You are currently browsing the daily archive for August 31, 2014.
How did it get to be September already?
So, I love the autumn, always have done, but the onset of mellow fruitfulness and longer nights and all that stuff is made even more pleasurable by the advent of Carl’s annual RIP challenge now in its ninth year where we all come together to read dark stuff with ghosts and horror and mystery and danger. It starts on 1 September and runs to 31 October.
I have a list that’s far too long even for someone who’s playing a blinder in her reading plans (already only four volumes away from my target for the year) out of which I will attempt to read four so I can take part in Peril the First.
Before I go on I must say that I love the Abigail Larson art that Carl has chosen, partly because she has designed the cover for the first book on my list but mostly because I am lucky enough to have a framed print of her Masque of the Red Death.
But enough of that; to the list:
- The Book of Whispering Spirits by Jeff Ferrell
- Carpathia by Matt Forbeck
- Murder by Sarah Pinborough
- The Cold Calling by Phil Rickman
- The Jennifer Morgue by Charles Stross
- Savage Magic by Lloyd Shepherd
- Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse by Chris Riddell
- The Island of Dr Moreau by HG Wells which will lead to
- The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd
- Let the Old Dreams Die by John Ajvide Lindqvist
- The Abominable by Dan Simmons (because it wouldn’t be RIP without DS even though I suspect there are no yetis in this novel)
That looks like a pretty fine haul.
I will also try to take part in Peril on the Screen by finding stuff that is suitably creepy. At the very least I hope to watch Triangle which I’ve had for ages and still not seen. And maybe some revisits to old favourites, Theatre of Blood springing to mind.
Looking forward to seeing everyone else’s lists!
What year are we in? An Old Betrayal is set in 1875
What is Lenox’s case?
Lord John Dallington is ill and asks Lenox to help him with a case by meeting a potential client at Charing Cross station. However, the meeting doesn’t take place as planned and also seems to be connected with the death of a quiet and retiring country gentleman. As Lenox works with Dallington and Scotland Yard it becomes clear that a deeper and more sinister plot is afoot, one that might strike at the monarchy itself.
Apologies for the burst of melodrama there 🙂
What did I learn about that I didn’t know before?
Not a huge amount, though the way that people try to get access to Queen Victoria is quite interesting, and the murkiness of British politics is reinforced once again.
What’s happening in Lenox’s personal life?
Dallington is quite ill but struggling on, McConnell and his wife Toto appear to be having marital problems, there is a rival detective agency involved run by *gasp* a woman, and Lenox looks like he’s finally going to have to decide whether he priers politics or detection.
Did I enjoy it?
Huge fun. More complex in some ways than the others in the series and clearly meant to be a game changer. Alway good to have Queen Victoria pop up in her indomitable fashion and the motivation for the crimes is both obscure and mildly gothic. Looking forward to seeing where the series will go from her. Next volume is already pre-ordered.
Bride of the Book God 