Indian Days of the Long Ago

Indian Days of the Long Ago by Edward S. Curtis.
Paperback: 242 pages
Publisher: Forgotten Books (February 9, 2017)
ISBN-10: 1332437591 



Excerpt from Indian Days of the Long Ago 

The camp of Lone Pine, chief of the Salish, or Flatheads, was onithe banks of the Red Willow River, 'a beautiful stream flowing through the forests of the Bitterroot Mountains, in what we now call western Montana. Its cold, trans lucent waters come from the springs and snows far up among the mountain crags.

Beautiful lodges or tepees made from the dressed Skins of buffalo and elk were scattered everywhere among the pines.

The village was like the camps of hundreds of other Indian chiefs or head men, which stood beside the forest stream, by the quiet brook of the open plain, by the lake in the mountains, or on the grassy bank of the prairie lake.

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What a great little book.   Above the title it says "Indian Life and Indian Lore".. and that's exactly what it was.

Most of the book is "stories" told by a visiting Indian about life in other tribes that they had never heard of.  And the Lore that goes with their beliefs back then.  It is a small part of children coming of age and how they learned to understand the beliefs of their tribe, and some of what life is like "in other parts of the country".  

Like I said, it is a small book, a quick read, and a little more understanding of what it was like to live back "in the time" before white man destroyed their way of life.

Revenge in a Cold River

Revenge in a Cold River by Anne Perry.
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books(August 22, 2017)
ISBN-10: 1101886374



When Commander Monk of the Thames River Police is called to investigate the drowning of an escaped prisoner, he’s forced to contend with customs officer McNab, who clearly bears a bitter grudge against him. But the reason is a mystery in itself. Monk’s memory loss—a secret he guards closely—leaves him vulnerable to repercussions from his missing past, especially his exploits overseas in the tumultuous Gold Rush days of San Francisco. And now McNab, as icy and unfathomable as the steel-gray Thames itself, appears intent on using whatever damning facts he can find to his advantage to ruin Monk’s future as an officer of the law. 

As Monk explores the possibility of a conspiracy, McNab’s game of cat and mouse escalates, with veiled threats and cryptic insinuations. Snared in an unforeseen trap, a desperate Monk must turn to his wife, Hester, and friend and attorney Oliver Rathbone for help, as his life literally hangs in the balance.

As many books as Anne Perry has written, this is the first one I have read.
As most know, Iike books that take place in Victorian England, so it fills the bill in that respect.

I thought the beginning was a little slow, but.. once it picked up it really moved right along!  I did enjoy the book enough so that I have put another of her books on my wish list.

I liked the main character of Monk and the twist she has on him of having a loss of memory, so that he doesn't realize why McNab seems to hate him so much.   The book has twists and turns and things you think you know ...you don't really know.  It kept me reading for sure. 

A good read. 

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Scribner;(January 9, 2018)
ISBN-10: 150111685



When a bookshop patron commits suicide, his favorite store clerk must unravel the puzzle he left behind in this “intriguingly dark, twisty” (Kirkus Reviews) debut novel from an award-winning short story writer.

Lydia Smith lives her life hiding in plain sight. A clerk at the Bright Ideas bookstore, she keeps a meticulously crafted existence among her beloved books, eccentric colleagues, and the BookFrogs—the lost and lonely regulars who spend every day marauding the store’s overwhelmed shelves.

But when Joey Molina, a young, beguiling BookFrog, kills himself in the bookstore’s upper room, Lydia’s life comes unglued. Always Joey’s favorite bookseller, Lydia has been bequeathed his meager worldly possessions. Trinkets and books; the detritus of a lonely, uncared for man. But when Lydia flips through his books she finds them defaced in ways both disturbing and inexplicable. They reveal the psyche of a young man on the verge of an emotional reckoning. And they seem to contain a hidden message. What did Joey know? And what does it have to do with Lydia?

As Lydia untangles the mystery of Joey’s suicide, she unearths a long buried memory from her own violent childhood. Details from that one bloody night begin to circle back. Her distant father returns to the fold, along with an obsessive local cop, and the Hammerman, a murderer who came into Lydia’s life long ago and, as she soon discovers, never completely left. “Both charming and challenging” (Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review), Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore is a “multi-generational tale of abandonment, desperation, and betrayal…inventive and intricately plotted”
I was excited about this book since the review sounded so good to me.

The first half of the book was slow and although it was setting things up I almost let it go.  But I am glad I did not! The second half of the book flew by!   It was very good!  (Albeit somewhat sad)  Some small parts reminded me of myself.. not knowing my father etc.  Sort of a sad ending, but it did tie up all the loose ends.  It's hard for me to say if you would like it or not. 

The Woman Who Walked into the Sea

The Woman Who Walked into the Sea by Mark Douglas-Home.
Series: The Sea Detective (Book 2)
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Penguin UK (November 1, 2017)
ISBN-10: 140592358X


Amazon Review:
Cal McGill is a unique investigator and oceanographer who uses his expertise to locate things—and sometimes people—lost or missing at sea. His expertise could unravel the haunting mystery of why, 26 years ago on a remote Scottish beach, Megan Bates strode out into the cold ocean and let the waves wash her away. Megan's daughter, Violet Wells, was abandoned as a baby on the steps of a local hospital just hours before. As McGill is drawn into Violet's search for the truth, he encounters a coastal community divided by obsession and grief, and united only by a conviction that its secrets should stay buried.

Having read the first book called, The Sea Detective, and having enjoyed it, I thought I'd give book 2 a shot.

I was about 130 pages into this one when things were beginning to sound awfully familiar... I read on 50 more pages.  Now I felt sure I either read this before OR there are other books with a bunch of similarities .  So I donned my detective cowboy hat and dug into my blog... and low and behold ! I HAD read this book 1 12 yrs ago!..and I enjoyed it!  Of course that should surprise me since when I read the review from back then .. I enjoyed it!  duh.

So knowing I read this I contemplated ...  do I read it again?  Or do I put it down and begin another book?

When suddenly I realized, I didn't remember how this book ended!  GAH!  So I "re-read" the entire book...  and enjoyed it.  *snort*

Both the books by Mark Douglas-Home are well written and very enjoyable.. This goes on the recommended list, and no I am not saying more for a review than Amazon did!.