoint including establishing links between the previous two deaths and a third death. Rachel, her mother and Anne also spend time exploring leads, later passing on the information to Vera. During the investigation Vera remembers an unsolved case of the disappearance of a two year old boy in the same area many years before. This proves to be a challenging series of crimes to solve.

The television series, Vera, based on the characters and sometimes the book plots, first aired in England in 2011. The plot of The Crow Trap formed the basis for the story in episode 3 of series 1.

The left-handed booksellers of London

Another great book by Australian author, Garth Nix. This time the book is set in two worlds, the New and the Old, which can merge into each other when magic, good or bad, is afoot. Those guarding the borders are the booksellers of two London bookshops - the left handed booksellers have powers to detect and defend against the forces of evil while the right-handed booksellers have their own special powers. There are, of course, users of both hands with powers of their own.

In 1983 Susan Arkshaw has come to London to discover who her father is. She brings with her a few clues including an address. Visiting the house Susan encounters evil forces and magical powers for the first time. She also meets Merlin who helps her escape from the house and finds safer accommodation for her. 

Merlin and his sister, Vivian, introduce Susan to the world of the booksellers and offer to help her in her quest to locate her father. It soon becomes obvious that an evil force from the past is determined to prevent Susan from fulfilling her quest. As the danger to Susan and her friends increases it becomes obvious that someone from within the band of booksellers is working to sabotage the quest.

This is a story of a dangerous quest with plenty of suspense and magic as Susan and her allies endeavour to conquor an evil force. Throughout the book there are references to other book titles, most of which I recognised. The comment was also made that events described in some fantasy books revealed secrets that that made it more difficult for the left-handed booksellers to do their work. The story is interlaced with humour making this book a most enjoyable read.

Vikings

SBS recently screened a four part documentary series - The Last Journey of the Vikings -  a study of the role of the Vikings in European history, especially in Normandy, France. Watching this program made me want to learn more so I started by reading Vikings by Neil Oliver, also based on a television series produced by the BBC in 2012.

In the book, Vikings, Oliver provides an overview of the peoples of Scandinavia who explored a varity of countries including parts of what is now Russia and other areas of Europe including what became Normandy in northern France; the islands of Scotland, particularly the Orkneys and Shetland Islands; Greenland, Iceland and Newfoundland as well as England.

Initially Viking raids on the English resulted in looting isolated monastries such as Lindisfarne with the Vikings returning to their homeland with considerable treasure. Over time however people from Denmark, Sweeden and Norway looked for additional land in which to settle. Observing their Christian neighbours many Viking leaders decided that converting to Christianity improved trading opportunities with their neighbours and also reduced the possibility of other countries invading their territory.

From 865 Vikings invaded parts of England to settle resulting in numerous battles with the Anglo Saxons. The final conflict was the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066 resulting in victory for the English army of Harold Godwinson. However Harold Godwinson was defeated by the Norman army led by William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in October 1066.

This book therfore provides an overview of European and British history in the age of the Vikings from 793 to 1263. Unfortunately there are few Viking records from the time of Viking expansion so much of the story has been lost, however information is available from records made in other countries as well as archaeological finds. A useful chronology is provided plus a list of principal Viking characters mentioned throughout the book. There is also a bibliography and index.