Two Envelopes And A Phone > Recent Status Updates

I’ll always feel that things were way too easy for the heroes in Book 1. No real suspense, just a one-sided contest. Book 2 was a marked improvement, and more the Dana Haynes Thriller magic I had been used to, like in Crashers, or Ice Cold Kill. So I’m excited to see what’s next.

It's tough and compelling; I like it. Doesn't seem like someone's first novel.

Not sure where this will lead, not in the slightest.

The next story is called 'The Cheese on Stilts'. That's a Fredric Brown title if ever there was one. In this book, I also get the alternate, unused ending of the novel The Screaming Mimi, which features some kind of Fantasy angle that Brown liked. Personally, I don't think The Screaming Mimi would have worked with a non-realistic finale, but I am curious to see what the idea was. It's not many pages, though.

This turns out to be the last entry in the Fredric Brown in the Detective Pulps series I have left to read. I’m a bit sad, but 19 volumes (plus The Office) is enough - lots of stories to re-read for many years - and it has been an expensive mission, going after these books. There are some novels by Fred Brown that I can chase down, but nothing major left for me as far as I know. I love my Fredric Brown shelf!

I really like this. It’s very exciting all the way through. I don’t know what the situation is…but if, in fact, this series does not get finished, then it will be a pity. January was about finishing up the five Amber books I had left to read, and that had gone well, in terms of re-igniting my interest in the Fantasy genre - or, at least, continuing with series I dropped. This series is a bit like Amber, I would say.

I had to force myself to pick it up, and that’s gonna happen with a few books from Fantasy series over several months as I try to finally deal with loose ends in a genre that I have strayed from…but I’m enjoying this book more than I expected, and a little bit more. Yes, I’ve forgotten a lot from the previous books, but there are quick mentions and summaries. But I’m invested in what is happening NOW.

Not too enthusiastic about this book - from what I understand, this is not an end to the series, but it looks like we may not get an end. I don’t know if it’s that the author has passed away, or Solaris stopped publishing and no one else picked up this series…it’s been a long time since I read and enjoyed Book 1: The Iron Ship. But I’m committed to reading the Fantasy books I have lying around.

This is the earliest Margret novel I have left to read. I thought I would save it for last, but it seems this may not be one of the best of the early ones, so I’ll tackle it now and hope I’ve got something special left for later, among the few I still have on tap. I am looking forward to Holland.

It’s such a big book, that I decline to take it with me anywhere, the way I take other more manageable short story books with me when out and about. If I’m about to finish, or start, a longer work, I like to read a short story between novels…so this book gets attention mainly on weekends. Nevertheless, it has been terrific, so far - and is it so terrible if I’m spotlighting it for an unusually long time…?

It’s a winner, so far. I figured it would be a bit like The New York Detective by William Marshall (including another starring Muldoon). New York, 1896, Theodore Roosevelt, murder, anarchists, lots of period detail. I’m happy!

'The Invisible Tenants of Rushmere' by Florence Marryat was an effective launch to the book, with a house haunted by scary noises. The Intro to the book did mention that I was in for a lot of ghost stories, with a few exceptions. Two of my favourite Mystery novels feature "phantom" sounds on records; Killer Tune by Dreda Say Mitchell, and The Whispering Master by Frank Gruber. Always up for creepy aural!

I like it a lot. The island is a terrific setting, and she's keeping up with the moody atmosphere. I'm reminded of a few books: The Visitors by Simon Sylvester; What She Left by T. R. Richmond; 13 Minutes by Sarah Pinborough - all great reads for me. It's fun reading this so close to A Dark Matter by Peter Straub, because I get to compare them too.

A great start. I'm intrigued. Lots to explore...