The Bone Key

The Bone Key by Sarah Monette.

Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Prime Books (October 18, 2011)
ISBN-10: 1607012901



Amazon review...

• Kyle Murchison Booth is the unlikeliest of characters to gain a cult following, yet he has. Eccentric, socially awkward Booth is an introverted museum archivist, descended from a most unusual family, who frequently finds himself in the midst of the most unsettling supernatural experiences and strange necromantic mysteries. A gentleman and a scholar, the unwilling hero persevered through The Bone Key, a series of interconnected short stories, to win readers' hearts (and possibly their souls).
• This new edition, with a "puzzle" cover and a new introduction by one of Booth's "successors" at the Samuel Mather Parrington Museum, will delight current fans and allow even more to discover its dark charms.

I am not a lover of short stories.. so of course I bought this book because of the cover!!! (Not the first time I've done that!)

Having said that.. I enjoyed this book!  Each of the stories had the same main character and tied them, more or less, together.  I enjoyed most of the stories with maybe an exception of the last 2 stories.  However, I would still recommend this book if you like mysteries, ghost stories and such.

It's quick reading, but I've been sick nearly all month so the most I did was read one short story and put the book down for a day or two.. so , short as it is it took me a bit to read it.

Once Upon a River

Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield.

Hardcover: 480 pages
Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books (December 4, 2018)
ISBN-10: 0743298071



Amazon Review:

On a dark midwinter’s night in an ancient inn on the river Thames, an extraordinary event takes place. The regulars are telling stories to while away the dark hours, when the door bursts open on a grievously wounded stranger. In his arms is the lifeless body of a small child. Hours later, the girl stirs, takes a breath and returns to life. Is it a miracle? Is it magic? Or can science provide an explanation? These questions have many answers, some of them quite dark indeed.

Those who dwell on the river bank apply all their ingenuity to solving the puzzle of the girl who died and lived again, yet as the days pass the mystery only deepens. The child herself is mute and unable to answer the essential questions: Who is she? Where did she come from? And to whom does she belong? But answers proliferate nonetheless.

Three families are keen to claim her. A wealthy young mother knows the girl is her kidnapped daughter, missing for two years. A farming family reeling from the discovery of their son’s secret liaison, stand ready to welcome their granddaughter. The parson’s housekeeper, humble and isolated, sees in the child the image of her younger sister. But the return of a lost child is not without complications and no matter how heartbreaking the past losses, no matter how precious the child herself, this girl cannot be everyone’s. Each family has mysteries of its own, and many secrets must be revealed before the girl’s identity can be known.

Once Upon a River is a glorious tapestry of a book that combines folklore and science, magic and myth. Suspenseful, romantic, and richly atmospheric, the beginning of this novel will sweep you away on a powerful current of storytelling, transporting you through worlds both real and imagined, to the triumphant conclusion whose depths will continue to give up their treasures long after the last page is turned.

This book began a little slow for me.  I am guessing that after so many murder mystery books that this was harder for me to get into.  That... and as soon as I see Diane Setterfield's name I expect something comparable to The Thirteenth Tale.  Well, this is not that! lol  To me it was a bit more "fantasy" than a fiction novel.  

I did read it all so that means it wasn't awful!  And to many who are a bit more into .. I don't know what to call it!  But I am sure many will like this book very much.  So, if the review from Amazon sounds good to you... give it a try!

Extraordinary People

Extraordinary People by Peter May.

Hardcover: 382 pages
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press;(November 30, 2006)
ISBN-10: 1590583353

 

Amazon Review:

What has happened to Jacques Gaillard? The brilliant teacher who trained some of France's best and brightest at the Ecole Nationale d'Administration as future Prime Ministers and Presidents vanished ten years ago, presumably from Paris. Talk about your cold case.

The mystery inspires a bet, one that Enzo Macleod, a biologist teaching in Toulouse instead of pursuing a brilliant career in forensics back home in Scotland can ill afford to lose. The wager is that Enzo can find out what happened to Jacques Gaillard by applying new science to an old case.

Enzo comes to Paris to meet journalist Roger Raffin, the author of a book on seven celebrated unsolved murders, the assumption being that Gaillard is dead. He needs Raffin's notes. And armed with these, he begins his quest. It quickly has him touring landmarks such as the Paris catacombs and a chateau in Champagne, digging up relics and bones. Yes, Enzo finds Jacques Gaillard's head. The artifacts buried with the skull set him to interpreting the clues they provide and to following in someone's footsteps--maybe more than one someone--after the rest of Gaillard. And to reviewing some ancient and recent history. As with a quest, it's as much discovery as detection. Enzo proves to be an ace investigator, scientific and intuitive, and, for all his missteps, one who hits his goals including a painful journey toward greater self-awareness.


Wow, if you like fast moving  detective work, this is the book for you!   

I liked that it was a cold case being solved.  There were "obvious clues" along the way.  They would  have taken me forever to figure out, but of course, Enzo and his growing group around him seem to figure them out in nothing flat! 

The book was different from what I am used to but since once I start one of these books, I "must" know "who done it"! lol
It's a good quick read and one you'd most likely enjoy.