Tag: series

Scandalous Risks

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Howatch, Susan. Scandalous Risks. Alfred A. Knopf, 1990.

Reason read: to continue the series started in April in honor of Easter. Since Howatch’s entire series is about the Church of England I thought this would be appropriate.

When we catch up to the residents of Starbridge it is the 1960s are we are introduced to our first main character outside of the Church of England. Venetia Flaxon’s story is told in first person and she is not a religious arch anything. Not a bishop or dean or deacon. She was just a child and a minor character in Ultimate Prizes. Now she takes the lead as a young amorous adult in Scandalous Risks. Her first scandalous risk is to fall in love with 61 year old Neville “Stephen” Aysgarth. Desperate to stay connected to her crush, Venetia takes a job transcribing the notes of Bishop Charles Ashworth as he writes a book disputing the philosophies of Honest to God by John Arthur Thomas Robinson. [A book that is still in print to this day.] This is the center conflict in Scandalous Risks. Bishop Ashworth wants to destroy the teachings of Robinson. Who better to transcribe the Bishop’s scribblings than Venetia who was raised by an agnostic father? Her own motives are no so innocent. To learn more about her dean she uses someone she despises to get close to people in his past, like Jonathan Darrow, his once spiritual advisor. Meanwhile Aysgarth is still practicing his multi-personality tricks in order to not commit adultery by being Neville with Venetia and Stephen with his wife. Stephen is acutely aware of his wife’s well-being while Neville is free to be in love with Venetia. To complicate matters, there are four Nevilles to chose from! [As an aside, in case you were wondering, Venetia’s second scandalous risk was to wear trousers on a Sunday!]
The next generation of characters are introduced: Nick, Jonathan Darrow’s son, is a psychic like his father.
With every Starbridge book, each chapter is headed by a quote from someone connected to the Church of England. This time John Arthur Thomas Robinson, the author of Honest To God.

Quote I loved, “Having reflected that my triumph would have been far more gratifying if Eddie had not been psychically repulsive and mentally exhausting” (p 93). I definitely know people like that. And here is another, “Dimply it occurred to me that in order to participate intelligently in these extraordinary conversations I needed a wisdom which I had not lived long enough to acquire” (p 203).

Author fact: Susan Howatch has been compared to Anthony Trollope.

Book trivia: I probably should have mentioned this with the first book, Glittering Images, but I didn’t think of it. Every book in the Starbridge series can be read independently of the others. Howatch recommends reading them all in order because the histories of each character brings a richness to the plot.

Music: the Beatles’s “Love Me Do”, Beethoven, Swan Lake, Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel,” “I Need You Love Tonight,” and “You’re Right, I’m Left, She’s Gone”, “Moonlight Sonata”, Aida, “Ode to Joy,” Cliff Richard, Adam Faith, Eden Kane, Floyd Cramer, Del Shannon, Jim Reeves, Buddy Holly’s “Peggy Sue” and “That’ll Be the Day”, the Beatles’ “All You Need is Love,” and “Got a Lot O Living to Do.”

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Fathers, Mothers, Sisters, Brothers: The Family of the Clergy” (p 86).

Dust and Ashes

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Rybakov, Anatoli. Dust and Ashes. Translated by Antonia W. Bouis. Little Brown and Co., 1996.

Reason read: to continue the series started in May.

Like Rybakov’s last novel, Fear, in Dust and Ashes the author takes the time to catch his readers up to the saga thus far. Yuri is a member of the secret police, Vika is married and living in Paris, her brother Vadim is also an NKVD informant. Maxim is in the Red Army as a commander. Nina is a Communist while her sister, Varya, rejects Communism and remains true to her friends. Sasha has been freed from exile but he is not allowed back in Moscow or any other major Russian city. Dust and Ashes begins in 1937. When we left Sasha and Varya, their romance had cooled after Sasha learned of Varya’s previous marriage to a gambler. Sasha struggles to make ends meet in various small towns, first as a truck driver and then as a ballroom dance instructor. World War II is almost a central character alongside Sasha Pankratov and Joseph Stalin. This is the era of endless interrogations (when you would rather have chat). Promotions could mean a reshuffling of the personnel deck or a literal death sentence. It is stunning the way Rybakov can seamlessly interject facts into a fictional account of the Great Purge. Details like the assassination of Trotsky. Two battles rage in Dust and Ashes – the delicate dance of Tyrants (Hitler and Stalin) and the Battle for Romance (Sasha and Varya). Who will win? Sometimes, when the target is not persuaded, the only motivation can come from fear. Confessional: the final pages of Dust and Ashes had me holding my breath. I did not want to believe it was the end. Surely there would be another sequel, a fourth or even fifth installment to the saga. But in actuality, really what more about be said?

Something I wanted to say in the last review but forgot – Rybakov had a character drink pickle juice to combat a hangover. I have to wonder if that really works.

Quotes to quote, “…I want to remain a decent person in these vile times” (p 79). The same could be said for these terrible times. Here is another: “Gone was the joyful amazement at life, the anticipation of happiness in a world which has seemed so inviting and lovely” (p 214).

Author fact: Anatoli Rybakov’s life mirrored Sasha Pankratov’s. Rybakov lived at 51 Arbat Street and he also joined the army.

Book trivia: Antonia W. Bouis also translated Fear.

Music: Confessional: these are songs from Fear: “Rio Rita” and “Splashes of Champagne”.
Dust and Ashes music: Isabella Yurieva, Leshchenko, Ivan Kozlovsky, Maria Maksakova, Stas Mikhallov, “Droplets if Champagne”, “Weary Sun”, and Leonid Utesov’s “From the Odessa Jail”,
Banned songs: “Jail,” “the Hop,” and “Murka.”

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter “Russian Heavies” (p 210). Pearl wasn’t kidding. Dust and Ashes was almost too heavy for my heart to lift.

Not Quite Dead Enough

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Stout, Rex. Not Quite Dead Enough. Pyramid Books, 1944.

Reason read: to continue the series started in November.

Rex Stout likes to throw his readers a curve ball now and again. When we rejoin Archie and Nero in Not Quite Dead Enough, Archie has been in military service in Washington D.C. for two months. There is a war going on and he is trying to do his part. Meanwhile back in Manhattan, Nero Wolfe wants to do his part for the war effort as well. Comically, he and Fritz have been training to be soldiers by exercising and eating better (ha!). When Archive returns he is horrified by the change.
A welcome surprise for readers is the fact that Lily Rowan is back. We first met Archie’s crush back in Some Buried Caesar. This time Archie has set his sights on a new girl, Ann Armory, who works for the National Bird League. Only…she ends up dead. Of course she does. Since Wolfe is not interested in solving crime anymore Archie has to make matters into his own hands by becoming suspect number one. He is last seen with the pretty girl at a dance. His hair is found in her dead fist. Will Archie convince Nero to take the case and clear his name?

Book trivia: this is another one of those “double mysteries” where two novellas are combined.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe: Too Good To Miss” (p 226).

Ultimate Prizes

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Howatch, Susan. Ultimate Prizes. Alfred A Knopf, 1989.

Reason read: to continue the series started in April in honor of Easter.

Susan Howatch has struck gold with a literary formula that works: someone has a spiritual crisis and a member of the Church of England comes to the rescue with intense conversations and guidance. Most of the time, these crises involve sexual hang-ups and rocky marital relations usually brought on by long suffering family traumas. In Glittering Images Charles Asgood sought the spiritual consultation of Jonathan Darrow. In Glamorous Powers Jonathan Darrow conducts intense interviews with his superior. In Ultimate Prizes is it Neville Aysgarth’s turn to take young and beautiful Dido Tallent under his wing as she seeks a religious education. After Tallent destroys Neville’s psyche, he in turn needs rescue and finds it in Jonathan Darrow and Aidan Lucas.
The “ultimate prize” meant having the perfect spouse, the perfect family, the perfect career.
Neville Aysgarth is a mere forty-one years old; really too young to be an archdeacon. His spiritual philosophy and religious career was based on Charles Earle Raven, a Dean of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Raven had a unique perspective, believing that science and theology belonged together. Aysgarth’s game changes when he becomes a widower. His ultimate prize because an obsession. He loved the chase but not the win. It was this pursuit that ultimately demolished friendships, both political and personal.
As an aside, it is interesting to see another character’s take on a previous character. Jonathan Darrow is disliked by Neville, but it is Darrow who introduces him to Aidan Lucas when Neville needed spiritual guidance. Additionally, Howatch cleverly reveals secrets about characters from previous stories so that more than once readers have that ah-ha moment. The title of the next book in the series usually pops up by the end of the book.

Quote I liked, “A hangover combined with horror, guilt, and self-loathing is hell on earth” (p 136). Confessional: I couldn’t help but think of the Dave Matthews Band when I read the line, “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die” (p 44).
Second confessional: Even though I knew “ringing down the curtain” meant repentance, I grew weary of how many times Neville Aysgarth made reference to his curtains – going up or coming down.

Author fact: In 2012, Howatch was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Hope College.

Book trivia: Ultimate Prizes continues the theme of intense spiritual guidance. Like Glittering Images and Glamorous Powers, Ultimate Prizes contains deep spiritual conversations.

Music: “Lili Marlene”

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Fathers, Mothers, Sisters, Brothers: the Family of the Clergy” (p 86).

Black Orchids

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Stout, Rex. Black Orchids. Books on Tape, 2007.

Reason read: to continue the series started in November. We’ll be here awhile.

We all know Nero Wolfe is loath to leave his New York City brownstone. The few exceptions readers have seen so far are when Wolfe thought Archie’s life was in danger or when orchids were involved. This time, it is the allure of three rare hybrid black orchids at a flower show. Wolfe cannot resist their siren song. Lewis Hewitt is the wealthy business man who has three variations of a black orchid showcased at the exhibition, and Wolfe wants them all for himself. During this exhibition, additional entertainment includes a strange exhibit of a couple miming a picnic. Day in and day out, the couple pretends to enjoy a garden lunch. When the male companion, Harry Gould, is murdered, Wolfe sees an opportunity to gamble with Hewitt for the orchids. Hewitt is facing murder charges when it is discovered his walking stick was used in the commission of the murder. All evidence points to Hewitt as the guilty party.

Author fact: Rex Stout enlisted in the Navy.

Book trivia: Black Orchids was published as a novella along with a second story, Cordially Invited to Meet Death.

Book Audio trivia: Michael Pritchard narrates the audio book I listened to in the car. Someone digitized the cassette tapes so every once in awhile Michael will say, “this book is continued on cassette number three, side A” or “this audio is continued on side B. Please turn the tape over.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe: Too Good To Miss” (p 226). Here is the weird thing about this addition – Black Orchids is a novella and since Cordially Invited to Meet Death is not on my Challenge list, I am not reading it.

Glamorous Powers

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Howatch, Susan. Glamorous Powers. Harper Collins Publishers, 1996.

Reason read: to continue the series started in April in honor of Easter.

The world is teetering on the fringe of World War II. Abbot Jonathan Darrow experiences visions that tell him he must leave the Order. He has had the Glamorous Power of second sight since he was fourteen years old. (Readers will recognize Darrow as the pivotal spiritual advisor to Charles Ashworth in Glittering Images.) Despite his vision calling him to leave the Order, Darrow must undergo a thorough psychological analysis. Only Abbot-General Francis can grant his release and only after Francis determines it is in Darrow’s best interest to leave. The decision cannot be one borne out of spiritual crisis or impulse brought on by false visions. It is such a twist of fate from the pages of Glittering Images when it was Jonathan Darrow analyzing and healing Charles Ashworth’s psyche.
One of the delectable elements of the Stargate series is how soap opera dramatic the writing is. Emotions are turned up to eleven and events are earth-shattering. Words like terror, shock, harrowing, disastrous, horror, hostile, garish, rage, disturbed, diabolical, disgraceful, despair, doomed, menace, monster, disaster, tragedy, troubled, appalling, cruel, chaos, and crisis. Everyone trembles, feel faint or actually does faint, or gasps loudly in utter dismay. Some of Darrow’s angst is warranted. He experiences sensory overload while visiting his modern daughter. He is not used to the sharpness of the outside world. In time, Darrow discovers the work he is supposed to do on the outside. Glamorous Powers examines the sins of the father, handed down. Who will break the cycle?

Confessional: the miscommunications and assumptions Jonathan experiences with his wife filled me with anxiety. Their marriage was fraught with one misunderstanding after another and I constantly questioned if it would survive.

Lines I loved, “People always know when they’re not loved” (p 106). Indeed. Here’s another, “I’m busy learning how to kill people and I hope you are pleased” (p 267).
Two words I loved together, “emotionally dislocated” (p 235).

Author fact: Glamorous Powers is the thirteenth novel of Susan Howatch’s.

Book trivia: like Glittering Images, Howatch begins each chapter of Glamorous Powers with a quote from an individual who inspired the story. In this case, William Ralph Inge, an intellectual and Dean of Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London (1911-1934). She includes a brief biography of Inge at the end of Glamorous Powers.

Music: Straus

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Fathers, Mothers, Sisters, Brothers: The Family of the Clergy” (p 87). Also from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Entering England” (p 76).

Imagine If…

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Vale, Lucien. Imagine If…Tupac Did Not Go To Vegas. Shattered Mythos Press, 2025.

Reason read: I am a member of the Early Review program for LibraryThing. I occasionally get to review interesting books and this was one of them.

The one thing to keep in mind when reading Lucien Vale’s Imagine If series is that it is pure fiction. You are imagining an alternate ending to a well-known story. Everyone knows Tupac was murdered in Las Vegas. Vale is simply flipping the script and imagining a scenario where Pac would decide against that fateful trip. Vale cleverly finds a real life story and imagines an alternate ending. I don’t really care if the events in New York City mirror fact or not. The whole idea is to ask what if? and to be entertained. The action of Imagine If is tightly wound and fast paced. It reads like a movie with exaggerated dialogue full of gangster lingo and drama. If entertainment was Vale’s goal, he succeeded.

Confessional: one of my favorite movies is Sliding Doors starring Gwyneth Paltrow. It is the story of Helen’s two very different lives: the life she would lead if she had caught the train going home and the alternate where she misses it.

Author fact: Lucien Vale has also written an “Imagine” book about Bruce Lee.

Book trivia: Imagine If… is a very short 77 pages long.

Where There’s a Will

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Stout, Rex. Where There’s a Will. Bantam Books, 1940.

Reason read: to continue the series started in November.

Unlike Nero Wolfe’s other mysteries to solve which usually involve death, Where There’s a Will starts with a potentially phony last will and testament. The family of Noel Hawthorne have hired Nero Wolfe to contest Hawthorne’s final wishes as they seem absurd and out of character. Who gives his mistress his entire estate while leaving his sisters each a peach, a pear, and an apple? True to form, Nero interviews a large cast of characters and uncovers corruption, illicit affairs, and even a few murders. Of course, Wolfe solves the case. Interestingly enough, it all came down to a flower.
The Crime Line Nero Wolfe series always includes an introduction by another author. Where There’s a Will was introduced by none other that Dean Koontz, an accomplished mystery author in his own right. Written in 1992, Koontz is funny and, dare I say, charming? As an aside, I have to wonder what he would say about our current administrative situation (he mentions #47 in his introduction).
The other fact about the Crime Line series is it boasts that not one word has been omitted from the original text.
Insult that had me scratching my head: “Go chase a snail” (p 21). Is that a roundabout way of saying someone is slow?

As an aside, Fred Durkin is a man after my own heart. He puts vinegar on things. So do I.

Author fact: Stout briefly attended the University of Kansas.

Book trivia: at the end of Where There’s a Will there are two recipes from Stout’s private collection: basic omelet and scrambled eggs. I will definitely try the omelet because I like the technique described.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe: Too Good To Miss” (p 226).

Phoenix and the Carpet

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Nesbit, E. The Phoenix and the Carpet. Read by Anna Bentinick. Naxos Audio Books, 2005.

Reason read: May is Nesbit’s birth month. Read in her honor.

The Phoenix and the Carpet is the second book in the Psammead Trilogy. (Five Children and It and Story of the Amulet round out the series). The same five children as in the first book are back: Cyril (Squirrel), Anthea (Panther), Robert (Bobs), Jane (Pussy), and Lamb (Hilary). This time they discover an egg hidden in a carpet. It holds a beautiful talking phoenix. Like a genie from a bottle, once the phoenix is freed from the egg it explains that the carpet can grant three wishes a day. So the children’s adventures begin. The phoenix needs to often consult the Psammead to get the children out of various predicaments, but unlike Five Children and It, this time the Psammead is not the central character of the story.

Author fact: Edith Nesbit was a political activist in addition to being an author.

Book trivia: The Phoenix and the Carpet was first published in 1904. It became a British miniseries in 1997.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Fantasy for Young and Old” (p 83).

Beyond Belief

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Naipaul, N. S. Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions Among the Converted Peoples. Random House, 1999.

Reason read: Beyond Belief is the sequel to Among the Believers. Read to finish the series.

In Beyond Belief Naipaul picks up the story of faith nineteen years after Among the Believers. He follows his own footsteps and traces over the memories with new and different observations. His connections to people are less interviews and more conversations, however just as probing. Naipaul meets with poets, publishers, lecturers, researchers, criminals, religious and political leaders, laborers, and Muslim intellectuals. The most common theme was in times of various regimes you had two choices – be revolutionary or reactionary. Naipaul met them both. My favorite part was when he addresses the sacredness of place; how the idea of what constitutes “sacred” can be different for each of us, depending on the connection we have to that place. Or think we have. I think of Monhegan and realize that there are only certain sections of the island I consider sacred even though I speak of the entire island in generalized terms. Those sacred spots are ones that I hardly visit, never talk about, and secretly dream about the most.
Afterthought: It must be difficult to appease something as intangible as a guardian spirit.

As an aside, I enjoyed meeting Imaduddin. Lecturer, electrical engineer, Islamic teacher, Indonesian, political prisoner (for fourteen months), once wealthy and famous. What a fascinating man.

Book trivia: there are no photographs at all in Beyond Belief. I would have liked to see the Indonesian landscapes, even if it was just pictures of the rice fields or Javanese puppetry.

Music: Beethoven

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Indicative of Indonesia” (p 103).

Glittering Images

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Howatch, Susan. Glittering Images. Alfred A. Knopf, 1987.

Reason read: I am not religious, but Easter is in the month of April and this book is about that world. Read to recognize it.

Vicar Charles Ashworth agrees to become an archiepiscopal spy. What could be juicier? He has been tasked by the Archbishop of Canterbury with reading Bishop Jardine’s private journal and search for illicit love letters to make sure nothing untoward is happening in the household. Rumors abound. Ashworth’s cover story is that he is going to Starbridge Cathedral because he wants his students to learn more about Saint Anselm and Starbridge just happens to hold the only early manuscripts. As if orchestrated in advance, a dinner party discusses the subject of divorce as it relates to the Marriage Bill and the Bible. This is perfect cover for Charles’ investigation, but it reveals deep, dark, and dirty secrets of his own. True to his past and unable to help himself, Charles falls in love with a member of the bishop’s household; the very person causing the Archbishop’s concern. From there, everything unravels at a rapid pace. Glittering Images becomes laden with psychobabble theology and therapy doubletalk. When Charles suffers from an emotional angst far heavier than he can handle, he seeks the counsel of Jon Darrow, a monk from the Fordite monastery. Thanks to Darrow’s investigative interviews, sound consultation, and the subsequent wailing torment of Charles, the two discover Charles is of two distinct personalities. One maintains the glittering image of perfection while the other is a whiskey gulping, fornicating fool wracked with guilt. Is the man he has called ‘father’ to blame or is it the man who actually sired him? Uncovering layers of insecurity and irrational jealousy leads to a self-fulfilling prophesy. The more insecure Charles behaves, the less inclined people are to convince him of his worth. The fear of abandonment is not exclusive to Charles. Many other characters suffer the same terror of inadequacy.

I love books that stretch my vocabulary just a little more. Words like senectitude, monotheism, prelactical, and perorations do not easily roll off the tongue.
Confessional: I am currently reading The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough and Beyond Belief by V.S. Naipaul alongside Glittering Images. It is a bit much to be reading three very religious books at the same time. While theology is a strong theme for both, they are all completely different. To be honest, I do not know how I am going to get through the other Stargate books. I feel like I have overdosed on religion.

Quotes to quote, “The chief disadvantage of Carrie’s insomnia is that she is always overcome with the urge to share it with me” (p 43). Been there and done that. When my mind snaps on at three in the morning I have the overwhelming urge to share my alertness with my partner.
Here’s another, “I also drank two glasses of water in pursuit of sobriety” (p 175). I love the image of chasing something that you cannot catch.
One more, “I wondered dimply how anyone survived their parents” (p 322).

Confessional: there were parts of Glittering Images that were hard to read. Ashworth Sr. reminded me of my mother. She can be critical and condescending. Her displays of affection are restrained and limited to outward negativity. She means well, but she is heavy on the tough and sparing on the love.

Author fact: Howatch has a law degree.

Book Twist: Glittering Images is the first book in the Stargate series. I will be reading Glamorous Powers next. As an aside, the word Stargate makes me think of science fiction.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Fathers, Mothers, Sisters, Brothers: the Family of the Clergy” (p 86), and again in Book Lust To Go in the simple chapter called “Entering England” (p 76).

Over My Dead Body

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Stout, Rex. Over My Dead Body. Porirua Publishing, 1938.

Reason read: to continue the series started in December in honor of Rex Stout’s birth month.

A fencing student is murdered. Why fencing? It certainly makes for a different and interesting twist. Over My Dead Body starts off as a theft investigation but escalates to an epee stabbing someone to death. I guess an epee makes for an unusual weapon. As usual, Wolfe’s ability to solve the crime is based on deductions brought about by human nature, process of elimination, and acute attention to detail. Over My Dead Body is no different, but this time Wolfe doesn’t shy away from threatening blackmail to get the information he needs to close the case.
With each new mystery readers learn a little more about Nero Wolfe’s personal life. In Over My Dead Body it is revealed that Wolfe was once an agent of the Austrian government and he was also a member of the Montenegrin army. He currently contributes to a loyalist group in Spain. He also has an adopted daughter. I certainly didn’t see that coming, considering his opinion of women and his reluctance to leave his brownstone apartment.
As usual, Archie does not disappoint. He continues to be full of vim and vinegar with his sarcasm and wit. He demonstrates perfect synchronicity with Nero. There is never any need for Wolfe to explain anything to Archie. They communicate through subtle gestures, raised eyebrows, and odd comments. Nero and Archie practice a whole bunch of trickery in Over My Dead Body and their symbiotic relationship saves the day every time.
Readers will also learn more about Archie and Nero’s abode. I believe this is the first time the secret compartment with the peephole has been utilized.

Lines I loved, “I can give you my word, but I know what that is worth and you don’t” (p 226) and “For God’s sake, let’s step on it, or my bed with think I am having an affair with the couch” (p 354).

Author fact: Stout married a designer and was with her up until his death.

Book trivia: An adaptation of Over My Dead Body was the final episode of a television drama.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called, obviously, “Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe: Too Good To Miss” (p 226)

Lee’s Lieutenants – Vol 3

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Freeman, Douglas Southall. Lee’s Lieutenants: A Study in Command. Volume 3: Gettysburg to Appomattox. Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1944.

Reason read: to finish the series started in January in honor of General Robert E. Lee’s birth month.

The third and final installment of Lee’s Lieutenant’s opens in June of 1863, nearly 162 years ago. The civil war is nearly over. Lee’s right-hand man, Stonewall Jackson has died. Losing Jackson was a tremendous blow for General Lee. Longstreet was his only subordinate with similar military experience. I have to wonder if Longstreet resented the comparison. Many think the loss at Gettysburg, in simplified terms, can be blamed on the absence of Stonewall Jackson. His death prevented cavalry efficiency and amplified the poor management of artillery. Ammunition was in short supply by the time they got to Gettysburg.
For what Freeman could not possibly glean from diaries and first-hand accounts, he speculated and said “this is surely how it happened.” But speaking of the letters and diaries, the missives varied in intimacy. Some soldiers when they wrote home did not want their loved ones to worry about them so they kept details vague. Others were extremely honest about their harrowing experiences in battle.

Confessional: It is hard to understand the philosophy of war. In the midst of ferocious battles an army can take time out from all the fighting to showcase their abilities to a grandstand of feminine spectators. There were other shenanigans like bringing a mule into the grand cavalcade. It is a well known fact that during World War II on Christmas day, soldiers took a break from battle to play football with the enemy. It was back to business the very next day.
How about the advancements in communication? Can you imagine a soldier these days passing a note to a superior? There were barely any accurate maps, no GPS so it is no wonder that many soldiers lost their way and bumbled into enemy territory.

Quote I had to quote, “the stench of battle was in the air” (p 155). How is it that I believe I know what that smells like? Impossible.

Book trivia: As I mentioned earlier, this is the last installment of the Lee’s Lieutenant series.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Civil War Nonfiction” (p 58).

Banking on Death

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Lathem, Emma. Banking on Death. Simple Media, Inc., 2016.

Reason read: someone told me that April is banking month. I am not sure what that means, but I’m going with it and reading Banking on Death in observance.

Everyone is looking for Robert Schneider. An inheritance cannot be distributed until all members of the Schneider family have been accounted for, and Robert is missing. [As an aside, in this day and age, you can just hire someone to do some reverse genealogy, and Robert would be found in no time.] The clock is ticking. As soon as Mother Hilda passes, the inheritance comes due to the children and John Putnam Thatcher must distribute it to the surviving heirs. Thatcher is not your average crime solver. He is not a homicide detective or even a private investigator. He is a seasoned banker and chairman of SLOAN, looking to solve the mystery of Robert Schneider, rumored to have been murdered. There is no doubt Robert Schneider was a less than stand-up guy with a reputation for adultery, callous abandonment of his wife and newborn son, backstabbing, and greed. He was a loudmouthed heavy drinker who was vice president and owned 10% of the family business, Buffalo Industrial Products, Inc. Plenty of people wanted him dead, and with the possibility of gaining his portion of the substantial inheritance, his own family can be added to the list of suspects.
Lathem is sly with the details. Clues point to a whole host of murderous characters. Did Robert’s widow want revenge for a failed marriage? Stan Michaels did not get along with Robert at all. His daughter, Jeannie, had an affair with Robert. Did Jeannie’s husband, Roy Novak, want to kill Robert for sleeping with his wife?
A blizzard holds the key to everyone’s alibis. Buffalo, New York, is the perfect setting for an epic snowstorm.
A word of caution: there are many characters in Banking on Death with a great deal of unnecessary information about each of them. Take Rose Theresa Corsa, a secretary at the investment firm. She has two younger sisters and a niece named Maria; she is religious and attended midnight mass at Christmas; she provides cooking assistance to her mother; she has a large group of relatives; her closest friend is Maria; she was late to work for the first time in four years. A great deal of information for someone who has nothing to do with the story. Consider Charlie Trinkham. He is an associate chief of the trust department. He is engaged to be married to a much younger woman. Ken Nicholls did not go to his family reunion in San Francisco, and even though he is a Harvard graduate, he did not dress appropriately for Boston weather in winter.

As an aside, was the detective story created by Edgar Allan Poe? I need to look that one up.
As another aside, Banking on Death takes place in much different times. Photographs of the crime scene were printed in the newspapers.

Author fact: Banking on Death is the first novel of writing duo Mary J Latsis and Martha Henissart.

Book trivia: John Putnam Thatcher is the protagonist in Lathem’s banking mysteries. In Banking on Death we learn that he has three kids (all married). One child lives in Connecticut. His daughter Laura is pregnant with her fourth child and married to a doctor, Ben Carlson.

Quotes to quote, “the best thing a banker can do is cultivate silence” (p 97), “But, even senior vice-presidents are not totally immune to a little sensationalism” (p 140) and my absolute favorite, “Death had occurred sometime before the discovery” (p 178). Brilliant.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “I Love a Mystery” (p 117).

Brig of War

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Woodman, Richard. A Brig of War. John Murray, 1983.

Reason read: to continue the series started in February in honor of history month.

When we join Nathaniel Drinkwater he is aboard the brig Hellebore. Admiral Nelson has ordered Lieutenant Drinkwater to deliver an urgent message to the British squadron in the Red Sea and hunt for Edouard Santhonax. On the professional front Drinkwater is responsible for settling disputes no matter how trivial. The power struggle dynamic between Drinkwater and Rogers builds tension throughout the plot. But Rogers is not the only enemy. Morris, Drinkwater’s nemesis in An Eye of the Fleet comes back to taunt Drinkwater with his higher rank and mind on revenge.
In his personal life, Nathaniel has since married Elizabeth (which was kind of a shock to me since the last time I knew, Nathaniel and Elizabeth had only seen each other the once. Confessional: I had forgotten there was a whole other book, A King’s Cutter, between An Eye of the Fleet and A Brig of War.). In my world it appeared that Woodman, not one for sentimental fluff, sailed right over their courtship and wedding. Now Elizabeth is expecting their first child (by not reading A King’s Cutter maybe I was forced to skip right over the sex, too?).
Woodman continues to educate his readers on nautical terms and superstitions. Words like binnacle, capstan, fo’c’s’le, catheads, jackstay, futtocks, spanner, and cascabel are common throughout A Brig of War. Woodman addresses the taboo of homosexuality and women aboard a ship.
As an aside, I keep comparing the vast difference in connectivity from 1798 to 2025. Drinkwater could not get word to Elizabeth to inform her of his latest assignment. He would be at sea well beyond the birth of their child. For all she knew Drinkwater had deserted her at the instant he became a father. These days, at the very least, she would catch an errant post on Insty, if not a vague text.
A Brig of War only spans less than two years of Drinkwater’s life at sea (February 1798 to January 1800). Again, like An Eye of the Fleet, Woodman draws from real events and real people. Some of the senior officers described in A Brig of War really existed.

Monhegan Six Degrees: I loved Woodman’s description of the phosphorescence trailing behind the wake of the dolphins. It reminded me of the glowing tide on the the beach.

Author fact: Richard Woodman left school at sixteen (same age as my dads when he left home to join the coast guard).

Book trivia: A Brig of War is actually the third book of the series. The Challenge has me skipping a bunch. I will skip The Bomb Vessel and The Corvette in order to get to 1805.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the simple chapter called “Sea Stories” (p 218).