Tag: New Books (Page 2 of 2)

The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Orczy

August 16, 2022 / Cadie

Today I started to listen to The Scarlet Pimpernel. Again. And I couldn’t wait to tell you about it, because it’s one of my favorite stories! Although I would usually tell you that I prefer a nice hardback book, there are times when I must listen to a book instead. And the next best thing to a hardback is a well-recorded audio.

I was first introduced to The Scarlet Pimpernel when my childhood friend showed me the 1982 movie. I fell in love with it. The actors, the storyline, everything about it. We watched it three times that day, and I have watched it at least 100 times since. Did I say it’s one of my favorites?

Then I found out that the movie was based on a book, so of course the first time I came across that book, I bought it. If you ever get the chance, read it, listen to it, and watch the movie. I think you will enjoy it too.

Now for the story: The Scarlet Pimpernel is set in the middle of the French Revolution, when the French commoners were killing French aristocrats. Their weapon of choice was Madame la Guillotine. An Englishman, known only as “The Scarlet Pimpernel” begins to rescue the imprisoned aristocrats. Using elaborate disguises and well-planned schemes, he and his band of men smuggle the former nobles out of Paris and away from death. Who is this man? Can the French Republic capture him before he steals away any more “aristos”?

The story is told from the view of Lady Marguerite Blakeney. Once the “Queen of Intelligent Society” in Paris, the Lady finds herself in a loveless marriage to a lazy, “foppish” English gentleman. One day, she is approached by a representative of the French Republic, a former friend named Chauvelin. He tasks her with finding out who this Scarlet Pimpernel is. He threatens to turn her brother over as a spy if she will not help him. Though she is angered and initially refuses, she eventually agrees, for she fears her brother is the only soul left on earth who loves her.

Lady Blakeney learns too late that when she betrays the Scarlet Pimpernel, she also betrays everything she ever loved. She faces great danger when she tries to right her wrong. She must hide in the shadows, tread barefoot through the night forest, and risk being caught by those who would do her harm before she can find the forgiveness and undying love she always craved.

The first copy I bought of The Scarlet Pimpernel was a Penguin Press paperback that I may still have in my library (if I haven’t given it away). But on one of my trips to St Augustine, I found a beautiful collector’s edition at the used bookstore, Second Read Books. It has a box cover and several glossy pictures. It was printed in 1997 by The Folio Society. When I don’t have time to sit and read, I will listen to the audiobook on Spotify or YouTube. It is a LibriVox recording performed by Karen Savage, who does a wonderful job.

I hope that you will decide to pick up a copy for yourself. I am sure you will thoroughly enjoy The Scarlet Pimpernel.

Today – A New Book and A New Tag

July 23, 2022 / Cadie

Along with starting another Kathy Reichs book today, I decided to add a new tag to the blog. “New Book” will lead you to the first post I write about each book that I’m reading. My goal is to give you a brief introduction to the book. Then when I finish the book, I’ll write my summary. This tag will give you, my readers, just a quick glimpse at when (and sometimes why) I start a new book as well as the Title and Author so you can look it up too.

So, as I said, I am starting a new Kathy Reichs book, Speaking in Bones. I’m only one chapter in, but it was a chilling introduction. Dr Brennan is listening to what sounds like a kidnapped girl’s thoughts and torments. I wonder if Dr Brennan will be able to find the girl before it’s too late. Well, back to reading!

Break No Bones, by Kathy Reichs

July 22, 2022 / Cadie

I finished another novel by Kathy Reichs this week called Break No Bones. I am enjoying these books about Dr Temperance Brennan. They offer a glimpse into the work of real forensic anthropologists.

At the end of each book, Dr Reichs offers some insight into the challenges faced by her fictional characters. In 206 Bones, she discussed the importance of ethics in forensic science, especially how important board certification is. In Break No Bones, Dr Reichs gives a glimpse into history, not only her own, but also the history of forensic anthropology as a whole. She also tells her readers about the teams of people needed to solve each crime. In real life, forensics relies on a multiple scientists: Pathologists who work with soft tissue – Anthropologists who work with skeletons – Entomologists who analyze insects – Odontologists who compare teeth and dental records – Molecular Biologists who study DNA – Ballistics Experts who examine bullets and bullet casings.

Not only does solving crime take multiple people, it also takes time. I think that is one of the special areas of experience that Dr Reichs writes into her books. There are times when Dr Brennan has to step away from the bones and wait for results from other specialists. For example, in Break No Bones, there were a few chapters spent waiting for results from the dentist to verify identification and another was spent in the waiting room of a veterinarian.

So what was Break No Bones about besides forensic anthropology and bones?

During a student project dig that she was overseeing, Dr Brennan unearthed human remains that were not centuries old. Those remains would turn out to be the first of several dead bodies that would turn up on the outer shores of Charleston, SC. There seemed to be no connection between the bodies until Dr Brennan looks harder and finds one similarity. Coincidence? Suicide? Murder? Can Dr Brennan and her friend the coroner figure it out?

Then a tempest blows over Dr Brennan’s personal life while she stays in a friend’s beach house in Charleston. This friend had also invited Dr Brennan’s almost ex-husband to stay at the house as well while he was investigating the finances of a local charity. While she knows why they separated, Dr Brennan still feels an attraction toward Pete. However, she is currently in a relationship with Detective Andrew Ryan of Montreal. And Detective Ryan chooses the same week that Pete is at the beach house to pay a surprise visit to Dr Brennan. Though civil, each man verbally jabs at the other, winning reprimands and eye squints from Dr Brennan. (Don’t worry, it’s tasteful and there are no graphic scenes.)

Then tragedy strikes. Is Dr Brennan really in danger? Can she identify the bodies, bring closure to the families, and help law enforcement arrest the right person?

One last word: Dr Reichs is a remarkable storyteller. She brings her plots and plot twists together in a surprising way. She offers just enough information to keep the reader guessing until she is ready to reveal the next clue. I was only a few pages ahead of Dr Brennan’s findings, mostly because of literary devices and dialogue. If I was standing right next to Dr Brennan, we may have discovered the answer at the same time. And I think that’s what I liked about Break No Bones the most.

206 Bones, Kathy Reichs

July 4, 2022 / Cadie

I was at a thrift store the other day and stumbled across this book called 206 Bones, by Kathy Reichs. Reichs’ books about forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan were the inspiration for the television series Bones (which I absolutely love!). Until I watched Bones, I had never heard of Kathy Reichs and her books. Although 206 Bones is the twelfth in the series, I had to start reading it today. I couldn’t wait! It jumped ahead of so many other books on my TBR list, even jumped in front of Holmes for the day. I’m only a few chapters in, but I wanted to share this series, in particular this book, with you right away. Someone is trying to ruin Dr. Brennan. She will have to be very careful! Now I’m going to keep reading…

A Month of Holmes

June 23, 2022 / Cadie

It has been about a month since I started reading The Greatest Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. My volume contains 4 complete novels and 44 short stories. I think I have listened to all (or most) of the Holmes tales once. I have watched many Holmes movies and TV shows and listened to countless dramatized radio shows.

But I had never sat down to read them for myself, until now.

Sherlock Holmes needs no introduction from me. I am sure you have heard his name at least once. However, if you ever get the chance to read any of the Holmes tales by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, I highly recommend that you do. I don’t think you’ll regret it. I am so glad that I started this journey. My volume (which I bought at Barnes & Noble) is arranged in chronological order of when the stories were written. So far, I have read:

A Study in Scarlet
The Sign of Four
“A Scandal in Bohemia”
“The Red-Headed League”
“A Case of Identity”
“The Boscombe Valley Mystery”
“The Five Orange Pips”
“The Man with the Twisted Lip”
“The Blue Carbuncle”
“The Speckled Band”
“The Engineer’s Thumb”
“The Beryl Coronet”
“The Copper Beeches”

Wow, that’s actually a lot. I didn’t realize how much I had read ’til I started to list them here. The first two are novels, the last eleven are short stories which appear in the book The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. So far, my favorites are “The Red-Headed League” and “The Engineer’s Thumb”. I will post separately about these two stories another day.

Fun Fact: Did you know Sir Arthur Conan Doyle hated Sherlock Holmes? He tried to kill him off several times. He was a distraction from Doyle’s other, “more important” writing.

The Complete Casebook of Herlock Sholmes

June 18, 2022 / Cadie

Let me introduce you to one of my newest friends. His name is Herlock Sholmes. If you’re thinking, “That sounds very similar to the great detective, Sherlock Holmes”, you are not mistaken.

I had the pleasure of purchasing The Complete Casebook of Herlock Sholmes from my favorite used bookstore in St. Augustine, FL. Every time I visit St. Augustine, I slip into Second Read Books. It may be small, but they always have a great selection of used books in fine condition. On my last visit, I found a large, green book that seemed to be calling my name. The picture on the front was a cartoonish Sherlock Holmes with wide eyes and a large pipe; there was a massive cloud of smoke billowing from the pipe. In red letters above the picture was the name Herlock Sholmes. The subtitle at the bottom read, “The delightful Sherlock Holmes parodies of Charles Hamilton”. There was no question, I had to have that book.

From the introduction by Norman Wright, I learned that Herlock Sholmes was first printed in “The Greyfriars Herald” in November 1915. The creator of this satirical and hilarious detective was Charles Hamilton. For almost forty years, Hamilton delighted audiences with the antics of Herlock Sholmes. The introduction ends with this paragraph:

In all there were nearly one hundred Herlock Sholmes tales, most of them miniature gems of pastiche that have lain all but forgotten for over sixty years. Eighteen of them were published in the United States of America by The Mysterious Press in 1975, but this is the first attempt to collect the entire Herlock Sholmes cycle into one volume.
Norman Wright, from the introduction to The complete Casebook of Herlock Sholmes, copyright 1989

I wish I could explain to you how excited I am to own a book that claims to be the first attempt to collect anything!

I am thoroughly enjoying reading these stories. Some of them are “retellings” of classic Sherlock Holmes tales. Others are wartime satire poking fun at both the enemy and the government. I decided to read these parodies at the same time I am reading a collection of Sherlock Holmes stories. It has made the experience so much greater! For example, Sherlock Holmes solved the case of The Sign of the Four, while Sholmes solved The Sign of the Forty-Four. Each detective had to figure out how the thief and murderer entered a second story room while the room was bolted from the inside. Holmes’ culprit scaled the the wall and let down a rope for his accomplice. Sholmes’ criminal used an elephant, because “a man carrying a ladder to the scene of the crimes would have excited remark”.

One of the things that sets Sholmes apart is that you do not have to be familiar with any Sherlock Holmes stories to enjoy the humorous tales of Herlock Sholmes. However, it is fun to find the similarities between the two.

In all, if you enjoy a good, old-fashioned parody, tongue-in-cheek humor, and a quick who-done-it mystery, I recommend you look up Herlock Sholmes. He will not disappoint!

(image credit goodreads.com)