Corylus Books Book Tour: The Murder Pool by Stella Blómkvist translated by Quentin Bates

 

Long time no new reviews from Corylus Books, and also no new titles from the mysterious Stella Blómkvist, but spring brings always many gifts, the more bookish the merrier.

The latest, The Murder Pool was just published by Corylus Books, in the unique translation of Quentin Bates. As usual, our dear investigator Stella is busy with more than one project: defending the assumed killer - a young with a mother worth at least some crime novels - of an artist found dead with an axe in his chest, tracing vile politicians and sometimes dealing with her own demons as well.

As usual, nonchalantly, Stella is deeply involved in revealing humans, including herself in their worst, an approach that requires caution, especially when hunting a criminal. Searching the details, analyzing the facts, comparing: it takes time and intuition to be sure that you made the right choice, as someone life is at stake. Stella blends very well with this landscape, and this is maybe why she is such a smart investigator.

A recommended read for anyone curious to discover a crime story with very imperfect characters and a zest of Nordic life.

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

Rachel´s Random Resources: A Wedding at the Little Bookshop by the Sea by Eliza J. Scott

A wedding in a bookshop is such a cute unique idea. I can already see in the front of my eyes the guests surrounding the bride and the groom while reciting fragments from their favorite books. Or maybe trying something like a wedding book club. So many open options, anyway.

Florrie and Ed, the main characters of A Wedding at the Little Bookshop by the Sea by Eliza J. Scott are preparing their dream wedding and everything went almost as according to the plan. Until Ed´s estranged mother returned to his life with a big boom, planning to take control over their lives and...yes, the wedding too. But the more Dawn is getting involved, the more it looks like she is actually having a secret reason for this spectacular comeback, known only by her.

I got charmed by the book, especially for the friendly and warm local ambiance and community vibe. The story has also some good twists, when you expect less, and a positive feeling, no matter how difficult the situation looks like sometimes.

The book is part of series set in the charming North Yorkshire place, built around Florrie and her gorgeous bookstore, but it can be definitely read as a stand-alone.

A recommended read for a lovely sunny spring weekend, surrounded by books.

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own

The Flower Bearers by Rachel Eliza Griffiths

It is a rare literary encounter to have the chance to read - or, in my case, listen to the audiobook version, read by the author herself - The Flower Bearers by poet, novelist and multimedia artist Rachel Eliza Griffiths.  

The memoir, with an exceptional cover, is an extraordinary honest testimony of being faced with deep grief and surviving the violence of the day. The death of her mother, followed by the sudden death of her dear 17-year long friend Kamilah Aisha Moon, on the eve of her wedding. One year after, while still mourning the passing of Moon, her husband, Salman Rushdie, was the victim of a stabbing during a literary event, by a religious fanatic. Now, Rushdie was fighting for his life and she was, again, in the midsts of a drama.

Griffiths, whose poetry is deeply autobiographic and bridges mundane experiences through very observant emotional lenses, is carefully reconstructing episodes from her literary past, with Moon being her life and literary companion. It is a story of women friendship transposed into poetic prose.

Listening to Griffiths´ voice amplified this effect connecting the reader to her story. Her honest acknowledgment of her struggle with mental health over the years creates an even deeper connection.

I hope to have more time in the next weeks and months to read more by Griffiths as for me, personally, opened up so many gateways to emotional patches I´ve never know they existed. Clearly, a mission accomplished for the writer.

Rating: 5 stars  

Random Things Tours: Hunting Shadows by Jane Hamilton

True crime books belong to a very specific genre: compared to the novels on similar topics I am so often reading and reviewing, books about and inspired about real serial killers do not spare any details about the horrible secrets of the human minds.

Hunting Shadows by Scotland´s most experienced and well known crime journalist, Jane Hamilton is an extensive account of the serial killer Peter Tobin. Tobin, a recognized sexual abuser who died in prison in 2022, was found guitly of killing three women in three separate incidents.

Hamilton, which is a proeminent crime journalist, whose investigations not only informed, but also succeeded to change and challenge laws and local regulations, followed the investigations of the crime, as well as the police and legal proceedings. Her book provides not only important investigations about the case, but also horrible psychological details about Tobin´s mind and possible motivation.

Personally, I´ve read the book at a very slow pace, as I really needed to take a break from it more often than I expected. As usually, a true crime story may be brutal and disturbing. But this is the reality of the criminal minds, and it is interesting to have access to such well documented cases.

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions, as usual, are my own 

The Widow Spy by Martha D. Peterson

Last weekend, I watched a funny comedy on Netflix, about two spies - a couple - who every couple of minutes were actively fighting for their life, juggling two or more weapons while hitting hard the many enemies in the most sensitive places. Surviving with a big smile on their face. What a life!

Spies, as well as diplomats, are often associated with glamour, action and adrenaline-driven daily tasks. In reality, most part of the job, in both cases, has to do more with office jobs, reading and interpreting incessantly, waiting, a lot of waiting for the right moment or message.

Martha D. Peterson, the author of The Widow Spy, was among the first female CIA case officers assigned in Moscow in the 1970s, at the peak of Cold War tensions. She joined the Agency after her husband, a CIA operative, died in a helicopter crash in Laos. Involved in a defection of a Soviet diplomat - codenamed: Trigon - she was caught while recovering the secret messages left in Moscow and shortly imprisoned to Lublianka.

As a woman, in the CIA, working under cover, being a spy was a permanent work of proving herself. Which at least in relationship with her mission, helped her as she was able to due her assignment without being taken seriously by KGB. Although the facts she shared, important testimonies about the state of the arts for female spies in the 1970s is very relevant for the case for women in intelligence.

The book has plenty of facts, important for the historian as well as anyone passionate about the Cold War, but it also shares an important episode of women´s history, from the most unexpected place.

Rating: 4 stars

Orenda Books Blog Tour: Catherine by Essie Fox

 

I am generally very careful with the retold novels I chose to read, as I always prefer original versions. But  two trustworthy sources - an author that I´ve discovered one year ago and really appreciated, Essie Fox, and an edition house that cannot be wrong, Orenda Books - changed my mind.

Essie Fox´s latest, Catherine, is a retelling of the iconic Wuthering Heights, a novel I´ve read in my teenage years. I also watched the movie - the 1939 version -, that at the time left me a stronger impression.

Catherine has however a different spin and perspective. The ambiance is eerie, very visual and with strong correspondences with the events related in the story. The storyteller is Catherine herself, who 18 years after her death, she is returning to the places of her ultimate love. Many of the landscape descriptions may stay with me for a very long time.

Personally, I´ve found the relationships between characters emotionally deep, facing a strength going beyond life and death. Similarly with the blind irrationality of nature, humans themselves seem to be possessed by passions beyond their own power and understanding.

The book is very well written and for someone who never read Wuthering Heights it may sound as a standalone, original writing as well. In the end, what really matters, is the story, no matter how often and the angle it is written. 

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Imminent Risk by S. Lee Manning

The fourth in the Kolya Petrov series - to whom it was elegantly added Alex Feinstein, his partner and wife to be - Imminent Risk by award-winning author S. Lee Manning takes the reader to a risky ride in the underworld of ´conspiracy nuts´.

I´ve previously reviewed books by this author and I was never disappointed due to the perfect mix of action, political relevance and spy spicy stories. The same literary recipe was followed in this latest book published by Misbehavin´ Press as well. The book can be read as a stand alone, but I definitely recommend to continue with the other installments in the series, especially if you love action-packed page turning books.

Kolya Petrov and his talented attorney fiancé Alex are in the middle of the rehearsal for their wedding. But as Alex is requested by an old childhood friend to help her with a conflict with the social services, she agrees to take a break and assist her. But what looked as a mundane child protection case escalated to a plot that threatens to literally explode Manhattan, minutiously prepared by a disillusioned deluted ex-CIA obsessed by aliens and Jews taking over the country. The nuts are as dangerous as nukes falling in the wrong hands.

Kolya, working for a secret governmental office, is always ready for action, quietly fighting his PTSD following dangerous missions he was involved before, but Alex is by far the complex character in the book. Her past experiences taught her how to react in an extremely adverse environment, but meanwhile she is also intensively reflecting about her relationship questioning sometimes the readiness of constantly being at risk and exposed. These details balance the other important trains of thought about extreme domestic violence and the twisted minds of the conspirationists - for sure inspired by real life characters.

Imminent Risk is very intense, well written and plotted, keeping the reader in a ceaseless suspense. A perfect addition for a weekend read.

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the author in exchange for an honest review