Tome Time - The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Started January 11th, finished February 17th.  534 pages.

This was a book suggestion for Great American Novel from Adnams.  Thanks for the recommendation.

I had no idea what the book was about before reading.  I just knew it was set during the Great Depression.  From the outset I was intrigued by the introduction of the characters.  My main aim was to find out what had happened to the people as they were introduced and how they'd got to where they were.  Just enough, a bit at a time was revealed about each.  I liked most of the characters.  This was where my difficulty with the book lay.  I liked these people, empathised with them to an extent.  This made it a very hard read.  There is no relief in this book.  The world they inhabit is one of the bleakest I have come across in fiction.  Made all the bleaker by it's reality.  This is our world at its worst.  No fantastical, supernatural forces or huge disasters.  Just a series of things going wrong through no fault of those that suffer.

The depiction of the pitfalls they encounter constantly and the 'nasty' characters willing to exploit them is very depressing.  This book is heartbreaking.  Your hindsight can see the folly in their plans and what is bound to happen.  Whilst knowing that there was no correct option anyway.  You wish there was an out for this family but you know that an unrealistic happy part would ruin the book.  

This is a very, very, good book.  I ma not sure it is one I will ever read again though.  I found it very hard going.  It may be shallow but I find I enjoy books where I can escape my little problems.  One where I leave them for 1000's of families in a dire situation didn't give me a sense of peace but of misery.

3.5 out of 5 pawprints  It only lost the 1.5 because it made me sad.

Next - River God by Wilbur Smith

Book 3 of 2012, total pages 1,082

Tome Time - The Pale Criminal by Philip Kerr

Started January 3rd, finished January 10th. 272 pages.

As you may have noticed my blogging has been terribly ignored lately.  A combination of a busy time at work and home improvements has left me with little free time.    Apologies.

This is the second in the Bernie Gunther series of books.  Once more we're in 1930's Berlin.  This time Bernie is hired to try and solve the killings of many 'Aryan type' girls/young women.  This looks very much like the work of a sexually motivated serial killer.

The scene setting is again very good.  You find yourself immersed in the era.  It's a good story.  Full of the twists you expect from a thriller.  I had inklings of what was going on but never the whole picture.  Just how I like a novel.  

My only problem with the book is the name dropping.  There are a couple of very high ranking Nazi officials who pop up.  I know they give you something you think you recognise.  It doesn't work for me though it takes me out of it for  a second or two.  It's an easy way of giving a character plenty of weight.  We all think we know these people and definitely have opinions on them.  I would have preferred the characters to stay fictional though.  Not a big problem for me, just a niggle.

3.5 out of 5 pawprints

Next The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Book 2 of 2012, total pages 548

Tome Time - Le Dossier, How to Survive the English by Sarah Long

Started December 19th, finished January 3rd.  276 pages

This is described as a guide for French ladies who, against all their better judgement, have to live in England.

My first quibbles would be that this isn't for 'French ladies' but Parisiennes.  Nor is it about living in England so much as London.

I feel I'm lacking in a sense of humour for large parts of this book.  Maybe it's the sneering tone I found in it's author?  There were moments of  'Wow, yes, she's hit the nail with that one.'  It also made you think about how our little island does things.  I quite like the way we do some of the things she scorns.  Others hurt a little more because she was right.

I would like to see her version on the faults of Paris as a home city.  I can't see it though.  In her eyes Paris is civilised, London lags a long way behind.

This is not a book I can find much to recommend in.  It's interesting but irritated me too much to be enjoyed.

2 out of 5 pawprints

Next - The pale Criminal by Philip Kerr

Book 1 of 2012, Page Total 276

Tome Time - Cybill Disobedience by Cybill Shepherd

Started November 15th, finished December 29th.  421 pages.

This was an impulse free purchase.  I discovered it whilst hunting around for free/very cheap Kindle books.  I was very surprised to find it for free.  I've always quite liked Cybill Shepherd and thought her autobiography would be popular.  Especially due to the Elvis bits.  Then I began to wonder if she'd missed out all the juicy bits and that's why it was free....

Well, I couldn't have been more wrong really.  This seems to be a no holds barred account of the way she sees her life.  Unless she's led a much more exciting time and she's only given us the tip of the iceberg.  I find this unlikely though as she doesn't look haggard enough.

She starts at the very beginning and we learn of her childhood.  Which doesn't seem altogether the happiest.  there are some dark parts to it.  She's taught early on the value of her looks.  Which she seems to view as a help but also a hindrance at times throughout her career.

I really expected to like Cybill and thoroughly enjoy this book.  She's always come across as beautiful, bright and fun with what seems like a wicked sense of humour.  The tales of her tomboy behaviour at the start of the book further confirmed this.  However as the book went on I found myself not taking to her quite as much.  It seems wrong to state that the author of an autobiography seems self-centred, that's what they're here for.  It just seemed that she saw things from her perspective and nowhere else.

Early on in the book a relationship falls apart, which may have done anyway but she hastened it on.  That's never going to warm the reader up.  But I put this aside as she was honest about her involvement and she was pretty young at the time.  She always seems to come across as though she's a little hard done to throughout the book.  Maybe she was?  The problem was I don't know anything about anyone else mentioned so I can't compare.

The chapters of her life including Orson Welles were interesting.  Hell, she shared a house with Citizen Kane :-)  The parts about Elvis were creepy rather than anything else.  She did well getting out of there.

I hate it when I read an autobiography and I like the writer less afterwards.  I don't hate the woman.  I still have her to thank for episodes of Cybill when I was grounded on Friday nights.  I would love to know the views of those that she was less than complimentary of.  The ones she thinks stabbed her in the back.  You've got to give her credit, she did well in a male dominated world.  She was successful and I'm guessing she did have to stand her ground a lot.  Maybe I'm doing her a huge disservice.

The problem with reading a Kindle book is that you don't get to read the cover and dedications etc, as easily as a real book.  There is a ghost writer here, Aimee Lee Ball.  I forget these things when I read on a  Kindle though.  I have no idea what her input was.  The book read well enough though.

I certainly couldn't complain that there wasn't enough juice in there.  This book is raw and a gossip's dream. Not one I'll ever read again though.

2.5 out of 5 pawprints

Next - Le Dossier by Sarah Long

Tome Time - Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

Started December 1st, finished December 19th.  305 pages.

This was recommended by a friend.  It had been on my radar for a while so it became time to finally read it.

I wasn't disappointed.  This is a book that lives up to it's cover comments.

Bourdain has an easy, chatty writing style.  He can see his faults but without false modesty.  He tells his student (and far past student) years honestly without a male bragging style.  I don't really feel like I 'know' the author from this book but I did enjoy 'spending time in his company'.

Of course what we're all looking for is the dirt on the industry.  There's plenty in here to keep you entertained.  But what I liked most were the characters he described.  It's also ensured that I will never attempt restaurant ownership.  Bourdain doesn't give out much more personal info than Marco Pierre White did in his memoir.  However this one is a far better read.  You feel like you've shared rather than been shut out.

The author has a love for his industry and enjoys it warts and all.  It's a fascinating, entertaining read.  I've took his tips on board on what not to eat and when to avoid things but I've survived this long.  I'm never going to refuse the mussels if a place looks respectable enough.

4.5 out of 5 pawprints

Next - Cybill Disobedience - by Cybill Shepherd

Tome Time - The Spanish Civil War by Antony Beevor

Started May 19th, finished December 16th.  410 pages.

This is a book I wanted to read after seeing a few films set in the era soon after the Civil War.  I wasn't pleased by my total lack of knowledge of what happened.  I was glad that the book is written by Beevor as I find his books an interesting read and easy to understand.

A quick look at the glossary should have warned me of what was to come.  This is a very difficult conflict to grasp.  There are so many factions within the two warring sides.  Far too many names involved to make remembering who's who completely possible.

I came out of the reading of the book with an understanding of what had happened and why.  However the finer an even not so fine detail isn't clear to me.  This may be mostly my fault.  As the book was such a heavy read I dipped in and out of it.  A chapter here, a few pages there.  The book is well written, it's just a very hard subject to grasp.  I'm very glad I read it as I now have a good overview of events that led to Franco's dictatorship.

Neither side comes out of this book well.  The ridiculous in fighting and power struggles are infuriating to read about.  The lives they cost horrendous.  The barbarity of the commanders in what they dispatched their own men into is gut wrenching.  What they used their new technology to do to 'the other side' barbaric in the extreme.  This is a very depressing book.  Spain's people are used to test modern weaponry on by outside factors at no risk to themselves.

It stops at the end of the war.  I would like to read more though.  If anyone knows of any non-fiction accounts of life in Franco's Spain please let me know.  I can't seem to find any.  I can't read any more about the war itself for a long time though.  It seems film makers are now looking at Franco's reign and the war.  Maybe the books will follow.

4 out of 5 pawprints.

Next - Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

Tome Time - March Violets by Philip Kerr

Started November 20th, finished December 1st.

I came across this series of novels via an ad for the latest.  I was surprised i had never heard of the Bernie Gunther novels.  They are crime fiction, about a Private Eye, Bernie Gunther, set in Berlin under Nazi rule.  Sounds right up my street.  Well, you know how these things go, I'll probably love or loathe them....

It took a while to find a realistically priced copy.  I ended up buying the 'Berlin Noir' trilogy of the first books in the series.  March Violets, The Pale Criminal and A German Requiem.  I can well understand why they named the trilogy Berlin Noir.  It is written very much like an old Hollywood noir film.

Bernie is not a man you would instantly warm to.  His thoughts about women are a tad sexist to say the least.  Up to now though he hasn't mistreated any.  He's a world weary cynic making a living locating or finding information on missing Jews in Berlin.  The events take place in 1936.  He was once a member of the official police force and still has contacts there but now he works alone.

He is hired by a rich businessman to find a diamond necklace stolen as his daughter and son in law were murdered.  As can be expected the case is anything but simple and he comes across many twists and turns.  Most of them involving danger.

As we go long we find Bernie is a man who can survive Nazi Berlin whilst not becoming as bad as the worst people in the city.  He's no Goody, but we're led to read him as a decent soul overall even if he's not the cleanest living soul.

My knowledge of the era isn't good enough to spot any factual errors and Kerr gives a good sense of the atmosphere in Berlin at the time.  My one quibble was that the story had to involve a high ranking party official everyone has heard of.  This wasn't necessary to the tale and felt a little like name dropping for teh sake of it.

I have a feeling the books will continue through Berlin's timeline.  I'm looking forward to seeing how the events of the next few years are tackled by Kerr and how Gunther reacts.  This is a dark book, the lead character leads to some smutty passages.  It's not one you'd read aloud to your Grandmother.  I enjoyed it though and will definitely be reading the next two novels at least.

3.5 out of 5 pawprints

Next - The Spanish Civil War by Anthony Beevor

Tome Time - The Twin Dilemma by Eric Saward

Started November 16th, Finished November 19th.

This is a readalong with Paul's Target blogging which can be found here http://goldfishandparacetamol.wordpress.com/target-books/

I had only recently suffered the TV version of The Twin Dilemma.  THis was going to be interesting.  Would I prefer it to the dramatisation, which I didn't remember being anywhere near as awful as it was...

I found the story to be written with a slightly smug edge.  The descriptions of the father character at the beginning is what highlighted this for me.  It didn't seem to gel with what I expect from a novelisation of a children's story.

It probably didn't win any love from me as I was so let down by the DVD so soon before reading it.

The character of Azmael I expected to be fleshed out a little more.  Made a little more like he can make a difference one way or the other.  I don't think he ever gives enough oomph.  No one in this story seems to fulfil a satisfying role.  I think less characters, fleshed out more may have been a better idea.  They all fail to scare me.  

All in all, this book felt cluttered and not very satisfying.  I can't see me watching or reading this story again any time in the near or middle future.

1 out of 5 pawprints

Next - March Violets

Tome Time - The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Started October 29th, finished November 15th.

I was very much looking forward to this book.  The first of this author's I read, The Shadow of the Wind, immediately added itself to my list of favourite books.  The fact that was was another large volume pleased me.

The book is set in the same universe as TSotW, Barcelona, under Franco's rule.  It also contains some of the same characters in smaller roles.  It visits the Cemetery of Forgotten Books too.  A wonderful invention of the author's that I'm sure we'll see again.

I was sad to find that this book didn't speak to my soul the way the first did.  I can't say there was anything wrong with it.  It was dark, spooky, filled with well written characters.  I think it was just a little too fantastical for me.  Maybe the story of a text isn't as gripping as the story of a love affair?  It was quite easy to work out what was happening.  I don't think the author wanted to hide this from the reader.  While I grasped 'the mystery' I guess I couldn't really grasp or care 'why?'

I would love to know how I would have reacted to this book without prior knowledge of the author.  Did I feel a little let down because TSotW was so good?  Or was it because this one isn't to my tastes as much?  I'll never know.

It's still an interesting tale.  I wouldn't want to put anyone off reading it as I think it's a taste thing rather than a quality issue I have with it.  It's always nice to read things set in cities such as Barcelona.  There is a real sense of the city here.  He uses it well.  I can't see me reading this again in a hurry but I'm not quite ready to consign it to the charity shop yet.

3.5 out of 5 pawprints

Next - Doctor Who and the Twin Dilemma by Eric Saward

Tome Time - The Coach House Cats by Marilyn Edwards

Started October 7th, finished November 7th.

This was a titbit book, like all its predecessors.  I haven't much to say on it really.  I thoroughly enjoyed the author's tales of life with her cats and life in her local community.  It is a continuation of the previous books.

I thoroughly enjoy these books.  I think they would be any cat lover's cup of tea.  If you are to read them I suggest you start with her first The Cats of Moon Cottage .

The author comes across as a lovely lady.  She also writes children's fiction, about cats again.  Her website can be found here - http://www.thecatsofmooncottage.co.uk/

I was sad to learn at the end of the book that this is the last.

4 out of 5 pawprints

Next - The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Tome Time - Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C Clarke

Started October 18th, finished October 28th.

As a teen this was my favourite sci-fi book.  It gripped me early on and kept me all the way through.  I was as desperate as the characters to know what was happening inside 'Rama'.

For some reason I haven't read it in a very long time, probably around fifteen years.  I've never forgotten it though and always remembered it with fondness if it was ever mentioned.  Then my wonderful dad appears with the entire Rama series for me.  He'd found them at a second hand book sale.  No excuses not to retread old paths then....

I was initially worried that I may be disappointed by it. My memory has a habit of pushing things further towards the end of the spectrum than they deserve.  I remember loving or loathing a lot but not so much things in the middle.

I did enjoy this book a lot this time.  The only drawback being that it felt a little dated.  A single comment about women in their space clothing was enough to make me cringe.  However it was not enough to spoil a great reading experience.  I forgive it its faults as they're surrounded by a wonderful story.  A story that unfolds at just the right pace to keep you desperate to know what's happening.  

One surprise was the length of the book.  I remembered it as being a much bigger book.  I'm assuming I must have mixed it up with others later in the series.  

The book ends with some finality and most questions unanswered.  I know there are sequels so this is no bad thing.  I do love an author that is brave enough to leave questions unanswered.  It gives you much less to quibble about and plenty to mull over.

I'm looking forward to getting to the rest of the series.  I remember much less of those than I do of this one.. I do know they're not all up to the quality of the original and I hope they won't make me sad for the legacy.

The first time you read this book will always be the best as you can let the story unfold as it should.  I will be reading it again and much sooner than 15 years on hopefully!  The story is easily strong enough for re-reads even without the 'surprise' aspect.

I can't think of a sci-fi book I enjoyed more so it still has it's favourite crown

4.5 out of 5 pawprints

Next - The Coach House Cats by Marilyn Edwards

Tome Time - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

Started October 16th, finished October 16th.

This was an impulse 'free for Kindle' Amazon download.  I fully intend to exhaust their free ebooks that tickle my fancy.  Suggestions are mroe than welcome :-)

I love this film but I'm afraid to say I hadn't read the book first.  When the film was released I didn't even know there was a book.  

I wasn't surprised to find the book much 'quieter' than the film.  It hadn't been 'Burtoned'.

The tsory tells of Ichabod Crane.  A lanky, superstitious guy who isn't ever going to be part of the 'in crowd'.  He is sent to the small hamlet of Sleepy Hollow as a schoolteacher.  Here he falls for a girl who is seemingly way out of his league.  I won't tell you any more.  It's a short enough tale to enjoy in one sitting and i think worth a read.

The book is spooky with a sense of fun.  Just the right length to tell the somewhat open-ended tale.  It is definitely one I will read again.  None of the characters are fleshed out very much.  The style is more the telling of a folk tale.

4 out of 5 pawprints

Next - Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C Clarke

Tome Time - 102 Minutes by Jim Dwyer & Kevin Flynn

Started October 11th, finished October 15th.

After the events of 9/11 I read quite a lot of books written by people involved in the events, cleanup or building of the World Trade Center.  Then for quite a few years I didn't read anything more.  With the tenth anniversary of those terrible attacks there were obviously books being re-released and catching my eye.

This book tells the tales of those that were in the towers from the time the first 'plane struck to the the falling of the North Tower.  Needless to say this is a moving book.  It seems to contain only what is factually known.  No romanticising things, it's totally unnecessary.

It is well told.  The stage is set well.  The events unfold without any overdramatic build ups to what we know will unfold.  This is s very moving book and although you know the final outcome it is very gripping.  The stories that are most well known are not dwelt on.  Making this a very human book where it would be difficult not to empathise with the people whose stories you are learning.

The facts about the engineering are explained in layman's terms.  As are the planning laws that were in place as the World Trade Center was planned and built.  There is no finger pointing, just the facts.  Which speak for themselves.  This is not a book for conspiracy theorists.  They will find nothing here to occupy their imagination.

I found this a very well written book about a very tender subject.  It's still hard for me to fully grasp the loss of life on that day in America.  This book helps with that while never trying too hard to expand beyond its remit.

5 out of 5 pawprints

Next - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

Tome Time - The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde

Started October 6th, finished October 10th.

This was a bit of a special read as it was the first I'd read on my ebook reader.  An experience I found I disliked much less than expected.  It's not reading a book by any means and it lacks something but there are also bonuses too.  I won't desert my books but they will be complemented.

The best thing about this book for me was Wilde's way with words.  His put downs are wonderful.  He writes quite differently to anyone else I can think of.  He is a man of wit.  

The story of Dorian Grey is one I assumed I knew.  Picture in the attic and all that.  When I actually thought about it though I realised that was all I knew.  How did the picture come to be?  Is it the only picture?  How does it all end?  Finding the book for free download was the push I needed.

The story moves much slower than I expected.  Maybe a little too slowly.  The scenes are set as opulently as some of the scenes themselves.  We are left in no doubt of the characters and what makes them tick.  I did begin to wonder when things would actually start happening though.  Once they did I was happier.  Though they still meandered a little slower than I'd have liked.  There are so many quotable passages from this book.  Mainly spoken by Lord Henry Wotton.  I wonder if there's any of Wilde in Wotton and his observances.

I did enjoy this book but I wish it had been shorter.  Maybe I was impatient as I can't really say I disliked the  bits that weren't moving the plot along fast enough.  Apparently Wilde added to his original version due to criticism.  Maybe the original version would have suited me better.  I can't complain too much as it isn't a very long book anyway.  I'm glad to have read it and I wouldn't rule out a re-read in the future.  The one thing the book doesn't do is over explanation.  I hate it when everything is explained too heavily.

3.5 pawprints out of 5

Next  - 102 Minutes by Jim Dwyer & Kevin Flynn

Tome Time - Doctor Who The Tomb of the Cybermen by Gerry davis

Started Sept 30th, finished Oct 2nd.

This is a follow along with  Paul's Blog.  Pop over there.  His reviews are usually in much more depth.

I was looking forward to this one.  I hadn't read it before and it's one of my favourite stories.  Luckily I had missed the hype before I saw it.

The pedant in me was dismayed by the wrong Cybermen on the cover.  I'm very fond of the very early Cybermen and they shouldn't be airbrushed out!

I have heard that there are slight updates in the Target novel to update it for a more modern audience.  Since we're now even further on those updates were a little lost to me.  I have to say I couldn't find much difference between the text and the TV version. 

The story was told well.  Built most of it's character's up at a good pace.  If I had to choose between the book and the TV version I'd take the TV version.  That's rare for me but 'those iconic scenes' just don't come across as well in the book.

I enjoyed this telling a lot although the excitement is never there when you know how it all ends.  I'd say it's one of the better re-tellings.  It's just a shame I never read it as a kid.  Unless I've forgotten that I did.

4 out of 5 pawprints

Next - When the Tripods Came by John Christopher

Tome Time - Sweet Mandarin by Helen Tse

Started September 2nd, finished September 3rd.

This was the second of my holiday reading books in September.  I went away fro a quiet week with my friend to chill, read and test out the restaurants.

I picked this book up mainly because of the local connection.  The author and her sisters own a restaurant in Manchester's Northern Quarter.  This is the story of her family and how the generations moved from a small village in China to owning what many say is their favourite Chines restaurant in Manchester.

The main character for the first part of the book is the author's Grandmother Lily.  Hers is a wonderfully inspiring tale.  The admiration I felt for this woman was immense.  She is a truly inspiring woman.  Not written as saintly but faults and all.  This is s story of grit and determination coupled with hard work and a desire to succeed.

The story passes along the generations and leads to the sisters who now own and run a thriving, modern restaurant in my favourite part of Manchester.

I won't tell you any more as I think this book should be discovered for yourself.  Apparently it has been adopted by schools and added to their curriculum.  It is definitely something I would want any female offspring I had to read.

5 out of 5 pawprints

Next - Catwatching by Desmond Morris

Tome Time - A Question of Belief by Donna Leon

Started August 31st, finished September 2nd.

Apparently this is the 19th in the Brunetti series.  I had no idea I had read so many.  Which is a good sign as as it hasn't begun to drag as so many crime fictions series' do.

I think the aspects of these books that I love most are the descriptions of Venice and of Brunetti family life.  Nothing set in a well described Venice can fail to enchant me.  A look at Italian politics and way of life as seen through Brunetti, his wife and his colleagues eyes doesn't ever stop being fascinating.

My only quibble with this book was the coincidences involved in aspects of investigations merging.  Though in an area with such a low crime rate maybe this is more believable.  Brunetti is looking into crimes seemingly committed by a 'bad' man and crimes committed against a 'good' man.  The book looks at what makes a man a good man.  It's no surprise where the politics of character and person lie in this book if you've read previous novels.

The scene is set in a Venice suffering a heat wave.  As always this is evoked perfectly.  You're wishing Guido can escape to the mountains whilst also wishing him to stay and solve the mysteries that have surfaced.

I love these books so I'm probably biased and they'll always be high on the pawprints.  I just hope she carries on writing them for a long time yet.

4 out of 5 pawprints

Next - Sweet Mandarin by Helen Tse

Tome Time, The Haunting of Gad's Hall by Norah Lofts

Started August 25th, finished August 31st.

I was very worried that I wouldn't like the Gad's Hall books.  They're two of my mum's favourites and I'd hate to have to tell her they were a disappointment.  Luckily neither of them were.

I have to say that once again it wasn't a book that focused on the spooky very much at all.  There's enough of it in there to deny Trading Standards a collar but it's a very minor part of the story.

It continues where the first book left off.  In both time settings.  The vast majority of the story is dedicated to the historical family.  I was glad about this as their story was much more interesting to me than one set in more modern times.  This is a novel about family.  The trials and tribulations that families go through together.  Where is stands up well for me is the characters.  They are all vividly written.  It can't have been an easy job to write five very different female characters all so well.  I believed in each one and the actions they took.  It's not a sentimental book.  It writes its characters very honestly.  Faults and good points all included.

I'm not sure whether or not I would keep the supernatural element of the story in if I were to advise the author.  It seems only to be there to direct the tale back to the historical era.  I don't really think it's necessary.  It doesn't spoil the story but it does feel a little tacked on.  The historical tale is a great read and leaving it open to the reader to decide what was actually at work would have pleased me more.

I really enjoyed a story set in the not too distant past centred around well written women,

4 out of 5 pawprints.

Next - A Question of Belief by Donna Leon

Tome Time - The Death of a Mafia Don by Michele Giuttari

Started August 21st, finished August 24th
This is my favourite so far of this author's books.  Either he is getting better or I'm getting more accustomed to his style.
This is a very Italian crime novel.  Looking into the Mafia and what surrounds them.  The author is still enjoying planting the character he seems to write himself as at the centre of everything in the world he's created.  This irritated me less in this book than the others.  Described these books could sound very similar to the Brunetti series.  In reality I'd say they're very different.  I see this author as an Alpha Male describing himself as he sees himself in these books.  The other characters aren't as well described but that doesn't really cause me problems.
I found this a good story I rolled through quite easily.  I found the final chapters a tad fantastic but I let it go.  The bit I found most irritating was the the consequences of the final chapters wasn't ever looked into.  Maybe in the next book?  This is a fun crime story that can't be read with a critical eye.  Just roll with it.  I wouldn't advise reading this without reading the book prior to this though A Death in Tuscany, as that forms the backbone of a lot of this book.
3.5 pawprints out of 5
Next - The Haunting of Gad's Hall by Norah Lofts

You know when...

... you open a book and the first thing you read is...



...that it's going to be interesting :-)