Murder in G Major

Title: Murder in G Major

Author: Alexia Gordon [Website][Twitter][Facebook]; Read by Jessica Carroll [IMDb]

Publisher: Dreamscape

Series: Gethsemane Brown Mystery, Bk 1

ISBN: 9781520063850

Length: 7 discs ; 8 hours and 10 minutes

Obtained: Library audiobook copy

Why this book?:

It had good reviews in the professional magazines/journals, so I decided to try it for our collection and myself.

Comments:

I started off with some issues with the narrator.  She is British with a British accent.  While this not normally an issue, Gethsemane Brown is an American.  And while Jessica Carroll has an okay generic American accent, it was INCREDIBLY distracting to hear an American thinking in a British accent.  It caused a huge disconnect.  The other issue I had was several of the men had high pitched voices, so I had to hear the pronouns a few times before I registered that the characters were male.  (Thankfully, ghost Eamon McCarthy had a satisfactorily deep voice.)  So that was my initial response.  (I wish I could find the review, but those magazines/journals tend to pile up and it could be from one of 3-4 titles covering a span of about 3 months.)

Eventually, I was dragged into the story because I was enjoying the story. I zipped trhough quite a bit of this, listening on all my commuting, and my lunch, and so forth.  And then the END happened.  And I was furious! It was a cliffhanger!  Oh, the general mystery was solved, but who cares about that when this happened!  And the next one isn't due out until JULY! (Though, at least it's less than a year.)  So I went into a reading funk for days.  Stupid cliffhanger.  Be warned.

NOTE: This was listed to months ago.  July was several months away not here.

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches

Title: The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches

Author: Alan Bradley [Website][Facebook]; Read by Jayne Entwistle [Website][Audiofile][Twitter]

Publisher: Random House Audio

Series: Flavia de Luce, Bk 6

ISBN: 9780307879851

Length: 7 discs ; 8 hours

Obtained: Library audiobook copy

Why this book?:

I needed an audiobook.  This is a series I have been following, and I enjoy Jayne's narration.

Comments:

Something about this book dragged for me.  I think it started with the time between when I finished book 5 and when I started this.  But also, the book had a different feel to me.  Flavia, while still exhibiting the same spunk, was distracted.  Her distraction and sorrow and so forth, seemed to detract from my own enjoyment somehow.  It took me months, with large spells of listening to other materials before I finished the book.  However, I did, and hopefully, while seemingly in new circumstances, book 7 will pick up the feel I have so enjoyed and appreciated.  I hope Flavia's maturing is not TOO speedy.

Vanishing Games

Title: Vanishing Games

Author: Roger Hobbs [Website][Facebook][Twitter] ; Read by Jake Weber [IMDb]

Publisher: Books on Tape (Random House)

Series: Ghostman, Bk 2

ISBN: 9781101888360

Length: 9 discs ; approximately 11 hours

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book?:

This book needed the circs and seemed up my alley, so I listened to the first book, Ghostman.  Then I could listen to this one.

Comments:

Like the first book, this one has some very graphic violence.  Such as beheading with wire contraptions (that they also had on the TV show Quantico, so I was able to test how my imagination held up to a visual demonstration.)

Jack's mentor Angela has finally contacted him after a 6 year stretch of silence.  After 6 years of not knowing whether someone is dead or alive, do you trust them?  Especially when you trust no one?  And how do you get out of a mess when you have multiple enemies after you, you don't know who any of them are, and they seem to know much more about you?

Why you do what you've trained to do, you be a ghostman, becoming someone new and different in seconds.  Different name, posture and bearing, voice and background...  For me, these transformations are one of the most interesting parts of these stories.

Book three, City of Sirens, is due out in 2018.  A bit of a wait, and with my track record, this gap makes continuing the series iffy.  I'm just now listening to an audiobook that, when I read it's predecessor, I said I couldn't wait for... in 2013.  However, story-wise, I'm definitely interested to hear more of Jack and his adventures.

Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War

Title: Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War

Author: Mary Roach [Website][Twitter] ; Read by Abby Elvidge [Website][Facebook][Twitter]

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

ISBN: 9781511367912

Length: 7 discs ; 8 hours, 57 minutes

Obtained: Library audiobook copy

Why this book?:

I enjoyed Stiff and it sounded interesting.  But I knew I wanted to listen rather than read the print.  Then a coworker did a book talk in an adult services meeting and I was glad I already had it on hold.

Comments:

Mary has a great sense of humor and a quirky outlook that makes delving into details you'd likely never consider on your own fascinating.  Every once and awhile I would realize I had drifted (usually related to things being crazy IRL), but I found the majority of the book intriguing. I could definitely tell the narrator was different from the first book I listened to by Mary, Stiff. This is something that generally throws me, but I quickly moved on and felt the voice suited the book.

Oh, the subjects discussed.  Clothing, sleep deprivation, reconstructive surgery, diarrhea, entomology & medical maggots, hearing loss, sharks & submarines survival, odor (stink bombs), field medicine ... the list goes on.  It's hard to imagine this collection in one book, but it all falls under Mary's research on "the curious science of war."

I'll definitely listen to more of Mary's work.  And I think I may be gravitating toward more popular science in the future as well.

The Zoo at the Edge of the World

Title: The Zoo at the Edge of the World

Author: Eric Kahn Gale [Facebook][Twitter] ; Read by Julian Elfer [Website][IMDb]

Publisher: Recorded Books

ISBN: 9781490658766

Length: 4 discs ; 4.75 hours

Obtained: Library audiobook copy

Why this book?:

Sounding interesting.  Especially the zoo aspect.

Comments:

Marlin has a stutter that makes him much more comfortable with animals than people.  When Marlin's famous explorer father brings a jaguar into the zoo there's a sudden upheaval within Marlin's life.  This was an interesting story.  I definitely predicted some major events, but other aspects surprised me.  Some issues addressed are: wild vs civilization, treatment of native people and colonialism, family relations, bullying and self-confidence, differences and likenesses in beings, socioeconomic structures, etc.

Trailer:

The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life

Title: The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life

Author: Anu Partanen [Website][Facebook][Twitter] ; Read by Abby Craden [Website][Audiofile][IMDb][Facebook]

Publisher: HarperCollins

ISBN:  9780062643186

Length: 10 hours, 28 minutes

Obtained:  Library downloadable audio copy

Why this book?:

I saw it - somewhere (maybe a professional journal?), it caught my interest, and I requested it in audio on OverDrive.  (I do non-fiction better in audio.  Print non-fiction tends to come in the house, never get read, and leave with regretful thoughts of "next time, maybe")

Comments:

Overall, I thought this book was interesting and though-provoking.  I was especially interested in the education and parenting aspects, but had no trouble listening to the sections on individual-business-government relationships, employee benefits, health care, taxation, etc.  Several parts of the book were certainly repetitive, but I was able to deal with that.  I was left with the thoughts, "Okay so this, this, and this could be better, but what am I supposed to be able to do about that?"

Narration, by the way, was good.  The various quotes started to sound similar, with one or two men's voices and a couple women's voices, but that was okay, because the bulk of the book - Anu Partanen's words - were easy listening.

Grimm's Fairy Tales

Title: Grimm's Fairy Tales

Author: Jacob Grimm [Bio.] & Wilhelm Grimm [Bio.]

Read by:

Katherine Kellgren [Audiofile][Facebook][Twitter]
January LaVoy [Website][Audiofile][Twitter]
Simon Vance [Website][Audiofile][Facebook][Twitter]
Grover Gardner [Website][Audiofile]
Kate Rudd [Website][Audiofile][Facebook]
Jim Dale [Website][Audiofile]
Alfred Molina [Audiofile][Twitter]
Janis Ian [Website][Facebook][Twitter]
Graeme Malcolm [Audiofile]
Scott Brick [Website][Audiofile][Facebook][Twitter]
Bahni Turpin [Audiofile][Facebook][Twitter]
Davina Porter [Audiofile]
Dion Graham [Audiofile]
Edoardo Ballerini [Website][Audiofile][Facebook][Twitter]
Jayne Entwistle [Website][Audiofile][Twitter]
Luke Daniels [Website][Facebook][Twitter]
Roy Dotrice [Website]
Julia Whelan [Website][Audiofile][Facebook]
Kirby Heyborne [Website][Audiofile][Facebook][Twitter]
Mark Bramhall [Website][Audiofile][Twitter]
Robin Miles [Website][Audiofile][Facebook][Twitter]

Publisher: Listening Library (Random House)

ISBN: 9780147526380

Length: 3 discs ; 3 hours, 38 minutes

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book?:

I already have an interest in fairy tales.  But also this received WONDERFUL reviews and is performed by an award-winning cast.

Comments:

I haven't ever read the actual Grimm Fairy Tales.  I'm more familiar with other variations (particularly Disney, but also others).  I was not familiar with all the tales and especially all the actual details and endings.  I found them fascinating, especially the gruesome bits.  I'd really like to read (or preferably listen to) the rest, as these are a selection from The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales (though unabridged in the telling of the stories chosen).  I was especially interested in some of the variations ("The Twelve Brothers" and "The Six Swans", for instance).

As for the narration - it definitely lived up to the hype, for which I am exceedingly pleased.

I didn't get a chance to listen to this with the kiddos, and it has holds.  But perhaps I'll check it out again to share with the kiddos.

Ghostman

Title: Ghostman

Author: Roger Hobbs [Website][Facebook][Twitter] ; Read by Jake Weber [IMDb]

Publisher: Books on Tape (Random House)

Series: Ghostman, Bk 1

ISBN: 9780385361767

Length: 10 discs ; 11 hours, 52 minutes

Why this book?:

The second audiobook, Vanishing Games, hadn't circulated yet.  And has a thief in it.  But I couldn't listen to that one without listening to this one.  Plus, it filled the "Title with one word" box on my Summer Reading Bingo Sheet.

Comments:

First on the narration... My very first thought was, ugh.  I don't like this.  It's too gritty and reminds me of my vague memories of the David Baldacci book I listened too (True Blue, narrated by Ron McLarty and listened to in 2012).  So I looked at the back of the case, saw that the narrator, Jake Weber, is the same guy who played the husband in Medium, and decided to be more tolerant.  And that changed everything, because I quickly became involved in the story, and the voice turns out to be perfect for the character Jack.

Now, this story is certainly gritty.  It's extremely graphic with every description of blood and gore.  Some of the violence, described in detail, was horrifying. (In particular, there was a description of the murder of a child that still makes my stomach churn remembering it.  I want to use words like cruel and merciless.  I understand any murder of a child could be described using these words, but this one included torture and ... ugh).  And the descriptions of the guns, etc. made me feel like I was listening to another sniper book.  

But I was caught up in how Jack was going to come out of this mess alive and on top (because surely he would).  I was not so enthralled with the background story (set 5 years ago and interspersed with the current story), but it certainly served a purpose explaining what strings held Jack and kept him from being the free agent and ghostman he intended to be.

Anyway, I ended up listening to it straight through, finishing it pretty quickly as far as audiobooks go (though I mostly kept to just actual driving time and didn't sit in the car for hours at a time just to listen).  I intend to listen to the next book, Vanishing Games, but I have a bit of a pile with audiobooks right now, so it may not be as soon as hoped.

in a dark, dark wood

Title: in a dark, dark wood

Author: Ruth Ware [Twitter][Facebook]; Read by Imogen Church [Website][Twitter][IMDb]

Publisher: Simon &Schuster Audio

ISBN: 9781442390515

Length: 8 discs ; 9 hours

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book?:

I selected the audio of this title for the collection because it was well-reviewed in my professional magazine.  My reasons for choosing it to listen to were slightly different.  I was going over audiobook titles recently added to the collection that hadn't circulated yet, and this was on that list.  It especially caught my interest because the co-worker with the desk to the right of mine has had the ARC of the print sitting right where our desks meet for FOREVER, and I've had plenty of time to stare at and mull over the cover and title.  So I'm saying to myself (internally), "This is a well-reviewed book that looks intriguing?  Why isn't anyone checking it out? Well, if they won't, I will!".  I promptly placed a hold on it, and checked it out as soon as it came in (though I couldn't start listening until I finished Career of Evil).

Trailer:

Comments:

This is a very gripping tale.  I listened to the audiobook straight through every time I drove anywhere (unless I had passengers) as well as spending a few hours just sitting parked listening to it.  The suspense builds so I wanted to know what was going on, even when parts seemed strange.

Imogen Church did well with the narration and creating mostly distinct voices, including some that suited different areas of Britain (not that I'd recognize if they were inaccurate.  I just know they were different and sounded good.).  Nora (Leonora) - who is narrating the story - was definitely my preferred voice as it was soft and easy to listen to.  I don't think I could have managed listening to too much of the character Flo, for instance.

While I liked Nora and was rooting for things to work out for her, she did seem to loose her backbone when it came to Clare (the "hen").  Apparently distance and time hadn't done much good in that area.  I can't go too much into the story because I don't want spoilers.  I did pick up on certain events sooner than Nora at the very end, but much of it was just as much a blank to me as it was to Nora until she gradually unraveled it.  She has a secret she keeps for the bulk of the book, from both the other characters and the reader, and such a deal was made of it that I way over-thought it.  By the time it was revealed, I'm all "Duh, Jo.  That was an obvious possibility.  You couldn't think of that?"

Between this book and Career of Evil, the language was rough enough, often enough that by the time I finished the book I had to mentally censor myself when words I wouldn't normally use were within reach of my tongue.

Career of Evil

Title: Career of Evil

Author: Robert Galbraith [Website] aka J. K. Rowling [Website] aka Joanne Rowling ; Read by Robert Glenister [IMDb]

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Series: Cormoran Strike, Bk 3

ISBN: 9781478962663

Length: 15 discs ; 17 hours

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book?:
I've been enjoying the series.

Comments:

Robin's getting married.  Or is she?  I can't say this was my favorite thread of the storyline, but it was certainly part of it.  We also learn more about her past, which adds to her character, but makes quite the contrast from when she is being strong and overcoming vs. when she feels weak and is losing herself to the horror in her life.

And then there were the men who could potentially be out for Strike.  They had all done horrible things, particularly to women.  I'm sure the title can be taken multiple ways, but whenever I reflected on it I thought of how Cormoran Strike's career had brought him into contact with such evil.

Anyway, this one book me a while to get through, but certainly picked up quite a bit toward the end.  There was one scene in particular that had me in knots.  The adrenaline and nerves were so strong I found myself thinking I probably shouldn't have been driving.

First Impressions: A Novel of Old Books, Unexpected Love, and Jane Austen

READ IN 2015

Title: First Impressions: A Novel of Old Books, Unexpected Love, and Jane Austen

Author: Charlie Lovett [Website][Facebook][Twitter]; Read by Jayne Entwistle [Website][Twitter]

Publisher: Books on Tape General Fiction

ISBN: 9780553546576

Length: 9 discs ; Approx. 11 hours

Obtained: Library Audiobook Copy

Why this book?:

Read a review in a professional journal.  Was intrigued.

Comments:

Despite the narrator being a favorite of mine from the Flavia de Luce series, and despite being a book centered around books, I had some trouble really getting into this.  It was okay, I just didn't fall in love with it.  And that's what lingers in the time that has passed since listening to it.

Letters from Skye

Title: Letters from Skye

Author: Jessica Brockmole [Website][Facebook][Twitter] ; Read by Elle Newlands [IMDb][Twitter], Katy Townsend [Website][IMDb][Twitter], Lincoln Hoppe [Website][IMDb][Facebook][Twitter], Adam Alexi-Malle [IMDb][Facebook], and Guy Burnet [Website][IMDb]

Publisher: Books on Tape

ISBN: 9780385367646

Length: Approx. 8 hrs ; 7 discs

Obtained: Library audiobook copy

Why this book?:

For my book discussion, but also because I've been wanting to read it since I first heard about it before publication.

Comments:

I have to say, I am so glad I read this in audio format - despite being a bit more romance than I prefer with my audiobooks.  Because the accents/voices  were GREAT.  I haven't listened to many multi-narrated books, but I loved how each character had their own voice.  They were very distinct and came to life in my mind.

I had mixed feelings about this story.  I had some moral issues with it, but beyond that it was nice.  At first every time Margaret's story came up I was eager to get back to Elspeth, but by the time Elspeth "disappeared" I was really into Margaret's side of the story.

Anyway, glad I listened to this.

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

Title: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

Author: Mary Roach [Website][Twitter] ; Read by: Shelly Frasier [Tantor][IMDb]

Publisher: W.W. Norton and Company / Tantor Audio

ISBN:  9780393050936 / 9781400100972

Length: 303 pages / 7 discs ; 8 hours

Obtained: Library copies (print from book kit, audio individually checked out)

Why this book?:

Started for my book discussion.

Comments:

As I read this book for my discussion I found it to be amusing and interesting in turn.  But like so many nonfiction books I didn't finish it quickly.  I did want to finish it though, so I decided audio may work better and checked that out.  Surprisingly, the audio took longer for me to get into - I don't know whether not all the sidebars were coming through or if it was the chapter being read in question, or if just took me a bit to be in the right mind frame and adjust.  Whatever the case, it did pick back up.  I ended up enjoying it.

The Grimm Legacy

Title: The Grimm Legacy

Author: Polly Shulman [Website][Twitter][Facebook]; Read by Julia Whelan [Website][IMDb][Facebook]

Publisher: Dreamscape Media (Penguin)

Series: Depository, Bk 1

ISBN: 9781624068454

Length: 8 discs ; 9 hours, 19 minutes

Obtained: Library audiobook copy

Why this book?:

I've had a thing for all things Grimm lately.

Comments:

I typed this up once and lost it, so I hope I remember everything I wanted to say...

I liked Elizabeth as well as Aaron and Jaya.  Marc and Anjali annoyed me in their disregard for the rules, but I guess they were okay outside of that.  I don't know if it's because I'm getting older, or if it's like this for anyone reading the book, but I was just about pulling out my hair wanting them to just TELL AN ADULT.  Really, I'm all for the kids solving things, and when the adults are oppressive or don't believe you of course the characters need to act anyway.  But this just didn't feel like one of those situations.

Anyway, beyond those bits of frustration, I really enjoyed this story.  I loved hearing the fairy tales and the idea of artifacts really holding the power told of in said fairy tales.  Several of the fairy tales were unfamiliar to me, and I think I need to read me some Grimm brothers (I never actually have).

The ending was my favorite part, to the point that I actually re-listened to the last disc a few days after finishing the book.  I've since started the second book, The Wells Bequest, and while I'm sorry it does not focus on Elizabeth and Aaron (Jaya is a featured character though), I still expect it to be a fun book.

The Homesman

Title: The Homesman

Author: Glendon Swarthout [Website][Website Part 2][IMDb]; Read by Candace Thaxton [IMDb][acx] aka Candace Thompson [Website][Resume][Twitter]

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Audio

ISBN: 9781442371613

Length: 8 hours ; 8 discs

Obtained: Library audiobook copy

Why this book?:
This one had caught my interest when I ordered it for the library.  So when I needed to find an audiobook quickly, and this one was available...

Comments:

I hadn't really read much of the description, so I was pretty shocked and horrified early on during the story.  At the same time, between the description and presentation I was quickly caught up in the story.  Candace Thaxton did a great job with a variety of voices both male and female.  And the descriptions, which normally I find boring or distracting, were interesting and also well presented.

Living in the west in the 1850s is hard, and not everybody can handle it.  When a woman suffers hardship beyond her breaking point, the best solution (there being no asylums) is for someone to take them back east where they can be cared for by family.  The someone responsible for getting them there?  That is the "homesman."  This most recent winter has been very difficult, with 4 women needing to go back.  And no one is ready to step up for the job except Mary Bee Cuddy (and the fellow she convinces to help her).

As the story continues, the dangers also continue, as do the shocking revelations and reactions.  Everything just seems to spiral, with a deep look not only into the realities of the time, but also into the fragility of mental health and the good and bad sides of mankind.  As with reality, the close of the story doesn't necessarily make for a happy ending.

Was this worth reading?  Definitely.  And the audiobook format suited it well.  But if you're looking for a feel good book, this is not it.

The Silkworm

Title: The Silkworm

Author: Robert Galbraith [Website] aka J. K. Rowling [Website] aka Joanne Rowling ; Read by Robert Glenister [IMDb]

Publisher: Hachette Audio / Mulholland Books

Series: Cormoran Strike, Bk 2

ISBN: 9781478980902

Length: 14 discs ; 17.5 hours

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book?:

I read and enjoyed the first.  I wanted more of Cormoran and Robin.

Comments:

So I switched to audio format for this one.  It's not something I usually do, but the downloadable audio was the first available. Then it expired before I finished.  I tried to read the print book (which came next), but now that I had started it in audio, I needed to finish it that way.  By the time the Audio CD version came to me I didn't remember where I had left off.  I skimmed (listened here and there) my way through discs 4 - 11 before I found where I had actually left off.  In other words, my reading experience was a bit different.

Anyway, in this book Strike is still getting semi-regular business from the commotion the Lula Landry case created (see The Cuckoo's Calling).  But he's not really interested in it until Leonora Quine comes in wanting him to find her husband.  This brings him into the publishing world.  And what a crazy view of the publishing world it is... I hope it's as fictional as the murder mystery.

Robin is still tweaking her role in Strike's firm.  Which is fine as long as it goes the way I want it to.  Which is her being an irreplaceable part of his business.  Though I have to say, both Strike and Robin need to work on their communication skills.  I feel a little silly for speaking of them as if they are real, but that's the sign of good characters, right?

Great characters, fine mystery... I look forward to book 3, and am so excited to know more are expected.  Now I just have to figure out if I'm going back to print or sticking with audio.  Speaking of which, the narrator did a great job with the many characters.

The Beautiful Mystery

Title: The Beautiful Mystery

Author: Louise Penny ; Read by Ralph Cosham (IMDB) (AudioFile)

Publisher: Macmillian Audio

Series: Chief Inspector Armand Gamache / Three Pines Mystery, Bk 8

ISBN: 9781427226099

Length: 11 discs; 13.5 hours

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book?:

It's the next in the series, and I'm getting behind.  It qualifies for the 8th annual Canadian Book Challenge.

Comments:

Oh, Beauvoir! ::sigh:: Deep breath in, deep breath out.  Have I mentioned how I hate addiction?

Anyway, Gamache and Beauvoir go to a secluded and hidden monastery in the depths of Quebec where one of the monks has been murdered.  This order, long thought gone, has recently exposed itself by way of a recording of their Gregorian (plain) chant.  Apparently this caused a rift among the brotherhood that leaves Gamache and Beauvoir suspecting every one of those left surviving.  Which, of course, means the reader is also left with suspicions - even if you have formed theories along the way.

Beyond the mystery, the book offers and intriguing look into both the chant (which I find lovely though perhaps not in such a religious light) and what a small group of men cut off from the world need to sustain themselves.  One is a doctor, one is a engineer sort, one is excellent with the animals, another with the plumbing.  They garden, sing and worship together.  It was all a very interesting look at the social structure, which is actually right up my alley considering my education in sociology.

I have a few other audiobooks to listen to, but once I've finished those I'll be listening to the next book in this series, How the Light Gets In.

The Bad Beginning

Title: The Bad Beginning

Author: Lemony Snicket [Website] [Website 2][Facebook] aka Daniel Handler [Steven Barclay Agency][IMDb]; Read by Tim Curry [Website][IMDb]

Publisher: Listening Library

Series: Series of Unfortunate Events, Bk 1

ISBN: 0807219908

Length: 3 hours and 17 minutes (Features Interview with the Author)

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book?:

I'd been meaning to start this series for some time.  But I was researching great audiobooks for family road trips (for work), and this was recommended.  And I wanted to be sure the discs were in good playable condition.  So I started it as a test and ended up listening to it all the way through.

Comments:

I enjoyed this on multiple levels.  I enjoyed how vocab and phrases were both used and explained (something like: "[word] in this case meaning [explanation]").  The events in the story itself were pretty dark and had my stomach in knots because the reader is as helpless as the Baudelaire children (or more so).  This most certainly made the story more enthralling and involved.

Regarding the reading, I found Mr. Poe's continuous hacking quite annoying, but I guess that is part of the story and character. Tim Curry did a great job of catching the feel and voice of the story.

I look forward to reading more of the series. And of course it will have to be in audio.

A Trick of the Light

Title: A Trick of the Light

Author: Louise Penny ; Read by Ralph Cosham (IMDB) (AudioFile)

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Series: Chief Inspector Armand Gamache / Three Pines Mystery, Bk 7

ISBN: 9781427213204

Length: 9 discs; 13 hours

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book?:

It's the next in the series.  There's another coming out soon and I hope to catch up.

Comments:

There's been another murder in Three Pines.  In Clara Morrow's garden, no less.  But does it have something to do with art?  Something to do with Clara?  Or is it something else altogether?

So this book addresses the subject of addiction.  You may know by now that addiction is not a favorite topic.  It bothers and frustrates me on so many levels.

But of course addiction isn't the only topic of discussion in this book.  Also brought out are faith, hope, change, jealousy, despair, relationships.  Really when it comes to the span of human emotions, characteristics, and conditions, Louise Penny seems to hit most of them.

Anyway, regarding the characters...

Peter and Clara are having a rough time, but I have hope for them.

Olivier is adjusting to being free and back in Three Pines.  And it is an adjustment for him and everyone around him.

And Beauvoir.  Oh Beauvoir.  Why'd he have to be like that?  Why's he have to go from being a favorite to what he is in this book.  I was so aggravated with his character in this book.

Anyway, I've already started the next book, The Beautiful Mystery.

Bury Your Dead

Title: Bury Your Dead

Author: Louise Penny ; Read by Ralph Cosham (IMDB) (AudioFile)

Publisher: Macmillian Audio

Series: Chief Inspector Armand Gamache / Three Pines Mystery, Bk 6

ISBN: 9781427210715

Length: 10 discs ; 13 hours (Includes interview with the author)

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book?:

It's the next in the series, it fits The 7th annual Canadian Book Challenge, and I wanted to know what happened after the way the last book in the series ended.

Comments:

This book was full of drama with 3 different cases being looked into.  I was interested in all three for different reasons, but I'm not sure how to discuss them without giving too much away. 

One of the mysteries was the case Gamache was actively assisting with.  A case that involved a literary and historical society (referred to as the Lit and His - pronounced Hiss). 

I assure you this is one of the aspects that intrigued me.  It was a library.  It was a historical society.  It brought another look into the Quebec French/English relations - something I know practically nothing about outside of this series. 

And Gamache was able to take Henri (his dog) practically everywhere!  I found that constantly intriguing.  I learned in high school French classes that in France dogs are allowed where they never would be in the U.S. (minus assistance dogs).  But I didn't know this was true for Quebec, and even if I had known... He took his dog to the library!  I would love to take my sister's dog to the library/post office/etc.

Another of the mysteries was not necessarily new, but looked at from a new perspective.  I have to say, throughout this part of the mystery I really found myself liking Beauvoir (I suppose I've grown to like him more as each book progresses, but this part was a spike on an otherwise slight incline).  Something about how he was handling the situation...

The third mystery going on throughout was a flashback sort of thing.  By far the most suspenseful and dramatic of the three, this was the story line that evoked more emotionally. 

And that being said, Bury Your Dead is one of the best in the series for me.

Audio sample:



Interview with author from end of book: