Wash This Blood Clean From My Hand

I've taken a couple of weeks to read Wash This Blood Clean From My Hand by Fred Vargas as I've been very busy preparing for our holiday and coping with a family illness. I enjoyed the book. The serial killer was very sophisticated and there were lots of "twists and turns" as Commissaire Adamsberg struggled to make others understand how the same killer could be operating after 60 years. Adamsberg's brother was accused of one of the murders and in finding the murderer, he will clear his name. The reader goes on a journey to Quebec and back to France as we learn more about the murderer. There are some wonderful characters. 4/5

May Book Club

We had a lovely time at Di's place. She had been busy baking some delicious treats for us and brought out her very beautiful teasets collection, which we always look forward to seeing. We've all had a busy month with work or holidays. Liz, Leonie and Ulla weren't able to come. Marilyn and Bev went to Sandy's daughter's wedding in the Cook Islands. Sandy's photos showed that it was a really beautiful wedding in a romantic tropical island setting where all had a great time. Bev also holidayed in New Zealand on the way to the wedding. Marilyn is off to Brazil soon but will then be travelling back and forth while her husband works there. Marilyn was proud to see her daughter graduate as a policewoman recently. Jenny has had dramas with her bathroom renovations which have dragged on for a month and still not completed. I'm off overseas later this month so will sadly miss a couple of book clubs. Di got some great books including one from her favourite genre Wash This Blood Clean From My Hand by Fred Vargas, which I'm reading now.

Exit Music

I've finished Exit Music by Ian Rankin the last in the Rebus series?? I hope not. Rebus is days away from his retirement and hopes to crack the murder of a Russian poet before then. He continues to be a thorn in the side of management right till the end as he struggles to find a motive and a murderer. When other attacks point to a connection to the Russian and Scottish MPs, as well as Rebus' nemesis Big Ger Cafferty, things get really interesting. Siobhan Clarke brings in a young rookie, Todd Goodyear, to help out and he is also tenuously connected to some of the characters involved in the murders/attacks. Rebus must solve the case while contemplating his future post-retirement. 4/5.

Two Little Girls In Blue

I've read Two Little Girls In Blue by Mary Higgins Clark which was an enjoyable suspenseful read. Three year old twins, Kathy and Kelly are kidnapped for $8 million ransom which seems impossible for the parents to pay. The FBI investigates as we learn the kidnapping was organised by a mysterious man, the Pied Piper, whose real identity is not revealed till the end. With each harrowing chapter we wonder how the story will end as the lives of the girls are in constant jeopardy. The kidnappers are wonderful truly "awful" characters. This is a real "page-turner". 4/5

The Collectors

I've enjoyed reading The Collectors by David Baldacci which started out as two separate stories which later came together. Annabelle Conroy carried out a $40 million scam on a ruthless casino boss who had murdered her mother. This is a good story and Annabelle is a great character. The Camel Club men, Oliver, Caleb, Reuben and Milton are separately dealing with mysterious deaths in Washington including the death of Caleb's boss at the Library of Congress. After this murder, the two stories come together and the Club becomes involved in espionage and more murders as they investigate. Exciting conclusion to the murder stories but we're left hanging at the end as well, so must be a follow up book to tie up loose ends. I've discovered that book is Stone Cold. 4/5.

Kennedy's Brain

I've read Kennedy's Brain by Henning Mankell and I was quite disappointed by it. It was different to many of his other books and seemed to be about the author's crusade to do something about AIDS. Swedish archeologist,Louise Cantor, finds her son, Henrik, dead in his apartment. He appears to have suicided however Louise believes he was murdered and then investigates by re-tracing Henrik's movements through Europe and Africa. She discovers a hidden world of AIDS sufferers and those who exploit their suffering as she seeks the truth behind her son's death. The story is well-written and explores the subject of AIDS in Africa and the injustices of poverty there, proposing an international drug company conspiracy. However, I found the end frustrating as there is no resolution to the murders. The story also tells us that we cannot know everything about the people we love as Louise discovers Henrik's secrets. 3/5

The Mermaid Chair

I've read The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd which was a fairly good read, exploring the "mid life crisis" and whether we need to follow a new direction. Louise is restless in her marriage when she is called to attend her childhood home to see to her mother who has mysteriously self-mutilated. Louise tries to discover the reason and how it is connected to the death of her father some 33 years before. Louise meets and falls in love with a monk at the local abbey who is also going through a transition in his own life. The truth about her father's death is finally revealed as she must also deal with her own future. Quite a good story, but I found the romance a bit "Mills & Boon" (not that I've ever read any of those books). It looks at an issue that may confront many of us at some point in our lives - do we throw away our past for an uncertain future, or do we remain in our comfort zone. 3 1/2/5