Jumping on My June Reads

[Carol/Bonadie]

I won't finish anything else by tomorrow so here ya go. Not a bad month:

The House of Silk Anthony Horowitz. Read by Derek Jacobi. 5/5

Clever Sherlock Holmes continuation by the author of Magpie Murders. Holmes & Watson look into what starts out as the theft of artwork traveling from the US to the UK, and winds up to be a very different case. Well told and clever, I could anticipate plot twists a bit but not much. Narration by Derek Jacobi was no less than dazzling, nobody does the various classes of Brit-speak better than he does.

Promise Not to Tell. Jayne Ann Krentz. Read by Susan Bennett. 2/5

Romantic suspense not unlike others written by Krentz. These read more or less the same but every now and then I need my fix.

Robert B. Parker's Old Black Magic. Ace Atkins. Read by Joe Montegna. 3/5

Spenser is brought in to recover paintings stolen from a local art museum, a case not unlike the real life Isabella Stewart Gardner museum thefts. Atkins does an amazing job at continuing the brand; Joe Montegna is serviceable as narrator with only the occasional mangled pronunciation of Boston locales and one misstep as a Boston/NY mobster.

The Flight Attendant. Chris Bohjalian. Read by Erin Spencer et al. 4/5

Flight attendant wakes up in Dubai next to a corpse. That’ll cure a hangover quick. The main character reminded me a bit of the boozer in Girl on a Train, but the story of how she figures out what happened kept me interested. This is my second Bohjalian and I will read more. Read ably by a cast of narrators.

Just the Funny Parts: ... And a Few Hard Truths About Sneaking Into the Hollywood Boys' Club Nell Scovell. Read by Amy Hohn. 4/5

I find most memoirs from entertainment personalities a mixed bag, but this one by comedy writer Nell Scovell is funny and interesting, and short on the parts I don’t care about, like the person’s upbringing. What I want from a book like this is lots of insider stuff about the industry and the people I know that inhabit it, and this book is chock full of it without being sleezy. Plus, it’s an eye opener about the lack of women and other minorities in comedy writing, minus the preachiness.

========edit. I forgot to add this one I'd just finished yesterday.

Lightning Men. Thomas Mullen. Read by: Yahya Abdul-Mateen. 5/5

Second in the series beginning with Darktown, about a newly integrated Atlanta police department in the ‘60s or thereabouts. The harsh realities of a black police force unwelcome by their peers, the white citizens of Atlanta, and their own neighbors makes for a fascinating backdrop to a mystery about a newly-released prisoner with unexpected connections to one of the main characters. This series is so rich in content I don’t know where to start. Ably read by Abdul-Mateen, although a little differentiation between the white and black characters would have helped, which seems like an odd thing to say since I’ve never taken note of the reverse, but all the characters sounded black to me.

[Ann]

Look at you Carol! Nice month and a great way to kick off the beginning of July.
I liked Magpie Murders, so good to see you liked another Anthony Horowitz book and loved the narration. I keep meaning to try another Bohjalian book.
Carol/Bonadie wrote: "I won't finish anything else by tomorrow so here ya go. Not a bad month:

The House of Silk Anthony Horowitz. Read by Derek Jacobi. 5/5..."

[Ann]

Carol: and like you sometimes just need another Jayne Ann Krentz fix. 😀

[BarryP]

Can I jump on your reads too?

[Melodie]

Good month! I read Old Black Magic in June, too.

[Carol/Bonadie]

Barry wrote: "Can I jump on your reads too?"

Whatever floats your boat, Barry!

[Sherry]

nice month, carol!

[Susie]

Wow! Nice month Carol! Don't think I'll rush to read the new Spenser book.