Better Late Than Murder Monday
May. 30th, 2016 02:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
evelyn_bArchived from Livejournal
What I've Finished Reading
I really enjoyed The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters, about a tenacious detective at the end of the world. I think this is my first official example of
There is a sequel, Countdown City, which I'll probably read. But I feel a little anxious about it -- I don't know if I want to get to October when the asteroid lands. I would rather leave Hank Palace where he is, faithfully getting his work done because he's alive right now and that's what you do when you're alive.
What I Didn't Read
I made a game attempt to listen to a previously unread Agatha Christie book, Cat Among the Pigeons - I thought Christie's writing style might be clear enough to allow me to follow along - but no luck. I immediately became attached to the classic Christie hypercompetent PA character at the beginning, but then she vanished and suddenly some plummy dudes were talking about the plot and I was completely at sea. With the L. K. Hamilton book, I didn't care what was going on and could just enjoy the free-floating goofiness and all the Mary Sue monologues about bra holsters and expensive dinners and the annoying burden of responsibility. But trying and failing to listen to a new-to-me book by an author I like was too frustrating; I had to bail after the first thirty minutes.
I should note that the very entertaining narrator of Burnt Offerings was Kimberly Alexis. The narrator for Cat Among the Pigeons was Hugh Fraser, who plays Hastings in the Poirot TV show and is delightful. Here he's a little too aggressively squeaky on the female voices, but generally ok, I think (I was too sad about not being able to follow the story to judge).
What I'm Reading Now
In A Clutch of Constables (1968!), Troy attempts to relax after her latest gallery show by taking a peaceful riverboat vacation all by herself. Surely murder won't tread on the innocent heels of this harmless artist whose only mistake was to marry a detective! Surely! Luckily, Troy is Troy and can take just about anything in stride. So far, Troy has been quizzed about her full name by one of Marsh's hysterical spinsters, and there has been an awkward flurry of interest when "a coloured man" joins the party. The narration wants me to join Troy in wishing her far away, but I like the spinster for this book -- a nice mix of vintage and late-sixties cliches.
What I've Finished Reading
"He books it into that little playground there. I mean the guy is zooming like the Road Runner, skidding through the gravel and the slush and everything. I'm yelling, 'Police, police! Stop, motherfucker!'"
"You do not yell, 'Stop, motherfucker.'"
"I do. Because you know, Palace, this is it. This is the last chance I get to run after a perp yelling, 'Stop, motherfucker.'"
I really enjoyed The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters, about a tenacious detective at the end of the world. I think this is my first official example of
Spoiler!
I didn't mind it here, though I would probably start to mind it if it happened in every book. Hank Palace is a guy who likes to get his work done. He makes some mistakes and almost drops the case entirely, but eventually he keeps on because it's his job. Every now and then he meets other people who like to get their work done, even in the shadow of the end of everything.that "detective's new girlfriend is murdered for extra angst" plot I've been hearing about.
There is a sequel, Countdown City, which I'll probably read. But I feel a little anxious about it -- I don't know if I want to get to October when the asteroid lands. I would rather leave Hank Palace where he is, faithfully getting his work done because he's alive right now and that's what you do when you're alive.
What I Didn't Read
I made a game attempt to listen to a previously unread Agatha Christie book, Cat Among the Pigeons - I thought Christie's writing style might be clear enough to allow me to follow along - but no luck. I immediately became attached to the classic Christie hypercompetent PA character at the beginning, but then she vanished and suddenly some plummy dudes were talking about the plot and I was completely at sea. With the L. K. Hamilton book, I didn't care what was going on and could just enjoy the free-floating goofiness and all the Mary Sue monologues about bra holsters and expensive dinners and the annoying burden of responsibility. But trying and failing to listen to a new-to-me book by an author I like was too frustrating; I had to bail after the first thirty minutes.
I should note that the very entertaining narrator of Burnt Offerings was Kimberly Alexis. The narrator for Cat Among the Pigeons was Hugh Fraser, who plays Hastings in the Poirot TV show and is delightful. Here he's a little too aggressively squeaky on the female voices, but generally ok, I think (I was too sad about not being able to follow the story to judge).
What I'm Reading Now
In A Clutch of Constables (1968!), Troy attempts to relax after her latest gallery show by taking a peaceful riverboat vacation all by herself. Surely murder won't tread on the innocent heels of this harmless artist whose only mistake was to marry a detective! Surely! Luckily, Troy is Troy and can take just about anything in stride. So far, Troy has been quizzed about her full name by one of Marsh's hysterical spinsters, and there has been an awkward flurry of interest when "a coloured man" joins the party. The narration wants me to join Troy in wishing her far away, but I like the spinster for this book -- a nice mix of vintage and late-sixties cliches.
no subject
Date: 2017-05-23 12:52 pm (UTC)(I read a lot of classic mysteries in middle school, and was sometimes a bit at sea.)
no subject
Date: 2017-05-23 01:54 pm (UTC)I hear you on the anthropological interest - it's a big part of what I enjoy about classic mysteries.
It seems like almost every classic mystery fan started reading them in middle school! I didn't get on the murder train until well into adulthood - and I miss the lost time a little, but I think it has its advantages. "More prepared for the vintage racism etc." is probably one of them - though I find that I still get blindsided now & then, and my expectations are not always accurate.
no subject
Date: 2017-05-23 04:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-05-23 09:10 pm (UTC)