Tuesday, January 02, 2018

WWW.WEDNESDAY

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here

1. What are you currently reading? X by Sue Grafton. Cracking open this volume made me sad. With Sue's recent passing and her daughter's announcement that Z is for Zero will never be finished and "as far as we in the family are concerned, the alphabet ends at Y," my time with series heroine Kinsey Milhone is limited to this one and Y is for Yesterday, which I got for Christmas.

Anyway, X promises to be a rather complicated volume, with different stories intersecting. So far there's an art heist and a missing parolee. Grafton is successful at creating a sense of foreboding. I'm not far into it (Kinsey is just now having her glass of wine with Henry), but I've already read things like, "I read until midnight, still thinking life was swell," and "I ask myself even now if I should have picked up the truth faster than I did." 

2. What did you recently finish reading?A Christmas Return by Anne Perry. I thought this would be a holiday mystery, but it's not. We know whodunnit all along, we just don't know if he'll get away with it. 

Set in the 1890s, this is the story of Mariah Ellis. This wealthy, crusty and rather lonely grandmother takes a Christmas trip to avenge the murder of a man she deeply admired, to protect the reputation of his widow, and to stop a very, very bad man.

It's also about tough decisions, missed opportunities and regret. It was more serious, and less Christmas-y, than I expected (though there was a lovely, memorable passage about a tabletop nativity that touched me). Still, I'm glad I met Mariah Ellis and am grateful for the time I spent with her.
 
 3.  What will you read next? Maybe another mystery? Or a biography. My TBR pile is stacked high with both.  

6 comments:

  1. She Grafton has long been a favorite author. I read her books many time. Anne Perry, also but I haven't read this Christmas story. My link https://wordpress.com/post/idahobluebird50.com/24126

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  2. So sad that the alphabet won't see it's completion! My mom loves Sue Grafton, though I have never read any of her work. Here's my WWW: https://reachingwhilerooted.com/2018/01/03/www-wednesday-01-03-18/

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  3. I love Sue Grafton's books, and I'm sad about Z not coming out or Kinsey living on...BUT even more sad about Sue herself.

    I went to Goodreads and discovered that I hadn't read some of the books in the middle of the alphabet, so I'm looking forward to them.

    One of Grafton's books which wasn't part of the alphabet series was Kinsey and Me, a book that reveals Kinsey's origins and Sue's past. Loved it!

    Thanks for sharing...and here's MY WWW POST

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  4. There is a new book coming out called Jackie Janet and Lee- The Secret Lives of Janet Auchincloss and Her Daughters Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill. Sounds interesting.

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    1. How thoughtful of you to share that with me! JBKO is my all-time heroine and I'm thrilled when I find even a photo I haven't seen before, so a whole book! Yea!

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  5. I think I would be sadder if Z were written by someone other than Sue - she wrote excellent books. So sad! Here is my post: https://wordpress.com/post/silverbuttonbooks.com/4562

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