Reading a book in the M.C. Beaton Hamish Macbeth series is like spending an afternoon with an old friend. Even if that friend is a little silly and reReading a book in the M.C. Beaton Hamish Macbeth series is like spending an afternoon with an old friend. Even if that friend is a little silly and repetitive, if you are in the right mood you still enjoy the afternoon.
Death of Yesterday, the 28th book in the series, is both silly and repetitive. There is an unusually high body count, even for a Hamish Macbeth book. The abundance of characters with names that begin with the same letter (Morag, Mairie, Maisie, Hamish, Heather, and Hannah) led to some confusion for me. However, the plot moves along more briskly than in some books in the series, and Hamish is somewhat less gullible.
Some of the books in this series are stellar, and some are fairly bad. This book falls somewhere in the middle. Still, for die-hard Hamish Macbeth fans, it's a must. ...more
The Reckoning is the second book in Jane Casey’s Maeve Kerrigan series. I loved the first (The Burning), and I think I enjoyed the second even more.
MaThe Reckoning is the second book in Jane Casey’s Maeve Kerrigan series. I loved the first (The Burning), and I think I enjoyed the second even more.
Maeve is an Irish cop, and a woman, and she catches plenty of grief from her London colleagues for both. As a detective constable, she knows she has to put up with it, especially when it comes from her superiors, like Detective Inspector Josh Derwent, new to her team. Fortunately, Superintendent Charles Godley is a good guy to work for, and he recognizes Maeve's talents. However, added to her work life stress is her on-again, off-again romance with fellow DC Rob Langton (strictly against the rules).
If all the British police lingo in that last paragraph made your eyes cross, this book may not be for you. I love a good British police procedural, and this is a great one. Maeve and Derwent are investigating a series of brutal murders of sexual predators. It’s hard to feel sorry for them, but each was tortured before being killed. There are a lot of plot twists, but also plenty of character development for Maeve, Rob, and Godley.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Reckoning and look forward to the next book in the series. If you enjoy the works of Deborah Crombie, Jo Bannister, Jill McGown, or Barry Maitland, I highly recommend Jane Casey....more
I’ve listened to all of the later Ian Rutledge books narrated by Simon Prebble, but I had never read A Test of Wills, the first book in the series. ThI’ve listened to all of the later Ian Rutledge books narrated by Simon Prebble, but I had never read A Test of Wills, the first book in the series. This is an excellent series I highly recommend. The books are not all uniformly good, but this one is very good.
Rutledge, an Inspector at Scotland Yard, served in the Great War, and an extremely traumatic event causes him to hear Hamish, the voice of a dead man he served with. He seems so real to Rutledge that he sometimes responds out loud to him in front of others. The Rutledge books are an interesting depiction of PTSD. Rutledge is the best part of the series, more so than the sometimes so-so mysteries. He is a well developed and an appealing character.
Rutledge’s “relationship” with Hamish is more contentious and antagonistic in this first book. In the later books Hamish comes across more as a friend. Maybe this represents Rutledge working through his guilt over Hamish’s death.
The resolution of the mystery in A Test of Wills is a bit gimmicky, but I didn’t see it coming and it was fine. Charles Todd (a mother and son writing team) excels at character development, little details, and a narrative style that consistently pulls me forward through the story. I’m glad I finally got around to reading the first book in this series. ...more
I read this book a few years ago and haven't reread it lately, so I'm not going into details. But I don't keep many books and I have this whole seriesI read this book a few years ago and haven't reread it lately, so I'm not going into details. But I don't keep many books and I have this whole series. Well written, interesting plots, great character development.
Edit 1/10/2023: Back before I was a librarian and when there were lots of bookstores, I used to wander around in them and sometimes purchase books. I purchased the entire Castlemere series by Jo Bannister as they came out. I'm rereading the series now.
Bannister excels at featuring friendships that are not romantic. Castlemere features a middle-aged male Jewish Detective Chief Inspector, a female 40-something Inspector, and a young male Irish Sergeant. They each face prejudice on the job and gradually form a tight unit.
I didn't like this as much as I remembered liking it the first time. Bannister frequently subjects her characters to violence, I guess to explore how they handle it. The need to put her main characters through trauma is troubling. But the first book in a series is often not the best. On to book two....more
Loading...
