The Scam

This is the fourth title in the Fox and O'Hare Mystery series, a collaboration between Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg. Nicolas Fox is a con man and thief who for many years was pursued by FBI Agent, Kate O'Hare. Now (most of the time) Nick and Kate are working together undercover to bring about the arrest of criminals who cannot be caught by normal operational means.

Their target in this book is casino owner, Evan Trace, who is is using his casinos for money-laundering. In order to successfully carry out the scam Nick and Kate travel between Las Vegas, Hawaii and Macau. The plot is action driven and at times Kate and Nick need to call upon the expertise of a team of eccentric but highly competent accomplices to successfully carry out their mission. From the ending of the book this will not be the last one in this series. I look forward to the next installment.

Lord of the Wings

Donna Andrews continues her series of books with bird themed titles with Lord of the Wings, the nineteenth in the Meg Langslow Mystery series. This is another tale of the lives of the people of Caerphilly who this time have decided to hold a week long Halloween Festival. For once the town has hired a festival organiser to run the activities while Meg is in charge of the Visitor Relations and Police Liaison Patrol, known to the locals as the Goblin Patrol. However as the festival begins more responsibility seems to be thrown Meg's way.

Strange events begin to occur in the town and it is soon disclosed that a scavenger hunt is being undertaken by some of the visitors. Then a body is found in the woods. As well as the need to discover the murderer there are a number of other matters to resolve to ensure the safety of the Festival visitors as well as the success of the Festival. As usual Meg's family rally around to to help, often in their own unique way. An enjoyable light summer read.

Tricky twenty-two

As the title suggests, this is the twenty-second title in the Stephanie Plum series of books written by Janet Evanovich. Although these books tend to follow a formula it is a formula that provides an entertaining read.

As usual there is an assortment of strange characters, cars are destroyed, Grandma Mazur continues to visit viewings at the funeral parlour, Stephanie's mother despairs of her daughter ever finding a decent job and a good partner while a large number of doughnuts are consumed. Stephanie finds herself in dangerous situations but fortunately, usually, has the back up from Ranger and Joe Morelli. In this book, however, her relationship with Joe appears to be at an end as he struggles with undisclosed problems and this forces Stephanie to also consider her future.

As a bounty hunter her job continues to introduce Stephanie to weird individuals and situations. The main plot-line is the search for Ken Globovic, a member of a fraternity at Kiltman College, who was accused of attacking the college dean of student. When Goltman goes into hiding, his being protected by fellow students make it more of a challenge to find him. However this is not the only problem as Doug Linken, who is associated with the college, is killed when Ranger is employed to protect Linken and his wife. There are many twists and turns as well as laughs as the story evolves.

A Dance with Jane Austen

This book is a gem. Susannah Fullerton has written A dance with Jane Austen; how a novelist and her characters went to the Ball.

Anyone who has read a Jane Austen novel will know how the characters enjoyed dancing. Apparently this enjoyment was shared by the Jane Austen and in this book Susannah Fullerton uses excerpts from Jane Austen's correspondence as well as examples from her books to explore customs relating to dance in Regency England.

Topics include chapters on learning to dance, choosing appropriate clothes for the occasion, means of transport to and from balls, Assembly balls, private balls, the etiquette of the ballroom, dancing and music, supper, conversation and courtship and men in the ballroom. There is also a section on how dance is used in Jane Austen films.

This well illustrated book is a useful companion to the works of Jane Austen and for those wanting to know more about the Regency period.

Instances of the Number 3

When working on the FutureLearn course on Hans Christian Andersen recently we were asked to consider the author's use of numbers in many of his stories, particularly the numbers 3 and 7. In the discussion on the forum this book by English novelist, Salley Vickers, was mentioned so I decided to borrow it from the library.

Peter Hansome is married to Bridget but also has a mistress, Frances. Both of the women know about the existence of the other but are not aware that Peter is on his way to visit another woman when he dies in a car accident. The book explores the lives of Bridget and Frances as they form a friendship of sorts after Peter's death. It looks at relationships and love and has as a major theme the need to know and understand oneself. Bridget loves the plays of Shakespeare and the poetry of John Donne and quotes from their writings appear throughout the novel. Frances works in a gallery and there are also references to art. The story primarily revolves around incidents during the first year after Peter's death but there are also descriptions of events that occurred before he died. Other characters appearing in the lives of the two women are Zahin -a friend of Peter's, Painter - a friend of Frances, Mickey - Bridget's neighbour and Stan - a friend of Bridget. Throughout the book there are discussions on religion (unknown to his wife, Peter had converted to Catholicism) and forgiveness. From time to time Peter's ghost appears observing the lives of the people he loved as they continue living without him.

This is a book that I wanted to continue to read. Although I worked out part of the plot before the outcome was revealed, it did not detract from my wanting to read the book to the end. I shall certainly look out for more books by Salley Vickers.

The cover of the edition of the book I read showed the Three Graces - part of the painting La Primavera by Botticelli.

Old Hobart Town and environs 1802-1855

Carolyn R Stone and Pamela Tyson collected selections from official reports and accounts of the settlement of Hobart which have been published with a collection of maps and early drawings and paintings depicting the new settlement. This volume, published in 1978, provides valuable information about the establishment of Hobart Town from the initial colony led by David Collins in 1804 until the end of transportation in 1853 and obtaining self government in 1855.

The first members of my family to live in Tasmania arrived from Norfolk Island in 1805. Consequently it is interesting to read the accounts of what the settlement would have been like when George Guest and his family arrived and how the town developed. Thomas William Birch arrived in the colony in 1808 and prospered as a merchant and land owner. In 1834 the merchant, George Mackillop, brought his family to Hobart Town and lived there for approximately six years before returning to the UK. Simeon Lord junior arrived in Tasmania in 1826, initially to look after some of his father's interests in the colony until developing his own enterprises in the state. Recently I was in Hobart for a week where I spent as much time as I could exploring the area where my ancestors once lived. It has therefore been interesting to read these early accounts comparing the descriptions in the book with the city of today.

I found looking at the maps and illustrations fascinating and there is also a select bibliography listing further reading. Hopefully I will find some of these titles in the State Library. All in all this book is a good introduction for anyone interested in the establishment of European settlement in Hobart.

World War I a history in 100 stories

In April / May this year Monash University ran an online course via FutureLearn. The course was World War I a history in 100 stories and it was also repeated later in the year. During the course we looked at stories illustrating the effects of war on participants and their families. The stories studied were short versions taken from a selection of 100 stories, researched by Bruce Scates, Rebecca Wheatley and Laura James, which have now been published in one volume.

Collectively the chosen stories portray the effects of war. However, as noted in the introduction, the collection is not truly representative, in a statistical sense, of the possible stories that could be told. The authors have perhaps over represented the stories of nurses and Indigenous Australians as these stories have often previously been under represented in other collections.

As well as looking at the direct effects of war, including death or being wounded, the stories look at lasting effects of war, both physically and mentally, as those returning from war tried to readjust to civilian life. Some did not succeed. Mourning and commemoration are themes examined in some of the stories.The work of women as nurses and in other support roles are also recorded in the book.

The book is illustrated and at the end of each section there is a section: Sources and Further Reading. These are only some of the stories that could be told about the effects of war on Australian and New Zealand families. The stories have been compiled from official records, other material in archives, newspapers and, in some cases, information from family members. The book is a welcome addition to the growing collection of material on Australia and World War I.