Tidelands by Philippa Gregory--Beginning of a Series but I'm NOT Going to Follow It!

Tidelands by Philippa Gregory
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

It is rare that I give a book a one star rating but, though at times the descriptive passages of the place and detail of the lives of the characters is quite good, it was not enough to engross me. In the beginning James' mission was confusing and the relationship with Alinor so improbable that I was bored and kept putting the book down. Though tempted to leave it unread, having not received the book at first and contacting the publisher to send it on to me,which they did, I felt obligated to finish it. At times it picked up but the writing is so uneven, the characters so poorly developed, the relationship between the two main characters so out of the question, and the ending, considering the fact James is a priest, unbelievable. All in all, do not recommend it to anyone, even for the few glimmers of light like sunshine on a hardly moving water surface.

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Continuation of the Zantop Murder Case--includng the Conclusion

Judgment Ridge: The True Story Behind the Dartmouth Murders by Dick Lehr
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The horrifying tale of two teenagers bored with life in a very small town, with attitudes of superiority, who decided to kill to obtain the money to escape to Australia. One, 16 at the time and the follower who cracked when finally caught was sentenced to 25 years. Now eligible for parole, he recently withdrew his request when the outpouring of the community was totally against it and his victims' daughters opposed it. He will be released sometime in 2027 at the age of 41. He has a construction job lined up, I suppose with his father's company. Ironic, considering construction jobs were once beneath him, an artistic musician. The other, 17 at the time, the instigator, the more brutal knife wielder was given life without parole. In light of a recent law forbidding such a sentence for a minor, no matter the severity or horror of the crime, he is due a sentence hearing this month. So far there has been nothing in the local paper. The hearing is not to reduce the sentence from life but rather to consider whether he should have the possibility of parole. One could hope not, especially since his initial behavior, all that has been publicized, indicates no remorse and continued arrogance.
While the tale is horrifying, the book is well written and is as engrossing as any fictional mystery story.

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The Dartmouth Murders--Murder in Our Backyard

The Dartmouth Murders by Eric Francis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

On January 27, 2001 an expected dinner guest walked into the eerily quiet home of Dartmouth professors Half and Suzanne Zantop. To her horror she discovered their bodies lying in pools of blood in their study, which was torn apart as though a storm had ripped through it. This book describes the crime from this step forward. The investigation that for more than two weeks went nowhere, but covered a great number of leads and avenues. The backgrounds of the Zantops, the Dartmouth community, the Etna community in which the murders occurred are thoroughly exposed and studied.

Then, a break, the knives used to brutally savage their bodies were no where to be found but the two sheaths that came with them were left at the scene. With the dogged pursuit of sales records, at last the investigation narrowed to two teen-aged boys in the nearby town of Chelsea, Vt. Upon interviewing them and taking boots and fingerprints it was determined that they were prime suspects. Realizing police were closing in on them the boys made a run for it--but returned home within days. But still feeling threatened they once more ran off, this time making it all the way to Indiana, hoping to reach California. The remainder of the book covers the investigation into the boys, their backgrounds and the police tracking that led to their arrest and incarceration. The book ends at that point--with the trial of one of them in the offing and the testimony of the other against him and a plea deal as a result.

Living between the two locations, having taught in Chelsea, though not at the time of the murders, this book was of particular interest to me. It did not fail to detail exactly what happened at the time, at least so far as the public was informed as these things progressed. As good as any novel about murder and its solution. If you like mystery you will like this, though the fact that it is not fiction will be horrifying.

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Ongoing Battle of the Bulge

After losing 40 pounds on Weight Watchers and then plateauing for a year, have decided to give Atkins a try until Thanksgiving. Not convinced it is the best diet in the world, I'm hoping to get a kick off the plateau. Must admit it is nice to eat bacon and sausage again. It was certainly nice to go out to the porch early this morning and pick a fresh red pepper and a fresh green pepper for this lovely breakfast. My puzzle, my French bowl filled with strong heavy cream filled coffee made for a nice beginning to a beautiful day!

The Chamber by john Grisham

The Chamber by John Grisham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A second reading of this book--still incredibly long--still chilling and thought provoking. Still in favor of the death penalty in certain cases. If I knew all of them would remain on death row never knowing if and when they'd die, I'd be content. Or, if those who got life without parole were locked up in a cell with conditions like that described at Parchman maybe I'd be content. But, since neither of these are the actuality then death is fine with fewer conditions with which to appeal. Their victims are dead or severely traumatized, they don't deserve to continue living

Here the grandson who is his lawyer, wants his grandfather, a former Klansman to receive clemancy because he's old ( 70 is old?), because he's been on death row of 9 1/2 years and because his murders occurred over 20 years earlier. Right, those little boys, toddlers might have lived and become lawyers themselves, but they never had the chance. The ending was perfect. And perhaps God did forgive him.

I can understand why none of the families he harmed would. I'm not sure how his daughter or his grandchildren could or his brother. I guess they did but all of them suffer still at the end of this book.

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Women Driving Alone at Night, Car Trouble, The Samaritan Will Help--Maybe

The Samaritan by Mason Cross
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Former Black Ops member, Carter Blake is now a freelance people finder. Having just finished a job in Florida his attention is grabbed by the report of the slayings of three women in LA. The description of the slash across the victims' throats is familiar. If his gut is right, the LAPD will need help tracking down this killer. He is a former Black Ops member, too and he is good at his job. Forgoing his well earned R&R Blake hops a plane and offers his services to Jessica Allen, the lead detective on the case.
Jess is new to LAPD having left her job in DC under a dark cloud. She isn't terribly well liked by the guys but her partner has her back and she's a good cop. The three of them eventually join forces and work the crime despite the intrusion of the FBI--though, when it appears this killer has been slashing throats for at least five years, throughout the country, it's all hands on deck.
Fascinating, fast paced race to catch the killer before his next victim takes time and several more before he is finally stopped.

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