M & M 's

Two rather long series by two ladies with M names. Margaret Maron continues the adventures of Deborah Knott with "Winter's Child". I like this series, but can't say that the mystery is the most important thing. The development of the characters in the Knott family and the rural atmosphere of Dobbs, North Carolina keep me reading this series. It feels like the author is also more interested in moving the lives of the characters along than in the intriques that make their lives interesting. Ex-wives are not faring well as of late, in another series where I am awaiting the paperback of the latest book the author will also get rid of a wife to change the love interest dynamics.
Marcia Muller continues the Sharon McCone series (book 17?) with "Vanishing Point". Sharon, the San Francisco based PI, works the California scene. In this book Paso Robles, Davis, Crescent City and even an Oregon visit to Klamath Falls are all included - good thing Sharon learned to fly a small airplane many books ago. I really enjoy this series and have followed it for many years. The San Francisco/California connection is particularly satisfying. I was glad, however, that the case Sharon takes in this one is not as personal as the ones in many of the later books. Nice to know that she does do PI work for someone other than herself and her firm. As often happens reading the latest installment in a series is prompting a re-read - this time of the preceding book.

England, Michigan, and China Lake

I found an interesting book at the library. "Peripheral Vision" by Patricia Ferguson. She weaves a story through time from the 50's to the 90's. The characters seemingly have no connection with each other, but in the end they are distant cousins. I guess I'm not supposed to reveal the ending, but the connection isn't really the point, it is rather a literary device to talk about family, love, and just simply dealing with life. It was well worth reading. As indicated by the title of this posting the story takes place in England
Michigan is for William Kent Krueger's latest installment in the Cork O'Connor series, Copper River. The book is a direct continuation of the last book and, as expected, things do work out. Otherwise the series would be finished. Although Cork lives in Minnesota he is hiding from bounty hunters and ends up at his cousin's place in Michigan. I bought the book because I've been following the series, but the subsequent installments had better improve or I might stop buying this one.
I am moving backwards through Meg Gardiner's Evan Delany series. I read "Crosscut", partially to look for background for the previous book, but also because Evan and Co. are kind of interesting. Lots of action and unbelievable plot devices together with conspiracy theories make a mix that keeps you reading, but not necessarily registering the details. A high school reunion with lots of dead classmates sets the scene for unraveling the consequences of an event 15 years earlier on the naval base at China Lake.

Georgia and Florida

The South has dominated my reading this week. Karin Slaughter is back in Grant County with "Skin Privilege", that just come out. I couldn't wait and used my discount ticket at the English book shop to buy the book. Sara, Jeffery, and Lena are back and this book is even darker than any of the earlier ones (which is saying a lot). Slaughter does not pull her punches and the characters feel very, very real. But it is kind of scary as are a lot of the bad guys in the book. The ending was a shock (seldom happens anymore).
I picked up a new book by Joy Fielding, "Heartstopper", at the library. This is the Florida connection (although there are some short visits to Florida in Slaughter's book). This is the first book I've read by Fielding and I think that I may read more. She keeps several suspects in the reader's view and I didn't figure this one out until towards the end, which is a plus for me.

Bruce

Spent my 4th of July first at the steakhouse and then at the movies to see Die Hard 4.0.
A fun evening in the company of my two kids and their pal, Paco. Except for the F35 scene the movie was fun and moved right along. It was a bit strange to see Warren Cheswick in a likable roll. The nerds were pretty good, especially "Warlock". Nice to see that the terrorists did not follow the stereotyped expectations.

Minnesota and L.A.

Here it is the middle of the summer and I put a picture of a snowman in my blogg. Well it is to signify that I have just read "Snow Blind" by P.J. Tracy. The bodies get hidden inside of snowmen (on skis or fishing). I've read som reader reviews on Amazon and most had the same opinion as I do. An enjoyable read, with a fun new character - a school teacher turned sheriff of a small Minnesota county, but way too little of the monkeewrench gang. The foursome computer group have been interesting characters in previous books, but in this one there is no development of their characters and unfortunately the play a very minor role.
I have also read "The Overlook" by Michael Connelly, a novella with old friend Harry Bosch. It was about a putative terror plan that was no more than the wife and the Fed. Hope I didn't ruin the book for anyone! Because the book was short, I missed the usual twists and turns as well as a usually more contemplative Harry. I guess I payed attention because I took the trivia test on Connelly's website and got all the answers right.