41. Hamlet, Revenge!–Michael Innes

“Marry, this is miching mallecho; it means mischief.” – Shakespeare.

And so it was. And Inspector Appleby arrives to find a man dead on the stage of a private production of Hamlet.  What does it mean?  Why?  Why in those circumstances. Is it spies or a very private sort of revenge?

I loved this book. It starts slow, and I wish I’d re-read Hamlet before hand, but when Appleby arrives en scene, the book becomes compelling.

This is my sort of mystery. Very cerebral, very puzzle driven, where the clues are scarce on the ground and the only way to solve it is by deep thinking.

Definitely continuing this series!

40. Grand Conspiracy–Janny Wurts

 

The fifth book in the overall arc The Wars of Light and Shadow, does not fail to deliver. Utilizing the magic of music and the music of language, the tale of how the Mistwraith twists Paravia, and its peoples continues.

Her characterization continues to delight. And layers that make up the world of Paravia continue to be revealed as plots within plots are unstrung against not only the Master of Shadow, but against the sorcerors sworn to protect Paravia and against the protective spells guarding the world itself.

Great epic fantasy, with depth and color and music.

38. Night Soldiers- Alan Furst

I won a book by Alan Furst from Library Thing and found it compelling so decided I’d read the entire series in the proper order. Night Soldiers is the first of the series.  It takes place in the 1930s and follows the lives of a few young men who end up, by accident mostly, rather than design, as spies for different sides first in the Spanish Civil War, and then in Paris and Eastern Europe during the run-up and planning for World War II, and then during the war itself.

I love the style this book is written in. Frank, calm, plainly told, no dwelling on the horrors, just calm explanation of them.

You get an excellent sense of how these men’s lives are entirely at the mercy of the grand forces conspiring on all sides, and these men tricked or blackmailed or just accidentally ending up where they are. Also, how easily their lives are turned on end, or suddenly placed at risk because of suspicion or outright plotting by their ‘masters’ regarding their loyalties or competencies.

This is a far cry from 007.  Gritty and suspenseful.

38. Redshirts–John Scalzi

John Scalzi has written a paean to the original Star Trek series in Redshirts. It’s going to be far more meaningful to geeks and nerds who remember the surprise and fun on Star Trek when it delighted us as youngsters.

Away teams were almost always deadly for some anonymous extra wearing a red shirt. This story is about what happens when the guys and gals wearing those red shirts begin to realize that they are nearly always destined to die, or at least be horribly hurt during those away missions. And it’s about what they decide to do to stop the madness.

Great fun, but not so much laugh out loud funny, as smiling and remembering and cheering for the expendable ones who decide to take their fate in their own hands.

P.S. I listened to the audio version narrated by Wil Wheaton which just adds to the nerdly value of the book!

37. A Fatal Grace–Louise Penny

Poor little Three Pines. A tiny village is once again the scene of a murder. This one very odd indeed. But Armand Gamache and his team are on the case, despite cold and snowstorms and Christmas.

Penny does create some intriguing characters, I’ll give her that. Although I knew who the murderer was immediately, still how the whole thing played out was interesting.

She’s also very good at setting and describing a scene. And Three Pines is admittedly a great little town. But really, I hope there are no more murders set there. It’s definitely stretching credulity to see even two there.

Too bad the b**** was back again.

“Be Calm.”

36. the Keeper of Lost Causes–Jussi Adler-Olsen

 

Carl Morck is just back to work with the detective bureau in Copenhagen. He was shot, one partner killed and another paralyzed from the neck down. To say he’s depressed and feeling guilty is no stretch of the imagination. He’s burned out, tired, and just wants out.  Instead he finds himself promoted to head up a new division. He’s locked away in the basement, away from everyone and left to stew alone, with a pile of old unsolved cases.

His only employee, a naturalized citizen from Syria, who is supposed to have been hired to clean, ends up pushing Carl into picking up one of the cases, that of a missing female politician. Carl reluctantly begins to look at the case, but is drawn into it, more by the cleaners plan than by his own, until he begins to think he might have found out where the first investigation went wrong.

Very very noir mystery. Grim situation, horrible bad guys, and a detective who’s barely hanging on to his own sanity, all come together for a nail-biting conclusion.

Great characterization and a slow but steady build to the finale.

35. Sandstorm–James Rollins

When a mysterious explosion rips apart a wing of the British Museum, a special force of scientist/soldiers is dispatched to the site. If their fears prove true, this explosion could be only a hint of what might happen if the forces that brought this about are triggered again.

Thriller that keeps you guessing from start to finish. Lots of archaeology and physics and a storm of action accompany the small group of scientists who race the clock to head off a possible disaster.  Their task though, is complicated when it becomes apparent, they have not one, but two mysterious organizations also in pursuit of a scientific breakthrough of enormous potential.

And the women are just as kick-ass as the men.

Characterization, settings and plot combine to create a great read. I’ll definitely be continuing this series.