Books This Week

I actually read quite a number of books this week but left them on the counter and cannot remember all of them now.  Next week is going to have a LONG list of books for you to check out.

Provocative in Pearls by Madeline Hunter - I found the heroine in this novel to be frustrating. She had so little understanding of her situation and what was possible. Her continued pursuit of an annulment seemed particularly naive although her anger and frustration was understandable.  The hero was probably fairly true to life in terms of the time period but his continued insistence that she recognize that she needed his permission to do pretty much anything because she belonged to him was kind of a downer in a romance novel.

Doors Open by Ian Rankin - I struggled with this one a bit because I could not wrap my head around the kind of boredom that would make someone want to steal a priceless painting at the risk of destroying one's life.  I wanted to take our main character aside and lecture him about the potential consequences of his actions. I also figured out the plot twist very early on. Having said that, I think Ian Rankin is an outstanding author and any of his books are worthy of a read.

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley - The first book in this series (which I have not read) was a smash hit so I was excited to read this one. The author does a good job of revealing the young detectives quirks and insecurities without making her annoyingly precocious and the author's skill in quickly drawing interesting and unusual characters is apparent.  The mystery itself was interesting but a tiny bit thin but I found I didn't care because the characters were so very interesting.

Love in Mid Air by Kim Wright - I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. I usually am deeply irritated by novels about infidelity because I can never figure out why the character doesn't do the right thing and divorce their spouse BEFORE they go out looking for someone new. Of course, that tends to make for a very short novel when the characters behave in sensible and rational ways but it almost always makes me not like and not care about characters who behave so dishonorably.

Anyway, back to this novel, I really liked this book, not because of the infidelity and the problems with her marriage which I always find a bit trite and banal, but because of the way the book explored how her actions impacted the lives of everyone around her.  I also liked that the book ended in the same way life often does, messy and unresolved.  This is really an author to watch.