The Fleet Street Murders

The Fleet Street Murders by Charles Finch

While this is the third book in the Charles Lenox series, you do not need to read these novels sequentially. I was not aware of this 19th century London sleuth, until I came upon this book at B&N. Being a Sherlock Holmes fan, this book naturally caught my attention.

There are several parallels to Conan Doyle's iconic character, including a couple of sidekicks, a friendly member of Scotland Yard. But Charles Lenox is more of an amateur detective and a gentleman. Here is a quick summary of the story:
It’s Christmas, 1866, and amateur sleuth Charles Lenox, recently engaged to his best friend, Lady Jane Grey, is happily celebrating the holiday in his Mayfair townhouse. Across London, however, two journalists have just met with violent deaths--one shot, one throttled. Lenox soon involves himself in the strange case, which proves only more complicated as he digs deeper. However, he must leave it behind to go north to Stirrington, where he is fulfilling a lifelong dream: running for a Parliamentary seat. Racing back and forth between London and Stirrington, Lenox must negotiate the complexities of crime and politics, not to mention his imperiled engagement. As the case mounts, Lenox learns that the person behind the murders might be closer to him--and his beloved--than he knows (think Moriarty type character).

While the novel bounces back and forth between Lenox's interest in the two murders, and his commitment to running for a seat in Parliament in northern England, it is still a fun read and another interesting mystery series. Fleet Street did pique my interest in picking up Charles Finch's two previous Lenox novels: A Beautiful Blue Death, which was nominated for an Agatha Award and named one of Library Journal's Best Books of 2007 and The September Society.

Two Powerful Literary Voices Gone

To view biographical entries for both of these literary giants from Biography Resource Center, Click Here:

As a reader, I am mourning the passing of two great literary voices...

J.D. Salinger

Generations of students and teachers have been forever changed by author J.D. Salinger and his acclaimed novel The Catcher in the Rye. Salinger, the reclusive author of Catcher and numerous other books and stories, has died, but his stories live on in the canons of great literature. Although Holden Caulfield is Salinger's best-known character, most of Salinger's writing featured incredibly intelligent, sensitive, children or adults who had trouble functioning in the real world. Many would say that J.D. Salinger was writing about himself as the Catcher in the Rye.

Howard Zinn

We also mourn the loss of author, activist, historian and beloved folk hero Howard Zinn. I don't know how many knew this, but it was Howard Zinn who protected copies of the Pentagon Papers for Daniel Ellsberg, and even hid them in his apartment for awhile. Zinn, never afraid to stand up against injustice, testified as an expert witness at Daniel Ellsberg's criminal trial.

Ellsberg writes that his friend is “the best human being I’ve ever known [and] the best example of what a human can be.” I would say that kind of sums up Howard Zinn's life.

Author of "A People's History of the United States" (1980) and numerous other works, Zinn surveyed all of American history from the point of view of the working classes and minority groups. He documented the history of race, sex, and class; the history of civil disobedience; how his hope for a more egalitarian society had been frustrated, and how a small, upper-class elite had retained its hold on power and wealth.

The Trilogy is Complete

If you recall an earlier post of mine from this past summer, I was looking forward to obtaining the final copy in the Robin Hood trilogy by Stephen Lawhead. Well for Christmas, I received the third book in his trilogy...Tuck.

And it was worth the wait. This is one of those series that you don't want to see end. Unfortunately this is the final installment of a completely reimagined telling of the Robin Hood legend. If you recall, I stated earlier that Lawhead places Robin or Rhi Bran y Hud-(Robin Hood) in Wales and in an earlier time period. Lawhead skillfully introduces all of the key characters from Robin's merry band from Little John, Will Scarlet, Merian, the Sheriff, Guy of Gysburne. And instead of King John, we have King William Rufus.
The novel concludes as Abbot Hugo and the Norman invaders attempt to wipe out King Raven (Robin Hood). Rhi Bran uses this 'mythological' symbol of the raven as a disguise to intimidate and frighten the superstitious knights of the Norman invaders.

This final book focuses on Friar Tuck, who was introduced in the first book in the trilogy, Hood, and appears in the second book, Scarlet. Tuck is a most unconventional priest, and he has a daring solution to Robin's dilemma of trying to regain the throne to his family's territory of Elfael, that has been taken over by the Freincs (French).

While this trilogy will radically alter all you've known about the legendary figure known as Robin Hood, it is well worth the shake up. Speaking of which, there is a new film about Robin Hood coming this Spring with Russell Crowe as the legendary outlaw. You can bet I will be in line to see this interpretation of the Robin Hood legend.

ALA Announces Literary Awards

Click on the link below to view a list of the Award Winners, including The Newbery and Caldecott Awards. In case you are not familiar with the various awards, here is a list of the awards and what they honor.

Caldecott Medal: is awarded to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.
Newbery Medal: is awarded to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.
Michael L. Printz Award: is an award for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature.
Coretta Scott King Award: annually recognizes outstanding books for young adults and children by African American authors and illustrators that reflect the African American experience.
Theodore Seuss Geisel Award: established in 2004 is given annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished contribution to the body of American children's literature known as beginning reader books published in the United States during the preceding year.
Schneider Family Book Award: honors an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.
Pura Belpre' Award: presented to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award: honors the most distinguished informational book published in English in the preceding year for its significant contribution to children's literature.
YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award: honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during a November 1 to October 31 publishing year.
Andrew Carnegie Medal: honors the most outstanding video productions for children released during the previous year.

To see a list of the winners, click on the .pdf file below:
http://www.mackin.com/PDFs/ALAAwardsJan2010.PDF

Holiday Reading

I got through two books this holiday season. I finished reading "Defiance". This is the book that the movie, Defiance, was based on. It is a tremendous film, if you have not seen it yet. Defiance deals with a little known account of a Jewish "Ostriad" or Resistance group, that chose to fight the Nazis.

This true story focuses primarily on Tuvia Bielski, the oldest of three brothers, that created this Jewish resistance group and provided a refuge for Jews escaping from the various ghettoes in Poland and Belorussia, before being shipped to concentration camps. The book is well written and researched by Nechama Tec.

Drawing on wide-ranging research and original interviews with survivor partisans--including charismatic leader Tuvia Bielski himself, two weeks before his death in 1987--Tec reconstructs the lives of those in the community and tells how they survived in a hostile environment.

Read the book and then rent the movie.

Blind Justice by Bruce Alexander

Two of my favorite genres to read are historical fiction and mysteries. This book is a combination of the two. Alexander recreates London in 1768 with a cast of characters that will remind you of Dickens' list of colorful characters.

This is the first of a series featuring Sir John Fielding, a magistrate who in the 18th Century co-founded London's first police force, the Bow Street Runners. Sir John Fielding, the brother of the author Henry Fielding, is blind.

Sir John is a brilliant, compassionate magistrate of London's Bow Street Court. The book is written in the first person, with the narrator being one of the main characters. He is Jeremy Proctor, a 13-year-old orphan who serves as Fielding's eyes. The series opens with the "suicide" of a lord known for his gambling and extra-marital affairs. While the scenario of his death is not unique to mystery readers, in which Lord Richard Goodhope is discovered shot through the head, gun at his feet, behind the locked door of his library. So is it suicide or is it a murder?

Alexander also employs the standard resolution of a murder mystery, where all of the suspects are brought together to 'smoke' out and resolve the mystery at the scene of the crime.

This was a relaxing, enjoyable read wrapped around a great story brought to life during a fascinating time in history. Now all I need to do is research the Bow Street Runners and the history of law enforcement in 18th century London.

Bruce Alexander was the pseudonym for Bruce Cook, who died in 2003. He was the author of eleven novels in the Sir John Fielding mystery series. Now that I have been introduced to Sir John Fielding and Jeremy, I believe I will investigate this pair of 18th century London crime fighters further.

The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl

You might want to label this book by Matthew Pearl as a novel about a novel. The novel, which lies at the heart of this story, is Charles Dickens' last, but incomplete, novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Dickens died of a stroke at the age of 59, before he could complete the final installments of this novel.

Matthew Pearl weaves a tremendous tale involving the authorized U.S. Publisher of all Dickens' works, Fields, Osgood & company, as they scramble to determine if Dickens left any indication as to how the Mystery of Edwin Drood will be resolved. The first six installments of the novel are stolen from Osgood's trusted clerk, Daniel Sand, who is killed before he can deliver the manuscript to the publishing house, and the manuscript disappears.

Could Osgood's publishing rivals, using bookaneers (book pirates), have stolen it, or is there an even deeper mystery going on? Accompanied by Daniel's sister, Rebecca, Osgood travels to England to search for clues about how Dickens planned on finishing Drood, unaware his enemies are close at hand. Pearl enriches his story through extended flashbacks, the inclusion of actual historical figures, including Osgood himself, and an in-depth knowledge of Dickens' career and literary works. I strongly recommended this one.

Other good reads from Matthew Pearl include: The Dante Club and Poe's Shadow. There is also another book that paints a scenario on Dickens' last novel, entitled: Drood by Dan Simmons. I haven't read it yet, but it is now on my ever growing list of books to read.

A Story of Espionage, Love and Betrayal

Tamar by Mal Peet
Having visited the Dutch Resistance Museum in Amsterdam a few years ago, I was interested in reading this story of two English trained Dutch resistance fighters. This story flashes back and forth between the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in 1945 and England in 1995, as fifteen-year-old Tamar, grief-stricken by the puzzling death of her beloved grandfather, slowly begins to uncover the secrets of her grandfather's life in the Dutch resistance during the last year of the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, and the climactic events that forever cast a shadow on his life and that of his family.

While there are moments of suspense, especially during the final year of occupation in Holland, it does not sustain that suspense as Tamar is trying to unravel the mystery behind her grandfather's role in World War II. In fact when she follows a map of Northern England, left to her by her grandfather, the story slows down, almost like a travelogue in slow motion.

Tamar received glowing reviews from Booklist, VOYA, Kirkus, School Library Journal, Library Journal, Horn Book. As a young adult novel, it will keep the reader in suspense. I enjoyed the portion of the book that takes place in wartime the Netherlands, but personally I found the behavior of one of the main characters (Dart) to be somewhat juvenile or childish, not the type of behavior you would expect from a resistance fighter trained by the British. I will leave the final verdict on this book up to the intended audience. On a scale of 5 stars, I would give it 3.