“The Alpine Christimas,” by Mary Daheim

FM's ratings:

1. Premise 7
2. Prose 8
3. Plot 7
4. Characters 8
5. Overall 8

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!

This is the third in an alphabet series, beginning with "The Alpine Advocate" and "The Alpine Betrayal." For me, it falls a little short of the first two, possibly because I'm already getting jaded on the setting and the characters - although I really do like both - or possibly because it's a Christmas-themed mystery and that gets in the way somehow. Still, I rate it an "8" overall, which is pretty good. I'm just not as excited about returning the series as I was before. The discovering of who is committing the murders - chopping up prostitutes from far away Seattle and tossing them in the river near Alpine - is not made by slowly compiling clues until they form a picture, but by poking at the problem from all directions until something pops loose. I'm fine with either approach in a murder mystery, but there is more "false lead" action here than usual. The love interest in the relationships is just now starting to get a bit tedious. If this was a "for women" type of book, that would be understandable, but it's not, really. It's solid mystery-writing without any sense of pandering to a demographic. I will probably read more of the books in this series, but with all the superb authors I have been discovering the past year or so, it may be a while.

Here’s the January line-up!

"Dead Ever After," by Charlaine Harris [1-6-18]

"Tripwire," by Lee Child [1-13-18]

"Imajica," by Clive Barker [1-20-18]
"Death of Yesterday," by M. C. Beaton [1-27-18]

“When Elves Attack,” by Tim Dorsey

FM's ratings:

1. Premise 6
2. Prose 8
3. Plot 8
4. Characters 8
5. Overall 8

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

I will admit, I checked out this book because I like the title, it looked like a fast read, and I wanted to include it in a Christmas-themed group for December. It was a pleasant surprise to find a "lark" style novel with some interesting meat on its bones. The style hits me like a cross between Christopher Moore and Dave Berry. Not everyone's shot of scotch. But I liked it enough to immediately go to the library and check out another one in the series (which, if I'm not mistaken, is the only series he writes). The main protagonist (his sidekick is an important ingredient to the recipe) is essentially a criminally insane wild man who means well. Whenever he snuffs someone, it's because they had it coming in his view - he's just doing the rest of us a favor. The prose is simplistic - contributing to that "fast read" I wanted - but peppered with great lines such as the ones found in the "finest" sitcoms. The "situation" aspect of sitcoms is here also, with slightly complex setups that you don't see coming. This style may turn out to be a little thin for my tastes in the long run, but I want to explore it while it's fresh to me.

Here’s the January line-up!

"Dead Ever After," by Charlaine Harris [1-6-18]

"Tripwire," by Lee Child [1-13-18]

"Imajica," by Clive Barker [1-20-18]
"Death of Yesterday," by M. C. Beaton [1-27-18]

“Hark! The Herald Angel Screamed,” by Mignon F. Ballard

FM’s ratings:

1. Premise 5
2. Prose 5
3. Plot 7
4. Characters 7
5. Overall 6

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

At first, this novel was in danger of a much lower rating. The stereotype of a "Cozy Mystery" of being way too girly-chatty and filled with uninteresting details was in full swing for much of the first quarter to a third of the book. The descriptions of Christmas decorations and Christmas wardrobe and Christmas food [yes, with recipes at the end of the book] was rather over the top and bogged things down considerably. Okay, so it IS a Christmas-themed novel and we can presume that many would read it with the expectation of such detail. But the actual plot points could have been presented in a President's Day novel or a Grandparents Day novel just as well. The cast was virtually all grandmothers with the occasional grandfather thrown in. And maybe that was the target demographic for this book. The author seemed to snap out of it to some extent as the end approached, and gave us a fairly decent clue-oriented mystery; just much too late. I will presume that some of Ballard's other works would score a 7 or even an 8 on my personal scale. But - with apologies - I will probably never find out.

“Santa Clawed,” by Rita Mae Brown

FM's ratings:

1. Premise 8
2. Prose 5
3. Plot 6
4. Characters 7
5. Overall 6

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!

This novel is a curious mix of fine attributes and unfortunate attributes. As a mystery, in the standard sense, it works quite well, although if you're one of those mystery readers who like to try and figure out the killer, the author doesn't really give you a fair chance. It's just not very clever, and too much critical information is saved until far too late. The worst thing about the prose is not the wording, phrasing, dialog or any of that. It's the "chit-chat" filler, the excessive attention to meaningless details like who wore what, how the room was decorated, and so on - all the "written-for-women" trivia that one hopes one won't have to deal with much in a Cozy Mystery. On the whole, I have seen very little of this from most Cozy Mystery writers. The only other one that comes to mind is Mignon F. Ballard. The trademark animal dialog by Brown is almost embarrassing in its attempt to depict how our pets might actually converse if they could. And the title? I can't recall a single reference to Santa Claus in the entire book. Maybe I missed one. The plot, too, is marred chiefly by the addition of throw-away scenes that add nothing to the story-line; entire chapters of "character-development" that fails to deliver. Someday I should read a book by this author that isn't a Christmas-themed book, to see if maybe that's the reason for these flaws. For now: NEXT!

“Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Friend” by Christopher Moore

FM's ratings:

1. Premise 10
2. Prose 10
3. Plot 10
4. Characters 9
5. Overall 10

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

With this novel, Christopher Moore has shot up to one of my top 5 favorite authors. Pretty much perfect, the “9” for Characters is possibly unfair; a fast-paced comedy of this type would become unwieldy with deeply wrought characters. The pacing is perfect, cramming a LOT of story into about 400 pages. Many authors would have taken twice this many pages for the number of plot points here – a huge mistake in my opinion. And yet, the pace never seems rushed. The amazing humor somehow eclipses the wonderful complexity, depth, and brilliant structures of this book. It just didn’t have to be this good. It’s my third book by Moore, each one better than the last. Next up: “Practical Demonkeeping.” What fun!

“Whisper of Crows,” by Jameson Hesse

FM's ratings:

1. Premise 5
2. Prose 2
3. Plot 4
4. Characters 3
5. Overall 4

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

This is the book we should have thought would result from "Independent Publishing" or "Indie" novels. The editing is pretty much non-existent - but very much needed. It's hard to understand the desire to be a novelist on the part of someone who has so little skill in actually writing. The spelling, grammar, syntax - absolutely everything an editor would be on the lookout for - are mangled on virtually every page. It's a "horror story" and it fits the bill, including many stereotypical tropes you would expect to find in such a trope-friendly genre. Beyond that - it's trash. The illogic applied throughout the story is mesmerizing. One thing often simply doesn't follow from the thing that came before. It's a mishmash of "horror" ideas pretending to be a novel, and we are shaking our heads in disbelief at every turn. Other than that - it's readable. I finished it without too much of a struggle which is more than I can say for a handful of novels have read by name authors. 



Here’s the December line-up!


"Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff..." by Christopher Moore [12-2-17]
"Santa Clawed," by Rita Mae Brown [12-9-17]
"Hark! The Herald Angel Screamed," by Mignon Ballard [12-16-17]
"When Elves Attack," by Tim Dorsey [12-23-17]
"The Alpine Christmas," by Mary Daheim [12-30-17]

“Bell, Book & Candlemas,” by Jennifer David Hesse

FM’s ratings:

1. Premise 10
2. Prose 8
3. Plot 8
4. Characters 9
5. Overall 8

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

Another rewarding Cozy Mystery by yet another quite talented writer. How many of these writers can there be!? One hates to pigeon-hole them into a class, because they really are superb at what they do, but they seem to be coming out of the woodwork! My favorite examples of these books seem to be those, like this one, that include an element of witchcraft. I'm not at all a believer in such things, but the topic seems to make for fun fiction. I guess it's the "what-if" element that drew me to Science Fiction for so many years. The protagonist is almost always the "practitioner" of the Wiccan arts, and telling the story in first-person lends it a believability it otherwise might lack. This particular one assumes perhaps a little too much open-mindedness on the part of the reader, and I can't help but feel many readers might be really turned off by the casting of spells and the details thereof depicted here. These passages are almost as obligatory as the "love-making" passages sprinkled throughout other types of novels. Skim and move on. Otherwise, this one might merit an Overall "9". The literary device of a system of tunnels connecting various points around town is intelligently introduced and utilized - not over-used. The atmosphere of this story is nicely palpable - a huge plus. And there's a cat. Points for the cat.




Here’s the December line-up!

"Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff..." by Christopher Moore [12-2-17]
"Santa Clawed," by Rita Mae Brown [12-9-17]
"Hark! The Herald Angel Screamed," by Mignon Ballard [12-16-17]
"When Elves Attack," by Tim Dorsey [12-23-17]
"The Alpine Christmas," by Mary Daheim [12-30-17]

“Demian,” by Hermann Hesse

FM's ratings:

1. Premise 5
2. Prose 7
3. Plot 5
4. Characters 7
5. Overall 6

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

This is a twist, though not a very novel one, on the "coming-of-age" type of story that seemed to be popular years ago. The "premise" - if you can really call it that - is essentially the main character's struggle with growing up. Yawn. The success of such a story must depend on how unique the approach is and how compelling the prose is. The approach here seems to be the importance of a certain individual - in this case, Demian - to the protagonist's search for meaning. The deeper we get into the story, the more metaphysical and even metaphorical the special individual and his influence become. But one gradually gets the feeling that the author is rather disingenuously using the story to influence the reader's beliefs; in this case, to encourage us to accept the tenets of the author's supernatural beliefs. One of Hesse's more important novels is "Siddhartha," his re-telling of the story of Buddha. Personally, I find these ideas interesting and even meaningful to a degree. And if the prose of this book had been up to the task - rather than tedious; sometimes grindingly so - I might personally have been more impressed with the effort. Even F. Scott Fitzgerald's "coming-of-age" work, "This Side of Paradise," tedious as it is, was more engaging in its prose than this. Stories of this nature may find a more accepting audience among those who are going through their own teen- or early-adult-self-searching struggles. But those of us who have moved on and would just as soon not relive it yet again, or who have worked for many years with people of that age and watched the "drama" unfold ad nauseum, must, perhaps, be so jaded by it as to want nothing to do with such navel-gazing ever again!

“Misery Loves Maggody,” by Joan Hess

FM’s ratings:

1. Premise 7
2. Prose 9
3. Plot 8
4. Characters 8
5. Overall 8

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

I have been an admirer of Joan Hess and this Maggody series for many years. The last one or two that I read didn't quite live up to the first several [I haven't read them in anything like their chronological order] but this one has renewed my enthusiasm. The humor has a decidedly "Beverly Hillbillies-meets-Rhoda" flair to it often with a wicked sardonicism thrown in for spice - right on target as far as my own sensibilities are concerned. Arly Hanks, our protagonist and reluctant but effective sheriff of the podunk town of Maggody, Arkansas, serves as a type of "straight man" to a plethora of buffoons and/or stereotypes. These novels very deftly employ the technique of alternating first-person segments as experienced by Arly with third-person narratives describing the hilarious backwardness of Maggody's populace. Religious hypocrisy is mercilessly lampooned in passages involving the local religious leaders and their followers. (Again, right on target for me.) And the depictions of the thought processes of the simple folk seem to be spot on as well. Imagine a female, jaded Andy Griffith recovering ungracefully from a bad marriage surrounded by Barney Fifes and Gomer Pyles, and you have another apt comparison. This series isn't for everyone - my wife can't stomach it at all! - but the almost sit-com nature of the narrative should certainly have broad appeal.

“The Executioner's Heart,” by George Mann

FM's ratings:

1. Premise 7
2. Prose 8
3. Plot 7
4. Characters 8
5. Overall 7

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

Steampunk stories often suffer from the same weaknesses as Space Operas. "Star Wars," for instance, has been accused of being a 17th century opera - or even a western - dressed up in Science Fiction trappings. With Steampunk, it often seems as if the story was taken from some other genre, adorned with mechanical contraptions, dirigibles, Victorian Age clothing, and so on to make - voila! - a Steampunk story. This book does a little better than most, but is essentially a political spy thriller; and not a great one at that, relying too heavily on the quaint imagery to give us Steampunk. Also featured here is a heavy dose of 18th century occultism and opium usage for a "heady" mix of ingredients. Several tense "action" scenes round it out for a novel I can almost recommend. And yet I was left at the end with a "that's all folks, we hope you enjoyed the show" feeling. Part of the problem with the plot, especially near the end, was that it was a little too obvious that the author wanted to leave us with a cliff-hanger set-up for the next installment in the series. Fine, but wrap this one up first. If you crave Steampunk novels, this one has some nice surprises and unique elements to offer. But I'm still looking for the masterpiece of the genre that will help further define it.


Here’s the November line-up!

"Misery Loves Maggody," by Joan Hess [11-4-17]
"Demian," by Hermann Hesse [11-11-17]
"Bell, Book & Candlemas," by Jennifer David Hesse [11-18-17]
"Whisper of Crows," by Jameson Hesse [11-25-17]

(As always, if there are any books you’d like to recommend for next month, please do so. Also, if you have already read a book on our previous lists, you are invited to send your ratings and or comments for that book!)

“Black Cat Crossing,” by Kay Finch

FM’s ratings:

1. Premise 8
2. Prose 9
3. Plot 8
4. Characters 9
5. Overall 8

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

Rarely do I try to guess whodunit while reading a mystery. In this book, I did, and of course I guessed wrong! There are probably those who would tell you that inducing you to try and guess which character is the villain is the mark of a good mystery, or at least a classically written mystery. Maybe so. There are other aspects of this plot that fall into that category as well, namely the regularly spaced (one per chapter?) clues dribbled throughout the narrative. When I was younger these elements didn’t interest me much, and even now they don’t influence me near as much as good prose and good characters. The main reason I read a lot of mysteries these days is that almost all of the superb authors, old and new, that I’m discovering happen to be mystery writers, including very many of those who write the Cozy Mysteries such as this one. Some of these books leave me wanting to read another one by the same author very soon, relatively soon, or “maybe again someday…” This one falls into the second category; I definitely don’t want to let Finch fall off of my radar. The Black Cat theme is a plus for me, as well as the Witch theme, though that is only vaguely referenced in this book. One assumes that will be developed in subsequent additions to the series. A strong first book for this series!

Here’s the November line-up!

"Misery Loves Maggody," by Joan Hess [11-4-17]
"Demian," by Hermann Hesse [11-11-17]
"Bell, Book & Candlemas," by Jennifer David Hesse [11-18-17]
"Whisper of Crows," by Jameson Hesse [11-25-17]

(As always, if there are any books you’d like to recommend for next month, please do so. Also, if you have already read a book on our previous lists, you are invited to send your ratings and or comments for that book!)

“A Skeleton in the Family,” by Leigh Perry

FM’s ratings:

1. Premise 9
2. Prose 9
3. Plot 9
4. Characters 9
5. Overall 9

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

The strongest aspect of the prose is the humor – actually the wit – that is displayed not only in the dialog, but the first-person narrative. The numerous bone puns are deftly handled, not groan-producing and not overdone. The plot is outstanding, marred only by the over-simplicity of the climax. The premise is silly enough to be a detriment but it is handled so well through prose and plot that we buy into it. This is definitely an author that I will want to try again.

“Mr. Mercedes,” by Stephen King

FM's ratings:

1. Premise 7
2. Prose 9
3. Plot 9
4. Characters 8
5. Overall 8

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

Contrary to what I had been led to believe, this is not the kind of novel that made King famous. In fact, compared to his better works, this one probably should rate one or even two spots lower than each of the ratings I give here. Because of the prose, it is still identifiably King, but otherwise it's not easily differentiated from novels by a dozen other best-selling suspense writers. It's a Dean Koontz-style novel, perhaps, though not equal to Koontz's best. There's not much "horror" here, virtually NO supernaturalism or spookiness. A little "creep factor" sneaks in with the result of the bad guy's mother accidentally eating the poisoned meat meant for the dog. And there's an strong "ick" factor in the perverse relationship between him and his mother. Sure, Mr. King likes to range far and wide genre-wise, and I appreciate that, having enjoyed novels as diverse as "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" and "Wasteland." But while this book is "solid," it lacks the distinguishing King-esque factors that normally set his novels apart.

“Lullaby,” by Chuck Palahniuk

FM’s ratings:

1. Premise 10
2. Prose 8
3. Plot 9
4. Characters 10
5. Overall 9

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

Another mind-blower by Mr. Palahniuk! The premise gets a “10” for stark originality, even if it is somewhat hard to grasp. There are several sub-premises that interweave and intersect in a rather kaleidoscopic way that keeps the reader off balance. The characters are not deeply developed; just deeply disturbing and fascinating to watch. The prose has a certain starkness to it that we encounter in some of his other work; but it complements the subject matter so well that, once again, I am reminded of Kurt Vonnegut. The constantly reappearing catchphrases cement the flow in a surrealistic manner. The unusual disjointedness of the plot is offset by well-placed surprises – even shocks – throughout the plot. I just can’t get enough Palahniuk!

Here’s the October line-up!

"Mr. Mercedes," by Stephen King [10-7-17]

"A Skeleton in the Family," by Leigh Perry [10-14-17]

"Black Cat Crossing," by Kay Finch [10-21-17]

"The Executioner's Heart," by George Mann [10-28-17]

(As always, if there are any books you’d like to recommend for next month, please do so. Also, if you have already read a book on our previous lists, you are invited to send your ratings and or comments for that book!)

“Murder Sends a Postcard,” by Christy Fifield

FM’s ratings:

1. Premise 7
2. Prose 8
3. Plot 7
4. Characters 8
5. Overall 8

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

Cozy Mysteries might appear, to the uninitiated, to be almost exclusively “written for women” the way Romances are. Perhaps that is true to some extent, but for those of us who like to read something intelligent, no matter which demographic is the target, this isn’t really a problem. The “written for women” issue might involve things like extreme overemphasis on relationships, chatty or gossipy scenes and dialog, too much detail on cooking and recipes, too-good-to-be-true male love interests, and “cutesy” description of babies, pets, home décor, and more. This book suffers from ALL these things (complete with recipes in the back of the book!). And yet – the intelligence is there. I never found myself rolling my eyes, or sighing with impatience to “get on with the story.” The characters are engaging, if not particularly well-developed. The dialog is natural and to-the-point. Overall, an enjoyable book with reasonably engrossing mystery elements.

Here’s the October line-up!

"Mr. Mercedes," by Stephen King [10-7-17]

"A Skeleton in the Family," by Leigh Perry [10-14-17]

"Black Cat Crossing," by Kay Finch [10-21-17]

"The Executioner's Heart," by George Mann [10-28-17]

(As always, if there are any books you’d like to recommend for next month, please do so. Also, if you have already read a book on our previous lists, you are invited to send your ratings and or comments for that book!)

“One Shot,” by Lee Child

FM's ratings:

1. Premise 9
2. Prose 9
3. Plot 10
4. Characters 10
5. Overall 10

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

This is smart writing. The prose is smart because it’s extremely “readable.” It’s just a bit shallow, partly as a consequence of its accessibility. But we don’t miss the depth of the prose (or the fact that the characters could have been explored a little more deeply) because the storyline is so compelling and the interest level never flags. Lee Child has perfected the Hero in Jack Reacher. Everything about Jack Reacher is impressive, yet he remains quite human. (And Tom Cruise is a great choice to play him in the movies, despite the fact that he’s about a foot too short and about 80 pounds too light for the role!) The setting is described in great detail, but it’s done so well, we don’t get bogged down at all. This is not as easy as Child makes it look. We are treated to some fascinating insights into several esoteric subjects without getting lost in the details – also a smart feat, displaying a very broad knowledge base on the part of the author. Beautiful writing; almost made me go out and pick up another Jack Reacher book immediately! But, alas, my backlog of to-be-read books is screaming for my attention…

“School Days,” by Robert B. Parker

FM's ratings:

1. Premise 10
2. Prose 10
3. Plot 9
4. Characters 9
5. Overall 9

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

I was told by the person who recommended this book that they thought I would like it very much because protagonist’s quirky sense of humor was very similar to mine. Absolutely true, although I feel like a second-rate wannabe in comparison! Think Bill Murray with muscles and a movie star face. Actually, I guess Bill Murray DOES have a movie star face, but you know what I mean. The humor goes a long way toward the “10” I give it for prose, along with the other aspects of the dialog. The premise hits my buttons as a teacher (retired), dealing with issues like school shootings, teacher-student sexual misconduct, and faculty politics. I’ve got to stop discovering favorite new authors; I’m starting to forget who some of them are! But I will absolutely seek out another novel by this author VERY soon.  

“Burnt Offerings,” by Laurell K. Hamilton

FM’s ratings:

1. Premise 7
2. Prose 9
3. Plot 6
4. Characters 8
5. Overall 7

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

In all the ways that are most important to me, this novel is quite good; but it has one major flaw and several minor ones. In previous books in this series, I gradually noticed a trend toward over-writing certain "scenes" - to choose an adequately descriptive word. When you have spent 9 or 10 chapters - maybe 80 or 100 pages - in the same room with essentially the same characters and relatively little plot development, a certain species of tedium sets in. Hamilton valiantly tries to maintain extreme tension in these scenes, but the reader begins to chafe. In this book, more than in the first 6, the plot seems to wander a bit, putting main threads "on hold" while our protagonist deals with other emergencies largely unrelated to the central plot-line. The central plot-line here seems to have been meant to be the mystery of an individual supernatural baddie that is setting major fires throughout Saint Louis through mental powers alone. Hence the title, "Burnt Offerings." We're soon sidetracked by a sub-plot which itself seems to be usurped by a sub-sub-plot which veers off on still another tangent of its own. At least, this is the impression one gets. Maybe we're supposed to see more of a connection between these story-lines prior to the explanation at the end, but I have more than a little difficulty keeping it all straight - maybe because I also read other books at the same time. Hamilton's distinctive brand of humor - one almost wants to call it Anita Blake's humor, as she delivers it in her first-person narrative - is present, but a little too understated here in favor of dark and dangerous tension. I had read, before delving into this series, that it atrophied in its later books from sinister supernatural suspense leavened with semi-trashy romance to mostly trashy romance with less suspense. I'm not finding this to be the case. Maybe that happens later. But a different kind of tedium is setting in which begins to feel like we're reading the same book over and over. We're not quite there yet, either, but I do find myself hesitating to move on to the next book in the series.

"Her Royal Spyness," by Rhys Bowen

FM’s ratings:

1. Premise 7
2. Prose 9
3. Plot 8
4. Characters 8
5. Overall 8

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

A lot of fun – but the premise isn’t really the premise. According to the title, this story is about a royal personage (Duke’s sister; 34^th in line for the throne in England) who is asked by the Queen to spy on another royal personage. This does occur, but only as a side-plot. The actual plot is a murder mystery involving the murder of a blackmailer who is trying to capture the “spy’s” birthright, namely the ancient Scottish castle that her brother inherited – in what is apparently a perfectly legitimate claim! Has the author confused herself? No matter. The witty prose and highly appealing heroine more than make up for the confusion. The prose is, in fact, so lively that we forget to pay attention to any weaknesses in plot and premise. There is a lot of incidental information about how the royal class lived in 1930’s England, including the fact that our heroine is so used to having servants to do things for her that she never learned how to light a fire in the fireplace! But told from the royal perspective, we don’t feel any disdain for this dependence on “The Help.” A unique kind of story that makes us want more.

“A Prayer for the Damned,” by Peter Tremayne

FM's ratings:

          1. Premise 8

          2. Prose 8

          3. Plot 9

          4. Characters 10

          5. Overall 9

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

Fidelma impresses the hell out of us once again! Her technique in solving very difficult murders is beautiful to behold. Since the setting is 668 A.D. in ancient Ireland, she doesn’t have the advantage of fingerprinting, DNA analysis, and a host of other modern-day tools to work with. Her investigations rely on asking the right questions of the right people in the right order and in the right tone of voice. She’s playing a game of chess, so to speak, and in this novel she even compares her approach to such a game; one played in that time and place known as brandubh, and similar to chess. Tremayne knows the period well, having studied it academically, and sprinkles anthropological references throughout the text, complete with the Celtic words that were used for them. This is done so tastefully that it never gets in the way; indeed it adds a spice to the narrative that enhances the atmosphere of time and place. Historical novels don’t usually appeal to me, but these are done so well that I keep coming back for more.

Here’s the September line-up!

"Burnt Offerings," by Laurell K. Hamilton [9-2-17]

"School Days," by Robert B. Parker [9-9-17]

"One Shot," by Lee Child [9-16-17]

"Murder Sends a Postcard," by Christy Fifield [9-23-17]

"Lullaby," by Chuck Palahniuk [9-30-17]

(As always, if there are any books you’d like to recommend for next month, please do so. Also, if you have already read a book on our previous lists, you are invited to send your ratings and or comments for that book!)

"Moods,” by Louisa May Alcott

FM's ratings:

1. Premise 4
2. Prose 7
3. Plot 6
4. Characters 6
5. Overall 6

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

“Under the above title [Moods], Miss Alcott has given us her version of the old story of the husband, the wife, and the lover. This story has been told so often that an author’s only pretext for telling it again is his consciousness of an ability to make it either more entertaining or more instructive; to invest it with incidents more dramatic, or with a more pointed moral. Its interest has already been carried to the furthest limits, both of tragedy and comedy, by a number of practised French writers: under this head, therefore, competition would be superfluous. Has Miss Alcott proposed to herself to give her story a philosophical bearing? We can hardly suppose it. We have seen it asserted that her book claims to deal with the ‘doctrine of affinities.’ What the doctrine of affinities is, we do not exactly know; but we are inclined to think that our author has been somewhat maligned. Her book is, to our perception, innocent of any doctrine whatsoever.” Thus wrote Henry James, in 1865, and I think he pretty much nails it. It’s ironic to me that when I tried to read one of his novels, I found it so tedious that I didn’t bother to finish it; extremely rare for me. I struggled to finish this one, it became so pedantic and trite near the end. The prose is mostly very good by Victorian Era standards, but took a maudlin, overwritten turn for the worse in the last few chapters. The same is true of the characters, who marginally held my interest for most of the first 80% of the book, but gradually became more stereotypical and wooden. Someday I might read Alcott’s most beloved novel, “Little Women,” having read “Little Men” already. But I’m certainly not in any hurry to do so.

“The Last Olympian,” by Rick Riordan

FM's ratings:

1. Premise 8
2. Prose 9
3. Plot 9
4. Characters 10
5. Overall 9

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This is the 5^th and final book in a beautifully realized series. Yes, the series is written for “Young Adults” (I volunteer to be a young adult!) but the quality of writing and especially characterization here is as good as any to be found in “adult” literature. The humor is the spice that makes the recipe; a spice that other more universally acclaimed fantasy series, such as “Lord of the Rings” or “The Chronicles of Narnia” could have used some of. Would those works have been the same with such humor added? No. They might not have been as “weighty,” but they wouldn’t have been as tedious, either. The humor, along with the pace of this series is perfect. Riordan is a writer of the highest level in my opinion (and his “adult” books are just as good). The bonus feature of these “Percy Jackson” novels is that the reader is made familiar, or at least much more familiar with the panoply of the Mythological beings, creatures, and stories covered in any course on Mythology. (Riordan has spent time as a Middle School teacher covering just such material!) The hero, Percy Jackson, is one of the most admirable heroes in Young Adult literature, and the rest of the cast is just as convincing. For my money, if a young reader had to choose between the Harry Potter books and this series, I would recommend this one!