Category Archives: 08. Throwback Thursday

Time for another trip back in time – this time, I am revisiting 2017.

A Casualty of War
by Charles Todd
Series: Bess Crawford #9
Publication Date: September 25, 2017
Genre: historical fiction
Pages: 378
ReRead?: No
Project: throwback thursday

Though the Great War is nearing its end, the fighting rages on. While waiting for transport back to her post, Bess Crawford meets Captain Alan Travis from the island of Barbados. Later, when he’s brought into her forward aid station disoriented from a head wound, Bess is alarmed that he believes his distant English cousin, Lieutenant James Travis, shot him. Then the Captain is brought back to the aid station with a more severe wound, once more angrily denouncing the Lieutenant as a killer. But when it appears that James Travis couldn’t have shot him, the Captain’s sanity is questioned. Still, Bess wonders how such an experienced officer could be so wrong.

On leave in England, Bess finds the Captain strapped to his bed in a clinic for brain injuries. Horrified by his condition, Bess and Sergeant Major Simon Brandon travel to James Travis’s home in Suffolk, to learn more about the baffling relationship between these two cousins.

Her search will lead this smart, capable, and compassionate young woman into unexpected danger, and bring her face to face with the visible and invisible wounds of war that not even the much-longed for peace can heal.

The random number generator handed me a whole bunch of series entries this time around. This first one is the 9th entry in the Bess Crawford series, previously written by mother & son writing team Charles Todd. It sounds like the maternal half of the writing team either retired or passed away, so it’s just the son writing at this point. They/he also write the Ian Rutledge series, which I haven’t read, but I’ve been reading Bess Crawford for at least ten years. There are a total of 13 installments in the series, and I’ve finished through #11, which means that I have two available for catching up.

I used to read a lot more historical mystery than I do now, but there are a few series that are pretty reliable pleasures for me, and this is one of them. Set during WWI and the immediate aftermath, I have enjoyed following the adventures of Bess, who was a nurse during the Great War, and who is intrepid and independent. This is a nice reminder that I have a couple of additional titles that I should get to soon.

A Pocket Apocalypse
by Seanan McGuire
Series: InCryptids #4
Publication Date: March 3, 2015
Genre: urban fantasy
Pages: 367
ReRead?: No
Project: throwback thursday

Endangered, adjective: Threatened with extinction or immediate harm.
Australia, noun: A good place to become endangered.

Alexander Price has survived gorgons, basilisks, and his own family—no small feat, considering that his family includes two telepaths, a reanimated corpse, and a colony of talking, pantheistic mice. Still, he’s starting to feel like he’s got the hang of things…at least until his girlfriend, Shelby Tanner, shows up asking pointed questions about werewolves and the state of his passport. From there, it’s just a hop, skip, and a jump to Australia, a continent filled with new challenges, new dangers, and yes, rival cryptozoologists who don’t like their “visiting expert” very much.

Australia is a cryptozoologist’s dream, filled with unique species and unique challenges. Unfortunately, it’s also filled with Shelby’s family, who aren’t delighted by the length of her stay in America. And then there are the werewolves to consider: infected killing machines who would like nothing more than to claim the continent as their own. The continent which currently includes Alex.

Survival is hard enough when you’re on familiar ground. Alex Price is very far from home, but there’s one thing he knows for sure: he’s not going down without a fight.

Next up, we have A Pocket Apocalypse by Seanan McGuire. I’ve posted about this series before because it is one of my favorite, if not my favorite, urban fantasy series (brief review of book 11 here). McGuire writes her October Daye series, as well as the Wayward Children series, and she also writes under the penname Mira Grant. I don’t really read her Mira Grant books because they tend to be more horror than UF, but I really enjoy her three UF series. Incryptids is my favorite of them all. There are 13 series entries, and I have read all but the last.

The basic format of this series is that she gives each member of the Price family (a family of cryptozoologists who sympathize more with the cryptids than with the humans who are trying to eradicate them) two books. She started with Verity Price, who is still my favorite character, in Discount Armageddon and Midnight Blue Light Special. From there, she moved on to Verity’s brother, Alex, whose first book, Half-off Ragnarok, was set primarily in Ohio. For A Pocket Apocalypse, she shifts the action to Australia. Alex is not my favorite character, but these books are reliably entertaining as heck.

A Faint Cold Fear
by Karin Slaughter
Series: Grant County #4
Publication Date: July 28, 2003
Genre: mystery: modern (1980-present)
Pages: 422
ReRead?: No
Project: throwback thursday

The third pulse-pounding novel in the Grant County series from New York Times bestselling author Karin Slaughter.

Sara Linton, medical examiner in the small town of Heartsdale, Georgia, is called out to an apparent suicide on the local college campus. The mutilated body provides little in the way of clues -- and the college authorities are eager to avoid a scandal -- but for Sara and police chief Jeffrey Tolliver, things don't add up.

Two more suspicious suicides follow, and a young woman is brutally attacked. For Sara, the violence strikes far too close to home. And as Jeffrey pursues the sadistic killer, he discovers that ex-police detective Lena Adams, now a security guard on campus, may be in possession of crucial information. But, bruised and angered by her expulsion from the force, Lena seems to be barely capable of protecting herself, let alone saving the next victim...

And, finally, the 3rd book in the Grant County series by Karin Slaughter, A Faint Cold Fear. The Grant County series has 6 entries, at which point it basically merges with the Will Trent series, when the main character of Grant County, Sarah Linden, becomes romantically involved with Will Trent. I prefer the Will Trent books, but Grant County provides some good backstory.

The thing about Karin Slaughter, though, is that her books are super-violent, and especially sexually violent. I don’t recommend them to my friends, even though she tells a great story, until I get a sense of how much violence the reader is prepared to handle. Her characterizations and plots are really good, but man, she does not pull her punches.

As an aside, the Will Trent television adaptation is completely delightful in a way that the books are not.

I’ve been tracking my reading on the internet since approximately 2013 more or less continuously, and if you look on my sidebar, you will find 8 pages that are titled Book List with a designated year.

On occasional Thursdays I will use a random number generator to point me to three books from the lists (leaving out 2021), and then I’ll post about them – what I remember (if anything), whether I would recommend them – probably not, if I don’t remember anything about them – and if they have stuck with me in the years since I read them.

2018, Book 82:

The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly Rating: ★★★ Series: Harry Bosch Universe #19 Publication Date: October 14, 2008 Genre: mystery Pages: 422 ReRead?: No Project: throwback thursday Things are finally looking up for defense attorney Mickey Haller. After two years of wrong turns, Haller is back in the courtroom. When Hollywood lawyer Jerry Vincent is murdered, Haller inherits his biggest case yet: the defense of Walter Elliott, a prominent studio executive accused of murdering his wife and her lover. But as Haller prepares for the case that could launch him into the big time, he learns that Vincent's killer may be coming for him next. Enter Harry Bosch. Determined to find Vincent's killer, he is not opposed to using Haller as bait. But as danger mounts and the stakes rise, these two loners realize their only choice is to work together. Bringing together Michael Connelly's two most popular characters, "The Brass Verdict" is a thriller which reaches for, and then surpasses, the highest level!

I am a huge fan of most of the Harry Bosch Universe and really enjoy the majority of Connelly’s long-running series. The main exception to this are the Mickey Haller books,  which I generally don’t love. I found this entry mediocre – the pace dragged and the plot was uninspired. I’m sort of an outlier here, though, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

2016: Book 122:

Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden Rating: ★★★★½ Series: Tomorrow #1 Publication Date: May 1, 1993 Genre: fiction, suspense, YA Pages: 276 ReRead?: No Project: throwback thursday When Ellie and her friends return from a camping trip in the Australian bush, they find things hideously wrong — their families are gone. Gradually they begin to comprehend that their country has been invaded and everyone in their town has been taken prisoner. As the reality of the situation hits them, they must make a decision — run and hide, give themselves up and be with their families, or fight back.

This is the first book in a fantastic YA series that I listened to on audio. Published all the way back in 1993, the book involved sort of a “Red Dawn” scenario, set in Australia, with a group of young Australians who end up engaged in guerrilla warfare and a resistance against the occupiers who have taken over their community while they were camping. I ended up blowing through the entire 5 book series in about a month. I am a little bit surprised, on reflection, that this series hasn’t had a prestige t.v. adaptation, since it seems ripe for that sort of treatment.

2014, Book 155:

The Shivering Sands by Victoria Holt Rating: ★★★★ Publication Date: September 3, 1969 Genre: fiction, gothic romance, suspense Pages: 331 ReRead?: Yes Project: throwback thursday Ancient ruins. Family scandal. Forbidden love. Caroline knows something is wrong. Her sister Roma has gone missing, and no one can tell her why. The only option is to go where Roma was last seen—an estate with a deadly history... The Stacy family has lived off the Dover coast for generations, carefully navigating the treacherous quicksands nearby. But the sands aren't Caroline's biggest threat. Everyone here has a secret, especially enigmatic young heir Napier Stacy. No matter where Caroline turns, the ground she walks is dangerous. And the closer she comes to unraveling the truth, the closer she comes to sharing her sister's fate...

Victoria Holt can be very hit-or-miss, and this one was a hit for me. I liked the setting a lot, and I still remember the very effective use of “the shivering sands” or the quicksand that plays such a significant role in the events. The villain/ess is quite convincingly scary and the book itself, at least as far as I recall, was suspenseful. The plot was no more implausible than is usual for these old-fashioned gothic romances.

I’ve been tracking my reading on the internet since approximately 2013 more or less continuously, and if you look on my sidebar, you will find 8 pages that are titled Book List with a designated year.

On occasional Thursdays I will use a random number generator to point me to three books from the lists (leaving out 2021), and then I’ll post about them – what I remember (if anything), whether I would recommend them – probably not, if I don’t remember anything about them – and if they have stuck with me in the years since I read them.

So, for my first Throwback Thursday post, the random number generator gave me: 2018, Book 116:

Wicked Autumn by G.M. Malliet Rating: ★★★½ Series: Max Tudor #1 Publication Date: September 13, 2011 Genre: mystery Pages: 297 Project: throwback thursday Max Tudor, former MI5 agent, has adapted well to his post as vicar of St. Edwold’s in the idyllic village of Nether Monkslip. Wanda Batton-Smythe, highly vocal and unpopular president of the Women’s Institute, turns up dead at the Harvest Fayre. Peanut allergy looks accidental, but Max has many suspects for murder.

So, I read this in approximately December, 2018. I absolutely bought this book for the cover – I love seasonal mysteries, and at the time that I bought it, I think I actually picked it up for Halloween Bingo and never got to it. I don’t remember a lot about it, except that I liked it, although it was a bit cozy for my tastes. I’m not a fan of twee in my books, and this one had a bit of that, with the Harvest Fayre. Just the spelling of Fayre is twee. I also recall that Max takes up with a local Wicca, and there’s a lot of tea.

I liked enough to check out & read book 2 in the series, A Fatal Winter, but lost interest by book 3 and never read Pagan Spring when it came up on my library holds list. I may continue with the series, but probably not.

2013, Book 34:

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloane Rating: ★★★½ Series: Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore #1 Publication Date: October 2, 2012 Genre: fantasy, fiction Pages: 288 Project: throwback thursday The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon away from life as a San Francisco web-design drone and into the aisles of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, but after a few days on the job, Clay discovers that the store is more curious than either its name or its gnomic owner might suggest. The customers are few, and they never seem to buy anything; instead, they "check out" large, obscure volumes from strange corners of the store. Suspicious, Clay engineers an analysis of the clientele's behavior, seeking help from his variously talented friends, but when they bring their findings to Mr. Penumbra, they discover the bookstore's secrets extend far beyond its walls.

I am surprised by how little I remember about this book, because I do remember that I liked it. It was published in 2012 and I read it just a few months after publication, in 2013, at the time that it was everywhere. It’s also right up my alley. I recommend it, because I recall that it was delightful, but that’s basically all I recall and I’m wondering if a reread is in order.

2017, Book 148:

Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan Rating: ★★★★ Publication Date: September 1, 1974 Genre: fiction, gothic, horror, YA Pages: 240 Project: throwback thursday Kit Gordy sees Blackwood Hall towering over black iron gates, and she can't help thinking, This place is evil. The imposing mansion sends a shiver of fear through her. But Kit settles into a routine, trying to ignore the rumors that the highly exclusive boarding school is haunted. Then her classmates begin to show extraordinary and unknown talents. The strange dreams, the voices, the lost letters to family and friends, all become overshadowed by the magic around them. When Kit and her friends realize that Blackwood isn't what it claims to be, it might be too late.

This is a book with which I have a long history. It was published in 1974, and I probably read it as a twelve-year-old in 1978 or so. I remember that Lois Duncan was incredibly popular with the tween set back in the 1970’s and this book was always on hold in the school library. I waited for my turn to read it for months. When I finally got it, it scared the bejeezus out of me. I read tons of Lois Duncan, and I maintain that this is the scariest of all of her books. At least for me.

Kids today are much cooler than we were in the late 1970’s, and I’m not even sure that Duncan will scare them, but I know that my own daughter, also when she was about fourteen, went through a Duncan phase and spent a summer binging on a bunch of kindle reissues (which is how I came to own this, and 9 other Lois Duncan ebooks) in approximately 2012. I remember her coming to me all summer and asking if she could please by another one. I always said yes.