I don’t know why, but I was feeling a little stabby this month. Okay, I do know why. You may have noticed that I have been absent. and have missed a few reading and joy posts. I went under the knife for a thing that was misdiagnosed for five years. It has taken over a year and a half to get under control, with the final step to cut part of it out. Fun. So drugs have been involved, along with loopy behavior (also fun). Regardless, I think I am back to a regular schedule now and am actively getting things done again.
Onto the stabby bits: in this episode, there are three books about murder, one I was not a fan of, and one about lifelong learning.
As always I link to the books and the authors where I can
A Rip Through Time by Kelley Armstrong
So I have long been fascinated with forensics, long before the CSIs fascinated the rest of the world. On our tiny island, there was a murder, and they never figured out who did it. I was always curious as to why, and being a science nerd, I have always wanted to figure things out. This book sends a police inspector back in time to Scotland (go team!) where she meets a mortician who is also fascinated by this science. He also happens to be dark-skinned, having had a mother of West Indian descent. But in a racist time, this, combined with his profession, makes him an outcast. The police inspector, a female, gets put into the body of a pretty con woman with little education and little morals, soshe struggles to show identity. She is not the only person to get pulled back in time; the person who murdered her in her own time also gets pulled into the body of a Jack the Ripper copycat. This is well-written, educational in historic forensics, and a lot of fun in terms of identity and interactions. A good read. I always love Kelley Armstrong for a good story.
One, Two, Three by Laurie Frankel
Yep, you guessed it. This is the one I do not recommend. I normally love Laurie Frankel. She is a brilliant writer and loves how quirky and wonderfully human her characters are. Here themes are about family and the ties that bind us. Not so much this one, which is a story of multiples ( if you know me personally, you know that I am a multiple). One is the firstborn, two is the second, and three is the third. The story is told from all three points of view. I just couldn’t connect with the characters. I just couldn’t get into this despite all the themes and writing being what I look for. The story just didn’t get me. Do not recommend this book, but I do recommend this author normally.
Home is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose
Jeneva Rose is a new author for me. I follow her on Instagram and think she is a bloody riot. She has a darkly wicked sense of humor, so I was expecting something of this ilk in her horror mysteries. Yes, and…no. This is also told from the perspective of three siblings, after their mother dies. They find a VHS cassette of their parents on a dark night. Their parents are hiding the clearly dead body of a missing neighborhood girl. But the mystery is: who killed her? Why are their parents hiding the body? Where is their father now? He has been missing for years. Why didn’t their mother erase the tape? All three characters have their own speculations based on who they are now as adults and who their childhoods have led them to be. Rose does a wonderful job of providing three distinct voices, and using just enough hints to lead us down a path and surprise us with a few twists that we just do NOT see coming. (And I usually see them). This is a very fun read for when you are in a stabby place.
Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson
A mild-mannered bookseller is grieving his late wife. He owns a bookstore that isn’t particularly successful, with a cat that is more beloved than he is. Long ago he wrote a blog post on the books that he thinks are perfect murders. And then someone uses that as a blueprint to murder. The bookseller is shocked, until he isn’t. We find out more about his wife and more about his alcoholic business partner (no, it isn’t what you think) and what has led to his dark apathy. Enter an FBI agent with a past of her own that seems to be related to his. Peter Swanson is a dark man who leads down the path of no return. It is worth reading. It is not a happy ending,
NON FICTION This week.
Beginners: The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning by Tom Vanderbilt
This isn’t a “how to begin” book. It is a “why you should begin” book. The thing I love about Tom Vanderbilt is that he gets it. He gets how hard it is to do this. I think we all do. He breaks down why we should do it anyway. I have worn a silver bracelet that says Show Up and Suck for the past few years (since I stopped being an asshole) and it has served me well. I have been learning so many things for a few years now that I am used to being bad at things. Sometimes, I find that I am good at things. When someone tries something with me and says something like, “I am not good at that”, I want to yell at them, “How do you know, you’ve only tried it once?” I now grow impatient with friends who are judgy of adult beginners. So what? They are trying, which is more than I can say for most people. Science shows us that the more we have a beginner’s mindset, the happier we are, the longer we live, and the more friends we have. I am sure it is all correlated and hard to separate out, and as for me, I am here for it. Read this. Go try something. Or redo something. Today I am helping my Godson with precalculus, something I haven’t done in 25 years, and relearning it with him. Its kinda fun and a good bonding experience.
Tell me what you learn in the comments. Or what you want to learn. GO BE A KOOK!