2002-2003
Book Club Reads
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2002-2003 ||
1999-2001
2003
Selections (listed by author's last name) |
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January
2003
TO RUIN A QUEEN - Fiona Buckley
(Ursula Blanchard, No. 4) This is the 4th in Fiona Buckley's
series with her female sleuth, Ursula Blanchard. This one finds
Ursula in France with her French husband, Matthew de la Roche. She
is awaiting the arrival of her child. When this fails to happen
and the child turns up missing, Ursula begins to think it is all
a part of a plot to lure her back home. She follows a lead to Vetch
Castle which is the ancient home of the Mortimer family. Philip
Mortimer boasts that he will force Queen Elizabeth I to restore
the once great family's fortunes. Danger grows for all involved,
including Ursula. Happy reading! Debbie
Amazon
US - Amazon
UK - Amazon
CA (Paperback/Hardcover/Audio CD or Cassette/Adobe Download) |
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February 2003
POODLE SPRINGS - Robert B. Parker (completing a manuscript left
by Raymond Chandler)
(Philip Marlowe) Philip Marlowe is alive and well and living
in Poodle Springs, Cal. He's married to a wealthy heiress now. However,
living in the lap of luxury hasn't made a dent in Marlowe's cynicism
--- or his talent for attracting trouble. Soon he's on the trail
of greed, lust, and murder as dark and cunning as any he's ever
seen. I picked this book out of a curiosity about Raymond Chandler
but he doesn't fit our group's parameters for volunteer reading
as historical. However, if you like this I suggest you go to Amazon
and put Chandler's name in and try one of the several reprints of
his more well known novels to compare with how Robert Parker did
on finishing this one. Happy reading! Debbie
Amazon
US - Amazon
UK - Amazon
CA (Paperback/Hardcover/Audio CD or Cassette/download)
The Amazon UK link is for used copies, since they have it as listed
out of print
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March 2003
THE RIGHT HAND OF AMON - Lauren Haney
(Lieutenant Bak, No. 1) The
time is the 18th dynasty and the ruler is Queen Maatkare, divine
ruler of Egypt. The detective in this is Lieutenant Bak, a loyal
servant of the royal house and commander of the Medjay police force
in the frontier fortress of Buhen. He is in charge of the golden
idol of the god Amon, which is on its way up the Nile to heal the
son of a powerful tribal king. Unfortunately,
crocodiles are not the only thing in the Nile on this trip.
The
great river yields up a body of a soldier horrifically slain for
unknown reasons. The drawings of a missing mute boy are essential
in assisting Bak in unraveling the mystery of the officer's death
before it can unravel the empire. Enjoy!
Amazon
US - Amazon
UK - Amazon
CA (Mass Market Paperback) |
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April 2003
A MYSTERY OF ERRORS - Simon Hawke
(Shakespeare & Smythe, No. 1) When a backer's daughter is
double-crossed by a would-be suitor, the reluctant bride turns to
Shakespeare and Smythe for help. Little does anyone realize that
these simple affairs of the heart and an arranged marriage will
lead to a vast web of conspiracy, mistaken identity, and murder
that finds the playwright targeted for assassination and the ostler
hopelessly in love.
Amazon
US - Amazon
UK - Amazon
CA (Paperback/Hardcover) |
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May
2003
FACE DOWN UPON AN HERBAL - Kathy Lynn Emerson
(Susanna, Lady Appleton's 'Face Down' Series, No. 2) January's
read gave us one flavor of solving mysteries in Elizabethan England.
With her herbalist heroine Lady Appleton, Kathy Lynn Emerson gives
us a very different person's viewpoint. Yet in the end, both stories
have at their core the sorts of intrigues, conflicts, and treachery
both private and political that seem to have been an integral part
of living then. With her husband off in Scotland spying for the
Queen, but also typically taking advantage of the opportunity for
a bit of self indulgence and dalliance, Susanna is also sent off
under the Queen's orders: to visit Madderly Castle, ostensibly to
help Lady Madderly complete her own book on herbs. A series of murders,
starting with an obnoxious Scot found dead, lying on a copy of Susanna's
own book soon puts paid to that idea. To solve them, Susanna must
juggle detective work with a range of personal issues: from dealing
with her erring husband's attitudes and their mixed emotion arranged
marriage so she can get some needed assistance from him, to the
apparently unsuitable romance that same husband's unacknowledged
daughter from another relationship gets caught up in. There's a
bit of locked room, some interesting herbal lore, and vivid period
detail bringing to the story to life. Enjoy!
Amazon
US - Amazon
UK - Amazon
CA (Paperback/Hardcover)
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June 2003
THE EYRE AFFAIR - Jasper Fforde
(Thursday Next Series, No. 1) The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
starts by introducing you to the heroine who has the improbable
name of Thursday Next. She is a Special Operative in the literary
detection division. Her father is a time traveler who has the ability
to stop time but has to spend his life moving through it, never
able to stay in one place long. Thursday is assigned to investigate
the disappearance of a Dickens manuscript of Martin Chuzzlewit.
That is just the beginning of her troubles. There is a mad man loose
killing literary characters and he takes Jane Eyre. Thursday must
travel back through the books to solve the mystery and track down
the world's Third Most Wanted criminal. Let your imagination go
along for the ride and enjoy the mystery.
Amazon
US - Amazon
UK - Amazon
CA (Paperback/Hardcover |
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July 2003
A SPY FOR THE REDEEMER - Candace Robb
(Owen Archer Series, No. 7) This time Owen is in Wales finishing
his latest mission for the Duke of Lancaster and ends up investigating
the murder of a stonemason with treasonous ties to the Wales rebel
cause. Owen, a Welshman himself, contemplates taking up arms with
the rebels. Meanwhile his wife, Lucie Wilton, an apothecary and
his son are left alone to deal with her father's death. She even
begins to suspect Owen's loyalty to England and his desire to return
to her. The rebel leader, Owain Lawgoch, would like Owen to stay
and enter the fight and never return home. All of the Medievalists
will enjoy the descriptions of the high sheriff's castle, the smells
of Wales, and the sights of the lives of the poor. For those of
you who are not medievalists, the author has provided maps and notes
on the historical background which you will find most helpful. She
also includes a glossary to help with terms. Enjoy!
Amazon
US - Amazon
UK - Amazon
CA (Paperback/Hardcover)
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August 2003
BRUNSWICK GARDENS - Anne Perry
(Thomas & Charlotte Pitt Series, No. 18) Thomas and Charlotte
Pitt find themselves trying to solve a murder against the background
of the controversey stirred up by Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution.
The theory had caused an outrage in the Anglican church. One clergyman
who is especially upset is the Rev. Ramsay Parmenter who finds himself
being challenged by his assistant Unity Bellwood. Unity is "new
woman" whose feminism Rev. Parmenter finds appalling. Thomas has
become the commander of the Bow Street station. When Unity falls
down the stairs at Parmenter house, Thomas is convinced that either
the Reverend Parmenter, his handsome curate, or his Roman Catholic
son committed the murder or all three did it together. The Powers
that Be demand that the scandalous affair be settled quickly. However,
Thomas and Charlotte will not settle for less than the Truth! Enjoy!
Amazon
US - Amazon
UK - Amazon
CA (Paperback/Hardcover) |
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September 2003
A BONE OF CONTENTION - Susanna Gregory
(Matthew Bartholomew Series, No. 3) Life in the wake of the
plague hasn't gotten any easier for Matthew Bartholomew, physician
and teacher of medicine at Michaelhouse College in 14thC Cambridge.
The always strained town/gown relations have descended into active
riots. Relations within the University aren't much better. A match
is thrown into this waiting tinder when bones are found in the town
ditch, next to a new school that is aggressively looking to make
its fortune and reputation. What better way to do that than to find
a holy relic for display: surely the bones of a martyred town hero,
no matter what Matthew says about them being the wrong size. Add
in a missing daughter, thefts, and a murder or two to provide subplots
around the usual conflicts deriving from Matthews obligations to
friends, relatives, his students and his patients, and you have
a nicely boiling pot full of medieval flavor. Enjoy.
Amazon
US - Amazon
UK - Amazon
CA (Paperback/Hardcover)
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October 2003
THE ALIENIST - Caleb Carr
(Dr. Laszlo Kriezler Series No. 1) Police commissioner Theordore
Roosevelt calls on two unusual sources to help him solve a murder.
One is John Schuyler Moore, a crime reporter and the other is Dr.
Laszlo Kriezler, a psychologist or alienist. The murder is of a
adolescent boy prostitute from one of Manhatten's infamous brothels.
He has been horrible mutilated and is found on the unfinished Williamsburg
Bridge.
Roosevelt relies on Kriezler's calm intellect and Moore's knowledge
of New York to solve this crime. The two men are joined by a brave
woman named Sara Howard who is a secretary in the police department.
The three work in secret because alienists and psychology are viewed
with great skepticism by the public. The focus of the three is to
construct a psychological profile of the killer. In doing this they
discover that this man has killed and will kill again unless they
can stop him. Read and discover how they accomplish their task and
learn about early views of psychology from an author who is also
a historian of some note.
Amazon
US - Amazon
UK - Amazon
CA (Paperback/Hardcover/Audio Cassette/Download)
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November 2003
----- not avail----
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December 2003
SHERLOCK
HOLMES AND THE ICE PALACE MURDERS: FROM THE AMERICAN CHRONICLES
OF JOHN H. WATSON, M.D. - Larry Millett
(American Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes Series No. 2) Here
is yet another "newly discovered" manuscript by Dr. Watson. The
year is 1896 and St. Paul's magnificent Winter Carnival is underway
where Holmes and Watson are summoned by a powerful railway magnate
named James J. Hill. A wealthy young man disappears on the eve of
his wedding and his fiance suspiciously discards her wedding dress.
A grisly discovery is made and the "game is afoot". Holmes even
takes up with a part-time private investigator and saloon keeper
named Shadwell Rafferty. Don't let the occupation fool you, he is
a quick thinker and that is just what Holmes likes!
Amazon
US - Amazon
UK - Amazon
CA (Paperback/Hardcover/Audio Cassette) |
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2002
Selections (listed by author's last name) |
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January 2002
AMBUSH OF MY NAME- Jeffery Marks
(US Grant Mystery) / When General Ulysses Grant returns to
his hometown of Georgetown, Ohio just following the end of the Civil
War, he gets an unexpected welcome. A stranger lies dead on their
hotel bed.
Amazon
US - Amazon
UK (Hardcover - Paperback) |
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February 2002
SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME - Jill Churchill
(Grace & Favor, No. 3) Robert is tearing down a dilapidated
icehouse on the property when he inadvertently stumbles upon the
last thing he expects or wants: a mummified corpse. The nameless
cadaver is well dressed and the obvious victim of foul play with
no identifying marks except the label of an exclusive New York City
tailor sewn into his "burial" clothes.
Amazon
US - Amazon
UK (Hardcover)
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March 2002
ABSOLUTION BY MURDER - Peter Tremayne
(Sister Fidelma Mystery, No. 1) As the leading churchmen
and women gather at the Synod of Whitby in 664AD to debate the rival
merits of the Celtic and Roman Churches, tempers fray. When the
Abbess Etain is murdered suspicion rests on the Roman faction. Sister
Fidelma is called on to investigate the murder with Brother Eadulf.
Amazon
US - Amazon
UK (Hardcover, Paperback, Large print) |
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April 2002
FADED COAT OF BLUE- Owen Parry
(Abel Jones Series, No. 1) A recent immigrant to this land
-- where American has taken up arms against American -- Abel Jones
finds himself mysteriously chosen as confidential agent to General
George McClellan, the "savior of the Union." No stranger
to the cruel paradoxes of war, Jones is asked to investigate the
death of Anthony Fowler, a young volunteer captain shot through
the heart outside an encampment of raw recruits. Fowler was one
of the North's "golden youth," envied and idolized, an
impassioned abolitionist and sole son of a powerful merchant dynasty.
Instantly, his murder is blamed on the Confederates -- but whispers
haunt the death of this fallen martyr, leading Abel Jones from the
blood of the battlefield through the intrigues of Washington, D.C.,
and into a web of secrets and sinister relationships where evil
and good intertwine... and where heroes fall prey to those who cherished
them the most.
Amazon
US - Amazon
UK (Hardcover, Paperback, Abridged Audio Cassette) |
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May 2002
LEGACY OF THE DEAD - Charles Todd
(An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery, No. 3) 1919, England.
The weathered remains found on a Scottish mountainside may be those
of Eleanor Gray, but the imperious Lady Maude Gray, Eleanor's mother,
will have to be handled delicately. This is not the only ground
that Inspector Ian Rutledge of Scotland Yard must tread carefully,
for the case will soon lead him to Scotland, where many of Rutledge's
ghosts rest uneasily. But it is an unexpected encounter that will
hold the most peril.
Amazon
US - Amazon
UK (Hardcover Paperback) |
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June 2002
THE DUTCHMAN'S DILEMMA - Maan Meyers
(Tonneman family, No. 4) 1675, New York. The first three
books in Maan Meyers historical mystery series followed the Tonneman
family from New Amsterdam in 1664 to 1808 New York. Now, in The
Dutchman's Dilemma, we return to 1675 and the original Tonneman,
Pieter, once sheriff of the island, now husband, father, and businessman,
married to his beloved Racqel.
Amazon
US - Amazon
UK (Hardcover, Paperback) |
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July 2002
DEATH AT WENTWATER COURT - Carola Dunn
(A Daisy Dalrymple Mystery, No. 1) A cozy history mystery. Era is
1923, England. Daisy has traded her silver spoon for a pen and camera
to cover a story for " Town and Country" magazine. Her
planned interviews with the inhabitants of Wentwater Court give
way to interrogation when suave Lord Stephen Astwick meets a dire
fate on the tranquil skating pond.
Amazon
US - Amazon
UK (Paperback)
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August 2002
UNCIVIL
DEATH - M. E. Cooper
(General Loring Mystery, No. 1) Confederate General W. W.
Loring's troops are camped near Winchester, VA, in Feb 1962 when
a soldier is murdered. When General Loring discovers the victim
was a woman, he is horrified and determined to find the killer.
The camp is not isolated. A troupe of entertainers, a photographer,
a Kentucky doctor and an English noble arrive the night of the murder.
General Loring must use all his wits, with the help of his aide,
to seek justice.
Amazon US - Amazon UK (Trade Paperback) |
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September 2002
UNNATURAL FIRE - Fidelis Morgan
(Countess Ashby de la Zouche Mystery, No. 1) Restoration
London, 1699 -- Anastasia Ashby de la Zouche, Baroness Penge, Countess
of Clapham, and former mistress to King Charles II, has astonishingly
been jailed in debtors' prison. Joining forces with her loyal ex-maidservant,
Alpiew, the formerly pampered and proper Countess sets out to make
a living by working for the scandal sheets. She and Alpiew find
a welcome additional source of income when they are approached by
a stranger who asks them to gather evidence to prove her husband
is committing adultery. But the uncomfortable job of trailing after
the handsome merchant in the depths of winter ends abruptly in a
Covent Garden churchyard with a brutal murder.
Amazon
US - Amazon
UK - Amazon
CA (Trade Paperback) |
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October 2002
FORTUNE LIKE THE MOON - Alys Clare
(Hawkenlye Abbey Mystery, No. 1) Late 12th-century England
-- On the eve of her son Richard's coronation, Queen Eleanor opens
England's jails to release prisoners as an act of Christian charity
in Richard's name. The public relations gesture looks to backfire
when a young nun is found shortly after violently murdered near
Hawkenlye Abbey, with suspicion readily turning to the newly freed
felons. Richard sends one of his knights -Josse d'Acquin- to Hawkenlye
to investigate, where Sir Josse finds a surprisingly sympathetic
ally and investigative partner in Hawkenlye's highly intelligent
and world-wise Abbess Helewise.
Amazon
US - Amazon
UK - Amazon
CA (Paperback) |
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November 2002
THE ANUBIS SLAYINGS - P. C. Doherty
(Judge Amerotke, No. 3)This is the third in the series with
Amerotke, the trusted judge of female Pharoah Hatusu. The Mitanni
are preparing to enter negotiations with Egypt which are delicate.
The worst thing that can happen is a series of murders to happen
in the inner sanctum of the most sacred temple and the mysterious
deaths of several Mitanni ambassadors. Are these caused by humans
or the god Anubis come to earth to end negotiations between the
two peoples. Only Amerotke can solve the puzzle.
Amazon
US - Amazon
UK - Amazon
CA (Paperback)
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December 2002
THE SAMURAI'S WIFE - Laura Joh Rowland
(Sano Ichiro, No. 5) Laura Joh Rowland takes us once again
into the land of 17th century Japan and the life of Sano Ichiro,
Most Honorable Investigator for the shogun. In this story, his strong
willed wife Reiko insists that he go to the emperor's palace and
unmask the murderer who possesses the secret of kiai or "the spirit
cry". This is a powerful scream that can kill instantly. Sano Ichiro
is surrounded by a web of intrigue, intricate plots, and forbidden
passions and must struggle to stay ahead of the killer and prevent
a war. His and Reiko's survival depends on his catching the thief
and still keeping his favor with the emperor. The plot's twists
are suspensful and the characters fascinating.
Amazon
US - Amazon
UK - Amazon
CA (Paperback/Hardcover)
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