Purchased – Page 51 – Carol's Notebook

The Sentence Is Death by Anthony Horowitz

August 13, 2019October 27, 2021 by Carol4 Comments

Hawthorne has been called in by the police again to help solve a murder, and of course, he convinces Horowitz to join him. After all, Horowitz needs to write two more stories featuring Hawthorne. The Sentence Is Death is the second in the series and honestly, I liked the whole author as a character thing more enjoyable this time around. The first time around I found it almost clever for clever's sake, but in this one it was amusing, seeing how people reacted to him, or not, knowing he was an author. I don't really have much to say about this one. It's a good traditional mystery, kind of a take on Sherlock and Watson, with Hawthorne as Sherlock, putting together the clues. He's not entirely likable, definitely not politically correct, and a bit abrasive. He keeps his theories to himself right up until the end. And Horowitz is our bumbling Watson, never getting the clues quite right, asking the wrong...

Everything Below the Waist by Jennifer Block

August 1, 2019August 1, 2019 by Carol4 Comments

Everything Below the Waist by Jennifer Block was eye-opening. In the last few years, I've gone out of my way to see women doctors, they make me more comfortable and I feel like they listen better, but to be honest, I hadn't really thought beyond that. Block's focus is on women's reproductive health specifically, but she does talk about how doctors and the medical establishment treat women both now and historically. Female reproductive health covers a range of sub-topics, and Block laid out the facts thoroughly and specifically, citing studies from numerous medical journals. Covered here is routine gynecologic care, hormonal birth control, infertility treatment, abortion, pregnancy, and childbirth. Most women will find something in these pages they can relate to. Maybe in a good way, a birth that went well or having a skilled surgeon. Maybe it's being bullied by a doctor or given unnecessary tests. Maybe it's not being given all the information about whatever the pharmaceutical companies are...

Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay

July 23, 2019August 1, 2019 by Carol8 Comments

Some authors manage to pack more atmosphere and tension and characters into less than 200 pages than others ever manage to, even in books twice as long. Lindsay has done just that in Picnic at Hanging Rock. Girls at a boarding school go out for a picnic, as the title states, at Hanging Rock. Hanging Rock is a former volcano in central Victoria, Australia. The setting plays a huge part in the story, casts its shadow over the whole book. Hanging Rock After lunch, four of the girls go climbing in the rocks, followed eventually by one of the teachers. One of the girls runs back to the picnic area in terror, but with no memory of what happened. The rest of the girls and the teacher are never seen again. The rest of the story tells us what happens after. The ripples from the disappearances fan out, bringing terrible endings for some people and happily ever afters for others. There are a...

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

July 2, 2019July 2, 2019 by Carol8 Comments

So, if I had to pick a favorite genre I would choose mystery, but I can narrow it down even farther: mysteries that take place in country houses over the holidays. These tend to be vintage mysteries, which I love, but The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley fits right into that category too. The holiday is New Year's and the country house is actually a remote resort in Scotland, where the group of friends has been isolated from the outside world by a blizzard. We know from the first page that one of them is dead, but we don't know who exactly the victim is until the last few chapters. I was impressed by how well Foley kept unfolding the secrets and clues bit by bit, without letting on who either the killer or the victim was. I can't think of a book I've read lately that kept the suspense going that well. The friends are not nice, likable people. They're like...

Death of a Ladies’ Man by Helena Marchmont

June 27, 2019June 27, 2019 by Carol6 Comments

Alfie's life in London merges with his life in Bunburry in Death of a Ladies' Man. This is the fourth in the series and can stand alone, but it would be much better to go back and read them all. They're short and enjoyable, and like most series it's better to read them in order. Two of Alfie's acquaintances from London show up. They are gaudy and snobbish and want Alfie to invest a bunch of money in some scheme or other. Also in town is Mario Bellini, who makes the best ice cream in London. Mario makes a bit of a stir in town. He's handsome and an irrepressible flirt who makes at least one local husband quite angry. Alfie loves the ice cream and gives Mario his card so he can have some shipped. Unfortunately, when Mario is found dead, Alfie's card is still in his pocket, and the incompetent sheriff at first focusses on that. But the jealous...

The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

June 20, 2019June 21, 2021 by Carol4 Comments

The Three-Body Problem is hard science fiction, in that there's a lot of science involved. I don't know where I originally heard about it, probably some "best of sci-fi translations" list, but it's won a fair number of awards and is thoroughly enjoyable. It's also hard to talk about without giving away spoilers. But should I worry about that when the blurb itself, not the one above but the official blurb, gives it away too? Do you like spoilers? Do you hate them? They don't bother me and I honestly sometimes search for them, but I know not everyone feels that way. The story starts off during China's Cultural Revolution. Ye Wenjie's father is killed by the Red Guard and she is eventually shipped off to a remote mountaintop where a government-sponsored group is secretly exploring the possibility of electronic communication with aliens. Flash forward to the present. Wang Miao, a nanotechnology researcher, has begun seeing a countdown clock...