The Diplomat's Wife by Pam Jenoff

"I mean, it's a lot to deal with, I know. I killed a man."
"You killed a Nazi," he corrects me. "To save your best friend."
"Sometimes it doesn't feel like that." I burst into tears.

Title: The Diplomat's Wife
Author: Pam Jenoff
ISBN: 9780778325123
Publisher: Mira Books/2008
Pages: 360

The Diplomat's Wife is a follow-up novel of  The Kommandant's Girl. The war is over and Marta Nedermann is trying to pick up the pieces. Paul, an American Soldier has come to free her from the prison. They fall for each other, plan to meet in London, and then get married to each other. However, Paul dies before they can meet and Marta marries a diplomat when she discovers she is pregnant. 

Her marriage is comfortable if not passionate. Two years later, there are more political changes. Communist loyalists have infiltrated British intelligence and there is one person in Marta's past who can help identify them. Marta goes back revisit her past and meets a few presumed to be dead. Her life is changed after that. 

This novel speaks of times after the war, in the time of peace. People find it hard to find love and difficult to adjust. The bodies might have healed but minds and emotions still are in a limbo. I found that the novel glossed over at times and did not cover the real hardships although it touched the issues. There are surprises but that didn't do much for the novel. It covered the period after the WWII and that redeems it.

A Deadly Waltz (Victorian Gothic Mysteries) by Sophia Queen

Next, she unpacked her chemicals, lab equipment and agency correspondence materials. She pushed these materials against the far wall beneath her bed and placed her emptied travel bags in front of them. Not the most secured hiding place, but it was the best she could do at the moment.

A Deadly Waltz by Sophia Queen

Karina Rouelle joins an all-female investigative agency. For her first assignment she poses as a governess  and goes to Westford castle. The Countess of Westford had died mysteriously and Lord Sebastien Blackwell is the top suspect for the death of his wife. Now Karina too is on a run from an arranged marriage to a deranged man. She does not wish to be found by her greedy uncle. 

With secret passages and unknown sounds, the castle has too many secrets. Even the investigative agency has a secret head. Karina is right in the midst of it all. Things get worse when Sebastien asks her to be his escort to escape the hordes of female admirers. Karina is attracted to cursed, dark lord. 

With twists, turns and the gothic element, this is more of a suspense than a romance. Karina comes out to be a very strong personality. She has the right knowledge of science to experiment with chemicals, and also can wield a knife or a gun. She is not afraid of secret passages, chambers or the sounds. She goes right in it to investigate. 

The secondary characters too are well drawn and the mystery element is held right to the end.

A Dark Redemption by Stav Sherez

He got to the bridge where his childhood friend leapt from, his body lost in the current, and went into a newsagent where he bought ten Camels and a lighter. 

Title: A Dark Redemption
Author: Stav Sherez
ISBN: 9780571244867
Publisher: Faber & Faber/2012
Pages: 384

Uganda. An unlikely place to visit. But three freshly graduated males decide to visit it. They see and learn a lot and then while driving through sparsely populated countryside, come to a fork on the road. That decision leads them into the clutches of rebel soldiers. And it becomes a life changing course for them....

Jump 20 years to 2011. Grace Okello is found murdered. She was a student at the School of African and Oriental Studies and was researching revolutionary rebel groups and insurgencies of Uganda.  DI Jack Carrigan, as usual, is the first detective to arrive at a crime scene. He is horrified by the brutal way she has been murdered. Carrigan is considered a maverick by his superiors as he has unconventional ways to get to the bottom of any crime.

On the behest of assisting him, his boss brings in DS Geneva Miller. She is told to report to him. Miller is not very keen but she has no choice. In the initial investigations, Carrigan thinks it is a sex related murder as the victim was raped too, before being killed. But Miller does not buy it. She looks into the Uganda link and finds it gets murkier. She also finds that people from the Ugandan embassy are trying to stall the investigations.

Carrigan can't get over his past which involves Uganda. He had lost one of his two best friends there. 

The book has three sections, the past, the present and about the murdered woman. The descriptions, at times, feel difficult to read, not because of the language but the emotions involved. The rape and murder of a young female is not an easy matter to read but before that her involvement with rebel groups for her research make the book very interesting. One learns a lot about Uganda's brutal past and those involved in it.

The ending is a total surprise. Despite the brutal descriptions, I would recommend this for all crime fiction lovers.....

Tomorrow City by Kirk Kjeldsen

"Brendan Lavin woke up with a start to the metallic crash of an empty trash dumspter being slammed to the ground. He looked over at the radio alarm clock, which was blaring some grating Matchbox Twenty song. The time was 6:17 AM, which meant that The alarm had been going off for almost three hours. The bed next to him was empty. Maureen was still at the hospital, working another shift."

Title: Tomorrow City

Author: Kirk Kjeldsen

ISBN: 9789881554215
Publisher: Signal 8 Press/2013

Pages: 197

Brendan Lavin, an ex-con, tries to be straight person doing what he has learnt in prison--baking. However much he tries, he is unable make ends meet. He goes back to his cohorts for a last job. The robbery goes horribly wrong with four fatalities. Now he is a murderer. He has to escape New York City. He steals his cousin's passport and escapes to Shanghai.

Twelve years later, we see him having a flourishing bakery, married to a local woman and has a two year old daughter.  He keeps a low profile as he does not want his conman friends to find him. Somehow without his knowledge, his photograph is published in the public domain and when he learns about it, he is very afraid. Before he can plan to run from Shanghai, his robber friends find him and want payback. They think he turned them in before escaping to Shanghai. They want him to join them for a diamond heist. He is reluctant but he knows that his family will be harmed if he does not go along with them.

The action is full of tension and fast paced. It is an sitting read and very riveting. The action seems to hit hard and streets  of Shanghai come alive. Even with a criminal past, Brendan knows right from wrong. The characters come out vivid. Brendan gains the sympathy of the reader and we want him to go back to his family and his bakery. Those who love dark literature, it is a must read. It is one of the best crime fiction I read in a long time. 

Dead Again by Tracy Cooper-Posey

"He’s going to run into the wall, Sophie thought. Help him. Stop him. But she would never get there in time and even as she was cursing her immobility and the damn stupid leg, she was trying to raise herself, while watching Jack stagger.

Then, thankfully, he tripped a little, enough to throw his balance as he was already effectively blind. One knee went down to the ground. In the slow motion tumble to his left, Sophie thought he’d be okay, bruised dignity and little else. Then she saw it. He was too close to the wall.

And he couldn’t see it.

Too late."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: Dead Again
Author: Tracy Cooper-Posey
ASIN: B009GB154E
Publisher: Tracy Cooper-Poesy/2012
Pages: 270/524 KB

Sophie and Jack are the only survivors of a plane crash. Both have suffered extensive injuries. Despite his injuries, Jack makes everything in his power to make Sophie comfortable. They develop an unusual bond although Jack is very clinical in his caring for Sophie. They are rescued 5 days later. Jack succumbs to his injuries.

Sophie, an aspiring lawyer, gives up on her big dreams and marries and has two kids, settling down in Serenity Falls, a small Montana Rockies town. Now a single mom, she runs a small cafe. There is something vital missing in her life.

Ten years later, Martin comes into her life. He is a drifter with a past. Sophie senses that he holds the key to her happiness. Only he can bridge her present with her past. He knows he must not let Sophie get close to him. 

All kinds of people are after Martin, which puts Sophie directly in the cross-hairs. A deadly crime lords, state governors and district attorneys, they all are hell bent on finding out about Sophie's relationship with Martin. 

This is a romantic suspense and sucks the reader into it right from the beginning. We want to know what is the relationship between Jack and Martin. Sophie is not a simpering kind of person. She knows what she wants and goes for it, fully well knowing the risks. She knows how to deal with the corrupt Chief of Police who is seeking her attention. If anyone wants the explicit romance kind of thing, then it is not for them. But if one seeks a book with feelings, I would say go for it. After a long time, I found a novel which stays in mind long after finishing it. So much so that, I was inspired to write a poem about it. If you want, you can read it here.

BTW, I downloaded it free from Amazon. 

The Book of Someday by Dianne Dixon

"Olivia. The soles of her feet pressed hard against the same wood floor. Feeling the vibration of his every step. As he’s circling, gaining momentum, coming closer to the place where she’s hiding. Fierce jolts rippling through her. Edged on one side with terror, on the other with hope."


Title: The Book of Someday
Author: Dianne Dixon
ISBN: 9781402285721
Pages: 345
Publisher: Sourcebooks Store/2013

The Book of Someday revolves around three women, Livvi, Micah and AnnaLee. Livvi Gray has always been haunted by a recurring nightmare, the terrifying image of a beautiful woman in a shimmering silver dress. It does not go away. Micah is a famous photographer now diagnosed with cancer. AnnaLee is a Long Island housewife. The story is told in parallel for all three of them. They have never met.

Then one day, Livvi comes face-to-face with the stranger from her dream. She cannot rest until she learns more. She goes on a quest, meeting one of the other two protagonists. And it is the moment of truth for both of them. And how the third woman is connected is the crux of the story. 

The reader feels for Livvi, when she was abused by her step mother and an totally disinterested father. Micah is an renowned photographer but she has own demons to kill. She feels that her cancer is her punishment for a misjudgement. AnnaLee is so loving that she can encompass the negativity of other people. She stays in mind long after we finish the novel. 

I was totally pulled into the novel, wanting to know the relationship between the three. When two of them come face-to-face, it is one of the most emotional moments of the story. Suffering of one person, miscalculated decision of another results in destroying life and people. Yet there is enough forgiveness despite the grief. 

I have read the first book by Dianne Dixon, The Language of Secrets. I loved it. I recommend The Book of Someday too.

Tuesday Intro/Teaser: Massacre Pond by Paul Doiron

Diane at Bibliophile By the Sea hosts this weekly meme. The idea is that you post the opening paragraph (sometimes maybe a few ) of a book you decided to read based on the opening paragraph (s).

Massacre Pond by Paul Doiron


The first time I laid eyes on Billy Cronk, I thought he was the biggest badass in the Maine woods: six-five, braided blond hair, a tangled mess of a beard. He had arms that could have snapped a two-by-four over his knee for kindling. The night I arrested him for hunting on posted property, I kept my hand close to my pistol, wondering if this wild blue-eyed bruiser would be the death of me.

As a game warden, I’d met more than my share of roadhouse brawlers and die-hard deer poachers, and I understood that most violent men are cowards. Billy Cronk was different. He never doubted his physical prowess and had no need to prove himself against lesser men. He accepted the summons I wrote without forcing me to wrestle him into handcuffs. In fact, he thanked me for it, lowering his eyes out of embarrassment. The more I learned about the man, the more he surprised me.

Last Train to Omaha by Ann Whitely-Gillen

"What's the matter with you? Your daughter is gravely ill, and you have the nerve to take out your personal feelings on the one person she adores most in life."

Title: Last Train to Omaha
Author: Ann Whitely-Gillen
ISBN: 9780991832507
Publisher: AnnGillen Books/2013
Pages: 296

James Milligan has shut himself from everything after he witnesses his best friend's death when he was 18. He is a successful architect but does not let anyone get close to him. He is only in his elements when he is with dying veterans at the Aaron Milligan Palliative Care Center. He eases their pain and is very gentle and sensitive. He is known as "The Shepherd" because he can soothe dying people on their death bed. When Rebecca Doyle enters his life, he does not know how to react. Her cherubic daughter captivates him but he cannot vocalize his feelings to either of them.

A war veteran Martin Diggs helps him overcome his deep reservations. He also goes on journey of self discovery to finally find love.

This is novel about self realization, thoroughly captivating and thoughtful. It is about embracing life no matter what. The secondary characters made the novel a pleasure to read. 

Short Stories on Motherhood by Sue Oaks

It didn’t take you long to
Work me out
You seem to know me
All the way, well
I guess you knew my inside parts
You knew the beating of my heart
Like no-one else knew
We must remember
Somewhere
Where we knitted together in
Our mother’s warmth.

~Once a mother always a mother by Sue Oaks

Short Stories on Motherhood by Sue Oaks

All the five short stories touch us in some way or the other. Those are not the traditional stories of motherhood but very different, modern, magical, surreal and hard hitting. It is not easy to review the stories but I would say, the book ought to be read by all. Mothers, daughter, fathers and sons. 

Tuesday Intro/Teaser: Unintended Consequences by Marti Green

I didn't kill my little girl. The body in the woods--that wasn't my daughter. The words on the page kept ringing in Dani Trumball's ears. I loved my little girl and only wanted to help her.

Unintended Consequences by Marti Green

Himalayan Blunder by Brig. J.P.Dalvi (Guest reviewed by S. P. Tripathy)

The following is a guest review by my brother S P Tripathy. It is a very detailed one and I did not want to edit it as it conveys the sentiments exactly the way a non fiction ought to convey. I hope all of you will read it in its entirity

"The enemy was closing in but the ground was such that much of the direct artillery fire was not possible. We still fired about 20 rounds per gun towards black rock and beyond supply point. The melee of the battle was confusing; our personnel withdrawing, Chinese devastating shelling and small arms firing. My three LMGs were firing and we were using our personal weapons."

Title: Himalayan Blunder: The angry truth about India’s most crushing military disaster
Author: Brig. J.P.Dalvi
ISBN 978-81-8158-145-7

Publisher: Natraj Publishers/1969 (banned) Reprint in 1997, 2010.

Review by Shiv Prasad Tripathy (My brother)

---------------------

The wide gap between the political decision and the tactical readiness for war is best summed up where the author, Brig. J.P. Dalvi, says ‘A quarter-inch map of NEFA in Delhi does not convey the enormous logistic difficulties. We were short of everything.’ The author rewinds into history and sets a detailed context and the compulsions that finally resulted into the inevitable, the Himalayan Blunder. That is the real story of the book.

----------------------

War stories are always fascinating, as they bring out the brave elements in us while reading them within the confines of our four walls where one safely relates oneself to be one of the heroes of the story, and mentally pictures oneself as a crusader against all the injustice being meted out to the country. The stories bring out the passion, the adrenalin rushes, the patriotism, the invincibility, and the self-righteousness to the forefront, and the book is raced through till we have vanquished the enemy and rested for the laurels and celebrations, that happens on the last page.

Most of such stories are distilled truth, and well polished and packaged to sell since there is a stake for the author, the publisher, and sometimes, organizations extending onto countries. Patriotism sells well; and hard patriotism sells better.

“Himalayan Blunder, by Brig J.P. Dalvi” is quite a contrast, and is not for the wannabe heroes; it does not even seem to have been edited to make it a best seller. The narrative is free flow, raw, un-nerving, and is a clear recollection of a human mind that has had a lasting experience of a period that would fail to erase from his memory till nature decides otherwise. It is a reflection of a mind that has painstakingly spent time and efforts to analyze and did a post-mortem on one of the darkest chapters of India post independence. It is a deliberation that goes beyond the few weeks of action, and covers the actors and controllers who were far away from the scene of action, but were instrumental to the decisions; the actors and controllers who would devour all the praise for the victory (that was not to happen) but would shun all responsibility and ownership for the greatest debacle that they pushed the Indian army into. It is a report that gives an insight about individuals, who believed on invincibility, on decisions to maintain the high-image in the world-order, and blind to the stark-realities of the limitations at the execution level. Psychological warfare is different from a real one; you can create images and mirages in the mind, but a real war needs physical support – on personnel, ammunitions, logistics, and communications, control.

This book was banned when it was first published. Public memory was surely fresh and emotions had not subsided in that decade, the people at high levels of responsibility were still in public life, and its publication would only flame a fire which still had not died. Everyone was trying to forget the humiliation of 1962, with some trying harder to erase it from the public memory. After decades, that generation is all into oblivion, and the present one would relate to it only as a small extension to our independence story, that speaks highly of the multiple decades of peaceful struggle by the freedom fighters.

Regarding the book, let me mention that the hardbound copy is a pathetic justice to the 500+ pages on the military history. It is really sad to see that the hardcover fell off even before I could cover 200 odd pages. The book binding is as raw as the narrative itself. We are still no different from the 1960s in many ways.

“Himalayan Blunder” is an analysis of the Sino-Indian military disaster, a post-mortem of the humiliating defeat of India by China, a silent cry of a soldier whose wounds never healed, and an apology to the nation for the grand failure that shocked the entire nation.

The author has spent time on the initial chapters to give an understanding on the geo-political map of the Himalayan region – covering China, Tibet, Pakistan, the key entities that have had border issues along the Himalayas. The background onto the Sino-Tibetan relations in 20^th century, the Anglo-Tibetan Treaty of 1904, The Anglo-Chinese Treaty of 1906, The Tripartite Conference of Tibet, China and Britain in Simla in 1913-14, the boundary agreement between India and Tibet famously known as the McMahon Line, and the Anglo challenge to China on their suzerainty over Tibet , to the final annexation of Tibet by China in 1950 and the mute support from newly independent India – these were key to the border dynamics that was to reach a crescendo in the next decade, and remain unresolved till date. There is reference to the prophetic letter from Sardar Patel to Nehru, also reproduced in full in the appendix, which gives his critical analysis of the invisible Chinese policy towards India.

The subsequent chapters describe the Chinese build up in Tibet, the infrastructure development in Aksai Chin, upliftment of the local Tibetans from the lower strata, access roads from mainland China to Tibet, built up of highways north of McMahon line, while building friendly relations with young India that resulted in the Panch Sheel Agreement of 1954, and the voluntary withdrawal of India from Tibet by giving up the military, communications and postal rights. It may be noted that the strategic road across Aksai Chin was news to us only when it appeared in the published Chinese maps.

The chapters also talk of the Indian defense focus on the other border with Pakistan, the Kashmir War, and the military overheads created due to the cease-fire line with Pakistan, that trouble us till date. With China being cultivated as a friend, it was well suited to focus on only one border. It suited the government policy on peaceful coexistence, as well as helped  to work within the meager budget that was hardly sufficient to maintain, and equip an army to man the most hazardous and difficult Tibet border.

The author speaks of the slowly hardening stand of China, after the China-Tibet clash in Lhasa, followed by flee of Dalai Lama to India with political asylum. Border lines were questioned, and troubles were getting created by Chinese army across a few frontiers in 1959. These would have quiet withdrawals, after raising localized tensions, and this made the political brass more confident that these incidents were adventures of the local units, and not part of any grandiose plan.  The author laments on the lack of any National Policy on China, that prevented a strategic approach to handle the upcoming tensions and only transactional responses were made by the Indian government on a limited scale. The forward policy led to opening of forward posts in the subsequent years of 1961-62, were more to create deterrence to the Chinese, while the ground level reality was a very limited manpower to manage those posts, with no real capability to offer resistance to any confrontation. As Brig. Dalvi noted, any short coming on such capability was more than made up by political rhetoric, till the Chinese called this bluff in 1962.

The story talks of the differences between the political leadership and the Army, the inadequacy of the Air Force for air-drops, the breakdown of the command-and-control structure in the Army, seniors usurping roles of their subordinates and making them redundant, the shortage of war essentials for the soldier to survive on the mighty Himalayas, and the failed intelligence about the Chinese buildup for any impending strike. It talks of the diffused and unclear coordination and control spread across the multiple entities - Army, Assam Rifles, the BRO, and the ITBP, and the constraints from finance ministry to meet the genuine demands from the man at the border.

The author also highlights the multiple instances where Army expressed reservations on the suicidal forward policy, citing the gross inadequacy of staff, ammunition, guns, roads, clothing, porterage, and winter shelters. The narrative presents a highly critical view on the movements of troops, spreading them thin, and without them being part of a grand military plan. Brig. J. P. Dalvi gives examples and inferences that suggest that public pressure fueled on the decisions by the civil supremacy, that over-ruled the army leading to the predictable results.

 A good amount of text in the book is devoted to those critical weeks from September-November period of 1962, which highlight the extreme situations faced by our soldiers, the lapses at tactical level, the air-drop losses, and all other exposure to situations that were earlier sounded as warning signs by the Army needing urgent attention. This book is an eye opener to any reader, who is a civilian content with paying taxes, but always wary of the growing defense budget. It is not easy reading for a non military person, both in terms of the terminology and the pain she goes through while reading about soldiers who move in mountain snow, with hardly any gear to maintain the physical well being. .

The book is highly critical of the political governance, including some of the key players in the Army. It is partly a rebuttal and a strong counter-view to other published books and public responses made after the defeat, most of which were critical of the men at the front. To be fair to Brig. J. P. Dalvi, he has unabashedly taken his own share of the blame. The reader need not be in agreement with all the opinions, and inferences, and may want to look into additional literature to draw her own inference.

This book is recommended to be read by all who have an interest in military history, cross-border relations, or have a stake in national policies. It will be interest to those who have stake in work functions that has impact across multiple organizations, for the sheer purpose of understanding the complexity and dimension of different demands and expectations that each one has.

This book should not be read as a post-mortem report that educates us onto the names of key players in the 1962 war and their roles on the debacle, but as an eye-opener that forces us to think, to plan, to frame policies, and provides a framework to translate these into strategic and tactical plans for managing our borders.

While the calendar has moved more than 50 years since 1962, we are still tackling the same border questions, with the same neighbors.

Teaser Tuesday: Snapper by Brian Kimberling

“Are you okay?” I said.
He grinned. “That was awesome,” he said. Perfectly circular holes like bullet wounds perforated his shoulders, and savage furrows ran down his back, blood streaming from all of them, but he was delighted.
“You could go to prison,” I said again.
“Fucker stole my fish.”
“It’s a bald eagle. It’s allowed to steal your fish.”
“Is that a bald eagle?”
“Does it look like a bald eagle?”

~Page 99, Snapper by Brian Kimberling

Back Cover:

A great, hilarious new voice in fiction: the poignant, all-too-human recollections of an affable bird researcher in the Indiana backwater as he goes through a disastrous yet heartening love affair with the place and its people.

Nathan Lochmueller studies birds, earning just enough money to live on. He drives a glitter-festooned truck, the Gypsy Moth, and he is in love with Lola, a woman so free-spirited and mysterious she can break a man’s heart with a sigh or a shrug. Around them swirls a remarkable cast of characters: the proprietor of Fast Eddie’s Burgers & Beer, the genius behind “Thong Thursdays”; Uncle Dart, a Texan who brings his swagger to Indiana with profound and nearly devastating results; a snapping turtle with a taste for thumbs; a German shepherd who howls backup vocals; and the very charismatic state of Indiana itself. And at the center of it all is Nathan, creeping through the forest to observe the birds he loves and coming to terms with the accidental turns his life has taken.

The Summons by John Grisham

Under the stern gaze of General Nathan Bedford Forrest, and standing there in the center of a room that was timeless, Ray began to realize that his father was not breathing. He comprehended this slowly. He coughed, and there was not the slightest response. Then he leaned down and touched the Judge's left wrist. There was no pulse.

Judge Reuben V Atlee was dead.

The Summons by John Grisham: Judge Reuben Atlee is a much respected person in Clanton, Mississippi. He lives alone in his ancetral home. Then one fine day he summons his sons to talk about the estate. Ray Atlee is a professor and Forrest Ray is the proverbial black sheep who is into all kinds of addiction. Both his sons have issues with the Judge. 

None wants to visit him but when Ray reaches the estate, he finds the judge dead and also he becomes a part  of a secret which is only known to the judge and now him. But there is someone else who knows about the secret....

Ray tries to play an amateur detective and for that he almost gets killed. The ending is, well, unexpected. Grisham is a master of that. He can hold you enthralled  till the end. This is another one which does the same, minus the courtroom drama......

Tuesday Teaser: Suzy's Case by Andy Siegal

I hate being called by my last name alone. First alone, fine. First and last, that’s okay, too. “Mr. Wyler,” perfectly acceptable. But last alone …

“That’s you,” my lawyer whispers out of the corner of his mouth. “And what are you doing there? Get your hand out of your pocket.”

“Sorry, these guys make my balls itch.”

“Stand up.”

~~~~ Suzy's Case by Andy Siegel

An exciting debut laced with insider details—a galloping legal thriller introducing a personal injury lawyer who stops at nothing to win his case.

A young African-American girl named Suzy and her fate at a Brooklyn hospital are at the heart of a seemingly unwinnable case, and New York City personal injury attorney Tug Wyler is out to find justice. Boasting a combination of street smarts, legal brinksmanship, and no small amount of charm, Wyler discovers the truth behind her condition—and the conniving doctors and hospital administrators who went to great lengths to cover it up.

     As he seeks to win millions for Suzy—and her long-suffering mother, who cares for her night and day—Tug Wyler takes readers on an electrifying journey into the aggressive, high-stakes world of New York personal injury law, where everyone cuts corners, cuts throats, and cuts deals to win big.

Teaser Tuesday/Tuesday Intros: Hurrah's Nest by Arisa White

Diane at Bibliophile By the Sea hosts this weekly meme. The idea is that you post the opening paragraph (sometimes maybe a few ) of a book you decided to read based on the opening paragraph (s). 


Sister (from page 53 of Hurrah's Nest)

I selected your name from the tagged partition
in the Black Pearl taxicab. Shaquana, the one who defies
in permanent marker, you are bold letters among faded
ink-whispers of people afraid to make their mark too strong.

Born to us with six-pointed hands, newborn half fingers
planted with a seed of bone, a possibility of intricate cross hatches
and indelible strokes, an isotopic rising and dipping of terrain.
You lined with a person’s symmetry and pointed it right into their face.

On that night, your hands broke the hold Cornel had on me.
In my left eye, our mother is statue.
Her hands lack dexterity for saving.

He’s in my right eye, drunk and primed—
the man you’ve disowned as your father.

He chokes me into a silence that turns
everything purée, telling me he loves me.

My eyes focus on you, and you see I am in need.

Your scream cuts the silence;
you lift your arms and the vase cries down.
He releases me to catch blood and glass.

You flee for the police. Shaquana, your flight, my first breath.

Hurrah's Nest by Arisa White : A vivid and varied collection that addresses family loyalties, dysfunction, violence, and differences, Hurrah's Nest is White's imaginative and emotionally honest exploration of growing up the second oldest, first daughter of seven siblings. Childhood experiences are looked at with rawness, sensitivity, and crafted with precision: be it the cutting of her dreadlocks, mother's abortion, drug trafficking, or her sister's developmental disability, the language is tender and startling. Hurrah's Nest--from the confusion of our lives--asks us to make meaning and good from what we've bargained and haven't bargained for. 

Teaser Tuesday/Tuesday Intros: Kop Killer by Warren Hammond

Diane at Bibliophile By the Sea hosts this weekly meme. The idea is that you post the opening paragraph (sometimes maybe a few ) of a book you decided to read based on the opening paragraph (s). 

Kop Killer by Warren Hammond

“You need to eat, friend. You don’t look good. You get that wife of yours to cook you up a nice meal.”

My heart lurched at her mention. “Niki died.” I could only mutter the words.

“What?” His face looked a little less rodent, a little more human. “How did she die?”

“She just did,” I non-answered.

“Shit, that’s a tough break.”

I had no words. I just stood there.

“Where’s she buried?”

My voice barely audible, I said, “Out in the jungle.”

“You didn’t put her in a cemetery?”

“What’s it to you?”

He looked offended. “What if I want to send flowers?”

“Why? You didn’t even know her.”

“It’s common respect. Somebody dies, you send flowers. Why’d you bury her in the jungle?”

Teaser Tuesday: Violet Fire by Brenda Joyce

"How wonderful," Martha said. "How many children will you have?"

"Just two," Grace said, with a deep sigh. 

Violet Fire by Brenda Joyce

It is 1870s. Grace is a  women’s rights activist. Her mother is unwell and she needs money for her treatment. No one is ready to hire her in New York because of her radical views. So she travels to Mississippi as she gets a job as a governess there. 

She had met Rathe Bragg two years back in a part where she had created chaos by spouting slogans atop a piano! Now She meets him again two years later, in the plantation where she has been hired as a governess.

Rathe remembers her and feels a strong attraction for her. He soon comes to know she needs the money for her mother and offers for her to become his mistress. She refuses. But she is thrown out of her job and somehow cannot hold any other job either, because of her strong views. Rathe proposes to her but she refuses to marry him. However, she agrees to be his mistress so that she can still be independent in her own right. 

She continues to teach young black children even though some people, including the sheriff, are against it. Then one day, She leaves Rathe, and the new church is burned down and there is a burnt body with her wearing her necklace. Rathe assumes that the dead body is Grace and is heart broken. He travels home to Texas to visit his parents and then he see’s Grace, who is as much of firebrand as she was before. And you can imagine the rest..!!

I love Brenda Joyce novels. However, I won't say it is one of her best works. But the pace is good and I liked the radical views of the heroine. She thinks NOT for herself but for the people, the ones who are ignored at large by the society....

Misery Bay by Steve Hamilton

"Two sons and two fathers now," he said. "plus one girlfriend. McKnight, I think we've something terrible going on here."

~Page 92

Title: Misery Bay
Author: Steve Hamilton
ISBN: 9780312380434
Publisher: Minotaur books/2011
Pages: 304

On a cold miserable night, a college student hangs himself from a tree in the middle of a snowy, deserted field called Misery Bay near Lake Superior. He doesn't leave a note, but then suicide victims seldom do. The boy's father, a federal marshal and who happens to be an old friend of Alex McKnight's rival Police Chief Roy Maven, asks Alex to look into his son's suicide. But what appears to be a simple suicide, gets them embroiled in something sinister. Alex and Chief Maven find themselves working together, trying to find and stop a cold-blooded killer, who is hell bent on targeting law enforcement officers via their children. Meanwhile Alex tries to put the demons of his past behind him.

Hamilton’s drawing of characters or plot-line is superb and very believable, Alex McKnight’s  relationship with police chief Roy Maven changes to grudging mutual respect as the novel progresses. The  twists and turns in the story line keeps the reader on the edge. WE observe that the victims are the real focus, and although McKnight and the FBI search frantically for that elusive link that might lead them to the killer, we do see a hopelessness and bleakness in the characters. 

Alex McKnight is one of the best fictional investigators that has been created in a novel. I am going to read  as many books I can, written by Hamilton.

The Accused by John Grisham

He disappeared into a utility closet, came out the other side onto a landing which led to another hidden staircase. In decades past, this had been used to haul convicts from the jail to the main courtroom to face the wrath of the judges, but now it was seldom used.

Title: Theodore Boone: The Accused 
Author: John Grisham
ISBN: 9781444757194
Publisher:  Hodder & Stoughton/2012

Pages: 288

Synopsis: [From the back cover]

Theodore Boone is the thirteen-year-old who knows more about the law than most adult lawyers. He certainly never expected to be a victim of crime himself. But then his bike is vandalized, he's attacked while doing his homework. and, worst of all, framed for robbery.

When stolen computer equipment turns up in Theo's school locker, the police start leaning on him hard. And he is the only suspect. What if he's found guilty? What about his dreams of becoming a lawyer?

In a race against time, aided by his renegade uncle, Ike, Theo must find the rel felon and reveal the true motivation behind the crimes of which he stands accused.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My views: 

Theo's bike is vandalized, someone throws a rock at his window while he is doing his homework, and most of the stolen computer equipment are found in his school locker. The police get an anonymous call and Theo is the prime suspect for the robbery.

Theo has nightmares of being put in jail and everyone calling him a jailbird. It went on and on. Then his Uncle tells him to steal the password of his parents filing system in the computer. Pre-teens are easily influenced and might end up thinking it is the done thing!

I do like Grisham novels but this one did not appeal to me.

Firefly Beach by Meira Pentermann

"Beth was beset by disturbing dreams; rapid firing images flashed before her eyes – a car screeching down a country road, a yellow duck, her father’s face. She awoke with a start. Why am I dreaming about my father after all of these years?”

Title: Firefly Beach
Author: Meira Pentermann
ISBN: 978-0982417089

Publisher: Lyrical Press/2009
Pages: 316

Beth moves into a small town in the coast of Maine. She rents out a house and sets up a deal with the local antique store to sell her paintings. She is preparing for a new start to her life. She needs to escape the demons in her life. And then she meets a "firefly’ who is seemingly is awaiting her arrival.  The Firefly leads her to a diary of a girl Katherine, who was the daughter of her landlord and had disappeared 36 years ago. No one knows what happened to Katherine.

Beth sets about to find the mystery behind Katherine's disappearance.  With a unique plot, a bit of supernatural element and good writing, one gets engrossed in the story. 

Mary and Abigail, are another two characters which are typical ladies from a small community running the only inn in the town. Then there is this jeweller Kenny, who is an enigma. The novel is not as simple as it seems. It has a complicated plot, weird and interesting characters and a firefly which is the thick of things.