Monday, June 12, 2017

It's June-- Who Are You?




The months certainly fly by, don't they? It's already time to ask, once again, Who are you? I've found some good reading through this series of posts, so I hope you'll continue to participate. If you have trouble leaving comments here on the blog, just send an email to kittlingbooks(at)gmail(dot)com, and I'll post your comment for you.

This month I'm following the rules and talking about the last book that I read. I have had a tendency to choose the book that I'm currently reading, but I've just started two books and don't really have a feel for either main character. Well, that's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it! Besides, the book that I just finished reading really bothered me, and I'll be able to talk more about it here than I will in my review since I do my best to avoid spoilers in those posts. So... if you haven't read Anne Cleeland's Murder in Thrall but want to, decide now if you want to continue reading!


Here's the synopsis of the book from Amazon: 

"Can London's most elusive killer elude the keen minds of Scotland Yard's most unlikely pair of detectives?

An Irish redhead of humble beginnings and modest means, Kathleen Doyle is the antithesis of Chief Inspector Michael Sinclair, Lord Acton, the brilliant but enigmatic lord with a knack for solving London's most high profile homicides. When a horse trainer is found dead at a racetrack, the duo's investigation does little to deter the killer at large. Jeopardizing the case are their colleagues at CID headquarters, whose nosing into the nature of Doyle and Acton's after hours relationship threatens to lay bare the most classified information of all. As the murders pile up, Doyle and Acton uncover something far more sinister than they could have imagined. Now that they know too much, their partnership could be very brief indeed. . .



Murder in Thrall is told from my point of view. I'm Kathleen Doyle, a brand-new detective constable with the very useful gift of knowing when people are lying. Still in training at Scotland Yard, I've been taken under the wing of DCI Michael Sinclair, a rich, handsome, titled, and brilliant investigator. I am doing everything under my power to impress the man, including adding vocabulary words to my speech. Other new detective constables are jealous because, while I'm out with the DCI solving cases, they're stuck in the basement doing tedious research. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay...now I'm back to being me, and it's a relief. This book drove me absolutely nuts. Why? Because Michael Sinclair, Lord Acton, is a stalker and even admits that he is!  He has been watching Kathleen Doyle through binoculars. He's looked deeply into her finances. He knows the particulars of her family background. When their relationship becomes intimate, he takes photos of her in her sleep, and he has a key to her apartment and lets himself in without asking her permission first. And this dewy-eyed nitwit thinks his behavior is romantic! I could just scream. 

Yes, my own background is coloring my reaction to this relationship. Years ago, a rapist broke into my house and got all the way to my bed before my elderly dog with very sharp teeth gave him a new to-do list. During the same period of time, I had a stalker following me around as I walked to and from work. Being stalked is not romantic; it's a strange combination of frightening and infuriating, and it was painful for me to watch Doyle willingly behave as a lamb going to slaughter. 

Whew. I feel better now. I've been wanting to talk about this since I finished the book!

Now it's your turn. Please, please, please tell me who you are in the book you're reading. (Don't forget to include the book title.) I need lots of good recommendations to help me overcome my skin crawlies from this one!

 

13 comments:

  1. You've had some really terrible experiences, Cathy! Little wonder you had the view you did of this book. And I agree with your opinion: stalking is not romantic.

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    1. You should've seen my face as this unfolded! And don't think I didn't notice that you neglected to share what you're reading. ;-)

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  2. My name is Penny Brannigan. Originally I grew up and lived in Canada but on a trip through Wales, I fell in love with the country. I moved there and now co-own a spa with a friend.
    Elizabeth Duncan(also Canadian) has been writing about my exploits now in eight books. I seem to find bodies and have a reputation for solving crimes. Dorothy Martin who Jeanne Dams writes about always stops by for a brief visit with her husband Alan. Two customers that readers seem to like are Mrs. Lloyd and her companion Florence. They provide some humor and Mrs. Lloyd seems to always know what is going on in town.
    I recently told newly retired Detective Chief Inspector Gareth Davies that all I want from our relationship is friendship. He does not feel the same way but for now is stopping by and being a friend. My recent adventure was told in Murder is for Keeps.

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    1. Thanks for the reminder that I need to get back to this series, Lynn!

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  3. How awful for you to have gone through those experiences. But let's hear it for your older dog!

    I am Ruth Galloway and I live in Norfolk, England, with my 5-year-old daughter, Kate, and my cat Flint. I have an assortment of friends who are professors, police detectives, and one is a druid.

    I am a forensic archaelogist and am often involved in solving murders. In "The Chalk Pit," some bones are discovered underground. They are assumed to be ancient, but are found to be much more recent, and are those of a human.

    Meanwhile, more murders are occurring of people who "sleep rough" (are homeless), and a mother of four has disappeared.

    At the same time, my mother is hospitalized and I have spent time with my father and other family members. But I miss Kate, my home and cat, and can't wait to get back to them.

    I am midway through this mystery and am hopeful that I will help solve the crimes and go back to peace and quiet (!) in my cottage near the sea.

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  4. Me, too, more and more. And this book is a good one, my opinion, but other Ruth Galloway fans are enjoying this book.
    I think Elly Griffiths can keep on going. She seems to have a lot of ideas for the series.

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  5. Well, I stayed up all night to finish Ruth Galloway's latest case. OK. Now I have post-good-book slump. Don't know what to read next.

    I actually cried twice, including at the end. First time ever with a book in this series.

    What a cliffhanger!

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    1. That cliffhanger made me groan to think of how long I had to wait until the next book.

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  6. Yes, me, too. An audible groan.

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  7. I'm worried that when the cliffhanger is resolved, then the series will end! And then Ruth Galloway's fans will tear our hair and cry for more books in the series. The next will be book 10 and some reviewers are saying that will be the finale! Oh, no!

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    1. I'll worry about that when the time comes. I've got too many books piled up here demanding my attention.

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