All of this is true, while the column for today deals in Fiction---and I apologize for my haste into the column but our hot water heater sprung a leak, while we were gone from home 12 days!, and a scorpion greeted me on our kitchen rug this a.m. So, we’ve had ruined carpet, pads, kitchen sink bottoms, mold—and I’ve never been so anxious to leave on a fun trip with friends as I am next week!
Okay, one of my favorite subjects—provided it’s well written—is a mystery and, especially, if it’s a British one. To wit: “Murder as a Fine Art”, by David Morrell, and you may have already read one of his 27 novels. He’ been nominated for every major mystery award and his first novel, “First Blood”, introduced the character Rambo. A series of horrific murders terrified London some 43 years before our mystery begins, and a Thomas De Quincy, “infamous for his memoir ‘Confessions of an Opium-Eater’ is the major suspect in these mass murders identical to the ones that terrorized London earlier.” So, he’s anxious to clear his name—“clear” being a relative term here since he is crippled by his addiction—so he gets aid from “his devoted daughter, Emily, and a pair of determined Scotland Yard detectives, “and England becomes a battleground between a literary star and a brilliant murderer whose lived are linked by secrets from long ago.” I practically drooled on the page. In reading small sections of it, as is my wont, I found the policemen believable, the characters just that—characters—, and the probable ending quite satisfying. Do go into LML (Liberal Memorial Library, of course!) and find it, settle in a favorite chair and enjoy! (There really IS something special about a Brit mystery!)
Now, we come to an adventure story, “The Barbed Crown; an Ethan Gage Adventure”, by William Dietrich, full of high seas adventure, guns going off at enemy ships, Mr. Gage’s many adventures with and against Bonaparte, his wife, Astiza and another seductress (out to trap him and to turn him from thwarting Bonaparte’s plans to conquer Europe to help Bony). All of this is alongside the kidnapping and freeing of his son, Harry, and, when his careful plans fail, he is put in the middle of the famous sea battle, “Battle of Trafalgar”—and that, dear readers, was a humdinger of a chapter to read—my ears hurt from the cannon’s constant firing that was taking place on many warships from several nations---water everywhere, dead bodies floating, ship’s masts hitting the ocean in broken pieces, orders yelled, people falling overboard—I was exhausted by the end of it, and I strongly recommend the book for the battle description, if nothing else! What a movie scene that would make—with or without Johnny Depp! (Speaking of, I am curious to see Depp play Tonto in the upcoming “Lone Ranger” movie.) This action-adventure is as good as a wild movie, in the same vein, and quite a fun read—go—find—read. 
Sophie Kinsella is the favorite author of a lot of readers—mainly women—and she’s really quite funny, for an English girl, that is, and her newest book is “Wedding Night.” “Lottie just knows that her boyfriend is going to propose during Lunch at one of London’s fanciest restaurant”—except he doesn’t. So, when Ben, an old flame, calls her, to her surprise, “and reminds Lottie of their pact to get married if they were both still single at 30”, she jumps at the chance. Well, family and friends are stunned. So, her sister, Fliss, and Ben’s closest friend, Lorcan (Lorcan?) are determined to stop the wedding, and Fliss concocts “an elaborate scheme to sabotage their wedding night.” I mean, if you can’t depend on sisters and friends to decide what’s best for you, who can you really trust? The personalities are vividly drawn, and maybe the wedding night will go on, smoothly, or not—between oil and peanuts (well, read the book!) Seriously, it’s a light, fun, summer read from an author who knows how to write them. 
This next book looked intriguing, when I was checking books in Publisher’s Weekly for Jill to consider, and she sent it to me for this column the title is “Evidence of Life”, by Barbara Sissel, and while it’s not really a great or hold-your-interest story, it’s easily worth a “B”, as a choice for summer reading. Abby’s husband, Nick, and daughter, Lindsey, go on a father-daughter trip and disappear. So, Abby sets out to find out what happened and as disturbing clues begin to surface, “Abby realizes that the truth may be far more sinister than she imagined” and that everything she once believed about her marriage and family may be wrong. There’s a few more characters involved, the suspense quotient is fairly high, so, as I said, or implied, the edge-of-your-seat kind of feeling is not the kind that C.J.Box or Jeffrey Deaver gives, but it’s not at the bottom of my list, either, so get it and enjoy it.
Wouldja like a preview of what’s coming? - James Lee Burke’s “Light of the World: A Dave Robicheaux Novel”
- “Unseen” by Karin Slaughter
- “Save Yourself”, by Kelly Braffet (this title got a star and a box around its description, which is the top rating that Publisher’s Weekly can give a title)
- “Human Remains”, by Elizabeth Haynes (well known and popular)
- ”Lemon Orchard”, by Luanne Rice
- ”JFK’s Last Hundred Days: The Transformation of a Man and the Emergence of a Great President”, by Thurston Clarke
- “Miss Anne in Harlem; The White Women of the Black Renaissance”, by Carla Kaplan (starred and boxed).
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