Yvonne
This weekly meme, hosted by MizB, over at ‘Should Be Reading’, is a snapshot of where I am at in my reading schedule.
To play along, just answer the following three questions…
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?
As I probably won’t be able to contribute every week, I have taken the liberty of adding in a couple more W…’s, which came to mind.
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WHAT BOOK ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?
‘Blood Money’ by Doug Richardson
The disillusioned Marine’s plan seems simple enough: steal a refrigerated tractor trailer loaded with frozen blood product; drive the pirated cargo from Reno, Nevada to the Port of Long Beach; collect a million dollars. Yet even the most deliberate plans can go sideways. On his campaign south, the Marine’s “inner idiot” takes charge, leaving a smattering of dead bodies in his wake.
In the dark before dawn, a telephone rings. Kern County Sheriff’s detective Lucas “Lucky” Dey, no stranger to being awakened with bad news, answers the call. But this time, the voice on the phone tells Lucky that his ill-fated younger brother has been gunned down on a blackened desolate highway.
As Lucky chases the former Marine and his black semi-rig into the bowels of Los Angeles, he’s thrust into a landscape of competing agendas. Conrad Ellis, the multi-millionaire entertainment mogul, demands justice for the murder of his starlet daughter. Ambitious federal attorney Lilly Zoller is determined to turn any opportunity into her personal spotlight. Rey Palomino, the morally-challenged contractor, colludes with the former Marine hoping to crawl out from under a crushing debt. LAPD detective and dedicated single mom Lydia “Gonzo” Gonzales, reluctantly accepts her assignment to “babysit” the unrestrained Kern County detective hell-bent on avenging his brother’s death at any cost.
A knee-breaking private detective, some unwitting feds, and a coterie of gang-busting L.A. Sheriffs deputies further complicate the scenario and round out the cast of characters in this explosive and unpredictable thrill ride.
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WHAT BOOK DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?
‘Dance The Moon Down’ by Robert Bartram
In 1910, no one believed there would ever be a war with Germany. Safe in her affluent middle-class life, the rumours held no significance for Victoria either. It was her father’s decision to enroll her at university that began to change all that. There she befriendes the rebellious and outspoken Beryl Whittaker, an emergent suffragette, but it is her love for Gerald Avery, a talented young poet from a neighbouring university that sets the seal on her future. After a clandestine romance, they marry in January 1914, but with the outbreak of the First World War, Gerald volunteeres but within months has gone missing in France. Convinced that he is still alive, Victoria’s initial attempts to discover what has become of him, implicate her in a murderous assault on Lord Kitchener resulting in her being interrogated as a spy, and later tempted to adultery. Now virtually destitute, Victoria is reduced to finding work as a common labourer on a run down farm, where she discovers a world of unimaginable ignorance and poverty. It is only her conviction that Gerald will some day return that sustains her through the dark days of hardship and privation as her life becomes a battle of faith against adversity.
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WHAT BOOK DO YOU THINK YOU WILL READ NEXT?
‘Zaremba’ or Love and the Rule of Law by Michelle Granas
In Warsaw, a shy and high-minded polio victim lives a life of seclusion caring for her odd family until a chance encounter plunges her into the intrigues of dirty politics. Zaremba, a wealthy businessman, is about to be arrested on trumped-up charges and only she can save him. Swept along by events, Cordelia finds her feelings increasingly involved with a stranger for whom she is both rescuer and victim. When Zaremba disappears, Cordelia is painfully uncertain if she has been abandoned and must overcome surveillance, corruption, the media, and mounting humiliations and difficulties to learn the truth. Although set in Poland, this is a story that could happen anyplace, as young democracies struggle against the temptations of covert operations and older democracies sometimes lead them astray. Upbeat, humorous and serious by turns, Zaremba contains an intense but delicate romance, a universal moral about the abuse of power, and a vivid portrayal of a foreign country.
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WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU REVIEWED?
‘Dreaming, Not Sleeping’ A Short Story By Julia Kavan
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Her nightmares were simply too good to resist.
A woman is tempted away from the safety of her husband’s arms by a skillful nighttime visitor.
But they both find nothing is what it seems…
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Read my thoughts about this story, here…
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‘Fleeting Glance’ by Sherban Young
John Hathaway just wanted a quiet weekend alone with his fiancée.
Instead, he receives a cryptic postcard from a man he’s never met, gets wrapped up in an elaborate art heist and finds himself framed for murder.
And what’s worse, his future in-laws are in town!
The palette is certainly thickening here, and there might be only one person who can rally the muses in time to string it all together: the Master himself, Enescu Fleet, retired private eye.
Stop by and leave a link to your own reading schedule, I can’t wait to visit and check them all out!
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Nice reading schedule Yvonne. Your review of Dreaming, Not Sleeping makes me want to read it. And what an intriguing premise for the book Zaremba. Very unique sounding. Happy reading 🙂
Hi Naida,
My list this week, represents a particularly far reaching and nicely balanced selection of genres, although I can assure you that it is more by accident than design and is just the way my schedule worked out.
‘Dreaming Not Sleeping’ is not to very many people’s taste, judging by the comments left on the review post, so we may be on our own in praise of it. Eroticism is not a genre I would want to read often and probably not as a full length novel, however it worked well as a short story and I loved Julia’s style of writing.
‘Zaremba …’ does have an interesting premise and will be the first time I have read a Polish story, so I am looking forward to that one. The reviews for it are starting to be published now and so far appear very favourable, so I have good hopes for it.
Thanks for an interesting comment, it is always good to speak with you.
What a treat you have in store for us, I’m looking forward to all your reviews but especially to those for Dance The Moon Down and Zaremba.
Hi Tracy,
I know that my reviews are terribly slow in coming and I have no real idea why. It just seems that I get less and less time in which to read, let alone prepare posts and reviews on a regular basis. I do have some extenuating circumstances right now, apart from Christmas that is, which I know are going to impact on the first part of the New Year, so I really do need to get some kind or order to things, if I am to keep on top of it all!
I can definitely say that I loved ‘Dance The Moon Down’, whilst ‘Zaremba’ is going to be a bit more of a challenging read I think, although it seems to be getting some pretty favourable reviews and ratings.
Living for the moment, I am really enjoying ‘Blood Money’, despite the profusion of characters. It has been good to have a gutsy thriller to get stuck into!
Thanks for taking the time to comment, I always appreciate your visits.
I definitely like Dance The Moon Down.
THANKS for sharing, and enjoy your reading week.
Elizabeth
Silver’s Reviews
My W…W…W…
Free download if you want to stop by. Free Download
Hi Elizabeth,
I enjoy most books I read to be honest, as I quite like to mix the genres and generally seem to be able to avoid reading two consecutive books of the same genre, although that is more by luck than design!
‘Dance The Moon Down’ is definitely one of my favourite books of recent months, very confidently written, especially as the author is male. I really enjoyed the style of writing and the depth of emotion and feeling it managed to evoke. My review will be up soon, I promise!
No time for much reading this week, personal circumstances have contrived to scupper that and with Christmas almost upon us, that’s another distraction Im afraid.
I do appreciate you stopping by and I always love to receive your comments.
Dance The Moon Down looks great, hope you enjoyed! Here’s my link http://wp.me/p32hC2-u8
Hi Elizabeth,
‘Dance The Moon Down’ was definitely one of my favourite reads of the moment, with some great descriptive writing and polished dialogue all making for that perfect experience.
Thanks for taking the time to stop by and comment, I truly appreciate it.
Nice to see that you read Dance the Moon Down Yvonne. I read and reviewed that one recently. Great to read from your comments that you enjoyed it too. Merry Christmas!
Hi Lindsay,
I searched out your review and I have to say that my own review, when published, is pretty much going to mirror many of your own thoughts and observations.
As a male author, writing a story from the female perspective, Robert has captured the emotion and social history of his subject beautifully.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I thank you for taking the time to stop by and comment.
Have a good Christmas and may all good things come your way in 2014.
Blood Money sounds great and right up my street. I hope you’re enjoying it and I’m looking forward to reading your review.
If I don’t hear from you before, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and all the best for 2014!
Hi Nikki,
It is taking me some time to read ‘Blood Money’, but that is totally due to personal circumstances right now, and nothing to do with the fantastic story. It is tough, gritty, violent and completely engrossing. This is the second book I have read by this author and his is definitely a name to look out for if you get the chance.
I am not sure whether I shall have the opportunity to post much this side of the New Year, so I also wish you and yours every happiness at Christmas time and Very Best Wishes for The New Year!
Zaremba looks really good – I’ve added it to my to-read list.
Recently, I finished reading a collection of Neil Gaiman stories; some of them were gimmicky, but others were both wonderful and weird (actually, all of them are weird in one way or another). It’s called Fragile Things. I also recently read collections of short stories by Daphne du Maurier and Stephen King; I guess I’ve been in the mood for unsettling and sometimes outright frightening stories.
Hi Hila,
Receiving review requests from authors and publishers has meant that I have read books featuring pretty much all corners of the world, so to come across a book from the hitherto unknown to me area of Poland, was a great joy and a book I am so looking forward to reading. As a debut novel, ‘Zaremba …’ has received some fairly mixed reviews, although on the whole they have been mostly positive and encouraging.
Short stories have to be very strong for me to engage with them and as it isn’t often that a collection comes along which carries individual content with a distinctive opening, a supporting storyline and a definitive ending, they are a genre I have tended to overlook.
It appears that I do so at my own peril, as when reknowned authors such as Stephen King and Daphne du Maurier contribute to the genre, then you know you are potentially in for a real treat … the scarier, the better!
Thanks for taking the time to stop by and comment, I always appreciate your visits.
Have an excellent Christmas and all good wishes for the New Year!