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#Oddball #NetGalley

Out just in time for holiday shopping is this new Sarah Scribbles collection. If you know someone who loves cats and has a unique sense of humor, this could make the perfect gift (even for you!).

Oddball seems like the right title for this book. The humor is unique and reflects what it feels like to not always belong or be comfortable in one’s skin. The comics center on someone who is an introvert and show how hard this can be in an extroverted world.

Fans of this cartoonist, along with some others, will surely welcome this collection.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

This is another of the recently reissued Nigel Strangeways mysteries written under the nom de plume Nicholas Blake. Blake was really poet Cecil Day Lewis.

This time there is a lot going on for both Nigel and a group of boys who happen to be at a boat pond in Kensington Gardens. What follows is a rather convoluted tale of adventure and spies.

This title will be most enjoyed by fans of Blake and those who like mysteries from the 1950s.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

by Richard Osman

Fans or Richard Osman’s first novel, The Thursday Murder Club, will undoubtedly be most eager to read The Man Who Died Twice. This new novel contains what have quickly become the trademarks of the author’s work. There are the four quirky and individual protagonists (Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron), some complex situations, adventure, and a mixture of humor and excellent plotting. No need to say more except that, among other things, there are diamonds and murder. Just know that the ingredients are here for a perfect escapist read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

by A. A. Milne

Narrated by Joel Froomkin

pub date: 04 Jan 22 #WinniethePooh #NetGalley

The Pooh stories are deservedly children’s classics. The tales are engaging with characters that come to vivid life. There is a reasoning in the stories that echoes that of young children and that delights adults as well.

This is a wonderfully narrated version of Winnie the Pooh, from the origin of his name and right on through. The reader has an engaging style and draws listeners in. Highly recommended for old and young, maybe for a time when you are on some form of transportation and could use a gentle listen.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this listen. All opinions are my own.

Coincidentally, I met up with Pooh and Co. last week!

Jane Eyre is free.

Broken Ground by Val McDermid

#BrokenGround #NetGalley

Val McDermid writes a number of series; of them all, the Karen Pirie novels are my favorites. Broken Ground is the newest of these.
I enjoy Karen. She is a quirky woman who has faced a significant loss and is still recovering. In this novel, she gingerly considers a new relationship. She is an old fashioned copper who cares about justice and what is right. She is loyal to those on her team who are still learners.
Karen is the head of the Historical Cases Unit in Scotland. Spending time with her, the members of her team (including her adversaries) and her cases is always time well-spent. In this novel, there are several stories; one relates to events of WWII, another to a serial rapist, and there is also a present day murder. Each of these plots is explored satisfactorily.
I finished this book today and am already looking forward to what happens next in the series. I highly recommend both this book and the series.

Many (!) thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this satisfying read.

This entry in the author’s long standing Gamache mystery series is truly outstanding.  It is one of the very, very best mysteries that I have read this year.

The plot involves the death of a woman who had been abused by her husband.  Does that mean that he was the murderer?  If yes, how to convict and, if not, who was it and why are central to the plot.

But…it is the way that Penny writes that makes this book so truly excellent.  She is philosophical and thoughtful, all the while enhancing, not taking away from the plot based action.  The book is full of references to Moby Dick whose relevance becomes apparent.  Many of the characters are chasing their own versions of that great whale and, as in the novel, they are distressed.

Penny has a true talent for making  her characters com to life.  This is true for the series regulars as well as those who fully inhabit this novel. The people are complex and within contain both much goodness and potential for wrongdoing, even if sometimes for what they feel are the right reasons.  In addition, the early chapters of the book about potential flooding made me feel the cold, the rain, the fear and the worry.

Penny herself states:

“These books are about community.  About love and belonging.  About the great gift of friendship.

How lucky I am to live in Three Pines.”

You, too, will be most lucky to visit Three Pines.  I give this one 6 stars out of five.  Really.