Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Armchair Travels

It's not been a particularly wonderful winter here in Anvilcloudia. Mostly, it has been cold and/or windy, gray and/or rainy (sometimes with freezing rain). There have been a few nice snowfalls but, generally speaking, the subsequent weather was not very good or at least not for very long, which made enjoying the pretty aftermath a little problematic. So, we've been a bit more housebound than we would like.

However, last week, I lucked into three good novels, the page-turning type that draw you in and carry you right along and away. Without straying from my recliner, I have been to Yorkshire (with a sidetrip to Estonia), Northern Quebec and Washington State.

I was with Inspector Banks in Yorkshire and Estonia, helping to solve a mystery involving illegal immigrants and, of course, a murder. Peter Robinson writes a good mystery involving Inspector Banks and his aide Annie Chabot. He generally seems to follow police procedure more authentically than most mystery writers, and Watching the Dark is no exception. Sidenote: we have recently found a few Inspector Banks episodes on TV, and they seem to be very well done.

Then I accompanied Inspector Gamache to a monastery in Northern Quebec. The mythical monastery was a most interesting setting as was the plot involving Gregorian chants. There were two main layers of mystery: one being the requisite murder, and the second having to do with the chants themselves. I might even be moved to write a separate post on Louise Penny and this Beautiful Mystery. Not sure.

My third getaway to Washington was in the form of a Young Adult fiction by Elizabeth George. I didn't know it was YA when I asked the library to reserve it for me, thinking it might be another Lynley mystery, but I wasn't disappointed in the story. It was about a teenage girl who has some sort of ESP. She hears others' thoughts as fragmented whispers. When she overhears a whisper about a murder, she is forced to flee for safety. It will be a trilogy in the end, but part one, The Edge of Nowhere, came to a satisfactory conclusion for me.

They were all consumed over the course of a few days, so I am somewhat bleary-eyed, but I sure enjoyed my armchair travels. I didn't have to pack and the getting there was not at all tedious or tiring.

5 comments:

Mara said...

Plus you had all your creature comforts right there with you. It's always nice to read about what other people read about. I sometimes pick up something that I want to read. In fact, there was a book I think you read a long long time ago that I thought would be a perfect gift to my sister, but of course I have forgotten both the title and the author. The only thing I remember is that it's about religion/christianity! Which is very helpful!!!

Donna said...

That's the best part about reading...
I'll be checking these out! Thanks for the heads up Ac...
hughugs

troutbirder said...

Three good books snuggled down in the easy chair with a winter view outside. Life is good....:)

Lorna said...

AC, good choices---I've read and really liked the Banks book; also the Louise Penny---have your read the whole series, and did you know they're making a movie, or a TV show about her first one? I think at least half my books are young adult fiction---when I'm prowling around Chapters in the Ado section, customer reps always ask me how old my grandchild is...

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Thanks for the mini book reviews, John. I have never read Peter Robinson. Right now I am getting through an older Charles Todd mystery while awaiting the new one I have on reserve at the library. Elizabeth George is a favorite writer and I will look for this title in the library this week, even though the first in a continuing series means having to wait until the next installment. Always makes me glad I read the Harry Potter books after all were written.