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Squeeze Me Carl Hiaasen
by Carl Hiaasen
4 stars for a hilarious book recommended by my s-i-l Judie. I have read 11 books by Carl Hiaasen and enjoyed every one. This one is book 8 in the Skink series. Skink is the former Florida Governor who walked off the job in an earlier book. He was and is an environmentalist, given to outrageous acts of sabotage against companies or people who damage the environment. He does not appear in this book until the second half.
The 1st half is about the interchange of incidents between Angela, "Angie" Armstrong, ex Florida Wildlife Officer, Jerry Crosby, Palm Beach Police Chief, a now ex President, along with his wife, and various Secret Service Agents and employees at Casa Bellicosa, aka Winter White House. The President and his wife are never mentioned by name, but the descriptions are so vivid that it is impossible not to know who is who. The second half brings Skink and Jim Tile, a Skink friend into contact with everyone.
Some elements in the book:
Burmese Pythons--an invasive species thriving in the Everglades
Pruitt, a poacher from Angela's past
POTUS Pussies--Wealthy widows who adore the President
Three quotes:
"Angie had been summoned to Casa Bellicosa to unfasten a screech owl from the presidential pompadour, which the low swooping raptor had mistaken for a road-kill fox."
"The President's Secret Service's code name was "Mastotodon." He loved it. "
"On only his second day in the Whit House, the President had ordered his chief of staff to arrange a trip to the National Zoo for a close-up look at a real mastodon."
This was a library ebook through the Libby app.
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Bury Your Dead Louise Penny
by Louise Penny
This is book 6 in the Armand Gamache series and I recommend that you read them in order, as some events carry over from previous books. This is an excellent police procedural series and I thank my s-i-l Julia for recommending this series to my wife and I. We both enjoy it. This book is one of the author's best that I have read so far and I rate it 4.5 stars rounded down.
This book opens with Armand recovering both physically and mentally from events in the previous book. Armand is on medical eave from his position as Chief of the Homicide Surete(Quebec Provincial Police) team. He is drawn into investigating a murder that has taken place in Quebec City. At the same time he suspects that he may have made a mistake in his role in convicting a murderer from the previous book. He asks his #2 in the Homicide team, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, to re-investigate the crime unofficially. Jean-Guy is also on medical leave and agrees to do so.
Both cases are solved with a satisfactory ending. Both men are starting to heal, both physically and mentally.
I grew up in Buffalo, NY and I can remember occasional cold spells where the temperature dipped to below zero, once to -20F. M y parents and friends would always comment that "you know it's cold because you can feel the snow crunching underneath your feet when you walk." This book takes place in February in Quebec City, where crunchy snow is an every day occurrence and daytime temps go to -30(book doesn't say Celsius or Fahrenheit, but both are bitter cold).
Some quotes:
Describing the Literary and Historical Society: "It takes a lot of effort to halt time, and for the most part they've done it."
Conversation between members of the Champlain Society:
Rene: "I sometimes thinks that we are in a rowboat society."
Jean: "A what?"
Rene: "A rowboat. It's why we do things like that." He jerked his head toward the window and the dot on the river. "It's why Quebec is so perfectly preserved. It's why we're all so fascinated with history. We're in a rowboat. We move forward, but we're always looking back."
I raced through this library book in 3 days.
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Red Bones Ann Cleeves
by Ann Cleeves
I rate this book a solid 4 stars. The cover classes it as a thriller, but I thought it was more of a mystery than a thriller. A woman named Mima is killed one night on Whalsay Island, part of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. At first it is thought to be an accident, because a neighbor was out shooting rabbits at midnight in fog and accidentally shot her. But DI Jimmie Perez suspects that there is more to this and keeps digging. A second person is found dead, possibly suicide. Perez does solve the case,but the killer is not revealed until near the end, and the author left enough false clues, that I wasn't sure of the who or why until it all came together at the end.
Anne Cleeves writes descriptive books. This series, set in the Shetlands, is best read in order, as I have been doing. Perez is identified as a "Black Shetlander,"i.e. descended form a shipwrecked Spanish Armada sailor in 1588.
Some quotes:
Mima's house: "Her house was tucked into the hill and you came on it very suddenly."
Evelyn Wilson, describing university students working on an archaeological dig: "The two lasses from the university were there. What nice wee girls they are, although I think that Hattie could do with a bit of feeding up.. She's a skinny little thing. All eyes and bone."
Perez thinking about his boss, the Procurator Fiscal: "He found it hard to explain the role of the Fiscal to English colleagues. Even Fran couldn't grasp it. 'But what does she do?' Perez always said that she was a cross between a magistrate and a prosecuting lawyer, but Fran didn't even get that." Jimmie is in a relationship with Fran, an English woman.
I read this library book in 4 days.
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I Shot The Buddha
by Colin Cotterill
4 stars for an engaging book about Dr. Siri Paiboun, retired chief coroner for Laos. This series is probably best read in order, but my library only has some of this series. In this book, #11 in the series, Siri and his friends solve three separate murders that have connections. The author is a British man who lives in Thailand. This book, like the others, provides some insight into Laotian culture with a bit of humor.
Siri gets a plea from a Buddhist monk to help a fellow monk escape into Thailand. The monk was a guest in Siri's house, but has been mysteriously kidnapped. This quest sets off a chain of events, leading to a confrontation with the spirit world. If you don't like paranormal mysteries, you might not like this book.
Two quotes:
Author warning: "A mental health warning: Through necessity this edition is heavily spiced with supernatural elements. For those of you who prefer your mysteries dull and earthy, this is not the tome for you."
"Siri put his hand to his chest where the white amulet hung from his neck. it was nothing elaborate: a hunk of white stone. But there was no question that, without it, he would have been long dead."
This was a library book.
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