Chestnut Street

Irish author, Maeve Binchy, died in 2012 but over the years she wrote a number of short stories about families living in a fictional location in Dublin, Chestnut Street. The stories have now been collected together in one volume. Three of the stories in this compilation have been published previously but the remainder are new. The book provides a feeling of community as the relationships of people living in Chestnut Street are explored. Some of the characters appear in more than one story which helps to re-enforce that the book is not just about isolated families but about a neighbourhood. Whether the stories are happy or sad they portray a group of people trying to make the best out of what life has dealt them.

Chief Inspector Armand Gamache books

A number of posts in this blog have been about books written by Canadian writer, Louise Penny. Although they can be read in random order, the Armand Gamache series of books really need to be read in sequence:

1. Still Life
2. A Fatal Grace (also known as Dead Cold)
3. The Cruelest Month
4. A Rule Against Murder (also known as The Murder Stone)
5. The Brutal Telling
6. Bury Your Dead
7. A Trick of the Light
8. The Beautiful Mystery
9. How the Light Gets In
10. The Long Way Home
11. The Nature of the Beast

For more information about these books see the official website of Louise Penny

The Children Act

Fiona Maye is a High Court Judge in the family court. She is approaching 60 and has been married to Jack for 30 years. Reasonably happily she thought until one night Jack asked for her permission for him to have an affair. This leads Fiona to reevaluate her relationship with Jack and also to involve herself more than ever in her work.

Working in the family court Fiona regularly deals with the problems of others - people going through a messy divorce, custody battles, children being removed from the country illegally for instance. Then she has a case in which she needs to decide whether Adam, a seventeen year old boy, has the right to refuse a blood transfusion that will save his life. Adam's parents are Jehovah's Witnesses and he has been brought up to believe that having a blood transfusion is a sin. The complexities of making the decision, as well as the ramifications of that decision, form a major part of this novel by Ian McEwan.

This is a relatively short book - only 213 pages. It is beautifully written as it delves into complex relationships, difficult decisions and their consequences. This is definitely a book to try and read without interruption.

How the light gets in

Another installment in the excellent series of Chief Inspector Gamache books by Canadian author, Louise Penny. How the light gets in ties together many of the threads from the earlier novels in this series but as the story progresses, for those starting with this title, the author provides an outline of what has happened previously. However, to get the most from this series of books, they should be read in order.

When Armand Gamache is contacted by Myrna Landers about a friend who is missing, he goes to Three Pines to hear the full story. This leads to the discovery of a murder and a story that began in the 1930s. Solving this mystery is only one of the threads in this book as internal problems in the Surete de Quebec have intensified resulting in members of Armand Gamache's team being dispersed throughout other departments in the Surete. Chief Inspector Gamache is particularly concerned about the welfare of Jean-Guy Beauvoir whose health and mental state continues to decline. With his few remaining supporters, plus the assistance of his friends at Three Pines, Armand Gamanche is determined to find out what is going on at the Surete and who is trying to destroy him, even though it may mean him losing his job and possibly his life.

Louise Penny not only writes about crime, she writes about people and the reader becomes immersed both in the story plus the lives of the characters and the often difficult decisions they have to make. A range of emotions are encountered when reading these books as the characters encounter the good and evil that makes up life. It is extremely easy to become totally involved in this world created by Louise Penny and not want to do anything else until reaching the end of the novel.

The silkworm

The second book in the Cormoran Strike series, this novel by Robert Galbraith is another murder mystery being investigated by detective and former soldier, Cormoran Strike and his assistant, Robin Ellacott. Cormoran is 35 and is a damaged person, not just physically (the lower part of one leg was amputated when serving in Afghanistan), but also emotionally as his former fiancee is about to marry. The main case investigated in The Silkworm concerns the search for the author, Owen Quine, who is reported missing by his wife. Quine has just completed his latest book and the release of the draft manuscript upsets many fellow authors and others from the publishing world as well as other associates of Quine. 

When Quine's body is discovered in bazaar circumstances the investigation turns into a hunt not only to discover the killer but also to find out why this has happened. Although the policeman leading the investigation is a former colleague of Strike when in Afghanistan, Strike is convinced that the police suspect the wrong person and sets out to solve the case himself.

The working relationship between Strike and Robin, who also wants to be an investigator, is further developed in this well written, fast paced mystery, adding another dimension to the novel. I have enjoyed reading the first two books in this series and look forward to the next installment in the Cormoran Strike series.

Everything I need to know I learned from a Little Golden Book

For many generations young children were read to and later read titles published by Golden Books. I vividly remember The Big Brown Bear (originally published 1944) about a bear who is warned by his wife to stay away from the bees but of course tries to get honey from the hive and ends up being chased by the bees. Badly stung, he takes refuge in the river and catches a fish for dinner.

The first Golden Books were published in 1942 and cost 25c making the purchase of these books accessible for most families. Approximately 600 titles were published over the years and many are sought after by collectors.

Everything I need to know I learned from a Little Golden Book by Diane Muldrow provides a collection of sayings or comments on modern life illustrated with pages from Golden Books.

Examples include:
Get some exercise every day - with illustration of animals exercising from the book Animal Gym (1956)
Turn off the TV from time to time - with illustration from the Naughty Bunny (1959)
Use your imagination - with illustration from Nurse Nancy (1952)
Let your children know you love them - with illustration from Baby Dear (1962)
Go fly a kite - with illustration from Chicken Little (1960)
but remember to stop and smell the strawberries - with illustration from Poky Little Puppy (1942)

It is all good fun and the illustrations bring back lots of memories even though Big Brown Bear is not included.

Top secret twenty-one

A note on the cover of this book describes Janet Evanovich as 'Queen of Kick-Ass Crime'. This is the twenty-first title in the popular Stephanie Plum series featuring bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum who with the aid of an assortment of lovers, friends and acquaintances, attempts to persuade those who missed their court appearance to return to the police station to be rebailed.

The two main plots in this book involve the attempts to apprehend Jimmy Poletti, used car dealer who sells more than used cars, and the search for the person who is attempting to kill her friend and associate, Ranger. As usual there are explosions - buildings as well as cars - over the top characters and, of course, plenty of action and laughs.