Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

From the start of this book journalist/mountain climber Jon Krakauer had my undivided attention. My husband and I recently watched Everest again and this inspired us to read the book, Into Thin Air.

Excellent writing, you feel like you are reading a novel about a first hand account of the hellish push to climb a mountain.

Having zero knowledge about mountain climbing, the tools of the trade or the almost maniacal desire to reach a summit I was was fascinated.

The conditions deteriorate so rapidly that you'd best be ready to admit defeat and return to home base.... or chance losing your life to power through conditions a human body was never meant to endure. There is speculation that so many seasoned climbers may not have died if it weren't for Krakauer's presence.  The guides Rob Hall and Scott Fischer were in competition so Krakauer's article for Outside magazine  would boost their business.

  Anatoli Boukreev, a professional climber and member and guide of Scott Fischer's group, Mountain Madness, was painted in a rather harsh light.  I would like to read Boukreev's book as well as I'm sure there are differences in the account of the 1996 Mt. Everest's disaster. Boukreev went back out into the blizzard conditions to search for his teammates.  Krakauer made it into his tent and was physically unable to help with any search efforts.  Absolutely no judgement here but there are many who feel Krakauer didn't do enough. Who knows. It's amazing enough anyone survived that ill fated expedition.

Again, fantastic writing and I would recommend this book wholeheartedly.   It's on my agenda to read Into the Wild by Krakauer before the year is out.

Beyond the Moon by Catherine Taylor

The book description appealed me with elements of time travel, a war setting and being compared to Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander, lovers of Kate Morton and Ken Follett.  It’s not the blockbuster book I thought it may be in comparison with the aforementioned illustrious authors.

That being said, I didn’t put it down and I did enjoy the story line.  We have Louisa Casson in the year 2017, grieving the loss of her grandmother, basically her only family.  She falls near a cliff in South Downs and is immediately suspected of suicidal tendencies.

Louisa is “voluntarily” committed to Coldbrook Hall, a mental institution where conditions are beyond horrific.  Some of the descriptions put me in mind of the book Stone Mothers by Erin Kelly where mental health facilities are a focus.  The appalling treatment of patients who genuinely suffer from a mental health issue was sad to read.  Long story short on Louisa – she wanders about into an old section of the “hospital” that is set for demolition and meets a soldier from WW I.

Enter 1st Lieutenant Robert Lovett who is recovering in the same hospital, except it’s 1916 and Coldbrook Hall is a military hospital. I suppose this is where the Outlander comparison comes from. The descriptions of battlefields and the lack of cleanliness and knowledge about germs from WW I was very well written.  No sugar coating on those chapters.  Well done there.

I’m a sucker for time travel books so if that’s not your thing, you may not like this book.  It’s an interesting mixture of historical fiction, mystery, romance.  I’m not much of romance reader but I certainly don’t mind the romantic interest to arise.  I just don’t want it to be the main focus.

More about Catherine Taylor HERE.

The Moroccan Girl by Charles Cumming

 

The Moroccan Girl was my introduction to the work of Charles Cumming. This book is a page turner and I am delighted to have discovered this author. Definitely adding him to my favorite authors list and plan to acquire more of his work.

The main character is Christopher “Kit” Carradine. He’s a novelist writing about spies and espionage. One day he is approached on a London street by a man named Robert Mantis; he’s posing as a fan of Kit’s books. As Kit writes about the spy world in such detail, evidently convincingly, Mantis makes overtures to recruit Kit into the British Service.

It’s a thrilling prospect for Kit to get out of the day-to-day writing routine and do something exciting. He’s meant to hook up with a British Service contact when he’s in Morocco at a writers event. If he can also locate Lara Bartok and pass off a package, all the better. Lara is a young woman who may be on the run from her own government or she may be a terrorist. Lara was the girlfriend of Ivan Simokov, leader of the group Resurrection. This group seemed to start off with an ideal of exposing bad people, folks in positions of power who abused their positions at the expense of us regular citizens.  Eventfully Resurrection turned very violent.  Is Lara Bartok on the run because she was involved with Resurrection or is she fleeing Ivan and the people she once worked with? She is a very interesting character.

There are scenes in London but most of the flavors are in the Morocco. Casablanca, Tangiers and Marrakesh come to life in this book. You are immersed in the setting, the heat, sweat, suspicion, the colorful setting and the foods. As Kit makes his way through Morocco he is caught up with British, Russian and American agents but it’s hard to tell which side they are on. What’s the endgame?

 Another interesting thing are the references to authors who were tapped by the British service to spy or act as a support agents. Frederick Forsyth and Somerset Maugham in particular were mentioned and now I want to know more about them so my reading list has grown thanks to this narrative. Hoping to read more about Kit Carradine in the future if he becomes a regular character in a series. In the meantime I will be tracking on Mr. Cumming’s other espionage novels.

  Lots of food referenced but of course it’s not a foodie book. I always note the dishes or drinks when I read as I’m always up for recreating a dish that appeals. In this case I wanted to make Lamb Tagine but in the interest of getting my post done here, let’s have Lamb Kebabs.




 Here's a sampling of the meals and drinks I noted: Lamb Tagine, Chicken Dhansak,  Tarka Daal, Chablis and fish cakes, spaghetti Bolognese, fried fish and Merguez sandwiches, chicken couscous, cheese and pasta salad, baklava. Black coffee, margaritas, gin and tonic, pints of ale, vodka martini, mint tea.

 I’d like to thank NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. I was slow getting to it a “reading group” was supposed to get together for this one. Wish I had just started it earlier because I would be reading another of Cumming's books now. If you like espionage and mystery then I highly recommend this book. Well done, Mr. Cumming.


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The Night Olivia Fell by Christine McDonald

This is a book that had been on list for quite a while so I was excited when the library received my copy. Once I started I was hoping it would be more engaging. Alas, I mentally heard that fizzle sound of deflation as I read - this wasn't a great book for me.

To start, it's every parent's nightmare to get that call, your child has been in an accident and there's nothing to be done to save them.  This isn't a spoiler, it's in the description of the book - teenager Olivia is brain dead but pregnant so they keep her alive until her baby can safely be delivered.

 Abi Knight, Olivia's mother, is frantically trying to get the police involved as she knows it wasn't an accident.  There are bruises on Olivia's wrist to indicate she may have been attacked.  Abi goes through Olivia's phone and social media accounts trying to piece together what may have happened to her daughter.

Personally, I thought this read like a young adult novel.  It was slow paced for me and I found myself skimming.  I was invested enough to see the outcome so I finished it but, I won't be looking for this author anytime soon.

It's billed as mystery and heart wrenching.  Now I will say the ending is a gut twister but as for the mystery part....nah.  It drags.  There are ample reviews which disagree with my take on this book so I'm in the minority.

Cape Cod by Chip Cheek

This book could also be titled How to Destroy your Relationship in Two Weeks.  But that's just my opinion.

The time period is the 1950’s and setting is off-season Cape May, New Jersey.  Some of the appeal was the cover,  the time period and subject of relationships.

It’s the tale of virginal newlyweds Henry and Effie slowly and shyly getting to know one another. Seemingly good people at heart, they cautiously learn about each other’s bodies and love. They talk about their future, having children, settling down in their small Georgia town.   A few days into the honeymoon Effie wants to go home because Cape May during off-season isn’t as fun as remembered it. When she visited as a young girl it was the summer high season. So much was going on then. If only they had left when Effie first suggested it.  But then we wouldn't have a story as it all revolves around the two week honeymoon.   The holiday homes are empty and most stores are closed.  One afternoon they notice cars at one home down the block.  As they stop by to say hello,  Effie is surprised to see a woman from her childhood.  Clara was  much older and used to tease Effie when she was a young girl, embarrassing her.  Clara, who has the moral code of a cat in heat, is partying with her friends Max and Alma. Against Effie’s better judgement they are cajoled into staying longer and have dinner and drinks with Clara, Max and Alma.

Things start spiraling out of control soon afterwards. Gin and tonics are consumed by the bucketful. Eventually they break into the other homes, vacant holiday homes that won’t be visited until the following May. They walk through the houses on the block and look at the possessions as if they are in a museum. They try on clothes and play with homeowner's belongings. Creepy isn’t it?

Here come some spoilers

Henry is a complete piece of crap. While he cheats on his wife he also wonders how she could have gone off on a boat outing without him. He wouldn’t have gone anywhere without her, he muses.

Seriously, one of the worst examples of a husband Ever. Not that any of the other characters are sterling examples of virtue. None of them.

The last 15% of the book seems to be written by someone else. Almost the entire book focuses on the two week honeymoon period and the interactions with Clara and her group. Honestly, the best way I can categorize it is under the genre pornography. There are graphic sex scenes, very detailed, throughout the book. It was expected there would be passages about love and sex as the book is advertised as a plot of “marriage, love and sexuality and the lifelong repercussions a group of debauched cosmopolitans may have.” That’s an understatement.

Another unbelievable part is when Effie wonders if she is pregnant.  OK, so.....she was a virgin and it's only been two weeks at the most and she thinks she's pregnant.  I can suspend disbelief for many scenarios but this didn't qualify.  Never mind the other "relationships" that formed, also unlikely but hey....maybe I'm naive.

The last bit of the story wraps up with the final 50 years of Henry and Effie’s respective lives. Bam, bam, bam you are given the life story in a fast forward mode.

If graphic sex scenes offend then skip this book. If you would like a snapshot of 1950’s depravity and a dose of double standards from our Henry, by all means pick this one up.

Netgalley kindly gave me a complimentary copy prior to it's publication on April 30, 2019.  Opinions are mine and I was not compensated for my honest review.

Blue Monday by Nicci French

Blue Monday by Nicci French Publisher: Penguin Group

 As I mentioned before, I started with book 7 – yeah, brilliant. But I was so taken with the story and characters that I decided I would grab book 1 and read the beginning, even if I do have a few spoilers along the way.

This book is the start of the Frieda Klein series and it begins in 1987.

 It takes a while to get started, it moves rather slowly at first while you get to know the characters but, in my opinion, the character development is worth it. Frieda is a psychotherapist. She isn’t a warm character but I like her. She’s complex, cool and competent. Intelligent and a problem solver. Her mind never seems to shut down and so she walks the streets of London at night until she is weary. I like her rituals such as laying the fire in the morning so she can start a fire each evening when she returns home. I like her organizational method to approaching….anything.

This book introduces us to Frieda’s latest client, a troubled man named Alan Dekker.

The short gist of it is he is an emotional mess. He is on the verge of a breakdown and anxious all the time about so many things in his life. To add to it, he and his wife Carrie are having trouble conceiving a child. He wants a child of his own rather than adopting and gives Frieda great detailed descriptions of his fantasy child, down to the hair color and build. He explains all this during his therapy sessions, a place where he should be safe and know his feelings won’t be shared. Unfortunately a little red-haired boy named Matthew Faraday has been abducted and he fits the description of the fantasy child to the letter. Big red flag here! Did Dekker abduct Matthew?

Now comes the ethical dilemma for Frieda about whether she needs to go to the police. Detective Chief Inspector Karlsson is assigned the missing child case and this is where he crosses paths with Frieda Klein. It’s explosive in so many ways. This sets up the premise that Frieda may be working, albeit hesitantly, with the police now and again.
The end wraps up fairly nicely yet leaves you curious about a few possible loose ends.

So. Now that I have read both the last book and then this book  I can say that I will read the series  - but I liked the characters in Sunday Silence better than this one. Clear as mud right? Knowing how some of these folks turn out and clearly the writing was crisper in book 7, that’s what interests me. Blue Monday needed to have the character development and the explanations about their lives but it wasn’t a I’m-in-love-with-this-series instantly had I started with this book. Please don’t let me turn you off to the Frieda Klein series, I honestly do think it’s good.

Food mentioned here and there…… Curried cauliflower and chick pea salad Marmalade Bakewell tart Holubsti (pickled fish) Kutya (wheat, honey, poppyseed and nuts) Recipe for chickpea salad may be found HERE



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The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

 

This book has more than one story line, there are multiple narratives and I hung on to each and every one. Of the Kate Morton books I have read so far, this is by far the very best one. It’s not predictable and the armchair traveling in this took me to Cornwall and London England, Sydney Australia and New York City. Traveling and mystery - what more could I ask for?!

The story lines all come together in spite of many characters living and dying in different time periods. There is a mystery about one of our main characters named Nell. The book starts in 1913 with Nell as a 4 year old, hiding out aboard ship destined for Australia. A lady she refers to as The Authoress tells her to hide and wait for her. But the lady never returns and young Nell is left alone with her suitcase at a port in Australia. A port master can’t leave a small child alone so he takes her home for the evening. No one reports her missing, no one comes to claim Nell so eventually the port master and his wife keep her. No formal adoption, they just move away and start fresh.  Years later the Port Master and wife have four daughters and Nell thinks they are all her natural family.

 On Nell’s 21st birthday her father (the port master) tells her about how they found her. It’s devastating to lose one’s identity just like that. In a snap Nell feels she doesn’t belong and tries to find out where she does belong.  The story skips back and forth in time so you know what happens with Nell until her death late in life. This introduces us to another major character – her granddaughter Cassandra.

 Cassandra is close to her grandmother Nell and after her death she inherits everything. But there is one property she is surprised to find out about. The deed to a house called Cliff Cottage in Cornwall England.

 Cassandra’s story starts in 1975 but we jump to 2005 and things get mysterious. She is the one who will search the clues left about Nell’s true identity. I like her character very much and enjoyed her chapters.

 The Authoress is revealed as Eliza Makepeace (what a cool name!) and she is an adventurous character. She is also the writer of fairy tales. Her back story is fascinating and weaves into Nell’s story eventually. There are quite a few other characters that play crucial parts but rather than get into it all – please read this one if you are a Kate Morton fan. Twists I didn’t see coming and a good conclusion with mysteries solved.

  Some food mentions here but it’s not a foodie book. Bowls of beef and rosemary stew Pasta with pine nuts and Gorgonzola cheese Morgy Broth Sandwiches (and tea of course) Roasted chicken and smoked Gouda pressed sandwich.  There's a bit of leftover spinach in there too.  A simple side salad with grape tomatoes, feta and balsamic vinegar dressing. Oh. Yeah.  This was a treat Cassandra may enjoy at the hotel in Cornwall.

 

 Are you fans of Kate Morton's novels?  If so, which are your favorites?  I have read this one as well as The House at Riverton and The Lake House.