BHL

May Be Best Series of Its Kind

Revisado: 11-11-24

This particular story may lag a bit but spending extra moments with these familiar characters is not begrudged. With his wisdom and wit and sense of justice, David (DC) Smith belongs in the pantheon of modern fictional detectives along with Gamache and Brunetti. Jackson Gildart's phrasing is brilliant.

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Rich and Touching

Revisado: 03-15-23

Beautiful. Chekhov couldn't do it better. This is the first I have read of Keegan's work but I am a fan.

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One, Two, Three .... Out

Revisado: 01-31-23

I am with those who say this is a very disappointing effort in a series we have loved. The plot is chaotic and full of unnecessary coincidences and too many atrocious murders. Where is the magical realism? I miss the poetry and insights into the quirkiness of the continuing characters. If there is no where else to take them, leave them now, Ms. Penney, in a crime-free, peaceful Three Pines. I'll stick with you because I was hooked on Gamache and friends long ago, but please don't waste my time with the next one. I expect better.

As for the narration, Robert Bathurst has a wonderful deep, authoritative male ("Gamache-type") voice but, as pointed out by others, his female voices are atrocious. I will overlook his attempts if the characters have something important to say.

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Outstanding Historical Fiction

Revisado: 11-13-17

We just returned from a trip to the Netherlands and Belgium and loved the old city Bruges. Somewhere I saw a reference to this book, Niccolo Rising by Dorothy Dunnett. Of course it helps that we were just there where we walked the narrow Medieval streets and boated the picturesque canals but I am enchanted. This woman can write, knows her history and can tell a story. This is the first in a series opening in the 1460s involving "Niccolo," the apprentice, otherwise known as Claes or Nicholaes. Niccolo isn't what he seems and does a fine job of rising beyond his station and sowing intrigue wherever he goes. Sometimes his adventures are so complicated, I have to rewind and listen a couple of times to understand what his deal is. Dunnett has a fan base and reviews of her works are consistently glowing. One reviewer compared enthusiasm for Dunnett's books with the Elena Ferrante phenomenon. The next thing I know I'll be joining the Dorothy Dunnett Society and buying the two volume companions to her works! The challenge so far is well worth it, I think. What took me so long to discover her?

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A Lush Life - Lived in a Hotel

Revisado: 04-24-17

There are many favorable reviews and highly positive ratings for this book so I don't need to repeat what has already been said but this book was so good that I had to put in a word. I read the author's earlier novel, Rules of Civility. I found it a bit stilted and a not so original story about the New York elite of the 1930s so I wasn't so quick to pick this one up. I am happy that I did. This one is indeed original and is funny, sad, and full of interesting characters. The narration is great too and made for one of the best audiobooks that I've encountered.

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Yes, A Life Well Lived

Revisado: 09-06-16

Me read a book on surfing? Really? I picked it up because it has received such good reviews, got a Pulitzer Prize, etc. Early on I was struck wondering how could someone who lived through the same American decades as I did (he is one year younger) have experienced a life so incredibly different? My female, land bound, cautious, dutiful life bears little in common to his coastal-bred, free and independent spirit .... but that is the point. I was led to ponder how much life choices within the constraints of our environment, social and physical, shape and lead us to diverge in so many different arcs as human beings. Of course, Finnegan does go on a lot about surfing culture and technology and teaches us some oceanography and meteorology, which in parts was a slog (hence my unwillingness to give him five stars). But the most satisfying read, at the end of the book, of course, is the period of self-realization after nearly fifty years of pursuing a personal, often very selfish passion, when he arrives at good places of love and happiness. What a great ride it has been for Finnegan, and for me, each in our own, very fortunate ways! I wish I could tell my much less interesting story as well, whether written or spoken.

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The 7th Guilty Pleasure

Revisado: 09-06-16

This series satisfies my need for a guilty pleasure between more challenging reads. What places it a notch above the usual formulaic mystery/romance is that Harris writes well and develops attractive characters who change and grow from book to book. Also, the reader, Davinia Porter, never disappoints. In a novel full of dialogue, her voices for each character, male and female, young and old, are distinct and credible. Yes, the main characters survive tight spots a little too easily by single-handedly killing off their attackers and, yes, the somewhat complex plots stretch belief, but where most series lag by number seven, the author leaves enough intriguing unfinished business in When Maidens Mourn to make me want to skip reading challenges and blitz the remaining titles in the series.

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Addictive Formula Conquers All

Revisado: 03-31-16

This is Donna Leon's 25th Brunetti and I've read them all. Yes, the stories are formulaic and predictable but if you are in love with Guido, his family, his associates and especially Venice, well .... yes. Love does conquer all, even a weak plot. An annual visit to savor Paula's cooking, admire a stylish get-up worn by Senora Eletra, or catch a glimpse of the Dolomites is well worth the Audible credit and several hours of my time. One Audible reviewer complained that she tried it and didn't like it. I'd say go back to #1, read a few more, and if you aren't charmed long, long before this one, scratch Venice off of your travel itineraries. Besides, David Colacci is the perfect narrator for this series .... as good as a singing gondolier!

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2nd in Series with Developing Characters & Story

Revisado: 01-29-16

Wow! Denise Mina was a nice discovery for me. Her writing is literate and descriptive and she is especially interested in developing complex characters. In this series, a police procedural, the main character, Alex Morrow, navigates many worlds including that of the police, a grieving but comforting home, a Glasgow full of baggage from a dysfunctional upbringing, and an array of victims, suspects and perpetrators of each plausible case. The plots are realistic and are sprinkled with surprises and twists. Other reviewers compare her to the best - Kate Atkinson, P.D. James, Ruth Rendell - and I concur ... I look forward to watching Alex and her companion characters grow in many future books ....

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Disappointed.

Revisado: 01-29-16

I don't understand how this book ended up on so many of the "Best of 2015" book lists. I struggled to finish it, and when I did, I felt I had limited understanding of T. H. White, hawking and MacDonald herself. Any reader who has suffered the loss of a beloved father (as I did recently) will empathize with her movement through the grievance process and her honesty about her emotions (often grumpy and lonely) and less than admirable actions (references to cigarettes and poaching) but it becomes tiresome ... I can accept that she anthropomorphizes her goshawk but the thread of her grief gets lost in other stories, particularly that of White's, which doesn't really parallel her own, including her superior knowledge of hawking, and the references to falconry books that an aspiring hawker may read on his/her own.

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