Sunday Summary: 6 September 2015

In this post, I begin my second year of weekly Sunday Summary posts.

Where I've been reading

This week I've been mostly at home. I made a very quick business trip to Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday. My flight from DFW took off at 6am and I arrived back in Dallas at 6am on Thursday. The travel comprised four flights: Dallas to Phoenix to Portland and then Portland to Los Angeles to Dallas. Lots of time to read, but also plenty of time to sleep! On the red-eye flight from Los Angeles, I slept most of the way.

 

What I've been reading: Completed this week

The Raven in the Foregate
by Ellis Peters

Format: eBook
Source: borrowed from library via Freading
Completed: 30 August

★★★☆☆

A year ago, in the very first Sunday Summary post, I was reading the first book in the Brother Cadfael series, A Morbid Taste for Bones. This past week, I completed reading the twelfth book, The Raven in the Foregate. I'm still entranced with Ellis Peters' masterful descriptions of medieval life and with her leading character, Brother Cadfael, a aging Benedictine Monk.

The war between King Stephen and Empress Maud is still going on. For now, Stephen is prevailing and Maud is gathering her forces to make another try for the throne. Although the political scene is relatively calm, things at the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul are not going well. Abbot Radulfus has returned from Winchester with a new priest for the parish church—a priest whose rigid manner has earned the dislike of one and all. When Father Ailnoth is found drowned in the nearby mill pond, Brother Cadfael must find out how and why he died. Was it an accident, or was he murdered?

The Oncoming Storm
by Christopher Nuttall

Format: eBook
Source: eGalley ARC from NetGalley
Completed: 2 September

★★★★☆

Kat Falcone has been made captain of the Commonwealth navy’s newest warship, Lightning. She knows she doesn't have enough experience to be in command, and that her appointment was secured by her very rich and influential father. Kat entered the Navy to try and avoid the stigma of her wealthy family, but it keeps following her. Now she must work hard to earn her crew’s respect.

Lightning is posted to Cadiz, a planet near the border between the Commonwealth and the tyrannical Theocracy. Kat's mission is to assist the 7^th fleet with the defense of Cadiz, protect commercial shipping from pirates, and determine just how volatile the situation is between the Theocracy and the Commonwealth. The people of Cadiz were forcibly brought into the Commonwealth and resent the presence of Commonwealth troops on their planet. But Kat's government knew that they couldn't allow the Theocracy to gain a foothold within Commonwealth space. With the threat of war growing every day and insurgents trying to push the Commonwealth forces off their planet, Kat has a very difficult job to discover what's been happening on Cadiz.

As I anticipated, I found The Oncoming Storm an excellent book. I'm a fan of military science fiction, and particularly those series which feature a strong female lead, and Christopher Nuttall offer this in the inaugural novel of his Angel in the Whirlwind series. The one flaw that kept me from giving this five stars is that the book had no clear end. Rather, it drifted along to a “to be continued” lack of conclusion. I do, however, look forward to the next installment.

The Door in the Wall
by Marguerite De Angeli

Format: eBook
Source: borrowed from the library via Overdrive
Completed: 3 September

★★★☆☆

The Door in the Wall tells the story of Robin, the son of a knight who is away fighting in Scotland. He has always known that his future is to grow up to be a knight and a soldier just like his father. When his mother is ordered to attend as a lady-in-waiting to the queen, Robin is to be sent to serve as a page at the home of Sir Peter de Lindsey. With the plague raging, Robin's escort fails to show up and he's left alone. Robin falls ill and is rescued when Brother Luke from the nearby hospice is sent to look for him. As he recovers, Robin discovers that he's unable to walk. With the encouragement of Brother Luke and the other monks, Robin learns to walk with crutches. He is taught to read and to carve wood. Although his future is not to follow in his father's footsteps, there are many things that he can do.

I chose this book to meet one of the categories in the Eclectic Reader Challenge—read a book published before you were born. Published in 1949, The Door in the Wall was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1950.

The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra
by Vaseem Khan

Format: eBook
Source: purchased in March 2010
Completed: 13 July

★★★★☆

Totally delightful. I thoroughly enjoyed The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra, Vaseem Khan's first book and the first in the Baby Ganesh Agency Investigation series. Police Inspector Ashwin Chopra is retiring after almost 30 years on the police force in Mumbai, but he's not settling into retirement very well. He's troubled by the case of a drowned teen—a case that is unlikely to be pursued by the police. And, his uncle just sent him a baby elephant who appears to be depressed and refuses to eat. How will he care for the elephant? After all, he lives on the fifteenth floor of an apartment complex. And how will he see justice done for a dead boy without the police force behind him?

Deciding to investigate the death of the young man, Former Inspector Chopra doesn't let a small thing like retirement get in the way. He believes in honesty and honor, and he sees no honor in allowing the death of Santosh Ashrekar to go uninvestigated. With a gentle determination, Chopra searches across Mumbai, gathering clue after clue. What he uncovers is much more than he could have thought.

What I've been reading: In progress

I started reading both New York to Dallas and The Rose Rent on Saturday. I tend to enjoy having more than one book going as long as they aren't too similar. And these two are very different, although both are mysteries. New York to Dallas is the 33^rd volume in the very popular In Death series by Nora Roberts writing as J. D. Robb. Set in the 2050s, Police Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her entrepreneur husband, Roarke, head to Dallas, Texas, in search of a child molester who has escaped from prison. In contrast, The Rose Rent, 13^th book in the Brother Cadfael mysteries, takes place in the summer of 1142 in the town of Shrewsbury, England. Where the story of Dallas and Roarke moves at an almost frantic pace, gentle Brother Cadfael slowly but carefully investigates the murder of the Widow Perle. I'm fond of both series and gladly move from one book to the other as the mood strikes me.

This Week on the Blog

1. Focus on Freading: Mysteries in 6th Century Rome
2. Month in Review: August 2015
3. Stacking the Shelves (47)

 

I'm pleased to be linking up with The Sunday Post, hosted by Kimba @ The Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

 

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on the blog, showcase books and things received. Share news about what is coming up on the blog for the week ahead.

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