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The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~ It's a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.
The stranger came early in February, one wintry day, through a biting wind and a driving snow, the last snowfall of the year, over the down, walking from Bramblehurst railway station, and carrying a little black portmanteau in his thickly gloved hand. He was wrapped up from head to foot, and the brim of his soft felt hat hid every inch of his face but the shiny tip of his nose; the snow had piled itself against his shoulders and chest, and added a white crest to the burden he carried. He staggered into the “Coach and Horses” more dead than alive, and flung his portmanteau down.
“A fire,” he cried, “in the name of human charity! A room and a fire!” He stamped and shook the snow from off himself in the bar, and followed Mrs. Hall into her guest parlour to strike his bargain. And with that much introduction, that and a couple of sovereigns flung upon the table, he took up his quarters in the inn.
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My first experiment was with a bit of white wool fabric. It was
the strangest thing in the world to see it in the flicker of the flashes soft and white, and then to watch it fade
like a wreath of smoke and vanish.
"I could scarcely believe I had done it. I put my hand into the emptiness, and there was the thing as solid as ever. I felt it awkwardly, and threw it on the floor. I had a little trouble finding it again.
Posted for The Friday 56, which is hosted by Freda's Voice
The Invisible Man by H G Wells
Which is more important when you read — the actual story or the characters? I’ve read books with great plots, but two-dimensional characters, and I’ve read multi-layered characters stuck in clunky stories, and I’m sure you have, too. So which would you rather focus on, if you couldn’t have both?
When a perfectly coiffed reporter perches himself inside a cell and throws a question across a flimsy wooden table, believing he already knows the entertainment value of the answer, that's not me he's trying to bait. If it were, his adrenalin would lose its battle with fear.
Title: Dead Set
Author: Will Carver
ISBN: 9780099551058
Publisher: Arrow Books/2013
Pages: 453
Book Blurb:
Her lip curled. I could see
that she hated me.
It was odd
how the hatred went on
for days and days and years and years.
I began to feel I could
count on it. It was a steady
reliable hatred. Not like
baled hay
which can rot.
Our Held Animal Breath, Poems by Kathryn Kirkpatrick
Title: Our Held Animal Breath: Poems
Author: Kathryn Kirkpatrick
ISBN: 9781936370917
Publisher: WordTech Communications/2012)
Pages: 95
All the forty-four poems in the volume are extremely readable. The poems are about everyday stuff like hiking, meditating and gardening. The emotions range from hurt, loss and confusion, understanding and rational optimism. Hope and determination intermingle with loss and fear.
Her poems reflect politics as well as gives us a glimpse of Blue Ridge Mountains and other such places. Current events are narrated well. With deep understanding and feelings.
I could relate to the way she has portrayed women. I felt as if I know them, which I do...my mother, my neighbours, work colleagues and lot more. It was as if I was reading about the lives of the women I know.
Let me share another poem.
Driving Home
Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists. It has finally found a permanent home at Mailbox Monday with the following new administrators:
Leslie of Under My Apple Tree
Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit
Vicki of I'd Rather Be at the Beach
I received nothing this past week....
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The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~ It's a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.
Without warning he jerked away, pushing her to the floor.
"What in----" Gunfire erupted, and the dull smack of a bullet striking the carriage filled her ears.
Posted for The Friday 56, which is hosted by Freda's Voice
Silken Promises by Lisa Bingham
Here we have a con artist as our heroine and the hero is a U.S. marshal who has been on hot her trail for years. Ten years ago, 13 year old Fiona McFee had seen Jacob Grey, butt naked and tied up in a field of foxtails. Being a daughter of an Irish conman, she refuses to release him and he swears to catch up with her. Although he traces her but the father-daughter duo are always one step ahead and do not get caught.
Jacob wants to catch a counterfeiter and has an offer to change her life for the better. He promises a full pardon for both her and her father if she agrees to poses as a wealthy British widow and play poker like an ace on a tourist train heading West. (She is very good with cards).
She has no choice not to agree as he has her father as a hostage. However, turning her into a sophisticated widow is easier said than done. She has the wrong accent and her manners are sadly lacking! He writes a letter to his sister but two elderly spinster sisters intercept the letter and arrive at the hotel to help!
They do succeed where Jacob had failed but they are so feisty that Jacob does know how to deal with them. Both the spinster sisters steal our heart with their amusing and eccentric ways. There is danger, death, deceit and trouble along the way. There is not a single dull moment in the novel. I quite liked the tailor too who use to work with dynamite before his tailoring days!
That cover is totally misplaced but the novel is rollicking fun.
Neither of us knew the rate of bribing a goaler at the Old Baily. My friend Daniel Suter was two steps below me on the way down to cells. He'd fought his way through the crowd to get there, pushing aside men twice his weight with bruiser's faces, ignoring jeers and curses. In those two steps he'd crossed the boundary of civilized modern building of the Central Criminal Court and the centuries-old misery of the passageway connecting it to Newgate prison next door. Freshly plastered walls gave way to damp brick and a smell of choked drains.
"I want to see her." Daniel said to the goaler's broad back.
He looked terribly out of place there, a slim and elegant hat in hand. That was one of the reasons they were jeering at him.
"How much?" said the goaler, half turning.
A Dangerous Affair by Caro Peacock
Our heroine Liberty Lane is all alone save for a brother who is serving in India. He gives his blessings to her to marry Daniel Suter, who is a very good friend of hers. She likes him but marriage is not in her agenda. She barely makes through by giving music lessons.
A well known dancer, Columbine is murdered by poison. A young dancer is arrested for the crime. Daneil is heart broken as he has fallen for that girl. Liberty takes it upon herself to get to the bottom of the crime. Now, a young politician, Benjamin Disraeli had asked Liberty to find out all about Columbine before she was murdered. Columbine was a notorious woman, with many liaisons. She had more enemies than friends.
Liberty is hot on trail and in the way she finds the murky way the royalty works. The novel has rich imaginative settings and a likeable protagonist and a good plot. All these elevate the novel.
The Crime Fiction Pick of the Month meme is hosted at Mysteries in Paradise. Bloggers link to a summary post for the month, and identify a crime fiction best read of the month.
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| Crime Fiction Pick of the Month 2014 |
