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I finished a few books in the last two weeks, but the only one I'm really enthusiastic about is the one I'm not supposed to discuss. So:
Recent reading:
Murder in the Ball Park, by Robert Goldsborough. This is authorized fanfic for Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books, assuming that there are readers who want more of the same kind of story. Goldsborough sets this one during the Truman administration, which gives him Archie Goodwin, Nero Wolfe, et al. in their prime. The titular ballpark is the Polo Grounds; Archie and Saul Panzer are there to watch a game and happen to see a state legislator shot dead. It seemed to me like a reasonable pastiche of Stout's style; I was annoyed by a few swipes (in authorial/Goodwin's voice, with Wolfe clearly agreeing) at the idea of a married couple admitting to not being monogamous. Sorry, that is not the same as the established fact of Wolfe refusing to have anything to do with divorce/infidelity cases. (And then it turns out that at least one of them is not as happy with the other's having an outside lover as he claims. Sauce for the goose. Cliche. I suspect non-poly readers might disagree but would be less annoyed by this bit of judgmental commentary.) Spoiler warning: Guvf vf nabgure zlfgrel abiry jurer gur fbyhgvba uvatrf ba gur qrgrpgvir ernyvmvat gung "jul jbhyq fbzrbar jnag gb xvyy uvz?" vf gur jebat dhrfgvba orpnhfr gur ohyyrg jnf npghnyyl nvzrq ng fbzrbar ryfr.
Comet in Moominland, by Tove Jansson: not bad, but Mris was right that this isn't a good place to start the series. The comet is a villain/menace, right out of medieval legend, but after adventuring and genuinely scary events, it turns out home=safety. This does show a chunk of backstory on how a bunch of previously unrelated people of several species wound up as part of the family in Moominmamma's house.
A Dead Red Oleander, by R. P. Dahlke. I got this mystery as a freebie ebook. It's fast-moving, but too much of the plot is driven by people (to some extent the narrator, and especially her cousin) diving into things that they either don't know much about, or know they shouldn't be getting involved in. This is a classic example of an amateur sleuth not telling the police/sheriff/etc. what know, made worse because in this case the narrator/amateur is engaged to one of the relevant police officers. She does at least have the wit to realize that if she can't talk to Caleb about the fact that she's investigating a crime, maybe they shouldn't be getting married, but the communications issues are handwaved at the end. The story was just good enough that I finished it, but I won't be getting the next one, or going back to the first two in the series.
Current book(s): There isn't one; I'm posting this between books.
What I will read next: I'm not sure, but I need to pick something, and I have a few possibles on the kindle, including one I paid for; a freebie by an author I've liked in the past; and some Project Gutenberg oddities.
Recent reading:
Murder in the Ball Park, by Robert Goldsborough. This is authorized fanfic for Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books, assuming that there are readers who want more of the same kind of story. Goldsborough sets this one during the Truman administration, which gives him Archie Goodwin, Nero Wolfe, et al. in their prime. The titular ballpark is the Polo Grounds; Archie and Saul Panzer are there to watch a game and happen to see a state legislator shot dead. It seemed to me like a reasonable pastiche of Stout's style; I was annoyed by a few swipes (in authorial/Goodwin's voice, with Wolfe clearly agreeing) at the idea of a married couple admitting to not being monogamous. Sorry, that is not the same as the established fact of Wolfe refusing to have anything to do with divorce/infidelity cases. (And then it turns out that at least one of them is not as happy with the other's having an outside lover as he claims. Sauce for the goose. Cliche. I suspect non-poly readers might disagree but would be less annoyed by this bit of judgmental commentary.) Spoiler warning: Guvf vf nabgure zlfgrel abiry jurer gur fbyhgvba uvatrf ba gur qrgrpgvir ernyvmvat gung "jul jbhyq fbzrbar jnag gb xvyy uvz?" vf gur jebat dhrfgvba orpnhfr gur ohyyrg jnf npghnyyl nvzrq ng fbzrbar ryfr.
Comet in Moominland, by Tove Jansson: not bad, but Mris was right that this isn't a good place to start the series. The comet is a villain/menace, right out of medieval legend, but after adventuring and genuinely scary events, it turns out home=safety. This does show a chunk of backstory on how a bunch of previously unrelated people of several species wound up as part of the family in Moominmamma's house.
A Dead Red Oleander, by R. P. Dahlke. I got this mystery as a freebie ebook. It's fast-moving, but too much of the plot is driven by people (to some extent the narrator, and especially her cousin) diving into things that they either don't know much about, or know they shouldn't be getting involved in. This is a classic example of an amateur sleuth not telling the police/sheriff/etc. what know, made worse because in this case the narrator/amateur is engaged to one of the relevant police officers. She does at least have the wit to realize that if she can't talk to Caleb about the fact that she's investigating a crime, maybe they shouldn't be getting married, but the communications issues are handwaved at the end. The story was just good enough that I finished it, but I won't be getting the next one, or going back to the first two in the series.
Current book(s): There isn't one; I'm posting this between books.
What I will read next: I'm not sure, but I need to pick something, and I have a few possibles on the kindle, including one I paid for; a freebie by an author I've liked in the past; and some Project Gutenberg oddities.
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