I've read a couple of Griffiths' other books and enjoyed them well enough. Honestly though, I picked up this series because of the magic connection. I love a good magician and here we have one helping solve crimes.
When the head and legs of a young woman are discovered in two black cases at Brighton train station, the case falls to Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens. Then the woman's torso is sent to him at the department, addressed to him using his military rank, Captain. The state of the woman's body in the three boxes reminds Edgar of a magician's trick, known as the Zig Zag Girl, performed by an old army buddy, Max Mephisto. The two had served with a group known as the "Magic Men" who were tasked with setting up deceptions to make the Germans think that the east coast of Scotland was well defended. Edgar tracks down Max, now a popular theater magician. Edgar and Max believe the...
I've read three of Verne's books now, the three biggies, Around the World in 80 Days, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and I just finished Journey to the Center of the Earth. As far as I can tell, here's what they all have in common, aside from the "journey" plot. Each has a lot of really boring parts interspersed with some thrilling, brief adventures. And I'm not sure the exciting parts outweigh the mind-numbing bits.
A geologist finds a hidden scrap of paper, deciphers what it says with the help of his nephew, and decides to follow what it says and make the journey to the center of the earth. They don't actually get there by the way. The geologist takes his nephew with him and they find a guide in Iceland.
What they do discover is a vast subterranean cavern. This underground world is lit by electrically charged gas at the ceiling and is filled with a very deep subterranean...
Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
Tell us about your new arrivals by adding your Mailbox Monday post to the linky at mailboxmonday.wordpress.com.
I won Taking Out the Trash from the author on Facebook.
And I picked up The Magician for my Autumn reading.
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It's been a while since I listened to a Commissario Montalbano mystery, but Voice of the Violin was part of Audible's 2-for-1 deal, so I picked it up. They're always enjoyable, well-thought-out mysteries and I love the cast of characters.
In Voice of the Violin a young woman has been murdered and Montalbano is determined to find the killer, in spite of his new boss's manipulations. Montalbano may not always do things the legal way, but for him finding the truth is more important. Even though it's a pretty gruesome murder, there's humor sprinkled throughout the book that lightens it up. And Camilleri does a great job with depicting Sicily, the people, the weather, the food. These books always make me crave pasta - as if I didn't already. I especially liked how the violin plays into this one.
I'm still not a fan of Montalbano's relationship with his long-distance girlfriend Livia. I'm pretty sure I say that every time....
https://twitter.com/carolsnotebook/status/992475284963233793
I don't usually notice who narrates the audiobooks I pick up, especially those from the library, so I didn't realize Ralph Cosham was the narrator of The Scarlet Pimpernel, until he said "Armand," and then I was like "oh, yeah." His narration here was as good as I remembered. He does a wonderful job with both the British and French characters.
The Scarlet Pimpernel is just a fun adventure/romance story. The Scarlet Pimpernel is one of the first heroes with a secret identity, kind of like Batman. Sir Percy Blakeney is an English dandy, concerned with dressing well, being amusing, but not incredible bright. That's just a disguise he's cultivated to cover his secret identity as the Scarlet Pimpernel, the leader of a group of daring Englishmen who rescue French nobility headed toward the guillotine. But his wife doesn't know about his secret - and ends up putting him in grave danger. But I'm sure it's not spoiling anything to say that...
This is the second Montalbano mystery I've listened to in a row. To some extent, I could just copy the review from the last, Game of Mirrors; Montalbano and his circle just don't change that much from book to book. For the most part, it's only the plots that vary. But they're easy, enjoyable listens, and usually available from the library, so I keep coming back to them.
This time, it's a kidnapping, but the family clearly does not have enough money to pay a ransom, so who could possibly have kidnapped Susanna? An outsider who doesn't know the family's financial standing, or was she kidnapped for some other reason? The girl has a worried boyfriend and a father who would do anything to have her back. Her mother is on her deathbed and her uncle is doing all he can to help the family. I guessed most of the answer early on, although one piece took me longer.
Overall, it's a good story. Camilleri...
