Fatal Grace: Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #2

Thoughts by Louise Penny, 2006, 313 pages

Challenge: What’s in a Name: NFL Team: CHIEFS!

Genre/Theme: Mystery

Type/Source: Tradeback / unknown

What It’s About: This is a story about mothers and daughters. Nature and nurture, too, to some extent. If you fell for Chief Inspector Gamache in the first book (Still Life), this is more of that kindly intelligent sleuthing by conversation.

We meet the victim first and she is truly unlikeable. But does she deserve to die? Why did she move to Three Pines in the first place? What is she looking for in that dear town and how awful can she be to EVERYONE?! The murder is clever in its own right and unraveling the possibilities beyond the motive is part of the fun. If fun is what you call it? #sigh

Thoughts: I do not think this is standalone. In fact, I wish more time hadn’t passed between reading this and series #1 – which means that if I want to read #3, I best hurry!

Rating: Four slices of pie. I would have given it three stars because my recollection of the details in the first book escaped me and I don’t like loose threads. The extra slice of pie is gratitude for the lovely bits about lemon meringue pie. Kudos!

Copyright © 2007-2024. Care’s Books and Pie also known as and originally created as Care’s Online Book Club. All rights reserved. This post was originally posted by Care. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Ghosts of the Tsunami

Death and Life in Japan’s Disaster Zone

Thoughts by Richard Lloyd Parry, 2017, 7 hours 47 min, 295 HC

Narrated by Simon Vance

Challenge: What’s in a Name: Natural Disaster category

Genre/Theme: Nonfiction / Japan Tsunami March 2011

Type/Source: Audiobook / Audible

What It’s About: This story focuses most on a school that suffered higher than typical casualties for a tsunami in Japan. This was no ordinary tsunami, but it is obvious that the school administrators were caught off-guard and were ill-prepared. This is such a sad sad look into how humans grieve, blame, deal with their demons, and move on, if that is accurate. It’s not. The ghosts emerge in the very last section and it is fascinating!

Thoughts: A heartening and disheartening look at a culture, a community, politics – it’s ALL politics!, and connectedness. Of being human against and with the forces of nature. I can’t say it was enjoyable, but I’m glad to have read this.

Rating: Four slices of pie. No pie mentioned, though it is possible that a Japanese style of pastry that might fit my loose definition of “What is Pie?” was mentioned and I’m just ignorant of it.

“An easing of walls

A shuddering of souls

a pebble loosens, falls.

In the room, alone – it has

It begins, and then is gone

ripples outlast stone

Rain, smell, stirs the heart

Nostrils flare, a breath

We wait for something to start.”

-Anthony Thwaite?

Copyright © 2007-2024. Care’s Books and Pie also known as and originally created as Care’s Online Book Club. All rights reserved. This post was originally posted by Care. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Wellness

***** Before I write about Wellness, I want to make an announcement or, rather, give notice, that this blog is suffering. Not sure exactly what is the issue— I think it might be old age?! — but, I am having lots of frustration and annoyance with the ability to load, not only the dashboard to this blog, but to load the page URL to view. To search help in WordPress forums, everything! I have a new laptop, I have cleared cache and reset the stupid AdBlocker. Nothing loads, or it takes chunks of minutes. It is only white pages that display and I can’t get to anything, not even to see if it is WordPress of my blog. It is signaling the end of my blogging days, I fear. Okay, just wanted to let you know….

Thoughts by Nathan Hill, Borzoi Book/Alfred A Knopf 2023, 611 pages

Challenge: What’s in a Name: Double Letter category / Litsy TOB

Genre/Theme: Contemporary Lit / Marriage

Type/Source: Hardcover / Purchase

What It’s About: from official blurb:

“A hilarious and moving exploration of a modern marriage that astounds in its breadth and intimacy.”

—Brit Bennett, author of The Vanishing Half.

Thoughts: I was not in the proper mood to read this book. I could not get into it and I believe it was a “me” problem, not the book, because it seems like one I would typically enjoy. But, alas, let’s call it bad timing and TOB-fatigue.

Rating: I gave it 3 slices of pie.

Copyright © 2007-2024. Care’s Books and Pie also known as and originally created as Care’s Online Book Club. All rights reserved. This post was originally posted by Care. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.