The Slow Boat Weekly Link Round-Up

Not much going on around here. I've stopped knitting afghans for the moment to concentrate on some smaller projects. Last Saturday, the COVID-19 positive count at the company where Denis works was at twenty-one (up from twelve in just five days). They're critically short of drivers. Denis drives and doesn't make a move to help anyone with their golf clubs or luggage-- especially since almost all of the passengers remove their masks the second they're on the bus. He and I are both in agreement that they should shut the airport down, but the airport has proven time and again that profits are more important than people.

On Sunday, I received something I'd forgotten all about. Back at the end of April (?) I ordered a copy of William Shaw's Grave's End from the UK. Amazon UK told me it would take some time to get it to me. I was in no hurry-- good thing!-- so I went on about my business.

Amazon UK now seems to be using DHL for their overseas shipments, something they've never done before, but as long as it works, who cares? All I can say is that I was shocked and happy to finally receive the book.

If any of you look this book up on Amazon, you'll notice something strange. The cover is correct, but in the description, the title is listed as "Low Places." I wonder what that's all about?

While I'm wondering, I'll mosey on out to the link corral. Maybe one of them has the answer. Head 'em up! Moooove 'em out!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• How to sell books in 2020: put them near the toilet paper.
• It's past time for the bookselling industry to reckon with its institutional racism.
• Counting down the greatest crime films of all-time: #6, Laura.
  
• Counting down the greatest crime films of all time: #5, The Godfather, Part II.
• You can now read and write Egyptian hieroglyphics with Google Translate.
• A 224-piece jigsaw puzzle featuring 43 different cat-shaped pieces that need to be herded together.
• A Publishers Weekly article which features The Poisoned Pen Bookstore: Book launches get more creative.
• In an echo of the Mao Era, China's schools are in the middle of a book-cleansing drive.
  

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• See archaeological treasures unearthed by U.K. residents during lockdown.
• A discovery in a Mexican cave may drastically change the known timeline of humans' arrival in the Americas.
• This ancient Greek shipwreck is now an underwater museum.
• Why the two-wheel chariot was so effective in ancient battles.
• New research reveals the surprising origins of Egypt's Hyksos dynasty.
• Do these 10,000-year-old flint artifacts depict human figures?
• This ancient Egyptian tomb was used for two different burials.
• In ancient Kazakhstan, nomadic herders kept their toothless pet cat alive.
  

►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄

• A dolphin named Fungie has been living solo in this Irish harbor for decades.
• Beetles wearing tiny, robotic camera backpacks give bugs-eye views of the world.
• Ecologists dig prairie dogs, and you should, too.
• Llama cells could help scientists create a COVID-19 treatment.
• In a rare sighting, a wayward beluga was spotted off San Diego.
• A viper's DNA reveals an ancient map of South America.
• Images offer a rare glimpse of Cross River gorillas with their babies.
• A drowsy Dachshund puppy tries to play with four affectionate little ducklings on the sofa.
  

►The Happy Wanderer◄

• For eons, Iceland has endured calamity through books.
• Lagos: Africa's capital of noir.
• Liverpool's Crosby Beach is a mile of World War II Blitz rubble.
• The hidden history of the nutmeg island that was traded for Manhattan.
• Blood Falls, Antarctica.
  

►Fascinating Folk◄

• The best seller who hated best sellers. What Edith Wharton's library tells us about her reading habits.
• The world through Bonnie Parker's eyes.
• A moving celebration of Peter Bowen and his final public reading at Elk River Books.
• The time twenty-two-year-old Jay Parini chauffeured Jorge Luis Borges around Scotland.
  

►I ♥ Lists◄

• What 100 writers have been reading during quarantine.
• Eight mysteries that explore the simmering tensions and contradictions of the war at home.
• Ten iconic crime fiction series of the 1970s.
• Seven mysteries featuring standout seniors as secondary characters.
• Fourteen airy, puffy words for windy speech.
• Seven pieces of reading advice from history's greatest minds.
• A complete guide to Harry Bosch's Titus Welliver tattoos.
• It's a good time to start a series (or two).

That's it for this week! Don't forget to stop by next Friday when I'll be sharing a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure.

Stay safe. Stay healthy...and don't forget to curl up with a good book!

The Golden Cage by Camilla Läckberg

First Line: "Couldn't she just be injured?" Faye said.

It's an age-old story: young woman, deeply in love with her husband, forsakes her own studies to ensure her husband graduates and then gives her all in order for the new business to succeed. And what happens? The husband dumps her without a bean for a new model.

This is exactly what happened to Faye, but unlike so many other women, two things set Faye apart. One, she has a brilliant mind for business-- which is why husband Jack is so successful-- and two, her childhood was full of violence. When the shock wears off, Faye will make Jack pay... but how?

As I said, Faye has two things that set her apart from so many other women who are dumped unceremoniously by their rich husbands looking for something fresh and new to play with. The one I liked best was Faye's head for business, and since the author is a businesswoman herself, I enjoyed watching this part of The Golden Cage unfold. The second thing-- her violent childhood-- keeps readers off-balance throughout the book, mostly because her past is revealed very slowly, one crumb at a time. Is Faye going to decide that reducing Jack and his business to dust isn't enough and go for something more visceral? Wondering about this is what fuels the pace of the story and keeps us wanting more.

There's a large amount of graphic sex in The Golden Cage, and I have to admit that I got tired of it after a while. All right, all ready. I know where the various parts go. I know the feelings produced when this part meets that part. Can we please get back to the rest of the story? I know why Läckberg does this. Men-- especially rich men who are used to having every whim catered to-- can be tools in the hands of a woman who knows how best to use all those working parts to make the man's eyes roll back in his head. Sex is a tool. But I was still glad when Faye got past that part of her plan.

If you're in the mood for a sexy, fast-paced thriller with a main character who doesn't reveal her complete agenda, The Golden Cage is one fine read.

The Golden Cage by Camilla Läckberg

eISBN: 9780525657989

Borzoi Books © 2020

eBook, 315 pages

Thriller, Standalone

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

The Boy With the Narwhal Tooth by Christoffer Petersen

First Line: It's a cliché, I know, but it really did start with a telephone, an empty desk and a generous new police commissioner, giving my career a gentle shove in the right direction.

When a young Greenlandic boy is reported missing almost twelve months to the day that he disappeared, newly trained Constable Petra Jensen travels to the north of Greenland to find him.

Petra Jensen is twenty-three and fresh out of the Academy. She speaks Danish, English, and German, but not Greenlandic. Showering after sparring at the gym, she applies "just enough scent to arouse interest from my single colleagues-- I graduated from a police academy, not a nunnery." Her training officer, a man she refers to as "Sergeant Jowls" is enjoying making her life miserable, and it's a tremendous relief when a sympathetic new commissioner arrives who allows her to show what she can do in finding this missing boy.

The mystery is pretty thin on the ground in The Boy With the Narwhal Tooth, but it introduces two interesting characters in Petra and the new commissioner, and it gives readers a real feel for Greenland, its people and culture. The descriptive phrases were excellent in giving a mental picture of the landscape as well.

I always enjoy reading mysteries set in little-known areas, so I'll be looking for more novellas in Petersen's Greenland Missing Persons series.

The Boy With the Narwhal Tooth by Christoffer Petersen

ASIN: B088C3PSG2

Aarluuk Press © 2020

eBook, 81 pages

Police Procedural/Novella, #1 Greenland Missing Persons mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

August 2020 New Mystery Releases!

I don't know how a season can drag on endlessly and flash by in the blink of an eye all at the same time, but... August? I've mentioned before that I've been having a tough time concentrating on books lately, so I've been taking out my distractions on knitting, television, and sifting through things I've boxed up, tucked away on shelves, and not touched for years. You have to do what you have to do to maintain some semblance of sanity, right?

One thing that hasn't changed is my need to know what new mysteries are being released, and what follows is my picks of the best new crime fiction in August. The books are listed by release date, and the covers and synopses are courtesy of Amazon because they deserve to be showroomed, too.

Let's see if I've found anything that tickles your fancy!

=== August 1 ===

Title: Tahoe Hit

Author: Todd Borg

Series: #18 in the Owen McKenna private investigator series set in Lake Tahoe, California.

316 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "Carston Kraytower’s San Francisco hedge fund is hugely profitable. But Kraytower has a secret background he’ll do anything to conceal. Two of his colleagues know what he’s hiding. All seems okay until they start dying in inexplicable ways up at Lake Tahoe.

Kraytower’s son Joshua grows up surrounded by riches and secrets and deadly mysteries. Those mysteries drive a killer to seek revenge. The killer kidnaps Joshua, the one person who is innocent.

As the murderer’s scheme unfolds, Tahoe Detective Owen McKenna realizes that in order to find and save the kidnapped boy, he has to unravel a mystery that seems to stretch back in time to Shakespeare’s Hamlet, a gripping tale filled with betrayal and murder, where nearly all the characters die..."

=== August 4 ===

Title: The Finisher

Author: Peter Lovesey

Series: #19 in the Peter Diamond police procedural series set in Bath, England

360 pages

Synopsis: "On the 50th anniversary of the publication of his first novel, Peter Lovesey, Mystery Writers of America Grand Master and titan of the British detective novel, returns to the subject of his very first mystery—running.

Through a particularly ill-fated series of events, couch potato Maeve Kelly, an elementary school teacher whose mother always assured her “curvy” girls shouldn’t waste their time trying to be fit, has been forced to sign up for the Other Half, Bath’s springtime half marathon. The training is brutal, but she must disprove her mother and collect pledges for her aunt’s beloved charity. What Maeve doesn’t know is just how vicious some of the other runners are.

Meanwhile, Detective Peter Diamond is tasked with crowd control on the raucous day of the race—and catches sight of a violent criminal he put away a decade ago, and who very much seems to be up to his old tricks now that he is paroled. Diamond’s hackles are already up when he learns that one of the runners never crossed the finish line and disappeared without a trace. Was Diamond a spectator to murder?"

=== August 18 ===

Title: Death at High Tide

Author: Hannah Dennison

Series: #1 in the Island Sisters cozy series set in the Scilly Isles off the coast of Cornwall, England

304 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "When Evie Mead’s husband, Robert, suddenly drops dead of a heart attack, a mysterious note is found among his possessions. It indicates that Evie may own the rights to an old hotel on Tregarrick Rock, one of the Isles of Scilly.

Still grieving, Evie is inclined to leave the matter to the accountant to sort out. Her sister Margot, however, flown in from her glamorous career in LA, has other plans. Envisioning a luxurious weekend getaway, she goes right ahead and buys two tickets―one way―to Tregarrick.

Once at the hotel―used in its heyday to house detective novelists, and more fixer-upper than spa resort, after all―Evie and Margot attempt to get to the bottom of things. But the foul-tempered hotel owner claims he's never met the late Robert, even after Evie finds framed photos of them―alongside Robert's first wife―in his office. The rest of the island inhabitants, ranging from an ex-con receptionist to a vicar who communicates with cats, aren't any easier to read.

But when a murder occurs at the hotel, and then another soon follows, frustration turns to desperation. There’s no getting off the island at high tide. And Evie and Margot, the only current visitors to Tregarrick, are suspects one and two. It falls to them to unravel secrets spanning generations―and several of their own―if they want to make it back alive."

Title: The Less Dead

Author: Denise Mina

Standalone thriller set in Scotland

352 pages

Synopsis: "Dr. Margo Dunlop is at a crossroads. Her adoptive mom just passed away, and Margo misses her so much she can't begin to empty the house-or, it seems, get her brother on the phone. Not to mention she's newly single, secretly pregnant, and worried about her best friend's dangerous relationship. In an effort to cheer herself up she goes in search of her birth mother. Instead she finds Nikki, her mother's sister. Aunt Nikki isn't what Margo expects, and she brings upsetting news: Margo's mother is dead. Worse, she was murdered years ago, and her killer is still at large-and sending Nikki threatening letters.

Margo is torn. Should she stay out of this mess, or try to find justice? But then Margo receives a letter, too. Someone out there has been waiting and watching, and in Margo sees the spitting image of her mother...

Darkly funny and deeply affecting, The Less Dead is a sharply modern new thriller from the bestselling author of Conviction, and a surprisingly moving story of daughters and mothers, secrets and choices, and how the search for the truth-and a long-hidden killer-will lead one woman to find herself."

Title: Hidden Creed

Author: Alex Kava

Series: #6 in the Ryder Creed K-9 series set in Florida

326 pages

Synopsis: "A TRAILBLAZER IN THE K9 MYSTERY GENRE, award-winning Alex Kava delivers her signature trademark combining "well-developed characters" (Publishers Weekly) with "a highly original plot" (Suspense Magazine) then packing it with "twists, turns and suspense galore" (Modern Dog). "Did I mention the dogs? They and their human partners are simply the heart and soul of everything." (Florida Weekly)

2019 Nebraska Fiction Award (Lost Creed) winner author, Alex Kava adds another dynamic chase between murderers, Ryder Creed and his amazing scent dog Grace.

During a training exercise, Creed's scent dog, Grace, is drawn off course and discovers a shallow grave. The body was never meant to be found, hidden deep in an isolated part of Florida's Blackwater River State Forest. The remote area has no easy access in or out. The killer obviously hoped his secret would be scattered and swallowed up by the forces of nature.

When Creed's dogs continue to find more remains, investigators quickly realize they're dealing with someone who knows the forest intimately and has been using it to hide his handiwork for years

Soon Ryder Creed and everyone who's close to him will discover just how far this killer is willing to go to keep his secrets hidden forever."

Title: Never Forget

Author: Michel Bussi

Standalone thriller set in France

480 pages

Synopsis: "In the town of Yport, during a run along Europe’s tallest cliff, Jamal notices a red scarf hanging on a fence. Then he sees the woman, her dress torn, her back to the void, her eyes fixed on his own. Jamal holds the scarf out to her like a buoy.

A few seconds later, the stranger’s lifeless body is found lying on the icy pebbles of the empty beach below. Around her neck, the red scarf.

Everyone thinks he pushed her. He only wanted to save her.

That’s Jamal’s version. Do you believe it?"

=== August 20 ===

Title: Midnight at Malabar House

Author: Vaseem Khan

Series: #1 in the Persis Wadia historical series set in 1950 Bombay, India.

336 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "'the leading character is the deftly drawn Persis Wadia, the country's first female detective. She's a wonderful creation and this is a hugely enjoyable book' - Ann Cleeves

Bombay, New Year's Eve, 1949

As India celebrates the arrival of a momentous new decade, Inspector Persis Wadia stands vigil in the basement of Malabar House, home to the city's most unwanted unit of police officers. Six months after joining the force she remains India's first female police detective, mistrusted, sidelined and now consigned to the midnight shift.
And so, when the phone rings to report the murder of prominent English diplomat Sir James Herriot, the country's most sensational case falls into her lap.

As 1950 dawns and India prepares to become the world's largest republic, Persis, accompanied by Scotland Yard criminalist Archie Blackfinch, finds herself investigating a case that is becoming more political by the second. Navigating a country and society in turmoil, Persis, smart, stubborn and untested in the crucible of male hostility that surrounds her, must find a way to solve the murder - whatever the cost."

=== August 25 ===

Title: Shadows of the Dead

Author: Spencer Kope

Series: #3 in the Special Tracking Unit law enforcement series set in various US locations.

384 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "A woman―abducted and found in the trunk of a car after a high-speed chase―regains consciousness in the ICU to reveal two crucial pieces of information: the man who kidnapped her is not the same as the man who left her in the woods, and she's not the first victim―in fact, she is number eight.

Magnus “Steps” Craig is part of the elite three-man Special Tracking Unit of the FBI. Known for his ability to find and follow trails over any surface, Steps is called in on cases that require his unparalleled skills. But there’s a secret to his talent. Steps has a kind of synesthesia where he can see the ‘essence’ of a person―what he calls ‘shine’―on everything they’ve touched.

Brought in to track the driver through a dense forest after the blood hounds have lost his trail, Steps and his partner Jimmy find the driver laughing maniacally, babbling about souls, and hiding a pristinely maintained box of eight posed rats. Now the Special Tracking Unit must chase two villains―through not just the real world, but the dark web as well―tracking an enemy they can't see, as time runs out for the unknown victims."

Title: Knit of the Living Dead

Author: Peggy Ehrhart

Series: #6 in the Knit& Nibble cozy series set in New Jersey.

304 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.

Synopsis: "Among the countless revelers at the town’s much-anticipated Halloween parade, a woman dressed as Little Bo Peep is the only one making people scream bloody murder. In a scene straight out of a horror movie, the Knit and Nibblers find the nursery rhyme character dead with thick strands of yarn looped around her neck. Pamela and her best friend, Bettina, are set on pinning down who wanted the woman gone forever, but it’ll take every trick they can muster to catch the culprit without becoming the next poor souls to join Little Bo Peep’s dark, endless sleep . . . "

Title: Mesa Verde Victim

Author: Scott Graham

Series: #6 in the National Park series set in Colorado.

220 pages

Synopsis: "'An absorbing archaeological mystery, rich in historical detail and local atmosphere. With its colorful characters and fast–paced plot, Mesa Verde Victim is a fascinating find.'
—AUSMA ZEHANAT KHAN, author of A Deadly Divide

Hounded by false accusations of murder, archaeologist Chuck Bender and his family risk their lives to track down an unknown killer on the loose in a rugged canyon on the remote western edge of Mesa Verde National Park, where ancient stone villages and secret burial sites, abandoned centuries ago by the Ancestral Puebloan people, harbor artifacts so rare and precious they're worth killing over.

SCOTT GRAHAM is the National Outdoor Book Award–winning author of the six–volume National Park Mystery Series for Torrey House Press, including Canyon Sacrifice, Mountain Rampage, Yellowstone Standoff, Yosemite Fall, and Arches Enemy, and five other books. He is an avid outdoorsman who lives with his wife, an emergency physician, in southwestern Colorado."

Title: Every Kind of Wicked

Author: Lisa Black

Series: #6 in the Gardiner & Renner police procedural series set in Ohio.

320 pages

Synopsis: "Life and death have brought Maggie Gardiner full circle, back to the Erie Street Cemetery where she first entered Jack Renner’s orbit. Eight months ago, she learned what Jack would do in the name of justice. More unsettling still, she discovered how far she would go to cover his tracks. Now a young man sprawls atop a snowy grave, his heart shredded by a single wound. A key card in the victim’s wallet leads to the local university’s student housing—and to a grieving girlfriend with an unsettling agenda.
 
Maggie’s struggle to appease her conscience is complicated by her ex-husband, Rick, who’s convinced that Jack is connected to a series of vigilante killings. Also a homicide detective, Rick investigates what seems like a routine overdose on Cleveland’s West Side; but here, too, the appearance belies a deeper truth.
 
Rick’s case and Jack’s merge onto the trail of a shadowy, pill-pushing physician who is everywhere and nowhere at once, while Maggie and Jack uncover a massive financial shakedown hiding in plain sight. And when Rick’s bloody fingerprint is found at another murder scene, Maggie’s world comes undone in a violent, irreversible torrent of events . . ."

There's a lot of good reading in coming up in August. Besides Spencer Kope's Shadows of the Dead, I think I have the most anticipation for Vaseem Khan's Midnight at Malabar House. And as far as covers go, I think I might shock you. You know how much I dislike covers that show the back of a person, right? Well, the cover I like the most in this group is Alex Kava's Hidden Creed. Why? Because I really really really want to be in that boat with that dog heading out on the water. Right. Now. Sounds like I need to pick up the knitting needles again...

Which new books did you add to your own lists? Inquiring minds would love to know!

A Royal Affair by Allison Montclair

First Lines: "Men find me intimidating," boomed Miss Hardiman. "That's the problem."

Partners Miss Iris Sparks and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge have gained a bit of notoriety from the case they solved the previous month. They're hoping that this means more revenue and a bigger office for the Right Sort Marriage Bureau. Sturdier furniture and a secretary would be nice, too. When Lady Matheson walks into the office, she just might be the answer to their prayers. Working for the Queen "in some capacity," Lady Matheson hires them for a discreet investigation. Princess Elizabeth has set her heart on a dashing Greek prince, and a blackmailer is trying to throw a monkey wrench into the whole affair.

The palace needs to keep this out of the gossip circles, but it's also necessary to find out if the prince does have any skeletons in his closet. Every ounce of skill, intelligence, and discretion Sparks and Bainbridge possess are going to be needed to bring this investigation to a successful conclusion. After all, that bigger office and the secretary are at stake.

Having enjoyed the first book in the series, The Right Sort of Man, a great deal, I looked forward to A Royal Affair with a great deal of anticipation. I am so happy to say that this second book met and exceeded all my expectations. Isn't it great when that happens?

Iris Sparks and Gwen Bainbridge are two excellent characters. They both bring completely different skill sets to the table. Gwen is widowed, with a young son who is in the custody of his rich, titled grandparents. Gwen loved her husband with all her being, and when he was killed, she fell to pieces and spent some time in a sanatarium. Her mother-in-law is never going to let her forget this or willingly give up control of her grandson. Gwen is determined to prove that she's capable of raising her son. She brings knowledge of the upper classes (and all that entails) along with her intelligence and finely tuned intuition to the partnership with Iris Sparks.

Iris Sparks is a Cambridge graduate whose past is shrouded in all sorts of things, not least the Official Secrets Act. She's out of the spy business, but she brings that bag of tricks, her quick intelligence, and sense of humor to The Right Sort Marriage Bureau. The women have become fast friends-- almost sisters. Gwen is the perfect choice to help Iris with her PTSD, and Iris knows how to deal with Gwen's grief. Their repartee is one of the joys of A Royal Affair. It's light, it's witty, it's quick, and the pages turn faster and faster.

With a finely crafted, intricate plot that reminded me of "The Sting" from time to time, one thing was obvious: Sparks' past in the spy business was going to be an integral part of the story. That made me worry. You see, I don't really like spy stories. What I prefer are characters who are out of the business yet able to use their skill sets for straightforward, honest good, not some shadowy, convoluted outcome with neither heart nor morals. I was so relieved at how Montclair dealt with all the spy shenanigans!

In fact, I was enchanted by the entire book. If you're in the mood for something light and witty, something that has some meat on its bones, some solid historical research, and a tightly woven plot...something that's Pure-D Fun to read, pick up a copy of A Royal Affair. Better yet, begin at the beginning with The Right Sort of Man (even though A Royal Affair stands alone well). You really shouldn't miss an opportunity to spend time with Iris Sparks and Gwen Bainbridge.

Now begins the hard slog of waiting for book three.

A Royal Affair by Allison Montclair

eISBN: 9781250178404

Minotaur Books © 2020

eBook, 320 pages

Historical Mystery, #2 Sparks & Bainbridge mystery

Rating: A+

Source: Net Galley

Win an Autographed Copy of Heather Young's The Distant Dead!

A couple of weeks ago, I reviewed Heather Young's excellent The Distant Dead, which became a book on my Best Reads of 2020 list. Now you have the chance to win my (very gently read) autographed copy. Here's more about the book:

"A People magazine Best Book of Summer | A Parade Best Book of Summer

A Crime Reads Most Anticipated Book of Summer

“[A] second stunning piece of redemptive fiction… An ideal recommendation for fans of Kate Atkinson and Jodi Picoult.” – Booklist, Starred Review

A body burns in the high desert hills. A boy walks into a fire station, pale with the shock of a grisly discovery. A middle school teacher worries when her colleague is late for work. By day’s end, when the body is identified as local math teacher Adam Merkel, a small Nevada town will be rocked to its core by a brutal and calculated murder.   

Adam Merkel left a university professorship in Reno to teach middle school in Lovelock seven months before he died. A quiet, seemingly unremarkable man, he connected with just one of his students: Sal Prentiss, a lonely sixth grader who lives with his uncles on a desolate ranch in the hills. The two outcasts developed a tender, trusting friendship that brought each of them hope in the wake of tragedy. But it is Sal who finds Adam’s body, charred almost beyond recognition, half a mile from his uncles’ compound.

Nora Wheaton, the middle school’s social studies teacher, dreamed of a life far from Lovelock only to be dragged back on the eve of her college graduation to care for her disabled father, a man she loves but can’t forgive. She sensed in the new math teacher a kindred spirit--another soul bound to Lovelock by guilt and duty. After Adam’s death, she delves into his past for clues to who killed him and finds a dark history she understands all too well. But the truth about his murder may lie closer to home. For Sal Prentiss’s grief seems heavily shaded with fear, and Nora suspects he knows more than he’s telling about how his favorite teacher died. As she tries to earn the wary boy’s trust, she finds he holds not only the key to Adam’s murder, but an unexpected chance at the life she thought she’d lost.

Weaving together the last months of Adam’s life, Nora’s search for answers, and a young boy’s anguished moral reckoning, this unforgettable thriller brings a small American town to vivid life, filled with complex, flawed characters wrestling with the weight of the past, the promise of the future, and the bitter freedom that forgiveness can bring."

~~~What One Lucky Person Will Win~~~

• One autographed hardcover edition of Heather Young's The Distant Dead. It has a protective mylar cover on the dust jacket, and has been gently read once.

~~~The Rules~~~

1. To be entered in the drawing, send an email to kittlingbooks(at)gmail(dot)com.
2. The subject line of your email must read Distant Dead Giveaway.
3. The body of your email must have your name and mailing address.
4. Send your entries to me by noon, Sunday, August 2, 2020.
5. Due to the high cost of postage, this giveaway is open to US residents only.

~~~The Small Print~~~

Very Important: If your emails are missing any of the required information, i.e., the correct subject line and your name and mailing address, you will not be entered to win. How do you know if you've been entered? If you have not received an email from me within 24 hours which says, "Your entry has been received. Good Luck!" you'll know something went wrong. That's okay. Try again!

The winner will be notified by email, and the announcement will be made here on Kittling: Books on Monday, August 3, 2020. The book will go out in the mail the very next day.

Now it's time to fill up my inbox with entries!

I Think I'll Knit Faster Weekly Link Round-Up

Another quiet week, but quiet weeks aren't always good. I may have mentioned in an earlier round-up that I'm trying to keep things off my mind, and my "waters of Lethe" are reading and knitting. Well, I've finished a third afghan, and I'm about to start on another. When it starts taking me my usual two to three years to complete one, I think things will be back to normal.

I was looking for a graphic that portrayed my true feelings, but gave up. I didn't want to waste any more time, so I thought I'd share something that caught my eye. This is a reading station crafted by Charles Hindley and Company around the year 1890. It's got a lot going for it, but I think instead of two wingback chairs, build it a bit larger and have a comfy full-size couch. The reading stands should both fold so that they are completely out of the way when not needed. They should also have the capability of being tray tables for snacks. Just think...larger, so room for more books. Set it up facing a window with a view, the shelves protecting you from interrupters... sweet!

Monday, Denis came home from work and told me something that made my heart sink to my sock tops. Rumors are flying that one bus driver who works for the same company has died from COVID-19, and that ten others have tested positive for it.

I've found that reading isn't quite as effective at keeping my mind off things as knitting because I always knit while watching television. My hands are busy, I'm following a pattern, and I'm keeping track of a British crime drama. More parts of my brain engaged. I think I'm in for the long haul, so I've got four more afghan patterns lined up. But first, I'd better mosey out to the corral. I think I'll give the links some extra sugar.

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• How America once fell in love with mystery "wheels".
• Playing cards around the world and through the ages.
• COVID-19 has resurrected single-use plastics. Are they back to stay?
• Rethinking the meaning of "border noir".
• In a groundbreaking crime novel, Black lives matter in the rural South.
• Elly Griffiths on why marshes capture our imaginations-- and inspire some of our most unsettling folklore.
• Public libraries have been vital in times of crisis-- from conflict to COVID-19.
• In Great Britain, there's a crime fiction boom as book sales rocket past 2019 levels.
• England's libraries begin to reopen, but grave fears remain over their long-term futures.
• The history behind the Greyhound movie.
  

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• Police recover 4,600 archaeological treasures from an international gang of thieves.
• An Aztec palace and house built by Hernán Cortés has been unearthed in Mexico City.
• An Iron Age murder victim's skeleton has been found in England.
• Millennia-old rock art in Israel offers a window into a lost culture.
• Hatshepsut's myrrh tree.
• New research suggests humans invented string at least 120,000 years ago.
• Tesla's patents, Einstein's letters, and an enigma machine are up for auction.
• How students built a 16th-century engineer's book-reading machine.
  

►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄

• Wild bison will roam Britain for the first time in thousands of years.
• See birds dive, splash, and play in these prize-winning photos.
• Meet the strangest pigs in the world.
• Why hummingbirds don't like flying in rainy conditions.
• A robotic spy bear cub attempts to join a family of hungry grizzly bears for an afternoon of fishing.
• A dog is confounded by his human's reflection in the bathroom mirror during a game of hide and seek.
• Hummingbirds learn to count to find their favorite flowers.
• Archaeology dogs can help scholars sniff out the past.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• María Elvira Bermúdez, the Agatha Christie of Mexican literature.
• The U.S. Navy welcomes Lt. j.g. Madeline Swegle, their first Black female Tactical Aircraft pilot.
• Kazue Togasaki: one pioneering doctor's journey from internment camp to delivering 10,000 babies.
• Forensic artist Carrie Stuart Parks: Forensics and faces from the past.
• Meet Bessie Coleman, the first Black woman to get a pilot's license.
  

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Bad fathers, and the readers who love them.
• Five scientific achievements that happened during the Coronavirus lockdown.
• Safe as houses: The "property-porn thriller" is here to stay.
• The top ten best-dressed characters in fiction.
• The top ten books about tumultuous times.
• The 100 most iconic book quotes.
• The twelve greatest, strangest, most transfixing dance scenes in the history of crime movies.
• Six novels that prove lakes are the perfect setting for a murder mystery.
• The twenty-four best mystery novels featuring Native American detectives.
• Eleven crime novels that explore tensions between police and communities.

That's all for this week! Don't forget to stop by next Friday when I'll be sharing a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure.

Stay safe! Stay healthy! And don't forget to curl up with a good book!

Firewatching by Russ Thomas

First Line: It starts with the striking of a match: the thin, dry snap of red powder scratched on white.

There are three main reasons why the good old boys of the Sheffield police department don't like their new cold case handler, Detective Sergeant Adam Tyler. One, he's gay. Two, he's good at his job. Very good. Three, he shows up their mistakes and doesn't give a tinker's about doing it. Fortunately, a case comes along that Tyler can sink his teeth into.

Six years ago, financier Gerald Cartwright disappeared. Everyone thought he was running away from his creditors, but when a skeleton is found in a bricked-off section of cellar in Cartwright's burned-out mansion, it becomes obvious that the man never left home at all.

Since he doesn't play well with others, Adam has been shunted into South Yorkshire's Cold Case Review Unit. He's the only person in the unit, and he instinctively knows that this case is his chance to get his career back on track. Luckily, he already has a suspect. Unluckily, that suspect is Cartwright's son, the man Tyler slept with the night before. The investigation will come up against close-lipped townsfolk, an elderly woman with dementia, and an escalating series of arson fires. It's a good thing he's given some help-- fellow outsider Amina Rabbani, an ambitious young Muslim constable who wants to prove herself on the force.

Firewatching is a gold mine for character-driven readers. So much of this investigation revolves around the relationships between the characters both past and present. It was a bit difficult warming up to Adam Tyler because he works so hard to keep everyone at arm's length, but I finally did, and it had everything to do with those relationships I mentioned. Constable Amina Rabbani shows a lot of promise as a detective if a bit too much zeal, but she's been working hard to prove herself-- not only to her fellow police officers, but to her family who wants her to remain immersed in their strict Muslim culture.

Occasional chapters, or blog posts, from the killer/arsonist have more to do with the story than merely deducing whodunit. I found the mounting numbers of page views, followers, and comments on these posts disturbing. This is a book that has a lot going on, and all the elements blend together nicely. I should have figured out the identity of the killer, but I was trying too hard to find out what made Tyler tick.

Russ Thomas is a strong new voice in crime fiction, and I am definitely looking forward to more investigations with Adam Tyler.

Firewatching by Russ Thomas

ISBN: 9780525542025

G.P. Putnam's Sons © 2020

Hardcover, 368 pages

Police Procedural, #1 DS Adam Tyler mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen.

Visiting Goldilocks

When I was twenty-one months old, my grandmother and my mother loaded up the Chevy and drove us from central Illinois to Phoenix, Arizona (most of the trip on Route 66) to visit my great-grandmother.

My great-grandparents divorced once their children had all flown the nest, and my great-grandmother, whom I shall call Mom Brown from now on, sought out warmer climes. Her roundabout trip to her promised land is what makes me call her Goldilocks.

My great-grandmother as a young girl.

When Mom Brown first moved to Arizona, she settled down in the mountains of Flagstaff in the northern part of the state. Flagstaff was way too cold, so she moved to Douglas, which is right on the border with Mexico. Douglas was way too hot, so she moved to Phoenix, and Phoenix was just right.

See why I call her Goldilocks?

She lived in a trailer park on Van Buren Street, which at that time, was not only a "main drag" but a very nice street. This trailer park in Phoenix was our destination, but we did do some sightseeing along the way.

Our cross-country transportation.

My grandmother and me taking in the Grand Canyon.

Mom Brown's trailer.

Mom Brown's trailer was small, but it had a nice shady patio. While we were there, it rained, and the trailer roof leaked like the proverbial sieve. My grandmother had a fit and wanted to know how on earth her mother could live in such an awful place. Mom Brown looked at her and said, "Irene, it hasn't rained in two years. I didn't know the roof leaked!"

Mom Brown in front of her trailer. If you look closely at her hands, you can see signs of the arthritis that was beginning to cripple her.

Mom Brown and me. Not quite Catalina.

While we were there, Mom Brown decided that she wanted to take us to Catalina Island off the southern California coast. She knew the best way to get there. Unfortunately, her sense of direction was just as good as her ex-husband's (read terrible), and we never made it. I did get to wet my feet in the Pacific and build a sandcastle, though.

Left to right: my grandmother, great-grandmother, mother & me.

Naturally, I don't remember that first trip to Phoenix. When I think of my great-grandmother, I think of her as slightly older than she looks in this last photo.

Her arthritis crippled her hands and other parts of her body so badly that she had to leave Phoenix to come to live with my grandparents. Mom Brown could be a very difficult woman, and as her health worsened, she finally had to move to a nursing home. This was a good thing for my grandmother. I remember how exhausted and depressed she was while Mom Brown lived with them.

A lot of my memories of her involve sitting on my grandparents' front porch with Mom Brown. We would pass an hour or two on hot, lazy summer afternoons embroidering. She loved to embroider and taught me a lot about the craft although I never became as skilled as she and my mother were. I'd rather be out in the country on my bicycle or up in a tree with a book.

I also remember the day when I was dead-heading flowers under a window and overheard Mom Brown telling my mother to stop feeding me.  "Why on earth should I stop feeding Cathy?" Mom asked her. "Because she's fat!" Mom Brown replied. (I was far from being overweight.) After talking with her for another minute or two, Mom found out that Mom Brown really meant that I was too tall. She was a tall woman for her day at five feet six inches, and I was already looking her in the eye at the age of nine. She didn't think I should get any taller. Mom laughed and said, "Good luck with that!" (I still had four inches of growing to do.)

Mom Brown was a complicated woman and yet another person that makes my family history so interesting. I wonder what she'd think of my calling her Goldilocks?

Lineage Most Lethal by S.C. Perkins

First Line: "Stop," I begged. "Please."

Hotel heiress Pippa Sutton has invited genealogist Lucy Lancaster to spend the week between Christmas and New Year's at the swanky Hotel Sutton. Lucy will be relaxing, but she'll also be putting the finishing touches on her presentation for Pippa and her family. Things take a turn for the bizarre when a man staggers up to her outside the hotel, presses a classic Montblanc pen into her hand, collapses, and dies.

Since Lucy's grandfather is an avid Montblanc collector, she takes the pen to him. Not only does he recognize the pen, he reveals the fact that he was an Allied spy during World War II. The pen is a message regarding one of his wartime missions.

When people begin dying whose names happen to be on a microdot found in the pen, Lucy has to work fast-- her beloved grandfather's life is in jeopardy.

S.C. Perkins' Ancestry Detective mystery series is turning out to be delightful. Lucy Lancaster is one bright woman who, after the events in the first book in the series (Murder Once Removed), took a CPR class, a self-defense class, and went to a counselor. So many amateur sleuths never seem to take these precautions, so I always appreciate it when I see it happen. Lucy also keeps going to the police with the information she uncovers even though she's not being taken seriously.

Readers learn quite a bit about Lucy's grandfather in Lineage Most Lethal. It seems the old man has been keeping quite a few secrets under wraps. There are even codes to decipher which I always enjoy. Having helped my mother and grandmother with our family history, I was intrigued by Lucy's use of something called Soundex, a phonetic algorithm for indexing names by sound as pronounced in English. If my mother had known about Soundex, she might have been able to trace a very elusive family name. Who says you can't learn anything by reading mysteries?

World War II, spies, secret missions, microdots, codes, and a lead character who makes me smile. I can't wait to see what Lucy Lancaster gets up to in her next adventure.

Lineage Most Lethal by S.C. Perkins

eISBN: 9781250750082

Minotaur Books © 2020

eBook, 336 pages

Cozy Mystery, #2 Ancestry Detective mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

I Saw Him Die by Andrew Wilson

First Line: I made my way down the grand central staircase, preparing myself to meet a murderer and his-- or her-- potential victim.

Shortly before her second marriage, bestselling novelist and part-time undercover sleuth Agatha Christie decides to take a holiday for some well-deserved rest and relaxation. Alas, it is not meant to be. When her friend John Davison begs her to help him protect a retired British agent-turned-hotelier, she reluctantly agrees.

The two travel to Dallach Lodge, a beautiful estate on the Isle of Skye where they blend in with the other guests. After spending an evening with them, Agatha thinks it highly unlikely that any of them are capable of harming anyone; however, early the next morning, the hotel owner is found dead. It appears to be a hunting accident, but as Agatha investigates, she quickly finds out that each one of the guests has a reason for wanting the man dead.

Having never read any of the previous books in the series, I have to be honest. The major reason why I chose to read I Saw Him Die was its setting on the Isle of Skye, someplace I'm quite familiar with. Of course, Agatha Christie was the secondary reason. I had to see how author Andrew Wilson treated this icon of crime fiction.

What I found was an excellent read for mystery lovers who prefer a finely crafted plot over characterization. Believe me, the plot is excellent. I have not read extensively in Christie's oeuvre, but I have watched many television adaptations of her work. If a relative novice such as I can recognize several allusions to Christie's books, I Saw Him Die will be a feast for readers who have more familiarity.

I think two of my favorite things about this book were the significance of the title and the afterword in which Wilson explains how the plot fits into the real Agatha Christie's life. Yes, there are a lot of things to like in I Saw Him Die, but it never really engaged my complete interest, and other character-driven readers might have the same reaction. Told in the first person, Agatha's voice never really drew me into the story; therefore, I doubt that I will continue with the series. But remember-- just because this book wasn't a good fit for me doesn't mean it won't be a good fit for you. Love Dame Agatha? Then I think you should definitely read I Saw Him Die.

I Saw Him Die by Andrew Wilson

eISBN: 9781501197574

Atria Books © 2020

eBook, 397 pages

Historical Mystery, #4 Agatha Christie Detective mystery

Rating: B

Source: Net Galley

On My Radar: Ilaria Tuti's The Sleeping Nymph

When I reviewed Ilaria Tuti's first book, Flowers Over the Inferno, featuring formidable homicide detective Teresa Battaglia, I compared her main character to Vera Stanhope and Ruth Galloway. If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that I'm a huge fan of both those women, so it will come as no shock to you that I muttered an "Oh, goody!!!" and bounced in my chair when I learned that the second Battaglia mystery was going to be released in September.

Let me tell you more about The Sleeping Nymph!

Available September 8, 2020!

"In the highly anticipated follow-up to Flowers Over the Inferno, Superintendent Teresa Battaglia, expert criminal profiler with four decades of experience on the Italian police force, returns for a chilling cold case.

A decades-old murder investigation has landed on Superintendent Teresa Battaglia's desk. DNA analysis has revealed that a painting from the final days of World War II contains matter from a human heart. Teresa is able to trace the evidence to Val Resia, one of Italy’s most isolated, untouched regions.

When Teresa’s investigation hits too close to the truth, a fresh human heart is hung at the valley’s entrance, a warning not to cross its threshold. As she hunts a ruthless killer, Teresa must face down her own rapidly deteriorating physical and cognitive abilities, as well as someone she hoped never to see again—a man who has just become her supervisor."

Sounds like Teresa Battaglia has her work cut out for her, doesn't it? I'm really looking forward to reading The Sleeping Nymph, and since this is supposed to be a trilogy, it follows that I'm also anticipating how the third book will conclude Battaglia's story.