Started Early, Took My Dog

I enjoyed Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson which is a murder mystery set in England.  Private detective, Jackson Brodie, is asked by a client in New Zealand to track down her birth parents - a simple enough job he thought, but then finds no record of his client.  Meanwhile, retired policewoman Tracy Waterhouse witnesses an act of child cruelty and impulsively "buys" the little girl from the drug-addicted mother.  She then goes on the run with the child when the mother is murdered.  The plot becomes more complicated as Tracy is being chased by unknown thugs who are concerned with the murder of a prostitute 30 years previously.  This and Jackson Brodie's case are unknowingly linked and there is a good chase as the past catches up with all concerned. 4/5

July 2012 Book Club

 I hosted the July Book Club and enjoyed it very much.  I was fortunate to have my grandson help me with baking and he and my husband set up everything for me.  Unfortunately, the books I'd ordered from Amazons didn't arrive on time - three days too late, but at least they arrived, so we can look forward to discovering them next month - a double dose of books!  There were a few absentees - Vee had Denise had visitors, Carmen wasn't well and sadly Bev's stepfather died suddenly.  Jenny has her daughter and family visiting her and she's enjoying that.  Penny is besotted with her beautiful grandson.  Ulla was back this month.  Robyn, Liz and Kath were also there. We had some discussion about the ongoing Health pay debacle which is affecting a couple of people and we talked about genealogy and "Who Do You Think You Are?"  Interesting to see where we come from.  I look forward to our next meeting at Jenny's place.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

I enjoyed Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer though it took a while to "get into it".  The story is told in the first person by three characters and at times it is confusing as to which character is narrating.  A young boy, Oskar, loses his father Thomas in the Twin Towers 9/11 tragedy.  He arrived home to hear his father's voice on their answering machine.  He is a highly intelligent boy and deals with the tragedy in an unusual way.  He discovers something that belonged to his father which leads him on a quest to find out more.  Also narrating are his grandmother about her life and survival of the Dresden bombing and also his grandfather who also survived that bombing but has his own problems to deal with.  This is an unusual and "different" story which was originally published in 2005, recently re-released as a "companion" book for a movie. 31/2/5

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

I enjoyed Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs which is set in both "the present" and during WWII.  Jacob has grown up with his grandfather Abe telling him tales of his life on an island in Britain where he was sent by his Jewish parents to escape Nazi Germany.  Jacob believed these tales were like "fairy stories".  Then his grandfather dies tragically and Jacob and his father travel to the island to hopefully learn more about Abe's life there.  Jacob finds his way in to a "time loop" which transports him back to WWII and the home for peculiar children that his grandfather had described.  These children have different "peculiar" traits e.g. one of them is invisible.  Their lives are threatened by evil beings and Jacob resolves to do what he can to save them.  The story itself becomes peculiar at that point but it is a fantasy I was happy to go along with. 31/2/5

Brooklyn

I enjoyed Brooklyn by Colm Toibin which is set in the early 1950s.  A young Irish woman, Eilis Lacey, migrates to Brooklyn to begin a new life.  She  is settled in her job, falls in love and studies bookkeeping to better her employment prospects.  She is suddenly recalled to Ireland and stays longer than she planned, then reconsiders whether she returns to Brooklyn.  She struggles with the pull of her homeland and the new life she's established in Brooklyn and must decide between the two.

Spirit House

I enjoyed Spirit House by Mark Dapin.  It had a slow start but I'm glad I stuck with it.  It is mainly the story of Jimmy, an Jewish Australian POW who spent time in Changi and the Burma Railway.  Most of the story is told in the first person by the character David who Jimmy's grandson. It is set in Sydney in 1990, where Jimmy regularly meets his Jewish friends who were also POWs. Jimmy is plagued by nightmares about his war experiences and the friends who died so builds a "spirit house" with David's help.  As he builds, he tells David the stories some of which are, of course, quite harrowing.  There are stories of betrayal, love, friendship, brutality and loss.  There are some not forgiven for their actions.  The book begins with a first person account set in Siam in 1944 and the reader does not learn the identity of this character till the end of the book, a good "twist". 4/5

The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection

The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection by Alexander McCall Smith is the latest in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Series and is of course a very familiar story with its wonderful characters.  Mma Ramotswe and her assistant (pardon me "associate") Mma Makutsi must find a way of ensuring Mma Potokwani from the orphanage does not lose her position when a wealthy businessman takes over the running of the orphanage, treating it like a business.  As well, one of the mechanics at Speedy Motors finds himself in trouble when he helps an old acquaintance.  Mma Makutsi and her husband are building a house using an "ungentlemanly" builder.  And then private detective Clovis Anderson, a hero to Mma Ramotswe, visits the area. A lovely easy to read story with characters we've come to know and love. 3/5