In the High Peaks
















Sunday, July 17, 2016

What I'm Reading Today

A very, very brief post to say that I'm fascinated by P.D. James's The Black Tower, especially the deeper I get into it, and I have been so inspired by the extraordinary characterizations in Julia Spencer-Fleming's One Was a Soldier. As many of you know, Spencer-Fleming's "mystery" series about Episcopal priest, U.S. Army helicopter pilot, and recently-returned Iraq War veteran Claire Fergusson  and Miller's Kill Chief of Police and Vietnam veteran Russ Van Alstyne just can't be beat, in my estimation, especially if you admire character-driven fiction or mysteries. I am so in awe of the writing in One Was a Soldier, published in 2011.

7 comments:

  1. I love hearing about wonderful books that are completely new to me! Sometimes I feel like everyone is reading and reviewing the same five books! I'll be putting One Was a Soldier on my TBR list.

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    1. Before I wrote this post, I was trying to decide how necessary it is to have read the previous novels in the series.
      I do have the bias that reading the first book in the series would be helpful, and it is a wonderful read--In the Bleak Midwinter, which won many prizes at the time. I love this book, although it's a fact that Spencer-Fleming was not at the height of her powers, as good as that debut is. The only book in the entire series that I thought was sub-par was the second book. Other than that, each book continued to get better and better.

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  2. Right now I"m in 95 degree Manhattan, wishing I was up there with Sasha, running along the ledge above the lake. I love lakes, grew up in Chicago swimming in Lake Michigan.

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  3. I agree wholeheartedly; there's nothing like lakes. The one in the photo is so wild, no easy road access, no homes, just NYS wild land surrounding it. So lovely...

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  4. I think I'm putting this photo on my desktop, so that when I'm hot and wishing I was near a lake, I'll look at this photo. And I love dogs,too.

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  5. Are you reading all the Dalgleish mysteries, or have you just begun with this one? I remember loving them, but have yet to get back to the series and read along and complete it. She is something else!

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    1. I am in the midst of reading everything that P.D. James ever wrote, with the exception of her last book, which was a mystery featuring the heroine of Pride and Prejudice and Mr. Darcy. Saw the PBS show, however, which was wonderfully done.
      I agree with you that she is absolutely a top-notch mystery/crime writer.
      I read her last three or four books before reading the earlier ones, and I don't necessarily read them in order. And I purchase every single one because they are so extraordinarily well done and worth several re-readings.

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